At that moment, softly, a warm wind began to blow from nowhere. It was a pleasant breeze. No magic name was spoken. No magic construction could be felt. The siblings’ battle and laughter had likely come alive themselves, becoming an incantation. The world responded to that chant, transforming the surrounding magicbane into wind.
“Ah, at last, the end! And the legendary Sovereign Queen Lorde standing before us now is our final enemy!”
“Our final enemy is the very dream we once admired! The ideal itself! But we are stronger now! Much, much stronger!”
As their last words echoed, the wind swept past. That warm wind gradually melted the falling snow. Little by little, the world that had frozen their skin transformed into one that warmed it. The snow covering the ground melted away, and beneath it, new life began to sprout. The once pure-white royal capital gradually dyed itself a vibrant, emerald green. Grass, trees, flowers, sunlight, spring breezes—all gradually came into being.
The Sovereign Queen Lorde confronting this warm wind invading the frozen world was clearly startled. Though mostly asleep, her expression hidden, her eyes unfathomable, she was undoubtedly shaken by this phenomenon bordering on a miracle.
“Go, my brother Ide! Keep pace, without delay!”
“Yes, my sister Titee! I shall never fall behind again!”
And now, Titee and Ide unleashed their greatest magic of the day, aiming to shatter the Sovereign Queen Lorde entirely. They wove their final incantation.
“This body is the spirit that sprints down the road to hell! You, my world, cast me out! And have been cursed from the depths of this land!” The incantation spun by the elder sister was that of Lorde’s Road. “I am but a single, nameless, child’s soul!”
“The world guided the lost child! And the child ran on toward the shining beacon behind her!” The incantation spun by the younger brother was the magic of Lost Viaysia.
Both were spells that lamented and regretted their own lives, as if they were plunging into the abyss along with their enemies. Frankly, they were incomplete spells, fittingly named for their lack of completion.
“But now the paths of the two children have crossed!”
Incomplete spells were a given. The incantation had more to it. Of course. Such a lengthy incantation, embodying the very essence of their two lives, couldn’t possibly end in just a sentence or two. Such a spell, embodying those two lives that had so despised being alone, couldn’t possibly be a spell meant to be completed by just one person. That continuation was the true cry of their lives.
First, the older one, Titee, cried out. “Rage forth, emerald wind! Carve our path as sister and brother!”
Even without naming the spell, a fierce wind worthy of the spell Wynd blew. In an instant, the wind broke part of the royal capital into particles of light. The surrounding snow, the cold air, the houses, the ground, the castle, the world all shattered into pieces. However, this was not an action of annihilation, but rather reconstruction.
“Bloom, white cherry blossoms! Adorn the path of us siblings!” the younger, Ide, shouted.
All that had been disintegrated by his sister’s Wind of Freedom was instantly woven back together by his magic. Nurtured by that magic, it was reconstituted stronger and more beautiful than before. The snow melted, transforming into rivers. The drifting chill transformed into a warm breeze. The rows of houses were reborn as trees. The leveled ground became a plain. All artificial structures reconfigured, returning to nature’s domain.
Nurtured, nurtured, nurtured by Ide’s magic, the great outdoors sprouted endlessly. In an instant, countless trees stood tall in the royal capital, and white flowers—those Pieris Aicia—bloomed abundantly, filling the world.
The flowers of the Pieris Aicia trees scattered in the wind, were carried by the wind, and with the wind dyed the world white. It wasn’t snow blowing and drifting but petals becoming a blizzard of blossoms, filling the world. Those petals swirled and swirled and swirled endlessly, endlessly, endlessly, until they completely dyed my entire field of vision white. Then, just once, a blindingly strong wind blew.
The petals covering everything were blown away, revealing the world that had been temporarily hidden. The world, which had been in the process of being reconstructed just moments before, had somehow become a finished product, suddenly bursting into view.
It was home. There was a clear blue sky. Looking up, a rich, deep blue stretched endlessly. The air warmed to a pleasant temperature, and my body no longer shivered from the cold. Cottony white clouds floated, a golden sun traced a circle, and a rainbow halo outlined it. The wind rippled the grass of the vast prairie stretching endlessly like an ocean. The rustling played the melody of nature. Joining in from the distant forest and river, the cries of animals echoed from deep within the woods, and the sound of a sparkling stream reached us from the glistening water.
This was a scene I recognized too. Caught up in magic, just standing here enveloped me in a strange sensation. Even though this place had nothing to do with me, it made me feel gentle. Ah, the wind felt so good.
Though I stood on the ground, I felt as if I were floating in the sky. The wind blowing through struck my body strongly, yet my muscles never tensed. It was a wind like water bathing my whole body, but gentler and softer. It felt like every ounce of discomfort and weariness were being washed away.
The soft wind caressed my toes, traveling up through my heels, knees, thighs, waist, chest, shoulders, and cheeks, loosening my hair to spread out, gently making each strand sway. It was refreshing. And this refreshing world was the precious treasure the two children had once lost.
Clutching that treasure, the pair wove their final chant together.
“This is the world of white, green, and cherry blossom wind! Behold the dancing petals, oh, be captivated! Let the brilliance of the Garden of Freedom dazzle you!”
They shouted that here was the place they had spent their entire lives striving to reach. They shouted that here was the place they had wished to make their final resting place.
“This is the path that we, brother and sister, have walked! The cherished homeland our lives have finally reached! The proof that we are us!”
Above all, they shouted to the world that here was the paradise promised for the two of them to return to together—not in the past, but in the present!
“Now, here is the final homeland we siblings have reached!”
That very act became their true spell.
“Ide AND Titee!!!”
Having completed the incantation of their own lives, they declared their true magic names, fought while holding hands, and confirmed each other’s presence in this place. This was the entirety of Titee’s and Ide’s lives.
Originally, these had been two incomplete spells. The path-making Lorde’s Road and the homeland-guarding Lost Viaysia had combined. Finally, the siblings had forged the spell to return home. After a long journey, they had returned to their distant homeland, Viaysia. Without a doubt, this was the world’s greatest homecoming spell.
“Here, we are invincible! Well, go ahead, sister!” Ide cried.
And so, the siblings resumed the fight, their bodies surging with power. They headed to the place where the Sovereign Queen Lorde was born to shatter the illusion of that legend.
“Yes! We fear nothing now! Little brother, dance like petals!”
“As you command!”
They painted the world into a field of their homeland and resumed their battle with renewed vigor. Ide layered enhancement magic upon himself and charged forward recklessly. Ice arrows from the Sovereign Queen Lorde flew toward them, but Titee shot them all down.
The battle was much the same as before, yet the outcome was vastly different.
The frozen world, Freeze Nibelheim, no longer existed. Instead, their homeland, Ide AND Titee, unfolded before them. This alone weakened Hitaki’s magic with maximum effect, while amplifying the siblings’ magic to its utmost potential.
The Sovereign Queen Lorde constructed various ice spells in defiance, but the two of them calmly overcame them. I thought the battle was decided. Titee, who was fighting, must have thought so too. She began to sing while fighting. She had that much composure.
Fighting, dancing, laughing, singing, rejoicing.