Chapter 191
Chapter 191
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 191
Chapter Title: Each One's Stage (5)
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『Run away.』
『Get out of here right now.』
The Star's voice echoed in her mind.
The voice of the Star, unheard for weeks, rang sharp and piercing. Alarms blared relentlessly in Aila's ears. She slowly shifted her gaze, avoiding Lania's blue eyes.
Looking around, all she could see was darkness.
'It's dark.'
Aphria, shrouded in thick fog.
A black barrier enveloping the sky.
Not a single ray of light penetrated, making it impossible to see even a foot ahead. An eerie air lingered around her. Aila's eyes trembled.
The crisis foretold by the Star.
Aila's every sense sharpened to a razor's edge. She perceived everything around her as a threat. Her upper and lower teeth chattered—clack, clack.
"D-Dangerous."
The Star screamed.
The Star's scream infected Aila.
"The Star says... it's dangerous..."
The princess who had always been bold and confident was gone.
All that remained was a cowardly girl who had lived her entire life behind a mask. Terrified, the girl mumbled words that weren't quite speech.
She wanted to run, right now.
She wanted to hide against the Star, right this instant.
"So... run away right now..."
But for some reason.
"......"
The blue eyes staring at her.
Those icy blue eyes, unwavering in their silence, showed no sign of letting her go.
2.
The Star had always been close to me.
I wasn't chosen by the Star, blessed by it, or loved by it, but I knew the Star well. After all, I'd met so many people like that.
I met a swordmaster who didn't trust the Star.
I faced a madman who hated the Star.
I traveled with the hero blessed by the Star.
I adventured with the saintess who worshipped the Star.
And.
The first hero chosen by the Star.
The past saintess who betrayed the Star.
The past sage who contracted with the Star.
I'd met them all.
Recalling those encounters, I looked ahead.
"P-Professor Lania."
Here was one girl.
A girl sat huddled before my eyes, staring at me with trembling pupils. Those eyes clearly held the light of the stars.
"...The Star."
The Fourth Princess, Aila.
"The Star... foretold..."
The child loved by the Star, Stella.
"That I have to run from here..."
A girl who had lived relying on the Star's prophecies.
"It said."
The terrified girl spoke to me.
I looked at her silently.
'I've seen this before.'
I'd seen this expression on someone else.
「Raniel, the Star, the Star... didn't answer. The Star stayed silent, so... I...」
The saintess who could do nothing before the Demon King.
「Back then, I couldn't do anything... because the Star was silent. Yes, without the Star...」
Even after fleeing from the Demon King, Sara couldn't perform a single miracle for a long time. Having lost her confidence, she avoided standing before the faithful.
'Because she figured it out.'
That the god she believed in.
The god she thought was perfect wasn't flawless or infallible.
「I couldn't do anything.」
It wasn't just Sara.
「I was nothing. Yeah, it feels like I've only just realized it. Unlike you, Raniel, I was nothing. Just a mere human from the start. From the very beginning.」
Kyle broke there, at that moment.
「I've felt it since facing the Sword of Death. Before them, I'm powerless. I could only feel that powerlessness. So what's the point of this journey?」
Terrified, Kyle sank into nihilism.
It wasn't built overnight. It was just the accumulation bursting forth—a problem that was bound to explode eventually.
'The end of a human who relied on the Star for everything.'
I couldn't stop that end.
I couldn't bring broken Kyle back, and in the end, I had to turn my back on them.
"...Professor, why."
Now, time has passed, and I'm facing a similar situation.
"Say something..."
Before me is a girl who lived relying on the Star. To her, the Star is her entire life. She'd see the Star's words as absolute truth.
Then.
'What should I say to her.'
It's easy to string together plausible words to get past this moment. I could poke at the limits of the Star's prophecies to persuade her. Or make her take my words as truth instead.
But none of that solves the root problem.
It would just shift her reliance from the Star to me. I didn't want that.
"Princess."
That's why.
"Look at me."
I gripped Aila's shoulders firmly.
Her brows furrowed in pain, but I didn't let go. Staring straight into her golden eyes, I said.
"Don't try to see the unseen. Look at me. What do you see with your own eyes?"
"...Blue eyes."
"Yes, and I'm looking right at you, Princess."
Golden eyes reflected the blue.
"You said the Star foretold it."
Aila nodded.
"To run from here..."
"If that's what you want, then do it."
I pointed at the barrier with my hand.
"If you want to leave, I'll open it for you. Letting just you out wouldn't be hard. If that's what you wish, I'll do it."
"......"
Aila fell silent.
I didn't.
"This isn't a threat. I'm not blaming you. You bear no responsibility. If you want to run, that's fine."
I looked at Aila.
"But."
"You have to choose for yourself."
I'm forcing a choice on her.
"Don't say it was the Star's prophecy. If you want to run from here, that has to be your own will, purely."
I released her shoulders.
Stepped back one pace.
"...Not the prophecy, but me choosing."
"Yes."
"But..."
"Princess."
I gave a wry smile.
Countless scenes and voices flashed through my mind. Things I'd heard, seen, and experienced.
"The Star."
「Don't trust the Star.」
「It'll abandon you in the crucial moment.」
The swordmaster, Kuntel, had said.
That the Star isn't an object of unconditional trust.
"Isn't an object of unconditional trust."
「I hate the Star.」
「The Star isn't perfect. It preaches righteousness while being imperfect itself. That's just coercion. The Star is half a god at best.」
The madman, Kelrhalim, had said.
That the Star isn't perfect.
"Because it's not perfect, the Star doesn't always give the right advice. It can be wrong too. Sometimes it points to the wrong path just to avoid immediate danger."
After saying that much.
I fell silent for a moment. I'd said these words to someone before. And he had replied.
「The Star is everything to me, Raniel.」
「It gave me power, gave me the holy sword. Everything I have comes from the Star.」
"......"
「Before the Demon King, when the Star went silent, I realized.」
"...The Star."
「Without its light or the holy sword, I was just... just a mere... human. A powerless human. One of countless humans everywhere.」
I gave a wry smile.
Maybe because the moment that decisively split me from Kyle came to mind, or because I couldn't say this to him then. Or both.
'Who knows.'
But these words, at least, I wanted to say.
"The Star won't live your life for you."
So.
"Choose for yourself."
Even if.
"It's the wrong path."
3.
Aila fell silent.
She looked up wordlessly at the woman before her. Things she hadn't noticed at first came into view as her eyes adjusted to the darkness.
'...Cold sweat.'
Cold sweat trickled along Lania's collarbone. Red blood seeped from her tightly bitten lips. Her icy blue eyes repeatedly lost and regained focus.
'And yet she stands firm on her own two feet.'
Gazing at her, Aila spoke.
"You want me to choose?"
Aila asked.
"Yes."
Lania answered.
"Choosing for yourself and taking responsibility for that choice is what it means to live."
She let out a chuckle.
"The Star won't live for you, after all."
「Will that Star bastard live for you instead?」
In that voice, Aila caught a glimpse of the past.
It resembled a sentence casually tossed out by a gray-haired young man flipping through books in the library.
「Advice is just advice, no matter what you call it—even prophecy.」
「Use it as reference, nothing more. In the end, you have to make the choice yourself.」
Aila looked at the person before her.
Gray hair and blue eyes. In her, Aila recalled her benefactor. Until now, the Star had continually denied Aila's suspicions.
'But.'
Aila faced reality head-on.
The Star screamed in her ear.
『Run away.』
『If you want to live, run now.』
The Star had saved her life countless times.
Without the Star, she'd be dead long ago. To Aila, the Star was everything.
'A life built on trusting the Star.'
She'd thought she'd shed her mask.
Thought she'd started seeing the world as it was and living boldly. But it was an illusion. Aila realized that now.
The Star hadn't removed her mask.
It had become an even thicker one.
It merely hid her cowardice, letting her live a false life under the illusion that it foresaw all dangers. Now, realizing this through loss, Aila let out a short breath.
She closed her eyes, then opened them again.
With her own will, she extinguished her Star. No longer did starlight whisper in her ears. No warnings came. In the silence that followed, Aila felt fear.
And in that fear, she faced reality.
Aila no longer saw a world filtered through the Star. She beheld it with her own eyes alone. What awoke thus was not Stella, but a mere cowardly girl.
'Lacking confidence, gripped only by fear.'
Just a human.
The girl had always relied on the Star to pick the easy path.
Running, hiding, turning away.
The girl who had lived hidden behind her mask now shed it and slowly rose. She stood on her own two feet.
Chin up.
Standing firm with her own strength.
Not her usual bold posture. Her legs trembled, her gaze still wavered.
Gulp.
Dry saliva slid down her throat. Cold sweat ran down her back. But she didn't close her eyes. Aila stared straight ahead.
"......"
There stood the one watching her.
Blue eyes fixed on her.
A smile spread across her lips. Aila took a step toward the woman a few paces away. It was Aila's first step.
Thus.
The girl faced the world for the first time.
She saw it through her unadulterated vision.
It was frightening. Nothing but fear. Confronting the world head-on, she put strength into each syllable.
"Is there... anything I can do to help?"
She chose with her own will.
"Ashen Mage, Lady Raniel."
She judged with her own thoughts.
"...Ah."
A smile spread across Raniel's lips.
She chuckled and began explaining. Hearing it, Aila nodded. Indeed, this was something only she could do.
"I'll do it."
"I trust you."
Aila spoke, Raniel replied.
"I'll do what I can."
Raniel headed toward the gap,
"And you, Princess—do what only you can."
Aila walked toward the altar.
Thus, they each headed to their own stage.
To do what only they could.