kscans

Chapter 394 - At the End of a Long Slumber

I loved soaring through the sky.

—Your name is Alv.

I loved watching the clouds drift by.

—The wish I entrust is 'freedom,' the power I bestow is 'boundaries.'

From high above, I looked down upon the earth.

—O, white guardian, who can be dyed by anything, yet is dyed by nothing.

I loved watching life sprout and thrive.

And more than anything,

—Please, protect this world.

Her precious voice, striking my ears.

—Our utopia, which that person loved.

The soft, warm hand that stroked my snout.

—I, too, will watch over you all for eternity.

Her smile, full of affection, was what I loved more than anything in the world.

◇◆◇◆◇

—…… ——————…… ————————…… ——————————……

"—"

The 'lightning' I unleashed pierced the 'dragon,' and the world was enveloped in a pure white light—When I opened my eyes, I was sitting on the ground.

I felt like I had seen something.

I felt like I had heard something. But… I didn't know, I couldn't remember. My 'memory' talent, which was supposed to prevent me from forgetting things in this virtual world, wasn't working.

Was it my imagination? Feeling as if I'd been bewitched by a fox, I tried to look around… but my body was too heavy and wouldn't obey.

Instead, as I shifted, I noticed. Right beside me, sitting back-to-back, were Sora and Iris.

My gaze met a pair of amber eyes, blinking dazedly just like mine.

"…Um… did you, uh, see or hear anything?"

"I did…?"

"…?"

But Sora's response was one of, "I don't even understand the question." Iris, who had been listening beside her, tilted her head in agreement.

…Okay, I have no idea what's going on, but I'll just chalk it up to a waking dream (?).

Now then, it's time to face reality.

After the battle with the white dragon, the three of us were sent back to the spot right in front of the 'white' one.

It wasn't the white dragon that was likely its true form, nor was it the separated form that the 'red' one had been involved with—it was the form of the 'White Throne' we had encountered at the very beginning.

A bizarre, almost blasphemous figure.

But, I wonder why. The figure, lying powerless on its side in the center of the great basin as always… now, in my eyes, it looked like a sorrowful thing.

"…"

In a world that had fallen completely silent, I naturally held my tongue. Forcing my avatar, which could now move just a little, I slowly surveyed my surroundings.

Everyone was here.

If my 'memory' was correct, even those who should have been eliminated were present. Each of them stood frozen, as if they had been suddenly plucked from the midst of a fierce battle.

Everyone, their eyes captivated by a single sight.

The great crimson hole, the scars of the fierce battle that had shattered and gouged the earth… all of it had vanished, and the 'white' one's bed had regained its silence.

Sunlight pierced through a break in the clouds and poured down upon Tsarkalv of the White Throne—the white pillar in the center.

『—』

As if seeping out of the void, a red deer appeared beside the white dragon and spoke to it with a strange cry that resembled the sound of the wind.

The unmoving dragon did not answer.

Its massive body, once formed by crimson clouds, was nowhere to be seen. The deer, so small in comparison to the dragon, walked closer.

The unseen dragon did not respond.

And then, at the very end.

The red deer, as one would to a close friend or a beloved, gently nuzzled its body against the cheek of the prostrate white dragon—and vanished, as if it had never existed in the first place.

And then, at the very end.

『—』

The dragon that had answered raised its body slightly, as if gazing up at the sky—and with a beautiful cry that echoed to the heavens, it became scattered motes of light.

And vanished, as if it had never existed in the first place.

I didn't understand anything. My comprehension failed me—but,

Without words, in the shadow of our back-to-back forms, my hands were held by someone, and someone else…

"…Heh, what is this."

In my confusion, I became aware of my avatar shedding tears against my will.

And to hide it, I just laughed.

—And then, the sound of a bell echoed throughout the world.

◇ The subjugation of [Tsarkalv of the White Throne] has been completed ◇

◇ The Warp Gate system has been updated ◇

◇ The Transfigure System Alpha has been unlocked ◇

◇ The funeral for [Rieltaheria of the Red Circle] has been completed ◇

◇ The World Phase will now shift ◇

◇ The funeral for [Tsarkalv of the White Throne] has been completed ◇

◇ The World Phase will now shift ◇

◇ The World Event System has been unlocked ◇

◇ Countdown to the liberation of [Starry Paradise] has begun ◇

07(days) : 10(hours) : 36(minutes) : 15(seconds)