Wizard of the Deep Sea

"Hmm...?"

"I’ll be completely honest. We’ve lost. There is no way to fight back anymore.”

Since Sharmia looked utterly confused, I elaborated.

"Great Void has been planning for this moment for a very, very long time. If he had still been an incomplete existence, there might have been some opening, but when we’re talking about a plan devised by an Outer God over the course of thousands of years, I doubt it would have any such flaw.”

"Th-then what countermeasure have you prepared?”

"None. My original plan was to buy time with Your Highness’ ability and think of something, but the more I thought about it, the less likely it seemed that Great Void hadn’t already accounted for anything I could possibly come up with.”

"Ah..."

It was simply the reality of the situation.

Great Void’s caution boarded on paranoia. The moment he acted, the outcome had already been decided. Everything he did afterward was like taking a glass that had already shattered and grinding it into powder with a mortar and pestle.

Why had he continued to fear me even after he had already secured victory?

I had my guess, but no certainty.

Which was why I needed to gather more information.

"That is why—I’d like Your Highness to come up with the answer.”

"...You mean I should return to the past and create a crack in Great Void’s plans?”

"No.”

The Emperor, who had remained silent while watching Sharmia’s determined expression, finally spoke.

Perhaps because his daughter was standing before him, he spoke in a much more human-like voice this time. Awkwardly scratching his temple, he continued.

"Even if you inherited my authority and returned to the earliest point possible, everything had already been decided by then. No matter what different choices you made, nothing would change. 

“More importantly, this isn’t a battlefield where a single human can alter the course of history. If you returned to the past and acted similarly, Great Void would simply adjust his strategy to match.”

"Then I’m even more confused. What exactly am I supposed to do?”

Standing before the confused Sharmia, I exchanged a glance with the Emperor, then I nodded.

"We need to learn why Great Void fears the Abyssal Sea.”

"Wh-what?”

"Great Void’s world was originally nothing more than the sky. He never ruled what lay beyond the heavens. That’s why he could be imprisoned beneath the Abyssal Sea, but that isn’t true anymore. The domain he commands now has long since surpassed the realm of ordinary Outer Gods. It has become something greater.”

The Emperor continued calmly.

"How did he obtain such a domain? And after obtaining it, why does he fear the Abyssal Sea so much? If we can uncover the answer to those questions, we may yet find a way to resist him.”

"I understand. But—I don’t know how far back I can go or where exactly I’ll end up. And even if I get there, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do…”

"I shall help with that.”

The Emperor gently rested a hand on Sharmia’s head.

"You inherited all of my authority. If you travel alongside me, you may be able to trace the memories carried without your bloodline beyond the point normally permitted to you...In other words, you can travel back to the memories of your ancestors. If you can go that far, you should be able to witness the memories of someone who was connected to the wizard of the Abyssal Sea and perhaps glean some information.”

Failure was not an option here.

Sharmia nodded in understanding, then looked up toward the sky.

"I understand what you’re asking. Then we have to finish this before Great Void arrives.”

"That is impossible.”

"...What?"

I shrugged and laid out the rather grim reality.

"Originally, Your Highness was supposed to buy us time, but now you’re the one who has to gather information, which means Great Void will be here very soon. We can’t stop him.”

"Th-then even if I come back with the information, won’t everything already be over?”

"No, it’s just that our roles have changed.”

I shook my head with a faint smile.

"I’ll hold him off while Your Highness gathers the information.”

"...Can you really?”

"I think so. He doesn’t want to absorb me. If I keep moving and never give him the chance, he won’t be able to attack recklessly.”

"Ugh..."

"Sharmia.”

Looking directly into her wavering eyes, I declared,

"No matter what happens, I’ll protect everyone here. So trust me and do what only you can do.”

"...I trust you.”

After a brief silence…

Sharmia nodded and smiled gently, as though she had never doubted my words for even a moment.

"You have never once broken a promise no matter what happens, Jern.”

"Well, I did promise I’d defeat Great Void only to come back after losing miserably…”

"But the fight isn't over yet, right? The Jern I know isn’t someone who says things like that just because he’s at a disadvantage.”

After seeing her smile, I bowed my head deeply.

"...I’m counting on you.”

"Of course. Just wait a little longer. I’ll be back before you know it!”

Sharmia smiled warmly at me.

It was such a beautiful smile that no one would ever believe the world was on the verge of ending.

*t*t*

Sharmia didn’t like letting anyone watch her use her ability.

I wasn’t particularly interested in seeing it either, so I left immediately.

'Less than a day left.’

Underground or not, this was still the Abyssal Sea.

I could already feel that colossal presence drawing close to the deepest layer. My job now was to buy time.

Great Void didn't seem eager to kill me if he could avoid it. So perhaps, just as I’d confidently told Sharmia, I could somehow drag this out.

—If not for the people.

"Uuugh, it’s so cramped."

"How much longer do we have to stay here…?”

From above, the underground city looked impossibly crowded. After all, it now held every surviving person in the world.

If I fought Great Void here, human lives would be worth less than flies'. Every exchange of blows would claim tens of thousands of lives.

I had no intention of breaking my promise to Sharmia. No matter what happened, these were lives I had sworn to protect.

And to do that—I couldn’t do it alone.

"...I suppose that was only natural.”

I let out a quiet chuckle before making my way down into the deepest layer.

What had I ever accomplished on my own?

I was nothing more than an unlucky human who had fallen into the Abyssal Sea. The only reason I’d survived this long was because of everyone else’s help.

Yet despite that, I’d convinced myself that no one else could help and decided to face Great Void alone.

The palace I arrived at after crossing the deepest layer was one I’d grown strangely nostalgic for.

The capital.

The capital as it had been before everything fell apart.

'That’s incredible.’

For a moment, I forgot the situation entirely and stared in amazement.

Even submerged within the Abyssal Sea, the capital remained completely dry, preserved exactly as I remembered it. Considering how long it had taken the other Outer Gods to accomplish anything remotely similar, it spoke volumes about just how masterfully she controlled her domain.

Pushing my surprise aside for the moment, I knocked on the city gate.

"Elisia.”

"...Jern?”

The reply came almost immediately.

The gate cracked open just enough for a curtain of silver hair to peek through, as though she’d been waiting for me the entire time.

But she didn’t come any farther. The moment she tried to lean her head into the Abyssal Sea, she flinched in surprise and hurriedly shut the gate again.

"Wh-what happened? The whole world suddenly sank underwater. I was so startled.”

"Sorry. Great Void invaded without warning. I didn’t get the chance to tell you beforehand. Did anything happen here?”

"I’m fine. You're the one I’m worried about, Jern.”

"What?"

"I can’t stay in another world’s domain. You know that.”

...Only after hearing that did I really look around the city. The capital wasn’t being protected in the way I’d first assumed.

At first, I’d thought Elisia had used her power to push the seawater away. She hadn’t.

The seawater itself refused to approach the capital. It retreated on its own. I hadn’t done anything. It was simply as natural as an air bubble remaining intact beneath the surface of the sea.

"If you don’t settle this quickly, my presence will contaminate your Abyssal Sea. So..."

"Ah, you don’t need to worry about that.”

"...Y-you won?”

From behind the gate, Elisia’s voice brightened immediately.

"No, I lost. Miserably. I wasn’t even close.”

"...Ah, erm…”

"Huh? You’re taking that better than I expected.”

"...I’m sorry, Jern…I thought there was a chance you might not be able to win.”

Listening to Elisia’s timid confession, I simply nodded.

Well, she had seen Great Void before. it wasn’t strange for her to think that.

"N-no! I’m not saying you’re weak, Jern. It’s just…I’ve seen Great Void before. When I saw him, he looked badly wounded and weakened…”

She hesitated before finally blurting out what she’d really been thinking.

"…It was different. Different from the other Outer Gods. It felt like his very existence was something else entirely.”

"I see. I understand.”

Thinking back on it now, maybe Elisia had sensed a piece of Great Void’s true nature all along.

As that thought crossed my mind, another slightly mischievous one followed it.

"So, what would you have done if I really had lost and never came back?”

"Of course I would’ve come to save you!”

"Really? How?”

"..."

Elisia fell silent again. Then, from behind the gate, she timidly stretched out a hand.

Tiny white fingers emerged. They touched the seawater—

and created a few tiny bubbles.

"...!"

An ordinary person would never have understood the significance of what had just happened. But I, as the outer God of the Abyssal Sea and the ruler of this domain, understood immediately.

Just now, Elisia had destroyed a tiny fragment of the Abyssal Sea.

"I’m sorry. I know it probably wouldn't have helped much, but I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing…”

The place her hand had touched was no longer part of the Abyssal Sea.

It had become nothing more than a deep part of the ocean. 

a natural place that was no longer governed by me nor in my domain.

Just as I could not command the sky, and the sky could not command me, it had become something completely separate.

Nothingness.

A concept created to erase the domains of gods. I swallowed once before shaking my head.

"Elisia.”

"H-hm? Did I do something wrong?”

"I don’t think Great Void will touch you. Neither your abilities nor your world. They're far too dangerous. If you stay inside there, he won’t provoke you unnecessarily. As long as you don’t try to fight him yourself.”

It had already been proven several times.

If I were Great Void, I wouldn’t have the nerve to interfere with a world like hers either.

"But I'm sorry. I need you to risk danger and help me.”

"..."

"I need you right now.”

I’d prepared all sorts of arguments to persuade her.

But it seemed like all of that had been a wasted effort.

-Creaaak... 

The instant she heard me say that I needed her, the city gate opened.

"Okay, I understand. What do you need me to do?”

Elisia didn’t ask a single question.

...For some reason, she even looked kind of happy.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!