I had a dream.
I was an existence that traversed vast continents, weaving through the ranks of countless legends.
Sometimes wielding a sword, sometimes magic, sometimes an axe, and sometimes a scythe—I was one who pioneered my own path.
I had a dream.
In a world of ⬛⬛ and ⬛⬛, I was a ⬛⬛ king.
I had a dream.
I was an adventurer. One who grew powerful through exploration and the accumulation of memories across the land.
....
All of them were me.
"Gah—!?"
When I regained consciousness, I was collapsed on a hill outside the One-Eyed Black Dragon's barrier. Before I could even process where I was or how the battle had concluded, a rush of memories flooded my mind.
—'Zard, I'm counting on you.'
Akumo realized he had used a certain skill on Alfia and Zard, and subsequently remembered that he had transmitted something to them.
"But... what exactly did I send?"
—ROOOAAAR!!!!!
"First... I need to clear the area...!"
CRASH—!!!!!
Only then did the surrounding dragons notice Akumo and roar in challenge. Yet, even without a weapon, Akumo felt no real threat from them. His mind was too cold, too precise.
"[O my experiences, O my adventures, bloom according to my will.]"
As countless records manifested vividly within his mind, Akumo's hands erupted in light as he collided with the dragons in an effortless subjugation.
Alfia and Zard had returned to Orario leading the surviving members. Now, without announcing their survival to the city at large, they had finished a month of restructuring and were heading back toward the Dragon Valley.
Returning to that monster's territory caused an instinctive tension to ripple through their bodies, yet they moved forward with a strange, grim certainty.
And the sight they beheld at the entrance was...
"...Good grief. What is it about being a 'True Hero' that makes a man suffer like this?"
"....."
Zard let out a dry, hollow laugh. Looking at the man who had quite obviously sacrificed himself but now stood there having survived, he felt a mix of profound awe and sheer absurdity. The tension finally left his frame.
Alfia, faced with the living Akumo whom she had assumed dead, remained speechless for a long moment. Finally, she stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Grip—!!!!
"Alfia-san...?"
"Just call me Alfia...!"
"Haha! If you insist."
Akumo calmly explained the events to the pair, who were both acting out of character. He detailed how he fought the Black Dragon in a frenzy after they escaped, lost consciousness, and woke up outside the barrier.
"We can set aside the hypothesis that someone helped you for now," Zard noted.
"Correct. There was no one else in that place besides the coalition."