Infinite Mage

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."

"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.

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.

"Are you really going to send them?"

Kadum's expression twisted as Hashid addressed him with respect.

"Father, it's not appropriate to speak to your son that way."

"Son? You know my son is no longer in this world, Father."

It was a strange situation where they both called each other "Father." Of course, it was even more bizarre for the elderly Hashid to call the robust Kadum "Father."

Kadum revealed his true nature. The gleam in his eyes hinted at the wisdom of someone who had lived for over two hundred years.

"Hmph, do you still misunderstand? Kadum’s death was an accident. I didn’t kill him."

"Of course, you would say that. But if my son hadn’t died, the man named Kang wouldn’t have borrowed Kadum’s name to become the chieftain again."

Kadum turned to face Hashid.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Father, they won’t succeed. Even if that boy is a divine messenger, he won’t bring back what our tribe desires."

"It doesn’t matter. The wealth will remain here anyway. If they bring back what we want, it’s worth any amount. If they fail, we’ll just dispose of them. Everything is for Kergo."

"Is that so? Two hundred years ago, you gained three hundred years of life through a divine messenger. That has nothing to do with Kergos, does it?"

Hashid glared at Kadum with contempt.

While the son was old and frail, struggling to even walk, the father enjoyed youth with a muscular and sleek body.

Since gaining three hundred years of life, the chieftain had gone wild. He searched for Unlockers across the land and spent a vast fortune. When the tribe’s wealth dwindled, he even sold Lupe to outsiders.

In a way, it was understandable.

Immortality. Eternal youth. What wouldn’t someone give for that?

"Isn’t it enough already? Since that day, many Unlockers have left but not one has returned. Obsessing over immortality makes you lose your humanity. Lady Miro realized this early and issued a warning."

"Silence! No one can lead the tribe as strongly as I can. Have you forgotten how miserable Kergos was when you were the chieftain? You’re just a failed leader. Kergos needs me. I am Kergos itself!"

Hashid could say nothing as he watched Kadum howl at the sky.

Father was strong. He was a two-hundred-year-old serpent with formidable strength. As he boasted, he might indeed revive the tribe.

But perhaps... he would be the last, and Kergos would vanish from the world.

***

Shirone's party headed to their lodging.

The cave stretching northwest from the square was complex, but to Shirone, who frequented Estas like his own home, it was just a bothersome maze with many forks.

The lodging was a large room with a bed they hadn’t expected. There was even a cabinet next to the bed.

It was a room for outsiders. How many people had stayed here until now? Had they left for heaven? Or had they disappeared from the world?

The chieftain’s words were so shocking that everyone was silent even after they reached their lodging.

After unpacking and organizing in the cabinet, they turned to Canis. Divine messenger, heaven, the situation in Kergos. Now it was his turn to explain what he knew.

"I kept my promise. Now, explain."

"It’s just as you heard."

Amy sat next to Shirone, facing Canis.

"Heaven? Does such a place really exist? When did you find out?"

"Honestly, I’m not sure either. Besides, it seems faster to ask Shirone about that. Hashid asked you. What did you see in the space-time of the labyrinth?"

Amy turned to Shirone and asked.

"Right, Shirone, tell us. What did you see?"

"It’s not what, but where."

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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