White (7)

My mind raced.

If my prediction was correct, Roland wouldn't be able to use a proper attack again.

Lumieron and Leika were at full condition.

I wasn't badly injured, but spreading my Authority again would take some time.

Mikhail and the World Tree, who had just appeared, were definitely not on the Star Engraving's side, but it was hard to say they were on mine either.

Everyone's goal converged on a single point.

Luna.

Because everyone shared the same goal, there could be no concession from anyone.

"The Spirit King Mikhail. A big shot has arrived."

Leika said, looking at Mikhail. Mikhail didn't seem to think Leika was much of a threat, or perhaps he considered Lumieron beside him too great a danger. He didn't even acknowledge Leika's words and turned his gaze away.

"Ah, fuck. Uncle Lumieron, are you really going through with this?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Yeah, I don't get it. I really don't. But if that auntie saw you now, she'd crawl right out of her grave to chew you out."

"Yeah," Lumieron said with a bitter smile. "I wish I could see her, even like that."

"Damn, it's just like Hyera said."

"Mikhail, go back. Your World Tree hasn't recovered its original power yet, has it?"

While those two were bickering, I started slowly edging away, just in case.

"Oof."

The girl, who had been dazed for a moment by my words, noticed my attempt to escape and blocked my path.

I could probably get past her since she couldn't attack properly, but the fact that I'd been caught didn't change.

"Little one, stay here for a moment."

In an instant, trees grew and bound my body.

"Hey, you're not going to kill me?"

I calmly spoke to the woman who had bound me.

This restraint was incredibly strong. If it had been before I blocked the Knight Commander's attack, maybe, but in my current state, there was no way to break it. She knew that too. But she also knew that once I recovered, I'd be able to break free and get out.

And yet, she chose to bind me instead of killing me.

"Yeah. Before Mikhail knew, maybe not, but now that he knows, I can't."

I understood.

Heroes always pursue the 'minimum' sacrifice.

Two people is better than tens of millions.

One person is better than two.

The scale just gets too ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠big to handle.

Ah, I wish everything would just fucking end.

Why is everyone fucking with me?

Of course, the possibility of the King reviving isn't an easy matter!

Although in the original story, the White Witch did devour a third of the continent!

She had boldly bound me, but Mikhail's situation wasn't very hopeful. Even though he was a hero, his World Tree wasn't in perfect condition, so he was having an even harder time dealing with Lumieron, who was already a tough opponent to beat.

"Wouldn't it help if you let me go?"

I said to the World Tree supporting Mikhail.

"If you help, it gives him justification. We have our own plans, so just stay put."

The battle was definitely dragging on.

Lumieron, attacking aggressively, and Mikhail, holding on passively.

I didn't know what they were aiming for.

His fighting style was purely about overwhelming with superior specs—not tricky like Professor Kim Hyera, nor with a hidden trump card like Estelle. There was no way to create a variable, so I could confidently say he could never win.

But that was precisely why he could endure. Because his specs were purely high, he could hold out against Lumieron.

"You look like you don't understand. You'll get to see a familiar face. We decided to make a deal after capturing you first."

Only then did I understand their scheme.

The sun was setting.

The sun that dyed the world with light was disappearing, and the moon, which only served as a guide in the darkness, was preparing to rise.

Night was coming.

"This is the first time that guy has ever shown this much interest in someone else. What do you think the reason is?"

She seemed to be asking why he was so interested in me, but honestly, I didn't know either.

If I had to guess from our conversations so far...

"It seems like he's expecting something from me."

"Close. That guy was abandoned by his own constellation and couldn't contract with a spirit. So he's expecting it from you. He hopes you'll prove that he isn't strange."

She continued.

"So, he hasn't stated his terms for the deal yet, but I can guess. When he gets here, his condition will be to ask the Spirit King, the king of all spirit masters, to give you a chance to prove yourself."

She frowned.

"That's only if he successfully repels those guys, of course. Use the final opportunity you'll be given well."

"You're kinder than when we first met."

At my words, she sighed.

"This is why I wanted to finish it quickly. I shouldn't have listened to that damn blonde ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠brat's story."

She must have heard about me from Estelle to get information. I didn't know how she explained it, but judging by her reaction, it probably wasn't anything bad.

"It's about time."

The things binding my body slowly loosened. My injuries were almost completely healed.

"You've held out well until the right time."

A woman with long black hair, like the night sky, was standing in the center of this ruined place.

"Ah, Hyera, welcome. I was doing fine on my own."

"If you're going to say that, at least say it standing up."

Shadows blocked Lumieron's attack aimed at the fallen Mikhail.

"I'm much obliged for last time, Mr. Lumieron."

"You came back even after being beaten like that? You have a bad matchup against me. No matter how dark the darkness, if there's even a single ray of light, it can be forced to retreat."

"That's not entirely wrong, but not entirely right either. How can a single star light up the entire night sky?"

The fallen star on the ground and the newly cast darkness were colliding.

"Mikhail. Let me state the terms of the deal. Give student Yi Seoha a chance to prove himself. A chance to prove that he's not a new king, but someone who can even use the star that bestows the crown."

Mikhail's expression crumpled.

"What? Is that even possible?"

"Come on, kid. I don't know what you can do, but go wild."

I didn't know what I had to do to prove it. Was I supposed to prove that I possessed an unbreakable mental fortitude? Or was she talking about finding a way to silence even these whispers?

I gathered my power and focused the light radiating from Lumieron into a single point.

At the very least, landing one hit would make me feel better.

Something devoured the beam of light I fired.

I knew that voice.

At those words, the ash-gray haired man came to his senses and stepped forward.

"As you command, my master."

He pulled a white artifact out of his pocket. Even though it was my first time seeing it, I instinctively knew what it was.

Everyone, sensing the danger, rushed to stop it, but that being was not so easily stopped.

As the artifact activated, I felt power surging through my body.

Yes.

It surges.

It spills over, overflowing my vessel.

No matter how strong the vessel, it cannot hold the sea. The very attempt to contain it is arrogant.

Before the sea, the vessel is merely swept along.

Following the currents of the sea, without will of its own.

My mind isn't being devoured, but pushed out.

Something overwhelmingly powerful, vast, and heavy shoves my consciousness aside.

And so, my vision went dark.

Ah.

Where is this?

First of all, who am I?

Ella, Aurora, Bell, Peter, Ariel, Lotty, Gale, Clara, Seoha, Jack, Hans, Robin, Luna.

Names. Names. Names. Names. Names.

Names keep surfacing.

Familiar ones, all of them. So familiar I don't know which one is me. Names ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that, if someone shouted that word at me, I'd instinctively turn my head towards them.

Most of them aren't my name.

No. They are all our names.

But definitely, my name is there too.

Yes. They are all your name and my name and his name and her name and your name and our name.

A pure white space, where nothing enters my field of vision.

I wander there.

We wander here.

My left hand rose on its own. Immediately, that hand reached towards my head.

"Oof."

My vision was blocked for a moment, and then it returned to normal.

"Snap out of it."

In front of me was a woman with black hair.

"I bought you some breathing room."

She was looking at me.

"Ah. You still haven't come to your senses."

Snap—

She snapped her fingers, and my mind began to clear.

"Ugh."

"Are you back now?"

"Thanks to you."

"I'll give you two choices."

She sat me down and looked down at me. She was a little more faded than when I saw her before.

"Right now, I've moved your consciousness to my star. The Conqueror King can never understand or grasp me, so your existence isn't conquered and can be maintained."

"If I choose the first, what happens to the others?"

I asked her.

"Well, I guess it'll go like the original story. Kallisaea will make sure everything proceeds as it was meant to."

"And then Lunasia... no, Luna will establish her existence as the White King and become the White Witch."

"Then I don't have a choice."

She looked at me, worried.

"Will you be okay?"

"I have to be."

"Yeah. Find your way well, before those things consume your mind again."

"Mm. I figured out how while talking to you just now."

"Okay."

"And don't overuse it from now on. I can tell just by looking that you're not doing well."

"Who's worrying about whom, here?"

With her sulky reaction, my vision was filled with the pure white scenery of a mental hospital again.

I couldn't see anything properly, but that was fine.

Because Luna and I are connected by a contract.

Following my instinct, I quickened my pace.

I had been thinking about it wrong from the start.

I had been trapping my thoughts within the huge framework of the 'original story.'

Sensing the anomaly, the King approaches.

"You are but a halfwit. A halfwit who can change absolutely nothing. No matter how hard you try, you can never reach the lofty throne."

Just because the original Luna becomes the White Witch doesn't mean her establishment converges to one path.

"If you're a halfwit who can't do anything right, join my procession, which gives equal opportunities to all."

What drew her in wasn't instinct, but the plight of a dragon that couldn't blend in anywhere within the fairy tale of assimilation.

"Even if you're lame, even if you're a halfwit, I will create a world where everyone can coexist."

So all I had to do was help Luna see the path.

I see a single girl sitting alone in front of me.

Holding a book, its contents unrecognizable, dyed entirely in white, a solitary child sits.

"Can you tell me why you turned to me?"

At my words, the girl turns her gaze to me.

"I was lonely. I was cold and in pain. I was afraid of it coming back to me. I missed everything I lost."

I ask the child, whom I always thought I knew and thus never bothered to ask. I ask the child who always swallowed her own stories.

"But..."

The child, who always smiled to hide her fear, who hid her own stories, opens her mouth.

"The person in front of me had eyes... like mine... Eyes of deprivation and despair... Eyes struggling in pain..."

"But I saw those eyes that feared nothing. Those eyes looked radiant and beautiful to me."

The White King senses me as an impurity and uses its power to expel me from this place.

I dash forward and reach out my hand to Luna.

"Then..."

Luna also comes to her senses and reaches out to me.

"Stay with me."

White hands reach out towards us.

"I'll stay by your side so you won't be lonely."

My hand and Luna's hand clasp together.

The white hands pull us in different directions, trying to tear us apart.

Our hands, clenched as if never to let go, slip apart little by little.

Due to the continuous pulling, my hand and Luna's hand finally separate.

I leave that white world and return to reality.

They were torn apart, but that doesn't mean all the effort so far was in vain.

I touched Luna. I felt her warmth.

She has finished her establishment.

"Yeah. I just have to make the dragon fall, just like in the fairy tale."

The first step was a success.

The moonlight of the full moon illuminates me.

In my hand, a transparent glass bow is already nocked.

"Wait for me. I'll come get you."

Now, step two.

It's time to change assimilation into a fairy tale.