Chapter 179 : Side Story 4
Side Story 4
Semerune, with her hand gripping the sword hilt, gazed at her twin sister.
There had never been any real reason for them to cross swords and fight.
However, her twin sister seemed full of dissatisfaction and continued to attack relentlessly.
"In the end, you got the result you wanted. Can't you stop at this point?"
"Yes. I was hoping things would end up like this. But... you haven't changed, sister. You always just look down on me, don't you?"
"Perhaps... I did, when we first met. That's because I considered you an enemy."
"And now you're just overlooking it because I seem like an ally? Did you ever even see me as family? Since I wasn't born human, is it fine to just treat me as a stranger?"
She poured out the words that had piled up inside her heart in rapid succession.
She knew well that these words were nothing but excuses.
However, she simply could not forgive that attitude—her resentment was too great.
"You and I, albeit belatedly, became human; now only our human forms remain. We are no longer bound by life, so what is making you so impatient?"
"So you're telling me I should wait for hundreds of years? In a place like this? Even if I mingle with humans, do you think that's possible?"
"Precisely because we're not human, we must do as we do. Haven't we already been liberated from life and death?"
"Maybe so. Even in the moment this world is destroyed, you and I won't disappear. We might end up adrift in the universe forever. But I... that's not what I want."
"......"
Semerune could faintly perceive her twin sister's emotions.
Those called companions had met death centuries ago.
Yet, she and her twin sister alone denied even oblivion and transcended the law of nature of the world.
"You know about him, don't you?"
"I do. I've already met him..."
"He never realized we were companions of his ancestor. Blood might be passed down, but memories do not mingle."
"That's true of all humans. Only you and I are exceptions."
"I was truly happy when I became human. Being able to feel emotions... and to move freely. Though nothing's really changed, I still can't die as a human would. So what am I supposed to think about as I live?"
She thrust her sword forward, but then reluctantly lowered it.
She thought her sister could endure whatever she did, but she didn't want to inflict wounds unnecessarily.
They had finally met after such a long wait—must she insist once more?
"Sister... be honest with me. What do you truly think of me? If you don't want me... I'll leave, even now."
She repeated her words slowly, her eyes filled with sorrow.
The fact that she had lived as a human at least allowed her to converse with her sister.
Thanks to that, she had broken free of the shackles of the past, but perhaps now, she might have formed different opinions.
"... Resia. I misunderstood you and wasted much time. I can't repeat the same mistake anymore."
Semerune put her sword in its sheath and slowly walked forward.
Her sister made no move, simply waiting for her twin to reveal her true feelings.
"Come with me. From now on, I will live for my little sister."
Semerune carefully reached out and then wrapped her arms around her sister.
Her sister flinched instinctively, belatedly letting the sword she'd been gripping fade away.
Then, buried deeply in her sister's embrace, she murmured in a small voice.
"I missed you, sister."
"Now only you and I remain. As family and companions, how could I ever abandon you? I merely sought to follow the law of nature."
"How was I supposed to wait, feeling so stifled...?"
"That's exactly why it's called the law of nature. By not straying from the proper course, loss is inevitable."
Semerune was aware that she had reached her final descent.
She had cooperated with the descendant of the origin to stop Lailnetia the Devouring and brought about the balance of the law of nature.
Now, if she left with her sister, all trace of the Lihines Knight Order would finally vanish.
"After the descent is over, we can never return to this world. Even so, will you come with me?"
"As long as I have you, that's all I need. I've been waiting for this moment all along."
"... Yes. At last, the Lihines Knight Order is disbanded."
Semerune's form began to gradually blur.
Her sister, too, scattered silvery fragments as she followed Semerune.
It had taken a long era, but at last, they reached a peaceful ending.
"My duty is finished, so now I shall rest. With you by my side, I won't be lonely. Resia..."
* * *
Alter entered the nearest village and quickly sought out an inn.
He wanted to first secure a comfortable place for his mother to rest.
If her condition improved, he would need to return to the capital at once.
"I entrusted it to Goddess Semerune... but is it okay to just leave things like that?"
"Hmm... That's not something to overlook. Shouldn't we discuss countermeasures even now?"
"You needn't worry. I'm sure everything turned out fine."
Uriel, having been listening, spoke up belatedly.
Alter, unsatisfied with that answer, couldn't help but ask again.
"They're probably still fighting, so how could it be resolved?"
"It's just a simple quarrel. There must have been much regret."
"She called Goddess Semerune her sister. If they're siblings, do they truly need to fight?"
"They think differently, so it's inevitable they'll clash. Things ended with only this much mess because they used unorthodox methods."
"If you call it an unorthodox method... does that relate to your survival?"
"Yes, senior. In exchange for saving me, we traded for Goddess Semerune's descent."
"So, unintentionally you were disguised."
"Yes, that was the only way I could both save Alter and survive myself."
Alter already understood Uriel's intentions and plans clearly.
Originally, she must have tried to reclaim the dragon's power that the Frost Witch had taken.
But it couldn't be done by one-sided action, so the curse was likely used as a medium.
"Then what will happen to Goddess Semerune and her sister?"
"They'll probably leave this world. They shouldn't exist in reality."
"That sounds self-contradictory. If so, why does her sister exist?"
"Up to now, she concealed her own existence. In a way... you could say she was sealed and now has been released."
"There are complicated premises, but if we approach it theoretically, it's not an impossible structure."
Alraune had already finished investigating Goddess Semerune as well.
Goddess Semerune had built a close relationship with the Lihines Knight Order, and there were too many doubts to dismiss her as mere myth.
Reasonably speculating, Goddess Semerune must have once been a human member of the Lihines Knight Order, then later elevated to a transcendent realm.
"To my eyes, you haven't aged at all. Is that because you were trapped inside?"
"My body was frozen with the ice attribute... so time hardly affected me. But I couldn't escape on my own."
"That's why you needed your son?"
"If he surpassed me, naturally he could undo my magic as well."
Megarexor silently nodded with approval, glancing sidewise at Alter.
Alter's ability had been proven by his feat, and even Megarexor himself could not hope to match him.
Indeed, as a mage, he had likely reached the summit.
"... If everything was resolved well, I won't ask more. But now I'd like to hear about your next plans."
"I must return to the northern territory. My husband will be waiting for me."
"I figured you'd say that. You should move after your body's recovered."
There were many things Alter wanted to ask Uriel, but he couldn't bring himself to voice them now.
That his mother could foresee the future, that he was a descendant of dragons, that she had concealed her own death—
Perhaps, if given the chance to talk with her alone later, he could finally ask for answers then.
'When I get to the capital, I'll have a little time, so I'll have to ask her then.'
* * *
Upon arriving at the house, Alter immediately introduced Uriel to Cadeon.
Cadeon, though flustered, treated her with courteous hospitality as a relative by marriage.
Uriel stayed at the Lailnetia duke's house for a while, gradually regaining her strength.
"We parted when you were just a baby, and already I am seeing a grandson."
"That shows how much time has passed. You were asleep for a long time, mother."
"Many years have indeed gone by. I should have awakened much sooner..."
Uriel, sunk in regret, sipped from her teacup.
Because she had tried to alter the future, she had to accept even this ending.
For only her own son could twist the fate of this world.
"Mother, I have something to ask."
"You must be curious. I don't even know where to start answering."
"Did I move according to your plan, mother?"
"Rather than that I planned everything... it's more that I guided things in that direction. Just making plans doesn't mean everything will happen as you wish, does it?"
"But didn't you even anticipate that I would be cursed by the Frost Witch?"
"For you to reclaim the dragon's power, a curse was necessary. It was a means to connect you with the Frost Witch. If it made you suffer... I am truly sorry."
Uriel briefly flinched and her eyes filled with tears.
To change the future, she had driven her child into peril.
No matter how great the cause or justification, her own wrongdoing could not be erased.
"Because I stepped forward, I was able to suppress the dragons. No doubt it was a sacrifice for the many. So I do not resent you, mother."
"For you to obtain the power of dragons was the only way... for you to carve out your own fate. Had you not intervened, this world would have neared destruction."
"Was that... also connected to my wife?"
"Your companion must receive salvation to reach the highest realm. Originally, radiance and the Celestial One always manifest from the will to protect someone precious."
"So you made such judgments after seeing the future?"
"The form the world's destruction takes isn't set. It changes every time, remaining tangled in my mind... so I had no choice but to pick the optimal outcome."
"I'm sorry but... I must ask this, too. Was even my birth part of your plan?"
Alter, after much hesitation, finally asked.
He didn't truly wish to discuss this now, but neither could he leave it buried forever.
If he didn't hear the truth from his mother, the question would linger for eternity.
"For you, I never had any plan. Only the fact that my own child would determine the fate of this world—that alone was given to me."
"But didn't you have to make plans to reach this very moment?"
"It was a journey to give birth to you. You are the end of the future, and the new beginning. All other plans were adjusted around you."
Uriel, explaining in a way that was difficult to follow, slowly recalled the past.
At the very least, she felt she should tell Alter about what she had experienced.
From birth he had borne the burdens of a mission, struggling to overcome this world's end.
"To start with... that's right. I first foresaw the future through the Book of All Things. That was the start of it all."
"What exactly is this Book of All Things?"
"It is the book that determines the fate of this world... and even of the universe. You were chosen by the Book of All Things."