My body was slowly rising.
It was an absurd contradiction that wasn’t even funny.
The floating flesh had no sensations. It had been a long time since sight, hearing, and touch had been cut off. The same went for smell and taste.
It should have been normal not to perceive anything.
Yet, why was I feeling this sensation of floating?
The realization of this was natural. Just like a child taking its first steps, I noticed that my body was rising.
It was a sudden awareness.
The fuse of thought was pulled. A burning line of doubt awakened my mind one by one. The more that happened, the more I had to plunge into a strange sensation.
My body felt incredibly light.
I had fought against the Urjina Army. In the process, I had sustained injuries, and while they weren’t fatal, my body wasn’t full of vitality.
It was then that my vision brightened.
No, could I even describe it as brightening?
It was a space where only darkness existed. Without any light source, my sight was clear and sharp. This meant that physical laws were not being applied.
It was a scenery I had seen somewhere before.
Scenes being emitted from the cracks engraved here and there, and a chair located in the center. And the man silently turning his back.
As I suddenly sat up, the indifferent eyes of the man turned towards me.
His gaze was extremely weary.
Apart from that, he was a figure with features that mirrored mine so closely that it felt like looking into a mirror.
That was to be expected.
Because the man was “me.”
He had simply come to find me with some kind of purpose from a distant future.
The man spoke in his usual emotionless voice.
“Looks like you’re in a bit of trouble.”
It was a blatant mockery.
Yet, the tone was so flat that I couldn’t even get angry.
I sighed and slumped down in my spot.
“What happened?”
“My information here is limited. All I know is that you did something to lose your consciousness.”
As those words were spoken, the chair the man was sitting in spun around smoothly.
Without wheels, the change of direction was very fluid. I realized once again that this was a space where the laws of reality did not apply.
Could it be that I died?
In my last moments, the Urjina Army had told me that they wanted to return to the embrace of their kin.
I couldn’t know the outcome of that wish.
I hoped to avoid death, but seeing that I had opened my eyes here, it was clear that I had at least lost consciousness.
The man seemed to read my worried expression.
He, who had been watching me silently, uttered in a low voice.
“…You’re not dead.”
My eyes turned toward the man. He still seemed calm, but he was slightly avoiding my gaze.
As if annoyed by having to reassure me in this situation.
“If you were, I wouldn’t be here… And if you were completely out of it, you wouldn’t be able to see me. This place is the boundary between consciousness and unconsciousness.”
“The boundary between consciousness and unconsciousness?”
“Yes, to be precise, it’s a boundary of all things. The past and future, my world and your world, and consciousness and unconsciousness…”
It sounded somewhat complicated.
However, I instinctively felt that my body was gradually fading. This meant that I didn’t have much time left to stay here.
Perhaps it was because my wounds weren’t severe.
I didn’t want to miss this opportunity that had come to me after a long time.
“The Elves, the Elves believed in socializing! There was a traitor in the Yuridina Clan!”
I had to gather as much information as possible.
That man must have already known the answers.
“What on earth is happening in the Northern Region? What is the Dark Cult plotting…!”
“I can’t say.”
However, my request was swiftly rejected.
The man rested his chin on his hand with an indifferent expression.
“I told you, I can’t help you anymore… I already need to be cautious for a while, and now you come asking for more information?”
He wasn’t wrong.
But I knew.
Even if he didn’t convey information directly, making metaphors or speaking indirectly would reduce the “cost” of that power significantly.
So, I spoke once more.
“Many people have already died! The Urjina Army, the Elves… and I have killed too. But there are still no clues…”
“Child.”
That single word was thrown at me.
But the weight it carried wasn’t light. The gaze of the man looking down at me had become serious.
“I am not your guardian… I can’t help you every time or take care of you. You’ve already chosen a path different from mine. Therefore, the responsibility falls on you.”
Tap, the man’s remaining hand struck the armrest of the chair.
‘Responsibility,’ huh.
I felt short of breath at the weight of that word.
“Do you know why I can’t help you? You forcibly summoned me during that last incident and even pried into my memories without care. This is the result.”
Each word he spat out was blunt, but none of them didn’t stab at my heart.
In the end, I couldn’t refute him and had to bite my lip.
“The Elves you killed were the same, child… Does it hurt?”
Does it hurt?
It was unpleasant and sad. However, whether it could be called pain was ambiguous, and just as I was about to shake my head.
The man gestured towards me.
As soon as I looked where he was pointing, I had no choice but to close my mouth again.
“It must hurt.”
My hands were now soaked with blood.
It was a wonder I hadn’t noticed that fact until now.
“That’s responsibility. The guilt you have to carry for the rest of your life… Even if your affinity has increased and you pretend to be okay, you are still just a child. You don’t even know how to bear that responsibility.”
Then suddenly, a flame rose up to my throat.
‘Responsibility,’ huh?
How can you talk to me about responsibility?
I was just a mediocre student who was satisfied with my situation. I probably would have lived a life becoming a divine servant or enlisting in the central army after graduation.
Then one day, an unexpected letter flew into my life.
And since that day, my life changed completely.
I had experienced shattering bones and spitting blood many times.
Although I borrowed help from the future, it was I who had to endure that sharp pain.
There had been times when the fear of death and the burden that the world might end if I lost had left me unable to even breathe.
I did my best.
In just under a year’s short timeframe, I threw my whole body into it and had not collapsed, right? So why was I still just a “child”?
Unable to hold it in any longer, my mouth erupted with heat.
“Then what should I do now?!”
The man’s heavy gaze landed on me. As I faced his golden eyes, I spat out the feelings I had repressed.
“I’ve done my best too, I’ve been working hard to be in pain… But do I really have to suffer more than this? How am I supposed to do that?”
“You need to see the bottom.”
However, as always, the man’s answer was clear.
To the point of being disheartening.
“In pain and hardship? You think you’ve taken responsibility? No, no… You have simply chosen the option of less pain all this time. You were afraid that the people around you would get hurt and that the world might be destroyed because of you, right?”
“Does that lessen my pain?”
“No, I’m telling you to see the deeper bottom.”
At those words, the man slowly began to rise.
It was the first time since arriving in this space that he stood straight up.
And bending slightly at the knee, he met my gaze.
“Unlike you, there are countless lives that had no choices. They are neither strong nor lucky like you! Go see that… Otherwise, you won’t win against Delphrium.”
Just as I was about to ask what he meant by that.
Thud, my body sank through the ground.
The shattered bottom burst into shards. Falling endlessly, all I could see was the golden eyes looking down at me.
Falling, and falling.
I had no chance to scream. I had already been deprived of the freedom of my body.
I regained my body a few seconds later.
“…Huff!”
I gasped for air and struggled.
It felt like I was finally coming to my senses. My five senses returned, and the dry, cold air filled my lungs.
It was a shabby dwelling.
It looked like a warehouse, with patches all over indicating signs of wear. That meant it had been used for a long time.
Or perhaps it had just been poorly constructed from the beginning.
At least in the center, there was a primitive furnace made of stone and clay, so I was thankful. If not, I might have frozen to death in the north’s cold.
Swallowing a groan, I looked around a bit more.
No matter how I looked at it, the treatment I received was not good.
The fact that I had been bound and left in such a shabby warehouse was telling. Normally, I would have been made to rest warmly in a proper house.
But in my current situation, yes.
It would be more fitting to say I was trapped.
I was glad to be alive, but that didn’t stop my heart from feeling desolate.
A long sigh escaped my lips.
What other events awaited me now?
The only good thing was that I wasn’t alone. Beside me lay Abiyang, who looked just like I did.
From the sound of her raspy breathing, she still seemed unconscious.
Her complexion was slightly flushed. Speaking of which, Abiyang, unlike me, possessed a frail body. It was no wonder she might end up with a cold after being left in this cold.
I decided to wake Abiyang.
I crept toward her. And I whispered in the maiden’s ear.
“Abiyang, Abiyang! Wake up!”
Yet after calling for quite some time, Abiyang merely groaned and didn’t wake up.
I briefly considered freeing myself from my restraints.
Though it seemed they had put a decent effort into tying me, I was an expert. I could easily untie such ropes.
It seemed my body had gotten a bit recovered while unconscious.
However, the reason for my hesitation was that not freeing myself made it easier to avoid detection.
If necessary, I could attempt a surprise attack.
Just as I fell deep into that serious contemplation.
“Ugh, ugh… Bet, Betty….”
Abiyang suddenly let out a wistful sound.
It seemed to be someone’s name.
I thought it might be Abiyang’s only family, her younger sibling.
Though our species was different, I could understand that heart.
The image of someone rushing out, losing their mind when hearing the possible danger to their sibling, flashed before me.
As I held a wry smile, Abiyang finally stirred and opened her eyes.
Those wide-open eyes conveyed her emotions.
As she leaped up, trembling, she asked me.
“What, what, what happened…! What’s going on right now…?”
“I don’t know either.”
It was a calm confession.
Then Abiyang froze, looking around.
It was then she started showing an odd reaction.
At first, she was moving her head side to side in confusion, but soon questions began to form in her eyes.
And then, she narrowed her brows and started examining the furnace in the center with great attention.
I had no choice but to ask in a puzzled voice.
“What’s going on?”
“This, this place….”
Then Abiyang stammered and revealed a shocking truth to me.
“It’s an Elven village?”
An Elven village.
Was it that place that was said to be hidden deep in the Coniferous Forest?
Seeing the glow of excitement beginning to suffuse Abiyang’s face, I could only manage a wry smile.
We were truly in the heart of enemy territory.
And the one who had fallen with me was one of the Elves I had forced to surrender through violence and threats.
“Damn it.”
As always, a thorny path lay before me.
