Free Web NovelChapter 314: Vanitas [6]
After listening to the explanation, Melissa hummed to herself while continuing to stare up at the enormous statue towering above the empire.
"...Huh."
Then slowly, she turned toward Zen again.
"So basically... Unnie was the one out there actually putting in the work while you locked yourself away?"
"...Yes."
Zen answered surprisingly honestly.
There was no point denying it.
Compared to Jihyeon, he genuinely had no excuse.
Of course, Zen deliberately left out one important detail.
He never mentioned that Jihyeon had completely cut him out of her life before her death. Nor did he mention the hatred she held toward him until the very end.
Because there was no reason to burden Melissa with that.
The last thing Zen wanted was Melissa pitying him for something he deserved.
And perhaps more importantly, he did not want Melissa growing to resent Jihyeon either.
After all, despite everything, Jihyeon had truly loved Melissa like family. Even all that anger she carried toward Zen ultimately stemmed from how deeply she cared about what happened to her.
"...Wow."
The holy bells throughout the city echoed in the distance.
"You really were pathetic, huh?"
Zen let out a chuckle. "...Probably."
At that response, Melissa unexpectedly smiled before suddenly grabbing his hand and clasping it tightly within hers.
The warmth immediately caused Zen to flinch.
"Even so..." Melissa slowly looked up at him. "I don’t think Jihyeon Unnie was actually mad at you."
"...What are you talking about?"
But for some reason, Melissa brought it up anyway, despite him never explaining any of that to her. ƒreewebɳovel.com
"It’s obvious something happened between the two of you by the weird face you’re making whenever I bring up her name."
"...Weird face?"
Melissa nodded matter-of-factly. "Yeah."
"...."
"Whatever picture you’ve trapped yourself in all these years..." She gently tightened her grip around his hand. "...I don’t think that’s the whole truth either."
"Huh?"
Zen visibly looked confused now.
Because from his perspective, there was nothing left to misunderstand regarding Jihyeon’s feelings toward him. She despised him for what happened to Melissa, cut him out of her life entirely, and died without ever reconciling with him.
At least, that was what he believed.
"Come."
Before Zen could continue questioning her, Melissa abruptly began dragging him forward through the streets while still holding onto his hand tightly.
"H-Hey, wait—"
"You’ll see."
The bells throughout the empire echoed loudly overhead as Melissa pulled the confused Archmage deeper into the holy capital, moving through crowds of worshippers under the towering image of Lumine watching over the city itself.
Eventually, Melissa brought him to a library.
Naturally, access was heavily restricted. Only recognized scholars, mages, clergy members, and registered citizens possessing proper credentials were allowed inside.
To Zen’s surprise, however, Melissa already possessed a membership herself as though she had anticipated bringing him here from the very beginning.
"I often came here back then," she said. "Let’s go get you registered."
Following her advice, Zen registered himself under an alias rather than his real identity.
Thankfully, after more than a century had passed, very few people would realistically recognize the legendary Archmage’s face anymore, especially considering how isolated he had remained from society for so long.
Even then, Zen still felt strangely uneasy.
About thirty minutes later, the two finally entered the deeper sections of the archive.
"It should be somewhere over here..."
Melissa walked between the towering shelves afterward while scanning the countless books lining the corridors around them.
Eventually, after several moments of searching, she suddenly stopped before carefully pulling out a particularly old-looking tome hidden amongst the shelves.
The moment Zen saw it, his brows rose.
"A magic book?"
Not merely an ordinary educational text regarding mana control or spellcasting, but an ancient foundational manuscript.
The leather binding looked incredibly worn while countless preservation enchantments glowed across its cover to prevent deterioration.
Melissa carefully handed it toward him afterward.
"This is considered one of the most important books in modern magical history."
Zen slowly accepted the tome.
"The first edition," Melissa continued. "It’s the very first recorded book that properly systematized modern magic theory."
Zen tilted his head in confusion.
Then slowly, he opened the first page.
At first, his gaze moved casually across the text without much thought.
But then, his fingers paused.
Because written directly upon the very first page was his name.
Credited clearly under the introduction itself.
Zen.
"...."
For several moments, Zen stared speechless at the page before him.
The atmosphere throughout the library suddenly felt strangely distant while the sounds of people moving throughout the archive gradually faded into background noise.
Even Melissa remained silent while carefully observing his reaction from beside him.
"Do you recognize the handwriting?" she asked.
"...It’s Jihyeon’s."
The penmanship itself was so obvious to him.
Perhaps no one else throughout this empire would have recognized it, especially considering the book was treated almost like a sacred historical artifact at this point.
But to Zen and Melissa, the writing style immediately stood out.
It belonged to Jihyeon.
Every stroke, every letter, every slight habit within the handwriting itself.
This book... the very foundation of modern magical education revered throughout the current era... had been personally written by the same woman humanity now worshipped as Lumine.
"Mhm." Melissa nodded. "But... she gave all the credit to you."
Zen remained silent.
Because she was right.
Despite the entire book clearly being written in Jihyeon’s handwriting, the credited name under the introduction belonged entirely to him instead.
"...Yeah."
Then slowly, he turned the next page.
"...."
Written there, hidden under the introductory section in smaller handwriting, almost invisible unless one looked carefully enough, was a single sentence.
[Consider this my little revenge toward you.]
Silence immediately overtook him afterward.
The moment Zen read those words, he instantly understood exactly what Jihyeon meant.
She understood him better than almost anyone else ever had.
"...."
Zen hated attention.
He hated recognition.
That had been true even back in his previous life, and even after becoming the legendary Archmage responsible for saving humanity from catastrophe, Zen still despised standing before admiration and reverence.
Truthfully, he even preferred the life of seclusion.
A quiet life hidden away from the world suited him far more than becoming some revered historical figure worshipped by civilization itself.
That was one of the reasons he disappeared so easily without attempting to claim glory for himself despite everything he had accomplished.
And after more than a century had passed, Zen genuinely believed his existence would eventually fade away alongside everyone who personally remembered him.
But no.
"...Ah, damn."
A laugh escaped him afterward.
Because Jihyeon had ensured the exact opposite happened.
She immortalized him.
Every mage learning mana circulation, every scholar studying spell structures, every magical institution throughout the world, all of them were bringing up Zen’s name forward generation after generation because Jihyeon deliberately placed it there herself.
Even after death, she refused to let him disappear quietly.
"I feel like you’re taking this in a bad way..."
"Haha."
Zen suddenly let out a quiet chuckle afterward.
Despite Jihyeon cutting him out of her life entirely after what happened, she had still never forgotten him.
"...."
Holding the book she personally wrote... reading the sentence hidden specifically for him to eventually discover... Zen finally realized something.
Jihyeon’s anger had never erased her care for him.
And perhaps... that was the cruelest kindness she could have left behind.
* * *
After that day, Zen began living a relatively normal life again.
At least, as normal as someone like him possibly could.
Though he still continued researching, his work gradually changed after Melissa returned by his side.
The isolated cabin slowly transformed as well over time. Endless piles of chaotic research notes became more organized while sections of the room were reshaped into something resembling an actual home.
And strangely enough, Zen himself gradually began changing too.
He laughed more often, spoke more often, and even slept more often.
Sometimes, he would even leave the cabin alongside Melissa simply to observe the outside world evolving further. Though civilization still felt unfamiliar to him in many ways, having Melissa nearby somehow made the world feel less strange than before.
Eventually, one quiet evening while the two worked together organizing old research materials, Melissa suddenly spoke.
"This means... I won’t be alone in the next cycle..."
Melissa would continue reincarnating endlessly as long as Araxys remained tied to the world through her existence as its anchor. No matter how many lifetimes passed, she would always return eventually somewhere within the world once more.
After finding out about this fact, that fate had terrified her.
Zen answered gently. "Yes."
Then slowly, he placed a hand on her head.
"Even after I die... I’ll find you again."
"...."
"No matter what happens, no matter where you’re born, no matter how long it takes... I’ll come find you, okay?"
Melissa stared at him silently for several moments afterward before eventually smiling.
"Then it’s a promise, Oppa. Even in the next life... Even if I’m born on the other side of the world... you’ll still come find me, okay?"
Zen intended to keep it no matter how many lifetimes it took.
And eventually, he finally succeeded.
After countless years of research, Zen ultimately completed his own version of the reincarnation process.
Unlike Melissa’s, which remained forcibly bound to Araxys as its anchor, Zen’s system was imperfect and far more unstable, but it accomplished the one thing he desperately needed.
It allowed him to carry his memories forward after death.
And to Zen, that alone was enough. Because as long as he remembered, he could always find Melissa again.
Eventually, the day finally came.
After living far beyond the natural limits of ordinary humans through mana adaptation and countless magical augmentations, Zen at last reached the end of his lifespan.
By then, the once legendary Archmage looked exhausted beyond words while countless years weighed upon his body.
Melissa remained beside him until the very end.
"Oppa..."
Her voice trembled uncontrollably while tears continuously fell from her eyes.
Meanwhile, Zen simply looked at her quietly from his deathbed.
Despite everything, strangely enough, he did not feel afraid anymore.
Zen finally believed he had managed to carve out a future where neither of them would remain alone again.
"Oppa!"
Then, eventually, Zen closed his eyes.
"...."
And then he blinked his eyes open again.
For several moments, he simply stared blankly upward without moving at all.
The sensation itself felt deeply disorienting. Memories overlapped throughout his mind while memories of another life, another body, and another existence gradually synchronized themselves together around his preserved consciousness.
But despite the confusion, Zen immediately understood one thing.
It worked.
His reincarnation cycle had succeeded.
Several years had already passed since his previous death, and now he had reincarnated once more into the body of a young girl born within a small baron family somewhere far from the regions he once knew.
It was... very strange.
Even Zen himself needed several days just to properly process the absurdity of suddenly inhabiting an entirely different body altogether.
But ultimately, he did not particularly care.
As long as his memories remained intact, Zen was willing to accept whatever results his incomplete reincarnation process produced.
Because there was only one thing that truly mattered.
"...I have to find Melissa."
And so, once again, Zen began searching.
Fifteen years later, he finally found her again.
"...Ah."
The moment Melissa saw him, her eyes immediately widened in realization.
"Oppa..."
Confusion spread across her expression afterward.
"This is..."
Strangely enough, the roles had completely reversed this time around.
In this life, Melissa had reincarnated as a man born into a prestigious knight family. Meanwhile, Zen himself had become the girl instead.
Silence overtook the two for a moment.
"Pfft—"
Then, Melissa immediately burst into laughter.
The sound echoed so loudly that even Zen momentarily lost composure while staring at her with irritation.
After spending fifteen years searching tirelessly across the world just to reunite with her again, the very first thing Melissa did upon recognizing him was laugh at the absurdity of their reversed circumstances.
"Oppa..." Melissa struggled to breathe properly between laughs. "You’re—"
"Don’t say it."
"But you’re actually—"
"Yuna!"
That only caused her to laugh harder.
Naturally, even in this new life, Zen once more climbed toward the pinnacle of magic.
Carrying centuries worth of accumulated knowledge, experience, and research from his previous lifetimes, it did not take long before the world once again began recognizing him as a monster amongst mages.
Eventually, history repeated itself.
Zen obtained the title of Archmage once more... much to his annoyance.
Despite despising attention and public reverence, his absurd talent, groundbreaking magical theories, and overwhelming mastery over mana inevitably forced him back into the spotlight regardless of how much he attempted to avoid it.
Nations sought his guidance. Academies worshipped his research. Countless mages studied under the systems derived directly from his teachings once again.
And perhaps most ironic of all, much of the magical foundation enabling his rapid rise in this new life still originated from Jihyeon’s books.
The same books that immortalized his name throughout history.
Over time, humanity’s understanding of magic continued evolving further and further.
New generations of mages developed entirely new systems branching from Zen’s original theories, while countless magical variations emerged across different regions and civilizations.
Humanity was advancing rapidly.
And yet, from Zen’s perspective, it still was not enough. Not even close.
Because no matter how much civilization evolved, no matter how advanced magic became compared to previous generations, Zen still remembered those eyes beyond the veil.
Compared to the Alephs themselves, humanity remained terrifyingly insignificant.
At best, Zen estimated it would still take an infinite amount of lifetimes before humanity even approached the threshold necessary to properly challenge them.
And by then, there was a high possibility Araxys would descend once more, reset everything again, and destroy civilization before it advanced too far, before allowing humanity to rebuild from the ashes all over again just as it always had.
Because from Araxys’s perspective, temporary destruction meant nothing compared to permanent extinction.
What was the fall of kingdoms, nations, and civilizations if humanity itself still survived afterward?
What did individual suffering matter so long as the species continued seeing tomorrow?
That was Araxys’s philosophy.
Preservation above all else.
Even if that preservation required endless cycles of destruction and rebirth forever.
As humanity continued growing stronger throughout each passing era, something new eventually emerged within civilization.
At first, no one properly understood what it was.
The phenomenon appeared rarely and unpredictably amongst certain bloodlines before gradually spreading wider throughout later generations.
Some individuals began manifesting a strange power after awakening mana, while others displayed supernatural affinities completely different from ordinary magical talent entirely.
And the more humanity advanced, the more common these abnormalities became.
Eventually, the world gave them a name.
Stigmatas.
