He had a dream of a very long time ago.
Screams echoed from the hallway.
That was highly abnormal, considering this was Farsas Castle, capital of
one of the Great Nations.
He blinked his eyes open from his nap in the lounge during a break in
his hectic schedule.
Intermittent screams filtered in from the hallway. He leaped up and ran
out to discover something with wings chasing around a host of ladies-inwaiting.
He zeroed in on the flying thing. "Nark?"
It was certainly shaped like the king's dragon, though the coloring was
entirely different. Its body, large as a hawk's, was gray as stone. While he
had no idea what it was, he cast a spell to bring down the creature as it flew
overhead.
However, it sensed the magic, quivering in midair before reversing
course and flying away.
"Hey! Stop!"
Whatever it was, he couldn't let it escape. He swiftly cast another spell
and released it. This magic would paralyze the flying thing for just a second
and slow its movements. The bird stiffened when the spell hit, but it did not
fall. It zoomed away on unsteady wings.
Then a white light from out of nowhere engulfed the gray bird. The
radiance formed a cocoon, holding it frozen in midair. Realizing who had
sent out the capturing spell, he said, "Queen Tinasha."
"I finally caught it… That thing was flying all over the place," Tinasha
grumbled. She made sure none of the ladies-in-waiting were injured, then
reached for the luminous cocoon. It dropped harmlessly into her arms.
Curious about the mysterious flying object, he asked, "What is that?"
"Something Oscar brought back from some spirit sorcerer ruins he
explored. He said it was a stone egg, but at some point, it must have
hatched."
Tinasha cradled it in her arms. "Oh, and thank you for your quick
thinking back there."
"I didn't…"
"I saw you. I'm very impressed but not at all surprised that you switched
to the optimal spell to use right away."
"I…thank you, Your Majesty."
She was undoubtedly referring to how he'd pivoted immediately from
an attack spell to a stun spell.
Tinasha flashed him a mischievous grin. "I suppose it's all in a day's
work for you, Valt. Or should I call you the new royal chief mage?"
"Your Majesty…"
The young man, who had only become royal chief mage the month
before, threw his queen a mildly dismayed look.
Tinasha, witch and queen, giggled in response.
In the court of Farsas, mages valued talent over all else. That did not mean a
person's character had no bearing; it meant an individual's bloodline and
family were irrelevant. That was why Valt, who had become a court mage
three years earlier, was chosen as the new royal chief mage after his
predecessor stepped down.
Of course, he also had the support of Tinasha, the queen. She held the
cleverness of Valt's magic and his keen powers of judgment in high regard.
In a sense, he was certified by a witch.
And said witch was currently furious with her husband. "Unbelievable!
Not only did you sneak out to explore some old wreck, but you also brought
back something fishy! Don't you know that spirit sorcerer ruins are full of
hazardous objects?!"
"I know, I know," Oscar replied from behind his study desk.
"No, you don't, or you'd have a better answer!" she snapped, making
the king grin. Valt, who was there for tea with them, was careful not to say a
word. On the table in front of him sat a small white cocoon.
"Ridiculous… And this stone bird hasn't been identified at all, though it
seems to be a moving statue of some kind."
"Oh, so like the ones in your tower? Those are fun. Should we place it
here in the castle?" Oscar suggested.
"You'd just fight it and destroy it. Absolutely not."
"Do they repair themselves? Every time I go, I find them intact again."
"I'm the one who repairs them!" Tinasha exclaimed.
He was clearly riling up his wife on purpose. It was probably best to let
this play out, although that meant none of them would ever get back to
work.
Valt was left with no choice but to cut in, keeping his voice as calm as
possible. "Based on the shape and the fact that it flies, I'd say it might have
been used for patrolling."
Thinking the stone bird's egg to be a "funny-shaped rock," Oscar had
brought it back and then hidden it in the magic potions storehouse. At some
point, it had hatched and started flying around the castle. By the time Valt
noticed the fuss, the entire palace was in an uproar.
Tinasha floated up into the air and crossed her legs. "While that does
seem very likely, the spell it's enchanted with has a strange feel. I'm going
to analyze it."
"A strange spell? Then while you're doing that, Queen Tinasha, I shall
research these ruins," Valt put in.
"Sorry to trouble you. Please do," Oscar added.
The fifth king of Farsas had apparently mentioned these ruins in his
journal. Valt read through the notes, but he found that the writings only
described the general location of the site and did not reveal any information
of significance about the ruins. Tinasha hadn't known about them at all. The
only thing she could tell from the stone bird's spell was that it was likely the
work of a spirit sorcerer.
The only thing left to do was to find out what the ruins were by crossreferencing history books. Hopefully, that might reveal the stone bird's
intended use.
Valt got to his feet, documents in hand. As he was about to leave, Oscar
called, "Valt, do you know how things are going with the eastern towns?"
"Ah…that situation."
Recently, there had been a rash of unexpected deaths and suicides in
various towns and villages in eastern Farsas. While Valt wasn't in charge of
the investigation, as the royal chief mage, he was aware of its progress.
"To be perfectly honest, it's not going well. So many people have died,
yet we can't find any commonalities between their deaths… Some perish
out of nowhere, screaming and vomiting blood, while others are discovered
with their heads stuck in water jars. A few use magic to attack those around
them before dying. Nothing is consistent, and the victims expire quickly.
Some manage to survive, but most of those have gone insane, and the rest
are in comas."
"So bizarre. Tinasha, what do you think?"
"Mmm, it's a mystery to me," Tinasha replied. "The people in comas are
on life-support treatment, but their souls are unstable."
Valt's eyebrows twitched upward at that, but Tinasha did not notice and
went on. "I suspected demons were involved, but no witnesses mentioned
anything to that effect, and there have been no signs of them, either. There's
also the fact that a significant percentage of the dead were mages.
Sometimes it was a case of magic going haywire, but postmortem
examinations can't tell us exactly why or how that happened. Some of those
people didn't have enough power to actually draw upon and had only
received training in how to control it."
"I guess we'll just have to keep looking into it. I'd like to get to the
bottom of this quickly," said Oscar.
"I will do everything in my power," Valt said with a bow before he left
the study.
As he walked down the corridor, he fell into thought.
There's so much I don't know… What's influencing this?
He couldn't have said which lifetime he was on.
However, this was his first time serving the court of Farsas, home to the
Witch of the Azure Moon, the most powerful mage in all the land. He did
not yet know where the red orb of Eleterria was, but the blue one was in the
Tuldarr treasure vault. Valt wanted to gain her trust, but failing that, he
hoped to learn about her adopted home of Farsas and the…temperament of
the king.
Valt had freely used what he knew to get himself to the position he held.
After coming to the court, he had used his existing knowledge to help him
resolve numerous situations, including the resurrection of a demonic beast
by a Former Druza faction, the rise of Lanak—a survivor of Tuldarr—and
the battle with the Witch Who Cannot Be Summoned in the neighboring
country of Yarda. Tinasha, in particular, had a tendency to rush off on her
own if left unattended. It was quite a challenge to hold her in check and
take the actions she wanted to take herself.
However, Valt had learned that there were multiple events he was
entirely unaware of. He thought he had a grasp on the principal sequence,
but Oscar bringing back a mysterious egg from the ruins and the rash of
suspicious deaths in Farsas were entirely unfamiliar. He'd wondered if it
was all a ripple effect from his becoming a court mage, but the changes
were far too substantial for that. The month prior, the horse-rider tribe
known as the Ito went on a widespread pillaging and looting spree. They
took the fortress of Minnedart as their base, only to be defeated there. This
was another thing Valt had no memory of ever experiencing before. He
needed to record it for the records.
"The records, huh?" he muttered self-deprecatingly.
What good would that do? He was the only one who could read them.
Ultimately, would there be any point to writing down what he knew for
her?
"I really can't take my eyes off you for one second," the witch grumbled as
she brewed tea. Oscar burst out laughing.
Lazar walked in with a stack of documents and let out a heavy sigh. "If
you want to go exploring in the ruins, Your Majesty, please tell Queen
Tinasha… It will really save me some stress, as I get mixed up in it every
time."
"But if I tell her, she'll stop me," Oscar responded shamelessly, right in
front of her.
The witch arched one eyebrow. "Of course I will. This time you even
got Doan to go with you…"
"Yeah, because I needed a mage for some of it, and the other ones
would've gone tattling to you right away."
"You seem to have a very good command of your subjects'
personalities! But I still grilled Doan to near death!"
Tinasha was the greatest mage in the castle. Her judgment on magicrelated matters was generally more accurate than the king's, which the court
mages all knew. Whenever something happened, most of them would go to
her to report it.
However, there were those mages who tended to be more flexible. One
of these was Doan, who often found himself at the mercy of the king's
whims.
Oscar picked up his teacup. "And because you chewed him out, Doan's
begging me to let him transfer to a research-only position."
"Yes, and that's your fault! Yours, not mine!"
"But I can't give him up. Renart reports directly to you, while Valt can
be too unreadable."
Tinasha flashed a strained smile, floating up into the air and settling on
the arm of Oscar's chair. Leaning back against him, she rubbed her head
along his cheek. Hugging her knees to her chest, she said, "That's because
Valt doesn't like to let his emotions show. He wants to get along just by
being friendly on the outside. Doan is much cleverer in that regard. He
knows that we're less likely to suspect him of anything if he's shown us
some of his genuine self. However, that also means he winds up as your
accomplice far too often."
Tinasha grinned, her eyes lighting up. "But when it comes to that girl he
lives with, Valt shows a much more human side, and it's very interesting. I
met her once when she came to the castle to bring him lunch. I can tell he
cares for her a lot."
"I know the fact that he's unreadable doesn't mean he carries bad
intentions. He's like you—he thinks everything through on his own and
then handles it alone. You both conduct yourselves well, but you're too
careful when it counts, because you never give anything away, and that's
your downfall."
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."
"I'm talking about your solo missions and how they need to stop.
Admittedly, I'll still be entrusting anything magic related to you. Just tell
me if you run into trouble."
"Okay," Tinasha sang, sliding off the armrest and onto her feet.
Oscar picked up the cocoon on the table. Before his wife could leave to
go work on her analysis, he called, "Wait, Tinasha. Demons can't get past
the castle city wards, right?"
"Right. The wards are designed that way. We'd definitely have a hard
time fighting off a high-ranking demon."
"Can you cast similar ones around the other eastern towns and villages,
then?"
"I could…but I couldn't get to all of them right away."
The castle city's defensive wards represented the highest level of
security possible for continuously running ground-level wards. Tinasha
would need to get things in order to establish them around multiple
communities, and the process would take considerable time. If Tinasha set
aside all her other duties, she would still only be able to cover three a day.
Oscar nodded. That answer seemed to line up with what he had
expected. "Just do what you can. It's only to be safe, but I'd appreciate it.
Start with the towns closest to the ones where the unnatural deaths occurred
and then go west from there."
"But Oscar, that means—"
Tinasha cut herself off, gasping as she realized what Oscar was
implying. She thought back over the details of the previous cases.
The unexplained deaths had broken out in multiple towns in eastern
Farsas. The easternmost settlements had been beset by this issue the
earliest.
Thus, the king suspected that whatever was responsible was approaching
the castle city from the east.
Oscar caught Lazar's eye, then Tinasha's, and he scratched at his temple.
"Five days before the first of these deaths, a mage fell from Minnedart's
ramparts and died. No one witnessed it, so everyone assumed it was an
accident, but there were reports of strange-sounding screams. If it's related
to all the other deaths, it means something's coming toward us from beyond
the eastern border. I'd rather read too much into things and be safe instead
of sorry."
"I'll…have it done immediately," Tinasha said before leaving the study.
After Lazar watched the queen go, he asked the king in a tremulous
tone, "Do you think it's a demon?"
"Who knows? If so, it's an awfully slow-moving demon. It's going to
take another two weeks to reach the city," Oscar replied, resting his chin on
his hands and letting his gaze wander.
As he watched his king sink deep into thought, Lazar felt a jolt of
inexplicable fear.
The castle archives held no record of the ruins in question.
"I thought that might be the case," Valt muttered as he left the castle to
head home one evening.
Because there was no record of the site, people had always thought the
formation north of Farsas to be merely a natural cavern. However, there was
an ancient structure concealed deep within the hollow. The past king of
Farsas, who'd written of it in his journal, only noted he'd heard of the
location from a spirit sorcerer who became his adviser. He had reigned
centuries ago, a short time before Tinasha's birth. Many records from that
era had been lost to time, especially those pertaining to the secretive spirit
sorcerers.
"All I can do now is consult my ancestors' accounts…"
The archives Valt had inherited as the Time-Reader heir were vast.
When he first gained access, he skimmed through all of them, but he had
yet to read them carefully. The other heirs were probably much the same.
Therefore, there was a very good chance that some record or another
Valt wasn't familiar with did describe the ruins.
With those thoughts on his mind, he reached his home, which was
tucked into a corner of the castle city. The delicious aroma of soup wafted
from the house.
"I'm back," he called as he opened the door.
"Valt!" cried a girl as she leaped at him head-on.
"Oof!" Valt staggered back from her unexpected crash landing. "What's
the matter, Miralys?"
"Open this," the silver-haired girl instructed, handing him a new spice
jar. She must have bought it and then discovered she wasn't strong enough
to wrest the lid off. While she could have gone back to the store or asked a
neighbor for help, Miralys wasn't very interested in interacting with anyone
besides Valt.
That was probably because she was an orphan who'd endured a rough
childhood, betrayal by her fellow bandits, and being left to die in the
woods…
No, that's not right.
That was who Miralys was when he met her for the very first time, the
girl who later became his wife.
That wasn't who this was. Valt had spared no effort searching for
Miralys and had managed to grab her before she joined the bandits. She
wasn't the person he'd found bleeding in a forest.
But even so…
"Valt? Can't you open it?"
"No, I can. I was just lost in thought."
"Lost in thought about opening a jar? Were you thinking of a spell to get
the lid off it, since you can't do it on your own?"
"I told you, I can," Valt said, doing just that and passing the jar back to
Miralys.
"Thanks." Miralys accepted the container and scurried off for the
kitchen. While she hadn't shown much emotion, he could tell she was in a
good mood. As he listened to her start humming, he smiled and went to his
room to change clothes.
Valt didn't have a detailed plan when it came to working in Farsas
Castle. He was simply there to observe the palace and those inside.
It came as no surprise to discover that Farsas was incredibly stable. It
placed great emphasis on magic research, and the court mages were well
treated. He could easily live on his own with Miralys. After working for
another three years or so as royal chief mage, he could even retire and go
live a reclusive life with her in some rural town.
But, no, he couldn't. He didn't have what he truly needed.
No matter how content Valt was with his present life, he couldn't grow
too complacent.
"Valt, dinner's ready."
"Coming," he replied, dropping the journal he was about to read back
onto the pile of them in his room. When he reached the dinner table,
Miralys looked up from setting dishes out and gave him the littlest smile.
It was infectious, and he returned the expression. They sat at the little
dining table facing each other.
Miralys spread homemade jam on some soft bread. "You worked a little
late today."
"There's something I need to look into. I'm going to be doing some
reading after dinner, too, but call for me if you need anything."
"I'll bring you some tea, then. Did anything interesting happen today?"
"I was working, not having fun, but in fact, something interesting did
happen. But it was nothing too unusual. The king brought back an egg,
which hatched into a stone bird that started flying all around the castle."
"I never know what you're talking about. How could something made of
stone fly?"
"In the Dark Age, they researched this sort of thing—artificial creatures.
Actually, creating them proved difficult, so the research was abandoned.
This is the first time I've seen one made with spiritual magic. Queen
Tinasha is going to analyze it, and let me look at a diagram of the spell
configuration once it's done."
He knew that his spell-casting abilities were several grades higher than
an ordinary person's, which was only natural because he'd spent more years
living in the world and had his ancestors' journals.
Valt's genuine curiosity must have been evident, because Miralys
narrowed her eyes. "You really love magic."
"Well…I'm a mage."
"I wish I'd been born with magic, too."
"I've lent you some of mine, haven't I?"
"That's just a mark. It's not enough to use magic."
Miralys had no magical power of her own. This left her unable to protect
herself, so Valt had loaned her a portion of his energy. It was tied to her soul
and would guard her.
Valt found the sight of Miralys puffing out her cheeks in displeasure
very precious, but her impractical wish made his heart ache nonetheless.
He'd wished the same thing himself once.
Valt hadn't been able to cast spells until the death of his father. There
was no need yet to tell Miralys about that or any of the other secrets of his
life. In her mind, she had simply met Valt by chance and was living with
him.
Someday, he would reveal the truth to this Miralys. He would explain
about himself, about her, about their past that had once existed, and about
what was to come.
That day was a ways off yet, though. They were enjoying shockingly
peaceful days, because Valt wasn't on the hunt for Eleterria this time.
Valt suddenly recalled something. "Lately, people have been dying in
strange ways over in the east. Queen Tinasha said that because we're
affected, the culprit could be a demon. The wards around the city prevent
demons from entering, but still…be very careful."
"Okay. But I don't go outside the city anyway. I have no reason to."
"I'm only saying it just in case," Valt said, narrowing his eyes at
Miralys. When he concentrated, he could sense the faintest pulse of her soul
—a living being's core. It was the primordial power that all possessed, born
of nature and returned to nature.
Each time he saw that light inside her, he felt spurred to keep going.
The next day, when Valt arrived at work, he found a palm-sized stone bird
flying around the castle courtyard.
His fellow court mages were gazing up at it in wonderment. Doan
noticed him and waved. "There you are. Look, it's so funny."
"It's gotten smaller."
"Queen Tinasha analyzed it and made a duplicate. It sounds like it really
was used for patrolling, although we don't know what it was watching for.
It doesn't seem like it was only for people and demons, however."
"Not people and demons? Then what?"
That left only low-ranking demons and fairies. Valt wanted to ask the
duplicate maker herself, but Tinasha wasn't around. "Where's the queen?"
"She went with Renart to set wards around the eastern towns, as the king
requested."
Which meant the king suspected demonic involvement in the rash of
mysterious deaths.
Having served Oscar for the past three years, Valt judged him capable of
jumping from the tiniest clue to the right answer. He would say things like,
"I just had a hunch." Tinasha claimed that her husband had very good
intuition, but it was probably due to a calculation that the man wasn't
consciously aware of. Oscar was also quick to make decisions and often
worked several steps ahead of regular people. Warding the settlements must
have meant he'd detected something.
Doan shrugged. "The idea of it gives me the creeps, but she's doing it to
be safe. Anyway, that means you can bring the report you've been working
on to the king."
"How do you know I have a report?" Valt questioned
"Because you're late today. You were up late, weren't you?"
Doan had hit the nail on the head. Valt gazed up at the sky beseechingly.
Sylvia and Pamyra snickered. Valt outranked all of them in the mage
hierarchy, but they were all around the same age and had come to the court
at roughly the same time. After working together for years, they'd all grown
close.
Valt held both his hands up in surrender. "All right, all right. I'm going
to go see His Majesty, then. Let me know if anything happens."
"You got it."
As Valt left, Doan idly remarked, "Oh, and this bird has a function to
scatter something, but the first bird was empty inside."
"Scatter…what?"
His first thought was poison. The original had only been empty because
it was newly hatched. However, that didn't match what Valt had uncovered.
While thinking it over, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"Didn't that make Queen Tinasha even unhappier with the king?"
"That's right. So before she gets back, please try and convince the king
to be less reckless."
"I'll try," Valt agreed, but between the king and queen, he had a much
harder time with the former. In the past, Tinasha had killed him many more
times than Oscar had, but he could still predict her thoughts and actions.
The king of Farsas was far younger than the witch and often behaved
erratically. Valt had taken a court position to better understand him, but
even after three years in the castle, he still found the king difficult to deal
with.
Valt knocked on the door to the study. Oscar called for him to enter, and
when he did, the king flashed him a somewhat childlike grin. "You're back.
So what were the ruins made for?"
"They were once a hidden refuge for spirit sorcerers who fled from
mage hunters," Valt replied. That was what he had managed to dig out from
the vast records kept by his ancestors.
He passed a copy he had made of the journal to the king. "They were
built by people who were driven out by a country that predated Tayiri, but
according to records made by someone who knew that era well, they were
only used for about thirty years. After that, the residents started to die out,
and those who were left scattered all over."
"Ah yeah, since the ruins are in the north, it would make sense for them
to be related to Tayiri," remarked the king.
"With so many spirit sorcerers, they could have fought, but they elected
to go into hiding. That may be because spirit sorcerers lose their power once
their chastity is gone."
"A while back, Tinasha took me to some seaside ruins. That place had a
real mysterious feel. I can't speak for Tinasha, but to me, it was like it had
accepted this sense of very gradual demise. I also didn't pick up on any sort
of hostility from the site where I retrieved the egg."
Spirit sorcerers were proficient in controlling nature, and some preferred
to live in the wild and pass away there. Oscar never mentioned as much to
his wife, since she was a spirit sorcerer who had chosen to keep a long life.
Valt didn't think she would mind, but perhaps the king was trying to be
considerate.
"Why did you take that egg?" Valt inquired.
Oscar had gone to the ruins as a sort of test of skill. But as there were
few traps and obstructions, he must have felt disappointed. Why bother
returning with a relic, then? He wasn't the sort to dig up precious weapons
or magic implements and haul them home.
In reply, Oscar flashed a strained smile. "The egg was placed on a small
altar in the center of the ruins. The moment I saw it, I could tell it had been
held in high regard. I hated the idea of it rotting away in there, forgotten."
"Next time, I recommend you tell the queen about this sort of thing right
away without trying to hide it from her."
"I'll do that."
"If she gets back and she's still testy with you, tell her Valt has a report
for her. I'll mediate things."
"Thanks. Sorry about this."
For now, the matter of the egg was closed.
Valt bowed and made ready to leave. When he lifted his head, he found
the king staring straight at him. "Is…something the matter?"
"It's nothing. But if you ever run into trouble, tell me before deciding
things on your own. I'll do what I can to help."
For a moment, it seemed that Oscar could see right through Valt's
situation. Hearing a statement like that from the king was a surprise.
Fortunately, he narrowly managed to keep his discomfiture from showing
on his face, pasting on a pained grin. "Where could this be coming from? I
don't have any complaints about my tenure here."
"Ah, it's just that I get this sense that you're the type who doesn't rely
too much on others. But if you ever reach a fork in the road and you're not
sure whether you're going to betray me or not, tell me first."
"I…don't know why such a thing would ever come to pass."
Cold sweat trickled down Valt's back.
Oscar couldn't have suspected anything, because Valt had no plots at the
moment. At present, he only intended to serve Farsas.
However, this was Oscar looking at Valt, jumping a step ahead, and
arriving at the correct answer. Valt bowed his head again. "I'm grateful to
you for saying so. I dearly hope something like that never happens, but…
should the worst occur, I will do as you ask."
"Mm-hmm. Talk to me anytime. That's what I'm here for," Oscar
replied nonchalantly, despite being the ruler of an entire nation. While
Oscar's behavior as king might have appeared unprecedented to those
outside Farsas, he actually took the job extremely seriously and handled his
responsibilities almost entirely on his own. Working for him drove that fact
home. His occasional escapes outside the castle and the attention he paid to
his queen were, in his eyes, his allotted private time. In all other respects, he
was a devoted servant of the people.
For a moment, Valt thought that Oscar's lifestyle was entirely
unsustainable. Ultimately, he said nothing more and departed the study.
The days that followed appeared to be very peaceful from an outside
perspective.
Those were happy days, Valt thought. At the very least, he was able to
live a calm, worry-free life with Miralys. He was struck with how big of a
difference the choice of how to live made in his everyday life. The fact that
he could even think that was proof he had wallowed in that time like
pleasantly warm water.
They never found out what exactly the stone bird from the ruins
scattered originally, but it didn't do any harm, so the matter was considered
resolved. Tinasha placed a seal on the original bird Oscar brought back, but
the small copy she had constructed became oddly popular among the court,
and she ended up making five to fly around the castle.
Once Tinasha set up the wards around the towns, the mysterious deaths
stopped. However, the protective spells around one small town vanished for
reasons unknown.
Taking this very seriously, Tinasha went to investigate. Valt also spoke
with the village's denizens, who all offered the same story. They'd seen
several unfamiliar men with a sick-looking girl in tow. Nothing else unusual
had transpired, however, and repairing the wards brought an end to the
issue. Things continued without incident afterward.
On a very sunny day, Valt stepped from a covered outdoor walkway and
headed for the training grounds. There he found the king and queen
sparring.
The sound of metal clashing was inescapable. Tinasha slashed at Oscar
with her sword, sweat dappling her lithe physique. Oscar parried it away
effortlessly.
"Don't slow down just because you're tired. You have to keep your
pace," the king instructed.
"I'm trying," she panted back, jabbing at her husband. He batted the
attack away easily, causing her to stumble.
"Watch out!" he cried, grabbing her arm as she almost fell. Drawing her
close, he patted her back. "Let's call it a day here. You look like you're
going to keel over if we continue."
"I really lack endurance… Thank you," said the queen, perspiring all
over. Her shoulders were heaving as she leaned against her husband's chest.
It was Oscar who noticed Valt first. "What is it? Which one of us do you
need?"
"Queen Tinasha. A merchant party accompanied by a demonic beast
familiar has arrived at the city gates and wishes to enter."
Unauthorized demons and demonic spirits were not permitted in the
castle city. Extenuating circumstances required permission from Tinasha or
those sanctioned by her. It was a necessary measure to keep the city safe.
Tinasha brushed her sweaty bangs up and out of her face. "I didn't
receive an application mentioning anything like that."
"Evidently, there was something wrong with their papers, and they were
delayed in reaching the castle."
Entry procedure called for applying to a mage authorized by Tinasha in
advance of the desired day. However, the forms hadn't made it in time on
this occasion. Such groups could be kept waiting outside the city gates, but
Tinasha was such a conscientious person that she frequently saw to these
matters herself.
"Ooh, I see. It sounds like you've been very busy today, Valt. Just give
me a moment," Tinasha said.
"There's no need. If you'll authorize me, I can go," Valt offered. His
schedule was packed, but there was enough flexibility in it for him to go
and do that.
Oscar patted Tinasha on the head. "Let Valt do it. You're so worn out
that it'll take a while for you to look presentable."
"Fine… Please see to it."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Tinasha pointed at Valt, and a tiny dot of white light appeared at her
fingertip and floated over to him, where it was absorbed into his forehead.
Now he was fully authorized. A little stone bird popped out of nowhere and
settled itself on Valt's shoulder.
It looked just like Nark, who was resting on the king's shoulder, and
Tinasha burst out laughing. "It looks like it wants to come along."
"Is it…all right to bring one outside the city gates?"
"It's perfectly fine. I'm sure the local children will be delighted."
"I'll be careful to bring it back safe and sound," said Valt, bowing to the
king and queen again before leaving the training grounds.
While the queen often teleported around like it was nothing, Valt's
position made it difficult for him to do the same. Oscar might have
freakishly keen powers of observation, so Valt couldn't afford to overplay
his hand.
Thus, he used a transportation array in the castle to teleport to the closest
guard station. As he was walking from there to the castle gates, a familiar
voice called out to him. "Valt? What is it? Are you finished with work
already?"
"Oh, Miralys."
She was carrying so many flowers she had bought at the market that he
couldn't see her face. Had he not heard her voice, he might have thought
she was nothing but a gigantic bouquet. "What are you doing with all
those?"
"I'm going to decorate the house with them."
"Isn't that a few too many?"
Miralys wasn't the type of girl who adored flowers, so Valt knew there
had to be some reason. After a brief awkward pause, she finally admitted,
"Someone put in a large order at the florist I go to but never showed to pick
it up. The shopkeeper looked so upset that I bought them all."
Valt's eyes grew wide listening to her tale. Miralys had always been
extremely wary of other people. But as she settled into a more comfortable
life in the city and got to know others while Valt was away serving the
crown, she must have begun to change little by little.
Her warmhearted gesture made him smile. "You're a sweet girl,
Miralys."
"No, I'm not," she mumbled.
Because he couldn't see her face, he walked up and took half of the
blossoms sticking out of her basket. White petals parted to reveal Miralys,
her face the faintest shade of pink.
"It'll be too dangerous for you to go home alone like that. I have to head
to the castle gates to take care of something, but after that, I'll be free to
walk with you."
"But you're at work. They'll get mad."
"They'd be more upset if they knew I let you go home like that. I'll be
sure to contact the castle. It'll be fine," Valt assured her, and he set off.
Still looking reluctant, Miralys followed. Then she noticed the little bird
perched on Valt's shoulder. "Hey, what's this bird?"
"This is a magical creature made by Queen Tinasha."
"Oh wow. Can I pet it later?"
"Of course. But it's castle property, so I have to bring it back with me."
The gates were just up ahead. The street was packed with bustling
crowds, and there was not a cloud in the sky. A pleasant breeze rustled the
white flowers in their arms.
The guard stationed at the gates smiled when he saw Valt and the
blossoms he was holding. "Taken up flower peddling, chief mage?"
"Not quite. We're just coming from a large purchase. I've been
authorized to grant access to the city. Could you show me to the merchants
awaiting entry?"
"Yes, right this way," said the guard, turning around to unlock the door
behind him.
All of a sudden, an earsplitting noise sounded from the side—an awful
grating screech like stones rubbing together. It was coming from the bird on
Valt's shoulder.
Miralys frowned. "What is it? What's going on?"
"I don't know, but…"
The bird was a magic implement created for patrolling purposes by
ancient spirit sorcerers.
Before Valt had time to reason out an explanation, the door the guard
was about to open split in half, revealing a girl. She was scrawny and
wearing rough clothing. Her eyes were bulging, and her neck was tilted at
such an angle that it looked broken.
She was clearly not in her right mind, more resembling a corpse than a
living being. Valt recognized her, however.
He hadn't met her in this life, but in other ones, she was sometimes an
acquaintance of Tinasha. She was born in Tayiri and fiercely resented how
it persecuted mages.
"Tris…?" he blurted.
"Is she okay?" Miralys asked dubiously.
The sight of her so completely transformed made Valt gasp.
A young man appeared from behind Tris, his eyes flashing with dark
resentment.
Valt recognized him as well. This was Savas, the prince of Yarda. After
the Witch Who Cannot Be Summoned fell in battle, he was banished for
being her devoted follower.
"What are you doing here…?" Valt asked. He had a bad feeling.
Savas surveyed the streets around him with empty eyes before
commanding Tris. "Go."
The battered girl staggered forward.
That was how it began.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Miralys crumpled to the ground while letting out a terrible scream.
Unfortunately, Valt couldn't even reach for her, as he was struck on the
temple so hard it sent him stumbling. His vision spun.
He didn't understand what was happening. His head was a mess, and his
guts were churning.
Through blurry vision, he attempted to locate the girl he adored.
Miralys was collapsed amid heaps of white flowers, blood pouring from
her mouth.
"Mira…lys…?"
While Valt crawled to her, Tris passed right by. Screams soon erupted
from somewhere close by.
"AAAAHHH!"
"NOOOOOO!"
Shrieks sounded from everywhere, the stone bird crying in warning
through it all.
Valt could sense magic going haywire in the vicinity. Savas let out a
twisted, mad laugh. "Ha-ha! So this is the power of a god. Fall to your
knees! Suffer your ruin, foolish foes of Leonora!"
The world was dimming as Valt's consciousness slipped. He reached out
a trembling hand and caught hold of Miralys's.
No matter how he squinted, he could no longer see the light of her soul.
It was already very far away.
The flower petals, dripping with blood, caught the light of the sun and
sparkled.
"You're awake."
When Valt woke next, Doan's voice was the first thing he heard. It was a
struggle to get his sluggish body to obey, but he looked around. "Where am
I…?"
"The castle, in a temporary hospice room. We brought everyone who
didn't die here. A lot are still unconscious."
They were in one of the castle reception chambers, now home to over
twenty evenly spaced beds that held ashen-faced patients. A huge magic
circle was drawn on the floor; a life-preservation spell. Only one person in
the castle could afford to expend magic like that on such a large scale.
"Where's the queen?" Valt asked, but Doan didn't answer. He was
sitting next to the bed opposite Valt's. Judging by the blond hair, it had to be
Sylvia lying there.
Doan's face was gaunt, and his voice was purposely unemotional when
he spoke. "Let me tell you this first. A week has passed since we
encountered…that. We've managed to take care of it, mostly. We're in the
cleanup phase now."
"The…cleanup phase?"
Something had attacked unexpectedly. Reflecting upon it, Valt did have a
guess as to what it may have been. All the omens lined up, after all.
The mysterious, unexplained deaths one after another in the east.
Oscar suspected that the very first casualty was the mage who fell to his
death at Minnedart. However, something had occurred before that in the
vicinity of the fortress—the Ito riders' extensive raiding and subsequent
capture.
It probably got released in the aftermath of all that.
Something dwelled in a place sacred to the Ito. Valt had read about it in
one of his ancestors' journals. It had to be the exact same thing that the
ancient spirit sorcerers fled Tayiri to escape. The stone birds were created to
patrol for it.
"So it was…Irityrdia."
The thing that made mages lose their minds, sent their magic running
haywire, and wrecked their spirits and life force.
A force of nature also known by the names World-Splitting Blade and
Sleeping Paleface.
Irityrdia—Tayiri's one god—was the true form of what was sealed away
inside Tris. Long ago, a mage's body was used to seal it off when it caused
havoc. Someone who knew of this must have placed Irityrdia within Tris.
"You know what this is? We finally managed to pinpoint it just
yesterday after investigating the Ito ruins," said Doan.
"I read about it a long time ago, although I'd forgotten. I guess that
means everyone who died in the east had magic."
"Yeah. Some of them hadn't ever undergone training to control their
power, so they didn't register as having any when we investigated.
Everyone who died either had magic or was otherwise affected by magic
going haywire."
According to the legends, the presence of Irityrdia rendered mages
insane in both mind and body, a danger to themselves and others. Irityrdia
must have awakened in the aftermath of the battle with the Ito, slowly made
its way toward the castle city, leaving a trail of death and destruction in its
wake…and gotten captured along the way.
Doan let out a heavy sigh. "It looks like it was Savas's intention to bring
Irityrdia into the city. Disguising himself and his group as a merchant
caravan and making sure his faulty papers meant the castle didn't have
advance notice of his visit—all of it was a trick to lure the queen out."
"I don't…think Savas was the one behind this. Ordinary people
wouldn't know about Irityrdia or be able to seal it inside a mage's body. He
must have been used as a puppet, since mages can't get close to Irityrdia.
One of Leonora's underlings or someone else must be responsible."
Fortunately, even a plot like this hadn't destroyed Farsas. The situation
had been resolved in only a week.
Unlike in rural towns and villages, the city contained so many mages
that releasing Irityrdia inside it might have razed it to the ground.
Valt finally asked the one thing he'd wanted to know this whole time but
hadn't dared to ask. "What happened to Miralys? The girl who was with me
when Irityrdia came."
He knew the answer. That was one more reason why Irityrdia had come
to the castle city.
Doan stood. "I'll show you. Can you walk?"
"Yes…"
Even after dragging his battered body out of the bed, Valt had to lean on
Doan to keep from falling over. When he finally got a look at all the beds in
the room, he groaned. "Half the court mages are here."
"And these are the lucky ones. That stone bird the king brought back?
What it scattered was an Irityrdia-resistant psychological safeguard created
by spirit sorcerers. Those of us who work in the castle were much better
equipped to handle it than the mages out in town. It's why you're still sane
after coming so close to Irityrdia."
"I see. It spread it all over the castle, and that's why it was empty. The
king really has incredible luck…"
At a time of crisis, Valt had received the bare minimum of protection,
allowing him to survive a force of nature some called a god. Despite
explaining as much to him, Doan only offered a tight smile.
The two left the makeshift hospital, and Doan led Valt to a small parlor.
In it was a white bed with flowers decorating the head of it.
Miralys was asleep, breathing faintly. A magic circle for life support was
drawn on the floor beneath her.
Valt approached her and gazed down at her pallid face.
"I'll be in the hospice room if you need me," said Doan.
"Sure…"
Once the door clicked shut, Valt dug his nails into his palms hard enough
to draw blood.
Miralys would never wake again.
Her soul was gone, along with the magic he'd lent her for selfprotection.
Valt took her hand. It was so small. "I should have kept you locked up."
Then she would still be alive. They could have lived alone, just the two
of them, without anyone else.
He had always yearned to give her a normal, happy life.
But this was what happened when he believed he'd done that. The world
was waiting for that one last straw to say, "Your time is up. You can't live
any longer."
"It's my fault…"
Miralys would never squeeze his hand back. She would never call him
names in that adorable way that she did.
This lifetime ended here.
It had to.
Valt returned to the hospice room and said to Doan, "I have something I
need to discuss with the queen. Do you know where she is?"
"She's dead."
The words echoed around the sparsely furnished room.
After a few moments of complete stupefaction, Valt asked, "She's what?
How?"
"There wasn't much time to deliberate over what to do, and the damage
had spread too far. Irityrdia's power was only growing stronger. No one
knew it was inside Tris. When she died, it was released, and the situation
went completely out of control. Queen Tinasha had no choice but to use her
own body as a vessel and hold Irityrdia in check so that Akashia could
destroy it."
There was not a trace of emotion in Doan's words.
"So if you need to discuss something, go to the king. He should be in the
chapel underground now."
A chapel was built in a grove of trees behind the castle. Its subterranean
level served as the royal mausoleum. The witch's corpse, dressed in her
wedding clothes, lay enshrined on the altar of a small sanctuary.
The king was standing next to it, staring at his wife's lifeless body. One
hand gently carded away the hair from her forehead, and he caressed her
smooth cheeks. Valt noticed that the king's fingers were trembling.
Without taking his eyes off Tinasha's lifeless face, the king said, "I
thought I was prepared for this, but it turns out I wasn't."
For three days, Irityrdia had laid waste to the city. In that time, nearly
three hundred died. The storm that swept through all planes of existence in
search of magical power rapidly became more powerful and untouchable…
until the queen's death brought the tragedy to a close.
"I knew she wouldn't hesitate to give her life for her country. But for
whatever reason, I always thought that only extended to Tuldarr."
Tinasha had died to protect the country she'd married into.
As Akashia had plunged into her, she'd grabbed hold of it and wouldn't
allow Oscar to pull it out. That was how fierce her spirit was.
"No one was more careless with their life than she was. I'm going to do
everything I can to honor her in return."
"I'm sure…Queen Tinasha was fully aware of that."
She had always been that sort of person.
No matter how many times history repeated, she always chose her king.
Oscar was the only one who knew what her life was worth, which was
why she could relax and let herself love him.
The king turned his head to look at Valt, standing in the doorway. His
twilight sky–blue eyes held naked remorse. "To be honest, I wanted to pull
Akashia out. Even if by force."
If the royal sword had shattered the core inside her, she might have been
saved, and Irityrdia would still have been destroyed.
However, the entity had grown too large. Oscar and Tinasha had realized
that when the core was shattered—and they made a decision.
The queen's death meant the end for the part of Oscar that was just an
ordinary man. He would live the rest of his life out of duty alone.
The young king looked down at his right hand. "This is the first time
I've ever hated Akashia's existence… And that stays between us."
"Of course."
For Oscar to bring that up must have meant he'd guessed why Valt was
here.
Valt bowed low before his king. "It has not been very long, but I will be
retiring from my post. I'm very sorry to leave at such a time."
"That's fine. I'm to blame for not preventing this, and I've done badly
by you. I can't apologize enough," Oscar replied. Surely, he knew that
Miralys was the first casualty. Valt was the one who let her soul slip away,
however. Because he knew this whole time that a fate like this might have
awaited her.
"I pray that you keep in good health. May we meet again in another era
and in another way."
"Yes," Oscar said. "Indeed."
Their reunion would be in another life. This would be the last occasion
they were king and vassal.
Valt bowed low to Oscar with utter sincerity.
Before he left, Valt asked one thing that was on his mind. "If you could
go back in time and do it over, what would you change?"
The king's eyes widened a little. "I'm not sure. But…"
For the first time that day, Oscar gave a tight smile. "If it was only to
save or help myself, I know I wouldn't be able to go through with
anything."
Thus spoke a young man who was born and raised to be king.
Tinasha was dead.
That meant the Tuldarr treasure vault could no longer be opened,
rendering the blue orb of Eleterria inaccessible.
He was seeking the red one, which had been missing for a long time.
However, he could hazard a guess based on what he recalled of where it had
been used in previous instances. Wandering through the depths of despair,
he scoured the mainland for the artifact, following it from person to person.
Years passed in the blink of an eye.
"Somewhere in my mind, I knew that who you were in this lifetime is
different from who you were before," Valt muttered wryly, standing before
the small grave where Miralys's remains were interred. "But you are still
you. The world will not diverge. No matter how many lifetimes repeat, you
will be yourself, with the same soul."
It was an unmarked gravestone in the woods. A great many white
flowers he had planted bloomed around it. The unpretentious petals brought
to mind a memory of Miralys, embarrassed with her arms full of blossoms.
Valt presented the gravestone with a little box. Inside it lay the red orb of
Eleterria.
All of the myriad lifetimes he had experienced were the result of this
little gem.
It was an artifact that offered unlimited attempts, overwriting the world
that should be.
"I will find you again."
Twenty-five years had passed since her death. Using the red half of
Eleterria meant Valt would lose it. Still, he had to go back.
To start fresh and save her.
Valt opened the box and retrieved the item inside.
For the time it took for the world to be demolished and rebuilt anew, he
thought only of his beloved wife.