1.
The Great Prophetess Rose.
From the very moment she was born into this world, she had known her end.
A child named after a gem.
A free man who visits holding that child’s hand.
And herself, falling hopelessly in love.
She had tried—tried everything to stop it.
“[Rose…]”
“Dalan, my foolish love.”
Before this man, the cold resolve she had upheld for centuries melted away like snow.
“Rose?”
It was the current Dalan who called her, but the person she had to comfort now wasn’t this Dalan—it was the future Dalan, buried in regret, and the Rose of that time.
Rose averted her eyes from reality for a moment, then gently whispered toward the Dalan of the future.
“Dalan… What on earth…”
2.
“[…makes you so sad?]”
The incomprehensible words Rose had murmured reached Dalan after four years.
“[Tell me, Dalan.]”
Faced with that gentle gaze that had looked straight at him even from the distant past, Dalan held back tears and slowly answered.
“I swore to protect you… I took pride in being someone who could escape fate and chase freedom… But in the end, I became a liar, and I loathe myself for it.”
Dalan, the free man.
He spent his entire life chasing freedom, only to foolishly step into fate himself.
Dalan hated himself—
“I hate myself so much. I despise myself…!!”
From his blue eyes that looked straight into Rose’s, thick tears began to fall.
“You knew about fate. That’s why you kept pushing me away… But in the end, my foolish desire…”
If only he hadn’t followed that ridiculous prophecy into the deep blue forest—
If only he hadn’t taken Ruby’s outstretched hand, hadn’t met Rose because of it.
“Then you, and Ruby, and the villagers… you could all have been living happily even now.”
This was the lingering regret and remorse of a foolish man who chose fate just once in his life.
Even in Rose’s eyes, as she looked at him, an indescribable sorrow welled up.
Seeing her eyes, Dalan clutched at his chest and muttered.
“I know… You must hate me too. You must feel endlessly wronged and unbearably sad…! If only it weren’t for me… If I had never existed, you would…!!”
At the moment he stopped blaming himself and raised his head to accept Rose’s resentment—
Rose, who had stood still all along, erased even the faintest smile and bit out her words bitterly.
“[Do you hate me…?]”
The Great Prophetess Rose.
She had seen countless variations of the future, so her human emotions had dulled long ago—
“[Why… why do you think the love we shared was nothing but a tragedy…?]”
But in the face of this new emotion called love, she had collapsed helplessly.
“[Yes, I knew. I knew from the moment I fell in love with you, I would die. I knew that our love would lead to the fall of our clan and that Ruby would carry guilt…!!]”
“Then why—why!!”
Dalan, reaching out desperately toward the unreachable her, cried out.
“Why did you accept my feelings!! Me, who only brought you misfortune, me who kept shouting about freedom without even realizing I’d submitted to fate—why on earth──!!!”
“[Because I couldn’t help but love you!!]”
Rose Red.
Among the Red Clan, once of the long-lived race, she was the only one who hadn’t borne descendants—and thus the only one who could still prophesy.
Put another way, it meant that only Rose Red had to shoulder the role and burden of her entire clan for life.
To such a person, Dalan was—
“[Because you, Dalan, were the only one who saw me not as a Great Prophetess, not as someone burdened by fate, but as a person!!]”
He was the one and only person she couldn’t help but love with all the rest of her life.
“[So please, Dalan… don’t say our love was a mistake…]”
Though her life had been filled with fate and prophecy, and this one love had turned into a fated tragedy—
“[I have never, not even once… regretted our love…!!]”
Rose sobbed uncontrollably.
In that moment, Dalan recalled the days they had spent together four years ago.
—Did you cry?
If he asked that of her when he came home and found her sniffling, Rose would wipe away her tears and answer like this.
—…Dalan. If our love truly ends in tragedy as the prophecy says, will the you of that time think our love was wrong?
Back then, Dalan had shaken his head.
—That won’t happen. Don’t worry.
But in the end, it happened.
The prophecy that had haunted Rose all her life had come true without mercy.
“I…”
As Dalan stood, lost and stammering, Rose asked him once more.
“[Now that you’ve realized we reached the tragedy—do you regret the love we shared?]”
Rose was afraid.
A prophet’s death begins when she can no longer see the future—and this was the farthest point Rose could see.
…Clench.
Fearing the answer might be “I regret it,” she couldn’t bring herself to ask again and instead clutched at her collar.
She was of a long-lived race, one that had lived through countless years.
Love from the long-lived ran deeper than that of humans—so if Dalan, an ordinary human, were to say he regretted it…
So let’s not be shocked.
From the day she pushed Dalan away.
From the day she visited him because he wouldn’t come to her.
From the day their love finally began—
She had known this might happen.
Even as her mind slowly grew calm, tears continued to fall endlessly.
Uncontrollable sobs kept flowing—grief that would only make Dalan’s heart even more conflicted, leaving no room for restraint.
“[…I’m sorry. I…]”
At the very moment she resolved to give more love to the present Dalan rather than burden the broken Dalan of the future—
Step. Step. Step…
Dalan approached the vision-like Rose, holding back his tears as he whispered.
“There wasn’t a single moment.”
“[…What?]”
“I have never once regretted loving you, Rose. I swear it on everything I am.”
“[Ah…!!]”
Rose gently reached out her hand.
Though this was a re-creation of the past by Flora, and neither Rose nor Dalan were in their true bodies—
“[Thank you, Dalan… Truly…]”
“It’s me who should thank you…”
The two of them felt each other’s warmth.
Even if it was a mirage born of memory, they felt it—real warmth between them.
2.
The Great Prophetess Rose regained her composure.
Having lived through an eternity, mastering her emotions came naturally to her.
Thus, Dalan, too, found calm again.
Human aging was swift and relentless, but mental growth was deeper and faster.
“[I remember—it wasn’t your fault.]”
“And you too, Rose. My one true love in this life was only you.”
Having reaffirmed their love once more, the two walked over to the resting Ruby.
“Please, Captain.”
Dalan’s short plea.
Nahan nodded, releasing the pressure that had been placed on Ruby.
“[…Just a moment.]”
As Dalan gently stepped aside, Rose walked over and sat by Ruby’s side with a calm gait.
“[Did you know? The only Great Prophetess of the clan can see not only the future, but the past as well.]”
Rustle.
The hand that had been stroking Ruby’s hair slowly moved toward her eyes.
“[In the past, in the present, and in the future—if the Great Prophetess disappears from all timelines, the blood of the clan will seek out the next prophet.]”
A red light flowed from Rose’s eyes and seeped into Ruby’s.
“[I’ve left everything I needed to say in the past. So open your eyes and let’s talk. And remember this, Ruby. None of this was your fault, or Dalan’s, or mine.]”
We were simply—
“[—Doing our best to love.]”
Rose kissed Ruby’s forehead and whispered her final words.
“[As always, don’t be afraid. Keep shining, Ruby.]”
And with that, it was over.
As Dalan and Ruby resisted the mental world, the barrier of Flora, the Calamity of Blooming Blood, began to shatter.
Falling scenery,
Fading fragrance,
And Rose, growing dimmer.
“[Take care of Ruby, Dalan.]”
“Don’t worry.”
“[…I love you. So very much.]”
“I love you too. More than anything.”
Crack.
The mental world finally split apart.
Reality returned—a deep, dark cave. As Dalan cautiously closed his eyes—
“[Ah…!]”
Rose, dissolving into fragments, turned and asked him one last question.
“[Dalan… what is it that you truly loved? Freedom? Or me?]”
She had always wondered.
He had loved freedom so dearly—so why had he ended up submitting to fate?
…She had a good guess, of course. But the Dalan of “now” was too embarrassed to answer.
“[Dalan?]”
Even knowing the answer, Rose asked again with a gentle urge.
To that sweet question, Dalan answered without hesitation.
“Of course, Rose. It was you.”
His first love, which bloomed late in life.
Even so, it was—
“[…Love.]”
“Love, indeed.”
It was pure love.
.
.
.
【Main Scenario – <The Unredeemed – Rose & Dalan> has been completed.】
【No. 5 – <Dalan (S+)> has been promoted to <Dalan (SS+)>】
*
【Main Scenario – <The Unredeemed – Rose & Ruby> has been completed.】
【No.6 – <Rose (S-)> has been promoted to <Rose (SS-)>】
【Rewards have been distributed.】
