Chapter 112: Another Eye - VII

Clementine, Taylor, and Lillie, satisfied with the garden’s current state, walked into the dilapidated compound.

The smell of mold, desiccated rot, and a stagnant beast musk lingered near the floors and walls. Any open windows let in ozone-scented winds, carrying the smell of rusted iron and a metallic tang.

Wooden pillars were fissured and dried out, looking as if they would turn to dust at the slightest touch.

Luckily, the compound was mainly carved into the quartzite spire, hugging the incline and sloping upwards. With the garden at the lowest point of the property, the compound rose steeply along the spire wall.

Meanwhile, the spiraling roads of the City of Spires curved outside like a railing, and on the other side of the road were other buildings built into the spire—but their entrances were much further downhill.

Only the tallest buildings of the layer right beneath them could be seen beyond the road’s safety wall.

—Sniff.

Lillie’s nose twitched from the wafting dust. Unfortunately, this structure was inorganic. Her current array of Nature Magic spells could not refurbish the place.

If they were unsatisfied with its ambience, then...

What they needed were carpenters, stone masons, and artisans.

They also needed enchanters to imbue the walls and foundations with a new array of magic formations while integrating and reinforcing the still-operational formations functioning here and there.

Otherwise, the sheer altitude of the City of Spires would cause everything to corrode. The wind-attributed mana currents swirling like cyclones every hour of the day were real threats that required wealth or expertise to overcome.

Thus, this dangerous environment had become a staple of the slightly wealthier citizens of the empire.

The stronger the individual, the longer they lived, the more wealth they could gather.

Such was the natural philosophy of Walvaskaz’s myriad races.

—Creak.

When the trio reached the end of the lowest floor, the floor transitioned gradually from stone to wood in a grey-brown gradient of differently shaded squares. Had Aventine been here, he would have compared it to the way a certain sandbox mining and crafting game’s builders would create gradients with blocks.

The trio ignored the change as they went up a wide, spiraling staircase and arrived at the second floor.

Unlike the moldy and musky ground floor surrounded by the reinvigorated garden, the second floor was in better condition.

Still... it was a sad sight nonetheless. This room only had space equal to that of a basketball court—and it was completely barren.

The wooden floor had nothing placed on top of it, and the windows were sealed shut with dusty glass panes.

"Sigh,"

Clementine took one look at all of this before continuing up the spiraling staircase.

The third floor.

The fourth.

And then the fifth.

Barren, empty rooms and sealed windows. Doors were left wide open, looking as if this place had once housed a bustling clan of apothecaries.

Unfortunately, it only seemed that way to Clementine, who’d once heard all the stories before everything was sold away.

Every floor brought her memories associated with sorrow, sullying her mood until they reached the eighteenth floor.

At this point, the road beneath the compound was quite a ways away, having risen far up the spire’s impossibly steep slope. They were closer to the road above them than they were to the road below.

"We’re here." Clementine took a deep breath as she stood before a pair of double doors at the end of the spiraling staircase.

Her gaze flashed with a light of slight amusement despite the melancholic air she wore.

’To think that I’d be coming back after retrieving one of the family’s legacies, with a human and a noble High Snakespawn accompanying me.’

She always thought that she would return on her own, way back when she first left. In fact, she did not have hope of ever returning, fully expecting this ancestral home of hers to fall.

Now, however, she could see hope in her family’s revival.

The hope first stemmed from herself before blooming from the presence of those around her.

First, it had been only Kuvie and Reazue.

The naïve Taylor then popped into her life, followed by the mysterious pair that was Lillie and Aventine.

"Father, mother."

Clementine muttered to herself, bracing herself to meet her annoying cousins.

"Please guide me."

—Clack.

The wooden double doors clicked open, revealing the beginning of the compound’s liveliness.

Suddenly, four faces, similar to Clementine’s own, yet distinct in their own ways, looked over.

"Ah, Clementine." A masculine voice was the first to greet her.

The owner of the voice had hair that was a deeper shade of green than Clementine’s, and much longer as well. His hair dragged on the floor behind him, cascading over the couch he lounged upon. There was a resigned smile on his face, seemingly exhausted by the entire ordeal.

"How long has it been? Two hundred years?" The Snakespawn chuckled. "I can’t believe you actually found the family’s legacy... But we’ve all moved on long ago. Unlike you, we have sought a different kind of life, away from the name of Vielour."

"...Melien," Clementine greeted with a reflective, wry smile. "Specifically two-hundred and forty-two years. So? Do tell me what kind of lives you’ve all lived. It really has been a long time."

Melien sighed, combing his fingers through his hair to flatten a frazzled strand caused by the recent stress. "Gods, please, let’s not talk about all that first. We’re all here because you unlocked one of the legacies. Grandfather issued a summons beyond the grave."

The Snakespawn gestured to the floating prism behind him.

Clementine’s lips twitched.

"Grandpa..."

She’d been wondering who issued the summons—wondering which aunt or uncle had contacted them through their blood. She was sure it hadn’t been her parents given their precarious state.

But...

To think that their long-dead grandfather was still managing what was left of the Vielour bloodline... No wonder the rest of the estate was in ruins. There was only so much a remnant soul could do.

Why wasn’t he allowed to rest in peace?

"CLE-MEN-TINE—-!"

A completely unhinged voice roared from the floating prism. There was a flash of green as every Vielour descendant in the room shivered.

’Yep,’ They all thought. ’That’s grandpa (grandfather) alright...’

"YOU DID IT! I KNEW IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO SEND YOU OUT ON YOUR OWN—"

—Crack.

Clementine smashed the floating prism into the wooden boards with a single fist.

"You kicked me out, you damned geezer."

Now, the cousins all shivered again.

’Yep,’ They all thought, excluding Clementine this time. ’That’s our cousin alright...’