Book 2: Chapter 562
─That can"t be.
Lukas wanted to deny it outright, but he couldn"t find his voice.
After ‘devouring" the Ruler, 4 Knights and the Truth Seekers power fights against Destruction.
It"s certainly not the right thing. Just thinking about it makes the uneasiness persist.
…From Lukas Trowman"s perspective, that is.
But from the perspective of The Beginning Wizard? Or from a cosmic perspective?
Life isn"t a fairy tale. Naturally, there are no pure tragedies or comedies.
So, how unrealistic a happy ending for everyone is, there"s no one who knows better than Lukas.
Life is just life.
There is no absolutely right choice, nor absolutely wrong choice.
“You have a face that wants to deny it.”
The Beginning Wizard laughed as if he was tired of it.
“Do you think I"m wrong? If so, what do you think is wrong? Forcing sacrifices? Using Truth Seekers as consumables? No. I"m not a cold-blooded person.”
A hint of affection pa.s.sed through his eyes.
“I can"t deny that in every aspect, I prioritize the two of us, but that"s not wrong. It"s natural to have priorities in affection. You know that there can"t be equal love.”
“…….”
“I loved all the children I taught on the Magic Planet. All those children are prepared to sacrifice themselves without hesitation when the time comes. For that, I taught them about Destruction and made them understand Self-righteousness. It wasn"t easy, but they followed well. They are more than I deserve as disciples.”
…He knows.
The Beginning Wizard is not contradictory, nor is he despicable.
If this man spoke grandly about sacrifice but lacked the capacity to practice it himself, none of the Truth Seekers would have genuinely followed him.
But The Beginning Wizard did not do that.
This man either set an example himself or always emphasized it with his own words.
About what sacrifice is and how to practice it.
He knows.
He knows, but……
“You must feel repulsed. It can"t be helped. That"s been your way of life.”
“…Way of life?”
“You"re just unfamiliar with it now. You"ve never comfortably put yourself into a thoroughly prepared plan. Since there"s no contemplation or reflection, your head is convinced it can"t be the right choice….”
It was a statement that was difficult to deny easily.
“Always choosing the third path, the most unreasonable one that no one else would choose. The most arduous path that anyone can imagine but no one would take. But… not this time. This isn"t something to decide on with rebelliousness or emotions, and you know that best.”
“…….”
“One person monopolizing everything to fight. If we push this plan forward and then fight Destruction, what do you think the winning rate will be?”
The Beginning Wizard"s voice lowered.
“─It will be 10%.”
10%, ten percent.
…A whole 10%.
A probability that the G.o.ds had said was absurdly low and slim.
That number, which had practically no difference from zero, suddenly became realistic.
“How could the probability rise that much?”
“Because of my existence.”
“What?”
“I told you. I"m the most alien existence among Destruction. Think about it. It"s true that I"m strong, but don"t you think there"s a clear difference in level compared to ‘Primordial G.o.d" or ‘G.o.d" or ‘Void King"?”
The Beginning Wizard smiled faintly.
“The [Fourth Destruction] will be the weakest existence among all Destruction. And you, if you move according to my plan, will become the strongest among all adversaries.”
…Had he thought this far?
This is it. This is what The Beginning Wizard spoke of, the way to prevent Destruction.
This man had been devising a grand plan for a very long time, excluding all personal and private emotions from it. ─Thoroughly enough to consider himself as merely a means to an end.
How much time did he spend contemplating and thinking to find this method?
Lukas could see The Beginning Wizard spending countless days and nights.
And he truly realized it.
This plan deserves utmost respect. It is not something to be rejected based on simple emotions or a sense of rebellion.
Perhaps, up until now, he had been lucky.
Half indulged in self-delusion, the impulsive third choices he made might have miraculously led to good results.
Not this time.
There are no second or third chances.
Failure means Destruction, and Destruction signifies the end of everything.
Therefore, everyone would be hoping to follow The Beginning Wizard"s words. Even those who have to sacrifice would feel the same.
…A feeling he had never felt before.
All beings, the situation, even Lukas himself.
It seemed like everything was telling him to accept The Beginning Wizard"s proposal. The circ.u.mstances were set up to justify everything for that purpose.
If he nodded,
If he followed The Beginning Wizard"s words……
“…Why are you smiling?”
The Beginning Wizard suddenly asked.
Lukas neither touched his face nor asked a foolish question back at The Beginning Wizard.
Because he knew he was smiling himself.
“I can"t do it.”
And he refused.
One word,
Just one word of refusal.
It was difficult until the moment he spoke it out.
But the moment he said it, the weight on his chest and the confusion in his head disappeared like smoke.
“…Can"t do it?”
“Yeah.”
Creak, creak.
The dissonance in his head grew louder.
At that moment, Lukas sensed his own end.
He sensed it, but so what.
“You"re not a man who refuses without thinking.”
The Beginning Wizard"s voice was still gentle, but there was a noticeable difference in temperature compared to just before.
“What made you refuse? Was it because of sense of duty, humanity, morality, or just because you don"t feel like it? I hope it"s not such trivial reasons.”
“It"s not that. I just can"t accept it.”
“Can"t accept it?”
An incredulous voice.
But Lukas did not shrink back and spoke while looking directly at The Beginning Wizard.
“You failed to uncover the most important thing. You failed to find meaning.”
“…Meaning?”
“Everything that exists has meaning. If there"s one thing I"ve learned for certain through life, it"s that. You can call it an immutable truth.”
“What are you talking about?”
Lukas voiced what had been bothering him since he first heard it.
“If you can only fight Destruction one-on-one, why is there a need for five Destructions?”
“…….”
“What is Destructionification in the first place? If I fight and defeat you, who has become the ‘Fourth Destruction" according to the plan, will it really end with that? Won"t the second and third Destructions come crashing down on us?”
“…That"s not possible. It"s a recent speculation, but maybe all of this is part of the Primordial G.o.d"s plan. As time goes on, Destruction weakens, and our power grows.”
“Do you really think so?”
Lukas simply asked.
He was genuinely curious if he could truly believe that.
“No. Since you can think of it, let"s change the question. Is there really nothing that bothers you?”
“…There are fundamental laws in the world. Systems established since the beginning of creation. There"s no reason for them. If you trace them back to the very end, there are ‘fundamental laws" that were set from the start. Facts that are self-evident, with no further truth or hidden aspect. Destruction is of that kind. Trying to find a reason in such things is foolish.”
Lukas fell silent.
Is that this man"s conclusion?
“You seem convinced by that.”
“Yes.”
…Mark Trowman is Lukas Trowman. They were tragically similar.
So, if Mark Trowman was convinced, Lukas Trowman could be convinced too.
There was nothing he couldn"t understand.
He knew that The Beginning Wizard was a more exceptional wizard than himself.
Even though he spoke as if he had given up on everything, it was impossible that he hadn"t pondered over the nature of Destruction.
He must have considered every possible scenario, speculated, and searched tirelessly.
Yet he couldn"t find an answer, and the best he could offer was a plausible guess.
This was the stage where most people would compromise.
…But even so.
Even so.
I.
“…‘It’s just how it is’.”
“What?”
Lukas smiled faintly.
“It"s the phrase I hate the most.”
“…….”
“The reason there are five Destructions, the reason we can only fight one-on-one, it"s just how it is, and there"s no need to think deeply about it… Sure. It would be easier to accept that.”
But human exploration has always led to the next step, and such persistence has led to the greatest discoveries and advancements in history.
─For what reason, why, for what purpose?
“It’s a tiring life.”
The Beginning Wizard shook his head as if exhausted.
“I know you"ve lived that way. It’s not something you can change easily. But, now, just this once, isn’t the time to be stubborn. Sometimes, you need to know when to give up. The path you’re aiming for has no end.”
“There is an end.”
“What?”
“It"s when I"m convinced.”
With the sound of a sharp intake of breath, The Beginning Wizard"s eyes widened.
“I can’t be convinced by anything right now. Ignoring that would mean deceiving myself in the end. And surely, I would regret it later.”
“…….”
It was neither logical nor reasonable, but what Lukas said was his true feelings.
The Beginning Wizard remained silent for a while, then spoke.
“…You are weaker than me.”
“I know.”
“…You know less about Destruction than I do.”
“Right.”
“You can say such things because you haven"t experienced it. It"s the stubbornness of the ignorant.”
“Maybe. But I’m much more persistent than you.”
Puhaha. A burst of laughter erupted.
“All the preparations I"ve made have become useless.”
The Beginning Wizard burst into a clear laugh.
“I didn’t think you’d come over easily… I even tried to lure you by showing you this pathetic state.”
“Lure…”
“I was sure that even if I left some room, you’d come back to find me somehow. It was a close call, though.”
Cough. The moment he finished speaking, The Beginning Wizard coughed.
Lukas suddenly looked at his chest.
The flow of liquid had significantly weakened compared to the beginning.
…The meaning was clear.
Now, truly, there was no time left.
Lukas"s head slowly dropped.
“…I hesitated.”
“About what?”
“Whether to honestly tell you my thoughts. You"re going to disappear anyway, and there"s no way to stop it, so I just.”
The rest of his words didn"t come easily.
While Lukas was fumbling, The Beginning Wizard finished his sentence for him.
“So you were thinking of telling a kind lie, so I wouldn’t have any regrets as I left?”
His voice sounded cold at first.
It was full of strength and it hurt.
Lukas felt the urge to straighten his back. He lifted his head that had been bowed to the floor.
He saw The Beginning Wizard"s face. He saw the warm eyes.
The last voice, the last appearance, the last face.
He engraved them carefully in his mind, so he would never forget.
“But you couldn’t do that.”
“…Yes. I couldn’t.”
“Because you are Lukas Trowman.”
“…Right.”
Lukas wanted to lower his head again, but he didn’t.
But his vision strangely wavered, so he squeezed his eyes shut. He felt the warmest line trace from his eyes to his cheeks, and eventually to his chin.
“Because I am Lukas Trowman.”
The sound of laughter was heard again. This time it was much fainter.
For the first time, Lukas thought that perhaps that laughter resembled his own.
“In the end, I couldn’t teach you.”
“Couldn’t teach me what?”
“How to live comfortably.”
“…….”
“But you’re fine with that, aren’t you? You’re satisfied with that?”
“…Yeah. I’m satisfied.”
Sincerely,
He truly believed so.
“Do you have a plan?”
“I do. It"s quite sloppy and needs some more refinement, but.”
“…I see.”
Now, his voice was so faint it was barely audible.
“…Come to think of it, I also had… one more plan….”
“Another plan?”
“Every time I cultivated the Magic Planet… I thought about it. If I could tour this place with you, it would really be nice.”
“…….”
“Eating delicious food together, taking in beautiful scenery, chatting about anything and everything, arguing over trivial matters… like real brothers…”
Lukas almost lowered his head again. He forced himself to hold back.
And wiping his face to avoid showing an unsightly appearance, he said.
“…Let’s do that next time.”
“…Next time?”
“Yes. Next time.”
Laughter was heard.
“Next time, that’s nice.”
The voice continued.
“──.”
And when he opened his eyes again, The Beginning Wizard’s was nowhere to be seen.
The empty s.p.a.ce brought an unparalleled sense of loss.
Lukas looked at the spot where he had been.
The man who knew everything about him and yet affirmed him.
The man who forcibly took over the burden that Lukas never shared with anyone else.
Would it be possible to meet such a person again?
“…….”
…Just once, it would have been nice to call him that.
Not Mark Trowman, or one of the Twelve Void Lords, or The Beginning Wizard.
But hyung. (TL: Hyung = Brother)
*****