episode_0216

A deep sigh escaped Viola. “It feels like the Cult’s momentum has grown even stronger lately. They were pushing us back with shouts that were practically cheers.”

About three days had passed since Viola regained her composure and resumed her training. The Resistance, judging that they could no longer withstand the Cult’s attacks, was preparing for several battles in anticipation of the final confrontation. However, they still needed to fight against the Cult to buy time for their preparations, so Gid and the others continued to battle the Saints and Priests. Having won one such battle, Yuria came to the prison where Viola was training. She recalled how the Saints and Priests’ momentum had increased in the battle she’d just fought and shared her thoughts with Viola. Listening, Viola wiped the sweat from her face with a cloth, leaned her spear against the wall, and spoke.

“That’s truly strange. It should still take more time for the pattern to be completed… Could they have found another method…?”

“I don’t know either. But most of them are openly rejoicing, saying the time of judgment is at hand… So I came to see if you might have any guesses.”

“Guesses, huh… The only thing I can guess right now is, hmm… it’s just that one thing….”

“H-hey, Yuria!! Viola!! It’s a huge problem…!!! Protega witnessed something incredible outside…!!”

As Yuria asked if she could guess why the Cult’s momentum had risen, Viola fell into deep thought, trying to surmise the reason. Just as she was about to voice a conjecture, Dio V Runner rushed into the prison, shouting with a look of profound shock that Protega had witnessed something immense outside. Yuria and Viola, realizing that something serious enough to make the usually composed Dio V Runner run in with such a bewildered expression had occurred, turned pale. Then Yuria asked Dio V Runner in a perplexed voice.

“W-what kind of huge problem are you talking about, Dio V Runner…? What on earth did Protega see outside…?”

“Protega was struggling to protect the dragons…. and he said he saw a familiar light…. Then he discovered Aria hovering above the Saints on the ground…!!”

“W-what?! A… Aria?! Then surely….”

“Aria has sided with the Cult…!! It seems she’s fallen victim to Camilla’s divine power…!!”

Viola and Yuria, upon hearing Dio V Runner’s testimony that Camilla had finally taken control of Aria, were utterly shocked and froze. Yuria, in particular, looked at Dio V Runner with an expression of disbelief, unable to accept that Aria, whom she had believed could resist Camilla’s divine power, had ultimately succumbed to it. Then she remembered something and urgently asked Dio V Runner.

“W-wait a minute…!! Then Zeke…. What happened to Zeke?! If Aria sided with the Cult, then surely Zeke too…?”

“Protega had the same thought and checked if Zeke was among the Saints and Priests, just in case. But he said Zeke wasn’t there…. In short, no one knows Zeke’s whereabouts.”

“T-that can’t be….”

“W-what did you say? What happened to Aria, and what about Zeke…?”

“…!! Cecilia…!!”

Yuria, hearing from Dio V Runner that Protega had testified not knowing Zeke’s whereabouts because Zeke wasn’t around Aria, was deeply shocked and began to tremble violently. At that moment, Cecilia, who had been listening to the conversation from behind, dropped the fruit she had prepared for Viola. Deeply shocked by the news that Zeke’s whereabouts were unknown, she fainted on the spot. Thus, the Resistance realized that Aria had ultimately fallen into Camilla’s hands, just as the Cult had planned, and that Zeke’s whereabouts were unknown. Everyone was plunged into profound shock. Especially those who had received help or salvation from the two of them were overwhelmed with shock.

Traces We Left Together

Three days had already passed. My body, which I had believed would quickly recover, was still so injured that I couldn’t move properly. In particular, blood would spurt out from my severed left hand whenever I moved, forcing Eli to tremble with fear and replace my bandages with new ones. Furthermore, Eli, who was originally supposed to leave me the day before to continue her reclusive journey, had no choice but to stay by my side, as I showed no signs of healing. However, Eli, still afraid of her own unstable self, tried to hide her fear that she might do something terrible to me, as she nursed me. And today, Eli, instead of me, went outside to catch fish and began to roast them over the bonfire. Then Eli showed me the book where she wrote her words and asked.

‘Are you perhaps uncomfortable, Zeke Ajusshi?’

“Out of politeness, I should say no… Haaaaah… but I can’t possibly say that. I’m going crazy… After just waiting for my body to heal for three days like this, I feel like I’m going to burst. Damn it… When will this damned wound heal…?”

‘That’s true, but you still haven’t figured out what your feelings for Aria are, have you? You should focus on that first, you know?’

With countless physical and mental discomforts, I sighed, saying I couldn’t possibly claim to be comfortable, even out of politeness, and worried about when these cursed wounds would heal. Then Eli insisted that figuring out my exact feelings for Aria was the priority, but I sighed deeply and disagreed. This was because, even after three days, I still hadn’t figured out what my feelings for Aria were.

“What do you expect me to do…? I’ve thought and thought for three days, but I still can’t figure it out. No matter how much you believe in me… I’m still incapable of understanding emotions properly without someone’s guidance….”

‘…Then how about looking back on your journey so far by reading your adventure log and recalling your memories with Aria-nim? Zeke Ajusshi, you always tell others about your journeys, but… it seems you don’t often look back on the paths you’ve personally walked.’

“What…?”

Eli suggested that if I still didn’t know my feelings for Aria, I should read my adventure log and look back on my journey so far. She pointed out that while I always told others about my story, I rarely reflected on my past journey, and I had to admit she had a point. Of course, I had looked back on past events with Aria before… but not very often. Moreover, with the recent Cult matters, I hadn’t had the luxury of doing so… Looking back on past events, huh… Deep in thought over Eli’s suggestion, I made a decision and began rummaging through my backpack. Then, an idea struck me, and I emptied the contents of my backpack onto the floor. When I suddenly dumped all the items from my backpack onto the ground, Eli was startled and asked me.

‘Why are you suddenly doing this? Did I make some kind of mistake…’

“No… that’s not it… I’ll look through the adventure log and recall the journey by identifying what gifts I received from whom at the time. I think that way I can clearly remember how Aria and I set out on our journey… Hoooo… First, from Todlua… the Snow Maiden’s Tears I received from my parents…”

I opened the adventure log and, reading its contents, began to place the items I had obtained or received at that time, one by one, from the spilled pile in front of me. First, the Snow Maiden’s Tears I received from my parents in Todlua. They gave me this gift, wishing me good luck on my journey. And thanks to learning about familiarity with the help of my family, I departed on my journey with everyone’s farewells. Then I was chased by slimes… and at the end of it, the ruined Esrad… Kingdom…

…..

‘At that time, a heavy snowfall was occurring, so the explosion sound was barely audible outside, and Esrad, due to its mad king, quietly perished in the heavy snow without being known to the outside world.’

As I recalled the events of the Esrad Kingdom, I looked at my record containing the details of Esrad’s demise, and my mind grew heavy as I remembered Aria’s miserable state at that time. Although I was disoriented and intoxicated by a drug back then… Aria’s wretched appearance was so pathetic it would have pained me even if I were sober… Anyway, thanks to not being in my right mind, I poured out words to Aria that I would have been ashamed of if I were sober, and at my words, Aria developed a strong liking for me and then passionately confessed her love. Was it after that? When I saw Aria catch a boar with her bare hands and punch a hole in Boyati’s stone wall, and my fear of Aria grew…. For a while after that, I only felt great fear towards Aria… And then, who I met was….

….?

“And then, I met you.”

I remembered trade routes passing through Boyati, arriving in Melodian, and meeting the Riera sisters who used Siren’s songs there. If I hadn’t had an ominous feeling back then, these girls would have died at Aria’s hands. Then, in the ruined Bosca, I met the first otherworldly being, 20 Mana, and the Beastkin Karina. I was kidnapped to Alteon, and Aria shattered Robdom. After that, I became close with Rascal-nim and Tess-nim, and before leaving the Magrion region, I encountered Saint Krischa. And in Ogposlia… I met the maddened Cecilia, and Rascal-nim sacrificed his life for us… I recalled the events in Ogposlia as I read, and then picked up the black arrow in front of me with a sigh.

“What if Rascal-nim had still been alive…?”

As I sighed, holding the black arrow, Eli cautiously asked me.

‘What kind of arrow is that?’

“It’s the legacy left by a hero who sacrificed his life to save Aria and me… We’re still mourning his death… You just read about it in the adventure log, didn’t you? He was the one who protected a village called Arjel in Ogposlia.”

‘I hope he met a painless death…’

When I said the black arrow belonged to a hero who had sacrificed his life for Aria and me, Eli grieved Rascal’s death with a very bitter expression. I nodded, agreeing with Eli’s words, and continued reading the book. Afterward, in Probeli, I received Trahan from Prosh and defeated the World Tree with Aria. That was when Aria first awakened with the radiance of Sacred Transformation… Later, I met Estur-nim and Merzel… and the people of Karizan, and finally, Iruvan and Nerha from Croa Spring… And in the Herlos region…

“In the Herlos region… Aria gave me this brooch as a gift… this brooch made from the Tear of Magnod…”

‘Are you talking about that purple and blue gem brooch you’re wearing right now, Zeke Ajusshi?’

“That’s right… Aria won the Last Point Tournament held in Luam and gave it to me as a gift. She said it was in return for the Slime Magic Stone brooch I had given her previously…”

When Eli asked if the brooch attached to my lapel was the one Aria had made for me, I nodded, gazing at the brooch and recalling the past. Back then, when Aria said she had ground this tough Tear of Magnod by hand to make it into a brooch… it was truly astounding. Of course, I had already been shocked beyond belief before, having lightly endured Trahan’s owner rejection reaction and even cast summon magic on Trahan… Anyway, in Luam, I saw my uncle again after a long time… And then in Ther, I met Yuria…. Was it perhaps since Cecilia’s time… After realizing that Cecilia also had her own circumstances, I started feeling some sympathy, and so I felt sympathy for Yuria too and tried to help her… Aria got incredibly jealous by my side then.

“After crossing Mount Ther, I soon arrived in Sabra… And there… I met you.”

‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.’

“It’s fine, so can you please stop writing ‘I’m sorry’ in the book the moment that incident is mentioned…?”

By the way, it’s truly amazing how a person’s heart can change so much…. Anyway, after that, I met Dio V Runner, and later I spoke with Protega-nim and Bivi-nim. Next, in Dorga, Tiavel…

“Ah…..”

“….?”

As I read through the adventure log and organized the items I had received on past journeys, my heart grew heavy, holding the two dolls that looked exactly like Aria and me, which I had received from Tiavel. I froze. Then, placing the two dolls side by side next to Protega’s scale, their appearance seemed to overlap with how Aria and I enjoyed our journey. I reminded myself that the current Aria was being controlled by the Cult and began to shed tears. Damn it… If it weren’t for the Cult, Aria and I would have enjoyed our journey happily without any problems…. As I wept, deeply saddened by the thought of Aria being brainwashed by the Cult, Eli quietly patted my back, comforting me. Thus, momentarily dazed by my sadness over Aria, I continued to reflect on the past days while reading the adventure log.

“In the Revarud facility, I found objects from another dimension…. and a camera, and there I met the experimental subject child… I fought a fierce battle with Stain and his experimental subject, Omega…. Haaaaah… Because of Stain’s desperate struggle, that child tragically lost their life…. And when I opened my eyes, I had arrived in this world, five long years later….”

…..

Perhaps because I had just felt worry and sadness for Aria, I was looking back on the past with a bitter expression, and Eli watched me from beside me with sympathetic eyes. Haaaaah… From then on… I only worried about the Cult, the Cult, and the Cult…

“Of course, I returned to Kartun and was welcomed by the Beastkin there, and I also heard Chief Arvina-nim’s complaints… Next, I met Esti-nim, and I met Rapien… And finally… Haaaaaah…”

As I organized the last remaining items, I saw the string doll Aria had previously given me in Kartun, and conversely, my own string doll that I had given to Aria as a gift, and my heart grew heavy again. Then, closing both adventure logs that contained all the records up to now, I finally began to understand, at least a little, what feelings I held for Aria. So, I too felt a great sense of responsibility and regret for failing to protect Aria… Although I don’t know what this emotion deeply rooted within me is yet…. I had felt a great sense of responsibility from the moment I saved Aria in the Esrad Kingdom… That’s why I often worried that something might go wrong with Aria…

“But… I still can’t figure out what this deeply rooted feeling is…. What is it exactly…? This agonizing feeling that keeps squeezing my chest…?”

‘I heard everything you were muttering about what happened as you looked at the items, Zeke Ajusshi. You really… went through a lot. Since you’ve been through so much with Aria, you must be crying now, right?’

“Ah… I don’t know…. To be honest, I’m usually not the type to cry…. *Sob*… Just thinking about Aria… my heart… my heart hurts so much…. *Sniffle*….”

Since childhood, my emotions had been so dry that I rarely cried, so I had hardly ever shed tears until now. But now, strangely… tears wouldn’t stop flowing when I thought of Aria, and as I began to wail on the spot, Eli urgently patted my shoulder, comforting me. While I sorrowfully wept in the cave, waiting for my wounds to fully heal, Aria, looking at her face in the mirror in her temple room, was perplexed to suddenly see tears streaming from her eyes.

“Oh? Why are tears coming out? My heart is full of joy because the ideal world will soon be completed… O-oh…? The tears… they won’t stop… *Sniffle*….”

Aria couldn’t understand why she was crying when the ideal world, where she and Zeke could live happily forever, would soon be complete. Then, as her tears wouldn’t stop, Aria urgently covered her eyes with both hands, still unable to comprehend why she was crying.