A long time later.
Allen finally lifted his pen, looking at the ink-blurred smudge where Hilda's name had once been illegibly scrawled.
He turned his wrist.
And rewrote Hilda's name outside the teleportation circle—right next to Eris.
[Oh? How benevolent of you.]
Allen's gaze swept across the system's abruptly appearing text and returned to Hilda and Eris's names, flickering between them.
'Cut the sarcasm. I think Eris will need her.'
[Eris needs her? Good phrasing, very good.]
[Eris does need her.]
[But is that really a rational decision... or is it mixed with your own "kindness"? Allen?]
'…'
[Eris needs her. Eris also needs Philip. Eris also needs Sauros. What then? You gonna save them all?]
[Weren't you just thinking that Philip and Sauros treated their own child and "son" as tools—that their schemes outweighed familial love? That their attitude was completely different from the loving family you found in the Greyrat household in Buena Village? That it clashed totally with your own concept of family shaped by your childhood with Paul's family?]
[Wasn't that why you decided not to save them?]
[So now that you've saved Hilda, why not save the rest while you're at it?]
[What's so unforgivable about them?]
[Save them all! Every last one!]
[Go ahead, dig up all of Fittoa! Take everyone from Buena and Fittoa too!]
[What are you hesitating for?]
[After saving them, go to the capital and help Philip kill James and put him back on the throne of the family, right? It's all just "on the way," isn't it, young master Allen of the Boreas family?]
The swirling letters drifted across the system panel with a sticky malicious joy, mocking him gleefully—clearly enjoying the chaos Allen's choices in fate were creating.
It was truly enjoying itself.
[Who do you think you are? The chosen saint? A supreme good guy of the Six-Faced World? Think you can just save whoever you want?]
[And who exactly can you save?]
'…'
[Save someone who once showed you a little kindness, who happens to be the only sane person in the entire Boreas household? Okay. And then what? Save her husband too? Her father? What about her other relatives?]
[You sure you don't want to think this over a bit more?]
[Really? Not even a second thought?]
[Can you even save yourself?!]
Snap.
The pen in Allen's hand broke with a sharp crack.
The system panel vanished instantly.
Allen stared at the dissipating smoke drifting into the air, exhaling as he massaged his temple.
'…What kind of shitty system is this? It's like my old phone turned into a demon. Seriously, screw this.'
'One second it's all serious like I'm on a business call with a client, and the next it's acting like me ranting on Weibo at 3AM like a lunatic.'
Allen absentmindedly fiddled with the broken pen, eyes wandering between the names of Hilda, Philip, and Sauros.
Eventually, he just rubbed his temples and sighed.
He understood the system's unspoken message.
That line—[Can you even save yourself?]—was a warning about the price of discarding the future vision.
'Everything's a mess now. Even if I strip away my own emotions, even if I only think from Eris's perspective, then yeah—I should save them all. But I haven't even nailed down the plans to save the people I really care about. Paul and Zenith's situation still isn't fully resolved.'
'How can I be so arrogant to think I can save everyone?'
Allen narrowed his eyes at the names on the desk. In order to save Paul and Zenith, he'd already committed to shattering the "disgusting future," but he was well aware of the price.
The biggest one—
If the changes he caused were too big… if he caught the eye of the dragon boss… if that man noticed a person who wasn't part of any of the previous cycles—someone who altered the fates of those he encountered...
What would Orsted do?
Simple.
He'd walk up and ask, "Have you heard of Hitogami?"
And then it'd be game over.
Would Allen get the chance to explain?
Would an explanation even work?
Would Nanahoshi be beside him this time?
Would she get the sudden idea to try and save him?
The price of discarding future vision...
Was Allen's own life.
But even so...
He still chose to let it go.
That image of everyone running through the snow-covered valley—that moment locked in last year's winter—remained vividly burned in his mind.
Some things...
To someone like Allen, who had grown up starved of love—
Once they were acknowledged...
They became more important than his own life.
As for the Boreas family—
Did they fall within that range of "acknowledgment"?
For now, they did not.
The candlelight flickered gently.
Allen pulled out a new pen.
He slowly drew a question mark next to Hilda's name.
But he didn't touch Philip or Sauros.
"…Let's wait and see."
"…Three years and three months left. Still time to make a clearer decision."
He let out a long sigh.
Allen spread his arms on the desk and slumped forward, resting his head atop them.
Though utterly exhausted, sleep would not come.
All he could see was the swirling grain of the wooden desk.
In his vision—
Pale moonlight flowed through the 481 lines of wood texture.
Allen stared blankly.
His pen grazed the paper in idle motion.
'System.'
[Here.]
Smoke reappeared immediately, as calm and emotionless as ever—like the previous outburst had never happened.
Allen seemed tired.
He spoke only in his heart, whispering one person's name.
In the next instant, the smoky panel before him expanded into a massive world map—zooming in rapidly until the familiar overhead view of the Asura Kingdom's royal palace emerged.
[Engage "Observation"? Duration: 10 seconds.]
[Yes.]
His vision flew across bustling crowds—
And landed on a familiar desk.
A waterfall of deep blue cascaded across its surface, flowing like a river along the wood grain.
But it wasn't water.
It was Roxy's hair.
That soft, blue hair spilled across the desk like a waterfall, its color blending into her equally blue eyes.
Between those strands of hair—
Were her familiar, deep sapphire pupils.
Allen looked into Roxy's eyes.
At that exact moment—though they were continents apart—on this night in the Asura Continent, the two of them were both lying on desks in exactly the same posture, staring into each other as if reflected in a mirror.
Roxy blinked, her expression slightly troubled.
She tugged at her bangs and sat up.
Beneath her face was a letter.
The "observation" spell couldn't transmit sound.
But Allen still "heard" the scratch of her pen on paper.
It was the same sound he remembered from two years ago—back when they had slept beside each other—and she, focused but a little dazed, wrote in her Monster Encyclopedia as Allen rested his chin in his hand, watching her.
Ten seconds.
It wasn't long.
But it was enough to lull Allen into sleep.
Beside his hand—
The unconscious motion of his pen had traced out...
Roxy's name.
(End of Chapter)
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