Necromancer Of The Black Bible (10)

At the foot of the orphanage hill was a small village.

It was called Hainche, and it belonged to the Kallios Theocracy.

Recently, unsettling rumors spread there, caused by strange noises persisting for days.

Wooooong-

A low rumble, like the cry of a whale.

Its source was a mountain to the southwest, long known as the Resting Place of the Sand Dragon. People believed the sound was a sign the Sand Dragon was awakening.

The Sand Dragon was a legendary creature that dwelled deep underground, feeding on magma.

So no one dared approach the mountain to investigate.

One misstep, they feared, and the dragon would devour them.

The villagers trembled in fear, waiting for the noise to end. At last, on the third day, it suddenly stopped.

The village chief seized the moment and sent three strong young men up the hill to the orphanage.

“Go to the orphanage first. High Priest Raiernov visited about half a month ago; he should be there. If anyone can explain this, it’s him.”

Mikel von Raiernov, High Priest of the Kallios Theocracy, was well known even in Hainche.

For years, he had come and gone, often selecting bright children from the orphanage to bring to the Theocracy’s academy.

Thus the chief knew Raiernov was staying at the orphanage. He would have passed through the village upon leaving—so the chief would have noticed.

Surely, Raiernov was still there.

‘With three men sent, surely High Priest Raiernov himself will come.’

Then he would explain the strange sounds of the past few days.

The chief waited with the villagers in the town hall.

Half a day passed; dusk fell.

The young men returned.

Their faces were pale as they reported in shaken voices.

“Th-the orphanage…it’s empty.”

“Empty? What do you mean? The High Priest isn’t there?”

One man shook his head violently.

“Not just him. No one was there. Not the director, not the staff, not even the children. And stranger still…”

Swallowing nervously, he continued.

“All their belongings remained. Beds, clothes, everything.”

As proof, he showed a child’s garment.

It was intact, just a little dusty.

It carried a faint musty smell.

Meaning it had been left unattended for some time.

The chief furrowed his brow.

‘Something’s wrong.’

The sound, and now this state of the orphanage—both were strange.

At an orphanage, clothes rarely smell musty—there are too few, so sweat is the usual scent.

And yet, all the people had vanished—High Priest Raiernov among them. That was no ordinary matter.

‘This is beyond us.’

At last the chief decided.

“You must go again. At once, to the Kallios Theocracy. Report to the Tribunal that High Priest Raiernov is missing.”

The men agreed and left the village.

The chief and villagers watched them go, worry etched deep on their faces.

When I opened my eyes, I was briefly disoriented.

A strange sensation left me dizzy.

More than anything, I couldn’t tell if what I’d just seen was a dream or reality.

‘Too vivid to be just a dream.’

Especially Master’s pale-blue gaze—it was still clear in my mind.

Shaking off my thoughts, I rose.

Looking around, I saw Nocturne sprawled on the floor.

Its jewel no longer glowed.

‘But where is Equinox?’

At that thought, Equinox’s voice came.

“I am here, Master.”

I turned to see a black silhouette looking down at me.

It resembled a dark mage in a black robe and hood.

It was a shadowy spirit form—its face hidden beneath.

He sat beside me, gazing at Nocturne.

“This one is a wicked demonic artifact. Did you know?”

I nodded silently, and Equinox continued.

“Its self has been caged for too long. It drove him half mad.”

‘So that’s why…’

I recalled Nocturne’s frenzy during the mana ring transplant.

It had shone with madness, laughing eerily.

I picked it up.

It was heavy as ever, but silent.

“Has it been destroyed?”

“No. Only exhausted. By tomorrow, it should recover.”

Equinox paused, then looked down at it again.

“Such spirits should not be kept close, Master. I advise you to destroy or discard it here.”

‘Hm.’

Reason told me he was right, but my heart resisted.

Nocturne’s loneliness reminded me of my past self.

Abandoning it felt like abandoning that part of me.

And above all, it had never truly harmed me. Frenzied though it was, it gave me a fine mana ring.

I raised my hand and touched my chest.

Thump, thump, thump-

Along with a strong pulse came a strange vibration. It was surely the mana ring.

Then Equinox spoke.

“A small complication has arisen.”

“A complication?”

“Hm. Rather than complication, let us say the result deviated somewhat from the plan.”

At his words, I glanced at Nocturne, then closed my eyes.

At once, my heart’s image appeared vividly in my mind.

There, at its center, hung the mana ring.

With deeper focus, its shape sharpened before me.

A deep green mana ring, streaked with crimson.

I had never heard of such a ring.

“The mana rings of necromancers I know aren’t like this.”

“It is the product of Nocturne’s frenzy. Unstable, but more powerful.”

Watching it, I saw his point.

The ring spun irregularly, but its density and speed were immense.

Perhaps that was why I had seen those visions.

“I see.”

Suddenly remembering Master, I pressed my forehead.

Equinox asked:

“Did you see something?”

“You read my mind again? I told you not to.”

“The situation is different. You have just gained your first necromancer’s ring. As the continent’s first necromancer and your loyal servant, I must guide you rightly. You may find it intrusive, but for now, follow my lead.”

I could not refute him.

All of it was true.

Master, too, had once done the same.

When I first studied necromancy, he guided me step by step.

Saying otherwise, I could never find the path.

When Master’s figure overlapped briefly with Equinox, he spoke again.

“That wasn’t memory.”

“Then what?”

“You truly went briefly into the past. Did your Master not practice necromancy? If he did, then he surely recognized you.”

At his precise point, I was left speechless.

Equinox studied my face and continued.

“That is how it is. With the first necromancer’s ring, the potential for eternal power is unlocked. You will be confused: seeing the unseen, passing through the impassable, touching the untouchable. Even moving your soul apart. All your senses will be redefined.”

His explanation was complex, but I could accept it.

Above all, I had noticed something in our talk.

‘There is no light here.’

The bonfire was ash, the lamps all out, the cave still dark—yet I could see clearly.

The bowls and herb scraps at my feet, even the scattered pebbles.

All were vivid.

I now understood why I had been dizzy upon waking.

“My vision has changed.”

“That is only the beginning. Do you see nothing else new?”

At his question, I looked again—spotting a black something watching me from the corner.

I rose and approached.

The closer I came, the clearer it seemed—a shadowy spirit like Equinox, but smaller, weaker.

Up close, I felt it trembling.

“It is an Earthbound Spirit, a lingering spirit. It was eaten by a beast long ago, but never realized it was dead, so it remains here.”

“What should I do with it?”

“As you will, Master. This is the time to grow accustomed to your senses.”

He was right.

I had to train my senses.

Like a child learning to walk, I had to master them.

I reached toward the Spirit.

My hand should have passed through—but it was caught.

Damp, squishy—an alien sensation.

I grabbed it by the collar; it rasped out:

“P-please, spare me.”

“You are dead.”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“You died long ago.”

Through my will, I conveyed the truth.

It wasn’t effort—just intent—and it reached it.

It bowed its head, resigned.

“I see.”

It sighed and looked at me.

“Thank you…for telling me.”

With that, it faded away.

I looked at where it had been and asked Equinox:

“Is it gone?”

“Only moved on. If nothing else, it will depart when Heaven’s Gate opens. Some Earthbound Spirits leave merely by learning the truth.”

“But not most, it seems.”

Equinox nodded.

Then, after a thought, he spoke.

“You are now a true necromancer. You have opened the first horizon toward eternity. You cannot yet control it, but soon you will. Then you will traverse time freely. For to gain eternal power is to be free from time.”

His words made my master’s actions in my past life clear.

Had Master too stood at eternity’s threshold?

Was that why he could cross time, plan across ages?

As I pondered, Equinox answered.

“Your Master’s name… Was it Balthazar?”

“Yes.”

“Hm. Even now, I see no link between us. He must have only studied from a copy, never meeting me. So I cannot gauge his level. But one thing is certain: he never came near eternal power.”

I couldn’t agree.

In my journey to the past, Master had met my eyes. Surely he too experienced something similar.

And Master had said:

We will meet again.

I believe him.

If I keep on, I will meet him again.

I clenched my fist and looked down.

Then I saw something.

‘Hm?’

A very thin thread.

A slender red thread emerging from my chest.

It was bound to my heart, but I couldn’t tell where it led.

“What is this?”

I asked, and Equinox replied in a lower voice:

“That is the shackle of the Demon King upon your soul, Master.”