Chapter 310 -: 309 Am I forgetting something?[3]
’Am I... forgetting something?’
The question escaped Julius almost absentmindedly as he tightened his grip around the rough wooden handle of the cart.
Veins bulged across his forearms as he leaned forward, pulling the heavy carriage along the dirt road that wound toward the nearest city.
Large sacks of freshly harvested grain were stacked neatly behind him, their combined weight enough to exhaust an ordinary man long before reaching the city gates.
Yet Julius continued forward without complaint. Sweat rolled down his forehead, soaking his clothes as the afternoon sun beat mercilessly against his back.
Despite the physical exhaustion, a faint smile lingered upon his lips.
Inside the cart, Lyra rested quietly against the sacks of grain. The long days of helping around their small farm had left her exhausted, and Julius had insisted she sit and rest for the remainder of the journey.
Watching her peaceful sleeping face made the strain on his body feel insignificant. Everything was ordinary. Everything was peaceful.
This simple life was exactly what he had always wished for. Yet for reasons beyond his understanding, an uncomfortable emptiness lingered deep within his chest.
It wasn’t painful enough to distract him, but it was impossible to ignore, as though something precious had quietly disappeared without leaving behind even a memory.
Before Julius could dwell on those strange feelings any longer, the bushes lining both sides of the narrow road suddenly rustled.
His footsteps instinctively stopped. A strange sense of danger surged through his body, but before he could even react, several masked men burst out from the undergrowth with swords already drawn.
Their movements were swift and merciless. Julius barely managed to place himself between them and the cart before cold steel pierced through his body.
Warm blood spilled onto the dusty road as another blade found its way into his side. Behind him came Lyra’s terrified scream, followed almost instantly by silence.
Julius desperately tried to turn around, but another strike sent him collapsing onto one knee. His vision blurred as more blood poured from his wounds.
The masked men ignored his dying body, dragging the grain from the cart while stepping over him as though he were nothing more than discarded trash.
Gathering every last ounce of strength, Julius slowly lifted his head toward the cart. There, lying motionless among the scattered sacks of grain, was Lyra.
Crimson spread beneath her body, staining the harvest they had worked so hard to gather.
Tears mixed with the blood running down Julius’ face as darkness slowly consumed his vision. His trembling lips parted one final time.
"I’m... sorry..."
*****
"Am I... forgetting something?"
Julius slowly opened his eyes as a cool breeze drifted through the open window and brushed gently across his face. He stretched both arms overhead before releasing a long yawn.
Fatigue covered every inch of his expression, leaving his pale face looking drained despite the morning sunlight pouring into the room.
Rubbing his aching neck, he let out a weary sigh before sitting upright at the large wooden desk positioned beside the window.
"What a tiresome job..."
His gaze shifted toward the neatly stacked sheets of paper waiting before him. Picking up a quill, Julius dipped its tip into the ink before opening a fresh notebook.
Today marked the beginning of a new novel, and unlike his previous works, he wanted this one to carry a piece of himself within its pages.
After a few moments of thought, his hand finally began moving across the paper.
The protagonist would be a woman.
He carefully wrote down the image forming inside his mind. She was tall and slender, carrying herself with an effortless elegance that made every movement appear graceful.
Her skin was smooth and flawless, possessing a beauty almost unreal beneath the light.
Then came her hair. He paused for several seconds, tapping the feathered end of the quill against the page.
’Pink?’
He quietly shook his head.
No...
That didn’t feel right. For reasons he couldn’t explain, another color naturally surfaced within his thoughts.
Black.
Not ordinary black. The deep, endless black of a raven’s wings beneath the night sky.
His quill resumed moving.
The description gradually transformed into poetry almost without conscious effort. Julius himself frowned at that.
Modern readers enjoyed poetic descriptions far more than plain narration, or at least that was what he had always believed. Yet strangely enough, another thought surfaced alongside it.
Wasn’t poetry... the very soul of storytelling?
The unfamiliar thought lingered for only a moment before disappearing just as mysteriously as it had appeared.
Julius quietly frowned, feeling as though someone else’s memories had briefly brushed against his own. Nevertheless, he continued writing until the poem was complete.
Under the twilight of dusk, her shadow dwarfed the ocean.
Her alabaster skin outshone the dying breath of the merciless sun.
Even the fading twilight seemed to lose its radiance beneath the gaze of her fearless onyx eyes.
Was she a lioness looking down upon the world with unshaken pride, or a goddess counting the final moments of daylight?
No one knew.
Yet the graceful flutter of her endless hair, black as a raven’s wings, raised another question.
Was it merely the reflection of the Abyss...
Or had she imprisoned the Abyss within those silken strands?
The sea itself seemed to retreat beneath her feet, while the heavens surrendered their final light before her presence.
Because...
She was the Goddess of...
"Julius..."
A gentle voice suddenly whispered beside his ear.
Before he could react, two delicate arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders while a warm body pressed softly against his back. The woman leaned closer, intending to place a kiss upon his cheek.
Something inside Julius snapped. A violent surge of fury exploded through his mind without warning. His body reacted before his thoughts could catch up.
"How dare you touch me, woman!" He violently shoved the woman away.
The force sent her stumbling backward.
Time seemed to slow, her frightened eyes widened as her foot slipped.
Behind her stood a decorative stone spike placed beside the wall. There was a sickening crack.
Silence filled the room as Julius froze.
His expression slowly crumbled as his gaze fell upon the woman lying motionless upon the floor.
It was...his fiancée.
Blood slowly spread beneath her head while her neck rested at an unnatural angle.
"No..."
The word escaped his lips as little more than a breath.
His legs gave way beneath him as he rushed toward her, desperately lifting her into his arms. His trembling hands tried to support her head while panic overwhelmed every rational thought.
He called her name again and again, shaking her gently as though she might awaken at any moment. He desperately attempted to breathe life back into her, refusing to accept the reality before his eyes.
But no miracle came. The warmth slowly faded from her body. Her lifeless eyes stared silently beyond him.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down Julius’ face as guilt consumed him completely.
His lips quivered.
"...I’m sorry."
"I’m..."
"...sorry?"