Slimy, muddy water.
The sky was dark, surrounded by dark clouds, and the sudden feeling in his heart was even darker and more despairing than the heavens.
*Sshaaaa—*
The falling rain beat mercilessly against his body.
*Why did you do that? Why did you throw away your mission at that exact moment, a mission you should never have forgotten even for a second?*
The rain seemed to lash at his heart, rebuking him.
“… This is,” Regarda muttered, slowly looking down at his palms.
His scarred, scrawny palms and forearms came into view.
‘It’s the past.’
He knew immediately. This was a memory from 1,000 years ago. It was within the memories of Regarda Ovierre himself, after he had lost Aerial.
However, it was far too vivid to be dismissed as a mere fragment of memory. He could feel the blood flowing from his open wounds and the stinging pain of rainwater seeping into them. He felt the texture of calluses that had hardened after repeatedly cracking and regenerating.
There was the hunger and slight dizziness from not eating properly for several days.
And even a cold emptiness that surpassed all of that. It was all too clear.
The rain and blood clung to his body. His vision shook dizzily. In the midst of that, forgotten emotions surged within him.
“… Filthy.”
Anger consumed his body. Anger at himself. Anger at the things trying to defile this place.
“You monsters.”
Lowly things that should not even exist in this world. How dare they set foot here?
*Skreeeeek!*
Grotesque things with twisted bodies let out screams. To his ears now, they sounded like screams of agony. Because he knew this was a memory, things he hadn’t noticed before became visible. He saw glimpses of flesh-colored skin through the black-covered bodies of the monsters. He heard their desperate screams.
He saw the miserable truth of beings he had once thought were nothing more than lowly creatures. Yet, some things remained unchanged.
“Be silent.”
His scarred, scrawny hands firmly gripped his spear. His two legs stood firm without the slightest tremor.
“This is the Dragon’s Temple.”
Behind him was the sleeping Aerial. The great Dragon, who had no choice but to seal herself because of the Dragon Knight’s lack of virtue, was resting there.
‘What did it matter if this was a memory? What did it matter if this pain was false?’ Behind him was the sleeping Dragon. He stood before the Dragon’s Temple. Therefore, he would simply protect it.
“Go cry out your grievances to your own god.”
One thousand years ago, and even now, he was the Dragon Knight.
Yellow Ganggi shot out toward the Abyssal Depths.
‘Was this a memory for atonement? Or was it a punishment for judgment?’ The physical pain was terrible, and the mental emptiness was even more precarious. Teeth gnashed and claws dug into his infinitely weakened body. The Abyssal Depths burrowed randomly into his mind, which was trapped in anger and self-loathing.
*Skreeeeek!*
Nevertheless, his two firmly planted legs did not waver in the slightest. His two arms wielding the spear did not show a hint of hesitation.
“Do not cry.”
He would likely die again in this memory.
“Do you think I didn’t want to cry as well?”
He simply protected the temple.
***
His eyes naturally closed at the bright, multicolored light. When he opened them again, he was in a very unfamiliar space.
‘…?’
It was a vast space. Though it was inside a building, the sky was wide open, and there were passages on both sides where a cool breeze could pass through. And the energy felt from all directions was…
‘Magic?’
It was the trace of magic. High-level magic was unfolded throughout the interior and exterior of the vast space, which felt like a temple. Magic circles were installed densely. Various Artifacts and high-grade magic were intertwined and active. It was magic that the current Freya could not even begin to understand.
That wasn’t the only peculiar thing.
‘My body…’
Looking around at her body using her peripheral vision, it wasn’t her familiar self. It was a much larger and more slender body. She had long, soft green hair. Although it was her first time seeing it in person, it was an appearance she had heard about countless times through paintings and stories.
‘Aerial?’
It was Aerial’s human form. It seemed she had entered Aerial’s memory, not Freya’s, as they had called it the Memory Gate.
‘Incredible!’
This was perhaps an opportunity. Had she not come directly to the ancient Dragon’s Temple she had only heard about? This was a chance to directly see and learn things like lost magic or the Dragon Tongue, with magic scattered everywhere.
Therefore, Freya tried to hop around and explore the surroundings immediately, but…
‘Ugh, I can’t move…!’
Unfortunately, her body did not move as she wished. Instead, magic power surged from the magic circles located within the temple, and Aerial’s gaze turned toward them.
Five magic circles were arranged along the wall. As soon as she confirmed them, magic power erupted from Aerial’s body. The guided magic power headed toward the magic circles. Freya felt as if Aerial’s movements were granting permission.
Was her intuition correct? Once Aerial’s permission was given, several figures began to appear within the large, magnificent temple.
-Aerial.
They were a type of illusion, not physical entities. Five dragons appeared in Aerial’s temple as illusions. Even though they were only illusions, their presence was immense.
-It is as expected. Not a single god answers our questions.
-In the end, we must take action.
At their words, Freya’s mouth moved on its own, and a voice came out. It was Aerial speaking.
“I cannot understand the reason.”
Then another dragon spoke again.
-The same goes for me. Why is God silent?
-There is no way they don’t know what we already know.
-I suspect there is a reason, but they won’t even tell us that.
There was only one reason they gathered to speak like this.
-About the signs of the Abyssal Depths.
It was because of the Abyssal Depths. The dragons already knew about its movement.
***
I knew as soon as I opened my eyes. It wasn’t my body. It was a body that was similarly beautiful, warm, and full of love, but it was clearly not mine.
Then who was it? The answer was obvious.
‘Venus.’
Venus, the former Goddess of Love. It was the body of a goddess. It was a memory.
The location was also a place I had visited before. It was the Divine Space of Beltesia where I had been with Hio. It was a sacred place where the old gods were said to have resided.
Opposite me, an unknown goddess—white from head to toe, even her eyebrows and eyelashes—sat with her eyes closed, sipping tea. Venus sat facing her in that familiar, childishly painted chair.
The white goddess, who had been smiling gently with her eyes closed, spoke first.
“Did you ask me to teach you how to leave something behind, Venus?”
At that, Airlights felt a natural sense of dissatisfaction. I didn’t know if this was my own feeling or if Venus’s feelings were imprinted in the memory, but regardless, it wasn’t a very good feeling.
“Yes, Liphyue, you bundle of hypocrisy. Whether it’s a lie or the truth, leaving things behind is your specialty, isn’t it?”
Venus said this while crossing her legs. After lightly brushing back her crimson hair, she picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip. Even to herself, the entire process felt incredibly lovely.
“It is not a lie. I simply refer to all of it as hope.”
“I don’t want to hear your sophistry. Why don’t you just tell me how to leave something behind?”
“What is it that you wish to leave?”
Venus smiled as she set down her cup. Since it was Venus’s perspective, I couldn’t see her face directly, but Airlights was certain it was a most seductive smile.
“What else? Everything of mine.”
“That would go against policy, wouldn’t it?”
“It’s just me.”
“So, you wish to convey hope.”
“I have no interest in things like hope. It’s love.”
“The process will be full of hope.”
“Even that counts as love.”
Liphyue’s closed eyes turned toward Venus. Her white, gently curved eyebrows were striking.
“As expected, I can never get along with you.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. That goes for this unnecessarily warm tea and this childish space as well.”
“Wasn’t childishness your specialty, Venus?”
“Hearing you say that proves you don’t know love. How pitiful.”
“Then you, Lady Venus, also do not understand the meaning embedded in this space. A child’s drawing contains countless hopes and infinite possibilities.”
The argument between the two—no, the two goddesses—continued for a while. Venus called Liphyue hypocritical, and Liphyue said that hope blooms from within lies. She said that only when such hope exists can miracles occur.
Unlike the blunt Venus, Liphyue seemed gentle, but for some reason, she didn’t seem willing to back down at all.
Listening to the argument between the two goddesses, Airlights nodded intensely at Venus’s words and frowned at Liphyue’s, becoming truly immersed in the memory.
“… Ah, so are you going to tell me or not?”
“How to leave hope?”
“I told you, it’s how to leave love.”
“I can certainly teach you. But will Beltesia allow it?”
At Liphyue’s words, Venus let out a smirk, as if it were truly ridiculous.
“Stop talking nonsense. I know several of them have already come and gone through you.”
“Is that so? I wouldn’t know anything about that.”
“The guy from that unnecessarily hot fire pit, too… and you’re planning on leaving everything of yourself behind as well, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but since you seem to be in trouble, I will help you.”
“You should have said so from the start.”
“Who is the person Venus has chosen?”
Venus straightened her posture and leaned forward with a meaningful smile. The words that followed awakened Airlights’s mind.
“It’s a kid named Airlights. They’re a bit clumsy, but they’re alright.”
It was because her own name had come out of Venus’s mouth. I didn’t know exactly when this memory took place, but Venus already knew about Airlights.
“Airlights… what is their real name?”
“That is their real name. They forgot their previous name themselves.”
“That is an unusual case.”
“Right? Besides, the meaning of Airlights is ‘I love you.’ Isn’t that interesting?”
“…… Well, I think I roughly understand why Venus chose that child.”
Venus got up from her chair and moved to the seat right next to Liphyue.
“Tell me the specific arrangements. As you know, Venus, this is a sensitive matter, so we must be careful.”
“Arrangements… well. Should I start thinking about that now?”
“…… Pardon?”
Venus’s smile deepened, becoming almost enchanting. She leaned right into Liphyue’s face and tapped her own head with her index finger.
“Airlights. Are you watching?”
In that moment, Airlights couldn’t help but fall into confusion. Was this truly just a memory?
“This is… this is impossible!”
At the same time, Liphyue stood up abruptly. Her white eyebrows, which always seemed gentle, were furrowed.
“Beltesia will never permit this.”
“Hahaha! Beltesia?”
Ignoring her, Venus buried herself deep into the chair. She stretched her two beautiful legs out onto the table and raised one hand. Her hand was raised exactly in the direction of the shrine.
And a long, beautiful middle finger rose defiantly.
“Tell him to eat shit.”
Airlights thought that, for some reason, it was quite refreshing.
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