Chapter 125: The Day the Heavens Fell

Jackson leisurely paced down North Ward, his hands tucked in his coat, before he realized he was looking at someone he knew. He quickly crossed over to where she stood, in front of her.

"I haven't seen you in a while, Marin."

Vivi hugged the bag closer to her body. "It's you."

"Thought you'd have left town by now." Jackson's lips twisted into a smirk.

"Why would I?" Vivi replied sharply. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"Yes, you did." Jackson's voice was casual. "I've heard it turned into an actual mess inside the place. Another guy has to save your sorry ass. Though that was all over now."

"He—Felix understood me." Vivi lifted her chin in defiance. "He told me my whole life doesn't have to circle around one event."

Jackson let out a low laugh. "Is that so? Big words. But can you really forget who you were for all those years? I won't." His gaze narrowed at her. "He won't either. You thought Hakimi leaving Fillipo would fix everything? It won't."

It was late evening, and Edmond was sitting in the library with books in front of him. He kept going from one book to another with no interest whatsoever, letting each of them fall on the ground when he was bored by the first page.

The door opened slowly. He turned towards it immediately.

"Lord Edmond." It was an older man in his fifties who bowed politely, having a warm smile fixed on his face. "It's been a long time."

"Long time, long time, yes.," Edmond said, squinting and tilting his head to see if he could recognize him. "I believe we've known each other for such a long time, but I just can't seem to put a name to your old face."

"My name is Karl Martinez, my lord. Maybe you'll remember Lord Carlos's wedding some twelve years ago. You told a story to me that evening about a lady with two heads. I believe we laughed the whole night."

"Aha! Yes, yes!" Edmond smiled, the book he was holding suddenly falling from his hands on to his desk. "I know who you are now, Karl Martinez. I did not realize that you knew Fillipo personally. Why didn't you come greet me the moment I arrived?"

"Forgive me for that, my lord." Karl stood from his bow, his expression remaining calm and controlled. "The Duke Osbel thought it best for your protection that not too many people would surround you during the initial period. There have been some strange incidents in this town these past few months, which I guess must have reached you in one form or another."

"Yes, that is true." Edmond nodded, although the expression in his eyes indicated that he did not yet understand how serious the matter really was. "I do not think that I have heard about that yet. Tell me everything about it, there are a few days left before I leave this town."

"I will be glad to do so, my lord." Karl said calmly, and looked over his shoulder before nodding. Two men entered after him carrying between them a board measuring about a meter across, completely covered in white cloth.

"And what exactly is that?" Edmond got up from where he was sitting and walked towards Karl, his curiosity winning over any tiredness he felt before.

"It is a small present, my lord." Karl folded his hands before him. "I hear say that you are fond of collecting rare and unusual items. This particular one is a very old painting. I have kept it with me for over thirty years."

He paused for a moment and waited to see Edmond's reaction to it. "However, if it does not please you, feel free to throw it away. I will not be offended by your act in the least."

"I am not too fond of paintings." Edmond casually watched the two men lean the board carefully against the wall at the other end. They adjusted it twice before finding the right angle. "Delphine's the one who has an eye for them, not me. Still, there's enough room on the wagon for a piece this size. It can ride with us until we reach the capital."

"Thank you for your generosity, my lord." Karl's gaze flicked toward the door as it clicked shut behind the two men, and once he was certain they were alone, he crossed nearer to the painting himself, taking a slow moment to gather his thoughts before speaking again. "Honestly, I don't know a great deal about the piece myself, though I do know it's an important one. I came into possession of it when it was being smuggled, unofficially, toward the Kingdom of Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Are you sure that you are not just trying to spin a good tale here, Karl?" Edmond looked up suddenly.

"On my daughter's life, Lord. Each word is true." Karl spoke calmly and sincerely. "I can even show you the shipping documents from the merchant guild."

"No, no, don't bother with proof yet. Just keep talking." Edmond waved a hand, already leaning in.

"Yes." Karl cleared his throat. "And during all those thirty years I have asked a lot of people about the nature of that thing and none of them knew anything definite. I even considered selling the painting for some time, but I never found a seller whom I could trust and let me be completely frank with you, your excellency, there was always a fear that the very same ones whom it was intended for will discover me."

"Them?" Edmond's eyes narrowed with genuine interest now. "Who exactly are 'them'?"

"That one for whose sake the painting had to be sent to Tomorrow." Karl stretched his hand towards the edge of the white cloth. "Its deliverer, at least according to the rumors, ended up with his whole family destroyed as a result of it. Completely ruined. And there were even such rumors that they couldn't rest in peace after that and remained in their own home long after everything was over."

"Oh, now that," Edmond murmured, "that has my full attention. Go on, then. Show me. I'll be the judge of whether it's worth all this trouble you've described."

Karl paused for just an instant more, undoing the knots which held the covering in place before smoothly pulling the covering away.

A young man stood at the center of the composition, clothes worn thin and travel-stained, hands painted in dark, unmistakable red, blood dried into the creases of his knuckles and wrists. His face tilted upward, expression caught between awe and dread, eyes fixed on the sky above him. There, a total solar eclipse hung suspended mid-moment, the moon's black disk swallowing the sun entirely, its outer edge burning silver-white in a thin, radiant halo. Faint stars pricked through the darkened sky around it, scattered and delicate. And falling through all of it, tearing a jagged path across the heavens, came the meteors, wrapped in flame, their trails scorched orange and red against the black, close enough to the horizon that the atmosphere itself seemed to bend and ripple beneath their descent, as if the world were already starting to come apart at the seams.

There was something odd and disturbing about the way the paint moved, colors thickly applied in some areas, thin and translucent in others, creating a feeling that what was depicted was captured just an instant before the end came, as the painting reached its climax of movement. It wasn't just a painting; it was something seen, something remembered in vivid detail by the artist.

Karl watched in silent surprise as Edmond remained motionless before the canvas, only realizing that a royalty had somehow gotten down on his knees before it without really realizing what he was doing.

"Magnificent," Edmond breathed in a whisper after a long moment, not looking away from the painting.