Karnak, Monarch of Death

Karnak examined the soul before him. He was shocked. The more he checked the soul, the more convinced he became that his suspicion was correct. Without a doubt, this was the Dreltein of the current era.

He wondered. "Is it even possible for a soul to be torn apart like this?"

It was like leaving the milk behind while pulling the tea out of milk tea. It was something that should have been impossible.

He muttered, "How in the world did I manage this?"

It didn't seem like the soul had reverted to its pre-fusion state. When a soul from the future traveled back to the present, the two souls became one, as they were originally the same soul to begin with. However, just because the soul was one didn't mean the personalities were one and the same.

Personality was born from memory. When the future's memories were overlaid onto the present person, their personality eventually followed suit toward the future's.

"If I have to put it precisely, he's Dreltein who has lost the memories of the last decade or so."

It was similar to Lapicel's situation. She currently behaved like the young Lapicel of this era, but in truth, she was the future Lapicel who had merely lost her memories. There were times when the future's consciousness would awaken within her, but that, too, was due to the personality rooted in her memories. It wasn't as if the soul of young Lapicel and the soul of future Lapicel were taking turns occupying the body.

"Not that I fully understand it myself." The connection between soul, personality, and memory was as much a matter of necromancy as it was of philosophy, so even Karnak could not speak on it with absolute certainty. "Either way, I can at least guess why this happened."

As he examined Dreltein's soul, Karnak continued, "A martial king is a martial king, after all."

The consciousness of the present Dreltein, which should have been erased during the fusion, had managed to endure the weathering of time without vanishing. It was possible only because it was a personality strong enough to have reached the pinnacle of power.

Karnak continued. "The same goes for Lapicel. Well, in Lapicel's case, it's also because the future Lapicel intentionally suppressed her own personality..."

Serati suddenly found herself curious. There were two people here who had souls from the future that had invaded the souls of the present. "Does that mean your personalities from this era are also still somewhere beyond your unconscious minds?"

Varos and Karnak glanced at each other, then let out a small laugh.

Varos said, "Our personalities from this era?"

Karnak shrugged. "They probably melted away instantly."

Varos nodded in agreement. "There's no way our personalities from the past were that strong."

Karnak smirked. "Seriously, what would you expect from us back then?"

Serati clicked her tongue, dumbfounded. "Still, they're your past selves. How can you speak about them like you're talking about someone else?"

Apparently, they could.

Karnak was nonchalant. "They say not to dwell on the past but to live in the present, don't they?"

Varos nodded as if it were the most obvious thing. "Exactly. A person should live looking toward the future."

Serati shook her head. "Coming from people who were so tied to the past that they turned back time... I'm not sure you're the ones to say that."

Karnak calmly examined the soul before him. There was still much research to be done to fully understand why something like this had happened.

But one thing was clear. "You... you don't know what the Cult of the Black God is, do you?"

"Dreltein!!!"

"Have you ever heard the name Tesranach?"

"Damn you, Dreltein!"

"Yeah, thought so, you don't know."

This soul carried memories only up until the moment it had lost its body in its younger days. Moreover, it was still incoherent, rambling on and on as if it weren't fully sane yet.

Karnak had gone through all the trouble of securing the soul of a high-ranking figure within Tesranach's inner circle, only to find there was not a single piece of information he could extract.

"Damn it, nothing in this world ever goes as planned." Scratching the back of his head, Karnak wore a troubled expression. "I went through all this trouble, and I got nothing out of it."

Serati, who had been watching from the side, thought of it differently. "Well... Sir Karnak?"

"What?"

"I mean, what you just did... didn't you just save the present Dreltein from the future Dreltein?"

"Huh? Is that what this is?"

Information about the Cult of the Black God wasn't the most important thing right now. If he could replicate this method, he could rescue the souls of this era that had been forcibly fused with future souls!

Serati exclaimed. "This means you could truly become a savior!"

Karnak responded, "You're right!"

Serati's exclamation made Karnak finally realize the true significance of what had just happened. It was indeed significant, but only by the standards of the Monarch of Death. And that was a problem.

"So now I can finally summon the future subordinates. I just have to separate their future souls, and then cast a domination spell on them!"

Serati flared up for a moment but quickly calmed herself. "You finally gain the ability to do something good, and that's the first thing you think of?"

It wasn't the first time Karnak had said things like this. She was used to knowing how to handle him during such moments. "No, Sir Karnak. You can't do that."

"I can't? Why not?"

"I-It's hard to explain, but you just can't."

"All right." Karnak agreed without resistance. "If Serati says no, then it's a no."

Over the time they had spent together, he had learned that it was generally best to listen to her advice, as long as it wasn't a matter of life or death. Of course, her advice still felt irrational to Karnak.

He reasoned it out like this. "Humans are irrational beings, so if I want to live like a human, I guess I need to act irrationally too."

Serati frowned. "Are you really agreeing right now?"

In any case, it was something to think about later. Looking at the soul before him, Karnak fell into thought. It was, after all, the soul of Dreltein. Even considering that this Dreltein had not yet become the martial king of his time, he could become a reliable ally if Karnak could bring him over to his side. He only needed to look at Leven to know that much.

"It's a waste to just leave him locked away."

In the past, he wouldn't have hesitated. He would have stitched together corpses to craft an undead body and turned him into a death knight. But he was no longer the Monarch of Death.

Karnak reaffirmed his resolve. "If I want to live like a human, I can't be controlling death anymore."

Varos let out a derisive snort. "For someone saying that, you're already controlling quite a bit, aren't you? What are the four elders, if not autonomous skeletons?"

Karnak shot Varos a glare. "I'm saying I won't increase their number any further."

Truthfully, he had felt uncomfortable lately, behaving too much like his old self. He figured it was about time he exercised some restraint.

"So, making him a death knight is out." But with that option gone, nothing else came to mind. "Damn it, what am I supposed to do with him?"

Serati shook her head from the side. "Isn't there an option of resolving the soul's regrets and letting it pass on in peace?"

Karnak was confused. "Why? That would make it completely useless."

"I mean..." Serati replied weakly, shoulders drooping. "Please, can you stop judging people solely by whether they're useful or not...?"

***

They had defeated Tesranach's most loyal lieutenants, Elezar and Dreltein. In other words, the Cult of the Black God had been significantly weakened. In the midst of it all, Karnak had managed to use the Anti-Time-Space Transcender to temporarily wield the powers of his previous life.

Granted, his previous life referred only to his days as the Monarch of Death, not as Astra Shunaph. Furthermore, he could now grant these powers to Varos and the others as well. At this point, even if a martial king or a archmage came after him, he would have a fair chance at victory.

For the first time in a while, there was room to breathe. At the very least, he no longer had to live in constant fear, wondering when the next attack would come.

And so, Karnak made his decision. "Let's take a break for a while too."

Naturally, Karnak wasn't planning on taking a break from everything. The Shadow of Doom was still falling like rain across the continent. Tesranach's invasion had not been completely stopped.

"Still, you need to rest when it's time to rest. Everything we do is to survive, after all."

From the start, Karnak had never been a man of great ambition. Even in his previous life, the goals he had set for himself were nothing more than to earn a modest amount of money, possess just enough strength so as not to be looked down upon, and live a life of quiet pleasure, enjoying good food in peace.

Leven, Serati, and Milia found his words absurd.

You took over one of the most powerful merchant guilds in the Seven Kingdoms...

You regained enough strength to take down both a martial king and an archmage...

You even established the Twilight Cult and built a network of powerful subordinates for yourself. And you're claiming you have no ambition? No way.

Varos, however, reacted completely differently. "You really have let go of all worldly desires, haven't you?"

It was simply a matter of perspective. It was like a man who once lived in a mansion made entirely of gold saying, "It's uncomfortable living in a house made entirely of gold. Next time, I'll just have the furniture made of gold for a simpler life."

Karnak was a man who once owned the entire world. If he felt satisfied with this much, it was true. He had indeed let go of all desire.

That was why Varos pointed out something else instead. "You won't be able to rest for long. We still haven't found a way to stop the Shadow of Doom."

Karnak's expression twisted. "That's why I tried summoning Dreltein to extract information, but all I ended up doing was rescuing his soul. Tch."

Serati shook her head. "It's not something to scoff about. Why do you have to say things like that even after doing a good deed...?"

Karnak retorted, "I said I want to live like a human, Serati, but that doesn't mean I want to live doing good deeds."

Serati countered, "Isn't feeling good after doing good deeds also part of living like a human?"

"Huh, that's actually a pretty convincing point."

In any case, it was for these reasons that they decided to stay in the Zestrad territory for a while to rest. Naturally, rest didn't mean they spent their days idling around. Everyone remained busy in their own way.

As for Karnak, he immersed himself in researching Floke. "Serati, hold him still for me!"

The baby dragon would rampage violently in front of Karnak, but turn completely docile the moment it was in Serati's arms.

Karnak rubbed his chin as he examined the white baby dragon dozing peacefully in Serati's embrace. "I can sense something strange from him, but I can't quite figure out what it is."

Serati asked him. "Isn't it just draconic mana?"

"If it were draconic mana, I'd know. I can't figure it out."

It felt like it was something related to life itself, but he couldn't identify it precisely. However, it didn't seem like something that would reveal its secrets within a day or two.

On the other hand, Milia quit the Eustil King's Order and took up a position as the head priest of the Zestrad territory. Karnak had established a temple of Latiel within the territory specifically for her. Becoming the head priest of a remote rural region after having been part of the prestigious King's Order was effectively a demotion, but there was no helping it.

Karnak explained it this way. "Milia, if you spend too much time away from me, your wings might sprout, you know?"

It was far better for her to remain tucked away in the countryside than risk having her identity revealed among people. Meanwhile, Varos, Leven, Lapicel, and Serati—all aura users—devoted themselves earnestly to training. They were genuinely enjoying the rare opportunity to focus solely on honing their skills.

Leven, in particular, was relentless. He claimed to be near breaking through his limits. "Just a little more! Just a little more, and...!"

"You think you'll become a silver knight?"

"I think I'll be able to draw more strength from you, Lord Karnak!"

"Isn't the mastery of the sword something you're supposed to achieve on your own? Aren't you approaching this with the wrong mindset?"

"Isn't this how my family has always been?"

"Ah, well, I suppose that's true..."

Lapicel, too, was spending her days diligently, focusing on swordsmanship and training alongside Serati.

Then, one day, Karnak suddenly called for Serati. "Come with me for a moment."

"Where are we going?"

"You know how, if I want to live like a human, I can't be controlling death, right?"

"And?"

"I found a way to make use of Dreltein's soul while still living like a human."

Serati looked at Karnak with suspicious eyes. He wore a strangely triumphant expression.

"What exactly are you planning now?"