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What did you realize?

What did you come to understand in your heart?

Enlightenment has no form or shape, and it’s hard to define as a single entity.

Yet, it comes down like a shock, turning everything upside down—how could that be summed up in just one word?

If you want to bring it out, it’s only a mere fragment of the whole.

“You are not young!”

If you were to define that realization in words, it would be closer to ‘essence.’

Kenneth gazed into Jinseong’s eyes, filled with the enlightenment he had gained.

In those eyes, sparks flickered and danced around like fireflies performing in a dark forest, creating an illusion of fairies dancing. But as one sees more closely, beauty can sometimes hide horrific truths; now that I’ve grasped the essence of those eyes, I see they are not just simple flames.

Oh, how could they be mere fire?

If we define the phenomenon of burning as fire, can we say that the light of the stars burning far away is the same as a campfire? Can we consider the flames that burn at the size of a planet to be the same as a tiny flame on one’s palm?

What is fire?

Isn’t it the act of engulfing and expanding itself?

Then what difference is there between a tiny flame and a colossal star’s flame?

Can you say that the small flame and the star’s light are equivalent?

Ah, I don’t know.

Similarity and difference may just be a sheet of paper between them.

Though the front and back might seem vastly different, they are both just paper; flip it over and you find the polarity reversed.

I realize that, despite their vast differences, they are not separate.

Despite the immense differences, I understand that they are not disparate.

Poles differ yet remain similar; what should we call this?

What should we call this truth?

“Kenneth. That is ‘物極必反’ (Things Extremity Must Reverse).”

Jinseong replied to the old shaman’s question with ‘物極必反.’

The extremes connect, and when one reaches an extreme, it must reverse, he explained, stating that all things in the world are intertwined and truly indistinguishable.

Just as what burns cools,

Just as what sparkles sinks into darkness.

Extremes are always nearby.

“Indeed. You are not young after all….”

So Kenneth felt it.

That something lurked behind the seemingly young shaman.

An alien nature—perhaps even an essence approaching the very opposite of that appearance lay asleep within. It felt akin to a hot core resting inside what appears to be a solid rock; much like the most dangerous black hole lies within the vast darkness of the universe. Perhaps the inside of a black hole is brighter than anything else in the world…

“Your flame implies a multitude of things.”

Kenneth cut off his thoughts there, which were spiraling further.

Usually, he would have enjoyed diving deep into this topic, pondering it intensely…

But sadly, he was certain that his remaining time was almost nonexistent.

His time was no longer something he could relish freely but rather a highly limited resource.

Therefore, Kenneth chose to spend that time talking to Jinseong instead of continuing his reflection.

“It is obsession, passion, and war. You… you.”

That was undoubtedly something of value.

Look at that young shaman.

No, look at the ‘young-looking’ shaman…

The flames in those eyes are as terrifying and intense as those of a Fire Sorcerer.

It is perhaps the closest thing to the nature of fire, yet somehow the furthest…

“What do you…”

What should I call this?

This—

What should I call this…

“…hahaha. I can’t define it. I can’t think of a suitable word… If only I had just a little more time, I could surely craft a word from a combination of Latin…”

Surely I could.

If there were time.

If only there were a little more time, I could do so.

But that isn’t possible.

Those eyes.

Those seemingly indifferent eyes told him they had no intention of sparing him.

The gaze, like that of someone observing the dead, indicated that Kenneth’s life was already as good as gone. In that vision, Kenneth was akin to someone at the brink of death alongside the Grim Reaper, merely an existence meant to fulfill a purpose in life and then flamboyantly perish.

And that notion wouldn’t change.

Just as fire does not allow what has entered it to remain idle, Kenneth too would undoubtedly meet such a fate.

He too would transfer that flame into himself, emitting heat and light until he vanishes, ultimately turning to ashes and growing cold.

This was his fate.

“…Oh God.”

He gazed at the sky.

The empty sky looked back at him indifferently.

He could not hear the sound of angels’ wings or feel their gazes.

“Ego. Let’s go; it is now time to be offered to the Goddess….”

Ah.

The time has come.

Now he would become an ordinary soul to be judged before Her.

Surely, that will be the case…

—

Kenneth’s body is tightly bound by vines. Then, as if riding a strange sleigh, his body twists into an odd position, and the sleigh slowly makes its way toward the destination.

That destination is a steep slope.

The frozen ground is solid, and a river of lava flows between the hardened earth.

It’s too narrow and thin to be called a river; it ought to be called a stream…

But that hardly matters.

Having arduously emerged to the surface in response to Jinseong’s magic, could it really be denied the title of river?

Thus, it is a river.

Not a lava stream, but a river of lava.

Fwoosh.

Look.

Even the lava river is responding.

Is it not proclaiming its nature as a river, asserting that it is ample enough to be called a river, with its heat?

The menacing sounds and quiet movements, all-consuming as it progresses—its heft certainly lives up to the title of a river.

What incredible vigor; it’s a sight to behold…

“Disaster Sorcerer, how did you enter the path of sorcery? With what feelings did you throw yourself in to block calamity?”

And Jinseong asks before that heat.

He questions the old man tied to the sleigh, who looks straight at him.

What was your life about?

What reason did you have for becoming a sorcerer?

“Kenneth, the sorcerer chasing disasters. Your country has truly many disasters. Dryness causes wildfires, countless insects swarm, and the wind whips into a frenzy, sucking everything up and smashing it apart…”

“….”

“Before the ancient Rocky Mountain locust (Melanoplus spretus) became extinct, they swarmed and devoured crops, leaving people starving, devastating the forests and fields.”

“….”

“The rivers have flooded, and droughts have struck.”

“….”

“All of that is calamity. Terrible calamities that torment people and take their lives.”

“….”

“Did you rise to see that? Rather than letting the results of studies that people ignore fly by their ears, which merely circulate among scholars with companies giving them a fleeting glance, you chose to walk the path of a sorcerer to immediately eliminate that calamity and protect the people, did you not?”

Those piercing eyes.

Jinseong stared at Kenneth with eyes filled with flickering embers.

Those flames seem to burn down mental barriers, trying to reach within.

When one quietly stares into those eyes, it gives the illusion that the sorcerer can truly read minds. Though in reality, only a being who has formed a contract with a transcendent being capable of such an ability could perform such a feat, or it could only be achieved by a superpowered individual with an abnormally developed brain capable of reading the unconscious… and still… one might think so.

So naturally, it wouldn’t be strange for his mouth to become loose.

If he looks as if he can pierce through a person, how could it be a flaw for his mouth to loosen in front of him?

“…Indeed.”

For that reason, Kenneth opened his mouth.

To express his purpose, which seemed like it would fade away if carelessly spoken of, the reason he became a sorcerer.

“The one who sees afar shall gain many things, and the one who sees tomorrow is blessed… But reality is not so simple; if one only gazes far, they may lose sight of what is close, and if one only looks to tomorrow, they won’t be able to enjoy today. That is the foolishness and cruelty of a human being with only two eyes…”

“….”

“And so, I became a sorcerer. Even if I scream to reduce carbon emissions or shout that environmental pollution is tainting the land or write papers claiming that excessive development leads to ground subsidence, those who pay no attention to the wretched people who cannot be saved by mere research… I became a sorcerer to save them.”

“….”

“I… I….”

Kenneth paused, momentarily closing his eyes.

As he closed them, darkness flooded and heightened his senses.

He felt the heat of the lava and the abnormal cold air, as well as the shaman’s gaze upon him.

“…Yes. Faded wisdom has dulled it. It prevented me from reaching my destination.”

“….”

“Yes. So…”

Kenneth opened his eyes again and looked at Jinseong.

Then he asked.

“…What shall I do?”

 

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