I Just Wanted to Avoid Death - Chapter 167
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Yeshion lay on the altar, eyes fixed on the ceiling.
“Remember this well. You must never let yourself be consumed by the emotions that rise.”
“…Yes.”
As Yeshion took a deep breath, Adelio bit his lip hard.
“I’m the one going into the dream, so why are you chewing your lip like that, Your Highness? You’ll draw blood at this rate.”
“…Still, wouldn’t it be better if you just lived without those memories?”
They both knew that reclaiming the real Yeshion’s memories would be the fastest way to resolve everything.
But he was afraid.
Afraid Yeshion might not wake up, like when he had slept for half a year.
“It’ll be all right.”
His voice brimmed with conviction.
Even the golden eyes that looked back at Adelio were firm, filled with a determination not to be swallowed by the real Yeshion’s memories or emotions.
In the end, Adelio could only let out a resigned chuckle and nod. There was no stopping this stubbornness.
Seated at the edge of the altar, Adelio clasped Yeshion’s hand tightly and kissed his forehead.
“Go on. I’ll be waiting.”
At that, Rosaline, who had been standing a few steps away with anxious eyes, quickly came forward. He pressed a kiss to Yeshion’s forehead just like Adelio, then fixed his gaze with intensity.
“You have to come back. No matter what.”
“……”
“You are you. And the fact that we’re all here together now, that’s because of what you’ve created.”
At his words, Yeshion’s eyes widened. Rosaline lightly kissed the tip of his nose, smiling faintly.
“So I’ll wait. My friend.”
“…I’ll definitely come back. I’ll remember everything. And together, let’s build a future where we’re all happy.”
As Rosaline gave a firm nod, Eldis furrowed his brows.
“You two really took all the best lines for yourselves. Couldn’t you leave me a few?”
At his teasing, Yeshion laughed.
This was nothing like back then, when, after being possessed, he died again and again, trembled with fear, and eventually gave in to despair. Nothing like the time he’d tried to run away from those who only saw him as the real Yeshion.
Now he stood here not as the real Yeshion, but as someone else, and by his side were people who believed in him so deeply.
There was nothing to fear.
“If, by any chance… I start saying strange things because of the real Yeshion’s residue in me, please scold me. As long as I’m in this body, I won’t ignore your voices.”
“In that case, we’ll have to start with confining you in the temple.”
At Eldis’s dry remark, Yeshion shivered and rubbed his arm. Eldis wasn’t someone who said things lightly. He always kept his word.
“I always wanted to show you only the best side of myself… but I guess things never go the way we want.”
“…What do you mean?”
“When you recover your memories, you’ll know how I treated the original owner of that body.”
“Ah…”
Come to think of it, they hadn’t gotten along, had they?
Suddenly, scenes of the real Yeshion desperately trying to keep Eldis alive came to mind.
Now he’d finally learn what had happened then.
“Yeshion.”
“Yes?”
“Just remember this one thing. No matter what memories you see in there, no matter how I treated that body’s original owner… none of that was ever directed at you now.”
At that, Yeshion gave a firm nod.
He met Eldis’s gaze and smiled, as if telling him not to worry one bit. Then, with a deep breath, he closed his eyes.
“I’m ready.”
At his words, Eldis stepped forward, laced their fingers together, and began to pray.
He prayed to the gods to lift the memories buried in this body, so that all might walk a path toward happiness.
A bright white light burst forth from Eldis’s body, soon enveloping Yeshion’s form.
Yeshion’s once tense breaths gradually quieted.
Everyone gathered near the altar thought of the same moment: when Yeshion had lain unconscious, breathing but not awake.
“…Nothing bad will happen, right?”
Seated at his side, Rosaline gently stroked Yeshion’s hair as he spoke.
But Eldis gave no answer. Whether he endured the memories or not depended solely on Yeshion’s own mental strength.
“He’ll be fine.”
“…?”
“Don’t you remember? He’s the one who woke up when everyone else said he’d die.”
Then surely, this time too, he’d return safely.
