Chapter 33
How to Overcome Depression (6)
Illena’s attitude was firm.
After hesitating for a moment, Iago eventually nodded and sank back down onto the throne.
Then he flicked his hand toward the ministers.
It was a sign of permission.
“Then I’ll order them to bring the relic immediately!”
The hunched Ilo shouted quickly, then gestured to a servant waiting outside the meeting room.
Without needing further orders, the servant dashed off somewhere.
That old fox… I thought he was a tiger, but he’s a snake after all.
Illena muttered inwardly as she glared at him, a man who now wore a meaningful, victorious smile.
From their first meeting, she’d known he didn’t like her. But still, since he was from the Kingdom of Lihue, she had assumed he wouldn’t stoop to plotting schemes behind her back.
She could feel Iago’s worried gaze on her.
But with everyone watching, it wasn’t easy to speak to him.
“It has arrived!”
Before long, Ilo announced the relic’s arrival, and two soldiers opened the conference room doors and entered.
That’s… the royal family’s relic?
It was a massive, rectangular block of stone—so heavy that it took two strong men to carry it.
On the stone’s mysterious blue-tinged surface, lines of letters were densely carved.
It was obvious what that old fox wanted—he expected her to interpret it.
Damn it… I’ll just bluff my way through again.
Illena grabbed her head in frustration, thinking to herself.
If no one had been able to interpret those letters, that meant no one could tell if she just made something up.
She was well-practiced at using quick thinking, adaptability, and sharp instincts to make something up and get through situations.
She’d just do the same this time.
God’s will? It always boiled down to the same clichés: love each other, be kind, live righteously.
No way. Even if this is a ridiculous romance-fantasy possession situation…
The carved stone slowly drew closer to the throne.
The closer it came, the more she could see a strange glint of anticipation—almost delight—in Ilo’s eyes as he stared at her.
She kept grumbling inwardly.
There’s no way something so cliché would happen to me, like the ancient relic’s language being… Korean or something…
“When hatred and rage blanket the Second Paradise, the calamity shall at last begin; therefore, love one another.”
Without a trace of hesitation, Illena began to speak fluidly.
Her unexpressive face stayed locked on the relic without wavering.
Her voice was low and devoid of emotion.
“…Illena?”
Sensing something odd, Iago quietly called her name.
“W-What, are you… reading the words inscribed on the relic?”
“Impossible…!”
While the gathered people gasped in shock, Ilo alone shouted loudly:
“That’s impossible! There’s no way she’s the divine priestess! She’s shamelessly making it up! Anyone could say—”
But his words never reached the end.
“For do not despair. God shall send you a savior at the brink of destruction.”
As Illena spoke, each character carved into the relic began to emit light.
Golden rays poured out from the blue stone, filling the entire meeting room.
Boom!
As the bright light forced everyone to squeeze their eyes shut, the palace itself shook violently.
“Wh-What is this…?”
“It’s God’s wrath! He’s angry because we doubted the priestess!”
The devout elders dropped to the floor, murmuring prayers.
“Illena!”
[Thus, forgive us our sins.]
…Who?
Amid the golden brilliance filling her vision, she heard Iago calling her name—but over it came the overlapping voice of a strange man.
[Thy servant weeps and pleads.]
Who’s speaking? Who is this?
Even as she wondered, hot tears spilled from her eyes.
Her lips parted on their own, and with a pained groan, words of supplication spilled out:
“Please… save the humans of this land from destruction…!”
She was still in the dazzling light.
A voice echoed directly in her head, as if speaking right into her mind.
[I can no longer bear to watch the corruption of this land. I will destroy everything and start anew. O sole righteous one on this land, take my heart—the Heart of Honua—and leave this land.]
Though it had no change in pitch, she could clearly feel the voice brimming with rage.
“I” crawled along the floor in fear and sorrow, sobbing.
“But there are still good people in this land. How can You punish them along with the wicked?”
My family, my friends—everything in this world—would vanish.
All would die a death filled with suffering.
But God’s will was resolute, and as a mere human, all I could do was pray through my tears.
I crawled, scraping the floor with my nails, pleading to Him.
“If I can find just one hundred good, righteous people… will You spare this land from destruction?”
[If there are one hundred righteous people in this land, I will not destroy the world.]
But no matter how far I traveled, I could not find them.
My beloved family betrayed me, and friends I trusted abandoned me.
Those who proclaimed themselves good and righteous refused to sacrifice themselves for others.
The despair that the world would end washed over me like a tidal wave.
Again, I wept and begged Him.
“L-Lord… if I fall short of one hundred by just five… will You still destroy the world?”
[If there are ninety-five righteous people in this land, I will not destroy it.]
“What if it’s short by five from that…?”
“What if it’s short by ten from ninety…?”
“What if it’s short by ten from eighty-five…?”
[If there are even just two righteous people in this land, I will not destroy it.]
Yet no matter how many years I roamed the land, I could not find them.
In the end, the world perished.
God’s wrath was merciless.
Meteorites rained down, lava overflowed onto the land, the sky was shrouded in pitch black.
The smell of burning flesh, the screams of the dying.
In the black void of space, I stared blankly at the burning blue sphere—my home planet.
Humanity had been wiped out, save for me alone.
I carefully opened the hand I had been clutching.
In my palm lay a round fragment glowing with a mysterious blue light—the Heart of Honua, imbued with the essence of life by God Himself.
Still crying, I heard God’s prophecy once more from above my head.
[I will create a new paradise. There, you shall become the forebear of all humankind.]
“Illena!”
I felt someone’s touch.
Huh? Someone’s here?
In this world, I was the only human left…
“Illena! Are you okay? Wake up!”
I felt the familiar warmth of a solid body holding me.
Then I saw them—violet eyes filled with worry, gazing into mine.
“I…”
Illena murmured blankly as she looked at Iago.
He urgently cupped her face, examining her.
“You’re okay, right? Illena?”
Illena?
“I’m… Illena.”
With those words, her limp body collapsed into Iago’s arms.
“…Illena.”
In the haze of her mind, a gentle voice reached her ears.
When she slowly lifted her gaze, she saw Iago’s worried face peering down at her through her blurry vision.
It was her own familiar bedroom.
“Illena! Are you alright? Are you back with me?”
“…Yeah.”
Holding her head, she slowly sat up in bed.
She could still almost hear that voice resonating directly in her brain.
Illena’s thoughts churned in confusion.
What was that vision just now? And why was Korean written on the royal family’s ancient relic?
She’d never once thought about carrying out God’s will. And above all…
…It’s such a hassle!
She’d vowed never to live diligently again, and she wasn’t about to take on some bothersome role as “savior.”
When she frowned slightly, Iago, who had been watching her with concern, immediately reacted.
“Illena? Is your head hurting? Are you alright?”
Illena clasped her small hands together and looked up at him anxiously.
Through the window behind him, she could faintly see Mount Aufus at the center of the island.
Iago had once explained that this massive mountain was visible from every end of the island.
A mystical island where magic, gods, and priestesses existed, and where everyone was supposedly kind and happy.
That scene from the vision… that blue planet I saw back then…
It was Earth.
Until now, she’d been too drained—between the absurdity of being thrown into a novel and her own lethargy—to think too deeply about it.
But now, the question she had perhaps been avoiding rose to the surface.
Right. Where exactly is this island? And why on earth did I suddenly get possessed?
“Illena, are you sure you’re okay? The royal physician said there’s nothing wrong, but…”
Kneeling by her bedside, he brushed her hair back with a worried expression.
“…I’m fine.”
Still dazed, Illena looked at Iago and thought to herself:
There’s one word I remember clearly. I’m sure I—no, that man—called it the ‘Heart of Honua.’
“By the way, Iago… have you ever heard of something called the ‘Heart of Honua’?”
“Huh? Why do you suddenly…? Of course I have.”
He answered as if it were obvious.
“You’ve heard of it too, Illena.”
