<Episode 91>
Don’t hesitate like a fool.
It’s something that must be done.
Even if it means risking my life, I must do my best to achieve it.
“Okay, I trust your promise. Time is of essence, so hurry up and go.”
Mekaila nodded her head shallowly and said.
“Wait a moment, Mekaila. Riat, please go down in advance and prepare.”
But there was something I had to do before I left.
“…..There is someone I would like to say goodbye to.”
Before the long journey begins…..
I looked up at the spire towering in the distance and muttered.
“……The situation is urgent, so come down quickly.”
Riat seemed to have sensed the identity of the person I was about to talk to, and answered with a stiff expression on his face.
As he turned away from me, the hem of his black clothes blew in the angry wind.
“Please guide me to that spire.”
The only person in this world with whom I share my mother’s secret.
The only person I could trust with everything I had.
To say goodbye to him, I walked with the guidance of the congressman.
***
In an ominous swirling night sky.
The surroundings were bathed in brilliance by a thunderbolt that shook the heavens and earth, and then darkened again.
He stood alone at the top of the spire where the most dangerous air currents were flowing.
“……Edith?”
Meinhardt, as if sensing my presence, turned around and said in surprise.
“Are you safe being here?”
Immediately, I met his gaze as he asked about my well-being.
I swallowed the rising emotions and tried to smile.
Even if I smile, with my eyes full of tears, my heart can’t be hidden.
“……..”
As if he also sensed something was wrong with me, his face hardened and he stretched out his hand toward me.
“Meinhardt, I have to leave for Nisha now.”
The moment I spoke those words, His hand paused in the air as if stiffened.
“I don’t know how many secrets I learned from Mekaila today. I was clearly just coming to Litera to take the Spiritualist qualification exam… but why did I get caught up in such a big deal?”
“……Edith.”
I turned my head away, avoiding his question and gaze, and spoke as if nothing had happened.
“…Maybe this is my innate destiny. My mother also passed away while trying to fulfill the mission entrusted to her by the Spirit King of Wisdom. So, I am carrying on her legacy.”
There was only painful silence.
I barely raised my head.
I smiled again as I looked into his eyes, where emotions that could not be expressed in words were reflected.
Tears eventually flowed down my cheeks.
“So, I’ll come back.”
Embracing all my fears and the heavy burden given to me.
“As quickly as possible. Until then..….”
I forcibly prevented my expression from breaking down and spoke in a shaky voice.
“You must stay alive.”
“……..”
Meinhard said nothing for a while.
He looked down at me with those incomprehensible eyes.
“…….!”
A few years ago, I went into the past due to Arkane.
Just like the one he gave me in front of the Earth Spirit King, who had forgotten love and was steeped in cruelty, his smile was incredibly warm.
He leaned down and kissed my forehead.
“If you are safe, I too will live, and if you die, I will be no different as it’s a fact that I will also face eternal death.”
When I looked up at him in indescribable shock.
His calm voice flowed into my ears alongside the wind.
“So this time, I will ask for a promise. I will definitely stay alive and wait for you, so please return safely as well.”
“………”
At that moment, the tears that had been overflowing dangerously flowed down my cheeks again.
I ended up crying.
Meinhardt held me in his arms as I cried like a child and gently patted my back.
“Edith! Arkane’s shadow will soon come, so come down!”
And not long after, I left Litera riding a rough horse in Riat’s arms.
It made Litera, standing alone on the majestic cliff behind us as we left, look like a tiny thing.
Ssssss-
The last thing I saw was the sight of a giant snake’s head descending through the sky, its body made of shimmering darkness and its eyes flashing with an ominous green glow.
Riat, who embraced me as I lost consciousness, took me to a country that favors the only dark spirit king on the continent.
We Headed to Nisha.
***
The darkest night
A long time ago, a time when two empires, led by the Elementalist who received the blessing of wind and the Elementalist who received the blessing of light, began to record their reigns in history.
At a distant frontier.
At a land located at the edge of the continent that no clan had ever settled in or neglected.
A small group, including the three brothers who were the chief’s children, entered quietly.
The land they moved to was an area belonging to the shadow of darkness, and due to the influence of its owner, the sky was dyed black even though the sun rose for more than two-thirds of the year.
It was extremely rare to see bright daylight as it was called in the world, so it was considered a strange and dangerous area and most people were reluctant to set foot there.
Also, was that all there was to it?
Because the owner of the land hated life so much, any humans who came in died before they could stay for long.
Thus, a foolish nation entered the land that no one had ever set foot in before and was feared.
Were they fugitive?
Was it because they were a shabby force that was not accepted anywhere?
There is no way to know now why they entered that barren and ominous land, but the group settled there and chose the three brothers as monarchs.
‘The first is Einar, who left alone.
The second is Annushka, who dreams forever.
The third is Ilkai, who ascended to heaven.’
A legend that has been handed down through time immemorial sings of the names of the three brothers.
‘I am the eldest among my brothers, and I am the one who led you all into this land and established a foundation for it. It is right for me and my descendants to inherit the throne.’
Three royal families were created, but only one ascended to the throne.
It was only Einar, the eldest, and his descendants.
The descendants of Annushka and Ilkai ruled as royals, but could not ascend to the throne.
It is impossible to know how the younger brothers felt toward their eldest brother who demanded obedience.
But in the end, they obeyed their brother’s orders.
The three brothers passed their names as surnames to their children.
The children passed on their parents’ names to their own children, and so over time, the royal families of Nisha were able to clearly distinguish their ancestors with their own surnames.
Meanwhile, Einar and his descendants who ascended to the throne, loved their people and country immensely.
However, their charity became the driving force that allowed them to mercilessly harm and exploit other countries and ethnic groups for the sake of their own country.
Thus, the Kingdom of Nisha gained notoriety as an invader who terrorized all countries on the continent for thousands of years after its founding.
Until the long-awaited time of usurpation arrives.
***
Three horses stopped in front of the royal palace, immersed in darkness, through a black sky with countless heavy raindrops falling.
To prevent the little girl from getting wet from the rain, Riat wrapped his cloak around her body even more tightly and held her carefully as he got down from the horse.
He gestured to his subordinate and ordered them to reveal his identity to the gatekeeper.
Creak-
Not long after, the gates of the palace opened with a loud roar, and Nisha’s soldiers knelt down on one knee to show respect to their king.
“Follow me.”
Riat held Edith up and stretched out his free hand to grab Idris’ arm and lead him inside.
Pasha, who hurried out after hearing the news of the monarch’s return, was, unlike usual, caught up in puzzlement as he encountered the two unfamiliar children, one held by Riat and the other holding his hand.
“Your Highness, you came back early. But who are those kids.….”
“These are children brought from Litera.”
Riat lifted his chin and gave a short answer.
“Prevent the presence of these children from leaking out. Also, they will be staying in the palace as VIPs for the time being, so prepare a place for them to stay.”
“I obey your orders.”
Instead of raising questions, Pasha expressed submission.
“The maids will guide you. Please follow them.”
“Grand Princess Edith….”
“I will take care of Edith, there is no need for you to worry.”
Idris began to speak as if he was worried about Edith, who had lost her consciousness, but Riat coldly cut off the boy’s voice, picked Edith up, and headed to the inner room.
“…….”
“Young Lord, please follow us.”
A cold light, completely contradictory to the moment when he faced Riat, flashed in the eyes of the boy who was left alone, but soon disappeared.
Idris left, following Nisha’s maids.
***
“……Why did this happen?”
The bedroom was filled with silence as the child, who always chirped with a cheerful voice, was fast asleep.
Riat muttered in pain as he looked down at the sleeping girl that showed no intention of opening her tightly closed eyes.
“Why did Arkane suddenly appeared in the world like this?”
Litera was a place filled with unforgettable memories for him.
He never wanted it to collapse and disappear without even a shadow remaining.
It is said that countries other than Nisha were engulfed in great confusion after hearing the news that Litera had been attacked by dark spirits.
However, due to the mission given to Edith by Chairman Mekaila, he cannot even make a definite move……
Riat, who had been clenching his jaw so tightly that it almost broke, muttered in surprise as he recalled the presence that had suddenly appeared.
“……There were those guys.”
No matter how omnipotent Arkane was, he could not have led so many dark spirits to attack Litera without a summoner, having been bound by a ban by the great spiritists decades ago.
There was definitely going to be a helper.
“No way…. Azar!”
Riat’s face instantly hardened and he stood up and shouted.
“Did you call me, Your Majesty?”
Riat looked down at the subordinate, who appeared right away and bowed with his hand on his chest, chewing his lips nervously, and soon scolded in a sharp voice.
“Has there been any reports of anything strange at King Einar’s office?”
“Your Majesty has received all reports. Other than that, nothing new has been reported.”
Okay, then that’s a good thing……
“If Einar does something crazy again..….at this time.”
Why was there so much cold anxiety comes to him?
“Try to monitor Einar’s movements more closely from now on.”
Riat, who was muttering with his eyes distorted, gave an order to his subordinate as if making a request.
“I obey your orders.”
