Chapter 8: The Promise of Reunion

────! Sister!

‘So noisy…. I just want to sleep a little longer….’

───Wake up!

“Ugh.”

I opened my eyes at the shrill voice ringing in my ear.
What I saw was Nahida, with tears welling up in her eyes.

“Sister!”

Nahida suddenly threw herself into my arms, and I was stunned for a moment.
Seeing her sniffling in my embrace, I slowly began to stroke her back.

‘By the way… where am I?’
‘What on earth happened….’

“Ngh.”

The memories of what happened returned with a slight headache.

‘That’s right, Nahida and I definitely asked an old man for directions…’
‘And then…’

“Damn it.”

The very thing I had been so worried about had finally happened.

‘Of all people, that old man had to be a Sage….’

I wiped my eyes with my hand and let out a deep sigh.

This is the worst-case scenario.
We’re like this for now, but it wouldn’t be strange if the Sage decided to lock Nahida away separately at any moment.

And my prediction was spot on.

The tightly locked door opened, and the old man I saw on the street before, no, the Sage, walked in.

I glared venomously at the Sage and hugged Nahida tightly.

The Sage looked down at us with a cold gaze and clicked his tongue.

“Tsk, how small and shabby.”

“Do you intend to insult the God of Wisdom?”

“Of course not.”
“To us, there is only one God of Wisdom, the great Rukkadevata.”
“You are not the God of Wisdom.”

I let out a scoff at the Sage’s words.

“Cut the nonsense.”
“Rukkadevata is dead, and now Nahida is the second God of Wisdom.”

Seeing the Sage’s face twist in anger, I felt a slight thrill and sharply criticized him.

“The Sages of the Akademiya claim to know everything, yet you don’t even know about the death of your own god?”
“So this is the extent of your wisdom.”

I was about to criticize the Sage further, but my words were cut short.

Smack—

‘Huh?’

My vision flashed white for a moment.
A stinging pain spread across my cheek.

“S-Sister!”

“If you insult the great Rukkadevata any further, you’d best not expect even the slightest courtesy.”

‘Did I… just get slapped…?’

“Soon, a decision will be made on what to do with you lot.”
“Until then, make yourselves comfortable.”

Even after the Sage left the room, I stared at the door for a long time.

A long time passed before the Sage returned.
Since the place where Nahida and I were held was a sealed room with no light seeping in, I couldn’t tell how much time had passed.

Still, I could guess that a considerable amount of time had gone by.

“Sister….”

“It’s okay, Nahida.”
“Nothing bad will happen.”

‘Even if something does, I’ll stop it.’

I glared at the Sage, steeling my resolve.
The Sage looked down at us for a moment before saying the worst words I could have imagined.

“The younger sister will come with us.”
“The older sister will wait here.”

At those words, people from the Akademiya came in from behind the Sage and tried to take Nahida.
I pulled Nahida towards me and shouted.

“Wait, I still have something to say.”
“It’s something you’ll want to hear.”

At my words, the Sage gestured for the Akademiya people to back away.

“I’ll hear you out.”
“However, if it’s nothing important, know that it will be the end for you.”

I swallowed dryly and slowly opened my mouth.

“My power… it’s the power to make imagination a reality.”
“With this power, I should be able to bring Rukkadevata back to life.”

‘Even if it’s only a very faint possibility.’

Swallowing the rest of my words, I waited for the Sage’s reply.

“Come to think of it, I do feel the great Rukkadevata’s aura most strongly from you.”
“Well, fine.”
“Then, what do you desire in return?”

“Let my sister, Nahida, go.”

“Why should we do that when we can simply take both you and your sister?”

“If that happens, I will never use my power.”

“…Then it would be best if you demonstrated that power first.”

I hesitated for a moment at the Sage’s words.
But it was clear he would reject my offer if I didn’t give a demonstration here.
So I closed my eyes and began to concentrate.

‘Should I try making something simple, like an apple?’

Over time, I had become able to create simple things, so I slowly began to form the image in my mind.

As I thought of an apple, visualizing its specific details, the area was momentarily engulfed in a green light, and an apple appeared in mid-air.

“There.”
“Can you believe me now?”

The Sage lowered his head and thought for a moment in silence, then readily accepted my proposal.

“Very well.”
“I swear it on the name of my god.”

‘Seeing as he’s invoking the name of his own god, he must intend to keep his promise.’

Now, Nahida and I would have to part ways.
The thought that I might not see her for hundreds of years brought tears to my eyes.

“Nahida, even though we have to be apart for a while, don’t be too sad.”
“You have to live well, okay?”

Nahida is smart, so it seems she understood what was happening.

“N-No.”
“I want to stay with you, Sister.”

I hugged the tearful Nahida one last time and stroked her head.
I felt like I would burst into tears if I opened my mouth, so I silently comforted her.

In the end, Nahida burst into tears.

“Sob, sob.”
“I’m sorry, Sister.”
“It’s, it’s because of Nahida….”

“It’s okay.”
“Your sister is fine, so please stop crying.”
“Nahida is prettier when she smiles, so you should stop crying now.”

I comforted Nahida until she calmed down, and finally, the moment of our true farewell arrived.

“Nahida will… Nahida will definitely come save you….”

Nahida’s face was filled with determination.

I reached out to fix Nahida’s tear-streaked face, but my hand only grasped at empty air as the people from the Akademiya dragged her away.

“Nahida….”

My choked voice hung in the empty air.

I watched Nahida endlessly as the people from the Akademiya led her out the door.
I watched until she became a distant dot, and then disappeared from sight.

I worried about the next 500 years.