Necromancer Of The Black Bible (81)

The Ethereal Gate.

Why was she trying to open it?

Was it simply because Damian wanted it?

Having thought that far, Eliastra shook her head.

The matter was not that simple.

‘The reason I want to open the Ethereal Gate… is…’

After gathering her thoughts, she spoke.

“Because the time has come.”

[Time?]

“It is time to open the Ethereal Gate.”

Eliastra lifted her head and looked straight at Kallios.

“In the current state, nothing changes. Souls that have lost their bodies wander the world—either entering a womb to gain new life, becoming wraiths, or forgetting themselves and fading away. This goes against your will.”

[You still remember my will?]

El nodded and answered.

“You wished to be with the souls of this world. And the souls wished to experience you. They desired to ascend to a higher realm through you. That is why you created the three races so that souls could dwell within them, live in the world together with them, and eventually bring them to your side.

“The Ethereal Realm was designed according to that plan. It was made so that souls who had lived one life could reflect on their past, design a new life, and return to the world. Through an infinite cycle of lives, souls would repeatedly attain enlightenment.

In the end, the purpose of the Ethereal Realm is to allow souls to gain higher enlightenment through life and, through that, guide them to you.”

Throughout Eliastra’s long answer, Kallios merely listened.

His eyes wavered as calmly as the depths of the sea.

It resembled the primordial ocean when it cradled the seeds of all life.

When El had finished speaking, Kallios neither affirmed nor denied it and simply asked again.

[The moment I died, you immediately sealed the Ethereal Gate. And now you wish to open it because the situation is different from back then?]

“Yes. It has changed.”

[What has changed?]

“Someone has appeared to take your place.”

For the first time, Kallios’s previously unmoving eyes flickered.

[The one who will replace me must be the one who gave you a new body.]

“That is correct.”

[Can you guarantee that he will cast light upon this world as I did?]

“He will not.”

[Then?]

“He is darkness, not light. The light of this world died with you. Until a new light appears, he will rule this world through Darkness.”

The word “Darkness” pierced heavily through the air.

Kallios’s expression as he faced it was unreadable.

Saying that the one replacing him would rule through Darkness could, in a way, be taken as a complete denial of Kallios himself.

Yet no emotion—neither sorrow, joy, nor anticipation—showed on his face.

Only a blank expression that simply faced and accepted the truth.

But that blankness was not cold—it was warm.

Kallios gazed at El like that before speaking.

[Now I understand why you wish to open the Ethereal Gate.]

Kallios walked toward the wall behind the Bible of the Nameless God.

Then he spoke again.

[What is the name of this new companion who will take my place?]

El hesitated for a brief moment before answering.

“Damian.”

[Damian…]

Kallios quietly repeated the name Damian several times.

Then, in a voice barely audible, he spoke.

[I know who he is. The one chosen by Equinox. Hmm… now I see why you and Equinox chose him. Good. Very good.]

A smile spread across Kallios’s lips.

He reached his hand out, and the wall in front of him split open, revealing a passage.

Kallios looked at El and spoke once more.

[Go. Go and do what you must.]

El slowly approached Kallios.

Once the door opened, Kallios’s memory crystal would vanish.

Knowing this, she could not simply walk past him.

“Do you know who Damian is?”

El asked with a serious expression, and Kallios replied.

[He is darkness. In the distant past, he was the pure spirit of darkness that was always hidden in my shadow, unseen because of my light. After a long chain of karma and fate, he has finally arrived here. When the sun sets, night must come. The sun collapsed at the tip of chaos’s spear, but now the age of night has finally dawned. Night will drive away chaos and rule its own world.]

Though the words were difficult to grasp, El understood their meaning.

With a face full of mixed emotions, El asked again.

“Father… will I ever be able to meet you again, even in the distant future?”

Kallios smiled even more brightly and shook his head.

[Our connection ends here, my daughter. Even if I had not died that day, it would have been the same.]

Eliastra met Kallios’s eyes.

Then she turned and walked toward the dark corridor ahead. At that moment, Kallios added from behind.

[The wraiths are marching. It seems a great war is coming. I wonder if he can handle it alone while you open the Ethereal Gate.]

El paused, and Kallios continued.

[Ragnell von Levicion. He should be able to assist Damian.]

“Thank you, Father.”

Eliastra closed her eyes for a moment and communicated.

Then she walked forward into the dark corridor.

As her figure vanished from sight, Kallios’s form dissolved into the darkness.

El forced herself to ignore it and pressed onward.

To open the Ethereal Gate, she would have to walk without rest for several days and nights.

In the past it had taken a week, but now with her new body, she did not know how long it would take.

Moreover, she could not guess what this world would look like when she returned.

There was only one thing she hoped for.

‘Darkness will rule this world.’

With that resolve, she stepped forward into the darkness without hesitation.

Inquisition Headquarters, Sublevel 10.

Originally, everything below Sublevel 2 was prison cells, but the very lowest floor, Sublevel 10, contained a different room.

A meditation chamber accessible only to high-ranking Inquisitors.

It was a chamber where one could hear the sobs and mutterings of prisoners, the clanking of chains on their wrists and ankles—every kind of noise.

The purpose of its creation was to listen to the sounds of the imprisoned sinners and meditate upon the root of sin.

In truth, contrary to its intended purpose, the room was often used as a torture chamber.

Screams from here carried effectively to the prisoners locked in the underground cells.

Yet today, the room was being used as a meditation chamber.

A single high-ranking Inquisitor was contemplating his inner self in the damp darkness.

Ragnell von Levicion.

Now entering his fifties, he was the most capable Inquisitor in the Inquisition, having achieved outstanding merits over the past thirty-five years.

His epithet was “Eyes that Pierce the Soul.”

When he received the Power of Detection at the monastic academy, he was granted an ability different from others.

The ability to see souls, just as his epithet suggested.

While others received powers that enhanced one or two of the five senses—sight, touch, smell, etc.

He received the power to detect the presence and falsehood of souls.

No one knew why, but most priests believed it was because he had been born blind.

In fact, it was a rule in the Theocracy that the disabled could not become priests.

Yet he had a special connection with the Pope. When he was born, his mother suffered a difficult childbirth, and by chance the Pope witnessed it and personally took him in.

His mother eventually died, leaving him disabled, but the Pope raised him and allowed him to become a priest.

Because of this past, Ragnell followed Pope Lactea as if she were his own mother and valued her commands above his life.

Into Ragnell’s ears came the voice of the Pope.

[Ragnell. Are you there?]

“Yes, Mother. Give me your command. Your son is always waiting here.”

[You speak as if you knew I would contact you.]

“I wasn’t certain, but I had a feeling.”

[What did you sense?]

To the Pope’s question, Ragnell answered in detail what he had felt.

“I feel an ominous energy. Its scale is enormous. It feels as though the entire spirit realm is shaking.”

After finishing his answer, Ragnell concentrated once more. The chilling energy he had felt during meditation returned clearly.

Confirming it again, Ragnell continued.

“It is the wraiths. Fallen wraiths have gathered and are marching here. Honestly, Mother, I do not know what will happen if they arrive.”

[Wraiths cannot affect physical objects. But they can be fatal to souls. If they overrun this place, countless people will suddenly go mad or die. In less than a week, the entire Theocracy would become a nation of lunatics.]

At the Pope’s words, Ragnell shuddered all over.

“We absolutely cannot let that happen.”

[Indeed.]

“What should I do?”

[I grant you permission to use the sealed key. Take capable people with you, retrieve the artifact from that place, and then join Priest Mikel.]

At the unexpected name, Ragnell’s eyes snapped open.

His blind eyes were clouded white and emitted a faint glow in the darkness.

He stared into empty space and spoke.

“Are you speaking of Priest Mikel von Raiernov, Mother?”

[Yes.]

“He… he is a strange man. When he returned to the Theocracy, I sensed that his aura had changed. He may no longer be the person you believe him to be, Mother.”

It was a loyal remonstrance.

Yet the Pope answered in a voice that suggested she knew everything.

[Only I know who he truly is. So rest assured. He is on our side.]

Ragnell nodded.

“Understood, Mother. I will do as you command.”

[I will be out of contact for one week. While I am gone, treat Priest Mikel as you would a father.]

“…Understood.”

The Pope’s voice was heard no more.

Ragnell stood and muttered to himself.

“The wraiths are marching, yet where is Mother going… and for an entire week?”

That was not the only question.

Why on earth was he told to treat Priest Mikel like a father?

Moreover, at some point his own divine power had begun to change.

Ragnell extended his hand and focused his power.

A bright blue orb of energy formed and floated above his palm.

Just a few days ago, his aura had not been this color.

It had been closer to yellow.

“Something has already happened. Perhaps that is why the wraiths are coming here?”

What exactly had happened?

And what the wraiths were after by coming here—he could not guess at all.

Realizing that no amount of thinking would yield an answer, Ragnell soon shook his head.

“What use is there in thinking on my own? My duty is already decided.”

Ragnell stepped onto the magic circle installed beside the stairs.

It was a magic circle that led directly to the sealed vault beneath the Grand Temple.

The necklace around Ragnell’s neck glowed brightly.

It was the key to the sealed vault.