Free Web NovelChapter 315: Vanitas [7]
"...What is this?"
Unlike ordinary magic circuits or mana affinities, stigmatas fundamentally altered the nature of a person’s soul itself.
Some granted absurd control over specific magical attributes. Heck, some even distorted physical laws entirely. And the most terrifying of all were those gifted with abilities that should not have been possible through ordinary magic at all.
Naturally, humanity initially believed stigmatas were blessings.
Proof that civilization itself was evolving further.
But in truth, stigmatas had... unsurprisingly... originated from Zen.
Or more specifically, from what Zen himself was gradually becoming throughout each reincarnation cycle.
After countless lifetimes carrying memories beyond human limitations, continuously refining his soul through reincarnation, and repeatedly pushing closer toward the higher realms beyond ordinary existence, Zen eventually began approaching a threshold humanity was never originally meant to reach.
He was ascending.
And somewhere along the way, his soul itself began changing.
Stigmatas were the byproduct of that transformation.
The power spreading throughout humanity was not from random mutations nor divine blessings from some higher existence. They were traces of higher-order influence leaking into the human species itself through Zen’s bloodline and descendants across multiple lifetimes.
Because every reincarnation Zen underwent left some of his power behind.
Power that has embedded into the world itself.
Into humanity.
Into future generations.
And as his descendants spread further throughout civilization over countless eras, stigmatas gradually spread alongside them as well.
Children inherited them. Bloodlines adapted around them. Entire families eventually became known for possessing specific stigmata traits passed down generation after generation.
Then, eventually, humanity itself began changing because of it.
Without realizing it, Zen had introduced something entirely new into the species.
A pathway leading humanity closer toward the higher realms, little by little, with every generation that passed.
"Oppa!"
Eventually, Melissa came running toward him excitedly one afternoon. Even after countless lifetimes passed, some things strangely never changed.
Melissa still possessed that same energetic way of approaching him whenever something caught her interest.
However, this time, she brought someone with her.
Zen slowly raised his gaze from his work afterward before noticing a young boy awkwardly standing beside Melissa.
"Who’s this?"
Zen asked calmly.
Melissa immediately smiled brightly afterward.
"I made a friend! This is my friend, Fyodor!"
"Ah..."
The little boy immediately straightened his posture awkwardly afterward.
"H-Hello..."
"...."
Zen silently stared at him.
A young boy named Fyodor.
And for some reason, the moment Zen looked at him, he instinctively narrowed his eyes.
Something about this entire situation felt deeply strange to him.
Throughout all the reincarnation cycles they shared together, Melissa had never once properly settled down with anyone.
While Zen himself experienced multiple lives differently depending on circumstance, sometimes creating families, relationships, or connections across various lifetimes, Melissa consistently remained alone despite his repeated encouragement for her to pursue her own happiness.
Yet now, this was the very first time Melissa openly brought a boy of the opposite gender to meet him personally.
And strangely enough, despite always wishing for Melissa to eventually stop isolating herself emotionally throughout the cycles, Zen immediately disliked this development.
A lot.
The feeling itself felt irrational.
But somehow, watching Melissa happily introduce another boy to him immediately produced an unpleasant sensation deep within his chest.
It was strangely similar to the feeling older siblings supposedly experienced when suddenly realizing their little sister had grown up enough to start bringing boys home.
"...Hm."
Zen slowly leaned back in his chair afterward while continuing to stare silently at Fyodor without saying another word.
The atmosphere throughout the room gradually became more uncomfortable the longer Zen observed him, to the point that even Melissa began narrowing her eyes suspiciously at Zen’s behavior.
Meanwhile, Fyodor awkwardly tried breaking the silence first.
"...I never knew you had a brother, Mary."
In this lifetime, Melissa was called Mary.
"...Brother?"
Melissa blinked afterward before immediately grinning mischievously.
"Ah, he’s not my real brother."
"...."
For some reason, the moment those words left her mouth—
Zen’s expression darkened further instead of improving.
Much to Zen’s endless displeasure, Melissa had somehow ended up reincarnating as an orphan before eventually being taken in by the Dragunov Household, the same family Fyodor belonged to.
Rather than pursuing a prestigious magical career or political position despite possessing overwhelming potential as Araxys’s anchor, Melissa instead decided to remain within the household as a servant while training formally as a maid.
He had repeatedly told her she could accomplish far greater things if she truly wanted to.
With her accumulated reincarnation experiences, intelligence, and unnatural adaptability, Melissa could have easily become a scholar, a renowned mage, or even an influential political figure if she applied herself properly.
And yet, Melissa rejected all of it.
Why?
Because she had already done all that in other lifetimes.
And because...
"This seemed entertaining."
That was the explanation she gave him.
Melissa claimed she simply wanted to try living differently for once after countless reincarnation cycles repeating similar patterns over and over again.
According to her, becoming a maid within some noble household sounded "fun" compared to endlessly pursuing greatness every lifetime like Zen constantly did.
Naturally, Zen hated the idea immediately.
From his perspective, Melissa was intentionally wasting her absurd potential purely for amusement.
Even now, despite eventually accepting her decision outwardly, part of him still remained deeply dissatisfied with the entire arrangement.
And perhaps more importantly, he especially disliked the fact that she now lived alongside this Fyodor boy. freewēbnoveℓ.com
One evening, Melissa suddenly came running toward Zen in visible panic.
"Oppa!"
The door to his study swung open violently as Melissa hurried inside while trying to catch her breath properly. Judging from her expression alone, Zen initially thought some catastrophic magical accident had occurred somewhere nearby.
"They took Fyodor!"
"Huh?"
Melissa looked genuinely distressed now. "They... They...!"
For several moments, she struggled to properly explain herself due to panic and frustration continuously overlapping. Eventually, after forcing herself to calm down, Melissa finally managed to explain the situation more coherently.
Fyodor had been taken by the Church.
Or more specifically.
Because of the Dragunov Household’s worsening financial situation, the Church decided to recruit him formally into its ranks.
According to them, it was an opportunity for the family itself to lessen its financial burdens while simultaneously allowing Fyodor to serve Lumine directly under the Holy Empire’s authority.
After listening for a while, Zen could only sigh.
"...Isn’t that a good thing?"
Melissa immediately looked at him in disbelief.
Zen continued speaking regardless.
"He’s easing his family’s financial burdens while obtaining protection and education from the Church. Realistically speaking, his future is probably far more stable there than remaining with the Dragunovs."
"...."
"Besides..." Zen leaned back. "...It’s the same Church worshipping Jihyeon."
From Zen’s perspective, there genuinely was not much reason for concern. Compared to countless other powers throughout the world, the Holy Empire and its Church remained relatively stable because they inherited many of Jihyeon’s principles regarding magical education and social structure.
Melissa slowly lowered her gaze afterward.
"...I guess so..."
For several moments, silence overtook the room.
"But..." Melissa’s fingers slowly tightened together afterward. "...I just miss him."
"...."
The atmosphere immediately became strange afterward.
"I think... I think I like him, Oppa..."
Zen’s expression slowly became blank.
"...Don’t waste your life like this, Melissa."
The response came out far colder than Melissa expected.
Years passed afterward.
Eventually, Zen began noticing something strange.
Melissa had stopped visiting him.
At first, he did not think much of it. Throughout their many reincarnation cycles, there were periods where Melissa became occupied with her own life, especially now that she had chosen to live differently rather than constantly remaining by his side while he buried himself in research.
But then, months passed, and not once did Melissa appear.
Regardless of circumstance, Melissa always found a way to visit eventually. Even if only briefly, she would still show up simply to complain, tease him, or drag him outside against his will every now and then.
And so, Zen personally went to the Dragunov Barony himself.
But the moment he arrived, he immediately understood something was wrong.
The estate was covered in blood.
The place looked more like the aftermath of a massacre than a noble household. Corpses littered the halls while scorch marks, broken furniture, and traces of magic remained embedded throughout the surroundings.
"...."
Zen felt a chill crawl down his spine as he slowly walked forward in silence afterward.
Then, eventually, he found her.
Melissa.
"...."
Or rather, Mary, in this lifetime.
There, collapsed against the floor with blood staining her clothes, was Melissa with a fatal stab wound piercing through her stomach.
Zen’s expression immediately darkened.
Because from the magical residue remaining throughout the manor, it did not take long for him to determine exactly who was responsible.
The Church.
The same Church worshipping Jihyeon.
"Wow..."
For several moments, Zen genuinely became speechless.
Despite everything humanity had gone through throughout countless generations, despite inheriting Jihyeon’s teachings, despite building an empire supposedly founded upon Lumine’s principles, humanity still remained rotten.
Nothing truly changed.
And somehow, that realization enraged Zen more than Melissa’s death itself.
"How dare those disgusting bastards preach Jihyeon’s teachings while acting like this..."
Then, eventually, Zen lowered his gaze toward Melissa once more.
"...This is why I told you that you should’ve focused on magic even in this life."
If Melissa pursued power seriously again, this never would have happened.
And for a moment, the same hatred and rage that Zen spent lifetimes suppressing slowly resurfaced once more.
As he contemplated how exactly he would annihilate everyone responsible for this massacre, footsteps suddenly echoed throughout the ruined manor.
Tak. Tak——!
Zen immediately concealed himself within the shadows.
Then shortly afterward, someone entered the room.
A young man.
Fyodor.
The same boy Melissa had once dragged enthusiastically before Zen years ago, while proudly introducing him as her friend.
Only now, the cheerful and awkward child Zen remembered no longer existed. The person entering the room now carried a coldness in his eyes that told Zen of how deeply broken he already was.
Zen silently observed him from the darkness.
Because at this moment, the two of them shared the same objective.
Melissa was dead.
Fyodor’s family was dead.
And both of them wanted revenge.
For several moments, Fyodor simply stared blankly at Melissa’s corpse before his expression slowly twisted into something horrifyingly empty.
"...I’ll fucking kill all of them."
Silence followed afterward.
And so, Zen watched.
Over the following years, he silently observed the lengths Fyodor went through in order to fulfill that promise.
He watched the boy gradually abandon whatever innocence remained within him while descending deeper and deeper into vengeance, manipulation, and bloodshed.
Eventually, Fyodor became something monstrous himself. Ruthless enough to destroy entire lives without hesitation if it meant reaching those responsible.
And strangely enough, Zen could not bring himself to hate him for it. Because he himself was consumed by those same dark thoughts.
Then, eventually, the day came when Fyodor finally accomplished most of what he originally set out to do.
Wounded heavily after a brutal confrontation, Fyodor fell from a cliffside into a river below while the remains of burning clergy strongholds fell behind him.
From afar, Zen silently watched. And for several moments, he genuinely debated whether he should simply let the boy die there.
After all, Fyodor had already become someone drenched in enough blood that even Zen himself understood death might have been the kinder outcome.
But then, Zen remembered Melissa.
The way she smiled around him.
The way she spoke about him.
The way she genuinely loved him.
"...Tsk."
In the end, Zen made his decision.
After personally slaughtering the remaining clergymen responsible for the massacre, Zen stepped forward before jumping into the river himself.
He pulled the unconscious Fyodor from the water, saved his life, before disappearing once more without leaving a single world.
"...."
In Melissa’s next lifetime, Zen vowed never to let the two meet again.
