Chapter 385: The Garden of Time (1)

I began to descend the stairs as the curtain of sand parted to let me through.

The stairs, made of an unknown material, were firm under my feet. With each step, my footsteps echoed. I had spoken with the Mirage-Walking Princess on the ninetieth floor. Below that was the eighty-ninth floor—my holy ground.

Stepping inside the Garden of Withered Flowers, I saw the Death King Clan vassals who took on the role of gardeners. They were moving about in neat suits made by Ivansia tailors with water silk woven by the mermaids of the Aegim Empire. The gardeners held scissors, shovels, watering cans, or other tools for tending the garden. When I saw Sylvia walking toward me with garden shears, I quickly crouched behind a rock.

—Death King, what are you doing?

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The princess stared at me weirdly. I awkwardly scratched the back of my head.

—Well, I acted all cool and cut my hair before I went up to the ninetieth floor. It’s a bit embarrassing to run into them now. They’ll ask me why I came down already.

I paused and closed my mouth.

—Uh... hmm? My voice is...

What came out of my mouth was a faint whisper. No, it was more like the voice forever present in one’s head—the kind that seemed to be there but wasn’t.

—Uh...

That wasn’t all. I slowly took a step back and realized that I couldn’t hear my own steps.

—Huh?

I tried walking around some more, but it was the same. The echoes of my footsteps, which had accompanied me from the upper floor, were now gone.

—

Ohh...

I tried a squat jump. There was no

thud

when I landed. Not only was there no sound, not a single grain of sand or leaf stirred.

—

Don’t tell me...

—Yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking.

The princess smiled. Only then did I realize that her voice and steps also had no effect on the area. That was how I understood what was going on.

—You and I are in the same state as Mr. Sword Emperor, aren’t we?

—Yes!

Feeling curious, I turned and looked at Sylvia as she approached me.

—And that means...

Right in front of me, Sylvia sighed. “It’s been about two hours since the patriarch went up.”

As expected, she couldn’t perceive me at all!

“I’m going crazy. Why the hell would he insist on climbing? What’s so great up there?”

Crouching on the ground, Sylvia grumbled as she dug into the soil with her trowel. Uburka walked over in his gardener outfit, a large bucket balanced on his bald head.

“

Ugor

, Chief Steward, someone might hear you trash-talking.”

Sylvia shrugged. “

Hmph.

Nooooo one’s listening except you. I’ve already made sure of it. That’s why I can trash-talk like this.”

“You sure about that,

ugor?

”

“You bet I am. I attended Sormwin Academy twice and even defeated the Duke of Ivansia once. What do you think that means? It means I’m quick and sharp,” Sylvia said cockily.

I’m listening to you right now.

I pitied Sylvia’s confidence as much as I pitied her, but this also meant that my current stealth mode was flawless.

Anyway, this is fun.

I circled Sylvia and Uburka, walked around, did handstands, somersaults, even danced. The Guardian had a rare, embarrassed look on his face.

—Zombie... Why are you going insane like a puppy drooling over a bone?

—Thank you for the compliment. This is what you did when I was trying to learn how to use my aura. I felt the same as you’re feeling now.

The Guardian covered his face with his hand.

—Is that so, you little shit? I didn’t know that. Now that I do, I deeply regret it. Regardless, just because I did that doesn’t mean you should do the same. Breaking that bad cycle is always the duty of juniors and students.

—I also wanted to break that cycle, but I’m too weak. The snake coiled around my heart hisses, “Do the same to others. Are you just going to let others push you around all your life? Go on. Now is your chance to get revenge.” Time after time, I give in to the demonic snake within me. You could say it’s my incompetence and inability...

—Fine, I lost.

—Victory achieved.

Even while we talked nonsense, Ubruka and Sylvia showed no sign of noticing us. It was getting a little awkward.

—Princess, Mr. Sword Emperor, what am I supposed to do here? Where are the keys?

—Hmm, I don’t know. How about you search the spots that come to mind?

The princess’ smile was bright.

Hmmm. The look on your face makes me feel uneasy.

I suppressed that unease and walked away from Uburka and Sylvia, who were still chatting.

—Where are you going, Scream Sky?

—Well... you said to check spots that come to mind, right? That’s what I’m doing.

—You’re energetic! That’s good.

It was also a very disturbing remark from the princess, but I tried not to pay much heed and moved on. My first thought was to find my orphanage director.

***

“Mr. Kim Yul, please gather the gardeners,” the director said.

“Okay.”

Kim Yul did as he was told. Estelle was the first to run over, followed by the Goddess of Protection flapping her wings and landing on the ground. Sylvia and Uburka, who had been chatting until now, also stood before the director.

“Hello, I’ve been assigned to manage this garden,” the director said in his usual soft and quiet voice. “I lack in many areas. Even right now, I know some of you might be thinking, ‘Why is there a meeting out of the blue?’ And you might also not like being here... If that’s the case, please remember I’m just an old man... Well, I guess I’m not that old compared to you all. I’m just lacking. I would be happy if you could take pity on me for that.”

The group showed little reaction to his words.

—Director...

A lump formed in my throat. The director, of course, couldn’t perceive me. He simply went on speaking to those before him.

“As you know, Gong-Ja went up to the next floor today. As a Hunter, I can’t even be called a rookie. Even if I were taken to the second floor, I doubt I would return alive, so I don’t know what the ninetieth floor is like. Is there anyone here who knows about that floor?”

Estelle raised a hand. “I know a little about the ninety-ninth floor. Due to the contract with the Tower, I can’t share much information about it, but...”

“Is it dangerous?”

“Yes, very,” Estelle replied.

The director took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Can he return?”

“If the patriarch decides to return, he can return immediately,” Estelle said but drooped her head slightly after. “But I know a retry isn’t possible. That is also why most of the renowned Constellations get stuck and can’t reach the hundredth floor."

“I see...” The director let out a small sigh. “Still, it’s reassuring to know he can return immediately if he chooses to.”

“Yes, I agree.”

Once more, the director sighed, this time deeply. “But he will never return.”

Estelle, the Goddess of Protection, and Uburka let out similar sighs. What was this sudden unity in the Death King Clan?

“He’s been very stubborn ever since he was very young,” the director said.

Sylvia listened closely. “What was he like back then?”

“Chief Steward, I sense impurity in that curiosity.”

“No, no, Advisor. Aren’t you too prejudiced against me? I’m hurt. I’m just curious about what kind of person our patriarch was as a kid. Don’t you agree, Advisor? You look veeeeery curious yourself.”

“As the advisor, I simply wish to know the patriarch better,” Estelle replied confidently.

You little rascals...

“I’m also curious,

ugor

. What was Daddy like when he was young? Or rather, did he even have a childhood?”

You little son of mine...

“Everyone seems curious about Gong-Ja. Well, I suppose that’s understandable.” The director adjusted his glasses with a bitter smile. While most of the clan members probably—definitely—stared at the director for my cringe past, he proved that he was a specialist who had cared for children for decades. “So, I’ll continue this story at the next meeting.”

“

Aaaaaaah!

”

The vassals, with their curiosity piqued just as the story ended, let out a cry of disappointment.

“It’s alright. Relax and wait,” the director said, smiling. “We’ll be here for a while.”

Like that, the meeting ended. I wiped my forehead, watching the gardeners leave.

—I need to leave as soon as possible... within today, if possible.

—Hmm, so you don’t want your cringe past revealed to everyone while you watch, huh?

—Yeah. Um, so... the keys.

I looked around, but nothing clear caught my eye. I even searched the director’s pockets but found nothing of interest there.

—... There is nothing here.

—You’re right. I guess it’s not there.

The princess was still smiling. Her tone only made me more uneasy. As if to stress me even further, the Sword Emperor also had something to say.

—Zombie.

—Yeah?

—Be strong

.

I turned to see a pitying look on his face.

—Uh... Mr. Sword Emperor, why does your face look like that?

—What does it look like?

—Like you ate something nasty.

—Yeah...

—Hey, wait, wait. Hold on a moment. You should be more pissed off than that. What do you mean, yeah? Are you upset because I was joking earlier? If so, then... seriously, why the long face? Why don’t you just laugh at me?

The Sword Emperor just stared at me as if I were someone to be pitied.

Anxiety is taking over me like I’m opening the lid to a closed toilet.

I clasped my hands together. After my breathing went back to normal, I resumed my search.

—Anyway, it’s not around the director. Hmm. Then it’s likely over there.

My holy ground was a world. Still, it had been built fairly recently, so it wasn’t too big. If I searched every likely spot, I would find the key. That was my plan, but... it turned out I was wrong.

***

With a tired look, I crouched by the red beach of my holy ground, watching the red waves crashing into the shore.

—I thought this wrong.

I wasn’t really sure whether I looked tired or not. The sea didn’t reflect my face. It wasn’t just because the sea in my haven was red. I had even built a greenhouse here for flowers that needed warmth, but my reflection didn’t appear on the glass either.

—Hmph. You catch up quickly. Only took you one week to figure that out, Zombie.

The Sword Emperor sat down beside me in the lotus position, cleaning his teeth with his fingernail.

Yup. A whole week had passed since I entered this eighty-ninth—no, the ninety-first floor.

—Why isn’t there one single hint?

I screamed at the top of my lungs. Screamed...? Damn it. I couldn’t make a sound here, so even that felt unclear. It was as if my entire existence was unclear. I now understood why that seal[1] and Shiba Inu[2] made such expressions!

—

I thought I would find something near the director. Or the Constellation Murderer’s flower, the first lily of the valley I ever planted, would suddenly sparkle if I went there. But... Do you know how I feel now?

The princess hopped beside me.

—“It feels like I’ve been thrown in an unfinished test map where the seasonal event hasn’t started yet.” I remember someone using that as an example.

—Who was that?

—

Mahos.

The Eternal Plain Warhorse?

—

He talks like that?

—Yeah, you don’t like treating the Tower like a game, so you might get angry at that comparison.

—

No, no, I understand what it feels like. Mr. Sword Emperor, you also agree, right?

I shook my head and turned to the Sword Emperor. He lay down and propped his head up with his hands clasped behind his neck. Angular clouds drifted across the sky, the shattered sunset glow staining them red.

—Of course I know, Zombie. Why wouldn’t I? I’ve been enduring that bullshit for one hundred forty years.

1.

Seal expression

☜

2.

Shiba Inu expression

☜