Chapter 830 – #173_Diagnosis(3)
#824
1.
Consciousness sinks.
The soul witch that was in my sight disappears, and the interior scenery also reaches a dark and infinite space.
It’s a familiar feeling.
The inner landscape inherent in the witch.
The first gateway of the three realms where magical achievements are manifested as conceptual constructs.
It’s AIN.
There’s nothing new about it.
It’s a space I frequently visit during my research.
Inside, there were countless structures built by Siwoo.
The swaying of shadows spread like fog.
A giant loom working diligently like a textile machine.
Doors and keys leading to the palace of memories.
Elements shining in various colors on the cross altar.
Strings of contracts that allow free control of weapons in hand.
A large full moon rising with the force field.
The sea of magic power that ceaselessly surges and creates waves.
A sacred ring as large as a particle accelerator, rotating slowly.
Two broken harps that ceaselessly create beautiful melodies.
Stairs rising high into the sky, trying to guide ascension.
The self-magnetic magics obtained from different witches stand beautifully, achieving balance and harmony.
The balance of that microcosm comes from a mysteriously shining golden fractal.
I think I’ve collected them quite diligently.
Compared to the past, the number is one thing, but the level of harmony is different.
Through constant research, trials, and near-death experiences, Siwoo’s AIN has succeeded in achieving smooth harmony between the magics he possesses.
He has reached the point of linking different self-magnetic magics to lead to even higher levels of magic.
I certainly thought so…
But when I compare it to myself in the dream with my teacher, this appearance also seems somewhat lacking.
My standards must have risen.
-Kugugugugung!
But there was no time to leisurely indulge in thought.
With a sudden roar, the bottom of AIN began to surge.
Again, AIN is a conceptual, abstract space and is infinite.
The term ‘bottom’ should not exist in the first place.
But Siwoo knew.
That the unconscious within him, which he conveniently calls the Black Knight, was asleep.
After suppressing the runaway of that guy in the last trial, the boundary between consciousness and unconsciousness, which could not be found even when trying to look for it, appeared in the form of a bottom.
“……”
A black space moving roughly, like a storm surge on a shallow coast.
It’s scary to approach it carelessly.
I stood far away and watched the bottom, which was surging as if trying to swallow everything that came near.
I can’t explain it in detail, but I can sense it intuitively.
The unconscious is trying to cross the endlessly reversed boundary.
‘I don’t need you anymore.’
‘I will kill you and take that body.’
The ambition that the Black Knight revealed when he encountered it in the trial.
He still hasn’t given up on that ambition…
-Clack!
“Get a grip.”
A loud sound rang out in front of my eyes.
When I looked around in bewilderment, the soul witch was repeatedly snapping her fingers in front of Siwoo like a hypnotist.
“Here…”
“The examination is over.”
“How much time has passed?”
“Four hours.”
“That much?”
It feels like I just had a sleep endoscopy.
It feels like my consciousness flowed away in an instant, somewhat dazed.
Looking again, the soul witch was sweating profusely.
The sharp look in her eyes was also haggard.
But the corners of her mouth were softly curved, as if she had found an interesting toy.
“So, what happened?”
“Amazing, you are truly an amazing being.”
“Was there a problem?”
The door burst open and my teacher entered.
She must have been waiting outside the door for four hours, listening intently.
Siwoo put on his clothes, looking at Gretel, who was strangely grinning.
I have a bad feeling about this…
“I’ll tell you the conclusion first. Your left arm has been ‘eroded’. It’s no wonder that no matter what method you use, your sense of touch doesn’t return. The unconscious within you is constantly eyeing your body and mind.
While quietly accumulating power.
The result is your left arm. The fact that your sense of touch doesn’t return means that you’ve already allowed a small gap.”
An ominous feeling creeps in.
There was something that immediately stood out from the soul witch’s remarks.
“I’m more amazed that you can suppress such a huge unconscious with your surface consciousness?”
Gretel chuckled, but Siwoo was not in the mood to laugh at all.
I knew that the Black Knight was aiming for my mind and body.
But the fact that it had partially succeeded only breeds anxiety.
“You still don’t understand well? Okay, I’ll explain it like this.”
Gretel took out two pieces of paper of different colors.
One is black, the other is white.
“This is your unconscious, and this is your surface consciousness. Right now, they’re overlapping like this.”
Gretel placed the two pieces of paper on top of each other, with the white paper on top.
When she slightly cut off the edge of the white paper, the black paper underneath was slightly visible.
“Your unconscious is powerful, but it’s suppressed right now. It can’t use its power properly, and all it’s taken is the sense of touch in your left arm. As a result, the owner of your body is Shin Siwoo, who is talking to me right now.”
“That’s right. I understand that much.”
“Then, what would the unconscious need to take back your body?”
“…The white paper would have to disappear.”
“That’s right, or a torn part would have to appear. Or there’s this method too.”
Gretel flipped the two pieces of paper over.
This time, it was completely the opposite.
The black paper completely covered the white paper, so the white paper was not visible at all.
A reversed world.
A reversed consciousness.
A reversed AIN.
The way the paper was flipped reminded me of the Bianca battle, when the unconscious first revealed its existence.
“But it’s not easy to flip it like this, as shown in the paper example. Your unconscious is already bigger than you, but it will have to accumulate even more enormous power.”
“Then…”
“This is just my personal opinion. Keter made you an apprentice witch.”
“…I had a hunch.”
“No, Keter didn’t want you. You’re just a shell. A breakwater to suppress your talent until your unusually developed unconscious collapses due to its own talent.”
I couldn’t say anything.
I don’t know what Gretel saw, or what she knows to say such things.
But the lust that arises when smelling the witch’s scent.
The replication of the stigma that occurs when following that desire.
The unconscious trying to take over the body.
The strangely fitting situation is coming to my mind.
“There’s not much left. Let’s see… Only two more types at most. That’s how I see it.”
“Two types?”
“I’m talking about the way you obtained the magic you’ve acquired. When about two more self-magnetic magics are added, the black paper will have the power to flip the white paper.”
I got goosebumps.
Just two.
If Siwoo had embraced a witch carelessly with the purpose of strengthening his magic.
If he had happily succumbed to the numerous temptations.
If he had even copied the magic of Lydia Magnus and Cybele Periwinkle on the bed, the paper might have already been flipped.
Well, I thought it was strange.
There was no such thing as power without a price.
“Then what will happen to me?”
“I don’t know.”
“Can’t we remove the unconscious?”
“Do you think that’s possible?”
Gretel answers calmly, and Siwoo thinks it’s better that he’s become more cautious.
Unlike him, Eloa, who was completely terrified, turned pale.
Soon, her pale face turned to anger.
“I need to see Keter right now.”
“Teacher, calm down. I’ve tried to visit her several times, but…”
“How can I stay calm now!”
Everything was Keter’s doing.
Her beloved disciple might turn into a completely different being.
Eloa bit her lip, suppressing her anger and fear.
“Duke Tiferet, calm down first. I’ve done a simple treatment. Shin Siwoo, do you have sensation now?”
Only after hearing her words did Siwoo realize that the sensation in his left arm had returned.
Even the sensation of clenching and unclenching his hand is clearly transmitted.
“Is it resolved?”
“Resolved? I don’t have such a great skill. At least I’ve prevented it from getting worse.”
Gretel said to Siwoo, who was puzzled.
“Look into AIN.”
When I closed my eyes and entered AIN, I saw the changes.
First of all, a bottom that I couldn’t normally perceive had appeared.
And in the middle of it, a huge door was placed.
The door was tightly wrapped with multiple layers of chains.
“If they are in contact like paper, erosion might occur at any time. Like your left arm. So I minimized the contact point between the two souls and sealed it with a ‘door’. What I’ve done is a temporary measure, so use your magic to lock it even more tightly.”
“Thank you.”
“But keep in mind. The fact that there is a door means that it’s easier to control, but on the other hand, it can become a passage.”
I don’t know how appropriate Gretel’s measures were.
But if she diagnosed and even treated a problem that Count Kohab and Yebin couldn’t solve in one go, her skills in this matter would be reliable.
“I’ll teach you how to manage the door of AIN. Since I promised to let you enter Gehenna anyway, we’ll be able to see each other often.”
“I will keep that promise. And thanks to you, I survived. I learned a lot.”
After the diagnosis and temporary treatment, the lovers gathered again.
There was no need to stay here for long, so they left the mansion, leaving Gretel, who said she would take a rest, without a farewell.
I can’t seem to shake off the uneasy feeling.
Keter is the greatest witch in history.
Such a witch has played tricks on me.
I intuitively know that this is not a normal matter.
The prophecy institution.
A place that shows the future of witches and sometimes gives prophecies.
If the witch of apocalypse had come all the way to give a dream revelation, it would be to show a meaningful future.
Siwoo and Eloa hid their troubled feelings, pretending to be nonchalant, and headed to their second destination.
