It’s Not Night - Chapter 121

‘What should I do?’

Andra looked around frantically. There was a small clock on top of a low chest of drawers by the bed. She used her magic to drag the clock towards her while Dean focused on unraveling her clothes. And as soon as the clock was in her hand, she hit Dean on the head without hesitation.

Thump!

Along with the loud sound, Dean’s head flitted to the side. However, his grip on Andra was still strong, and unfortunately she couldn’t get away from him.

Dean turned his head towards her and looked at Andra. His face was terribly shocked. He couldn’t accept that he had been beaten by Andra.

“Again, I’m not who you think I am! Let go of me!”

As Andra tried to wield the clock once again, Dean snatched it from her. And with a heavily sunken face, he meekly walked away from her. As Andra felt free to move, she straightened herself up and tidied up her clothes. Meanwhile, Dean was staring at the clock he had stolen from Andra.

Andra did not think deeply. As soon as she had the feeling that Dean wasn’t going to catch her anymore, she stormed out of the room. She wasn’t sure exactly where she was, but judging from the well-maintained furniture and things, it was likely Count Norrant’s castle.

Andra ran down the hallways, looking for someone else who might know this place, not Dean.

‘No one is here…?’

However, as she ran for a long time and couldn’t find a single person, she couldn’t help but frown. This can’t be happening. It’s nonsense.

There was no way it was just Andra and Dean inside the big castle. The Norrant County was a fairly large territory, and the number of soldiers led by the Count was also considerable. In a place like this, it was impossible not to have a single servant managing the castle.

Andra walked again, looking for the exit. And the moment she arrived at the hall on the first floor, she met Dean, standing in front of a large door as if he had been waiting for her. Dean casually asked Andra, glancing around with dry eyes.

“Have you looked around enough?”

“…What have you done?”

“Nothing. It’s just that the war-mad count emptied the castle.”

“Does that make sense? How could the Count empty his castle…”

“Because I made it possible.”

Dean came closer to Andra little by little. Andra hesitated and stepped back, but strangely, her body did not obey her will. It felt like something was binding her tightly.

Suddenly, Dean took Andra by the hand more carefully than before and led her somewhere. Andra was dragged away helpless by Dean.

“What is your true identity? How can you be alive?”

When there is not much she can do for herself, she decided to ask Dean about the things she wanted to know. Everything has been a mess ever since she arrived at Morgennis. She couldn’t figure out how it happened, and her meeting with Dean was so sudden.

“You know my name, but if you ask me who I am, what am I supposed to answer? And didn’t I say I’ve been waiting for you for a long time?”

“So, how until now…”

“You seem to have forgotten everything. Alright, I can understand that. All I need is you.”

“What are you going to do with me? And the one who was with me?”

At that moment, Dean’s grip got stronger. He turned his head to stare at Andra, then relaxed his hands.

“My God, you do not care about me. It’s been such a long time since we met…”

Dean’s expression looked both bitter and sad, Andra unknowingly avoided his gaze. Why was he looking at her with that expression? She’s not Anat. Andra had to struggle to calm her rapidly beating heart.

“Fine, now doesn’t seem like the right time, so I’ll play along. I think I know why that god left me with this ordeal.”

“Again, I…”

“Did you say you were curious about the whereabouts of the man you were with?”

As Dean asked out of nowhere, Andra paused and looked back at him. She was worried about Jonathan’s safety. She couldn’t remember anything after she fell unconscious. Did Jonathan take her to Count Norrant’s castle? If not, did he have the good fortune to meet Count Norrant’s soldiers in the woods?

“He should be with the Count right now. Are you relieved now?”

“Did the prince bring me here?”

“It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that you met me again.”

“What is that…”

Andra looked like she couldn’t understand the unwanted reply, but Dean gently pulled Andra into his arms and carried her. Her view was suddenly heightened, Andra hugged Dean’s neck automatically. Dean answered, leaving Andra a light kiss on her neck.

“Why did you come to Morgennis? What have you come here for?”

“Don’t trick me. I keep telling you, I’m not the person you think I am! And why did you come here…”

Andra stiffened. The reason she came to Morgennis was none other than the mark on her wrist. Since she accidentally fell into a dungeon created in the Aslan ruins, this mark that had entangled her with Dustin has been leading her and Dustin to Morgennis. So she arrived at Morgennis, and in an instant this happened.

Dean opened the door and spoke again.

“You came all the way here to meet me. And to keep our promise once again.”
“…But.”

“There is no such thing as coincidence. Everything is as planned. This meeting between you and I is also like that. Because they wanted it.”

Where Dean opened the door, there was a road leading to the mountain behind the castle. Even as Andra watched anxiously as the man moved through the misty forest, she still couldn’t move her body on her own, so she asked with a half-resigned face.

“Then what about my partner? I have a partner. According to you, Dean, shouldn’t my partner also have a reason for being here?”

The existence that has the same pattern on their wrists, and can only fill their strength by entangling their bodies. The current Dustin Airak was like that. So, Andra couldn’t believe what Dean was saying.

She could accept that coming to Morgenis was a fixed thing, but it was a little difficult to understand that she had come to see Dean. If that happened, shouldn’t Dustin’s existence be erased?

“Your only partner is me. Forget about that person. Now that you’ve met me, he’ll just disappear.”

“…Disappear? Then the magic on this wrist…”

“Don’t mind it. All you have to do now is trust me and follow me. How long do you think I’ve been waiting for this day…”

This time, Dean kissed Andra on the forehead. Andra tried to shake him off, but she couldn’t. Now, she could feel that even the strength in her body was being drained. What was going on? Besides, Andra had no idea at all where they were heading.

Her head started throbbing again. At the same time, her eyelids were drooping heavily. Noticing this, Dean stroked her hair and helped her sleep. Suddenly Andra began to fall into a deep sleep once more.

* * *

[ You will have to struggle in endless pain in eternal darkness. ]

The sound of cracks in the air came along with a majestic resounding voice. In the cracked air, black darkness began to pour in. Anat watched blankly as the darkness engulfed Dean.

There was nothing she could do in that situation. The other gods, including Nera, held on to Anat and never let her go, and the primordial god blocked Anat’s voice.

As darkness engulfed Dean, the god of death filled the cracked wall again. There was no trace of the human man in the place.

Anat still couldn’t take her eyes off the place with a blank face. Her heart plummeted to the ground. She knew that Dean had brought it on himself and that he deserved it, but she couldn’t believe he had disappeared in front of her. Could it be because she loved him so much? Anat burst into tears.

“Anat. Why are you crying? The human man who tied you down is now gone. You should be happy.”

The god of day and night looked at Anat, who couldn’t make a sound and shed endless tears, finding it hard to understand Anat..

“God of wisdom and ideals. My sister. Don’t shed any tears. Your tears are much too precious for a mere human like that.”

The god of the earth, along with the god of day and night, blamed Anat. It was because god’s tears were too precious to shed tears for the human man who had ruined the god even by bringing her down as a human.

“He was the first person she ever fell in love with. It’s hard to get rid of it easily. Don’t blame Anat too much.”

“Yes, look at Basham. Isn’t that child also deeply in trouble?”

The god of neutrality and the god of justice and harmony comforted Anat by blaming the two gods before. At that time, the god of death and the primordial god approached them.

Anat looked up at her mother, and the primordial god returned her voice that had been taken away. It was because Anat seemed to have something to say. When the voice came out, Anat started clinging to the primordial god.

“Great primordial god, Mother, please… Please have mercy.”

Nera was frightened and tried to stop Anat, but the primordial god beckoned her to retreat. The primordial god bent over and faced Anat, her little daughter.

“My daughter.”

“He is a poor child. I am also at fault. It’s not just the child’s fault. Because I am not… good enough…”

The primordial god hugged Anat with her large hands and lifted her up. And with a thumb wiped away her tears, then spoke slowly to her. Do not cry, my precious daughter. At the soft, warm voice of hers, Anat took a slow breath. She was calming down little by little.