Chapter 137: House of Spirits (3) |
It wasn’t a dragon, but it resembled one, and its mere presence gave it a serene majesty, but it didn’t give the sensation of being alive.
“Is that being the king?”
Ruel asked the Spirit’s Progenitor.
“Child.” The Spirit’s Progenitor took Ruel’s hand. It was warm. “Thank you.”
“What are you thankful for?” Ruel immediately became cautious at the unexpected remark. He didn’t do anything that the Spirit’s Progenitor would be grateful for.
“The power that resides within you is the power that I have lost.”
Cassion chuckled as if he was amazed.
He thought Ruel was good at picking up amazing gifts here and there, but he didn’t expect him to pick up what the king of the spirit’s dropped.
Ruel recalled what the woman who introduced herself as ‘Mayre’ had said.
Ruel glanced at Mayre, who was playing with a spirit in the distance, and spoke calmly.
“The spirit stone that has seeped into my body was found in the royal treasury of Cyronian.”
This place was inside a barrier created by the Spirit’s Progenitor.
How did the spirit stone that should have been in the Beast Forest end up in Cyronian?
“I lost them when I was chased by monsters. Someone who follows the Great Man picked up my Spirit Stone and sent it far away so that I couldn’t possess it.”
“You mean the Red Ash?”
Ruel asked, puzzled by the sudden appearance of Red Ash.
“You call them Red Ash?”
The Spirit’s Progenitor smiled innocently.
As he moved his fingers, something emerged from Ruel’s body and took on a form.
Jingling jingling.
It was the spirit stone that made the ringing sound he had heard.
Sniff sniff.
Leo sniffed Ruel.
—This body can still smell it.
“Because it has been absorbed into the child’s body, my power still remains. Don’t worry too much. There will be no harm.” The Spirit’s Progenitor smiled and pointed to the table he had set up.
“Your mind seems troubled. Why don’t you sit down first? Let’s have a conversation, and then you can talk to the guardian next.”
“Alright.”
Ruel’s lips twitched at the suggestion.
There was no need to rush.
There was a being believed to be a king here, the Spirit’s Progenitor who was the origin of the spirit’s, and above all, he now knew what power resided within his own body. All he had to do was listen to the stories calmly.
‘I’ve stumbled upon something big while chasing the spirits.’
He felt like he had discovered a 5,000 won bill buried in the playground as a child.
They walked towards the table and took a seat. The Spirit’s Progenitor planted the spirit stone that had been pulled out of Ruel’s body in the spot where they stopped for a moment.
After the Spirit’s Progenitor and the spirits gave it water, a tree that looked like ore grew in an instant.
—Oooooh!
Leo immediately ran over and touched the tree emitting a faint blue light.
—It’s smooth. Oh! This body feels like it’s gaining some strength!
The Spirit’s Progenitor picked Leo up and walked with him to the table.
Leo wagged his tail and glanced at the Spirit’s Progenitor.
—The spirit’s, um, name is too difficult.
“Then call me Jan. It’s the name Ruel gave me.”
—What is Jan doing here?
“I am protecting the remaining spirits.”
—Why is there no Purifier? Why is this body alone?
Jan laughed silently.
“Are you sad?”
When Leo tilted his head and asked, Jan said while stroking Leo.
“It’s sad.”
Jan took a seat, and Ruel observed while inhaling Breath.
When Leo sat on Ruel’s lap, Jan began to speak.
“Can I speak first?”
“I’m not interested in unnecessary stories,” Ruel said flatly.
He didn’t want to hear anything if the Spirit’s Progenitor intended to bring up trivial stories from the past. His mind was already complicated. He already knew that the being crouched within the flower was likely a king.
“It’s an essential story. It will be helpful to you, too, my child.”
Since the Spirit’s Progenitor made such a request, Ruel thought he should at least listen to what he had to say.
“Fine. Let’s hear it,” Ruel smirked arrogantly.
“Child.”
As the Spirit’s Progenitor continued to use the term “child,” Ruel felt that he had to clarify.
It was quite an unfamiliar way of addressing someone.
“My name is Ruel Setiria.”
“I am Cassion.”
Cassion was also getting annoyed, so he said his name.
“Well, I’m Aris.”
As the self-introduction continued, even Aris noticed and then joined in.
—This body is Leo! Ruel named this body!
And Leo climbed up to the table and felt proud, concluding the series of self-introductions.
Jan laughed happily.
“I’m sorry. Having seen many Setirias living and dying, I’ve gotten used to it. Old habits die hard. Please understand.”
‘Does that mean it’s been over a hundred years?’
It didn’t seem real how many years the Spirit’s Progenitor had spent walking the earth.
‘That would make us seem like babies.’
Ruel moved Leo from the table to his lap and urged Jan.
“Please continue speaking.”
“Child, have you ever thought about what kind of existence you are? Of course, your memories were erased, so it must have been frustrating…”
“I am Ruel Setiria,” Ruel curtly mentioned his name. He had already thoroughly considered and accepted his identity as Ruel Setiria.
“You must have been confused by your special powers to control monsters and see spirits…”
“Please get to the point without beating around the bush,” Ruel interrupted, his expression growing displeased. He couldn’t fathom why the conversation had taken such a lengthy detour.
However, no matter how Ruel looked at him, Jan continued to smile warmly.
“You were the first. To see spirits…”
Growl.
At that moment, a sound was heard from Ruel’s stomach, catching Jan off guard.
“Seems like you’re hungry. My apologies. There’s nothing here for humans to eat. Let me go and fetch something for you.”
“No. It’s not that I’m hungry… Ha, Cassion.”
Ruel started to speak but stopped himself. He never intended to make excuses in the first place.
Cassion, with a satisfied expression, raised the corner of his mouth and pulled out a snack basket from his magic pocket.
It seemed like it was about time for his master to feel hungry.
“Cough.”
Cassion made a subtle expression upon hearing Ruel’s coughing sound.
“It seems like you’re coughing quite a bit.”
“Perhaps I’m catching a cold.”
Ruel acted like it was nothing and handed over a meat pie before Leo stuck his face in the snack basket.
Crunch.
The sound of him munching on the pastry quickly followed.
“Alright, let’s continue. Please go on.”
Ruel said to Jan after holding a meat pie in his hand.
Jan smiled contently and continued speaking, “The Great Man placed a very powerful curse on himself before being banished from this world. It was a curse strong enough to stake his very existence. Those who can see spirits will no longer exist in the future.”
Crunch.
As Jan finished speaking, his smile gradually faded.
“Since then, no one born afterwards could see spirits. But that changed when you were born. You are the only human in existence who can see spirits.”
“…?”
The crumbs of the meat pie fell from Ruel’s mouth as he was too shocked to even swallow.
‘Crazy.’
Ruel was so surprised that he immediately started hiccuping. Jan sensed Ruel’s emotions and gently squeezed his hand.
“It may come as a sudden revelation, but my child, you need to know this.”
“Well, why did the Great Man place such a curse?” Aris raised his hand slightly and asked.
Jan nodded and answered, “That’s a very good question.”
Jan looked at Ruel, studying his complexion.
“We spirits exist to sustain the world, in other words, we’re like pipes to draw water.”
“If there is a pipe, does that mean there is water?”
Aris asked another question while writing in his notebook.
Jan looked at Aris with pride, as if he had found a good student.
But only for a moment before he spoke heavily.
“Flowers represent the world, and water represents nature. The Great Purifier cleanses the water, and the spirits bring it as flowers. Guardians, also known as monsters, watch over to ensure that the Great Man does not touch the flowers.”
Jan hesitated for a moment, noticing Ruel’s increasingly pale complexion.
“And finally, the one who balances it all, my child, is the king, whom you know.”
Everyone was speechless as Jan explained how the world’s balance is maintained.
It was a story they had never heard before.
Ruel barely managed to speak.
“So you’re saying that monsters are guardians against the Great Man? No. That doesn’t make any sense. They’re monsters.”
“The first thing the Great Man targeted to destroy this world was the guardian. He corrupted the guardians who were our eyes and made them attack the spirits. What do you think came next?”
Ruel couldn’t answer Jan’s question and silently looked at Leo.
‘The Great Purifier… He messed with them.’
Recalling Jan’s attitude towards Leo, Ruel realized what Jan was trying to say.
The Great Purifiers were all gone.
Except for Leo.
‘Wait for a sec. That means…’
Ruel urgently asked Jan.
“Was I not the first but the last target of the Great Man?”
“No. The target that the Great Man always aimed for was Setiria. But there were many things to go through. Guardians, spirits, monsters, Great Purifiers, all exist for the world, for you. You are the last barrier for this world.”
“Just you wait.”
Ruel remembered the Great Man’s murderous glare at him.
“Where have my guardians… gone?”
His hands trembled.
“Now my time has come.”
The words the Great Man had uttered while changing his mark were not just a warning. It was a declaration of war, a sign that the real battle had begun.
“That, I do not know. Only the King knows,” Jan replied.
“Did my father know? Or was I the only one who didn’t know this fact?” Ruel felt a sharp pain in his chest. While he struggled to survive, the enemy had already painted a grand picture.
“It is said that becoming the head of Setiria means taking on the role of the mediator for the next barrier. Even if you don’t know, the heir knows that they will pass on this story to the next heir.”
Ultimately, it was a story that only Ruel did not know.
He laughed bitterly and ate the leftover meat pie.
Crunch.
The sound of the meat pie breaking was louder than ever before.
Ruel wiped the pie off his lips and asked, “Let me ask you a simple question. What did you do to get the situation to this point? You said I was the last wall?”
Whether they were kings or Spirit Progenitors, they were all beings who had a place in this situation. Even though they knew everything, they were helpless against the Great Man.
“The ones who can see spirits,” Jan calmly said, “It happened because they were not born. Who hunted the monsters?”
“Are you now shifting responsibility to humans?”
Ruel laughed at Jan.
It was humans who hunted the monsters.
Jan shook his head.
“I’m not trying to shift responsibility. I wanted to tell you that so many monsters, spirits, and purifiers had no choice but to die because there was no bridge to connect them with humans.”
“…”
“The Great Man and the organization known as the Red Ash that you spoke of, spent a very long time messing up the relationship between monsters and humans. That was the beginning.”
Ruel inhaled Breath. He knew what Jan was trying to say. The Great Man used humans to disrupt the balance between monsters, spirits, and purifiers.
“I desperately tried to make humans aware that the Great Man was behind all this. But because we were invisible to them, unheard, we couldn’t reach them.”
“So how did you survive? Did that being, the king, protect you?” Aris holding his notebook tightly and asked.
“Setiria saved us. The guardians’ duty was to protect Setiria, but they ended up protecting us instead. We owe a lot to Setiria, to you,” Jan looked at Ruel with eyes full of gratitude.
He then pointed to the white being buried in the flowers. “The king is not present here. That being is just a fragment of power left behind by the king to protect the spirits.”
“Didn’t I meet the king in this very place when I was young? Was that also just a fragment of power?” Ruel asked, remembering Jan’s words. There was bitterness in his voice.
He had thought he had found the king, only to realize it was just a fragment left behind.
“That’s right. The real place where he is can only be known by you,” Jan said.
“Why is that?”
“The power that the king gave to Setiria to command the monsters or the guardians, is the power that only you, who possess that power, can understand.”
Everyone was shocked by Jan’s words.
‘He must have hit the jackpot in his past life.’
Cassion looked at Ruel.
Thump thump.
Ruel heard his own heart beating loudly.
Being the medium of the barrier, the only one who could see spirits, and now having the power to command monsters, it was too much for one person to bear.
Ruel felt suffocated and spoke, “Why on earth did the king give me this power? Is it because I am the only one who can see spirits?”
“Perhaps. Of course, it may not be. I cannot fully understand his intentions either,” Jan looked at Ruel with pity. Jan felt so many emotions from him.
“Don’t worry. We won’t ask anything of you. You have already received a lot, and you are carrying too much already.”
“But didn’t you say that a bridge was needed between you and humans?”
“Child, you don’t have to carry all of that burden alone.”
“Didn’t you say that only I can see spirits?”
Ruel’s voice became louder.
“You have brought my power, so now I can gather more spirits.”
“The Great Man!” Ruel exploded after seeing the calm demeanor of the Spirit’s Progenitor.
How could he be so relaxed with all the power he had found?
“He came looking for me!” Jan kept quiet when Ruel shouted loudly.
The opponent was the Great Man.
“He said it’s time for him to return and declared war after seeing me clearly.”
Jan’s expression darkened gradually.
Listening to Ruel’s gasping breaths, Jan closed and opened his eyes.
“Child. I know how nervous you are. All Setiria’s were like that, and so are you.”
Jan didn’t laugh.
He sincerely wanted to convince Ruel.
“Now, thanks to the power you brought, I can move freely and maintain the barrier without falling into slumber. The situation will improve even more than it is now.”
“How much better does it get?” Ruel asked.
“You don’t need to sacrifice yourself any further. So…”
“So, do you really not want anything from Ruel-nim?” Cassion quietly spoke instead of the exhausted Ruel.Then, he openly expressed his discomfort and continued speaking. “Are you telling Ruel-nim to do nothing simply because you feel sorry for him? Or do you have false hope that he can win after enduring so much until now?”
Cassion mocked Jan, criticizing him.
Ruel had relieved some of the burden with the spirit stone he brought, but not everything was resolved.
If Ruel was the last line of defense, shouldn’t they have protected him better?
They couldn’t properly protect him and ended up burdening Ruel alone, making his burden heavier and claiming it was the truth.
It didn’t sit well with him.
“Why couldn’t you stop the Great Man with all your big talk?” Cassion asked the most fundamental question.
Ruel also wanted to hear this part, so he waited for Jan’s answer while stroking Leo.
“The Great Man knew us better than anyone else.”
‘Knew us better?’
Ruel inhaled Breath.
He realized that there was some reason, some constraint, whether it was vague or whether Jan couldn’t answer directly, that he couldn’t tell him anything.
“Are you saying that this is someone you knew?”
Jan nodded at Ruel’s question.
“Is there some constraint that prevents you from speaking?”
Jan nodded again.
If there was a constraint, he couldn’t ask any further.
Ruel stepped back for now.
“I understand.”
“Child. This is all I have to say to you. Is there anything else you want to ask? I’ll tell you whatever I can within my limits,” Jan said.
“What is the current situation?” Ruel asked.
What Ruel needed to know now was their situation. If they were to collapse, the damage would eventually come back to him, so he needed to come up with a plan.
“Child.”
“Please tell me.”
At Ruel’s urging, Jan looked at Leo.
Leo’s ears twitched.
Jan let out a long sigh and hesitated.
No matter what he said, Ruel was going to fight.
It seemed that he should let go of his stubbornness.
Surprised at the small fire he had been able to extinguish, he had grown impatient to protect what was in front of him.
Jan wondered what it would have been like to fight alongside the spirits instead of protecting them.
But it had already passed.
Jan opened his tightly closed mouth.
“It’s serious. The great man continues to spread corruption to kill the spirits.”
‘The reason for creating the black water wasn’t just to break my seal.’
Ruel bit his lip.
“Spirits cannot exist in corrupted places, nor can they purify it. The only spirits that can purify this are purifiers, and they… I can’t feel them anymore.”
—What do you mean?
Leo perked up at the mention of purifiers.
Ruel’s hand that was stroking Leo stopped.
It seemed like Jan was planning to tell Leo the truth.
Leo grabbed the table and glanced at Jan.
—Does Jan know where the Great Purifier’s are?
“I did. I exist to protect and watch over you all,” Jan replied.
—Then tell this body. When this body meets the Great Purifier, this body has a question to ask. Well, what does this body have to do, what was it born for, again.
Leo’s ears moved around, but he stopped thinking when nothing came to mind.
—In any case, please tell this body.
“Leo.”
When Jan called Leo, Ruel urgently shouted, “Wait.”
Ruel pressed his lips tightly together as he looked at Leo.
His hand trembled as he petted Leo.
“Just a moment, please.”
Author's ThoughtsKindly read only at Readhive.com. You can get the advance chapter at Ko-Fi Shop.