The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 6



Only Krnovel

Episode 6

“I brought this much!”

“You can smile so brightly,” Quill said, looking at Twella, who was shaking her sack in joy.

“I didn’t know being ignored would help. No one comes looking for me. And no one walks around during class.”

A red one flew in front of my eyes. I caught it and put it in my mouth. The sweet taste that made my brain soft spread throughout my mouth.

“I guess I can get by with this for the time being.”

Quill said, looking at the red thing he had bitten into.

“For now? No. You can eat this for the rest of your life.”

“You’ll get tired of it easily.”

“You’re sick of this taste?”

It was Twella who couldn’t understand.

“If it was back in the old days when I didn’t know anything, I could have survived on just this. But we’re not like that. The moment I realized something was wrong, my senses for receiving information completely changed. It’s to the point where I can’t even predict what tomorrow will bring.”

Quill described what he experienced in class. How boring the words of the ascetic were, and how miserable it was for the students to listen to and obey the same words.

“I think I know what you’re talking about. It’s different from the days when I used to eat that disgusting stuff without any worries. I’ve also come to realize how horrible it is to repeat the same thing.”

Twella put down the sack.

“Then what should I do now? As you said, I’ll get tired of this soon. Or I might have health problems.”

“We need to solve the fundamental problem.”

“The fundamental problem?”

“You know that too.”

When the perception that ‘the words of the ascetic are right’ were shattered, the first thing that came to mind was… .

Quilbian raised his head.

The blue sky wall visible beyond the dazzling sun. Twella also turned his gaze to the sky.

“Quilvian, is there really something else beyond the Sky Wall?”

“I don’t know.”

“The teachings of the ascetics are not all true, but the Sky Wall may be true. I have seen it countless times. Birds and unknown insects crash into the Sky Wall and fall to their deaths.”

“That’s right.”

The ascetics said.

The sky wall is the world.

I never questioned that statement. No, I never imagined what was beyond the sky wall in the first place.

If there isn’t one, what can I imagine?

What wasn’t there wasn’t there.

“Do you remember what the ascetics said? Birds are symbols of despair, the image of failures that have not undergone divine transformation.”

“That’s right.”

“If that’s false, then where did the birds come from? And furthermore, are we really capable of change?”

The food of change and the food of awakening.

I couldn’t even believe the saying that when you reach the end of learning, you shed your shell and are reborn anew.

“If that’s a lie, then what have we seen? You saw it too! The children who changed at the Mind Healing Center.”

The meal itself was served.

It is an undeniable fact.

Quill said, recalling the cadets who had been reduced to a handful of gore.

“All we’ve seen is the moment they lose their shells. Have the transformed ones ever come to us?”

“that…….”

“Recall in detail what you saw at the healing center. Concentrate on the emotions you felt at that moment.”

Light comes from the ceiling, and the cadets with the seer melt or explode.

When we look at the actual phenomenon after removing the prejudices that we believed to be the truth, we see that the students were not born again, but rather turned into blood.

Twella’s complexion became pale. She felt nauseous as if she had put black food in her mouth.

“What happened to those kids?”

“Disappearance. Or death. Isn’t that what we’ve seen?”

“Death? Is that what death is? Death is when those who drop out disappear.”

“We’re not sure. We don’t know much. We have no way of knowing what death is.”

There was no way to know whether ‘death’ was an event, a manifest phenomenon, or something real.

Because the only sources of information were the mouths of ascetics and the thin booklets they used for studying.

“One thing for sure is that it shouldn’t turn into blood like that.”

Just thinking about ‘food’ makes me shiver. It was disgusting to think of my past self who was happy to see the kids turn into blood.

Where on earth does the disgust come from? What causes such negative feelings when looking at bloody cadets?

“You said it said ‘Don’t forget’ in your notebook?”

Twella asked cautiously.

“That’s right. It was definitely written that way.”

“Who wrote this? Is it you?”

“I don’t know. I can’t remember. It looks like my handwriting, but it doesn’t.”

“… … When did we get the notebooks?”

“I got it at first.”

The moment those words came to my mouth.

Quill stared blankly at Twella’s face. Twella also had a blank expression on her face and then slowly frowned.

“A first time. Yes, there is a first time for everything. There must be a previous state! Like being in a room before you are in a restaurant, and lying in bed before you wake up!”

Twella shouted excitedly.

“How long have we been here? When did we first come here?”

It was a yearning voice.

Quilbian squeezed out his memories. He sent them flying back to the past, back to the past, reminiscing about the jingling routine.

But at some point, everything became hazy. Something vague was clearly lingering in my head, but it was difficult to explain it in detail.

Just like that ‘red thing’ whose name I don’t know.

I can see its shape, taste it, and smell it, but I can’t know its name, so I can only refer to it as ‘the red thing.’

“I saw something round.”

Twella said.

“Round one?”

“It was spinning around. Or was it? I don’t know. I think I saw something weird crawling on four legs.”

A strange thing that crawls on four legs.

Twella brought her clasped hands to her forehead.

“I feel like I remember, but I can’t. Something comes to mind, but it’s hard to put into words what it is. What about you?”

“Me too”

“What happened? Why can’t I remember anything?”

first.

The sharp sensation that the word brought to my head pierced through my mind. An indescribable pain followed, but at the same time, a sense of anticipation arose.

What awaits at the end of the suffering will be the shadow of truth.

“I feel like my head is going to burst.”

Twella groaned.

“Stop. Let’s not think about it today. It might cause something wrong with our bodies, just like when we ate fish.”

“I want to do that, but my head keeps thinking on its own. I think the very thought of not thinking about it attracts thoughts.”

“There is a good way.”

Quill grabbed Twella’s hand and ran around the warehouse as fast as he could.

After a few minutes, Twella’s face turned pale. Oh no. I should have thought about Twella’s physical condition.

I looked at Twella, swallowing my rushed breath. She, who had been bending down, raised her head, letting out an excited breath.

“I’m sure my body is tired, so I can’t think of anything. But, next time, could you please tell me out loud?”

It was Twella who smiled faintly.

“You can’t keep running, so let’s do something else. How about counting numbers?”

“That would be better.”

Twella straightened her back and looked up at the sky wall.

“If there is something out there, is it a better place than here?”

“It will be. It will definitely be.”

I decided not to think about any miserable truths that might be revealed.

*

I opened my eyes.

After opening the blanket and exchanging some petty words with Drich, I headed to the restaurant.

A day that never changes.

I approached Twella, who was sitting on a remote island, and offered her the bowl as I always did.

Twella’s face stiffened and her hands that were unfolding the bundle stopped.

There have been no problems for the past ten days.

The inertial thinking that everything would be okay today since there were no problems lowered my guard.

Quill realized there was someone behind him. It wasn’t a cadet. Cadets go to their assigned seats as soon as they receive their food.

“Quil.”

I could feel the temperature in his voice. It was so cold.

Altera.

The ascetic was behind.

I took a moment to gather my thoughts. How would I explain Twella’s bundle, how would I make her understand that I didn’t say anything even after seeing her actions.

Altera came over to the table and pushed the bowl with a slow hand.

Quilbian swallowed dryly as he looked at the returning bowl.

The investigation will begin.

You might be dragged into the confession room without even asking any questions.

The worst thing is being branded a dropout and disappearing in an instant.

I barely managed to lift my creaking chin and look at Altera.

“There are a lot of eyes watching, so do it later.”

Altera patted Quilbian on the shoulder and left the table.

I listened with both ears, but I couldn’t understand what was being said. What did he just say?

Twella also just looked at the bowl with a pale face.

“I got caught. I saw it all.”

“Twella.”

“You said it was the first time you saw me today. I didn’t want to eat this, so today was the first time… … .”

“No, it doesn’t work. And.”

Quill looked back cautiously.

Alteria, who had returned to her seat, was eating her food in an upright posture as usual.

“I told you to do it later. The ascetic knows exactly what we are doing.”

“what?”

“Didn’t you hear what the ascetic said earlier?”

“I was so surprised that I couldn’t hear anything. He kept looking into my eyes. I thought it was all over.”

“No. It’s not over. Maybe… … .”

A person who questions the obvious.

Is it just me and Twella?

What if there were people whose perceptions had changed, not only among the cadets but also among the ascetics?

“You didn’t even mention the score. You turned a blind eye to it. The ascetic, Altera is in the same state as us. That’s for sure.”

“Same? No, that can’t be true. Altera is eating this right now!”

Twella pointed to the black food with her finger.

Food that smells bad.

Just looking at it made me feel like my stomach was turning.

“If you can endure it?”

“How can I put up with this?”

“The ascetic knows more than we do. Don’t they also know how to endure?”

“Even so… … .”

Quillvian pushed the bowl back towards Twella.

“Let’s get this out of the way. If the ascetic had wanted to make a fuss, he would have dragged us out the moment he saw us.”

Twella looked around anxiously as she packed the food into a bundle.

“Let’s wait. Altera will speak to us again.”

“We have to kiss before that. As I said before, this is the first time I’ve seen you, and I did it all… … .”

Quilbian interrupted Twella.

“We did it together.”

“No! You’ll be punished too. You might disappear.”

“That would be better. Than being left here alone.”

Quillvian forced a smile.

“That’s what you said before. Do you remember?”

“… … .”

Time passed. The cadets finished their meal and left.

Quill sat waiting for judgment. Punishment or opportunity.

Altera whispered as she passed by the table.

“Come see me during your afternoon break.”

*

I climbed the stairs with Twella.

As we reached the fourth floor, the noisy voices of the children faded away.

On each tightly closed door was a sign with a name on it.

It was when I was catching my breath in front of a sign that said ‘Al Terah’.

“Come in.”

As if he knew, the door opened and Altera appeared.

(Continued in next episode)