Cherreads

Chapter 169 - The Remnants of Order, and Sunday’s Redemption

"Brother..."

A pair of Halovian siblings once discovered a dying Harmony Dove chick in the grass nearby.

"It wasn't born just to live inside a cage."

"Humans believe flying is a bird's nature only because they've never seen a bird fall to its death."

"Birds... belong to the sky by birth."

"I... no matter what, I want it to live."

The siblings soon found themselves divided over what should happen to the little bird.

The younger sister believed they could raise it, care for it—

But in the end, the bird should still return to the sky.

Even if it failed—

That would still be the bird's own fate, and should be respected.

But her brother thought differently—

If the bird was born weak and incapable of flying,

Then rather than sending it back into the skies to face unknown dangers,

He would rather let it live forever as a caged bird.

It might lose its freedom—

But at least it would survive.

For the first time—

The young siblings experienced a clash of ideals.

Though they were still children,

Even then, the differences between them had already begun to show.

The younger sister was brave, compassionate, willing to fight for others.

While the older brother already displayed the temperament of a protector—

And a desire for control.

Later—

After Robin set out on her own journey,

The siblings released the Harmony Dove they had once rescued.

And just as Sunday had predicted—

The bird had been born flawed.

A weak creature incapable of truly surviving in the skies.

After countless attempts to fly—

It finally succeeded.

Only to fall to its death shortly afterward.

"Its ending was decided from the very beginning. What kind of fate it met depended solely on human choice."

During his time serving as the Oak Family's head—

Sunday witnessed countless kinds of people.

And all the ugliness hidden within the world.

After seeing enough injustice and inequality,

Sunday once raised a question to the Harmony Aeon, Xipe.

"If the strong supporting the weak truly forms the foundation of paradise..."

"Then who abandoned them here in this suffering world to cry out in pain?"

Then—

There was Robin.

She traveled to war-torn planets to spread Harmony and save the weak.

Only to be struck in the throat by a stray bullet—

Nearly dying.

That was also why Robin always wore a ribbon around her neck.

To Sunday—

His sister's safety mattered more than anything else.

Robin was the family he had grown up beside.

So this—

Was his compromise with freedom.

From childhood onward,

Sunday had always shown excessive protectiveness and possessiveness.

But he also understood his sister well enough to know—

She could never live trapped inside a cage.

Which was why—

He still allowed her to fly.

And now—

That bird had been wounded.

If left uncontrolled,

It would only repeat the fate of the Harmony Dove they once rescued as children.

To Sunday—

I gave the bird freedom to fly, and it fell to its death.

I offered forgiveness to sinners, and they betrayed me.

I gave my sister freedom, and she was hurt.

From that moment onward—

His worldview began to change.

Only Order became his guiding faith.

So it wasn't merely Gopher Wood's influence that shaped him.

There was also his own choice.

The once-devoted follower of Harmony—

Had gradually become a believer in Order.

The weak did not need freedom of choice.

Because their choices often came with sacrifice.

The burden of choosing a path should belong to the strong.

To discard survival of the fittest.

To avoid confronting human weakness directly.

People only needed to continue living peacefully within the paradise built by Order.

"Brother..."

"..."

In the haze—

Sunday's head throbbed painfully.

Slowly—

He opened his eyes.

He vaguely remembered falling.

Harmony's radiance had transformed into a speeding Astral Express.

The authority of consciousness had been severed by a gigantic sword.

Gopher Wood was dead.

His consciousness completely dispersed.

And the Philosophical Child—

The Harmonious Choir, Dominicus, the Harmonious Choir, the Embryo of Philosophy, the Harmonious Choir Divine Sunday—

Gradually collapsed beneath Harmony's light,

Dissolved,

And returned once more to Harmony's embrace.

Order had failed.

Penacony had returned to Harmony's hands.

And at the moment Order failed—

Something inside Sunday's convictions had also begun to change.

Because at that moment—

He heard his sister singing.

That was the voice of freedom.

And the melody of Harmony.

While he himself...

Was merely noise within Order's symphony.

Then—

His body continued falling.

Falling.

Falling endlessly into the abyss.

And just as he believed everything had already slipped away—

Light arrived before him once more.

"What's wrong with him? Don't tell me you punched him stupid?"

"How is that possible? I barely even touched him, okay? If anyone hit him hard, wouldn't that be Robin?"

"I-I didn't..."

Three voices echoed nearby, making Sunday frown slightly.

Everything felt dizzy.

As though he were still endlessly sinking deeper into a dream.

After an unknown amount of time—

A blinding light finally shone down upon him.

Only then did Sunday fully open his eyes.

Soon—

Three figures appeared before him.

Sunday struggled to make them out clearly.

One of them had soft pink hair.

She looked a little silly—

But surprisingly cute.

Another was male.

If he remembered correctly—

This was the person who had completely defeated Divine Sunday on Penacony's grand stage.

Multiple Paths intertwined within his soul.

Countless colors radiated from his body.

Only the Halovians could truly perceive such things clearly.

Though chaotic—

They were pure.

Completely free of dissonance.

Strangely enough—

He almost seemed more orderly than Order itself.

More harmonious than Harmony.

How bizarre.

Finally—

Sunday's gaze landed on Robin.

That voice—

Yes.

That voice had come from her.

His younger sister.

The one person he could never mistake.

Robin's voice.

Robin's alone.

So...

Was I wrong?

Sunday didn't speak immediately.

Instead—

He quietly looked at the people before him.

Yes.

He had been wrong.

I called myself a guardian of the weak.

A cage willingly sacrificing itself for the birds within.

But just like Robin—

No matter what—

Birds should still have the right to choose for themselves.

Sunday slowly narrowed his eyes.

Light fell upon everyone around him—

While only a faint afterglow reached himself.

Yet the next second—

He suddenly felt something poking his cheek.

Then a strand of hair brushed lightly against his nose.

Making it twitch involuntarily.

"Hey! Evan! March! Miss Robin!"

"Mr. Sunday looks awake!"

The moment Stelle shouted that—

March 7th and Robin hurried over immediately.

Then—

Evan slowly walked over as well.

And when their eyes met—

Sunday instinctively frowned.

One color.

Two colors.

Three.

Four.

Five completely different hues—

Perfectly balanced together.

None interfering with the others at all.

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