At the center of the procession shuffled a small, elderly woman with snow-white hair, hunched over. Neatly combed hair held in place by a small hairpin, she wore flowing attire and moved slowly, tapping the ground with a staff.
It was the Great Seer, Madrea Farsia, making her entrance into the square.
On the surface, the ordinary appearance didn’t exude any sense of grandeur, dominance, or mystical prowess, leaving the gathered crowd perplexed. However, their confusion quickly turned into cheers as they warmly welcomed the Ascendant, who had arrived in Vulcan after nearly a century.
“………”
Lennok, who had been observing Ascendant Madrea through his scope, slowly lowered his arm, his forehead glistening with cold sweat.
He was utterly overwhelmed.
‘This is insane…’
The instant he acknowledged the Ascendant’s presence, he could feel a tremendous surge of mana radiating from her body, permeating the entire city.
Though he sensed it through his skin, there was a distant quality he couldn’t fully grasp—a sensation that surpassed his understanding.
Lennok’s exceptional sensitivity and talent allowed him to grasp this disparity on an intellectual level, even though he couldn’t fully comprehend it.
‘This is… more than I expected.’
He now understood why the Vulcan City Government had been so rigid and subservient.
That entity surpassed the notion of a mere living being.
Above all, as a transcendent being like her, she couldn’t possibly be unaware of Lennok’s gaze from this distance alone.
He had assumed it would be alright, given the rumors that she was a rather moderate Ascendant, but maintaining composure in front of such a monstrous presence was no easy task.
Considering the gaze that seemed to peer across thousands of kilometers, there was no way he could escape. But concealing his presence now would be–
[Can there be a result without a cause?]
The soft voice that reached Lennok’s ears made him, who had abruptly stood up and gathered mana, hesitate.
[In a world where order bites its own tail, we have long sought to answer this question.]
“………”
Trembling hands raised the scope once again.
Madrea Farsia, viewed through the high-performance telescopic lens, locked eyes with Lennok with pinpoint accuracy.
[Your existence itself is the answer to that question.]
The diplomatic delegation appeared bewildered by Madrea’s sudden halt, yet they made no move to stop her.
They simply waited for her to continue walking.
[Interesting.]
In the suffocating silence, the one-sided transmission persisted.
[If others could see what I see, they would have done anything to have you.]
Slowly, Madrea averted her gaze.
As she took another step forward, the diplomatic party resumed their procession.
Her voice continued to resonate in the air.
[But now I understand that all that struggle is futile.]
The Ascendant walked through the central square, disappearing gradually into the city hall.
[Be wary of Alcaid.]
“…..Haah!!”
Unable to contain himself any longer, Lennok releases a sharp exhale and swiftly jumps off the building.
Whoosh!
Using levitation magic to ensure a safe landing, Lennok gasps for breath, his chest heaving, before collapsing onto the sidewalk.
With a trembling hand, he retrieves a cigarette.
Despite the circumstances, Lennok dutifully makes his way toward the nearest designated smoking area, lights up the cigarette, and takes a deep drag.
“Hoo…”
Even as the smoke fills his lungs, his heart refuses to calm down.
Encountering a true transcendent being had rattled his world to its core.
Yet, in the face of such overwhelming power, Lennok finds a sense of certainty rather than despair.
That path is the one he must strive for.
Reaching the pinnacle of ascension with his perilous and volatile talent might hold the genuine answers to his questions.
It is the reason he opened his eyes to this world.
Beyond the mere act of survival day by day, the ultimate solution lies there.
This conviction burns within him, stronger than anything else, for he believes in his talent more than he believes in himself.
“……”
With the arrival of Madrea Farsia, the meticulously prepared conference came to an abrupt end.
The city council accepted all the conditions put forth by the diplomatic party representing the autonomous region, making no concessions whatsoever.
The moment the Ascendant broke her vow and interfered in worldly affairs, the outcome was already sealed.
The diplomatic party declined any hospitality from the city council and promptly departed the metropolis, unable to endure another moment in its presence.
Three days later, news spread that The Great Seer Madrea Farsia had failed in her ascension.
The prophet, who had dedicated hundreds of years to humanity, had returned to mortality.
The news of Madrea Farsia’s passing hit Vulcan with a heavy blow.
Regardless of her alignment with the Philenom Autonomous Region, there were many who held admiration and respect for the being known as the Ascendant.
The city council, which had always maintained a sense of elusive presence, acted swiftly.
They declared two days of public holidays and simultaneously announced measures to address the ensuing confusion.
In essence, it was a directive from the city council for everyone to maintain silence and take two days of respite, a request that was unanimously accepted.
For media, government, civilians, and police, it was ample time to mourn the loss of the Ascendant’s final moments.
“The underlying cause lies here,” Jenny remarked as she returned to the bar after the curfew had lifted.
It was evident that she had undergone considerable stress during her summons, as she chain-smoked more than five cigarettes in a row.
“There was excessive abuse of prisoners from the autonomous region, indiscriminate discrimination… There are many factors, but one stands out as decisive.”
She referred to the top-secret project known as ‘Black Consumer,’ which had been carried out in the undeveloped zone.
This project, directly involved in the creation of Contaminants, was the direct trigger for the nerve war with the autonomous region.
Despite the city government’s inspection team proclaiming that no human experiments had taken place, evidence had leaked from the parliament revealing forced experiments on prisoners from the autonomous region, a blatant violation of intercity conventions and ethics.
From the moment the truth behind these experiments, which trampled upon the rights of prisoners, came to light, it became an unwinnable battle for the Vulcan City Government.
Furthermore, it was understandable that the city government surrendered unconditionally when even the Ascendant lent support to the autonomous region.
“……….”
However, Lennok couldn’t help but question whether the reason the Ascendant had come to Vulcan was solely for that purpose.
Was the victory of the autonomous region really the only thing that Madreia Farsia, who was nearing the end of her life, wanted to see in her final moments?
If Lennok’s existence was trampled in her view, which is said to see both the past and the future…..
Even after her passing, Lennok still grappled with the despair of an unanswered question.
All he could recall was the name Alcaid, mentioned by Madrea.
“The real problem begins now,” Jordan interjected, swirling the smoke from Jenny’s cigarette.
“I don’t know what The Great Seer had in mind when she involved herself in this matter, but the Ascendant, who spearheaded this one-sided agreement, has vanished.”
“Are you suggesting that the Vulcan side will retaliate?” Lennok asked.
“Not immediately, of course. But the city government won’t tolerate this unfavorable agreement for long. They might adopt a moderate approach for a while, but they won’t shy away from drastic measures.”
Though he was unaware of the specific details of the agreement, Jordan’s point was clear.
Lennok muttered with a sense of gloom, “……You’re saying a war could erupt.”
A moment of respite born out of the Ascendant’s ultimate sacrifice.
A melancholic realization that this brief interlude will soon come to an end.
Jenny resumed the conversation, her tone heavy with solemnity.
“Considering The Great Seer’s esteemed reputation as one who gazes into both the past and future, the city government won’t adopt an aggressive stance right from the start… But their concern for a deceased individual won’t last indefinitely.”
Observing Jenny mutter these words, Lennok sank into contemplation.
He hadn’t even familiarized himself with this city yet, and already he found himself entangled in a headache-inducing event involving another region.
While Evan Bylon, the identity Lennok had assumed, was merely an ordinary citizen who wouldn’t be forcibly conscripted should a war erupt, it was still an issue that couldn’t be disregarded for someone who scraped by for a living.
Regardless, the current reality remained unchanged—there was little he could do at this moment.
Lennok queried, extinguishing his cigarette in a nearby ashtray.
“I guess it’s too much to take on a job today.”
“It will take at least 48 hours for the city government or other clients to properly understand the situation and move normally. Wait until then.”
Nodding in agreement, Lennok rose from his seat.
As Lennok exited the bar, his mind delved into a contemplative state.
What if Madria had come to Vulcan because she had prior knowledge of Lennok’s existence?
If her mention of the result without a cause was meant to confirm something…
She wouldn’t have sacrificed her life solely for that purpose, but an unsettling feeling lingered within Lennok as he recalled their conversation.
The composed and measured tone of her voice, as if she had been anticipating their eye contact.
Understanding the intentions of an Ascendant was a challenging feat, yet there were too many peculiarities to dismiss their brief encounter as mere coincidence.
Had she truly comprehended the intricacies of Lennok’s extraordinary talent?
Perhaps he had inadvertently lost someone who could have been a genuine ally.
“………”
Dwelling on it for too long would be fruitless.
As he searched for a cigarette, his hand rummaged through his pocket and accidentally dropped another item.
“What’s this…?”
It was a mechanical device resembling a white fountain pen.
The laser cutter he had acquired from the thugs when he raised funds shortly after his escape from the factory.
Initially, he had carried it as a means of self-defense, but ever since he gained proficiency in shooting support magic, it had become an obsolete item.
Lennok reached out to retrieve the fallen cutter from the floor.
Thump!
But before he could do so, someone’s heavy boots stepped on the cutter, refusing to release it.
“What the hell?”
Lennok felt annoyance rise within him. He anticipated someone approaching, but he hadn’t expected such a confrontation.
“I could say the same to you, scrawny guy.”
The man with a scruffy goatee grumbled. He appeared to be a middle-aged man who had failed to secure a position as a Santa Claus candidate. The air around him reeked of oil, and his face was flushed, likely due to heavy drinking.
“Who are you to carelessly drop my belongings on the ground?”
“This is yours?”
It had been a while since Lennok had engaged in such an absurd dispute, but there was no reason for him to back down.
As Lennok took a step forward, gathering his mana and preparing to confront the man, the man let out a scream.
“Damn it, a wizard. Spare me!!”
“……..”
At the sight of the man prostrating himself on the ground, Lennok was at a loss for words.
He was annoyed, so he did exude his mana a bit obviously, but it seemed the man noticed it in an instant.
Lennok, who took the laser cutter that the man handed over and casually wiped it off with his sleeve, asked.
“What do you mean by this being your stuff?”
If there’s no confusion in Lennok’s memory, the man wasn’t even at the scene when the cutter was taken.
Or does he mean those thugs stole the cutter from this man?
The man answered with a smug face.
“I made it in my shop, so it’s my stuff. Is there any other meaning?”
“This cutter is a product of Dyke Inc.”
Lennok, who remembered the conversation of the thugs clearly, showed the logo by flipping the cutter, but the man didn’t budge.
“If I personally modified it, it’s my stuff.”
“Modification….? Ah, then you are that….”
It suddenly dawned on Lennok that the thugs had mentioned paying someone.
Could they have been referring to this man? What a peculiar coincidence.
Placing the cutter in his pocket, Lennok chuckled. “If you sold it for money, then it belongs to the customer. How can it still be yours?”
“Damn it… This is why I can’t have a conversation with people who don’t understand the spirit of craftsmanship.”
The man sighed deeply and waved his hand. “Forget it. Well, since you have it now, I suppose you’re my customer. If you ever need anything in the future, come to my shop. I apologize for today.”
With that, he disappeared without waiting for a reply.
The problem was, Lennok had no idea who the man was or where his shop was located.
“Maybe I should ask Jenny later,” Lennok pondered.
He had intended to find a way to gather information on his own, without relying solely on Jenny or Jordan. However, it seemed challenging without venturing out himself.
Shaking his head, Lennok headed back home.
Two days later, as soon as Lennok received a call from Jenny, he stepped out of his one-room apartment once again.
[A request came in right after your name was registered on the deep web. But this time… Van, I think you need to decide for yourself.]
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