Crown of Thorns

CHAPTER 5

Translator & editor : Cuties

The young man grumbled for a long time and was surprised to see the plant growing up in the water.

“Did you plant this?”

“No.”

“Then it must have come along. It’s a waste to throw it away after it’s grown this big, so we’ll have to raise it.”

Then he proceeded to bring new water. I was in a strange mood when I saw the plant in the corner of the tower. It didn’t really suit the place to have a creature trying to live in a place where everything else is dying. Despite the lack of light and water, it struggled to grow up. It produced leaves and stretched the stem even though it looked so weak and about to fall any moment.

“Make sure to wash this time.”

The young man brought in a little more water. It seems that he also wanted me to take care of the plant.

I decided not to refuse this time. After the young man left, I poured water into the large barrel. Then I wiped off the sticky stuff. My hair that had hardened gradually began to flow down, and my dark body gradually whitened.

I threw away the dirty water and poured more. I didn’t know he brought so much water. It was enough for me to wash at least three times. I immersed myself in the full barrel. It’s been a long time.

Plenty of thoughts came to mind when I was immersed in the water.

It was so clean that it reminded me of the blue sea that I could see inside, the transparent water that flows in the valley, the warm bath before going to bed, the hot springs that were pushing up through the white snow, and even the water that was contained in cups.

Countless memories, the longing, bothered me, but I let it go.

I was happy.

I had no doubt that the happy times would last forever.

I couldn’t see my caring father often but I still had my mother who gave me a tarot card and looked at me lovingly every time we were together. I was very young at that time and couldn’t remember many things, but we had a great time traveling together and eating delicious food. There were only good people around me. I couldn’t get rid of my laughter because I was surrounded with so much love.

Until the day darkness swallowed the world.

Memories after being driven into a witch came to mind. I was also reminded of one time when a huge stone had been tied to my feet and I was abandoned in the bottom of the river, struggling in the water and forced to drink it over and over again whenever I opened my mouth for a breath.

When I looked down at myself, I was covered with terrible wounds; burning marks, small pins from being trapped in a nail box, and mutilated wounds with swords. Countless scenes haunted me. The phantom pain from each of them made me shudder. This is why I tried to bury everything deep down.

I sank into the water. For it all to get quiet. To break away from my thoughts.

The water brought by the young man turned blood-red when I washed my clothes in it roughly. The old rotting stench reeked badly. But I felt a little clean and refreshed. After throwing out the water, I sat back against the wall.

That’s how I began to wait. For the young man to come.

Please come back.

It took him long to appear again this time. The young man who came back was still white and red. His young face remained intact, but it was different from before. While he was growing up like this, I remained the same. But that time felt horribly long.

The young man said with a look of surprise at the sight of my clean self.

“You finally accepted what I gave you.”

It was emaciated compared to before. There was a shadow on his ever-bright face. I was also distressed. I had a hard time waiting for the young man to come back. How can you tell a witch who forgot the time to wait?

The short time I spent after meeting the boy felt slower and more boring than the long time I had spent before meeting the boy. Because he made me feel the flow of time. It was all because he woke my previously dead self up.

I’m tired. I want to stop now.

I approached the young man and pulled his sword out.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s enough now, please kill me.”

Like an angel, he was fit to kill a witch. The young warrior had grown up and had to drive out the darkness. He had to give me eternal rest.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“You had come to kill me.”

“No. I can’t kill you.”

He told me with a puzzled look on his face. I approached him and gave him his sword.

Kill me, please. Let’s get it over with.

I held the young man’s hand in silence and put it right on my heart. It happened in a flash. There was not a moment of hesitation. A faint groan came out of his tightly packed teeth. His large red eyes contained the image of a terrible witch. It seemed like he was either being burned at the stake, or howled in the depths of hell.

“Hey… hey! Hey!”

My arm, which was holding the young man’s hand, began to lose strength and sat on the floor. The urgent call of the young man was heard, but was gradually getting distant.

If you were the light to drive out the darkness, I wouldn’t have to open my eyes anymore.

I hope my time ends like this.

*

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was darkness. A shuddering darkness that swallowed the world, swallowed the people I loved, and soon swallowed me. I was cursed and it was no use trying to escape the darkness.

I had to spend endless time alone in the dark until the light came and drove me away. The loved ones left a long time ago, and the people I had been associated with always left before me, and the world, tired of war and the invading monsters, turned its arrows on me.

Because I was a witch.

The pain was terrible, but what made it even harder for me was the fact that I was always left alone. The warriors who came to kill me died before I did. How long should I suffer this pain?

“Are, are you up? Are you all right?”

I was still blinking, and I heard an urgent voice. And soon, light was blurring my vision. The white hair and red eyes were like the sun rising in the dark. The young man’s eyes seemed to be shaking, but eventually he shed tears. He almost sobbed as if it was difficult to control his pent-up emotions.

“I thought you were going to die. I was afraid you’d die. I thought you were going to die because of me, and I thought I killed you.”

The young man’s tears fell on my face. They felt lukewarm to the touch, but soon they got cold. My face got wet and I had the illusion that I was crying. When was the last time I cried? I can’t even remember.

Oh, I thought this young man was the light that was going to drive out the darkness. Even though he was gradually losing his light, I still thought that he could kill me.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t it. Because I’m alive again now. I searched my memory to see if I had stopped before I stabbed my heart by mistake or hesitation, but the feeling of the sword that was digging through my chest came to me vividly. I’ve done it once or twice, and I couldn’t have made a mistake.

I certainly put the sword in my heart and it was the hand of a young man that held it, though he didn’t mean it. If this young man is not the light, who will kill me? I looked at the young man crying sadly. He was much bigger than when I first saw him, but he was still young. No, he looked young. His crying face was that of a boy without a soul.

I was about to apologize, but I closed my mouth. I was sorry to have made a weak and kind young man do this, but unlike the young man who lived a short life, I had yet another eternity to spend. It was resentful and hopeless to make me think of hope or light.

It wasn’t enough for him to shake me up, he also failed to save me. I thought that he could kill me, that he could finally bring my time to an end, but he only made me feel the flow of time even more. This rapidly growing young man was sure to die earlier than I did. I wanted to stop seeing his face with all it represented now.

“Go back.”

“What?”

“Don’t come to me again.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

The young man asked back with a look of embarrassment. His face was drenched with tears. It’s strange to see him cry for fear of my death. Emotion surged through me in one wave. This is why I don’t like this young man. He’s going to die anyway. He’s going to leave me again. Why is he shaking me up?

“I don’t need you anymore.”

Waiting only for the warrior that will surely kill the witch, I said in a cold voice.

“I couldn’t change the present, so the future won’t change either. You die because of me. I kill you.”

So don’t come out from hiding. Never show up in front of me again. Live a happy life in a safe place in your own way. Don’t look for the forgotten witch.