It's Too Late for Regrets - Chapter 11.9

Ines quietly walked behind the archbishop. Edgar followed her slowly.

 

They had descended to the pipe organ seats overlooking the main hall of La Celia Cathedral.

 

“A sorcerer… and the oldest darkness, you say…”

 

Among all the titles Ines held, Andrea was only interested in two. He let out a sigh that nearly faded away and roughly rubbed his face.

 

“You said you wanted to know what it was. I’m surprised you even thought of coming to the church. There shouldn’t be any information about the oldest darkness in the scriptures distributed to the public.”

 

That very darkness—the one you’re so afraid of right now—is the one who told me about it…

 

If she said it plainly like that, the old archbishop might literally grab his neck and faint, so Ines kept her mouth shut.

 

Andrea began to explain in a heavy tone.

 

“It is, quite literally, evil. No clear shape or will—just misfortune itself.”

 

“Misfortune itself…?”

 

“Yes. It isn’t something born of cause and effect, but misfortunes that randomly befall humans. You know how sometimes in life, hardships come unexpectedly? It’s a term for all those kinds of things. The Father of our existence—God—personally created it and sent it down to the earth.”

 

“Are you saying… God created evil Himself?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

Andrea pointed to the wall of the main hall.

 

From below, it had looked like a stone tablet with the seven miracles of creation carved into it. But now, viewed from a different angle from above, a completely different image appeared.

 

The first carving showed a black snake-like thing sliding down from the sun.

 

Since the sun represents the Absolute, as Andrea said, it meant that evil was indeed born from God.

 

“The reason the Father first created it must have been for the proper growth of mankind. With hardship and trials, people can grow and find joy by overcoming them.”

 

“I see…”

 

“But He made the first mistake—He failed to consider that humans wouldn’t always see evil as something to overcome, but would instead follow it.”

 

“…”

 

“He loved His creations so much that He overestimated them. Darkness feeds on the misfortunes rooted in human hearts and the evil within, growing ever stronger. Eventually, this shapeless fog gains followers who call it Satan and worship it.”

 

Andrea pointed to the second and third tablets.

 

From below, they had appeared to be humans praising God, but from above, they turned into followers of darkness with black spots on their hearts.

 

On the fourth tablet, the sharp tips of their spears all pointed toward the sun.

 

“So, God chose to deal with the darkness He had created Himself. He gathered the darkness tainted by evil humans and sealed their bitter grudges—fused with human souls—into crosses all across the continent.”

 

“At the end of the creation myth, the locations of five relics are mentioned. But four have already disappeared through natural weathering, so we no longer know where they are. Only one remains.”

 

Only one remains. Ines instantly realized where it was.

 

The imperial castle of Jenaire.

 

The underground of the Jenaire palace, where sorcerers had been summoned for hundreds of years.

 

The place where Ines’s life had begun.

 

“Visiting that place shouldn’t be difficult. Eleanor’s flag is likely flying there now.”

 

It was also the place Rayan had personally conquered last fall.

 

“…Then, do you also know about the concept of a ‘sorcerer’?”

 

“Their story begins now.”

 

Andrea pointed to the last carving on the far-left wall.

 

“In the central continent, they are called sorcerers. Like the priests of our diocese, they are apostles who received divine revelations.”

 

The last carving showed priests bowing their heads before God’s altar. But Andrea pointed to a small, hidden part in the back, hard to see from afar.

 

There, two more figures were carved, wearing cloaks.

 

“But their revelation was different. The Father believed that, once humans had learned the pleasure brought by darkness, it would one day return.”

 

“…”

 

“So, while He commanded the church’s priests to guide people on the path of good, He also gave a different mission to a very small number of priests—to prepare for the day when darkness would return.”

 

Andrea took a deep breath and slowly exhaled as he finished.

 

“The secret mission was to suppress the oldest darkness and free the humans consumed by it—in other words, to judge evil.”

 

“…”

 

A faint realization came to her. That meant the power she had seen from the sorcerers in the forest of Rosram was essentially the same as the priests’—divine power.

 

“Since God created it, it makes sense that He would have the power to defeat it.”

 

“…That does make sense.”

 

“Yes. They sometimes live as wandering gypsies or are known as sorcerers, moving quietly across the continent. To remain hidden, their power is passed down by blood.”

 

“Do you mean, from parent to child?”

 

“That’s what the scripture says.”

 

Then one thing was clear. If her biological father was a sorcerer, she would have inherited that power.

 

And that power might still be inside her.

 

Maybe her father had known that and had deliberately placed the oldest darkness within her. Believing that one day she would awaken her powers and defeat it. Perhaps the reason she could understand the ancient language used by sorcerers was also part of that ability.

 

“Is the method to awaken that power written in the scripture?”

 

“No. That’s probably something passed down only among their apostles.”

 

“There’s no known connection to them in Lezan?”

 

“Sadly, no. The church has been cut off from them for thousands of years.”

 

All the sorcerers Rayan had captured were already dead.

 

Which meant the only place where they might find clues now was Jenaire.

 

She didn’t know if any still remained…

 

‘Do I need to go to the underground of Jenaire’s palace?’

 

As Ines fell deep into thought, Andrea quickly added something, as if reading her expression.

 

“But be careful, Sister. What I’ve told you so far is from over five thousand years ago. No one knows how that secretive group—cut off from the church—might have changed over time.”

 

“Even priests who dedicate their entire lives to the church can sometimes be tempted. Those people are likely no different.”

 

“…I know. I’ve already experienced it once.”

 

A sorcerer named Lim had sided with the royal family for Jenaire’s revival. He helped kidnap Ines and planned to use the oldest darkness inside her as a weapon.

 

They may have already forgotten their original mission from God and become a group only trying to use darkness for their own ends.

 

In truth, it didn’t matter much either way. Ines thought of her old friend.

 

Kian.

 

The one she had named—was he equal to the “oldest darkness” that had existed since the beginning? Or just a part of it?

 

“…Archbishop. You said earlier that the ‘oldest darkness’ originally had no will of its own, correct?”

 

“Yes. It’s said to be more like a vengeful spirit made of countless human grudges. All it can do is tempt people blindly.”

 

But Kian had been by Ines’s side for as long as she could remember, gently speaking to her.

 

Ines, it hurt a lot.
Don’t use me for this. You’ll suffer.

 

Sometimes he worried for her. Sometimes he rejoiced with her. Sometimes, he even refused to drain her life.

 

And just before she died, he had even formed a human shape.

 

Even now,

 

Kian sometimes felt truly human.

 

He should be nothing but shapeless darkness, feeding on the hearts of the living—so how could he be so…

 

“Human?”

 

“It’s been 5,000 years… Maybe even the oldest darkness has changed.”

 

Ines closed her eyes, trying to organize her thoughts.

 

Whatever the case, she felt she would one day have to return to Jenaire.

 

There was still too much she didn’t know.

 

Her father and mother’s relationship.
How her father had sealed darkness into a human like her.
The power of the sorcerers she had to awaken…

 

All the clues were in Jenaire—the country where she had been born and raised.

 

 

By the time they left the church after the brief meeting and blessing from the archbishop, quite some time had passed.

 

“Thanks to you, Ines, I learned things I never knew. I thought I had studied theology quite a bit when I was young.”

 

If the crown prince had been educated in theology, the grand duke probably had as well. After all, they had grown up together.

 

But if this was Edgar’s first-time hearing this, then just how much did Rayan know?

 

“Then, shall we part ways here for today?”

 

Ines suddenly realized Edgar had stopped walking and turned quickly.

 

“Are you not going back to the palace?”

 

“I think I’ll stay for mass today. I’ve never felt so desperate to seek God.”

 

Maybe it was the sun behind his head casting a backlight, but Edgar’s half-lowered eyes looked darker than usual.

 

“I hope the archbishop’s blessing helps you greatly, Ines.”

 

Thinking she had misread his expression, Ines tilted her head slightly. The backlight disappeared, and his full expression was revealed. Edgar was smiling kindly as always.

 

It must have been her imagination.

 

Ines slowly bowed in a simple gesture of respect for the emperor.

 

“May glory and blessing always be with Lezan and His Majesty.”

 

“Yes. See you next week, Ines.”

 

When Ines stepped outside after parting with Edgar, the street at the bottom of the stairs looked the same as it had hours ago.

 

The carriage with Eleanor’s rose vines and black crest stood in the same spot.

 

Rayan leaned diagonally against the carriage door, fiddling with his bare hands after removing his gloves.

 

She saw him digging his nails into his scarred palm, scratching it raw.

 

After watching for a few days, she realized that one of Rayan’s strange habits was bothering some part of her body for no reason. It got worse especially when she was out of his sight.

 

Her right shoulder blade was probably still not healed at all.