54. The Song of Remembrance
“Helix… you’ve found your way back to me after all.”
Suri was overcome with emotion.
The sword rose from the center of the Sacred Tree and was slowly rotating, graceful as a ballerina’s pirouette.
The sword, Memory of Stars, stopped.
And her voice flowed out, breaking thousands of years of silence.
Your name is a new star… Nova. You carry the blood of the forgotten continent, the heart of magic you once denied. Now embrace the truth— for you are the key to a fractured universe.
The song flowed throughout the Nova Empire.
Anyone could hear the song.
Emperor Nova heard the song too.
He stood before the Malta relay hologram.
What appeared before him was resonance data from all of Malta.
In the center of the hologram, he was watching the sword, Memory of Stars, awaken.
The emperor seemed about to shed tears.
It was neither fear nor anger, but regret and love.
Nova finally had the confidence to meet his mother without hatred.
Emperor Nova closed his eyes.
Childhood memories rushed in like waves.
“Nova…”
Young Nova ran into Cassandra’s arms.
At Avalon Cassandra’s house, Nova lived together with Cassandra.
“Prophet… why don’t I have a mother?”
Nova was so sad.
“Your mother was a very strong and beautiful person… but your mother’s choice was solely for you.”
Cassandra looked at Nova with pity.
Nova was only eleven years old then.
That day, Cassandra was showing Nova a secret book.
The surface looked like old leather, but whenever a hand touched a particular page, memories would appear like images according to the user’s genetic information.
Not a book to read but to watch, a memory-type librarian.
“Ancient power flows in your bloodline. The power of magic.”
Cassandra explained calmly.
The traditions and wars, rituals and prophecies of the magic tribes opened up.
And wounds he didn’t want to remember also spread in the air.
In young Nova’s heart, old anger and misunderstanding were tangled with defiance.
Since he was five or six years old, he had heard rumors that “your mother abandoned you” until his ears were worn out.
Peers, surrounding adults, even relatives pointed fingers at Nova.
“This child has traitor’s blood. His mother fell into the cosmic cliff. Originally, he should have been executed at the cosmic cliff along with his mother.”
All sorts of scenes swirled, and finally that voice appeared.
“Love is memory… Leon, as long as I hold memories of you… love won’t stop… so I’m not dying… Leon… Leon, you are my star. Memory of Stars will be eternal.”
Nova stood before the sword hologram again.
With trembling hands, he touched the tip of his finger to the sword, Memory of Stars.
At that moment, a thin ether wave penetrated Nova and also penetrated the sword, Memory of Stars.
“Mother…”
Nova called like a child.
“Mother…”
Marblem also called like a child.
Sansuna looked at Marblem and smiled.
The sword, Memory of Stars, when son Nova called “mother,” departed toward the sky without hesitation.
It was love racing toward the universe like an arrow.
Simultaneously, megalithic temples throughout Malta began firing pillars of light as solid as swords.
The light pillars followed the sword, Memory of Stars, without hesitation.
Memory of Stars knew no stopping.
And it stopped with a crash sound, as if it had collided with something somewhere.
The point where the sword, Memory of Stars stopped was still the deep darkness of space.
But shortly after, the Green Canyon appeared, cunningly bridging between the Blue Canyon where new stars were being born and the Yellow Canyon where old and dying stars existed, and the darkest Triangle of that Green Canyon appeared.
At that instant, a single light burst out fiercely, tearing through space.
CRASH!
It was a bombardment of light from a supernova explosion.
“Sirius…”
The three children shouted simultaneously.
The star that some had seen, but those who had seen the star had never met each other, the star that received longing and worship from them—the one star, Sirius.
Shortly after, Malta, which had been hiding in the Green Canyon Triangle, suddenly appeared.
“Marblem~~”
Suri called to Marblem.
At that moment, deep underground in Malta, the Hypogeum activated its ancient mechanism.
The engine core began vibrating with CRASH! CRASH!
The 72-year lightning, carrying sacrifice, wisdom, and the will to transmit, flowed along the Hypogeum’s walls, ceiling, and floor.
It intertwined like veins and arteries.
A symbol emerged.
The Triangle within Canis Major… Malta within it.
The expression of Sansuna, queen of the Arcanus magic tribe, exile from the past, and pilot of Malta, showed pleasant tension.
Without hesitation, she sat at the heart panel of the central control room.
The moment her hands touched the panel, Malta came vibrantly alive.
The route of Malta was projected as a hologram on the giant dome ceiling, and in the center was a translucent crystal seat.
Sansuna sat in that seat where ancient Maltese hieroglyphs swam.
The seat adjusted its form to match Sansuna’s back, spine, and nerves as if breathing.
“Ether interface activated.”
Marblem sat in the auxiliary seat next to Sansuna.
A message appeared on the central panel.
[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.
