At last, everything had settled into white ash. Asha pursed her lips and closed her eyes tightly. She hadn’t wanted it to end like this. She had wanted to change, to mend her heart, to atone for her wrongs, to have her speak to the flesh and blood she’d barely met, even if it took an eternity…
Then a soft wing quietly wrapped around Asha. A beautiful bird, much larger and brighter than the one she had met at the Spirit Ceremony when she was ten years old, looked at her with loving eyes.
<You can’t have everything your way.>
“It’s not that I wanted it my way…”
Phoebe interrupted Asha’s stammering.
<Nor can you influence everything that happens in the world.>
Asha listened to Phoebe and looked at the back of Evan standing still in front of the ashes.
<Nor can you decide the ending of everything. Some endings are set in stone the moment the story begins.>
Raenka’s Prasti had no choice but to germinate no matter when she brought and showed Evan, and her end was either to be fully assimilated into the Prasti and destroy the world, or to be extinguished by Prasti.
It was enough for her that she had been able to have that ending, that she had been able to close the book without having her soul burned.
Evan’s back was calm as he was looking at the ashes. There was a little regret, but that was all. Rather, Evan turned around and looked at Asha with anxiety.
“Your Highness.”
“Evan…”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, but I’m not the problem…”
But Evan’s eyes never left hers. Then Phoebe spoke in a worried voice.
<That white ash is a problem, too.>
“Oh…”
<We won’t be able to use the land around here for a while.>
“The ash… people have already inhaled a lot of it. Will they be okay?”
<It couldn’t have escaped the barrier, so they’ll be fine. As for the others here, just offer them a glass of cold water, and they’ll be fine.>
Asha clenched her fists and then suddenly remembered something, her eyes lighting up.
“Ah! There’s still one last Prasti left. The one from a long time ago… the one that was taken out of me.”
Phoebe slowly nodded, then waved the wing that wasn’t wrapped around Asha. From the tip of her wing, a plump, white seed appeared.
“Huh? Wha…? How is this already purified? Oh, because of Phoebe’s power…”
<My power can only affect this world through your hands. Who do you think ate the most of your cookies?>
“Ah, I see…”
<If you thought it wasn’t purified, why did you ask for it?>
“I was thinking I could try purifying it by eating it…”
“No!”
“That’s not allowed!”
Evan and Karnov shouted at the same time. Asha quickly waved her hands, promising she wouldn’t do that, then dug into the spot where the white ash had settled, burying the purified Prasti seed.
Karnov and Kairos quietly approached and helped. From the ground, a sprout began to slowly emerge. Pale green leaves with a hint of blue grew from the small seedling. The tender leaves grew larger, and the stem became thicker.
The once fragile branches, which had trembled even at the slightest breath of air, gradually became sturdy enough to withstand the wind. The leaves and stem, which once looked like diluted paint, deepened into rich, shimmering colors.
When it finally became a big, lush tree with columns thick enough for several adults to wrap around it. Everyone looked up at the tree. It was the fourth time they had seen a tree like this, but it felt especially meaningful.
At that moment, the barrier collapsed, as if the air had burst, and with a “pop,” the radiant bird that had been filling the air with its brilliant light disappeared.
“Huh? Phoe, Phoebe?”
Asha, who came to her senses in a hurry, looked around. The yellow chick, which had almost fallen to the floor, barely flew up.
“Phoe…Phoebe?”
<Cough, cough! Ah… Ahhh.>
The tiny chick, now even smaller than before, looked at its own wings and let out a groan.
<I used up all my power, and now… I’m like this again…>
“Hm, you seem… even smaller than before?”
<Ahhh…>
As Phoebe despaired and whimpered, Kairos, only slightly bigger, patted her in comfort. Just then, people began flooding in from the area where the barrier had disappeared. Among them, the loud, almost screaming voice of an old man echoed powerfully.
“Asha! Asha! Asha!”
“Gr… Grandfather.”
Asha, who was standing idly in front of the ashes, looked back. Tarjei was running toward her, pushing past the elves and the debris from the collapsed buildings.
The old man’s face was smeared with ash and sweat, a complete mess. His trembling hands frantically touched Asha’s cheeks and shoulders as he reached her.
“Gr… Grandfather. I’m not hurt. I know things suddenly turned out this way, but I’m okay. I’m okay!”
“Okay? How can you say everything is okay?!”
Tarjei shouted angrily, then, upon seeing the distinct marks on Asha’s wrist, began to tear up. Asha, startled, opened her mouth in shock before flailing her arms in a panic. Meanwhile, the elves who had rushed in began to murmur in confusion as they searched for Raenka with anxious faces. Asha looked at them, her expression settling into one of gravity.
It was time to explain everything.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
The elves were confused and seemed to want to deny it, but in the end they had no choice but to accept it. The underground space in which Prasti was sealed remained intact, and everyone in Uve Whison had felt the power of Phoebe when she revealed her true form that day.
“Now, the Noctis Elves can go wherever they wish.”
Until now, the elves had been trapped inside Uve Whison without knowing why they couldn’t get out. The restriction that had kept them there, making them unable to even think about leaving, was now lifted. One of the five Prastis had been destroyed, and the other four had been fully purified, meaning their sins had been erased.
“Should we call this a good thing?”
Lilmari murmured in a bitter voice, then slowly shook his head.
“I’ve been told that we need to purify the spot where the ashes of Prasti are left as well.”
“I’ve planted the World Tree there, so it should be fine.”
“Someone should manage it, though.”
Lilmari said so and smoothed his fingertips.
“The loss of her is regrettable, but… there are sins that cannot be erased simply by her disappearance. And the elves were complicit in those sins. This might be a small step toward atonement, though it’s hardly enough.”
Despite gaining their freedom to leave Uve Whison, the elves had resolved to stay in the valley for a while to care for the World Tree. It was as though they felt this was part of their penance for their shared guilt. Lilmari coughed and changed the subject, perhaps because he thought he was talking too heavily.
“More than that, I’m glad Lord Tarjei has recovered.”
“Oh. It’s all thanks to your care. Thank you.”
When Asha had been facing off against Raenka, Tarjei had been beside himself with worry. After everything was finally over, he collapsed, ill for the rest of the day.
Asha stayed by his side the whole time, caring for him until his fever broke, while the elves, who had grown fond of the old knight, came to visit with gifts.
They brought little pouches filled with berries said to lower fevers, handkerchiefs embroidered with words wishing for a swift recovery, and other thoughtful items. Though Tarjei had recovered by the next day and sprang out of bed full of energy, the elves remained a little awkward around him, much like when they had first met him.
They were overly cautious, treating him as if he were fragile, which had made the gruff knight quite indignant until things finally went back to normal.
“Now that you’ll be returning to the empire… I don’t know when we’ll have the chance to see you again.”
“You should come visit the capital. I’ll be opening a pastry shop soon, so make sure to send a congratulatory wreath.”
“Pastry shop…”
Lilmari opened his eyes wide in amazement.
“Your Highness… You mean?”
“Yes, didn’t you like the milk tea I made?”
Lilmari looked surprised at Asha’s confident voice and nodded soon.
“It was very… very delicious. You certainly have what it takes to run a pastry shop.”
“I don’t plan on making it too big. I’ve seen people run large cafes, and it’s no small task.”
At that, Lilmari couldn’t help but smile softly.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
A small fence surrounded the world tree planted by Asha and nurtured by Karnov. It had been built by Evan and the elves.
The night before leaving Uve Whison, Asha stood before the World Tree, running her hand over the hedge, listening to the wind rustle the leaves, and looking down at the book that lay before her.
It was “The Queen of Darkness and the Bastard of the Moon.” Evan, standing behind her, turned his head, a little embarrassed. He’d left it open. Asha leaned down and skimmed the pages.
Raenka, who couldn’t even hold her own child. She couldn’t believe the elves who had taken her child and told her nothing. Even if she was surrounded by elves, she would have felt like she was alone…
She thought she would destroy the world that had given her nothing.
She realized, too late, that it hadn’t given her nothing.
Raenka could only let go of her anger and resentment when she felt Evan’s happiness firsthand.
<Now…>
Phoebe, in the front pocket of the one-piece embroidered with vivid, large-coloured flowers, made in the way of elves, murmured grimly with only her head out.
<Now, the complete unity of the spiritual and human realms will never come.>
“Because one Prasti disappeared?”
<Yes. But since four of them have been purified and grown into trees, it’s better than it was before… From now on, we will only be able to speak to each other by contract and when we desperately want to.>
The only chance we had to make the scars left in this world go away, gone forever. But Asha smiled and gently stroked the smaller Phoebe’s head.
“Mm~! That’s just the way it is, isn’t it?”
<That’s the way it’s supposed to be?>
“Yeah, it’s just that we have to make a lot of effort to communicate, don’t we? We have to try to talk, we have to try to find people we understand, we have to try to have a good relationship.”
Phoebe nodded slowly at Asha’s words, realizing that it would be okay if they didn’t live in a perfect world going forward.
Asha bent over and stared up at the wooden post beyond the fence for a long moment before pushing herself up. Behind her, Karnov stood still, watching her.
“Karnov, you’re here?”
Karnov, who made eye contact with Asha, nodded toward Evan. The Noctis Elves had heard of their impending departure and were waiting for them, hoping to have one last little party with Evan.
He hesitated a moment as Asha pushed him to his feet, but after a quick glance at Karnov, he nodded and left. After glancing back at Evan, Karnov spoke up.
“You’ll need to get some sleep if you want an early start tomorrow, Your Highness the Princess.”
“I’m just going to look at the trees for a second.”
Asha responded, then looked at Karnov’s face. Karnov silently helped Asha take care of things without rushing her, even though there were many stories she hadn’t revealed. Maybe if she didn’t tell him first, Karnov would never ask. Asha herself hated that.
“Karnov… You know, this tree, it was my Prasti…”
“…”
Karnov flinched.
Asha, her lips slightly dry from tension, spoke quickly.
“Before I was born, Raenka planted Prasti, swapping me for another soul.”
“…I figured it was something like that.”
“And that’s why Phoebe couldn’t communicate with the fake Asha… It became such a mess that Kairos turned the clock back. To when I was born. Phoebe found the real me, and the Prasti was removed. That’s what brought us to now! That’s also why both Phoebe and Kairos turned into chicks.”
“…That explanation took you about 30 seconds.”
Looking at Karnov’s bewildered expression, Asha shrugged. Karnov narrowed his eyes.
“So, before time was turned back… I met the fake you?”
“Yeah, of course you did.”
“…And that was a disaster too?”
“Yep, an absolute disaster. Evan and you… with the fake me… aaah!”
Karnov, who saw through the meaning of the shriek, opened his mouth and closed it.
“…My god. Evan too? What on earth happened…? And you knew all of this, while being with Evan and me…”
Karnov rubbed his face repeatedly before furrowing his brows.
“…How do you even know all this?”
“Because I experienced it once already, so I still have the memories. That’s why I was so terrified the first time I saw you. Remember?”
“You? Scared of me? You suggested writing an exchange diary together the moment you saw me!”
“That was forever ago! Are you still holding onto that? And besides, I was only trying to save face… I was gathering up my courage.”
Karnov scoffed but didn’t argue further on that point. Instead, he asked something else.
“Why don’t I remember anything from before time was turned back?”
Asha crossed her arms, thinking hard.
“Well, usually knights… aren’t the main character. The princess is the protagonist. So, doesn’t it make sense that only the protagonist remembers the important stuff?”
“What are you talking about? In most stories, the knight is the main character.”
“Come on. Maybe if it were a prince, but a knight? Are knights even popular as main characters?”
“…”
“Of course, I like them! I like them, but I’m just stating the objective truth.”
<Well, maybe Karnov will remember eventually. Time could bring it back…>
<So, you’re just not going to let him be the main character, huh?>
Phoebe poked her head out from Asha’s front pocket. The two chicks began bickering again, and Asha burst into laughter at the sight.
Shaking his head, Karnov gently guided her back inside. It was time to return to the capital.
