Wizard of the Deep Sea

TL/ED – Miso

“First, I’d like to say well done for accomplishing the impossible.”

Clack. Dersia lightly set a teacup down on the table where I sat.

It was less tea and more hot water with the faintest hint of some unidentifiable flower’s fragrance mixed in. But after one sip, I felt my body loosen with a drowsy warmth.

She hadn’t slipped something strange into it, had she? Hiding my suspicious glance, I shook my head.

“I don’t think I could do it again if you asked. I was lucky.”

“Jern, you used everything you’ve built up until now. How could that be luck? Though, hearing the full story… it does seem the road ahead is still dark.”

“…Yes.”

I had learned many things, but the most significant was the Depth of the Deep Sea.

It was far deeper than I’d thought. Hopelessly so. “If I may offer my opinion, continuing to strengthen your Water Barrier is certainly one solution, but in the end, you’d be resisting the Deep Sea with your own world, so there are clear limits. Of course, I don’t mean to belittle you, Jern. It’s simply a matter of scale between an individual’s world and the world where that thing lives.”

Bitter as it was, she was right. The Water Barrier was undeniably my weapon for enduring the Deep Sea. But I myself didn’t possess any outstanding talent. If I hadn’t learned the method of defeating creatures and absorbing their traits, I could never have expanded the Water Barrier this wide, no matter how many lifetimes I spent.

I didn’t even know how to go about trying harder.

As I wore an expression of agreement, she got to the main point.

“That’s precisely why you must dissolve other worlds into it.”

“Hmm.”

Kill the Upper Tier, and let them dissolve into the Deep Sea.

Use their power. That was Dersia’s argument.

But.

“The thing is, the Deep Sea Creatures also awaken those worlds’ abilities, don’t they?”

Consume the Upper Tier’s abilities and use them to descend further.

I understood what she meant. The Puppet world had been a tremendous help, so devouring other worlds to grow stronger would certainly be a good move.

But the Burden of the Deep Sea wasn’t limited to Water Pressure. There were also the Deep Sea Creatures.

Those things could also wield the worlds that had been dissolved into the Deep Sea.

Right now, only one Whale had used that ability, but what if the others started using it too?

…What if that octopus, or the Leviathan, gained the Puppet’s ability?

“Honestly, I’m not confident.”

Descending deeper into the Deep Sea to survive, while making the Deep Sea an even more horrific place in the process.

It was a contradictory proposition. Dersia nodded as though she fully understood.

“I’m aware. Going up against assassins who wield the Upper Tier’s abilities would be impossible.”

“Then…”

“So just don’t go up against them.”

“…Pardon?”

“Jern. You said that for some reason, the Deep Sea Creatures cannot detect you. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s… true. But some of the Deep Sea Creatures can find me.”

“Yes. Unlike the creatures at your current Depth, which have poor cognitive ability, those living deeper down can perceive you in one way or another, if I recall correctly.”

“That’s the problem. If all of them become able to perceive me, Water Pressure will be the least of my worries.”

“Then all the more reason to act now.”

Dersia spoke with passionate conviction.

“Right now, while the surrounding Deep Sea Creatures still haven’t noticed you. Now is the only window. If time passes and you sink deeper, dissolving the Upper Tier’s worlds into the Deep Sea will become nothing but a disadvantage. But not right now. While they still haven’t noticed you, this is the one and only window where you can acquire the Upper Tier’s abilities and have the time to understand them more easily and deeply.”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly easy.”

“Once those threads turn toward you, I imagine you’ll look back and realize how easy things were now.”

“Hmm…”

…Was she right?

As I still felt a twinge of resistance toward releasing other worlds into the Deep Sea, Dersia pulled out several documents.

“And Jern, I think there’s something you’re misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?”

“You were never meant to be in such a torturous state.”

“…What?”

“The reason your Burden has grown so drastically is because the Burden from the future increased sharply. Correct?”

“That’s right.”

“Then how did it follow you all the way back to the past? It was something that happened in the future. Even if you were wounded or killed there, it never happened in the past. So why did your intensified Burden persist even after you returned?”

“Well, that’s…”

I’d been about to answer, but tilted my head in confusion.

It was true. When I returned to the past, everything else had reverted to its original state, yet only the Burden had remained at its grown level, pressing down on me.

…Why?

Seeing that I couldn’t make sense of it, Dersia offered an explanation as though she’d expected as much.

“Jern. Do you believe a world made entirely of a single tree could exist? A world composed of nothing but one enormous tree.”

“I’m not sure what you’re getting at all of a sudden, but… couldn’t it?”

“My kin labored under that delusion, mistaking a merely ancient tree for a world and calling it the World Tree. But yes, let’s assume that’s true. If that World Tree were to catch fire, what do you think would happen?”

“…It would turn to ash, I suppose?”

“And then it would cease to exist as it was. Could you still call it a ‘world’?”

“I’d think not. It wouldn’t be a tree anymore.”

“You could still call it one. You’d simply change the name. The World of Ash, perhaps.”

“…?”

“Jern. Change is natural. In fact, if something doesn’t change, that’s a sign something is wrong. No matter how harsh the winter, spring eventually comes, and even an endlessly raging fire dies down with time. Change is something every world naturally undergoes. If it’s a normal world, that is.”

“Are there abnormal worlds?”

“You already know of one. The Abyss Realm.”

Dersia spoke with gravity.

“A world made of a single tree would change easily. But if that tree were an enormous forest, a landmass-sized expanse, the story changes entirely. Affecting its fundamental nature is never easy. Like all Abyss Realms, the Deep Sea does not change easily. Past, present, future. Even after you traveled through every era, the Deep Sea was always by your side. That in itself is proof that it wasn’t affected by time in the slightest.”

“That doesn’t sound like good news.”

“It isn’t. No matter how desperately you struggle, no matter how long you endure, the Deep Sea will never change. Jern, you are doomed to repeat an endless, slow fall into fathomless Depth, forever.”

Having said that much, she paused for a moment before arriving at her point.

“But we know of one, and only one, method to alter the unchanging Deep Sea.”

Only then did I realize what she was trying to say, and I slowly nodded.

“…The Upper Tier.”

“Exactly.”

I had once fused the Puppet world into the Deep Sea.

After that, the Deep Sea gained the Puppet’s abilities. The Deep Sea Creatures began using those abilities. For the first time, change had occurred.

By devouring other worlds, the Deep Sea was being transformed.

And the only worlds I could devour were those of the Fallen powerful enough to project their worlds onto the Real World.

The Upper Tier alone.

“But wouldn’t Crimson Circle consider this kind of action extremely dangerous?”

“Yes. If the method to transform the Deep Sea is to devour other Upper Tier members, their reaction would be understandable. I believe that’s precisely the reason Void tried every possible means to lure you in and win you over, and when that failed, resorted to any method necessary to remove you from the board.”

Whether I liked it or not. If devouring the Upper Tier, in the literal sense of the word, was essential to achieving change…

Then I could understand why Crimson Circle had tried to coax me with extraordinary treatment, and when that failed, had intervened in my Regressions to ensure I was killed no matter what.

The Deep Sea held the potential to reduce the Puppet, Decay, Lump, Dark Veil, Void, Cheon-hwa…

All of them to nothing more than debris drifting in a vast sea.

By my very existence, I was someone Crimson Circle had no choice but to love, hate, and fear all at once.

“So all those Drowned Corpses were ultimately needed for the Deep Sea alone.”

The reason Crimson Circle had gone to such lengths to drown every wizard they killed.

For the Deep Sea, or more precisely, to create the Ocean.

I’d simply thought they wanted powerful allies when they pursued The Three Evils. I never imagined they were sharpening the only blade capable of piercing their own hearts.

Knowing this, it certainly explained why Void had been so desperate to bring me along, even going so far as to show me everything, and why, when that failed, he’d grown disappointed and tried to finish things in the past entirely.

‘So that’s what was behind the special treatment…’

As I mulled it over, I noticed Dersia with the faintest upward curl of her lips and let out a sigh.

“You’d been thinking about this from the very beginning, hadn’t you.”

“If you cannot overcome the Deep Sea, then changing the world’s name to something else is the only recourse. I merely arrived at a rational conclusion.”

Blending other worlds into the Deep Sea. In the process, sealing away all the Upper Tier.

Preventing those dreadful beings from ever appearing in this world again.

And surviving while doing it. Even if I wasn’t sure it would truly help, it was undeniably the sole means of bringing about change.

I turned it over several times, and it was a fairly good deal.

The lingering feeling that it might not be right to hand such abilities to the Deep Sea Creatures still remained.

“…Let’s give it a try.”

But in the end, I steeled my resolve.

Just as I wanted to escape this godforsaken Deep Sea, I also had to keep Crimson Circle in check.

I hadn’t fought my way out of one hell only to find the world had turned into another.

Dersia, as if she’d known I would decide this way, unfolded a list she’d already prepared.

“Then let’s begin immediately. We don’t have an abundance of time.”

…As if she’d known all along what decision I would make.

Written on it were the names of the Upper Tier members I’d shared with her, combined with accounts from knights who’d faced them directly and information from scouts who’d observed from afar, all compiled into remarkably detailed entries.

The faces were all blacked out with ink, but each time I read a name, their deeds and faces surfaced instantly in my mind. It was remarkable that every single one was an unpleasant memory.

Dersia took a seat beside me and began flipping through them one by one, asking questions.

“How do you think the Puppet can be utilized in the Deep Sea?”

“It still needs to be developed further, but as things stand, it seems useful in almost every way. Being able to control the Deep Sea Creatures has incredibly high utility.”

“I thought as much. Then what ability do you think you need next?”

“…Decay, without a doubt.”

I clenched my teeth as I looked at the ink-blackened profile of Decay.

The world of Extreme Ice.

In his vicinity, even my Deep Sea froze razor-sharp.

Which meant he could actually freeze water.

But that ability was trivial in comparison.

“You already know about Decay’s true ability, don’t you? You’ve fought him several times.”

Thought Deceleration.

The slowing of thought. When counting from one second to ten, the target would feel as though an hour had passed.

Karos had broken through it at an absurd speed. But that was only because Decay had been trying not to reveal himself.

If he had stepped forward and fought with full intent… her chances of winning would have been quite low.

With an ability that could freeze even thought itself, no Deep Sea Creature, no matter how massive, could stand against it.

“But by the same token, I have absolutely no idea how to counter it.”

“…”

“Dersia-nim, how did you deal with it? No, more importantly, why didn’t you tell me about it?”

I asked out of simple curiosity.

“If he had such a monstrous ability, you could have mentioned it to me. Was there some reason you had to keep it hidden?”

“Hmm, Jern…”

Dersia wore a rare expression of confusion, her ears twitching.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“What?”

“I understand that we need to take down Decay. But what is this… Thought Deceleration?”

“…?”

Our understandings didn’t align, so we held each other’s gaze for a moment before Dersia spoke first, describing the Decay she knew.

“In my memory, Decay never used such an ability. He can decelerate a target’s thinking? Is something like that actually possible?”

“No, wait a moment.”

I furrowed my brow and shook my head.

No matter how strong Decay was, there was no way he could have fought Dersia with nothing but a freezing ability.

He must have used Thought Deceleration. If he hadn’t, that was an even bigger problem. It would mean he was hiding an ability far more terrifying.

“You didn’t feel your thoughts slowing down at all? Then how did you fight him?”

“After the first encounter, I sensed something was off…”

Dersia rubbed her chin and sank into thought.

And then she stopped. For a full five minutes.

“…Yes, something is definitely wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t remember.”

“What?”

“This is troubling… Jern.”

Dersia pressed her hand to her head as if she had a genuine headache.

“The Thought Deceleration you’re describing doesn’t seem to be Decay’s true ability. It’s merely a byproduct.”

“Then what is it?”

She uttered something shocking.

“It seems that Decay possesses the ability to freeze a target’s mind entirely.”