studiobondurri Chapter 87: The Reader’s Heart (3)
Chapter 87: The Reader’s Heart (3)
Chapter 87: The Reader’s Heart (3)
Light flowed out of my sword and covered the black dragon.
[Sympathy refuses to be absorbed!]
But the energy around the black dragon resisted me fiercely. The black, poisonous energy spilled outward like sewage during the rainy season or a black panther suddenly jolted out of a peaceful sleep.
[Sympathy is bewildered.]
[Sympathy rebukes her sister.]
[Sympathy demands to know if she betrayed Lefanta Aegim.]
[The Goddess of Protection pacifies her sister.]
The light of my holy sword and the black energy of the dragon blended together chaotically.
[Sympathy demands that you show her that you’re qualified to be her new master.]
Neither the white light or dark energy were ready to back down.
[A Constellation is a formidable power.]
[Their power should never be given to those who aren’t qualified.]
[Sympathy has not recognized you as her new master.]
I quietly looked at the sword embedded in the black dragon’s chest. “Yes, you have a point, but how am I supposed to prove that I’m qualified?”
The black poisonous energy continued to leak out from the black dragon’s corpse. The energy, more venomous than it had ever been, took on the form of an angel who was seemingly made from dark water.
[Sympathy says she is the fragment of the goddess’s sympathy.]
[If you have proven that you can be someone’s idol... it is time you must prove that you can sympathize with someone.]
The expressionless angel spread her wings. Even those were turbid and dripping with dark fluid.
[Sympathy demands that you temporarily relinquish control of your body and mind to her.]
“Why should I do that?” I asked.
[Sympathy explains that she must peer into your memories.]
The light emitted by the holy sword shone a little brighter.
[The Goddess of Protection cannot agree with Sympathy’s statement.]
[The Goddess of Protection believes that Sympathy will naturally understand that you are qualified to be their new master if they travel together, so there is no reason to take unnecessary risks.]
“No, it’s okay.” I put away my sword. “I can’t have a sword on my waist that doesn’t trust me, even if it’s the finest sword in the world. It’ll put me on edge. Come! Come and steal my memories or whatever until you’re satisfied.”
I spread my arms.
[Sympathy tests your sympathy.]
The angel’s huge wings covered me like a mother bird embracing her baby. In the darkness, scenes from my past played before me like dreams.
“You’re kind, Mister.”
The garden, consumed by flames.
“Hold on a little longer. Hold on....”
“You pitiful things...”
A paradise engulfed in smoke.
“The world has no meaning.”
A snowy field where a certain red peony bloomed.
“My disciple.”
The garden, the paradise, and the snow were as gone as quickly as they had appeared.
Sympathy hurriedly furled her wings, letting the light back in. She looked at me. The fragment of a Constellation still looked emotionless, but her black eyes peered out from underneath her eyebrows with a bewilderment which she couldn’t hide.
—You...
“I’m not perfect,” I said. “I’m weak to acts of goodwill. That is what I hope to receive, and I do go out of my way a little to get it. I really like compliments, so I work to look like a good person. That might be my weakness. I’m not perfect.”
The Constellation fragment closed her mouth.
“Shh.” The Indoor Librarian raised his index finger and pressed it against my lips. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say it. I already understand why.”
I could feel the pressure of his finger on my lips.
“You didn’t want to meddle with the end your teacher reached. I feel the same way—I don’t want to intervene in the ends that the worlds met. We share the same heart...”
The world had already melted up to the horizon. The sun shone on the lake that the thawing ice had revealed.
“I refuse to intervene in a story, which leaves me only one way to become a character.”
“... What is it?” I asked.
“It’s simple if you think about it the other way around: instead of searching for a character in a novel, the character can come look for me.
“Lefanta Aegim, the Constellation Murderer, constantly travels from world to world to kill Constellations,” he whispered. The Indoor Librarian smiled. “He’s bound to visit my Great Library of All Life one day to kill me.”
He took a book out of his pocket. It looked more worn out than the other apocalyptic books, suggesting that he had taken it out and read it hundreds of times. The book's leather cover was worn and torn like the notebook of an old writer.
The title, The Epic of Lefanta Aegim, was embossed in gold on the cover.
“He’ll continue his story and stand before me someday by his own volition. On that day, I’ll finally appear in the story of The Epic of Lefanta Aegim. That is the day I’m waiting for.”
“Even if the story will end with your death?”
“Of course.” The Indoor Librarian looked down at the now snow-free ground and smiled widely. His sleeves fluttered like a dancing crane. “He’s the protagonist. Isn’t that the best epilogue I can ask for?”
***
Before returning to the library, I stopped to see the Heavenly Demon Cult followers. I really wanted to make sure that Teacher’s funeral was going well.
“Ah, Young Heaven.”
“Welcome!”
“Welcome, Young Heaven.”
The followers offered me their bao quan salute as soon as they saw me. However, I felt like they were disconcerted for some reason. It wasn’t just one or two people—all of them were.
I tilted my head. “Is the funeral already over?”
“N-no, Young Heaven. Umm, we haven’t started the funeral...”
“Is something wrong?”
The followers exchanged glances.
“Well...”
“Lady Heavenly Demon’s body has disappeared,” the Blood Demon King explained. He was one of the Four Demon Kings; Teacher often called him Blood Demon Senior Captain.
“What?”
“It’ll be faster to show you, Young Heaven.”
I quickly followed the Blood Demon King to where I had laid Teacher’s body and was bewildered by what I saw.
“All of the snow suddenly began to melt, and Lady Heavenly Demon’s body disappeared as well... I’m sorry. It happened so quickly that we didn’t have time to do anything about it.”
The snow was gone, but her body was nowhere to be seen. It was nowhere to be found, no matter where I looked.
“We think that because Lady Heavenly Demon’s vital energy was so pure, she naturally dissolved into nature after her death...”
Crimson peonies in full bloom swayed where her arms, feet, and hair had rested.
—This is incredible, the Guardian muttered. The Constellation of this world left behind nothing but a curse after he died, but your teacher left behind flowers. Your teacher is better than the so-called Constellation of this world.
I approached the flower garden and bent down. I stroked the peony petals with my fingertips, feeling their red petals rubbing against my index finger.
It was the first spring to bloom in this world.
“Of course, we’re still preparing for the funeral,” the Blood Demon King said from behind me. “Young Heaven, please attend—”
“No.” I shook my head. “It’s okay. Please don’t hold the funeral.”
“Pardon?”
“This’ll be enough.” I stood up and turned to the cultists. “I became the Young Heaven of the Heavenly Demon Cult because I’m her heir, but I’m sure there are still some who can’t accept it. The principle of this cult is that the strongest takes all, so it’s only natural for the strongest person to rise to the highest position.
“Let’s make our fight her funeral. It’s customary to offer precious items during a funeral, and our sword is what we value the most. So, let’s offer our swords to Teacher.” I laughed. “Bring it on.”
Spring arrived. Like all living people, the next chapter of my story would come. It would start on a slightly higher stage than where I was now.