Gozine

A long round table.
Only two people, Luna and Nox, sit in the space reserved for the members of Lunatic. The only things moving are the silence and the relentless ticking of the clock’s second hand.
Had it been any other time, the sound of Marin habitually tapping the table might have been heard.
If not that, Izel would have cracked a joke at Nox, or maybe the squad leader Cain issuing new orders. Duff would have added something in his usual indifferent tone, and Cregoil would have spent his time scratching his head with his hook hand.

Nox knew.
The possibility of maintaining such ordinary days was infinitely slim.

Though he had endured until now, continuing the main story, no, the repetition of reality, he had never once achieved the outcome he desired in the final story.
This time, too, unless it was his own sacrifice, Nox would not be able to reach the ending he truly wanted.

“As I mentioned before, I intend to stake my life this time.”

Nox smirked and corrected himself.

“No, it’s not just staking my life. I will undoubtedly die. This is a clear fact.”

“Brazen newcomer. No, Nox von Reinhaver. I don’t want you to die. If everyone unites their strength, there must be another way to survive…”

Nox shook his head.

“Lunatic is just one of many criminal organizations on the continent after all. No matter how large, we can’t escape that framework. Moreover, we can’t be sure others will help us. Don’t you know? In this world, the only one you can trust is yourself.”

Luna bit her lip. Deep down, she knew, but hearing it from this brat’s mouth was disheartening. Still, he had done his best to save her.
In the battle against Zagan, and in several other crises.
Nox von Reinhaver had been reckless, but he had saved both Marin and her. That was just his nature, kind to a fault.
In a situation where someone has to die just like now, saying that they will sacrifice themself easily?
Even if anyone understands in their mind, it’s not an easy thing to do.

That’s why Luna wanted to save him.
Nox was her disciple. And when she had first received a sword from her master, when she was a stray and had first been given the name Luna, she had been given the chance to become a better person.
The past became a mirror reflecting the present, and Today’s Luna was born from that.

Luna had respected her master. That’s why she didn’t want her disciple Nox to die. Even if it was the only choice she had, she was the type to choose to struggle until the very end.
So, she grew stubborn.
What answer could she give to her reckless disciple, who told her not to trust anyone?

Then, does that mean I shouldn’t even trust you, who’s risking your life for me?

“…Are you saying I shouldn’t even trust you?”

“Yes. Master. I’m no different. Just like the others, I only wanted to use you for the Moonlight Sword. That’s how I earned your shallow but certain trust.”

“It would’ve been better for you to hide that until the end. Why didn’t you?”

“I just wanted everyone to know I’m not a good person. Even if someone dies because of me, that won’t change. And maybe it’s only natural that I’m the one to sacrifice myself.”

“Because you’re an existence that was chosen by the goddess? Because you’ve regressed through the timelines so many times, you can say that?”

“Luna, I. I have failed to save you far more often than I’ve succeeded.”

Luna’s pupils narrowed. She flinched at Nox’s words.
Nox continues. Calmly, yet steadily building up.

The tower and narrative he has built up over 27 times.

“Out of 27 lifetimes, I’ve saved you less than ten times. Most of the time, you died in Zagan’s prison, or in some other war. I couldn’t save you every time.”

“…..”

“It’s the same for the others. In some worlds, Izel, Cregoil, or Cain died in my place, and I ignored it. Because I had to keep moving forward. Because I wanted to end this hell and rest.”

Other companions?

It was the same.

Nox had truly repeated his life many times. In all those cycles, not a single companion had survived every time. This had been a massive shock to Nox as well. That’s why, as his memories returned, the toll on his mind was inevitable.

But is that important?

“I’ve often been too cowardly to save those I called companions. I wasn’t brave in every moment, that’s just who I am. I want to end it all here, Luna.”

Luna couldn’t easily respond. She thought about it. If she had turned back time 27 times to reach this point, could she remain so composed?

‘No. It’d be impossible.’

How many times had she witnessed the deaths of Marin, Cregoil, Cain, Duff, and the lower members of Lunatic? If she had to remember this?
Wouldn’t she have gone mad?

But the boy before her hadn’t. Time and again, he had reclaimed himself. That’s how the boy before her had been created. And now, Nox was proposing the only way to break this hellish cycle. Death. It even seems like that’s the only life rope that could save him.

“…Even so. No.”

“Luna.”

“I know it’s a selfish decision. But I sincerely don’t want you to die. Do you understand what that means, Nox? My life that had been abandoned by a brazen newcomer like you doesn’t matter. At least not in this timeline!”

Luna’s eyes trembled. A single white tear welled up.

What should he say? Nox had even forgotten what story he was supposed to tell.

I’m really okay, though.

Why did others react so terribly to the idea of his death?
He wondered inwardly. Nox von Reinhaver was a man of contradictions.
Nox would save someone simply because they stood within his circle. Yet he would kill others without hesitation. Chance for redemption? If there was one, he might spare them, but usually not.

Just that?

Those who didn’t fit, he pushed away mercilessly.
Thalia, Eleanor. He had treated them the same way. At first, he hadn’t even tried to save Zitri.

Perhaps, in the process, he had grown deeply disgusted with himself.
27 lifetimes remembered by him alone.

If you counted it, decades of years, and in most of it, he had made decisions only for himself.
He had feared death, lived as a terminally-ill and always chased by it.
That’s why he had lived only for his own survival, again and again.

But now, he was certain. He wanted to cut it all off.
Nox von Reinhaver. he said the following coldly in response to Luna’s words.

“The middle stage of the Moonlight Sword, and the later stage form. Use it to cut me down.”

“….!”

Luna’s pupils shrank. But Nox’s expression didn’t change.

He only continued, slowly.

“On the night of the full moon, we will make our move. If we can hold out just a little longer, it’s possible. The moment Baal fully possesses me and the eight Philosopher’s Stones merge into me. Luna, please kill me.”

**********

Kill me.

Nox’s voice was inorganic, utterly unbothered.
I stare ahead, slowly digesting the situation before me.

Brazen newcomer.
No, now that I know the truth, Nox must be older than me. He may have easily passed thirty and might even be forty.
Having turned back time so many times to reach this point.

But that doesn’t matter much.
Even if we talk like this, does the past where I called him a brazen newcomer, the passed time I called him a brat, disappear? No. It will never disappear. It will remain etched in both our minds.

That’s why I don’t change how I treat him.
I still consider him my disciple. And I still don’t want him to die.
But now, thinking from his perspective, I understand.
Why does he feel he wants to rest. How many times has he repeated his companions’ deaths to become today’s Nox? Just looking at how differently he’s acted since regaining his recent memories, it’s clear. He’s afraid.

Of what?
His own death?

‘No.’

The deaths of his companions.
That’s the only thing that terrifies him.

‘Even now, it’s the same. He doesn’t want me to die.’

But I can’t throw a tantrum over it.
That I feel the same. That I don’t want you to die.
But the moment I say that, I’m afraid it’ll create a crack in his resolve.

If he has to go to a 29th timeline.
Would Nox have to endure this hell again?

Then maybe it’s right to end it here.
My mind, my heart, reject it violently, but to break the cycle he’s endured, this might be the only way. Paradoxically, to ease the guilt of the man who struggled so hard to survive, killing him might be the best option.

I realize it keenly.
My own inadequacy, my lack of strength, has led to this. This is probably something Nox has felt too.
He must have agonized over it every moment. Right before turning back, right before losing his memories, he must have thought.
If only I’d been a little stronger… would things have been different?

That’s why I have no choice but to answer. I turn my head sharply.

And spit out the words.

“Do what you want. If you want to die, I’ll kill you. If that’s really what you want, I won’t bother it anymore. Understood?!”

But in response to my words, Nox answers with a voice that sounds oddly accustomed.

“Make it as painless as possible. If you could end it in one strike, I’d appreciate it. For old times’ sake.”

Then, Nox lets out a weak laugh and makes one last, inexplicable request.

“Oh, right. Before I die, could you promise me one favor? Just one. That’s all I ask.”

I simply nod silently. At the same time, a single transparent teardrop reflected in the glass of the night under the dim moonlight slid down her cheek

**********

It’s done. All the conditions are set.

I feel a slight thrill.
Isn’t this how anyone would feel when beginning their final story?
That’s what I thought. And Luna couldn’t wipe her cheeks even as she cried.

There isn’t much room for my companions on the road that leads to the end.

**********

The flames of war spreading from the western continent grow fiercer.

Some of the commoners of the Arkheim Empire have joined the fray, swayed by false propaganda that the nobility’s policies are solely for their benefit. They demand the execution of Emperor Penelope, insisting that her father Esteban who regained his brightness should reclaim the throne.
Of course, there were those who agreed and those who didn’t.

“Everyone, halt——!”

Former Emperor Esteban, leading an army of demons and beastfolk, raises his voice to stop them.
The northwestern region, Rondel. The first to stand against the imperial army was none other than the united forces of the continent’s knights and mages.

“Former Emperor! Your Majesty Esteban von Arkheim! Why do you stand before the current emperor in such a state?!”

The head of the Stiliner family.
Robert von Stiliner shouts hoarsely. Around him, his daughter Cell and the Knight’s Alliance form a tight formation. A phalanx, one that no one could easily break through.

“Did I ever have a daughter? Don’t make me laugh! All I see before me is a usurper who stole my throne!”

“You’ve truly lost your mind….! Everyone, don’t think the man before you is the former emperor! He is being manipulated by Evil!”

After this outcry, they join forces with the mage divisions to begin holding the northwest.
Two armies clash, and a bloody battle begins.

In the midst of this hellish chaos.
Amdusias, leading the Grand duke-level demons, splits his forces to advance toward the imperial capital, Eldain, and the cluster of nations in the east. Their goal is to swallow the mortal realm in one fell swoop with simultaneous attacks.
Only two people had foreseen their movements in advance.

Nox von Reinhaver and Theo von Reinhaver.
Only the two of them waited. Each in their own place.

The reason was clear.

Because only they possessed the means to dispel the approaching dark clouds.