Глава 14

I mean being a Messenger!

*sigh* So many years gone by in an instant. I've been away for too long from Kazdel, not too familiar with it nowadays. I heard that I would be able to find who I seek at these coordinates.

Would you mind telling me how to get to the former location of Babel?

Our progress on Babel's work saw heavy pushback at every turn, as expected.

I was never worried about failure, but I did not want to see those who harbored hope fall back into the cycle of despair.

I dove deeper and deeper into 'Civilight Eterna'.

Kal'tsit reminded me that this could put a strain on my body, but time was short, and I had to make use of every resource that I could.

In the end, I managed to find the Farchaser, the very first King of Sarkaz.

I saw a faint vision of a war that engulfed the sky and the earth, a crowd of people being devoured by despair, and then... what was perhaps Originium. I could not say. It looked far different from the black crystals we are familiar with, glinting with the cleanest luster.

Our King of Sarkaz, defender of the first Kazdel, offered his very blood and soul to it.

Soon after, eternal night descended. All sound and light faded from us without a trace.

The Farchaser had renounced his name and left little emotion within 'Civilight Eterna'. I believe he did so intentionally. He embraced the darkness on behalf of all Sarkaz, and buried himself within it.

What I had stepped into was a cold and desolate tomb.

I paced back and forth within, lost in thought amidst the silence.

Up until the moment that I realized that the darkness was not as desolate as I had assumed.

A tower.

Only by building a tower tall enough could we reach the darkness above.

Everything we build will collapse into ruin and be swallowed by the sands, this is true.

But our will and our desire allow us to rise back up from the dust millions upon millions of times.

We climb.

We climb.

We never stop ascending, crossing over the limits of our knowledge.

Until we transcend the darkness.

So this is why there's a tower here.

Well, somehow or the other, looks like we managed to reach the top.

How long did we spend climbing this thing? Feels like I've been climbing for ages!

Indeed, but we might need... to climb a little longer.

Hey, bunny! What are you blanking for?

I was listening.

To the dead guys with the limited vocabulary nagging away? Haven't you gotten tired of them by now?

Hmm...

Amiya knows whose voice she heard.

The King of Sarkaz is among the myriad souls.

The myriad souls wishes the King of Sarkaz will listen.

Amiya cannot help but follow this voice in delving into the depths of 'Civilight Eterna', fumbling about amidst countless fragments of space and time.

A ring chafes against the palm of her hand.

If only she could remove them, she would be privy to secrets ancient and new, and all the details of the past will flow into her brain.

Not now, Amiya.

Dr. Kal'tsit...

You are being influenced by the myriad souls. In their impatience, they are willing you to accept their choice.

I wish to understand... her emotions.

Then you must face her. We must all do so.

She's right, Amiya.;We'll do it together.

I know.

Other than the myriad souls outside, I can hear the voices of your hearts clearly. The Doctor's, Dr. Kal'tsit's, W's.

Those who dare use Arts on me to peep at my thoughts tend not to last too long.

But... Heh, since we made it this far, I bet we're pretty much thinking the same thing anyway.

Urgency, nervousness, and a brimming anticipation.

All vivid emotions that contrast with the echoes in the deathly silence.

Let's go up together. We're very close now.

Let me have a think on how we should tear down this transparent ceiling.

Perhaps...

She has already told me how.

An eye within the darkness hangs above their heads.

A rhombus.

It appears to be the only light in the darkness, as if it is the one that devoured the brilliance of all other things.

Amiya raises her head.

Every King of Sarkaz amongst the myriad souls raises their head.

Amiya stretches her hand out towards the rhombus.

Every King of Sarkaz amongst the myriad souls stretches their hand out.

These were the only words left to me by the first King of Sarkaz:

'The stone that enshrouds us like night is our suffering, and our hope.'

We came here because of hope.

At this moment, the Farchaser, the Citymaker, the Wrathful Cerulean Flame... All the Kings of Sarkaz are with me. Even Yliš takes up his staff once more.

They fight alongside me.

For the sake of our shared duty.

The duty of the Kings.

The future of the Sarkaz will be revealed here.

Heaven and earth, up and down, light and dark, past and future.

All of a sudden, they are reversed.

At the top of the tower that is also its base, at the end that is also its beginning, Amiya hears a sigh.

We have been waiting for you...

'King of Sarkaz'.