Chapter 173: Kergos Autonomous District (5)

Chapter 173: Kergos Autonomous District (5)

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Translator/Editor: Ryuu

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INFINITE MAGE

The expressions on the faces of his friends were also unusual. The only ones who showed no change in emotion were Canis and Arin.

"The reason we can't open the Kergos Autonomous Zone. The only one who can open the door underground is someone who has inherited the power of an angel. That’s why we’ve been waiting for you."

The door to heaven. It wasn’t a nonsensical claim. Shirone had experienced going to the space-time of the labyrinth through the Immortal Function.

However, this time, the scale was different. The world created by a mage was different from heaven. Kadum was talking about the place where God resided.

"Long ago, angels served as intermediaries connecting gods and humans. They transcended time and space to convey the will of the gods. We know that an Unlocker is someone who has inherited the power of an angel. Please, restore the glory of Kergo. The tribe is prepared to make any sacrifice for it."

Shirone couldn’t answer. They were asking him to meet God. What could he possibly do by going to a star in the sky?

"Kergos has faced countless crises. The disaster of a volcanic eruption and even a civil war. We’ve also suffered humiliation from outsiders. The tribe is on the brink of destruction. Our people are starving. But we believe that the descendant of an angel will revive Kergos”

Amy pointed a finger and asked.

"Why don't you just buy food? Depending on faith in a situation where you can be self-sufficient is like gambling with your life. We know that the profits from Loop smuggling are astronomical."

"Kergos’s situation is worse than you know. The income from the relics we share with the Galiant government can’t feed twenty thousand people. Even if we sustain ourselves by selling Lupe, we will be overrun by outsiders as we were a hundred years ago. As the chieftain, I’ve saved a great fortune while praying for God’s blessing."

"No matter what, using money and women to persuade a divine messenger—did you really think that would work?"

"I don't know about that. I was merely searching for a method through the records. According to Kergos’s history, a divine messenger once demanded a hundred million gold as a condition for going to heaven."

Shirone was astonished to hear that someone had already been to heaven. Moreover, demanding a hundred million gold—it was something only someone who valued money more than life would do.

Or perhaps, it was someone so skilled that they were unafraid of going to heaven. But was that even possible?

"What happened to that person? Did they return safely?"

"Of course. Two hundred years ago, the divine messenger left for heaven with their companions and came back, having received the will of the great Ra."

"How did they return? Did they come out through the entrance?"

"That’s impossible. As you might guess, the door to heaven operates with the Immortal Function. The door makes the Immortal Function possible. But since there is no medium in heaven to activate the Immortal Function, another method must be used to return."

"What method?"

"I don’t know. The records only state that they said it wasn’t a profitable venture when they returned."

Silence fell.Reêad latest novels at novelhall.com

If the powerful beings who traversed the unknown space where God existed said it wasn’t profitable, it meant returning by their own power was impossible.

Shirone finally understood Canis's words. Not being able to return was a more serious problem than death in some ways.

This wasn’t about setting sail for a distant land. It was about passing through space-time to reach a star somewhere.

"I’m speaking honestly. I know it’s dangerous. But the fate of the tribe is at stake. If you help Kergos, we will do everything we can. If you want gold, we’ll give it to you. If you want women of Kergos....”

"No, I don’t want anything. I don’t think I can accept any reward."

While they had agreed to listen at the banquet, the situation had changed.

Frankly, no amount of money would change his mind. But... the intense curiosity that rivaled the fear of death stirred within him.

Shirone, having thought of the best answer, spoke without needing to ask his friends' opinions.

"I’ll think about it."

***

Left alone at the altar, Kadum stared at the stars.

The servile look he had shown to Shirone's party was gone. Standing with his chin raised, befitting the ruler of Toa Mountain, he sensed someone approaching and turned his gaze.

An old man coughed as he walked up from the entrance of the altar. It was Elder Hashid.

Canis’s guess was accurate. Shirone nodded and continued.

"Yes. It was a place."

There was a sea and a forest. At the center of a city surrounded by circular walls, there was a spire.

Shirone had been drawn into the light at the top of the spire and, before he knew it, he was back at the altar.

"That’s everything I saw. If that place is heaven, then Kadum’s story isn’t absurd. So, before deciding, I want to hear Canis's side. What do you know?"

Harvest, who was standing guard at the door, turned to Canis. Usually foul-mouthed, he was now silent.

"My master, Arcane... I think he had been to a place called heaven."

Shirone got up from the bed.

Arcane had been to heaven. Considering he had secluded himself in a dungeon for fifty years after being betrayed by Alpheas, it must have been long ago.

"Arcane also came to the Kergos ruins?"

"No, it must have been somewhere else. According to Kadum, relics around the world are somehow connected to heaven. Though they are controlled by their respective nations now, they weren’t even known to exist eighty years ago. In that sense, the Kergos ruins are unique."

Eighty years ago, Arcane would have been only sixty. Although not a young age by human standards, considering how powerful the 149-year-old Arcane was, he would have been in his prime.

"What’s in heaven? What kind of place is it?"

"I don’t know."

Shirone narrowed his eyes.

Saying he didn’t know didn’t make sense. If Arcane experienced heaven, Canis should know about it. Harvest inherited Arcane’s knowledge, after all.

Harvest added.

"Canis is telling the truth. Arcane erased his memories of heaven. The only fact we know is that he had been there."

"He erased his own memories?"

"Yes. Completely erased. So we don’t know what he did there. It seems he didn’t want the world to know about heaven."

Knowing Arcane’s character, Shirone couldn’t believe it. What secret was so significant that an archmage, acknowledged worldwide, had to erase his memory to hide it?

"Canis, what is heaven? Is it really a place where God lives?"

"Nothing is certain. That’s why we have to go. I need to see it with my own eyes. So, take me there."

"No, I’ve changed my mind. You were right. It’s too dangerous. It’s not a place to go out of curiosity."

"No, your thoughts don’t matter. The deal I proposed was to take me and Arin there. No matter what, we will enter heaven."

"Honestly, I don’t want to send you either. Once you enter, you can’t return through the original door. Besides, if I don’t go, they won’t allow you to use the door to heaven. The chieftain seemed desperate."

Shirone was right. Judging by the difficulty of the Room of Achievement and Sacrifice, what the Kergosians wanted wasn't something trivial.

Only those who could prove their strength in the space-time of the labyrinth or open all eight doors simultaneously could enter the self-governing district, let alone the door to heaven.

"Canis, it's time to bring it out. If Shirone doesn't go, we can’t get to heaven either."

"But it's surprising. I didn't expect him to be this scared."

"You could see it as insight. His intuition seems to move based on the information he's heard. Anyway, let's get started."

Accepting Harvest's opinion, Canis looked at everyone. He subtly extended his hand and began to speak.

"What if I told you... there’s a way to come back from there?"

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