Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 188 (Part 1):

‘Magic energy.’

It’s a way to differentiate powers such as Vis. It seems that those who are not mages cannot inherit the legacy.

Regardless, the path would not open anytime soon.

Alea sat down on the floor and stared at the circle she had drawn. There must not be a single mistake.

Her violet eyes took on a deeply serious hue.

The moonlight grew gradually thicker, but time passed slowly.

Helmut, sitting across from her, murmured part of a will.

“When the full moon shines in the deepest darkness,” he recited. “What does the deepest darkness refer to here?”

“Midnight. For a mage, midnight is the bewitching hour, the boundary between days, often likened to the deepest darkness.”

“Midnight, then.”

“It’s a profound night, so we must not speak then. Be careful.”

If they missed this chance, it would be a year. Lampione’s dungeon would not tolerate any mistakes. Tension colored Alea’s complexion.

Helmut nodded silently.

Neither could wield a sword, nor flip through a book.

But still, this was their only chance in a year, no variables could be allowed.

They waited in their natural states. Under the moonlight, Alea’s silver hair sparkled like a spider’s web. Helmut was aware of that sparkle.

Suddenly, their eyes met. Alea was also looking in his direction.

It had been a long time since the two had been together this long. Yes, ever since that silent festival night.

Out of nowhere, Alea spoke.

“To a mage, the truth becomes a meaning unto itself,” she quoted from Lampione’s writings. “Do you understand what this means?”

“No.”

He didn’t understand what it meant, nor why Alea was mentioning it.

It was a statement that had to be taken significantly, especially in a relationship as secretive as theirs.

Alea asked gently.

“Truth is one meaning. Then, what is falsehood?”

“Falsehood means nothing, so it is nothing.”

“If we convert that to numbers?”

“One and zero.”

Helmut finally realized.

“When falsehood and truth intersect, perhaps, the door can be opened,” he speculated.

It was about Lampione’s last words. It seemed she had answered before he even asked, knowing they would soon have to open the path.

As usual, Alea added in her explanatory tone.

“It always means to approach the inherent truth, whether it’s a problem or a person. However, I don’t think falsehood is necessarily meaningless. Sometimes, what cannot be achieved through truth alone.”

“Falsehood can accomplish and reveal the truth as well.”

“That’s only fine when it’s safe for the truth to come out.”

Alea stated emphatically.

“Some truths are fatal just by being revealed.”

“…That might be so.”

Helmut agreed. It was a statement he had no choice but to accept, as he too harbored deadly truths.

Helmut didn’t think of truth as merely a ‘1.’ There were levels to truth.

Some truths could be revealed to some, and some should never be told to anyone.

His being a disciple of the Sword Saint Darien was a truth that could be disclosed to people like Ethan Kudrow and Luke Yeager.

But the fact that Helmut carried the seed of darkness was unknown to anyone outside of the Forest of Roots, except for the Archmage Antiol who had realized it on his own. High Priest Dolos was dead, after all.

That fact should remain unknown to anyone, including Alea right in front of him.

For the first time, a doubt arose. Darien had told Helmut that if humans knew he carried the seed of darkness, they would treat him as an enemy. He had believed that.

However, Antiol had not turned against him. Perhaps because he was a mage in opposition to the temple.

‘If Alea, a mage like Antiol and hostile towards the temple, knew the truth, would she turn against me?’

He couldn’t affirmatively answer that question. Perhaps Alea, no less than Antiol, would accept the fact calmly. It was an answer he couldn’t verify.

Nor could he afford to take that risk. Risking one’s life on such a venture was foolish.

The conversation ceased, and silence settled over the black cliffs. Time flowed slowly yet distinctly.

As the night deepened, the darkness seemed to thicken while the moonlight grew brighter.

At one moment, a faint light swirled around the six stones, contrasting with the moonlight.

It wasn’t a flashy or conspicuous light. Lampione did not want anyone to find his dungeon by accident.

From the six stones, the light faintly swirled exactly at the point of the circle Alea had drawn.

When Alea placed her hand in the center of the circle and infused it with magic, the circle reacted.

Crack! A sound akin to the earth splitting was heard.

When Alea removed her hand, there were four metal protrusions, as if sprouting from the ground.

‘You’ve shown your qualification, now it’s time to intersect falsehood and truth.’

Alea turned the curved metal. The metal plates rotated like gears, displaying another side where numbers were written.

Rotating it would reveal all numbers from 0 to 9. Alea crossed the numbers 0, 1, and 0101 she stood up.

‘Now it begins.’

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