Thud thud.
Bits of ceiling debris fell with a harsh Thud-thud, sharpening the knot of anxiety coiled inside Isaac and Marlin. Panting, the Giant managed to speak.
“ …I can still hold this.”
“……That—”
No one wanted to contradict him. Without the Giant bracing the collapse, they would already be dead. Yet, with only his upper body free, it was clear his life—more than the tunnel—was hanging by a thread.
They dared not ask the obvious question. His breath was ragged, but his tone stayed calm—or tried to.
“Find… a way out.”
At those words, Isaac and Marlin looked around. All they saw were towering walls of dirt. There was hardly any space to move, let alone search. A few small air shafts between the packed debris were the only comfort.
Thud! Thud thud!
Fresh clods spilled down, rattling their nerves. Even normally stoic Marlin showed fear, while Isaac explained evenly:
“The mine’s caved in—that’s obvious. Luckily the continent’s most advanced Mage Tower is right above us, so the rescue should co quickly.”
“Is that so?”
“That’s a relief.”
“In theory, yes.”
The real problem was depth. This vein ran deep, and being buried so far down ant the rescue could be slow. The diggers would have to assu survivors were still breathing and work carefully.
“…….”
Their rations amounted to one sandwich and a bottle of water—Marlin’s late-night snack.
Though the outlook was grim, Isaac forced a hopeful tone and steered the talk elsewhere.
“By the way… earlier—”
He left the sentence hanging; the aning was clear enough.
“Silver Clock…” growled the Giant.
Rage flickered in him, though his broken body could barely show it.
“She realized I’m alive and ca herself to finish the job.”
“But Silver Clock is a Star, isn’t she? How could—”
“Don’t underestimate her.”
The giant ground his teeth—his only outlet for fury.
“She’s the woman who toppled an entire world. Of course, she’d keep secrets.”
“…….”
Isaac felt a chill. What could drive her this far?
The mont he’d seen silver light seeping through the cracks, she had sprung to mind. He, too, had once accepted Silver Clock’s spell; the glow was familiar. Yet where it had been a warm miracle to Isaac, it was a relentless hunter to the Giant.
“Hrgh… human…” wheezed the Giant, peering down at Isaac. The sole reason he was alive, even torn in half, was cruelly simple: the ritual kept him bound to life. Ironically, the “guardian” role was now his lifeline.
“Yes, I’m listening,” Isaac said.
“……Do you believe in fate?”
The question was abrupt, but Isaac didn’t ask why.
“I’m skeptical.”
The Giant managed a faint smile. “Why so?”
“If fate is real, then losing my legs feels far too fated.”
“Hrgh.”
He tried to laugh but only exhaled a bitter breath, then continued:
“Since eting you, I’ve wondered nonstop: did fate lead to you, or is this just vicious luck born of age?”
He made his choice.
“It’s fate. Hearing you now, I’ve decided to believe that.”
“…….”
“It has to be. I must believe my life is destined.”
He spoke as if any other answer would break him.
“Sothing was prepared: my comrades dying, our world collapsing, an age where only a single silver star lights the sky for our descendants—if all that is fate, then it was beyond my power to change.”
Things long past. Deeds long done. He could do nothing about them.
He wanted to believe that. If destiny ruled, then no struggle of his could have changed the outco.
Tears welled. Hot drops slid from the Giant’s eyes, soaking the dirt.
“The reason I kept living so long—so long even my own na feels impossible to utter—was because I was destined to et you, Isaac Logan.”
The raw urgency in his voice silenced Isaac and Marlin; they could only listen.
“So, Isaac Logan…”
The Giant’s gaze locked on him, full of pleading.
“Strike down.”
“But—”
“Please. These endlessly drawn-out years existed so you could gain your revelation. End them, and place the final period on this destiny.”
* * *
Dark Predawn Hours,
The sky still hadn’t begun to pale. Three hours had crawled by since Isaac was buried beneath the collapsed mine.
Staring at the caved-in entrance, Grandmaster spoke, her voice thick with bitterness.
“Never imagined I’d live to regret wielding a sword instead of a shovel.”
Naless, beside her let out a weary sigh.
“Haa… You’d run in with a spade even now if they let you, wouldn’t you?”
“If permission ca, I would. But the mages say they’re preparing a spell first.”
“……He’s alive. I’m sure of it.”
Grandmaster managed a wry smile at Naless’s conviction. Hoping soone lived through a collapse like that was almost shaless—yet …
“He has to live.”
And Grandmaster clung to that hope.
Just then, Sharen ran up, eyes glistening.
“Unnie can’t calm down. She just keeps crying.”
“When you’ve got that much stamina, grief lasts even longer, it seems.”
Rihanna had shouted, between sobs, that she would dive in herself right now. Thankfully, a Silence spell smothered her desperate wail; otherwise, her voice would have shaken the Mage-Tower to its rafters.
“Were you crying too? Your eyes are red.”
“……Mm-hm. Sniff.”
Seeing Sharen weep, Grandmaster realized she had seldom witnessed the little girl shed tears, no matter the hardship. She had borne every trial—yet this one overwheld her.
She stroked her hair.
“He’ll be all right. What disciple would dare shut his eyes before his own master?”
Sharen gulped back tears, then punched the air.
“Just wait till you get out! I’ll hit you with five red aura blasts!”
“Heh—do it.”
“Better practice! red aura! red aura! Re-Red, Red-blast—!”
Her voice faded; tears spilt at last, and Grandmaster gathered her into her arms.
“Aaaaaang! Idiot! Why are you still stuck down there at this hour?!”
Holding the sobbing girl, Grandmaster felt moisture prick her own eyes.
“Making so many won cry… truly, he’s earned his sins.”
With a pained smile, she prayed—please, just stay alive.
“...”
While that heavy silence lay over them, another anxious figure approached.
Rayahn Leivice. Like Isaac, his younger sister lay buried inside, and his face was just as dark.
Ha…….
A short sigh slipped out. He was normally all smiles; now even his lively hair hung limp.
No one here escaped sorrow, and the mages were doing all they could to reach the two trapped below when—
Tsk tsk tsk!
“……!”
High above, sothing split the sky. They had witnessed it before, yet could never grow accustod. A sticky, oppressive air seeped from the widening crack, tainting everything around them. Beyond it yawned a backdrop of pure black.
Eyes widening, Grandmaster slapped a hand to the sword at her waist and shouted:
“Naless! Run!”
“……!”
Naless was already sprinting—but too late.
“Ughhhhh!”
The curse bound to her throat flared to life, tightening around her neck with brutal force.
As she collapsed to her knees and sprawled on the ground, a voice brimming with fury rang out.
“Running at the re sight of your master—how very beast-like of you.”
The speaker was a red-haired man missing his left arm. Hellic had returned to the world, hatred thick on his tongue, scattering crimson energy in every direction.
“But do not be afraid. Today I’m here to visit an old friend I once thought lost.”
Behind him stood several Primitive Transcendents.
‘They’re no ordinary foes…’ Grandmaster thought.
Each one radiated an overwhelming presence—the weight of ages utterly unlike that of mortal n.
Among them, one face caught the Grandmaster’s eye.
A towering fra draped in a black robe. Muscles rippled as if alive, and at his waist hung a great blade longer and thicker than anything wielded by Grandmaster or Naless.
The horn that once jutted from his brow had been cut; a straw sakkat concealed the stump.
Those muddy, obsidian eyes fixed only on the Grandmaster.
“Y-you’re—”
He had never imagined the man could still be alive. When he left, she was certain she had killed him- or perhaps she simply needed to believe it.
“It has been a long ti.”
Yeonji Valley.
Ten half-bloods.
And instruction.
Where there is instruction, sothing follows inevitably:
A master.
“Seeing you again gladdens beyond asure, disciple.”
It was Mugan, the swordmaster who had once trained the ten half-bloods of Yeonji Valley.
---The End Of The Chapter---
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