Chapter 75
The first part of the entrance ceremony concluded, and there was a brief gap before the second part.
Most male students' attention was focused on a woman sitting in the ornate VIP seats.
"Is that her?"
"Can't see well."
It was Duchess Gainax.
Even just the way she sat with her legs crossed and hands gracefully placed on her thighs exuded noble elegance.
She wore a black hat decorated with feathers and flowers, its brim covering more than half of her already small face.
Thus, all they could see was her fine jawline and alluringly red-painted lips.
Just before the ceremony began, some had gathered the courage to greet the duchess but suffered the humiliation of being turned away by her aides.
Having just come of age and reaching marriageable age, she was the focus of public attention, but very little information about her was known.
All they could hear were rumors surrounding Duchess Gainax.
"It's about marriage."
"Did she come looking for a husband?"
Everyone who entered Eternia had once been called a genius. Their inflated egos led them to hope the duchess might take notice of their talents.
"They say she came to see Varianne."
"Ah, of course, someone mediocre wouldn't be enough."
"You need to be at least Varianne's level to approach her... the wall is too high."
The male students who had been indulging in grand dreams and delusions while watching the duchess from afar quickly returned to reality upon hearing Varianne's name.
Their inflated egos had to shrink before Varianne's name.
He was like the alpha of the pack.
Overwhelming masculinity emanating from his family background, power, talent, and appearance.
Moreover, he had achievements they couldn't even dream of, like subjugating large magic creatures.
Rumors of his violent temperament circulated, making people naturally nervous just standing beside him.
They had to quickly accept that Varianne was the only man matching the duchess' status.
Suddenly, a man wearing the Principality's epaulets approached the group of students deflated by their reality check.
He cleared his throat while looking around at the students and said, "I am Gerald, aide to Duchess Gainax. We are urgently looking for someone..."
Everyone's eyes widened at the sudden appearance of the duchess' aide.
"...?"
"Where might we find a student named Damian?"
***
Dreary stone walls and old furniture. The only window was a notebook-sized hole with iron bars.
The altar's reception room was excessively plain. It felt more like a detention facility than a place to receive guests.
It was understandable given how few visitors the altar received throughout the year, countable on one's fingers.
Silveryn rested her chin on the chair's armrest, occasionally looking at the small window and sighing softly.
Though she could have waited in a better space, she had refused because those rooms had no windows.
Without windows, the Stitch couldn't fly in.
Silveryn's mood had somewhat sunk when no reply came at the usual time.
Waiting so eagerly for someone's letter was not something she was accustomed to.
Her emotions fluctuated as she speculated about reasons for the delay.
Just then, Priest Price entered the reception room and informed her.
"The ritual preparations are complete."
"Okay."
"Let's go."
"But I'm curious about something—can Stitches not come here normally?"
"Not necessarily. Since we use Stitches for daily communication, magical pathways for them are in place."
"I see... Alright."
Silveryn set aside thoughts of her disciple's letter for the moment and stood up.
Then, she followed the priest to the Grand Temple.
Entering the Grand Temple, Silveryn held her breath for a moment.
It was exactly as she remembered from the past.
The temple's ceiling was completely open to view the constellations, and the floor was densely carved with rune letters numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
Each rune letter corresponded to individual celestial bodies floating in the void.
The priests waiting in the Grand Temple for the oracle bowed their heads to Silveryn.
She took out the vial containing the cube from her chest.
Priest Price said to her, "I will move the sacred object to the stone platform."
Silveryn defensively held the glass vial to her chest and said, "No. I'll do it."
"Ah, understood."
She couldn't tolerate anyone else's warmth touching the cube.
Though this was a ritual to unveil her disciple's fate, there was nothing Silveryn could do. Somehow it felt like handing over her disciple's fate to another's hands.
She wanted to at least move it herself.
Silveryn strode to the central stone platform. She carefully opened the vial and placed it upright in the center of the magic circle carved into the platform.
Then, she turned around and took in the Grand Temple for a moment. Old memories flashed by.
The place where fate's constellation is determined.
She too had once received her fate's reading here.
A single star.
An ambiguous oracle that could be either a curse or blessing. Silveryn had agonized for a long time to understand the meaning of those words.
Now thinking back, she knew all too well what "a single star" meant.
The answer was so simple and straightforward that all those hours of agonizing felt futile.
Silveryn set aside her complex feelings and descended from the stone platform.
The priests, after confirming the sacred object, lit the magical braziers placed around the platform.
They took their positions and waited for the high priest's instructions.
Price looked into Silveryn's eyes.
When she crossed her arms and nodded to Price, the priests simultaneously spread out a field of mana.
The sunlight disappeared, and the world grew dark as dawn.
Soon, intense light burst forth from the Rosental Cube placed on the platform, becoming a pillar of light connected to the sky.
The priests began chanting the same spell simultaneously, like a chorus.
Light rippled like waves across the rune letters carved in the floor.
The ritual had begun.
***
A human silhouette slowly approached me through the red fog.
I couldn't see their face due to the black robe pulled down deeply over their head.
The closer the figure came, the more strongly my necklace vibrated.
Undeniably, this being was a Dark Mage.
They walked slowly and calmly with hands neatly folded at their waist.
Judging by their movements alone, they seemed like a monastery priest.
The robed figure stopped about twenty paces from me.
And quietly observed me.
I slowly moved sideways like a feline predator stalking prey.
The other person mirrored my movement, moving in the same direction as if facing a mirror.
Chills ran down my spine at the inhuman, eerie presence.
It felt like facing death itself.
After staring at each other for a while, I spoke first, "You're the Dark Mage."
"..."
The figure slowly nodded at my words.
"Why did you come to Eternia?"
Unexpectedly, an extremely refined and calm woman's voice responded, "...To confirm God's will, child."
When I took a step sideways, the Dark Mage moved exactly one step sideways as well.
She was matching my footsteps.
"Why? You don't seem like the type to be loved by God."
"Originally, God doesn't love all humans. As you can see from the corpses around you."
"...So what's your real purpose? Are you trying to destroy Eternia to confirm God's will?"
"I merely came to take God's most beloved child. I simply made those who interfered pay the price."
While facing off against the Dark Mage, I sensed another presence floating in the fog.
Something was circling around me as if in orbit. And occasionally it let out an ear-splitting cry.
It was the Wraith. Dark shapes were watching for an opportunity like a murder of crows.
With each step, I felt something soft underfoot.
Black leeches the size of finger joints emerged from the ground. Then they attached themselves to my shoes and crawled up stealthily.
Death was slowly enveloping me.
"So... did you get what you wanted?"
Though her face wasn't visible, the Dark Mage seemed to be smiling.
"...Not yet."
Keeping my eyes fixed on the Dark Mage, I moved my hand to the potion pouch at my waist.
I was startled as I sensed something strange. All my potion bottles were vibrating simultaneously.
When I took out a Griffin Potion, the Wraith's cry grew stronger.
The potion bottle resonated with this and shattered with a burst, breaking.
Then the remaining potions in my pouch all burst as well, their liquids leaking out.
"A familiar scent."
"..."
"Made with Zverev's recipe, I see."
Zverev?
My eyes wavered when I heard that name from the Dark Mage's lips.
He was the mad alchemist of Wiesel who had developed the Griffin Potion formula.
"..."
And she knew how I had obtained the recipe.
The Dark Mage spoke as if she knew me. At least, it was certain she had been watching me somewhere.
Since when? From the Wiesel Knights' social gathering?
From when I fought the ghoul in Zverev's basement?
From when I met Silveryn in uncharted territory?
Maybe, just maybe, she had been watching me even longer than that.