Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 39

1. The Spirit Realm

1

Karrr-lurk!

Iheehee!

Reina slowly opened her eyes, disturbed by the noisy sounds around her.

‘Hmm, what’s that sound? Where am I?’

Puzzled by the unfamiliar scenery, she was startled to see strange beings flying above her head.

They were various colors—red, blue, and yellow—about the size of a human fist, with wings on their backs.

Upon closer inspection, they each looked different.

The blue one resembled a baby bird with three tails, the red one looked like a lizard with flames blazing on its body, and the yellow one was similar to a baby mole.

Though strange, they were all small and cute, which reassured Reina, who was feeling uneasy about being in an unfamiliar place.

The little creatures were oblivious to Reina’s awakening, circling around and chattering among themselves.

“Wow! It looks so weird!”

“Of course. It’s a creature called a human.”

“Human?”

“They’re a very inferior race that lived in the Middle Realm, which was cut off thousands of years ago. Haven’t you seen one before?”

“No, it’s my first time. But how do you know when you’re the same?”

The blue one, resembling a baby bird, puffed out its chest proudly at the red lizard’s question.

“Well, I saw a picture in a book in Uncle Herte’s study.”

“But I feel a warm and familiar energy from this human’s body.”

“Ah! The human has opened its eyes! Everyone, run away!”

At the yellow little one’s cry, who looked like a baby mole, the five of them were startled and scattered.

However, they didn’t completely disappear.

They watched from a distance, unable to resist their curiosity, and slowly began to approach again.

The blue little one, who had been showing off earlier, asked Reina.

“Who are you? And this is a place where humans can’t enter, so how did you get in here?”

It sounded like a bird chirping.

Strangely, Reina could understand what it meant.

She looked around for a moment and then answered.

“I’m Reina. But I don’t know why I’m here.”

There was clearly a sun in the sky, and there were forests, rivers, and fields.

However, it looked distinctly different from the world she knew.

It was as if someone had only drawn lines on a sketchbook, and countless colorful lights were flying around, coloring the place.

“Where exactly is this?”

The blue little one clicked its tongue at Reina’s question.

“They really are a stupid race. You came here without even knowing where this is?”

“I just opened the gate to the Spirit Realm at the request of the fairies…!!”

Reina stopped answering and looked surprised. Only then did she realize where she was.

“H-here, could this be…!!”

“Yes, as you said, this is the Spirit Realm. It’s definitely the Spirit Realm, although it’s on the outskirts where the gate to the Middle Realm used to be.”

“Ah, the ritual was successful.”

Reina had lost consciousness when the light of the magic circle exploded during the ritual.

But seeing that she was fine, it seemed that the ritual had been successful.

“Then you must be the spirits of this place?”

“Of course. This body is a Sylph [a type of air spirit] who races through the sky.”

The blue little one, no, the Sylph, boasted proudly.

Reina smiled at the sight, but then frowned and asked. She was worried about what had happened to Erewine and Sylvia’s group.

“What about the others? Have you seen any fairies?”

“Fairies? Are you talking about races like elves or dwarves?”

“Yes, I performed a ritual to open the gate to the Spirit Realm with them in the underground of Sky Mountain…”

Reina was about to explain the situation in detail when it happened.

Thump! Thump!

Suddenly, a sound that shook the ground was heard, and something the size of a small hill began to approach from afar.

“Eek! It’s Uncle Herte!”

“He must be looking for us! Everyone, run away!”

The five little spirits looked at the hill(?) and ran away with their tails between their legs.

Reina, who was left alone, looked at the approaching hill with fearful eyes. It was fear of an unfamiliar and imposing presence.

Soon, the being that the little ones were afraid of appeared in front of Reina.

It was a spirit that looked like a turtle, but its size was comparable to a castle.

The back, which was half green and half brown, was densely covered with large and small rocks and trees.

At first glance, it looked slow, but it moved 10 meters with each step, so it quickly got close to Reina.

Thump!

The large turtle spirit, Herte, stopped in front of the flinching Reina and clicked his tongue, looking at the place where the five little spirits had run away.

“Those troublemakers. I told them so many times not to come here…”

He spoke softly, but his voice rumbled like thunder in the distance because of his large size.

This place, where the gate connecting the Spirit Realm and the Middle Realm used to be, was unstable, and rifts would sometimes occur.

As a result, demonic beasts from the Demon Realm would appear, or spirits would be sucked into other worlds and disappear.

The reason for preventing the little spirits from approaching was to prevent such accidents.

However, the five little ones, who were known as troublemakers even in the Spirit Realm, often came here to play when the adults were not watching.

“W-who are you?”

Reina, overwhelmed by Herte’s size and voice, asked in a trembling voice.

Herte, the high-ranking earth spirit, lowered his head and stared at Reina before speaking.

“You must be the visitor that Sylphid-nim [a respectful title] spoke of.”

“Sylphid-nim?”

“He is the wind spirit king who rules this area.”

The Spirit Realm was ruled by a total of five spirit kings, each dividing their territory.

The fire spirit king, Ifrit, ruled the north,

The wind spirit king, Sylphid, ruled the south,

The water spirit king, Elraim, ruled the east,

The earth spirit king, Noas, ruled the west,

And the light spirit king, Electra, ruled the center, and was the leader who oversaw the entire Spirit Realm.

In the past, the gate to the Middle Realm was located in the south of the Spirit Realm, in Sylphid’s territory.

Sylphid had sensed the visit of a stranger when the gate briefly opened and closed, and had sent his subordinate.

“Sylphid-nim wants to see you. So follow me.”

“Ah, yes.”

Reina didn’t know what was going on, but she followed Herte for now. However, she soon fell behind. She couldn’t keep up with Herte’s strides.

Seeing this, Herte put her on his back.

“Tsk tsk, the human race is still slow. How can you survive in the harsh Middle Realm like this?”

Herte clicked his tongue and headed towards the castle where the wind spirit king, Sylphid, resided.

2

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Reina, riding on Herte’s back, was busy looking around at the rapidly receding forests and rivers.

Spirits did not live in villages or cities like humans or fairies. As beings born from the essence of nature, nature itself was their home and village.

However, it wasn’t that all spirits were homeless.

Among the spirits, there were some who had homes in underground caves, tree stumps, or deep in the water.

The spirit kings lived in rainbow-colored castles made of carved crystals, which were so magnificent and mysterious that no royal palace in the Middle Realm could compare.

Thump!

Herte, who had placed Reina in front of the castle gate, pointed inside with his chin.

“If you go straight in, you will be able to meet Sylphid-nim.”

Reina entered with a slightly nervous look.

However, it seemed that no one lived in the castle, and she couldn’t find any spirits until she reached the main hall.

Creak!

When she reached the main hall, the large crystal door opened automatically.

Reina swallowed hard and carefully entered.

As she went to the center of the main hall, where sunlight was pouring in through the windows, she could see someone sitting on a crystal chair.

It was a man with three pairs of transparent wings on his back and long, flowing blue hair that reached his waist.

A refreshing breeze swirled around his entire body, and his outstanding appearance was like a masterpiece sculpted by a master craftsman.

‘This person is the wind spirit king, Sylphid-nim!’

Although she had never seen him before, Reina was sure that he was Sylphid.

Although he was quiet now, she had a strong feeling that a storm would rage the moment he stood up.

Sylphid opened his mouth to Reina as she approached.

“Are you the human who opened the gate to the Spirit Realm after thousands of years?”

“Yes, I am, Your Majesty, the king of spirits, the purity of nature and the friend of all fairies!”

“Hmm, it seems you know a little about us.”

“I heard stories about the Spirit Realm before coming here.”

The exchange with the Spirit Realm had been cut off a long time ago, more than thousands of years.

Almost all related records had disappeared, but there were some legends and traditions passed down like fairy tales, and there were also records related to this in the Volga royal family.

Thanks to those traditions and records, Reina was able to learn a little about the Spirit Realm.

“But you have a very interesting tattoo on your body.”

Sylphid said, looking at Reina with clear and transparent glass-like eyes.

“Are you talking about the Tears of the Earth?”

Reina didn’t even know that she had such a magical tattoo on her body at first. It was because her deceased father and the old retainers had kept silent about it.

However, after meeting the high elf Erenes, she was able to know exactly what the tattoo was and what it was.

“It seems that you call it the Tears of the Earth over there? It seems that a very skilled spirit mage created it for communication with the Spirit Realm. That’s why you were able to enter here even though the gate was closed.”

In the days of the ancient Avalon Empire, when the World Tree disappeared and the communion with the Spirit Realm weakened, the lineage of spirit mages began to dry up.

So, some outstanding fairy spirit mages joined forces and began research to increase communication with the Spirit Realm again.

The result was the ‘Tears of the Earth’.

The Tears of the Earth acted as a ‘key’ that forcibly created a rift in the dimension and opened the gate to the Spirit Realm.

However, the side effects were severe and the effect was insignificant.

Moreover, before it could even be completed, the Avalon Empire was on the path to destruction.

There was the last spirit mage of the empire who was saddened by this.

He was a descendant of one of the few bloodlines known to have inherited the spirituality of the World Tree. He passed on some of his research to a human maid he had, and that maid later married an ancestor of the Volga royal family.

There was an unknown secret history, but this was a fact that had been forgotten a long time ago, so even Erenes, let alone the Volga royal family, did not know the details.

They only knew that the Tears of the Earth had been secretly passed down in the Volga royal family and had been used from time to time.

Anyway, at Sylphid’s remark, Reina asked with a worried look.

“I performed the ritual with some fairies. Do you know where they are?”

“You are the only visitor who has come here at this time.”

In other words, Erewine and Sylvia’s group were still in the Middle Realm.

Reina, having learned of their whereabouts, wore a much lighter expression, but there was still an unresolved question.

“But why am I the only one who came here? Is it because I am the successor of the Tears of the Earth?”

“That is not the reason. Among those who opened the door, you had the purest and most noble heart.”

“Me? I just….”

Sylphid, with a gentle smile, lightly interrupted Reina and continued.

“You did it for someone else, didn’t you? You stepped forward to open the door for the sake of a desperate heart, for one person, and to fulfill the wishes of those who have shed tears for a long time. Isn’t that so?”

Reina nodded as Sylphid spoke as if she already knew everything.

She had stepped forward to open the door to the Spirit Realm, knowing that it would cause a great problem for her, for the sake of her beloved Luke’s safety.

And also because she could not possibly turn away from the wishes of the fairies who had been persecuted for thousands of years.

“You have no greed. Or rather, you do, but it is only love and devotion for the sake of someone else. Such a heart of yours is similar to the will of the main god Elkasel and the goddess of the earth, Beliz, who reside not only in this Spirit Realm but in all dimensional realms.”

At Sylphid’s words, Reina shook her head with a surprised expression.

“Absolutely not. How can a humble human like me dare to be compared to them?”

“There is no need to feel burdened. What matters is not one’s origin, but one’s heart.”

Then, Sylphid, as if recalling the distant past, continued with a wistful expression.

“Lord Elkasel and Lady Beliz loved all things in this world and bestowed grace without reservation. They did not want any price or reward. But there were those who did not know their love and devotion and coveted more.”

Sylphid sighed deeply.

The reason why the world, which was originally one, Pangaea, was divided was because of endless desire and the resulting struggles and hatred.

The first being to reveal the ‘nature of evil’ was the Demon God.

He led the dark legions and invaded the light camp with the desire to establish a world that suited his will.

However, he was defeated by Elkasel and fell.

But the Demon God left behind the ‘seed of evil,’ and the demons who followed him severed their territory from the world.

“The first world to be severed in such a way was the Demon Realm. The demons engaged in endless disputes among themselves, and they devastated the Demon Realm with their endless greed for material possessions.”

“How could such a thing happen….”

“Those who went astray became more obsessed with power to survive in the ruined world and became even more corrupt. The fact that ether transformed into a destructive form of mana is ultimately a reflection of their will to seek power.”

Sylphid explained that the reason why the demons were constantly looking into other worlds was because the Demon Realm was so devastated that self-purification was impossible, and the weak could not survive.

“Even after the Demon Realm was separated, desire and hatred did not disappear from the world. Dragons and fairies prospered in the land of milk and honey, but their desires were endless.”

In the end, the dragons were destroyed, and the gods, disappointed in the fairies, declared a separation from the earth. And that is how the Divine Realm was born.

As the gods with omnipotent power left, an anomaly occurred in the prosperous world.

That was the climate change and natural disasters that occurred just before the founding of the Avalon Empire.

After watching the fall of the demons, the gods separated the spirits with spiritual powers from the fairies to prevent them from becoming corrupted like them.

“So that’s how the Spirit Realm was created.”

“That’s right. But even after the World Tree disappeared, we continued to interact with the fairies left in the world called the Middle Realm to a limited extent. The spirit mages were the ones who played an active role in that process.”

However, the more the empire prospered, the more the fairies’ greed for material possessions increased.

The spirits, tired of this, gradually began to refuse summons, and eventually, even this was cut off.

And the complete severance from the Spirit Realm led to the downfall of the fairies.

“This is truly an amazing story.”

Reina was shocked to hear the story of the times that had been passed down as myths and legends.

She had no idea that such things had happened in the distant past, especially that the simple-minded fairies, whom she had only known as beings persecuted and oppressed by humans, had such a splendid prosperity and a dark past to match it.

“The reason why the fairies tried to open the door to the Spirit Realm through you is to communicate with the Spirit Realm again and regain their lost prosperity. Isn’t that so?”

“Yes, that is what the Spirit King said.”

“Considering their long history of decline and persecution, I think it is understandable. But I am deeply worried that their longing will not bring about another ambition, discord, and hatred.”

Reina nodded silently at Sylphid’s words.

It was the same when she looked at the history of humans she knew.

There were cases where a serf became a king, and a weak tribe that used to catch mice in the grasslands built a great empire that dominated the continent.

The problem was that the victims often became the perpetrators.

Rather than showing tolerance, they sought revenge, and new oppressions occurred.

The fairies would be no different. No, if they, who remember the history of oppression as much as their superior lifespan and talents, were to gain the power of the spirits, there was a high possibility that a new history of domination and hatred would be repeated.

“That’s also true, but I and the Spirit Kings are concerned about the fact that humans are developing magic civilization to a high degree in the Middle Realm.”

Reina looked puzzled at Sylphid’s words.

“Concerned?”

“Even if the fairies gain the power of the spirits, it could be taken away by humans.”

The spiritual power of the spirits is not something that only fairies can use.

As in Reina’s case, some special humans can communicate with spirits and use their spiritual powers.

Even without that, human desires are greatly surging due to the prosperity of magic civilization, so what would happen if the power of the spirits were added to this?

“Just like in the Demon Realm in the past, humans may follow in the footsteps of the demons.”

“Th, that’s….”

Reina’s face turned pale.

Humans becoming like demons, she had never even imagined such a thing.

“Of course, it won’t happen right away. We have no intention of interacting with the Middle Realm yet. But if the door is forcibly opened as you and the fairies did, who knows what will happen.”

Humans were developing magic civilization quite rapidly.

If they are not satisfied with the resources of the Middle Realm, they may look into other worlds like the demons. And they would not hesitate to fight not only the spirits but also the gods.

If that happens, they will eventually face destruction.

“Is there… no other way?”

“Of course, there is. It would be possible if they achieve spiritual growth commensurate with the prosperity of matter. If they can restrain their desires, abandon their selfishness, and aim for a world where they can live together with all things, then any other future is possible.”

At those words, Reina sighed in relief, but Sylphid’s expression did not change much.

“But spiritual growth is much harder than material growth. It will take a considerable amount of sacrifice and endurance for humans or fairies to realize that… I don’t know if they will be able to gain enlightenment before destruction comes.”

At those words, Reina lowered her head for a moment, then looked at Sylphid with a determined look.

“But you won’t just stand by and watch, will you?”

“Are you asking for my help?”

“Yes, but I don’t want anything grand. Please allow me to sow the ‘seed of good.’”

Sylphid smiled faintly at Reina’s beautiful eyes, which showed no sign of wavering.

“It’s a daunting task for a mere human.”

“But didn’t you see that I could do it? That’s why I think you called me here and told me so many stories.”

If that were not the case, there would have been no reason to call Reina here or to give her a detailed explanation.

She knelt respectfully before Sylphid.

“I have someone who is precious and dear to me. He is a descendant of a hero called a warrior, but he is a person with a tragic fate who has inherited the legacy of an unfortunate magician called the Demon King.”

“……”

“He has a goal that he has not revealed to anyone. The desire and hatred that the Spirit King spoke of are also in him. I do not want that person to be bound by it and go on a rampage. Even if he achieves his goal, I want him to be a person who knows tolerance, practices good governance, and establishes a new order.”

Sylphid, who had been listening to Reina’s words with interest, chuckled.

“So, you want to save one man, even if you can’t save the world?”

Reina’s face flushed slightly at Sylphid’s words.

“If I save him, I think I can change the world a little.”

“So, you’re going to sow the seed of good in the world in that way….”

After thinking about something for a while, Sylphid jumped up from her seat.

“Alright! I will give you power and opportunity.”

“Thank you, Spirit King!”

She could go back. She could help Luke, who dreamed of revenge against the Baroque Imperial Family.

As Reina was filled with such hope, Sylphid’s stern yet cold voice was heard.

“But I doubt whether you can fully handle it. There were those who wanted power and opportunity like you in the past, but most of them did not achieve their goals.”

“That… I know.”

The successive Volga royals who had inherited the Tears of the Earth.

Reina judged that the people Sylphid said had failed were undoubtedly referring to her ancestors who had used that power in the past.

“Since the gods did not allow it, I cannot recklessly bestow the power of the spirits upon you. But the gods did not say not to bestow ether.”

“Ether?”

“It is the origin of all power in this world. The spiritual power of the spirits, as well as divine power and mana… even mana, its source belongs to ether.”

Sylphid, looking sternly at Reina, who was making a surprised expression, warned her.

“But that power is very difficult to handle. Rather, it can erode your body and turn you into a monster, or drive you crazy. Just like your ancestors did.”

She had been wondering why the successive inheritors had gone mad or suffered great pain after using the Tears of the Earth, but now she felt like she could understand.

“Even so, will you try to obtain that power, that opportunity?”

At Sylphid’s question, Reina clenched her fists tightly. And she shook off her hesitant heart.

“I will try.”

“I see.”

As if she knew she would say that, Sylphid began to gather her hands as if to embrace them and spin them around.

Whirr-!

Just as the wind was blowing, a small whirlwind arose in Sylphid’s hands.

The whirlwind grew stronger and took on a clear form, and soon, a translucent crystal with a brilliant glow appeared within the whirlwind.

The crystal was small, but it contained such a great energy that it was reminiscent of a huge mountain or a vast sea just by looking at it.

“This is a part of my spiritual power that I have returned to ether. Whether it will be a great power or a disaster depends on you.”

Reina received the ether crystal.

As soon as she received it, the ether crystal seeped into Reina’s body like salt dissolving in water.

Starting with the two hands that received the crystal, a refreshing energy spread throughout her body. It was as if it had cleansed her blood vessels, nerves, and all the organs of her body.

‘Ah, this is ether…!’

Reina’s vision, which was becoming hazy, turned pure white.

In that pure white space in front of her, a man holding a golden staff and a woman with beautiful features resembling an elf appeared.

A small sprout sprouted at their feet as they held hands affectionately.

As the sprout took root and grew rapidly, the sun and moon rose, and countless stars adorned the sky.

Dense greenery spread around, and just as the ground rose, a mountain stood tall, and a river flowed between the valleys. And the vast sea that surrounded the earth rippled in the rough wind.

In the meantime, the sprout, no, the tree, which had complex branches extending into the sky, began to bear countless fruits. Humans, fairies, demons, and….

“Kkyaaaaaaak!”

In the process of absorbing the ether, a tremendous amount of information related to it was transmitted into Reina’s head.

It was such a vast amount that it could never be handled by a human brain, or rather, by the brain that humans normally use.

Sylphid only watched coldly as Reina, clutching her head as if it would explode, screamed.

‘If you don’t know it, you can’t use it, and if you don’t understand it, it’s hard to control that power. What about you? Can you really do it?’

It was Sylphid who sent the information along with the ether.

As he watched, countless flowers and trees grew and withered around Reina.

Not only that, but Reina’s hair also changed from silver to red to black, and her ears became pointed like an elf, or wings sprouted from her back.

But at some point, these changes gradually subsided, and her appearance returned to its original form.

There was also something that did not change. A mysterious light, which seemed to be the manifestation of ether, continued to hover around her body without ceasing.

Then, at some point, Reina’s figure disappeared in front of Sylphid.

At this, Sylphid was quite surprised.

“Did she go back? And on her own….”

Until now, no one who had come this far, accepted the ether, and returned to their original world on their own. They had almost been expelled.

But Reina was different.

She had clearly used the power of the ether she had absorbed to return to the Middle Realm.

“Did she find her own way to handle ether? She is definitely a child worth calling. But to seal her reason to endure the pain, isn’t that too reckless?”

Could Reina really sow the seed of good?

Sylphid had doubts, but on the other hand, she also had expectations.

So, she wished that a new wind would blow in the Middle Realm, which was heading towards corruption, and that a new seed would sprout.