* * * Since my earliest memories, I had already been looking out into the sky, brushing up against fragments of my past life and yearning after magic. With magic, I believed, I might be able to make my dreams a reality. I had been spellbound. Everything had brought me to my current path, and I’d learned so much along the way. I’d lived through so many wonderful experiences. I’d met people I loved, and who loved me, too. “I’m me! The choices I’ve made are mine! I don’t need your permission to be myself! I’m not the imposter! Because I’ve got everything I need!” The moment I shouted that to the heavens, the world changed. The sky stretched out in all directions. This was where it all began; it was the beacon I’d been reaching for. It was the ideal I’d been chasing all this time. The other me stood ahead. A sudden gale blew in, forcing me to close my eyes. When the wind died down and I could look out again, a shadow had fallen over me from above. I raised my head and saw a giant tree—as well as an unforgettable figure that left me speechless. It was beautiful. I could still remember my excitement the first time I saw it. “The dragon…?!” “You don’t need forgiveness. So you have declared, Traveler. Then your weakness needn’t be forgiven, either.” The dragon raised its hand. I turned to run, only to be pinned to the ground. With the dragon holding me down, I could hardly breathe. It could have crushed me with the slightest effort. “A-aaahhh! Gah…!” “Weak. You’re weak. Peel it all away, and what’s left is weakness. You can’t protect anything. You will lose it all. What else lies ahead but loss? What else can you do but drown yourself in idle dreams?” “I—I…! I’m not drowning in a dream…!” “It’s no use. You cannot escape.” No, I couldn’t. The dragon was right about that. It was literally holding me down, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. More to the point, there was no hope of escaping this dream world. But at this very instant, the others were desperately fighting Lilana, the enemy of all magic users. I couldn’t afford to stay here…! “You… Aaarrrggghhh!” “It’s no use. You have no power over me here.” The dragon didn’t so much as twitch. I tried to reinforce my strength, but my Impressed Seal failed to respond. That did kind of make sense, if the dragon was present right before me… After all, my powers were only borrowed. Still, if I gave up here, it would all be lost. So I couldn’t submit, no matter what…! “Everything will be so simple, so easy, if you just surrender yourself.” “N-no…!” “Why not?” “Because I’m going to stick with the choices I’ve made, until the very end!” “Did you truly make the choices you should have? Have you no care for this world you’ve made?” “Even if I did, I’d say the same thing!” “Is this world truly everything you want it to be?” “What does that matter?! What’s the point of this world if I’m the only one in it?!” This was a world of convenience, where every dream, every wish, could be made true. A world without pain or hurt. But I was completely alone. There was no one here but me. The people I had met were no more than memories. They weren’t real. Even if I remained here in this world where my every dream would come true, the people I wanted to share it with were absent. So many faces flashed through my thoughts—and at the very end was Euphie, calling out my name in that loving voice of hers. “Anis.” Euphie—she believed in me more than anyone, even giving up her own humanity for my sake. Only she knew my deepest secret. She was the one I wanted by my side more than anyone else. What would happen to her if I gave up now? I couldn’t let anyone take her away, not when she had chosen her current life for me! “I’m not alone! So I want to live until the very end, no matter how painful it is!” I didn’t care how pathetic I sounded. I didn’t care if I had to bite down on stones or if I was dragged through the mud. I was determined to keep on fighting until I took it all back. “Anis! Hang in there, Anis!” A voice reached me from far afield. She was crying, desperately pleading. In my mind’s eye, I witnessed a scene somewhere other than where I was. “Anis! Please, Anis! Lainie! Lainie, come quick!” It was Euphie, sobbing as she desperately shook me by the shoulders. “Calm yourself, Lady Euphyllia!” Lainie, her expression stern, rushed over and rested a hand on Euphie’s shoulder. “Ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha! You’re too late! Anis is mine now! Everything is exactly as I intended!” Lilana spread her hands wide as her body shook with laughter. “You bitch! How dare you do this to her?!” Garkie exclaimed as he rushed in. Navre threw himself in front of Euphie and Lainie. “Halt! On my honor as a knight, I won’t let you come any closer to Princess Anisphia!” Garkie lashed out with a flame sword, striking Lilana on the arm with a level of lethal force that would have been unimaginable for him before now. Lilana moved to brush him off, but Garkie pressed ahead, closing in and hitting her with a powerful headbutt. Meanwhile, Navre took full advantage of that opening to unleash a barrage of wind magic at point-blank range, throwing her off-balance. With a single click of her tongue, Lilana spawned fresh monsters. The swarm of creatures was about to engulf Garkie and Navre when the knights and adventurers let out a unified battle cry. Fearless now, they stood up in rage against the monsters. “Why you…!” Amid the ensuing melee, it was Acryl who reached Lilana first. “What have you done to Anisphia?!” she howled, her face contorted in anger. “Why are you so angry?” Lilana shot back. “This has nothing to do with you, Lycant.” “Be silent! I care little for Anisphia—I despise her! But I hate you more! I hate your contempt for human life, for people’s rights and freedom!” Acryl bit down, severing Lilana’s arm. Before the falling limb could spawn even more monsters, Garkie lanced it with his burning sword. Then he targeted the young vampire matriarch once again. They were all shouting in anger and defiance. And all I could do was watch. “Anis…! Anis…!” Euphie sobbed, clinging to my hands. “Pull yourself together, Euphyllia!” Allie chastised her, grabbing her by the shoulders and forcing her to look up at him. “This is no time to let yourself go! Crying won’t get anyone out of this! We’re all done for if you don’t snap out of it!” “…B-but, Anis…” “But nothing! If you’re going to call out to her, at least put everything you’ve got into it! That’s our only real option here!” …Option? What was he talking about? “Lainie! Do you remember what I did when I pulled your magicite out of you?” “Eh? Y-yes!” “Then can you do the same thing to my sister?” “To Lady Anis…? But won’t it just regenerate…? Ah?! Oh!” “Exactly. She’s transforming into a vampire here. There’s no other way to stop it. If we don’t do anything, she’ll become a vampire soon. The power of the dragon is the only thing that can save her now!” “…You want her to regenerate the magicite used to make her Impressed Seal?” “Precisely. The dragon’s power will consume the vampire magicite.” “…But is that really possible?” Lainie murmured, uneasy. Euphie dropped her gaze, too. Allie grabbed her by the shoulders once more, forcing her to look back up. “Can you do it?! No, you have to do it! You’re a spirit covenantor, Euphyllia! Your magical energy is purer than anyone else’s here! To a monster, it’s raw sustenance! So pour everything you have into her!” “But you could say the same thing about the vampire magicite growing inside her, too…” “It’s a gamble! We have to wager that she’s stronger than that vampire! It’s better than doing nothing, right?! Spirits serve to mirror human will, don’t they?! I’m begging you, Euphyllia!” Euphie lifted her gaze in response to Allie’s appeal. Still ridden with anxiety, she glanced down at me—when her expression tightened with renewed strength. “I understand. I’ll give it a try.” “Thanks… Hold your head up high, Euphyllia. You’re the only one strong enough to stick by my idiot sister to the very end… Take care of her for me.” That was the last I saw of him in that moment. He flashed her a fearless grin before returning to the battlefield. After watching him leave, Euphie turned to the task ahead. “I’m sorry to ask this of you, Lainie, but can you—” “Of course. I won’t let anyone or anything approach.” “…I don’t know what will happen. If I fail, she might not be Anis anymore…” “We won’t let that happen,” Lainie interrupted forcefully. “I’m staying here, by your side. So don’t fret, Lady Euphyllia.” Euphie startled for a brief moment, before relaxing and flashing her the slightest hint of a smile in return. “And don’t second-guess yourself!” Lainie added. “You two have always been there to save each other, so you can save her again now!” “…Yes, you’re right. You’ve grown, Lainie.” “Yes. I’m strong enough to protect you, at least for a little while.” “…Then this is no time for me to shrink back in fear.” Euphie’s face relaxed as she flashed Lainie a fleeting smile. “I’m hopeless without you. Even if you end up killing me, please, come back…Anis.” She held my hands in her own, pressing her forehead up against mine, until finally, our lips pressed against each other. Through that touch, the breath of life began to pour inside me. It was Euphie’s magical energy—so hot that it seemed to numb the pain at the back of my head. As that power filled my body, my heart leaped with an excruciating jolt. “A-aaarrrggghhh! Gaaaggghhh?!” The sweet tingling that seemed to be melting me away from the inside and the intense pain that wanted to burn me alive both struck simultaneously—and each time, I felt like my consciousness was slipping away. I was disappearing. I was melting away. I was being twisted out of shape. I was dying. The pain felt good, even comfortable. I was being created anew, and that filled me with tremendous joy. But that happiness was coming against my will, and that filled me with immense fury. “Don’t you…decide…my happiness for me! I—I…!” This wasn’t the happiness that I wanted. I bit my lip, fighting to resist the poison working to destroy my sense of self. “Are you still resisting? Even though giving in will make it all go away?” “Of course I am…! You…! Don’t mess around with my heart! It belongs to me, and me alone! I’m not going to let you make it all go away!” “Ahhh. Yes, that’s the spirit.” The moment I told the dragon I was refusing to surrender, the pain suddenly eased. A familiar sensation returned to my back, one that had evaded me in this strange world—and from there, it took root, spreading throughout my body. “…No way…” “You don’t need me to explain, do you, Traveler? Yes, you’re a curious being.” “…Are you helping me?” The dragon was eating away at the vampire magicite invading my body. Or so I thought, yet the dragon responded with a mocking laugh. “No. Ultimately, this is just a just a dream. There’s nothing real about this place. Here, only you exist.” “…Right.” Now that I thought about it, the dragon was the only entity amid all of this that seemed somehow different. The world Lilana was showing me was supposed to fulfill my every wish and desire. But the dragon stood outside of all that. One possibility came to mind, though even that may have been a reflection of my own wishes. But of course, I couldn’t expect an answer here. “…You granted my wish. I always wanted to speak with you longer.” “Hmm… There’s no need for words between us now.” “You’re pretty stingy, you know…?” “I don’t mind humoring you, though, for now. Let me ask you one question: Will you subjugate them? When you leave this peaceful dream behind? Will you go off to new horizons?” “I will.” “In that case, Traveler—for what do you fight?” “For a future that’s yet to come!” My heart burned, like a fire had been lit in my chest. That heat coursed through my entire body, filling me with energy and power. “Then subjugate, Traveler. You who have consumed me—show me what your future holds!” The dragon’s words were the last thing I remembered as my consciousness faded into nothing. Ahhh…at long last, I was awakening from the dream. I could hear my heart pounding as I came to. The blood surging through my flesh reaffirmed my existence. It took me a moment to notice the warmth pressing up against me. I knew this feeling well. Opening my eyes to the sight of my beloved, I pressed softly into her embrace. There was Euphie, her eyes closed in prayer, her lips pressed against mine. I placed a hand on her cheek, when she quickly pulled away, staring deep into my eyes. “…That’s you, isn’t it, Anis?” she asked anxiously. My smile might have been the most sincere of my life. “Thank you, Euphie. I made you worry, didn’t I? I’m all right now.”
Chapter 99
12 min read