Why does life slumber?
Answer: Because I'm sleepy.
Cartethyia had a very long, beautiful dream.
In the dream, a knight rode the wind on a journey, traversing the ends of the earth, defeating all destined enemies, vanquishing the evil Threnodian, rescuing the trapped god, returning home in glory amid songs and dances.
At the victory banquet, the knight drank deeply of laurel fruit wine, becoming thoroughly drunk and dazed—one moment seeing the campfire before her eyes, the next seeing Noah's and Cantarella's faces, along with the bright morning sunlight.
"Good morning, Cartethyia."
Noah waved in greeting.
"Mmm... good morning."
Cartethyia, lying on the grass, rubbed her eyes. Her mind hadn't fully awakened yet; she only felt she had slept more soundly than ever before.
Suddenly, she came to her senses. Her right hand clutched her head as memories belonging to Fleurdelys began assaulting her, formally merging with her original memories.
While sorting her thoughts, she looked around.
Laurel branches, laurel fruits, banyan trees, and Egla Town—her hometown.
This place—wasn't the inverted tower?!
What exactly had happened while she was asleep?
Noah pointed at the completely bewildered Cartethyia and turned to Cantarella:
"She's awake. You explain the situation to her."
"Then I'll give her a surprise first."
Cantarella smiled lightly, stepped forward twice, and approached Cartethyia:
"Cartethyia, look who this is?"
She extended both hands, revealing the noble white horse in her palms. A divine-like pressure emanated from the horse, allowing Cartethyia to instantly recognize Imperator:
"This is—the Sentinel!"
Cartethyia rubbed her eyes forcefully, slapped her cheeks with both hands, and stared with wide, round eyes:
"I-I-I... I must still be dreaming."
"It is I, Cartethyia."
The super-mini version of Imperator nodded slightly. A faint activation of resonance power within allowed easy empathy with Cartethyia, completely convincing her.
This palm-sized mini horse before her eyes was truly the Sentinel of Rinascita—Imperator.
Pure, living Imperator!
The divine winged horse, not the monstrous horse-headed, fish-bodied creature fused with Leviathan.
"Sentinel... me... ground... Threnodian..."
Cartethyia's mind was in chaos. She stood up hastily, her hands waving about with nowhere to settle.
Everything before her eyes felt too unreal—she must still be dreaming, or perhaps hallucinating.
Grumble—
A signal of hunger suddenly sounded from her stomach.
Noah and Cantarella exchanged a glance, then together with Imperator in Cartethyia's palm burst into cheerful laughter.
"Hahahahahahahaha."
...
Soon, on this open grassy field, the three people and one horse sat in a circle, enjoying breakfast that Noah pulled from his backpack.
"So—in the time I was asleep, everything was resolved."
Waking up from a nap: the Threnodian was gone, she had her body back, the Sentinel was alive—heavens, was there anyone in the world luckier than her? All worries solved just by sleeping.
Cartethyia swallowed a large mouthful of laurel salad. The long-missed flavor moved her nearly to tears.
Before she could fully savor the sweet and sour taste in her mouth, Cartethyia's gaze turned to Noah. Her pair of beautiful sapphire eyes seemed to shine with light:
"Plucker of laurels, it was you who defeated the restored Threnodian, rescued me, and brought both the Sentinel and me back to life."
"Yes."
Noah was about to apologize for knocking Cartethyia unconscious, but suddenly saw her set down her salad and tightly embrace him.
"That's wonderful! Thank you!"
The girl's body was pure white like warm jade, soft like fine silk, her delicate figure bringing an extremely light sensation.
Noah had no time to savor it fully before hearing joyful, tearful sobs by his ear.
"Such a beautiful ending... is something... I wouldn't even dare dream of."
Cartethyia hugged Noah tightly, tears falling like broken pearls, as if letting go even slightly would cause everything before her to vanish like a dream's illusion.
"I think only an ending like this is worthy of all the hardships you've endured."
Noah gently patted Cartethyia's back, his voice soft:
"Say goodbye to those unpleasant memories. You are no longer the person trapped by the Threnodian and the inverted tower. Cartethyia—you are free."
With these comforting words, Cartethyia finally turned tears into laughter.
"As for saving the Sentinel Imperator, Cantarella deserves the greatest credit."
Noah said solemnly:
"Thanks to Cantarella returning all the secondary resonance power to Imperator at the critical moment, everyone could remain safe. You should thank her properly."
At these words, Cartethyia finally released Noah and looked toward Cantarella. The latter smiled faintly at her, opening wide arms with a teasing tone:
"Come, a hug?"
"Only kids make choices."
Cartethyia pulled Cantarella over and hugged both her and Noah together:
"I want them all!"
For a moment, Noah became the filling in a sandwich—little Cartethyia in front, big Cantarella behind.
His greatest sensation was—
Very soft in front, very soft behind too.
Ahem.
Seeing his two Resonators behaving this way, Imperator gave a dry cough, then another:
Ahem!
No one paid attention.
...
(Half-Chapter Side Story)
"The Defier imprisons herself in the tower, alone cleansing the lingering Black Tide."
The monstrous horse-headed, fish-bodied creature high above lowered its gaze. Its eyes, stained with madness and evil, reflected a figure stubbornly resisting with sword in hand amid the Black Tide.
"Yet... she does not know—the erosion of the Black Tide never ceases."
Leviathan's voice was utterly calm, carrying certainty of complete control:
"She will still become the most loyal servant of the god."
"No, you are wrong!"
Fleurdelys raised her gaze. The long sword in her hand pointed at Leviathan, her voice unwavering:
"Humans have weaknesses, exploited by you, but... we will never sit idly by!"
Hearing this, Leviathan could no longer maintain its feigned calm and grew furious:
"You!"
"Abandoned your own completeness!!"
"Abandoned the 'perfection' I shaped for you!!!"
Seeing Fleurdelys unshaken amid the Black Tide, Leviathan suppressed its anger, its voice turning cold once more:
"Even so... how long can your reason endure?"
"There will always be a knight of justice to defeat evil—"
Fleurdelys held her long sword upright before her. The sword's back reflected the massive fish body. In a flash of light and shadow, that reflected form became a noble steed.
"Now it is you who will be defeated; in the future, it is 'I' who will be defeated—no matter who, the tide of resistance will not cease!"
Surging waves of energy swirled around her. She swung her sword toward the horse-headed, fish-bodied monster in the air:
"False god—this is my defiance!"
The Threnodian's body was destroyed.
The Threnodian's will attempted to seize her body.
Fleurdelys used her body as shackles, resisting Leviathan's erosion day after day for ten years in the inverted prison—like a lone boat in a storm.
The erosion of the Black Tide never stopped, yet the weaker her will became, the stronger her stubbornness grew.
"I cannot... fall yet..."
"Humans have weaknesses... exploited by Threnodians... but we must never sit idly by..."
"The tide of resistance... will not cease!"
Black waves surged, seeking to extinguish Fleurdelys's final will. She repeated these last words, once again raising her sword.
"Civilization will not be trapped forever in the iron house built by Threnodians... now... I will smash a crack in this iron house!"
Gathering her final consciousness and strength, she swung heavily with a mighty shout:
"Let the light in! Let the one who can destroy you in!"
Radiant sword light cleaved through the black waves. A piercing ray of light seeped from the shattered spray, illuminating her.
She did not know how many times in these ten years she had overcome the Threnodian's erosion to gain brief control of her body, allowing her to open her eyes and greedily enjoy fleeting light.
This time, in the light she opened her eyes to, there was an additional young man.
This person... she recognized him—the one who had several times driven Leviathan's consciousness into uncontrollable rage.
"Fleurdelys."
The man spoke:
"You did very well!"