Monar felt trapped in a strange limbo that dragged him alongside the distant whispers of the primordial demon he had summoned that day.

He breathed heavily, finally waking from his sleep. A damp towel rested over the eyes he no longer had, and he was covered with the pelts of various animals.

Four days had already passed since the battle against the anchor of the curse.

"Wha... Where am I?" the dark elf wondered.

Beside him, seated on a piece of rubble and peacefully reading a book, Aslan raised his head.

"So you’ve finally awakened, Lord Monar. My congratulations. You are currently in one of the ruined houses within the Kingdom of Axorhibis."

"Uhh... That voice... Is that you, Aslan?"

The old man nodded.

"It is. It’s been a long time since we last shared a drink at the tavern. I’m glad you’ve awakened. How are you feeling?"

"Well... My whole body hurts, I don’t have eyes anymore, and I’m missing a hand. Aside from that, I’m doing pretty well. Honestly, I’ve never felt this good after a battle to the death. Besides, it’s nice hearing your voice again after so long. It’s always pleasant running into an old acquaintance."

"I feel the same way," Aslan said as he set the book aside and stood up.

He looked through the window between the broken wooden bars. Outside, the rain had almost completely stopped.

"From what young Marco has told me, you were the one who carried the weight of the battle on your shoulders. If not for you, none of you would be here."

Monar sighed.

"It wasn’t exactly like that. Truth be told, we were on the verge of dying, but Mitsuki stood back up with his body completely destroyed and kept fighting... Through the roots, I could feel his body suffering in silence, but even then he chose to fight until the very end, even after everything was already over. He’s a true warrior..."

"That sounds remarkable. Would you like to tell me more?"

"Yeah, but first, how are the kids doing? You said Marco was here, right?"

"Everyone is fine; safe and sound. Miss Ellegaard took care of everyone’s treatment. The only bad news is that Mitsuki Kirishima lost an arm because the young lady ran out of materials to construct a new one, but aside from that, everything turned out well."

Monar let out a relieved breath.

"I see. That’s good to hear."

***

A new morning had begun for Mitsuki. When he woke up, he noticed the sutures on his abdomen had already disappeared, and every wound on his body was gone, as if he had never been injured in the first place.

He looked to the side. Hanging from a branch growing out of the ground was his trench coat.

’I had some strange dreams about Cinderella,’ he thought as he sat up beside the bed. ’It looked like the childhood of a girl who trained to become a warrior.’

He put on the trench coat without any trouble, though now the right sleeve hung empty without an arm to fill it.

’She trained hard and learned swordsmanship and magic within just a few months. It’s a shame I woke up at the exact moment Prince Arthur arrived in the capital of Axorhibis. Maybe I could’ve gathered more pieces to fit the mystery together.’

Far from lamenting it, Mitsuki left the room as if searching for something, though he didn’t actually have anything in mind. He simply wanted to stretch his legs after spending two whole days lying in bed; it was what his body naturally craved.

He walked through the short hallways of the ruined house until he found the exit.

The moment he stepped outside, it felt as though he had entered another world.

The sun shone brilliantly above him, spreading its beautiful light across the gloomy capital drowned in ash. That light breathed life back into the ruins, as if they had never been tainted by that ancient curse.

He took a deep breath; the air no longer smelled of ash dust.

’The curse is gone... Well, I guess it would be more accurate to say I removed the curse by absorbing it.’

He began walking through the cobblestone streets. His steps were slow and relaxed, like someone taking a stroll through a park.

Within the darkness of certain ruins, the spectral eyes of ash beasts silently watched him. Just like that day, some feared him, others worshiped him, and others simply tried not to draw attention to themselves.

Mitsuki looked at them and kept walking.

Suddenly, he spotted someone standing atop that small tower they had used at the beginning of this entire tragedy within the kingdom.

It was Azel.

"Hey, Ashen Kid," the archer said, giving him a friendly wave. "Come up here for a bit. Let’s talk."

Mitsuki nodded. His body dissolved into ash and reappeared beside Azel.

"So you finally woke up. Welcome back, friend."

"Thanks," Mitsuki replied. He coldly stared at the ruined houses and fell silent.

Azel felt that uncomfortable silence and desperately sped up the conversation by getting straight to the point.

"I wanted to apologize to you for... everything. If it weren’t for me, we’d all be heading back to Luxar right now to sell our loot. My greed dragged us into the dragon’s lair, and the rest... was just a chain reaction."

Mitsuki thought for a few moments.

’Well, part of it is also my fault for having a title that attracts misfortune, but...’

An idea crossed his mind.

"If I’m being honest, forgiveness is something you earn, not something you ask for. If you truly regret it, then you’ll make up for your mistakes through actions instead of empty words that mean nothing to me."

Azel smiled bitterly.

"Those are pretty harsh words coming from you, but you’re right. I’ll think about how I can make up for my mistakes. I also need to do the same for Monar. Out of all of us, he’s the one who suffered the most."

"I need to talk to him too. There are things I want to ask him."

"If you’re looking for him, he’s in the house to the right of the one you were staying in. He’s resting, but Aslan said he’d wake up soon. Maybe he’s already awake."

"Really? Then it looks like I finally have something to do. See you later."

"Sure. Later."

Jumping into the empty air, Mitsuki dissolved into ash. Azel watched him appear and disappear among the rooftops of the houses.

"Ashen Kid... I’ve never come up with a nickname that fitting before."