Episode 10. Destiny's Destiny
Lacrahan shifted to the side, avoiding Bercheria's hair fluttering in the air, and shouted,
"So, shouldn't you explain what the second method is?"
Her answer pierced through the wind.
"I'm going to climb on it."
"You mean that monstrous beast?"
"Yes."
"Ha! This is driving me crazy."
Lacrahan let out a laugh, as if dumbfounded.
"Is this really necessary?"
"Yes."
Bercheria met his gaze, as if for emphasis.
"Absolutely."
"..."
"Don't be afraid, just do as I say... Ugh!"
Bercheria's body suddenly floated into the air.
Lacrahan wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her up so her legs were off the ground.
"Hey!"
Lacrahan's eyes had turned cold.
He began to run at a speed incomparable to his earlier one.
And soon, as he got closer to Muha, he used the momentum of kicking the ground to jump up.
Even though he was holding Bercheria in one hand, he reached out with the other and grabbed Muha's wing with a seamless movement.
"Whew."
He placed Bercheria's body, which he had been carrying like a burden just a moment ago, on the fur.
"Then let's do it now. What needs to be done?"
Her eyes, visible through her disheveled blond hair, had returned to their usual state.
Bercheria muttered as she straightened her hair.
"Don't do this again. I can handle it myself."
Lacrahan snickered and smiled.
"You're getting tired of saying thank you. Let's leave it at that."
"Ha."
"What are you going to do now?"
Bercheria, who had been looking at him with narrowed eyes, composed herself and looked up at the sky.
"I guess I'll have to use my powers now."
Kukua-kwang! Tok, tok.
Suddenly, rain began to fall from the sky, one or two drops at a time, and then a bright light burst from the center of the cloud.
It was a change of pace, on a scale far different from the rain she had been pouring down.
Lightning struck down, striking right next to Muha's feet.
"Whoa!"
Lacrahan shifted to the side, avoiding Bercheria's hair fluttering in the air, and shouted,
"So, shouldn't you explain what the second method is?"
Her answer pierced through the wind.
"I'm going to climb on it."
"You mean that monstrous beast?"
"Yes."
"Ha! This is driving me crazy."
Lacrahan let out a laugh, as if dumbfounded.
"Is this really necessary?"
"Yes."
Bercheria met his gaze, as if for emphasis.
"Absolutely."
"..."
"Don't be afraid, just do as I say... Ugh!"
Bercheria's body suddenly floated into the air.
Lacrahan wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her up so her legs were off the ground.
"Hey!"
Lacrahan's eyes had turned cold.
He began to run at a speed incomparable to his earlier one.
And soon, as he got closer to Muha, he used the momentum of kicking the ground to jump up.
Even though he was holding Bercheria in one hand, he reached out with the other and grabbed Muha's wing with a seamless movement.
"Whew."
He placed Bercheria's body, which he had been carrying like a burden just a moment ago, on the fur.
"Then let's do it now. What needs to be done?"
Her eyes, visible through her disheveled blond hair, had returned to their usual state.
Bercheria muttered as she straightened her hair.
"Don't do this again. I can handle it myself."
Lacrahan snickered and smiled.
"You're getting tired of saying thank you. Let's leave it at that."
"Ha."
"What are you going to do now?"
Bercheria, who had been looking at him with narrowed eyes, composed herself and looked up at the sky.
"I guess I'll have to use my powers now."
Kukua-kwang! Tok, tok.
Suddenly, rain began to fall from the sky, one or two drops at a time, and then a bright light burst from the center of the cloud.
It was a change of pace, on a scale far different from the rain she had been pouring down.
Lightning struck down, striking right next to Muha's feet.
"Whoa!"
Startled, Muha jumped to the side, only to be struck again, this time right next to him.
He ran the other way, and then another.
Boom!
Instinctively sensing danger, Muha spread his wings wide and soared into the sky.
Lightning struck relentlessly, as if to block his path, preventing him from falling from the tower.
"Whoa! "
With just a few flaps of his wings, Muha soared halfway up the tower.
On his back, Lacrahan gazed down at the shrunken forest.
"Ah!"
As Bercheria swayed against the wind, he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her closer to him.
"Thank goodness you're small. Otherwise, I would've dropped you already."
Bercheria looked at Lacrahan with narrowed eyes, then bowed like a courtesan at a party.
“I don’t know what to do with your gratitude, Your Highness.”
Lacrahan burst out laughing at Bercheria’s slyness.
Then, like a graceful gentleman, he bowed his head.
“It’s an honor that you understood my feelings so well, Bercheria.”
The two straightened their backs simultaneously, chuckled, and turned their heads.
Bercheria looked at the outer wall of the tower where she had clung with all her might a few days ago.
A new feeling came over her.
When she had escaped this place, she had never imagined she would regain her strength so quickly. She had thought it would be ten or twenty years before she would return.
But since meeting Lacrahan, her thoughts had gradually changed.
The moment their eyes met in the burning warehouse, Bercheria felt a whirlwind of emotions within her.
A strange feeling, as if, if she wanted it, her lost abilities would return at any moment.
It was a sensation she's never felt before.
It wasn't her doing it.
It was this man's ability.
There was something special about Lacrahan.
Perhaps he truly possessed the attributes of ice.
Since time immemorial, the Awakened of Bercheria have maintained a close relationship with humans possessing the attribute of ice.
Their mana was the only thing that could melt into her body, increasing the healing effects of accumulated fatigue and other healing effects.
However, the humans, having learned that the more they used their mana, the more it eroded their life, no longer cared for Bercheria.
'You'll know for sure when you climb up,'
Bercheria thought, gently tugging on Lacrahan's sleeve as he looked down.
"I'm going to run into the tower. Just follow me and watch me closely. Can you do it?"
Lacrahan shouted through the tremendous wind resistance.
"No."
He wrapped his arm around Bercheria's waist and tucked her into his side like a bag.
"Hey! What are you up to?"
"Oh. Haven't I told you that yet?"
"...?"
"I'm not the type to follow anyone."
"Tsk!"
Lacrahan held the struggling Bercheria tighter, then leaped up, kicking Muha's back with his long legs.
There were various rumors about the Dark Tower, where Bercheria was said to reside.
Some said it was filled with gold and treasures, others that it overflowed with divine waters.
Some said a vast expanse, even larger than the north, was hidden within, where Bercheria enslaved people and lived a luxurious life.
Whatever the case, in people's imaginations, the Dark Tower was a mysterious place hiding secrets.
A place where all good and splendid things were gathered.
"Are you saying this was your home?"
Lacrahan, unable to bear the pungent smell, lifted his collar to cover his nose.
Dust and mold mixed together, creating a pungent odor that stung the brain.
"You asked me where I was. I've been here since the beginning."
Bercheria answered casually, as if familiar, and walked toward the wall.
Lacrahan watched her back quietly.
"From the beginning...?"
He remembered the first time she'd appeared in the warehouse.
Her tattered jacket and tattered skirt had made her look like a vagrant.
If it weren't for her natural body odor, he'd have been convinced she was.
For the same reason, no one suspected she might be the weather goddess, despite her unusual appearance—blonde blonde hair and golden eyes.
"How many times has this been your first time? Surely you didn't grow up here?"
Bercheria removed her hand from the wall and turned to him.
A thin pillar cast a shadow over the sharp jawline of a tall man standing in the center of the tower.
"This is Bercheria's tower. I was born here, and I grew up here."
With that, she turned back to the wall.
"..."
Lacrahan chewed slowly on the inside of his mouth.
The interior of the tower was worse than the stables in his castle.
Who could believe that the weather goddess had lived in such a place all her life?
While Bercheria was trapped in this filthy place, the people living below had cursed and resented the spineless weather and the woman who ruled it.
He resented the weather goddess, who lived a life of comfort all alone.
But at the top of the tower, there was no gold or silver, no vast space, not even a comfortable bed to lie down on.
'This is unbelievable.'
Lacrahan walked to the edge of the tower.
The gaping window was utterly barren and cold.
He peered out, but the sheer height prevented him from getting a clear view.
Just clouds and empty space.
'Is it even possible to live a lifetime in a place like this?'
It was an environment he could not endure with his sanity.
Until then, Lacrahan had been convinced that no place could be more horrific than the battlefield he had experienced.
But now, this place, devoid of sound and nothingness, seemed even more miserable than that place, where blood flowed freely and the groans of pain mingled with it.
"Is it because you couldn't get out, or because you didn't?"
He muttered to himself, and Bercheria answered.
"I couldn't get out. The only one who can come and go from here is Mother."
"Mother?"
"Yes. Even now, Mother... will be looking for me. So we must leave quickly before she returns."
Bercheria's voice, never one to show fear, was trembling.
"Even you can't defeat Mother. No one. Absolutely."
She took a deep breath and placed her hand on the wall again.
“This tower was created by condensing my power.”
Lacrahan’s head tilted.
“What does that mean?”
Bercheria turned to look at him.
Her eyes sparkled in the unusually bright moonlight today.
“Have you ever heard of Bercheria’s staff?”
Lacrahan’s pupils appeared behind her slowly dilating eyelids. Bercheria’s staff.
A sacred object as famous as the weather goddess came to his mind.
“Mother! Please look at this.”
A small, plump hand tugged at the mink cloak.
The woman squatted down beside her son, wiping his chubby cheek where he had been doodling on the forest floor.
“Hmm. Let’s see. What do you think our Lacrahan drew?”
The child, eager to reveal the answer, pursed his lips and stared intently at his mother’s face.
“Ah! I see. It’s a flower. Your favorite, the evening primrose?”
The child's eyes drooped.
"Ah! Got it! Then, is that our Lacrahan's favorite candy?"
"..."
He ran the other way, and then another.
Boom!
Instinctively sensing danger, Muha spread his wings wide and soared into the sky.
Lightning struck relentlessly, as if to block his path, preventing him from falling from the tower.
"Whoa! "
With just a few flaps of his wings, Muha soared halfway up the tower.
On his back, Lacrahan gazed down at the shrunken forest.
"Ah!"
As Bercheria swayed against the wind, he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her closer to him.
"Thank goodness you're small. Otherwise, I would've dropped you already."
Bercheria looked at Lacrahan with narrowed eyes, then bowed like a courtesan at a party.
“I don’t know what to do with your gratitude, Your Highness.”
Lacrahan burst out laughing at Bercheria’s slyness.
Then, like a graceful gentleman, he bowed his head.
“It’s an honor that you understood my feelings so well, Bercheria.”
The two straightened their backs simultaneously, chuckled, and turned their heads.
Bercheria looked at the outer wall of the tower where she had clung with all her might a few days ago.
A new feeling came over her.
When she had escaped this place, she had never imagined she would regain her strength so quickly. She had thought it would be ten or twenty years before she would return.
But since meeting Lacrahan, her thoughts had gradually changed.
The moment their eyes met in the burning warehouse, Bercheria felt a whirlwind of emotions within her.
A strange feeling, as if, if she wanted it, her lost abilities would return at any moment.
It was a sensation she's never felt before.
It wasn't her doing it.
It was this man's ability.
There was something special about Lacrahan.
Perhaps he truly possessed the attributes of ice.
Since time immemorial, the Awakened of Bercheria have maintained a close relationship with humans possessing the attribute of ice.
Their mana was the only thing that could melt into her body, increasing the healing effects of accumulated fatigue and other healing effects.
However, the humans, having learned that the more they used their mana, the more it eroded their life, no longer cared for Bercheria.
'You'll know for sure when you climb up,'
Bercheria thought, gently tugging on Lacrahan's sleeve as he looked down.
"I'm going to run into the tower. Just follow me and watch me closely. Can you do it?"
Lacrahan shouted through the tremendous wind resistance.
"No."
He wrapped his arm around Bercheria's waist and tucked her into his side like a bag.
"Hey! What are you up to?"
"Oh. Haven't I told you that yet?"
"...?"
"I'm not the type to follow anyone."
"Tsk!"
Lacrahan held the struggling Bercheria tighter, then leaped up, kicking Muha's back with his long legs.
***
There were various rumors about the Dark Tower, where Bercheria was said to reside.
Some said it was filled with gold and treasures, others that it overflowed with divine waters.
Some said a vast expanse, even larger than the north, was hidden within, where Bercheria enslaved people and lived a luxurious life.
Whatever the case, in people's imaginations, the Dark Tower was a mysterious place hiding secrets.
A place where all good and splendid things were gathered.
"Are you saying this was your home?"
Lacrahan, unable to bear the pungent smell, lifted his collar to cover his nose.
Dust and mold mixed together, creating a pungent odor that stung the brain.
"You asked me where I was. I've been here since the beginning."
Bercheria answered casually, as if familiar, and walked toward the wall.
Lacrahan watched her back quietly.
"From the beginning...?"
He remembered the first time she'd appeared in the warehouse.
Her tattered jacket and tattered skirt had made her look like a vagrant.
If it weren't for her natural body odor, he'd have been convinced she was.
For the same reason, no one suspected she might be the weather goddess, despite her unusual appearance—blonde blonde hair and golden eyes.
"How many times has this been your first time? Surely you didn't grow up here?"
Bercheria removed her hand from the wall and turned to him.
A thin pillar cast a shadow over the sharp jawline of a tall man standing in the center of the tower.
"This is Bercheria's tower. I was born here, and I grew up here."
With that, she turned back to the wall.
"..."
Lacrahan chewed slowly on the inside of his mouth.
The interior of the tower was worse than the stables in his castle.
Who could believe that the weather goddess had lived in such a place all her life?
While Bercheria was trapped in this filthy place, the people living below had cursed and resented the spineless weather and the woman who ruled it.
He resented the weather goddess, who lived a life of comfort all alone.
But at the top of the tower, there was no gold or silver, no vast space, not even a comfortable bed to lie down on.
'This is unbelievable.'
Lacrahan walked to the edge of the tower.
The gaping window was utterly barren and cold.
He peered out, but the sheer height prevented him from getting a clear view.
Just clouds and empty space.
'Is it even possible to live a lifetime in a place like this?'
It was an environment he could not endure with his sanity.
Until then, Lacrahan had been convinced that no place could be more horrific than the battlefield he had experienced.
But now, this place, devoid of sound and nothingness, seemed even more miserable than that place, where blood flowed freely and the groans of pain mingled with it.
"Is it because you couldn't get out, or because you didn't?"
He muttered to himself, and Bercheria answered.
"I couldn't get out. The only one who can come and go from here is Mother."
"Mother?"
"Yes. Even now, Mother... will be looking for me. So we must leave quickly before she returns."
Bercheria's voice, never one to show fear, was trembling.
"Even you can't defeat Mother. No one. Absolutely."
She took a deep breath and placed her hand on the wall again.
“This tower was created by condensing my power.”
Lacrahan’s head tilted.
“What does that mean?”
Bercheria turned to look at him.
Her eyes sparkled in the unusually bright moonlight today.
“Have you ever heard of Bercheria’s staff?”
Lacrahan’s pupils appeared behind her slowly dilating eyelids. Bercheria’s staff.
A sacred object as famous as the weather goddess came to his mind.
***
“Mother! Please look at this.”
A small, plump hand tugged at the mink cloak.
The woman squatted down beside her son, wiping his chubby cheek where he had been doodling on the forest floor.
“Hmm. Let’s see. What do you think our Lacrahan drew?”
The child, eager to reveal the answer, pursed his lips and stared intently at his mother’s face.
“Ah! I see. It’s a flower. Your favorite, the evening primrose?”
The child's eyes drooped.
"Ah! Got it! Then, is that our Lacrahan's favorite candy?"
"..."
"Was it wrong again?"
The woman, whose eyes resembled the child's, couldn't help but hug her son's disappointed face so cutely that she let him go.
"Lacrahan. Just give me a hint, and I'll guess right away!"
"Got it!"
The child barely suppressed a laugh and pointed with a short finger to the tall tower rising behind his mother's back.
The woman turned her head in that direction and let out a short exclamation.
"I see. It's the staff of Bercheria?"
"Yes!"
The two burst into laughter.
"Let's go now. Father will look for it."
"Yes!"
The woman stood up and held out her hand to the child.
The child shook her hand off, clutching her mother's hand tightly as he looked up at the tower.
A light flashed and disappeared from the distant, seemingly endless tower.
"Huh? Mother. There's someone up there."
The woman smiled gently.
“Probably Bercheria.”
“Have you ever seen Bercheria, Mother?”
“Of course.”
“What does she look like?”
“She’s beautiful. Blonde hair and golden eyes. Her staff was the same color as her eyes, just like the midday sun.”
“Wow.”
Lacrahan kept his gaze fixed on the tower’s peak, even as he worked his short legs diligently.
“But I think it’d be boring. Living with just a staff all day.”
The woman burst into laughter at her son’s voice.
“Then, someday, my Lacrahan will be Bercheria’s friend.”
“Can I really do that?”
“Of course. Since Lacrahan inherited your father’s ice element, you’ll be a great friend to the weather goddess.”
“Will she consider me her friend?”
“Who in the world wouldn’t love my Lacrahan? You're so cute, aren’t you?”
Lacrahan answered with his sparrow-like lips.
“Yes!”
He looked at the tower’s peak and whispered in his heart.
The woman, whose eyes resembled the child's, couldn't help but hug her son's disappointed face so cutely that she let him go.
"Lacrahan. Just give me a hint, and I'll guess right away!"
"Got it!"
The child barely suppressed a laugh and pointed with a short finger to the tall tower rising behind his mother's back.
The woman turned her head in that direction and let out a short exclamation.
"I see. It's the staff of Bercheria?"
"Yes!"
The two burst into laughter.
"Let's go now. Father will look for it."
"Yes!"
The woman stood up and held out her hand to the child.
The child shook her hand off, clutching her mother's hand tightly as he looked up at the tower.
A light flashed and disappeared from the distant, seemingly endless tower.
"Huh? Mother. There's someone up there."
The woman smiled gently.
“Probably Bercheria.”
“Have you ever seen Bercheria, Mother?”
“Of course.”
“What does she look like?”
“She’s beautiful. Blonde hair and golden eyes. Her staff was the same color as her eyes, just like the midday sun.”
“Wow.”
Lacrahan kept his gaze fixed on the tower’s peak, even as he worked his short legs diligently.
“But I think it’d be boring. Living with just a staff all day.”
The woman burst into laughter at her son’s voice.
“Then, someday, my Lacrahan will be Bercheria’s friend.”
“Can I really do that?”
“Of course. Since Lacrahan inherited your father’s ice element, you’ll be a great friend to the weather goddess.”
“Will she consider me her friend?”
“Who in the world wouldn’t love my Lacrahan? You're so cute, aren’t you?”
Lacrahan answered with his sparrow-like lips.
“Yes!”
He looked at the tower’s peak and whispered in his heart.
“The next time we meet, let’s be friends. ”
By then, I too would be the King of a magnificent nation.
Since then, whenever he passed the tower, he's become accustomed to staring up at it for a while, imagining how magnificent and wonderful it would be inside.
By then, I too would be the King of a magnificent nation.
Since then, whenever he passed the tower, he's become accustomed to staring up at it for a while, imagining how magnificent and wonderful it would be inside.
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