**#256. Faith and Belief (3)**
—
“‘Beyond the wall’—it was a phrase mentioned in the diary of the First Pope. But too many pages were missing, so I could never grasp exactly what it meant. After that, I simply buried it in my memory.”
Perhaps lost in thought, the Pope’s eyes had drifted into the air. But soon, he turned and looked directly at Ray.
“Where did you hear those words?”
“…”
Ray recalled what the Dawn society’s executives had shouted in their final moments.
*‘You’ve kicked away your chance at wealth and glory in the City of Mages… with your own feet…!’*
*‘On the day the indigo sun rises, our Dawn society will become the most powerful force—even beyond the wall…!’*
…He could make one deduction.
“‘Beyond the wall,’ ‘City of Mages’—these were all things the Dawn society executives mentioned.”
And then—
“I believe the City of Mages exists beyond the wall. Most likely, the Dawn society’s headquarters is located there as well.”
*The City of Mages.*
At the introduction of this new topic, the Pope and Solite showed slight surprise.
“The City of Mages… I’ve heard stories of it since childhood. A great city where only mages live, somewhere in the world.”
“I’ve heard of it as well. But wasn’t it more like a ghost story or legend?”
The Pope spoke as he arranged teacups with telekinesis.
*Clink—pour…*
“I, too, thought it was just a legend. At the very least, what’s certain is that the City of Mages does not exist anywhere around us.”
His wrinkled hands wrapped around the teacup.
Sipping the now-steaming tea, the Pope continued.
In his younger days, driven by curiosity, he had traveled all over the world.
The highest-numbered sectors.
Ruins of the old era.
The highlands and mountain ranges of the wilderness.
“I’ve been to many places. But I never once saw the City of Mages. Nor did I find any clues related to it.”
Then Solite spoke with admiration.
“You’ve even been to the highest-numbered sector… That’s farther than I could ever imagine. You left your mark in such a distant place.”
“No, it’s not that far. If you set your mind to it, you could get there within two days.”
“Excuse me?”
“People usually think Sector 1 is the final destination when following the Elton River upstream. But they’re wrong. The highest-numbered sector is Sector 26. Where Sector 25 should be… there’s only empty wilderness.”
Solite stood stunned, mouth agape. In contrast, Ray remained calm.
He already knew.
From the top of the World Tree, he had looked down and seen that there was no Sector 25 next to the Elton River.
Instead, there had been an expanse of barren land—where a vast dome of mana shimmered.
*A distortion field.*
One with unimaginable precision and intricacy.
Had he not possessed the ability to see mana’s colors, he likely wouldn’t have noticed it.
And perhaps beyond that…
*‘The City of Mages might be there.’*
Feeling a surge of intense curiosity, Ray asked the Pope:
“May I take a look at the diary myself?”
“That would be difficult. Even if the situation is urgent, by regulation, only the Pope is allowed to view it.”
Ray accepted that for now.
He remembered the time he’d carelessly read Veronica’s diary—and endured weeks of nagging because of it.
*‘A record not meant to be viewed lightly.’*
Maybe this was similar.
“In any case, I’ll look through the diary again and share my thoughts with you.”
“…”
But he wanted to see it himself.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that it contained crucial clues about what lay beyond the wall and the City of Mages.
As he considered a way, Ray noticed the flickering curiosity and interest pulsing in the Pope’s aura.
*‘It’s directed at me.’*
And the Pope’s gaze refused to leave him.
Solite’s words echoed: the Pope had an intense curiosity for magical inquiry.
If that’s true—
“You seem to have a lot of questions for me.”
“Oh? Was it that obvious?”
“If you let me read the diary, I’ll answer one of your questions.”
“As I said, by regulation, that’s not permitted.”
The Pope’s tone was firm.
But the wavering light of inner conflict in his aura did not escape Ray’s notice.
“I’ll answer two questions.”
“It’s absolutely not—”
“Three.”
“Still not—”
“Four. No more than that.”
“…”
After a long silence, the Pope cleared his throat and finally spoke.
“Hmm, I suppose it can’t be helped. I can’t refuse such a heartfelt request. Then, may I begin asking right away?”
“…Your Holiness?”
Solite looked betrayed.
The Pope pretended not to notice.
But soon even Solite turned to Ray, eager to hear what came next—he, too, was deeply curious about the boy.
“Who is your master?”
“I don’t have one.”
“No master? Then how did you learn magic?”
“I taught myself.”
“We agreed you’d only speak the truth. Magic requires complex calculations grounded in theory. It’s not something you can just learn on your own.”
Ray silently pulled out the Oath Stone he held in his hand—it remained unresponsive.
“Oh my…”
The Pope felt a chill down his spine.
A sixteen-year-old, fourth-circle mage.
And self-taught, no less.
He couldn’t even fathom the extent of such talent.
“I don’t rely much on theories or formulas. I mix colors of mana to produce desired results. For example, red mana is used to create fire, yellow mana for electricity, and so on…”
Ray’s explanation revealed a sophisticated structure that could not possibly be fabricated.
The Pope instinctively understood.
Everything he had known about magic was only half-complete—and his worldview was beginning to collapse.
Clutching his dizzy head and thudding heart, he asked the next question:
“How many types of magic can you use with this color-mixing method? In other words, how many branches of magic can you handle?”
Ray thought for a moment before replying.
“All the branches known to the public.”
The words were hard to believe.
Each mage could control only a limited number of elemental types, typically four or five, depending on their affinity.
Even the Pope, hailed as a prodigy, could wield only eight.
But all known types?
*‘He can use all 21 known branches of magic?’*
Impossible.
Unacceptable.
It struck at his last shred of pride as a mage.
“That’s an outrageous lie—”
The Pope abruptly stopped himself.
Fire, lightning, frost…
All the branches of magic that could be visually demonstrated began to appear one after another in perfect form on Ray’s palm.
Not mere imitations—but near perfection.
“For types like illusion or growth magic, I’d need a target to demonstrate them.”
“…”
The Pope and Solite—
Both were too stunned to respond.
Ray looked around, then stepped outside the gazebo, heading somewhere with purpose.
The Pope watched his movements with trembling eyes.
*Tap—tap—tap.*
Ray stopped in front of a small green sprout.
A plant the Pope had cherished deeply—
But due to its highly delicate growth conditions, it had barely stayed alive for years.
*Rustle.*
Ray knelt down and gently cupped the sprout with both hands.
──────!
A burst of green mana instantly lit up the garden.
The sprout, as if repaying years of dormancy, straightened and soared toward the sky.
And when the light faded—
The Pope and Solite saw it.
A strong stem towering over Ray’s head.
And at its tip bloomed a dazzling white flower.
*Hopegrassia.*
Its flower language: *hope.*
“Ah…”
The Pope had witnessed a miracle.
And realized he was crying.
—
*Tap—tap—tap—*
Three pairs of footsteps echoed clearly across the marble floor.
The Pope’s quarters were deep within the Grand Cathedral, and outside of designated times, no attendants were allowed in. The halls were utterly quiet.
“This way.”
Guiding Ray to the library, the Pope pulled a book from a shelf.
*Rumble—!*
The bookshelf split in half, revealing stairs leading underground.
“Oh.”
“Follow me.”
The Pope led the way.
Solite dragged Ray, who was now playing eye tag with the secret mechanism, along behind him.
After descending for some time, they arrived in a vast stone chamber.
*‘The walls, floor, and ceiling… now that I look closely, they don’t seem like stone.’*
It was a type of metal he had never seen before, with a stone-like texture.
The perfectly smooth cubic room gave the impression of being inside one of the advanced chambers of Rael Row.
Ray looked around at the endless bookshelves lining the walls.
“So the books upstairs weren’t everything.”
“All the books here are related to scripture or religion. It’s also the place where former Popes secluded themselves to refine their faith.”
To resist external pressure and spread their ideals, the Order needed strength.
They chose magic as that strength.
But magic is a study that tempts humans into endlessly pursuing power.
This place was where they reaffirmed their faith whenever their desires began to stray.
The Pope pulled out an old diary from the shelf and handed it to Ray.
“This is the diary of the First Pope—the one you asked to see.”
Perhaps it was because he had just witnessed a miracle.
The Pope’s voice toward Ray now carried even more respect and trust.
*Flip—*
The diary was faded, with much of the writing worn away and difficult to read.
*“I… how long has it been… since I came out… beyond the wall… I do not know…”*
*“The Prophet’s… command… return… rainbow… sun… I must find… he is the reincarnation of the sun…”*
*“Trials… ongoing… but… never gave up… those beyond the wall… were wrong… prove it… a world… where all… can be happy.”*
Ray sifted through the legible words, pulling out key terms.
*Beyond the wall, Prophet.*
*Sun, reincarnation, happiness.*
And—
*‘Rainbow.’*
Could the Order have some hidden history involving rainbows?
He gathered the diaries of other Popes and looked through them in order.
Mentions of the rainbow and other important words became less frequent over time—and eventually disappeared altogether.
It seemed some information once passed between Popes had been severed with time.
“I tried to infer their meanings as well, but didn’t get far. The only significant conclusion I reached was that the first revelation likely came from someone called the Prophet.”
“The first revelation?”
Solite took a Bible from his bosom and pointed to the beginning of the very first page.
“This is the part.”
“When the one who can breathe light into the Sunstone appears, the world shall at last regain prosperity and fertility.”
As Ray read the verse aloud, the Pope gave a nod.
“That’s right. The Sunstone refers to Terranote, and the one who can breathe light into it means the Saint—or the Holy One.”
A complex mixture of emotions passed over the Pope’s face.
Regret, disappointment, guilt.
Sadness, worry, pity.
All of them emotions directed toward Pieta.
Because he now knew that she was a false saint put forward by the Dawn Society.
Just as Ray was wondering if there was anything else he could uncover from the journal—
“…?”
His gaze caught on a cubic structure positioned at the center of the room.
It was a cube.
Sensing Ray’s questioning eyes, the Pope spoke.
“I imagine you already know, but that’s a cube from Ignis Bank. As for why it’s here, I don’t know. It’s simply been there for a very long time.”
Drawn in as if mesmerized, Ray stepped closer.
As he silently observed the cube, the Pope, standing behind him, added an explanation.
“Even when I scanned my card, there was no response. It seems broken, but we’ve left it as is. Beyond its enormous weight, I suspect there’s a reason it’s still here.”
“…”
Ray knew that cubes weren’t used solely as Ignis branch terminals.
For example, the cube he’d found in the tower of the ruins had functioned as a kind of bunker.
*Just because it’s a cube from Ignis doesn’t mean that’s all it is…*
As he continued examining it, he spotted something unusual at the center of the cube.
A spiral groove—shaped in such a way that something could be twisted in and fitted.
And then—
*Vrrrrmmm!*
A strong resonant hum rang out from within his coat.
Ray pulled his hand from inside his cloak. In it was a silver bolt made of metal.
It was the bolt he had received from Elder Parun.
A token that allowed him to make a request of the dwarves at any time—
And something said to have come from the very toolbox of Rael Row, the original designer.
The boy’s hand, holding the silver bolt, moved toward the groove as if drawn by a spell.
*Click!*
