Chapter 12: Sanctum (1)
After Kwon Oh-Jin officially became part of the association, he entered countless gates without rest for a week in hopes of advancing to a three-star. However, the number of strokes on his Stigma of Lyra stayed the same.
I guess it is greedy of me to want to become a three-star in just a week.
He wasn’t particularly disappointed since it was more or less the norm.
“Sigh…”
He pulled out his phone to look at the date; it was November 13th, the day he was to meet Vega.
The Sanctum, huh?
Also known as a temple of the stars, the Sanctum was a world where the Celestials resided. He had heard a lot about it, but this was his first time going there in person.
“Ugh, this is nerve-wracking.”
He'd prepared thoroughly, but the thought of having to meet Vega still made his stomach churn.
Stay focused.
He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. A single mistake at this point could ruin all his plans.
“Alright, let’s do this.”
Smack!
He lightly slapped his cheeks, steeling himself before he started walking.
***
Murmur, murmur.
The neighborhood of Hongdae in Seoul, once brimming with the energy of the youth, was now filled with a different kind of passion. After an hour-long journey on the subway, Kwon Oh-Jin was met with intense prayers that echoed through the air.
“Please, I beg of you!”
“Oh, great Celestial!”
“Grant me, your humble servant, the power of the stars!”
Is this what I saw on the news before?
A crowd was gathered in front of the gate leading to the Sanctum, desperately pleading with the Celestials to choose them as an Awakener.
“Something like this would probably make the Celestials not want to choose anyone at all.”
The people wore worn-out clothes and were covered in dirt. Who knew how long it had been since they last washed themselves? The stench was unbearable.
It’s unfortunate.
The value of life had become a joke in this world. Those without power, wealth, or influence were miserable, but that was all there was to it. Kwon Oh-Jin had neither the obligation nor the will to care about how others lived.
Wooong!
He walked past the crowd and approached the gate leading to the Sanctum. The absurdly massive gate was roughly over thirty meters tall.
There are supposedly hundreds of these worldwide.
The glowing blue crack in the space ahead emitted overwhelming power.
“Well then.”
Kwon Oh-Jin promptly walked toward the fissure. There were no guards by the entrance checking IDs.
There’s no reason for a rabbit to guard a lion's den. I heard that even the laws bounding the Celestials are much looser inside the Sanctum.
What kind of lunatic Awakener would dare cause trouble in a place filled with hundreds of Celestials? It would only spell disaster for them.
Wooong!
Kwon Oh-Jin crossed through the crack. He felt weightless for a moment, then the universe unfolded before him.
“… Whoa.”
Countless stars twinkled in the dark void of outer space, with a long stretch of the Milky Way cutting through the cosmos. In the midst of it was a river made of starlight.
So this is the Sanctum.
Kwon Oh-Jin's jaw dropped in awe at the overwhelming beauty around him. He began walking along a silver path that eventually split into several branches leading to temples of all shapes and sizes.
It feels like I’m looking at a tree made of the Milky Way.
The sight was like giant fruits dangling from the ends of massive branches.
“But how am I supposed to find Vega?”
There were several temples before him, and he had no clue which one was Vega’s. As he stood there confused with a frown, an Awakener passing by approached him. The young man with a friendly expression was probably in his mid to late twenties.
“Is this your first time in a Sanctum?”
“Ah, yes. I came to meet a Celestial, but I have no idea where to go.”
“Haha, I was just as lost my first time too. Come with me, I’ll show you where the map is.”
So there was a map, after all.
It made sense. Nobody would be able to find their way around the place otherwise.
“Here it is.”
They arrived at a large map that looked like something one would see at a tourist spot.
Were there always this many Celestials?
There were even constellations he had never heard of before.
Let’s see where Vega is…
Kwon Oh-Jin scanned the map for Lyra. It didn’t take long to find what he was looking for amongst the hundreds of constellations marked.
It’s on the highest branch of the tree.
Vega’s temple was positioned at the very top of the Sanctum.
She really must be something.
Only the Celestials of the North Star, like Polaris and Deneb, were at that height with Vega.
“Did you find it?”
“Yeah. It looks like I have to go quite a ways up.”
The young man’s eyes widened.
“If you have to go that far up… a-are you perhaps an Awakener of the twelve Zodiacs?” the man asked, with eyes full of envy watching Kwon Oh-Jin.
Kwon Oh-Jin turned to check the map where he could see the twelve Zodiacs located just below Lyra. He smiled and nodded.
“I got lucky.”
“Woah… I can’t believe you’re really an apostle of the twelve Zodiacs,” the young man admiringly replied.
Other Awakeners nearby seemed to have heard the young man's words. They glanced over, murmuring amongst themselves.
“The twelve Zodiacs?”
“Where?”
“Ughh, lucky.”
“If only I had a Stigma of the twelve Zodiacs…”
Their heated envy focused on Kwon Oh-Jin through jealous stares. Most of the Awakeners gathered near the map were beginners, their attention to him all the more intense.
Kwon Oh-Jin calmly observed all the eyes on him.
“Well then, I should get going. Thank you for the help.”
As he started to walk away, the young man quickly handed him his business card.
“Um, here’s my business card! If you need help with anything else, feel free to contact me!”
It was clear that he was intent on establishing a connection with an apostle of the twelve Zodiacs. Kwon Oh-Jin accepted the card with a nod.
The name of your constellation sure does have an influence.
People eagerly approached him and offered their help. It couldn't get any more convenient than this.
“Haha. I’ll contact you later, then.”
“Of course!”
The young man responded with a rigid salute as if he were an army recruit. At this point, it was hard to tell who was really asking for help from whom.
“Well then,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.
Shall I go and meet my goddess?
He slowly made his way up the shimmering silver path.
“Ah, man,” someone muttered behind him.
“When will I ever get to walk that path?”
“Keep dreaming, dude. The path to the twelve Zodiacs isn't for us.”
The Awakeners whispering behind him faded into the distance.
Kwon Oh-Jin smirked.
The path to the twelve Zodiacs, huh?
He continued past the twelve Zodiacs and toward Vega’s temple.
***
Once Kwon Oh-Jin stepped into the silver temple at the very top of the Sanctum, a melodious voice echoed in his mind.
“So, you’ve come.”
The temple was vacant, devoid of religious symbols, murals, and any intricate patterns. There was only a floating, radiant goddess with silver hair.
“I’ve missed you, Vega!” he echoed with a bright smile. He took a few steps toward her before he paused.
“Ah… Sorry.”
He dropped his head with a pained look, bit his lips, and clenched his fists.
“… It seems you still haven’t sorted out your feelings."
Vega smiled bitterly as she slowly floated toward him. Seeing the Regressor tormented by memories of an erased future weighed on her heart.
“I am not the woman you remember.”
Kwon Oh-Jin shook his head with a gentle smile. “… No. The Vega in my memories was just as beautiful as you are.”
“Ahem, you’re always being so embarrassing. There’s nothing special I can do for you for flattering me.”
Vega coughed awkwardly and turned her head away. Her golden eyes, sparkling like jewels, trembled ever so slightly.
This is a good start.
His stomach churned with his breakfast ready to come back up, but his acting seemed to be working so far.
Vega quickly changed the subject and placed her hand on Kwon Oh-Jin’s chest.
“To have risen to two stars after only a week… You truly are a Heaven-Defying Star.”
He casually shrugged his shoulders.
“I’ve done this before, after all.”
“Haha, now that I think about it, you're right.”
She nodded, satisfied.
“So, I’d like to hear more about the future you’re aware of. In order to help you, I must know what events are about to unfold, don't you think?”
“…”
Fuck. It’s finally time.
He nervously swallowed and began to tell the story he had prepared.
“In the near future, someone called the Heavenly Demon will appear.”
“The Heavenly Demon?”
“Yes.”
He had come up with this name based on what Vega had previously said—“the one who wields the Black Heaven will destroy the world.” It was a simple, straightforward name. After all, the simpler and easier the lie was, the more convincing it would be.
Though, there’s no way I'll ever be called anything like that.
It sounded like something straight out of a B-grade martial arts novel.
“So you’re saying this "Heavenly Demon" possesses the Black Heaven?”
“That’s right, but…” He trailed off before taking a deep breath. “The Heavenly Demon hid his identity so well that no one knew his face, name, or whether he was even human.”
“Even you, as a Regressor, don’t know?”
“That’s right. I tried to uncover his identity right up until the very end, but I failed.”
“Hmmm?”
Vega cocked her head, confused.
“If you used the Star Oath to return to the past, that means you must have killed the one who wielded the Black Heaven. Yet, you’re saying you didn’t see his face?”
“Huh?”
What the hell is the Star Oath?
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