I Received System to Become Dragonborn

Chapter 1470: His Face

Aesa slowly opened her eyes and immediately found herself standing in the middle of a kingdom she knew better than any other place in the world.

Different from Eccar, who had returned to the place where his journey began with warmth and happiness, Aesa had returned to the place where hers ended.

This kingdom had once been her home. She had spent several decades living here peacefully alongside the people she cherished. It was where she found her husband and experienced a happiness she had once believed would last forever.

Yet it was also the place where she lost everything.

"No... No, no..." Aesa whispered as horror immediately filled her expression.

Her usual composed and cold demeanor completely disappeared. Her eyes widened in disbelief and her body trembled slightly as countless memories resurfaced within her mind.

This kingdom no longer existed.

It had been destroyed by Zerathul’s Magic virus.

Even after hundreds of years had passed, Aesa could still remember that day with painful clarity.

She remembered watching the people she knew slowly lose themselves as their bodies twisted into grotesque masses of flesh. She remembered hearing their screams and cries for help before they became nothing more than monsters driven by an endless hunger for blood and destruction.

She remembered being forced to kill them. And among them... was her husband.

The pain in her heart immediately came again the moment she stood in this familiar place.

Aesa clenched her fists tightly as hatred and sadness began rising within her chest. Of all the memories she had carried throughout her long life, this remained the one she hated remembering the most.

For hundreds of years, she had wandered the world while carrying the guilt of surviving that tragedy. She had grown stronger and wiser. She had learned to hide her emotions behind a calm expression and an indifferent personality.

But no matter how much time passed, some wounds simply refused to heal completely.

After several moments of trembling silence, Aesa slowly took a deep breath before exhaling softly.

Eventually, she regained her composure.

When she looked toward the sky, she realized that this was not the ruined kingdom she remembered. The sky above remained bright and blue while the warm sunlight gently illuminated the kingdom before her.

This was the moment before everything began.

The people were still alive. The kingdom still stood proudly. The tragedy had not happened yet.

Seeing that, Aesa immediately understood what her subconscious intended to show her.

"If that’s the case..." she muttered quietly. A grim expression appeared on her face as she slowly narrowed her eyes. "I already know where this is going."

She knew what awaited her at the end of this memory. Sooner or later, she would meet the person she missed more than anyone else in this world.

The person she both desperately wanted and feared to see. Her husband.

Without another word, Aesa began walking through the kingdom’s streets.

The scenery around her felt painfully real. She saw merchants happily selling their goods and children ran through the streets chasing one another. Families laughed together while knights patrolled the city walls.

Everyone looked alive. Everyone looked happy. But every single one of them would soon die.

Aesa quietly watched the people around her as memories she had tried to bury long ago resurfaced one after another. Some of the faces smiling at her were people she had personally killed after they became flesh monsters. Others were friends she could not save despite her strength as a Dragonborn.

The guilt and sadness she had carried for centuries began weighing down upon her heart once again.

Then suddenly, everything changed. The bright sky darkened without warning.

The warm sunlight disappeared as an ominous crimson hue covered the sky above. An overwhelming pressure descended upon the kingdom.

The people immediately stopped what they were doing and looked toward the sky in confusion and fear.

Moments later, screams echoed throughout the city.

Aesa watched in silent horror as she witnessed the tragedy unfold once more before her eyes.

Bodies began twisting unnaturally. Bones protruded through flesh while skin ruptured and expanded into grotesque masses of writhing meat.

Some people transformed into horrifying abominations with countless limbs and or enormous flesh creatures that devoured anyone unfortunate enough to stand nearby.

The sounds of cracking bones and agonizing screams filled the kingdom. Blood stained the streets that had once been filled with laughter just moments earlier.

Aesa froze as tears slowly flowed down her cheeks. Even after all this time, watching the people she loved die before her eyes were still unbearable.

The memories were just as painful as the day they had happened.

She clenched her fists tightly as her entire body trembled with sorrow and anger.

"No matter how many times I see this..." she whispered quietly. "It still hurts."

But despite the pain threatening to overwhelm her, Aesa forced herself to remain standing. She had already lived through this tragedy once. She would not allow herself to break now.

She wiped away the tears on her face before continuing forward. If this was the beginning of her confrontation with the Black Rage, then she would face it head-on.

Moreover, somewhere within this nightmare awaited the person she had been wanting to see the most and dreaded the most.

Not long after, Aesa saw him standing at the end of the bloodstained street. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes widened. Hundreds of years had passed since she last saw his face, yet she recognized him immediately.

He was exactly as she remembered.

His gentle features remained unchanged. His dark hair swayed softly with the wind while his warm eyes that once looked at her with love were now filled with anger and hatred.

Aesa forgot that this was merely her subconscious. She simply stood there as memories of their peaceful days together resurfaced in her mind.

Then, his expression twisted into fury.

"You killed them!" he shouted as he pointed at the corpses surrounding them. "You killed our people! You killed everyone!"

Aesa’s body trembled slightly.

"You abandoned us and chose your power over us! Was becoming a Dragonborn worth more than our lives?"

His voice became even more bitter as tears appeared in his eyes.

"And then you killed me too, Aesa."

Those words pierced her heart painfully. She remembered it all. She remembered being forced to end his suffering with her own hands.

This was the guilt she had carried for centuries. Even now, she still couldn’t forgive herself.

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