Swordmaster’s Youngest Son

C289 - Fragments of the Past: Silderay (2)

Jin tried to pick up the black bead and the fragment of the giant sword but ended up coughing up blood instead. He was in shock. It was all due to the extreme tension.

Undoubtedly, the Reign of the King of Legends was an excessive technique that had to be used before completing its three phases: initiation, progression, and conclusion.

Chills and pain ran through his spine and spread throughout his body. It was as if furious flames were erupting from his injured organs, and his fractured bones were screaming.

Jin sat in a meditation position and controlled the forces within his body. He calmed the aura that was about to go against the flow and deposited a minimal amount of lightning energy into his empty, illuminated heart.

"Phew."

The pain slowly subsided. He now felt capable of walking and running.

He wasn't sure if he would be able to bring his body to its optimal condition before the Black Knight's assassination began, and he started to worry about it.

But it was a small price to pay for everything he had gained by coming to the tomb.

He met and fought against a progenitor of the Black Knights, experienced a final move lost in time, and caught a glimpse of the untold stories from a thousand years ago. Those stories spoke of a manifested Solderet and those who were the ancestors and roots of the Runcandel Clan.

"No matter what happens there, don't panic. This is what Solderet wanted me to tell you."

Picon Minche wasn't exaggerating when giving this advice along with the location of the tomb. The things Jin experienced in Vaollai and inside Temar's first tomb were, in a way, more shocking than his own rebirth.

"Solderet chose me as his contractor a thousand years ago, although I already suspected it to some extent."

The contractor of a thousand years.

A contractor already decided a thousand years ago.

It reminded him of the day he met Murakan in the Castle of Storms.

"Look. Solderet, is this a joke? This is wrong. Say something. How could the promised contractor who was supposed to come in a thousand years be nothing more than this pitiful child?"

"I am Murakan, the emissary of Solderet, his friend, and the last descendant of the first being shaped from the shadows. In fulfillment of the pact made a thousand years ago, I will be with you from now on. Speak your name."

Murakan wasn't the only one who mentioned something about Jin as the contractor of a thousand years. Klam, the mana god, had also mentioned something similar to Jin, and the same went for Misha.

But Murakan, Misha, and Klam only knew that he was a contractor named a thousand years ago. They didn't seem to know that Solderet had named him by his name at that time.

Solderet had asked Temar not to mention Jin's name to Murakan and Misha in the untold story he observed in the ethereal plane.

"But why?"

Jin had been named a thousand years before his arrival, and everyone who had a deep connection with Solderet already knew it.

Temar had already heard his name from Solderet's mouth. And it seemed the same went for Sir Silderay. Why didn't Solderet tell my name to the guardian dragons and Klam?

Jin couldn't see the reason.

Not even the untold story revealed by the gray orb showed any hint.

If Solderet could prepare these things a thousand years in advance, there must be a reason for hiding my name.

It wasn't just a thousand years.

Solderet had made preparations in the Legends that faded five thousand years ago and in Klam, the forgotten god whose time was closer to the beginning of the universe. All of this, just for Jin.

Even the simplest calculations indicated that Solderet's preparations for him had started long before the beginning of the human race itself.

There must be a reason for it, although it's not something he can figure out at the moment.

It was likely that Solderet had left other clues and messages in other places as well. He could always find out why Solderet had concealed his name once he reached the other clues.

There were other questions occupying Jin's mind and confusing him at the moment.

"Solderet named me his contractor a thousand years ago, but in my past life, he didn't reveal any hint about it when I signed a contract with him."

"Contractor, it seems you sparked envy in someone's heart when you were little. You've been unable to tap into your potential all this time due to a trivial curse. But perhaps it was precisely because of that that I was drawn to you."

"Now, you will become an unparalleled sorcerer, contractor. I will enjoy watching you."

The fact that he already knew and had named Jin before their encounter contradicted what he said back then.

"In fact, Solderet went on to reveal to me that he was a god of the sword and shadows, unlike what was known about him in the world. But he didn't tell me why he abandoned Runcan-."

Suddenly, Jin's heart started beating faster.

He remembered the second untold story he saw in the ethereal plane.

Temar was slowly agonizing in his bed, and Silderay was furious, calling Solderet a traitor.

Traitor.

It was true that Solderet had never sided with the Runcandels after Temar.

He often signed contracts with Magicians, mostly Zipples, which led people to believe he was a god of the Zipples.

"If he had betrayed the Runcandels, what was it for? If he didn't betray us, why did Solderet abandon the Runcandel for a thousand years? To the point of becoming a god of our sworn enemy."

Actions were always based on objectives.

That must hold true for both gods and humans.

The fact that Solderet left the Runcandels, and then returned, chose Jin out of all people, and all the other actions that were difficult to comprehend.

They had to be necessary choices made toward a specific end.

It was very likely that Solderet's divine powers were what brought him back to life upon birth. What did he want to gain from it?

Jin had long stopped asking himself this question, especially since he deemed it irrelevant.

Regardless of the unknown purpose for which Solderet brought him back to life, Jin decided to follow his own desires and will.

As a result, he naturally began to yearn for the throne of the Runcandels and the downfall of the Zipples. The desire to surpass his father and become the greatest martial artist in the world ignited within him.

He never doubted for a second that he could make that future a reality.

At least until today when he caught a glimpse of the ancient tales of the Runcandels in Temar's first tomb.

"The untold story I witnessed in the ethereal plane showed that even Temar himself feared the power of the Zipples. I don't know if Temar lay in bed before or after the war, but what I do know is that he ultimately lost."

Not even the Divine Star Knight who led the greatest swordsman clan in history could break down the walls of the Zipple Clan.

The Tower of Tales, where it was said that three hundred Dragons had gathered, still stood to this day. In comparison, several parts of the Runcandels' history were erased, and they even lost their powers as swordsmen.

The power difference between the two clans was greater now than in the time of Temar's defeat.

"The fact that Sir Silderay mentioned betrayal also bothers me. Temar seemed to have trusted Solderet until the end, but was his trust rewarded?"

Temar had no place in the Runcandel crypts, and not a single history book in the world spared a line for Silderay.

So far, it was safe to say that they hadn't been rewarded for their faith.

There were too many questionable elements about Solderet.

"Alright, that's enough."

Jin halted his train of thought as if he were cutting it with a sword. He felt that the endless anxiety and baseless suspicions would lead nowhere.

At least from what he had seen through the gray orb, there was no clear evidence of Solderet's betrayal. And the two stories were connected in a very unnatural way, like a book missing crucial pages.

The recording device that Solderet had left in the ethereal plane was somewhat damaged. The way it played distorted landscapes and speeches seemed certainly irregular.

In the distorted landscape, there might be decisive evidence about the situation of that era.

"Even if Solderet had truly betrayed the Runcandels, and even if that remained true to this day, there's no reason to be disappointed in him. Temar's defeat is not my defeat. If the Runcandels of that time were stronger than the Runcandels of today, I just have to make the clan surpass their strength after becoming their patriarch."

Solderet, Temar, and the Runcandels of that time; regardless of what had transpired between them, Jin decided to uphold the values he had set for himself, just as he had done until now.

This would be his guiding principle, regardless of the secrets of Solderet and the Runcandels that Jin would discover in the future.

He heard the rustling of grass behind him. Jin turned around and saw Murakan running towards him, his brows furrowed horribly and injuries covering his body.

"Hey! Kid! Are you alright?"

"Ah, yes. I almost forgot about you. Where have you been all this time, Murakan? I wanted to find you right away, but I forgot because I was lost in my thoughts."

"You forgot about me? The great Murakan? Well, boy. Silderay must have really knocked some sense out of you. I didn't expect to hear such bothersome nonsense from you."

"You won't feel so bothered once you hear what I saw there. You'll have to agree with me."

"What was it?"

"I was sucked into another layer of the ethereal plane after the fight with Sir Silderay ended. There, I saw some people from a thousand years ago, through a recording device that Solderet left there."

"A recording device?"

Jin explained the content of the device. It took him some time.

He described the conversation between Solderet and Temar, Silderay's fury, and Diana's consolation.

But Jin omitted the part where Solderet had known Jin's name all along.

It wasn't for any particular reason, except for the fact that as Solderet's contractor, Jin had no reason to go against the will of his god at the moment.

Murakan was completely surprised at first, but soon he listened attentively to Jin's description as he walked down the path of memories.

Everything Jin recounted seemed to correspond to memories that he cherished, whether good or bad.

"But wait a minute. Silderay, that guy. He must have hit his head or something. It was already quite ridiculous when he called me a useless soulless, but how dare he call Solderet a traitor? Well, if only I could kill the dead once again."

"He showed me an amazing secret move. I was tempted to learn it."

"He was quite an impressive guy, at least in terms of his strength as a knight, although I have no idea why he turned out to be such an idiot. In any case, this is left behind after Solderet's ethereal plane shattered, right?"

Murakan pointed to the black beads and the fragment of the giant sword on the ground.

"Yes. It was supposed to be the ingredients for reinforcing Bradamante, so I guess this is it."

"I think it only applies to the fragment of the giant sword. I haven't seen this black bead before either, but it's not something that belongs to a blacksmith. I'm sure of it."

"Really? How can you be so sure if it's the first time you've seen such an object?"

"I'm sure you also perceive that the bead is filled with Shadow Energy. It has the shape of a seal, much like the mirror we obtained in Kollon. It's supposed to be an object made for the purpose of hiding or suppressing something."

"I better show this to Misha."

The mere mention of Misha made Murakan frown.

Jin chuckled at seeing it and summoned Shuri.

"Let's head back for now, Murakan."