Chapter 55: Bad Family History
“Catch!” Dante opened the black box and tossed a long, thick tree branch into her arms. As soon as she touched it, Krista had a strange feeling. Like it was trying to suck something out of her. “Can you feel it?”
“I do, it’s similar to when I touched Shix… this is a Grand Tree branch isn’t it? That’s why you said we’re like the Grand Trees.”
Dante made a large circle with his hands, “Right you are! Only this branch is a little special.”
Krista studied the branch, looking intently at it, but couldn’t understand what Dante meant by that. To her, it looked like a perfectly normal tree branch. Actually, that was the problem. Krista, once, was able to see a staff smith work, and she vividly remembered each branch they worked on had thick line grooves on them.
“It’s missing something. The line grooves aren’t on it. Why is that?”
“Damn, at least let me do the reveal parts, it’s no fun when you already know everything.”
“Get onto it!” demanded Krista.
“Okay, okay. This is a healthy branch of a Grand tree. One that we were able to cut down using my wattiez. That sucking you feel, that’s unique to the Anomalous Affinity. Unlike others who can produce their own wattiez, we take it from other places, such as people.”
“Like what I did with Shix.”
“That’s what I assumed, but more importantly, Dmitri hypothesizes that the Grand Trees also have anomalous affinity.”
“The Grand Trees- What no… I mean,” Krista didn’t know what to say. She wanted to disagree, to suggest a reason why that couldn’t be, but could really only think of one. “If that was true, wouldn’t that be common knowledge. That just sees like something S.C.O.W would have figured out decades if not centuries ago.”
“That’s only if S.C.O.W wanted you to know.”
Dante didn’t continue, instead smiling as he waited for Krista to say something, “I’ll bite, what do you mean by that?”
“Let me paint you a picture, It’s 1000 years in the past. The formation of New Dawn is in sight, 1000 years of power and prosperity. Until one day, the first Grandmagi of S.C.O.W comes to you with some harrowing news.”
Krista listened to his story intently. She could already tell what Dante was talking about Alvera and Veronica Knightley, the Knightley sisters, and her ancestors. Krista was more so interested in why Dante had brought them up.
“She comes to you with a theory,” Dante continued. “A theory that can’t be solved, that would completely horrify and confuse your people, and would absolutely be deemed as your fault as ruler of the nation. Tell me, what would you do in that situation?”
Stolen story; please report.
“You hide the information. Is that what you’re getting at?”
“No, you create a religion, deify the Grand Trees. Make it sacrilegious to question their place in life. Have S.C.O.W restrict any research on the Grand Trees in fear of ‘upsetting a balance.’ Revel in the fact that you are the guardian of the Grand Trees, making sure that no one would question your authority.”
“What’s your gain in this?!”
Krista was tired of hearing this. This man was talking about her family, her ancestors, no even her parents. Suggesting that they were liars and have been for nearly a millennium. “Even if everything you said was right, you stand to gain nothing.
Dante was unhesitant in his answer, “To be a hero.”
That was not an answer Krista had expected, “A hero… You want to be… a hero?”
“It’s been my dream since I was a kid. Don’t forget, I’m an anomalous user too, but I didn’t know that until I was 12. You know, when I learned the one person in my life who I thought cared about me, turned out to be a plant sent to watch and isolate me by my mother. Who abandoned me.”
“I’m sorry!” burst out Krista. The thought hadn’t been triggered in her mind until now, but Dante probably shared at least a similar childhood to herself.
“I told you that one of my solaces was Ms. Megumi, that caretaker. Well, the other was the story of the Moonlit Knight, the great hero of Stellar.”
“My Grand Auntie used to sing his poem to me all the time; I love his story too.”
Dante smiled before he opened his mouth and sang, “ In guile/ Our hero was unlike the rest/ Tricky and unique they loved to jest/ Through not power did they show their strength/ But with a mind full of the courage to go against fate .”
“Guile, your name, Dante Guile. That’s where you got it from,” realized Krista.
“It didn’t matter if I wasn’t the strongest, that I was untethered. I was -am going to be a great hero on the same level as the Moonlit Knight. No, even greater, but I need you, Krista!”
“Why me?” she asked even though she already knew the answer to that question.
“Great change is going to be brought upon Stellar, and I need other like minded individuals to have my back. Remember it was the The Moonlit Knight and their band. You’re the princess of New Dawn. One day the queen. I’d rather you be on my side than against it.”
Dante stood up and held out his hand expectantly. He had put everything on the table, and Dante was only hoping for the best.
Krista thought hard but came to a decisive answer, “I won’t be queen. I’m going to become an even greater hero, greater than even you. To do that, I need to see if you’re really telling the truth. If it is, then I’ll have to face my parents myself.”
“So that means you’re on my side?”
Krista’s voice was unwavering, “For now.”