An Zheng's skin floated on the ocean.
Brilliant colors formed from elements filled the sky.
An Zheng's thin skin slowly opened its mouth.
"You... really are the strongest mage of this era."
Iz: "Mm."
"You really... underestimated you."
Iz: "I never lied to you."
An Zheng: "If only I could be like you... Heh, there I go fantasizing again."
Iz: "You're about to die. You can fantasize all you want."
"Magic, after all, comes from fantasy too."
As Iz's words fell flat, the skin floating on the ocean fell silent.
Iz raised a hand and drew An Zheng's storage pouch over.
There was nothing particularly valuable inside.
Just a lot of images and photos from An Zheng's younger days.
He really had taken plenty of pictures with his arms around women. An Zheng had certainly been quite the womanizer back then.
Mm...
There were also many letters of thanks, medals honoring his achievements, and pennants.
It seemed An Zheng had visited many places and done many things worthy of honor.
There was also an adventurer's guild badge, along with a group photo.
These must have been An Zheng's companions from earlier years. He, too, had once been an adventurer.
A photo with his wife, a map to his daughter's grave, a commendation from the White Tower, and letters from old friends...
Every one of them spoke to An Zheng's past.
An Zheng was only a mage.
He had failed on the path to pursuing the Source. His final hope had been to pry open the Source... He had simply wanted to follow that path to its very end.
That was all.
It was hard to say he had been a particularly bad person...
"Too bad the Secret Sand Archipelago has already been destroyed."
"We can't bury you here now, either."