EP.191 Each Person’s Stage (5)
“Run away.”
“Get out of here right now.”
The voice of Star echoed in her head.
After weeks of silence, Star’s voice was sharp, ringing in Ayla’s ears like an incessant chime. She slowly turned her gaze away from Rania’s blue eyes.
Looking around, all she could see was darkness.
‘It’s dark.’
Aplia enveloped in thick fog. A black barrier surrounding the sky.
Not a single beam of light came through, making it impossible to discern anything even a step ahead. A sinister atmosphere loomed around. Ayla’s eyes trembled.
A crisis foretold by Star.
Every sense in Ayla sharpened, perceiving everything around her as a threat. Her teeth clicked together with a clack clack.
“It’s, it’s dangerous.”
Star screamed.
Star’s screams infected Ayla.
“Star says it’s dangerous…”
The confident princess was nowhere to be seen. All that remained was a terrified girl who had lived her life behind a mask, stammering half-formed words.
She wanted to flee, right away. She wanted to hide and lean on Star immediately.
“So, you must run away right now…”
Yet, for some reason…
“……”
Those blue eyes looking at her did not show any signs of letting her go.
2.
Star had always been close to me.
I hadn’t been chosen, blessed, or loved by Star, but I knew a fair amount about it. After all, I had met many such people.
I met a Sword Master who did not trust Star.
I faced a Braver who despised Star.
I accompanied a Hero blessed by Star.
I ventured with a Saint who worshipped Star.
And.
I also encountered the first Hero chosen by Star.
I faced the past Saint who betrayed Star.
I met the Wise One who contracted with Star.
Recalling those encounters, I looked ahead.
“Rania, Master.”
There was a girl here.
Before my eyes sat a girl, staring at me with trembling eyes. There was a clear starlight shimmering within those eyes.
“…Star.”
The Fourth Princess, Ayla.
“Star foretells…”
A girl loved by Star, Stella.
“We have to escape from here…”
A girl who had relied on Star’s prophecy to survive.
“I-I said it.”
The terrified girl spoke to me. I watched her in silence.
‘I have seen this before.’
I had seen someone who looked just like her.
“In front of the Demon Lord, I couldn’t do anything.”
The Saint who had been powerless before the Demon Lord.
“I couldn’t do anything back then… because Star remained silent. Yes, because Star was absent.”
Even after fleeing from the Demon Lord, Sara had been unable to perform any miracles for a while. Losing her confidence, she hadn’t wanted to stand before her followers.
‘She must have realized the truth.’
That the God she believed in, the God she thought was perfect, was neither complete nor flawless.
“I was powerless.”
Sara was not the only one.
“I was nothing. Yes, now I feel that clearly. Unlike you, Raniel, I was nothing. From the beginning, I was just a mere human. From the very start.”
Kyle had broken down back then, at that place.
“I felt it from the moment I faced Death’s Blade. I was powerless in front of them. I had to feel nothing but that powerlessness. So what meaning does this journey hold?”
Fear engulfed Kyle as he fell into despair. This wasn’t something that happened in a day or two. It was a culmination that had exploded, a problem that was bound to surface eventually.
‘Words of a human dependent on Star.’
I couldn’t stop that end.
I couldn’t bring Kyle back to where he belonged, and ultimately, I had to turn my back on them.
“…Master, why.”
Now, time had passed, but I faced a similar situation.
“What do you have to say?”
Before me was a girl who had lived depending on Star. To her, Star was everything in life. This girl would likely believe that what Star said was the only truth.
Then.
‘What should I say to her?’
It was easy to pick words that would convince her to move beyond this moment. I could criticize the limitations of Star’s prophecy and persuade her otherwise. It wouldn’t be bad to have her see my words as the truth instead of Star’s.
But none of it was a fundamental solution.
In that case, the object of reliance merely shifts from Star to me. That was not what I desired.
“Princess.”
Because I didn’t want that.
“Look at me.”
I firmly grabbed Ayla’s shoulder.
Her brow furrowed. Despite her attempts to convey her pain, I didn’t let go. I stared directly into her golden eyes and spoke.
“Don’t try to see what isn’t visible. Look at me. What do you see with your own eyes?”
“…Blue, eyes.”
“Yes, I am looking at you, Princess.”
The golden eyes reflected the blue.
“Did you say that Star foretold something?”
Ayla nodded.
“To escape from here…”
“If you want to do that, then do so.”
I indicated the barrier with my hand.
“I’ll open it for you if you wish to leave. It wouldn’t be hard to let the Princess out. If you desire it, I will grant it.”
“……”
Ayla fell silent.
I did not remain silent.
“This is not a threat. I do not blame the Princess. You have no responsibility. If you want to flee, you can do so.”
I looked at Ayla.
“But.”
“The Princess must choose for herself.”
I forced her to make a choice.
“Star’s prophecy said so. Don’t use that phrase. If you want to run away from here, it must be solely your will, Princess.”
I let go of her shoulder.
Stepping back a pace.
“…It’s not the prophecy; it’s my choice.”
“Yes.”
“But…”
“Princess.”
I smiled bitterly.
Countless scenes and voices fluttered through my head. These were things I had come across, seen, and experienced.
“Star says this.”
“Don’t trust Star.”
“Star will abandon you in critical moments.”
The Sword Master, Kuntel, had said that.
Star is not an object of unconditional trust.
“It is not an object of unconditional trust.”
“I hate Star.”
“Star is not a perfect being. With an imperfect nature, it insists on its own correctness. That’s just coercion. Star is nothing but a foolish god.”
The Braver, Kelharlem, had said that Star is not a perfect being.
“Because it is not a perfect being, Star does not always give correct advice. They too can be wrong. To avoid immediate danger, they might even chart a wrong path.”
After saying that, I paused for a moment. I had already spoken these words to someone. He had responded to me like this.
“Star is everything to me, Raniel.”
“It gave me strength and granted me the Holy Sword. Everything about me originated from Star.”
“……”
“I realized in front of the silent Demon Lord.”
“…Star.”
“I, who could not even use the Starlight or the Holy Sword, was merely… just a mere human. A powerless human. Just an ordinary human scattered everywhere.”
I smiled bitterly.
Perhaps it’s because it reminded me of the time I had separated from Kyle, or maybe it was because I was unable to tell him these words. Or perhaps it’s both.
‘I can’t be sure.’
But I wanted to say this.
“Star does not live your life for you.”
So.
“Choose for yourself.”
Even if.
“It may be the wrong path.”
3.
Ayla remained silent.
She looked up at the woman before her in silence. Things she couldn’t see at first gradually became clear as she became accustomed to the darkness.
‘…Cold sweat.’
Cold sweat flowed down Rania’s collarbone. Red blood peeked through the gap in her tightly clenched lips. Her painfully blue eyes periodically lost focus and then regained it.
‘Yet she is still standing on her own two feet.’
As Ayla gazed at her, she opened her mouth.
“You told me to choose, right?”
Ayla asked.
“Yes.”
Rania replied.
“Living means choosing for oneself and taking responsibility for those choices.”
She smiled.
“Star does not live for you.”
“Is that what Star does for you?”
Ayla could hear echoes of the past in that voice.
Similar to the words the Ashen-Haired Man had casually tossed while flipping through the library books.
“Advice is just that: advice.”
“It doesn’t differ much even if you call it prophecy.”
“Only take it as a reference. Ultimately, in decisive moments, it will be you who must choose.”
Ayla looked at the person before her.
Ashen hair and blue eyes. Looking at her, Ayla recalls her benefactor. Up until now, Star had continually denied Ayla’s assumptions.
‘However.’
Ayla faced reality straight on.
Star screamed in her ear.
“Run away.”
“If you want to live, get out of here immediately.”
Star had saved her life more than once.
Without Star, she would have died long ago. Therefore, to Ayla, Star meant everything.
‘A life dependent on Star.’
She thought she had taken off the mask until now.
She thought she could now see the world as it is and live confidently. But that was an illusion. Ayla realized that only now.
Star didn’t strip away her mask.
It only formed a thicker mask.
Hiding her cowardice, it led her to live a false life under the delusion that it could foresee all dangers. Now, having realized this through her losses, Ayla let out a short breath.
She closed her eyes and then opened them again.
With her own will, she extinguished her Star. No longer did starlight whisper anything to Ayla’s ears. It no longer offered warnings. In the silence that followed, Ayla felt fear.
What she faced in that fear was reality.
Ayla did not see a world filtered through Star. She looked at the world with her own eyes. Having opened her eyes was not the Stella she had known, but merely a cowardly girl.
‘With no confidence, merely terrified.’
Just a human.
The girl had always relied on Star to choose the easy way.
She had been running, hiding, and turning a blind eye.
So the girl living behind the mask slowly rose from her concealment. She stood on the ground with her own two feet.
Thud.
She stood firm on the ground with her own strength.
It was not as confident as before. Her legs trembled and her gaze still wavered.
Gulp.
Dry saliva trickled down her throat. Cold sweat trickled down her back. But she did not close her eyes. Ayla looked straight ahead.
“……”
There was someone looking at her.
Blue eyes were watching her.
A smile appeared on her lips. Ayla took a step toward the person who stood a few paces away from her. That was Ayla’s first step.
Thus.
The girl faced the world for the first time.
She saw the world with her own complete view.
It was terrifying. It was filled with fears. Facing the world head-on, she spoke each syllable with strength.
“Is there anything I can help with?”
She chose with her own will.
“Ashen Mage, Raniel.”
She made her own judgments.
“…Ah.”
A smile appeared on Raniel’s lips.
She began to explain with a smile, and Ayla nodded as she listened to the explanation. Indeed, this was something only she could do.
“I’ll give it a try.”
“I’ll leave it to you.”
Ayla said, and Raniel replied.
“I will do what I can.”
Raniel stepped toward the gap.
“Princess, please do what you can as well.”
Ayla walked toward the altar.
Thus, they headed toward their respective stages.
To do what only they could do.
A word from the author:
Even during the time of Yongpa, I will continue regular updates on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Thank you for making it an excuse for me not to have Christmas plans…
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