The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years Book 2: Chapter 563

Book 2: Chapter 563

The s.p.a.ce began to slowly collapse with a loud sound. The ominous liquid that had risen to waist level gradually lowered and disappeared beneath the ground.

The collapse was proceeding very slowly.

Creak, creak…

A noise could be heard.

It was similar to the sound of old floorboards cracking. It was unimaginably unpleasant.

At first, he mistook it for something ringing in his head.

Ever since his contact with Destruction, there had been a constant dissonance in Lukas Trowman’s mind.

‘No.'

It wasn't in his head.

This creaking was the scream of the s.p.a.ce itself.

Even though the ominous liquid had disappeared, the turbidness of this place had not improved. Few would consider an abandoned house without any furniture to be clean. Moreover, the irregular noise was amplifying the dreadful sense of emptiness.

Lukas Trowman coughed again.

When he spat out what had welled up from inside him, he saw blood of the same color as the black liquid that had just filled the surroundings.

“Have I been in contact for too long?”

A bitter smile appeared.

He had come to understand his own physical state to some extent.

Originally, Lukas was destined to become the fourth Destruction. Mark Trowman's plan and sacrifice had granted him a slight extension of that fate, but it was not a fundamental solution.

─In other words, Lukas would eventually become Destruction, no matter what. Even Mark had not found a way to prevent this.

With Mark now Destruction, Lukas had become the most dangerous potential existence.

The ‘Old Man's Mask' made of material from ‘Outside the Orb'. Wearing it only slowed the progress of Destruction.

So, was the mask a preservative to delay the final moment as much as possible?

“…Heh heh.”

A laugh escaped at the absurd thought.

Lukas sat down again, then lay down on the floor.

He suddenly realized what this place was.

It must be a boundary between ‘Outside the Orb' and ‘Inside the Orb'. A place one could never enter by ordinary means. The interior of the Beginning Wizard's room wouldn't have originally been such a s.p.a.ce.

Whether fighting Destruction temporarily formed such a s.p.a.ce around it, or whether there was another rule, he didn't know.

However, this place where Lukas was could not be the place where he fought Destruction. It would likely be somewhere deeper, more profound.

…Can I not go there now? If I force myself to enter, will it be dangerous?

He didn't know.

But one thing he knew,

If he left this place now, he would never be able to return.

“One in ten.”

A 10 percent chance of winning.

Even upon reconsidering, it couldn't be denied as a high possibility. Rationally judging, the risk was not great. The number of lives that had to be sacrificed was insignificant compared to the entire universe.

But Lukas was still unsure if that was truly the right choice.

He had thought deeply about the reason.

Was it because the decision to disregard the weight of a few lives was inhumane?

Was it because he was reluctant to sacrifice the Four Knights and Pale?

Or was it, as Mark said, simply an emotional resistance?

…None of these were the reason.

─Ultimately, it was because Lukas knew nothing about Destruction.

Mark's words did not go beyond the realm of speculation. There was no clear evidence in what he said, and Lukas was the kind of person who couldn't believe something as the truth without credibility, even if it was the last will of his most cherished person.

‘So, how can I convince myself?'

…Of course, as a compromise, he could follow half of Mark's words.

Leave this s.p.a.ce, wear the Old Man's Mask to delay the onset of Destruction, and find a way.

That would be the best choice given the current situation.

…But it won't do.

That alone is not enough.

That is why Lukas Trowman remains in this s.p.a.ce.

Crash─.

At that moment, the s.p.a.ce in front of Lukas was completely torn apart, revealing two different scenes.

One side… showed the Magic Tower erected on the Magic Planet.

Truth Seekers were gathered in front of the entrance to the Beginning Wizard’s s.p.a.ce where Lukas had entered. They were watching the door with tense faces, as if waiting for someone.

And the other side─

“Ah…”

Lukas let out an involuntary exclamation.

It was perhaps a place he had never encountered before. Lukas couldn’t observe or confirm anything in that place.

A world without light, darkness, objects, or even thoughts.

Paradoxically, that was why he could understand what kind of place it was.

Unconsciously, he reached out his hand toward it.

“───.”

A shock he had never experienced before pierced through his entire body.

* * *

It seemed like hundreds of thousands of lights were flas.h.i.+ng simultaneously.

Concepts that did not exist in the material realm floated like the Milky Way. These sometimes clumped together or scattered, with no discernible pattern to their behavior.

There was no ‘I' in that place. No will, no ego.

Inside and outside,

Surface and core,

Me and not me,

They couldn't be separated at all.

This place was truly─ a world that was both one and all.

A place with no secrets.

Where there was no life, no death, no creation, no destruction, no evolution, no degeneration, no prosperity, no decline,

Where nothing existed,

In other words, a place without any possibility.

Then this world…

Is h.e.l.l for an intelligent being.

‘────!’

Hundreds of thousands of light cl.u.s.ters were sucked in.

Through the opened skullcap, they seemed to greedily burrow in. Creak, creak, creak. The noise that had been causing pain all along was now amplified hundreds of times.

Pain, pain, pain…!

He let out a horrible scream.

He hated this world. He didn't want it.

It was perfect, and therefore, more loathsome and terrifying than anything.

…He wanted to break this perfection.

It had to be dirtied, it absolutely had to be.

At the moment he sincerely wished for that, a ma.s.sive chunk of concepts flowed in.

────Primordial.

────Law────Rule.

──G.o.d.

Throb.

──Destruction──.

────Individual.

The whole────.

──Five──.

Order────sequence.

──────.

────.

──.

And.

And…

Separation.

‘──Ah.’

The moment the crushed puzzle pieces formed a haphazard shape, he shuddered.

‘I see.’

So that's what it was.

─What Destruction is,

Why it exists in five forms,

The reason why it must be faced alone, he understood.

Then what I must do,

What I can do─

* * *

“Hah…!”

Lukas took a deep breath. His eyes, which had widened as if they would pop out, were still trembling.

What on earth had just happened?

…What he had witnessed, experienced, and understood.

Lucas couldn't bring back everything he went through in ‘that beyond' intact. He couldn't remember it either.

It was a structure where such a thing was impossible in the first place.

Even so, there were things he had come to know.

He vaguely understood what lay beyond the Orb.

And he remembered the feelings and determination he had felt beyond.

“…Ha.”

How utterly mischievous.

“Haha…”

Lukas laughed as he got up.

Something fell off with a thud. He realized it was pieces of his own skin. His flesh was cracking and peeling off like a broken ceramic. His vision gradually lost color, and the noise in his head had grown so loud that it could no longer be called mere noise.

In the midst of that h.e.l.l.

[Lukas?]

At the moment he heard Residue’s voice, Lukas smiled faintly.

* * *

[Hey, are you listening? Or is your sense still unstable─]

“Residue.”

At Lukas’s words, Residue let out a deflated sigh and muttered.

[What is it. If you can hear me, answer me sooner, you unpleasant guy.]

“Sorry.”

[…….]

Residue fell silent at the straightforward apology. It was as if he sensed some unease.

“It seems a considerable amount of time has pa.s.sed outside as well… How have you been during that time?”

[My state?]

“Yes. While I was here talking with Mark.”

[…It felt like I was isolated in a dark s.p.a.ce, alone.]

Suppressing his unease, Residue continued.

[It felt as if I was surrounded by darkness, unable to sense anything, unable to move a single finger. It wasn't just a physical constraint but also a mental one. It was a filthy experience. I wouldn’t want to go through it twice if I can help it.]

“I see. Even for an absolute being, it would be enough to drive them mad.”

[Ha. Do you think I’m at the level of an absolute being?]

“Of course not. You’re much more remarkable.”

[…….]

If Residue had a face, his eyes would have narrowed at that moment.

The unease he felt grew a little stronger.

[What about you?]

“Huh?”

[What did you experience here?]

“…….”

[I warn you, don’t try to play dumb. Your current demeanor is quite irritating. I can tell something happened.]

Lukas laughed again. He felt purely happy.

Having someone who could understand the change in his mindset without him having to say anything was incredibly gratifying.

Yes.

From some point, Residue’s arrogance had become a pillar Lukas could lean on.

Even in situations far beyond his expectations, it served as a foundation that helped him maintain his sanity.

If it weren’t for him, Lukas would have lost his mind right after encountering Destruction.

“…You’re remarkable.”

[What?]

He repeated what he had said before.

It made him smile bitterly, realizing his vocabulary was so lacking, but trying to speak honestly led him to this.

To Lukas, Residue was literally a ‘remarkable being.’

“…I, too, was once like you. I lost my power and fell to the ground.”

That was when he returned to his home universe.

When he lost all his power and even his existence was erased, Lukas was crushed and broken. He despaired, even shedding tears.

“It was hard to endure. If there was ever a most disgraceful moment in my life, that would be it.”

[Are you trying to open up your black history or something?]

“…But Residue, you were different.”

[…….]

“Not only did you fall to the ground, but you were also buried deep underground, yet you remained arrogant and n.o.ble.”

[Has your memory been distorted? Have you already forgotten the humiliations I endured to return as the ‘Lightning G.o.d’?]

Residue growled.

[I even tried to make you a sacrifice. I lied and schemed.]

“It was a despicable act. But it was your way of overcoming it. I don’t intend to deny it. You… might be a much stronger being than someone like me.”

Lukas laughed aloud at that. It was a refres.h.i.+ng and hearty laugh.

How could he not be happy?

To have someone who knew him so well and possessed such strong willpower.

“You have a grand task. To strike a blow against the ‘Lightning G.o.d’ and take everything he has.”

[…….]

“But you don’t even have the body that the past you looked down upon so much. You’re living in a pathetic state, half-parasitic on me.”

[You are running your mouth much. Are you trying to pick a fight with me?]

Lukas smiled again as he looked ahead.

At the two s.p.a.ces beyond the broken one.

“What do you see?”

[…….]

“Right now, I see two worlds, two choices. Residue, you who share my sight, what do you see?”

[…I only see one. The stupid faces of those wizards standing around like fools.]

I see.

As expected.

So Lukas spoke.

“I will go to the right. It is a path only I can see and only I can take.”

In other words, it is something that ‘only Lucas' can do, which he had been searching for all along.

“By going there, I might be able to control Destruction to some extent.”

[How…….]

“The fact that Destruction has ‘five forms’ was the clue. Destruction did not proliferate as Mark said. It couldn’t be eradicated or weakened, but… it could be separated.”

[…….]

“I will make it even more so. From beyond, I will divide Destruction finely enough for you all to handle. Residue, you will stop it.”

[…Me? How?]

Lukas recalled the moment before he made contact with the waterfall of Destruction.

The moment he was prepared to die,

When he imprisoned Min Ha-rin in the Bottomless Pit, left his traces in the Magic Tower, and spoke to Residue.

What resolve had he made at that time?

“Mark wants ‘Lukas Trowman’ to die. That’s understandable. He has watched my life closely and is one of those who understands me deeply. He can easily predict how difficult it will be if I continue to carry this name.”

‘Lukas’ is just a name but also a heavy burden.

The path walked under that name pushed him towards the hardest journey. Lukas had experienced it countless times.

So Mark prepared another name for him.

He wanted him to live as the ‘Beginning Wizard,’ shedding the burden of ‘Lukas.’

But.

“I can’t do that.”

No. It’s a little different.

“I don’t want to.”

There were many hard times.

There were many painful times.

But still, despite that.

“…I liked being ‘Lukas.’”

So he doesn’t want to disappear.

He still wants his mark to remain, and for Lukas to exist. He believes that both the Three Thousand Worlds and the Void World still need Lukas.

“As I said earlier, Mark Trowman, the Beginning Wizard, is one of those who understands me the deepest.”

Lukas smiled faintly.

“And the other is you. That’s right, Residue.”

Residue, who had always been inside Lukas, reading his thoughts, feeling his emotions, and seeing the world through his eyes,

─at some point, had become one of the beings who knew him best in this world.

Therefore.

“I will give you everything. My body, my experience, my power. Everything.”

[…You, don't tell me.]

This would be Lukas’s first and last request to Residue.

“Become [Lukas Trowman].”

*****