.Hack//Epitaph of Twilight Volume2 Episode5

Episode 5//discord

The Lands of Darkness were in chaos. Pale light shone through the darkness from the stalactite building that served as the palace of the one who ruled these lands – Queen Helba – who stared down from her balcony in silence. For on this night, the area surrounding her palace had become much more raucous than usual. Hundreds of spirits and phantom beasts could be seen in the distance as they rushed for the palace.

Standing there, the pale, purple robe that softly enveloped Helba’s slender, glamorous body swayed in a gust of wind, and her silken silver hair glistened in the light of the chandelier as it hung over her pale cheeks.

Silently, someone watched Helba’s back. She was an ugly, diminutive old hag compared to Helba, but she served as the queen’s attendant in place of her proper retainer, Bith, since he had gone out in search of the Twilight Dragon. She was Boa, a serpent spirit, and had assumed a human form and come to the palace at Helba’s request.

“You knew this was coming, didn’t you?” Boa spoke with a sigh, still standing behind Helba, who stood without indicating if she was listening or not, her arms crossed and a cold smile on her lips. “It’s hard to believe their actually cooperating with one another; this should be impossible. Well…… I will go and suppress them.”

“No, it’s fine.” About to leave, Boa turned back in shock at Helba’s words. “If you wish to fight them, then you may; but it will only hasten your death.”

Saying that, Helba quickly stepped out onto the balcony. And then in the blink of an eye― she was holding a snow-white spell staff in her hand. “Are you going to fight, then?” Boa asked and approached the balcony.

“If I do not, who then would defend this palace?”

Raising her spell staff high, Helba brought it down with as much force as she could muster into the floor of the balcony. And from that point of impact, a powerful shockwave spread out in all directions, continuing far beyond the center of the palace. The shockwave caused Helba’s robe to flutter about her, revealing a glimpse of her pale legs underneath.

“……”

After a moment, the shockwave Helba sent off into the distance bounced back to return to its origin point. “Very well done.” Boa noted with appreciation, and Helba gave her a slight smile.

“It is no use trying to lead those who have been led astray. Until this rebellion is settled, no one shall be allowed near this place.”

“Ah well― things won’t be settled for quite some time then, so long as the waves continue to consume the world, that is.”

“It cannot be helped.”

“Ah, however,” Just then, as if remembering something, Boa lifted a hand to her temple, then began to speak. “I think you know already, but……”

“?”

“I have heard rumors that the waves are chasing down those who search for the Twilight Dragon.” She said, and Helba nodded for her to continue. “As the Splintered Forest was, now Arche Haokar may have been swallowed up. It’s too much to be a coincidence. Although…… even if it were just a rumor, the journey ahead of them would still be difficult.”

“Difficult?”

“Of course. Even spirits who truly believe in the legend wouldn’t easily accept Bith and the others.”

“Ah, I see……” Despite the gravity of their discussion, the smile never left Helba’s lips.

“Are you not worried?”

“Why should I worry?”

“?”

“Bith is accompanying the shadow-bearers. Regardless of whether or not the waves are following them, no respectable spirit would dare impede them. Bith understands this― but more importantly, what do you make of his reports?”

Boa tilted her head.

“So, what you’re worried about― is that there is a human among the shadow-bearers? Or is it the appearance of that ancient monster they call Cubia? Or perhaps it is simply the location of the Twilight Dragon?”

“It is none of that.”

“Aha……” Boa pondered the question for a moment. “Putting aside the matter of if he is the right person…… it’s not so odd to think that one of the legendary shadow-bearers would emerge from the humans. Their curiosity has always driven them to become a part of events. And it’s not as though any spirit with a shadow would reveal themselves willingly.” She surmised, and Helba motioned for her to continue. “The legend itself never said whether they would be human or spirit in the first place. So I don’t think it’s anything to worry about after all.”

“Unless the legend were written before humans were born, in which case you would assume the shadow-bearers must all be spirits…… wouldn’t you?”

“I care little for the ancient past.” At her attendant’s words, Helba gave a wry smile. Boa was the only person who get away with speaking so plainly before her Queen. “Next, there is Cubia. I believe it may have been awoken by the waves. Though I must admit I am surprised to find that it really exists.”

“The Cursed Waves, and now an ancient monster.”

“There must be something to the timing of it all…… not that thinking about it will help anything.”

Seeming gloomy, Boa pulled at her long gray hair as she spoke, and when she did, Helba caught a glimpse of her eyes. Even though she had taken on a humanoid form, her distinctive serpentine pupils remained evident in her eyes.

“And that just leaves the location of the Twilight Dragon― a bit far away to reasonably travel, being fair. But you do still expect them to go, don’t you?” Helba simply smiled at Boa’s question, which she took as confirmation. “The legend is too abstract, and until we know how the Twilight Dragon will actually help us, I don’t think it is worth it to take any direct action.”

“……If it’s not there, we’ll find another way.”

Saying that, Helba looked back out of the window. From outside, she could hear the screams and shouts in the uproar of the spirits and phantoms below.

“Such fools…… they haven’t even noticed yet that I’ve placed a protective barrier around myself.” The queen chastised the rebels, and Boa’s lips twisted upwards in a crooked smile.



Meanwhile, in the Lands of Light, the deciphering of the ancient texts was still underway. Within the Great Archives in the basement of King Apeiron’s palace, any spirit who could read the ancient texts had been gathered from all over the country and were currently huddled together in order to decipher these documents.

The sounds of pages being turned echoed throughout the stacks, and though the occasional sigh could be heard, there was absolutely no superfluous conversation.

Seeking to shake off the dreary atmosphere,  Apeiron stepped out the Great Archives for a moment. “Still nothing……” Muttering that to himself, he made his way up the spiral staircase while rubbing the back of his neck to ease the stiffness in his shoulders.

He hadn’t expected deciphering the texts to be a simple task by any means, but progress was going even slower than he had anticipated. There weren’t any spirits left who could read the ancient script fluently, and even if they could, the information they truly wanted to know didn’t seem to be forthcoming. And that more than anything was causing Apeiron’s frustrations to grow.

Once he reached the top of the spiral staircase, Apeiron began walking through the connecting corridors of his palace with heavy footfalls. Warm light flooded in from between the thick pillars to either side. And looking between those pillars, Apeiron gazed out at the sky, frowning at the blinding brilliance.

“Hmm?”

A black dot became visible in the center of the sun. Then more dots gathered around the first before they flew out in a straight line heading straight for Apeiron. It must have been the shadow of something large, and Apeiron braced himself instinctively, but then realized what that flying shadow must be and waited for it to arrive instead.

When it drew closer, he saw that it was indeed a flock of pure white doves clad in golden light. They were Fili’s familiars, and as the doves approached Apeiron, one disappeared, then two…… until in the end only the dove with the weakest light in the flock remained.

That dove landed on Apeiron’s shoulder and brought its beak close to his ear, whispering to him and passing on a report from Fili.

“……” Apeiron frowned. Unlike the Queen of Darkness, he never did have much of a poker face. “Even though I have my hands full here…… you took on a request from a human?”

Apeiron complained, and then without telling anyone― he chased away the dove perched on his shoulder, and it disappeared in a puff of golden powder like brushing away burnt-out ashes. Then after staring at the spot where the dove vanished for a long moment, Apeiron sighed loudly and pulled at his hair with antipathy.

“It is a legend, after all……” Muttering that to himself, Apeiron summoned one of his aides, and one of the spirits came to him from the Great Archives.

Her name was Papi. Like Fili, she had gained tremendous trust from Apeiron. However― due to a weak constitution, she was unable to accompany Apeiron at all times.

She was like a shrine maiden with her lustrous, bluish-black hair tied back with a single band, but her porcelain-white cheeks were flushed red just from rushing over to him, and the deep rings under her eyes gave her appearance a gloomy cast.

Apeiron briefly relayed the report from Fili’s familiar to Papi, and her eyes widened in shock when she heard how far away the Twilight Dragon was. She looked like she was about to say something, so Apeiron motioned for her to speak her mind.

“I know that Fili went through many hardships to get this information, but it’s just so hard to believe that it’s true……”

“I agree. Relying on the legends like this feels the same as doing nothing.”

Hearing Apeiron say that, however, Papi tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

Glancing back at her, Apeiron raised an eyebrow as if to ask what she didn’t understand. “There are spirits all over – even if we have the most capable here already, the more we get, the better – so we should hurry and gather them all together.”

“Gather them……” Papi shook her head as if she understood Apeiron’s meaning now. “No, you mustn’t! Endlessly recruiting soldiers would be the same as breaking your promise with the Queen of Darkness.”

“I’m sure she’s thinking the same as I am. In fact, she may have already gathered her own forces.”

But Papi frantically shook her head. “It’s wrong to say that we can do it just because the other side is. We should trust in the information that Fili―” Papi didn’t get to finish her sentence. Before she could, Apeiron grabbed her shoulders with all his strength. “King Apeiron……”

Without so much as blinking, Apeiron stared at Papi with an intense gaze as she faintly began breathing heavily. “The time to act is now.”

“But―”

“If Fili doesn’t make it in time…… if it turns out there is no Twilight Dragon…… I would regret having done nothing.”

With a perplexed look on her face, Papi timidly opened her mouth to say more.

“When the Cursed Waves appear― three shadow-bearers will set out to search for the Twilight Dragon that will save the world of spirits…… that is something that everyone who lives in this world knows. What are we to do if you – the King – don’t believe in the legend that everyone else believes in?”

“Is just believing enough? Should we simply leave it all to Fili and wait for the Twilight Dragon to appear? No, that can’t be right.”

“No…… it is right.”

“Papi, how many days has it been since you slept? No matter how tirelessly I search through the ancient texts, I cannot come up with a single technique to fight against the waves. Why they appeared, where they came from…… even their identities are a mystery to us. There is only one thing I know. Each wave has a name, and their number is eight. That’s all. You are intelligent, so you should understand why it is pointless to blindly believe in the legend that the Twilight Dragon will save us.”

Speaking in a way that seemed to leave no room for argument against him, Apeiron finally released his hold on Papi’s shoulders.

“Continue deciphering the texts. However, we must also remember to prepare the troops.” With that proclamation, Apeiron flipped his azure cape and took a step forward. But then, as if remembering something, he turned back to Papi. “And one more thing―”

“……Yes?”

“I am reluctant to do so, but I need you to find out what happened to the wandering humans of the Splintered Forest.”

“Humans?”

All spirits in the Lands of Light knew that Apeiron disliked humans and did not recognize them as citizens of their world.

Humans had shadows. For them, it was something they were all born with. So for spirits who had no shadows― the humans who possessed no powers yet had those shadows which they did not were nothing more than something alien.

During the conflicts between spirits of Light and Darkness long ago, humans were born by happenstance― and their numbers increased explosively in comparison to the spirits who needed more time to be reborn. They were so unlike the spirits who used spellcraft, so the humans, who fought with weapons for their own culture, were nothing but a threat to Apeiron.

So why did Apeiron want to hear about humans now? Papi turned a puzzled expression onto her King.

“It is a request from Fili. The human he is travelling with seems to have come from those wanderers, and he wants me to find out what happened to them.” Apeiron walked away without waiting for Papi’s reply, but under his breath, she   heard him add, “You’re asking for trouble, Fili……”

Left alone, Papi stared after Apeiron and sighed softly to herself. “Now is not the time for this.”

Whispering that to herself, Papi pulled out a white wooden spell wand from her pocket and drew a simple rose-like pattern in the corridor. The pattern began to emit a golden light, and then from it, thousands of jet-black butterflies flew out into the air.

Papi gave instructions to the butterflies filling the sky, and then watched as they split into two groups and flew away. And with that done, she rushed back to the Great Archives.



On the edge of a dark, suffocatingly hot underground lake of lava, there sat an old man. His name was Tartarga, and deep wrinkles were etched into his pale, green face. He had thin, short hair that was hard to see without getting close, as well as the long, pointed ears of a spirit. He was a wise spirit of Darkness, but he also understood the inner workings of the Lands of Light, as well as the human race, and the ancient lore of this world very well.

Before he was even born, Tartarga had been assigned a certain role. To – when the Cursed Waves appeared – guide the three shadow-bearers to the Twilight Dragon. But he was getting a little too old to do that now, and Tartarga had other reasons for not leaving this subterranean lake.

“It’s almost time.” He muttered in a hoarse voice, looking out at the far opposite shore of the lake.

Intuitively, Tartarga sensed that the shadow-bearers would soon come to meet with him. But he did not believe they could save the world. More to the point, Tartarga knew where to find the Twilight Dragon, but he didn’t think he would be able to guide them there, or that the shadow-bearers would be able to reach them. Because the place where the Twilight Dragon was said to reside was a dauntingly far ways away.

Still, he also couldn’t help but hold out for hope. Hope that those who came to him now would be able to reach the Twilight Dragon safely. And save the world……

The full moon – appearing oddly large – floated in a clear, starless night sky. And I looked up at that full moon in a daze, unconsciously holding my breath until a gust of wind blew past me as if kissing my cheek.

“……Ah!” I gasped and winced involuntarily.

The suffocating scent of things burning was filling the air around me. Still visible in the distance, the largest city in the world, Arche Haokar stood like a large hill, horribly burnt, and was still smoldering even now. All around the city, I could see the many spirits and humans who had escaped gathering in an uproar

“We can’t do anything about it if we stay here forever. We need to move on.”

Next to me, Gendor was sobbing because he hurt his back, but in front of us, Bith was standing firm with his arms crossed.

“It’s my fault.” Gendor muttered without looking up.

“It it’s lost, then it’s lost. Staying here isn’t going to bring it back.”

“But……” Gendor complained, but at his simpering tone, Bith raised his voice.

“If you stay here, the waves are going to swallow you up!” He spat out and grabbed Gendor by the collar to try and haul him up to his feet. Gendor’s upper body was lifted up, and I couldn’t help but wonder how Bith was managing it with his thin physique. “You too; stand up!”

Bith shouted at me, making me jump. I clutched at the hem of my cloak that was currently draped over the ground. He hadn’t said anything that wasn’t true, but despite Bith’s point, I couldn’t bring myself to stand. With the loss of the tear jar, it felt like my only lifeline had been severed.

(If I had only been at Gendor’s side……)

But no amount of regret would help me now.

“Hey, back off Bith! There’s no reason to take your frustrations out on the kid.” Lilith spoke up from behind me, reprimanding Bith for turning his anger on me. “We can’t leave until Fili gets back anyways, so there’s no point trying to rush them yet. Okay?”

Clicking his tongue, Bith’s grip slackened, and he let Gendor collapse back to the ground like a deflated balloon.

“Losing the tear jar is a big problem, though.” At Lilith’s words, Gendor started crying again, and I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye and sighed again. “But it’s too late to do anything about it now.”

It was obvious from her mutterings that Lilith was also irritated. So instead of facing her, I turned my gaze up to look at the city of Arche Haokar.

It was easy to imagine the panic that would ensue when people heard that the waves were coming, and with the ‘rebellion’ that followed in its wake. But who would have guessed that it would cause us to lose the ‘tear jar’.

(Hmm? This development……)

Perhaps this was connected to the feeling I’d had that I needed to proceed with caution back in the Shattered Forest. “Ah!” I tried to recall what I knew from the Epitaph of Twilight again, but when I did, a sharp pain ran through my head.

(No use after all……)

I was filled with a sense of frustration that made me want to cry.

I was sure that I was the only person in the world who could have anticipated this. However― my recollection of the Epitaph of Twilight was almost completely nonexistent.

Even though it was Gendor who had actually lost the ‘tear jar’, I almost hated myself more for not being able to remember. But seeing the grim atmosphere overwhelming me, Vesper, the black cat, spoke up to cut through my thoughts.

“It’s not your fault, Saya.”

“Vesper……”

“Honestly― I think this would have happened even if you could remember your stories of this world.”

“……”

“We need to make up our minds. Fili will be back soon.” Saying that, Vesper smiled. (Or at least it seemed like he did to me.)

“You’re right. Thank you, Vesper.”

I agreed with him, though my frustration didn’t just disappear. My heart was pounding like a morning bell, and I held a hand to my chest, taking a few deep breaths to calm myself down a bit while trying to ignore the soot in the air.

It was more than not being able to remember the Epitaph of Twilight, though. It was getting harder and harder to remember anything from my life in the real world. Like almost every day, I think I had gone somewhere where a bunch of kids my age gathered, but I couldn’t remember where that place was or what the purpose of going there was. It took effort for me to even recall the faces of my mama and papa, but maybe I should just be glad I could still remember them at all.

“Sorry for keeping you.”

I looked up when someone spoke above us. “Fili!”

Fili dropped down to us, though he was clearly not in a good mood. “It seems the information from the city’s watchmen was correct. It looks different from the wave we saw before, but there’s no doubt that it’s heading this way.”

“So what do we do now?” Taking in Fili’s report, Lilith turned to Bith for an answer.

“We keep going to Tartarga.”

“Without the tear jar? We won’t be able to reach him without it.” Lilith noted, looking back to Fili. “You…… wouldn’t happen to know of any other spirits with tear jars, would you?”

Fili considered it for a moment, but shook his head. And having turned to see what he would say, Gendor lowered his head again when he saw the answer.

“It’s a wholly unique item…… as far as I know at least, Skunk had the only one.”

“I see. I guess we have no choice but to continue on without it then.” Lilith conceded, and Bith nodded in agreement.

“So let’s leave before the waves get here.” Still in a bad mood, Bith started walking while brushing soot off of his cloak.

“Wait……!” I stood up in a hurry.

“What now?” Bith turned back again to glare at me, and my voice caught in my throat at his tone.

“I…… Gendor still isn’t able to move yet.”

Bith glanced at Gendor, who was staring blankly at the smoldering city of Arche Haokar, clearly still in a daze.

“How long do you expect us to wait!”

“How long……”

“The waves are coming. We have to leave as soon as possible.”

“I know that, but……”

“We’ll replace him.” Bith stood in front of me. “Because of this guy, we might not even be able to meet Tartarga! That alone is bad enough, but this? You lost our most important item and now you’re too depressed to keep going? Stop acting like a spoiled brat!”

There was nothing I could say to that. It was all I could do just to meet Bith’s eyes as he raised his voice.

“You don’t have to say it like that! After how far we’ve come together……” Fili tried to pacify Bith’s anger, but he just turned to yell at him as well.

“How far we’ve come? You were against the idea of letting this flightless human join our group in the first place!”

“You’re bringing that up again? We all agreed to search for the Twilight Dragon with this group, so can we please not rehash this now?” At Lilith’s remarks, however, Bith fell silent.

“Let’s just go already. We don’t have time to argue here, right?”

Bith breathed out one long sigh, shot one last glare at me and Gendor, then turned on his heel and started walking. Even though nothing had been resolved, I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

“Come on.” Lilith spoke to Gendor sitting next to me. But when I looked at him, his expression was as cold as ice.

(This is what happens when you go too far……)

Reaching out― I wrapped Gendor in a gentle embrace, just like he once did for me. Though with how much bigger he was, it felt more like he was hugging me than the other way around. I buried my face in Gendor’s shoulder, noticing he smelled like the forest as I did.

“Let’s keep going, Gendor.” I told him, but Gendor slowly shook his head, so I tried to hold him even tighter in arms. “It’s okay. It all going to work out in the end.”

Again, Gendor shook his head.

“She’s right. Even Bith admitted that it couldn’t be helped that it was lost.” Seeing that my words weren’t having an effect on Gendor, Lilith tried to offer a hand to him as well. “You can’t just keep sitting around waiting for things to change.”

“That’s right, so before the waves come―” I swallowed what I had been about to say. Around us, the spirits who had escaped the city were all starting to get riled up by something. “Huh……?”

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The ruined, scorched city of Arche Haokar was slowly being restored. The whole city was shimmering like in a heatwave. And seeing it, I carelessly rubbed at my eyes.

“What is happening?” Noticing what was going on with the city as well, Lilith’s eyes went wide as she took it in.

All around us― another commotion similar to the chaos of panic when the city had been set ablaze started rising through the people. It was a mixture of people rushing back to rejoice at the city’s restoration, some running for cover in fear, and others still just standing around in a daze.

“I have a bad feeling about this.” Vesper muttered from my shoulder as he watched the city being restored.

“Because of how sudden it is?”

“Yes. This isn’t natural.” Vesper didn’t look at me, but kept his gaze locked on the restored city.

“…Did betray all with false visions, and in so doing, did aid the wave to reach the heavens, then from the zenith, crashed down and rippled out, giving way for a new wave.” Fili muttered something.

“What was that?” I asked, but without giving any indication that he’d heard my question, Fili suddenly forced Gendor to his feet.

“We need to get out of here!”

“Huh?!”

“Now!” Fili shouted, grabbing under Gendor’s arm and trying to fly.

And seeing him like that, Lilith tried to help. Together, the three of them floated off the ground, but staggered in the air. Then, looking back to see me staring up at them in confusion, Lilith shouted to me.

“Come on, kid! You too!”

“But……” I couldn’t understand why we were trying to escape when the city had been restored.

Still, Fili spoke to try and rush me along. “I’ll explain later! Just hurry!”

“Even if I wanted to……” I looked to the broken broom on my back and shook my head.

(If I had known this would happen, I would have tried to fix it when were back at the inn……)

I regretted it now, but there was nothing to do about it now. If I couldn’t fly, I would have to run. Fili and Lilith had their hands full carrying Gendor, and I had no idea where Bith was in all this chaos.

“I’ll follow, so you go on ahead!”

I didn’t know how far I could get from the city on foot, and given Fili’s panic, I doubted it would be easy. But Lilith heard me and looked to Fili for his decision.

“……” Fili hesitated.

“Out of the way!” But then, a dark shadow suddenly flew by Fili as he floated in the air, jostling him so much that he almost dropped Gendor.

“?” And the next thing I knew, I was floating in the air, held by that black shadow. “Bith?!”

Bith didn’t look at me, but urged Fili onwards. And like that, we left the city of Arche Haokar behind us, along with all the confused spirits and humans around it.

I couldn’t even tell how long we flew for. It should have been dawn by now, but the sky was still dark. And below us, the grasslands had transitioned into a desert.

“This is good enough.” Bith declared and slowly began to descend, followed soon after by Fili and Lilith.

“Thank you.” I said to Bith with a smile as he rubbed his shoulders and twisted his neck.

“As soon as you get the materials, fix that broom of yours, okay?” Bith noted, still in a bad mood.

“Right, except―” Everywhere I looked around us now, all I could see was a landscape of sand and rolling hills. “Where exactly are we?”

“This is the Desert of Dakk.” Fili answered as he approached me and Bith.

“Dakk……? Is that why it’s still nighttime?”

“It’s not actually night. The sun just doesn’t ever rise in the Lands of Darkness for some reason.”

“What?” I gasped in surprise.

Every game depicted the world as a sphere that could be circumnavigated. At least, it was that way in every game I’d ever played.

(If the sun doesn’t rise, does that mean this world is flat? No, no, this wasn’t written with ancient roman sensibilities, was it?)

I lost myself in thought for a moment, and then Bith spoke up again. “So, why did we run away like that?”

“Yeah, I’d like to know that myself.” Lilith stepped closer with Gendor in tow behind her. “You were mumbling something to yourself, weren’t you? What was that?”

Looking around at everyone, Fili answered Lilith’s question. “While I was looking around the city, my familiars had returned to me. It seems that they were able to decipher some of the ancient texts stored in the Lands of Light, and the contents―”

“So that’s what you were mumbling about? What the hell is going on?”

Fili hesitated for a moment. “They say they found information on the Cursed Waves.”

Going silent, Bith nodded for him to continue. Though he must have been angry that he hadn’t told us this sooner, because he quietly clicked his tongue.

Unknown are the Cursed Waves origins.

After the stars doth cross the heavens,

When the eastern sky doth grow dark and the air fills with mourning.

From the fated land beyond the Splintered Forest, a harbinger of the waves come.

Skeith carves the path.

As the Shadow of Death, to wipe out all obstacles that stand before.

Innis, the Mirage of Deceit.

Did betray all with false visions, and in so doing, did aid the wave to reach the heavens,

Then from the zenith, crashes down and ripples out, giving way for a new wave.

This was the power of Magus.

Wherever the wave appears, sorrow and despair rule, extinguishing the light of hope.

Such is the power of Fidchell, to bring dark tidings of the future.

Even as the Cursed Waves consume all, Gorre continues to scheme.

Macha tempts with a sweet trap.

And there, the wave rages at the pinnacle, where none shall escape.

For Tarvos remains, to continue the hunt.

With even greater cruelty, to punish and destroy.

In furious retribution.

Thus, only a void shall remain in the wake of the waves.

And from the depths of that emptiness, Corbenik arrives.

So too may the waves be but a harbinger.

Fili recited the deciphered passages to us as smoothly as if he were reading them directly from the texts.

“I see…… so the city being restored was the work of the waves.” Bith remarked as he dipped into contemplation.

Then Lilith picked up his train of thought. “But couldn’t this help us take countermeasures against the waves?”

“It’d be simpler if we knew where they were coming from…… but they’re still working on deciphering it, so they’ll let me know as soon as they know more.”

“Did they decipher anything else besides what you’ve already told us?”

“Just a little bit about Cubia, the one we encountered in the swamp.”

“Well don’t keep us in suspense, tell us everything.”

“Cubia, the Hidden One. In regard to it, that was apparently the only thing they found.”

“I don’t get it. But in any case, I doubt that monster will show up again now.” Lilith said, then glanced back at Gendor. “Anything else? Or was that everything you heard from your familiars?”

“……Unfortunately, that was it.”

Looking between Fili and Lilith as they went at their own speed, I was left with my mind racing to try and keep up.

The information Fili told us about the Cursed Waves was something I’ve read many times before. Or rather, I must have. The phrases felt so familiar to me. And strangely, it didn’t cause a headache when I tried to recall them now.

Regarding Cubia as well, I felt like there was something I still needed to be careful of, but that part of my memory was still hazy; I couldn’t remember what it was.

(But……)

I told myself that it was a good sign that I wasn’t getting a headache trying to remember this time. It reassured me that I was not becoming a part of this world.

But I didn’t realize that at that time, I had already forgotten what I had been doing in the world I needed to return to. I should have realized…… that the lack of a headache was nothing more than the calm before the storm.

“In any case, we need to move on now.” Bith declared before beginning to walk into a desert that had no landmarks. There was no hesitation in his stride, though, so we all followed after him.

“It’s hot here, and dark.” I said to no one in particular while readjusting the cloak around my neck.

I had to walk faster so that my feet wouldn’t get caught up in the sand, but the effort naturally caused my body to heat up more. At first, I thought that was why it seemed so hot, but apparently, that wasn’t it. I could feel more heat coming from the sand beneath my feet.

“It really isn’t nighttime here. Just think of it as dark daylight.” Lilith explained, turning to face me as she walked ahead.

“Will it get hotter than this, then?”

“It will…… and considering the time of year, it will probably get to the point that you won’t be able to keep wearing that cloak.

Hearing that, however, Vesper stuck out his tongue in disgust while hanging from my shoulder. “I can’t stand it.”

“What are you complaining about? You at least get to enjoy a casual ride on my shoulders.”

“But unlike you, Saya, I have this lustrous fur. And I can’t just peel it off like your cloak.”

“A hairless Vesper, huh…… I’d like to see that.”

Laughing off Vesper’s complaints, I looked at the desert spread out before me. We walked on and on, and still I couldn’t see anything but sand. The sun wasn’t out, so I had no idea what direction we were going. I couldn’t even tell if we were keeping a straight path or not……

(How long will we have to walk like this?)

I couldn’t imagine what might lie ahead or how far we’d have to go in order to reach it. Bith wasn’t explaining himself, but since we were in the Lands of Darkness now, I guessed that we were heading for Tartarga― still, walking this long in silence was excruciating. It was so hot, and I hadn’t slept properly yet, either. So, when I started feeling dizzy, I spoke up.

“Hey, Bith?”

“What?” Bith responded without even looking back at me.

“I know we’re in a hurry and all, but…… I think I might be reaching my limit.”

And walking up behind me, Fili spoke up in agreement. “She has a point. We haven’t rested in a while. Shall we take a break here?”

Fili came to a stop as he suggested that. But Bith just kept on moving regardless.

“Hold on a minute……” I croaked out, trying to call to Bith.

I wanted to find the Twilight Dragon as quickly as possible, too; but I was afraid that if I kept going without proper rest, the wires in my brain would snap.

“Don’t worry, looks like Bith has it all figured out.” Lilith turned from watching Bith’s back to smile at me. “We’ll reach a place we can take a proper break soon.”

“Really?”

Lilith nodded. “I wouldn’t lie about this. I want to take a break at this point too, you know.” She said and motioned for us to follow her and Bith.

How many hours had passed since we last spoke to each other like this?

After crossing one more larger sand dune― I could finally see something like a small, dense forest in the distance. “Is that it?”

On my shoulder, Vesper squinted his eyes and looked at the forest. “An oasis…… huh?”

(Oasis?)

“That means there’s water there, right?”

Following Vesper’s gaze, I studied the small thicket. I could see something like a pit in the center of the trees, and guessed that was where the spring would be. And around its rim were spirits who looked as small as dolls. Suddenly feeling energized, I took off at a run towards the oasis.

The oasis was known as the Verdant Spring. It was located in the heart of the Desert of Dakk, and scattered throughout the thicket were small bungalow-like huts built for the travelling spirits and humans that commonly used the oasis as a rest stop.

Conflict still arose between the humans and spirits there, but it was kept under control thanks to a certain sprite that lived here called Jinn, who would act as a mediator for any arguments.

It was Lilith who explained it all to me when she saw how curious I was about the place.

“Look…… that’s him over there.” Lilith pointed to a man wearing a muddy robe over his head that was sitting with a fishing rod thrown into the spring. He was very tall, so tall that even though he was sitting hunched over, he still seemed to tower over everyone else.

“That’s…… Jinn?” I confirmed, and as if he noticed that Lilith and I were talking about him, Jinn slowly turned around to face us.

(!)

The sight of him was strange enough to take my breath away. Jinn wore an iron mask over his face that looked like a rusted gas mask, and I could hear his rough breathing from here.

Lilith waved politely to him, and Jinn nodded before returning his attention to fishing.

“Do you two know each other?”

“He’s like me.”

“You mean he has a shadow?” I said, but quickly thought Lilith might be offended by that and tried to correct myself. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that how it sounded…… I just wanted to ask what you meant by him being the same?”

At my discomfort however, Lilith burst with laughter. “It’s okay, you don’t have to apologize. His situation is the same as mine in that he was exiled from the country. But for him, it was just because he showed sympathy for the views of the Lands of Light. A stupid reason to banish someone if you ask me.”

But Lilith’s laugh somehow seemed self-deprecating to me, so I tilted my head at her. “Sympathy for their views?”

“They wanted to stop the conflicts so everyone could live in peace. You only have to look at Fili to see that.”

(Now I get it……)

Feeling like I’d finally solved a complex riddle, I looked to Fili as he emerged from one of the bungalows. “Thanks for waiting. We can rest now.”

“We’re staying here, then?” I looked at the bungalow behind Fili, and there on the veranda built into the small wooden structure, Gendor was sitting on his own. “……Gendor still looks depressed.”

Lilith sighed as I pointed that out and shrugged. “He’s only human, it can’t be helped. You can’t worry about it too much. Just get some rest.” She told me, then walked towards the bungalow and disappeared inside without looking back.

I was about to follow her in, but then I turned and realized that Fili was looking around like he didn’t know where he was.

“Is something wrong?”

“No……”

“Are you looking for someone; do you want help finding them?”

“No, I……” He started, but looking at his expression then, I realized why he was so restless.

“Are you worried about Pleiad?”

Fili sighed. The necklace he wore, which he’d said he had received from Pleiad, was swaying solemnly around his neck.

Pleiad – Fili’s childhood friend – had been living alone outside the city of Arche Haokar after being exiled from the Lands of Light for having fallen in love with a human and casting her own shadow. She entrusted her precious necklace to Fili, whom she hadn’t seen in many years, and then disappeared amidst the ‘rebellion’.

But Fili was the pragmatic type, so he probably thought that looking for Pleiad here would hinder our journey. That was why he was holding his worry in without saying anything.

(But that’s why you were late getting back, you went looking for her didn’t you……?)

And yet― looking at Fili now, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything more. The fact that he was looking for Pleiad in this place meant that he hadn’t been able to find her anywhere in the city, or get any information on where she went.

And judging by the fact that the city burned to ruins in just the time it took us to walk to the Great Tree of Lios and back― the fire must have been incredibly strong. It hadn’t sounded like Pleiad left her house much, so she probably hadn’t had time to run away.

I felt a sniffle in the back of my nose. I had never met Pleiad, but I felt like I knew her from what Fili had told me about her.

“Fili……”

Fili’s head dropped when he realized I had figured it out. But it was all I could do just to call out his name.

“Sorry to have worried you. But it’s okay. I’m sure Pleiad managed to get away somehow.”

Fili was acting strong, but― it sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than me. Otherwise, I don’t think he would have come all the way out here and still be looking for her.

I empathized with how Fili must be feeling right now. Yet even while I was at a loss for words, Fili kept talking to me as if he knew what I was thinking.

“I guess that doesn’t sound too convincing when I’m still looking for Pleiad.” Fili said, then added under his breath, “This is hopeless……”

“That’s not true. I know how worried you are.”

Hearing that from me, Fili smiled. “Right. Now that we’re here, we can get that fixed for you.” Clearly trying to change the subject― Fili pointed at the broken broom I was carrying on my back. “With all these trees around here, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding the materials for it.”

Realizing that was true, I started looking all around us.

And then suddenly, “Ah!” Gendor shouted and sprung to his feet on the veranda of the bungalow.

(Hmm?)

I turned to see what Gendor was looking at, “Ah!” and then shouted just like Gendor had.

Just ahead of us― Theo was there, sitting next to Jinn as he continued fishing at the edge of the spring. The two of them seemed to be talking rather casually with each other.

In a rush, Gendor scurried over to Theo, and without thinking about it, I ran over to them as well. And when Theo noticed us, he stood up, smiled that same smile he had the first time we’d met, and waved to us.

“Wh- what are you doing here?” Gendor asked and started looking around before he even got an answer. “Is the elder with you?”

“Yeah. Everyone is resting up in the bungalow over there.”

“!”

Without sparing another look to Theo, Gendor ran in the direction he had pointed. Then I spoke to Theo as he continued to smile at me.

“I knew it…… you saw that the waves were coming, didn’t you?”

“Somehow, I guess. I just felt like I had to get here before you guys arrived.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “Besides, we couldn’t have moved from there before we introduced you to Gendor.”

“I see…… how much did you already know back then?”

Theo tilted his head as he considered his answer. “How much? I knew we had to introduce you to Gendor and then leave immediately after seeing him off. Then the city was going to burn, so I knew we couldn’t go there.” Theo paused for a moment in thought, then continued, “I feel like there was something else…… but I can’t remember. I forget things so quickly.”

From my shoulder, Vesper looked at Theo solemnly as he spoke so indifferently.

(I get it……)

Because of his precognitive abilities, it was probably harder for Theo to remember things that happened in the past. In the beginning, humans didn’t have the ability to fly or cast spells…… and they certainly didn’t have the ability to predict the future. It may have been that his body wasn’t able to completely adapt to its unique abilities― so it may be more difficult for him to do normal things that everyone should be able to do.

“If I had known you were going to pass through there though, I would have warned you…… but I can only really see what happens to me.”

“No, that’s okay; I’m glad we found you again. Gendor was very worried about you.”

“I told him that I would see him again before he left…… but Gendor has trouble listening.” Theo smiled again and took my hand. “Come on, let’s go fix your broom.”

I hadn’t said anything about my broom being broken, but I guessed Theo had known that this would happen, too. So I let myself be led to the humans’ bungalow where I could hear Gendor weeping with joy now that he knew the others were safe.

The broom was repaired quickly. And it was swapped out for a thicker oak branch than before so that it could bear Gendor’s weight better.

Then for the next few days after that, we gathered information while resting at the spring. There were others here who had fled the city after it burned and those who realized that the city’s restoration was a trick of the waves swallowing up their friends, so we had no trouble finding out what we wanted to know. Since they were at the top of their respective countries, Bith and Fili did most of the talking, and the rest of us just watched them work.

Gendor had regained his old sunny cheerfulness and said he was ready to set out in search for the Twilight Dragon at any time. The day before we left though― I went to talk with Jinn, who I had seen out fishing every day.

“What do you catch fishing here like this every day?”

But instead of answering my question, Jinn just continued staring at the water’s surface. I followed his gaze down, and the pit was too dark for me to make out much, but it didn’t actually seem like there were any fish in the water here.

“I don’t see any fish……” Vesper muttered, and I nodded.

“What kind of fish have you caught.”

However, Jinn still did not respond to me. No matter what I said, he didn’t seem to be willing to listen. I thought I must be bothering him then, but just when I was about to leave― Jinn finally spoke up.

“I don’t catch anything.”

“But if you aren’t catching any fish, then why are you still casting a line?” I asked, and Jinn turned his gaze on me, then pulled the fishing line up into his hand. “Huh?”

The line had no hook attached to the end at all. “Fishing is where I do my best thinking.”

“But if you know you won’t catch anything, you don’t really need the fishing rod, right?” I noted, but Jinn just returned his gaze to the surface of the water and continued his fishing. “Just sitting here all day; you’re a strange man.”

I’d said it in a soft, muffled voice, but when I did, Jinn patted the ground for me to sit next to him, so I did so and went silent.

“He is a bit strange, I suppose.” Vesper muttered, but I shook my head at him. I didn’t think it would be polite to say it where he would actually be able to hear.

“What are you thinking about? Perhaps talking about it will help you work through it.”

“I’m searching for something, but I haven’t found it. In fact, it’s possible that it can’t be found at all.” Jinn spoke with a measured tone as he spoke. His voice had a very calming effect. “Many travelers gather here. More even than the city of Arche Haokar. I’ve been there a few times myself, but not as often as here. And many items are gathered here as well, in addition to travelers. Not weapons and armor, but other things.”

(!)

Hearing him say that, I looked to Jinn and asked, “There wouldn’t happen to be a tear jar here would there?”

At that, Jinn gave me a curious look. “You are looking for a tear jar? I believe Skunk has it at the Great Tree of Lios, but…… I’m not sure he would let it go.”

“No, that’s……”

But I didn’t want to admit to him that we had already received it and then lost it, so I clammed up after that.

“Skunk is the only one who owns such a thing. What you seek is a one-of-a-kind item.

Given that answer, I instead asked Jinn about his ventures. “Is there anything in particular that you’re looking for?”

Jinn nodded. “Seeds of the World Tree.”

“Seeds of the World Tree?” I asked, wanting to know what that was.

“The World Tree is a tree that will never wither, with leaves that are said to hold the power to heal any injury. If strife is to continue in this world, no matter how minor, then I would like to collect something that can heal the wounds. That is what I desire; and I will search for it however long it takes.”

“That’s a wonderful ambition! I hope you find it soon.”

“I do wonder sometimes though…… wonder if it can be found at all. Every time I find a rare seed, I plant it, but it never grows into a World Tree. It was by repeating this process over and over again that this forest here came to be…… and if I were to continue on as I have, who knows how far this forest might spread? But in the end, I think my dream of growing the World Tree here will remain as just that― a dream.”

After explaining all of that to me, Jinn fell silent again. It warmed my heart to know there were such kindly spirits of Darkness out there. Yet even so, that kindness of his had been rewarded with banishment― it made me wonder what the Queen had been thinking, sending him into exile just for that. Was him wishing for peace really such a terrible thing?

“Come on, we’re leaving soon.” Bith called for me then, so I left Jinn’s side, and he continued his fishing as before.

Theo and the other humans came out to see us off, and with that, we stepped out into the desert again.

“I won’t cry anymore.” When we had walked far enough away that we could no longer see the springs behind us, Gendor muttered those words as if to steel himself.

(Me too―)

In order to get back as quickly as possible, I had to try to remember my greatest guide for this journey – the Epitaph of Twilight…… but it was at that moment that a thought struck me, and I froze in place.

Where exactly was I trying to get back to?

(Um……)

I massaged my temples as my head began to throb and tried desperately to recall my purpose.

(Where was I trying to get back to?)

Ahead of me, nobody else had noticed that I’d stopped, and were continuing on their way without me.

“Saya, what’s wrong?” But even when Vesper spoke to me from my shoulder, I didn’t react.

(I know that I have someone to get back to……)

The pain in my temples drilled its way deeper into my mind until it became a migraine. I lifted both of my hands to my head and tried to endure the pain. And seeing the way my face was contorting in pain, Vesper placed his paw against my cheek.

“Saya!” He called out to me, but still, I couldn’t move.

A haze hung over my mind that made me feel like I was about to collapse― so much so that I actually did have to sit down to try and recover.

“Get away!” But then in the distance, I heard Bith yelling at me.

And when I lifted my head again, I found that my body was being sucked into the sand.

“Huh?” Centered on me, the sand surrounding me was being drawn into the ground, creating a hole that reminded me of an ant lion’s trap. “Wh-what?”

Then something like a cold vine suddenly wrapped around my feet and tried to drag me deeper into the sand. It was too strong to fight against, and the more I struggled, the more I became buried in the sand.

“H-help―” Desperately, I tried to reach out for anything to hold onto.

Across the desert, I could see Bith and Fili racing back towards me.

“Calm down!” Vesper shouted at me while clinging to my robes. “Use the broom!”

Still panicking, I hurriedly grappled for the broomstick I was carrying on my back. But as I did, the vines entwined further around my legs and yanked me down as if trying to stop me.

“No!” I screamed in horror at the idea that I might get swallowed up by this thing.

“Aren’t you going back to your own world!? Don’t you have your Papa and Mama to return to!?” Vesper shouted as he pushed the broom’s handle into a position where I could more easily grab it from.

(Papa…… Mama……)

With Vesper’s words, the haze in my mind was pushed back.

(That’s right!)

I― I had to get back to that world where my Papa and Mama were. So I couldn’t let myself disappear, not in this game world based on the Epitaph of Twilight. Like a fish returning to the water, all the memories I couldn’t remember just now suddenly came flooding back to me.

“There!” Taking a deep breath, I took hold of the broom handle. Even if it didn’t let me shake off the vines wrapped around my legs, it should at least stall the process of it dragging me beneath the sands if I kept it flying.

The broom floated slowly upwards, and I desperately clung to the handle with both hands as it did.

“PhaJuk Rom!”

Fili chanted a spell, and a tornado-like spiral of leaves blew away the sand around me, and as if he had been waiting for that moment― Bith then burned through the vines wrapped around my legs.

With no more resistance, I floated up and away from the ground. “Thank god!” I said, but the moment after that sense of relief flooded through me― Lilith flew up at me while I was still clinging to my broom. “?!”

Lilith seemed faint, like she had also been attack by the vines that had wrapped up my legs. Unable to dodge out of the way, she collided with me, and both of us dropped back to the desert floor.

“What are you doing?!” Bith yelled again.

Unfortunately, it seemed that we had fallen back onto the edge of the antlion’s trap, and the hole quickly grew in size to try and swallow Lilith and me up again.

“Urm……” Lilith seemed to come to when she impacted the ground, and I tugged on her arm to try and warn her that we needed to get out of the hole. “Not good!”

Assessing the situation in an instant, Lilith shot a spell towards the sand as it tried to swallow her, and the hole solidified as if it had been frozen over.

Only the vine-like tentacles could still move, reaching up from the center as if reaching out for help.

“Bith, behind you!” Lilith shouted as she carefully watched the movements of the tentacles.

I followed her gaze behind Bith and saw what had thrown Lilith into the air before. “Wh-what is that……?”

It had a body like an ant, but it was much too big to be compared to one. And its torso – twice the size of Gendor on its own – had dozens of the same tentacle on it like the ones stretching up from the hole.

Those tentacles were wriggling in every direction, trying to repel anyone that got too close.

“It’s the Sandlion…… Lord of the Desert.” Lilith called, aiming her spell wand at the Sandlion and beginning to recite an incantation.

“!”

The sand at the Sandlion’s feet slowly started crawling up it as if trying to eat away at it. The tentacles stopped moving for a moment when they became covered in sand, but then began to rampage erratically in an attempt to shake it off.

“Get down!”

Fili raised his spell staff to protect Gendor from Sandlion’s tentacles. A pale golden light surrounded them, and the tentacles pulled back to avoid touching the light.

“This thing’s a real pain in the ass……” Bith muttered a curse and clicked his tongue.

As he did though, a narrow spell crest appeared above his head, and he plunge his arm into it like he was trying to pull something out of it.

It was a strange sight with his arm disappearing beyond the space of the crest, as if Bith had punched a hole into the air itself. And when he pulled his arm back out of the crest, Bith was holding a gleaming black scythe in his hand. It was large and ominous, and looked like something meant to be held by a Grim Reaper.

Bith held the scythe at the ready and took a swing at the Sandlion. Then a thin, crescent-shaped vacuum wave flew at the Sandlion’s joints.

It only took a moment.

The Sandlion was split clean in half and fell with a desperate cry, and once it had fallen, I let out a deep sigh of relief.

“Gah, that was pathetic…… is everyone alright?” Putting her spell wand away, Lilith began brushing sand off of her with annoyance.

“The Sandlion will try to swallow up anyone who stands still. And the further into the Desert of Dakk you go, the more likely it becomes that one will appear. Didn’t you know that?” Bith questioned me, but I just shook my head.

“I guess there are some things even the knowledgeable Little Witch doesn’t know. I’m surprised.” Lilith noted, then guided me towards Bith and the others.

I really was pathetic. I guess I could at least be glad that I hadn’t fully become a part of this world yet, but when I joined the others, I had to admit I had mixed feelings.

“There could still be more of them…… we can’t let our guard down just because we defeated this one. And spell crests won’t work on the main body…… so let’s hurry before another one shows up.” With the scythe now hanging on his back, Bith started walking again.

We continued onwards, and as we did, we all kept our weapons at the ready (although Gendor didn’t have any himself).

As we progressed, the desert gradually turned into a wilderness. Then after walking through that wilderness for a while, we came upon a mountain valley.

And there, in a part of that rock face that stretched like a giant wall to either side― a hole that looked like a gaping, pitch-black mouth appeared before us. From it, a stream of warm, fresh air was flowing out as if the mountain itself were breathing.

“This is……?” It looked like an entrance to the underworld.

We walked into the gloomy cave without much footing, relying on Bith’s flames for light. We progressed like that for a long time, but despite the flame, Bith and Fili did not cast shadows.

(Why is that?)

I tilted my head in thought, and noticing, Vesper spoke quietly to me.

“The secret lies in their clothes. I’ve heard there are materials that can prevent shadows from being cast.”

“Oh…… but they’re okay even when they’re in sunlight?”

“So it would seem.”

“Then you mean they can’t ever take off their clothes?”

“At the very least, they wouldn’t take them off while out on a journey.

“But if something like that is out there, why doesn’t everyone use it?” I asked, but Vesper just laughed at that. “That’s rude. What is it?”

“The material takes hundreds of years to make. So it can’t be made widely available, now can it?”

“It takes that long!!?”

“Well, those two are highly ranked spirits, so it’s not strange that they would have access to them.”

“I guess so.” After that, we walked in silence for a while. The path was damp and strewn with palm-sized stones lying around, so if I didn’t concentrate on walking, I could easily slip and fall.

Continuing further down, I eventually saw an exit to the cave in the distance. A red light leaked in from the other side, and the breeze coming from it was hot. But the moment I passed through what I’d thought was an exit, I stopped and gasped.

In front of us now was a boiling underground lake― the Hearth of Dakk.

But instead of water, however, the lake was boiling with lava, making it feel like a giant furnace, just as the name suggested. And occasionally, the lava would bubble and pop, letting hot steam envelop us.

“Is this where Tartarga is?”

I looked around the edge of the underground lake, but found that it was not a place where any living creature could survive. There were no plants, no springs carrying water. There was only the lava here.

“Probably,”

“But…… no one could possibly live in a place like this, could they?”

“That’s not entirely true.” Lilith said, turning back towards the cave we had just passed through.

“?”

There, next to the cave we had come through, another tunnel cut into the wall. It was too dark to make out exactly what they were, but looking almost like the inside of a person’s nose, dozens of little, furry creatures were watching us from their holes.

“Hold on a minute.” Lilith glanced at Bith and then walked up to the holes.

The furry creatures squirmed about as they saw Lilith approach them.

“Are those people Ancient spirits?” At Fili’s question, Bith nodded curtly. “I can’t believe there are still Ancients even alive!”

“It isn’t all that surprising.”

“But it is!” Speaking with enthusiasm, Fili watched closely as Lilith spoke to the Ancient spirits. “She can speak the ancients’ language?!”

“Back in the Lands of Darkness – though few in number – most of the higher ranked spirits can speak it.”

“Can you speak it too, Bith?”

“More or less.” Bith answered, then continued saying, “But I’m no good at negotiating. We’ll get better information if you leave it to Lilith.”

After explaining that to us, Bith looked out across the lake lava. But then, as if to take a bite out of him, Fili opened his mouth wide and shouted. “Then why?! If you could have read the documents written in the ancient language that are kept in our lands, coming all this way at great peril to yourself is―”

Bith looked at Fili and gave him a subtle, but derisive smile. “And when did I ever say that we could read it? We can speak the language, but that’s all.”

And hearing that answer, Fili lowered his head.

(So documents written in the ancient language are store in the Lands of Light, but the language itself was inherited by those in the Lands of Darkness…… how does that make any sense?)

Unfortunately though, no matter how much I considered that question, I couldn’t come up with an answer. I could barely remember anything important, but I felt almost certain that this relationship between the two countries and what they had inherited from the Ancient spirits had not come up in the story.

Yet I felt confident that this would be important to our journey going forward, I just couldn’t say why.

“Sorry for the wait.” Lilith apologized as she returned with one of the furry creatures.

Brought into the light from the lava’s glow, the full form of the creature was illuminated for us to see. They were shorter than me and covered in thick, dark hair long enough to drag across the ground. Beyond that, however, the only part of them I could see were their bloodshot, red eyes. I couldn’t see their arms or legs, or even really tell if they had any.

“It seems that Tartarga is on the other side of the lava lake.” Lilith told us with a sigh.

“Figures…… which puts us in a bind.” Fili looked up, down, and all around the cave. The lake of lava stretched from one side of the cave to the other, so there was no possible way to walk around it. “Looks like the only way to get to the other side is by flying.”

When Fili said that, however, all of us naturally turned to face Gendor.

“……Would it be better if I just wait here?”

“No, we should all go together. If we all work together to carry you, then there’s no reason for you to be left behind.”

Yet as if to mock him, as soon as those words left Fili’s lips― lava spewed upwards in a geyser towards the cave ceiling. All around the lake, columns of fire like that rose up at seemingly random intervals.

“Though it might still prove difficult……” Lilith muttered as she watched the lava.

“Still, leaving him behind is not an option. You never know when the waves might reach this place.”

We all fell silent at that. Even with the four of us carrying Gendor, avoiding the pillars of fire would be an extremely difficult ask. And if something were to attack us while we were flying, there would be nothing we could do about it.

But then, the furry Ancient spirit watching us poked at Lilith’s arm restlessly and said something in a high-pitched voice. And understanding what they said, Bith and Lilith met each other’s eyes.

“What are they saying?” Fili tilted his head at them.

“It seems this one is offering to be a basket for us.”

“Basket?” I questioned, not understanding what she meant by that.

“You’re mended broom can support Gendor’s weight now, right?” Bith noted and took the broom off my back― testing the flexibility of the handle in his hands. Then he returned it to me, as if to assure me that everything would work out fine, and I took the broom in a tight grip. “This spirit will be the basket. You’ll use them to carry Gendor with your broom. And then the rest of us―” Bith looked to Lilith and Fili. “We’ll deal with the columns of fire that try to strike at them.”

The Ancient spirit nodded enthusiastically at this, seeming to understand what Bith was saying. But I frowned as I took in the weight of the responsibility I was being charged with.

“But, what if it snaps?”

“Then the Ancient Spirit and Gendor will go plop.”

“……”

Fili met my hesitant gaze, but nodded in agreement. “It’s dangerous, but this seems like our only option.”

I had hoped that Fili would come up with some alternative, but it looked like I had no choice but to brace myself for the task. The humans from the village― they surely made my broom as thick and durable as possible to ensure that Gendor – who couldn’t fly – would no longer be a burden to us.

Thinking that way, I retightened my grip on the broom in my hands. There was no point in stopping here. If we reached the other side of the lake, we might be able to get the information we needed, so there was no reason not to go.

At that moment, we all had only one goal.

Meet with Tartarga and learn what he knew about where to find the Twilight Dragon.

(I have to do this……!)

After taking in a deep breath, I looked around at everyone and spoke. “Let’s go!” I said, and Bith, Fili, Lilith, and even Gendor nodded firmly in agreement.

In that moment, for the first time, we all stood completely united.

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