52 - ASTILBE, EVEN IF i am loST In TALeS OF THE PAST, I WILL WAIT FOR YOU (6)

People were enjoying their normal lives, working in the fields or starting the day doing what they liked. Everything felt very safe and calm, unlike the previous incident. 

When people woke up, they were confused before they realized everything, as if another memory had been forcibly inserted into the old one.

...

Yes, that's what happened now. With the help of Madam Quella, who tried to explain to the villagers what had happened.

It all started with a foreigner named Dorbe, Dorbe, who was helped by the villagers, thanked them and suggested that they work together, and that was the beginning of them building a relationship in the name of cooperation. Dorbe was not only a stray foreigner, but he was also a merchant and a slave.

His life ended after he tried to tell the villagers the truth, but it was too late, his people betrayed him on purpose and angered the villagers by spreading rumors about the counterfeit money he gave them. It was the day Dorbe died at the hands of those he trusted, and also the day the previous village chief made a new regulation.

The new rules, as we already know, were that merchants could trade here as long as all the villagers believed in the merchants, and that the merchants who came to this village were not allowed to reveal the existence of their village to the outside world.

After the previous village chief made the new rules, a new problem arose: the disappearance of the children. The previous village chief died after committing suicide because he thought he had failed as village chief, leaving the village chief position vacant before the village chief election was held again.

That was the beginning of Reliun Myes becoming the new village chief. 

This old incident happened again, but the difference is that they are not ordinary merchants, they are merchants who are trafficking humans. Seeing a beautiful child in the village made the merchants even greedier, they started breaking the trust of every villager, poisoning the river, and much more. Many children died, mothers decided to leave everything behind, crops declined.

What does this have to do with the story of Mr. Dorbe? Hmm, of course it does. Because his people still live in the village and have a family. He had a nurse wife who was heavily pregnant and a son. His life was rich and so was his sad end.

Can this be called karma, or is it just bad luck that befell them? We don't know, no one knows unless fate says so.

This tragedy also affected the peaceful family who lived on the edge of the forest. Now their son is in a coma due to the deadly poison in the knife... waiting for death to stare at him. The boy's best friend is also so traumatized that he doesn't want to leave the house and only wants to accompany the boy.

The boy's parents kept coming back with new doctors. His condition never improved and was never in critical condition, for almost 1 month he closed his eyes from the world. This tragedy made the boy's parents angry, especially since it was said that the boy had been sick for some time. 

No one could stop them, not even the village chief and the people who queued up at their house.

There was no mercy.

SWISH-BANG!

"Keugh-!" A blow from the woman instantly knocked the man unconscious. Blood spurted from his mouth and the sound of cracking bones could be heard at the same time.

People swarmed around them, but no one dared to step forward. They themselves realized that they were also the culprits in this tragedy.

Tap-tap...

Ariadne walked over to where Reliun was standing and started to kick him. "Cough-!" Reliun held up his hand, hoping Ariadne would listen. "Wait, me, I don't know anything!"

"..." Ariadne stopped, those blood red eyes staring at him as if trying to find his weakness. "It's not my fault..." Reliun immediately came to his defense, humiliated, no way!

"Heh." Ariadne snorted in annoyance, crouching down in front of him and quickly pulling up Reliun's shirt collar before slapping his face so hard that two of his teeth were knocked out, "Say it again, quick."

Plak!

The loud sound rang out again, even the people around them closed their eyes, unable to bear the pain Reliun was feeling.

" Come on, say it."

"..."

"Nothing? So the warning was just nonsense for you?" Those blood eyes stared at him intently, the more she knew the truth, the greater her anger. Not only at this bastard, but also at that merchant. 

"It seems like your brain has never been used. Shall I tell you how to use your brain properly?" Ariadne held Reliun's head, and using the power in her hands, Ariadne smashed Reliun's head into the ground. The people in the crowd gasped. Some wanted to step forward, but were afraid they would take Reliun's place.

Who would want their head to hit the ground so hard?

Ariadne removed her grip from his head and took the gloves from her shirt pocket, began wiping her hands deliberately, and threw the gloves in Reliun's face.

"Clean your brain too when you wake up."

It was only then that Ariadne's eyes shot up to where the cliff was. 

"Heh! That's crazy! I don't want to play with someone like that!" The little boy, Sammael, hugged himself as if he had goose bumps, but unfortunately his behavior did not match his expression, which looked like he was having fun.

"So playing with her son is okay?" Ramiel replied sarcastically. They stood at the edge of the cliff, far from the small village, and watched from the edge.

"I never said Chimera."

"Crazy bastard." Ramiel rolled her eyes, and as her hand came closer to her mouth, a cigarette appeared with a small electric spark at the end, smoke coming out of her mouth as she blew out the air.

"Phew..." The puff of smoke disappeared as it touched the real wind. "I don't care why you're interested in that boy, but you better be careful with him."

"Careful? I'm not afraid of the boy's friends." Sammael furrowed his brow, remembering the boy's evil words; he would not play with people who could not be played with!

"You should be afraid of him, but you should be more afraid of Eriu. You realize that there's something strange about that child, right?" 

An ordinary child that no one could even touch. A child cursed with death, attracting the attention of Nightmare and a Chimera.

He should be dead by now. 

Chimera was hated by this world, but this world consciously helped this child many times. Death was not so good at letting him escape the glass of truth, even the other world was not full of dreams until he got what he wanted.

This world blatantly helped this child.

"If the mother knows that Death has cursed her child, you're finished." 

"But it's not me, it's another death..." Sammael, whose face looked annoyed, instantly got goosebumps before looking back and disappearing into the dust. Ramiel looked back and could only chuckle, "Heh, what did you do to scare him like that?" Eros walked over to Ramiel while shrugging his shoulders, "I don't know, just ask him yourself."

"So why are you here?"

"To tell you something."

Ramiel who was about to smoke her cigarette was immediately stopped by Eros, "Don't smoke here."

"?"

"I hate the smell." Eros looked at Ramiel with a flat expression, hearing what was said made Ramiel smile softly.

"Ah, you don't want his parents to know, huh?" At that moment, the cigarette in Ramiel's hand disappeared and Ramiel started to rub Eros' hair. It was obvious that Ramiel was enjoying it.

"Hehe, being a good sister, I'll listen to you."

"Sigh..." Eros just sighed but did not let go of the hand, only when Ramiel felt that her heart was happy enough, did she take it away.

"So, what do you want to tell me?" 

"The Cry Mask faction." The wind blew as if announcing an impending storm, "They are watching my movements right now." 

"Reverse's followers already know the whereabouts of you and the First Eyes, they are taking their first steps."

"In 5 years, everything will begin. Don't forget to pretend that we don't get along in the future. I'm sure there are people watching you."

Envy, absolutes and knowledge, who could fool them.

Ramiel smiled as she looked at the place where Ariadne had been. Look, the world has protected this child as if it were its precious jewel.

Not just this world, but the Narotiémai who are always at his side, a perfect example of which is the child standing next to her now. I don't know what the people here did to make him so angry that he punished them himself.

It was a stroke of luck for her to meet such a kind Narotiémai.

Narotiémai, those who were more almighty than the gods and never seen by the eyes of the Creator.

"Haha, the world is really cruel~ Isn't it, little brother?"

Seeing the smile and gentle gaze directed at him, Eros felt a little cold, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Call me sister just once."

"I don't want to."

"Come on~ You just borrowed The Scales of Sin, oh, and I can also help you with your romance problems."

"Win-win solution, right?"

Eros blinked briefly and looked back at Ramiel with his usual sweet smile, "Please finish your project and don't forget the first plan. Tomorrow, if I see you typing 'Sorry, I promise they won't be like this again.' I won't hesitate to finish them off."

"Understood, sister?"

Ramiel chuckled, even though she now felt goose bumps all the way up to her head.

"Well, little brother, there's no way I won't understand~ It just takes time, hehe..."

In 5 years, everything would change.

Those violet eyes were very dark compared to the blood-red and blue sky that colored the surroundings, completely different from the violet eyes full of despair.

Even the world seemed to be mocking him.

Everyone stood in front of the sea of blood, an overwhelming feeling of horror and fear depicted by the dark red color. Even the dark color in the blood depicted their grief.

"Prince..." The young man immediately hugged the frozen boy.

The person who cared for him the most was no longer breathing.

Although his death was very sad, the smile on his face seemed to say that he had completed his task to the end.

The color red was in stark contrast to this beautiful green.

Her tiny hands were now covered in cuts and blood.

It was her first murder and also the beginning of her revenge. Those green eyes stared ahead full of hate. Only the daisy headband was still in the beautiful white and yellow colors. 

"I am..."

A reminder to herself

"You."

A reminder of death.

In the forest full of staring eyes, there was only the girl and the eyes staring at her.

Prey staring at prey.

"Let's go, Mr. Dorbe." The two victims left the cave. The woman had not changed, not in her face, but in her actions. Even after her death, she could still smile broadly.

The man, who looked to be in his forties, nodded.

This was indeed an old story, an old story that would never be remembered. 

"Sure." The old man walked over and began to put on the hat he usually wore. In front of the cave stood a woman in her armor. The woman began to lead them in the direction called Freedom.

001, Grace.

"1..."

"2..."

"3!" The female doll immediately threw up the confetti paper, surprising the girl in front of her named Linda.

"Woahhh!" Linda happily looked up where the colorful paper fell like rain.

"Hehe, thank you Lily, I'm happy!"

The doll smiled, "Of course! I'm very happy too! Playing with Linda is so much fun!"

Time passed as they played, until exhaustion made the girls lie down tiredly. The two of them lay on the bed, an exhausted Linda inhaling slowly before asking a sudden question.

"Lily, what is death?"

Lily immediately jumped up and turned to Linda, "Death is us!"

"Huh?"

"I am a part of Death!"

"Uhhh?"

Lily stood up, with her puppet hands she opened her hands, "Death is so many, I am Death, they are Death too, but the real Death is Death!"

"I admire Death so much! He gave us his soul and hopes that we can be freer and happier!" In the room, a blue butterfly was sitting outside the window.

"That is why I wanted to repay his kindness, so when the mysterious woman said I could make Death look good, I became very happy and did what the mysterious woman said!

"If I can meet him again one day, I will thank him."

"Because of him, I can meet you and we become friends."

The girl looked down where the fire was burning, fear, sadness. Even though she was crying, her parents looked at her with a flat stare before throwing her into the inferno.

The cries of pain that echoed beneath the flames. A cry that still hoped for help.

Death, you poor thing...

Tap-tap...

Someone stepped forward right in front of the charred corpse. Seeing the scarred leg in front of her, the girl couldn't help but raise her head. Surprisingly, the girl felt no pain from the burn.

Those very dark eyes stared right in front of her, but in contrast to those black eyes, his voice was very warm. "Let's go to the White Kingdom and play forever." Her hand immediately reached out to the boy.

Death was her new name and her new life.

The boy stood in front of the grave of the child named Linda, his black eyes that usually looked so terrible were now full of tears.

May Death weep for you.

It was all just a very distant future, an existence that was still out of reach for now. Sometimes the future can be as fleeting as the blink of an eye.

It started with overwhelming sleepiness and a warm feeling in his hands and a vague vision every time his eyes blinked. 

"Eri...?" A very soft voice called his name, a voice that was both very familiar and very unfamiliar to him. Slowly, his vision became clearer and clearer.

"Huaa..."

A warm hug and the sound of sobbing sounded very close to him. Cries followed by the sound of a door opening. Calls of his name and cries for his return.

Like when that little hand tried to touch its mother's face. A feeling filled with warmth. 

Seeing the people crying in front of him reminded him of the times when he himself questioned his existence.

Am I me, or am I just the person who took this little boy's life?

Who cares about the answer, who will ask if he is the real one or not.

The reality is that I am me.

Then I say once again to you, my childhood friend.

Welcome to the new world and...

The little boy was silent for a while, staring at the book in front of him, before he muttered to himself, "A secret place...?" After a short silence, he began to turn page after page. But unfortunately, his efforts were in vain... There was nothing about the secret place in his diary.

No need to ask who that boy is, I'm sure you can guess who he is already.

Eriu began to close his eyes, trying to remember the conversation in the past. His forehead wrinkled as he thought very hard before he opened his eyes and clearly remembered what the girl in his memory had said.

"Oh!"

Eriu got up from the bed and started to stretch her body. Since it was still daylight, Eros was not here, of course, and also because Eros was becoming popular among the children.

In the past, it also seemed like .... maybe?

When I woke up from the coma, all I knew was that the villagers were making trouble and that I got injured when I helped Eros. Mom didn't say anything more and Dad... he didn't want to say anything.

Eriu stood in front of the mirror and stared at his reflection. A feeling of familiarity and unfamiliarity at the same time. Strangely, every time he looked at his reflection, he felt very handsome!

That's a joke~ 

Compared to his handsome face, every time he looked into the glass, there was the strangest thing, he felt like he heard the sound of violins. 

Sometimes the old uncle's babbling interrupted the music, the sound of books also reminded him of elegant women, and the food filled with vegetables made him feel like he had a friend who really liked vegetables.

Father didn't like chatter, mother was elegant but not a reader, let alone Eros... he disliked vegetables the most. As for the violin sound... maybe it was just his imagination?

I feel like I should remember it, but I don't. 

... Let it be, maybe I'll remember...

After looking at his face to his satisfaction, Eriu left the room carrying a sling bag and went down the stairs. Ariadne, noticing his presence, immediately turned her head towards the stairs.

"Hi, Mom."

"You just remembered your mother?" There was a joking tone to the question. Eriu, knowing the meaning of the question, could only laugh. It was his fault for not coming out of his room often.

"Hehe, there's no way I'm forgetting mom! Mom is number one for me!"

Hearing this compliment made Ariadne smile broadly, "Ohhh, I'm glad to hear that. So why did my son suddenly come out of his room?"

"On a play date!"

"...Well, as long as you go with Eros. Eros said he's going to help Uncle Lerry in the fields." 

"Got it!" Eriu replied without asking. After putting on his shoes, he said goodbye to Ariadne.

Isn't it strange? Eriu always had to stay with Eros.

The reason was that Eros had been hurt, so Eriu couldn't stay away from Eros. 

Eriu didn't ask why because he believed it.

Because Eros had really been bullied, he just didn't know if his memories were real or not. After all, why should they lie? 

But for Eriu, Eros was the least trustworthy person.

After he woke up from the coma, Eros became a bit unpredictable and a bit scary, which made him a bit afraid of him.

From inviting him to take a bath with him, to finding out about his hallucinations, and even electrocuting him!

Even if I am stupid, I know that Eros has become quite manipulative.

"I'm lost." Standing in the middle of the forest, Eriu stared at his surroundings and could only sigh in resignation. The harsh reality was that the mark he had made on the tree was yielding no results.

Eriu bet on a branch and began to spin. The branch slowly stopped and pointed to the north, the answer was in sight, what else but to continue his journey, right?

If only 001 was still here, he wouldn't be so lost, and he would still be able to explore the forest at night.

Remember, the wind was blowing very strong that day, and we knew each other's names. With a lock of hair and a flower, we tied our vows.

"?" Eriu, who saw the strange flower in the middle of the forest, became curious and approached to get a better look at it. "Flower..." His mouth opened and closed as if he wanted to say something. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried to remember what he wanted to say, all the words seemed to get stuck in his throat. 

"Rain Flower... this flower is Rain Flower! Wait, why is this flower here? Isn't this flower in the fairies' territory? ... Whatever, this world is already strange." Although Eriu wondered why this flower didn't wither, he decided to ignore it.

He quickly put the flower in his pocket and continued walking.

Eros stood at some distance from Eriu. Those diamond-pink eyes did not avert their gaze as he walked into the darkness. 

It was as if time stood still and laughter echoed. I hope, more and more, that you remember all that you used to remember.

When the scales fell, everything just became a phony lie.

Ah, I really hate this place.

"!!!" Eriu, who felt like he was being watched, immediately looked back. With his super vision, Eriu began to look around, calming down after being convinced that it was all just his feelings.

He soon found a tree that caught his attention. Not the tree, but what was under the tree. The ground covered with leaves. 

...

"Who would have thought they'd be here." Eriu held the dirty red stone in his hand. The stones he had tried to hide before. Without thinking, Eriu put the stones into the sling bag. 

Today, he was really lucky.

 So lucky...

Everything in front of him now seemed to come from a fictional game. The large tree in the middle of the small lake. The little flowers around the tree, and the singing birds. At the beginning of every story, there will always be something surprising to catch people's attention.

"Is this really a romance game?" A crazy character appeared on the screen, gouging his own eyes out. Who would expect this to appear in a game that was supposed to be beautiful and full of love...

"It's a romance game."

"Which one?"

"Title."

"..." May looked at Charlotte who was concentrating on her phone. Seeing the horrible look on the screen made May wonder, "You look like you want to kill someone" May turned off the phone and started watching Charlotte play.

Charlotte sniffed in annoyance, "There are 4 crazy people who seem to be bullying Eriu! What's even more annoying is that those assholes did it because they thought Eriu was cheating! What's even more annoying is that they kept his tooth! When I wanted to get the tooth, they told us to sleep with them first! Arghh, I'm going to kill them all!!!"

"..." May closed his eyes before opening them, "But Eriu got into this school thanks to the protagonist, right? Eriu alone is not a god incarnate."

"What...!? Haaa, let me explain. A school that's been around for thousands of years and has very strict rules allows ordinary people to enter just because the protagonist asks for it? Even other incarnations of Deus can't bring their confidants to the school, there's no way an ordinary person can enter the school and study there." 

"That's why Eriu can't be an ordinary person, he's definitely not dead, I'm sure Eriu will be one of the two characters that will appear later!"

The woman's guess was correct, Eriu Grith was no ordinary person. 

"...No way!!!" The girl immediately got up from the bed and ran into the next room. Her friend Charlotte turned around, "Linda? You just shocked me!"

"Listen to me, Eriu is alive!" 

"Really!?"

"Yes! He's the incarnation of Raphael!"

The sky is outer, the space is full of stars. A newly created game suddenly attracted many girls to play it. In just 2 years, this game was immediately hated by men. 

"The developer himself said that to get the route of Eriu Grith, we have to kill him 14 times, like getting the secret ending!" The girl named Linda excitedly explained, "They said the character Eriu Grith was based on a real person, but unfortunately that person's planet was destroyed..."

"...Don't tell me the real person whose name was May?" The girl named Charlotte was silent as if she knew something.

Somehow, she felt that she knew this person.

"? How did you know?"

"... Hunch?"

Goodbye to the past.

A future where I will be a memory to you and you will be a dream to me. 

Like a fast moving train, the moon follows from above the dark sky. It was a very fast ride.

The girl with the green eyes stared at the letter in her hand, just by reading it again, her feelings calmed down. Longing for the past.

"Look! The child is running this way!" 

Hearing the commotion around her, the girl became somewhat curious. 

"...!" The blood red eyes she knew so well. The girl froze, her heart beating very fast and a gentle smile on her face.

You have found me. My love, my angel, Astilbe.

The boy was immediately grabbed by his friend, frozen in place as if confused by what he was doing. They were followed by two adults who took them away. As soon as the smoke cleared, they disappeared into the crowd.

The girl's gaze turned cold as she looked at the boy chasing her friend.

I'm going to get you, forever.

"No way... Ramiel! It's Ramiel!" The woman standing behind the two small children stared at the boy with blood red eyes. 

We meet again. 

On the other side, the old man quickly put on his hat and walked away with the red-haired woman. May hope be with you to the end.

Looking back to the glory days, gold was plentiful and honor was invoked. Who can forget the tantalizing taste of glory? 

"If you find the elixir, we can defeat them!" Those who are greedy will eat anything and let themselves be consumed.

Who is the white swan, and where is the black swan? Who are you hiding between the chastity and the lust?

"Who would you kill if the Lyre asked you this question?" The girl's name was Judith, and the young man beside her was, of course, Ramiel.

He was the Ramiel everyone looked for when they were lost.

"You mean about killing demons and angels?"

"Yes."

Ramiel immediately turned his head and smiled broadly in front of the girl, "Useless questions, killing who and whom, when we could be looking for a safer solution, like asking Ramiel for help to solve their problems!"

"Hahaha. You always say nonsense."

"Hey, you're the one asking why you're the one who's unhappy? You should be happy that I am answering your question!"

"You said to just ask Ramiel for help, so who will Ramiel ask for help?"

Ramiel had dark purple eyes and light pink hair. Those who had gained the power of a god would symbolize that god in some form.

"Simple!"

A very joyful tone and full of trust in his gaze, "Of course you are".

"You are my hope, my incarnation."

"Because you are my Ramiel."

That day the sky was very red, like the color of blood. There were screams and cries everywhere. 

The girl stood frozen.

Where did it all start?

It was as if hope had vanished from her eyes.

What's wrong with my choice?

Where is my Ramiel, where are you, my God?

I just want you all to live!

Please tell me again. That I am your hope.