A suffocating stillness weighed upon the air.
Their gazes met, crossing in silence.
—Gulp.
The sound of Ryouma swallowing was audible. For a moment, he didn't know how he was supposed to react.
Crimson Moon observed him with a piercing, scrutinizing look.
Ryouma, meanwhile, wondered how he should respond.
Unwittingly, the two had settled into a strange kind of standoff, locked in silence for over ten minutes.
"…Um, do you need something?"
Ryouma was the first to break.
After all, he wasn't wearing a single thing.
Being stared at by a woman like this for ten minutes straight was an experience no one would want… especially when that woman was someone who could destroy the world.
He couldn't even move if he wanted to.
"—To think… that on this barren star, a second Original would be born besides myself.
Heh. The planet's final effort, is it?"
Crimson Moon looked him over, speaking with self-mockery.
Her icy gaze slid away.
In an instant, the crushing weight of death lifted from Ryouma's body.
"You… don't plan on killing me?"
"Why should I kill you?
So weak. You and I are the only two lifeforms upon this body, and the difference between us is too vast. I have no reason to kill you."
Her tone was flat and cold.
So was her gaze.
Ryouma finally understood.
The pressure he'd felt earlier hadn't been malicious. It was simply that even a single glance from Crimson Moon carried that much force.
Had there been true malice, he would have died within a second.
From this little information, he pieced things together.
The "first Original" could only mean Crimson Moon herself.
The "second Original"… was him.
In other words, he had been born as a spirit of the Moon—that was why he appeared on the lunar surface.
"—Um…"
Ryouma tried to speak again.
But Crimson Moon turned away and walked off, treating his words as if they were air.
Every movement radiated an aura that said, Do not approach.
Even ice wasn't this cold.
Watching her retreating back, Ryouma hesitated for a few seconds, then sighed inwardly.
He took a step forward and followed.
Catching up, he saw another scene.
Crimson Moon stood still as a statue, her crimson eyes fixed upon the dazzling azure sphere—Earth.
"..."
Ryouma stopped in his tracks without thinking.
He had never seen such a cold woman, never seen such a solitary figure.
The aura she emitted seemed to declare: not even a grain of dust was permitted near.
All he could do was stand far off, watching her.
She was undeniably strong—and beautiful.
And yet, for some reason, she seemed steeped in sorrow.
"…So be it."
Ryouma sat down on the barren ground.
He didn't know why he had come to the Moon. He didn't know what he was supposed to do here.
The Moon held no soil for a Fantasy Tree, no other life save himself and Crimson Moon.
All he could do now was observe her.
Just as she had observed him.
Thankfully, she paid no mind to his gaze.
And for him, watching such an impossibly beautiful woman was hardly boring.
In his eyes, there was no other woman who could compare to Crimson Moon.
Not merely in looks, but in the beauty that arose from her presence, her bearing—the overwhelming majesty she exuded.
To watch her was like admiring a masterpiece of art.
Gradually, Ryouma lost track of time, not even noticing when drowsiness overtook him.
Staring at her, he drifted into sleep.
Somewhere between dream and memory, he dreamed—perhaps for the first time in ages.
Though he called it a dream, what he saw was far too vivid.
Or rather, this was the memory of the planet.
Once more appeared the desolate lunar land, and the golden-haired woman standing silent as a statue.
She seemed not to know what "time" meant.
She remained silent, gazing always at the blue planet in the distance.
—For that was all she could do.
As the Ultimate One of the Moon, a being born of this barren star with intelligence unmatched, her only companion was solitude.
Even if she didn't understand what "solitude" was.
Each time her eyes fell upon the distant Earth, a flicker of emotion stirred within her.
Only then could she feel her heart beating, only then could she realize that she was alive.
"..."
Her crimson lips parted faintly. Almost without thinking, she stretched out a hand toward the blue planet.
Like a child reaching for candy.
But she touched nothing. The only thing she could hold was absolute loneliness.
How long had such days repeated?
Long enough that even she had forgotten.
Long enough that one could forget all sorrow, long enough to forget solitude itself.
All that remained was one feeling.
To yearn for that candy hanging in the sky. To desire that jewel-like blue star.
—The instinct of every intelligent being: to long for what is beautiful.
The image of the girl's gaze at the blue Earth engraved itself upon her retina, and Ryouma, watching beside her, imprinted it into his own memory.
Surely, even in death, he would never forget it.
Truly, she was a profound flower.
The only shining element of a star so barren—the only treasure it possessed.
The dream faded, crystal-clear yet fleeting.
When Ryouma awoke again, his heart was filled with an inexplicable sorrow.
"…How long has she been here?"
His feelings were tangled and heavy.
When he first met Crimson Moon, he had thought her a cruel witch, one who would destroy the world on a whim.
But now, after receiving the Moon's memory,
he realized: the queen who led the Dead Apostles to humanity's extinction had motives as innocent as a child's.
Sadness gave way to something closer to anger.
A frustration at her plight.
"To not even understand sadness, to not even know what crying is… that coldness is nothing but the exhaustion of all feeling. Damn it… what the hell is this…!?"
Ryouma couldn't take it.
He had never seen such a woman before. His heart burned with a fury he couldn't explain.
Perhaps it was his anger that spurred him on—he hardened his resolve.
Striding across the barren waste toward Crimson Moon, his steps were no longer hesitant but sharp and decisive.
As if he'd forgotten the terror she'd once instilled in him.
As if he'd forgotten she was the strongest being alive.
At this moment, Ryouma was simply a man who refused to stay silent.
He had too many things he wanted to say to her.
[End of Chapter]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]