REFDL 59

A week had passed since we got trapped in the cavern.

Every escape attempt I’d tried had failed. In the end, I even tried transforming into a dragon to dig through the earth, but before a day had passed, the tunnel had restored itself, and I reverted back to human form.

I scratched my chest again, but the artifact didn’t activate. I grew serious. I vaguely sensed some immense power or presence entangled within this space, but…

I have no idea what it wants.

…It couldn’t possibly want me to stay here and raise Kaelus for the rest of my life?

“……”

It sent a chill down my spine.

It felt even more real because I thought it was possible. Like an emotional contagion, I’d occasionally feel this inexplicable peace.

Smile!

I was still serious, but Kaelus remained cheerful.

He hugged me from behind, gently pressing his chin against my shoulder.

He wanted me to play with him.

If the mood got any more intense, I’d probably end up dragged back to bed.

I sighed, then called him over and sat him down. Then, using a hair tie I’d found in a house, I tied his hair up in a very artistic way.

The finished piece was a work of art.

Though it probably needed the prefix ‘metaphysical’ or ‘surrealist’ attached to it.

I patted Kaelus’s forearm and chuckled. Kaelus laughed along, seemingly pleased that I was laughing.

I laughed until my stomach ached, then blinked.

…Ah.

I suddenly felt drowsy.

It was an abnormal symptom I’d developed while staying here.

My sleep had increased.

More precisely, it wasn’t just a simple increase; I’d started showing symptoms like a narcoleptic. As if my purpose here was simply to sleep.

…Yeah. Let’s just say that much is fine too.

At a place where food and buildings regenerate daily, nothing that happened here was particularly strange.

The problem was that whenever I fell asleep, I always had nightmares.

At first, I couldn’t remember the details after waking up.

Only the painful, sorrowful emotions lingered like embers, still burning my chest. Tears streamed down my face as I shook my head. 

I felt wronged and furious. All I could think was that I was being subjected to something unreasonable and unjust.

Kaelus stayed by my side during those times. It might have been my imagination, but each time, he wore a look of understanding and sorrow.

On a day when the nightmare was especially severe.

I grabbed Kaelus by the collar. I screamed and demanded, “You know what this is! Tell me right now what the hell is going on!” 

The man hugged me. No matter how much I struggled or pounded his body with my fists, he wouldn’t let go.

……Only later did I realize his body was trembling. That he, like me, was drenched in cold sweat.

“……I’m sorry.”

“……”

“I was wrong.”

Kaelus vigorously shook his head while holding my shoulder. I worried his head might fall off.

For the first time since we fell into this place, he opened and closed his mouth as if he was trying to speak.

But no sound came out. The man’s lips closed tightly in sorrow. ……I felt like I had committed a grave sin.

“Uh. No. No, it’s fine. You don’t need to. I guess I’ve just been a bit sensitive lately.”

“…….”

Honestly, I had excuses.

It wasn’t just nightmares; sometimes I’d feel sick for no reason.

It was a cycle.

Nightmares. Pain. Nightmares. Pain.

……At this point, doesn’t my endurance deserve some praise?

Kaelus stayed by my bedside every time. But if I had to choose between the two, the pain was better. Both were agonizing, but the pain made it easier to hold onto my sanity.

…Plus, I could watch Kaelus nursing me.

On days when I was really sick, he even cried for me. I was glad he did, yet it made my stomach churn with disgust. It was an incomprehensible ambivalence.

“…Don’t cry.”

I really wish you wouldn’t cry.

More accurately, I wish you weren’t sad.

Even feverish and sick, I raised my hand. Kaelus, dumb as a rock, clutched my hand tightly as tears dripped down his face. ……If anyone saw us, they’d think I was dying.

I wrapped my arms around his neck. Startled, Kaelus quickly leaned over me, afraid I was overexerting myself.

“I’m really fine.”

“…….”

Fortunately, after a fortnight of being held captive, the bouts of illness grew less frequent.

The nightmares remained, but now I remembered their details vividly even after waking.

……I couldn’t tell if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

* * *

It was a dream where I couldn’t tell if it was real or not.

The figure I saw was familiar.

Red and gold scales. A massive frame and wings that, when spread, could easily cover several buildings.

I was a Kremlis Dragon.

But.

…Did I gain weight?

Somehow, I felt much bulkier than usual. I tilted my head, but didn’t dwell on it.

I was flying now for a matter of extreme urgency and gravity.

The dark mages had kidnapped my beloved human.

The human had a betrothed. He was the second son of a venerable noble house that had existed since the days of old Denos.

The problem was that the betrothed’s father was a devout dark mage.

He was a madman who believed that everyone would live only if the continent was offered to the demon race.

He even saw the sudden vertical growth of the Sea of Trees as a favor granted for the sake of foolish, weak humans.

He viewed the entire new empire, separated from Denos, as a sacrificial offering meant for the demon race.

That madman…

When the Monster Wave struck, he actively stirred chaos from within.

He prevented people from uniting, spreading false rumors to foment fear.

That dark mage’s plan seemed to collapse with the arrival of me and ‘Firmus’… but things went slightly awry at the last moment.

...I should have crushed him the moment I knew.

If Firmus hadn’t awkwardly tried to stop me, that’s exactly what would have happened.

The dark mage held considerable social status and influence, so we had to… deal with him in a human way?

Human society was more complicated than I’d thought.

Anyway.

Firmus’s original plan was to marry, then leave behind a mere puppet of a spouse and assassinate everyone else. But they beat us to it.

He was dragged to a lake clinging to the very edge of the Sea of Trees.

What the dark mages wanted was my heart.

They intended to use it to reopen the ‘door’ deep within the Sea of Trees, a door sealed except for a hair’s breadth.

Feasibility aside. I couldn’t comprehend their way of thinking.

If that door opens, the world will end.

Do they really believe that’s how to save humanity?

What kind of twisted logic leads to such a stupid choice?

I alternated between sighs and clicking my tongue in disbelief.

Before I knew it, I’d reached the lake.

And there I found the dark mages, bustling about like rained-on ants, and Firmus, already dead.

Here’s what happened.

Firmus was chained by the feet to a small boat on the lake. The other end of the chain led down into the lake.

When I reached the lake, he was supposed to become living bait, dragged down to the bottom.

After all, even the so-called strongest dragon, the Kremlis, was a winged creature and terrible at swimming.

When he opened his eyes on the boat, Firmus, certain of their plan, quickly took his own life.

He stabbed his own carotid artery with a hidden dagger.

The wound was precise.

There was no hesitation.

‘…….’

I devoured all the dark mages and carried Firmus’s body to the imperial palace. Then I personally ripped out his heart and placed it beside him.

I left no words.

I had no feelings left worth leaving.

Holding a chest empty both physically and figuratively, I returned to the lake, bleeding.

With a chaotic night devoid of stars on my back, I circled the black water a few times before plunging myself into it.

……I loved beyond species.

It was a feeling Firmus never knew.

* * *

Julan offered his heart to Firmus and ended his life where he had died.

It was a kind of ritual.

Julan’s soul briefly left this world.

The will and mana lingering like residue honored his intention, building a vast sanctuary beneath the lake.

The most desperate fragment of his soul remained there as a beacon.

The souls of Firmus and Julan followed the great cycle of causality, each going where they must.

Julan left only one arrangement.

‘Someday.’

If Firmus were to return to this land by chance’s guidance—.