45. Leon’s Time, The Emperor’s Anguish
The Nova Emperor was mesmerized by the image and voice of his mother playing continuously on the tablet’s video.
“The sword I sought to find and destroy, the Memory of Stars… was my mother…?”
The Nova Emperor swayed slightly, seemingly reeling from the immense shock.
“I… I remember the look in my mother’s eyes, seen only once. Though I was just a newborn… it was forever imprinted on me. That gaze needed no embellishments… it was simply a mother’s gaze. Thinking back now, it was a look that seemed like it would forgive me no matter what wrongs I committed.”
The Nova Emperor was crumbling.
“To think I instigated battles in an endless loop, trying to capture the Memory of Stars that appeared in each battle… and that was my desperate struggle to find my mother…”
The Cypher Crown he wore on the outside to hide his inner self gradually became transparent, faintly revealing his true face. What was clear was that it was not the face of an old man.
Suri tilted his head. It was a silhouette he felt he had seen somewhere before.
The Nova Emperor reached for the tablet in Suri’s hand. The Nova Emperor’s hand brushed against Suri’s. Instantly, a strong current struck Suri’s mind, drawing him into the Nova Emperor’s consciousness.
He recalled the Red Wall Rubion he had been drawn into in the Bahar tribe’s underground city; he recalled the undeciphered hieroglyphs that shot out from Rubion as starlight; he recalled the crimson face of the man he saw as a vision when flying through the city of Arcanea on the planet Sirius as Marblem and Sirius Lightning; and he recalled the face of the man like a lava pit that instantly transformed into a handsome man.
“…The Red Wall Rubion, the crimson man’s face, the handsome man… it was all… the Nova Emperor…! This can’t be explained by fate, nor can it be explained by prophecy… I don’t know what to say.”
Suri, startled, shouted at the Nova Emperor like a thunderbolt.
“…Don’t you want to show your current face… to the mother you saw as a newborn? Your mother has been watching from somewhere…. Come on, hurry… cast off this past. If you can’t shed the past, there is absolutely no future.”
Suri wanted to confirm the Emperor’s face.
The Emperor, with trembling hands, tried to remove the Cypher Crown. The Cypher Crown, made of Altima, began to vibrate at his fingertips. Having hidden his true face for so long, the Cypher Crown clung to his skin as if in final resistance, not coming off easily.
Suri snatched the tablet from the Nova Emperor and played the video again.
“Leon… my love… Leon… I will love you forever.”
At that moment, the Belia family’s Parallel, Aurilis, hidden within the Nova Emperor’s body, forcefully burst out. Aurilis spun rapidly, emitting light. A shield of light formed, completely enveloping the Nova Emperor. The legendary magic, which had endured and waited for this very moment, had activated. The Cypher Crown shattered like fragments of a star, flying far, far away.
Finally, the Nova Emperor’s true face was revealed. His face was astonishingly young and handsome. The magic of the Emperor’s race was this incredible.
“Immortal, like me…”
Marblem stared at the Emperor with wondrous eyes. The Emperor slowly looked around at Suri, Marblem, Sabi, Maru… His eyes were a mysterious blue, a mix of sky and sea.
“Just like… Dragon Eridan. Eridan… was also from a magic tribe, after all…”
Suri couldn’t even breathe.
“The magic tribes are called the Malta Tribe and the Sirius Tribe. They were separated according to the constitution of the cosmic empire, but they are, in fact, family… They must live together. Why? Because the word ‘farewell’ doesn’t exist for family.”
Marblem suddenly seemed mature.
“…I have never lived a single day… with my own face, Leon’s face. Not one day… But now, I am not afraid.”
The Emperor’s voice had also changed. It was no longer the voice filtered through the metallic device of the Cypher Crown made of Altima, but the clear, strong voice of a young man. The entire Altima room reacted to the Emperor’s true appearance, trembling with starlight bursting like festive fireworks. Suri and Sabi were shedding tears at the moving scene.
“Th-that… th-that thing. I… I’m starting to get scared… Guys, I… think I’m gonna faint.”
Maru slumped to the floor.
The starlight finally formed a shape, and it was none other than the old map Maru had discovered at the Cartoon Research Lab.
“This map is astonishing. The colors of the stars you see here are natural ink. Red stars used coral and pearls, blue stars used turquoise or leaves, yellow stars were made with pyrite and saffron. They’ve faded due to discoloration and bleaching… but right here and here… they used ink made of gold, silver, and copper on specific stars. Made by mixing gold, silver, copper powder with adhesive and vinegar… So, the specific stars using metallic ink have a very, very special meaning, and the ancients who made this map long ago knew about these special stars. Can you believe it?”
Recalling what Sabi had said then, Maru stared at Sabi with eyes that looked like they would pop out.
“You taught us like this. Remember? Professor Sabi?”
“…The metallic ink was Altima…! Then that means someone from the Nova Empire made this map…”
Sabi hugged Maru tightly.
“Who could it be… Who? Who… What have we discovered?”
Sabi and Maru embraced each other, excited.
[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.
