Wizard of the Deep Sea

TL/ED – Miso

Even after learning how to summon Shadows of Deep Sea Creatures from Phantom and demonstrating it to Cheon-hwa, I remained skeptical.

What could she possibly learn from looking at these Shadows?

“Here, this is the Shadow.”

Cheon-hwa stared at it intently for quite some time.

About twenty minutes passed before she spoke.

“They have their own language.”

“Language?”

“Yes.”

“But aren’t these just fish?”

“They only appear that way. What did you think these cries were?”

“I knew they were sounds for communication, but I had no idea they had developed an independent language system that allowed different species to communicate with each other.”

“It makes sense when you think about it. The first World of the Three Evils that I witnessed was also…”

Cheon-hwa trailed off, furrowing her brow.

“Right now. Can you hear it?”

“Hear what?”

“Check what the Deep Sea Creature you summoned as a Shadow is saying.”

I focused as she instructed.

[–……….–…..]

The usual strange sound that resonated in my ears. It was impossible to interpret as language, so I just shrugged and reported what I heard.

“It’s just making weird noises.”

“Hmm…”

“Is something wrong?”

Cheon-hwa stared at the Deep Sea Creature for a moment, then turned to me.

“Can you summon others as Shadows too?”

“I don’t see why not.”

I summoned as many Deep Sea Creatures as I could manage as Shadows so she could observe them.

After listening to what she called the language of the Deep Sea Creatures for a while, Cheon-hwa looked around with a troubled expression.

“This is strange.”

“I’d appreciate it if you explained what’s strange.”

“Your Deep Sea Creatures are repeating something.”

“What?”

“Exactly what I said. They’re repeating the same sentence over and over. Even when they converse with each other, that sentence keeps appearing.”

“Is that strange?”

“Of course it is. Whether they’re swimming, resting, or talking, they keep saying the same thing. It seems like… a message they need to deliver.”

I had no idea what she meant, so I just stood there. Cheon-hwa fell deep into thought and muttered to herself.

“This is… hmm, could it be…”

“So what should I do?”

“We need to start deciphering it.”

Cheon-hwa handed me a book and pen as if it were obvious.

“From now on, write down what the Deep Sea Creatures say exactly as it sounds. We need to gather that kind of data before any meaningful analysis becomes possible.”

“Understood. But is this really important?”

What difference did it make to know what Deep Sea Creatures were babbling about? Wasn’t it all just things like: I’m hungry, I’m suffering, I’m in pain?

When I voiced my doubts, Cheon-hwa nodded with a serious expression.

“Of all the tasks you have, this is the most important.”

***

After finishing my conversation with Cheon-hwa and heading upstairs, Damyu hurried over and whispered.

“Undercurrent-nim. Piercing Blood-nim is here again.”

Already?

He must have finished his work sooner than expected. I quickly got dressed and made my way to the room in the Spire, where Piercing Blood and his members sat with grim expressions.

Piercing Blood’s expression was particularly concerning.

“…Did something happen?”

“Undercurrent, I looked into those things you mentioned.”

The sacrifices that had been needed to fuse the Dark Veil into a World while we were killing Dark Night.

It seemed he had found out what they were. Having already witnessed plenty of horrific scenes just moments ago, I sighed and replied.

“And? What was it? Living people? Or corpses?”

“…If only it had been something like that.”

He slowly shook his head, then took out a black pill he was holding and rolled it across the desk.

It looked similar to a World-Sealing Pill. Wondering what it was, I tilted my head and picked it up. Piercing Blood let out a sigh.

“Try taking it.”

“I’d rather not. Explain first.”

“What reason would we have to kill you now? This is… hard to believe even if I explain it. It’ll be faster if you experience its effects yourself.”

“…?”

Still puzzled, I placed a small amount in my mouth.

The effect was immediate.

The world suddenly brightened.

“Gah…!”

Nearly ninety percent of my Burden vanished, and breathing suddenly became difficult.

Decompression sickness, my new burden. The symptoms that appeared when Burden suddenly disappeared gripped my body. Piercing Blood stood up in alarm.

“W-wait. What? Does it work differently for Puppet?”

“…I’m fine…”

It had only been for an instant, less than a second, so I quickly steadied my breathing. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

At the same time, I understood why Piercing Blood had found it hard to explain.

“This is practically a World-Sealing Pill that stops Worlds entirely. The short duration is unfortunate, though.”

“That’s exactly right.”

Piercing Blood placed three of the black World-Sealing Pills on the desk.

“This is all of that type we found. But here’s the problem. According to the people who transported them, there wasn’t just one or two crates.”

“Go on.”

“These were people who handled large-scale transport, moving massive quantities at once. From what they told me, they shipped enough to fill an entire Old Castle…”

Piercing Blood let out a disbelieving sigh and slumped back into his chair.

“The Upper Tier has been deliberately controlling the number of World-Sealing Pills distributed to the Lower Tier. Those fucking bastards.”

“Didn’t you expect as much?”

“I did. But…”

His eyes flashed as he rolled the World-Sealing Pill between his fingers.

-Crack!

“Finding out they wasted them on this bullshit is a different story.”

“Bullshit?”

“We’ve been worked like dogs for these bastards over a single pill, and they’re dumping them on their ridiculous little games? Does that make any sense?”

Piercing Blood clearly regarded the Upper Tier’s actions as nothing more than the deranged antics of lunatics. I agreed wholeheartedly.

“Hoarding the means to save every Fallen, yet only saving the obedient little bitches who do exactly as they’re told. Disgusting.”

“Those World-Sealing Pills are probably sacrifices.”

“…Sacrifices?”

“Yes. Sacrifices to bring the World called the Dark Veil into the real world.”

I briefly explained what Void had done to bring the Burden of the Dark Veil into the real world.

Including that the World-Sealing Pills were the price paid to make that transfer possible.

The more he heard, the more his expression twisted.

“So now they’re trying to turn even the real world where we live into hell.”

“Yes. I wondered what they were using as sacrifices, and it turns out it was World-Sealing Pills. Hmm…”

I picked up the black World-Sealing Pill and examined it from different angles.

Using World-Sealing Pills as sacrifices to maintain the Dark Veil in the real world. It wasn’t incomprehensible, but it wasn’t entirely convincing either.

A mere pill could serve as payment for a World?

Come to think of it, the very existence of a pill that reduced the Burden of Worlds was absurd in itself. What exactly were World-Sealing Pills?

As I pondered their true nature, Piercing Blood asked casually.

“From the look on your face, you haven’t found the source of the World-Sealing Pills yet.”

“Hmm, should I go ask?”

“Ask who?”

“Someone named Cheon-hwa. She’s an Upper Tier member helping me during my probation. Do you know her?”

“…You mean that crazy bitch?”

Piercing Blood shuddered and grimaced.

“Stay away from her. The cruelest, most revolting missions always come from her. You don’t want to get on her bad side. And there’s no way she’d tell you anything.”

“…Is that so?”

His assessment differed quite a bit from what I had observed. As I tilted my head in confusion, he pulled out a piece of paper with a sly smile.

“Anyway, this might be useful.”

“Not too far. What kind of place is it?”

“The starting point of the mission that transported those massive quantities of World-Sealing Pills. I’m certain this is where they’re made.”

“Really?”

“What do you say? Want to check it out?”

I hesitated at Piercing Blood’s request.

He seemed to treat it lightly, but the Crimson Circle wouldn’t take the place where World-Sealing Pills were manufactured lightly at all.

Bringing Lower Tier members there would likely be considered an act of treason against the Crimson Circle.

“What are you planning to do there?”

“Strip the place clean, or at least find out what the ingredients are. We’re prepared for the consequences.”

Piercing Blood answered boldly.

“If we can learn how to make World-Sealing Pills, or even get a fragment of that knowledge, I’d die happy. My members and I all feel the same way.”

“What about living happily in the Crimson Circle?”

“These bastards are trying to take away even the world we’d live happily in, aren’t they? And now I hear they’re using the pills that should be ours as payment for it. I can’t stand it anymore.”

He thumped his chest. He seemed genuinely sincere.

After a moment of consideration, I slowly nodded.

If the World-Sealing Pills were sacrifices, and if stopping those sacrifices could resolve the Dark Veil, then I had to go.

Knowing the ingredients of the World-Sealing Pills was important too.

“I’ll join you. When do we leave?”

“Right now, if you’re willing.”

“Wait here a moment.”

I went down to the basement and found Cheon-hwa, still playing with the Shadows of the Deep Sea Creatures.

She tilted her head at my sudden visit.

“Undercurrent? What is it? And what’s with that mask?”

“A hobby.”

The explanation would take too long, so I got straight to the point.

“I’d like to go out for a bit. I came to see if I could get permission.”

“Hmm.”

Cheon-hwa looked me up and down for a moment, then replied dismissively and turned her gaze back to her documents.

“What need is there for my permission to go out? Go wherever you please.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Ah, by the way.”

As I turned to leave, Cheon-hwa spoke up as if she had just remembered something.

“We failed to spread the Dark Veil.”

“…What?”

The statement was so sudden that I froze. She continued regardless, saying only what she wanted to say.

“This world is far more precisely and perfectly constructed than you think. It’s not something a mere Dark Veil can swallow. Within three days, the Dark Veil will crumble to a handful of ash.”

“Oh, um, I see.”

This was high-level information I hadn’t expected to learn this way.

“Of course, this failure will make Void realize something even more clearly.”

She raised her head and met my eyes.

“That nothing but the Three Evils can ever cover this world.”

“…”

It was only for the briefest moment.

But I thought I saw something else in her gaze.

I barely managed to compose myself and asked in a calm tone.

“…I understand. But why are you telling me this?”

“I felt like it.”

She gave that absurd answer, then looked back down at her pile of documents as if nothing had happened.

There seemed to be nothing more she intended to say, so I bowed my head and left.

It was time to uncover the Crimson Circle’s secrets.

***

The place where World-Sealing Pills were made was a small city.

A ghost town with no living inhabitants.

“Looks like it’s been abandoned for at least a hundred years.”

I dismounted. The architectural style differed from the Empire’s, indicating that this Spire was located quite far from imperial territory.

When Piercing Blood arrived after studying the map several times, a few of his members came running from near the city.

“You brought Undercurrent-nim too. We’ve finished the search!”

“Good. Did you find anything?”

“W-well…”

The members hung their heads in shame.

“We found nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Yes. We even searched every sewer, but there wasn’t a single hidden passage.”

“Ugh…”

Piercing Blood crossed his arms and sighed.

“You wouldn’t lie to me. Undercurrent, I hope I haven’t wasted your time. Do you sense anything?”

“…”

When I remained silent, Piercing Blood’s expression grew more troubled.

“Maybe this isn’t the place. But the World-Sealing Pills must be made somewhere around here…”

“No.”

I slowly shook my head.

For a moment, I couldn’t find the words.

When I was near Decay, the sea had frozen over.

When I was near the Puppet, I could see threads.

Those anomalies that appeared in the Deep Sea when a Great World was nearby were appearing now too.

It was just…

“This is definitely the place.”

I had never seen one this large before.

I looked up at the massive dome covering the city.

-A dome that not a single drop of the Deep Sea could penetrate.