LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 58
Altar.
A tower built from a pile of sandalwood.
On top, flames blazed as if they were a signal fire, lighting the shrine with a flickering glow amid the thick smoke like a lighthouse.
The smoky leaves draped over the dark shrine, burning in the sky instead of the moon, casting light and warmth. The fire danced on its own without a breeze, and the shadows, linked to those movements, clung to the shrine, shifting in shape and length, performing a dance.
Festival.
Here, now, a festival of fire and shadow was taking place.
Jinseong quietly watched the dance of the shadows.
The shadows moved as if they were thrilled and unsure of what to do, swaying and dancing cheerfully. The legs seemed stuck, unwilling to leave that place, but they constantly shifted in length and width, reminiscent of joy and excitement.
They seemed just like evil spirits who were too delighted to contain their exhilaration.
Jinseong turned his head and looked at Rise.
Rise was slightly trembling, perhaps shocked by what had just happened, but she clung to him like a pillar, gazing solely at him, trying to overcome her fear. Feeling anxious, she repeatedly fiddled with her smartphone, the strap hanging on her finger like a ring.
Jinseong looked at the mercenaries.
The mercenaries seemed to find this scene amazing, their mouths slightly agape in admiration.
Particularly, the bartender gazed intensely at the flames from the altar made of sandalwood, as if captivated, yet strangely wore a serious expression as if recalling something from the past.
Meanwhile, the mercenary captain sat atop a firmly bound Yoshiaki, looking down at the dance of shadows with a smirk, his expression filled with a bizarre sense of lethargy and madness.
Jinseong took a memo pad and pen from his pocket, scribbled something, and tossed it to the mercenary.
“The Kishimoto Clan participated in the Pacific War as military chaplains. They took part under the protection of eight million gods to safeguard soldiers and achieve victory in war, distributing countless spoils. However, fearing the repercussions after Japan’s defeat and being charged as a Class-C war criminal, they hid the spoils away somewhere, slowly extracting bits and pieces to convert into wealth without drawing attention.
I need information about the undisposed spoils and their locations, even by any rough means. If you acquire it, 30% of any gold bars, currency, jewels, or government bonds obtained will go to you. But do not kill anyone. Can you do it?”
The mercenary chuckled softly as he read the note Jinseong threw.
That laughter spoke of confidence, as if to say, “You worry about such trivial matters?”
He dipped the tactical pen in the blood flowing from Kishimoto and wrote on the back of the memo, tossing it into the air. The note floated safely to Jinseong as if guided by his intent.
“As soon as the sound returns, I’ll share every piece of information.”
Jinseong nodded, as if to affirm his trust in the response delivered.
He then sent notes to the other mercenaries, instructing them to thoroughly restrain and surveil the warrior.
Thus, the mercenaries scattered, each receiving their tasks.
The mercenary captain and two other mercenaries dragged Yoshiaki’s hair to a secluded spot.
The rest moved toward the subdued warrior.
And amid this, Rise looked at Jinseong with a slightly puzzled expression.
Though communicating via notes wasn’t strange since no sound could be heard, Jinseong, as the overseer of the magic ritual, was the only one who could speak. If he wanted to give commands, it would have been much easier to simply talk.
Why was Jinseong choosing not to speak? That question couldn’t be helped.
But did Jinseong perhaps sense Rise’s doubt?
He erased any question lingering in her mind.
Not just released it, but completely obliterated it.
Right in front of Rise, he began to remove his clothes.
Jinseong stripped off his upper garment, as if he didn’t care if anyone else saw, making Rise stifle a silent scream, her hands covering her face. But Jinseong merely stole a glance at her reaction and did not stop; before long, he tossed away his pants and undergarments, revealing his complete nudity.
Now naked, Jinseong slowly walked toward the altar.
As he walked, items began to float in the air behind him.
He approached the altar with a solemn heart, mouth tightly shut.
One by one, he cast the floating items into the fire.
Coins flew in.
Lumps of clay followed.
Bunches of herbs joined as well.
Only after that did Jinseong finally open his long-sealed mouth, unleashing his voice. It wasn’t just speaking; it was a powerful declaration that resonated throughout the silent shrine.
“O fire of wisdom! O flower of purification! Illuminate me with light!”
He cried out, bowing towards the flames.
Even while he bowed, something continued to enter the fire.
Clean water was poured in.
High-quality milk was drizzled.
Yet even with the liquids being offered, the flames did not diminish; instead, their light brightened and blazed even more fiercely.
“I must think, yet I find myself thinking of what I should not.”
Once risen, Jinseong stood right in front of the furious flames, knowing full well they could consume him.
“I must speak, yet I remain silent.”
There was fear in Jinseong’s gaze.
“Actions required of me remain undone.”
But instead, pure innocence filled his eyes.
“That which I should not think of has been pondered.”
So pure that it could be called madness, that kind of emotion surged within him.
“I have spoken what I should not, and acted when I ought not!”
He poured oil over himself, staring intently into the blazing flames.
This was not for adornment; it was oil meant to ignite something.
“Forgive me for all of it!”
As Jinseong’s prayer came to an end, the color of the flames changed.
The clear flames that had shone bright before now appeared unreal, almost exaggerated in color. It felt like colors from a painting leapt into reality, vivid to the point of dissonance.
Especially as the flames of sandalwood blazed fiercely without producing a trace of smoke, the sense of unreality intensified.
“Purifying fire. Sacred. The sacred flames of Zoroastrianism.”
However, rather than feel dissonance in front of the flames, Jinseong thought differently.
He recalled the end he faced before his return.
The moment he had sacrificed his own flesh in a mysterious ritual and was consumed by flames.
What had he regretted? What had he desired? What had he craved?
Jinseong had regretted it then.
He regretted not being able to further master the magic, not being able to deepen his understanding of it, and not transcending through magic.
Even as his body grew closer to death than life, even until the moment death loomed right before him, his only thoughts were of the magic that had once entranced him.
He desired it.
Only magic.
That was his only wish.
Thus he craved and craved.
Even when he could hardly make a sound, when breathing had become a torment, he longed solely for magic, for the world that lay at the end of transcendence through it.
As bright as a radiant star.
He desired to become such an existence.
“Integrity, energy, spirit.”
He hadn’t achieved it before his return.
The body broken by magic had shattered the soul.
The soul fractured by pain had torn apart the body.
What good was a sound mind?
Therefore, Jinseong after returning wished to strengthen his body.
He wanted to bolster his body to prevent his soul from breaking down as it had before.
For that, he did not hesitate to enchant and captivate the powers of Japan, aiming to wield their authority and reach a place where he could enhance his body.
That thought remained unchanged.
Jinseong desperately wanted and needed to receive body enhancements.
Only then would he avoid repeating the errors of his previous life.
But would merely strengthening his body solve the problem?
Although the body was the origin of the trouble, it wasn’t solely the body that had led to Jinseong’s demise.
Both body and soul had broken together.
Then, both the body and soul needed to be strengthened.
The body through enhancement.
The soul through….
“Consciousness.”
Fortunately, he was somewhat lucky.
Japan was brimming with energy, and there existed countless souls and baek without will.
He could obtain all the precious materials he needed through the power holders.
Locations free of defilement could be easily seized.
The conditions for igniting the ‘sacred fire,’ the object of Zoroastrian worship, were more than sufficient.
Now, all that remained was resolve.
“Only purity will illuminate wisdom!”
Jinseong leapt into the fire.
The final, fiery light among the six sacred lights of Zoroastrianism.
Jinseong became a living torch symbolizing fire.