Chapter 232 – Dawn

I stepped up to Tylant, who was still frozen solid. Even just getting closer made my skin prickle with cold. At the center of that cold, Tylant still wore a bright smile.

Step.

Footsteps approached me. I immediately blocked my [ki sense] and gripped my greatsword.

I calmed my ragged breathing. With trembling hands, I raised my greatsword.

[Sorry for leaving you with such a difficult request, Noah.]

Despite the biting cold, lukewarm sweat beaded on the hilt. My pounding heart sent hot breaths from my mouth.

[If we ever meet again… I hope it will be in a warm spring, not a cold winter.]

Tap.

The tip of the sword landed in front of Tylant’s chest. I raised my left hand to steady the base, trying to quell the trembling. 

Thump, thump. 

Tylant’s heartbeat pulsed. On the other side, I felt my own heartbeat, my rough breaths.

[A spring where Noah can smile. Hehe.]

My legs, which had to move forward, trembled. My hands trembled. My arms trembled. I didn’t know if it was because of the cold or despair, but the trembling reached my jaw, making my lips begin to quiver.

Bite.

I bit my lip. Tylant’s voice in my head fell silent.

For a long while.

Hehe, Tylant’s laughing voice echoed, not in my head, but right by my ear.

[Hmm. You’re right. Maybe this is better. Thank you, human.]

At the same time.

“Noah.”

Crack. 

“If it’s too hard, ask your friend for help. I, Serr, will help you whenever you need it.”

A voice rang out right beside me, and I expanded my [ki sense].

“No matter how difficult it may be, I will help you without fail.”

“…Serr?”

I saw Serr, holding an ice spear.

I saw Tylant, impaled through the chest by an ice spear.

“Why that expression? Are you upset that I killed her? Don’t be. Don’t even think of killing your remaining friend with your own hands.”

“But…”

“What do you mean, but? Didn’t Tylant thank me in the end? Are you thinking you killed Sirin? Sirin… ended her own life. I only let go of the soul she’d been desperately clinging to. Think about Sirin’s wounds. Sure, I’m talented and outstanding, but I couldn’t have healed the injuries you caused at full strength so quickly. And… in the end, you also sheathed your sword.”

Clatter. 

“So don’t despair over the guilt of killing a friend. It’s the same this time. Just… yes. Think of it as an evil, wicked sorcerer killing your friend, and smile. Isn’t that what Tylant wanted?”

With a scoff, the ice spear in Serr’s hand shattered without a trace. She tapped me on the head, bonk, and took my still-shaking hand.

“Come, I’ll help you.”

Serr’s cold hand wrapped around my wrist and guided it to Tylant’s chest.

The biting cold seeped into my bones.

Maybe that’s why. Serr’s hand, which had felt only cold, gradually started to feel warm.

“Hurry.”

I nodded my heavy head and found Tylant’s soul. A soul as lonely and desolate as winter. But within it, there were faint seeds and light that could bring forth spring.

I reached for that soul.

At the same time.

Rustle.

The cold that lingered on my palm scattered, and at last, the breath I’d been holding burst free.

“Well done.”

Serr slowly released my wrist.

Then, she turned her head to look at Laila.

“Come. It’s your turn now.”

[…Serr. You don’t mean, ]

“Laila.”

Serr’s stiff voice cut Laila off.

“The ice is melting. Please come quickly.”

Her voice was the same as always, but just a little different.

Twitching eyebrows. Tightly closed lips.

With Serr’s faintly awkward demeanor, an inexplicable anxiety rose in my heart.

“Serr…?”

“Yes.”

Serr’s gaze pierced me.

Her eyes were calm. More than ever.

Did she hear my conversation with Laila?

That can’t be. Not even Serr could have heard the telepathic voice in my head.

Then… what is this anxiety?

“…You’re not thinking anything strange, are you?”

“What do you mean?”

“No, it’s just…”

Serr smiled wryly and shook her head.

“Just? Noah, do you not trust your friend?”

“Ah, no… that’s not it…”

“I’m not a fool like Noah, so I don’t think strange thoughts. Even if I did, I wouldn’t hurt you. So, Noah, do what you need to do.”

Serr, who had been looking down at me, turned her gaze back to Laila.

Receiving that look, Laila reluctantly took slow steps toward us.

“Once I absorb Laila’s soul and Sirin’s soul, is it over?”

[Yes.]

“Understood. I’ll take you up to the sky, so Laila, quietly hand over your soul.”

“S-Serr!”

“Why do you keep calling me?”

“Don’t… say things like that.”

Serr’s eyes grew wide as she pressed down on my nose, squish.

“You’re getting pretty bold, aren’t you?”

“Ugh…”

“Hmm, on second thought… yes. I made a slip of the tongue, just like you said. I apologize. I’m sorry, Laila.”

Bow.

Serr lowered her head to Laila.

Seeing that, Laila’s eyes widened just like Serr’s had a moment ago.

[…You really have changed.]

“When time passes and you experience many things, no matter what they are, even the tiniest change will eventually affect you. That’s a truth that even a genius like me can’t avoid.”

[Yes. That’s right. That’s a truth no one can escape. You, me, even this world. Nothing can avoid that truth. Whoever made us must have been very clever.]

“Don’t ruin a tearful farewell with that kind of irritating nonsense.”

[Haha, you’re right. I’m sorry.]

Laila let out a quiet laugh and reached her hand out to me. I took her hand. At the same time, Laila’s telepathic voice flowed into my head.

[Just as everything changes, I hope your choice has changed too. If possible… yes. In a way where ‘everyone’ can smile.]

I didn’t answer Laila.

I had no intention of taking back the decision I’d already made.

[The gift I prepared… it seems you’ve already figured it out, so I won’t tell you what it is. Is that all right?]

This time, she spoke aloud instead of with telepathy.

I quietly nodded, head bowed.

[Good. Then all that’s left is for me to tell you my true name.]

Laila gripped my hand tighter.

Even before I could focus, Laila’s soul drew close to me.

Her soul brimmed with vibrant life. It took the shape of green grass. It carried the warmth and brilliance of spring that made all things bloom, even brighter and warmer than the sun.

Life touched my soul.

[My true name is, ]

At the same time.

Whooosh.

The wind blew. Not the wind of spirits, but the wind of nature. Carried on that wind, the scent of flowers overflowing from this world spread.

“…Huh?”

I didn’t widen my [ki sense]. Yet the whole landscape around me became vividly clear in my mind.

Flowers. Countless flowers bloomed.

Beneath the feet of the dead spirits, at the very center of the lingering winter, a beautiful garden unfolded.

And I saw color.

The color of the flowers appeared. Flowers of deep red, darker than blood. Flowers of pale pink, as if filled with love. Flowers of yellow, as if pure joy had been poured into them. Flowers as blue as the sky. Flowers of navy, quiet as winter. Flowers of vibrant green. Flowers so pure, they were innocent white.

The mingled fragrances of these different flowers entwined together. Yet the fresh scent filled the very end of the world, working its way into my breath, my heart, my emotions, taking them over completely.

[Primavera.]

Its meaning was, 

[A spring that brings forth new life.]

Again, the wind blew through those flowers.

The blossoms in full bloom swayed.

The petals sang. They danced, fluttering in the wind, walking among the spirits, soaring up toward the sky.

[The wish is to make even lost lives, the world, bloom again.]

Spring’s light touched the petals. The petals absorbed that light. And so, they shone.

Petals that weren’t hidden even by the blue sky, petals rippling like the stars, filled the sky.

Laila, Primavera’s hand rose. Following her hand, the petals, the stars, flowed. They curved, they overflowed.

[Please take care of the new world we wanted to create, the future where everyone can smile, Noah.]

And then.

She wrapped her body around me.

[Full Bloom.]

She quietly made life blossom on my hand.

Soon after, a gentle breeze blew. The wind, full of fluttering petals, erased the garden in full bloom as it drifted away to the far side of the sky.

The desolate winter landscape returned.

The images of the dead spirits were drawn into my [ki sense].

But the scent left in the world, 

The fragrance of the flowers Primavera brought into bloom lingered deeply.

I brought back my hand, now void of Primavera’s warmth.

In my palm, instead of her warmth, a small petal remained.

I closed my hand. The scent drifted up.

A scent that resembled Rubia’s.

I steadied my breath and turned away.

“Primavera. Just like her name, she left in a dazzling way.”

Serr, with a strange expression, walked up to me.

“…Now, it’s the last.”

“Is that so.”

Serr’s gaze turned to the sky.

I couldn’t tell if she was looking at Sirin, or at the Gate of the False Paradise, but her face, shadowed in expression, was still unreadable.

After a while, Serr lowered her gaze and waved her hand.

At the same time, the wind she conjured wrapped around us.

Floating, our bodies rose toward the sky.

In response, I expanded my [ki sense].

In the bleak landscape, the light of dawn shone on the spirits.

“Let’s go.”

Serr reached out her hand to me.

I tucked Primavera’s petal into my pocket and took Serr’s hand.

The same stiff expression as always.

The same calm voice as always.

But Serr’s hand, 

Was trembling, ever so slightly.