614. Let’s Be Wrong Till The Very End!

614. Let’s Be Wrong Till The Very End!

“Mich… aela…”

Soft blades of grass tickled the side of Frost’s cheeks. Silence no longer suppressed her voice now. Her body was heavy. An invisible force kept her flat against the grass of a pallid garden. Her fingertips trembled as she tried to move, the grogginess quickly fading away.

Yet the invisible force urged her to rest eternally, the darkness invading her sight as quickly as it had disappeared.

… You’re the one who killed ‘Her’…

Her magic fizzled the moment she tried to use her Skills. The domain of the Icon of Judgement was absolute here within the shimmering garden. There were no walls present, only distant, snow-capped mountains like the first time she and the Arbiter faced against the Icon of Judgement.

… You… brought the Captured Star into the world…

The foot of the Icon of Judgement rose from the center of the endless garden. No plants or flowers grew in this terribly flat realm. Distant clashes of steel washed over her body. They came from behind the wall of mountains.

All to see ‘Her’ again?

Icon of Judgement

AFFINITY : Judgement

LEVEL : 500

ORIGIN : Reverence

HP : ???

ATT : ???

MAG ATT : ???

ATT DEF : ???

MAG DEF : ???

MP : 666,666,666

RESIST : ???

AGI : ???

MP: | 100,000

Frost’s death was inevitable.

All she had was ten minutes.

There were no signs of life to be found except for the child who knelt beside her. Soft whimpers and sobs came from the tiny shoulders of the child, who pushed, shoved, and shook an unmoving Frost.

“You shouldn’t have tried to help. Bad things always happen to people around me.”

The tears collapsed onto Frost’s chest.

“I’m sorry miss. It’s my fault your hair’s becoming disgusting like mine.”

The Pale Web had turned most of Frost’s hair white. The Princess was overly fixated on her like she had seen something inside of Frost, but when she tried to speak, her voice failed as the weight kept her locked in place.

But even so, Frost wanted to move.

How easy would it be to just eat her…

Frost required Mana.

A metaphorical apple presented itself to her.

“If I wasn’t here then no one would have to hurt. No one would have to worry at night. And no one would have to cry anymore.”

The small head of the Princess burrowed into her chest. If she was any closer, then Frost could sink her teeth into her nape. It was a calculated option; one far from instinct.

But as much as Frost wanted to live, deep down, she felt like it was not the right thing to do.

… Michalea and Elysia did the same thing. They both bit from the apple and lost something precious to them. Will it be any different if I did the same?

“I… I can… I can’t keep letting bad things happen around me. First it was mom… all because of me… and now our city…!”

Frost’s eyes became fuller.

They trembled as they stared up at the sky where the Icon of Judgement towered above. Strands of white obscured her vision, but the road she needed to follow couldn’t be any clearer.

A limp hand slid up the back of the child. It cradled the back of her head as Frost drew her close as if to take a bite from her nape. However, she only embraced the child. Like Micheala, she did it out of instinct.

But unlike her, her instincts brought her to a different path.

Everything is stuck in a cycle in this world. Fairytales follow the same stories. Events of the past repeat with Corrupted taking their place to tell their stories in a new light. Then there’s us; the Captured Star.

“It’s not your fault.”

Frost groggily spoke, slowly bringing her body upright.

MP: | 90,000

“W-wait – Don’t move! Don’t… move…”

Futile hands failed to push Frost back down. Another hand embraced the girl as she stared up at Frost pleadingly.

“It is my fault! I brought the apple to my mother! She became a monster! They kept her underground because of me! Everything the white light touches was made by her tears! All because… all because of me…”

“Is that bird your mother?”

“I have to believe it is…! But I know it’s also not. Because my mother is… she’s… already…!”

Words no longer formed as she sobbed into Frost’s chest, her hands grasping at the sharp grass as they bled. Frost was still too weak to move freely. The clashes and wingbeats from beyond drew nearer as her time counted down.

The iridescent heartbeat of the Icon of Judgement throbbed from somewhere inside of it. Another soft heartbeat belonging to Elysia could be heard elsewhere.

MP: | 80,000

“But you still feel like that’s your mother, right?”

The girl rubbed her face into her chest, nodding.

Frost’s eyes mellowed as she recalled something from the Icon of Judgement.

She thought about it for what felt like hours.

MP: | 70,000

Salvation is a wholistic approach. It can be death. It can be anything.

But what did it mean to Frost, the Arbiter, and Elysia?

Frost already knew her answer. However, the brilliant light that formed on the chest of the Icon of Judgement was still unclear.

“… Dying for her won’t make her happy. Shouldering the blame of everyone won’t fix anything either. You can’t blame yourself for things you can’t control.”

“But I’m…!”

“Neither should you let people judge you for things you never committed.”

Frost felt like she was in front of the One Thousand Eyed Bird again, except that this child was willing to confess that it was the Skewered Beast all along. It agonized her knowing what this child went through, and her ultimate decision to bear the guilt of all to save the world.

This girl, despite being the object of desire for many, did not receive much love in her life.

“There are other ways to help. Dying for them is a temporary measure. Sooner or later this same thing will happen again.”

“Then… tell me – what am I supposed to do? What was I supposed to do!? I should be judged! I have to make things right! The only way I can is to disappear! How are you supposed to understand me!?”

The Princess roared, staring up at Frost with fierce eyes.

“I don’t. But I want to. That’s why I’m here!”

“… What’s the point of trying to learn about me when I’m about to die?”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The girl’s voice recessed as she sank sullenly, her hair shielding her eyes.

“This is the only thing I can do.” She reached down to clasp the apple that had been sitting still on the grass this entire time.

MP: | 60,000

“This… is what I have to do! You don’t know how it is to feel like you have no other choice!”

“But it’s better than accepting that this is right!”

Frost scolded sternly. Hearing those words come from a child’s mouth caused her emotions to surge.

“If that really is your mother then why do you think that dying will make things better!? Is that what she wants!?”

The wingbeats from beyond were stronger now.

The clashes were within the territory of the garden, causing blades of grass to graze over their bodies as Frost shielded her with her arms.

MP: | 50,000

“To see your lifeless body to save countless!? Again and again!?”

It was a repeat of the past.

The Icon of Judgement retold the tale of the girl who was eaten by the Arbiter, all give mankind a chance. Frost trembled, causing the girl’s eyes to widen as she looked up and found tears streaming down her cheeks.

“The cycle has to end. We all have to move forward. The Arbiter and Elysia trapped themselves in that endless loop. You can’t perpetuate it. We have to break it.”

Frost took the apple from the girl’s hands.

“Y-You can’t –!”

“Listen to me. Your existence isn’t wrong. You have to live. You have the right to. Like you, the world told me that it was wrong for me to live.”

She brought the apple close to her lips.

The two Apostles soared through the skies, both rapidly approaching their direction like meteorites.

“If our One Sin is existing…”

And with a single bite, she gulped the apple whole, rather than allowing it to be devoured by those who did in the past. Curiously, the apple slices she found within the Markers perfect fit the already bitten part of the apple.

She cupped the girl’s face and brought it close, smiling with unbreakable certainty to prove to her that she was fine. A flame burned in Frost’s golden eyes, and before she knew it, the glistening strands of hair were fully realized.

“… Then let’s both be wrong to the very end!”