Erich stared at the flame—a small fire shimmering with a radiant, golden light.

Yet, when an unexplainable sense of déjà vu from it arose, Erich was startled once more.

He was someone who had no interest in gods.

Even though he was from the Empire, where everything from the primordial creation myth to the founding of the nation was said to originate from divine beings.

Even when he saw the priests of the order perform miracles in the name of divine authority right before his eyes—when brilliant, multicolored divine power shone from their hands—it only felt to Erich like yet another kind of magic, nothing more.

But in that moment, he felt it clearly. What stood before him was, at the very least, an existence transcending humanity. This was not an understanding—it was instinct.

Then, he quickly realized where this sense of familiarity came from.

'When I fought the lord of the dead!'

Right before he regressed—when Erich, then-commander, beheld a certain glow. That was what had led him back to the past, and that was who had summoned him.

"... So it was you."

Erich muttered, unsure if the flame could comprehend his words. He couldn't help but mutter them regardless. And as he spoke, he sighed.

"With this much power, couldn't you have done something about those dead bastards first?"

Of course, the flame—the entity before him—gave no reply to his grumbling. What am I even doing here? Erich shook his head to regain composure and asked,

"So, why did you call me? What is this place?"

But the flame seemed to have no intention of answering Erich's questions one by one.

― Wooong.

Clicking his tongue, Erich thought,

'I didn't expect much anyway.'

But it only lasted a moment.

― Wooooong!

The flame vibrated lightly once more and then shot a small cluster of light toward Erich. When it touched him—

"What the—shi...!"

Erich shouted reflexively. He felt an alien energy run through his veins, flooding into his entire body—as if molten lava coursed through him.

When the process ended, the cluster of light slowly faded away.

'Something... has changed.'

He could feel it, if only faintly—the same energy he sensed from the flame now resided within his own body.

Erich reached out and lifted his hand.

― Hwaruk.

A crimson blaze blossomed from his palm. He knew instinctively how to summon it. He had witnessed power like this with his own eyes before.

'This is the Crimson Flame of Kaladia.'

He gazed into the flame. Then he opened his 'eye'. His eyes, glowing a bright vermillion, fixated sharply on the burning flame.

'... Aura.'

The crimson flame gifted to him by the flame resembled aura in almost every way when viewed through his 'eye'. If one had to put it precisely, it was aura transformed to an extreme degree.

"An unexpected gift."

The flame flickered lightly—as if smiling wordlessly at him. Erich continued speaking.

"What am I supposed to do now?"

The flame had given him power. That meant, surely, it wished for something in return.

As he finished speaking, the flame trembled greatly once, and—

― Ttak.

With a sound like a clap, an intense pain swept over him. His head grew unbearably hot. His vision was overtaken by a fog, like a mirage, swirling and dissipating.

His consciousness receded. It felt as if all space was being sucked into his very mind.

In his vision, people he missed began to appear one by one.

"Ah."

Countless memories rushed through his mind like a revolving lantern. Inevitably, each and every memory ended in someone's death.

Shattered fragments came toward him.

"C-commander..."

A subordinate reached out to him, only to collapse forward and scatter like dust. Erich's gaze wavered. Many more figures followed, dying in front of him.

Exactly as he remembered from his previous life. Erich walked toward them, slowly. The closer he got, the more their forms blurred.

'...'

Erich bowed his head.

Each overlapping shadow from the past weighed heavier on his shoulders. Each life lost was a grave sin on his part.

He had betrayed those who had trusted him, throwing their lives away for his sake. Commander Erich—a sinner.

That was who he truly was.

Erich's clenched fists trembled. He wanted to scream, but restrained himself. Instead, he asked the flame in a low voice,

"Is that your answer?"

Erich walked toward the distant flame. Countless shadows hurled themselves at him, but he did not stop.

Shadows shattered as he pressed forward, yet he did not avert his gaze, meeting all their faces.

As he broke through each vision and advanced, an old man stood by the flame. His mischievous eyes fixed upon Erich. His wrinkled lips moved.

"You brat, I told you to listen carefully, didn't I?"

Erich's eyes grew red with emotion. He reached out to the old man. But that shadow, too, vanished like smoke.

Having passed by all the visions, Erich moved on once again.

*

When he regained his senses, Erich was back at the altar. He asked,

[How long was I out?][About 30 seconds.]

Erich felt an unfamiliar pain and opened his hand. There were clear marks where his nails had dug in.

[... What on earth did you see? Was that also a vision from the Goddess, like before?]

Hrung-ga pointed to his face. There were clear trails of tears that he had not been able to stop.

Judging from the situation, Hrung-ga seemed to realize that Erich had just had another inexplicable experience. Erich flashed a faint smile.

[Faces I missed.][Come again?]

― Clang.

From Erich's scabbard, his sword was drawn with a metallic sound. And—

― Hwaruk.

A crimson flame burst along the sword's blade. Hrung-ga's eyes bulged.

[W-what is that?][In your words, I suppose it's the Goddess's grace.][...!][And, someone's legacy.]

Erich gestured with a tilt of his head. At a barbarian skeleton draped in a black mantle.

[...? That skeleton?][Yes.]

Looking confused, Hrung-ga furrowed his brow, then spoke up.

[You keep saying strange things.][Anyway, let's get out of here.][Get out?][Yes. I have an idea.]

A look of curiosity flickered in Hrung-ga's eyes again, but Erich paid him no mind. In the vision shown by the light, he remembered where the previous members who escaped had gone.

As they had done, he turned the lever and manipulated the mechanism.

Then—

― DRRRRRRR

With a heavy mechanical noise, a wall slid open. Thankfully, the mechanism seemed to still be in working order.

Having opened the passage, Erich looked back at Hrung-ga and said,

[Erich, are you going to call this too the Goddess's guidance?][Something like that. Aren't you getting tired of being surprised? You should get used to it.]

Erich led Hrung-ga down a dark passageway. There, a narrow stairway led upward, step after step. After a long walk, they reached a door at the end of the passage.

[Is this outside?!]

Hrung-ga exclaimed. Erich squinted as he stepped into the sunlight for the first time in a while, his eyes slow to adjust after so long underground.

Then, as soon as he tasted the outside air, Hrung-ga knelt and bowed his head.

Erich asked calmly,

[What's that for?]

Still kneeling, Hrung-ga murmured,

[A prayer of thanks. For the Goddess who let us escape.]

Erich stopped himself from saying anything further.

Strictly speaking, he couldn't deny that divine guidance had played some role in their escape.

A short while later, Hrung-ga finished a brief prayer and stood up.

[So, where do we go now?][Hmm...]

Erich closed his eyes for a moment, thinking. The flame had clearly bestowed new authority upon him, but had not told him what to do with it.

Instead, it had shown him images from the past—specifically, the faces of the dead.

'It probably means not to let this happen again.'

Being here had made him realize it—how he had lived in the past, who had been with him.

Until recently, even those still living had not truly left an impression on his heart.

But the blade passed on to him by the Mikhail of his previous life, and the visions granted by the flame, had led him once more to what he must do—the weight of the faith he'd forgotten and the task he must accomplish.

The conclusion was clear.

[I should do as I have always done.]

At those words, Hrung-ga met Erich's gaze. Did he mean to replicate the long history between the Watch and the barbarians?

But sensing not a trace of aggression in Erich's eyes, Hrung-ga simply shrugged.

[I don't know what you mean, but it seems the Goddess has her own intentions. Anyway, thank you for all your help, Erich. I owe you greatly.]

With that, Hrung-ga took something from his coat and offered it to Erich.

― Tuk.

Erich accepted the small trinket—a talisman made of animal bone and string, dyed with various colors.

[A mouse?][... It's a wolf! You're always glaring and fighting, your swelling hasn't even gone down yet, has it?]

Erich shifted his gaze between Hrung-ga and the talisman.

[Looks more like your handiwork to me...]

But as if he hadn't heard, Hrung-ga ignored the comment.

[Wherever you head next, if you ever come north again, bring that and come to our tribe.][What is it?][Show that to our warriors, and none will harm you. You'll be treated as a guest.][Don't you barbarians eat everything raw anyway? Not exactly tempting...]

Hrung-ga frowned.

[Only sometimes, for a rare treat.][... So you do eat it. I was just probing based on rumors.][You ignorant fool. You don't even know the taste of raw meat...!]

Erich chuckled at Hrung-ga's animated reaction.

[I'll visit if I have time.][Best not to delay; though gratitude does not fade with time, the burden on my heart will grow lighter as years pass.]

Hrung-ga went on.

[So, have you decided where to go?][I'll return, for now.][Where to?][Where I'm meant to be.]

Erich's eyes turned southward. In the distance, across the snowy plain, the silhouette of the Great Wall shimmered.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=Well, I'm going homeTo the place where I belongAnd where your love has always been enough for me【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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