Chapter 58: The Gravity of the Princess

Communion of souls.

It was my first time too, so due to the simplicity of words, I didn’t expect anything monumental.

I thought that if I just connected two souls, that should suffice.

“What is this place?”

Looking around, I found myself in an enormous room—a place certainly absent from my memory.

The wallpaper was antiquated, the furniture opulent. These luxury items could have been mistaken for those used in a royal palace, yet they possessed an added sense of ancient gravitas.

Stepping out of the room, I immediately felt out of place.

Wrists much thicker than those of Deus, the distinctive yellow undertone of an Asian complexion, and wearing a modern suit…

“Huh?”

An old-fashioned turn of phrase slipped out naturally, catching me off guard as I checked my form.

Looking in the mirror, there I was indeed—Kim Shin-woo. In my own original form.

I had experienced this just once before.

When I met Deus as a soul.

‘Does this mean I’ve become a soul and entered inside Eleanor?’

I needed to stay calm.

It was unclear whether this was a spiritual exchange or a continuation of a dream. It might even be an incident caused simply by the resonance of the power of Lemegeton and the remnants left behind by Mack.

But that wasn’t what mattered. The priority was to meet Eleanor.

If my hunch is right, she has to be in here.

And not just her—both of her personas together.

With the thought that encountering both would end this situation, I turned the doorknob and stepped outside.

Creak.

A solemn corridor unfolds before me. It was only after stepping out that I could be certain.

This place is the Royal Palace.

The unique crests of the kingdom, along with the neatly laid red carpet, were proof.

‘Should I head to Eleanor’s room first?’

I make my way directly to her room. I thought I might encounter someone along the way, but surprisingly, there was no one to be seen.

‘If this is a dream world, it’s still unfinished. That must be why it feels incomplete.’

With no one watching, I start to run down the corridor. It felt noticeably easier to move about, not being weighed down by Deus’ overindulgence in drugs and alcohol.

Having grown accustomed to it, I hadn’t realized—running like this made me fully aware of how much Deus had worn down his body.

‘Or is it just because I’m a soul?’

I’m not sure, but for now, it’s not important, I thought as I arrived at Eleanor’s room.

And surprisingly, I could hear a fierce scolding coming from inside.

“Is that the right way to behave now!”

Gently opening the door, there stood a young Eleanor and a woman who appeared to be her mother.

Eleanor’s mother.

Helen Luden Griffin.

It was my first time seeing her in person. To my knowledge, she had long since passed away due to illness.

And before Helen stood young Eleanor, lips sealed tight without a hint of rebellion, head bowed under her mother’s scolding.

“Do it again! Do it over!”

At Helen’s command, Eleanor steps back and bows cautiously, her gesture brimming with dignity.

But then.

Slap!

Helen strikes Eleanor’s cheek, a slap so forceful it sends the girl reeling backward. Yet Helen showed no signs of retreat.

“Are you joking? Is that right? You look like an imbecile! You’re a princess! The face of this nation! What will become of you if this is the best you can do? It’s all an act right now! You need to draw out your true elegance!”

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

“Silence! Know that each time you fail to do it properly, you’ll be hit. Any marks can easily be removed by a magician!”

Eleanor, trembling and clumsily trying to rise, is roughly grabbed by the wrist and yanked upright by Helen.

As Eleanor attempts another bow, Helen, dissatisfied again, raises her hand.

Click.

I had entered the room and caught Helen’s wrist in mid-air.

“You, what are you!”

Helen screams at me, her voice dripping with venom. But my mana had already surged violently into her body, lifting her into the air and slamming her against the wall.

Thud!

After all, this is just a dream.

Helen, Eleanor’s mother, is nothing more than a person long deceased.

“Snap out of it.”

Eleanor looks at me blankly, trembling instead of being shocked at her mother’s downfall.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

I could tell right away from her tone.

This Eleanor was the second one, the one burdened with the duties of royalty.

“Huh? A moment ago, I was...”

“Do you remember anything? Get a grip on yourself.”

“Huh? Wait, who are you?”

Pointing at me and furrowing her brow, Eleanor demands an answer, and I reply nonchalantly.

“Deus Verdi.”

“What? You’re nothing like the Deus I know. You’re like night and day. Who are you?”

Eleanor was confused, but there was no time to explain. Because Helen, previously smashed against the wall, was slowly getting up.

And she was growing enormously, her back bending so much it touched the ceiling. With elongated hands, she slams the door shut, preventing our escape.

“How dare a princess talk to a man like thiiiiis!”

With a cry almost like a curse, Eleanor and I turn to bolt outside.

Once again, I wield my mana to shatter both the hand and the door itself to get out.

My mana felt unusually responsive, almost eerie.

As I pondered this, Eleanor clicked her tongue in response.

“It’s dream mana, after all. It’s more about will than talent or effort.”

“Is that so?”

“But that means fine control is out of the question.”

I twist my body, pulling up mana with all the strength I have.

The giant Helen, now one hand less, tries to approach us, thumping along.

Boom!

But she’s pushed back by a flood of mana, a tidal wave that eventually sweeps her through a window and out of sight.

“Clearly, I can use more mana than I usually can without any trouble.”

As I nod, intrigued by this discovery, Eleanor stares blankly, her mouth agape.

“Shouldn’t you feel dizzy from the mental drain, then?”

I mused on the ambiguous nature of mental strength. But as someone who is not easily shaken, I didn’t find it overly taxing.

“…Are you really Deus?”

Eleanor asks, looking at me curiously, and I scratch the back of my head as I reply.

“More precisely, you could say I’m a man using Deus’s body.”

I didn’t feel like introducing myself as Deus in my current state.

I reach out my hand to the little girl.

“Kim Shin-woo. That’s my real name.”

“Kim… Shin-woo?”

Eleanor takes my hand, her expression a mixture of confusion and curiosity, but there was no time to waste.

Already, Helen’s grotesquely twisted face was peering back at us through the window.

“She just won’t die.”

Eleanor, with a soured expression, glances at Helen and pokes at my thigh.

“Lift me up. It seems wiser to flee than to fight.”

“...”

“And I think I know where the other Eleanor is. Let’s head there.”

“Where?”

Honestly, I didn’t feel like carrying her, but Eleanor’s stride was too short to escape from Helen, who was crawling toward us on all fours.

“The rooftop! I sense the other half there.”

As I hoist her onto my back upon hearing her answer, Helen bangs her forehead against the ground, screaming.

“The princess! Riding on the back of a strange man! Insanity! Insanity! Insanity! Come here! Come heeeere!”

Helen starts to catch up at a terrifying pace. I, however, confront her head-on, pushing mana outward to repel her.

Swept away by my mana, Helen crashes into a wall, and we pass by the window she had been pushed through earlier.

The landscape outside doesn’t even seem properly formed.

Moreover, the sensations are off; the palace walls look as tall as the skyscrapers of a high-rise building.

I wonder if this is how the palace appeared to Eleanor when she was a child.

“Argh!”

I release mana, soaring through the sky. Eleanor clings to my neck in panic, but I’m not choked.

Moreover, without the ability to use refined magic, my body was swept this way and that as if entrusted to a wild tempest.

Yet, I felt neither dizzy nor nauseous.

“Hey, listen!”

Eleanor shouts through the artificially raging winds.

When I turn my head slightly to ask why, Eleanor asks with an annoyed expression.

“Why did your way of speaking change?”

“...”

“No, seriously, it’s so different. You know, the usual Deus has a somewhat... annoying tone, right?”

She speaks her mind without hesitation.

Should I just chalk this up to royal bearing?

“I’m deliberately making a distinction.”

I brush off the question with a simple explanation. Eleanor looks puzzled for the moment, but she’s a sharp girl; she’ll catch on quickly.

Before we knew it, Eleanor and I reached the edge of the building and floated up to the rooftop.

Behind the shimmering, watercolor-like scene, a blonde girl crouching down came into view.

A different Eleanor, this one appearing to be 17.

Just as we were about to approach her.

“Don’t come closer!” She spoke.

Despair was woven into the tremble of her voice.

--- End of The Chapter ---

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