Helping this person was a way to alleviate Noire’s guilt for having waited for five hundred years.
Although they were never romantically attracted to each other, their shared long lifetimes had made them good friends who understood each other.
“So, this will be the last time for you, too.”
Emmett politely greeted Noire. She received his greeting gracefully and asked,
“When do you plan to die?”
Emmett recalled his conversation with Jung-in. He couldn’t afford to spend a long time here because he had someone he wanted to see very soon.
The time when he could completely erase the pain with his own power was limited to about two days.
“About a day and a half from now. And there’s something I want to ask.”
“What is it?”
“How about using your final catastrophe to help Albert?”
The power emitted by a dragon at the moment of its death.
Emmett remembered Jung-in, who had been eating cake with Albert.
She had gained a physical body that people could see, and her senses had come back alive.
For someone who had been nothing but a soul until now, regaining her body meant that her contracted dragon must have endured the pain and become a fully-fledged adult dragon.
Then, that dragon should be going through the last stages of the ordeal.
The process of seeking the contractor.
Finding the dragon’s contractor who could be in any dimension, in any time in the past or future, was the final trial that would fully unleash the power of the contractor and the dragon.
Even this part of the ordeal was not easy, and it would take a long time. There were no easy parts in the ordeal.
…But if the power emitted by the dragon at the moment of its death could be used to pinpoint Jung-in’s location, the story would change. Emmett saw through this perfectly.
In Albert’s future, Emmett no longer existed.
If his selfish death could help Albert find happiness, it might alleviate the guilt of leaving him behind.
The child who resembled him so much that he couldn’t help but care for him.
Despite their efforts not to give each other affection, Albert had become so similar to him in the end, and this would be his parting gift.
Noire nodded approvingly.
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
Noire lowered her head in response to Emmett’s gratitude.
“You’ve always given me what I wished for. And…”
Noire, who had hesitated, murmured,
“I also hope that Albert will be happy.”
Perhaps the reason young Albert was able to endure all the trials and become an adult was because there were people like them who wished for his happiness.
A moment passed.
Emmett arrived at a familiar village.
Using magic, he minimized the pain that had been piercing his body.
As he looked around, he spotted a woman staring at him. With her head tilted to the side, she asked.
“Who are you?”
The voice directed at him made him blink. He had to wonder if he was not dreaming.
The woman in front of him felt strangely unreal. Her curly golden hair suited her exceptionally well, and everything about her was radiant.
“Emmett, if I die, don’t ever try to save me. Okay? Saving you at the cost of my life is a happy thing for me. I want you to live. I want you to live for a very long time. In all the time you’ll have, be happy and take my share of happiness as well.”
She was the gold dragon’s contractor and the one who had ceased to exist after altering time for Emmett’s sake.
Mary.
At that time, Emmett had achieved the feat of becoming a transcendental sage and had the power equivalent to that of a dragon. He was the only one who could still remember her.
When he learned that she had sacrificed herself for him, all he could do was cherish the memories she had left him.
He had lived like a wanderer for decades. He couldn’t just discard the life she had given him.
He couldn’t even use a dragon cub’s ordeal to turn back time and save her.
Mary had left him with indelible memories to ensure that such a thing could never happen.
In the end, Emmett had lived a long life in memory of her. He had spent a long time observing various dragon cubs and delving relentlessly into their lives.
As he became aware of the injustices of the world and experienced how his own sense of righteousness could turn into something he had never considered—evil and malice—he became disillusioned with everything.
He wondered why the world she loved had become so corrupt.
But he couldn’t bring himself to dirty his hands. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to face her after such a change.
Instead, he sought out someone who could act upon his vengeance, and it was for this reason that he met Albert and eventually opened his heart to the child, who also accepted it. Emmett himself was too weak.
‘As you were the same, I love that about you, too.’
He thought he would only meet her again after he had died, but the ordeal had given them time to revisit their first meeting.
His vulnerable childhood, where he was defenseless. The time he survived solely because of Mary’s presence.
Though the memories from before he became a ‘sage’ were hazy, memories with her remained vivid. These memories had become the driving force behind his entire life.
Emmett cleared his throat and spoke, breaking through the torrent of emotions.
“I am a traveler from the neighboring village.”
You told me not to change anything.
Every time he saw a dragon cub, he had to resist the temptation to use one to turn back and save her, thousands, even tens of thousands of times.
Because she wouldn’t have wanted that.
After living for so long, he now understood the true meaning behind her request. This ordeal was testing his desire to save her. He would never overcome such a trial.
Her words, “If I die, don’t ever try to save me,” came back to him before the ordeal.
Emmett smiled.
‘If my first meeting with her is also my last, it’s not so bad.’
Perhaps this was God’s final gift, taking pity after witnessing his life.
His final smile was more radiant than anything else.
And thus, he embraced death.
Helping this person was a way to alleviate Noire’s guilt for having waited for five hundred years.
Although they were never romantically attracted to each other, their shared long lifetimes had made them good friends who understood each other.
“So, this will be the last time for you, too.”
Emmett politely greeted Noire. She received his greeting gracefully and asked,
“When do you plan to die?”
Emmett recalled his conversation with Jung-in. He couldn’t afford to spend a long time here because he had someone he wanted to see very soon.
The time when he could completely erase the pain with his own power was limited to about two days.
“About a day and a half from now. And there’s something I want to ask.”
“What is it?”
“How about using your final catastrophe to help Albert?”
The power emitted by a dragon at the moment of its death.
Emmett remembered Jung-in, who had been eating cake with Albert.
She had gained a physical body that people could see, and her senses had come back alive.
For someone who had been nothing but a soul until now, regaining her body meant that her contracted dragon must have endured the pain and become a fully-fledged adult dragon.
Then, that dragon should be going through the last stages of the ordeal.
The process of seeking the contractor.
Finding the dragon’s contractor who could be in any dimension, in any time in the past or future, was the final trial that would fully unleash the power of the contractor and the dragon.
Even this part of the ordeal was not easy, and it would take a long time. There were no easy parts in the ordeal.
…But if the power emitted by the dragon at the moment of its death could be used to pinpoint Jung-in’s location, the story would change. Emmett saw through this perfectly.
In Albert’s future, Emmett no longer existed.
If his selfish death could help Albert find happiness, it might alleviate the guilt of leaving him behind.
The child who resembled him so much that he couldn’t help but care for him.
Despite their efforts not to give each other affection, Albert had become so similar to him in the end, and this would be his parting gift.
Noire nodded approvingly.
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
Noire lowered her head in response to Emmett’s gratitude.
“You’ve always given me what I wished for. And…”
Noire, who had hesitated, murmured,
“I also hope that Albert will be happy.”
Perhaps the reason young Albert was able to endure all the trials and become an adult was because there were people like them who wished for his happiness.
A moment passed.
Emmett arrived at a familiar village.
Using magic, he minimized the pain that had been piercing his body.
As he looked around, he spotted a woman staring at him. With her head tilted to the side, she asked.
“Who are you?”
The voice directed at him made him blink. He had to wonder if he was not dreaming.
The woman in front of him felt strangely unreal. Her curly golden hair suited her exceptionally well, and everything about her was radiant.
“Emmett, if I die, don’t ever try to save me. Okay? Saving you at the cost of my life is a happy thing for me. I want you to live. I want you to live for a very long time. In all the time you’ll have, be happy and take my share of happiness as well.”
She was the gold dragon’s contractor and the one who had ceased to exist after altering time for Emmett’s sake.
Mary.
At that time, Emmett had achieved the feat of becoming a transcendental sage and had the power equivalent to that of a dragon. He was the only one who could still remember her.
When he learned that she had sacrificed herself for him, all he could do was cherish the memories she had left him.
He had lived like a wanderer for decades. He couldn’t just discard the life she had given him.
He couldn’t even use a dragon cub’s ordeal to turn back time and save her.
Mary had left him with indelible memories to ensure that such a thing could never happen.
In the end, Emmett had lived a long life in memory of her. He had spent a long time observing various dragon cubs and delving relentlessly into their lives.
As he became aware of the injustices of the world and experienced how his own sense of righteousness could turn into something he had never considered—evil and malice—he became disillusioned with everything.
He wondered why the world she loved had become so corrupt.
But he couldn’t bring himself to dirty his hands. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to face her after such a change.
Instead, he sought out someone who could act upon his vengeance, and it was for this reason that he met Albert and eventually opened his heart to the child, who also accepted it. Emmett himself was too weak.
‘As you were the same, I love that about you, too.’
He thought he would only meet her again after he had died, but the ordeal had given them time to revisit their first meeting.
His vulnerable childhood, where he was defenseless. The time he survived solely because of Mary’s presence.
Though the memories from before he became a ‘sage’ were hazy, memories with her remained vivid. These memories had become the driving force behind his entire life.
Emmett cleared his throat and spoke, breaking through the torrent of emotions.
“I am a traveler from the neighboring village.”
You told me not to change anything.
Every time he saw a dragon cub, he had to resist the temptation to use one to turn back and save her, thousands, even tens of thousands of times.
Because she wouldn’t have wanted that.
After living for so long, he now understood the true meaning behind her request. This ordeal was testing his desire to save her. He would never overcome such a trial.
Her words, “If I die, don’t ever try to save me,” came back to him before the ordeal.
Emmett smiled.
‘If my first meeting with her is also my last, it’s not so bad.’
Perhaps this was God’s final gift, taking pity after witnessing his life.
His final smile was more radiant than anything else.
And thus, he embraced death.
