[Side story] Chasing a butterfly (14)
Let’s go back.
There is a man who is probably wandering around looking for himself somewhere in the distant world.
Although I have now drifted off to a distant world, I have to follow the man’s traces and return to the original world.
When I opened my eyes, what was unfolding was the flow of a huge world stretching out into dozens and hundreds of branches.
The countless worlds of possibility that I observed with Ed the other day were expanding into various directions and moving into the future.
My whole body was filled with a feeling of floating, as if I was swimming in outer space.
Lucy had to find traces of Ed in the flow of this world that spread out across the world.
Somewhere, Ed will also be wandering around, constantly looking for traces of Lucy.
He constantly wanders from place to place, worrying about Lucy, who has fallen away.
They may be trying to retrieve Lucy before the branches of this world spread too far to the point of no return.
I can’t keep Ed waiting any longer.
The magic power given to him by the other world had its limits, but if he gritted his teeth and gained strength, he would be able to return to the flow of the original world.
I grit my teeth and raise my magic power. Focus your entire body’s senses on the flow of magical energy spreading throughout the world.
There must be Ed’s magic somewhere in there.
It’s here. This is where you will return. It is clear that it will become a lighthouse and continue to inform Lucy of her direction.
If you don’t catch the trace properly, you will once again drift into the flow of this vast world.
You can go to the future or the past.
You could fall into a huge ocean or in the middle of a city you’ve never seen before.
Despite all the variables, you have to grit your teeth and focus your mind to observe the signals Ed is sending.
Just like that… the moment I grit my teeth for a while and focus on the flow of magical power… I feel the familiar energy of magical energy in a flow of that distant world.
The magical energy that she has never forgotten in her entire life feels like warm sunlight to Lucy.
Even though it is this far away, you can notice it right away. Lucy had no time to waste.
Raise the magical power of your entire body to jump between worlds. Using the magic power that radiates from Ed Ross Taylor as a standard, we surpass and surpass countless worlds of possibility.
My whole body hurts like it’s screaming, but there’s still a long way to go.
If you want to reach the place where you can see Ed’s magic in the distance, you have to keep going. Even though I feel the magical power in my entire body being chipped away, I do not stop swimming.
In this way, Lucy pushed herself into the flow of a world where magical power was emanating.
But not yet.
It was possible to enter the same flow, but the lines of space and time were still far apart.
You have to keep going further. If you want to advance to Ed’s time zone, you have to gather your magic power to the very end of the floor and spread out even further.
But my body screams.
It is said that the magical power has reached its limit and cannot proceed any further.
We’re almost there.
I succeeded in crossing over to the same world, but I couldn’t let it fail right in front of my nose.
“Ka haak.”
A stream of fresh blood was spit out.
I haven’t put this much strain on my body since dealing with Great Sage Sylvania.
But it was not the time to think about the body. Even if we succeed in entering the flow of the same world, what is the meaning if we do not live in the same time?
Lucy’s body becomes weak.
A flow of magical energy that gives you a nostalgic feeling. Even though I could reach it if I just went a little further, I don’t have the strength left to go any further.
Little by little… sinking into the flow of the world… Lucy closes her eyes tightly.
– Kwakwang Bang!
There was a sound like something like a wooden shelf collapsing.
An underground space where sunlight does not enter. I didn’t know exactly where it was.
The place I reached after jumping between worlds felt somehow familiar.
– Whoop!
“Huh, huh…”
Lucy rolled her tiny body on the floor and barely managed to pull herself together.
It was like a warehouse filled with all kinds of research materials and magical engineering supplies. Lucy tried to get up, but she wouldn’t listen.
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…”
In the end, we couldn’t reach the place where Ed Rosstaylor’s magic emanated.
Although he returned to the world he lived in, he had drifted to a completely different place in time and space.
I can’t even tell which country it is or whether it’s a completely different continent.
I can’t even tell how much time is off. Whether it will be 10 years or 100 years… no one can predict.
Because historically, there were only a few people who could use Aspect magic to this level.
“Ugh… Ugh…”
Lucy felt tears welling up in her eyes.
I miss Ed Rosstaylor. With that heart alone, I led my broken body and flew away with my teeth clenched, but it was not enough.
Now I don’t know when I’ll be able to see him.
The time difference will not be a matter of a few hours or a few days. It will be out of alignment for at least several decades. For a move of this magnitude, that is the minimum.
I don’t have any magical power to return to, and even if I recover, it will take another year to research the aspect magic that transcends time and space.
We will never see Ed Rothtaylor again, at least for a few years or worse, until he dies.
At that fact… tears were about to flow.
“…You appear in a splendid manner.”
It was that moment.
A familiar voice penetrated Lucy’s ears. It’s a voice I haven’t heard in a very long time… but I’ve never forgotten it.
“I was expecting it to show up around this time, but I didn’t expect it to be like this.”
I remember a hand full of wrinkles always stroking Lucy.
The basement is full of old research books and work benches, so space is limited.
I don’t know why, but the Archmage Glokt, covered in a lot of ashes, was shaking off his clothes with a hollow smile on his face.
Only then did I realize why this basement felt familiar.
This was… a secret laboratory located in the basement of Glokt’s cabin.
It was the exact place where Zelan and Ed had been investigating the inside before jumping across the world.
*
Lucy tried to say something, but only her mouth opened and no voice came out.
However, the sight of Glokt shaking off the ash covered all over his body as if embarrassed remained in my memory.
– ‘Thanks to you, I came to my senses. However, I clearly told you to be careful when practicing magic inside the cabin…’
– ‘First, I’ll have to find something to shake off the ashes.’
It was a memory of the day I gave Lucy a hat.
While removing the stove, I accidentally overturned the container containing the ashes, so I went in the basement to shake the ashes off using a duster.
It was that day when Glokt, who had not come out of the basement for a long time, comforted Lucy, who was scared, by putting a hat on her.
“I…”
“I don’t have much time. “It’s okay if I don’t have to explain everything.”
The teacher, who was like Lucy’s father with that gravelly voice in her memories, warmly stroked Lucy’s hair.
“You must have experienced so many things that it is difficult to explain. Unlike my teacher, Sylvania, I can only read fragments of the future… so I cannot accurately see what kind of life you would have lived.”
In the first place, only Great Sage Sylvania can observe the flow and possibilities of all worlds.
However, Glokt can imitate something similar and observe the future, if at all.
So Glokt knew that around this time, Lucy, who was trying to jump across the world, would drift and end up here.
Although we could not specify the exact location and time, we were able to prepare to some extent.
“Still, I believe you have probably lived a worthwhile life.”
Glokt whispered warmly.
Lucy said, holding back tears that were threatening to flow.
“Grandpa… I…”
“Yes, there must be a place to go back to. The possibilities of the world will continue to differentiate and advance even at this moment. “If we don’t hurry, things will get more complicated.”
After saying that, Glokt took out a magic engineering item in the shape of a huge crystal ball in the center of the lab.
Because I knew that Lucy would drift here one day, I was able to prepare it in advance.
‘Timeline Controller’
A magical engineering product that showed signs of being used only once, discovered while investigating Zelan and Edgar Glokt’s cabin.
– ‘The Archmage Glokt I knew was a person who hated breaking taboos. He was a wizard who always had respect for magic and respected the providence and fate of the world.’
– ‘Lucy Mayril. It may be a bit of a shock from your perspective, but… Archmage Glokt actually… seems to have studied taboos in his later years.’
– ‘Looking at the circumstances, Glokt Elderbane in his lifetime… once controlled the time line. In other words, I broke the taboo and attempted time travel.’
It felt like the empty puzzle pieces were coming together.
The reason why the archmage Glokt Elderbane, who had lived his entire life with only reverence for magic, broke the taboo and conducted research on time travel at the end.
Even the reason why I had to break the belief I had maintained my entire life just once at the last moment.
“Grandpa… this is…”
“There is no time to delay. “I’ll do the work, so you can just feel the magic.”
Lucy wiped her eyes with her tattered clothes and pursed her lower lip.
“Grandpa…”
While Glokt was gathering magic power at his fingertips, Lucy raised her head and saw the stairs going up to the ground.
Beyond the tightly closed wooden door, would you feel intimidated by knocking over a bucket full of ashes?
Life was full of nothingness and I was living my life as if it were flowing without finding any meaning.
Because he knows better than anyone else what he will look like, the Glokt in front of him, who took him in and raised him, looks even more amazing.
This Glokt hut was Lucy’s cradle.
The old wizard constantly pulled the girl’s arm until the empty girl, who would not be surprised if her life ended at any time, realized the meaning of life.
It’s a life that has given me a lot.
But people have to get out of the cradle someday.
If the day comes when I stand up on my own two feet, the cradle I was lying in will be nothing more than a burden.
The journey of life is long.
If you are going to embark on a long journey, you must leave behind what you have to leave behind.
This is because humans are creatures that live looking forward, not backward.
“You know, grandpa.”
Lucy called Glockt quietly. Just hearing Glokt after such a long time makes the tip of my nose become even more irritated.
I take a small breath, smile softly, and speak.
“It’s a pity, but… my grandfather is no longer the most precious person in the world.”
When Glokt, who was activating the magic orb, heard those words, his eyes widened for a moment and then he smiled.
“That’s really… “I heard it was good news.”
Glockt does not know exactly what kind of life Lucy lived.
The journey of life is full of unpredictable events.
If you bump into this and that and roll around and somehow hold on…
that girl who only knew emptiness will be able to smile softly.
A kid who had only one teacher as his only precious person develops many relationships that he cherishes in one way or another.
We must not remain in place forever, thinking that Gloktman is the most precious person.
What is past is past.
Leave behind what you have to leave behind.
Perhaps Glokt was happier than anything else at the fact that Lucy, who seemed anxious, was steadily following her life’s path.
The old wizard smiled, stretching out his fine wrinkles.
Lucy took off the witch hat she had received as a gift from Glokt and pushed it into Glokt’s arms.
“I’ll leave this behind.”
Glokt took the hat and asked with puzzled eyes.
“What is this hat?”
Lucy’s eyes widened when she heard those words, and then she laughed again as if she were empty.
“It’s the thing I cherish the most. …. The reason is a secret.”
Glokt nodded at those words and quietly put the hat in his chest.
Glokt’s magical engineering supplies begin to emit magical power again.
As the world was engulfed in light, a warm energy gently embraced Lucy.
Before leaving, Glokt spoke with his eyes tightly closed.
“Thank you Lucy.”
What on earth are you thankful for? From Lucy’s perspective, she received a lot.
However, the next words completely caught Lucy off guard.
“It was an eventful life, but in the end, you were the meaning of my life.”
“…”
“Thank you for being the meaning of my life.”
In the pouring light, she tried to smile at least for the last time… but
Lucy could not help but shed tears.
*
Light shines in a world that was once dark.
When I opened my eyes, the place had not changed. It is still Glokt’s hut.
However, no matter how much time had passed, the research facility, which had been in good condition, was completely worn out. The traces of time are clearly felt.
A ray of light flows down from the stairs leading to the ground.
The wooden door that had been tightly closed suddenly opened at an angle.
The girl raises her battered body up. Even though it stumbles, it steadily runs toward the ground.
As you kick open the door, a fairly familiar view of the cabin comes into view.
He crosses the room and kicks down the front door of the cabin.
The noon sun is dazzling.
Ed is seen wandering around looking for Lucy, radiating magical power in front of the observation device.
Behind him, Zelan and his assistant Wilhelm can be seen replenishing their magic power with anxious faces.
Lucy runs straight into Ed’s arms.
Ed, who was startled, fell backwards, but he got on top of him and buried his head in Ed’s chest, shaking his head several times and rubbing his cheeks.
Even though she was shedding tears, Lucy did not relax her hold on Ed.
Lucy just hugged Ed and cried and cried endlessly.
–
The sound of firewood burning in the fireplace.
Every time the warm glow of the fireplace flame flickered, the shadows in the cabin also swayed.
The white-haired girl sitting timidly in front of him had her entire body covered in ash.
The old wizard who came out of the basement took out a witch’s hat and put it on the girl’s head.
And the old wizard smiles kindly as he rubs his shoulder.
– ‘I’d better give it to you now.’
– ‘This is…’
– ‘Treat it. ‘Someday this hat will become your most prized possession.’
– ‘That’s… why…’
Life is unpredictable.
Even the girl who thought she would live a life filled with emptiness could one day praise the value of life.
– ‘…Well, you’ll find out someday.’
That was the fun of life.
