The moment change arrived, I was engulfed in an indescribable sense of omnipotence.
It felt like my body, which had been playing separately from the world, had finally become one.
My sixth sense, apart from my five senses, felt alive.
What I could see began to be felt on a cellular level, and intuitively started to seep into my mind.
But unlike others, my unique ability had not manifested.
Or rather, it would be more accurate to say I was unable to perceive it accurately.
The feeling of something elusive, just out of my grasp, frustrated me at that time.
Even so, my steps did not falter.
I felt joy and relief that I could finally stand side by side with my friend.
It lightened my footsteps and energized my weary body.
Thus, she and I…
All beings standing on the earth engaged in battle once more, unable to regain their composure.
The battle that began was anticipated, but it was truly no small feat. It was so brutal I almost wanted to give up right away.
The magic fired from the ground did not work at all. Even a mediocre blade did not even touch its hide, and even if it did, it broke apart without leaving a scratch.
My Great Sword was no exception.
Though it was said to have grown stronger, that referred to my body, not the sword itself. The hilt creaked from long use, and the blade was so dull it was embarrassing to call it a sword.
But I did not give up.
I had victory beside me.
All I needed to do was to open the path for her.
I cut down the Fire Demon that burned the sea. I tore through the raging storm. I cleaved the tidal wave turning the earth upside down.
I unleashed an unknown ancient magic. I deflected claws and roared back against the howls. Even then, the Great Sword, which had become foolishly large, did not break.
As if it contained my will.
As if the desires I constantly yearned for began to take shape.
As I hoped to be her shield, like me, who was weaker than her.
Though it may have been shattered to the point that it could cut nothing, it never broke.
As my sword grew harder each time, her sword was honed sharper as well.
I didn’t pay attention to defense. I didn’t dodge.
Trusting in me, believing in my sword, believing in her victory without a doubt.
She clung fiercely to the neck of the Ancient Dragon.
Each time this happened, the Ancient Dragon’s flapping grew more violent.
The roar grew savage. Magic became reckless.
In her eyes, which had looked down upon me like a bug, emotions took root, and her movements gained extra limbs.
She dominated the atmosphere. She seized the flow.
She drew closer to victory.
I believed it.
Until the black sun rose.
The red light of twilight had long since disappeared.
The twinkling of stars that illuminated the earth was hidden beneath ashes, leaving only darkness.
And then, the black sun rose without hesitation, casting a dark light over the battlefield that had been colored with hope.
It was not the dawn we had been waiting for.
It was not the hope we had looked up to.
It was not the light that brightly illuminated the world.
It was despair, leading into an endless abyss.
Soon, a darkness devoid of even a speck of light settled on the ground.
It stole the light from the surface and summoned all the monsters that existed upon it.
And then…
At the end of the world where darkness thickly settled.
On the horizon, which drew the boundary between heaven and earth.
“Jong-eon” revealed itself.
There was no form.
No, it was unrecognizable.
What I could see was just a faint color.
And a form that changed constantly.
At times, it was a cloud.
At times, it was a star.
At times, it was the moon.
At times, it was a person.
It was the blazing conflagration that would consume the world.
It was a mountain too high to cross.
It was an ocean that couldn’t be crossed.
It was both the end and the beginning that would return everything to its origin.
In a world where quiet silence had settled.
The shape of Jong-eon twisted.
Like it was dancing, like it was stretching.
It swayed like reeds in the wind.
Simultaneously…
The horizon distorted.
The sea flipped.
The sky vanished.
The earth crumbled.
What remained where it had disappeared was nothing but empty space.
The countless remnants of the world that had vanished.
The graves of heroes.
Memories.
The end.
The beginning.
And the broken Great Sword.
Only then did the black sun seem satisfied as it swept away the darkness.
In the place where darkness had disappeared, only shadows remained.
The corpses of stars lay scattered. The remnants of civilization were left behind.
Despair remained. Grief remained.
In that, a wretched battlefield.
In a world of nothing but endings.
In a world where it ended, only to start again.
Next to me…
She smiled.
Louder. More frivolously. More exaggeratedly.
Bowing her head, kneeling.
Dropping her sword.
Laughing endlessly.
Watching her, I said.
“What are you looking at, you bitch.”
And then I laughed.
Like her beside me.
Like the one I wanted to resemble.
Like my one and only friend.
Chortling, I wished.
I reached out and yearned.
I prayed towards what I could not touch.
That she could genuinely smile.
That she could rise again with strength.
That she could grasp her sword once more.
That I would be her support.
That her sword would be a sword that would never break.
That her envisioned perfect victory would be realized.
Did my wish reach her?
Warmth came to my hand, which had lost its grip.
A drop fell from the corners of my mouth that had been helplessly raised.
Her laughter echoed in my ringing ears.
The sound of her rising body reached my ears.
The sound of her grasping the sword reached my ears.
I forced my bleary eyes open.
With my blurred vision, I took in the light steps before me.
Now I took in a back that would never bend.
I took in a tightly clenched fist.
I took in a head raised toward the sky.
I took in her holding not a broken Great Sword.
But a steadfast Great Sword that would never break again.
And, gazing at her back, which was infinitely receding.
I closed my eyes.
I prayed.
I recalled her name.
That name was…
The name of my friend who led me.
The name of the one I loved.
The name of the one I could not help but love.
The name of the one and only person.
“Kartia.”
thud – I clenched my outstretched fist.
That fist was small.
It felt impossible for it to wield the ignorant Great Sword.
But it was imbued with a will more powerful than anything. A desire that felt almost mad.
Could disciples even inherit this?
Holding back a small chuckle, I opened my eyes.
There stood a girl who matched that tiny fist. Her small body was covered in scars. Her red eyes, unfocused, brimmed with a longing for victory.
“You really resemble me… huh?”
Words that flowed out like a habit from long ago.
My face twisted at that creepy and annoying tone.
But that was momentary.
The Great Sword was placed in the empty hands of the girl.
The colossal, heavy Great Sword.
A rough and carelessly made hilt.
But above all, the blade stood tall and true.
That appearance was so familiar and nostalgic to my eyes.
Then, it was swung toward me.
Not to cut down, but to shove away.
A weak anger welled up against such a arrogant sword.
How dare you show such a sword in front of me?
Well, I understand. Since the master is like that.
“Tsk.”
I flicked the clenched fist away.
I lightly dodged the swinging Great Sword and took a step.
I approached the girl, who had landed on the ground.
And I seized her loosened collar, tidying it up for her. To think she even took after her master by neglecting her appearance.
Well, it wasn’t worth mentioning.
“Ugh…!”
Again, the fist shot out.
The Great Sword swung. An unknown strength surged out.
I was forced to push her back to create some distance.
The girl, feeling her neatly arranged attire, looked at me with a trembling expression.
And then, she cautiously asked.
“…A-Are you Frey?”
“Add an honorific. How rude.”
I looked down at my body, tongue clicking.
I was clad in cumbersome and heavy armor.
“You little shit.”
I roughly grabbed the connection of the armor.
With a boom – the gaudy golden armor collapsed at my feet.
Kicking it away in irritation, I began to loosen the remaining parts.
The heat trapped inside escaped, and a pleasant breeze seeped in.
I straightened my disheveled hair and surveyed my surroundings.
Looking around, looking around.
I kept looking around.
A variety of colors caught my eye.
A vibrant flower garden danced in the wind.
I inhaled deeply amidst the visually dazzling scenery that made me squint.
Clear air.
Refreshing fragrance.
The sense of liberation from having emerged from a space of emptiness was indescribably refreshing.
I closed my eyes.
The loneliness that had troubled me despite becoming familiar, and the sense of loss.
Now, I savored the feelings that allowed me to feel nothing but the pain of my soul wearing thin.
On the other hand, I felt that time was running short. I sensed the ominous power of the being that had gnawed at my soul growing.
I opened my eyes and looked straight ahead.
A girl was looking at me with a dazed expression.
Behind her, I sensed the presence of the being I had desperately wanted to meet.
What should I do first?
Should I resolve my reunion with her?
Should I tell her the processes that led me to this point?
Should I share the events that occurred during our separation?
The contemplation did not last long.
Drawing the Great Sword, which was the exact opposite of my taste, that had been stuck in the ground.
I chuckled.
And then I said.
“What are you looking at, you bitch.”
