Chuckling, Giovanni plunged his hand into the fifth basket.

Whoosh!

A refreshing energy penetrated the skin.

As I pulled it out and opened my hand, an aquamarine, boasting a clean watercolor, revealed itself on my palm. The jewel sparkled brilliantly.

“This is it.”

The power of the priest was also imbued in this gem. The refreshing coolness was proof of that, as I had expected.

“But why isn’t the voice coming through?”

Could it be something else?

I shook the aquamarine against my ear. Silence.

“Let’s go back and check for now.”

The moment I stood up, a scenery unfolded before my eyes as if it were a lie.

A vast expanse of green land.

Low-roofed, densely packed houses dotted the landscape.

The air was refreshing, and the soft breeze gently brushed against my face.

Inadvertently, I gazed in wonder. My heart ached with an inexplicable yearning. Tears seemed ready to fall.

It was an endlessly peaceful landscape.

Until an unexpected scream shattered the silence.

“Aaargh!”

Instantly, shivers ran down my spine.

The bone-chilling scream echoed once again.

I looked around, but nothing was visible.

I found myself running unconsciously. With every step, a vast landscape unfolded.

It was a place where the love of the gods was evident, proven by the vitality of the entire land.

And in the midst of it, something horrifying was happening.

Squelch, squelch.

A man buried his face in a woman’s soft belly, chewing on the flesh.

Pupils dilated. The vivid red blood splashed into the eyes like a scene from a gruesome painting.

Even though it was a situation I had never encountered before, I realized it immediately.

I had seen this scene.

Through unreleased murals.

“Aaargh!”

It was the voice of the boy. His eyes filled with blood tears as he screamed while being devoured.

“Enkaan! Giving you land to cultivate and water to drink, you repay with ingratitude. How ungrateful! I curse you! I curse you! Even in death, I will loathe you!”

A voice full of anguish and bitterness. A scream filled with venom. It was familiar.

That voice.

“Enkaan! Hateeee! The one that tormented me yesterday!”

Yes. That voice. The one whose power I absorbed from Aris.

Before long, people rushed towards the boy. They looked like ants swarming around a piece of fallen snack.

Blood stench pierced through the air. My entire body trembled.

The boy’s contorted face, distorted like a ghost, somehow looked sad, and tears flowed.

Creepy.

Chills ran down my spine.

People devoured him like madmen.

The smell of blood stung my nose. My whole body shivered.

The distorted face of the boy, strangely looking sorrowful, made tears flow.

Urgent footsteps echoed.

Tadadadak!

I turned my head blankly.

From the opposite side, people with black hair appeared, their faces contorting at the gruesome sight.

“You, who pretended to be pure, dare to…!”

The illusion ended there.
The blue sky and green land gradually drifted away and shrank to a small point.

A white temple came into view.

“……Gasp!”

A fierce sense of loss and dislocation struck my heart, as if banished from one world.

I gasped for breath, clutching my chest. My mind was in confusion. What did I just witness?

“Humans, eating other humans?”

“They are not humans.”

Chills ran down my spine again.

As I raised my head, a blue figure came into view.

“A snake?”

The hissing tongue unmistakably belonged to a snake. Behind the transparent blue figure, the appearance of a temple could be seen.

A transparent blue form, similar to Leo but not him.

“You guys are considered gods in the current world. Spirits like me.”

There was no time to be pleased that my speculation was correct. I was captivated by the blue figure before my eyes.

“Your expression is truly foolish.”

A gruff tone. From the snake, I felt no affinity at all.

Come to think of it, Leo was like that at first.

“What are you? Did you summon me?”

“Yes. I called you all night long…”

The snake stared into my eyes.

“Human, Egréne.”

“How do you know my name?”

The snake, with its small, flickering eyes, extended its long tongue.

“Now that I think about it, you’re looking for Leo.”

I snapped back to attention.

“You know Leo?”

“Yeah. Weren’t you connected to him?”

I couldn’t understand what he was saying.

“Where is Leo?”

To my question, the snake opened its mouth. Even in the form of an animal, I could sense it mocking me. What part of my words sounded ridiculous?

“Looking for Leo?”

Hesitating, it nodded vigorously.

“Yeah. I’ve been looking for him. If you know…”

“He’s no longer here.”

He said it coldly.

“He lost his existence.”

“……”

“In your place.”

My surroundings blurred momentarily.

My body, losing balance like an earthquake, collapsed.

Kneeling, as if floating slowly around me, the snake whispered in my ear.

“Human who was connected to Leo. He, the oldest spirit in this land, one of the pieces that sustains the world. Such a being strongly wished for your revival. I saw you at the moment when the world shook.”

“……Uh.”

“Seizing the opportunity of the world’s disturbance, I saw you.”