Chương 29: The Echo of Fear and the Safe Haven

To calm the lingering nervousness from his sudden encounter with Aurelia in the main hall, Kurogami Ren had pulled a simple, low-rank mission from the board for the outer perimeter: gathering medicinal herbs. With his new visual style, Kuro walked toward the exit of the hall, pushing the guild's grand doors open to begin the collection. As I marched with firm steps toward the outer perimeter, the city's demographic data began to align within my strategic mind, bringing a sudden realization. *Wait...

if this world is eighty percent female, does that mean I could be the only man in an all-girls academy? That would be an absolute dream... It actually makes me want to head over there right now. But I cannot change my mind and alter my plans at this stage of the board. Perhaps in the future, I can consider it. Temporarily brushing the thought aside, I quickened my pace, retrieved my horse, and headed straight to the edge of the rustic forest that bordered the limits of the Capital.

The area was dense, filled with ancient trees and a thick mist that crawled across the damp soil. I dismounted, tied the reins to a nearby bush, and began to search the low vegetation. My eyes focused on the rustic, shiny leaves that matched the description in the guild's catalog. Crouching down and feeling through the damp earth, I managed to carefully gather all the necessary medicinal herbs, storing them securely inside my tactical leather pouch. The mission objective had been accomplished.

But the second I stood up and wiped the dirt from my hands, the atmosphere shifted drastically. The air became heavy, cold, and suffocating. Through the thick mist, a silhouette began to project itself. A Shadow loomed before me, emerging out of absolute nothingness like a stain of living darkness. But the real shock, the one that made my stomach churn and the blood freeze in my veins, came when I locked eyes with the creature: they gleamed with a deep, sinister purple hue.

They were identical to the eyes of the things that went after Aurelia on that fateful day. I tried to act purely on survival instinct. I drew my new sword in the exact same fraction of a second, but my legs paralyzed instantly with an overwhelming fear of the Shadow. The motor command simply failed to reach my muscles. My rustic body felt heavy as lead, shackled by a traumatic trigger. Why... why can't I move? If I don't move, I die! My hands are trembling right against the hilt of the sword...

My chest is suffocating from this cold. Not even my semi-immortality will be enough if it ends up destroying my entire body and I cannot regenerate... I need to flee. I am strong! I didn't make it all the way here just to die like this! I can do this; I cannot give up. I wasn't chosen for nothing; I was chosen because of my choices and for being different back on Earth. I need to know who I truly am and why some entity, or the goddess Ariana herself, chose me to be here.

I don't know what my nightmares mean—whether they are memories of something on Earth or just dreams of something much larger connected to this place. But how I survived and fought so hard in the modern world is because I never give up; no matter the situation, I always find a way out! I still haven't realized my dream of building my empire... I cannot abandon them under any circumstance! I want to stay by their side. I need to at least truly date one of them... I need to be with Selene... with Aurelia!

* *But wait... why did it remain still and not attack me for real? It isn't moving... Why does it almost look like it doesn't want to kill me? Or is it just paranoia in my head? But it must have something to do with the shadows that poured from my wounds. And why did this purple-eyed creature appear right now, right after I stepped into the Capital? In that situation on Earth where it was just the two of us, the clear target of the Shadows was Aurelia, not me.

They went after her specifically because of the magic she manifested... Could it be that the Shadows want her dead just for using magic? But were there other people who possessed magic back on Earth that I didn't know about, or was she the only one? The creature remained motionless, its darkness merely oscillating in place. The peak of adrenaline exploded in my mind like an absolute survival command, shattering the shackles of trauma.

Breaking out of the paralysis, I used my internal magic to circulate through my legs at high speed, directing the runic flow toward the muscles and tendons, propelling my body to run beyond the human limit. I spun around and bolted through the deep woods. The horse ended up being left behind, abandoned in the rush of the escape, while the Shadow sprinted after me with a terrifying speed, snapping branches and leaving a trail of destruction.

I could feel the creature's crushing pressure flush against my back, the cold almost brushing the nape of my neck. I did not look back for a single second, completely focused on the massive city gates that were beginning to rise on the horizon. As I drew close to the limits and jurisdiction of the city, the Shadow suddenly gave up the chase, halting at the forest edge and vanishing back into the void. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Kuro crossed Ithrya's gates and reached the city completely exhausted, out of breath, and heavily shaken by nerves. The tremor in my hands would not fade, and my mask as an unyielding leader was cracked. I walked along the cobblestone streets trying to normalize my breathing, until I spotted Selene on the street, who seemed to be searching for me. Seeing my state, the paleness of my face, and my wide eyes, she rushed over with an expression of pure shock.

Indifferent to the guards or the passing civilians, I wrapped my arms around her tightly, burying my face in her shoulder to absorb her warmth.

"I want to stay with you, Selene..." I said, my voice still strained, hoarse from the effort and the fright.

"And with everyone in the party. I won't let anything happen to you all." Selene held me firmly, not understanding what had occurred, but feeling my racing heartbeat pounding against her chest. Together and in silence, we made our way to the rustic inn we had rented in the Capital's commercial district. When we entered the room, Mireya and Liora saw the single double bed in the center of the wooden room and became completely embarrassed. They froze near the door, exchanging uncomfortable glances.

I looked at them firmly, taking a deep breath and forcing my tactical mind to retake control to shatter that heavy atmosphere and hide my weakness.

"What is your problem? The three of you and I have already slept together in the wagon. There is no issue at all." The practical argument cut through the girls' shyness on the spot, bringing a sense of normalcy back to the party. Happy and genuinely relieved to be alive, I lay down in the middle of the bed with the three of them settling around me. Everyone slept in the same bed, with me sleeping alongside the three of them, feeling the soft perfume of each one and the warmth of their bodies.

Yet I remained motionless, doing nothing, simply enjoying the security of being together on that dangerous Capital chessboard. In the middle of the night, however, the room's silence became an unbearable torment. Mireya and Liora slept deeply, letting out light and calm breaths, but I remained with my eyes wide open, staring at the wooden beams of the dark ceiling.

The panic of almost being erased by that creature, mixed with the cold rejection he had received from Aurelia hours earlier at the guild, created a whirlwind of dark thoughts in my mind. Feeling that my restlessness might end up waking the rest of the party in the bed and that talking inside would be too dangerous if they overheard, I stood up in absolute silence. I walked slowly to the room's rustic balcony, closing the wooden door behind me to isolate the sound.

The cold night wind of the Capital blinked against my face. A short time later, I heard light footsteps, and the balcony door opened subtly. Selene stepped out and stood beside me, looking at me with her eyes gleaming in the penumbra.

"Kuro... you haven't been able to sleep at all. What happened in the forest?" she asked very softly, pressing her body against mine so the wind wouldn't carry her voice away. The weight of carrying the memories of Earth, the secret of my assassin class, and the fear of gradually losing my humanity caused me to break down internally. Setting the leader facade aside, I turned to her on the balcony.

"I am very happy to be by your side, Selene..." I confessed, my voice emerging low as I held her hand.

"I was selfish in wanting power and worldly desires, but in the face of that darkness, I realized just how important you all are to me. You will always be the main one, Selene. I love you. You are the only one who manages to drive this cold away from my head." I love Selene truly, and she will always occupy that main spot at the top of my list. But I won't lie to myself—I still intend to build my empire and be with other women in this world.

However, right now in front of her, I need to keep that thought to myself to protect the sanctity of this moment. * Selene offered a welcoming smile full of compassion and sat down on a small rustic wooden bench that was there, gently pulling my head down to her lap. I allowed myself to recline, resting on her soft lap while she smoothly passed her fingers through my rebellious hair.

"You don't need to pretend to be strong all the time, you silly boy... If you need to, I will always be by your side, and you can always rest your head in my lap and always embrace me whenever the world seems too heavy. And you also don't need to pretend to feel nothing near me, even if you can't demonstrate what you feel to the rest of the world. You will always have me, Kuro." I closed my eyes, feeling the comforting warmth of her hands finally dissipate the panic and the frost the Shadow had left in my body.

I relaxed the weight of my head in her lap, but a deep melancholy still dictated the tempo of my words.

"I promise I will do my absolute best; I don't intend to fall in this world under any circumstance. And even if I cannot demonstrate my true feelings due to the weight I carry in my soul, what matters is that I can feel you here with me. I know that more and more I am struggling to find it, but I will try to love you forever, Selene." Selene did not answer with words.

She merely leaned forward, leaving a soft and lingering kiss on his forehead and embracing him tightly against her body, serving as his absolute safe haven there on the balcony, beneath the dark sky of the Capital of Ithrya.