Chapter 248: Healing Wounds
[Omniscient Review has concluded...]
Ruvian returned back to the present.
Yerin continued:
"And because of that, my father chose to accompany her. It became a 29-day expedition. He always described it to me as one of the most perilous journeys he had ever experienced."
"They managed to conquer the Abyssheart Sanctum, found the cure the physician had spoken of, and returned — throughout the entire expedition, not a single knight lost his life."
Yerin lowered her gaze, her expression growing quiet and complicated. A mixture of gratitude and sorrow flickered across her face.
"Except for one..."
Ruvian didn’t have to wait for Yerin to finish. He already knew who she meant.
It was Azphira herself...
...the one who never made it back.
Ruvian had been listening quietly for some time now. Because of that, he suddenly felt compelled to ask something, even though he already knew the answer.
"I’m sorry, but... how did Azphira not make it back?"
"That..." she trailed off for a moment. "On their way back, they encountered a few Reaper-Rank Voidspawns. It was a very unfortunate turn of events. Facing creatures like those with the manpower they had simply wasn’t enough."
"My father willingly stayed behind to hold the creatures back while everyone else escaped. Someone had to make it back with the cure, otherwise... the whole expedition would have meant nothing. A few knights stepped forward as well. They refused to leave him behind."
Yerin lowered her gaze.
"But Azphira... she stopped them."
"She said they were only throwing their lives away. None of them were strong enough to hold those voidspawns back. At best, they would only die a little sooner, and it still wouldn’t be enough to let everyone escape."
Yerin let out a slow breath before continuing.
"So... before anyone could argue with her, she made the decision herself. She was the strongest among them. If anyone had the slightest chance of holding the line, it was her."
Ruvian quietly watched the grass in front of him sway.
Honestly, he agreed with her decision.
Azphira was, without question, the best person to hold the beasts back. She could buy far more time than anyone else ever could.
She was a Grand Magus, after all.
And more importantly, the knights still needed Sir Osric to lead them home safely. Without him, there was no guarantee the survivors — or the cure — would ever make it back.
Then, Yerin suddenly asked.
"You’ve never heard that story before? I hope not. It’s one of the most celebrated tales back then. I mean, all one hundred knights of varion made it back alive. Sure, many of them were wounded, but they returned nonetheless. It’s such an extraordinary feat that it almost sounds like something pulled straight from a storybook."
Ruvian smiled.
"Actually, I have." He gave a small shrug. "But like you said, I’m the kind of person who learns from his mistakes. So this time, I figured it would be better to stay quiet and let you tell the story." (+100PP)
Yerin stared at him for a brief moment before letting out a soft laugh.
Ruvian chuckled as well.
Then, their laughter faded. Before long, Ruvian spoke again.
"But one thing I’m not clear about yet..."
"Why did — why was Rosalin the one you wanted to fight?" Ruvian asked quietly. "From the story you told me... your father made it back safely, didn’t he?" (+100PP)
Yerin nodded, though the smile that appeared on her face was strange, it was tinged with bitterness.
"That’s... what I really wanted to talk about."
She paused for a long moment, drawing in a slow breath before continuing.
"When my father and the other knights finally returned... they were completely devastated. Their expedition should have been remembered as a miracle. They brought back the cure. It should have been a triumphant homecoming."
"But none of them could bring themselves to celebrate."
"They couldn’t even lift their heads," her voice softened. "They were so consumed by guilt that they couldn’t bring themselves to face Lord Varion."
"When word reached Blackwall Gate that the expedition had returned, Lord Varion and his wife rushed to the southern border themselves."
Yerin lowered her eyes.
"And when they arrived... my father and every knight knelt before them. They laid down their swords and offered their resignations as knights of House Varion."
Ruvian’s eyes widened.
"They believed they had failed," she let out a quiet, bitter laugh. "But truthfully, from what my father told me, Lord Varion never ordered them to resign."
"He never blamed them."
"They simply couldn’t forgive themselves."
Ruvian remained silent, allowing her to continue.
"And that night... no one in the Southern Region slept. The entire city was illuminated. Everyone gathered to pay their respects to Azphira. Countless sky lanterns drifted into the sky until the night itself seemed to glow."
Yerin watched the distant horizon as though she could still see that night.
"When I was older, my father finally told me the whole story."
"...I was still immature back then."
"So when I learned everything, and then saw that, despite my father’s sacrifice and Azphira giving up her life, Rosalin still had to spend the rest of her life as a cripple... I–I couldn’t accept it."
"To me, their sacrifice felt meaningless..."
She frowned slightly.
"I mean, my father lost the duty he loved more than anything. Azphira lost her life. And then Rosalin... she still couldn’t walk even after years."
She fell silent for a moment.
"Haaa... but as I grew older," she said quietly, "I realized no one was truly at fault."
"Not my father."
"Not the knights."
"And of course, not even Rosalin."
She smiled faintly, though sadness lingered in her eyes.
"It was simply a cruel tragedy where everyone lost something. But I guess... seeing Rosalin inside that mist made me realize something."
"I thought I had already moved on."
She lowered her head.
"But deep down... maybe I..."
"...Never really let go of it yet."
*****
After a while, once Yerin had finished sharing the truth of her story, the rest of the squad finally woke up. Then, Ruvian helped them with breakfast, serving the soup he had made.
But they all remained inside the cave, seemingly reluctant to move, or perhaps still unable to fully process what had happened last night.
Shima, especially, seemed quieter than ever. Arlok was still energetic, but even he carried a subtle sense of heaviness around him.
Only Horren seemed the same as usual, though he looked far less confident than before.
’Haa... I guess it took a heavier toll on their mood and mental state than I expected,’ Ruvian thought.
Ruvian glanced at Yerin, and the two exchanged a subtle nod. While preparing the soup earlier, they had already discussed their plan for the day.
So, Ruvian began speaking.
"Alright, since we didn’t get much rest, and with how unfortunate our luck was last night, we’ll simply spend this morning until late afternoon resting."
Arlok immediately grunted. "What!? Are we seriously going to waste our time just resting? We need to gather points."
Horren spoke next, his voice so faint it was almost a whisper.
"I... I’m fine. I already rested enough."
Shima remained silent.
Then, Yerin spoke.
"True, points are important. But we really need a chance to recover. It’s only Day 2, we shouldn’t push ourselves too hard. Besides, Ruvian here hasn’t slept at all since last night."
Everyone turned toward Ruvian, who simply smiled with dark circles faintly visible beneath his eyes.
As memories of the battle within the mist resurfaced, guilt quietly settled over them. (+200PP)
"So, let’s give him some room to rest."
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[Chapter 248: Healing Wounds]
Plot Points= 11,300