It was an odd sensation, like I had simultaneously spent considerable time sinking through something yet no time at all. My body was engulfed in flames, and I was surrounded by a white desert, sparks dancing in the air.
I had moved from Nature’s Keep to the Withered Desert.
“Hmm.”
I waved my hand lightly, putting out the small bits of flame as I gazed at the top of the dunes. The air was hot, rising in a haze to form what seemed to be a mirage—a blurred pond and trees, an oasis in the desert. The exit to Nature’s Keep.
“Is something the matter, Demon King Anos?” Dilfred asked from behind me.
“No, I was just curious about the boundary.”
I turned around to start walking, but Dilfred stepped slightly into my path.
“The boundary between Nature’s Keep and the Withered Desert, you mean?” the God of Depth asked in a serious tone.
“It was a trivial thought. I was just wondering where the Withered Desert ended, and where Nature’s Keep began. Is it from the other side of that mirage, or the other side of the water mirror? Or is there—”
“—an area where the two domains overlap, you think?”
I chuckled. “That’s exactly what I mean.”
“Your questions never cease to interest me.”
Dilfred’s Divine Eyes stared at the oasis mirage.
“However, there are things these Divine Eyes of Depth cannot see. Especially when demise is involved,” he said, folding his hands. “Thoughts cannot be stopped from sinking into the abyss, but at the same time the truth cannot be reached just by thinking about it.”
I burst into laughter.
“What’s so funny, Demon King?” Dilfred asked.
“Firedew has decreased and order itself is being threatened, yet you look like you’re having fun. I thought you were a heartless god, but it looks like your curiosity is stronger than you’d admit.”
“Nay. I am the order that governs depth. Thus, it is within my tendencies to seek the abyss of the unknown. To your mortal heart, these actions simply appear to be out of curiosity.”
Dilfred expressed his firm denial, but it didn’t matter either way.
“So where do you think the boundary between the forest and the desert is?” I asked.
“The void, most likely... The area which is neither Nature’s Keep nor the Withered Desert, and which exists on the other side of that mirage. It serves as the bridge for the firedew.”
Dilfred tapped the back of his left hand with his right fingers, his hands in their usual contemplative posture.
“In that short space, sources approaching ruin have the faintest chance of returning from the brink. In the words of mortals, the light of a dying flame can overcome the darkness itself.”
“Hmm. Fascinating.”
From what Dilfred had explained until now, Da Qu Kadarte was an embodiment of the fundamental principles of all sources. If Delsgade or Everastanzetta were hidden here, it would be in a way that obeyed order. Instead of searching every corner of the domain blindly, it should be possible to deduce their location with wisdom alone.
“So what shall we do first? Tie up the God of Demise?” I suggested.
“Nay. Hostility should be avoided. We will search for the abnormality first,” Dilfred said, casting Fless to float across the sand dunes. I followed right behind him.
“Oh? So there are villages in this domain too,” I said, seeing the shape of them ahead of us. “Are they gods close to demise?”
Dilfred didn’t answer. He moved his head idly, lost in the depths of his thoughts.
“Something wrong?”
“Did you say village?”
“That’s what the mirage over there looks like to me. Is it just an illusion?”
I pointed where my gaze was directed, at the mirage village at the foot of the dunes. The God of Depth followed my gaze, his Divine Eyes of Depth reflecting the village without any doubt.
But then he said, “I cannot see it.”
“I see.”
Demise overcomes depth. If the God of Demise used order to hide something, then it would be difficult for Dilfred to see through it—especially here in the Withered Desert.
“I’ll show you,” I said.
I cut my fingertip and lightly brushed it against Dilfred’s Divine Eyes. My magic-filled blood created a thin membrane that allowed his Eyes to see demise with clarity. The moment his gaze fell upon the village, his expression darkened.
“The only god who can establish a domain on the dunes of demise would be the Goddess of Destruction, Abernyu. Not even the Keepers of Demise come near here...”
“So no one besides Anahem could live here?”
“Aye. Theoretically.”
We exchanged words while approaching the mirage village. Instead of fading once we were up close, the mirage expanded, spreading its domain even further. The village consisted of simple tents and hardened clay houses.
Why would something like this be in the desert, a place where only Anahem could live? If the Withered Desert was the embodiment of the order of demise, a village full of life was a stark oddity in such a realm.
“This could be the abnormality you detected,” I said.
“Aye.”
We stepped inside the swaying mirage. Unlike a normal mirage, the village didn’t disappear. Instead, it materialized further, turning into a half-physical state much like the top of the dune that led to Nature’s Keep. It was clear the village possessed a power similar to magic or a god’s order.
We walked through the village, looking around its contents. Soon enough we came across a large stone building that, though large enough to be several stories high, appeared more like a water well. Laughing children could be heard from behind its walls. Dilfred’s solemn face, for once, looked incredulous.
The two of us leaped up onto the rim of the well. Looking down into the well revealed water, located roughly thirty meters down, with children playing on a stone platform jutting out above the water. The children all wore ragged scraps in place of clothes.
“It can’t be... Not in the Withered Desert of the Firmament of the Gods, of all places...”
The God of Depth swallowed his breath and stared at the children with his Divine Eyes. But no matter how long he stared into their abyss, there was no denying what they were.
“Human children?” I asked.
“This cannot occur naturally.”
The Firmament of the Gods was the nation of the gods. A world constructed from order. There was no reason humans would be born here.
“Who are you guys?” a voice asked.
We turned around to see a young boy in similar rags to the other children. He appeared to be around ten years of age, and he glared at us with clear challenge in his eyes. Unlike the vague mirage village, his body was completely materialized.
“Just your average travelers. It’s rare to see a village in the Withered Desert,” I said.
“Right. Isn’t it amazing?” the boy replied. He puffed up his chest with pride. All at once, his suspicion of us cleared.
“I’m Anos, and this is Dilfred. What’s your name?” I asked.
“I’m Vade, the elder of the holo. The top-ranking one!”
Dilfred’s brow furrowed. “Holo?”
“Don’t you know? The children of this village are called holo. I came up with it!”
We couldn’t have known what name a secluded group used internally, but that aside... Holo, huh? It was a bit too convenient for a coincidence.
“Vade, was it? Aren’t you a bit young for an elder?” I asked.
“What, you don’t know this either?” Vade said. “The elder is just the oldest of the group.”
So Vade was the oldest child here. That made it even more baffling.
“How are the holo born?”
“Holo are born from the bottom of the well. We float up to the surface. Amazing, right?”
Dilfred’s gaze shifted to the well. He was looking down into its depths.
“How did you learn to speak?” I asked.
“Learn to speak? We’ve always been able to speak.”
The wavelength of their magic power was similar to those of humans, but it sounded like they were different from normal humans. Perhaps this was the cause of the decreasing firedew flow? If what should have circulated through Da Qu Kadarte was being turned into these holo, it would explain the firedew’s overall decrease. I glanced at Dilfred, and he nodded in agreement.
“I’d like to see down the well, boy.”
The moment the God of Depth said that, a hot breeze brushed against our cheeks. White sand swirled into the air as a fierce sandstorm attacked the village.
“Uh-oh! Anahem’s coming!”
Vade dashed into the well as though to flee—then turned and stuck his head back out.
“Hey! You guys come too. I’ll make an exception and let you in!” he added before quickly retreating back down the well.
I turned to Dilfred. “You go down the well and investigate how the holo children are being born. Considering the timing, you might discover something the God of Demise is trying to hide.”
“If you are going to face him, take due care. The God of Demise is an immortal god that knows not of death. Buying time in his domain will be no easy feat.”
I slowly made my way to Anahem, turning Dilfred’s parting words over in my mind.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I know. I’ll be careful. I’ll try not to take his immortality seriously and destroy him by accident.”