Volume 7, Chapter 71 – The Final Dream

A light, floating sensation, as if soaking in a hot spring.

It seemed her body had become young overnight. The suffocating feeling of lungs pierced with countless holes vanished, along with the wheezing like bellows. Anastasia felt exceptionally relaxed. Not just trivial things like going downstairs, even immediately battling a Skeletal Whale would be completely within her capabilities.

Then, the warmth shrouding her entire body disappeared. The empty world gradually gained color.

An endless green plain.

The air carried the fragrance of fresh earth. The rich scent of green grass invigorated the spirit. Coupled with the extremely open highland perspective, an irresistible sense of refreshment filled Anastasia’s heart.

Until she came to her senses, realizing she was on horseback, the sound of multiple hoofbeats echoing around her. Only then did she realize she was once again in that dream that had haunted her for fourteen years.

If she wasn’t mistaken, Dofi should be on her right, slightly ahead.

As this thought formed, Anastasia turned her head slightly. Just as she expected, on her right, a bit ahead, was that black-haired, red-eyed elf princess she yearned for.

“Uh…”

She still couldn’t control herself; an unusual sound escaped her throat.

Trying to use this dream to stop me, Anastasia thought. She hadn’t forgotten what she was doing before. Claire had warned her: no matter what happens, don’t waver in your true heart.

Trying to trouble me with this dream even now? Whoever is doing this, it’s too naive.

She had already recognized reality. The dead cannot be brought back. Living with a penitent heart, anticipating the unknown tomorrow—that is what she should do.

Just watch it expressionlessly, like before.

Anastasia straightened her back. According to the script, descending this small hill would lead to an encounter with Milcandis Holy Kingdom ambushers on the next rise. Throughout, there would be no communication between her and Fia, and the army would remain eerily quiet.

However, Anastasia suddenly noticed the Fia leading the army ahead abruptly tightened the reins, slowing her horse to come alongside her.

What does this mean?

The sudden change stunned Anastasia. The dream had never changed in the past fourteen years; she could even predict precisely who did what at which second.

“Not used to it?”

What surprised Anastasia more was that the usually cold Fia suddenly addressed her. Overwhelmed with being overwhelmed by favor, even knowing this was a dream, she couldn’t ignore Fia’s question. It was a reaction carved into her soul, almost instinctual.

She hurriedly lowered her head, not daring to look at Fia’s face. She could sense from Fia’s aura that this Fia wasn’t the one from outside.

“Y-yes.”

“It’s normal to be unaccustomed. Never mind. Time is short. Let’s get straight to the point.”

“Get straight to the point meaning…?”

Anastasia asked tremblingly. The Fia of the past wasn’t talkative, but that didn’t mean she was as sparing of words as Milu. When explanation was necessary, she would still deliver lengthy, hard-to-understand speeches.

“You’ve encountered some difficulties, right?”

“Huh?”

She had encountered difficulties, but how did you know?

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Anastasia thought, but soon let it go. This was her dream; what she knew, the person before her naturally knew.

“Suddenly thrown into another world, experiencing another version of your own life, then being unreasonably thrown back… a normal person would already be going crazy with frustration… I should apologize to you. This is my problem.”

“What are you saying…”

If the first half of the sentence came from her own knowledge, the second half of the sentence could only be described as bizarre.

However, Fia acted as if she hadn’t heard Anastasia’s words. Her red eyes gazed at the hill ahead, her gaze seeming to pierce through time and space.

“How many times I tried… I can’t remember anymore… Finding this mysterious purple world at the last moment, arriving here on unfounded obsession, only to be rejected by the entire world because I was too powerful—rejected? That might not be the right word either. Probably just that the information constituting me is too vast for this side to contain.”

“Enough. Saying these things only adds trouble for you. You just need to understand that you weren’t supposed to appear, but something went wrong somewhere, causing you to appear. Though it’s caused me considerable distress, you are also a victim. In any case, my apologies.”

Fia lowered her head slightly in apology to Anastasia. Though it was only a very slight degree, it still made Anastasia greatly shocked, almost jumping off her horse to kneel on the ground.

“N-no, no! How can you apologize to me?! Please take back those words!”

“This is what you deserve.”

“I should never receive an apology from you!”

Fia gazed at Anastasia for a long time. She read an unyielding persistence in Anastasia’s eyes. Finally, she let out a sound that could hardly be called a laugh, shaking her head helplessly.

“Is that so? Even suffering such unfair treatment, you’re still the same. Very well. Even if doing so might change the outcome, I’ll allow it. Originally, this wasn’t something I should possess. But since I have it, it’s just as well to let nature take its course.”

After saying a whole bunch to herself, Fia looked back at the army, then said,

“I permit you to ask me questions. Anything at all. As long as I know the answer, I will answer.”

“Well…”

There wasn’t really anything to ask.

Anastasia thought. This was, after all, her dream. Even if she asked questions, Fia would only answer with what she knew.

As if reading Anastasia’s thoughts, Fia slightly raised an eyebrow. Just that tiny movement made the Fia in Anastasia’s eyes seem more alive.

“You think this is a dream, so I’m fake?”

“Uh… If it weren’t a dream, you wouldn’t know what I’m thinking either, right? Even though I shouldn’t say these things even in a dream, I know you’re just someone conjured by my fantasy. You already sacrificed yourself to the Unsinkable Moon’s attack, and all the problems stem from my failure to protect you.”

Anastasia lowered her head deeply, not daring to meet Fia’s eyes, her voice becoming too low to hear.

“So you want to treat this as atonement? After crossing this hill, we’ll encounter Milcandis Holy Kingdom ambushers. Treating this as a chance for atonement isn’t bad either.”

“You already know?!”

Anastasia suddenly looked up.

Not denying Anastasia’s words, Fia merely smiled.

“Since it’s your dream, it’s not strange I know. Appearing in your dream countless times, then being killed by the Unsinkable Moon countless times, making you fear sleep… I really am wicked, troubling you for so many years.”

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“It’s not that you wanted to appear in my dreams. Besides, it’s all my responsibility. Calling it punishment is fine too. If I had protected you properly, there wouldn’t have been—”

“What’s done is done. No hypotheses. That’s just looking for trouble.”

“You said the exact same thing…”

Faced with Anastasia’s marveling murmur, Fia momentarily showed surprise and confusion, but it quickly turned into non-committal indifference.

“So, do you want atonement? Successfully saving me from the Unsinkable Moon, then defeating the Milcandis Holy Kingdom—you can do that now.”

“Saying I don’t want to would be a lie, but… but I can’t stay here now. Someone is waiting for me outside.”

“Oh? Found someone important, so you’ll abandon me now?”

“No, it’s not abandoning you… It should be said, you are you .”

Anastasia momentarily fell into a near-philosophical contemplation.

But this answer that failed to satisfy Fia didn’t anger Fia. On the contrary, she gave a self-deprecating laugh.

“To have troubled you so… I’ve really done quite a job.”

“What does that mean?”

“Mmm… Since I promised to answer anything you ask, I’ll make an exception and tell you. ‘Setting’ dictates that an AI cannot violate its own principles. Whether it’s the ‘me’ here or the ‘me’ there, I am me. So whichever side you choose, the result is the same.”

“You’re practically not saying anything at all.”

“I did say. You just didn’t understand.”

Anastasia was momentarily speechless.

“You’re really cunning.”

Fia widened her eyes slightly in surprise.

“Oh? Daring to tease me. That’s not like you.”

“Aren’t you also unlike you? The you I know wasn’t this lively. Though compared to the real you, you’re still too serious.”

“So it’s my fault after all. If I had been more serious from the start, you would have been more serious too.”

“Then I’d still prefer you as you are now. That way I could talk with you more. You probably also know the me in reality can’t just say whatever I want; my stamina really doesn’t allow it.”

“You don’t feel I’m a fake, so chatting is meaningless?”

“Didn’t you say it? Whichever ‘you’ it is, you are you.”

“Heh, true.”

Fia fell silent, yet the army continued its advance.

As if finding the utterly silent atmosphere too tense, Fia suddenly spoke again. She didn’t look at Anastasia but kept her gaze forward.

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“It’s almost over. Are you sure you have no questions? Miss this chance, and there will never be another. This dream too—I never thought I’d learn it troubled you for so long in this form. It probably won’t appear again in the future.”

“D-do you mean this is farewell?”

“Why so nervous? Weren’t you always thinking this dream was a nightmare, hating it? Now that it’s about to vanish forever, why the lingering reluctance?”

Anastasia bit her lip, her right hand instinctively coming to rest over her chest.

“It’s not lingering reluctance exactly… It’s just I’ve always felt guilty for failing to save you. I always thought, if only I could save you once in the dream. If this dream continued, perhaps one day I could end this long-held regret.”

“Forget that. It’s precisely because the other ‘you’ clung to this dream, wanting to fulfill a wish within it, that you appeared on this side. What a trouble. Self-sacrificing on her own initiative—displeasing.”

“The other me? You mean the owner of this body now?”

“Exactly.”

Fia answered without hesitation. Here, she suddenly raised a hand, signaling the army to halt. Then she also stopped her horse, placing both hands on Anastasia’s shoulders with a clap , as if to etch the following words into Anastasia’s soul. Ruby-like eyes firmly stared into Anastasia’s own.

“Listen carefully, Anastasia. I have never been disappointed that you failed to protect me. This was a premeditated death. Otherwise, this world would have been doomed. As for why I didn’t tell you what I was planning—it was because if I told you, you would have cleverly tried to stop me somehow, to die in my place. That would have been meaningless. Understood?”

“Uh…?”

Anastasia’s body trembled violently. Her lips quivered as she stared dumbly at Fia.

“You… you never resented me?”

“Mhm. Never resented you. Not once.”

Fia’s words were exceptionally firm. Her unwavering red eyes were filled with seriousness.

Abruptly, water mist rose at the corners of Anastasia’s eyes. Her shoulders slumped powerlessly, yet she still smiled.

“Even if you say that… you’re just part of my dream. This is merely my self-justification.”

“You’ll understand. I believe you. Alright, time is almost up. You can ask me one final question.”

Hearing time was almost up, Anastasia’s breath hitched. Her entire body tensed. She didn’t want to ask a question, but her body moved of its own accord. For so long, a question had puzzled her, yet she had sealed it deep in her consciousness, unwilling to think about it. She felt now was the time to ask it.

Anastasia swallowed hard. She felt afraid, so her voice held much trembling.

“Why… why did you go to the Land of Exile to find me back then, to bring me to the Royal Castle? You should have hated me, why save me?”

“Because I wanted to use the favor of saving you to make you serve me faithfully?”

Fia’s voice held a rising tone—a questioning sound.

Anastasia pressed urgently.

“If it was just using the favor to make me repay you, there are countless people in this world more talented than me, who have suffered greater injustices. Saving them would be more beneficial than saving me, wouldn’t it? Like the Holy Son of Cold Night, or even the underaged young king of Cold Night.”

“That’s true… The injustice Anastasia suffered isn’t even appetizer-worthy in this world. People more talented than Anastasia are everywhere. Why did I save only Anastasia, and insist on keeping you by my side?”

It had become a case of answering her own question.

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Even Fia had to contemplate for a long time on this question. After a while, she lowered the right hand resting on her chin, her expression brightening up.

“Probably just because I wanted to. No clear purpose. Simply ‘I wanted to.’ I wanted to save Anastasia, so I acted. That simple. This should count as one of my few human-like expressions.”

“…You’re still like before. Even telling me the answer, I don’t quite understand.”

“But what you wanted to know, you now know, don’t you?”

“Mhm, I know. Because you wanted to save me, I was saved by you.”

“Disappointed?”

“As the one saved, I have no right to be disappointed, do I?”

Perhaps because time was up, the open wilderness gradually lost its sense of reality. First color, then sound, then even the fragrance of green grass filling her nostrils vanished. Soldiers in the distance dissolved one by one, the entire world along with them collapsing, rushing rapidly towards Anastasia.

Anastasia looked at Fia with a bitter smile.

“And this answer is more convincing to me than any other. After all, if it were for benefit, more suitable people than me are countless. You simply chose me. And I failed to properly repay you, ending up in this dejected state.”

“Alright, that’s enough.”

Fia turned her palm towards Anastasia, an expression of impatience like looking at a disappointing daughter on her face.

“I already said I don’t resent you. Why keep blaming yourself? I didn’t save you and bring you back just to hear you say things I don’t like.”

As her words fell, Fia looked around at the world collapsing around her, letting out a melancholy-like sigh.

“What a pity… To end like this.”

She faced Anastasia, took two steps back. That face, which always lacked an expression of emotion, now showed a bitter smile for the first time.

“Sorry. I didn’t do well enough. Made you suffer. I’m leaving now. Though I’d like to say goodbye, I don’t think there will be a chance.”

Where are you going?

The words reached her lips, but Anastasia couldn’t voice them. This was just her dream. Asking would be a meaningless question.

Then, what can I do?

The question surfaced in her heart. An answer suddenly came to mind. A hint of realization appeared in her clear blue eyes. She hurriedly took a deep breath, stood firm, and deeply, respectfully bowed to Fia.

“Thank you. Sincerely.”

“Don’t make that face. Unlike my self-serving self, you are pure enough to sacrifice everything for others. Far more radiant than I am.”

Fia’s words paused. A serious, relieved expression appeared on her face.

“So live well. Strive hard. Live without regrets.”

Fia gave Anastasia a gentle wave, then, like the soldiers before, gradually disappeared in the wind.

Then, the collapsing world finally reached Anastasia’s feet. Accompanied by an intense sense of weightlessness, endless darkness enveloped her body and consciousness.