73 – Bloody Entrance Ceremony (8)

After finishing her ablution, Silverin dried herself off and put on her clothes again. After sending the lady-in-waiting back to the carriage, she walked out through the corridor leading to the bathhouse.

And when he reached the end of the corridor, a large slab with ancient characters inscribed in his path blocked his path. Silverin stretched out her hand. When her fingertip touched a point on the stone slab, the space rippled like a wave.

A confrontation system called the ‘Curtain of Nebula’. The outsider was a spell that distorted space to make it completely impossible to invade.

It is known to the public that the tradition of space-type magic was lost hundreds of years ago and records were obliterated, but the Altar of the Stars avoided the eyes of the world and preserved its existence.

However, spatial magic is only secondary. The most important thing in the Altar of Stars was astrology.

The altar could glimpse the flow of human life through the stars. Growth and decline, life and death, and sometimes even hints of a lover made by fate could be found.

Not everyone could know the future. Counting all things with human eyes was just like looking at the flow of a huge river with a magnifying glass. The possibility of changing fate with the information obtained from the Altar of Stars was extremely slim.

But Sylverin wanted to know as much information as possible about Damian. Since human affairs always flow in unexpected directions, he desperately needed even the slightest bit of information.

Before entering the altar, she thought for a moment. It was the first visit in five years, but to Sylverine, the memory of that time was as vivid as if it were yesterday.

Silverin’s past was marked by a struggle to change her preordained destiny. And all of those struggles ultimately failed, and the place that ended them was the Altar of Stars.

She didn’t want to repeat the process twice.

There is always a price to pay for looking into the future. And beyond knowing the future, to change that future had to pay a huge price. And Silverine had given up on paying the price.

It is okay if the fate given to Damian is not a heroic life.

It doesn’t have to be a life that is respected by everyone. You don’t have to leave your name in history.

It was good even if he was destined to remain as a mere householder and barely survive.

Silverin wanted only one thing. I just hoped that the fate given to Damian wasn’t so terrible that he had to change the future.

***

All the crowds were rushing to the entrance ceremony, but Damian walked alone against the flow in the opposite direction.

People kept bumping into each other’s shoulders, and every time they did, they received stinging glances, but Damian didn’t care.

When we arrived at the living quarters, it was quiet without the sound of footsteps because people had left for the entrance ceremony.

The words Cecil had said as she passed through the garden of the living quarters occasionally lingered in her mind.

What did I come to Eternia to achieve?

If you start with the top entrance and finish the academy with the top graduation, can you feel that you have achieved what you want?

Since he entered as the top student, Sam has achieved half success. But nothing filled his heart.

It won’t change anything if you go up to the podium with everyone’s attention and respect, and face the christening with applause and flowers.

He could not be intoxicated with the achievements he had made so far. It was because the past life and memories drove him every moment.

As Damian approached the Guardian Tree, he heard a loud explosion behind him.

He slowly turned his head and looked up at the sky.

Pure white magic firecrackers shot up and exploded, embellishing the sky.

The entrance ceremony has begun.

Damian left the splendid festival and moved to the labyrinth.

***

Upon opening the curtains of the nebula and entering the shimmering space, the refreshing scent of flowers greeted Sylverine.

The gray clouds that had been throwing a blizzard had disappeared, and a clear blue sky and warm wind blew.

It is a refreshing spring sun. With that alone, Silverin could tell that the lifeline of the Altar of Stars hadn’t been cut off yet.

Seasonal magic, if left unattended for a long period of time, completely distorts the magic formation, making it extremely difficult to dispel, and overabsorbs the magic of the earth, eventually turning heaven and earth into a desert.

In front of her was a large sandstone barrier.

And in the center of the barrier, a huge stone statue so solemnly guarded the gateway that one had to bend its head to the sky.

Silverin walked into the gateway.

After walking for a while and leaving the dark passage, a panoramic view of the city, which was ruined hundreds of years ago, unfolds. Then, in the center of the city, a huge floating island in the sky came into view. The island blocked the sunlight and shaded the land.

Thousands of thick chains entwined in the earth hold the island as it rises through the clouds. It was a strange structure that could not be reproduced even with all of today’s magical knowledge.

And on that island, the Altar of the Stars is located.

To climb up to the top, you had to go through thousands of circular stairs that led vertically to the island.

Seeing the stairs, Silverin sighed lightly.

“Ehh, you still want to follow that old tradition.”

If you use magic, you don’t need stairs, but because of the law that those who want to receive an oracle must go through the stairs, they had to use their own two legs to climb it. There wasn’t much of a problem with Silverin’s resilience, but it couldn’t be helped that it was a cumbersome and tedious process.

Silverin muttered quietly, remembering the student she had left behind in Eternia.

“…When I get back, I’ll have to give her a leg massage.”

***

Although the slopes of the Grace Mountains were smooth and organically connected without any sudden rise or collapse, there were exceptions.

There was a strangely hollowed-out basin in one of the mountains that stretched out gracefully. Records from hundreds of years ago say that the basin was called the ‘footprint of a giant’ because it seemed that a giant had accidentally stepped on it.

The peculiarity of the basin was not only its heterogeneous topography. There was a powerful magical field of unknown origin. In that area, the pressure of magical power was so strong that normal plants could not grow, and vegetation was formed with ancient and rare species that grow with magical power.

It was a place that even ordinary people, as well as wizards, could not afford. Herbalists and travelers who coveted rare herbs and set foot in the footsteps of giants fainted and became prey to demon beasts or returned as idiots. This happened like an annual event. Thanks to that, the name Giant’s Footprints was almost forgotten, and over time it was called the ‘Forbidden Forest’.

Since Eternia settled there and sealed the perimeter to only a few people, no visitors have been harmed by accidentally entering the Forbidden Forest.

Thanks to its unique history, the Forbidden Forest was a very interesting place to Azelis.

Azelis, one of the very few permitted personnel, was walking in the Forbidden Forest. The field was so strong that even people with good resistance had to surround themselves with artifacts that reduced the effects of magic pressure like armor, but Azelis had no problem.

On the contrary, she took off all artifacts and even took off her shoes to walk through the woods in order to appreciate her magical powers better. Even though there were countless ashes buried under the tree roots, it was just a good place to go out to her.

She thought about Damian for a moment. I wondered if Damian could withstand this much magic pressure. She hoped that Damian couldn’t stand it. Azelis could be of great help in adapting to the magic pressure, and hoped that Damian would receive and depend on him.

Azelis giggled to herself as she imagined Damian wriggling, unable to adjust to the magic pressure.

Then, feeling better, Azelis jumped like a child.

After following the compass for a while, I came to an empty field with lush green grass.

In the middle of the clearing, a small temple built of wood rose. The building has the traces of the years, but thanks to the well-maintained, there is no old and shabby feeling.

The sunlight scattered through the thick fog gently descended, giving off a mysterious aura.

It was the place where the entrance ceremony for the Masters Class was held.

Azelis put her hands behind her back and walked towards the temple.

The inside of the temple was quiet and simple.

There were only a white stone statue of the goddess Acates and a few long wooden benches for worship.

“no one is here?”

The time for the entrance ceremony was right around the corner, but Azelis was the only one who came.

“…tooth.”

I felt bad because I felt like I was alone wherever I went. Demian, who could be said to be his motive at least, hadn’t been seen pecking his nose since leaving the thorn garden the night before. I didn’t even know that I was enjoying a splendid festival by throwing away my master’s class.

Azelis sat helplessly on the bench. Then, turning her body halfway back, resting her chin on the backrest, she stared intently at the entrance to the temple.

Beyond the wide open gates, only an empty fog shook.

***

Luna’s eyes were out of focus.

The blood disappeared from her face, and the pure white dress reminded me of a shroud.

I ran through the woods without shoes. Bark and pebbles were stuck in her feet, and blood flowed, but there was no sign of pain on Luna’s face. Her body was stolen by an unknown being, and she only swayed like a marionette with a face that seemed to have lost her soul.

Where she passed, pitch-black footprints were left as if she had been covered with tar.

And in his hand was the same dagger as before.

The place Luna arrived was in front of the Guardian Tree of Eternia.

A mischievous smile bloomed on her face. Standing on the root of the guardian tree, Luna raised her hands above her head. Then he pierced the dagger through the center of his left palm and pulled it out.

Bright crimson blood gushed out, soaking the hair, clothes, and the root of the guardian tree.

“Shadow, shadow. Let’s join the bloody banquet.”

Shortly thereafter, a black human form slowly rose from around the guardian tree.

Luna, whose whole body was covered in blood, turned the blade downward and gripped it with both hands. And then he uttered an order.

“Swamp of Chaos, Mother of Darkness. Savior of Thoughts. I offer my pure body for a bloody banquet. I will dedicate myself to feasting on the creatures of chaos. My flesh nourishes maggots, and my blood feeds leeches. I will quench my thirst. My entrails will become ghoul bones, my spiritual powers will feed the darkness of Wraith, and my soul will unite with the ideologies in the pits of hell.”

Luna’s mouth opened slowly as if possessed by something. Then, without hesitation, he thrust the knife into his stomach.

The shapes of the black figures shook and changed into the same shape as Luna, as if they had been duplicated. In their hands were daggers like hers.

The black shapes completely surrounded the guardian tree and drove their swords into the wooden poles.

As if poison were spreading, the place where the dagger was stuck was stained black.

And the brilliant silver leaves of the guardian tree slowly withered. Soon, the black dead leaves began to fall one by one.

Luna lost her strength and fell forward with the knife stuck in her body.

***

Damian paused in the middle of the labyrinth and tapped the compass with the palm of his hand. Then I checked again, but nothing changed. The needle of the compass did not stand still and swayed bizarrely from side to side.

“It must have already broken…”

It didn’t stop there, pointing in the wrong direction every few seconds, and sometimes spinning around like a top.

The compass always pointed to the destination without wavering. This was the first time ever. Feeling a bit ominous, Damian bit his lip.

“Forbidden Forest. Forbidden Forest.”

Damian waved the compass a few times, and the needle pointed in the right direction again. The compass was very suspicious, but once I arrived without wandering anywhere, I could take action.

“Hold on until the entrance ceremony…”

Damian took another step in the direction the needle pointed.

After advancing for a while, an unknown figure appeared from the depths of the fog. There were things scattered all over the floor. And a faint fishy smell passed by the tip of his nose.

Damian hastened his steps. The closer I got to them, the stronger the smell.

Only then could he sense it properly. It was bloody.

Suddenly the wind blew from the direction the compass pointed. It’s the first strange phenomenon. The labyrinth was always a windless zone.

Then, the red mist was pushed in by the wind and engulfed the labyrinth.

Sensing that something unusual was happening, Damian quickly threw himself into the red mist.

I hurriedly ran and checked the figures on the floor up close.

Faced with the shocking sight, Damian’s breath stopped for a moment.

Dozens of librarians in the labyrinth wearing masks were scattered here and there on the floor. Damian hurriedly ran to check the condition of one of the nearby librarians.

It had already been a corpse for a long time.

His whole body was covered in gooey blood, and his skin was pierced as if he had been hacked up with an awl.

Soon after, the left wrist started to heat up. It was exactly where the bracelet was worn. Damian raised his left arm and pulled up his sleeve.

The runes on the meteorite bracelet reacted to something and emitted intense light.

The words of Elizabeth, which had been left while enchanting the bracelet, passed through Damian’s mind.

My heart started beating like it would explode.

Something was rolling firmly wrong.