LONG HAVE YOU FOUGHT, NOW REST

Wind chimed like a dawning bell, causing grass and trees to sway on a small flatland, adorned with a glistening lake and flowery bed. Moon’s light barely echoed down, giving some illumination around the lake, while the stars lit up the sky like lanterns. At the northern point of the lake, just past it, was a small, well-shaven grave inching above the ground. Lynne and Y’se were standing in front of it in silence, their hair and robes swaying gently sideways.

“Tragic or bittersweet,” Y’se asked. “What kind of an ending this is?”

“…” Lynne glanced at her for a moment before replying. “Neither. It’s just an ending.”

“… eeh, that’s cold of you…”

“’s that so?” Lynne chuckled lightly as he looked up. “I think he preferred going in the blaze of war. Ever since I knew him, he’d only ever studied military tactics and best ways to organize armies. Regardless of whom he commanded, he always saw himself as part of the force. In the end, he perished with it.”

“… I think he’d have preferred much more to spend time with you until his dying days.” Y’se said.

“In the end, only he knows. I’ve always wondered… how come there’s so little we can do for the dead?” Lynne said, looking at the grave. “Burn him or bury him, and send him off with appropriate eulogy. Is that really all there is to it?”

“That’s all.” Y’se said. “But, it’s enough. In the end, even those things are for us rather than for him.”

“… heh, yeah. Living really are selfish.”

“… you’ve appropriated yourself well,” Y’se said, smiling weakly. “Looks like my worries were for naught.”

“Did you know him?” Lynne asked. “You know, before he left the Clan?”

“Aye,” Y’se nodded. “Rather, there probably wasn’t a clansman who didn’t know him.”

“Oh?”

“Median was the living embodiment of your philosophy: that Magic doesn’t dictate strength.” Y’se said. “It’s almost impossible to properly summarize the things he’s done for us.”

“… ‘s that so?” Lynne mumbled, smiling warmly. “Sorry for stealing him, then.”

“Ha ha, don’t be,” Y’se said, tapping Lynne’s shoulder lightly. “Median I met here… was much happier than he used to be. The way he looked at all his breakthroughs in knowledge, and the way he looked at you… they were worlds apart.”

“In the end,” Lynne said, sighing. “He never told me how he met mom, or how they got together. I suppose… that can be their little secret.”

“Why’d you want to know anyway? I bet it’s the same old cheesy story of two children from opposing forces meeting and falling in love in secret. Tried and true countless times already.”

“Every little story has something that belongs to it alone,” Lynne said, crouching down. “Even if circumstances are common. That’s why there are countless stories about Knights going on an adventure to save a Princess. Even if they’re all the same, they’re all different.”

“… I know you probably can’t see me as family just yet, at least not a proper one,” Y’se said warmly. “But I hope that, one day, you will. For better or worse, you’re stuck with me now, lil’ bro.”

“Aah, I’m honored. Truly honored. To have a beautiful fiance, a beautiful sister that loves me so… I’m truly a lucky man.” Lynne said as he stood back up.

“Oh? Fiance? When did you two manage that?” Y’se asked cheerily.

“Just before the battle,” Lynne said, chuckling. “It was one hell of an engagement party, no?”

“Aye, it truly was. I don’t think she’ll ever forget it. So, when’s the big day?”

“… I don’t think it matters much,” Lynne said, glancing back toward the Tower who shone slightly even during the night. “It’s just a verbal bond binding us, in the end. I really do want to have a family with her one day, though. To build a small farm somewhere far away, grow old and die properly.”

“Oi, for an extraordinary man, you really have some ordinary dreams.”

“To me, it’s reverse,” Lynne said, chuckling. “That dream seems rather extraordinary right now, doesn’t it?”

“I believe in you,” Y’se said, patting his head lightly as she smiled. “But, invite me over from time to time, okay?”

“Aye.”

“Alright, I’ll go back,” Y’se said, taking a deep breath. “There’s still five days until the deserters leave. Lot of things waiting to be taken care of in the meantime. What about you?”

“I’ll stay here for a bit longer,” Lynne said. “And then I’ll leave with Thalia and my assortment of weird friends for a few days to stack up on those rewards I promised for some reason.”

“’s that so?”

“Keep an eye out for Parsia while we’re out.”

“Will do. Alright, see you.”

“See you.”

Y’se quickly disappeared as she tore through the space, leaving behind only faint fragrance which still lingered in the air. Lynne gazed at the spot she was at for a moment before turning his head sideways toward the grave and crouching back down, picking up a pile of earth and letting it flow through his fingers. His expression was rather melancholy as he looked at the letters engraved on the stone’s surface: Median Iylox – Long has he fought. Now he rests.

“I never got to tell you,” Lynne spoke softly, lowering his head. “Mom’s last wish. In the end, underneath all that pride of hers, I saw a glimpse of what you fell in love with. She told me that, during that summer, she fell in love with real Median, and you fell in love with real Yunchi. I’m slightly jealous… that I never got to see that side of either one of you. Truth be told, I’m not sure whether it’s poetic or tragic that both of you died on the same day. But, in the end I’m not a poet, but a son of both of you. It seems tragedy won’t leave me alone. You have once told me that you only wanted me to be happy, and do things which made me happy. Alas, I don’t think that’s possible anymore, pops.”

“Those seventeen years,” Lynne’s voice cracked slightly as he continued. “I realized just how blissful they were only when I could no longer go back to them. The last time we talked, when you told me how proud of me you were, it felt as if a gigantic mountain had been removed from my heart. Hah, is this the feeling of ‘having so much to say, but not knowing what to say’? It truly fucking sucks. This is a goodbye, then,” Lynne got up slowly, still looking down. “Thanks… for everything.”

“Long have you fought,” he added as he turned around. “Now rest.” Lynne disappeared, leaving behind a silent, serene scene of swaying flowers and trees bathed in the moonlight, and a tall-standing grave amidst them, seemingly ready to withstand eternity.

* * *

Endless darkness spread throughout the space, with nothing to be discerned within it. Time here almost appeared frozen, and no sound echoed in or out. Then, amidst that nothingness, sixteen, faceless masks with only eyes carved out appeared in seemingly perfect synchronization. They immediately entered odd, symbiotic circle and began spinning circularly around a random spot, still silent.

“You have failed!!” a strong, grizzly voice beckoned out, breaking the silence of the surrounding darkness. “Failed miserably!!”

“Now, now,” a rather seductive, womanly voice echoed out afterwards. “It’s not like he could have predicted what would transpire. Although the losses we suffered are somewhat heavy, they won’t damage the core of our strength.”

“Forget the battle now, everyone. What’s done is done,” a voice with commanding and overbearing tone joined in. “The topic of discussion today is that boy. Was anyone able to identify what was that Spell Art he used?”

“It reminded me of Emperor Flame,” a timid, almost child-like voice joined. “But, even he had never done anything on that scale.”

“To me it looked like Fusion.” an elderly voice said. “I don’t think it’s possible to create a Spell Art on such scale.”

“… Fusion of Spell Arts and techniques is usually instinctive action. So, even the boy wasn’t planning for that to happen?” the grizzly voice that opened up the discussion said.

“… you’re all wrong,” a calm and indifferent voice said. “Whether it’s Fusion or technique or a Spell Art, what he did, can any one of you replicate it on that scale? What’s more, he was only an Empyrean Lord at the time. No matter how profound his attainment in Laws is, or how well-endowed he is at Fusion and Comprehension, it still breaks the barriers of common sense.”

“What do you propose it was, then?” child-like voice said.

“Although it sounds impossible,” the calm voice replied. “It reminded me of a picture I saw on a mural of a Primordial Site.”

“… you surely aren’t proposing that…” the elderly voice said timidly.

“Whether we want to accept it or not,” the calm voice said. “We need to at least consider the possibility that, somehow, the boy had mastered a Primordial Art.” indescribable chatter immediately broke out as discussions spiraled out of control. “Quiet! I’m not saying it’s certainly that, but, from what little we know of Primordial Arts, there’s a high chance for it.”

“… aren’t Primordial Arts usually depicted as realm-wide spells?” the commanding voice said questioningly. “Even if we say that he’s simply not strong enough to unleash it fully, the scale was still barely hundred miles in radius.”

“That’s why I’m saying it’s only my conjecture,” the calm voice added, seemingly annoyed. “Even we don’t have much knowledge regarding the Primordial Era, so who can with certainty say that it is or that it’s not? However, at the moment, we can only thrown around ideas. Rather than focusing on what can he do, how about we discuss what we can do to him?”

“It’s impossible to make a move now,” the grizzly voice said. “Everyone’s watching him. Even an inkling of movements against him will probably spiral into an outright war. We can’t afford that, not just yet.”

“Still… boy can’t be allowed to grow any further,” the child-like voice said. “It is confirmed he has awakened Iylox Bloodline. It’s only a matter of time before he becomes Divine Magus.”

“Even if we disregard external factors protecting him,” the seductive, womanly voice said. “Why is no one mentioning what’s inside the boy? Sanguine God, Divine Magus, an entire army of Empyrean Beasts, and who knows what else… how the hell did he obtain all that in the first place?”

“Enough.” a soft, charming voice spoke out, immediately silencing every other. Nobody even dared to breathe at that moment. “The boy is irrelevant at the moment. There’s no doubt Ancient Alliance and Primal Beast Clans have realized we’re up to something. We need to quickly reinforce our grip on Divine Realms and prepare for imminent battles that will undoubtedly break out. Also, we can no longer afford to be stealthy with the Passage. Hasten the Rune Marking and energy necessary for its opening. The knowledge, I hope, of where the passage leads to hasn’t leaked this room, right?”

“Affirmative.” the fifteen other voices replied in unison.

“Good. Go back now. Oh,” the voice added as the carved eyes on the faceless mask moved for the first time, looking toward a specific other. “There’s no more need for the Hyorn Clan. Abandon it and join another subsidiary force.”

“…”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“No. I’ll do as you say.”

“Good. Take this time to recover,” the voice said. “You’ll probably need at least a decade to recover to your previous condition. Don’t go looking for the boy before it.”

“Yes.”

“Hm. Dismissed.”

A mere flash later, and the sixteen white masks disappeared from the darkness, restoring it back to its original nothingness, as if nothing out of the ordinary just happened here.