A Thousand Echoed Deaths
There is so much I want to ask you.
So much I want to hear.
So much I want to receive.
So much I want to give.
I want to be with you for a long, long time.
But... loving someone doesn't necessarily mean you'll be loved in return.
Did I realize that too late?
Or did I just not want to know?
...Deculein is still killing himself.
Because I was too greedy, he's enduring the pain and torment of abandoning himself every single day.
Watching him die and die thousands of times, Sylvia feels her heart crumbling.
Because of me.
All of it... because of me...
"No, it's not."
Suddenly, a voice embracing her like a comforting whisper.
Cielia's words.
Sylvia turned to her.
"Deculein said it himself. It's not your fault."
She smiled brightly and wiped the tears streaming down Sylvia's cheek. But even in this moment, Sylvia felt doubt.
"Ciel."
"Yes?"
"...Is Ciel really real?"
Cielia had once said she was 'real'.
Not a fake I created, but the real one.
"Of course. Real as can be."
Cielia smiled gently. Sylvia narrowed her eyes.
"Liar."
"It's true~ Don't you believe your mom anymore?"
"...It's okay. I'm not running away."
"Sylvie. Mom's not running away either."
"..."
In that moment, a faint ripple rose in her heart, spreading like ripples on a calm lakeside.
—Sylvia.
The voice of the demon trapped inside her. A tone strangely like Deculein's.
But Sylvia suppressed it firmly.
Ignored it completely.
—Sylvia.
You're too late.
You stupid demon.
—...
The voice fell silent. Sylvia looked back at Cielia.
Cielia spread her arms wide, gazing at her. Sylvia fell into her embrace.
And for the first time this year, she looked out the window.
"...Clear skies."
The island's landscape, buried in snow for a year, had changed dramatically. Precisely, it was spring now. Flowers bloomed, honeybees buzzed. New plants sprouted, and migratory birds occasionally crossed the sky.
Sylvia had never created such life.
In other words, the 'voice' had opened up.
"He'll be here soon."
Cielia said. Sylvia gave a faint smile.
"Then it's farewell."
Cielia's eyes widened in surprise, then lit up with maternal pride as she hugged Sylvia even tighter.
"Yes. A good farewell..."
Whoosh...
The island's beach. Peaceful waves rolled in and out over warm sands.
"...Hey, Idnik. When's he coming?"
Al Ross, Jaken, and Idnik—the trio waited there for someone.
From beyond that sea, the 'real' Deculein was on his way.
"Soon. It's only been a short while since the voice fully opened."
Idnik muttered curtly. Al Ross glanced at her.
"But Idnik. Why did Deculein hide his suicides from us?"
"For the drama."
"...Drama?"
Jaken tilted his head at Idnik's words. She shrugged.
"Exactly. It was always going to be discovered. The discovery itself was part of the plan. His goal was to convince Sylvia, after all."
"...True."
Al Ross nodded.
Deculein had drawn the magic circle, but without Sylvia's cooperation, implementing it would have been extremely difficult—or impossible.
"Getting caught after dozens of deaths versus after a thousand. The latter is far more convincing. That's how he forced her hand."
"..."
'Forced'.
Al Ross and Jaken knew what that meant.
They'd heard it from Idnik.
"Problem is, it's a problem."
To silence the voice, Sylvia's sacrifice was essential.
Because she and the voice were one now.
Even if they successfully killed the voice, Sylvia couldn't leave the island. She mustn't. At least, not enter the continent.
For a long time.
Perhaps forever.
"So Sylvia has to manage this island? Like some... lighthouse keeper."
Jaken muttered, looking up at the tall lighthouse in the island's center—Sylvia's residence.
"Yes. She won't die, at minimum, but she'll waste her years here. Until she reclaims the voice spread across the continent. Until she fully severs it from herself."
Right now, Sylvia was a walking 'voice'. More than the karma of swallowing a demon out of lonely desire.
The demon's power was tenacious; even if the magic circle worked and killed the main body, it would torment her for at least a decade more.
"Deculein knew all that and forced the sacrifice on her. If she doesn't, he'd have to kill her."
A form of blackmail.
If you don't accept, I'll keep killing myself.
"...The best option."
Jaken nodded, and Al Ross peered back at the sea.
"Hey. Look. Isn't that Sylvia over there?"
Jaken pointed toward the breakwater. Sylvia sat there blankly, staring their way.
"Crazy. She overheard? She gonna rampage again?"
"..."
Sylvia actually frowned pitifully, as if she'd heard Jaken.
Thwack—!
Idnik smacked the back of Jaken's head.
"Ow! You bitch."
"She won't. Sylvia's ten times smarter than you. She already knows. Just waiting for Deculein—and keeping an eye on Gerec."
"...Ahem."
Jaken cleared his throat awkwardly.
Gerec was hiding somewhere nearby. Targeting Deculein. The original Deculein was the type who profited without lifting a finger—annoyingly so.
Even the suicides were fakes, right?
"There!"
Then Al Ross pointed afar. Jaken and Idnik's eyes widened.
On the distant horizon, artificial splashes: splash, splash... Wait, not splashes?
"Whoa, what is that? A whale?"
It approached at tremendous speed.
Whoosh—!
The waves grew fiercer. A mere human's swimming creating them.
"..."
The three stared silently at their fish professor.
Splash—!
He arrived, parting the waves like the sea itself, then stepped onto land.
Planting his feet on the sand. No sign of fatigue, his wet clothes not even dripping. Rather, smooth and pristine like silk.
Utter perfect calm and elegance.
"..."
In the settling sunlight, he adjusted his attire. Dried the moisture with Cleanse. Swept his blue eyes over them.
Al Ross tensed suddenly.
Remembering the previous Deculein's words. That he was the perfect original now, with no substitute doll...
"Al Ross, is it."
Deculein asked, looking at her. She nodded. Her heart raced, but she didn't flee.
Was it the right choice?
He nodded calmly.
"Let us begin."
"Now?"
Idnik raised an eyebrow.
"No rest needed. My existence's mana seems scattered here anyway."
"No."
Idnik pointed to the breakwater.
"You might not need to meet her."
Deculein looked. Sylvia was there. Peeking shyly from between tripods, face half-hidden.
"It's fine. Do we need to meet?"
"What? Ha."
Idnik chuckled dryly, and Sylvia hid her sulky face.
"Activate the grand magic."
Deculein placed a hand on the ground. Traces of the 'existence' writhing in recognition of its master's arrival.
"The detonation proceeds in three stages. First, return the lions' souls to the afterlife and restore memories to the living who forgot themselves."
As Al Ross nodded in agreement, a sudden thought heated her mind.
She voiced the burning doubt.
"...Wait. How do you know that? I haven't even passed on the magic theory yet."
Deculein said nothing. He simply activated the first spell quietly.
"Professor."
"..."
Al Ross called him; Jaken and Idnik stared in shock.
"Hey."
Al Ross shook the box in her arms.
Rumble—!
A roar shaking the entire island. The first phase of Deculein's grand magic.
Then the professor rose.
"All the incomplete 'me's died unknowing, but their memories reside in me."
Deculein said calmly.
"I went through it identically. Experienced it the same."
The listeners were stunned.
"I died 1,533 times."
Island winds rushed in. Sea waves splashed harder. Al Ross swallowed and asked reflexively.
"...Was it necessary? To remember?"
"Necessary?"
Deculein extended a hand to her. She flinched badly.
"It was worthwhile."
His fingers brushed dust from her hair.
"Not forgetting is courtesy to it."
"Sigh~"
Idnik sighed deeply then; Jaken turned away awkwardly.
Deculein gazed somewhere and spoke.
"The one you met wasn't complete me, but the incomplete me's memory of you is mine."
The tripod where Sylvia had been. She was gone now, but clearly words for her.
"I won't forget."
This might be enough.
Whirr...
In an instant, the veil of time over the island lifted completely. Yet the voice's echoes and ripples lingered. The demon's power had spread across the continent.
Of course, no need to worry.
Sylvia von Yuseffin Illayde.
She would remain on this island, take responsibility, and reclaim it.
No matter how much time, what sacrifices required.
...Just as Deculein had.
Rozef's ship and dozens of adventure guild airships landed on the Island of Voices. The ships carried tens of thousands of adventurers in hulls and lifeboats; airships filled the rest.
Now, all were ready to depart.
"...Good."
Sylvia watched from the lighthouse, guarding strictly against any mishaps.
So they could leave safely.
Crackle—crackle—
From her bosom—no, her throat—the crystal orb necklace crackled. Made from Deculein's crystal orb.
Sylvia blinked at it.
His voice. Sylvia smiled brightly, then composed herself to reply.
"...Yes, Professor."
"No."
Sylvia shook her head.
"She left."
"..."
Deculein cut her off firmly. Sylvia blinked blankly. Her mouth half-open, words stuck.
"..."
"..."
Tears welled in Sylvia's eyes. Deculein continued softly.
Sylvia looked around her home.
Nine years with her mother.
Now empty without Cielia, but traces filled every corner.
A hint of regret, apology in Deculein's tone.
But Sylvia shook her head.
"No. It's fine."
Sylvia smiled. Salty taste on her lips.
"Mother said it too. It wasn't your fault, Professor."
Deculein fell silent briefly.
As he pondered his words, Sylvia spoke first.
"Then I'll be going."
She still had one final knot to tie...