48 – Monochrome
“What in the world is this…”
“Eriel… Eriel…! My daughter…!”
“Sob… I’m really relieved, Eriel…!”
Since the day I extracted more than half of Eriel’s magic power, her complexion gradually brightened, and soon she rose from her sickbed.
The healer wore an expression of disbelief, curious about what had happened.
The Frost family shed tears of joy at Eriel’s recovery.
‘Talent Insight.’
[Name: Eriel Frost / Age: 20 / Female / Condition: Magic Erosion (Mitigated).]
[Unique Ability (Child of Mana): You possess a divine amount of bestowed magical power. Your mana is infinite like the sea, flowing strongly like a river. All mana-related actions come with a divine correction!]
[Unique Ability (Mana Sight): Eyes that can perceive magic. You can see the trajectory of mana and use it more smoothly!]
[Unique Ability (Archmage Aptitude): You are born with the potential to become a mage leaving a mark in history. Your understanding of mana surpasses others, and you can use it as naturally as water!]
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[Magic Erosion(???): You have been consumed by excessive dark mana. If you do not remove the residual magic left in your body, you will die in 37 days, 10 hours, and 39 seconds. (49%)]
[A significant amount of magic has been removed, stabilizing your body.]
[You can absorb magic. Will you absorb it? (However, if you absorb the residual magic in someone else’s body without harm, you will be subjected to physical overload.)]
[Remaining magic: 49%.]
I haven’t absorbed all the magic yet, and I’m still living on borrowed time… But at least it’s relieved.
However… it’s not over yet. No matter how much my condition has improved, Ariel was still a patient, and those damn dark wizards haven’t made a move yet.
“Father. I’m really fine now. And so are my brothers.”
“But, my daughter…”
“I’m telling you, it’s okay. Now that I’m fine, I’ll go to the academy.”
“Just…wait. Ariel! You just got up from your sickbed, you can’t go straight to the academy!”
“Uncle Jake. I’m really fine. And I’ve been missing for several days, so I need to go as soon as possible.”
“…….Ugh.”
Ariel seemed to be preparing to head straight to the academy. Gaju, Fried Frost, and Jake and Kyle, Ariel’s brothers, could only shake their heads at Ariel’s firm determination.
“Miss Ariel. How about taking a little more rest?”
“Why? I’m fine now.”
“You haven’t fully recovered yet. There’s a chance your condition could worsen.”
However, I couldn’t let Ariel leave right now. As she hadn’t fully recovered as she claimed, her condition could worsen, and I was running out of time.
“Please. Ariel, just this once.”
“…Fine. I’ll rest for only 3 days and then go.”
As I looked at Ariel with a pleading expression, Ariel reluctantly granted my request.
Seeing Ariel immediately accept my words while ignoring everyone else’s, the head of the family and Ariel’s brother wore expressions of slight disappointment.
Then, they mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ to me, making sure Ariel couldn’t hear.
Really… She seems cold on the outside. No, she is cold. But it’s fascinating how she becomes so caring when it’s about Ariel.
“Thank you, Miss Ariel.”
From Noble mtl dot com
“…..Eek.”
“Huh. Are you in pain again? Why is your face so red?”
As I smiled and thanked Ariel, her cheeks flushed red. Was she in pain somewhere? Or was her condition worsening again?
I tried to touch her forehead, but Ariel pushed my hand away.
“….No. It’s nothing.”
“Hmm. Is that so? Please let me know immediately if you feel worse.”
“My daughter… could it be….”
“No… That can’t be…”
Voices filled with inexplicable despair echoed from behind, but it probably wasn’t anything serious.
‘Anyway… I need to hurry.’
The day the black mages from the academy planned to attack Snowfield Village was just 5 days away.
I couldn’t ask the sick Ariel for help, and with the black mages likely making preparations, I only had 3 days before Ariel left.
Can I do it? To draw out all the remaining magic within 3 days…
‘…No. I must. There might not be another chance after that.’
Somehow, I must extract all the magic remaining in Ariel’s body. I will dedicate all my strength to it.
“Miss Ariel, let me massage your shoulders.”
“…Yes, please. Father and brother, please leave the room.”
“Ugh… Urgh… This can’t be happening…”
“It’s impossible… This must be a dream…”
Why are they so sad? Has something else happened?
[You can absorb magic. Would you like to absorb it? (Note: Absorbing magic left on someone else’s body without harm will cause physical overload to the user.)]
‘I’ll absorb it.’
“…Cough. If it hurts… please tell me.”
“Yes. I’m fine right now.”
Sitting behind Ariel, I pretend to massage her shoulders while secretly using a handkerchief to wipe off the blood and absorb the magic.
My body feels increasingly heavy and my lifespan is shortening in real time, but… it doesn’t matter. Right now, my sole focus is on absorbing the magic.
***
I had a dream. In the dream, I sat alone in a colorless garden, the entire world devoid of color.
“It’s okay.”
What do you mean it’s okay? There’s no one left around you.
What do you mean it’s okay? The loneliness and emptiness you feel are only growing day by day.
In the dream, I kept repeating ‘It’s okay’ to myself, as if under a self-hypnosis. The girl with lifeless purple eyes just muttered to herself like a madwoman.
Occasionally, when my parents and brother came to talk to me, it seemed to bring a bit of color to my world.
But once they left, my world would turn colorless again.
“…It’s… okay.”
Tears welled up in the lifeless eyes of the girl, but there was no one to wipe away the tears flowing with sympathy.
“hehehe. It’s amusing!”
“Look at this! I made it!”
“Wow… impressive!”
Suddenly, when she heard the voices of children playing outside the garden, she couldn’t help but think that she also wanted to play among them.
When she looked out at the colorful and enchanting world beyond this colorless garden… she found herself taking a few steps unconsciously.
“Can I… play too?”
“hehehehe… monster… monster!”
“Mommyyy!!”
“Come here. Hurry!”
As the girl bravely approached the other children her age, what greeted her was not interest, but fear and dread.
The children cried out for their parents and ran away. Even the parents who came to find them trembled in fear as they looked at the monster.
“……….”
There is no salvation from the colorless monster that invaded the beautiful world of colors.
No matter how much I scream that I am not a monster, that I don’t harm people, the monster’s terrifying roar does not reach them.
“I’m… okay.”
The girl returns to the colorless garden. Although there are undoubtedly beautiful flowers blooming, it is a dull world without colors.
Among them, there were a few white and purple flowers and birds in yellow and brown chirping, but it fell short of brightening the colorless world.
And so, the routine repeats. The girl still remains alone, murmuring to herself. The family approaching the girl.
Once again, she looks at the friends outside the garden with envy. But when she musters the courage to speak, all she receives are cold stares.
As time passes, the distance between the colorless garden and the outside world only grows further.
The distance that could be reached in just a few steps now stretches out into an uncertain distance that one cannot be sure of even after running for hours, exhausting oneself to the point of death.
Time flows on. The flowers in the garden bloom even more vibrantly, and the girl grows older.
But still, it is difficult to find any trace of color. Instead, the garden, now even larger, seems to overshadow the girl’s very shadow, growing taller and taller.
…..Sigh…!
Uh……what is…!
Now, I can’t even be sure of what that sound outside is. I can’t even be certain if it’s a sound at all.
Or perhaps, it’s just an auditory hallucination created by my own loneliness.
Despite the lengthening distance, the girl continues to challenge endlessly. This time, she wonders if she can live like the people out there. Even if her feet are torn on the gravel, even if the pain is so intense it feels like her lungs will burst, she keeps running.
But, even though time passes, the fact remains that there is a monster. In fact, a monster with an even larger frame and sharper teeth emerges from outside the garden.
-Screams-!
-Save…save me…!
-Please…please, at least the child…please..!
“………..”
The monster, who had been staring into the innocent child’s pupils, walks back into the garden upon hearing the child’s mother screaming.
Its weight is as heavy as the weight of the gazes the monster has received. It becomes heavier, as heavy as the loneliness and pain accumulated over many years.
“…..I…”
In the end, the girl closed the door to her heart. She locked away the door that connected the garden and the outside world, leaving herself only to blame.
After giving up, she no longer feels anything. No emotions, no desires. She couldn’t understand anything. She just continues to live, unable to die.
Crack-!
In the colorless garden, stepping on and killing the occasional flies and crawling insects was the only solace in her life.
“………….”
But now, even that had become exhausting. The woman suddenly turned around and looked at the endless darkness in one corner of the garden.
If I go in there, will I finally find peace?
If I kill the monster named “me,” will everyone be happy?
Every day, she pondered hundreds of times in the never-ending hellish flow of time.
And yet, the woman looked at the faintly colored flowers blooming in the garden and the small birds, but eventually gave up.
Then one day, emptiness suddenly came.
Overwhelming loneliness made her body grow cold, and she felt like she was forgetting her own existence in the endless void.
“I… I’m tired now.”
The faint-colored flowers bloomed, and the birds chirped, but the woman who had fallen into the abyss couldn’t see or hear them.
Let’s stop now. Let’s find comfort.
The woman walked towards the darkness slowly and silently.
Her footsteps, having abandoned everything, were light, but they became heavier and heavier as the fear of impending death approached.
“…I can’t do it.”
When faced with the end of life, she was filled with fear instead. The woman shook her head and turned her back on the darkness, walking towards the garden again.
Thud-
“…Ugh!”
However, the darkness didn’t easily let go of its approaching prey. Countless hands emerged from the darkness, wrapping around the woman and swallowing her into the abyss.
Help me. Anyone, please, it doesn’t matter.
I… want to live.
“Father. Mother. Brother…. Kale. Freya….”
Drawn into a colorless void, women scream in silence. They yearn for the faint threads of color that are barely left, hoping they will lead them out of this place.
But there is no rescuing touch to be found. The woman’s eyes grow even hazier, and she eventually gives up struggling.
She closes her eyes. Surrendering herself to the guiding touch, she lets go of her strength, floating on the sea. Her body is gradually consumed by darkness, leaving only a few parts behind.
“Miss Ariel, what are you doing here?”
The voice that breaks the endless silence is calm and gentle. The woman, with her fading eyes, searches for the source of the voice.
Black and red. In a colorless world, the touch of those vibrant colors swiftly pulls the woman out.
Thud-thunk.
As if unable to let go of the grasp of darkness, it tries to pull her back, but it is all severed and disappears in the gentle yet warm touch.
“Miss Ariel, I am here.”
“……..”
The colorless garden gradually tinges with black and red. With only two colors, it is still beautiful enough in the colorless world.
“….Yes.”
With that beautiful hue, the woman smiles. Her frozen heart melts in the warm atmosphere and warmth emanating from the colors.
Soon, the colorless world transforms into a world of two colors.
No more regrets, loneliness, or emptiness can be felt. Even the darkness pulling her from behind has vanished somewhere.
The woman embraces the man tightly. As if to never let go, she holds him with all her might.
Crack…shatter-!
Simultaneously, the world breaks and shatters. Simultaneously, her eyes open.
“Ariel… my daughter…!”
“Ariel…! Thank goodness…!”
The world as seen through faintly opened eyes. Pale white and purple hues dance before my eyes.
“Miss Ariel.”
And then, the intense colors felt right in front of me. Looking at the brilliance that seems to steal every gaze, Ariel smiles faintly.
A smile as if to say that it doesn’t matter as long as this color shines brightly amidst the monochrome.