4
Just as boiling-hot deserts contained verdant oases, so was there a place hospitable to life in the barren landscape of Katalisk.
Deep in this dead, polluted land, there was an oasis called the “sacred ground” that stretched a few hundred meters in all directions.
It was a place where the astral powers that had erupted from the planet’s core had gathered.
“Is this a dream?” Sisbell seemed taken aback. “There’s a whole forest in that deadly swamp?”
Yes. Ahead of where they had followed the Astrals, they found a lush forest flourishing with plants and trees. They saw flowers of all colors. Some of the fruits and nuts were ripe on the trees, and birds had gathered to eat them.
“I can’t believe an oasis like this exists in the middle of the contaminated land. It looked like the end of the world…”
“The air is clear, too,” Alice said as she took a deep breath and looked around at the trees. “It really emphasizes how strange the poisonous air was earlier. I’m worried about having to go back through it.”
“There’s almost no corrupt energy here.” Still clinging to Iska’s back, Kissing pointed above the forest. “Look over there. The astral energy is whirling overhead, almost like a curtain that blocks off light. I believe that’s how the calamity is being stalled.”
“I can’t see it, but I think I can feel it…,” Iska remarked.
The air felt different here. He could feel on his skin that the astral energy was purifying the putrefaction of the calamity.
“By the way, Kissing,” Alice said, seeming slightly annoyed, “how long are you going to stay there?”
“Where?”
“On Iska’s back! It’s safe now, so you should be able to get off.”
“No.”
When the Zoa princess replied without hesitation, Alice’s expression hardened.
“Oh? Well, why do you not want to?”
“As I’m the only person here who can guide everyone to safety, Iska ought to treat me with respect. Unlike you, I’m not simply deadweight to be lugged around.”
“Deadweight?!”
“Princess Aliceliese,” Risya called out to Alice. The princess barely managed to contain herself.
“Ahem… Pardon me.”
“Please be a bit quieter. It seems like this is where the Astrals live.”
The undergrowth quivered. An Astral peeked out from the brush that Risya was staring at.
The diminutive creature looked curious, albeit frightened. As soon as their eyes met, the Astral fled.
“It’s so cute… It’s even adorable when it runs away!”
Sisbell was entranced as she watched the Astral dash off.
“What cute people live in this green garden! By the way, Ms. Risya, how far must we walk?”
“I have no idea. According to the Lord, we’ll know when we get there.”
The group continued down a small path through the woods. As the Astrals peeked out from the brush to watch them, they arrived at a small dome of white bricks. It was the size of a large storehouse.
The door to the dome opened, as though its occupants were expecting them.
“…Yunmelngen?”
There were three Astrals inside the structure. Two of them parted to stand by the walls, while the one in the middle sat on top of a pile of broad leaves gathered into a cushion. Though they all wore cloaks that looked more or less identical, the one in the middle was adorned with jewelry.
“Nice to meet you. I’m sorry for addressing you in the human tongue.” Risya knelt as soon as she entered the dome. She sat down and bent her head low, showing that she meant no harm. “I am Lord Yunmelngen’s messenger, Risya. I presume you are the elder.”
“Elder…?”
The Astral looked into the air for some time. It took well over a minute for them to process Risya’s statement.
“Elder. Yes, Elder. It has been some time…since I have used human language.”
“I presume about seventy years. Lord Yunmelngen told me that they came here that long ago.”
Sit, sit, Risya beckoned. Iska, Alice, Sisbell, and Kissing sat on the ground.
“And where is Yunmelngen?”
“They are in good health in the Empire. But they have almost used up their medicine and asked me to obtain more if we may.”
“Hmm… Very well.”
The elder stood up and drew back a curtain farther inside, which revealed a black stone. It looked like obsidian. It was almost as though…
“Wait, is that?!” Iska nearly leaped up on the spot.
It wasn’t just that he recognized the stone—he could tell it was the same material his black astral sword was made of.
“Hmm…?”
The elder turned around. The Astral stared so hard that Iska felt as though their eyes were boring a hole straight through his entire body.
“Did you shrink, Crow?”
“That’s not me!”
He couldn’t believe he’d been mistaken for someone else. It seemed like the Astrals weren’t good at telling humans apart.
“But you have the astral swords, so you must be…”
“I’m just taking care of them. Master Crossweil lent them to me.”
He unsheathed the black and white astral swords, then placed them on the ground so the Astral could see.
“The Lord informed us that you made these swords. I came here to learn more about them.”
“So you did.”
The elder brought over a black crystal. It was the same color as one of his astral swords.
“We created them because Yunmelngen told us they would stop the calamity. Use it like this.”
With a tap, the elder hit the black crystal on the ground.
“So Sez xeph—awaken.”
The black crystal burst.
Or so it seemed. The bright flash of light that erupted from it made it seem like it had.
“Astral light?!”
“What? It can’t be!”
Alice rose to her feet, and Sisbell followed.
She held her hands to her chest.
“It’s the same light as my Illumination?!”
“This is no mere stone. It’s a crystal that formed from astral powers gathering in the same place for centuries.”
The elder caressed the crystal.
“I tire of speaking in the human tongue. It will be better for the astral powers to speak to you instead.”
The events of seventy years ago sprang to life before Iska’s and the others’ eyes.
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