Chapter 137
Chapter 137. Weaver of Stars
A dome-shaped structure standing atop a massive spine.
No one knew who built it or why. It simply existed there.
The interior of the building was enormous. And the temperature was completely different from outside.
Inside, it was warm like an artificially created greenhouse.
After setting down the exhausted Bjorn, he collapsed onto the floor as if finally able to breathe again.
While his completely frozen body thawed, Yul looked around.
Perhaps because of the warmth, grass and trees grew abundantly.
Compared to the completely frozen outside, it looked like paradise.
-Come in, and leave the hunter of Yungdheim there.
-Understood.
Following the voice echoing from afar, Yul slowly flew forward. Passing through a door at the end of the lush chamber, he entered an empty space.
It was a black space that gave the illusion of being in the universe, filled with starlight in every direction.
Above and along the walls, it was entirely covered—an endless expanse blanketed in distant stars.
-What do you think?
-It’s well made.
-What a dull reaction. Most who see this place respond more vividly.
-I’ve seen something similar before.
The starlight began to fade, and soon the world was engulfed in darkness.
It was an illusion created by a celestial projector placed within the room—a planetarium.
A magical recreation of an astronomical system.
“I wonder where you’ve seen something like this?”
Step. Step. Step.
What emerged from the darkness was a human woman. Her hair was a pale violet, and her eyes were a deep navy. She wore a ballroom dress.
She seemed to keep her eyes half-open most of the time.
However, while her outward appearance resembled a human, it was immediately clear that something else existed within.
Most of the places where organs should have been were empty. And what filled them instead were constructs made of magic power.
-Artificial organs made of magic power?
“You can see that? Anyway, nice to meet you. I am the Weaver of Stars… or at least I was called that. Now I’m just an ordinary human. Call me Sonyapl.”
-Then are you not the one I was supposed to deliver this item to?
“No. You came to the right person. That belongs to me.”
Yul lifted the crystal orb with Telekinesis and handed it to her. She received it easily with one hand.
“A long time ago, I passed this item to a friend. She went north to receive a sacred spark from the Fire of Creation.”
-Then is Norspelskard’s fiancée your friend?
“That’s right. Though it was a very long time ago.”
-You speak as if you are no longer the Weaver of Stars. Is that true?
“I’ve lost most of that power due to various events. For now, I’m just an ordinary teacher raising a disciple.”
-A disciple?
Yul recalled someone with a similar presence and asked:
-Are you referring to Aelia Invicta?
“Oh my, you know that child?”
-We traveled together once. Somehow, we ended up cutting off the head of a stag god.
When talking with Aelia, she had mentioned her teacher several times, but he never expected to meet her here.
“She must be doing well. Tell me more.”
-She said she would accomplish six achievements. She’s probably completed five by now.
“She’s faster than I expected. Is Piruka doing well? Has he not lifted his curse yet?”
-When I last saw him, he was still a white-furred mouse. Not sure about now.
“Oh, dear.”
The moment Aelia’s whereabouts came up, Sonyapl brightened noticeably and began speaking more actively. By going along with the conversation, Yul seemed to have gained her goodwill.
“Aelia was born with an extraordinary lineage. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s a half-blood between my younger sibling and a human.”
-Then you’re related by blood. What about her parents?
“They’re dead. Living in the Arctic, even the most powerful beings can die from the most absurd causes.”
Sonyapl smiled faintly.
“Since fate brought us together, shall I help you with something? I worked as the Weaver of Stars for quite some time. I’m confident in making just about anything.”
-Ah. Then perhaps.
Thinking she was trustworthy enough, Yul took out a small mistletoe from his bag, along with the World Tree’s star.
“The World Tree.”
-When I got there, the World Tree was completely frozen. It looked like it would collapse any moment. The frost elves died, leaving behind only this single mistletoe.
“Seems like a scheme by White Crux. That one still seems to believe he can leave the Sacred Land. What would you like me to do with it?”
-I’m not sure. I was thinking of absorbing it or turning it into a weapon, but I wanted to see if there was a better option.
At the mention of absorption, Sonyapl widened her eyes.
“Absorb it? You must not do that. Even if you possess divinity, if you underestimate a remnant of the World Tree, it may consume you instead.”
-Do you have a recommendation?
“Turning it into a weapon isn’t a bad idea—if my disciple had brought it. But you don’t seem to need it. You’re already carrying the Divine Light Spire.”
She pointed to the massive weapon floating behind Yul.
“That was once used by an ancient Giant King. According to legend, by continuously spinning that Divine Light Spire and using its centrifugal force, he destroyed an entire solar system.”
-Is that even possible? Then why does the solar system still exist?
“I only heard it as a legend. But if even I, who have lived so long, only know it as a legend… can you imagine how long that weapon has existed?”
That meant the Divine Light Spire had existed since an age almost impossible to measure.
“To hand over something like that… he must have taken a liking to you.”
Yul did feel an inexplicable sense of familiarity with Norspelskard—like recognizing something of the same kind.
“If you don’t turn it into a weapon, you can use it to strengthen your divinity. It’s a better method than absorption.”
-How?
“You happen to have the World Tree’s star as well, don’t you? Then melt that star down and insert it into the World Tree branch. It won’t grow as large as before, but it will form a spirit vein using that karma.”
-Huh.
A spirit vein was like a concentrated point of magic power. The idea that such a thing could be artificially created…
Yul thought about planting the World Tree branch on the Island of Boundaries.
-I want to plant it in my territory.
“Then shall I melt the World Tree’s star for you?”
-Is that possible? You said you lost most of your former power.
“This much is nothing. A star is essentially a condensed form of history. Starfall Weapons forcibly unravel that and reconstruct it with truth, philosophy, conviction, and resolve—but since the World Tree’s star belongs to the World Tree, you just need to transplant it into a new branch.”
The explanation was complicated, but Yul roughly understood.
-So, because their nature is similar, the difficulty is low.
“Exactly. Nice summary.”
Sonyapl received the mistletoe branch and the star from Yul on both palms.
Then she raised her hands and clasped them together as if in prayer. The star and the branch, as though they had never been separate, merged seamlessly and became one in her hands.
“Done!”
-……That looked ridiculously easy.
If something done by an expert looks incredibly easy, it usually means that person is truly skilled.
“If you understand stars and karma, it’s easier than you think. The will of the World Tree doesn’t have conviction layered into it.”
-It’s not something done through logic or calculation. It’d be difficult for me.
More than anything, Yul couldn’t ‘understand’ the process itself.
-I have something I’m curious about, unrelated to the weapon.
“Go ahead, ask.”
-The stars hanging in the sky of Eures Keynes Realm, aren’t they all fake?
“In what sense do you think they’re fake?”
-The real stars are just distant suns, aren’t they?
Sonyapl responded with far more excitement than before, her tone almost exhilarated.
“Wow. It’s been centuries since I’ve heard a truly astronomical question!”
-But in this world, stars fall to the ground. And when they do, they’re small. Why is that?
“There are exactly two reasons. One is the orientation of the stars.”
She unfolded the same planetarium-like magic she had used earlier.
A massive projection of a planet appeared, with the Arctic positioned at the top. She lifted it straight upward from the North Pole.
“This upper region is the space where a new universe will be born at the moment of Creation. So it’s empty.”
-‘Empty’?
“Yes. It’s a state of nothingness. But the sides can contain all sorts of things. So the stars you see there are the real stars you’re talking about.”
Yul looked not at the Arctic, but slightly below it. He could see the continent where eastern kingdoms like Frangia, Britain, and Aragon were gathered.
The stars seen from there were real ‘stars.’
-Then what about the stars seen from the Arctic?
“They’re stars formed by recording our journeys and actions in that empty space. You could call them lumps of karma.”
-Why would karma manifest and rise there? Isn’t karma something that belongs to each individual?
At Yul’s words, Sonyapl puffed her cheeks slightly.
“Someone like you from the Deep King Tribe wouldn’t understand, but normally other races don’t accumulate that much karma!”
-…….
Had he unintentionally been showing off?
“But Eures Keynes Realm is a place where karma accumulates more easily than elsewhere. It’s a place connected to myth. One’s achievements manifest into physical form and become stars in the sky. And those stars grant powerful strength to their owners.”
-Why does it work like that?
“Just think of it as a place with such rules. Also, the altitude where those stars form is relatively low. Though not low enough for you to reach with your flying ability.”
Yul roughly understood. The stars of Eures Keynes Realm were like artificial satellites made of condensed karma, granting power to the beings below.
As for why they formed that way, even Sonyapl didn’t know. And they existed at an altitude Yul couldn’t reach.
-That answers my question, thanks. I should be going now.
“It was fun talking after so long.”
-About that hunter.
“Bjorn? He’ll make his way back just fine. Feed him and let him rest a bit.”
-Really? Seems like he’s been here a few times.
“He didn’t have the nerve to bring my item himself, but he’s come and gone a few times delivering letters with Norspelskard. Be careful of White Crux when leaving the Arctic.”
-I will.
Just as he had entered, Yul left the observatory. Meeting such a skilled artisan as the Weaver of Stars had been quite fortunate.
Now, all that remained was to plant the World Tree branch.
The moment Yul stepped outside, a voice echoed from afar. It was White Crux. After merely observing until now, he finally spoke.
-What are you, a member of the Deep King Tribe?
-What?
-Why are you staying in the Lower Realm instead of participating in the struggle for divine mandate?
-Who knows?
-……I don’t understand. I’ve seen ones who occasionally descend and influence the Lower Realm, but to see one cling to it so persistently…
Though confused, White Crux received no answer. Yul simply left Eures Keynes Realm.
He had expected to be pursued, but it seemed that, like before, White Crux chose only to observe.