“We are gathered today to say farewell to Hlorndt,” the celebrant spoke in a somber tone. “She was a respectful person and a formidable fighter. May her soul rest in peace, and return to our Abyssia.”

Syllis listened to the celebrant as she glanced around her surroundings. The situation was strange. ‘Should we really be here? Along with the murderer?”

The secare nymph was not the only one to notice the odd scenario they found themselves in. Aura in particular looked—more than slightly—uncomfortable.

She tried to look straight ahead, towards the celebrant and his urn of ashes. But her curiosity got the better of her and Syllis watched her take brief glances before returning her gaze.

‘Those three…’ Syllis internally cursed Hkolmon, Hfroht and the final elmannise man she could not remember. They were staring daggers at the four outsiders.

“Return to our Abyssia!”

“Return to our Abyssia!”

The elmannise each said this, slightly out of sync with each other. It almost sounded like a cult, worshiping an evil deity. They held their hands below them, towards the ground in a lunatic fashion.

Syllis looked to Aura who almost seemed compelled to participate. She grabbed the dazed human’s hand and shook her head.

‘This is getting annoying!’ Syllis was irritated. The constant need to talk in secret, without the prying ears of the elmannise was a toilsome task.

Korman and Clyde stood up straight, respectfully participating in the weird funeral unfolding in front of them. All around them were other elmannise of the wall. The majority of them were family and friends, some were officials to oversee the ritual and some were even more obscure. Like Syllis and her companions. They had essentially been commanded to participate. They came to the assumption that the elmannise were worried about Aura fleeing with her ‘murderous friend.’

Everyone was seated under a willed church, not dissimilar to the church in the main heart of Abyssia. It lacked the glow-tree sheets though and by extension any opportunity for vision. So they had brought a glow-tree lantern with them, which attracted a fair amount of contemptuous, silent judgment.

The funeral celebrant and leader of the ritual pulled the top of the urn off and held it in front of him. He turned to his side, looking at the pitch-black abyss that appeared to be sat on a pillar.

This abyss was different from the darkness that surrounded them at all times. The normal abyss could be pierced with the light of glow-tree sheets. But the abyss on the pillar? It absorbed any and all light around it and even seemed to contort it slightly.

“Return,” the celebrant said, solemnly. “Return to our Abyssia. Oh Abyssia, please accept our fallen and rebuild them within your domain. Just as you did, our very world.” He picked up a handful of ashes and let them fall, gently. Slowly, each fragment of Hlorndt was absorbed into the anomalous void.

“She has returned!” the celebrant cheered, dropping his solemn attitude.

“She has returned!”

“She has returned!”

The elmannise cheered. They no longer looked solemn and respectful now. It was as if the second Hlorndt had been dropped into the void, any sadness faded away. Even Hfroht and his teammates cheered with smiles on their faces.

‘Makes me wonder why they take death with such offense?’ Syllis thought. ‘If it’s so easy to recover from then what point is there in the intense repercussions?’

Gradually, the attendees of the funeral were ushered out of the black church. They were directed to another area—the top of the wall. This was the viewing area, so to speak. It was where the crowd would gather to watch the ‘murderer’ be burnt by the fury of the sun. The waves of taran had long been fended off for the day.

‘I’m envious.’ Syllis thought. What fair was it for the elmannise to be able to see so far with such clarity? While Syllis could clearly see the entrance to the sky chasm, she was unable to discern any details at the foot of the wall. The splotches of organs and tar merged with the ground in her eyes and were not noticeable. The only details large enough to distinguish were the bodies of three titans that had been killed.

She was even envious of Aura and Korman. Korman could not usually use his nocturnal mutations to see through the abyss. But with the illumination provided by the four suns which battled the abyss for entry, his mutations could easily enhance his vision.

“Where is the murderer?” Vernim questioned.

Syllis felt his demanding gaze over herself and her three companions. Aura turned to face the man.

“Here,” Aura said plainly. Behind her, a large rend in space began to form. It fought with the abyss which threatened to overtake it. The ephemeral lights flickered as a creature with bone wings emerged. It hovered above the human woman’s head.

The elmannise who were watching almost screamed in horror, the ones who had not seen the creature fight at the foot of the wall. In fact, those elmannise were likely also shaking in fear. Only, they were too afraid to speak it. The monster was a powerhouse which had cleaved more taran and amplified than several entire groups would.

“Send it to stand in front of the chasm,” Vernim said.

Aura only shook her head, facing the chasm. It took no less than ten minutes, the swift dragon surprised all of the elmannise unaccustomed to it.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Such a lethal beast should be executed!”

“Certainly! No different than enslaving a titan!

“What kind of devilish woman would have something of that caliber!?”

The elmannise spoke words of relief and slander towards Aura and her ephemeral monster. Although it was not in true danger. She felt uncomfortable sacrificing it. She clicked her teeth together, irritatedly.

“For the murder of Hlorndt,” Vernim said. “This murderer will be executed by the four suns. Such a vile and unforgiving criminal does not deserve to be remade in our Abyssia. It deserves to be ravaged by the savage flames and left to dissolve into nothing. May its death be painful, send it in.” His gaze focused on Aura as he spoke.

Syllis had long regained the use of her legs and stood a little closer to Aura. She wrapped her arm around her shoulder and whispered. “It’s alright.”

Aura did not respond. She willed her greatest companion to enter the harsh flames of the four suns. Hollow screams rang out, unheard by anyone. Not even the elmannise had the capacity to hear at such a range. Its flesh did not melt, it lacked that quality. The ‘void’ between its bones did not waver until the bones crumbled, at which point the dragon ceased, denying Aura the ability to move all together. Then, its ephemeral green flames dwindled to nothing.

Syllis could feel the woman shake under her arm.

“Syllis,” Korman said.

“Right,” Syllis said, pulling her arm away from Aura and nodding. “Go ahead.”

Korman thanked her and embraced Aura in a firm hug. He pulled her head close, resting his hand on the back of her head. Syllis heard the slight sobs of Aura, along with the entirety of the elmannise who likely heard them as loud, abrasive distractions. The both of them walked away slowly, leaving Clyde and Syllis as the only two outsiders left.

“So…” Clyde said, awkwardly.

“It must hurt,” Syllis said, “seeing your most prized companion burn alive in front of you.”

“It's fine,” Clyde said. “She has Korman to help her through it.”

The both of them began walking in the direction of Aura and Korman, slowly leaving the range of elmannise hearing.

Syllis remained silent for a second before speaking. “Are you supposed to marry Anahita?”

Clyde was stunned momentarily.

“Where—where did that come from,” he answered.

“Are you gonna answer the question?” Syllis asked.

“Well, technically… I already did,” Clyde said, trying to worm his way out of the topic.

Syllis scrutinized him under her gaze.

“You’re out of your depth here you know. You aren’t entitled to my deeply personal life,” Clyde said.

“I know,” Syllis answered. “Just treat it like repaying your debt for sending me to my death. Besides, you’ve already revealed the nature of your relationship by calling it deeply personal.” She emphasized the last two words.

Clyde appeared conflicted.

“Alright, fine,” he said. “Anahita wants me to marry her. This was why I had run off to the outer ring all those months ago. The worst part was that my parents happily agreed, without so much as a word of say from me.

“There was of course fame and quartz for the position. As well as the uniting of Asanoch. Taking a step towards narrowing the rift between humans and nymphs and all of that stuff… But what about my feelings on the matter!? Should I not have some sort of say…”

“I’m glad you went to the outer ring that day,” Syllis said. “Without that encounter my life would have stayed the way it was. I would continue to eat only bread, living every day the same way. It was lonely and boring.

“Once I got the contract from Clark, my life got better and my desires heightened. This is why I hated you bringing us into this rift.”

“I know,” Clyde said. “I’m sorry. This fable did not only save the city of Asanoch. I also thought that… I thought that if I could inherit a particularly powerful anathema, then I might be able to escape my destiny.”

“Oh?” Syllis said, “destiny, not fate?”

“Not according to my interpretation,” Clyde said. “I like to believe that people can change their fate with enough effort, destiny though… Destiny is unchanging, perhaps in extreme, supernatural scenarios. Anyways, I used to believe that marrying Anahita was fate. Now, I realize it was futile and that it is merely my destiny.” His expression contorted, revealing a self-deprecating grin.

“Destiny…” Syllis said, turning away from Clyde. “Fate and destiny, a couple of meddlesome fiends. I’d like to discredit the existence of either, but I have to acknowledge the chances.

“The thought of something outside of my reach, controlling any aspect of my life is somewhat cosmic. I can only hope that whatever is pulling the strings has good intentions in mind.” Syllis smiled in a similarly self-deprecating manner. She then turned back, facing the man. “That doesn’t have to be your destiny. As long as you push it, there's a chance. Better yet, throw it out entirely. Flee Asanoch, start anew.”

“And be branded as a criminal?” Clyde said. “Think logically, fate would always drag me back.”

‘Fate and logic, two opposing forces. Unless they can really weave together, that’s pretty ironic.’ Syllis thought. “Fake your own death.”

“There will be droves of people, waiting for us to return from the fable rift. I would never be able to leave unnoticed,” Clyde said with a sigh. “Any other options? Maybe I could wait for you three to exit while I sit back and wait for another fable rift? No, that would only get you arrested and would spell certain death for me. That’s the plan of a madman.”

“It seems that every avenue truly leads you back to Anahita,” Syllis said. “Well, in that case, embrace your marriage. Once you have united the people of Asanoch act distant, acquire several mistresses and overall be a terrible husband.”

“You don’t have the greatest perception of people,” Clyde said. “But you aren’t alone in your assumption. Anahita’s greatest commitment is not to the city, but herself. The city is a means for ‘securing her future’ as she says. I am yet another want of hers, beyond the utility. It's almost an obsession—actually, it is an obsession. If I’m unfaithful, she just might execute me, or lock me away forever.”

‘What kind of witch…’ Syllis was disgusted.

“Well,” Syllis said, “in that case. Then I guess, it was great knowing you. But seriously, you can find a way out. If you can’t then what hope do I or anyone else have?”

“I won’t stop trying,” Clyde said. “I can tell you that much.”

“How can I believe you saying that?” Syllis asked.

“How about this,” Clyde said, “I will promise not to give up for as long as you live.”

“For as long as I live?” Syllis repeated, confused.

“If you’re gone, then I’m free to be miserable for the rest of my life.” Clyde said before laughing in a wry manner.

“Alright,” Syllis said. “For as long as I live.”