Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint - Chapter 614



The Floating Castle The Floating Castle

The capital of the Magic Federation, the floating castle, is as elegant as the moon floating in the endless sky. The castle in the sky, which quietly and gently crosses the sky, is the capital and symbol of the Magic Federation. The incredible magic that elevated a city to the constellation in the sky shows how powerful and great the Magic Federation is.

The Umin, who crawl on the ground, look up to the sky and yearn for a floating castle. Only magicians are qualified to climb to the floating castle. That is why the Umin desperately give birth to children and teach them magic. That is the only way to rise in status.

It is said that water and people gather in low places. That is simply because the law of gravity pulls all things downward. Floating, which overturns the law of gravity itself, was a golden abode where the highest knowledge and power gathered.

And I was falling… aiming for that kind of wealth.

“Eww!”

My scream echoes through the air. The harsh wind tore at my body mercilessly. It would be normal for the speed to slow down, but instead, it only gets faster.

Reverse Gravity. This magic, which is considered difficult even among white magic, reverses the direction of gravity applied to the caster.

Simply put, it is a magic that makes you fall to the other side of the ground.

Then won’t you be able to escape from this world?

That’s right. There is no ground to step on in the sky, so you will continue to rise forever without crashing into anything. If you run out of magic power in the middle, it’s a problem, but if you don’t, it’s even more of a problem. You will be thrown into the vast void of space, and you won’t even be able to build a corpse.

That’s why reverse gravity is considered to be an extremely difficult and impractical magic that is close to a curse.

However, there is no magic like this to reach the floating castle at the end of the sky.

“The floating castles are floating all over the Magic Federation. Searching for floating castles that may be anywhere using flying magic is a waste of magic and time. The most reasonable path is to go in reverse along the trajectory of the millennium.”

Lancaert explained leisurely and adjusted his direction. Just as a comet streaks across the sky and falls obliquely, the three of us also rose obliquely.

Even as I soared through the clouds, my speed showed no sign of slowing down. The air was getting thinner and the wind was getting stronger. I was out of breath and spoke in a gasp.

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“Barb, the wind is so strong!”

“What? I can’t hear you very well. If you have anything to say, save it. We’ll talk about it when we get to the floating castle.”

“No, that’s not it. It’s just that the wind is strong!”

However, my voice was buried in the strong wind, unable to keep up with the one ahead of me, Lancaart. Lancaart didn’t take any special measures, perhaps believing that I would be fine even in such an extreme situation.

Here’s the problem. Lankart is a wizard. He’s a wizard who has mastered both white and black magic, as well as the unique magic. He’s quicker at counting the impossible than the possible. Even when he’s caught in the strong winds, he maintains his composure.

And, Lancaart has no doubt that he is also in a similar state to me, whom he has acknowledged. No matter what hardships come, he is convinced that if it is a problem that he can solve, he too will overcome it.

So that’s why you pushed me into the abyss. Ah, if I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have insisted on being number one. You just stimulated a strange sense of inferiority.

Ugh. At that time, I was wondering if I should just endure it with my regenerative power.

“Cheongeomgi, a gentle breeze.”

A brief slash passed before my eyes. Shay’s celestial eagle cut through the oncoming wind and caught the air.

Phew. I’m alive. I didn’t know breathing could be so thankful. I felt much more at ease and spoke with my mouth free.

“Wow. Thanks to you, I can live. Thank you, Mr. Shay.”

“… Huh. I didn’t do it specifically for you. I also have to avoid the wind.”

‘I can’t stand seeing you trembling while flying.’

What are you talking about? Your words and thoughts are completely different. You said you didn’t do it for me.

I respect other people’s privacy, but I find it hard to expose lies that are so blatant.

“Hey. You did it for me, right?”

“Huh? You’re mistaken.”

“It was a mistake. Then where did you get that celestial bird? It was wandering around protecting Shay all this time. It just used its power because I was cold.”

“…uh?”

‘Is that so? No. I just, I owe you something, so in return… .’

What the. You didn’t say that on purpose, you just blurted it out without thinking because you were embarrassed? Really. Speaking faster than you think is also a talent. Is it because of the Cheonbankyung?

“I’m not being critical, I’m just saying thank you. I wanted to express my feelings, so it would be a shame if they didn’t get through. Thank you, Shay.”

“… Uh, yeah. Well. If you’re grateful, then I have no reason to refuse. Just hang it up.”

“If it were like before, I wouldn’t have even raised a hand, whether it was cold or not, but I guess we became socialized by hanging out together. I’m deeply moved.”

“Sociality was there from the beginning! It’s just that you weren’t that trustworthy until now!”

That means you are trustworthy now. You are embarrassed and are actually saying something even more embarrassing. It would be a virtue to not point it out here and just let it slide… .

“Hmm? So you’re saying you can trust it now?”

Why? It would be in Shay’s best interest to quickly clear this up before any more misunderstandings arise.

Shay was startled when he realized what he had said.

‘Huh? Is Hughes trustworthy? Not really trustworthy… Kien, Hughes has always helped me. He never betrayed me, even when I was at my weakest. He was my most friendly comrade before and after my regression. He’s trustworthy… right?’

“… Oh, that. I guess so…”

Shayda was not used to hearing or saying strange things. The voice gradually became quieter. I spoke with momentum.

“Is that so? Hoo. I’ve become a trustworthy person to Mr. Shay. This is also very moving. I’ve only heard people say that I’m all talk and no one trusts me.”

“I guess so! It’s okay! If you don’t need it, I’ll just let the breeze go!”

“Huh? I didn’t say I didn’t need it. I said thank you. I said I would be grateful, so why do you keep taking it in a negative light?”

“You keep nagging me!”

“I was just being honest about how I felt. Isn’t it Mr. Shay who’s nitpicking?”

“Be quiet!”

“Abubububububu! Keuk, breath!”

Wait. If you suddenly take off the celestial horn, it’s hard to breathe! No, rather than that. It’s harder to breathe than before? What the hell is going on?

I looked around, clutching my chest as if it was going to burst.

Just a few minutes ago, I saw a dreamy sight of a golden sun shining on a sea of ​​clouds. The land below looked like a toy, so small that it was like looking down at a map, and beyond my eyes, I could see mountain peaks rising through the clouds. It was a strange and beautiful landscape.

But in the brief moment I spent talking to Shay, the scenery had completely changed.

The first thing that changed was the color. Beyond blue, beyond indigo. An empty purple color close to black fills the upper part of the line of sight. No matter how far you fall, no matter how deep you fall, that color never seems to change. An emptiness that will never end even if you fall forever fills the upper part of the line of sight.

When seen from the ground, clouds were also part of the sky, but that was no different from a frog in a well judging the sky. Looking down from this altitude, clouds were more like white clothes gently brushing the ground. Rain and lightning were nothing more than drops of sweat and static electricity. Nature, which had been revered as a blessing from the heavens, seemed so, so insignificant from this altitude.

What on earth is heaven? Can we call it heaven when we see nothing but clouds, rain, and lightning? When we can’t even dare to embrace the round curve of Mother Earth?

What’s more… above our heads, there is still an even longer journey ahead that will not be reached even after eons?

It’s trivial.

It is also said that humans are the lords of all creation.

All we can do is look at the clouds crawling beneath our feet and praise them as the palace of the heavenly gods.

This thin and vain sky, which ended with a brief rise.

And the ignorance of humans who have not reached that end.

Compared to the cold, empty truth, it is insignificant.

“Connection of the trajectory of the millennium. Reverse gravity, Ender.”

Lancart’s muttering reached me through space. After a moment, the magic that had been lifting my body upward ended. Our bodies began to fall again towards the distant Earth Mother.

The Mother Earth’s body was round and smooth, forming a curve. Perhaps that’s why our falling trajectory was also a curve, not a straight line. Perhaps we didn’t know that we were living in a world of curves all the time. Human knowledge was so shallow and fragmentary that we simply accepted it as a straight line.

Now, breathing is not the problem. Shay spread his celestial spheres around the space, and pulled me inside, shouting.

“Hughes! Hold on tight! If you let go, you’ll end up MIA!”

We were following the same trajectory, so I wouldn’t miss it, but I needed the air that the celestial bird provided, so I also grabbed Shay. Meanwhile, our bodies moved along the round horizon, drawing an elliptical trajectory. Was it going up or down? Now, it was hard to tell, and it didn’t mean much.

We were just moving. That was it.

From admiring cosmic vistas, to struggling to hold onto a sliver of air, to falling in ellipses, to escaping gravity and floating through space.

After moving around for a while without even having to distinguish anything.

I found a floating castle poking out between those clouds.

This encounter felt like a miracle. What else could be called a miracle if it weren’t encountering a floating star that was just a dot in such a vast universe?

“Wealth… .”

Even Shay, who had no fear in the world, was overwhelmed and awed by this sight, and his feelings were also deeply understandable.

However, having also read Rankart’s thoughts, I was relatively free from such sentiments. This huge trajectory, which had been mysterious, was also within the realm of understanding.

“We’ve arrived.”

As the floating castle became close enough to be seen with the naked eye, Rankart muttered. I also narrowed my eyebrows and took in the floating castle below.

The floating castle, which is said to have been built by Hwang Geum-gyeong himself, was equally beautiful. The entire city was built on dark, monochromatic stone, and five towers stood tall, forming a pentagram, as if guarding the castle. The intricately intersecting roads looked like a magic circle, and the gold and silver packed tightly between them were dazzling.

The magical castle boasted a mysterious and beautiful majesty, naturally blending into the background of the sky.

And in the middle of the floating castle, a tower that was incomparably huge compared to the five towers came into view. Blue magic light flowed along its surface.

Perhaps that is… Babylon, where the Demon King resides.

Rankart, who was looking at the floating castle gradually approaching, crumpled his expression as if he was annoyed.

“Is it because I changed my trajectory? You’re annoying, Huey, prepare to defend.”

“Huh? Me? Ready to defend? How?”

“I know it roughly.”

It was when Lancart waved his hand.

Five magic towers moved at once. The magic towers, which were aimed straight at us as if they were looking at uninvited guests, began to gather colorful lights. The magic light was condensed so strong that it could be seen even from this far away. The magic towers, which had gathered all their strength, shot light toward us.