The battle in Hossylei Nac had ended, but it didn’t mean that everything was over. The living had to clean up the damages caused by the fighting and the dead had to be laid to rest. Part of the city had been ravaged and looked like a ruined battlefield. People and creatures were busily moving around to clear the rubble and gather the deceased.

There was a line of red ants carrying broken pieces of wood and armor that easily dwarfed their size. The ants dropped them into the lake where an elf had created a platform of rock that was kept afloat with his magic. Similarly, huge honeybees were doing the same as they flew through the air. Other elves, men and women, were also dumping debris on platforms floating on the surface of the water.

Moreover, helping with the cleanup were the amazons, the tribe of female warriors, the dark elves, who usually slept during the day, and the dwarves, who normally stayed underground. All of the races that lived in harmony in the elven city were working together with dark, somber, twisted expressions.

“Tch!” [Dwarf]

A bearded dwarf of short stature clicked his tongue and angrily tossed a dead man in black armor over the large root that served like a bridge and unto the stone platform. Corpses of the invaders were considered thrash and were treated like so. An amazon did the same, dragging two carcasses by their ankles and dropped them carelessly. A dark elf, not wanting to even touch the invaders, sent them flying with wind.

All of the debris and “garbage” were gathered up on large, floating platforms of stone that were being controlled by elves and dark elves. Once they were full, they moved to several points in the lake where giant, round platforms waited. A few elves were on standby, using their magic to pile everything in the center before enclosing it all in a wall of thick, solid rock. It looked as if towers had suddenly sprouted on the lake.

However, each one soon turned into a bonfire as they were set ablaze with a massive flame. It formed in the sky above and came down like a giant snake of fire, incinerating everything inside the towers. The heat was great enough to melt and crack the stones forming the platforms and walls.

So, besides the elves controlling the flames, others were reinforcing the magic that held their footing and the garbage containers in one piece. Once everything was reduced to ash, they crushed it by dropping a boulder, making sure everything was grinded to dust, and descended down into the forest where they would bury it in the soil.

Like so, the task of removing the debris and “thrash” was progressing well by those who could move. Those who couldn’t were being treated. Their wounds were cleaned, covered in a green paste of crushed herbs and honey was slathered over them. Then, a big spider covered in snow white, fluffy fur would approach and dexterously wrap the injuries in silk.

“… Thank you.” [Dark elf]

A dark elf with a tired and pained expression thanked the spider and it sadly looked at him with its red eyes before moving to treat the next patient. The injured that were resting in the giant trees included the elves, the dark elves and the amazons. The young and the old were present among them.

They were the lucky ones for many of their brethren did not survive, and collecting them was the despondent, yet important task that those who could move were in charge of.

Children mourned their parents.

Parents mourned their children.

Siblings and relatives.

Friends and lovers.

They cried their hearts out or stared dazedly with tears streaming down their faces.

Such scenes were common at the locations where the bodies of the fallen ones had been gathered after they were recovered, cleaned and treated with care. The elves and dark elves were grouped together in one place after their family and loved ones had said their goodbyes. The bodies were encased in ice to preserve them until their burial rites. The amazons, because of their unique culture, buried their dead differently, so they were put in another location.

Though all of the races in Hossiley Nac lived in harmony, everyone usually did their own thing without interfering too much with each other. It was the first time in a long time that they had gathered together for one purpose. However, it was not a joyous occasion.

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“How did this happen?” was the thought that every elf, dark elf, amazon and dwarf shared.

The amazons and dwarves cursed and shouted loudly, kicking up a fuss. The elves and dark elves were relatively more quiet, but they too sobbed and wailed. Yet, everyone felt the same. They felt powerless. They felt despair. They felt sadness. They felt wrath.

They were mad at themselves for being unable to repel the invaders.

They were mad at themselves for not being there to help.

It was a day of mourning.

“… Damn it.” [Ryner]

For everyone.

Ryner stared at the wooden sculpture that fitted in the palm of his hand. It was modeled after the puppy, Mi, and was given to him by Meirith. It was meant as a gift of gratitude, but had become a reminder of his failure. He tore his eyes away from the small item and looked at the object in his other hand.

It was a semi-automatic pistol. A weapon used by the invaders that he had recovered. Something that he had not run into or seen any sight of in the world he was visiting. In short, it was something that should not belong in the world, but rather something that was brought about by a foreign element.

Possibly, by someone like Ryner.

“… This vacation is really starting to be a pain.” [Ryner]

He muttered quietly, but frustration and suffering were evident in his voice.

Ryner stored the gun in his pocket dimension and quietly gazed at the sculpture of Mi again. He was alone in a giant tree that served as a home for Itham and Meirith. That was where he was staying while Hossiley Nac was healing its wounds after the attack. In the room of intertwined branches and glowing flowers, there was no sound around him. Yet, he could hear a multitude of voices.

“Take it.” [???]

“Why did you go?” [???]

“Protect your honor.” [???]

“I wanted to live a bit longer.” [???]

“Ryner!” [???]

Humanoid silhouettes of greenish white light like ghosts appeared and disappeared around him. If he stopped looking down at the sculpture in his hand and raised his head slightly, he would see Mi looking up at him while wagging her tail.

“When I grow up, I’ll be your big sister, okay? Then, we’ll be a family!” [Mi]

She happily told him in a childish voice.

“… Crap.” [Ryner]

Ryner muttered, barely hearing himself. The ghosts were overflowing from his memories. The voices were growing louder and louder until they drowned out the puppy’s presence. Soon enough, the cacophony turned into a constant ringing in his ears and Mi disappeared.

“I’m really letting the death of a dog get to me… All because of you…!” [Ryner]

Ryner said, his voice choked up. It felt like he was about to shed tears, but he forced it all down and let out a shuddering breath.

“Crap, crap, crap, I’m losing it again. Need to calm down and meditate…” [Ryner]

“You’re allowing mere words to touch your core once more. When will you learn?” [???]

The silhouette of a long-haired man told him as he walked by him and for a moment, Ryner’s eyes opened wide in surprise.

“Stop dragging things behind you. You can’t ride on like that, partner.” [???]

The indistinct form of another man appeared and spoke to him. He was wearing a hat with a curved brim and a dented crown. On the right side of his belt was a holstered revolver. Ryner stared at the ghost who looked like a cowboy for a few seconds, stunned and at a loss for words. His pupils were shaking and dilated like he was having a panic attack. Then, he returned his sight to the wooden dog that he gripped tightly in his hands.

“… I’m not. I’m letting go of what I have to and properly carrying what’s important.” [Ryner]

He said hesitantly.

“Just… I ended up carrying more and more along the way.” [Ryner]

Behind him, an army of ghosts had appeared and they were quietly staring at his back.

“What’s important is becoming too heavy and I’m… Getting tired.” [Ryner]

“When I get tired, when I can’t take it anymore, I like to let it out as music.” [???]

Taking the place of the cowboy, the form of a young woman walked from behind him to his front and spoke in a bell-like voice. Ryner looked at her with a pained expression on his face and went stilled. She turned around and faced him, her long hair and the skirt of her dress fluttering from her delicate movements.

“I like listening to you play and sing, Ryner. It’s sometimes sad, but always beautiful.” [???]

Ryner’s facial muscles twitched like he was trying and failing to keep a lid on a whirlwind of emotions. The corners of his lips eventually formed a crooked, sorrowful smile.

“… Yeah… Princess.” [Ryner]

Then, he nodded and said forlornly, yet tenderly. He put the wooden sculpture in his pocket dimension and walked towards a certain item that Itham had stored in the giant tree.

It was a black piano. One of the many objects from the outside that Itham stored away as part of his collection.

Ryner stood in front of it and the branches forming the floor rose up and intertwined into a bench for him to sit down on. He pressed a few notes, testing the instrument out. Then, he placed his hands over the keyboard and, after a moment of stillness, began playing.

It was a gentle, melancholic song, sometimes energetic, sometimes soft.

Ryner fluidly played the piano, showing great skill and experience as his fingers danced across the keyboard. His uncertain, trembling, nervous air that was on the verge of insanity like a ticking time bomb was gone. His expression was somewhere between serenity and anguish.

Inside a giant tree, amidst an army of ghosts from the past, Ryner played music, hoping to drown out the buzzing voices ringing in his ears, and to put the ghosts back in his memories.