"Then, if I were to awaken that sleeping woman, what kind of expression would she have after seeing a world that has changed day by day, and seeing a husband and son who are now strangers to her? What kind of emotions would she have?"
Caelus returned to the Astrea estate. It was not yet noon, and he found Reinhard in the study, teaching Felt basic etiquette.
"I want to try to see if I can cure your mother."
As soon as those words left his mouth, Caelus could clearly see Reinhard tremble all over.
"I cannot guarantee success, but if it is only damage or changes to the physical body, I can ensure that I can cure it."
"Thank you, my friend. If you can truly cure my mother, befriending you will be the greatest fortune of my life. I will wield my sword for you, provided it does not violate my principles."
"No need to make promises yet. I must first ensure that your mother's illness is something I can cure."
"I apologize for my excitement just now. I lost my composure. Please, come with me."
Reinhard told the butler and servants to take care of Felt first, then led Caelus to the most heavily protected room in the house.
After Reinhard led Caelus into the room and saw his mother on the bed, who looked as if she were still in a deep sleep, he could not help but lower his eyes, as if he dared not look.
Even Reinhard believed that he was the cause of all this, that he, a person born in response to fate, had brought misfortune to this family.
Caelus stepped forward, looking at the woman who seemed to be merely sleeping. After examining her carefully for a moment, he turned to Reinhard and said, "Your mother is not sick. Her memories have been stolen."
And they had been stolen so cleanly that it even made Caelus think that the Incinerators from his main universe had been here.
Even though so much time had passed, and because they had been stolen so cleanly, basically no traces were left. However, relying on the power of The Finality, Caelus was still able to find the perpetrator's tracks with relative ease.
"A person's self-awareness, emotions, and even personality all stem from memory. It is memory that constitutes a person's soul and mind. Losing one's memory is equivalent to a person losing their own mind and completely becoming a walking corpse."
Reinhard placed one hand on the hilt of his sword, anger burning in his heart.
Even he, who had upheld the path of righteousness all these years, could not suppress the impulse in his heart at this moment.
"Rest assured, leave this matter to me. I am actually quite curious about what kind of guy the opponent is. As the Sword Saint protecting the Royal Capital, it is inconvenient for you to go out as you please, and Felt also needs you to look after her, so leave it to me. After all, you have sincerely treated me as a friend."
"...Thank you for your help, friend. If it were not for you, I would not even have known that my mother was harmed by someone else."
"Hmm, no need to prepare lunch or dinner for me. I am leaving."
Right in front of Reinhard, Caelus seemed to turn into a gust of wind and vanished in an instant.
Left behind, the Sword Saint finally began to gaze upon his mother's face once again after so many years.
Having lived his life burdened by guilt and a sense of atonement, had he found even a shred of redemption and comfort in this moment?
Utilizing the power of Finality, Caelus began to track down what the woman had lost. After spending some time and flying for several hours, he had already left the Kingdom of Lugnica.
Soon, in a dense forest, a boy wearing a cloak, with hair reaching his waist and sharp, shark-like teeth, was walking aimlessly.
Suddenly, he saw someone appear before him. The boy was taken aback, then looked at the man with a hint of interest.
"Gluttony, Sin Archbishop."
Looking at the person before him, Caelus could strongly sense the craving in the other's heart, an impatient, ravenous desire to devour.
"Oh! You actually know of my existence? Are you here for revenge on behalf of those whose memories I have eaten? Ah, it does not matter. I do not kill nameless people. Kid, what is your name?"
"Caelus."
"Hahaha! You actually told me your name!"
The Sin Archbishop of Gluttony laughed wildly, then activated his ability, attempting to devour the memories of this person whose true name he now knew...
Then, the world before him began to collapse and crumble, bit by bit.
A hollow, void spiral appeared before him, something that both existed and did not. It was an ending that symbolized the extinction of all things, where everything would return to nothingness.
The existence of living beings is meaningless. The establishment of civilizations is meaningless. The eruption of emotions is meaningless. The great power of nature is meaningless. All things shall return to nothingness, and all existence shall revert to the void. The final ending is fated, and nothing can change it. Even fate appears insignificant amidst the absolute silence of the void.
The spiral of the void spread silently, and with just a fraction of its reach, it engulfed the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, who had lived for who knows how long. It did not matter how many memories he had hoarded, what skills he had learned from them, or how powerful the Witch Factor gifted to him by the world or the Authority of Gluttony truly was.
Before that void, it was all meaningless.
Caelus watched as the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony lost all color, finally faded into nothingness, and had everything stripped away by him. He closed his eyes, sensed for a moment, and said, "It is not complete. Two are still missing... over there."
On the road to Lugnica, a boy in a green robe, whose appearance was very similar to the previous Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, wore an expression of inexplicable unease and panic.
He did not know why such an inexplicable emotion had emerged in his heart. This unprecedented feeling made him feel somewhat manic.
"Roy, why are you so uneasy?"
His brother's voice came from behind. Roy Alphard turned around in astonishment. Why was his brother here?
Then, he saw a man he had absolutely no memory of, a youth wearing strange, long clothing, with gray hair and dull golden eyes.
The stranger used his brother's voice to say to him, "Little brother, why do you look so afraid? Am I not your brother? What exactly are you afraid of?"
"Brother?"
Hearing these words, Roy suddenly felt that the person before him looked more and more familiar. He suddenly remembered, yes, this was his brother. So why was he afraid? Why was he uneasy?
"That's right, Roy. Come here. It has been so long. Let your brother see if you have lost weight."
"Brother."
Roy walked toward his brother with a relaxed smile, greeting him.
He had only taken a few steps when he felt something strange. Why had the ground beneath his feet become so soft and sticky?
He looked down and saw not the solid dirt road from before, but bright red, slightly squirming flesh.
Oh, that was not just flesh. It was a giant tongue.
He looked back and saw closing teeth. Unknowingly, he had walked into someone's mouth.
A bone-chilling sound of chewing echoed across the wilderness.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)