Mysteries: Arcana Wars

Field sighed; Klein's amnesia was worse than he had thought.

Spectators and tourists are fleeing, staff are shouting, bullets and bombs are flying, houses are exploding, machinery is collapsing, cultists are causing destruction, and extraordinary individuals are evacuating.

Meanwhile, Klein, hiding behind cover, reminisced about his bygone days.

The chaotic and absurd scene drove the already stressed-out Field to the brink of madness. After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he asked Klein.

"Where should I begin?"

"Starting from Utopia...starting from my utopian town..."

"I don't know all your stories, because the future you isn't the kind of person who likes to reminisce about the good old days with the younger generation."

Field recalled with his eyes closed.

"Although I don't know exactly what happened, I think I can sense that those memories from the Fifth Epoch are treasures you cherish but dare not touch casually."

Klein lowered his eyes.

Yes, Field precisely exposed the deepest, most unwanted confusion he had felt during this period—

Now that I know I am a product of the fusion of the Celestial Venerable, how can I face the important people around me?

"Melissa said that she and that guy named Is sacrificed themselves and the fate of your entire family in exchange for my successful fusion and the successful sealing of the Mad God. Is that... true?"

Field nodded affirmatively.

"Not only Melissa, but also her brother Benson and his family, as well as Is's brother Cissé, joined the plan."

"This trap that imprisons the gods was conceived by Is and perfected together with Melissa."

"It was not out of coercion or threat, but rather they voluntarily stepped into this trap where there was no chance of survival."

Klein suddenly felt dizzy.

The older brother and younger sister, who were originally protected behind him, eventually rebelled and walked in front of him, hoping to use their small bodies to resist the torrent of fate, and then disappear before his eyes.

They were like sand and water; the more Klein tried to grasp them, the more they slipped through his fingers. The tighter he held on, the faster they flowed away, until finally, after Klein's death throes, he had nothing left but those faint remnants of memories.

The other shore I longed to cross is unreachable, and the people I wanted to cherish cannot be kept.

Klein slumped down under the cover, his eyes vacant.

"I...I..." he choked out, "I don't know how to face Melissa and the others..."

"I...don't know how to face you either..."

"As a junior, you could have had an ordinary and wonderful life, but because of me, your ancestors sacrificed the fate of the entire family in advance, leaving you with no choice but to bear a cruel curse."

Will you... resent me?

"Resent you? Why would I resent you? Why would you have such a thought?"

Field looked at Klein with a questioning gaze.

Can complaining solve problems? Can complaining change anything? Can complaining make everyone live a happy and fulfilling life?

"To be honest, I don't care about any curses, and sometimes I even forget about them."

"Some people are born missing limbs, some have incomplete brain or cerebellum development, and some can only make a six with their left hand and a seven with their right. I am the same, except that I was born with a mental illness and a curse."

"Everyone's life is imperfect, and at the same time, no one can define what a truly happy life is. So the legendary happiness does not actually exist; it is just a beautiful spiritual sustenance for people. It cannot really be counted. We still need to distinguish between real life and beautiful sustenance."

"As for how you should face Melissa..."

Field scratched his head.

"You can watch it lying down, sitting, or standing, it's all fine."

"At the very least, you shouldn't look at her with pity or with the gaze of someone in a superior position."

"She is not your possession, nor your burden, nor a dodder that can only survive by relying on your protection."

"She is a scholar who changes the world, a leader of the new era, and a hero who saves the world."

"Melissa doesn't need your protection, nor does she need your repentance. This is her own choice, her own battle, and you have no right to interfere or stop her from writing her own legend."

"It's not that you failed to protect her, but that she heroically crossed the barriers you set up and stood in front of you with her own will."

"If you really want to say something to her, instead of confessing your dereliction of duty, you should praise her for the brilliance of her plan back then."

"Without the brothers Is, who are the Kings of Angels, they would not have enough leverage to shake fate; without Melissa's family, there would be no strong bond with the gods. Both are indispensable, and together they created a possibility for your integration."

"And you successfully seized this sliver of possibility."

Field closed his eyes, seemingly lost in memories.

"As for the Sixth Era after the cataclysmic disaster..."

"I forgot the beginning, I forgot the end, but anyway, when I was little, you ran a dessert shop with our whole family in Backlund."

"Our life can be considered comfortable, but we can't say we're wealthy. We're nothing like the stereotypical 'divine family' or anything like that. Compared to the Bethel family or the Tesla family, we're just ordinary poor citizens."

"After the fusion, you were in a semi-mad state."

"It looks like a crazy person who lives a happy life every day, with friends who have been with you for thousands of years, and family members who cherish you."

"But if you ask me, you're really just a cunning, scheming, treacherous, and shrewd old monster, yet also lonely and lost..."

"……and many more!"

Klein suddenly interrupted Field.

"what did you just say?"

"?" Field was bewildered. "I said you're an old monster..."

"No, no, no, the previous sentence!"

"Uh... in the year 2000, you seemed like a crazy person who lived a happy life every day, with friends who had been with you for thousands of years, and family members who cherished you..."

Klein suddenly laughed.

He lay sprawled on the ground, relaxed and at ease, finally experiencing the most genuine joy he had felt since waking up.

He laughed louder and louder, more and more forcefully, laughing with all his might on the ground, his body twisting and turning with laughter.

This historical story, which began in utopia, also successfully ended with utopian life.

"What are you laughing at! What time is it! Even if you're going crazy, at least consider the occasion!"

"If you laugh again, that giant snake will come running at you! Aaaaaah!"

Klein wisely got up and found that Field had pulled out a black submachine gun from somewhere.

"I don't know what your current plan is. Anyway, leave the cultists to me, and you go and fulfill your mission."

After saying that, Field took a few deep breaths, constantly reassuring himself, "Don't be afraid," "I can do it," "It will definitely be fine," and finally mustered up his courage to rush out of the bunker.

The damaged amusement park rides were out of control, yet they stubbornly continued to operate.

Klein leaned against the bunker, watching alone as the horses, engulfed in flames after the explosion, shimmered with distorted music from the destroyed sound system, yet the machinery continued to turn.

Amidst the raging flames, the carousel struggled with all its might, slowly and steadily spinning around, clinging to the wrecked horse. The heat from the fire was so intense it could even touch Klein's face.

Klein watched as the wooden horse, bathed in the yellow and white glow of the sunset, its mane made of flames, treading on clouds shaped like black smoke, completed its final dance in its most radiant form.

As night fell, the dazzling stage lights shone on Klein's face.

At that moment, he completely believed in his future.