After leaving the lake, they started on their path back to Karta. When Veronica discovered that Leon hadn’t scaled the treacherous cliff as she had but instead used an underground passage, she felt both deflated and indignant.
“If you just follow the straight path from the cave, you’ll reach Karta’s Grand Cathedral,” he explained matter-of-factly.
“That’s ridiculous!” Veronica exclaimed. “If I’d known about that path, I wouldn’t have gone through all that trouble. I told you about my struggles, didn’t I?”
“About nearly falling to your death from the cliff?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“And grabbing a branch with remarkable tenacity, pulling yourself up through sheer determination and strength?”
Leon, walking ahead, smoothly continued the story she’d already told three times. Veronica nodded vigorously, launching into the familiar tale once more. As they walked through the shadowy corridor, they exchanged everything that had happened during their separation—from her meeting with the First Bahamut to the cathedral’s collapse and Philip’s apology.
Looking back, everything seems miraculous, Veronica thought. When I left that place, I had prepared for the worst, never expecting to return alive like this…
“Oh,” she exclaimed suddenly.
“What is it?” Leon asked.
“I was harboring a tiny bit of resentment toward God for showing favoritism,” she admitted, “but perhaps this passage was provided as an easy way home for us after we’ve survived.”
Humans couldn’t completely understand God’s intentions, after all.
Leon made an appreciative sound before casting an amused smile over his shoulder.
“Even so,” he remarked, “I don’t see why you needed to go by way of that cliff at all.”
“Well… I suppose you’re right about that.”
After tilting her head in momentary confusion, she burst into laughter, wondering at her own unimpressive logic. Even the smallest things made her want to laugh and smile now. This long-awaited peace had filled her with an ease that overflowed at every turn.
Meanwhile, a faint light flickered ahead. They naturally quickened their pace until they emerged into a vast underground chamber. The crypt beneath the cathedral lay in silence, with golden rays filtering through the broken stairway entrance, seemingly empty of people.
They both stopped as if responding to an unspoken command—not because the knights who should have been standing guard were absent, but because the crimson letters inscribed in blood upon the apostle’s tomb had captured their attention.
Dimitte populum meum, ut sacrificet mihi in deserto
(Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.)
It was a passage from the Divine Text. Though it was just that one verse, neither doubted who had written it. It was clearly a message Philip had left when he departed for the wilderness.
Leon broke the silence first. “I’m amazed that he believed we would actually return here.”
“He probably trusted that at least one of us would find our way back,” Veronica reasoned, then frowned. “But something puzzles me. Those with holy power can’t survive in the wilderness, can they?”
“Who knows? Perhaps something changed while we were in the Blasen Mountains,” Leon answered with a thoughtful expression.
For Veronica, knowing their companions had survived was enough to comfort her soul. She looked around cautiously but found no signs of conflict.
“They must have left some time ago,” she observed. “The water has dried up.”
After checking the hastily dug pit meant for collecting groundwater, Veronica bounded up the crumbling staircase where golden light streamed through. As brightness washed over her, her heart swelled with an inexplicable emotion. Was it simply the joy of emerging into the open air after so long in darkness? Or perhaps some premonition of the future?
She cautiously poked her head through the rubble and surveyed the ruins of Karta. It appeared the survivors had chosen to establish a new city rather than rebuild the fallen one. Suddenly, a soft gasp escaped Veronica’s lips.
“Night Star!”
A horse that had been grazing between the cobblestones perked up its ears and turned toward her. The glossy black coat and star-bright eyes were unmistakable. It was their horse.
“Leon!” Veronica called excitedly. “Come up here quickly!”
Her heart racing with excitement, Veronica called over her shoulder before sprinting toward the horse standing calmly amid the ruins. Though other horses and stray dogs roamed the city searching for food, she had eyes only for Night Star. This was truly divine coincidence—no, it was destiny.
“Night Star, come with us one more time,” she said, trying to catch her breath. “I’ll buy you lots of delicious treats. I promise you won’t ever have to do anything difficult or painful anymore.”
“And where will you get the money for such luxuries?” Leon’s amused voice called from a distance.
Without turning around, Veronica replied with theatrical confidence, “That man will pay for everything. Just trust me.”
Leon approached and laughed dryly.
“You’ve become quite the con artist,” he teased.
“This is what business is all about,” she retorted brazenly, then stretched out her arms toward Leon. He lifted her onto Night Star’s back with practiced ease and gazed at her affectionately before mounting behind her.
“Bear with the discomfort for a while,” he said. “We need to reach civilization before we can get a saddle.”
“That’s fine,” she assured him, leaning against his chest. “If it gets too uncomfortable, we can just take a break. Which sea are we heading to?”
“We’ll go north,” he answered, stroking her flushed cheek. “Those regions suffered the least damage.”
“To Whiteland, then?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve never been there,” Veronica mused. “They say even the children there are as big as winter bears.”
Just then, she caught a mischievous glint in his eyes. She suddenly straightened and turned around.
You were about to make a comment about me being a child, weren’t you?” she accused.
“I haven’t said anything yet.”
“When we get a saddle, let’s buy a sword too.”
“That somehow sounds threatening when you say it like this.”
“Don’t be silly,” she chided. “It’s just that I never finished my training. When we reach a city being rebuilt…”
Their peaceful conversation was accompanied by the rhythmic sound of hoofbeats as Night Star carried them forward. The black horse leaped over the city’s debris and mysterious puddles. Broken bridges, toppled bell towers, and shattered fountains reflected in the water-filled trenches, but nowhere could they see the monsters that had destroyed the city. Instead, green shoots pushed through the soil between massive ribcages that resembled human form—new life emerging from destruction.