Chapter 1159 – #276_서막(7)
#1153
1.
According to Mother, the magic of traversing world lines is inherently near impossible.
It’s a matter of probability.
The realm of the ‘primordial void,’ where neither the universe, matter, nor even time exists, is far more vast than the infinite world lines that branch out like bubbles at every moment.
For Mother to have created the Ark and arrived in a ‘world without witches’ was a matter of luck, like throwing darts blindfolded and hitting the bullseye repeatedly.
After Mother arrived in the new world and pioneered the realm of the 32nd tier.
You divided your flesh and bone to create witches.
You scattered the witch factors, carried by the Ark, to other worlds, and wove the fate of witches into a beautiful wheel of destiny, like the Milky Way in the black night sky.
It would not be an exaggeration to call it the greatest achievement in the history of witches.
She was the Eve of all witches, and soon, their Adam.
Yet, the lives of the Witch of Creation and her daughter, Keter, were simple.
A small rural village, untouched by human feet, was their home.
‘It’s snowing a lot today.’
Every winter, the world outside the window would turn completely white with heavy snow.
The fireplace in the small cabin in the woods would drive away the swirling cold air.
Still, it was a little chilly, so I would wrap myself in a blanket and snuggle close to Mother.
‘What kind of story would you like to hear today?’
Back then, Keter, an apprentice witch, would sit by the fireplace and listen to various stories from her mother, who was so great despite having almost exhausted her powers.
‘Honestly, I can’t understand Mother. If what you say is true, then humans are the reason why witches are like this.’
‘Hmm, shall we talk about that another time?’
‘No! You always try to avoid it like that, Teacher!’
Noah Genesis, known as the ‘Witch of Creation,’ gave a troubled smile.
Even she was a kind and caring mother in front of her apprentice witch and daughter, ‘Keter Genesis.’
‘My dear daughter. Then what should I do?’
‘Of course, you should rule over humans. You should make the kings who built stone castles, the eastern lords in silk robes, and the emperors wearing golden crowns kneel before you. Humans are bad. We should eliminate the seeds beforehand.’
After reaching the great realm of the 32nd tier, she gave her daughter a ‘vessel’ and used her power to create witches and homunculi, but Mother had the power to do so.
Keter remembered how Mother had once annihilated an avalanche that threatened the village with a single gesture.
‘What’s next?’
‘Witches should conquer this world, and any humans who resist should be eliminated.’
‘What’s next? What if people keep resisting?’
‘Of course, we should crush them with force. Just like humans did in the world where Mother lived.’
Despite young Keter’s sincere advice, Mother only smiled.
‘Sometimes, I think you might be right.’
She gently stroked her daughter’s furrowed brow and continued.
‘But when people hate each other, the end is always suffering. I want to believe that there is a better way.’
Keter shook her head.
‘That’s just idealism.’
‘Is that so? But I didn’t come to this world to become a dictator.’
In the future, she would be revered as a being close to a god, and she actually achieved such great feats, but sometimes Mother was more like a girl than Keter.
A naive girl who retained the purity that anyone would give up while learning about the world.
‘If you ever come across a choice in your life that seems like the obvious answer, that’s when you should be wary. We can’t choose the right answer. We can only struggle and wander, trying to get closer to it.’
‘Hmph, I’m a witch, you know? A great and outstanding apprentice witch who will carry on your name.’
‘That’s why it’s even more difficult.’
Of course, you knew even better than Keter that your wish could not be realized ideally.
You left behind various arrangements to prevent the tragedies of the previous world, such as homunculi, floodgates, and floods, before leaving the world.
The world Mother left behind was not easy to live in with only ideals.
Keter had to catch up to her mother’s achievements and lead the witches she had scattered to the path of prosperity and glory.
Despite her best efforts, Keter was ultimately blocked by a wall.
Keter soon made a decision.
Let’s start over from the beginning.
She separated the impurities and filtered out the dregs.
The resulting crystal of chaos became Lilith, and only order and purity remained for Keter.
Thus, the order that Keter carried was similar to the ideals of her mother, whom she had secretly scoffed at as a young girl’s fantasy a long time ago.
2.
210 years after breaking through the wall of the 24th tier.
Duke Erelim had reached the 25th tier.
A realm where one’s self becomes the law of the world, not just modifying the settings of the world.
A realm that no one could have dared to reach except for the Witch of Creation and Duke Keter.
Many things had changed.
Just as many things change with just one tier difference between a 19th tier and a 20th tier witch.
There was a power there that was on a different ‘level’ than before.
Also, many things had not changed.
When you struggle to climb one mountain, what you see is the familiar, endless vastness that you’ve seen countless times before.
The joy of achievement was faint.
Since some time ago, the path of magic for Blanche Erelim had become no different from the punishment of Sisyphus, endlessly rolling a boulder.
The only difference was that when you rolled the boulder over the mountain, an even higher and steeper mountain would appear.
She had held onto that small achievement for comfort and lived for hundreds of years.
Could that even be called life?
“……”
Erelim walked through the nostalgic garden, pondering her troubled thoughts.
It was the ‘Ivory Tower,’ which had not allowed any outsiders since Keter’s disappearance, but the garden was an exception.
The garden, where blue roses bloomed beautifully in all seasons, was designed by Erelim herself in the early days of Gehenna.
Old memories clung to the petals like dew, only to fall uselessly at her feet.
“You must have known.”
The truth of this world had been revealed.
The Witch of Creation, whom all witches looked up to, was a fugitive, and those who oppressed the witches were humans, just as Erelim had feared, and even now, the winds of change were blowing every moment.
The news that two old witches had joined Hexennacht was something she didn’t want to hear but still reached her ears.
Only then could she understand.
Why Keter, who had said she would create a world for witches, treated humans like fragile crafts.
And why Keter, who had insisted on the order of Gehenna even while killing her friends, did not tell Erelim, who was desperately seeking it, the truth of the world.
Keter had known.
In a time when no one was mature yet.
In a time when order had not yet ripened.
In a time when it was natural for the strong to devour the weak.
What would happen when the witches learned the truth of the world.
This could be inferred from the aspects that were unfolding in the present world in real time.
She hid it because the safety device of the homunculi would be released if humans learned the mysteries.
She hid it because it was obvious that the witches would massacre humans if they learned the truth of the world.
Keter’s order was not for the witches.
At least, from Erelim’s point of view, it was for the humans.
Erelim, not knowing this, suppressed the rising questions and silently followed her will to continue Keter’s legacy.
She protected Gehenna, suppressed her fellow witches, and protected the humans who were sure to become enemies someday.
Her long-standing questions were resolved.
Duke Keter was a traitor.
Blanche felt a sense of betrayal towards Keter.
If it had been the Erelim of the past, she would have been much more indignant and would have even forced a war with humans.
She might have rushed into the present world, claiming it was the path for witches, and dominated all humans.
But what she felt now was a sense of betrayal that was so small that she herself couldn’t understand it.
After much deliberation, Erelim defined the emotion that was weakly fluctuating in her heart as ‘ennui.’
It was a name she had given to too many emotions until now.
And a powerful emotion that would not fade with time under the name of ennui burst out of her mouth.
“…I miss you.”
She had loved Keter.
Not with the heart of longing and affection, but with the heart of respect and reverence.
That was why, even though she did not completely agree with Keter’s ideals and order, she silently carried out the tasks she had left behind.
Because she believed that was the path for witches.
And the moment Erelim realized that the path she had walked was not really for the witches, she lost her way.
That was probably because the path was given to her by someone else from the beginning.
“Keter, I miss you…”
Even though she had obtained the strongest power in the world, like a child who could do nothing, she sought only one person.
She wanted to be told.
What to do now.
Where to go.
Even though Keter had deceived Erelim, deceived the world, and betrayed the witches…
It felt like she would be able to answer.
It felt like she would be able to persuade Erelim with a valid reason.
Then, she would feel a little comforted.
At that moment.
-Grrrring
The barrier was lifted.
A crack appeared in the mysterious barrier that had firmly blocked the Ivory Tower, just enough for one person, Erelim, to enter.
“……”
Erelim raised her head.
She wiped away her tears and moved forward.
To meet Keter.
