ENLIL

Sawl clicked her tongue as she watched the fairy glide down the skies, “Princess of Iolite. That’s why I didn’t want the disguise to go off.”

Lucia landed gracefully on the hill, eyeing Sawl with suspicion. “Have we met before?”

Sawl didn’t answer. “I won’t let it happen next time,” she said. Her expression unreadable. Without another word, she turned and leaped down the hill, disappearing into the Mist of Lost Souls. Lucia and Ian could only just watch.

Lucia wanted to run after her, but Ian held her back. “Princess, I think we shouldn’t follow her,” he said, looking at her with concern.

She let out a heavy sigh, her gaze turning towards the wounded man. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in days. You’re really in terrible shape,” she said, stepping closer to the injured man.

Ian chuckled slightly, his eyes flickering up to Lucia’s hair and wings, now partially dyed black. “And your hair and wings turned black. Are you really the Princess? Or are you just going through a phase?” he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“A life-changing experience. It was a spur of the moment.” Lucia answered with a forced smile.

“This tree just told me to save it, and I have no idea what it means. Can’t wait to get a mid-life crisis.” Ian chuckled, sitting down on the ground from exhaustion.

Lucia gazed upon the tree, and it appeared to be in a state of distress. The entire tree was charred, with only the trunk still showing signs of life pulsating like a beating heart with a blue membrane.

“Maybe it didn’t get enough sun,” Lucia commented.

Ian looked around the vicinity. The entire area was dark black, with little stars shining in the skies. Quite a pretty place for a chaos dungeon. “Probably,” Ian replied with a hint of sarcasm.

“The portal opened up, and I ended up here. How did you get here, Princess?” Ian asked curiously.

“... Martha sent me here,” Lucia replied, unsure how to answer.

“Isn’t Martha...” Ian said, intentionally leaving the sentence hanging.

“Martha’s spirit? Her soul? I’m not sure, but it told me to come here.” Lucia said, fumbling with her words. “There were a bunch of minor demons and a few wild orc tribes, so I cleaned up the area before coming here.”

Orc tribes? One orc was hard enough to defeat alone. To defeat an orc tribe single handedly. He was sure that she said tribes, indicating that there were more than one. Right. Ian could definitely picture that.

Noticing Ian’s blood-stained clothes, Lucia’s gaze softened. “Ian, your wounds. Come here,” she commanded, pointing to the ground beside her.

Ian’s eyes narrowed. His suspicion of alarm rose to the top. “Have I done anything to make you angry?”

“What?” Lucia asked in disbelief.

“In the past five minutes, you didn’t make fun of me or call me stupid. You even called me by my name! Are you alright? Did the curse get to you?” Ian asked with concern, inspecting the purple amulet up close. Lucia was used to people obeying her every command. Even Hilda, her closest aide, doesn’t say things like this.

Lucia huffed, her cheeks tinged with pink as she turned away from Ian. “I only offered because I was being nice. Fine, go ahead with that wound, see if I care.”

But Ian immediately kneeled. “Thank you very much, Your Highness!”

With a flick of her finger, she gestured for him to sit beside her. “Sit.” Ian obeyed, sitting beside her.

From her wings, she scraped off a layer of fairy dust and applied it to Ian’s wounds. She started with his right shoulder, which started to turn blue-black now. Then the deep cuts around his torso.

“I’m no healer, so some of these wounds will turn into scars,” Lucia said, inspecting the wounds.

“Let it stay. Then, I would know that I had one hell of an adventure!” Ian spoke in a gentle tone, his voice wavering with slight anticipation that faded away.

Her hand glowed in cyan blue with little blue and black butterflies fluttering around his wounds, slowly closing it up. She had expected blue butterflies, but black was new. Her face turned solemn as she looked at Ian’s face of disappointment and despair.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Right, he might forget all of this. Once his amnesia kicks in, he won’t remember Lucia either.

Lucia was unsure of what to say at this moment. That she will remember him forever? That she would find a way to help him like how he helped her with her curse? What can she do at times like these?

“It’s alright, Princess. Thanks for the healing!” Ian said with a smile on his face. He sprung up, stretching his body to the fullest.

Why was she hesitating? He built something that saved her life. She should be grateful to him, right?

Before she could say anything, the shadows interrupted her train of thought. They whispered, “Tree of wisdom... Take the seed to where it once belonged.”

Ian stepped forth, closing its distance to the tree.

“I can’t contain this power anymore... I shall entrust it to you, Child of Enlil. Plant the seed and find for the other Trees of Wisdom.” Its voice was noticeably weaker than before.

“How... how do I do that?” Ian asked.

“It will show you the way. Come closer.”

Ian leaned in, transfixed by the blue glow emanating from beneath the ashen tree. His hand trembled as he reached out to touch the mysterious substance. It felt like nothing he had ever touched before - soft and rubbery, yet cold and slippery. He took a deep breath, steeling himself as he pressed his hand further into the jelly-like membrane. It was cold and dry. He felt that his skin would break from the dry air around it at any moment.

As his fingers penetrated the barrier, a sudden surge of energy shot through him. A little warmth of light gathered around his hand. The melodic whispers of young souls entwined in harmony, their echoes lingering in the air.

“Our thoughts have gone unanswered for a long time.”

The whispers fragmented into distinct voices, each one harmonizing with the other in a melodic chorus.

“We will lend you our power...”

“... if you can act on our thoughts.”

What about his amnesia? He replied softly, “I can’t even remember who I am. I don’t think I can.”

“You’re like any other...”

“... but burdened by a heavy past.”

“You did not forget...”

“... but you wished to forget.”

The other sounds echoed in agreement, “You chose to...” “You wanted to...”

“Follow your path...”

Ian drew in his breath. He could feel his heart rate slowing down with each passing moment.

“The stars have been watching... Strings of fates... broken. Time has come to a halt.”

“Walk lightly... Choose wisely... Be the hope you were meant to be...”

The blue jelly-like substance moved on its own, crawling on his skin and splitting into five bands. Lucia watched as a blue light encased his neck, arm, and feet. Out of shock, Ian tried to pull his hand back, but he felt drawn towards the blue substance.

“Act on our thoughts...”

“... Child of Enlil.”

“Move time forward,” all the voices sang as one.

He felt a sudden tug as if he were being drawn into a cosmic membrane. The membrane was suspended on a tranquil sea, with ripples dancing gently beneath him. The bindings that held him allowed him to float in the vast expanse of the universe.

Out of a sudden, his hands turned icy, drawing him back to reality. The familiar voice of the tree slowly trailed off. “Now my job here is done.”

Ian was speechless, shaking his head lightly and opening his eyes. His gaze flickered between his ankles and wrists, there were blue cuffs on his wrist, glowing in light blue. That meant that all of that wasn’t a dream. He moved his hand to his neck, feeling the metal like a cuff.

Lucia sighed. “You had me worried over there. Started speaking to the air.”

Ian’s eyes furrowed. “My memories. Princess, they said I chose to forget my past.”

Lucia shook her head, her voice laced with disbelief, “Why... That doesn’t make any sense. Did they also mention anything remotely helpful?"

“They also told me to act on their thoughts and to move time forward.”

Lucia sighed, “This is why I don’t like ancient trees or sort. What does it mean?”

“Not sure. Is it some sort of code? These cuffs make me look like a prisoner. I didn’t consent to this.”

Lucia touched the blue cuffs. “I wonder if it will disappear.” Then she remembered.

“While you’re out, a symbol was carved on your chest,” Lucia said, pulling his shirt up. Beneath his shirt lay a subtle mark, a tattoo of mystical nature. An eight-pointed star, embellished with four intricate triangles. Below the symbol was a seven-sided star.

Ian looked impressed. “Now I have a tattoo. Cool. But somehow, I’m...” Ian immediately slumped to a long rest, weary from his adventure.

Lucia sighed, seeing how Ian was weary of all this. She was tired too, but the shadows did not stop pestering her.

“Don’t forget the seed...” the shadows whispered to her.

“I know. Stop reminding me.” Lucia said, annoyed and tired. After Ian removed the seed from the tree, the blue membrane turned into the bindings on his neck and limbs. Beneath it, there was a small pinecone, gleaming in gold.

Lucia, without any bags or pouches, carefully tucked it together with the Eminus gray stone. She might need to inform Hilda that she will be away for a longer time.

With Ian in her arms, Lucia soared out of the chaotic dungeon and headed towards the closest abandoned building. Because he was sizably larger than her, she picked him up using a magical lasso. The duration of their stay in the dungeon had been far from brief. From the moon’s position in the sky, it was evident they had spent considerable time there.

“Trees of wisdom. The human power of stars. That symbol on his chest. Martha’s shadow powers...” Lucia mumbled, trying to make sense of the situation she was in.

“To move time forward,” Lucia repeated the most confusing line of all. Wasn’t time already moving forward? What would happen if time stopped? No one will realize it, right?

Once inside the abandoned building, Lucia laid Ian down on a soft straw mat and retreated to another room. As the night progressed, exhaustion overcame her, and she surrendered to her weariness. Today’s worry will be tomorrow’s problem to solve.

But unbeknownst to her, the Eminus gray stone she had placed in her pocket was jolting up and down, as if trying to get her attention.

Hilda’s voice began to echo faintly from the stone. “Your Highness, please pick up! Gloria’s missing!"