[Through your ability to distort the five senses of others, you concealed the Originium crystals on your face, and also hid the scars on your body left by years of IV drips.
You appeared before this now-grown girl in the form you had worn when she left, years ago.] [Theresa had, in fact, long since detected the activation of Originium Arts.
But because your movements were fast enough, and your talent gave you one final assist, you managed to reveal yourself in a disguised, healthy state before the power of the Sarkaz King could be mobilized.] [You gazed, slightly dazed, at the fully grown Theresa.
She had grown taller—even taller than you—and more beautiful, like an angel untainted by the mundane world.
Paired with her plain white robes, she was pure, beautiful, arresting.] [And just as you revealed yourself in that slight daze, you also clearly saw the surprise in Theresa’s eyes, the nostalgia, and a deep, thick attachment—even a trace of affection and adoration.] [Theresis, too, froze upon seeing you.
Then, with a stern expression, he halted the Sarkaz guards around you who had intended to attack, and signaled the other Four Heroes of the Sarkaz with his gaze not to meddle.] [Finally, he cast you one look, then led everyone away, leaving this place to you and Theresa.] [And you, watching the youth’s departing figure, smiled.
Then you called his name.
When he turned his head, you tossed the sapphire-embedded medal in your hand over to him.
This was his coming-of-age gift, and in this moment, you also truly saw him as a member of House Manchester, not merely an appendage of Theresa.] [Theresa watched you with a faintly jealous look.
Under the girl’s sour, slightly reproachful gaze, you revealed to her the medal that belonged to her, and demanded that a battle decide the fate of this belated gift.] [Theresa agreed.] [In the battle that followed, you clearly felt Theresa’s strength and growth.] [You were even less capable of withstanding the current Theresa than you had been years ago.
In fact, if Theresa had wished, she could have ended this battle without any suspense in the very first exchange.
Even though your Originium Arts had been strengthened countless times over, you had no chance of defeating her.
This, you couldn’t help but feel a little regretful about.] [But what followed immediately was relief and reassurance.
After all, a Theresa like this…
probably no longer needed your protection, right?] [She would live well, using her own strength to live the life she liked without any suspense on this vast land of Terra, spending a life that might not be perfectly beautiful but would be warm enough with her family…] [Thinking this, you felt that even the last lingering worry and regret in your heart had vanished.] [However, before admitting defeat, you attempted to command Theresa in your old tone to halt her attack.
But the girl was unmoved.
This, too, set your heart completely at ease—because it meant Theresa would not be swayed by you, by those close to her from the past.] [Likewise, it meant Theresa had completely become herself, and not your shadow.] [So at the end, you smiled and calmly abandoned your resistance, letting Theresa’s sword brush through strands of your silver hair.
An serene, peaceful smile graced your face, your pale golden eyes watching Theresa with warmth and satisfaction—as if looking upon another successful version of yourself, as if looking upon the most perfect work of art you had ever sculpted.] [And Theresa also smiled at you.
Her cherry-blossom white hair swayed gently in the breeze.
That blood-red longsword vanished with her smile.
She moved into a posture to embrace you.] [You froze for a moment, thinking of the Originium crystals on your body, and of your Originium Arts which you could no longer sustain.
You wanted to refuse.] [But Theresa’s movements were very fast, very gentle, and brooked no refusal as she embraced you.] [Only, the softness and warmth this Sarkaz King had expected did not come.
What she felt was only a jagged hardness and cold, like crystal…] [The original gentle smile on Theresa’s face froze.
Then it gradually vanished.
That expression, originally filled with joy at reunion, gradually became icy and serious—like your own from the past.] [She did not choose to immediately use the power of the Sarkaz King to dispel the effects your Originium Arts had on her.
Instead, she asked you what had happened to your body.] [Smiling, you did not answer.
You only held Theresa tightly in return, feeling the girl’s warmth and scent, breathing in the faint floral fragrance by your nose.
Your consciousness gradually blurred…
You felt your final vitality fading away.] [But you, in truth, had no more regrets.
So you felt no fear, nor did you think of ways to stop the fading of your life.
You only quietly held Theresa, gradually stepping into the abyss called death amidst her warmth and presence.] [Theresa noticed something was wrong with you.
She used the power of the Sarkaz King to dispel your Originium Arts, already fragile as thin paper.
She saw your fully matured body, with its graceful curves, your mature and beautiful face, and…
the Originium crystals, clinging like bone-boring maggots, covering almost half your face.] [This young Sarkaz King panicked.
By your ear, she said something, flustered and anxious, and also shouted something toward the surroundings.] [But you could no longer hear clearly.] [You only wanted to quietly enjoy these final moments of life in the girl’s embrace, and then let the girl named Theresa take your life at the very end, bringing this game to its final punctuation.] [So at the end—perhaps a final flash of clarity before death, or perhaps your lingering attachment was simply too deep—] [You wrapped your arms around Theresa’s snow-white neck and gently kissed her lips, stopping the girl’s voice, which seemed to be calling out for someone.] [You made Theresa’s vision focus on you, allowing her to look nowhere else, allowing nothing but yourself to appear in her eyes.] [At first, Theresa wanted to struggle.
But thinking of your frail body, she could only compromise and give up.
Then, she looked straight at you, her amber eyes carrying anxiety, unease, and a faint trace of shyness.] [You smiled with satisfaction, parting your lips from Theresa’s.
You had intended to say something, but a mouthful of blood, thick with Originium particles, coughed up from your throat and trickled down the corner of your lips…] [You clearly had no more time.] [So, looking at the somewhat frantic Theresa, at her beauty, the possessiveness in your heart made you, with Victorian romance, speak your thoughts and answer with the briefest of words in your final moments—part jest, part true feeling…
—”Ic lufie te.”] [‘I love you.’] [Then, using the last of your strength, you activated the anchor left behind in the depths of Theresa’s spiritual world—that Originium Arts you had planted, which had never been guarded against.
For a few short seconds, you briefly seized control of Theresa’s consciousness, which had blanked out from your words.] [And in these brief few seconds, you manifested the Sarkaz King’s longsword in Theresa’s hand.
Then, gently holding the back of her fair hand, you slowly pierced your own weakly beating heart.] [“Cough, cough…
you win, the new Manchester.
And…
don’t forget me…” You watched Theresa, whose emotions were trembling violently.
You coughed up bright red blood.
After that Sarkaz King’s longsword dissipated, you gently embraced Theresa’s head, resting it against your pierced chest—like a mother comforting her child, just as you had held Theresa to your chest that night all those years ago.] [You had no more regrets, yet in the end, tears could not help but fall.] [You did not want Theresa to see you like this—just as, from the very start, even using your Originium Arts, you had not wanted Theresa to see your current body.] [At the very end, you wanted to depart from Theresa’s world in your most beautiful form of those years past.] [Thus, you did not want to weep, nor did you want to see the grief of your family over your departure.] [You feared death, but truthfully, you feared loneliness even more.] [In truth, even having grown up, even after all this time, you still lived in the shadow of those malice-filled years after your parents’ death.] [That was why you distrusted others.
That was why, in your interactions with Theresa back then, you had been so pathological and twisted.] [You had only wanted to tame Theresa, to turn her into another version of yourself.] [And now, holding Theresa, you felt as though you were no longer lonely.
Even facing death, you felt warmth.
And it seemed…
you were no longer so afraid.] […Yes.
After all, Theresa was already your family.
You had long since acknowledged the girl in this identity—only your stubborn heart and the game had prevented you from admitting it in the past.] [Now, you no longer needed to be bound by the game.
Nor did you need to deny anything anymore.] [Thus, holding Theresa, you collapsed together into the white flower field beside the walkway.] [And amidst that sea of white blossoms, a blooming mandrake flower was stained by the blood from the corner of your lips, strikingly vivid beside your face.] [You held Theresa, your chin resting on her shoulder, quietly gazing at the sky through her cherry-blossom white hair, breathing in the delicate fragrance at your nose, feeling the girl’s warmth.
Smiling faintly, your eyes gradually lost their focus.] [Theresa dared not struggle, terrified that her movements might cause your faint breath to cease entirely.] [The girl’s heart was, at this moment, in utter chaos.
But one thing was certain—she did not want to lose you.] [Yet in the end, under the stunned gaze of Theresis—who had rushed over upon sensing the disturbance of Theresa’s Originium Arts—and under the eyes of the doctors and Sarkaz who arrived after…] [You, who had used the last of your strength to hold Theresa, finally slipped into eternal slumber amidst the alternating sensations of cold and warmth.] [In the final moments as your consciousness dimmed, you found yourself appearing in a pure white space.
And you saw your long-departed parents.] [You had also returned to your childhood form.
Weeping, you walked to their side and threw your arms around them.] [They smiled gently, stroked your head, and softly praised you for your hard work.
After wiping the tears from the corners of your eyes, they took your hands and led you toward a pure white light.] [Though you knew not where it would lead.] [But at this moment…
you had no more regrets…] … […You died.
In your arms, you held Theresa tightly, wearing a gentle smile, utterly free of regret.] [Simulation Ended…] …