New chapter of Nameless Hero is out! (1/3 chapters)
Goddess Descends
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A red light pierced through my drowsiness. My body felt weightless, as though floating in water. I felt like a jellyfish drifting through a crimson sea.
The hazy vision slowly became clearer.
Looking up, I saw an endless hollow rock face. Magic stones emitting red light protruded jaggedly, and I could barely make them out even in the darkness. The red magic stones flickered as if they were warning me.
What? It’s probably the end of my life. That’s right, I failed. I had tried to harvest a red-black magic stone, slipped, and fell into a deep pit. It is a death by falling. How frustrating. I wanted to live longer.
“The desire for battle itself is the root of evil.” (??)
Could it be that my death was inevitable? Was I killed by the goddess, disguised as an accident, to be purged from the world…?
“―No. You are not dead yet.―” (??)
A voice echoed in my head. At the same time, a strong force pulled my drifting body. Gliding through space, I surrendered myself to the voice in my semi-conscious state. From the sensation of floating in water, I began to feel the weight of my body. Before I knew it, I was upright, my body perpendicular to the ground. My consciousness sharpened. My blurry vision became clear.
What spread out before me was a colossal wall. The wall was unnaturally smooth, as though it had been artificially crafted. Its surface bore ominous spirals, geometric patterns resembling tree diagrams, and symbols that looked like demonic script.
At its center was a massive mummy embedded in the wall. Its lower body and arms were fused with the structure, leaving only its upper body exposed. I was startled by its form. The mummy was far too large that it was larger than any giant or ogre I had ever heard of.
“What… what is this?” (Jack)
“―I am the very origin of all magic, derived from the primal source.―” (??)
“What?” (Jack)
The voice echoed suddenly in my mind. Though the mummy’s lips did not move, the voice felt as though it belonged to the entity before me.
“―Since the beginning of creation, I have observed the phenomena shaped by magic.―” (??)
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.” (Jack)
“―I am both the beginning and the horizon of magic in this world.―” (??)
“I said, I don’t get it!” (Jack)
I was so frustrated by what I couldn’t understand that I ended up raising my voice.
After a brief silence, the mummy’s abdomen began to split open slowly. Its stillness until now had given no indication this would happen, so I was caught off guard. From the opening, something fell with a thud, plummeting from high above.
“Watch out!” (Jack)
I tried to dodge, but before it hit the ground, the object stopped midair.
It radiated a dazzling light, so bright it hurt my eyes, but when I squinted, I could see it was a girl.
She was the ghostly girl I’d seen a few times in this dungeon! She has long, fluffy hair and looks to be about the same age as me.
The girl was floating upright in the air in front of me. She was completely naked. Though the glow enveloping her obscured details, it made her appear like a sacred work of art. She slowly opened her eyes, revealing swirling red-black pupils.
“… Is this form easier to understand?” (Girl)
“She spoke?!” (Jack)
“I am the being you call a Goddess.” (Girl)
“… So, it really is you.” (Jack)
The voice of the girl who called herself a goddess had a childish tone despite her great presence. The Goddess Kea Tur De Dau. I’d seen glimpses of her before, but it was definitely Goddess Kea.
“I manifested in this form to communicate with you, taking on the appearance of theG you imagined.” (Kea)
The Goddess I imagined? It was true I’d pictured a Goddess looking somewhat like this, but she seemed much younger than I had expected.
“You look like nothing but a young girl.” (Jack)
“I matched your perspective.” (Kea)
The Goddess answered my doubts without hesitation.
“Sorry if I frightened you. I just had to reach you.” (Kea)
“Reach me?” (Jack)
“You are not a being who was originally meant to appear in this world.” (Kea)
What? I wasn’t meant to exist here? Did that mean I wasn’t supposed to be here at all?
“So, you’re here to erase me?” (Jack)
“That’s not true. I called you into this world and gave birth to you.” (Kea)
“Wha… Wait. Are you saying you’re my actual mother?” (Jack)
“That’s not it either. The origin of your mana lies in an imaginary dimension. I simply linked that to this world.” (Kea)
An imaginary dimension? Linked? What does that even mean?
“I can’t explain it in simpler terms.” (Kea)
“Then, why did you call me here?” (Jack)
“The explanation would take too long. What matters is, there is something only you can do.” (Kea)
“Something only I can do?” (Jack)
Kea, the Goddess clothed in light, simply had a blank look on her face. Contrary to her innocent, youthful features, she had none of the gentle expression one would expect from someone her age. However, her eyes were certainly fixed straight at me, and I even got the impression that she trusted me.
“Long ago, I taught humans how to wield magic. The reason was that humans loved me.
At that time, magic was treated as a miraculous art and was kept secret. Controlling combustion, generating vast amounts of water, creating high-voltage energy. Humans began to freely interfere with and interact with the natural world, and eventually new species were born, nurturing diversity. Beastkin and giants were among them. Humans were more beautiful and charming than any other life form.
I continued to observe them from the sidelines as they grew as a species. However, I underestimated the wisdom and greed of humans. Magic spread from human to human, passed down through generations, and soon, there were those who sought to explore it. And I was forgotten.” (Kea)
Some of the words were too complex for my 10-year-old mind, and I couldn’t keep up with the meaning. However, the Goddess Kea continued to speak calmly.
“As the God who governs magic, I lost the power to suppress humans who could wield magic freely. Monsters were one of the deterrents I designed. But the human species that wielded magic grew far stronger than I had anticipated, making it all meaningless.” (Kea)
“Kea created the monsters?!” (Jack)
“Yes. Magic could only be met with more powerful magic. So, I decided to use a new force… that would be you.” (Kea)
“…” (Jack)
Even when she said ‘new force’, I couldn’t quite grasp it. I had always been the one to hold everyone back.
“… Aren’t you misunderstanding something?” (Jack)
“You cannot use the ‘magic’ of this world.” (Kea)
Goddess Kea seemed to read my confusion and hit the core of my troubles.
“That’s right. I can’t use magic. My strength is still lacking. I’m no help to anyone.” (Jack)
It may have even seemed like a complaint to her, as if to say, “Unfortunately, the new power you created is defective”. Just like Isaiah called me defective.
“Due to your origins, you cannot interfere with the mana of this world.” (Kea)
See? In the end, I was just a failure, right?
“On the other hand, you cannot be interfered with by the mana of this world.” (Kea)
“…? But in all the battles I’ve been through, I’ve been hit by magic. I’ve been burned by fire magic, and it hurts when I get shocked by lightning.” (Jack)
“That’s just the damage to your body and thoughts, which were born in this world. There is no one who can interfere with your existence and origin using mana.” (Kea)
…What? If you’re going to match my perspective, could you at least match my level of knowledge? I don’t understand anything this girl is saying.
“Magic is a force that traces back to the ‘origin.’ Since your origin lies in the imaginary dimension, no one can interfere with you.” (Kea)
“What is this ‘imaginary dimension’ you keep talking about?” (Jack)
“A dimension that contradicts this world, which is made of real-number dimensions. Mana, in its essence, is a particle that expands quantumly across multiple dimensions. That particle exists even in the imaginary dimension.” (Kea)
This is too much. My head hurts. If I keep going with this, I feel like it might take my whole life to understand it.
“You are a wielder of mana from the imaginary dimension. In other words, you are an anti-mana sorcerer.” (Kea)
The Goddess Kea reached out and placed her hand on my cheek. Her right hand was enveloped in light and felt warm and human. She gazed into my eyes for a while, as if searching for something.
“How pitiful. You’ve been discriminated against because you have no power. Now, I will release a little of that great power for you.” (Kea)
“… Wh-what are you going to do?” (Jack)
“Human mana resides in their blood. You, too, are human, and the anti-mana resides in your bloodline—” (Kea)
Gradually, the warmth of Kea’s right hand began to intensify.
“How are you measuring it?” (Jack)
“Blood.” (Kea)
“Blood?” (Jack)
“The magic technique embedded in the Managram measures the amount of markers in your blood and quantifies or ranks them.” (Kea)
I remembered the conversation I had with Lindsay when I first used the Managram. Mana resides in the blood, huh?
“Now, I will make that blood and anti-mana bond even more strongly.” (Kea)
The moment those words were spoken…
“…” (Kea)
The light from her right hand intensified, and at the same time, a shock ran through my body as if lightning coursing through me. The pain was so intense I couldn’t even cry out.
“Anti-mana is the ‘void’ to the mana of this world. The fate of having no mana will make you the strongest.” (Kea)
“…” (Jack)
My body felt as if it were about to disappear, becoming lighter, and gradually, my senses began to fade.
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