I had traveled to many places in the past, and I also loved the scenery of traveling. In fact, I had even gained many things and comprehended many things on my travels. Perhaps this was the origin of my Soul Imprint, the Ice Traveler.
The icy tundra was pure white, and the towering snow-capped mountains were so high that even breathing was a luxury. That was a forbidden zone for both life and color. In that despairing place where there was nothing at all, I learned to abandon myself.
That's right, this wasn't something grand like emptying one's soul. It was a self-exile that represented abandonment and expulsion. In that land of snow where it was impossible to tell the difference between the sky and the earth, I was abandoned there. I interrogated my own soul in that despairing and deathly dream.
"… Why is this world so difficult? Why can't we just want to live well? Why is it so difficult to live? Why is it that brave warriors who gave up everything and sacrificed themselves still lost their homes and loved ones, and even had their names tarnished after death? Are there really no fairy tales in reality? Are good people supposed to go to Hell? Is this all my fault? Is this my sin? If I was wrong, wouldn't it have been enough to just punish me? Why did so many good people have to accompany me to Hell? "
My memories of the past kept replaying themselves. Those faces that made me feel guilty, regretful, and yearning for them would never let me go. Those malicious insults would never leave my ears.
"It's all your fault. If it wasn't for you, a self-righteous transmigrator, how could our country have perished?"
"The Twin Stars of Misfortune? No, no, no, the only misfortune is you, the outsider who took over the prince's body. It's all because of you, the jinx, that our citizens were slaughtered and driven to despair. "
"It's all your fault. Why are you the only one who survived? Why don't you go to Hell to accompany us …"
His face, which used to be kind and amiable in the past, was now distorted by hatred. His originally kind greeting caused me to spend dawn after dawn in curses and curses.
"That's right. Why am I still alive? Heavens, why am I the only one left alive!? I want to die! Let me die! "
I don't know how I got through those dream-like days, because I no longer have any memory or the concept of time. Looking back, even my memories are just fragments. The only thing I can remember clearly is the snow-white and coldness.
Perhaps I didn't make it through and had already sunk into complete insanity at that moment. It was only my final bit of luck and coincidence that brought me back from the endless insanity.
Perhaps during that period of time, I was half crazy and half lucid. When I was crazy, I was cursing the heavens for being unfair, and when I was lucid, I was cursing my own powerlessness and weakness. Reality and dreams were twisted together, and my idealistic thinking and twisted madness were actually able to fuse together. Perhaps this was the most logical explanation for my fragmented memories.
But in the end, I made it through. My rationality, which I had regained from my despair, told me that even in death, those who had trusted me still stood firmly under my flag. How could they possibly regret their choice and trust in me?
"A Knight's heart is like a fortress of steel. It's pure and doesn't tolerate any impurities. I actually suspected that they would regret following me. That's the greatest insult to them. I'm such an unqualified ruler. Even now, I'm still doubting their loyalty and trust …"
Even though I recovered my rationality, I still chose to live alone in a glacier. I faced my true self and heart in a peaceful life. I interrogated my own soul and memories bit by bit, and took stock of my past mistakes in the dark night of a stove.
"If only I had been a bit more mature in my thinking, a bit more sly, a bit more shameless, a bit more cruel, perhaps I wouldn't have failed …"
I had always liked lively scenes, but I gradually fell in love with the color that represented ice in the snow-white world. That was because I knew that in the face of despair, impassioned emotions would be just as meaningless as grand slogans. Calm and sensitive thoughts were the only path to salvation. I desired to freeze my rationality beneath the glacier.
"If possible, I wished to leave my anger beneath the snow mountain. That way, I wouldn't lose control of my emotions because of anger. Nor would I do something that I regretted in the past. Insanity and anger are meaningless. The impulsiveness of a hot-blooded youth will only bring endless pain. I despise anger, I curse insanity, and I desire to become a bystander in a desperate situation."
I didn't know when, but I no longer felt anger. Instead, two soul shards that represented anger appeared on my neck. From then on, I became a traveler who traveled alone on an icy mountain. I engraved that scene into my soul and entered the realm of Legends again, laying down the foundation for me to reach the peak.
Perhaps I really did it. I became a bystander who could appreciate the brilliance of Armageddon's arrival and make the calmest decision in a desperate situation. Perhaps I was simply a cripple who had cut off my own soul shards. I was a lunatic who thought that I had calmed down.
But no matter what, I didn't regret it. After all, that was my past. It was my own choice. It was a sin that I should bear for eternity …
"I will never regret …"
The intense light hurt my eyes. Tears actually flowed out of my eyes. My pillow was covered in tears.
"Is it this dream again?"
When I looked carefully, I saw that the sun and the moon were hanging in the sky. Looking at the position between the two stars, it seemed that it was already dawn.
"Do you often have this dream?"
The golden-haired young Elf girl was sitting on my pillow. Her silky blonde hair was all over the bed, and there were still traces of her pillow on her white and tender thighs. Her usual mocking and arrogant tone of voice now contained a rare hint of concern and nervousness. Her bright red cheeks were tinged with shyness and a blush.
I shook my head and tossed these boring emotions aside. I tossed the liquid that represented weakness to the corner of the room. I shook my head and opened my eyes. The next moment, the energetic, young, and energetic Roland had returned!
"No, it's all things that I've already forgotten. I don't know why, but I've been dreaming about it this week … By the way, who are you? How did you get in here? Is this some prank that wants to ruin my reputation? I told you, I'm not a lolicon. I'm a great maid lover! "
Alright then. The little girl's expression of concern instantly transformed into one of anger. She then smacked her lips and suddenly transformed into a bird that was about to bite me …
"Don't bite me! Ah, this feeling? You're Harloys? Eh, aren't you a cat … "
Reality proved that it was easy for people to have low blood pressure when they first woke up. It was only natural for their memories to be unclear, but recognizing the wrong person or calling the wrong name at a critical moment would be fatal …
"Ohhh, I remember now! I'm sorry! Harloys, I was in a daze just now. Don't bite me! I'm bleeding! I'm bleeding! I'm really bleeding! "
I finally managed to take off the fake loli on my head. I made a bunch of promises before I managed to coax Harloys to apply some medicine on my head.
"… You're having a flashback dream. This is your soul urging you to create a Soul Imprint."
When I asked her about the dream, Harloys gave her a firm and resolute judgment.
"I think that's a memory from when I created the Ice Traveler's Soul Imprint. What a pity. My death in that life must've been quite a grand one, and I lost the most memories. Would I have such a dream while creating a Soul Imprint? I don't think I had such a memory before. "
"Of course. In the past, you were creating a new Soul Imprint, and you were gathering all of your life experiences. Now, you're restoring your past Soul Imprint. You need to face your past self, even if it's an incredibly sad past."
"My past self? What a sad past. No wonder I forgot about it … Wait a moment, how do you know that it's a past memory, and that it's a sad past? You actually dared to peek!? Did you use magic to peek at my dream? "
"… Heehee, you should know that cats are incredibly curious creatures."
The next instant, the blonde loli transformed into a silly cat. She even scratched her face with her claws and acted cute. Harloys was getting better and better at fooling people.
However, I forced out a sentence through gritted teeth.
"A cat's curiosity? Yep, perhaps we should first talk about how cats died! "
…
It hadn't even been a month since they entered this world, but many of the warriors here had already made breakthroughs. Most of them had been stuck at a bottleneck for a long time, and naturally broke through after spending some time in this high Elemental Tide environment.
However, these breakthroughs shouldn't be underestimated. In the human world, most mortals would work hard their entire lives, and even with the help of a great teacher and resources, they would only be able to reach the peak of Silver. Otherwise, Gold masters wouldn't be so popular.
And if all the peak Silver masters who were treated as mortals easily broke through to Gold, their decades of accumulation would transform into actual power, and their combat strength would increase by at least three times.
Advancing from Gold to Legend rank was even more of a summation and accumulation of one's life. There was still a path to Gold, but Legend rank was a path where you worked hard your entire life, and you were just a tiny bit away from reaching it. If you couldn't comprehend it, then you couldn't.
However, some people did indeed comprehend it, but due to old age or injuries, they were physically and mentally exhausted, and were still unable to break through to Legend rank. This wasn't an isolated case. Life was short, and young people were full of energy. Young people didn't know about worries. It was only when people were old and about to die, or when they suffered a major setback that they would sincerely reflect on their past, and only then would they comprehend how to break through to Legend rank. But by then, it would already be too late. Their physical bodies, which were nearing the end of their lives, wouldn't be able to withstand the torment.
Meanwhile, these veteran mercenaries and warriors had mysteriously recovered from their injuries and extended their lifespans in this high Elemental Tide environment, allowing them to surpass this hurdle.
Just being stationed here gave these young warriors tremendous benefits, and allowed the veteran warriors to regain their combat strength. Naturally, they also gained more confidence in our cause.
Of course, in a few decades, perhaps the entire world would have such benefits. However, at that time, the tide would rise, and our enemies would be even more difficult to deal with.
But actually, I was the one who benefited the most from all this joy.
That seven-day soul-summoning session had ended, and the tremendous consumption caused me to immediately fall asleep. However, I also forcefully raised my magic power to Legend rank. Soul Imprints, which would normally be a problem for most people for their entire lives, weren't a problem from the very start. I was forced to swiftly create my own Soul Imprint, forcing me to face myself.
"How difficult. Although entering Legend or even Saint rank is a necessary condition to complete my 'grand plan,' I really don't want to have that dream again."
"In that case, you can try creating other Soul Imprints first. But, they won't be any better. "
Thinking about what other Soul Imprints represented and their memories, my expression instantly became strange. I then viciously glared at the silly cat who didn't know what was good for her.
"You bastard, did you peek at my dream again? Otherwise, how would you know that they're all pitiful? "
"Hmph, is there even a need to look at them? Isn't your life nothing more than tableware? It's already filled with tragedies (tragedies). No matter how you look at them, there's no comedy to be seen. "
"Comedy? There's such a thing? The silly cat's comedy of seeking death — Schrodinger's Cat. Excellent reviews! Guess if this cat is dead or alive! "
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