Chapter 119

The memory was the first light ever shown to me.

The responsibility that bound me.

Perhaps it resembled a shard of my regretful past, a fragment that led me to place my steps into shackles once again—a path of atonement.

At the same time, it was the first memory that soothed my crushing loneliness.

“From today... I’ll give you a name.”

A blood-soaked hand extended forward.

The ground was slick with melting flesh, yet the winter storm that raged around us numbed even that pain.

The chasm between us had closed, filled with something that replaced the gaping void of loss.

I closed my eyes as if intoxicated by the memory.

“Your name will be...”

I didn’t believe in gods.

But if I spoke of hope I didn’t believe in, it was because—

“Neria... Neria Lightning.”

I couldn’t turn away from you, so scarred and battered.

Perhaps under the pretense of offering a meager kindness, I simply sought my own forgiveness.

I had grown up as an adult filled with deceit and lies.

Clinging to the frayed sleeves of a childhood I could barely remember, I could only muster a feigned smile as if I knew nothing.

So, what I wanted to say was...

“We’re family now.”

To the star that had suffered most,@@@@

Thank you for helping me find the pieces of my fallen life.

***

“Do not call our vice-commander by such a name.”

The air grew frigid, filled with murderous intent.

Shadows surged outward, carrying tangible pressure.

Rumble—!

The ground trembled as if quaking with fear.

Mana blanketed the area, suppressing everything.

Ornate decorations across the battlefield quivered, and the guards standing nearby collapsed unconscious one by one.

Even with such simple release, the scene turned into chaos.

I stood at the center of the pandemonium.

“Ugh, gah...!”

“Can’t... breathe...!”

“...”

Their labored breaths filled the air.

Even the sovereign’s elite guards fared no better.

Each of their faces had turned ghostly pale.

Beyond them, Injustice and Distrust had already fallen to their knees, while The Nameless, ranked highest among them, barely managed to stand upright.

Even so, blood dripped steadily from his nose, staining the ground below.

The disparity in strength was clear.

“Well... quite the fierce reaction.”

“Would you like it to be fiercer?”

“I’ll politely decline. I prefer to live a long life.”

“You’re quite poor at lying.”

Amid the chaos, only the snake and the sovereign remained composed.

We stared at each other, our gazes unyielding.

As I exuded an overwhelming aura, the sovereign, leisurely reclining against his throne, finally spoke.

Even with death looming before him, his head didn’t bow in the slightest.

It was an infuriatingly dignified posture.

“It’s getting hard to endure. Won’t you consider reining it in?”

“And yet your expression remains quite relaxed.”

“Well, I’m old now... Maybe you should try learning to respect your elders.”

“Some elders aren’t worth the respect.”

“You never fail to have the last word, do you?”

“Perhaps you should try keeping your mouth shut.”

Yet the old man chuckled, seemingly amused.

He was vile.

From the beginning, he had no genuine interest in that child. His words were merely bait to provoke me.

In that moment, my disgust for his forked tongue was reaffirmed.

The old man responded easily.

“Don’t be so sensitive.”

“...”

“I was genuinely curious. It’s been four years since the war, hasn’t it? Considering I kept her by my side for ten years, I think it’s a fair question.”

“‘Kept her’... You lack the right to use those words.”

Took her in?

You had no right to say such things.

What you did to that child wasn’t care or protection; it was nothing more than casting her aside like a pawn in a pool of blood and tears.

The meaning behind the word “to take in” wasn’t something so grotesque.

For an adult to take in someone else meant nurturing, guiding.

It meant offering part of yourself to another, taking responsibility for the hues they developed from you—

The weariness of the day hit me as I arrived.

Dealing with someone as serpentine as the sovereign had left my nerves on edge.

I took a moment to clear my thoughts.

Of all things.

Truthfully, I hadn’t wanted this matter to reach Neria’s ears.

The wounds were still too fresh.

Telling her would only cause unnecessary worry.

It had been a decision made out of consideration for her feelings, but in the end, all it left behind was an awkward atmosphere.

I swallowed the silence.

"Master, are you alright?"

Neria’s cautious question broke through my thoughts.

Smiling as I always did, I replied.

"Of course."

"I will ensure measures are taken regarding the kingdom’s behavior. Such rudeness cannot be tolerated, and precautions will be strengthened to prevent a recurrence."

"...And are you alright, Miss Neria?"

"Pardon?"

"I mean the sovereign. You ended up meeting him again after four years."

"Ah."

She hesitated instinctively but quickly regained her composure, as if anticipating the question.

It was a response typical of her.

"There is no issue. It’s a distant memory now."

Her tone and expression were detached, maintaining the cold demeanor she usually carried.

But having spent so much time by her side, I could see the truth beneath it.

She was forcing herself to act unaffected.

Her silver eyes trembled, so faintly that even she might not have noticed.

"..."

I silently observed her.

Neria Lightning.

The first bond I had formed in this world and the first member to stay by my side for the longest time.

Once called Faithless as the sovereign’s personal guard.

And in the original story, the one who would become the first trigger for the world’s destruction.

Unnecessary thoughts tangled in my mind.

The conversation didn’t continue.

Only silence flowed between us.

Perhaps it was the weight of past memories resurfacing that left both of us needing time to reflect.

And so, the tumultuous day seemed to draw to a close.

Scratch, scratch.

That night, well into the hours of dawn, Neria and I remained in the commander’s office.

We were slowly working through a backlog of tasks.

"..."

But it was particularly hard to focus today.

Even as my pen moved, my mind wandered elsewhere.

Perhaps it was the lingering thoughts of the sovereign.

Meeting someone from the past, a figure I had long left behind, had brought back memories I hadn’t wanted to revisit.

Four years felt like a long time, yet as I recalled those moments, they returned with a vividness as if they had happened yesterday.

The thoughts grew, like a serpent biting its own tail and swelling in size.

Eventually, I set the documents aside.

"...Miss Neria."

I called her name suddenly.

The girl, still working nearby, responded.

"You called for me, Master?"

She, too, seemed preoccupied.

Normally, her desk would be cleared by now, but she had only managed about half the work.

Behind her transparent gaze, subtle unrest lingered.

Even though she had denied it earlier, indifference was difficult to feign entirely.

The past between us was too deeply intertwined.

I set my pen down and spoke.

"Do you have a moment?"

"Of course. Is there something you need?"

"Nothing specific... I just wanted to talk for a bit."

"A conversation... about?"

"Given today’s events, perhaps old stories. The matters with the kingdom have left me with much to think about, and you’re the only one I can share those memories with."

"I would be glad to... if you would accompany me, Master, in whatever you wish."

"That’s kind of you to say."

She hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded, her silver hair swaying gently.

I responded to her continued loyalty with a smile.

Softly, I murmured words tinged with aged memories.

"Where shall we begin...?"

And so it started with winter.

The memory of the first time I found meaning in this world.