The war had ended.
Even so, the world remained chaotic and difficult to control.
Luna hoped Ray would personally witness with his own eyes the changes brought about by his choices.
Ray intended to comply with Luna’s request.
However, first, he needed to understand what had transpired during his decade-long slumber.
Records of the ten-year war were archived in the Imperial Capital.
Though accessible only to a select few, Ray was freely granted access to these documents.
Zwick!
As Ray entered the secret archive of the palace, the figure of a young girl appeared before him.
This was an artificial intelligence created by Luna, based on the data of Aptel originally crafted by Resina.
The AI responsible for managing the palace was named Maze.
Ray scrutinized Maze’s face, wondering if it resembled anyone familiar, but her appearance was entirely alien to him.
Unable to place her features, Ray remained silent. Maze then inquired,
[How may I assist you?]
“Ah… there are records I wish to review…”
Ray sought to examine the records of the past ten years, and Maze complied by presenting him with the requested information.
Ray began reviewing the materials provided by Maze.
The records were stark and devoid of sentiment.
They simply documented events that occurred at various points in time, without bias or embellishment to favor the Empire.
Yet, for Ray, calmly perusing these records proved exceedingly difficult.
“…”
For ten years, countless battles had raged.
To halt the expansion of the Demonic Realm or resolve internal conflicts across the continent…
Innumerable skirmishes had taken place.
And within these records, Ray found Johanna’s name all too easily and frequently.
After Ray fell into a deep sleep, Johanna continued to throw herself into battle after battle without respite.
She moved from one battlefield to another ceaselessly, akin to self-inflicted abuse.
Delun tried to keep up with her, but even he couldn’t always accompany her.
Aware of the numerous achievements credited to Johanna, Ray sighed deeply as he read through the records.
“…”
His dampened eyes lingered as he continued reading.
Each battle claimed hundreds of lives; some civil wars resulted in the deaths of thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of civilians.
The numbers listed in the records failed to resonate with Ray as vivid realities.
Then, he came across information related to Speira.
“…”
Speira Prizzran.
Ray’s choice had turned her against him.
Speira wasn’t destined for such a path.
Blessed with brilliance and integrity, she was once considered a prodigy of the Empire, destined for greatness.
Her promising future had been warped due to Ray’s actions.
Ray could not deny his culpability in this.
Ironically, in Ray’s memory, Speira remained a beautiful and proud yet still somewhat naive young girl.
The disparity between this image and the darker path Speira had walked over the past decade filled Ray with indescribable despair.
With a twisted expression, Ray continued reading.
He then encountered records concerning Anthonyus.
“Someone I… failed to save…”
Once again, Ray murmured words he had spoken long ago.
Anthonyus.
A man Ray couldn’t rescue and ultimately chose to ignore.
Despite their differing personalities, Ray and Anthonyus shared a similar purpose in life.
At times, Ray struggled to suppress the sense of kinship he felt toward Anthonyus.
Ray wanted Bella to live a life worthy of respect.
Anthonyus wished for his sister to live peacefully.
In the end, Ray succeeded while Anthonyus failed.
Anthonyus devoted his remaining life to seeking vengeance against the celestial beings who had stolen everything from him—the ones he cherished most.
Through the records, Ray could sense Anthonyus’ profound hatred and relentless pursuit of justice.
“Revenge and… greater good…”
All that remained for Anthonyus was revenge.
Still, until his last breath, he upheld the concept of the greater good.
As a member of the Order, he knew advocating for the greater good was far more effective in leading people than focusing solely on personal vendettas.
If the greater good was defined merely by the happiness of the majority, then both Ray’s and Anthonyus’ choices were unforgivable sins.
But their choices severed the paradoxical and sacrificial cycle of the “Sacred Maiden,” bringing true freedom to mortals.
It fulfilled the impossible dream of Harshia, the idealist.
Could this miracle be called the greater good?
Were the countless deaths across the continent truly worth it as sacrifices?
“…”
Ray didn’t dare justify his choices under the banner of the greater good.
He refused to rationalize the catastrophic losses caused by his decisions as necessary sacrifices.
Yet history often wrapped his choices in the cloak of the greater good.
“…”
Ray rubbed his face.
His chest felt heavy.
Just plain heavy.
He didn’t know how much or what kind of penance was needed if required.
The unresolved issues and emotions he had avoided because death seemed inevitable weighed heavily on his heart.
But Ray knew better than anyone that staying stagnant was not an option, no matter how daunting it might seem.
First and foremost, Ray prioritized those he cared about—”his people.”
By focusing on healing their wounds and continuing to reflect, he could move forward.
Having roughly reviewed the records of the past ten years, Ray stood up from his seat.
Leaving the archive, Ray headed toward the location of his scheduled meeting.
Coincidentally, he encountered his appointment while walking down the corridor.
“…”
Stopping in his tracks, Ray turned his gaze toward Ulte.
Strangely, Ulte looked younger than Ray remembered.
As Ray stared blankly at Ulte, Ulte hesitated mid-greeting, blinking twice.
Realizing something, Ray refrained from cursing Ulte, remembering the latter’s extensive involvement in the war, and opted for patience, choosing instead to greet politely.
“It’s been a while.”
“Don’t make that bug-eaten face. Why don’t you just curse me?”
“Haha, it’s fine. It’s not like I didn’t know you were trouble from the start.”
“Do I really look that bad?” Ray chuckled while lightly tapping Ulte’s shoulder.
Ulte’s shoulder shook slightly, causing Resina, perched atop it, to sway.
Unable to contain her irritation any longer, Resina kicked out violently, striking Ray’s jaw and sending him tumbling backward.
Thud!
“Guh…!”
Even though it was a light kick, without his core mana, Ray couldn’t avoid it.
Ulte quickly caught Ray before he hit the ground and smirked.
“You’re sluggish. You need to be careful while your body recovers.”
“Yeah… you’re right.”
Groaning softly, Ray massaged his numb jaw.
He kept forgetting his body wasn’t the same as before since regaining consciousness.
As the pain subsided, Ray glanced alternately at Ulte and Resina, reopening the conversation.
“Well, it’s fortunate to see both of you safe.”
“We’ve been lucky.”
Ulte replied sincerely.
Nodding, Ray asked Resina,
“When do you expect the purification of the tainted lands to be completed?”
“Ten years at the shortest, thirty at the longest.”
Even though the demonic energy was gone, the soil needed purification before humans could inhabit it.
The World Tree had expended tremendous power during the Great War, limiting its purification speed.
Nevertheless, thirty years wasn’t an overly long time.
The entire continent would definitely be purified within thirty years.
Ray paused, about to express relief, but hesitated.
“Ahh, it’s fortunate… very fortunate…”
Lost in thought for a moment, Ray asked Resina,
“So… afterward… when the purification is complete, will the elves’ territory expand?”
Now that the World Tree could paint the land in its color without interference from other transcendental beings, perhaps…
The entire continent might transform into an elven domain.
Though this change wasn’t necessarily bad, it could drastically reduce the space available for humans.
While Ray briefly voiced his concerns or doubts, Resina shook her head.
“After the purification of the continent, Mother’s influence will gradually fade.”
“…Fade?”
“Ultimately, Mother will arrange the foundations for life on this continent and erase Her presence.”
“…”
“The elves too… will slowly assimilate with humans, moving away from Mother’s blessings. It will take a long time, but…”
“…”
Ray couldn’t easily comprehend why the World Tree had chosen such a future.
The World Tree harbored a strong affection for this land, almost bordering on possessiveness.
Since the World Tree gave birth to life on this land, such possessiveness could be deemed justified.
Having previously interacted with the World Tree, Ray was well aware of this desire.
Thus, when Ray expressed his confusion, Resina offered a slightly bittersweet smile before explaining,
“They say it was part of the ‘contract.'”
Limiting influence.
And the independence of this world.
That was…
The contract between the World Tree and Luna.
The World Tree chose to let go of the world it nurtured.
This was the World Tree’s resolution to save the world.
Ray couldn’t fully grasp Resina’s explanation.
But Resina didn’t elaborate further.
With his thoughts becoming increasingly complex, Ray posed a few more questions to Ulte and Resina.
Ulte answered each question until he suddenly glanced toward the end of the corridor.
At the corridor’s end, Ellie and Kania peeked out cautiously.
Upon realizing they’d been spotted by Ulte, Ellie gasped and whispered to Kania,
“Dad is with a dangerous uncle.”
Hearing Ellie’s words, Kania muttered seriously,
“Should we warn Dad to be careful around dangerous uncles?”
Both Ellie and Kania whispered loudly enough for Ulte and Ray to hear them clearly.
Annoyed by the now-permanent title of “dangerous uncle,” Ulte scowled.
Seeing this, Ray couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Haha…!”
After waking from his long slumber, Ray found it hard to laugh easily.
His heart was too heavy to hold joy.
Burdened by guilt and myriad emotions, Ray felt weighed down.
Though he was overjoyed to reunite with his precious companions, their presence also reminded him of the immense guilt he carried toward them.
Still, his daughters managed to bring a genuine smile to his face.
The two girls, who had grown so much without him noticing, were like salvation to him.
Walking down the corridor, Ray picked up Ellie and Kania, lifting them high as he grinned broadly.
“Instead of calling him a dangerous uncle, call him a dangerous pervert uncle.”
Ulte grabbed Ray by the collar.
