["Just accept it."]

[A youthful voice whispered to me in ravaging contempt. I recognized the owner of the voice right away as he appeared in front of me.]

[His small figure appeared vague, yet very vivid in my memories.]

["You weak, pathetic coward."]

[I could feel his voice trembling ever so slightly as tears dampened his cheeks.]

["You ruined the lives of everyone."]

[Jet black hair.]

[Pale, pearlescent skin.]

[A knight's uniform concealed by an oversized and badly torn cloak covered in blood, sweat, and grime.]

[The seven stars and small honorary medallions dangling in the clothing.]

[The aura of a weapon who lost its purpose.]

[A lonely shadow that seems to engulf his very figure.]

[And, an exhausted, pained expression hidden behind a blank, faceless mask in shade of teal sorrow, with visible regal motifs decorating its upper part.]

["Just admit it. That you're the reason why things turned out this way."]

["Yet you ran away and left behind your responsibility!—"]

[I knew him very well.]

[He was both my brethren and my enemy.]

[And yet, I couldn't even dare refute anything he accused me of.]

"Haah...!"

Aster let out a trembling gasp in shock. It wasn't a clumsy outline of black-and-white and blurry faces. It was an actual, clear visual. To him who had never dreamed nor seen through the eyes of a normal visually able person, it was a thrilling experience.

'These haunting memories...they belong to Kaisellin.'

Feeling stuffy, he unbuttoned the top of his robe and lightly traced the dark red engravings of stars around his neck.

He belatedly felt a slightly itchy feeling in his forehead, where he subconsciously reached out to touch. His fingers brushed off roughly tied twigs and soft petals. He seemed to be wearing a flower wreath, while his long hair was neatly braided with occasional small flowers pinned onto it.

'What the hell, Eiran?'

He placed the wreath on top of the pillow.

His mind wandered back to the nightmare he'd seen. Strangely, the other fragments were unusually quiet.

He didn't want to get his hopes up, but the sudden ravings recently had given them an indication that the Requiem still had the potential to awaken even after Kaisellin's shattered psyche had developed their own consciousness.

He stretched his palm and willed for a key to appear, which immediately materialized according to his wishes after leaving a trail of floating pale blue motes.

He inspected the ornate silver key in his hands. Originally, it shone in a brilliant sheen and thrummed as if alive. Now, it looked nothing more than a dull ornament.

He tried imagining his own visual of an infinite expanse of a library, with floating shelves and books all over the place. He tried his best to recall the miserable figure in his dreams, in hopes to unlock the illusory door to Kaisellin's records—his memories, his life.

After a series of the same trial and errors, his repeated attempts were futile as usual. He didn't even have the heart to be disappointed anymore, from how much he tried during the whole long 8 years of mundane activities.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Aster recalled the stimuli of the Academy's familiarity, and the dean's mysterious office.

Perhaps, retracing Kaisellin's past will force the Requiem to open.

He sighed weakly.

Not used to having his hair tied so daintily, he ran his fingers on the braid to detangle it. The few small flowers fell softly onto the beddings and blanket.

Aster hugged his knees leaned into the far corner of the room, burying his face in desperate attempt to hide his pathetic state. He could feel the tip of his fingers tingling, so he clenched his hands tighter to shake off the sensation.

He stayed that way for a considerable period of time.

♦️♦️♦️

Oliver intently watched the unusually calm ocean waves in the border, suppressing his anxiety with shallow breaths.

'It's like the calm before storm.'

A low-ranking sentry approached his back with careful steps.

"Is there still no news? It's been almost a week by now."

"We've confirmed it, sir. Noran has not returned to Lestissine—no, he never showed up in any of the cities within Vendalius."

"Are you saying he disappeared without a trace?"

"...Since we lost track of him near the Aegis Dome's edge, we haven't been able to find their trail, Sir. It's like they vanished in thin air."

"What of the ship?"

"Yes?"

"What of the ship they boarded?!" Oliver roared, now unable to show his agitation.

The situation wasn't favorable in their part. Hence, he had to deal with this matter before Noran's case reach the headquarter's ears.

"That...we haven't found a single suspicious trace, but I told them to check again earlier."

As soon as the soldier finished speaking, another soldier rushed over at them in haste.

"We've—we've found something. Marks of foreign swordplay and faint traces of inky black mana lingering on the dried blood in the railings."

Oliver turned his head and clasped the soldier's shoulders.

"Black mana? The same ones we know of that swirls around the mystical borders of Abyss?"

"It seems so, my lord."

"But why? Didn't he say there was no problem in the border?" His grip loosened, letting go of the soldier.

"What if..." His eyes, now filled with horror, trailed off to the calm ocean waves.

"What if that man was never Noran?"

His feet trailed back and forth as he mumbled to himself.

"Abyss. Black mist. A foreign swordplay. It must not have been a mere stray beast. If it were to seek refuge in the middle of Vendalius..." Oliver's eyes darkened as he stopped his tracks abruptly.

"Send a secret unit to investigate the Cathedral. As soon as possible."

♦️♦️♦️

[Did Eiran knocked you out that bad? You've been out cold for three whole days.]

[He's gotten increasingly bored since then. You know his temperament. He's the worst hermit among us too.]

There wasn't much that happened during the time Aster was inactive. After Eiran had exited the Academy grounds, Vontravis quickly spotted him in his raven form and gave him a series of painful pecks at the head.

Since neither Seith nor Raden wanted to take over, Eiran spent most of his time holed up underground, reading various theoretical books. Occasionally, he didn't shake off the street children who curiously approached him for innocent questions in exchange for treats and flowers. He also assisted the clerics in holding sermons, just like now.

'I saw someone from a dream. Could he be that Eli? The one who supposedly caused Kaisellin much...sorrow, if one would describe it.'

Aster bowed lightly at the few believers who greeted him as he stood with impeccable posture and a cold expression.

[You had a dream? But we've never had dreams, Aster.]

[Mind describing the figure more on detail?]

'None of you had seen it?'

[We wouldn't be asking that if we had.]

'He wore a holeless mask. One with regal carved motifs. He was dressed like a high-ranking knight, yet looked to young to be one.'

[A mask? Didn't it seem similar to the one from the statue?]

'What statue?'

[An earthling named Alioth. It's probably a codename.]

[He's the supposed general who led the vanguard against the Draconem during the late king's reign...is what we've heard.]

An eagle's cry resounded from a distance. A few believers turned their heads in curiosity as it quickly flew towards Aster's direction without stopping.

Then, as soon as it reached right in front of Aster, it flicked its wings backward, clearly showing off a letter with Kuanos Genesis's stamp. Aster outstretched his hand for the eagle land on while its wings created a gust of wind around them.

Its deadly talons dug harmlessly onto Aster's forearms before rubbing its head onto his cheek, as if waiting for pets. Contrary to its predatory appearance, it looked pretty docile and domesticated. When Harin reached out to pet it, its feathers ruffled and tensed warily.

Harin could only retract his hand and pout in resignation.

'Gosh, even birds have favorites...'

Aster didn't waste his time and picked the letter up from the eagle's beak.

His hand trembled slightly as he read through the contents carefully.

'Eiran, that fool...!'

On the short letter were very boldly written letters of congratulations, as well as the stamp of the professor in charge indicating that he was the top scorer. At the bottom of the letter was the scheduled date and detailed information regarding the second part of the entrance test.

Aster swallowed his sigh and rubbed the side of the eagle's head with his curled index finger before stretching his forearm upward to prepare it for flight.

He impatiently went inside the clerics' private room and started spatting curses at Eiran.

"You said you'll handle it Kaisellin's way! What Kaisellin? What can a guy with an incomplete soul do? Huh? You retard."

[Eherm...well, I didn't expect to actually...pass...]

[He's done for kekek.]

"What are you going to do about this now?"

[Let's just not show up for the second test.]

"Is that really the best thing you could think of? Come on! You were bold enough to come out and ignore everyone else, blabbering about pride and whatnot! Where the hell is that goddamn pride now?"

[...I didn't know Aster could swear this much.]

[Seith is much worse but this much profanity from none other than Aster's mouth...]

Vontravis peeked at him for a second before picking a few berries at the table.

"Looks like he passed."

"Excuse me, Your Reverence. Is something wrong with..." Harin didn't finish his words and instead pointed at Aster with his lips.

This is because to the outside party, Aster looked like a madman who was incessantly shouting and throwing fists at an innocent wall.

Vontravis stared at him with a deadpan face, looking like he was used to it. He shook his hand dismissively and popped a berry at his mouth.

"Let him be. He's having a real serious meeting inside there." He casually pointed at his temples.

"They're veeeery hard-to-deal-with fellows with their own personalities, so I bet it'll last a little longer than usual."

"Yes...?" Harin could only shut his mouth and not question the matter anymore.

'Is it because they're Sorenians? I can't fathom their minds no matter how hard I try. I can't.' Harin sniffed and ascended to the Cathedral with crestfallen face.

After a chaotic twist and turns of arguments, Aster finally went to his usual quiet and aloof demeanor. Feeling it was now okay to speak a real conversation, Vontravis approached Aster with a hardened face he'd been masking since a while ago.

"Aster, can I speak with you for a moment?"

"Did something happen?"

"It's about those patrolling soldiers at the border. You must have already heard my situation from Harin."

"More or less." Aster pondered for a moment, realizing something.

"Has the hypnosis worn off?"

Vontravis lightly scratched his cheek and averted his gaze.

"Probably. Or perhaps not. But I'll bet on the former."

"I'm sorry, Aster. It's a shortcoming on my part."

Vontravis bowed his head, admitting his mistake.

"It's fine. Neither of us wouldn't have expected this kind of variable."

"On that note, it seemed like the Lord wishes to speak to you shortly. She might summon you to an illusory space later at night for a private audience."

"Tell her I'll look forward to it."