Chapter 250: Aira: Home, Sweet Home (3)
He crossed his arms and stroked his chin. Then he spoke.
“Well, since we have to part ways anyway, I’ll tell you as a bonus. My name is Artshever. Artshever Le Setrife. I’m like a clown mimicking in the cracks of time. Really, the time I’ve lived as myself, but not myself, has been too long. Now I don’t even know who I am. Well, I guess you might feel weary after living life about 1,611 times.”
I couldn’t understand. I just memorized it. No matter how much I pondered it, I couldn’t understand anything, like chewing rubber.
No, I don’t have the time to understand!
Why? How? You stopped time! You crossed parallel dimensions with a physical body?
I shouted unconsciously.
“Dad!”
“That’s not wrong, but…… why, daughter?”
“Dad……! How can this be! You stopped time! You crossed parallel dimensions! Without saying a word to me or mom……! Besides, I don’t know! Everything! What happened? And who are you?! Who are you?!”
He clicked his tongue and shook his head. The one who called himself Artshever looked at me with pitiful eyes.
“You seem confused. I left a journal in the lab for times like this. I left it for you to see, so I hope you can refer to it. Haha! Now, the equation is complete, so it’s time to leave.”
“Ah, ah! Ah―!”
He reached out his hand toward the equation. At that moment, the three-dimensional magic circle emitted a blindingly transparent and white light. In front of that light that seemed to freeze and shatter my pupils, I squeezed out my voice.
“Artshever―!”
And the next moment, he was gone.
He disappeared as if he had never been here from the beginning.
“Ah, ahhh……!”
My legs give way. My body collapses.
What…… what happened?!
***
It didn’t take long for Sermaila to understand the whole situation.
First, the world’s upheaval. The world, where all laws were distorted and deviated, came into her view.
And the journal she obtained. It contained his records, written in a handwriting that she felt was unnatural.
The contents were shocking.
1,611 lives. It refers to the number of times he died and was resurrected in his own body.
At first, knowing nothing about parallel dimensions or the universe, he gradually learned about the shape of this world as he went through the process of dying and being revived.
Thus, he realized that he was crossing over to himself in parallel dimensions.
He also realized that with the ability of the other self’s body he had occupied this time, he could leave the parallel dimension with his physical body and wander around freely.
Sermaila struggled to understand the fact. That ‘bastard’ was not her father. He was just a corrupted version of her father from an unknown parallel dimension.
By the time she understood the truth, the chaos that had unfolded in the outside world had engulfed the entire world.
She saw lightning strike from a cloudless sky, heard the sound of the ground drying up when it rained, and felt the wind blowing from the ground.
Day and night became ambiguous as to whether they even existed, and the clouds of fire floating in the sky seemed to bless the fruiting of seed-bearing livestock.
She fought buildings that grew like trees and persuaded rocks that spoke like humans.
Just by staying still, the current situation became something from a distant horizon.
People couldn’t figure out why this was happening. They only learned that all the rules and restrictions that God had been keeping had disappeared from the world.
A world abandoned by God.
Those who despaired mercilessly overflowed the world.
Sermaila and her mother realized that the cause was a single man, the missing father and husband.
Seeing her mother collapse with a heart ailment right after that, Sermaila bit her lip until it bled.
“This world……! I will restore it to its original state!”
She made strenuous efforts for two years.
Since this parallel dimension had already deviated from God’s norms, she knew that she could also leave the parallel dimension. And the fact that she could freeze the time here semi-permanently.
The fact that she could use magic, superpowers, and sorcery in a place where God’s rules had disappeared was like a blessing to her.
She gathered that blessing as much as possible and completed all the calculations and preparations for her plan.
May 23rd.
26-year-old Sermaila Ka Herduke left the parallel dimension she had lived in until now, chasing after Artshever.
And the world’s time stopped and will continue until Artshever dies in the origin of the parallel dimension.
***
I’m nervous. Has the place I lived in really returned to normal?
The God of Light, Lynin, gave me an oracle that he would return me to the summer of my 24th year, as the cause would be nullified. But isn’t that just his own thought?
Other gods might oppose it. A single branch of a parallel dimension is nothing more than a place for simple simulations to them.
I just wanted to live happily with Risel and Ibi-unni.
Ah, but that was a wrong desire.
Risel, Dad’s body suffered so much, so I can’t make my future self go through the same thing.
Yes. Leaving like this is good for me and everyone else. I’ll go home and…… live my life.
But won’t I miss my other life so far? Surely I will miss that time, those people. And I’ll have to struggle with that unfulfillable longing.
However, what’s even more frightening than that is……
Thinking of that joyful time as a dream.
Forgetting them.
Saying that I just had a long and vivid dream, dismissing my time with them as if it never happened.
I’m scared.
I’m scared of forgetting!
Oh God! All gods! I pray like this!
It’s okay even if I miss them for the rest of my life!
It’s okay even if all I can do is reminisce!
Please, don’t let me forget them!
If all this is a dream……!
That’s too cruel!
My body and consciousness floated aimlessly. An insane speed filled with madness pierced through my whole body.
Light and darkness intersected, and all things scratched my whole body. When I thought I was being torn to shreds by sharp claws and scattered into powder that couldn’t even be found as fragments.
I opened my eyes.
“Gasp!”
A pain that felt like I was trapped in an Iron Maiden, being pricked by needles all over my body, suddenly swept over me. My whole body was drenched in sweat, and I wanted to sag like a water-soaked cotton ball.
“Gasp……! Ugh!”
I took care of myself as I hugged my whole body, suffering from the pain. My head felt like it was going to split. My body felt like it was cracking like glass hit by a hammer.
I am…… my name is……!
“Aila! Aila! Hey! Are you okay?”
It’s Ibi-unni’s voice. I was still wriggling on a soft object that I thought was a bed. I couldn’t even open my eyes like a baby.
What…… what happened to me?
“Aila, come to your senses! Are you hurt?!”
I can hear Risel’s voice too.
Did the ritual…… fail? Is that why the aftereffects are hitting my whole body?
Am I…… unable to go home?
“Hey! Aila, come to your senses! Risel, get a doctor! No, a priest!”
“Okay! Just wait a moment!”
“W-wait……!”
I managed to get my voice out. A voice squeezed from my lungs. A retching urge came up, like when I drank a lot of water while playing in the creek a long time ago.
“Cough! Cough! Hack! Gasp! Hack!”
“Oh my……! This sweat!”
“She was fine until yesterday, why suddenly?”
Breath rises from deep within my throat. A sandpaper-like breath roughly sweeps through my throat, causing a cough.
Sob! Sob! Just a little more strength! Sermaila!
“Gasp! Huff……! Huff……”
My breathing calmed down. Only then could I feel the hands frantically rubbing my body. I could feel the warm hand stroking my forehead.
Ah…… I have to open my eyes……
“Aila! Open your eyes!”
“Are you okay? Huh? Say something!”
“Ah…… I, I’m okay. Huu……”
I opened my eyes. And then I saw Ibi-unni and Risel in front of me.
Ah, as expected, did the ritual fail?
I smiled in disappointment. Seeing that, Ibi-unni made a tearful face, grabbed my face, and brought it closer. Ah, as expected of someone who will become a mother. She’s beautiful……
“Are you okay? Huh? Do you recognize your mother?”
“Aila, it’s Dad! Are you okay?”
Mom……? Dad?
My blurry vision came into focus. However, Risel and Ibi-unni transformed into Dad and Mom. What, there’s no need to age so much in that time……
“Hehehehehe……”
I suddenly burst into laughter at the sense of relief that settled in my chest. Seeing that, the two people in front of me made very anxious expressions. Ibi-unni…… no, Mom said.
“Honey, I think it’s serious.”
“Hmm, are there any superpowers I can use at a time like this? Damn it! This useless ability!”
“We should call a priest.”
“Ah, okay. Let’s do that.”
Risel, no, Dad tried to hurry out. I quickly reached out and grabbed Dad’s sleeve. I couldn’t put much strength into my hand, but Dad stopped walking.
I called Dad for the first time in a really long time.
“Dad……”
“Oh, yes, Aila. It’s Dad. Do you recognize me?”
“How old am I…… right now?”
“Huh? You’re 24 this year! Hey. You must have a really high fever……”
Dad tried to say something strange. At least, that’s how I felt. Hearing my current age, I laughed. I wanted to laugh out loud.
So I laughed.
“Ahahahaha……! Hahaha! Ahahahahahaha!”
With the laughter that cleared my throat, the pain disappeared from my whole body. My body felt light, and my mind felt light.
I’m back!
I hugged Mom, who was getting even more anxious.
“Mom―!”
“Oh my! Hey? Aila, are you okay?”
“Yes! Yes, yes! I’m okay! Mom! Mom, right? You’re Mom, right?! Right?!”
“Yes. I’m your mother. Who else would be your mother? What in the world……”
Mom, though bewildered, hugged me back. I hugged Mom tightly and had the embrace I hadn’t had in over 20 years. Then I stretched out my hands to Dad, who was looking at this scene with a bewildered face.
“Dad!”
Dad made a bewildered face, a much more mature expression than the one Risel often showed me. Then he soon hugged me lightly, and I snuggled into Dad’s arms.
Warm and cozy. Familiar and comforting.
Yes! That’s right! I’m back! I’m back!
“It’s Dad! You’re Dad, right? Right?! Right?!”
“Yes, it’s Dad. I’m your Dad. So calm down and……”
“Dadddy, I’m not crazy! Of course, I’ve never heard a crazy person say they’re crazy, but anyway, that’s it!”
I got out of Dad’s arms and sat down on the bed, making a face as if I had heard the news that the world was going to end tomorrow. I smiled so happily that tears welled up in my eyes.
I wiped them away with my hand. And I called the two of them.
“Mom! Dad!”
“Uh-huh.”
“Y-yes, Aila.”
Two bewildered faces. Ah, I’m so happy! I’m so happy I can’t even describe it!
I smiled brightly. And I greeted them.
“I’m home!”
A long, long journey. I left behind longing and regrets, but……
Still, I came home.
To a place so cozy and missed that I almost wished I hadn’t returned……
And the moment I came home, my heart was filled with happiness.
“I’m so happy right now!”
Risel! Ibi-unni! And everyone!
I’m so happy right now!
I’m happy that there are so many memories to cherish!
I’m happy that there are so many more memories to make!
So everyone!
Be happy!
p.s.
And that day, I was led by the hands of Mom and Dad and had to undergo a health checkup and even a mental evaluation.
Sigh. It feels so futile that I went through all that trouble just to see these people.
《Reset Life》 Concludes.
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