Crimson Monarch: Endless Journey

Chapter 67 - Shizu Izawa

"Erix-san. You're a reincarnated person. Aren't you?" Shizu decided to speak and he remembered looking at Erix.

"Yeah. I died in my previous world and was reincarnated into this body but I was also summoned. Though I'm not sure who summoned us. Are you a reincarnated person? Or are you a summon?"

"I am a summon..." Shizu quietly said, afraid of what Erix would say next.

"I see..." Erix simply said to her and Shizu was stunned at the way he reacted.

"....You're not going to say 'I'm sorry' or ask me about it?" Shizue didn't expect to receive such a response.

"It wouldn't change anything if I did, but it may make you feel uncomfortable. So I won't say anything." Erix honestly didn't show his sympathy, trusting that Shizu is a strong woman that can handle herself. Shizu fell silent looking at Erix completely mesmerized and her heart racing as if feeling alive once again.

"...thank you." Shizu uttered with deep affection and emotion while Erix shook his head.

"Don't thank me yet. From the moment I saw it I knew you're a strong woman not physically nor magically but mentally." Erix said truly someone who lost everything at a young age and had to endure many hardships yet still able to remain kind makes her one of the strongest people out there even more than him.

"....You mention that you're both reincarnated and summoned? How is that possible?" Shizu was curious about Erix, wondering if he was truly an earthling. 

"How about we trade secrets? Tell me about you while telling me about myself?" Erix didn't mind sharing a few things about himself and can at least have someone besides Amaia and Arryn who knows his other origin.

"That sounds fair to me." Shizu said believing that it would be unreasonable to ask about strangers without sharing your own.

"Alright, I'll go First, my memory is blurry but I'm certain it was around the 2000s and I was reincarnated to the future around 2126." Erix glanced at Shizu who was intently listening and was visibly shocked. 

"Wow, I had a friend who got summoned here but he said it was around 2017 when he left our world." Shizu referred to Yuuki and Erix nodded.

"I hope to meet this friend of yours. Now, it may come as a future is a dreary place where we couldn't go outside without  protection or we will die as we have eroded the sky and land because of our hubris and greed. The once polish world had turned into an impure jewel." Erix said remembering how frustrating it was like being trapped in a cage. He was safe but felt suffocated that without Yggdrasil then he would have lost his sanity.

"....That's…how and why?" Shizu was saddened to hear that her world would end in such a terrible fate. She loves the beauty of the world and thinking about the possibility of being unable to see them anymore hurt her heart.

"Like I said, greed and hubris. Though I can't blame them, you shouldn't think too hard. It might be one of the infinite parallel earths and it is possible for a future Earth to have a better fate than my world." Erix said, showing a reassuring smile and Shizu still had a sorrowful gaze.

"Then how come you're like these? You shouldn't be human anymore then how?" Shizu sensed that he was Maijin but was unsure what while Erix nodded and began to explain Yggdrasil. 

"Truth to be told, there was a certain game that can make you feel like you're in another world and it was a place where I had certain freedom. It gave many people a sense of adventure after many years." Erix continued telling the story of his journey and friends that Shizu quietly listened to.

"Amazing, that simple game turned into a reality. I'm glad you're telling me this story." Shizu was happy chatting with Erix and sharing about themselves.