Chapter 306
Chapter 306
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 306
Chapter Title: Chapter 7-1. The Sixth Fragment, Requiem
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"What do you hear?"
Judah tilted his head, and Arhil asked curiously from behind. Iris also showed interest in her question.
"Is it that crying sound you're hearing?"
Recalling what he'd told the trolls, Lime urged him to answer as if saying to hurry up, and Judah nodded. If anything, he found it strange that they couldn't hear it.
The clearer the sound grew as the dragonhead pushed through the sandstorm.
"No matter how much I explain this for a hundred days, you won't understand... so just wait. You'll probably hear it if we go a little further."
It wasn't that he didn't want to tell them or that it was a hassle. The sadness contained in this wailing could only be understood by hearing it directly—it was that kind of emotion.
Whooooosh!
The wind began to blow stronger. It was still humid and stuffy, offering no cool relief, only discomfort. As they pressed forward against the wind, a faint red pillar of light rose faintly beyond the horizon in the distance.
The pillar of fire resembled the moment Asmodeus had opened a tiny gate from Uruun to the demon realm. But right after the pillar appeared, a massive sandstorm swirled around it.
The firelight didn't go out in the sandstorm but dimmed, making it hard to see. Judah gazed at the sandstorm far off. The raging winds lifted the sand, clouding everything in a haze, and as they drew closer, the storm's immense, ferocious scale grew terrifying.
The sand mixed in the wind seemed poised to pulverize anyone who entered. Yet the wind's roar in his ears and the visible sandstorm felt like mere illusions. If he focused his hearing and strained his eyes, a sorrowful wail filled with grief and screams pierced through, and the red pillar shot toward the sky—as if begging someone to come and see.
Aaaaaahhhh!
No one seemed to comfort it, for the heartbreaking cry didn't stop. Listening to the melancholic sound, Judah felt old memories resurface.
Back in his original world long ago, he'd had a dream. The setting was a building surrounded by dark walls, and he knew instantly it was a medieval castle.
Where am I? he'd wondered when a sad wail echoed from somewhere. At first, it was just sobbing. He followed the sound. Strangely, the castle was empty. An air of silence and desolation hung heavy.
Fearlessly, he opened the door from where the crying came, revealing a beautiful woman in a red dress sitting alone in a large chair, weeping so pitifully. Hearing it made him sad too, and seeing her moved him to pity.
Her once beautifully made-up face was smeared with ruined makeup from tears, her throat hoarse—soon, even her voice failed her. Yet no one was by her side.
She shed tears and wails, but sadly, no one in the castle wiped them away or comforted her. He didn't know if everyone had died or left.
The dream showed only her crying. He approached and asked her why she wept so sadly.
I'm the one getting sadder listening—tell me your story. But she didn't answer. She just clutched her hands to her chest and sobbed. And as he watched her, shedding his own tears, he woke.
The aftertaste lingered intensely. Even knowing it was a dream, his tears wouldn't stop, and her sobbing image haunted him all day. Dreams usually faded in hours, but this one stayed vivid even after a week.
Based on that powerful memory, he'd created a scenario for the Land of Scorching Heat.
Ruling this land were the Draconians—also called Dragonkin—who once boasted an empire-like power. But they fell to ruin due to a fragment Perlnirn had dropped.
And the root of that downfall was [Esther Sellion], the Dragonkin princess and queen he'd modeled after the woman from his dream.
Her name suddenly popped into his head.
Esther Sellion. Among Dragonkin, she had exceptional magical talent. When she ascended as queen, aside from her father—the previous king, Esther... Esther... her name escaped him, Esther Acape? Anyway, him and a few high-ranking Dragonkin, no one else could match her in magic.
She excelled not just in magic but in swordsmanship and close combat, with stunning beauty, vast knowledge, a sturdy body, ruthless to enemies, warm to allies—a woman as perfect as they came.
Not just Dragonkin but all heteromorphs loved, trusted, and respected her.
The Dragonkin empire was built by her hand, yet it crumbled by it too.
Due to the fragment's rampage, the empire's capital became an [Other Realm], repeating its moment of doom endlessly. The fragment absorbed and released mana each instant to escape that state, rampaging on, while Esther Sellion despaired in that Other Realm, making the same choice over and over in endless frustration.
Other Realms created by fragments existed not just in this Land of Scorching Heat but on the 2nd Continent too. Yet none suffered as agonizingly as the Dragonkin queen. Hearing the wails and screams amid the sandstorm, Judah felt guilt mingled with pity. Just as in his dream, since he'd crossed into this world, she must have been repeating that moment of sorrow without rest.
But at the same time, understanding the emotion in that voice sent chills down his spine. In a game, it was just text, but in this real world, the scream reflected the game's lore so perfectly—it even felt like reliving that old dream.
Whooooosh!
The wind howled fiercer, the cries growing louder. The dragonhead pressed on, and Lime expanded his barrier to block the sand whipping in the gale.
"Ah!"
Then, Lime, who'd been still, gasped in surprise.
"I-I hear it. It really... I can't believe this...!"
Muttering as if receiving a divine revelation, he soon frowned and sighed. Arhil and Iris reacted next, perking their ears. To Judah, it was now crystal clear.
-What a sad voice. Is the fragment's owner the one crying?
Iris, sitting beside him, wrote in her notepad and showed it. Without Lime's barrier, she couldn't have written or shown it. Judah nodded. He could hear the sniffles too. Turning, he saw Arhil in tears. With reddened eyes, she looked at Judah, then chuckled, wiping them away.
"I don't know why tears are coming."
Beside her, Lime clenched his jaw, eyes shut, head thrown back. He was holding back tears too. Iris and Judah felt the melancholy but not enough to cry yet.
"This... it makes you feel so powerless."
"Don't you want to go to her crying inside, comfort her, cry together?"
"...Yes."
Lime hated to admit Judah's words. But they pierced his heart exactly. Yet it was what anyone hearing the cry would think. Iris did, Arhil did. A natural response.
The dragonhead neared the sandstorm. Even Lime's barrier struggled against nature's fury. As he said it was reaching its limit, Judah pulled out the Protection Stone from the trolls and used it.
Activated instantly by mana, it formed a barrier centering on Judah, barely enveloping the dragonhead. Moments later, Lime's spell shattered.
Grrrrr...
Judging it too dangerous to proceed, the dragonhead halted briefly. Beyond the barrier, countless sands whipped in the storm, obscuring the view. Even right ahead was invisible, and the dragonhead growled as if asking if they really meant to go in.
"Let's go. Keep going in."
At Judah's urging, the dragonhead sighed. As if thinking whatever happens, happens, it flicked its tail and body, advancing. And at some point, crossing a certain spot, the raging winds and screams stopped as if by magic.
"Ah."
They'd arrived. Right ahead lay the gate to the Other Realm. The pillar of fire piercing the sky amid the sandstorm. Yet it felt no heat—like a mirage in the desert.
This illusory pillar was the gate to the [Other Realm].
Entering it would lead to the fragment, the Dragonkin queen, and the capital—now an Other Realm with her and the fragment—repeating the empire's doom.
[Current point in time saved.]
Before entering the Other Realm, he used save preemptively. No telling what awaited inside. As the save-complete message appeared, the dragonhead thrust its head into the pillar. Entering the heatless fire, he felt space warp nauseatingly, and the desert vanished. In its place appeared the pre-Scorching Heat land, home to Dragonkin and diverse heteromorphs.
========== Author's Note ==========
1)
So far, I've deliberately avoided including quest-like system messages.
I don't plan to use them much going forward either—is that okay?
2)
She's not a heroine. Probably not? I don't think so. Maybe.