Schwartz turned to Belgrieve. The face that peered out from his hood—the face that had always been shrouded in shadows—was the spitting image of Ishmael.
“That face...”
“This is the first time I’ve ever shown my real face since I started calling myself Schwartz.” Schwartz’s lips curled into a grin. “Farewell, Red Ogre! May we never meet again.”
“Wait! Hey!” Belgrieve reached for the man unconsciously, but Schwartz’s body continued to crumble until he was nothing but dust. The particles dispersed in the air, swept away by an imperceptible force. Only the echoes of his laughter remained, and even those soon diminished and then fell silent. Belgrieve was dumbfounded at what he had witnessed.
Solomon placed his polished apple down beside him before taking a new one and beginning to polish that too. His eyes barely glanced at Belgrieve. “How about you?”
“My name...is Belgrieve.”
Solomon seemed pleasantly surprised. “Oh, we have a polite one here. Don’t stand so far away. Here, come closer.”
Belgrieve cautiously approached, still taken aback by the surreality of his situation. The young man before him had once created demons and reigned at the highest seat of power in the world; he was the very archmage whose reign of terror had only ended when he vanished to the ends of time and space. Without even thinking to do so, Belgrieve’s hand remained on the hilt of his sword, though he could not detect any hostility from Solomon.
Solomon looked down at his polished, glowing apple and gave a satisfied nod. “Your friend went on to a formless world of magic. There, color, sound, emotion, all of it at once assails you with just as much substance as physical constructs. It’s enough to drive a fellow mad.”
“He wasn’t my friend. If I had to say, we were sworn enemies.”
“Enemies? Then why were you walking together all buddy-buddy-like?”
“I came here in search of my daughter. We just happened to be going in the same direction.”
“Your daughter?”
“Have you seen her? She has black hair, just like you.”
“She was here. She came and went. But the girl who came here was my child, not yours.” Solomon tossed his apple into the air. “I’ve done a terrible thing to those children by leaving them behind... Do you know what’s become of them?”
“They went on a rampage. I’ve heard that almost everything you created was destroyed after you left.”
“I see.” Solomon caught the apple and took a deep breath. “Then what happened after that? Did the world fall apart? No, I’d guess not. I mean, you came here, after all.”
“Apparently, they were hunted down by a hero with the blessing of Almighty Vienna,” Belgrieve explained. “Even then, they couldn’t be completely destroyed.”
Solomon’s gaze softened as he reminisced. “Oh, what a nostalgic name... I see. So in the end, she cleaned up after my mess. ‘Almighty,’ huh? Well, I guess the other gods are all gone, so it makes sense.” Solomon continued muttering under his breath, heedless of Belgrieve’s ability to completely follow along. It was like he was talking to himself.
“She was a good girl. She loved humanity and hated bloodshed. I just wanted her to smile... I wonder where it all went wrong.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t at the point where you took control of the continent by force?”
“I did do that, yes—after I exterminated the old gods who were oppressing mankind. She was overjoyed by that, you know. Back then, humans were no more than slaves, squashed like bugs at the whim of the old gods and forced to wage pointless wars like it was some kind of board game. That girl alone... She was different.”
Solomon tossed his apple into the distance. The fruit bounced a few times and rolled a little ways before coming to a stop.
“She seemed so happy whenever humanity was happy. That’s why I did the best that I could. But once things began to get too convenient, everyone started to get carried away. They got arrogant and would quarrel over the littlest things. They even started waging wars again. It devastated her to see it. I went around to all the kings and generals, pleading for them to put a stop to it—but it was hopeless. I was disappointed, and I didn’t even know why I’d defeated the old gods anymore.”
“So that’s why you seized power?”
“That’s right. With my seventy-two powerful children, it was easily done, and it didn’t get any harder after that. I could suppress all who opposed me with force—after all, no one was a match for my children. And yet, the line of people opposed to my rule was never-ending... So I killed them all and put an end to wars and human infighting. The ones I killed were all treacherous villains. But Vienna wasn’t smiling anymore. We drifted further and further apart; I became annoyed that she couldn’t understand me, even when I did it all for her sake!”
Solomon frustratedly scratched at his head with both hands, mussing up his hair.
“And after a time, humans began to see me as the enemy too. How selfish they were—when I was the one who had freed them from the old gods! After Vienna left, my children were the only allies I had left—but of course they were! They were born imbued with a spell sequence that made them revere me. They were mere constructs, impostors... In the end, no one ever truly understood me! It all just seemed so pointless to me. So I ran here, where I’ve remained ever since.”
Solomon prattled on animatedly before turning to Belgrieve. There was madness in his eyes. “Hey, what do you think? What do you think I should have done? Do you think I was wrong?”
“I think...you already know the answer,” Belgrieve answered gently.
Solomon froze, staring long and hard at Belgrieve, who simply returned his gaze, unmoved by the attention. Gradually, the madness in Solomon’s eyes dimmed. At last, his shoulders drooped and he closed his eyes.
“I guess so. Truth be told, I understood back then, but I didn’t want to. I was scared of understanding.” Solomon hugged his knees and stopped talking.
Belgrieve looked around. “You said my daughter passed through here. Do you know where she went?”
“What are you going to do if you find her? Sure, she has the body of a human, but half of her has reverted to the same state I made her in. Do you think you can bring her back like that?”
Belgrieve silently stared at Solomon. Solomon uncomfortably shifted about. “She’s your daughter, right? Did you raise her or something?” he mumbled.
“Yes, from when she was a very little girl.”
“Do you treasure her?”
“No one in the world could take her place.”
“She’s a homunculus I made—there’s no doubt about that. A sham of a soul. Even then?”
“That girl is not a sham.” Belgrieve glared at Solomon. “She’s my daughter, Angeline.”
Solomon hung his head. After some time, he pointed with one of his hands. “That way. Go on.”
“Thank you.” Belgrieve’s cloak fluttered behind him as he turned to leave. Before he could take more than a few steps, he heard Solomon’s voice again.
“Hey.”
Belgrieve turned to see Solomon watching him, fidgeting.
“A father...is supposed to pray for the happiness of his child, right?”
“At the very least. That’s how I see it.”
“I see...” Solomon said before leaning back against the tree and closing his eyes. “Angeline, huh... That’s a good name.”
Belgrieve nodded slightly before leaving.
The stars twinkling in the sky spurred him to pick up the pace. It wasn’t long before Solomon and his apple tree were lost in the distance, and even the light of the tree no longer reached him. Before he knew it, the sky had been overtaken by pitch-black clouds. A faintly tepid wind brushed against his face.
Further still, the black fog was growing heavy, and he felt the throbbing of phantom pain once more.
“Ange...” Belgrieve muttered.
The closer he came, the more his amputated right leg ached. Even so, he couldn’t stop, and soon his body was enshrouded in fog.
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