Inside the stopped time is dark and quiet.
Cutting out a fragment of the world, only one girl lives in a time unrecognized by anyone. Leaving behind figures, sounds, even the entire universe and its principles as a backdrop, Luel was immersed in thought as always.
'That was definitely Lankart's Unique Magic. Can the King of Humans use another's Unique Magic?'
It wouldn't have much effect on Luel's Unique Magic. She has the backup of the Celestial God System, and is a case strengthened by wielding light magic with powerful magical power and divine power. Just having a Unique Magic is meaningless.
But using another's Unique Magic wouldn't simply mean the literal meaning. He must have perfectly understood the imagery, structure, principles, and phenomena of that Unique Magic.
'There was a reason Lankart was loyal to him. He must be the only one who understands that absurd Unique Magic called the World of the Right-Handed.'
Perfect understanding of another's imagery. Would that really be limited to imagery alone? How far can he understand humans? Did he choose to deny order while knowing human sin, madness, and instability?
The contemplation ended. Luel enjoyed a brief moment of leisure before moving.
Strictly speaking, Luel's authority is not time stop. It's closer to observing a moment that lasts but an instant for a long time. In the stopped time, only light illuminates the world; no one, including Luel, can move. What Luel can do in this stretched time is only to slowly observe the situation and immerse herself in thought.
When facing a difficult problem, or when expansion of thought is needed. She folds the flowing time for a moment and finishes sufficient contemplation. Luel was exceptionally intelligent even among the saints. Time close to infinity made her even wiser.
Luel was originally destined to become the Saint of Wisdom, sharing all the outstanding knowledge she learned and mastered with everyone.
'If she hadn't awakened her Unique Magic through the grace of light, she would have just been a girl enjoying this quiet contemplation.'
Perhaps such a life would have been good enough. However, Luel was a magician as well as a saint. She read, learned, accepted, pondered, and felt ecstasy while endlessly exploring. Every time she mastered higher knowledge, she trembled with thrill.
Luel eventually awakened her Unique Magic and became the Saint of Light.
'All of this came to pass because the First Saint foresaw it. Oh, First Saint who blessed me. I, who have inherited your will, offer you my prayer.'
Having offered a short prayer in her heart, Luel finally surveyed her surroundings.
Before her eyes is the King of Humans. The King of Humans, who had somehow reached Luel's presence even while his body was being torn and burned, wore a serene smile that belied his fierce barbarism. As if giving a friendly morning greeting. If not for the sharpened skewers, Luel would have believed so too.
'I acknowledge it, King of Humans. The fangs of barbarism are sharp enough. However, fangs merely harm someone right before your eyes.'
A true miracle is something built up and completed.
Like a stonemason who stacked bricks to see the sky up close when knowing nothing. Like a scribe who wrote down letters one by one to bind a book. Like a craftsman who gathered knowledge passed down through generations to create technique.
What has been created over a long time deserves as much respect as the years and history contained within it.
For humans of the present are beings who stand upon the past.
'Oh, First Saint who blessed me. Please watch over me in this time.'
She draws a magic circle in the stopped time. Even the most outstanding and skilled magician consumes quite some time drawing a magic circle, but Luel, drawing a magic circle with light in the stopped time, is free from such constraints.
Sparkling light flows along her pale white skin. The magic circle drawn with light extends throughout her entire body. Her open attire that half-reveals the contours of her body is not simply for show. Because there must be no darkness in the body of Luel, the Saint of Light.
Granting physical force to light is Luel's Unique Magic.
Combining this with the secret arts of the White Ivory Tower achieved the materialization of light.
And, though no one has ever seen it.
A miracle where divine power, magical power, and Unique Magic harmonize.
'Incarnation of Light.'
Luel becomes light.
She maintains her physical form through the materialization of light, and continues her thoughts with divine power and the power of foresight. Having become light, she is free from the constraints of time. Even in the stopped time, the Incarnation of Light advances proudly.
'No. I should say I can only move in stopped time.'
No matter how much she achieved the materialization of light, she has replaced her own flesh with unstable light. If an element that interferes with light appears, her body is in danger. She cannot move into darkness, and there is a time limit for maintaining it.
She only attempted it because time was stopped; otherwise, it would be a dangerous magic she couldn't have even imagined.
'However, being able to move in stopped time is a miraculous power worth taking all the risks for.'
The time allowed for the Incarnation of Light is a mere 9 seconds. Short, but in a battle where a fleeting moment determines victory or defeat, it is long enough. To get behind the King of Humans, draw a magic circle, and deliver the judgment of light, 9 seconds is so much it overflows.
'As long as you affirm human barbarism, you will never become a Divine King. Disappear from here. I'll wait for the next king to be kinder. I'm used to waiting.'
"Luel."
At first, Luel couldn't understand the situation. When she belatedly realized that voice, she dismissed it as a delusion. However, the moment she 'foresaw' the faint shadow moving before her eyes, she was so startled that she forgot to breathe.
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'Oh my. Oh, First Saint who blessed me. Is this too your arrangement? Even the Saint of Heaven could not interfere with my time...!'
She was Shay. Her whitely blurred hair melted into the light, and her seven-colored eyes held nothing and at the same time contained every color. The gentle smile as if she had seen all of creation didn't suit Shay, but she was definitely Shay.
The last saint that even the Holy Imperial Court couldn't find. It should be impossible to intervene in another saint's foresight. For some reason, Shay appeared in Luel's foresight.
Shay was faint. If Luel was the Incarnation of Light, Shay was like the Incarnation of Ephemerality. She seemed to have left most of what composed her somewhere, or scattered it across the world.
Within that vagueness, Shay spoke to her.
"I'm sorry. The time interval is too short, so it's hard to fix the displacement. Even like this, I'll convey my words to you. Answer me in the language of light."
Having come to her senses, Luel conveyed her intent through the light.
[Did you use foresight to stop me? What kind of foresight is this?]
"It's not foresight. It's power obtained from a future that no longer exists. The Original Sin of Uncertainty. An insurmountable measurement limit no matter what method you use. Like your Unique Magic, I obtained it through foresight."
[Is it a Demon God?]
"Not quite a Demon God, and from the point where someone as foolish as me uses it, it can't become one. It's closer to imprinting knowledge that only exists as possibility onto my body."
Foresight cannot be shared. Even if they are fellow saints. Luel realized she could never know what Shay had seen.
[It was a meaningless question. It would have been more necessary to ask what intent you had in interfering with my foresight.]
As befitting a magician, Luel asked a question that struck at the core. Shay flickered faintly as if she had expected that. After flickering for a long while, Shay formed her shape again and spoke.
"Please leave like this."
[It's to protect the King of Humans.]
"That's right. At the same time, it's also to protect you. You might be able to harm Hughes, but Hughes will also inflict an irreversible wound on you."
Luel doubted her ears.
[In this stopped time, he will harm me?]
"Yeah. Because he's Hughes."
It's an impossible claim. In the stopped time, he cannot move even a fingertip. Naturally, he cannot harm Luel either.
So Luel decided to interpret it with a different meaning. If she touches the King of Humans, Shay would harm her—that meaning.
'She probably can't move freely in stopped time either. That faint form, like my light, only grants the qualification to act in stopped time. Shay cannot threaten me. Of course, I shouldn't make hasty judgments as long as I haven't grasped the opponent's move.'
They are fellow saints. Since both have received the blessing of the First Saint, they must share at least a minimum of respect. Luel wanted to ask Shay's intentions before killing the King of Humans.
[Why are you helping the King of Humans? If you've seen even a little of the future, you should know that chaos and barbarism will bring inevitable ruin.]
If someone chooses the worst option, humanity and civilization will perish meaninglessly and cruelly. The world rests upon a thread-thin miracle. The repetition of a today like yesterday is a blessing, and we should be grateful that tomorrow will come.
Occasionally, those whose yesterday was despair rush in to destroy tomorrow. But such attempts mostly return as tragedy for all. Those who despaired do not know how to draw hope, so they merely pass their despair to others.
Luel asked the saint who sided with the King of Humans, and Shay answered with affection filling that question.
"I believe in Hughes."