A flood of memories surged forth.
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As recollections of his past self becoming an unholy creature surfaced, Vera fell to his knees.
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‘This is…’
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The twisted memories were engraved once more.
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The missing moments of his past reconnected into their proper forms.
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The moment he became the ruler of the slums, and the moment he first met Renee there.
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And when he met her again, as the subordinates of the one called the Demon King were ravaging this land.
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- Would you mind granting that one-time favor now?
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Even her smile at that time.
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“Ugh…”
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Vera pressed his hand against his head.
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He thrashed about to calm his out-of-control breaths.
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And so, he faced it.
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- Do you love me?
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The whispered words in the night, with moonlight pouring through the window.
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The sensation of a hand reaching out to gently caress his cheek.
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- I may commit a cruel act. You will come to resent me.
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Those were words of warning.
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His past self answered.
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- No matter what.
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Their lips met.
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The memories continued onto Lake Granice.
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- This is where it will end. Our final battle.
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- When everything is over, will we go back?
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- Do you not wish to?
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- Well…
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His chest ached.
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Because she smiled so wistfully. Because he couldn’t understand her reasoning at all.
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She was a woman shrouded in secrets.
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Even until the very end.
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- I’m sorry…
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With that cryptic apology, the memories ceased.
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What arose was a feeling of sinking into a swamp.
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When he opened his eyes, he was with her in the slums, having forgotten her.
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Vera composed himself, breathing raggedly.
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Warm tears streamed down his cheeks, his eyes widening as if heartbroken.
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‘These memories…’
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These were the real memories he had forgotten.
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Of meeting her, falling in love, and their parting.
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‘...Why?’
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Why did things happen this way?
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Why did the past Renee seal away his memories and bring about such an ending?
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What was she aiming for?
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He was confused.
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Resentment lay in the direction his uncontrollable emotions pulled him, yet love also waited at the end. Unsure of what to make of himself, Vera felt lost.
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In that moment.
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[Come.]
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The voice called out once more.
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Vera raised his head.
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He stared again towards the origin of the voice within the mist-shrouded world.
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[Come.]
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He rose to his feet, walked forward unsteadily, and then shouted.
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“Who are you?!”
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He asked the voice that had led him here, that had revealed this truth.
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The voice answered.
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[Come.]
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Vera gritted his teeth.
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As he did that, he increased the strength of his steps, steadied himself, and broke out into a run.
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He stabilized his scattered thoughts and ceaselessly deduced who the voice belonged to.
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Judging from the unveiled memories, he became the Tenth.
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The Renee from his previous life had sealed him with the Crown of Rebirth.
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She seemed to have gone through multiple lives.
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Connecting the dots, Vera deduced the identity of the one who had pulled him into this space the moment he stabbed Alaysia’s heart.
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The running stopped.
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His hurried footsteps soon froze in place.
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Breathing heavily, he stared at the one who still only existed as a silhouette.
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And then, he said.
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“Ardain…”
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The mist cleared.
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A world of pure white unfolded.
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At the center, still a silhouette, was him.
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[...So, we meet like this.]
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Only then did Vera realize.
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“You are…”
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The reason he existed merely as a silhouette in his vision.
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It was for no other reason.
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The very reason was he had no set form.
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[Surely, you already know.]
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He smiled.
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Or rather, it felt like he smiled.
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Even in this clear world, he still only existed as a silhouette, so Vera could not discern his expression accurately.
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At times, a young man, other times, a young woman.
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Sometimes an elder, sometimes a child.
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Occasionally, a middle-aged man.
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He was both good and evil.
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Unable to grasp his essence, Vera could only think of the word ‘human’ to encapsulate him.
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He approached, standing before him indistinctly as an afterimage.
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[You are…]
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Despite being unable to make out anything, Vera sensed that Ardain was smiling at him.
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[...the sacrifice of this era.]
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Even though he said it with a smile, those words felt only bittersweet to Vera, who questioned back.
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“...What do you mean by sacrifice?”
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The unresolved emotions ignited a flame in Vera’s eyes.
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The ashen eyes that had been reduced to nothing but embers just moments ago were relit with his emotions as fuel once more.
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Ardain responded.
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[Just as it sounds.]
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Ardain turned around.
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[Follow me.]
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He started walking.
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Crackle—!
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The light took form.
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With widened eyes, Vera beheld the unveiled scene in his eyes.
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“This is…”
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[The beginning of this land.]
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What was revealed was a vast meadow.
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Ardain replied quietly and kept walking.
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Vera clenched his teeth and followed behind.
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Ardain then turned to Vera and continued speaking.
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[On the Day of Beginning, we received a revelation.]
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Situated over the meadow were the nine Ancient Species.
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At the end of where they bowed their heads was a tranquil pond.
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Vera recognized it as well.
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‘...This is where Elia is.’
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It was the Pond of Revelation at the heart of Elia.
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They were in there.
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[Born as farmers to cultivate this land, we simply followed that revelation.]
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Hearing those words, Vera observed the unfolding scene.
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Terdan pushed the land, shaping the mountains.
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Locrion soared upwards, forming the sky.
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Nartania formed the shadows, and Gorgan the seas.
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[Just be free.]
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As Ardain spoke those words and waved his hand, a fully formed world spun in Vera’s vision.
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[Following the revelation, we created a world that cherishes freedom above all else.]
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The land of spring, where life began. There, Ardain stroked Alaysia by Aedrin’s side, who had taken root here.
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[That was the beginning.]
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Vera thought.
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The emotion laced in his voice is infinitely closer to regret.
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However, what Vera wondered about was not the beginning of this land.
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“What I’m asking about is the meaning of sacrifice.”
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[It’s not so different from the story.]