Ashen lifted his head to bear witness to his men.
Their state was pitiful. Ragged, worn down to the bone, and yet here they were... such men daring to stand before their lord.
…and they were right to. He, in the end, had let them down.
He took two steps forward, and Seraphine followed quietly behind. Countless eyes pursued him, wondering if their "reunion" would end just like this.
It would not. Ashen soon stopped and let out a quiet sigh.
"...I won't ask you to listen quietly."
"I won't ask you to forgive me either."
"I know what I promised you. I know what I said I would protect. And I know exactly what I failed to deliver."
"I vanished where I should have led. I spoke where I should have acted. And when it mattered most… I was not there."
"No excuse I could give would change what you have already paid for in blood."
He looked at the faces of his lamentable men.
"I will not insult you by trying to dress failure as misfortune."
"But I will say this."
"The Narkals that killed your loved ones… the monsters that invaded our home… They will pay for it with a hundred times more blood than they have spilled."
"And this time… I will be at the forefront when we meet those beasts."
It should have been just an empty promise from a failed lord, but none of the men before him could call him out.
…his current expression killed every protest before it left their mouths. It was a face full of hate, anguish, and hurt that mirrored each of their own.
"I cannot undo what has happened. I cannot bring back what was lost."
"But I can ensure that when history speaks of this moment… it will not end with our defeat."
He exhaled slowly.
"So stand, if you can still stand. And if you cannot… I will pick you up. And if you still cannot stand… then I will stand in your place… until the race known as the Narkal receives the extinction befitting their atrocities."
"And before anything else…"
"Thank you."
"Thank you for protecting the territory of a lord who failed you."
A faint pause.
"And I am proud."
Not of victory. Not of rescue.
"But of you."
"Of seeing such stalwart men who stood in the face of the impossible… and did not break."
He lowered his head slightly.
"I'm proud of you all."
***
Ashen moved to the temporary headquarters behind the wall after gesturing for Alice, Lucia, and Braun to follow.
The moment he turned after entering, a body collided straight into his embrace. He only caught a glimpse of pink hair before lips crashed into his.
Lucia clung to him like she meant to devour him, her hands scrambling for purchase—torso, shoulders, hair, face—grasping at everything at once, unable to decide what to hold and what to let go.
Ashen did not stay still, replying in kind to her advances.
It was only after more than a minute of frantic exchange that she snapped out of her hunger. She did not let go entirely, still staying in his embrace.
"Sorry about that… I'm a bit starved for affection right now, you see…" she spoke breathlessly, not looking one bit sorry.
"You don't know how I missed you, partner. As for your starving, I can do something about that tonight," he whispered into her ear, and she nodded in satisfaction before finally pulling back.
Ashen's gaze turned to the bloodied Braun, who sported an amused smile despite his sorry state. "Old friend, I see they did quite a number on you," he said with a smile.
"They sure did… but I held in the end, thankfully. Solmara still stands, young friend." Braun clenched a fist forward, and it was met with a bump from Ashen's.
"I saw." He looked at him with sincere admiration. "Braun, I can never repay you for that."
"Do not mention repayment," the old man shook his head. "This land has become as much of a home to me as it is to you. Besides, aren't we friends?"
Ashen's lips curled up. "Let's catch up properly after the cleanup."
"Sure thing."
Finally, Ashen turned his gaze to the suspiciously silent Alice. "What's up, baby? Are you getting shy after not seeing your man for a year? That's not like you."
The only response he got was a forceful pull, as the lady in question took two steps to invade his personal space before devouring those lips with as much intensity as the woman before her.
"Mmm…"
Eventually, she let him go, but not before whispering in his ear, "Ash… I missed you."
"Me too…" for seven hundred and fifty years….
Seraphine did not wait long before she pulled her best friend from behind, smothering her in a hug of her own. "And you didn't miss me? Hmm~"
Alice naturally returned the hug and whispered something in her ear, which made her let out a satisfied hum. The two women stayed in each other's embrace as Ashen took a seat at the center, before addressing everyone.
"Alright, guys… right now, you clearly know what's going on more than I do, so I'll leave the cleanup to you. As for me… I'm going to ascend in step."
"...Is it finally time? I'm struggling to imagine what kind of monster you will become after this, haha." Braun let out an incredulous laugh.
"After the promises he made earlier… he ought to at least accomplish that much," Lucia smirked from the side.
"Since I already have command of the army, you can leave it to me with a peace of mind." Alice nodded seriously.
"Good. Seraphine, you stay with Alice and assist her with whatever she needs. I'll be at the lord's mansion."
"Yes, Sir~" She gave a playful salute, tightening her hug around Alice as if to underline that she understood.
*
*
*
'I'm ready to advance.'
[Acknowledged]
[Step advancement initiated: Moment Deceiver (Step V → Step IV)]
The candlebearer's flame had fully turned golden from its initial amber the moment he dared to deceive the loop and escape its all-seeing eyes.
There was simply no more befitting embodiment for a Moment Deceiver, and so, here he was, attempting to challenge the next step after proving that he was worthy of his epithet.
[Warning: Soul Resonance Required. Domain Knowledge 'Sloth' Will Be Imprinted.]
[Personal Interpretation: Requested.]
'My own interpretation, huh…'
To that end, he first asked: What did a Moment Deceiver teach him?
He reminisced about the time he spent on this step, especially when he got feedback on his embodiment, but those moments could only be counted as one, aside from the little trickles when he used Blindstep.
It was when he saved Seraphine.
But even with the results present before him, he struggled to form any real meaning…
'I hid from time, but it was not for the sake of hiding… all of it was for the sole objective of saving her.'
Deceive…
He did not care about any of that.
Sloth…
As always, he had acted the opposite of his own concept, and it seemed like that fact had finally come to bite him back.
'What now…'
It was like a fog was obscuring him… 'Am I going to fail this…?' He was not willing.
He closed his eyes and tried to come up with something… anything… but alas, it was like there was nothing to begin with.
That was until he heard a faint voice at the edge of his awareness. He latched onto it like a drowning man, focusing more and more until he heard it at last.
'A SANCTUARY!!'
Sanctuary…?
The voice sounded just like his own, but it had an unmistakable edge of madness under exasperation.
Ashen suddenly realized that it was his other personality screaming from the other side of the seal.
'Of course… how can I realize anything when all of the emotions of that moment were locked away…' he bitterly realized.
'A true Sloth acts not solely for the sake of laziness,'
'It is for the sake of a sanctuary of respite that no one could disturb, even the concept of time itself.'
With each word that echoed in his head, the accompanying emotions of that moment started bleeding through.
'I discarded my Sloth, but it was never for the sake of Diligence!'
Then for what…?
'IT IS FOR THE SAKE OF SLOTH ITSELF!'
For Sloth…?
'Yes! How can you talk about Sloth when she is in danger? Can you get a moment of respite if she ends up dead?!'
Never.
'Never! So the only way is to stop it, even if you have to embrace diligence itself!'
Even if I have to discard my Sloth…
'Even if I have to discard my sanity.'
It is all to…
'...have peace of mind.'
'Sloth could never be realized without peace of mind, so…'
So…
His lips moved on their own, repeating the conclusion he arrived at. "The essence of a Moment Deceiver is to craft a sanctuary of respite that no one can disturb; not even time itself."
"Yes…" His eyes glazed over, a faint, unconscious smile curling at his lips.
The Time Magician spoke without hesitation.
"When a true Sloth finally sheds his Sloth and moves in earnest, it is only to forge a sanctum of mind—where he may one day rest in peace, free of all worry."
"The last step taught me helplessness, and this one… taught me how to overcome it."