SCT-Novel Chapter 126: I Love You Too, Mom
Chapter 126: I Love You Too, Mom
Chapter 126: I Love You Too, Mom
Tashian Pheloi.
The one who taught love to my other personality and, by neglect, awakened hatred.
And in the end, she who wished for humanity’s destruction might indeed be an entity that should be excluded, not just for personal reasons but for the sake of humanity itself.
At this moment, facing her, the impulse to exclude her was inevitable.
“And yet, you’re leaving?”
The source of my other personality felt the same impulse I was feeling now, but she still wanted to forgive her.
Even though that resentment was vast enough to threaten the world with a great disaster.
In the end, she chose forgiveness, suppressing her emotions with reason.
“It’s not that I’m leaving. I’m just entrusting everything that comes after to you, Dad.”
“...Pheloi.”
“You don’t need to feel regret. I didn’t expect to be directly involved like this, but ultimately, stepping back like this suits the purpose of my existence.”
Even after her death, there might have been a struggle for control over my body for that impulse.
Yet, it didn’t happen because she believed it was her role.
Unlike my previous life, this was a decision made without coercion from anyone else, entrusting everything to me through their own will.
“You probably know this, Dad, but a soul is essentially no different from a sophisticated record that has developed a sense of self. If life is a story, then the soul is merely an arbitrary extension of that story.”
It was just an artificial continuation of a story that had already concluded, hypothesizing what-ifs...
Knowing I was such a being, the child must have harbored the intention to respect the wishes of anyone qualified who appeared.
“After all, being merely a record, it shouldn’t be the sole thing that steers someone’s path forward.”
Unlike the naive appearance at the beginning.
Because I, who came after accepting all of her memories, was deemed qualified.
“Pheloi.”
“It’s okay. I won’t disappear. I just intend to complete my mission by passing it on to you, Dad.”
Even if not doing so might be irreversible.
That child, having shed her previous naivety, now smiled at me with a more mature expression.
“Dad knows, right? The things left by her who has departed this world are still being passed on to someone in this world.”
She wanted to teach me with such a face.
That someone is inheriting history, continuing traditions, receiving teachings...
Even if someone loses their life pointlessly at the end of a painful life, if someone else takes it up, it leaves meaning in the world.
“...It’s human nature to live on what others have passed on, but ultimately, the final choice is made by one’s own will.”
Although it’s impossible to correct a story already written.
It becomes the foundation for the sequel that would be newly written.
“So, from now on, don’t worry about me and focus on your story, Dad. Not to obsess over the story I’ve passed on, but the story inspired by her and others.”
I knew that was why the child had acknowledged me and left, but I couldn’t help but feel sudden fear.
Was it really okay for me to make decisions on my own?
Could I, in this harsh world, continue the noble hero’s will like hers without breaking?
“...How to accept Mom’s story as well.”
The hand that reached out to the child trying to leave, soon drew back with a smile looking at me.
A clear smile proving that my current words were not pretentious.
“Whichever choice you make, I’ll support you, Dad.”
The being that reflected the most humane hero in this world.
Because I realized they trusted me.
“...Tacchia.”
“It’s not Tacchia.”
My hatred remembered such a smile.
The spear of magic, created by the combination of human disgust and disdain, evaporated as if falling from my hand.
“It’s Woo Hyo-sung. Not Tacchia...”
With that emptied hand, I grasped her shoulder to convey.
Just as the child had said, I was a separate being who had only inherited her memories, not her daughter.
The fact that I had withdrawn the spear aimed at her was also a decision made by my own will.
“...That’s right.”
Tashian, realizing this yet unable to shake off her attachment, seemed to paint a picture of loneliness.
But though the subject had changed, what she wanted to do remained unchanged.
“Still, you know what kind of being I am, right?”
“I know because I’ve seen her memories.”
“Even if there’s no resentment, you’ll at least feel disgust. For me, who has trampled over countless humans like you...”
Indeed, by human standards, she had committed unforgivable acts.
No matter how much she regarded me as special, being human myself, I couldn’t completely shake off such judgment.
“But why...?”
“Because I don’t know everything.”
But defining her.
For her, it was something that could not be overlooked.
Even in decline, her core was that of a being that could be called a dragon, and for dragons, a promise is absolute.
Because of the absoluteness of that promise, she had endured the pain until now, correcting even the will that might have broken.
“Just promise me one thing. Just one...”
Yet, at this moment, she wanted to forge a new promise with me.
To continue this painful life in any way.
“...What would you have me do?”
To live up to the expectations of the man to whom she had given her heart, in any way she could.
“Be my son.”
The familial ties that could be considered a curse in that life...
She wanted to repeat it by her own will, seizing this moment.
“...Tashian.”
“Even if it’s just an excuse, that’s fine. Just let me do for you what I couldn’t do for that child.”
But how could that be considered foolish?
Unlike the time she committed irreversible acts in confusion, she was now acknowledging her sins.
If she had acknowledged her sins, what should have followed was not liberation but atonement.
“Give me a chance to prove that what that child left behind has meaning, too.”
Yes, the dragon was still capable of love.
Even with a body that was not worth burning anymore, she hoped the love for that child would continue...
“...So it has come to this.”
There was a minstrel, hiding in the nearby bushes, watching the entire scene.
Merilyn, watching them in the sunset, gradually formed a bitter smile on her lips.
The emotion awakened by the dragon at the end of its life, though considered a curse, she had once again chosen to continue by her own will...
It felt personal because at this moment, she was experiencing empathy for them.
Though different in form, what they felt was undeniably love.
“I welcome the increase in rivals, but Airi, you seem unusually tame today. Usually, you get all prickly when I get close to Hyo-sung.”
Airi Haven was watching from a distance under a tree.
But she was not holding a crystal ball to predict the future.
She had anticipated such a conclusion, guessing the state of their hearts, and was firmly resolved for it.
“The longer the journey ahead, the more aides, the better. Especially since Tashian has suffered deep loss from losing a child, she would never betray someone she considers family.”
“Hmm~ Aides, you say?”
Merilyn squinted at her with a gruff voice and a nasal tone.
“Is that really all? It seems to me there might be another reason...”
Feeling her gaze, Airi paused to catch her breath, then withdrew her attention from her and looked back at the two.
Swallowing the complexity of their joined hands as they descended the hill against the sunset.
“...Because I know. I know what it’s like to lose a family.”
She, too, had lost her mother at a young age and was raised by her chieftain father and their people.
How could she possibly dampen their relationship by comparing it with her own circumstances?
“Hyo-sung came to this world separated from his family, so having someone to stand in for them would surely give him strength, wouldn’t it?”
Yes, people can’t live alone.
Only with a companion and comrades for the arduous journey, and those who would guard the home to return to, would one have the courage to boldly climb the travel paths.
Swoosh.
As if blessing the seed planted for him, a warm breeze began to blow between the two as they walked down the hill.
And as if blessing their relationship, the leaves in the wind gradually parted, opening the path for them.
“...Son.”
During their walk on that path.
She whispered to her new adopted son.
“Mom, do you love me?”
In place of her daughter, whom she could never meet again.
Hoping to hear the answer from another child of hers.
“...I love you.”
Came the sorrowful reply.
The nostalgic mother, enduring the ache in her heart, brightly smiled.
“Yes, Mom loves you too.”
Keeping the words she could no longer convey to herself.
“...Mom loves you too.”
To the new bond found in the end.
Hoping to honestly reveal her heart in the future as well.