The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 59



Only Krnovel

Episode 59

Quilbian looked back after pressing the last mound with his hand. Thirty-three small mounds.

I spoke to the nameless people who were lying underneath.

“It’s very late, but rest in peace.”

I wondered for a moment whether there were Royle and Zen among the numerous skeletons, but it was unknown.

Because it could be a real person or a person created by imagination.

We simply accept the obvious fact that people lived and died here.

Quilbian looked at the last mound.

The little girl that Royle introduced at the end.

Yale.

I thought she looked familiar, but she was the owner’s daughter.

Where did reality begin and where did fantasy begin?

The hawk came down, flapping its wings, holding a bunch of straight branches in its mouth.

I placed the branches one by one in the mound. Since I can’t erect a tombstone, I’ll be satisfied with this.

The falcon spread its huge wings and flew up. A single feather fluttered down, and it looked to be easily over 20 centimeters long.

“Is it getting bigger?”

This guy wasn’t your average hawk either.

He turned around, shaking off the dirt from his hands.

Now that the cleaning was done, it was time to go back.

I looked in the direction where the dormitory was.

Is Winte still around?

I lightly rolled my feet. My body stretched out. Thick tree branches blocked my way, but it didn’t matter.

The tree branches blocking the way were torn apart with a rustling sound. You would need at least some iron to hurt the tough skin.

This body can even withstand the sword swinging by the goblin.

A body far beyond the scope of a normal human. If it were now, he would not lose even if he were to engage in a duel with Geron.

No, wouldn’t it be easier to kill them instead?

I kicked a tree that came into my sight. The tree broke with a crash and my body was thrown high into the sky.

I ran and ran as if I was going to catch up with the falcon flying overhead.

Soon, a living room that was both refreshing and welcoming came into view.

The four towering dormitories seemed to be a step removed from the flow of time.

The buildings in the special enclosure were all crumbling and eaten by vines, but here… … .

I looked up as I inspected the perfectly maintained building without a single crack.

If it was winter, it would definitely be on the rooftop.

The eyes, based on intuition, moved busily in search of gold.

“None.”

There was no gold to be found anywhere in the dormitory.

Did he go off to find someone else to make him coffee?

Quilbian entered the Friendship Hall. He scanned the installed lines with his eyes and went into the bedroom.

You can see diagonal lines filling the entire wall.

I thought about it while touching it with my hand.

How old am I now?

I lay in bed and stared blankly out the window.

The sun that was born from Winte’s hands was slowly disappearing from sight.

A familiar darkness enveloped my body.

The sun rises and sets.

Ten days have passed.

During that time, I didn’t move a single step from my bed. Time passed without a trace, but I didn’t feel anything.

A state of decreased appetite and desire for sleep.

Moreover, the auditory hallucinations and illusions also disappeared.

I only sense the changes through the falcon that often comes to visit, gives a short cry, and throws an apple, and through the rising and setting sun.

“This is just mind-boggling.”

Could it be because my life of floundering in fantasy has been too long?

It was annoying not being able to hear anything or see anything.

“Isn’t that funny?”

Quilbian spoke to the apple on the opposite bed. Of course, the apple was silent.

It would be nice if it had a mouth.

Another ten days passed.

“You don’t look well.”

He said this while looking at the discolored apple.

Looking closely, it looks like there’s mold growing there.

I picked up the apple and chewed it. It had a stimulating taste. I placed the new apple that Mae had brought on the bed.

“Nice to meet you, new friend.”

I giggled to myself and then came out with a serious expression.

I felt bored after a long time.

I left the bedroom and went into the hallway. The mirror I had passed when I came in caught my eye.

“It’s a sight to behold.”

The man in the mirror looked very natural. He seemed to have a heavy head.

A hardened strand of hair hung on the back of his head like a stick. How dare he live with something like this.

Looking back, I did feel a bit uncomfortable while lying down.

I grabbed it with both hands and tore it apart. It was a piece of hair, but it snapped. I laughed because it was so ridiculous.

I went to the stream, washed properly, and stood in front of the mirror again.

The beard that covered his lower body like sheep’s fur. He took off the end of the mirror and swept it on the floor. It became a pretty usable razor blade.

I looked at the sharpened cross-section and drew a line on my palm. It only felt like it was scratched, but the flesh wasn’t torn.

“You’re not human, you’re not human.”

He shaved his beard with a razor. He often pulled it off with his hand, so the left side of his jaw was short.

I pushed everything away and stood in front of the mirror again.

Quillvian squinted his eyes.

No matter what, isn’t this wrong?

Early twenties? Mid twenties?

I sat down on the floor with a thud.

Even if the concept of time had completely disappeared, it was still possible to estimate it to some extent through accumulated memories.

At least 20 years.

Everything I’ve experienced so far couldn’t have been an illusion. If it was all a lie, then my transformed body wouldn’t be explained.

I’ve been living in the forest catching goblins for at least 20 years.

I wanted to believe that it was an undeniable fact…

Quilbian looked in the mirror, pulled the ball, went outside, and ran aimlessly toward the east.

The destination is the Sky Wall.

The sky wall separating the world from the other worlds is visible in the distance. When I look at it with my sixth sense, I realize how absurd the sky wall is.

It wasn’t Nakdo or Mana.

What formed the sky wall was an inexplicable mass of power.

What on earth is that?

Quilbian spread out his palm and touched the sky wall.

As soon as I touched it, I was convinced.

It can’t be broken. No matter what you do, you can’t get beyond this.

It’s amazing that Winte comes and goes here. He’s a man who’s truly close to God.

At the same time, the ‘woman’ who came down from the sky came to mind.

That woman must have powers similar to Winte’s. That’s why she came here after crossing the sky wall.

Those eyes that look down on all things.

A being that was so beautiful that we had no choice but to worship it.

It’s chilling. Because I didn’t know anything, because I couldn’t see, I was able to hit that woman’s feet with a stone.

Quilbian could guarantee it.

If that woman appeared before my eyes right now, I would probably take out my heart without hesitation and give it to her with all my heart.

I returned to the bedroom in the friendship hall.

I sat on the edge of my bed and dazed myself for a day.

“… …Would you like some coffee?”

I asked the apple across from me.

Of course, there is no answer.

There was no way to break the sky wall, and there were no goblins around to catch.

Quilbian is a non-human human, and a falcon.

This means that if you add up all the residents living in the territory inside the Sky Wall, there are only two.

According to Reel, there should be humans or animals who are unlucky enough to get caught up in the realm of the two-faced, but they are rarely seen.

Maybe something has changed since ‘that woman’s’ procession.

Another half year has passed.

I looked into the mirror for the first time in a long time.

A man who had not changed at all was looking at me with a crooked look on his face.

I don’t gain or lose weight.

Only the hair grew luxuriantly, and no other physical changes could be found.

“I won’t die, will I?”

A hollow laugh comes out.

Even if you hang yourself, the rope will wear out first, and even iron bars won’t pierce your skin…

Out of pure curiosity, I went up to the roof of the dormitory and looked down.

“It’s not high.”

It was a height that I could easily climb up by rolling my feet. Still, just in case, I jumped down with my head down.

thud!

It was a straight fall from the head. It was a flawless fall.

And it was completely fine.

My throat felt a little numb, but I couldn’t tell if it was from the impact of the fall or from my desperate wish for it to hurt.

I went to the stream and lay down straight.

It stayed like that for two days.

I realized that I could live without breathing.

I was bored so I went outside and lit a fire. I put my hand on the fire.

It feels warm, but it doesn’t feel warm.

While I was lighting the fire, I threw in the potatoes that the hawk had brought.

I told him several times that it was okay if he didn’t eat, but after returning to the dormitory, Mae continued to bring him food.

As if telling me not to give up eating.

I chewed the crunchy potatoes thoroughly.

I continued eating out of habit.

Another half year has passed.

Quillvian looked at the diagonal lines that filled the wall.

“It’s empty here.”

I put my fingernail on the empty space and scraped it down. A deep scratch was made on the wall.

There was now no room to carve on the left wall. Quilbian looked at the wall where Drich’s bed was attached.

“Drich, I think I’ll have to use that starting tomorrow.”

Quilbian said, looking at the shiny stones on Drich’s bed.

I knew full well that it wasn’t a human, and it certainly wasn’t Drihi.

Still, I gave it a name.

Because it’s lonely to have a bedroom alone.

I went into the warehouse holding a coffee cup. I put my head inside the sack full of coffee beans.

Only a few crumbs are visible.

Finally, all those coffee beans were gone.

It was the moment when one more entertainment disappeared.

I turned the bag over and gathered the last of the coffee beans. I put them between my palms and rubbed them vigorously.

Put the finely ground coffee powder in a cotton cloth. Wet it with water and squeeze it again in the palm of your hand.

I took a sip of the coffee that was dripping down my cup.

In fact, the taste was really bad. It was just rotten coffee beans with a lot of flavor.

I went outside with a cup of coffee in my hand. I sat down on a chair in the middle of the empty lot and stared blankly at the sky.

The eagle flew in with a low cry and landed next to me.

“How long will you grow up? Huh?”

Just a small fish.

Now it was embarrassing to even call it a hawk.

“Doesn’t your master know that you’re growing up without any plan?”

I stroked the bird’s head without any hesitation and looked at the sun approaching from afar.

Once a year, once a month.

“Let me ask you one favor.”

The eagle tilted its head.

Quillvian smiled and pointed to the sun.

A lump of power created by Winte.

The falcon spread its wings wide, casting a long shadow. Quillvien stood up and tapped his shoulder.

“You can hold on tight.”

The eagle flew up with a long cry, then grabbed Quilbian’s shoulders with its sharp talons.

The body rises.

With each flap of the wings, the ground was moving farther away.

Quillbian brought his thumb up to his eyes. The living quarters became small enough to hide behind his thumb.

As the eagle flapped its wings, the sun came closer.

The sun seen from close range looked like a living creature mercilessly releasing its power.

The remnants of power that remain even after Winte disappears.

The eagle soared and then stopped.

It looks like it’s touched the sky.

Quilbian looked at the sun beneath his feet.

The closer the fire gets, the hotter it gets. It was common sense that if you were under the midday sun, your flesh would get cooked.

But the sun in front of me was just bright, and there was no feeling of heat at all.

“Let go. Stay away from me just in case.”

The falcon, which had been listening obediently, rebelled for the first time. The paw that had been tightly gripping the falcon’s shoulder showed no sign of straightening.

“are you okay.”

He stroked the rough legs of each eagle.

The resisting falcon let out a long cry and then lost strength in its legs.

Quilbian fell straight towards the sun.

(Continued in next episode)