WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 148: A Flame Born from Ashes (3)

──────

A small snowflake landed briefly on Kyle's shoulder before vanishing. His face as he stared at Elysia seemed as emotionless as the hazy sky above, as if dark clouds had settled over it.

"Why...?"

After a moment of silence, that was all Elysia could say. She had no idea why he was suddenly telling her to go on alone. Why he was suddenly saying their contract was over. She did not want to understand.

"Because there's no point in running anymore."

"No point?"

"I think they've caught up to us. We must have been discovered when we left Marent. Or perhaps they knew from the beginning that we were in the Federation."

"Duke Mortein?"

Kyle did not answer. But neither did he actively deny it. At that silent confirmation, Elysia's face twisted with grief.

"So... you're saying we should part ways because you don't think we can shake off the pursuit?"

"Yes."

"Because of Duke Mortein?"

"That's right."

"And when you say the contract is over... you mean you're staying behind alone?"

"Because that's the best option."

"Then why!"

Elysia suddenly shouted, her eyes flashing.

"Why are you breaking the contract we made that day on your own! Why are you giving up without even trying! Didn't you say you'd take me to Rier no matter what happened! You said you'd never broken a request before, so why are you saying this now...?"

Her furious cry gradually became desperate toward the end. With a choked voice, Elysia looked straight at Kyle through reddened eyes.

Ah.

Kyle wore the same expression as before. It was a face that seemed to have wiped away every trace of emotion. His black eyes, fixed on Elysia, were so deep she could not see their end.

From another angle, he looked like someone who had given up and let go of everything.

Resignation, or surrender.

No. It was neither.

It was closer to acceptance. As though he had finally accepted everything with peace.

"Elysia."

Kyle slowly opened his mouth. His low voice still sounded muffled, and she could not bring herself to lift her head as she lowered it.

"As you know, I'm the last Commander of the Knights of Ash to be granted the Hailen royal surname. I had a duty to protect Hailen."

It was the truth he had never been able to tell anyone after he was left alone.

"But I failed in the end. Everyone I loved died. Even if there are survivors... what right do I have to face them? Even the name of revenge is nothing more than an emotion born from my selfishness. Otherwise, it would feel as though the lives of those who died for me had been meaningless. Maybe it should have been me who died instead of them."

Revenge was not for the dead. It was for the living.

Regret always came too late. The past never returned.

Kyle often reflected on old memories. Whenever he did, he remembered the happy days of his former life, followed by nightmare-like days that covered them over. There were times when simply being alive was painful. He had only realized that after being left alone.

The people who died for me.

He could not forget a single one of them. The feeling of lives crumbling away in his hands was not something he could erase. Having to tear away the things precious to him one by one with his own hands amid an irresistible disaster had been truly painful.

Rowen, who stayed behind alone so everyone else could live.

Cecilia, who died protecting him with an expression that made it impossible to tell whether she was smiling or crying until the very end.

Yurian, who remained in the capital and fought to the death until his final breath.

And the members who had thrown away their lives without hesitation just to endure one more day.

"My desperate struggle ends here."

From crossing the Ligrid Mountains to reaching the Kingdom of Russel in the Federation, they had faced countless hardships. Yet it seemed that journey had to end today.

There was no other way.

"We can't go together. This is the best option."

At Kyle's calm tone, Elysia spoke as though she still could not accept it.

"So you're staying behind alone? After dragging me all the way here in such a pitiful state?"

"All I have left is a negative emotion and goal called revenge. You're different, Elysia. If only one of us can reach Rier, it should be you. Unlike me, you still have things to lose."

"I do too...!"

"No."

Kyle cut her off firmly.

"You have Grand Duke Rivelius."

Elysia pressed her lips shut when she was about to argue. Her uncle, who had always been especially close to her since childhood. And Count Perian, a former opponent of the Emperor who was now in exile, along with other dependable allies. Unlike Kyle, Elysia still had people left to lose.

"And it's not like I'm blindly trying to die. A duel fought with our lives on the line isn't over until it ends."

This was his original sin. An inescapable fate.

Perhaps he had taken too long to conclude a story that should have ended long ago. Alfred had been right. The future Prisia had seen. The streams of fate that branched in countless directions might ultimately converge in one place.

Thinking that made him feel calmer.

According to Count Perian, a small number of the Knights of Ash had survived.

If he could send Elysia away alive. And if he could kill Cassius Mortein. Even if he could only inflict a fatal wound. Then perhaps their legacy would remain and continue even after his death. The half year he had spent with Elysia had been the most intense period of his life since he fell into this world.

And Prisia's Dragon Heart, too.

"Elysia."

Kyle began walking again and stopped in front of her. He raised a hand as he stood close enough for their faces to almost touch.

"Don't cry."

He wiped away the tears running down her pale cheeks with his own hand. Kyle's right hand, which had held a sword for more than ten years, was covered in hard calluses. It felt rough against her skin.

Elysia did not mind. She remained silent, as though trying to put her heart in order.

"That necklace I bought you in Renvel."

"......."

"You still have it, right?"

Kyle spoke in a gentler voice than before. Elysia looked up at him once with tear-filled eyes, then barely managed to nod.

"I have it. I've never taken it off since that day...."

Her voice faded as she spoke. When Kyle removed his hand from her cheek, Elysia drew in a deep breath.

"For now, focus on retreating as far back as possible. Even the Celestial Knights won't be able to push all the way to the edge of the Kingdom of Russel. Their Wyverns have limits to their stamina, and by then their supply lines will be too long for them to operate freely."

"Kyle, I..."

"Stop. Don't say anything more."

Elysia's shoulders flinched. Kyle slowly removed the black cloak wrapped around his body. Her golden eyes filled with confusion. Kyle always wore that black cloak, just as he always carried the sword at his waist.

Why would he suddenly take off something so important?

Her question did not last long. Kyle lifted the brown fur covering Elysia and carefully wrapped his black cloak over her white robe. Then he covered her with the brown fur again.

A robe, a cloak, and fur.

After tightly fastening Elysia's collar amid her white breath, Kyle searched inside his clothes one last time. He took out two pouches.

"Take these. They're no longer useful to me."

One was the pouch Kyle had used for a long time. The other contained the money and Magic Stones he had received from Elder Gerard at the Lenore Magic Tower. Inside were food, cooking tools, maps of the continent and the Federation, potions to heal wounds, and the enormous sum of fifteen thousand Gold.

"Don't look back. Don't hesitate either."

Elysia looked down at the two pouches placed in her trembling hands.

"No matter how hard and painful it gets, don't stop moving. Leave as few traces as possible. At least until you reach Rier."

Kyle's voice, echoing in her ears, felt terribly distant. Her vision blurred again. Perhaps because her ears were ringing, the sound of the wind around them became tangled and confused.

"Go. Hurry."

Having finished everything, Kyle took a step back.

"Our contract ends here."

"......."

"I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise. But I'll never forget the past half year I spent with you for as long as I live. It may have been short, or it may have been long... but they were the most intense moments of my life."

But I hope it won't be that way for you.

Memories that are too vivid only make a person suffer.

"......."

For a while, Elysia stood still, moving her lips like a fool. Then, as though she had made up her mind, she bit down hard on her lip and turned around. A single tear flowed down her cheek and fell weakly onto the snow.

Kyle quietly watched Elysia's back as she moved eastward. A woman walked across the snowfield beneath the cloudy sky and falling flurries. Her long trail of footprints was slowly filled by the falling snow.

As white flakes began to gather over her black hair, Kyle suddenly realized this situation felt familiar.

Rowen. Did you feel this way too?

A hollow laugh escaped his lips. Strangely, he felt at peace. The winter wind that had only felt cold now seemed refreshing. His wildly pounding heart gradually calmed.

I might die. I have clearly remained in a place of certain death.

Then what is this feeling of relief?

It felt as though he had set down an ancient burden that had weighed on his shoulders....

Elysia disappeared completely from sight. Kyle stared at the distant ridgeline covered in a white blanket, then slowly turned around.

His own faint footprints remained beneath his feet. Kyle followed those traces, taking one step after another. At some point, nothing but an endless white snowfield stretched before him, with no sign of people to be seen.

Still, Kyle moved his legs without a word.

East was where Elysia had gone.

He continued west, in the opposite direction.

—Live, Kyle. In my place. In all our places. And... for yourself.

Words Rowen had once spoken echoed in his mind. They were small fragments of memory that had arrived like a comet and faded like embers.

—I'm sorry, Kyle. I don't think I can keep my promise to stay with you... Will you swear to live my share of life too...?

Beyond that, he saw Cecilia, covered in blood. Kyle closed his eyes.

—Go. No matter what happens, I'll protect this place.

The final face of Yurian, who had remained in the royal palace to defend the capital, surfaced in his mind before vanishing. Along with a smile he would never see again.

—Don't fight against it. Accept it completely. The future Prisia glimpsed.

Finally, Alfred's aged voice struck his ears. Kyle slowly opened his closed eyes.

The Dragon Heart against his chest was throbbing more strongly than before. So was Prisia's mana, which felt completely fused with his own body. For a moment, he wondered what the Emperor's purpose was, but quickly pushed the thought into a corner of his mind.

What did it matter after coming this far?

If life and death had been decided from the beginning.

The feeling in his hands and feet faded. Without knowing how many hours had already passed, Kyle continued west without resting. As he walked, the memories they had shared flashed before his eyes like a lantern show.

When he finally came to his senses, the violently throbbing Dragon Heart had gone still. Sensing something unusual, Kyle raised his neck, stiffened by the cold.

The winter sky was still gray.

At its center was a massive, pitch-black Wyvern flying toward him.

It had blood-red eyes, like the ones he had seen before.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried