Chapter 108: Record of Regression (1) (2/2)

“It was too big to be a bird…”

Carlos still looked into the sky as Yeriel pressed Ganesha again.

“Forget it. I have something to tell you, come to the castle.”

“Oh, hahaha. We would love to, too, but we have a mission…”

Ganesha smiled bitterly at her.

─Immediately after.

“…Huh? What is this?”

Ganesha murmured to herself, her eyes widening slightly.

“Leo? Lia? Ross? What are you, why are you here? Why am I here, again?”

Everyone tilted their heads at Ganesha’s words, except for Yeriel, who watched her with narrow eyes.

“Don’t be weird. Quickly follow me.”

“Huh? Oh, that…”

“Hurry! I’ll give you as much money as you want!”

Yeriel and her vassals dragged the Red Garnet Adventure Team away.

* * *

「The Darkness of the Imperial Palace · Devil’s Mirror: Episode 1」

…Here, the rule of the world in the mirror was easy to understand. The flow of time was the same. Sophien on the other side of the mirror and me in the mirror were sharing the same time. No one was faster or slower.

So, today was the second day since I entered the basement.

—I am dying.

It was a sad confession from an eight-year-old child.

-It is an incurable disease. Everyone knows it. They watch me with pity… those damn eyes are disgusting.

I did not avoid Sophien’s gaze as she looked into my eyes through the mirror. Then, she offered me a small smile.

—There is no emotion in your eyes, so it’s not bad… but there are many more annoying things these days.

“What?”

─At night, every night, mosquito-like things appear in my dreams…

“Can you describe their appearance?”

Sophien sighed.

-They look like bats. They just fly around. But at other times, they look like flies, and at other times they look like monsters. But they always fly around.

I nodded.

“They are demons.”

—Demons?

“Yes.”

A demon that flew but had no specific shape. I knew this guy’s setup all too well with Kim Woojin’s memory and the Yukline bloodline’s instinct. The demon – Nescĭus. They floated like ghosts and were difficult to deal with as they had no set appearance other than to take on the visage that their target was most afraid of.

─A demon.

I still didn’t know what their purpose was. However, it was certain that this demon was related to the Altar. This Nescĭus was a demon directly summoned by the Altar in the story.

─Hmm, cough- cough-!

Sophien coughed, blood staining her palm. Taking a deep breath, she continued.

-How do you know that? Oh, you are a professor, after all… well, anyway. Last week, I hired an escort under my direct control.

I looked at Sophien. At only eight years old, she appeared more mature than the current Emperor Sophien.

—It’s a guy named Keiron… I don’t think it will be necessary for long. I will die soon. I might not get even tomorrow.

Sophien stretched out her index finger and pointed at me. More precisely, she pointed at the mirror.

-Maybe I’ll say goodbye to you too. The mysterious and cheeky professor who clings to this mirror, a guy who I can talk to with ease. I like that look in your eyes.

Saying that Sophien laughed. Blood dripped from the corners of her lips. I shook my head.

“No.”

─…What?

“This is not a farewell.”

─What?

“I will always be a part of your process. And at the end of this process, I will be there too.”

─….

Sophien looked at me; then she shook her head.

—I hope so, but it won’t happen. Because you’re an illusion created by my disease. Hahaha.

Sophien laughed and bled.

-Ugh-!

Painful groans filled the room, and the blood of an eight-year-old kid covered the mirror.

-Waaaaaaahhh…

The last cry of a child who acted like an adult.

─At that moment.

The whole world was engulfed in darkness. I saw the status window floating in the air.

“Episode 1”

Chichik—

The number ‘one’ shook and trembled, then advanced.

“Episode 2”

Just now, Sophien had died.

“…Your Majesty.”

The whole world slowly broke simultaneously as Sophien regressed, shards raining down like a shattered mirror.

“We will meet again.”

Boom–!

The door to the basement closed.

* * *

“Deculein.”

Keiron’s voice shook my mind to consciousness. With my eyes wide open, I quickly grasped my situation. I was back at the Imperial Palace.

‘The real Imperial Palace.’

I was expelled right after the first episode concluded.

“Keiron, how many days have passed?”

I asked again, having understood.

“It hasn’t even been a day. Don’t get me wrong and listen.”

However, Keiron wore an unusually bewildered expression.

“I’m back from the next day, tomorrow.”

“…”

I looked at Keiron, noting his embarrassed expression.

“Are you talking about the ‘regression’?”

“…Oh! Yes. That’s the right word. I’ve been looking for a way to explain this phenomenon, but that was the word. Right. I regressed, just one day.”

Without a word, I turned my eyes to the basement door. That rustic wooden door.

Knock, knock-

I knocked and shook the doorknob. Nothing changed, and yet the door wouldn’t open. It was probably not time to start the second episode yet.

“Deculein. It’s hard to accept, but you have to believe me. I regressed from tomorrow to today-“

“Yes, I believe you. It seems that Nescĭus has escaped from this underground prison.”

“…Nescĭus?”

“It is a kind of appearances. By any chance, have you ever cut down an unknown entity?”

Keiron’s eyes flickered.

“Yes. Tomorrow night, it’s weird, but something came out of this basement hallway, and I cut it down.”

I nodded.

“Then, this is probably right. It must have been carrying her regression.”

“Carrying it?”

“Yes. Just as a bee collects nectar from a flower and delivers it to the hive.”

Though still vague, the true purpose of this quest was growing clearer. Why the demon touched Sophien’s memory, and why the Altar covered Sophien’s power.

“Explain in detail.”

Keiron, at least for now, was the most reliable person.

“This is the correct way to resurrect God.”

“God?”

“Yes. They were looking for a body. Then, all that is left will be the spirit.”

The Altar had entrusted the body to Arlos. Whether it was created by Arlos or obtained from someone else, once they had a body, the next was the soul.

“Ordinary humans have one body and one soul, so if the soul regresses, it regresses to the past with the body. Keiron, just like you.”

Tomorrow’s Keiron had regressed to today. The body and soul were the same- living.

“What if it’s not ordinary?”

“If you are not an ordinary human being, that is, already dead, the body and soul cannot be separated. Therefore, if the artificially manufactured body is fixed in the present and only the soul is regressed….”

What if Sophien’s power (Regression) was collected for tens, hundreds, or even thousands of years and implanted into someone that had already died? What if, while fixing the body in the present, only the soul is returned to its living days?

“He will surely rise again.”

The most important part of the main quest was how the Resurrection of God occurred.

“…But why did I regress? Has Her Majesty’s power flowed out?”

Hearing those words, Keiron also seemed to be aware of Sophien’s regression.

“No. It’s because you cut down the Nescĭus. What he was carrying has flowed into you. As I said, it’s just like a bee. You captured some of the honey carried by a dead bee.”

“Aha.”

Keiron’s eyes widened. It was a pretty cute reaction for a knight in his late 30s. I glanced again at the wooden door.

“Keiron. From now on, it’s urgent. If this door opens again, please contact me as soon as possible. Also, if you run into any more Nescĭus, you can keep cutting them down as you do now. Contact me through this.”

I handed him a Bibliography.

“I’ll do that.”

Keiron nodded, determination scrawled upon his face.