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Chapter 65
“Shall I hold it, Lia?”
“No, I’ll hold it.”
One hand on the urn, the other on the hammer—how was she supposed to hold it that way?
I went back down the stairs and sealed the bubble gun in its box. I didn’t want to take it out again until we left this place. Even though it was disposable.
After I put the box away with my aching arm, Xien came over to help. With his help, I finished organizing the box and then turned to him.
More importantly…
“Xien, what are you going to do now?”
“Do what?”
Pretending not to know.
“Don’t you want to share a conversation with the previous Archmage whose remains are in that urn?”
Xien lowered his eyes and gave a troubled smile.
“Hmm, well, I don’t have anything I want to say to them…”
“Really?”
I stared at him silently for a moment, then set Rapo down. I could hear Rapo grumbling in dissatisfaction as if just waking up, but I ignored it, snatched the urn and hammer from Xien, and said:
“Follow me, Xien.”
I moved a little away from the entrance.
Did we sit down?
Under the damp wood, far from the zombie cries, we sat cross-legged.
“Lia?”
“From now on, I’m going to strike this urn.”
“Excuse me?”
“Then the consciousness inside will wake up if it feels threatened, right?”
Xien, standing a little back, blinked nervously. I raised the hammer high with both hands, deliberately showing him.
“If you don’t want this, stop me now.”
Xien took a hesitant step forward.
“Lia, I really don’t have anything I want to say.”
“If you say things you don’t mean with that regret-filled expression, you’d fool anyone.”
Xien’s mouth opened and closed once, speechless, before he finally said:
“…There must be a reason why they left the ritual. Surely it was to wake up at the end of the world and witness the last moments?”
He seemed desperate to avoid the conversation.
I glanced at him.
‘Honestly, I didn’t plan to get this involved…’
“I don’t really know about that stuff. Mana, ritual bonds, I’m clueless. But one thing I’m sure of—if a soul has regrets in this world, it can’t leave.”
“…Regrets?”
“I’m sure those regrets belong to you, Xien.”
Yes, I’m certain.
[ Come find me on a bright day. I’ll be waiting. ]
That person wasn’t waiting for me.
“Alright, shall I strike it? If you want to stop me, do it now.”
I slowly lowered the hammer, enduring the pain in my injured arm. Xien’s hand twitched as he watched, but he didn’t make any move to stop me.
‘See? You want to meet them too.’
I reassured myself silently and slammed the hammer down onto the urn. I felt resistance just before impact, and the hammer bounced back.
‘Luckily, it didn’t break.’
It was clearly an urn designed to protect against external shocks.
I crawled over, picked up the hammer I had missed, and returned to the urn.
[ You’re aggressive. Too aggressive. ]
Then, as if waiting for this, the previous Archmage’s voice hummed inside the urn.
“Is there any other way to wake you? You said it has to feel threatened.”
Ha!
‘Right, that’s true,’ a hearty laugh echoed.
Xien stood stiffly beside me, his nervous gaze fixed on the urn.
“Come here.”
I grabbed his wrist and sat him down beside me.
Unlike me, he awkwardly planted his knees, glancing at the urn once, then at me.
Then, naturally, he held my hand that was holding his wrist. His fingertips trembled slightly against the back of my hand.
“Do you have something to say? I’ll relay it.”
Xien hesitated, his lips opening and closing several times before he finally said:
“Please ask what happened that day we went to the temple.”
After I conveyed his words, the previous Archmage—Ashtalt—remained silent for a long moment.
[ …That’s your first question? ]
Ashtalt sighed deeply and remained quiet.
When I relayed Ashtalt’s words to Xien, the atmosphere grew heavier.
[ Fate will come for you soon. When it does, live the path you choose yourself. ]
“That’s what he said.”
After hearing it, Xien reacted calmly, as if hiding something. Unlike how he was with me, he appeared cold and mature, which was strangely unfamiliar.
Then Ashtalt drew a line, saying he no longer wanted to continue this conversation.
Xien glared at the urn in dissatisfaction. Amid the cold, tense exchange, a sudden sigh-like voice reached me.
[ It’s reassuring that you’re by that child’s side. ]
Why speak like a satisfied father-in-law approving a son-in-law?
I tilted my head, and then:
[ You’ll want to run from fate, but overcome it. I’ll always watch over you. ]
Ashtalt added, saying his mana was running out:
[ That twisted child in the other world… I left the ritual hoping they’d call me father in the end… but in the end, they leave without doing so. They used to call me properly when they were little. ]
Anyway, what a hopeless son.
The sigh-like whisper carried deep affection and concern.
Just as I was about to relay this to Xien, he finally spoke, voice trembling with a fragile smile:
“Father.”
As if waiting for this, Ashtalt’s voice responded:
[ My son. ]
Simultaneously, the urn shone brightly, fading like a vision.
Xien blinked in surprise, then calmly asked:
“What did father say in the end?”
“That….”
I missed the moment, biting my lip, unable to relay it.
I’m the type to act indifferent during emotional moments, quietly crying later, so my throat had choked at the crucial timing.
‘We should’ve relayed each other’s words faster…’
I worried Ashtalt didn’t hear Xien’s last words.
‘Ugh…’
I quietly sniffled and finally conveyed Ashtalt’s last words.
Xien’s surprised face slowly lifted, his gaze softly following the fading light.
“Listen before it’s gone,” he murmured.
His quiet words tugged at my heart, and I could only watch the light disappear without offering comfort.
When not a speck remained, I finally spoke:
“That person surely loved you, Xien.”
“Do you really think so?”
Xien looked at me with a fragile, faint smile.
“To them, I was just a talented child among those they adopted.”
Cliché reassurances about every parent loving their child wouldn’t help, so I told the truth.
“They were the kind to bow their head for you, Xien.”
Xien blinked, asking what I meant.
I remembered Xien’s first encounter with the Crown Prince.
The previous Archmage, after audience with the Emperor, found Xien soaked in a lake and learned the full story.
Instead of punishing him, the Archmage sent Xien back and personally apologized to the Crown Prince, admitting his failure in raising a poor child.
At the time, the Archmage’s influence was so great that a mage bowing to a powerless Crown Prince was unthinkable.
Moreover, in this world, heirs, punishment for biological children, or even adopting children to be beaten in place of the biological one was common.
Thus, an adoptive parent bowing for their ward was extremely rare.
It was so shocking among nobles that rumors spread of the adopted prodigy being favored by the Archmage.
This quieted several of Ashtalt’s former students who had considered Xien a nuisance.
Xien, who had little interest in people and stayed mostly in the tower, didn’t know.
When I told him this, Xien’s eyes flickered in confusion.
“I heard this as a child, but just that was enough. I realized how loved Xien really was.”
I smiled faintly at his wavering violet eyes.
“Being the only one isn’t what makes love true.”
“….”
Xien bit his slightly trembling lips and frowned, then closed his eyes tightly, his lashes trembling.
“I see… love isn’t only about being the only one.”
His trembling voice was wet with emotion.
He opened his eyes, looking lighter, and gave a fulfilled smile with no trace of resentment.
The usually precarious look in his eyes seemed firmer than ever.
“Lia.”
“I’m listening.”
I met his gaze directly.
“After my father left, I had no regrets about life.”
I knew. That’s why, now that the previous Archmage’s ritual has disappeared, I’m slightly worried about you.
Perhaps he sensed my thoughts.
Xien gently cupped my cheek with a soft smile.
“But I will live on.”
“….”
“I’ll cherish myself, protected by you, Lia.”
Xien’s violet eyes curved beautifully as he smiled.
“…Then someday, I’ll meet someone who loves me besides my father?”
“Of course.”
Who would dislike someone capable, attractive, wealthy, temperamental, spoiled, headstrong, but still charming?
Thinking back, I may have only listed his flaws, but Xien was already loved enough in the empire.
Sure, satisfying his twisted affection might be difficult…
I smiled faintly, giving a confident smile.
“You’ll definitely meet someone.”
I sincerely hoped that Xien’s life would be fulfilling and never feel emptiness.
