Chapter 26
Chapter 26
“What is your wish?”
Before completing the dark star, Shu suddenly asked. There was no context, no warning.
“My wish?”
“What you want to achieve. Or what you want to become.”
Shu paused for a moment, then added,
“Tell me honestly.”
“Hmm….”
Matthias rubbed his smooth chin with his small hand.
A wish.
Something you desire.
Something you want.
What did I want?
I thought about it for a moment, but the answer was simpler than expected.
I already knew it.
My wish was—
“I just want to live happily.”
Happiness.
Not something grand or special.
Something everyone holds, yet few truly obtain.
To leisurely enjoy what I like,
to eat warm food,
to talk with people I love,
to fall asleep without worries,
to live a life where tomorrow feels just a little bit exciting.
That was all I truly wanted.
“Not much, right?”
Shu shook her head.
“No. Even so… that’s a difficult wish.”
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
To a spirit who lived eternally, wishes were fleeting things.
If she wanted something, she could eventually achieve it.
If not now, then later.
A hundred years, five hundred, a thousand—
someday, surely.
But humans were different.
A life that barely reached a hundred years.
Within that short time, a wish was the only thing that held their lives together.
They were weak.
And yet, at the same time, stronger than anyone.
Shu remembered an old friend.
“I’ll make it so people who suffer won’t have to suffer anymore!”
A red-haired warrior.
Roshuka.
A righteous hero.
He spoke of justice, helped the weak, and cut down evil.
Many were saved because of him.
But in the end—
he closed his eyes in suffering.
“…It’s been a while, Shu.”
On the day he was nearing death, he came to see her.
His once-red hair had turned white, and his steel-like body had withered like an old tree.
The smile that once never left his face was gone, replaced with worry, regret, and sorrow.
With a trembling voice, he confessed his life.
He killed the one who killed his family.
He killed the one who killed his friend.
He killed the lord who deceived him.
He killed the soldiers and knights who stood in his way.
He killed everyone who tried to kill him.
He had become a mass murderer.
He said he had taken more lives than he had saved.
His sword was dyed red.
All of it—blood from those he had cut down.
“Do you remember asking me about my wish?”
The old warrior looked at Shu with tear-filled eyes.
“…I do.”
“I shouldn’t have had such a meaningless wish.”
He wept.
“I should have lived within my means.”
“I regret it. I want to go back. The people I cherished were right beside me… why didn’t I look at them?”
“I’ll be forgotten. My achievements, my life, my existence… all of it will disappear.”
Shu listened quietly as her friend lamented like a child.
Roshuka covered his face with wrinkled hands and cried.
“I just wanted to live happily…”
And then he died.
At the bottom of a damp, filthy forest.
Shu pulled herself back from the past and looked at Matthias.
“I hope you achieve that wish.”
She wanted this boy to achieve what her friend never could.
Matthias tilted his head slightly.
“I don’t really get it, but… does my wish have something to do with the dark star?”
“No, not really. I was just curious.”
“So? Satisfied?”
Shu nodded.
“Yes. That’s enough. Now I’ll help you gain your star.”
Matthias sat cross-legged on the floor.
The water-haired spirit settled on top of his head like a nest.
“You need to empty your mind. Leave nothing inside. I’ll help you.”
“I already did that.”
“No. There’s still something left. Things even you can’t see.”
“…Sounds difficult.”
“That’s why I’m helping you.”
Matthias followed her instructions, even as he struggled.
But it wasn’t easy.
Time passed.
An hour went by, yet nothing seemed to change.
It felt like wandering through a dark forest before dawn, with no direction.
Still, he didn’t stop.
Even without seeing the path, he trusted Shu.
He didn’t know if it was right—
but he kept moving forward.
Believing there was an end.
And finally—
when he reached the deepest part of his inner self, where no senses could reach—
he saw it.
A black star, shining brilliantly.
Matthias held his breath.
[You have acquired Dark Star: 1 Star]
[Magic Power +2]
[Skill acquired: Meditation]
[Meditation: Enter a state of inner calm. Mana training efficiency increases by 50% during meditation.]
His gray eyes slowly opened.
The first thing he noticed—
was another “heart” beating inside him.
The dark star that had been dormant trembled as if stretching awake.
“Ha… I did it, Shu.”
“…That’s impossible.”
“Huh?”
Shu’s face was frozen.
She looked genuinely shocked.
“…I’ll be honest. I didn’t expect anything from you.”
Matthias frowned.
“Wow, thanks for the honesty.”
“I’m serious. Everyone failed. Roshuka taught many people, but no one could create a star like his.”
She waved her arms as she explained.
Hearing that, Matthias felt a little better.
That meant he succeeded where no one else had.
“That big of a deal?”
“That big.”
Shu nodded.
Many talented warriors had trained under Roshuka.
None understood his vision.
“Looks like my path can’t be passed on.”
He had said it jokingly, but his eyes were sad.
Even so, he left behind writings.
Hoping that someday, someone would read them.
Remember him.
“You are remembered, Roshuka.”
Shu quietly looked at Matthias.
A seventeen-year-old boy.
At first glance, he wasn’t someone who stood out.
But once you looked at him, it was hard to look away.
His features were soft, almost delicate.
Like a small animal that needed protection.
A deer.
Or a rabbit.
But within those eyes was something unbreakable.
Courage—
or recklessness.
“…You did the same thing back then.”
Shu recalled the Thorn Forest.
An unavoidable death situation.
Even she couldn’t have saved him.
Yet he escaped.
In his own strange way.
“This won’t be boring.”
While Shu was thinking that, Matthias suddenly swayed.
Blood trickled from his nose.
“Uh… what’s happening…?”
“You used too much energy and mental strength creating the star. Just sleep.”
His vision blurred.
Like being wrapped in fog.
Then everything went dark.
The next day, Matthias barely got up and attended swordsmanship class.
Too much rest had made his body sluggish.
He needed to move again.
“Matty!”
Tiana, who had been sparring with Tyburn, spotted him.
Tears immediately welled up in her green eyes.
She ran over and hugged him tightly.
“…Sis… I can’t breathe…”
Matthias struggled weakly in her embrace.
“So cute…!”
She hugged him even tighter, burying her face in his hair.
“I think you’re going to kill him.”
Tyburn approached, wiping sweat.
After enjoying the hug enough, Tiana finally let go.
“Don’t hug people like that. Your chest is a weapon.”
“Oh? Are you jealous? Want a hug too?”
“…Are you serious?”
Tyburn stepped back with disgust.
Matthias felt slightly pitiful.
“What happened, Matthias? Who attacked you?”
“I don’t know. Probably someone with a grudge against my family.”
He hid the details.
Mentioning the Black Moon Group would drag Yuri into it.
“And their faces?”
Joy asked casually.
“No. They were masked.”
“Any marks? Tattoos?”
“It was too chaotic. I don’t remember.”
“…I see.”
Joy stared at him for a moment, then looked away.
“That’s enough talking. This is class.”
Professor Wilhelmine spoke.
Perfect timing.
Matthias sparred with Tyburn.
He lost.
That was nothing new.
Sitting on a bench, he drank water.
Shu sat on his shoulder.
“You don’t lack talent. Your body is just weak.”
“How do I get stronger faster?”
“Training. There’s no shortcut.”
“…Still feels slow.”
“Roshuka didn’t leave any techniques. Even if he did, you couldn’t copy them.”
“…Was he a genius?”
“The demons erased him from history for a reason. He killed them.”
A genius.
Someone born different.
Matthias looked at Yuri, who was still undefeated.
“She’s talented too.”
“Can you see that?”
“I’m a spirit. I see souls.”
Then Shu pointed at someone else.
“That black-haired, red-eyed woman is also—”
Swish!
Professor Wilhelmine suddenly turned.
Her red eyes locked onto Matthias.
Then she walked toward him.
Step. Step.
And stopped in front of him.
She looked down at him in silence.
“….”