Turning Chapter 1056

Chapter 1056

The underground he descended into was still brightly lit. However, it was not the natural sunlight he had seen before leaving, but the light flowing from the lamps. Through the crack of the laboratory door, where crimson light seeped out, Yuder saw Enon's back. He was sitting in a chair positioned to face the tree he had mentioned being there before he opened his eyes.

Was it because his back looked unusually sunken? The voice that tried to call his name was suddenly blocked, as if it had been pushed back inside.

However, Yuder didn't need to speak first. Enon seemed to have sensed his presence and turned his head to look this way. His eyes, having confirmed who it was, narrowed slightly.

"I thought you were sleeping. Why did you come down instead of continuing to sleep?"

"Even though it's true that I followed you, I didn't come here to stay as a comfortable guest."

"Just honestly say you were worried, with that manner of speaking."

Enon clicked his tongue. However, unlike a moment ago when his eyes were lifeless, they now held the usual vitality.

"If you're coming in, come in."

Enon waved his hand. Yuder entered the laboratory. The interior scenery hadn't changed much from before. However, the lemon bag Kishiar had given was noticeably placed on Enon's lap as he sat in the chair.

Yuder also noticed a half-eaten lemon in one of Enon's hands, as if he had been continuously eating until just now. Sensing Yuder's gaze on the lemon, Enon spoke.

"I've finished eating, and this is the last one. I don't have any to give you."

"I didn't even think about wanting to eat it."

A sound resembling a snort came from Enon's direction. Yuder pulled a nearby chair and sat down. They remained silent for quite a long time in that state. Fiddling with the lemon in his hand and continuously staring at the empty hole inside the tree, Enon suddenly spoke incoherently.

"Do you know that Luma's name means lemon?"

"No. This is the first time I'm hearing it."

"To be precise, it's said that in the old dialect of Luma's hometown, lemon was called that. Lemon. Luma. They're a bit similar, aren't they?"

Hearing it, the pronunciation did seem slightly similar.

"The reason for giving that name was because Luma was found under a lemon tree as a baby. Someone had abandoned the child there, and kind-hearted people discovered and saved the baby. However, that hometown completely disappeared during the Great Destruction, and Luma deliberately chose a lemon blossom as his emblem to not forget that place. In fact, that flower isn't particularly special in appearance... It became known to everyone because Luma used it."

So that was the reason why there was a lemon blossom on great mage Luma's brooch. Yuder remained silent for a moment before asking.

"Is liking lemons also because of Luma?"

"Should I say it is... The first time I went to the capital and had a meal. Remember the story I told you earlier?"

As Yuder nodded, Enon waved the half lemon in his hand.

"I made the mistake of eating the whole lemon, including the peel, which was served as a garnish to squeeze juice over the dish. People were startled, but Luma laughed heartily. He said that in his hometown, there were quite a few people who ate it like that, and he welcomed me, saying it was nice to meet someone like that."

"..."

"I think that was the first time I thought something was delicious. From then on, I continued to eat lemons whole, including the peel."

Enon stared at the half lemon in his hand and took a bite.

"When I eat it like this, it reminds me of that time. It makes me realize anew that some things can be preserved unchanged for a thousand years if there is a medium. Through this small medium called lemon, Luma and I, and a thousand years ago and now, continue to be connected. It's almost similar to Luma's magic."

What was similar about it? The answer to that question was revealed through his following words.

"Luma once said that although he could use various types of magic, the fundamental basis of all that magic was 'connecting.'"

"I don't quite understand what you mean by connecting."

"It literally means connecting anything. Connecting visible things, and even things that are actually invisible. For example, to hide the land where Gyllandr Hill exists, he cut and connected the surrounding land and visible scenery, and he also distorted the actual distance by connecting the upper and lower paths. Do you understand?"

From Yuder's perspective, it didn't seem to be a matter of whether one understood or not.

"I don't know... but somehow it feels closer to an awakening ability than magic."

"Luma said that from the moment he became a mage, he realized he could naturally do that. Since many other mages of that era also had such fundamental magic from the moment they became mages, it might be true in a way."

Yuder suddenly recalled a faint memory from before. He seemed to have heard the argument that ancient magic was similar to awakening abilities, and perhaps it wasn't entirely baseless.

'If you think about it like that... Luma's magic can be understood similarly to an awakener with the ability to "connect."'

It was extremely abstract, but it wasn't as if there weren't individuals with such abilities. Even Kishiar, didn't he initially limit his ability to push and pull to only the visible, physical aspects, and gradually expand it to reach the present?

"Is it interesting to try thinking of Luma's magic like an awakener? You suddenly look a bit more energetic."

"...It's not to that extent."

"Don't deny it. It's useless to lie in front of me."

Come to think of it, Enon had been exceptionally good at discerning truth and lies since the previous life. Could his ability to sense the connection between soul and body and grasp the truth, which even Yuder couldn't properly understand, also be something he inherited from the great mage?

"Is that also an ability you received from Luma?"

"What is?"

"Uncannily knowing when someone lies, and being able to tell that my soul's connection to my body is weak. You said it's different from seeing with your eyes."

"That's possible because my soul is that of a spirit's, you fool."

Enon retorted with a sullen face.

"The spirit race was fundamentally closer to the soul, and although they had a main body and a different physical form, it was completely different from a human body. As a race closer to the soul, they naturally could discern others' souls well and communicate through the most intimate part without a shell, so lies were useless."

"..."

"It's definitely different from seeing with your eyes. I can just know. Of course, it's not perfect."

"What do you mean it's not perfect?"

"Well, I'm only half now."

This was the first time he had such a detailed conversation about Enon. Was it just his imagination that he felt closer to him now than any other conversation they had before?

As he thought that, Enon turned to Yuder, frowning and smiling.

"It's really strange. To be having this kind of conversation with you."

"..."

"Well, it's not bad. Actually, until just now, I was sitting here thinking about spirits and Luma."

"What were you thinking about?"

Enon tossed the last piece of lemon into his mouth. During the time he chewed and mumbled, only the presence of the tree hanging in the quieted space was distinct. Enon turned his gaze towards it and spoke.

"Hmm. You know, the word 'struggle' that was left in Luma's letter today."

'Nothing can stand forever, but even knowing that, is it the fate of finite humans to struggle to delay it as much as possible?'

The passage from the letter Luma had left flashed through Yuder's mind.

"Suddenly, I had this thought. Dragons, fairies, and spirits all perished, so are humans really that special? Even the spirit that became my soul tried to leave itself behind in this way, in the midst of the entire race perishing. If you think about it, isn't that also a struggle?"

"..."

"Well, maybe I think this way because I'm not a complete human, but a created being. But that's what I believe. It's not just humans that are finite. Those that disappeared before us might have been flailing in their finite destinies, only to leave behind traces and vanish. I was just thinking about that. It must be a bit difficult to find the information Luma left behind. Damn it!"