After parting ways with the three gods, I climbed into the carriage.
“Shall I take you back to the estate, miss?” the coachman asked.
I thought for a moment before replying, “Please take me to the Grand Temple.”
I wanted to resolve this uneasy feeling inside me.
‘To do that, I need to meet the being who I believe is Grauzer again.’
Just thinking about meeting him stirred up a lot of questions.
‘What exactly are the forbidden powers? Why does he appear suddenly? Who is he?’
The problem was that I had no idea how to meet him.
I tightly clutched the medical book I had brought with me as I arrived at the Grand Temple. People gathered to prepare for Yenna’s wedding.
They were inspecting the facilities and setting up the podium. Brantley was overseeing everything.
‘He’s been busy here lately.’
Brantley was staring intently at the lavishly decorated virgin road that was to Yenna’s taste. He was deep in thought.
I quietly approached him and asked, “Brantley, are you busy?”
“Hanelope? When did you get here?”
“Just now.”
I smiled as I looked at him.
Brantley glanced between the virgin road and me before speaking.
“I’m not that busy. I’ve already rejected all the unreasonable demands from Prince Patrick’s side.”
“Unreasonable demands?”
“Asking to borrow the emperor’s personal choir to sing a wedding song, or decorating the sides of the virgin road with jewels instead of flowers…etc”
Brantley scoffed at the absurdity.
Nonetheless, he seems to be in a good mood. I guess I arrived at the right time. I took a step closer to Brantley and whispered, “Then, can you spare some time for me?”
Brantley flinched and looked at me. His hesitation made me anxious.
I clasped my hands together and looked up at him with pleading eyes, “You don’t want to?”
“N- No! It’s not that I don’t want to.” Brantley quickly responded, as if waking from a trance.
“Really? That’s a relief. I just want to talk in a quiet place, just the two of us.”
His eyes widened at my words.
‘Was my demand weird?’
Brantley suddenly grabbed my hand and led me away.
“Alright, let’s go.”
He took me to the bride’s chamber. It was a luxurious room adorned with white fabrics and beautiful artificial flowers— a room meant for the bride to quietly rest before the ceremony, different from the waiting room.
Beautiful but quiet, and not just anyone could enter. Brantley and I sat side by side on a long bench.
“What did you want to talk about?” he asked nervously.
I took out the book I had brought. Brantley’s eyes showed curiosity.
“Do you remember the day you visited my lab?”
“Of course. You mentioned you thought you’d been to Grauzer’s temple.”
“Yes. I’m thinking of going back there again.”
Brantley’s expression stiffened, “Again? Do you know how to?”
“I plan to do the same thing I did before.”
“By ‘the same thing,’ you mean…?”
I handed him the book.
“Last time, when you touched this book in my hand, we ended up at Grauzer’s temple. I’m thinking of trying that again.”
Hearing that, Brantley quickly hid the book behind his back, “That’s dangerous. We don’t know what could happen. How can you trust this Grauzer?”
“I have questions for Grauzer. It’s about Prache. I might even learn something that could be his weakness.”
Brantley’s face hardened.
“That makes it even worse. I can’t let you go alone. If we can find a way for me to come with you, then we’ll try. But not now.”
He refused firmly. But I didn’t back down either.
I leaned closer to Brantley. When our bodies touched, Brantley tried to pull away but stumbled. I didn’t miss the chance and reached for the book behind his back.
“I need to find out before Yenna’s wedding… Ahh!”
In my attempt to grab the book, I leaned too far and ended up putting my weight on Brantley. Brantley was caught off balance, and I, leaning against him, tumbled down as well.
As we fell together, my hand brushed the book. And suddenly, my vision darkened.
I rubbed my eyes with both hands. When I opened them again, I found myself standing in a dark temple that was not unfamiliar to me.
‘It worked again!’
Though I didn’t understand the mechanism, I was once more in the temple of the being presumed to be Grauzer.
In the middle of the dark temple, starlike particles of light floated down eerily. Beneath the light, there was an altar.
As I approached the altar, just like last time, someone emerged from the shadows on the opposite side.
— “It’s been a while.”
The figure greeted me in a low voice. I could only make out a faint silhouette, yet his eyes, dark as the winter night sky, stood out sharply.
His wet, soulful eyes gazed at me as if reuniting after a thousand years.
“Has it really been that long?” I asked, puzzled. The figure let out a soft scoff.
— “You wouldn’t know.”
Does time flow slower here than in the outside world?
I was curious but focused on my reason for coming.
“I came back because I have questions. Last time, we were interrupted.”
— “Seems you were left wanting more.”
“Huh?”
When I responded in surprise, he replied leisurely.
— “What are you curious about?”
“Are you Grauzer, by any chance?”
He fell silent at my question. I swallowed nervously, waiting anxiously for his answer.
After a long pause, he nodded.
— “To remember a forgotten name long sealed away, you truly are a Koch.” He chuckled softly.
— “Is that all you’re curious about?”
“No, there’s more.”
— “Your curiosity knows no bounds.”
He sounded amused. But I didn’t back down.
“I’m curious about the ‘forbidden power’ you mentioned last time.”
— “I tild you everything last time.”
“But the information I got from the sealed gods is different.”
He stared at me silently through the darkness.
“They said that even if the forbidden power is used, divinity wouldn’t be harmed.”
— “That’s their opinion.”
Grauzer nodded with a calm smile from beyond the shadows, radiating certainty.
— “Another name for me is ‘the Merciless.’”
“You don’t really seem that cruel, though,” I blurted out before I could stop myself. I quickly covered my mouth with a soft gasp, but it was too late.
Grauzer narrowed his eyes and studied me closely.
— “Interesting.”
“?”
— “Do you know what’s required to be cruel?”
Effortlessly, Grauzer shifted the topic, and I found myself swept up in it.
He chuckled softly.
— “Wisdom. Without being clever, you can’t even be cruel.”
Is he bragging? I tilted my head in confusion, but Grauzer continued.
— “That’s why I know more than the other gods. The god who created us and then died of exhaustion gave me wisdom.”
“So, you’re the only one who knows that using the forbidden power damages divinity?”
Grauzer nodded.
I had a sudden realization, ‘Then Prache is practically self-destructing!’
He has reversed time, shifted dimensions, and placed other souls into bodies— all related to the forbidden power.
“Please, help me!” I suddenly pleaded.
— “With what?”
Grauzer tilted his head slightly and asked.
“According to you, Prache’s divinity has been greatly damaged. Now that he’s weakened, it’s the perfect opportunity!”
— “Unfortunately, I’m sealed right now.”
“I know! But your seal must have loosened, just like the other sealed gods. If the sealed gods combine their strength, maybe…”
— “My seal hasn’t loosened. It’s still intact.”
Grauzer spoke firmly.
I stared at him in shock.
— “That’s because when I was sealed by Prache, I overextended myself creating an avatar and ended up injured.
“Then, if we find that avatar and get help from it…”
— “It knows nothing. I only gave it one command.”
“Weren’t you creating the avatar to break your seal when the time came?”
Grauzer stepped forward.
Through the beams of starlight raining down from the ceiling, his mesmerizing handsome face became visible.
He reached out, lightly gripping my chin and tilting it upward.
As though studying me, Grauzer stared for a long moment before speaking.
— “No. The only command I gave my avatar was to protect the Koch clan.”
“W- What?”
His unexpected answer made my voice tremble.
Grauzer looked at my shocked expression as if it amused him.
— “My avatar doesn’t know who he is or why he was born. He simply repeats countless cycles of life and death, always staying by the Koch clan’s side, protecting them. That’s his instinct and its purpose.”
“That’s… That’s just sad for him…”
I couldn’t help but express the sorrow I felt, my voice and expression were full of pity.
Grauzer sighed and released my chin. His touch had been gentle even though he held my chin for a while. I rubbed my chin and looked at him to see his sorrowful face.
For some reason, his deep black eyes seemed sorrowful.
— “Protecting the Koch clan is his fate.”
“Why?”
— “Because I couldn’t protect the woman I loved, so I must protect the family she cherished to atone for my failure.”
