Chapter 24: Drawing Spring (2)
━’Spring’ is that kind of thing. It exists for everybody and no one.
Abel’s words.
The final sacred treasure, ‘Spring’, was the only one of the 〈Sacred Treasures of the Four Seasons〉 that no one knew about, from its existence to its location.
Cain, who had previously referred to himself as the Spring, shrugged.
Then he stretched his arm.
He held a cracked iron frame in his hand.
【Do you know what this is?】
Cain nodded.
He had seen the image in the iron frame change as the world line shifted upon his return.
There was always life attracted there.
“My life.”
【Cain, you are as observant as always. The future that ‘Winter’ devours is more valuable than you realize.】
Sssssss━.
Spring’s hand moved.
A colorful light bloomed.
When his hand touched the broken frame, it gradually returned to its original state.
【Sacrificing the present for the future is foolishness. But sacrificing the future for the present is also foolish.】
“…….”
【Have you used ‘Winter of Night’ recklessly before? ‘Winter’ warned you that the future was being consumed, but it never truly harmed you.】
Cain closed his mouth.
His words were correct.
He was vaguely aware that consuming the future would have negative consequences, but he had no idea what they would be.
Swish━.
Spring gently brushed the iron frame that was about to break.
The iron frame began to gradually return to its original state.
【Your teacher, who passed on ‘Winter’ to you, also stated. You must be prepared to die if you use Active.】
“What are you?”
Cain moved forward with his left foot.
Because he didn’t have any weapons, he raised his fist.
In this world, he was the only one who knew about the conversation with his teacher.
Spring smiled widely.
【But you never had a problem using it, like now.】
Spring shrank.
Cain’s robust figure began to deteriorate, transforming into a young man in his mid-twenties.
Spring brushed back his black hair before opening his mouth.
【But until when can I represent your ‘future’?】
“……!”
【Consider it for a moment. I don’t think you know why you stabbed your brother, who became a hero, in the chest.】
Cain’s face hardened.
Sacrificing the future.
It was beyond just facing an unpleasant tomorrow or having a bad day, it meant twisting the very fate of that world.
But Cain shook his head and clenched both fists.
“It’s just wordplay. Abel’s business is just that: his. It’s ridiculous to claim that my future changed the hero’s fate.”
【Perhaps.】
“If I had been a little stronger, I would have incapacitated Abel and invaded the Holy See alone and killed everyone.”
【That solution could have existed.】
“If I had been weak, I would have died on the streets without seeing anything.”
【That ending may have existed.】
Spring cheerfully agreed to everything Cain said.
Cain frowned and closed his mouth.
He didn’t know why he was dreaming like this or what he wanted to say.
Before he knew it, the iron frame had returned to its original condition. Spring raised the iron frame into the air and said.
【I don’t know what’s the right answer either. Because fate belongs not to the one who makes it, but to the one who walks it.】
“Then I’ll live as I do now.”
Cain confronted Spring head on.
He wasn’t afraid to use his strength.
He didn’t give up because he could use his strength.
He would not spare the future, either.
‘Tomorrow’ would not come anyway.
Cain, who always lived ‘today’, valued the present over the unknown future.
Spring, who had aged, smiled widely.
【Sacrifice for another is truly magnificent and noble.】
“…….”
【Remember that your sacrifice hurts those who remain behind.】
The world vanished like a dream.
The frames transformed into pure white birds and flew away to a distant location, while the one who called himself ‘Spring’ waved his hand.
【I’ll always be watching, Cain Ethelred.】
He was like Spring, existing everywhere and nowhere.
🔹🔹🔹
Rattle, rattle━.
The carriage travelled slowly.
The cool sea breeze blew through the open window, tickling Cain’s face.
As the wind touched him several times, he gradually opened his eyes.
“Are you awake?”
The carriage was returning to Ethelred’s territory.
When he turned his head slightly, he saw Oleciren’s face, who was holding a wet towel and looked worried.
“How long have I been unconscious?”
“Not long. You fainted in the morning, and now the sun is high in the sky, so it wasn’t too long.”
Cain felt like teasing Oleciren’s face, which still had tear marks.
“Moving a patient in a carriage like this. What if I died on the way?”
Oleciren’s usually brazen face turned pale in an instant.
Cain was taken aback by her reaction, which was more extreme than he anticipated.
Oleciren quickly rose from her seat and approached Cain to check on his condition.
“Are you still not feeling well? Arna-nim said there was nothing wrong with your body, so she suggested that we return to the castle for the time being……”
Thud.
He grabbed Oleciren’s hand, which was holding his arm, in confusion.
“I am fine. I was only kidding.”
“You…….”
But Oleciren refused to let go of his hand.
His violet eyes and her gray Gypsum Flower-like eyes met each other.
Their time together was short, but what they had gone through was thicker than anything.
The two of them chuckled and separated.
Cain turned his head as if nothing had happened and gazed outside the carriage.
The same blue sea as when he arrived.
White cliffs.
Cows on a green meadow.
However, there was something different.
+
『Annihilator of Destruction Ⅲ』
‘Cain Ethelred’ performed the miracle of banishing the Witch of the Horizon, ‘Primundi Ethelred’, by sacrificing himself in the most noble manner.
But in the end, it was taking away the trial that someone else should have faced.
The value of the future cannot be determined, but the path you choose from now on is entirely your own.
Using ‘Winter’s Active’ also stimulated the ‘Sacred Treasures of the Four Seasons’.
World Line Fixation: 8.5%
Clear Conditions: Oleciren’s awakening (■■, ■■).
Success: World Line Fixation increases (■■).
Failure: ■■.
*The rewards will be confirmed once the clear conditions are met.
+
‘There are many invisible letters.’