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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 9
Wiiing—
A mechanical vibration—something you’d expect to hear in an engineer’s lab—rippled through the cave.
At the same time, the gemstones enveloped by Equinox’s aura began to lose their form, slowly dissolving out of existence.
Following Equinox’s instructions, I sat cross-legged atop a rock, settling into the lotus position.
Nocturne stood at my right side, quietly awaiting his turn.
A chilling voice echoed from Equinox.
- We begin now. Be prepared, Master.
At some point, Equinox had started addressing me more formally.
Has something shifted in its attitude? Was this a sign of respect? Or maybe...
‘Could it be acknowledging me as a necromancer now?’
Either way, this procedure involved physically drilling into my heart—pain was inevitable.
I braced myself, trying to remain calm in anticipation of the pain to come.
‘Pain… is a kind of pleasure.’
Dark mages undergo training to become numb to pain after receiving their first mana ring from the Demon Lord.
That’s because most 1st-circle spells come at a cost—pain.
Self-inflicted wounds, used as offerings to draw power—“Sacrifice” magic is the prime example.
Once you’ve cast “Sacrifice” a few hundred times, most pain doesn’t even register anymore.
At a certain threshold, pain begins to feel… pleasurable.
Master always warned me not to indulge in it too much.
“Hoo—”
I steadied my mind and exhaled slowly.
Equinox drew out an immense amount of mana from the artifacts—the necklace and the two rings resting in a dish.
That mana, swirling in shades of dark and crimson, entered my body through my nose and mouth.
Thick and heavy, it flowed straight into my chest and began wrapping itself around my heart.
A shiver ran through my entire body.
- There will be pain."
I nodded at Equinox’s warning and closed my eyes.
Then, a vivid image began to form in my mind—a vision of what was happening inside my chest.
The blood-colored, fog-like mana began to take shape. It looked like a snake.
Its head transformed into something sharp—like a spear—and it stabbed straight into the core of my heart.
“Gghk—!”
Blood trickled from my mouth.
Every cell in my body screamed in agony.
It felt like electricity tearing through my nerves.
An ordinary person would’ve been thrashing and shrieking, but for me… this sensation was nostalgic—almost comforting.
Still, I couldn’t let myself enjoy it. Pain's pleasure always comes with a price.
‘Focus.’
I slowly moved my mana, wrapping it around my bleeding heart.
The blood loss wasn’t extreme, but if it pooled inside me, it could become dangerous.
Recalling a technique I’d learned long ago, I guided the blood up through my throat—and spat it out.
Gush—
As I expelled the pooled blood from my body, Equinox’s voice echoed again.
- Even without instruction, you’re doing quite well on your own. We’re almost there. Just hang on a bit longer.”
I could feel Equinox linking my heart to the gemstones.
When crafting artifacts, the gemstones used are usually top-tier mana stones—naturally occurring crystals that emit massive amounts of mana.
These supreme-grade mana stones generate mana endlessly, like an ever-flowing spring, and the total amount they hold is astronomical.
Just the necklace and the two rings currently being drained could, by a rough estimate, unleash enough destructive force to wipe an entire city off the map.
Equinox’s plan was to extract every drop of core energy from those gemstones, inject it into my small heart, and amplify it.
And that plan was nearly complete. The gemstones embedded in the necklace and rings had almost completely vanished.
All that vast energy had been absorbed into my heart.
‘This is promising.’
The first mana ring I received from the Demon Lord in my previous life was powerful—but nothing like this.
Ordinarily, if this amount of mana flooded in all at once, the heart would rupture on the spot.
But this time was different.
My body had grown stronger, and Equinox’s abilities were nothing short of extraordinary.
At this rate, I was certain the procedure would succeed.
And maybe—because I’d already faced death once before…
Or maybe—because I’d already glimpsed what lies beyond the veil of pain…
There was no fear. None.
Only a rising sense of anticipation for the overwhelming power that awaited me.
I sharpened my focus.
The mana surge piercing through my heart was now spinning violently.
Before I knew it, the wound in my heart had already healed.
‘That’s incredible.’
Not even the Demon Lord could heal my wounds this quickly.
Especially not wounds in the heart—where mana circulates most intensely. Healing such injuries requires refined technique.
At this point, I was convinced—Equinox’s skills rival those of Demon Lords.
Maybe what it said about waiting four thousand years was true after all.
Then, Equinox’s voice returned.
- The first button’s been fastened well. Next is you, Nocturne.”
- Yes. I’m in your hands, Lord Equinox. And you as well, Master.”
As Nocturne gathered his power, the red gem affixed to the tip of his staff began to glow faintly.
To my astonishment, the mana Nocturne was summoning was more than ten times stronger than what had been extracted from the necklace and rings.
Then Nocturne conjured a massive red ring in midair, using only his own power—and set it spinning.
Wooooom—
Just the rotation of that mana ring was enough to make the entire cave tremble.
No—maybe the whole surrounding region was shaking.
It sounded like a dragon rumbling from deep within the earth.
As the ring's spin reached its peak, the mana ring within my own heart finally stirred in response.
Zzzziiing—
Nocturne’s ring and the ring embedded in my heart—The two began to resonate and rotate together.
As their rotational speeds synchronized perfectly, for a brief moment, Nocturne’s red ring and my own were connected by a thin thread of mana.
Through that thread, mana poured into me in an unceasing stream.
“Haa— Haa—”
My breath grew ragged. My heart pounded like it was about to explode. At the same time, the mana’s rotation started to destabilize.
If this kept up, I was headed straight for a mana overload.
‘What the hell? Something’s off…’
Just as the thought crossed my mind, I heard a strange, unsettling laugh.
- Heh heh… Keh keh keh keh!
It was no ordinary laugh.
It was unmistakably Nocturne’s voice.
‘Don’t tell me… this guy’s already turning into a monster?’
My master’s warning echoed in my head.
At that moment, Nocturne began spinning his ring even faster.
An enormous surge of power rushed into my heart.
The pain that followed felt like I was being ripped apart from the inside.
‘This is… the limit…’
And then it happened.
From somewhere, a black aura emerged and wrapped around both my heart and Nocturne’s ring.
It was Equinox.
- Do not worry, Master. You’re doing well. We’re nearly there—just hold on a little longer.
Equinox’s black aura worked immediately.
The heart that had been swelling to the point of bursting began to stabilize, and the spinning of the mana ring became smooth and steady.
With that, my breathing eased, and I could finally bear the pain.
That eerie laugh from Nocturne was gone too.
We maintained that state.
A strange sensation—a heat that was also cooling—rose continuously from my heart, and I couldn’t hold onto my consciousness clearly.
It felt like I was entering a trance-like state of deep focus—what my master once called ‘deep absorption.’
Time passed.
I fought desperately to stay aware, clinging to consciousness with all I had.
Each time I slipped, Equinox’s voice would jolt me awake.
And then—just around the time the third rooster’s crow rang out—
Equinox’s voice whispered in my ear.
- It is finished, Master.”
The moment I heard those words, my mind went completely blank.
＊ ＊ ＊
Is this what a lucid dream feels like?
It was a dream, but everything before me felt far too vivid.
A forest cave in a familiar landscape.
This was the place where I had stayed with my master, about a month before I was captured by the Inquisitors.
I stood up and looked down at myself.
‘What the...?’
My body was faint, barely visible.
It was the same sturdy form I’d received from the Demon Lord Dicreia, but now it was translucent—untouchable, like a ghost.
I glanced around.
Everything was exactly as it had been.
Herbs hanging on the walls, strips of dried meat.
A desk set to one side, lit by a small oil lamp.
Before it, a campfire blazed, with a large iron cauldron suspended above it.
Floating on the surface of the yellowish liquid inside, a fading red magic circle gradually scattered and disappeared.
It was the very magic circle my master had used when summoning the Demon Lord Ilinas to inscribe the "Sacrifice" magic seal onto my chest.
From the look of things, this was right after Ilinas had carved the seal into my body in exchange for one of my master's mana rings.
Sure enough, there I was—my past self—lying shirtless before the fire.
I gazed at my younger self with a strange feeling.
My past self soon stirred, looked up at the master, and asked.
"Master, why did you engrave a magic circle on my chest?"
"Because that's the most certain place."
"What do you mean by that?"
"That place will inevitably be soaked in blood. And in that moment, the opportunity will come—the chance to seize the power of eternity."
At the time, I hadn’t understood what he meant.
But the words “power of eternity” had sounded impressive—grand, even.
Judging from the expression on my past self's face, that awe was written all over it.
Still, as if reminded of his own limits, my past self quickly hardened his expression and asked the master again.
"Someone like me isn't fit to wield the power of eternity. Wouldn’t it be better for you to take it instead, Master?"
But the master replied with a grave look.
"To take one step beyond my current level, the owner of the first mana ring must be oneself."
"So you're saying..."
"As you already know, our first mana ring came from the Demon Lord. That alone sealed our fate."
He let out a long sigh, then continued slowly.
"A mark etched onto the soul can be erased. But the mana ring placed in our heart by the Demon Lord—that cannot be undone. There's only one way to remove it—to go back to a time before it ever existed."
"To turn back time? Is that even possible?"
My past self asked that over and over, but the master merely smiled faintly.
And then, in a low voice, he said.
"The day will come when you’ll understand. When that time arrives, remember this one thing—as long as you carry the Demon Lord’s ring, the path to immortality will forever be closed. That... is the reason I failed."
"Then what should I do moving forward? Please—tell me your plan, something concrete."
I still remember asking that question, clear as day.
But the master shook his head.
"If I tell you what to do now, that knowledge will become part of you—part of your memory. And if that happens... the Demon Lord will find out."
“Then... what am I supposed to do when that moment of opportunity comes?”
“When the time comes, you’ll know. You won’t miss it.”
That was exactly what my master had said back then.
I sat on a stump by the campfire, watching my master and my past self talking.
As I watched the conversation unfold, I could feel every emotion my younger self must’ve felt—so clearly, it was almost painful.
The frustration.
The uncertainty.
The curiosity.
And layered over all of that now... a deep, aching longing for my master.
I looked across the fire at him and, without thinking, spoke in the voice of my soul.
[Master, just as you said... I’ve turned back time. But from here on, I don’t know if I can do it. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.]
Then something strange happened.
My master smiled faintly.
And the timing—he did it right after I finished speaking.
‘Was that... a coincidence?’
Just as I wondered that, he spoke in a barely audible voice.
“So you did succeed, after all.”
“Huh?”
My past self asked, confused.
But the master simply shook his head.
“Just talking to myself. Don’t mind it.”
I remembered this scene vividly—how he said those exact words back then.
‘No way... Can he actually hear me right now?’
If that’s the case, then this wasn’t just a dream or a vision—it was the real past.
Was time travel... actually possible?
And if so—then the future he once saw, was it ‘this’ future?
Lost in those thoughts, I stared at my master. And at that moment, he looked right back at me.
His eyes shimmered with a faint blue light.
For a brief moment, we locked eyes—then he turned his gaze back to the cauldron and spoke.
“If you want to take one step further from here... you’ll have to give up being human. Can you do that?”
I remembered those words crystal clear.
But hearing them now—it didn’t feel like he was speaking to the boy from the past.
It felt like he was speaking directly... to ‘me’.
Without thinking, I answered.
[I’ll try.]
He glanced at me one more time, just briefly, before turning his eyes back to my past self and continuing.
“Don’t be afraid. In the future I saw, you attained the power of eternity. We already succeeded. So wait for the moment. We’ll meet again.”
And with those words—
I woke up.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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