MTM 165

The morning in Silpirnoa was refreshing. As soon as he crossed the boundary of the forest, the air he felt shook off the heavy moisture that had weighed down the earth all night.

Sunlight breaking through the leaves settled on Zed’s shoulders as he walked. He could have turned around at the sound of chirping birds, but he was focused solely on the condition of the lover in his arms.

“Harto…”

Harto was still wandering in agony. The breaths transmitted moment by moment were so precarious that Zed could not take his eyes off him for even a single second.

“Pii…”

“Pyu…”

Spi and Mir cautiously poked their heads out from between Zed’s collar. The elementals, now as small as fingernails, cried out pitifully. They were holding each other tightly, with Krom, who had turned to stone, in the center. As Harto’s life force faded, even the elementals supporting Krom struggled to maintain their form.

“Don’t worry, Harto will get better soon. Let’s just hang in there a little longer.”

As Zed forced a smile to encourage them, Spi and Mir nodded and hid themselves back inside his collar.

Whooooh

As the wind blew across the forest, Zed paused for a moment and looked back. The faces of the companions he had left behind in the beautiful forest flashed through his mind.

By now, they had likely seen the note tucked between the branches. They might resent him for being heartless and leaving stolen contentwithout even a proper farewell. But Zed had no choice. If he could save Harto at the request of Cynthia, he didn’t care if he were pointed at by anyone in the world, not just his companions.

“Mmm….”

Perhaps due to the cold wind, a low groan escaped from within his embrace. Harto trembled slightly and slowly opened his eyes. Not fully conscious, his gaze wandered through the air.

“Zed…”

“Yes, Harto. I’m here.”

Harto reached out weakly and grasped Zed’s sleeve. Then, in a trembling voice like a newly awakened beast, he mumbled.

“The bracelet… I’m sorry for losing it… It holds precious memories…”

It was a token Reina had crafted with care, and Zed had personally set a gem containing memories into it. It was a precious bracelet that held the entirety of the season shared only by the two of them. Harto was heartbroken by the fact that he had ultimately failed to protect those memories, even amidst the burning pain of his own body.

Zed kissed Harto’s forehead.

“It’s fine. That’s nothing, Harto. We can make memories again. We have plenty of time left to be together.”

Zed’s voice was soft. Harto nodded and whispered, clinging to a tiny glimmer of hope.

“C-could we… make a snowman again…?”

“Yes, let’s make a snowman together again. This time, make it really big and sturdy.”

“Yes… and… ice… sculptures… too.”

“Yes, let’s make whatever Harto wants, everything together.”

“Yes…”

At Zed’s affectionate whisper, Harto finally seemed relieved. His expression, once stained with pain, gradually became peaceful.

“Zed… I hear the sound of water…”

“It’s because a river flows nearby. If we just cross this bridge, we’ll soon find a place to rest.”

Following the clear sound of the flowing water, Zed raised his head and looked ahead. Before him lay a log bridge that looked precarious, rotting in places after enduring the storms of time. It was the passage leading from the edge of Silpirnoa to the Eastern Kingdom, and the only bridge crossing the River of Life.

As he approached the bridge, Zed recalled the words Cynthia had left him last night.

‘My request is not difficult. Long ago, I left something behind in the Eastern Kingdom. Prince Ares, would you please go there and check if it is safe?’

In response to the question of why she hadn’t gone herself for all those years, Cynthia offered only a gentle smile instead of an answer.

‘You would be best to hurry out of the forest. The truth sometimes arrives too late.’

Leaving behind enigmatic words, Cynthia vanished with a single wave. In his hand lay the sealed Demon King’s ​unauthorized copy​vein she had handed him. However, what mattered to Zed at this moment was not the vein itself. Only the ‘method to fill Harto’s heart’ Cynthia had told him about was leading him eastward.

“Harto, aren’t you hungry?”

Zed asked cautiously, but Harto had already fallen back into a deep sleep. Perhaps having exhausted all his strength due to the pain, he was limp in Zed’s arms.

Zeld held his breath for fear of waking Harto. He tightened his grip on him and carefully stepped onto the log bridge.

Creak, creak…

It was when he reached the middle of unstable the bridge that Zed noticed that the air around him had changed.

Despite being at the edge of the forest, the wind suddenly stopped. The current that had been whipping his hair just moments ago was gone without a trace, replaced by silence, and even the chirping of birds had vanished.

‘…There is something.’

Zed stopped walking and raised his guard. His gaze soon turned toward the bridge as he realized the source of this alien silence originated beneath his feet. The flowing river had come to a smooth halt, as if it had turned into a giant mirror, capturing the shadows of the blue sky and the dense forest in a bizarrely perfect manner.

Suddenly, a memory flashed through his mind. It was a story his mother had told him long ago about the River of Life.

‘If you ever cross the River of Life, open your eyes wide and look. Its waters strip away false shells, reflecting only the true, inherent form of the soul.’

Zed gazed down at the river. His reflection lay on the mirror-like, smooth surface. Within the water, Zed radiated a blinding, pure white light. And what that radiant light held so dearly was not a slime monster. Through the rippling waves, the figure of a young man was clearly visible.

“Harto…?”

Zed’s heart skipped a beat. Harto was a monster, so why was the river depicting him in the form of a human?

Confused, he slowly scrutinized the young man reflected in the water.

Black hair and pale skin, his features were undoubtedly those of the Harto he loved, but the clothes he was wearing were unfamiliar. Clothes embroidered with patterns never before seen anywhere on the continent. And the gaunt body, fully exposed beneath the thin fabric, broke the hearts of those who saw it. Bloody bruises were also visible on the backs of the young man’s hands and slender ankles.

Could the pain Harto was currently enduring be reflected in the river? However, the one in the water was too strange for that; he exuded a mysterious aura, as if he were a being from another dimension.

Splash.

It was the moment Zed gazed into the river without blinking at the bizarre sight, the calm surface of the water suddenly twisted and began to churn.

“……!”

Swoosh!

Before Zed, who had belatedly noticed the change, could even step back, something tore through the mirror-like surface and surged up like a waterfall. Zed dove to dodge the direct hit, but a transparent, vine-like grip emerging from the water snatched his ankle.

“Ugh!”

Zed lost his balance and plummeted down below the bridge. Even as he fell into the cold river, he unleashed his holy power to wrap around Harto, determined not to let him slip away. However, the overwhelming spray of water, like a sentient being, dug between the two and tore them apart. The river snatched Harto away in an instant.

‘Harto!’

Zed shouted desperately amidst the turbulent current. Beyond the white, crashing foam, he could see the black slime drifting further away. Zed paddled his arms to chase after it. But a gleaming silver tail flew in like a whip and wrapped tightly around his body.

“……!”

Zed gasped in agony, overwhelmed by the pressure that felt like it would shatter his ribs. Cold water flooded his lungs. He attempted to unleash the full power of his body to break free from the restraints. However, the light faded like a candle submerged in water.

There wasn’t even time to panic. As the oxygen was cut off, his vision blurred, and his mind flickered white.

…Swoosh.

As if they had realized he was unable to exert any strength, the restraints holding Zed were released. Yet, he could not move his body.

‘Harto…’

Zed squeezed out his last remaining strength to reach out his hand toward Harto, but his consciousness ultimately sank into the water.

Bubble, bubble.

“Pyu! Pyu!”

Mir, who had been hiding in Zed’s collar, panicked. He trapped Krom and Spi inside a small bubble. As Zed lost consciousness and slowly sank into the abyss, Mir tried to exert his strength, but his own power was insufficient.

“Pyu…! Pyu…!”

Mir clung to Zed’s lips, desperately exhaling bubbles of air to breathe even a little air into him, but it was not enough. Mir wept with eyes that resembled Harto’s. Trapped inside a small bubble, Spi was at a loss and hugged Krom, who had turned into a stone.

And at that moment – Swoosh – a shadow appeared from the deep river.

“Pyu…?!”

Before Mir, who had been clinging to Zed’s lips, could even figure out its identity, a long tail snatched the unconscious Zed and carried him away somewhere.