novelraw Chapter 255 : “Our First Kiss… In a Place Like This?”
Chapter 255 : “Our First Kiss… In a Place Like This?”
Chapter 255: “Our First Kiss… In a Place Like This?”
Rast walked along the mountain slope, wild grasses brushing against his side.
The higher he climbed, the further behind him that fire-engulfed town, tainted with the breath of death, seemed to fade into the distance.
The sky, once a scorched crimson from the smoke and flames, had now turned into a profound, starless black... Even the air gradually grew fresh again—unlike the decaying stench of dust and ash back in the ruins of Canaan.
As he stepped on the gravel-strewn path beneath his feet, taking in the familiar scenery of hills he had traversed countless times—
Rast could clearly feel those long-lost memories and heartfelt emotions deep within his soul… slowly stirring back to life.
Scorching—yet incomparably warm.
Even though the time loops in Deep Blue Port had made him forget much, those memories hadn’t truly vanished. They were merely tucked away in the corners of his mind’s attic, quietly gathering dust as time passed.
But one day, that long-forgotten attic would be opened again. Crystal-like fragments of memory would once more bask in sunlight—when that moment came, the dust would vanish, and the memories would blaze anew.
A tidal wave of memories came crashing in, like a hammer striking his dust-covered heart. The dust scattered, and his heart rang like a bell.
In that moment, time and space blurred. The scenery around him twisted slightly—at times the sky burned black and red from firelight, at times it turned into a stormy, rain-drenched night.
Everything felt as if it had returned to centuries ago—a black-haired boy, soaked in the rain, trudging through a muddy mountain path, shouting Emis’s name, desperate to find the missing girl before the flash flood arrived. The line between memory and reality grew faint.
At the end of that steep, muddy trail was a bottomless cave.
When Rast was little, the adults in Canaan often said, “A man-eating dragon lives in the cave atop the mountain behind town.”
Looking back, it was clearly just a tale concocted by the grown-ups to scare mischievous children into behaving… After all, pure-blooded ancient dragons on the Western Continent had vanished alongside the Age of Gods. These days, even lizards with a drop of dragon blood—those low-tier draconic species—were rare treasures to transcendent beings, immediately captured and protected upon discovery.
But for the six-year-old Rast and Emis back then, this story was no different from “Santa Claus gives presents to good children on Christmas Eve.” Not quite believable, yet not entirely dismissed either.
So it wasn’t hard to imagine just how much despair Emis had to endure after her parents’ funeral—to run into that “dragon’s cave” with the intent of giving up on life.
And how much courage Rast had to summon, to step into the “lair of a dragon” like a fearless knight from a fairy tale.
Rast's lips curled into a faint smile as he stepped into the damp, shadowy cave.
He climbed over jagged rocks and waded through shallow pools of water.
The deeper he went, the colder it became. Water vapor condensed on the stone pillars of the cave walls, forming droplets that fell with soft, echoing drips.
Behind him, the night sky and the sound of wind and rain receded, leaving only a pure and utter silence.
He didn’t know how long he walked before reaching the end of the cave.
Rast’s footsteps paused slightly.
Bathed in a cold, silvery moonlight that spilled from an unknown source, he saw the scene at the end of the cave.
A frail girl was curled up in the corner. Though usually tall and slender, she now looked so small, huddled into herself.
Her pale face lacked all color. The once radiant, pale golden hair Rast remembered now hung loose and messy, soaked with murky mud… and beneath her tightly shut eyes were faint streaks of dried tears.
Emis.
She was no longer the noble and elegant Judgement Angel… but the timid, cowardly, and darkness-fearing village girl who had once lived in Canaan.
Compared to the Judgement Angel of the Historical Echoes—lofty and terrifying, who could incite a continent-wide Mech Uprising with a single thought—or the flawless, gentle, and ever-doting wife from the Canaan illusion… the real Emis was so ordinary, so unremarkable, her light utterly eclipsed by the many radiant heroes in the River of History.
It was this dim version of her, overwhelmed by the psychic erosion of the Judgement Grail, who could only choose to hide herself away as carefully as possible.
People in their deepest despair instinctively seek a place they believe to be safest—and for Emis, that place was this cave in the mountains behind town… the place where she and Rast had first met. Just being here gave her an inexplicable sense of security.
She had no idea if hiding here would actually help—
Her hometown, her home, everyone she’d known and loved… all had vanished two hundred years ago, lost in the disaster of temporal collapse.
Emis Justia—a name forgotten by the world. In the present day, no one remembered that a girl by this name had once lived in a now-erased town… No one, except for Rast.
Time seemed to shift. The world appeared to return to two hundred years ago, back to the Canaan of old.
Once more, the black-haired boy found that abandoned little girl in a dark, damp cave.
Rast gently stepped closer to the corner. With the softest movement, he carefully cradled the unconscious girl in his arms.
He reached out with his mind, letting his spiritual power quietly flow from his fingertips into Emis’s body.
Like a doctor using a stethoscope to assess a patient’s condition, his spiritual power diffused into the depths of her mental image, sensing the state within her.
Soon, Rast furrowed his brows.
He realized Little Ai’s current condition was dire—the Judgement Grail’s prolonged erosion had nearly devoured all her spiritual power and memories…
Now, her soul’s flame resembled a rootless spark on a winter night. It didn’t even need a gust of wind to extinguish—it was already on the brink of going out.
If nothing was done, it would only be a matter of time before that last flicker of flame was snuffed out… and her sense of self would be completely erased, never to return.
As that thought crossed his mind, Rast didn’t hesitate for even a moment.
He leaned down and kissed the pale lips of the golden-haired girl.
Her lips were freezing cold, like the snow lotus atop a frigid mountain peak.
In the next instant, a blazing fire roared to life deep within Rast’s soul—a flame that burned hot and fierce.
Like the passing of a torch in a storm.
From his own soul's blaze, a small flame split off—
And using the most basic magical principle from mysticism—“bodily fluid exchange” as a medium—
That fire passed from Rast’s soul to Emis’s.
His own flame dimmed slightly.
But in exchange, the dying spark within Emis—on the verge of being extinguished without even needing a breath of wind—was ignited anew.
A clean, bright flame danced in the wind and snow—radiant, yet unwavering.
As that collapsing soul fire was reignited, Rast saw the long lashes of the girl in his arms tremble slightly.
And the next moment—Emis opened her eyes.
Those soft sky-blue eyes were filled with fear and wariness, like a startled kitten, fluffed up and trembling.
Rast’s heart stirred.
He knew that in the long years of self-sealing, Emis had endured the Judgement Grail’s erosion—memories, emotions, even her spirit were eaten away… leaving only the faintest ember of a soul.
In other words, Little Ai’s current state was much like his own when first trapped in Deep Blue Port—memories worn away by time, feelings faded, even emotions lost.
Though her soul fire was now rekindled, it was likely that Emis had already lost a significant portion of her memories… perhaps even forgotten who he was, and everything they’d once shared in Canaan.
He took a small step back and softly spoke.
“Sorry. I know you’re probably confused about your situation right now, but please, try to stay calm.”
“Anyway, let me introduce myself first. My name is—”
If Emis had truly forgotten their past, then they only needed to make new memories together.
That was exactly what she had done for him in that illusory dream called Canaan… When faced with an amnesiac Rast, Emis had never forced him to remember. She had simply stayed by his side, building new memories together—and in those moments, showing him the strongest, kindest, and most perfect version of herself.
Now, the roles were reversed. She had lost her memories—so naturally, Rast’s role would not change.
Long before he entered Emis’s inner world, he had already prepared himself for this.
It was simply starting over again.
However, just as Rast stepped back, ready to begin introducing himself to the memory-lost Emis—as a family member might explain things to a patient in a hospital—
He suddenly froze.
Not far away, the golden-haired girl slowly raised her left hand—not to push away the stranger before her—but to gently stroke his face with her pale, delicate fingers.
Her cold fingertips brushed his cheek, bringing a tingling sensation.
It was a motion engraved deep in the soul—etched into the bones. A gesture that bypassed memory, performed without thought, filled with boundless longing.
Rast was briefly stunned. It reminded him of their reunion two years ago, in the Sixth Era’s Historical Echo—when the Judgement Angel who could have crushed him like an insect had instead simply reached out to touch his face.
Following that all-too-familiar motion, both of their gazes traveled along her softly lifted hand.
Eventually, their eyes met mid-air.
Emis just stared at Rast, dazed—like waking from a nightmare, recognizing the person in reality once more.
The world was silent. In the darkness of the cave, only the glimmer in their eyes remained as light— the only source of illumination.
Slowly, the fear and caution in Emis’s eyes—like that of a shivering animal in a corner—gradually faded… Her sky-blue gaze regained its liveliness.
At last, the girl with the bloodless face smiled.
She leaned toward Rast—slowly, slowly—and curled herself into his embrace. Then, she wrapped her arms around his neck.
In that moment, the charred, flame-darkened clouds above them parted.
Clear moonlight slipped through a crack in the cavern ceiling, casting its glow over Rast and Emis.
Like sailors adrift in a storm who had finally glimpsed the guiding light of a lighthouse—this beam from above ignited their eyes.
The petite golden-haired girl nestled tightly in Rast’s arms, the warmth of skin-on-skin wrapping them both.
Just like when they first met—on that cold, stormy night. He had wrapped them both in his only coat, using their shared warmth to endure the long night as they waited for the floods to recede.
Rast saw the girl in his arms gently close her eyes—then slowly open them again.
But this time, there was no longer the frightened wariness of a startled creature. Instead, he saw that familiar gaze… one full of deep, tender affection.
“Our first kiss…”
“Was in a place like this?”
“And also…”
Emis’s voice paused for a moment.
She leaned close to Rast’s ear, and in a weak, whisper-thin voice, said:
“Idiot.”
“Even if I forget who I am… how could I possibly forget you?”