Ch. 126

She had a dream.

It was a dream where everything was burning.

In the dream world, not a single thing remained unscathed.

The shining civilization of Aether World was destroyed by a single entity, and even the Stella Academy couldn't escape the destruction.

In the midst of the ruins, Eisel stood alone.

There was not a single survivor.

In the place where everyone had disappeared, Eisel simply walked through the world which had silently perished.

There was no sadness, no anger, no despair. She raised her head and locked eyes with something. It was alive yet not alive.

Could one truly call that a living being, considering that it brought death to everyone?

Catastrophe slowly approached Eisel, and as she opened her mouth to say something, and tried to concentrate...

"Huh!"

She regained consciousness. Then, she made eye contact with a young girl who was staring at her.

It was her friend, Marlene.

"Hello?"

She greeted Eisel with a smile as pretty as a crescent moon.

"... Ah?!"

Thud!

"Kyaaah!"

Eisel screamed, and jumped up from her place, only to bump heads with Marlene.

"Ugh..."

Marlene clutched her forehead as she tumbled out of bed, and mumbled, "I'm not that ugly, but if people get scared by my face..."

"Sorry... I'm sorry."

Eisel belatedly realized that this was a hospital room, and came to the fact that she had been unconscious.

"... How much time has passed?"

"It's been almost a night, I think."

"Yeah. How hard did you study to faint out of exhaustion?"

In addition to Marlene, there were a few more friends in the room, who had come to visit under the guise of 'checking on her health' and were teasing her.

"Faint out of exhaustion?"

"Yeah. Don't you remember? The doctor said you fainted from overworking."

"Heh, it's always the top students who are the real weirdos. They work so hard even when they're already doing well, right?"

While it was true that she had over exerted herself, she hadn't fainted to that extent.

On the contrary, the reason for her fainting...

"..."

Eisel's expression gradually stiffened as she belatedly realized why she had fainted, but her friends couldn't know.

"Oh, by the way, that's a bit strange. When you fainted, the Stella Knights were guarding you."

"Yeah, we felt like we became nobility for a moment. It was quite an experience."

"The Knights...?"

"Yes. But they just left as soon as you woke up."

"Ah..."

Eisel touched her forehead with her hand, pondered for a moment, and then smiled faintly.

"Thank you for visiting me."

"... Huh?"

Seeing her expression, her friends wore puzzled expressions.

Eisel's beautiful smile gradually brightened the hospital room along with the sneaking sunshine, and softly whispered along with the breeze.

The moment left everyone speechless for a fleeting second.

Then, the girls regained their composure, and suddenly broke into smiles.

"A pretty girl looks even more stunning when she smiles."

"Don't say that."

"Huh?"

"Ugh, let's not talk about that."

Eisel's friends started chattering again.

Watching them suppressing their voices since they were in a hospital, Eisel felt genuinely thankful.

In the next second, when the door opened and someone walked in, the room fell into instant silence.

"You're awake. We have something to discuss, so you'll be discharged soon."

Stella's Chief Knight Arien had come personally.

Eisel walked alongside Arien, unable to hide her discomfort.

In the past, there had been no issue walking together in the sparsely populated Orion Magic Tower, but this time, as they strolled through the Academy branch, she attracted an enormous amount of attention.

'Ugh...'

Whether she was uncomfortable or not, Arien remained stoic, and led her toward the First Tower.

The destination was none other than the Principal's office.

'Why are we... here?'

Knock!

As Arien knocked, the door automatically opened.

Thud!

Then it closed.

"Huh...?"

When she came to her senses, Eisel found herself inside the Principal's office.

"You're here."

Eltman Eltwin, the head of Stella Academy, greeted them leisurely.

Eisel was momentarily dumbfounded while looking at Eltman Eltwin's somewhat boyish smile, but she soon realized the blunder, and shock surfaced on her face.

'What in the world...!'

A sudden visit to the Principal's office, and meeting the Principal himself!

Arien nodded to Eltwin and then walked away.

"I'll take my leave now."

"Very well. Please be more careful from now on."

"Understood."

Thunk!

Arien left the spot in the blink of an eye, and Eltwin smiled wryly, saying, "Well, we have something to discuss, don't we?"

"Yes? Ah..."

Understanding Eltwin's intention, Eisel nodded and took her seat.

"First of all, there's something I want to ask."

"Yes."

"Did your father ever tell you not to trust Arien?"

Eisel shuddered. In fact, her father had actually said that many times.

"How...?"

"Well, he had his reasons. He particularly disliked people like Arien. But you didn't follow your father's advice, did you? That's why you nearly died, you know?"

"... Yes?"

Eltwin made a quick gesture into the air, and without even a staff, he summoned magic, and the space distorted.

He summoned a teacup and a teapot out of thin air, and poured tea.

"Even a Class 3 mage would have a hard time meddling with Star Archive. You probably had a 99.99% chance of dying."

"... What?!"

Eisel let out an incredulous sound upon learning the extent of the danger, and Eltwin chuckled.

"Well, the fact that it didn't happen means there's a 0.01% chance that a miracle happened, so congratulations. Do you want to go buy a lottery ticket? Oh, wait, you've already used up all your luck, haven't you?"

"I... I could have died..."

A 99% chance of dying?

She had never heard such a thing.

"You probably didn't hear it before. Since Arien wanted to manipulate you, it's logical not to emphasize the danger, right? A naive girl like Eisel Morph probably just fell for it and read 'Star Archive' without asking about the risks."

"..."

It was true.

Eisel was at fault for blindly trusting Arien's words and reading 'Star Archive' without inquiring about the risks.

"But in truth, Arien was also sincere. It seemed like that kid really wanted to save Baek Yu-Seol. In the process..."

Eltwin met Eisel's eyes, whose complexion had turned pale.

"Your life probably didn't matter to him at all."

"Right... I see..."

"Ahaha, don't worry. I've given him a good scolding. You won't do it again, will you?"

Even as he said that, Eisel's heart continued to race with unease, knowing that she had narrowly escaped death.

"... It's just my personal opinion."

Eltwin said with a cheerful smile.

As the atmosphere suddenly became heavier, Eisel steadied herself and focused on his words.

"This is by no means a miracle or a coincidence. Something... some kind of fate saved you."

"Fate..."

"The 'Star Archive' seems to be open to the descendants of the Twelve Disciples."

Why was that?

Eisel had no idea about the reason, and fidgeted with her fingers, but it seemed like this aspect intrigued Eltwin greatly.

"Isn't it fascinating? A mere library, even one filled with knowledge, has the power to choose who enters. It goes beyond magic; it's mysterious. As a mage who interprets reality with magic, it might sound absurd, but there are still many mysteries in this world that I don't know. One of them is the Constellation Project, and even I have no knowledge of the secrets hidden there."

However,

"You've glimpsed part of that secret, and you sensed it directly with your eyes, ears, nose, skin, tongue, and even your mind. How does it feel?"

Thump!

Eltwin slammed his hands on the desk with an intense face, and leaned closer to Eisel.

"Did it make your heart race? Did it excite you? Or were you scared? Has your curiosity been satisfied to that extent?"

"Uh, well..."

Frightened, Eisel stepped back and trembled. Eltwin belatedly realized his mistake, backed away, and apologized calmly.

"... Sorry, I got carried away for a moment."

He calmly sipped his tea, but his fingertips were trembling slightly.

"Anyway... you must never disclose what you experienced there to the outside world."

"Why not?"

"The knowledge there is literally the will of the heavens."

He said it matter-of-factly.

"To leak heavenly secrets is to go against the will of the heavens. Your head will explode, and you'll die."

"Gasp..."

To think that she had tried to peek at such dangerous knowledge.

Eisel realized just how perilous her actions had been.

"But... there are exceptions."

Eltwin drew his staff. It was the first time she had seen the Principal's staff in action, so she parted her lips slightly in surprise.

Encased in a mysterious aura which appeared like frost smudged on a pure white branch, the name of the staff was 'Karbi Sikututu.'

It was a rare staff which specialized in manipulating spatial magic, one of the few in the Aether World.

Thunk...!

He struck the floor with his staff, and a mysterious golden shimmer enveloped the room.

"There's a special enchantment on the Principal's office. If I wish, for a short while, I can 'isolate the world from this space. But the cost is a significant depletion of my own lifespan..."

Eltwin licked his lips and continued, "The price would be more than reasonable if, in exchange, I could hear what happened in 'Star Archive.' So tell me. What happened there?"

Eisel closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and then, in a trembling voice, she slowly began to narrate what she had witnessed there.

"The world... was on fire. The sky was filled with a red meteor shower, and a black dragon brought destruction to the world. No one could stand against it, except for one person."

"Baek Yu-Seol... he was heading towards the Black Dragon."

"Hmm. So it came to that."

Even after hearing the story, Eltwin didn't seem particularly surprised, as if he had been expecting it.

"I was so terrified... even the Stella Academy was burning, and I thought something unimaginable had happened..."

However, there was more to the story.

Despite hearing the recount of the world's end, Eltman showed little reaction.

However, he reacted strangely to the news of Stella Academy's destruction.

"Wait, did you just say Stella burned down...?"

"Yes? Uh, yes...."

"I need a more detailed description."

"Well, uh... I thought it was half-ruined, and at first, I almost couldn't recognize it as Stella."

"Is that so?"

'Why is he reacting like this?'

'Is Stella more important to him than the world?'

'After all, if the world had ended, wouldn't it be natural for Stella to collapse too?'

'At what point was he surprised?'

Unfortunately, Eisel's question remained unanswered and immediately led to the next question.

"So, did you confirm what caused Stella to collapse? What happened to the people who died?"

"Well, I, I'm not sure...."

"Was it caused by a meteor shower?"

"Oh, I don't know…"

"What about the people? Why did they die?"

"I, I don't... How they died exactly... They must have had injuries."

"Did they die from the Black Dragon, or if not, maybe from someone else?"

"...I don't know!!"

Thud!

Clatter!

Unable to endure the continuous questions, Eisel jumped up with a cry, and the teacup in Eltman's hand fell.

… Silence from Eltman.

'Ah.'

Realizing her mistake belatedly, Eisel's face turned pale, and she attempted to apologize, but Eltman bowed his head before her.

"... I'm sorry. I asked hurriedly because there's no time. I was thoughtless."

Eltman's complexion was ashen as he slowly lifted his head again. It was as if he might collapse any moment.

It wasn't an illusion.

Fresh crimson blood was flowing out of his lips.

"... Alright, let's move on to the next question. This part doesn't seem to be something you want to recall."

"Well, um, I think you're pushing yourself too hard…"

"No, this much is fine, it doesn't matter…"

Eltman forcefully held the teacup with trembling hands.

Even though it seemed like he might faint, he was almost obsessed with the desire to hold the cup.

It left Eisel with no choice but to remain silent.

"Perhaps that's... an event from the past."

Eltman's voice had become much more weary than before, a sign of exhaustion.

"The past... there has been no end of the world, right?"

"Yes... but in this world, there are beings that can manipulate time…"

One of the Twelve New Moon, the Eleventh Moon Silver.

"Maybe that being... tampered with the world line…"

"Could it be…"

If that were true, then the event witnessed by Eisel had actually occurred in the distant past.

"However, the power of the Eleventh Moon Silver merely repeats the time, and one can't change anything... it's an event from the past but also something that will happen in the future."

"In the future... the world ends?"

"... Yes."

It wasn't difficult to speculate when that time might be. In the world within the Star Archives, Baek Yu-Seol, who had fought alone against the Black Dragon, appeared to be roughly ten years older than he did now.

"..... The spring of the eleventh month of the lunar calendar always repeats around someone. In other words, the possibility that someone who turned back time is still alive in the present is high. But, we can't know who that is!"

When Eltman coughed lightly, blood flowed.

Meanwhile, Eisel thought to herself.

She didn't tell him, but... She definitely shouted to the Star Archive, 'Tell me about Baek Yu-Seol.'

But, when showing someone's past, wouldn't it be normal to show their childhood?

Wouldn't it be normal to show what happened in the 'world line before time was turned back'?

'Could it be Baek Yu-Seol...?'

A thought slowly emerged in Eisel's mind.

At the edge of the world, Baek Yu-Seol fought alone against the black dragon until the very end.

He was eventually defeated by the Black Dragon and made the choice to turn back time...

'No way… really?'

In her mind, a puzzle began to fit together.

Why had Baek Yu-Seol been acting that way all this time?

How could he have such unique ideas, exceptional combat sense, and broad knowledge, even as a teenager?

Even his mature demeanor was beyond his age.

'No, no. I still don't know anything…'

… But, if it's true.

After being defeated by the Black Dragon and failing to prevent the world's destruction, he had no choice but to turn back time.

"Eisel..."

With a half-dead face, Eltman slowly opened his mouth.

"As of now, we don't know anything... To prepare to prevent the world from ending, we need to see more... Your current strength is not enough..."

In other words, Eisel's level must become higher.

If not that…

"... What if we browse the Star Archive along with the descendants of the other Twelve Disciples and join forces... Cough!"

"Principal!"

Finally, Eltman was unable to hold on any longer, fell to the ground, and the barrier was released.

Clang!

"Principal!"

"Are you alright?"

To check the reaction inside the principal's office, the knights urgently opened the door and escorted Eltman.

Eisel stood there in a daze, lost and helpless to do anything.

In her mind... the horrifying possibilities were coming alive.