Chapter 536 - 31: Death and Rebirth
Chapter 536: Chapter 31: Death and Rebirth
The late winter snow seemed to have exhausted its last strength, and Gray Stone Town welcomed an unusually sunny but bone-chilling morning. The sunlight streamed through the dusty window lattice, casting a dazzling patch of light on the floor beside Lynch’s bed.
Kuma had a premonition of something amiss when he discovered that Lynch had not gotten up early to make a fire as usual. After all, Lynch had been leaving the house less frequently over this time.
He pushed open the door of the small cottage and saw the old woman lying quietly on the old wooden bed by the window, covered by a thin blanket washed to near whiteness and filled with patches.
Her breathing was so faint it was almost imperceptible, her cheeks sunken deeply, and her skin took on a semi-transparent waxy yellow, as if the luster of life was slowly flowing away from this aged body.
“Aunt?” Kuma’s voice carried a tremor even he had not noticed.
He quickly approached the bedside, knelt on one knee, and clumsily held Lynch’s cold and emaciated hand with his remaining left hand. That hand had once caressed his forehead, handed him warm food, and silently comforted him during painful cold nights.
Lynch’s eyelids slowly parted, revealing a slit, and her cloudy amber eyes moved, struggling to focus on Kuma’s scarred and worried face. A faint, almost invisible smile spread across her cracked lips.
“Ku…ma…” Her voice was barely a whisper, like a candle flickering out in the wind.
“I’m here, Aunt, I’m here!” Kuma gripped her hand tightly, trying to pass his warmth into it, “Martha went to make soup, and the children… the children are also clamoring to see Grandma Lynch…”
Lynch’s gaze slowly moved towards the window. Out there, the sky was washed with a pure blue, and the unfiltered sunlight spilled over the rooftops covered with remaining snow and the desolate ridges. A few sparrows searching for food in the cold flapped their wings and landed on the withered branches outside the window, chirping softly.
Her eyes held no fear, only a deep, almost transparent calm. This calm penetrated the accumulated opacity of the years, as clear as melting spring snow, pure and translucent.
“The snow… has stopped…” she moved her lips ever so slightly, her voice almost inaudible.
Kuma’s throat felt blocked by something, and he could only nod more forcefully, his single eye brimming with hot tears.
Lynch’s gaze slowly moved back inside the house.
Her eyes glanced over the cold hearth, where Lady Bonne had first shared warmth with her, teaching her how to enclose the fire, thus warming countless winters.
Her eyes swept over the faded wooden cup in the corner, crafted by Farrias, that kind uncle still possessing a carpenter’s skill; this cup had accompanied Lynch through countless hours over decades, sipping rough tea.
Her eyes lingered over the empty basket Kuma had brought, seemingly still holding the scent of soil, wheat grains, and wrinkled tomatoes—that was the fragrance of life, belonging to this land.
Scenes from past times flickered through Lynch’s mind like slides, one after another at this moment.
Brought back from the woods by the Farrias couple.
Being taught by Lady Bonne how to sort nuts and mushrooms by hand, which were edible and which were not.
Sitting around the bonfire with the Farrias family under the candlelight, sharing fresh vegetable soup.
Witnessing Farrias, with Bonne by his side, leaning against each other on the doorstep, watching the sunrise for the last time.
And experiencing the emotional impact for the first time at Lady Bonne’s place…
Memories of past events were vivid as if they had happened yesterday, yet upon reflection, it was all decades ago.
Is this life?
Recalling the past, Bonne felt she had done nothing significant in her lifetime.
Many people say life is lived only once, and one must do something meaningful to not have lived in vain.
But what counts as meaningful?
Suddenly, Lynch felt a twinge of regret, after all these years living tucked away in this small town without ever stepping outside, leading a simple life.
Should I have gone out back then, to see more sights?
Go to a big city, become a dancer or singer, to experience a different life?
Would that have been much more exciting?
But if I did that, perhaps I would have missed the life of being a countrywoman, right?
Life… it is really quite amazing, isn’t it?
What is right, and what is wrong, there seems to be no standard answer.
Perhaps…
No matter what kind of life, no matter what kind of experience.
As long as you live well, live seriously.
That in itself is the most wonderful life, isn’t it?
In that moment, in the final moments of her life’s time, Lynch seemed to finally have some understanding, understanding the meaning of human existence.
Then,
that last faint breath, like smoke dispersed by the wind, completely vanished into the chilly air. The hand held by Kuma’s fell gently, eternally.
The sunlight continued to brightly shine on the floor in front of the bed, playing with the motes of dust that revealed every detail.
The sparrows outside the window flapped their wings and flew away, leaving the bare branches to sway slightly in the wind. The hearth was cold, and the little cottage fell into silence, only the suppressed, broken sobs of Kuma, like a wounded beast, echoed in the empty room.
Lynch, an old woman from Gray Stone Town, quietly moved towards eternal peace in her cherished home, just like countless ordinary lives. Her soul, once filled with the long years and the earthly flames, finally had no more questions.
…
After Lynch passed away.
Her soul, like countless others, quietly drifted away from her body.
But unlike other souls that followed the rules and transferred to the legendary Reincarnation Realm,
Her soul, under the guidance of another will, traveled across mountains, rivers, and lakes, finally arriving before a several-meters-tall white Wizard Tower.
Below the windowsill, Lynch, clad in a gray Cloak, was browsing books at the desk.
“Hmm?”
At this moment, he seemed to suddenly sense something.
He immediately pulled back his chair and stood up.
Stepping out onto the balcony, his gaze looked off into a certain direction.
And there, beyond mortal sight, under the Eye of Death God, a golden orb of energy was clearly visible, floating.
Lynch raised an eyebrow, a curve forming at the corner of his lips: “Have you returned?”
Calculating the days, the timeframe initially set for Lynch had also roughly ended around this time.
He then waved his hand, and the golden orb of energy immediately floated into his palm.
Gazing at the golden orb in his hand, Lynch couldn’t help but anticipate: “So, let me see, if during this trial, the Light Goddess has made any progress?”