Chương 18: Chapter 17: Parting Gift

Yuto heard something crack open inside his mind. The things that had been leaking out all month through the small seams that were his dreams, the muffled voices and unseen faces that had lingered in his mind, broke through and poured in like a flood. He remembered not his current world, but the world he had lived in before he had traveled back in time. His father, the king, had died without warning, and he had become the king of his nation, Velkyne, at the young age of nine.

He had been surrounded by faithful servants, but even so, he had been too young to lead a country. To make matters worse, even in the past world, Valisthera had always been looking for an opportunity to attack both Ristal and Velkyne. It was under such circumstances that Ristal reached out with apparent goodwill. It had always been an ally of Velkyne, and in particular, Yuto's father and the king of Ristal had always been like brothers.

Ristal's king took pity on Yuto, who had been bereaved of his father, and swore to provide Yuto with help until Yuto was old enough to manage on his own It was the prince of Ristal, Shiro, who volunteered to become the proof of that promise. He declared that he would stay in the Velkyne Royal Castle and spent his childhood with Yuto. The two had always been close, but spending their childhood together in the same castle made them as close as brothers.

They eventually grew up and learned a great many secrets about the world. Something that particularly brought them together was a letter left by Yuto's father. The letter had contained a certain truth about the world. Not every Constellation wished for what was best for Callisto. Some of them enjoyed watching misfortune unfold within it, and gave despair to the many beings who lived in it for their own entertainment.

Yuto's father, Luke Velkyne, had gotten too close to this truth and been murdered by the Constellations as a result. When Yuto learned of the conspiracy behind his father's death, he decided that he would have revenge, and Shiro swore to do this with him. Even if they had no real blood shared, they were still brothers, and Yuto's oath was Shiro's own. There was too much misfortune and despair in Callisto. Therefore, Yuto and Shiro sought to erase the rampant sources of both first within Callisto—the Seven Eclipses.

They hunted those seven monsters in turn and became lamps to light the darkness of Callisto. If some of the Constellations wished for misfortune within Callisto, they would intervene again after the Eclipses were gone. This was what Yuto and Shiro believed. The Broken Star, the protector Constellation of Velkyne, supported Yuto and provided him with many blessings. Yuto and Shiro nurtured a dream as they defeated the Eclipses one by one—that of achieving true peace within Callisto one day.

They wanted a world in which there were no more monsters like the Eclipses, or the Constellations for that matter, who used the unhappiness and despair of the world to amuse themselves. Or so Yuto had thought.

You... Yuto watched Shiro with bloodshot eyes. On the stage at the center of the square, Shiro was on one knee, being chosen by the Constellations.

You betrayed me.

By Shiro's side was Sirin, smiling from ear to ear and clasping her hands together. Yuto's eyes trembled when he looked at her. Sirin Ristal had been part of the journey shared by Yuto and Shiro. In the course of that journey, Yuto and Sirin had fallen in love. They had been married among the blessings of those who knew them and had a daughter.

Leia.

Yuto bit his lip. Her name had been Leia Velkyne. And it was on the blessed night of his daughter's sixth birthday party, by which point every Eclipse had been defeated, the misfortune that had spread across the world had been erased, and their oath had largely been fulfilled, that Shiro's sword pierced Yuto's chest.

When he forced his dying body to move and return to the banquet hall, he found only despair. Every guest at the party was dead, and his wife had already been killed by the sword of her own brother. That day... I lost everything.

His wife had died before his eyes; Leia, who had been crying with her mother's blood all over her, had been taken away by Shiro. Yuto had gone wild with anger and fought Shiro, but the Broken Star retracted their blessings. In fact, the lightning of the Constellation struck Yuto himself, accompanied by mocking laughter. He was only able to get away with his life because of Flokiro.

Flokiro had been fighting Shiro desperately until the moment Yuto arrived and was butchered mercilessly, but before he died, he used his final strength to get in Shiro's way and allow Yuto to escape through a secret passageway underground. And so Yuto had walked unsteadily through the corridor, covered with blood, hearing the mocking voices of the Constellations in his ears. Then he had met the Void.

"Finally." The crowd, the high stage, Shiro, and Sirin seemed to be hidden by darkness. On the far side of that deep darkness was a girl watching him.

"Have you remembered who you are?" she asked. Yuto balled his fists and looked at her. She approached him, gliding across the darkness. She seemed part of the darkness herself, with her black hair and black eyes. She stopped in front of him and tilted her head slightly. It was the same girl that he had seen on the night he had escaped the Colosseum, just as the power of the Void had entered his body.

"Yes," Yuto said in a low voice.

"I remember now. All of it." He was the king of Velkyne, the boy who had sworn revenge for his father. He was also the hero who had defeated the Seven Eclipses, Sirin's husband, and Leia's father. And he was also the one who had had everything he owned taken away by the man he believed to be his brother and, as he died under the mockery of the Constellations, plunged the appendages of the Void into his chest.

"I am Yuto Velkyne," he said, and as he did so, something seemed to settle into place deep inside his heart. It was as though the roots of someone or something that had been floating around all month had finally dug into newfound soil. The black eyes of the girl smiled faintly.

"Yes, that is your name," she said.

"And you... Who are you?" Yuto asked, looking right at her.

"Are you the Void?" He did not recognize her form or her voice, but the darkness in front of him did not seem unfamiliar. The girl smiled silently at his question. Her unfathomably deep black eyes were gazing at him quietly.

"No, I am not the Void. I am just a representative who conveys the Void's will to you."

A representative. Yuto thought about that word. As he did so, the girl spoke to him slowly.

"There is no way someone like you could understand the will of the Void. That is why I exist: to help you understand and to make it clear to you."

"What is the Void?" Yuto asked, taking a stride closer to her.

"That night, the Constellations were afraid of the Void. They are supposed to have created the world in which we live, and yet somehow the Void unsettled them and scared them. Who or what exactly is the Void? And why me, of all people? Why did the Void choose me? I was already dying. Does the Void also wish to use me and watch me struggle, as the Broken Star and the other Constellations did?"

"How rude," the girl said, narrowing her eyes at Yuto.

"Do not presume to try to understand the will of the Void. Besides, you were the one who needed the Void's power." She raised her hand into the air as he watched and grasped the darkness. Then she formed a tentacle and brought it close to her chest.

"You wanted to change the terrible end that has come to you? Then struggle in order to make that happen, since the Void has turned back time for your sake." A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Turned back... time..."

"Yes, the almighty Void has been so kind as to do so. Do you regret coming back? Is realizing the truth too much for you? Will you give up?" The girl turned her head away. The darkness behind her split apart, and in the distance, Shiro became visible on the stage.

"Do you see him? That is your enemy, and there are more like him, more enemies of yours high up in the sky. This world may look different from the one in which you used to live, but on a fundamental level, it is the same place. This world is still a hell used by the Constellations for their entertainment." Yuto was silent.

"If you no longer desire revenge on this place, then end your life immediately and spit the Void's power back out. But if you still do want it..." The girl turned around and watched him again. She slowly moved her hand toward him, and it stopped close to his body.

"Then take the hand that the Void offers you, because the Void will help you exact revenge."

"You're not answering the question I want answered the most," Yuto said, glaring.

"Who is the Void, and why did they choose me?"

"That is because you are currently too pathetic to understand the Void. And as for the other question, you were probably suitable for the task of bringing down the heavens of this hellish world," she said, staring at his face.

"The Void has done a great deal for your psyche. He undid your death, turning back time, and gave strength to your weak body. He also sealed away your memories so that you would not lose your mind from the despair until such a time when you were ready to accept them."

"What is the price of all of this?"

"There is a price," she admitted.

"A contract like this always has a price, but even that is not for you to know at this moment." He had his memories back. He knew who he was now. He was aware of what he wanted to do, what he had to do. He looked up. He could see Shiro over her shoulders, and the sight of him reminded him very strongly of what his goal was.

"I..." Yuto began.

"I want revenge." He raised a clenched fist into the air.

"I want things to end differently from the way they did in the past life," he said. He had so many questions for the girl and the Void, but asking them now would not give him a satisfactory answer. So for now, he decided to abandon his obsession with a response. What mattered right now was that he was back in his past again, and that he possessed a power which was capable of making even the Constellations afraid. What he had to do next was clear enough: get payback.

He would kill Shiro and the Constellations and bring down the heavens of this hellhole. This power apparently had a price, but he would willingly pay it once his revenge was accomplished. If the Void intended to demand some kind of price from Yuto, then Yuto would also use the Void to accomplish his own ends. Yuto's hand took the girl's without hesitation, and a smile appeared on her pale face. [Quest complete.] [You have realized who you are.] [Reward: Void Storage.] [Reward: A connection from your past life.] Black screens flickered in front of his eyes, making him freeze. The girl behind the screen was still smiling at him.

"Now then."

She let go of his hand first and took a step back.

"Let us meet again soon," she whispered. With that, she melted away completely into the darkness. At the same time, the darkness beneath his feet began to ripple like water. Sounds came back from very far away. He heard the shouts in the square and the drums that were part of the festivities. Every noise mixed together. Yuto scowled as he realized he felt his head might break.

"Child," a voice said. Yuto opened his eyes. The scene had changed. It was Shariel, looking down at him worriedly.

"What is it this time?" she whispered, blinking with her one visible eye. Yuto did not respond right away, staring blankly at her face. He saw the ceiling behind her, and he felt a soft bed under him.

"Where am I...?"

"We are at an inn. You suddenly passed out. Do you know how much money I had to pay for this tiny room?" she grumbled, touching his forehead with a finger.

"There were only a few available because of the festival, and even the ones they had were far too expensive. I would have liked to leave you lying in some back alley, but I realized that I would just be putting you in more debt to me by spending money on you, so that's what I did." She snickered. Yuto slowly sat up without speaking. She continued talking in his ear.

"So why did you pass out? I am well aware that your mind is not quite stable, but you seem to have improved recently."

"I have my memories back," he said. Her laughter ceased.

"I know exactly who I am now."

He stared at her as he spoke. She smiled faintly at him, then nodded slowly.

"So my decision to come to Ristal was correct. Tell me, who are you?" He was silent for a moment.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Didn't you say you remembered everything?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you," he said, clamping his eyes shut. He knew that she had done much for him so far, but it was impossible for him to reveal to her every bit of the past that he had remembered.

"You can remember, but you can't tell me. Is that what you're saying? Why is that? Is it so secret and important?"

"Yes."

"So much so that you cannot even tell me?"

"Shariel... do you trust me?" Yuto asked in a trembling voice. She laughed quietly and cupped her chin.

"That's a funny thing to say, child. You don't trust me, and yet you want me to trust you?"

"I don't know very much about you."

"I am a beautiful half-elf and a benefactor who taught you many things when you did not even know who you were. Isn't that enough?"

"I'm afraid not," he said. She smiled again. Her gaze rested on him briefly, and then she slowly nodded to him.

"Of course it's not enough. That is a wise response, child. You must not trust anyone, not even me," she said in a low voice, patting his head.

"I am a person with many secrets, whose thoughts you will never fully understand. I may have accompanied you so far, but you do not know everything there is to know about me."

"That is why I cannot demand to know everything about you. Truth must always be fair," she whispered. Her voice contained pride in Yuto, rather than sadness, as she whispered, and it confused him.

"You're not forcing me to tell you the truth?"

"Your truth does not matter too much to me. What matters is whether you can repay me."

"And what exactly are you going to ask me in return?"

"You cannot pay me back at all in your current state." She ruffled his hair.

"You're only a child, after all. You're too young, too small, and too weak. Wanting something from you at this moment would be trying to take blood from a stone," she said.

"So grow tall and strong, get older, grow your body, and once you have become somebody more capable, then you will be able to repay me." She ruffled his hair a few more times and took her hand away.

"Now, child, answer my question."

"What could I tell you?" he asked.

"Are you so weak that you need my protection?" she asked. His eyes trembled, but her single visible eye was calm and unshakable as it watched him. He had all his memories back. His body was twelve years old, just like Shiro's and Sirin's. He did not have the protection of the Broken Star as he had in his past life, but in its place he had the Void. He also had the memories from his many battles and would be able to grow stronger in a very short time. He wondered what would happen if he said he was still weak.

Would he be able to travel with Shariel further? Shariel was strong, so much so that he wondered why he hadn't heard about her in his past life. In fact, to be honest, he couldn't be sure that he had ever been stronger than her, even at the most powerful point of his past life.

And she opposes the Constellations.

Perhaps if he joined forces with her, he could execute the revenge he desired more quickly.

No...

He bit his lip.

I can't have her protection. My revenge needs to be accomplished by my own hand. His unsteadiness stopped. He slowly opened his mouth.

"No. I am no longer weak," he said. Her eye curved mirthfully. She mussed his hair again and laughed.

"What an impudent little boy you are. You, tiny boy, are claiming that you do not need my protection anymore?" she whispered playfully, then she moved her hand away.

"But that is what needs to happen to you. You may be weak right now, but one day you must become so strong that you won't need any of my help." She took a few steps back and reached toward a bag in the corner. An obsidian dagger that had been inside floated out and entered her hand.

"It's time to say goodbye, and this is my goodbye present. Here, take it." The blade moved toward him. He glanced at it, and then at Shariel, for a moment.

"You're... leaving?"

"You just told me that you do not require my protection anymore. To be more exact, you refused it," she said.

"It was the answer I wanted to hear. Since you want to strike out on your own, I don't have to keep you in my arms anymore. At least you won't die a meaningless death on the streets now," she said. He bit back a sigh and gripped the dagger.

"We will meet again someday, I suppose," he said.

"Of course. I still haven't gotten anything out of you yet," she said.

"When do you think we will meet again?" he asked.

"When I can no longer call you a child." She grinned and let go of the dagger.

"That is when you will see me again. Do not try to look for me. I will come and find you if you have grown into a fine man." With that, she turned away and picked up the pack.

"Shariel," he said, getting down from the bed and bowing.

"Thank you for everything," he said.

"Hahaha! You don't have to thank me since nothing was free." She waved at him and put the pack on her back.

"It is all a debt. You should be afraid of what I will demand of you at a later point."

"Right," he said with a wry smile.

"I don't know what it is you will ask, but I will do my best to be ready."

"Of course you will." She opened the door and waved at him lightly.

"Now then, stay healthy until we meet again," she said. The door shut behind her. And that was it. He stood there in a daze for a moment and tried walking outside. She had only just left, but he couldn't seem to find her anywhere. She was such a strange woman. She appeared without warning, saved him, and took him to various places while teaching him many things. She had told him that everything she was doing for him was a debt and that one day she would make him repay it.

Then she had left as abruptly as she had come. He gripped the dagger tightly in his hand. He felt emotions swell inside him, but he bit his lip so that he wouldn't be overwhelmed by them. He couldn't be weak now. Shariel was the one who had brought up goodbye, but it was Yuto who had chosen it.

"One day," he said quietly, then shut the door.