The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 68



Only Krnovel

Episode 68

Covenant?

Just when I was about to ask what it meant, a soft light began to leak out from the dead falcon.

The light swept over the pendant tied to the falcon’s ankle and slowly rose into the sky.

Quilbian looked up at the green light stretching high into the sky.

Is it the soul of the eagle?

If that’s the case, then we should go outside, where everything is wide open, rather than this stuffy world.

Quilbian, who had been staring blankly at the green light, carefully placed the falcon’s head on the ground.

The light was hovering in the air.

The circular trajectory was so familiar.

It was a pattern that was mostly seen when the eagle pointed in the direction.

“I guess you have something to tell me.”

“Have a nice trip.”

I climbed up onto the railing and kicked my feet hard. My body shot up through the air.

I turned my head slightly and looked down.

Winte sitting on a chair with her legs crossed, Mae in eternal sleep, and Twella raising her right hand and shaking it gently.

Twella’s face was hazy, as if in a fog. It had been like this before.

It was Twella who lowered her waving hand and turned her body. She walked along the railing and soon disappeared into the darkness.

After coming down to the ground, Quilbian looked up at the sky again.

The green light was moving towards the west.

How far did you move following the light?

We arrived at a special enclosure covered in bushes. There was no trace of humans left.

The green light fell between the straight trees. After remembering the location, I moved.

There was light shining on the top of a large tree. I lightly rolled my feet and climbed up.

“… … This was your home.”

There was a nest. Inside lay a fluffy baby eagle.

As if sensing a presence, it lifted its thin eyelids. It opened its closed beak with difficulty and began to squeak.

It seemed like he was asking for food.

I caught a bug, crushed it slightly, and put it in my mouth. The baby hawk swallowed it and cried happily.

The green that had been hanging on the trees had disappeared, as if they had finally finished their work.

I packed up the nest and returned to the dormitory.

The falcon that was supposed to be lying on the roof was nowhere to be seen.

When I looked at Winte, Winte raised his finger and pointed to the sky.

“I sent it back to the sky. I wanted that more than being buried in the ground.”

Winte held out his hand. He said, “Take this,” and handed over the rope and pendant that had been wrapped around the falcon’s ankle.

“There was a baby.”

“You now have one more reason to live well.”

“Yes, I will. I will have to take care of it until it can hunt on its own.”

The baby hawk, which had been asleep for a while, began to squeak again. It was a friend with a huge appetite.

“Give it to me.”

He handed the nest over to Winte. Winte stared at each chick and snapped his fingers.

A jarring flapping sound was heard.

I looked around and saw all kinds of bugs flying in a row.

The insects crumpled their bodies and entered the baby eagle’s mouth.

“You eat well.”

Winte laughed.

“Give this guy a name.”

“I can’t do that. I just called the pigs I raised first and second.”

The baby closed its eyes and curled up again, satisfied with its meal.

“Rappa.”

“yes?”

“Since you said you couldn’t build it, you have to build a country. The name is important.”

“Rappa, what does that mean?”

“A teacher for the foolish, a guide for the lost. A decent name to be given to those who will see farthest from the highest.”

Winte’s golden eyes sparkled.

What is he looking at?

Winte handed over the nest.

“Take good care of it.”

“I’ve never raised a falcon before, so I’m worried if I can take good care of it.”

“He’s a strong and smart guy. He’ll let you know when he needs something, so just take care of it.”

I went down to the bedroom and placed the nest on Drich’s bed. I covered it with a blanket and made a breathing hole.

The pendant Winte gave me was placed next to the baby falcon.

I cleaned up and went back up to the rooftop.

Winte was not there.

Where have you been?

I sat on a chair, stretched out my legs, and closed my eyes. It was a time to pass the time, waiting for sleep that would not come.

I felt like my body was sinking.

The omen came. I was grateful for the warning.

I concentrated and held onto my thoughts. The sooner I realized that it wasn’t real, the sooner I would return.

“… … .”

A gray landscape greeted me.

This is the third time.

It was a strange place. Swaying gray sand, the occasional gray flower, and gray trees.

When I looked up at the sky, all I saw was gray.

In other gaps, there are various types of paper, and there are stories of what the ‘Quilvians’ there have experienced, but in the gray world, nothing can be found.

Quilbian stood there dumbfounded, searching through his memories.

There is one person living here.

But for some reason, I couldn’t remember the gender, or even the face.

I think I heard something like that.

I grabbed my pounding head and started walking.

Footprints were left in the gray sand. Quilbian looked back. Gray sand was piled up again over the long footprints.

As if nothing could leave a trace here.

Beep beep.

A joyful cry tore through the air.

I looked up at the sky and saw a bright green light moving quickly.

Quilbian ran after the light. If he had a monster-like body in reality, he would have caught up with the light in one leap, but here, after running for a few minutes, he would run out of breath and have to bend over.

I continued to follow the light, wiping away the sweat that was dripping down my face.

“Hey! Slow down!”

I shouted at the sky, but the green light just kept moving at the same speed.

That mischievous guy.

I ran and walked for a while. When my legs started to shake and I couldn’t walk anymore, the light stopped.

Quilbian placed his hands on his knees and took a ragged breath. Drool dripped from his parted mouth.

Running was such a hard thing. It was the first time in nearly 100 years that I felt this tired.

“You wanted to… show me… something… .”

I raised my head with difficulty.

I could see a house in the distance. I could also see a gray flower field. There was a person on a gray bench in front of the house.

It was a woman.

The moment I realized it, events that had sunk to the bottom of my memory came back to me one after another.

When I first came here, I saw a woman who was getting older and younger by the minute. When I came here the second time, she brought me back to my senses with ‘some words’.

What did you say?

I looked ahead, searching through my memories.

The green light that had been hovering over the house landed next to the woman. The light soon changed into the shape of a hawk.

The giant falcon gradually became smaller and smaller, until it was small enough to fit on the woman’s lap.

The woman carefully held the falcon. The falcon, which had been dyed green, gradually lost its luster.

It lost its color, stopped moving, and soon turned into gray sand, flowing down between the woman’s knees.

Why is that?

A long-forgotten, bitter emotion slowly rose up. Sadness, anger? Or… … .

The woman raised her head.

Our eyes clearly met, but we didn’t exchange glances.

Quilbian recognized the woman, but the woman seemed not to see Quilbian at all.

Who is it?

The question pounded loudly on my head.

Who is it?

Another voice answered the whisper of my questioning self. You know.

“hey.”

He tried to approach me, raising his voice.

After taking about ten steps, Quilbian realized that the distance between him and the woman had not narrowed at all.

“Hey! Can’t you hear me?”

I ran across the gray sand. My body lurched as the grip was dispersed across the fine grains.

I fell down with a bang. Gray sand flowed into my mouth.

“Let’s talk!”

He spat out the sand and ran again.

Run and run again.

But it doesn’t narrow down.

It was like looking beyond the sky wall.

A space that clearly exists, but cannot be reached.

The woman stood up from the bench. She looked up at the distant sky and then sat down.

Shaking shoulders and crying sounds.

Her body slowly collapsed and hit the floor.

A sandstorm is blowing.

The gray sand covered everything around her mercilessly.

Gray house, gray flowers, gray bench.

Everything was buried in sand and inserted into a uniform gray landscape.

Quilbian watched the process blankly.

It felt like it took a very long time, but it also felt like it happened in an instant.

Soon the gray sand began to stir.

The woman emerged from the sand, staggering, and began to walk across the gray land where nothing existed.

It’s getting further and further away.

To a place where you can no longer reach.

When I came to my senses, I saw a bright blue sky.

It was the rooftop.

Quillbian shook his head. His forehead was covered in cold sweat.

What on earth could it have been?

I bent down and took a deep breath. The world was gray. A woman was left alone there.

I thought of the green light racing across the gray sky. It was definitely a hawk. Why did my only friend appear there?

Did I see something other than a gap?

It was confusing.

Quilbian opened his palm. Gray grains of sand fell to the floor.

“… … Twella.”

I don’t know why, but I called her name. She was a spirit that would definitely appear when I called her. Lately, she hasn’t spoken and has only been dancing.

“Twella?”

I looked around.

I can’t see her. Suddenly, I remember her appearance before she came back during the gap.

The sight of him waving his hand as if saying goodbye.

Why do I call that woman by that name, which now has no meaning?

I didn’t understand.

That was when.

Asrai’s voice came back to life. A mournful sound that seemed to come from underwater.

– I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it.

The back of my neck felt cool and then hot as if it was on fire.

I know that woman.

How could I not know?

When I first went into a world full of gray, I saw that woman right in front of my nose.

From childhood to old age.

That face that changed in an instant… … .

It was definitely Twella.

What the hell happened?

“Twella!”

I tried raising my voice.

I knew it. The spirit is an entity that came from within me. Even if I desperately call for it to appear, what is summoned before my eyes is not the real thing, but a fake.

Still, I had no choice but to find it.

An explanation was needed.

Quillvian felt the need to find out how the damned events were connected.

“Are you watching? I know you’re listening! Come out!”

I felt my thoughts splitting apart. Even though I knew that I couldn’t grasp the truth even if I met the spirit body, my throat continued to call out to Twella.

An afterimage passed before my eyes.

An inconsistent, context-free series of events.

Quillvien sat down with a clenched fist to his mouth.

Anxiety began to creep in.

Twella, the woman, the outside life, the two-faced realm, Winte, the gap, and the hawk.

Suddenly, I remembered the conversation I had with Twella before ‘that woman’ descended to the earth.

She said.

– Most people went into the mountains to gather food. I was the same. I went to look for vegetables with my best friend, Mae.

There was a word embedded in the conversation that I thought was small talk that was difficult to ignore.

My throat feels scratchy.

Quilbian looked straight ahead.

There was a winte there.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

Winte nodded and lightly cracked his wrist. Two coffee cups appeared in the air.

“Here, warm coffee. This is the most essential thing when watching a movie. This is better than popcorn and cola.”

(Continued in next episode)