Crown of Thorns Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Translator & editor : Cuties

The boy did not co often. So I could notice the little changes in his growth every ti he ca. I felt stuffy because he seed to be informing of the ti. “The world is going as well as ever except for you,” he seed to say, “you will suffer in a ti that will never move forward.”

The boy brought sothing with him every ti he ca. Things like books that could kill ti. But the ti they made forget was so insignificant that they were of little use. I just kept them all in one place and tried to ignore them.

As I sat still leaning against the wall, the boy also sat beside and looked at the darkness.

“Is this fun? Don’t you get sick of it?”

Whatever I did, it was the sa in the end. There was no way to spend infinite ti. There couldn’t be a way to kill eternal ti. I just wanted to forget it all. How long it’s been and how much more I have to spend.

But I couldn’t forget ti because of the boy. I saw traces of it in the boy’s appearance, and I could feel each passing day as I fell into a routine when I was with him, and when he didn’t co, ti seed to go slower.

The boy hugged his knees close and reclined his head on his arms, looking at fixedly. I don’t know what he wants from . Perhaps he was my new torntor. Because nothing is more painful than feeling the passage of ti for .

“You’re a witch. Don’t you think escaping a tower like this one would be a piece of cake for you?”

I didn’t get away. There was no point leaving if I were going to be alone anyway. It was better to wait alone for my ti in here.

But the boy was ruining it.

I stared into the darkness without answering. This young warrior can’t understand a witch.

“What’s your na?”

“Witch.”

I was a witch. My na has long since been forgotten. The person who called it was not around. The world called a witch and I also thought I was a witch. The witch did not need a na.

The boy said in reply to my answer.

“I don’t have a na, either.”

Burying his face between his knees, he continued.

“Is it still a na if nobody calls it? No. The day my brother died, my na died with him.”

It was a funny thing. A witch and a warrior without nas. I said, ducking my head away from the shiny white hair on the side.

“He must’ve died because of .”

At my words the boy raised his head.

The first day he ca, he pointed a sword at and said that people are dying because of . They don’t want to die. It’s not ti for them die yet, but they’re dying anyway. Because of .

The boy had co to kill after losing soone who was close to him. Because I killed that soone. Because I’m a witch.

It’s only a matter of ti before the weak young warrior points his sword to gain.

*

Ti dragged on.

I was in the process of trying to kill my mind because I couldn’t kill my body, but after eting the boy, my efforts were ruined. The passage of ti felt slower as emotions revived. Until when do I have live like this?

I would rather spend ti sleeping forever, but there was a limit to that. I took out the boy’s sword. I knew far too well that I could not be killed no matter what thod I used.

It was ti to give it up because it was tiring, but my body was lifting the sword.

I wanted to end it now.

This sword will also rust over ti and I will have no more tools to attempt with again. An eternity has passed and everything except was ending. Eventually, I’m the only one left.

I stretched out my arms with the sword clutched firmly in my hand. This ti, I wanted to succeed with one go. Unlike other things, I could never get used to pain no matter how much I suffered through it. So I closed my eyes tightly and stabbed as hard as I could. But right away soone caught . When I opened my eyes, I saw sothing white and got confused.

“You, are you crazy?”

The red eyes were shaking violently. Snapping back to my senses, I hastily retreated. I didn’t like it. The feeling of being trapped in the burning flas. Of the bright sun shining down on .

“Just kill right now.”

“What?”

I handed the sword to the boy.

“Kill with this.”

“You, now. What are you talking about when I just saved your life?”

The boy asked back angrily, glaring at sharply. I didn’t raise my head because I didn’t want to face that gaze. So I just opened my mouth again and answered.

“Why save ? I’m a witch who has to die.”

“Witch, is that right?”

I couldn’t breathe when asked by the boy, who ca closer and whispered. His gaze was burning all over . My eyes must have been shaking. My heart was falling apart.

Am I a witch? Are you asking whether I’m really a witch?

I was always branded as a witch first without anyone listening to my story. “It was because you cursed the world, and only when you die will it return to its original state,” they said. I scread at the terrible pain, and cried, “Don’t do that,” but they only laughed at my reaction.

A witch? Actually, it didn’t matter to them whether I was a witch or not. They just needed soone to vent their anger on. They needed soone to ease their fear of the unknown and their frustration with unresolved mystery.

At first, I was angry at such people, but not anymore. Because I am a witch.

“That’s right, I am.”

I managed to get my feelings together and then answered. The darkness that covered the world was my mother’s fault. I was also guilty of carrying her blood. Maybe the reason why the monster still didn’t disappear is because I’m alive.

Perhaps the reason why cannot be killed is because I am given the lives of those who died because of . Because I’m a witch.

Only when I die will the darkness be lifted.

The boy sighed faintly at my words and replied, playing with the sword he was holding.

“You killed yourself every day like this?”

The boy’s eyes darted to the soggy puddle on the floor. The boy cleaned up but still couldn’t get rid of it all. It was rotting black and slly. It wasn’t just the floor. My whole body was covered with rotten blood as well as my clothes. There couldn’t be a place to wash here.

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

The boy asked, reaching out his hand to my neck. I backed out hurriedly but he patted my neck without realizing, touching my horrifying wounds. So of these were inflicted by and others by people.

It’s funny. This situation. The boy has to kill , but why is he looking at with compassion?

“You have to kill to…”

“I know, I know. Stop talking.”

While saying so, the boy took the sword I was holding. He seed to have no intention of leaving it behind this ti. I had to bite down on my lips hard because of the emotions I had thrown away long ago have resurfaced. Why the hell does this boy shake up?

“You know very well that I’m killing people.”

“Everyone dies.”

This sentence has a weird comforting effect on , is it because no one has ever told that before?

“Rember when you angrily shouted that there were people who didn’t want to die, or wanted to live longer but were killed because of .”

“They can’t live forever anyway so just think that it was ti for them to die.”

“But because of …”

“Stop it.”

He cut off sharply and I bit down on my tongue.

“It’s okay, you can stop now.”

My heart lightened a little at the boy’s words which were like balm to my wounds. But knowing that human life is fleetingly short and that mine is endless, I forced myself to dismiss the ray of light that sprawled into my mind.

If you want to save , then stab that sword into my heart.