《Magicae Machina》


 Chapter 1

    My first sensation in this world was a smell. The aftermath of an Armageddon.


    The extent of the world was burnt wasteland. Certainly, beyond the horizon was likely a more peaceful scenery, but that possibility did not immediately register for me. Clouds of ash and fumes concealed what lay ahead.


    My bare feet stood upon the cracked stonework of a grandiose plaza, some hundreds of feet raised above the distant scorched ground. It appeared to be an upper level of an enormous castle complex; behind me limped a crumbling cathedral that grazed the bottom of thick brown clouds that seethed overhead.


    ¡°Sycophant¡­¡±


    An inhuman voice gurgled that word. The scenery around me, which I had been lazily admiring as one would an enrapturing painting, suddenly became visceral. I coughed burning air from my lungs, and pointed my attention at my feet.


    There was the upper half of the proprietor of this castle metropolis. The Goddess of the Forgotten. The blood that pooled around her was already congealing, turning black. The woman may have been synonymous with domination itself, yet she would die, apparently, as any human would.


    Her hand, flawlessly pale, reached out for me. It wasn¡¯t blood loss that gave her skin this fantastical quality, but her race.


    ¡°Demon-kin¡± I muttered. The word forced itself into my vocabulary, but I immediately forgot how strange that is.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.        Her youthful face, which likely obscured her true age, was scrunched up in pain.


    I was compelled to take her hand¡­


    The hand of my Mistress was warm¡­ It was hot. Fiery. As though great power might rampage from it at any moment.


    The sky at that moment, as well as the stones, and the air, were hauntingly frigid. The only warmth dwelled in the hand I held.


    Somebody once said this: Suppose that all questions of science are answered. That is, all possible questions. Still then, the problem of life remains. The question of why sits untangled.


    Then, there is no question. This is the nature of the answer. The solution of the problem of life is seen in the vanishing of this problem. For there cannot be a question where nothing can be said.


    A new type of reality filled my mind. It was the future I would attain. No matter the hardships, no matter how many I killed, or however many times I died¡­


    I wondered this as the Goddess died and her command invaded the deepest recesses of my swirling mind. I wondered how I had ever lived without meaning.


    I forgot to wonder what it meant to have had lived before now. What may have been a former life faded from my memories.

 Chapter 2

    The border village of Amsterid. It was approaching midday, and with nary a cloud to obscure the blue sky, most of those working were preparing to take a break to down some cheap beer and celebrate. Perhaps some of the passing soldiers would even have some more powerful drink to share with the humble villagers.


    I awoke at this time, to the sensation of something weighing me down. Fearing that I had been tied down, I leapt up, and promptly smashed my forehead against a hard object.


    ¡°W-What was that?!¡± a woman¡¯s voice started somewhere.


    It was simply a hefty woollen blanket that had startled me. A piece of thin wood fell from where I had head-butted: one of the slats supporting the bunk above me.


    A girl appeared in the doorway. She looked to be about 19, so she wasn¡¯t the one I had heard earlier.


    ¡°Heh, sorry,¡± I immediately apologized, holding up the broken wood. My own voice surprised me; it was more on the feminine side. I suppose I¡¯m¡­ feminine, I thought.


    ¡°How¡­ nevermind that. Mum!¡± she called.


    I had been found caught in an animal trap just beyond the skirts of the village, I was told by the hardy mother of the house. It was only a simple wire that had twisted itself around my ankle, but I seemingly had such little strength and consciousness that I was simply pawing at the ground. If the woman¡¯s daughter had not found me the previous morning, I would likely be lodging in a fox¡¯s stomach instead.


    ¡°I must ask,¡± she asked, following her explanation. ¡°Where did you escape from? Were there¡­ were you with anyone else?¡± She leaned forward with a stiff figure from her kitchen chair.


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ remember anything,¡± I answered.


    ¡°What about before that? Where do you live? We can help get you home.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± I began, but there was nothing I could say. The kitchen fell under shadow as a cloud passed under the sun. The world paused in a hush. The woman¡¯s husband, who had entered and stood behind her, gazed out the window. Down the road, out of the city. He did not blink. Even the bird, that sat on the fence outside the kitchen, seemed to have turned completely still. Or was it a statue? I¡ª


    I was stunned by a sudden cold chill within my lower belly. I let out a gasp, and with it a sudden pain came to my head. The couple¡¯s attention returned to me. The pain subsided almost immediately, and I noticed that the daughter had entered the room, and apparently having seen my change just now, hurriedly whispered something into her mother¡¯s ear.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.¡°I¡¯m sorry dear,¡± the mother said to me, returning to a more motherly tone. ¡°Don¡¯t feel the need to recall if it is too difficult.¡±


    ¡°We are happy to let you stay here until you fully recuperate,¡± the father added. ¡°It would feel wrong to turn away someone in need of help, especially now.¡±


    ¡°T-Thank you,¡± I stammered. I managed to give the three of them a small, friendly smile. ¡°I will go for a short walk outside, if I may¡­?¡±


    The atmosphere of the village was cheery. I had no memories of villages, but the degree of cheeriness seemed to be unusual. I did not ponder it for long. My mind was already a mess of questions. However, my mind also felt refreshingly hollow. I could feel the draft blow through the large empty area, where not even light had been established. This contradictory sensation was, I¡¯m sure, unnatural.


    Despite the fact that my brain was textured with question marks, I felt no anxiety.


    At every second, at every moment, the spot that my foot would next land was clear.


    The first step; I would land within the darkest depths of the underground of the Imperial Capital. That is¡ª


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    My shin stopped a hair¡¯s width short of an unnoticeably thin sliver of golden light that crossed my path. On closer inspection, it was a thin wire, stretched between two tree trunks. Ah¡ªwithout noticing, I had wandered into a patch of woods.


    The young girl from the house approached me and pointed out an arrowhead peeking out from the nearby bushes.


    ¡°This is a trap meant to kill some of the larger beasts that get too close to this part of the village. The smaller critters we hunt don¡¯t tend to wander here, but bigger ones are less afraid.¡± She led me away while fluently explaining things.


    ¡°Thanks, I suppose I should be more careful here,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not too used to living in this kind of place.¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± the girl breathed out, in a strange kind of tone.


    Something that didn¡¯t quite suit her ¡®village girl¡¯ character.


    ¡°So,¡± she began, ¡°do you come from the city then? Or, from the other side?¡±


    Sunlight glinted off of a polished knife that dangled from her belt.


    ¡°And, unlike mother, I will be taking an answer.¡±

 Chapter 3

    Behind me were woods potentially filled with dangerous traps.


    Ahead was a girl with her hand on a knife clearly meant for more than dealing just with food. I was unable to give a satisfying answer, and I could surmise that any lie would be seen through by this person. She was already suspicious of me.


    ¡°You found me, right? Then wherever I was coming from¡­ that is where I am from.¡±


    The girl¡¯s emerald eyes rooted me to the spot. The pressure of her stare seemed to embody the nature around us, as though the trees bent over me to shut away the warmth of the sky.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that you lost your memory,¡± she announced. ¡°There must be other survivors. You can¡¯t tell me that all Se¡­ that all demon-kin in Darvaza were killed by the mere Imperial army. That¡¯s ridiculous!¡±


    I recalled the singular memory I hosted. The enormous expanse of collapsed stone and scorched remains. In the smoke I had breathed was only dust, decay, and flesh.


    ¡°That was Darvaza¡­¡± I murmured. ¡°¡¯Gate¡¯¡­¡°


    ¡°To Hell,¡± the girl finished. ¡°So you did come from there.¡±


    ¡°A passage to be feared by all mortals,¡± I recited. From somewhere within the large hollow of my mind, those words were carried on a wind that smelt of a warm breath. ¡°You have no need to fear any others coming from there,¡± I told the girl. ¡°There was certainly nothing left there.¡±


    Huh? That¡¯s not what I¡ª!¡­ No, right. That¡¯s good, no demons will be coming for revenge¡­¡± She laughed in apparent relief.


    The vague sense of the world that I had received from the Goddess; Human-kind, and Demon-kind. As my instincts had suggested, it appeared that humans lived in fear of what might come from the lands inhabited by the various races of the demon-kin. However, that scene. The dull beat of drums, and the victorious blowing of horns which carried over the battlefields and the wastelands. That was the aftermath of war that I was born into.


    The leaves behind the girl rustled, and a lanky grey-bearded man appeared in the small clearing. He staggered against a tree trunk, clearly drunk.


    ¡°I fought I saaw peeple come heer,¡± he slurred. The girl jumped in surprise, but rolled her eyes when she saw the face of the man.


    ¡°Jerry, how many times have I told you, you can¡¯t come out here to take a piss. You¡¯re going to get hurt one of these days.¡± She pushed him away. ¡°But it keeps tha anamils away!¡± he protested. I made to leave after the two of them, as the drunk man continued, ¡°Come driink, yuu too stranger! We nevar haff to worry about tha deemons again! Ther countree is deefeated!¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes,¡± the girl said, exasperated.


    As the man wandered off, the atmosphere grasped my curiosity. Based on what he said, I could guess that the razing of the city I saw was the cause for this degree of good spirits.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.A war between kingdoms. Though it may have just ended, what a time to lose my memories. I wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about anything in this world.


    We had returned to the road, and a group of men and women not far off were loudly drinking and establishing a roasting pit. It seemed that the village was certainly in holiday spirits. I felt the need to know more, so I spoke up.


    ¡°It seems to be a special day¡ª¡°


    I was cut off by an open palm raised directly to my face. The girl held it there, not swaying a millimetre, as if with an oppressing stance. Nothing happened. I tilted my head to look past the hand at her face, unsure of what she meant.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to defend yourself?¡± she asked, puzzled.


    Her arm looked ordinary. Maybe a little frail for a girl of her age. Despite having a seemingly similar female build myself, I couldn¡¯t imagine her hurting me very much unhanded.


    I shook my head. Despite an expression like she wanted to hit something, she lowered her hand and sighed.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard your name,¡± she said. ¡°What is it?¡±


    Another question I didn¡¯t know how to answer. But I felt that it was no good to continue this way.


    ¡°Sycop¡ªno, just Syco.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Mine is Cris.¡± She then turned and left without a farewell.


    I was left alone again. Here in some unknown village, surrounded by people suspicious of me and with no allies. With no better plan in mind, I decided that I would find out how I might get to the Capital. By being there, I would at least have meaning.


    I walked a short distance down the street and spoke to one of the least drunk looking people I could find: a young woman with a toddler on her lap.


    ¡°Hello,¡± I smiled at them both. A shadow fell over the village as a cloud concealed the sun. The kid cheerily giggled. ¡°Is there a way to travel to the city from here?¡±


    There was no response. ¡°Excuse me¡­?¡± I tried to get her attention.


    The sounds of birds grew loud. Their cries echoed strangely.


    It wasn¡¯t only the woman. The toddler, too, was staring into the distance. I spun around. Everybody there was staring into the distant sky. The village was filled with abundant silence. The only sound was of the roast pit being spun, but the man rotating it was similarly lacking presence of mind.


    I had no idea what was happening. A strange tradition or ritual? After several seconds of it, I found myself too disturbed to stay there.


    It was as if the world had forgotten me.


    When I was a few further yards down the street, the din of conversation and frolics continued as if there had been never any suspension; the only difference was that the child¡¯s giggles had turned into a cry.

 Chapter 4

    I tried several more times to speak to the villagers. They would greet me pleasantly, then carry on with what they were doing. I couldn¡¯t find the strength to stop them and ask any more.


    At some point the sun began to set.


    I felt that I had few options but to leave this place. But it would simply be too dangerous without any information. I only had one name I could rely on, albeit very faintly, I lamented. I would have to speak to Cris; she at least gave an impression of groundedness.


    The village, Amsterid, had only one road that could be called an honest street. This cobble path forged its way through the centre of town, and at this moment a lingering group of soldiers were loitering their way through and past the rabble that stared and cheered for them. Four men in shoddy clothing, leading their horses which carried red-stained bags. Treated as heroes and clearly drunk on more than just that.


    ¡°You¡¯ll stand out, staring like that,¡± said a voice from behind me. Leaning against an oak and cleaning her hands was Cris. She says that, but watched the commotion in the same manner that I did. I¡¯d no idea where she had come from, but thankfully she seemed more approachable than earlier.


    ¡°I can¡¯t celebrate something I know nothing about,¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s very simple. The Imperial Army tore down a major stronghold of the wicked Demon-kind proletariat. Especially for a border village like this, to have the worries of children and girls being kidnapped in the night, fires and plagues and calamities brought about, quelled so completely and suddenly, without warning¡­ it¡¯s a relief that nobody living here has experienced before.¡±


    Cris maintained a slight frown, her eyes now glued to the dirt.


    ¡°A major city? Then there are others, and they will react¡­¡± at least this is how normal nations would function.


    ¡°The others?¡± Cris said with some surprise. ¡°Well, that¡¯s a bit complicated.¡±


    I had assumed that retaliation was what Cris yielded anxiety about, but was I wrong? I was unable to ask before the commotion in the street switched tone abruptly.


    A woman was on her knees in the path of the soldiers, her hands clasped together. Distraught, she pleaded to the men. ¡°Please, look for my daughter, please!¡±


    ¡°Ma¡¯am, please,¡± one of them began sheepishly. ¡°We¡¯re just passing through¡­¡±


    I was too distant to hear much more than that.


    ¡°Come, Syco. I¡¯ll have you help me with some work,¡± Cris instructed, and began to pull me away.


    ¡°Ah, r-right,¡± I said. As Cris stopped to pick something from the road, I saw the soldiers resume their march away, leaving the woman sitting forlorn on the street. So, they wouldn¡¯t help¡­ regardless, it wasn¡¯t my business.


    The work that I was to help with was a simple matter of clearing some fallen branches on Cris¡¯s farm. How menial a task, I thought. These were trees, right? They would grow branches again, and the branches would fall again. That was what trees did. They monopolized space and created mess. There was no meaning to this. Not beyond repayment for food and a place to sleep, I admitted. But, more grandly; from the perspective of one who saw all things happening in this world, perhaps even past¡ªthough probably not future¡ªthis was greatly lacking in meaning.


    That was what I thought, but I was surprised. I could grasp the branch of a tree in my hands, and tighten my muscles¡ªmy biceps swelled, and veins bloomed on my hands and forearms¡ªand with a crackle like thunder, I could tear a limb from the tree with a brute twist of my arms.


    All of that felt somewhat fresh, and incredibly satisfying.


    Had I never done any such menial task before?


    ¡°Wow¡­¡± Cris let out. ¡°You just broke that with your bare hands? You¡¯re pretty strong.¡±


    No, I suppose that can¡¯t be right. No matter, thanks to this flow of events, I got a chance to ask Cris, and she informed me that there was a carriage that could take me to the city as soon as tomorrow evening.


    I would take this trip, and carry out the task beset by my Mistress. Therein lay meaning.


    I was invited that evening to enjoy dinner with Cris¡¯s family, namely her mother and father.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been so lost in thought that I forgot to realize that I haven¡¯t eaten today,¡± I mused, seated at the dining table.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.¡°Poor thing,¡± Cris¡¯s mother cooed. ¡°And with the state that you were in, I¡¯m amazed you made it ¡®till evening!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no help that we passed over breakfast entirely,¡± her father added. ¡°Whatever were we thinking, dear?¡±


    ¡°By Georges will, I don¡¯t have a clue,¡± she replied. A strange phrase, I thought, which raised a question. It¡¯s one thing to have no memories, but where lay the border between memory and knowledge? I have no difficulty with language, so I¡¯ve retained some of what I presumably learned in my early life. Despite that, geography and the world; it all feels new to me. That phrase, have I simply never heard it before?


    Food was served.


    Cris¡¯s expression was plain as it had been all day. Even as I praised the food, tasty and elegant as I had ever experienced, she barely broke a smile as she said ¡°I¡¯m glad.¡±


    I supposed that I wasn¡¯t dissimilar. Something was on Cris¡¯s mind as well.


    ¡°Tomorrow, we will go to the poppy cellar,¡± Cris suddenly spoke. The room fell silent. ¡°Syco,¡± she pointed at me, ¡°included.¡±


    Her mother placed down her utensils. ¡°Dearest¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my job,¡± said Cris, as firmly as she held her knife. ¡°We won¡¯t go too deep. Everyone will be there. It¡¯s just to see if anything unusual stands out. There won¡¯t be any danger. It¡¯s the least we can do. It¡¯s what we should do¡ªwhat I have to do.¡±


    Mother and father exchanged worried glances.


    ¡°Okay, okay, first of all, why drag along our guest¡­?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s stronger than me,¡± Cris said, as though that explained everything.


    They all looked at me. My mouth was full of potato¡ªI tried to chew quickly, but the conversation moved on without me.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s work¡­ technically,¡± said Cris¡¯s father, ¡°but you really don¡¯t have to put yourself out there like this. With this victory, soldiers will surely¡ª¡°


    ¡°If it were me missing, you would say it¡¯d be too late to wait for help,¡± said Cris with finality. She stood and took her plate from the room. The sound of my chewing resonated far too loudly.


    ¡°It better not be you who roped her into this,¡± Cris¡¯s father said to me. I shook my head vigorously, but he immediately sighed. ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry. This¡¯s just how that girl is, isn¡¯t it¡­¡±


    Dinner came to a troubled end. But it was delicious. As I tidied up and left the room, I felt somewhat dissatisfied.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t get to say anything¡­¡±


    Before I retired to my own temporary room, the neighbouring door creaked open. Cris, already changed into a nightgown, came out and reminded me that I had no money or belongings. ¡°I¡¯ll give you enough silver to take a carriage all the way to the city. In return, come along for this job tomorrow,¡± she had said. A short trip out of town.


    I couldn¡¯t say why Cris wanted me to come along. Because I was seemingly fairly strong? Ah, perhaps I would be stuck carrying bags. Or maybe it was a hunt, and I would be hauling back the corpses. That was probably it.


    I leaned my head against the window next to my bed. It was dark now, inside and out, and the ocean of stars, not one to be timid, shone defiantly against the peaceful black of night. Out there, did those ruins continue to crumble? Did any corpses continue to bleed, bloat, and decay? Or had everything already come to a stop¡­


    I realized it only a short time earlier, that the swirling scraps of knowledge in my mind had stopped their dance on the wind. Or rather, the wind had died, and those scraps now lay in a pile. Scraps of paper with scribbled ink on each, but put together, a path certainly lay ahead.


    ¡®Epitaph to the Goddess of the Forgotten¡¯


    I wrote this title by the minuscule light of the night sky, the moon and her million children. I had found some unused paper and a flimsy lead pencil on a desk in this room. The text that followed came naturally, as though by design. There was not much to write. Fortunate, as my eyes grew tired attempting to write in this almost non-existent light.


    I was certain that this epitaph encompassed all that had been left to me, to lead me forward. In its lines I recognized a name or two. Darvaza. Imperial Capital, Catacombs. Though one part especially caught my attention, and that was the mention of an ¡°Unseen Doll¡±.


    However, I could no longer read the words I had written. As though a cloud was passing under the sky. Or I was exhausted? I fell into sleep.

 Chapter 5

    As the sun¡¯s golden light was just beginning to wash over the fields, Cris was already at the door of a run-down house at the outskirts of the village. She knocked softly, in case the inhabitant had managed to find some sleep, but the concern was unneeded; the door opened with barely enough time for Cris to move out of the way.


    ¡°Miss Ophelia¡­ may I come in?¡± Cris asked. The early morning frost was biting into her skin. The woman¡ªthe same one who had begged the soldiers the previous day¡ªled her inside and into the living room. The fire was dying, but the remnant heat saved Cris from shivering.


    ¡°Hm? Is somebody else there?¡± the woman asked, towards the front door.


    ¡°It¡¯s just me,¡± Cris said.


    ¡°T-Thought I heard the door again. Must be the lack of sleep. When are you going?¡± the woman asked with a raspy voice.


    ¡°Very soon,¡± Cris answered. ¡°We are meeting at nine. I wanted to ask you a question first.¡±


    Ophelia sighed. She knew what was going to be asked of her, and how difficult a question it was to answer.


    ¡°Did Holly go into the cellar, or not?¡± Cris asked. After a moment of silence, she continued. ¡°Varus agreed to search for the girls with the condition that we would only do a single outing. Today we will only have time to search either the area, or the cellar. We can¡¯t do both, so unless you tell me¡ª¡±


    ¡°She was with that brat, that should tell you enough,¡± Ophelia scorned.


    ¡°Varus won¡¯t want to risk the cellar unless he has reason to believe they might be down there. And Holly swore against going down there again,¡± Cris pondered aloud, ¡°but if she wasn¡¯t clean like she said¡­¡± Cris decided to be direct, otherwise she¡¯d get nowhere. ¡°Is Holly still addicted?¡±


    As the girl¡¯s mother, Ophelia simply couldn¡¯t bring herself to answer that. But she did eventually nod towards a basket on a nearby table.


    ¡°Those are the mostwurm herbs the girls went to pick for me,¡± she said. ¡°Took them all day it did¡­ I figured that they had to go far to find any at all.¡±


    The basket in question had just a few measly stalks of the herb piled in it. Not the amount you¡¯d expect from a day of foraging. Cris was unsure whether Ophelia was intentionally implying something, but an implication was there.


    Ophelia swayed her way to the kitchen and handed a small cloth bag over to Cris.


    ¡°If you see Holly, please give her these¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Cris asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re buns I made, using the mostwurm. It¡­ it helped her to recover. She loves them.¡±


    Cris nodded, and decided it best to leave at this juncture. If she stayed here and recalled too many of her memories with Holly, she¡¯d become tempted to enter that cellar whether Varus agreed to it or not.


    I was as yet still barely awake when Cris dragged me out into the street, giving me time only to get dressed into my borrowed clothes, which barely sufficed against the morning chill regardless. I very nearly complained, but I wasn¡¯t certain that Cris wouldn¡¯t discard me into the streets, even against what her parents might think.


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.It was a short tussle to the edge of town, where a small decrepit hut sat.


    ¡°This is the barracks,¡± Cris said. ¡°For the once per decade we need one.¡±


    The place certainly looked as if it hadn¡¯t been used for years, however there was activity inside at the moment. A large, well-built man came out the door, wearing an almost complete getup of leather armour with metal plating haphazardly affixed here and there.


    ¡°So, this is the patient the Mercujiles¡¯ picked up!¡± he stormed, highly pumped. ¡°Say, did you not say you found a girl half-dead just a few days ago? Is this a different one?¡±


    ¡°No, this is the one,¡± Cris said. ¡°Her name is Syco. She¡¯s agreed to join us for today. This,¡± she said to me, ¡°is Varus.¡±


    Varus scratched his head. Towering a good foot above me, he blocked out the sun as he apparently inspected me. ¡°Sure she¡¯s up to it? Some more rest might be for the best?¡±


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m the doctor here,¡± Cris said. ¡°She¡¯s fine. Right, Syco?¡±


    In fact, despite holding on to some exhaustion, my body felt plenty spry. I nodded obediently.


    ¡°Well, alright,¡± Varus shrugged. ¡°And doctor my arse, you just hold the knives,¡± he added. Cris made to kick him but he danced away, much more lightly than his form would suggest possible.


    Cris side-eyed me for a moment. ¡°You seem pretty unconcerned with what I¡¯m dragging you into,¡± she said questioningly.


    I shrugged, somewhat unintentionally mimicking Varus¡¯s demeanour. ¡°It is true that I owe you greatly for tending to me. You saved my life, most likely. It¡¯s only natural to return an equal favour.¡±


    Cris nodded. ¡°It¡¯s not necessary to repay anything, that¡¯s the philosophy Mother and Father have always lived by¡­ We are going a short way to search for a couple missing girls,¡± she explained. ¡°We don¡¯t have any proper fighters here, which is why we hoped some of the passing soldiers might take it upon themselves to¡­ Well, that was a stupid hope.¡±


    ¡°That man, Varus, is not a ¡®fighter¡¯?¡± I asked.


    Cris laughed and shook her head. ¡°He might fancy himself one, sure. But, though it¡¯s unlikely, there is always a risk of danger out there.¡± The direction Cris looked was towards where the sky was still tinged maroon and black, Darvaza. ¡°You don¡¯t have to come. An extra set of eyes is helpful¡ª¡°


    ¡°I will go,¡± I said.


    ¡°Do you know, how to use a weapon? Or something?¡± Cris asked. She was looking at my left hand. Unaware of it myself, I was clenching it, my fingers beckoning for something to grasp and utilize.


    ¡°I¡¯m, uh, unsure,¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll protect you in any case,¡± Cris said, as though it was simply a matter of fact. A small group, with Varus at the head, finally left the barracks.


    ¡°Okay, off to the poppy cellar,¡± Cris sighed.

 Chapter 6

    The bare road that led north-east out of Amsterid, despite quickly transforming into a barren dirt path, did little to disclose the fact that it headed directly for the boundary between the Imperial Kingdom and lands that few dared to step foot in. If they were to travel for several hours on this path, Syco and the others would eventually climb a small hill, and at its summit, encounter a wide view of gradually dying lands, culminating in a distant red and black that was undeniably demon-kin territory.


    My memories had become garbled, if they remained at all, but I had apparently crawled my way down this dirt strait¡ªor nearby it¡ªuntil Cris had found me, nearly collapsed from dehydration. But with how the varied greenery brimmed with vibrancy, and colourful butterflies danced from flower to flower, it felt absurd that something as crude as desperation could exist here. On the right side, old oaks towered overhead and created disjoint canopies over the road, such that the sun¡¯s heat never grew too overbearing, but the soft breeze didn¡¯t get a chance to dominate the senses with its morning chill. Cicadas chirped throughout the woods; on the left were green fields covered with vegetable and fruit farms, gapped only by streams and small rivers that passed by. Cris had just explained that the soil here was quite rich, and the rodents and larger wild beasts that might trample certain crops tended not to travel too far out here.


    ¡°When Amsterid was first born, it was a troubled area. Only young or brave men would risk life this near to the lands of Demon-kind,¡± Cris said. She was carrying a short, thick blade in her belt, but otherwise, rather than gearing up, she was only wearing a loose-fitting unsleeved top and thin shorts. The muscles that built her small frame stood out impressively now, and her gait was very light. I had thought her frail¡ªand she was certainly thin¡ªbut she likely had ample strength. When she glanced at Syco, her emerald eyes and amber hair, tied in a side-tail today, shone dazzlingly in the fleeting sunshafts.


    ¡°With how often those early settlers were raided by scavenging demon-kin, it¡¯s a wonder that we have such peace today,¡± Varus took over. ¡°All thanks to our great soldiers, heheh. Did I tell you, Cris? My old master was there at the siege of Darvaza! Still going strong, that old man. He might have even travelled this same road.¡±


    Opposite to Cris, Varus was covered in tough leather and sporadic plate. He, too, carried a sword; curved with a sharp hook at the end, and larger than Cris¡¯s. He seemed to always be grinning, and had short, brown hair.


    ¡°No way. He must be in his seventies now. And he didn¡¯t drop by, did he?¡± Cris asked.


    ¡°Well, you know him. Always looking towards the next battle. Though I heard that he might finally be retiring after this,¡± Varus said with a hint of disappointment.


    Those two walked in front, while behind and to the left of Syco was the final member of the party. He hadn¡¯t spoken much. This boy looked to be the same age as Cris, or even slightly younger. He had messy black hair, of which a one-third chunk was shaven short, and his gaze was sharp. He wore a black tunic and pants, which must have been terrible in this sun, but he seemed to be unaffected. Cris had said his name was Karl. Whenever he noticed my glance, he would stare at me. I could even feel it on the back of my skull for a while after. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to say anything to him.


    ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± Cris announced.


    We had just crossed over a deep ravine, at the bottom of which was a churning river. On this far side of the moss-covered wooden bridge, the trees and ordinary flora abruptly disappeared. Instead, amongst the tall grass were taller ferns¡ªthin, but sturdy and with a silver tinge¡ªand wet patches of mossy rock. We had diverged from the main path just minutes earlier, but this alcove in the hills began to feel like a separate ecosystem to what had been before.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Varus addressed the three of us, ¡°this is the last known location of Holly Ophelia and Rea Bearish.¡± He stopped and surveyed the area in a circle around himself, as though hoping to spot a human figure somewhere within view. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be anything to be wary of out here. Right, Cris?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve only come here a few times to get some mostwurm for Miss Ophelia, but I¡¯ve never seen even a weed-fox here.¡±


    ¡°Good. So for now, let¡¯s just look around and reconvene in twenty minutes.¡± Varus scratched his head, seeming unsure of his own instructions. I could imagine that in a small village like Amsterid, outings such as this were a rare occurrence.


    I nodded, as did Cris and Karl.


    The field was wild with its unique foliage, but the area was only several acres or so, cut off by rising cliffs, or the ravine at their backs. The butterflies and bees that roamed the cultivated area around Amsterid were absent, and had been for some time now, but even if these curious ¡®weed-foxes¡¯ weren¡¯t around either, this spot wasn¡¯t devoid of life. At eye-level, on one of the taller ferns, was a small red insect; it looked like a ladybug, but its shell seemed more smooth. It may have been a transparent bulb with vivid red essence inside. When I put my finger up to the leaf, the creature happily jumped across to it, and explored my hand with the lack of regard for gravity characteristic to the insect kingdom.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.But, right, I was supposed to be helping with the search, not getting distracted. I spotted Cris sitting on her heels a short distance away, closely inspecting a large boulder. I decided to approach her.


    ¡°Have you found anything?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, nothing,¡± she answered. ¡°But I¡¯m not exactly a hunter or a tracker. I spend a lot of time doing chores and work outside, like favours for others in the village, but when it comes to something like this¡­¡± she trailed off.


    ¡°Ah,¡± I said. I wanted to ask why exactly she brought me along, but her mood didn¡¯t seem receptive to superfluous questions at the moment.


    ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m just waiting,¡± Cris said quietly. ¡°The only place we¡¯ll find Holly and Rea are in the cellar. But Varus isn¡¯t going to want to go down. He has other pointless things on his mind today, he¡¯ll be too anxious. It¡¯s bad luck all around.¡± She sighed dejectedly, shivering slightly. ¡°I guess I¡¯m anxious too though, hehe.¡± Thankfully it was dead silent in this field, otherwise it would have been difficult to hear Cris¡¯s sombre voice at all.


    At the far end of the field was a crumbled structure of marble-coloured stone, white-bright in the glare of sunlight. Karl was nearby it, pacing back and forth.


    ¡°Is that the ¡®poppy cellar¡¯ that you mentioned?¡± I asked, nodding in its direction. Cris murmured a confirmation. I sat down in the soft grass and asked ¡°Is it a dangerous place? I¡¯m a bit curious.¡± Some impulse drove me to dive into this ¡®cellar¡¯ and discover what secrets it held; what people had left behind, or what had made the place its home. But I kept the urge in check. It was a tangent that wouldn¡¯t make my being here any more meaningful. The only knowledge I needed was that which would help to fulfil the epitaph.


    ¡°It is. It¡¯s a labyrinth, made¡­ well, nobody knows who or why. If Holly and Rea did go inside, they wouldn¡¯t have had reason to go further than the first layer. But we can¡¯t know whether a beast has made its home inside, or whether the air is safe to breathe. So¡ª¡°


    Cris suddenly stopped talking. She stared towards my arm, and her face didn¡¯t move a muscle. I wondered, was that strange behaviour of the villagers happening again? My heart began to resound in my ears.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Cris asked, voice shaking. Thankfully, the phenomenon wasn¡¯t happening again. Cris was pointing at the little ladybug-thing skittering across my arm.


    ¡°I saw this little guy on one of those ferns,¡± I said. ¡°I-Is it dangerous?!¡± I hoped not to feel the sudden prick of a bite on my skin.


    Cris didn¡¯t answer. Instead she leapt to her feet and yelled out for Varus and Karl. ¡°We have to go! Get to the bridge!¡± She pulled my arm and led me into a run, right across the field and over the bridge. The other two were close behind. The as-ever peaceful scenery was indifferent to the sudden urgency.


    The moment that Cris made it to the other side of the bridge, she came to a crashing halt. She had slammed into something, but nothing was there. She fell to the stone floor, blood beginning to pour from her forehead. I immediately tried to crouch in front of her to get a look at the damage, but my arm hit into something solid. Huh? A smell assailed my nostrils, a red smell. Wait, stone floor?


    Right, the ground below Cris was stone, although we were on a wooden bridge. My vision blurred, and the sunlight seemed to disappear. I leaned back against the stone wall.


    The sky was dark¡ªit was stone too. Cris held up her arm, palm open, and a flash of light erupted from her hand. When my eyes adjusted, I found that I was at the dead end of a grimy stone corridor. Cris was groaning with pain as light poured from her bare hand. Varus and Karl made voiceless noises of confusion as they looked around them, seeing something that I could only guess matched my own dizzying experience.


    ¡°What¡­ is this?¡± stumbled Varus.


    ¡°We¡¯re already inside. The poppy cellar,¡± Cris said.


    The other two silently absorbed this.


    Somehow, without them noticing, the four of them had entered into this dark place. I couldn¡¯t imagine how such a thing was possible. Had we not simply wandered about a field, far from the entrance to this cellar? And yet, we were inside before we even realized it.


    The walls dripped with liquid, and healthy green vines criss-crossed from floor to ceiling. The ceiling too, on closer inspection, was covered with vines. Along the vines were red growths, sprouting in a complex shape, symmetrically beautiful but somehow hideous. The petals of the growths appeared to undulate in the breeze; but there was no wind here.


    Something more important gripped my mind however. I turned to Cris and crouched, unable to contain myself, and pointed at her light.


    ¡°I-Is that magic?!¡±

 Chapter 7

    ¡°What else would it be?¡± Karl asked. ¡°Is there something surprising about Cris¡¯s magic?¡±


    It was surprising, as was hearing Karl speak so bluntly. His tone wasn¡¯t just blunt however; it was a smidgen incriminatory, as though he dared me to give an answer he didn¡¯t like. His eyes narrowed in the unnaturally pointed light.


    ¡°That would be like forgetting how to speak,¡± Cris said. ¡°And not even your case of amnesia is that bad, is it Syco?¡± I caught her giving me what might have been a slight nod.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know this person,¡± Karl continued. ¡°We were above ground, and now we¡¯re trapped in some freakish dungeon. That kind of thing doesn¡¯t just happen by its own accord. It seems to me that this girl has caught us up in something¡ªand why would she be surprised to see light magic, if not to feign that she cannot use magic herself?!¡±


    ¡°Hold on,¡± said Varus. ¡°Jumping to conclusions is the worst mistake you can make in dangerous territory. We don¡¯t know that we¡¯re trapped in here. I don¡¯t know why we didn¡¯t realize the path we took, but if we just backtrack¡ª¡°


    ¡°Varus, there was not even a hint of light before Cris made hers. What kind of misfortunate lapse of coherence would let us all simply walk in here without noticing in any case? Clearly something with intelligence has schemed this,¡± Karl said, pointing his gaze at me. I regretted my lack of thought. With so many things I don¡¯t understand about this world, it¡¯s only a matter of time before I would arouse suspicion. In a world without peace, even the slightest incoherence could conjure up a visage of nefariousness.


    I wasn¡¯t even sure of that basis in the first place¡ªwas I a nefarious being?


    The one thing I knew for sure was that, when I pictured that young noble face in my mind, of the Goddess that reached out her hand to me¡ªthe tears in her eyes had held no trace of hatred or regret. The humble desire to see a smile on that face was a trifling little hope that had punctured me as I took in that scenery.


    At least Cris, for whatever reason, did not seem to hold any suspicion towards me. I turned to Karl and said ¡°I understand, but¡­¡± I wasn¡¯t sure what to say. I didn¡¯t even know that such things as this were in the realm of possibility.


    ¡°I think it is best that we hear a bit more about you, miss,¡± Varus said, his grin still there, albeit barely. ¡°No offence, of course, but¡­¡±


    ¡°First off, I¡¯m the one who asked Syco to join me today. She didn¡¯t even know of this place until we arrived,¡± Cris sighed. ¡°More importantly, I¡¯m not the only one who knows what the poppies of the poppy cellar are, surely?¡±


    At the sudden reversal of questions, Varus avoided Cris¡¯s eyes, and Karl said sheepishly, ¡°I only know that they can be used as a harmful drug. I still have no interest in flora, I¡¯m not afraid to say.¡±


    ¡°I know, so I won¡¯t ramble,¡± Cris said, taking on a tutorly cadence. ¡°Poppies are similar to roses, only they spread like weeds in environments like¡­ this.¡± She moved her arm in an arc, highlighting the red growths all around them, all wet with dew and grime. She then stood and plucked one from the wall, leaving only a thick green stem behind. ¡°In the centre of their petals is a small capsule of liquid. This liquid is the drug, and, incredible¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it? Don¡¯t tell me you want to taste it for yourself now,¡± Karl said impatiently.


    ¡°No,¡± Cris¡¯s expression turned somewhat grave. ¡°It¡¯s just that this capsule is so much larger than what I saw in the book I read.¡±


    ¡°U-Um, Cris?¡± I said. The stem that Cris had picked the poppy from was thick and hollow, and now, there was a fine pink mist emanating from within as the vine in that spot gradually drooped and lost its colour.


    ¡°Karl!¡± Varus shouted. Karl didn¡¯t need further instruction. Cris grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back against the other wall, just as Karl raised his right arm, adjusted to a steady stance, and breathed out. In an instant, a curtain of liquid flame shot out from his palm and painted the entire wall, floor to ceiling, in flickering yellow fire. Intense heat suddenly filled the air, and it became difficult to even breathe. Cris pulled on my arm again, urging me to retreat with the others.


    ¡°Cris, are we in danger? What was that?¡± Varus asked as the burning began to cease.


    Cris didn¡¯t seem too concerned. ¡°As I was saying, the poppies, or rather the liquid in their core, is a drug. It¡¯s not exactly dangerous¡­ it¡¯s a hallucinogenic.¡±


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.Cris let silence reign, waiting for the others to piece together the implication she was creating.


    ¡°That means, it causes hallucinations?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes. I think they must be the cause of what is happening to us.¡±


    Varus and Karl nodded readily at this explanation. They seemed to have a deep trust in Cris¡¯s intuition and knowledge. I couldn¡¯t help but admire her calm demeanour amidst all this.


    ¡°So presumably the pink mist is a form of the same substance¡­ The vines somehow produce or collect it, and then the sprouts coalesce it into a more easily consumable form,¡± Karl pondered.


    ¡°So you have listened to me!¡± Cris said happily. ¡°He always makes a show of ignoring me, but look at how much he knows about plants, isn¡¯t that strange, hehe!¡± Cris said this to me, as though she were showing off a successful pet project. Karl just looked away and scratched his head.


    ¡°Just like trees and apples,¡± Varus nodded in acceptance. ¡°But none of us ate or drank anything suspicious. At least, I did not.¡± Everybody else consented with this.


    ¡°Which means that we must have ingested it another way,¡± Cris said. ¡°We¡¯ve already seen it in the form of mist, and this level of growth is unusual, to say the least.¡± She thought for a moment, eyes closed. ¡°If this mist built up and emerged from the cellar, then simply by walking around the area¡ª¡°


    ¡°We already breathed it in?¡± Varus said in shock. ¡°As soon as we arrived?¡±


    ¡°Who knows how far it could have spread,¡± Karl said. All four of them looked at each other, unsure whether they should speak of the most terrifying possibility. That, ever since they left the village, they had been under the spell of the hallucinogenic.


    ¡°Wait,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s concede that our senses have been completely overrun by the poppies. However, these are just flowers.¡±


    ¡°Technically not flow¡ªno, doesn¡¯t matter, sorry,¡± Cris said.


    ¡°My mistake,¡± I acknowledged, feeling a bit bad for Cris who was trying to hold back talking about what seemed to be her hobby. ¡°Point is, plants don¡¯t have minds. They can¡¯t trick people in such an intricate way¡­ right?¡±


    The others didn¡¯t respond right away. No, it was more than that.


    It was happening again¡­


    Varus and Karl, standing side by side, simply stared upwards and to the side, peering through the stonework at the corner of the ceiling and the wall. Their gazes showed that their minds were, at this moment, focused on an utterly different place. Whether that place was somewhere concrete or somewhere abstract, I couldn¡¯t guess.


    It took me a few seconds to notice that Cris, however, was perfectly normal. She still looked at me, as if expecting me to say something. My face must have shown confoundment because she switched her gaze to the two men, and then straightened up as she noticed their affliction.


    Cris looked at me seriously. ¡°Syco, quick note. Magic is as natural as breathing. Keep it in mind.¡±


    ¡°O-Okay¡­¡± I mumbled. And then Varus and Karl were suddenly back to their previous behaviour, as though nothing had happened, and no time had passed.


    ¡°Then, point is¡­?¡± Karl asked.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t finish your sentence,¡± Varus grinned.


    ¡°Right¡­ Plants don¡¯t have minds. So they can¡¯t trick us.¡± I had no recourse but to go along with the conversation for now.


    Cris grunted with agreement. ¡°That¡¯s absolutely right. Trees grow fruit because they know that birds and animals will eat the fruit and spread the seeds inside. Spiders build webs because they know that insects will fly into them and become trapped. But do these creatures truly ¡®know¡¯ what they are doing; do they know why they have these behaviours? They don¡¯t. They¡¯re simply doing what has worked for their species over thousands and thousands of years. Trees have never suddenly poisoned the consumers of their fruit, forcing creatures to come back for more and more. Trees cannot devise anything of the sort.¡± She sighed, and she shivered slightly as she did.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t possible by chance. There¡¯s something wrong here.¡±

 Chapter 8

    I followed the other three down hallway after hallway. Varus was in the lead, adamant that they could find the exit through trial and error. It was difficult to walk on the vine-covered floor, and the drops of water from the ceiling were beginning to soak through my clothes. The situation was quickly becoming highly unpleasant.


    They turned a corner and after some steps, Cris¡¯s light reached far enough ahead to show a dead end.


    ¡°Varus, it¡¯s time to switch to another plan,¡± Cris said. She pointed to the wall on her right; a large patch of it was bare, and the faint smell of ash lingered.


    ¡°It¡¯s the wall I burnt,¡± Karl said. His tone said that it was impossible. They had been making sure to focus their movement towards a single direction, and yet they had somehow circled around to where they began.


    ¡°The poppies won¡¯t let us leave that easily,¡± Cris said, but Varus scoffed at that. ¡°Like you said before, they¡¯re just plants. Though I can agree that we mustn¡¯t be thinking clearly thanks to them. My head is feeling foggier and foggier.¡±


    ¡°What if we burn them all away?¡± I asked, looking toward Karl. His ability to spout liquid fire from his palm had been clearly effective.


    He shrugged. ¡°Maybe. But then we¡¯d also have these tight corridors filling with smoke.¡±


    ¡°And the mist would remain in the air,¡± Cris added. ¡°But I know that the effect of the drug lasts only half a day. And since we¡¯ve ingested it indirectly, it¡¯s likely to be not even that potent.¡±


    So there were two problems. The first was getting rid of the invisible mist, either by destroying its source or some other means. Then, with the passage of time, they would hopefully recover. The second obstacle would be finding a way to leave without again ingesting the hallucinogenic mist on the way. I put this into words, and the others agreed.


    A fifth existence within the poppy dungeon listened to the group of four as they discussed their options. As they prattled on, the vines that had been turned to ash were beginning to discard their scorched tips and pull themselves forward into the empty space on the wall. Their movement was hardly noticeable, but if one were to watch, it might look like a blank canvas being gradually consumed by the unstoppable progress of time¡­


    In the worst case, the entity might have to take action. It waited to see whether the group would discover a way to save themselves.


    Varus attempted to tear the vines from the walls with his bare hands, but with the slipperiness, the toughness of the roots that disappeared into the stone walls, and the sheer quantity of the growth, it seemed that any significant progress would take far too long. Worst of all was the mist that poured from the torn vines, which only fuelled the paranoia that we were unable to think clearly at all, or even see our surroundings for what they really were.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.¡°Hey!¡± Varus shouted without warning, trembling the walls, or such was the impression I got experiencing the heftiness of his voice. He charged away in a flash, heading for the T-junction that was our only path out of this corridor, while shouting for someone to stop. I glanced at Cris and Karl, and then we dashed after him.


    Fortunately, Varus didn¡¯t need to be told that it was dangerous to get separated. He waited at the junction and pointed in one of the directions. ¡°I just saw a girl. We have to follow!¡± He began to run again. Cris called out at him to stop, that it was likely just an illusion, but Varus didn¡¯t hesitate, even though he was heading straight into pitch darkness. We had no choice but to give chase after his large figure, as it kept pace just at the reaches of our vision.


    ¡°It could have been Holly or Rea,¡± Karl said between breaths. That might have been so, but at this point they also had to worry about themselves.


    Varus paused for a moment at the corner ahead, ensuring that we wouldn¡¯t be left behind. As we reached the corner, I prepared myself to speak up and say that this could be a trap, but Varus had already taken a step around the bend. His body suddenly disappeared. It looked as if it had simply fallen through the floor, but there was only solid stone and vines there¡­


    That changed as I rubbed my eyes. In fact, the floor here was clearly collapsed. A cloud of dust rose from the hole, indicating that Varus had fallen in and hit the floor below.


    ¡°Varus, are you alright?!¡± Cris called in a panic. The man could be heard coughing below. ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m not that brittle, Cris!¡± he called back up.


    ¡°This place is pissing me off,¡± Karl vented, apparently unable to remain calm. ¡°It really is toying with us. What the hell is this¡­¡±


    Cris looked concerned too. She knelt at the edge of the hole, and looked for Varus. He was standing among the remains of a broken wooden table, and as Cris increased the brightness of her light, I could see bookcases filled with tomes all around him.


    ¡°At the very least, we¡¯ve been able to stick together,¡± I commented. ¡°Even if the poppies can mess with our minds, perhaps it¡¯s unable to do anything as drastic as making us unable to see or hear each other.¡±


    ¡°Even so, this is a bit of a mess!¡± Varus said, still managing to grin, albeit only derisively. The drop was at least three metres down, so he wasn¡¯t able to simply grab the edge and pull himself back up.


    As we pondered what the best course of action might be, Varus looked through the mess he had made. After a few minutes he called to us. ¡°You might want to come down here after all.¡± His eyes were glued to the pages of a certain book.

 Chapter 9

    We all climbed into the hole after Varus, after determining that we could get back out if needed by standing on his shoulders. The room was indeed a library or study room of some kind, with shelves upon shelves of books, tomes, and documents stretching into the distance. The walls couldn¡¯t be seen¡ªanother effect of the hallucinogenic poppies, most likely. The floor here was stone, like it had been so far, but it was far smoother, as though it had been worn down by many years of pacing feet. Finally, the vines on the floor and ceiling were rather sparse, but poppies were not absent. This wasn¡¯t a safe refuge that they had stumbled upon.


    ¡°Look at this,¡± Varus said, showing us a page of the thin book, which was more like just a bound stack of notes. From reading a few sentences, it seemed to describe the very dungeon they were in.


    ¡°The other page mentions the poppies, though it says that they only appear from cracks in the walls occasionally¡­ This must be from some time in the past. Perhaps from when this place was built?¡± Karl said.


    ¡°Judging by the language, this was written at least 200 years ago,¡± Cris pointed out.


    ¡°Look at what it says here,¡± said Varus, pointing to one segment of the page. There was a description of the entrances that the place had. One entrance was above-ground, and from the description, it was clear that it was the one they had been in the vicinity of, and had likely entered through. However, for whatever reason, they were unable to find it again.


    Apparently there was a second entrance, on the lowest level of the dungeon. This was a door that led out to the bottom of the ravine that they had passed over, several dozens of metres below.


    ¡°Haha¡­ Delving deeper into this place? It sounds like a bad idea to me,¡± Varus said, and nervously laughed.


    ¡°That might be the only way out,¡± Karl said, and then before anybody could counter, he continued, ¡°But there¡¯s no guarantee of that considering what we¡¯ve encountered so far.¡±


    The fact was that they were all unprepared for this situation, and no choices could be said to be right or wrong.


    ¡°Who did you see, Varus? Was it Holly?¡± Cris asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, heh, it was maybe a hallucination after all,¡± he replied sheepishly.


    After a moment of silence, Cris spoke up. ¡°Let¡¯s split into two groups. Varus and Karl, you can head back up and search some more. If you find nothing, then Karl can burn everything to ash.¡±


    ¡°Is that safe?¡± I asked.


    ¡°They can jump back down here afterwards. The smoke shouldn¡¯t spill down here.¡±


    ¡°And we have limited time. We didn¡¯t bring any supplies,¡± Varus added. He looked ready to jump at the idea of letting loose with fire, while Karl looked apprehensive; but he didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°And we search downwards?¡± I asked Cris. She nodded. The idea of wandering deeper into this overgrown hole of decay wasn¡¯t appetizing to me either, but no fear threatened to overtake me. I felt that I should be more afraid of this situation, but perhaps this feeling made the most sense. I couldn¡¯t recall my past¡ªas though I had come from nowhere, without meaning, I could easily slip back into nothingness, without meaning.


    That was how I felt when I talked it out with myself, speaking with my own inner voice about what my mind was doing and feeling in response to all these worrying inputs. But there was another compulsion in there; like a free-floating entity that barged into the cockpit, it pushed a sheet of writing in front of my face. It was the epitaph I had written¡ªthe instructions that existed within me, as though encoded in my very skin and bones. This intrusive deliverance ensured that I not take the potentiality of dying lightly, but it did not fill me with anxiety or fear at the thought of failure. It was just a drop of water in a cup, a suggestion; but an otherwise empty cup had little to do other than devote itself to containing that single drop.


    Varus clasped his hands together and then slowly parted them; as he did so, pools of thin rope began to materialize between them. ¡°We will keep track of each other with this,¡± he said, tying one end around his wrist. He gave the other end to Cris. ¡°Tug on it tightly and it will become taut. Then pull on it three times to signal if something is wrong.¡±


    Cris and Karl nodded, and just like that, a plan had been formulated. Despite dwelling in a peaceful small village, I had to recognize that they had some experience working together. I wondered if they had been in situations like this before.


    I followed Cris through room after room, corridor after corridor, and the density of the vines gradually thickened. The rope tied around Cris¡¯s wrist grew steadily as we advanced, always remaining at an almost taut length. It disappeared behind us into the darkness, and eventually connected back to Varus, who we had helped back up to the upper floor along with Karl. Varus was also able to generate a dim light of his own, so Cris wasn¡¯t needed for them to get around.


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!Cris stopped in her tracks. In the junction in front of us, the rope hung a few inches above the ground; it was a path that we had already travelled down.


    ¡°We¡¯ll get nowhere at this rate,¡± Cris sighed. ¡°I have to apologize for bringing you into this, Syco.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°We couldn¡¯t know that this would happen¡­ but I would like to know what you meant earlier.¡±


    Cris stared at me for a moment, and then sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t understand you. I don¡¯t want to say this, but I don¡¯t trust you either. But sometimes I can only believe that you have forgotten your memory, or something even more than that. Oh, that isn¡¯t an insult! Um¡­¡± She seemed to be having trouble putting words to her thoughts, and then sighed again. ¡°Maybe you don¡¯t realize this yourself, but you¡¯re clearly not the same as other people. But if you¡¯re the one most befuddled by this, I don¡¯t feel the need to make it more difficult for you.¡±


    Her explanation just made things more confusing. ¡°But, I am a human girl, right? And what is wrong with the others¡ªwhy do they stare off into nothing?¡±


    Cris closed one eye and tilted her head, probably thinking. ¡°I don¡¯t know the answer to either of those questions. In fact, when I saw that you were different, I had a tiny hope that maybe you would miraculously know why that happens.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ sorry to disappoint. I¡¯m really like a newborn chick, aren¡¯t I.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, a bit. Let¡¯s keep going¡­ standing around here gives me the creeps.¡±


    Cris started walking again down the right corridor, so I followed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to anybody else about it in any case,¡± Cris warned.


    ¡°S-Sure. I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t need to seem any more suspicious¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯d be worse than just that,¡± Cris said. ¡°When I was younger, I questioned it too¡­ it¡¯s been happening for as long as I can remember. But when I was old enough to feel creeped out by it, and made a fuss, things got very bad for me. I decided that leaving it alone would be the best way to survive.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t find anything to say to that. I was unable to remember the people I had spent my time around before, but it was certain that this strange act made me deeply uncomfortable every time it happened. It wasn¡¯t something that I was used to.


    ¡°I am glad to know I¡¯m not crazy though. That there¡¯s somebody else that recognizes this oddity in the world of people¡­¡± Cris said.


    ¡°These ¡®poppies¡¯ can warp our perception,¡± I said, ¡°but we can recognize each other, and the rope, and our surroundings just fine. At least, it seems that way.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s like they¡¯re choosing to just confuse our perception of the building itself, to get us lost and confused,¡± Cris finished. ¡°It¡¯s highly unnatural. Drugs like these usually have a lot of noise and random effects, to say nothing of being airborne, so¡­¡±


    ¡°Is it possible that something else is going on here?¡± I asked. ¡°What is this place, anyway.¡±


    Cris handed over the thin book from before. ¡°Feel free to read through if you want. I heard that it¡¯s an old hideout of a magician who fled from a neighbouring country to perform experiments. He probably messed up and unleashed this plague of poppies. I can¡¯t imagine what it¡¯s like deeper in this place.¡±


    We had just passed through a room filled with broken crates and piles of warped metal objects all over, and now stood at the top of a wide flight of stairs that seemed to lead not just to the next floor¡ªand not just the one after, either. How deep did this staircase descend? One slip on the slimy vines that covered it, and death might await.


    There was something scrawled into the stone of the wall, right next to me.


    ¡°Cris, can you read this?¡± I asked. She came beside me and shone the light onto the wall. The text was difficult to read, but it said something like:


    ¡°The ??? of seventy millennia forthward is drawn from thy will within¡±


    The grammar was almost nonsensical, and I didn¡¯t even recognize one of the words.


    ¡°Can you read this word?¡± I asked Cris. She hummed and hawed, then said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure what the word is, but the characters can be read as ¡®machina¡¯, right?¡±


    I could agree with that. The meaning of the message was still entirely obtuse however.


    As Cris was about to say something, a distorted scream, infused with terror, bounded down the hallway behind them and reached their ears. Immediately after, the rope attached to Cris was clearly pulled harshly several times. The others were in trouble.

 Chapter 10

    We rushed back through the corridors, following the rope attached to Cris, which shortened as it slackened, giving the effect of looking like it was pulling Cris back to its origin. Even with the rope guiding the way, the composition of the dungeon was muddled and nonsensical. More than once, I was almost left behind when Cris seemingly ran down a non-existent path, where I instinctually hesitated to follow.


    ¡°Hold my hand,¡± Cris said, after I almost lost her again. It would slow us down a tad, but it beat getting lost. They couldn¡¯t be too far away now. Still, I thought again about how impossibly expansive the layout of the floor seemed to be. It was almost certain that we were travelling in circles, or perhaps we had travelled vertically without even realizing it.


    Regardless, it was fortunate that the physical reality of the rope remained consistent. We rounded a corner and right in front of us was the library room where we had split off into groups. In its centre, Varus waited. Above him was the hole that they had gone up, and through it came the crackle of raging fire. Even without Cris¡¯s magic, dancing golden light poured down from the hole like a chandelier.


    ¡°What happened? Where¡¯s Karl?¡± Cris asked. Varus nodded over to the side; Karl was sitting with his knees in his arms and his head down against one of the large wooden bookshelves. He seemed to be shaking. Cris grimaced.


    ¡°We had no luck. We kept getting turned around. So we decided to begin burning all the vines away. It was going well¡ªeven with how wet all the vines are, Karl¡¯s fire spreads well. Now we just have to wait for it to die down.¡±


    With the limited oxygen, the fire couldn¡¯t last for an extended period of time. And since it theoretically wouldn¡¯t be able to spread downstairs, they should be safe. Then again, it wasn¡¯t a sure thing that a staircase didn¡¯t exist¡­ they just hadn¡¯t come across one. But it was too late to worry about that.


    ¡°Did Karl get hurt?¡± I asked Varus. He shook his head, but didn¡¯t expand on it. I looked to Cris, but her eyes were apologetic. It must have been something that they couldn¡¯t easily talk about.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hole up here for now,¡± Cris suggested. ¡°When everything up above is turned to ash, maybe we¡¯ll be able to make our way out of here. If we rip up the vines in this room and throw them outside, then block the doorway with a bookshelf, maybe the air in this room will also clean itself up¡­¡±


    They were still operating under the assumption that the ¡®poppy mist¡¯ was the cause of their peril, but without that theory, they had no good ideas.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the vines,¡± I said. There weren¡¯t a lot in this room, so it was possible to clear them out entirely. Varus would take care of blocking the entrance. Cris went to Karl¡¯s side to talk to him.


    It was about an hour later. I was sitting against a wall in the corner of the room; since the fire still raged on the floor above, the room had gotten surprisingly warm. It was possible that Karl¡¯s flames didn¡¯t consume oxygen, since they were magic. Now that I had some time to relax, for lack of a better word, I watched the small red bugs skittering here and there over the floor. Apparently, they were harmless. But they were an absolute reminder that this was the inside of the poppy cellar.


    With nothing to do but wait, I started feeling sleepy¡ªsurprising, considering the situation, but it must have been dark outside by this point.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± said Karl, who had come nearby. He seemed to be feeling better. ¡°But I know that my flames stop when they have nothing left to burn; they¡¯re quite accurate to the real thing in that regard,¡± he said proudly. ¡°I can produce fire that burns even without fuel for a while, but I chose not to use it. These poppies just take quite some time to burn away, I suppose.¡±


    All four of them were likely feeling anxious in some way or another.


    ¡°It might be best to get some sleep,¡± Cris suggested. ¡°It might help to clear our heads too.¡±


    The other two didn¡¯t object, but when they sat down nearby, Cris tsk-tsked them and furrowed her brows. ¡°Nope, boys can go sleep over there! This is the girls¡¯ corner.¡±


    ¡°Not that I think it matters, but okay¡­¡± Karl said, shrugging. Varus grumbled too, but headed off with Karl to a different corner. Cris didn¡¯t seem to be truly annoyed, but it was unusual, as far as I could tell, for the camaraderie-aware girl to object to something minor like that.


    We didn¡¯t have anything to sleep on, so I wondered if I¡¯d be able to get comfortable at all on the dusty stone floor. Cris did have a small pack with her, which, after taking off, she offered to me.


    ¡°Here, use it as a pillow if you want,¡± she said.


    ¡°Ah, no, it¡¯s alright, you should,¡± I told her, but I could already tell that Cris wouldn¡¯t budge. She really was a selfless girl. I ended up lying down with my head against the pack to give it a test.


    ¡°Hm, it¡¯s pretty soft,¡± I said. Cris seemed confused, then remembered something. ¡°Oh! Wait a second.¡±


    She asked for the pack back and pulled a smaller bag out of it, and from that, she pulled out a bun. It looked still quite fresh, though it was a bit crushed now. ¡°I totally forgot,¡± Cris said. ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    ¡°So much has happened that I forgot to feel hungry,¡± I said.


    ¡°Me too,¡± said Cris. ¡°I won¡¯t eat, but you can if you like. I¡¯ll ask the boys too.¡±


    I gladly took one of the buns, after which Cris went over to the others. It must have been baked in the past day or two, and it was mostly plain other than having streaks of a green texture throughout it. I took a bite¡ªit was nice and moist, and had an earthy, grounded flavour that wasn¡¯t as bad as it sounds.


    ¡°Neither of them feel like eating either,¡± Cris sighed when she returned. ¡°Oh well. You can use them as a pillow after all, hehe.¡±


    Cris joked but it was certainly better than nothing. I only ate a little, as we didn¡¯t know how long this meagre food would have to last the four of us¡­ Then I followed along with Cris and lay down to rest. Cris was right next to me, using her arm as a pillow and practically hiding in my shadow. It was decently warm thanks to the flames, even at this distance, but maybe the chill of the floor made Cris want to stick close to me.


    ¡°¡­ If you stare at me like that, I¡¯m going to feel even worse about taking the only pillow,¡± I said to her. She giggled and said ¡°It¡¯s okay, really. It¡¯s my apology for bringing you into this.¡±


    I still couldn¡¯t blame her. I adjusted the pack so that I was just using its edge, which left barely enough room for Cris as well. ¡°Here, we can share.¡± I tried to convince her to abandon her sad-looking posture.


    ¡°Hehe, well okay,¡± she said, sliding herself closer and putting her face right up against mine. To share the pack-pillow, we had to at least have our noses touching.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t like it¡ª¡° I began, but Cris didn¡¯t let me finish before saying that it was no problem. She didn¡¯t seem too uncomfortable despite the unsatisfactory bedding. Though, it couldn¡¯t be said that she was relaxed. I noticed that she kept looking over my shoulder, towards Varus and Karl, or at least in their direction.


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± I asked. Cris turned her eyes to me, and rather than laugh away my concern, she replied quietly. ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong. But, hmmm¡­¡± She closed her eyes for a few seconds, then giggled and said ¡°I don¡¯t know how to say it without sounding like I¡¯m asking you to be my meat shield if anything happens. Hehe.¡±


    ¡°Do you think something might attack us?¡± I asked. Cris thought seriously again. Then without warning, she put her hand against my chest, exactly where my heart was. With the pressure from her touch, I immediately became conscious of the beat of my heart, which¡ªmaybe it was because I was surprised¡ªwas acting slightly irregularly. Every few beats, I thought I could feel another quick, weaker beat. I knew that Cris was a doctor¡ªwas she about to reveal to me that I have heart disease or something!? However, Cris didn¡¯t seem to be on the same track as me. ¡°I can trust you with a little secret, right?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Y-Yeah, okay. I won¡¯t share anything you don¡¯t want me to.¡±


    Cris had saved my life, so I felt greatly indebted to her, regardless of her own feelings on the matter. She may be stand-offish at times, but her kindness was genuine to me.


    ¡°Okay. I haven¡¯t been able to touch another person for¡­ basically as long as I can remember,¡± she whispered. ¡°I haven¡¯t felt the warmth of someone¡¯s skin like this in so long, let alone the beat of a heart.¡± She sighed sadly, and withdrew her hand with a start. ¡°Ah, sorry! I¡¯m being a bit weird.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s okay,¡± I reassured her, but she was too considerate to put her hand back. Still, she continued talking. ¡°Can you guess what happened? I¡¯ve known Varus all my life, you know. He was always wild and crazy, but even when we played games as a kid, he was always careful not to hit me or be rough with me, since I¡¯m a girl.¡± Cris sniffled. ¡°My parents barely gave me physical affection¡ªah, I don¡¯t mean to complain about my life, hehe. Point is, I always thought I hated touch, but it¡¯s more like nobody ever tried to touch me. And then, there was one time when¡­¡± She sighed. ¡°I hope you won¡¯t dislike me for talking about someone behind their back.¡±


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.¡°Hm. Only if it¡¯s me you talk about,¡± I said honestly. The candid response made Cris laugh. ¡°Okay, I promise I won¡¯t talk about you when you¡¯re not around. Let¡¯s just say, that ¡®someone¡¯ became a bit interested in me, and then one day, he suddenly tried holding my hand as we played around outside of town.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Did you hate it?¡± I asked, completely unaware of where this was going.


    ¡°No, it was different, but I thought that it meant that finally, somebody didn¡¯t find me to be just a bother, or something. We held hands for a few minutes, but then, things got¡­ really weird.¡± Cris¡¯s voice got even quieter, and I had to focus on listening even though her face was right next to mine. ¡°That person, he got really irritable. His hand started sweating like crazy, and then¡­ he stared off into the distance. That was routine, but, when he came back, he suddenly snatched his hand away and¡­ he tried to kill me.¡±


    ¡°¡­ W-Why? Why would that happen?¡± I asked.


    Cris shrugged slightly. ¡°I still don¡¯t know. I had to run for my life. It was like he had been replaced with a monster that lived for nothing but to rip me apart. I hid all day. I later heard that he got in big trouble for pacing around the village with an axe in his hands, acting like a madman.¡± Cris sighed, sounding both frustrated and afraid as she finished. ¡°The next day, my dad went to check on him. He was back to normal. When I saw him again, it was awkward, and I avoided him for a while. But eventually I kinda forgot about that day¡­¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine that it¡¯s easily forgotten,¡± I said.


    ¡°Hehe, no, you¡¯re right. At the very least, he has tried to his utmost since then to avoid any physical contact with me. But I also wonder, some of the memories I have of when I was even younger¡­ I don¡¯t think that was the first time such a thing had happened to me¡­ I don¡¯t know. Uhm. Creepy story, I know¡­¡±


    I tried to parse the meaning of Cris¡¯s story. What had come over that ¡®someone¡¯? It came across as a typical legend or folklore tale, about a possessive spirit or attack by a demon. But this was something that had just happened one day, before being forgotten about. No moral to the story, and no conclusion.


    ¡°Hehe, sorry for the weird story,¡± Cris said, but despite her smile, I could tell that recounting the story had left her shaken. It also concerned me that she would tell me something that was close to her heart like this. I couldn¡¯t complain¡­ I felt glad to learn more about Cris. But¡ªit was strange to think this, but I could barely accept the idea of trusting myself. It felt like I should admonish anyone that trusted me and warn them about being naive. Cris was clearly a strong girl, though, so to share this with me¡­ maybe it was something she could no longer easily keep to herself.


    One thing I decided to take away from this moment was that, to repay Cris for her care, it was necessary for me to care for her at least as much.


    ¡°Thanks for telling me¡­ um¡­¡± I said, unsure of why I was thanking her.


    ¡°Hehehe, I hope it was a good bedtime story,¡± Cris giggled.


    If being a ¡®meat shield¡¯ for Cris meant simply that I act as a barrier for her around other people, then it wasn¡¯t a big ask at all.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t mind grabbing my hand earlier though, did you?¡± I asked Cris.


    ¡°Well, I already touched you a lot when you were unconscious,¡± she laughed. ¡°But I understand what you mean. It doesn¡¯t count so much when you¡¯re unconscious. Still¡­ my instincts told me that you wouldn¡¯t do anything scary. Anyway, sometimes I think that, maybe I deserve¡­ no, nevermind.¡±


    She clearly had a lot on her mind. I thought about what to say for a moment, then told Cris ¡°Okay, got it. I¡¯ll do what I can to be a meat shield for you.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, I don¡¯t know about that wording after all.¡±


    ¡°In any case, it means you don¡¯t want to be woken up by someone touching you unexpectedly, right?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah, my parents stopped shaking me awake in the mornings because it would make me¡­ upset for a while, let¡¯s say.¡±


    I hoped that Cris wouldn¡¯t be angry at me for my solution. I couldn¡¯t cover her in a blanket, but by wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close to me, and resting my hand on her head, maybe it could at least help her to feel more secure. I¡¯m sure she trusted Varus and Karl, but that didn¡¯t mean that sleeping in the same area as other people was something she could be comfortable with.


    ¡°W-What is this¡­¡± Cris said, slightly shocked. But she didn¡¯t complain or resist.


    ¡°Try and get some sleep now,¡± I said to her, to which she made an obedient sound. I felt her relax her body as she rested her head in against my collar.


    The fire continued to rage.


    An hour passed¡­


    The two men seemed to be asleep, and Cris was sound asleep in my arms too. However, I was unable to sleep. Every time I felt close to drifting off, something jolted me awake; first it was what sounded like a footstep. Then, a ghoulish moan in the distance. Another time, I thought I felt a vine-like tendril wrap around my ankle. I was impatient to leap up and take a walk to refresh myself, but I didn¡¯t want to wake Cris up from her sleep.


    I remembered that I still had the book that Cris had handed to me, so with nothing better to do, I took it out from my pocket and unfolded it while being careful not to bother Cris. My arm was stuck under her, so I tried to read the book over her shoulder. Earlier, they had only looked at a few pages, as they had quickly happened upon the information that they needed. But it was a thin book, so I could probably read it cover-to-cover and still have time to sleep.


    I opened to the first page. The finely scrawled print that I had seen within earlier, and that I expected to see here, was absent. Instead, the page was an absolute mess. It was covered in ink with chaotic form. I figured that the author must have spilled ink on this page, but that wasn¡¯t it. The ink had grooves and gaps that proved that this had been done deliberately and stroke-by-stroke.


    I turned to the second page. It was much the same. A few shapes that looked like they could be symbols or even writing stood out, but nothing was comprehensible.


    I turned to the third page. I recalled this being one of the pages that they had inspected earlier¡­ but it was utterly different. In bold, messy writing, a single word repeated itself in rows over every spare inch of the paper. That word was the one I had asked Cris about earlier, the one that had been carved into the wall. It was probably pronounced ¡°machina¡±, but its meaning was unclear.


    The fourth page, and the fifth, and the sixth¡ªthey were all the same. It made no sense. The book didn¡¯t have many pages; they had absolutely looked at these pages earlier. But where there had previously been details of the poppy cellar, now there was only madness. The repeated word became messier and more hurriedly written with each iteration. The seventh and eighth pages were similar, but some instances of the word were replaced with strange, sharp shapes. The final page had another word, just once; I couldn¡¯t parse this word either, but it wasn¡¯t the ¡°machina¡± one from before.


    My mind returned its focus to the real world. Cris was still breathing softly into my chest. The fire was still flickering, though it was dimmer than before. The book dropped from my hands¡ªah, my hands were shaking.


    Again, a footstep? This time, I got the dreadful impression that the footstep¡­ was directly behind me. Amongst the shadows flickering wildly on the wall, was one of them out of place? I couldn¡¯t tell. I couldn¡¯t understand. The stones in the wall jumped about¡­ but I was shocked still, and couldn¡¯t turn around. I didn¡¯t want to wake Cris into this, especially after hearing about her trauma. I very slowly¡­ craned my neck around¡­ trying to avoid any sudden movements. At any second, something I didn¡¯t want to see might enter my vision. I was almost on my back, and my neck strained as I darted my eyes across the room, which was just coming into view.


    Everything seemed different to before. But there was nobody there. The room felt enclosed and I could feel a draft that hadn¡¯t been there earlier, but we were still alone, the four of us.


    Great. I figured that the effect of the poppies was wearing on me, especially since I was fatigued. I returned back to my normal position and concentrated on Cris¡¯s warmth as weariness returned to me. I soon managed to fall asleep.

 Chapter 11

    The robin that wakes earliest in the morning, before any other of the diurnal bird-folk, and leaps immediately into action; its enthusiasm grants it the greatest likelihood to find the highest grade earthworms in the dirt. It beats out any potential competition, and becomes the subject of the fable wherein ¡°the early bird gets the worm¡±. This is a form of the law of nature that all animals understand. But this individual, who finds success¡ªwho does he thank? Does he give thanks to his biology that built him to act this way, or to himself who had the will and strength to be first into action? Or perhaps thanks should go to the law that simply says there must be a first, just as there must be a last.


    To thank his own will is romantic. It¡¯s a cute thought, but the robin simply reacted in a conditioned way to certain stimulus. In fact, in these ripe lands, even the latest sleeper would find a full belly without any effort¡­ so what meaning was there in being the robin who ate first? Even if he ate nothing, then in a year, either way, that robin would be replaced by another, and whether he was the most fit at finding food, or didn¡¯t bother to eat and died the next day, the meaning of it all would be equally absent.


    Drip, drip, drip.


    Droplets of frigid water splashed at my neck, and as tempting as it was to remain in the snare of half-awakedness, this was a level of nuisance that would be difficult to put out of mind.


    I rose into a sitting position, rousing Cris as I did so. Seeing her in this condition, it entered my mind that she appeared to be very much in a daze, even considering that she was just waking up. I could hear the faint rumble of heavy rain from somewhere, which would explain the dripping ceiling. It was an unsatisfactory feeling, to know that rain could so easily seep into here, yet they could not even find an exit.


    Then I asked myself a question. How was it that I could see Cris¡¯s face?


    ¡°Ah, one second¡­¡± Cris said. She rubbed her eyes before igniting a glow from her hand, which illuminated just the area around them. ¡°Still here, huh,¡± Cris said with disappointment.


    ¡°Sadly I doubt the bugs in here have the inclination to carry us to freedom,¡± I said.


    ¡°Mmm. The red-bulb can carry thousands of times its own body weight, so lets just lose some weight, and it¡¯ll all be alright, fuhu,¡± she joked. Was Cris this airy yesterday? Or perhaps she¡¯d just become more casual with me. Or¡ªno, she can¡¯t have been serious, even if she did pass over eating those buns. I looked over at where Varus and Karl should be¡ªthey were still lying on the harsh stone tiles. But this dreary grey light, barely perceptible, that fell over the room¡ªit was not Cris¡¯s light. It was undoubtedly a light that bled in from the hole in the ceiling.


    Cris began doing sit-ups without warning. ¡°This helps me wake up,¡± she commented. This didn¡¯t last long, however, before she stopped and said ¡°Hmph. Do you think we can get out of here?¡±


    ¡°Why not,¡± I said. ¡°I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.¡± Quite literally? But I decided not to comment on it quite yet, since it¡¯d just be a cause for confusion. I still felt drowsy, and I couldn¡¯t be sure of anything. ¡°Should we wake up the others?¡± I suggested.


    ¡°The others?¡± Cris repeated questioningly. ¡°?¡±


    ¡°Varus, and Karl¡­¡± I said, but Cris looked perplexed. ¡°But it¡¯s only us here.¡±


    I spun around to look across the room, and the two men were still there.


    ¡°Hehe. Kidding,¡± Cris laughed. ¡°Hahh. Yeah, I¡¯m dreadful, I know.¡± I shot her a disapproving look, but I was mostly just surprised that she felt comfortable enough to do that. ¡°Shock works wonders to get adrenaline going,¡± she said, winking and looking innocent.


    ¡°Is this Cris the doctor looking out for me?¡±


    ¡°Mmm, Cris the wants-to-make-a-friend-but-sucks-at-it, I think is more likely?¡±


    I was about to make a retort, but something in the corner of my perception stole my attention.


    ¡°Was that doorway there before?¡± I asked. I pointed to the wall opposite the door we had been using previously.


    ¡°A door? I don¡¯t see what you mean,¡± Cris said.


    ¡°!¡± A jolting yellow figure appeared for just an instant in the corridor. I shouted out spontaneously, then ran for the doorway.


    ¡°W-What is it? Is this a comeback?¡± Cris said, flustered. But there was no time¡ªI slammed against the door frame and swung around it to the left, catching another glimpse of the yellow figure in the dim light. It was clear now that it was, as I thought, a girl running past in a summery dress. She was stumbling about amongst the vines¡ªso there had been more right here?! But I could surely catch her. Trusting that Cris would back me up as best she could, I charged after the vivid phantom. However, my rapid footfalls seemed to alarm her, and she wailed and picked up the pace. I could just recognize that she was about to round a corner in the corridor, so I leaped forward to tackle her. My fingers brushed against her dress, but couldn¡¯t find a grip; she slipped out of my range. Still, the shock caused her to trip and fall to the ground too.


    ¡°Shit!¡± I cursed. For various reasons, it¡¯d be bad to let this chance go, given that this could be one of the girls we were looking for. I gave chase, despite the fact that beyond the corner, the darkness became complete. Yet even if I caught her, this girl clearly didn¡¯t know how to escape, did she? So what was the point? This was just¡­ illogical. And a mistake that Varus had already made. I just didn¡¯t feel like turning back.


    I had run in a straight line, and then sideways into a room, after the frantic sounds I could perceive. I could feel my way back to the corner still, surely¡­ though honestly it was likely already hopeless thanks to the madness of this place.


    My steady advance in the dark came to a halt due to a pained squeal from just a few metres ahead of me.


    ¡°Is everything okay?¡± I asked loudly. It sounded like the girl had hurt herself.


    ¡°S-Stay away!¡± It was a voice I hadn¡¯t heard before: the wavering voice of a terrified girl, likely close to Cris¡¯s age.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked, trying to make my voice calm and inviting. The mysterious girl was clearly not convinced. Among her frightened sobs, it sounded like she was calling me a monster and telling me to stay back. I was approaching her slowly, but stopped in my tracks as something hot slid into my clothes, and my skin, and penetrated into the very core of my stomach. Sudden burning pain surged in waves from my gut, and before I could tell that I had moved, I was collapsing against the wall behind me.


    Had I been stabbed? This was¡­ kinda bad. Silence fell around me as the girl plodded away through the wet rooms.


    I had to get back to Cris and the others. I turned about and stumbled back through the room. It felt strange enough waving my hands in front of me and not being able to see them, but now my legs also felt so numb that they were practically alien. My hands hitting a wall proved that I had advanced forward, but I couldn¡¯t tell what my lower body was actually doing.


    I groped for the doorway, but got held up by furniture and debris, which I could vaguely recall seeing around the place earlier. I thought this room with low benches and glass vials had been somewhere quite far away, though. When I got the impression that my knees were about to momentarily give out, I grasped at the air, and pulled something smooth and covered in webs. There was a crash and something solid hit me on the head, making me fall to the floor.


    As luck would have it, the white blur in my vision wasn¡¯t because of a concussion, but was actual light. I had fallen through the doorway and could still see the corner I had come from, where some consistent light pooled. Invigorated, I pushed myself to my feet and stumbled towards it.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Syco!¡± Cris shouted, rushing up to me as I collapsed to my knees. ¡°I-I couldn¡¯t find where you went¡ªwhat happened?!¡± It didn¡¯t take her long to notice my wound. She gasped, then wordlessly lay me down on my side and inspected the damage.


    ¡°It looked like she just ran in through the solid wall, but no, there¡¯s a gap here,¡± Varus said, waving his hand through the break in the stone wall. The other two had been awoken by the commotion.


    ¡°I saw a girl¡­ in a yellow dress,¡± I said. Varus¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°So it was her. That was Rea. I¡¯m sure of it,¡± he said.


    ¡°Or it was this place just showing you both the same illusion,¡± Karl said.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen Rea in that dress plenty of times,¡± Varus argued back. ¡°Surely¡ª¡°


    ¡°Then the poppies stole that image from your mind,¡± Karl cut him off.


    ¡°So flowers can read minds now? Come on, there¡¯s a limit to being preposterous,¡± Varus laughed derisively.


    Cris ignored the debate, acting quick to remove the object in my side, which turned out to be a wildly mangled chunk of metal. Its purpose or where it might have come from was nothing I could throw a guess at.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s nothing serious. It didn¡¯t go very deep at all,¡± Cris said quietly. The feeling of deep penetration I had experienced must have just been my virgin mind over-exaggerating. Cris ripped off the lower part of her shirt and used it as a bandage to staunch the bleeding. I was reminded again of how little we had prepared.


    ¡°Sorry about your nice shirt. I¡¯ll buy you a new one,¡± I said jokingly. However, Cris was staring at the metal shard, covered all over in blood, with a look of deep concentration. She seemed to be in a world of her own thoughts since it was confirmed that I was in no real danger. The pain was still intense, but after the initial intensity, I realized that it could be much worse. I returned to a sitting position, simply ignoring my body¡¯s complaints.


    ¡°And here I thought I¡¯d maybe get to see some healing magic,¡± I whispered to Cris.


    Cris looked back to me and smiled faintly. ¡°Mmm. No such thing, I¡¯m afraid. Unless amputation counts as magic?¡±


    I declined to answer.


    ¡°As far as I can tell, the flames did their job,¡± Varus was saying in the meantime, inspecting the hole in the ceiling.


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief,¡± Karl said. His voice then really was laden with relief. It wasn¡¯t the kind of tone I expected to hear until we all escaped this place. Varus patted him on the shoulder, conveying something I couldn¡¯t understand.


    The two of them came back to where I was, talking about going back up through the hole, and Cris helped me to my feet. Curiously, I seemed to have unconsciously carried back with me whatever had hit me on the head. I held it up in my hands to see what it was.


    It was¡­ a human skull.


    ¡°W-Why are you holding a skull?¡± Cris asked. I was dumbfounded myself. ¡°Wait, show me the frontal bone¡ªthe forehead I mean.¡±


    I followed her instruction. What she had keenly noticed right away was a small but definite hole directly in the centre of the skull¡¯s front. It was an extremely clean cut, like a circular piece of the bone had simply been spirited away. Cris frowned deeply as she inspected it.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Karl spluttered out as he saw the skull. I was still holding it, and he swiftly and forcefully grabbed my forearm. ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I¡ª¡° I began to explain, but something about Karl¡¯s glare stopped me in my tracks. His fingers dug into my arm, grinding the thin muscle and fat against the bone. As I glanced at him, about to make a complaint, I saw something in his eyes¡­ transform. It was probably my imagination. But I was certain that, in front of my own eyes, his perception of me was being overwritten¡­


    ¡°Drop them! Drop the poppies quickly!¡± Varus urged. Before Karl broke my arm, I did so; the poor skull thudded against the floor, without breaking. Now I just had to hope my arm wouldn¡¯t.


    ¡°Karl,¡± Varus said. Karl turned his hand to the skull¡ªit was clear that he was about to unleash a stream of his liquid flames at it. He hesitated however, and turned back to look at me. I was certain¡­ he no longer saw me as I was. I was an entirely different beast in his eyes.


    It all happened in less than a second. I tried to dodge out of the way, but my wound caused my body to hesitate, and I barely moved. My vision filled with white-hot fire as Karl blasted a glob of liquid death into my face. If it weren¡¯t for Varus pulling on Karl¡¯s coat at the last second, and Cris tackling me in the opposite direction, I would have melted down right to my brain in that one moment.


    ¡°Karl, stop, wait!¡± Varus shouted, but Karl paid no heed to him. Varus was quick to restrain Karl¡¯s arms, which should have meant the end of the battle, considering how bulky Varus was. However, Karl was not in his right mind. Even I could tell. He shouted at Varus to let him go, and let loose flashes of gaseous flames that singed Varus without seriously harming him.


    ¡°Get up!¡± Cris urged me, and she helped me to my feet. I pulled her to the doorway that was nearby; Cris yelped as I pulled her through it.


    ¡°This is ridiculous. I still see only a wall here,¡± she said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it either. I don¡¯t get anything,¡± I complained. I hobbled down the corridor a bit with Cris¡¯s help as we listened to what was going on inside the room. Varus was urging Karl to calm down with a commanding voice, but Karl fought back insistently.


    ¡°She has to die! She¡¯s a monster! She¡¯s a demon! Can¡¯t you tell, Varus?! If we don¡¯t do anything, if we sit back, everything will end!¡± He was making less and less sense. ¡°It will¡­ It¡¯ll be angry¡­ It will be furious! We must be rid of that monster!¡±


    Beside me, her arm wrapped around mine, Cris began to shake.


    ¡°This¡­ it¡¯s just¡­ like¡­¡±


    I understood what she was getting at; she had told me about a similar experience of her own. There was no doubt about what feelings her mind had reeled in, judging by how her body was shaking. She wasn¡¯t targeted right now, but even this tough girl found this so deeply unpleasant.


    ¡°Karl, wait! Crap!¡± we heard Varus shout.


    ¡°We should move,¡± I said to Cris. She nodded, and began to help me back down the path I had taken just minutes earlier.


    ¡°Wait, let¡¯s go the other way,¡± I said. Things had gotten out of hand, but the light was stronger this way. If, for whatever reason, this indicated the way to the exit and only I could realize it, then it was best to give it a try.


    It was too late though¡ªa wave of liquid flame flew into our path, and in an instant, there was a veritable wall of fire blocking our way. With this, Karl had blocked the path for himself too, but this just meant that both groups were going to be forced deeper into the cellar.


    ¡°What the heck, Karl!¡± Cris grumbled. ¡°Okay, other way,¡± she commanded, dragging me hurriedly back in the other direction. ¡°If I don¡¯t get some answers after all this, I¡¯m gonna¡­ I¡¯m gonna do some very un-doctor-ly things, grr!¡±


    A fifth entity within the dungeon strode after Cris and Syco casually. Its left arm had melted to the floor and become fuel for the flames, which was unfortunate, but this was no great matter.


    The entity considered Karl to be quite dangerous now. It would become rather inconvenient if fire was haphazardly spread all over the place.


    Karl¡¯s target seemed to be the person named Syco. The entity considered the implications of erasing Syco as he followed the two girls deeper into the labyrinth.

 Epitaph to the Goddess of the Forgotten

    So, Pre: Such that we` are farthermost from Searu, we are`


    So, Aft: Mark that we` are farthermost from yond Seraph, withal, saids¡¯ Dogma.


    So, Ergo: Hark not, then, preien not, upon any` Sefirot ?


    To one who bears my hope.


    An Epitaph borne in Darvaza.


    Four artefacts one should seek,


    Should one seek fulfilment


    Of one¡¯s sought desire


    The Known, the Needle;


    Infiltrate the Catacombs, that cower beneath the Imperial Capital,


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.That which gouges the mind and bleeds the soul


    Will make itself Known


    The Hidden, the Eye;


    Only those who float on air currents, the Fairy Kind,


    Hear the whispers of the sky


    That reveal the Hidden


    The Incomprehensible, the Cogwheel;


    Attend the anomalous, attend the anomalous,


    Attend the anomalous


    Attend the Anomalous


    The Unknown, the Unknown;


    Accoutre the Eye. Regard the Unseen Doll.


    The three terminal


    Become a guide to:


    Terminate the duty

 Chapter 12

    So then, why does the robin move and eat? Of course, to survive, and to live.


    This is just what the beasts of the world do, whether it be by nature, or because they were designed that way.


    However, ¡°people¡±¡ªthey do not deign to count themselves amongst beasts. Unbound by such base rules, they aspire to create meaning. They divine purpose.


    If there were a formal decider of meaning, it would be interesting to ask what he or she thinks of this.


    But such a being does not exist; can not exist, I would venture. The closest we could have is God¡ªI mean, a god. Ask a god, though, and they would only be able to answer relative to their own personal ¡®meaning¡¯.


    One should wonder, what ¡®meaning¡¯ would a god find in their existence? Whatever it might be, I venture that it involves us peoples.


    Why? To put it one way¡­ That answer is something that is trapped within my head. To know it, all you can do is hope to one day see inside.


    The fire spread quickly as it engulfed the green vines, unstoppable even by the wet stone and dripping ceiling. Cris helped me to a junction, and to the left, flames were already crawling along the floor towards us. Some of the poppies popped violently as they were engulfed. With this, the end would come soon, whether it was escape or death.


    We hobbled down the right corridor as quickly as possible, followed by the taunting thickening of black smoke. In the rooms we passed by, there was nothing that seemed useful¡ªonly debris and junk, covered by the growth.


    Our movement was too slow. At this rate, the inferno would catch up to us, and Cris would get caught up in it too. There was no need for her to stay with me at this rate. Maybe she could at least get away by herself.


    ¡°Right here,¡± I said to Cris as we reached another junction. She hesitated, but did as I suggested. I was fairly certain that to the left was a path that led back to where Karl and Varus would be. Not that my impression of the floor¡¯s layout should be trusted¡­


    I wanted to tell Cris to go ahead by herself. The fire behind us travelled forward like the spray from a flooding river surging into untouched lands. It followed at a steady striding pace. I should have been able to tell Cris that it was pointless to stay with me.


    However, I wasn¡¯t able to. I didn¡¯t feel especially afraid, but without Cris, I would fall to the ground and be consumed by the flames. So I couldn¡¯t tell her to ditch me. I was unable to even satisfy my own will.


    ¡°Hey, Cris,¡± I said to her.


    Maybe I only wanted to play a mock hero, and say and do what someone with courage would. Even so, it was what I wanted to do. Was that so bad?


    ¡°The flames are catching up¡­¡± I said.


    I was forced to realize that people aren¡¯t creatures who can grant their own wishes. If only Cris would make the decision on her own, and run ahead.


    ¡°¡­¡± She stopped in the middle of a desolate corridor. The crackling of fire was loud enough to be a nuisance now.


    Adopting a bracing stance, Cris lowered her body and tensed her knees, and aimed a palm at the encroaching wall of licking yellow. A few moments later, a hefty blast of pressure exploded from her palm. The air distorted as the black smoke was blown back, and the flames were pushed aside by what looked like a swirling invisible ball.


    The wall hesitated for a second, then red, angry fire swallowed the hole back up. Nothing had changed.


    Cris sighed. ¡°It would be nice if I had learned to conjure up water or something.¡± She looked between me and the end of the corridor, still shrouded in darkness.


    Please, just go, I thought. Even if I couldn¡¯t say it, I could at least beg for it in my mind. But even as the heat became uncomfortable, she just fidgeted on the spot.


    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, to a stranger,¡± I managed to say.


    She tried to laugh, but thought instead, then said, ¡°Maybe. But, hmmm¡­ If I leave now, I¡¯ll be leaving behind something more than just a girl named Syco. And knowing that makes me a little unmotivated.¡±


    I was about to ask what she meant, but the rustling of vines near our feet caught me off guard. Then, a heavy impact hit me in the stomach. The pain instantly darkened my vision, and it was all I could do to not black out. I felt myself being picked up and rushed away, and from somewhere behind me, Cris shouted out my name.


    Not that I could struggle anyway, but whatever had happened, I was being carried away from the flames. I could faintly see Cris chasing after me as I flew through the air. Then, in some dark corner, I was thrown. When I realized that the floor had yet to meet me, I cradled my head in my arms and curled up as best I could. Fortunate, since the next moment, my skull would have smacked into the exposed edge of a stair.


    I tumbled down a staircase, hoping that the vines would protect me somewhat. Ironic.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    I regained consciousness, now with my entire body emanating dull pain. Somehow I wasn¡¯t surprised that Cris was already with me, checking my wounds.


    ¡°I¡¯m in your debt again,¡± I said self-derisively. ¡°It¡¯s not fair. You¡¯re too reliable. I¡¯m starting to think nothing can kill me if you¡¯re around.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the only one in the world who would say that,¡± she replied.


    She helped me to sit up against a wall, and the surroundings immediately gave me pause. The staircase to the right extended dozens upon dozens of steps upwards, and at the top, the fire was still clearly raging. To the left, the hallway opened up into a vast void. I could see a couple large pillars, but beyond that, the vines thickened even more and disappeared into the dark.


    ¡°The vines¡­ look at them,¡± Cris whispered. The vines at the base of the stairs, on closer inspection, were wriggling like thick, fattened worms. Or rather like centipedes, as they used the thin stalks that grew along themselves to squirm forward. It wasn¡¯t just at the base of the stairs¡ªthe vines along the ceiling and the walls were also wriggling towards and up the stairs. The room itself felt as though it was shifting without us.


    ¡°Cris, just to be sure. Do plants usually do this?¡± I asked. Cris shook her head. ¡°No, they¡¯re vines, they can¡¯t see or sense light or heat, they have nothing like eyes, but if they have nerves then perhaps they could sense certain changes around them, are they like jellyfish then? The pressure of the air triggers something, ¡­¡± She trailed off as she hurriedly mumbled theories to herself. Of course, even I could tell that this was unnatural. So what was happening? It might make sense if the vines were escaping for their lives through some unknown natural reaction, but in this case, were the vines feeding themselves into the fire? It didn¡¯t follow any known logic of the natural world.


    ¡°At least the flames aren¡¯t coming any closer,¡± Cris said. ¡°Either there¡¯s a gap at the top, giving them no fuel to burn, or they¡¯re extruding water or some other substance to hold it back¡­ D-Do you mind if I go look?¡±


    She looked oddly excited. Sure, it was interesting, I could understand. But right now?


    ¡°Just kidding. We can always come back and check,¡± Cris sighed. I thought she¡¯d have to be mad to ever return here, but I kept it to myself.


    ¡°I¡¯m more concerned about how I managed to fly through the air,¡± I said. Cris just shrugged, and then helped me to my feet. So that didn¡¯t interest her? I thought I was beginning to get her, but that feeling kept slipping away.


    With only one way we could go, we slowly crept into the giant hall away from the loitering fire. If this was a dead end, it could very well be a dead end for us as well. We both understood. Cris shone a light across the walls as we advanced further in; the ceiling contained a large inset dome high above us, which seemed to be carved all over with complex patterns and symbols, though there were thick cracks running through them. The vines reached even up there, and the ground coverage grew thicker and thicker, until we were walking a good foot above where the stone floor would be, crunching layers of vines and poppies beneath our feet.


    Without any warning, Cris collapsed to the side.


    ¡°Cris, are you okay?!¡± I quickly pulled her back up, fearing that the vines would engulf her.


    ¡°Y-Yeah,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m just feeling disorientated. Did I fall over?¡±


    We weren¡¯t even halfway across the hall, but given its structure, I guessed that there was surely another door at the far end. Despite how deep we were, I could again faintly hear the sound of a heavy downpour and running water.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, not much further,¡± I said. I mustered my strength and ignored the aches as I allowed Cris to lean on my shoulder as she stood up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back and follow the wall, the vines are thinner there,¡± I suggested. Cris wearily nodded. She must have been exhausted, and it was catching up with her. Or it was just the effect of the poppies. However, my mind was clearly in better shape than hers. Why was that?


    ¡°You know,¡± Cris mumbled. ¡°Dying here is fine. At least I won¡¯t die in the village¡­¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t die here,¡± I said. This was the worst time for Cris to suddenly lose strength. I remembered that she hadn¡¯t eaten since we had gotten trapped. Could that be the cause? Her bag was still on her.


    ¡°A life I don¡¯t understand, in a place I don¡¯t understand. Hehe, it¡¯s perfect,¡± she laughed, but it was delirious. I couldn¡¯t think with my feet sinking into the damn vines. With my arm around Cris, I turned to guide her towards the wall. However, as I did so, a chorus of hideous sounds resounded about the hall. The origin was directly behind us.


    I was too slow to do anything. A petrified stake appeared where Cris had just been, sending her flying forwards and slewing a vile gush of blood over the entire scene. The light girl tumbled towards the wall like a rag doll. Blood splattered over the walls and dyed the vines red. The only light I had was extinguished.


    Behind me spoke a voice riddled with harsh grating friction. It sounded like all the worst parts of nature¡ªthe poisonous, the parasitical, the painful¡ªhad formed a mouth and commanded words.


    But it spoke nothing human.

 Chapter 13

    The god I see?


    Much like most people are faithful to their God, whether they have a good reason to be or not; much the same goes for the robin and their faithfulness to the expectation of finding worms in the dirt, as they did the previous morning, and every morning before that.


    Similar to how the robin is unaware that its keepers throw the worms from a bucket each night, those people are unaware that their God is only a figurehead. It is naught but a result of nature¡¯s abstruse adoption of our travail, us that spilled from Her inadvertent parturition.


    I will not deny that God, but it explains the world as fruitfully as a keeper throwing worms explains how the worm was born.


    My ¡®god¡¯ exists as a matter of fact. It is not divine or temperamental, and its actions may be whimsical consequences of incompetent decisions and incomplete knowledge.


    The reason that it is a god¡ªthat is, pre-eminent, and antecedent¡ªis that it had no choice but to be born.


    ¡ªSeth Ladderspawn


    A single thought dominated my mind: that I needed to get to Cris. Without her knowledge, and without her skills, I would certainly perish. I could only hope that she wasn¡¯t fatally wounded. It had happened too fast to know what state she was in.


    I dared not make a sound however; and if I took a step, it would be on top of the patchwork vines. Cris had said something about the vines being able to feel, which means¡ª


    I swerved my body to the side, an instant before something flew past and slammed into the wall. It had pierced the air directly above where my feet were grounded.


    It could sense where I was, no doubt.


    I froze and stilled my breathing. In one direction, behind me and towards the centre of the hall, rustling sounds and intermittent gurgling continued. Amongst those sounds was also an uncanny cadence; I hoped it was just my imagination, that it was something conjuring up primitive attempts at speech.


    ¡°Guh¡­ Guhuhu¡­¡± It made sounds that could¡¯ve been called a laugh.


    I shifted my weight just slightly, and the thing responded instantly. A rough, scaly tendril of a vine wrapped itself around me before I could react, and I was pulled in closer to the centre. I tried to push the vines off me, but there were too many, and they easily pinned my arms to my sides.


    Crap. I had one hope remaining now, but it was highly unlikely. But if my internal clock was accurate, there was a chance.


    ¡°Why,¡± a voice came out from the mass I sensed in front of me. It was undeniably a human voice, though twisted and unnatural.


    ¡°Why what,¡± I engaged it. Buying time was all I could do.


    ¡°Why¡­ can you see¡­ normal?¡± it asked. If I had to attach an intonation to its question, I would say that it sounded genuinely curious.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean,¡± I said. ¡°What are you?¡±


    The vines wrapping around me squeezed tighter, causing my elbows to grind into my sides. I could feel my ribs buckling under the pressure, and my lungs complaining. My arms were on the precipice of breaking.


    ¡°Tell¡­ me,¡± the voice said disconnectedly, as though each word was a struggle to find. ¡°Why can¡­ see¡­ truth?¡±


    ¡°Are you the cause behind these hallucinations?¡± I asked, despite expecting to be crushed further. Fortunately, I wasn¡¯t, yet.


    ¡°Hallu¡­ cin¡­¡± it mumbled. ¡°Yes¡­ But¡­ You¡­ Not working¡­ Answer¡­¡±


    ¡°And if I don¡¯t tell you?¡± I goaded. Not that I knew anyway.


    The next words that it spoke surprised me.


    ¡°H-Help,¡± it said.


    It was a different voice¡ªno, the same voice, but the speaker had to be different. I could tell now that this was a girl¡¯s voice, though it was deeply distorted by the struggle to speak.


    ¡°Who is that?¡± I asked, then hurriedly added, ¡°I¡¯ll help, but you need to let me go!¡± There was clearly something deeper going on here than there just being a creature in the darkness. The grip around me didn¡¯t loosen at all however.


    ¡°I can¡¯t¡­¡± the voice wavered. ¡°It¡¯s in¡­ my mind¡­ help¡­¡±


    Then the voice changed back to its earlier, stilted form.


    ¡°You will¡­ become¡­ like this,¡± it said.


    The girl from earlier, who I had chased after, sounded different to this. And now, this second female voice. The fact that we¡¯re searching for two lost girls. The strangely acting plant life.


    I felt anger in my chest with the thought that what we were searching for was right here, within arm¡¯s reach, if only my arms weren¡¯t constricted. I could only curse, ¡°What the hell are you.¡±


    ¡°¡­ You will¡­ not answer?¡± it asked. The death-grip tightened dangerously.


    ¡°If you want an answer, I need five minutes to think,¡± I said. Whatever this thing was, it seemed desperate for an answer from me. I needed to use that to buy time.


    ¡°¡­ Fine,¡± it answered.


    It was a surreal experience, to be in the grip of an unknown monster, about to be devoured but given time to ponder.


    ¡°Cris¡­ If you can hear me, don¡¯t make a move,¡± I said aloud. I had no idea whether she was okay; the fact that I had heard nothing from her was a bad sign. That said, the first step to taking control of a situation was to eliminate unknown factors.


    The voice had said that I could see ¡®normal¡¯; meaning that my perception wasn¡¯t being affected and warped? But there was no doubt that I was led into this mess by an illusion, just as the others were. I had heard footsteps where there was nobody, and all four of us were sleeping. Was our hearing even affected as our perception was? I had even seen an ordinary booklet become filled with nonsense writing.


    If this control over my mind had changed, when did it, and why? It would be no joke if being bumped on the head earlier had cleared my mind like magic. It would explain why I felt that I could make my way around the corridors as we were running from the flames, but it would also open up other questions.


    ¡°Time¡­¡± the voice said. I guessed my time was up. I could lie, but that would probably only result in an immediate death.


    Perhaps my intuition was wrong. It had surely been 24 hours since the last time, I fretted.


    ¡°Tell me one thing,¡± I said. ¡°What are you called?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Called¡­ Name¡­ is ¡®poppy¡¯¡­ I¡­ consumed many¡­ poppy¡­¡± it murmured at a crawl.


    ¡°¡¯I¡¯? You speak through the mouth of a human, don¡¯t you. A parasite¡­¡±


    ¡°No more¡­ questions¡­¡± it said.


    ¡°One more thing,¡± I interrupted. ¡°Tell me this person¡¯s name, then I will answer you.¡±


    Things shuffled minutely in front of me. I got the impression that I should be glad that I could not see what was happening. I had become aware of the fact that I could feel the body heat of another human a small distance from me, tangled in vines that smelled of wet grass. I felt pained.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.¡°Name¡­ H¡ª¡°


    That¡¯s when it finally came to fruition. I felt a shiver down my spine. Suddenly, something had changed in the room. What was this sensation? I felt like, I was being watched. But of course I was¡ªby this thing right in front of me. But it was something more. The hall, which was enormous for an underground space, and several stories high, and entirely devoid of anything but us on the ground¡­ it was claustrophobic in this moment. An undeniable pressure filled the space.


    The vines, and the thing in front of me, became utterly still.


    This had happened a full day previously; Varus and Karl had stopped all function, and stared off into the distance.


    And a full day before that¡­ I only remembered it being around noon. The same thing had happened in the village.


    It would only last for 15 or 20 seconds. I grunted and pushed my arms outwards; the vines maintained their posture, but they didn¡¯t fight back. They had become unresponsive, and it was enough for me to slip through them, and crawl out from their hold. I leaped towards the wall where Cris ought to be. I grappled in the darkness for a few precious seconds, and then I felt her body.


    ¡°Syco¡­¡± she mumbled. She sounded barely conscious, but I felt relief from a place deep within my heart that she was still breathing.


    ¡°Cris, I must have done something that interfered with the poppies,¡± I said in a rush.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know¡­¡± she said.


    ¡°Something that only I did, is there anything?¡± I urged.


    I heard a slight gasp from her. ¡°Mostwurm?¡± she said, and then she pushed her small bag into my hands. ¡°The buns¡ªmaybe¡­¡± she said.


    True enough, I was the only one who had eaten one of them. Cris¡¯s hesitation told me that she doubted that it was relevant, but there was no time to think any longer. I took the bag and ran back into the vines.


    ¡°¡ª?¡± The creature regained its consciousness, sending a ripple of movement out through the vine groundwork. I had wanted to get back into its grip, to fake that nothing had happened, but it was too late. The question was, now, would it attempt to capture me again, or would it switch right to attack? It would already know where I was by my footsteps all over its tendrils.


    A flash of light illuminated the room at that moment, emanating from behind me. It was just in time for my primal instincts to dodge out of the way. Only after this happened did my vision catch up, and my mind realize that I had just barely avoided a piercing green object. I also saw the true form of what was before me.


    My knees buckled involuntarily. I had to pin down the urge to stop in my tracks and turn tail. My stomach churned at the split-second image I had seen.


    But I took a few more steps forward with my momentum¡ª


    Then something ripped through my right hand, and then tugged me to the side.


    Regardless, I summoned the dregs of my energy and took one of the simple buns from the bag, and thrust it towards the creature, where its¡ªher mouth would be.


    ¡°Guh,¡± I was halted by a surge of pain from my side, and I was unable to stretch forward any further. I could feel a warm air on my fingers that gripped the food: the exhalation of the trapped girl.


    ¡°¡­ Close¡­¡± the vile voice said.


    ¡°Holly,¡± Cris¡¯s voice rung out strongly. Tinged with sadness, she continued, ¡°can you smell that? It¡¯s something you know, I¡¯m sure. Your mother asked us to deliver it to you, so¡­ please.¡±


    After a moment of silence, I heard something surprising. A sniffle, where my hand was outstretched. Then the girl took a bite of the bun. And swallowed.


    A confused quiet reigned as nobody knew what was happening. Even the creature seemed in anticipation of what would occur. Then, the control of the mouth was back to it. ¡°Haha¡­¡± it laughed. ¡°What¡­¡± it began¡ªthen paused. The vines went limp suddenly, then pulsated, then tensed; the one that skewered my palm expanded painfully, and I bellowed in pain as it felt like my hand would burst. But the vine retracted.


    The cacophony of sounds that began thereafter was indescribable. It spoke no longer, but I could comprehend what it was doing. I heard bones cracking. The vines tore at the body of the girl they enveloped¡ªthey pierced into her jaw, but the foreign object was not there. They tore at the neck and opened it, but it was not there. The sounds grew more chaotic as the vessel was taken apart, tracing the trail of the infection, but it was clearly too late. Even when the ripping sounds trailed off, it would not recognize the problem, and it had already ruined itself.


    I retreated to where Cris was as this happened, and helped her to her feet.


    ¡°Are you hurt?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, I just bumped my head,¡± she said. ¡°Its attack just grazed me, but I got knocked out. Let¡¯s try and leave.¡±


    I felt that she was leaving something unsaid, but she was well enough to walk, so I didn¡¯t argue. The vines around us flailed weakly still, but their actions were completely different to before. They now behaved like brainless parasitic flora¡ªas they should, I supposed.


    ¡°I saw what the poppies did to her¡­¡± I said quietly. Cris stopped me from continuing.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s highly intriguing,¡± she said. ¡°But I¡¯ll hear it¡­ later.¡±


    She created a small light and pointed it at our feet, then walked on ahead.


    At the far end of the now silent hall, there was in fact a heavy, rotted wooden door. We pushed it aside, causing it to fall apart in chunks, and stepped through to another hallway. After rounding a corner, there was another door, this time stone, and wedged firmly into a rock wall. The sound of a river was clearly audible from the other side, and thin vines could be seen attempting to penetrate through the slight gaps around the door.


    ¡°What now?¡± I asked. Cris still looked out of it, as she had earlier.


    ¡°What if, we open this door, and beyond it is just another black corridor?¡± she said, with a shiver. ¡°What if we get outside, but its just another illusion?¡± She clutched her head, beginning to panic. ¡°This sucks, this sucks!¡± she repeated.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t like you Cris,¡± I said to her, but she shook her head. ¡°You don¡¯t know that,¡± she objected. Her eyes were stuck to the ground as she sniffled.


    ¡°Cris, are you seeing something?¡± I asked. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡±


    But there was something there. If I looked closely, there were red-bulb bugs skittering around. And one of them was carrying something rather unusual: a shiny silver ring. The object slowly drifted about the floor like some impossible life form.


    ¡°A ring? Hey, I can see it too, you know,¡± I said. Cris didn¡¯t respond. ¡°Here, if you eat one of the buns¡ª¡°


    ¡°It belongs to the only friend I had in the village, you know,¡± she said. She then picked up the ring, which the little bug still clasped to; Cris gently pried the red-bulb off and put it back on the ground, then pocketed the ring.


    ¡°Sorry Syco, just wait here, okay?¡± she said, and then she ran off the way we had come. I didn¡¯t even have time to hesitate before a force pushed me from behind, and I slipped on the ground. Looking back in the disappearing light, there was nothing there except for blood, that pooled on the ground before my eyes.


    ¡°I thought this insanity was supposed to end now,¡± I muttered to myself, and then I ran after Cris.

 Chapter 14

    I hobbled my way back from where we came. Through the large hall where we were attacked; the vines there were inactive now. Through the doorway at the other end. There was the staircase that I had been thrown down, which Cris was climbing. I followed and called to her.


    ¡°Where are you going? It¡¯s dangerous!¡± I yelled up at her.


    ¡°Then don¡¯t follow!¡± she yelled back.


    ¡°It¡¯s safer together than alone,¡± I countered.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, the danger is over!¡±


    ¡°Is it? Which is it?¡±


    Cris tripped over the final step, affording me the opportunity to catch up to her. There was a gap in the vine cover, which had left the fire that had been blazing with nothing to burn, so it had died out.


    ¡°Are you really okay? Let me look,¡± I said to Cris, who was clutching her head. Parting her hair and ignoring her resistance, I could see that the wound she had gotten was bad enough to have bled all down her back.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the doctor, but I don¡¯t think this is okay,¡± I said. Cris sulkily brushed my hand away and said ¡°It¡¯s not as bad as it looks. I¡¯m going.¡±


    ¡°Then I am too. If you want me to stay behind¡­ then tell me what you¡¯re thinking.¡±


    Cris cast me a sulky glare. It was unlike her, but I could tell that it didn¡¯t contain any actual anger.


    ¡°¡­ Holly was one of my only friends,¡± she sighed sadly. ¡°You know what I thought when I learned that she was missing? I thought ¡®That idiot. I¡¯ve tried so many things to help her with her addiction, yet she¡¯s probably gone and fallen off a bridge while high¡¯. I really thought something that awful.¡± Cris sobbed as she continued, ¡°But she did listen to me. She shouldn¡¯t have come here. So why the hell was she down here, why did this happen to her?!¡±


    ¡°The poppies, they¡­ took over her mind,¡± I said. I didn¡¯t understand how such a thing was possible, but it was the reality I had seen just minutes earlier. ¡°There was nothing we could have done,¡± I assured Cris.


    ¡°You are right about that,¡± she nodded. ¡°But, you saw Rea, didn¡¯t you! If we can find her, and bring her out of here, then¡­ I won¡¯t feel like a total failure, at least.¡±


    ¡°I saw her,¡± I said, ¡°but I saw a bunch of illusions. I can¡¯t be certain¡ª¡°


    ¡°Exactly. I don¡¯t know how the poppies did it, but they used a brain¡­ Holly¡¯s mind¡­ to think. To trick us and lure us. It knew how to muddle our perception and confuse us. Maybe it could even learn about Rea and show us an illusion of her. That¡¯s why you stay behind, Syco! Because if Holly is gone, and if Rea is gone, I will have nothing, and I need¡­ at least¡­¡± she trailed off, and then wiped her tears away.


    I realized that I was rather terrible at consoling. I didn¡¯t want to give false hope, nor did I think it acceptable to let Cris wander around alone in this place.


    ¡°Is that enough?¡± asked Cris.


    ¡°I also want to know why the bun had that effect,¡± I said.


    ¡°¡­ There were mostwurm leaves used in it. That plant can be used as a deterrent against some things. Though it seems to be much stronger than I thought. It explains why the poppies have never overgrown out of here, since there are mostwurm fields right above. Now then,¡± she said as she stood, ¡°I¡¯ll be going.¡±


    ¡°Me too,¡± I said. ¡°I changed my mind.¡±


    ¡°You mean you lied,¡± Cris sighed.


    ¡°If something kills me, the same will probably happen to you, so it won¡¯t really matter, right?¡± I said. It sounded like a joke, but it was logical to me. ¡°Besides that, I still have this. If what you said is true, it should clear your mind.¡± I handed her the bun.


    She didn¡¯t eat it, but instead asked me, ¡°So, after all this¡­ What will you do?¡±


    ¡°My plan hasn¡¯t changed. I¡¯ll travel to the capital and search for what I must find.¡±


    Cris cocked her head to the side. ¡°And you won¡¯t tell me what that is?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I could, even if I¡¯d like to.¡±


    Cris still hesitated, for some reason.


    ¡°You¡¯d prefer to stay trapped in an illusion?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It would be crazy to prefer an illusion over reality¡­ even if the real world is the one where evil is born.¡±


    It didn¡¯t sound like a denial to my question, but she did eat the food. I waited silently until she was done.


    ¡°Do you feel better?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Slightly more clear-headed, maybe,¡± Cris said.


    Cris was bothered by something. Not something as transient as the world around us right now, or something that mattered only at this moment in time. I understood that there was an inherent quality of the world that conflicted with her.


    To me, the world was as it was. I felt surprise at seeing magic, and felt disgust at the cruelty of nature, but those momentary deviations were quickly incorporated into my world view. There was no event that could happen that would shatter my immature conception of the world, whether that was due to its puny size, or maybe its rigidity? The latter was preferable, but I wasn¡¯t sure.


    As such, I was unable to empathize with what Cris was enduring. ¡®Your mind is hazy, so fix it with this¡¯; such a basic link between problem and solution rarely truly existed in the world. This I began to understand, and it was only because it was Cris who disrupted this logical progression¡ªa person who I understood to be, somehow, closer to the ¡®root of all things¡¯ than anybody else I had encountered. I could then question why I believed this about her, but there was no time for a journey down an infinite regression such as that.


    Stolen novel; please report.Anyhow. When Cris spoke of the world where ¡®evil is born¡¯, I was unable to offer any insight, for I could not see beyond the premise; that this world was the one that birthed evil, because it was the only world, was it not?


    It might be possible to say that evil was birthed here because this was the only world. To surmise: living in this world means to live amongst evil.


    Unfortunately, none of this pondering served to fulfil its goal, which was to attempt to console Cris who was distraught over this genus of thought. Why did she bring up ¡®evil¡¯, anyway?


    We had been walking for a few minutes now¡ªslowly, due to injuries. Fortunately for me, there were no signs of Karl¡¯s presence, and Varus was nowhere to be seen either. There was only me and Cris, and the dripping of water. Much of the vines and poppies had become ash, so walking had become much easier.


    ¡°I¡¯m starting to get a clear picture of this place,¡± Cris said. ¡°I almost forgot how it felt to have a clear head. It¡¯s a strange feeling. I wonder if this is what people feel like when they¡¯re waking up from being knocked out for surgery.¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t guess. That gives me a question. What if you get sick, or need to be tended to?¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯d probably get sliced apart a minute later. And hey, that goes for you too, doesn¡¯t it? Or does that whole madness just work on an entirely different principle to what I thought?¡± She sighed as she usually did when she had no answers. ¡°That¡¯s basically why I decided to become a doctor, anyway. To avoid the risk of anybody needing to come into contact with me.¡±


    Cris pulled an object from her bag. It was a jagged piece of metal covered in blood.


    ¡°You still have that junk?¡± I asked. It was what I had been stabbed in the side with earlier.


    ¡°Notice anything?¡± she asked. I looked it over again, but it was just a bent piece of sharp metal, covered all over in dried blood.


    ¡°Nothing in particular.¡±


    ¡°Mm. Do you remember where you were when you were stabbed with it? Can you lead me there?¡±


    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be too hard¡­¡±


    It was just around the corner from the large room with bookshelves in it where we had slept. It shouldn¡¯t be too hard to find.


    As expected, after some wandering, we came to a spot that I thought I recognized, and soon after that we rediscovered that large room. Cris peered inside through the soot-blackened doorway, but Karl and Varus were still nowhere to be found.


    ¡°They must have left out the top. I can¡¯t believe the daylight reached here this entire time, and we never saw it,¡± Cris said.


    Now that the poppies had been eradicated from around here, the hallucinogenic effect was fully dissipating. The previously green, crawling walls around here especially had been replaced with deep black remnants of an intense inferno. I counted myself lucky that the sheer heat of Karl¡¯s attacks hadn¡¯t downed me.


    ¡°Does that mean that our vision was manipulated to even miss daylight that was clearly there?¡± I asked. ¡°Is that even possible?¡±


    Cris shrugged. ¡°It must be.¡±


    We followed the hallway that circled the central room, and¡ªfollowing my movements from when I had run through the darkness¡ªwe turned into another doorway, then advanced through a few connected rooms.


    ¡°Ah, this room,¡± Cris said, recognizing the final one. It was one we had been in before; there was debris and metal strewn all over the floor, and the next doorway was followed by the large staircase that we hadn¡¯t gone down.


    Cris crouched down and inspected the floor carefully. After a moment she pointed something out to me.


    ¡°Blood?¡± I said.


    ¡°Right. The metal shard in your side was covered in blood, correct? But the shard itself was preventing much bleeding from happening; even moving around didn¡¯t cause any sudden gushes of blood, right?¡±


    I nodded, realizing that it was strange for the metal to be covered in blood.


    ¡°So the blood over the rest of it wasn¡¯t mine?¡± I asked.


    Cris nodded. ¡°So the one who stuck it in you either cut themselves on it as they handled it, or something like that.¡±


    ¡°I heard a yell as I was chasing her¡­ She probably stood on one of them.¡±


    It made perfect sense. It had been pitch black, and some of the pieces on the floor had sections pointing into the air dangerously.


    Cris followed the trail of blood. It continued on ahead, through the doorway, to the staircase, and then down its steps. I had doubted that this staircase was even real, considering the circumstances; such was its size and apparent depth. But it looked no different to before. Cris made her light shine brighter, and it penetrated deep into the darkness, but the steps seemed to never end. The stairs delved deep into the ground, much deeper than the rest of the dungeon.


    ¡°Will you go down?¡± I asked Cris.


    ¡°Rea is down there,¡± she replied. She took a deep breath, and began descending.


    Before following her, I looked again at the message on the wall to the side.


    ¡°The ??? of seventy millennia forthward is drawn from thy will within¡±


    It was identical to before, and remained obtuse.

 Chapter 15

    Our footfalls echoed more deeply than I had noticed thus far. They reflected the distance from normality and safety we found ourselves at. At some point, even the vines that had become overly-familiar disappeared, and all there was, was barely-treaded stone untouched by even dust. The air grew chilly and damp, then warmer and drier again¡ªit didn¡¯t take a great amount of depth for the ground¡¯s ambient warmth to become noticeable, but considering the successive changes, there was likely a geothermal spot nearby.


    ¡°We¡¯re not stuck walking in circles again, I hope,¡± I said after several minutes of no change to the surroundings. Cris stopped and shone her light backwards, but it all looked the same.


    We kept walking.


    ¡°Do you think the others got out?¡± I asked. We hadn¡¯t come across Varus or Karl, and Karl had acted strange more than once. It was better if they were safe, but I more so just wanted to break the silence.


    ¡°I¡¯d put their chances at better than ours,¡± Cris said. ¡°Syco, I¡¯ve been wanting to ask something.¡± She drew a deep breath. ¡°What do you know of Demon-kind?¡±


    ¡°Hey now, this is me we¡¯re talking about,¡± I goaded. ¡°Of course, nothing¡ª¡°


    I ended my sentence unnaturally as I recalled the dying figure of a certain person, who I deemed a ¡®Goddess¡¯. My certainty of that ephemeral scene scattered more with each recollection, turning it into a disjoint memory that was like a puzzle piece that was included with the wrong set. Only the drive associated with that memory remained strong.


    ¡°This may be heresy, or along those lines, but¡­ I think that maybe, the people I have seen have felt too¡­ strongly, about those ¡®Demon-kind¡¯,¡± I said hesitantly.


    Cris made a sound like she was surprised, but also, not unlike she expected that answer.


    ¡°You¡¯re here one mere day, and you sense that,¡± she said. ¡°Then, Syco, tell me what you think¡ªbut don¡¯t think, just answer. Alright? Is this really how the world is?¡±


    She gestured, making me instinctively look around at the rock encasing us. Nondescript, rocky. Cris shook her head. ¡°I mean outside. The blue skies and white clouds, the green grass and brown bark. Is that how the world should be?¡±


    ¡°Is there something wrong with a blue sky? I see the world the same way you do, probably. It is what it is, right?¡±


    ¡°But you won¡¯t say that about the people, will you? The people, everyone celebrates the defeat of Demon-kind, and you saw that yourself. Of course it is that way, because Demon-kind are evil. That¡¯s the truth in this world, and everybody knows well the evil, disgusting things that they do. Awful things, even as a child I was told about them, so much so that even seeing my father do surgery right in front of me, the first time, it barely affected me. But despite this truth, you just said to me, that people are wrong about that!¡± Cris glanced at me. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s difficult to stay calm. In this aberrant world.¡±


    ¡°An aberrant world¡­ then, in the same way that the people misunderstand Demon-kind and embellish their terror¡ªpossibly, that is; at least for me it¡¯s just my gut feeling¡ªwe are misunderstanding the world, and even the exemplar blue sky is a fundamental misinterpretation.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it sounds crazy. Live in a boring village for this long and you start rambling, or something.¡±


    ¡°You were impressed upon and thought about this for a reason, so anyone would be wrong to simply deny it¡­ But, rather than a problem with how the world is, it might as well be a problem in the interpretation, or a problem¡ªno, more like an aberration in you yourself.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m aberrant, huh¡­ At this rate I feel like I really will be chased out of the village, like a monster.¡±


    Ah, so this girl really feels out of place, I thought. But contrarily, I felt no discomfort in going along with her, at least for now. If that feeling was indicative of anything, it might have been as basic as her not being an obstacle. That would be a rough thing to say on its own, but that feeling could have also indicated a many other things.


    ¡°Ah, but I remember one thing. The blue sky is a fact of the world, but the sky above Darvaza is still red!¡±


    Cris rolled her eyes. ¡°Well, yeah.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, in other words, the sky changes even for mundane reasons. A red sky doesn¡¯t mean the world has suddenly become nonsense, and closing your eyelids doesn¡¯t make the sky black. To put it another way¡ªto flip the chessboard¡ªeven the most incredible occurrence might not change the sky. If all life on the planet were to be wiped out, the sky would still be blue; it wouldn¡¯t change a single shade, as adamant in its conformity as the stars are in their placement in the night sky. What I mean is, something could change in the world; something could ripple through the world that changes everything, but at the same time, nothing would change. If time had flowed the opposite way until just moments ago, would the sky look different, or would the sound of rain pitter-patter with an amended melody? In such a world, I think that¡ªrather, I hope that the most profound change would be that someone might ask, ¡®Hey, is this how the world should be?¡¯¡±


    Cris kept walking in silence. Perhaps I had said too much, rambled off-course.


    ¡°Now I feel even more creeped out,¡± she said.


    Of course. I lamented my inability to say the right words to Cris.


    ¡°But when you talk about things like that¡­ time reversing? Haha, it makes me feel a lot more calm. Why even worry about something that is so out of our control? Even if there is something wrong about the world, does it really matter to me?¡±


    ¡°As much as politics matters to an ant, I¡¯m sure,¡± I said.


    Cris laughed, as though expunging unneeded thoughts. The light changed unexpectedly¡ªrather than piercing hefty darkness, it was now illuminating flat ground.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.¡°Finally¡­¡± Cris said. ¡°Come on Syco, let¡¯s find Rea, get out of here, and have a damn meal.¡±


    The floor we found ourselves on was fortunately very basic. It was apparently incomplete, as the hallway ended quickly with a haphazardly crumbled wall. Whatever method had been used to mine out the rock, the work had been left incomplete.


    To the right was an unrefined doorway. With it being the only path left to us, I followed Cris through.


    This room was as large as the massive empty hall we had encountered earlier, but it was much more rough and, by the looks of it, hurriedly excavated. The ceiling and walls were raw layers of rock, with only the floor being smoothed out.


    Otherwise, the contents of the room were incomprehensible. A metalwork jungle. Thick, iron cylinders exited from the rock overhead and split into smaller collections of pipes, which spewed off into the darkness. Wooden framework weaved its way in every direction, establishing a foundation for what I could only recognize as metal and glass formed into a variety of strange, interlocking shapes and designs. The snake-like formations stretched away to unknown depths, with only a thin space between themselves and the wall to walk down.


    ¡°What is this¡­ a pile of junk, or¡­¡± Cris murmured.


    There was something more to it than that. This was the silent husk of something with meaning and purpose.


    Nearby, I spotted a round band of metal jutting out from the framework, and curiously handled it. It spun smoothly around its centre, and in doing so, moved something behind it, which then caused a few metal balls to roll into an enclosed pipe. The rattle of the balls disappeared into the maze of metal.


    ¡°Nothing happened?¡± Cris asked.


    There was then a dull bang and a clanking sound from somewhere deep within the room, followed immediately by a surprised scream.


    ¡°This way!¡± Cris said. We hurriedly rushed down the path alongside the wall, and half a minute later something appeared in our way.


    ¡°Rea!¡±


    Cris fell to her knees and embraced the girl in tattered clothing sitting hunched up on the ground. Same age as Cris, with long blonde hair and a pretty face, and unfocused blue eyes. This was the girl I had seen earlier.


    ¡°Rea, you¡¯re okay? Are you hurt anywhere?¡± Cris immediately tended to her, until her awareness began to set in.


    ¡°C-Cris?¡± the girl said softly. Her eyes, already red and swollen, began to leak tears. ¡°Cris, help me, take me out of here~!¡± she cried.


    In that eerie place, stifled by dead air and darkness, I waited as Cris comforted and checked her for anything dire.


    It was a tough return back up the stairs, but by carrying Rea between us, Cris and I forged our way back. It seemed that, though starved and exhausted, Rea would be okay, though she had passed out soon after we found her.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, about Holly,¡± I said to Cris.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯re not in the clear yet.¡±


    We didn¡¯t share many other words until we reached the top of the stairs and took a short rest. ¡°What is this place, in the end?¡± we¡¯d ask each other, but no amount of thinking could bring us an answer to that question. I recalled something that Cris had mentioned: something about an insane man who had come here, built this place, and performed experiments. The poppies could explain many of the delusions I had seen, but in the end they were little but an infestation that made use of this place.


    Cris and I weaved our way back to the large hall where the vines had attacked, and Cris urged me back to the blocked doorway beyond it. The refreshing sound of flowing water¡ªescape was just beyond here. Unlike last time, Cris put her palms against the heavy stone door without any hint of indecision. She then unleashed a powerful force from her hands; the air rebounding from the wall almost toppled me over. The door didn¡¯t open, but it was fractured, and its top half was easily pushed out.


    Evening sunlight¡­


    Cris fell to her knees and panted, but she wore a smile on her face.


    ¡°You could have done that earlier?¡± I asked.


    Cris shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m a little selfish, but not enough to leave you stuck in here when I could help it. Magic is¡­ well, I¡¯ll teach you why another time,¡± she said while breathing heavily. It had entirely exhausted her.


    I carried the slumped Rea through the collapsed doorway first, and leaned her against the tree that grew partially in front of the small enclave. No wonder the door wouldn¡¯t open normally. I helped Cris through too, and then we both drank greedily from the stream in front of us. We were at the bottom of a deep ravine; thin slices of bushy land ran alongside the stream, immediately followed by sheer cliffs of dark rock. At the top of the ravine was the wooden bridge we had crossed when we first arrived here.


    With the golden sunlight hitting her face from beyond the thin gap of the ravine, Rea came to and was helped to the water by Cris and I. She looked at me curiously but was likely too exhausted to question who I was quite yet. Ah, what face would she make if I said ¡°Hey, it¡¯s just me, the one you stabbed with some dirty metal!¡±?


    ¡°Karl¡­¡±


    Rea called that name suddenly. I glanced back at her¡ªshe was staring upwards, and waved.


    On the bridge, up there, was Karl. He stared down at us. He saw me.

 Chapter 16

    Due to the noise of the running water and the distance, Karl couldn¡¯t be heard, but a few hand signs from atop the bridge communicated something to Cris.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± I asked, watching Karl walk away towards the village.


    ¡°I guess I can¡¯t ask you to take Rea and go on ahead, can I¡­¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning on being burned to death after all this, so no, I¡¯d rather not return alone. What is it? Is there something you need to do here?¡±


    ¡°No, nevermind. Getting Rea back home is most important.¡±


    I surmised that she felt wrong about leaving Holly¡¯s remains in there, but there was no helping it.


    ¡°Though I¡¯ll have to ask you to carry Rea. It¡¯d be a mess if she woke up while I was in contact with her¡­ Ah, though¡­¡± Cris trailed off.


    ¡°You get it too, right? There are too many unknowns, even more so now that we¡¯ve made it outside.¡± What if I returned to that village, and everybody there wanted me dead? It made no sense rationally, but circumstances kept rolling in that direction regardless. ¡°Rea seemed fine when you touched her earlier, didn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°That was sloppy of me, I¡¯m fortunate she was barely conscious. Rea might be a close friend but I¡¯ve had enough close brushes with her in the past to know that, none of that matters, she could¡­ Just like Varus, I¡¯ve felt her look at me with those haunted eyes¡­¡±


    This was just my own perception, but I was sure that this feeling alone bothered Cris more deeply than any part of being trapped in the poppy cellar ever did.


    The bushes on the other side of the stream suddenly rustled¡ªI leaped back behind cover of a tree trunk as Varus burst out from a concealed path in the cliff-face.


    ¡°Cris, are you alright?¡± he yelled out. ¡°R-Rea?!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re fine, Varus,¡± Cris said exhaustedly, but with relief at seeing him.


    ¡°S-She¡ªSyco didn¡¯t do anything to you, right?¡±


    ¡°No? No! Varus, listen,¡± Cris started, as Varus hesitantly glared at me. ¡°Karl got something wrong. Syco helped me save Rea, okay? Where is Karl, he isn¡¯t here is he?¡±


    ¡°No, I told him to wait up ahead.¡± He grunted in frustration and scratched his head wildly. ¡°Too much has happened, we just need to get back home and sit down and sort all this out. But we can¡¯t do that if she is around, it¡¯s too shifty. Hey, no offence, alright?¡± he said to me. ¡°I trust Cris, so I¡¯m willing to trust you if she does. But we gotta reset and sort this out a step at a time, just us three.¡±


    The setting sun cast a severe orange glaze over us.


    Varus, wanting to eliminate his discomforts before anything else.


    Myself, mostly just watching out for an ambush.


    And Cris, whose decision we waited for.


    Though, if we were more keen, we¡¯d have noticed that her sight was locked not on a distant point as one in deep thought would do, but the black shape in the sky that, now that I was thinking back on it, had been circling far above, in a way somehow unnatural for any kind of ordinary bird.


    That shape, as I caught it again in my sight, catapulted itself from the air directly towards us.


    A wingspan of at least 6 metres¡ªthat was the profile of the thing that crashed into the ground beside us with a monstrous force, much like a meteorite, only more fearsome, for a meteorite would at least destroy itself at the climax of its destructive path. There was little to fear from a meteorite after it had landed, but simply from the way those wickedly pointed wings folded with a sound like a mad growl, I understood that this thing lacked the decency to provide quick, easy deaths.


    The barrage of ricocheting rock had passed by me, but the others, who were in the open, were in a more precarious state. I wanted to call out for Cris, who I couldn¡¯t find through the cloud of dust and spray, but my instincts instructed me to hold my tongue.


    The figure¡¯s veiny wings, glowing blood red in the penetrative glare of the setting sun, collapsed fully, leaving a 7-foot tall slim figure in their stead. It smoothly waved the dust from its vicinity and hunched its way forwards, probably toward where Cris was.


    I heard her cough and groan as the dust cleared¡ªshe had thrown herself over top of Rea. She was conscious, but her arm bled from a bunch of gashes that had been made along it.


    ¡°Dear me,¡± a heavy voice fell from above. Guttural, at a lower pitch than was possibly natural, and malicious with barely a veil to hide it. This creature towered above Cris, who sat in a heap. It towered over me, who was still standing. Long, black tendrils of thick hair¡ªor cartilage¡ªsomething between humanoid and not, fell over its face and down its back. And, its eyes; red vibrant rings that pierced through the mind, glanced at me for a split-second from its shadowed face.


    It looked about itself, then spoke again. ¡°Dear me, dear me. I do hope nobody was killed. That would be unfortunate, very not pleasant, very unfortunate!¡±


    Cris entered its sights, and it continued as if monologuing. ¡°Dear me, dear me, ah, yes that child is alive still, still alive still, how not unfortunate, very pleasant very not unfortunate!¡±


    ¡°Who¡ª¡° I leaked out, before I could clamp my mouth shut. The creature¡¯s wings undulated, and two hungry red ringed pupils chained me to the spot.


    ¡°Dear me, dear me, quaint and interesting, quaint and interesting!¡±


    It shuffled around, looking about itself, as if searching for something. Then, it sighted Rea, and hunched further forward, reaching out an arm¡ªonly then did I notice that it was wearing what was clearly a surprisingly ordinary, though quite elegant, black and maroon double-breasted suit.


    The limb it extended, the end of which looked like it was made of several razor-sharp blades in the composition of a hand, touched Rea for but a split-second; she awoke in an instant with a frightened gasp, and began hyperventilating.


    ¡°R-Rea! Hold on!¡± Cris choked out, attempting to drag Rea away from the creature, even if only barely.


    ¡°Dear me, completely wrong, completely wrong, dear me!¡± it said, shaking its head dramatically. It went back to looking around at the ground, acting more and more oblivious to us. It was incomprehensible. Trying my luck, I crouched down and moved over to Cris¡ªthe creature surely noticed my doing so, but didn¡¯t react at all.


    ¡°Cris, here,¡± I said, grabbing Rea under her shoulders and pulling her towards a safer spot. She had already fallen unconscious again.


    ¡°What is that?¡± I asked Cris in a whisper. ¡°Where¡¯s Varus?!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know,¡± she whimpered.


    A trail of spilt blood followed the stream for a short distance, starting from just within the shattered door of the poppy cellar. It was barely noticeable¡ªdespite having seen it pooling out of thin air earlier, I had forgotten about it until now.


    The creature had seemingly caught on to this trail however, and was invested in following it. Was it curiosity? Purpose? It was pointless to guess.


    The creature found the culmination of the trail, several metres away, and while muttering nonsense to itself, grabbed at the air at its feet.


    ¡°Oh yes, found it, found it!¡± it exclaimed. It held nothing, but that seemed to be wrong. It had gotten its claws on something.


    ¡°No,¡± Cris said, wide-eyed. ¡°Don¡¯t take it!¡± she yelled.


    The creature turned around as it unfurled its wings, and it dashed back towards Cris in a horrifying instant. I didn¡¯t have time to step between them, even if I thought it would help.


    ¡°Cris, Cris, yes, it is Cris, is it not? Regards, regards to, Gerald! Or was it Gary? Or Jerry? No matter, no matter.¡±


    Abruptly, it beat its wings in a single powerful motion, and rose into the air. At the same moment, Varus and Karl both leapt from behind a thick patch of brush; Varus swung a short blade at the creature¡¯s feet, and from Karl¡¯s hand, a sharp cut of flames flew through the air.


    With an agile undulation of its wings, the creature easily dodged both of these attacks, and rose still further into the air. As I heard Cris yelling to stop it, words rose in my mind:


    ¡°Regard the Unseen Doll.¡±


    Several happenings flashed in my mind: Being carried and thrown through the air; Cris being gouged and blood flying, and her unharmed body thereafter; The occasional sensation of there being something nearby.


    I left my hiding spot and rushed after the creature as it gained momentum. Of course, this was pointless; there was nothing I could do to stop it, just as Varus and Karl were unable to. But I could picture a humanoid shape clenched in its claws. The weight of that imaginary figure and how it would affect the creature¡¯s posture and balance as it beat its wings¡ªit matched up with what I saw.


    Was this the ¡°Unseen Doll¡± spoken of within the message in my soul?


    Regardless of whether it really was¡­


    It was out of reach now. The thing that had come and stolen away my closest lead thus far was already a dot on the horizon.


    There was no time to wallow in regret, however. Cris was still sat on the fractured ground, distraught. She seemed on the verge of a panic attack. I wanted to go to her, but¡ª


    There was still the matter of Karl, who had appeared before us again. Our eyes met. I prepared myself to fight¡ªor rather, to run away¡ªbut Varus stepped between us and held out his arms as if to force the animosity between us apart.


    ¡°Oh no, no no no, we¡¯re not doing this. I¡¯ve had enough shit today. Karl, you¡¯re staying right there.¡±


    Karl shrugged as if complacent, but his face remained in a scowl. ¡°Fine with me,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve never had any intention to harm her, in any case. I have no willpower left to do any magic right now, so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°No intention to harm me,¡± I repeated in disbelief. I somehow doubted that it was true.


    ¡°I¡¯m aware of how illogical it is of me to say that,¡± Karl said. ¡°It¡¯s true that I don¡¯t trust you. I don¡¯t know you, after all. But there¡¯s no reason for me to want to harm you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to need a bit more clearing up than that,¡± I said, while walking back towards Cris. She was practically in tears still, and wasn¡¯t paying attention to the situation at all.


    ¡°Understandable,¡± said Karl. ¡°Feel free to clear it up then. And then perhaps you could explain it to me? Because, I can¡¯t explain it. If you can¡¯t either, then maybe nobody can. Maybe that demon can. That¡¯s all I can say about it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it either Karl,¡± Varus said. ¡°But let¡¯s all leave it for now. We need to get Cris and Rea home.¡±


    Karl nodded in agreement. ¡°Rea¡­ I¡¯m glad she¡¯s alright. What about Holly? What happened in there?¡±


    ¡°Holly didn¡¯t make it,¡± Cris said. ¡°She¡¯s¡­ in there.¡±


    Grief fell across their faces.


    ¡°No¡­¡± Varus said.


    The original reason for coming here was to find Rea and Holly. Only now that things were settling down did reality fully hit. It was not only a failure in that we were too late to make a difference; these three had lost a friend, possibly even a close friend.


    I suddenly felt very much like an outsider. Of course, I had been the entire time¡­ it was only Cris¡¯s open kindness that had made it feel otherwise.


    ¡°Shall I¡­ show you inside? It should be safe to do so now,¡± I suggested. Varus and Karl looked to Cris, and she nodded at them. They obediently agreed.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay here and check on Rea,¡± Cris said. ¡°I¡¯ll be okay for a few minutes. Rea isn¡¯t critical either, so it¡¯s okay.¡±


    Karl and Varus led the way with illumination, and I directed them around the corner and back into the hall where Holly was. The two didn¡¯t bother questioning what had happened in this room. I told Karl to inspect the centre of the room, which he did, and then returned with a sullen expression.


    ¡°I¡­ would rather not leave here with Holly in that state¡­¡± he said.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that,¡± Varus said, anticipating something.


    ¡°I¡¯ll manage it,¡± Karl said. ¡°I¡¯m going to burn this place¡­¡± he said to me. ¡°Would that be a problem?¡±


    ¡°Not that I know of,¡± I said. ¡°I think it¡¯d be good. For what it¡¯s worth.¡±


    Karl nodded and, much unlike the previous times, let liquid fire pour slowly from his hands and onto the ground, where the vines, which were becoming dry and hard, sat.


    The fire spread slowly around the hall, until all four walls were lit with flickering yellow and orange. The flames licked higher and higher, and the heat became difficult to bear¡ªI treaded backwards to duck out, only for Karl to rush out ahead of me. Varus and I followed after him until we were back outside, only to find him shaking against the rock-face, having vomited and fallen to his knees.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked, worried that yet again, something was starting.


    ¡°Ah, he¡¯ll be okay,¡± Varus said. ¡°Karl is uh, well, he can¡¯t handle fire very well.¡±


    Karl chuckled bitterly. ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t mind me. I¡¯m a bit of a weirdo.¡±


    ¡°Huh, I see¡­¡± I said. Actually, it was probably the most shocking thing I¡¯d heard all day. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to do that if it¡¯s hard for you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡­¡± Karl said. ¡°It¡¯s all I can do for her now, after all.¡±


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.As the flames raged inside the cellar, the surprises of the day finally seemed to be dying down. Hopefully.


    ¡°It¡¯s something I¡¯m adamant about, to not apologize for things I don¡¯t consider wrong,¡± Karl said unprompted. ¡°And while I¡¯m aware that attacking you was wrong, that¡¯s exactly why I won¡¯t apologize. It¡¯s something I never would do without reason, so it makes no sense to me why I should apologize for it.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°This would all be much easier if you actually just hated me.¡±


    ¡°It would,¡± he agreed. ¡°However, there are more important things than being right. And Cris is staring at me with quite an angry look, so, I do apologize. Syco.¡±


    As reluctant an apology as it was, it was an apology, in a technical sense.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long day,¡± I replied. I didn¡¯t say more. I looked at Varus¡ªhe was staring off into the distance. I wondered if he was remembering the time that he acted in the same way, as Cris had told me about. Still, I was going to be keeping my distance from Karl, and Varus too for that matter, until I had a clue what that was all about.


    ¡°I¡¯ll carry you, Cris,¡± I said to her. She looked about to pass out any minute.


    ¡°Sorry, Syco,¡± she said. I knelt down in front of her and let her climb onto my back. Varus seemed about to reject, but this was something I obviously couldn¡¯t back down on. Fortunately he didn¡¯t say anything. Karl helped him to pick up Rea, and we began the walk back to the village as night began to fall.


    We spoke about the appearance of the demon, but to all of us, it was so sudden and frightening that it was practically surreal. ¡®Did that actually really happen?¡¯ was running through Varus¡¯ and Karl¡¯s heads, I was sure. In the end, we walked in silence. Picturing our group walking home nonchalantly, despite that ridiculous encounter¡­ it almost got a laugh from me.


    It was dark when Cris roused from her sleep. She was leaning against a tree, and I was sitting across from her.


    ¡°Morning,¡± I said.


    ¡°Syco? Where are we?¡±


    I controlled my urge to laugh creepily in this situation. It was probably a bad time to make a joke like that.


    ¡°Just outside the village. I had Varus and Karl go on ahead. They took Rea to your place to get patched up and all that.¡±


    ¡°You what?¡­ Oh! Right, t-that could have been bad¡­¡±


    Cris¡¯s parents were probably already anxious about how long she had been missing. That anxiety had likely doubled with Varus and Karl returning without her. But if I had taken her in, passed out on my back, they would have focused their attention on her and been less conscious of Rea¡¯s condition. On top of that, there was the whole trouble of Cris needing to avoid contact with others. So, my thinking was to hide out here for a short while first.


    ¡°I was prepared to be punched when you woke up, truthfully. After all, I¡¯m guessing I¡¯m putting your parents through some less-than-pleasant emotions right now,¡± I said.


    ¡°Not to mention letting me wake up in a cold, wet patch of grass in the pitch black, when I was hoping to wake up in a nice warm bed. Oh, I had nightmares about being chased down dark hallways by a horrific monster, by the way.¡±


    ¡°No wonder you were so sweaty. My back is still soaked.¡±


    Ouch. I see, so that was the threshold to get a punch from her.


    ¡°I see you wrapped up the cuts on my arm though¡­ by tearing up my shirt some more¡­ thanks¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome!¡±


    She sighed. ¡°Jokes aside, I¡¯m a bit surprised. That you thought that much about everything for me,¡± Cris said. ¡°Thank you¡­¡±


    ¡°You brought me along but in the end there wasn¡¯t much I could do in there, so I thought I could at least try and use my head a little to help you out.¡±


    ¡°Mm? That¡¯s not really what I¡ªwell, nevermind. Thanks¡­¡± she said, with a hint of a smile in her voice.


    Cris checked on the wound in my side, but it had healed up quickly thanks to her stitching. We sat in silence for a few minutes, until I formulated what I wanted to ask.


    ¡°Cris, about that thing that appeared¡­¡±


    ¡°A demon,¡± she said with a shiver.


    ¡°¡­ Was that your first time seeing one?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ But it was no doubt one of Demon-kind¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm. And, it took something¡­ right?¡±


    Cris took a moment to answer. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I can only tell you what I¡¯ve felt. And that is, that for as long as I can remember, I¡¯ve had¡­ something. There has always been something following me. And now¡­ yeah, I can feel it, that it¡¯s gone now.¡±


    That seemed to confirm what I had surmised. That ¡°Unseen Doll¡±¡ªor at least, something of that kind¡ªhad been following Cris, and had been taken by this mysterious demon. Was there anything I could ask Cris to determine whether this entity was the one that my soul directed me to find? Frankly, there were too many unknowns to even make a conjecture at this point.


    ¡°Cris¡­ are you okay?¡±


    I heard her shake her head in the darkness. ¡°I feel so vulnerable. I don¡¯t like this feeling at all¡­¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ Let¡¯s get you home then.¡±


    I took Cris¡¯s hand and helped her up, then led her through the trees on a path that I had memorized when there were still remaining slivers of daylight in the sky.


    ¡°Do you know something about that, Syco?¡± Cris asked me.


    ¡°No, nothing at all¡­ Just a vague feeling at most.¡±


    It was a strange thing to see. Parents, and their child returned from the unknown, clearly desiring to embrace and share in their relief, but unable to do so, held back by an unnatural, vague madness buried deep within the world, or perhaps themselves.


    I stood alongside the wall of the living room with Varus and Karl, who also looked on sheepishly, possibly sharing similar thoughts. I wasn¡¯t sure about Karl, but we all had an understanding that something was unsettled in this ordinary scene, this ordinary household, this ordinary village.


    Regardless, none of us chose to speak of it. Nor did we allow it to interfere with the way that things should be, any more than it had to. The reason was simple¡­ To allow Cris to be comfortable here, in her own home and her home town, all it took was to keep those wavering thoughts buried and forgotten. I could understand why they were able to do that, rather than questioning the things that were clearly odd. It was because they cared about Cris, who had always been an honest, ambitious, and thoughtful friend.


    Before we had entered the house, Cris had told me that in the morning, she would give me the silver that she had promised. I would be able to afford a place on the carriage that travelled to the capital, where my purpose lay. I¡¯d be leaving behind this village and its people.


    I felt a jolt of something peculiar when I realized this. I had discovered at least one thing of critical importance, and that was the potential nature of the ¡°Unseen Doll¡±. Yet, many more questions now existed in my mind compared to a couple days earlier. Was it a sense of wrongness at leaving all that behind?


    Ah, I felt agitated.


    I saw Varus and Karl off at the gate.


    ¡°Syco. We¡¯ll be asking Cris about exactly what happened in there, but¡­ Well, it seems that you protected her in our place when we were unable to, so¡­ Good work,¡± Varus said abashedly.


    ¡°We might have never found Rea if it weren¡¯t for you being there, for all I know,¡± Karl said. ¡°I¡¯m thankful for that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad Rea is safe. And, I¡¯m sorry about Holly,¡± I said. I didn¡¯t know the girl, of course, but it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that I had somewhat soaked in a portion of their emotions. I felt like new sensations that I had never before experienced had been established within me, and that was undoubtedly a valuable thing.


    Rea would be recovering in the room that I had been using, so I ended up getting the privilege of sleeping in a blanket on the cold wood floor of Cris¡¯s own bedroom.


    ¡°Sorry about this,¡± Cris said from her bed after the candles were extinguished. ¡°Think of it as payback for before.¡±


    ¡°It beats sleeping in the woods, so I¡¯m nothing but thankful. Is Rea alright?¡±


    ¡°It looks like she¡¯ll be fine. She has hypothermia and was suffering from malnutrition, but that¡¯s all as expected¡­ nothing Dad can¡¯t handle.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯d be bad if you got hypothermia too! You can¡¯t sleep on the floor after all,¡± Cris said, clearly having finally thought up a workable excuse.


    ¡°There¡¯s not much in the way of alternatives.¡±


    Cris threw open her covers and patted the bed next to her. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Come sleep next to me.¡±


    It was becoming a very chilly night. Cris¡¯s mother was currently in Rea¡¯s room, using a passive bit of magic that released an extraordinary degree of body heat into the surroundings. The plan seemed to be that Cris¡¯s parents would take shifts doing this, in order to keep a tight lid on Rea¡¯s hypothermia. The girl was in good care.


    ¡°You don¡¯t mind?¡± I asked. Cris just patted the bed again. Well, it wasn¡¯t much unlike the situation in the poppy cellar. ¡°Okay. Thanks.¡±


    I slid into the thin bed beside her and plopped my own blanket over top both of us. The hefty cotton and Cris¡¯s body heat made it incredibly cosy compared to the floor.


    Cris lay back down beside me and disappeared under the blankets.


    ¡°Syco? Do you think it¡¯d be crazy to be scared that¡­ we never left the cellar?¡±


    ¡°Hm. Yeah.¡± I said. ¡°The poppy cellar was pretty comfy, but not this comfy.¡±


    ¡°Hehe. It was not comfy at all¡­¡± Cris said with a yawn. When people are tired, they sometimes have a habit of stating the obvious¡­


    Cris was still shivering despite the warmth. I put my head under the blankets with her.


    ¡°You feeling vulnerable?¡±


    ¡°W-What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°You said so earlier. Since your¡­ ¡®guardian¡¯ was taken.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ yeah.¡±


    ¡°I might be powerless, but I¡¯m here for now. And, think about this¡­ Sure, it would be a problem if we were somehow still under the influence of the poppies. And yet, before we went in there, and forever afterwards, we¡¯re still living lives of questionable sights and sounds and flaky memory. I myself am pretty well aware of this, you know.¡±


    ¡°When you put it like that, I don¡¯t know how you keep so calm,¡± she said.


    ¡°That¡¯s the thing. All of this right now could be an illusion within some other world¡­ what if that were the case? You¡¯ve lived this long without worrying about that. If I had asked you about this before, I¡¯m sure you could¡¯ve easily said, ¡®Well, if it turns out to be all an illusion, I¡¯ll deal with it when it happens.¡¯¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably true¡­¡±


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ve forgotten what fear is. Maybe I¡¯m lucky in that regard. But there may be something incredibly important to me that is hidden behind that veil of lost memory of mine. What if every second that goes by puts me further from what matters to me? The problem is that I might never know. The beauty of that is that I can focus on the moment in front of me, and I can find new things that I can call the import of life.¡±


    I say all this, but that makes me somewhat of a hypocrite, doesn¡¯t it?


    After all, I¡¯m chasing after the vestiges of purpose from beyond that veil, without knowing why.


    These are tasteless words that exist simply to comfort a girl in this singular moment¡­ But despite realizing this, I say them.


    ¡°Mhm¡­¡± Cris said. She had listened intently.


    ¡°Sorry, I got off topic¡­ I guess I really can¡¯t offer much more than ¡®hey just don¡¯t worry about it¡¯, I¡¯m sorry to say.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. You know, I think you use your head more than just ¡®a little¡¯. I¡¯ve never heard things like this before.¡±


    I noticed that she wasn¡¯t shaking as she had been earlier. And there was more joy in her voice. That¡¯s something, I suppose.


    ¡°Well if you¡¯re feeling better, that¡¯s all that matters,¡± I said.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I thought she might¡¯ve fallen asleep, but¡ª


    ¡°Syco, cuddle me like before?¡±


    ¡°Oh? So it does come to that again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never been able to do it before. And I might never get a chance again. So indulge me¡­¡±


    After all, words could only ever do so much for the mind. There was no substitute for the feeling of sanctuary that arms wrapped around you could provide. Cris wasn¡¯t unlike a lost soul in an eternal desert, having just found the single oasis that inhabits it.


    So I put my arms around her and hugged her close to me. Ah, Cris¡¯s parents kindly provided me fresh sleepwear, so I wasn¡¯t pulling Cris into several days of grimy uncleaned skin. Cris put her arms around me and held me tightly, as if afraid of letting go. I felt some remnants of anxiety in her, so I rubbed her back, until she fell asleep.


    And, well, this certainly wasn¡¯t a bad way to sleep. What do you think, Goddess? For some reason¡­ I think you¡¯d smile honestly and agree with me.

 Excerpt 1

    That same night, within a small and unassuming room somewhere underneath the backstreets of Vasileia, the grand Imperial Capital of the Sovereign Nation of Vasileio, a strained meeting between two unsavoury men was taking place.


    ¡°This is the next item my client wishes to present,¡± one of the men said, having been passed a crumbling scrapbook from an enormous man who silently stood in the shadowy corner of the room. The man who spoke was tall and elderly, sported a head of well-combed white hair, and was attired in a pristine black suit. Standing one on side of a shoddy table, he displayed the item in his hands with a practised elegance.


    ¡°Old man. I thought I made myself clear. If the next item isn¡¯t something good, then I¡¯m leaving. I have plenty of other contacts to meet with, and unlike yourself, I don¡¯t like to waste the time of those I deem worthy of meeting with.¡± The man on the other side of the table, leaning back in his chair with his feet on the table, spat out these words. Contrary to the elderly man that opposed him, he wore a hard-leather vest and pants; though unusually for attire that would normally only see use in battle, a closer inspection would reveal that this clothing was elegantly inlaid with silver and golden thread, and partially was formed of expensive materials such as silk. His messy black hair and tan skin gave him the appearance of a mercenary, but his fine facial features betrayed that he was of a man of deeper significance.


    ¡°I am merely presenting the items of agreed-upon relevance in the order specified by my client,¡± the elderly man said with an air of authority. With the way he kept his chin raised and heightened the volume of his voice ever so slightly, he made clear his intention not to falter at any sign of indignation.


    ¡°I made it clear that I was only interested in items pertaining directly to military and economic superiority. Pray tell, how a mere scrapbook fulfils this necessitation? I was told that your client had in his possession artefacts that could turn a village into a smouldering hole in the ground. Where are they already?¡±


    The older man took a deep breath, an alternative to the deep sigh he wished to give. He was too old to deal with young men of this era, all too eager to bite at anything and everyone like a rabid dog. However, his client had an unquenchable desire for a certain degree of perfection in all business dealings. Bringing his personal feelings into a business transaction wouldn¡¯t end with him being merely disposed of. A much more grave fate would befall him.


    ¡°Rest assured that your specifications have been fully accounted for, Master City. This item is not shy of a certain degree of straightforward destruction.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re so confident, I¡¯ll give you a final chance, old man. Tell me what these pages are. And let me warn you that if it¡¯s something like theory of heat transfer or some unusable crap like that, you¡¯d best just leave and hope I don¡¯t require compensation for my time.¡±


    How best to describe this item such that his brain will be capable of understanding? The older man pondered this.


    ¡°The writings in these notes are said to be direct correlations to a tier of magical competency never before seen in this world. To put it simply, if we can agree that the most accomplished magic-users in our era have reached the level of¡ªto take the discipline of fire as an example¡ªmelting a bar of iron into liquid within several seconds, then these notes portray the step required to reach over the current wall and into the next tier.¡±


    ¡°Next tier? What is that? Melting two bars of iron?¡± the younger man snorted.


    ¡°The next tier would be, according to the author, quote: ¡®Creating a pinpoint singularity of heat, at such intensity that, in one instance of time, the planet will disperse into gas, and the Sun above will be absorbed into its newly created, more fearsome brother.¡¯¡±


    ¡°¡­ Save the fairy tales for your grandkids. I said that I have no need of unusable¡ª¡°


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.¡°Have you heard the name Seth?¡±


    The young man deigned to not answer.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re aware of whom I speak. You have heard the rumour that Seth Ladderspawn went mad and disappeared, only to be discovered dead out in a hole in the middle of nowhere? This was one of his few possessions left behind that managed to be retrieved. Now that I have conveyed the import of this item, please do spend our limited time together wisely and let me know if you are interested in this item.¡±


    The young man rocked back and forth on his chair several times, staring at the gentleman across from him. Then he asked: ¡°So, what¡¯s the gist? ¡®Direct correlations¡¯ tells me that this is an interpretation of the base concepts that would allow a reader to immediately perform this magic, no different to the way kids learn to throw wind by being shown¡­ what was it these days, Dart¡¯s Diagram of Wind Control? Keh, and yet clearly nobody has read these pages and destroyed the world, ¡®cause we¡¯re still here aren¡¯t we? What¡¯s the catch here?¡±


    ¡°The information we do have on the contents of the notes are derived from the introductory descriptions written by the author. The reason that the contents themselves have been constrained thus far is because all of those who have set their eyes upon the deeper pages have succumbed to an immediate death upon doing so.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Your decision please, Master City? Are you willing to enter negotiations for this item?¡±


    City snorted derisively and looked away. The old man didn¡¯t miss the bead of sweat that had formed on his brow.


    ¡°Keh. Interesting fairy tale, I¡¯ll admit. The only reason I¡¯m not cutting your throat this instant after feeding me this bowl of bullshit is because your client has a reputation that can¡¯t be ignored. Give thanks to him for your life, old man.¡±


    The young man stood up and stepped away from the table, towards the door on his side of the room. Scratching his head, he laughed again. ¡°It¡¯s always the crazy fucks who write the best fairy tales.¡±


    ¡°¡­ My client is desiring a minimum payment of seventy-nine thousand Gold Flats or the equivalent there-of. However, I have been given personal¡ª¡°


    ¡°Aye. I¡¯ll pay it.¡±


    With those sharp words, he departed.


    The elderly gentleman was torn between two emotions, as he walked down the long sequence of hallways back to his private room.


    One emotion was that of dull satisfaction at having concluded a rather significant transaction. However, he was very much used to this success, and so he was not greatly moved by this emotion.


    The other emotion was something he had rarely felt¡ªno, he had likely never felt this one before. This feeling was the churning of something deep, deep inside the pit of his stomach. Within an endless pool of stagnant black tar, something disturbed the surface of the vile lake.


    Those papers were a fairy tale written by an insane man, whose mind had been touched by God.


    Not due to the danger within the text was the scrapbook hidden away in the client¡¯s personal collection for all these years. Rather, it had been forgotten about, and only now that the client was suffering some financial setbacks was the decision made to sell it off; and of course, only to a fool who would buy it at an inordinate price.


    The elderly gentleman had lived well for many years, and overcome many hardships. It was not appropriate for him to be shaken by the passing off of some inane writings.


    Yet¡­ the black lake bubbled.

 Chapter 17

    I woke up to sunlight rolling over me. Still fairly early morning. Surprisingly, the room was empty.


    I could recall Cris getting up and leaving the room earlier in the morning¡­ but she never returned? Slightly disconcerted, I shot up and exited the room.


    I found Cris¡¯s mother in the kitchen. When she turned and saw me, she shared with me a look of relief that said something like ¡®isn¡¯t it great that Cris came back safe?¡¯.


    ¡°Syco, I heard you¡¯ll be going off to the capital today. Ah, here¡ªthese are the coins that Cris asked me to give you. It¡¯ll be more than enough to cover the travel cost. Is there anything else you¡¯ll need?¡±


    She spoke kindly, but I couldn¡¯t help but feel that I was being booted out. Not maliciously, but¡­ It truly seemed that my time here was over.


    ¡°Thanks¡­ How is Rea? Is she okay not being watched?¡± I asked out of curiosity as I took the handful of silver metal pieces.


    ¡°Oh, were you not aware? She woke early this morning, and we couldn¡¯t stop her from dragging Cris out to see someone. I do hope it isn¡¯t too much for her¡­ oh, I really should have stopped her! Her condition is still precarious¡­¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    Wondering where Cris might have gone, I stood awkwardly in the kitchen. There was no reason for me to stay here, but I pondered for an excuse to wait a short while longer. But, I had practically no belongings to check, or anything to ask. I retrieved my clothes that I had originally worn¡ªconsiderately cleaned¡ªand went back to the front of the house, where Cris¡¯s mother simply waited.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be going then¡­ Thank you for your hospitality, ma¡¯am.¡±


    I walked out the front door. I had expected to be thanked for protecting Cris, or something along those lines. However, from the perspective of her parents, it could just as well look as if I had dragged Cris into danger. So what if Rea was saved; Cris had been missing, and she even came back with nasty scratches along her arm, and with a hollow look in her eyes! It wouldn¡¯t be unfair for her parents to react that way¡­ Considering that, it¡¯d be natural to want me gone. Even if they could be sure that I was harmless, a parent was obliged by nature to believe that the lifestyle they had fostered was the safest place for their child. Any foreign substance that entered that system could be seen as a threat¡­


    The small village was the same as usual. Nothing had changed in the world of the general inhabitants here.


    I considered waiting around to see if Cris or someone I recognized showed up, but figured it best to find the carriage spot before it became too late. I could come back later, until it was time to go. And if Cris didn¡¯t show, I could take that to mean that she was okay with me leaving like this. It was a slight pity¡ªit felt that it shouldn¡¯t happen quite this way. Unfortunately, loitering here wasn¡¯t justifiable. I¡¯d be leaving to take care of my singular priority, and that was it.


    -=-


    It had been the crack of dawn when Rea had regained consciousness. Cris¡¯s father was warming her and checking her vitals when she sat up in a hurry. She had asked to see Cris immediately. Not wanting her to make a racket, he reluctantly knocked on Cris¡¯s door.


    After some discussion and pleading on Rea¡¯s part, the two girls left the house.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t too cold?¡± Cris asked. ¡°This really isn¡¯t necessary right now, you know?¡±


    Rea nodded, despite her cheeks and nose being so red. However, she was lively and covered in the warmest clothing they had in the house, so Cris had given in. Rea¡¯s long blonde hair bundled around her face and staved off the early morning chill.


    They arrived at the Ophelias¡¯ home several minutes later. To their surprise, Varus was sitting on the short brick wall that surrounded the house¡¯s humble garden, near the front door. He was hugging himself and fidgeting to keep warm.


    ¡°Varus, what¡¯re you doing here?¡± Cris asked. Varus jumped up and greeted the two.


    ¡°Rea, are you doing okay? Is it safe for you to be out here like this?¡± he asked over and over. Once he was satisfied (when Cris said that she was taking responsibility for Rea, so not to worry), he explained that Ophelia¡ªHolly¡¯s mother¡ªhad heard from another villager that the group had returned last night. Of course, Holly was not with them, and as such, her mother¡¯s mind was anything but calm upon realizing that this was bad news¡­


    Varus had taken it upon himself to check up on the poor woman, but it seemed that she had turned to rage and kicked Varus out. That didn¡¯t pressure Varus into leaving her alone though, and so he had decided to keep watch from outside, and knock at the door only every so often to see whether she would be receptive.


    ¡°What about you two?¡± he asked after explaining.


    Cris looked at Rea, who looked down at the ground. ¡°I want to apologize¡­¡± Rea said quietly. She refused to expand on what she meant.


    Cris knocked at the door. The different cadence must have hinted that it wasn¡¯t just Varus again, because Ophelia came to the door immediately.


    ¡°What is it? C-Cris? You¡¯re¡­ back¡­¡± she trailed off.


    Cris nodded, but when she tried to speak, her words caught in her throat. What could she possibly say to this woman, now? Varus, too, looked away in silence.


    Then, Ophelia¡¯s eyes set upon Rea. There was a flash of something like relief, but then her expression became a scowl.


    ¡°You, you silly girl! Look what you¡¯ve done! What you did to my daughter!¡±


    The woman shouted, a voice harbouring anger and sorrow, at Rea, whose eyes began to leak trails of tears. But she remained silent, and listened. She listened to how she was a bad influence on Holly. How she convinced her to run away to play games when they were children. How she stole her away from her studies, and eventually, how she introduced her to the natural drugs that could be scavenged outside the village.


    It was all true¡ªso Rea couldn¡¯t argue back. Cris held her hand, but otherwise she took it all on her own.


    Ophelia stopped when her voice grew hoarse and she realized that she would get no response with this course of action. And then, Rea apologized. ¡°Sorry,¡± she sobbed. It might have been an apology for getting Holly killed, or for everything else, or perhaps for something that wasn¡¯t even said. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°Rea¡­ You were a terrible friend for my little girl to have¡­ but why did this happen? What happened?¡± Ophelia asked mutedly.


    Ophelia didn¡¯t go back to shouting. She was tired of it already. She knew, after all, that Holly was the one who suggested going out of town this time, and that Rea had been off any and all substances for some time now. She knew that Rea would never put Holly in any real danger. She remembered how Rea had once suggested they go swimming in the river, and when the rapids had almost carried Holly away, Rea staunchly refused to let Holly go near any water for the next year.


    So she was just¡­ confused.


    ¡°She¡¯s known Rea since she was only a baby. She probably thinks of her as her own daughter, to an extent¡­¡± Varus said.


    Varus and Cris had retreated to the nearby small barracks building while Rea talked with Ophelia.


    ¡°You always see things in such a buoyant way, Varus. Though, you¡¯re not wrong. Rea was always a pretty bad girl, but she was Holly¡¯s best friend, and you can¡¯t deny that a relationship like that means a lot¡­ Miss Ophelia isn¡¯t so blind as to not recognize that.¡±


    ¡°Right, exactly. I wonder what happened though. Do you think Rea is explaining it all to Holly¡¯s mum?¡±


    ¡°I think that¡¯s unlikely¡­ I don¡¯t think Rea is willing to talk about anything at all yet. She had her mind set on apologizing to Miss Ophelia, that¡¯s for sure. Maybe I¡¯m wrong¡­ but as long as Miss Ophelia gets that Rea wasn¡¯t at fault, I don¡¯t think Rea has a reason to spell things out quite yet.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re the doctor, so I guess I should trust your opinion,¡± Varus said without sarcasm. ¡°So you don¡¯t know why they would have gone over there? I mean, I know Holly had her¡­ problem. But she isn¡¯t the type of person to drag Rea into it. And Rea wouldn¡¯t just go along with it. So why did they end up in that area?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ you¡¯re quite right,¡± Cris said. ¡°The only reason to go there would be for the cellar, or the mostwurm. But neither possibility makes sense.¡±


    Cris explained her reasoning. If the goal was to get poppies¡­ Rea was off them, and Holly was working hard to avoid them. Neither of them would or could drag the other there, if either of them even wanted to go. Cris couldn¡¯t be entirely sure, but it seemed out of character for them to both go there willingly. They were like an elastic band; if one side tried to run off, the other side would snap them back to sensibility.


    The area grew a lot of mostwurm, which was somewhat of a healing agent against the poppy addiction. But Cris recalled the morning before they had gone to the Poppy Cellar themselves. Ophelia had pointed out the mostwurm that the girls had spent a day collecting¡­ ¡°I figured that they had to go far to find any at all,¡± Ophelia had said. If they went to the Poppy Cellar entrance to gather mostwurm, they wouldn¡¯t have had any trouble filling a basket. It only made sense if they went to one of the more distant, sparse fields, to gather the herb. It¡¯d also mean they didn¡¯t have to go near the Poppy Cellar, which they would obviously prefer to avoid.


    ¡°¡­ So, what happened then? They urgently needed some mostwurm, or they¡­ nevermind. I don¡¯t want to disrespect Holly by entertaining the thought that she could be that weak.¡±


    Cris, having organized her thoughts on the matter to this degree, had a piercing, irritating concept flourishing in her mind. However, she kept it to herself.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Cris said. ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll hear everything from Rea at some point in time, anyway.¡±


    Varus sighed heavily. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. No point worrying about it. Rea is back safe at least, so we should focus on her recovery¡­ uh, right?¡± He sheepishly looked for reaffirmation from Cris, even though his opinion was perfectly reasonable.


    ¡°What will you do from now on, Varus?¡± Cris asked.


    ¡°From now on? Meaning what? I imagine there will be a funeral, and then some of the farms need extra hands still¡­ what else¡­¡±


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.¡°We haven¡¯t even talked about what happened after leaving the cellar.¡±


    Varus fell silent, and avoided looking at Cris.


    ¡°There was that¡­¡± he said. ¡°W-We were lucky to leave there alive, huh?¡±


    ¡°I thought you would¡¯ve immediately sent off a message about it. I¡¯m sure Jean would have been thrilled to hear that there were demons left to kill¡ª¡°


    ¡°Stop!¡± Varus whispered violently, shushing Cris. He looked out the window at the sky, paranoid.


    ¡°Varus, there aren¡¯t any demons around. Yesterday was just¡­ wrong place at the wrong time.¡± Cris knew this wasn¡¯t exactly true, though; that demon had, like she had said to Syco, taken something from her. And yet, she couldn¡¯t consider herself related to that at all. Should she just leave it as some freak occurrence?


    ¡°You can¡¯t know that¡­¡± Varus replied. ¡°Honestly, Cris, I was only at Ophelia¡¯s because I couldn¡¯t sleep.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Yeah, I can imagine¡­ I didn¡¯t sleep well either.¡± That was mostly a lie. ¡°So will you send a message to Jean? They could send back a squad and guard the village, just in case.¡± Jean was Varus¡¯ old trainer in sword-fighting, who he called his master. He was still in the army and would take word from Varus seriously.


    ¡°No, I won¡¯t bother him¡­¡±


    ¡°And what about the Poppy Cellar? Is it really safe now? Any number of things could happen, and the vines could spread further. And what about the things we found in there? And, and don¡¯t you want to be more ready for things if something like that happens again?! There¡¯s so much to think about¡ª¡°


    ¡°C-Cris, stop, hold on. Things you found in there? What are you talking about?¡±


    Cris felt herself getting more and more agitated. The sun had risen now. She felt like time was ticking away, running out, drawing closer to an End. It was difficult to keep still.


    ¡°N-Nevermind. I just found the biology of the poppies¡­ interesting¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s Cris for you,¡± Varus laughed bitterly. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s nothing to worry about. Nope, there are things that I need to work on in the village, promises to people, so I have to focus on that. Same goes for you right? That old farmer couple asked us to repair their fence, I think that was tomorrow¡­¡±


    Cris stopped listening as Varus listed off jobs that they had agreed to do. Repairing fences? Sowing seeds? She didn¡¯t care. She just couldn¡¯t care anymore. It was all she could muster just to stay seated and think things over.


    -=-


    I¡¯d been wandering for a couple hours without much aim. The large building at the very end of the main road was a respectably-sized inn, and I came across it just as a sturdy carriage drawn by two horses arrived outside. The plump man sitting at the head of the carriage with rein in hands had joyfully called out to me and commented on the weather before I asked when he¡¯d be leaving, passed over the payment (Cris had given me twice as much as necessary), and then left to pass the time. The man had asked if I wanted to chat, but I doubted that we would have any common interests, honestly.


    I spotted Rea crossing the road as I wandered, and called out to her.


    ¡°W-Who are you?!¡± she yelled, flinching backwards in fright. Ah, of course, she had no recollection of me.


    ¡°I¡¯m a friend of Cris. Um, do you remember anything from the past few days?¡±


    ¡°O-Oh, did you help Cris to save me? I¡¯ve never seen you before¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just visiting the village¡­ I did help find you. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going to ask you to talk about what happened to you in there.¡±


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s okay. I got a lot off my chest, actually, so, haha, is there something important?¡±


    The girl looked unsteady on her feet, and was clearly pushing herself. But her attitude was commendable. I was curious about some things, but none of it really mattered to me, as far as I could tell.


    ¡°No, I was just going to ask if it¡¯s okay for you to be out. Cris isn¡¯t with you?¡±


    ¡°Ah, no, she went to the barracks building with Varus. Or she might be at home now?¡±


    I decided to walk Rea back to the house, to ensure she didn¡¯t collapse on the way. She was strangely talkative. That must have just been her personality. Or she kept talking to hold back worse emotions. In any case, she made it back to the house without incident, and checked if Cris was inside for me. She wasn¡¯t.


    Next, I went and found the not-so-aptly named barracks building. It was also empty.


    I walked around for an hour longer, avoiding the villagers who stared at me with suspicion, and then was forced to return to the inn lest I miss my carriage.


    ¡°Ah, there you are, miss. Where is your baggage?¡± the plump man from earlier asked when he saw me.


    ¡°I have no baggage. Are you leaving now?¡±


    ¡°Oh, well, any moment now! Feel free to wait inside, here,¡± he said, opening the cleanly painted white door.


    With a final look around at the sober street, I stepped inside. The inside of the carriage was built of sturdy-looking wood, with a cushioned bench on both the front and back ends, and that was about it. It was serviceable.


    On the rear bench was a little girl. She must have been around 12, had blonde hair cut shoulder-length, and was wearing a white and blue shirt and shorts along with a distinctive cap. It was rather unusual attire; not casual, but they weren¡¯t work clothes either. I wasn¡¯t sure what to think of it.


    ¡°Oh, are you a passenger too? Great, I was afraid I¡¯d be travelling alone! My name is Sandy, I¡¯m 13. This is my first time going out of the village on my own! Say, I¡¯ve never seen you before, you don¡¯t live in this village. Are you from the city? I¡¯m going all the way to the city myself! I heard that there are buildings that are so big that they block out the entire sky! Is that true!? Oh, by the way, this isn¡¯t a weapon, it¡¯s just a toy-kinda-thing. Ah, let me move my bags, there you go. Hey, you seem kinda sad. Ah, sorry if I¡¯m wrong! It¡¯s just that you seem a bit worried. Do you not like bumpy rides either? Haha, the trick is to keep your eyes on the view outside, that¡¯s what my brother told me. Can you believe that we have to go on one of these old-style carriages though?! Ah, no, that¡¯s not what I meant, mister! I actually love this style, it¡¯s really, um, classy, and stuff! Phew, well, that¡¯s true and all, but I did want to try one of the new ones I¡¯ve heard about! Gosh, I hope it doesn¡¯t rain today, if it leaks I¡¯ll demand a refund! No, hahaha, I was just joking~!¡±


    ¡°U-Um, we¡¯re leaving in one minute,¡± the coachman said as he poked his head through the window.


    ¡°Oh gosh, I hope I have everything, let me check my bag. Let¡¯s see, I have my coat, my other coat, my pants, my purse¡­¡±


    The girl just didn¡¯t stop. A minute of various items being checked off later, the carriage started rolling, but then stopped again. The door opened up and someone else got in. She was wearing a summery white one-piece dress, her amber-ish straw-ish hair was tied in twin-tails, and she was wearing at least 7 pieces of jewellery as well as having blush applied. Essentially, she looked like a rich daughter attending a fancy ball.


    ¡°¡­ Who are you?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°W-What? It¡¯s Cris, obviously!¡± she scorned. I wasn¡¯t even joking, but she was right, it was Cris.


    ¡°Umm, hey Syco, can I borrow some of that silver back?¡± she asked. I nodded and handed over the spare from what she had left me, and she jumped back out and handed it to the coachman. Then she got back in the carriage and closed the door, and the carriage started moving again.


    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re really pretty, miss!¡± the little girl said.


    ¡°¡­ Sandy, it¡¯s me, Cris!!¡±


    ¡°WHAT!¡±


    The girl was genuinely perplexed. Cris looked at me. ¡°I-It¡¯s not that weird for me to be wearing a dress, right?!¡±


    ¡°I thought I had suddenly woken up in a fairy tale this time,¡± I admitted. Cris scowled at me. ¡°Y-You look really nice,¡± I added.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you in a dress!¡± Sandy spluttered. ¡°A-Are you getting married, Cris?!¡±


    ¡°No! It¡¯s just, you know, we¡¯re going to the city! So of course I want to look nice, it isn¡¯t weird at all!¡±


    ¡°I-I see¡­!¡± Sandy said.


    Cris sighed. ¡°It is weird, huh.¡±


    ¡°Maybe for people used to seeing you one way,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m just surprised that somebody can look so at home delving into a creepy abandoned dungeon one day and being dressed up like royalty the next. That¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Like royalty?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Um, elegant, beautiful, tra¡ªwell, that¡¯s all.¡± I thought of the Goddess again, and almost said ¡®tragic¡¯.


    ¡°Ah, I suppose I can accept that¡­¡± Cris said. She did look uncomfortable in these clothes, but that was surely just an issue that time would solve.


    ¡°Wait, Cris. Why are you here?¡± I asked. That¡¯s right. She was going to the city too? I hadn¡¯t heard about this.


    ¡°Ah, ahaha, sudden change of plans?¡± she laughed sheepishly. ¡°Is it a problem if I come along on your adventure?¡±


    Not only that, she was following me?


    ¡°Not a problem¡­¡± I said, honestly unable to think of anything wrong with that. Rather, if Cris was there to help me, things could go much more smoothly. I¡¯m sure a more active-minded soul would have done all they could to pressure Cris to come along with them, perhaps even Varus and Karl. Why not accumulate all the boons possible for the purpose of fulfilling my goals?


    The trails of thought I had in times like this seemed to always lead back to the same thing, and I was beginning to get an idea of what this ¡®thing¡¯ was. And, so far, it seemed to be something very troubling. I feared that my soul would bring ruin.


    ¡®I can¡¯t promise that I¡¯ll lead you to anywhere safe or pleasant, that is all.¡¯ I gave her an honest warning. At least, I intended to.


    But those words didn¡¯t reach my lips.


    As soon as I realized that those words could, or rather, were likely to impede me¡­ they evaporated.


    What I said instead was, ¡°Glad to have you.¡± Cris smiled.

 Chapter 18

    This world is unfair. When I wake and refuse to rise, I am punished, forced to work, and given a single meal for the day. When I wake and push myself to the limit, I am still punished, forced to work harder, and given only a single meal.


    Myself and this world are incongruent. One of them must be wrong. And because I know myself fully, for I am myself, it must be the world that is wrong.


    ¡ªUnknown


    ¡°Pew, pew, pew! See?¡±


    Along with sound effects, Sandy shot small projectiles of water from her fingertip out the open window of the carriage. They went a short distance before being picked up by the wind and scattered.


    ¡°I see. And everybody can do this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Well, yeah! I can¡¯t believe you don¡¯t know anything about magic, Syco,¡± the girl said.


    ¡°I told you, she lost her memory, remember?¡± Cris chided.


    ¡°Look, I can do this, too!¡± Sandy gestured, and then sprayed a thicker, red liquid in the same way.


    ¡°Sandy, you know it¡¯s rude to conjure blood!¡± Cris said. ¡°Sorry Syco, this girl is¡­¡± She ended the sentence with a sigh.


    ¡°I see, blood too¡­¡± I said.


    ¡°Sandy, why don¡¯t you tell Syco how they taught you the basics of magic theory in school? It¡¯s changed since I went,¡± Cris said.


    ¡°Magic theory? Mm, that stuff was boring so I didn¡¯t listen,¡± Sandy said. ¡°Seeing is believing, right? That¡¯s how I learn!¡±


    Cris rolled her eyes. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll manage an explanation, though it¡¯s not my strong point. Umm, it¡¯s like this: Magic is the transposition of forms in our mind into forms in the world. Which means something like, by holding the image of something in your mind, you should be able to create it at your fingertips. Like this;¡±


    Cris grabbed a leaf from a passing tree through the window. Holding it in her palm, she concentrated, and the broken stem of the leaf began to gradually extend, developing new green forks and blooming leafy foliage. As this happened, the leaf itself dried up and became brown and brittle.


    ¡°Aw, you killed the leaf,¡± Sandy commented. She pointed her own finger at it, and the leaf began to grow green again, but then swelled and burst into water.


    ¡°And that¡¯s why Sandy isn¡¯t a doctor,¡± Cris said. ¡°Back to the point, um, what was it again?¡±


    ¡°You formed an image in your mind and it caused the plant to grow?¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah. But in this case, it¡¯s not so much an image, but more like knowledge about how plants grow¡­ but you have to look at it now as just an image, and just knowing or understanding it isn¡¯t enough either! Umm¡­¡±


    ¡°Plants are hard,¡± Sandy said. ¡°With water it¡¯s just: think about water, and bam!¡±


    ¡°You could surely handle water or wind yourself, Syco,¡± Cris said. ¡°But I¡¯m no good at teaching, sorry~¡±


    There seemed to be no risk in giving it an attempt. I imagined water. I also imagined water at the tip of my finger. But nothing happened. My hand felt slightly more moist, at the most.


    ¡°Maybe you need more experience. You know, my brother is reeeally good at making fire. And it¡¯s because way long ago, we were in a big house fire, and then he became really good at shooting flames. They say he¡¯s one of the best in the country!¡± Sandy boasted.


    ¡°Oh. Is your brother Karl, by chance?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Gosh, you know him?!¡±


    ¡°O-Oh yes, Sandy is Karl¡¯s little sister,¡± Cris stammered. ¡°I forgot to mention it.¡±


    That was a fun fact. The two siblings couldn¡¯t be more different from each other, so I would have never guessed. Karl was in a house fire when he was younger?


    Thinking back on some of the ways he had acted, it could explain a few things.


    An image in the mind, and direct experience¡­ There must have been some connection there, but it was all very vague.


    ¡°Oh, and will!¡± Cris said. ¡°I almost forgot because it¡¯s such a natural instinct. It¡¯s not possible to do magic just by casually thinking about it. There usually needs to be a reason or purpose behind it. The way they usually put it is something like, the more desperate the need, the more deft the flow.¡±


    ¡°They say things so weirdly in magic theory,¡± Sandy said.


    ¡°So when Sandy shoots water out the window, it¡¯s because there¡¯s a purpose to it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Well, sure. She just wanted to show off, right?¡± Cris giggled at the girl. ¡°Even a tiny little reason like that is enough.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but, if there was a big raging fire, I¡¯d be able to do a big water explosion,¡± Sandy said.


    So an image, and will. I closed my eyes and thought about water, but instead my mind turned to a different experience. I remembered coughing on burning smoke, and how it had felt in my throat.


    Just like that, wisps of black smoke consolidated in the air around my right hand, and dissipated into the air.


    ¡°You did it!¡± Sandy joyously hopped in her seat. Cris did a little clap too.


    It really was that simple. However¡­


    ¡°Hm? It won¡¯t happen anymore,¡± I said. After the first wisp of smoke, the effect just stopped.


    ¡°It¡¯s a little difficult to get used to,¡± Cris said with a frown. ¡°But hey, you did manage to do it! It¡¯s possible that, since you proved to yourself that you could do it, you had no more reason to do it?¡±


    Cris tried to get me to do a few other things, but I managed little more than blowing some air around (when I felt that it was getting a bit hot inside the carriage).


    When it neared midday, the usual phenomenon occurred. Sandy was in the middle of a sentence when she stopped speaking and her expression turned blank. I took the chance to ask Cris if this always happened at this same time.


    ¡°Not exactly, but most of the time, it is like this. About an hour before midday, and a couple hours after,¡± she said. ¡°But sometimes it doesn¡¯t happen at all, or it¡¯s at a completely different time. But that¡¯s rare.¡±


    Sandy began talking again, so the conversation ended there.


    The trip continued on through the afternoon. It wouldn¡¯t be until the next evening that we reached the capital, and we would be staying at an inn this night.


    We passed through several small towns; some smaller than Amsterid, some larger. We stopped at none, having no mail or parcels to drop off, so what I learned of the world was only what I saw through the windows of the carriage¡ªthough Sandy, never lacking in topics to talk about, happily told me about whatever I showed curiosity in.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.The most self-evident truth was that Vasileio (which Sandy had informed me was the name of this country and nation) was a greatly bountiful land, for the lush green grasses and sprawling forests in the distance never once dispersed. Farms of all kinds always lined one or both sides of the road, from fields of wheat and sunflowers, to orchards of apple trees and fruit-bearing vines (which Cris and I weren¡¯t entirely comfortable looking at for too long).


    At one point, the road skirted the edge of an enormous valley, in which I learned that a variety of certain rarer plants that preferred the relative cold thrived. Living in almost constant shadow, the ecosystem was rather different down there.


    Seeing all of this made me wonder why this nation had found it necessary to launch an attack on Demon-kind¡¯s land. For this land was already rife with blessing¡­ But if the demon that we had encountered was anything to go by, it was not unexpected that the citizens would prefer those demons kept back at a safe distance.


    Eventually the road changed to a stone surface, and the farms finally gave way to a spot of untouched, open plains. The sky was a swirl of orange and red by the time we rode into the final town we would encounter for the day; it was called Lupich.


    ¡°The travel payment gets you basic accommodation, but if you pay extra, this place has fantastic hot springs,¡± the coachman explained. We were in the middle of a large stone courtyard half-circled by an expansive wooden building, constructed of dark, expensive-looking woods and exuding a sense of exotic architecture. This apparently-renowned inn was atop a wide hill, elevated above the rest of the town which sprawled below it. The road up had been lined with fanciful lanterns that hung from the buildings, many of which served food or other services, and crowds of travellers and locals thronged.


    Cris rummaged through an inner pocket of the bag she carried with her.


    ¡°I-I didn¡¯t have much time to prepare,¡± she said with a frown. ¡°Ahh, coming all this way only to realize that I have no money to try any of the things here; country life really is the worst.¡±


    ¡°Of course, the same goes for me,¡± I said. ¡°Though I would like to eat today.¡±


    ¡°Ah, your accommodation comes with a meal too,¡± the coachman said, though he wore a bitter smile and whispered ¡°I¡¯d recommend checking the street food instead, honestly.¡±


    ¡°Syco, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll pay for both of us to find something to eat,¡± Cris said.


    Sandy laughed. ¡°I remember Cris, you took all of Syco¡¯s money so you could pay the coach! How evil~¡±


    ¡°That was Cris¡¯s money in the first place,¡± I said.


    ¡°But it was your payment,¡± Cris said. ¡°A-Anyway, that¡¯s why I said I¡¯ll cover you¡­ What about you, Sandy?¡±


    ¡°Hehe, Karl gave me lots of spending money,¡± the girl replied, lobbing a pouch of jingling metal between her hands. ¡°I¡¯m gonna get hot springs, hot springs~¡± she sung.


    A young man, at that moment, walked up to Sandy.


    ¡°There you are,¡± he said, passing her a folded note. ¡°This is a message from Ariel. They¡¯ve already gone ahead to the capital rather than wait for you here, so I stayed behind to accompany you. Though it looks like you have that taken care of?¡±


    ¡°You must be Hal,¡± Cris said, to which the young man nodded.


    ¡°Cris, I assume? Pleasure to meet you,¡± he said. ¡°Have you gotten your rooms? Here, I¡¯m friendly with the innkeeper, so I¡¯ll handle things.¡±


    Hal led us inside and had us wait while he stopped a girl wearing a frilly uniform. Supposedly he was getting us rooms, but he sure was making the girl giggle a lot.


    The area we were in was a large open space filled with benches where customers sat and ate meals, and there was a large reception desk in the back; seemingly the kitchen was attached at the far wall from where we stood. The place wasn¡¯t packed with people, but could be called busy.


    ¡°Here you go, your room key,¡± Hal said on return, grinning and handing over a key strung to a sturdy wooden plate. ¡°No need to thank me, anything to help some pretty ladies.¡±


    ¡°S-Sure, thank you,¡± Cris mumbled. ¡°Is this for all three of us? I¡¯m not sure if Sandy¡ª¡°


    ¡°Frankly,¡± Hal interrupted, ¡°I¡¯ll have you share a room regardless of your preferences. There should be three beds, at least.¡± His previously carefree attitude had completely switched. He lowered his voice and continued. ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten, right? Feel free to explore the street, but come back before the sun sets. Or else I¡¯ll be keeping this.¡±


    He held up a silver ring.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Cris said, swiping to grab the ring, but Hal deftly removed himself from her range. ¡°I¡¯ll give it back when you get back. Before night. I was charged with protecting Sandy and her companions; this is how serious I am.¡±


    It was some rather incredible vanity to swipe a girl¡¯s jewellery and make yourself out to be the good guy for doing so. I thought about grabbing hold of his arm to help take back the ring, but I saw the twitch in Hal¡¯s expression. His confident visage was keeping back something more uncomfortable.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Cris asked angrily.


    ¡°Ahh, it¡¯d be a bother to explain,¡± Hal smirked.


    ¡°Hal, you can¡¯t just take Cris¡¯s stuff!¡± Sandy complained.


    ¡°Okay Sandy, then you give me something important to hold on to, so that I can be sure you¡¯ll come back before night time. Will you do that?¡± Hal said.


    ¡°You¡¯ll give it back when we come back in here, right?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I promise,¡± Hal said. Sandy reluctantly handed over the thing she had been carrying along with her bags. Now that I saw it clearly, I realized that it was a cylindrical wooden bat. It must have been something that held sentimental value to her.


    ¡°¡­ Alright, that will do. But, I will seriously destroy it if you break your promise. You understand?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I get it!¡± Sandy sulked. ¡°I¡¯m hungry, Cris. Can we go?¡±


    Cris took back the ring Hal had stolen and placed it back on her finger. I wondered what kind of skills he must have to have done that without Cris noticing.


    Shrugging with the bat in his hand, Hal waved us off as Cris shot him a confused glare.


    ¡°I had heard that man was a bit of a swindler, but a gentleman nonetheless,¡± Cris said as we headed back outside. ¡°I would have smacked him if he weren¡¯t a friend of Karl¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that why you accepted what he said?¡± I asked. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s just overprotective and paranoid.¡±


    ¡°No, quite the opposite, supposedly,¡± Cris said. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to him when we return.¡±


    We all agreed that hunger was our priority for now. With Sandy following closely along, Cris and I began walking down the slightly declining street, and quickly became enveloped by the decadent smells of frying foods and appetizing aromas.


    It would be a couple of hours before night fell. In this festive, peaceful environment, I couldn¡¯t imagine what danger could befall simply due to nightfall.

 Chapter 19

    ¡°Fancy a game eh, young-un?¡±


    It was a voice raspy from age and ill-treatment that addressed Hal from the unlit nook of the Lupich Hot Spring Hostelry¡¯s ground floor gathering area. Leaning against a wooden pillar carved into the shape of a nymph pouring liquid from a kettle, the agitated young man, brows and jawline seemingly carved from marble themselves, scratched at his short dirty-blond hair and scoffed.


    ¡°Chess? Afraid I wouldn¡¯t serve to be a challenge, sir.¡±


    Hal tsked at himself. He had in his meagre stock no respect for an old man such as this, who sat in the darkness each night to gander at the skin of the girls who served customers and readied the rooms and baths of the establishment. His habit of addressing his elders with ¡®sir¡¯¡ªusually required lest he be sent to scrub some stone pavement or something equally demeaning¡ªhad apparently become an aspect of his speech that he couldn¡¯t subdue. It was too late to rescind the mark of respect, so he just turned away with a grimace and hoped the old man would quiet down.


    ¡°Respectful young man ¡®eh, I like that, I do, even if you be staring those girlies down with a harsher eye than I. I¡¯m old but not a fool, boy. I know you¡¯ve been graced with a mind cap¡¯able of a game o¡¯ wits or two, the sharpness o¡¯ the eyes tells that and with so many years o¡¯ experience like what I ¡¯ave, it be clearly seen, ya see. Yoo wanna try an¡¯ riddle me with another ¡®xcuse, or you wanna sit ¡®own and play, eh?¡±


    The old man wouldn¡¯t quiet down. Hal was accustomed enough to reading eyes himself to recognize that this man¡¯s sharp, refined pupils, staring out from his unkempt grey-bearded face, with a hint of insanity, conveyed not a smidgen of propensity for backing down.


    Hal quietly stole a stool from a nearby unused bench, returned, placed it down between the wall and the small round table on which the chess set was sat, and motioned lazily for the man to take the first move.


    ¡°White goes first, white ¡®as the ¡®igher odds to win. Think it¡¯d only be fair for you to take that role, boy.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Hal said. He took his eyes off of the room for the moment required to pick a pawn near the centre of the rank, and leap it forward two spaces. ¡°I don¡¯t know all the rules to chess, so don¡¯t go making a deal of it if I make a mistake, sir.¡±


    He tsked again at his mistake. The old man moved forward a pawn of his own, on the file adjacent to that which Hal had manipulated.


    ¡°That young girlie, what¡¯s you likin¡¯ about ¡®er, ey?¡± the old man whispered, almost like a teasing father might. The knight in Hal¡¯s hand halted with a twitch.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been watching me that much, old man? I don¡¯t see how it¡¯s any business of yours what my inclinations might be. I might just haul you off to the cells for disrupting this here evening peace in the hostelry, you understand, sir?¡±


    The knight made landfall in front of an unmoved pawn. The black pieces shook lightly.


    ¡°Ooh, hearty young men are fearsom¡¯ when they be up against the weak, eh.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make me laugh. I¡¯d have no need to threaten someone weak,¡± Hal said as another black pawn advanced a square.


    The young girl in question¡ªthe maid he had talked to earlier¡ªdashed across the room, from a hallway in the far corner near the kitchen, to the closer of the two large staircases that led to the mirrored higher sections of building that housed all the guest rooms. Hal followed with his peripheral vision. The old man might¡¯ve realized what he was doing, but he wouldn¡¯t give him the satisfaction of doing it openly.


    ¡°Aye, I only mention it on cause o¡¯ knowing what it is ¡®bout her that be so striking, ya see.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? What strikes you about her, other than the legs you¡¯re always gawking at?¡± Hal asked.


    ¡°Not the legs son, ¡®tis the way them heels gallop that tells it be a ¡®erewolf, ey.¡±


    The pawn Hal held tumbled to the table, knocking down several of his own pieces. He hurriedly restored the pieces and placed the pawn haphazardly next to his other.


    ¡°What did you say, sir?¡±


    -=-


    ¡°Oh, I remember now!¡± Cris said suddenly. ¡°Today is the Lunar Blackout. That explains why there¡¯s so much going on.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Sandy asked, pulling a cutesy white wolf mask that she had bought off her face and to the side of her head. Cris pointed to it and asked ¡°Did you know that wolves are associated with the moon? It wouldn¡¯t be very fun to walk around with moon masks, so instead, we go with wolves. But the blackout is something that happens later at night; maybe you¡¯ll get to see it if you stay awake, Sandy.¡±


    ¡°A blackout? Is it something bad?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s not bad, but it¡¯s unknown why it happens. It happens every 20 years, so it¡¯s something I¡¯ve never seen myself either.¡±


    Mmm, mysterious,¡± I said. I was distracted, waving around a strange stick toy I had been given by Sandy. ¡°Doesn¡¯t feel right¡­¡± I muttered.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.¡°You¡¯re waving that around like it¡¯s a weapon,¡± Cris said. ¡°Which it isn¡¯t, to be clear.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t mind it,¡± I said.


    The well-kept stone street forked again and again as we travelled down it, and every path seemed to have things going on. The wide main road that winded up the slope was full of people walking back and forth, many in festive colourful clothing. Several side streets were lined with stalls and shops selling all kinds of hot foods, and these were the busiest. Other streets had different curiosities. There were groups of children taking turns looking through a mounted scope, wowing at the view¡ªpresumably it was the moon they were seeing. It was a full moon, high in the sky, and there were no clouds to obscure the sight.


    As promised, after eating some cheap but delicious kebabs of meat I¡¯d never heard of¡ªwhich Cris was ecstatic over, while Sandy had apparently eaten such exotic treats before¡ªand waiting while Sandy pondered endlessly over ice cream flavours, we returned to the inn just before night truly fell.


    The large gathering area was more full than earlier, but even after looping the entire room, we weren¡¯t able to find the suspicious character called Hal.


    ¡°Seems like it was a mistake to trust that man after all,¡± Cris sighed.


    ¡°No way, Hal isn¡¯t really a bad guy¡­¡± Sandy said.


    Amongst the clamour, we three stood awkward and out of place as we surveyed the room.


    ¡°In any case, we came back before nightfall as promised,¡± I said. ¡°I can¡¯t help but question why, when there are so many people happily wandering about,¡± I commented specially to Cris.


    ¡°Without memories I can¡¯t blame you for going along with things,¡± Cris said. ¡°What¡¯s my excuse though? Nothing can be worse than that cellar, after all.¡±


    ¡°Being cautious might have been what got us through that,¡± I said.


    ¡°If you can call any of that being cautious¡­¡± Cris said, and then pulled at her dress in mock frustration. ¡°Why¡¯d I wear something like this anyway. I feel like a helpless maiden not even being able to kick above the waist without showing everything.¡±


    Recalling the amount of force Cris could put into a punch, I couldn¡¯t easily concur with that.


    ¡°I noticed a lot of people looking at you, so you did well at looking attractive,¡± I said matter-of-factly.


    ¡°Hmph. I don¡¯t really care about that¡­¡± she said, looking away.


    ¡°Oh? It can¡¯t be that you just want to make things harder for yourself if anything were to attack us¡­¡±


    ¡°Syco, even if you lost your memory, you¡¯re still a girl, aren¡¯t you? You didn¡¯t question everybody else out there wearing fancy clothing, right?¡± Cris said.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that impractical clothing has value just in wearing it?¡± I thought about it. ¡°Could it be¡­ I¡¯m not a girl after all?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. You most certainly are,¡± Cris said. ¡°Besides, I know I said it like that, but men sometimes like to dress up nicely too. Like when meeting a superior, or getting married, it matters if you have someone to impress.¡±


    We¡¯d loop back to the start if I pointed out that she did impress a bunch of strangers. But Sandy was watching us curiously and silently as we talked. ¡°Why is it you¡¯re so subdued only at moments like this?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°Dunno,¡± she shrugged. ¡°Watching you two talk is funny.¡± She sent Cris a grin I couldn¡¯t parse. ¡°Can we go check out our room now? I¡¯ll tell Hal off later, but I really want to lie down~¡±


    ¡°We might as well,¡± Cris said.


    -=-


    There was a door that only the maids and other cleaners used, at a rear section of the building. It led to a thin path inlaid into the ground, with loose planks covering the ground, which was often muddy and liable to cause slips to unpractised walkers. Hal jumped down onto the path outside of the light range of the lantern hung above the door, having circled around the building to this point.


    The maid girl¡ªLucy was her name¡ªhad been seen by Hal inside with a bundle of sheets in hand several minutes earlier, and so she should have been leaving through this door shortly. Hal had learned from watching her that she had a habit of taking a short break each time she was to leave for the cleaning house.


    Sure enough, a minute later, she and another girl opened the door and dashed down the path with sure steps, each carrying a hefty bag of dirty cloth and lighting the way forward with their hands. Hal submerged himself into the leaves of a nook as they darted past, giggling over something.


    They wasted no time in heading down the steep path, not minding the darkness. The cleaning house was a short walk away, just within the woods that bordered the town, down the hill from the hostelry that served as one major corner of its boundary.


    Hal slipped out of hiding and followed after them. ¡°A monster¡­ If that¡¯s what you are, or even if it isn¡¯t, I¡¯ll expose it,¡± he muttered. It was unfortunate that Lucy wasn¡¯t alone, or it might have been a blessing. Hal intended to find out once and for all on this night, as the fever of the town grew greater under the speckled sky.

 Chapter 20

    The cleaning house was little more than a shed wherein the sheets and whatnot were washed and dried. There was an oversized wooden basin¡ªmore like a miniature pool¡ªwhere the ¡®washer¡¯ used magic to rapidly swirl around dirty items in treated water; below it was a fire used to heat the water and warm the room to dry the hanging cloth. All this was too rowdy to operate within the hostelry itself.


    Lucy had just waved off the other maid, and was staying behind in the otherwise empty shed to organize the sheets on the lines that hung from wall to wall.


    So she jumped with a shock when she pulled a dried sheet from the line and saw Hal standing right where it had been.


    ¡°H-Hal! You scared me!¡± she yelped, half exasperated but happily surprised. ¡°Hehe, Hal, I was wondering when you¡¯d catch on.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been caught on for a while,¡± Hal said, straight-faced. ¡°Are you going to confess, now that it¡¯s come to this?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know~¡± Lucy said slyly. ¡°It¡¯s more exciting when you might still escape with your life at any moment, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m more of a ¡®get it done¡¯ kind of guy,¡± Hal said. ¡°No windows in here. No moonlight. You understand, Lucy?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m tempted to make you confess first, but forget it,¡± she said, and with a dash forward, she embraced Hal and kissed him on the lips.


    Hal wasn¡¯t sure whether he should be more surprised at the kiss, or how her movement outperformed his retreat.


    ¡°Now your life is mine. I won¡¯t let any other girl have you, got it, mister soldier? Hehe,¡± Lucy giggled innocently. She stepped back and looked inquisitively at the shocked Hal. ¡°Don¡¯t be so worried, silly. Like you said, nobody can see us in here, right? Or was that your first¡­ no way, Hal!¡±


    ¡°¡­ No, of course not,¡± Hal laughed awkwardly. No, she¡¯s only playing it off because she¡¯s in a disadvantageous position here, right? Or was I mistaken after all? Hal¡¯s confidence waned. Werewolves, here? In this peaceful town? Creatures that haven¡¯t been heard of in years? What is the right way to handle this? Should I request backup after all?


    ¡°I was wondering when you¡¯d follow me here. Did you notice me dropping hints finally, or was it just a coincidence?¡± Lucy asked.


    ¡°Hard to say,¡± Hal said. ¡°More of an instinct I got while watching you.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, as expected of a soldier! Those sharp eyes see all sorts of things, don¡¯t they?¡± Lucy winked.


    ¡°I¡¯m still hardly a soldier, you know,¡± Hal said.


    ¡°All the same to a girl like me. Hey, Hal, bolt the door, will you?¡±


    Lucy nodded to the lone entrance door. This could take longer than expected, so it was something Hal was glad to do anyway. He followed her instruction and closed the door fully, since it swung loosely in its frame, and slid the bolt home.


    ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± Hal asked as he spotted her through the hanging sheets, pulling off her uniform. ¡°W-Wait¡ª¡°


    ¡°Don¡¯t be shy, Hal!¡± she giggled. ¡°Come here, I want to show you this.¡±


    When she was wearing nothing but her underwear, she hopped over to the wooden washing basin and dipped her hand in the still water. Hal approached cautiously, but the girl was naturally defenceless. She spilled some water on the stone floor as she pulled her hand from the pool and laughed unreservedly, apparently greatly enjoying this escapade.


    ¡°Come on, come on!¡± she said, taking Hal¡¯s arm and pulling him forward while purposefully pushing her breasts against his arm. Hal let her guide him forward, but she slipped on the puddle of water; Hal had to dive to the ground to catch her shoulders, but they both tumbled into a stack of crates, sending a few crashing into the wall.


    ¡°O-Oops,¡± Lucy said. She laughed it off easily.


    Hal was becoming more and more dumbfounded. Was this girl drunk? He couldn¡¯t let his guard down, as much as he was tempted. If this was some kind of act, she¡¯d eventually get tired of it. Just go along with it¡­


    Ignoring the collapsed crates, Lucy checked the fire-pit underneath the thick metal plate that the wooden basin sat on. The stone floor was elevated here for the washing area, but there was a gap in the centre where the stone was inset. Peering down below the metal plate, there was a sooty brick enclave that could be accessed with some stretching.


    ¡°You¡¯re not thinking of using this as a bath, surely,¡± Hal said, to which Lucy just hummed nonchalantly and said ¡°More like a private little hot spring, right?¡±


    She got on her knees and peered into the fire-pit, definitely showing off her butt to Hal on purpose. He would have rolled his eyes if Lucy weren¡¯t so attractive.


    ¡°One second, I¡¯ll fire it up a bit,¡± Lucy said. Hal watched carefully. Lucy held out her hand into the inset area, and as she concentrated, the fire clearly began to blaze more fiercely as a strong, oxygen-rich wind was fed into it. The fire doubled in size, and the smoke it produced escaped through a pipe that led from the pit to the far wall and out into the open air.


    Well, that solves that problem, Hal thought.


    After all, Werewolves¡ªrather, any non-human creatures¡ªwere completely and utterly unable to use magic.


    Lucy wasn¡¯t a Werewolf at all.


    ¡°Hahaha, stop!¡± Lucy laughed. Hal was splashing water at her as she ducked behind the opposite side of the basin, though he wasn¡¯t really trying to hit her. His own shirt was already off and his head was soaked, so he was just retaliating in kind.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.What the hell am I doing, Hal wondered. But he continued doing it anyway.


    Lucy jumped into the basin and leaped for Hal¡¯s hand, again quick enough to catch Hal off-balance, and she pulled him into the hot water with a great splash.


    Lucy found it hilarious, completely unconcerned about the possibility of somebody showing up at the door. To be fair, Hal knew the habits of the maids, and nobody need come here for the next couple of hours unless an emergency occurred.


    If he wanted to, he could mess around here for another hour.


    ¡°Hal, are you staying awake for the Blackout?¡±


    ¡°Hadn¡¯t thought about it,¡± Hal answered. ¡°Midnight, huh. I¡¯ll be awake then.¡± He lay on his side in the water, leaning against his fist, and recalled that lately he¡¯d been staying up much later than that, always deep in thought before he could sleep.


    ¡°I¡¯m certain you will. So you¡¯ll be able to keep me company?¡± Lucy asked. She took off her bra and threw it across the room. It hit into a hung sheet and made it fall in a heap to the floor.


    ¡°You sure are carefree,¡± Hal said. ¡°Is this a nightly thing for you?¡±


    ¡°What are you imagining, mister soldier? All us girls having secret bath meetings out here? Hehe, would you tell on me if it was true?¡±


    ¡°None of my business,¡± Hal said. ¡°Hell, put it on a poster and you¡¯ll get more customers than usual, don¡¯t you think? ¡®Fresh sheets scented by our most beautiful girls!¡¯ or something.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, that makes me shiver,¡± Lucy said. ¡°You. You owe me warmth, come closer now.¡±


    ¡°Oh, but ma¡¯am, that¡¯s not part of my job description. You¡¯ll have to pay me extra,¡± Hal joked back.


    ¡°Payment, payment, hmmm¡­¡± Lucy made a show of checking over herself, as if she¡¯d actually have coins hidden on her somewhere. ¡°Ah, over there!¡±


    She suddenly pointed behind Hal, but he laughed while keeping his eyes on her. ¡°You think that¡¯d trick anyone? I don¡¯t know money to have the habit of floating around.¡±


    Lucy pouted. ¡°That¡¯s no fun. Just do it anyway.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m having more fun watching you,¡± Hal said.


    ¡°I need you to turn around so that I can take off the rest¡­¡± Lucy said, blushing.


    Oh, Hal thought. In that case, he couldn¡¯t say no to that. He turned his back obediently, and after a few seconds of splashing and the sound of cloth being handled, Lucy told him to turn back.


    She was supposedly fully undressed now, but the steam rising from the water was getting in the way of seeing anything much, to Hal¡¯s disappointment.


    ¡°Hehe, your guard is down,¡± Lucy said, and jumped onto him. Softness assailed him from head to toe. What was this? Ah, he was starting to believe that he could just give himself up to this, just for tonight. All his weariness had been seeping from his body, bucket by bucket, ever since Lucy had proved her humanity. Poured into the basin, become a veil of steam. Like the inside of a dream.


    Hal, leaning back against the side of the basin, had his hands around Lucy now, pressed against her smooth back. He moved his hand up her spine, and stopped a bit below her neck.


    ¡°What is this? Gruesome scar you¡¯ve got here, Lucy.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah, that? Nothing serious,¡± she said from her spot nestled in his neck.


    ¡°You¡¯re tougher than any soldier I¡¯ve met if that is ¡®nothing serious¡¯,¡± he said. ¡°How¡¯d it happen?¡±


    ¡°Gosh, I throw myself into your arms and what interests you is an old scar?¡± Lucy complained.


    ¡°Gotta start somewhere. I thought girls liked taking it slow.¡±


    ¡°Mmm, I suppose that can be nice too,¡± Lucy giggled. ¡°You wanna know how I got it?¡±


    ¡°I am curious. Chide me for being a typical violent male all you want, but I always want to know the stories behind scars,¡± Hal shrugged.


    ¡°Well, you see,¡± Lucy said, sitting back up straight. ¡°Did you know? When Werewolves target the same prey, they get really, really possessive. And it can turn really, really messy.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Werewolves,¡± Hal repeated.


    ¡°Werewolves,¡± Lucy smiled sweetly. ¡°And that¡¯s why we have the unspoken agreement that, when there¡¯s more than one of us together, we don¡¯t make any moves on potential prey. Otherwise it¡¯ll just become a scrap, and that¡¯s no good for anyone! I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of this, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Hal mumbled.


    He tried to leap to his feet, but it was too late to do so, as a thick silver knife was already placed against his neck from behind. He felt a putrid breath in his ear as a power-laden arm pinned down his own behind his back.


    ¡°¡¯ello again lad, sorry for tha wait,¡± the old man said. ¡°Took some time ta¡¯ prepare our next move. Pawn takes knight.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Fuck,¡± Hal muttered. At least his reaction made Lucy giggle, for what it was worth.


    Say, maybe a Werewolf could make a fun partner, despite it all? Was that something Lucy was putting on the table?


    Hal chuckled despite himself.

 Chapter 21

    The room was a large, impeccably clean living space, with three beds and even a small table and an attached bathroom. But the main point of interest was not the room, but what was just down the hallway. At the end, past the last few doors the led to personal rooms, was a changing room, and beyond that¡­


    ¡°How is it so warm!?¡± Sandy said as she hesitantly stepped into the steaming pool. The inn was surrounded by various separate hot pools, and each had its own section of building and personal rooms that could use it. Thanks to Hal¡¯s help, our section seemed to be empty except for ourselves, so we had this pool all to ourselves. It was lined on either side by tall wooden fences, but the side facing away from the building itself was open, leading off a cliff and giving a scenic view of the woods below. Though, since it was already dark, it was the clear night sky in which the brightest of the stars were now appearing that drew the eye.


    We were all wearing the light white garments found in our room for hot pool usage, and eased into the water which was startlingly hot at first touch, but the perfect temperature when submerged. While Sandy played around a short distance away, watching the small green frogs that hopped around the rocks surrounding the pool, I sat under the water near Cris.


    ¡°I can¡¯t help but be curious what made you come along,¡± I said to her. ¡°A lot happened¡­¡±


    I was frankly somewhat worried about her mental state. As strong-willed as she might be, all things needed time to process. I wasn¡¯t sure how best to ask about it.


    ¡°I had a talk with Varus early this morning,¡± Cris said, frowning as she idly swept about the water. ¡°It made me realize that if I stayed there at home after that, I¡¯d go crazy. Varus might be able to turn around and focus on the next job, but I¡ªI know that there¡¯s something calling for me.¡±


    ¡°And that something is in the Capital?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No clue. But there¡¯s something else as well.¡±


    I waited for her to expand, but she didn¡¯t.


    ¡°Don¡¯t want to talk about it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I do,¡± Cris sighed. ¡°I want to know if I¡¯m thinking too much and making up nonsense. But it makes me so mad, and I didn¡¯t want to act in that frame of mind¡­¡±


    ¡°Is it about the ring?¡± I asked. Cris looked surprised¡ªseemed like I was right. I only remembered the one time she acted abnormally angry, and it was when she picked up the silver ring in the cellar.


    Cris sighed and held up her right hand to show me. Her middle finger and ring finger each had a matching silver ring worn on it. They both had complex patterns along their length and a small green or white gemstone embedded in them.


    ¡°One of these was the one I found in the cellar. This one, with the green gem. It belonged to Holly¡­ it was a present to her from Rea,¡± Cris explained. ¡°And this one,¡± she pointed to the other, ¡°I watched fall from the bag of a soldier passing through Amsterid.¡±


    In Cris¡¯s expression was a deep rage that was being kept under control only through her determination to transform it into action.


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing that one was given to Rea, by Holly,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah. They aren¡¯t especially valuable¡ªthey were bought by those girls when they were just 12, or 13. And they exchanged them, promising to marry when they were older. At least, that¡¯s what Rea told me, though when I asked Holly she said they would just stay best friends and live together. Hehe, she was really shy about it, but I could tell how happy it made her.¡± Cris smiled bitterly.


    ¡°I see,¡± I said. I didn¡¯t need Cris to explain why that soldier¡¯s bag might have had that ring.


    ¡°They only resorted to entering the cellar to escape from something that posed a threat. Something that wasn¡¯t complacent with just taking valuables,¡± Cris said. ¡°I¡¯m going to find and kill that something.¡±


    Cris was looking away from me. She might¡¯ve been afraid of seeing how I¡¯d react to her emotion. But I could sympathize¡­ no, I could empathize. I could empathize deeply, but that was all I could do right now.


    ¡°¡­ Guys, I hope that when Hal said that we shouldn¡¯t go outside, he didn¡¯t mean here too,¡± Sandy piped in, having come over with a concerned look.


    ¡°Seems fine to me,¡± I said. ¡°Is something wrong?¡±


    Sandy didn¡¯t say anything, but looked over towards where the rocks turned into a sheer cliff, dropping off into darkness. I listened carefully and noticed a distinct sound, like of something striking rock. It was getting closer.


    And then a large, furry paw with three thick, brutally serrated claws grabbed hold of the edge. Something pulled itself up over the edge¡ªin its ragged silhouette, yellow shining eyes like that of a cat stared down the three of us. The creature let out a feral snarl.


    -=-


    Hal was led through the forest with a knife at his back. Lucy, unfortunately clothed again in her maid outfit, led in front, while the old man was at his back. All things considered, at least he got the nicer view of the two options, Hal thought.


    ¡°Though, I still don¡¯t believe you¡¯re a werewolf, Lucy,¡± Hal said, as if they were having a casual conversation. ¡°I saw you use magic right in front of me.¡±


    ¡°Oh, did I?¡± Lucy giggled.


    ¡°At least I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t have anything in your hands to make that fire blaze up,¡± Hal said. ¡°You want me to believe that was just once-in-a-lifetime fortunate timing? A gust of wind just came through the chimney hole, convincing me you could only be human?¡±


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.Despite his casual demeanour, Hal was a bit irritated that he had been fooled into dropping his guard. To his displeasure, the old man behind him answered him this time.


    ¡°¡¯Tis not jus¡¯ mothe¡¯ nature alone tha¡¯ can make tha wind howl,¡± he cackled.


    Hal thought back to that moment, and the moment before it. Lucy had fallen into a pile of crates, creating a loud noise that could have easily been heard from outside.


    ¡°You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me. That was a signal?¡± Hal muttered, half to himself. ¡°And you were just waiting inside, old man? But that couldn¡¯t be¡ª¡°


    ¡°Don¡¯t make the mistake of thinking you¡¯re dealing with naught but an old fool and a girl,¡± a suave voice came from somewhere in the trees.


    ¡°Understood,¡± Hal said. ¡°Still, I didn¡¯t notice you moving around at all, old man.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you think I was just messing around in there,¡± Lucy said. ¡°Well, half of it was messing around, heheh. Think about it on your own time, we¡¯re here.¡±


    In the now dense woods, they came to a clearing near a small lake. A patch of land rose up and slightly over the lake, and amongst the wild, tall grass there, was an enormous shape that made no identifiable sense to Hal.


    He looked around, but Lucy and the old man were suddenly nowhere to be seen. The full moon was reflected beautifully amongst the slight ripples of the lake, and its light glinted off a contraption in front of the anomalous shape on the overhang. Hal recognized it after a moment¡ªit was a telescope, much larger than the small, portable ones he had seen before. This one was resting on four sturdy metal legs and was a foot in diameter. The shape expanded and contracted¡ªit was breathing, as it curled around the telescope and peered through the eyepiece at the near end.


    Hal¡¯s instincts assured him that he¡¯d be carved into pieces if he ran back into the trees, so he carefully approached the large shape. It was a giant beast covered in wild, ragged brown fur, and the function of its organs made distinct grumbling noises as they breathed in and expelled air. As Hal ascended the overhang and came into talking distance with the creature, he spotted the part that was its head. One blood red eye looked into the eyepiece, and the other stared at him. A great jaw furnished with spiked teeth opened as it spoke to him.


    ¡°Hal, is it?¡± It¡¯s voice was deep and seemed to rumble through the ground to reach Hal¡¯s ears.


    ¡°That¡¯s my name, sir,¡± Hal said. He felt no opening here to speak without reverence.


    ¡°You came to know of the presence of Werewolves in Lupich. You took it upon yourself to investigate their operation. Finally, you stand before the Lord of the Werewolves. Do you comprehend the purpose of your path that has led here? Are you aware of what will be your next step on your path?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ will be killed?¡± Hal offered.


    ¡°The Lunar Blackout has already begun,¡± the creature said in the same prophetic manner. ¡°How many believe the blackout to be a spectacle of a moment, and how few know the blackout to be an ever-present God, an omniscient miracle that comes to fruition now, offering a dew drop of a hint by its unnatural diffraction of the light and dark of the sky.¡±


    ¡°I, uh,¡± Hal stammered. ¡°The blackout? Do you know what it is?¡±


    Hal didn¡¯t have much of an interest in what the blackout signified¡ªit was just another of nature¡¯s mysterious occurrences, like earthquakes. But even he could recognize the significance of discovering more about something of this kind.


    ¡°Look through the eyepiece,¡± the creature ordered, slithering out of the way with an impossible swiftness. Its body still encircled the area around Hal, and claws taller than Hal himself glinted within the shape. Hal rigidly approached the telescope and, as ordered, looked through the eyepiece.


    After a moment of orienting himself, Hal figured that he was looking at a point right next to the moon in the sky. The moon just touched the edge of the right side of the view, and its shine illuminated the blackness in central focus.


    Just then¡ªthere was a flash for just an instant. And then a few seconds later, there was another flash. And then another, and another¡ªthis time his brain recognized that it was a rectangle shape, and it was reflecting the light of the sun just as the Moon did. Even more so, in fact. Hal stopped looking through the eyepiece and looked up at the Moon, but those flashes were utterly impossible to sight with the naked eye.


    ¡°What are these flashes, indeed,¡± the beast spoke. ¡°What are these objects, indeed, rather. What is this process, this operation, this system, rather. My mind is subject to this question and questions that relate to this question, and little else.¡±


    The creature¡¯s head approached Hal and spoke to him directly, quietly.


    ¡°I wish to conjecture in peace, Hal. My sanctuary must not be upset by investigation.¡±


    ¡°So, I¡¯m here to be killed after all,¡± Hal sighed.


    ¡°Hal,¡± the creature said. ¡°My kin have ceased to respect my authority. They kill. Not animals, not for meat. Humans, for entertainment. They draw your attention. They draw the attention of others. My body is aged and my mind is wilted by curiosity, so I draw again upon the assistance of a human. The killing of humans must stop.¡±


    Hal gulped. This was becoming more complicated than he imagined.