Who Am I? (2)
The phrase had been repeated to the point of weariness, but for a Transcendent, the most important thing was believing in oneself. Their power from an unwavering sense of self—a firm inner world. Confidence, therefore, was the virtue of all Transcendents.
(In rlin’s case, perhaps she had a bit too much confidence, but that’s another matter.)
Najin had no intention of denying that fact and had seen it in action more than once. Helt Knight, upon recalling who he was, imdiately regained his status as a Transcendent; when Gerd beca certain that his sword was righteous, he obtained his eighth star.
Self, conviction, and the realization they were right—such is the essence of a Transcendent and a star. Najin believed as much, which is why he was so drawn to that single line inscribed on the headstone:
「Who am, I?」
The question stood as if addressed to soone. Though the sentence could’ve just been written continuously—‘Who am I’—the writer had deliberately inserted a comma to separate “I” from “Who am.”
What might be contained in that small comma?
Najin couldn’t help but wonder.
“rlin…”
“Hm? Why’re you calling ?” rlin looked at him while chewing on a mouthful of bread.
Najin gestured for her to finish eating first.
Once she finished gulping it down, she looked at him. “All right, done. What is it?”
“Do you know anything about the Kassel Kingdom?”
The headstone had read: Viola Oldina, Hero of the Kassel Kingdom. He knew only that it was a country that existed about five or six centuries prior.
“Just that it collapsed about 560 years ago?”
“Anything else?”
“I know it fell because of a dragon. Think it was called Ladon, the Evil Dragon?”
A kingdom destroyed by a dragon? Najin stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Why does this so-called Star Tomb exist? Is it just a constellation’s dream? So sort of display for no particular reason?”
“It does have a reason.” rlin tore a fresh-baked loaf. Warm steam rose from the bread. “If all they wanted was to dream, then why leave an entrance open? If just for show, how could we interact with anyone inside this dream?”
Munching, rlin continued, “The Star Tombs, constellations’ dreams, exist because they wish to be awoken. They’re stuck in such sweet, endless dreams, and they’re hoping soone will rouse them—make the dream end—choose sothing in place of them, who can’t choose on their own anymore.”
Regret, lingering attachnts, escapism…
rlin’s expression turned faintly bitter. “It’s kind of like what you’ve been doing so far.”
“Huh? What do you an?”
“You’ve offered knights their ideal endings, right? It’s similar to that. If you give the drear their desired resolution—or at least one they can accept—that breaks the dream.” Of course, she added, “There’s a simpler way, too… You could just smash the dream to bits with overwhelming power.”
“I’d rather not.”
“Right? Also, you’d have to be at my level for that. You know, an arch-constellation with eleven sta—”
“Keep going like that, and I’ll pull out that old line again. ‘Who am I?’”
“All right, all right. I won’t brag.” Having endured Najin’s “mirror treatnt” for days, rlin hastily dropped the subject. She handed him a neatly torn piece of bread.
He found it tasted surprisingly good. “It’s a dream, but taste and all other sensations feel perfectly real.”
“Just because it’s called a ‘dream’ doesn’t make it any less real. If you die here, you really die.”
“So what should we do next?”
“First, we figure things out—how this dream flows, and what the dream’s owner is clinging to.”
Naturally, their gazes fell upon the temple perched atop the cliff. At its very edge sat a woman with long, jet-black hair: Viola Oldina, Hero of the Kassel Kingdom. She spent most of the day in that spot, watching the sun rise and fall with the bleakest expression. It was enough to make an onlooker feel weighed down.
“She really looks depressed.”
“I know, right? If it’s her dream, wouldn’t you expect her to be happy? She doesn’t look happy at all.”
“Not all dreams are happy. So constellations lock themselves away in tombs to punish themselves.”
“They sure are an odd bunch.”
rlin gave him an off stare.
“Huh? What’s with that look?”
“Ah, it’s nothing. Anyway, aren’t you curious about the reward? What would you get if you ‘cleared’ a constellation’s dream?”
Her attempt to abruptly change the subject was obvious, but Najin didn’t mind. She likely had her reasons not to discuss whatever had crossed her mind.
He went along with it. “What do we get?”
“A Star Relic.”
Najin had heard the term before. Such relics, said to rival Masterpieces, were imbued with their respective constellation’s starlight. Technically, his Excalibur was half a Star Relic since it beca complete when Arthur’s star manifested through it.
“The reward is massive, so it won’t be easy to ‘clear’ this dream. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. If there’s no way forward, just get out. That’s your call.” rlin pointed at a headstone standing in the middle of the city. By placing a hand on that stone, he could exit the dream anyti.
A dream you could leave whenever you chose? Najin’s eyes turned to the temple again. Aside from their initial encounter, Viola had given Najin no notice at all. Instead, she only sat at that spot, staring at each sunrise and sunset.
Her dark eyes, void of any warmth, lingered in his thoughts for reasons he didn’t quite grasp. For the mont, though, there wasn’t much they could do—they would have to wait for ti to pass before finding any hints.
“Hmph, hm-hmm.” Najin wandered about the city with rlin in tow.
rlin walked in a peculiar way, never firmly planting her feet, more like hopping lightly on her toes. Her clothes and blue hair swayed with each step like she felt no weight at all, and she moved with a playful bounce. She seed happier than ever.
Humming cheerfully, she grabbed Najin’s arm. “Look, look at this!” She held up a flyer, an advertisent for a play titled, “Glory to Oldina.”
Pointing to the na ‘Oldina,’ which was also the na of the drear, her eyes sparkled. “Oldina is the dream’s mistress, right? If we watch this, we’re bound to learn sothing. Good idea, no?”
It felt less like a plan for investigation and more like she just wanted to see the show.
Najin gave a small grin and nodded. “Sure. Let’s give it a try.” Seeing her bright smile, he suddenly found himself thinking she looked so young. The gap between the famous wizard of legends and the blue-haired girl in front of him felt rather large.
She showed the personality one might guess from her youthful appearance; not the aloof, jaded persona of a thousand-year-old mage. He sotis felt a certain dissonance from it.
‘Who is rlin, anyway?’
She was a great mage from the Age of Myth who had witnessed and experienced so many things and been battered by the sands of ti. Still, she gave off none of that—instead more like a simple, emotional teenage girl.
‘Could it be…’ A stray theory flitted through Najin’s mind, but it passed by quickly; he didn’t dwell on it.
“Hurry up, let’s go!” She turned and beckoned him, sunlight gleaming off her blue hair. Sweeping it back, she smiled, clear and bright as day.
Najin wordlessly let the thought go. After all, wasn’t she more delightful just the way she was? If he had to pick a guide between soone calm and detached like the legendary archmage of myth or the energetic and sotis clumsy rlin before him, he wouldn’t hesitate to choose the latter.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
The play starred Viola Oldina herself as the protagonist.
Najin and rlin watched from their seats in the theater, but Najin found it hard to pay attention. The main reason: his guide was positively enthralled, repeatedly drawing his gaze away from the stage.
“Wooow…” During an impassioned monologue by one of the actors, rlin’s jaw dropped in awe.
“GRAAAAAAAAAH!” When the actor playing the Evil Dragon roared loud enough to shake the rafters, she cringed and jumped in her seat. She inhaled so of her snack by accident and coughed—Keh-rok!—then hiccupped, prompting a snicker from Najin.
“Hic—d-don’t laugh. Hic—cut it out.”
“Here, have so water.” He patted her back and handed her a cup.
She took a few gulps, and before long, she was fully absorbed in the play again. “Wow, wasn’t that great? They’re such good actors. I’m not usually into theater, but that was impressive…” Even after it ended, she chattered on and on about it at a nearby teahouse and spread her arms wide, imitating the actors’ gestures, talking faster and faster.
“rlin…”
“Huh? What?”
“You’re having fun, huh?”
“Why the sudden question?”
“You just look really happy, is all.”
“Well, yeah, of course. How long has it been since I was last able to move around like this or mix in with a bunch of people?”
“How long?” Najin asked.
“A thousand years.”
“Oh…”
“Sure, I was traveling with you, but… I didn’t have a body of my own. That’s nowhere near the sa as walking together. I was basically riding along with you.”
“True enough.”
“What I regret most is that… sotis I imagine, you know, if I weren’t a constellation or an ancient archmage, but a newbie mage just starting out… what would it be like?”
Eyes closed as if picturing it, rlin went on, “Say I were in Cambria, looking for a swordsman partner. Wizards and swordsn make the classic duo, right? We complent each other’s weaknesses, so I’d be searching for a capable swordsman… and that’s how I’d bump into you.”
“And then?”
“Then we’d take on quests together. At first, we might argue like, ‘That’s not right!’ or, ‘We should do it this way!’ We’d grumble but eventually adapt to each other.”
“You may grow crazy fast, but I wouldn’t lag that far behind. I hit my 6th Circle at nineteen, after all—who knows, maybe I’d surpass you.”
“Could be, yeah.”
“Right? We’d grow stronger side by side, facing fierce foes; exploring unknown lands… Sotis I’d give you a push, sotis you’d pull along…” Finishing the thought, rlin opened her eyes. “It’s a real sha.” Her gaze dropped. “Instead of walking alongside you, I’m stuck waiting at so distant destination, my role to guide you there. It’s a pity, truly.”
‘So that’s why she looks so happy right now,’ Najin realized. It wasn’t just that she had a physical body—it was the fact that she’d stepped down to a level where they could stand together.
“Why feel bad?”
“Huh?”
Najin shrugged. “I’ll be joining you soon enough. You do know I’ve traveled for under two years, right?”
“Well… that’s true.”
“So, who am I?” Najin grinned. “The youngest person to reach four stars, the youngest Sword Seeker, the youngest free knight, and—”
“Stop, please stop…!” rlin turned red with embarrassnt, trying to clamp a hand over his mouth.
Najin seized her wrist and kept talking, “Youngest to step into Camlann, youngest to slay a Black Dragon, youngest to defeat a witch… basically, I’m going to go after every record prefixed with ‘youngest.’ I’m not leaving a single one out.”
rlin stared at him, speechless.
Najin kept eye contact, smiling. “You say that’s the finish line, right? So what if it is? That’s Arthur’s finish line, not mine.”
“Heh.” rlin snorted—not scornfully like when they first t, but as if encouraging him to go on.
“You said you’re waiting at the end, right? That’s not a finish line—it’s a turning point, the mont I completely surpass Arthur. Starting from there, we can walk side by side. What’s the problem in that?”
“Side by side? You an, shoulder to shoulder?”
“Exactly—side by side.” Najin looked at rlin as he spoke. Ordinarily, it was the mont she might have quipped, “Yeah, yeah, you talk a good ga.” No such reply ca.
She simply stared at him, her usually crisp gaze montarily unfocused, as though entranced and lost in thought.
“rlin?”
“Ah… Yes, right. Exactly.” Only when Najin called her na did she snap out of it. She quickly broke eye contact. Her ears had turned a bit red.
Najin tilted his head. “What’s the matter?”
“It’s… it’s nothing.”
‘What’s gotten into her?’ Since she wasn’t in his inner realm, he couldn’t sense her emotions or thoughts. He watched her press her lips together, refusing to et his eye.
Donnng.
Dong, doooong, dong…
The city’s bells tolled from the temple and rolled through the city. That’s when a great shadow fell across the entirety of Kassel’s domain.
It wasn’t so demonic power, magic, or mystic phenonon but a simple result of sothing colossal blocking out the sun.
Najin and rlin instinctively looked skyward to see a being once, in ages past, called the ruler of the sky—a dragon.
Evil Dragon Ladon spread its shadow over the kingdom and roared.
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