30 29. Tick— Tick——

Snow blanketed the mountain top, enveloping it in a pristine white layer. Both of them sat silently, gazing into the distance. The silence between them was gut-wrenching until Aurora decided to break it.

"Wanna share?" She asked, her eyes fixed on the horizon.

"...," Harvey remained silent, having already made up his mind. He wouldn't get to know any of them, that was his choice.

"It's okay if you don't want to," Aurora said, crafting a snowball and tossing it over the edge. "You know, I'm sorry about what happened. With the faction, I mean."

"Look, I don't know what Fiera or your so-called mole told you about my life, but I'm fine. I just came here for some fresh air. Not to be pitied," Harvey replied, sighing as he continued to stare into the sky in silence.

"You know, I used to watch you win tournaments all the time," Aurora commented, resting her head on her knees, her blonde hair swaying in the wind. "You were cool, you were the reason I started playing in the first place."

Harvey inwardly sighed, contemplating leaving. Though it might seem rude, he didn't care. It was the best thing for both of them. He placed his hand on the ground, pushing himself up as he began to depart.

"I came here with my brother, you know," Aurora revealed, causing him to halt his movement. "After everything unfolded at Falusha, we embarked on some dungeon runs. It wasn't big loot, and we barely scraped by, but we were together."

"..."

"But one day," Her voice trembled, tears tracing down her cheeks, lost within the snow. "The faction targeted me, supposedly my skills had put me on their radar. My brother teleported me away from the dungeon, but he was killed. Beheaded, left to rot in an empty cave."

"I'm sorry," Harvey murmured.

"I understand how you feel. Not wanting to trust anyone, fearing that you'll only get hurt more if you do. Watching those around you crumble to dust after they've helped you," Aurora turned to face Harvey, their eyes meeting, hers bloodshot. "I truly do."

Harvey remained silent. Her turmoil mirrored his own inner struggles, he knew it. He was teetering on the brink, one step away from collapsing and letting his tears flow freely, one step away from losing his grip on reality. That's why he focused solely on Erra, believing that saving her would bring him solace.

"If you shut people out, refuse to trust again, it'll only worsen," Aurora wiped her eyes with her sleeves. "I know it's difficult, but you don't have to face it alone."

"Why are you doing this?" Harvey turned away from her. "I don't know you, and the same goes for you."

"I'm trying to save you," Aurora stood up, walking away from Harvey and the mountain. "When I look at you, I see myself. A version of me that almost destroyed everything in rage, a version that almost lost her mind. Witnessing that again would be heart-wrenching."

Harvey remained silent as he watched her depart. When he confirmed she was no longer there, he conjured a fire spell, using it to warm his body as he lay down on the snow.

He understood her sentiments, they mirrored his own experiences. She was probably the only person in the world that truly understood. Yet, every time he considered connecting with someone else, it felt like he was betraying Elizabeth.

He hadn't avenged her yet.

Nor had he scattered her ashes.

And he should invest his time in making friends?

The thought gnawed at him, tormenting his very soul. Even after he avenged her, it would feel like desecrating her memory. He exhaled, a misty breath escaping. "She wouldn't want this, I know."

"You're enslaved by your own guilt," A voice echoed, though no one was in sight. Yet, Harvey found solace rather than concern in its familiarity. It resonated like an old friend, soothing his troubled mind.

"What would you do?" Harvey posed a question to the ethereal voice, sitting up amidst the snow.

"My responses hold no weight, for I am but a construct, a manifestation of your thoughts," The voice explained. "The crucial answer lies within yourself."

"And what might that be?"

"What is your desire?"

"I want to avenge Elizabeth."

"Will you undertake this endeavor alone?" The voice probed.

"If necessary."

"Why do you believe that?"

"What do you mean?" Harvey pondered. "Collaborating with another would tarnish the purity of her memory, this is something I must do alone—"

"That's merely one facet," The voice interjected.

"It's the only one."

"You acknowledged it yourself—she wouldn't desire this outcome. So who compels you? Whose cause are you serving?"

"Hers—mine," Harvey confessed, observing his hands as they began to ooze blood, the crimson reminder of lives he had taken.

"You've deceived yourself. Your lies became a shield, repelling all until even you couldn't perceive where it began and where it ended. It's not solely for Elizabeth. It's the fear of further loss, the reluctance to add another name to your list," The voice asserted.

"Stop," Harvey murmured.

"Your reluctance toward Erra, it stems from knowing her demise would signify the end for all," The voice persisted. "That's why you want to get rid of her, because after you do. You'll kill yourself."

"Enough."

"You're a ticking time bomb, Harvey. The only way to stop your detonation is by relinquishing your thirst for vengeance, your fury, your fear. If not, they will consume every fragment of your being," The voice warned.

"And if I refuse?"

The voice paused, as though it had glimpsed a grim revelation. "You'll annihilate all in your wake, virtuous and malevolent alike. For now, Erra may reset your clock, but for how long? You remember your reckoning against Silver Fang. That was insanity. Your next explosion will be wrath."

"How do you know this?"

"You're as plain as a children's book and just as easy to read." The voice remarked. "Yet, I only know this because you do. Subconsciously and consciously."

"Is there another way" Harvey inquired, but the voice remained silent, lost forever, its wisdom inaccessible.

Like a frenzied serpent devouring itself, Harvey's soul mirrored the same chaotic descent. Despite the awareness that he needed to heed the counsel of both Aurora and the ethereal voice, he understood that persisting in his quest for vengeance would lead to his own self-destruction, consuming everything, even the very things he held dear.

However...

"Are you prepared?" Blair's voice echoed, breaking through the turmoil within him. Harvey turned to face her.

"Yes," He affirmed, rising to his feet.

"Good. Your training begins now," Blair declared.

Harvey comprehended the likely outcome of being pushed to the brink once again. If Erra were harmed or if the guild members he had come to know were threatened, he would unleash a cataclysm, a supernova obliterating everything in its path. Yet, he pressed on.

The memory of Elizabeth was indelible, a chapter that couldn't be discarded or erased. Despite the impending consequences, his love remained.

Indeed,

His greatest sin,

Is his inevitable love.

Quia etiam post mortem amabo illam