Chapter 249
Even for a noble, Han Siha was still just a nineteen-year-old heir who hadn’t even graduated from the Academy.
Entrusting the future to such a young successor would be a reckless decision for an emperor.
Marcel shouldn’t make that choice.
Moreover, the heir to Castica was no longer needed.
As one of the key contributors to the war, Han Siha’s power had only grown stronger since the conflict, making it politically advantageous to eliminate him.
It could be seen as an expected betrayal—discarding a useful tool once it has served its purpose.
But from an emperor’s standpoint, it was the prudent choice.
Here Han Siha was, practically begging to be killed.
With that subtle, unhinged look in his eyes, it was clear he would cause major trouble if left unchecked.
It would be more surprising not to kill him.
Yet, Marcel made an unexpected decision.
“I have no intention of killing you.”
Han Siha furrowed his brow and looked up.
It was more shocking than a death sentence.
Han Siha gripped the Cube of Sun and Moon that lay before him and asked again.
“Are you serious?”
Marcel nodded with difficulty.
“It could be the worst possible future, or it could be the best. It’s all in your hands.”
There was no other reason.
He simply trusted Han Siha.
“You will certainly try to create the best outcome.”
From the days at the Academy to the post-war times, Marcel had seen Han Siha up close.
Han Siha was not just a loyal subject but a junior who had willingly sacrificed himself to kill Abaddon.
Even if he possessed the overwhelming power to overturn the entire empire,
Marcel believed he wouldn’t use it for evil.
“But there is one variable.”
The imperial family had some knowledge of the Cube.
The red Cube that Han Siha placed down was the Cube of Sun and Moon.
To turn back time, one had to endure ten thousand times that amount of time.
Alone in a void.
Two weeks had passed since that incident.
To turn back two weeks, the price would be ten thousand times that—3,600,000 hours.
More than four centuries.
It’s said to be four hundred years, but that’s an eternity long enough to witness the birth, aging, and death cycle four times over.
Han Siha surely knew this.
Marcel asked in a calm voice.
“Can you endure that time?”
Without losing your mind, as you are now.
Can you endure it like that?
“Can you promise to create the best outcome?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s enough.”
Han Siha nodded calmly.
The Emperor stood up from his seat and walked over.
His footsteps stopped right in front of Han Siha.
“Leave before I change my mind.”
There was noise outside the audience chamber.
It seemed Solia and Lee Han had arrived.
Knowing them, they would surely cause a scene once they found out.
Marcel chuckled softly and added.
“I’m not sure I can keep those two back.”
“…Thank you.”
With those words, Han Siha, resolute, stood up.
* * *
Four hundred years.
It’s not a time that any ordinary human could endure in a timeless void.
I set out to bring back the people who died because of me.
But in the end, I might forget their names as the years drag on.
I might go insane in this self-made prison, turning into a demon even worse than Abaddon.
My life has been a string of reckless choices.
I had chosen wrongly, leading to my and Yoon Haul’s mutual destruction.
I failed to consider the ones who could have survived, sending Adela to her death as well.
This choice now could very well be the worst one yet.
But Marcel, knowing all of this, still respected my decision.
After a week spent lying exhausted, my magic had finally returned.
I could activate the Cube of Sun and Moon with my own power.
—I wish to see His Majesty!
Just as Marcel had predicted, Solia’s voice came from outside the door.
I knew that if I saw their faces now, I would never be able to leave.
Before my resolve wavered,
Yes. Before I falter any further.
I cleared my muddled mind and looked up at Marcel.
His eyes were filled with trust.
The young lord who had been doubted for his ability to fill the late emperor’s shoes.
I now truly believed in him as the rightful emperor.
Marcel nodded at me.
I smiled sadly and spoke.
“Thank you, and I’m sorry.”
With that, I poured my magic into the Cube.
The Cube of Sun and Moon began to glow red,
and a violent surge of magic filled the audience chamber as if it would consume everything.
Just when it seemed like it might explode—
A halo of light swallowed me.
“Han Siha! Han Siha!”
Solia and Lee Han burst through the doors of the audience chamber.
But I was no longer there.
* * *
The Void.
I was now seeing what I had only imagined.
An endless corridor surrounded by white.
A path that would drive anyone mad if they stood there for even a few minutes.
“So, this is it….”
I stood frozen, dazed.
There was truly nothing here.
I hadn’t expected any objects, but this colorless, monotone space didn’t even have shades.
I had no idea how long I had been walking,
or how much further I would have to walk.
Nothing was certain.
But I couldn’t afford to collapse just yet.
I forced myself to walk the path with a calm demeanor.
I then pulled a candle out of my dimensional bag.
With a simple spell, I lit the candle.
“At least this works.”
The flame flickered, sending up a thin wisp of smoke.
I hadn’t lit it because the path was dark.
I just wanted to add a little color to this void.
Because I already felt like I was going insane.
“Four hundred years….”
The pressure felt like it was crushing my chest.
I had only walked for a few minutes, but already, a sense of foreboding crept over me.
I knew I wouldn’t be able to endure four hundred years in this space.
The only consolation I had was that my guess was correct: the dimensional bag still existed in the void.
I slung the bag over my shoulder with a sense of relief.
Before I came here, I had filled the dimensional bag to the brim with every magic tome I could find in my home.
At least I had that.
“I can probably survive for ten years studying.”
Ten years of studying should be manageable.
“And then, another ten years… maybe I’ll work out.”
I’d probably become incredibly strong.
After that,
“Ten years… learning how to cook?”
I might become the empire’s greatest chef.
Though I might run out of ingredients to cook with.
Anyway, from what I know, this place doesn’t require me to eat to survive.
I had just planned out thirty years.
And then… there was nothing.
Suddenly, the realization of just how long four hundred years truly was hit me.
It was an unimaginably long time.
And not in a normal world, but in a place like this—a white, hospital-like space.
My breath felt tight, and I couldn’t afford to suffocate this early on.
I needed to figure out what else I could do besides lighting candles.
Or, maybe it was fine to take my time.
If I ran out of things to do all at once, I might go insane.
“I can use the dimensional bag….”
I mumbled, lost in thought.
I considered various possibilities, and the answer came surprisingly quickly.
The dimensional bag was an artifact bound to me.
So, anything bound to me could manifest here.
If that’s the case…
“The Cubes.”
The Cubes of Sensory and Void, which had been destroyed in the real world.
Ordinarily, they shouldn’t be retrievable.
…As expected, this space defied common sense.
“Wow, this works too?”
I marveled at the two restored Cubes lying before me.
I had reunited with the source of my magic in the void.
I didn’t know what I could do with them, but they would surely be useful.
I stared at the Cubes, muttering to myself.
“Bound objects seem to be summoned together.”
The rounded stones, which looked like ordinary pebbles, sparkled as if responding to my words.
Ah.
I could already see a future where I’d be holding these stones, stroking them for comfort.
“This is driving me insane.”
But I couldn’t lose my mind just yet.
To keep my sanity, I had to think about something else….
Bound. Bound.
So, the Cubes were bound objects, and the dimensional bag was also a bound artifact.
Bound, huh.
I repeated the word and frowned.
A thought suddenly crossed my mind.
“Wait, what?”
It wasn’t just objects that were bound to me.
Just as a chill ran down my spine,
I heard an unfamiliar sound coming from somewhere far away.
“Kwoo….”
A distant voice.
But since there was nothing else in this void, even the faintest noise seemed amplified, echoing in my ears.
No way.
“Basilus?”
I gaped, my mouth hanging open.
Basilus was running toward me from afar.
“Kwooo!”
“Oh… oh my god!”
I thought it was a dream, but pinching my cheek confirmed it was real.
In this hellish void, there was another living being besides me.
Come to think of it, it made sense.
In the Room of Memories, when I was trapped in Katablam within Archant’s rift, Basilus had automatically summoned because he was bound to me.
Anything bound to me would be with me, even in this situation.
It wasn’t a good place for either of us to be, but Basilus, simply because I was here, came running with a joyful smile, looking up at me as if he was ecstatic.
Watching him filled me with guilt,
but a stronger sense of relief washed over me.
“Basilus!”
“Kwooo!”
I hugged him so tightly I thought he might break.
It was a heartwarming reunion.
* * *
Thirty years passed like that.
In the meantime, I had become incredibly smart, incredibly strong, and…
an excellent cook—a perfect magician.
I had become a well-rounded person with no obvious flaws, yet, of course, I didn’t get married.
“That damn fortune teller….”
After thirty years, I’d learned some things.
In the void, one doesn’t age.
You don’t get hurt.
And, of course, you can’t die.
It wasn’t just the human body that regenerated; everything in my dimensional bag, including food, other supplies, and even wooden materials, was restored infinitely through countless tests.
Thanks to that, I had an infinite supply warehouse.
It was the only hopeful aspect of this dreary space.
And I had managed to twist a magic circuit into something resembling a clock.
The tasks I once left to Yoon Haul, I could now do on my own.
I never realized it before,
but it turns out I was a genius at invention too.
Anyway, with that circuit, I was keeping a rough track of time.
Thirty years….
Roughly the same amount of time I had lived before, I spent learning many things.
From herbology, astrology, swordsmanship,
to various fields of white magic and even black magic.
I tirelessly searched for cracks in this space to escape.
I failed.
Maybe if I was trapped here for another three hundred years, I might succeed.
Thirty years of self-improvement time had been given to me,
and while I was running around tirelessly, Basilus wasn’t idle either.
Basilus finally mastered advanced polymorph magic.
Not the weird kind with three eyes.
He could fully transform into a human form and stay comfortably in that state for extended periods.
And the result of that transformation.
With a cute, round face that made you want to pat his head just by looking at him,
red hair and red eyes.
A little boy who looked around six years old.
With a serious expression, he declared,
“Checkmate.”
We were playing chess.