AKIHIRO ATLAS
Hermes.
The moment I heard this surname, it felt as if the pages of history books I had been reading for years had suddenly opened one after another in my mind. Because everyone living in Cistern had heard that name at least once, but unlike other people, I had not merely "heard of it"; I had researched it. While spending hours in the academy's archives, I seemed to have memorized Cistern's founding date, ancient wars, early dynasties, and political structures. And the Hermes family... was one of the names that stood at the very center of all that history.
No.
Even saying "one of the names" was insufficient.
Because most of the cornerstones that form the foundation of Cistern's present existence were directly descended from the Hermes lineage.
Everyone had seen the large statue of the founder in front of the academy. That tall figure made of stone used to look at the city with his hand stretched out to the horizon. People generally thought he was just a symbolic figure, but the real history was much more complex. The person who built the Cistern was indeed a real person. And that person's name was… Abyldor Hermes.
Approximately four hundred thousand years ago.
At a time when wars were still going on in the network of Sacred Domains, nobles were strangling each other and the people were starving, Abyldor Hermes had established the first centralized trade network using his own wealth. Subsequently, he gathered scientists, spell researchers, and strategists from different Sacred Domains under a single Sacred Domain. And that Sacred Domain had transformed into the Cistern over time.
But the interesting part is this...
History books never portrayed the Hermes family merely as a "rich" family.
They were like a dynasty.
No... rather, it was an invisible empire. They were an empire that knew everything about Spirit Power. Even four hundred thousand years ago, they were an empire advanced enough to possess more knowledge than we have now.
Because the people who came from the descendants of Hermes not only had money. He had powers. His Spirit Powers far exceeded what we have now. They had the most powerful wizards who ever lived in history. It was a well-known and widely discussed fact throughout the universe that Abyldor Hermes' brother was the most powerful wizard who had ever lived and would ever live. However, there was no one who could hear from him for a long time. That's why, like his older brother, he probably died somewhere. Apart from the two of them, there were also valuable people. Their influence was felt in the governing boards of academies, trade associations, magic research centers, even in the diplomatic relations of some kingdoms. And the strangest part... was that they were doing it without showing off.
The real power wasn't shouting most of the time anyway.
It was silently shaping the world. The world and the universe, these two concepts were always being shaped. Those behind were never in the foreground. The ones in the foreground would usually be the pawns. Those who suffered and experienced difficulties would be pawns. But it was the strong ones at the back whose names are always remembered.
The Hermes family was exactly like that.
Some of the greatest scholars in Cistern's history were descended from them. The scientist who developed the first Spirit Power sealing systems. The founder of the trade reform that ended hunger in the northern continent. The strategist who saved half the city during the Great Fire Disaster. And many more...
The surname Hermes kept recurring in history books.
It was as if this family had not merely accumulated wealth.
It had directly interfered with the course of civilization.
And now...
The current heir of that family was standing before me.
Besides, he was saying that he wanted to talk to me.
As this thought grew in my mind, a strange uneasiness began to form inside me. Because such people would not act without a reason. Especially when it came to a lineage like the Hermes family, meaning was always sought beneath every social interaction. This was not merely the nature of aristocrats; it was the general character of people in positions of power. From a young age, they were learning human relations as if it were a strategy. They were calculating who to talk to, who to approach, and what each connection would bring them.
And to be honest...
That's why Aurelia approaching me bothered me.
Because it didn't make sense.
I was successful, yes. My name was being heard at the academy. Even the teachers were talking about me involuntarily. But despite this, I was still a socially excluded person. People were afraid to talk to me. And in such an environment, it seemed unnatural that the heir to the Hermes family would come and want to communicate with me.
My mind began to involuntarily generate possibilities.
I wonder if they were curious about my academic success?
Or did it have another purpose?
The Hermes family came from a lineage that valued knowledge. Maybe he just wanted to study me. People sometimes tried to understand things they rarely saw. And my level of academic success… wasn't ordinary.
But still…
Something seemed missing.
Because Aurelia's gaze didn't seem manipulative.
This was what really bothered me.
I was used to analyzing people. I could find little accounts under most people's behavior. If someone was talking to a popular person, he wanted social status. If someone was approaching a strong person, that person was looking for safety. The majority of human relationships consisted of invisible needs.
But I couldn't see this in Aurelia's eyes.
When she smiled, it didn't feel artificial. Why didn't it feel artificial?
That's exactly why my mind was sounding the alarm.
Because things I couldn't understand were making me uneasy.
The human mind pretended to love the unknown, but in reality it was afraid of it. I too was afraid. Because the idea that a person could truly approach you for no reason... still seemed unreal to me.
Perhaps that was the problem.
I didn't know how to believe in people's goodness.
No.
Maybe more accurately... I wanted to believe, but I'd forgotten how to do it. Maybe even more accurately... I never learned how to do it.
Because all my life I've always seen distance in people's gazes. The students at the academy were looking at me with an expression Decoupled between admiration and fear. The teachers acknowledged my achievements but were also uncomfortable. People saw me as someone to talk to, but not as someone to approach.
And in such a world, the perception one develops about oneself was also deteriorating.
After a while, one began to think this:
"Maybe I'm really someone who shouldn't be approached."
This idea had taken root in my mind for so long that now, when someone like Aurelia appeared before me, I couldn't make sense of it. Because it was impossible for someone from the Hermes family to lack options when it came to social circles. If he wanted, everyone in the academy would compete to talk to him. People would try to get his attention.
But despite this...
She came and stood in front of me.
And this truth was disrupting the entire order of my mind.
Hikari was still acting like she was dying of embarrassment next to me. Asahi was making fun of him, but their voices were now fading into the background because I was completely lost in my thoughts.
Aurelia Hermes.
This name was no longer just a surname in history books.
The person standing before me was a real person.
And for some reason...
A strange feeling was forming inside me that I couldn't explain.
It was as if the course of my life had shifted very slightly at that moment.
But I couldn't understand it yet.
Aurelia looked only at me for a few seconds.
But this look wasn't uncomfortable.
When most people looked at me, I felt something in their eyes; hesitation, uneasiness, comparison or fear... but in Aurelia's eyes there was none of this. He was just really looking. Like someone trying to understand the person in front of them. And it was frustrating that even such a simple thing caught me so off guard.
Then suddenly, he took a few more steps closer.
And I involuntarily paused.
Because now it was really close. Her face was about to touch mine. People were doing this with those they were very close to. Sometimes I could see them watching the "humanities" in the academy's garden.
The distance between us had almost completely closed. Her blonde hair was catching the sunset light. While the gentle breeze moved a few strands of her hair, a floral yet light scent wafted over me. The human mind sometimes involuntarily got stuck on small details; the tone of the voice, the rhythm of breathing, the softness of the gaze... and I began to notice all of these at the same time at that moment.
This... was disturbing.
Because a person's presence wouldn't normally occupy my mind this much.
Aurelia clasped her hands behind her back and leaned slightly towards me. Since she was shorter than me, she had to stand on her tiptoes. Her green eyes were looking directly into mine.
"I won't force you if you don't want to," she said in a soft but lively voice. "But I really want to talk to you."
The tone of voice was strangely warm.
No... the word "warm" wasn't enough.
They had a quality that unconsciously reduced the tension within people. It was as if, while speaking, they were unconsciously giving the other person the feeling that they could relax.
And I wasn't used to this.
Aurelia smiled slightly.
"To be honest, I'm a little excited too." said. "Because I've never talked to anyone who thinks as much as I do before."
Hikari's face changed terribly at the back.
"THOSE WHO THINK AS MUCH AS I DO—"
Asahi immediately covered her mouth. He held her body and tried to keep it still.
"HUSH NOW!"
But I almost didn't hear them.
Because my mind was completely focused on Aurelia.
Most of the people seemed artificial when they were talking. There would be an imperceptible reckoning in the tones of his voice. They were trying to prove something, they wanted to impress, or they were hiding themselves. But I wasn't feeling any of this when Aurelia was talking.
She was just... cheerful.
She's really cheerful.
And this joy wasn't just childish superficiality. Rather, it was like a natural warmth overflowing from within. Some people changed the atmosphere of the environment they were in. Aurelia was like that too. It was as if the air around her became more vibrant with her presence. The sunset's light shone like gold on her hair, and her eyes reflected the light. When one looked at it, one involuntarily felt that the darkness in one's mind receded a little.
The thought that passed through my mind at that moment surprised me.
"Like the sun..."
And as soon as this thought occurred to me, a slight uneasiness arose within me.
Because I hadn't looked at anyone like that in a long time.
I used to analyze people. I would try to decipher their behavior. But for the first time, I was perceiving someone simply "as they are."
This... was new.
And it was scary.
Aurelia was still looking at me.
She was waiting.
But it wasn't applying pressure.
That was also strange.
Because people usually want answers from you. They would try to fill his silence. But Aurelia seemed at ease even in the silence. As if he knew the space for me to think.
And that's exactly why my mind was getting even more confused.
"Why?"
This question arose again within me.
Why did she want to talk to me?
Why was she acting so natural?
Why wasn't there even the slightest hint of disdain or distance in her eyes?
Why was she approaching me "as if I were human"?
The rational part of me was still searching for a reason behind this, but another part of me didn't want to do it for the first time.
Maybe...
Maybe she really just wanted to talk.
This possibility sounded incredibly absurd, yet strangely peaceful at the same time.
Just then, a terrible sound came from behind.
"NO, IT CANNOT BE."
Hikari fell to her knees.
She was staring into space with his hands in her hair.
"Asahi..." she said in a trembling voice. "Aki's life turned into a romantic comedy."
Asahi was still trying to hold her back.
"ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT THIS RIGHT NOW?!" Asahi shouted and slapped her hard on the head.
Then Hikari screamed with all her strength and spun around in her seat, shouting.
"A HERMES HEIR IS TRYING TO TAKE HER TO THE BANK!"
Asahi responded to her in a scolding tone. Shouting, just like my brother does sometimes. Could it be that showing affection for older brothers involves shouting? I... I'm not sure. I couldn't spend enough time with my little brother to show him much love.
"EVEN THE WAY YOU FORM THAT SENTENCE IS DANGEROUS!"
Hikari stood up in an instant.
"No." she said in a deadly serious voice. "I do not accept this."
Blue flames began to emerge from her hands again.
"I will challenge him to a duel."
Asahi screamed.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!"
Hikari shot flames from her eyes as she shouted, "AKI WAS MINE!"
I frowned slightly.
"…I am not an object."
"THIS DETAIL IS UNIMPORTANT RIGHT NOW!"
Asahi was now literally jumping onto Hikari's back and trying to pull her back. Hikari, on the other hand, had dramatically extended her hand to me.
"AKI! IF YOU CHOOSE HIM, MY CHARACTER ARC WILL END!"
"…What are you talking about?" I said and put my hand to my face. I looked embarrassed, but I did it because it seemed ridiculous.
Aurelia, on the other hand, started laughing while watching this scene.
She was truly laughing heartily.
And that laughter...
My god.
One wouldn't have thought that a laugh could be this beautiful.
There was no condescension in her voice. There was no artificiality. It was like they were just having fun. They were really having fun.
And the moment I realized this, that strange warmth inside me returned.
Because for a long time, no one had seemed truly comfortable in my presence.
Aurelia turned to me again.
"So..." she said, slightly bowing his head. "What do you think?"
I stayed silent.
My mind was still thinking.
I was trying to be rational.
But the worst part was... an irrational feeling was starting to develop inside me.
Curiosity.
Perhaps for the first time, I was genuinely curious.
Because Aurelia didn't make me feel like other people.
And maybe...
Maybe I wanted to know the reason for this feeling.
I took a deep breath.
"…I think we can talk."
Aurelia's eyes immediately sparkled.
It really shone through.
"Really?!"
The fact that he was so happy caught me off guard.
Because people usually saw talking to me as a duty. Aurelia, on the other hand, looked as if she had finally achieved something she had wanted for a long time.
"That's great!" she said instantly.
And then...
Without thinking, she took my arm.
...
My mind completely stopped.
"By the way, may I call you Aki?" she asked in a sweet tone without looking at my face.
I nodded my head in approval with a puzzled expression on my face. I felt a little embarrassed, so I tried not to look at her face.
Because this movement occurred so naturally that I couldn't even comprehend what was happening for a few seconds. Aurelia still had that bright smile on her face as she tugged at me.
"Let's sit over there!" she said excitedly.
I, too, began to involuntarily follow his lead.
Hikari's pained voice rose from behind us.
"NO!"
Asahi was now dragging him across the ground.
"CALM DOWN!"
"GOING IN FLUX!"
"THE MAN IS JUST SITTING DOWN!"
"BUT HE'S SITTING WITH A GIRL!"
I was still walking in a confused way. The sounds coming from behind me were coming through my ear but not into my brain. If someone mentioned these things 5 seconds later, I would say I didn't remember.
Because I could feel the warmth entering my arm. This... was beautiful. But there was something else. Something worse.
And the worse thing is...
I liked this feeling.
Finally, we reached an empty bench near the academy's backyard, standing right at the edge of the stone walkway. The sunset had now taken over most of the sky. The horizon line looked like a slow-burning fire, with orange, red, and gold colors blending together. The leaves of the trees were moving gently in the wind, and the evening coolness was slowly spreading through the air. The noise of the academy seemed to come from a greater distance here; the students' voices had now faded into a muffled hum.
When Aurelia got off my arm and sat down on one side of the bench, I was still thinking about what I should do for a few seconds. Because all these events had developed too quickly in my mind. I've spent most of my life getting used to people avoiding me. Now, the heir to the Hermes family had said she wanted to talk to me, took my arm, and brought me to watch the sunset.
This... was unreal.
I slowly sat down next to her.
And then there was silence.
But this silence wasn't disturbing.
The silences experienced with most people weighed heavily on one's shoulders. Because everyone felt like they had to say something. But even silence seemed natural next to Aurelia. It was as if the atmosphere didn't feel incomplete even if you didn't speak.
I, on the other hand, was involuntarily shifting my gaze towards her.
And every time I looked at her, the same strange feeling would arise within me.
Aurelia was truly beautiful.
But it wasn't just about his physical appearance. Yes, her fair hair shone like gold under the sunset. Her green eyes reflected the light. The facial features were so smooth that people involuntarily paused while looking. But these weren't what made her truly beautiful.
Her beauty... came from her vitality.
Some people were really radiating light into the environment they were in. When Aurelia smiled, even the weather around her felt like it was changing. That little peaceful expression on her face right now, the way she's watching the setting sun, the way her eyes are slightly squinted as the wind moves her hair…
It was as if he wasn't just someone who lived, but someone who loved living.
And this was the first time I realized how rare this was.
Because most people were surviving.
But Aurelia seemed to be truly alive.
After a while, he took a deep breath.
Then, without taking his eyes off the sun, she began to speak.
"Have you ever thought about why people like sunsets?"
This question caught me off guard.
I raised my eyebrows slightly but didn't answer.
Aurelia, on the other hand, was still smiling.
"I think people's love of sunsets is very interesting," she said quietly. "Because technically, sunset represents an end. The day is ending. The light is disappearing. The night is coming." She kept his eyes fixed on the horizon. "But despite this, people find the sunset more beautiful than sad."
She was silent for a few seconds.
Then continued.
"Because people secretly know… that some things ending doesn't mean they are worthless."
The wind gently moved her hair.
"People don't hate the sky because the sun is going down. On the contrary, they are watching that moment more carefully." A little smile formed on his lips. "Because there is a strange beauty in things that are temporary."
I was listening to her silently.
And for some reason, what she said was penetrating deeper into my mind than I expected.
Aurelia continued.
"I think people are a bit like that, too." she said slowly. "They are flawed. They are temporary. They are full of contradictions. Sometimes they hurt each other, sometimes they get scared, sometimes they do bad things out of fear... but despite this, there are still good things within them."
Involuntarily I frowned slightly. I bowed my head, my eyes shortened a little. I felt the bitterness inside me. Then I asked in an insecure tone.
"…Are you sure about this?"
Aurelia turned to me.
I slowly shifted my eyes to the ground. Then, without waiting for her to answer, I spoke.
"People usually only think about themselves." I said quietly. "They exclude what is different from themselves. They hate the things they're afraid of. When they see someone better, instead of trying to understand them, they push them away."
My voice began to grow harsh without me noticing.
"Humanity says it wants to constantly improve, but in reality it fears change." When a person is different from others, they don't even approach them. I slowly clasped my hands together. "I think people are not such good beings as they think they are."
Aurelia remained silent for a long time.
But this silence wasn't judgmental.
It was as if he was truly thinking about what I said.
Then she looked at me.
"Maybe you're right." she said in a surprisingly calm voice. "People might be really scared. They can be truly selfish." Her eyes softened slightly. "But do you think that means they can't be loved?"
This question silenced me.
Because I couldn't answer.
Aurelia continued.
"Look, Aki... people aren't perfect. They never will be. As if I'm perfect?" I am not. She smiled. After saying this, she actually smiled. Then, she clasped her fingers together on her knees. "But I think that's the beautiful thing about being human. People are trying to reach each other even though they are missing."
She turned her eyes back to the sun.
"Having fears does not make a person bad. Making mistakes does not make a person worthless." Then he smiled slightly. "I think what is important is... what a person tries to be despite all his shortcomings."
This sentence touched something deep inside me.
Because I hadn't asked myself this question in a long time.
What I wanted to be.
I was constantly thinking about how wrong people are. I was analyzing how distorted the world is. But amidst all this, I was forgetting my own existence.
Aurelia slowly turned to me.
And then she asked quietly:
"And what kind of person do you want to be, Aki?"
…
My mind completely stopped.
Because that question was... scary.
Sometimes a person gets so used to analyzing others that he forgets to take care of himself. And someone directly asks you, "who are you?When he asked, you found a bigger void inside you than you had expected.
I couldn't speak.
I really couldn't answer.
Because I didn't know.
I hadn't thought much about what kind of person I wanted to be for a very long time. When I was a child, I had a dream of becoming a hero. However, as I grew older, I became colder than people. As my life fell apart, I grew cold towards myself and everything I could love. Because there was no one who loved me...
I was just... trying to survive.
Aurelia must have noticed this, because the expression on her face softened.
Then, without thinking, she hugged my arm.
My body involuntarily stretched.
Because I wasn't used to it.
But Aurelia's voice was calm again.
"Relax," she said, smiling slightly. "You don't have to answer correctly."
This sentence…
For some reason, it hurt me.
Because throughout my life, I had always lived as if I had to give the right answers.
And for the first time, someone was telling me this wasn't necessary.
My throat tightened.
I stared at the ground.
Then, without realizing it, I started talking.
"…I guess I can't be human."
My voice sounded more broken than I expected.
Aurelia didn't say anything. I didn't have the courage to look at her face right now. Therefore, I couldn't infer what their response to my answer was.
I continued.
"Because people see each other." I said quietly. "They feel each other. They can stand side by side. They can love each other." My lips trembled slightly. "But no matter what I do... it's like no one really sees me."
Things that had been building up inside me for years were coming out for the first time.
"No matter how hard I work, no matter how successful I am... people don't look at me like a human being." I closed my eyes. "Sometimes they just watch me like I'm something scary. Sometimes they act like I don't exist."
It was starting to get difficult to breathe.
"I..." my voice cracked slightly. "I think I'm really not a fit person to be loved."
After saying this sentence, something inside me collapsed.
Because I had been carrying this thought for a long time.
And it was the first time I said it out loud.
"I don't think there is anyone in the universe who really loves me." I said at last in a much quieter voice. "People are only attracted to me. From my success. From my strength. But as me…" I stared at the ground. "I guess no one cares about me."
And then I fell silent.
Aurelia, however, said nothing.
She just waited.
Aurelia said nothing for a long time.
But that silence... wasn't empty.
Sometimes a person was even judged by someone's silence. When some people were silent, that silence would fall on a person like a stone. Because there would be disdain in their eyes. There would be pity. Or that look that sees you as "something broken that needs fixing"...
But Aurelia's silence was not like that.
She was just waiting.
It was as if it was allowing all those broken thoughts that had been echoing inside me for years to come out under their own weight. And it made me feel even more vulnerable. Because all my life I've always used my mind as a shield in front of people. I was protecting myself by analyzing, thinking, becoming numb. But now for the first time it seemed that someone was looking behind those shields.
And the scary part was...
I didn't want to run away.
The wind was blowing gently. The sunset was now spreading its last lights across the sky. The redness on the horizon was slowly turning purple. Aurelia waited a few more seconds without taking her eyes off me.
Then...
She slowly stood up.
I involuntarily lifted my head and looked at him.
Her hair was moving with the wind. The sunset behind her was leaving a golden light around her face. And at that moment... it didn't really look human.
No.
It seemed like something that proved that light could still exist despite the darkness within a person.
Aurelia turned towards me.
And then she held out her hand.
"Come." she said, smiling.
My eyebrows are slightly furrowed.
"...Where to?" I asked in surprise.
"I don't know." said.
When he said this, there was such a natural expression on his face that I couldn't really respond for a few seconds.
"Sometimes people don't always need a reason to go somewhere." she said quietly. "Sometimes you just need to walk or run."
She still hadn't withdrawn her hand.
And I…
I stared at that hand for a long time.
This was strange.
Because at that moment, my mind was telling me dozens of things. That I needed to be careful. That I shouldn't trust people. This doesn't make sense.
But there was something else inside me.
For the first time in years...
I wanted to hold the hand someone was extending.
I slowly raised my hand.
And the moment my fingers touched her hand, the smile on Aurelia's face grew wider.
Then she pulled me up and stood me on my feet.
And suddenly she started running.
"—What?"
I was caught off guard.
Aurelia was laughing and dragging me along. We started running on the academy's stone paths. The wind was blowing our hair. The students around us were looking at us in surprise, but Aurelia didn't even care.
"Wait—why are we running?!" I shouted after Aurelia, who was running behind me, holding my arm.
"Because I wanted to!" she replied by shouting without looking at me.
"That's not a logical answer!" I screamed and tried to detach my arm.
"Most of the good things in life don't make sense anyway!" she said and tried to pull me using more force.
Hikari's pained voice echoed behind us.
"AKIIIIIII!"
Asahi was trying to hold her again.
"LEAVE HIM ALREADY!"
"THEY MAKE HIM RUN AFTER ANOTHER GIRL AT SUNSET!"
"THE WAY YOU SAY THIS IS EVEN STRANGE!"
But their voices gradually faded away.
And after a while…
We're really starting to get tired.
Aurelia finally slowed down. We were both standing on the empty walkway at the back of the academy now. Our breaths had quickened. My chest was going up and down. Aurelia was also leaning forward slightly and laughing.
And at that very moment...
She looked at me.
Her green eyes were still shining brightly.
"We were out of breath." she said.
"…Yes."
"Because we ran."
"…That's pretty obvious."
Aurelia smiled slightly.
"That's exactly what I'm trying to explain."
I frowned slightly.
Aurelia took a deep breath. Then she looked at the sky.
"There are some things, Aki..." she said slowly, "...whether people believe in them or not does not change the truth."
The wind was moving her hair.
"We're both out of breath right now because the human body gets tired when it runs. This is an unchangeable fact." Then she turned to me. "And I think the fact that every person can be loved in this universe is just like that."
Something in me tensed slightly.
And Aurelia went on.
"Look..." she said quietly. "People are complicated. Sometimes they are cowards. Sometimes they do bad things. Sometimes they hurt each other. But if you reduce people to only their worst moments… then you never truly understand any person.
Her eyes were incredibly calm.
"Because a person is not just one thing."
Her voice was becoming increasingly deeper now.
"A person can be a coward and a brave at the same time. It can be broken or loving at the same time. People are made up of contradictions. Like someone who has achieved the same endless success but has never experienced true love before." She smiled slightly. "And I think that's exactly what makes them beautiful."
I was listening to her silently.
But this time, what she said wasn't bouncing off the walls of my mind and bouncing back.
She was walking inside.
Aurelia took a step slowly towards me.
"You said people were excluding you." said. "And you're probably right. There have been people who don't understand you. There have been people who are afraid of you." Her eyes softened slightly. "But Aki... just because a few people can't understand you doesn't mean that no one can."
My heart involuntarily clenched.
Because that sentence... was dangerous.
It was the kind of sentence that could shatter all the dark thoughts one had built up over the years with a single crack.
Aurelia continued.
"Sometimes people look at the stars and think they are alone." she said quietly. "Because there are incredible distances Decoupled between them." Then she pointed to the sky with her finger. "But in reality, the stars are connected to each other in the same universe."
Their gaze turned back to me.
"I think people are a bit like that, too."
My throat began to tighten.
"You think you're alone because you've been in the dark for a long time." said. "But that... doesn't mean that the light doesn't exist."
My breathing has slowed down.
Aurelia was silent for a few seconds.
And then...
She said that sentence I will never forget throughout my life.
"Aki..." she said quietly, "a person's loneliness does not decide whether she is worth loving or not."
That moment…
Something inside me broke.
No.
Perhaps for the first time... it began to unravel.
Because throughout my life, I had taken my loneliness as proof. I thought people staying away from me was proof that I wasn't worthy of love.
But for the first time, Aurelia was showing me another possibility.
Maybe the problem wasn't my existence.
Maybe it was just...
I hadn't yet encountered people who truly saw me.
Aurelia smiled slightly.
And then, in a very quiet voice, she added:
"And if you think there's no one in this universe who sees you..." Her eyes looked directly into mine. "Then I'll be the first one."
After that, none of us spoke for a long time.
But this silence was no longer the same as before.
Until just now, silence meant emptiness to me. A darkness where people cannot reach each other, where thoughts hit the walls and bounce back. But now... now this silence was like a place where two people were standing in the same emotion. It was as if we could touch each other's minds without talking.
The wind was blowing lightly.
The sky was beginning to darken completely now. The last lights of sunset were melting on the edge of the horizon. The night was slowly spreading across the academy's stone paths, and the distant lamps were lighting up one by one. And in the midst of all that darkening world, Aurelia's eyes still seemed to carry light.
I was looking at her.
I was really paying attention.
And I think for the first time in my life, I was watching without trying to understand a person.
Because I couldn't explain Aurelia.
My mind was trying to fit his behavior into logical categories, but it was failing. I had always been accustomed to explaining why people come together through calculations. Profit. Admiration. Fear. Loneliness. Need.
But none of these were enough next to Aurelia.
She... was just a sincere person.
And it shook me that such a pure thing could truly exist.
Her green eyes sparkled even under the night lights. When one looked into those eyes, one didn't just see color; one felt warmth. She was someone who could still look at people with hope, even if he saw the darkness of the entire world. And I, someone who had stayed away from people for years... didn't know how to approach such a beautiful thing.
But I couldn't take my eyes off them either.
Because for the first time, someone wasn't afraid when looking at me.
For the first time, someone looked me in the eyes and didn't just see "strangeness" or "threat" there.
And this feeling...
It was powerful enough to change one's entire life.
Aurelia was also looking at me.
Long time.
Quietly.
It was as if he too saw something within me.
The wind was moving her blonde hair. The expression on his face at that moment was so peaceful that for a few seconds it really felt like time had stopped. The world had become quiet. The distant sounds had faded away. All that remained were her eyes.
And at that moment, I realized something very frightening.
Sometimes one could feel that one was right in the midst of the moment that would change one's life.
My heart was beating slowly but heavily.
My throat was tight.
And for the first time in years, another emotion was stirring in my mind amidst the darkness.
Hope.
This feeling was foreign to me.
But it was a beautiful unfamiliarity.
I parted my lips slightly.
And without realizing it, I spoke.
"…So…"
My voice sounded more fragile than I expected.
Aurelia's gaze softened slightly.
I couldn't continue for a few seconds.
Because this question... was much bigger for me than I thought.
I had never been able to get close to people throughout my life. I had lived my life by building invisible walls between myself and others. And now, for the first time, I truly wanted to reach out to someone.
I took a deep breath.
Then I asked quietly:
"…Will you be my friend?"
At that moment…
The expression on Aurelia's face changed.
Their eyes widened slightly. Then such a soft, such a warm smile appeared on her lips... all the defenses within me fell silent completely for a few seconds.
And then she spoke in a very quiet voice.
But what she said... was a sentence I will never forget throughout my life.
"Aki..." she said, looking into my eyes, "some people don't become friends."
She took a step closer.
"Some people…" Her smile deepened a little more. "…become each other's life."
My heart felt like it was going to stop.
Because that sentence didn't just reach my ears... it seemed to touch my soul directly.
And at that moment, I truly understood for the first time.
People weren't just forming bonds by talking to each other.
Sometimes even the presence of one person could change another's entire world.
I couldn't speak for a long time.
Because the thoughts I had been building in my mind for years were slowly beginning to crumble.
I thought I hated people.
No... perhaps I didn't hate humanity itself, but the loneliness it made me feel. Because the longer a person went unnoticed, the more they eventually began to doubt their own existence.
But now...
Now, for the first time, someone had truly looked at me.
And this showed that even a single person could be enough to change a life.
Perhaps humanity truly was flawed.
Maybe people were afraid.
Maybe they hurt each other, excluded each other, and didn't understand each other.
But at the same time...
The same humanity was also creating someone who could reach out to you under a sunset.
And maybe that was the point.
Maybe being human wasn't about being perfect.
Maybe being human was about trying to be a light in someone else's darkness, despite all one's flaws.
For years, I had only studied people through their wounds.
But for the first time...
I was encountering the kindness of a person.
And that night, as the last rays of the setting sun completely disappeared, I realized this:
Perhaps humanity wasn't as ugly as I thought.
Because within that humanity...
There was Aurelia.
And for some reason...
This alone was making the world a little more livable.
END OF CHAPTER