"…Now, let's get to know each other properly again, Lumine."
Lumine looked at Elysia with some surprise. He didn't know why Elysia would choose to come and confess to him, but… since she had already confessed, there was no need for him to hide anything.
"The third of of the Fourteen Flame-Chasers, Lumine of the [Divine Shadow] Inscription," Lumine began. "Long time no see, Elysia… May I assume that?"
"We really have… never seen each other in a long time." Elysia's voice suddenly became lighter. "So… how was our first official meeting since our rebirth?"
Lumine smiled and said, "Just like the first time we met."
Elysia laughed too. "I'm so happy! When you introduced yourself, you used the imprint I came up with, acknowledging your Heroic identity… I thought…"
"I have always been proud to be a hero," Lumine said calmly. "I have always been honored to fight alongside you."
Elysia was somewhat surprised. Looking into Lumine's eyes, she knew he wasn't pretending at all; his answer came from the heart. But… if that's the case…
"Lumine, can you answer a question for me?" Elysia whispered.
Lumine hesitated for a moment. What had Elysia discovered? Did she want to ask about the truth behind the Rebel Purge or the Twelfth Herrscher incident? He couldn't answer either of these questions because he didn't want Elysia to see his sordid side, but… he didn't want to lie to Elysia even more.
"Ask away. I… will answer everything I know," he said, having already decided that he wouldn't care even if Elysia beat him up later.
Elysia took a deep breath and asked very seriously, "I want to know, I clearly gave you an invitation to that final banquet, so why… didn't you come?"
Lumine almost lost his composure. He thought she was going to ask something else, but it turned out that this was what Elysia was concerned about.
"I already answered this question when Kevin returned the invitation to you on my behalf, and Kevin should have told you that too," Lumine said. "The people present came because they believed in Elysia, and the people who left did so because they believed in Elysia and refused to attack her."
Elysia lowered her eyelids slightly; this wasn't the answer she wanted to know.
Seeing Elysia's expression, Lumine had a strange premonition. He tentatively asked, "Ah, Could it be… that you really want me to come over?"
After he finished speaking, he realized that he had asked a pointless question. The first question Elysia asked already explained the situation well enough. She really wanted him to come to the appointment, which is why she sent out that invitation.
So he immediately tried to salvage the situation. "Sorry, I was being insensitive. That's not the answer you wanted, was it? The most important reason I didn't go was probably…"
He paused for a moment, then recalled the situation and said, "At that time, I felt that you didn't trust me."
"I…" Elysia opened her mouth, but didn't know how to answer. Lumine's answer was something she hadn't expected.
Lumine, as if she had opened a floodgate, continued. "After receiving that invitation, I checked with the other Heroes, and none of them had received it. Your initial purpose in becoming a Herrscher was probably to unite the rest of us, right? I know you're a girl who's afraid of loneliness and isolation, so you were afraid that becoming a Herrscher would anger us and alienate us. But you're wrong. We've always believed in Elysia. In my eyes, the story of the Fourteen Heroes exists because of you. You didn't send invitations to others because you were also afraid of being disliked and wanted to leave the choice to them."
His gaze met her eyes directly, from the reflection was reflected sadness, confusion, and reluctance,
"But you sent an invitation only to me, in which you, as a Herrscher, asked me to attack you… Elysia, do you know how heartbroken I was at that time? I was thinking, I've done so much for humanity, fought so long, and you think I would attack you just because you're a Herrscher…"
Lumine was telling the truth. He had originally planned to attend that final banquet. He wanted to witness the end of Elysia's life, to witness the end of the most beautiful and brilliant flawless person of this era… However, when he received the invitation, the words on it pierced his heart like a sharp arrow.
'I am not trusted by her,' he thought sadly at the time.
After calming down a bit, Lumine continued. "Of course, that's only the main reason. There are other external factors as well, such as the fact that the [Ascension to Godhood Plan] has reached its final stage…"
Elysia interrupted him, her head bowed, obscuring her expression. Her voice trembled slightly. "Then why… why didn't you want to see me after the tragedy of the restraint? No matter what I tried, you wouldn't see me… I finally managed to see you, but you were lying on the operating table, your life hanging by a thread, and I could only stand outside watching you, unable to do anything… I always thought you hated me because of Iliya!"
By the end, Elysia's voice was tinged with tears. The sound hit Lumine harder than any blow. It felt as if something heavy had struck his chest all at once.
So that was what she had been thinking.
There were reasons related to Iliya for why he hadn't seen Elysia back then—but hatred had never been one of them. The truth was far simpler and far more cowardly. He didn't know how to face her.
In his previous life, Iliya had been the only girl who ever confessed her feelings to him. Even after he rejected her, she remained at his side until the very end, trusting him without reservation. And yet, when it mattered most, he failed to protect her. The guilt he carried toward Iliya, tangled together with emotions he couldn't properly name, bound him tightly to her memory and refused to let go.
Before her own demise, Iliya had once said that she envied Elysia—envied the way Lumine devoted himself to her without hesitation.
Those words lodged themselves deep in his chest and became an invisible wall between him and Elysia.
There was more.
That incident had also been the first time he revealed his darker side to Elysia. He hadn't done it out of malice, but necessity—because protecting his teammates required it. Even so, he knew how it must have looked from her perspective.
Ugly. Cold. Unforgivable.
And yet, when he later learned that it was Elysia who had bestowed the [Divine Shadow] mark upon him—acknowledging him as a hero—he had felt genuine happiness. Not pride. Not validation. Just happiness.
That contradiction was what crushed him the most.
Deep down, Lumine believed that Elysia would never like him as he truly was. And because of Iliya—because of the guilt, the attachment, the unresolved emotions—he couldn't even deny the possibility that part of his heart had leaned toward Iliya instead.
He didn't know how to face Elysia under those circumstances.
So he ran.
Avoidance was easier than confronting feelings he couldn't untangle. Disappearing felt like the cleanest way to end something he was afraid to acknowledge.
Lumine exhaled slowly, forcing the words out before hesitation could reclaim them.
"I've never hated you," he said, his voice rough but steady. "Not even once."
He met Elysia's eyes directly now.
"I just didn't know how to stand in front of you anymore."
_____________________________
Go to my Patreon:
patreon.com/dreamlexi
For just $3 you can read various chapters of novels that have been translated and changed several chapters in advance.
_____
Support me with your Power Stone and Reviews guys °•°
Have a nice day ><