Chapter 89.2
――Whenever she closed her eyes, the memories would come back vivid, even now .
White . A world of white .
In that landscape coated in silver, the young Emilia walked alone .
――You mustn’t remember this!
A soundless voice cried, but young Emilia, walking with her head downcast, did not hear .
Anxiously looking about her, only to be disappointed by the betrayal of her hopes, she went on dragging her feet through the snow .
――Go back! Please! Don’t do anything more!
Young Emilia exhaled a white breath and gazed curiously at the mist expelled from her mouth . Over and over, she went on huffing . Her only clothing were undergarments crafted from thin cloth and a cloak-like garment that covered the whole of her body .
It wasn’t an outfit one would wear with traversing this frigid world in mind, but there was nothing to be done .
After all, this was the first time Emilia had experienced a landscape this cold, or had ever seen snow .
The world she knew was a verdant forest abound in warmth and light, one that bore no resemblance to this world buried under ice and snow .
This all-so-familiar place had taken on an unfamiliar face .
And this mystified the young Emilia, such that she was even neglecting to react in the way she intrinsically should have .
――No! Don’t go any further! Go back! If you don’t, you’ll……!
Tearing her throat pleading, destroying it, spitting blood, yet the young Emilia’s legs did not stop . The voice would not reach her as the girl’s legs heartlessly carried her forward .
Her gait as she traversed barefoot over the unknown snowscape was pitiful .
Having lost all sensation of coldness or pain, her feet, cut by stones and branches hidden under the snow, marked her tracks with droplets of blood .
Yet earnestly pressing on, forgetting her pain, and hiding her terror of this unfamiliar world, for what purpose was she pushing forward alone?
――Stop, please…… I don’t want to watch anymore…… please……
Her pleas would reach no one . Her wish would go unfulfilled . Her hopes would be utterly shot down .
Though she already knew this fact, even in this world of dreams must this cruel fact be thrust upon her . ――By showing her her past self, and her greatest mistake, no less .
[Emilia: ――――hk]
Young Emilia’s amethyst eyes, as if sighting hope beyond the haze of the obscuring snow, sparkled .
Her eyes had landed on, as far as young Emilia knew, the trunk of the tallest tree in the world .
The great tree they called “The Tree of Prayers” was the sacred channel through which they poured their prayers to the divine and unknown . An existence treasured and revered by all who lived in the village .
Young Emilia, too, obstinately believed that by touching the great tree’s trunk she could feel its tremendous blessing upon her skin .
How reassuring it must have been in that moment to see that great tree in all its grandeur exactly where it should be .
How much of a salvation it must have been to see, amidst that familiar setting transformed into this strange and alien world, that great tree persevering as a token of their everyday life .
Huffing breath after white breath, Emilia clumsily rushed over to the great tree . The piling snow buried young Emilia to her knees, so although the tree wasn’t far away, the girl tumbled time after time, leaving imprints of herself upon pure white snow .
And, after falling face-first multiple times, with her nose red from the cold of the snow, Emilia reached the base of the tree .
Her tensed expression slightly relaxed with relief . Although, since her muscles had grown rigid in the cold, all it amounted to was a twitch .
[Emilia: ――――?]
Then, as she reached her hand towards one of the roots of the tree, young Emilia seemed to have noticed something . Sliding her hand along the root, with frozen fingers she began digging at its snow-buried tip .
――Stop!!
She dug, and dug .
With singular purpose, spurred by burning impatience, young Emilia dug through the snow .
――Stop! Stop stop stop stop stop!
Not wanting to watch . Not wanting to remember .
Wishing she could look away, shut her eyes, block her ears, and scream to tear this world asunder .
But her non-existent face, non-existent eyes, and non-existent ears could not be dissuaded .
Young Emilia’s fingertips touched something .
Slowly, with her own hands, the girl peeled away the last patch of snow――
――STOP IT!!
……
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{???: ――You are truly beyond saving}
[Emilia: ――――]
{???: The proof of your sin . The proof of your corruption . Be cursed be cursed be cursed, and at the end of your suffering……]
[Emilia: ――――]
{???: Just die . ――Daughter of the Witch}