EP.157 Coincidence, or Perhaps Inevitability (5)
I walked along a path bathed in the evening glow.
After stepping out of a shabby shop, I strolled down the alley. My steps felt light. It seemed like something had been lifted off my chest.
“I said what I wanted to say, and I heard what I wanted to hear.”
In other words, it was a conversation.
Though I had known Cardi for a long time, today felt like the first time I actually had a conversation with him. What I had shared with Cardi before was less like a dialogue and more like… a riddle.
For the first time, we conversed.
For the first time, I saw the true nature of Cardi.
What I felt from that was… ironically, something similar to what Cardi had said to me.
“You resemble me.”
As I chewed on Cardi’s words, I couldn’t help but chuckle. I thought, “We really do resemble each other.”
“Ehehe.”
I stretched my arms and let out a brief sigh.
As I walked through the alley bathed in sunset, I soon found myself at the plaza in the capital. For a while, I gazed at the fountain in the middle of the square.
Now that I think about it, this was the place.
The place where Cardi and I first met.
Suddenly, the memory of that day popped into my head. It was an old memory, but recalling it posed no problem. It was probably from the time I had lost my hometown and was aimlessly heading to the capital.
The capital is a land of opportunity.
A place where all meetings begin.
A place where we, having lost our hometown and our parents, could possibly become something. Chasing that vague possibility, we had arrived at the capital.
“But, a lot had changed.”
The beautiful and glamorous place I had heard about from the elders in my village.
A place where anyone could become something.
The capital was not that. No, maybe it was that for some people. But for two fledgling refugees like us, it certainly was not.
The capital was harsh.
No one cared about us.
Every day was a struggle. Days spent rummaging through trash cans and begging for our meals.
“They are the kids from my shop.”
That was when I first met Cardi.
While we were begging in the plaza, he released us from the grip of the guards and took us to his shop.
“One of you will become a great mage, and the other is blessed by the stars. You’re both quite talented.”
That’s what Cardi murmured as he handed us food. He granted us a night’s rest. That night, Cardi hinted to me.
“The idea of begging in a busy place is good. But in the end, isn’t it just earning enough for a day to survive?”
He offered me advice.
“Unlike your friend, your talent has already blossomed. Someone will recognize your talent. So don’t bow your head to others. Lift your head up. Straighten your back. Put some strength in your shoulders.”
Be confident.
Saying this, Cardi smiled.
“Nobody pays attention to a downtrodden person in shabby clothes. But people are interested in those who live boldly despite their inherent weaknesses. Whether that’s a good or bad thing.”
He said with a smile.
“Show your talent with confidence. If there are mages there, they will surely recognize your talent.”
I followed that advice.
From the next day, I stood in the plaza. Kyle stopped standing there and started running errands for Cardi, but… I continued to head out to the plaza.
I lifted my head. Straightened my back.
I drew up my mana, hoping someone would notice me. I wonder how many days went by? I eventually met someone in the plaza who recognized my talent.
My master.
The Elder of the Ashen Tower.
I, who was nothing, was taken under my master’s wing and became a mage. Looking back, it was all a coincidence.
Meeting Cardi in the plaza.
Following Cardi’s advice.
Thus, meeting my master.
It was all a pile of coincidences. However, within that coincidence, my will clearly existed. I didn’t let the coincidences slip by as mere coincidences. That’s why I could seize the opportunity.
“Coincidence.”
A series of coincidental meetings and opportunities.
“Or perhaps, inevitability.”
Making it inevitable was my responsibility.
I unintentionally let out a smile. Coincidences piled up, and here I stand. When I think about it, it’s quite miraculous.
“From just a lost child from a hometown…”
Now, I’ve come to know history that no one else knows. I bitterly smiled as I sat on the edge of the fountain that determined my life as a mage.
I thought I was walking a solitary path.
I thought it was a path no one had walked.
But it wasn’t.
Long ago, there were those who walked the same path as me. Those who were prouder than anyone else. They reached the end of the path before me, but what awaited them was not success but failure.
At the end of their path, they lost everything.
Their journey failed.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will remain a failure.
It is up to those who walk the path they left behind to determine if their journey was merely a failure or a great cornerstone for the future.
“So, I suppose that decision is mine.”
I walk the path they left behind.
But in a different direction.
That was my life, and…
“Our sacrifice was noble.”
It was the life of those who died for me.
Thud.
I stood up and moved on.
To prepare for the coming tomorrow.
2.
The guests who had come left, and the noisy party was over. As Cardi cleaned up the scraps of paper scattered everywhere, he glanced around.
“Hmm, uh…”
Chloe sprawled on the sofa, fast asleep. Belnoa was sleeping on a blanket spread on the floor. They had curled up in the corner of the cramped shop, but they didn’t seem uncomfortable.
“You must be like a parent to them.”
At the sudden whisper echoing in his ear, Cardi smiled bitterly. He fetched an extra blanket and covered Chloe before returning to his spot.
Night had deepened.
Though it was late, sleep eluded him.
Elves are typically creatures that sleep a lot. They won’t die from lack of sleep, but for those living eternally, life can be excessively mundane. However, Cardi had always been different from other elves.
He lived the eternal life as if it were fleeting.
He studied and learned magic, reducing his sleep. That’s how he attained the title of Great Mage. Despite always needing little sleep, Cardi had not slept since that day hundreds of years ago.
When he closed his eyes, they would appear.
Memories from a brilliantly shining time.
He would unwittingly get lost in them.
For him, sleep was poison laced in wine. Sweet, but once intoxicated, it was impossible to escape. Thus, Cardi stayed awake, keeping vigil for hundreds of years.
“……”
Without a word, Cardi reached for a shelf.
A shelf that wasn’t covered in dust. Deep within it sat a frame. What appeared as blank paper to others… was not so in Cardi’s eyes.
Thud.
Cardi placed the frame on the table.
Then, he closed his eyes for a moment. He recalled the memories of the most beautiful time.
“Hey, Cardi.”
The tower that would record all history.
Just before leaving for the Demon Lord’s territory, Cardi visited it with his companions. They recorded everything they had experienced in that tower.
“How about we take a photo?”
Right before they left the tower, Gleria made that suggestion. As always, her suggestion was quite out of the blue. What had he said back then?
“I’ve already recorded everything, so is there really a need for a photo? Seems unnecessary.”
That’s how he responded.
Then Gleria, puffing up her cheeks, kept poking Cardi’s chest with her finger.
“Efficiency, efficiency! Stop worrying about need! A photo has its own essence, you know? Do I really need to explain this?”
Cardi couldn’t understand those words.
However, the remaining two seemed to understand Gleria’s words, nudging Cardi’s shoulders while speaking.
“Ahaha! True. It’s a good idea to take at least one photo. If I become a dragon, I won’t be able to enter this tower. The building would collapse. So, it would be nice to have a photo left for me to see.”
Belial, who stood beside them, burst into a hearty laugh.
Ganikalt was polishing his armor as he said, “One photo should be fine. I think it’s not a bad suggestion. Go give your armor a shine.”
Looking at them, Cardi shook his head, thinking, “This is why humans…”
“Okay, here’s Ganikalt! And here’s Belial!”
In the church-like tower.
In a sunlit spot, they lined up one by one. Wearing ragged clothing… polishing their armor, they stood on the podium in what they thought was their best appearance. Cardi watched them from a distance.
“Ahem! Hey, Ganikalt. Don’t you think my face looks strange? The dragon scales are creeping up, making it look kind of hideous.”
Belial asked while resting his arm on Ganikalt’s shoulder.
Ganikalt shrugged and answered the question.
“You look tough. It’s pretty masculine. So just look straight ahead. Both you and I, in front of Cardi, will look like orcs anyway.”
“That’s harsh…”
“That’s not wrong.”
Ganikalt took off his helmet, holding it in his hand. Before the shimmering recording circuit, he smiled faintly.
“Alright, Cardi.”
Then Gleria said, “Hurry up and stand next to me.”
She grabbed Cardi’s arm and pulled him onto the podium.
Then, she whispered in Cardi’s ear.
“Smile, Cardi.”
His past self thought humans were something he simply couldn’t understand as he smiled reluctantly. He thought it was a clumsy smile. Remembering the past, Cardi opened his eyes.
“…Is that so?”
He gazed at the photo before him.
Looking at the picture from his most radiant time, Cardi let out a bitter smile. The version of himself in the photo wore an undeniably strange expression.
Though he didn’t understand it back then.
Now, he finally comprehended.
“That’s why we decided to take a picture.”
The time when he lived more fully than ever.
The era that shone the brightest.
A picture left behind, not thinking it would be the last. Even after many years, the photo had not faded.
Cardi stared at the photo for a while.
Sometimes, when he looked at this picture, he would feel loneliness. Everyone had left his side. He was all alone. Alone for hundreds of years. An excessively lonely time.
‘…But.’
Now, he’s not as lonely as before.
Cardi looked at the children sleeping in the corner of the shop. He saw Chloe, who resembled Gleria, and Belnoa, who was born with the same talent as Belial.
And finally, he recalled a certain mage who had stayed in the shop that day. The mage with whom he had shared a secret, kept to himself for hundreds of years… Cardi smiled faintly.
“He’s a likeness of me.”
Looking at the frame, Cardi murmured.
“Truly, he resembles me.”
Was it a coincidence or inevitability?
It didn’t really matter. As long as it could reach the places he couldn’t… whether it was a coincidence or inevitability, what significance did it hold?
It was a long, long night.
But this too shall come to an end.
The sun rises, and tomorrow comes. Time continues to flow endlessly. The elf who has lived for thousands of years sees yet another sunrise.
How nostalgic.
Muttering that, Cardi covered the frame.
