“Miracle.”
Now, my hands, no longer trembling, touched the scale.
In that moment, clang! the perfectly balanced scale shattered.
Pieces of the broken scale reflected everything around. They softly glimmered, showing me the path I must take.
So, I walked through the illuminated fragments of the scale. My weary steps felt remarkably light. The eyes that had become invisible due to magic were bright. My mind, clear, displayed great magic that humans could never achieve. Despite having to leave important matters behind, my heart was light.
This wasn’t irresponsibility.
If it were Noah, if it were Rubia, if those friends I cherish were the ones who accepted someone like me without any cost, I knew they would never fail.
If it were them, I was sure they would create a perfect world out of unexpected results.
Thus, I moved forward.
To leave a gift for those who believed in me.
To beautifully change the ending of a story that had only known unhappiness.
And to lay the foundation for a new story that would begin.
I had crossed countless pasts.
I had surpassed a present that could no longer exist.
I ignored a future that was unpleasant and dark.
Still, I continued to walk through the causality I, a mere human, must never tread.
My body had long since crumbled.
Even my soul, coated in various spells, began to disintegrate, but I didn’t stop.
There was still much for me to do.
Moreover, if my soul were to shatter now, the magic that turned darkness into light, that revealed Noah’s sight, that returned Rubia to her original state, would all come to an end.
I couldn’t let that happen.
If it darkens, they won’t see me.
If Noah’s sight is obscured, they won’t see me.
If Rubia’s soul sinks, they won’t see me.
They have a duty to watch me. Even if I’m just a spectral form, they must see me. They can see me. If it’s them.
Besides, where else could one witness this level of magic, the pinnacle of all wizards? It’s because of me that they can see it.
Only I can show them.
So, they must not miss my form. They must hold it in their hearts, engrave it in their minds, and pass it on to others, to wizards, to their descendants.
That I, their friend Ser, reached the end of magic for the first and last time.
I wonder, are they watching closely?
If so, what expressions are on their faces?
Hmm. If it’s Rubia, she’ll be squirming with a face full of tears. And not just tears; snot and saliva will be dripping all over.
Always acting mature and strong, but deep down, Rubia is more fragile than Noah. So, she’ll cry her heart out.
Even if she’s not crying as I expect, I hope she cries eventually. Because that would prove I was a valuable existence to her.
And what about Noah?
She’ll probably be watching me with a blank expression.
Unlike Rubia, Noah won’t shed tears.
She seems foolish and fragile on the outside, but she’s wiser, stronger, and braver than anyone I know.
…Wait, scratch that wisdom.
Noah is an idiot. Definitely an idiot. Her intelligence makes me question how she’s even an adult.
Hmm, did she hurt her head badly when she was small?
Anyway.
If it’s Noah, even if she doesn’t cry outwardly, inside she’ll be crying. She’ll be filled with endless regrets.
Regrets that coil upon themselves endlessly.
The heaviest of those regrets will likely be for not sacrificing herself a moment earlier.
But that’s unavoidable.
I had made Noah see and pulled Rubia’s soul to the surface to prevent Noah from getting hurt.
If she wants to complain, she should’ve been smarter and more meticulous than me.
I designed this plan from the moment Noah entered her trial. If my carefully laid plan goes awry, that’s just plain lousy.
So, it’s unfair, but there’s nothing I can do.
But wasn’t she happy to meet Rubia again?
Right. Equivalent exchange.
If you gain something, you must lose something.
Now that I’m meeting Rubia, who I can never see again, I must pay that price.
“Aha…”
Not being able to sacrifice was the price?
That ridiculous price elicited a laugh from me.
During that, I felt the place where my steps should stop was nearing.
Just as I was about to move my remaining steps toward it…
My body, my legs, my steps came to a halt.
Should I look back?
I want to look back.
I want to turn and see their faces.
I want to verify if my imagined versions are correct. Finding answers to doubts is a wizard’s basic quality.
This much should be okay.
No, it’s not.
It’s not okay.
Finding answers is nonsense.
It’s just that I want to see their faces.
I want to hold their hands, hear their voices, laugh together, and remain in this world. That’s what I want.
So, I must not do it.
I cannot harbor lingering feelings. I must not leave them behind.
If I do, my heart will become uncomfortable. My steps will grow heavy. My mind will become a mess.
The ones who will remain here will suffer.
And.
Isn’t it the most beautiful to leave without looking back? After all, I proclaimed I was the first and the last.
Among wizards who existed in the past, who exist now, and who will exist in the future, I declared I was the strongest.
Can I show an ugly side like that?
If, by some chance. By a million chances. No.
If an impossible miracle happens.
If in the distant future, we meet again.
Then I’m sure, I’ll regret this ugliness.
I’ll die from embarrassment with my heart bursting.
So, I must not leave any regrets.
Absolutely not.
I loosened my tightly clenched hands.
Lifted my lowered head.
I took a step forward, light steps, steps that must remain light.
Descending—
At that moment, the last remnant.
A remnant that had become late, stubbornly lifted its head.
Descending—
Ah, right. You were here.
Descending—
You should have seen your student reach the end of magic.
Descending—
I wonder what expression you’ll have.
Will you cry like Rubia? Will you stare blankly like Noah?
Or will you chuckle instead?
Descending—
I don’t know. I cannot comprehend your thoughts, your true self.
I wanted to know more than anyone.
I wanted to hear it from you more than anyone.
But you didn’t tell me.
Descending—
You cheeky, cocky kiddo.
I want to hear your slightly impudent, slightly playful voice.
I want to see your cheeky yet warm smile.
I want to laugh with you, who was smaller than anyone, yet seemed bigger than anyone.
You who opened my closed eyes.
You who made my blocked ears hear.
You who lifted me up when I was down.
Sirin.
Descending—
You have remained my lingering thought.
Have I become your lingering thought?
Have I remained your lingering thought?
If so, that would be great.
Descending—
If not.
This time, I will.
I will come to you.
You always came to me.
This time, I will go to you.
I must go.
Because that is Equivalent Exchange.
Because that is the nature of the world.
So, wait for me.
Even if it’s a place I can never reach.
I will find a way to get there.
Thud.
Finally, my steps stopped.
I arrived at my destination.
I, who would end my story, stood before the final paragraph.
As I reached it, I swallowed dryly.
A bit bitter, a bit sweet.
A tad disappointing.
Next, I took a breath.
Once, twice, thrice.
I held back the heavy breath with all my might.
Lastly, I lifted my head.
I gazed at the place I must go.
There lay my destination.
There lay the end of infinity.
There lay a future that shouldn’t exist.
And.
There,
was a miracle.
What I thought was impossible became possible.
What I thought could never happen, happened.
A miracle.
“…Ha. This time… I was going to go.”
Therefore, I leave the last remaining paragraph here.
With a smile, as always.
I took the hand of the miracle.
“…That’s cheating.”
*
There was a wizard who loved magic.
There was a wizard who loved the miracles brought by magic.
But a wizard should not chase after miracles.
One must not pursue miracles that disregard Equivalent Exchange and violate the foundations and truths of magic.
Yet, that wizard still yearned for miracles.
He walked a path a wizard should not tread.
Through that journey, the wizard became a great magician.
Betrayed by magic, he became a spirit sorcerer.
Chosen by wizards, he became the mage tower master.
Though he could no longer pursue or yearn for miracles, the wizard, the great magician, the spirit sorcerer, the mage tower master all longed for miracles.
He kept hoping and moving forward.
He ran as the mage tower master.
He walked as a spirit sorcerer.
He grew tired as a great magician.
But it was only after becoming a wizard that he discovered.
The true miracle that violates Equivalent Exchange.
The magic that violates the very foundations and truths.
But he had only discovered it.
He could not grasp it. Could not reach it. Could not even see it. Because miracles are something that a wizard can never achieve.
Thus, just before he completely crumbled.
At the words of a small girl.
The mage tower master, the spirit sorcerer, the great magician, the wizard.
He became a worthless human, one who was no longer a wizard.
And thus, he grasped the miracle.
He became capable of realizing miracles.
He came to be able to yearn for miracles.
In that moment.
The human who was no longer a wizard became certain.
Past, present, future.
No matter what kind of world,
No matter what kind of wizard.
Reaching the end of magic is something one can achieve.
That one is the first and the last.
So,
That human reached the end of magic.
The first and the last, reaching the end of magic.
He realized the miracle.
That human’s name.
Remains a legend, that human’s name.
Is not the mage tower master.
Is not the spirit sorcerer.
Is not the great magician.
Is nothing—
[The Wizard, Ser (End).]
