The next day, Toren woke up feeling very lighthearted.
He was healed everywhere – parts where it was broken and even parts where he thought he was fine.
For a moment, he could not remember a single thing.
The residues of lingering bliss were polishing some corners of his brain. The flower petals caressed softly his bare skin, reaching up even to his soul. It was soothing.
Beside him was a mysteriously beautiful woman, peacefully napping.
He asked himself over and over again what had happened, but he seemed too drawn to her that even if a groundbreaking tragedy occurred, he would not mind. He desperately shut his eyes and tried recalling the previous moments that led him to this kind of paradise, but everything feels in vain.
Every part of the woman's body and glowing face were etched in his memory, even at the blank darkness of his body.
The rough and soft edges, the lines that drew her shape, and the contours that made her face like that. It was an unexplainable sight.
When he slowly opened his eyes, he saw the woman smiling in front of him, wide awake and still existing. He thought that he would have to wake up from this dreamy scenario at some point.
"How are you feeling, Toren?"
He knitted his eyebrows and asked, "Toren? W-Was that my name?"
The woman giggled and nodded in response. "Yes, it is! Then, did you also forgot my name?"
His head throbbed desperately, searching for the woman's name. He would not have the guts to shake his head and tell her that he forgot her too, he thought. The pain swirled around until his lips instinctively moved. "Airen," He said, almost unconsciously. "Your name is Airen, right?"
"It is a relief to know that you still remember me. Anyway, how are you now?"
"I-I feel so light and delighted. I don't know why. What happened?"
"You must have had too much bliss if you forgot that much. But worry not for I shall return all your memories. Calm yourself and just stare at me if it feels too much, alright?"
Airen pressed her fingers to his forehead until the glows reverberated on his head and his lost memories poured out softly.
They were gushing in alongside her lingering fragrance and pretty face. When everything had returned to him, tears automatically fell down Toren's eyes.
He himself could not identify where it came from. He does not know where it hurts or where it feels too happy that he is crying himself out.
It was such a weird sensation.
The hot tears poured out wildly from an unknown source. And for some reason, it does not feel empty.
It was filled with something he could not understand was fighting inside him. He took a breath.
Airen was already clothing herself. Soon, she gently covered him with his clothes and embraced him with her warmth.
"Go forth into your world and see the changes. You shall definitely obtain what you have always deserved, my dear one."
"Airen," He whispered, dazed. "Am I a traitor?"
Airen glanced up to him. "Make yourself believe that you are not. Think about it, darling. What have you betrayed and what have you failed to do? Tell me, what other purpose would those soldiers have than to feed the greed of humans? You were not one of them and you will never be."
"Then, have I done what was right?"
Airen smiled and nodded.
She pressed her fingers on his forehead again and this time, he was transported back to reality.