An Unfinished Ending

Wandering through the pitch-black forest, I hurried my steps in search of James. The damp scent of earth and the rustling of fallen leaves were the only sounds echoing in my ears.

"James!!"

Hoping my voice might reach him, I called his name desperately, but there was no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reply.

It was definitely around here...

Had I been searching for at least twenty minutes? Just as my ankles started to ache, a small shadow precariously moving atop a tall oak tree finally caught my eye.

Found him!

It was James.

...What the hell is that kid doing up there? So dangerously?

James's face was tense as he clung unsteadily to a thin branch... inching forward, stretching his little hand even further toward the tip of the branch, which creaked as if it might snap at any moment.

And when I checked what was at the end...

So that's where it got caught...

It seemed the flower pot Marco had thrown from the hilltop had snagged on that branch tip. Naturally, the pot was already shattered, leaving only about half a piece... with soil-tangled roots barely hanging on. Fortunately, the flower itself appeared to have miraculously survived unscathed.

Crack, craaack...—

But then, a sharp cracking sound pierced my ears, signaling the branch could hold no longer. And the instant James's small hand finally reached the broken pot—

Snap!—

...the branch broke, hurling James's body into the air.

"Watch out!"

I threw myself toward where he was falling without thinking.

Thud!—

Something crashed into the ground, the sound reverberating through the forest.

To cut to the chase... I didn't check properly, but hearing James limping and moving nearby meant he was okay.

"...Teresa?"

James approached and asked me. But I didn't say a word.

"..."

"Teresa, you okay?"

"..."

So... up to the point where I lunged forward was fine, but I slightly misjudged the position. In the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠end, I ended up kissing the dirt... and James fell straight to the ground, but luckily without serious injury.

Ah... this is so embarrassing, maybe I shouldn't get up?

In other words... I'd been lying face-down on the ground, staying perfectly still ever since.

"Teresa! Teresa!!! You okay!? No way... did you get hurt bad!?"

But when I didn't react at all, James shook my shoulder with a worried voice, calling out frantically.

I couldn't hold out any longer and slowly pushed myself up.

"...Ugh, oof... Tch, the wounds from Marco are..."

I went with the best excuse that came to mind first, and James looked me over with concern.

"You okay!? Hurt bad!?"

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, his eyes lit up.

"Ah! Speaking of, what about those Marco jerks!? What happened to them!? How are you here!? Did you run away or something?"

"I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠already took care of them."

"What...? You took down Marco?"

James's face mixed surprise and doubt. He stared at me wide-eyed, scanning me up and down as if it was hard to believe.

"Yeah, now you're the only one left. You sure betrayed me good..."

At that, James seemed to understand something. He closed his eyes briefly, then nodded with a resolute expression.

"Ah... I get it. Yeah, I know. I betrayed you and put you in danger—can't just end it with 'sorry.'"

He carefully set the flower pot aside, then knelt down on his own, placing both hands on the ground. Like he was saying hit me as much as you want, ready to accept punishment.

"Go ahead, I'm ready. Hit me as much as you want... until you're satisfied. And... sorry."

He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself.

Thinks I won't hit him like this?

Of course, I didn't hesitate and swung my fist at his face with all my strength.

Wham!—

A heavy impact rang out, James's head snapped to the side, and he toppled backward.

"Whew... now I feel a bit better."

I shook out my fist... and checked on James sprawled on the ground.

"Gah!—"

He curled up, clutching his face and groaning in pain.

"Thought I was an easy girl, huh?"

"...Ugh, n-no... that's not it... Teresa, you're really strong... that punch hurt so much... No way you really took down Marco's group alone?"

"What, you think I lied?"

"Haha... guess I can believe it now. I got hit by Marco a few times too... but not this bad..."

Since he couldn't get up from the shock, I reached out and helped him to his feet.

"Haha... g-gonna hit me more?"

Unlike his earlier resolve, a flicker of fear crossed James's face.

"Nah. For now... let's head back. You got the flower pot, right?"

"...Y-yeah... okay."

James carefully picked up the pot he'd set down, hugged it tight with both hands, and got ready to go.

"So, what's with that flower? Something precious?"

"Yeah. It's a super rare flower called Luminaris's White Blossom that my grandpa nurtured right up until he passed."

"So... like a memento from your grandpa?"

"Yeah..."

I checked the state of the pot he was clutching so preciously. It was already shattered, with soil and roots exposed. The silver lining was that the important flower seemed unharmed.

"How's the flower? Pot's a lost cause... but if the blossom's okay, you can transplant it."

"The flower's fine."

"Good. Then just move it somewhere else..."

James cut me off, answering in a quiet voice.

"No, unfortunately that's impossible. Luminaris's White Blossom oxidizes if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠its roots are exposed to air too long... It looks fine, but most of the roots have already oxidized. Transplanting it now... won't save it. It'll wither naturally in a few days."

"It's gonna die?"

"Yeah."

"No way to save it?"

"Not that I know of."

His shoulders slumped dejectedly, eyes dimming. A mix of regret and resignation over losing something precious.

Marco... that bastard...

It made even me feel bad... but I decided to face reality first.

Anyway... so what about the quest?

Come to think of it, even though I'd recovered the pot, no completion notice had rung out. Did that mean failure?

Tch...

I immediately opened the quest window to check.

But retrieving James's flower pot... was marked complete.

Did I miss the alert?

This time, I checked the quest completion button.

What does this mean? Haven't finished optional objectives?

The only one not complete in the quest goals was...

No one should die.

...Huh?

At that moment, an ominous feeling flashed through my mind.

...No way, fuck... it can't be, right?

And as if affirming my gut...

Kuwaaaargh!!—

Suddenly, from deep in the forest, the roars of something massive echoed.

Leaves and trees shook, the wind swirling in terror. And what chilled me most was that the sound was getting closer.

Without anyone ordering it, we each hid behind a huge rock and tree. I held my breath and cautiously peeked out from the rock to survey the surroundings.

Soon, from the direction of the noise, a massive, twisted-horned, blood-eyed deer-like monster charged madly toward us. Each hoofstrike vibrated the ground, the air trembling under its weight.

"—!"

And it didn't end there. Behind it came a bear-like monster with thick, massive mane and razor claws, chasing it relentlessly.

The two beasts closed in on us at terrifying speed.

Uh...

My head was in chaos... I couldn't think of what to say, what to think, or what to do.

But just as the giant deer monster reached right in front of us, the pursuing bear caught up... and in an instant, tore the deer to shreds, bones and flesh spraying into the air.

Grk, kuwa... uuugh!!—

With a guttural scream, the deer monster began collapsing pathetically. It twisted desperately to escape until the end, but the bear's immense power cracked trees and rocks, blood and fluids splattering everywhere, thickening the air.

The entire forest froze in terror for a moment.