-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: M.S
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Dreaming Again
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Next to the bed where Lansen lay, Daisy was lost in thought, reminiscing about the old days.
Back when Lansen was still healthy.
Those big, broad shoulders that had always protected them.
Back then, Lansen was the strongest person in the world and Daisy’s greatest pride.
That was why.
Why it was so painful to watch his endlessly weakened and pathetic back.
Why she wanted to die from the sheer shamelessness of watching him struggle to protect them, secretly coughing up blood every night.
And why her heart shattered into pieces seeing Lansen cast aside even his pride for their sake.
But, in the end, the hardest thing to see was this.
Lansen, lying there as if dead.
Watching Lansen take shallow breaths, as if he could die at any moment,
felt like Daisy’s small universe was collapsing.
“No…! I only drank half of it!”
*Brother…?*
Daisy shot upright.
It was Lansen’s voice.
She quickly leaned over the bed.
Her eyes met Lansen’s.
His blurry gaze gradually came into focus.
Daisy let out a torrent of words.
“Brother, you’re awake…? What happened! What was all that! Why did you suddenly disappear! Why were you covered in blood!”
Lansen wore a bewildered expression.
He stared blankly at Daisy.
“…What, what are you staring at?”
As the silence stretched on, Daisy, feeling burdened by his gaze, began to peek at him furtively.
Lansen asked.
“You just called me ‘brother,’ didn't you?”
Daisy’s face flushed bright red.
“W-What are you talking about? When did I?”
But Lansen, his expression unchanging, simply studied Daisy’s face before casually asking again.
“You were crying, weren't you?”
“W-What?”
“Your eyes are red and your cheeks are swollen… Guess you were really worried about your dear. old. brother?”
“!!!”
*He’s crazy, he must be crazy!*
And yet, no words of denial came out of her mouth.
“So, what if I was!”
At that, Lansen just stared intently at Daisy’s face again.
“Ah! Why do you keep looking at me like that!”
“Just trying to remember this moment.”
“Remember?”
“Yeah. You’re really ugly when you cry.”
A moment of silence passed.
*Wipe. Wipe.*
Slowly, after wiping her eyes and tidying her disheveled hair, Daisy became frighteningly calm.
*Fwoosh!*
A red flame ignited in her eyes.
It was the proof of her nobility in the Vanroah Kingdom.
When their emotions ran high, a noble fire would flicker deep within their pupils—a trait unique to the royalty and nobles of Vanroah.
It was unnoticeable unless you looked closely, but it was somewhat visible in the dark.
Daisy, her pupils ablaze, smiled sweetly.
“Care to say that again?”
“…”
Sensing danger, Lansen quickly averted his gaze.
“Hey! I said, say it again!”
Daisy lunged at him like a demon.
Lansen quickly curled into a ball and let out a groan.
“Ow, ow, ow… I’m dying. I’m gonna die…”
Daisy, who had been charging, flinched to a halt.
Her sharp fingertips, poised to strike, now wavered aimlessly in the air.
“Pfft…”
Seeing this, Lansen let out a laugh.
His shoulders shook as he chuckled.
“You…!”
*Fwoosh!*
The flames in Daisy’s eyes burned twice as brightly as before.
“Hey!!!!”
“‘Hey’ is a bit informal, don't you think…”
“I was so worried!!”
“I know. Thank you, Daisy.”
Lansen ruffled Daisy’s hair.
He looked to be in a good mood.
It had been a very long time since Daisy and Lansen had joked around like this.
Perhaps this was the first time since Lansen lost his limbs three years ago?
For a moment, Daisy forgot her anger and grew sentimental.
Wanting to say something, anything more to Lansen, she took a breath, but…
“Uh… huh?”
Lansen suddenly swayed.
“Brother!”
She rushed to support him and was met with a searing heat.
Lansen’s body was burning like a furnace.
“Keuk…”
He curled up, as if in severe pain.
“Brother!”
Tears once again gushed from Daisy’s eyes, which had been dry and sore from crying.
Lansen raised a trembling hand and slowly stroked Daisy’s hair.
Daisy instinctively met his eyes and shuddered.
“Brother…?”
It was bizarre.
Lansen’s face was contorted in pain,
but his eyes were filled with ecstasy.
*Madness…?*
Daisy was afraid that something was truly, terribly wrong with Lansen.
Then, Lansen spoke.
“Daisy. I think… the potion is taking effect.”
“What?”
“The potion is working.”
“What does that mean?”
In a feverish tone, Lansen said things Daisy couldn’t understand.
“I can feel it.”
“My hands and feet are tingling.”
“It’s fresh.”
“I’m coming back to life.”
*…Brother?*
*Has he really gone mad?*
Lansen’s nonsensical rambling didn’t stop.
“I thought one sip wouldn’t be enough, you know…?”
“It was plenty.”
“It wasn’t a dream… It was real.”
*Brother, what’s wrong with you…*
“What are you talking about?!”
Just then, Lansen grabbed Daisy’s shoulders with his scorching hands.
“Daisy. Listen carefully. You don’t have to worry anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t have to think about protecting our family anymore.”
“W-Why are you suddenly bringing that up…!”
Startled, Daisy stared at Lansen.
“You knew?”
“I know everything that goes on in that little head of yours.”
“No…!”
“Anyway, you don’t have to worry about anything now.”
“Huh…? Huh? Brother. The light…”
At some point, a brilliant radiance had begun to flare up around Lansen’s body.
Daisy didn’t know.
The Elixir, the potion of life.
That an ancient, long-forgotten miracle, impossible to replicate with modern magic,
was manifesting right here, right now.
*Swoooosh—*
A brightly burning aura seeped into Lansen’s right hand, left leg, and lower abdomen.
Particles of light, shining brilliantly, began to take form.
“Huh? Uh, uh…?”
Daisy’s pupils dilated.
*Ssk.*
Because Lansen’s right hand, which had been an empty stump, pushed through the blanket and was now stroking her head.
Because his left leg, which had been a void, was being reborn within the haze of light.
“Brother, your body…?”
“Yeah. I’m back.”
Daisy’s eyes widened.
That smile.
That confident smile hanging on Lansen’s lips… it was a precious sight she had longed to see again.
That alone made Daisy feel like she had the whole world.
Lansen.
Her brother, who had seemed capable of taking on the entire world, was back.
“Don’t worry about anything now.”
*Thud.*
“Brother? Brother!!”
Lansen had passed out again.
A pleasant smile still on his lips.
***
*Blink.*
When I opened my eyes, the sun had already set, and the surroundings were dark.
“How much… time has passed?”
As I asked instinctively, I heard old Balseon’s gruff reply.
“Not even a full day yet. That whole thing happened this morning… and now it’s now.”
*Ah, I see.*
I slowly looked around.
“…Everyone’s here?”
My family surrounded me.
Balseon, our last remaining knight.
And my younger siblings who escaped the Vanroah Kingdom with me: Daisy, Mika, Gepetto, Asha, Saltsran, and Sea.
Except for the five siblings who had left on a journey to find a new base, the last descendants of the Vanroah Kingdom were all gathered here.
It’s been a while since we were all together like this.
As the kids got older, they’d all been busy with their own duties.
“It’s real. His hands and feet are all moving now.”
Someone said in a choked voice.
“A miracle… It’s a miracle… A miracle!”
Old Balseon suddenly started sobbing.
I, too, looked down at my own hands and feet anew.
Instead of prosthetics, I saw my real limbs.
I gave them a grin, then clenched and unclenched my right fist and wiggled my left foot.
And the Aura Core below my navel…
“The core is healed, too. I’ll have to gather the scattered aura again, though.”
As soon as I casually said that.
“Hyung!”
“Brother!”
The kids all rushed toward me.
“Whoa! Whoa! Hold on!”
It was different from when they were little kids.
That felt like a flock of chicks swarming me, but… the ones here now were all grown adults and teenagers.
This was the pressure of a buffalo stampede.
Still, the smile didn’t leave my face.
After a moment of intense reunion passed.
Balseon straightened his messy shirt and tie and asked.
“Lansen, what in the world happened?”
“I drank an Elixir.”
“An Elixir? The one that costs over 50,000 Dalon a sip?”
The group started murmuring.
Right. What more needed to be said?
I should just show them.
I pushed myself up from the bed and said.
“Hmm, hold on. There’s something I want to check first, so everyone follow me.”
“Check? What?”
“Let’s talk on the way.”
I stepped onto the ground with my newly reformed left foot.
*Step.*
Ah… this is moving.
Not the dull, shin-pressuring feeling of a prosthetic, but the feeling of my own flesh and blood touching the ground.
This sensation proves it.
That I really did go 10,000 years into the past and drank the Elixir.
*‘Though I’ll probably need some rehab.’*
My steps were still a bit awkward.
I walked carefully and put on my coat.
Inside, I felt a small wooden box.
The Elixir that was in this box is gone now, but the gray key next to it was still there.
*‘If it’s a key found in an ancient dungeon… it has to be that.’*
I heard a lot of stories like this when I worked under Count Ksias, so I knew.
“Where are you going?”
*Rustle, rustle.*
Our destination was, of course, the Ilneon Dungeon.
The dungeon I saw all the time felt strangely unfamiliar today.
I clearly remembered it being shiny and new, but now it was dilapidated and covered in dust.
*Step, step, thud.*
I went deep into the dungeon and stopped in the room with the altar.
Memories came flooding back.
*‘The Elixir was definitely placed on top of that.’*
And the area behind it had been especially heavily guarded.
Why was it so heavily guarded?
That’s what I was about to find out.
*‘Keys found in ancient ruins are… keys to open secret spaces!’*
I opened the wooden box.
The gray key was there.
*‘Just as I thought.’*
The key was emitting a faint resonance, as if confirming my suspicion.
I slowly approached the wall.
“Lansen. What’s going on?”
Balseon asked what everyone was curious about.
Instead of answering, I raised the key and inserted it into the wall.
*Fwoooosh!*
Instantly, a magic circle spread across the wall like wildfire.
The dungeon, which had been filled with only a hazy light, became as bright as day.
*Thump.*
The dazed faces of the others were illuminated in the bright light.
“W-What is this…”
Streaks of light blazed in the air.
The magic circle, which grew more and more complex in layers, eventually formed the shape of a door.
*Click!*
The moment I turned the key,
the magic circle split to the left and right with a clear sound.
*Grrrrr!*
With a thunderous noise, an entire section of the dungeon wall opened up.
*Thump, thump.*
My heart began to pound like crazy.
“…A secret chamber?”
It was an awe-inspiring sight.
A hidden vista, concealed for 10,000 years, unfolded before my eyes.
Whatever magic this was, the space beyond the wide-open wall was still brightly lit even after 10,000 years, and the treasures within sparkled as if they were brand new.
Gold coins piled in chests.
Three swords.
A thin, metallic suit of black armor.
And a familiar-looking necklace.
Balseon, with a dumbfounded expression, looked over the pile of gold coins and clicked his tongue.
“This… the gold coins alone must be worth 5,000 Dalon.”
One Dalon was 10g of gold, so 5,000 Dalon was 50kg in gold value alone.
Asha, who had been diligently helping with managing our business lately, chimed in.
“Balseon. That’s not the point. These are all ancient relics. An ancient sword. Ancient armor…! That necklace is a magic tool! My gosh… Things like these, you can name your own price, you know?”
Disjointed exclamations of amazement erupted from all around.
After staring at the treasure as if mesmerized for a while, they all turned to look at me in unison.
“Brother! What happened?”
“That’s right. Your limbs suddenly regenerating, and now this…”
I smiled.
I couldn’t stop smiling.
“I’ve been to this place, 10,000 years in the past.”
“Whaaat?!”
They all looked at me as if asking what I was talking about.
To be honest, I still couldn’t believe it myself…
*Thump.*
When I touched my chest, I could feel a hard book.
What if the power of this relic isn’t a one-time thing?
What if I can go back to the past again and again?
Goosebumps rose on my skin.
*‘I can achieve anything.’*
Whether it’s rebuilding the Vanroah Kingdom,
or just forgetting everything and living happily and safely with my family,
anything at all.
But before that… there’s something I have to do first.
I’d actually been thinking about it a lot,
and the treasures I just found helped me make up my mind.
“Everyone.”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s… take down Count Ksias.”
“Whaaat?!”
This time, everyone’s jaws dropped wide open.
0 Comments