"I met an interesting girl," A young boy who looks about 12 with medium length black hair said to another long black haired woman on a luxurious sofa. His hair was silky
"I'm not interesting enough for you?" The woman asked, smiling.
"You want me to be interested in you?" The boy joked.
"No, I'm a bit exhausted dealing with two other boys." She said, sighing.
"I wonder when she'll visit me,"
"It's pretty boring here."
"Then get out, Schmerz."
"Ehh…? That's not how you talk to your superior, Vista." Schmerz said, taking another spoonful of sugar to his teacup.
"Right, Sir Schmerz. Shall we continue to talk?" She insisted.
"I'm really not interested, but sure." He said, smiling.
***
It was a rainy afternoon, and I especially felt like doing nothing today. But one thing kept bugging me: the pocket-watch. I kept staring at the pocket watch. What was I supposed to do with this? I tried throwing it across the wall, I tried punching Haze with it, and I even tried choking Riverand with it. I tried remembering what the mysterious boy told me.
'Iron pinnacles…' I thought. May the iron pinnacles bless me? Why would that even come up…? Now that I think about it, I think I heard a ring from the clock tower that night. Even though my mind was hazy with the dance steps, I remembered the clear notification of the clock tower in the capital. Right, I needed to go there…! Perhaps I'll get a clue there. I opened the door of my room to go outside.
"Where do you think you are going?" Haze asked, narrowing his eyes. What did he want from me again? None of your business, kid… Now out the way.
"I'm going outside." I said, smiling. I was trying to push my way through him. But no use.
"Riverand says that you need to do your studying. Remember the reason why you came here?" Haze reminded me. Ah, right. The reason… This morning, I had breakfast with Riverand and Haze. Which made me question, since Haze and I have no right to have a meal with Riverand. And Riverand explained the reason why he recruited me. Apparently, the youngest 5th(the first) prince was holding a battling competition and Riverand was one of the participants. However, Riverand is particularly weak from Riverand bloodline and was not a mage. So he decided to recruit a person from every region. Well, it's only five though. When I asked Riverand about why he couldn't use magic, he just smiled at me. No reply. I could see Haze covering his face, so it seemed a bit serious. I decided not to ask anything more. That's the basic story from the breakfast, well… and I needed to get prepared for that. But I was an excellent mage. No way that I was going to get beat up by others, in the first place.
"No worries, weak mage. I'm a first-class magician, unlike you." I smiled. Haze sighed, and opened his mouth but closed it back again. That's right. I can't be compared to the likes of you, kid.
"Sigh. Where are you actually trying to go?" Haze asked. Should I answer him honestly? But what if he figures out something, by me telling him about something?
"Going outside to buy presents for my younger sister." I said, finally walking past him. He soon grabbed my wrist. What do you want, child…?!
"I'm going to have to supervise you." Haze said, smiling evily towards me. I gritted my teeth. What a clingy boy.
"Kid, I don't have to be supervised by you." I said.
"Oh yes, Riverand sent me to check on your studies." He said, pretending to come up with a solution. Riverand sent him…? No way. Riverand didn't tell me anything at breakfast!
"You are not serious, are you?" I asked. Haze shrugged.
"Who knows." Haze said, smiling gently. I didn't know he could smile like that. That smile was almost as pure as Riverand's. I sighed. I guess there was no way out.
"Fine. You better not tell Riverand." I warned Haze. But then again, Riverand wasn't the type to punish me anyways.
"I promise." Haze said, and I jumped out of my window as Haze's jaw dropped. Landing on the stone tile of the garden, I gestured to him.
"Come down, quickly." I said, as Haze placed a hand on his head.
"Are you serious…" Haze mumbled, jumping downwards. I thought he was scared to jump from the second floor for a moment, but he wasn't. Either way was good for me.
"I'llneherd, look." Haze said, pulling on my sleeve. What did he want again? To the direction Haze was pointing to, was a circus. We have been shopping, but I still didn't 'find' anything proper to give to Everett. It was almost evening.
"Oh, circus." I answered cynically, passing him by. Haze caught up to me and made a face at me.
"Really, now? Are you not supposed to have reactions such as 'oh my god, circus! I want to see it!' or something like that, at least?" Haze complained to me. I rolled my eyes. What nonsense. Who said that I wanted to see a random circus on the street? I just wanted to get rid of him.
"Isn't that you, who wants to see that?" I said directly. Haze seemed to be taken back.
"I-- I was just being nice and recommending it to you." Haze said.
"Yeah, right. Unlike you, I'm not being nice so I'm not watching that." Haze's mood seemed to be down that I said that, but as I said, I didn't care. But then again…
"Uh… fine. We'll go watch the circus. Why are you so fixated on it? Oh, can it be you have taken a liking to one of the performers?" I asked with a smirk on my face. That's right. One of the nice questions to ask a boy to make him feel the most uncomfortable. But surprisingly, he didn't have much of a reaction.
"It's not related to you." Haze said, sighing. Haze took out his wallet, and I saw a pendant with white opal jewel with a delicate sequence stuck in the frame between. Haze paid for two ticket for us. I was really not interested in this. We entered the tent decorated with white and red, the classic. I sat on the hard wooden bench they prepared. Time passed as we saw the 'most fantastic show' ever. By that, the session was called the most fantastic show. It seemed to be the opposite, however. I glanced at Haze to see what he was doing. Was he really enjoying this? Because his eyes were glowing under the light of the circus. Truly mesmerizing it was, not the show, but Haze's attitude. I looked at the clock. It seemed to be time, when it is 8' o clock soon. The show will end at 11 o'clock…
"Haze," I said, and Haze turned around with a smile, then fixed his expression. He didn't have to have such a cold expression, but it was fine.
"I'm going to be shopping for my sister. I'll be back a bit later." I said, and Haze seemed to be thinking for a bit.
"The street is quite dangerous, especially at night." Haze said. Like you are worried about me, Mr. mage.
"It's fine. Besides, you look like you'd get kidnapped rather than me." I commented. Haze, you truly needed more meat. Your height is about mine, and that's an issue...
"H--hey!" Haze said as loudly as possible in a quiet manner. I stuck my tongue out as I walked away from Haze, who was hesitant to leave the circus. This was my plan all along, and I'm glad that it worked as smoothly as I anticipated. Haze can enjoy his circus, and I will enjoy my time out here. I thought as I walked with lightest footsteps in the dark street, where dim light stands welcomed me. It was evident that the amount of people in the alley was significantly less than the amount in the afternoon. I guess it was just obvious, though. I breathed the cold night air of the foggy street, enjoying the scenery of this beautiful city. It reminded me of the time I spent with you. Even though I thought it was meaningless at the end, didn't it make more sense at the end, because of it? The more meaningless it was, the more easier for me to be drawn into it. What are you doing, perhaps we are breathing in the same air, under the starry night sky. Perhaps you also are back in time. Perhaps you changed. Then it would be nice, wouldn't it be? Then I wouldn't have to try to be someone that I'm not. Then I can just stop this. Maybe we can all accept that we'll perish just a few nights later.
"What am I thinking…" I scolded myself as white smoke formed from my words in the air. It sure was chilly out here. After hearing that mysterious voice, it became frequent for me to think about unnecessary things. Surely, it was something I had to figure out to stop. I walked and walked, but the only clear thing was the night sky. The clock tower wasn't that far, but I'd probably freeze before I got there. It was even getting sleepy out here… How amazing… I still am not even close to the tower yet… I felt my body swing towards the cold ground. At the same time, I caught a silhouette of a somewhat tall figure in black at the corner of my eye.
***
When I opened my eyes, I saw a face really-- really close to me. It was a young boy's face, so close to mine. His eyes were that of sapphire and a deep purple obsidian, seeming to be some kind of heterochromia. His black hair tickled my face. This caused me to almost jump backwards. I was leaning on a fence of the clock tower, and the boy was kneeling down to have his face directly in front of mine. Then he smiled.
"Hello, pretty Miss." He said, walking backwards from me. Thanks…?
"Where am I?" I asked, noticing a black coat that was covering my back and shoulder from the cold. Was this coat his? But it seemed a bit too big to be his coat. The boy made a slightly confused face.
"Weren't you trying to come here?" He asked, looking at the sky. It was true… but… The boy smiled.
"Ah, noona, you still have my pocket-watch, right?" He asked. Well, yea-- Wait, what?
"This…?" I asked as I took out the watch from my pocket. The boy smiled innocently towards me as he reached out his hand towards me. I handed him the pocket as he smiled.
"Thanks, little lady." He said. Little lady? More like a way older lady than you are.
"You came here to find me, right?" He asked, still smiling. Came here to find him? That wasn't it. I wanted to find a clue. Because of that mysterious boy telling me, I had to come all the way here.
"I don't know. Who are you?" I asked.
"Oh, you want to know who I am, yet you don't want to tell me yours?" His eyes glistened with maliciousness.
"My name is Acacia I'llneherd." I said as flatly as possible. I asked for his name first, not my own.
"That's not true," He said.
"Nonsense. What is your name, little boy?" I asked. Was he kidding me? Not true, he says.
"My name…?" He asked back. I nodded in a hurry.
"Would you like to give me a name?" He asked, leaning against the fence across from me. He truly looked magical to me. Something about his atmosphere was captivatingly beautiful, and drowning. Just like the night sky of this cold season --
"Eve." I said, without thinking. Then the boy's eye rounded, then it smoothed into a soothing smile.
"Then I'm Eve." He said, walking towards me.
"Mind for a walk?" He asked as he offered a small hand of his to me.
It was pale just like him, almost translucent. A walk? To where? I hesitantly placed my hand on his, and he pulled me close to him. What a kid, huh? Just like that, the fence of the clock tower disappeared.
"Wh-- what are you doing?!" I gasped as he walked towards the air with me in his arms.
We were in the highest tower in the capital tower, and this kid was willing to commit a double suicide.
"Le-- let me go!" I shouted, and he smiled as he led the way to the air.
I closed my eyes for the longest time besides the time I slept, and when I opened them, there was the whole view of Chestiel under our feet. It was truly mesmerizing-- there hadn't needed to be a bright fire that burned everything away, there hadn't needed to be blood trickling from my head. It was different from that night, and it made me realize that I was here, once again, as myself. Slowly, I could feel our feet moving in sync, in a beautiful symphony. It was the dance he taught me back then that my feet played. I told myself I wasn't with him right now. I couldn't even remember who he was, but my body remembered him. Someone I didn't want to, that is. Unlike the unknown person I kept thinking about, in Eve's light embrace, I could see his gold earring on one side of his ear. It was a diamond shaped earring with two gems stuck in it. It was a bit big, and perhaps heavy for a little boy like him. But that was my first impression of him: playful, devil-like boy. His eyelashes were long, and end of his eye was slightly sharp. Was it because of that? He reminded me of a black-cat. The ones always looking for trouble. He was definitely too beautiful to be true, and too pure to be devious.
"Shh. What are you thinking, when I'm in front of you?" He asked quietly. Even though I saw him right in front of me, it was almost like he wasn't a human. When I was drowning in my own pool of thoughts, his face came up to mine. But how? He was just a kid, who could barely reach up to my chest. Now, all of a sudden, there was a young man who seemed to be around 18 instead of a young boy like he was, facing me. His clear eyes mixed with two different colors glowed from the light of the streets. His appearance wasn't something that could be described by mere words. Fairy-like was not even close. But all I know is that he pulled me even closer, into a tight embrace now. He placed his finger on his plum colored lips as he smiled. I wasn't the type of girl who would blush every time, I could feel my face heat up.
"Put your face away from mine!" I said impulsively. That kind of sounded very defensive and offensive, but what can I do?
"I'm going to be so hurt, both physically and mentally," He laughed lightly as he backed off, turning back into a small child.
"I thought I was going to get slapped for the first time in my life." He said as he wrapped his cheek with a hand in fear.
"Perhaps you are right." I joked.
"You are an interesting person, I'llneherd,"
"I don't mind breaking the world for you." He said all the sudden.
"What…?!" I asked back. Did I hear it wrong? I think I heard something horrifying come out of the mouth of this small child.
"Isn't that what you want?" He asked. No way. He had to be kidding me. That's the opposite of what I wanted…! If not, why would I be in this world again, trying the same old sh*t…?!
"No…! Why would I want that?!"
"Heh… But last time I talked to you, you seemed to want that." He said. He talked to me before…? Now that I think about it, that voice in my head…! It was identical to his voice.
"That was you…?!" I asked. Are you serious? What even was going on? I didn't understand any of this.
"Bingo,"
"And you definitely told me that this was all pointless." He said.
"Th--that's…" Maybe somewhere deep inside, I had thought that. That I could just give up, and no one would blame me. But…
"That is not completely true. It might be pointless at the end. But to me, what I achieve during it is important, not the end,"
"I don't want to give up for the people I cherish in this world. I've neglected, and lost them once. I'm not repeating that." I said, looking directly into Eve's eyes.
His expression looked a bit cold listening to me, but soon smiled.
"Even if you have to take all the pain instead of them?" He asked.
I didn't realize it, but the scenery changed into a greyish marble space. Eve was sitting on the wooden chair across me, a circular table between us. His chin was resting on his hand. I nodded.
"Do you know how you're going to do it, then?" He asked as he dropped a sugar cube into a tea cup on the table.
Plop
I didn't reply in any sense. I did tell myself that I was going to find the man. But how would I do that? Even if I did, what would I do?
"I'll help you,"
He dropped another.
"Why?" I asked.
He pulled off the table cloth, throwing it to air as it all disappeared into dust. Then he leaned to the table, enough to almost reach my face. He grabbed my chin lightly with his hand.
"It's simple,"
"You are pretty funny to me, you know?"
"That's all it needs to be," He said as he smiled, backing off. He got rid of the table with a gesture of a hand, and we were back in the air of Chestiel.
"Now, listen close to me, noona." He said, a smile still on his face. He didn't seem like a kid, yet he called me noona(A korean term for older female than the male). It was an ironic feeling. But it'd be interesting in a bad way too, if he didn't.
"Once upon a time," The scenery changed accordingly.
He must be a great mage… Doing all these things. Even I couldn't do them. How hard must he have trained. I felt pity for him.
"In 'this' world, there were two kinds of well-- main species. One was a human, and one was another called Oriaciles. Oriaciles were just like humans, but it was those who used magic. It seemed that right now, humans use magic but… Anyways, back then, humans could not use magic." He said.
Humans couldn't use magic? Some people couldn't use magic, but that was either because their divinity was very low or they needed more practice. It was something I couldn't imagine, as someone who uses magic on a daily basis.
"On the other hand, Oriaciles could. Not only that, they had life of eternity until they got physically damaged to the point where they couldn't live, or they decided to reproduce. Death following after reproduction for Oriaciles was the limit factor the 'god' had set for them." He said.
Well, I could understand the basis of it. If Oriaciles were powerful, it'd be only fair if they had less population than humans, who couldn't use magic.
"Are you an Oriacile, too?" I asked. He changed his form however he wanted to, and lastly, he knew all this information.
"I…? Oh, are you interested in me?" He asked with an innocent smile. Please don't ask me such a question with that smile.
"I'm joking. Well-- I'm kind of a special case. We'll talk about that a bit later." He said.
"Back to the story. Oriaciles and Humans hated each other and saw each other as something to conquer over. Humans had their own way of strength too, and so. I guess this part is unnecessary. Anyways, that was like that, until the world was destroyed!" He said, making a poof motion with his hands like a child playing.
"But the world was 'revived' by a certain person, and now the Oriacile's world is separate from humans. Technically, the revived world is this, but it's not the same since this world is based off of memory of the person. Even though it's not perfect because of that. Because it was already destroyed once initially, I think that this world is looping in time to prevent it from being destroyed whatsoever. That bastard probably did this."
"Anyways, about me… I am what you call a 'god'. I'm a god of Oriacile, 'name' being Schmerz. Most Oriaciles just called me God of Contracts since only special thing besides that between me and normal Oriaciles are just amount of power."
"A god…?" I repeated. All this information were too nerve wracking for me. It was too unreal. At first, time turns back. Then all these new 'Oriaciles'. Now a god?
"Well, like I said, not really. I'm just your average mage." He sighed.
"The reason why I came here was because I sensed a distortion in time. And this world happened to be the one with it,"
"Originally, I'm supposed to destroy it so it doesn't go against the rules, but I really think it'd be fun to help you." He said.
"Fun? Are you serious? You are going to risk yourself for that?"
"There's not much worth in anything else besides fun to someone who's lived more than eternity." He said flatly, smile disappearing from his face.
"Of course, I don't mind learning more about other things," He smiled again. If I smiled like that, I bet my facial muscles would be cramping by now.
"Would you like to tell me about this situation, yourself?" He asked.
"I see. So that man had used you? But you don't know why it was you?" He asked as I nodded in reply. The man, whom I loved last life, used me to destroy the world.
"I can only guess one thing," I swallowed as he started.
"It's because you are a witch." He said. A witch? Seriously? How does he even know my old title as the mage? It was the title given to me in my last life as someone with tremendous magical skills and divinity. But that had nothing to do with this.
"Seriousl--"
"A witch is a rare mix of human and Oriacile." He interrupted me while I was trying to talk back to him.
It was definitely annoying to see a little boy getting on my nerves. But a mix of human and Oriacile? That was not even related to me!
"Funny joke. I may be a witch in title, but not biologically, Eve." I laughed it off.
"Are you sure? Surely, you nor I have seen a human with that much divinity. Plus, I used to know someone with that same ha…" Eve trailed off.
"Are you…?" Eve mumbled. Then he grabbed my wrist. What did this boy want from me again?
"We'll talk about this later." He said, letting my wrist go.
"All you've been saying is we'll talk about this later! Can't you just say it right now?" I hurried. Eve smiled either way.
"Just a bit later. I thought you wanted me to help you in this 'world saving' journey of yours?" He asked. Well-- that's true.
"Fine. So how are we going to do it?" I asked.
"Like I said, you are a witch. You don't belong in neither of the worlds-- at the same time you do. You happen to be in the human world, which couldn't really recognize your existence as 'one' thing. It seems that since you are a 'taboo' to this world, you were used as-- possibly a sacrifice? To a ritual that might have destroyed this world."
"Wait, what if there are other witches…?!" I asked. If there are more, this would all be pointless even if I don't get used by the man…!
"That's the part where you have to sacrifice yourself wholly," Eve said.
"Straightforwardly talking, you're going to have to make sure that man doesn't use someone else besides you, neither yourself." He said.
"What if I don't have what it takes to do that?" I asked.
"Do you not want to have what it takes to do it?" He asked.
"Of course I do…!" I said instantly. I've come here to do that, all along.
"Even if you regret it, you won't be able to go back. Are you okay with that?" He asked.
"Surely."
"I like your attitude." He scoffed. Then he made a magic circle underneath us, gleaming in gold and black fog smearing.
"Since my words are of a promise, that of an iron pinnacle that binds us," He said.
"May the iron pinnacle bless us, in this endless time of tragedy: I, Schmerz, the god of contracts will form a temporary contract with a witch, Acacia Richt." Richt? That's not my last name--
"Agreed?" He asked. He created several black arrows that was decorated with elegant carvings in his hand.
"Yes," I said.
"This oath of iron pinnacles shall henceforth destroy her and the targeted, with these black thorns that penetrate through the truth of all nature. With the indicated clock bearing iron pinnacles, it will guide us to the clock-wise destiny." He said.
"Why is it time-related?" I asked.
"My contracts need to be revised upon the related subjects. In this case, it's the clock since you specifically told me about the ringing of the clock tower and such. And we shouldn't forget that the time in this world is not flowing correctly." He said as he handed me the arrows and his silver pocket watch.
"This pocket-watch I enchanted with this contract, will tell you only the possibilities. It's going to indicate the person whom you had ties to in your possible past life. Of course, it might not be accurate. If the pocket-watch indicates it, stab the person with the arrow I gave you. Then at the same time, you will have to stab yourself with the same arrow, with the same side where the blood is smeared with the target's blood. This will remind you that this is a form of a direct contract through objects. While it will put the person into sleep where they will forget about your 'malice aforethought', this will place a miniature black arrow in your heart."
"That is personally for you. It's designed that way so you don't forget your oath here. It will stab your heart just at the point where you won't die. It'll be only removed if the person is attracted to you in any way." He said. That eventually meant that I'll suffer from heart pains if I don't do this properly.
"I don't care. It's just pain." I said cooly. The boy covered his mouth in awe.
"How respectable." He complimented.
"That's the only way you can prevent the man from using a witch to lead this world into destruction." He said.
"I understand. You're basically saying that I have to hold them away from that, using their emotions, right?" I said. Love was something humans couldn't control. If I could use that properly to prevent that man from causing mass destruction, this was possible.
"Precisely. You're quite smart, aren't you?" He smiled.
"Of course, it's only up to you whether or not you want to stab the person or not. But it's not one, for sure. The time is jumbled up here." He said. I looked at the pocket watch.
He said as he smiled. What was that supposed to mean? I lifted my hand with an arrow in grasp playfully.
"You really are daring." He laughed softly as he dodged my attack.
"Ah, I have someone I want to introduce to you, additionally the other two," He said as he held my hand and walked me back to the floor of the clock tower from the air. When I was wondering who it could be, I was also reminded of the time.
"What time is it?" I asked. Haze must be waiting for me. Eve sighed.
"Around twelve,"
"Ditching me for someone else, already?" Eve smiled playfully. Twelve? Already?! That's long past the ending time of the circus…! I could already imagine the disgusted look on Haze's face.
"I'll be going," I said, getting my purse and such. I stuffed the arrows inside the purse and the watch inside my pocket.
"Be careful. Humans are always deceiving. Or perhaps, they were never… " Eve warned with a serious voice of his but soon trailed off mysteriously.
'Whatever you do, don't ever give anyone your sincerity.' He spoke in my head.
"Not as me." I replied as I ran down the clock tower. The air felt even more chilly with the black jacket on.
Piece of cake. I thought. I really thought so.