The top face seemed to grow more handsome with time. It had the small, sharpened ears and nose of a Cateyes and the beautiful, water crystal–like blue eyes of a Mermaid, full of order and grace. The bottom face, by contrast, morphed and grew unsightly with time. It seemed to be wilting, melting. Its eye colors didn’t match and it had sharp, serrated teeth—a face of chaos.
And both are within God’s palm…, Belle thought, surprisingly curious.
Maybe this was Kitty the All’s influence rubbing off on her. Looking upon the king and the God Tree that struck inexplicable awe into the hearts of the people, Belle climbed up the steps to the stage. She walked step by step, eventually passing by the throne to stand in the center of the vast stage.
“I want to become a Nomad. That is my wish—and the most fitting name for me!” she announced loudly.
The moment Belle said that, the king’s body shook violently. Or maybe it just seemed that way to Belle, giving her the impression she had enraged him, but she soon relaxed, realizing that wasn’t the case. Belle wasn’t confident in her words anymore without the Guidance to advise her with precise information, but she was confident she’d said the right thing and knew that even if it wasn’t, there was nothing she could do. She felt she simply had to face up to this final trial no matter what. At worst, she wanted to respond to the king’s question with an answer she was satisfied with. And for now, that seemed to be bearing fruit. Belle wanted to praise herself for that.
Honestly, did you really have to surprise me like that…? Belle murmured silently, startled by the king’s reaction. But she soon managed to compose herself.
The king continued swaying and trembling, not seeming to notice Belle’s feelings in the slightest. What looked like countless arms, legs, and other appendages Belle couldn’t discern were growing out of the God Tree. One by one, the blue-mantled priests silently began to move, as if it had ordered them to bring something.
Still the king continued to shudder. Belle got the sudden impression that some huge, invisible creature was thrashing around behind him, and the king was trying his hardest to keep it in check while ordering the priests to hurry up and do what they needed to. Seeing that, something suddenly clicked in Belle’s mind.
The king is like an advocate for those leaving on journeys… An advocate against God.
The God Tree silently bellowed, not wanting to let any of its people leave the land, and the king struggled physically to keep it at bay. The mental image struck Belle as somewhat amusing.
That’s just overbearing, Belle thought with a wry smile. God’s just being selfish. People can go wherever they want.
As that carefree thought crossed her mind, the king finally spoke.
“In that case…play the Key, Little One. Whichever method you pick will suffice. Show the timbre of your soul. In so doing, a spell to cross all of God’s barriers shall be carved within you.”
With that, the priests brought something from the side of the stage. It approached with the rumble of rolling wheels, and as it got closer, it resolved into what looked like a single black mass, far exceeding all of Belle’s expectations. It reminded her of a large tube—or perhaps a seedling block used for agriculture.
In fact, it was a musical instrument.
It had taken several priests to push it, but the instrument itself stood like the very image of silence. The black box was supported by three legs, each equipped with a wheel at the end. It slowly made its way to the stage with a low rumble.
The instrument was placed before Belle, between her and the king. The priests adjusted where everything was, positioning the rectangular box so that one side of it curved toward the spectator seats.
On the side of the instrument was what looked like a long, thin desk, set to face the left side of the stage. Next to it was a small, backless bench with a red cushion. Once that was in place, the priests moved away with a flap of their blue mantles, their movements oddly stiff and unnatural as they retreated to the sides of the stage and vanished like ghosts.
“This…is the Key…?” Belle asked, overwhelmed.
How could she even describe it? Belle scrutinized the large box from every direction but couldn’t understand what was going on. What was it? What should she call it? How would she use it? She didn’t have the first clue.
“King Rawhide, what is this…?” Belle asked, confused.
“This is the Keyboard Vessel. The true Key to a journey, Little One,” the king said admonishingly. “Sit upon that bench and face the Key. Should it acknowledge you, the method of playing shall come to you.”
Still baffled and furrowing her brow in confusion, Belle started to take the sword off her back to sit on the bench. It clearly wasn’t designed to support Runding’s great weight. But as she did, the king spoke.
“There is no need to remove your sword.”
Belle looked up at the king, surprised.
“The Key accepts those who play it in their entirety.”
“You’re telling me to sit like this?” Belle confirmed as she carefully settled onto the bench, Runding still on her back.
They better not disqualify me from the trial because the chair broke or something…
Resting her full weight on the chair, Belle was genuinely surprised. Even with the sword’s full heft, it didn’t so much as creak. It simply supported Belle and her sword as if they weighed nothing at all.
“Wow…”
This is convenient…, Belle thought, as inappropriate as it was at a time like this. Given the trouble she’d had daily with the issue of Runding’s weight, however, it was only natural she would feel this way. Nothing save some special magic could make a seat this durable. Examining the spell engraved on the bench, she could only tell is that it was very old magic, drawn very delicately.
But as Belle was preoccupied with the chair, something opened noisily. Two lids unfurled before her like a seed suddenly sprouting. One opened over what she thought was the desk and the other seemed to be a curved lid that covered the entirety of the box. As it opened, a rod rose up, supporting the open lid and holding it in place.
“Ah… The Key recognizes that one who shall play it has approached and acknowledges their touch,” the king said, his voice full of wonder.
But none of this made the situation any clearer to Belle. Inside the larger lid she could see the instrument’s many strings, and what she’d thought was the desk was lined with beautifully cut black-and-white objects in a row like teeth. Each of those teeth was connected or attached to one of the strings through some mechanism, and there were several pedals at her feet.
She could tell each tooth was somehow connected to a string, meaning that pressing on a tooth would make its string play. But even knowing that didn’t mean she knew how to play it. Belle thought carefully, warning herself not to be careless, then touched the instrument, gently running her fingers over it.
“The black-and-white keys you see before you are the reason it is called a Keyboard,” the king explained. “Even I do not know how to play it. You are free to do whatever feels right.”
“That doesn’t really help much…”
Suddenly, Belle noticed there was something inscribed on the back of the lid. It was hidden in the dark black of the box so she hadn’t noticed it, but as she looked at it, it became clearer.
It was a strange spell:
MOONWORK
“What’s this?”
Belle had never seen a spell as strange as this and didn’t even know how to read it. She could hardly tell if it was even a spell at all. The Guidance was still silent, and Belle herself knew very little about such things.
Instead, the answer came from beside Belle, spoken by the king’s twin faces.