Sword of Malta – Lightning in 72 years (53)

53. The Mother’s Return

Sansuna, who burst from Kalima’s heart, grew larger and larger until she became a giant.

“Sansuna… you were held hostage by Kalima… Marblem… we finally meet…”

Suri’s heart swelled with emotion.

Marblem’s posture as he met his mother seemed even more childlike from behind than before.

Watching the two embraces, Suri recalled Emperor Nova and the sword, Memory of Stars.

From the brightest star she came down in a celestial vessel She called this place Malta In her womb was a child who bore the stars

In the deep night, when the sky grew quiet The land where heaven and sea meet Bowed in worship toward her great form

Here she bore a child of mixed blood Loving the child so much, She decided to live here As a gift for the child, she built megalithic temples in a single night

Carrying the child on one shoulder… Gigantea… the Giant’s Tower The young ones who lived here called it so

She taught the young ones of this place How to farm, how to build temples And she taught them that separation does not exist among family

But Kalima, the lonely giant serpent who envied her love, Tried to destroy the child But she became the prey instead of the child

She told those who remained in this place To remember the brightest star in heaven, Sirius

After that, the child was taken somewhere by Eridan, the lightning dragon After Kalima embraced her, It covered the celestial vessel with earth and hid it with rocks And sealed it with its own tentacles

Malta became an island The young ones who remained here, Missing Sansuna, Began building megalithic temples while gazing at the star Sirius

Like torch passing torch… The young ones who lived here Began calling out the name of this place Malta…

“Malta is a land where honey flows, a safe harbor and sanctuary… This is how Malta’s etymology began.”

Suri was finally able to solve the secret of Sansuna’s ballad, that ancient mystery.

“…I remember. The Omega Library, the nameplate on bookshelf 39-puzzle…”

Insert Malta stood before a bookshelf. The bookshelf’s nameplate read 39-puzzle. Malta gently pushed the bookshelf. As he pushed it, the nameplate flipped over, revealing “The Stone Gospel of Sansuna”

“It was already there… everywhere in the library…”

Sabi looked as if she had lost her mind.

Starting with this, all the nameplates on every bookshelf in the Omega Library flipped over, revealing gospel stones.

Then, all of Malta rumbled with deep, resonating sounds announcing a new leap.

The ash-gray boiling sea surged up as if to swallow Malta whole, and the megalithic temples that had been shimmering like mirages rose up, spewing golden dust.

Everyone held their breath in tense anticipation.

“Ah…”

Suri gasped.

Sabi and Maru couldn’t even manage to scream.

Malta tilted sideways and began to wobble.

Simultaneously, the entire sky began spinning round and round.

All the constellations that had lived in the sky for thousands of years appeared and disappeared, repeating the history of celestial bodies.

It was like a scene created by AI.

“It’s reproducing the movement of stars over thousands of years, recreating the night skies of the past as if time were flowing backward… it’s spine-chilling…”

Suri staggered, losing his balance, but he couldn’t miss this spectacular sight in the sky.

“…Suri, you really speak beautifully… the constellations in the sky are rotating rapidly… the entire sky is spinning? I almost fell down. Ugh… I’m dizzy to death. Now I’ve added fear of heights too!”

Maru rolled his eyes dramatically and made a fuss.

“…It’s precession… to experience this directly… it’s both science and magic. Maru… please, let’s be serious for just one moment in life.”

Suri spoke sarcastically.

“The class dunce is trying to enlighten someone. How arrogant. Geez… have I lived too long? Have I starved too long?”

Maru giggled.

“Malta’s megalithic temples were built to target specific stars. Earth’s axis of rotation has wobbled very slightly over long periods of time. The constellations in the sky have also gradually changed positions… Malta’s architects knew this fact precisely. They designed each temple to match the new positions of stars in each era. Later people were confused. They couldn’t understand why the megalithic temples were built facing different directions or find any pattern. Today, at this moment when Malta awakens, the megalithic temples will restore their original axes and angles. They will align toward a single star.”

Eridan had also emerged from Kalima’s mind.

“Eridan…”

Suri looked at Eridan with respect.

“The scene you just witnessed was a recreation of the very distant past to find the one star that all the megalithic temples are looking at… it will appear soon… my role is now finished.”

Eridan’s essence projection was gradually disappearing.

“…Eridan… your body is disappearing…”

Sabi said as if to cry.

“Don’t worry… I just need to return to my library…”

Eridan showed a warm smile.

Seeing Eridan’s smile, Sabi felt relieved.

She became convinced that the end of this adventure would surely be hope.

“…Everyone… find the sword!… On the very day the 72-year lightning arrives… you will discover the secret of a very ancient sword… The Black Panther said this… so besides the truth about being Emperor Nova’s mother, what other secret could there be…”

Suri’s face was deathly pale.

That was when it happened.

After the lightning shield disappeared, the 72-year lightning that had been coiled up began falling toward the prophesied location at tremendous speed.

For a single destined moment, like a comet appearing after thousands of years.

The prophesied location—a small island in a small lake surrounded by deep valleys and giant cliffs rising to the sky in a circular formation—suddenly became amazingly bright.

“Marblem… now’s the time… hurry to Hypogeum…”

Suri shouted to Marblem.

Marblem looked at Sansuna.

Sansuna lifted Marblem onto one of her shoulders and ran.

BOOM! CRASH!

It was a sound wave that split space.

It was like thunder from Thor, God of thunder, striking nebulae with his hammer.

The fragments of sound became echoes, continuing in long BOOM! CRASH! reverberations.

At that moment, Earth twisted greatly once again.

It was an even greater shock than before.

The 72-year lightning struck the center of the Sacred Tree.

A transparent, flexible pillar of each other shot up.

Ancient Maltese hieroglyphs emerged one by one.

Lightning penetrated thousands of branches and thousands of leaves, following their vessels.

Crystal fruits rang out clear echoes.

The Sacred Tree grew larger and larger like Jack’s beanstalk.

From the thick roots at the center of the Sacred Tree, a sword rose majestically.

The sword’s body was clear and transparent, with hieroglyphs Magia Nemo flowing gracefully within it.

It was majesty itself.

A sword that had seen all ages, a sword that had seen all history… Memory of Stars.

And on the sword’s hilt, that very sword was embedded.

[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.