Happy Ending

The violet sky resonated mournfully. It seemed the world had failed to avert destruction once again.

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Seventeen years until this annihilation. A little longer than before?

Starting tomorrow, the world would gradually darken. Shadows would creep in until everything was swallowed whole. This was the end of the world—a gentle, violent embrace that cradled all things in rest.

I always faced this moment in the same place. The Cosmos Field filled my vision entirely, a purple paradise that even stained the distorted sky with its hue. If you set aside the grandiose name of "doom," it was quite the sight.

Fortunately, the end wasn't painful. Lying down in the flower field and drifting off to sleep would send me back to the regression origin.

I closed my eyes alone in silence. What interrupted my brief slumber was the sound of footsteps.

Footsteps? No one should be around here anymore.

I instinctively reached for my sword, then set it aside. There was no need to guard against others at this point.

In all my regressions, no one had ever visited this flower field on the brink of annihilation. A clear anomaly. Curiosity won out.

Who could possibly come looking for me at a time like this? Maybe they weren't looking for me at all—just stumbled upon the same spot while seeking a place to die. But a regressor's gaze saw things differently. I wondered what had caused this change.

The visitor was utterly unexpected. "Unexpected" implied someone I knew.

"Liscia?"

"Ah... Ian. Found you. Finally."

The guest at the end of the world was my childhood friend. We'd met as kids and parted as kids. She was always at the regression origin, yet we'd never truly connected.

"I've been searching everywhere."

"How on earth...?"

I was an idiot. That wasn't the question I should have asked. But I knew how to correct my mistakes.

"No, why?"

"Just a little slower... Can I lie down next to you?"

"Yeah. Of course."

Liscia looked vastly different from the girl I remembered. Over a decade had passed, so that was natural. But now, "different" didn't quite cover it.

She's eerily pale. Like she's already dead.

The Liscia in my memories was a bright, cheerful girl. With a touch of exaggeration, she brimmed with the vitality of the sun. Yet the Liscia before me now resembled a corpse. Lying in the flower field, she looked less like she was resting and more like she was being laid to rest.

She closed her eyes as if entering eternal sleep, then opened them and clasped my hand in both of hers. A faint warmth. A slight tremble transmitted through her skin.

"You're still so warm."

"Maybe you've just gotten cold. Why's the saintess candidate looking so gaunt?"

"Ahaha... Yeah, I guess."

Questions flooded my mind. Liscia wasn't supposed to be here—couldn't be here. The year I turned twelve, she was chosen as a candidate for saintess by the Life Church. By now, she should have either died long ago or be preparing for the final stand alongside the hero of the holy sword.

That was why I'd never gotten deeply involved with her in past lives. So why was she wandering alone in a place like this? Why had she sought me out, and why was she dying?

So many questions, I didn't know where to start.

Liscia seemed content to answer them all with a faint smile. Surprisingly, she asked the first question.

It felt a bit out of left field.

"Ian, how was this life?"

"Huh?"

"Were you happy?"

My mind grew instantly tangled. Was this a rebuke? In this life, I'd become a chef after ditching knighthood. While my childhood friend crumbled like this, I'd lived blissfully happy.

It wouldn't be illogical for her to blame me. But the Liscia I knew didn't beat around the bush.

I opted for an honest answer.

"Yeah, I was happy. I quit being a knight and became a chef instead. Pretty good at it, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠too."

"I see. You were happy. That's a relief. I... worked really hard."

"If I'd known you'd come, I'd have prepared something."

"Mm. It's fine. I found you. Everything else is okay."

Liscia paused. It didn't seem intentional. Her breath hitched, stained with pain.

"You... you're my happy ending."

She didn't answer my questions. Instead, she shared a story she'd kept buried for so long. I stayed silent, unable to gauge its weight.

"Even if my life truly ends now. Even if true death comes. I have no regrets. This is it for me. I'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠make this my end."

A bolt of realization struck my mind. A life truly ending. True death. Only one person in the world would speak like that.

Or so I'd thought. No one else.

My childhood friend was a regressor.

We'd been so close, yet neither had noticed the other's regressions. While I roamed the continent freely, Liscia had stood at humanity's forefront.

"The sword knot. You changed it."

"It broke after using it so long."

"Should've made you a sturdier one. Kinda regret it now. Would've been nice to know sooner."

And suddenly, it clicked. The reason Liscia always headed to the battlefield, regression after regression—it was because of me.

"The time we spent together as kids... it was so good."

It hadn't been long. Nothing grand. Our families were geographically close and allied for material reasons. We'd been born around the same time, and our parents had shamelessly pushed us together to get along.

"It wasn't long, but yeah. The happiest time of my life. That's why I wanted to give you happiness too. Protect you."

To be brutally honest, I'd never truly opened my heart to Liscia. Think about it—I was a modern overworked soul reincarnated, a regressor. Memories of my previous life still filled much of my brain. To me, our childhood was mostly just "playing along."

It had annoyed me sometimes. I never showed it, but no guarantee she hadn't noticed.

Yet Liscia called that time her happiest.

"I kept failing, but I kept trying. Over and over. But I just failed. So many times. I'm sorry."

"No, you don't need to apologize..."

"I'm sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry for failing. Sorry for giving up. Sorry for finding happiness alone, for running away."

Liscia had regressed time and again, fixated solely on that childhood era. In places I didn't know. For my sake.

She must have fought against death itself.

"Cough, hack... kehuk...!"

As she poured out her emotions, Liscia coughed violently. Black, dead blood spilled from her mouth.

I focused on soothing her first.

Don't rush it.

It would be fine. Regressors had infinite time. Infinite chances. Death wasn't the end.

Even if it feels like the end now, we have the next loop. Next loop, I can confess my regression right away.

Now I knew about Liscia's regressions. We had a companion to share time with. She wouldn't have to fight alone anymore.

In conclusion, it was anything but fine.

Not only had my assumptions missed the mark spectacularly, they'd become a massive stain.

Knowing nothing, I simply stroked her back. One of the few truly good things I'd done across all my lives.

Her small, fragile breaths faltered.

"Hey, Ian."

"Yeah."

"I... loved you. I still do."

Liscia's breathing stopped soon after.

I realized much later that her final words had become my curse.

Back to the origin of regression. Liscia was no longer a regressor.