Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 355: A Different Angle [1]

“…It’s you, right?”

The little girl didn’t seem so certain. Right, her eyes… they were still hollow. She couldn’t see me, nor was she actually ‘present’.

It felt more like a remnant will.

Like Pebble.

“I knew you’d eventually come. You always do.”

The little girl’s voice was quiet, and I had to strain my ears to listen. She hopped off the bed and walked in my direction.

Tak, Tak—

Her little steps clicked at the rhythm of my heartbeat.

Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump!

I stood in place, without saying a single word. I just stared at her as she approached me.

Her presence felt suffocating, but I remained cool-headed.

Two paws pressed against my shoulder as a small head peaked from behind. Pebble’s eyes were locked onto the small child, its body tensing in preparation for something. But I raised my hand and stopped whatever it was trying to do.

‘Not yet.’

Tak—

The little girl eventually stopped.

Her height merely reached the area below my chest, forcing me to look down to meet her eyes which seemed to want to suck me at any second.

“…..”

It was silent as she looked at me.

Neither one of us spoke.

At least, for the first few seconds before the little girl smiled once more.

“….Do you really not know where Noel is? Or is this another one of your schemes?”

Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump!

My heart almost leaped out of my chest.

‘H-he said it…’

Noel…? He knew the name… This basically confirmed everything. Mortum… He was none other than Noel!

My mind shook.

I had to hold the urge to carry forward and force the little girl to speak.

But I knew that it wasn’t a good idea.

Although she was merely a remnant will—one that wasn’t as powerful as Pebble due to the amount of time it had been lingering inside of the statue—I knew that the person who had left the will was still alive.

I didn’t want to be traced back as a result of my actions.

For that reason, I could only remain still.

…I was already having trouble with the sword after all.

“What silly question of me. You are obviously still looking for him. Your weird obsession with him has still not disappeared after so long, has it?”

There were hints of amusement in her voice as she spoke.

I shuddered lightly, holding my breath as I listened to every single word engraved into my mind.

“I do have the answer if you want to hear it.”

“….!”

My arm twitched.

Once again, I felt almost compelled to rush forward and demand answers. My rationality was able to get the best of me at the last moment.

“Still not taking the bait?”

The little girl appeared a little disappointed as she lowered her head and patted the top of it.

“Come, press your hand over here and use those powers of yours. You’ll be able to find anything that you want. Where Noel is. Where I am. What I have been doing these past few millennia. And all the answers that you want.”

“….”

My arm twitched.

For a brief moment, I almost felt the urge to do so.

The little girl’s words pressed down on my head like soft whispers of temptation, subtly pushing me toward doing exactly what they urged.

But I resisted.

Holding onto my chest, feeling the sweat pour down from the side of my face, I kept my hands away.

‘It’s a trap… It’s a trap… It’s a trap…’

“Still, nothing?”

The little girl looked disappointed.

I stared back at her with my mouth sealed. My heart was pressed at my throat as I lowered my head to stare at my right arm which was suddenly glowing.

A terrifying pain washed over my body as I started to twitch on the spot.

The pain was something that almost forced me to scream, but by sheer determination, I was able to keep myself from screaming.

“Kh…”

The occasional sound did come out, and I worried about it, but that worry disappeared right after I saw the fourth and final leaf lighting up.

‘This…’

I started at the fourth leaf, unable to keep my surprise in check and momentarily forgetting about my situation.

‘Why now of all times…?’

The triggers behind each leaf were mysterious. They just appeared at random times, and out of nowhere.

I felt at a loss while staring at the fourth leaf.

‘What does it do…? What will happen if I press on it?’

Questions started to flood my mind, but they only lasted for a brief moment before I was suddenly brought back to the suffocating reality that I was in, my heart jumping out as the little girl took another step forward, her hand reaching out for my arm and grasping it tightly.

“….!”

Her touch was cold, and my entire body shuddered.

I tried to pull back, but before I even had the chance to do so, her tiny hand came pressing down against one of the leaves.

“….”

Nothing happened as she did so.

I sighed in relief at the sight, but that was only momentary as she grasped my other hand and reached for the leaf with it.

“….!”

Cold sweat dripped down from my back as I tried to resist. I tried to ball my fist and pull back, but it was all no use.

I even tried to get Pebble to do something, but nothing.

With a wave of her hand, Pebble was rendered useless.

“I may be weak, but I’m still stronger than you can imagine. Now then…”

Her voice, tinged with amusement, reached my ears.

“Let me see your abilities.”

I was helpless, and soon…

My finger pressed against my arm.

I was suddenly consumed by darkness.

Thump!

By the time light returned to my eyes, my sinuses began to clog, and my eyes watered from the smoke hanging thick in the air.

‘Where is this…?’

I squinted, blinking my eyes and adjusting myself to the surroundings.

Rumble! Rumble!

Suddenly, the ground beneath me started to quake, making me lose my footing as I staggered several steps back, holding the side of a broken building to support myself.

“What in the…?!”

Lifting my gaze, my heart froze as I realized I was standing in a place I knew all too well—the ruins of the Rilgona Monarchy, exactly as I had seen in the vision.

Tak.

A step quietly echoed from beside me as I felt my entire body freeze on the spot.

“This is…?”

With a lost look, the little girl looked around. Though she was blind, it almost felt as though she could see everything.

“Is this the future that you saw?”

“….”

I opened my mouth, but before the words could come out, I managed to spot a figure from the corner of my eyes.

“….!”

His back was turned to me, obscuring his features, but as I studied his deep black hair and strong, familiar build, it soon hit me.

It was none other than me.

‘I’m rewatching the first vision…?’

No, not quite…

I felt the coarse texture of the ground beneath me and grabbed a handful. Letting the granules fall from the gaps in my finger I knew that this was no vision.

Then…?

BOOOM—!

A distant building disintegrated, and from within its ruins emerged a particular figure.

“I… finally found you!”

Her voice screeched as the sky turned a scarlet color.

“….”

She appeared older, but there was no mistaking it—Aoife. Her scarlet hair fluttered in the wind, and her eyes shone like small suns, casting their light over the land below and on me, standing in her shadow.

“Is that all you have to say to me?”

There again…

That gaze of her that I had seen in the first vision.

Her gaze contained a little something that I couldn’t understand. But as opposed to last time, it was a little bit clearer. It was neither grief nor longing. It was more akin to…

‘Disappointment.’

But why…?

I wanted to move closer, but the pressure held me back.

On the other hand, the little girl watched everything in silence, her expression hard to read. Unlike me, she seemed completely unaffected by the situation.

Cracka! Cracka!

Just like in the vision, lightning began to crackle down on the land. Buildings shattered while the clouds split apart, revealing Evelyn in all her glory. Her features were as mesmerizing as I remembered as she stood in the sky, her clothes fluttering under her enormous power.

“So… you’re finally here too.”

‘Hm?’

I hadn’t noticed it before, but now that I paid attention to it, my voice… it wasn’t so cold-hearted as it was as I remembered.

As ‘I’ addressed Evelyn, there seemed to be a little bit more in the voice.

But what exactly?

I didn’t dwell on it for much longer as the world changed.

From Red to Purple… to Black.

A black dome soon appeared, enveloping most of the surroundings. I felt my clothes and hair flutter at the sight, and I lost track of what was happening within the dome. The pressure, too—it was terrifying.

Just what sort of situation was this…?

Rustle!

A sudden rustling sound jolted me out of my thoughts as another figure appeared standing outside the dome.

‘He’s here…’

He looked just as he had in the vision, his deep gray eyes gleaming menacingly against the dark sky and gray surroundings. Standing tall with his hair whipping in the wind, his features seemed more weathered and mature than the face I was accustomed to.

He was still Leon, but there was something different about him…

‘…He demenour different from when I saw him in the vision.’

He appeared a little less decisive.

But then again, I never had the chance to witness this part of the first vision.

In his hand was a thin and long sword. It glimmered under the white sun that hang in the sk—

“Uh?”

I blinked my eyes, rubbing them a couple of times as I stared at the sword once more.

“That…”

My heart abruptly halted, and a cold, paralyzing shock gripped my entire body. My eyes were locked on Leon standing outside the black dome, and I fought to make sense of the reality presented before me.

“W-wait, but…?”

I struggled to grasp the sight before me as I crawled back a bit.

Just—

“I can’t do this.”

Clank! Clank.

“….!”

I lost my voice.

Covering my mouth in disbelief, I watched as Leon’s grip on his sword faltered and the weapon clattered to the ground. His arms began to tremble uncontrollably, and as he stared at the dark dome before him, his eyes shaking with grief.

“I… I can’t do this.”

He repeated, his lips pressing together.

“I…”

‘Impossible…’

Gradually, I stood up from my spot.

I looked toward the scene in the distance in disbelief.

‘….What is this? Is this a different reality? A different future? Could the future have changed due to the actions that I had taken? Is that—’

A hand pressed against my shoulder and I stopped.

Turning my head slowly, a pair of eyes met my gaze.

“….Ah.”

My mouth opened and closed repeatedly, staring at the all-too-familiar pair of hazel eyes.

‘H-how? Wasn’t he just…’

I alternated my gaze between the black dome and the figure that stood before me, as though I was a broken ‘doll’.

‘Th-his.. W-what?’

Why was there another me?

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