Unnamed Memory - Volume 5 - Chapter 4

4. The Crystal Orb’s Enchanted Sleep

With a clear tinkle, the teacups shattered.

“Oh no… I broke them,” Tinasha groaned.

The mystical spirit seated across the table from her made a disappointed face as she regarded the broken pieces. By appearances alone, she was a beautiful woman in her midtwenties with long green hair pulled into a ponytail.

Casting an appalled look at her master, she said, “You should train yourself in detaching your magic from your emotions, Lady Tinasha.”

“I did, a long time ago… I know how to do it,” Tinasha replied, sighing.

“It doesn’t seem that way.”

“I know…”

Regardless of any excuse, Tinasha had broken the teacups.

Before she could clean everything up, the shattered cups and the spilled tea vanished. The spirit must have disposed of them.

Tinasha thanked her before donning some sealing ornaments. “I shouldn’t have carried breakable items. Next time, I’ll use metal cups.”

“Will that really solve the problem? Why not deal with the source? Maybe you can get rid of him.”

“I won’t do that!”

Tinasha had been acting like this whenever she was free since her coronation the week before. Naturally, the trigger had been Oscar’s proposal, a total bolt from the blue that had thrown her emotions into complete turmoil.

With a very human mannerism, the spirit threw her master a sidelong glance. “I don’t know why you’re so indecisive. You came here to see him in the first place, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but… But things haven’t been like that this whole time! He’s always been so mean to me! All he does is scold me!”

“I wasn’t around, so I wouldn’t know,” the spirit replied crisply.

Tinasha flopped onto the table. Excluding Mila, the lone spirit who had served Tinasha, the twelve mystical spirits had been inactive for the past four centuries. Raking a hand through her hair, Tinasha gazed up at the spirit. “How would you answer him, Lilia?”

“I would say no. It sounds like a lot of trouble.”

“…”

Consulting one of the spirits had been a mistake. Face still planted on the table, Tinasha let out a groan. “Me, marry him? No way… no way at all.”

She remembered what he’d said to her when she was much younger.

“You will reach me, and you’ll be happy.”

The Oscar who’d disappeared had promised her that. The present Oscar was the same man, but still very different.

For the past six months, she hadn’t so much as dreamed of a future with him.

Still, the current Oscar knew why she’d come from four hundred years in the past. There was no way he hadn’t picked up on it. And yet he’d told her, “Don’t let it weigh you down anymore.”

And that was enough. Tinasha had been so happy that she could have died right then; she’d truly felt that it was worth it to come to this era.

“But marrying him…”

Tinasha bit back a sigh. She had never put words to her feelings for Oscar. For the longest time, she’d avoided thinking about that.

There was one thing on which Tinasha was certain. She’d discovered it after awakening in this era and spending time with him. Even if their paths diverged, he was someone very dear to her.

It was clear that he was important, but beyond that… she didn’t know.

It had never required much thought until now. How was she supposed to respond now that it was at the forefront of decisions she had to make? Oscar had apparently mentioned the proposal to Legis and some others, who had wished her well with Farsas. Meanwhile, her attendant Renart and the spirits couldn’t understand her hesitation.

Had Oscar proposed for purely political reasons, Tinasha would have given an answer sooner. But that didn’t seem to be the case. Just pondering it made her feel dizzy, so much so that she was grateful for the times when she was buried in work.

Lilia eyed her agonized master and remarked coolly, “Just marry him if he wants you.”

“I don’t know why he’s proposed to me, though. Even supposing that on some wild chance he really does like me and it’s not some trick of my imagination, we’re in a different time now… He doesn’t know what people were like in the Dark Age.”

When she first awoke in this time, Tinasha had harbored a faint hope that he might fall in love with her, buoyed up by the fact that they’d been married in their previous history together. But once she’d snapped out of that daydream, she realized that she was only a queen with a bloodstained past.

People only saw one side of Tinasha—a person who’d escaped her own time period and abandoned the throne to live freely for a short while. If Oscar knew how she’d subjugated those around her in the past, he definitely wouldn’t feel the same way about her.

Lilia, one of Tinasha’s servants since the Dark Age, sipped from her teacup. “That’s true. In those days, you were the type to betray someone in order to stand on your own two feet.”

“Do you really think I was that bad?! I mean, that is how it was, but still!”

“That’s why I suspect the Akashia swordsman might also be planning to betray you.”

“And get a Tuldarr hostage! That would make his motives easier to understand, but—”

“So should we get rid of him after all?” Lilia asked.

“No!” Tinasha shouted, leaping to her feet.

As Lilia watched her master go brew a new pot of tea, she giggled. “You know, I’m very glad to find you enjoying yourself. When you told us you wanted to put yourself in a magic sleep, I thought you’d finally gone crazy.”

“I can’t believe how much you didn’t trust me!” the queen exclaimed, pouting.

Shortly after abdicating, Tinasha had informed the twelve spirits that she planned to enter a magic sleep. They were unanimously opposed to that idea and told her it was ridiculous because they knew it was for Oscar, and they doubted his claim about traveling backward through time. However, a closer examination had revealed that the orb responsible was a very real power that existed outside all laws.

Tinasha decided to ask Lilia about something she’d been contemplating earlier. “Do you know how time travel is possible? It goes against the laws of magic.”

“I don’t know. It may be that it looks like time travel, but it’s actually something else,” the green-haired spirit responded.

“Like dismantling the world and reconstructing it based on records? I hadn’t thought of that, but I can’t get past the immense scale. A tiny orb couldn’t contain all that.”

“Then perhaps it’s simply that another law that makes such a thing possible has been brought in,” Lilia said.

“Brought in? From where?”

They were meant to be just chatting and tossing around ideas. But Lilia’s suggestion sent an involuntary jolt through Tinasha, and her hands stilled.

The spirit went on. “It’s human foolishness to assume that you understand everything. We demons live on a different plane of existence, and even we can’t perceive that many other realms. So wouldn’t it make sense that from time to time, someone with unusual powers would be born somewhere or a mysterious phenomenon would occur?”

“I suppose… that’s true,” Tinasha replied slowly.

It was extremely rare for someone to be born with strange powers that were not magic. Those abilities generally entailed postcognition and precognition, but where such skills originated from was unknown. Ancient myths would call powers of this nature blessings from the gods. The research of many mages confirmed that these abilities were distinct from magic.

As Tinasha poured tea, she sighed. “Now that you mention it, strange things like that did happen in my past reign… Remember the Harvesting?”

“At those odd old ruins? We never did find out what sort of mechanism was behind that.”

“When it happened, I was more concerned with ending it than with uncovering the cause, but now that I’m thinking about it again, it really was weird.”

The queen recalled an inexplicable incident that had claimed the lives of hundreds. A culprit had never been found, nor could anyone hazard a guess as to why they’d done it. Compared to that, going back in time almost felt easier to comprehend. She didn’t know how the magic orb operated, but it was clear that whoever used it wanted to alter the past.

Feeling stupefied, Tinasha sipped at her tea. Just then, there was a knock on the door and Legis entered. “Excuse me, Your Majesty, but I have a number of reports to make.”

“Confidential ones, I assume. What are they?” said Tinasha, correctly guessing why Legis had come to her chamber, while she was at rest, and not to the queen’s study.

Legis gave a weak smile at how perceptive his queen was. “First of all, several private requests for marriage talks have come in.”

“Again?”

“You are an object of mass destruction, and many hope that will pass to your progeny,” Lilia offered. “Anyone who can draw you over to their country will kill two birds with one stone.”

“Thank you for that brutally honest reminder,” Tinasha replied tartly.

For a moment, Legis looked with dread at this spirit who spoke in such an unreserved manner to her master. However, Tinasha didn’t mind it at all, instead pouring a cup of tea for Legis. “And the rest of the report?”

“A rebellion against the parliamentary system is mounting. We don’t have solid leads, but some nasty individuals are plotting the use of force.”

“To assassinate me, you mean? They’re welcome to try anytime they like,” the queen responded calmly. She had overwhelming power and confidence on her side. In her eyes was the strength of someone well accustomed to fighting for her life, and she didn’t seem perturbed in the least.

While Tinasha partook of her tea, Lilia frowned. “Four hundred years have passed, and you’re still surrounded by enemies?”

“Such is the fate of someone who tries to do something different. It makes perfect sense.”

“Then why don’t you sentence them all to death?” Lilia suggested blithely.

Legis, who was in the process of sitting down at the table, boggled at that. He shot a questioning glance at Tinasha, who only smiled with her hands wrapped around her teacup.

“I told you, Lilia, times are different now. First, we should talk to them and try winning them over. Then we can resort to force, if necessary. If all they’re doing is calling me a little girl with nothing but magic to her name, they’ll be easily dealt with… and we can get rid of them anytime.” The queen gave a brilliant smile. For a moment, however, something as icy as a river in the night flashed in her eyes, and Legis didn’t miss it.

Noticing that he was still frozen in place and hadn’t sat down yet, Tinasha faced him. “What’s wrong?”

“Ah… I’m sorry,” he answered, planting himself on the chair. Tinasha put a teacup in front of him. That she brewed and served on her own, actions quite unlike a queen’s, spoke to both her friendliness and her vigilance against poisoning. Over the past two to three months of talks about changing the system in Tuldarr, Legis had caught glimpses of such shrewdness from her. He had to imagine it was typical of one from the Dark Age.

Legis felt like he might pass out if the conversation continued in this vein, so he switched topics. “Ah yes, what are you going to do about the proposal from Farsas? If you’re going to accept, then we can reject all the other ones.”

“Aaaahhhh… just when I’d managed to forget…”

“If you can forget about him so easily, perhaps you should say no?” Lilia suggested.

“N-not so fast,” Tinasha protested.

“Why don’t you just go and see him? That should give you your answer much faster than dawdling around here,” Lilia countered.

“Dawdling…”

Tinasha deflated at having it put so succinctly. But soon enough, she stopped massaging her temples in frustration and looked up. “Ah, shall we get back to work?”

“As you wish.”

“Very well.”

The queen clapped her hands, and the three of them vanished from the room. It was just a few moments past noon.

While it was afternoon, it was dim inside the room, owing to the thick cloths pinned up over the windows.

A girl was sitting on a chair in one corner of the chamber, away from the sliver of a sunbeam that managed to poke through. Her eyes were shut, but she wasn’t asleep. She simply liked things this way.

Her awareness reached to every corner of this enclosed space, and when she sensed someone approaching from the hallway, she looked up. Stretching out a hand, she drew up a spell. Magic requiring no incantation made the door silently swing inward.

The young man on the other side peered into the room and chuckled. “All closed off again… Your body needs a little sunlight every so often.”

“I don’t like it.”

“You’re hopeless,” Valt said as he strode into the room and walked up to her. He stroked Miralys’s glossy silver hair, and she smiled.

“The witch took the throne. Is that all right?”

“Yes. I needed her to.”

“How’s Farsas?”

“That’s also fine for the time being. Akashia remains a bit of a wild card, though,” Valt answered as he pulled over a chair and sat across from Miralys. He crossed his legs and rested his chin in an arm he set on his knee. In his light brown eyes was a hint of a shadow.

“It doesn’t matter that the king of Farsas fell for her. We only have to split them up and get her alone. She’s the weaker one.”

“Really?” asked Miralys.

“Psychologically, and that’s what matters.”

Force of will was paramount. They knew that there were times when it could outsmart even the most powerful and change history.

The girl sighed, eyeing the five rings on her right hand. “I’m still praying that I don’t have to face off against her directly. I may be borrowing your magic, but I’m still no match for a witch.”

“I’m working to ensure that doesn’t happen. Even though history was overwritten on a vast scale, plenty of people are still the same as they were. I have lots of pawns I can move around.”

Seeing the future. Orchestrating fate. Those were their weapons.

Valt smiled reassuringly at Miralys… but the expression faded swiftly.

“The world is waiting for one last straw.”

“What?”

“It’s something my father said. The world is trying to converge on the future that’s closest to how things should have been. Humans continue to alter it because of their desires. It’s a cycle. And so the world is waiting for one last straw—a final move to restore things to their original form.”

“That sounds like something from a dream.”

“The next day, my father hanged himself for the first time, and I understood everything,” Valt said as lightly as if he were discussing what he’d eaten for dinner yesterday, but his words painted a sorrowful picture. They cast a shadow as dark as the ones the fierce midday sun peeking through the curtain left on the floor.

Miralys frowned. “Valt?”

“I understood. And yet I—”

Silence.

It was like that dark room rejected and blocked off every fate in the world. Amid a sense of ennui almost inherited from the futures trying to converge, a drab melancholy shrouded the chamber.

Miralys stood, reached out for Valt, and clasped his face between her hands. She leaned close to him and whispered, “I don’t want to let you die.”

“I’ll be fine.” The man smiled, yet despite his cheerful expression, he gave off a gloomy vibe, as if he’d accepted his fate.

It was just about lunchtime, and Oscar was puzzled that Royal Chief Mage Kumu, Doan, and Als had turned up at the door to his study.

They stood in a row before his desk, docile looks on their faces. Finding that unsettling, Oscar came right out with it. “What? What happened?”

“To be frank, we have a report to make to you, sire,” said Kumu, stepping forward and passing the king three documents.

Oscar began to scan them, and once he had finished reading everything, the expression on his face was quite indescribable. “What’s going on here? Magic?”

“More than likely.”

According to the papers, ruins had been uncovered the month before in the mountains of southwest Farsas. Local villagers had happened upon a cliff eroded by recent heavy rains while foraging in the woods. Beneath the cliff resided a cave that appeared to be man-made. They had reported this to the castle.

The mages who led the investigation of the site had judged the ruins to be centuries old based on the shape of the entrance passageway. However, no Farsas records described anything like it in that location, leaving the structure unidentifiable.

Upon returning to the castle and getting equipment in order, the mages formed a survey team and returned to examine the cavern more thoroughly.

Oscar did recall granting permission for that soon after arriving home from Tinasha’s coronation. And now he was holding the results from that investigation in his hands.

When he read that none had returned, he scowled with displeasure. “This is extremely serious. It’s hard to believe five court mages have vanished.”

“Unfortunately, it’s the truth,” replied Kumu.

But the problems didn’t end there. In one night, all the residents of the village near the ruins disappeared. Kumu added, “One mage in the party arrived late. He’s the one who discovered the fate of the other five. Upon realizing the rest of the group was gone, he inquired at the village if any had seen them. However, all the locals had vanished as well, so he returned to the castle.”

“Does that mean they went into the ruins and couldn’t come out? How far did that mage search for the others?”

“He only looked around the entrance, where he was supposed to meet them. When they weren’t there, he checked at the village first. It was probably wise that he didn’t venture deeper.”

If he had, he might have vanished with the rest, and the issue would not have come to light until much later.

Oscar puzzled over this account that made less sense by the moment. “If they went missing after entering the ruins, does that mean all the villagers went inside, too?”

“That can’t be… They were forbidden from doing so, as it was a royal investigation, so I would find it hard to imagine they’d all get close,” Kumu replied. Then his face visibly darkened. “However, there was an anti-decay charm at the entrance. But its spell composition was unique.”

“Unique how?”

“Much of it was impossible to decipher, suggesting the utilization of technology outside our magical knowledge… It’s possible there’s something very strange inside there.”

Oscar leaned back in his chair. He crossed his legs over the top of his desk, rakishly. Brooding, he inquired, “Do you think we should bring Akashia?”

All three had expected him to say that, and they didn’t respond initially. After a short pause, Kumu spoke falteringly. “I don’t believe that you should be there, Your Majesty. We don’t know what we’d be walking into. It’s terrible what happened to the people who were lost, but we think we should seal off the entire site…”

“So you’re suggesting we cut our losses?”

These three members of Oscar’s inner circle had likely wanted to keep this from him. Akashia was the best tool in all of Farsas for dealing with unknown spells.

When Oscar was still crown prince, he had actually traveled on foot with Lazar to a sealed-off magical ruin.

However, bringing Akashia to this mysterious situation would mean exposing the king to danger. The person most suited for the job was also the one they absolutely couldn’t afford to lose.

Utterly stuck and possessing no good ideas, the three had decided this was not something to conceal from their liege and wound up delivering the news to him. They all held their breath as they awaited Oscar’s judgment.

After closing his eyes and thinking, Oscar abruptly swung his legs off the desk and got to his feet. “So it’s either living up to expectations or going against them? I don’t really care either way, but… I’ll go.”

Kumu, Doan, and Als restrained themselves from expressing aloud that they knew he’d say that.

They’d anticipated this from the start. Oscar’s personality was such that there was no way he’d approve of sealing off the ruins. In fact, that would actively bother him.

Oscar had an inkling about his subordinates’ feelings but ignored them as he issued orders quite naturally. “We should go quick. Be ready to explore the site tomorrow.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The three men bowed and left the study.

In the hall, they exchanged looks and sighed.

As the report had indicated, the entrance to the ruins really did look like it had originally been buried inside a cliff.

The entryway under the cliff was supported by gigantic stones, the surfaces of which had traces of mud. Someone had probably plastered over the ruins with rocks and wet dirt. Chance had exposed it, and now many people were missing.

“If we’re going to seal it off anyway, I’d like to record why we elected to do so,” Oscar muttered as he gazed up at the entrance, washed clean by the rain.

The party had teleported there and were checking over their equipment one more time before going inside. No one except the king spoke, for they were all too nervous.

Oscar called Doan and General Granfort to his side and issued some simple instructions. On this expedition, they were in charge of the mages and the officers, respectively.

Ordinarily, Als would be present, but since Oscar had left the castle, Als had remained there instead. Too many people in the search party would limit maneuverability, so it totaled only thirteen members.

“Should something happen, retreat. Protect yourself first and foremost.”

All nodded in assent to that, though it was coming from a king who did not tend to prioritize protecting himself.

Chief Mage Kumu remained at the entrance. His role would be to communicate with Doan—who was heading inside—and relay any findings back to the castle. Oscar scanned the faces of his team, who were all ready, and nodded. “Then here we go.”

With that unceremonious start, Oscar led the way into the cave. The little dragon on his shoulders yawned.

Doan hurried after him with a glowing ball of magic light. “This is too clean for a ruin from hundreds of years ago. It may very well be true that some unknown technology is at work.”

“There’s no seams on these walls at all,” remarked Oscar. The surfaces above, below, and on their sides were smooth, obviously cut by human hands. However, the high level of magic evident in such design far exceeded the norm for the time period the structure would’ve come from.

Oscar rapped on a wall. “Time hasn’t worn at them at all, just like Tinasha.”

“I beg of you never to say that to her, Your Majesty.”

“You know, she actually studied pretty hard even after coming to Farsas.”

The queen of the Magic Empire had worked hard to make up for her four-hundred-year gap, and now enjoyed a place as the most preeminent mage of the era. Perhaps she could’ve told them what this strange place was?

The group proceeded carefully down the passage, which was reminiscent of the underground labyrinth beneath Farsas Castle.

No traps seemed to be laid, which made the straight, even route all the more monotonous. After walking for fifteen minutes, Oscar turned back to Doan with a frown and asked, “Was the mountain this big? We’ve gone pretty far back.”

“It’s quite strange… Judging by the distance, we should soon reach the other side and exit to the open air. Yet…”

They had come in via a cavern in the side of a mountain, which itself wasn’t all that large. Surely, they’d reach the opposite end before long if they continued. However, the path before them appeared as lengthy as when they’d set out, the end of it dark. Oscar and Doan both grew uneasy.

Several minutes later, a shout changed everything.

“Your Majesty!” came a sharp call from the back of the party. Oscar and Doan whirled around instantly.

“What happened?!” Oscar demanded, seized with apprehension. Granfort should have been at the very rear of the group, but he was not the one to reply.

A soldier gulped and then answered tremulously, “The general… vanished.”

“He what?”

After a beat, the whole party turned to look back. No matter how they strained their eyes, they couldn’t spot the general.

“Hardly any time, and we’ve lost another person,” Oscar whispered sourly, scratching at his temple. He couldn’t sense anything, and neither could Doan, who was alert for any magic in the air.

Granfort wasn’t the only one to vanish, either. The soldier and two mages just ahead of him had vanished as well. It was someone in front of them who’d happened to turn back and realize what was wrong.

The whole group stopped there to examine the walls and floor but could find nothing out of the ordinary. Doan contacted Kumu, then once he was done, he looked up at his king with a grave expression. “Your Majesty, let’s head back. This is too dangerous.”

“Hmm.”

“If you must conduct a search, we should request aid from Tuldarr. None of our mages have any idea what happened.”

“You do have a point,” Oscar admitted. Doan was suggesting they ask Tinasha for help. Royal sword in hand, Oscar considered his options.

He’d expected something like this to happen, but it was more bizarre than he’d imagined. If they kept going, they were liable to lose the entire party.

“I guess we’ll go back,” the king said to himself, coming to a decision after some deliberation. Just as he opened his mouth to issue the order, he detected something strange.

Oscar glanced at the ground and noticed it shimmering a hazy white. Faintly, he could make out a spell composition there.

“Fall back!” he cried, grabbing Doan and leaping farther down the path.

It was too sudden for the others to react, however, and they winked out of sight, stunned looks on their faces.

Oscar clicked his tongue in frustration. Doan tugged on his sleeve. “Y-Your Majesty!”

Oscar turned to look deeper into the passage and was struck speechless to see the path ahead glowing.

What’s more, the light was coming toward them, expanding outward bit by bit. The king glanced over his shoulder and understood that the light that had swallowed up the soldiers behind was also creeping closer.

The trap was closing in from both sides, making it impossible to escape.

In the end, the glow filled the entire passageway and caught the last two.

When he came to, Oscar was in a rock chamber he’d never seen before.

He hadn’t lost consciousness, but his memories were disconnected. At some point, he’d found himself standing in this small room. He could remember being on the path with Doan up until moments before, but now he was alone.

“What is this place?”

The rock chamber wasn’t very big. He could walk the length of one of its sides in ten paces. There was no furniture, and swords and magic implements were scattered across the floor like so much trash.

“Damn it… Did we all get separated?” Oscar whispered, checking to make sure he had Akashia in his right hand and Nark on his shoulder. Noticing its master’s gaze, the dragon cocked its head. Oscar petted it as he scanned the room.

There was a single door. Judging there to be nothing else of importance around, Oscar opened it and went out. The first priority was locating the rest of the investigation team. He prayed they were all safe.

“I suppose it’s been a while since I explored some ruins on my own,” Oscar mused with no small degree of pride, recalling the days of his youth when all he did was sneak out of the castle. The door led to the same type of passageway the party had been on before they’d disappeared, although likely a different one.

Oscar had changed locations so suddenly that he couldn’t be sure of where he was, but one thing he did know was that this structure had to be vast. The path was plainly constructed and yet plenty bright, despite no sign of a light source. Doors similar to the one Oscar had come through lined the sides, each a few dozen paces apart. His door was situated at the end of the corridor.

“I guess it saves me the trouble of choosing left or right,” Oscar remarked as he set off. He didn’t sense any sort of mechanisms, but there was no room to get careless. While making his way toward another door, he remained vigilant against any traps.

“All right—”

Before Oscar had time to wonder what was beyond the door, he detected something abnormal and leaped back. No sooner had he done so than a white blade sped past where he’d been standing.

A moment later, an expressionless assailant was standing before him. The young man clad in black wore light equipment and gripped a dagger in each hand. Everyone knew that those who wielded twin blades were descendants of an assassin clan.

Taking a deep breath, Oscar readied Akashia. “Nark, get back.”

Obeying its master’s order, the dragon flew up to the ceiling. The assailant struck without giving Oscar so much as a moment. Crouching low, he closed the distance between them with frightening speed.

Oscar used Akashia to repel the left dagger, which had been aimed at his legs. He instantly pulled Akashia back and up to parry the right, which had been lancing for his chest.

The motions all occurred within the span of a second. Assassins were known for their inhumanly honed speed.

Yet Oscar was swifter.

Without waiting for the man to stab at him again, Oscar kicked up at his torso. The assassin jumped back to minimize the blow, however. He was more talented than the average military officer, and Oscar smirked despite himself. Caustically, he inquired, “You’re tougher than I thought. Are you the guardian of this place or something?”

His opponent didn’t respond—instead readying their weapons. Oscar had wanted to gather a little information, but his opponent didn’t seem to feel like talking.

I can’t waste too much time. I still don’t know what happened to my people.

Oscar switched modes. When the assassin leaped for him, he moved right in for him, too. This threw off his assailant, delaying his reaction.

That spelled the end of the fight. With no groaning or grimacing in pain, the black-clad man disappeared once his belly was ripped open. It was like he was never anything but a phantom.

Astonished, Oscar looked all around. He’d felt the stab through his sword, but no one was there. There were no traces of blood on Akashia’s blade, either.

“What in the world was that?” Oscar said, shaking his head.

He opened the door he’d meant to before the attack.

Beyond it was a tiny rock chamber, the same as the one Oscar had appeared in, with nothing inside.

Oscar checked all around the room before heading back into the hallway and setting off again. Each time he arrived at a new room, another assassin would appear with no warning. This happened five times in succession. Sometimes, it was a pair of people, too. Occasionally, they attacked with swords or magic—it all seemed random. All the attackers had in common was that they never spoke, and they vanished without a trace upon sustaining a mortal wound.

“What is going on? Are these ruins just full of ghosts?” Oscar grumbled, unable to make sense of anything, but then he remembered Tinasha saying ghosts didn’t exist. In that case, this had to be the result of some magical contrivance.

Puzzled, Oscar continued his search. After he defeated the tenth assailant, the path veered to the right. He peered down the bend cautiously. It looked like a pretty major branching off. Constructing a map in his head, Oscar turned the corner.

The eleventh assailant appeared there, and Oscar’s eyes went wide. “Hold on…”

This was a familiar face.

But something was different.

The young woman’s long black locks were swaying, as if her hair itself had sentience.

Her eyes were dark as night, and her skin was white as porcelain. Her beauty was cool, clear, and utterly unforgettable.

However, her face was more childish than that of the woman he knew.

The mage girl looked no more than thirteen. Oscar’s voice exposed his fearful confusion as he called, “Tinasha?”

She didn’t answer, remaining expressionless. Instead, she launched balls of light from her hands. The orbs zigzagged toward him with differing speeds, closing in.

Holding his breath, Oscar took a step forward and sliced through the spells holding the two orbs together. By the time he did, a black vortex was already upon him. Even as he hesitated, Oscar plunged his sword into the center of it, shattering the vital key hidden inside the spell.

He was prepared for the vortex to injure his arms, yet he only felt a rubbery snap. After nullifying three spells, he closed in on the girl floating in the air. One slice from Akashia tore apart her protective barrier.

He reached his empty hand out to grab her throat.

But in that split second, she disappeared, materializing behind him.

Oscar sensed dense and powerful magic, and a shiver ran through him.

“Ngh!”

He leaped forward without looking back. At the same time, Nark landed on his shoulder and spewed fire behind him, offsetting the girl’s own conjured flames. Prickling heat seared Oscar’s skin, and the temperature skyrocketed.

It was fortunate nothing worse occurred. If Nark hadn’t been there, Oscar could have been killed.

“You saved me, Nark,” he said, racing forward and then turning back to face the beautiful girl. Her expression hadn’t changed.

With her gaze fixed on him all the while, she raised her right hand, and invisible blades sped forward. Of those razors that sought to encircle him, Oscar cleaved through only the ones that barred the way forward as he pressed in close to the girl. Once more, she tried to weave a spell.

Akashia was faster than her teleportation magic, however. It hit her upstretched arm, and her spell dissolved.

A grim, bitter look on his face, Oscar brought his sword down.

The girl’s dark eyes widened.

With her arm and head lopped off, the girl’s frame wavered for just a moment before vanishing.

“Disgusting,” Oscar spat, feeling a deep sense of despondence.

At the start, he’d been fairly uncertain over whether he should attack her. But Nark’s hostile attitude toward the girl convinced Oscar that it wasn’t the real Tinasha.

Once he understood that, it simplified things. As Tinasha herself had once said, she was far stronger in such a narrow space and at close range. In fact, this girl’s speed and reflexes had been much slower than those of the woman he knew.

“I’m going to have nightmares about that. Ugh, awful,” Oscar said, heaving a long sigh as if he could expel that nasty aftertaste.

Nark chirped at him comfortingly, and with a grimace, the king set back off on the path.

Assailants continued to appear relentlessly.

They varied in strength, making it impossible to pinpoint the origin of their manifestation. The girl from earlier was the only one Oscar recognized.

As he ventured on, dispatching enemies, he kept a mental map of the increasingly mazelike tunnels. He checked his progress first to avoid running into dead ends.

After Oscar departed a tiny, empty room, Nark gave a shrill cry. Before Oscar could even wonder at it, he saw a woman dressed in a white mage’s costume. Instinctively, he readied Akashia.

Recognizing him, the woman widened her eyes. Her delicate lips opened to say something, but she had to rush to grab her sword and parry away Akashia’s sharp slash.

However, the royal sword’s second thrust was faster. She narrowly fended it off while adjusting her stance.

“O-Oscar, wait!”

“You really look just like her,” he stated calmly as he lunged for her a third time.

She turned her blade diagonally to catch the blow, but Oscar twisted Akashia along the way, hooking it onto her slender sword and knocking the other weapon to the ground. Flustered, Tinasha next found herself with Oscar slamming her shoulders back against the rock wall with his left arm. He used the hand still gripping Akashia to grab her wrist, pressing his body weight against her to trap her between him and the wall.

She struggled against his hold, trying to escape. Losing her composure, she shouted at him, “I said wait! You’re too close! Way too close!”

“The more I look at you, the more you seem identical to her.”

“I’m the real Tinasha!” she protested.

Oscar swooped in close, then kissed her ear. Before his eyes, her ivory white earlobe turned a deep red.

“W-wait… seriously!” She pleaded with him in a reedy voice that sounded on the verge of tears.

For a bit, Oscar stared blankly at her. Her beauty was even more striking when her face was flushed. Just as she was about to beg him again, he suddenly burst out laughing. Oscar released her and bent down to pick up her sword. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey! Do you finally believe it’s really me?!”

“Of course I do. I was only teasing.”

“…”

Tinasha glared at him reproachfully, and Oscar smirked.

After taking three deep breaths in and out, Tinasha stopped shaking with rage and faced Oscar. Sword back in hand, she pointed at him. “A magic attack made contact with the barrier around you, so I went to Farsas to see what had happened. I heard about the situation from Als, then went to the ruins and spoke to Kumu, and now I’m here.”

“What barrier? I had a barrier?”

“You’ve had it the whole time. It’s set to be invisible.”

“Since when?”

“Your coronation.”

“That’s pretty far back,” Oscar said, rifling through his memories. Yes, he did recall having a barrier put on him. But something else had happened after that. “Didn’t you undo it?”

“I did not. I only enhanced it and camouflaged it,” Tinasha explained, and she stuck out her tongue.

So she’d lied about undoing it back during the coronation. And true enough, when he faced off against Druza’s forbidden curse, some sort of magic protection the mages had known nothing about had protected him. He barked out a dry laugh upon finally learning the truth.

Tinasha went on matter-of-factly. “It’s my barrier, so it’s connected to me. I’ll know when it repels magic. Did you battle a mage?”

Oscar recalled the fight with the girl. He’d thought his arms would get seriously burned, yet he escaped relatively unharmed. He pointed at Tinasha, grimacing. “I fought a younger version of you.”

“Oh… so I’m recorded, too, then?” she replied, pulling a face.

Confused, Oscar asked, “Recorded? What does that mean, and what attacked me?”

Tinasha winced. “In short, this place is… a repository of sorts that records people and preserves them.”

“What?”

It was rare that Oscar didn’t immediately grasp the meaning.

Tinasha frowned. “I’m not sure how it operates, but this place captures people and creates duplicates of them. Normally, these copies are merely storage vessels that contain information, but when they sense an intruder, they will materialize to eliminate them.”

“So that’s what I fought?”

“Yes. In Tuldarr, it’s known as the Harvesting. Four hundred years ago, I also came here in search of missing people. It caught me and made a duplicate of me. I thought I’d escaped before the process was finished, but it looks like I was wrong.”

“You’ve been here before?!”

“I wouldn’t have been able to find you otherwise. It’s only because I got close that I was able to rely on my sense for the barrier on you to forcibly teleport closer,” she explained in a huff, cheeks puffed out in annoyance. It looked like she’d taken his teasing seriously.

Tinasha had divulged some useful information. Tuldarr possessed records of these ruins and Tinasha was involved. Oscar looked down at her. “So were you the one who blocked off the entrance? It was buried inside a cliff.”

“You mean the entrance that you came in from? No. I destroyed all the entrances. This place isn’t inside a mountain; I don’t know where it is, exactly. Four centuries ago, I came in from a spot in Tuldarr.”

“It has multiple entrances?”

“Yes. It can transfer those within and abduct any who are close by. Other entrances may exist, too.”

It was certainly quite the account. Shaking off the last of his shock, Oscar posed another question. “Why do you call it the Harvesting? That’s a really unsettling name. What happens to the people this place abducts? Are they used to grow mushrooms or something?”

“What an unpleasant mental image… There are no mushrooms. They should be asleep in their duplicates’ chambers. I’ll show you.”

“Thanks,” Oscar responded honestly, and Tinasha smiled. It had been a long time since he’d seen her cute side, and he found himself grinning back at her.

The last time we met was when I proposed.

She hadn’t given him her reply yet, but Oscar felt no particular sense of urgency.

Tinasha was quite an awkward person. If someone told her to decide with her feelings, she would be lost in confusion for a while. He didn’t intend to rush her. She could take her time discovering an answer.

That said, judging by how she looked now, she’d forgotten all about the matter. The young queen had come running in a panic, her mind clearly occupied by the emergency.

“It’s this way, Oscar,” Tinasha called, beckoning to him. The two set off along the twisting, turning path.

While she paused here and there to waver over which way to go, they made solid progress without needing to turn back at all. Oscar was truly relieved for the rescue. While he’d been trying not to think about it, he had actually lost faith that he’d be able to save everyone.

Oscar glanced at Tinasha walking alongside him and felt the desire to stroke her hair. He asked, “So when a duplicate is defeated, does the person who was captured get freed?”

“They do not. They were all left to sleep, so they eventually die of starvation. The last time I was here, I was devastated to find a mountain of skeletons and bones. That’s why we call it the Harvesting.”

“Yeah, I can’t imagine anyone would be happy to see something like that…”

The initial search party had vanished three days ago. Oscar hoped they hadn’t perished yet.

That made Oscar remember the investigative team he’d come in with. “So was everyone else on my team sent to a random place in the ruins like I was?”

“Hmm, they’re probably all asleep. I think you were separated because you have Akashia. That made the ruins judge you to be something abnormal. The structure has a disposal chamber,” Tinasha explained dispassionately.

“Is that why?” Oscar said, glancing down at his beloved sword. True enough, that room he’d been deposited in was the only one littered with assorted objects. The others had all been empty. Perhaps that had been the area for isolating magic implements.

“That’s just a guess, though. This place seems to operate automatically. Honestly, it’s all a bunch of things that ordinary magic technology can’t detect. It gives me the creeps,” Tinasha admitted with a scowl.

Even for her, these ruins were a mystery.

“Automatic…,” Oscar repeated. “So there’s no one here pulling the strings? Not even a demonic spirit of some kind?”

“At the very least, there wasn’t anyone four hundred years ago. This place is a complete enigma.”

What was this Harvesting that had been going on for four centuries?

Before Oscar could think too deeply on it, he sensed something and popped his head up. A new assailant had appeared. He was about to ready Akashia to face off against this unknown male mage when the man abruptly exploded.

Surely, Tinasha must have been responsible, and without so much as an incantation or gesture, either. Impressed and awed, Oscar commented, “You’re really something, you know that?”

“This seems to have no end. It’s all just information, which is how it constructs duplicates.”

“Human copies, huh? If that’s not normally possible, does that mean that there was a mage capable of the feat long ago?”

“No. The laws of magic are immutable, whether past or present… This place employs something that should, by all rights, be impossible, even for me or a high-ranking demon.”

“Something outside the laws of magic… Has there never been anything like that before?”

After an awkward pause, Tinasha replied, “That magic orb.”

Oscar recalled the little sphere that had allowed the two of them to meet in the first place. The object’s very existence undeniably defied the laws of magic.

Bitterly, Tinasha elaborated. “Ultimately, my people failed to destroy the ruins the last time. We didn’t break its automatic defense mechanism.”

“So you destroyed the entrances instead?”

“As a last resort, yes. But if it can create other openings elsewhere, then there will be no end to it.”

Nodding to himself, Oscar turned the issue over in his head. While the nature of this place was unknown, it had clearly been constructed by a sentient being. And if it was made by something that defied the laws of magic, its goal really might be simply to record humans.

Record, collect, store.

Who would review all that information? An absurd mental image of a child lining up a collection of colorful glass marbles on a sunny windowsill surfaced in Oscar’s mind.

Children are often cruel. They don’t consider others’ suffering.

Oscar sighed, fed up with his silly musings.

The pair rounded one corner after the next, making progress while defeating enemies. At last, they reached a large door at the end of the passageway. Tinasha placed her hand on it, then paused and looked over her shoulder to Oscar. “How many people have been captured?”

“An entire small village… and our people from the castle. Altogether, a little over three hundred.”

“That’s so many!” she exclaimed, removing her palm from the door and crossing her arms. After scowling for some time, she glanced up at Oscar. “I’m going to open a transportation array here. You go wake the people inside. They’ll be within cocoons, but you can tear through them.”

“Oh, I don’t like the sound of that one bit…”

“They function as human storage vaults. However, once you open the cocoons, a large number of guardians should appear. I’ll take care of those.”

“By yourself?”

“I’ll be fine. But I may not be able to keep it up for very long, so hurry,” Tinasha said. She flashed Oscar a smile but didn’t meet his gaze. There was something ephemeral in her face that worried him.

Still, he intended to take the queen of Tuldarr at her word. She wouldn’t have made the declaration if she wasn’t prepared.

“If you feel you’re in danger, call for me. Don’t get yourself hurt,” Tinasha cautioned.

“I’ll do my best.”

After flashing Oscar a wry look, she began her incantation. Her dark eyes urged him to go.

Oscar nodded and pushed open the door.

On the other side lay a vast, cavernous space.

There was something of a mystical quality to the air, like one might find in a cathedral. What Oscar saw inside astonished him.

“Whoa…”

The floor was littered with pods the size of adult humans. Each of the white, translucent things was rooted to the ground. Oscar peered into the closest one and saw a man slumped over, his eyes closed. Inside the pod next to him was a skeleton.

These were the cocoons Tinasha had mentioned. Oscar grimaced to see the repugnant things for himself, his stomach turning unpleasantly

A hand tapped him on the shoulder. Tinasha had finished opening the array. “I’m ready. Go ahead now.”

She left Oscar to move deeper into the room. Seemingly in response to her intrusion, a dozen or so guardians materialized in front of the wall at the back of the room. Oscar noticed there was an intricate spell design etched into the surface.

Tinasha stopped. She did not draw her sword but instead outstretched her arms.

“My word defines a metal that shall not become blade. A rift of negation. A painless span of time.”

The queen’s voice sent shock waves through the chamber. The air changed. More than twenty crescent-shaped crimson blades appeared in midair. After a short inhale, Tinasha whispered in a lyrical voice.

“I reject you.”

The words flew for the guardians, who met them expressionlessly.

While Tinasha manipulated the blades, she cried out, “Karr! Senn!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“You called?”

In response to their master’s summons, two mystical spirits teleported in on either side of Tinasha. Taking in the scene before them, they frowned.

“We’re back here? I hate this place.”

“Carry out your orders without complaint, Karr.”

Even as they spoke, the two spirits wove elaborate spells. Their intense magic attacks fell upon the guardians like rain.

The guardians, who varied in appearance and gender, vanished one after another, mowed down by magic. However, more appeared just as quickly to take the places of their defeated comrades.

Keeping an eye on the battle at the far end of the room, Oscar moved from one cocoon to the next.

Once he found the one he was looking for, he used Akashia to cut it open. The unsettling pod began to dissolve from the laceration and oozed out, losing its shape. Oscar gave a light kick to the man sleeping inside.

“Doan, wake up!”

After several seconds, the mage groaned. Oscar grabbed Doan’s arm and hauled him to his feet. When Oscar saw that Doan was blinking his eyes open, Oscar barked orders at him. “There’s a transportation array set up at the door. Cut through the cocoons and help the people inside escape. Get our people from the castle to help once they’re awake!”

Doan’s expression grew serious. He looked all around him and then shot up. “Y-yes, Your Majesty…”

He probably didn’t fully understand the situation, but he headed off to rescue the people sealed up near the door.

Oscar continued opening up the cocoons around him, which mainly contained the Farsas investigative team. The king shook them awake and issued his orders. Once all of his subjects were awake, Oscar hurried for the pods at the back of the chamber.

Karr frowned to see sweat beading on his master’s forehead. He and Senn were helping Tinasha battle back the guardians while protecting the cocoons, but she was also maintaining the transportation array simultaneously. It was taxing work to keep a teleportation spell from an unknown location to the outside world going. And while Tinasha was doing that, she was also casting attack magic.

Karr pushed his queen behind him. “Call another two or three, little girl.”

For a moment, she gaped at him, but she quickly nodded in agreement.

“Itz, Saiha, Mila, come here.”

New spirits appeared. Their faces grew tense once they beheld the situation.

Tinasha sighed and issued orders. “Hold things down here… and try not to hurt anyone.”

“Yes, my lady,” they replied reverently, which reassured Tinasha to some degree. The queen of Tuldarr took in a deep breath and began a new incantation.

Over a hundred guardians had appeared already, attacking relentlessly. No matter how many fell, new phantoms materialized instantaneously.

Tinasha and her spirits couldn’t use magic on too large a scale, so while they were far stronger than the phantoms, this war of attrition was slowly but surely pressing them to exhaustion. Even if Tinasha called more spirits, the vast size of the chamber and the cocoons posed limitations that would make it difficult for them to fight. While it wasn’t ideal, all they could do in this situation was keep at it.

“Over there! We’re opening that one!” shouted a Farsas soldier among a group.

They ran over to a cocoon behind Tinasha and the spirits, shouting to one another as they did. However, they were brought up short by the distinctive and peculiar sight of the spirits.

Tinasha turned and faced the soldiers with a smile. “Please, go ahead.”

That snapped them back to their senses, and they quickly cut into the nearest cocoons. Then the group escorted the emaciated villagers to the door.

Unfortunately, a phantom appeared by them. By the time Tinasha noticed, the guardian was about to bring his sword down upon a child. A wave of her hand was all it took to crush the thing. The soldiers helped the kid toward the safety of the door.

Tinasha breathed a sigh as she watched the child’s mother carry him off. Her relief was fleeting, however, as she nearly lost her balance from twisting herself backward to stop the guardian.

“Ah!”

Her arms flailed in the air but could find no purchase—until she fell back against a man who was there to steady her. He pulled her fully upright and gazed searchingly into her dark eyes.

“That was close.”

“Oscar!”

“Can you keep going for a little longer?” he asked fervently, unwaveringly.

Tinasha smiled. She loved hearing him urge her to fight and the feeling of his unshakable belief in her.

And she wanted to fulfill his request. She wished to stand tall, even if she was alone.

The world was neither a kind place nor a cruel one. It simply existed as it was.

Everything was both exceptional and commonplace. Only what was possible would happen.

Tinasha understood that, which was why she refused to quit.

“I’m all right. I can keep going,” she assured Oscar with a nod, straightening her posture to face her enemies.

The young woman told herself there was nothing she couldn’t overcome.

Nearly fifteen minutes after the battle began, the Farsas investigative team had rescued roughly 90 percent of the people from the cocoon chamber.

As Tinasha watched the soldiers opening the remaining dozen or so cocoons scattered around the corners of the room, her face suddenly contorted in pain. “Ngh…”

Something was applying pressure to close the transportation array, and the force of it was falling on the caster, Tinasha. That unknown power weighed down on her with brutal intensity. The attack sought to wipe the spell away. Anyone besides the queen of Tuldarr would have crumpled and perished beneath the force of the opposition.

Even Tinasha would have difficulty holding out against this until everyone could escape.

The color drained from her face, but her dark eyes remained fierce and determined. Oscar, who was fighting by her side with Akashia in hand, was the first to notice.

“Tinasha?”

He gave her a concerned look and used his thumb to wipe away the sweat gathering on her forehead. Tinasha’s eyes closed in a pained blink. “The enemy… is trying to block me… It’s trying to force my portal closed…”

Oscar watched the signs of desperate struggle cross Tinasha’s face, and then he had a thought.

Look ahead.

New guardians weren’t popping up as quickly as before, nor were there as many of them.

That alone wasn’t enough to conclude that the enemy’s power was waning. But perhaps it was diverting some amount of strength into that force working against Tinasha.

Glancing at the faintly glowing spell design carved into the back wall, Oscar made up his mind. “Tinasha, let me have your sight.”

“Hmm?”

The young woman’s eyes grew round and wide, but she nodded and touched his hand, whispering a short incantation.

“Please don’t go overboard…”

“There are times when that’s the only option. I’ll be fine,” Oscar said. Then he took a deep breath.

The world changed immediately.

It wasn’t just the magic in the air; he’d already been able to see that. Lines of even thicker magic emerged all over the place.

Tinasha’s vision allowed him to see that multiple layers were intertwined within that complex, overly elaborate design on the wall. The network of luminous threads was like ivy, entirely covering some portions of the stone facade. Oscar stared at it coldly.

He squeezed Tinasha’s hand tightly. “Stay right here.”

Leaving her with those few powerful words, Oscar took off. Slipping through the vanguard of the five spirits, he charged into the army of guardians. A stroke of Akashia repelled the blades that came rushing to meet him from all directions.

Magic hurled at the king vanished before finding its mark, probably thanks to the spirits. Still perched on Oscar’s shoulder, Nark extended its neck and breathed flame to drive away the phantoms pursuing him from the sides.

If I waste time here, I’m going to get swallowed up.

Oscar cut down a guardian blocking his way and continued his advance.

Before long, he was at the wall. With his gaze still trained on it, he swung Akashia and cleaved through a guardian trying to attack him from behind. As he stared up at the glowing surface, his gaze lingered on one point in the center.

“That’s it.”

Several paces to the right, a large, transparent crystal sphere was embedded in the wall. It was large enough to reach the floor. An intricate spell configuration rested within it, and Oscar recognized that the complex magic was revolving in place.

Oscar moved to the orb and stabbed Akashia into it without hesitation.

A clear cracking sounded through the chamber.

Akashia’s hilt grew hot. But it passed in a second, and the crystal sphere shattered to pieces. Just like the guardians, the shards that went flying vanished into thin air like phantoms.

Then the entire room lurched. A horrible, violent sound like metal grating together echoed from every direction.

“Ngh…”

The uncomfortable sensation of a rapid pressure change swept over everyone. Reflexively, Oscar put his hands on his ears as screams erupted from all over. Some were even doubled over on the ground, clutching their heads.

Yet the pandemonium ceased as quickly as it came.

Oscar looked around and found that all the guardians had vanished. The wall that had shone brightly with power was now dark.

“You destroyed… the core?” Tinasha whispered, disbelief plain in her tone. Oscar turned back to see her free from the pressure that had been weighing on her, but also astonished. When Tinasha was surprised, she looked just like a little kid. It was precious. Just looking at her made him start laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“Your face.”

“Is now the time?!”

Her outraged reaction only amused him further. Oscar was about to take a step when he heard a low voice full of resentment mutter in his ear, “You damn insider…”

When Oscar looked around, no one was there.

“What? Some kind of trick?” he wondered aloud. After shaking his head, he hurried to Tinasha’s side.

She was still shocked at how abruptly everything had come to an end. “How did you do that…?”

“What do you mean, ‘how’? It had one of those vital points.”

“Yes, but there were many others that looked just as genuine. How did you know that one was the true core?”

“Intuition.”

“You really are something abnormal,” Tinasha replied with a sigh. Her expression was a mix of exasperation and admiration.

The enigmatic ruins that even the Witch Killer Queen and her spirits could do nothing about four hundred years ago had now been unceremoniously silenced and their mechanism dismantled by the Akashia swordsman.

All the villagers had been safely evacuated. Tinasha was the last one to depart the ruins. She looked back at the cave passageway, checking to make sure no one was there, then lifted a hand toward the entrance. Lightning shot from her palm, sending deep tremors far back along the passage.

The rupture set off a cave-in that culminated in the collapse of the access to the ruins.

Tinasha watched until the shaking ceased, then turned back around with a shrug. “This should do. Since the mechanism is destroyed, we could have left it open and intact, but I wouldn’t feel right about that.”

“Yep. Thanks, you really saved us,” Oscar replied.

“I should be thanking you for destroying the core.”

Her dark eyes were narrowed, as if she were gazing into some distant past. That calm, self-possessed, and yet melancholic gaze was the hallmark of Tinasha’s queenly persona. It was clear she was thinking of the people of Tuldarr she had failed to rescue. The look drew Oscar in inexorably.

Rather than act upon that feeling, however, he decided to inquire about a different matter. “What do you think made those ruins in the first place?”

“Hmm… I’m curious, but I don’t have any clue at all. It’s something outside the laws of magic, which means I haven’t the faintest idea.”

“But aren’t there lots of things humans don’t know about on other planes of existence?”

Indeed, Tinasha was the one who informed Oscar that their world was like an endless stack of transparent pages all existing in the same place. Humans only comprehended a fraction of the total pages. Oscar’s remark was meant to point out that something on a different plane might exist outside the usual rules.

However, Tinasha shook her head. “I think you may have misunderstood. The laws of magic are called that because they exist on the laws of magic’s plane of existence, but they do apply to other planes as well. That’s why humans can use spells here… It’s no different from the laws of our so-called world itself. Even though our world is made up of multiple planes of existence, it is not divided into those separate planes—it’s all one world. My degree of sight may be different from yours, but that doesn’t change what exists, does it?”

With a snap of Tinasha’s fingers, a pale spray of magic flared to life. Oscar could see it because of the magical sight drills she had put him through. And as the preeminent mage of her era, Tinasha could view much, much more than he could. But that didn’t mean the world itself was different.

“Thus, it’s possible that a law outside the laws of magic exists. But one that contradicts the laws of magic cannot exist on another plane. That would be like repudiating the world itself.”

“I… think I get it?” Oscar answered doubtfully. He had a vague sense of comprehension. The clear water near the pond’s surface and the water down at the bottom were very different, but they both shared the characteristic of being from the same pond.

With that in mind, he asked, “Then what about something beyond this world?”

Tinasha’s eyes widened like a cat’s. “What?”

“You said that the different planes of this world all share the same laws. So then what if it’s coming from outside all that?”

“From beyond the world… What is that supposed to mean? Don’t bring up something so absurd from out of the blue.”

“You’re the one who said that something going against a law of magic would put it at odds with the world.”

“But that doesn’t mean jumping straight to the idea that another world might exist.”

“Has it been proved that one doesn’t?” Oscar pressed. For him, these were all perfectly natural questions to ask.

Tinasha fell silent, utterly flummoxed. She pressed a hand to her mouth. “It hasn’t been… proved, no… But even so… it’s impossible to verify the nonexistence of anything past our world.”

“Yeah, I bet it would be. There’s no telling how many different planes there are here,” Oscar reasoned. His remark about another world had been an off-the-cuff musing. Verifying it any further would be difficult. Yet the subdued look in Tinasha’s dark eyes betrayed that she was stuck on the possibility.

She was sinking deep into the ocean of her thoughts. Oscar watched her studiously.

He was well acquainted with the siren’s beauty she possessed.

Tinasha was a queen and a young girl all at once. A fearsome mage… and just a very adorable person.

Finally noticing Oscar’s eyes upon her, Tinasha looked up. For a second, her face paled as if she’d remembered something, then she immediately turned red. As Oscar watched steam virtually pour off her face, he recalled that she hadn’t given him an answer to his proposal yet.

She was clearly wavering over what she should say. With a serious expression, Oscar said, “You can give me an answer whenever you’re ready.”

The proposal must have seemed a preemptive strike with no warning. Tinasha jumped like a cat when its tail was pulled. Blushing even deeper, she looked down and away. “I’m very sorry for keeping you waiting…”

“No, I don’t mind. How many marriage proposals have you gotten since then? I know other countries must have sent some.”

A pause. “Seven.”

“Wow. Which nations?” Oscar inquired, making no effort to hide his displeasure.

“What’s with that face?! I’m not telling you! They all just want to have me as their weapon anyway!” Tinasha cried, looking ready to fight.

“Hmm, I wouldn’t be so sure.”

Undoubtedly, lots of foreign powers coveted Tinasha as an instrument of war, but Oscar didn’t think that was the only motivation. He knew that on the day of her coronation, she must have unknowingly captivated the hearts of many who witnessed her in the flesh.

But I’m the one who knows her better than any other.

Tinasha pouted at Oscar, then, in a small voice, asked, “What is it you like about me…?”

“How weird you are.”

“What sort of an answer is that?” Tinasha shot back, deflated. But she picked herself back up quickly enough and let out a long exhale to reset her mood. Brushing long strands of black hair from her face, the queen of Tuldarr looked up at Oscar with a profound quality to her gaze. “You know nothing about me.”

A gentle breeze whooshed past.

The rescued villagers received medical care and were then escorted back to their homes, starting with those who had the energy to move. More help arrived from the castle before long, and the atmosphere grew thick with activity and conversation. However, no one disturbed Oscar and Tinasha.

Peering toward Tuldarr to the northwest, Tinasha stated, “They called me the ice queen. You’ll find all sorts of things if you research my history—not everything, though. I made decisions that would be considered unthinkable in this era. That’s the sort of person I am.”

The words were soft, but her voice was tinged with pain. Slowly, Tinasha’s dark eyes closed as if that could lock up the night.

“I don’t intend to make excuses and say that I had to do what I did because it was the Dark Age and because I was the queen… After I abdicated, I went to see my parents once under the strictest secrecy. It was the first and last time I met with them. We could barely hold a conversation, and it wasn’t like I could live with them or anything… I missed my parents to death when I was little, but I had no idea what to do upon finally reuniting. In the end, I chose to put myself to sleep using magic… That’s how coldhearted I am.”

The halting way Tinasha spoke made her sound no different than a little girl.

Her eyes remained closed. Oscar could see her awkward former self in her expression, and he grinned with fondness.

“I know you’ll regret it once you realize who I am. Spending your life with me, that is…”

“Oh yeah? Tell me everything, then.”

“…”

Her silence was neither a yes nor a no.

Tinasha simply stood there, rooted in place and all alone, just as she undoubtedly had four centuries ago.

Oscar reached out to brush a thumb along her cheek. “You can tell me whatever you like. I don’t mind if you keep some things hidden. Whatever you need, I’m fine either way. Knowing everything won’t change the way I feel.”

“That’s a lot of up-front promises you may not be able to make good on.”

“Careful not to sell me too short.”

Her long lashes stirred. Tinasha gazed up at Oscar, black eyes glimmering and damp. A trackless sea of loneliness rocked within them.

The next words from Oscar’s lips sank deep into her soul.

“Your oddities are amusing, and I enjoy your strengths and your weaknesses. I like the decisions you make, how you carry yourself, how childish you are, and the queen in you as well. I think the way you live your life is beautiful, even if that’s only one part of who you are.”

Knowing everything wasn’t necessary to Oscar. Even if he did, he wouldn’t come to regret his actions.

He knew how deeply compassionate she was—the way she was as innocent as a little girl and how she could choose to be queen.

That look of longing for the way the people lived on the night he found her gazing toward the city during the festival was all he needed to understand about her. That was likely the moment he began falling in love with her. The only thing was that he couldn’t allow himself to feel that way at the time.

Tinasha winced. A red flush tinted her pale complexion. “I don’t understand your taste.”

“You don’t have to. My preferences are mine. Let me keep them.”

Tinasha puffed up her cheeks, pouting. “Just so you know, I never hoped for anything from you.”

“Is that right?”

“I came here to be useful to you.”

“I know. Like an uninvited bride.”

“That’s totally wrong!” Tinasha balled her hands into fists. But once she’d settled back down, she asked in a much calmer voice, “So you really think you won’t have any regrets?”

“Nope.”

This was his choice. He wouldn’t lament it. And should such a day come, he wouldn’t cower from the past.

Staring straight into her dark eyes still heavy with worry, Oscar said, “I want to live my life with you. Can’t I be selfish and follow my heart just once in my lifetime?”

Just like how she had once abandoned everything to go and see him.

If he had to devote his entire life to his country, he would spend it at her side.

The way he bared his heart to Tinasha left her too overwhelmed to speak. But soon enough, she lifted her head, biting her lip. “I understand. I also kept you waiting without any word from me at all. I’ve spent too long dawdling, so I will give you my answer now.”

“You were dawdling, were you?”

“Hush!”

Tinasha took a deep breath and straightened up. Her face suddenly shifted from that of a girl’s into something sincere and serious.

Clear, strangely familiar eyes fixed directly on Oscar. “If you’ll have me, then I gratefully accept your proposal.”

As hard as quartz. That was what her emotions were like. It wasn’t merely a crush, or an attachment, or puppy love—she had made up her mind to live with him.

Tinasha stumbled a little once she finished her sentence, perhaps from all the recent strain. Oscar wrapped her in an embrace. The feel of her delicate frame enclosed within his arms made him break into a smile. He was so happy, he didn’t know what to do. Oscar felt like a boy again.

When he pressed a kiss to the smooth skin of her cheek, she blushed and looked away. “You’re too close.”

“Get used to it,” Oscar replied, his words succinct but full of affection, as he savored the feeling of his bride in his arms.

Neither of them paid any mind to the shocked citizens all around them.

The king of Farsas had chosen this awkward woman to be his partner in life. His wish was that she would always be smiling; his hope was that her loneliness would abate. He would cherish her more than anything and walk through life at her side.

Oscar was confident that he would never meet anyone better to spend his days with.

Tinasha wriggled free and floated up into the air to keep from being crushed to death in Oscar’s embrace. She pressed her palms to her cheeks, which were still flushed pink. “I ran off to come help you, so I need to be getting back. I had one of the spirits impersonate me, but people will probably figure that out before long.”

“A queen shouldn’t be sneaking out,” Oscar scolded.

“You of all people do not get to say that! You put yourself on your own survey team!” she cried.

She was about to teleport away when Oscar grabbed her hand. “Once I get back to Farsas Castle, I’m going to send you an official messenger and letter.”

“Oh? Do you mean you want to go public with our engagement?”

“Of course. Or maybe I should go harass those seven countries,” he said arrogantly.

Frowning, Tinasha replied, “Don’t.” Lowering herself a little, she placed a hand on Oscar’s shoulder. “You better not tell me you assumed I’d definitely say yes.”

“I didn’t think that. You’re completely unpredictable, after all.”

“Hmph.” Tinasha stuck out her lower lip.

It doesn’t feel real yet.

For her, Oscar was someone who was accessible, in a sense, but also someone she could never dare to stand beside.

All this time, Tinasha had believed he had no interest in her and so left her feelings about him alone. Now that she knew she was wrong, she wanted to bury herself in a hole for how strangely embarrassing it all felt. His gaze and hands on her made it difficult to relax. Would she really get used to it someday?

Oscar reached for Tinasha’s cheek and laid a gentle hand along it. He seemed reluctant to part. “Come see me anytime.”

“I will take you up on that,” Tinasha answered with a pleased smile, and then she vanished.

Oscar smiled wryly as he mulled over the many ways she would make for an unprecedented queen of Farsas.

While they couldn’t marry for another year, there were preparations to be done now. First, Oscar needed to propose to her formally. As he drew up a list in his head of all the things he needed to do, Oscar turned around and stepped into the transportation array that took him and his attendants back home.

Something like a hunch told him that within what he believed to be luck, there were many overlapping memories.