"I want to die."
Ageha was in utter despair upon realizing that only a single year had passed since her sealing.
"I want to die, I want to die, I want to die...!"
She continued to wail, her voice echoing in the void. But there was no one to hear her. Her conversations with Black Ageha were, in the end, nothing more than a dialogue with herself.
"No... I hate this... please..."
One moment she was screaming; the next, she was sobbing uncontrollably. She cried for days on end. But even sorrow loses its edge after a month. Eventually, the only place left to go was a state of absolute nothingness.
Ageha simply stared into the void with unfocused eyes. Like a fish washed up on the shore, all strength had drained from her body.
"Ah..."
Occasionally, she would find herself wondering how long it had really been. It likely wasn't as long as it felt. As soon as that thought crossed her mind, she would be overwhelmed by the injustice of her torment. A single moment of reflection was enough to let her emotions surge like a muddy flood, eventually sublimating into tears.
How much time had truly slipped away? It felt like an eternity, yet she knew it was an illusion. In reality, very little time had passed at all.
"Why... why do I have to suffer like this?"
What was the root of it all?
Before this, Ageha had been a middle school student in Japan. She had lived a comfortable life—a well-to-do family, kind parents. She was popular at school, too. Many boys had confessed to her, but back then, she hadn't been interested in romance and had turned them all down. It was a perfectly ordinary life.
Until everything changed one day.
She was caught up in an Otherworld Summoning. When she opened her eyes, she was standing in a land she didn't recognize. At first, she was lost, but thanks to her Skill: Hero, she was able to dominate her enemies. Even if she failed, she could just use Save & Reset to go back. Because of that, she was even able to topple the Demon King’s subordinates.
She believed she was invincible. At that rate, defeating the Demon King himself seemed like it would be easy. But reality wasn't that simple. A group appeared, seeking to neutralize her Save & Reset skill and its power of Return by Death.
They sealed her. If she were sealed, she couldn't die, which meant she couldn't turn back time. But a mere seal couldn't nullify the true Hero's Power. Ageha still didn't fully understand the scope of that skill, but she had a theory.
The essence of the Skill: Hero was likely something like: "In any adversity, the Goddess of Victory shall always smile upon you."
The ability to rewind time upon death was just one facet of that power. That was why she could overcome even a hopeless situation like being sealed. With the awakening of the Skill: Hero, she gained the ability to transfer her skills to others.
She used that power to grant skills to strangers, beckoning them to the dungeon to break her seal. She had been arrogant enough to think she had conquered the seal that way. But her enemies hadn't given up.
Next, they sealed Ageha inside a specific object: a Holy Sword. Suddenly, she could only transfer her power to the wielder of that sword. As a result, a fictitious hero named Hero Eligion was manufactured. Like Ageha, he achieved many military feats.
Meanwhile, Ageha struggled desperately to break free. Eventually, she managed to contact Assassin Noc, who was close to Hero Eligion. She didn't want to remember what happened after that.
The Tyrant King had threatened her. He held the world hostage, demanding she accept the seal. Ageha, who couldn't stand the thought of being imprisoned again, initially refused. The result was the destruction of the world. That horrific sight remained a trauma to this day. She finally understood the true meaning of despair.
Yet, she didn't give up. She fought with everything she had to defeat the Tyrant King. She fought and died, fought and died. Again and again and again—she repeated it so many times her heart finally shattered.
The Tyrant King was an entity far beyond human understanding. But the real hell only began after she accepted the seal.
"Why? I tried so hard... so why do I have to be the one to suffer like this?"
She still wondered if this absurd world was even worth saving.
"Serves you right."
Black Ageha stood in the empty space, wearing a mocking sneer. Ageha knew the girl was only there to belittle her, but in her bone-deep loneliness, even a cruel companion was better than none.
"Why... why would you say such a horrible thing?"
"Because I hate you."
"The feeling is mutual. I hate you too."
It was a pointless argument. Black Ageha was just a part of her. Hating Black Ageha was the same as hating herself.
"Hey... do you really think Kiska will come for me?"
"What, don't you trust him?"
"It's not that. But a hundred years is a long time. People change."
"A hundred years for us is just a second for him. Though, considering what we did, it wouldn't be a surprise if he grew tired of us."
Ageha scowled. Why did the girl always say things that made her anxious? She really couldn't stand her.
"I suppose..."
But Ageha didn't have the strength left to argue. She simply nodded. When she looked back toward Black Ageha, there was only a void. She had vanished.
A crushing sense of loneliness surged in Ageha's chest. She tried to think of something happy to distract herself. For Ageha, her only happy memories involved Kiska.
When nearly a century had passed since her sealing, she felt a new presence in the depths of the Kataroff Dungeon. She prepared to transfer Save & Reset as she always did. By then, Ageha was already broken. She expected this newcomer to give up quickly, just like the others. She had no expectations for Kiska at all.
But she soon realized he was different. Normally, after five deaths, a person's spirit would break, and they would accept their end. But Kiska didn't give up even after dying a hundred times. Even as the Hero, Ageha herself had died fewer than thirty times before breaking.
As she watched him challenge the dungeon over and over, her numb heart began to race. She couldn't count how many times she had cheered him on in silence. When Kiska finally broke through the room filled with Bugbears, she had wept with joy.
Even then, there was no guarantee he would reach her. Out of three Teleportation Circles, only one led to her location. Ageha had prayed with every fiber of her being that he would choose the right one.
And then, he actually came.
By that moment, she was already completely in love with him. He was her Destined One. She had come to this world just to meet him. She had tried so hard to win his heart. But he had been so frantic, seemingly indifferent to her.
Ageha had panicked. She had to make him hers, no matter what. That was how things had ended up the way they did. Now, she realized how foolish she had been. Even if she had committed suicide, Save & Reset would have undone it. But she had been too far gone in her panic to realize it.
"Ugh... uuh..."
Tears began to fall again.
"I want to see him..." she whispered.
She loved him so much it was unbearable. She wanted to see him right now.
"Kiska..."
She spoke his name aloud. By the time the hundred years were truly up, she would surely be a shell of her former self.
"Help me..."
Her voice was thin and frail.
Fate was a cruel thing. The fact that she would not find salvation was, for now, a historical certainty. She was merely retracing a path she had already walked. Therefore, the fact that no one would rescue her for the next hundred years was an unalterable truth.
Here stood a miserable girl. People say happiness is a matter of perspective, but no matter how you looked at it, she was a tragic figure. And yet, God remained silent. He didn't even notice her. The world was full of people, but not one of them gave her a second thought. She was an outsider from another world; she didn't even have a family here.
The world ignored her, letting time tick by in silence. It seemed as though there wasn't a single soul willing to reach out to her.
Or so it appeared.
A single droplet of light fell. Ageha noticed it a few seconds later.
"What...?"
Lights began to fall from her fingertips, one after another. They rippled across the ground like stones dropped in a pond.
"Ah..."
The source was the ring Kiska had given her.
I see. Kiska is protecting me.
The sorrow that had gripped her evaporated, replaced by a soothing warmth. It wasn't so bad. As long as she could feel him near her, she wasn't afraid of anything.
Her heart grew peaceful.
◆
"Well, it looks like you've successfully saved the world."
Standing before me was something that didn't look human at all. I knew immediately it was the Observer. I didn't know anyone else who looked like that. It was this being who had sent me into the past.
"What happens to me now?"
"You'll be returning to your original time shortly. I wanted to thank you personally, so I arranged this meeting."
"I see..."
I nodded, a wave of emotion washing over me. Everything from that long journey into the past was finally over.
"Hey... why did you send me back to the original timeline?"
I had to ask. I had wanted to be sealed with Ageha, but he had denied me that.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm saying I wanted to stay in that era at the end. Why didn't you let me?"
"Ah, I see. My apologies."
The Observer sounded genuinely sorry.
"However, I am not as omnipotent as you might believe. I wasn't aware of your personal desires, and even if I had been, I likely couldn't have granted them. Crossing through space-time is an incredibly difficult feat."
I didn't really get what he was talking about. But at least it didn't seem like he'd done it out of spite.
"Whatever. Just get me back to my own time. I have someone I need to rescue."
"Very well. Then, on behalf of the world, let me say thank you."
I didn't know how to respond to that. I hadn't done anything special. But before I could say a word, the Observer vanished, and my surroundings began to blur. A few moments later, my feet hit solid ground.
I have to hurry. Ageha is waiting.
"Where am I?"
I needed to know my location before I could go to her. I looked up at the starry sky. Looking down, I realized I was standing on the pedestal reserved for those who conquered the Kataroff Dungeon. It was the same one I'd stood on a century ago.
I took off running.
I immediately hit the Teleportation Circle I'd used when I was exiled from the village, sending me into the depths of the dungeon. The destination is always random, so I had to figure out my bearings as soon as I landed.
"Kugoohhhhh!"
A Bugbear roared, lunging at me from the shadows of the corridor.
"Out of my way!"
I didn't have time for this. I dodged the attack and sprinted deeper into the dungeon.
Hurry, hurry, hurry!
My lungs burned, and my breath came in ragged gasps. My legs were cramping, and my vision was starting to swim. But I couldn't stop. Someone had been waiting for me for a hundred years.
"Finally... I found you."
Ageha was there, sealed within a Cage of Light as if in a deep sleep. No matter how many times I saw her, she was beautiful.
I reached out. The moment my hand touched it, the Cage of Light shattered with the sound of breaking glass.
"Ageha!"
I called her name, reaching out to catch her as she fell from the broken seal.
"...Kiska?"
She sounded confused, as if she couldn't believe what was happening. I gave her a gentle nod of confirmation.
"Yeah. It's me."
"Ugh... uwaaaaaah!"
She burst into tears, and I found myself crying right along with her.
"I... I tried so hard..."
"I know. You did great."
"Kiska, thank you... thank you for coming for me."
"I'm the one who should be sorry. For leaving you alone."
"It's okay... don't apologize."
We stayed like that for a long time. Eventually, she looked up at me with a tearful smile.
"I knew it. You really are my Prince."
Ageha Arc - End