On the twelfth day of our journey, after having encountered many Entities, we finally had some leisure time to enjoy a few days of travel.
During this time, I decided to buy new underwear, and for that, of course, I asked my teacher to buy it for me.
We were currently in the market of a suburban town. Although it was a peripheral town, the atmosphere here was quite lively. I could see many shops lining every corner.
"Teacher, that place over there looks quite well-stocked," I said, pointing to a shop with a sign that read "Underwear."
"Sure, let's go take a look." My teacher and I entered the shop. Inside, I could see…
"Geh, what is all this?"
"Pfft…" my teacher held back a laugh, and not without reason. As soon as we entered, we were greeted by dozens of fishnet underwear sets—not just panties, but bras too.
Oh come on, not again. I want something more normal, I thought.
"Teacher, don't you laugh."
"Eh…? Why?" She pulled out a small-sized fishnet set and held it up in front of me. "Isn't this heaven for you? Look, this would be quite nice on you."
"In that case, this is for you." I also had something for her; in my hand was a complete set of large-sized string underwear. It wasn't like the fishnets, but just a thin strip of fabric. Her face immediately winced upon seeing it.
"I'll take that, but you have to take this. How about it?" I challenged her. I could see the hesitation on her face.
"That's too thin and revealing," she responded. "How about this one instead?" Now she was suggesting something for herself; a netted set, but one that still had plenty of threads.
"What's with that look on your face?" she said, having sensed the meaning behind my stare.
"Are you scared?" I said, holding up the underwear set. She looked at it, then snatched it from my hand.
"Fine, who's afraid?"
"Are you sure, Teacher? It's just a piece of string, you know."
She seemed to hesitate for a moment, then went to the counter and paid for it.
"You're braver than I am," I said after she returned with her shopping bag. Her face was bright red, all the way to her ears. This is fun, I thought.
"Hey… You can't cheat, either. Buy the one I picked for you," she said, handing me some money.
"Of course. I'll pick it and buy it, and… you wear that," I said, glancing at her shopping bag as if to say, "You have to wear it, you know."
My teacher turned her face away without a word. This was a first for me, seeing her blush so deeply. I didn't know what she was thinking to get that red.
After buying new underwear, I also thought about buying something else, but what? Ah… a hair tie. Of course, a hair tie for my teacher's hair. Her hair was very long and it was quite annoying, especially when sleeping in the same room with her. Then what else… besides a hair tie, I wondered.
"You seem very happy today," my teacher said, observing me.
Well, she had a point. I was probably getting too carried away today, considering this was the first time we could go shopping together. During our time at the institute, we were always surrounded by books and more books. This shopping experience was very enjoyable for me, or maybe it was what would come after this that would make me really happy.
"Eh… What's happening?"
A rumbling sound came from deep within the earth, and then the ground began to shake.
"Hold my hand."
My teacher told me to grasp her hand.
At that moment, my vision blurred slightly; buildings and various objects around me seemed to sway. The sounds of screams and cries entered my eardrums all at once. A headache slowly but surely set in as I watched my surroundings tremble. My legs felt weak, like I was standing on an unstable, slanted surface.
Then my teacher pulled me down into a crouch. A few people who saw us followed suit, until the panic and screaming, which had subsided a little, quieted down. Finally, the shaking stopped, and everyone slowly stood up.
"Let's go back."
My teacher pulled me back towards the horse carriage. The journey back from the market wasn't easy. We had to jump over rubble and sometimes squeeze through narrow spaces.
I turned back and saw only my teacher's hands and feet emerging after she managed to get through a narrow gap.
"What's wrong, Teacher? Hurry up."
"I'm stuck. Don't pull."
She was stuck, and I tried to help her get free, but she advised against it.
"Why? Can't you get through?" I asked.
"No, this gap isn't big enough," she replied.
Is the gap not big enough, or are your breasts too big? I thought.
"Get away from there."
Okay, I moved away, stepping back from the spot. Then came a "BOOM!!!" sound as debris flew everywhere. She had punched it to clear a path.
"Help…"
Afterward, I heard a faint voice from the rubble behind me. Could someone be trapped in there? I thought.
My teacher came over to me. "Teacher, I heard someone from inside." I pointed towards the debris where the voice had come from.
"Hm… really? Move back a little."
She asked me to step away. I didn't think she would go in, especially since she had gotten stuck in a reasonably large gap earlier. I hoped she wouldn't just punch it, because she might accidentally hit someone underneath.
And… yes, she did neither. She lifted the layer of rubble with both hands. Beneath it lay a woman and a child, hugging each other. I thought they were probably a mother and child.
Seeing them made me pause for a moment, wondering what my own mother would do if she were in their position.
"Don't daydream."
"BOOM!!!"
My daydreaming had made me careless. Above me, the remnants of a building were threatening to collapse and crush me. At that moment, my teacher swiftly punched the fragment, turning it to dust before it could hit my head.
"Sorry," I said.
My teacher patted my head and said, "Now help me carry them."
Afterward, we carried them both to a safe place and handed them over to the volunteers.
My teacher and I were now sitting under a tent, which was only covered at the top.
"Teacher, this place is a mess," I said. Before me, as far as the eye could see, there wasn't just rubble, but also many city volunteers working together to search for victims, running here and there.
"It's not over yet," she replied, then asked me to "look at this." It was a glass of water.
I looked at it. A glass filled with drinking water, but on closer inspection, the water was vibrating gently, sending ripples to the side of the glass.
Just then, a woman approached us.
"What a relieving coincidence," she said. She bowed respectfully and continued, "To be able to meet you in this suburban town."
Her clothes resembled the Chronicler's robe my teacher wore. Could she be a Chronicler? But there seems to be a very significant difference between them, I thought.
"Which division are you from?" my teacher asked.
Eh… Division? What's that? Could there be something like that which I don't know about? It seems I need to ask my teacher about this later.
"I am Omega, from the Preservation Division," the woman answered.
My teacher then pulled a cigarette from her pocket, lit it, and asked again, "Who are you here with?"
"With my student," the woman replied, pointing to a young woman who was sitting alone, enjoying a piece of bread.
Their conversation was interrupted when my teacher said, "You two go chat over there." The young woman and I moved a short distance away as my teacher spoke with a man. I didn't know who he was, maybe a government official or a nobleman of this city. The man respectfully said, "I apologize for interrupting your conversation."
The woman in front of me and I glanced at each other. She was probably thinking of breaking the silence with conversation, just like me, but neither of us knew what to talk about.
Finally, I remembered that the woman before me was a Chronicler. Maybe I could ask her something. "Hmph… who exactly is my teacher?" I pretended to talk to myself until the woman in front of me slammed her hand on the table.
"Hey… You don't know who your teacher is?" she shouted.
I nodded. She became very excited and then said, "Your teacher, well, she is absolutely incredible…"
"Do you know about the Chronicler divisions?"
Now she was asking about something I didn't know. I shook my head as if to say "no."
"Okay, so I have to start from there, huh…" She looked frustrated.
I couldn't blame her, because I really didn't know, and my teacher rarely talked about it.
"So… Chronicler is a title or designation for a teacher and a recorder of history," she said, her face leaning closer.
This is too close, I thought.
"But it's not limited to that… We Chroniclers don't just record or teach and find successors." She pulled her head back.
"Then?" I asked.
"Good, I'm glad you're interested." She slid her chair closer.
"There are three divisions: Preservation or Maintenance, Warding or Deterrence, and Capture or Annihilation," she said.
Her face leaned in again. I could see her glasses, which turned out to be just frames without lenses. She probably wears them to look smart, I thought.
"From the names, you can already imagine what the duties of the three divisions are, can't you?"
I nodded because, well, as the names suggested, the Preservation division probably preserves, the Warding division probably guards, and then there was the Annihilation division, which sounded the scariest to me.
"So… they don't just record, but they also participate in what they record. For example, if there's a strange phenomenon, they will record it and investigate to identify it. The first to respond will be the Preservation division, until its classification level is known," she said, after which she stood up.
She stood behind me, looking and examining my body as if I were a subject of observation. She stopped and fell silent for a moment before finally sitting back down in her chair.
"Once its classification is known, its danger level will determine which division is responsible," she said, becoming calmer.
"Now, for each division, they each have ranks, starting from the leader, Chronicler Alpha, their right hand Beta, their left hand Gamma, in the middle Delta, and finally Omega. I am at the Omega, so you can call me Chronicler Omega."
Hoooh, she introduced herself and mapped out the Chronicler hierarchy that I didn't know about. Now I was curious. "What level is my teacher?" I asked.
"This is what's unique. Your teacher is a Sigma Chronicler, who has no rules," she said. She got excited again, leaned in closer, and continued:
"Unlike Alpha, who, despite being the supreme leader, is still strongly bound by the rules of her division." Her face moved away, and she started jumping up and down.
"Sigma Chroniclers have no rules or divisions; they are free. If Chronicler Alpha is the leader of a wolf pack, Chronicler Sigma is a solo tiger," she said.
Hearing her long explanation and seeing her reaction, I could conclude that this woman deeply idolized my teacher.
Yes, I could understand why she felt that way, though perhaps only I knew what my teacher was like behind her Chronicler's robe.
"Why are you smiling?" Chronicler Omega asked.
She was very perceptive to be able to sense what I was thinking.
"It's nothing. I was just thinking something about my teacher," I replied.
"Eh, what is it? Please tell me…"
She begged, but I refused, thinking it wasn't right to share things about my teacher without her permission.
Even so, she didn't give up. She clung to me, pleading for a story, until a young woman called out to her. Her demeanor changed drastically in an instant.
She adjusted her clothes and her lensless glasses, then excused herself and left.
At another table, I also saw that they seemed to be finished, so I approached them.
"Start from now," my teacher said.
"Yes, my lady. I will call my people immediately and prepare," the man in front of her replied. He then stood up, bowed respectfully, and left.
"Are you finished, Teacher?" I asked.
"Yes, come here."
She asked me to sit next to her.
"What's going to happen?" I asked, seeing many men running in the same direction.
"Good question. Now, open your book to page 011."
I opened to page 011 as instructed, which read:
APPELLATION: The Giant Worm
TITLE / EPITHET: The Earth-Tiller, The Underworld's Pulse, The Devouring Creator
CLASSIFICATION:
Primary: Mythological
Status: Active (in a very long hibernation cycle)
Scale: Global
Level: Primal
ORIGIN: It is not a creature that lives upon the world; it is a part of the world's creation process given life. Before the tectonic plates moved, there was the Worm. Its slow, majestic movements over millions of years are the true cause of the formation of mountains, valleys, and earthquakes. It is not a monster, but the planet's living geological circulatory system.
FORM / ESSENCE: Its essence is a Primal Terraforming Cycle. It is a silicon-based life form of unimaginable size, its skin resembling a fusion of rock, crystal, and metal ore. The size and shape of its head are unknown, as no one has ever seen it whole; only endless segments of its body have been witnessed as it passes through the Earth's crust.
APPEARANCE & PERCEPTION: Its presence is not seen, but felt. The first sign is a rhythmic, low-frequency vibration that can be felt in your bones, lasting for days or even weeks. The ground will tremble in time with its "pulse." As it moves closer to the surface, the earth will crack and heave, as if a new mountain range is being born before your eyes. The air will smell of ozone, hot stone, and sharp, alien minerals.
DOMAIN & INFLUENCE: Its domain is geological time and the lithosphere (the Earth's crust). Its influence has two contrasting phases:
Devouring Phase (Negative): When it moves actively, it consumes everything in its path—rock, forests, and civilizations—grinding them into raw material within its magma-like gut. For surface life, this is a local extinction event.
Rebirth Phase (Positive): In its wake, it leaves two gifts. The giant tunnels it leaves behind collapse into new, fertile valleys. More importantly, it excretes "World-Heart Ore," its crystalline waste product that pulses with pure life energy. This ore is the source of all the most fertile soils and magical phenomena in the world.
VULNERABILITIES & COUNTERMEASURES: You cannot "fight" the Worm any more than you can fight a volcanic eruption.
A Force of Nature: It is immune to all forms of physical attack. The only effective "countermeasure" is a total evacuation of its path.
Geological Resonance: It is blind and deaf, navigating by sensing vibrations and resonances in the planet's core. In theory, extremely powerful and sustained man-made sonic vibrations or large-scale magical rituals could "disrupt" or slightly divert its path, though the risk is immense.
Sleep Cycle: Its greatest weakness is its own nature. It spends thousands of years in hibernation deep within the earth. Its active periods are very rare and are usually preceded by predictable seismic signs for those who understand them.
ECHOES IN HISTORY & MYTH: Ancient myths of "Earth Dragons" or "World Serpents" that sleep beneath the ground are echoes of its existence. Many great canyons or strangely straight mountain ranges in the world are believed to be its former paths. Some anomalous theories even suggest that lost cities did not sink, but were simply in the Worm's path when it awoke.
WHISPERS & FRAGMENTS OF KNOWLEDGE:
"A normal earthquake lasts a few seconds. If the quake is rhythmic and lasts for days, sell your land and run."
"Never build on the most fertile valley, for it means the Tiller has just passed, and one day it may return."
"No one knows where its head is, or if it even has one. We have only ever seen the endless segments of its body."
A Scribe's Note: While researching this entity, I felt not fear, but a sense of awe that made me feel incredibly small. The Worm is not a malicious entity. It is a reminder that we are merely moss clinging to the side of a giant, living rock. We are not the center of the story; we are just temporary inhabitants on its ever-moving skin. Perhaps the "World-Heart Ore" it leaves behind is a sort of cosmic apology for the destruction it unintentionally causes.
"A giant worm?" I said after finishing page 011.
"Yup, a giant worm."
"So, this worm is what caused the earlier tremors?" I asked.
"Yes. It's a sign that its hibernation is over, and it will soon awaken," she replied.
"What do you mean?"
"Like you, when you change sleeping positions and then slap my face in the morning," she answered.
Hearing that, I felt like someone was being oblivious here, and that should have been my line to say, I thought.
If just shifting its position could cause such a powerful tremor, "then what happens when it awakens?" I asked.
"When you awaken? Of course, my hair gets all messed up," she replied.
She was just trying to tease me. Oh, speaking of hair, I had something for her.
"You bought this for me?" she asked, after I finished tying her hair with the hair tie I had bought in secret.
I nodded.
"Wow… thank you," my teacher said.
Then she lifted me onto her lap. I felt this wasn't appropriate, not in this place, at this time.
"Teacher, I'm heavy, so put me down."
"Eh… no, you're even lighter than the building debris," she answered.
I had forgotten that earlier she had easily lifted remnants of buildings that were huge and many times heavier than she was.
"Now, in return for the hair tie, ask me something you want to know."
"You still haven't answered my previous question."
She chuckled and apologized. "Alright, as for your earlier question, if the worm awakens, it's an international-scale disaster," my teacher answered.
Now this shocked me. If it was an international scale, that meant the whole world. Is this the end of the world? I thought.
"Don't worry, it's okay. Everything will be fine," my teacher said.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Of course, because everyone will work together."
"For what? To defeat it?"
"For a total evacuation or to divert it, not to fight it."
"Is it possible to divert or defeat the giant worm, Teacher?"
"Try focusing on the vulnerabilities and countermeasures section."
As my teacher said, I reread that section.
A Force of Nature: It is immune to all forms of physical attack. The only effective "countermeasure" is a total evacuation of its path.
Geological Resonance: It is blind and deaf, navigating by sensing vibrations and resonances in the planet's core. In theory, extremely powerful and sustained man-made sonic vibrations or large-scale magical rituals could "disrupt" or slightly divert its path, though the risk is immense.
Sleep Cycle: Its greatest weakness is its own nature. It spends thousands of years in hibernation deep within the earth. Its active periods are very rare and are usually preceded by predictable seismic signs for those who understand them.
"Now, we are going to exploit its second weakness."
"Who's going to do it?" If the scale was international, then it would require significant sonic vibrations or magical power. But it might be possible if everyone my teacher mentioned worked together.
"Each region will be guarded by Chroniclers, and of course, many organizations will help," my teacher said.
Wow, if that's the case, that moment must be incredibly tense, I thought, imagining so many organizations uniting to protect various regions.
"Now, it's important to remember, the giant worm is a part of nature. You can't fight nature. It's an act of arrogance for creatures like us to fight it," my teacher said.
Then she lifted me up and said, "Like water, we don't create it. We are only able to direct where the water will flow."
She took a step and pulled my hand. "So for that, we need to get out of its path or create another path for it."
We both walked towards the carriage. Around me, I saw crowds of people fleeing with their belongings, from merchandise and livestock to a few people carrying an old woman who looked unable to walk.
I looked at my teacher and asked, "So who will be guarding this region?"
My teacher patted her chest and replied, "Who else but me?"
She proudly declared herself as the one and only. I looked at her doubtfully, as if to say, "Really?"
"Just you wait and see."
"Alright. So where are we going now?"
We arrived at the carriage door, with the coachman sitting in front. I wondered where we were going. If the whole city was destroyed, where would we spend the night? It was already getting dark, I thought.
"We're going to the refugee camp behind that hill over there," my teacher answered, turning my head with both her hands.
For a week, we lived in a tent on a vast, open field, located far from the city.
Thousands of tents were set up for the residents. I didn't know where all this came from or how much money was spent, but it must have been an incredible amount, I thought.
Right now, my teacher and I were gathered with the mayor, some nobles, and several shop owners.
"We can't do anything for the city," my teacher said.
Instantly, the faces of those present turned gloomy.
"Why is that?" a nobleman asked. He probably couldn't accept the helplessness of the current situation.
"Because the city was built on its path," my teacher answered. She took a drag from her cigarette and continued, "Even if we try to divert its path, a part of the city will still be destroyed."
My teacher patted the nobleman's shoulder and said, "Houses and shops can be rebuilt. The most important thing now is your safety. I am not saving the city; I am only ensuring the worm's path does not change."
Then the ground began to tremble. Pebbles and small stones started to bounce on the surface.
"It's not just this region that will be affected, but the entire world," my teacher said. She wrapped her arm around me and said, "Hug me as tightly as you can."
"Get ready, and pass this on by word of mouth: don't open your mouths, keep them tightly shut, so you don't bite your tongues, and crouch down," my teacher commanded, and the message was then passed from person to person.
My legs felt weak, my vision shook, making my head feel a little dizzy. Even though it was cool outside, I was pouring with sweat.
The pebbles and stones bounced more violently, followed by a light shaking of the ground, and then it stopped. I lifted my head, but my teacher's hand held me down. The atmosphere became silent. I couldn't hear anything, not because there was no sound, but because everything was still. Not even animals could be heard, only the sound of the wind, until finally:
"BOOM!!!"
The ground felt like it was being lifted up or sinking in. I lost my footing for a moment, until my feet were back on the ground, and I felt a slight pain in my joints. I opened my eyes and looked around; half of the town's residents were sprawled on the ground.
Afterward, my teacher released her embrace. "It's not over. This place will be the first it passes," she said. She then stepped forward and floated into the air.
Eh, she can fly? This was the first time I had ever seen my teacher fly. I didn't even know or think she could fly before.
She flew away, towards the location of the city, which was built in the middle of mountains and hills. I couldn't see her from here, because even seeing the hills was blurry; it was so far away.
Then the ground began to shake again. I instinctively crouched down as my teacher had instructed. Both my hands were planted on either side of me, flat against the ground.
My head started to feel dizzy, but honestly, even though my surroundings were chaotic and my body was weak, the moment I saw my teacher leave, my feelings said, "Ah… this will be fine."
The ground shook more violently, with pebbles and stones jumping into the air. There was no sound at all, only the gust of wind, and then suddenly a shockwave came, sending all the tents flying into the air.
Luckily I was crouching, otherwise I might have been blown away with the tents, I thought.
From the city's location where my teacher was, I saw a giant pillar of golden-white light, followed by smaller, colorful pillars, spaced quite far apart but lined up along the horizon.