IYAMD 106
Marsilia descended the stairs, twisted the decorative handle, causing the platform with the throne to return to its original position. In the pitch darkness, he materialized divine power in the palm of his hand.
He threw the spherical mass of divine power onto the previously pulled decoration, and lights lit up along the long corridor, one by one. Marsilia, adjusting the output to prevent the fire he had conjured from going out, frowned as he looked at the symbols drawn on the walls and the floor.
The dark, dried-up drawings seemed like a curse drawn with human blood. He bit his lip and walked along the path of the drawing.
Step by step, the echoing footfalls reverberated through the empty corridor, and the sound of wind could be heard from somewhere. The curse drawing had its own rhythm, allowing Marsilia to quickly memorize its shape.
When he had fully memorized the drawing in his mind, the rotten smell began to intensify. Dark shadows appeared on the floor. Because the fire was hanging high above, the light didn’t reach the ground, and there were many areas covered in darkness.
So, Marsilia enveloped his body with divine power to substitute for the light and continued forward while inspecting the floor. A large amount of blood was pooling, rotting away. The smell reminded him of when Jaha was first brought out of Aricto. The stench was so foul it made it hard to breathe, and Marsilia’s face scrunched in disgust.
He stepped through the sticky puddles, feeling the blood sticking to his high leather boots. How much further could he go? He discovered an inner chamber and paused to catch his breath. Since he was emitting light, the space in front of him seemed even darker.
For some reason, a chill ran down his neck. Despite the overpowering stench of decay, he sensed something waiting inside. He cautiously advanced and reached a crossroads where four paths branched out. As he stepped in, a faint green light flickered in the center.
As he approached, the light grew stronger and flashed rapidly. In the puddle on the floor, half-submerged, was a large glass bead.
The holy relic. It resembled the size and energy of the sacred relic he had touched during the coronation. Marsilia set the relic aside for now and scanned the square room. At each crossroads stood what seemed to be pieces of human corpses, and mysterious symbols decorated the surrounding walls.
Seeing the curse drawing filling the room, he let out a hollow laugh and clicked his tongue. What kind of deep grudge did Exion have to lay so many curses inside the imperial palace? What had been so unjust that it warranted this?
He felt a mix of disbelief and slight fear at the intensity of the lingering resentment. Marsilia surveyed the room for a while, then hesitated. Could he purify this with his abilities? No, he could if he tried. But he was unsure whether he could purify it secretly without anyone noticing.
If he used divine power here, people in the imperial palace would surely notice.
Marsilia, grinding his teeth in contemplation, decided to attempt the purification. If this curse had anything to do with his soul or could harm Jaha, there was no reason to hesitate.
“Great Goddess who governs life, here your son prays, so please listen to my earnest prayer.”
A green light erupted from Marsilia’s body, and the divine power, which formed a sphere around him, gradually grew in size. Still, he did not stop praying. When he reached out toward the holy relic in the center, light began to emanate from it as well. The filth that had sullied the relic gradually began to disintegrate, and the light grew stronger.
Marsilia closed his eyes to avoid the blinding light and released the divine power from his body.
…
After sending Marsilia off, Jaha leaped up to the highest spire of the imperial palace. Avoiding the guards was easy, and without being detected, he took his place at the highest point.
Standing there, Jaha looked around. This would now be his home. Or perhaps, he thought, it was to properly take in the sight of what had now become his home.
The expansive view revealed the imperial palace and the city streets beyond. Infusing his inner energy, Jaha raised his power, and the path he had taken with Marsilia came into view.
Beyond the city’s walls, vast land, blue sky, distant mountains, and rivers stretched out. It was the season when crops were ripening. Jaha quietly observed the figures of people, like black dots, scattered across the land, then exhaled a long breath.
The wind was strong at this height. His tightly tied hair blew in all directions, obscuring his view. Jaha pushed the strands of hair from his face and slowly turned his gaze.
His eyes took in everything he had missed while he had been frantically searching for Jaryeon, everything Marsilia had wanted to protect.
The high, blue sky, the strong but warm wind, and the hot sunlight were all beautiful.
A faint smile appeared on Jaha’s lips as he whispered softly.
“Master, your unworthy disciple has finally found what he wants to protect. So, please, don’t worry.”
Jaha sent his last goodbye to the master, who had been so worried that he couldn’t even properly close his eyes.
“Father, Mother, your unworthy son will now properly carry out your will. So please, don’t worry.”
His voice, whispering softly, suddenly grew quieter.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t go with you, my sister.” The image of his younger sibling remained frozen in his childhood memories. Jaha sighed softly as he recalled his last memory of Jaryeon.
Jaha rubbed his nose and leapt down onto the flat roof beneath the spire. Landing so softly that there was no sound, Jaha sat down cross-legged in that spot.
The energy he had inherited from his master hadn’t been fully absorbed yet, and after spending several days dealing with Marsilia, his energy had been slightly depleted. Now, he intended to slowly refill it.
Since there were almost no people who could reach this high, this place, with no one to disturb him, felt like the safest spot.
However, since his mind wasn’t entirely at ease, Jaha decided to engage in a light meditation and closed his eyes.
For a while, as he gathered his energy and assessed his current state, Jaha suddenly felt Marsilia’s presence and opened his eyes.
What was that? His energy was growing stronger.
Jaha immediately stood up and struck the roof of the palace with a leap. After crossing to the roof of another building, Jaha rushed toward the location where he felt Marsilia’s energy.
Not long after, a pillar of light rose high from the back of the royal palace.
It was unmistakably Marsilia’s, a dark green pillar of light. Following it, Jaha landed on the roof of the palace where he had once been during the palace recapture. He felt a sense of confusion upon seeing the pillar of light emanating from the ground beneath the rear garden.
The start of the pillar was definitely from the ground, and Jaha didn’t know how to enter it. What should he do?
As he pondered and scanned below, Jaha noticed the back of Serez’ head peeking out of the window and immediately leapt down. Serez, who had been looking out the window, panicked and fell backward as Jaha fell through the air.
“Lord Jaha? What—ah, shit—what are you—ugh—doing up there?” Serez clutched his chest and asked, but Jaha didn’t answer.
“Where is Marsilia?”
“Eh? He went to the main hall… but…” Before Serez could finish, Jaha leapt back up from the window. He ran over the roof and toward the main hall to the path he had once taken to recapture the palace.
The doors to the main hall were firmly shut. A servant stood by and bowed when they saw Jaha.
Without slowing down, Jaha opened the door and entered. However, there was no sign of life inside.
He scanned the large hall and noticed a faint light spilling from the platform where the imperial throne was placed. He walked toward it, finding a crack in the stone platform beneath the throne.
What should he do? Should he break it? After a brief hesitation, Jaha drew his sword.
As he was about to strike the platform beneath with his sword, Serez, who had hurriedly caught up, called out to him in a breathless voice.
“Lord Jaha! Please, just wait, what are you—ah, ha—trying to do?” Jaha briefly glanced back at Serez, then gestured toward the still-open door. Some people’s presence outside was growing, and as expected, several faces began peeking in through the door.
After Serez gestured to the servant to close the door, he approached Jaha and took a handkerchief from his pocket. He elegantly wiped his pale face with the handkerchief and, wiping away his sweat, asked Jaha:
“What were you trying to do?”
“Trying to break this.”
“…Pardon? You do know that’s the imperial throne, right?” Jaha frowned and lowered his gaze awkwardly.
“But… Marsilia might be in danger.”
“I don’t think so.”
Jaha looked at Serez, who was speaking in a strange voice, then saw the man trying to hide a smile.
“Why?”
As Jaha took a step back, still on guard, he asked, and Serez, still catching his breath, responded:
“If he were someone who would die that easily, I’d be worried too, but…”
Jaha didn’t understand his words.
“There’s no one who doesn’t die.”
Everyone dies. In an instant, without a chance to do anything. And there are no exceptions.
Jaha knew this fact all too well.
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