Advent of the Three Calamities - Chapter 849: Understanding [1]

Chapter 849: Understanding [1]

Cra Crack—!

The darkness took complete control of my mind.

Alongside the darkness was a deep cold that consumed every corner of my body.

Despite the darkness, I still remained conscious, albeit barely.

I came in and out of consciousness repeatedly, trying my best to preserve my body. The cold seeped deeper and deeper into my body, taking control of every major organ inside of my body, slowly taking my heart in the process.

The more time passed, the more severe the situation became.

But I couldn’t do anything about it.

The only thing I could do was wait.

’How… long will this continue for?’

I didn’t know how much time had passed.

’It’s cold… It’s really cold.’

All I knew was that it was getting colder and colder.

My consciousness continued slipping as it became harder and harder to keep any of the remaining warmth inside my body.

Even though the situation seemed hopeless, I continued to persist.

’…You’re taking too long.’

For I knew that there was someone out there doing her best to bring me back.

Cra Crack!

I had full trust in her.

Even when she was almost taken over by the Outer Being, I still believed she could do it.

But outside of that trust, there was something else that made me reassured.

Vision.

Though brief, in the brief moments before getting taken over the ice, I had seen a vision. It was random, but I saw it.

The future that led to this very moment.

And sure enough…

Cra Crack—!

Accompanying a certain buzz, something fell off my face. Before I could react, a burst of light flooded my vision.

It was blinding, overwhelming after the darkness, forcing me to squint as discomfort shot through my eyes. White spots flickered across my sight, and for a brief moment, I could see nothing but brightness.

But soon, the brightness cleared as I managed to spot a pale face, her hands pressed against my chest as her purple hair swayed under the intense fluctuation of her mana. My lips were still sealed, so I couldn’t speak or do anything, but I really felt like smiling at the moment as I stared at Evelyn.

In the end…

’She did it.’

She managed to figure out a way to handle the curse and get rid of the ice inside our bodies.

Just like in the brief vision.

Cra Crack! Cra Crack!

Lightning continued to crackle around her as it penetrated my body, stimulating my organs and muscles as I felt blood rush back into me.

My lungs convulsed, dragging in air as my nose cleared up. My veins burned as blood began to rush properly through them again. My heart, which had been beating in a slow and fading rhythm, jolted hard in my chest before steadily climbing back toward a normal pulse.

More fragments of ice broke away from my body, clattering to the ground in brittle shards.

Even as all the ice on my face scattered, I still couldn’t bring myself to speak as I continued to stare at Evelyn, her gaze fixed on my chest as she continued to get rid of all the ice inside of my body.

She looked incredibly focused.

But at the same time, tired.

’For just how long did you persist?’

When I finally looked away, I noticed several familiar faces nearby. They were sitting on the ground, wrapped in towels and clutching them tightly around their shoulders. Their hair was damp, their breathing still uneven, but they were conscious.

Staring at Evelyn.

Relief flickered faintly through me at the sight of them.

’…So they are also fine.’

This was good.

Clank—!

As the last piece of ice fell, Evelyn finally pulled her hand away from my chest.

“T-thank… you.”

Perhaps because I had been sealed in ice for so long, my voice came out rather strained and hoarse. Touching my throat, I tried to say something else, but Evelyn stopped me.

“Don’t do anything besides breathing. Even though your body is strong, being enclosed in ice for so long, it’ll take a while for everything to function properly again.”

“…..”

Instead of saying anything, I simply nodded my head.

Evelyn nodded back and turned away from me.

I stared at her back and then around us. I was quite familiar with this place. It was the same place that we had stayed for quite some time with Velar and the others.

Oh, right.

I looked around.

What about the others?

Where were they?

I couldn’t see them.

I opened my mouth, but stopped myself when I recalled Evelyn’s words. Right, I needed to stay quiet for a bit.

But more than anything, after using my Emotive Magic to check her state, my own heart sank, realization quickly kicking in as I pressed my lips together and moved towards where the others were.

“I’m going out for a moment. All of you stay here and rest. There are a few things that I need to take care of.”

Before anyone could react to her words, Evelyn left the room directly.

Clank!

The door clicked shut behind us, and a heavy silence followed. The silence dragged on as we all stared at each other.

No one seemed certain what to say, or whether saying anything at all would make it worse.

In the end, Leon was the first to move.

He slowly lowered himself and pressed his hand against the floor. Then, using his finger, he began to write. The simple motion left a clear mark along the surface beneath us, the faint scraping sound loud in the otherwise awkward quiet.

’What the hell happened?’

Although the words seemed to be meant for everyone, all eyes turned in my direction as I touched my throat and tried to speak.

“Y-you…”

I eventually shook my head, feeling the strain in my throat as I copied Leon’s movements and began writing on the floor.

’It started the moment we came into this place. We were all heading towards the city when all of you turned into statues…’

Because writing took far longer than speaking, it took me a while to explain the whole situation to them, and their frequent pauses of shock and disbelief only dragged it out even more.

But eventually, I was able to explain everything to them.

Alongside the fact that I merely lasted a bit longer than they did before, in the end, I also tapped out.

’We’re only here because of Evelyn.’

Everyone paused, their attention shifting to where Evelyn had left. Kiera and Aoife both seemed ready to stand, but Leon stopped them with a shake of his head before glancing at me. Pressing his finger to the ground, he wrote, ’But how is it possible that we turned into statues? Why were you and Evelyn the only ones who weren’t affected?’

’I’d like to know that myself.’

Honestly, I was equally at a loss. I couldn’t understand this part either.

Leon, Kiera, Aoife, An’as, and especially Anne. Everyone was strong. How was it possible that they had all turned so quickly? What sort of curse was this?

“E-ehm… E-ehm.”

Clearing my throat and finding my voice again, I stood up.

Unlike the rest, I hadn’t been frozen for as long. For this reason, I was able to recover a lot faster than they were.

Still, it was for the best that I didn’t use my voice.

At least, not yet.

I pointed at the door, indicating to them that I was leaving. They all looked at me in silence before nodding, seemingly understanding what I was about to do as I turned my back on them and reached for the door, following the familiar path out of the building.

Reaching the main door of the building, I hesitated for a brief moment. Thinking back to the cold that met me after going out, I felt hesitant.

But clenching my teeth and coating my body with the little mana that lingered inside my body, I pushed the door open and went out.

At the same time, I braced myself, placing my hand over my face while clenching my teeth.

I waited for the strong gust of cold to make its way towards me. I waited for it to engulf me.

But…

Huh?

Coming to a sudden stop, I looked up, my eyes widening slightly as a familiar gray sky came into view, the hollow, lifeless white sun hanging overhead while I took in my surroundings.

It was still cold, yet, but it was far from as aggressive as it was before.

’What the hell.’

The sight left me at a complete loss.

That…

How did the storm fade?

“H-how is this…”

A thought surfaced in my mind as I continued to look around, my expression shifting slightly as the idea entered my mind. Realistically, it didn’t seem possible. Given her strength, how was it possible?

But what if…?

Holding my breath, I moved forward.

I didn’t even need to use [Mana Sense] to know where Evelyn was.

I just knew where she was, and as I moved past the snow and headed towards a familiar area, I finally spotted her.

Though the cold had stopped, a cold wind persisted. As her purple hair fluttered under that wind, Evelyn’s back faced my direction as she quietly wiped one of the statues in front of her. Looking beyond her, I could see hundreds, if not thousands, of different statues, all lined up nicely as she wiped them in silence.

Coming to a stop, my lips opened, but her voice carried through the air before I could even get my words out.

“You should be resting.”

Did she hear me?

Evelyn spoke without looking back.

“Your body is still not in the right state. If you push yourself, then there’s a risk of you getting injured. For now, the cold won’t return. It might return later, but it won’t be as aggressive as the one we experienced.”

“…”

Evelyn’s voice was calm.

It remained that way as she spoke.

“If you’re worried about me, then you shouldn’t be. I’m okay.”

Liar.

“…Ah, fuck.”

Evelyn also seemed to realize it as her movements stopped.

“You, and your fucking emotive magic.”

Resentment lingered in her voice as she kept her gaze away from me, her hand finally starting to tremble as she kept her back facing my direction.

“It’s… annoying, you know? When you just look into other people’s emotions, even though they clearly don’t want to be disturbed. I… am doing fine, so go away. I want to be alone. I’m tired.”

“…..”

“You fucking busybody.”

“…..”

“I saved you, so why do you still annoy me? Why are you bothering me? I… have done my job. At least, give me this much. I…”

Crunch—

Evelyn’s words stopped as she heard the sound of the snow crunching beneath my steps as I grew closer to her.

Her shoulders trembled slightly as her purple hair fluttered in the wind, and as I eventually arrived next to her, I looked at the figures that she was wiping.

“…..”

Evelyn’s body trembled further, her lips trembling alongside her body.

“….I… I f-failed.”

Penelope. Ilyen. Velar. Chloe. Reginald. Ol’Sal.

I recognized them all.

“I… wasn’t able to save anyone. Even though they were already gone, I still… I…”

Bringing her hand to her face, Evelyn started to choke up as tears streamed down her face.

“…I wanted… to show them s-ummer.”

Her heartbroken voice lingered in the air, just like the cold.

But unlike the cold…

Her words felt a lot more piercing.