"'The star quoth that another child was a passionate fire, The Eternal Sun. The child was excited, the smoke was passionate, the heat was warm. Yet, the child shall march out of the mother fire because the mother fire has died. The child wandered under the protection of the dragon looking for stories, and learned to be a new mother fire. And yet , if the child's spirit is not contained the child shall kill the child's self because the child hath burned the orb to the ground and there is nought else for the child to run for. The child shall get smaller and gone, like the mother fire.
The child canst not aye be obeyed. If the child bids a tree, grant him a branch. If the child bids for a field, grant the child a piece of land with a stone border. If the child is enchafed, grant the child water, yet if the childs's heart is heavy, heat the coal again with the wind. Let the child be housed, so the child learns to control himself. If the child restrains himself, then the child can dance alone without other people. The child doesn't crave to live inside the dragon's throat and can fly freely. The child won't sear aught, yet grants hope to the people that there is still light for to-morrow. '"
Beneath the text was another image, printed. This time it looked like a serpent—except it had one short leg on each side. Looking at the three different pictures, Alicia seemed to have guessed that each picture represented each child. Alicia thought, Maybe I can find them by those marks on their bodies or on their clothes? After daydreaming for a moment, Alicia looked again at the snake image.
"What is this? A Dragon? Or a snake? A Lizard?" Alicia wondered to herself.
It's definitely a dragon, look at the shape of its head. Look, it has legs too, Orb snapped.
"Oh, Orb. I think yer right. It's a dragon! But what kind, I wonder?" Alicia tried to dig into her memory again, in case she ever saw a picture of such a peculiar dragon in a book. Not much can be explained about it, apart from its short body and unique head—it has horns on its eyebrows, and its snout stuck out. There were also no splashes of new colors other than black and white on the paper surface.
Orb suddenly let out a sound as it was startled by the excited Alicia. "Oh, I know!" she exclaimed, "This is a xiu dragon! This is a type of dragon that lives on the continent of Mu. This snake is unique because its scales are beautiful, as if carved by wood and stone craftsmen. But make no mistake, its scales are as hard as a turtle's! Och, is this third child from the continent of Mu? Orb, we got a hint!"
I thought the dragon scales are indeed tougher than the turtle side.
"I mean, it's not wrong … Ah, never mind. It is just as hard, really!" The girl then chuckled with her magic ball. This was the first time Alicia had felt joy from reading the ancient scripture of a failed astrologist that she had previously called a useless book.
"Let's read about the fourth child, shall we?" Alicia immediately opened the next page. "All right, here it is. 'The stars quoth that another child is a wind that wanders the boundaries of the orb. The wind is shy, so the wind is intangible. Yet the child's breeze tickles the skin, telling people when people can set sail, or when 'tis farming season. And yet, thou hast to warn the child not to hie into the wrong place. If the child sneaks where the child shouldn't, the child shall bring diseases and the orb shall be plagued again.
The child shall lead the others, yet others might not but also lead the child. Embrace the intangible wind then the child shall learn. The child shall not bring a beshrew, yet shall bring pollen to the meetest pistil. The child shall blow it into the abyss of the soul so that other children shall not be lost. The child shall bring a storm of ill tidings to those whom challenge the wind and bring good tidings to earth that we hast won!' This one is quite poetic, though. I like the description of this child. Let's see the crest for this one."
Three parallels lined with different lengths, the ends of the three formed a spiral like a typical wind illustration. The three wind lines seemed to be passing through several parallelograms at once. Simple and easy to understand, although not as attractive as the previous two symbols.
"The wind that passed through several rectangular shapes … The wind that becomes a traveler of the world's boundaries, that will retrieve other children from the abyss of the souls…" Alicia investigated further. "I guess the boundaries of this world are… dimensions?"
Orb asked, And the reason you said so was…?
"Look at these parallelograms. It seems as if the wind can penetrate each of them. I think, the parallelograms represent another layer of our reality. If this child of wind can penetrate layers of dimensions… Could it be that this fourth child is a Plane Walker? The Child of Dimensions?"
Orb spat out a sound that implied confusion. Thousands of white plasma formed a large circle moving towards the girl's face, asking for an explanation.
"Plane Walker is a term for people who have special abilities to cross other dimensions, Orb," explained the girl. "To my knowledge, they can traverse dimensions, but I don't know if they can traverse other universes as well. You know, because other universes haven't been proven to exist, have they? Plane Walkers are not associated with the practice of any particular mystical artists, although each art has its own techniques. That being said, the ability is very rare among the mystic art practitioners!"
Interesting! Have you ever met a Plane Walker before? Orb asked again.
The innocent Orb did not seem to know, such a question that should have been a normal question, actually turned the girl's bright face into a little dreich. Alicia answered slowly. "From what I heard, Mama is a Plane Walker. The last time they saw Mama was when she was about to cross into another dimension. But whatever happened, she couldn't find her way home. Or… she didn't want to?"
Hearing the story, the magic ball vibrated and gave off a warm feeling all over the girl's body. Be not forlorn, Alicia! I assure you that you'll see your mother again someday. With a daughter like you, there's no way she'll stop digging in the ground to return to her world! Orb said.
"Are y-you sure about that, Orb?"
The last time I joked was when Nadine brought up who bathed you when you passed out.
Alicia chuckled. "Aye, you were a wee scunner back then." Without a word, as a sign of gratitude, Alicia hugged her arcane sphere friend. "Speaking of which, you remember that shy and weird boy that trapped us in the glass dimension yesterday?"
Ah! 'The wind is shy, so the wind is intangible'. He must be the Child of the Wind!
"Huh?" Alicia gasped, "N-nae danger, pal! A lecher like him couldn't possibly be part of the prophecy! Come to think of it, just because he could pass through the mirror dimension doesn't mean he's an absolute Plane Walker or The Child of Dimensions in the scripture, does it? That one is the easiest dimension to traverse; some mystic arts have a way to do it!"
Orb answered back, As I recall, Nadine once said that you are also a raunch—
"Stop it. It's just a mere jest."
Read more, Alicia! Read more!
"Oh, yes! Only two children left. Six earth substances, four of which are representations of natural elements. What about the other two? Metal elements? Wood? Lightning?" the Nostradame book was opened again and appeared, who the other two children were.
"'These four children might not but decide where they shall course ; the path of decree or the path of destruction. Shall they meet with light or darkness, the stars hast not spoken that to me. These two children might not but be found presently. '"
Darkness and light were not in Alicia's guess. She was silent for a moment before continuing.
"'The star quoth that in the end the darkness shall wot and the darkness shall act. It shall choose the one whom suffers the most so that one's nauseous light skin shall lurk with the shadows. The one shall become a cloud. The night welken lacks stars. The mud, as black and sticky as ink. The Damned of The Damned. The chosen child shall appall mankind because what the child didst canst not be underestimated. They shall be amazed and hope that the child dies a second time.
He was the manifestation of darkness upon earth. The Child of Darkness needed no other to allow the earth to be devoured by his master, the One Darkness. And yet, influencing others accelerates the darkness' content. Then the child shall compose the whole realm, a hunt for the last child, making the Overseers surrender to humanity and darkness devour the earth. For the child, united with the void without feeling, this is when the suffering is not felt.'"
A bulging eye surrounded by black, snaking lines was etched into the page paper. These lines were akin to tentacles about to stain white (or yellow) paper into a page full of black ink. Alicia saw those eyes, stupefied. She felt very familiar with this eye shape.
Alicia, are you okay? The sound of the Orb broke the curse the girl was feeling.
" Orb…. I'm alright. I've seen these eyes in my dreams."
After saying that, Alicia fell silent again. It was the first time she felt an accurate connection to Nostradame's prophecy. Even though there was no color in the eye except for a mixture of monochrome, Alicia could not forget its shape. It seemed that the darkness plot had been carried out. It had already hunted Alicia, whispering a soft paranoia into her head.
The Arcane orb woke her up again with a sound, meaning, If you are afraid, at least remember that you and I will face it together.
"But, we've been apart before, haven't we? What if… darkness really did separate us forever?" Alicia replied.
Yet we're reunited again, aren't we? Your panic relapses, are you doubting me?
"N-no Orb, I don't doubt you."
Then you doubt yourself?
The bespectacled girl could not answer. Orb let out a snore to calm her down again, If you're worried right now, that is fine—as long as it doesn't interfere with your being. It may be a way to keep you alert. Many tasks and exercises await, at least we must prepare while we can.
Alicia took a few deep breaths. The caressing of the Orb sent out a bit of Arcane might that calmed her mind. "Of course. Of course …. My excessive panic cannot make me yield that quick. Thank you so much, Orb."
The last child! Come on!
Once again, another page is turned. Out of the five children earlier, not a single one described her. Seeing the brief descriptions of darkness and light, Alicia believed that she was the child of light. Her heart was pounding loudly as she began to dream through the inscription after inscription in the prophecy.
Apparently, her guess was precise.
"'The stars quoth that the last child is the child of miracle. One shall be chosen by light and breaking laws with the child's existence, because it is not light that is bound by law, yet the law that is bound by light. Fire may be luminous, yet the light is the source. Earth may be firm, yet the light is resilient. Water may hast a container, yet the light's form is the most perfect. Wind may be free, yet the light grants hope to prisoners of the underworld. The light shall dwell with the child and the child might not but accept great trials and sufferings so that the darkness shall not take the light aroint. The child needs other children, and when they are with the child, the child shall not separate from them even though they are beyond worlds. The child shall prove to the Overseers that beneath the imperfections of the earth, there is a beauty that is not worthy of escaping from the grasp of all creatures. One that might not but be kept alive, if ones crave salvation'"
Underneath the last sentence, was another symbol. A symbol that turned out to be the same as the wound on Alicia's hand—A ball that sat between human hands.
"Orb, look! That's us!" said Alicia. "But … the pictures in the book are way flawless. Your carvings are too rough!"
I could fix that if you want. The Orb shot out a flash of electricity, ready to weld the girl's hand once again.
"No, no! This is enough, no more branding!" Alicia quickly closed her wound. After they finished joking, the girl spoke again. "I see. So the reason I was chosen by you is because I have to save the world from being destroyed. Sixteen-year-old bainr, stopping the apocalypse… Orb, dinnae you think that's too much of a burden for a juvenile like me?"
It's a task too big, even for the mightiest empire on earth.
"I just don't understand yet. Why me? I understand the other five children were chosen because they have extraordinary powers. But I was just an ordinary girl without any magic before you chose me."
Orb rejected the girl's question. Alicia asked again, "Is this another one of those 'Divine mystery' moments again?"
Not everything can be told to you right now, Alicia. But you can feel the earth is sinking, can you not? What you need to know now is that I entrust you to unite with the others, and prevent the earth from being devoured by the darkness. You will learn over time.
"Then what about this so-called The Damned of The Damned? Do I have to find this particular child, too?"
Alicia flipped to another page. There was still other writing related to the prophecy before it was closed by the back cover. Alicia's eyes widened as she read the words silently.
"I have to kill the Child of Darkness?" []