Chapter 1159 – #276_Prologue (7)

#1153

One.
According to my mother, magic that travels between world lines is close to impossible.

This is a matter of probability.

Rather than the world line that exists infinitely and is divided like bubbles for each specific momentum, the area occupied by ‘primordial nothingness’, where the universe, matter, and even time do not exist, is wider.

Just as darts thrown blindfolded hit the target repeatedly, the fact that my mother was able to build an ark and arrive in a ‘world where witches do not exist’ means that it was a matter of luck.

After my mother arrived in the new world and pioneered the realm of the 32nd hierarchy.

You shared my flesh and bones to create a witch.

The witches who arrived in another world aboard the ark were scattered everywhere.
The witch’s fate was woven on the spinning wheel of fate, as beautiful as the Milky Way in the black night sky.

It would be no exaggeration to say that this was the greatest feat in witch history.
For she was the Eve of all witches, and she was Adam.

Nevertheless, the lives of the Witch of Creation and her daughter, Kether, were simple.

The home of the two was a small, untouched rural village.

‘It’s snowing a lot today.’

Every winter, heavy snow fell outside the window, turning the entire world white.
The fireplace in the small forest cabin drove away the swirling cold chill.
Still, it was a little cold, so she wrapped herself in a blanket and snuggled close to her mother.

‘What story do you want to hear today?’

Keter, then an apprentice witch, would sit by the fireplace and listen to stories from her mother, who had almost exhausted her powers but was still so great.

‘I honestly don’t understand her mother. According to what her mother said, humans made witches like this.’
‘Hmm, shall we talk about that next time?’
‘No, I do not want! Master always avoids things like that?’

Noah Genesis, known as the ‘Witch of Creation’, smiled embarrassedly.
She was also a kind and caring mother to her daughter, Keter Genesis, who was her apprentice witch.

‘My daughter. ‘Then what should I do?’
‘Of course we have to rule over humans. Kings who built stone castles, Eastern feudal lords clad in silk robes, and emperors wearing gold crowns must kneel before their mothers. Because humans are bad. ‘You have to remove the buds in advance.’

After reaching the great heights of the 32nd hierarchy, she gave her daughter a ‘vessel’, and although she used her power to create witches and homunculi, her mother had the power to do so.

Keter remembered how her mother had destroyed an avalanche that had struck her village with a single flick of her finger.

‘What next?’
‘Witches must conquer this world, and humans who rebel against it must be eliminated.’
‘What next? What if people keep protesting?
‘Of course you have to press it with force. Just like humans did in the world my mother lived in.’

Despite young Keter’s sincere advice, his mother just smiled.

‘Sometimes I think you might be right, too.’

She continued as she gently brushed her daughter’s forehead, which was frowning in displeasure.

‘But when people hate each other, the only end is always suffering. I want to believe that there must be a better way.’

Keter shook his head.

‘That is an ideal theory.’
‘As expected, isn’t it? But I didn’t come to this world to become a dictator.’

She was later revered as a being close to god, and although she was a mother who had actually achieved such great feats, at times she seemed more like a girl than Kether.
An innocent girl who cherishes the innocence that everyone would give up as they learn about the world.

‘If you come across a choice in your life that seems like the right answer at a glance, then be alert. We can’t choose the right answer. All you can do is wander and worry and struggle to get closer to the right answer.’
‘Hmph, I’m a witch? ‘A great and outstanding apprentice witch who will carry on her mother’s name.’
‘That’s why it’s even more difficult.’

Of course, you knew that your wish could not be realized even more ideally than in Kether.

He passed away leaving behind various arrangements to prevent the tragedies of the previous world from repeating, such as homunculi, locks, and flooding.

The world my mother left was not easy to live in with only ideals.

Kether had to keep up with her mother’s exploits and lead her scattered witches on her path to prosperity and glory.
Despite her hard work, Kether was ultimately blocked by a wall.

Keter soon made up his mind.

Let’s start again from the beginning.

Dirt and debris were separated and impurities were filtered out.
The crystal of chaos thus filtered became Lilith, and only order and purity remained in Kether.

Thus, the order that Kether carried resembled the ideals of her mother, who snorted inwardly that it was like a girl’s dream from a long time ago.

2.
24 It has been 210 years since the wall of hierarchy was overcome.
Duke Erelim became the 25th rank.

A state where you are not simply modifying the settings of the world, but are yourself reborn as the law of the world.
It was a level that no one except the Witch of Creation and the Duke of Keter could ever overcome.

A lot has changed.

Just as there is only one rank difference between the 19th and 20th rank witches, many things change.
There was a power there that made it ‘classier’ than before.

Also, not much has changed.
What you see when you climb a mountain with difficulty is the repetition of a familiar feeling of distantness that you don’t know how many times it has already been.

The joy of achievement was dim.

From some point on, for Blanche Erelim, the path of magic was no different from the punishment of Sisyphus, where she had to roll a rock over and over again.
The only difference is that when you roll a rock over a mountain, a taller and steeper mountain appears.

We have lived for hundreds of years holding on to that small achievement as comfort.

Is it okay to call it life?

“…”

Erelim pondered her dismay and walked through the garden she missed.
Since Keter went into hiding, she is an ‘ivory tower’ that has never allowed outsiders to enter, but the garden is an exception.

The garden, where green roses bloom beautifully all year round, was designed by Erelim himself in the early days of Gehenna.

Old memories clung to the flower petals and fell helplessly at my feet.

“You would have known.”

The truth of this world has been revealed.

The Witch of Creation, whom all witches look up to, was a fugitive, and those who persecuted her were humankind, as Erelim warned, and even now, the winds of change are blowing at every moment.
Even though I didn’t want to hear the news that two more old witches had joined Hexennacht, I heard it.

Only then did I understand.

Why did Kether, who promised to create a world for witches, treat her humans like fragile artifacts?
And why did Kether, who insisted on the order of Gehenna even to the point of killing her friend, not tell the truth of the world to Erelim, who desperately wanted it?

Keter knew.

A time when no one had matured yet.
A time when order was not ripe.
A time when it was natural for the strong to prey on the weak.

What will happen when the witches find out the truth about the world.

This can be guessed just by looking at what is happening in the real world in real time.

If humans learned of the mystery, the Homunculus’ safety device would be unlocked, so it was hidden.
It was obvious that witches would slaughter humans if they found out the truth about the world, so they hid it.

The Order of Kether was not for witches.
At least in Erelim’s opinion, it was for humans.

Without knowing it, Erelim silently followed her will, suppressing her growing doubts in order to continue the maintenance of Kether.
She protected Gehenna, oppressed witches like her, and protected humans who would one day become her enemies.

A long-standing question has been resolved.

Duke Kether was a traitor.
Blanche felt betrayed by Keter.

If it had been the Erelim of the past, it would have been more outraged than this and even pushed ahead with the war with humans.
It is a path for witches, and they may have rushed into this world and ruled over all humans.

But what I feel now is a sense of betrayal so small that I can’t understand it even to myself.

After much thought, Erelim defined the feeling that was pounding helplessly in her chest as ‘boredom.’
It is a name that has been given to too many emotions.

And no matter how much time passed, an intense emotion that would not fade under the name of boredom came out of her mouth.

“… I miss you.”

She loved Kether.
Not with a heart of craving and affection, but with a heart of respect and admiration.

Therefore, even though she did not completely agree with Kether’s ideals and order, she silently carried out the tasks she left behind.
Because she believed that was the path for witches.

And the moment she realized that the path Erelim had walked was not, in fact, the path for a witch, she lost her way.
That’s probably because the path was suggested by someone else from the beginning.

“Keter I miss you…”

Like a child who was unable to do anything despite gaining the most powerful power in the world, she searches for the one person.

I want you to know.
What should I do now?
Where should I go?

Although Kether has deceived Erelim, deceived the world, and betrayed the witch…

She felt like she could answer.
It seemed like she would convince Erelim of the right reasons.

If so, she felt like she would find some comfort.

At that time.

-Grunt

The barrier is lifted.
A crack appeared in the mysterious barrier that was firmly blocking the Ivory Tower, just large enough for one person, Erelim, to enter.

“…”

Erelim raised her head.
She wiped away her tears and moved on.
To meet Kether.