Island of Wisdom (9)
‘Where… am I?’
Lukna looked around. The place resembled an enormous conch shell and appeared to be someone’s laboratory.
Shelves displayed elixirs of every kind, and not a speck of dust lay on the neatly arranged experimental tools along the walls.
“Cough, this is my lab,”
the Great Sage Kuran replied, coughing up blood.
He showed Lukna the torn scroll he held in his hand, explaining how he had arrived here using a “mobile scroll developed by the elves.” Then, he coughed up blood again.
“Are you alright, Kuran?”
“Apparently, the herbal tea I drank earlier was poisoned.”
“Herbal tea… you mean the one Bolton gave you?”
Poisoned by Bolton? Lukna’s eyes darted around in disbelief. The Bolton she knew would never harm anyone.
“Bolton wouldn’t do such a thing.”
“That’s right. That fool isn’t capable of such scheming. Someone else must have framed him. He’s just the unlucky one,”
Kuran said, calling Bolton a fool with a weak laugh.
“Do you have an antidote? Could it be in one of these elixirs?”
“This would be a deadly poison mixed with dark magic. Unless it’s the Golden Elixir, curing it won’t be easy.”
“Then tell me where the Golden Elixir is. I’ll fetch it right now!”
Ah, that must be it.
Lukna finally realized the Red Eagles’ plan and kept watch outside the window.
The Red Eagles had poisoned the Great Sage to force him to reveal the location of the Golden Elixir. The moment she retrieved it, a Red Eagle could appear at any time.
The Sage chuckled at her concern.
“No need to be so tense. My Golden Elixir was already used up long ago. The terrorists earlier must have known that and tried to take the Philosopher’s Stone instead.”
Both the Philosopher’s Stone and the Golden Elixir could only be created by an alchemist who had reached mastery.
The Philosopher’s Stone could be gradually produced, like a shell forming a pearl, taking years to craft, but the Golden Elixir could only be synthesized once in a lifetime.
The one who successfully synthesizes the Golden Elixir inherits the title of Great Sage.
“I am already too late. So, don’t bother—just tell me your real name.”
“My real name? I’m Lukna Golden.”
“That can’t be. Earlier, I couldn’t say anything because so many eyes were watching, but you bear an uncanny resemblance to someone I knew. In looks, in aura… everything.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“Lady Closset.”
Lukna’s eyes widened. Closset? The holy family of one of the three heroes famed during the Demon War.
‘I did dream about the Closset family before… but no way it could be…’
She waved her hands, emphasizing again that she was Lukna Golden.
“You said you lost your memories. Do you see the yellow elixir over there? Fetch that one.”
Kuran trembled as he raised his arm and pointed to the elixir on the shelf.
Lukna picked up the palm-sized glass vial, and Kuran instructed her to put it in her eyes as if it were eye drops.
“In your eyes?”
“Memories are not only in the brain but also remain in our eyes. If you put the elixir in, you may briefly see the memories you need now.”
But Lukna hesitated, unable to bring herself to put the suspicious liquid into her eyes.
Kuran sighed, then, without preamble, apologized.
“I’m sorry. I have little time left, so forgive my rudeness.”
“Excuse me?”
“There’s no ill intent, so I hope you understand.”
Then, a voice thundered in her mind.
‘Put the elixir in your eyes.’
Kuran’s voice carried an irresistible force, much like the mermaid’s song she had heard before arriving at the Island of Wisdom.
Lukna’s hands moved of their own accord, dropping a few drops of the elixir into her eyes.
Instantly, her head spun, and her vision turned a blinding white.
〈Bodies tainted by dark magic must be purified, Lukna. Only then can a soul move on to the next life intact.〉
Her father’s voice from a dream long ago.
Through the white haze, she saw her father’s sturdy back, and beyond it, the desolate landscape of the village swept by death.
The acrid smell of burning corpses stung her nose.
‘Is this a dream? Or a vision?’
With the elixir in her eyes, she was seeing illusions as if dreaming. She tried to pinch her cheek but could not move her body.
At her father’s feet lay a corpse, its skin darkened and decayed.
〈Be careful there.〉
Her father was purifying the corpse with holy power and pointed to a red flower blooming nearby.
〈This is the Sosori Poison Plant, used by the Red Eagles to create deadly venom. Judging by the seeds spreading here, the Red Eagles must have settled nearby.〉
He explained that the Red Eagles were a nomadic people who worshipped Karzan, the primordial dark mage, as a god.
〈Mix dark magic with the Sosori Poison Plant, and it becomes lethal. It’s said that only a Golden Elixir can cure it, but in truth, with mandrake roots, holy power, and love for the poisoned, it can be treated.〉
He carefully picked the poisonous petals and placed them on his palm.
A white light bloomed on his palm and incinerated the poison plant.
〈How do you mix in love, Dad?〉
〈Stories tell you. A prince wakes a princess with a kiss, or a princess’ tears save the prince.〉
〈Is that really true?〉
〈To some extent, yes. Fluids filled with love can neutralize dark magic.〉
Dark magic, which targets the body, is vulnerable to the soul’s power and the strength of one’s heart.
〈Dark magic is usually potent, but it can be easily countered with the energy of the heart. Purifying this corpse works on the same principle.〉
〈Can I do it like you, Dad?〉
〈Of course. As a descendant of the Clossets, you must know this method.〉
Her father emphasized that young Lukna was a descendant of the holy Closset family.
‘The body I thought was a mere side character… was actually the heir of Saint Closset?’
Why had such an important figure lived in misery?
As complex thoughts weighed on her mind, a woman’s voice spoke from behind.
〈You really are something. Don’t teach such things to young Lukna who should be playing.〉
Lukna, or rather, this body, recognized her by voice alone.
‘…Mom?’
It was her mother. Blood rushed to her heart, the pounding echoing through her entire body.
A feeling of longing surged, intense and inexplicable.
Even in her previous life as an orphan, she had never known her mother, yet now, the yearning was overwhelming.
‘I want to see Mom.’
But her head would not turn.
Please, just move. Just once. I don’t need my real mother, just… just once.
Despite her desperate effort, her body remained frozen.
〈You must teach in bits and pieces. Death comes unexpectedly.〉
〈That’s true. Lukna, your father is right. Someone’s death can come without warning, just like now.〉
〈Now…?〉
I want to see you, Mom. Just once, please.
Finally, Lukna’s head slowly turned.
Blinding sunlight from behind her mother made her face hard to see, but she felt the touch of her mother’s hand stroking her hair.
〈That person is precious and has allowed both you and me to live. Please help us, Lukna.〉
And Lukna awoke from the brief dream.
Tears she hadn’t realized she shed dampened her cheeks.
A small sob escaped her slightly parted lips, which she stifled by biting down.
“Did you see something?”
“Yes. Thanks to you.”
Lukna wiped her face with her sleeve and struggled to speak.
“Great Sage, did you… ever save my parents, the Closset couple?”
“…….”
“Was the Golden Elixir you already used… for saving my parents?”
‘So that’s it.’ No further answers were needed. Lukna clenched her fists.
“I will do whatever I can to help, Great Sage.”
“Do not strain yourself for those meant to die. Instead, take this.”
Kuran rummaged through his pockets and handed Lukna a box containing glass marbles about the size of ping-pong balls.
“Deliver these to Bolton. I wanted to give them long ago, but that brat insisted on joining the academy, so I didn’t. Quite cheeky, I must say.”
Bolton had felt worthless seeing no results from his experiments as a mermaid-born alchemist, so he had insisted on entering the academy to become the top student.
“Alchemists struggle to maintain good eyesight due to our work. Bolton was unlucky—an elixir splashed into his left eye during an experiment and melted it. That bold fellow was utterly dejected after that…”
Kuran paused, choked on his words, then smiled kindly again.
“That fool—he needs his eyes intact if he’s to be of any help to a Closset descendant.”
“If you give it to him personally, Great Sage, he’ll be happy.”
“I wouldn’t like that. That big brute would cry rivers over a single eye, and I don’t want to see the remaining eye dissolve in tears before his death.”
Kuran chuckled and coughed up blood.
