Episode 164: The North #4
“…What are you even saying?”
Yohan narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t understand the conversation. However, even in this situation, his mind was already racing.
‘If I combine the information from the mural with what the celestial mage is saying now…’
Yohan reached a conclusion and asked,
“Like you, has Francia also regressed?”
The celestial mage snapped her fingers.
“Correct.”
Her voice rang low. The air subtly distorted. She smiled quietly. Even though she had turned back time and regained her youth, there was no vitality in that smile.
Like a living statue.
No, because she had become deified.
“I deceived you, Yohan Harsen.”
The celestial mage’s voice felt both distant and near. It echoed in countless layers, drilling into his mind.
“I am the woman who stole your original life when I returned through time.”
The celestial mage spoke with a smile. She was certain. Just like her past lover, Yohan would feel an overwhelming sense of betrayal. Their relationship would be utterly destroyed.
Only then did Yohan finally understand everything. Francia’s slightly suspicious behavior, the sudden death of Archbishop Cain, her visit to him—everything made sense now.
“Hm…”
However, Yohan remained indifferent. The celestial mage, reading his expression, asked in a cold voice,
“…What kind of reaction is that?”
“Well, I was just wondering if this is something I should even feel betrayed about.”
Yohan continued,
“The me from the past is one thing, but I’m a completely different person in a completely different time. That’s not me. Even our memories are different. I might as well be a stranger.”
Then, he shrugged. It was a response mixed with philosophy and physics, something he had once seen in a comic before reincarnating into this world.
The celestial mage blinked as if she hadn’t anticipated such an answer. Despite her genius-level computation abilities and all the achievements she had accumulated, it seemed she was lacking in this area. Intelligence and wisdom were separate matters, after all.
She took a slow breath to calm herself before asking again.
“…So you’re saying that the past you and the present you are completely different people, and therefore, you weren’t actually betrayed?”
“You could put it that way.”
Yohan nodded.
“Hah, this is the most ridiculous answer I’ve ever heard. Do you think you’re some kind of sage?”
Wooong!
He felt the celestial mage’s mana stir. Even with just a slight tremor, Yohan’s body flinched. This wasn’t a situation he could fight his way out of.
‘Escaping with Francia is the best option.’
But even if he ran, he wasn’t sure he could shake her off. She could perfectly separate herself from the world’s flow of time to rejuvenate—who knew what else she was capable of?
“This is amusing. Let’s see if you can keep that attitude after seeing this woman’s memories.”
The celestial mage flicked her fingers. Something flowed out from Francia’s mind. A blue light of mana.
“What are you—”
“There’s no harm to her life, so don’t get all worked up.”
“…”
Yohan shut his lips and observed Francia. Her faint breathing remained steady. There were no changes in her expression. It seemed she really was unharmed.
“Hm, quite a long memory… several years’ worth, at least.”
The celestial mage examined the flow of blue mana, nodding slowly.
“I’ll just extract the most intense ones to show you.”
She condensed the extracted mana and shot it toward Yohan. It fired like a beam. There was no time to dodge. It happened in an instant—reacting to it was nearly impossible.
“…!”
Swoosh!
The mana surged into his body. It felt as if time had stopped. Sounds disappeared, and his vision blurred.
“It’s time to learn the truth, Yohan Harsen.”
His vision darkened.
He felt himself drifting further and further away from reality.
***
Memories flowed in.
Yohan unconsciously accepted them.
—She was a blessing from the moment she was born.
Francia.
She shone with light every day.
With every breath she exhaled, the air turned fragrant. With every step she took, the ground softened. Wherever she passed, rose vines would bloom, and those who beheld her would lose their breath.
Obsidian-like hair, ruby-red eyes—
She was a singular existence.
Francia, the Obsidian Saintess.
At some point, people began to call her that.
Her father, Duke Fervache, loved her despite the fact that she was born at the cost of her mother’s life. The territory praised her. Everything was perfect. At least, until she left for her official duties.
That day, the Crown Prince spoke her name.
That day, the Young Grand Duke became aware of her existence.
That day, the Master of Mage Tower coveted her magic.
That day, the Archbishop declared her a blessing.
From that day onward, Francia became prey.
What they desired was not pure love.
It was possession.
It was obsession.
Each time Francia rejected them, the world betrayed her.
One by one.
Her father died.
Her land burned.
The people condemned her.
She fled barefoot.
She was no longer a saintess.
She ran, and ran, and ran.
At night, she prayed, and by day, she ran.
There was nowhere that wanted her.
Then, she discovered the Celestial Mage’s library. It was the edge of the world, yet it welcomed her.
Records of the Celestial Mage.
Runes she could not understand.
Magic no one had ever seen.
But nothing that could help her.
In the end, she took only a few artifacts and magic tomes that seemed useful and left.
But life was too exhausting.
How much longer could she go on like this?
Just as her mind collapsed completely, as she sank into despair—
At that moment, he appeared.
A stoic face.
Cold eyes.
A man of few words.
He saved her. And he gave her not just an escape, but a sanctuary. By his side, she could breathe. His words, his small kindnesses, kept her alive.
Francia felt something more than gratitude toward him.
At first, it was simple.
Gratitude. Respect.
But as his casual words lodged deeper in her heart, as his small gestures of kindness accumulated, her feelings…
Turned into greed.
“If only I had been by his side.”
“If only I had met him sooner.”
The last person left in her world.
If even he was taken away, there would be no reason to live.
Francia began to harbor desire.
But that life didn’t last long. Before she could act on her desires, before she could do anything—
—They found her.
There was nowhere left to run.
Now, she truly had to choose.
Regression.
“If you return to the past, come find me immediately.”
His voice echoed in her ears.
Francia trusted him. She did not doubt.
When she opened her eyes, she immediately looked into the mirror.
Reflected back at her was a young Francia.
In this time that had begun again, she made a vow.
“I will find Yohan.”
And—
“This time, I will never let him be taken from me.”
***
Yohan slowly opened his eyes. A throbbing pain pulsed at his temples as the memories flowed into him, as if he had just watched an old, grainy film for hours.
“…This is unexpected.”
The Celestial Mage’s voice came from ahead. Yohan quickly pushed himself up and gathered his mana. But she did not react. She simply stared at him in disbelief, unable to accept it.
“So it was you who created this situation?”
Her murky, colorless eyes trembled violently as she looked at Yohan, unable to believe what she had just seen.
“It seems that way.”
Yohan chuckled.
It was sudden, but it felt like something he would do.
“In this timeline, it looks like I lived a life completely unrelated to Francia. Just an ordinary, uneventful life. That’s why I stood by and watched. I lived with the complacent thought that ‘things would work themselves out.’”
Although his memories weren’t fully sorted yet, he could say one thing with certainty.
It was a mistake.
A predetermined tragedy wasn’t something someone else would fix. Only he could change the future. Only he, who knew this world.
“And after the world was destroyed, I regretted it. I blamed myself for doing nothing, even though I had the power to change things. And so, as a form of atonement, I took the risk of accepting Francia into my territory.”
Understanding his past self’s thoughts wasn’t difficult. From the moment the world began to change, he must have lived with regret at all times.
“You came looking for me to save a broken Francia, but that was really for my sake. And as a result, the world is now heading in a much better direction. I simply found the right answer after failing.”
Yohan’s blue eyes glowed.
“I don’t really feel a sense of betrayal. After all, this is the situation I created.”
Many other thoughts crossed his mind as well.
He now understood the strange sense of familiarity he felt when looking at Rudbeckia. He finally realized why he always felt guilty around her, why he felt the need to treat her better.
But that was something to think about later.
For now, there was still something he had to resolve.
“This… this can’t be…! This isn’t the ending I wanted…!”
The celestial mage’s body trembled violently.
“Am I the only one who has to suffer because of regression? The reason I spread the magic of regression and waited was—”
“So that others would suffer just as you did, allowing you to justify yourself.”
Yohan cut her off.
“You accomplished everything, yet you still couldn’t achieve what you truly wanted.”
“…”
The celestial mage didn’t respond. She only bit her lower lip and clenched her fists.
“You’ve worn yourself down, celestial mage. And now, you’re consumed by envy and jealousy. Despite achieving countless feats and creating legends, you couldn’t endure the sense of emptiness.”
The greater a person was, the easier it was for them to crumble over something simple.
Their expectations were far higher than those of ordinary people.
And love was the most extreme example of that.
Because it was something that required winning over another person’s heart.
Moreover, the celestial mage had lived for hundreds, even thousands of years. There was a high chance she was no longer sane. She was nothing more than a corpse moving out of sheer longing for what she had failed to obtain.
“So, celestial mage. Let me ask you—have you achieved everything you desired?”
“I…”
Her body trembled. She had so much to say, but no matter what words she uttered, she would only appear pathetic. Her resentment and loneliness felt utterly miserable.
“I can’t accept this…”
The celestial mage grabbed her head with both hands.
She couldn’t understand. Regression was meant to be an endless cycle of suffering and regret. But Francia Fervache was different.
Then…
What if she was the only one who had to live that way?
“I do not want this ending…!”
Her voice gradually faded.
RUMBLE—!
Suddenly, a massive tremor shook the cave.
The moment an indescribable force of denial surged forth, her world began to collapse.
‘Damn it.’
Sensing the change, Yohan created a distortion orb in midair.
A sphere of blue mana formed, absorbing the energy around it.
Whoosh—!
Using high-speed movement through mana manipulation, he swiftly grabbed Francia.
“Yohan Harsen… Francia Fervache…!”
Her voice was filled with anguish—no, it was closer to a scream.
“Curse them… May they be consumed by malice…!”
The celestial mage was no longer human.
She was no longer an individual.
She was nothing more than a mass of resentment and regret. A being driven solely by the remnants of despair.
RUMBLE—!!
The entire cave shook violently.
Chunks of ice fell from above.
Holding Francia in his arms, Yohan dashed toward the cave’s exit without looking back.
—Be swallowed by malice…
A shriek echoed in his mind.
And then, a massive shadow loomed over him.
Yohan instinctively turned around.
His breath caught in his throat.
A massive form stood before him.
No, it wasn’t just a gigantic creature.
“The entire mountain… is alive?”
The ice shattered, revealing two glowing red eyes beneath.
This mountain was no ordinary mountain.
It was a beast.