In an instant, everything in the world began to freeze, and I felt the cold chill touch the back of my neck.
[That bastard… I knew he would come at me cowardly like this.]
“Tylant…?”
[Tylant… yeah, that’s right. It’s Tylant now.]
The chill, which was only the size of an ice shard, constricted tightly around my neck. At the same time, within my consciousness where Tylant resided, our souls became intertwined.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Uh? Y-yeah…”
Round bear-like ears and a fluffy tail.
Her height appeared to be a handbreadth taller than mine.
But she was much slimmer than I was.
Tylant looked exactly like what I had seen in Sirin’s memories.
“Hey, Rani… why are you speaking formally to me?”
Tylant’s suddenly stiffened expression pushed closer to me.
“Ugh…”
“Noah. Why are you… speaking formally to me?”
“Well, um…”
“Am I… making you uncomfortable?”
Tylant’s ears, which I thought wouldn’t move since they were so small and tightly packed, drooped woefully.
“I’m not… uncomfortable, you know.”
“Well then, drop the formalities. Friends don’t speak like that.”
“F-friends…?”
Crack– My hair began to freeze from the ends at a rapid pace.
I immediately nodded and agreed with Tylant’s words.
“Ah, got it…! Friend.”
Only then did Tylant seem satisfied, lowering her head and relaxing her expression.
“But Noah, where did your dog ears and… tail go?”
“My ears and t-t-tail?”
“Yeah. They suited you well.”
“Th-that’s…”
“Are they… gone now?”
Even amidst such a critical moment, I wondered what she was saying… Suddenly, Tylant’s past flashed before my eyes.
“Ugh…”
Since I was wrapped in Carpen’s blood aura and this was my consciousness, this… this much should be fine.
Rustle-
“They’re here…”
“Ah…”
Tylant, startled by the suddenly reappearing ears and tail, inhaled sharply.
“Can I… touch them?”
“Uh…? Y-yeah… go ahead.”
Nodding, I placed my swaying tail onto Tylant’s hand.
Shiver- Tylant trembled as if electricity coursed through her body, gently petting my tail as if it were a fragile glass ornament.
“Hmm… hmmm…”
Smelling it, rubbing it against her cheek, draping it around her neck. A faint smile appeared on her face as she reveled in my tail.
“Well, speaking of which, what’s Tylant… um…”
What were you doing all this time?
What did you say you were preparing?
Is that all over now?
The false Paradise’s door had opened, but is Tylant’s soul okay?
A multitude of questions swirled in my mind.
While trying to prioritize which to ask first, Tylant, who had begun to pet my head, spoke.
“I’m… all ready. I don’t know what will happen, but yeah. I think this will be okay. And Noah, you’ve worked hard. You really did.”
“Uh…?”
“But, from now on, you’ll have to work even harder.”
“Eh…”
“There’s not much time left, so don’t cry.”
Tsk– Tylant spoke with a serious expression, but her hand continued to stroke my head.
After a while…
Tylant’s hand withdrew from my head.
Then, with her hands behind her back, she began to sway lightly.
“Noah, I can use magic even though I’m a beastman.”
Releasing her hands from behind her back, she extended one forward. An ice shard appeared on her small palm.
“Such is the wish contained in my magic: stop.”
Crack– The ice shard that had been floating in the air came to a halt.
“Whether I’m unhappy or not, I despised a world that flows as it usually does. Well… that’s all in the past now, so let’s cut to the chase.”
Ahem, ahem. Tylant cleared her throat and picked her words carefully.
“Um… I can’t stop that bastard’s true intentions with my abilities, but I can hold him off. Still, I won’t be able to keep it that way for long—maybe just a minute.”
Swish– The ice that had been frozen stiff turned into snowflakes and scattered in the air.
“However, there’s a way to extend that time.”
Tylant’s cold hand grasped mine.
“To do that, Noah will have to do something for me. I’ll only say it once from now on, so listen well. Got it?”
Holding my hand in hers, Tylant brought it to her chest.
“My weakness is here. It’s where all my magical power resides. Since I had trouble controlling my magic since childhood… I packed it all in here tightly.”
A light voice. A light gesture.
But the emotions contained within were incredibly heavy and cruel.
“If you pierce this place deeply with your Great Sword, it will be over.”
“T-Tylant?”
“Shh. From now on, I will… intentionally unleash my power. I’ll extract all the strength contained within to block that grand door that takes souls and the bastard’s intentions. It will probably freeze solid. Then, at that moment, if you absorb the other key pieces, it will be over. Absorbing is simple. I’m connected with Noah’s soul right now, right? Just like this… touch that soul and then absorb it.”
“What do you… mean by that…?”
“But… once that rampage ends, I will lose control over my soul, and I could become like those specters. If that happens, I might freeze Noah and his friends as well. So… before that happens, Noah, stop me. Just like I said, deeply.”
“B-but…”
A sigh escaped Tylant as she wrapped her arms around me. Her cold, bony body felt surprisingly warm and cozy.
“It’s okay. I was supposed to vanish anyway, right? And I’m used to pain.”
The hand that had pulled me in rested on my head.
“As the night passes, the morning comes. Just like winter gives way to spring. Spring melts the snow that winter scattered and spreads warmth, bringing new life. I always hated that spring. While everyone blooms with smiles, I couldn’t escape winter.”
Her hand fell away.
“But now it’s different. Well… it’s still not great, but I’m trying to like it.”
The warmth of her embrace receded.
“Noah is waiting for spring.”
Tylant took a step back, wearing a warm and radiant smile reminiscent of spring.
“Noah fits spring the best.”
Then, she turned her back and spoke.
“Noah is… my friend. Hehe.”
*
The connection with Tylant was severed.
And at that moment, my consciousness was pulled back to reality.
A landscape covered in snow appeared before my eyes.
Puddles of blood on the floor had frozen solid, and even the heavy breaths of the specters turned to frost, piling onto the ground in the cold winter scene.
In that world, as everything began to freeze…
Crunch-
Soft footsteps were heard.
The owner of those footsteps gazed at the looming army of specters rushing toward her.
And she looked at me with a radiant smile.
“Please, Noah. End winter and become my spring.”
Tylant’s gaze, which lingered on me, shifted up to the sky.
Her spindly arms stretched out to the sides.
Her lips, tracing a gentle curve, parted.
“Stop Heaven.”
Crack—!
The raging waves came to a stop. The storm clouds, brimming with lightning, halted. The oncoming strike that aimed to cleave through the world froze in place. The cries of ancient beasts ceased. The advance of the specters came to a standstill. The flapping wings of the monsters soaring in the sky froze. Their breaths stopped.
The gradually opening door to the false Paradise froze.
The body of ‘Rubia,’ with her eyes wide open, froze.
Space.
Time.
The soul being absorbed.
The souls of Valoran, Brunhilde, Carpen, and Sirin that were being formed.
Everything froze.
“What the…”
In a world where even sound had been halted, Frey’s bewildered voice echoed.
Regardless, Carpen was mercilessly shattering the frozen army of specters.
Raila’s gaze, having realized what was happening, fixed on Tylant, who had brought everything to a standstill.
And Tylant, who had frozen everything including herself, still wore a bright smile.
I turned away from Tylant and began to move.
“… Please, Raila.”
To end winter and welcome spring.
Grasping my Great Sword, I approached Raila’s side.
[Yeah, catch it.]
I took Raila’s outstretched hand.
The spirit of the wind enveloped my entire body. Wings made from the roots of Yggdrasil flapped fiercely.
My body gradually began to rise. Entrusting myself to the comfortably wrapping embrace of the wind, I extended my senses.
“… Raila.”
[Why do you call?]
“Is it possible for me to also take the soul of a specter…?”
[An inferior spirit is impossible to procure since it’s already been shattered… but…]
Raila’s gaze, which was fixed on the sky, shifted downward.
[The soul of that swordsman should be possible… Hehe, but it’s not necessary.]
“Not necessary…? What do you mean?”
A wave of immense curiosity flooded in response to Raila’s playful tone, but she continued her thoughts, undeterred.
[Noah. If you absorb all four of those souls, then it will be our turn.]
“… Yes.”
[If you absorb a total of seven pieces along with Carpen and Frey, and also Sirin’s soul… before the awakening of Jong-eon, we can open the door to a true Paradise.]
As we reached our destination, Raila’s wings came to a halt.
[At that time, call my name.]
“Raila’s… name?”
[Yes. Not the name that remains as the Monster of the End, but my true name.]
“True name…?”
Raila’s hand, which clutched my wrist, guided me toward the wings of the specter adorned with black feathers.
[Yes. I have prepared a gift for you… no, for our descendants who will usher in a new era someday.]
