Episode 161
“First, you need to understand the fundamental forces that exist in this world.”
“Forces?”
I had asked what the cause of my illness was, but my brother Noah suddenly started talking about forces.
Although I was confused, I listened intently to his words.
“There are three forces in this world. Do you know what they are?”
“I know about divine power and magic, but I’m not sure about the third. Is there really another one?”
“Yes. And that force is the reason you’re ill.”
“W-what? Are you saying I possess some kind of power?”
“That’s right.”
I was so shocked by my brother’s unexpected answer that I stuttered.
Unlike me, Noah’s expression remained calm and serious.
I have a power? What in the world…?
Could this be why I’ve had prophetic dreams?
Then, what exactly is the power I possess, and why did it cause me to fall into such deep sleep?
Questions swirled in my mind.
Unable to wait any longer, I urged my brother for more answers.
“What kind of power is it? What kind of power do I have?”
“It’s spiritual power.”
“Spiritual power?”
Noah slowly nodded.
“Spiritual power? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
I had never heard of it in the original story, nor during my over 20 years of living here.
Still, I knew Noah wouldn’t lie to me or joke about something like this.
Yet, I couldn’t believe it and demanded a more detailed explanation.
“Spiritual power is extremely rare. That’s why very few people know about it.”
“Then how did you find out about it?”
“I told you I’ve spent time near the Black Forest, right?”
“Yes.”
“During that time, I didn’t just stay in the Leteus Empire. I also traveled along the forest’s borders, staying in other countries to gather more information.”
I quietly listened without interrupting him.
“The most recent place I stayed was a village called Marti, located east of the Black Forest. There, I met someone whose family member suffered from a condition similar to yours.”
“A condition similar to mine?”
“Yes, similar. But in reality, it was the same illness.”
“What happened to that person’s family?”
I felt my voice tremble slightly as tension built up.
“…They died.”
“Oh…”
When Noah said the person had died, I felt all the strength drain from my body.
‘Of course…’
My illness, if left untreated, would eventually lead to death.
“They died… That must have been so painful for them.”
“Yes, it was…”
I paused for a moment and closed my eyes.
Then, I prayed for the person who had suffered from the same illness and couldn’t live a normal life.
‘Please, in the next life, be born healthy.’
Knowing how difficult that person’s life must have been, I couldn’t help but feel sympathy.
“Ayla…”
At my brother’s gentle voice, I opened my eyes and looked at him.
“I was praying. I sincerely hope that person is born healthy in their next life.”
Yes, I truly wished it.
That no one would have to waste their life because of this illness.
“…I hope so too.”
“Yeah.”
A quiet stillness settled around us.
Noah patiently waited as I mourned someone I had never met.
“Um, should we continue talking now?”
I smiled softly and focused back on what he was saying.
“Sure. So, this person told me something strange after their family died.”
“What was it?”
“They said their family was consumed by their power because they couldn’t control it.”
“Consumed by their power?”
I felt like I’d heard this somewhere before. Where was it…?
‘Ah!’
It was similar to magic.
When Ian’s magic went out of control, he had said something similar—that if he couldn’t control it, the magic would consume him.
“Are you talking about magic?”
“No, it’s not magic.”
Noah shook his head in response to my question.
“It’s not magic; it’s spiritual power. That person told me a lot about spiritual power.”
“How did they know so much?”
“It turns out that in their family, people with spiritual power have occasionally been born throughout the generations.”
“Oh, so that’s why they knew.”
“Yes.”
“And what about us? Have there been people in our family with spiritual power?”
“I’m not sure about that. We’ll need to ask Father. But since even Father doesn’t seem to know about spiritual power, I think you might be the first in our family.”
“That could be… Tell me more about spiritual power. Why does it cause people to fall into such deep sleep?”
Noah continued to explain without pause.
To summarize what he told me:
In this world, there are three forces: divine power, magic, and spiritual power.
Divine power is possessed by priests and holy knights who serve the gods, while magic is the power held by the Blighton family and monsters.
Lastly, spiritual power is a very rare force. It is unknown who will be born with it or how one comes to possess it. Like magic, it is a power you are born with, starting weak in childhood and growing stronger with age.
When the power grows too strong, the body can’t handle it, causing the person to fall into deep sleep.
If the power consumes them, they never wake up again. But if they can endure it, they fully recover and gain the ability to use spiritual power—such as seeing prophetic dreams.
“So that’s how you knew I was going to have prophetic dreams.”
“Exactly. You mentioned before that in your dreams, you always saw crossroads and had to find the exit to wake up.”
“Yes, I did.”
“When you learn to control your power, those crossroads you used to escape your dreams will turn into a path that allows you to see the future.”
“That’s incredible… I never realized I had spiritual power.”
Listening to Noah, I felt a bit dazed.
“But now that I think about it, do the three powers influence each other? Your divine power stabilized Ian’s magic, and Duke Arthur’s magic stabilized mine.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Really?”
I had only guessed, so hearing that I was right surprised and amazed me.
“Yes. The three forces naturally influence one another. As you said, divine power stabilizes magic, magic stabilizes spiritual power, and spiritual power stabilizes divine power.”
“I see…”
“And on the other hand, divine power strengthens spiritual power, spiritual power strengthens magic, and magic strengthens divine power.”
“Strengthens the power? Does that mean it makes them unstable?”
“It can make things unstable, but for someone who can properly wield their power, it grants them an even more incredible strength.”
“Ah… It sounds simple, yet it’s complicated.”
“Exactly. Now that I think about it, every time you visited the temple or whenever I returned home, you always fell into a deep sleep.”
“Now that you mention it, that makes sense. Your divine power, or the divine power flowing in the temple, must have affected my body.”
“That’s right. If you hadn’t gone to see Duke Lloydin Blighton, who knows what could have happened? I would have kept thinking divine power was the answer, unknowingly making things worse for you.”
Noah’s face twisted in pain, likely remembering that time.
“Don’t say that. You didn’t know. You did your best back then. Don’t belittle your efforts for my sake.”
“…Ayla.”
I reached out and clasped my brother’s hand, which had stiffened as he looked at me.
“Thank you, brother. Back then, and now, I’m truly grateful.”
I expressed my sincere gratitude to him.
“I was just doing what a brother should do.”
“No. No one could have done what you did.”
I knew my other brothers cared for me deeply as well.
But even so, Noah’s feelings for me were immense, beyond comparison to anything else.
“By the way, have you ever experienced anything besides prophetic dreams?”
“Something else?”
“Yes, like when you touch someone’s hand, do you ever see something?”
His gaze shifted from my face to our hands, which were still clasped together.
“Um, no. That’s never happened before…”
“I see. You don’t know yet. Ayla, spiritual power can do more than just show you prophetic dreams.”
Something more? What could it be?
I looked at him with eyes full of curiosity.
