Along with an intense roar, a vibration was felt.
When I opened my eyes, everything was in shambles.
The things above were below, and the things below were above.
Concrete fragments filled the sky, and an unrealistic noise struck my eardrums.
“…Ha.”
I thought I had gotten used to unrealistic sights thanks to Gilgamesh and Enkidu, but I was wrong.
“[Golden Theater that Melts and Embraces - Domus Aurea]!”
On one side, the fallen golden theater.
“[Land of Eternal Sorrow - Endless Rain]”
On the other side, an island where the downpour was growing ever stronger.
Two opposing worlds were fiercely colliding.
This was the eye of the storm.
Everything except for the roughly one-pyeong concrete block I was standing on was in turmoil.
It moved from top to bottom, from right to left.
Nothing was fixed. The world shook as if it had no center.
My own land, the only thing that didn't move, kept reminding me that the moment I stepped outside it, I would be torn to shreds.
And yet, I steeled my resolve. I braced myself for the umpteenth time.
Even though it was obvious that I would either collapse pathetically or end up in a hideous state again.
“…I can‘t just stand still.”
I stepped out from the concrete block into the endless storm.
At that moment, I, quite naturally, lost my balance and fell forward.
My body swayed.
The rain hit me. I saw an island in the midst of a storm. I saw a howling beast.
It's me. I'm there. I was so pathetic that I could only look back on 'myself' from a third-person perspective.
-I've become unable to expect anything from the fae.
I said. A chest pain of unknown origin began to be felt.
'I' disappeared into the storm. My body lost its balance and swayed again.
When I came to my senses, I was standing on an island.
A prior guest had arrived on the island, which was so narrow that two people could barely lie down on it.
She looked back.
“Tonelico?”
“…Brother?”
Her face was the same as Caster - Morgan's, but I didn't feel the sense of betrayal I felt every time I saw Morgan.
This feeling is hard to explain. It might be because of the chest pain that is growing in intensity.
My body is collapsing. I could see the storm below my feet.
Just as my mind was about to fade, I remembered Tonelico's eyes.
Barely getting up, I said to Tonelico, who had an indescribable expression on her face.
“………Are you okay?”
Tonelico furrowed her brows. And the corners of her eyes became moist.
Is she crying? Just as I thought that, her eyes sharpened. She shot out a menacing aura.
It was the first time I knew that my younger sister could make such a scary face.
No, I already know, but… the emotion I'm feeling is like that of a person taking their first step in a snowy field.
The difference is that instead of the joy of stepping on the white snow, a terrible loneliness pierces me.
“It‘s too… late. I‘m a wicked witch who doesn‘t even deserve to hear such words, you know?”
Tonelico's form is disappearing. I tried to grab the fading Tonelico in the storm, but my hand only cut through the air.
The small island had also disappeared at some point.
I was caught in the storm again.
The moment I thought my body was floating, I was back on the ground.
“I‘ve been looking all over for you, Marduk.”
A young Gilgamesh smiled at me.
I raised my hand to block the sunlight. And I returned a small smile to Gilgamesh.
My mouth was itching. It was an instinctive action.
“Say whatever you want.”
“…Do you still want to bind me even now?”
I barely managed to utter one pathetic question.
At the question I threw out with a pounding heart, the young Gilgamesh burst into laughter.
“No! There‘s no need for that anymore. Both the wise me and the violent me have been forgiven by Marduk, you know. Is there any reason for me alone to continue this foolishness?”
Gilgamesh‘s crimson eyes seemed to see right through me. It was hard to meet her gaze.
“I… I don‘t know. I don‘t have enough anger left to forgive you. Right now, I just…”
“Do you want to look away?”
The young Gilgamesh is asking even though she knows.
“Do you not want to forgive me, love me, or even understand me?”
“You know. I‘m an ordinary person. I‘m a being too small to play in your world.”
I held on, forcibly keeping my head from bowing in self-pity.
The young Gilgamesh, as if praising my action, took my hand and shook it.
“That‘s right. That‘s why I (Gilgamesh) liked you. I was always amazed at how such a small being could escape my grasp.”
“…Are you going to put me in your treasury?”
“No. I‘m going to let you go. I‘ve even prepared a gift for a comfortable journey.”
A gift?
The young Gilgamesh placed a bowl in my hand. A bowl with a golden hue. Surely, the name of this is…
“Shh. It‘s not time to say it yet.”
“Why?”
“Marduk, no. When you want to make your true wish… then remember the name. Not yet.”
The young Gilgamesh, after repeatedly cautioning me, playfully pushed me into the storm.
In the blink of an eye, I arrived in another space.
Sticky mud clung to my feet. The sound of a bell striking my eardrums rang repeatedly.
A cathedral.
“Johanna?”
No matter where I looked, Johanna was not there.
I wanted to leave the garden and go into the cathedral, but the space allowed to me ended at the garden.
Beyond that, the storm blocked the way.
“Johanna!”
I had no choice but to call Johanna‘s name again.
A voice came from beyond the storm, but it was buried in the noise.
I called Johanna‘s name until my throat was hoarse, but to no avail.
My legs hurt. My throat hurts.
Ignoring the young Gilgamesh‘s warning, I made a wish to the Holy Grail.
“Yes, Holy Grail! Let me meet Johanna!”
But the golden bowl in my hand did nothing for me.
“Why? This Holy Grail is definitely the real…!”
Time passed. The storm led me to the other side of darkness.
The place I arrived at was an endless darkness.
A complete darkness where neither the scorching sun, nor the narrow island, nor anything else existed.
From beyond the space where I had even lost my sense of direction, someone‘s voice could be heard.
Could it be Johanna?
I ran and ran. Even when I was out of breath, even when my knees were trembling, I ran.
“Father?”
There was a girl exuding a full-blown beauty. The name of the child who had stepped into the threshold of womanhood was Mizukume.
“Tamamo.”
“Father!”
Mizukume ran and embraced me. In an instant, her clothes became damp.
“I‘m sorry. I should have listened to you, Father. I‘m sorry. Please forgive me.”
“What are you talking about? I‘ve already forgiven you.”
“Father…”
The conversation isn‘t going through. Like mismatched gears, Tamamo‘s and my words didn‘t even mix in the air.
I wished to the Holy Grail.
“Let Tamamo see me. If that‘s impossible, at least let her know that I don‘t resent her.”
The Holy Grail did not respond.
Furious, I threw the Holy Grail to the ground.
“This damn tin can!”
The Holy Grail rolled on the ground and disappeared into the storm.
For a moment, I realized what I had done, but it was already too late.
“Tamam—… she‘s gone.”
As I stepped into the darkness, I fell right in.
My intuition told me. That this storm was the end.
The last storm was particularly harsh.
My body was in a state no different from rags.
“Why did you come out!”
“Brother! Dodge!”
A familiar voice was heard. It was a voice worried about me. At the same time, it was mixed with surprise and bewilderment.
Draco bit her lip. Judging by the situation, she did it after seeing me.
Morgan‘s eyes trembled. How flustered must she be? To call me brother.
Thud. A thick something flew and lodged itself in my body.
There was no pain. Even though blood was gushing out like a fountain, I felt nothing. The human body is equipped with such amazing abilities.
Even as my body fell to the ground, I felt nothing.
To be precise, the sensation in my body disappeared. As if the strings of a doll had been cut.
Blood gushed out of my mouth. My head tilted to the side.
The golden, slightly shiny bowl was where my gaze landed.
A great bowl that is said to grant wishes.
Did they fight to get that thing?
For such a cheap thing that can‘t even grant one trivial wish?
A laugh came out. My lips didn‘t even twitch, but I think I laughed to myself anyway.
“A wish… I have a wish too.”
Everyone wanted to possess me in their own way. That was their wish.
What was my wish?
Seeing as it doesn't even come to mind in this dying moment, it must have been a ridiculously futile wish.
If it were a really important wish, it would have come to mind right away. Wouldn‘t it?
“Uh… hey. Wait. Don‘t go.”
The golden bowl swayed in the wind and then fell over.
The round bowl began to roll in the opposite direction.
“Wait, I have a wish. A real, real wish…”
Wrong. It‘s gone too far. The brilliant golden light was losing its color beyond the wall of the storm.
“A wish… yes. I remember.”
In this life, we all met, fought, misunderstood… and it was ruined.
So I hope it won‘t be like that next time.
I hope we can laugh and talk happily. Purely.
Since it seems like we‘ll fight if we just meet, we should probably meet in a place where there are no fights, right?
“How about we all… go to an amusement park together happily?”
My eyes are closing. My vision has been blurry for a long time.
“Living honestly is, honestly, too much to ask… but at least in an amusement park, it would be nice to laugh and get along with each other, right…?”
My wish is not to ask for much.
I just decided that.
A brilliant radiance burst forth in the complete darkness.