Alicia tidied the hidden room as she usually did, trying to calm herself. No amount of effort could keep her from worrying about the queen. She desperately wished to rush to her side.
“Will Her Majesty be okay?” she wondered aloud as she worked.
Last time they spoke, she almost felt like the queen was about to go somewhere far, far away. Perhaps she was just anxious. No matter how much Alicia was told everything would be all right, she couldn’t bring herself to believe it.
Suddenly, a pain erupted in her chest.
Alicia gasped. A terrifying power welled up within her, running rampant through her body. It was as though her blood had all turned to scalding-hot water, and the pain made her seize up on the spot.
This is magic, but it isn’t my magic. Whose is it?! Alicia thought. Oh, right, it’s that magic. The same magic I felt in the town. The beautiful, magnificent, and terrifying magic that saved my life.
“Ghk, aaah!”
The magic is fading. Why? Did something happen to her?! No, no. I can’t lose her. I can’t! Back then, I—
“Augh… Aaaahhh!”
Pain laced Alicia’s mind as scenes she’d never seen before flashed before her eyes. She fell to her knees, grasping her head in confusion as she tried to escape the agony.
“These…these are my memories!”
Something snapped inside Alicia. The memories of those days she spent in the tower with Luxeria returned, as well memories predating even that.
The pain finally stopped. She raised her head, noticing movement in the corner of her eye.
“Master Wilhelm… You’re awake.”
Wilhelm, still a bit groggy, stood in front of her. “You are…?”
“Apologies, milord. I am Alicia, lady-in-waiting to Queen Luxeria.”
“Oh, so you must be…”
Seemingly understanding what he was getting at, she nodded. “The Sword of Eternity’s power within me has vanished,” Alicia said. “And you waking up can only mean that the Sword of Love has also stopped working…”
“Something must have happened to Luxeria to sever our ties to the swords,” Wilhelm replied.
“I knew it! We can’t stay here. She needs our help, now!”
“That she does. Is she currently at the Celdenian border?”
“How do you know about Celden?” Alicia asked.
“I was aware the whole time I slept,” Wilhelm explained. “What’s more important is finding her! Do you know where she is?”
“N-no, not particularly,” Alicia admitted.
“Damn.”
“I can sense the general area, though. It’s faint, but I do feel her magic still!”
“Great! Then let’s get moving.”
“How?”
“I don’t have the time to explain, just follow me.”
“O-okay. Please, take me to her!”
They rushed out of the room as fast as they could.
✦ ✦ ✦
I didn’t know how much time had passed. At some point, Godfrey and some medics had rushed to my side. I rose, trembling all over as I tried to focus my magic on summoning the swords. I could no longer feel their presence; it seemed I had finally reached my limit. But there was still one task left, so I couldn’t give up now. Using the last of my strength, I forced the magic from my feeble body.
“Queen Luxeria! Please, stop this!”
A great mass of magic swelled around me, causing Tommy and the others to retreat. It was potent enough that they instinctively knew to keep their distance. All Tommy could do was yell at me in protest. I tilted my head to the side to face him. The Sacred Swords appeared before me, and I poured my magic into them to draw out their full power. More blood dripped from my mouth as I screamed with the effort of summoning the swords.
“Why are you doing this?! Why push yourself to this extent?” Tommy cried.
“I will seal all magic. Forever.”
“How could you possibly—”
“I can. The power of all five swords together can make it a reality.”
“The power of a dream,” Godfrey explained as I coughed. “‘Love, wisdom, honor, sincerity, and eternity are themselves a fleeting dream. May the ruler dream with them,’ as the saying goes. It is the power to bend our very reality.”
“Precisely,” I croaked. “Changing the past is too much, even for the swords, but I can change the present.”
“Please reconsider, Your Majesty!” Godfrey implored me. “The cost of using that power will be your own life!”
Tommy and Dudley approached me upon hearing Godfrey’s declaration.
“Even so, I will not stop until all magic is sealed away.”
“Why?!”
The light of the Sacred Swords began to converge.
“All the fear of magic in this world is now directed solely at me. This is my chance. As the most feared mage in the world, I will take the world’s magic to the grave with me.”
“That’s not what I’m asking! Why do you feel you have to do this at all?!”
“I no longer have any faith left in me,” I said.
“What?”
My consciousness began to drift away. The only words I had left came from a place deep in my heart.
“Faith in my fellow humans. You all saw Celden’s laboratory, yes? The hatred toward mages. Magic itself is neither good nor evil, but the imperfect nature of humanity means it is used to breed tragedy. This world is unjust, broken. I will not allow it to continue this way.”
Ever since I put up the barrier around my kingdom, the only sensations I felt were dizziness and nausea. I was on death’s door. But if I was going to die, then I would take this broken world with me. It was my final act of vengeance, all born from my selfishness.
I could not resist a final smile. “Fear not. Even with magic sealed away, the barrier will stay. The Sword of Eternity has ensured that.”
“Your Majesty, please stop!”
Just as I was about to pour my last into the Sacred Swords, a voice that didn’t belong on the battlefield reached my ears. It was Alicia, joined by a man who should have been in a deep slumber. Shocked, I stopped at once. Glancing around, I could see the others were more surprised than I was. The world went deathly silent, and everyone stood still. I could hardly blame them. To the rest of the world, Wilhelm was a dead man. Strangely enough, seeing so many people at a loss for words helped me regain my composure.
“Why are you…?”
“I’ve brought Master Wilhelm with me,” Alicia declared.
“What?”
“You lost control of the Sacred Swords for a moment, and they ceased to affect us,” Wilhelm said. “That’s why I’m awake now.”
“But even so, how?” I asked. “Why are you here?”
“I was aware of my surroundings during my long slumber,” he told me. “Once we sensed that you were using the Sacred Swords, we discovered where you were and flew here at once. You know about my Gale magic, don’t you? Manipulating the winds got us here in an instant.”
“That’s not what I’m asking,” I replied, shaken.
“I asked him to bring me here,” Alicia chimed in. “Your Majesty, I was afraid you were pushing yourself too hard. And I don’t want to lose you, just as I wished to save you all those years ago.”
She slowly approached me, begging me to save myself. Her words floored me more than Wilhelm’s unexpected appearance. “You… Your memories have returned?”
“Yes. They returned when I wished for your safety above all else,” she said.
“This can’t be…”
“It’s the truth, Your Majesty. It feels like the time we spent together in the tower was only yesterday. I remember how you were always so clumsy when you tried to clean, and you’d break things by accident. You taught me to study, and we went outside and played around the tower. I remember it all now.”
“Oh, Alicia…”
“And that’s why I can say this clearly: You’re not responsible for the safety of every mage in the world. Yes, I know—my magic made people fear me. It isolated me. But without it, I never would have met you. And because of that, I’m so grateful I was born with magic.”
Tears tracked down her cheeks. I could do nothing but watch as she cried.
Wilhelm came to my side. “She’s right, you know,” he said. “Even if you seal all magic away, people will find other things to hate about each other. Skin color, hair color, other characteristics… They’ll use any excuse to be prejudiced. I don’t believe that taking magic away from the world will truly help anyone. Humanity is cruel, and I don’t see why you should throw your life away to save what can’t be redeemed.”
His words were cynical and harsh, but he wasn’t wrong. The world of my previous life was much the same as this one. Human beings always found a way to discriminate, whether against people of other nations or their own countrymen.
“But if I don’t do this, nothing will change!” I shouted. My body shook all over, refusing the balm of Wilhelm and Alicia’s logic.
“Your right, it won’t,” Wilhelm said mercilessly. He stared straight into me, making it clear he didn’t want me to throw my life away. “But nothing will change if you go through with this either. Just as it is wrong to blame all the world’s evil solely on magic, it is also wrong to try and solve every issue in the world by taking it away. Magic cannot change the fundamental nature of humanity.”
For an instant, my magic weakened. My resolve must have been wavering, even just a little.
“Besides, you’re not seeing the other paths available to you,” Wilhelm continued. “Magic is far from the only power you command.”
“What other powers are there? What am I without my magic?”
“Far more than you think. The Sacred Swords aren’t your only weapons. You have an amazing ability to influence people, for example. It’s a skill more valuable than even our national treasures.”
“Influence, you say…”
“There’s a limit to how much a single person can accomplish, no matter how much power they command. You needed the help of others to carry out your revenge, right? And help you they did,” Wilhelm said with a gentle smile. “Education, diplomacy, justice—you excel in all these areas. Despite the despair this world has inflicted upon you, you’ve done your best to improve it, to build a foundation for the future. As long as you have your allies at your side, they will help. Myself included.”