CHAPTER 4
The Entire Planet’s Memories
Thirty years had passed since the Planet’s Navel, a vortex located in the Imperial capital, had erupted with multitudes of astral powers, giving birth to the world’s first witches and sorcerers.
In that time, the crown prince, Lord Yunmelngen, ascended to the throne. Refugees fled to the north of the Empire, establishing a new nation called the Nebulis Sovereignty. And as history wrote itself…
“What a long trip this has been. Are you sure this is the land of the Astrals?”
The voice of someone of indeterminate gender filtered through the woods. The individual who had spoken was a silver-furred beastperson. They were looking around the verdant meadow.
“Crow, you said you’d take good care of me. Couldn’t you at least have carried me on your back across that unpleasant swamp?”
“You’re the one who decided to come with me,” retorted a boy wearing a gigantic backpack. His hair was black and overgrown, and his face looked haggard. He wore a dagger that peeked out from a scabbard at his hip—a weapon for self-defense.
“And I said I would protect you, not that I’d take care of you,” he added.
“It’s all the same. Mmm, after going through that stifling swamp, the air here sure is refreshing.”
Lord Yunmelngen narrowed their eyes at the brightness. Like a kitten basking in the sun, the beastperson stepped into the light passing through the trees.
“We’ve traveled a long way from the Empire to get to the outer reaches of the continent. But thanks to that, we have all the time in the world to talk… I thought that what happened thirty years ago would never occur again.”
The Lord looked up at the sunlight and trees. They enunciated each word, as though deliberating on every syllable.
“The explosion at the capital was caused by spirit-like wraiths called astral powers bursting out of the ground. They’re responsible for transforming me into a beast.”
The Lord took a knee. They leaned forward, meeting the eyes of the short-statured people who had come from the brush.
“Is my assessment incorrect?” the Lord asked.
“Entirely,” one of the Astrals said. There were three in total, and the one in the center was wearing a necklace made of small stones. “The astral powers only fled. They came from the planet’s core.”
“So they’re not ill-intentioned? It’s not just the Empire that’s in turmoil over them but the whole world, you realize.”
“Not them.” The elder among the people pointed down at their feet. “The astral powers did nothing wrong. Something threatened them beneath the planet.”
“…So that’s the baddie we’re up against, then?” the black-haired boy said in place of the Lord.
Crossweil Gate Nebulis. He had also been exposed to the vortex’s power and become one of the first sorcerers in the world. He was a brother of the Nebulis sisters, whom he had parted ways with, to remain in the Empire.
“The Empire was excavating a hole five kilometers underground for resources. I was one of the miners, so I’ve always felt guilt over causing the vortex—are you saying it wasn’t our fault?” he asked.
“What you did was irrelevant.” The elder didn’t hesitate in the slightest when replying. “The astral powers created the vortex to escape. They could no longer remain in the core of the planet, so they fled. Your digging a hole in the ground was irrelevant to them.”
“So you’re saying that even if nobody had mined there, a vortex would have still formed in the capital either way?”
“Yes, just as one formed in these woods.”
The Astrals called this forest the “sacred ground.” Crossweil and the Lord had both understood why it had that name the moment they had stepped into the place.
The ground of the forest was filled with small vortex pockets. Though each one looked like a small hole—the kind a mischievous child might make—they were all glowing with iridescent light from the astral energy inside.
They were like fountains of light. Because the land was protected by the astral energy that surged out of those holes, it was the only area in the corrupted land of Katalisk that was still vibrant and green.
“Vortexes form naturally. Because they are the paths by which the astral powers flee.”
In which case… If they wanted to fully uncover the secrets of the events from three decades ago, would they need to determine why the astral powers had run in the first place?
“The World Enemy, huh…?” Crossweil spat out the words. “So there’s some sort of bogeyman called the ‘Planetary Calamity,’ and that’s why the astral powers fled from the planet’s core? And until we deal with it, more vortexes will just keep forming?”
The incident at the capital was just the start. If more vortexes formed in the capital, more people would become witches and sorcerers, whether they liked it or not.
“What if we get rid of it?”
“If the planet’s core is safe, the astral powers will return to it. And they will steer clear of the surface.”
“So they won’t possess any other humans?”
“That’s right. They don’t live within humans because they want to. The astral powers are very weak, so they require a ‘home.’ That was what the planet’s core used to be.”
To summarize, the astral powers had come from the planet’s core, but because a monster had appeared, they’d lost their homeland and fled to the planet’s surface.
“Then all we need to do is defeat this calamity. How do we do—?”
“Wait, Crow. We have a lot of other questions we need to ask first,” the Lord finally chimed in, after keeping quiet for a while. They were staring at the three smaller beings. “I understand we need to do something about this calamity, but do we really need to travel to it? According to you, it’s in the center of the planet. Does that mean I should rally everyone in the Imperial forces to dig a hole even deeper than the Planet’s Navel?”
“That.” The elder pointed at a small hole in the ground that sparkled with blue astral energy.
“Oh… So you’re saying we should dive into a vortex?”
“All vortexes lead to the planet’s core. But they are for the astral powers to travel. You will need to find a larger opening that a human may fit through.”
“All right. I’ll try it out. I’ll use my authority as the Lord or whatever else I have to.” The Lord gave them a forced smile and waved a hand. “Crow, you can keep asking questions. I have an idea about how to get to the depths of the planet. But are you sure we can defeat it? This thing sounds horrifying—even the astral powers are running from it.”
Humans possessed by astral power obtained terrifying abilities. Crossweil’s adoptive sister, Eve, was an example of the most powerful astral mage, but if even her astral power had run from the calamity…
Did that mean humans wouldn’t stand a chance against it?
“Tell me,” Crossweil said, staring straight into the elder’s eyes as he gulped. “Can human beings win against the calamity? If we sent the Empire’s troops down there, what are the odds they would win?”
“None.”
“What?!”
He was at a loss for words. He had expected them to say that chances were slim, or to give them a low percentage, at least. Even that faint possibility had been crushed.
They had no hope of winning.
“The calamity will eventually destroy the world. No one on this planet can defeat it alone. A human would be incapable of harming it in the first place.”
“Is it really that hopeless?”
A bead of cold sweat ran down his face.
“Then what are we supposed to do?! Yunmelngen and I only came here because you called us. Are you saying it’s hopeless?!”
“ ”
Just then, the two Astrals who had remained still until that moment began to move.
They stepped forward and took their places to the right and left of the elder, whispering as they did. They were speaking in a completely alien language to humankind. Crossweil couldn’t understand anything they were saying, even when he strained his ears.
“Hey—” He was about to say more.
“There is hope.” The elder pointed at the vortex at their feet again.
“If you gather all the abilities of the astral powers together.”
Their words were beyond Crossweil’s comprehension.
“…What do you mean by that?”
“The astral powers are weak and timid. And they are scattered, some on the planet’s surface, others still hiding within the core.”
Some of the astral powers had made their way to the Empire. Others to the Sovereignty. If some had made it to this sacred ground, other astral powers would be in some region yet unexplored. The astral powers were scattered all over the world.
“If you gather all of them, there may be hope.”
All of the Astrals made a half-turn simultaneously. Then the three started walking away from Crossweil and the Lord.
“Huh?”
“Looks like they want us to follow them. Let’s go, Crow.”
The beastperson got up and began to walk. Crossweil rushed to follow them. Eventually, the group arrived at a dome made of white bricks. They filed through the opening.
“What are those black stones…?” Crossweil murmured the moment he got inside.
By all appearances, they were just rocks. There were several of them—enough to fit in someone’s arms—piled atop one another on a pedestal in the center of the space.
Each of the rocks tapered into sharp points, like the teeth of a beast.
The Astrals seemed to have deified the rocks. Flowers of every color had been set around the pedestal, along with offerings of fruits and nuts.
“It is astral power.”
“Hmm?”
“Astral powers cannot live alone. That is why they possess humans. These rocks are gatherings of the astral powers that were not able to find human hosts. After hundreds of years, they have crystallized.”
“These used to be astral powers?! Wait, I need a sec to process that…!”
Crossweil peered at the black crystals. They didn’t look like astral powers at all. As far as Crossweil knew, astral energy was supposed to be colorful and faintly luminescent. In contrast, these crystals were just black. They looked nothing like astral power to him.
“Oh! I see!” Yunmelngen clapped their hands together in that moment. “Do you like the arts, Crow? Painting and such?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You don’t know the first thing about art, do you?” The beastperson shrugged, seeming to find it amusing. “I’ll give you a little lesson. Consider the primary colors. Now, take red, blue, green, and yellow, orange, and purple, too, along with all the other colors that exist in the world. If you add them together, what do you get?”
“Um, I have no idea…”
“Black. You get the color of those crystals.” Yunmelngen made their way over to the crystals. “Black is the color that you get after adding all the other colors together. And…”
They set their hand on the black crystals, caressing their sharp, bladelike edges.
“Crow, you need to know this, too. The astral powers each have their characteristic colors.”
Flame astral power would create a red astral crest. Ice astral power, a blue one. Wind astral power, green.
Those could be subdivided. For example, a version of wind astral power might result in an emerald astral crest.
“I don’t think there are just a hundred or even a thousand astral powers. You probably need tens of thousands or maybe even hundreds of thousands of different-colored astral powers to make one of these crystals. Just look at them. The fact that they’re pitch-black means that many astral powers have gathered inside them.”
The rocks were an amalgamation of all manner of astral energies. If even one color of astral power had been missing, the crystals likely wouldn’t have been such a pure shade of black.
“It doesn’t seem real, but are you saying that these rocks are the key to winning?”
He cautiously reached his hand toward them. Like Yunmelngen, Crossweil also touched the crystals.
“To take down the calamity, we need to gather every last astral power… So if these crystals contain them all, do we already have the secret weapon we need?”
“Technically, yes, but this isn’t enough.”
The elder extended both arms.
“This crystal contains only the astral powers here in this sacred ground. It is not enough. In order to fight the calamity, you will need all the astral powers scattered throughout the world. We conversed with the astral powers and had them store their abilities in these crystals.”
“The entire world?! That’s basically impossible, though!”
The Astrals had only just taught them this. The astral powers that had fled from the planet’s center had scattered upon reaching the surface. Some had erupted out of the Empire, while others had emerged from the Sovereignty. There were likely vortexes in undeveloped forests, deserts, and wastelands, too.
They would need to account for every one of these astral powers…
“You only need their elements.”
Their arms still outstretched, the elder looked up into the air.
“One ice astral power. If you gather one, then the ice and snow and blizzard astral powers that are related to it will gather.”
“So that’s what we need to do…”
Though the astral powers had scattered after fleeing the core, they were all still kindred spirits. The ice, earth, lightning, flame, and wind astral powers were tied together.
“The astral powers originated from the energies on this planet. Collecting all of them would mean bringing all the energy of the planet together, along with its memories.”
All the energy on the planet and all its memories. Once they had every single one, they would finally be able to challenge the calamity that threatened the planet.
“Well, there you go, Crow.” The Lord mischievously smiled and poked him in the side. “So, based on all of that, we know who’s the right person for the job, right?”
“Damn it… Don’t act like I’m going to agree to something this important. And it’s all unprecedented, too.”
He scratched the back of his head. After sighing, the black-haired young man looked at the crystals in front of his eyes.
The black crystals.
He stared at the sharp edges of the rocks, which looked like the teeth of a gigantic beast.
“I want to ask for something, then.” He turned back to the Astrals. “I can’t carry these around when they’re in this form. Could you turn one of these into a sword?”
“A sword?”
“Yeah. I’ll need a weapon to fight the calamity, won’t I?”
And just like that, the largest crystal of astral energy in the world was remade into a sword.
The black astral sword, a vessel that could absorb all types of astral energy. But a second of its kind could never be made again.
“I think I get how important this is. I’ll do what I can.” Crossweil took the black blade from the elder.
And then the memory from seventy years ago cut out.
The Illumination astral power faded.
But it hadn’t come from Sisbell. It had come from the stone right in front of Iska’s and the others’ eyes—the black astral crystal. One of the astral energies in the crystal must have had the power of Illumination.
“Oh-ho. I see.”
The room went quiet.
Risya nodded, seeming convinced of something. “I didn’t know much about Isk’s sword. And the Lord only told me I’d find out in time. Isk, you could have told me about such an important secret.”
“Y-you’ve got it all wrong, Ms. Risya! I didn’t know about it, either!”
As Risya grinned at him, Iska waved his hands, in a fluster. His teacher hadn’t told him a single thing about the astral swords.
……But I might have done the same in his shoes.
……The scope of this is way too big.
He had fought hoping for peace between the Empire and the Sovereignty. The secret of the swords would have been irrelevant. When he was fighting against astral mages, they were just a way to cut through astral attacks.
It had been too early to tell him. That was probably what his teacher and the Lord had decided.
……But then things changed. Now this isn’t about the war between the Empire and the Sovereignty.
……It’s about stopping the calamity and Elletear.
They had finally reached a juncture where the astral swords were necessary. That was why they had told him now.
And…
…all of this effort until now hadn’t been in vain. That was what he believed.
In his many battles, his blades had absorbed the energy of the astral powers of his foes.
Iska’s desire to achieve peace talks with the Sovereignty had led to him collecting the astral powers of the world.
“Oh, right, in that case…”
There were two astral swords on the ground. Iska pointed at the white one and turned to the elder.
“You only told us about the black blade. What about the white one?”
“The white astral sword?”
“Yes, is it important?”
“Well……”
The elder went silent. The Astral stared at Iska intently.
“Nope.”
“Not at all?!”
“What is important is to record all the different types of energies. The white sword releases some of the energy kept in the black sword. It consumes the power stored in it.”
“What did you make it for, then?”
“Crow asked for it.”
The elder leaned down, then handed the swords to Iska.
“He told us he wanted to be able to use some of the power in the black sword to stop his adoptive sister. The sword is as important as its wielder. So I permitted it.”
“I didn’t know that was part of their history…”
There were two astral swords. One black and one white. And that had a significance to it.
When all the primary colors were gathered, they turned black.
When all the primary colors of light were gathered, they turned white.
The black sword was proof that all the different energies of the astral powers had been gathered. The white sword was proof that the energies could be released again as astral light. The former was the weapon they would use against the Great Planetary Calamity. The latter was the weapon the wielder would use to protect himself.
“Well, I think this is a good time to call it. Mei is probably tired of waiting, too.” Risya pulled out a comm and checked the time on its display. “Any other questions, Iska?”
“I…”
“I have one.”
They all turned to the same person—Kissing had raised her hand.
“It seems like Iska’s sword is effective against both the Planetary Calamity and the witch. So wouldn’t it be best to have multiples of them?”
“ ”
“Are you not able to make a second set of swords?” she asked.
“No.” The elder pointed at the crystals on the pedestal. “These are too small and impure.”
So it was impossible. Both Risya and Iska had accepted this, but not the princess of the Zoa.
“I don’t mind if it isn’t the same. And it doesn’t need to be as large as Iska’s. I will use anything made from those crystals—even a dagger would be enough.”
“Kissing?! What are you saying?!” Alice turned to her. She had been lost in her thoughts this whole time, but Kissing’s request brought her back to reality. “You want an astral sword?! What are you thinking?”
“Of course. It’s the key to defeating Elletear.” Kissing didn’t waver. She ignored Alice’s objection and kept her eyes on the Astrals.
“Please,” she said.
“We may be able to make a small one, if we have an evening to do it.”
“Thank you.” The black-haired girl bowed deeply to the floor. “Then my business here is done.”
“I didn’t expect that. What an entertainer you are, Princess Kissing. Now then, Princess Aliceliese, Princess Sisbell, do you have anything else to ask?”
“No…”
“I don’t have anything, either…”
Both the Lou princesses shook their heads. Ever since viewing the past through the Illumination astral power, the two sisters had been strangely quiet, almost like they were different people. Had something happened?
Before Iska could ask, Alice rose to her feet and turned around.
“Let’s go back and tell the others about this. Rin is waiting at the camp.”
Night fell on Katalisk.
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