episode_0102

I never thought I’d be telling someone this story.

Because it’s a very important story containing a truth, not quite a truth, that shouldn’t be revealed, and doesn’t need to be.

“You… were an [Acastos] user, weren’t you?”

My mother—no, the woman named Lee Jeongwon—shrugged in response.

My head feels numb.

I have no idea how to process this.

Who am I right now?

Narita, the fifth princess of Naifrantz, or Yoon… what was it again, the Korean woman wearing her mask?

I’m even confused about my past life’s name now.

My identity is wavering, my memories are jumbled.

Amidst all this chaos, I also wondered if showing this side of myself was impolite.

‘…No.’

Clearly, I wasn’t possessed by ‘Narita’ at some point; I’ve held her memories completely since birth.

The me living now is me.

That’s the one unchanging fact.

Even if my past life didn’t actually die, and only its memories were transferred, nothing changes.

Even if there’s a system where you return after dying, that’s a story for after death, isn’t it?

I will simply live my life as ‘Narita’.

The woman before me probably had the same struggles.

She relentlessly sought the truth of this world, acquiring all kinds of knowledge to define herself.

It was clear she stood here after enduring that continuous torment.

So.

This is simply a test of me.

“…Right. You’re perceptive.”

Again, the answer came before I could ask.

“I’ll tell you everything you know… just sit down.”

“……”

Thud-

I was so lost in thought that I didn’t notice my surroundings.

Looking down, I realized I had jumped up, pushing hard against the table.

Veins bulged in my hands, stiff with tension.

. . .

“Yes. Actually, what my past life was like isn’t important. I just wanted to add a little credibility to my story and share a common consciousness.”

Rustle-

Like petals falling from a bud and scattering in the wind, the shell surrounding her disintegrated and flew away.

Having adapted to this world, which has now become ‘reality’, my origin, the symbol of peace from my former world – my high school uniform – felt ‘unreal’.

And so… our past lives, once the most important things, were now irrelevant.

They crumbled before my eyes.

“Regardless of the life I lived before coming to this world… what does it matter? The me now is ‘Narita’, the one my mother gave birth to.”

“Right, hoho- that’s right. You must have that mindset first.”

It was, as expected.

She didn’t teach me how to walk when she brought me into this world.

She put on my shoes, ran ahead, making footprints.

She let me follow her example.

She never held my hand; she only guided me.

I’m not a bodhisattva either.

By now, I was naturally curious about what kind of person my mother was.

“Is that not alright?”

Again, I asked through my mind instead of speaking.

“Hmm—that’s not my business.”

“…‘Not your business’?”

“Talking to Nari right now is only one fragment of ‘Leah Flora.’ It’s just a tiny part.”

The countless elements that made up her were scattered throughout the universe the day she died.

Even after death, her power and influence were so great that each fragment developed its own will.

And the duty of the ‘fragment’ now facing me is to teach me the truth of this divine power.

Smile-

She smiled slightly, raising a finger and creating a small mana orb on its tip.

“How much do you know about this pure white mana?”

Whirr-

It was so pure and bright that staring at it felt like it could blind me.

“It has limitless possibilities, um… actually, I don’t know much. I’ve just been using it like my hands and feet since some point—”

“Hoho- good. It does have limitless possibilities, and it’s common to start using it naturally once you know about it. At least, that’s how it was for me.”

The small orb of pure, attributeless mana rolled around on her hand.

“But…”

When it rolled back into her palm.

“That’s not all of it.”

Bang—!

It suddenly burst, scattering everywhere around us.

The white dust rising, becoming a fluid and spreading wildly…

It was just like souls.

“Have you ever seen this before?”

“…Yes. I did some pre-study before coming.”

“Is it clearer now?”

Again, she doesn’t teach me how to walk.

Instead of giving the answer, she asks me; this means that I already have all the necessary information and that I only need to properly combine it to reach the correct answer.

Let me think.

Mother just demonstrated that attributeless mana has properties similar to souls. Not giving firm answers oddly builds my conviction.

What is a soul…?

Mana? No, that’s going back to square one. Mana with a will… a sentient being…

‘Spirit…!’

Suddenly, I remembered the spirit sanctuary.

Yes, spirits are sentient beings made of mana. They dwell in a place separate from the material world, beyond the phenomena, in a world of essence.

The most fundamental building blocks of this world…

“Atoms…?”

It was a spontaneous remark, a feeling of just letting it out.

My mother’s lips curled into a smile.

“That’s a good analogy, isn’t it? If you consider the 6-attribute mana as a ‘molecular’ structure, attributeless mana is closer to ‘atoms’ which are smaller.”

“Haha, right? I am good at analogies.”

There’s no such setting in Acastos.

However for those who lived on Earth in the 2000s when Acastos was operational, and graduated from high school having ordinary common sense.

You don’t always have to base the story on the game’s information alone.

I’d caught the rat while taking a step back and clenched my fist with a satisfied expression.

Whether she doesn’t know my thoughts, or pretends not to.

I cautiously continued.

“The smallest unit that makes up this world, the purest matter closest to the essence of everything. Attributeless mana is… [Aether].”

If this were a video medium, a Kaboom- sound effect would have resonated.

It was bound to be a shocking conclusion for me.

Because the Aether is a setting that doesn’t exist in the Acastos I know.

“…‘Update Server.’ If that memory is correct, this world is a bit different from the Acastos we know. The world I lived in was indeed like that.”

This is what she, who was born and lived in this world a thousand years earlier, says.

My suspicions were confirmed and I felt relieved.

“So, what can you do with this Aether?”

Perhaps the most important question.

I thought there might be uses I didn’t know, so again I asked her.

And I was tricked again.

Mother only spoke with her eyes.

‘You have to find that out from now on.’

. . .

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you more… but I can’t help it. Each fragment has a different task.”

“No, today’s conversation was enough for me.”

She said she would soon disappear after finishing her role.

Was the imaginary world she created beginning to crack? The world was crumbling from afar.

“I’m just returning to how it was. I’m only one fragment.”

“Where are the rest?”

“Hmm… some are scattered in the world, and most of them—”

Tap-

Her finger pointed to my chest.

“Here. I left everything to Nari.”

“…So I can feel my mother every moment.”

Mother smiled again.

“Just in case, don’t try to find all the fragments. Their bodies have already perished, and their names have long faded. Their souls…have turned to dust like this.”

Mountains crumble, the royal capital splits.

Soon, the crack reached the Royal Garden.

I knew it was an illusion, but the sight made my heart ache slightly.

“But I think all the remaining fragments will have the same heart.”

Mother stood up and slowly walked to the railing by the window.

Her back looked lonely and wistful.

The crack in the imaginary world was right in front of us.

“I ended an eternal life by my own hand. I didn’t achieve much, but I found a child perfect to pass on everything I have—”

Then she turned to me.

“The reason I decided to give birth to you…”

Her arms, gently outstretched, seemed wide enough to embrace the whole world. And even though she was just an echo of a soul, she calmly accepted her end.

She was an idol I desperately wanted to be like.

“Even if I split in two, I won’t regret it.”

“Puf-”

Perhaps I already resemble my mother.

Laughter suddenly erupted, and tears welled up.

“What are you doing? There’s no time hurry up and come here.”

“U- uhm…”

Tap-

I took a shy step.

Tap-tap-

Mother took two steps towards me.

With arms that could embrace the world, she hugged only me tightly.

She whispered softly in my ear.

“You’ve worked hard… so far.”

“Thank you…”

My mother’s embrace was warm, comfortable, and fragrant.

Thud- Drip-

My vision blurred slowly.

“No matter what happens from now on, don’t forget that I’m with you”.

Whoosh-

A pure white light enveloped my body.

With that statement, my mother’s fragment made its final exit.