Diary of a Dead Wizard

Saul lowered his gaze to look at the other two continents.

The one near the equator was likely Iskaper, and the one closer to the South Pole was probably Nephret.

These two continents didn’t have massive mountain ranges like the Wall of Sighs. They didn’t appear to be plates split off from the Stat Continent.

“Even though nothing unusual is visible from here, I must find a way to travel across those lands someday.”

Even without color, everything before his eyes stirred Saul’s heart with excitement.

“I wonder what the other half of the planet looks like.” A sudden and untimely curiosity arose in his mind.

Suddenly, as if responding to Saul’s inner thoughts, the black-and-white planet before him abruptly sped up its rotation!

In just a few seconds, it revealed its “back” to Saul.

“Hsss!!!”

The backside of the black-and-white planet was a massive sinkhole.

It looked like a whirlpool in the deep sea, constantly sucking seawater inward.

Or like a black hole in space, devouring everything and returning it all to eternal darkness!

But it wasn’t exactly a black hole.

Because—it could explode.

While Saul was observing it, the interior of the massive sinkhole suddenly exploded.

The explosion blasted seawater from the surrounding continents, sending forth a tsunami that obscured the sky.

Wave after wave of the tsunami spread outward, one side heading north, crashing ferociously into the massive mountains at the northern edge of the Stat Continent.

Though the energy of the seawater had diminished considerably by then, the sheer impact against the Wall of Sighs was still so fierce that Saul’s ears ached faintly.

Even though he hadn’t actually heard a sound.

On the other side, the tsunami surged southward—likely crashing into the continent of Nephret.

Saul couldn’t see in that direction, and he wondered how Nephret would withstand such a massive tsunami without its own Wall of Sighs.

But that wasn’t his main concern.

What truly troubled him was this:

How could a planet possess such an immense sinkhole and one capable of exploding?

Can this planet... really exist for a long time?

Saul closed his eyes. He felt as though his entire worldview had been upended.

Weariness surged within him. At this moment, he only wanted to sleep.

But then—he heard a voice.

“Brother Saul, Brother Saul, are you outside?”

Saul’s heavy eyelids, on the verge of shutting, snapped open.

The terrifying, monstrous planet had vanished. He was once again in the pure white room.

The voice calling to him came from behind.

He turned around, searching for the source. “Penny? Is that you?”

“Brother Saul, I’m right here—in the woven tapestry in front of you!”

Saul was startled. He leaned down and looked at the tapestry at the center of the white throne.

He’d seen it before, but because it was small and not very eye-catching, he hadn’t examined it closely.

Now that he leaned in, he found that, although the image was somewhat blurred due to the material, he could faintly make out what seemed to be a forest, with golden threads representing sunlight piercing through from above.

Looking closely, he spotted a patch of silver beneath a large tree.

That silver stood out oddly.

It was, in fact, the only place in the entire tapestry that used silver thread.

“Penny, why are you here? Is this still part of the Elven Valley?”

It seemed the Nightmare Butterfly had entered a world within the painting!

But after the overwhelming shock he’d just experienced, Saul no longer found anything strange. He calmly asked the question.

“This isn’t the Elven Valley. Brother Saul, I’m with the elves.”

“You mean the elves who vanished from this world? Are you really with them?” Saul began to question Penny’s mental state.

Has Penny already been corrupted? Should he call her back into the diary?

“Brother Saul, I haven’t been corrupted.” Penny seemed to sense Saul’s suspicions and quickly said, “But I do need your help with something right now.”

“What are you doing?”

“I… I’m trying to confirm the meaning of my existence.”

“…?” The topic suddenly turned so lofty that Saul didn’t know whether to reject her outright.

After a moment’s thought, he still decided to agree: “What do you need me to do?”

Penny’s voice immediately brightened with joy. “Master, could you help the elves retrieve the treasure that was stolen from them?”

Another stolen treasure?

It must be something extremely important.

Saul guessed and asked, “This treasure you’ve all been referring to—is it the thing on Kongsha’s head?”

“…”

There was a three-second silence from Penny’s end before she suddenly shrieked.

“No way—no way! Someone actually placed the Elf King’s skull on their own head!”

Penny’s shock was contagious. Saul’s jaw dropped as well. He didn’t even know what to be surprised about first.

Should he be shocked that elves had a king?

Or that an elf’s physical remains still existed in this world?

In the end, Saul could only sigh, “What on earth is Kongsha doing?”

First, she risked everything to listen to the whispers of the elves. Then, she disregarded Haywood’s objections and bought the key to the Elven Valley from Billy. And now… she’d actually put the Elf King’s skull on her own head!

Saul had suspected that the changes to Kongsha’s head were connected to the elves, but he hadn’t imagined it was in such a crude and violent way.

After all, while Kongsha’s face was beautiful, it wasn’t quite so stunning as to make one lose all sense of reason.

Penny was equally shaken. “Brother Saul, the urgent task now is to retrieve the Elf King’s skull and place it here—on the pure white throne. Only then can we leave the Elven Valley.”

“That’s the only way to leave?” To be honest, as a wizard, if Saul got his hands on the Elf King’s skull, his first thought wouldn’t be to return it here.

Even though he had been cautious about elven relics before, now that he’d come all this way—and An had nearly sacrificed herself for him—it didn’t suit his style to leave empty-handed.

After all, he hadn’t come here just to save people!

Penny immediately understood what Saul meant. She paused briefly and then said softly, “Brother Saul, I understand. But I have something in here that’s an even better prize for you than the Elf King’s skull. If you can return the skull to the throne, I can persuade the elves to open the path and let you come see it.”

“I promise you—once you enter, even if you just take one look, the rewards will far exceed the danger of stealing the Elf King’s skull!”

“You have a way to confirm I’m not lying.”

Saul understood. Penny meant the diary’s constraints. She couldn’t lie to Saul.

Not even a misleading hint was allowed.

Saul remained silent for a while, then let out a breath.

“Alright. But the environment here is quite unusual, and with Kongsha holding the skull, I’m not confident I can take her down. Can you provide any help?”

“I’m sorry, Brother Saul.” Penny didn’t bring him any good news. “I can’t give you any direct help right now…

“But I can give you all the remaining Veiled Crystal Essence in this palace. You can keep absorbing it to maintain your soul body’s stability. Of course, you can only do this inside the Elven Valley. Outside, you’d risk attracting dangerous contamination from the interlayer consciousness. That’s something I only recently learned here.”

So the elves inside either couldn’t or wouldn’t help him directly.

Saul straightened up and thought helplessly.

Who lost the treasure, anyway? Shouldn’t they be the ones most anxious to retrieve it?

He crossed his arms and gently tapped his fingertips on them, mulling over a strategy.

“Kongsha, Mark, Monroe, and that Kasila… those four might seem divided, but since they’re still alive, they’ll definitely band together if necessary. If the other three find out Kongsha’s head holds the elven treasure… whether or not they return it, their alliance will surely break.”

Saul nodded slightly. “That’s my chance!”

Saul: This world is terrifying.

(End of Chapter)