Chapter 48: Back to the Waking World

’I don’t know anything about that man myself. Whatever I know, I only know because Miyu shared it with me. Maybe the answer you’re looking for is buried somewhere inside her. Or maybe it isn’t.’

The Omen couldn’t promise him anything more certain than that.

But.

Piecing together everything he’d just witnessed, Lucian understood there was only one person who might actually hold every answer he needed: the silver-haired woman, the one who looked so much like him. Every thread of what he’d just seen traced back to her.

If he could find her, every question weighing on him now might finally have a real answer.

The trouble was, whatever clues he’d gathered about her from the memories he’d already walked through were painfully thin.

Even if he searched this entire hollow space from end to end, there was no guarantee he’d ever stumble onto another glimpse of her.

Which left him with only one real lead: the last person who’d actually spoken with her directly. Miyu.

"Do you know how we’re supposed to wake her up?"

’If you can find the missing fragment of the Kirana crystal, we might be able to restore her properly. Her body and soul have been fused into this domain from the very beginning. That’s exactly why she was able to save Alayna, turning her into a spirit to help guard this place.’

’And this red-door room you’re standing in right now was actually built by Miyu herself, using the Kirana crystal’s own permission, before it ever cracked. Zoria exploited the opening that split created, seizing her body quietly and dragging it into that hollow fracture without anyone realizing.’

Alayna’s expression dimmed at that. It seemed to be the first time she was hearing the full truth of it, that her own presence here had only ever been possible because of a plan Miyu had put in motion herself.

Regret settled visibly across her face, the weight of not having been able to rise sooner, not having been able to stop Zoria before any of this happened.

It made sense now, why the Miyu Lucian had first met, right when he’d stepped into this domain, had felt like an actual trace of her, a genuine fragment of her soul, watching over everything unfolding here, searching for wherever Zoria had gone into hiding.

No wonder touching Miyu and touching Lumina had felt exactly the same. Both of them, it turned out, were nothing more than fragments of soul.

♪ If I’d known you two were still here this whole time, I would have torn every corner of this domain apart looking for you, every Beast I’ve ever summoned with this place’s own energy included. ♪

Something about the energy in this domain really was strange. The cuts and bruises still lingering on Lucian’s body from the fight against Zoria, and from being dragged through that hollow fracture, were already fading, healing on their own.

But what did Alayna mean about Beasts?

"Do you have Beasts here, inside this domain?"

Alayna demonstrated instead of answering directly. She raised both arms overhead, closed her eyes, and a magic circle bloomed into being in front of her.

A Thunder Horned Boar tore free from it a moment later, massive, its hide dark and crackling faintly with static along its tusks.

Lucian startled at the sight of it, the resemblance to the exact creature he’d fought back through the blue door impossible to miss.

♪ Why do you look so shocked? Haven’t you seen a Beast like this back where you’re from? ♪

♪ Or maybe you didn’t realize your own sword’s domain could create something like this? ♪

"Have you ever released one of these somewhere?"

♪ Of course I have. I let a few loose sometimes, just to keep my hunting skills sharp. I can shape whatever I want inside this domain, except for the part that lets me see and touch the past. That’s completely outside my control. ♪

Piecing her explanation together, it became clear this was one of Sonata’s own true abilities, the power to create things from nothing inside the domain it carried.

Which meant the Beast Lucian had fought through the blue door hadn’t been part of any memory at all. It had been something the domain itself had generated fresh, meaning this sword could apparently give rise to living things, not just inanimate scenery.

If a sword alone carried power like that, then whatever Lumina had said about the Genesis crystal being capable of building a literal heaven suddenly felt a lot less like exaggeration.

’If we’re going to save Miyu, we need to find the missing fragment so both artifacts can reunite and trigger their full power again. From here on, you won’t be able to access any more memories, either, the Kirana crystal’s strength has already started fading.’

’This sword also seems to only be able to sustain what’s left of this red-door room. So far, this is the only space stable enough to hold, which is exactly why I pulled you here.’

The red-door room really did seem bound within its own limits, hemmed in by that same drifting fog surrounding everything beyond its edges.

If Lucian wanted any real chance at waking Miyu and finding the answers he was searching for, tracking down that missing fragment of the Kirana crystal was clearly the next step.

♪ Don’t worry about it too much. I’ve lived here a long time already, and honestly, this is one of the better rooms this whole domain has to offer. I train here constantly, working on my own strength. ♪

Lucian studied the Beast Alayna had summoned. If he trained against something like that regularly, there was no reason he couldn’t grow stronger himself, especially with this room’s apparent ability to heal him besides.

Maybe I’ll try that later. Right now, though, finding that missing crystal fragment has to come first.

"Do either of you have any lead at all on where the rest of the Kirana crystal might be?"

Alayna nodded, admitting she’d only really registered the crystal’s split after the fact, without much detail beyond that.

Lucian turned to the Omen instead, the only one of them who might actually hold a real clue.

’Before the Kirana crystal cracked, I could sense several people, some from your own family, some from elsewhere, all trying to control this sword. Every single one of them was strong.’

’But there was one presence I remember more clearly than the rest, faint, but familiar. Someone close to a servant of the silver-haired woman. Her hair was silver too, though I’m certain it was dyed, an attempt to mirror her mistress’s appearance.’

’I actually watched her fuse the Kirana crystal to that staff Miyu carried once before. I caught the same current of mana then that I felt the moment the crystal split into two.’

♪ Wait, are you saying that same woman might be the one who fused this white sword to the crystal too? ♪

’Correct. It’s the same girl. After that battle, the white-haired woman was the one who ordered it done, telling us to hide away in here so we’d never have to face the Void Seekers again.’

A servant with silver hair? Lucian had never once caught sight of anyone like that in any memory he’d walked through. It had to be the same figure Kai had mistakenly assumed was the woman herself.

But if she was real, someone whose hair color was faked rather than natural, and she’d been present the moment the crystal shattered...

I should have paid closer attention to the moment the crystal split, right when the sword first awakened. Is there anything else I’m missing?

Lucian dug back through the memory, chasing every fragment of it. The clearest thing he could recall was the fact that his own memory of that Awakening had been forcibly erased by one of the Elders.

But there had to be something important that happened right after that.

When the Kirana crystal split in two, Edward, Cassius’s own aide, had been the first to confirm it. He’d delivered the report directly to Cassius and the Elders, and their reactions had all read as genuine shock.

So it wasn’t one of the Elders who’d done it? Then was it Edward? No, that didn’t fit either, the Omen had been clear the culprit was a woman. Someone else, then. Someone he hadn’t accounted for yet.

He kept digging, searching for anyone else who’d been present that day. One group of guests stood out, the only outsiders he could remember attending his Awakening at all.

Wasn’t there a delegation from the Bravenheart Empire there? If he remembered right, Rumelia had mentioned something about it, right as his memory was being torn apart by that Elder, something about her serving Princess Helia before she’d come to find him.

His memory held firm on that point: the only foreign guests present at his Awakening had come from the Bravenheart Empire.

But was that silver-haired servant one of them, or someone else entirely from that same delegation? Someone connected to Princess Helia herself, maybe?

His suspicion settled on the Bravenheart Empire regardless. Whatever the exact answer turned out to be, he was starting to understand that everything he’d just witnessed in that domain had been laid out for him deliberately, every piece of it a clue meant to be found.

And thinking about the Bravenheart Empire reminded him of something else entirely: weren’t they supposed to be arriving today?

The realization hit him hard. He’d spent so long lost inside this domain that he’d nearly forgotten about the party waiting for him outside entirely.

"I think I’ve got a real lead on the Kirana crystal now. But do either of you know how I’m supposed to get back out of here?"

Alayna’s face brightened at the news, genuinely pleased that he’d managed to find something worth following.

As for getting out, she said it was simple enough. Sonata itself was the key, both in and out of this domain. All Lucian had to do was picture a door in his mind, and it would form on its own.

"That’s really all it takes?"

Alayna nodded. Lucian closed his eyes, gripping the sword tight, and pictured an exit.

A door of light bloomed into being in front of him a moment later.

He crossed toward it, glancing back once at Miyu’s body still lying where they’d left her, murmuring a quiet promise that he’d find a way to bring her back.

With that resolve settled, he took hold of the handle and pulled it open.

Just before he stepped through, Alayna called after him, reminding him to check on the two servants who’d gotten trapped inside this place along with him.

She’d already managed to pull both of them free, though neither had fully woken up yet.

Lucian gave a thumbs-up over his shoulder as the door swung shut behind him.

Alayna turned back to the Omen, the two of them now alone in the domain once more.

♪ Was that whole performance really necessary? He nearly died in that fracture, you know. ♪

The Omen’s shape shifted then, briefly taking on the form of a young Lucian, before settling, just as quickly, into something else entirely: a young girl with white hair.

Miyu’s body, still lying where it had been, began fading away at the same time, dissolving like it had never been anything more than an illusion to begin with.

’What choice did we have? It was the only way to help him piece his memories back together, and to help him break free from that Crimson pill’s grip, even if just for a while. That red-haired woman is dangerous, Alayna, more than you realize.’

’She’s already started catching on to what’s really happening in these memories. We’re lucky it’s only Lucian who’s able to see the crystal’s true records at all.’

’Anyway, speaking of which, do you think we could cook that boar now? I’m starving.’

Alayna let out a long breath, watching the white-haired girl in front of her with something between exasperation and fondness, her voice gentle despite herself, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

The Boar, meanwhile, looked thoroughly terrified.

Elsewhere.

Lucian turned the thought over as he walked. The servants Alayna had mentioned had to be the same missing pair Sebast had spoken of.

Had they collapsed after running into one of the Murks Zoria had unleashed?

Light spilled across his face as the door opened fully.