Already knowing who it was, Hadjar turned to the sound. A few inches away from him, a little fairy floated in the air. It was a male. Tiny, no larger than his index finger, the messenger of the gods radiated an aura that made Sankesh’s seem insignificant by comparison.
“This is all just a silly dream,” Hadjar growled and returned to his work — trying to destroy the wall with his blade.
“A dream?” The fairy cooed. “Think, Desert Wind Blowing from the North, is it really a dream? Just one word from you and the error of the Magistrate will be corrected. You’ll... wake up on the same day that Primus brought you a sword for your birthday. Only this time, he’ll hug you and your mother lovingly. You’ll happily greet your brother and... your aunt. Just say the word, Mad General.”
During the fairy’s speech, Hadjar saw it all unfold: the celebration, Eren and him playing games. They even slept in beds that had been moved next to each other...
He struck the wall...
“Think about it, Hadjar.”
He hit it once more.
“Just imagine it.”
The sword paused before the next attack, which he never launched. Hadjar turned toward the messenger of the gods, the being who was the voice of the Seventh Heaven.
“What will it cost me?”
The fairy smiled and spread his tiny arms benevolently.
“Give up your ambitions. Promise me right now that you will abandon this path you’re on. Then I’ll erase your memory of this life, of all the misfortune and trouble you went through, of the many sorrows and hardships. You’ll start over from scratch. You only need to abandon the quest for Mage City and-”
Suddenly, the fairy went quiet. Hadjar had gripped him so tightly that he couldn’t speak.
“How impudent can you be, mortal?” The creature squeaked. “I’m the messenger of the Seventh Heaven! I’m a servant of the gods! I witnessed the births and deaths of stars while your people were still apes running around in forests!”
“Shut up!” A wild, unbridled roar sounded.
The fairy stopped talking. For the first time in his life, the ancient creature had fallen silent because of fear.
Two blue eyes looked at him. The fury that churned in them could’ve flooded the whole world, reached the farthest stars, and overshadowed the radiance of the sun itself.
Hadjar turned to the lake. There, Nero and Serra stood, embracing.
Smiling at him, Nero nodded and disappeared. Hadjar answered his friend with a smile of his own and turned to the fairy. Somewhere deep inside, he knew that this might’ve been their last conversation.
“This is my world, you bastard of the Seventh Heaven,” Hadjar growled out. He was almost certain that, in here, he was capable of anything. That he was currently inside his own soul. “I could kill you if I so desired, but I won’t. I won’t! Today, you’ll get to live! You’ll get to return to your masters.”
“You-”
Hadjar squeezed harder, and the fairy’s words turned into a squeak.
“You’ll fly back to them and tell them that you’ve seen the resoluteness of Hadjar Darkhan. You’ve heard my voice and seen my sword. It doesn’t matter when it happens. It doesn’t matter how much of my blood I spill along the way. It doesn’t matter who gets in my way. But I’ll get there! Do you hear me? I’ll climb all the way up to that damned Seventh Heaven! Let the Jasper Emperor send his armies against me. Let all the gods take up weapons and try to stop me. Let all the stars merge together and try to crush me, but I’ll get to the Emperor! I’ll make him answer for all his sins and mistakes! For all the tears that were shed because of his errors! For all the cries of mothers, fathers, and children whose hearts he crushed with his negligence!”
“You’re insane, mortal! Do you even understand what you’re saying? This is nonsense! There is no justice in this world, and even if...”
“...there were other worlds, there would be no justice there, either. I already heard that saying from the old forest healer. But even if that’s true,” Hadjar took his sword and thrust it into the ground in front of him, “then this will be the first world where justice will finally be allowed to exist! So tell them! Spread the word all over the Seventh Heaven! No matter what they throw at me, I’ll come! No matter how many tens, hundreds, thousands, millions of years pass, I’ll come! Tell them I’m coming. Hadjar Darkhan is coming for all of them!”
With these final words, Hadjar threw the messenger of the gods into the sky.
Who was Sankesh compared to the might of the gods? What was the Empire of Darnassus compared to the Seventh Heaven? Only short flashes in the night. He would overcome them easily. Drawing his sword, Hadjar looked forward. His gaze was clear and his hand was steady.
Hadjar opened his eyes. He was lying on a stretcher, bandaged, groaning from the terrible pain he was in.
“Be still, barbarian,” Einen whispered, preparing some medicine in a mortar, “you’ve already-”
Ignoring the pain, Hadjar rose to his feet, leaning on his blade. Everyone looked at him.
“I know where the entrance to Mage City is.”
Chapter 375
“Are you kidding me right now?” Glen jumped to his feet and threw his dagger to the ground. “Are we really going to listen to this barbarian again?”
“You yourself are from a barbarian kingdom,” Einen remarked in a calm tone.
“That’s why I don’t try to get involved in things I don’t know anything about!” Glen retorted angrily. “Just look at him!”
Hadjar guessed that he didn’t look all that good right now. After his battle with Olgerd, it was difficult to find a spot on his body that wasn’t bandaged or covered in odorous medicine. He stood with great difficulty, often leaning on his sword or his friend’s shoulder.
“Northerner,” Ramukhan rose from his seat, “I could believe you before, but now you’ve gone too far!”
“Even an idiot would see through your trap!” Tilis grabbed her staff and pointed it at Hadjar. “You went to the camp of the man who has been terrorizing the desert for almost half a century. You came back alive and now you’re saying that you know where the entrance to Mage City is! I would sooner believe that the gods themselves will show me the way, barbarian!”
Salif and the boy silently watched what was happening. Ordinary servants didn’t have a high enough rank to get involved in this kind of argument. Karissa was looking through her book. Apparently, she’d decided to stay neutral.
Hadjar initially wanted to cut off Glen’s tongue right then and there. He wouldn’t even need Mountain Wind to do so. It would’ve been enough to will the energy of the Sword to do it, since Glen was only thirty paces away. Apparently, no one had taught Glen to keep at least fifty steps between him and Wielders at all times.
“As you wish,” Hadjar breathed out.
Turning around, he limped off toward the jungle. Einen, only hesitating a little, picked up his folded bale and his staff, and followed his friend.
“Where are you going?” Ramukhan growled out.
At that moment, Hadjar cried out as pain engulfed him. It spread in waves throughout his body, coming from the blue amulet on his arm. With every step that Hadjar took, the pain grew stronger. It squeezed his heart and lungs and made it harder for him to breathe.