“Closed-Eyed One?”

[Yes. But how could you possibly... ?]

Sparrow asked again as if he couldn’t understand it at all.

Alon searched through his memory for any information about ‘Closed-Eyed One’— but he shook his head.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall having obtained any such information.

“Could you explain a bit more?”

Alon asked Sparrow for clarification.

[I don’t even know where to begin.]

“Unfortunately, this is the first time I’m hearing the name ‘Closed-Eyed One.’”

After pondering for a moment, Sparrow added,

[Unfortunately, I can’t explain much either. All I know are the achievements of Closed-Eyed One.]

“...Achievements?”

[The one who gave rise to the Black, who devoured the lifespan of the elves, the father of all sins.

Though clearly a mage, he stood with the black forces and sought to bring about the end of the world.]

[That’s what people who lived in that era would say when they spoke of Closed-Eyed One.]

Alon nodded, and Sparrow asked,

[You said your spell’s name was Reverse Heaven, didn’t you?]

“That’s right.”

[...And you created the spell yourself, correct?]

“Yes.”

Another silence settled between them.

As if he were piecing things together in his mind, Sparrow stayed quiet for a long time before finally sighing.

[To be honest, I don’t know.]

“What is it that you don’t know?”

[The fact that you possess both the name Reverse Heaven and the law of Closed-Eyed One— I don’t understand how that’s possible.]

“...Is it really that strange?”

[It is. No, it’s beyond strange.]

“Then what?”

[From a linguistic standpoint, it’s like a paradox. From a rule-based standpoint, it’s something that should be impossible.]

“In what sense?”

Sparrow took a breath before explaining.

[Basically, once a law has been engraved, its name cannot be changed or overridden. If your spell’s name is Reverse Heaven, then the law you use must be the same as that of the primordial mage.]

“I definitely created the law myself, though.”

[Then that means you created the exact same law as the primordial mage. Unless you engraved it identically, you would’ve had to use a different law.]

“...Is that so?”

[That foundational premise is unbreakable. It’s been proven through countless experiments.]

Alon could easily infer what Sparrow was trying to say.

“...So what you’re saying is, if I use Reverse Heaven, then it must follow the primordial mage’s law—and the issue is that law belongs to ‘Closed-Eyed One’?”

[It’s not an issue, per se— I’m just shocked. If what you’re saying is true, then—]

“Then the primordial mage and the one who tried to destroy the world, Closed-Eyed One— are the same person?”

[Yes.]

The same person.

Alon paused, thinking about the conclusion drawn, then casually asked, “What’s the probability they just happened to use a similar spell?”

[As far as I know, that’s impossible. The only conceivable possibility is that the primordial mage and Closed-Eyed One were master and disciple. That would make sense.]

Sparrow let out a deep sigh.

[Of course, there could be something I don’t know. I never reached the pinnacle as a mage. If you asked someone else, you might be able to get help. There might be a method I’m unaware of.]

Naturally, Alon thought of Kylrus.

[Anyway, aside from that, there’s something else I personally find curious.]

“What is it?”

[The fact that you obtained a law of the Ancient.]

“...A law of the Ancient?”

[You already know how a mage engraves a law, don’t you?]

“Yes.”

[Have you ever wondered why so many mages choose to become disciples instead of creating their own laws?]

Alon thought for a moment and answered,

“Isn’t it because creating laws is difficult?”

[That’s part of it, but the more fundamental reason is that it requires an exponentially greater amount of faith to create the law one desires.]

“So you’re saying the amount of faith needed depends on the kind of law?”

[Yes, that’s also why the number of mages hasn’t grown very much. And to engrave the law you possess, you would need the faith of the greatest god in Kalgunius, ‘The One Who Watches From Above.’ Actually, I’m not even sure that would be enough.]

“...It’s to that extent?”

[That’s why I said it’s curious.]

Alon recalled the time he first created his law.

Indeed, he had gathered faith from many different races, but it hadn’t seemed that extreme.

[Anyway, that’s all I can tell you.]

Alon reorganized the information Sparrow had given him in his mind.

***

In the Wasteland between the Allied Kingdom and the Empire.

There, where no one was supposed to be, were the elves—

“P-Please spare me~!”

And the lizardmen.

At a cliff in the barren wasteland, the last executive of the Black Hand pleaded desperately for his life.

Elven warrior Rim and lizardman Kabu drove an axe and a sword side by side into the man’s chest.

“F-Finally—”

“We killed them all...!”

They embraced each other reflexively, shouting in triumph.

With that, the Black Hand was fully eradicated.

The air was filled with the heat of victory.

The two, still locked in a tight hug—

“L-Let go of me, you lizard!”

“W-What the hell! You’re the one who hugged me first!”

—Suddenly pushed each other away, flustered.

The awkward moment when their eyes met, both of them fell into a strange sense of disillusionment.

After all, Rim and Kabu were originally supposed to be guarding Marquis Palatio.

So why were they here—

Or to be exact, why were the elf guard unit and the lizardman guard unit in this place?

It was all because of the Black Hand, the organization that had dared to target Alon when he passed through Terea.

...In truth, neither the elves nor the lizardmen needed to go this far to take down the Black Hand.

But the force that drove them to act so fiercely, was pure rivalry.

A rivalry to prove—objectively—that they were more helpful than the other.

At first, the elves and lizardmen cooperated to swiftly dismantle the Black Hand.

But unfortunately, as the extermination went on, they ended up contributing equally.

That meant neither side gained the upper hand.

So they didn’t stop there, and tried to settle it by chasing down the last remnants of the Black Hand.

Driven by a singular desire to win this “battle.”

And the result— was exactly this.

Elf Rim and lizardman Kabu glared at each other with bloodshot eyes.

Looking absolutely filthy, a testament to their relentless effort to prove themselves more useful than the other.

And it wasn’t just the two of them.

The rest of the escort troops glaring at each other looked like homeless vagabonds.

If this scene were in the middle of the capital city, any passing citizen would’ve thought, “Oh, beggars fighting over turf again.”

But the bigger problem was— that the final remnant had been slain by both Rim and Kabu at the same time.

In other words, they still couldn’t determine who was superior.

So now the two were simply staring at each other in existential defeat.

And after a while—

“...Let’s head back.”

“Yeah.”

Neither the elves nor the lizardmen hesitated to start walking.

Not out of rivalry or competitive spirit, but from a strange sense of kinship.

After more than half a year, when they finally crossed back over the border after thoroughly taking down the Black Hand, they were given a report.

“...Primordial Elf died and came back to life and was then crowned king of the elves?”

“A close friend died and came back to life and rose to the same level as the Great One?”

It was such a surreal report that they couldn’t follow the story.

“????”

“????”

The elves and lizardmen who had spent nearly half a year isolated at the border wore expressions filled with bizarre confusion.

####

A few weeks later.

Alon arrived at the Marquis' estate for the first time in ages, and paused without realizing it.

While he was gone, the Marquis' territory had developed so much it was almost unrecognizable.

‘...Isn’t this practically at Terea’s level?’

Seeing the state of the territory, Alon couldn’t help but think so.

Of course, it was still lacking in many ways compared to Terea, but that only made the progress more impressive.

A faint, satisfied smile formed on Alon’s lips.

“So I’m finally home.”

“Yes, it’s home.”

After arriving at the Marquis' mansion, Alon handled only the most basic tasks and then immediately took a rest.

A mountain of absurdly high-stacked paperwork awaited him in the office, along with Alexion, who looked like he had a lot to say.

But Alon decided to deal with that the next day.

After taking a full day of rest for the first time in a while, Alon spent the following day getting a rough grasp of the mansion’s current affairs.

First, he learned that Penia had gone to the Mage Tower and hadn’t yet returned.

Just as Alon was thinking he might postpone dealing with paperwork until she came back—

“...Um, Marquis.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“You have a guest.”

“A guest?”

“Yes.”

“They insisted on seeing you personally. I was told to let you know that they’re someone from your past.”

“Someone from my past?”

“Yes.”

Evan informed him of the visitor.

Alon paused briefly in thought, then nodded in understanding.

Not long after that, Two people entered the study.

A handsome young man who looked to be just twenty, holding both the features of a boy and a young man,

And a mature-looking woman.

As Alon looked at the unfamiliar visitors in confusion,

The young man’s eyes welled up with tears as he approached Alon.

“Brother...! It’s really been such a long time...!!”

He bowed deeply on the spot.

Momentarily dazed by the unexpected situation,

Alon soon recognized the familiar voice and,

“…Nangwon?”

He uttered the name.

“Yes, it’s me...!”

Nangwon beamed with genuine joy,

While Alon— unlike the image he remembered from Psychedelia— looked at the now beautiful youth and thought, ‘What on earth...?’

A flurry of question marks swirled over his head.