[R1999] Short Stories' Collection

Mesmer Jr. & Vertin: I forgive you (3)

 My voice, your voice

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Our voices were once neglected by the adults and it became the pain that continued to follow us even when we had already grown-up.

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The Timekeeper's independent unit is just as rebellious as herself.

They are both registered and unregistered arcanists, who act following their own wills.

In short, they are a bunch of dangerous freaks that gather together for different purposes.

But one thing for sure, they were here because of Vertin.

Her charisma has been without a doubt since she was a child.

Her breakthrough ideas, her unwavering confidence, her courage and her kindness are what threw people into her.

Even Mesmer Jr. couldn't resist that charm and followed her rebellious plan in the past.

Yet she gave up halfway due to her responsibility as a Mesmer and the knowledge that plan would eventually fail.

When Mesmer Jr. knew about the Storm and saw its victims for the first time, her voice lost for a moment before it could utter some words in a shaky tone.

Right after that, she immediately thought of their plan under George The Oak and used all of a child's courage to beg for Miss Constantine to stop them.

But then, Vertin was the only one that returned.

........

The deeper Vertin sinks in her dream, the clearer Mesmer Jr. finds the cause of the mental disease that she is suffering.

Each time they tried to get closer to the pitch black bottom, they would encounter not only the countless rising hands, but also the hysterical murmuring from various different voices.

They cried and smiled, screamed and begged in twisted tones that echoed all over the dreamworld.

At some points, they called the gray-haired girl's name simultaneously.

"Vertin..."

"Please... Don't leave us..."

"Vertin... save us..."

"Please... Don't forget us..."

"Vertin... Come with us..."

'I...'

The gray-haired girl paused what she was doing.

These voices were so familiar that she could tell each of their owner's name and their characteristics.

Because they were the ones she had failed to save every time the Storm struck.

'I'm sorry...'

The images of their final moment rushed into her mind like a flood of pain that increased the speed of her drowning in a blink of an eye.

"VERTIN!"

As her nose was about to be covered by the black liquid, she heard someone desperately calling her name out loud.

"HEAR ME! PLEASE HEAR MY VOICE!"

It was clearer and more realistic than the murmuring under the water.

"IT WAS NOT YOUR FAULT!"

"Please, follow my voice and return..."

That voice began smaller and smaller, as if her ears were slowly being covered to prevent hearing the sounds from outside.

'I'm sorry...'

Her body was so heavy that she couldn't move a finger.

"It was never your fault."

That voice suddenly appeared next to her ears.

"I forgive you, Vertin."

'If no one ever says that to you, then I will be that arrogant person.'

The gray-haired girl felt like something that she had carried in her heart all these times just loosened.

The water she was inside also became lighter.

Her hands reached out to the thin rope that she couldn't see as always.

'I'm sorry...'

This time, she didn't hesitate regardless of the mourning calls from below.

'...I will never forget any of you. But there's still someone waiting for me out there.'

And then, Vertin once again woke up from her dream to return to the reality that had people look forward to her return.