Chapter 103
“Such a shame.”
Xenon’s deep blue eyes, fading slowly like a dying flame.
“There was a place I wanted to walk through with you.”
The moment he spoke, a strong scent of death washed over me.
“I never got permission, but I still wanted to walk this place with you.”
His lifeless, dark blue eyes left me breathless.
I stood frozen, unable to say anything, simply watching Xenon.
His clothes were stained with blood, his skin paler than a corpse, and his eyes hollow and empty.
He was dying.
No—perhaps…
He was enduring a pain worse than death just to speak to me.
All because he wanted to tell me that he wished to walk here with me.
He was withstanding gut-twisting agony just to say that.
“You idiot.”
Why say that now, of all times?
Even someone like me—usually bright and optimistic—knew this much:
That Xenon’s life was hanging by a thread.
That the chances of saving him were close to none.
And so the only thing I could say—
“…Don’t say things like that.”
Don’t say it.
Please, just keep walking with me.
Say anything else, or say nothing at all.
Just come over, hold me tight.
Don’t talk like someone about to leave forever.
Don’t leave me alone.
I don’t want this.
I don’t want to be left alone like this.
…That’s what I wanted to say.
But why?
Why couldn’t I speak?
Why did my chest ache and my heart feel like it was being torn apart?
Why… why does it hurt so much?
“…Don’t go, Xenon.”
My slender shoulders trembled, and strength drained from my body.
I didn’t want this kind of farewell.
If this was how it would end, I wish you had never given me warmth.
I wish you had been cold from the start.
Or if not that—then why, when I reached out to you…
“Don’t get hurt.”
“If you’re hurt, I’ll start to care.”
Why did you hold my hand so gently?
You were the one who gave meaning to someone worthless like me.
You were the one who gave me hope when I collapsed and gave up.
And now you talk like someone about to disappear.
Like you’re going to vanish forever.
That’s… too selfish.
That’s not fair.
Facing me, Xenon’s lips curved into a faint smile.
“But I’m glad… there’s someone who’ll stay by your side.”
His brows arched slightly—
And then his gaze turned toward Myeolmangi.
“You like flowers, right?”
Xenon smiled.
“I’m sorry.”
His voice so faint it seemed like he might vanish.
“There was something I wanted to say…”
This man, whose face rarely changed—like a stone statue—
Smiled at me in his final moments.
“…But now isn’t the time for that.”
His dry lips barely moved before sealing shut again.
Then, he took a step forward.
There was strength in his stride—a resolve unshaken.
With no hesitation, he marched forward and raised his sword to activate a skill.
[Dragon’s Song]
A golden dragon circled around Xenon’s body—
Then merged into his chest.
For a brief moment, clarity returned to Xenon’s eyes, and a soft glow wrapped around his entire body.
“No way…”
That glow—I recognized it.
The same effect I’d seen before.
That fleeting return of vitality in Xenon’s eyes.
He was using that.
“Xenon…?”
A skill that exchanged the user’s life force—
For ten seconds of ultimate power.
[Song of Life and Death]
And once those ten seconds ended—
Xenon would—
“Don’t do it…”
Due to the Curse of Pestilence, Xenon’s life force was rapidly draining.
“No!”
He would surely die.
***
When the White Rider’s hand extended its shadow toward Xenon, engulfing him—
He suddenly felt as if he were fading into the void.
A sense of despair that he could never overcome.
A crushing helplessness that he could do nothing.
And the hopelessness of being dragged deep into the earth by invisible hands grabbing at his legs and feet.
That despair was like inevitable death.
That’s why… he couldn’t even stop Agatha from approaching Wendy.
The humiliation of that moment was indescribable.
His lips tore as he clenched his teeth, blood seeping out.
Swallowed by helplessness that he couldn’t do anything alone—
“Myeolmangi…?”
The turning point came in an instant.
Wendy’s trembling voice and the warm light that enveloped the battlefield.
He didn’t know what had happened—
“Kugh…!”
But that hateful bastard had retreated.
Even if only slightly, he could now move.
“My range of movement is limited, but this is enough…”
That alone was enough.
He didn’t know why, but besides Yeriel, who looked the most stable—
All the others had collapsed under excruciating pain, unconscious.
Only he had remained awake.
And he was the only one who could use a skill strong enough to break through them.
Only then did his vision begin to clear.
And he began to see how to use the final moments of his life—drifting toward inescapable death.
Amidst the pain twisting his insides, Xenon came to a realization:
“Break through.”
If not that—
“Then at least create a path for escape.”
That was the only thought in his mind.
He had 10 seconds.
He would wring everything out of himself—
To somehow create a path.
For his comrades. For Wendy.
That was Xenon’s final desire—and hope.
“I never got to say it…”
Now that his end was near, he could finally be honest with himself.
Why had he clumsily weaved flowers into a bracelet?
Why did he feel irrationally irritated when Wendy joked around with other guys?
Why did it hurt every time she got injured?
Why did he get irrationally angry every time Wendy tried to sacrifice herself?
Why. Why. Why.
So many “reasons”…
All the little excuses he had told himself to dismiss those moments.
Now he understood—
They were never “reasons.” Just excuses.
“Was I… in love with Wendy?”
Only at the very end did he realize it.
That honest feeling—
Made his dying heart beat once more.
But still—
“It’s better if I never say it.”
He never conveyed his feelings in the end.
Because it wasn’t something that should be said now.
A dying man’s confession would be too burdensome for someone as kind as her.
It would only become a weight on her heart.
And so, he chose not to tell her.
“A shame… but I’m too late anyway.”
At least this way, she could forget him more easily.
Perhaps she would meet someone better.
And forget him, like a flowing river.
Even if she was sad now, time would eventually resolve everything.
Even beloved things are forgotten when replaced.
Even socks with holes get thrown out.
The same applied to people.
Even precious relationships fade with distance.
Even moments that felt eternal eventually lead to goodbye.
“Yes… it’s a shame, but…”
He had fulfilled his role.
Though the eternal Wendy faded from his heart—
If Xenon could remain in hers as a memory—
That was enough for him.
“No!”
Wendy’s desperate cry rang out from behind him.
With sheer will, he kept his gaze fixed forward.
He must not leave behind any regret.
The one who leaves must walk their own path.
She must walk the path he carved.
And if Wendy finds happiness at the end of it—
Then that was all he wished to leave behind.
Just that.
[Threefold Sword, Second Form]
The Threefold: Earth, Heaven, and Human.
The Earth gave life—
A solid, unwavering foundation to sustain the living.
The first sword, Earth Blade, was the sword of cultivation.
[Heaven Blade]
Heaven gave destiny.
With the life bestowed upon him, one must rise up and reach that fate.
[Heaven’s Mandate]
He hoped that she would bravely walk the destined path he carved open.
As he became a beam of light—
That was Xenon’s final thought.
—
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