Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 396

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 166.
In the Name of Loyalty and Vengeance (8)
The inability to speak was truly frustrating. I had mountains of questions, yet without him explaining first, I could only wait. Despite carrying me, Joshua’s steps were remarkably light. This troubled me. Joshua was never this strong ordinarily.
Even as I gazed upward continuously, his black eyes remained as serene as the night sky. Like a shooting star, light occasionally flickered across them, fleeting and rare.
Beyond my swaying vision, the houses that had been poking their heads out one by one gradually diminished. I realized we were leaving the streets and heading toward the seaside. A white sand beach existed some distance from the harbor where they had moored the ship. Of course, I hadn’t seen it directly. I’d learned of it only by overhearing three men arguing that evening about whether a tidal wave had struck the island or not.
Now I was seeing it with my own eyes.
I was not the type to easily succumb to romantic sentiments, but as the sound of night waves reached my ears, the feeling that only the two of us existed here became suddenly vivid. Between the whispers of ripples, the boy’s footsteps made a soft crunching sound as the sand crumbled beneath him. Then, he stopped.
Joshua set me down on the sand. He loosened the blanket slightly to drape it comfortably over me, then sat beside me. I couldn’t look directly at Joshua’s face. This situation oddly unsettled me, and my cheeks grew warm.
After a moment, Joshua exhaled a long sigh.
“Riche.”
Joshua’s voice had returned to its usual tone. Yet hearing it at this hour, in this place, it sounded different—filtered through another sense entirely.
“You were startled, weren’t you?”
Saying this, Joshua extended his hand. I understood and wrote on his palm.

Very startled.
Joshua nodded.
“Right. Now listen carefully to what I’m about to tell you. I wish we were just out for a walk, but we’re not. I’ll explain everything. I will.”
Joshua stopped speaking, but it wasn’t hesitation that broke his words—it was something abrupt, as if he were in pain. Yet before I could ask why, Joshua regained his composure and continued.
“It’s fine. It’s still me. Yes. You probably don’t understand what I mean. Hah, sigh… Right now, I’m not alone. There are two of us. This isn’t the first time, so you should know. When we came out of the Mage Juspian’s house back then, there were so many spirits with me.”
Joshua raised his hand and touched the corner of his mouth, but the gesture was awkward—as if he were touching something that wasn’t his own body. His hand trembled slightly.
“You probably understand what I’m saying, don’t you? A spirit has entered inside me right now. Not as many as before—just one. There’s really nothing to worry about.”
Only then did the events from moments ago make sense. So the one who spoke to me first and carried me out wasn’t Joshua—it was someone else, a spirit?
I wrote with my finger.
How much of you is you? Where does you end?
“It’s hard to explain in detail. It changes moment by moment. The spirit I’ve allowed inside is incredibly powerful… or rather, because I’ve given up so much space, honestly my mind keeps drifting. It’s like I keep falling asleep and waking up because I’m so drowsy. But I can still control it for now. If I want to… I can come back out of the depths. However…”
The moment his voice trailed off again, I panicked but thought carefully. It didn’t seem like he’d been someone else the entire time. Joshua had carried me with such care. Would a stranger have done that? And when I recalled that strange voice from the beginning, I couldn’t definitively say it wasn’t Joshua.
“…Soon I won’t be me. For a while. Just briefly. At that time… don’t fight with him. Listen to what he says and follow his lead. There’s no other way. Do you understand?”
An ominous premonition sank to the depths of my chest. At some point, the sound of the waves had ceased to reach my ears. I hesitated, then wrote on Joshua’s palm.
Korned.
“Yes.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t shake it forcefully, but I resisted as much as I could.
I remembered Kelsniti saying that Korned must not be summoned under any circumstances. I also remembered what Maximian had said that evening when Joshua declared he would summon him. Even if you bear responsibility, even if we concede that everything happened because of you, it still cannot be done. Because this is something that could cause you to lose yourself completely, and there is no guarantee of any success even if you do. When both people are precious, losing both of them is the greatest foolishness, and he would never gamble like that.
If a spirit is summoned and seizes the body, Joshua’s consciousness would be buried forever beneath the depths of consciousness. It was different from death. If one dies, one might become a spirit or be reborn, but a consciousness suppressed by another personality would sleep eternally. Unless a miracle occurred, his memories and soul would be sealed away completely.
I also knew that Joshua was more important to Maximian than I was. So if a choice had to be made, it was obvious he would choose Joshua absolutely.
It was difficult to reach a conclusion because I was involved. Yet deep in my heart, I knew the truth. I had merely stumbled into someone else’s problem, and just because I happened to be nearby—even if my arm broke and I lost my voice—I couldn’t ask Joshua to do something that might lead to spiritual death. I wasn’t capable of that. Anger and accusation and shouting were clearly different from truly demanding something.
But I couldn’t say it that evening. Not because I had no voice, but because even if I had, I wouldn’t have been able to. Because I too was precious… no, actually, it was natural that I mattered most to myself. The thought of living as a mute made me suffocate.
But now it was different.
Perhaps it was because it had only been a day since I became mute, and the situation was so absurd that it might resolve just as absurdly. Or perhaps I shouldn’t be analyzing reasons one by one right now. Joshua had acted without listening to others. Regardless of what his friend thought, and regardless of what I, the person involved, thought.
“Korned said he could do it. Because I made a promise with him… I have to keep it. But to receive his help, I have to bury my consciousness for a while while he’s inside me. That way he can… use magic by borrowing my body. I had to use some magic earlier, so I gave him a lot of space… but to use stronger magic, I have to clear the space entirely.”
It sounded far too dangerous.
Don’t do this. You may never see this world again.
“….”
Joshua didn’t answer right away. This time, it seemed like genuine hesitation.
“Riche… I know. But listen, right now… I have to do this. Korned told me about the Assassin’s hand—that strange hand. The power dwelling in that hand is weak, but it’s the same kind of power that transformed Ganapoli into the Land of Mortals. He said that power destroys things and then withers everything connected to it, one by one. Until now, the Assassin always broke necks, so people died instantly, and there was no need for the power in that hand to take effect. But your arm was broken instead of your neck, so you’re still alive—but only for a short while. If left alone, you won’t just lose your voice. You’ll lose everything, one after another… just as green land becomes wasteland… all the vitality of a living person will vanish… That’s what he told me.”
Riche trembled and shook her head.
It must be a lie.
“But what if it’s real?”
Joshua’s black eyes gleamed. I remembered how Maximian often called that light the “light of a madman.” But now, something hidden behind that light felt… like tenderness. For the first time in this strange situation, Joshua felt like a very close friend. Demonic Joshua, who seemed to have no radius, no circle where anyone else could stand.
Night was irrational. Despite being an irrational conclusion, it often seemed like the only truth and path simply because of the night. Riche wrote with force.
Don’t do it. Drive him away. I’d rather ask Uncle Juspian. Our journey will end soon, and then we’ll have to return to give back the ship, won’t we?
Joshua shook his head.
“There’s no time for that. According to Korned, you have less than ten days left. And because of the oath Icabon made with Korned and the People of Promise, Korned can’t betray me. Like I said, he’d lose himself too. Then I couldn’t get my body back.”
With that, Joshua suddenly smiled.
“Of course, if Korned wanted to eliminate me badly enough to go that far, that would be a different story.”
Please stop.
“When there’s a dangerous trap right in front of me that I can’t bear to look at, I like to close my eyes and leap over it.”
Stop.
“Riche, don’t do this too. Did you forget? You’re directly involved in this. I was afraid you all would try to stop me… I knew Maximian wouldn’t stay quiet… so I deliberately told Korned to put you to sleep for a moment… and came out here. In a place where everyone is gone, I thought I could do it. But it wasn’t easy for me either….”
Joshua closed his eyes. As I waited anxiously, the sound of the night sea began to return. Riche deliberately listened. There had never been a day when the gentle ripples caressing the sand sounded so vivid. Even though I grew up on this island. That sound felt like confirmation that I was still alive. I cannot speak, but I can still hear.
What would it feel like to lose everything?
What would it feel like to die?
Riche thought of Ines. Among the people I had felt even slightly close to, Ines was the first to witness death. A wise girl with so many possibilities.
I still hadn’t told Joshua or Maximian that Ines had died. It was true that there hadn’t been time. In this moment, I thought I should tell them, then thought I shouldn’t. I thought it was a story Joshua needed to know, and I thought I didn’t want to burden his heart further right now. For Joshua, who might be facing death, the story of someone who died because of me might be too cruel. Right now… what matters is that Joshua comes back alive. I just hope he can focus on that alone. Painful selfishness gripped Riche’s fingers.
The certainty that never telling him would spare Joshua less pain made it even more agonizing. For now, I persuaded myself not to think about it. Someday there would be a better opportunity.
“Riche, it might seem strange to say this suddenly….”
Joshua still had his eyes closed. He sat with both knees raised, facing the sea.
“May I say goodbye?”
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Months Publishing
The copyright to this book belongs to the author and 14 Months Publishing.
To reuse all or part of the contents of this book, written consent from both parties is required.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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