Wizard of the Deep Sea

TL/ED – Miso

“Let’s confirm a few things first.”

Phantom pulled a chair from somewhere nearby, sat me down, and reclined the backrest as far as it would go, making me feel like a patient about to undergo dental surgery.

“What exactly happened to you? How were you created?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ah, you wouldn’t know. I did everything imaginable trying to create you.”

-Click. He snapped his fingers and lights came on behind us.

The wall wasn’t a wall. It had only been glass stained with shadow.

And beyond that glass, I could see a familiar Current. It was truly the depths of the ocean, complete with fish swimming about.

So the Spire had been built on the Seafloor. They’d even made it possible to observe the outside through glass walls. As I marveled at Crimson Circle’s technological prowess, something strange came into view in that underwater scene.

Things I could hardly believe even while looking at them.

“What is that?”

“As I said, I tried everything.”

Unlike Phantom, who shrugged and answered with perfect calm, the sight before me was anything but something to dismiss lightly.

Among the seaweed swaying in the Current, diving suits were anchored to the ocean floor with iron chains, clanking as they defied their buoyancy and clung to the seabed.

Two, four, eight… When I silently sent out a Current, the relatively lighter seaweed was pushed aside, revealing the full picture.

“Oh, so that’s the power of the Deep Sea!”

“…”

Thousands upon thousands of diving suits fixed to the floor.

If it had been just that, I might have passed it off as some surreal spectacle, but…

Unfortunately, the diving suits were serving their purpose.

Every single one of them contained a person.

Phantom gazed at the horrific scene as if admiring his own handiwork.

“They’d just die if I threw them straight into the Deep Sea, so I had to think it over a bit. What do you think?”

“Where were these people from?”

“Hm? My subjects.”

“…Your subjects?”

“That’s right. I may not look it, but I am the king of a nation.”

Come to think of it, Piercing Blood had told me that all members of Crimson Circle’s Upper Tier were rulers of their own kingdoms.

This wastrel-looking fellow was actually a king, and those people’s only crime had been living under such a ruler. A crime punishable by death.

I forced down the rage rising within me. What was done was done. Not a single person in those diving suits was still alive. This was simply a gruesome mass grave. I didn’t understand why he’d left them there, though.

“So your World also mimics humans?”

“Void told you even that? He must trust you quite a bit.”

Phantom smirked with a satisfied smile and circled around me.

“Anyway, even after doing all this, I couldn’t produce results even close to yours. That’s why I’d written it off as impossible. Then suddenly I hear that a Deep Sea is alive and well? Even coming from Cheon-hwa, it was hard to believe.”

Then he stopped directly behind me.

“Until I saw it with my own eyes, that is.”

“…Was there a reason you tried to create me?”

“I’ll explain from now on. Excuse me for a moment.”

His hand touched my head.

I suppressed the urge to flinch and stayed still, but an unpleasant sensation suddenly washed over me. It felt as if a new sense was being carved into my brain.

“The creatures living in your World are called Deep Sea Creatures, correct?”

“…Yes.”

“Look at the floor where they swim. No matter how faint a Deep Sea may be, shadows are always cast. You should be able to sense them.”

It was true.

From the moment Phantom placed his hand on my head, strange sensations allowed me to perceive the shadow of a jellyfish swimming before my eyes.

“Good. Now show that to me as well. You only need to acknowledge that those shadows exist in this world.”

“I’ll give it a try.”

It wasn’t particularly difficult.

I concentrated and did as Phantom instructed.

“So this is a denizen of the Deep Sea…”

Remarkably, the jellyfish’s shadow was projected directly into the real world.

Phantom watched with rapture as the shadow that had been drifting around the room slipped away and vanished. He nodded with evident satisfaction.

“Good. Remember that sensation. If you do, you’ll be able to summon at least the afterimage of anything from your World to this place. If you wish, you can show anyone the world you inhabit.”

“…Can anything really be accomplished by showing just these shadows?”

“Cheon-hwa is the Priestess. Just by seeing these shadows, she can perceive their true nature. She’ll manage on her own.”

Over the next several minutes, I summoned the shadows of various Deep Sea Creatures into the real world, leaving the floor covered with countless silhouettes.

Phantom observed the floor with interest before clicking his tongue in disappointment.

“I’d love to examine this more thoroughly and hear how you Fell, but Cheon-hwa probably wouldn’t appreciate that. She told me to send you back as soon as we’re done.”

“Are you afraid of Cheon-hwa?”

“I am.”

Phantom admitted it without hesitation.

“False Priestess or not, a Priestess is still a Priestess. I have no desire to go against her word. Besides, we’ll be meeting again soon.”

I absolutely did not want that, but when Phantom showed signs of letting me leave, I quickly rose from my seat. I wanted to escape this space with its horrific view as soon as possible.

But there was still something I hadn’t asked.

“Now that I think of it, there’s something I want to ask.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“What did you mean about whether there are corpses in my Deep Sea?”

“Ah, that?”

Phantom shrugged as if it were nothing.

“Worlds belonging to The Three Evils are so vast that they devour the Fallen.”

“Devour them…?”

“Yes. Literally devour them. That’s why corpses of the Fallen accumulate in the worlds of The Three Evils.”

At those words, the image of Dark Night’s corpse sinking into the Deep Sea suddenly surfaced in my mind.

“…I’ve been killing indiscriminately, but nothing’s accumulated.”

“They only accumulate if you kill those who can enter while your Deep Sea is open.”

“That’s gruesome.”

“It’s not entirely gruesome. There’s a rumor.”

Phantom folded his arms and mused as if in passing.

“They say that if enough corpses accumulate in one of The Three Evils, the World becomes corrupted and transforms.”

“Transforms? You mean there’s a way to escape?”

“Transformation doesn’t only lead to escape. A more accurate description would be that a more terrible Burden is born.”

“Then I shouldn’t let corpses accumulate.”

“…Haha, this is where your inexperience shows.”

He chuckled lightly and offered his advice.

“Abandon the mindset that views Burden as suffering.”

“That’s not a mindset. It’s the truth.”

“It’s not only suffering. You must have noticed by now. Burden is a shackle, and it is ourselves. It is power. It is authority. It is chains.”

Phantom opened a door filled with shadow and saw me off.

“A stronger Burden means a stronger World. You know that better than anyone, Deep Sea.”

As he said this, his face was filled with a thick smile.

“I look forward to the day the world is dyed in your colors. That day will surely come.”

“…Right.”

I replied coldly and stepped into the shadow.

That day would never come, even over my dead body.

***

The Capital of the Empire.

The Imperial Palace.

“…Ugh.”

At its innermost depths, Sharmia opened her eyes.

Seeing that her entire body was drenched in cold sweat, she sighed and sat up.

She hadn’t been lying in bed, but at her desk. As she gazed at the mountain of paperwork still awaiting her attention…

“Ah.”

Her eyes met those of Karos, who had just entered cautiously with a blanket to cover her.

After a moment’s hesitation, Karos cleared her throat and hid the blanket behind her back.

“I’m sorry. Did I sleep too long?”

“No. You only slept for ten minutes. I was actually thinking you should sleep a bit more.”

“How can I sleep when the Empire is in such chaos?”

“Most of the major problems have been resolved. All thanks to Your Highness refusing to give up.”

Karos knew her words were not the slightest bit of flattery.

Shadows had erupted and killed their hosts. All livestock had been slaughtered, and humans faced a similar fate. Amid such circumstances, Sharmia had demonstrated flawless crisis management.

Thanks to her, the catastrophe could be contained at a manageable level, if not perfectly. Once again, it was due to her grace.

But…

‘How many times has she gone back?’

Every time Karos witnessed that near-perfect response…

Every time she saw people who should have died survive, groups that should have been destroyed remain intact…

She couldn’t suppress the anxiety growing in her heart.

How much had the Princess sacrificed, and how much more would she sacrifice?

“There’s still so much to do.”

Sharmia sighed playfully and picked up the documents again.

“Besides, I can’t rest now. There’s a cute kid out there working hard for me somewhere dangerous, you know?”

“I cannot agree that he’s cute. And I doubt he’s working hard for Your Highness’s sake either.”

“…His face is cute, at least. Extremely.”

Sharmia tried to argue but then dropped her pen.

“Ah.”

Her trembling hand couldn’t hold onto it.

Karos watched the pen roll away, then rushed over to pick it up and locked on Sharmia with a fierce look.

It was the greatest act of defiance she could muster.

“You must preserve your health. Please rest immediately.”

“No, it’s not that I’m physically exhausted. I just had a nightmare.”

“…A nightmare?”

“Yes, it’s nothing major.”

Sharmia shrugged and looked out the window at the Capital.

“The other catastrophes aren’t as easy as this one.”

“This was easy?”

“It’s on the easier side, isn’t it? In the end, it can be stopped by doing this and that here.”

“Then… what is this difficult thing you saw in your nightmare?”

“Hmm…”

Sharmia hummed thoughtfully for a moment.

Then she pointed out the window.

“You see this Capital?”

“Yes.”

“It fills with water.”

“Pardon?”

“It just gets submerged. By water that suddenly rushes in. Then there’s nothing anyone can do.”

“W-wait a moment.”

The sheer scale of this catastrophe made Karos clutch her dizzy head.

“Why haven’t you mentioned this before?”

“Because you’d only worry if you knew. But I don’t think I can keep hiding it now that the catastrophe is actually approaching.”

“A flood is coming?”

“Something like that. A tidal wave crashes in and engulfs the Capital.”

“That’s…”

Karos thought for a moment, then looked up at Sharmia as if she’d realized something.

“Isn’t that Jern’s World?”

“It seems similar, right?”

“And right now, Jern is with Crimson Circle.”

“Yes.”

“According to your prophecy, Jern will become one of Crimson Circle’s officers.”

“That’s right.”

“Why didn’t you kill him?!”

“You startled me. You’ll make me go deaf.”

Sharmia grimaced and covered her ears.

“I-I apologize. I just couldn’t understand.”

“It’s fine. And there’s no need to worry about Jern. He’s not the type to betray me.”

“Even if Jern himself doesn’t betray you, he could still be exploited. His mind could be corrupted and he could be controlled…”

“Mm, that could happen.”

“…I truly don’t understand.”

Karos shook her head in denial.

“Why do you trust that boy so much? I understand he has integrity and exceptional ability. But even accounting for that, he’s clearly part of the catastrophe. I cannot comprehend the boundless faith Your Highness shows him. Why do you go so far? When you knew all of this…”

Karos couldn’t believe that someone as brilliant as Sharmia would grant infinite trust simply because someone was useful, especially when there was such a clear connection. The Princess wasn’t that foolish.

“Well, there is a reason for that.”

As if she’d expected this question, Sharmia whispered as though sharing a secret.

Naturally, Karos leaned in and concentrated.

“What is it?”

“Jern promised he wouldn’t betray me.”

“…What?”

“So he won’t defect to Crimson Circle!”

Karos silently picked up the blanket.

“Please sleep.”

“…Ah, okay.”

Before such ironclad will, Sharmia was finally able to get some rest for the first time in a long while.