DECLARATION OF WAR

Sun hung low on the sky, its beams shining delightfully against the rough surface of the newly built buildings rising around the Tower. Ever since the attempt at Median’s life two days ago, things have quieted down. Y’se had recovered somewhat and had begun stealthy search for more possible culprits, while Lynne was still recovering. Meanwhile, Thalia had organized a special unit to scout out the immediate outside of the formation, which she herself was a part of.

Unable to sit and do nothing, Median decided to jointly take control of the army and strategically shifted patrols as to not arouse any suspicion. In the end, it was Parsia and Ayya who took upon themselves to actually rule anything. Luckily, both had quite a lot of experience with it, so things, at the moment, were proceeding smoothly.

Inside a small, dry room with only a single bed, Lynne was still lying motionlessly on his bed, occasionally coughing out black blood. Y’se was currently sitting next to him, occasionally infusing Mana directly into his Soul, helping him recover faster while keeping an eye out for any strange Mana fluctuations.

Sighing, she got up and began walking around the room, stretching her sore legs while still remaining silent. She was jolted by another cough and swiftly turned around, remaining somewhat frozen in spot; Lynne was sitting upright, wiping his mouth while coughing dryly.

“Eh?” she exclaimed as she walked over. “You’re awake? Fuck! That was quick! Are you okay? Does it hurt? Show me where it hurts?”

“Hai, not that I’m complaining that a beautiful girl is so anxiously waiting for my revival, but could you do it in a ‘barely audible’ tone? You’re kind of killing me here.” Lynne grumbled in a weak voice, pulling himself back and leaning against a pillow.

“S-sorry… how are you feeling?” she asked in a soft voice.

“Like someone shoved a mountain down my throat, then dissevered every inch of my body with a spoon, and then stuffed me full of needles. So, you know, long story short, just fucking peachy.” Lynne said.

“Eh, you’re the one to blame. Who told you to burn your Mana and blood like a fucking moron?”

“Is… is my dad okay?” he asked.

“… yeah, he’s fine. Don’t worry about him.”

“What happened afterward?” he continued probing.

“… just relax, everything’s been taken care of,” Y’se sighed. “You should just lie down like a cute little lamb and recover.”

“Did you find that girl?” Lynne asked.

“Girl?” Y’se asked, tilting her head sideways.

“In the chambers where I concoct my pills.”

“Oh, we found girl’s corpse.” Y’se said.

“Corpse?!” Lynne looked sideways, somewhat shocked.

“From what I saw, she killed herself.” Y’se said. “Why?”

“… hah, no wonder. What else is there after having your Soul ripped open by a stranger?”

“… you ripped her soul?” Y’se asked, narrowing her eyes.

“Yeah,” Lynne said honestly, sighing. “I figured I could get her talking that way. Heh, what a fabulous King I am, huh? She was an Empyrean Child, just like me. Didn’t seem that much older either. Yet…”

“It’s fine,” Y’se interrupted him, sighing. “Just don’t do it again. Friends or foes, Soul is one thing of others we should never touch.”

“… I know,” Lynne said. “But, I can’t promise you I won’t.”

“Aaah, I’ve really got a troublesome lil’ bro. Makes me wonder if it was worth it feeding him all that blood of mine.”

“… thanks for that,” Lynne chuckled. “You’ve really saved me there.”

“… so? Did you learn anything from that girl?” Y’se asked.

“Aye,” Lynne nodded, his face suddenly growing ugly. “She was a part of the Faithful Ones.”

“What?!” Y’se jolted onto her feet in shock.

“From my own conjecture, she and others probably have some innate Gift that allowed them to communicate with the outside world,” Lynne said. “And, according to her, they were hired by Yunchi Hyorn, to kill me and my dad.”

“…”

“Ugh, this is giving me a headache,” Lynne grumbled. “Just when I thought I’d settle in for a while and relax, bang, bitches come banging on the doors. Well, a bitch, but still…”

“How credible is the information?” Y’se asked.

“She told me after I began ripping her memories apart…”

“…”

“I know,” Lynne said, lowering his head. “But, hate me or not, I won’t apologize.”

“… that’s a dangerous road to walk on, Lynne,” Y’se said in a cold tone, hint of anger flashing through it. “One that never leads to a happy ending. Soul is a thing birthed from the Source; when you play with it, you’re playing with the Origin of Life in essence.”

“I don’t know much about that,” Lynne said, shifting sideways as if ready to get up. “To me, Source or Origin are far too distant things. I had a choice; either just kill her, or first find out something useful and then kill her. I chose latter.”

“I won’t say anything else,” Y’se said, helping him up. “You should know best how to feel about it. Just--”

“It’s fine,” Lynne chuckled, slowly freeing himself from her help. “Just pretend you don’t know anything.”

“… fine. Anyway, how’d you heal up that fast?” she asked.

“I’ve got a Sanguine God servant, did you forget?” Lynne smiled. “He helped me process your blood quickly and infuse it with mine. The rest of the injuries were just minor ones, so it’s fine now.”

“You shouldn’t leave this room for the time being,” Y’se said. “Just walk around until you feel better and lie down. Leave the rest to us.”

“Fine.”

Y’se paid him one final glance and sighed before disappearing through a spacial vortex, leaving Lynne alone. He walked around the room for a bit as she recommended before he felt tiredness overcome him, causing him to plummet back onto the bed. As he panted, flash burst out from within him, causing the two familiar faces to appear: that of the aforementioned God and the old Spirit, both of whom had rather displeased expressions.

“Aii, you’re not gonna go into lecture-mode as well?” Lynne said, smiling bitterly.

“You’re far crueler than I imagined.” the Spirit said.

“Well, neither of you said anything when I was doing it, so…”

“We wanted to see how far you’d go,” the God said. “Had you truly ripped her memories completely, I’d have killed you right there, on the spot.”

“Aaa, scary~~”

“What’s scary is you,” the Spirit said. “Are you even aware of it?”

“… hah, don’t look at me like that,” Lynne said, covering his face. “I’m not the monster here.”

“If Y’se told anyone outside what you did,” the Spirit continued. “They would leave this place immediately. Do you really want to destroy something you so desperately built for small bits of information and impatience?!”

“… fuck you.”

“Huh?”

“Why the hell do you think I did it?!” Lynne bellowed back. “It is to protect!”

“Hah, and here I thought wordy Lynne would have a better excuse ready…” the little child sneered.

“Excuse? What the fuck do I need an excuse for?!” Lynne yelled out. “What should I have done, huh?! ‘Oh, you don’t want to tell me anything? Well, sorry for making it inconvenient for you, I’ll just kill you then’? Screw that! I saw an opportunity and I took it!”

“… listen to yourself,” the Spirit said coldly. “You’re talking as if you’re readying yourself to do it again. Listen Lynne,” the Spirit continued. “I’ve watched you grow into a person you are today. And that person isn’t someone who cold-heartedly rips someone’s Soul apart. It’s not someone who casually talks about killing without a reason. It’s not someone who believes in ‘all means excuse the end’. If you were that kind of a person, I would have never imparted my Master’s legacy on you in the first place.”

“…”

“He’s right,” the child continued, breaking the heavy silence. “And you don’t have to lie to us, Lynne. Rather, you can’t. We’re part of you. Everything you feel, resonates within us as well. Every time you feel like breaking apart, we feel too. Every time you feel joy, we feel it too. So--”

“I FUCKING KNOW!!” Lynne bellowed out angrily, throwing a pillow at the two which casually passed through both of them. “I’m not this, I’m not that; Lynne, you’re just like this, you’re exactly like that! Why the hell does everyone else get to say what kind of a person I am?! Why is it that everyone thinks they know me? Who the hell do they think I’m doing this all for?! But… but… I can’t blame them… I promised them a Paradise… I promised them a fucking Paradise…” tears rolled down slowly, wetting the blanket beneath. “So how can I allow it to turn into hell before it even bloomed properly?! I promised myself I’d be anything they needed me to be! I’d take on everything, and they accepted it!”

“… aah, he broke,” the Spirit said, chuckling lightly. “What-ever-will-we-do?”

“… fuck off, old tactless fuck.” Lynne mumbled, wiping his eyes.

“Do you know why this ‘everyone’ says they know Lynne?” the child said, smiling lightly. “Because, time and time again, they’re seeing who you are through your actions. Whenever there’s a storm, you’re there to weather it. Whenever there’s burden, you’re there to shoulder it. If you keep doing that, it’s only normal you’ll get hurt, both inside and out. Although I’ve always remained ignorant in regards to humans in that department,” his voice softened somewhat. “Watching you struggle helped me understand that part, if only a bit. Us, False Gods, live for ourselves. From the day we are born until the day we die, we don’t know anything besides our own survival. And, for the greater part of my life, I believed most humans to be the same. So, seeing you fighting for everyone’s sake except yours… I can’t help but admire you a bit.”

“… then help me get stronger, dammit. I wouldn’t have had to burn my Mana and blood if you had helped me get stronger, teachers.”

“You don’t have to be strong, Lynne,” the Spirit said, smiling. “You only need to be you, and let rains to come wash away whatever troubles may come.”

“… no,” Lynne shook his head firmly. “What’s that half-assed surrender? If I was like that, I’d never have left Highlind in the first place. I’d have remained behind with others and allowed myself to get killed. What’s with this shit of not having to be strong? Of course I have to be strong.” Lynne got up onto his feet, slightly wobbling, his expression somewhat grim. “Strong enough to protect the people close to me, strong enough to protect my Paradise, strong enough to protect their Paradise… if words could sway the strong, no one would be training to become a Magus. Can either of you somehow let me talk to my mother?”

“… what for?” the Spirit asked.

“Just help me.”

“Sure thing,” the child snickered and flew toward his forehead where a single drop of blood fell from. “Just stay still.”

* * *

Yunchi was currently sitting in an empty room, looking over some parchments and reports. Yawning, she stretched slightly and prepared to go to bed when she felt strange Mana fluctuation just next to her. Startled, she immediately took out a sword to fight, but saw that it was just a droplet of blood which slowly began transforming, until it turned into a familiar image: Lynne.

“L-lynne…” she mumbled, scooting backwards.

“… thank you,” Lynne mumbled before turning toward the woman across, his eyes burning with hatred. “You hired someone to kill my dad?”

“W-what?” How did he find out?!

“I’m fine to aim against,” Lynne said calmly. “After all, I’m still a Magus and I can defend myself. However, you stooped so low as to attack basically an ordinary person? What for? Pride? Acknowledgment? Shame? Scratch that, I don’t give a shit,” Lynne said, waving his hand. “I’m aware you know of my arrival, and probably a whole heap of other things. I don’t care for that either. Just know that, even if you don’t come, I’ll come to you. It was a fair game until the moment you sought to kill him. Now, all cards are off the table. I promise you this, mom, I’ll personally rip your beating heart out of your chest, and watch life fade out of your eyes. And then I’ll go to your shitty clan, and eradicate everyone, down to the last child, and then erase the name ‘Hyorn’ from all records of history. When I’m done with you lot, there’ll not be a living soul in all the realms that will dare utter the name ‘Hyorn’. And, before I kill each and every one of your blood, I’ll tell them who to blame: Yuchi Hyorn, a whore who had never ought to be born.” just as his last words escaped his lips, the crimson Lynne made from a single droplet of blood exploded into thin particles, disappearing, leaving shaking Yunchi alone. Even though a simple projection, his eyes had shook her very being more so than any single one of his words. That hatred, deep-seeded contempt, absolute resentment that had no bounds… d-did I make a mistake? No, no… he’s just a kid. How dare he threaten me like that?! Just wait, both of you. You don’t have to come. Soon, I’ll be coming to you. And I’ll finally get to wash away the shame of that year… just you wait…