Ep 48. For Our Future Did Not Exist. (1)
Click.
Even though Serenis opened the door just as usual, the wood met intangible resistance as she pushed against it.
Something was off about the air resonating from her nest’s interior – as if the space had secluded itself into a different region altogether.
Waves of pure, thick mana coursed about her as Serenis walked into the living room. The air was heavy and dense beyond reason; those with lower mana capacities would doubtlessly be crushed under the pressure.
“There you are. Welcome back.”
Serenis turned to the source of the voice. Contrary to her hopes, it wasn’t Patrick who had greeted the dragon’s return.
Iris curtly wove her hand, sitting by one of the couches.
The dragonlord’s eyes narrowed as her sibling also came to view. Beside the female enforcer was Patrick, lying unconscious with a contorted expression and heaving breaths.
“…Is this your doing?”
When Serenis was just about to approach the grinning enforcer, Iris held out her hand in a stopping motion. Her other hand was gently placed on Patrick’s forehead.
“Why don’t you have a seat on the other side? I’m keeping his heart from bursting, but I just might slip my hand if you come too close. You should know how dangerous an environment like this is for humans.”
A horrifying glare pierced Iris’ figure as soon as she made her request.
Serenis spoke through gritted teeth. Her fists tightened as waves of mana violently rippled out of her own heart.
“…Should it happen, you will live the same fate.”
“Good, so this threat does work. I was worried you wouldn’t care.”
“…”
“There’s no reason to be so angry. I just wanted to have an honest conversation with you, Starchild.”
Serenis’ eyes momentarily flinched as she heard what Iris had referred to her as.
‘…’Starchild’?’
‘Starchild’ was a title that dated back to the dragonlord’s own era. In the present, hardly anyone even knew that dragons had a lord, much less said lord’s titles.
The enforcer simply watched the contemplating dragonlord in amusement. She opened her mouth again before Serenis’ thoughts could reach too far.
“Starchild. I have lots of things to tell you right now, but first…I’d like you to swear to never speak of anything that’s said in this room tonight. And I’d prefer if you swore on your actual name, not ‘Zion.’”
Serenis’ glare remained furious as enforcer continued to speak. Small doubts began to plague the dragon’s mind as Iris hinted at the dragonlord’s actual name.
‘...She knows. But how?’
Unfortunately, all peaking curiosities had to be subdued. With her family held hostage, questions could not take precedence.
Slowly, Serenis walked towards the opposing side, seating herself with a furious scowl.
“…I swear. On my name as Dragonlord Serenis.”
The enforcer nodded back, sighing in both relief and satisfaction.
Iris closed her eyes as her figure faintly began to glimmer in blue. The light soon engulfed her entire body, rendering her into a glowing silhouette.
“Allow me to introduce myself again. My name is Iris Alpid, an enforcer of the Mage Association’s enforcement sector. And…”
Iris stretched out her arm and snapped her fingers. Following the noise was an explosion of the shrouding light, scattering in faded fragments to reveal a completely different person underneath.
The enforcer’s uniform-like clothing had been replaced with a long, fluttering white robe that was worn over her black dress. Despite the blue ornament bands keeping the waist and arms tightened, the sheer length of her clothing made them drag unto the floor. Her hair grew tenfold in length, and the red in her hair and eyes were replaced with a bluish black color.
A benevolent smile curved the figure’s lips, but it only came across as off-putting for the dragonlord. Serenis hadn’t known Iris for long, but even she knew that the enforcer wasn’t the type to smile so often like that.
“…You’re not the only one using a spell to change appearances all the time. My original name is Felicis – or as you’d know it, the deity of mana.”
“…”
The dragonlord remained static. The aura radiating from the figure was unmistakably that of the First’s – shrunken and fragmented, but nonetheless the same.
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Uncomfortable silence ensued. When the dragonlord’s lack of reaction stretched on, the deity awkwardly cleared her throat.
“…You don’t seem too surprised.”
“You’ve called me by an ancient title. I expected something of the sort.”
“Ah, that’s true…I suppose people don’t really remember ‘Starchild’ anymore, do they?”
Truth be told, Serenis was plenty surprised – just not in a good way. And the situation at hand was quickly killing whatever surprise there was to feel.
“…It was only a rumor, then. The story about the deity of mana disguising themselves as an institute’s student.”
“Oh, about that…that’s not completely false. I really was a few years ago. But I got a little caught up in it this time, and before I knew it, I…”
Another burst of light momentarily exploded outwards from the deity’s figure, returning to the form of the familiar, red-haired enforcer. Only the unnerving grin on her face remained the same as Iris comfortably leaned back on the couch.
“…Became a graduate and found myself employed.”
“And the reason for this revelation?”
“To hopefully rid that malice of yours against us. Or me, specifically. Soften up a bit, will you? I’d invite you to drink, but I’m afraid I don’t have anything on me right now.”
Serenis gritted her teeth. To ‘soften up’ was a ridiculous request given the current situation.
The dragonlord’s eyes drifted towards her unconscious sibling.
If the figure before her were to allow the surrounding mana to take their natural course, its flux would burst Patrick’s heart in an instant. Only the deity’s will was keeping his heart alive and beating. And that, was subject to change at any given moment.
“I believe the only violence being wielded here is you holding my brother hostage.”
“…I do apologize on that matter. I’d prefer if no harm fell on him myself; Patrick’s been a good friend for years. But with you, however…after our little conversation at the sewers, and after watching you fight Gio, I thought a little insurance couldn’t hurt. You didn’t exactly sound very fond of us deities.”
Serenis scoffed at the claim. But internally, she knew the statement was true.
If Patrick wasn’t tiptoeing with life, the divinity before Serenis would’ve been incinerated long ago. And maybe the house with it.
The enforcer once again warily studied the dragon’s expression.
“Starchild. You actually have no idea what we are, do you? We’re not divine beings, but simple mortals who happen to have a little more than others.”
Serenis remained expressionless as Iris stated the obvious. Even if everyone else remained ignorant, the dragonlord knew that divine entities weren’t truly ‘divine’ – though, the mere fact that one would admit to it was a surprise.
“I was not expecting such humble words from a self-proclaimed deity.”
“…Let’s get something straight. I never proclaimed myself as a deity, nor do I have any intention of living as one. I’d much rather live a normal life as enforcer Iris Alpid.”
On the surface, the deity’s words were heartening. Her honest attempt to clear the name may even have come across as courageous under different circumstances. Iris’ revelation as Felicis had, admittedly, allowed her claims to weigh more than they would coming from a mere human soul.
But in the brief moment where the enforcer had revealed her true form, Serenis had recognized the unmistakable presence radiating from within her.
‘…The First is still...’
Small and broken, but of equal origin. If Iris was only a lesser version of the First in hiding, then there was no room for compromise.
The only saving grace was that the deity had taken the liberty to converse, even if it meant risking a violent recoil from the dragon. She’d taken the liberty of taking Patrick hostage in an attempt to speak to Serenis – an otherwise unnecessary measure unless there was something to obtain from conversing.
“The First…this revelation isn’t all you wished to say, was it? You wished to hear something from me.”
“Ridding you of your malice seems like a necessary step before we get there.”
“You are a fragment of the entity who annihilated my brethren. Even you should know how ridiculous that is.”
“…Understandable. I suppose I should clear that up as well.”
When Iris placed her hand above her chest, a dark, blue brilliance shone for a moment as a jagged piece of stone seemed to materialize in her hand. She then plainly laid out the piece for Serenis to see.
“This is why you keep referring to me as a fragment, isn’t it?”
“…This is…”
“No point hiding it from someone who can recognize his presence. It’s a piece of the First’s heart.”
Serenis exchanged her gaze between Iris and the shard she held. True to her words, the dragonlord could feel the First’s presence in the room again – but it was radiating from the item the deity was holding, not Iris herself.
“Then, you are…”
“A human. Old, but nonetheless, human – who has nothing to do with the First.”
“…”
The era of demons had ended with the demonkin’s demise. A millennium had passed since, and mankind had long forgotten the histories of the olde that ruled their star.
But right now, sitting before Serenis was a mortal who still remembered that era. An individual who yet carried the remains of the First. A mortal who yet called her Starchild.
Quiet words escaped the dragonlord’s lips.
“…A human…but not a human of this era.”
Demons had become a myth. Even the kin had forgotten the notion of lords. To remember her ancient title, one’s age would have to far surpass just a few centuries.
Iris let out an exasperated sigh at the remark. When she pressed the blue shard into her chest again, the fragment sunk right back into her, the First’s presence fading with it.
“You’re right. It’s been an entire era…we, the Twelve, are relics of the past. I suppose you could say we’re the former mankind.”
A few minutes passed in silence as the revelation sunk in for Serenis.
The First had never spoken of the origins of his divine authorities. Hence, it hadn’t occurred to Serenis that his heart would be its source.
‘To think that the First’s legacy would continue…in the hands of man…’
In retrospect, it may have been an obvious outcome.
As her heir, Vulka had inherited the dragonlord’s heart, which Serenis now carried herself. But without a proper heir to inherit the First’s, anyone could’ve obtained his heart after his death.
Mankind’s greed was infinite. Perhaps this was a natural outcome. But…
‘…For what did we struggle so? Is this what we gave our lives for? We…’
Seeing the draping gloom over the dragon’s face, Iris tapped on the table, once again pulling Serenis out of her thoughts.
“Aren’t you curious? The reason we’re regarded as deities, despite being fellow man who simply carry a piece of divinity within us?”
“…What I do wish to know is the reason you’re choosing to speak of this matter.”
“To be blunt, it’s because I have a favor to ask. But to ask it, I need your trust. And to earn that trust, explanations are in order.”
“Holding one’s family hostage is not an ideal method to earn trust. Nor is it an ideal method in asking favors.”
“…I agree, but the method is still superior to dying. And I would be dead if I hadn’t taken Patrick hostage.”
“…”
The room momentarily fell silent. Once again, Serenis couldn’t deny the statement.
Iris dismissively wove her hand, pushing the topic aside.
“Your sacrilege was not liberation, Starchild. Nor was it the end of the demon era. The First played no part in the remaking of this star.”
“…Remaking? The star was remade?”
Iris solemnly nodded in response. She threw her gaze to the ceiling, reminiscing a distant past.
A thousand years. It’d been a thousand years already.
“This is a rather old tale now. How should I begin…”