CHAPTER. 165: HOME

Ceylon couldn’t believe it, Arc was finally back; she was back! After so long, she was finally back! While she tried not to think about it, so many times she believed Arc was dead, she believed that she wouldn’t return; and while Ceylon felt ashamed of such thoughts and she had long lost sleep over them, they didn’t matter.

Because now, her sister was back, after being missing for so long in a place that would be considered hell; a place that would be considered prison. In all her research, not a single hero had returned from that place after all…

And more than anything, she was still the same.

Ceylon found herself crying in Arc’s arms, which no longer felt cold to her but warm, really warm; as for whether her sister’s physiology had actually changed or not, she didn’t care, not right now.

“I-I was so scared⁠—” She finally said between sniffles. “F-From the fact that you⁠— you wouldn’t return to⁠ what was occurring in Draliz!”

“It’s fine, it’s been dealt with,” Arc said softly.

At that, Ceylon cried more. “I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry that you returned to such a mess, I-I really tried, b-but⁠—”

“Don’t worry Ceylon.” She was interrupted as she was hugged tighter. “I’m just glad to be back, that’s all.”

“B-But I don’t…” She hesitated. “I-I just…”

Ceylon trailed off, and Arc let go of her embrace, and instead held her by the hand with a smile as she spoke.

“Instead of worrying about that, how about you catch me up on everything that happened?”

With those words, she began pulling her gently.

“I’m sure not everything will be nice, but that’s fine. It doesn’t need to be, let’s just spend time together, alright?”

Ceylon slowly nodded, still teary eyed as she let Arc lead her. Her brain was still messy, but she decided to focus on what mattered; on the only thing that mattered.

Arc was back, her sister was finally back.

With that in mind, Ceylon smiled and focused on the present.

* * * * *

After so long, I was finally back.

I didn’t know what to feel, it almost didn’t feel real. Sure, meeting the Heroine of Glass had aided me in grounding myself to this world, but even then, it didn’t feel real. I had been in the Forgotten Places for months, that accursed place had become my life for a while. Even now, when I closed my eyes I expected to wake up there.

But I tried not to think about it, after all, I was finally able to talk to Ceylon. I had been excited, but now I was simply relieved. After all, when I arrived I almost saw Ceylon’s final moments; thankfully we made it in time. I made a mental note to thank Lily for her efforts this past week, and for how fast she traveled, because I knew she rushed on the final day.

I shook my head and dismissed my thoughts, simply listening to Ceylon relay everything to me from the beginning. Starting from the letters from heroes that came congratulating the Hero of Flames for his victory; to the fact that his death was hidden from the general public. Then, she told me about the mundane things, such as the old man from the ice sculpture shop coming looking for me. And finally, she got to the events that came with the Heroine of Water.

I frowned. So what the Hero of Humans said was true.

At the same time, it seemed that the Heroine of Water had vowed to fix the destruction that occurred to the surroundings of Draliz; in short: she was planning to make up for her mistakes. Though my impression of her was… negative. Incredibly so, especially after the shit she had told Ceylon earlier.

But I didn’t let that get to me, instead I simply listened. I listened as I learned that the Hero of Humans had been the one to kill Malz’s betrothed; which made me glad I killed him. I listened as I heard of Malz’s condition, and as I heard of the actions of the Dragon of Water⁠⁠— well I listened to everything.

And it seemed that I had a lot of things to take care of, but for now, we were going to take it one step at a time. Starting with…

Malz.

We entered the infirmary of the castle, where I saw Malz resting; she was still unconscious it seemed, but I simply sat by her side as Ceylon nervously joined me. Once more, this moment didn’t feel real, but I still decided to cherish it as I softly held her hand.

“Thank you, for helping Ceylon and protecting Vaelith while I was missing.” I took a small breath. “It means a lot. I’ve also made sure the Hero of Humans is dead for good; you don’t need to worry about it anymore.”

My words hung in the air for a brief moment before they disappeared into the peaceful silence within the room. Lily was missing, the Heroine of Water was nowhere to be seen, and the castle staff was busy. It was just us three.

I stared for a few moments, possibly minutes, and just as I was about to get up, I saw Malz’s eyelids tremble. I blinked, and she opened her eyes as she groaned. First, she looked at Ceylon, a look of relief passing through her face, and then her gaze landed on me as her eyes grew wide.

“Arc? You are… alive?”

“Barely.” I grinned. “And you are too.”

“Uh… huh.”

Malz stared down at herself before looking up, and then, after the moment of confusion, her gaze turned serious in an instant.

“And the Hero of Humans?”

“He’s dead, I killed him,” I said simply. “You can relax now.”

At that, Malz untensed and seemed to stare at me for a few moments, before her eyes widened once more.

“Wait… Arc?!” She paused. “You’re back?!”

I smiled. “Yeah, finally.”

“I’m so glad.” A long sigh left her. “Really glad…”

There was a silence as she looked at me. It was an awkward reunion, a lot more awkward than Ceylon’s, but a moment later she spoke hesitantly.

“Can I hug you?”

“Yeah, you can.”

And a moment later she leapt into my arms, there was no crying, no words either, there was simply, her warm embrace and a light quiver on her body. One that slowly went away as her rushed breathing calmed, and all that remained was her peaceful smile.

It was… nice.

Finally, after a few minutes she let go, teary eyed. “I really am glad, you know… I thought that⁠—”

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“Ceylon thought the same, don’t worry about it,” I reassured her quickly.

And in response, Malz, the Dragon of Shadows gave me a smile, a radiant smile that came from her heart as she nodded.

“Thank you, for putting an end to the Hero of Humans, I’m sure that Mysa would be happy that you did it.”

I nodded. “I’m sure, she’ll be happy too, happy that you’re alive, and happy that you’re free from that burden.”

At that, Malz nodded and I felt at peace. That said, the remaining things weren’t all that nice, after all, I had things to deal with.

But for now, I simply enjoyed Malz’s company, even as Ceylon got jealous and butted in; it was simply, peaceful.

◇ ◇ ◇

Time passed and Malz went to get more rest; she had been very injured after all. If it hadn’t been for Lily, I was certain that she would’ve died. It was yet another thing to add to the list of things to thank Lily for, which I noted. But first, I had a lot of things to take care of, such as:

The Heroine of Water.

I left Ceylon behind and teleported to her location, which just so happened to be up in the castle roof; she was overlooking the city without any particular expression, and when she glanced at me, she also had no emotion as she spoke simple yet words that would haunt others.

“Are you here to kill me now?”

“To talk,” I clarified, shaking my head. “Why did you plan to kill my friends?”

“I wanted to fight, that’s my only purpose in this boring life. Fighting. I wanted a worthy opponent, but…” she trailed off looking at me.

There were a few moments of silence as she stared before she shook her head.

“Now I realize that I’m not worthy to be your opponent.”

I raised my brow, taking a seat as the heroine continued explaining herself.

“As for why kill your friends? Because I’ve built the reputation of a monster, and have become a monster, it’s my way of being; and I deliver on it.” She sighed. “Though I’m sure old me would be very disappointed. After all, I almost took away what was meaningful to another hero. Something which is rare.”

There was a silence as the heroine shook her head, continuing with a hint of emotion in her voice.

“You know, I blame the keeper of order for my misery; otherwise I would’ve long ceased to be alive. So, I’m glad that you did what you did,” she said, chirping and showing a smile. Yet, her voice sounded so simple and so casual; it was like fake happiness.

There was silence as I stared at the heroine who seemed to have no emotions. I didn’t know why but her existence… made me sad. Perhaps it was from what she had said to Ceylon, but it seemed that, unlike other heroes, she was insane by choice; because she had nothing else.

“I see…” I said finally.

Maybe if it weren’t for my experiences in the Forgotten Places I would’ve thought she was talking nonsense, but now I could sympathize with her. In a very weird way. Which is why, I made a decision. In the past, I wouldn’t have killed her, I was sure of that; not if she hadn’t done anything and as long as I could ensure she wouldn’t try anything again.

But now, I wanted to do more.

“If you are willing to help this country, you can stay here,” I said after a moment. “You could try to befriend Lily, or even befriend the Hero of Glass, whom I plan on inviting over. So long as you don’t threaten my friends again, I won’t chastise you or give you enmity.”

There was a silence as I sighed.

“I heard you helped Malz fight the Hero of Humans, and I heard of how you helped Ceylon, so consider that my thank you.”

At that, the Heroine of Water said nothing as she looked into the horizon, her expression barely changing, but after a moment, she nodded.

“I will consider it.”

“Alright.”

With that, I stood up, but just as I was about to leave, the heroine spoke up.

“Do you think there is redemption for me? Is that why you accept me?”

“It’s not like I’m making you my friend.” I glanced back. “But I also don’t judge people for their past, not in this world. I’m sure some of my friends did awful things just because they had no choice.”

I shook my head before turning.

“That said, there is nothing wrong with turning a new leaf.”

No reply came, or so I thought as the heroine took a deep breath.

“Mizuki, that’s my name,” she said after a moment. “It’s the name my parents gave me, and the name I shed long ago, you can call me that if you want.”

I blinked, and nodded.

“Alright, see you around, Mizu.”

“Mizu?”

She made a confused sound and I teleported away.

* * * * *

Did she just call me Mizu?

The Heroine of Water blinked, staring at the spot where the Heroine of Frost, Arc had been. Where the person whom she considered her executioner gave her a second chance. And right now, she was confused, very confused.

Why? She brought a hand to her chest. And what is this feeling?

Her heart was rushing, and not from excitement. It was a feeling she had long forgotten, one she couldn’t even remember. And finally she realized.

She was flustered.

For the first time in centuries, she felt embarrassment, and she fully lost her composure.

And she kind of… liked it?

In the end, all she felt was confusion for her feelings.

* * * * *

After dealing with the Heroine of Water in my own way, I left to find the Dragon of Water and fucking kill him. But, unfortunately, it seemed that he was nowhere to be seen. Somehow. I considered trying to chase after him, but considering I had no tracking skills and Lily seemed to be busy dealing with injured civilians I simply let it go for now. Though, it was only a temporary thing.

The rest of the day was spent accompanying Ceylon to deal with the state of affairs of the kingdom, it was also spent catching up with other people and other minor events. So needless to say that, time passed quickly.

Regis’karr was nowhere to be seen, and Meika and the Dragon of Wind Faral also were elsewhere, out there training. So I didn’t have any reunions pending by the time night fell.

In the end, I simply found myself in a master bedroom, it was my bedroom, and Ceylon was awkwardly standing by the door.

“Do you like it?” she asked nervously. “I had it furnished just for you…”

I stared at the bedroom Ceylon had prepared for me, not only did it have some amazing paintings with magic flowing through them but it also had small sculptures of various things. It was… artistic in all ways, and it fascinated me, especially the small diorama of Vaelith that was present on one of the shelves.

It took me a moment, but I smiled.

“I really do…”

The bedroom, aside from the fact that it was artistic, was also quite beautifully color coded with warm colors and little white and blue; which was a nice touch considering that my tutorial world was literally all whites and blues.

The room felt warm.

“Thank you, Ceylon.” I smiled back at her.

She nodded. “I’m glad.”

However, contrary to my expectations, she shuffled on her spot, hesitating.

“If you don’t mind, can I… spend the night with you?”

I blinked before smiling. “Please do.”

And at that, Ceylon nodded eagerly.

“I’ll go get some things then.”

I smiled and made my way to the bed on tip toes, changing my clothes to light ones as I looked around; the atmosphere was… nice. I plopped onto the bed as I stared at the ceiling, my muscles relaxing as exhaustion overtook me.

“I’m really back, huh?” I whispered.

It… felt unreal still, but as I felt the bedsheets reality finally started to settle in on me. I was really back. I had really survived the Forgotten Places. I had finally returned to this place.

I finally returned home.

I stared at the ceiling unknowing what to feel, and it wasn’t until I heard a knock that I finally awoke from my stupor.

I looked up from the bed, standing up as Ceylon awkwardly stood by the doorway with a pillow in hand and in her pajamas. She was scratching the back of her head, her gaze averted awkwardly from me.

“Sorry it took me so long…”

And I blinked, as it finally clicked.

I finally reunited with Ceylon. After arguing with the Hero of Arlas himself, Uwell, after losing my leg, after almost dying and becoming corrupted, I was finally back. I’m finally where I belong.

I began to tear up as Ceylon rushed up to me.

“Arc, are you alright?”

But I said nothing as I quickly pulled her into my embrace, and then, I broke out crying, letting out all my pent up emotions flow out.

It was unfit of me to cry, for someone as strong as me to completely sob and sniffle, to tremble and quiver with rushed breathing, but just this once, I let it go. I allowed myself to let it all go as Ceylon simply hugged me.

“I-I’m so glad I made it back, I lost my leg⁠— I-I almost thought I’d be stuck there for eternity⁠—” I stammered all over the place. “I was so scared…”

“You… suffered a lot, didn’t you?” Ceylon asked, her tone quiet and unsure.

“M-Mhm!”

In the end, I couldn’t even muster a reply as I became nothing but a sobbing mess.

However, one thing was for certain.

I was back home.

For good this time.