Roland's breathing slowed into uneven pulls but his gaze stayed steady. He was staring at years only he could see. A smirk tugged at one corner of his mouth.
"You remember when they nominated me." his voice rasped softly, "when they handed me 'The World'… that Primordial Astra everyone thought represented glory."
A weak chuckle escaped him.
"Held it for several days. Just long enough to understand what it meant to carry something that big… and how small people become around power like that. I still remembered when they used to call me... 'The World' asin code name, because Primordial Astra wielders were completely freed from any type of organization. Free agents, they were still agents."
His fingers twitched against Henry's sleeve.
"Then came the Civil War… the mess inside the Order of the Last Hand." His eyelids lowered halfway. "Those corpses…everyone believed I died there. You believed it too, right?"
Henry's didn't say anything.
"But do you know the mystery? About the officials of the Atlantis organization?"
Roland's smile grew crooked. "Oh, they knew. Knew I survived. They just buried the truth… protected their reputation. A dead hero looks better than a broken one."
His chest trembled faintly as he forced another breath.
"They sent assassins after me while I was still in a coma. Imagine that… killing a man who couldn't even open his eyes or lift a finger.
Luck stayed with me, though. Instinct kicked in before reason. Woke up half-blind that time… still managed to crawl away like a rat escaping fire. I somehow faked my death. That's when Roland Ashford died… and Roland Odwolf was born."
Roland's lips curved again strangely playful.
"All those experiments you saw here… the anomalies, including the wolf in three." A faint exhale left him. "Those civilians weren't any subject of these experiments.
My own family branch it was." Roland admitted quietly. "Every last one tied to me by blood. It was no strangers. No innocent crowds dragged in. If there was suffering… it stayed within my own lineage. Remember the Seraphim Baby you fought back then?"
A weak laugh escaped. "That was my father. Old man always wanted to become something extraordinary… guess he got his wish in the worst way possible."
Then Roland tilted his head slightly, forcing another tired grin.
"You know what's funny? All this talk about refining the world… rewriting existence… if I somehow walk out of this… I'd like to watch a rainbow once more. Just the ordinary kind of… after rain.
Funny thing… I spent years chasing perfection… never stopped to enjoy the sky like a normal idiot."
Edmond Dantes stepped closer stepping in the frozen scene.
"No more delays." his tone carried urgency beneath its calm. "Do whatever must be done… quickly. Time is not waiting for sentiment."
Henry tightened his hold on Roland again, ignoring the trembling in his own arms.
"We can't chatter right now." Henry muttered roughly. Seemed like he was forcing the words out hurts more than the wounds. "Hospital… now. There is time."
Roland's hand lifted weakly then shoved Henry away. Not hardly but firm enough to break the grip.
"No."
That single word came up more than any strike they had exchanged.
"You don't need to forgive me. Not for this chaos… not for Blyke… not for any of it. Could any of us forgive them for what they did to Avery? No, right? Just tell me, what sin that kind soul had done?"
He stopped for a while.
"However, in this discorded world forgiving means nothing."
Henry stood frozen for a second raising the hands half. Unsure where to place them now. Words gathered in his mind but refused to come out cleanly. That had always been his weakness...
Henry muttered awkwardly after lowering his gaze,
"…You are talking too much. Don't waste oxygen, idiot. We… still have time. You can argue later."
Roland looked at him.
"You are still the dramatic ass." he murmured. "Introvert pretending to be stubborn instead of honest. It's a shame you didn't still get any girl friend with that baby face. You remember the day you promised to bring me the shoe?"
Henry didn't answer anything.
"Didn't even ask if I needed it. And when we meet again you gave me the shoes fulfilling your promise… like kindness didn't cost anything or you think I am just a poor guy you felt pity for?"
A faint smile lingered on his face,
"And these small things… food you shared… the dumb arguments… the nights pretending life was simple were truly bizarre though amazing."
His eyes lifted toward Henry again.
"Thank you… for those things."
Roland inhaled shakily with visible effort.
"My ideology…" he whispered. "I still believe it… even now. A world without division… without judgment… without hate. But… maybe…"
A shallow breath escaped him.
"…maybe I just wanted a world… where people like us… didn't have to fight each other. I will ask you once again, will you join me... in mine... the World's Redemption...?"
He waited but no answer came. He had nothing to say. He looked upwards,
" Okay. I just want to know one thing, what was my fault...? Being a good person or... asking for justice?"
Roland's chest rose one last time, slow and uneven like a machine struggling to finish its final cycle of repeated actions.
His fingers twitched weakly searching for something, perhaps he didn't know what.
For a brief second, his hand lifted up lightly, as if trying to reach toward a sky that was no longer there.
...
...
...
Then the strength left his arm.
It dropped quietly to the ground. His chest did not rise ever again.
...
...
Henry did not move yet when Roland's hand fell.
He remained there, half-crouched. Like holding a shape that had already vanished. The warmth on his palms began to cool, slowly losing its presence.
He looked at Roland's face for a long moment.
The crease near his brow. The faint line at the corner of his lips. Details he never bothered to notice when Roland was alive.
Behind him, Edmond Dantes stepped forward quietly. His shadow stretched across Roland.
"The flame has finished its final act."
Edmond murmured maintaining the impact of their earlier duel.
"What stood here… has now stepped beyond the audience of this world."
Henry inhaled once slowly. Then a distant crash echoed from below. Metal tore, stone broke in parts, bodies slammed against walls.
Edmond tilted his head slightly.
"Your ally." he noted. "The one called Cagaro, I guess… he is no longer distinguishing friend from enemy."
Henry finally turned eyes distant but focused again.
"…Stop him!" Henry said quietly. "Don't harm him."
Edmond gave a small nod, coat fluttering faintly as he stepped backward.
"As you command."