Panting in exhaustion, I fell to the floor alongside my companion, watching as the greatest foe we ever faced fell to the ground dead.
And, just like always, The moment he fell, light engulfed the room as a golden soul appeared out of his body and flew directly into me, filling my head with knowledge that I could not make sense of even after doing this for who knows how many times.
"..we did it. We really did it. We killed Lord Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight. If the others in our covenant learn of this, they will curse our names for all eternity."
"Calm down, Solaire. We knew the stakes before we embarked on this path. If you ask me, we did the world a favor by getting rid of such a dangerous god."
Solaire looked at me with amusement and tiredness in his eyes.
"So? What do we do now?"
"..Frankly, I don't know."
And I really did not know.
While it might be the first time for this Solaire to arrive at the Kiln of the First Flame and fight the god that was the direct representation of his covenant's faith, the same was not the case for me, who had seen this place more times than I can count in my bid to find a way home.
Every time, no matter the path I choose, either to rot away in the Undead Asylum, to Link the Flame, to let the Age of Dark commence, or any other path I could think of, none of it ever works.
Everyone I care for always dies, and I alone am cursed to remember it all as I go back to the beginning.
He must have caught the despair in my voice as he sat up straight and glared at me.
"James, don't you dare do what I think you are going to do."
I looked at my best friend with bitterness.
"What else can we do? I don't want to become the Kindle for the First Flame and prolong the Age of Fire. But, I don't want humanity to attain its true form either, I don't want all of my friends and those I care about to become like those Humanity Phantoms in the Abyss."
"…If you Kindle the First Flame, you can never find a way home."
"I know. But, I cannot allow my selfishness to doom all of you. Besides, there is no guarantee that I will ever find a way home, and even if I did, will I arrive back at the same time I was taken? Or arrive in the distant past or a foreign future?"
Indeed. At this point, I have long since given up on finding a way home. The only thing I can do now is carry out the task of linking the flame. At least, this way, I would be distracted from thinking about my circumstances for a few thousand years at least thanks to the pain of continually being burned alive by the primordial fire while this version of my friends would get the chance to live out their lives, no matter how short they may be.
At least, Until the time comes when my curse arbitrarily decides to send me back to the beginning, where I would have to do this all over again. Meet my friends and loved ones for the first time in their perspective despite the fact that I knew everything there was to know about them.
"…You are such a fool, James. You always think about us, but not about yourself. Do you think I would want you to suffer within those flames while I live out the rest of my life? Do you think Logan would want that? Or Quelana? Or Laurentius? Or Andre? Or the rest of us who consider you their friend?"
"But-"
"Tranquil Walk of Peace"
I immediately felt the Miracle take hold as my body slowed down, making it difficult to get up from my position, thanks to the combination of the Miracle and my exhaustion.
This is a surprise. I think this is the first time in all of my loops when Solaire actually learned a Miracle associated with a god different from the Sun.
"You do not wish to prolong the Age of Fire, and yet, you do not want to usher in the Age of Dark. Then, isn't it obvious what we have to do? Find a third path. But the world doesn't have enough time for you to search for it. That is why I will do what I must and leave the rest to you."
No, don't do this, Solaire. I understand what you are trying to say, but there is no 'third path'. Please don't make my torment even deeper with your death on my shoulders once again. Not to mention that his plan will not work. His soul will not be strong enough to become the kindling for the flame since he does not have the lord souls within himself like me. At most, he will probably burn for a few centuries before his soul is eradicated completely, unlike me, who can burn for thousands of years.
"Solaire! Don't-"
"I have to do this, James. I have finally found a purpose again. I have found the Sun that I have always been looking for. Please, let me take this burden for you and the others."
"No! don't do this."
Solaire refused to answer me and reached the First Flame.
On that day, I once again lost my best friend to the machinations of a dead God and two Primordial Serpents.
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*Ting* *Ting* *Ting*
The noise of my hammer striking steel continued to echo throughout the workshop as the dim glow of the forge illuminated the room. The powdered Mana Crystals continued to be infused into the steel to turn it into a metal that ordinary humans could never hope to utilize to its full potential. A process that has been going on for a few hours now, as I continued to strike the metal and fold it repeatedly to remove impurities while also adding the powdered Mana Crystals.
Finally, at the last strike of my hammer, the metal started to glow with the same pale blue light as the crystals that were infused into it, making me stop hammering and immediately put it back into the flames.
Reaching the controls of the forge, I raised the temperature while taking out the Essence Stone from an A-Rank Earth Golem and placed it along with the rest of the components on my workbench.
Thanks to the fact that the forge is made specifically for forging Hunter equipment, it is capable of reaching absurd temperatures in a matter of seconds, as required for fusing regular steel with Mana Crystal dust.
Within seconds, the straight metal piece started to glow red through the heat, while the blue glow started to intensify.
With experience born from doing the same thing for many years, I immediately put the metal on my anvil and started hammering it into shape.
For the next hour, I worked on shaping the piece of metal until it finally resembled the final product.
Satisfied with the shape, I sharpened the edges and tip and placed the blade alongside the rest of the components.
Assembling the pommel, handle, and guard, placing the blade in its place, and finally completing the piece by embedding the Essence Stone, resulted in completing the deceptively simple-looking straight sword infused with the power of the Earth Golem that the Essence Stone originated from.
With an engraving tool that was specifically made to engrave into Hunter equipment, I engraved my symbol, the symbol of a simple Ring with a flame pattern engulfing it.
With this, I have finally completed the commission given to me by the Hunters Association. I nodded in satisfaction and placed the newly forged blade into the scabbard I had prepared for it beforehand and stored it in the locker, ready to be picked up by its owner.
Suddenly, I felt the presence of another person approaching my workshop. However, I did not respond to it in any way since I was familiar with this presence.
And just as expected, the locked door of my workshop opened, and a tired and injured young man with black hair and gray eyes walked in, or rather, dragged his body in.
Panic set into my heart for a single second before rationality took over and I instantly evoked one of the many Miracles that I had grown used to using in the past few years.
"Great Heal"
Immediately, the boy's wounds started to heal at a visible rate before he instantly collapsed on the chair with relief and exhaustion.
"What the hell did you do to yourself this time?"
"…The same as usual."
I felt anger and exhaustion rise at the same time within me.
"The same as usual? You mean you throwing yourself into dungeons despite being the so-called 'Weakest Hunter'?"
He averted his eyes from my glare.
"I need to do this-"
"For what? Jinwoo. Your sister studies without any problems in school and does not have to worry about anything. Your mother is in one of the best hospitals in the country. Why can't you just accept your situation and go to college to get a real job instead of this profession, where I will have to worry every day?"
Just like always, when we have this familiar argument, I saw the determination, shame, guilt, gratitude, and anger rise in his eyes and expression.
"I cannot accept it. I cannot continue to force you to look after my family when I can earn money for myself and my family."
"Jinwoo-"
"Samchon, you know that I respect and love you. You are practically family. But I will not take advantage of your generosity as long as I am fit in mind and body."
I felt my anger die down as I stared at his determined expression, and just like always, I could not bring myself to say anything too harsh to the boy I had practically raised ever since his Father passed away in a Dungeon and his mother fell into an Eternal Slumber.
Should I be proud of the fact that I raised a strong and independent boy, or despair that he does not know when to ask for help?
"…You call me an Uncle, but you don't respect any of my concerns. Fine, do as you wish. Now, give me that dagger, and I'll fix it up for you."
Instantly, Jinwoo's face went from determined to sheepish as he took out the chipped dagger from the sheath and handed it to me.
Looking at the chips on the dagger caused me to wince and glare once again.
"You went into a D-Rank dungeon. Don't even think about lying to me. I made this dagger specifically with D-Rank materials. For it to be chipped, it has to be used to attack or defend against something that is on the same level or higher."
His silence was answering enough as I sighed and went about fixing the damned thing.
For the thousandth time, I contemplated using a few exotic materials not of this world to reinforce the weapon so that Jinwoo could protect himself more efficiently.
But just as quickly as I got the idea, I discarded it.
Putting aside the problem of his inability to truly utilize such a weapon, the chances are very high that he would end up getting killed by his fellow humans just so they can get their hands on the dagger.
Sometimes, humans are the scariest kind of monsters, and I don't intend for Jinwoo to fall prey to them.
Taking out some Mana Crystal dust and a D-Rank Essence Stone, I started working on the dagger while Jinwoo sat nearby.
"So, what did your girlfriend say when you got injured again?"
"Samchon! Joohee is just a friend. It's already bad enough that I get cornered by other Hunters who have the same misunderstanding. I don't need to deal with you having the same kind of thoughts."
"Haha! Fine. So? What did she say?"
"What would she say? She chewed me out, again."
I just smirked at his annoyed face as I continued fixing the dagger.
Lee Joohee is another Hunter who frequently accompanies Jinwoo into low-level dungeons and has been invited to the Sung household a few times to thank her for taking care of Jinwoo during the raids.
During the handful of times I met the woman with bright orange hair and blue eyes, it was very clear that she cared greatly about Jinwoo.
"I see. Why don't you invite Joohee for dinner again?"
Whether her care for Jinwoo is romantic in nature or more platonic is something that I cannot say, and neither can Jinah. What we did know was that we approved of the girl thanks to just how kind and caring she is. Jinah and I had already decided long ago that should things progress in a positive direction between Jinwoo and Joohee, they would have our blessings.
Jinwoo suddenly started glaring at me at my suggestion.
"I would, but I am not going to. At least, not until you and Jinah promise me that you would not try to set us up for some 'alone time' as you call it."
"Hey, you can't blame us for trying to stack the deck in your favor."
"I don't need to 'stack the deck' as you say for anything! There is nothing between Joohee and I!"
"Fine, fine. Here, it is done. Let's go."
Jinwoo instantly caught the blade mid-air and placed it back in the scabbard, displaying the fact that, despite being the weakest hunter in the world, his body and reflexes were still leagues above an ordinary human.
"Finally, let's go home. I can't wait to get something to eat and get some sleep. I am supposed to meet with Mr. Song and the rest to raid another dungeon early in the morning."
Home huh?
That word instantly brought a bittersweet smile to my face, which I quickly suppressed before Jinwoo could see it.
I had realized long ago that the words 'Home is where the heart is' were not just some empty saying.
And for someone like me, who had long ago forgotten what my original family, my heart, was, the Sung family has indeed become a new family for me.
While my yearning to return home still exists, it is no longer the singular goal for which I strive.
Because I now have a new family, and I will cherish it for as long as I can, for I know that the time I have with them is finite.
"Yeah, let's go home."
The home that this unfortunate Undead has found in this strange world.
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Author Notes: Read 5 chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/Ruijard1