Chapter 401 |
And so, the mage's lifelong wish was granted.
But he felt no joy. No, far from being happy, he fell into a deep despair.
He was finally alone in the tower with the princess he loved so dearly... but she had returned to him as a cold corpse.
The beautiful flower that had once enchanted the entire continent was now cold and lifeless.
Wallowing in despair, the mage one day made a momentous decision.
Yes. It was 'resurrection.' He was not only a renowned mage but also a brilliant alchemist. He resolved to use the full extent of his abilities to bring the princess back to life, and in doing so, he stepped into the forbidden realm.
What happened after that, you ask?
No one knows. For on that day, the mage cast an 'eternal spell' upon the forest, and all news from him naturally ceased. This is all that is recorded in the tale.
However, from time to time, a sound can be heard from the forest....
Song Seung-gyu was right.
Despite being ruins, there was nothing inside the tower. The only things visible were the ice that emanated a chilly light and the eerie, desolate scenery.
In any case, this wasn't a bad thing, and we were able to ascend the stairs smoothly without any interference.
The higher we climbed, the darker the inside of the tower became.
It wasn't a problem for my vision, but I hadn't seen a single window since we started climbing from the first floor. As a result, no sunlight could filter in, making it feel subtly dark despite the bright daylight outside.
How long did we climb that dark tower?
Whoosh... Whooosh...
Suddenly, a frigid wind blew down from the top of the stairs.
The cold didn't just disappear because we were inside the tower. Ice naturally coated the interior, and the occasional gusts of wind seemed to only amplify the chill.
I was shrinking into myself from the piercing cold when it happened.
"We'll be at the 8th floor soon."
Suddenly, a chilling, metallic sound drifted toward us on the passing breeze.
The icy stairs spiraled like a conch shell, so slippery that one wrong move could send you tumbling. Carefully balancing myself, I quietly lifted my head and looked ahead.
"Once we pass through that door, we'll be in the ice maze. The caravan started having problems from that point on, so you'll need to be extra careful from here."
Song Seung-gyu. His voice was still unpleasant to listen to, but his tone was quite relaxed. He must think we were prey already caught, seeing as we'd followed him this far without suspicion.
"So, after the maze is the dark room we're looking for."
"That's right."
"Then the maze is the key... Do you happen to remember the way?"
It wasn't a question with any particular intent; I was just testing the waters.
Song Seung-gyu didn't answer right away. He just stood there for a moment before giving a slight nod and starting to walk again.
"....."
"....."
Thud, thud. Thud, thud.
Clomp, clomp. Clomp, clomp.
The sound of footsteps echoed through the silent tower.
Song Seung-gyu had been acting without hesitation ever since we entered the tower. But I, and the rest of the clan, said nothing. We simply watched his every move, following him quietly from behind.
A short while later, we arrived at the door to the 8th floor and silently observed Song Seung-gyu's actions.
He approached the wall next to the door, felt around, and soon found something like a handle. When he pulled it down, we heard a grating sound—Krrrr—and the ice door began to rise.
I tilted my head.
"He's not going to reveal himself yet, is he...?"
The ice door, having risen about four-fifths of the way, revealed a dark interior along with an explosive burst of cold air.
"I remember the path to some extent. Please, come in."
Song Seung-gyu muttered softly before abruptly disappearing through the entrance.
""
A good while had passed since we entered the maze on the 8th floor.
Just as Song Seung-gyu had said, the 8th floor was a confusing web of passages that looked incredibly complex at first glance.
But it didn't feel like we were lost. No... to be precise, it felt like the maze wasn't much of a maze at all.
Because...
"It was to the left here, I believe."
On a path this complicated, anyone would hesitate at least once or twice, but at the eleventh fork in the road, Song Seung-gyu chose a path without a single moment of doubt. He then strode forward confidently, looking far too familiar with the place for someone who was only visiting for the second time.
Seeing Song Seung-gyu moving far ahead, Ha-yeon sidled up to me and asked.
"Soohyun. What's your plan? I'm still confused."
"There's no room for doubt."
"Then..."
"We'll follow him for now. It'll be one of two things: either we walk right into the tiger's den, or he'll make a move before we get there."
According to his story, the strange phenomena began in the maze. So we couldn't let our guard down, but for some reason, I got the feeling he really wanted to lead us to the 9th floor.
"Let's keep moving for now."
Thud, thud. Thud, thud.
Clomp, clomp. Clomp, clomp.
After passing that fork, how much more time went by?
Although Song Seung-gyu had warned us before we entered, nothing out of the ordinary happened in the maze either.
Perhaps this quiet march was becoming rather dull.
"Kim Soohyun! I think we've been this way before! Aren't we just going in circles?"
Vivian suddenly walked over and whispered in a small voice. Her eyes sparkled as if seeking an answer, but I just shook my head and continued walking in silence. She grumbled a bit but didn't press further, returning to her spot and remaining quiet.
I had already told the clan members about Song Seung-gyu before we set out. Perhaps because of that, everyone remained tense and alert, except for Vivian, whose attitude was more like, "Oh, is that so?" Then again, aside from her occasional clumsiness, her personality was slightly similar to mine, so I could understand why she was getting bored.
"It was definitely not a path we'd taken before... but I should reconsider the fact that we might be going in circles."
The space felt much larger now than it had when I assessed the tower's size from the outside. Of course, we had taken a few turns here and there, but a considerable amount of time had passed since we entered the maze, and there was still no door in sight.
It was then.
As we rounded a long ice wall and entered a new path, a massive wall blocking our way on both sides came into view. At first glance, it looked like a simple wall of ice, but I felt a strange sense of unease that I couldn't just ignore. When I focused my vision, I immediately understood the source of that feeling.
It was a faint bloodstain on the wall. The mark itself was faded, but... judging by the color, the blood had been spilt recently.
I stopped walking and spoke.
"There's blood on the wall."
As I spoke softly, everyone instantly halted. As their gazes turned to me one by one, I calmly pointed to the right wall. (At the same time, I gave the clan members a look, signaling them not to act rashly.)
Song Seung-gyu tilted his head for a moment, then approached the wall to examine it more closely. Then he spoke quietly.
"... I see something faint."
"Yes. From the color, it looks like recent blood. Does it ring any bells...?"
His back, visible to me, trembled unnaturally.
"No. I'm not sure. And it doesn't seem very important."
"It could belong to one of your comrades."
"That's possible. But since we can't be certain right now, I think getting out of this maze should be our priority."
"That's not what I meant."
Song Seung-gyu took a couple of steps back from the wall and pointed toward the open path ahead.
"We're almost there. If we follow this path, there will be a staircase leading up after a right turn. Once we go up those stairs, we'll find a door. That's the 9th floor, where my comrades and I were attacked."
I stared blankly in the direction he pointed before tossing out a single comment.
"You remember it in great detail."
Song Seung-gyu didn't answer again.
He simply turned to walk down the path. Just as he was about to move...
Vivian, who seemed terribly cold, rubbed her hands together and muttered in a disgruntled tone.
"Phew. We're finally here. That's a relief. I hope we can just beat up whatever vengeful spirit is inside and get back quickly."
It was at that very moment.
Tak!
Song Seung-gyu, who was about to take a step, froze in place.
He still had his back to us as he spoke.
"...What did you say?"
"Huh? Um?"
"What did you just say?"
I looked steadily at Vivian. At first, she just blinked, but then her face showed a flash of realization, as if she understood the situation.
I let out a short, internal sigh, but decided to look on the bright side. We were almost at the 9th floor anyway, so it wasn't a big deal at this point.
That thing was nothing more than a host body anyway; killing it wouldn't mean much. Honestly, I could have dealt with it the moment we entered the tower, but I wanted to see just how far it would lead us.
I raised my right hand and spoke quietly.
"That's something you should know better than anyone."
"Something I should know better, you say..."
A sinister, slightly high-pitched voice flowed out.
"Kikik, who do you think I am?"
"I don't know. But I at least know you're not the master of that body."
"When did you know? Did they tell you?"
By they, he must have meant the other spirits.
I slowly caressed my sword as I answered.
"From the moment I first saw you, I could tell that the body you inhabit was dead."
To be precise, I knew thanks to the Third Eye.
The messages that had appeared then were 'Deceased' and 'Possessed'.
Song Seung-gyu—no, the vengeful spirit—continued.
"...How did you know?"
"Of course, that wasn't all. As you said, the spirits told me as well."
"How did you know?"
"I also figured it out after entering the tower. Your movements were strangely, subtly unnatural. Then, I was certain when I saw your feet weren't touching the ground as you climbed the stairs."
At that, Song Seung-gyu's head drooped. Was he trying to look at his own feet?
No, that wasn't it. It wasn't just his head. His entire body went limp, slumping lifelessly like a puppet with its strings cut.
Thud. Clatter-roll.
Something white and round fell and rolled across the floor. But before I could even identify what it was the head that had been staring straight ahead began to creak and turn.
"How did you know?"
"..."
It couldn't even turn all the way.
The half-revealed face was quite grotesque. Black, dead, hollow eyes. Grotesque lips torn all the way to his ears. The head, barely turned halfway, trembled violently, visibly struggling to turn further.
"How... did... you... know...?"
And then, in that instant.
Crack!
Song Seung-gyu's neck snapped sharply to the left. The angle was well over ninety degrees, an obviously deformed position to anyone who saw it.
I heard someone behind me let out a deep groan.
But it didn't end there.
Crack!
This time, his head snapped in the opposite direction, then began to dangle loosely, moving freely.
Three seconds passed like that. Each second felt like a minute.
Then, the dangling head suddenly whipped around to face us. Only then did we get a full view of his deathly ashen face. At the same time, I realized what the white object that had fallen to the ground was.
Seeing no pupils in his hollow eye sockets, it seemed his eyeballs had fallen out.
And then.
His teeth, exposed by lips torn to his ears, clacked together like a nutcracker.
"How did you know? How did you know? How did you know? How did you know? How did you know? How did you know? How did you know? How did you know? How did you know? How did you know?"
Then, his whole body rattled as he shot up into the air.
His hair was pulled straight up.
As if something was holding him by it.