NoveLight ™
Most people don’t realize it.
**War.**
In that single, brief word lies a weight few understand.
For most, it’s a word that merely passes by, but to those involved, it signifies nothing short of the end of life itself.
An indelible scar.
---
Was it a holy war for justice?
Or simply a tool for the greed of the powerful?
A pointless question.
At this point, searching for any justification felt absurd.
What mattered was that a war had taken place, and countless children cried out in despair.
The world was stained in the light of hopelessness.
---
<The war is over.>
<But to call it a victory… far too many people have died…>
---
Even after a truce, the war continues.
The dead may have escaped with the absolution of death, but those who survived paid the price.
The festering wounds were merely covered by the word ‘peace.’
The decaying injuries remained, ignored.
---
<Josh? You got a letter.>
<I didn’t read it, but it looks like it’s from that homeland of yours you always talk about.>
---
The boy, too, was no exception.
One day, he received a letter.
The cruel reality spares no one.
As he unfolded the neatly folded paper, his sturdy hopes shattered into pieces.
Its contents were filled with words he struggled to believe.
---
[The village was annihilated.]
---
A cold, stark sentence.
The boy’s hometown, which he had left reluctantly, was completely destroyed by the enemy’s annihilation spell.
Those backed into a corner had resorted to forbidden magic.
---
His home transformed overnight into a land uninhabitable for humans.
The magic’s aftermath left the village barren like a desert, and the twisted mana birthed monsters that roamed freely.
People fell like the sick, dying one by one.
A city met its ruin.
This was the true identity of the desert we had wandered through for days.
The old man let out a bitter laugh as he spoke.
---
"I never intended to deceive you."
---
His wrinkled face bore the weight of years.
Gently tracing the gravestone, the old man turned to us with a pained expression.
---
"It was always this way. I set out on this journey to reunite with Rosaline."
---
"…"
"…"
---
We stood in silence, unable to find words.
**[Here Lies Rosaline Meriar.]**
The gravestone stood right in front of us.
A reunion long awaited throughout a lifetime, ending in a sorrow he’d hoped never to see.
The old man continued to speak calmly.
---
"Doesn’t it seem strange? A lone grave standing here on this desolate hill."
---
His cloudy eyes briefly softened, lost in memory.
A memory of the promise he had made in his youth.
---
<If we’re ever separated, let’s meet again at the brightest star in the night sky!>
<The blue one over there?>
<What do you think? We’ll definitely be able to see it, so it’s a good choice, right?>
<But how will we get to a star…?>
<I don’t know! But by the time we’re adults, we’ll know how to reach it.>
<That… actually makes sense.>
<So, let’s promise, okay?>
<Yes…!>
---
It was a promise made on this very hill.
They lay side by side in the grass, counting the radiant stars shining above.
It was a moment the boy never forgot.
And then—
---
"She asked that, when she died… she be buried right here on this hill."
---
The girl was no different.
She, too, spent her life reflecting on those fifteen years with him, even as she approached her end.
Neither of them had ever forgotten the other.
---
"Fools."
---
She should have forgotten about such a silly promise.
She should have left that cursed village, found a handsome man, gotten married, and lived happily, surrounded by blessings.
At her age, the idea of never having met a single man was absurd.
If only things had been different.
---
"If only… I’d smiled, even a little, when we said goodbye."
---
The last memory he had of her.
They had turned their backs on each other in anger.
It was over something trivial, yet they let it taint their farewell.
The old man gently traced the gravestone.
---
"Who lives without regrets?"
---
Summing up life, he could only say a single sentence.
After reflecting deeply for a moment, the old man finally turned his gaze to us.
---
"Please, don’t think badly of me."
"Elder."
"My promise to guide you to the nearest town was sincere. If you keep walking in this direction, you’ll come across a new village within a few hours."
"Aren’t you coming with us?"
"I have somewhere else to go."
"Where might that be…?"
"I have to keep a promise."
---
He smiled, his words filled with mystery.
He suddenly broke into a fit of coughs, spitting red blood onto the ground.
---
"Hack! Cough, cough!"
---
Though we’d seen it before, he looked noticeably worse this time.
His legs trembled as if he were dizzy, and soon he slumped against the gravestone, his figure small and frail.
---
"Elder!"
---
We reached out to support him, but he firmly waved us away, continuing to mumble through his coughs.
---
"Cough! I’m… fine."
"It seems like your body’s reached its limit, sir. If we could just get you to a town, you could be treated…!"
"I was given a month at most. This was expected…"
---
His voice remained calm.
It was a farewell he had prepared for a long time.
As the weight of his words settled in, Regia’s eyes welled with tears.
The old man smiled.
---
"Why the sad faces?"
"…"
"E-Elder…"
"It’d be nice if you could smile."
---
His eyes were as clear as ever.
The gentle morning breeze carried his voice far and wide.
---
"You may think I’m dying, but it’s not like that."
"…"
"As you know, stars are very far away, aren’t they? It’s impossible to take this body with me. It’s just too heavy."
---
The star where they had promised to meet.
The old man—no, the boy—was finally going to meet the girl he loved.
The single rose he had cherished his whole life.
---
"So, would you celebrate with me?"
---
It would be a magnificent sight.
When he looked at the stars, they’d all look like wells with pulleys, each star offering him a drink.
---
This wasn’t death.
It was simply preparation for a long journey.
The boy from fifty years ago had finally found his wings and was ready to embark on a journey to the brightest star in the night sky.
It was a beautiful page out of a fairytale, just thinking about it.
---
"Thank you for accompanying me on this long journey."
"It was an honor."
"E-Elder… hick…"
---
We said our farewells.
As his coughing persisted, a gentle light surrounded the old man’s body.
The color was mystical.
---
Rustle.
His ailing body began to grow transparent, then gradually broke apart into soft white light.
It scattered into the wind, like dust carried on a breeze.
The old man became part of the desert.
---
"Ah…"
A faint gasp escaped.
The old, weary eyes gazed at the sky, as if stargazing, just like before.
---
Whish.
The night’s black canvas was speckled with glistening dots.
The stars pulled back the dark veil of night.
Millions of stars shone, erasing loneliness with their light.
---
Perhaps that was it.
A singular moment representing a life.
The old man stretched his hand toward the sky.
His trembling fingers pointed at the brightest star, and he murmured softly.
---
"I’m coming to you, Rosaline."
---
The old man slowly closed his eyes.
Then, his body shattered completely, floating freely into the sky.
Toward the star where the girl was waiting for him.
---
For a while, we stood in silence.
The elder had embarked on a long journey.
Regia’s tears fell one by one.
The bond they had formed over the past ten days made the farewell all the more painful for her.
Even these fleeting moments would serve as a foundation for the protagonist’s growth.
---
"Hicc, huff…"
---
For some, it was dawn, the beginning of a long journey, while for others, it was morning, the end of a long journey.
At last, we had safely escorted the old man to his destination.
The conditions to clear the episode were met.
A signal of completion echoed softly in my ears.
---
Creak—
A strange noise made me look up, and there, high in the sky, a small door opened wide.
A door hanging in the midst of a perfectly clear sky.
It was a strange yet enchanting sight.
---
It was time to leave this world.
Holding the weeping girl’s hand, I cautiously led the way.
---
Step by step.
We climbed the staircase woven from the night sky.
Carefully stepping into the air, we approached the door that awaited us.
Beyond the door was a swirl of blinding white light.
---
"It’s all over now."
---
We hesitated a moment, looking back, but then walked toward the light.
Our vision was bathed in a dazzling brightness as it faded to black.
---
**[EP???. Crossing the Desert]**
**– The Boy Who Counts Stars –**
And so, the episode concluded.
---
When we opened our eyes again, we were standing in an
empty alleyway.
---
"Hmm."
"W-where are we…?"
---
We quietly looked around.
The familiar sights came into view.
We were back at the academy.
Though ten days had passed in the book, it seemed only about two hours had elapsed in reality.
---
"…"
---
I scanned the area.
We had been inside an old shop before we left, but now there was no sign of it.
Only an empty lot greeted us, as if the shop had never existed.
It was just like in the original story.
Once the episode ended, the shop was erased from the field.
All that remained for the player was the reward item and the peculiar book we had picked up.
---
"Y-Young Master… what just happened?"
"I’m not entirely sure."
---
I picked up a book lying on the ground.
It was bound in old leather.
The title, **Crossing the Desert**, gleamed in gold on the cover.
I flipped through the pages gently.
---
Rustle.
The final page revealed an illustration.
A picture of a boy and a girl.
Only a simple title lay beneath it.
---
**[Josh and Rosaline]**
The two were embracing with radiant smiles in a world as beautiful as a night sky.
It looked as if they had just been reunited.
A faint smile touched my lips.
Gazing at the page, I turned to the girl beside me and spoke.
My voice softened, coloring the dim background with warmth.
---
"It was just the end of a fairytale."
---
I closed the book.
A new phrase was now etched on the cover, replacing the original title.
Somehow, it had changed in the blink of an eye.
Silently, I mouthed the words to myself.
---
**[Thank you.]**
A farewell from someone unknown.
We stared down at the letters in silence.