Soren Arden POV
A warm touch brushed against his cheek; it was gentle.
Slowly, Soren's mind clawed its way back from the darkness.
'...'
He didn't open his eyes immediately, not yet.
The images from his dream still lingered in the forefront of his mind, scenes of his helplessness and the actions that had caused a tragedy, a memory from almost a year ago, one he had buried deep, now dragged back to the surface by the wraith's curse.
His head throbbed and his chest felt heavy, almost suffocating.
The nightmare had reminded him, cruelly, of why he was scared to act.
Even now, long after transmigration, the echo of that fear clung to him like a shadow.
Minutes passed before he finally lifted his eyelids.
There, covering his vision, were two large mounds.
It was then that he noticed his situation.
His head was on someone's lap, and the person had been stroking his hair gently, as if soothing a child.
There was only one person whom Soren knew with a body such as this.
"...Amelia?" His voice was hoarse.
Flinch
A sudden flinch, as her hand slowly drew back, the warmth he had felt receding.
It was a few seconds later that she finally parted her lips.
"Are you okay?" she asked cautiously.
"...Yeah," he muttered, forcing himself upright, his limbs stiff and sore.
He took in his surroundings.
It was the same catacombs that he had been attacked in.
The ashes of the skeletons he had fought were littered around, and the burning wood that served as a light source was all but gone, a reminder of the night's battle.
"Where's the wraith?" he asked, his voice filled with exhaustion.
She pointed to a piece of scorched scrap of cloth on the ground.
Relief was felt as he exhaled slowly, his gaze returning to Amelia.
"So… why are you here?"
It didn't make much sense to him, given that he had snuck out of his dorm in the dead of night.
Sure, given the plants he had left behind, it was only a matter of time until it was discovered, but it wouldn't have made sense for Amelia to know that.
"You were acting… off," she said simply. "So I followed you."
Soren's lips twitched in a weak, tired smile.
"...And you didn't just… say hi?"
"You were busy," she replied, in that matter-of-fact tone he had come to expect from her.
He let out a small laugh, though it was heavy with fatigue.
"Thanks."
Only then did Soren slowly pull himself to his feet, dragging the weight of exhaustion behind him.
His thoughts wandered to the sarcophagus ahead.
'I should've gotten the [Pendant of Mentality] first.'
His inner voice scolded him, reminding him of how frustration had pushed him to rush.
Still, he had survived; that was something.
'At least I've confirmed my strength,' He thought to himself with a small smile.
He had grown stronger, and for the first time in a long while, he could acknowledge it.
Up until now, his confidence had been fading rapidly; he had been stuck in his own thoughts without having the self-objectivity to realise his own strength, thanks to those he was close to.
But now it was different; he recognised how he was doing, and although he wasn't that confident in his strength, he was still happy with his own growth.
The sarcophagus lid creaked as he lifted it.
Under the lid, as to be expected, was a corpse.
It was the corpse of Lunaris Sona, the assistant of Stella Nocturnis, the founder of Stellaris Academy.
That in and of itself was a significant find, but the real treasure was what the corpse was holding.
Soren reached out and pulled the corpse's hands apart, ignoring the nauseous feeling that was rising from being in such close proximity to a dead body, and pulled the glass bottle from its grasp.
Then, in a single motion, he popped open the bottle and drank the contents whole.
.
▶ Item [Lunaris's Liquified Mana] [7★] Consumed! ◀
[Lunaris's Liquified Mana]
[Mana stat increased by +0.5. Mana control increased by 200%. Mana can be materialised. ]
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▶ Title [Stella's Secrets] Upgraded! ◀
[Stella's Secrets]
To the one who has embarked on the journey to recover Stella's creations, the world grants you strength.
[+400% Mana and Health recovery rate!]
.
A small smile appeared on Soren's face.
"「Status」"
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[Status Window]
Name: Soren Arden (1★)
◈ Stats
Stamina - 1.3 (E-) [Increased by 0.3]
Strength - 1.1 (E-) [Increased by 0.2]
Mana - 2.1 (E+) [Increased by 0.5]
◈ Special Effects
- Lunaris's Liquified Mana
└ Mana increased by +0.5
└ Mana Control increased by 200%
└ Mana can be materialised.
.
Even amid the exhaustion, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
The boost to mana control was worth the struggle; it was another tool to survive, another safeguard against failure.
It also meant that it would be a lot easier to manipulate his own mana however he liked in the future, meaning that copying Carlen's air circle may not be just a dream for much longer.
"What was that?" Amelia asked.
"Something to make me stronger," he replied, his voice hoarse.
"Okay."
With the catacombs cleared, Soren and Amelia began their slow walk back, carrying the book he had retrieved from the door and storing it in his inventory.
"...Wanna get something to eat?" Soren asked, attempting to speak in a light tone, but the tremor in his voice betrayed him.
Back after the mock duel, he had planned to go somewhere with Amelia, but in his frustrated state, it had been pushed away from the forefront of his mind, so he was attempting to make up for it now.
"Sure."
"What are you in the mood for?"
"I don't mind."
"Let's get pancakes then."
"Alright."
Sunlight had begun creeping over the horizon as they walked, silence stretched between them, unbroken, though Soren's mind was anything but quiet.
The nightmare had left its mark.
He had seen it all again, the harassment, the blame, the message logs that haunted his memory.
Aria, her face, broken and resigned.
The words that etched themself into his mind:
– It's all your fault.
The survivor's guilt that Soren had been harbouring all this time had been quieter ever since transmigration, but now it rose in full force.
A cold, suffocating wave that reminded him how thin the line had been between success and catastrophe.
'At least she was caught in the end…' he thought miserably.
The person who had caused everything, the stalker who ruined two lives, was thankfully arrested due to the evidence found linking her as the person behind the harassment campaign.
It was even found out that the girl had photoshopped images to frame Aria.
Even so, it hadn't changed anything.
Aria was gone, and he had failed her.
Every action he had taken since that day had been haunted by the fear of repeating that same mistake.
Every choice, every step, every word was weighed with caution.
He blinked, forcing his attention back to Amelia.
"...Wait, why did I wake up like that?"
Soren thought it was an unusual act for emotionally distant Amelia to do.
"...When I found you," she spoke softly, eyes downcast, "you were crying. Whenever I had a nightmare, Mama would stroke my hair. I thought it might help you, too."
She reached out and brushed his hair again.
The touch was comforting, making Soren lean into it, allowing himself a small moment of peace.
'So she was trying to help…'
"It was nice."
If he had woken up alone down there after that nightmare, he couldn't tell what kind of state he would be in, but because she had been there, he was able to calm himself down.
He was genuinely thankful to Amelia, Lilliana and everyone else he had become close to over the past few months since transmigrating; they had all become important friends to Soren.
But the nightmare was a reminder: mistakes had consequences.
He resolved himself quietly; he couldn't save everyone, he wasn't the protagonist, but he was okay with that.
Soren believed that Alex would be able to save everyone; his personality was unchanged from the game, and on top of that, he was overwhelmingly powerful compared to his game counterpart.
He couldn't see a route where the protagonist would need the help of an extra like Soren.
As long as the people he cared about were alright, Soren was happy.
He truly believed that.
No more cracks, no more failures.
Not again.
The nightmare, as terrible as it had been, only made that mission more real.
It was time for him to set the story right, to bring it back onto the correct path.
————「❤︎」————