Strength drained from my entire body. However, I didn’t hesitate. I needed ti to catch my breath amidst the flood of information rushing into my mind like a tsunami. But the voice didn’t even grant that.
(Isha wanted you to live as a human.)
The voice was coated with sympathy. Was it directed towards or Isha?
“…You were once her too.”
(That’s why I’m saying this. Elroy, you must live happily. It was Isha’s last wish, the desire she held onto even as she imprisoned herself here forever.)
“Are you relentlessly pushing like this to make give up?”
(Yes.)
“…”
I turned to where the light that had grown a bit was now receding. I tried to move my feet, trying not to lose sight.
(Struggling won’t help. As you gradually give up, the light will slowly drift away.)
“Since when did I give up?”
I ignored the voice’s words. However, the light was receding faster even after I ignored her. Faster than my steps, the light dimd, and I chased desperately even as my legs slowly gave out.
(Leave. There’s no end on this path. You can only chase forever. You can’t reach it now.)
Was the voice trying to plunge into despair? I didn’t want to know. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought that the voice was a villain, an entity trying to make give up. The mont I stopped to question the truth, I feared that my legs might co to a halt.
(Elroy, why won’t you listen to ?)
“Don’t call as if you know .”
I replied and accelerated even more. Then, the tone of the voice, which had been patient until now, gradually began to carry anger.
(Do you not understand Isha that wanted to save you so desperately…!)
Changes began to occur in the path I was running on. I leaped over a crack that appeared in front of . As I did, stone pillars sprouted from the ground, attempting to stab . I stepped and jumped over them, continuing to run. I could hear the sound of the pillars collapsing behind , and I saw a massive rock falling towards .
(Do you want to run like this even knowing the truth? All of this was never your true will. You were designed to protect this world against the Seven Disasters, and you’ve been moving according to that design! There’s no reason for you to act otherwise.)
“Why would there be no reason?”
I heard the voice’s teeth clench. Simultaneously, a rift appeared in the empty space.
(Even if you did nothing after that, the world wouldn’t have perished! Isha would have protected you and humanity eternally from beyond. How many tis did she warn you not to overexert yourself? Would Isha be happy if you destroyed your physical form?)
Along with the voice’s roar, the space exploded. I whimpered briefly, being thrown back and rolling on the ground. This ti, cracks started to form again below . I imdiately got up and staggered forward. Just after I took a step, the ground I had been standing on wholly collapsed.
(Isha wished…for you to live…I wanted you to live…like any other ordinary human.)
The voice’s words had now beco like rambling, incoherent muttering. It was an unstoppable stream of words. I called it the voice, but it was essentially the remnants of the first world’s failed Isha. Yes, that voice was her. It shouldn’t be ignored, but it wasn’t the real Isha either.
(I wished for you to eat, drink, and sleep like any other human. Make friends, travel, try studying. Have a job, experience chaos at work, earn money….)
As the words continued, they beca incoherent. With a voice full of moisture, the voice continued.
(I wished for you to experience everything in the world that I couldn’t.)
The path exploded once again. This ti, it was a multitude of stone spears branching out. I plucked one and pushed forward. I sliced through the first spike and let the ones falling from above pass. I shoved away one while leaping to avoid another.
Spears fell, and fragnts of stone scattered.
(I wished for you to love soone.)
Ten, then twenty, then thirty. Once again, the ground split, and stone pillars and spears sprouted. I used the stone pillars as stepping stones to leap again, deflecting the pouring and flying spears. Hundred. Counting seed aningless as an infinite number of spearheads began to rain down.
(I wished for you to reflect on the aning of life. Feel love, be loved. Get married, blush at the bride’s face, raise children, and find joy in living. And…and…)
My body moved before my mind could process everything. I grabbed a flying stone spear and threw it into a stone pillar. I then swung off it to continue forward. I grabbed one similar to a sword and continued running. The attacks ceased when I leaped over all the stone pillars and landed back on the path. The dim light seed farther away. Isha’s ramblings were shaking and unsettling .
(And above all….)
An ominous sound echoed. The entire space was vibrating. The voice was now distinctly sobbing.
(I hoped… you could be happy.)
The rising stone pillars and spears were rging into one. Feeling the undeniable presence behind , I turned around.
“…Hoping that I could be happy.”
(So…before it’s too late…I’ll send you back to the original world.)
A compressed, massive spear was aid at . I gripped the stone sword and breathed heavily. Without warning, the colossal construct descended. I raised it straight up and then swung it down.
I couldn’t cut it. I gritted my teeth, trying to maintain the trajectory of the sword.
(Do you think the attack I created is weaker than a re star?)
At the sa ti, I started to be pushed back.
(Give up.)
With the voice’s command, the spear exploded, shattering into pieces that rained down. A heap of rocks, each the size of a mountain, fell over . I looked up at the cascading pile of stones, then lifted the sword again.
(This ti, please give up.)
I didn’t reply. Not because I wanted to defy the plea but because it seed that the ramblings earnestly wished for my surrender. It felt like saying that surrendering was the way to help Isha. Unwilling to entertain such thoughts, I closed my ears. The space began to rumble. The air was getting thicker.
(Stop it!)
***
***
***
I opened my eyes amidst the pile of rocks. The surreal scene of boulders scattered in every direction created an incredibly vivid landscape.
My body’s balance was off. I tried to lift my arm, but it wouldn’t move. My right shoulder was gone. My right arm, still tightly gripping the reed, was trapped under the pile of rocks. My legs refused to move.
(Stop it, please. Your body is all damaged. You can’t recover from anything more, so give up.)
It was a voice that seed to have cried and then beca breathless. I lay back, gasping for breath. My body slowly dispersed from the extremities. Is this the end?
“I couldn’t… save you, Isha.”
(Your redemption is Isha’s redemption. It’s a path that sowhat alleviates the burden on your heart. Do you still not understand? You… you…)
The voice abruptly fell silent.
(Isha thinks that your very existence is her fault. If she created you, she should not have made you with such a purpose, burdening you with saving the world.)
“I…”
I interrupted the voice.
“I have never regretted a single mont of being alive. Even if it ans becoming the savior of people.”
(That’s sothing you realized later. The result is your dying body, isn’t it?)
“Even so, I won’t regret it.”
Countless faces flashed through my mind. Daphne’s laughter, Marianne’s expressionless face, Georg’s scream, Iris’ kindness, Arjen’s determination, Agnes’ kind laughter, Archbishop Andrei’s sly smile, Nella’s angry expression, the students of the Tower and Academy,
“…Even if Isha were in my position, she wouldn’t have regretted it.”
(In that case, go back to those you’ve saved. Don’t leave them behind like this.)
“I can’t leave the one who wasn’t saved behind…!”
I forced my body to turn around. If I can’t walk, I’ll crawl. If I don’t have a hand to grip the sword, I’ll fight with my teeth if I have to. I pulled the remaining stone from my trapped right hand and held it in my left.
(Elroy, please.)
“Killing would be much quicker.”
However I was created, the Holy Sword is still the Holy Sword. The past doesn’t matter. What’s important is saving her.
(Do you think you can defeat all the monsters just by being there? Adding one more won’t change the situation!)
“That’s sothing we don’t know yet. When facing the Giant, the Mist, the Cot, when I saved the people in that village, I didn’t move because I thought I could do it.”
Fueling my uncertainty to move forward, I moved my right leg step by step. The light is still visible. Even if it’s said that I can never reach it, I will continue forward.
(Isha won’t know that you’re going.)
“Lucky for . I can surprise her when I arrive.”
One step, then another.
I felt like soone was pushing my back, urging forward.
(If that’s what you choose, I’ll stop you.)
The ground started to rumble again. I gritted my teeth, prepared for the impending pain, and bit down. Shaking violently, I continued on the narrow path.
“…I didn’t originally plan to reveal my true form until the end.”
I felt myself being lifted. I opened my eyes, turning my gaze. I was soaring through the air, leaping over stone pillars, carried by soone with strong arms. Shrouded in darkness, I couldn’t see who was lifting .
“It would’ve given her a good shock.”
Familiar enough to startle , I pondered where I had heard that voice before. anwhile, the voice seed to instantly recognize who had appeared, and in shock and disbelief, she opened her mouth.
(You… why are you here?)
“It’s a bit disappointing. Why did you think you were the only one who left traces and ca from the first world, Isha?”
The one who lifted landed on the ground, and I could finally recognize who it was.
“…, no…”
Amidst the dimly shining light, I saw a face identical to mine.
“Yeah, we finally et, second Elroy.”
The Elroy from the first world chuckled and set down.
“Nice to et you.”
Reviews
All reviews (0)