Beyond the Eternity

「 Kim Jakga 」

'What? Soo Jinyoung?'

「 Yes? 」

This time, there was no lingering doubt. Soo Jinyoung was indeed speaking to me, but her mouth did not move.

How was that possible? Wait, could it be...

Then it suddenly came to me. Of course, how could I have forgotten. The reincarnator that has lived three lives would be able to use that skill.

'... Thought Vacuum?'

「 That's right. I can't move my mouth or any part of my body so this is the only way I can communicate with you 」

'I see. But wait... when did you establish the connection?'

「 Back at the warehouse 」

She said it casually as if it was nothing. When did she establish the connection? Was during the third trial? Or was it when I first met her?

She was more careful that I expected. I felt a sense of unease.

Thought Vacuum. A technique employed by constellations to transfer their thoughts to their incarnations once a connection has been established between master and servant.

However, walkers had to use a more direct method: manually marking someone to establish a silent link for communication. This meant she could potentially track my location at any time without my awareness.

It was... quite unsettling

Managing to control my uncontrollable thoughts, I decided to change the subject.

'You really had it rough. Are you okay?'

「 Do I look okay to you? Perhaps you'll understand my pain when I gouge out your eyes, break your limbs, and tear out your intestines to shove them where the sun doesn't shine 」

"..."

Perhaps I was too insensitive. If I were in her shoes, I'd probably be just as upset if someone were to ask me if I was okay when my guts were rolling all over the floor.

'Don't you have a healing ability? Why haven't you healed yourself already?'

「 So, you know about that skill? As a priest, I suppose it makes sense that you would. Just so you know, I've been trying to use that skill all along, but something's been blocking it. It's likely the work of that bastard with the white mask. If he's defeated, I should be able to heal properly 」

'What? What kind of joke is that? That bastard has the ability to command anything in this dungeon just with his words. It's impossible. As long as we are inside his territory, there's no chance of victory.'

「 You fool, why are you thinking such depressing thoughts at a moment like this? Haven't you figured it out already? It's not that difficult to defeat the librarian 」

'What?'

I frowned. What nonsense was this woman saying. If the librarian was truly easy to defeat then why was she defeated.

「 You don't need to look so surprised. I once thought the same. But being brought to this pitiful condition gave me time to reflect about everything from a different point of view. His ability, 'Absolute Law,' bears a theoretical resemblance to Ars Magna. Ars Magna is the pinnacle of alchemy.

Although it's believed that one can attain it if they pursued it hard enough, the unfortunate reality is that it's unattainable 」

'Ars Magna? Can you please enlighten me on that?'

「 You really don't know? Tck! Of course, you wouldn't. You were just a normal person before the chaos 」

She continued speaking. Perhaps she was a person that liked to explain things more than she realised.

「 There's not enough time to explain everything so I'll summarise it. You can think of Alchemy as a series of experiments. Unlike scientists that experiment to create, alchemists experiment to know more. 」

'I see. So basically, they're just an arrogant bunch that creates anything without regard of the consequences they would have on the world. Did I get that right?'

「 That's right. The other things such as formulas and theories are discarded. Their ultimate goal is to stimulate the entire world inside her head. That is Ars Magna. The power to change the world by stimulating it inside your head. Do you know that means?

You would be able to do anything in the world including using gods and devils as if they are chess pieces on a boarding game.」

'Wait...'

「 I know what you're thinking. To stimulate the entire world in your head, you would have to take note of everything in the world— the river flow, the clouds, blood flow, the number of stars. There are different laws in the universe. If you get one of them wrong, the world will distort and destory itself from the inside out. That's why I said Ars Magna is simply impossible to attain 」

So it's like a computer program.

It is similar to anyone on the programming team inputting the wrong values and making the entire program to crash.

「 If we used this information as a reference, does that bastard really has a power similar to Ars Magna? How do you fight against the world? I can't, and I know you can't 」

"...!"

Indeed, it was impossible to fight against the world itself.

Facing gods and demons were one thing; they could be conquered. But how does one contend with the entirety of existence?

It was akin to pulling reflections from a mirror and attempting to recreate them. It was utterly impossible.

「 Don't you think it's strange? Why is everyone here still alive? If he truly wanted to kill us, why hasn't he uttered the word 'die' or disappear? Why did he choose to use round about methods to attack while having the power to kill us with a single word? If his words were really absolute, why were you able to resist his power? Isn't that a contradiction?

」

"...!"

I slowly began to decipher her words. The entire events prior started playing inside my head like a video tape.

Truthfully, when the white mask attacked the intruders, he attacked by summoning things like a small tornado, deflecting attacks or creating and firing invisible bullets from all directions.

But that was strange. If he could really do anything, then why didn't he kill us the moment we entered the world. A simple command was enough to deal with any intruders.

Indeed, it was strange.

If he could do anything, then what's the point of attacking us using such roundabout methods? If he could do anything, why were we still alive?

Despite being in a critical state that left her unable to speak or move, Soo Jinyoung was, in fact, still alive.

To confirm my suspicions, I silently activated a skill, and pages began turning in my head.

[Exclusive skill 'Black Box' has activated.]

In the next instant, pages began turning in my head. There were the chapters of Song of the Fall that I know.

+

「 Soo Jinyoung looked at the tall man standing besides her. There was something she wanted to ask but always got preoccupied. So she opened her mouth and asked what she has been thinking.

"By the way, why did you lose to the Library Keeper? Was he a great opponent?"

The seoul dome has been destoryed and the next waves of nightmares arrived. This was the current state of the world after the 50th Fable. Perhaps it was the wrong time to ask such a question.

Song Jaewon shrugged his shoulders and answered with a hint of regret.

"I lost because I lacked information, that's all. If I had information beforehand, it would have been a different story." 」

+

I was confused when when reading those lines. What did Kang Jaewon mean at that time? How was it possible to defeat an unbeatable opponent?

My thinking was flawed. The Library Keeper was never unbeatable to begin with. Although, Fate could be unreasonable at times, however there was still ways to beat the trials. There was nothing like an unbeatable game, just like how there was nothing like an omnipotent power.

I was finally beginning to see the hidden truth.

Kang Jaewon only lost because he was unaware of the wall protecting the Librarian from destruction.

If the power was absolute, then we would already be dead. If that power was truly absolute, the white mask would have forcefully made Soo Jinyoung return to nothingness.

That's right. Something was definitely wrong here!

Why did the white mask always stab his neck with a needle whenever he issued a command? Was it a twisted sense of pleasure, deriving satisfaction from pain? No, it wasn't that simple. It was something far more complex than mere pleasure from pain.

Stabbing needles into the neck... Where was that reference from again? Gradually, my mind began to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Acupuncture?

In Asian medicine, acupuncture therapy aimed to regulate breathing by stimulating nerves to reduce pain or control internal organ functions. During times without anesthesia, it was a crucial treatment method.

But... so what?

Acupuncture was abandoned in modern operations because it was less effective than anesthetics. Acupuncture mainly stimulated endorphin secretion, providing temporary relief from anxiety and a sense of well-being, rather than achieving the profound effects on the mind and body that anesthetics would offer.

So how was acupuncture related to the current situation?

Click!

Then gears in my head shifted and there was a clicking sound.

My eyes slowly widened.

Anxiety, the boundary, the illusion dome... There were all connected.

I finally pieced the puzzle together and reached the hidden truth.

The Law of Commandment was not the power to command things with his words. In fact, the library keeper never possessed such a power from the beginning. The very name of that power was to deceive others from knowing its true nature. In reality, the Law 'Commandment' was a power that brought the thoughts of the library keeper into reality.

And as for those needles, they weren't necessary a condition to fulfill the use of his power. In fact, those needles were used to relieve mental stress and maintain his remaining sanity. Perhaps the Law of Commandment was a power that could fail if the user was overwhelmed by his own doubts and anxiety.

"Is that so? I see. I understand everything now."

I slowly rose to my feet and picked up the sword. The real nature of the library keeper's power became apparent.

I finally understood why Soo Jinyoung said it was not difficult to defeat the library master.

'Thank you, Soo Jinyoung. I can now see a future where we can survive.'

I did not know if she heard me or not. In fact, I didn't even look back so I did not know the kind of expression she wore right now.

Then, it happened...

[Hey, the package you were waiting for just arrived.]

A voice different from Soo Jinyoung's rang in my head. It was a voice that belonged to a small fairy I know.

'Aurora, you finally came.'

[The package arrived a few moments ago. I was busy so I couldn't deliver it early. Eh?]

In the next moment, she opened her mouth seemingly shocked. She was watching the scene using the private broadcast channel.

[What the hell happened here? What happened to these people? It seems I missed a big story.]

'It doesn't matter. Just give me the item.'

[Fine, I'm transferring the item to you now. Oh, and don't die! It would be troublesome for me if you got yourself killed.]

That was the message she left behind. She was probably talking about the constellations. In fact, this scene must have attracted a handful of constellations to the world channel.

Zmmm

I caught the object that suddenly manifested in the air. It was a well-crafted sword with a black blade.

It was the Four-Tiger Evil Breaking Sword, the sword that could break evil and banish demons.

Now the chances of victory has increased, even though it was an illusion— maybe it was just in my head.

Even so, my body moved and the Tiger sword in my grip shook as if acknowledging its new owner.