Chapter 85

“Aretion, Aretion.”

The Breath of Light cried.

Because it knew it would soon become a monster.

“My servants who chose me.”

Its head was set ablaze.

It was a head that always emitted a bright light, visible even from the end of Hobel Bay, but now it radiated a fiery heat, like ten thousand suns gathered together. Its head couldn’t endure the heat and began to shatter.

“Just as you wished, I will fall and be alone. And because you are my servants, you too will fall and be alone.”

People, oh people. You sad ones.

Arete Island cried.

The stupid and despicable Aretions, not seeming at all ashamed, cried especially hard.

“You will become beasts. You will not see each other. You will not hear each other. You will not speak to each other. You will live without even a head.”

The first yoke was the Hill of Storms.

The second yoke was the Thorn Wave.

“This is the third and final yoke.”

The people of Arete Island who were not swept away by the storms and waves began to change one by one.

Feathers grew and their bodies became smaller.

Their arms became wings, and their legs became short and chubby!

Some turned white, others turned black!

Oh my, look at you! And you?

There were some who chattered noisily, but they soon became quiet. Because they had no heads.

Watching Arete become a headless beast, the Breath of Light cried even more sadly.

“And so, you will finally be alone.”

Just as you made me.

***

The three yokes made Arete Island lonely.

The Breath of Light became a monster and fell into a deep sleep.

The people of the empire were so, so sad that they cried for a year.

“Why did they do it, why did they do it!”

Even Continua the Great eventually shed tears.

“We could have been Cordis together! We could have been happy together for a long, long time!”

When Continua the Great cried, his three aides cried with him.

They were sad.

They were sad and saddened that the people of Arete Island had become lonely and that the Breath of Light had become a monster.

“Stupid Aretion, despicable Aretion!”

It was all because of the Aretions.

What if they hadn't betrayed the great Continua?

What if they hadn’t turned the Breath of Light they revered into a monster?

What if they had been a little smarter, a little more righteous?

So, sadly, it was a story that had already passed.

“Record the story of Arete. Let every child and adult read it! Let no such sad thing ever happen again in the Cordis Empire!”

Even in his sadness, Continua the Great gave an order.

To let everyone in the empire know the sad and lonely story of Arete and the Breath of Light, and the stupidity and despicable nature of the Aretions.

So that no one, no matter how stupid and despicable, would make such a mistake again.

Long live the wise Great Emperor.

Glory to the millennium empire.

From 'The Praying Island and the Breathing Light: The Latest Revised Edition, Inspected by the Imperial Academy of Magic', by Kosmano Keshulei.

[All editions except for the latest revised edition are forbidden to be sold]

***

“Propagandistic third-rate fairy tale.”

I said sardonically.

“The author’s lack of interest is obvious as it goes on. Don’t you think so?”

“…I would agree.”

“’Long live the wise Great Emperor, glory to the millennium empire?’ It’s not even funny. To think this is the work of the empire’s literary giant, Elder Kosmano.”

Even if it was an early work of his.

I chuckled.

It was even more ridiculous that such a ridiculous work had succeeded.

The story, which mocked the Aretions and elevated Continua the Great, spread throughout the empire, which had been exhausted by war, as if it were seeping into it.

“Regardless of its literary quality, it's quite plausible as propaganda.”

This fairy tale helped solidify the Great Emperor’s throne.

It was said that a voice of concern from the Eight Sages was drowned out by the enthusiastic support of the people because he had seized the throne in a way that was close to treason.

“Because it's a damn well-written lie.”

The enthusiasm was so great that some joked that if the imperial law hadn’t forbidden all kinds of faiths, there would have been a shrine to Continua the Great in every city. Maybe there really were some in the provinces.

“Have you ever read the first edition?”

“Yes……”

“It’s not much different, but there’s no part that praises the Great Emperor in such a weird way. The reason for the Aretions’ betrayal and why the Breath of Light became a monster are a little different. The second and third editions are also different.”

I tapped my temple.

“Isn’t that strange? If it was a true story, how could it be different?”

Amethus's lips were tightly sealed.

He was struggling to push away the layers of doubt piling up.

I had no intention of letting him do that. My tongue moved quickly.

“The diviner of the Security Bureau, you must have looked into it as much as you could, right? Have you met the author?”

“…I couldn’t meet Elder Kosmano, as he had been in seclusion for a long time.”

It was the first thing he did when he became a Special Operations Unit captain.

He had been running around to fulfill his family’s long-cherished wish and naturally, he dug into this fairy tale as well.

“Instead, I met an employee from the Imperial Academy of Magic publishing department who was responsible for the inspection at the time.”

“What did he say?”

“…He said that the reality was too cruel, so they had no choice but to change it a little……”

“Do you think that makes sense? They wrote that hundreds of thousands of people on Arete Island died as it was? And besides, look.”

I glanced to the side.

We were on a sun-drenched beach.

But a little further away, there was the Hill of Storms.

It was strange that it was so calm even though it was so close.

Outside, the Thorn Wave was probably still crashing against the reefs.

“The three yokes are just like in the story.”

The Hill of Storms and the Thorn Wave, and the one we hadn't seen yet.

“You know, Amethus. Your damn intuition must have already found the answer and more.”

“……”

“You already figured out which side is the truth, didn’t you?”

Amethus felt his heart tighten.

He knew.

He just didn't want to admit it.

He just didn’t want to open the lid.

At some point, his sword stopped.

At some point, he stopped trying to stop me from talking.

“What is that…….”

I heard a flapping sound and turned my head.

There was a black shape that approached with quick steps and then soared up with its wings spread.

A crow.

But it had no black beak or button-like eyes.

It had no head, just a torso, legs, and wings.

And yet, it flapped and flew.

There wasn't just one.

Two became three, then five, ten… soon over a hundred gathered.

“Those are them, Amethus.”

There were black birds.

There were white birds.

Not a single one had a head.

The flocks of crows and swans were in the thousands in an instant.

“The people of Arete from that time, bound by the third yoke.”

They were still alive.

They couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't speak, and they had been living without heads for decades.

Did they have memories?

Did they even know that they were once human?

Even if he wanted to ask, they couldn’t hear.

Even if he wanted an answer, they couldn’t speak.

“It’s proof that the Breath of Light feels us and is waking up from its sleep.”

I withdrew ‘The Heated Iron Bloodline’.

It was damnably heavy, and I couldn't hold it anymore.

But Amethus didn’t attack me.

He powerlessly lowered his double-edged sword, which he always held up without hesitation.

“I’m going, Amethus.”

I inflated the Mana Armor Valziart even more.

If I ran in the form of a black beast, I would be far away in an instant.

“To the place where your ancestors’ city walls are. To where the truth awaits.”

I grew distant.

Amethus squeezed the hilt of his sword.

He couldn’t swing it.

He lifted his heels.

But he couldn’t run.

With jade eyes filled with agony, he followed me.

“I trust you've made your decision.”

***

Arete was beautiful.

This island, surrounded by the Hill of Storms, was always bathed in warm sunlight.

It was a strange thing that the sun wasn’t visible but there was plenty of light.

This must also be the power of the Breath of Light.

After leaving the beach, the grass was knee-high.

I looked closely and saw a paved stone path hidden underneath.

It was a remnant of a time when this was the most bountiful island in the Southwest Sea, surpassing even Hobel Bay.

It was also proof that it was no longer so, and I smiled wryly.

“There are so many of them.”

Flocks of birds continued to fly. Black swarms and white swarms mixed together, disorienting the eyes.

Crows and swans, they didn't really fit with the warm island. Even more so without heads.

The sky was also full of birds.

How many people on Arete did they say died?

Was it hundreds of thousands?

Then the number of those birds must also be in the hundreds of thousands.

I inflated my Mana Armor Valziart-covered legs and kept running.

I felt someone following me and spoke without turning around.

“I’ll give you some praise.”

The Regressor Prince kept running.

Like a nimble beast, he leaped over half-ruined stone walls and onto tall branches.

“Feet that don’t run away deserve praise.”

Amethus didn’t answer and just followed.

He was fiercely fast.

He just looked like he was walking quickly, but he followed me well, never getting too far behind me as I leaped around.

“…Don’t misunderstand, Your Highness Zionis.”

He had put away his double-edged sword.

“Since Your Highness is telling such lies, I am doing this to find evidence that it’s a lie.”

“What if it’s the truth?”

“……”

I snorted, looking at the jade-eyed man who followed me silently.

The flocks of birds flew.

They danced beautifully in the air.

“Whether it’s the truth or a lie, you can’t have my neck.”

“I’ll get it for myself when the time comes.”

“Your sass is back.”

I had no intention of scratching him up anymore.

It was enough that I had made him follow me.

I stopped moving my feet and lifted my head.

I had a feeling as if my cheeks were being tickled.

“Oh.”

The warmth intensified and became a searing heat.

It was different from the clinging, melting heat of ‘The Heated Iron Bloodline’.

It was a heat with a hint of breath. Soon, a brilliant light followed.

“Look over there, Amethus, over there.”

“…Is that a deer……?”

“Your tone lacks conviction.”

“Of course it does, since it has no head.”

It was a deer.

Since it had no head, it might have been some other similar animal, but at least its body was most similar to a deer.

In the place where its head should have been, there was a thorny bush.

It grew in every direction, like a deer’s antlers.

And in the middle of the thorny bush, like a horn, there was a flame.

It didn’t flicker and was round, a ball of condensed light that illuminated the surroundings.

“It’s the deer that moves the fire.”

“Where?”

“Where else?”

The deer ran.

It strode ahead of them.

As it got closer, its legs were longer than theirs.

Amethus could pass under its belly without even ducking his head.

“Isn’t it trying to breathe life into the sleeping Breath of Light?”

Where the deer passed, traces of fire remained.

The warm heat guided them like a breath.

The headless flocks of birds rejoiced and danced even more.

“So let’s follow.”

I gestured with my hand.

In the center of Arete Island, there were the city walls of the Aretions.

The end of the pursuit that began in the capital, Lutilium, was here.

“The truth is at the end of that.”

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