NOVEL NEXT Chapter 241
“Observation. Is it possible?”
“Yeah. Trying it your way seems to look just fine. As time and space are cut, something massive is rapidly approaching our dimension…”
Huff.
Temurlen sighed as if he couldn’t believe it.
He looked almost filled with despair.
But there seemed to be a hint of scholarly enthusiasm too.
Thanks to that, we got a solid calculation.
Currently, Draken is approaching the current world faster than ever.
The attraction that Linda has built up has grown to an unmanageable size, acting between the current world and Draken.
The dungeon had dried up long ago.
Now that I’m running with cheat codes, there’s no way to counter it.
I have removed some of the Draken that clung to Linda, so there’s no further acceleration.
Based on the current speed, we have roughly 24 hours left.
With it approaching so fast, it’s impossible to go out and intercept it.
By the time I rip through the dimensional gap and arrive, Draken will already have passed through that dimension.
Think of Draken piercing through multiple layers of dimensions like a bullet, thin as paper.
“Why are you showing me this? The world is currently overflowing with waves of peace… Am I supposed to know the truth and suffer alone?”
“Yes. Let’s share the pain.”
“What the…?”
“Just kidding, but the only facility capable of observing the precise speed and time is the White Magic Tower.”
“There are plenty of more orthodox magic towers in astronomy, aren’t there?”
“That’s because this is not within the realm of astronomy. What’s visible now is not celestial bodies, but soul bodies. Therefore, it can only be observed using the ‘Alma’ of the White Magic Tower.”
“What…?”
Temurlen seemed momentarily speechless, shocked.
Honestly, it seems I came here partly to see that expression.
Temurlen wandered around, looking troubled, before finally speaking.
“Well done. The moment this is announced, the current world will doom itself before facing the end. Even I, who have set everything in order and am just waiting to enter the coffin, is confused like this. How much more so for the young ones?”
“I think so too.”
“There must be a way, right? That’s why you’re saying all this!”
“……”
“Can’t say it, can you? Sounds like you fear internal enemies. I understand.”
“I’m planning to use the 9th-tier magic of the Nameless to lay the foundation of the soul into a clockwork machine and compress Draken’s soul body to seal it within that clockwork machine.”
“What? What did you just say?!”
I let it slip.
At this point, with barely any time left, it doesn’t matter if I reveal the whole plan.
The timing for them to act against me has long passed.
Both sides are quite late.
From now on, the outcome will be decided by the strategies we’ve prepared.
In fact, one could say the contest was already decided at this point.
“This is maddening… So why are you telling me this?”
“Why do you think there must be a reason? I might just need someone to confide in, you know?”
“You’re not that kind of person. If necessary, you would choose to die forgotten by all. Why would that kind of person seek out an old man like me?”
“……”
He was right.
The last 24 hours.
Whether the clockwork machine is being completed smoothly.
Whether the mana stones are intact.
Whether the 9th-tier magic formation is going well — checking these would barely leave enough time.
I should be spending time with my wives to stabilize my mind and body, just in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
Yet for some reason, I sought out the master of the White Magic Tower, someone I’m not particularly close to and who makes things awkward.
The reason was evident.
The most critical element of the operation.
The one person who determines everything about the plan.
I may not realize it, but it’s to ask about the small shoulders burdened with the responsibility of saving the current world.
“I heard you took on the role of the Nameless’ master.”
“Master? No way. That guy is my master. I’ve always learned from that kid… It’s embarrassing. The truths that came from his fingertips are far greater than everything I’ve researched in my life.”
“About that kid’s ability. Do you have any guesses about its identity?”
The ability to mold souls.
Even Temurlen, who spent a lifetime exploring souls, had never seen such a power.
I, who wrote the scenarios for this game, had never heard of such an ability either.
It was a power that even Kali, the original of the Nameless, didn’t possess.
Where on earth did this sudden authority come from?
“No. Not at all.”
“Indeed… then I’ll excuse myself—”
“However, there is a hint regarding his identity.”
“……?”
“I imagine you already knew he has no soul, right?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
“I couldn’t tell him, but while researching him, I thought: he doesn’t seem like a living being at all. Rather than being born as an individual, it’s more like a doll or scrap made of organic materials.”
“……”
Temurlen cautiously spoke, glancing at me for my reaction.
I gestured for him to continue, pretending to be unfazed, but inside, I couldn’t help but be shocked.
“Organic scrap…”
It hit the nail on the head.
Nameless was indeed scrap from the very beginning.
Born from Kali’s corpse, which regenerates infinitely through resurrection magic.
Originally, it should have regenerated to become Kali, but due to a lack of energy, it couldn’t inherit the personality and memories, leaving only an organ that beats.
“Shouldn’t it normally have no soul, no personality whatsoever? No cognitive ability, learning ability, or intelligence. It shouldn’t even have a desire to survive. So why is it that this thing desires life, thinks for itself, and learned to speak, forming a personality? What do you think?”
“I don’t… know…”
As Temurlen said, when I first met Nameless, it was akin to just a breathing mass of organic material.
It was a living doll that didn’t respond.
But at some point, Nameless started reacting in diverse ways.
At first, it followed my words like it was just routine, then later started to express emotions too.
The reason for that…
There’s only one possibility, isn’t there?
“If you don’t know, no one will. It only makes sense that a personality that couldn’t possibly emerge suddenly appeared through interacting with you.”
“So you’re saying the source of Nameless’ birth is me?”
“That’s the only way I see it.”
“Logically, that doesn’t make sense. How could a mass of organic material suddenly gain a personality just because I carry it around?”
“Is it logical for you to shoot a beam and take down a fleet of airships?”
“……”
“Like I said, if you don’t know, no one will. You’ve been given plenty of hints, so figure it out on your own.”
Temurlen turned away, laughing as if relieved.
He seemed to find it amusing, but my head felt like it was about to explode.
“A mere organic scrap shouldn’t have a personality…”
When I first found Nameless.
How did I treat it?
I thought I looked at it with a sense of hostility.
Always concerned about when Kali’s personality might resurrect and stab me in the back.
I was cautious and on guard.
But at the same time, I might have secretly wished for it.
For Nameless to be entirely different from Kali.
That’s probably why I named it differently, giving it a separate identity.
Naming it gave it meaning beyond just being Kali.
“Wait. Then could it be that I couldn’t hear Nameless’ name when my existence was erased…”
Now the mystery started unraveling.
When Nameless was introducing itself, that name was garbled and never reached me.
Meaning it was information I couldn’t recognize.
Why was it that my existence was erased, but Nameless was affected?
The reason was simple.
The name Nameless is not just a name.
By naming it, I imbued it with meaning.
A meaningless organic being was given meaning.
When I treated it like a person, it became one.
My will created Nameless.
“Was it born without a soul but with a desire to possess one…?”
The awakened ability of such Nameless is the skill to mold souls with its fingertips.
Being an imperfect existence striving for completeness.
And to not become the resurrected Kali as I wished, it developed this ability to seek a soul.
“Father…?”
Suddenly, Cornelia’s words came to mind.
Did Cornelia predict this far ahead when she said that?
Indeed, I couldn’t deny that calling her ‘Father’ was appropriate.
“What are you spacing out for?”
“Just… thinking about something else for a moment.”
“Don’t get distracted. The fate of the whole world rests on us. How can you be so careless?”
“……”
“Hey! Are you even listening?!”
“I am.”
Thud.
I placed my hand on Nameless’ head, who seemed annoyed at being treated like a child.
While I still couldn’t sense the soul,
Inside Nameless churned a furnace of complex thoughts and emotions.
I shook off the distractions.
When I didn’t know the source of this ability, I was hesitant to rely on it.
Now, I felt I could be at ease.
“Let’s go.”
It’s finally time to ‘conquest’ Draken.