Epilogue (2)
A blue sky came into view.
A sky so bright it was hard to see in modern times.
Up there, there was something that did not exist in our world.
Two moons.
Proof that this world was not the one I had come from.
"We've been waiting for your visit."
When we arrived, there were people welcoming us.
A girl dressed in snow-white vestments, and knights wearing armor.
That part was similar to something from the Middle Ages, but the rest of the people's attire was distinctly modern.
"... Well, that's all fine."
I let out a sigh and looked around.
A considerable number of people were staring at us with eyes full of anticipation.
"How did you know we were coming to this world?"
Today, with the support of the demons, we had been able to cross over to another world.
The road we had traveled once before, to a world now inaccessible to demons.
The demons couldn't come, but they allowed us, saying I should be fine.
'Honestly, I would've liked to prepare a bit more before coming.'
But our knowledge-hungry great mage, with all the enthusiasm of a child, pleaded so much that I had no choice.
Moreover, the members of Unique ended up following Ah-yeon here as a group—which was another problem altogether.
Currently, they were all standing around awkwardly, eyes wide open, trying to read the situation.
Well, anyone would react that way, being greeted by hundreds of people the moment they set foot in a new world.
"There was a prophecy."
The girl in the white vestments at the front spoke up.
"That today, an old hero would visit this world."
"A prophecy?"
"Yes, I thought for sure you would know this person."
Someone we know?
As I stared at the girl with that question in mind, she smiled softly.
Somehow, her attitude reminded me of someone I knew...
"Ow!"
Just as I had that thought, a sharp pain shot through my side.
"... That hurts."
"You were thinking of Estella, weren't you?"
"Well..."
Anyone would think of her, looking at those white vestments and hearing that way of speaking.
"Hmph."
The girl laughed softly at our exchange.
As we stood awkwardly, she continued speaking.
"It's only natural that I resemble her. I, too, am a Saintess, just like Estella-nim."
"A Saintess? You?"
"Yes. Is that so surprising?"
"Well... not really."
Just from her appearance, the girl was obviously like a picture-perfect Saintess.
But I hadn't realized this at all.
Of course not.
Because from her, I hadn't felt even a shred of power.
"Hehe, it must be because I have no divine authority, so that's what you assumed."
The girl said this with a laugh.
"You must know. A Saintess is one who reveals themselves only when the world needs it."
She slowly looked around.
As if trying to show us this world.
"In this era, a Saintess was never born. That means this era didn't need someone like a Saintess."
"But didn't you just say you're a Saintess?"
"Yes. I'm a symbolic figure. It's a tradition that's continued since the moment humanity was freed from the demons, long ago."
She showed off her white vestments and the staff she held with pride.
"I am the Saintess of peace."
A world where someone with no divine authority and just an ordinary human can stay as a Saintess.
She was a being symbolizing such an era.
"Then, Park Jung-woo-nim."
And then, as if to tell us to follow her, she bowed her head.
"I will show you our changed world."
The girl grinned broadly, proudly exposing her white teeth as she said this.
***
"I didn't even want to come, honestly."
"What are you talking about? Yeon-ji, you're the one who wanted to come the most."
"Would you be quiet?"
"Look at this, acting up just because you can't use your strength here. Seriously, you're too much!"
From behind, I could hear Yeon-ji and Alencia squabbling.
And from the bag hanging on Alencia's back, a cat was poking its head out.
... Did she even bring Mimos along?
"But... this world is a lot different than I imagined."
Soo-ah looked around, seeming fascinated.
"I thought it'd look more like a fantasy world."
"It used to look exactly like that."
But just as Soo-ah said, the world had changed drastically.
Three hundred years. That much time had passed.
No, perhaps even longer.
It was more than enough time for a world once devastated to revive and transform anew.
"We still have a long way to go."
The Saintess, who had introduced herself as 'Altena', said this as she looked at the buildings lining the street.
Many of the buildings were gothic in style, but there were also plenty of modern ones.
Honestly, if you imagined a fantasy-style modern city, this would be it.
A world where magic and science blended together.
"Especially science."
"... Was that something Jung-woo-oppa taught you before he left?"
"Yes, I'd say it's developed as much as magic from your world."
At Altena's words, Ah-yeon gazed at me intently.
It was a look that seemed to ask what kind of trouble I had caused now.
"I mean, it's not like I'm some scientist. What could I have possibly taught them?"
"That may be, but... just look at what's around us—don't you think it's all a bit too modern?"
At Ah-yeon's words, I was at a loss for words, too.
Truly, this world looked astonishingly similar to Earth.
Especially since time in this world flowed twice as quickly as on Earth, you could leave for just a moment and come back to find a future world.
"That won't happen."
Perhaps overhearing our conversation, Altena spoke up again.
"I heard about the events that happened in your world. So, now... I don't think the flow of time will be all that different anymore."
"Why is that?"
"Because the timeline, which had been distorted by a massive rift, was set right again."
In short, this is what happened.
Since the rift that Ah-yeon and I were caught up in, the timeline had become severely warped, but after everything that unfolded in our world, it returned to its correct form.
The rift that appeared at the Grand Canyon, and then the demonic zone's portal created by Estella, played a role in that.
'So that's why she created a passage to the demonic zone.'
Was it to realign the timeline?
In other words, had we left things as they were, rift incidents might have continued happening indefinitely.
"The demons' method of invading the world breaks the balance of other worlds, after all."
Yeah, given that they randomly caused dungeons, gates, and rifts everywhere, it would have been stranger for things not to fall apart.
In the end, all of this was part of the process of setting things right.
"But you seem to know all about this. Is that all related to prophecy, too?"
"Yes."
"And this prophecy... didn't you say it was from someone we knew well?"
At my question, Altena smiled sweetly and looked at someone.
It was Alencia.
"The Saintess of Wisdom, Sarah Machvela."
The instant I heard that name, I understood.
Alencia's mother.
And the very same title as the power we'd only ever heard about through stories.
"Mother..."
"Yes, she was also the last Saintess born with divine authority. This era's been developed by Sarah-nim herself, based on what Jung-woo-nim told her."
As I said, I wasn't a scientist, or an architect, or anything like that.
Of course I didn't possess the scientific knowledge necessary for this world.
All I did was share things about our world.
Those stories reached people and, eventually, Sarah.
"Even if you have the knowledge, it's hard to know where to begin or what's right to do."
My words became direction.
The history of Earth served as a textbook for this world.
Sarah used it as wisdom, as prophecy, to help the world develop.
That time must have coincided with Sarah's years as the Saintess.
"Then, shall we keep looking around this world?"
And so, we followed Altena and had a look at this world.
We visited the places that our adventures had touched, places that now remained as relics.
The forest where Estella had wept remained just as it was.
The towns we'd passed through had become cities.
The empire had fallen, becoming a kingdom.
And the sites of hideous research and experiments had vanished.
"This person..."
Soo-ah looked at something amidst it all and spoke.
"Why?"
"It's just the handwriting feels incredibly familiar."
"Well, that's the one who wrote the magic power training method you saw."
"I thought so?"
Some things were familiar to us.
Though it was all in the past now, the traces of the heroes who had saved the world with me remained as they were.
"Oh my, they wrote such praises for you that it's almost embarrassing to read."
"Could you not be so sarcastic?"
"What do you mean? I'm just truly impressed by it!"
Almost as if unwilling to let themselves forget, every place I passed was inscribed with phrases or legends about me.
A legend, huh.
Well, three hundred years had passed, so it made sense.
"Now, this is the last place."
We continued touring the world.
Since we traveled by magic, there was never any shortage of time.
If nothing else, their teleportation magic was leagues better than ours.
It really was handy to travel between worlds like this.
"We definitely need to implement this on our side someday."
"You know you can't just take things without thinking. Right?"
"I know, okay?"
As we chatted, we arrived at a huge temple.
Yet, it was also a place deeply familiar to me.
The prison that once held Estella.
And the underground laboratory where I'd been experimented on.
They'd built a massive temple on the site.
"Wow, look at this..."
Ah-yeon glanced at the thing before us, then shot me a quick look.
"This is you, right, oppa?"
"Yeah, it... it seems so."
At the entrance to the temple was a statue.
A statue of me, and one of Estella.
"The Hero of Salvation, and the Goddess of Wishes."
The statues didn't look much like me.
And Estella's statue didn't look like Estella, either.
But well... this was fine in its own way.
"It was here that Estella-nim departed on her journey."
"A journey?"
"Yes, a journey."
Was it some kind of metaphor?
Most likely. When the era changes, the Saintess's life comes to an end.
Still, saying she "departed on a journey" rather than "closed her eyes" or "died" struck a chord in me.
"As foretold in prophecy, I'm glad you've come to this world."
"Why is that?"
"So that, finally, we can express our gratitude."
Altena slowly and deeply bowed toward me.
She wasn't the only one.
The people following her, the others trailing after us, all bowed.
"When you left, we didn't even realize it."
So many people, turned toward me, toward us.
"So we are grateful to be given this chance now."
And then, they bowed to the statue of the Goddess of Wishes standing before us.
"Thank you. Because of you, we're here today."
The Saintess of Peace said those words and beamed.
Then, straightening, she continued.
"Now, the worlds are connected once more. The times have changed, and a new path leads us forward."
The era of the Demon King had ended, and the path it led to was the present.
It was, I think, a hard and difficult road.
"So, we wish to return the spark we received."
Eventually Altena thumped her staff onto the ground and called out.
"With this grace..."
Earth had become connected to the demonic zone.
The balance of the world had been shaken in the war against the demonic zone, and everything was in disarray.
In order to buy time until the 'possibility' created by Ah-yeon's magic could bloom,
And to find a way to set things right, I had come here.
"...a miracle."
With the Saintess's words, the sound of people's cheers echoed out.
Some of it was simple welcoming, some of it gratitude directed toward me.
I didn't know how these three worlds would turn out from here on.
But, at the very least, I didn't think things would go wrong.
That vague thought lingered in my mind.
"Right?"
"Of course."
Because miracles were always with us.
So, it would certainly be alright.
I looked up at the statue of the Goddess gazing at us—
at the Goddess of Wishes, who was said to have departed on a journey from this place.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Hmm, apparently I miscounted...
There's 1 more final chapter...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】