CHAPTER 184 – LYSANDER OF THE REGRESSION
HIRAYA MISTELTEIN
TWELVE HOURS AGO
The bell towers chimed a melody that echoed like a wonderful love story through the night, each note carrying the weight of the momentous occasion. Here I stand, at the altar, draped in a flowing valkyrie robe that clings to my form like a divine second skin. The midnight moon bathes the scene in its silver glow, casting ethereal light upon me and my groom. My eyes shimmer with unshed tears—a bittersweet blend of joy and despair that swells within me.
Before me stands the man I adore—Lysander Faradeiss. His presence is commanding, yet gentle, dressed in a finely tailored suit of a rich, grayish-black hue, accented by a deep blue necktie that mirrors the shade of his eyes. His silver hair, freshly cut, adds a noble touch to his already princely aura. Those blue eyes of his twinkle, reflecting the sight of me as if I were the only thing that mattered in the world.
“Before we begin...” Lysander's voice breaks the silence, low and filled with an unspoken gravity. “I need to say that I’m sorry.”
“For what?” I ask, tilting my head in curiosity, though a part of me dreads the answer.
“I’m sorry for everything. For the past. The present. And the future,” Lysander confesses, his words heavy with the weight of a thousand regrets. “There are probably a million things I should apologize for, but I know we won’t have the time.”
“I don’t blame you for what has happened, or what will come to pass,” I respond, offering him a warm, reassuring smile. “No matter what you’ve done, I will always love you, Lysander.”
His voice wavers slightly, betraying the nerves beneath his calm exterior. “O-Okay. I love you too, Hiraya. But as we promised, you will have to kill me.”
“Are we really going to go through with this?” I ask, my heart aching as I frown. “Is there no other way?”
“There isn’t. The you from the Previous Timeline planned this long ago,” Lysander explains, his voice tinged with a sorrowful acceptance. “You orchestrated humanity’s extinction to become the ultimate evil. You asked me to use Altered Regression Magic to make you an Erudite-level mage, and secretly planned to be the final sacrifice once the King of Humanity’s Wickedness was killed.”
“Then let me do it!” I cried out, clutching my chest as if trying to hold my heart together. “I will be the one to make the ultimate sacrifice and activate the Altered Regression Magic!”
Lysander's expression softened, and he slowly shook his head, a gentle smile playing on his lips. “It’s impossible, Hiraya. Only the two of us can activate the Altered Regression Magic, and the one who played the villain in this tragic tale must be the one to sacrifice themselves in the end. I purged humanity for this purpose. I eliminated the leaders of the races with this goal in mind. All the world’s hatred is focused on me. All that remains is for you to kill me, the Foreign God, and sever the final chain of this never-ending war.”
His words hung heavy in the air as he swallowed hard, his gaze drifting toward the stained glass windows. The moonlight filtered through them, casting a kaleidoscope of colors across the room—a rainbow of light that seemed almost divine. Slowly, Lysander presented me with a platinum tiara, its centerpiece a luminous blue orb.
“This is the Orb of Exceria, though its powers are depleted for now,” Lysander explained, his voice tinged with a solemn reverence. “If you wear this, and borrow Meike’s crimson dragonoid lens, you will be seen as the true Goddess Exceria. Once I use the Altered Regression Magic to bring everyone back, they will see you as the one and only goddess who saved the world from Necross. The world will finally be united under your leadership—the true Goddess Exceria.”
With trembling hands, I reached out and took the tiara from him. The moment I placed it upon my head, the Éclair Damour reacted, and the tiara blazed with light, reflecting the vibrant colors of the moonlight that bathed us.
Lysander’s cheeks flushed, his eyes widening with a mixture of awe and adoration as he gazed upon me. In that moment, it was as if he had fallen in love with me all over again, a love renewed a million times over. And seeing him like this—so vulnerable, so captivated by me—my heart swelled with love for him, even more deeply than before.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“This is…” I whispered, unable to find the words to express the enormity of what I was feeling.
“Yes. This is my Regression,” Lysander said, his smile bittersweet. “Did you know? The word ‘Regression’ in Regression Magic comes from the root word ‘regret.’ This will be my last and eternal regret—as the ultimate evil of this world.”
A single teardrop traced a path down my cheek, embodying the whirlwind of emotions inside me. I was overwhelmed by the sadness of what we were about to do, yet there was a quiet joy in knowing that this was the path we had chosen together. Lysander noticed the tear and, with a tender gesture, pulled out a handkerchief to gently wipe it away.
“Do not fret, Hiraya,” he whispered, his voice calm and soothing. “Compared to you, my pain will be over in an instant. With your Mark of Vesryn's invulnerability and your elven bloodline's longevity, you are now a True Immortal. This will be your curse—you will live on as Goddess Exceria, the beacon of hope for the world.”
Lysander slowly raised his hands, his touch feather-light as he cupped my cheeks, pulling me closer. His gaze was intense, filled with a sorrow that mirrored my own, and yet there was an undeniable love that shone through.
“You can no longer live as Hiraya Misteltein. You will sacrifice your own ordinary pleasures for the world, forevermore. But don’t worry,” Lysander muttered, his breath warm against my skin. “I will revive Alris so that you will never be alone.”
I shook my head, more tears spilling from my eyes, sparkling like drops of morning dew. “I will never love again,” I vowed, my voice trembling with the weight of my decision. “I’ve made this choice in this timeline—you will be my first and last love. I will live on forever, casting aside all my happiness for you. I will continue to love you even after you’re gone. I will dream of you every time I close my eyes. I will think of you the moment I wake.”
My heart felt like a leaden weight as I spoke those words, a deep ache that spread through my chest and lodged itself in my throat. A tingling sensation stirred in my stomach, and I could feel the uncontrollable quiver of my jaw as emotions surged within me, raw and overwhelming. My heart tightened, constricting my breath, and in that moment, I could no longer hold back the flood of tears. I reached out, clutching the man I loved as if he were my anchor in a storm, and he pulled me close, wrapping me in his arms.
“Let us… let us cry like this… one last time,” Lysander’s voice trembled, each word heavy with emotion. I could hear the strain in his voice, a clear sign that he, too, was crying. “We don’t want these emotions to hinder us once the Altered Regression Plan is in effect. We don’t want you crying over my demise. So please, let it all out, right here and right now… Hiraya.”
“Thank you… Thank you, Lysander… for saving me,” I sobbed, my voice breaking with gratitude and sorrow. “Thank you for everything you’ve given me. You gave me this life… and I will treasure it until the end of time.”
“Thank you too, Hiraya,” Lysander whispered, his voice choked with tears. “You promised to be with me in this timeline, and you delivered. Our love may have been brief, but it’s the most precious treasure I will forever keep. Thank you… for letting me experience… the Vesryn Pulse.”
We clung to each other, allowing the warmth of our embrace to envelop us as we shared this moment, our tears mingling together in silent understanding. Time seemed to stretch as we held each other, drawing strength from our closeness until there were no more tears left to shed. Slowly, we pulled away, our gazes locked as we leaned in for one final kiss. Each kiss was as sweet as the first, a tender reminder of all that we had shared.
With that kiss, memories flooded my mind—Lysander bringing me food in the Student Council’s Library. I remembered his determined charge towards the Arctic Dragon as I called out his name. I remembered our heated argument after the bombing of Tasty Town, and the moment I handed him the Heart of Exceria, transforming him into a Trailblazer Dragon to save me. I recalled our days flying together as Dragon Knight and partner, and how he returned to rescue me from Gazelle Lockwood. I remembered his heartfelt confession of love in a sea of flowers, where time seemed to stand still.
Even though Lysander had strayed far from the path he once walked, he was still the same Lysander I had fallen deeply in love with. The weight of my previous incarnation as a goddess, and the echoes of my past self in the previous timeline, meant nothing to me now. All that mattered was the person I was in this moment, standing before my personal savior. Lysander had already freed me from the cruel chains of fate, and now, he was about to do even more.
“You’re so kind, Lysander,” I murmured, my voice filled with both sorrow and gratitude. “I’m so glad we get to say our final goodbyes like this. It makes it that much harder not to cry when the Altered Regression Magic activates.”
“You can use the tiara to deploy a visor—something to cover your tears,” Lysander suggested softly.
He stepped forward to the altar and picked up two wine glasses filled with a deep, crimson liquid. With a tender smile, he handed one of the glasses to me.
“I’m sorry if this isn’t the marriage you dreamed of when you were twelve,” Lysander said, his voice tinged with regret.
I accepted the wine glass and smiled back at him, a gentle warmth in my heart despite the circumstances. “Elven marriages are much simpler than you think.”
With that, we raised our glasses in a solemn toast, intertwining our arms as we drank the wine—a symbol of our eternal love, shared in the last moments we had together.