Chapter 19

It was a snowy day.

That night, the north gate of the imperial palace quietly opened.

Without the emblem of the imperial family, without any guards.

An old man, cloaked in a snow-white coat like the falling snow, slowly rode his horse out through the gate.

“Where are you going?”

One of the soldiers blocked his path and asked.

“I’m just stepping out for a short walk.”

“I’m sorry, but that’s not permitted. If you wish to leave, you must first receive Her Majesty’s permission.”

“…… “

The old man simply gazed silently at the soldier.

Though his face was full of wrinkles, the spirit shining in his eyes was enough to recall the days of his youth, when he had once been hailed as a hero.

“… I shall report this to Her Majesty, Lord Aslan.”

“… Do as you wish.”

***

Having left the imperial capital, Aslan headed south without a word.

The streets were crowded with countless people.

Each of them praised the current Emperor in their own way.

“It’s all thanks to His Majesty’s benevolence that the empire has flourished so much.”

“Of course! But we can’t forget him either! The hero who defended the empire from the Demon Realm, the Sword Saint, Lord Aslan!”

“The reason Her Majesty was able to ascend to her current position is also entirely thanks to him, don’t you think?”

Wherever he went, he was no more than a supporting figure in the legends of the princess who was his wife and now the empress.

Now, like a relic of the past, like a character in someone else’s story.

Beneath the monument at the center of the plaza where he was headed, a small portrait of Aslan had been engraved.

A hero who had fulfilled the imperial mandate as the Empress’s sword.

His fame, earned by defending the empire from the Demon Realm, had become the foundation of power.

His silence had served as proof that legitimized the Empress’s rule.

Aslan said nothing.

He simply walked in silence, within the shadow of the myth he had created.

***

The place where Aslan’s steps finally came to a halt was a forgotten land in the south.

Once, it had been known as “the land where all living beings sought forgiveness”, the Arsane Monastery.

But after the Grand Battle of the Demon Realm, everything there had been reduced to ruins.

Beyond the snow-covered fields, the charred remnants began to reveal themselves.

“… So it remains the same.”

His voice carried the chill of the snowstorm.

It had once been the most sacred land in the empire. A place of purity where the one known as the Saintess had resided.

As the Empress’s power grew and the people of the empire began to deify her, the memory of the “Saintess” naturally faded away as well.

Aslan slowly walked forward.

Through a place where the doors had fallen, the walls had crumbled, and even the bell tower lay half-buried in the snow, broken and forgotten.

The arch at the entrance was deeply scarred with burn marks.

The building that had once served as a prayer hall was now covered in moss, snow, and blackened debris.

“This is the place… where you last stood.”

He moved quietly onward.

Past the shattered columns,

Past the toppled statues,

And finally, when he reached the altar,

The howling wind paused for a moment.

“…….”

Cutting through the blizzard, the air began to tremble.

And then—

And then,

golden threads of light began to bloom in the frozen air,

And from their center, the figure of a person slowly started to emerge.

Her long hair spilled out as if imbued with light,

And a faint smile lingered at the corner of her lips.

“… You.”

Aslan narrowed his eyes and stared sharply at the blackened altar.

“You were still here.”

[It has been a while, Aslan.]

On the final day of the Demon Realm Subjugation, she had manifested in this world by borrowing Lucia’s body.

Aslan still remembered her vivid voice from that day.

[Because this is where I belong. Why do you think a saintess and a monastery existed here?]

The figure in the swirling snow smiled faintly.

Aslan simply watched her in silence without saying a word.

[So? Why have you come to this place? The place you, your wife, used you to bring to ruin.]

“… It wasn’t Lumina who destroyed it.”

[That’s true. The Empress herself didn’t destroy it, but in the process of strengthening her imperial power, those who followed her brought it down.]

“……”

It was about how the land built by those who had believed in and worshiped her had been reduced to ruins, yet there was no sorrow in her voice.

[I have no intention of blaming her. To me, protecting this world was more important than the monastery that once stood here. And this is merely the price for protecting the one and only timeline.]

“… Even gods must pay a price?”

[Of course. Everything in this world moves by “plausibility”. Since a world that should have perished was saved through your existence, the price must be paid.]

“… That price being the ‘forgetting’ of a god.”

[Yes. But I do not regret it.]

In exchange for saving the world, the god had chosen to let her existence fade from human memory.

Aslan gazed at her form woven from golden threads and his dark eyes narrowed.

Before he realized it, the snowfall had ceased, and a strange stillness had descended upon the ruined monastery.

[So? Why have you come here?]

“… To see if I might meet you again.”

[That’s a little unexpected.]

“That I sought you out?”

[No. I just thought you would come a little sooner.]

Aslan briefly turned his gaze toward the collapsed altar.

Charred black marks remained on it, and a half-broken ceremonial flame, buried in the snow, leaned precariously.

“… Was my choosing of Lumina also a result of that ‘plausibility’?”

[No, it wasn’t. That was entirely your own choice. The fact that you remained unaffected by ‘plausibility’ was a mark of respect from the gods, given to you who saved this world.]

“In other words, you bore the plausibility I was meant to carry. By being forgotten by everyone.”

[Yes. The fact that I alone remember while no one else can… that is a rather heavy price to pay, isn’t it?]

With a smile still playing on her lips, she spoke to Aslan.

She took a step closer to him and gently caressed his cheek.

[You’ve grown quite old, Aslan.]

Without feeling her touch, Aslan simply closed his eyes.

Instead of warmth, only the passage of time brushed against his skin.

“Yeah, I’ve grown old.”

He replied after a slight pause.

It was resignation, it was regret, and at the same time, an inevitable acceptance.

[Then, shall I take a guess? As to why you came here only now?]

“…….”

As Aslan remained silent, she circled around him and spoke.

[The spirit mage who had followed you all her life since childhood longed for you her entire life, and last year, she found her rest in my embrace.]

[The duchess who guarded the northernmost reaches against the demon realm came into my embrace after the fall of the demon realm and amidst the collapse of political power.]

[And lastly, my daughter, who devoted herself to spreading my faith of mercy and compassion throughout the world, found her way into my embrace as she disappeared into obscurity during the era of deification.]

Aslan slowly lifted his head and looked at her form.

The being, as if woven from golden threads, lingered somewhere between the physical and the spiritual.

“… Do you have no regrets?”

[Regrets?]

“Yes. You saved this world, but you were forgotten. And only Lumina, who became an empress, remains happy. Is this truly the world you wished to save?”

[……..]

In response to Aslan’s question, she fell silent for a moment.

However, at last, she still wore a soft smile as she spoke to him.

[Yes. I have no regrets. That’s what makes it beautiful.]

Aslan, hearing those words, quietly closed his eyes as if he had swallowed a blade.

[A god merely points the way; it is humans who decide whether to walk that path or not.]

[My only purpose was to protect this world that I love. How you, who live in this world, choose to live was never mine to decide.]

[A forgotten god’s prayer. In its place remain the name of the hero who saved the world, the reign of the empress, and the peace that was born at the end of it all. Isn’t that enough?]

“…Even so, your name should have been remembered.”

Only then did her form tremble ever so slightly for the first time.

The wind began to blow again, and her long hair rippled in the snow.

[My name… remains in your memory, Aslan.]

Amidst the swirling snow, the golden figure slowly approached him.

Her hand, its fingertips glowing like threads of light, rested gently on the back of Aslan’s hand.

[Are you filled with regret?]

“I regret it.”

[You saved this world. You preserved its peace. Do you still regret it?]

“I regret it.”

[What is it that you regret?]

At her question, Aslan took a deep breath before answering.

“Because of my own greed… I didn’t choose them.”

As soon as he spoke those words, Aslan lowered his head.

It was the first time he had ever spoken aloud of his long-standing sin.

The golden hand resting on the back of his hand trembled ever so slightly.

[I do not intend to blame you for your greed. Humanity is a being of desire. It is thanks to that desire that humankind has come this far.]

[And humans are also beings of regret. It is through repentance and remorse that they grow and progress.]

“However, too much time has already passed for me to repent, regret, and grow.”

With his words, a quiet stillness settled between them for a moment.

Even the wind, the snow, and time itself seemed to pause, just for that instant.

[There is a way.]

Aslan slowly lifted his head.

Though a deep shadow darkened his eyes, within the delicate threads of his trembling emotions, the faintest glimmer of hope began to stir.

[A single possibility. Whether you follow it or not is your choice.]

Her voice softly filled the space around them.

At that moment, the golden threads drifting in the air all began to flow in a single direction.

Waves of light rippled and began to wrap around his body.

[Fate walks a set path. However, if another path were to be laid atop it…]

Her eyes sparkled. The golden threads extending from her form surged upward, beginning to shape a figure.

Authority.

She had begun to exercise her authority.

[However, there is one problem.]

“…A problem?”

[The destiny where you save this world. ‘I’ in that world likely will not allow it.]

“…You mean—”

[Yes. She likely knows about this situation as well, so she will respect your choice. However, since she has not yet saved the world, if she judges that your actions would jeopardize it, she will not hesitate to stand in your way.]

“…You mean you’ll stop me.”

[Yes. Also, you cannot become ‘Aslan’. There is already an ‘Aslan’ in that world.]

Aslan silently mulled over those words.

After a long while, he quietly closed his eyes and then opened them.

“I’ll do it.”

His voice was as soft as the wind, yet filled with firm resolve.

[You will not remember anything that happened in this world.]

“I’ll still do it.”

[I will do everything in my power to stand against you to protect that world.]

“I’ve already accepted that.”

The golden threads around Aslan wavered once more at his resolution.

She approached and held his hand tightly.

Only then did a gentle warmth begin to spread across the back of his hand.

[This is not forced. It is your choice, responding to your wish and your will.]

[This is the final blessing granted by the gods to you, the one who saved this world.]

Snowflakes drifted through the air.

[So this time, I truly hope you live a life without regrets.]

[And at the end of it all, I hope the world you wish for is there, waiting for you.]

The light enveloping his entire body began to surge more fiercely.

[And this. This is not from the gods, but something I personally wish to say to you.]

[Thank you for protecting this world.]

[This is my last gift to you, who made my wish come true…]

[And I hope that at the end of the world you create, we can meet once more.]

Her figure slowly began to fade.

Golden threads unraveled like silk, blooming amidst the snow before scattering into the air, signaling both an end and a beginning at once.

[Because even now, in the same place, I am still loving you.]

With those words, Aslan’s form began to disappear, as if melting into the light.

The snow piled atop the altar scattered, covering all traces.

[And I earnestly hope that among the people you seek to save, I too will be included.]

Only her hollow words echoed throughout the silent monastery.

***

“…Hah!”

I jolted upright, kicking off the blanket.

A dream.

It was a dream that, though absent from my memories, felt achingly nostalgic and bittersweet.

I turned to look at the mirror beside me.

And somehow, for some reason,

Tears were streaming down the eyes reflected in the mirror.

[The skill ‘Meta Fiction’ turns its head.]