Chapter 289
Episode 90: Fragments of the Past – Silderay (Part 2)
Guh…!
Jin suddenly coughed up blood as he reached for the black orb and the broken greatsword.
The extreme tension in his body finally released, and the delayed shock hit him all at once.
The Reign of the Dark King sword was a weapon that was difficult to wield until all three stages—Kai, Jeon, and Gyeol—were fully mastered.
A chill and sharp pain shot up his spine.
His injured organs flared with a burning heat, and the fractured bones screamed in agony.
He sat upright, taking a moment to steady himself. Gently suppressing the surging aura threatening to spill over, he pushed the bare minimum of spiritual energy into his empty heart core.
“Huff…”
Gradually, the pain subsided. Walking and running seemed within his capability now.
Still, he worried whether he could bring his body to peak condition before the mission to assassinate the Black Knight began.
But compared to what he had gained from this tomb, that price was nothing.
He had faced the very origin of the Black Knight, experienced the lost final battle technique, and glimpsed a secret from a thousand years ago.
A secret about Solderet and Runkandel—their founders and roots—made manifest before him.
“No matter what happens, don’t panic. That’s what Solderet told me to pass on to you.”
Pikon Minche’s words when revealing the tomb’s location were no exaggeration.
What Jin had experienced in Baollai, Temar’s first tomb, was in some ways far more shocking than even his regression.
“…Solderet had already marked me as his contractor a thousand years ago. That much I had known to some extent.”
A thousand-year contractor.
Chosen a millennium ago.
Suddenly, the day he first met Murakan at the Storm Fortress came to mind.
“Hey… Solderet. You’re joking, right? This can’t be real. Say something. Why is the promised contractor of a thousand years… such a kid?”
“I am Murakan. Solderet’s proxy, his close friend, and the last descendant of the first being born from shadows. By the thousand-year pact, from today onward, I will be with you. Tell me your name.”
Jin wasn’t the only one Murakan addressed as the thousand-year contractor. The god of magic, Klam, had said something similar when they first met, and Misha as well.
“But Murakan, Misha, and Klam only knew that I was chosen a thousand years ago. None of them seemed aware that Solderet already knew my name when he marked me.”
In the secret glimpsed through the interdimensional space, Solderet had instructed Temar never to reveal Jin’s name to Murakan or Misha.
Why?
Jin had been chosen a thousand years ago, and those closely connected to Solderet all knew this.
“Temar had heard my name from Solderet. By all accounts, Sir Silderay must have known it too. So why on earth did they hide my name from the guardian dragons and Klam?”
It was a hard point to accept.
The gray orb’s secret offered no clues.
“Solderet wouldn’t have hidden my name from them without reason, especially considering his plans for a thousand years later.”
Not just for a thousand years later.
Solderet had left contingencies for the Reign of the Dark King, who perished five thousand years ago, and even for Klam—the forgotten god from a time closer to the dawn of creation.
For Jin. For him, specifically.
By rough estimation, Solderet’s plans began long before the entire history of humanity.
“There must be a reason. It’s not something I can figure out right now.”
It was highly likely Solderet had left similar plans and messages elsewhere.
The reason for withholding Jin’s name would become clear as he uncovered those.
But the real puzzles that twisted Jin’s mind lay elsewhere.
“Even though Solderet chose me as his contractor a thousand years ago, when we made our contract in my previous life, he never hinted at that fact.”
“You’re a contractor who must have been hated by someone in your youth. Because of a trivial curse, you couldn’t draw your power all this time. Maybe that’s why I was drawn to you.”
“Now, all that’s left is for you to become an unparalleled magic swordsman, contractor. Watching you will be a pleasure.”
Given that Solderet already knew and had chosen Jin, his reaction at the time of the contract was clearly contradictory.
“He even revealed that, contrary to popular belief, he was originally the god of sword and shadow. But he never explained why he left Runkandel…”
Jin’s heartbeat quickened.
He recalled the second secret he had seen in the interdimensional space.
Temar lay dying in bed, and Silderay, filled with rage, called Solderet a traitor.
Betrayal.
In truth, after Temar and before Jin’s arrival, Solderet had never once been the guardian deity of Runkandel.
He had always been a mage, mostly contracted with Ziphl, earning the reputation as Ziphl’s god.
“If it was betrayal, betrayal for what? If not betrayal, then why did Solderet abandon Runkandel for a thousand years? Even going so far as to become the god of their enemies…”
Actions always had a purpose. Even gods were no different from humans in that regard.
Solderet’s departure from Runkandel, his return, his choice of Jin, and all the other baffling actions—
They must have been inevitable choices aligned with his goals.
“…My regression was probably orchestrated by Solderet’s power. What does he want?”
It was a question Jin had never seriously pondered.
Because he had deemed it unimportant.
No matter Solderet’s purpose in granting the chance to regress, Jin had decided to follow his own desires and will.
As a result, he naturally came to desire the throne of Runkandel and the downfall of Ziphl. He burned with a fierce ambition to surpass his father and rise to the pinnacle of the world as a warrior.
He never doubted that such a future was possible.
At least, not until today, when he glimpsed Runkandel’s old story in Temar’s first tomb.
“According to the secret seen in the interdimensional space, Ziphl possessed such immense power that even Temar feared it. Whether Temar was bedridden before or after the war is unclear, but he ultimately lost.”
Even the Changsung Knights, who led the strongest magic swordsman family in history, could not overcome the wall that was Ziphl.
Though the Tower of Stories, where three hundred dragons gathered, still stood, Runkandel had lost all its history and even the magic swordsmen’s abilities.
The gap had only widened since Temar’s defeat.
“Sir Silderay’s talk of betrayal bothers me too. Temar seemed to trust Solderet until the end, but was that trust ever rewarded?”
Temar’s place was absent from Runkandel’s mausoleum, and Silderay left not a single line in any historical record.
So far, it was safe to say they had received no reward.
There were too many reasons to doubt Solderet.
“Enough.”
Jin cut off the chaotic thoughts like a sword strike. If he didn’t, needless anxiety and suspicion would spiral out of control.
“At least, there was no perfect proof of Solderet’s betrayal in the gray orb. Also, the transition between the first and second secrets was unnaturally abrupt—like a book with a crucial page torn out.”
Solderet’s “record device” left in the interdimensional space seemed damaged.
The sudden distortion of the image and voice for a long time was clearly abnormal.
It was possible that the distorted footage contained decisive clues about the situation.
“Even if Solderet’s betrayal is true and still valid, there’s no need to despair. Temar’s defeat is not my defeat. If Runkandel was stronger then, I’ll become the head and surpass it.”
Solderet, Temar, Runkandel of that time—
No matter what they were, Jin decided to honor the values he set for himself.
As he always had.
That would remain his unchanging standard, no matter what secrets he uncovered about Solderet and Runkandel.
Rustle, rustle!
The sound of footsteps crunching through grass came from behind. Turning around, Jin saw Murakan, battered and bruised, running toward him with a grim expression.
“Hey! Kid! Are you okay!?”
“Oh, you’re here. Where were you hiding? Murakan, I was so caught up in things I completely forgot to look for you.”
“You forgot about me…? Wow, kid. Did Silderay hit you wrong or something? I never expected you to say something so hurt so casually, huh?”
“You probably won’t feel so hurt once you hear what I saw inside. You’ll understand right away.”
“What is it?”
“After the fight with Sir Silderay, I got pulled into a new interdimensional space. There, I saw people from a thousand years ago through a record device left by Solderet.”
“Record device?”
Jin spent some time explaining the contents of the record device to Murakan.
He recounted everything—from the conversation between Solderet and Temar, to Silderay’s fury, and Diana’s consolation.
But there was one thing he left out: that Solderet already knew Jin’s name.
The reason for omitting that detail was simple. For now, there was no reason to disrespect Solderet’s will as a contractor.
Murakan was initially very surprised but soon got lost in nostalgia, fully absorbed in Jin’s explanation.
The past shown in the secret—both the good and the bad—seemed like cherished memories to him.
“…But now that I think about it, Silderay, you’ve definitely lost your mind. Calling me a bastard was bad enough, but how dare you label Solderet a traitor? Ha, you can’t kill someone who’s already dead again.”
“He showed some incredible secret techniques. I have to admit, I was tempted.”
“If you judge him purely as a knight, he was impressive. Though I have no idea why he suddenly lost all his manners. Anyway, this is what’s left after Solderet’s pocket dimension collapsed.”
Murakan pointed to the black orb and the broken greatsword lying on the ground.
“Right. You said these are the materials to reinforce Bradamante, so I guess these must be it.”
“Most likely, only the greatsword fragments are the actual materials. I’ve never seen that orb before, but it’s definitely not something used in blacksmithing.”
“Oh? You say you’ve never seen it before, but how can you be so sure?”
“You must have felt the spiritual energy packed inside the orb. It’s sealed in a way similar to the mirror we got from Colon. It’s an object designed to hide or suppress something.”
“I should show this to Misha.”
At the mention of Misha’s name, Murakan immediately frowned.
Seeing that, Jin chuckled softly and summoned Shuri.
“Let’s head back for now, Murakan.”