...

"Damn it! Why am I here? I should be back home! My wife's just a month away from her labor!"

"Now now, Sir Yukihana, this is a matter of defending our race's integrity border, worst case scenario, our survival."

"These enemies are just showing off!"

"And this 'showing off' caused a massive disaster in the southern federation!"

"Then how long should I be here? I need to go back quickly! It's not like I'm abandoning everyone in the front lines. I will go back after my wife has had a successful delivery."

"No, you are needed here to keep our enemy at bay. This 'Realmic-Empire' is far too powerful. If the morale of the snow elves falls now because you left for your wife, then everyone will follow you."

"I-"

"You forgot how your family bred heroes in the past and carried our clan for ages, surviving. Everyone looked up at you and said that you must uphold it. If you leave now, then we will crumble before the enemy. No one here is as proficient as someone like you, whose family are the only people who can use an Ancient Frost magic."

"Then what would happen after this?"

"You'll naturally go back to your beloved. For now, everyone needs you here. Don't worry, you're not alone with this kind of feeling. So, pray that these enemies will not advance further from where they are."

"Signals of Hololive 3: The Legend of IRyS"

CHAPTER 6: Road to Reconciliation

When the boy inquired about what was going on, Mora replied that she would explain everything once they arrived in the village. She guided the boy towards the location. At some point, the boy noticed a massive graveyard just from afar.

They had arrived in the village, and he found it guarded. However, the dark elves that were guarding him immediately assumed their stance upon noticing Ayer, but Mora told them to stand down, and the guard did so, with confusion and hesitation.

The two entered, and Ayer noticed something. All of the dark elves inside are young children like him, and only Mora looked old enough as an adult.

The dark elf woman then told the children to gather at the meeting hall later while she talked to Ayer alone. The boy noticed that most of the children were hiding from him the moment he looked at them. He followed Mora, and she guided him to a house that stands out from the rest.

She led him to the room and told him to sit down and she would explain the situation. Mora then told him that all the adults had died here. It was because of the curse implanted on them by the hero human Caliber.

She told him why, and he asked why she said that her father, Umeo, killed someone precious to the hero human. And her father lost, but Caliber let him live. He brought her father to their previous village and cast a curse upon them that the children of their following generations would be alone and the people in her father's era would perish. Upon reaching a certain age, the children will die and the race of dark elves will die one by one.

Hearing the name Umeo, the boy felt something boiling deep within him. He understood that it was the hero's anger, but Ayer owned his body and pushed that feeling away as he listened to Mora's story.

The dark elf woman continued as she told him that ever since they left the previous village, The adults and the elderly were one by one, leaving their children without guidance and love. Upon reaching this place, the adults were in terrible condition, and eventually, they all died. She was young back then and was horrified when her mother died, then her father turned alcoholic and became depressed.

The only remaining adult here was her father, Umeo, who was somewhere, indulging in despair over something she could not do. Mora then told him that the hero, Caliber, had died. She felt like all hope was lost since they did not know what to do or how to undo the curse cast upon their race. But she looked at her sisters and brothers and told them that she would find a way, somehow. And so, she assumed the role of leader for the children.

After this, Ayer pulled out the pink stone before breaking it to pieces.

Then, like an apparition, an old man appeared in front of her: it was the human old man called her out and told her that there was still hope, but unless that hope came, then they wouldn't taste it. Even if it was little, Mora was willing to do anything for the children of her age to live into the future without fear.

Then the sage told her that he recognized her father's bravery. Just like the hero human, Caliber, her father was also a hero among dark elves. Their race had been oppressed by humans ever since, and slavery amongst them was unavoidable. And when her father rebelled and joined the evil forces of the Deity of Blaze, the dark elves rose up against their human lords who mistreated them.

But when the Deity of Blaze lost against Caliber, her father Umeo resorted to inhumane actions just to let the humans understand that they were the race that had a disgusting side that he must show the world. Because of their loss in the war against the humans and that he really wanted to free the dark elves from their slavery, he was desperate.

The sage then looked at Mora, who then understood what happened afterwards.

She explained that her father started in the village where he heard the hero human's remaining relatives. Everyone thought it was a bad idea, so they should just give up and simply ask the hero human to help them free the dark elves. But her father does not like that. Not to mention, her mother was once a slave, which he heroically saved.

But when no one agreed to him, he asked everyone to let him go instead and he would tell you the result.

And the result? Umeo has returned... broken with the hero human. Mora and the other dark elves were in total fear of seeing Caliber. They could not fight back nor even raise their weapons in order to fight back. They were just frozen with fear.

At that time, aside from her father, the hero humans cast a curse upon them. And the sage told her the day she met the old man that he knew a way in order to cleanse their curse, but that would depend on whether the owner of the curse would forgive her father.

The sage told Mora before that the soul of Caliber wouldn't pass away and instead would merge with someone else. Until that time, she will have time to wait for the said person to meet her, whether it be her time or someone else's.

And so Mora waited, and when she grew up, just a few more years and she would end up like the adults before, so she started to shake in fear. The sign that hope came to them was when someone appeared before them carrying the Stone of the Dreams, a treasure they made and that was stolen from them.

Back to the present time, Mora finished telling him the story of their situation. That's why she was glad to see him, and that she would do anything in order to cleanse the curse cast upon them. The story made Ayer sad, but he felt like it was not only him but also Caliber. Both of them were feeling hurt at the story they heard.

The apparition of the sage simply nodded at her before telling her to proceed before he vanished.

So Ayer asked where her father was and she said that she would guide him there. They left the house and the village. They headed straight to where Mora called it their sanctuary.

There, in the middle of the place, an old dark elf could be seen slumping over by a bunch of gravestones. The boy could see how thin the said dark elf man was looking at one particular gravestone that was special to him. Mora told him that the gravestone belonged to her mother, and that her father did his best to raise her alone, but his grief eventually took its toll on him, and this is what he became of it.

Then she approached her father as she called him in a whisper. Surprisingly, the old dark elf seemed to respond to her by looking at her. But he did not say a word, as if he had lost the ability to speak.

Then Mora showed Ayer to him and told her father that he was the boy whom the hero's human soul merged with. Upon hearing this, the old dark elf was afraid, but he then crawled in front of his daughter and raised his arms as if he was trying to protect her.

...

Ayer could see tears rolling down the old Umeo's eyes, fear and anger, as his body visibly shook. Mora tried to calm her father, which she did easily, as the weak, old dark elf limply let her do the work. Then she told him that Ayer needs his power; the boy needs it to save someone; and if he helped the boy, the hero human might forgive him.

Hearing this, old Umeo hesitated, but he looked at Ayer and ushered him with his hands to come closer. The boy did as he knelt down and put the stone on the ground, which old Umeo took and examined. He saw a small smile creep up the old Umeo's face as he appeared to be pouring power through it

It took awhile, but the stone then started to shine bright until it dimmed down. It then shows that the stone now has a symbol and can be activated at any given time. Ayer gladly took back the stone-turned-rune that the old Umeo had passed over.

And then, a bright light suddenly came out of old Umeo's eyes. Then a voice appeared. Ayer did not know the owner, but Mora recognized it as her father, even though he was not moving his mouth. The voice of Umeo resonated through the forest as the lights from his eyes shone through the night sky. He apologized to his daughter that he could not do anything before this, but he could finally rest in peace, together with her mother.

Mora began to cry; she was not expecting it. She thought that they would be free of the curse, but she was wrong. Her father then answered her that the curse cast upon them is now lifted. Ever since the curse was created, he too should have died, but he could not. Turns out, Caliber let him live for awhile and will forgive him at the right time.

Now was the right time, and Ayer felt a sigh of relief deep within his chest. A bunch of dots of light began to appear around them, and danced around them. He watched as Mora sobbed on the ground, unable to accept her father's sudden , he saw the apparition of a woman who looked like her but was older.

She lifted Mora's face and told her to not give up and raise the children well. They will be watching them from the World Tree from where they came from. Then, slowly, the woman turned into a bunch of lights as she danced with the others. Their whole view was filled with lights rising up from the ground. And then it stopped and all of those lights were now in the sky. It then took a turn and went in a certain direction.

Ayer looked around to find the once gloomy, dark atmosphere turned natural and bright. The trees turned green once again, and the wasteland turned into healthy soil, and grass sprouted. But he looked back at Mora, who was quiet.

The boy then looked down and quietly apologized to her. If he had not come here, then this probably would not have happened. This started to make him feel regret, but Mora told her that it was not. She was just taken aback; it was sudden, but she understood that it was necessary.

After that teary departure, Mora guided Ayer back. They were taken aback when they saw the young dark elves dancing and playing with some dark elf woman does not know that fairies are around here, and Ayer told her that maybe the place has turned healthy now because of it.

Then Mora told everyone that, finally, everything was fine. The children then gathered around her and started to cry. The boy smiled and could not help but smile at the adorable scene before him. She then invited him to join with them in their celebration, but he had to pass because he had business to finish soon.

It made Mora sad, but she could not do anything about it. She told the kids to stay and she would guide him back to the exit. The kids, who looked like guards, then assumed her command as she took the boy's side.

But then Ayer felt his right hand clasped by another. The hand felt so familiar but different. He looked to his right to see a dark elf girl, smaller than him, holding his hand. Mora introduced her to him as "Kate". She was a quiet girl and barely interacted with others, so Mora was surprised to see the girl holding someone's hand, not to mention, a stranger.

Ayer could not help but ask if the dark elf girl wanted to come with them. To which Kate nodded enthusiastically, earning a smile from the boy who patted her head. He then nodded at Mora, who was guiding her out.

Once they were outside the forest, Ayer thanked Mora for her support. The boy then looked at Kate and told her to be a good girl, to which the dark elf girl nodded in agreement. After that, Mora held Kate's hand and the two of them waved their goodbyes at Ayer, who also did the same as the two sides went to their opposite destinations.

He then forgot where he was going midway until he remembered the crystal in order to go back. Now that he thought about it, he felt sleepy as he stretched his body. He pulled out the stone crystal and broke it.

Once he did, though, a strong gust of wind whirled in front of him as a portal emerged. He jumped towards it, and his vision turned white.

...

He opened his eyes to find himself lying on the ground with Riss looking down on him. He was about to say something before the girl hugged him back. Then he saw Ghastly, the pair of blue mages, and the sage coming out of the house.

The sage congratulated him on his return and asked if anything bad happened. After he went there, Ayer answered that nothing was. It was more of an eye-opener than an adventure. He then gave the rune to the sage as the old man nodded in confirmation that they could finally proceed with the process of saving the unconscious girl.

On the way inside the room where the unconscious girl was, the sage introduced himself as "Gund", and the two blue mages are his apprentices who will take his role in the future. He was not keen on sharing his name, but since he was a kid, he was willing to. The boy could only sweat drop at that reasoning.

Then the sage noticed how tired the boy was and asked if they could continue this by tomorrow morning. But the boy refused and answered the sage that it was fine to continue; besides, he could feel Caliber's restlessness. Gund had no choice but to accept it and, like how youngsters have energy to spare this time,

Back in the room where the unconscious girl was, Ayer was prepared once again to go somewhere he did not know. But this time, Riss supported him, though she was still worried. Ghastly, meanwhile, could only encourage the young boy to return safely. Then the sage told the boy to put the rune over the unconscious girl's forehead and place his hand on the rune. He then instructed the boy to pour his power into the runes and the process would begin.

When Ayer did so, he felt a jolt of pain before he noticed that everything had turned white.

...

He opened his eyes to see the figure of the girl, who he recognized as the unconscious girl, shining in bright light. He felt the urge to stop and so he tried, but in the end, he was pushed back as he was blinded by a bright light.

The light slowly dimmed as the colors of his eyes finally returned. He felt a cold yet warm feeling in his hand and saw a beautiful sword made out of sharp ice. He felt his mouth move and he called it "Chill". He began to cry as Ayer remembered that he was in the body of Caliber.

A memory struck in his mind, showing how Caliber found this sword, who then manifested into a girl - she was the Descendant of the Cold God. He took care of her in the village before the tragic incident that gave way to the appearance of the Deity of Blaze. And so the girl can become his weapon to help him defeat the Deity of Blaze.

And then Ayer noticed that he was back at the place where he first saw Caliber in his mind. The boy watched the young man, who was previously in a cocoon-like object, now stand before him in his armor. The hero smiled at him and apologized for suddenly becoming a part of his life. He just could not bear to leave the girl alone, not in this world where he could see dark intentions and power-hungry people searching for his artifacts. And so he denied death until the end and merged with Ayer's soul accidentally in the process.

The boy could not blame the young man. He even thanked him, saying that maybe, if it was not for this, he and Riss would never be this close. But even so, Ayer was unsure. Many people had died because of this, but he did not want to be selfish.

The boy experienced the same thing that the hero, Caliber, and the hero of the dark elves, Umeo, had also experienced. It's commendable for the young child to hold his sanity together in the midst of death and not develop trauma.

Then Caliber told Ayer that at this moment, it was his turn to fight Umeo. He had been controlling Ayer's consciousness in his dreams and was not giving him any chance to sleep. This time, the hero will sit down and let Ayer save the unconscious girl in his place.

And then, he was back in Caliber's body, holding the Chill as the sword she was supposed to be. He then heard a painful scream in front of him and saw that it was Umeo who was clutching his eyes in pain. Then the dark elf stopped and glared angrily at him. He looked so different from what Ayer had seen back in the village of dark elves where he met him.

The 'boy' held the sword in his hand and assumed his stance as Umeo angrily charged at him. Caliber's legacy was nearing its end at this point.