Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 543

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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 313.
Beneath the Almond Tree (56)
At first glance, they appeared to be mere stone fragments, but upon closer inspection, they were the shattered remains of a sculpture. Maximian picked up one of the stone pieces. It was shaped like a beast’s foreleg.
“When we first came here, we thought we saw something like a beast prowling around in one of the chambers beneath the Staircase, remember?”
Joshua nodded. Riche retrieved another stone fragment. There were pieces resembling ears and a tail, not just the foreleg.
“It must have been an animal-shaped sculpture.”
Joshua said.
“Kelce told us back then that Ganapoli had enchanted beast sculptures. If what we saw then was truly one of those, the fact that it’s shattered like this means something went wrong, doesn’t it?”
Maximian replied, privately thinking it was better than encountering the beast itself.
“That’s true. But why?”
“Could something have happened to him?”
“It’s hard to believe it suddenly fell apart in just a year or two after being fine for centuries.”
“But there have been other major changes besides these things. Think about it.”
“What do you mean?”
“The magical storm.”
Indeed, they had not encountered the magical storm on this journey to Sunset Island. Was it because they had traveled by an airship this time, unlike before?
“When we first came, we thought we couldn’t cross the storm with Beauty’s Pinnacle. Was that judgment simply wrong? I don’t think so.”
“Then… that disappeared too?”
Maximian thought for a moment, then nodded.
“The magical storm had vanished in the first place and then returned. Now it’s disappeared again.”
Joshua set down the stone fragment and shrugged.
“Last time, Richard Fell worried that the magical storm’s return to Sunset Island might mean the vanished magical power had come back. Perhaps the lamps that were lit here and the beast sculptures—such things only moved temporarily due to the magic’s return then. There’s no evidence that what we saw had been happening continuously for centuries.”
The two exchanged glances and nodded at each other, but it was merely their mutual agreement; no one could provide the correct answer to any of their speculations.
Now they had to choose between going down or going up. Maximian spoke.
“Last time we managed to descend safely, but there’s no guarantee such a miracle will happen again this time. Let’s go up.”
Joshua agreed. Though he had experienced it firsthand, it was difficult to expect that trees would suddenly grow again and they could climb them. Besides, the magic seemed to have disappeared. As they began walking, Joshua spoke to Riche.
“When we went down last time, I saw something truly magnificent.”
“What was it?”
Joshua paused to search his memory, then shook his head.
“It’s difficult to explain in words. I’ll try to draw it for you later.”
The path upward had the same form as the path downward. As they walked, Joshua murmured.
“The magical power of Sunset Island disappeared because he sealed away the cursed artifact, and as magic faded, the people of Sunset Island, struggling to survive, came to resent him, calling it a curse. The vanished power returned briefly because of the Puppet Master.”
Maximian continued.
“Because the artifact fragments he brought shattered the seal that had been maintained for centuries.”
“He must be struggling now to restore the seal. It seems the new seal is nearly complete. That’s why the magical storm has vanished, and the magical effects that briefly appeared here have all disappeared as well.”
Riche spoke.
“Then the disappearance of magic from this place is fortunate.”
The moment they finished organizing their thoughts, a troubling realization dawned on them. Joshua and Maximian understood almost simultaneously and their eyes met.
“Then Anarose would be asleep again, wouldn’t she?”
The Garden held a tranquil darkness.
Small glimmers drifted through the gaps between dark, tangled branches—fireflies, fruits of light. A sudden gust of wind sent grass shadows sprawling across the ground in all directions. It was the earth’s gesture, a shadow theater.
They could not find the narrow path they had seen before. Neither the place where the book had lain nor where the chairs had stood. The three walked through the garden for a long time. The forest seemed to stretch endlessly. Yet now they no longer wondered how such a garden could exist above a cave. This place was within a boundary.
“Joshua, you used to speak of that world within you—the one with the cliff and the grassland.”
As Joshua turned, Maximian continued, still glancing about.
“Isn’t it ultimately similar to a boundary?”
Joshua tilted his head, then shook it.
“I’m not sure. Boundaries are created through magic, and you enter them through incantations or boundary stones. But I can only go there when I fall asleep or lose consciousness.”
“True, you have no magic. But there exists a strange mental world that even magic cannot create. And boundaries aren’t physical spaces either. You simply don’t know the proper method to enter.”
“But the People of Promise said such a world exists for everyone. In my case, it was simply larger—but even in the form of a small chamber, everyone has one, they said.”
“So then, perhaps there are doors leading to boundaries hidden in the minds of all humans in the world.”
It was a rare moment of imagination from Maximian. Joshua walked through the forest lost in thought, then murmured.
“If you’re right, then we all possess our own boundaries. We simply don’t know the exact way to enter them.”
Then Riche pointed something out.
“Then is Kelce trapped within a boundary too? So all we need to do is find the way Joshua can open it?”
They all fell into doubt, but ultimately Maximian spoke.
“Don’t expand a theory I’m not even confident about too far.”
Eventually their legs grew weary. The three sat down in the grassland to rest. Though they walked relying on Joshua’s memory, it was difficult to estimate how vast this place was. If it were not a real space, it might be infinitely wide. And it might continue to change. Where was Icabon’s coffin that they had seen?
Even if they found it, how would they wake Anarose if she was asleep? Would waking her cause problems?
“How did we encounter it so easily last time?”
At Maximian’s complaint-like remark, Joshua suddenly realized something and spoke.
“Perhaps she wanted to meet us.”
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, Anarose had appeared and waited in a place where they thought no one existed. This was her boundary. Everything was as she wished. Riche asked.
“Then if she decided she didn’t want to meet anyone, we could wander forever without encountering her?”
“Perhaps. And if she’s asleep, she wouldn’t even think about wanting to meet anyone.”
Joshua stood up. And suddenly he sang.
If this place is your dream,
Then we too are your dream.
If you so desire,
You could erase us entirely.
Yet within your dream,
We who piece together fragmented stories—
If we so desire,
We could awaken you instead.
“Are you threatening her?”
Joshua only smiled broadly. As he tried to reach out his hand again, he realized it was not free and looked down. Riche cried out in alarm.
“Your hand—it’s bound!”
A thin wooden vine had risen as if alive, coiling around Joshua’s wrist. Remembering what had happened before, they looked around in great alarm, but no other vines approached. Maximian spoke.
“It only wrapped around your hand. Is it pulling you somewhere?”
“Ah… it seems to be.”
“Follow me.”
The vines released Joshua’s hand and slowly drew back through the trees. The three of them followed the vines deeper into the Forest. After passing through several clearings, Joshua finally recognized a familiar sight and whispered.
“Here.”
Where Joshua pointed, a massive stone anchor stood with only its tip buried in the earth. Riche, overwhelmed by the atmosphere, found herself whispering without thinking.
“That’s the coffin, right?”
The three approached the anchor and looked around. At first, they thought there was nothing. But moments later, Joshua discerned, upon the soil where the coffin lay buried, the face of a woman lying like a Tree Root, covered in fallen leaves and vines.
“Anarose….”
It was like a sorrowful dream. Her body, shrouded in vines and moss flowers and clover, was dissolving into the Forest. Her crimson hair scattered like the lifeblood of trees. Her pale face, deep in slumber, bore no expression. Neither pain nor despair remained.
Joshua approached Anarose and knelt beside her. He reached out and brushed away the stems and leaves that covered her brow. The skin beneath his fingertips was bitterly cold.
“I know this is a sleep that should not be disturbed.”
His voice was soft and low, trembling gently—like a song, like the most beautiful voice Joshua could produce.
“I understand that I cannot wake you, and how noble the suffering you have chosen truly is.”
A breeze came. The vines enfolding Anarose rustled and moved, then stilled. A few strands of hair fell beneath her tilted face.
“But if you have the power to choose, please hear my story. For the sake of one person who stood beside you in your most beautiful days.”
Joshua reached out and grasped Anarose’s hand, buried among small white flowers. A chill like frozen winter earth slowly crept up his arm. Yet he did not release her hand. He closed his eyes, recalling the Periwinkle Meadow and the foundation stone he had seen in dreams. They were not his creation. They belonged to Kelsniti. They were Kelsniti’s memories, tangled within Joshua’s consciousness.
「You’ve returned. You…」
With the voice that echoed in his mind, Joshua opened his eyes. And he looked down at Anarose’s face. He saw her eyelids trembling—a pitiful flutter like torn butterfly wings.
Soon her green eyes opened, looking up at Joshua. Lips that had turned gray from their blue spoke.
“Did you bring the promise?”
“The sculpture no longer exists in this world.”
“….”
Anarose seemed to nod. Moments later, the wooden stems and roots that had enfolded her peeled away silently. Moss and flowers fell away. As she tried to rise, Joshua helped her up. With her upper body upright, she saw Maximian and Riche sitting across from her. Particularly, she saw Riche.
“Who is this young lady?”
“I, I am….”
Riche, who had never imagined being addressed, stammered and looked toward Joshua. Joshua smiled.
“You can tell her.”
“Riche… Avril. I’m a friend of Joshua and Maximian.”
“What is your profession?”
“Well, I’m a, a seamstress.”
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Months Publishing
The copyright of 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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