part1 · 084-ep84

Episode 84: The Return After Ten Years

Ren's fingertips touched the white light.

"..."

It was warm. But there was none of fire's heat. Different from touching water, too.

A strange sensation.

Ren gazed at the light before him.

Beyond it—

was the outside.

The place he had longed for, for ten years.

One more step, and he'd be there.

"......"

And yet, Ren didn't move right away.

He had entered this dungeon at fifteen. And he had lived in this place, all the way until now — until twenty-five.

He had fought monsters. Been hurt. Run. Searched for food. Searched for water. Searched for a place to sleep. Fought again.

He had repeated that, for ten years.

"...It's the end, huh."

he murmured.

There was no next floor anymore. No monster left to kill. No more need to push on just to survive.

Ren let out a quiet breath.

"...Let's go."

One step — into the light.

White light wrapped around him.

"Kh..."

His vision flooded white. Up, down, front, back — he could tell nothing apart.

But there was no fear.

Ren simply walked on.

One step.

And another.

And—

the next moment.

　　　　　◇

A wind was blowing.

"..."

It stirred Ren's hair. Brushed his cheek. His clothes fluttered faintly.

"...Wind?"

Ren opened his eyes, slowly.

The first thing he saw was green.

Trees. Grass. Leaves swaying.

Then it reached his ears.

Birds singing.

"......"

Ren couldn't move.

Slowly, he raised his face.

Through the gaps in the trees, he saw blue sky.

"..."

The sky.

Blue sky stretching on forever. White clouds. Sunlight.

Ren simply looked up at it.

It was blinding. But he didn't want to look away.

A view he hadn't seen once in ten years.

"...It's outside."

His voice shook.

It really was outside.

The wind blew. The trees swayed. Birds called. The air smelled of grass. Sunlight fell warm on his body.

"......"

Then, something ran down his cheek.

"...?"

Ren reached up.

His fingertips came away wet.

"...Why?"

Another tear fell.

"...Why am I crying?"

He wasn't sad. Nothing hurt. He wasn't scared.

Even so, the tears wouldn't stop.

"......"

Ren looked up at the sky once more.

"...I'm back, huh."

The moment he said it, at last, the truth of it spread through his chest.

He was back.

For the first time in ten years.

He had come home — to the outside.

　　　　　◇

A while later, Ren finally turned his eyes to his surroundings.

"...This place."

A mountain.

He was surrounded by trees. Grass grew underfoot, with rocks here and there.

Ren slowly took in the area around him.

Ten years ago, fifteen-year-old Ren had left town as if running away — and before he knew it, he was deep in the mountains.

Back then, he had known nothing yet.

Not that the dungeon existed. Not that he would spend ten years inside it. Not that he would fight without end, just to live.

"...Ten years ago."

Ren looked around.

Whether this was the same mountain he'd walked ten years ago, he couldn't tell right away.

That was only natural.

Ten years had passed. The trees had grown. Branches reached further, leaves thickened. Grass ran wild across the ground, and places he should have been able to walk back then were overgrown here and there.

"...It's all changed."

Ren began walking, slowly.

He advanced, checking his surroundings as he went.

Then, a little way ahead, Ren's feet stopped.

"...That."

A great rock face.

"......"

He knew it.

No — he didn't remember it exactly. Even so, the moment he saw that rock face, memories from ten years ago rose up inside Ren.

Past the trees. At the center of the rock face. A great hole had opened there.

"...This is the place."

Ren drew closer.

But the rock face held nothing.

"..."

No hole. Nothing but rock.

Ren reached out and touched the rock.

Cold to the touch.

"...It's gone, huh."

The dungeon entrance that should have stood here, ten years ago.

It was gone — nowhere to be found.

Ren turned around.

The white light that should have been there moments ago was already gone, too.

"......"

Now, it was truly over.

Ren looked at the rock face once more.

Fifteen-year-old Ren had entered the dungeon from this spot. And ten years later, twenty-five-year-old Ren had come back to it.

"...Ten years."

It had been long.

Far, far too long.

Ren closed his eyes, quietly.

Everything he'd been through flashed through his mind.

The first monster he ever met. The first meat he ever ate. The days spent searching for water. The day he learned to make fire. The fights he'd nearly died in. The days of descending floor after floor.

And the Ancient Dragon — his final fight.

"......"

All of it, finished.

Ren opened his eyes.

What to do now — he didn't know yet.

He didn't know what the outside world had become. Whether it was the same as ten years ago, or changed beyond recognition. He didn't even know if anyone who knew him was still alive.

Even so — right now, he was home.

That alone was enough.

Ren took his hand off the rock. And looked toward where the mountain path down ought to run.

"...Let's go."

One step forward.

For ten years, he had walked for one reason only: to survive.

But from here on—

it would be different.

Ren began his descent of the mountain.

To the surface, for the first time in ten years.

And—

into a new life.

　　　　　◇

—End of Part 1.