"Have you been well all this ti?"
Though he asked that question, in truth, there was no way she could have been well.
After all, she had to live after sending her son away.
"I've been getting by well enough."
However, his mother was no ordinary person either.
Rudger nodded slightly at her appearance as she spoke nonchalantly with an expressionless face.
"But you seem to have not been well."
"...Why do you think that?"
"I can see your fate. I can tell that you've endured all sorts of hardships to get here."
"If it were before, I wouldn't have listened to your words. I would have dismissed them as irrational, unscientific, and too abstract."
Rudger calmly conveyed his thoughts to his mother.
"But now I know. All those words you said to were truly sincere advice. This ti is the sa. You knew I would co, and you were waiting like this."
"So, what did you co all this way here to say? You're no longer a person of this place. You're soone completely unrelated to ."
Rudger took a mont to steady his breathing, then bowed his head toward his mother.
"I'm sorry."
"......"
"Because I didn't listen, because I ignored the warnings you gave countless tis, this disaster happened. I don't regret that I died. But I know that the longing and sadness I left behind for those who remained is beyond description."
The woman's eyes trembled slightly.
Though she was trying hard to appear strong and composed, in a corner of her heart, the sadness of a mother who had sent away her child that day still remained.
Even knowing that the child had returned in a different form, wounds carved in the past don't heal easily.
"I ca all this way to tell you this."
The reason Rudger collected the relics.
The reason he broke the cage, defeated Lunsis, and gave people freedom.
It was not to save them, nor to bring punishnt upon Lunsis, nor was it a sense of justice to set the world right.
He was simply a son who had caused his mother to fall into sadness and wanted to convey that indescribable guilt.
That was all.
The beginning of the great event that shook the entire continent was an all-too-selfish and personal goal.
Therefore, the mont Surna heard Rudger's true purpose, he couldn't help but understand Rudger, just as Rudger had understood him.
"I'm truly sorry."
And now Rudger clearly conveyed his honest feelings to his mother in order to release all the resentnt that had built up over the years.
The foolish son, who had always hidden his true feelings and only made sharp remarks, could repent for his mistakes and reveal his sincere heart.
It took nearly 28 years for that to happen.
"......"
Even at Rudger's apology, she said nothing.
She knew how difficult things her son had gone through.
She could keenly feel the suffering he had endured.
Therefore, she couldn't carelessly speak.
What Rudger carried wasn't light enough to be comforted by just a few words.
Still, as a mother, she wanted to say this one thing.
"You've worked hard."
"......"
Just that one sentence surprisingly released the inner resentnt that Rudger had built up over the past decades.
Though it might not be everything, just the fact that the path he had walked wasn't wrong was salvation enough for Rudger.
"So, have you completely returned now?"
"Not yet. This ti I only ca experintally, so I have to go back. However, since I've opened the path, I'll be able to return faster than before next ti."
"I see."
"Don't worry. I won't make you wait long."
Rudger bowed his head and stood up from his seat.
"Who is the child outside?"
As befitting a skilled fortune teller, his mother imdiately noticed the presence of Rene waiting outside.
"She's one of the students I teach. She has very excellent talent and ability."
"I thought my son had brought a daughter-in-law after such a long ti."
Though it was the sa blunt tone as Rudger's, it was definitely a joke.
It was her own mature way of softening the atmosphere so as not to feel sad about parting.
"Next ti I visit, I won't be alone. There's soone I'd like to introduce to you separately. If you et them, you'll probably find it quite interesting."
Rudger opened the sliding door and ca outside.
"Well then, I'll be going now."
"Yes. Let's see each other again later."
She didn't say "farewell." If she said that, it would beco an eternal goodbye again.
Knowing this, Rudger nodded in response to her words about seeing each other again instead.
When he ca outside, Rene, who had been anxiously waiting with her back against the wall, hurriedly followed him.
"Wh-what exactly happened?"
"Let's walk for a bit first."
Not understanding the situation, Rene had no choice but to follow Rudger.
Suddenly visiting a country with a culture and customs she couldn't even imagine was ntally exhausting for her.
Rudger and Rene went to a quiet park where people didn't co and sat on a bench.
It was a ti when even children were gone to kindergarten so all that could be seen in the park were pigeons gathered in small groups pecking at the ground.
"As you probably noticed, this is where I used to live. It's the story from before the person nad Heathcliff van Bretus was born."
"Like a previous life?"
"That's right. I lived here and died in an accident, then was reborn as Heathcliff. Because of my constitution of being loved by the gods, my past mories were completely preserved. Though it was sothing close to a curse, thanks to it I survived, so it's quite a strange thing."
-Flap flap.
The pigeons all flapped their wings and flew up at once.
"When I fell into a well as a child, I accidentally discovered a fragnt of a relic. Looking back now, I don't know if it was coincidence or fate, but it certainly beca the turning point that changed my life."
What unfolded beyond the bluish mirror-sized space was the landscape of 21st century South Korea that he rembered.
The remnant of the past he rembered was spread out before his eyes at a distance where it seed he could reach it just by extending his hand.
"B-but how is it possible after more than 20 years have passed..."
"What surprised when I first saw that scene was that this world, where at least 7 years should have passed since my death, had no changes at all."
"The flow of ti was different?"
"That's right. Ten years in the place we lived was one year here. In other words, not even three years had passed in this world since my previous life's death."
"That can't be."
"Since it's a different dinsion, the flow of ti could be different too. However, this ti, because of , a weak but existing passage was created between both worlds, so the misaligned ti axes will be corrected. It won't take long for the flow of both worlds to beco the sa."
Rene couldn't say anything.
Considering what Rudger had done, his actual desired goal was absurdly modest.
"Isn't it ridiculous? The goal of the demon king who made the entire continent noisy was just to et his mother."
"No. It's not ridiculous at all."
Rene firmly shook her head.
"It's about going to et family, isn't it? If I were in the sa situation as you, I would have definitely made the sa choice."
"...Is that so?"
Rudger chuckled and stood up from the bench, extending his hand toward the air.
"It's ti to go back now."
"Already?"
"Though I'm not without the desire to see more of this world, unfortunately the passage won't last that long. The duration of the crystal corridor isn't long. If we don't return like this, the corridor will collapse and we'll be lost forever."
"If the coordinates of our original world that anchor us disappear, we'll be trapped in imaginary space that belongs neither here nor there."
"When I teach you one thing, you understand two. That's right. Imaginary space is an unknown world that cannot be grasped by human knowledge. Because you and I are both people who handle the power of space, we were able to pass through there, but others wouldn't even dare to attempt it."
-Zzzzzing.
The space reacted to Rudger's mana, split apart, and created a blue gate in the air.
"Let's go back."
To the place where we live.
Rudger and Rene walked through the crystal corridor created in imaginary space again.
When coming, the walls of the crystal corridor reflected that person's past appearance as they walked.
Therefore, this crystal corridor carved that person's life story on the walls in chronological order.
Rene saw her childhood self and the innocent tis she spent with her mother.
eting Heathcliff, eting Freuden, eting her uncle.
Living like that, eventually losing her mories and thinking of her disguised uncle as her teacher, learning magic under him.
Entering the long-awaited Theon, and there eting a person nad Rudger Chelici for the first ti.
There were really many things that happened after that too.
At the end of it all, the two people were now silently walking through the corridor made of crystal.
"You know."
"What?"
"If we go back like this, what will happen to us?"
"Well. Though the holy war has ended, I'll be rembered as the demon king for eternity. Perhaps I might even be brought before an international tribunal as a war criminal."
"W-would that happen?"
"Rene. What do you want to do?"
"I... don't know. If it were before, I would have said I wanted to be a magic researcher, but I've changed too much now."
Rene touched around her eyes with her white, slender hands.
"Judgnt eyes and spatial attribute mana. It's a power that I both hate and that's too much for . Perhaps learning how to use this power will beco my first priority goal."
"If you know the path you should take, that alone is enough. What remains is the persistence to keep moving forward without giving up. I think you'll be able to do well enough."
"Hehe. Is that so?"
It was the mont when Rene was laughing cheerfully.
-Rumble rumble rumble.
The crystal corridor shook greatly, and broken crystal fragnts fell down from the ceiling.
Rene barely managed to keep her balance and avoid falling, then hurriedly looked around.
"Wh-what is this? Do earthquakes happen even in imaginary space?!"
"No. This isn't an ordinary earthquake. Look at that."
Rudger pointed beyond the ceiling.
In the imaginary space revealed beyond the broken crystal fragnts, a giant was glaring at them as if to kill them.
"Lunsis!"
Lunsis, who had been slowly dying with a hole in his heart, had struck the crystal corridor with his massive arm.
"What a persistent bastard. Is he trying to take us as companions on his way to death? For the actions of soone called a god, it's truly petty."
"N-now is not the ti for this!"
"You're right."
Rene and Rudger ran.
Seeing this, Lunsis let out a roar filled with rage.
It was a soundless scream but the entire imaginary space resonated thunderously.
Though he was in the process of dying, he was still the main god of one world.
Just his crying out with hatred made the entire space vibrate and accelerated the collapse of the crystal corridor.
-Rumble rumble.
-Crash!
The crystal corridor shook, cracks appeared in the walls, the ceiling collapsed, and large debris fell down heavily.
Rudger and Rene had to keep running through the shaking corridor without falling.
"I can see the end over there!"
-Roooooar!!
Lunsis raised his left arm and struck the crystal corridor with all his might.
-Crack!
Part of the crystal corridor collapsed and disappeared as if crumbling beyond imaginary space.
Lunsis' left arm also couldn't withstand that force and scattered like powder.
Due to overexertion while having his heart pierced, Lunsis' own death also accelerated.
However, Lunsis was persistent.
As if he would at least take Rudger, who had made him into this state, with him when he went, he raised his remaining right arm.
At the end of the broken corridor, Rudger and Rene could only watch that scene.
At that mont.
-Whoosh!
Sothing like a giant tentacle erged from beyond imaginary space and grabbed Lunsis' right arm.
That wasn't all. An arm made of machinery grabbed his torso, and an arm made of transparent glass grabbed his legs.
"Th-that is..."
"Those are the forgotten gods who were imprisoned by Lunsis."
Rudger imdiately realized who the owners of those arms were.
Since they were the ones who always whispered to him, there was no way he wouldn't know.
"This is what they call karma."
-Whoooosh!
When the various arms grabbing Lunsis' body applied force, Lunsis' body was torn apart piece by piece.
If it were before, the owners of these arms wouldn't have even dared to think of opposing Lunsis, but now that Lunsis had weakened, it was different.
Even as his body was being torn apart and he was falling into the sa abyss as the gods he had betrayed, Lunsis glared at Rudger with those blazing eyes.
"This detestable bad relationship is also over. Fall down there."
Rudger coldly declared toward Lunsis.
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