Ch.327Chapter 327: Epilogue – Unity (2)

“…But.”

Even as she watched the situation coming to an end with Desire’s death, Lilianshiz’s lips didn’t stop their quiet murmuring.

In this desolate place where no one could answer her soliloquy, what meaning could such mutterings have?

“…The flow of time still hasn’t returned to normal?”

Soon her soliloquy continued, forming a complete question.

In such a bleak space, even her softly recited voice echoed, yet it was clear there would be no answer to that question.

[It’s because I’m here.]

If another Lilianshiz from a different timeline hadn’t spoken directly into her mind from an invisible place, her question would have ended as an empty echo.

It was an abstract and seemingly unhelpful answer to her specific question about the cause.

Perhaps it was because she already vaguely understood what kind of being this other self speaking to her was.

“I see…”

Lilianshiz revealed her understanding of the answer with a soft voice.

Yes, what did it matter whether time flowed slowly or quickly?

What mattered was that this moment existed and was shifting toward a direction containing tranquility.

As she heard the answer to her question and organized her thoughts, Lilianshiz’s gaze, having found the answer to her curiosity, expanded once again to her surroundings.

The space was already desolate enough.

Thanks to Desire’s rampage after transforming into a dragon, the ceiling had collapsed in various places.

With the obsidian floor shattered here and there from the fierce battle that had just occurred.

The area around this obsidian palace where she now stood was so desolate it could aptly be called ruins.

Moreover, with the flow of time essentially stopped.

Even the debris and dust scattered from the broken obsidian were floating very slowly, making it not a particularly good environment for breathing.

For someone with a body as trained as hers, such fine particles entering her respiratory system would clearly have no effect on her body.

*Breathe in- Breathe out-*

But it was clearly not a good environment for Cal, who had fallen asleep using this place as his bed.

Normally, Lilianshiz would have taken the unconscious Cal away from here to a suitable place to make him comfortable.

But her gaze, intent on continuing to take in this desolate scene, kept watching this place, preventing her legs from moving.

That gaze contained various emotions, not the emptiness of simply looking around the area.

Unlike the relief she showed when witnessing Desire’s end.

“…”

Lilianshiz’s expression as she silently stared at her surroundings contained a strange uneasiness and sadness, for reasons unknown.

To the extent it could be defined by the single word: loneliness.

Why was there such loneliness in her gaze as she merely looked at this place that had turned to ruins?

That was…

[In this place…]

The cause could be found in the tender voice that seemed to tickle her mind.

In truth, Lilianshiz didn’t want to stay here any longer either.

The dark sky that didn’t feel like daytime at all despite the ceiling having collapsed to reveal traces of nature.

The floating dust that testified to the traces of the fierce battle.

And above all, the desire not to leave her precious person lying on this cold floor, breathing evenly.

Everything contained elements that made her want to leave this place, but.

[Cal…]

The voice of her other self echoing in her mind was keeping Lilianshiz’s feet bound.

She didn’t want to ignore the plaintiveness and sadness in that voice and walk away.

For her, this was merely a place she had just set foot in.

But for her other self who had given her the power to end all this, it must be a place where countless memories had melted together, causing such a reaction.

If so, she could wait a moment, ask what happened here one by one, listen, understand, and empathize.

Because she is me, and I am her.

With that thought, Lilianshiz resolved to listen to the lamentations of her other self who was reciting melancholic reflections in her mind.

But it seemed she didn’t need to hear the words of her counterpart who had lived in a different timeline.

Why?

‘…What is this?’

As the lamentations of her other self grew longer, something began to flow into her mind.

The experiences of her other self and the emotions felt during those experiences, which had been vague even when she heard about them, slowly but very clearly seeped into her heart.

Some of those emotions included the same relief and satisfaction she had felt.

But the rest were emotions that the current Lilianshiz had rarely experienced.

Sadness, incomparable sadness, the helplessness of watching a precious person disappear before her eyes and being unable to do anything, and the guilt of knowing she had made him that way.

Though she hadn’t directly done it herself, she couldn’t fully empathize.

[Cal…]

The melancholic murmuring of her other self repeating the name of her precious person in her mind was more than enough to move Lilianshiz’s body and heart.

Although all the emotions her other self held were clearly coming through even if she remained in place, making it seem unnecessary for her to do anything more here.

“It’s hard to feel the full impact just staying here, isn’t it?”

Lilianshiz, who had softly spoken, slowly moved her legs that had been still.

Toward the place where the person most precious to her and her other self was.

[Y-you don’t have to…]

The voice of the other Lilianshiz trembled with surprise at seeing Lilianshiz suddenly walking toward Cal.

Even though this was more than enough to sort through her emotions.

Was she afraid that her mind, which was about to be organized, would become jumbled again at the sight of moving toward the precious person who evoked countless emotions just by looking at him?

…Probably not.

“Let’s go.”

[…Yes.]

Judging by the quiet response to Lilianshiz’s suggestion to go.

The Lilianshiz who had crossed over from a different timeline had no reason to refuse the suggestion made by the current Lilianshiz.

No, it wasn’t just that she had no reason to refuse.

She would have been overjoyed at the suggestion, but.

[…Thank you.]

Her attitude as she followed the suggestion and quietly expressed gratitude was filled only with caution.

“Hehe…”

Hearing this, unlike before, this time the current timeline’s Lilianshiz let out a faint laugh of joy.

Her other self, who had revealed herself to be identical yet showed a maturity indicating a different lived period.

She felt a strange sense of kinship in seeing how her other self displayed various emotions at just one word suggesting they go to their precious person, which was why such laughter flowed out.

It was easy to imagine even though she couldn’t see her.

Her other self, who had been cautious with Cal while giving reasons she had only vaguely heard.

After agreeing to go to his side.

The image of her hesitantly containing even the joy she would clearly feel at seeing Cal’s sleeping form as she moved toward him.

Ordinary people would find it difficult to properly evaluate this strangeness.

To fathom the complex emotions felt by the same person who had lived in different timelines, split by accumulated differences in small choices.

As they navigate through these different timelines while approaching the person they cherished most.

#

And so, after going through a complex process despite the short distance, they finally reached Cal’s side.

Lilianshiz, now accustomed to the slow flow of time, went to the sleeping Cal’s side while savoring that flow of time.

She offered her thigh for the back of Cal’s head to help him sleep comfortably.

It was guilt for having left him even briefly on the obsidian floor, which was not only hard but also lacked normal warmth, that prompted her to take such a bold(?) action.

Bold? One might reflexively question whether such an act couldn’t be done without hesitation in a spacious and secluded place where only the two of them were present.

But just having Cal’s head touch her thigh made Lilianshiz’s breathing, which hadn’t faltered even during the fierce battle, and.

*Thump-thump-*

Even her heart, which had maintained a steady beat, race wildly.

Judging by the changes happening to her as a result of the action, there seemed to be nothing as bold as this.

Perhaps there would come a day when she would show even greater boldness than this, but.

That day wasn’t yet here, so it seemed she would have to wait a little longer.

Well, anyway, the usual Lilianshiz would have been overwhelmed just maintaining this state and would have done nothing else but try to calm her rough breathing, but.

Today, she was a little different.

*Swish-*

Lilianshiz’s right arm moved toward Cal’s hair.

Seeing the fatigue that remained on his face despite sleeping peacefully, revealing his exhaustion.

She reached out to stroke his hair, hoping that even this small gesture might ease his fatigue.

There was no need to hesitate or hold back, so.

Lilianshiz’s hand moving toward his hair was swift, but.

The moment her touch reached Cal’s hair, the unhesitating hand transformed into something incomparably gentle in an instant.

Though she had hurried on the way, at the moment of contact, her action revealed a tenderness that tried not to disturb his sleep.

In any case, while savoring the sensation transmitted by Cal’s hair that she had touched, Lilianshiz took only one action.

That was stroking.

From top to bottom, sometimes from bottom to top.

The direction changed slightly depending on the situation, but.

The feeling of caring for a precious person grew only stronger as time passed, regardless of direction…

It must be the warmest stroking in the world.

As she stroked Cal’s head like this, Lilianshiz felt her heart being gently filled, and.

At the same time, she could feel something flowing into her.

Though she had heard and understood, it wasn’t something she herself had experienced.

She felt the countless emotions flowing in from the Lilianshiz of another timeline who was recalling what had happened here with Cal, emotions that hadn’t quite resonated with her.

To the point where she wondered if this really was the same being as herself.

The emotions built up by the Lilianshiz from another timeline that were flowing into her were so intense that even the word “overwhelming” could hardly contain them all.

Whether it was sadness, tenderness, or regret.

Without exception, dense emotions that the current her couldn’t even imitate were piling up in her heart layer by layer, and when they reached a certain level.

Lilianshiz could finally understand completely.

The guilt her other self must have felt toward their precious person, explaining why she was so happy yet so cautious in approaching him.

[You understand, don’t you? What I did to him…]

For some reason, as soon as she felt that guilt which wouldn’t fade no matter how many times it was confessed.

Lilianshiz wanted to share it and lighten the burden.

The certainty that she herself would have made the same choice, regretted it, and suffered if faced with a similar situation made her feel this way.