Chapter 453

Chapter 453

The dawn air was chilly. Just before sunrise, Nimbus was shrouded in black shadows.
Iriel, pacing busily, curled his hand over his mouth and called out.
“Ronan! Dad!”
“Lo—! Daddy—!”
The echo traveled over the hills. It could be heard for miles, but no answer came. Tears welled in Iriel’s eyes.
“—I thought you said you weren’t going anywhere.”
This was too much. Less than a day had passed since our reunion. The image of the whole family sitting around the kitchen table talking was starting to feel like a dream.
I would have fainted if my brother in the original world had disappeared.
Wiping the corners of his eyes with his sleeve, Iril cried out again, this time at the top of his lungs.
“Ronaaaan! Dadaaaaa-!!”
“Holy shit, where the hell did it go besides to eat?!”
Ronan3 growled next to me.
I never swear in front of my sister, but this time I couldn’t help myself.
He and Iril were working hard on the search.
“Just try to get caught. I’ll give you a good, old-fashioned slap.”
“Lo, Ronan—what if he disappears again, and I—well, I.”
“Hey, it’s okay, sis, she’s probably just gone for a minute.”
Ronan3 gasped and soothed her.
In a state of extreme anxiety, Iril looked as fragile as a cracked glass.
His breathing is labored, and the tears flow without resistance. Each tear seemed to tear at his heart. Biting his lip, Ronan3 pulled his sister into a hug.
“It’s absolutely fine, I’ll come find you.”
“Ugh, yeah—.”
“Right, so let’s stop crying. Okay?”
“Hmm. Ugh. Okay–I’m not crying.”
Iril nodded. Ronan3 breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that her breathing had returned to normal.
The passage of time was suddenly palpable. She had seemed so big when she was snoring, and now she was small enough to rest her chin on the top of my head.
“Damn.”
Ronan3 squeezed his eyes shut and opened them. He had to find them, even if the world fell apart.
The search resumed. It was already dawn, and the eastern sky was turning redder by the hour. The car looked around frantically.
“What’s that.”
Ronan3 narrowed his eyes. An amorphous mass glowed atop the hill.
The shadow of a beautiful oak tree, where he had often napped as a boy, fell to his feet.
“Sis, look at that.”
“——?”
Panting, Iril looked up. The glowing mass was clearly visible to Iril’s eyes. In the steady white light, tiny, reddish sparks flickered like embers.
“Hey, what’s that, a goblin fire?”
“Let’s take a look–I think I recognize it from somewhere.”
The strange goblin fire was strangely familiar.
Holding hands tightly, they began to slowly climb the hill.
****
“Hahhh… Hahhh…! Cough!”
“Congratulations. Ronan.”
Cain laughed. The primeval night sea was crumbling into particles. The brilliant starlight swayed precariously, like a candle about to be extinguished.
Cain’s world was falling apart.
I lowered my sword and swept my sweaty bangs out of my face.
“I–whoa, did you do it?”
“To the point of necessity. You’ve reached the point where you can destroy other people’s worlds.”
With that, Cain pointed to the horizon.
A sunset-colored straight line cut diagonally across the sea and the starry sky. It was only a few meters long, not quite as long as the super slash of starlight Cain had shown me (which I had built), but Cain’s world was unmistakably disintegrating at that line.
It was the mark of a manipulation of the world, of a tactic that had only just begun to unfold.
“It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough. It’s enough to get us out of that Akasha world. You said you had the advantage, except for the world.”
“Probably. I’ve beaten it so much.”
“Then it’s all about hurrying up and winning, hmmm—.”
Cain rubbed his chin. His face was as sweaty as mine. My mana had become a self-potion, replenishing itself whenever it was depleted.
I opened my mouth, my eyes fixed on the crumbling night sea.
“Thanks, my dad.”
“Thank you. It’s all because you’re so good. It wouldn’t have been possible without your basic talent and experience in two parallel worlds, and you’ve caught up to my millennia in a matter of hours.”
“But we can’t let our guard down, right?”
“Of course. Your world is to be used only as a blow to the Abyss. Once the Abyss has been breached, you must fight as quickly as possible.”
I shook my head. We finished our training even though the world was not complete, because our mana was depleted and we both felt our limits. It would take more than mere effort to move forward from here.
“We need a real fight, and of course it would be best if we could use what we’ve learned to win, but—.
I chewed on my lower lip. I had failed in my quest to open up the world.
Even with a dragon, he could only reach a radius of about ten meters, so he suggested to Cain that he should focus his training on turning the world into a weapon.
Honestly, it was a nagging thought, but I think it stuck with Cain.
– Ohhh. I see there’s a way to do that.
– Yes?
Cain embraced my idea, calling it a stroke of genius.
It was painful to say the least, but collecting the images was easier than spreading them out, and I managed to land enough blows to make a dent in Cain’s world.
The night view was now half erased.
Cain, who was staring at my sideways face, burst out laughing.
“—Ronan. You are more like me than Kasha, after all.”
“If Kasha is—.”
“Your mother. Anyway, all of Kasha’s genes, except for her hair color, must have gone to Iril. If you had looked more like her, your life wouldn’t have turned out the way it did, and your face would have been as beautiful as a flower, and women wouldn’t have left you alone.”
“That sounds like a swear word.”
“It’s just the truth as it is. I may be pretending to be noble now, but in real life I’m stubborn, foul-mouthed, and unworthy of love, and every moment I spend with you I feel a shuddering sense of déjà vu.”
“Hmm. I guess so.”
I had to agree. I remember very little about my mother, but I knew she was a very sweet person.
If my mother had been anything like Cain in the first place, I would have grown up in Nimburton getting beaten up by my sister. By a sister with missing angel markers. By the fists of a daughter of the stars whose strength vastly exceeds mine. Ugh, I don’t want to think about it.
Cain said.
“But that’s why I like you. You’re a hero because you’re like me, after all, and heroes are supposed to have a big heart and an asshole side. I mean, look at Iril, he’s got talent to match yours, but he’s also got a pretty quiet life.”
“Well, I can’t imagine her in my place, she’s too nice.”
“That’s what they say. But not everyone is a hero because they have a bad personality and are good at what they do. I ended up failing, and you ended up succeeding. One small difference separated your fate from mine. Do you know what that is?”
“I don’t know.”
“Because you are a little bit like your mother. Except for those beautiful black hairs—you’re as sincere as Kasha, and that’s why you’ve never been betrayed.”
Suddenly, Cain stroked my hair. It was tangled and messy with sweat, but he didn’t mind.
“You are stronger than me because you truly seek to understand others. Take my words to heart.”
“Father?”
“I’ve talked too long, let’s get back to work, Iril will be waiting.”
Cain laughed. A widening rift centered on a yellowish-black stain filled his vision at once.
My eyes were as white as when I entered his world.
****
“Ah.”
The light faded. I opened my eyes. The ocean had disappeared everywhere. Beautiful oak trees stood behind me. Down the hill lay the familiar landscape of home.
The uninhabited Nimburton seemed to have fallen asleep. In the eastern sky, a dust storm was brewing.
“Can it be this time of day already—.”
I muttered to myself as the sun rose.
I thought it had been two or three hours at most, but it seemed like an entire night. Of course, it was a ridiculously short time considering what I got.
“——.”
Cain stood beside me, his eyes fixed on the eastern sky, saying nothing.
I was a little nervous about the closing remarks because they sounded like something you say before you die, but thankfully they were spot on.
I said, nudging him in the side with my elbow.
“Let’s go back.”
“Yes.”
Cain laughed. We were making our way down the hill in good spirits. Suddenly, a shadow leapt out from behind a tree. It was Ronan3. Before I could say anything to him.
“Hey, you son of a bitch!”
“Ugh.”
A fist came out of nowhere and caught me in the face. His head snapped back with a jolt of pain.
I stroked his cheek and looked back at him with a snort.
“—You’re crazy, you wanted to run around Nimburton naked?”
“That’s what I want to say. What the hell were you doing!”
He clenched my jaw with those words.
I wasn’t going to take it anymore. I reflexively grabbed Ronan3’s face and threw him to the ground.
Kwajak! His eyes rolled back in his head with the sound of a millstone crashing.
“Crikey—!”
“You crazy asshole, did you catch some weird mushrooms?”
Suddenly, I couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on. I was caught off guard by the unexpected development.
Suddenly, I heard a familiar cry next to me.
“Ugh, where did it go, do you know how long, how long I’ve been looking for it?”
“Hey, I’ll tell you what—this is what—.”
“You said you’d never disappear without telling me again—, you liar!”
His sister was crying, holding Cain in her arms.
Cain’s face went white from the sheer force of Sineward’s power.
I slapped my forehead as I realized what was happening. Too much time had passed to call it a brief outing.
“Oh. Shit.”
Hindsight is 20/20.
Ronan3 was wriggling in bubbles at my feet. Luckily, my sister wasn’t looking this way. Out of the corner of my eye, I picked him up and set him against an oak tree.
I wiped the foam from the corners of his mouth, and he looked like he was taking a nap, exhausted from his fruitless search.
“Forgive me. It is I.”
“Holy shit.”
Ronan3 is unconscious.
Cain was breathing heavily and begging for forgiveness.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Don’t cry because it’s all your fault. Okay?”
“Okay. No, I’m not crying—but I can’t let go of this.”
“Heh-heh-heh-heh.”
Cain let out a pained laugh. His face was turning dangerously pale, but I didn’t dare intervene. Because frankly, we were in the wrong.
Suddenly, a bright light shone over the hills.
“Huh?”
“This is—.”
All three of our heads (sorry, Ronan3) turned at the same time.
The sun was rising in the eastern sky. The fireball, obscured by the ridge, was slowly revealing its head.
Cain said, stroking his sister’s hair.
“Hee hee—look at that, Iril—whoops, it’s beautiful!”
“Waaaah—!”
His sister exclaimed. Cain breathed a sigh of relief, barely out of the chokehold.
It was definitely spectacular. The lack of clouds allowed me to fully see the changes happening in the world.
The world was regaining its colors as the sun’s form became more complete. It was similar to a sunset at first glance, but it was something else entirely.
Sunset takes away the world’s light, but sunrise gives it away. It pushes out the chill and brings in the warmth. Instead of lulling you to sleep, it wakes you up and gives you the strength to face the day as you play within yourself.
“Sunrise—.”
He stared, then muttered.
Before they knew it, the sun was rising over the ridge, bathing their faces in a golden glow.
An idea flashed through my mind.
“You know, Dad.”
“Why?”
“I think I’ve realized something.”
“Hmm?”
Cain smirked. Not quite sure what to say.
No wonder. It was an idea that came to me out of the blue, like the sunrise you’re watching.
“What is that? Do you think you can open up the world?”
“No, no. It’s not—.”
He paused for a moment.
“I think I’ve figured out a way to grab Akasha by the balls.”