'Ugh.'
I frowned at the flood of red creatures pouring out.
Bloody, mangled bodies were the baseline — not a single one had all four limbs intact.
Faces were either half-gone or twisted out of shape.
They were so grotesque that the undead legion I saw yesterday felt civilized by comparison.
"They're all coming for the hag!"
Kancho shouted from my shoulder.
The ones rushing toward us changed direction, matching Elia's pace.
They weren't targeting us.
They were clearly locking onto Elia alone.
"They're surrounding us!"
Kwaaah!
Kancho tugged at my hair from above my shoulder.
"Grandma's getting ganged up on!"
And Momo kept thumping my leg with her chubby little fists.
"No!"
"The hag who's here today and gone tomorrow is leaving today!"
They looked ready to tear their own hair out, so I quickly patted Kancho and Momo down.
"It's fine. If she's in danger, I'll know right away."
The moment I finished speaking, the creatures lunged from all sides and buried Elia.
The alchemy circle remained still.
Even though she had plenty of opportunity to use alchemy, Elia didn't.
Hooooo.
Smoke scattered through my vision.
Kamelia stepped forward a couple of paces, the corner of her mouth lifting.
"No need to worry. You must know by now. Those are nothing but remnants of the rift pretending to be alive."
"Hey, shaman hag! Aren't you being way too irresponsible for a fellow today-and-tomorrow duo?! If she gets reverse-manifested, you'll have to go solo for a whole week!"
I swallowed dryly and looked up at Kancho.
His vocabulary was improving by the day.
"You really know how to pick the most infuriating things to say, don't you? I'd love to smack that empty skull of yours with my pipe right now, but I'll hold back. Our friend is moving forward."
Kamelia blew out another puff of smoke.
Then she casually turned her gaze toward the cabin.
We weren't the only ones waiting for Elia.
Someone had been waiting for her for eons.
She smiled and turned her head back.
Elia was now completely surrounded and out of sight.
But I decided not to worry.
Just like the cabin that had spent so much time with Elia.
Kwagagagagak!!
The Sage of Stars, Elia Forsen, stared straight ahead.
Creatures reached out with teeth and hands as if they wanted to devour her.
But those hands and teeth never touched her.
Because Elia had already recognized them.
Their true nature. Their reason for existence.
She looked around at the beings filling the space around her.
"I know you. I have to know you. Because I created you."
After countless experiments and attempts, she had created the Philosopher's Stone.
And from that moment, she began.
The resurrection of the dead — the greatest taboo of alchemy.
The beings before her were the byproducts of that process.
Elia closed her eyes.
Then she recalled the days that had passed.
Hundreds of years of nothing but failure.
She must have failed an awful lot.
Given how many of them had gathered here.
"Oh, Tower."
A strange smile formed on Elia's lips.
"You must have wished for this. That even after eons of time, I would still carry guilt. And that these beings would stir it up. That's why you pulled this little trick. But unfortunately."
She shook her head.
"I remember everything I've ever created. Whether I made it ten years ago, a hundred years ago, or a thousand years ago — every single one, without exception."
She erased the smile from her lips and stared straight ahead.
"These are remnants born from the cracks of the rift. They have never, not for a single moment, possessed life. They are merely shapes formed to break an alchemist's spirit."
Elia reached out her hand.
"You wanted to paint me as a merciless murderer who despises and tramples life. But that premise can never hold. Because… creating life through alchemy is impossible. So, disappear now. The reason I've been cowardly avoiding this for so long, the thing I need to face — it's not trash like you."
An alchemy circle formed on the Star Gauntlet.
A bright golden light burst forth from it, swallowing everything around her.
It was a power that returned illusions that had never truly existed back to nothing.
Shoooooo.
Elia watched the remnants scatter, then lifted her head.
And she spoke to the sky, to the Tower.
"Nice try. But it was sloppy. Put a little more effort in next time."
After flashing one last smile, she walked up the hill.
Thud.
Elia passed her master and friends and arrived at the cabin door.
She took a deep breath.
What she had been running from for so long wasn't the remnants she had just faced.
It was this moment.
Creak.
A smile formed at the warmth seeping through the crack in the open door.
Just facing it made her heart calm — a warmth she had missed so dearly.
From a short distance away, Kamelia spoke.
"Once, Elia asked me something. She asked if she could speak with the dead, even if only for a moment. She said she didn't know if she could return to that place, but if she could, she wanted to ask. At the time, I told her I wasn't sure. Places can hold spirits, but they tend to fade over time. But."
Kamelia smiled.
"I was worried for nothing. Because she wasn't the only one who wanted to meet."
Elia's eyes widened as she entered the cabin.
An emerald figure sat at the desk.
The figure stood up, as if it had been waiting.
"Siana."
As her friend slowly approached, Elia bit her lip.
It was the moment she had longed for, but she was afraid.
Under the pretense of reviving her friend, she had performed alchemy twisted and distorted thousands upon thousands of times.
In front of the friend who had helped lay the foundation of alchemy and established the definitions and convictions for its proper use.
And the result?
She had gained nothing.
All she got were those remnants leaking from the rift, as she had just seen.
That was why she was afraid.
What did the one closest to her think of this pathetic version of herself?
She was probably furious.
Because Elia had used her to do all those things.
She might even want to deny the time they spent together here.
After all, back then, she hadn't known Elia was such a pitiful alchemist.
Elia took a breath.
She was afraid, but she had to do it anyway.
The apology she had put off for so long.
"Siana. I'm so—!"
Siana, who had come right up to her, didn't say anything.
She didn't get angry. She didn't blame Elia.
She just hugged her long-lost friend, happy to see her.
And then, it began to flow.
The words Siana had wanted to say to Elia for so long.
That she must have suffered so much, enduring all those terrible failures, frustrations, and disappointments alone for nearly a thousand years.
That she was grateful — for going that far for her, and for coming to find her.
That she had wanted to say these things.
Elia, who had been about to speak, closed her mouth.
Then she quietly hugged her friend back.
Rustle.
Siana's form began to scatter into particles of light.
Elia held her tighter, trying to feel even a trace of that warmth.
A moment she wished could last forever passed in an instant, and the form in her arms vanished completely.
At the same time, darkness returned to the cabin that the emerald light had illuminated.
The familiar scent and warmth were gone.
As Elia stood there in a daze.
Grip.
She felt someone's warmth wrap around her arm.
She looked up to see her master, Yoo Jin-hyuk.
Then warmth spread from her legs too.
It was Momo's chubby cheek and Kancho pressing his forehead against her.
"You know this isn't going to make the potion taste better, right?"
Whether Elia said anything or not, the warmth kept adding up, one by one.
Moonlight streaming through the window lit up the dark cabin.
"Hmm."
Elia let out a small hum and smiled.
"It's hot."
She didn't know why.
It was really hot.
But her heart felt at ease.
Because she knew this warmth would last forever.
* * *
Ding!
[The Sage of Stars, Elia Forsen, has faced the past she had been putting off!]
[All conditions for the Promotion Quest have been met!]
[Elia's rank has been promoted from Unique to Epic!]
[Accumulated temporary experience has been applied!]
[Elia levels up!]
[Elia levels up!]
[Elia levels up!]
.
.
.
[Elia has reached Level 140!]
[The exclusive trait, Starlight Alchemy – Intermediate, has reached MAX level! Upgraded to Advanced LV1!]
The power of all alchemy increases!
[The exclusive trait, Star's Blessing – Intermediate, has reached MAX level! Upgraded to Advanced LV1!]
On clear starry nights, the power of alchemy is amplified!
New constellations that were previously unseeable can now be discovered!
[The exclusive trait, Primordial Curiosity, has reached Advanced LV4!]
Inspiration is gained from a wider variety of sources!
Curiosity is the starting point of all alchemy! The number of alchemy types and craftable potions increases!
[Acquired exclusive skill 'Apprentice of the Workshop – Beginner'! Summons an apprentice that exists only in the Star Workshop! They can be entrusted with workshop tasks, and as skill level increases, the range and efficiency of tasks they can perform improve!]
"Woo-hoo-hoo!!"
Elia let out a cheer and threw an uppercut.
"All that procrastination on cleaning finally paid off!"
Jin-hyuk, who had been listening, swallowed dryly.
The Star Workshop was currently a complete disaster zone.
It looked like another victim was about to emerge, following Torongjwa.
"Commander. I told you, didn't I? That hag? She's no good. No good at all."
Kancho clicked his tongue, apparently thinking this was too much even for him.
Momo, the chubby one beside him, let out a sigh of relief.
Now that she had an apprentice, Elia wouldn't be pestering them to help clean the workshop anymore.
'Fighting, apprentice!'
As I offered a half-hearted consolation.
[An Epic-grade card has been added! Class Collector, Player Yoo Jin-hyuk's synchronization rate has increased by 5%! Current synchronization rate: 135%]
I threw an uppercut of my own at the synchronization rate increase, which had been a while.
Then, something I had heard earlier came to mind.
"Elia, question!"
"Oh, Master! Ask me anything! I'm way smarter than yesterday's me."
"I only caught it in passing, so I'm not sure, but… you said earlier that you and Siana laid the foundation of alchemy here. That you set up rules and stuff."
"That's right."
"So before that, there were no rules or guidelines for alchemy? Nothing set by other alchemists?"
"There wasn't. Because there were no alchemists in the first place."
"Huh?"
"Heheh! Our master didn't know, did he?"
Elia spun around once and pointed her thumb at herself.
"This body is the very first alchemist!"
Jin-hyuk, who had been listening quietly, dropped his jaw.
Wait…?!
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T/N:
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