The landscape beyond the Great Wall changed dramatically.

Man-made structures began to appear here and there, and as the surroundings grew increasingly complex, the Cataphract eventually found itself in the middle of a city.

On one side of the view, rows of modest brick houses lined up. In the distance, a four-story pavilion overlooked the world. Smooth stones paved the long streets, making it look like a flourishing city built with meticulous planning, down to each individual brick.

But this, too, was the work of the Golden Mirror. The city existed, but there wasn’t a trace of human presence within it.

There was no labor force to run the city, no food to sustain it.

“Amazing… to think that a mere human could single-handedly create an entire city….”

Tyr’s eyes sparkled like a child’s. It seemed that even a vampire who had slept for 300 years could find fascination in a ghost town.

And, truthfully, it wasn’t just Tyr. I, too, felt something similar, though in a slightly different way.

“Shei, now that I think about it,” I began.

“What is it, all of a sudden?”

“The truce agreement—it's to be delivered to the Golden Mirror, right?”

“Probably? That’s what it’s supposed to be.”

“But… do you think he’ll actually agree to a truce? Seeing the Golden Mirror’s powers in person makes me think they’re even more overwhelming.”

The Golden Mirror’s authority—alchemy, close to the act of creation itself. His power was so immense that he could casually create massive structures and cities, each brick uniquely crafted. Truly, an alchemist of creation.

Which raised a question.

The Regressor had claimed that the Military Nation would eventually defeat Yulguk, presumably including the Golden Mirror.

How did the Military Nation become so powerful? With mere armies?

“What if the Golden Mirror doesn’t accept the truce? What if he sees us as insolent, turns us all into gold, and then boldly advances to attack the Military Nation?”

This was a serious concern.

The Regressor had been so confident that Yulguk would accept the truce. I’d read his memories and, indirectly influenced by them, had joined this journey without much hesitation.

But now, having witnessed the Golden Mirror’s power with my own eyes, I was beginning to feel some doubt.

No matter how I looked at it, he was terrifyingly powerful. If he decided to build a fortress over my head and then collapse it, I’d be flattened like a bug.

“The Military Nation may lack a guardian spirit to protect it… but Yulguk has alchemy and the Golden Mirror. Shei, can we even defeat the Golden Mirror?”

“…If we give it everything we’ve got,” the Regressor answered hesitantly.

His attitude seemed less than confident. Let’s take a look at his thoughts.

The Golden Mirror isn’t someone you can win or lose against. He’s as alien as Tyrkanjaka, if not more. But I don’t want to say that outright and scare everyone….

See? You’re not confident either!

As I learned from dealing with Tyr and Lia, when facing an opponent with overwhelming power, it’s best to keep them on your side.

What’s the easiest way to win a fight against seventeen opponents? The answer is to be one of the seventeen yourself. How can I defeat seventeen people alone?

Anyway, while I have business with the Golden Mirror, I don’t have to approach him the same way the Regressor would. A truce agreement inherently carries the risk of igniting conflict. If the Golden Mirror took offense and attacked, I wouldn’t even get the chance to defend myself before being crushed.

“Just be honest with me. I’m prepared for whatever it takes.”

The Regressor probably knew something. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so confident.

As I pressed him, he reconsidered and answered.

Yeah, this guy might whine, but he’ll step right into a minefield without a second thought. He won’t run away just because he’s afraid.

With his mind made up, the Regressor recalled the Golden Mirror from a previous iteration and spoke honestly.

“We probably can’t win. The Golden Mirror’s power is so alien it borders on bizarre. Even with Jijan, we probably couldn’t even touch him.”

“I see.”

It was as I expected. He didn’t have confidence after all.

After nodding long enough, I gave Hilde an order.

“Hilde, turn us around. I want to go back.”

“Yes! Turning back now! Woohoo! Straight to war!!”

“No, wait! Stop!” the Regressor shouted, grabbing the collar of my clothes.

“Hey! I thought you said you were prepared!”

“I’m prepared to flee! To throw away trivial honor and save my precious life!”

“That’s not what ‘prepared’ means! And what do you plan to do if we go back now?”

“I could ask you the same thing! What’s the point of going forward without any chance of winning? It’d be nothing but a death wish!”

I tried to shake off his grip on my arms… but he was too strong, so I ended up pouting as I argued.

“You’ve got this swagger from conquering the Military Nation, but honestly, the Military Nation isn’t even a proper country! They don’t have a guardian spirit, a king with powers, and they’re a structurally weak and convoluted pseudo-nation! The only reason we could ransack them was because of that!”

“Hehe~. True, but as a citizen of the Military Nation, it feels strange to hear that~.”

The Military Nation only managed to survive thanks to the Saintess’s blessing….

Or rather, let’s call it something less dignified. “Blessing” sounds too sacred. The Saintess only narrowly averted their destruction by spotting every possible future where the Military Nation could fall and preventing it.

The Military Nation could have fallen at any time. Even the Saintess had grown so weak that they had to come up with a substitute like a communication golem. If anyone seriously tried, the nation would have crumbled in an instant.

In fact, three people almost made it happen.

But Yulguk is different. No matter its size, Yulguk’s foundation is unshakable.

Golden Mirror, Democrias. He is Yulguk, and Yulguk is him. Even if every human in Yulguk were killed, if the Golden Mirror remained, the same nation would rise again.

And as long as we can’t defeat the Golden Mirror, presenting him with a truce agreement is practically putting my life in his hands. If he rejects the truce, I’d be dismantled on the spot.

“No fighting! I’m leaving! I don’t want to die!”

“Just listen! There’s no need to fight the Golden Mirror!”

“Oh, really? Sitting back down, then.”

Geez. You should have said that from the start. I knew I could trust you, Regressor!

“You’re so spineless, changing your attitude like that!”

“Would you call it adaptive flexibility?”

Of course. When the situation changes, so should one’s stance.

But it’s good to know the Regressor has a plan. I thought we’d actually have to fight the Golden Mirror. No matter how many lives you have, you wouldn’t recklessly throw your head into danger without a plan.

“So why won’t we need to fight him? Is the Golden Mirror the type to just sign a truce agreement?”

The Regressor shook his head reluctantly, revealing what he knew.

“No, the Golden Mirror won’t cooperate with us. But he also won’t attack us. He’ll probably… just ignore us.”

In my previous life, even when the world was on the brink of destruction and I went to Yulguk, I couldn’t even speak with the Golden Mirror.

The Regressor recalled a previous cycle, picturing the distant image of the Golden Mirror.

Before the emergence of the King of Sin, when the world was in crisis, the protectors of the Golden Palace had given the Regressor an audience with the Golden Mirror. She climbed to the palace’s high platform and entered its empty hall, pleading for help as she explained the situation to the Golden Mirror.

But the Golden Mirror neither looked at her nor listened to her voice. Lost in thought, he continued creating something with alchemy, dropping trinkets behind him that served no purpose.

The Regressor had tried to force him to pay attention, even attempting to strike him. However, the invisible force surrounding him pushed her back. The Golden Mirror’s protective field was so strong it repelled the Regressor, even after she’d amassed treasures of immense power during the apocalyptic end times.

A wall of separation. The Golden Mirror continued his alchemy beyond that force field, as if the impending end of the world had nothing to do with him.

Unable to bear it any longer, the Regressor had swung Jijan at him… but the moment she broke through the force field and reached his realm, the world itself moved to expel her.

The Golden Mirror’s power was alchemy. Alchemy at its peak created everything. Creations designed to kill assaulted the Regressor, almost ending her life despite her mastery.

Though she was ultimately expelled by the guards who’d followed her, it was valuable information for a Regressor who could come back from death.

“The Golden Mirror is mad.”

Ah, I see…. So if I say the wrong thing, he could erase me from existence? Hmm, got it.

I rose again.

“On second thought, I’m going back.”

“Wait! I didn’t mean he’s a deranged tyrant. I just meant he’s so lost in his creations that he might as well be filling all of Yulguk with junk!”

“Then why bother giving a truce agreement to such a madman? It doesn’t sound realistic.”

“I told you, the truce agreement isn’t meant for the Golden Mirror! If we can persuade the protectors of the Golden Palace, we can prevent the war! The Golden Mirror doesn’t care about the fate of the nation, so it’s the protectors who ultimately steer Yulguk!”

Now I understood. The Golden Mirror is powerful but effectively a wandering senile elder. The protectors are the real powers behind the throne? You could have said that from the beginning.

The Regressor is exhausting to read sometimes. It’s tough when information from past cycles isn’t accessible, so I have to prod him to bring up relevant memories each time.

“Shei, why didn’t you say that from the start?”

“…It’s generally known that the Golden Mirror rules Yulguk, and the protectors serve him. It’s close enough that I didn’t see the need to clarify.”

The Regressor fumbled for excuses, but I read his hidden thoughts.

This is classified information about the Golden Palace. Only by meeting the Golden Mirror directly can one know this. Revealing it might arouse suspicion… possibly leading to questions about my regression. Luckily, I don’t seem to be suspected yet.

Well… maybe not yet?

In any case, fine. The protectors of the Golden Palace will be there, and so will the Golden Mirror. As a foreigner, it’s rare to get the chance to walk up to the Golden Mirror and read his mind.

So I must go.

Only then can I uncover why Elic, the King of Gold and descendant of the Five Monarchs, fell.

Or rather, let me put it more precisely.

Why the Five Monarchs, who took power from the kings of humanity, were ultimately forsaken. I need to uncover that myself.

Only then… will I reclaim my right to represent them.