Side story - Azusa

My name is Azusa Aizawa, a once corporate wage slave.

Due to some series of event and endless work, I was reincarnated to this fantasy world by a goddess.

Through my request, I was granted the power of immortality by her, though I didn't understand what she was saying. Like 'worship me' or 'revive me', it sounds ominous but I forgot what she was actually preached about.

Yeah, I have lived for three hundred years in carefree, indulgence, and the sheer amount of agonizing.

The world I lived in was truly small, confined inside a single valley and its village.

My life would be filled with hours napping under the sun, killing monsters and gather herbs on my way to home, growing vegetables and fruits, chatting with people on the village down below. Frankly, it was a really monotonous life nevertheless three hundred years have passed before I realized it.

That was until I saw Roc or Elrasla Grilaroc my best friend on her from what I saw as her deathbed, two years ago. I would frantically try to prevent her supposed death with medicine and magic, never realizing the pain I inflicted to her.

The colorful world I lived was turning grey when I tried to search every person I befriend within the past and discovering that they already died years ago, then who was the person I used to talk to this time? Who was the person that used to help me? Various questions ran inside my mind.

Unknown emotion gushed forth inside of and, years of loneliness and sorrow would envelop me. Regretting the power I wish for, Unconsciously, I shut my eyes and grew numb when I met new people. Their visage would become faceless in my vision.

Until I met that boy, Will.

I saw a vision upon seeing his eyes. It was a man on a red throne with a rose on his lap, his face was overshadowed by his bang yet I could see guilt and sorrow enveloped him as he sat there lifelessly.

I tried to reach him but it soon overlapped with another scene, now it was a man who sat on top of ruins, he was leaning to a broken wall behind him. Pages of book and corpses littered around him as I noticed a burning hole where his stomach should be, I tried to reach him again yet a burning light descend from above as it scorched everything around him.

I returned back to my senses when he tried to call me out.

A boy full of innocence yet pain flowing from his ever sparking eyes, how could a face brimming with radiance looked sad at the same time.

Ah, then I realized, he must be the same as me or perhaps worse.

"Why don't you go with them, Azusa" roc voices came from behind me, as I gazed at the night sky.

"I don't know, I want to help them yet I'm afraid. Afraid of going out this cage, afraid that he would grow old, afraid knowing we would say goodbye someday, afraid that…" my voice grew hoarse as I hug my knees.

A hand land on my shoulder, "Then why you just go with them, you've enough share of your life here, go out there, experience many things the world could offer, indulge yourself with it even someday it would go crumbling as it was the fate of many things."

"' A single step is what it needs to reach a thousand journeys' that what was you once taught to me. it's better to say goodbye later than now right, moreover, I'm sure he would pull something like youth potion to make him immortal someday with his obsession and tendency."

I chuckled at this, true Will was that kind of person, always craving for more power and knowledge. In a week, he would escape roc training just to research balloon monster spouting fact that they capable to perform spatial magic when devouring their prey.

And there was Altria with her craving to sweets, a lazy and taciturn girl that would go for an extra mile just to get her desserts and praise from Will, she usually gets both though as that boy really spoiled her rotten.

When putting it to normal perspective, they were just children. I couldn't help but worried about them and I have grown attached to them, thinking about this it seems clear the fog out of my mind.

"From your face, it looks like you've decided what you need to do Azusa."

I steeled myself for the hardship and a long journey that I will endure with them.

Still, sometimes I realized, at the time I was just worrying for nothing.