To Laima.

25th October , 1137.

I am writing this letter on the Rein river to Auderheim. I hope everything is fine back in Letland and soon , I’ll put an end to this journey.

I can’t believe I met him , Laima , THE Sharded-Light(although he refers to himself as Suiming)…He kept asking questions that I don’t know the answer to , but we chatted a lot in the end , I’ll go into the details when I’m back.

I just learnt from him that although the Grand dome has been there for four thousand years , the Eutian calendar starts counting from the year Starseeker first descended.

We are about to cross the border of Auderheim , and after that I’ll directly return home.

Through the thorns , we shall reach the stars.

Your friend Perkonis.

….

Few days later , in a town near Tomkiel , a train station.

The near November wind wasn’t as cold as Suiming thought it would be.

It wasn’t too hard to convince the locals he is a traveling merchant , he prepared a sack of silver branches he created and told them that they are the materials from the Prolonged Mist. Sometimes Suiming thanks the Prolonged Mist for being able to explain all kinds of weird crap , it is just too useful. So useful that he is afraid to step inside.

Four thousand years , at least that's what Nameless told him about his age , four thousand years since Suiming roamed the land , but never once , not a single time he stepped into that mist vapor of absolute madness.

Suiming flips the page of the newspaper , reading through every word and sentence , as if he is counting the stars in the sky.

Tavia and Nameless told him basic information about that ‘Salvia’ , that scholar of School of Lantern , now , the last piece is to find her , somehow recognize her in the thousands , if not tens of thousands of the scholars.

He was expecting some local news , but somehow the papers are filled with missing reports in Tomkiel and the conflict between the School of Faust and School of Lantern. Weird, Tavia told me that my client’s in Tomkiel as well , Suiming thinks to himself.

“Euth opened its border after three years , new Letter-Writer announced”

Suiming wasn’t surprised about the news. He saw it happen with his own eyes there , not the first time for him to see another Letter-Writer getting elected anyways , nevertheless , he was a friend of Letter-Writer.

…that is until he sees the picture of the Letter-Writer.

His head almost exploded from inside when he recognized that face. The face of his own student

“What the hell Seren?! I thought that was a joke!” he says to himself.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

As the pages turn away , the screech of the train wheels comes closer and closer. Eventually at its climax , the train stops its red metallic body.

There isn’t anyone checking the tickets , barely anyone is on the train. So empty that even the air seems to be talking. Empty like a soda can that is only left with a few drops of drink.

As the door closes , a woman with dark violet-blue-ish hair walks in.

“It wasn’t a joke.” she says.

“Why the hell are you here , Seren?” Suiming asks as he sits down with that sack.

“Suiming , you need to be more cruel , I am here because of you.” Seren answers as she sits next to him , by the window.

“And , well , my personal wishes.” Seren adds as she looks outside the window.

“How does that make sense?”

“Well , if you kill Mistblue , the chamber has to find another candidate , which they can’t at that time , so I'll be the Letter-Writer for another few years…” Seren explains as Suiming looks away.

All her words sound like blah-blah-blahs to Suiming , like a boring class that he can’t do anything to kill time other than listening to the teacher that he barely knows about. His sights start to wander off , counting the rows of seats in the train and how many are sitting on them.

He noticed a few men-or-women in coats that covered their faces , Suiming knew they are probably , most likely , the scholars of School of Faust. Or as he’d like to call it-the cheatsheet users.

Their hand is writing down something. They look oddly familiar , as if they were a bypassanger in his life.

“And that is why you should have killed him.”

“Yeah , and how about…we talk to those three lads there.”

One of them saw Suiming looking at them. They quickly grabbed their bags and rushed to the other side of the coach. The way they walked was like mice , small and fast , quick steps and whoosh!

Then , a smell that does not belong to the train runs up his nasal. A smell of the most delicate perfume and the foulest flesh. The smell runs around in his head , picking up the ugliest , most unwanted memory of Suiming.

The memory of that war , almost two centuries ago. The time when two nations and their god clashed. He really doesn't want to suspect the three , but that smell. That smell that Suiming can’t misidentify.

He can’t hesitate but to grab that fabric made sack and run after them. As he turned around , the three weren't in the coach anymore.

“Suiming that way.” Seren says as she points to the door at the end of the coach.

“I’ll come with you.” Seren says as he shows the two blades under her cape-like coat.

Realm-arts: Lullabye of Silence , forty minutes , Seren counts to herself

Seren noticed something. A quick thought that ‘popped’ in her head. What if Suiming is seeking something in Auderheim? She can’t see a reason for him to leave Euth , the times now is full of opportunities in Grand dome.

Unless he didn’t do it for himself.

Realm-arts: Desert of Stars

The stars fell off , forming the floating shadows of constellations around Suiming. This time none of them solidified into their origin. Maybe Seren is right , he thinks to himself.

“I’ll go after them on the roof,” Suiming says.

Seren didn’t answer him , she stared blankly to the other side of the train. As if there is a pile of cash.

Then , like that pile greens disappeared , she smiled and looked back to Suiming. Slightly waving her hand.

“Can you hear me?” a voice said in Suiming’s head.

“Mind connection? You finally knew how to do that?!” Suiming says as he opens the ventilation window on the ceiling of the train.

“Suiming , can you hear me? Seren here~” another voice that resembled more like Seren’s feathery voice said in Suiming’s head as he bears the wet wind and catches his fly-away hat.

At first he thought he misheard , but her voice echoed again.

“Helloooooo , blue guy?”