If slight sadness and slight happiness are what regret is, then this demigod's expression was surely one of profound regret; her eyes held remorse for the past, yet they were filled with hope for the future of her kin.
She was genuinely happy for her people,
And equally happy for herself.
"My entire life has been trapped in remorse," Belisa bowed her head. "In truth, I knew long ago that we could never return to our homeland. From the moment we climbed onto the backs of the sheep to flee our ancestral lands, the concept of home became a distant word to us."
"We are a nation on sheep backs. Our emotions for the grasslands that birthed and raised us are so deep that that night felt too surreal to be true. Even now, when our home has long since become scorched earth and the wind brings only ash, there are still those among us who believe that across the mountains, the grasslands remain vast, the lakes remain clean, and the sky remains blue."
"I promised them that I would lead them back home."
"Because of that unfulfillable promise, far too many of us have passed away, and far too many are trapped in the past, unable to move forward, striving toward a void of a goal. Some elders spent their entire lives yearning for the sight of their homeland until the very moment they died."
"If the souls of the titan race return to Turatan after death and see such a wretched home, what will they think?"
"The expectant eyes of my kin are as sharp as blades and as slow as a chronic poison, making me regret every single moment. Why did I make that promise? Why couldn't I just reveal the truth to them...?"
The flickering light in Belisa's eyes gradually dimmed.
"Why... why... could I not have led my people to a new home to live a better life?"
"Why... did I waver every time I faced the hopeful gazes of the children?"
"Why... did I carry the fates and expectations of so many, only to deliver my own fate into the hands of others?"
"Why could I not live freely for myself, just once..."
The woman's voice grew weaker and weaker until it could no longer be heard. Perhaps up to the final moment of her life, many perplexities remained unresolved; she never walked out of those grasslands or reconciled with herself.
The sun dipped below the horizon as black crows circled above.
The kingdom marched toward its end at her side, the fading twilight falling over the woman's shoulders.
It illuminated her rust-covered armor and the mottled bloodstains on the double-edged spear piercing her chest.
A breeze blew past, and the crest on her helmet fluttered silently in the wind, ignited by the ash in the air and burning quietly.
Her lustrous eyes closed.
Her scarred hand slowly fell,
And her life faded like the setting sun.
A great titan demigod of her generation
Had reached her final curtain call.
Sevia rose,
Walked out of the palace,
Through the streets,
And out past the city walls.
She walked and walked, until the silhouette of the kingdom could no longer be seen against the horizon where the sun had set.
Those words were also meant for herself.
When one falls amidst suffering and hardship, one must understand what tripped them and learn to grow.
One cannot be trapped in the past, trapped in their own regrets.
One must learn to accept everything that has already happened and look forward with their head held high.
Since she could never find her true self again and could no longer exist as Tang Xin, why shouldn't she try to accept her new self?
Why did the ultimate goal of this journey have to be finding her true self, rather than existing as the newborn version of her?
Sevia looked up as black tears crystallized at the corners of her eyes, her entire body covered in shattered cracks.
She thought back to the very first question.
Her past did not belong to her, yet she had to rush toward an unknown future for a past that wasn't hers.
Why did she have to be so obsessed with finding her past self on this journey? Why couldn't she stop to look at the scenery along the way?
Why was she destined to walk a predetermined path from the moment she opened her eyes, forced to endure agony unimaginable to ordinary people where every second felt like a year, without even a shred of free will?
Was this truly fair to her?
She possessed all of that girl's memories and her body; even their souls were identical. Yet, a new bud of self-awareness and the memories of countless others also existed in her mind. Instead of getting lost and stalling time and again within endless pain and memories, why couldn't she fully accept her current self and continue the rest of her journey in this form, walking freely through the world?
The individual who actively accepted all those memories would still be her, but she could never be that girl from before.
Doing so would mean that the 'her' of the past would truly die.
However, precisely because the people she cared for also cared for her, Sevia was no longer willing to keep running away.
Looking at the chat box appearing before her, Sevia finally wrote down the answer she had long ago decided upon in her heart.
"Dungeon 'Terminal Illness Patient' is currently settling. The rankings on the points leaderboard will be locked. Settlement is expected to take three minutes. Teleportation permissions will open after the settlement period."
"Don't let the people from Silent Sequence escape!" someone shouted loudly.
The battle between Light-Chaser Garden and Silent Sequence had been decided. The old guild was about to fall; the wings that once blocked the sun were broken, and in the sunlight, countless new guilds would rise.
A battle between kings was always a fight to the death.
When a new king ascended, her pack of wolves would tear out the throat of the old wolf king, even if he fled to the ends of the earth.
Anyone with eyes knew which side to take at this moment.
"Kill everyone from Silent Sequence! Don't let a single one through! Don't forget what those bastards did to us in the past!"
The small guilds that were the fastest to answer the call were also the first to turn coat; by the looks of it, they were itching to swallow the members of Silent Sequence whole.
Seeing the tide had turned and everyone was huddling around the golden-haired girl in the center with intent to exterminate them, the members of Silent Sequence stopped resisting. They scattered in all directions, attempting to preserve their remaining strength.
Smiling Jazz's face was full of indignation as he roared and charged toward Xu Xiaoyou. After only a few exchanges, his aura weakened rapidly; he took a hit to the face and was sent flying, crashing to the ground.
The wings covering the man's body retracted into his skin as his mutation state gradually faded. To cover his teammates' retreat, he ignored his weakened body,
Forcing himself through the side effects to pounce at Xu Xiaoyou once more, only to be easily pinned to the ground by the girl.
"I told you, I would personally take your life before the game ended."
"Stand up," Xu Xiaoyou said, her eyes devoid of emotion. "Since you are a king, you should die with dignity."
"I will give you a dignified death."
Smiling Jazz knew the situation was beyond salvation. He stood up from the ground, his clenched teeth suddenly relaxing, his tense expression softening as his gaze turned calm.
"Come then. Kill me. I lost, but that doesn't mean you won..."
Bang—a flash of fire interrupted Smiling Jazz's words, followed by the dull thud of a body hitting the ground.
Watching the man on the ground whose life force had completely dissipated, the surrounding guild masters fell silent. They could hardly believe that the man who had once brought them nightmares and weighed them down until they couldn't breathe was... dead?
And the Dark Gold Rose who killed him had only been half a month since entering Oasis, leading her own armed forces to assassinate the king, and finally decapitating Smiling Jazz in Pangard.
Those who had once looked down on the golden-haired girl suddenly felt a chill, not even daring to look her in the eye.
Under the slanting sun, everyone stood still in silence. They looked up, their gazes meeting, finding a definitive answer in each other's eyes.
This would be her starting point.
The era of Light-Chaser Garden was about to arrive.
Rate on N.U.
