pearl of wisdom

[Season 2] Chapter 40.5 - Evanescent Moments IV

"Hello there." You smiled at the pair, meeting them in the train's car amidst the vivid blue crystals that came with the cold, "I'm here to retrieve Cassano to send him to Horyang."

"You-!! How did you get here!?" The traveller hid behind the brunet who stared at you long and hard with a scowl on his face, ". . . Why should I come with you?"

"You will." Your lighthouse beside you beeped- altering you of an approaching presence, "There's a question you want to ask me, isn't there?"

When night came, Cassano walked behind you as you guided him off the train.

- -

"Argh!! I'm tired!! We didn't even get to rest for ten minutes!! This is excessive isn't it!?" Khun dropped onto the floor, laying down as he regained his breath, a silver dwarf standing in front of him, "This is brutal. . . demonic little dwarf."

"I clearly warned you. You're the one who asked for this. And you know that dwarves are a higher and more ancient species than you, right?" Evan crossed his arms. Khun took his hand of his head, resting motionlessly on the cold ground, ". . . I know. Still, it must've gotten a lot better by now, right? That skill."

". . . Well. A bit. But it's not nearly good enough by my standards." The guide glanced at the lighthouses which sides were divided into quarters, "But. . . you guys are very hard to figure out. Following [Name] to that dangerous Floor of Death. . . You guys must not know that that's the most dangerous place in this tower. She may be going for the sake of her own purpose, but why are you guys putting your lives on the line to go with her?"

"Well, I don't know about the others. . . but if I let [Name] go, I feel like my world would come to an end. Honestly, I don't understand it much myself. . . but's it's beyond having fun or having a purpose to live. I absolutely need to be with her." Khun place his arms under his head, "This is insane."

Evan stared at the blue-haired regular- ". . . Hmm. . . is she that precious to you?"

"What. . .?"

"You followed her when she went up to Karaka, if it weren't for Sachi and Boro. . . you might've been dead now." The guide met his eyes, "But what now. . .? [Name] is a lot more special than we can imagine. Will you guys be able to stay with her?"

Khun scoffed, "What a ridiculous question. She's the one staying with us."

"And if she leaves?"

". . . I'd rather my world end than hers, anyways."

— —

"Hwa Ryun, why is it your ability doesn't work around me?" You had asked her once in the confines of darkness familiar to FUG. The redhead froze, golden liquid trickling into a porcelain teacup at a constant speed before the guide tilted the pot upright. Hwa Ryun, with her signature smile, placed a teacup in front of you and in front of herself onto the table before she sat down across you. You nodded, "Thank you."

"I don't know." Hwa Ryun admitted, "All I have are theories. Because you don't belong in this universe? Because you're existence is special? Does any of that sound right to you?"

". . . Baseless theories is the correct term to use."

The guide shrugged, popping an orange carpel into her mouth, "Then what do you think?"

". . . If guides could predict the future because of the existence of the present. . ." You started, hand to your chin as you went into your thoughts, murmuring on and on as the guide listened, ". . . in such sense. Is that feasible?"

"Really? Are you not just special?" Hwa Ryun shrugged, and though you never did reach a solid conclusion— the amusement in her eyes had spoken more than enough, "Hwa! Not helping!"

— —

In your hands, bubbles gathered to form a sword, waters striving in a single direction as you swung, just as a certain swordsman taught you to. You could feel Hatsu's stare watching closely, very much ready to correct you upon any mistakes.

Really, it's unfortunate that the first mistake you ended up making was tripping on your own feet when your pace has become a little too fast. Your sword bursted into nothingness as you winced, hearing a muffled snort as a hand appeared by your vision, "You did better this time."

You didn't but Hatsu didn't have the heart to tell you that.

— —

Over the floor did you gaze, it's structure reminiscent of the eternal country, the land of the white night and the midnight sun. Under your fingertips, azure scaled brushed into your hold, purring up at you like a docile house cat. You stroked the rimebiter vishap hatchling's back, humming to the song of the ocean that played in your ears. In front of you laid debris, the research lab where your kind once remained, now simply dust, all but the shelves that stood by remnants of solid concrete.

Yet those too no longer had any experimental logs. Hopefully, they wouldn't have anymore for a long time.

"I know," you responded to the vishap hatchling who curled it's tail around your leg, "I'll find a way to let you live."

For though they were once your enemies, they were your kin and allies now.

author's note

as of today, from the author's note in the last chapter: chapter 40, happy ending is leading. now that I've written until the end of season two, I can say it's very characteristic of this story. it's an unintentional fitting end

in any case, I'll be keeping an eye on what ending you all want. I'm not against writing multiple endings wither though that might take a while and have several plot holes. in short, you can still end this story the way you want to