Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 858

Takeover (27)

The Ascendant Handbook, an awareness space created by Padme Kiesa.

In this space, accessed through the unconsciousness of the Guardian Spirit Beast, Lenok faced the consciousness of the Heavenly Eye instead of the Handbook.

However, as soon as Lenok calmed the Heavenly Eye, the words he heard were completely different from what he had expected.

“You’re going to show me what happens to a failed Ascendant… after they die?”

“If you came to see Padme, even though you’re not an avatar of an Outer God or the Outer God itself, it’s obvious.”

The Heavenly Eye, with her arms crossed, answered with a nonchalant air.

“If you’ve reached that level and are still searching for something, your desire is clear.”

“……”

“The qualification to challenge Ascension. You were going to ask how to obtain it, weren’t you?”

The Heavenly Eye smiled as if she knew Lenok’s thoughts.

“It’s not a bad choice. Padme isn’t very interested in humans, but she’s exceptionally good at theorizing sensory experiences. She can’t be a teacher, but she’s perfect as a lecturer.”

“……No.”

“Grimmder said that it’s probably a talent she gained from adjusting spells made for humans to suit herself, since she wasn’t human from birth… Well, does it matter now?”

The Heavenly Eye muttered and lightly nodded towards the back of the altar.

“Anyway, since you have a story you want to hear, I’ll help you this much. We don’t have much time left, so let’s go right away.”

“No, I’m not here to talk about the Handbook.”

Lenok, interrupting the Heavenly Eye, hesitated before speaking.

“I’ve seen a failed Ascendant die. An Ascendant who went mad at the end of his challenge and ultimately committed suicide towards an Outer God.”

“Oh, really.”

“I know that such a method exists. But why is that relevant to this situation?”

Kye-baek Aurel Silford. An Ascendant who was made to fail his Ascension in the Central City.

Lenok had already witnessed in the Handbook’s well how he had broken down and what kind of end he had met.

Through Kye-baek’s case, Lenok knew that killing an Outer God was one way to challenge Ascension.

However, regardless of whether that method was feasible for Lenok, it was ultimately impossible without directly encountering an Outer God.

Either he had to jump out of the well and commit suicide towards an Outer God like Kye-baek, or wait for the end of the world like the Commander.

Either way, it was too vague for Lenok.

What Lenok wanted was not to reach level 9 by using the end of the world as a turning point.

But to be ready with his answer at the moment when the end of all causality arrived.

For that, he had to complete all preparations for challenging Ascension before the end came.

Obtaining the qualification and reaching level 9 was a process for that.

However, as soon as the Heavenly Eye heard Lenok’s story, she frowned as if displeased.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. The death of a qualified Ascendant doesn’t mean that.”

“What do you mean?”

“The final moments of a transcendent being who has built up a status comparable to the world.”

The Heavenly Eye gave a wry smile.

“The worst ending you face after burning all the wishes you’ve accumulated in your life. That’s what I’m going to show you.”

“……”

“It’s Padme’s consciousness, not reality, but it’ll be enough to give you a sense of what it’s like.”

The moment the Heavenly Eye said that and reached out her hand, the ground beneath their feet bent like taffy and disappeared as if being sucked in.

Whooong…!!

The very ground where Lenok and the Heavenly Eye were standing moved as if it were forcibly folded, a bizarre phenomenon that instantly transported them far away.

Lenok, watching the shape of the ground rapidly sliding beneath his feet, asked with a strangely admiring look.

“You’re not moving directly, but compressing the existing space to drastically shorten the path. Is that possible in reality?”

“It’s forcibly connecting the scenery that should be seen at the starting point and the destination.”

The Heavenly Eye answered as if it were nothing special.

“There’s a condition that there must be no obstacles, but as long as it’s a place where the concept of seeing can be remembered and shared, it doesn’t matter where it is.”

“……”

Once you’ve visited and remembered a place, you can compress the path to reach it instantly.

In terms of observing something, the Heavenly Eye was already like a concept itself.

Even though it was a consciousness body cut and pasted from the past Heavenly Eye, she freely wielded the abilities of an Ascendant.

The Heavenly Eye, looking back at Lenok who was carefully observing the passing scenery, casually asked.

“You seem quite interested in the abilities I wield, should I teach you?”

“……What?”

“Just kidding. I can’t steal the successor that Jintun chose with such care. That would be too cruel.”

The Heavenly Eye chuckled and patted Lenok’s shoulder.

“I never thought that the stubborn barrier mage would take on more disciples before he died. When I first saw you, I thought you might be Jintun’s artificial body.”

“……”

“I thought he’d spend his whole life looking for someone to play Go with, but seeing that he changed his mind in his last years, it seems he liked you more than I thought. Should we play a round later?”

“No, that’s……”

The fact that Ascendant Jintun, Zygis Ithernoer, passed on barrier magic and told Lenok the secrets of the world was not solely due to Lenok’s talent.

A deal that the Commander of Pandemonium and Jintun had made before they died.

Even while giving up their wishes and accepting death, it was to leave a possibility other than the Commander in reality until the very end.

Considering the Commander’s actions, perhaps the Heavenly Eye had also been offered a similar deal.

If the Heavenly Eye’s death after failing Ascension was also the result of a deal with the Commander, similar to Jintun’s.

The moment Lenok thought of that, he was about to ask the Heavenly Eye a question.

“We have some time before we arrive, shall we talk a bit more about what we couldn’t earlier?”

The Heavenly Eye, slightly removing her smile, opened her mouth.

She muttered, glancing around as if making an excuse.

“Padme’s consciousness world is overwhelmingly vast, even among Ascendants. So, we have to use this method to reach the end of the consciousness space.”

“……What story are you talking about?”

Was the very choice of this means of transportation to have time to talk with Lenok separately?

Now that he couldn’t guess the Heavenly Eye’s intentions, there was no reason to rashly go along with her actions.

However, even while watching Lenok carefully pondering, the Heavenly Eye didn’t show any particular reaction.

“I am clearly Madrea Falsier herself, who exists here, but I’m just another possibility that has deviated from the reality of death.”

She just quietly opened her mouth, as if pondering something.

“I had decided how I should die someday, but I wasn’t sure if I could actually do it myself.”

“……”

“I was also worried if I could do well until the end… How was it?”

The Heavenly Eye, quietly closing her eyes, asked.

“Did the me you met, dedicate herself to her mission until the moment of her death?”

“……Well. I’m not sure.”

Lenok, who had been silent, answered.

“The you I met seemed to be so worn down that I couldn’t explain it all.”

“……”

“However, it was a little different from regret. If it were regret, she wouldn’t have passed on her mission to Lapis before leaving.”

The only time Lenok had directly talked with the Heavenly Eye was the moment she had come to Balkan.

And through the Doctor’s memories, when he had glimpsed the memory of her meeting with the Doctor.

The impression Lenok had felt when seeing the Heavenly Eye in her last years was not regret or remorse, but rather a more blurred and stuck fragment of emotion.

Yes, if he had to put it into words, it was more like….

“She pitied the world.”

“……”

“Even until the moment she failed her Ascension and died, she felt sorry for this world.”

The moment he answered that, Lenok realized why he still remembered the Heavenly Eye so vividly.

From the time she had seen through Lenok’s talent and warned him about Alcaide.

Even in the moment in the Doctor’s memories when she had mocked and embraced his fate.

Madrea Falsier had been feeling sorry for this world.

She pitied and had compassion for all life and concepts that existed beyond good and evil in this world, and tried to help them.

She left without seeing the fruits of all the things she had done while keeping her mission.

Perhaps that was the only regret left for Madrea Falsier.

The Heavenly Eye didn’t answer for a long time after hearing those words.

“I see……”

In the silence that felt like an eternity, she rolled Lenok’s words around as if chewing on them, and finally uttered just one word.

“So, I ended up failing my Ascension and dying.”

“……”

“I knew I would fail… In the end, I did exactly what I had thought I would do from the beginning.”

The Heavenly Eye shook her head with a sorrowful smile.

“But I knew it would be like that.”

The hair that slowly swayed with her nod contained an indescribable emotion.

Lenok quietly watched the Heavenly Eye’s remorse and asked.

“……Why did you become an Ascendant by accepting the mission? If it were you, you would have reached a similar position someday without doing that. Weren’t you aware of that yourself?”

Not everyone who inherits the mission of the Lighthouse Keeper can become an Ascendant.

Even if they can quickly draw out their potential through existing abilities, what they ultimately reach depends on the individual.

Moreover, the Heavenly Eye was a transcendent being who could leave behind this much memory in the consciousness space even after death.

Even if she hadn’t accepted the mission, with her personality and talent, she would have surely challenged Ascension or reached somewhere near it.

However, the Heavenly Eye’s answer was a little different from what Lenok had expected.

“Because there was no one else.”

The smile on the Heavenly Eye’s lips turned bitter.

“No one else could do it but me.”

“……”

“I don’t think everything I did was for the world. I didn’t keep my mission for such noble reasons either. But……”

The Heavenly Eye’s eyes, turning her gaze, were filled with absolute certainty.

“If it’s something that someone has to do, I just thought I should do it.”

“……”

“No matter how much I regret it, no matter how painful it is, even if I fail my Ascension and die alone, this decision won’t change.”

The Heavenly Eye said calmly.

“Because I decided to love this world. I made that choice a long time ago.”

“That’s……”

Lenok tried to say something but eventually closed his mouth.

A noble will that transcended humanity. She hadn’t kept her mission because of the duties of a transcendent being.

She hadn’t split her own consciousness to illuminate the Outer Seas, hoping for a reward or compensation.

The reason why she could believe and act the same as she had in the beginning, even while regretting and hesitating.

She simply loved the world she was born into and lived in.

“……I see. I understand.”

Now he understood why the Heavenly Eye was called the most human among the Ascendants.

Because she herself had an exceptionally human nature, and because she hadn’t let go of it until the end.

The ending of that story had also ended as she had wished. There was no reason or room to add any more words.

Lenok, having thought that far, neatly put away his impressions and asked.

“But why didn’t the real you face the worst ending, even after failing your Ascension?”

“……”

The Heavenly Eye, who had been lost in thought with a sorrowful look, turned her gaze with a bewildered expression.

Lenok ignored the Heavenly Eye’s reaction and brazenly asked.

“You said that something would happen right away because of an Ascendant’s death, but when you died, it was very quiet. There must be a reason.”

“……You’re a mage, aren’t you? You don’t even give me time to soak in the emotions.”

The Heavenly Eye wiped her eyes once and immediately turned her back.

“Well, fine. We’ve arrived, so it’ll be faster to talk while looking at that.”

Paat!!

Everything around them glowed so brightly that it stretched into white lines, then instantly faded.

In terms of time, it was only a short period of less than 5 minutes. But in that time, the two had reached the edge of this vast consciousness space.

“The door is over there. You’ll probably know it as soon as you arrive.”

“You’ve been mentioning the door since earlier, are you talking about the passage connected to the Outer Seas?”

Lenok, walking behind the Heavenly Eye, asked.

“It’s also called a well. If you’ve met the Handbook, you should know?”

“I know. But I heard that most of those doors are closed and under strict management. Why does such a door exist in the Handbook’s consciousness space?”

While working for Pandemonium, Lenok knew that there was a [door] connected to the Outer Seas in this closed world.

The Handbook’s well, or the door that the fisherman was looking for outside the continent, the secret place that the clown had mentioned existed under the Kabahim Palace.

Besides that, there were secret passages to the Outer Seas that were being guarded while closed.

But that was something that happened in reality, not in this consciousness space.

In this intangible space where only each other’s consciousness and memories existed, was it even possible for such a passage to exist?

However, the Heavenly Eye didn’t answer Lenok’s question right away.

She just looked back at Lenok silently, smiled, and shook her head.

“It seems Jintun didn’t neglect to teach you after all. You know most of it except for the most important fact, don’t you?”

“……”

“The fact that causality is closed is proof that the world is disconnected from the Outer Seas. Normally, there shouldn’t be any passages.”

The Heavenly Eye answered bluntly.

“But in this world, there are clearly doors connected to the Outer Seas, like wells.”

“That’s……”

“It’s the same. There are exceptions everywhere. Especially for Ascendants.”

She glanced back and said.

“Reaching level 9 is proof that you’ve obtained a status comparable to the world. That’s why the consciousness of a qualified Ascendant is already built like a world.”

“……”

“But the consciousness world of an Ascendant created like that doesn’t have closed causality. Do you know what that means?”

Lenok, who immediately understood the Heavenly Eye’s words, gave a wry smile.

“It has a status equal to the world, but because it’s not a real world, it’s easier to connect to the Outer Seas, is that it?”

This world is the third and the last, and there is no fourth.

In a world where causality is closed, Ascension cannot exist, and that’s why all those who challenged Ascension died or went mad after a miserable failure.

But conversely, because it was a world where causality was closed, this world had been protected from the Outer Seas and could maintain its existence.

The consciousness of an Ascendant who had built up a status comparable to the world was like a world in itself, but because it wasn’t a real world, it wasn’t protected from the Outer Seas.

The Heavenly Eye nodded at Lenok’s words.

“This problem doesn’t happen to all Ascendants. An immature being who can’t control their ego can’t become an Ascendant. But the problem is-”

Squeak!!

The Heavenly Eye, stopping in front of a dense jungle, muttered.

“When the Ascendant’s mind is completely broken to the point where they can’t even control their own consciousness.”

“……”

Gooooooo!!!

Above the sky of the vast jungle, a giant snake floated with its eyes closed, drawing a huge circle with its body.

Beyond the distorted space crack inside that circle, an endless, terrible darkness was slowly leaking out, widening the gap.

The subconscious of Ascendant Handbook.

The consciousness body of her that Lenok had been looking for had become the very door to the Outer Seas that had appeared in this world.

“This is……”

“The Handbook. Padme Kiesa had been carrying out the mission of guarding the well for a long time, and she forgot what she was guarding.”

The Heavenly Eye looked up at the Handbook’s consciousness body, which had become the door to the Outer Seas, with a cold gaze.

“Just because you become an Ascendant doesn’t mean you can enjoy an eternity. If you don’t fulfill your duties even after obtaining the qualification, or if you forcibly endure without challenging, your already broken mind will completely collapse.”

“……”

“The moment a consciousness space where causality is not closed loses control of its owner, the Ascendant’s consciousness becomes a medium that connects reality and the Outer Seas.”

“The mind of a mad Ascendant connects to the Outer Seas, and it manifests in their body, affecting even the real world……”

The Heavenly Eye, looking back at Lenok, said.

“This is the worst death an Ascendant can face, and the reason why a [door] is created in this world where causality is closed.”