“I’m sorry. I really don’t get it.” The only thing Elch understood was that the imperial workshops would have his condolences if Cranberry got them researching those crazy things. Still, though… Setting aside that last bit of nonsense, it was clear that these two had passion to spare, and they’d turn it into results. Honestly, should I be worried? Elch had initially planned on giving them a pep talk, but now he didn’t even want to. The fact of the matter was, when these two helped usher in a new era for Freyjagard, Elch and his fellows would end up as direct competitors. “It sounds like when you two get back to the empire, you’re gonna make Freyjagard more formidable than ever. Guess I can’t afford to slack off, either.” Upon feeling the total weight of their enthusiasm, Elch focused up as well. Then an interruption arrived. “Vice Minister, you need to hear this! W-we’ve got trouble!” The lounge door flew open, and a byuma staff member charged in. “What’s going on? You look like you just saw a ghost.” It had to be something big for the staffer to barge in without knocking, so Elch prioritized the situation over scolding the man for rudeness. The staffer replied with his face ashen… “W-we just received word from the Freyjagard Empire. Grandmaster Neuro ul Levias has issued a formal reply to our resolution of condemnation, and…” …whispering in Elch’s ear so as not to be heard by the two exchange students. When Elch heard the news… “Wh-WHAT?!?!” …his face turned as pale as the staffer’s. A full day had passed since the Prodigies entered the forest in search of the elf village. As they progressed through the woods, the scenery changed. Perhaps it was something in the soil, but the trees were getting taller. Many were easily thirty or forty feet high. “Whoa,” Shinobu cooed. “Check it out, Lyrule. Their leaves form a dome that covers up the whole sky. How cool is that?” “Oh, you’re right. Elm Village sits deep in the mountains, but I’ve never seen trees so gigantic. My guess is that their growth is tied to the huge number of spirits in the area.” “Is that right?” Lyrule responded to Keine’s question with a nod, then strained her long ears for the spirit voices that only she could hear. “This is the first time I’ve ever felt so many gathered in the same place. And they’re…they’re all so happy.” As Tsukasa listened to the conversation, he double-checked their location on his smartphone. The rows of trees towering before them bore a striking resemblance to the sketches Adel had made of the area around the village, and according to Tsukasa’s GPS, they were practically in spitting distance of their destination. He looked up and carefully scanned around to make sure he didn’t miss anything as they walked. After carrying on like that for a little while… “Bingo.” …he spotted something unnatural. Sitting between the massive timbers was a series of wooden posts and a stone wall. The entire thing was overgrown with ivy. They were fences designed to keep out wild animals. And if there were fences, then at some point, someone must have been there to build them. When the party got closer, they saw the ruins of what had been buildings dotting the area beyond. Now there was no doubt. “This is the elf village described in the journal.” After spending an entire day traveling deep into the forest, the group had finally reached its destination. However… “So this… This is where my mother and father used to live…” “At long last, we’re here. But…” …not a single one of them cheered to celebrate their accomplishment. “I wasn’t expecting this place to look so demolished… It’s like there was a big fire or something.” Akatsuki had a point. The majority of the settlement had been incinerated, rather than slowly weathered and weakened by rot. It almost felt like a modern-art exhibition. Keine tilted her head in confusion. “Did they set fire to the village when they abandoned it, I wonder?” “Nah, that’s not it,” Shinobu replied. She pointed at the charred ruins with a grim look on her face. “Look, the ivy hasn’t climbed very high up the burned sections yet, even though the fences surrounding the village are absolutely covered in the stuff.” “A keen observation,” Aoi remarked. “And if you look closer…see here?” Shinobu dug two of her nails into the remains of what was previously the facade of a house, then scraped them across its surface. When she did, something fine and threadlike came free, then crumbled to pieces. “Burned ivy?” Shinobu nodded at Akatsuki. “That’s right. This place was covered in vines when it was burned. All the green stuff on the ruined sections is relatively fresh. The fire happened within the last two or three years.” In other words… “You’re saying that the elves didn’t set the village aflame when they left for the New World more than a decade ago, and that it occurred more recently?” Tsukasa asked. “Exactly,” Shinobu replied. “And it was done on purpose. Otherwise, it would have spread beyond the village.” Tsukasa agreed with the assessment. He gazed up at the canopy of leaves covering the sky. Little rain ever made it down there, so if the fire had started naturally, it would have spread to the woods around the settlement. The entire region would have been swallowed in the blaze. Examining the ruins suggested the fire was contained to the houses. In short, somebody had come to this abandoned village and manually controlled the scope of the burn. And there was only one group of people who would have done that. “This was the work of the evil dragon’s followers, then.” Lyrule had inherited the evil dragon’s seal, and the elf-village heads had referred to enemies seeking to hunt her down and release their master. The only question was, who exactly were these foes? Tsukasa already had a pretty good idea of the culprits. There was one group that fit the bill. One group aggressively invaded Yamato when there was little economic gain from doing so. One group was currently in the New World as though in pursuit of the elves. “…” However, all of that was conjecture based on circumstantial evidence. Tsukasa didn’t have any hard facts. Getting proof was part of why he and the others were here. “Looking at all this, I dunno if the sacred tree is still standing,” Shinobu remarked. “According to the journal, the tree the elves treated as Yggdra lies deep within the village. We should investigate for ourselves,” Tsukasa said. Everyone moved more quickly than they had before. They walked through the burned-out village, pressing farther into the ruined place. Eventually, the group passed the last of the buildings save for the fences, leaving them with nothing to guide their way except for stones underfoot. The group carried on like that for about ten minutes. Then they arrived. “What am I looking at?!” “Whoa…” A wide clearing about three hundred feet in diameter began at the end of the stone path, and at its center stood a mind-bogglingly enormous tree. It was surely twice as tall as the rest of the timbers, and its trunk had to be thirty feet thick, if not more. Naturally, a huge number of branches stretched from the trunk, and the leaves made up the three-hundred-foot forest clearing’s entire canopy. There was so much green above that no sunlight could pierce through. Yet the glade was shockingly bright somehow. The earth and plants seemed to radiate a faint glow. Tsukasa and the others realized that this place operated under rules beyond anything they understood. “Is that…Yggdra’s tree?” A few gasped in astonishment. However, none craned their neck to look up at the tree’s peak. No, it was the fantastical figure at the massive thing’s base that commanded their attention. Down at the base of the trunk were roots coiled around a giant limestone-white creature. The tree itself sat atop the quadrupedal entity’s back. The creature, lying on the ground as though in repose, was unmistakable. “Tsukes, that’s, uh… That’s a dragon, right?” Shinobu murmured. Sure enough, the trapped animal bore a striking resemblance to the dragons of Earth legend. “It seems…mummified,” Shura remarked. “It appears to be a good deal larger than the domesticated sort, that it does,” Aoi noted. “Look closer—you can see that it’s been stabbed and shot with arrows,” Tsukasa said. “Is that…what killed it?” Ringo asked. “I don’t think so,” Keine replied. “Just eyeballing it, I highly doubt the dragon sustained those injuries while alive. Someone attacked it after it was mummified.” Akatsuki gulped. “J-just tell me it’s not gonna pull a jump scare and start moving around!” The journal had referred to this glade as a sanctuary, but only the village leaders were permitted to enter. Adel knew only that the place was a big clearing with a holy tree. Gazing at the sight in person was awe striking. Everyone looked around with trepidation, save for one exception. Huh… Lyrule didn’t feel any fear when she stared at the strange creature. As a matter of fact, it filled her with a sense of relief, as though she’d spotted torchlight amid a freezing blizzard. “Lyrule?” “…” She found herself being drawn toward that feeling. No, that wasn’t quite it. She was being called. The voice was quieter than the spirits’, but Lyrule could tell it was addressing her. She followed the weak words and approached the dragon corpse. “Lyrule, wait!” Tsukasa cried in alarm. “It’s okay,” she replied; then she reached out. Her fingers traced the tree roots, stopping upon the dragon’s nose. Boom. Jade-green light flew from the creature’s body, accompanied by a surge of air. “Ahhhhh!” “Wh-wh-what’s going on?!” “Lyrule?!” The torrent of light engulfed Lyrule, and although Tsukasa and the others tried to rush to her, they couldn’t see a thing. The sheer volume of radiance blasted all color and contours from the world. Yet for how completely blinding it was, it wasn’t painful to look at. What in the world was going on? As Shura and the Prodigies stood baffled, the glow subsided, and the world returned. And there, right in the middle of it all, was Lyrule. The wind had blasted her clothes to smithereens, and she hovered in the air stark naked save for the gentle light wreathing her. “You did well, Lyrule. Thank you for guiding them all the way here.” Lyrule’s lips moved, and words came forth. However… “That’s not Lyrule…” As Keine pointed out, she wasn’t speaking in Lyrule’s youthful voice but with the timbre of an older adult woman. Tsukasa recognized this tone. “We meet again, Tsukasa.” Lyrule had been facing away from them, and she slowly turned around. And when her eyes came into view, Tsukasa saw that they glowed with the same light they had once before. “So I was right, then. You were the one who contacted me back at Castle Findolph.” Lyrule—or rather, the entity borrowing her body—nodded. Then… “I imagine you’ve already figured it out by now, but allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Yggdra. The Seven Luminaries adherents worshipped me as a god…and I’m the one who called you to this world to be the Seven Heroes.” …she revealed her identity. Yggdra was known as the Seven Luminaries’ deity, and legends placed her in stark opposition to the evil dragon. Upon seeing her manifested through Lyrule… “Whoa, I can’t believe we’re talking to an actual god.” “I figured this is where she’d be, if she existed at all, but still…” …the Prodigies voiced their wonder. Yggdra responded… “You’ve come a long way and overcome so many trials to get here.” …by sweeping her gaze across the group and giving them a smile of utmost relief. Oh, thank goodness. Yggdra’s battle with the evil dragon a thousand years ago had reduced the continent to ash, and she’d offered her life to form the literal foundation for its renewal. In her present reduced state, it had taken everything she had to call in a group of mighty people from one of the few nearby planets. Her own world was far more distant, and she could no longer call allies from home as she had a thousand years ago. Yggdra had wondered whether this new group she summoned would be capable of standing against her foes. The odds were undoubtedly grim. And while the new Seven Heroes lacked the magic of Yggdra and her kin, they each possessed preeminent skills they’d used to brush aside every obstacle. Now they were here at last. These champions might really be able to thwart her foes’ ambitions. There was still hope for this world. Tears of relief began forming in Lyrule’s—Yggdra’s—eyes. “I take it, then, that you’ve been watching us somehow,” Tsukasa remarked. “Indeed. I’ve been following you this whole time, observing through the dragon’s eyes.” “You know, if you’d bothered to hold a proper conversation with us instead of spectating, we could have learned our reason for being here without traveling to the depths of this forest.” “…I am sorry about that. I didn’t realize how weak I’d grown. After summoning you all and imbuing you with a charm of shared languages, I found myself spent. I sincerely apologize for leaving you adrift in this world without a proper explanation.” Lyrule’s lineage had strong ties to Yggdra, so the deity had tried to use her as an intermediary to communicate with the Prodigies, but she’d been too distant to give anything more than a brief message obscured by static. But despite so little to go on… “Armed with nothing except a few legends and incomplete messages, you managed to find your way to me all the same. Now that you’re here, I can converse with you just fine, even in my reduced state. Finally, I can tell you everything. I can explain why I have brought you…” Tsukasa closed his eyes for a moment in evident contemplation… “All right, let’s hear it. The whole truth with nothing held back.” …then snapped them back open. His heterochromatic irises shone with clear resolve. Yggdra nodded… “Of course. It’s a fairly long story, but I’ll make sure not to leave anything out.” “Oh, then never mind. If it’s going to be long, we can just skip it.” “Thank you for understanding. It all started about a thousand years ago, when we— Wait, what did you just say?” …but as soon as she began her tale, Tsukasa cut her off. “I’m sorry, WHAT?!” “You, um, you’re saying…that you won’t hear me out?!” Yggdra seemed utterly flustered. That wasn’t the answer she’d been expecting at all. Tsukasa responded… “Yeah, I think we can skip it.” …by repeating himself. He was being serious. But the thing was… “I—I, um, I would rather you didn’t, though…” …they weren’t going to get anywhere like this. Yggdra was at a complete loss. “I’m not saying we can’t talk. There are plenty of questions we’re keen on asking you. But there’s something you need to do first.” With that, Tsukasa took off his jacket and offered it to Yggdra. “Put on some clothes. That body isn’t yours.” It was a valid statement. When Yggdra had first possessed Lyrule, the force of the act had immodestly blown away Lyrule’s outfit. It was unclear whether or not Lyrule was conscious of what was happening, but regardless, this was an embarrassing situation for a young woman. Basically, Tsukasa was calling Yggdra out for her inconsideration of Lyrule. “O-oh dear, I’m so sorry. I accidentally misadjusted my power a bit…” Yggdra, having been thoroughly rebuked, hurriedly put an arm through one sleeve. However, she was unused to operating human bodies, and the sleeve got caught. She wasn’t having much luck getting the jacket on. Tsukasa watched her struggle with a cold gaze. “…We’ve gotten our hands on a fair bit of information throughout our journey here, and based on that knowledge, we’ve developed general conjectures about how this world operates, the events that led to the current situation, and what the evil dragon is.”
Chapter 113
14 min read