Irony
Before Frein could enter the library, Jaylene and Advisor Kento met him and the others on the way. They each had a report for Kristel, and by extension, him and the rest of the group. However, Frill left a message through M.O.B.I.L.E., saying that she and Xiv couldn’t join them. She was currently busy providing the former Lord Knight with some lessons on how to perform his duties better as a part of the future Monarch’s retinue.
Those who were present entered the library and found a private meeting room to discuss. Frein forced himself to ignore the towering shelves and the flying books that he could see from the main entrance, focusing instead on the reporters.
The room was a cozy environment, all things considered. It could fit two groups easily. A large table with ten cushioned chairs was set up squarely in the middle, while shelves stacked with books surrounded it. A coffee table had a fresh pot brewing by the only window that showed the main library. Katherine pulled the curtains over the latter before she started pouring cups.
“Is it okay for me to be here?” Scuti asked. She had inevitably joined them after practice. While no one seemed to reject her presence, she was still seemingly feeling out of place.
“Becoming Frein’s protégé has its benefits,” Katherine replied, distributing the coffee cups through meiyal control. “It also comes with responsibilities.”
Frein silently analyzed the Lady’s meiyal control. It displayed characteristics close to Meiyal Weaving, but it wasn’t a fully-fledged Weave. He could perform the same action now, but not as precisely as she could.
“That’s right,” Kristel nodded towards Scuti, urging her to stay. She gestured for everyone to take a seat. “Let’s start.”
Kento was the first to speak. “We couldn’t find any of the orbs that you mentioned, Princess Kristel. We made a search when you first warned us about it, another yesterday before your ceremony, and another one this morning. We found nothing that even remotely resembled your descriptions.”
Frein wasn’t hopeful at that point. He could sense the same for the Princess. It had been quite a long stretch of days since the time those things had disappeared. In fact, he would struggle to confidently identify them if he were to ever spot one, since neither Kristel nor Xiv had any images of them. If they were indeed bombs, or implements that would sabotage Irista Nation in any sort of way, then their enemies were either really secretive, or they had chosen not to interfere with the Monarch anointment ceremony.
It had been the perfect moment for it, and despite the superfluous drive Katherine had had at that time, they were still closely monitoring the event. But it seemed as if they changed their minds at the last second, thankfully or not. And now, they had completely missed their chance.
Security around Irista Nation, specifically the High Palace, had been increased many times over within the past few days. First it was due to the missing officers that threatened the royal family. Next there was the warning from the Letterman about the Nightmare Incursion. With these many eyes looking for anything suspicious, large orbs containing concentrated meiyal would be like spotting a blot of ink on white paper.
Somehow, despite all of these precautions and lack of evident danger, he still felt uneasy.
“What if the two are related?” he murmured.
“The bombs and the Incursion?” Kristel inquired. “Could be, but what if the bombs never made it across the Great Sea Dividyr? And that’s why we can’t find any of them?”
“Optimism is great,” Katherine started, crossing her hands. “Carelessness isn’t.”
“Right,” Kristel nodded before turning her attention back to the Advisor. “Please make sure they keep an eye out. We can’t be too relaxed about this.”
Kento confirmed his directive and wrote something on his M.O.B.I.L.E., probably a note to make sure he reminded the knights at regular intervals. He turned to Jaylene so she could take her turn to report.
The felintine cleared her throat. “I checked the recent communications from Eastrise like you asked, Katherine. There doesn’t seem to be any unusual activity over there.”
“What’s this about Eastrise?” Kristel asked. Frein quickly took the reins.
“Whenever I Mill my decimeiyal or emphasize my Siffera, I feel a certain response coming from the east. Not exactly Eastrise, but it’s in the general direction.” He turned to Jaylene. “What about the clouds over there?”
“What do you mean?”
“Since I first felt them back during the Jump, the clouds over there haven’t moved at all.”
Silence fell inside the room. Everyone was in deep contemplation. Frein could detect confusion overall.
“How sure are you about those clouds not moving?” Jaylene asked.
“Not one-hundred percent. But pretty close.” Frein crossed his arms. “Is it something bad?”
“It’s not a cloudbark?”
“That was my first guess as well.” It was his turn to cross his arms. “So I confirmed it yesterday.”
“You went there?” Kristel asked, her tone accusing.
“No, no. I looked at it with Mesiffera.”
“Oh!” Scuti perked up. “That was the time I was running around our cloudbark.”
“Yes, that one. It took a lot of meiyal, but Drawing Nidai-Mesiffera with decimeiyal allowed me to essentially zoom in. It’s not a cloudbark. But I could definitely say that something’s out there keeping the clouds in place.”
“Your Art didn’t detect it?” Jaylene asked. “That could be bad news. I wouldn’t put it past a Nightmare’s doing.”
He understood the implications. If something was able to hide from an Art meant to reveal secrets, then whoever or whatever it was would certainly be powerful. Or they were Blessed with Nature’s Favor. Frein didn’t know which he preferred.
There was also the issue of the fact that if it was indeed a Nightmare, it was well beyond the territory of where it should be able to exist. Which simply meant it had a high chance of being a Deep Nightmare.
“But if it’s a Nightmare,” Katherine started, “then it might be the assumption Frein initially had?”
“What assumption?” Kento asked. It was his first time hearing about this, and he was helplessly absorbed.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“That it’s a sign of a Nightmare Incursion,” Frein said.
Silence fell in the room once again. Now it wasn’t because of confusion. Rather, most people, other than him and Katherine, were deflated by the information. They churned it over; Frein could see the gears rotating inside their heads, trying to find any sort of argument that they could use as rebuttal for his theory. The more they tried, the more convinced they looked.
“That doesn’t sound good,” Jaylene said finally. “I sent one of ours to scout yesterday, like you asked, Kat. I’ll ask him to check the clouds closely. He should be able to return this afternoon. But for now, that’s all I have.”
Frein stood. Like all the times he had contemplated the bombs, or the Nightmare Incursion, or the unknown presence from the east, there was nothing that could be accomplished by just sitting around and thinking about them. He had to act. It was about time he investigated the only solid lead they’ve had so far.
Kristel quickly thanked the other two, and allowed them to return to their duties. She followed right after to grant Frein access to the restricted area of the library.
All the while, Frein was focused on the intricate interior of the building. He confirmed that he hadn’t imagined the flying books. Scholars of all sorts summoned them without even turning their heads away from their research. The looming shelves looked like stacked walls and pillars. He would’ve questioned the way they made the books reach as high as the ceiling, if not for the fact that he could just will them to his hands.
He would’ve considered this place heaven, if only there had been enough time for him to roam around and read these books.
After finally gaining access to the restricted area, Kristel led Frein and the others behind the wall of shelves. From there, they passed a gate, into a hallway, before reaching a smaller library.
The shelves here didn’t reach the ceiling. Instead, it reminded Frein of the common libraries he was familiar with, bookshelves creating a sort of maze. Based on how Kristel was scratching her head, this maze posed a problem she didn’t expect.
“You don’t know where it is, don’t you?” Frein ventured a guess.
“The only thing I’m sure of is it’s here. Only officers and the Monarch get access to this place. There was no need to incorporate the sorting mechanisms of the Grand Library. In case some haughty researchers find their way into this area, they can’t use it to summon the books they want to borrow. That means, however, the only sorted things are the ones our advisors think are important.”
“Alphazzel’s book isn’t important?”
Kristel shook her head. “After it was mass-produced, no one really bothered to read the original. To them it’s identical.”
“So if not for Rindea, we wouldn’t even think of getting the original…”
“Sorry, but we have to look for it. I’m not exactly familiar with the books here.”
“Understandable,” Frein said. He pulled a random book just to try his luck. It was an old ledger from a monarch’s era he didn’t recognize. “Been a while since you were last here, I suppose.”
“I didn’t even use this place back then.”
“But you’re sure it’s here?” Katherine asked.
“I asked Kento before he left. He confirmed that the book remained untouched and should still be here. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know exactly where they stored it.” Kristel perused a row of shelves. It was up front and it looked like important books were placed in it. “No luck.”
“We’ll be here all day, won’t we?” Scuti asked, sighing.
“You don’t have to stay here, you know,” Frein said. “And yeah, I think even if we find it early, I’ll be busy studying the book all day.”
“Katherine said responsibilities.” The Second Princess placed both hands on her waist, mimicking her sister’s signature pose. “It won’t sit right with me if I duck out now that I know I can help. It’s Alphazzel’s history book, right?”
“The one he personally penned,” Frein clarified.
“Alright. I’ll go take this side.” Just like that, Scuti vanished into the maze.
Kristel did the same. She was already focused on reading titles off the spines. After one final shelf, she went around a corner and into the maze.
“Give a holler when you find it,” Katherine said, shrugging and flew to the second floor.
Frein tried to feel the room with his enhanced Siffera, just to check if any of the books resonated with his awareness. He sighed.
No luck.
“We should start looking,” Elizzel said, manifesting beside him.
The titles were impressive. Some of them took his interest right away. The faunel had to keep reminding him that the sooner they found the correct book, the sooner he could check out the other titles. And every time, he had to return the books with regret. Unfortunately, taking a book outside of the restricted area was prohibited. Not that they could stop him, but he didn’t come here to steal books and make trouble for Kristel.
Minutes felt like hours. Shelves felt like prison bars. To no avail.
Frein’s head hurt from reading too many titles and ignoring the interesting ones. He decided to return to the center of the room and see if anyone had found anything.
He turned a corner and met darkness.
“You’re looking for this one, yes?” a voice said.
Frein turned again to find Tryvinal Bree holding a book. He was asking him to take it.
Instead, the Visitor flared his Siffera to warn the others. “You’re supposed to be in prison.”
Tryvinal tossed the book. It slid until it tapped Frein’s foot.
“There’s no point in keeping me in there,” he said. “Kristel’s officially the next Monarch. Why bother with me?”
Something was odd. Despite Frein’s enhanced Siffera he couldn’t feel anyone else aside from Tryvinal. His eyes looked around to find the bookshelves slowly disappearing, replaced by darkness.
“Be careful, Frein. That’s not Tryvinal,” Elizzel said. As soon as she did, something choked her. She grasped at her throat, desperately gasping for air. Meiyal was choking her.
“Elizzel,” Tryvinal said with scorn. His hand outstretched. “Meddlesome amnesiac. I was in the middle of acting.”
“Stop it!” Frein shouted, hoping it would reach the others. He emphasized his Siffera even further, helping the faunel strengthen her body and resist whatever was choking her. At the same time, he dashed towards the former Guard Knight.
He didn’t reach him.
Meiyal, Brymeia’s meiyal, was holding the Visitor in place, keeping him suspended and frozen in the air. Whatever was choking Elizzel had started doing the same to him. Tryvinal laughed like a maniac.
Meiyal Weaving. It was on a level Frein had never seen before. It was invading his internal organs, making it difficult to breathe. He could feel his Milled meiyal seeping out. He switched to Nidai-Siffera, but it only sped up the drain. The Weave blocked his meiyal system, rendering him unable to Gather so there was nothing to Mill to keep his Art active for long.
He heard Elizzel dropping on the floor, but he couldn’t turn his head to confirm. He couldn’t even move his eyes.
“Tryvinal’s dead,” said the would-be Tryvinal. “He was such a useless pawn. Brought more trouble than he’s worth.”
Frein couldn’t even speak. He couldn’t respond. He wanted to know who this new Tryvinal was.
The creature who looked like the Guard Knight came into view, a sinister smile on his face.
“Don’t worry, Visitor. I’m a faunel like Elizzel. And I’ll help you skip straight to the end of your Destiny.”
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Katherine sighed. The book was nowhere to be found. She decided to return to the center of the library.
Scuti was plopped over a sofa with copies of Alphazzel’s history books around her. Unfortunately, none of them were the original. Kristel arrived at the same time.
“No luck?” Katherine inquired.
Kristel saw the pile of copies and tossed one more on the stack. “Not the original.”
“Where’s Frein?”
Before anyone could answer, the door behind them slammed open.
“Let me in!” Enza screamed, pushing away the knights that protected the restricted area.
“She’s with us,” Kristel said. “Let her through.”
The knights had no choice. They were taken so off-guard by the speaking yuma that the Princess’s command was more of a relief than anything.
Speaking of, the yuma was in a state of panic. Katherine tried to calm her down. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Frein! He’s suddenly so far away! I can barely sense him. I wanted to ask if you knew anything about it!”
Katherine felt the panic in her chest. She wrestled it under control. I, Alone, Am The Center brought it back tenfold. There was only Elizzel.
The faunel was unconscious on the floor, in full Art fatigue. Katherine disregarded the fact that a faunel could reach such a state. The priority was to wake her up. Lips locked in haste, performing meiyal resuscitation.
As soon as Elizzel gained consciousness, she gripped Katherine by the collar.
“They took him, Kat.”
“Who’s they?” the Lady asked. Fire ignited within, looking for a target to burn to ashes.
Before the faunel could answer, Jaylene called for them. The felintine found them in seconds by responding to Katherine’s Void Control Technique. The scene locked her in place.
“What is it?” Katherine asked. Anger had seeped into her voice. Too late to pull back a growl.
It’s my fault, not theirs. Calm down. Deep breaths. Frein will be alright.
Her eyes couldn’t meet anyone but Elizzel. The faunel now held her hand, begging her to calm down.
Unlike her, Elizzel had Frein’s presence of mind to quell her raging fury into a deadly calm. Time and again, it had been the anchor she depended on.
Now under control, the Lady of the Void addressed everyone.
“This might have to wait, Jam. Sorry, but Frein’s gone. I have to look for him.”
“It’s Eastrise,” Jaylene said, holding her ground against Katherine’s intimidating presence. “We lost contact with them.”