“That barrier is a boundary that only those who have gone through the experience of death can pass.
Not a death-like experience, but actual death.
One has to come back to life and have enough mental fortitude to pass through it.
This is a dark forest and every once in a while, a creature like that slime is born.
Foolish creatures that don’t know the limit and desire more than what they can handle with no willpower.
Those vile creatures are the epitome of foolishness.
Choosing the dark side when you can gain strength with a normal, difficult but pure path.
Huuuu…
Then, there was you.” she stopped and looked at me with an impressed, intrigued, and joyous expression.
This was pure joy as if something she had never thought was possible had happened before her.
It disgusted her when talking about that slime and creatures like it, but there was a stark difference when it came to looking at someone like me or Celes.
I had told her the most I could ever tell anyone, and she had accepted all of it with a smile.
I was happy, and she continued with the same intrigued expression.
“A reincarnation.
Though they are rare in this nature, there sure have been some throughout ancient times.
Someone from a different world, bearing the unknown knowledge and someone that changed the world every time they append in an era.
You have already started a change, and that is a good thing.
But…” she looked at me with a sudden sad expression and sighed helplessly.
“It’s still cruel to see some young child go through so much at such a young age.
Just thinking about how you might have lived in this dangerous place pains my heart.”
She was sincere. So much that I didn’t know how to reply.
I was speechless and looking at her smile felt like I had someone similar to Celes and my family with me.
A helpless smile escaped my mouth, and I just listened to her.
“You are talented, Eon. More than you think.
Though you have been walking on a slightly wrong path, you are doing better than most masters I had seen.”
Her voice was the same, but… just now, she was something really weird.
“I… wrong path?”
I was walking on the wrong path?
What did she mean by that?
And… directly comparing me to masters like this.
Just how many masters has she met to say it so casually?
Well, I was certain about what she might be, but to have such an experience was amazing.
But that answered nothing!
She looked at me.
Deep inside my eyes and an unknown chill passed throughout my body.
What was this and… what?!
[[ Master… what just?! ]]
The disguise we were in, Celes’s ability that not even the ancient willow can see through.
An ability that had been always active.
The ability that had maintained my appearance of dark hair and black eyes intact in all the situations… just turned off?
I was back to my original appearance.
Long gold-like hair, my glowing red eyes. They were back after more than a year.
I didn’t have any need to turn that off, so I had kept it as it was but, now that it just turned off, after that long time, I was looking at my true appearance.
Well, the mirror in my white crack was just rotting without use, but this time, looking at this appearance of mine… even surprised me.
I was better in long hair than the short ones, but, well, this was actually dad-like hair now.
They were reaching my shoulder but, that was normal.
“You look better this way, so cherish this.
Just like you, I also love the beautiful things.”
This smile was definitely something I had seen many times.
My mom’s mischievous smile but far more attractive than hers.
This was enough to make me blush like I was some real kid being teased.
“Grandma…” I called her out and hid my face.
What was this embarrassment?
Why did I get embarrassed when someone complimented my appearance?
This also made my heart beat faster… the same heart that had never been different in front of anything.
No, it was different when the feelings I felt were genuine emotions.
So, I was really embarrassed?!
“Hohoho… little Eon. Don’t be that embarrassed by this old lady’s words.”
Now… my grandma was flirting with me, and I was really falling for them.
No, man… hell.
“Ahem. N-no grandma. More than t-that, what did you just do?”
Dispersing a <Skill> from a crystal butterfly that a thousand-year-old ancient tree couldn’t even detect with a glare?
Was that even possible?
“Do you know what origin skill is?” she asked with a curious smile.
She was curious about how I would answer her complicated question.
This was really difficult if the one asking was someone like her.
I didn’t know if my answer would be right or the one she was looking for, or at least to her liking, but I had to answer to the best of my abilities.
so, I answered with the most basic thing I knew.
“An origin skill is something like a connection between a person having it and the origin itself.
Those with an origin skill can borrow the power from the origin and use it as the [Origin Skills].
As the mastery of this origin increases, the connection with the origin increases… or something like that.”
I had many things to say, but… this was as if she was just asking the things she knew that I know.
As if she had already read my memories.
Not that I minded if it was her, but this was all I could think about original skill at this moment. 𝗼𝐯𝐞𝐥．𝐜𝐨𝗺
She smiled at my answer and looked at me with that smile.
“Good enough. You know the most basic thing, so your <Intermediate-mastery> is explainable.
But… you still don’t know what your [Origin Skill] does, right?”
Putting her chin on her locked hand, she looked at me for a reply to this question that I never asked myself.
“My… [Origin Skill]?”
My origin skill [Sun’s blessing] should also do something, right?
I awakened a long ago, and I had my original skill for as long as I know.
But… never in my life had I thought of using the skill itself.
Never.
The thought had never crossed my mind until today.
“Why…?”
Why did I never think about it?!
What does it even do and how can I don’t even have a thought of using it?
Why…
“Don’t think too much about it,” she said and smiled at me.
My eyes were chaotic and looking deep within hers. I knew if someone knew the reason for this… it was the person who had provoked this thought.
She had started a blaze in my heart and… she was the only one that can calm this growing wildfire.