Blank
I opened my eyes.
How long had they been closed?
How long had I been standing here?
...How long...
A practice sword was in my hand, and training dummies lay scattered across the ground.
...I don't remember coming here.
...Captain?
Hm? What is it?
He stood there as though nothing were out of the ordinary.
As though he'd been watching me train from that very spot all along.
Have I...
Become a Journey member?
Hmm? Well, yes. Of course you have.
I mean, we were just training together.
We were... training?
...
I was confused. I'd been in downtown NOA. I'd met him there. And then... I'd walked past him. At least, I should have.
I felt the same gap in my memory again.
Is this... an illusion?
Or is it...
Uhh... Are you okay?
...
You needn't concern yourself.
I was merely... lost in thought for a moment.
I set the practice sword down in a corner of the training ground.
If you're too tired to continue, we can head back for the day.
...
...You're imagining things.
I had become a member of the Journey, training under his guidance.
Then from now on, I would have to follow the Journey's plan.
But what timeline was this? Was it even right to call it a timeline?
...Captain.
Let me ask you one thing.
Do you remember how I became your Journey member?
What do you mean?
...
No. Forget I asked.
This seems to be my problem alone.
...
What? Do you have something else to say?
You seem to have a lot on your mind.
More needless meddling, I see.
I'm not meddling. I just—
Let me make one thing clear.
Regardless of how I became a member under you, don't expect me to blindly do whatever you say.
My belief that this Journey is nothing but a worthless play won't change.
...Why do you feel so strongly about it?
...
Because I've already been through it all.
Been through what?
It's not too late.
You'd be wise to give up on me now.
...Pretending I'm not even here would do, too.
I can't do that.
...Why not?
Because I'm already your Journey member?
His unwavering voice and gaze pierced straight through me.
The convictions and resolve of the person he was.
No one is beyond happiness.
So I won't give up on you, either.
...
Hah. Absurd.
To pour so much of yourself into someone who never asked for it...
...
Yes. That was always the kind of person you were.
Unbound by anyone else, never swept along...
Foolish enough to believe you could save everyone.
...
The wind stirred.
It carried a memory of the one thing I thought would never change, even as everything else did.
If this is a dream...
It may be a particularly cruel one.