Chapter 112
"I'm sorry."
A voice whispering in the ear, piercing through the profound silence.
How many times had he watched this scene?
A blurry landscape shimmered in the prophet's vision.
The sky dyed bright red, academy buildings crumbled without a trace, corpses piled like dust among scattered remnants.
It was a world on the brink of destruction.
"In the end... we couldn't stop the apocalypse."
The boy standing beside him muttered.
He was in a terrible state as well.
His once neat suit was now tattered and torn, and his golden hair that used to flutter was soaked in blood.
Only wide-open pupils remained in his narrowed eyes that had been like his symbol.
"Dean."
A tired throat called out to the prophet.
At the same time, staggering legs.
The snake who momentarily swayed soon regained his balance, then turned towards the old man and showed a bitter smile on his lips.
The darkness gradually coloring his complexion implied farewell.
His lips, dripping blood, moved.
"Still, we have one last move left."
A struggling finger pointed to the sky.
Beyond the red background, the last remaining [disaster] was poking out its head.
The snake spoke.
"I'll go alone from here. That will be the only way to protect this world."
Words resolving to sacrifice at last.
The prophet couldn't stop him.
He could only quietly ask.
How should he explain to the children who would be left behind?
The boy smiled intently.
"Well... whatever the hidden circumstances, the fact that I'm a traitor remains unchanged."
"I don't want to leave excuses with such a subject."
"It seems like it would just complicate things unnecessarily."
"I've decided to put aside worries about them now."
"They're surely strong children, so they'll overcome well."
An ending no one would acknowledge.
The snake shouldered the world.
Only the sound of cold wind echoed in his steps passing by the prophet.
The boy recited as if adding harmony over it.
"Dean... I'll ask you for a different future."
Trudge trudge-.
Leaving behind an incomprehensible request, the snake advanced towards the center of the raging storm.
The prophet was staring at the receding back.
A hand unconsciously reaching out.
But the boy disappeared at a distance that couldn't be reached.
Only winter remained in the empty background.
Wheeee-.
The old man stood there for a long time.
It was a particularly vivid dream.
***
A space where terrible silence flowed.
I held my breath quietly.
While needlessly fiddling with the teacup held in my fingertips, my gaze flowed to the dean sitting on the sofa opposite.
The white-haired old man didn't waver from his calm atmosphere.
Only the sound of breathing could be heard.
"......"
"......"
We didn't open our mouths rashly.
A precariously continuing atmosphere.
Especially the dean, as if his mind was elsewhere, was just staring into empty space with unfocused eyes.
An inexplicable haziness was buried in his calm gaze.
'It's quiet.'
I muttered inwardly.
Though we had certainly exchanged meaningful greetings, there were no signs of conversation after that.
The snake and the old man just continued their tea ceremony silently.
Of course.
This silence was within the range anticipated in advance.
Because it was a position worthy of caution.
Even if the other side showed willingness to talk, there was a high probability I wouldn't hear the answer to the question I wanted.
It was because of the [restriction] the world had placed on the old man.
I recalled the original work.
Gaston Galimar.
The dean who had led the academy for the past few decades, and a transcendent who could glimpse the future, having received mysteriousness from birth.
The world gave the old man the alias of [Prophet of the Apocalypse].
However,
Names are pronounced differently depending on who calls them.
Despite having a firm real name and alias, the users playing the original work called him by a different name.
None other than 'the most powerless prophet'.
I recalled a few posts in my mind.
[Category: Question Board]
[Title: Dean <- What exactly is this character doing?]
Still on my 5th playthrough as a newbie
I didn't understand what this dean bastard was doing every time I saw him
Isn't he just an extra?
First of all, he barely appears despite being the head of the academy
I never see this bastard solving anything whether the academy is attacked or whatever happens
He has less screen time than even professors like Cardel or Selena
From in-story mentions he's supposed to be super strong
But he needs to show something for it to be convincing
All I've seen is a white-haired old man drinking a ton of tea
I think the other professors had more impact tbh
And
What's with this prophet foreshadowing??
[He's a useless character]
-> How can a person's name be Gaston lolololol
-> Is that really all there is without anything else?
[We don't know exactly what the prophet foreshadowing is either]
-> Who are you to lump me in and conclude I don't know
-> So do you know?
-> Don't know
-> Augh stirring up trouble
+++
[Category: Free Board]
[Title: If the Emperor is the worst scumbag in the story]
The dean is the worst incompetent in the story
He just doesn't do anything
Yet he's holding onto huge foreshadowing
Something about being the prophet of the apocalypse
Anyway the story keeps emphasizing he's a super important figure
So I thought he might do something later on but that's not the case either
He's called a prophet but he's not helpful at all
They say the world put some restriction on him
Because of that he doesn't give proper answers no matter what you ask
Even if you use up a mythic item to talk to him
All you get back is a few spoilers you can't even understand
If you're going to make a character unable to speak properly, why put in the prophet setting in the first place?
I don't know what the developers were thinking when they made this character
If the Emperor is a piece of shit personality-wise
This guy is just fundamentally shit in his basic composition
[This is really Future-saw-dor]
-> Ah lol he only knows the future
[I'm a newbie so I don't know well, but what does prophet mean?]
-> It literally means prophet. He can see the future because he transcends providence or something.
-> ???? For such an ability he doesn't do much
-> That's because he has restrictions
-> Restrictions?
-> Think of it as the price for the ability
[So what are the dean's restrictions?]
-> He can't interfere recklessly with the future he knows. If he reveals it to others or twists providence, he'll shoulder the world's karma and his existence will be erased.
-> What the hell that's trash
-> No wonder he's called a useless character
-> Why does a character who can see the future exist if he can't interfere or reveal anything...?
-> Well he did see the future. Have a drink.
[It's because not all the endings have been revealed yet. Remember the hidden ending the developers mentioned before? There's a possibility the dean will play an important role there.]
-> This is the most likely
-> Since it came up I'll ask, has anyone said they've seen the hidden ending?
-> Nope, as far as I know there's no one yet
-> Even the walkthrough guy couldn't figure it out
-> If that guy can't find it then it probably doesn't exist ffs
As you can see.
The old man before my eyes hadn't chosen silence because he wanted to.
He closed his mouth because there was no other way.
If he leaked even a little content about the prophecy, the backlash from the restriction would surely tear apart his old body.
It might even lead to losing one symbolic figure.
Too heavy a risk to shoulder for just a few words.
Of course.
It wasn't that there was no way at all.
There's always a side path.
"Dean."
It was the same in the original work.
Prophet of the apocalypse.
Originally you couldn't get an answer no matter what question you asked, but a method to temporarily bypass such restrictions was known.
It was the method of offering items equivalent to myths as sacrifices.
The principle is simple.
Restriction.
This is the world's warning not to deviate from providence, and if you go against it recklessly, you'll settle a proper price.
In the dean's case, as his ability was significant, the price was also heavy.
None other than erasure of existence.
This was why he couldn't leak prophecies.
But what if we use it in reverse?
"I already know about the restriction."
Turn the price to another side.
More precisely, transfer the penalty for violating the restriction to another side.
Entrust that role of fake sacrifice to a [divine object].
Items that were often called 'mythic items' in the original work.
While the continent was born and sustained by God's touch.
They were fragments of the world that existed in that history, were imbued with holiness, and finally recognized as having high class.
At the same time, they were also treated as the rarest items.
'No wonder they're said to be good.'
A class that can shoulder the price, even if briefly.
If you hand it over when questioning the prophet, the dean could temporarily remove part of the restriction.
It was possible to have a short Q&A by utilizing this loophole.
Of course.
It wasn't a very preferred interaction among users.
There were many opinions that the items were too precious.
The probability of obtaining a divine object was maybe once in 100 playthroughs, so it didn't make sense to waste such an item on just a few lines of dialogue.
Naturally, the used divine object would be destroyed right after, so recovery was also impossible.
Moreover, it didn't reveal any great future, just a few vague and twisted words, so the reaction of users who cherished resources was understandable.
It was more beneficial to use them elsewhere.
'But.'
In my case, it was different.