Could a guide’s purification be poison to Tither?
Ever since hearing Vetria’s words, this thought had been incessantly circling in Seiyad’s mind. It was an unheard-of notion, and logically didn’t make sense. The guide was Tither’s absolute ally, after all.
Even if their relationship wasn’t good, Tither could only survive with the guide’s abilities. Dying or going berserk from not receiving purification was one thing, but going berserk after receiving it was strange.
However, Seiyad was someone who had experienced the impossible —returning to life by turning back time. Let’s assume everything was unfolding outside the framework of what he knew. There were two things he needed to figure out.
First. Was Aster’s purification actually driving Tither into a frenzy?
Second. If so, why would he want that?
Perhaps this was just a misunderstanding based on a bizarre coincidence. Vetria had only come into contact with Aster once, and even then, the level of purification was weak. On the other hand, Seiyad had been with Aster for a long time and only experienced the rampage state much later. This was still just a suspicion.
Then, if Aster wanted this, or if some other entity was causing Tither’s rampage, what could be the reason? Personal grudge? If not that, then killing Tither was the ultimate suicidal act for anyone living in Solias. The more Tither disappeared, the fewer beings there would be to stop Nir’a.
…Hmm?
‘The beings that can stop Nir’a will disappear… Nir’a, Nir’a…’
Seiyad carefully considered the aftermath of Vetria and Bridehit’s deaths in the past. Nova, who hadn’t reached adulthood, became the head of the family at a young age, and Stella followed suit. Coincidentally, the parent Tithers who had been guiding them were all dead at that time.
Back then, there were only five Tithers who could fight against Nir’a.
Apart from the Tither who inherited the Duke’s title, the only Tither who could help them from their respective families was Zion Shildras’ younger brother. Seiyad’s younger sister didn’t have combat abilities and had disappeared, so she couldn’t be included.
The remaining Tithers in the kingdom resided in the capital and were non-combat types, so until the current Tithers had new offspring, Solias’ safety rested on just those five. So, the current King of Solias must be obsessively training knights, thinking he can no longer rely on Tither. But no matter how much the King wants to increase his power, he can never completely ignore the necessity of Tither.
Five was an excessively small number. Originally, the previous generation of Dukes helped their children and defended the territory together, and their numbers were always kept higher than that. There had never been a time when experienced Tithers died, leaving only the young ones behind. At that time, Seiyad was the only one with the most combat experience.
In that situation, Seiyad died.
Something clicked in his mind. Returning to the terrible memory, Seiyad recalled that Zion’s younger brother was also among the corpses he had killed back then. The image of Zion’s face, crying out for Seiyad to be killed immediately, overlapped in his mind, making his stomach churn. After so, so many people died, only three remained.
In Solias after Seiyad’s death, only three Tithers remained. At the point of Seiyad’s death, there was already no one to guard the vast north. If that happened, then Solias would…
At that moment, a scene flashed through Seiyad’s mind. It was a scene Seiyad had never experienced or witnessed anywhere.
The royal palace was collapsing. There was no moon in the sky, and only the burning palace in the dark night was the light illuminating the surroundings. An enormous darkness, unlike anything he had ever seen, was crawling through the palace where corpses lined the path. The snake-like entity found the person standing alone in the kingdom’s main hall.
Ressas, holding a white sword, its blade white and clean despite being stained with blood, faced the darkness. It was the sword that had killed Seiyad. His expressionless face was filled with sorrow and pain. Seiyad gasped, feeling as if his heart was being torn apart just by looking at him.
The prince extended his sword. As if protecting the dead, he shielded them and confronted the darkness. However, as if mocking his futile efforts, the darkness violently twisted its long body, then opened its massive jaws and lunged at Ressas.
Even though he was facing death, Ressas’s expression wasn’t filled with fear. He was just looking somewhere with endlessly sad and sorrowful eyes.
“Grand Duke?”
Seiyad, who had been standing still, held captive by the unknown memory, flinched and regained his senses at the voice calling him. The strange hallucination that had suddenly attacked him quickly vanished from his memory as soon as he came to his senses. It felt as if someone was swiftly taking away something he shouldn’t have seen.
‘What was that just now?’
With a confused expression, Seiyad tried his best to hold onto the memory. He swore he had never experienced it before, yet there was a sense of déjà vu. It felt as if he had had a similar dream just a while ago.
“Grand Duke.”
The voice drew closer, and his wrist was grabbed. A warm sensation instantly permeated his body. His body trembled slightly. Only then did Seiyad realize that his arm was very cold. He blinked his eyes, finally coming to his senses, and found himself in a secluded garden within the castle. It seemed he had lost his way while returning from the tower.
“What are you doing here?”
Ressas was in the center of the garden, which was completely covered in white snow. Beneath the snow-laden garden trees that drooped their heads, they faced each other. Only now fully back in reality, Seiyad realized that Ressas was holding his wrist. The inner turmoil he had felt while witnessing the bizarre scene calmed down and found peace as soon as he met Ressas.
“I was on my way back to the castle. Your Highness shouldn’t be here alone without any guards.”
At the cold words spoken as the lord of the castle and a Tither, Ressas’s face faintly darkened. Lowering his long eyelashes and looking at Seiyad’s hand, Ressas spoke softly.
“I am not used to being around many people, so I was looking for a quiet place.”
Come to think of it, the castle was said to be in an uproar. As soon as he arrived, he had so much to do that all he heard about it was a brief explanation from Kellaran.
He must be feeling awful.
At least, Seiyad would have been. Humans were always creatures who acted out of necessity, so while this situation seemed natural, the way those who had been mocking or ignoring Ressas until just last week had completely changed their attitude was disgusting in its hypocrisy and contradiction.
“Then you have found a suitable place. No one comes here.”
This garden, where Cecilia and Seiyad often hid from their parents, was not a place people sought out because it was originally secluded and the landscaping wasn’t particularly beautiful. Occasionally, servants would come here for secret trysts, but no one came in the dead of winter. The northern winter was a harsh cold even for the locals, so there was no need to go outside unnecessarily.
“…It seems you come here often.”
Seiyad, who was about to answer, realized that Ressas had been holding his hand the entire time. He had left it as it was because the feeling was pleasant, but once he became aware of it, it felt uncomfortable. Just as he was about to forcefully shake him off, he felt Ressas naturally release the intertwined wavelengths.
It was a more advanced purification method that he hadn’t been able to do even when he came here early in the morning.
“…You’ve become quite skilled in such a short time.”
He asked, surprised and a little puzzled by how quickly he was starting to handle his abilities, and Ressas’s face cautiously brightened.
“Is that so? It seems what I learned today was effective.”
As soon as Seiyad heard the word ‘learned,’ he thought of Zion Shildras. Of course, he must have been involved.
In that instant, he couldn’t help but feel down. No matter how just and kind Zion was, acknowledging him reflexively brought the former Duke Shildras to mind. Even though Seiyad had resolved not to act based on personal feelings anymore, he couldn’t remain calm even when thinking of the one who had driven his parents to their deaths.
Sirkhan Shildras, who had cut his mother’s leg tendons and even spearheaded her execution.
Zion looked excessively like his father, the former Duke Shildras. Sirkhan Shildras, who was even older than Bridehit, was in many ways an ambitious man. Contrary to his kind and elegant appearance, he wanted to expand Tither’s influence even further than it was, and he also knew well how to win the hearts of the people for that purpose.
The south had traditionally done much to gain people’s favor. Starting with enriching their territory, Tithers directly participated in maintaining public order, and by positively highlighting their wonders, they deeply ingrained the impression that Tithers were heroes.
His mother didn’t really go along with Sirkhan’s grand plans. His mother was wary of using Tither’s power for anything other than opposing Nir’a, and she found it bothersome to promote or show off herself. There were many conflicts to begin with. Any undertaking involving Tithers required Brosius’ approval, and many of the things Sirkhan wanted were thwarted by his mother.
His mother’s rampage was a good opportunity for Sirkhan. He had to kill his mother to hide the flaws of Tithers, who had only been seen as heroes, and by undermining Brosius’ authority, who was on the opposing side, he gained the upper hand.
Zion resembled his father. His actions, his appearance, everything… The only difference was that unlike Sirkhan, who had wanted to abandon Ressas, Zion himself had taken care of him.
So, Zion Shildras was a good person, at least to Ressas. Probably to everyone except Seiyad.
Seiyad didn’t want to talk to Ressas about anything related to Zion. However, for Ressas, Zion was a precious friend and someone who would be his future lover. It was impossible to separate the prince from someone so important to him because of his own emotions and grudges.
So, it was better to ignore and avoid it.
“You don’t need to purify this often. It’s a burden even for Your Highness, who is a guide.”
“But I heard that the more Tithers are exposed to it, the more peace it brings them.”
“In that case, it would be better to bestow it upon Zion Shildras rather than me.”
Mentioning Zion’s name, Seiyad brushed off his wrist. The hand that had been gently holding him fell away. At that, Ressas’s neat, dark eyebrows furrowed.
