Chapter 202: The Sun of That Summer (3)
「When did spring become spring?
Who defined winter as winter?
Spring was spring, and winter was winter long before God defined all things.
People lived and died long before God opened his eyes.
Then what is ‘God’?
What are the ‘seasons’ as a testament to God’s presence in the world? What is the ‘world’ that controls the giant puppets of heroes and demon kings?
And what lies beyond the boundaries of the world defined by God?
I feel ashamed that I, called a sage, know so little.
━ From the Sage’s Diary. 」
Golden Goblin, Lesbos.
And the old Gold Dragon who shared his name with him, Lesbos.
At his greeting, the seasons began to respond.
[‘Summer’ greets you shyly, avoiding eye contact.]
[‘Winter’ waves her hand with a soft smile.]
Cain had thought that only he could see the messages of the seasons, but not now.
Whether it was because the being was dead, or because he was originally a dragon that commanded heaven and earth, the old man answered familiarly.
━’Summer’ you haven’t changed a bit. ‘Winter’ you are……
[‘Winter’ narrows her eyes.]
It meant to watch his mouth since Cain was listening.
The old man smiled.
━You seem to have become much softer than before.
[‘Winter’ nods her head.]
[‘Summer’ says that ‘Winter’ of that time wouldn’t be so shy like now━]
‘Summer’s message was cut off for a moment.
[‘Summer’ says that ‘Winter’ is the most beautiful and kind in the world.]
Words that seemed forced to anyone who saw them flowed out.
Cain smirked.
‘Winter……’
It wasn’t just once or twice, she had even shown her hand in anger before. He was grateful that ‘Winter’, who thought of him as much as he thought of her, wanted to look good in front of him.
Because they were companions and parents who shared the same world line.
Eventually, the old man slowly approached Cain. Lesbos, unable to even touch him, followed closely behind the old man.
The old man’s eyes widened slightly as he looked Cain over. If he had used his heart to see Cain’s true feelings, what he was looking at now was the mystery that Cain held.
He let out an exclamation of admiration.
━Amazing. I knew your heart was in the right place, but you can communicate with the seasons too?
“Well…… somehow.”
Even the dragon is surprised by the miracle brought about by the life of a warrior who has lived his best.
Cain wondered if what he had taken for granted might be more amazing than he thought.
━As expected.
Whooosh━.
The old man snapped his fingers.
Aurelia, who had been watching the conversation between the world’s greatest mystery, the dragon, the 〈Sacred Treasures of the Four Seasons〉, and the hero Cain, with sparkling eyes, closed her eyes.
Her body, collapsing with a soft thud, landed lightly on the floor like a feather.
━I put your companion to sleep for a moment because I thought it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to hear from here.
“Yes.”
Cain looked over the old man.
Seeing him mention a reward, it seemed he even knew about the existence of the quest window.
‘Was it like this before?’
The first hero, John Doe.
If this was what a dragon who lived in the same era as him was saying, then he must have been similar to himself.
‘And Commons.’
If there was an organization, there was usually a purpose. ‘Commons’ would also have a purpose, but for an organization of its size, nothing was known about it.
But now.
Cain was convinced that ‘Commons’, who coveted Lesbos’ gold, and John Doe were practically one and the same.
At the same time, he couldn’t even begin to imagine what kind of monster the first hero, who had lived for over a thousand years, would be.
━Lesbos.
The old man called out to the one behind him. The creature stood in front of the old man, clutching the dragon heart.
The old man smiled bitterly and then bowed his head to Cain.
━You may have already guessed, but this heart is actually a fake.
[‘Summer’ is surprised by the old man’s words.]
[‘Summer’ grabs his head in despair at how easily he was fooled.]
Cain slowly nodded.
“I thought it was strange that the sound of his heartbeat and the sound coming from the dragon heart were subtly similar.”
A thorough object that could deceive even the seasons in terms of the power it contained.
However, Cain, like a true warrior, was reading the world with all five senses.
Naturally, he didn’t miss that subtle detail.
Swoosh━.
The old man pushed the golden heart into Lesbos’ chest. The heart disappeared in an instant, as if ice were melting away.
“Huh?”
The creature fumbled at its chest with both hands as the enormous thing suddenly disappeared. The old man patted Lesbos’ head and said,
━Even a golden goblin has a lifespan, so I━.
Cain cut the old man off and asked back.
“You gave him your heart so that Lesbos wouldn’t get caught up in the cycle of life and death?”
The old man’s eyes widened.
At the same time, Summer’s message came to mind.
[‘Summer’ says that’s not true. He just lived a little longer with the dragon’s power at the time, and he escaped with his blessing.]
On the other hand, the old man’s words were different.
━That’s right. This fellow is my grandson, so I gave him a heart so that he wouldn’t suffer or be in pain. After that, ‘Summer’ blessed him.
[‘Summer’ blinks in confusion. Then he points a finger at himself and looks at ‘Winter’.]
[‘Winter’ nods her head with a sad smile.]
One of the things Cain had been wondering about was solved.
Was it the 〈Sacred Treasures of the Four Seasons〉 that created the contents of the quest window, or something else?
And the answer he got was that while they were related, they were not directly related to the content.
‘It’s a bit strange that Summer doesn’t even know this……’
Cain smiled bitterly at the feeling that solving one question had only burdened him with another. Hoping that someday, like now, this question would be answered.
━Oh my.
Blink━.
The old man’s figure disappeared and reappeared.
━I don’t have much time left.
It was a miracle that a dragon who had died long ago could even have this conversation.
━To the hero who returned what belonged to this child, I will give you the rest of what I have left, though it may not be enough, as a key.
Swoosh.
The old man reached into his own chest and pulled out something.
Unlike the brilliant heart from before, a sphere the size of a fingernail, emitting a faint light, was held in his hand.
━This is my gift to the hero of this age. Please accept it.
“I understand.”
As Cain reached out his hand, the old man suddenly clenched his fist. And then, not as an unfeeling, absolute monster, but with the heart of a grandfather leaving his grandson behind, he opened his mouth.
━This foolish boy gave everything to John Doe. My worry is that he will do the same to you.
“You don’t have to worry.”
Cain said firmly.
At the same time, so that Lesbos, who was standing next to the old man with his eyes shining brightly, could hear, he said clearly,
“Because I don’t need him.”
“……!”
Lesbos flinched for a moment.
It hurt him quite a bit that the hero who saved him said he didn’t need him.
On the other hand, a smile began to spread across the old man’s face.
━Why is that? This child is clever, and he has a destiny where gold follows him, the golden rule, so he will be useful.
“Because I don’t see people as ‘tools’.”
John Doe treated Lesbos as nothing more than a tree that sprouted gold.
As long as he gave him a little hope-filled word, he would give it to him, so he was the best ‘tool’ with the best ‘use’.
But Cain does not treat Lesbos as a ‘tool’ or an ‘object’.
He met his eyes as an equal, as a person living an ordinary life.
“One’s life is one’s own. I will help this child to live, but I have no interest or need for him to offer me anything.”
It was cold.
But it was the right thing to say.
[‘Winter’ smiles.]
A child must grow.
In order to grow, nutrients are important, but so is the cold wind that it must endure.
If the greenhouse called John Doe cherished Lesbos like a flower, the world called Cain, though cold, would allow him to grow on his own.
━For someone like you to be a hero. This age is truly blessed.
The old man opened his hand.
He handed Cain the sphere that emitted a faint golden light.
Fwaaaaaaaaah━.
The light it emitted was small, but what it contained was infinite. In an instant, a brilliant ray of light enveloped Cain.
The old man looked at Cain, who had disappeared into the light, for a moment, then opened his arms towards Lesbos.
━Let me hold you one last time.
“Grandfather……”
Lesbos’ arms grazed the empty air. It was the moment when the Gold Dragon, whose name the whole world once remembered, disappeared.
🔹🔹🔹
[Calculating overdue rewards.]
[World Line Fixation: ▲ 29.4%]
It was a [sea of light].
Cain didn’t know why, but he realized the moment he saw it that this was the sea where everything flowed in and out, even though there was no land or sky.
[Congratulations. You have reached Ain for the first time.]
[World Line Fixation: ▲30.2%]
The color of the sea was indescribable. What shimmered and shone went beyond the limits of what Cain knew.
All he could say was that it was thousands upon thousands of rays of light.
[You have exited the Divine Model Garden.]
[World Line Fixation: ▲30.5%]
Cain slowly recalled his memories.
Ain.
He didn’t know what it was, but the first time he encountered it was when he was drawing on all his strength to finish off Glumiêm, who had become the World Tree.
‘That was the first time I felt like I knew what infinity was.’
Every time he sacrificed the future, it was like he was facing the true nature of the power that flowed into him for the first time.
And now.
Cain had a hunch.
This sea of light was the source of the power that flowed into him every time he sacrificed the future.
[Ain has been identified.]
[World Line Fixation: ▲31.1%]
Fwoosh━.
A wind blew from somewhere.
Cain instinctively raised his hand to block the wind that was swirling before his eyes.
But there was no hand.
“……”
It was slowly melting into the flow of light and disappearing into light.
Grab━.
There was a cold hand that grabbed Cain’s.
Only when someone grabbed Cain was he able to regain his form, which was melting into light.
[‘Winter’ draws a line, saying it’s not Cain’s place to reach yet.]
Her hair was long.
Her form was too dazzling to see clearly, but he could tell she was a woman.
And the clearly visible hand.
“I know this hand.”
A hand he could never forget.
It was the hand of ‘Winter’ who held the holy sword ‘Summer’ in front of him that day.
“Winter.”
The woman of light carefully nodded her head.
“Thank you.”
Words he wanted to convey properly, but only now did he say them.
“Thank you for watching over me. And please continue to watch over me.”
[‘Winter’ smiles brightly.]
Rumble━.
The sea of light, which had been calmly rippling, suddenly began to tremble.
‘Winter’ hurriedly pulled Cain back behind her.
【Not yet, Cain.】
The summer sunlight was brilliant.
The summer sun was shining.
Winter’s words were warm.
And when Cain opened his eyes, all he could see was Aurelia regaining consciousness and Lesbos in tears.
Recalling the sea of light that had flashed by like a fleeting dream, Cain pointed upwards.
It was time to go.
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