The Forbidden Codex
Valdemar stared down at the ten sheets of parchment laid out on the wooden table. Ten sheets of paper the size of a palm, still blank, their preparation completed long ago.
Unfortunately, he could not use the temple on Credo Island, so he had established his base in a cave in the rocky mountains and secretly hidden the materials.
Valdemar had already read the tattered magic book dozens of times. As the High Priest of Credo Island, he must never touch the forbidden book. A dark magic tome filled with sinister and evil content. This book would become his guide today.
He had prepared all the necessary materials. The juice of crushed poisonous herbs, the foul stench that reeked of the stench of beast blood.
He had crossed the final line. When he poured the rooster’s blood into the bowl, his hands trembled. From here, he truly could not turn back. A priest who had served the gods had personally summoned darkness.
His back felt cold and his throat felt rough as if scraped with sawdust. Holding the quill, Valdemar took a deep breath. He dipped the quill into the thick, dark-red liquid of the bowl and transferred it to the first parchment.
Perverted, per-verted. The pen scratched across the parchment with a creepy sound. Only the first sheet of the ten amulets had been started, but the forehead of the man drawing the blood-red trail was already covered in beads of sweat.
Although Valdemar pursued his goal with more tenacity than anyone else in the world, he could not fully shake off his primal fear. The price paid by one who touched the forbidden. He knew the horrific outcome too well.
“…Valdemar.”
Valdemar’s hand, carefully engraving the ritual, suddenly stopped. He reflexively jerked his head up, scanned his surroundings warily, and rolled his eyes. The voice of the High Priest who was dying. It was a call he heard from within him.
“Listen, Valdemar.”
Valdemar had noticed that Roman had been killed, but he had remained silent until the end, waiting for the junior to spill the truth and confess. That foolish former High Priest…
“…Valdemar. Do you know about the prophecy of Credo Island?”
“I’m sorry, High Priest. I don’t understand what you’re saying. What prophecy are you referring to?”
The hand as dry as a tree branch grabbed Valdemar’s sleeve.
“The one who personally killed the protagonist chosen by the gods…”
Gasping for air, the former High Priest whispered, spitting blood.
“A terrible… curse… is… upon me…”
“Damn it.”
In a moment of distraction, the mixed blood ink dripped and left a sinister stain on the parchment. Valdemar muttered a small curse, sighed, and waved it away.
Yes, he had known.
When Roman had said he fell from the cliff and Valdemar had wept, the High Priest had remained silent. He had repeatedly stroked his long white beard, eyes tightly shut without uttering a single word of rebuke.
Perhaps he had poured all his remaining holy power into the prophecy. Or, like the one who had received the gods’ love abundantly all his life, perhaps the gods had told him all the truth.
“Haa.”
Valdemar bit his lip, swept away the ruined parchment, and began drawing a new one. Muttering the names of the ten kingdoms again and again, he prayed to the names of all the evil gods to find the one chosen by the prophecy. Solinar, Igninof, Kepet…
Damn it, his concentration kept slipping.
“The one who tries to harm or personally kill the one chosen by the gods will definitely receive a terrifying curse.”
It was an old story passed among the high priests. That was why Valdemar had not dared to harm the trainees so far. A mere human’s punishment for deceiving the gods…
So he would use this amulet to find the protagonist of the prophecy and then get Draconis involved. He was good at manipulating his tongue, after all. It would be no problem.
With just a few words dropped into the ears of the reckless and jealous Prince Draconis, he would rage and kill the protagonist in his place, and the gods’ curse would fall on the Fire King.
If the plan worked as expected, not only would he avoid the curse, but he would gain more. If the royal heirs held hostage were injured or killed, the World Alliance would fall into even greater conflict.
Draconis would receive the curse, the world would be in chaos, and Igninof’s influence to pin Valdemar’s neck would naturally weaken.
Valdemar felt his heart grow lighter. He moved the quill again. The black-red light shimmered as various patterns slowly, delicately added line by line. The amulet to find the protagonist of the prophecy gradually took its exact form and piled up one by one.
***
Before the barrier of the towering maze, the trainees sat in pairs. Arkin looked down at the wooden stick in his hand. The number carved at the tip of the stick was ‘5’. He and Nefetia were in the last order.
The first pair to enter the maze was Prince Kaichen of Voltrion and Princess Amalfi of Floria. Seneca had handed the glittering silver thread to them as they stood at the starting line, tying the end securely to one of the five stakes driven into the maze entrance.
“Do you remember the spider artisan Arachne? This silver thread is what she painstakingly spun. It won’t break and possesses mysterious magical power.”
Seneca’s fingertip touched the thread. The spider-web-like silver thread resonated with a twang and began to shine.
“I can also confirm your safety with this, so keep the thread well.”
“It’s, it’s scary.”
Despite reluctantly grabbing the thread, Amalfi was still unable to shake off her fear and lingered at the entrance without stepping into the maze.
“Amalfi. Trust me!”
For the frightened partner, the Thunder Prince stepped up bravely.
“Just follow me. I’ll protect you.”
Following Kaichen’s loud voice, Amalfi vanished into the darkness. All that remained was the long silver thread to confirm their presence.
The shimmering thread tightened, loosened, sagged to the ground, and tightened again. Then suddenly…
EEEK!
A scream that sounded as if it would tear the air came from deep inside the maze, ripping through the silence. It was quite far away, but the echoing sound was unmistakably Kaichen’s scream. The startled trainees began to chatter and stir.
“What, what is that? What’s in there?”
Immediately the surroundings became noisy. Yet only Seneca remained calm. The priest slowly approached the stakes, closed his eyes, and lightly held the silver thread tied to the stakes.
Woong…
The silver thread resonated again. This time the vibration was stronger. A bright, pure light flashed from Seneca’s hand, like a heartbeat, blinking at regular intervals.
The priest muttered a spell in a low voice. A small bundle of light burst from his hand and flowed along the thread into the maze.
Seneca held the thread a little longer, then, when the light from the thread quieted, he smiled at the trainees with an assured face.
“Don’t worry. The two are doing very well now. They must have been startled for a moment.”
Shaking his hands as if it were nothing, Seneca retreated and called the next person. The second pair was Draconis of Igninof and Serena of Lakelium.
“Damn it…”
Unexpectedly, Draconis looked visibly tense. He tapped his chest and waved his hand at Seneca.
“Damn, it’s disgusting. I can’t go.”
“It’s not possible.”
Seneca raised his hand firmly and pointed to the entrance as if he would not forgive him this time.
“Take the thread and go inside. No exceptions today.”
Instead of the sullen Draconis, Serena took the Arachne thread. After tying the thread to the second stake, Seneca smiled and nodded.
“Start.”
Draconis shot Seneca a glare once, then turned his body sharply and vanished into the maze.
Arkin, who had been observing Draconis closely, narrowed his eyes. Why did he suddenly look like he was suffering from a disease for several days? He looked pale, so it didn’t seem like he was faking it, but…
“Hey.”
Startled by the sudden presence, Arkin and Nefetia turned around. Zafiri, the Vine Prince, squatted behind them with a wide grin.
“Boop.”
Before Arkin could even catch his breath, Zafiri’s purple eyes sparkled with mischievous light. Lowering his voice, he whispered.
“Me and Stella are right after them. They’ll be a little ahead of us, but we’ll end up in the same maze.”
“That means…?”
Nefetia tilted her head as if she understood. Zafiri grinned and showed his hand.
“I have to resonate with my vines. This kind of maze is full of vines, so I can amplify the conversation between Draconis and Serena as if I’m listening right next to them.”
“Ah…!”
Arkin and Nefetia nodded at each other with a wink. Zafiri patted their shoulders and winked.
“They’ll be talking as if they’re the only ones there, so I’ll listen carefully to what they say.”
“Next, Zafiri and Stella!”
Seneca’s booming voice came from ahead, so Zafiri stood up with a grin.
“Let’s go. You do well too, and I’ll see you later.”
Zafiri, after receiving Arkin and Nefetia’s farewell, joined Stella ahead. Walking briskly, Zafiri reached out a hand, and Stella smiled gracefully and began to match the rhythm.
Though playful or not, as they held hands and moved forward, Seneca blinked in astonishment.
“W-what are you doing? Contact is prohibited.”
“I just wanted to suddenly do that.”
Zafiri turned to Stella with a cheeky smile. Despite his attitude, the Star Princess, who read fate and the future, only smiled meaningfully and said nothing else.
Taking the thread from the muttering Seneca, Stella stared fixedly at the maze entrance and waited for the signal. While Seneca was tying the knot, Zafiri glanced at Stella.
“You can feel this wave, right? Just a moment ago from my hand…”
Stella’s lips curved slightly. With her eyes fixed on the darkness of the maze, the Princess of Astraria answered cheerfully.
“…I know a lot more than I thought, Zafiri.”