"The Great Sage?"
Zeke recalled the message that had appeared when he previously revived Agamemnonʼs Mask.
[The name of the ??? Mask has been confirmed.]
[The Mask of the Great Sage Atrahasis has been restored.] Atrahasis—the true name of the Great Sage, unknown to the world.
Only Zeke knew that name.
He looked up at the one who had revealed himself as the Great Sage and asked, "Are you the heroic spirit of the Great Sage?"
At Zekeʼs words, the sage nodded, and the snake-shaped earrings on both his ears jingled softly.
"Itʼs a bit different from other heroic spirits, but overall, that description fits."
It was an ambiguous answer, but since mages often spoke in such vague ways, Zeke let it pass without much thought.
He gazed at the Great Sage and asked, "Why is the heroic spirit of the Great Sage here in the Primordial Temple? And how did you know my name? What does it mean that you were waiting for me?"
The Great Sage smiled and nodded at Zekeʼs barrage of questions.
"You must have many questions. This will take some time, so letʼs move to a more comfortable spot."
He snapped his fingers, and in an instant, the surroundings changed.
Tssst—
The temple vanished, replaced by a room adorned with elegant patterned tiles and white drapes.
Zeke had experienced something similar before when he met Hoshgarʼs spirit body, so he remained calm and surveyed the area.
The Great Sage gestured for Zeke to sit.
"Please, take a seat. I know you enjoy tea, so Iʼll treat you to a specialty from Carcosa." Carcosa, the legendary city that had fallen long ago.
The very idea of drinking tea from Carcosa felt like an unbelievable joke to Zeke.
Soon, the Great Sage brought out a tea set of unfamiliar design.
He heated the water, added dried tea leaves to the pot, and waited for them to steep.
Once steeped, he strained the leaves through a sieve and transferred the tea to a separate pot.
He then poured from the pot into the cups.
The Great Sage handed a cup to Zeke and said, "This is black tea, a specialty of Carcosa.
Please, try it."
Zeke inhaled the aroma of the tea offered by the Great Sage.
"It smells different from ordinary tea."
"You can think of it as processed and oxidized from the tea you know. Various varieties of black tea are produced in each city, but I prefer Carcosaʼs. Itʼs elegant, clean, and refined."
The Great Sage lifted his cup, savoring the tea.
Zeke, too, savored the flavor of this new type of tea—black tea.
After finishing his cup, Zeke looked up at the Great Sage and said,
"The Elder Dragon led me here."
At his words, the Great Sage raised his head.
"You must have visited the pyramid in Carcosa."
Zeke recalled the massive central structure he had entered.
"Pyramid... so thatʼs what the building is called."
"Itʼs a grand structure symbolizing the wondrous city of Carcosa. King Solomon used his wisdom to unite the strengths of all races and completed the pyramid, making Carcosa a city beloved by all Constellations."
Zeke looked at the Great Sage and said calmly, "You are known as a great figure from the era of the Hero King, and from this black tea to your words... it seems you know the Age of the Constellations well."
The Great Sage set down his teacup and met Zekeʼs gaze.
"Hero King Kaisir. The world I know is divided into before and after that special being was born. After Kaisir, the Phenomenal World entered an era of heroes, not Constellations."
Zeke pondered the Great Sageʼs words before asking, "Could it be that you, Sage, have lived from the Age of the Constellations all the way to the era of the Hero King?"
The Great Sage smiled and replied, "I have lived a very long time, Sir Zeke. It wasnʼt by my choice, but that must have been the wheel of my fate."
Zeke fell silent for a moment at the enigmatic words of the Great Sage, then opened his inventory and took out the sacred relics.
The Holy Grail from the Ark, the scabbard from the War God Tyr, and Agamemnonʼs Mask.
The three sacred relics gathered in one place.
Seeing them, the Great Sageʼs expression became intrigued.
"The first sacred relics containing the power of the Primordial Light... Itʼs been a long time since Iʼve seen all three divine artifacts together."
Zeke looked at the Great Sage and said, "The power of the Elder Dragon gave me a mission to bring these three divine artifacts to the Primordial Temple." The Great Sage nodded.
"That must be the main quest of the Kabbalah System."
Zeke was startled that the Great Sage mentioned the Kabbalah System.
"You knew of the Kabbalah System as well, Sage?" The Great Sage chuckled.
"I had to. I was the one who, alongside King Solomon, designed it to share with the Elder Dragon."
Zekeʼs eyes widened at the Great Sageʼs words.
"The Kabbalah System was created by the Great Sage?"
As if sensing Zekeʼs doubt, the Great Sage gestured, and astonishingly, the same system window appeared before Zeke.
He looked at Zeke and said, "I couldnʼt compare to King Solomon, but as a master administrator, I and the Elder Dragon could wield Karma to some extent through the system."
Karma, the power to manipulate causality.
With it, even the laws of the world could be altered.
Zeke asked the Great Sage, "Is it possible to wield Karma without the system?" At Zekeʼs sudden question, the sage nodded.
"Itʼs not easy, but not impossible. Solomon learned to wield Karma using the power he received from the God of Chaos, and he shared it with me and the Elder Dragon in the form of the system."
"So, even without the systemʼs form, wielding Karma itself is possible."
"In truth, wielding Karma isnʼt so special. Magic and aura are merely ways to handle
Karma. The difference lies in how much 'causalityʼ one can bear." Zeke tilted his head at the Great Sageʼs explanation.
"What does it mean to bear causality?"
"Simply put, like this. Before me now is black tea from Carcosa. By the original causality, creating this black tea requires a very long process. Isnʼt that right?" Zeke nodded.
"...Yes, growing the leaves, drying them, processing—it would take time and effort."
"Exactly. That is causality. But look at this."
The Great Sage placed his hand on the container of black tea.
In an instant, the container duplicated.
Zeke was startled by the sudden appearance of a second container of black tea.
"Did you fetch another container of black tea?" The Great Sage shook his head.
"I just now substituted Karma for the causality of another container of black tea existing here."
The Hermit of Stories had shown Zeke something similar before.
And then Zeke recalled how the Hermit of Stories had wielded Karma without the system.
In that moment, something flashed through Zekeʼs mind. "Karma points... you mean they can substitute for causality." The Great Sage nodded.
"Wielding Karma is inherently a unique authority of the Constellations. They received from the Primordial Light the right to adjust and manipulate the laws of the world. But as always, excessive power causes problems. The Constellations squandered Karma recklessly, twisting causality."
As he spoke, the Great Sageʼs face darkened.
"The ground twisted by causality became horrific. Floods ravaged some places, while droughts parched others. In some, excess produce rotted the land and rivers; in others, the cold claimed lives."
The backlash from the Constellationsʼ indiscriminate use of Karma began to manifest.
But the Constellations paid no heed, drawing on Karma freely for themselves and their patrons.
This distorted existing laws, birthing events that should never have occurred.
Zeke could sense the profound sorrow in the Great Sageʼs voice.
The Great Sage raised his head again and continued.
"Save for a few cities under the Constellationsʼ protection, the earth turned into a hellish nightmare. King Solomon and the Elder Dragon joined forces to rectify it." Zeke nodded.
"I heard from the Elder Dragon. King Solomon saw this and sought to overcome his limits by making a contract, becoming the Undying." The Great Sage nodded at Zekeʼs words.
"Yes. King Solomon eradicated or sealed countless threats to the earth. Innumerable they were: cursed wraiths, ancient races of great power, monsters born of the Constellationsʼ whims..."
Zeke thought of Blood King Caligula, absorbed into him.
He was the king of the Third-Eye Clan, who had sealed himself away while fleeing the Godslayer Solomon.
'King Solomon judged not just demons or the Blood King, but all who disrupted the earth.ʼ The Great Sage continued.
"While resolving the Constellationsʼ messes, Solomon suddenly realized something." "What was it?"
"That this was endless; the root problem had to be addressed."
"The root problem...?"
The Great Sage looked at Zeke and said, "The Constellations themselves." In the end, the source of all the earthʼs woes was the self-indulgent Constellations.
The Great Sage went on.
"Some Constellations were wise and sought to protect the earthʼs peace, but most were lost in their own desires. King Solomon first tried to persuade them. But... those arrogant beings would not listen."
The Constellations, who had imprisoned even the Primordial Light for their amusement and stolen its power.
Just hearing of their atrocities made Zekeʼs blood boil.
"So thatʼs when King Solomon began his godslaying." The Great Sage shook his head.
"King Solomon didnʼt start with godslaying. The sealing ring, forged by the Fairy King and the Elder Dragon... that changed his heart."
Zeke struggled to follow the Great Sageʼs words.
So he took the Ring of Solomon from his inventory and asked, "How did this ring become the catalyst for King Solomonʼs godslaying?"
The Great Sage looked at the ring in Zekeʼs hand with a complicated expression.
Then he nodded gravely and spoke.
"The ring, created by the Elder Dragon and the Fairy King... its original purpose was to seal beings Solomonʼs power couldnʼt destroy. Such entities only the Fairy King could handle, so it was meant as temporary storage. But..." The Great Sageʼs face hardened as he continued.
"After learning the ring could seal Constellations, King Solomon chose a different path." Unlike mortals, Constellations were known as indestructible, perfect beings.
Fighting them was impossible for mortals; only Constellation against Constellation prevailed.
Yet such clashes would devastate the earth.
Thus, King Solomon had strived to sway them.
But upon discovering the ring could seal Constellations and even borrow some of their authority, Solomon chose another way.
"He sealed the Constellations who twisted causality into the ring, then used their power to hunt stronger ones. At first, they mocked Solomon, but as mighty Constellations were sealed, they sensed the gravity. The real problem came next."
The Great Sage paused, then met Zekeʼs eyes in a somber voice.
"King Solomon sought the God of Chaos, bound by the name of Goddess Theia once more. And he made a request."
Closing his eyes, the Great Sage spoke slowly.
"He asked for a way to annihilate the Constellations."