Power of Runes
Chapter 188: A Conversation Long Overdue

Chapter 188: A Conversation Long Overdue

Where moonlight seemed to illuminate the night, and the cold wind flowed gently through the open sky, the forest below glowed under the faint silvery light. It was a beautiful, peaceful sight—one that belonged to the city of Elves in the distance.

Though the lights of the elven city shimmered softly like stars upon the ground, Ash and Elysia were quite far from it, seated quietly on a cliff’s edge that overlooked the forest canopy.

The two of them sat there, side by side, yet not speaking a word.

There was silence between them, and by now, five whole minutes had already passed. Still, neither had said anything.

Both of them were lost in their own thoughts, hearts strangely tense, thinking the exact same thing.

_Why isn’t he saying anything...?_

_Why isn’t she saying anything...?_

And then, almost as if their hearts were connected by an invisible thread, they both spoke at the same time.

"Ash."

"Nancy."

The moment their voices overlapped, a soft chuckle escaped from both of them. The tension that had built up began to fade, loosening slightly, allowing the air between them to breathe again.

_There’s no way she’s changed,_ Ash thought quietly to himself. The way she spoke, the way she laughed without hesitation... it was just like before.

The person sitting beside him was still her. She hadn’t changed. He was simply overthinking it. Just being paranoid.

That was all he told himself.

This time, it was Elysia who broke the silence.

"You must be dying to know how I ended up in this world, right?" she asked, her voice calm and natural, but with a slight glimmer in her eyes that showed she already knew the answer.

Ash nodded his head in response. "Yeah."

Elysia smiled gently. Her gaze shifted toward the vast, open scenery in front of them. The moonlight reflected off the treetops, and with that serene view as her backdrop, she began to speak.

"I don’t know how it happened exactly. But after I died, the next time I opened my eyes, I was already inside this body. I was lying in an orphanage back then. I still remember how disoriented I felt. But at the very least, I was thankful that I had access to this body’s memories. That made things... easier to accept."

She paused briefly, her voice softening.

" ’Elysia’ was just a child when she lost her parents to a demon attack. After that, she spent her life alone, with nothing but grief in her heart. She made up her mind to devote herself entirely to killing demons. That became her only goal."

"Though, as you know, we didn’t have parents in our past life either. So, for me, it was hard to fully understand the kind of hatred she carried. I couldn’t truly feel the pain of that loss, but I thought... maybe if I had power, and if I ever came across a demon, I would kill it. Even if I couldn’t feel her emotions the same way, it was the least I could do."

"That decision... maybe it was a form of thanks. Or maybe it was the last piece of conscience I had left after taking over her body. Not that I wanted to take her body in the first place. It just... happened."

Ash quietly listened to her words, not interrupting even once. He already knew the real Elysia’s story, or at least what had been written about her in the Novel.

But hearing it spoken like this, by Nancy in her voice, gave it a completely different weight.

Elysia continued.

"The life I had at the orphanage was pretty normal. It wasn’t all that different from how we used to live. It was simple. It was quiet. Just... you weren’t there. That was the only thing missing."

She closed her eyes for a moment, her voice tinged with something bittersweet.

"I used to think about you constantly. I kept wondering what you were doing, how you were living your life back on Earth. Whether you were safe, or whether you were still the same idiot who acted without thinking."

"It was hard for me to adjust to the new life. Far more difficult than I expected. Even though things were peaceful, even though the people there were kind, it felt incomplete without you."

"Time passed... but the pain of being separated from you never faded. It remained like a wound that refused to close. I kept cursing myself for letting you go through with that suicidal move. I kept thinking that I should not have asked you to look at that little girl. I should have let that girl die instead."

Her voice trembled slightly, not from weakness, but from emotions she had kept buried deep inside.

"But maybe... just maybe... because of that choice, I ended up in this body. Or maybe, you did too."

She held Ash’s hands tightly, as if she never wanted to let them go. Her grip was warm, trembling slightly because of how much emotion she had kept buried.

Though after calming herself somewhat, she spoke again.

"Ah and... I transmigrated when I was twelve years old," she began, her voice soft and thoughtful. "And after two years, I awakened. I remember being happy at the time, you know? At least it gave me something—some goal, some purpose I could chase. Something to distract myself from... you."

Her words lingered for a moment in the cold wind.

"I was also hopeful back then," she continued, her eyes drifting toward the stars. "Hopeful that maybe I’d receive a system of some sort. You know, one of those magical cheats or helpers. But nothing like that ever happened. Instead... I awakened with two traits."

That caught Ash’s attention.

He blinked. From what he remembered in the novel, the Elysia of that world only had one known trait—’Blessing of the Moon.’ There had never been any mention of a second trait.

"But both of my traits... they were like stones," Elysia said, her tone a mix of bitterness and resignation.

"No matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, they never reacted. Still, I was glad at least that my mana was flowing. I managed to transform it into water, and that was enough to begin something."

After her awakening, the orphanage’s attitude toward her had shifted slightly. It wasn’t anything special, she was granted a little more freedom, a few more privileges.

She began learning how to wield blades according to her class, slowly and clumsily at first, but with stubborn persistence.

Almost all of her time was spent training. Every hour she could spare, she poured it into practice.

Not because she wanted to grow stronger at any cost, but because it was the only thing that stopped her from thinking about Ash.

She never spoke about her traits to anyone. Since they never reacted or activated, how could she prove that they were even real? She knew what people would say.

That she was lying. That she was seeking attention. That she was pretending.

So, she kept it all a secret.

It wasn’t until the academy tested her affinities that something finally changed.

With their resources and help, she was able to unlock her ’Blessing of the Moon’ trait. Along with that came access to her second, dormant trait.

Ash’s expression shifted the moment he heard this. As he listened to the description, a strange, quiet discomfort crept into his chest. A part of him couldn’t shake it off.

_When I transmigrated, I also received a trait. And now I find out that Elysia, who transmigrated even earlier than me, also got one...., Why does this feel like more than just coincidence...?_

There was a strange pressure in the back of his mind, like something trying to surface, something trying to connect the dots. Then, suddenly, a memory flickered.

The Mysterious Man.

The one who had saved him that day.

But before he could dig deeper into that memory, Elysia’s voice pulled him back to the present.

"You know, I was already suspicious that you were ’my’ Ash," she said, tilting her head and smiling. "So I used that trait to create a mind-reading skill. That’s how I found out the truth. Although... I couldn’t actually read your thoughts directly because of your mental barrier. It just made it easier to tell whether you were lying or not."

She pouted softly as she spoke, her eyes full of a teasing kind of affection. And when Ash looked at her, he couldn’t help but smile a little.

There was something too adorable about her at that moment. The soft expression, the hint of pride in her voice, the way she acted like it was completely normal to create a mind-reading skill just to find out if he was her Ash.

Who could dislike such a sweet and bold girl?

Her explanation also settled the question that had been lingering in his heart. So that’s how she found out about him.

It made sense now.

"Now then," she said, leaning a little closer with a glint in her eyes, "What about you? Tell me your side."

Ash hesitated.

That one question rattled the defenses he had built within. Although he was safe from anyone reading his fate, he had already learned a painful truth.

If someone close to him knew too much... if someone discovered the secrets about him... then those secrets could still be dragged out of them.

The Whisperer was proof of that.

He had already learned about both of their transmigrations. And if it happened once, it could happen again.

_What should I do? Should I tell her? Should I lie?_

His thoughts swirled with worry.

_But if she knew too much, and someone looked into her fate again, what if they used her as a hostage...? What if I couldn’t protect her in time? I would be powerless..._

Negative thoughts piled up one after another, overwhelming him like a silent wave. His vision unfocused. He was spiraling.

That’s when Elysia leaned in and waved her hand slowly in front of his face, her fingers passing right before his eyes.

"Hellooo? Earth to Ash? You blanked out," she said with a concerned smile.

Her voice pulled him back to reality, grounding him once again.

He looked into her blood-red eyes, glowing faintly beneath the moonlight, and then at her shimmering silver hair that flowed gently in the night breeze.

For a moment, Ash’s expression grew slightly complicated, a mixture of thoughts stirring behind his calm demeanor, but still, he opened his mouth and spoke.

"Just like you, I also transmigrated," he began, his voice soft but clear. "But for me, it happened only a few months before the academy entrance. Once I understood that this was a world of magic, I obviously looked for a way to get into Starlight Academy. That was when I met you, and from there, everything unfolded as you already know."

Everything he said was the truth.

Although he had left out many of the dangerous things he had experienced, there was no lie in his words. Since what he said was honest, Elysia’s ability could not detect anything wrong. She had no way of knowing how much he had chosen not to reveal.

_This is the best way I can handle it right now,_ Ash thought silently, looking at her with warmth in his eyes.

_I am sorry, Elysia. But I cannot put you in danger because of the burdens I carry. Someday, I will tell you everything, once I have found a way to change your fate as well._

"I see."

Elysia responded quietly, her expression calm and unreadable. But her silence lingered for a little longer than expected, as if her heart was waiting for something more.

Then, after a pause, she asked softly, "What happened after I lost consciousness?"

Ash responded without hesitation. His tone was casual, but his words were carefully chosen.

"Nothing too complicated. I killed the demon that attacked us, although one of them managed to escape. After that, you were resting, so I left to search for a cure. I was fortunate to discover that the World Tree was in danger. I helped save it, and in return, I asked it to heal you."

His explanation was simple, steady, and offered no clues that something had been left unsaid. His face remained relaxed, and his voice held no trace of unease.

_Even though what he said sounds right... why do I still feel like something is being kept from me...?_

That thought quietly echoed in Elysia’s mind.

Maybe it was something like women’s intuition. Or maybe it was something even simpler—a feeling born from love.

She had no way to explain it, but her heart whispered that he wasn’t telling her everything. And for some reason, that made her chest ache.

She didn’t push him, though. She knew Ash well. If he was choosing not to tell her, then the truth must be something painful.

Something he thought she could not bear yet. Just imagining what it might be caused her throat to tighten slightly, and her eyes to sting with unshed tears. Her heartbeat grew heavier, faster.

But she held it all back.

She endured it with the same willpower that had carried her this far.

With a deep breath, she asked calmly, "What about that ’purging’ the world tree mentioned earlier?"

Ash nodded, then replied in a relaxed tone, "Oh, that. It is nothing big. I just learned a few things from the World Tree, and I plan to try some of them out tomorrow. It is more of an experiment than anything serious."

"I see."

"Yeah."

After that, the heavy air slowly began to lift. The tension between them faded into a comfortable silence.

They spent the rest of their time talking about mundane things—the academy, the students, their classes, and the odd little moments they had experienced since arriving in this world. It felt peaceful.

Time passed slowly, wrapped in the quiet of the night, while the moon continued to glow above the forest. The cliff where they sat felt like a small world of its own, separate from everything else.

The night was long, and they had more than enough to talk about.

***