Turning-Chapter 836

‘Ha... damn.’

Naham’s illusion stirred up the deepest fears buried in a person’s heart. But what made it especially insidious was the fact that the illusion wasn’t created by Naham himself, but by the target’s own mind.

Yuder had already experienced a similar illusion once in the East. Just like now, Kishiar from his previous life had appeared within it.

His behavior and words may have changed a little, but the illusion's method of dragging the target in and forcing an “answer” to break them into submission had remained the same. If Yuder had been caught off guard or responded to the illusion-Kishiar’s words, his mind would’ve been crushed in an instant.

‘To think the first thing I encountered after entering was an illusion. Ridiculous...’

And yet, even knowing it was an illusion, the ability still shook him so violently that it became nearly impossible to resist. Worse still, the more one was shaken, the more the mind was eroded, making escape even harder.

‘I’ve probably already been eroded to some extent.’

When he saw the collapsed Kishiar earlier, his mind went completely blank. His reason shut down without warning, and he couldn’t even form the questions he would normally ask. He had been so stunned that he hadn’t even noticed the difference in Kishiar’s clothes right away.

Even now, despite being sure it was an illusion, the terrible feeling from that moment still lingered vividly, sapping his energy and making his head throb. He kept telling himself to ignore it, but he couldn't look away from that trembling white hand right in front of him.

‘Naham looked like he was barely hanging on... so how the hell is this illusion so strong?’

In some ways, this illusion felt even more powerful than the one he had seen in the East. In this situation, he couldn’t help but wonder if Kishiar, Gakein, and Kurga were okay.

If they were also caught in illusions like this right now...

‘No.’

Yuder clenched his teeth and fists. He couldn’t afford to feed this illusion with any more anxious thoughts while he was still trying to escape. The more he responded, the stronger the illusion would become. He forcefully emptied his mind and tried to think of something else.

‘The fastest way to get out is to attack the caster, but he’s nowhere in sight. Then the next option is...’

Yuder stared at his own /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ hand in silence.

The last time he faced Naham’s illusion, he tore open his own arm to escape. Since he had been outside then, he was able to use his blood in retaliation, breaking Naham’s range in the process.

But this time, he couldn’t use that method. After what happened in the West, he could no longer afford to harm his own body in that way.

It would be easy—just rip it open. But Yuder resisted the urge and lowered his hand.

‘There’s another way.’

A method to shatter this space itself with brute force.

But he hesitated to unleash a pillar of flame here, because what enveloped this space might be Gakein’s power. It was possible the enemy was trying to use Yuder’s power against him—to manipulate the current situation and escape alongside Gakein’s shadow.

‘Of course, the most moderate method... would be to do it like Nathan Zuckerman did.’

Nathan Zuckerman had shattered Naham’s illusion in the West through sheer mental fortitude. As a human, he had his own inner fears and memories, but he had firmly proven that they had no power over who he was now, which is why he escaped so quickly—or so Yuder had heard.

But knowing it didn’t make it easier to do. From the start, Nathan Zuckerman and Yuder were fundamentally different. If Yuder had been capable of handling Naham that way, he wouldn’t have had to rip open his arm and burn through his power with a fire pillar back in the East.

Those methods had ultimately allowed him to land a serious blow on Naham, but in truth, they were just a way of avoiding the situation of having to reject and destroy the illusion-Kishiar.

“......”

Looking back, he had always been hopelessly weak when it came to things involving Kishiar.

It had been a time when he hadn’t opened his heart to Kishiar in the slightest, when he refused to acknowledge even a sliver of emotion. And yet, Kishiar la Orr’s presence had remained buried deep in his heart, binding him so tightly that he couldn’t even move.

‘Damn it.’

That’s why he couldn’t even use the fastest method—ripping open his own hand.

If it weren’t Kishiar, could anything else shake him this much?

A fake scenario of Kishiar collapsed and broken—how could something so ridiculous still affect him?

That hand that couldn’t even speak—why did it have such power over him...?

Yuder lowered his head, pressing a hand to his throbbing forehead.

That’s when he saw it. A gold cord fastened across the chest of the ceremonial uniform.

A simple, decorative string. But the moment he saw it, the voice he’d heard not long ago rang in his ears.

‘...When something exists as a single cord, the beginning and end appear to be on opposite sides. But when those two meet—’

The cord was looped between buttons, tied to form a circle.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

‘—When the beginning and end face each other, we can no longer tell them apart. They revolve together, endlessly, forever.’

Coincidence or not—maybe Kishiar had even intended it—the cord was almost the exact same color as the one Kishiar had shown him that day.

That day, lying tangled together on the sofa in front of the crackling fire of the mana-stone stove—the memory came back with vivid clarity.

The warmth of his back. The hand softly tracing along his waist.

The low, gentle voice in his ear.

The warmth, and that nameless sense of sorrow that had touched the deepest part of him.

Yuder slowly reached up and grasped the cord with his fingers.

As he closed his hand around the circular knot, the chaos in his head began to still, and the thick, tangled mess inside started to melt away like fog.

The shock of seeing the illusion of Kishiar collapsed on the floor.

The way the illusion spoke—every word designed to get under his skin.

The anxiety and anger he had felt toward himself for almost getting swayed despite knowing it wasn’t real.

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All of it vanished, leaving only one thing behind.

He couldn’t tell where the beginning was or the end—but as long as they were connected, they would always exist in the same place.

So even in this darkness, where nothing could be seen or heard—as long as he remembered that...

“......”

Yuder closed his eyes deeply, then opened them again.

The trembling hand in the white glove, which had seemed about to reach him at any moment, vanished like a lie—and someone was standing there.

Golden threads he thought had disappeared upon entering the shadow veil now softly surrounded him, dancing gently in the air.

Within that vision only Yuder could see, Kishiar, clad in black formalwear, stepped forward and embraced him. Yuder said nothing, only slowly raised his arms and returned the embrace.

After a few steady breaths, words finally escaped his lips.

“...I’ve taken care of the Sage. I felt an immense pressure here, like the sky and earth were being shaken, and when I saw you and the others weren’t around, I forced my way in.”

“I see. That makes sense. Only the shadow wall was left, so I figured you’d be worried.”

Kishiar’s voice was calm and composed as always. The same voice from the illusion—but his words were entirely different. That’s when it finally started to feel real.

“I was worried, especially when I saw the space was under illusion power... but I’m relieved you seem alright.”

“There was a bit of trouble, but I’m fine. I sensed someone breaking in before everything was over, so I was a little concerned—but it looks like you managed to get through.”

The man lightly brushed Yuder’s shoulder before releasing him from the embrace. Only then did Yuder realize that Kishiar hadn’t simply held him—he had been checking his condition.

“Looks like you’re not hurt either. Good.”

Kishiar must have guessed Yuder had encountered Naham’s illusion—but he didn’t ask about it. It was as if he already understood: if Yuder was uninjured, then he must’ve escaped with his own strength this time—without hurting himself.

“What exactly happened here?”

“It’s a long story. I’ll explain on the way as we go rejoin the others.”