…

Home to the green fields and me once again

It was noon when they departed for the capital. Without a wedding to attend, there was no reason to dawdle. The summoned, the princess and the doctor left the small town greeted with death just this morning.

Hiro walked on a hollow shell. He looked at his hands now pristine clean.

There was also no funeral to attend either. After having her mind ‘cleansed’, Caron looked at the body and went into the workshop. She then returned with the flame sprayer and burned her fiancé to nothingness. It was a flame made out of mana and so nothing else was damaged. Just Owain, only him, erased.

Victor then decided that a new healer and charger would be sent here. But before that, she would continue to shoulder both duty, something the young woman could easily handle. Afterward, she would return to the Academy for further inspection.

The old doctor then arranged for them all to leave that noon. Conrad and Malcolm were surprised by the news but they accepted it instantly. They were seasoned enough not to be affected by such a thing.

Willow was too shocked by the event to say a single word. Even now, the eyes of someone filled with fear of the oblivion, of the unknown were still vivid in her mind. Both her and Hiro wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

And so, they departed without any delay.

But no matter how far they trekked, the images were still there, burning within Hiro mind. He could still feel like the naginata was in his hands. The voice was also silent, filled with grief.

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It wasn’t a long time, but the Pryce was precious for Hiro. They had shown the young man much love and care. And now, both of them are gone. Both of them.

Hiro remembered just a day before, everything was perfect. He was happy, it was as if this was a way out for him, an escape. There were hardships and pain, but he prevailed. But it seemed like the fantasy finally ended.

He would retreat to a hell he had known to ponder upon this event. Then one day, the young man would return like he never had left.

And so, Hiro let the words escaped his lips quietly.

“Rosebud”

His mind was oblivious to the fact that he had no memories of this despite from this event. That only his mind was cut, and the other was copied. And that only one could return.

___

Hiro opened his eyes to find him lying on a table in a familiar apartment. In front of his eyes was a small cake, still where he left it all that time ago. Or was it just an instant?

He tried to stand up but his body was still a wreck from, the young man could barely move. This was the state he had always been in, constant exhaustion. The young man had forgotten about that. But there was something else, something different. The sudden change in scenery was nothing but jarring.

The young man looked at his hands, he could still feel it, the weight of the polearm.

Everything then flooded back all the sadness, the guilt, the horror, the pain, the confusion. All of them returned and hit him at once. Hiro could feel himself chocking. His breathing was getting faster and faster. It was unbearable.

Hiro felt like breaking down but somehow he couldn’t. Back in Eden, the young man could and he did break down, crying like a baby over Suiren.

But now, back in his own world, Hiro couldn’t even shed a tear.

But all of these emotions were still there, burbling along with the rest that he had built up over the year. All of them returned with this weary body. And he wouldn’t just break, no, he would erupt.

But before that could happen, Hiro could hear a faint footstep.

A familiar face entered the room, still in her uniform. She had been waiting for him, for his return. All this time.

“Welcome back, nii-san”

Hiro looked up the small cake and smile, a sad smile but a smile nonetheless.

“I’m home… Happy birthday”