Prophet (2)
-I'm sorry.
A voice that whispers in the ear, piercing through the deep silence.
How many times have I seen this scene?
In the Prophet's vision, a blurry landscape flickered.
The sky, dyed crimson red, the Academy building shattered beyond recognition, and among the scattered debris, bodies piled up like dust.
It was a world on the brink of destruction.
-In the end... we couldn't prevent the end.
The boy standing beside him muttered.
He was in a similarly sorry state.
His once neat suit was now tattered, and his golden hair was soaked in blood.
In his half-closed eyes, once a symbol of the boy, only wide-open pupils remained.
-Headmaster.
A weary voice called out to the Prophet.
Simultaneously, his legs wobbled.
The snake, who had momentarily lost his balance, soon regained his composure, turned to the old man, and wore a bitter smile.
The darkness gradually coloring his complexion hinted at a farewell.
His lips, dripping with blood, moved slightly.
-Still, we have one last move.
A struggling finger pointed to the sky.
Beyond the red backdrop, the last remaining [Calamity] was showing its face.
The snake spoke.
-From here on, I will go alone. That's the only way to save this world, I suppose.
A sentence that ultimately decided on sacrifice.
The Prophet couldn't stop him.
He only asked quietly.
How should he explain this to the children who would be left behind?
The boy smiled faintly.
-Well... no matter the hidden circumstances, the fact remains that I am a traitor.
I don't want to leave any excuses with such a title.
It would only complicate things.
I've decided to put aside my worries about them.
-They are strong kids, so they will surely overcome this.
An ending that no one would acknowledge.
The snake shouldered the world.
As he passed the Prophet, only the sound of a cold wind echoed.
The boy recited, as if adding a harmony to it.
-Headmaster... I will entrust a different future to you.
Thud, thud-.
Leaving behind an incomprehensible request, the snake advanced towards the center of the storm.
The Prophet stared at his receding figure.
He unconsciously reached out his hand.
But at an unreachable distance, the boy disappeared.
Only winter remained in the empty background.
Whoosh-.
The old man stood there for a long time.
It was a particularly vivid dream.
***
A space filled with a heavy silence.
I quietly held my breath.
As I idly fiddled with the teacup in my hand, my gaze drifted to the headmaster sitting on the sofa opposite me.
The white-haired old man remained composed in the tranquil atmosphere.
Only the sound of breathing could be heard.
"······."
"······."
We didn't rush to speak.
A precariously maintained atmosphere.
Especially the headmaster, as if his mind was elsewhere, stared into the void with unfocused eyes.
His calm gaze held an inexplicable sense of longing.
'It's quiet.'
I muttered inwardly.
We had exchanged meaningful greetings, but since then, there had been no sign of conversation.
Only the snake and the old man continued their tea ceremony in silence.
Of course.
Such silence was within the expected range.
It was understandable to be on guard.
Even if the other party showed a willingness to talk, there was a high probability that I wouldn't get the answers I wanted.
This was due to the [Restriction] the world had placed on the old man.
I recalled the original work.
Gaston Gallimard.
The headmaster who had led the Academy for the past few decades, and a transcendent being who was born with the gift of foresight, able to glimpse into the future.
The world had given the old man the alias [Prophet of the apocalypse].
However.
Names can be pronounced differently depending on who is speaking.
Despite having a solid real name and alias, the users who played the original work called him by another name.
None other than 'The Most Powerless Prophet'.
I recalled a few posts in my head.
[Category: Question Board]
[Title: Headmaster <- So what exactly is this character's role?]
Still a newbie on my 5th playthrough
Every time I see him, I don't get what this headmaster is doing
Isn't he just an extra?
He's supposed to be the head of the academy but he barely shows up
No matter what happens, like an academy raid or something, I never see him solving anything
He has less screen time than Kadel or Selena, who are just professors
From the mentions in the game, he seems to be really strong
But there's nothing to show for it, so it doesn't really hit home
All I've seen is a white-haired old man who drinks a lot of tea
I think the other professors had more impact tbh
And
What's the deal with the whole prophet thing??
[He's a messed up character alright]
-> How can someone's name be Gaston ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹
-> Is that really it? Nothing else?
[We don't know exactly what the prophet thing is either]
-> Who are you to assume I don't know either
-> So do you know or not?
-> I don't
-> Ah, you're just stirring the pot
+++
[Category: Free Board]
[Title: If the Emperor is the worst in terms of personality]
Then the headmaster is the worst in terms of incompetence
He just does nothing
But he's got this huge backstory
He's supposed to be the Prophet of the apocalypse or something
The game keeps emphasizing that he's a really important character
I thought he'd do something later on but nope
He's supposed to be a prophet but he's not helpful at all
Apparently, the world put some restrictions on him
Because of that, he can't answer properly no matter what you ask him
Even if you grind for a mythical item and use it to talk to him
All you get are a few cryptic spoilers that you can't even understand
If you're going to make a character who can't even speak properly, why make him a prophet in the first place?
I don't know what the developers were thinking when they made this character
If the Emperor is fundamentally bad in terms of personality
This guy is just fundamentally bad in terms of design
[This is what you call knowing the future]
-> Ah ã…‹ã…‹ he only knows the future
[I'm a newbie so I don't really get it, what's this prophet thing?]
-> He's literally a prophet. He transcends providence or something so he can see the future.
-> ???? He doesn't seem to do much with that ability
-> That's because he's restricted
-> Restricted?
-> Think of it as the price of his ability
[So what's the headmaster's restriction?]
-> He can't meddle with the future he knows. If he tells anyone or twists providence, he bears the karma of the world and his existence is extinguished.
-> What the, that's trash
-> There's a reason why people call him a messed up character
-> If a character who sees the future can't meddle or tell anyone, what's the point of his existence...?
-> Well, he saw the future. Have a drink.
[It's because not all endings have been revealed yet. Remember the hidden ending the developers mentioned before? There's a possibility that the headmaster plays an important role there.]
-> That's the most plausible theory
-> Since we're talking about it, has anyone seen the hidden ending?
-> Nope, not that I know of
-> Even the guide guy seems to be lost
-> If that guy can't find it, it probably doesn't exist
As you can see.
The old man in front of me hadn't chosen silence willingly.
He was silent because he had no other choice.
If he revealed even a little about the prophecy, the backlash from the restriction would surely tear his old body apart.
It could even lead to the loss of a symbolic figure.
It was too heavy a risk to bear for just a few words.
Of course.
It wasn't as if there were no other way.
There's always a side road.
"Headmaster."
It was the same in the original work.
The Prophet of the apocalypse.
Originally, you couldn't get an answer no matter what question you asked, but there was a way to bypass that restriction, even if only temporarily.
That was to offer an item of mythical grade as a sacrifice.
The principle was simple.
Restriction.
This was the world's warning not to deviate from providence, and if one dared to defy it, they would have to pay the appropriate price.
In the case of the headmaster, the price was as heavy as his ability was significant.
None other than the extinction of his existence.
This was the reason why he couldn't reveal the prophecy.
But what if we used it in reverse?
"I already know about the restrictions."
To divert the price to another.
More precisely, to transfer the penalty for breaking the restriction to something else.
To make a [Divine Relic] take on the role of that fake scapegoat.
In the original work, these were called 'mythical items'.
During the time when the continent was created and sustained by the hand of God.
These were pieces of the world that existed in that history, imbued with holiness, and ultimately recognized for their high status.
They were also considered the rarest of items.
'No wonder they're so valued.'
An existence capable of bearing the price, even if only for a moment.
If you handed it over to the Prophet when you asked a question, the headmaster could temporarily shed some of the restrictions.
This loophole could be used to have a short question and answer session.
Of course.
This interaction wasn't very popular among the users.
Many felt that it was a waste of an item.
A Divine Relic was something you might get once every 100 playthroughs, and it was considered a poor trade to waste such an item on just a few words of conversation.
Naturally, the used Divine Relic would be destroyed immediately afterward, so it couldn't be recovered.
Moreover, he didn't reveal any grand future, just a few cryptic words, so it was understandable that the users who valued their resources felt this way.
It was more beneficial to use it elsewhere.
'However.'
It was different in my case.
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