“Father…”
It all happened out of the blue .
Crissot appeared before Tiera and the other priestesses purifying the World Tree and extended a thin rope made of mist towards her . Shibaid managed to stand between them at the last moment, but the rope was much stronger than it seemed . His stance was not ideal, but Shibaid was knocked back by the impact .
“Shin and the others did it, I suppose . ”
Shibaid spoke while holding up his shield . Tiera had noticed too . Reforgerer’s gigantic body could be seen from the holy area, but it was nowhere to be seen anymore . They thought it was defeated, but the World Tree priestess Tiera knew Reforgerer hadn’t disappeared yet .
She could feel something close to its powerful presence right in front of her .
“Lina, Lymliss, please continue with the purification . ”
“Lady Tiera, that’s…”
Lina replied to Tiera, but the latter did not notice . Lymliss had heard her words: she looked at Tiera, wide-eyed .
“This is something I must put an end to . ”
She was about to do something reckless . Tiera herself knew it . She might even end up ruining the efforts of Shin’s group . There might be a safer way .
She felt it, however . That Crissot’s soul, her father’s soul, was right there .
She could not sense her father’s soul when Reforgerer was still active, but now she clearly could tell . His presence was the reason why it had appeared here, and that he was not trying to attack .
“Tiera, what are you…?”
Shibaid was focused on Crissot, but looked with bewilderment at Tiera, standing beside him .
She knew the reason . Her figure was probably different than usual . When Crissot appeared, she felt something descending inside her . She had experienced it many times when she lived in the village, it was quite a nostalgic sensation .
“It’s okay . Please leave it to me . ”
Tiera stepped forward, beyond Shibaid’s shield . Crissot did not attack in the meantime .
“Aah…aah…”
Crissot reacted to Tiera stepping forward with a sort of pained, or very emotional, lament . From his eyes, marked by tears of blood, now flowed transparent tears .
“So this is spirit channeling…”
Tiera could hear Shibaid’s comment . She put her hands forward and saw someone else’s hands overlapping hers . Lymliss and Shibaid were probably surprised by them .
“No, that’s not it . ”
They weren’t someone else’s, a stranger’s hands . She could tell . She had a premonition . The features of the elf Shin and Lina saw matched with someone Tiera knew . Her whole body was filled with a nostalgic sensation . Tiera knew that warmth very well .
She approached Crissot, slowly . As she did, mist rose from Crissot’s body, melting away like steam . Tiera knew: it was miasma . As the miasma vanished, Crissot’s body started to change . His figure, identical to how he looked when still alive, started to shrivel .
It was a natural change, as what kept Crissot alive was disappearing . When Tiera was in front of him, half of Crissot’s body turned into a mummy .
“Father . ”
Tiera softly embraced her father’s pitiful figure . The miasma’s presence was no more .
“I am here, I am alive . Your daughter lives on, strongly . ”
Tiera’s feelings mixed with those of the woman enveloping her and turned into words . Tiera did not actually know what to say . She could understand Crissot’s pain, but she could not feel it . At the time, she was doing all she could to survive and did not have the leeway of thinking of her father’s feelings .
She gained some peace after she was in Tsuki no Hokora, but she unconsciously put away the painful memories of her village . Thus she now responded to the emotions transmitted by Crissot .
About how she was rescued by Schnee and stayed at Tsuki no Hokora . How she met Shin and her curse was lifted . How she met all sorts of people and visited many places . Tiera talked about an adventure she could have never experienced, had she stayed in the village .
Crissot’s arms moved . Thin arms that could break at any moment embraced Tiera in return .
“Aaah…I’m so glad… . ”
His words trailing in the air, Crissot disappeared . The wind moving through Tiera’s hair brought the ashed Crissot dissolved into the sky . The wind circled the World Tree once, then vanished in the air . Crissot was no more . It had all happened in mere moments .
The emotions Crissot transmitted were all born from concern about Tiera . There was nothing about himself . It seemed like the hate towards the world he shouted about during his first battle against Shin never existed in the first place .
“Was this…alright?”
The question was not directed to Shin or another party member, nor to a priestess like Lymliss, but to the silver-haired woman who appeared after Crissot vanished .
“… . . ”
Irene, Crissot’s wife, Tiera’s mother, embraced her daughter, silently . She had no physical body, but Tiera could feel her embrace all the same . Even without words, she could feel her emotions . Sadness for not being able to protect her . Pain for not being able to save her . Anger towards their absurd circumstances . They all lingered within her, even after death .
Those were not all that lingered, however .
Tiera’s growth, the smile she showed her, the fact that she saved Crissot, filled her with happiness and love . Her emotions not as priestess, but as mother, passed into and filled Tiera’s heart .
“Mother…”
Tiera’s voice trembled . She held back, she could not cry . This time, this dialogue, was a miracle that would never come again .
World Priestesses are the guardians of the World Tree and the bonds between people . The cornerstones of peace . There was something that not even Shin and his companions knew, however . That priestess was not allowed to use their powers for themselves .
Priestesses with the ability to speak with the deceased — barring certain exceptions — were not allowed to willingly summon their parents, siblings, or anyone close to them . Because of that, this was the only chance Tiera had to express her feelings . Once it was over, she could not do it anymore .
Because of that, Tiera smiled . She did not want the last expression her mother would see to be a crying one . She wanted her mother to remember her smiling .
“Be healthy and strong, my beloved daughter…”
Irene left these words as she disappeared . She turned into a small, flickering light and joined the other lights that appeared, to be absorbed once again in the World Tree .
◆◆◆◆
“So, is it all over?”
Shin whispered while looking at the fading lights . He had left Reforgerer’s body to Schnee and Yuzuha and had moved first . When he arrived, Tiera was already embracing Crissot . He saw that Shibaid was not interfering, so he decided to wait as well .
Just in case, he checked the presences in the city via his map, but could not find any moving in a way that suggested there was fighting going on .
“Reforgerer has disappeared, so I believe we can say so . ”
Shin heard Schnee’s words from behind him and used 【Through Sight】 to look in the direction where Reforgerer was . Its icon was on the map no more, leaving only a large crater where it had collapsed, but not even the smallest scale . It was clearly completely gone .
Shin looked again at Tiera, who had not moved a step and was completely still .
“Are you okay?”
Losing to the silent pressure coming from Schnee and Shibaid’s gazes, Shin eventually called Tiera . Lymliss and Lina also noticed, but found it hard to approach her .
“Shin…”
Tiera turned towards Shin . She had held back her tears for long: they were now gleaming on her eyes . Tiera let herself go, as if falling on Shin’s body .
“Did I . . do good enough…?”
“… . they were both smiling . You did for sure . ”
Her voice trembled . Shin replied to her question with confidence .
Both Crissot and Irene showed a peaceful smile in the end . Looking at their expressions, no one would think she had failed .
“I see…I see…”
Her voice trembled even more .
You don’t have to hold back anymore . So Shin wanted to express as he lightly embraced Tiera and patted her head . Tiera’s body turned stiff for a moment, then she started to weep loudly .
The World Tree watched over the group, silently .
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