"Whoa."
"What is it, young man? A fly get into your mouth?"
"No I just felt a wave of chilly air..."
"I see, how unusual. Well, we are nearing Fortuna, it should be just up ahead."
"Wait didn't you say that already?" I'm feeling some DeJa'Vu for some reason.
"Young man what are you blabbering about this time?" She looks over to me, her expression blank, lips in a thin line as usual.
"...Never mind, I think I'm just sleep deprived honestly."
"Unwise. You shall rest when we arrive, no buts." She returns her gaze forward, before looking back over to me as we are riding our horses through this weird purple forest. "However..."
"Uh... there's nothing on my face, right?"
"Hmm, no. I just find it...odd that you have been granted passage."
"Huh? Granted passage to where?"
"I see... so you have not once been to Fortuna, yes? It seems I was right."
"What's that supposed to mean."
"Fortuna is unlike any of the other four Kingdoms. The first King of Fortuna chose to keep it hidden from the outside world in the hopes of preserving its existence from the dangers of any corruption, from both mortals and monsters."
"I thought there was only four Kingdoms..."
"Ah, it seems the first Dream King's plan has worked wonders. It is because of the Mysterial barrier that Fortuna succeeded in remaining undocumented. The barrier shields its presence to a perfect state, not even the grandest of sorcerers can detect the wavelengths of the Rune of Dreams."
"Rune of Dreams huh..." We've been riding for a couple of hours, and we stumbled upon this magic forest. At one point we saw a couple lasers get shot up in the sky, but we chose to ignore it. Kitsuki is very adamant on getting to Fortuna as soon as possible without getting sidetracked in any way. I guess helping out this person that she owes is a top priority for her. At least I know she's the type to keep any promises. Maybe I'll use it to my advantage some day and have her set me free.
Some day.
"So does the first King still exist? Or is he-"
"He has long perished, as well as the recent and former King of Dreams, leaving his only daughter to shoulder the weight of the throne... and the power to control the dream realm." She goes silent.
"What about the queen?"
"The second calamity claimed her life... I was unable to prevent that." She goes into another silence.
Something is telling me to just keep my mouth shut.
"All that aside, it is curious indeed that you have been granted passage through the barrier. Usually any unwanted trespassers get disintegrated on contact. Your case is a special one indeed." She looks over to me again, and her tall ears start to wiggle the same way they do whenever she's curious about me. "Are you quite sure you are no sorcerer of renowned prominence? You do know you can tell me anything, young man. We have known each other since you were but a dwarf."
"You make it sound like I've been training under your wing since I was a little boy. Like something out of some graphic novel... I'm pretty sure we haven't even known each other for a year."
"A graphic novel, you say?" She turns her gaze forward. "You have been reading too many books, youngling." She starts to speed up ahead. "Come, we are near."
"Does she not know it's her fault I've been reading so much? Why does she need so many books on her anyways?" I watch her gain distance from me, not looking back. "There's just no way someone reads that much..."
"So Alek, I would like to hear your thoughts of your new upcoming... adventure?"
"My thoughts? There are no thoughts. It's just another case of 'go to point A' and 'meet this person' and 'discuss the problem' then 'solve the problem and head back' Then it's just rinse and repeat. Next question."
"FuFuFu~"
"What's so funny."
"Break the cycle, Alek~"
"Elaborate."
"Hmm... nyo."
"Screw you."
"I'm hungry Nya..."
"You just ate!"
"Feed me boss Nya!!"
"Screw all of you."
"Ara..."
"W-what did I even do..!?"
"Young man."
"I'm going I'm going..." I start to speed up before catching up to Kitsuki after she yelled out to me like she's my grandmother or something. "So possessive..."
"No more of that." She scolds me in the usual passive aggressive manner as we exit the purple forest before reaching an open clearing. "Now look up there." She points forward to what I presume to be the Kingdom of Fortuna. Well, I'm sure it is at least, there's a giant wall just like any other Kingdom, and I can see the castle's top peeking up into the gray sky, along with something bright above it.
"So that's it then?" We ride ever so closer to the wall on our freak horses. And I can feel the cold autumn air scraping against my face. It might just be me, but it feels way colder than the last autumn. More colder than the last winter even, but that might be a stretch. I'm also reminded on just how red the last winter was. Kitsuki had the habit of checking up on me every morning each time she would find a valley of red snow out on the outskirts of the Hollow.
I couldn't convince her it wasn't because of me though, hence her checking up on me like she's trying to catch me doing something scandalous.
"That would be correct, the Dream King's territory is just over those walls." We stop, and she looks up at the silver gilded bricks plastered onto the gray wall. "Or perhaps I should say the Dream princess? Hmm..."
"What kind of person is she?" I get off my black horse, then it de-manifests into a black sludge that gets absorbed into the small bone whistle in my hand before I put it away.
"She is...hmm.." She starts to think to herself as she gets off her own black horse, then puts her own bone whistle away as it also de-manifests. "You will see when you meet her." She then looks over to me, giving me a small nod.
"Sigh... yeah yeah..." I walk up to the fancy wall before I suddenly start to run up along it, almost slipping and falling off it. "..C-crap..!"
"Careful now~"
"You're so sloppy master..."
"Quiet...! I haven't done this in a while so I'm a little rusty..!" I eventually reach the very top, then I look down at Kitsuki still at the very bottom, giving her a thumbs up.
She then TOSSES her long sheathed katana up at me, expecting me to catch it as it travels at a ridiculous velocity, which I am very surprised I managed to time my grab onto it perfectly. Maybe 'Training' with her wasn't the waste of time I thought it was.
Maybe.
*Shing* She instantly appears where it landed, her hand on its hilt as she looks up at me still grabbing the other end of it while she's dangling on the side of the wall. "Well done, thank you, young Alek."
"Sure." I raise up her sheathed katana as she is still holding onto the hilt before I toss it behind me, then I turn around and watch as she flips up in the air before landing down onto the wall, putting her katana away. "Hmm... Fortuna seems a bit... empty than I remember." She walks by the edge and looks below.
I walk up next to her and look down at the Kingdom of Fortuna.
I'm actually surprised on just how different it looks compared to the other three Kingdoms I've been in.
This Kingdom looks like it was all constructed and modeled after a British city. Mixing goth, medieval, and the elegance of old 1930's architecture. What sets this Kingdom apart from Ragnav or even Azula are the fancy roofs on the already fancy tall buildings.
But that isn't what really makes this Kingdom unique.
"Are those projections?" I look at the bright 'Screens' glued to the sides of the many tall buildings. It's like looking at a city that is just covered with all those bright and flashy ads from every angle you look. Except these are transparent and very bright even in the gloomy daylight. And some of them are flashing repeatedly with cracks on them.
"Your assumption is correct, youngling. Just like the Rune of Conjuring, the Rune of Dreams allows mental images to be brought into physical reality. However, unlike the projections of the Rune of Conjuring, the ones the Rune of Dreams project cannot be physically touched." She crosses her arms as we continue looking at the weird symbols and pictures on the bright projections. "Is this really your first time gazing at something so bright, young Alek?"
"Well yeah." It's actually my first time witnessing this world's idea of intrusive advertising. There's a lot of weird pictures on the projections, and I suddenly spot one that stands out among them. "What does that one say?" I point to the biggest projection emitting from the top of what I presume to be Fortuna castle.
"At, that one says 'Make your dreams a reality.' Can you not read, young man?" She turns to look at me, a small mocking smile forming on her lips as she stares at me with her obscured eyes.
"It's not that... never mind." I forgot to point out the flashy, cutesy symbols and pictures hovering all around the big projection. It's giving off nostalgic vaporwave vibes with the way the pastel colors pop out of the words as the 'Make your dreams a reality' text rotates around and around slowly. "What does that even mean?"
"Never mind that for now. It appears this Kingdom has already been through quite the ruin, however it is far too early to say we are far too late." She looks down at the empty streets, over the many vacant carriages, and the windows of the many buildings boarded up like a zombie apocalypse took place.
"Why is there glitter everywhere though?" I wipe off the many confetti and glitter particles flying through the air and catching onto my hair. "Did they have a party or something?" I can see some balloons traveling across the air and streets too. It's like they had their own day of the sword or something.
"Hmm..." Kitsuki looks over at the projections displaying what look like knight symbols, as well as the picture of a smiley winking young girl with a hime cut displayed on some of the other cracked projections. "It seems this Kingdom celebrated a breakthrough." She starts to walk along the wall. "We must make haste and find Kuroime."
"Who the hell."
"The princess of dreams." She hops onto a roof, then onto another as she starts approaching the castle with the giant dreamy words above it.
"So, what are your thoughts so far, Alek?"
"Huh? Oh, well it's hard to say. I just got here."
"Hmm.. just got here, hm?"
"Well yeah that's what I said."
"And how do you feel?"
"I'm alright." I jump onto a rooftop and begin trying to catch up to Kitsuki as she moves from roof to roof quickly. "You've been pretty curious today huh."
"I see... It's nice to see you so calm and collected. I would have expected you to be tired of it all by now~"
"I told you I just got here. Isn't it too early to make any type of conclusion right now?"
"FuFu~ Yes yes, you just got here after all..."
"Weirdo." I land onto the roof Kitskuki is standing on, then walk up to her as she is looking up at the dark gray and pink castle.
"Strange...I do not sense her presence." She palms her chin, thinking to herself, before she looks over to me and giving a small nod.
"..Right, right." Dysma's ring form becomes the black talon knife, before its hilt gets wrapped by Astal's thin chain form. "I don't see why we just don't get up there at the same time..."
"Because, young Alek. Is it not more efficient to work together?" She watches me charge up my throw. "It is also wise to make certain you remain on your toes at all times. And what better way than to make sure you still hold onto the grasp of teamwork?"
"I get it I get it, you don't have to get so wise with me again..." I toss Dysma upwards and watch her stick onto the side of the balcony just before the pointy castle tip, then I grapple myself up towards her in a rapid instant.
*Shing* Kitsuki appears below me after I catch her katana again, her legs dangling as she is holding onto its hilt.
I once again raise her katana and toss it upwards and watch as she flips up before landing onto the balcony, then offering me her hand.
"Alright." I take her hand as I lift myself up and step onto the balcony. "It's kinda nice up here." The gloomy air hits against my face as I look down at the empty streets and onto the many bright projections sprawled across the tall structures all around us. "Whoops." I nearly knocked over a vase with pretty plants.
"Careful now. If you break something, it will be all on you when Kuroime finds out." Kitsuki walks up to the double doors before stopping. "Hm, locked."
"Oh well, let's go find an open window or something."
"Unneeded." She sheathes her spare katana.
"What do you mea- Oh, right." A square opening got sliced at the center of the double doors after I blinked once.
"After you." She steps to the side and motions for me to enter.
"How generous of you." I lower myself slightly and fit myself through the opening before stepping inside the dimly lit room. "Pardon the intrusion..."
"Young man, who are you talking to?" Kitsuki steps in right after me before walking into the center of the room.
"I thought she'd be in here. Do you sense her yet?"
"Hm..." Her tall ears wiggle once, then she starts to slowly pace around the room, as if looking for something.
"I don't think we'll find what you're looking for through this dimly lit room."
"Which is why I am on the search for a lamp, assist me in that matter." She continues running her hands along the walls and the barely visible wooden furniture
"Aye aye." I step further into the room till I reach a particularly darkened corner and reach out my hand. *Tick* *CRASH!* I see Kitsku turn her head to look at me the very instant the sound of ceramic-like shattering echoes through the dark room. "Oops."
"You have done it this time." She crosses her arms and shakes her head as the faint sunlight through the square opening outlines her slightly.
"Well excuse me for having my vision blurred by darkness." I turn around and reach out my hand again before I feel glass-like material. "Aha!" I run my fingers along it before flicking a switch.
*Tick*
The room instantly lights up, revealing very girlish pink walls, fancy furniture, and a young girl with long dark purple hair with violet streaks standing right in front of me, holding up a very large zweihander sword. "..Hey."
"HYANHHHH..!! BURGRLAR..!" She suddenly thrusts her giant sword down towards me with a terrified blushed look. > <;
*Ting* "It is good to see you again, Kuroime." Kitsuki appeared in front of me after I blinked, her arm raised and her index finger pressed on the underside of the stupidly long sword. "Is this any way to treat your new guest?"
"Huh! Kitsune-chan...?" She looks up at us from under her hime cut bangs.
"Wait I thought your name was Kitsuki..."
"Welll she goes by many names, since she's a nameless swordmaster after all.. Kyuhyu~" The young girl giggles, still holding onto the zweihander sword, before she looks back over at me as her terrified blushed look returns. "..Wait no! Who are you..?!"
"He is my new apprentice." Kitsuki pulls her finger back and crosses her arms. "Be nice to him, he may be awkward at first but he means well."
"Dude."
"I jest, young Alek." She gives me a small smirk the same way she does when she wants to piss me off without actually pissing me off in the way only she knows how to do.
"Whaaaa..??" This Kuroime girl's face goes into one of pure curiosity and wonder as she drops her stupidly long sword onto the fuzzy pink carpet and taking a step back in a surprised fashion. "I thought you weren't taking any more apprentices after you decided that Waxwell guy was fit to carve his own path!" She places her hands on her hips, looking at both of us with a puzzled look.
"Maxwell?"
"You've met him, young man?" Kitsuki looks over to me as I kick the zweihander away from me on the pink carpet.
"I have, he's a sweetheart."
"Hah?" Kuroime raises her eyebrows at me with an unamused expression. "Are we talking about the same guy here? He's the opposite of that... he's a nincompoop!"
"Well yeah but he isn't a bad person is what I'm getting at." I look at Kuroime and onto her loose striped top, the black shorts she's wearing, and down at her cotton pink socks. "Uh... how long have you been in here..."
"Y...you..!" She recoils backwards, hugging herself with her arms as if she is defending herself from a late-night street offender weirdo. "...How do you know.."
"..Don't ask me that." I know exactly how to tell when someone hasn't left their house in weeks or even months. The loose short shirt, her disheveled hair with many hair strands poking out of her scalp, the very short shorts clinging to her legs, and of course... the dark rings around her eyes.
"...You." She takes another step back, narrowing her twilight purple eyes at me like she's spotted a crazed lecher.
"How long indeed, Kuroime." Kitsuki also gives her a skeptic look, palming her chin in curiosity. "It must have been at least a couple of days, correct?"
"W-w-well..." Kuroime starts to fidget with her fingers, rubbing onto the end of her loose top as she shoots her gaze along the knight posters on her wall, and then onto the many small kawaii-styled trinkets sitting atop her furniture that seem to be silver plated animals of various kinds. "Err..um.."
"More than six months, huh."
" ! " She suddenly reaches behind her, before picking up one of her hundreds of stuffed plush animals resting on her large pink bed." SHADDAP...!!!" She then throws a pink fuzzy octopus right at my face.
* B W O N K *
"C-chill.. don't do that!" I rub on my forehead as the pink squishy octopus falls down onto the pink carpet after striking me in the face. "There's no need for violence..."
"Sniff-Sniff..." She continues staring at me with angered and embarrassed teary eyes, pouting as she is holding two other fuzzy plushmallows against her flat chest.
"It is nice to see you two getting along so greatly." Kitsuki nods to herself, arms crossed. "I thought she would have scared you away like she did with the many marriage candidat-"
*SHING* *SHING* Kitsuki sheathes her spare katana after she just got done slicing the two plush animals that got thrown at her in half and spreading their fuzzy stuffings all over the carpet.
"..No!" Kuroime lunges forward and drops to her knees against the carpet, scooping up her two dead friends. "Mr. Volibeaver... Detective Ned Bear..." She clutches their halves and their stuffing against her flat chest before looking up with a teary flushed face. "Noo..!!"
"There is no need for violence, cease any further antics before the rest of your loved ones meet their end here and now." Kitsuki looks down at her with her arms crossed.
"Ghh!" She looks up at her with defiance. "I will never forget this, Kitsune-senpai..." She narrows her eyes with venom.
"I thought it was chan..."
"SHUT IT.. YOU!"
* B W O N K * She just threw her dead friend remains at my face.
"Now, Kuroime, onto the matter of the state of Fortuna." Kitsuki uncrosses her arms, her small smirk fading into a thin line.
Kuroime's expression also morphs into a serious one, before dusting off her flat chest from stuffing, then standing up. "It all happened so quick. The very moment it was taken... Everything fell apart." She looks out the large window to her right, and onto the gloomy gray clouds blocking the sunlight. "I didn't mean for it to all turn this way... I just wanted to bring extra precaution to my Kingdom."
"What are you saying? Was it all your doing?" Kitsuki looks at her, studying her face.
"Hm..." Kuroime continues looking out the window with a melancholic look, before turning her gaze back to me and Kitsuki. "...Maybe!" She walks over and sits on her pink bed. "I was just executing my un-penetrable plan! Until those stupidfaces showed up..!!" She starts to clench her fists with a pout on her lips.
"...I fail to follow." Kitsuki walks over to the dresser next to the pink wall before leaning against it. "So you know who took the Rune of Dreams then?"
"I sure do!" Kuroime clenches her fists tighter, her pout growing in intensity.
"Wait so how did they even take it from you? Doesn't a Rune bind to a soul?" I rub on my head, but then I start scratching it in confusion as I watch both of them look over to me.
"It is true a mortal can claim ownership over a Rune's power once they have absorbed it into their soul." Kitsuki picks up a tiny silver piggy bank from atop the dresser. "Once a mortal has secured a Rune..." She picks up a platinum coin resting on the dresser, before bringing it over by the thin opening atop the small piggy bank. "They can then choose to absorb it into their souls, should they want to unleash its full power." She slides and inserts the platinum coin inside the piggy bank. "However... there is a high and likely chance that a Rune will reject a mortal's soul, as mortals are never meant to absorb such power onto their fragile mortal vessel." *CRACK!* The small piggy bank shatters after she clutched her hand, dropping the platinum coin onto the carpet with a THUD. "However." She looks over to me as I'm just staring back at her trying my absolute hardest to follow through everything she's dumping on me. "One can allow a Rune to bind to an item, such as a sword, or perhaps a catalyst, in order to draw out a fraction of its power and allow them to harness it without the risk of imploding from within."
"Uhhhhhh...."
"And in my case... it was my grimoire that my grandmother gifted to me on my tenth birthday!" Kuroime suddenly looks over to the broken ceramic fragments laying across the pink carpet, and then onto what looks like spread ashes. "GAH! GRANDMA...?!"
"Woops."
"Kuroime chose to bind the Rune of Dreams onto her grimoire, and that is how it was able to be taken from her. Is my assessment correct, young Kuroime?" Kitsuki looks down at Kuroime kneeling on the carpet and gathering her grandma's ashes onto her hands.
"Wa?" She looks over her shoulder before standing up and dumping the ashes onto a giftbox on her wooden desk. "Y-yeah..." She dusts off her hands, then looks over to me as I am making myself comfortable on her bed. "Soo.. do you get it?"
"Yeah I get it." No not really, but I don't feel like asking for a potential bigger explanation, so I'll deploy a strategic thumbs up for now.
"But what exactly happened? I find it hard to believe that the Rune of Dreams getting taken was enough for Fortuna to fall into the vacant state it is currently in." Kitsuki palms her chin in contemplation.
"Wellll..." Kuroime looks out at the window again, watching the glitter particles floating through the air as the faint shine from the distant projections reflect off her twilight eyes. "Here just follow me, it will be a little easier to explain that way..." She walks by her closet and slips into a pair of fuzzy blue flipflops. "C'mon." She then walks across the room then opens the door that leads out, before she steps out into a dimly lit hallway.
"Do you believe her to be someone to get along well with, young Alek?" Kitsuki glances over at me as I'm fluffing a very squishy and soft pufferfish plush.
"Hmm..." I toss the plush back towards the front of her bed before standing up and looking at her. "She hasn't tried killing me so that's a plus." I walk towards the doorway before looking over at the zweihander sword still flopped onto the fuzzy carpet. "...On second thought..."
"Make haste, young man." Kitsuki starts pushing me out of the room and into the hall, and Kuroime is already standing on the right of the doorway before she closes the door shut, then giving me a side glance.
"I saw the way you handled Doctor Puff..." She narrows her eyes at me with hostility, before moving away from the doorway and leading us down the dim hallway. "Recently, I started to look for ways on reinforcing my Kingdom's defenses." She walks forward, the sound of her fluffy flipflops echoes across the dim halls as the faint light from the large windows shines onto her dark purple hair.
"And why would you decide to put in the effort for something unneeded? Is the Mysterial barrier the first King of Fortuna created not enough to set your young nerves at ease?" Kitsuki questions as we walk side by side, following behind Kuroime as the sound of Kitsuki's combat heeled boots clacks against the smooth polished floors.
"Yeahh it's pretty much true extra precautions were probably not needed..." We walk down a long set of stairs before reaching the large entrance hall, the huge chandelier hanging above us not even lit up. "...But, after learning what happened to the King of the Ragnav Kingdom... I wondered if this 'Mr. Denmark' could somehow infiltrate Fortuna..." She looks over her shoulder, giving an awkward smile. "...Annd I got kinda paranoid..."
"What?" Kitsuki stops walking, causing me and Kuroime to look over at each other as we wonder why in heck we stopped walking. "What do you mean? What happened to the King of Ragnav?"
Kuroime looks over at me, giving me the look that says 'Does she really not know? Why didn't you tell her you dumbass idiot moron jerkwad stupidface looking meathead?' Then she looks back at Kitsuki as she folds her arms over her flat chest. "Oh, right, you're constantly traveling far from civilizations like a wandering hobo, so it makes sense you're out of the loop." Kuroime pauses, her hands on her hips, studying Kitsuki's expression and wondering if she really doesn't know, before continuing. "King Ragnav was assassinated, and the culprit is believed to be a man that goes by 'Mr. Denmark."
"Pft... Come again? 'Mr. Denmark'?" Kitsuki scoffs, something she rarely ever does. "That is the most barbaric thing I have heard for the past decade."
"Damn." These people just don't know what makes a good name. It's short, simple, and it packs a punch.
"..Yeah, well, King Ragnav was murdered by him... as loudish as the name is.. Kyuhyu~" Kuroime looks away as she breaks into a small giggle, before regaining her focus. "He's actually been dead for a year, did you really not know?"
"Wait, how'd you even find out? Haven't you been locked in your room for the past couple months?" I'm wondering how she could ever learn of any outside world events, what with her being a shut-in within a Kingdom locked to the outside world and all. Something just isn't adding up.
"..S-SHADDAP..!" Kuroime took off one of her fuzzy flipflops and is now holding it up in the air at me threateningly. "..I-I'll have you know I've been holing myself up in the CASTLE and not just in my room..!" She throws in that last part with a sweaty and smug smile, almost like she's trying to make her shut-in status sound less shut-in.
"He does make a valid point. Are you certain you are not just imagining things as a result of self-isolation?" Kitsuki palms her chin in curiosity.
"..I-I'm not crazy..!!" Kuroime drops her flip flop back onto the floor before shimming her foot back into it. "Look, it's true those that belong in Fortuna aren't allowed to step outside the barrier, and that's why I had to improvise! Which is why I created a familiar able to bypass the barrier so I can see through its eyes~" She tuns back around and resumes leading us to wherever she's trying to take us. "Ever since having the Rune of Dreams passed on to me, I've been experimenting with it and trying to see what it's capable of... and the results will shock you!"
"Suddenly I don't feel like wanting to know." The various spammy intrusive advertisement projections are starting to make more and more sense.
"J-just shut up and follow..." Kuroime eventually leads us to a set of double doors, before pushing them open and revealing a very big library. "..In here. A-and try not to... look too much through the books..." She motions for us to follow her in, then she shuts the double doors behind us.
"Whoa what book is this." I pick up a small book with a pink cover resting on one of the long wooden tables, before opening it and looking at the pretty drawings that... look strangely similar to a manga. "..Where the heck did you get this.." I look at the various panels and instantly notice one of the character's features is very identical to Kuroime's.
*SNATCH!* Kuroime INSTANTLY snatched the book from my hands, then hides it behind her back as she looks at me with a flushed angered look. "...D-did you see.."
"See what?" She gives me skeptic flushed look. "And what even is that..?"
"I-it's just a stupid r-romance book, forget you even saw it!" She tosses it behind her and into a mountain pile of books with similar covers.
Kitsuki's long ear twitches, then she shoots us her gaze. "Romance book? Where?" She notices me looking at her, then she turns away. Ahem... forget it."
"Now then.. new ground rule... No more picking things up that aren't yours, o-ok?" Kuroime then notices me pick up a piece of paper I pulled out from one of the shelves. "W-WHAT ARE YOU-"
"Who the heck is Frank Requiem?" I scan over the piece of paper that looks like it withstood the test of time. Something about this scrap of paper just tells me not to ruin it in any way or it'll have its ancient collectible rating ruined.
"O-oh.." Kuroime walks over to me and leans down to look at the scrap of paper with me. "I found that in a pile of ruins near a graveyard out in the central plains, it looked like a good read so I had my owl familiar bring it back to me."
"Do you not know who Frank Requiem is, young man?" Kitsuki also walks over to us, and she also starts to scan the page. "It is someone rather famous, almost the entire continent knows that name."
I set the scrap of paper down onto the wooden table. "Doesn't ring any bells... Wait, Requiem?"
"Ah, I can see you at least recognize that word. So it is fair to assume you know of the star that struck the land thousands of years ago then."
"I guess so." I look down at the paper and start to notice the shining dark purple ink on it, I don't think I've ever seen this kind of ink color in this world till now.
"Frank Requiem was the first and only mortal to research the fallen star." Kitsuki crosses her arms, looking out the large window in the center end of the library. "He has written multiple logs detailing his findings, and it is how the star got its name. Unfortunately most of his logs have been lost, or became too difficult to read."
"How do you not know?" Kuroime looks at me, raising her eyebrows like she's looking at a clueless child. "Have you been living under a rock within the dark seas?"
"I'll tell you if you tell me where you got this." I pick up another book that strangely resembles a manga. It still surprises me that I found something like this in this world. I am just baffled.
Definitely not because I want to know where to get more.
"G-give me that..." She snatches it away from me, hiding it behind her back. "..I told you not to touch what isn't yours..."
"Ah, these types of books do have their charm to them." Kitsuki is already rapidly flipping through one of them, her blindfold hiked up as the spirals in her golden eyes scan the pages.
"S-s-stop..!!!" Kuroime attempts to snatch it away from her, but she is no match for Kitsuki's lightning flash reflexes.
"Ah, it seems they have sealed the deal... how lovely." Kitsuki closes the book as she is sitting atop a tall bookshelf.
"Hrngrngrng...!! FINE." Kuroime crosses her arms and looks away. "I-I wrote them! Happy..!?"
"YOU wrote them?"
"Is that so surprising..!? Of course I wrote them!" She continues looking away, her hands balled into fists as she shakes from either embarrassment or anger.
"They are very well written, I wonder how you get the inspiration for it all." Kitsuki crosses her legs, still sitting atop the dangerously tall bookshelf and flipping through another small book, before she hops off it.
"W-well, when I still had the Rune of Dreams, I would often visit other people's dreams and... gaze at their hopes, motivations, and their reminiscences..." She pauses briefly. "And sometimes I would wonder... why is everything so unfair..."
"Hmm... so that's how you've been keeping yourself busy all these months.." I look at the mountain pile of books again.
" !! " Kuroime is now threatening to bash my skull in with a very large book in her hand.
"We have idled enough, it is about time we get to the matter at hand." Kitsuki crosses her hands, then looks over her shoulder as I am hiding behind her.
"Ko~huhn..." Kuroime lets out a fake cough, then motions for us to follow her, again. "During the moments I had the Rune of Dreams, I have been experimenting with its ability to grant sentience to any object that at least resembles a living being." We reach a section at the back of the library that looks like a lab for bookworm nerds. There are various diagrams on the walls, sketches that resemble knights, and knight helmets the size of a watermelon laying against the tables. "Eventually, I came to the idea... What if I created something very big and strong too huge for a human to equip... and grant it sentience, along with a goal.. the goal to protect Fortuna.."
"So you mean..."
"Yes..." She reaches into the pocket of her black short shorts and pulls out a pair of thin glasses, before putting them on. "I decided on using the pile of adamant that hasn't even been used since the first King of Fortuna discovered it deep in the undergrounds, because... Because why not!" She stands in front of a board with a large knight drawing, then delivers a SMACK on it as she places her hand onto it. "Behold... my genius INVENTION." She steps aside and points to the drawing.
"Hmm.."
"Mhm..mhm.."
Kitsuki and I silently inspect it, before Kitsuki speaks up. "I fail to follow."
"Ghh..!" Kuroime flinches, then she adjusts her glasses as they give a single shine. "Ko~huhn... I basically constructed large knight armor using adamant!" She starts to slowly pace around. "Adamant is super strong compared to your traditional metal, but it is very heavy and difficult to use, soo I created living adamant armor so they can muster some strength for Fortuna~" She winks and shoots us a thumbs up.
"Hmm.. and where are these living armors? I have not seen a single one." Kitsuki speaks up sternly.
"Or another person."
"Well..." Kuroime stops pacing around, before pulling up a chair and sitting on it, then raising her knees and curling herself up. "Everything went wrong after the Rune of Dreams was stolen. The adamant knights went rouge and began killing people... my people." She looks up from her curled position and onto the large windows as the glitter particles pass by and stick onto them. "After a lot of trial and error, I wanted to celebrate such a huge accomplishment... On the day of the celebration, I had brough out the army of adamant knights. I wanted to show my people that even as their young protector, after the death of my..." She pauses briefly. "I wanted to show them I still had fight in me. I wanted to show them I longed for a brighter future with no more casualties as much as them... But instead... I brought destruction and tragedies..." She takes off her glasses and sets them down onto the table next to a large shiny knight helmet.
Kitsuki and I look at each other, unsure of what to say, before Kitsuki walks up to her and places her palm on her shoulder. "Who took it from you." I can see her grip on Kuroime's shoulder tighten slightly.
"On the day everything fell apart... as I was in front of practically the entire crowd of Fortuna presenting our new protectors, a swarm of cloaked people dropped around the stage..." Kuroime picks her glasses back up and walks in front of the board. "They sort of.. looked like this?" She starts doodling on the board until she draws what looks like a person in a black uniform wearing a cloak, and of course... "And they had this black tag around their right arms with a weird eye symbol on it."
"I have not seen that symbol before..." Kitsuki walks up to the board and inspects the separate doodle depicting an eye with a mural etched onto it. "And? Who is responsible for taking the Rune of Dreams?"
Kuroime starts to draw on the board again, until what looks like a gray knight with horns on its masked helmet, rows of spikes on its shoulders, and more spikes around its forearms gets revealed. "This person... or thing... I couldn't tell if there was someone inside of this large suit of armor. At first I thought it was one of my adamant knights, but its design seemed too.. edgy for me! But, this thing cornered me... until this other person... Grrr.. just remembering his face makes me so angry!" She starts drawing with shaky hands, almost like an angry child coloring on their coloring book after getting denied a new toy. Then a doodle of a person I know all too well gets plastered onto the shiny white surface. "This.. jerk.. He swooped in from behind and took my grimoire!" She gives a loud SMACK onto the board as she places her hand on the drawing, then releasing her hand from the doodle of a lanky dude with a bowl cut and glasses. "I don't know how they discovered Fortuna, or how they even broke through the barrier, but I want this tinkhead OBLITERATED!" She taps on the drawing of the lanky dude over and over.
"I see. And where are they now?" Kitsuki looks at the now goofy ruined doodle after Kuroime spread the ink everywhere after repeatedly slapping it with her hand.
"They should still be within the barrier." Kuroime takes off her glasses and starts cleaning the lenses with her shirt, exposing her toned flat belly. "The adamant knights are still active, that pretty much confirms the Rune of Dreams is still within the area. The knights need to be within a certain distance to keep their sentience."
"Very well." Kitsuki picks up her spare katana leaning against a table before turning to face me. "Young man, be a good young man and- Where are you going?"
"I'm gonna go find the Rune of Dreams, that's why we're here right?" I look over my shoulder and onto both of them looking at me.
"Well, yes, but.." Kitsuki stares at me, her eyes obscured, studying me silently, then she sets her katana back down and pulls up a chair. "As you wish. Then I shall remain here in your stead and watch after the princess."
"Thanks." I turn away and start walking off. "I'm not sure I'm fit for babysitting."
"HEY I HEARD THAT..!!" Kuroime yelling from behind me is the last thing I hear before I walk out the double library doors.
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"Hrngg..!!" Kuroime balls her fists in embarrassed anger, before dropping her marker and leaning against the table, arms crossed. "He's such a plonker head..."
"Perhaps. Although unusual is what I would use to describe his...mannerism." Kitsuki crosses her leg over the other, folding her hands on her lap.
"Will he even be ok on his own? I don't think I sensed any mana... or even a single weapon on him. And he definitely doesn't have the attitude of a seasoned warrior..." She pulls up a chair, sliding her bare feet off her flipflops and sitting down, rolling a quill around the table. "Although... it seemed like just being near him was like standing next to ten of you..." She looks over to Kitsuki next to her. "..Maybe even more."
"And that is why I trust his judgement." Kitsuki watches Kuroime roll around the quill against the table with her finger. "Though we have only known each other for less than a year, our time together has been one of pure elation. Of the four pupils I have trained under my wing along my lifetime, he has to be the one I hold the greatest of expectations. It is something that baffles even me. Though he continues to deny the conviction I so clearly see in him... He can be quite the silly young man."
"Hmm..." Kuroime thinks out loud, kicking her feet around. "You've only known him for less than a year? That's kind of shocking..." She stops rolling the quill against her finger, then turns to look at Kitsuki. "Soo... have you told him you hold a fragment?"
Kitsuki looks out the window and onto the setting sun, in brief silence. "Perhaps in due time."
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Fr#nk R#qui#m's Log #1
#eb#ua#y 1#, ##2 #,#
The ti#e has com#. Now t##t I ha#e a#qu#red one of t#e six piec#s, I am n#w #ble to #eg#n #o#ument#ng my fi#dings w#th t#e star th#t #ell fro# beyond the h##v##s.
T#e st#r appr#ac#ed fr#m seemingly nowh#r#, or at t#e l#ast, fr#m beyo#d t#e stars far fr#m the re#ch of any m#rtal or h#av#nly bei#g.
I h#ve re#uest#d t#e co#labo#ati#n fr#m ea#h of t#e fi#e Kin#s in hop#s of brin#i#g per#aps a str#ng #nd vi#ble f#t#re f#r the#r Ki#gd##s. #owever, t#ey s#owed lit#le to n# intere#t, as t#ey ma#e it ab#ndantly cle#r t#at est#blis#ing order to the#r Kin#d#ms c#me fir#t and a#ove all. De#pite my atte#pts on c#nvinci#g th#m th#t wit# en#ugh r#s#arch, the p#wer of t#e six fr#gm#nts co#ld ve#y muc# ac#om#lish what#v#r th#y can wis# for a#d b#y#nd, I re#ain al#ne a#ong #ith my on#y al#y
S#e intr#duc#d h#rse#f as t#e ##### of Sor#ow, and s#e poss#sse#s o#e of t#e six frag#ents as w#ll.
Th#s will pr#ve to #e mon#ment#l in ter#s of pr#gr#ss m#ving f#rw#rd.
H#w#ver, in e#cha#ge for h#r coll#b#rati#n al#ng wit# #er willin#ness to re#eal w#at h#r fra#me#t is c#p#ble of, s#e has de#anded my bl##dline ser#e h#r for g#n#ratio#s to co#e.
It is qu#te t#e pr#ce to p#y, a#d ab#ve all, an uncer#ain o#e.
I am ho#ever confi#ent the pri#e will be w#rth it o#ce enoug# r#s#arch is put i#to the R#ne fr#m B#yo#d the St#rs, as well as w#en t#e rest of the f#ur fr#gm#nts ha#e be#n retri#v#d.
I d# n#t b#li#ve h#r to be an evi# sp#r#ted be#ng, a#d as suc# I have acc#pt#d #er t#rms.
T#e five K#ngd#ms #ave yet to be f#lly c#nstr#cted, a#d t#e un#oly be#sts c#ntin#e to run r#mpant. Wit# t#e power of the six fr#gm#nts, I wi#l set t#e w#rld free.
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