Reminisced League of Nine, part 19 (after battle)
Have you decided to leave, my foolish companion?
They were words not meant to persuade me, but merely to pounce at me...
Although they did not hurt, they may have left a mark.
You have nowhere to return to, and you're dragging that tottering body along?
Do you truly believe you will find a place to call home, wherever you might go?
Enjoy your rest, then.
I'll return once twilight arrives.
With that, I parted from Gubo, who was my last remaining compatriot.
I was thoroughly isolated.
That's right. With this, we all ended up alone.
Only then...
At long last.
My turn had come.
...This is the part where Mr. Dongrang hands the glass technology over to K Corp.
We were in the League's shoes if only for a short while, so we know what's been going on.
...But I must say it's a bit disheartening to hear you call them children's playthings.
You won't be saying that once you learn that animals feel pain exactly like we do.
Dongrang, don't make clumsy attempts unless you're planning to save everyone in the City.
If I thought this measly technology had what it takes to give every single person the help they needed, I would've given my all for it.
But... you think that'll change anything? The world will still be a terrible mess.
It was perfectly fine to be hurt. I didn't have to strain my body and heart trying to cure things. I was so stupid, wasn't I?
Then you should've braced for it! Have the guts to bite your tongue and die if you couldn't stand to survive alone in the hometown!
Yup, looks like Dongrang's...
Why the surprise? You must have heard stories about our Wing's Singularity.
...Looking at it in person felt different is all. I didn't think I would come all the way here...
Yeah, most have similar reactions. So... can you remind me of what you can do?
Ah, to start with an explanation of the technology I invented...
My expectations are particularly high since I heard you were a member of the League of Nine. That... Young-ji person is still missing, is that right?
...Yes, he is.
Well, it's a shame about the League disbanding... But it's fortunate we managed to recruit one of them.
The League of Nine... always serves as a plentiful shade, doesn't it. Then and now...
By the way, this reminds me of a thing that would cry at me like this in the past...
Dongrang?
Oh... I mean, the reason I've come here is...
The thing that used to cry at Dongrang...
He must mean the yellow calf...
Haha. What are you doing now?
The League of Nine has disbanded, and the play is over. You're not Yurang anymore.
You're right, I guess I got too immersed and felt like I was one of your "companions" for a second.
You said you fulfilled your wish, but it didn't seem that way to me no matter which way I looked at it.
Did you feel the same when you saved that calf?
Will you watch your words? I didn't save the calf expecting a reward.
You think we don't know that? You saved the poor creature right before it got crushed to death 'cause you felt like it. I remember when we took turns feeding it milk.
I believed that it would be okay to save lives without a price back then.
I guess it wasn't just my work… that burned away in the incinerator that day.
My mind's garden I had been tending to burned down with it.
Taking a backward glance at our trails... all of us have been suffering great losses.
Failing to see... what needed to be seen.
Allow me to apologize. For casting only slantwise glances.
We were all falling into ruin all the same, and you were no different... I did not realize it then.
……
...I wonder, do you think the cow is peacefully grazing grass somewhere right now?
I'm sure of it. He'll be waiting for you, even if you won't go back.
I don't think... it'll recognize me...
I've changed too much from who I was in the past.
Yeah, you're right. All the trophies and awards on my desk praising my excellence are empty husks.
Although they dazzle gloriously... they're empty inside. They're husks I couldn't have ever gotten if I weren't a member of the League.
That's why I liked photographs. They... contain my image in all its honesty.
For however long, when I look up at the sky... I can't see a thing. It's like I'm under a giant shadow...
Who is... Mr. Dongrang talking to...?
<This time... It doesn't seem to be me.>
I... might know what is about to transpire.
That man is heading toward distortion...
Certainly, and the distortion... might not be the terminus, but rather a step in a process.
Then... I-Is there any way we can help...
To stop him from going astray in this space where mental images take physical form.
As we do, he will naturally come to accept that what lies ahead is his path.
That is how we can help him.