Children of the Holy Emperor - Chapter 411



Only Noblemtl

411. Head Tower (9)

Powerful visions often come when the mind is at its most defenseless.

The reason why it mostly takes the form of a precognitive dream is because it means that the time spent asleep is when a person’s mental alertness is weak.

When such a shattered mind suddenly encounters a symbol of intense disaster –

Premonitions are like a stealthy, creeping fog that quickly penetrates the mind and soon completely engulfs one’s vision.

* * *

Nod, nod.

Sisley was half asleep.

The girl pricked up her ears to the sound of a wolf howling from afar, but then she looked down again so as not to hurt the feelings of the council member who had volunteered to be her guide.

Perhaps it was because she was a little tired from the enthusiastic relief work that had been going on for several days. The simple scenery of the river flowing along slowly was not very exciting to the young girl.

How long had it been since he had leaned against the side of the boat in such a daze? Sisley felt the waves of the calm Breeze River suddenly start to swell violently.

“… … ?”

What is this?

Sisley looked around in confusion. Just a moment ago, he had been enjoying the peaceful scenery, but at some point, the ship he was on was in the middle of a storm.

The waves were hitting the side of the boat hard. It was so violent that it seemed like it would capsize a small cruise ship.

The opposite bank was not unharmed either. Above the rapidly swollen river, trees swept by the strong wind were swaying as if they would be uprooted at any moment. It was as if all the anger in the world was rushing into this place at once.

Boom! Boom!

In the pitch-black sky, huge dark clouds swirled and ominous thunderstorms erupted.

and-

At the center of all this disaster was the [Tower] of Ambrosia.

“… … !”

The tower, standing alone in the midst of the hellish landscape, seemed like a symbol of all the despair and death this storm would bring.

‘There’s something over there… something scary!’

There was no doubt about it. There was something evil and terrible in that tower. How else could it have caused such foreboding and fear even when one looked at it for a moment?

Wiggle-

At that moment, the shape of the tower that had been standing still began to move slightly.

No, maybe what I thought was standing quietly all this time was just an illusion. If I think about it carefully, wasn’t that tower howling loudly toward the sky all this time?

The sound of the wind howling as if it were tearing apart is actually the desperate scream of the tower.

‘The head.’

Yes. Each stone that forms that wall, if you look closely, is a severed human head. Hundreds of heads, piled high, are covered in red blood and scream loudly toward the sky.

Ah- ah- ah- ah-!

Sisley shuddered.

How can I express all this unrealistic sight in just one word?

“excuse me…….”

The girl said, exhaling helplessly.

“There’s a head over there… …!”

“…what?”

“Brother! Those heads over there are making scary screams… …!”

“Sisley!”

Logan, realizing that his sister’s condition was serious, grabbed the girl’s shoulder and shook her violently.

“What’s wrong all of a sudden? Come to your senses, Sisley!”

Blink.

Only then did Sisley come to his senses and look around.

“…ah?”

The son-in-law fell silent in an instant.

The cool breeze from the river tickles my hair, and the sky, where the sunset is already setting, is clear without a single cloud.

There was no violent storm, no strange screaming tower. All that remained was the tension that still gripped my body and the cold sweat that was dripping down my body.

‘It was a precognitive dream!’

Sisley could feel it intuitively.

This feeling of deep anxiety and fear always comes after having a precognitive dream.

‘And the future is not that far away!’

The closer the dream event was to the actual event and the more it affected Sisley himself, the more intense the memories and emotions the precognitive dream left behind.

What’s more, it’s a nightmare that comes to me vividly even though I have my eyes wide open.

Sisley raised his body, trying to clench his weak fists. He knew what was at the center of this precognitive dream without having to look back at it carefully.

“Head tower.”

“huh?”

“I want to see that tower up close.”

Logan was taken aback by the sudden words and checked Sisley’s condition.

Fortunately, my younger sister seemed to be in good spirits. Her body was still shaking occasionally, but the girl’s eyes looking back at Ambrosius were clear and straight.

“Please, Ambrose, can I climb up the hill where that tower is?”

Ambrosius smiled subtly upon hearing the request, and-

Woohoo-

From far away, a long wolf howl was heard again.

* * *

[The Tower of Ambrosia] is a building that is hardly worthy of being called a landmark.

Although it stands alone on a hill and is quite conspicuous, it is actually less than three stories high and is poorly maintained.

“It’s an old building.”

Logan gave a one-word assessment of the tower, which looked shabby the closer he got.

The tower, made up of stones of different sizes and shapes that were irregularly intertwined, was piled up in a messy manner with no particular style, making it impossible to guess when it was built.

In addition, the mud spread between the stones had cracks here and there, making it look precarious as if it would collapse at any moment if the wind blew.

“Haha. It’s a really unremarkable tower compared to its fame. Was it Mr. Sorbonne? Thanks to the opera written by that playwright, the number of people looking for the tower has increased significantly recently.”

Slowly dragging his still uncomfortable body, Ambrosius continued to give a kind explanation to the siblings.

“In the past, the most famous landmarks in Cyprus were the Council Building and the Citizens’ Circle. But suddenly, a performance became popular, and now this ‘head tower’ has become the most famous place representing Cyprus.”

“okay.”

Logan answered briefly and then asked with some hesitation.

“But like that story, is that really… inside me?”

As in the [Tower of Ambrosia], it asks whether there really is a severed human head inside the tower.

Logan avoided directly mentioning the ‘head’ simply because of the way Sisley had looked earlier. Fortunately, Ambrosius seemed to have understood his question.

“Well, there’s not even a proper entrance to that tower. It’s just a pile of stones with nothing inside.”

“then…….”

“Just a few years ago, a large typhoon caused part of the tower to collapse. According to the workers who were there to repair it, they didn’t see anything like a human skull inside the tower.”

With those words, they walked towards the tower in silence for a while.

As we climbed the hill, time passed quickly, and now the sun had completely set, and a dark mist was descending upon the surroundings.

“Well, isn’t that usually how oral tradition works?”

Ambrose stopped for a moment and continued his explanation, seeming to have difficulty catching his breath.

“The Ambrosia in the story is an ancient person who died before the empire was founded. However, it was during the reign of the Four Great Emperors that the tower began to be properly recorded.”

“Does that mean that the current tower is not the tower in the story?”

“Yes. At least no one here thinks that Ambrosia built it herself.”

Ambrosia of Eleusis.

She is said to have been the princess of Eleusis, an ancient city-state that has now fallen into ruin.

According to the story, at that time Eleusis was in the midst of a war with Helios, and it was there that Ambrosia’s lover tragically lost his life.

East Wind, do not say that you pity him inadvertently. I will call his name Splendid Glory.

Ambrosia, deeply saddened, began to build a tower by collecting the heads of her compatriots, starting with her lover’s, one by one. On this high hill, where Helios could see everything at a glance.

And it is said that the tower eventually became a huge curse, mercilessly sweeping away the soldiers of Helios, the enemy.

“But in reality, it was Eleusis that was destroyed in that war. Helios is one of the few cities that has survived intact from ancient times to the present. What clearer proof could there be that the story is nothing more than fiction?”

As they talked like that, they finally reached the top of the hill. Below the tower, standing alone in the barren, desolate land where not even a single weed grew.

“Well, what do you think? Lord Logan, Lord Sisley. That is the famous Ambrosia Tower. It is so shabby that I am embarrassed to introduce it.”

“… … .”

Logan looked up at the gray tower quietly.

Perhaps it is because it is so dark all around. Each stone that makes up the tower looks terribly eerie, as if it were someone’s tombstone.

‘I said it was just an empty stone tower.’

Even Logan’s keen senses do not particularly detect any signs of magic or curse.

but-

‘Then what could it have been? That vague sense of truth and falsehood that I sometimes felt in Ambrose’s words… ‘

It was at that time that Logan was feeling strangely uneasy and his spirits were on edge.

“Logan, brother.”

Sisley, who had been silent until then, began to walk with a somewhat dazed expression.

“Sisley?”

“I also think that this tower is the head tower of Ambrosia.”

“…what?”

Unlike Logan who was bewildered, Ambrosius’ eyes, which were watching Sisley’s actions intently, flashed with a strong, strange color.

“Are you okay, Sisley? What have you been talking about?”

But despite Logan’s question, the girl slowly walked towards the tower as if possessed by something, muttering.

“This tower probably holds a strong curse.”

“A curse… … .”

“I saw it clearly, brother. It was a sign of the curse that would bring disaster to Cyprus. What was down there was definitely-”

At that moment, as if he had been waiting, Ambrosius interrupted the girl and asked.

“Can you find it?”

Then he hurriedly approached Sisley and asked again, his pace so fast that it was hard to believe he was still suffering from the aftereffects of his injury.

“Could you tell, Sisley? Which was the first cornerstone laid on this land by the one who built the tower long ago?”

“I guess you can tell. It’s over there… … .”

Even though he was staring at all of this, Logan still couldn’t understand what was going on.

But the Sword Master’s keen instincts whisper to him that Sisley’s actions must be stopped immediately.

“Wait, Sisley!”

Logan, who was running so quickly to overtake Ambrosius, reflexively glanced at him and saw an unconcealed joy appear on his face.

“… … ?!”

It was just then.

Cough!

Suddenly, the shadow of a black beast appeared before their eyes.

It was the shadow of a giant wolf, something rarely seen around here.

“… … !”

I didn’t even have time to be surprised by his sudden appearance-

Knock!

In an instant, the beast, which had kicked the ground, rushed straight towards Sisley and Ambrose.

Blame, blame, blame!

“Above, it’s dangerous! Councilor!”

“Come this way!”

The soldiers waiting behind to escort are startled and draw their swords.

However, they could not rush straight towards the dangerous beast, because the Prince of Delcross quickly blocked their path.

“Wait a minute! It’s okay, stop right there!”

For a moment, everyone could not understand the prince’s actions. Right now, that wild beast is running straight towards the saint, what kind of peaceful… …!

“Everyone, put down your weapons. Can’t you clearly see the royal emblem over there?”

After repeated scolding from the prince, the soldiers were barely able to clearly see the wolf’s appearance.

“… … ?”

But, just as he said, the wolf was wearing the splendid royal insignia around his neck like a cloak!

As the surprised soldiers stood still in their tracks, Logan let out a small sigh as he lowered his hand from Arjuna. Perhaps the wolf-dog’s owner had placed a guard around him to ensure the safety of the dog, who was wandering around alone.

Logan, who often used this method for his horse Roxana, was able to identify the wolf as soon as he saw it.

“As you all can see, that dog belongs to the Delcross royal family. It is not dangerous, so you may let your guard down.”

Then-

Boom!

As if responding to those words, the wolf barked briefly at Logan. Then he quickly walked up to Sisley and grabbed the girl by the collar.

Snap!

“uh?”

Sisley suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned his head towards the dog that was hanging there biting his collar.

“… Max?”

Salang-

The wolf-dog’s tail wagged happily, although of course it was still pulling hard at her collar with its snout.

“Max! Are you really Max?”

The little saint’s face slowly brightened into a smile. Before long, the fog that had been hovering over her mind had disappeared without a trace.

When the girl lightly patted the wolf-dog’s head in disbelief, only then did the dog let go of the girl’s collar and answer forcefully.

Boom!

Of course, his body still subtly blocks the gap between Sisley and the head tower.

For a moment, Logan saw a strangely familiar silver-gray light flash across the wolfdog’s eyes.

* * *

“… Ha! Lower your head!”

“huh?”

“Why are you sleeping with your eyes open? Are you meditating right now?”

“uh……?”

At Masain’s call, Seongjin woke up with a start and blinked his eyes. It seemed like he had dozed off as soon as he got into the carriage after leaving the capital.

‘No, that’s not all. What was I doing just now? I was definitely doing something important… … .’

I rubbed my eyes with my hands a few times, but my head didn’t clear up at all, as if it was foggy.

As Sungjin continued to stare blankly, unable to come to his senses, Masain Kyung smiled with pity.

“Are you very tired? I would like to tell you to sleep a little longer, but you really must get up now. Your Majesty. The carriage has arrived at Regina.”

“Regina… … .”

Only then did Seongjin blink and look back at the carriage window.

Indeed, the dazzling cityscape that brightens the darkness like daytime is gradually drawing closer.

Regina was a city that never sleeps, where logistics from all over the continent gathered.