Chapter 36: The Prophet of Radiance
Where had it all gone wrong?
Kamel traced his memories back, until he recalled the messenger he’d seen at the top of the spire.
An insignificant assassin whose name he didn’t even know.
From that encounter onward, the future had begun to deviate from its expected course.
Kamel pinpointed "him" as the reason the future was now twisted. This person—someone who seemed capable of predicting his every next move.
A difficult opponent precisely because he could anticipate Kamel’s moves.
‘How should I deal with him?’
As he pondered, Kamel came up with a possible solution.
“Unpredictability might be my only option.”
To escape "his" predictions, Kamel needed a wild card, an element of surprise that even "he" couldn’t foresee.
He thought of Etor.
Etor was land he had to claim if he wanted to bring all of Tobaron under his control and expand his power.
In the past, it had taken him three years to conquer Etor.
His father, his brothers.
It had taken him a long time to clean up family affairs and organize Blyer.
‘Eight months from now.’
But if everything went according to his new plan, Etor would be in his hands within eight months. Compared to before his regression, this was lightning-fast.
Yet Kamel’s expression remained unsatisfied.
“I need to push harder.”
Kamel felt a need to accelerate his timeline, even if it meant sustaining greater losses. To disrupt "his" predictions, he needed "unpredictability." By twisting time itself, he could unleash a cascade of unforeseen variables.
How much should he accelerate?
‘I’ll plant my flag on Etor’s walls within four months.’
Cut the time in half.
There would be much bloodshed, but his plan was already grinding against obstacles, so he felt it was necessary to push forward aggressively.
Kamel tapped on the side of the carriage. Lyon, riding close by, approached as Kamel opened the window.
“Where is the ‘Prophet of Radiance’ now?”
“If our informants are correct, we should encounter him before we pass Elletor Fortress.”
“We’ll leave the carriage and move on horseback.”
“Sir? But…”
“Hurry up, Lyon.”
Taken aback by the sudden order, Lyon quickly collected himself and signaled to his men to prepare his lord’s horse.
“Hyah!”
Kamel spurred his horse onward, pushing forward at a relentless pace.
If he wanted to advance his plans, he needed to tie up his existing tasks quickly.
Meeting with the Prophet of Radiance was essential to determining his future moves. The Prophet was not someone he could easily encounter outside of this specific moment, so he needed to act fast.
With the thunderous sound of hooves echoing behind him, Kamel and his entourage raced nonstop toward the northern boundary where Elletor Fortress stood.
After riding tirelessly for half a day, the darkness of the forest gradually lifted as dawn broke, casting light over the worn stone walls that stretched endlessly.
Elletor Fortress.
The northern border of Tobaron.
Before reaching the fortress, Kamel and his group encountered a large procession.
“Halt!”
Lyon rode ahead and blocked the procession. At the front was an exceptionally ornate carriage, clearly carrying someone of high status.
A moment later, as Kamel approached with his knights, the guards surrounding the carriage drew their weapons.
“Right on time.”
Kamel looked at the banner on the carriage and nodded.
Beyond Elletor Fortress lay the Witch’s Forest of Ordor. No one uninvited could enter the forest of witches.
Fortunately, they’d intercepted the Prophet’s carriage before it crossed the fortress.
Kamel took a handkerchief from Lyon to wipe the sweat from his brow. It had been physically taxing, but the person he needed to meet was now in front of him.
“May I ask who you are?”
A large knight, representing the carriage, approached Kamel. He was heavily armored and looked formidable at a glance.
‘Can Lyon handle him?’
These knights served Grand Duke Clarke, whose domain lay beyond the Witch’s Forest. The Grand Duke’s knights weren’t weak, but they weren’t known as elite either. Clarke’s territory was more influenced by wizards than by knights.
Kamel was curious about their skill, but it wasn’t the time to find out.
He had come as a "guest" to seek the Prophet.
“I’m here to seek an answer.”
“An answer requires a price.”
At the knight’s response, Kamel made a small gesture, and Lyon stepped forward with a small chest. When the chest was opened, it revealed a pile of gold.
The tension immediately dissipated at the sight of the gold.
The Prophet’s guest.
As long as the price was paid, social status didn’t matter. That was the standard set by the Grand Duke.
“Please wait here for a moment.”
The knight gave a slight bow and returned to the carriage.
Shortly after, the door opened, and an elderly man with his eyes covered by a cloth emerged, assisted by attendants.
The Prophet of Radiance.
His prophetic abilities were famous throughout the entire kingdom, not just Tobaron. Seeking his prophecy required an astronomical sum of gold.
Yet people spared no expense to meet him, even just once.
Once every two years, at the Grand Duke Clarke’s request, the Prophet would accept visitors, exchange gold, and grant prophecies. Now was that time.
“Someone has come who does not share a destined connection with me.”
“……”
Kamel was seeing the old man before him for the first time.
If not for his regression, he would never have met him. Was the Prophet able to sense that?
Kamel took a seat on the prepared chair and faced the Prophet.
“Does the Prophet have no name?”
“Are you here to seek answers?”
The Prophet’s answers came at a price. Kamel chuckled lightly and continued.
“Forget it. I came to ask about life and death. Can you tell me?”
“If I have never met them, I cannot.”
Kamel clicked his tongue briefly. This meant he couldn’t inquire about the fates of the messenger or the observer, Kevlin.
“Then, what about my own death? Can you prophesize my death?”
Given that the future was now uncertain, he needed to verify it.
The Prophet fiddled with a crystal orb in front of him. After a moment, it glowed a warm orange. He shook his head.
“I do not see the touch of death on you. Not for now.”
“‘Not for now’? What does that mean?”
“It means that depending on your actions, your future could change at any moment. I can only see your immediate fate.”
“If death is foreseen, can it be avoided?”
“You may or may not be able to avoid it. However, if you do avoid it, you’ll pay a price equal to your worth.”
“A price? What kind of price?”
“Something precious to you.”
Kamel grinned, baring his teeth. Lyon could tell that his lord was irritated.
“Who dares to take something precious from me?”
The Prophet merely pointed silently toward the sky. It could mean a god, fate, or perhaps the heavens themselves—a vague answer.
“Your answer lacks conviction.”
“I speak only the truth.”
It wasn’t the most satisfying response, but it was enough for now. It meant there was no immediate threat to his plans.
“I have more questions.”
“Then you must pay the price.”
“You really are an expensive mouth to feed.”
Kamel glanced at Lyon, who placed another chest in front of the Prophet.
“Have you received any recent ‘divine messages’?”
“Hmm, there is one… but…”
For some reason, the Prophet seemed reluctant to speak of it.
“Can you verify the life of its owner?”
“Yes, divine messages are unique. Do you seek an answer?”
When Kamel nodded, the Prophet inspected the orb, and then, after a moment, nodded in confirmation.
“He is alive.”
Kamel nodded slightly.
‘So Donecolint is still alive.’
Having confirmed his survival, Kamel figured that all he needed to do now was locate him. He asked for clarification.
“I want to hear the content of the divine message.”
“Divine messages are revelations from the gods. If sharing them recklessly disrupts the world, a severe penalty follows, as you may have noticed from my blindness.”
“That doesn’t concern me.”
“……”
“You don’t have a choice, do you?”
At Kamel’s command, Lyon brought over three more chests of gold for the knight standing beside the Prophet.
Once the gold was confirmed, the knight stood by the Prophet.
“The guest requests an answer.”
“…But…”
“Remember, you are bound to the Grand Duke’s will.”
Faced with the knight’s cold remark, the Prophet bit his lip and briefly looked up at the sky, his sightless eyes hidden beneath the cloth. Seeing this, Kamel was tempted to ask—
Could the Prophet foresee his own death?
“I can only reveal a single line of the divine message. The rest is obscured.”
“You can’t see the whole message?”
“Do not ask why. This is the first time I’ve experienced such a thing.”
For the first time, Kamel’s face showed a flicker of surprise. Donecolint’s divine message was famous throughout the land as the "Siren’s Scream." And yet, here was a prophet who couldn’t fully decipher it.
Why did the thought of him suddenly come to mind?
“Speak!”
The answer Kamel sought was the divine message from Donecolint, The Siren’s Scream.
With a hint of urgency in his voice, he demanded an answer. The Prophet clutched the glowing orb.
Though his eyesight was gone, the letters of the divine message were seared into his mind. Most of it was unreadable; he had only managed to interpret a line from the very bottom of the message.
The Prophet wondered.
Could Arcane the Fatekeeper, or the Witch Lily, interpret this entire message?
He didn’t know.
But he was certain that those two would never reveal it, even if they could.
This might bring death upon him, but as a sinner, he had no choice.
The Prophet’s mouth trembled as he spoke.
[XX XXXX – XX XX XXX]
[X XX XX.]
[The Siren’s Hymn.]
“The Siren’s Hymn.”
Kamel’s face twisted, his expression darkening like that of a demon.
A hymn, not a scream?!
The owner of the divine message had changed.
***
For someone like me, living the tough life of a salaried worker, the most precious and blissful part of my day was when I could finally lie down to sleep.
Nestling under the rustling, soft blankets, spending time imagining the intense events that would unfold as villains grew stronger in the novels I read—those moments were pure sweetness.
Just thinking about it made me feel so light, like I could float, and my steps were always a little bouncier on the way home from work.
But the illusion would shatter in the early hours of the morning when I’d turn off my smartphone and close my eyes. The time between falling asleep and waking up passed by in the blink of an eye.
Just the sight of sunlight streaming through the curtains was enough to ruin my mood.
Ah, time to get up for work.
‘Ugh, damn it, just a dream!’
As my consciousness returned, I took a deep breath of relief, realizing that the scene illuminated by the morning light wasn’t a set of curtains but a dense forest surrounding me.
The relief of not having to go to the office.
The fact that I could feel happy just over this was honestly ridiculous, but I wanted to savor this moment.
Since being thrown into the world of the novel, I had my first long, uninterrupted dream. It was a vision of my former life as a regular office worker, a life that I’d lived right up until I came here.
Reflecting on it now, life in the real world may not have been exciting, but it did offer small comforts and a sense of security.
Being dropped into something like the Serengeti wilderness really made me think that maybe I’d had it pretty good back then.
“And yet, even now, I still hate the idea of getting up for work. How did I ever survive the grind of being a salaried employee? Ugh.”
I tried to get up, but my body felt as heavy as a soaked sponge.
How long had I been out?
Looking around, I realized there was no one else nearby.
I started to get up, brushing off my clothes, intending to go look for Karl, when I felt a dull sensation on my left wrist. Raising my hand, I saw a thick bracelet fastened there.
A coarse, black bracelet.
Seeing the bracelet, it seemed like the procedure had been completed successfully.