"Because this was always destined to be a road of no return."
He could hear how hard Sir Awen was trying to keep his voice calm, but that suppressed grief and pain still lingered in his eyes, as though some truths could never be contained, no matter how fiercely you tried to suppress them.
Yet after hearing his words, Lynn felt a moment of relief settle into his silent heart.
He looked at his hands.
As the endless snow filled his palms.
He steeled his resolve.
"Isn't this the path I've been choosing all along?"
He smiled in acceptance.
In that moment, it was as though the snow and ice in his palms had melted.
As he had always admitted, he had never lived through the hardships and upheavals that the Great Lord had, nor did he possess that Great Lord's unwavering courage. But if this was fate, he would accept it without hesitation, because whether he looked at it rationally or emotionally, if one person's sacrifice could bring all of this to its final conclusion.
He accepted it.
Because why not?
Because everyone he loved was here. If this was a road of no return, destined to end in death, then he was willing to lay down his life and win that final outcome for them all.
Sir Awen said nothing. He stared at the young man for a long time, his clenched fists trembling violently.
Because he had known the answer from the very beginning.
Because that was the kind of person Lynn was.
Especially after the upheaval in Dark Night City, that obsession had become the unchanging thread running through his heart. Again and again, he stubbornly tried to turn his own body into a towering wall before them, to keep every death and disaster outside. After