“Azrathiel?” The word lingered for a second longer in his mind. It felt sowhat familiar… It only took him a mont to rember—his eyes widened in shock.
That one famous family in Staterra! They were said to be rather powerful within the Holy Kingdom, rivaled only by one or two other great houses. He never would have thought that their history would be this ancient!
“Beware of what you may say.” A familiar voice echoed in his mind suddenly. Turning slightly, he noticed Ynixia standing in the distance with a solemn expression.
Soren frowned slightly. “You can speak to telepathically? Since when?”
She sighed, “I am… not really sure. Perhaps it's due to my awakening, but I feel I could likely communicate with anyone in this banquet hall if I wished to do so… As if my mind can connect with anyone I desire.
“But that is besides the point—I need to warn you. Do not say anything that may offend her. Lady Cassilda is known to have a gentle temperant, but what lies beneath that facade isn’t to be trifled with.”
He furrowed his brows. Interesting… He noted, It seems Ynixia has recovered so of her mories regarding this castle after all.
Sighing, he decided to continue collecting information:
“Who exactly is this Duchess of House Azrathiel? What exactly makes her so feared?”
“She was once King Arthur’s fiancee,” she answered rather swiftly, to which Soren almost voiced his surprise:
“What?!”
Ynixia nodded. “During the beginning of Arthur’s conquest of this mythical land called ‘Avalon,’ Hyades Castle was the first to fall against his advance. At the ti, the Hyades people who lived there were divided between two families, Aznacus and Azratheil. Both ruled the lands equally, vowing to defend each other from foreign enemies.
“But all of that changed with Arthur’s arrival. For reasons unknown to , the Azratheil family decided to side with the young lord, betraying the Aznacus family and the lesser houses that served them. In the end, the Hyades nation fell under the might of His sword, leading to the collapse of all the houses except for Azratheil. As one would expect, the animosity and hatred this created never withered away, but under Arthur’s rulership, none ever dared to mount a resistance. Not to ntion, the Azratheil family grew more powerful politically through their connection to Arthur, which they bolstered heavily through an arranged marriage proposal. That was how Cassilda beca his betrothed.”
Soren couldn’t help but frown even deeper. It felt like he could already tell where the story was heading next…
And he was practically right to think that.
“But decades after the pact was signed,” Ynixia continued with a sigh, ”King Arthur foolishly fell in love with another woman. A commoner by the na of Guinevere... This rightfully enraged Cassilda, who tried everything to bring back her stolen marriage—but none of it worked in the end.
“King Arthur eventually broke their engagent entirely. To nd His own wrongs, He decided to give her Hyades Castle, allowing her to possess total authority over its managent along with the title of Duchess. Of course, her hatred for him never really disappeared—I’ve heard rumors that she occasionally takes out her anger on her own servants. The only one who she seems to care for greatly is her sister, whom I am not at all familiar with…”
Soren nodded. “I understand now. I’ll be sure to talk to her carefully.”
Ynixia’s advice seed completely logical. After all, Cassilda might just be a noble lady with a bad temper, but so far, everything he had witnessed within Carcosa’s depths was anything but normal. That was to say, there was no telling what abilities she possessed. And judging by her control over this supposed subspace, it was fair to assu there was much more hidden beneath that glamorous mask.
Sensing his deep stare, Cassilda smiled, rising from her curtsy and glanced at the both of them curiously. “Well then, would you mind introducing yourself, Butterfly Magician?”
Butterfly Magician? He was a little taken aback. Aside from the fact that it was sowhat of an embarrassing epithet, the words still carried a deeper aning that Soren picked up on instantly: Cassilda was watching them all along!
She seed fully aware of his abilities being related to butterflies, an inference that could only be made if she had personally witnessed him cast his magecraft or use his Soul Weapon. There were several theories he could infer from this information alone, but he decided to hold back for now.
Sticking to his own facade, Soren smiled and stepped forward, bowing before her gracefully. “It is a pleasure to et you, Duchess Cassilda. You may call Soren Andersen, the Traveler.”
“Traveler?” She crossed her arms, while examining him from head to toe. “I guess that too is an apt enough description…”
“Indeed it is,” his lips curled higher. “I am also the Shepherd's Knight. It was my duty to escort her here to this banquet.”
She nodded. “I am pleased to hear that. Ser Lancelot would be very happy to learn of this news. Then, I suppose you are aware of the banquet rules, correct?”
“Rules?” Ignoring her first statent, Soren furrowed his brows as he glanced toward Ynixia. Frustratingly, even she looked utterly confused.
Seeing their reactions, Cassilda chuckled. “I rely jest, of course. This is the Lady’s first Summit of Houses banquet, after all. Then, allow to explain.” She clapped her hands, signalling for the music to begin. Sowhere in the distance, past the crowd of jubilant masked figures, an orchestra resud the calming lody.
Soren and Ynixia glanced around, shocked by the movent of those around them. n and won danced in unison, so holding each other more passionately than others—their spins and twirls following the rhythm.
“This is…”
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“You noticed, didn’t you?” Cassilda grinned slightly. “They are unaware of either of your presences. It is only fair, after all.”
Fair… The word for so reason, carried a rather ominous feeling to it.
“The rules of this castle are fairly simple.” She said as she walked toward a nearby servant holding several wine glasses. “Leaving the banquet hall is forbidden, unless you perform a dance with soone else there.”
Soren smiled while crossing his arms. “Can’t leave? Who decided that?” Though, his true aim was to reach for his wand that was tucked beneath his burial robes.
However, Cassilda kept her calm expression while answering: “The castle itself.”
“The castle?” Soren froze, his expression twisting in confusion. Seeing this, the Duchess couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Indeed. Hyades Castle is special, you see. The person who created it is said to have vanished from existence, leaving it behind as a relic of unimaginable power. No one who enters within its grasp can leave without its permission.”
Soren frowned. “Are you saying we're trapped here? Is there so kind of Ascended Grade mystery preventing people from breaking out?”
“Who knows,” she shrugged. “All I know is that leaving is impossible, unless you follow the rules. Those who’ve tried to rebel didn’t exactly et a rciful ending…”
Turning to Ynixia, Soren could tell from her expression that she too thought it best to obey the rules. He couldn’t help but sigh.
“Fine, I guess we’ll follow along. So all I have to do is find soone to dance with and we escape from this place?”
“Not exactly,” She shook her head and smiled. “The dance is simply the beginning of the ga. The true purpose is actually guessing the other person’s identity.”
Hearing this, Soren couldn’t help but feel sothing was slightly wrong with her wording. His frown deepened as he studied the surrounding nobles, all of them dancing without a care in the world.
Identities… Ah! His eyes widened.
“I get it now,” he massaged his temples in frustration. “So that’s what you ant by fair… You didn’t want our identities to be known before we had a chance to participate in the banquet.”
“Correct,” She nodded.
“What happens if I guess my dance partner’s identity incorrectly?”
There was a slight pause before she answered. “Your identities may swap.”
“What?” The situation was getting more and more ridiculous with every passing second. Cassilda, however, continued her explanation without any worry in her expression:
“Obviously, this would an your mories and experiences themselves will also be swapped. It is, however, up to your dance partner to decide whether or not they desire for the swap to occur to begin with. After all, they are also given the chance to leave the banquet hall as they are, or to even challenge their forr dance partner for an opportunity to swap back if they had done so previously.”
Standing amidst the cacophony of music and laughter, Soren thought deeply about everything she had explained so far. It didn’t take him long to infer from her last sentence that most of the people here have likely already swapped identities several tis…
If they didn’t, they wouldn't be stuck in this banquet hall for this long. Soren knew that aside from them, there were no other visitors at the mont, aning all the nobles present here had to have been there from the start.
If the banquet resets infinitely, there were likely many who simply wanted to continue “gambling,” even if they guessed right one or two tis are were granted the opportunity to leave… The temptation to win back their original identity would keep them forever imprisoned here in this opulent hall.
He turned to Ynixia who held the sa grim expression as him. It seed she too had grasped the true nature of this place. Sighing, Soren looked back at Cassilda who remained unbothered by this twisted reality:
“You said that our mories themselves get swapped as well. Does this an the next person we dance with will have to guess our new identity, rather than our old one?”
“Correct,” She nodded with a candid smile. “Although your mories are swapped, you still retain so of them anyway. This ensures that you will not forget your origins completely—at least not after the first few swaps… That way, both parties can continue pursuing the return of their true selves, if they wish to do so.”
What a terrifying little ga… Her words sounded rather innocent, but the poison behind them couldn’t be completely concealed. Especially the part regarding the loss of one’s original mories.
If the condition stacks upon itself with each swap, then that likely ans the person in question will eventually lose so much of his original identity, they won’t even be able to know what it is they desire to get back…
Perhaps they might even mistake a different identity they assud in a previous swap as their original, unaware they had assud many other experiences before it.
A sudden chill ran down his spine. No wonder none of the people here have been able to leave yet… They all hold the chains that shackle each other, preventing them from rembering who they really were…
Oblivious to his thoughts, the Duchess continued, “As for those who do manage to leave, the threats outside the dance hall aren’t exactly simple either. Although I haven’t been there, I do know that those who choose to exit without obtaining their original identities are haunted by twisted creatures of the dark.”
“Living Shadows, huh…”
She nodded, “That is why I personally advise any new arrival to be wary of who they believe themselves to be… It is much better to stay here and be certain, than to venture out alone clueless after succeeding in one of the dances.
“There are cases, for example, where both dance partners end up guessing the other’s identity correctly, allowing them both to leave unhard. And then there are cases where neither of the dancers guess the other’s identity, to which they are forced into selecting soone else to dance with again. Both of these cases are usually more desirable than for the person you danced with to guess who you are.”
He shook his head and sighed. “Lastly, I want to ask you sothing unrelated to this twisted ga.” The Traveler looked her in the eye, watching the gold beneath the ornate mask flicker with a hint of emotion. He flashed a smile and said:
“What is it that you desire from all of this? Surely soone as knowledgeable as you could have already left this banquet hall by now.”
The words lingered in the air for a while, until she began to chuckle profusely.
“To think each person I explain this to always ends up asking the sa thing in the end... Though, I guess it is sowhat special this ti, considering you arrived in this Castle from Carcosa of all places.”
Her last sentence confused him slightly.
“But very well.” She shook her head and smiled. “My goal is no different from anyone else in this banquet. I simply desire to find my true identity.”
“Your identity…”
Before he could question her further, the woman snapped her fingers, letting the isolated surroundings shatter like glass. Once again, the nobles surrounding them began to notice their presence, as if a veil had been lifted.
“I feel that I will be pleasantly surprised by your results, Mr. Traveler. I hope you will not disappoint .” Her voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere at the sa ti.
Soren stood silently amidst the opulent ball, surrounded by a sea of fancifully dressed figures. All of them danced freely, as if their predicant was not even real at all.
Turning his head back slightly, he noticed Ynixia, standing alone in the distance. She held tightly to her dress as she anxiously avoided the surrounding crowd, afraid to touch them. He instantly recalled the explanation she gave regarding her curse.
Seeing her grim expression, now hidden by a filigreed silver mask, a thought suddenly crossed Soren’s mind. Smiling, he began to walk slowly in her direction as he formulated his plan.
At first, Ynixia didn’t notice. When she finally did, her anxious expression collapsed into total panic.
“What are you doing?! Don’t touc—”
Before she could object, Soren took her hand and bowed over it.
“What do you say, Shepherd? Care for a dance?”
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