Chapter: 624
Tweet-tweet!
The sound of birds tickles my ears.
The sunlight was shining warmly, and as if the wind were expressing the season, a refreshing breeze felt subtly cool.
The leaves, brimming with life, were beautifully tinged, as if welcoming the coming autumn.
It’s a sight that quickens the heart just by looking at it.
Beautiful.
It is truly a stunning place.
If I had been strolling here alone, I might have stopped to gaze at the scenery without even realizing it.
It was indeed such a beautiful place, yet…
‘What is this place?’
I couldn’t simply enjoy the view with a joyful heart.
Just moments ago, the world had been filled with the sound of burning ashes, yet here it was, transformed.
How did this world change?
Even more perplexing…
‘Why?’
Through my scanning gaze, I noticed an earthquake occurring around me.
It’s my first time here.
No, I’ve wandered through many places, so I might have seen it somewhere before.
Still…
‘Why does it feel so familiar?’
It can’t be this familiar.
It’s like I’ve been here before, evoking a mix of longing and sadness.
An inexplicable emotion surged within me.
‘Where in the world am I?’
Why do I feel this way?
It’s definitely a place I’ve never seen, yet there’s a coexistence of strangeness and nostalgia.
It was an unwelcome sensation I had never felt before.
Thud!
I barely regained my senses at the sound of the waterwheel turning.
Then, I looked straight ahead.
What I needed to focus on now was not the scenery, but the figures in front of me.
‘Anonymous?’
Anonymous.
No name.
That was how the woman introduced herself.
Remembering this, I scrutinized her. But…
‘I can’t see her.’
Her figure still eluded me.
It’s hazy.
Her presence was so apparent, yet for some reason, I could not recognize her.
It felt like my mind was refusing to acknowledge her.
‘What is her true identity?’
I know something’s stirring inside me, but right now, Noya and Kkureungi had vacated the scene.
So, the best I could muster were two thoughts.
Among them, it wasn’t blood.
‘If it’s not a divine sword…’
What on earth could it be?
I was completely lost.
At that moment…
Ha ha.
I heard a soft laughter from the woman.
“Your expression hasn’t changed.”
“What…?”
“It’s the same expression you always wore when you were troubled. It brings me a familiar warmth.”
I had to frown at her words mixed with laughter.
It felt as though she knew me very well.
I moved my hand slightly.
Flick-!
For a moment, it seemed as if sparks were gathering.
Whoosh!
But the flames quickly extinguished.
‘I must be going insane.’
It had to be my imagined realm, yet I couldn’t exert my power as I wished? What kind of absurdity was this?
“Who are you and what is this place?”
Using those thoughts, I inquired first.
Hearing my question, the woman turned her head slightly and surveyed her surroundings.
“How does it feel?”
Then, she returned the question to me.
“…What do you mean?”
“Do you think it’s beautiful?”
“…”
I didn’t respond to the question.
I found it amusing that I was even expected to answer that.
But…
“Perhaps it is beautiful. It’s the place you loved most.”
The woman continued, as if she weren’t concerned about my answer.
“When autumn arrives, the colors become particularly rich. It was a place abundant enough for one to thrive.”
She picked a falling maple leaf and handed it to the child cradled in her arms.
The child still bore a frightened expression but did not reject the leaf.
“That’s why I’ve been here countless times. I’ve watched you sit here, standing still, gazing at the sky many times. That’s what this place holds.”
“…What absurd tales are you telling?”
The conversation was filled with incomprehensible stories.
Of course, I had never stepped foot in such locales.
“Should I call this nostalgia? Or longing? What do you think?”
“…”
“You don’t need to answer.”
The woman chuckled.
“I suppose you would have answered with ‘longing’ without the slightest hesitation. That’s just how you are.”
For some unfathomable reason, that smile made my heart ache.
Bitter. And cold.
It felt heavy too.
So that’s how I felt when I looked at her.
And that’s the crux of the matter.
There are countless questions buzzing in my mind, yet I couldn’t voice a single one. Surely, that must be the reason.
[Ugh…]
The child nestled in her arms squirmed.
The woman noticed and gently stroked the child.
“It’s okay. It’s okay.”
[Ugh… Mommy…]
“…”
The moment the child uttered ‘Mommy,’ the woman hesitated briefly.
But she didn’t stop her soothing gestures.
Watching this, I was jolted into action.
Now wasn’t the time to hesitate.
I approached the woman and stated firmly.
“Hand it over.”
“If I do, what will you do with it?”
“I’ll have to kill him.”
Despite my forthright words, the woman’s expression remained unchanged.
“Why?”
She merely asked. I offered her my response.
“Because it’s what needs to be done.”
It was a necessary act.
Indeed, it had to be done.
Strangely enough, amidst my hazy thoughts, that concept stood out clearly.
“… It must be done…”
Upon hearing that, the woman nodded.
“Right, it should be that way.”
“So, that guy over there—”
“But that’s impossible.”
Her words twisted my expression.
“What?”
“I’m sorry, but I cannot part with this child.”
“What kind of lunacy is that?”
I was willing to take back what was rightfully mine. What did that mean?
When I glanced at her, perplexed, the woman began to tighten her grip on the child.
“As I mentioned earlier, I hoped you wouldn’t have to make this decision.”
Crack!
Even the child clung to the woman’s arms, as if refusing to let go.
“Moreover, I must apologize. It was I who, despite saying that I didn’t want you to choose, gradually pushed you into this situation.”
Those words opened my eyes wide in surprise.
Was it… my fault?
“What exactly does that mean? You are the one pushing me away?”
“…”
Pop!
Amidst the strange dialogue, the watermill’s sound resonated.
That marked the turning point.
“It was inevitable that you would have to return to the past.”
Something began to echo through the woman’s words.
“In the end, you transformed into a dreadful creature known as a dragon, enduring this turbulent flow.”
The calmness in my breathing began to splinter.
“And so, I placed a heavy burden upon your back. Ultimately, it’s my doing.”
The trembling in my breath made it difficult to articulate my thoughts.
What on earth did I just hear?
‘What the heck does that mean?’
Were those her true hidden motives in making me regress?
That couldn’t possibly be true.
That made sense…
The one who caused this regression was…
‘The Celestial Demon!’
The Sword had said so.
And that was something the Celestial Demon had also confirmed.
With certainty, she was not the one who made me regress…
‘…Huh?’
While deep in thought, I sensed something unsettling.
The obscure features of her face began to sharpen slightly.
At that moment, as our eyes locked, I felt a surge of understanding.
“Could it be that you’re the Celestial…”
Crackle-!
“…!”
An overwhelming pain struck, bringing one of my knees down.
I held my head and began to shiver violently.
It wasn’t physical pain.
It stemmed from my very soul.
This was a warning.
A warning that if I contemplated this too deeply, my soul would shatter.
“Heuuk… Hah…”
As I gasped for air, struggling to endure the pain.
The woman before me merely continued to watch in silence.
I couldn’t discern her expression.
When she smiled, I could at least feel something, but now, her face revealed nothing.
Only.
“Amidst the countless lives you’ve led, the life you yearned for was truly an ordinary one.”
I couldn’t understand her expression, but I could perceive the sorrow in her voice.
“That’s why. I did not wish for you to live this life. So, whenever you were about to choose something, I made you doubt.”
The more she spoke, the more chaotic my mind became.
“I slowed your decision-making. There were instances where I blinded you to prevent clear thought.”
As she confessed this, memories of my own faltered intentions surfaced.
Although I stated that I would go to any lengths, I consistently hesitated.
Even after transforming into a dragon, I still gazed longingly at humanity.
Are you implying that it was all her doing?
“I still remember.”
The woman addressed me.
“When we first built this home. I recall the smile you wore.”
This too was unfamiliar territory.
“Is that perhaps why? I remain here even now. Maybe…”
I’ll remain here forever.
Those were her softly spoken words.
“And so, I hope you never discover my truth.”
Her voice reached my ears.
However, I could not reply.
‘Her voice…!’
No sound came forth.
My body had frozen up, rendering me immobile.
Snap-!
I attempted to push through, but something felt like it was weighing me down, making movement impossible.
“Oblivion is the greatest gift I can give you.”
Crackle crackle!
Strange sounds erupted from my strained arms.
I understood.
If I tried to force it, I would surely be crushed.
Pain would attack the soul, not the body.
It was horrendous.
Did such agony truly exist?
“Therefore, even if you come to know everything in the future…”
With some effort, I lifted my gaze to meet hers.
“I hope that by the end, you do not remember me. That is my only wish.”
Her meaning was lost on me.
Her words were incomprehensible, and I had no idea why this woman appeared from within me.
Frackle crack!
When I tried to concentrate, thoughts seemed to be defensively barricaded, keeping me from comprehending.
“Hah… Hah…!”
“Do not concern yourself. This child… will be hidden away within my embrace. To your awakened self, he will be as good as absent.”
As she uttered those words, the woman stood up.
Swoosh!
Upon her rising, fissures began to form in the sky.
I knew instinctively.
Once that moment of mine passed, my body would awaken.
“If, by some miracle, you remember me… will you resent me? I hope that’s the case.”
The woman let out a faint laugh.
“To resent me means you’ve remembered me. That alone would suffice for me.”
She began to move.
With those words, the woman gradually started to walk away.
Swoosh!
Cracks spread not only through the sky but also underfoot.
As she cradled the child, the woman brushed past me.
I had to grasp her.
I needed to take the child from her and demand to know who she really was.
Crackle-!
The sensation tightening around me intensified.
“This…!”
I grit my teeth.
I couldn’t just let her go like this.
That thought alone fueled my will to rise.
Craack!
My body felt like it was splintering.
Ignoring the agony, I called out to the woman.
“…Don’t go.”
At last, a voice emerged, one that had remained silent until now.
Even as the words left my lips, pain accompanied me.
It didn’t matter. Those details bore no significance.
Pause.
The woman halted at my request.
Seeing her stop made me reflect on something.
What on earth was my motive in telling her not to go?
Did it mean I wanted her to give up the child and leave?
Or perhaps, to unveil her true identity before she departed?
I had no clue.
In this disarray of body and mind, I felt as though I was being forced to forget.
Yet I simply had to catch hold of her somehow.
That was the only emotion coursing through me.
“…Don’t… leave.”
Once more, I spoke, and the woman turned her head toward me.
Still, her features remained unseen.
The obscured woman’s face was impossible to identify.
Ha ha…
The woman laughed.
It was a laughter I had heard countless times before, yet somehow it felt different this time.
“…You always take it too far.”
Her voice dripped with the emotions she had long contained.
“This time, you leave me with yet another unforgettable moment. Honestly, I know you’ll forget it again.”
There was a hint of mild reproach in her tone.
It was an emotion I had never grasped before.
“…Thank you. For gifting me another bastion of support.”
The woman spoke these words as she gently waved her hand toward me.
“…It’s time to return. This place is no longer meant for you.”
Snap!
At that, a crack split the ground right beneath me.
I inhaled sharply, trying to plead for more time.
“Wait…!”
Boom—!
“Gah—!”
The pressure surged dramatically.
It was as if it would no longer grant me patience.
“Your hesitation will be embraced by me. You don’t need to hesitate any longer.”
Desperate to articulate something, I struggled with my faltering lips.
But now, even that was impossible.
“Thank you for indulging my desires.”
As soon as the woman finished speaking,
Clank!
It was as though something unlocked—a mechanism ticking open.
In that moment…
Woosh—!!
Unfamiliar energies began to swirl energetically around my body.
No, it was more akin to sensations than energies.
The barriers I had erected disintegrated.
What lay within was forcibly drawn out.
The once empty spaces began filling rapidly.
It differed from simple understanding.
This was the act of awakening what had been inherently mine.
While strange sensations rocked my consciousness…
As I was engulfed in the cracks, the woman spoke to me.
“The path may be arduous and frightening, but when you reach the end, may you find happiness.”
Hearing those words, I sought to stretch my hand.
Crackle-!
My hands rippled in agony as I strained against it.
Nonetheless, I extended them to catch the woman who watched me from beyond the fracture.
One.
“Always.”
In the end, I could never grasp her.
“That’s the only wish I have.”
Crack—!
Ultimately, I was swallowed by the crack, disappearing into the void of space.
Whoosh!
The traces that once filled the backdrop were erased, and the world transitioned into one where only ashes and embers remained.
Tap–! Tap–!
I could hear something crackling away.
Once again, the realm of darkness returned.
In such a world…
“…”
The woman remained still, gazing at the space that had once belonged to me.
Was it simply because it had been so long since we last met?
I felt as though I had unknowingly spoken an abundance of words.
That must be the cause.
The woman now gazed upon her own hand.
Tap–.
As if the world were crumbling to ashes, her hand too, began to disintegrate.
“Still.”
Yet for a brief moment, she had felt happiness.
The woman smiled as she contemplated this.
[Sigh…]
A gentle breath echoed in her embrace.
The child she held had slipped into slumber.
As she caressed the child’s face, she recalled the lies she had uttered.
– That’s all there is to it.
“…”
The sentiment lingered just before her.
That was a falsehood. Precisely half the story.
The wind was not the only wish.
While she wished for him to be happy, her desires ran deeper.
Deep within her heart, a longing remained.
‘…Just once.’
Even once would suffice.
‘Please call me by my name.’
Long ago, in the distant past.
The name he had bestowed upon her.
Just once, she wished him to utter it.
The woman cradled that wish deep inside her.
“…Ha.”
Recalling this, the woman chuckled bitterly, swiftly pushing the thought away.
It was a pathetic and cowardly wish.
How self-defeating this choice felt.
Having lingered a while longer, the woman soon began to take her leave.
Perhaps, contrary to the wishes she held.
There might never come a day when he would call her by name.
And so, she was left unnamed.
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