Chapter 65: Act 1 – The Burning City
On the highest floor, there were two flower pots shaped like the bright blue eyes of a fairy located on the highest glass shelf.
Millerd pointed at them and said.
“Hey, this is the Demilight.”
“Ooh, this is….”
It was the first time Luke had seen the Demilight of this era.
He immediately began to observe it with magic sight shining in his eyes.
“The color seems lighter than I know. But it’s still mysterious.”
The Demilight he had seen in the past was a slightly deeper blue.
However, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly unusual at first glance aside from the color.
Aside from the color, it seemed largely no different from the ones 5,000 years ago…
“Ha ha, really? It looks a bit different when you see it in person for the first time.”
There’s quite a difference between seeing something in person and in a photo.
Luke nodded in agreement.
“I want to take a closer look, is that okay?”
“…Doctor?”
Millerd cast a glance at the doctor as if asking for permission.
Noticing that Millerd didn’t have the authority, Luke immediately turned his gaze to the old man and pleaded.
“Please.”
The old man, caught between the gaze of a mischievous disciple and a cute budding child, lightly brushed away the corners of his eyes.
The Demilight is an incredibly sensitive magical plant; one wrong move…
“…”
However, it was nearly impossible to simply ignore the transparent, sparkling gaze of the child, like dew on petals at dawn.
But after all the hard work to come this far, how disappointed would the child be if they just took a quick glance?
“…Hmm. Fine. But, don’t touch it, no matter what.”
“I don’t know how to express my gratitude enough.”
“Look at that little guy talking.”
He thought the child was more delightful the more he looked at them.
Carefully taking the pot out to eye level for Luke, he immediately leaned forward to sniff the Demilight.
“This is…”
One hand clasped behind his back, while the other created a light breeze to catch the scent of the flower.
Creating a breeze with magic was no big deal, but it was better to suppress mana when handling a magical plant.
Millerd and the doctor internally marveled at Luke’s unexpectedly professional appearance.
Millerd asked.
“How does it smell?”
Luke shook his head in response.
“There’s no sweet scent at all. It seems there’s no honey in it.”
“Ha ha, you can differentiate that?”
“I’ve smelled it before. It’s quite nostalgic.”
“You’ve smelled it before? When?”
“Hmm, so…”
When was that?
Luke began calculating the constellations from that time to answer.
But that action had to stop in an instant.
Luke let out a shrill scream.
“Kyah!”
Startled by the sudden scream from the child, Millerd almost dropped the pot and hurriedly lifted it back up.
“Ugh, what’s going on all of a sudden!?”
Because Py was right in front of the Demilight, with his mouth wide open.
Immediately, Luke snatched Py up with his hands wrapped in magic, feigning an angry expression as he shook Py and shouted.
“Py, what in the world are you doing!?”
Py, being twirled and shaken by Luke’s grip, spoke as if he were about to cry.
– But…! I really want to see the flower!
“What do you mean you want to see it?”
– I can show you. The flower!
“What?”
The grip on Luke’s fingers loosened.
You want to show a flower?
What flower?
“Wait, don’t tell me…”
The only flower here was the Demilight.
So, Py saying he could show a flower surely referred specifically to the Demilight.
“Py, you can do that?”
– Yes!
As soon as Py broke free from Luke’s grasp, he lifted off the ground in an instant and ‘devoured’ the Demilight whole.
“…”
There was no turning back now.
Slowly, Luke began to raise his gaze toward the pot containing the Demilight.
Then, the once-tense Millerd and the old man followed Luke’s gaze to the pot.
And shortly thereafter, the color of the Demilight that had entered Py’s body began to deepen gradually.
The man and the old man widened their eyes even more in disbelief as Luke’s reaction caught their attention.
“What in the world…”
“Millerd. What on earth is happening right now?”
Blue.
They could identify the subtle color changes of countless flowers.
It was certainly blue.
It was like the deep blue sky just before the moon rose.
And what was even more astonishing was.
“The flower is blooming, isn’t it?”
The Eye of God, the Demilight.
The eyelids that had never opened for a long time now opened wide.
“Oh my God.”
The fragrance of the Demilight, which had unfolded after a long wait, was so strong that it felt as if it was trying to release all its accumulated scent at once.
Even without bringing their noses near, the overwhelming fragrance made them wonder if this was indeed the flower they had been researching.
And within that scent, there was definitely a hint of ‘sweetness.’
That would undoubtedly prove the presence of honey.
“Lu, Luke. This, could it be that you…?”
Slowly pulling his gaze from the Demilight and looking down, Millerd froze.
“Lu, Luke? Why are you crying? What’s wrong?”
“I’m crying?”
That’s impossible, Luke lightly shook his head to deny it.
But at that moment, he felt tears flowing down his cheeks.
“…Huh?”
Tears were indeed flowing.
“Why…?”
– That’s because you miss her, Ere.
“Ere…?”
The circle began to quiver.
—–
It was at the top of a high mountain.
A mountain so tall that only in summer could mana barely reach it.
And beneath his feet, a single Demilight was ‘blooming.’
“…”
A look of dissatisfaction on his face.
Turning his head to look behind, aside from what could be guessed to be his own footprints, there were other tracks that led beside them in the continuous snowy field.
Following those tracks with his gaze, a woman with red hair was smiling brightly and looking down.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
Nodding.
“Ere is prettier.”
To have come all the way here for just this, he couldn’t understand it at all.
“Whoops, nothing escapes this one, I wonder who she takes after.”
The woman’s turquoise eyes drew a gentle curve.
“Ere resembles Ere.”
“Right, that must be it!”
Swoosh, swoosh.
The woman lightly stroked the child’s head.
With nothing but trouble ahead, the child began to turn away his head in annoyance, seeing no end in sight, and finally, the woman seemed to regretfully withdraw her hand.
“Yeah, it’s creepy. ‘God is watching over all’—it’s really boring too.”
“Yeah.”
Once again, it seemed she wasn’t really listening; it appeared she wasn’t very interested.
The woman continued, seemingly resigned, still gazing down at the flower.
“By the way, I don’t actually dislike this flower. The honey from this flower has quite a deep meaning.”
“What kind of meaning?”
“This is a tear. A tear shed in joy or sadness.”
“…”
That didn’t sound particularly special? The child tilted his head.
“But the gods are always so capricious; they never easily get happy or sad. That’s why we can’t see the god’s tears.”
Can’t see? That was also a strange statement.
It has always been, but today she seemed to say many strange things.
When he lightly poked the center of the flower with his finger, a lot came out.
“There’s plenty of honey here.”
Then she smiled bitterly.
“That’s right, there’s a bit too much right now.”
That’s because the gods are that human-like.
It couldn’t be helped.
Because they had once been human.
“But that’s the last of it. I will close my eyes now. I won’t see anything anymore.”
“…Why?”
“For freedom… perhaps?”
“Freedom?”
“Yeah. For everyone’s freedom.”
As the woman closed her eyes, the petals of the Demilight began to fold.
The emotions that had filled this space slowly began to disperse.
Faintly, as if melting even more into the world.
Thus, the ‘Eye of God’ closed.
So no more tears would flow.
It was then.
Slap.
The sound of a hand slapping a cheek; it was the child’s hand hitting the woman’s face.
“Why? Open your eyes, don’t close them.”
“Ugh, no. I’m tired of being sad now.”
In a playful tone, the child answered in a slightly teary voice.
“Are you really going to leave me behind?”
“I’m not leaving, I’m just going to sleep for a bit.”
“You’re going to sleep?”
“Yeah, I’m going to sleep.”
“I don’t want that. You don’t have to.”
“But I want to sleep.”
“Still…”
“I think it’s okay to rest a little now.”
“Still…”
“Ere. You need to learn about the new world.”
“Still…”
“It’s been too long, way too long.”
“…”
The child already knew that any further words would be meaningless.
They had been together for too long; throwing a tantrum would be neither for her sake nor for his.
“But I’ll promise you one thing.”
She said with a joyful smile.
“You’ll be happy, just like I was.”
Because I taught you that.
The woman disappeared.
The child, now left alone, murmured toward the void.
“Good night, Renie.”
———
He had a dream.
Though the detailed memories were unclear, a clear sense of longing gripped his heart, which wasn’t particularly pleasant.
Yet it wasn’t genuinely an unpleasant feeling either.
As he slowly opened his eyes, he saw a white ceiling.
Looking at a shape he didn’t recognize, he guessed that this place was one he had never been to before.
“…Where is this?”
A low murmur; as if answering, a voice poured out.
“Luke, are you finally coming to?”
“Sister, are you okay?”
“How can you make someone worry like this for a whole day, seriously?”
Yerna was holding Luke’s hand tightly, even shedding tears.
“Yerna? Diana, and even Dayton? How did you all end up here…?”
“I thought this time you were really going to be in trouble…”
Looking around, the arrangement and shape of the various pieces of furniture, along with the IV drip injecting nutrient potion into his hand and the patient gown he wore, made it clear that this was a hospital.
A hospital, huh.
“Huh, did I pass out from emotional overload after seeing the Demilight?”
Right after seeing the Demilight, an unidentified emotion had overwhelmed him, causing the circle to go wildly off track.
It seemed he lost consciousness because of that.
When he looked out the window, the enormous World Tree visible from here proved that this place was still Beriton.
His grasp of the situation was quick.
Luke covered his face with his hands, filled with remorse, and spoke.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring you to such a far place…”
He felt as if this had happened before.
Hadn’t he already experienced awakening in a hospital when he first arrived at the Power Plant?
“I really haven’t grown at all.”
It was a lamentable matter.
Slowly rising, Luke asked.
“Then, where are the other kids? I need to apologize for making you worry…”
“The kids? They’re gone now.”
At Dayton’s reply, Luke inquired in confusion.
“Hmm? What do you mean? There are no kids?”
“You’ve been sleeping for three whole days. The others all went home.”
“…What?”
