Chapter 315

Chapter 315

“—Sarante?”
Ronan’s face flashed with embarrassment. It had been a long time, but he could never forget the face. He could still remember carrying Brigia, one of Nebula Clasier’s top lieutenants, with only the upper half of her body left.
“Oh my God, it’s been a while.”
Ronan’s face brightened. He had thought he was going to turn to stone, at least until he died. Ah, well, now that I’m dead, I guess we’re alike after all. He strode off, taking Sarante’s hand in his and shaking it up and down.
“How are you? You sure look good with legs. Are you done being Ophelia’s pillow? No, wait, you and the Warlord being here–I thought I was dead?”
She was so happy to see him that she spoke more than usual. Sarante said nothing, just stared at Ronan with a gracious smile on his face.
“Then why didn’t you say anything earlier?”
Ronan shook his head, feeling uncomfortable in retrospect. This wasn’t the same as when they’d met before.
Or should I say, more primitive? It was not uncommon for long-lived species such as elves and dragons to behave in such a manner, but there was something beyond that, something inexplicably mysterious. Adeshan, who had been lagging behind, spoke up.
“That’s not someone you know. Corporal.”
“What? What does that mean—.”
“I’m just borrowing the look of someone familiar to you. Be polite.”
Sarante’s form dispersed like a mist, transforming into an amorphous blur of light. The overall bluish hue was similar to the color of the Mother Earth on the nameless planet.
“What the hell…!”
Ronan’s eyes widened. Before he could do anything. A rush of light engulfed Ronan.
“——!”
In that moment, a memory he had never experienced before flooded into Ronan’s mind. On the edge of space and stars, an unidentifiable beam of light battled a giant. A race now extinct along with Abel. It was a giant, clearly larger than the others, with eight wings on its back.
“This.”
Ronan sucked in a breath. The hulking figure battling the horde of light was unmistakably the Lord of the Giants. The one who had started it all by falling on the Savior’s Village. The various scars on his body had been carved just then.
The memory ended with the King of Giants plummeting to the ground. Once again, the gathering cluster of light morphed into Sarante’s form. Ronan gasped as he instinctively realized what was before him.
“—Seniel.”
Sarante smirked instead of answering. She had heard it many times since her second life. A great soul, timeless, imbued with will.
Sarante had pointed to Ronan’s heart before it became a rock and said it contained Ceniel. Why did it only show up now. What’s going on here?
Ronan was confused by the barrage of questions. Adeshan spoke up.
“Relax, Corporal. I’ll tell you everything.”
“Damn, what the hell is going on?”
“I’m running out of time, so I’ll make this quick. First of all, this is the man who gave me the orb that turns back time.”
“What?”
Ronan’s face hardened in shock. He’d thought it was a secret he’d never find out.
“Xeniel had foreseen the catastrophe that would be wrought by the giants. But fighting the giants’ overlord had drained him of too much power, so he used what remained to create a time-turning orb, which he passed on to the rightful person who might be able to prevent the destruction of the stars: me.”
“Are you expecting me to believe that?”
“I’m just telling the truth. I picked up this orb by accident at the end of my first life, on a battlefield ravaged by a giant….”
Adeshan nodded, the story now a distant memory. Crawling across the battlefield with her limbs severed, she found the orb in a puddle of blood and mud.
She swallowed the orb, and her life began to repeat itself as she sought to overthrow the giant. Ronan arched an eyebrow at the discovery.
“But you…you didn’t know anything about the King of Giants, or that there were more than three of them—.”
“I was only informed of the incident a short time ago. Senniel did nothing to help me except give me the orb, which I dare say he was powerless to do.”
Sarante nodded at that. Perhaps he’d hit the nail on the head, and his expression of disdain was quite subtle.
“So—what exactly is this guy Senniel? A god?”
“I don’t know. You never tell me. I suppose it might be something similar, but—.”
“That’s a pretty expensive car. Let me know if there’s anything I can add.”
Ronan pondered. He wanted to know the exact identity, not just the will or the mind. Just then, as he scratched his head, Sarante’s body exploded into another swarm of light.
“What, what?!”
“What the—!”
Ronan and Adeshan were stunned. It was a movement unlike anything they had ever seen before. From somewhere, an ungendered voice rang out.
[Good, you deserve it].
It was the sweetest voice he’d ever heard, and a wide swirl of light swirled around them. Soon, just as Ronan had a moment before, unfamiliar memories began to pour into them both.
“Oh my God.”
Only this time, the scale was different. Within seconds, Ronan and Adeshan had had the history of the star, from its birth to the present, drilled into their heads. It hadn’t taken long. Adeshan, still dizzy from the aftermath of the memory transfer, rubbed his forehead and muttered, “It didn’t take long.
“The world’s— soul?”
“Killing it.”
Ronan couldn’t help but marvel at the unimaginable, and he could see why the giants had fought so hard to stop them. It was hard to know exactly what to say about such an esoteric being, but to put it as simply as possible, Ceniel was the spirit of the star they lived on.
“I see, so that’s why we’re going to—.”
Adeshan dragged his tail. She had never imagined that stars could have souls. She muttered to herself, her last question answered. Somewhere in the cluster of lights, a voice echoed again.
【Well, Adeshan. I’ll be waiting for you.
“Ah—.”
Adeshan was about to say something. Poof–the swirling particles of light melted away. Ronan’s eyes widened in surprise at the abrupt exit. Adeshan looked back at him, lips twitching.
“Looks like—our time is up. ”
“What time?”
Ronan asked. Something was amiss in the air. Adeshan glared at Ronan, then spoke heavily.
“A time when we must part forever. Corporal, I am now gone.”
“—Yes?”
Ronan sucked in a breath. It felt like a thunderbolt had struck him in the head. Barely regaining his composure, he turned to Adeshan.
“That’s–what do you mean?”
“Literally. As you may have noticed, you’re not dead yet, for the highly honored Ceniel has cured your dimensionally adrift body and returned you to the world you came from.”
Adeshan said calmly. Ronan’s body was currently lying unconscious on the battlefield, she said. She locked eyes with Ronan and smiled.
“But the wound is too deep for me to wake up, so I’m going to transfer my remaining life force to you and perish.”
“Such a—.”
“Don’t worry too much. It won’t hurt your girlfriend. It’s a tiny bit of life, but it’ll be enough to get your heart beating again.”
“What the hell–what the hell do you mean, you’re bossing me around like that, weren’t we supposed to be sharing a body?”
Ronan asked, his voice shaking, not expecting this kind of parting. Adeshan shook his head with a bitter smile.
“I was never whole in the first place. Only a shred of me remained, a fragment of thought that took up residence in your heart. I was lucky to borrow my body for this lifetime, but it was destined to be destroyed one day.”
“I can’t believe it.”
Ronan sighed in shock. Her fading body was crushing any hope she might have had. Getting back alive was something she wanted, but not this way.
My eyes began to glaze over. A single tear slid down his cheek. Looking at Ronan, Adeshan slowly lifted his hand.
“Corporal Ronan. You are too young for the night.”
“Yes…?”
Adeshan cupped Ronan’s cheek with both hands and squeezed gently. Her callused hands crackled. She lowered her head, her forehead touching Ronan’s .
“Three times I watched the sun set and never saw the night, and the resentment of not being able to fulfill my will kept me from sleeping. Ordinarily, I would not have been able to rest in peace at the end, but you have granted me my wish.”
“What wish do you want me to fulfill—tailoring—I didn’t even tell you.”
“Corporal. You have done your best for me. I know how much you’ve thought about me. You have shown me that there is a better life than going back to being a tailor’s daughter.”
She gently moved her thumb to wipe away the tears that were falling. Ronan tried to say something, but his throat closed up and no voice came out. Adeshan spoke up.
“Thank you for your efforts on my behalf. Meeting you in my third life was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I am now, indeed, beyond help.”
“—Why don’t you just stay?”
Ronan barely managed to speak. Instead of answering, Adeshan pulled Ronan into a hug. The warmth of their embrace made his eyes flush once more.
“In this life, I grew up to be a good and bright child; I had a good face and body to begin with, so this time I’m perfect, so don’t let go and be good to me.”
“Damn, is this where the jokes come in?”
“Oh, there’s one drawback: I’m quite jealous, even for a man of my age. Don’t think of cheating on me, though, or I’ll–I’ll come to kill you in the afterlife.”
Adeshan’s voice was trembling, and her form was noticeably more transparent than it had been a moment ago.
Unable to answer, Ronan raised his arms and pulled her into a tighter embrace. When they finally broke the embrace, Adeshan’s mouth was watering.
“I told you–you heard me–Ronan.”
Ronan gritted his teeth instead of answering. Adeshan’s face was a mess when he emerged again. Tears were streaming down his beautiful ashen eyes.
“—Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Okay. That’s it. And finally—.”
Suddenly, Adeshan pulled Ronan up by the back of his head. In an instant, their lips met. It was long and thick, but this time the orb didn’t roll over.
“Ugh—!”
Ronan’s eyes widened. Adeshan, who had just pulled his mouth away, laughed out loud.
“Ahhhhh–that’s not much of an increase at all.”
“—Sir.”
“I’m glad to hear it’s true that you haven’t cried a lot of women. I’ve had enough of tormenting your body.”
She patted Ronan on the shoulder. Suddenly, the all-white background began to crack. Adeshan, now nearly transparent, arched an eyebrow.
“You’re lucky. I get to see you off at the end.”
“Captain—”
Ronan was about to say something. Suddenly, his words stuttered and his voice failed him. With each crack, he was drifting further and further from consciousness.
Ronan had a hunch. This was the moment of parting. “There’s only one word I can say,” he said, drawing on what little energy he had left.
“See you soon.”
Adeshan didn’t answer; she had a strange expression on her face that was neither smiling nor crying. The distant consciousness finally broke. When Adeshan realized that Ronan was no longer there, she muttered, “I’m sorry.
“Farewell. My first love.”
The voices of the departed were echoing in her ears. She could feel her mother, her two brothers, the men she’d lost on the battlefield, greeting her.
Adeshan, now completely invisible, turned away, wiped away her tears, and began to walk toward where the departed should go.
.
.
.
“Ronan!”
“Huh huh!”?
Ronan opened his eyes, startled by someone’s shout. His head felt dizzy, like he’d just woken up from a long sleep. As his blurry vision cleared, he saw the brightening sky.
“This is—.
The dawn air was cold. The arrangement of the remaining star clusters in the sky was familiar. Perhaps they had indeed returned. Ronan clenched his fists as he stared at the sky.
“My lord.
The moment of separation was fast approaching. Now that Ceniel, the man in his heart, was gone, there was nothing left to connect him to his first life.
The loneliness I felt for the first time in my life was about to rear its ugly head. Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out next to me.
“Sah, he’s alive! Ronan’s alive!”
“Asel…?”
Ronan slowly turned his head. Asel stared down at him with watery eyes. He saw familiar faces beside him, all of his friends from the Express Adventure Club surrounding him.
“You idiot, I was worried…!”
Seeing that Ronan was awake, Marja covered his face with both hands. A trembling voice escaped through her splayed fingers. Sita and Braum were already wailing like wild animals.
“Beep! Beep! Beep!”
“Hmph, hmph, hmph!”
“—Heh.”
Schlieffen, who had regained his senses, stood by his side, hiding his own tears by turning his head away. Just then, Iril lunged at Ronan, who was just beginning to pick himself up.
“My brother! Aaaaahhhh!”
“Sister.”
“Yi, are you okay now? Doesn’t anything hurt? Yes, I was afraid you were going to go wrong, so my sister—!”
Iril hugged Ronan by the nape of his neck and sobbed. Her eyes were puffy from crying so hard, but she was beautiful nonetheless. Swiping a hand across his face, Nabirozé spoke up.
“—lived.”
“You’re a dick. Brat.”
Zaifa, right next to him, snorted. Navardoze, Orse, the Dragon King, and the other dragons were present. Suddenly, from Ronan’s side, he heard a voice he missed terribly.
“Ronan.”
Ronan’s eyes widened, and as he slowly turned his head, he saw Adeshan sitting at the head of the bed, a tear streaking down his pure white cheek.
“Adeshan—.”
“I’m glad you’re back.”
Adeshan wordlessly stroked Ronan’s head. The same crooked smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Ronan stared at her still, then spoke.
“…You left, didn’t you?”
Adeshan’s expression hardened for a moment. It wasn’t hard to figure out the intent of the question. Biting her lower lip, she nodded.
“—Yes.”
She could no longer hear the voices in her head. The warlord was gone for good. Ronan, fumbling for compliance, pulled Adeshan into a hug and whispered, “I’m sorry.
“Thank you.”
“Me too, Ronan. People are waiting.”
Adeshan laughed again. Ronan, understanding, pulled himself up. As his vision improved, he could see the devastation of the wasteland and the Alliance soldiers surrounding them.
“Hey, hey, hey. Are you awake?”
“Oh my God, are you sure—!”
The soldiers began to murmur at the sight of Ronan, all of them waiting for him to wake up. His brow narrowed in the growing murmur.
“That–fucking–.”
The glint in the soldiers’ eyes was overwhelming. I felt like I should say something, but nothing came to mind. Damn, I’m not good at public speaking.
Scratching his head, he blurted it out.
“—Thank you for your efforts.”
“Waaaaaaaaaah!!!”
Thunderous cheers erupted from all sides, and they threw what they held high into the air as if they had made a promise. Beyond the shaky dawn, the fiery sun was rising.