Translator: Pai_

The moment the Librarian came into contact with the black orb, a bright light poured out, and the surrounding scenery became distorted.

The outer wall of the library, half-destroyed and open to the sky, the stars and moon above it, even Solif and Armania nearby.

By the time everything had been perfectly dyed in white, Turan realized that he had seen this scene before.

The summit of the western Sky Mountain Range.

Because the experience of looking at the other side of the world from up there was exactly like this.

Usually, any mysterious experience is most shocking the first time and becomes somewhat mundane from the second time onward, but the experience of seeing this place was nothing like that.

A space filled with a white substance, as if it contained all the colors, sounds, smells, and sensations of the world.

Momentarily flustered by the flood of sensations so intense it was almost violent, Turan soon noticed something different from before.

This time, unlike before, he was not being sucked into the beyond.

"This is......."

Turan unconsciously opened his mouth and flinched at the sound of his own voice.

It was because the voice he heard was completely different from what he remembered, even grotesque, not even sounding like a human's.

"Ah, ah."

Turan tried making sounds a few times and realized why his voice had sounded so strange.

His throat was currently producing several voices at once.

Several young male voices, several middle-aged male voices, and a few middle-aged and young female voices.

With voices of various people coming out of a single mouth simultaneously, the sound could not possibly be perceived as human.

Even though his voice had sounded odd the last time he was in this space, it had not been like this.

"What a mysterious place this is."

Then, hearing a strange voice from behind, Turan turned his head and saw the Librarian.

"Elder......?"

"Why are you asking so uncertainly?"

The reason Turan trailed off at the end of his sentence was because of the Librarian’s appearance.

The Librarian, who usually appeared to be a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties.

But now, for some reason, he had taken on the form of a boy around twelve years old.

If the Librarian had been a real human, this must have been exactly what he looked like as a child.

"Why have you suddenly become younger?"

"Probably because the master of this space perceives me this way. After all, my appearance is merely a shell."

The one who made this space?

Even while asking himself that question internally, Turan had already guessed its identity.

"Look below."

Following the Librarian’s words, Turan looked down and soon saw the outline of a place that had previously appeared pure white due to an excessive mix of colors becoming clear.

"Ah......."

Below, he saw the shape of a woman so enormous that it felt overwhelmingly far away.

Lying down with blazing red long hair flowing and wearing a deep green dress.

Because he had glimpsed Cadrum’s memories in the past and had also heard various stories from other gods, he knew who she was.

The Lame Goddess.

The progenitor of the Enchanters and the smith and architect of all divine structures that exist in this land.

"Do you happen to know what this space really is?"

"I didn’t know until just now, but now I do. This is a boundary. A space between the outside and the inside. That orb is a tool that can open between the two... and I was the key."

The Librarian spoke seriously, but his voice, belonging to a boy who hadn’t even reached puberty, sounded strangely unnatural.

As he naturally descended to the ground, to the land where the goddess was sleeping, Turan followed him there.

Fortunately, in this space, there was no need for flight magic or anything like that.

Things simply happened as one wished.

After descending to the ground, Turan realized that the goddess, who had just a moment ago seemed larger than a Great Sea Serpent, was now the size of an ordinary human.

Even though he had been watching her the whole time, it had changed so naturally that he didn’t even notice when it had happened.

Looking down at the goddess, Turan instinctively sensed that she was a being who could not open her eyes or speak.

On the surface, she merely looked asleep, as if she might wake at any moment, but what remained here was nothing more than a trace of a being that had disappeared thousands of years ago.

"My creator... no, Mother."

The Librarian, in the form of a boy, gently took the sleeping goddess’s hand and carefully opened his mouth.

As Turan quietly observed the scene, his gaze naturally shifted to the goddess’s legs and feet, fully exposed beneath her skirt.

Her left foot was pure white and soft, without a single speck of blemish, while the right foot was twisted and dark red.

That was precisely why she was called the Lame Goddess.

‘They said it was based on a myth from their world.’

A god believed by other gods, it sounded a little absurd, but apparently, myths existed even in the world of gods.

A legend about a limping blacksmith god.

Such legends had even been incorporated into the entertainments they enjoyed, and in return granting some exceptional Enchanters more powerful abilities in exchange for imposing a penalty on one leg. And it was said that she alone had obtained that.

Despite there being several gods with the Enchanter bloodline, there was a reason why she was the most powerful Enchanter, architect, and the creator of countless Sacred Relics.

"Did the goddess create this space?"

"Rather than created, it would be more accurate to say it was formed. When Mother built the library, a part of her was embedded here for its permanent maintenance. Thanks to that, the orb absorbed the library's power and came to contain a bit of the goddess herself."

In other words, the body lying here was the personification of the power she had extracted when building the library.

This mysterious space, according to the Librarian, was shaped by the special power of the boundary of the world.

Turan hoped the Librarian would explain more about it, but he seemed far too absorbed in the image of his mother, whom he was seeing again after such a long time.

To scold a child who had met his mother after thousands of years and tell him to shut up and explain things wasn’t something Turan could bring himself to do, so he shifted his gaze, intending to figure out more about this space himself.

Judging by the Librarian’s attitude, it didn’t seem like getting out of here would be impossible anyway.

And besides, the previous time he had been here, the situation had been far too urgent for him to see or remember anything properly.

‘First off, there doesn’t seem to be any ground. No sky either. Is there even the concept of gravity here?’

But thinking that way revealed something a bit odd.

When Turan had come to his senses after scattering in the Sky Mountain Range, he had been "falling" downward.

Perhaps that was because he had been transferred to the exact location he was at the moment he bounced out of that space.

For example, if he were to leave right now and end up standing right in front of the ruins of the library, he would again be subject to gravity.

Just then, Turan felt a faint blue aura flowing from his neck.

He could see the Mimic Sacred Relic connected to his spirit form by a thin strand.

‘Is it showing our bond?’

He knew that some of the top-tier Sacred Relics had phenomena of forming bonds with their owners.

The gods had said it was what was called a bound item in the old world.

Perhaps similarly, Bije, whom they referred to as a “pet”, might also share such a connection.

Unfortunately, Bije had been playing outside when Turan entered this space, so she hadn’t come in, and he couldn’t confirm it.

Another disappointing thing was that unlike before, he couldn’t look into information about himself.

It seemed to be because, unlike last time, his body was not being broken down and absorbed into the white substance.

After spending a few minutes examining his surroundings and paying attention to everything.

Turan finally achieved his first result.

[......Does that even make sense?]

[□□□□□-!]

[Hey, it’s thirty gold coins. Thirty coins. You’re not taking this?]

[I will uphold the traditions of our tribe.]

[Sssshhhhh-]

[The Family Head is entering!]

What had previously seemed like an overwhelming collection of indistinguishable sounds gradually began to separate and become clear.

Most of the sounds were natural noises, animal cries, waterfalls, wind, but there were quite a few that seemed to be human voices as well.

That wasn’t all.

In this space filled with every color, human and animal forms occasionally appeared, and even the smells were somewhat distinguishable.

With continued focus, Turan was able to realize what he was seeing and hearing.

‘This is... the world.’

What he saw here were scenes that could be seen somewhere in this world, and what he heard were sounds that could be heard from somewhere in this world.

Among them were coastal areas, distant grasslands, and what appeared to be landscapes from somewhere in the Land of Five Lakes, far removed from this library.

No, at times what he saw felt even more alien than that.

Perhaps what one could sense here was not just the present, but the past, or even the future.

Just as his thoughts reached that point, he felt someone tugging at his sleeve.

It was the Librarian, now much shorter than before.

"Let’s go back now."

"Can’t we stay just a little longer?"

"You’ve already pushed too far. If we stay longer, you’ll die."

Only then did Turan focus his spiritual senses inward.

He could feel that his spirit form, which had been relatively intact just moments ago, was now starting to show signs of damage.

It wasn’t yet cracking like it had the first time he set foot on this land, but if they stayed much longer, it surely would.

"Understood."

With that answer, the bodies of the Librarian and Turan soared up in an instant.

Upward, forward, backward, or perhaps downward.

The moment he felt he was moving in all directions and yet not moving at all, he found himself standing in front of the ruined library.

"Urgh..."

"Wh-What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly like this?"

Solif, startled by Turan suddenly collapsing to the ground, quickly stepped forward and asked.

While being supported by him, Turan checked the orb he had just used. Unlike before, when it was pitch-black, it had now turned transparent.

*

Fortunately, the orb infused with the library’s power did not lose its strength after a single use, it simply needed a period of rest.

Though, the Librarian admitted he didn’t know when that resting period would end.

Turan, his face slightly pale from the fatigue caused by spiritual damage, sat by the campfire and listened attentively to the Librarian’s explanation.

"So, it’s the goddess’s power that can pierce the world’s boundary."

"Not necessarily only the goddess, anything containing the essence of a god could do it. That necklace of yours should work too. It contains the essence left behind as a god died."

Turan glanced down at the Mimic Sacred Relic hanging from his chest.

If that were true, then it would need to be something akin to a legacy left behind by a dying god. Just how many of those could there be?

Perhaps Aravion’s 'Divine Punishment', or the armor said to be passed down by the Family Head of House Zahar would qualify.

Or maybe the structures left behind by the Lame Goddess, like the Tomb of the Gods, the Colosseum, or the Old Empire Roads.

"So then, that bastard could be grinding up all those things and using them for power, right?"

"More accurately, he seems to be using that power to break through the barrier of the world. The power contained in the orb is specialized for that kind of purpose."

To Solif’s question, the Librarian replied curtly and folded his arms.

Armania, who could see or hear none of this, was essentially just listening blankly to Solif talking to himself.

The Librarian, who had taken the form of a young boy in the boundary, had now reverted to his usual middle-aged male appearance upon exiting.

"Breaking through the world’s barrier..."

"Is he really truly trying to cross into the world of the gods?"

If that was truly his pure intention, and if he hadn’t targeted Meisa’s body, he might’ve even cheered him on to just go and disappear.

Of course, considering the tragedy he caused in Orem City to create that orb, that was out of the question.

"And one more thing."

The Librarian spoke with a somewhat gloomy expression.

"I didn’t know it before, but it seems that bastard tampered with my memories in the past. To erase all information about himself."

For some reason, Monarch was obsessively paranoid about leaving any trace of his actions in records, to the point of destroying every related book. Apparently, he even visited the Librarian, who remembered all books, and once edited his memories.

What had long been forgotten had partially returned after the visit to the boundary.

"Is there anything important in it?"

"Not really. Just tales about a cruel god who manipulates life."

That didn’t seem like the kind of story that needed to be hidden so desperately, perhaps it was simply a symptom of his paranoia about remaining a shadowy figure.

Setting aside the puzzlement, they continued their conversation for a while before deciding to rest.

It was getting quite late, and Turan was tired from the spiritual injuries he sustained while crossing the boundary.

Fortunately, unlike last time, he had pulled out before overexerting himself, so his spirit form recovered completely after just one night.

They unpacked the emergency rations they had prepared and fed the citizens of Orem to satisfaction, then departed the city.

The survivors, as they looked around the ruined city, wore somber expressions or wailed in grief, realizing the scale of their fall. But fortunately, they did not slow the pace or burden the others.

The road to another city was not far.

Normally, it would have taken two to three days of walking, but Turan used the power of the Nagin bloodline to subdue all the nearby animals and had people ride them for travel.

They arrived around noon at Kadu, a small city southeast of Orem.

"You-you are..."

"It’s been a while, Marvin."

The city’s lord was none other than Marvin Baltas.

A young noble of House Baltas who had once hunted monkey magical beasts with Turan, and younger brother of the current family head.

Though startled by Turan’s sudden appearance, he quickly widened his eyes upon hearing that Orem City had fallen and the Baltas main house had been wiped out.

"Then what happened to my brother!?"

"I offer my condolences."

Of course, Turan had not seen the head of House Baltas, Gillon, die with his own eyes, but by all accounts, he had undoubtedly become one of the heaps of flesh in the plaza.

No one had escaped from Orem after the attack.

"My god..."

Marvin seemed overwhelmed with sorrow and fear at the news of his brother’s death.

If someone that strong, especially by rural noble standards, had died helplessly, then someone like him, considered lower-tier, wouldn’t be able to resist at all.

Of course, considering that the attackers were Monarch wearing the body of the Nagin family head, the nobles of Nagin, and a powerful army of dark elf necromancers, even if Gillon had been several times stronger as a wizard, it would have made no difference.

"If you see any strange signs, please contact House Parsha in the east."

"House Parsha... that’s the newly risen great noble house, right? You’ve joined them?"

Hearing that made Turan acutely aware of how remote the western wastelands truly were.

His name was well-known in the eastern lands of Varaha, far away, but out here, where not even traders visited due to the lack of anything to eat or profit from, no news had spread.

Turan didn’t bother mentioning that he was the head of House Parsha, or that the head of House Varaha was right next to him.

If he did, Marvin might drop dead from a heart attack.

‘Seeing this, I guess there’s no need to rush revealing the Armania situation either…’

Thinking it would take several months for rumors from here to reach them, Turan politely declined Marvin’s request to stay a bit longer.

Normally, that would be considered rude and offensive, but with the excuse that they needed to quickly track down the culprits, Marvin had no choice but to agree.

After all, it was his own older brother and his family who had been killed.

With that, the three left the city and, from a suitable location, once again mounted Bije and headed east, toward Kalamaf.

*

"Honestly, every time you're away, you always bring back an overwhelming amount of work..."

"In the end, it was a good thing we brought Armania along. We wouldn't have died without him, but we might’ve missed that guy."

To Ashiz’s grumbling, Turan patted the back of the mermaid boy beside him, who was eating with his mouth wide open.

If they had missed Monarch, they wouldn’t have realized he was trying to pierce the boundary of the world by obtaining the power of the library and the ancient gods.

On top of that, Monarch, having gained the library’s power, would have taken another step closer to his goal.

"That aside, isn’t it just too powerful and cowardly a method? A technique that lets him send disposable bodies while safely crouched somewhere unknown that don't matter if they die."

At Meisa’s complaint, the others also nodded in agreement.

Even this time, if it had been any god other than Monarch, they would have surely ended up as a new resident in Turan’s jewel box.

"Well, at least it’s not an invincible ability. That loss must’ve been a painful one for him too."

Based on their experience, the power Monarch’s puppets could exert was limited to the magic power of the body they were using.

In other words, with an ordinary human body, producing Family Head-level output like before was impossible.

Now that he had lost the body of the Nagin Family Head, the strongest corpse he could control would probably be no more than one of the top nobles of Nagin or Aravion.

"But if the Nagin Family Head’s body wasn’t his real body, then what body is he actually in?"

"That’s the tricky part... But, well, once we crush their base of operations, it won’t matter where he’s hiding."

The fortunate part was that Turan could detect Monarch’s puppets just by being near them.

That is, assuming he used both the Mimic Sacred Relic and the Mask simultaneously.

In any case, he now understood all too well why the other gods had been so uneasy about Monarch.

If someone keeps coming back in a new body no matter how many times you kill him, and even pops up uninvited to yell at you whenever you mention him, you’d avoid talking about him out of sheer disgust.

As they briefly talked over the recent events, Turan soon noticed that someone wasn’t quite focusing on the conversation.

Rida, who had joined them as an ally, had lost focus in her eyes for some time now.

"Rida nim?"

"Hm? Ah, what is it? No, I mean, what's the matter?"

"Are you feeling unwell, by any chance?"

He had already been worried due to her age, could it be that her life was nearing its end?

At Turan’s concerned question, a trace of awkwardness briefly appeared on her face.

"Well, the thing is..."

Receiving everyone’s attention, she soon sighed quietly, as if unsure herself, and said.

"Actually, during the few days the Parsha Family Head was away, my research made noticeable progress. When I studied the body that had been occupied by the soul that spoke incomprehensible words and was reabsorbed by the Family Head..."

Everyone who knew what Rida had been researching widened their eyes in shock.

That meant.

"It seems... I may have uncovered part of the secret to extending the lifespan of Soul Chains, in other words, the secret to immortality."

*****

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