The Honored One

Arthur Leywin's POV:

I was being crushed under the weight of the world.

Both figuratively and literally.

I was dying, bleeding out and suffering alone in agony under the blanket made of the remainder of society, the last of us, reduced to nothing but a mountain in which I'm being reborn.

I slowly crawled through the grotesque pile of corpses, listening to the screams and wails of Regis and Sylvie.

I inched my way through the pile, slowly changing, not just physically but mentally.

My body was mending slowly whilst I climbed to the peak where the last of my family was, the only people that I cared about that were still alive.

But as I crawled my grief for those I didn't know well, those that I had only known briefly in passing, faded into nothing.

The pleasantness of the life that was beginning to flow through me was overwhelming my senses, intoxicating me on the feeling. Slowly those that I loved came to mind and passed as I continued to crawl out of the biome of corpses that had terraformed the area.

My memories slowly died with them.

Dad, Mom, Ellie, Virion, Tess, Caera and so many more.

Nothing more than shadows of their memories remained in my mind.

And when I reached the top, not a scratch could be seen upon my pristine body.

The only notable things that could be seen under the blood that covered my body was the wide smile on my face and the river of tears flowing down as insanity and loneliness clashed for control of me.

A deranged laugh escaped my lips and I spoke words that a pariah from my old world had once said, words that no one could have lived to hear.

Right now, those are the only words I can think of to describe myself anymore.

I'm sorry everyone.

I'm sorry I've changed, but…

It just feels so right.

"Throughout heaven and earth… I alone am the honored one."

I felt Sylvie slap my face and my world became enveloped in darkness dragging me to the abyss in my mind.

As the darkness covered my sight, I lacked any appreciation for the descending sun that I would not see again for many years to come.

—

Tessia Eralith's POV:

It was strange…

Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, I had heard of the sensation a few times in passing but I never assumed it would be like this, my body was taken over by Cecelia and now I'm simply Argona's puppet, there wouldn't be a happy ending.

I hope Art can forgive me…

Ever since that day, although I can't do anything but think in this lifeless place, I've decided to reflect on my actions.

Doing so made me realize that no matter how noble my actions were, they were naive, reckless and utterly selfish.

How much struggle did my existence alone cause Art…?

So much that it hurts just to think about.

So much that I want to cry my heart out about it.

So much that it makes me realize just how selfish I was to him.

But there were still things I wanted to know.

Who was Grey?

Why did Nico Sever hate him?

Why didn't he tell me about them?

So many thoughts rushed through my head, perplexed I thought for a moment of blaming Art, before realizing that it would only be a selfish delusion.

I was a princess and I loved him, yes.

But in doing so I demanded him to belong to me, to choose to be mine.

How laughable was it looking back on it?

The audacity I had to demand something like that, I've known for long enough now, even since the day he saved me that he was only human.

And that applies to his heart too.

I knew that I couldn't monopolize him for myself.

And yet I tried to do just that.

But rather than encouraging him to do that by making myself better, making myself more beautiful, acting in a way that he finds attractive, I just pinched his side and yelled at him like a spoiled brat.

It makes me want to weep to admit that Arthur deserved better.

It makes me want to yell that I was so deluded that I thought Art would be missing out if he didn't choose me.

Arthur deserved something more than just a beautiful princess. He deserved so much more than he ever got from me, his endless selflessness and drive to become stronger for the sake of his family makes my ambition look childish.

All I ever wanted in life was him, yet I couldn't do anything for him but lead him to his death.

After all, his body was breaking down, he was dying when I saw him…

I…

I killed the love of my life out of my selfishness…

Out of my stubbornness…

Out of my naivety and stupidity…

We're both dead now, or at least I am and I don't even get to see him in the end.

But I suppose that's what my actions warranted don't they?

I was never the wife, fiancé, girlfriend or partner that Arthur deserved.

All I had was the fact that he had saved me, and all I did was cling to him just to make him look my way, to put all his attention on me and me alone.

I want to cringe just thinking about how I've treated him, and yet he still loved me to the point that his death became an inevitability.

And what did I do?

I threw his sacrifice away, let the enemy achieve their goal and let my fiancé, the person whom I promised to start a family with, die with nothing but regrets and the sadness of having his loved ones unprotected or dead and even suffering fates worse than either of those possibilities.

Please…

If I have another chance…

I'll be better, I'll do better…

I'll give up on trying to control him, hell, I'll even stay faithful to the Arthur I knew if he isn't with me in my next life.

All to repent for my actions…

For my sins…

—

The light had been getting brighter, I thought that I was finally getting my body back in a world without Arthur, without anything worth living for anymore, without anything to stop me from finally ending my life now that I had been left with nothing but time to reflect on my actions.

But that wasn't what happened.

I heard a voice one last time, his voice.

"Throughout heaven and earth… I alone am the honored one."

It was distorted and hard to understand. But I understood all the same, perhaps I didn't understand what he meant when he said that, perhaps he meant the Legacy, but the legacy was a reincarnate, right? Perhaps he didn't mean that at all and it was just a misinterpretation, but either way it had enlightened me.

That one statement sent my mind through loops, piecing together the clues that Arthur left through his actions whether he was aware of it or not, and only one thought, a memory of words that Nico had said, came to mind.

"One last gift for Grey."

I remembered what Nico had said to me, before my body was taken from me, Why would Grey care if I was taken? I don't even know a single person named Grey?

But Nico did, and so did Arthur.

And Nico's enmity was solely directed at Arthur.

So why would he care about Grey, if Grey wasn't Arthur in the first place.

He said in his own words…

I am the honored one.

It was then that it fell into place and the picture that had always been blurry became clear once more.

Arthur was Grey…

In his past life…

I wanted to be angry with him for never telling me, but then I remembered his parents and what had happened to their relationship.

It had broken.

The final piece that had been missing arrived into its place and I realized something I never thought that I would have to say about Arthur.

Arthur was afraid.

I always knew that Arthur was good at everything with the exception of his emotions, but this made that weakness all too clear.

He was petrified of rejection, the rejection that had been my first thought upon realizing the truth.

Something that made me realize once more what a terrible partner I was to him.

I didn't realize it sooner, the light had been approaching rapidly, like I had passed the threshold and I was finally gaining control permanently again, not the temporary control I had seen before but a complete control, it felt refreshing until I realized that wasn't at all the case.

My vision went red and blurry and my ears were bombarded with sounds far too loud for my sensitive ears to handle.

It hurt for a while but it only took a moment for the picture to become clear and my thoughts that were once filled with confusion to come to a halt.

After all, my parents were just told that I was a healthy baby girl…

Opening my eyes as quickly as I could I looked around to find the people who had given birth to me, desperately hoping that they would be the same ones that I remembered. Finding my mothers face, tears streamed my own after I had recognized the image of the woman to be my mother.

Looking around after confirming that I was born to the same family I found my father and grandpa with teary eyes and happy expressions on their faces to see me, I was no different having tears streaming down my own face.

I reveled in the relief of the moment.

My family was alive…

Maybe this time…

I could be better for them…

I could be better for Arthur…

—

I now knew Arthur's pain of having the mental acuity and capacity of an adult hidden away in the body of a baby, control over my body or lack thereof was rather humiliating, I can sympathize with Arthur now.

I had grown considerably from the time that I was born and had, through my knowledge of mana, begun to slowly develop my mana core albeit at a pace that would make me awaken around the time that I met Arthur, if not slightly earlier.

Or at least hopefully met Art, after all, it was my own stupidity that led me to meeting Arthur in the first place. Perhaps I could get grandpa to take me there when it's time.

But now that I can speak, at least in full sentences, I believe that it is important to tell grandpa the situation.

Walking, careful to avoid my caretakers that may have been looking for me, I made my way to grandpa's office where I knew he would be.

Opening the door, I found grandpa reminiscing with a solemn look on his face, he was looking at a photo of his wife, my grandmother, a pang of sadness hit my chest as I came to realize that just because I have my memories of a future that came before, that doesn't mean that I could change the past.

As I had opened the door grandpa looked in my direction, seeing me at his door he carefully put the photo back where it had been before, it was blurry, but it was the finest of the tech that was available. He invited me in warmly, heavily contrasting his previous demeanor. I wondered briefly if it was a practiced, ingenuine, smile or if it was a genuine change of demeanor.

"Come in little one, sit if you like."

Unlike my previous behavior I had displayed around others, a mature, experienced, tired and icy look met my face. Noticing the behavior that a normal 1-2 year old wouldn't even be capable of dreaming to accomplish, his expression became more serious and curious than it had before.

"I had something I wished to discuss with you."

The words, although sounding childish that came from my young body, were anything but immature. I continued as his interest was thoroughly peaked.

"I came back from the future, and I would like your help to make it better than the one I remember."