"This is amazing!" Emilia squealed as the hot air balloon rose toward the clouds.
The unnatural darkness around Girali didn 't extend this high and now they were clear of it. The eternal night below them looked like a bubble of darkness far below. The column of purple light that was beaming from the island fired straight through the darkness, and what seemed like a placid beam of light when viewed from the ground, closer to the source looked more like a laser or a cracking bolt of lighting.
"Glad that you're enjoying it," Subaru said weakly. He was having a hard time not looking down at the ground, thousands of feet below.
I never really thought of myself as afraid of heights. Then again, there 's never been nothing but a wicker basket between me and a several thousand-foot plummet to the hard earth before.
Subaru looked down and frowned. "Mili, is it just me or is that beam targeted?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, from the ground the beam seems to be hitting the whole city but from up here…"
Emilia looked down. "You're right, Subaru. The beam is aimed at that weird obelisk but when it hits the dark bubble it… it kind of…"
"Disperses," Subaru said. "The beam hits the shadow and then it disperses so nobody can tell what the target is."
"But why is it targeting the obelisk?"
"No idea!" Subaru said matter-of-factly.
Emilia started to reply and then her face twisted in fear. "Subaru, I think that we're about to hit those clouds!" Emilia said in a worried tone.
Subaru shrugged. "Yeah, well we need to go above the clouds in order to get high enough to reach the island."
At least this way, I won 't be able to see the ground anymore.
"But can the balloon survive crashing into them?" Emilia asked. "How hard are clouds?"
"How… What?!" Subaru asked in disbelief.
"Here they come! Hang on!" Emilia braced herself and closed her eyes as the balloon rose into the cloud bank.
A few seconds later, Emilia opened her eyes and looked around in confusion. Her eyes widened. "Fog," She whispered. "Clouds are made out of fog…"
"Well, yeah," Subaru said awkwardly. "What did you think that they were made of?"
"I don't know. I never really thought about it," She admitted. "Subaru, if the island is over there, how do we get the balloon to move that way?"
"Um. We can't," Subaru shrugged. "This plan requires a certain amount of luck and sadly, the wind isn't blowing us in the right direction up here. We'll need to try it a few times and wait for the wind to be blowing in the direction we need." He paused. "Hey, any chance that you could like… conjure up a wind or something?"
Emilia frowned. "I'm not very good at that," She admitted. "I'm worried that any wind I summoned might shred the balloon."
"Oh. Don't do that then!" Subaru said weakly.
Emilia glanced out across the clouds and her face brightened. "Subaru, look! Nebulae ! " Emilia shouted.
Subaru looked where she was pointing and saw a half dozen tiny points of light that shone blue-green.
"Nebulae?"
"Cloud spirits," Emilia explained. "I've never seen them before."
Subaru squinted at her. "You know about cloud spirits but you don't know what clouds are made of?"
"Be nice, Subaru," Emilia said primly. She frowned. "Oh. That's why they're that color," She murmured to herself. "They're a mix of water and wind magic."
"Is that how it works?" Subaru asked.
Emilia nodded. "It's like how Beatrice's magic is purple because of her focus on Yin magic."
Subaru frowned. "Wait, if those… Nebulae things use wind magic, could you ask them to help us? "
Emilia looked dubious. "I don't know, Subaru. Air spirits tend to be very touchy and capricious. They can fall in love with you and then try to kill you in the same hour."
Subaru started to smile. "I think I have a remedy for that."
Emilia cocked her head. "Subaru, what are you doing-"
"Pridebreaker!" He shouted, extending his will toward a dozen Nebulae that he saw nearby.
The Nebulae shuddered and then swooped over to Subaru, forming a luminous halo around him. Subaru heard faint voices in his mind, proclaiming their everlasting devotion.
Several dozen other points of like trembled and zoomed away from the balloon, vanishing in the distance like comets.
Emilia gave Subaru a guarded look. "Subaru, you really scared them for a moment there…"
"I'm not going to hurt them," Subaru said, feeling offended.
"Why did you do that anyway?" Emilia asked.
Subaru thought hard. "Well… I thought we might try to use some spirit arts," He said.
"What do you mean?" She asked with a frown.
"I can use Pridebreaker to force the spirits to help us! They won't refuse anything we ask. Now all you need to do is ask them to bring us to the island."
Emilia started. "Subaru, I don't know how to do that. And I doubt that these spirits would listen to anything I have to say right now anyway. They seem to be completely fixated on you."
Subaru hesitated. "Well, what would you tell them? "
"I don't know, Subaru! I've never spoken to Nebulae before!"
Subaru made a face. "OK, maybe this wasn't my best plan." He thought for a moment. "Although, I did have some luck getting a spirit to make… waves last night. "
"Waves?"
"Yeah, I got the earth spirit to make waves in the dirt but I couldn't get him to understand how to move a rock," He added glumly. "But it seemed to understand the concept of waves. I bet that I can make these Nebulae generate a wind to blow us over the island!"
Emilia looked uncomfortable. "Subaru, air spirits are extremely temperamental," She warned him.
Subaru shrugged. "Not when they're under the effect of Pridebreaker . They have to do what I say! Hell, they even want to do what I say! "
"Have you… practiced making wind before?" She asked uncertainly.
"No, I was mostly practicing making waves in the dirt," Subaru admitted. "But if I can make a wave in the dirt, I should be able to make a wave in the air."
Emilia stared at him incredulously. "Subaru! That's not at all the same thing! "
Subaru sighed. "Come on, Mili. Have I ever disappointed you before?"
"No, but-"
"Relax," Subaru assured. "This will be easy. I just need a tiny amount of wind to push us over the island. It's not like I'll conjure up a hurricane."
Emilia hesitated. "Well… please be careful, Subaru…"
Subaru concentrated on the spirits and waved his arm, the same way that he 'd made the spirit create waves in the dirt yesterday.
The spirits glowed brighter.
A faint breath of air jostled the balloon but instead of pushing the balloon toward the island, the wind was dispersed and seemed to be blowing in multiple directions at once. The balloon swayed and picked up the tiniest bit of spin.
Within seconds, the balloon stopped swaying and spinning.
Emilia shook her head. "Subaru, a wind isn't just… a wave," She said awkwardly. "I don't know much about wind magic but I know that water and air flow very differently, just like earth and fire do."
"It's OK," Subaru said awkwardly. "I got the air to move, now I just need to… refine the process a little."
"Subaru!" Emilia said intently, "This is not a good place to practice!" She pointed violently down at the earth far below.
Subaru chuckled. "Mili, I barely moved us. I'm not going to be able to conjure enough wind to knock us out of the air."
Emilia hesitated. "Be careful , Subaru, " She urged him finally.
Subaru nodded and concentrated on the spirits who floated there, singing hymns of praise to him.
I kind of like these little guys. They 're a lot less reserved than that earth spirit was. Maybe this is what it feels like to have pets.
Subaru stretched his thought out toward the spirits. "Help us get to the island," He instructed.
Maybe I should just tell them what I want to be done and let them worry about the details.
The spirits ' chants of adoration fell off. Subaru heard a faint murmuring in his mind as if the spirits were discussing the request.
Then a patch of cloud beneath the balloon gathered quickly, boiling up and turning black.
"Subaru!" Emilia shouted.
Subaru held tightly onto her as the patch of black clouds spread out in a line before them. The unnaturally thick and dense clouds stretched out like a road before them, stopping in the distance at the edge of the island.
The pair stared in shock.
"What… What just happened?" Emilia asked.
Subaru gave a nervous laugh. "I… I think that they… made us a road?"
Subaru stared at the stretch of black clouds with misgivings. The murmurings that he was hearing from the spirits implied that they weren 't entirely certain that they had understood what Subaru desired.
"They want us to walk on this?" Emilia gasped.
"Um," Subaru murmured as he reached into his satchel and pulled out a small, copper coin. He held the coin out over the 'road' and dropped it.
The coin fell through the thick cloud like dropping a heavy stone into a snowbank. Subaru watched the coin break through the other side of the cloud cover and keep falling toward the ground far below.
The clouds immediately resealed the hole.
"Alright," Subaru grumbled. "I guess that's a no-go."
Emilia shook her head. "The spirits probably don't realize that we can't fly."
"I thought that spirits were supposed to be wise!" Subaru objected.
Emilia cocked her head. "Who told you that?"
Subaru shrugged. "Well, I mean I've seen you ask them things lots of times! Like when we were searching for Felt in the capitol."
Emilia 's eyes widened and then she nodded slowly. "Yes, but that probably doesn't mean what you think. Lesser spirits know a great deal about the world around them but they can't apply the information themselves. When we were searching for my insignia in the slums, it was easy to ask the spirits if they'd seen Felt. I could show them what she looked like and they were easily able to recognize her. But if you think back on it, they weren't able to tell us where she was or where she lived even though she wasn't far away and lived in that neighborhood. That's because they didn't understand those concepts."
Subaru frowned, mulling that over.
"Lesser spirits like these are extremely simplistic creatures," Emilia continued. "Most have a life expectancy lasting only days. They live in a world of first impressions and sensations. They flit from idea to idea without purpose or pattern."
Subaru frowned. "They sound kind of like babies," Subaru said.
Emilia nodded. "They are. They can wield great magic if you can persuade them to help you but lesser spirits like these can only apply magic in very direct and brute-force kind of ways. Anything more complicated than that is beyond them."
Subaru frowned. "Now that you mention it, these spirits feel a lot more… well, basic than the ones that Julius and the Acolyte Knights had. "
Emilia nodded. "You don't make contracts with lesser spirits. They wouldn't understand the concept anyway. Julius's spirits are all quasi spirits. "
Subaru sighed. "And the difference would be?"
Emilia thought for a moment. "So… lesser spirits only exist for a few days and don't really have anything you could call an identity or a personality. In other words, all of these Nebulae act and behave identically because they have nothing resembling an identity. "
"Alright," Subaru said slowly. "Mind explaining that?"
Emilia folded her arms across her chest and thought hard. "Lesser spirits are created by the Od Lagunca, the World Soul. They're… fragments of the World Soul that drift away from it in the same way as a lake can produce mist on a chilly morning. The mist lasts for a while but then all the drops of water fall back into the lake and they cease to be an individual drop of water. They're just… part of the lake again."
Subaru digested that. It 's a weird concept but I think that I kind of understand what she means.
"What happens if a 'drop' decides that it doesn't want to disappear into the lake again?" He asked.
Emilia shrugged. "For a spirit to make that kind of decision, to decide that it didn't want to be reabsorbed and destroyed, that would mean that it had acquired will and personality, gained sentience and self-direction. In other words, it had become a quasi spirit."
"So that means that they've created an identity for themselves," Subaru asked.
Emilia nodded. "Quasi spirits don't re-merge with the Od Laguna unless they're destroyed. They have memories and personalities. They can make contracts with people that they like and they can apply the power of magic in more complex ways."
Subaru mulled that over. "So how do spirits like Puck and Beatrice fit into this?"
"Puck and Beatrice are greater spirits," Emilia explained. "Given enough time, quasi spirits can acquire sufficient life experience to start acting like people." She paused. "Beatrice did tell me that she and Puck were artificially created though," She added.
"And there can only be six people-like spirits in the world at a time?" Subaru asked somberly.
Emilia blinked. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, Puck is supposed to be 'the Great Spirit of Fire' and Beako is 'the Great Spirit of Yin' so I figured-"
"No, no, no," Emilia shook her head. "Subaru, you're all mixed up! A greater spirit is just a spirit that has developed human-like traits. There are hundreds if not thousands of spirits like that all over the world. 'The Great Spirit of the Element' is just a title, something given to the spirit that people think is the most powerful spirit of a given element or to whatever spirit defeated the last one in combat. The terms have nothing to do with each other."
Subaru frowned. "Well gee, that's not at all confusing, " He grumbled.
Emilia sighed. "All 'Great Spirits of the Element' are greater spirits but not all greater spirits hold the title of 'Great Spirit.' Does that help?"
Subaru made a face. "I guess so," He said uncertainly. "Mili, this has all been really interesting but how do we use the spirits to get us to the island?"
Emilia looked awkward. "I don't know. I've tried talking to those Nebulae but it 's like they don't see me or hear me. They're acting like you're the only thing of value in the entire world! It's just like when we used to go to those receptions in the capitol and all the nobles ignored me to talk to you," She said sullenly.
Subaru winced. "Let's… not think about that right now," He said. "So how do I get the spirits to make a breeze? I mean, all we need is a little push but when I tell them to do that, the wind feels like it disperses in all directions."
Emilia frowned and thought it over. "Puck always told me that air was a very… divergent element."
"Divergent?"
"It… it tends to break off in different directions," Emilia explained. "If you use magic to throw a stone or an icicle, it tends to keep going in the same direction. Even water tends to follow the same course once you set it. But the air isn't like that. You can try to push the air in one direction but it's likely to spill out in all directions. Ariels and other wind spirits are very easily distracted and they struggle to focus on a single task for very long."
Subaru snorted. "Perfect! I'm trying to work with an element that has ADD! Maybe I should offer these spirits some Adderall!"
Emilia blinked. "Some… What?" Emilia asked.
Subaru sighed. "Never mind."
"Puck never taught me much about wind magic," Emilia admitted. "But with magic, a good rule of thumb is to try to adapt to how the element naturally behaves."
"But… wind does blow in a straight line," Subaru objected.
Emilia shrugged. "I really don't know, Subaru. Maybe we should just give up and land. Then we can try to approach the island from the other side."
Subaru made a face. "Let me try one more thing," He said.
Emilia looked uncomfortable. "Be very careful, Subaru, " She warned.
Subaru nodded. Move like wind … He thought.
Subaru began to move his hand in a circular motion like he was stirring a bowl.
Subaru sensed that he had the spirits ' attention but so far they hadn't done anything.
Come on, follow along, Subaru coaxed.
Slowly, the Nebulae began to spin in time with Subaru 's hand and so did the air beneath the balloon.
Emilia grabbed the sides of the balloon tightly. "Subaru," Emilia warned.
The wind intensified, forming beneath them a dust devil or a tiny tornado and the balloon felt as if it was being lifted up and carried along by the wind.
The island grew larger in the distance.
"You did it!" Emilia shouted.
Nice work! Subaru praised the spirits. Keep it up!
Subaru sensed the Nebulae almost swoon with delight at his praise as the balloon raced toward the island.
In less than a minute, they were almost over the island when Subaru sensed something scatter the Nebulae 's thoughts.
A second dust devil emerged in the air not far from the balloon, then a third and a fourth.
The winds all tore at the balloon and set the basket to swinging.
"Subaru! What are you doing?!" Emilia screamed, slamming into the side of the basket and desperately trying to hold on.
Subaru sensed the spirits ' delight. The Nebulae 's thoughts were expectant.
Shit! They think that if one whirlwind made me happy, five of them must be five times better! He realized.
"No! Stop it! Stop the wind!" Subaru shouted desperately.
Subaru sensed the spirits were confused. They didn 't understand why Subaru's mood had shifted.
The balloon shook like a can in a paint mixer. The only reason the balloon hadn 't been torn to shreds is that the Nebulae, having conjured the other tornadoes, had no thought of directing them. By sheer luck, each whirlwind was wandering off in a different direction rather than chasing Subaru and Emilia.
Subaru and Emilia slammed against the basket floor, holding on for dear life.
"Subaru! What do we do?!" Emilia screamed.
"Hold onto my legs!" He shouted. Subaru fought his way to his feet and Emilia desperately held onto his legs. He managed to look over the edge of the basket.
"We're over the island!" He yelled. His eyes widened. They were over the island but the wind was carrying them straight across to the other side. Subaru made a frantic grab for the Vent cord and yanked hard.
There was a shrill whistling as the balloon started to expel air. The balloon lurched toward the ground.
"Hang on! We're going to land hard!" He screamed.
Emilia nodded frantically and held onto Subaru 's legs even tighter.
The balloon dived toward the island and at the last moment, Subaru let go of the Vent cord. The balloon 's descent slowed.
But not by much.
The basket hit the ground with a crash that sent Subaru and Emilia smashing into the sides. The basket tipped over and Subaru and Emilia almost spilled out.
"Ow!" Subaru screamed as he felt a hot brand strike the back of his neck. He realized that the impact had knocked the brazier full of Fire Stones rolling every which way. His hand screamed in protest as Subaru desperately pulled the scalding-hot stone that had fallen on him off of his neck and threw it out of the basket.
The basket came to a stop as the balloon fell down in front of them, a mostly empty bag.
A moment later, the ropes connecting the basket to the balloon snapped taunt and the basket started to slide across the ground.
Subaru 's heart stopped as he realized that the wind was filling the balloon and dragging them forward like a sail.
The basket slammed into Subaru 's head and he saw stars, the world spinning around him as the wind started to drag them right over the edge.
"Subaru!" Emilia shouted.
Subaru desperately shook his head, trying to clear it. "Mili!" He shouted. "The cord!"
Emilia leaped for the Vent cord and pulled hard.
The top of the balloon popped open and the wind blew through it.
The force pulling them forward died.
The pair sat there panting as the last dust devil conjured up by the Nebulae passed them by and wandered off into the distance.
As Subaru 's heart slowly resumed a normal pace, he again became aware of the Nebulae who were telepathically nudging him, trying to coax more words of praise out of Subaru.
Truly exhausted, Subaru rubbed his eyes. With a thought, he canceled Pridebreaker .
The spirits ' adoration snapped off in mid-word. Subaru could sense the raw terror that the spirits now felt for him as they bolted off of the island and back out into the deep sky.
Subaru shook his head.
"Subaru," Emilia said weakly, her hands still locked in a death grip around the Vent cord. "Promise me that we'll never do anything this stupid ever again."
Subaru sighed. "Don't worry. Getting down from here should be a million times safer."
Emilia shook her head. "At the moment, I don't think that sounds nearly safe enough, " She said mournfully. "Now what do we do?"
Subaru fought his way back to his feet. "Let's… pack up the balloon."
"Pack it up?"
Subaru nodded. "We'll… fold it up and then put the basket on top of it to weigh it down. That will stop it from blowing anywhere if the wind picks up while we're gone."
Emilia 's face turned white. "If the balloon blew away…"
"Yeah. That'd be bad," Subaru agreed.
The pair worked quickly, forcing the air out of the enormous balloon and folding it up as tight as they could. Then they tipped the basket over and used it to weigh down the balloon.
"Is that good enough?" Emilia asked.
Subaru watched the balloon flutter a bit in a strong gust of wind. "Should be fine," He said finally. "Doesn't look like the wind is strong enough to move that very heavy basket." He paused. "Unless the Nebulae come back for revenge, " He worried.
Emilia shook her head. "I wouldn't worry, Subaru," She sighed. "We terrified every spirit for miles in every direction with that stunt. They're not likely to get brave enough to want revenge. And lesser spirits have a pretty short memory span in any case. Unless something had a large effect on them, they tend to forget about it pretty quickly."
Subaru stretched. "Alright. Well, I guess it's time for us to find the witch's lair then."
"Um. Subaru," Emilia pointed behind him.
Subaru turned around and his jaw dropped.
Standing on a grassy rise in the distance was a perfect replica of Roswaal 's mansion.
"Subaru," Emilia whispered. "This place looks exactly like Roswaal's mansion!"
"Yeah," Subaru said slowly. "And that… really makes me nervous."
Emilia raised an eyebrow. "More nervous than the fact that we were already planning to break into a witch's home?" Emilia asked.
"Well, we've been told that the witch is long dead so I guess that part shouldn't be so bad," Subaru replied. "But this means that we could be dealing with Roswaal again!"
"Um. Excuse me."
Subaru and Emilia both jumped when they heard a voice behind them.
They spun around to find a small person who seemed barely more than a child. He wore an extremely elegant purple and black waistcoat that covered most of his breeches and nearly reached his silk stockings. He wore spotless white gloves and a cravat. His hair was an elegant cascade of white curls. In his arms, he carried a potted plant far taller than he was.
"I deeply beg your pardon for intruding," He said politely. "But um, is there something that I can assist you with?"
Subaru and Emilia just stared at him for a long moment.
The boy looked uncomfortable. "You can speak the common tongue, I expect? " He asked awkwardly.
Subaru shook off his shock. "Yeah, we can talk. I'm Subaru and this is my wife Emilia. And who might you be?"
"Oh. My name is Virgil," The boy replied. "I am my Mistress's attendant and the current keeper of this place as a matter of fact. Under any other circumstances, I can assure you that I would make my manners but as you can see my hands are a trifle busy just at the moment. Is there any matter in which I might be able to assist you?"
Subaru cocked his head. "Your name is Virgil?" He asked.
"Yes."
"And you work for Echidna?" Subaru asked.
Virgil raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat. "Sir, if it would not be too forward of me to ask, what precisely are you doing on this island?" Virgil asked, showing no difficulty in carrying what must have been for him a very heavy load. "We haven't had guests in… well, centuries as a matter of fact. "
Subaru stared at the boy thoughtfully for several seconds. "We're here looking for a book," He said in a guarded voice.
The boy 's expression did not flicker. "Well, you've certainly come to the right place. The Witch of Greed had an inexhaustible hunger for knowledge. She had by far the most extensive collection of books in the entire world as a matter of fact. This island held her most extensive library and many of these books were volumes penned in her own hand," The boy glanced back at the manor house. "As you can see, I am in the middle of a small chore and I am loathe to abandon it before it is completed. 'Well begun is half done,' you know. But I will be only too happy to assist you once I have completed my task."
Virgil calmly walked away, carrying the potted plant toward the mansion.
Subaru and Emilia shared a guarded look and then hurried after him.
"So, how many people live up here?" Subaru asked when they had caught up.
"I am alone in residence here as a matter of fact," Virgil replied. "The island has not welcomed guests in centuries. A few people have visited in that time but none stayed for long."
"Hang on. Centuries?" Subaru asked.
Virgil gave him a resigned look and then continued his march with his head held high. "Ah yes. I fear that I need to clarify that I am not 'a small boy,' as a matter of fact. I am an artificial spirit constructed by my Lady to serve as her hands and to provide assistance to her in all matters. Since being placed on this island, I have been responsible for the maintenance of this entire manor and all surrounding grounds. As you can see, I am engaged in my occupations right now."
Subaru and Emilia 's eyes grew large. "You're a spirit?" He asked.
"Yes, sir," Virgil replied. "I am an artificial spirit given form and life by my lady as a matter of fact. I belong to the element of Yin."
"Then you're the Great Spirit of Yin?" Subaru asked in a worried voice.
Beatrice really wouldn 't care for that…
"Well, that would largely depend on your definition, I expect," Virgil said calmly. "While I am a Greater Spirit, i.e. a spirit possessing a high degree of sapience and self-direction as compared to lesser spirits and quasi spirits, I am not 'the Great Spirit Yin' or the Great Spirit of any other element as a matter of fact. This title is normally only bestowed upon defeating the prior holder. I do not possess such a title nor would I ever seek one out as a matter of fact. My charge is to my mistress. To facilitate, in so far as I am able, all of her needs and desires. I have much more important things to do than to seek out other spirits and engage in pointless bouts of combat just to prove my own supremacy."
Emilia nudged him. "Remember?" She asked in a resigned voice. "We literally just talked about this. "
Subaru sighed. "Was that before or after the terrifying crash that scrambled my brain?" Subaru asked pointedly.
Emilia gave a rueful chuckle.
Subaru looked back at Virgil and frowned. "Hey, I don't suppose by any chance that you know Beatrice and Puck, do you?"
"Beatrice?" Virgil echoed. He thought for a moment and frowned. "Ah yes. I recall my mistress mentioning that name a few times as a matter of fact. A flawed, older design," He said dismissively.
Subaru 's hands clenched. "You sound like you don't like her very much," He growled.
"To my knowledge, I have never met her," Virgil said. "You see, I was created much later than 'Beatrice.' My mistress specifically went out of her way to improve upon Beatrice's original design and make me superior in all ways to that obsolete model. It's the kind of thing that the Lady would do as a matter of fact."
Subaru couldn 't quite hold back his growl. "Puck and Beatrice are our partners!" Subaru said, folding his arms across his chest. Emilia, looking indignant, did the same.
"Oh!" Virgil said in surprise. The boy looked very embarrassed and he laboriously put down the potted plant that he carried so that he could make a very formal bow to both of them. "Please forgive me. My rudeness was inexcusable. I had no idea that you had any connection with them whatsoever. My words were not intended to cast dispersion on you in any way. Regardless, I have inadvertently offered you insult. I can only hope that your spirits are each performing to satisfaction and that you are both contented with your contractors."
Subaru and Emilia shared a furious look.
Pretty sure that Emilia and I are on the same wavelength here: Virgil 's apology was no kind of apology at all.
Never mind, we have more important matters.
Virgil picked up the pot again and climbed the broad front steps to the mansion 's entrance. There was a broad stone porch atop the stairs, in front of the door. Five potted plants already stood on the platform. Three on one side and two on the other. Virgil laboriously put down the pot in the line and spent several seconds ensuring that it was precisely in place.
When he was finally satisfied, Virgil straightened. "Well, sir and lady, please forgive the tardiness of my attention. My chore now completed, you may consider me at your complete disposal as a matter of fact. I believe that you wished to locate a book?"
Subaru nodded. "Yeah. Can you help us find it?"
"Quite certainly, sir! I am the humble caretaker of everything on this island," Virgil replied.
Subaru frowned. Is he really going to just let us walk away with one of his precious witch 's possessions? Much less the Book?
It seemed that Virgil read his face. "You are far from the first to come here seeking knowledge, sir. Although, you are the first in a very long time as a matter of fact. Lady Echidna 's library was the envy of the entire world before the Great Cataclysm!" Virgil said proudly as he marched into the house followed closely by Subaru and Emilia.
Subaru 's eyes widened as he took in the manor. This is exactly like Roswaal 's mansion! The furniture is a perfect match. The colors are all the same, even the locations of the candle sticks are exactly the same.
Why would Roswaal 's mansion be so close to a match for Echidna's? What is the connection between the two? Echidna has been dead for centuries. I think that Alpha told us that his ancestor was one of her students. Maybe that ancestor decided to build a manor based on his recollections of this place?
God. I wonder how long it took Roswaal to train the twins to keep everything just the way he wanted it …
Subaru glanced at Emilia and saw that she was making a similar comparison.
"Might I ask what type of knowledge that the young master is seeking?" Virgil asked calmly as he led them toward what would have been Roswaal's library in the manor.
I wonder if Beatrice 's library also has an equivalence here…
Emilia nudged him with an elbow and Subaru realized he 'd been asked a question. "Um," He hesitated a moment.
Well, we might as well try it and just see what happens.
Subaru took a deep breath. "We need to borrow the Book of Wisdom."
Virgil stopped in his tracks and turned around to stare at Subaru in utter shock. "Sir. Do you have any idea what you 're asking for?"
Subaru made a face. "Yes. It's kind of an emergency and we promise that we 'll bring it back as soon as we're done with it," Subaru assured him.
Virgil frowned. "The Book of Wisdom is the Lady Echidna's greatest treasure! Moreover, what could the young master possibly do with the Book? You couldn 't hope to harness its power as a matter of fact."
Subaru sighed. "Emilia is under a curse and we've been told that the only cure is the Book of Wisdom."
Subaru expected Virgil to ask for more details but the boy just frowned and stared off into the distance thoughtfully. "Well, ignoring for the moment the… questionable nature of allowing a stranger to walk off with the Lady Echidna's most prized possession, I fear that I can not be of assistance to you in any case."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Subaru demanded.
Virgil coughed and looked rather sheepish. "Well, if you'd perhaps take a quick look inside here, sir," Virgil hinted broadly as they stepped into what would normally be Roswaal's enormous library.
Subaru and Emilia both gasped. The library was in shambles. Books had been flung every which way and many of them were burned black. The towering bookshelves were smashed and splintered and a massive hole had been burned in the outer wall, revealing the gardens outside.
"What the hell happened here?!" Subaru demanded.
Virgil looked awkward. "Well… you see, this situation rather factors into my inability to help you as a matter of fact. A scant few weeks ago, a demon came to the island."
"A demon?!" Subaru asked incredulously.
Virgil nodded. "I'm afraid so, sir. It was a creature crafted from the Old Magic. Most likely fashioned by the hand of one of Lady Echidna's ancient enemies as a matter of fact."
Subaru took a deep breath, looking around at the ruined room. "I thought that all of her foes would be long dead by now," He said slowly. "Or at least sealed away."
"As I understand it, sir, that is indeed the case but the seals began to unravel some weeks ago as well. I suspect that one of Lady Echidna's foes saw this as an opportunity to make mischief. As these foes would still be sealed away and unable to come here themselves, one of them must have crafted a servant through the power of their Authority and dispatched them here to destroy Lady Echidna's greatest treasure."
"What kind of demon was it?" Emilia said in a voice that suggested she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
Virgil shrugged. "I know very little about the various kinds of demons. I only know that it was a shadowy creature of some kind. A hooded wraith and a changeling."
"Why didn't you stop it?" Subaru demanded.
Virgil appeared annoyed. "Begging your pardon, sir," He said in a clipped voice, "But do I strike you as a match for anything that could do all this damage? " He waved his arm around the ruined library. "This demon flew to the library like a terrible storm of lightning and fire and it began to rend the entire area to pieces, seeking the Book!" Virgil continued. "It sent me flying without any effort at all as a matter of fact!"
Shit. The little guy sounds so humiliated by his failure to protect the library. He kind of reminds me of Beatrice …
"It destroyed the Book?!" Emilia gasped.
Virgil shook his head. "Praise the Gods, no, it did not," He said. "I suspect that much of the damage we now see in this area is simply the result of the beast's frustration upon realizing that it had failed in its assigned task. You see, Lady Echidna provided a powerful protection device to safeguard this place as a matter of fact. Whenever anyone attempted to bring harm to her Book, it would automatically reappear in the 'Places of Protection.'"
"Like a vault?" Subaru asked.
Virgil thought for a moment. "That does seem to be a reasonable analogy, sir. Within the 'Vault,' the Book would be protected and any damage that it had incurred could be repaired."
"Where is it?"
Virgil looked pained. "Err. Just follow me, sir."
"Right. Hey, do you know anything about that beam that's firing from the island?" Subaru asked.
"Not very much as a matter of fact," Virgil said after a moment's thought. "It has nothing to do with me or the Lady. It appeared just after the demon did. So I would assume that the beast is what's causing the beam."
"But what is the beam actually doing?" Emilia asked.
"As to that, I have no idea," He confessed.
Virgil led Subaru and Emilia into a small room off of the library. The room had white walls with black spots. In the middle of the room, there was a large door that appeared to be made of black glass, standing freely and unconnected to anything. The door was tall and narrow and at first glance, it resembled a coffin. It was perfectly black and opaque and possessed no knob or keyhole. A strange black mist seemed to surround it.
Huh. I don 't know why but it kind of reminds me of that weird door that we found in the forest…
"Good news, master," Virgil said, spreading his arms to indicate the room. "You've found the Lady's Book. Err. What's left of it."
Subaru looked around, then blinked and shook his head. The room seemed to be moving around him.
A moment later, Subaru saw that the room wasn 't moving, the walls were covered in some kind of white fluid that was nearly covered with tiny dots, black against the white, and those dots were what was moving.
The scene hurt his eyes but Subaru managed to look closer. He realized that the dots on the wall were actually tiny letters like millions and millions of minuscule scrabble tiles floating in the white fluid. They flowed randomly around walls, moving into one another in a constant flow.
Subaru realized in amazement that the letters were constantly assembling and dissembling themselves on the wall, not only into words but into whole paragraphs and pages of information.
Before Subaru 's eyes, one wall became a detailed lesson on raising turnips but moments later the letters rearranged themselves, becoming what looked to be a historical treatise on an unspecified country, and then the letters flowed again into a nonsensical narrative about two poets, one living and one dead, descending on a mad quest through nine layers of hell.
"Ah!" Emilia cried out, staggering backward and covering her eyes.
"Emilia!" Subaru grabbed her. "What's wrong?"
Emilia kept her eyes closed tight. "This room is like the Gospel! It burns my eyes!"
Subaru blinked, looking up at the walls in confusion.
"Ah yes," Virgil sounded embarrassed. "Frightfully sorry, Miss Emilia. In my defense, I have not been responsible for guests for a very long time as a matter of fact. I fear that I may have inadvertently forgotten certain mortal weaknesses."
"What are you talking about?" Subaru demanded, holding Emilia close as she rubbed her eyes.
"The Book of Wisdom was created by the Lady's Authority. I'm afraid that, quite aside from whether or not your mind can weather the scale of the data being injected into your brain, anyone without the blessing of a witch is unable to access the Book at all."
Subaru shook his head. "Well, that's just great. What's that got to do with this place anyway? This place isn't a Book, it's a room!"
Virgil looked pained. "Ah yes. That brings me to the next point. "
"Which is?!" Subaru demanded.
Virgil cleared his throat. "As I said, the demon destroyed the Book-"
"What?!" Emilia gasped in horror, her eyes still shut tight.
"Err. Well, perhaps that is not the best way to describe the situation," Virgil said awkwardly. "You see, the demon attempted to destroy the Book and to some extent, they did succeed but as you can see, the Book can not be unmade so simply."
"What does any of that mean for us?" Subaru asked in exasperation,
Virgil thought for a moment. "Although the Book of Wisdom is a physical object and thus bears the same weaknesses as any other physical object on this plane of existence, in other words, it can be destroyed, " Virgil rambled, "The Book was also crafted with the power of the Authorities and it could only be unmade by that same power as a matter of fact.
"As a result, despite the demon's best effort, the Book was not destroyed it was merely… err, disassembled," Virgil explained, gesturing at the flowing walls.
Subaru sighed. "Alright," He said slowly. "So what do we need to do to reassemble it. "
"My apologies, sir," Virgil replied in an apologetic tone. "But I'm afraid that that is quite impossible."
"No, it's not," Subaru grumbled.
Virgil blinked. "Excuse me, sir?" He asked.
"First, you said that the Book was destroyed. Then you corrected yourself," Subaru grated. "Destroyed, meaning: 'Damaged past the point of any possible repair.' So if the Book wasn't destroyed as you claim then that means that there is a way of repairing it, right?"
Virgil raised an eyebrow. "A most cogent point," He admitted. "To be clear, the Book can be repaired but not by any means that we here possess. The ritual necessary to repair the book is likely to shatter any normal mind foolish enough to attempt it. "
"What is this ritual?" Subaru asked slowly.
Virgil gestured toward the black glass door that stood in the middle of the swirling room. "One of you must enter the Doorway."
"Where does it lead?" Emilia asked.
"Everywhere," Virgil said cryptically. "My lady claims that it leads into the heart of Chaos and back again as a matter of fact. This door can literally send you anywhere but wherever it does send you, it would be a place where you would have a chance to repair the Book and to recover it."
"How does that make any sense?" Subaru objected.
Virgil shrugged. "I'm sure that I don't know, sir. I only know what my Creator told me as a matter of fact. I have no idea where the door leads but I know that the other side will give you a chance to repair the Lady's Book. But … only a chance," He added ominously. "However, I must warn you that the demon has proceeded you into this door and it doubtless seeks to finish the job which it began."
Subaru sighed. "Alright so if we go in-"
"Forgive me, sir," Virgil interrupted. "But I feel that it would be most unwise for you both to go."
"And why is that?" Subaru grumbled, rapidly losing patience.
"Because my Creator taught me that this journey is extremely dangerous. Only someone possessed of extraordinary magical power would have any chance of completing it. Anyone seeking to complete the journey to recover the Book must be second in power only to a Witch. Bringing a weaker companion might even serve to make the quest more perilous," He said dolorously.
Subaru made a face. He turned to Emilia who was still covering her eyes to protect herself from the disorienting, shifting walls.
She parted her fingers wide enough to squint at Subaru so that he could see the full extent of her frustration with the situation but she didn 't say anything. Emilia knew that despite her own vast magical abilities, she was not a witch and did not hold an Authority. In this case, Subaru was the only sensible choice to attempt the ritual.
It was clear from Emilia 's scowl that she wanted to argue the point but she knew that logically Subaru was the only possible candidate and that she didn't have a leg to stand on.
Subaru pulled her close and gave her a deep kiss. Emilia held on to him tightly.
"I'm only waiting a day," She whispered to him. "If you're not back by then, I'm going in after you regardless!" She promised.
Subaru thought for a moment and then nodded his head. He handed her his satchel.
"So how does this ritual work?" Subaru grumbled. "Just walk through the door?"
"Just so," Virgil nodded. "You and I shall stay here and pray for your lady love's safe return, sir."
Subaru sighed. "Sorry, buddy. I'm the one who's going to do the ritual."
Virgil frowned. "Sir, perhaps I wasn't clear before. Only someone possessed of vast magical power has any chance of surviving the journey and recovering the Book as a matter of fact. And you … possess, well barely any magic at all as far as I can sense," He said apologetically.
Emilia snickered and Subaru chuckled as he approached the black doorway. Up close, it looked like a polished sheet of black glass but Subaru couldn 't see his own reflection it in. He raised a hand and gently touched the door. His finger penetrated it without effort and the entire door rippled as if he has stuck his finger into a pool of black water.
"Cool," Subaru murmured.
"Sir! I must protest!" Virgil said again. "Without any magical power, you will certainly die during the crossing!"
Subaru laughed. "Don't worry, Virgil, I've got plenty of magic," He said ruefully.
"Beg your pardon, sir?" Virgil said in confusion. "I don't sense any significant mana coming from you. As a matter of fact, I sense no mana of any type that I am familiar with at all."
Emilia chuckled ruefully. "Subaru has an Authority, Virgil," She said as Subaru began to step through the door.
"An Authority?!" Virgil gasped in horror. "No! Sir, wait! There's a danger-"
Subaru passed through the doorway.
The room trembled and the door became sheathed in crackling lightning.
"Oh, dear," Virgil whispered.
Emilia grabbed Virgil and shook him violently. "What?! What danger?! What's happening?!" She asked desperately.
"Err," Virgil gulped, fighting for breath. "Could you… perhaps… desist in shaking me?"
Emilia dropped the spirit who took a moment to straighten his clothes before answering. "Um. My lady, does your companion possibly… hold the Authority of Greed?" He asked.
"No," Emilia said shortly.
"Oh. That is… indeed unfortunate," Virgil said slowly.
"Why?" Emilia growled, tapping her foot impatiently. Her fingers flexed as she fought not to grab the spirit again.
"Well. The door was made using the Lady's Authority as a matter of fact. Your companion's Authority is… incompatible with it. It's possible that due to the two powers competing… your companion might not end up where he needs to be… Perhaps his Authority was even blocked by the door…"
Emilia bit her lip. "If I go in after him…" She said slowly. "Will I end up in the same place?"
"It's impossible to know, lady," Virgil said slowly. "I'd advise waiting for a few hours first to see if he manages to find his way back on his own. It's not… impossible."
Emilia stared at the door in horror.
"Could I offer my Lady anything?" Virgil asked awkwardly. "Tea or cakes perhaps?"
Emilia glared at him.
Virgil gave a nervous cough. "Perhaps I had best return to my duties then. Feel free to call me if you should require my services."
Emilia did not respond and Virgil bowed his head and quietly backed out of the room. "For what it is worth, my Lady, I do truly hope that your companion succeeds in this trial."
She took a deep breath as the crackling energy surrounding the door grew brighter and more ferocious. "He will," She whispered in a firm voice. "My Subaru can do anything."
Subaru tried to turn back when he heard Virgil shout but he was already through the portal. He turned around but there was nothing there.
Subaru found himself in a great open space full of black mist. It was hard to see more than a few feet in any direction and he had no idea where he was going.
Subaru clenched his teeth and just kept walking straight ahead.
"Hello?" Subaru shouted but there was no response except an echo.
He made a face and kept walking. There was nothing else to do.
This is just perfect. I wish that I 'd thought to ask Virgil more questions about this 'ritual,' even though the little dope seemed to know nothing useful in any case.
Now what the hell do I do? Just wander around looking for the Book? Where do I start? Maybe ask around for a public library?!
And even if I do find the Book, how the hell do I get back?
Subaru kept walking, he looked all around but there was nothing to see. The mist prevented him from seeing more than a few feet away and the ground all seemed like a featureless plane.
"Ah!" Subaru screamed. He clutched his chest, feeling as if his heart was exploding and he pitched forward.
Subaru barely caught himself on his hand and knees before he would have face-planted.
What the hell just happened?! It felt like I had triggered Indomitable for too long!
I thought that I was dying but I don 't even know what the hell hurt me!
As Subaru knelt there, the pain slowly faded and he regained his feet.
Alright. I need to keep going. I need to find my way out of this mess.
Subaru quickened his pace and walked for close to an hour but he appeared to get absolutely nowhere. Finally, he stopped in frustration.
The ground below him was as flat as a table top and there was nothing visible through the mist. Subaru felt hopelessly lost with nothing to indicate where he was. It reminded him of the time that Beatrice had teleported him and Emilia and they had ended up lost in the Elior forest.
"Well, isn't this just great?" Subaru growled. "Stupid Virgil."
Subaru kept walking, biting off curses at the spirit.
He wanted to be angry. Subaru needed to be angry right now because the anger displaced the growing fear that he was trapped somewhere from which he would never escape.
"Virgil told me that the door could send me anywhere," Subaru grumbled. "Well, he neglected to mention that the door could also apparently send me nowhere! I feel like I'm in an elevator that's stuck between floors!"
Subaru kept walking. Standing still was giving up so he kept walking even as a small voice in his mind whispered to him that it was possible that he wasn 't moving at all.
Subaru lost track of how long he 'd been walking through the mist when he suddenly sensed that the ground underneath his feet had become more granular. He was standing in snow.
Subaru looked around him and the mist appeared to be thinning. He saw towering trees appear through the gloom and he raced toward them, his heart pounding.
Subaru raced forward and as he approached the trees, he found himself racing up the side of a great hill. He thought he saw people standing in the distance and put on a great surge of speed.
The mist thinned and Subaru found himself on the summit of a great hill, surrounded by … frozen statues.
Subaru looked around in shock. Dozens of frozen ice statues were standing around him. They all had pointed ears. "What the fuck is this?!" He demanded. "What am I doing back here?! "