Zion opened his eyes to the vivid sensation wrapping around his legs.
He felt his body sinking and when he looked down, he was stuck in a sticky swamp.
Looking around, he was in darkness where he couldn’t see an inch ahead.
Without a moment to think about what this space was, his body, submerged up to his knees, was gradually sinking.
He moved his legs to avoid sinking further, but the more he did, the faster his body sank. Soon, his lower body was completely submerged in the swamp.
It was a feeling of helplessness he hadn’t felt in a long time.
The child who used to wander around the red-light district often felt a bone-chilling sense of helplessness watching his mother gradually wither away.
But as he grew older, helplessness became a distant word. He knew better than anyone the feeling of being unable to do anything, so he worked hard not to become that.
‘All of it has become meaningless now.’
Zion laughed self-deprecatingly.
Just when he thought he had finally found a clue about her, this unrealistic space blocked him again.
This must be the most helpless moment.
His body was gradually sinking. Now, submerged up to his chest, it was hard to make any movement.
Zion looked around once again.
What is this space?
The surroundings, which seemed decorated, lacked realism, but the sensation of sinking was so vivid that it was hard to deny.
The only certainty was that he could never escape from this swamp.
Soon, his body was submerged up to his chin.
Soon, he would be submerged up to the top of his head. The fluids of the swamp were tightly binding his body.
‘In the end, I can’t do anything.’
Soon, his face was submerged in the swamp. Then came the pain of not being able to breathe.
His eyes were gradually closing.
Would this be the end if he died, or would he wake up?
His thoughts were cut off.
He would soon know. Whether this place was a dream or reality, he was about to face death.
In his fading consciousness, Zion thought of her, whom he had never found.
‘Just, I regret…you…’
But Zion couldn’t finish his thought.
Splash!
Due to the force of someone pulling him up from above, his body popped out in an instant.
“Cough!”
Zion spat out the liquid that had gone into his throat. After coughing for a while and catching his breath, he felt a hard sensation in his legs.
He was on the ground now.
Wondering what had happened, he looked at the swamp, and something else was sinking instead of him.
There,
“You are…!”
The figure of a woman with six wings was unfamiliar but familiar.
Enough to make him cry.
Like a thin spider web, her silver hair floated on the swamp.
The woman, whose face was barely visible, did not seem to be in pain or fear. Rather, she looked comfortable.
“Who are you?”
Zion asked urgently, but the woman said nothing. Instead, tears kept flowing from her face, which seemed relieved even though she had fallen into the swamp.
Unable to just watch, Zion reached out his hand.
The woman didn’t speak, but seemed to understand Zion’s intention and reached out her hand as well.
But the fingers that seemed to touch did not catch. Zion leaned his body further and reached out his hand desperately.
‘Done.’
The fingers that were brushing against each other eventually intertwined.
Little by little, their hands clasped. But the swamp fluid that was tightly wrapped around the woman did not let her go easily.
“Damn it!”
Zion yelled out of frustration. But in this vague space where no one could help, it was just a useless action.
He was a fool for complaining about his helplessness earlier. Compared to now, he felt like he was going to die from the burning inside, not just helplessness.
“Please…”
Don’t die.
The hand he held tightly was gradually being pulled down. Zion’s vision was blurry. Tears were blocking his sight.
As the woman’s body sank, she was loosening the strength of her hand holding his. The more she did, the harder Zion held her hand.
“Don’t let go!”
Unlike before, the woman’s face darkened.
Because as the woman went down, Zion’s body was getting closer to the swamp again.
The hand he held tightly was already white because the blood was not circulating. Zion cried out desperately.
“Please, please don’t give up.”
Suddenly, the woman opened her eyes wide as if surprised. And soon, a warm touch was placed on his shoulder.
Surprised by the sudden appearance of another being in a space where no one was, Zion turned his head.
And there,
“Mother…”
Zion’s dead mother, Meriden, was holding Zion’s shoulder.
The woman, who quietly smiled, reached out and pulled the woman Zion was barely holding.
When her white hand overlapped with Zion’s hand, the strength became powerful. She always looked sick when she was alive, but now she looked stronger and healthier than ever.
As Zion and Meriden’s strength combined, the woman who seemed to sink down gradually came out of the swamp.
‘Just a little more…!’
The woman’s upper body was revealed. And when he pulled with all his strength,
Splash!
Finally, the woman came out of the swamp.
“You are…”
When her whole body was visible, Zion could recognize her. The being in the dream, the owner of the six wings.
It was this woman.
He had a lot of questions, but the woman was closing her eyes as if she had fainted. Just in case, he went closer and looked at the woman, she was breathing evenly.
Only then could Zion feel relieved.
“Zion.”
Then Meriden spoke to Zion.
“Mother.”
“My baby, my beloved son, Zion.”
It was the tender voice of his mother that he missed from his childhood.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
Meriden stroked Zion’s reddened eyes with a bitter smile.
Zion held the hand of Meriden who was stroking his face.
“Mother, I don’t know what to do.”
At Zion’s voice, which had lost its confidence, Meriden shook her head.
“No, you already know the answer. You’re a wise child, unlike me.”
Her golden eyes, which resembled his own, were filled with faith.
“Now, take this.”
Meriden reached out and handed him something.
“This is…”
A yellow gem sparkled.
“The forbidden seed. You can surely handle this.”
“The forbidden seed…”
Zion muttered quietly.
This small but powerful gem was emitting a familiar power.
Zion soon knew the identity of the unfamiliar object. It was his own power that he had sealed.
Meriden murmured with a small smile.
Still, it will be hard for you alone.
“I’ll return your friends’ memories. Get their help.”
Friends…? Before Zion could understand what she meant, Meriden said goodbye.
“I have to go now.”
His mother’s last farewell was not as sad as he thought. It was time to let go of his mother.
Meriden turned away from Zion and approached the woman lying down.
And she gently kissed the woman’s forehead.
“Thank you, noble one.”
As warm as the gaze that looked at him, Zion watched her with a slightly strange emotion.
“Well then, goodbye, Sion.”
Meriden’s figure gradually faded.
“Be happy.”
And soon, she disappeared.
In the dark space, only the woman and he were left. Zion approached the woman.
And he sat quietly next to her, waiting for the woman to wake up.
Because he couldn’t get out of this space at will, and because he had something he really wanted to ask the woman.
The view around him was the same, and nothing changed, so he didn’t know how time was passing.
Even so, he didn’t feel bored. It was a comfortable and cozy feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time.
Zion suddenly remembered the tears he had shed earlier. The touch of hot tears was very strange.
He thought he wouldn’t cry after his mother died.
What is it about this woman that moves his heart so much?
Then there was a stir next to him. When he turned his head, the woman was blinking and looking around.
When their eyes met, the silver pupils had an indescribable expression, neither happy nor sad.
Soon, the woman who got up suddenly hugged Sion’s neck.
“Wait, let go.”
When was the last time he stammered?
He was flustered and tried to push the woman away, but the strong force didn’t seem to want to let go.
The scent on her felt familiar to him. Not just the scent. Warm body temperature, emitting energy.
‘Ah.’
Why didn’t he recognize it as soon as he saw it?
“You…”
As the strength in his hand loosened, Zion dropped the woman and faced her.
“Irina…?”
At Zion’s question, the woman’s face turned sullen.
That’s right. His beloved lover, his only wife. His voice trembled with anticipation.
But he didn’t know what to call her.
“…I don’t know your name. You didn’t teach me.”
The woman frowned for a moment. At the sight of her seeming angry, Zion recalled his memory.
[Would you call me Arundel?]
Finally, the door in his memory opened.
“Arundel.”
Memories he had forgotten came rushing back like a whirlwind.
His heart was heavy.
“So that was your real name.”
And her current form.
He had thought she wasn’t human, but he never expected her to be an angel.
Zion’s voice trembled as he realized everything.
“Everything was real.”
The dream he had with Bianca, Royden, and Lucas was not a dream after all. He didn’t know the situation before and after, but reality had been distorted into a dream.
But his joy was short-lived.
Zion’s face hardened in an instant.
“Then… where are you?”
Arundel’s expression also darkened.
That’s when it happened.
Clang! Clang!
Suddenly, chains appeared and wrapped around Arundel’s wings. Like a bird caught in a trap, Arundel made a painful expression.
Zion hurriedly approached and tried to untie the chains, but the chains, as strong as the swamp earlier, if not stronger, were still tightly binding Arundel.
“Damn it!!!”
Zion’s frustrated voice echoed.
He thought he had finally found her, but this damn chunk of metal was trying to take her away.
Zion’s hand, which had been forcibly trying to untie the chains, was already a mess from the wounds.
But as if not caring about Zion’s situation, the chains were gradually disappearing into the darkness, taking Arundel with them.
“Ah…!!”
The chain he had been holding on to so as not to lose it soon turned into smoke and evaporated. Arundel, who had been caught, also disappeared.
Splash!
“No!!”
Zion sat up in bed as if having a seizure.
When his sweaty body touched the cold air, a chilly sensation ran through his body,
After all, the situation earlier was not real.
But,
‘I won’t forget this time.’
Fortunately, the door of memory that had opened did not close again. Along with a strong power that he had never had before.
‘Arundel.’
Her real name.
Zion clenched his fist tightly.
With the return of his memory, he remembered all the ends of his dreams.
‘She… sacrificed herself for me, for others.’
The face of her, who had said goodbye for the last time, came to mind. The silver pupils he had faced for the first time were filled with anxiety and responsibility at the same time.
Zion got up with a kick.
There was someone he had to meet right now.
****
The training ground was quiet at dawn.
When Zion kicked the tree next to him hard, a person fell from the tree.
“What’s the matter? Looking for me early in the morning.”
Hills casually spoke as he fixed his disheveled hair. But soon, he looked surprised.
Because a strong power was swirling around Zion. It was a powerful force that seemed to explode the surroundings at any moment.
“You…”
Before Hills could speak, Zion opened his mouth.
“It’s back. My memories, my power.”
So,
“Guide me to where Arundel is.”
Now, it’s my turn to save you.
