Chapter 189

Chapter 190. Falling Has Wings (3)

“Keter.”

Grand Duke Alkione of Ruquer muttered in the darkness. To be precise, it wasn’t complete darkness. Lights were scattered like dots here and there.

Alkione, assimilated into a space resembling the cosmos, called his name affectionately once more.

“Keter…….”

Of course, Keter wasn’t in front of him. Keter was currently on a carriage heading to Sephira.

But the Grand Duke continued the conversation as if Keter were right in front of him.

“Coincidences can happen to anyone. But when coincidences overlap twice, it’s called inevitability, and three times, destiny.”

The Grand Duke clasped his hands together. In his palms, a miniature world unfolded, and a carriage running along the road flashed by. It was Sephira’s carriage.

“Keter. You’ve changed the future ‘three times’ now. You are undoubtedly the ‘Pioneer’ I’ve been searching for.”

– A ‘Pioneer’ will be born in Ruquer.

It was the prophecy of Alkione’s ancestor.

A Pioneer is one who changes the world and leads Ragnarok.

But prophecies are incomplete. They only show the result, not the process.

Even the prophet couldn’t know when a Pioneer would be born in Ruquer. In short, an endless wait.

Yet, the previous Grand Duke and Alkione could wait forever. Because a Pioneer is worth that much.

‘The Pioneer is the embodiment of Ragnarok. The one who will overturn this world.’

The Great War between gods and dragons.

The Great War between humans and gods.

In every great war, there was a ‘Pioneer’ who led the war. Each time, the world changed.

As a result of the Dragon-God War, the defeated dragons were sealed by the gods, and humans were born on the lands where dragons once lived.

In the God-Demon War, the gods were defeated by humans, freeing humanity from divine rule.

And now—

After thousands of years since the end of the God-Demon War, Alkione finally witnessed the birth of a new ‘Pioneer’ and felt ecstasy.

“Finally, the long-cherished wish of our family will be fulfilled.”

Alkione, the last survivor of the prophetic family Bridgid, wanted to cry but couldn’t. The deal with the Outer Gods to maximize his prophetic abilities had been passed down for thousands of years.

He looks human, but he is not human.

He has a human heart, but he cannot be human.

He possesses the knowledge and power to grasp everything in this world, but he cannot use it for personal gain.

This is the curse and restriction placed upon the prophetic family.

But now, even that is coming to an end.

“Keter…. I felt it from the moment I first saw you. Perhaps you are the Pioneer.”

Keter wasn’t always the Pioneer.

Keter was indeed a unique existence in Ruquer. Not just a genius or a stubborn person, but something beyond that. Yet, from Alkione’s perspective, he was no different from other humans.

Because Alkione could see the ‘future.’ No matter how exceptional Keter was, he was just one among billions of humans moving according to the future Alkione saw.

Alkione, who could see the ‘future’ and ‘destiny’ of all humans, didn’t think anyone was extraordinary. No matter how great a human was, Alkione could change their destiny with his power.

But even Alkione couldn’t escape despair.

The endless wait. The despair of growing old and dying while searching for the ‘Pioneer’ without any promise, just like countless previous Grand Dukes who rotted away in Ruquer.

But one day, hope emerged.

A human began to escape their ‘destiny.’

That human was Keter. Keter’s future changed so drastically that it was as if his soul had been replaced.

Originally, the greater the ‘causality’ of a person, the harder it is to interfere with their prophecy. Keter’s causality was greater than others, but not to the point where it couldn’t be glimpsed.

But from a certain point, precisely after the Knight of Sephira came to Keter, it became difficult to see Keter’s destiny.

At first, Alkione didn’t think much of it. Such things happen occasionally.

No matter how much a prophet can see the world like the palm of their hand, no matter how many billions of destinies they can see, they are bound to miss something once in a while.

So he watched quietly. Keter’s actions.

“This is……!”

Sephira was supposed to fall. And Keter was supposed to ‘accelerate’ Sephira’s downfall.

But what happened?

‘Destiny’ went awry.

No, it was reversed.

Sephira ‘grew,’ and Keter led it. The prophecy was wrong. Not just once, but entirely.

The decisive moment was when Keter won the Southern Sword Tournament. A major turning point had occurred.

“W-what? I can’t see it? The future of a mortal……?!”

Alkione, who could even foresee the future of a monarch if he wished.

But he couldn’t see it.

Keter’s future!

It could only mean one thing.

“Keter is the Pioneer!”

It’s not just that the prophecy doesn’t work on him. He had already defied his predetermined destiny.

That was the characteristic of the ‘Pioneers’ of previous eras. They suddenly overturned their destined fate and changed the world.

Their future cannot be seen. Because they are the chosen ones.

Moreover, the future of the world becomes harder to see. The Pioneer is an existence that renders all prophetic abilities useless.

Even ‘Hokhma,’ called the father of gods, cannot interfere with the Pioneer’s affairs.

But Alkione can see the ‘future’ of the Pioneer! Because he made a ‘contract’ with an Outer God comparable to Hokhma.

The ultimate goal is to read even the future of the contractor and bring about the ‘Ragnarok’ desired by the Outer Gods.

What Alkione, the Bridgid family, gains is ‘liberation.’ Liberation from long-standing restrictions. And thus, eternal ‘freedom.’

“Escaping this endlessly repeating world…….”

Alkione closed his eyes for a moment and savored the thrill running through his entire body. It was undoubtedly the greatest ecstasy of his life.

“Now, Keter. Show me your destiny. How will you bring about Ragnarok?”

Swoosh.

Alkione reached out his hand. It was the hand of the universe. The power of the entire universe was in his hand.

The laws of the world, the rules, pushed back the hand of the universe. It was a foul. It couldn’t be allowed.

“Step aside.”

As Alkione spoke as if annoyed, even the rules of the world were pierced.

The hand of the universe had countless eyes. It was a hand made of ‘eyes’ from the beginning.

A hand made of hundreds of millions of eyes looked down at only one person, Keter.

But—

“What… is this… this is absurd…….”

The hand of the universe trembled. It was bewilderment. The power of the Outer God, which could even glimpse the future of gods, was baffled.

“It’s… invisible?”

Keter’s future, the Pioneer’s future, cannot be seen.

That was impossible. Gods cannot lie. The Pioneer’s future must be shown.

So why can’t it be seen!

Alkione denied reality and reflected on another human. And he realized.

It was a misconception.

It wasn’t just Keter’s future that was invisible.

“Everything is invisible……?!”

A country bumpkin—

A confident knight—

A newborn baby—

All are invisible.

The future of everyone has become ‘opaque.’ The future of the world, even a single step ahead, cannot be predicted.

“This, this is impossible!”

Alkione, who had become nearly omnipotent, could only figure out one thing. Why the future of the world was shrouded in fog.

“There’s… not one Pioneer, but two……?”

There is another Pioneer.

Besides Keter, whom Alkione had discovered, there is another Pioneer!

“That’s impossible. How can there be two Pioneers in one era!”

There is no historical record of multiple Pioneers. Originally, even one Pioneer is enough to bring about a world-changing revolution.

If there are two Pioneers.

Gulp.

Even Alkione, who held the power of the universe, swallowed hard.

“What on earth is happening in this world?”

Alkione knew everything in this world. He was the most powerful prophet in this world.

But now, that prophetic ability was gone. A feeling he had never felt before, ‘fear of ignorance,’ flowed through Alkione’s entire body.

From the moment he thought there would only be one Pioneer, Alkione had already lost in some kind of numerical game.

The only consolation was that he wasn’t completely defeated. It was a small comfort.

“Is the other Pioneer in the Empire?”

He didn’t know who it was.

But they are in the Empire. Another Pioneer.

With the appearance of two Pioneers, the future of the world has become opaque. Now, no prophet can see the future of this world.

Even the gods are no different. The world has become unprecedented, even for the gods.

“Hoho…. Indeed, life never goes as planned.”

The moment he thought he had the Pioneer in his grasp, the moment he was sure of victory, everything went wrong.

Of course, that didn’t mean Alkione gave up on everything. Only his prophetic ability was gone.

His status as the ruler of Ruquer remained. ‘Ruquer’ would surely release some of his ‘restrictions’ once it learned of this situation.

“Perhaps I should start running around too. Hohoho.”

A future where even a single step ahead is invisible. Alkione felt like he had become ‘human,’ and it wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

“I need to figure out who the other Pioneer is first.”

The already identified Pioneer, Keter, remains in Sephira.

So there’s no need to obsess over Keter.

“You seem to like Sephira quite a bit.”

So there’s no rush. If I go to Sephira, I can find Keter anytime.

Of course, Sephira is nothing more than a minor force to the Grand Duke, not even worth a finger. He can take Keter anytime he wants.

Therefore, Alkione decided not to intervene with Keter for now.

It was, indeed, a very human decision.

* * *

“Achoo! Sigh.”

At the sound of Keter’s cough, Catherine, the only one awake in the party, was startled.

“Did you catch a cold? Should I close the window?”

“A cold? It seems some great person is cursing me.”

Keter, scratching his itchy ear, shook his hand.

‘What was that? I saw something for a moment when I coughed.’

When people cough, they inevitably close their eyes. Keter, being human, also closed his eyes. But in that brief moment, he saw something in the darkness.

‘Someone I’ve never seen before.’

It was hard to see clearly in the dark, and the outline was blurry, but it was definitely someone he hadn’t seen before.

But it seemed to be a woman. Around his age. He closed his eyes again to see if she would appear, but all he saw was darkness.

“Ah, this is annoying.”

Keter shouted unnecessarily at Didos, who was running alongside the carriage.

“Didos. How much longer until we arrive?”

“We’re almost there, young master.”

“Give me a number, a number. How many minutes!”

“Hmm…. We’ll reach Sephira’s checkpoint in 7 minutes, and after passing the checkpoint, it’ll be 5 minutes to the main building of the mansion.”

“Good, that’s what I wanted to hear.”

Although it was the answer he wanted, Keter felt an inexplicable unease.

“Sigh, what is it?”

It’s not like he’s dressed too warmly. It’s already autumn, almost winter, so it’s quite cool.

Moreover, martial artists have excellent adaptability to their surroundings and are sensitive to temperature changes. This wasn’t a feeling of being hot or cold.

‘It feels like someone is watching me.’

Swish swish.

Keter aimlessly waved his hand toward the ceiling. Then…….

‘Huh? It feels a bit better.’

Catherine, watching Keter frown and wave his hand at the ceiling, made a face wondering why he was doing that again.

“Whoa.”

The carriage slowed down. They had finally arrived at the checkpoint marking the beginning of Sephira’s territory.

Then Mail, without anyone waking him, woke up on his own.

“Hmm, we’re here.”

Mail stretched and got off the carriage, and the soldiers at the checkpoint saluted respectfully.

“Prince Mail.”

Surely, the news of Keter’s victory had reached Sephira. So it would be natural for them to come out to welcome him. But the checkpoint only had the usual guard force.

That didn’t mean the news hadn’t reached Sephira.

“Congratulations on your victory, Prince.”

“Congratulations, Prince!”

The guards seemed to know the results of the tournament and congratulated Mail. Mail also calmly accepted their congratulations.

“Thank you. May we pass?”

“Yes. Lord Hisop said to inform you that he is waiting in the office.”

“Hmm, so my father hasn’t come out yet.”

Mail muttered and got back on the carriage. Anis and Taragon had just woken up and were stretching.

“Let’s go.”

The carriage started moving again.

Keter admired the familiar yet changed scenery.

The road to Sephira wasn’t like this when he first arrived. It was a road transitioning from summer to autumn, everything green.

But now, autumn is turning into winter. The green leaves are turning brown, and the lush trees are shedding their clothes.

“Winter is here.”

Winter in Sephira, but a winter distinctly different from his past life has arrived.