When the End......

     Unhappy? After seeing lifeless Dave (though zombies were already lifeless), Baltoro wrote. "……Yeah…… You may become more comfortable if you share it with me. They said that I am a monster." Dave is not a monster. Dave is my dear friend. It doesn't matter if they called me a monster! But they called you monster too!" They are right. I am the monster that lived in this place. No! Baltoro is not a monster!"' It doesn't matter whether we are monsters or not. The most important thing is that we are best friends! After Baltoro finished his writing, he did not forget to give Dave a smile.

     "Is this your encounter with Baltoro? Then why did he fall into the lake?" Hardins, who was fascinated, took a sip of coffee and asked. "……We……never expected……it would be like this……" Dave put down his cold coffee. The days of peace changed. The day became shorter and shorter, and the night became longer and longer. The night in Terror Mountain became weird. The wind was colder than before. And there were more and more strange things outside.

     Every family hid in their underground homes after nightfall and did not dare to go out. Before long, it became very dark even in the morning. The sun was blocked by a large black cloud. Adult Bori forbade the children to go out for safety. But no one could stop Dave from meeting his friend. "Baltoro." Baltoro was holding a bunch of white daffodils and looking at the gloomy sky. He turned his head when Dave called him. Although Baltoro was smiling, his face was slightly worried. "What's going on?" Dave asked. He felt uneasy. Baltoro shook his head. “Dave, it's dangerous now. Don't come here anymore.” “No. I will come here every day unless you go back with me" He would not put his only friend in danger. I'm sorry. I can't go with you.” Baltoro handed a white daffodil he picked to Dave. "White daffodil?” “Can you give it to the Keeper of Time for me? Please.……Sure." Thanks. It's getting dark. Dave should go home soon. I will come again tomorrow." Baltoro sighed softly as he saw Dave off. Time is almost up.

     The Keeper of Time frowned when he saw the white daffodil that Dave had brought. "……Keeper of Time……" "Keeper of Time!" A yellow Bori rushed in. "What's wrong?" The Keeper of Time's solemn voice rang in the hole. "Someone was attacked! It is an icy skeleton! Keeper of Time, please come soon." Yellow Bori said in a panic. The Keeper of Time remained silent. A second later, he followed the yellow Bori away. Fortunately, none of the Bori had sustained major injuries. The Bori civilisation became uneasy and began to talk.

      "Quiet everyone. I have something to announce." The Keeper of Time's voice calmed everyone down. "I believe everyone has noticed the recent changes in Terror Mountain. It is caused by the awakening of Bringer of Night." Everyone shuddered at once when they heard the name of Bringer of Night. "Bringer of Night is our nightmare. He is in charge of destruction……" The loud impact interrupted the Keeper of Time's words abruptly. "Keeper of Time! It is them! Bringer of Night and his army of icy skeletons are here!!!!!!" The injured Bori guard reported. "Everyone, go to the underground! One by one, walk in an orderly manner!" The Keeper of Time ordered.

     While the whole Bori civilisation was moving to the underground as instructed by The Keeper of Time, Dave ran away from the group. "Dave! Come back! Freezing magic is about to……!" Dave ignored Keeper of Time. He only had the safety of his best friend in his heart. Dave cleverly avoided the icy skeletons and came to the entrance of the Sacred Land. Perhaps some power was guarding the Sacred Land. The minions of Bringer of Night cannot come. Dave wanted to go through the woods as soon as possible to get to his best friend. "……What's the matter?" The surrounding trees were frozen into icicles and the ground began to freeze too. Every time he took a step, the ice thickened up. As he approached the end of the woods, Dave felt that even time had been frozen. His movement became very slow. After several hardships, he finally came to the lake. The surrounding white daffodils had become beautiful ice flowers entirely.

     ”Sweeping our memories……Erasing time that we so much shared……” At this moment, he heard someone singing. It was so soft. It was so gentle. "……Bal.……toro……?" Dave could not believe his eyes. His silent friend Baltoro was holding a large bunch of white daffodils while singing a spell. He stepped towards the lake which was not frozen yet. "Dave?" Baltoro looked very surprised. "……You……can……speak?" Dave tried to walk towards Baltoro but he found that his lower body was covered with thick ice. "I can speak only when I am singing a spell." Baltoro looked at Dave. He smiled as usual. "Don't……care about this……Bringer of Night……woke up……Come with me……" "Dave, sorry I can't leave." When he walked to the lake, he chanted a short spell again. The lake began to freeze. “When the end comes…… Everything fades away…………Why……?"

     Ice had already wrapped the region below his neck. "I will help The Keeper of Time complete the freezing magic in order to protect you and everyone." He stepped onto the frozen lake. "……Bal……" He could not speak anymore. He could only look at Baltoro. "Dave, thank you very much for being here and being friends with me. I am really happy." Baltoro walked to the center of the lake and stopped. He looked at Dave with his gentle purple eyes. "Although it's sad that I have to separate with you, there is no way. I just want to protect everyone. The end comes. Goodbye, Dave. Don't let it come undone…… Let it stay within our hearts……” Baltoro sang the last spell and fell into the lake with the white daffodils. Dave, the lake and all Bori were frozen instantly. The mountain of terror returned to tranquillity.

      "……The next……is the story of the Usul named Hannah……No need to say more……" Dave took his last sip of coffee. "So there is this story……" Hardins still could not recover from the story. "……Believe it……or not……It is……up to you……" He put on his hat and stood up. "……I have to go now……I will visit……Baltoro……tomorrow."

     Dave left the coffee shop quietly. The next day, Dave did not go to the museum. He rushed to the remote area of Terror Mountain instead. According to the breaking news today, Baltoro was found missing. The ice surrounding him was melted for unknown reasons last night. There were no witnesses when it happened. As a result, nobody knew where Baltoro had gone. Dave was uncertain about this. But he had a feeling that Baltoro was waiting for him in the Sacred Land.

     He reached the entrance of Sacred Land. He crossed the woods rapidly. Finally, he saw those numerous blooming white daffodils and the lake where they first met. No one was here. Dave hung his head in shame and gasped. He stared at his own reflection in the calm water. Suddenly, he heard some small sounds. Someone was stepping on the fluffy snow. He pricked up his ears and turned his head. The pure white. The brilliant purple. The familiar smile.

     "Dave, my dear friend." His voice was so soft and gentle. His words slipped into Dave's ears and melted on his eardrums. "I am so glad to see you again. " Dave stared at him and was shocked. He could not believe what he saw at the moment. He was Baltoro. He was a bit different when compared with Dave's memory. Dave did not know whether it was some kind of magic or trick. Baltoro grew up as an adult bori now. He was more mature. But Dave knew that he was still his best friend. "……Me too……" Dave answered. He walked to Baltoro slowly and stretched out his shaking hand. Baltoro smiled and grabbed the cold hand firmly. Hold on to our memories, rebuilding time that we so much will share……

           The End.