That day, Celin was trapped in the secret room, just like any other day.
It was a life no different from that of a caterpillar. Curled up and waiting for time to pass, motionless.
Even the fact that she was buried underground felt the same. It was truly a state that had lost even her dignity as a human.
Yet, Celin never once voiced her complaints.
No, on the contrary, she was even finding comfort in this boring routine. A bug-like human continues a bug-like life. How could she find dissatisfaction in such a valid proposition?
Celin’s heart had become so weathered.
In the sunlight-starved prison, her senses were gradually dulling, and lately, even this solace had not come. For a girl in such miserable circumstances, there was only one being who would dare to speak.
“You look lonely.”
It was an enchanting voice.
There was no emotion felt in her flat tone. It was as if she simply stated an honest impression, and the honest tone was crisp without any lingering feelings.
Was it a whisper she had always heard?
So much so that Celin hesitated in her judgment and almost put her hands over her ears.
Her startled amber eyes faced forward, reacting excessively to the unfamiliar sound, reminiscent of a creature living underground.
Now, the presence of another in her room felt utterly alien.
It had been a long time since I-an had left; who on earth was this person?
It didn’t take long for such thoughts to halt.
“Hello, Celin Haster.”
In the darkness, blood-red eyes were shining vividly.
Even the brightest jewel could hardly produce such radiant light. Her flawless skin and sharp features could compel admiration from any age or gender.
Above all, the precarious atmosphere.
Clear yet chilly. The woman’s voice left such contrasting impressions.
The scarlet eyes were so transparent that their depths did not even show. What was the implication in her gaze directed at Celin along with her brief greeting?
Kindness? Hostility?
Or simply curiosity?
Celin felt as if she could be bewitched at any moment. She found the woman before her so attractive that it frightened her even more.
It was the end.
If she were to fall for this woman, it would be the end. A sharp intuition pierced through Celin’s spine, insisting she could never escape.
Like a scorching iron skewer, intensely.
So Celin squeezed out a question.
“W-who are you?”
The fumbling tone trembled faintly. Her eyes, a mix of bewilderment and fear, glistened above her blood-colored pupils.
The woman faced with the question had deep patience. Instead of answering, she waited for Celin to collect her thoughts and ask a proper question.
“How did you get in? Are you an illusion? Like that damn woman who always torments me…”
“An illusion.”
As if confronted with a significant issue, the woman placed her finger on her lips.
Even that small gesture was extraordinarily captivating. The woman tapped her lips a few times before a hazy smile spread across her face.
With a flourish of her eyes, she added, “If it’s an illusion, then it is; and if it’s not, then it isn’t — just like the heavenly deity you all believe in.”
‘Deity,’ she said.
Such an arrogant and grandiose expression made Celin want to burst into laughter. However, strangely, that amused chuckle didn’t escape her lips.
Was it so absurd that even derision couldn’t surface?
No.
Celin perhaps thought there was some validity to her words. After all, her piety wasn’t particularly deep.
The woman still spoke with an undisturbed expression.
“If you think of it as an illusion, it’s not there; if you believe it exists, then it does… So I am everywhere and nowhere at the same time.”
It sounded like sheer nonsense.
While pretending to answer Celin’s question, the woman revealed nothing of her identity. Celin did not have the luxury to engage in such riddles.
She merely threw a question filled with hostility.
“So who exactly are you?”
“You don’t need to rush. You’ll find out soon enough….”
As she spoke, the woman moved her delicate hands toward the chains connecting to Celin’s arms and legs.
The chains were long enough to allow for comfort as per I-an’s request. At least, Celin didn’t feel discomfort in her day-to-day activities.
It was partly due to the fact that Celin spent most of her time curled up.
But the strength of the chains was real.
Celin had already been controlled by the Dark Cult before. It would not do to leave a hazardous element unattended in the midst of the Academy, and thus, the durability of the restraining device binding Celin in that prison was beyond imagination.
Rumor had it that even magical power could not properly penetrate it.
So Celin swallowed her laughter and attempted to respond.
“Stop it; it’s not the kind that can be broken by brute force…”
Just then.
With a sudden snap, Celin’s wrist regained its freedom.
The startled girl’s gaze turned toward her wrist. She hadn’t even seen how it was done; the metal that had encircled her wrist was now in two pieces, rolling on the ground.
This couldn’t be happening.
It was said to be among the highest quality of restraining devices used by the Empire’s Intelligence Department. Even a Master was supposed to struggle for several seconds to remove it.
As the stunned girl pondered the past, a captivating voice brushed against her ear.
“…Do you believe in miracles?”
That single phrase was the signal.
Celin felt a chill run through her entire body. She had thought it was merely an illusion, but this woman was not.
She had a physical presence.
The realization began to tighten around Celin’s heart, filling her with an anxiety she couldn’t quite understand.
The girl’s eyes wandered aimlessly in the void. As her stiff body was about to give way, Celin’s lips quivered and let out a faint groan.
“What do you…?”
“I’ve heard about you for a long time, Celin Haster.”
As she gradually raised her body, the woman spoke. Standing with her arms behind her back, her eyes drew a faint arc.
At first glance, she appeared gentle. That was, until one met the gaze that looked down on everything.
“You have been forsaken by the world, abandoned by fate… and now, you will also be forsaken by the man you loved.”
“…Shut up.”
A single phrase was filled with the surge of hostility.
But within it, there was a hint of hesitation that couldn’t be erased. As the woman looked down on Celin, she immediately shifted her gaze out the window.
In a prison where not even light could properly seep in, the girl was left all alone.
What sentiments the woman held before this tragic sight were unknown. Celin could only muster all her strength to utter words of denial.
“What do you know? I-an is not someone who would ever do that to me! He would never abandon me…!”
“Did I ask who you were?”
Like greeting an old friend in the morning.
The woman returned the question in a flat tone, causing Celin to falter in her words.
The lips that had formed a gentle smile parted slightly.
“The only person who loves you.”
Before Celin could retort with a rebuttal.
Kneeling again, the woman gently cupped Celin’s cheek, treating it as if it were a delicate artifact.
“I love all those whom the heavenly deity does not.”
That was the end.
Celin’s vision suddenly shook violently, and soon the sounds of disorder began to resonate.
Memories long buried were surfacing.
Dalton from Alphenhausen, her fallen father, and the gold mine.
Just before consciousness faded away, a whisper drifted to her ears.
“Have sweet dreams.”
It would not take long for the truth of that lie to be revealed.
From that day on, Celin was tormented by endless nightmares.
Dreams of being forsaken by the whole world.
Yet, Celin endured, grit her teeth, and her eyes bloodshot.
The reason she could carry on was solely this.
Because she no longer wanted to burden I-an.
No, more than that, because she believed in I-an.
One day, the nightmares tormenting Celin began to fade. When she woke up gasping, it often happened that the woman’s gaze was directed toward a distant place.
Celin instinctively realized the reasoning behind it.
The scent of blood was in the wind.
All stories were flowing toward an end. Just like rivers merging into the sea.
A decisive battle was approaching.
That morning was rather chaotic.
The wind blowing was such, and the birds chirping contributed to the commotion. As we shared these sentiments, the girl next to me let out a long yawn.
At last, her indifferent gaze turned towards me. Rubbing her eyes, she looked rather exhausted.
“Are you an idiot? Why has the world, which was just fine, suddenly turned chaotic? The chaos, surely, is only in your mind.”
It was unexpectedly an erudite response.
After briefly pursing my lips, I had to concede defeat. Indeed, the weight of experience cannot be overlooked.
The girl standing beside me was named Elsi Rainelle.
However, she was not the ‘Senior Elsi’ I once knew, but rather a being from a future many years ahead.
In fact, it wasn’t even the ‘future’ anymore. The timeline had become so twisted that the ‘future’ she lived in had no chance of coming to pass.
Nevertheless, she was a woman who had lived a few years more than I had.
Sometimes she offered unexpected advice, just like she was now.
I couldn’t help but exhale a small sound of admiration.
“That sounds plausible now that you mention it. So that’s why you couldn’t sleep.”
“…What?”
Senior Elsi shot me a sharp look, as if questioning what I meant. Her bloodshot eyes, a result of sleeplessness, gave off an even fiercer vibe.
But I wasn’t about to be defeated this easily.
“Didn’t you achieve that long-awaited reunion? Yet you got turned down by your first love — it must be weighing heavily on your heart…”
Finally, Senior Elsi had no choice but to let out a string of curses.
