Chapter 217: Berg (4)

 

The long eulogy had finally ended, and the last rites of the funeral began.

 

The crew carried the boat bearing Berg’s body toward a lake deep within the forest.

 

Ner, trembling as though she might collapse, followed the boat, tears streaming down her face.

 

Sien, stumbling and choking back sobs, walked unsteadily behind.

 

Arwin, clutching the bow Berg had gifted her, quietly moved forward.

 

After some time, they arrived at the lake.

 

The crew placed Berg’s boat on the water, tears falling once again as they bid their final farewells.

 

Each person said their goodbyes to Berg in their own way.

 

Even Shawn, who had always been full of mischief, wept bitterly and apologized.

 

“I’m sorry, Captain... If only I had...”

 

His trembling fists refused to let go of Berg, and his comrades had to pry him away.

 

Gale also stood beside Berg’s boat and placed a single flower as an offering.

 

Then, he drew his sword and placed it gently atop the boat.

 

“...Do you remember how I used to complain your sword was too long? This is my gift to you. I hope it serves you well on the other side,” he said with a faint smile that barely masked his sorrow.

 

“...Goodbye, Berg. You were the most extraordinary person I ever knew.”

 

Even Baran, who had supported Berg’s family as per his will, emerged but eventually crumbled beside him.

 

“Ugh...”

 

Covering his face, Baran trembled violently for a long time.

 

Though he tried to hide it, it was painfully obvious that tears streamed down his face.

 

“...I hope you find peace on the other side. Thank you... for everything.”

 

After everyone else had spoken their farewells, only Sien, Ner, and Arwin remained.

 

Those gathered to honor Berg took the hint, exchanging glances before departing quietly.

 

After all, it was Arwin’s duty to light the pyre.

 

She had been trained in archery by Berg and had asked to see his final moments through.

 

Now, nothing remained for them but to fulfill this last task.

 

As his wives, Sien and Ner had their own parting words to share.

 

The crew retreated into the forest, leaving the three of them alone to witness Berg’s final moments.

 

“...Ahhhh...”

 

Once everyone had left, Sien allowed herself to express the pain she had been holding back.

 

Approaching Berg, she gently touched his cheek.

 

He had always been by her side throughout her life.

 

Even now, the reality of this farewell felt impossible to grasp.

 

The helplessness overwhelmed her, making it hard to think clearly.

 

She whispered, “...If only I hadn’t been so selfish, saying I loved you...”

 

Caressing the face of the man she loved, she murmured, “...Could I have saved you?”

 

Regret had already taken root.

 

“If I had gone to the battlefield with you... could I have protected you?”

 

What would have been the right choice?

 

Perhaps she should never have shared her love with Berg.

 

The thought that her greed had taken his life was unbearable.

 

Maybe this was the curse of Hea, punishment for abandoning her faith.

 

As she stroked him, she whispered, “I’m not ready to let you go... not yet...”

 

She didn’t want to let him go, but he was her hero, and she had to.

 

-Thunk…

 

Just then, someone stepped onto the boat.

 

-Rustle, rustle…

 

Ner climbed aboard, her steps crushing scattered flowers.

 

She lay down beside Berg, resting her head on his arm and closing her eyes in silence.

 

Her body trembled intermittently as endless tears fell.

 

“...Hic... Hic...”

 

Exhausted, she let herself go limp beside him.

 

“Ner?” Sien called out softly, but Ner, eyes still closed, responded.

 

“...I don’t... I don’t want to live anymore.”

 

“...”

 

“...I’ll stay with Berg... forever.”

 

Ner’s tail curled over Berg, as if trying to share its warmth with him until the very end.

 

The sight of her delicate movements brought tears to Sien’s eyes.

 

They were all drowning in the same deep sorrow.

 

Sien couldn’t bring herself to tell Ner to leave.

 

She couldn’t ask her not to throw her life away.

 

She understood Ner’s pain all too well.

 

Sien herself might have made the same decision had it not been for the child growing within her.

 

...Or maybe she would still follow him someday, after giving birth.

 

-Thud.

 

“...Get down.”

 

But then, a voice spoke those words with surprising ease.

 

It was Arwin, who had been silent until now, lowering her bow as she spoke.

 

Ner didn’t respond.

 

“Please, step down,” Arwin asked again.

 

-Swish, swish.

 

Still lying down, Ner shook her head.

 

“Ner.”

 

This time, Arwin’s voice echoed with unyielding intensity.

 

A soft blue flame began to radiate from her.

 

Sien looked at Arwin.

 

The light emanating from her resembled the glow Sylphrien’s magic had produced during her most powerful spells.

 

“Get down. Just for a moment,” Arwin said calmly.

 

-Thud…

 

With that, Arwin stepped onto the boat as well.

 

Ner, noticing the change radiating from Arwin, opened her eyes.

 

Only then did Arwin allow her tears to fall freely.

 

“I’ll try to save him. Please, step aside for now.”

 

-Swish...!

 

At the same time, something emerged from Arwin’s body—a radiant, white light.

 

Sien immediately recognized what it was.

 

It was a lifespan vessel.

 

Sylphrien had cherished her own lifespan vessel deeply, so Sien knew exactly what it meant.

 

But there was one key difference: the color.

 

Sylphrien’s vessel had glowed a golden hue, signifying her ability to live up to 800 years.

 

Arwin’s, however, shone a brilliant white, far brighter.

 

It quickly became clear why Arwin had been envied by so many elves.

 

Rumor had it that Arwin could live over a thousand years.

 

Ner silently sat upright, her gaze fixed on Arwin’s actions.

 

Arwin, taking her place beside Berg, climbed onto his body.

 

Through her tears, she spoke to him.

 

“...This lifespan was meant for you anyway.”

 

Clasping his hand tightly, she continued, “...But now that you’re gone, this long life feels like nothing more than a curse—a heavy burden.”

 

-Drop... Drop…

 

“I can’t bear the thought of enduring this curse for a thousand years. The pain I’d face every day would be worse than the torment of the World Tree’s judgment... I refuse to live such a life.”

 

She smiled faintly, though sorrow lingered in her expression.

 

“So, I’ll try giving my lifespan to you. If nothing changes... I’ll follow you.”

 

Her tone was resolute, her decision unwavering.

 

If she was going to die with him anyway, she wanted to try everything first.

 

Arwin’s eyes began to glow with an intense blue light.

 

Placing both hands on Berg’s chest, she carefully aligned his torn World Tree leaf with her own, which hung around his neck.

 

Then, she began to chant something softly.

 

The lifespan vessel that had emerged began to tremble.

 

“Ahh...!”

 

A pained gasp escaped her lips, but her determined gaze never wavered as she looked down at Berg.

 

“Come back to me, Berg. I can’t live without you.”

 

Sien and Ner watched silently as Arwin carried out her desperate act.

 

Any assumption that Arwin was unaffected by grief was a grave mistake.

 

She was suffering more than anyone and enduring unimaginable pain.

 

Among elves, who valued their lifespan above all else, Arwin was sacrificing hers entirely.

 

She was the most gifted elf of her generation, a noble of her clan, and yet here she was, giving everything for Berg, a short-lived human.

 

She was giving up the long years she could have lived, the experiences she could have had, and everything she might have achieved—all for him.

 

The trembling vessel began to dim, its radiant white hue fading to yellow.

 

In an instant, Arwin had sacrificed 200 years of her lifespan.

 

“...Please, get up. Just wake up, I’ll give you everything I have... just open your eyes,” she whispered, her voice filled with both despair and determination.

 

She had no intention of stopping.

 

Sien and Ner, too, couldn’t help but cling to a sliver of hope, selfishly wishing for some sign of change in Berg.

 

The vessel dimmed further, shifting from yellow to orange, then to red.

 

Arwin’s lifespan was dwindling at an alarming rate.

 

“Hic...! Please... open your eyes!!”

 

But Arwin didn’t spare a single glance for her fading vessel. Her tearful gaze remained fixed on Berg, as though willing him to return to her.

 

Berg, however, lay motionless, his eyes still closed.

 

.

.

.

 

-Clink!

 

“…Huh?”

 

While engaged in a bittersweet conversation with Adam Hyung, the chain wrapped around my ankle began to move.

 

Hyung also looked down at the chain in surprise.

 

Neither of us understood what was happening.

 

But as always, Hyung was quicker to act.

 

“Berg, listen carefully.”

 

He grabbed my face firmly, looking straight into my eyes.

 

“...From now on, live the way you want to.”

 

He didn’t care why this was happening or how.

 

All that mattered was that my soul, tethered to my body, was returning to where it belonged.

 

“…Huh?”

 

Being slower to process than him, all I could muster was a dazed response.

 

Adam Hyung continued speaking, his voice steady.

 

“Don’t live for me. That was never what I wanted.”

 

“…”

 

“...I lost my younger siblings and wanted to change the perception of our kind. Because if I didn’t, I had no one else to blame. I felt like I’d lose my mind.”

 

Adam Hyung’s unwavering gaze locked onto mine as he spoke.

 

“...But then, I got you as my little brother. After that, my dreams, born from losing my siblings, didn’t matter anymore. There was no need to chase that foolish ambition.”

 

The chain pulled harder, dragging my ankle downward.

 

Before I could even react, my foot began to sink into the ground.

 

“...Hyung!”

 

“Please, live happily. Don’t think about duty or responsibility. Seeing you in pain... that’s harder for me to bear than anything else.”

 

Now, one of my legs was completely swallowed by the ground.

 

I could feel it. A monumental change was happening.

 

I was being pulled back to the living world.

 

Once again, I was about to part ways with Adam Hyung.

 

This time, my torso began to disappear into the earth.

 

There were still hundreds of things I wanted to say to him, words I hadn’t been able to say when he first passed.

 

Even now, the same held true.

 

I had so much I wanted to express, but I didn’t know what to say.

 

“Adam Hyung, I…!”

 

-Thunk!

 

Before I could finish, my body was yanked further down, my mouth now submerged.

 

I tried to call out, but no words reached him.

 

Was I going to lose the chance to say what I wanted, once again?

 

But Hyung, unfazed, chuckled softly as he walked closer.

 

“…Berg, I know you have a lot you want to say.”

 

Around him, a few figures began to emerge.

 

They looked like children—a boy and two girls.

 

From their resemblance to Hyung, I knew instantly that they were his younger siblings.

 

With a peaceful expression, Hyung spoke to me.

 

“But let’s save those conversations for later.”

 

He smiled warmly, his expression one of pure contentment.

 

“Go live a happy, long life. And when it’s over, tell me what it was like.”

 

My body sank even further.

 

Hyung spoke to me one last time.

 

“…See you later, Berg.”

 

.

.

.

.

.

 

Arwin’s lifespan vessel had completely lost its light.

 

The once brilliant white glow had turned to black.

 

Still, Arwin kept her hands on Berg’s chest, her determination unwavering.

 

Though Berg remained motionless, she refused to give up, not even for a moment.

 

-Tick…

 

A faint sound broke the silence as cracks began to form on the black vessel.

 

Moments later, with the sound of shattering glass, the lifespan vessel crumbled into dust and disappeared into the air.

 

The blue glow in Arwin’s eyes also faded away.

 

“Hah... Hah...”

 

She had given everything she could, but Berg did not return.

 

A hollow laugh escaped her lips.

 

Though she had expected this outcome, the pain was unbearable.

 

Perhaps the false hope that transferring her lifespan might bring him back had dulled her suffering until now.

 

But now, reality struck her with full force.

 

She had to accept the truth—that she would never see Berg smile again.

 

“...Ah... Ahhhhhh...”

 

Tears streamed down her empty gaze as she collapsed onto Berg’s lifeless body.

 

How happy would she be if his strong arms could hold her once more?

 

It was hard to believe that such a simple wish was now impossible.

 

Ner and Sien, seeing Arwin’s reaction, also let go of their remaining hope and began to cry again.

 

“...Berg...”

 

Arwin, finally accepting her loss, decided to follow him in death.

 

After all, she could not endure life without him.

 

-...Thump... Thump…

 

But her heart was pounding violently in her chest, her body pulsating with the unbearable reality.

 

The sound of her heartbeat was deafening.

 

-Thump... Th-thump... Thump... Th-thump…

 

“...?”

 

She suddenly noticed something strange. Her heartbeat was out of sync.

 

It wasn’t hers alone—it was powerful, rhythmic, and unmistakably alive.

 

“…Huh?”

 

Could she have misheard it?

 

Arwin pressed her ear firmly against Berg’s chest, her long ears flattening against him.

 

-Thump...! Thump...! Thump...!

 

But there was no mistaking it—the sound of life was echoing from Berg’s heart.

 

Arwin quickly sat upright, staring down at Berg.

 

And then, his chest suddenly rose as he took a deep breath.

 

“Hah!”

 

The sound of him gasping filled the air.

 

Ner, Sien, and Arwin froze, stunned by the unexpected turn of events.

 

“Cough! Cough…!”

 

Berg began to cough violently, his eyes slowly fluttering open.

 

“…What’s going on…?”

 

Blinking in confusion, his gaze landed on his wives, who were now beside him.

 

For a long moment, none of them spoke.

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

Finally, Berg broke the silence.

 

“…I’m sorry.”

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

 

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