Forgotten Heroes
I couldn’t help but feel awkward as I looked around. The sight of thousands of souls kneeling in unison was indeed a spectacle, but it also brought an inexplicable sense of burden. I could feel Ansul squeezing my hand, perhaps sharing my sentiment.
Fortunately, the awkwardness didn’t last long. Soon, a man facing me slowly rose, and the other souls followed suit.
As I watched the man smile warmly at me, a magician suddenly approached and began to chant quietly.
The incantation was brief. After muttering a few words, the magician looked at me with a gentle smile. It was the golden-haired woman who had healed me earlier.
“Can you hear us now, our savior?”
At that moment, I was momentarily distracted by the woman, but then I heard a clear, fluent voice, unlike before.
Though initially startled, I quickly understood the situation. The spell she had cast was a kind of translation magic.
I nodded calmly, and the man continued with a bright expression.
“Thank you, savior. We are…”
“There seems to be a misunderstanding. We are not the saviors you think we are.”
Despite my interruption, the man showed no sign of displeasure. Instead, he smiled even more broadly and shook his head.
“No, you are. You purified us from the darkness and freed the souls that wandered aimlessly for thousands of years. You guided us, the forsaken, to the path of light. Therefore, you are indeed our savior.”
Feeling embarrassed by his words, Ansul quietly hid behind me.
Reflecting on the man’s words, I looked down at Ansul with a renewed sense of wonder. After all, Ansul’s true name meant “the one who guides the light.”
The man, who had been gazing at us warmly, closed his eyes gently.
“How can we ever repay this grace…?”
I stared blankly at the equipment worn by the souls. They had regained their pristine appearance, and each piece looked extraordinary.
I was tempted to ask if they could leave their gear behind since they were ascending anyway.
But from behind me came a timid voice, “There’s no need to repay us…” so I just swallowed my words.
“In that case, I have a question. Could you possibly answer it?”
“Of course. Whatever you ask, I swear by the name of the gods to answer to the best of my ability.”
Oh, come on. I appreciate the gratitude, but please stop. The way you say it makes me feel like I need to ask something profound and significant.
I was planning to ask something trivial, so I grumbled internally as I spoke.
“We came to this mountain range to find someone. Recently, many people have gone missing here without reason, including someone we know. We ended up at this fortress while searching for them. Can you tell us where they are or what happened to them?”
As soon as I asked, a flicker of understanding crossed the man’s kind eyes. He then spoke in a serious tone.
“Ah, if it’s about that… I believe it’s the work of our former comrades who left the fortress.”
“Former comrades?”
“We’ve been trapped in this fortress for thousands of years. No matter how noble one’s character was in life, no one can withstand the passage of time forever. We knew this but merely watched. I don’t know how to apologize.”
“Then…”
The man gave a bitter smile before speaking again in his usual clear voice.
“What I can tell you for sure is that they are asleep in the fortress’s underground, and some are still alive. We also know how to save them.”
The word “some” bothered me a bit, but at least it meant there was a high chance that Anhyun was still alive. Since Anhyun went missing, we had come straight to the mountain range, so he must have entered the fortress relatively recently.
I immediately spoke up.
“I see. Then can you tell us how to get to the underground and how to save them?”
“Of course. But before that…”
The man suddenly fell silent. He looked at me cautiously before continuing in a quiet voice.
“It won’t take long. Could you spare a moment to listen to my… no, our story?”
The man’s ensuing words were a story, but they could also be seen as an explanation.
I was curious about what happened after the fall of Magna Carta, so I listened with genuine interest.
The curse of Magna Carta wasn’t just one curse; it was two.
One was the expected curse that befell the mountain range.
In short, the souls tainted by the curse were bound by a restriction that prevented them from leaving the mountain range, likely mixing with the souls’ grudges to create a field effect.
The other curse, unexpectedly, was a prophecy.
The dragon of doom, Magna Carta, left a prophecy to the great hero just before its death.
“Though I am defeated and disappear now, I and this prophecy will never vanish. Among the humans here, even without their knowledge, my power and will shall remain. Yes, for now, you may do as you please. But one day, when someone among your descendants inherits my power and will, when the seed of doom sprouts, the world will once again fall into chaos. Until then, struggle all you want. Hahaha!”
A prophecy that would never disappear but would inevitably come true.
The humans, having barely ended the battle, had to face a new phase. Even after the battle, the mountain range was cursed, leaving them trapped.
Still, though the end was twisted, the humans didn’t let go of hope. Believing there must be a way, they stayed in the fortress, searching for a way to lift the curse.
Then one day, the great hero who led the mountain range battle announced a message. Believing they had finally found a way to lift the curse, the humans gathered in one place to await the great hero.
And finally, the great hero appeared. The humans, thinking they would soon return, eagerly watched their commander.
But the first words from the great hero’s mouth were an apology.
“Everyone, I’m sorry.”
The sudden apology left the humans in confusion. Facing the bewildered humans, the great hero revealed the full story.
The gist was about the prophecy left by Magna Carta and the way to prevent the curse.
According to the great hero, they didn’t know which human had inherited Magna Carta’s power and will. Therefore, if they left the mountain range, it could lead to future chaos in the world, so they must not leave.
In other words, the way to prevent the curse was the unconditional sacrifice of the humans who participated in and survived the mountain range battle.
“When she finished speaking, everything was already prepared. After apologizing to us once more, she activated the method without giving us any time. That method meant our death and eternal confinement.”
“That method…”
“The great hero’s wish. It was the method of using the Stones of Wish.”
“The Stones of Wish?”
“Yes. The Stones of Wish. A method of forming a magic circle with seven stones containing fragments of the gods, borrowing the power of Ganesha, the goddess of language and wisdom. If the wish is deemed appropriate, the human who activates it can achieve any wish.”
“Does that even make sense? If that’s the case, they could have used that power to remove the curse. Or they could have asked to identify the person with the prophecy…”
I was starting to understand, yet my head tilted in confusion.
The great hero tried to stop Magna Carta’s curse.
But the best solution they could think of was to take everyone’s lives because they couldn’t identify the human with the dragon’s power and will? And fearing the prophecy-laden soul might escape, they accepted the dragon’s curse, preventing the souls from leaving the mountain range?
I don’t know what the Stones of Wish are, but it’s hard to believe they couldn’t come up with a better plan with such power.
According to this story, humans were played by Magna Carta’s trickery. No matter what choice they made, they were doomed to suffer.
The only difference was whether the victims were the humans who survived the mountain range battle or their descendants. In the end, Magna Carta succeeded in exacting revenge on humans in some form.
Noticing my expression, the man smiled gently and spoke.
“Yes, that’s the right thought. But as far as I know, there are conditions for a wish to be fulfilled. And I don’t think she overlooked that. If she didn’t act on that thought, there must have been a compelling reason… Ah, but that doesn’t mean we understand her. Though we entered the mountain range prepared to die, at least in death, we wanted to return to the places we held dear in our hearts. Some wanted to return to their families, others to the gods they served. We never wanted to live on as wretched spirits after death.”
The man finally finished his long speech, letting out a light sigh as he gazed up at the sky. For the first time, a sense of emptiness and sadness seemed to seep from his face and voice.
“Thousands of years. It was a difficult time. Truly dreadful. Even in death, we struggled to break the curse, but in the end, there was nothing we could do on our own. All we could do was write down our grievances or hope for the strength of someone who might come here. But no one ever did. Hahaha.”
Of course, with the curse in place, no one could enter.
I could somewhat understand the spirits’ feelings. In a situation devoid of dreams or hope—or worse, having tasted despair just before hope—if I were in their shoes, I wouldn’t have been able to keep my sanity either.
The man lowered his gaze again and laughed hollowly, casting a glance at the wall. The once-white surface was now slightly charred.
“I’m sorry. I said it wouldn’t take long, but it ended up being longer than expected.”
“No, it’s fine. Hearing your story, I understand your situation. Personally… I have a lot of respect for you.”
The man widened his eyes briefly, then smiled sheepishly.
“Haha. That’s the first time I’ve heard that from anyone… It’s a strange feeling. Like receiving a reward.”
“I think you deserve it.”
“No, but thank you for saying so. Ah, let me answer your earlier question. The people you mentioned are all resting in the underground of this fortress, where we last faced the great hero.”
“It must have been quite an injustice back then.”
I remarked lightly, and the man scratched his head awkwardly.
“Yes, well… We weren’t thinking straight at the time. Some of our comrades gave up and lay quietly, while others, out of habit, wandered the mountains. Fortunately, none of the severely corrupted spirits here have tried to possess a living human.”
Suddenly, I heard a faint cough from Han-gyeol. Deciding it wasn’t worth bringing to the surface, I shifted the conversation.
“I see. Then could you tell me how to get underground and how to revive them?”
“Well, it’s not a place for the living, but a good opportunity has arisen. For some reason, the Magna Carta has resurfaced, breaking through the ground. The entrance is on the first basement level of this fortress. Since the Magna Carta was sealed on the second basement level, you should be able to enter through the hole it made. And…”
The man paused, pulling a golden-haired woman beside him into view.
“Reviving them is simple. As long as they’re alive, this friend can bring them back.”
The woman was the one who had cast the time-reversal spell on me earlier. Understanding immediately how she would do it, I nodded.
“Understood. We’ve heard everything we wanted. You don’t need to worry about us anymore. Perhaps it’s time for the others to lay down their burdens.”
In other words, it was time for them to ascend.
The man smiled brightly at my words.
Just then.
“Please wait a moment.”
“I have something to say.”
As I was about to think it was all over, two new spirits appeared behind the man. Both were beautiful women—one in shining silver Valkyrie armor, the other in a pristine shrine maiden outfit.
Their appearances felt strangely familiar.
“Sorry to interrupt, but may we speak with you for a moment?”
“I’d like to talk to you too.”
The man glanced between them and then turned to me. I hesitated for a moment but nodded, sensing no harm.
As the two women passed by with familiar faces, I saw them stop in front of Cha Solim and Hannah, who stood quietly.
“May I ask, are you a sister of Arcus serving Flavius?”
“Are you the successor of the shrine maiden’s lineage?”
Their words triggered a sudden realization.
Come to think of it, Cha Solim’s class was Arcus Valkyrie, and Hannah’s was Twilight Shrine Maiden.
Watching my two clan members blink in surprise, I thought to myself, ’…What a stroke of luck.’
“Ah… I see. To think we’d meet the successors of our comrades here… Yes, as much as I’d like to ascend now, it wouldn’t be right to forget the grace of the one who saved us. Hahaha.”
A clear voice rang out again. Turning my gaze forward, I saw a spirit slowly approaching An Sol and me.
The man bowed to me and then knelt calmly on one knee before An Sol.
“There’s no need for that… I don’t need anything… Just… rest now…”
An Sol murmured in a voice barely above a whisper, but the man shook his head gently.
“I can’t do that. Thanks to the savior, all the curses binding us have been lifted, but in the end, we owe a debt.”
An Sol mumbled again.
“It’s really okay…”
“Haha. No, this is for us too. We’ve had a lot of thoughts and regrets while in these mountains. There was a time when we hated all humans, including the great hero. If we ascend now and forget the grace of salvation, we’d be no different. We want to reclaim our beliefs.”
Perhaps thinking words wouldn’t work, An Sol looked up, seeking help with her eyes. But I just shrugged, signaling for her to do as she wished.
With a soft, clear sound, a sword appeared in the man’s hand. Holding it like a knight receiving a title, he slowly presented it to An Sol.
And then, he spoke quietly.
“So, just as you saved us…”
“No, no…”
An Sol waved her hands in flustered denial.
But the man, undeterred, looked up with a gentle smile.
“Would you grant us the chance to save you and your precious ones?”
---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=
Did everyone have a good Lunar New Year? Let’s give a round of applause to the fathers who drove tirelessly and to the mothers who prepared the holiday meals (though I’m not sure if there are any mothers reading this. Haha).
I had a great time. I received the wonderful news that my cousin gave birth as scheduled in the early morning, and I got to meet relatives at my maternal grandparents’ house. I ate lots of delicious food and slept well. :D
Now that the New Year is over, February has begun. I have important plans for this year, so I’m already feeling excited. Hehe.
Oh, I have a question for you readers. If you were one of the mercenary clan members in the novel, and there was a stone of wishes before you, what would you wish for? I’d love to hear some interesting responses. :D
PS. In terms of rewards, not even half have been revealed yet. (?)