Chapter 249
Translator: Pai_
Doomsday.
That was what people came to call the event that had occurred a few months ago.
The sudden darkness and shadows that covered the sky, and the mysterious frenzy that began from it.
That alone was horrifying enough, but then came a flock of bizarre monstrous birds with the heads of dogs and cats.
What made it possible to survive that terrifying moment was, first, the wizards who endured the frenzy and fought back, and second, the Ascended Ones who descended as if from the heavens.
Transcendents who took the form of giants made entirely of metal, or who wielded storms and white flames.
They crushed the monstrous birds, whom the wizards had struggled to fight, like they were mere toys.
Occasionally, a hundred or so would attack all at once, causing a slightly troublesome situation for some, but at the very least, no one was killed by those creatures.
Even Turan and Solif, who were immature Transcendents just beginning to handle their essence in ancient times, could easily hunt down a few of them, so there was no need to speak of those who had trained for decades.
Thus, the sight of Transcendents defeating the monstrous birds that had descended across various regions left a deep impression on the people who witnessed it.
At that time, even the frenzy caused by the black shadow that had covered the sky had vanished, so many people were able to perceive it clearly.
“Wow.......”
“Win! Win!”
“Just a little more!”
With such cheers from the people, all of the incarnations of the bird that devours the moon that had engulfed the Cradle were finally eliminated.
And what remained were only the corpses of people and the ruins of collapsed buildings.
Just as people were sighing in despair, the imperial government sent notifications to each feudal territory explaining the situation.
‘This attack was an extraterrestrial invasion, but fortunately, it was overcome thanks to the valiant efforts of the great Ascended Ones. Citizens of the Empire are to stand down from battle readiness and focus on recovery efforts.’
In truth, among the people of the Empire within the Cradle, not many were fully aware of the existence of those beings.
After all, the only ones who could travel to and from Earth were those of at least Grade 1, and even then, only a few dozen existed across the entire Empire.
However, through this incident, they came to understand that the outer world was not merely a romantic or fantastical place, but one teeming with terrifying enemies that targeted them.
***
“How’s the situation?”
“Not that great, unfortunately.”
The Imperial Palace in the imperial capital, Kalamaf.
Luska Parsha responded to his mother’s question in a resigned tone as he flicked his fingers.
At that, several illusions appeared before them, showing the situation across the Empire.
It was a report produced by the combination of a century’s worth of systematically accumulated imperial magiscientific technology and administrative systems.
“At least the territories with well-established defense systems are safe... but the damage seems severe in the border regions.”
“I’d better send support to the Aravion side. Can you organize the data for me?”
“One moment.”
Click. With a few hand gestures, the reports from the current Aravion feudal territory were sent to Meisa.
The report outlined, in order of priority, the areas that needed to be addressed immediately.
“Wow, so much damage... Solif went to handle Varaha, and the other regions have their own assigned people. What about the Parsha domain?”
“I’m planning to personally make rounds after I finish sorting this out. Eventually, I’ll need to tour each feudal territory too.”
“Being Emperor really is exhausting, huh.”
Luska had been about to ask if his mother could take over in his place, when he realized that Meisa had already disappeared from the room.
‘I really can’t take this job anymore. I think I understand now why Father passed it on to me and left.......’
Of course, the position allowed her to gain significant presence even in a short time, unlike other Ascended Ones, since it was a role that received the loyalty of all imperial citizens.
The problem was the enormous workload and immense responsibility that came with it.
Still, even if he grumbled, Luska never neglected his duties as Emperor.
With the help of his mother, who had once ruled the Empire almost as a co-sovereign alongside his father, the former Emperor, he filled the gaps in administrative capacity and mobilized other Ascended Ones to repair the damage.
Thus passed about a month.
As the scar that had violently clawed the world slowly began to heal, everyone came to a similar thought.
Turan, who had gone off to chase the bird that devours the moon, had been gone for far too long.
“Don’t tell me something happened while he was chasing it...?”
“What nonsense. That guy’s not the kind to die, no matter who tries to kill him.”
Solif dismissed the youngest Ascended One’s concern with a scoff.
However, the way he unconsciously shook one leg gave away the unease he felt, despite his words.
“Alright, everyone, pay attention.”
At that moment, Meisa drew the attention of the other Ascended Ones gathered in the meeting hall.
She had taken on the role of leading everyone here in Turan’s absence, and since she was actually the strongest among them, no one objected.
“I don’t know the reason, but I believe Turan will come back someday. So what we need to do now is start with the things we can do.”
“To be honest, we’ve pretty much done everything there is to do”, Haram said.
Just as he said, all the immediate tasks had been completed.
The damage on the surface had been restored, the essence Turan had scattered and the powers of the dead Transcendents from Phantom Beast Realm had been gathered, and even the boundary of the world had been somewhat repaired, albeit roughly.
All they could do now was wait, hoping Turan would return with good news.
Meisa shook her head at the response that carried such sentiment.
“There’s still more we can do. Rather than sitting around doing nothing, shouldn’t we at least wander around and gather information?”
“How?”
“Through Earth.”
The connection between Earth and the other closed worlds, which had been severed just before the Phantom Beast Realm invasion, had now been restored.
Meisa’s suggestion was to inquire about Turan’s situation through those connected worlds.
“Earth is still blocked off by us, so that won’t help, but there are quite a few people who have contracts with Transcendents from other open worlds, right? We can try finding out through them.”
If Turan had drifted into one of those open worlds, it might be possible to hear news of him through the humans connected to the Transcendents of that world.
And if they could find the world’s coordinates, they could even go there themselves to retrieve Turan.
“That’s a good plan!”
One of the few female Ascended Ones, Mila, strongly agreed with Meisa’s idea.
“We can’t go looking ourselves, right?”
“Ascended Ones can’t enter other closed worlds. We’ll have to send in weaker wizards.”
Thus, the plan to venture into other worlds in search of Turan’s traces was agreed upon and carried out.
***
“You want to explore the other worlds with our help?”
“Yes. However, I’d like to ask for your understanding, as those participating in this expedition from our side are relatively lower in rank and weaker.”
United States President Aaron Spike couldn’t hide his bewildered expression at the request from Ashiz, the messenger from the Cradle, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.
After all, for over a hundred years since first contact, they had quietly connected the worlds and taken only resources- yet now, suddenly, they were making such a request?
Of course, surprise was one thing, but he didn’t dare think of refusing.
They might not be on the level of the Christian God, but he knew well enough that they were beings equivalent to the gods of Greek or Norse mythology.
The young man standing before him had once casually given the previous president an elixir of immortality as a gift.
Though it was said one couldn’t live beyond their predetermined lifespan, thanks to that gift, the former president, now over ninety, still maintained the appearance and vigor of someone thirty years younger.
“Understood. I’ll need congressional approval, but I’ll see to it as you wish. However...”
“I know. There’s something you expect in return. We’ll waive this year’s resource tax.”
“Thank you.”
Not long after the agreement was made, over a hundred wizards from the Cradle set foot on Earth.
Soon, they joined expeditions heading to other worlds, mingling with Earth’s explorers.
“Hey, hyung. Are you really one of those people from the place called the Cradle?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Wow.”
“Is it really as badass as Olympus over there? You gotta know someone to talk about it. I’ve been dying of curiosity.”
“Yeah. If it’s not a secret, tell us a bit. I wanna brag when I get home.”
Naturally, they received tremendous attention from the Earthlings accompanying them.
After all, the number of those who had come across the long years was only a dozen or so, and the Cradle was known as a place inhabited solely by beings who did not age.
“It doesn’t seem all that different here, really... people live here just like anywhere else.”
“Well, yeah, even other worlds weren’t that different once you looked closely.”
“I laughed so hard when I found out that the ancient common language of the Kingdom of Panto was Japanese.”
As the adventurers chuckled among themselves, one of the wizards quietly observed them before finally speaking with a solemn expression.
Though it hadn’t been a long stay, he didn’t want them to believe that Earth was a place just like the Cradle.
“Still, from what I’ve experienced, there are a few differences.”
The Earthling explorers widened their eyes and listened closely as the wizard continued.
A world where, thanks to the fusion of magic and science, there was no trace of disease, disability, or hunger.
An empire that prospered under the leadership of a ruling class that had to be more moral in order to gain greater power.
And other races who, though they sometimes caused trouble, acknowledged the dominance of humanity and lived by turning their differences into strengths.
It was an explanation of an ideal state, the kind one might expect to hear in a theoretical discussion.
Even people of Earth, now enjoying greater prosperity than before through the Second Age of Exploration, found it enviable.
Because just because they lived better than before didn’t mean all the structural contradictions of society had been resolved.
In the U.S., Black people were still getting into gunfights with the police, Islamic refugees were still rioting in Europe, and in Africa and other conflict zones, child soldiers were throwing bombs at one another.
“Fuck, if I could live in a place like that, I’d have no more wishes.”
“Sounds to me like someone praising their country in some dictatorship.”
“Believe it or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s not like any of you are ever going to the Cradle anyway.”
“Oh, right, I heard something about that. You people can’t stay in our world that long, right?”
“Yes. In my case, I need to return within ten days at the latest.”
Through prior training, the wizards had learned that Earthlings couldn’t permanently reside in the Cradle, and that they themselves couldn’t spend extended periods in Earth or other realms.
At least if their stay in Earth ended, they would simply be summoned back to the Cradle, and that would be the end of it. But if they were in an entirely different world when their time expired, the consequences were far more severe.
Unlike the Earth-Cradle link, which could be traversed due to proximity, other worlds required the use of dimensional gates, and there, one's very existence could scatter and dissolve.
“Then why did people from such a paradise come here?”
“Exactly.”
In response to a question from a Black man, the wizard replied with a solemn expression.
“Because there is something we need to ask the people here.”
That was all he said. He avoided any further questions and quickly changed the topic.
It wasn’t that it had to be a strict secret, but rather, he simply didn’t want to speak of it in front of these flippant people.
That the greatest of their Ascended Ones, the founding emperor Turan, had disappeared, and that they were venturing into other worlds in search of his traces.
***
The Cradle’s wizards who crossed into the other realms first set out in search of humans who had contracted with Transcendents.
Contractors, apostles, warlocks, wizards, people known by many names.
They offered to trade, using the various powerful magic artifacts they had brought from their world.
“You want me to ask my master for rumors? How dare you, over something so trivial-”
“I heard you've spent decades researching how to naturally change human gender. Just take this potion. It should do the trick.”
“-Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Hm, hand that over. Does it make me younger too?”
Though there were some who resisted, fortunately, they were able to successfully strike deals with quite a number of them.
That was how abundant the Cradle was, and the tools they could create with their magic, essentially the key to omnipotence, were incredibly diverse.
Moreover, what they asked for in return was never anything extraordinary.
All they wanted were clues about a young man with gray hair, a giant golden eagle, or someone named Turan.
Once they had a specific location, they would then secure the coordinates of the world where the witness lived in exchange, and the Ascended Ones would rush there to rescue Turan. That was the plan.
Naturally, Earthlings also heard this news through people from other worlds and learned that the master of the Cradle had disappeared.
“The master of the Cradle is gone?”
“If we use this to demand something from the Cradle...”
“That feels like too big a risk.”
The disappearance of Turan, the master of the Cradle, didn’t drastically change the power balance between the two worlds.
Though the wizards who had crossed over this time were far weaker than those before, as they themselves had said, even they were still comparable to Earth’s top-tier abilities.
And unlike people from other worlds, who were usually restricted in the form their powers took, these wizards demonstrated abilities that were truly bizarre and mysterious.
From fire and water to wind, lightning, earth, and darkness, they wielded mystic powers that could manipulate all creation at will.
There was no need to even mention monsters like Meisa, who could withstand even nuclear missiles.
If they all chose to go on a rampage, Earth would end up no different from the primitive otherworlds they were currently colonizing.
So the Earthlings changed their mindset and decided to officially assist in the search for Turan.
The logic was that Earth’s explorers, who didn’t need to return to the Cradle every few days or weeks, would be more effective in finding him.
“Help, you say?”
“Yes. We don’t need an extravagant reward or anything. Just... if we produce results, we’d like to be looked upon favorably.”
Ashiz frowned at the unexpected proposal, but eventually decided to accept it.
In truth, because of the time limit, the Cradle’s wizards hadn’t been able to properly explore areas far from the dimensional gate.
If they could find Turan with their help, it would be worth the price, even if they had to give something in return, as long as they could find a clue.
And so, for about a year, they cast their net far and wide.
Rikin Shinav, a wizard dispatched to the world of Argol, sighed as he climbed a steep mountain.
“You found a clue? Are you sure?”
“I’m telling you, it’s legit. You’ll really give me the Elixir of Immortality as a reward?”
“If the information is solid, yes.”
The source of this latest intel was a French adventurer he had come to know over several deployments.
The middle-aged man currently leading the way was a fairly well-known ability user among Earthlings, a strong one, said to be on par with a second-class wizard.
If he weren’t, Rikin wouldn’t have bothered to come all this way.
He’d already been led on wild goose chases too many times with fake leads.
“This is it.”
What he led them to was a surprisingly well-built house in a rural tribal village.
A renowned shaman lived there, famous not only in the region but also for having once been a powerful contractor.
His sociable French friend greeted the frail-looking old woman inside the house with a respectful tone.
“Granny, I’m back.”
“Why are you here again? Rotten bastard.”
“Remember what you told me last time? I brought a friend who’s looking for that. If you give him the proper information, we’ll send food to your tribe like we promised.”
“You won’t cut it off halfway again?”
“Of course not. Have I ever lied to you?”
“I’ve seen you change your story more than once.”
Unlike the wizard from the Cradle, who obviously couldn’t communicate naturally, the two spoke quite fluently with each other.
There was no way the old woman had learned an Earth language, so most likely the Frenchman had learned theirs.
Either that, or by coincidence, the language used in this world was similar to French.
After replying curtly, the old woman lit a cigarette brought by the Frenchman and looked at Rikin as she spoke.
“So, what is it you wanted to know?”
“I sought a clue from the being you serve, regarding a Transcendent who resembles a golden eagle or a young man with gray hair.”
“Oh, that. Yes, the Torch of Frost Dawn, whom I serve, told me they had seen such a being.”
According to her, a new religion had been born near the world where the being known as the Torch of Frost Dawn resided.
This young god had taken an ashen golden eagle as their symbol and was spreading their faith to nearby closed worlds.
Rikin's eyes lit up at hearing this.
Even just this much was information worthy of an enormous reward if brought back to the imperial government.
“I see... Might I ask for that being's name?”
“How could us mere mortals dare speak the name of a god? That would only invite heavenly punishment. However, the name that being has passed down to their followers has been conveyed.”
Coughing hoarsely, the old woman said,
“He calls himself the Shepherd of the Lambs.”
*****
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