The Cruel Illusion of Death
"Aaaah……."
What a truly vile trial.
They could have simply shown him Liberatus and Amora's forms. Did it have to be Ashytara like this—wounded, vomiting blood?
Ludenberg Lavante couldn't help but think so.
He knew it wasn't the real Ashytara.
He knew, but……even if it was just an illusion, seeing her cough up blood like that—he couldn't keep his sanity intact.
Forcing his unresponsive arms to move, he pulled her into an embrace.
Ashytara, blood trickling from her mouth, still spoke to him.
"……Sorry."
"Tara……."
"For not being able to……be with you anymore……I'm sorry. But……at least it's good. That I could protect you……."
Ashytara felt her vision blurring.
Felt the end of her life approaching.
Endless regret welled up, followed by sorrow.
Tears streamed down her bloodied chin.
If there was one comfort……perhaps it was that the arm piercing her chest was corroding, crumbling away.
The main body had likely met the same fate.
Ashytara forced out a voice toward Ludenberg that barely emerged.
"Devourer……."
At her words, Ludenberg saw it through his hazy vision: the Devourer kneeling under the black divine power that engulfed its body, attempting to regenerate.
"I'll……handle it."
"……Yeah. That's enough……."
"Don't talk anymore. Just hold on a little……a little longer. Then……you'll live."
Ludenberg spoke through trembling lips, forcing the words out despite the horrific sight.
But he knew, and so did she.
It wouldn't last much longer.
Their time was almost up.
Suddenly, Ludenberg's vision went dark.
Of all the trials he'd endured……nothing had shaken his mind like this.
As the life faded from Ashytara's eyes, Ludenberg's face grew paler.
Tears filled those eyes, sorrow swelled—and with it, his spirit wore thin.
Regrettably, Liberatus couldn't use divine power either.
He knew nothing of healing others.
Ludenberg's hands shook uncontrollably.
The body in his arms was still warm, but he knew that warmth would soon fade.
No superhuman strength surged forth.
It should never have come to this from the start.
He should have dealt with the Devourer right away.
Sent Ashytara far away, kept her from even approaching this place.
But that wouldn't have been possible.
The story's end was Amora's death, after all.
Finally, strength left Ashytara's hand, light vanished from her pupils.
Emptiness crashed over him, a hollow sorrow settling in his chest.
He closed her eyes, then turned his vacant gaze to the thrashing Devourer.
His body was a wreck.
Ashytara had poured her last strength into treating him, but it was only enough to keep him alive.
Still, it should be enough to crush that monster's heart.
Ludenberg forced his trembling body to rise.
Agony pierced his mind, but he moved without hesitation toward the Devourer.
The creature, barely able to perceive him, seemed heavily damaged by the black divine power.
Yet its monstrous regeneration persisted; it was still rebuilding itself.
He had to end it here.
Gripping his sword, he amplified his senses.
The heightened awareness intensified his pain, but he ignored it, raising his blade to pierce the Devourer's heart.
The sword, infused with conviction, impaled it.
At last, the Devourer's heart disintegrated.
A hollow conclusion.
And then his vision faded to black.
Ludenberg Lavante had never experienced losing someone precious.
Few people close to him qualified as such, and no one around him had ever died.
So he couldn't gather his dazed mind for a long while.
It was just a trial world, just an illusion—he tried to dismiss it that way.
But it wasn't "just" anything.
The sensations in the trial world were too vivid.
Ashytara's movements, her words, her embrace, her kiss—everything was too real.
And in the end, her chest pierced, losing her life.
All of it so vivid that Ludenberg couldn't regain his composure.
Her lifeless eyes lingered in his mind, her bloodied form clear as day.
Even as his vision cleared and Raha appeared before him, he stood there blankly for a time.
"……Haa."
He hadn't been unprepared; they'd forced this scenario deliberately, with considerable contrivance.
Clap.
The sound of applause rang out.
"……Huh?"
Only then did the surroundings enter Ludenberg's dazed vision.
Before Raha's jade throne.
The place he always visited before entering a trial.
"Raha."
"Yes, Ludenberg. Feeling better now?"
"Did you……have to go that far?"
Clear anger laced Ludenberg's words as he faced her.
This trial had left him with an indelible sense of powerlessness.
Training the mind, was it?
But his mind hadn't been tempered—it had only been worn down.
"Yes. That was Liberatus's past. What happened can't be undone, Ludenberg. Don't delude yourself. You there weren't you, and Ashytara there wasn't Ashytara."
"I know. I know that. But……even knowing it wasn't the real Ashytara, seeing her die—I couldn't stay calm."
"I understand why. Watching the person you love die so vividly……you couldn't help it."
"……Why show me something like that? It doesn't train the mind—it just grinds it away."
"Tempering means striking without respite. You've never lost someone precious before."
"……."
It was true.
Ludenberg had never lost anyone dear.
"That's why I gave you the experience in advance. Imagine if someone close died in real combat. Would you just collapse?"
"……."
He had no answer.
"No. To avoid that, you need a real shock."
"Endure the shock……."
"Exactly. Nothing grows strong without trial. You'll rise above countless sorrows, and only then will your mind harden. Today's was just a taste. You'll witness much grief ahead, maybe lose those you cherish. To stand firm……you must endure countless pains."
"……You're right."
"That's why I contrived to show you Liberatus's past, even if forced. Better than you experiencing it yourself. Your responses in the trial were excellent, by the way. Handling the highest-grade erosion before it became a Devourer was flawless. So perfect I had to alter the trial world forcibly."
"Hoo."
Ludenberg gazed at Raha with eyes full of complex emotions.
Ashytara's death was still vivid within him.
But he couldn't dwell on it.
I never want to feel that again. That's what she wanted to give me.
Still, he couldn't fully forget.
The second trial's events.
He etched a vow into his heart.
"……Thank you. Thanks to you, I know how to act from now on. You said I might lose someone precious someday."
"Yes."
"I won't. Not anyone around me."
Recalling Ashytara's vacant corpse, he told Raha.
"Not Ashytara……not my parents. No one. I'll grow strong enough to protect them from any threat. I know this grand fate crushes me. But……I won't yield my loved ones to it."
"……Hehe."
Raha laughed, pleased.
She truly was.
The second trial could have broken him completely.
Even losing someone in a dream was horrific; the trial world let you see, touch, feel it all.
Impossible not to immerse yourself.
Yet Ludenberg hadn't broken.
There'd been a moment, but he'd quickly realized his path forward.
"A fine resolve. Never forget it. Anyway, the second trial ends here."
"What?"
"It's over. The second trial."
"Wait—you said I'd meet Parrel Mer and Adalin Cielm in the second trial. Your seal isn't broken either."
"Ah. Right."
Raha, uncharacteristically flustered, let slip a dazed sound.
"……?"
"Yeah……there was an epilogue. We'll do that next time. You need rest today."
"……."
At Ludenberg's incredulous look, Raha seemed a bit embarrassed.
"Anyway, you'll meet Parrel Mer and Adalin Cielm next. It'll connect to the first trial's story then."
"Got it."
"Farewell, Ludenberg. And make sure to see Ashytara."
Raha snapped her fingers hastily.
As his vision blackened, Ludenberg thought to himself:
Even without you saying it, that's what I planned.
Ludenberg opened his eyes.
Having spent so long in the trial world, reality felt strangely alien.
He willed his senses back to normal and rose.
He wanted to see Ashytara right now.
Perhaps because it was a holiday morning, Solemnute Adem felt quieter than its usual bustle.
He headed straight for the girls' dormitory.
The girls eyed his sudden appearance curiously but figured he was there for Ashytara and lost interest.
In front of the dormitory, Ludenberg just stood there, waiting blankly for her.
A few girls tried approaching, but his unnaturally pale, fierce expression made them back off quickly.
"……Ludenberg?"
A voice called.
He turned to see vivid purple hair.
"……Cletta Peliche?"
"What brings you here?"
"I……came to see Tara."
"Ashytara? Want me to call her?"
"Could you?"
"Sure. Wait here."
"Thanks."
Cletta hurried inside and knocked on Ashytara's door.
"Ashytara! Visitor!"
"Cletta? Who?"
Ashytara opened the door, looking puzzled at Cletta.
"Your boyfriend."
"Lude? We didn't have plans today……."
"He looked really pale. Go check."
"Oh. Okay."
Stepping outside, Ashytara saw Ludenberg, pale as Cletta said.
"Lude? What's wrong? You sick?"
Without a word, he pulled her into an embrace.
"……Huh?"
The surroundings erupted in commotion.