44. Mother’s Eternal Love
It was the Nova planet.
The light zoomed in toward a specific point on the planet. Finally, the Eternal Spire appeared right before Suri’s eyes. Inside the spire were complex spiral passages and intricate traps. A safe route to Altima’s room at the very top floor was marked with a glowing line.
The sword, Memory of Stars, didn’t stop there. It showed the patrol patterns of guards by time period, the operation cycles of security systems, and even the flow of Altima metal. It revealed perfect timing for when to choose which path. Most specially, it showed that there was a moment when the metal became particularly weak around the Altima room.
Altima was a living metal with consciousness. Whenever the Emperor had nightmares, his unstable emotions affected the Altima metal. At those moments, microscopic gaps appeared in the Altima metal, providing the only chance to enter that room.
Suddenly Marblem hugged Suri tightly. They became one huge ball of lightning. Sabi, Maru, and the Thorwaynes also hugged Suri and Marblem who had become a ball of lightning.
The Emperor was in the Eternal Spire, a massive spire in the center of Nova planet. It was 3000m high and a spiral building that narrowed toward the top. The surface was covered with ever-changing Altima metal, and perhaps because it reflected the light of the stars in the sky, it looked like part of the vast universe.
“We’re wanted by the Nova Empire…”
Sabi said in a scared, small voice, but Marblem smiled brightly. “Don’t worry… What’s the worst that could happen? Death?… But I won’t die.”
The Thorwaynes agreed to wait outside the spire.
The children were able to safely reach the front of Altima’s room, the Emperor’s room, by following what the sword, Memory of Stars, had shown them, avoiding traps, guard patrols, and even the timing of security system operations.
The room’s door opened unexpectedly easily. It meant the Emperor was in an unstable state of consciousness. The room was a perfect sphere about 50m in diameter. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all pure Altima metal. According to the Emperor’s emotions, the entire room moved and changed color and form in real-time like a single living organism.
The children slowly walked into the room. About 20m ahead was the great throne. It was a throne made of Altima. The Emperor sat there wearing the Crown Cipher full of holograms.
“Mother…”
The Emperor mumbled like a baby’s babbling.
“No weapon or magic will work. We must persuade him with pure heart itself.”
Suri, having made up his mind, took out the catalog message. From the catalog, he prepared to play the moment when the Emperor’s mother fell from the cliff. And slowly approached the Emperor. At that moment, the Emperor, awakening from his dream, slowly stood up.
“…How anxious must you be to sleep on the throne instead of your bed? Are you that afraid of losing that throne?”
Suri was trembling inside. His opponent was the strongest in the universe, the Emperor of the Nova Empire. The Emperor silently approached Suri. Suri didn’t even have the courage to step back. His whole body was frozen like ice.
Following the Emperor’s hand movements, the Altima room moved. The room was gradually closing in on Suri and the children. From somewhere came a whistling sound. It felt like a giant snake’s tongue was rushing at them.
“Wait…! Give me just 1 minute. You can kill me anytime, right?”
Suri pleaded with all his might. The Emperor stopped the room’s movement again with a hand gesture.
Suri moved close to the Emperor and clicked the catalog message. And showed it to the Emperor.
“The magic tribe Belia is finished. Your magic is finished, Aria.”
The Emperor’s voice echoed through the void’s silence. The scene that Suri and his companions had watched holding their breath was replayed. To the Emperor’s order to go to the Silent Plains, Aria put the Parallel engraved with the Belia family motto in hieroglyphics around her newborn son’s neck, and summoned the noble prophet Cassandra to protect him.
“Leon… my love… Leon… I will love you forever.”
“This child will never die…. He will become Emperor.”
Aria, who had reached out desperately to her son who was now safe in Cassandra’s arms but couldn’t reach him, with eyes that had given up everything, suddenly turned and threw herself toward the cosmic cliff’s Melak dissolution pit. Aria’s body blazed with flames before slowly melting away. Amazingly, the last power of magic, the last will, and the last love for her son Leon began to merge into one, becoming cosmic energy.
“Love is memory… Leon, as long as I hold the memories of you… love won’t stop… so I’m not dying…. Leon… Leon, you are my star. The memory of stars will be eternal.”
Aria’s body gradually fused with the dark magma molten iron, and the dark magma gradually formed the shape of a sword. A sharp blade, an intricate handle, mysterious hieroglyphs… slowly revealed themselves. [Memory of Stars] This name was now neither a simple weapon nor a mere sword. Aria had now become the sword itself, destined to survive eternally.
“The sword, Memory of Stars. It is your mother…!”
[To be continued…]
** Starting November 2023, The Korea Daily is excited to publish the fantasy novel series “Sword of Malta – Lightning in 72 Years” on our website. This new captivating series follows a trio of young adventurers on their quest to uncover the mysteries of ancient civilizations, including the Maya and Inca. In an exciting development, Netflix is currently adapting the novel’s storyline into a film.
The ‘Sword of Malta – Lightning in 72 Years’ is the latest novel authored by Jeeyoon Ha, who created the “Pangaea series.” Ha’s debut novel, “The Pangaea: Finding Xibalba,” was selected by the Korea Creative Content Agency in 2022 as part of their initiative to support the global export of fantasy literature.
Readers can eagerly anticipate the online publication of two installments each month, with new chapters appearing bi-weekly, offering a regular escape into this magical realm. *Mark Oh translated the Korean novel into English.
