Paladin of the Dead God
chapter-126

Chapter 126. The Ancient Future (2)

“First, I need to figure out where I am.”

Isaac looked around. Because the Drowned King had become the ‘gate’ to the afterlife, it seemed that the coordinates were set based on his body when returning. It appeared that Isaac had returned while the Drowned King’s corpse, which had drifted here and there in the ocean currents, was stranded and decaying on the beach.

It would have been quite troublesome if he had returned to the middle of the sea, so it was fortunate in a way, but the situation was still problematic.

The air was cold, and the waves were rough.

Judging by the vegetation, there were many tall conifers that usually grow in the north. Fortunately, it seemed that Isaac had not yet left the North Sea near the port of Norden from where he had departed.

“If I’m lucky, I might have returned to the coast near the port of Norden, but if I’m unlucky, I could be near Elil or Kilmar, where the World’s Forge is located.”

Both were faiths belonging to the White Empire, so they wouldn’t kill or spare him, but he could still be held for a long time. Now that he knew the identity of Urbansus, he didn’t want to waste time like that.

Isaac concentrated his will and sent it towards his followers, who were scattered around carrying out their own missions.

Hesabel, who was working on matters related to the Red Chalice; Zihilrat, who was tasked with finding the retreat of an ancient god; and Kyle, who was managing the territory of Issacrea, all quickly responded.

The first to send their will was Hesabel.

“You’ve returned!”

“Yes. But I still don’t know where I am. Can you gauge my location?”

“I’m not sure, other than it’s in the north.”

Hesabel showed loyalty as if she would rush over immediately if called, but she was unlikely to be of help. After all, she was a perfect inland country person who found the concepts of fish and boats foreign. Isaac asked Hesabel to send a message to the Salt Council to search in the direction he was in. However, Hesabel gave an unexpected answer.

“There’s no need for that.”

“Why? Are you trying to drown me in this sea?”

“What? No, I mean… The Salt Council is already searching for you, Lord Isaac. They must be heading towards where you already are.”

Isaac was about to ask how the Salt Council could find him when he suddenly realized he was holding something in his right hand. He had been clutching it so tightly that he hadn’t even realized he had it.

“…!”

It was the object that the Drowned King, no, Urbansus, had handed over to Isaac at the last moment.

Then, he saw a boat starting to come ashore on one side of the beach.

Following that single boat, a line of boats that had been thoroughly searching along the coast came in one after another. Isaac spotted a man who seemed to be hanging onto the bow.

Eidan, who made eye contact with Isaac, waved his hand with joy.

***

The island where Isaac was located turned out to be an uninhabited island in the northern Svalbard archipelago. The Svalbard archipelago was under the influence of the World’s Forge sect, part of the Arl tribal alliance.

Fortunately, there were no encounters with the patrol boats or guards filled with those furry beasts. It was thanks to the Salt Council, who had cunningly hidden and searched for Isaac.

At the moment the Drowned King died, the priests of the Salt Council all felt a connection to the afterlife. They felt the aura of divinity, certainty, and the sanctity of that being.

Afterward, they searched for Isaac for 48 days.

48 days.

That was the time that had passed in reality while Isaac briefly set foot in the afterlife. Isaac felt deep anger at this tremendous waste of time, but considering he would have been bedridden for a while due to the rampage of the tentacle monster, he managed to calm his anger.

The reason they were able to find Isaac immediately upon his return was thanks to a special relic.

“So… you found me with this.”

“Yes, that’s correct!”

Eidan answered vigorously.

“It seems that Lord Isaac would return around the corpse of the Drowned King, so I was waiting nearby. However, the stench was severe, and it would have been troublesome if we encountered the guards of the Arl Alliance, so we were hiding. In the midst of that, this relic reacted and moved, so I immediately returned!”

What Eidan held in his hand was a relic called ‘Homeland of the Drifter,’ which Isaac had once made.

[Homeland of the Drifter (Rare)]

[When seawater is placed in the bottle, the bow of the ship model always points to the place where the seawater was collected.]

It was thought to be an insignificant relic, but strangely, it was pointing towards Isaac. Or more precisely, it was pointing towards another ‘Homeland of the Drifter’ that Isaac had. Eidan began to explain.

“While I was unconscious, it seems I was also sucked into Urbansus. I unintentionally performed a resurrection ritual.”

“You performed a resurrection ritual? Then…”

“Yes. I also have no memory from inside Urbansus, but when I woke up, I was allowed the miracles of a priest. It wasn’t through proper procedures, but… Captain Hyanis and Chairperson Yenkos seemed to have anticipated it to some extent when they were preparing for the Moonwell Ritual.”

In any case, having dipped his feet in and out of the afterlife, Eidan had performed the rites of a priest.

This was an unexpected benefit. Eidan, who believed in and followed Isaac, had gained the status of a priest, surpassing a mere merchant or archaeologist. It even seemed that his power of miracles was much stronger than that of ordinary priests.

“But after returning from Urbansus, the Homeland of the Drifter had strangely changed. The water turned milky white, and the ship, unable to point in one direction, was spinning in circles, tilted towards the sky. Then, at some point, it pointed in one direction. So I followed that direction, and there was Lord Isaac!”

Isaac examined the relic that Eidan held. The color of the water inside resembled the rippling salt desert that Isaac had seen.

“This is water from the afterlife.”

“What?!”

Eidan nearly dropped the relic in shock but managed to hold on to it. He looked at it as if it were a treasure like no other in the world. It was an object that proved the afterlife, which had been disconnected for nearly a thousand years. It could not be neglected.

Isaac also lifted the Homeland of the Drifter that he had, which was given to him by the Drowned King. It also contained the same water. Isaac remembered the words of Amundalas.

“She said she would send evidence that I am the Dreamer, but she sent something so simple.”

However, Isaac did not overlook it as being simple. There were times when a relic created more dramatic effects with the history and events it contained than its own function.

The most precious relic Isaac had, ‘The Rite of Division,’ was a simple dagger, but after extracting the heart of Elil, it became a magical tool that could tear apart even angels.

Above all, it was hard to think that a relic containing water from the afterlife would be ordinary.

“For now, I don’t know how to use this. Since Amundalas said he would send it down as evidence that I am the Dreamer, it must be useful somewhere. First, let’s get off this island…”

At that moment, Isaac saw Eidan looking at him with an expression as if his eyes were about to pop out.

“Wait, before that, Amundalas? Who is that? An unknown angel? And the Dreamer? What do you mean by that? Please explain in detail, Lord Isaac!”

***

Isaac shook off the annoyingly clinging Eidan and entered the cabin.

Eidan could be explained to, but Isaac strongly felt the premonition that he would have to repeat the same explanation when he met council captains like Hyanis or Yenkos later. In any case, Isaac had to stop by the port of Norden again before returning.

“Bring me some paper and a pen.”

Isaac received paper and a pen from a crew member assigned to run errands and began to draw.

The priests of the Salt Council would ask Isaac what Urbansus was like, whether out of their scholarly curiosity or their thirsty faith. But apart from their curiosity, Isaac also felt the need to organize his own memories.

“Urbansus will be deeply involved with me one way or another in the future.”

Isaac began to draw and record the landscape of Urbansus as he remembered it.

The salt desert was only a tiny part of Urbansus.

The first structure that caught his eye was the pyramid.

The pyramid felt so massive that it seemed unreal.

Like everything else in Urbansus, it seemed more appropriate to approach it as a concept rather than a physical entity.

Perhaps the pyramid itself was Urbansus.

“And the noticeable places in parts of the pyramid could be considered the afterlives of various faiths.”

Isaac recalled the strange spaces he had seen throughout the pyramid. At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it, but now he realized they bore the characteristics of different faiths.

For example, the red river flowing down the wall could be thought of as the blood overflowing from the Red Chalice.

The crackling flames could represent the World’s Forge, and the space where broken pieces formed an order could be Elil, and so on.

Naturally, the salt desert at the base of the pyramid would be the afterlife of the Salt Council.

The salt desert seemed vast when standing on it, but when viewed from the top of the pyramid, it was as small as a fingernail. Isaac checked several other notable parts of the pyramid, but it was hard to be sure which faiths they specifically represented.

However, it was clear that the sun at the very top symbolized the Codex of Light.

That ‘order’ was repelling the encroaching black masses.

“Then, are these black masses the Immortal Sect?”

But Isaac soon denied it himself. The afterlife of the Immortal Order does not exist in Urbansus. They had brought the afterlife down to earth.

“Then… it’s likely to be the nameless chaos.”

Suddenly, Isaac remembered what Amundalas had said.

“Urbansus only contains the afterlives of nine faiths.”

Not eight, but nine.

That means there is also an afterlife of nameless chaos somewhere in Urbansus.

The afterlife, where the entire congregation that was annihilated 300 years ago might be gathered, could be somewhere in Urbansus. Isaac couldn’t think of any place in the pyramid that might be it.

However, a place that he reluctantly guessed came to mind from the last landscape of Urbansus he had seen.

Not the inside of the pyramid, but the masses eroding from the outside.

Isaac thought that the black masses eroding the surroundings might be the afterlife of the nameless chaos that committed suicide 300 years ago.

As his thoughts became complicated, Isaac stood up and looked down at the drawing he had made. He wasn’t sure how valuable this drawing, which could also be seen as a map of the afterlife, would be, but he wondered if there was much significance in depicting an abstract world in a drawing.

What needed to be clearly defined was Isaac’s path ahead.

“My purpose is to make a great contribution by reclaiming the holy land through my actions in the Dawn Army.”

And thus, to be recognized for his merits, receive accolades, and live well.

It’s a clean-cut goal without much fuss.

However, the interests surrounding it didn’t seem so straightforward. The Codex of Light seeks to reclaim the holy land, and the Immortal Order wants to protect it.

Other minor faiths may cooperate or interfere with this goal depending on their alliances, but ultimately, who becomes the owner of the holy land changes many outcomes.

The faiths complicate Isaac’s purpose.

“That means something important happens because of the holy land.”

It was hard to think that the outcome would be exactly the same as the game. Isaac had seen the game’s ending several times, but the game didn’t show how the world changed after the ending.

In the end, possessing the holy land could be seen as determining some advantage in Urbansus.

Isaac organized his thoughts again before his head got too complicated.

He didn’t come to this world to serve anyone.

Nameless chaos, the Codex of Light, the Immortal Order, and so on… He would take advantage if it benefited him and eliminate it if it hindered him.

He erased the complex relationships from his mind one by one.

All power, angels, faiths, time, and concepts were erased.

Only one thing remained in his mind.

To survive in this world until the end.

“If everyone’s purpose is clear, then it means it’s easy for me to take advantage of, right?”

In other words, his purpose had not changed.