#12. Past
On that day, five years ago, the biggest star in the world went out.
Decline is dead.
It was an indisputable fact. Sophien watched the moment of his death.
FSHSH!
Top of a snow-capped mountain.
With eyes beyond human capabilities, Sophien watched the scenery inside Rohakan's hut.
- Brother.
Yeriel called Declain. Declain smiled at her.
Sophien personally oversaw the last conversation between the two of them.
- Yeriel.
Declain held out his hand to comfort his grieving sister.
- ... why were you hiding? Yeriel asked.
She tried not to cry, but her voice trembled.
"I wasn't hiding," Declain replied.
At that moment, Ellie stepped a step closer and bowed her head. It was a modest and simple greeting.
Looking at her gaze, which was deeper than a hundred words, Declain nodded his head in response.
With that, they said goodbye.
Declain then spoke to Yeriel again.
- I was waiting.
Sophien rested her chin on her hand and smiled.
These words were warm and caring. So addressed to each other those who were related by blood.
Even though Yeriel didn't have a drop of Uklaine's blood, he accepted her as his sister.
"...you're doing great."
Each of his words warmed like the sun.
- I am doing my best.
Yeriel wept at Declain's praise.
However, it was impossible to tell from her tear-stained expression whether she was happy or sad.
- So you were watching me? Yeriel asked, squeezing his hand.
Her tears fell on his hand.
"Yes, Yeriel," Declain said. - You're doing well. And you will be fine in the future.
It was sincere praise.
- So there is nothing to be sad about. I can rely on you.
Declan smiled. Raising his body slightly, he hugged Yeriel tightly.
Because you are my sister.
After that, there was a loud roar.
Yeriel could no longer contain her emotions. The cry of her heart filled the hut.
- ...
Looking at her, Sophien thought.
Will this Yeriel be able to control her emotions in the future? Her sanity evaporated, making any judgment impossible. It would be good if she didn't faint.
- Yes. Because I am your sister.
…however, Yeriel regained her composure sooner than Sophien expected. She bit her lip and wiped away her tears with the hem of her sleeve. Then she buried her face into Declain's chest.
She is the head of the family with the same determination and will as Declain.
- Thanks a lot. AND…
She did not want to waste the last moments of his life only on sadness, so she decided to let out everything that was in her heart all these years, leaving no regrets behind ...
- I love you.
She always wanted to say something she had never said before. At least now she could not remain silent.
- I'm glad you're my brother.
At that moment, Declain smiled warmly and replied:
“…thank you, Yeriel.”
However, his smile was temporary.
The body, whose heart had stopped, had already reached its limit by that time and was just waiting for Yeriel to release it.
Accepting his own death, which he had long sought, Declain slowly closed his eyes.
- Rest in peace, brother.
Yeriel also accepted his death.
#13. The present
- …I did not like it.
Sophien looked at Ifrin, fishing on the shore of the lake.
- What didn't you like? Ifrin asked.
"I don't want to put up with his death," Sophien said.
Ifrin tilted her head.
- And what does it mean? Is there any way?
It was a calm, sunny day. From outside came the chirping of birds.
They talked in the mountains, where people rarely appeared, and where nature remained untouched.
- Aren't you a mage? Your specialty is to create an opportunity, even if there isn't one.
- There is no turning back.
Ifrin frowned.
“Even if it is possible, we cannot distort a timeline that already exists.
Ifrin was strict in her words.
To meet Declain, she will be able to sacrifice "all her being", but this will only concern "her".
For her own purposes, she cannot sacrifice anything that is not herself.
This is the philosophy of Ifrin and Declein.
- Ha. Nothing to worry about. Your dedication will be enough.
- ...
Holding the fishing rod in her hands, Ifrin looked at Sophien.
Sophien looked straight ahead at the water.
- Particles of time.
- …what?
- Particles of time.
This is the name of a theory that Declain gave to Ifrin in Lokralen 5 years ago. It was a miracle accomplished by the joint efforts of a teacher and a student.
"They say it's the magic you learned in Lokralen."
BRR!
The rod lingered. The float began to sink.
- AND?
With her help, we can do it.
- What…
- As you remember, shortly after Declain's death, a meteorite fell in the north.
Meteorite.
Ifrin thought for a moment, then nodded.
“The day Your Majesty and I traveled together to the future…”
- Yes.
In the past, Sofien and Ifrin traveled together into the future.
There, Ifrin received a wand from Declain.
The last gift that the deceased Declain left her.
- I have a fragment of this meteorite.
- ...
Ifrin's pupils fluttered. She looked at Sophien with concern on her face.
- And also...
Click!
Sophien snapped her fingers.
At that moment, the bushes behind them stirred. Looking around, Ifrin made a funny expression, but quickly smiled.
- Hi. Haven't seen you for a long time," a dry voice rang out.
She was the only woman Archmage Ifrin could call her friend.
Silvia.
“Greetings, Archmage Ifrin.
In addition, there was another person who called her an archmage. The continent's greatest adventurer who was no longer a child.
- Ria, Sylvia. Why are you both here?
However, Ifrin's joy was temporary. She suddenly frowned.
Riya smiled widely. For some reason, her gaze and posture were full of confidence.
- ...
Ifrin stood up without saying a word. The mana in her body also began to move.
Of course, this unexpected meeting is as pleasant as it is sudden, but as an archmage in charge of protecting causality and providence, as the leader of the continent's magic world, she must eliminate any serious threat.
- What did you think? Ifrin asked quietly.
The pressure of magic power was so great that it would immediately suffocate an ordinary person.
But Riya smiled softly anyway.
- I thought you'd like it.
- If you want to distort the passage of time...
- There is a better way than this.
Riya is from the Red Pomegranate adventurer team. Having received the title of "Continent's Best Adventurer" for the past 5 years, she was now almost the same height as Ifrin.
- If only….
Looking straight into her eyes, Riya explained:
- If it turns out that the professor is not actually dead. No, if we make it so, then it will be possible.
It was the most absurd sentence that she said with the most serious expression on her face.
#14. Rohakan Hut
Nothing is impossible. That's what sorcerers usually say.
The causality of the world is not just a dichotomy between "possible" and "impossible", but the "possibility" that exists between them. Therefore, a real magician is looking for this opportunity. No matter how impossible something may seem, he will embark on the path of possibilities, not sparing his soul.
"I agree with that idea," Sylvia said.
She is also a kind of "true magician".
- ...
Ifrin, on the other hand, was silent.
She was now in Rohakan's hut, pondering over Riya's words.
- You want to deceive the world? It's still hard to understand.
Deceive the world.
This is the essence of Riya's suggestion: "Declain may not actually be dead."
- Is it possible? It's not impossible.
- ...
- First of all, it does not contradict providence. It's not about bringing the dead back to life, and it's not about turning back time.
Ifrin nodded her head at Sylvia's words.
The content of this absurd plan was simple.
The first step is to create a [Passage] leading to the past using Time Particles. Return for a brief moment to the time when Eternal Winter froze the entire continent.
It will take a lot of effort, mana, a catalyst, an intermediary, and sacrifices just to complete this first step, but it will be successful anyway.
Then the second step: find Declain, who went into hibernation ten thousand years ago, and "hide" him from the world.
"Have you developed magic yet?" Ifrin asked Sylvia.
Sylvia's job was to "hide" Declane, and she's already been successful.
She calmly replied:
“I made it look like [Outworld] as much as possible.
And she embodied this magic in the form of a form that she was very proud of.
- Canvas?
- Yes.
Canvas.
Declan's hiding space, created by using hundreds of millions of elne and many mana stones from Marik. There he can hide from the eyes of the world.
- …and what's next?
- There are many paintings in the lighthouse gallery. Hang a canvas among them, then come back...
There was no need to talk about the third and last step.
Meeting with a professor.
- ... this is absurd.
Ifrin smiled bitterly.
Sylvia nodded her head in the same way.
- To her.
Archmage Ifrin and de facto Archmage Sylvia. Even though these two mages thought it was an absurd plan...
- It's possible. I'm sure.
The adventurer Rhya was more confident than anyone else in the possibility of saving Declain.
"I was there the last day of the professor's life," Ria said.
She turned the chair around in front of her and leaned her chest against its back.
- In his last moments.
Declan's last moments.
And at the same time, Kim Woojin's last moments.
Although too late, she knew who was Kim Woojin, who came into this world, and Declan.
At that moment, Professor...
He was different. His appearance, voice, and face were slightly different from Declan's before hibernation.
Of course, his death will remain an indisputable fact.
"We'll save the dormant professor, spend time with him, and before the professor dies, we'll bring him back to this timeline."
- But…
Just when Ifrin was about to say something, Riya interrupted her, putting her out of her worries:
- Until then, the progress of [Understanding] will stop. To deceive the world means to temporarily cut off all connection with these forces or talents. So the professor will remain human.
“…are you so sure about that?”
Ifrin had a very frightened face, but Riya smiled.
- Yes. But don't expect the professor to live very long.
Declan has already done too much. This is a man who brought his soul and body to the limit.
He can live only one year, or maybe 30 years.
“Besides, the professor we saved must one day return to this timeline and meet his death. Just like it happened five years ago in this hut.
However, his final moments are not going anywhere. Declain must return to this "five-year-old hut" and wait for Yeriel and his own death.
- Only in this way will the world be deceived, and thus we will save Ifrin in Lokralen.
385 years in Lokralen.
Ifrin cannot and should not endure this time alone. What's more, she's already been through this with Declain. Whatever the future of Declane, he will definitely return to this timeline.
- Of course, this interference will cause slight distortion. However... you know, don't you?
Riya pointed to Ifrin.
- What should happen, will definitely happen.
#15. experiences
Late night in the north. Rohakan's hut.
After Declain's death in this place, which Ifrin had inherited from Rohakan, Ifrin was now engrossed in creating the [Passage] leading to the past.
- Ha-ah...
It was very difficult. Even though she is an archmage who controls time, the gap between past and present is too great. Fortunately, the fragment of the meteorite that should be the catalyst for the miracle was shining brightly on her desk right now.
But even if things were going according to Riya's "optimism", any mistake could become extremely serious.
It is worth opening this passage and there will be a possibility of temporary confusion. From the moment the passage is opened to the moment it is closed, this opportunity will grow exponentially.
If even the slightest calculation is wrong, then the destruction of the world that Professor Declain was able to prevent...
Clap!
A hand rested on her shoulder.
- I see you have a problem.
That voice belonged to Sophien.
Ifrin looked at her and smiled bitterly.
- Yes. I have a problem, but everything is fine. It's OK.
If such a situation arises, Ifrin knew how to deal with it.
Then she stretched and asked Sophia:
- By the way, how are you?
- What do you mean? Sophien answered, sitting in the chair across from her.
- A world without a professor. It's been quite a while, hasn't it?
- ...yeah. Five years.
There was no emotion in Sophien's voice. She was once again a bored empress, uninterested in anything.
- Nonsense in every sense...
She looked at Ifrin to gauge the emotions that would show on her face.
- The world is a very mysterious thing, and everything in the world is meaningless to me ...
Suddenly, the empress closed her eyes, as if trying to remember someone's face, and smiled faintly.
“But without this world, I wouldn’t have met the person I loved the most.
- ...
- Those who do what is right should be rewarded, and those who commit crimes should be punished.
Sophien looked at Ifrin's table.
The formula for the giant magic that opens the [Passage]. The papers on which it was written were neatly arranged.
“So I will reward Declain for saving this continent.
Sophien grabbed a pencil and corrected some of the parts of the formula that Ifrin had been thinking about.
“This is the world he saved, so it doesn't make sense that he can't live in it anymore.
- BUT?!
Ifrin opened her eyes wide when she saw the corrections.
- For the sake of a loved one, I can sacrifice everything I can.
Sophien smiled softly and looked at Ifrin.
- Get ready. It's time to get down to business.
Ifrin immediately jumped to her feet. Her heart beat faster. She felt her brain tighten for the first time in a long time.
- Your Majesty the Empress!
She witnessed an insight that penetrates the essence of magic and the mind and goes beyond the level of an archmage.
- Haha. Now you're calling me empress again.
Sophien grinned mischievously and said:
Let's save that impudent professor.
