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“I did send them off, though.”

Standing alone on the snow-covered plain, Sophia suddenly smirked. Along with the warm breath exhaled with her laughter, a misty puff of air rose in clusters.

The scenery reflected in the clock was entirely bathed in white light. Due to the unusually prolonged winter, each snowfall had accumulated without melting, resulting in a thick layer of snow.

Sophia’s steps on the snowy plain were unhurried. She walked lightly, leaving no footprints on the thick snow, as if she were merely strolling. This leisurely pace was quite unusual for someone with the urgent task of dealing with a demon that had invaded the island.

“Human hearts are truly troublesome. How long has it been since I sent them off, and already I miss their absence?”

Recalling her journey with her disciples, Sophia smiled bitterly. She realized that she had genuinely enjoyed traveling with them, a feeling she hadn’t experienced when she traveled alone before.

‘No wonder it feels so empty now that they’re gone.’

What is affection that it troubles people so? What is fate that it binds people’s senses? Originally, the deeper one’s practice, the more one should be able to calmly control desires and emotions, remaining unaffected by worldly matters. Yet, despite this, the human heart cannot be forcibly severed.

Those who seek the Way in any field must train their mind, energy, and body vigorously, repeatedly purifying themselves to achieve purity.

In the path of martial arts, choosing one of the three paths and filtering out the others increases purity. Then, by harmonizing the remaining elements, one gradually approaches the unity of mind, energy, and body.

But what meaning does the natural movement of the heart, caused by human affection and fate, hold for practitioners seeking to purify their minds?

Even Lee Beom-seok, Sophia’s past life as an Earthling, had never reached a conclusion on this matter. If he had, he would have undoubtedly transcended the cycle of reincarnation and become an Arhat. Instead, he recklessly tried reincarnating in another world after showing off his strength to the underworld’s armies.

‘Well, what does it matter?’

It is only natural for humans to harbor affection, and to be drawn by fate, carving out the path of life. Unlike Lee Beom-seok in her past life, Sophia no longer harbored any desire for transcendence beyond her current life.

What she desired was simply to protect life. A small, pitiful, sometimes seemingly vain and delusional, yet unbreakable connection to life was what guided Sophia now.

As her thoughts continued, Sophia’s steps grew slower and more ethereal. It wasn’t just about lightening her body weight through spiritual techniques or freely moving through the mysteries of the mind.

In fact, Sophia’s current walk on the snowy plain could be considered a form of practice.

Her walking technique had transcended merely distinguishing auspicious from inauspicious and erasing obstacles. Simply standing still, she could now deflect the flow of heavenly destiny. This was thanks to the experience of countering the Great Demon’s stellar manipulation attack at København.

At that time, she had barely managed to sever the attack by unifying her mind, energy, and body—though her physical aspect was still somewhat lacking. But now, after refining her body and spirit to a higher level through research on the March Great Mystery, she could reduce the effort required.

This realization of her walking technique allowed her to move the gravitational force of destiny around her, resulting in her walking on the snowy plain without sinking into the snow.

Although she couldn’t yet interfere with the karma of distant others like the Great Demon, this was merely a difference in direction. The ultimate goal of astrology, stellar guidance, and the ultimate goal of her walking technique, heavenly evasion, both involved manipulating fate but approached it differently—like the difference between a spellcaster and a warrior.

Sophia’s expression changed slightly when she reached a ridge where a large standing stone came into view.

“Come out now.”

Suddenly stopping, Sophia called out to someone hiding. However, there was no immediate response.

The silence was palpable. The snowy plain was quiet, devoid of human sounds, filled only by the occasional sharp whistle of the wind and the cawing of birds searching for food despite the cold.

After waiting silently for a response, Sophia spoke again.

“Why hesitate? You were waiting for me, weren’t you?”

Finally, a shadow emerged as if leaping from the void. Standing on the large stone with arms crossed was a tall, imposing figure. Upon closer inspection, Sophia saw he was a half-naked clergy member, wearing only a tunic covering his lower body and a loosely draped scapular.

Sophia couldn’t help but think of her comrade currently active elsewhere.

‘He reminds me of Esiocles.’

She had heard that the clergy active in Gotland belonged to the Ignatius Order. Considering Esiocles was also from the Ignatius Order, she wondered if clergy from that order had a particular tendency towards such appearances.

Sophia chuckled wryly and shook her head. Then, the voice of the clergy member on the stone reached her ears.

“I apologize for the rudeness shown to the Paladin from the main order. We were merely cautious of unnecessary attention, not doubting your intentions.”

Despite being about a mile away, the man’s voice was calm and clear. It didn’t seem to be aided by any spell, likely a result of his monastic training.

“No need to apologize. You must have been avoiding the enemy’s gaze. Is the Great Spirit of this land safe?”

At Sophia’s question, the clergy member paused, looking surprised. He then cautiously asked, “You know about this land?”

“Not much. But people like us tend to know a little, don’t we?”

The clergy member nodded in understanding. Seers had long been known to read destiny from the stars, discern the energy of a land by its terrain, and perceive the habits of the heart from a person’s appearance.

Such abilities could be acquired through corresponding knowledge and techniques, but they could also be naturally realized through self-reflection and rigorous training.

This was why village elders and aged monks often possessed such insights—they were the result of a habit of contemplating life.

The clergy member, having awakened his foresight in this way, understood Sophia’s words.

In any case, since they shared a general understanding of the situation, there was no need for further elaboration. However, such insights were always ambiguous and rarely touched on the finer details.

This was why seers rarely acted solely on their foresight and often collaborated when major events loomed. Humans, after all, interpret the same things differently based on their circumstances.

Thus, the agreement between Sophia and the half-naked clergy member was swiftly reached.

“If it’s not too much trouble, could you guide me?”

“Follow me.”

With a cheerful response, the clergy member turned and began to walk, with Sophia following closely behind.

The two moved swiftly, covering dozens of yards with each step, as if obstacles didn’t exist.

Yet, there was no disturbance around them. Sophia aside, the clergy member also seemed to possess extraordinary abilities. Sophia faintly noticed that the power surrounding him resembled the protection of spirits.

Soon, the surrounding landscape changed. The biting cold and blinding sunlight reflecting off the frozen snowfields disappeared, replaced by a warm breeze reminiscent of spring, young green shoots sprouting everywhere, and a large tent village almost the size of a city.

The arrangement of the tents was surprisingly orderly. It seemed a powerful authority was subtly influencing the people’s actions, as the tents were placed in a well-organized manner, resembling a planned city.

‘This can’t be called a simple village anymore.’

It was almost a temporary city. If not for the special environment of Gotland, plagued by climatic disasters, such a sight would be rare.

In any case, it was a miraculous sight. Despite the endless winter caused by the climatic disaster, the area around the village was filled with spring-like warmth—a phenomenon that couldn’t be natural.

As Sophia looked around, she soon discovered the source of this environmental change.

“What’s that…?”

Sophia’s gaze fell on a series of large stones arranged at regular intervals. They formed a massive circular stone arrangement, with the tent village located inside.

An invisible force field flowed between the stones, separating the inside from the outside.

The flow of the force field wasn’t just along the stones.

Turning her attention to the center of the village, Sophia nodded in understanding.

‘That’s the central axis.’

At the village’s center was a massive central stone, about 1.5 times larger than the surrounding stones. The force field interacted between the central stone and the surrounding stones, creating a wheel-like pattern if viewed from above.

Through this interaction, the inside of the tent village was filled with warmth and vitality, unlike the outside.

At this point, Sophia realized something else.

‘The energy inside and outside the stone circle is essentially the same.’

The harsh cold outside and the warmth inside. To Sophia, while the manifestations of the energies seemed different, their fundamental sources appeared to be the same.

‘That means…’

“This is the place.”

A deep voice interrupted Sophia’s thoughts. They had arrived at their destination.

They stopped in front of a tent near the central stone.

“The one who foresaw your arrival is waiting inside. Unlike me, she’s a true prophetess. She should be able to answer your questions.”

Sophia silently looked at the clergy member, who nodded in return. Sophia then carefully lifted the tent flap and stepped inside.

Inside the tent, Sophia found an elderly woman lying on a sickbed. Her labored breathing and frail appearance made her seem on the verge of death.

Her pale, almost blackish complexion clearly showed her illness. Her emaciated body seemed too weak to even move.

However, this first impression changed the moment Sophia entered the tent.

“Hmm…”

With a faint sigh, the old woman’s appearance rapidly transformed. Her complexion regained color, her breathing became steady, and she managed to sit up with some effort.

It was as if a corpse had come back to life. Even Sophia, accustomed to various miracles, was momentarily speechless. She soon realized that the change was due to a temporary replenishment of spiritual energy.

‘When I first arrived, I thought the anomaly here was due to a problem with the spirit’s condition. But now that I’m here, I’m not so sure.’

Originally, Sophia had some knowledge of the spirit governing Gotland. In fact, she had to know. Lands preserving ancient traditions, untouched by the Church’s influence, always had spirits overseeing them.

Thus, when she heard about the demon’s appearance coinciding with Gotland’s abnormal climate, she assumed something had gone wrong with the spirit.

She thought the spirit might have been sealed by the demon or its nature reversed by some negative influence.

However, seeing the protective barrier around the tent village and the energy supplied to the shrine maiden Birgit Anika, Sophia began to wonder if it was all a misunderstanding.

‘Does the spirit still have this much power left?’

Whether sealed or reversed, the spirit shouldn’t have been able to maintain its protective powers at this point. It shouldn’t have been able to create barriers to protect people or supply additional energy to the shrine maiden.

As if sensing Sophia’s thoughts, the old woman smiled gently.

“The term ‘remaining power’ doesn’t quite fit the spirit of the land. But for now, you can understand it as the situation allowing it.”

‘Indeed. The situation allows it.’

Nature is inherently impermanent and selfless. The only constant is the law that governs nature.

Spirits are essentially personifications of specific natural states. They may seem to have personalities, but they are merely ripples of natural spirituality. What appears as their power is simply the natural order, like a person controlling their limbs.

Thus, the miracles performed by those connected to spirits are quite different from the intense energy consumption of spells.

Of course, on a broad level, they might not be so different, but the energy efficiency of a spirit’s power within its domain is high.

However, just as humans can fall ill and lose control of their limbs, spirits can also lose their full power in certain situations.

One is when projecting power outside their domain, and the other is…

“The connection between the spirit and the land has weakened.”

“An accurate insight. The spirit of this land has lost a significant portion of its authority over the land.”

Spirits are personifications of natural spirituality. Thus, a spirit and its domain are inseparable. Therefore, the idea of a spirit losing authority over its land seems contradictory. After all, the spirit is the land, and the land’s natural environment and phenomena.

However, there is one situation where this makes sense.

“I see. The demons have done something to alter the spirit’s nature.”

The personality-like aspect of a spirit is merely a ripple of natural spirituality. Thus, if the environment, natural order, and nature’s essence change, the spirit’s nature must also change. The spirit’s power belongs to the spirit, so its authority over the land must follow the altered nature.

In fact, it’s surprising that any part of the spirit remains unaltered.

‘Good grief. This is a bigger problem than I thought.’

Finally grasping the severity of the situation, Sophia swallowed a sigh. She now understood why the demons had infiltrated Gotland and corrupted the spirit. As expected, the old woman spoke.

“The spirit of this land was originally sealing a terminal of the World Stone.”

Sophia realized that sending her disciples to Hiberia might have been the right decision. Even she couldn’t guarantee their safety this time.

The World Stone, also known as Omphalos.

This was truly an urgent matter.

 

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