Until Dawn
----------------------------------------
“You wouldn’t be wrong to assume that irregulars were just some ultra-rare monsters, because to this day, nobody really knows what they actually are. They just randomly spawn in large cities, cause chaos and then vanish before daybreak.”
Confusion returned to the tense space.
“You...don’t know?” asked Beatrice with a tilt of her head.
“Unfortunately, that’s the situation. They only started showing up a few years ago, so there’s not very much information on them since they’re rather sporadic. We do have a few leads to go on though, for one, we know that they tend to appear near heavily populated human settlements.”
She heaved a sigh of relief upon getting that answer, as expected, these people had seen far too much excitement in the past few weeks.
“Wait...do you know why they appear in human cities?”
Oliver flinched at the question. It wasn’t just him, it looked as if all the members of their party were left at a loss for words.
“To feed on humans of course” Flynn answered nonchalantly “Why else would monsters ever go out of their way to step foot on human grounds?”
“.............”
“Ahem! Well, that's only a single possibility.” said Myra, flapping up into the air.
“It may also be because humans are just an easy target. Typically, monsters killed mages and fed on their mana cores, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with irregulars. They don’t seem to have a preference when it comes to mages and null- I mean, regular people, so for now, we can just assume that their motive is driven by the urge to feed....I guess?” The Faerie scratched her head in deep thought, swiveling above the table with near perfect grace.
“Either that...or...they’re summoned creatures....” muttered Flynn, narrowing his eyes on the now empty spot beneath his winged companion.
“You think so too, Flynn?”
“Oliver I’m sure you of all people must’ve caught on to it. This doesn’t make sense, there’s just no way monsters like that can just pop up in the middle of entire cities without anyone noticing. Even if we exclude the fact that they only appeared at night, it's absurd for them to go completely unnoticed without anyone even sensing anything until they started wreaking havoc.”
“I agree, it does make sense if you consider how much time usually passes between reported sightings but as of now, Allen hasn’t found any magic circles or anything of the sort over there, right?”
“No, but since this is shaping up to be a full-on raid, I hear they’re planning to do a sweep of the city once everything’s in order. If it really is a summoned creature, then the magic circle in play shouldn’t be too hard to find.”
“Alright” mused Oliver in a steadfast tone
“We’ll confirm all the facts once we get there, I just wanted to lay the groundwork for what our next course of action will be. Sorry for boring you three with all this nonsense, this is the last time.” He said, turning towards the Ashwell trio with a grin on his face
“No,no, it’s quite fine.” Beatrice responded with a wave of her hand. “At least I get to know where you’re all headed next.”
“I can’t thank you enough for your hospitality Beatrice, truly.” Julia chimed in with a smile.
“Same here, if it wasn’t for you, I'm not sure what would’ve happened to this little rascal.” The young boy at her side awkwardly diverted his vision over to something in the distance, clearly feeling the pressure behind those words.
“By the way, how soon are you all planning to leave?”
“Well...” she stopped in her tracks, taking a moment to survey our supposed party before giving an answer.
“Two days from now.” Oliver answered in her place.
“Sorry but the raid is set to commence in a little over a week, and even if we hurry it's still going to take some time before we can make it to Fallon. We’re a bit pressed for time right now, I hope you’ll understand.”
“Of course, I get that you’re in quite a tight spot. You’ve all done a lot for us over the past few years, so it is a bit sad to see you go like this.”
Even I could feel the sincerity lacing Beatrice’s words. I suppose it was only natural for her to feel like this, in just the short span of a few weeks, we had all gotten quite fond of each other. In a sense, it was quite peculiar to see just how easily these human bonds could be forged.
“Well, we can at least try to give you all a good sendoff. Our mages are mostly back on their feet now, so you don’t need to worry about us. We’ll get back to rebuilding this place as soon as we all settle on a new Elder.”
“About that....I have a few connections inside the Asteria Faith, so I’ll see if I can get this town some additional protection, just in case.”
“......Ah....”
The disbelief on Beatrice’s face slowly melded into gratitude, giving way for her to gesture a bow as soon as her emotions had settled. “Thank you so much....”
“Well, I guess that settles it then!” Flynn flamboyantly declared with a boisterous shout. “Lady Beatrice, the food was great, but it's time for us to take our leave. Myra found an old inn down the road - well, what’s left of one anyway. We’ll be staying there for the night, and then get started on helping with the repairs tomorrow.”
“Very well then, tomorrow it is.”
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
“Shall we all turn in for the night too?” My mother asked after the successive series of farewells had ended.
“I agree! Let’s do that!” Emma eagerly answered before hauling me off to her room. She was being just as over the top as usual, but somewhere along the line, I'd gotten used to it.
She was my very first human friend, and in just two days, I would be leaving her behind.
----------------------------------------
Three hours.
That was the total length of time the young girl had kept me up in her room, prattling on about nothing in particular. It was a good way to kill two birds with one stone, I was able to pass the time and ease her angst, though she was trying her best to hide it.
I only had a few hours left in this place, so there was no better time to tie up my loose ends. This would only be my second time sneaking out of the house before dawn, but it already felt completely natural to me.
The streets were quiet, roads shrouded in soft moonlight, and the delicate fog of morning dew drifted lazily along the ground. I walked past a few spectral silhouettes along the way, garnering their attention as soon as they realized I could see them. Despite the constant pleas assaulting me from all directions, right now there was something I had to get done before tending to anything else.
Just as I came within reach of the familiar stall, the looming figure of a particular man emerged from the foggy shadows.
“Oh? You came back huh? A little later than I was expecting, but I’ll take it.” He said with a somewhat relieved look on his face.
“Some things came up....” I responded awkwardly
He looked at me with a notched brow that betrayed nothing but confusion.
“I came to give you my thanks Lennon, this is the last time we’ll be meeting.”
“Hmm? What.....do you mean by that? - Don’t tell me-”
“Mhm. It’s over.”
His pale blue face immediately went slack jawed, if he could shout normally then a few dozen people would have surely gotten an unpleasant wakeup call.
“Let’s start from the beginning.” I said, taking a cross-legged seat on the stone-cold floor.
----------------------------------------
“I see; so Vreena’s dead huh?” Said the somber voice looming over me
“I’m sorry......”
That was all I could say, even though I was still giving him the same story I told my parents, the burden wasn’t any easier to swallow this time around.
“No, it’s fine. I know just how stubborn that woman can be, if she died then I can very well bet she went out on her own terms. There’s no need for you to beat yourself up about this kid, you know she wouldn’t want to see you like this either.”
“Yeah...” I replied hesitantly
“I wonder if we’ll end up seeing each other again?” He said, chuckling at the thought
A snapping sound filled the air, and sure enough, it was one I'd already been familiar with. As soon as I lifted my down casted gaze, my eyes were met with the sight of Lennon’s crumbling body. A myriad of small, thread-like cracks were now spreading across his entire frame just like what had happened with Luelle all those years ago.
“What’s this?” He questioned, staring at his crumbling palm.
“You’re passing on, you don’t have any more attachments tying you to this place.”
“.....Is that so? Then I may as well oblige, for real this time, I mean.”
“You accepted that pretty easily, most people have a hard time letting go. What changed?”
My curiosity had somehow gotten the better of me. Even after doing this for quite some time, a few pieces of the puzzle hadn’t quite fallen into place yet. Though that may be for the best, after all, I was playing on a completely different board now.
“Everything changed.” He answered boldly.
“My main concern was those guys from Brunhilde, but they’re completely out of the picture now. I just wanted to keep my family safe and protect this place that I came to know as my home, that was it. With everything you’ve told me just now, it doesn’t look like I have very much left to worry about – in fact this almost feels too perfect.”
“Well why don’t we just call this one a miracle?” I said with a shrug.
“Heh, you think I’ll buy that? Things started to change after you were born, I don’t even think most miracles line up that well.”
“Then chalk it all up to luck if you want.”
A burst of laughter escaped the fading man, even at the very end I still couldn’t quite figure him out. Then again, I guess that’s where his daughter got all her spontaneity from.
“Liam, before I go, there’s something I want to ask you...”
“What?”
He stared at me, tilting his head in deep thought. That was all he could do at the moment because everything from his shoulders down had already vanished.
“Mmhm...How do I put this? You’re a hybrid, a mix between a druid and a human, but I'm sensing something else from you, something dark. You're clearly not just a normal child Liam, just what exactly are you?”
My face twisted into a mild surprise, he actually managed to see past the solid facade of my druid body. Most souls usually just took my appearance at face value, but I suppose I underestimated him.
My biggest secret had come to light, yet, I couldn’t help but smile in resignation.
“A Shinigami.”
“Shinigami huh? Heh, Its my first time hearing that one, but it doesn’t really matter what you are, you’ve done enough good for me to overlook that. I do have one small favor I'd like to ask of you though.”
“I’m not sure If It's something I can do, but I’m listening.”
“Take care of Emma for me, she’s a smart girl, but she can be a bit restless sometimes. Isaac acts like a loose cannon every now and then too, but I trust his intuition. It would be nice to have someone watching over them.”
“You’re asking a four-year-old to look after your daughter?”
“Yeah, after what you just pulled off, I’m sure you’ll manage in due time. Besides, aren’t you her little brother?”
He saved his strongest card until the very end, what a clever guy.
“Alright, I’ll give it a shot. Thanks for everything Lennon.”
“Don’t mention it kid....” He answered with a sticky smile that almost seemed reassuring.
Like clockwork, the man’s silhouette burst in a brilliant flash of light, surely after that, Lennon Ashwell’s presence had departed from these mortal lands.
“A man who smiles back in the face of death huh?....”
For some reason, my spirits felt elevated after that last interaction. As soon as the moment’s melancholy had departed, I turned to face the numerous other drifting silhouettes moving through the city’s streets, my lips curled up in anticipation and a sense of nostalgia washed over me like a wave.
“Now then, it's about time for you all to head out as well.”
The cold city streets made for the perfect atmosphere, the boundary between our dimensions would only stay open for around two hours, so there was much work to be done.