870 Epilogue - Bring Hope to Your Chest

Tomorrow morning - on the twelfth day of the silver moon, it is morning.

Revealing the night in "Payfay's Laughing Mouth," we were set to stand on the rocks as the sun rose.

It takes almost half a day to get back from this place to the edge of the mountains and woods. I guess it will be a calculation to leave first thing in the morning and be able to reach just about Jomtien.

The occasion had brought together the facades that had taken part in the Council of Chiefs and the main people of the Namkar clan.

In front of us are some of the deeply itchy people - Tia herself and others like Tia's mother, Hamra, Tia's sister, Megri and Kasha, Namkar's hunter Writa, Shautarta's chief, Raal, Razma's chief Hora, and Razma's hunter, Ruja. Besides, the white madalama, friends of Raal, and the white valves, friends of the Tiers, were also letting their faces peek from behind forever.

"I didn't know you were here, so this is a lifetime goodbye! I don't want to say goodbye and miss you, but you still let me have a full night!

Dan-Rutim said so with a smile as he watched the white valves.

Gazran-Rutim nods, "Yes," instead.

"I feel the same way about my father Dan. I wish to speak of you to your children and grandchildren."

"That would be the same thing here. You can't tell a family so many amazing stories."

Raal responded with a powerful grin.

Hamra also nods with a calm expression of "um".

"We can't be friends or brothers, but I prefer you guys. Please, I want you to stay healthy in the outside world."

"Uhm. Let us also pray for the healthy life of the people of the sanctuary"

Donda-Lou nodded back heavily, eyeing me and Ai-Fa.

But I can't figure out what to say to Tia. Now it's time for me to say goodbye to Tia, but I'm not feeling realistic at all.

But it looks the same with Tia, and she smiles, trying to get from scratch. I wonder how you can't spill your tears, that look on your own.

But there's no way it's hard to say goodbye to Tia. If you have fulfilled your goodbyes with such indifference, you will surely regret it forever. Thinking about it that way, I've been looking for a goodbye word since just now, but I couldn't find an answer.

"... on the way home, have them follow the same practices as yesterday. There are four of us who will do the same as yesterday. Please, I want you to keep the sanctuary code to the end."

That's what Hamra said, with a face that seemed a lot more distracting. I guess he's letting me reaffirm that Tia and I are going to say goodbye on this occasion.

Tia starts twisting around. Tia must be in a hurry. I feel exactly the same way. Why is my heart moving so dull today when I was about to spill many tears yesterday? It was as comfortable as I wanted to cut my chest open and force myself to reveal all my moods.

"So... before you leave the sanctuary, can I just say one thing?

And - to the lid, Gemd opened his mouth.

People look back a lot. In it, only Ruja had her eyes shining in anticipation.

"What? Guest Gemd's words surprised me every time. I'd be delighted if you brought me some surprises at the end."

"It is unclear whether it is worth the surprise, but my master, Lord Fermes, asked me to tell the people of the sanctuary"

Then Raylis looked at Gemd with a somewhat worrying look.

"What kind of story is that? It seems better not to say too many extra words because we have come to fulfill our mission…"

"I'm sorry. Since I am only the deputy of Lord Fermes, I would like to complete my mission."

That's how Gemd sounded a deep beauty in the sober morning mountains.

"Yesterday I am to deliver to you the numerous words I have learned from Lady Fermes. All of them will be knowledge tied from the literature of sleeping in the king's capital. As we explained yesterday, because letters exist in the outside world, we are able to retain a great deal of knowledge in future generations."

"Uh-huh. I think a lot of those words were extremely significant to us, too."

"I'm afraid. … However, in the present western kingdom, learning such knowledge is being repelled. That is the result of His Majesty Cairos, the current king, repelling his abominable knowledge. Thus, the literature with a notorious knowledge is sealed deep in the library, and it is hard to forgive to see it. As long as His Majesty Cairos' reign continues, such a tide will intensify."

I was listening to those stories. The current king hated such unusual techniques as star reading.

"In doing so, Master Fermes was secretly learning a lesson. And we succeeded in combining what is now a completely forgotten truth - or an event that should be called the side of truth - as a hypothesis."

"That's quite a precursor. What story is that?

"Yes, it is… the answer to that question as to why the people of the sanctuary and the people of the kingdom have come to follow different paths"

With a very deposited face, Gemd went over words.

All but Luja have heard the word without proper attention.

"In an era older than 600 years, the magic of the earth was depleted. The civilization of sorcery has come to an end, some people have come to the sanctuary, and the rest of the people have built up a civilization of steel and stone. So how did we get to know the way that way - and the cause is told off in the sanctuary?

"No. The people of the outside world are only told that they have abandoned the Great God."

"Is it Master Left? Then why were we to abandon our faith in the Great God - how could not all the people live in nature and wait for the awakening of the Great God? I have been told that it was a long-standing question for Fermes."

"Huh. Did you get to twist something out there, even for good reason?

"Yes, Master Fermes said he found the truth by placing the presence of the people of the dragon god, the people of the emigrants there."

Raal, who had listened to Jemd with interest, moved his shoulders with a tingle.

Gemd, who sees it, turns a quiet eye.

"Were these words also preached to the sanctuary?

"Uhm... dragons are fierce beings, but they must never give in. To the man who becomes chief, it is so told."

"I see. That could be an inheritance that also coincides with Master Fermez's hypothesis"

There was no way he moved his mind at all, and Gemd went on to say so.

"The people of Dragon God are a clan that comes from outside the sea. For those of us who make this continent God, it will be a genuine, exotic people. Today we have never had friendship with the people of Dragon God... but it was hundreds of years ago that they first visited the land. It is told that in those days, the people of the evil pirate dragon god did not often suffer."

"Hmm...... so?

"Yes, the people of the Dragon God were a fierce clan, cruising the ocean on a giant ship. The body was much bigger than ours, powerful and brave at the time of the beast, and carried a steel weapon. The people of Dragon God were building a civilization of steel and stone faster than we were."

I've also been able to understand exactly what Gemd is trying to tell me.

But - is that possible?

"In other words, Guest Gemd... would you like to say that your ancestors have built up a civilization of steel and stone and a dozen others to leave the people of Dragon God?

That's how Ruja questioned me.

Gemd says yes.

"The people of the Great God have lost their civilization of sorcery. But if all the people had lived like beasts in nature, there would have been no thanksgiving to the people of the Dragon God. Now you have the unusual power, but it is the fruit of surviving 600 years as hunters. Our ancestors, who relied solely on witchcraft, were compelled to acquire new powers promptly within reach. … it will be a civilization of steel and stone"

"So... did our ancestors foresee beforehand that the people of Dragon God would come to this land?

"You must have foreseen it. Perhaps with a star reading ritual."

I felt kind of cold in my spine.

That Fermes had put his quest to the roots of this world.

"That's how our ancestors decided to take different paths. He kept his body and mind clean in the sanctuary, and he built a civilization of steel and stone to avert the calamity that was to come… so that we could not bond as friends without succumbing to the people of the tyrannical Dragon God. This was our mission to build a new civilization outside the sanctuary."

…………

"As one of the backing of that hypothesis, Master Fermes attaches great importance to the sacraments and to the covenants made in the outside world. How could the two men, who had been so set on different paths, have made a code: 'Do not be hostile'? Why should I respect your presence when you cannot be my friend or my compatriot? It was to protect the land by your own means."

…………

"We never knew the way in hostility. Therefore, we respect each other. I want you to understand that."

So Gemd breathed a lot.

"And this is where it comes from -"

"What? Were all the previous words prefixed?

"No. It will be a necessary word to get down to business. Everything we've talked about so far is a story of the past, but more importantly, the end of the future."

"The end of the future......?

"Yes. In this land, magic will soon come back. It is then that the people of the sanctuary will rebuild their civilization of sorcery under the Great God. … but in this land, a civilization of steel and stone has already been built. Even if the Great God wakes up, there is no better way for us to deal with sorcery than to live in impurity."

Gemd is only a serene faceless expression.

Even though he was just a spokesperson, it never seemed like a tremendous thing to be able to stay calm like that, with all these incredible words lined up.

"Our civilization becomes a conflicting being. You cannot bring magic into the stone capital, and you cannot bring unclean beings into the land where the sorcerer lives. Still, we must coexist. When that coexistence begins, we will be able to open up a new civilization under the same God… Master Fermes speculates so"

"coexistence... coexistence"

"Yes. If we can't coexist, one of us will perish. Then I don't even know what separated 600 years for. And it must also mean a great deal that you spent such a long time in the sanctuary."

"We were spending time in the sanctuary, meaning..."

"Yes, it took a civilization of steel and stone to leave the people of Dragon God. Then it should have been good for all the people to be laid back in a civilization of steel and stone. But our ancestors, some human beings, were left in the sanctuary, waiting for the awakening of the Great God. It's got to make sense there, too."

…………

"There's no way to know if there's going to be another new external enemy, or a different kind of threat. But if everything is God's will, it should make some sense. Ten or twenty years from now - or, 100 or 200 years from now - sooner or later, the Great God will wake up. It is only then that we should once again join hands as compatriots after a long separation."

And Gemd gave a salute unto the people of the sanctuary.

"That will be the message given by Lady Fermes. I would be happy to share this with my descendants as a side of the truth."

The unspeakable silence hit the spot.

There, a small voice sounds, "Well......"

The Lord of the Voice was Tia.

"So... will sooner or later the people of the sanctuary and the people of the outside world be able to join hands as compatriots...?

"Master Fermes believes so. And I believe we should."

Tia slowly stepped out.

That hand holds the hand of me and Ai-Fa.

"Tia sets apart from the Astas today. But... if the sons of Tia and his sons can be compatriots with the sons of Asta..."

Tears spill out of Tia's eyes.

At the same time, Ai-Fa hugged Tia's body.

"Don't cry, it's Tia. If you cry, so will Asta."

The voice of Ey-Fa, speaking as such, was shaking small.

Tia spills a pure smile as she spills a large grain of tears.

"No, Tia, I'm glad... because I didn't even imagine a happy ending like that..."

The moment I saw Tia smile, my heart broke too.

It was a terribly indifferent mind that was shattered by all sorts of passions.

I was almost unconscious, cuddling Tia's body by Ey-Fa's body.

"Asta... can the people of the woods and the people of the sanctuary live as compatriots sooner or later...?

"Yeah. I'm sure he is."

I couldn't even see it, and I spilled tears, too.

Both Tia's body and Ai-Fa's body are as hot as a toddler with a fever. The warmth has disturbed my heart.

"Well... if... if the Great God awakens while the Tiers are alive..."

"Yeah. We can be brothers, too."

I don't want to let go of this warmth.

But we have to go back to the woods.

But - if, one day, we are allowed to be compatriots - if we can live with such hope in our hearts - there has never been such happiness.

Tia's hand grabs my back.

And Tia began to cry, raising her voice.

Neither could I.

And - Ai-Fa, who looks like Tia's red hair, was crying like a child, too.

This is the first time I've seen such a crying face of I-Fa.

So what, I squeezed my cry.

The sadness of having to break up with Tia and the joy of maybe seeing her again one day will run through my body like a torrent.

It couldn't have been possible, such as controlling it.

With all that enthusiasm flirting, I blur in the corner of my head.

Did people 600 years ago also grieve at their separation from their fellow countrymen in this way?

And with such hope in his heart that one day he will be able to spend another time as a compatriot, was he to follow his own path?

No one knows the truth.

Truly, the day will come when the Great God will wake up, and even that is uncertain.

But that's great hope.

One day, Tia and I might be able to meet again. Even if that is not possible, children and grandchildren may be able to spend time as compatriots.

Just thinking about it that way, I could find enough joy to compare myself to the sadness of goodbye.

Tia is already my flesh.

Even if I don't have to reunite with Tia from now on - the six months I spent with Tia are carved into the most important part of my chest.

I was happy to meet Tia.

I couldn't wait to hear that Tia was thinking that way too.

And we'll continue to live our own ways.

Under the same heaven - with your presence in your chest.