745

 [Chapter 191]

[Soul-Returning Ceremony]

June of the 17th year of Seonryeok.

The soul-returning ceremony began at the Mana Religion.

People came from all over the country to honor the deaths of their loved ones.

Don't cry, smile.

We are everywhere.

We, whom you remember.

We will become a thousand winds.

And be by your side.

Singing the Mana Religion's hymn.

People with gloomy faces all headed towards the old National Assembly building.

Meanwhile, most of them were holding something preciously in their arms.

"These are apples my child liked. He always asked me to peel apples for him. I should bring what my child liked when I go to see him."

"This... is the last clothes my wife wore. They told us to bring things with the deceased's memories. But this clothes came to mind first. Haha..."

Belongings of the deceased.

Or things the deceased enjoyed eating while alive.

They were holding things with memories of the deceased in their arms.

These were items the Mana Religion announced were needed to participate in the soul-returning ceremony.

And among them─

"─This is my father. I heard we need to bring the medium most closely related to my father to summon his soul."

Some even brought the bone powder of the deceased.

The Mana Religion actively encouraged this.

They even operated a columbarium inside the Mana Religion.

Believers took out urns containing the bone powder of the deceased from the columbarium to participate in the soul-returning ceremony for this day.

"─I know it's superstition. I know it's impossible to summon dead people with magic."

"To others, I probably look like someone crazy about a pseudo-religion. I know too. I know well that summoning the souls of dead people is nonsense."

"But it doesn't matter. It's okay."

""""That's right.""""

"If this can ease my mind and we can share our sorrows together, that's enough."

Believers who joined the Mana Religion.

Not all of them were fanatics.

They didn't think they could really meet dead people at the soul-returning ceremony.

They just place meaning in the act.

Also, by honoring their deaths, they steel their hearts to live a new life.

That was the positive function of the soul-returning ceremony.

☆

The soul-returning ceremony began.

On this day, the old National Assembly building was packed with people from all over the country.

Even Mana Religion officials were overwhelmed, to the point of mobilizing volunteers to deploy manpower.

It must mean there are many people living in sorrow, as many as the number of people who came to the soul-returning ceremony.

Under the name of the Dangsan Clan.

Eun-ha was also standing guard with his clan members.

At first, there was friction with Mana Religion believers.

Believers who recognized Eun-ha tried to angrily drive him out.

But they had no justification to stop him, and believers who couldn't cause problems at the soul-returning ceremony had no choice but to give up.

Furthermore, Eun-ha stubbornly took on the job of guarding the venue where the soul-returning ceremony was being held.

I wanted to watch closely from the ceremony hall rather than the spectator seats, but it can't be helped.

Of course, not for the believers.

For Eun-ha, it could be said he compromised adequately.

Eun-ha quietly looked down at the semicircular hall.

It was packed with people.

Those who couldn't enter were said to be holding the soul-returning ceremony through monitor broadcasts outdoors.

Eun-ha felt disgruntled while listening to the conversations of players standing guard like himself.

Even though the scale had decreased compared to before the regression, it was still considerable.

"By the way, where are the kids? It's hard to find them with so many people..."

"Peep peep peep pa pa pa poo poo poo!"

Meanwhile, Eun-ha looked for his clan members.

Unfortunately, he couldn't bring all the clan members.

Work was pouring into the Pandora Clan, and there was no convincing reason to mobilize everyone.

So Eun-ha discussed with Han Seo-hyeon and selected personnel within what the clan could handle.

"Ah, there they are."

Hoshimiya Kaede, Jin Parang, Kim Min-ji, Iriya.

Eun-ha was soon able to find the clan members who came with him.

They were also carrying out guard duty, patrolling the hall from the upper floor.

Of course, they didn't look tense.

It was understandable since it looked like just a religious event on the surface.

All the players gathered here would probably think the same.

─I hope that's the case.

I hope nothing happens.

Eun-ha wanted to pray for that too.

He hoped it was just groundless worry.

He hoped his intuition was wrong.

When he was thinking that.

"─I didn't expect to meet the Pandora Clan Lord in a place like this."

"Ah... Samra Clan Lord. Hello."

Samra Clan Lord Chong Eun-ju.

She recognized Eun-ha and approached him.

Eun-ha blinked seeing her in a place like this.

What's someone with jurisdiction in Gwangjin-gu doing here?

Most players on guard duty were from districts adjacent to Yeongdeungpo-gu.

So he couldn't help but wonder about the Samra Clan Lord.

She seemed to feel the same.

She asked bluntly.

But her tone was somewhat prickly.

"You must have had more than enough work to do without having to work here... What brings you here?"

"I'm interested in the soul-returning ceremony event. If it's okay... I was thinking of holding a similar event at the cathedral in our clan's basement."

"Ah, you mean that pseudo-religion that praises the Pandora Clan Lord."

"...What about you, Samra Clan Lord? What brings you here?"

"I received a request from the Naru Clan Lord who oversees Yeongdeungpo-gu. I agreed to help with the work due to personal connections."

"Ah, I see."

""...""

Samra Clan Lord <Earth Dragon> Chong Eun-ju.

Her gaze was not friendly.

Eun-ha guessed from their conversation that she didn't think well of him.

Is it because I'm close with Seo-young noona?

He had such a thought.

Soon Eun-ha denied the thought.

A clan lord of an A+ rank clan wouldn't show an unkind attitude for just such a reason.

In the end, he couldn't understand why.

"Well then, good work. I should go look around elsewhere."

"Pandora Clan Lord."

But there was no need to keep dealing with her when she wasn't friendly.

There was nothing more to say either.

Eun-ha turned around.

At that moment, she quickly called out.

"─Don't you have anything to say to me?"

"What?"

An abrupt question.

Eun-ha asked back, unable to understand the intent of the question.

Then Chong Eun-ju frowned.

"You should have something to say to me?"

"...I don't have anything to say though?"

"..."

"Tell me. What's wrong?"

Had he done something wrong?

He couldn't remember anything.

To begin with, Eun-ha had never been directly involved with Chong Eun-ju.

Eun-ha tilted his head.

To this, Chong Eun-ju turned her head sharply.

"...It's nothing. I must have mistaken you for someone else. I'll let it slide this time, but be careful next time."

"..."

As if there was no need to listen anymore.

Chong Eun-ju beat Eun-ha to it before he could leave.

Left behind, Eun-ha blankly stared at Chong Eun-ju walking away.

"Why is she acting like that?"

"Pa pa."

"She's squirming even though I didn't step on her."

He thought what a strange earthworm she was.

Eun-ha resolved to avoid crossing paths with <Earth Dragon> as much as possible, as Shin Seo-young had said before.

☆

The soul-returning ceremony began.

The leader who came up to the podium comforted the believers who lost their loved ones in the Seoul invasion.

Some people shed tears.

There's nothing special so far.

Eun-ha watched the soul-returning ceremony.

The believers diligently followed the instructions of the leader and priests.

There was no commotion.

No strange signs were felt.

And soon the leader came down and Shin Yeon-su went up to the podium.

[We are beings that constitute the world and also the world itself as one. The world we live in is created by your cognition. What created the world was not God, but your mana.]

""""...""""

[And the totality of your gathered mana, that is the Mana God.]

You are the world.

If you wish, it will come true.

Shin Yeon-su's words lit a fire in the believers' hearts.

[So the people who left you have become mana dissolved in the world, and are surely finding peaceful rest in the embrace of the Mana God. So please don't be sad.]

Shin Yeon-su speaking in a calm tone.

She struck the floor with her staff.

She manifested mana.

Whirr

Blue mana spreads through the space.

At that moment, Eun-ha tensed.

...It's not a strange magic.

It's close to detection magic.

I'll use Hamper Wave to break the magic if necessary.

While preparing magic, Eun-ha observed the waves spreading throughout the entire space.

Fortunately, what he was worried about didn't happen.

The light illuminated the space brightly then disappeared into particles.

Soon─

"─It-It's a miracle of God!!"

""""Oh, Mana God!!""""

The mana dissolved in the air activated, becoming visible to the naked eye.

The believers were amazed and marveled just at that.

Eun-ha finally realized that Shin Yeon-su had deployed detection magic to make mana visible to the naked eye.

No, that wasn't all.

Eun-ha's eyes widened at what happened next.

I want to eat the apple mom peeled for me.

My dear, you're someone who cries a lot inside, will you be okay alone...

Even if I close my eyes, I can't rest easy because I'm worried about my children. Will these kids be able to live well without me?

I wonder if they're eating well.

Woof woof!

What was floating around wasn't simply mana particles.

The mana passing by like waves contained certain thoughts.

They were the thoughts of people remembered by those gathered here.

"Oh my, you fool! Why did you go there before me! You rascal!"

"Honey! Is that you!? Where are you!?"

"Yes, father! We're living well! After you passed away, even we who weren't getting along all reconciled!"

"Mom's nagging about food even after death..."

"Tto-sun! Are you doing well?"

People are moved.

They cry their eyes out.

They try to grab the waves of mana passing by them.

But of course they couldn't grab the waves.

In the end, they could only hear the sounds floating around them.

Even that satisfied them.

They looked like they would believe anything Shin Yeon-su said.

Did she summon thoughts remaining in the world using the objects people brought as mediums?

Meanwhile, Eun-ha focused on confirming the phenomenon occurring in the hall.

He seemed to understand the theory.

But implementing it was an extremely difficult task.

Memories are very ambiguous things.

Also, the mana dissolved in the air contained the thoughts of countless people.

It could be said to be an extremely difficult task to pick out and activate the thoughts of specific individuals from there.

So she used objects as mediums, but it's still an incredibly difficult task.

Yet for thoughts to be implemented so cleanly...

Even though she's not a player.

Shin Yeon-su's skill was truly amazing.

She was using magic similar to the Twelve Seats <Precious Memory>.

But that was all.

[─I hope you all had many conversations with your precious people.]

""""Ah....""""

Precious Memory could perfectly implement not just voices but everything else using objects as mediums.

However, Shin Yeon-su stopped at implementing voices.

For about 10 minutes.

She soon canceled the magic.

She probably couldn't maintain it continuously as she was implementing magic for not just one person but many.

She went down from the podium while receiving thanks from the believers.

She exited just like that.

Is this the end of what could be called the core of the soul-returning ceremony?

Shin Yeon-su's ability was amazing, but fortunately she didn't have the ability to resurrect people.

Eun-ha sighed in relief.

What he was worried about didn't happen.

The hall entered a lull.

The soul-returning ceremony will end soon.

The leader started speaking again, but now the believers were busy praising Shin Yeon-su while talking among themselves.

In the end, the soul-returning ceremony in this life will probably end as a somewhat mysterious religious event.

[─Your strong hearts calling for them awakened the souls dissolved in the world. Then everyone, how do you think an even stronger calling heart would be implemented in the world?]

It was when Eun-ha was thinking that.

Suddenly the leader threw out such a topic.

The murmuring of the believers stopped.

The leader smiled benevolently.

He spread both hands.

[A strong heart is the manifestation of magic. So if all of you together wish to see your precious people, the Mana God will be moved by your will and fulfill that wish.]

""""...""""

[Now, everyone! Let's raise the objects you remember your precious people by above your heads! Together, let's pray with desperate hearts to see them!]

""""...""""

[Your desperate wishes will call their souls back to this place again. And the Mana God will show a miracle so you can meet them.]

The atmosphere suddenly changed.

The believers followed the leader's words.

They raised their mementos.

The quieting atmosphere stirred up.

What are they trying to do?

This is too much for a closing...

Eun-ha frowned.

The leader was encouraging the believers without using mana.

He's not using magic.

So even though Eun-ha was suspicious, he couldn't act rashly.

Still, he prepared to activate Hamper Wave at any time.

[Now, everyone! Let us all pray to the Mana God! Oh, Mana God!]

""""Oh, Mana God!!""""

[Please look upon us and show a miracle to the world. Let us meet the souls of our parents, wives, siblings, children, friends. We beseech you, please let us see them again.]

""""Let us meet them again!!""""

[Amen.]

""""Amen.""""

At that very moment.

Mana activated again.

It wasn't the leader raising magic.

The people's 'strong belief' stimulated the thoughts Shin Yeon-su had awakened earlier, activating the mana.

...Dangerous!

These bastards are plotting something.

Eun-ha acted instinctively.

The signs were suspicious.

He unleashed his magic.

Hamper Wave

Waves spreading out from him.

The mana waves disrupted the visible mana.

But the people's belief was strong.

Magic created by one person's will couldn't break the phenomenon created by many people's wills.

Furthermore, the phenomenon didn't stop there but kept increasing in intensity.

Right after─

──!!

A pure white pillar shot up from the altar.

The pillar that rose behind the leader expanded its domain and began dyeing the world white.

Hamper Wave

Eun-ha's magic was meaningless in the face of the phenomenon encroaching on the space.

A sacred and massive energy negated the magic of Eun-ha and others.

"Long live the Mana God! Long live! Long live! Long long live! Let there be a miracle of the Mana God─!!"

""""Long live! Long live! Long long live! Let there be a miracle of the Mana God!!""""

Finally.

The world was dyed white.

☆

Rewinding time to just a little before.

 Shin Yeon-su, who had shown a kind of 'divine dignity' on the podium, headed to the basement of the National Assembly building with the deputy leader.

3rd basement floor.

A floor not known to the public.

She entered an air raid shelter that could be used to escape in emergencies.

Then she deactivated the concealment magic and entered a certain room.

"Is it here?"

"Yes, it's here. Tsk tsk."

There was an altar there.

According to the deputy leader, it's in the same position as the altar on the 1st floor.

In other words, magic unfolded on this altar will also occur on the 1st floor.

Not only that.

The magic is also planned to unfold in connection with the altar set up outdoors.

Shin Yeon-su nodded.

"Deputy Leader."

"What is it?"

"Can we really... do it?"

"You can do it, of course."

A coffin was placed on the altar.

Sindorim's corpse is inside.

Shin Yeon-su approached the coffin.

Looking down at her brother's pale face.

She felt anxious.

"..."

"Only you can do this, Yeon-su. Surely your brother is waiting too."

Is this really the right thing to do?

Shin Yeon-su couldn't be certain.

But it was already too late to turn back.

Wasn't the soul-returning ceremony prepared for this day?

"─The opportunity is only now. Most of the people gathered here today are pitiful souls living with painful memories from the 'Seoul invasion'."

Since they're performing large-scale magic, the will of many people is needed.

But people's wills are jumbled.

So through the 'soul-returning ceremony', they unify people's wills to only think about the Seoul invasion.

At the same time, they have the 'strongest memories' of the Seoul invasion.

Soon, a unification of 'strong wills' will be achieved.

"Furthermore, the objects they brought will sort out the souls tangled like chaos."

The situation to implement magic has been perfectly prepared.

And all the mediums to summon people's souls have been prepared.

Belongings of the deceased where memories, emotions, and thoughts remain.

Also─

"─Their memories of the deceased will also be mediums."

Their memories will make the souls they summon even more 'concrete'.

Among them, Shin Yeon-su had the most certain medium.

The remains of the deceased.

The vessel that the soul is most drawn to.

Shin Yeon-su knew this well too.

"So theoretically, there's nothing wrong. If souls are summoned, those souls will take material mediums as vessels and resurrect. Tsk tsk."

"...Yes."

Shin Yeon-su's own memories.

Objects containing memories of Sindorim.

And Sindorim's remains.

She will be able to resurrect Sindorim by offering those as a price.

Steeling her heart, she struck the floor with her staff.

She manifested her internal mana.

"Child, wish desperately."

"..."

"Your desperate wish will make you reach the Mana God."

She focused her consciousness.

She wished desperately.

She pleaded.

Please, please, I beg─

─Please save my brother.

Shin Yeon-su released all her mana.

The explosively released mana finally fulfilled her wish.

─Gift <Miracle >