He was running away. He left the castle, left Lindworm, and finally made it to the outskirts of the city.
It’s dark…
Once he had left the fake Lindworm, the world was gloomy. He couldn’t see the road. He couldn’t see the sky.
Is this…the edge of the Underworld?
They were no longer running and Cottingley wasn’t leading the way anymore. Molly had taken the lead. She used her weapon as a cane, looking like a grave keeper as she guided Glenn.
Glenn’s chest—his heart—was still shining red where Elle pierced him with her arm. When he touched it, flames spurted forth, though they were faint. This must be the immortal phoenix power.
“Molly…”
“Hmm?”
“How much of this did you have planned? Were you scheming with the phoenixes?”
“Well, it’s not like we had a meeting about it, ya know? It was just a coincidence that you had acquired phoenix power. It was also a coincidence that the phoenixes were residing in Queen Elle’s body. I just created an opportunity to put you both together, and the immortal power in you set off a chain reaction. The phoenix larvae emit the power of life, which really worked to my advantage.” The Dullahan giggled as she lifted her severed head high in the air. “In other words, I had my own agenda. Maybe it looks like I used you?”
“It doesn’t… After all, it’s because you got involved that I can go home, right?” Glenn assured her.
“That’s true. I cut your soul from your body cleanly, leaving nothing behind. That doesn’t happen in natural deaths. Your soul can return to your original body without issue.”
Molly stopped. She pointed her shovel-shaped weapon toward a dark void.
“Now, go. The immortal power doesn’t last forever. If you don’t hurry, you won’t be able to return, ’kay?”
“What about you, Molly?”
“Me? Well, I have to go comfort the sobbing Queen of the Underworld, of course.” The severed head chuckled, sticking out her tongue. “The second-generation version of me is in Lindworm, anyway. She can take care of the Graveyard City. I already installed the memory she needs.”
“O-oh.”
He didn’t know what the word install meant in this context, but it sounded like the first-generation Molly liked the second-generation Molly.
“But I can’t see the road. I can’t do anything in this darkness. You want us to go alone?” Glenn asked anxiously.
“Teehee. There are tons of myths about how there’s only one road of return from the Underworld, yah? One that’s very narrow, and if you look back, you’ll never be able to return? If you take one wrong step, you might fall headfirst into the abyss, yah?”
“It’s hopeless!” Cottingley exploded at Molly.
“It’s fiiine. I’ve prepared for that too,” Molly said, pointing again.
Light?
There was a faint, orange light. It felt warm. It felt gentle, and nostalgic, somehow.
“Now, go ahead. Let’s meet again someday, when you die. Take care of Skadi and Dione and Cthulhy and…well, everybody, ’kay?”
“Thank you so much,” Glenn bowed his head.
She was a strange person, and he still wondered if she’d had her own reasons for doing all this. But Glenn had died at Elle’s order. The only reason he could return to the land of the living was because of Molly’s help.
“It’s fine. I’m on everyone’s side,” she answered.
“Everyone?”
“Everyone. I want to devote myself to everyone. I want to serve. In life, I sought paths that made everyone happy, and I sacrificed everything I had for other people’s sakes. Even as a skeleton, even without my head, that is my desire. My faith. This is just how I am. You don’t need to worry about it,” she assured him.
“That’s…amazing,” he said.
“It’s not a big deal. I just like to serve,” Molly laughed, licking her lips. “Now, go. You’ll run out of time. Head toward the lantern light.”
“Yes.” Glenn took a step.
Doctors could heal flesh. The mind dwelled in the flesh, so it could also sometimes be healed by treating the flesh. However, he could not treat the true heart—the soul. In that moment, Glenn thought that only people like Molly could do that.
“I will come for you someday. Until then, live a great life. Only look forward and never look back,” Molly called after him.
Glenn followed her instructions, looking only at the lantern in front of him.
“Let’s go,” Cottingley took the lead.
“Right,” he answered.
After moving forward even just a few steps, it was pitch dark all around them. They couldn’t look back. All he could see ahead were Cottingley and the lantern. All Glenn could do was move forward, aiming for that light. The sense of fatigue steadily disappeared from his body, as if he were floating in the heat.
What is that light?
He thought it was strange. The number of lights increased the further Glenn advanced. The warm light lit his way, as if guiding him.
Ohhh.
Glenn started to understand. Those were the lights that lit Lindworm. They were there to guide souls home. This must have been part of Molly’s plan, too. It was thanks to these lights that he could now return to his flesh without hesitation.
He could clearly recall his memory of things that had been dreamlike before. He wanted to go home. The woman he loved should be waiting for him.
You’re there, right, Sapphee?
All at once, there was a bright light. Glenn understood what it was in his soul.
The owner of that light was Saphentite.
✦ ✦ ✦
There was a sudden official notice in Lindworm that day.
Anyone with a free hand was to hold a lantern and gather on the main road. Everyone followed this order issued in Skadi’s name.
It wasn’t as if anyone understood the order. It was the perfect combination of Skadi’s popularity and their love for festivals that allowed most of the people to treat it as a fun event. The skeletons and zombies from the Graveyard City handed out the lanterns and everyone lined up on the main road, holding them.
The harpies watched this from the sky with admiration. Later, one harpy was quoted in the Lindworm Bulletin, saying, “There was a path of light stretching from the Graveyard City to the center of Lindworm.” Those words would be repeated for a long time to come.
Of course, there were many who understood the situation gathered in the line of lanterns.
“Hey,” Aluloona called out, holding up a lantern in her weaving vines. “Skadi, my daughters and subordinates are all holding lanterns too. Is this okay?”
“Yup, that’s fiiine,” Skadi responded, holding a lantern as well.
“That young’un from the clinic will really come back to life if we just stand here holding lanterns? Don’t you think he’d be more likely to wake up if I kiss him?”
“Glenn’s fiancées are all around him now,” Skadi warned.
“Er…I guess I can’t really win against Sapphee and Arahnia. I wanted to have a romp with him at least once before he died, though,” she lamented.
“Pervert…” Skadi shot a look at Aluloona, who feigned innocence.
“Well, it’s wonderful to have more married couples. We need people having lots of babies for the economy…so we definitely need the young’un to come back to life,” Aluloona babbled.
“Yeah…” Skadi looked at the row of lanterns. It reminded her of a Harvest Festival of the past. They probably were reenacting that festival. The Harvest Festival also served as an event for the dead to come back to the Graveyard City. They were guiding Glenn’s soul back in the same way. Skadi wasn’t sure if it was even possible to do that, but according to second-generation Molly, it was.
“Why do you look so glum?” Aluloona asked her.
“I don’t know—it bothers me that everything went exactly as first-generation Molly wanted it to,” Skadi said, seeming grumpy. “She just does whatever she wants with no consequences.”
“Ha ha ha. She’s the one who lost her life for serving others, you know? You’ll waste a lot of time if you spend it worried about what she’s thinking. But—” Aluloona said, glancing at the hospital bed in the middle of the Central Plaza. “I hope it does bring back the smiles on the faces of those girls.”
“Yeah,” Skadi nodded. “I do want everyone in this town to smile as much as possible.”
“Look at the self-indulgent dragon, caring about her residents so much. By the way…” Aluloona looked off in the distance.
They could see the Vivre Mountains from the main road. A giant light was swaying halfway up the hill.
“That huge lantern over there, swinging back and forth—”
“It’s Dione,” Skadi answered.
“I thought so. Is there a point to holding a lantern in the mountains?”
“I have no idea,” Skadi giggled.
She felt like it was good for people and monsters who normally wouldn’t interact to talk to each other like this. Skadi had transformed from a dragon to a human form because she liked that sort of thing.
She wondered if she might be able to watch scenes like these play out for another hundred years. Even though everyone here would die before her, she decided she wanted to see it to the end. It was Glenn who’d nudged her toward that, so she wanted him to live as long as possible too.
“Still, it’s fun.” Skadi laughed and lifted her lantern high as if to respond to Dione’s.