[Chapter 5] Wise - Anxious Waiting

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They’d gathered high in the fortress to snoop. We’re all curious, even me. For once, his foresight hadn’t ruined the surprise.

“Sneaking closer wouldn’t work, would it?” Light leaned against the window.

“No, she’s set up a barrier.” Rose’s finger tapped impatiently on her crossed arms.

Curled up in blankets, he and Hope were sitting on one of two ‘sofas’ facing a ‘coffee table’. More like ice benches. They weren’t designed for comfort. We live below, where it’s warm. Here, the howling winds were ripping the heat from them. That’s not all…

In the corner, Dawn sat crossed-legged and closed-eyed, her frozen armor disintegrating and reforming in an endless cycle. Her hair wavered under the intense channeling. The more you use magic, the easier it becomes. His sister took every opportunity to ‘cultivate’ her talent. She’s likely the only one calm enough.

While a bewitching sight, he wished she’d stop. It’s cold enough already. Sadly, he knew asking wouldn’t work. She’d tell us to go back. While that idea was attractive, Hope would refuse, and he couldn’t abandon her. If she’s going to freeze, it’ll be easier to predict from here.

“Are you alright?” Wise asked.

“I’m fine.” Hope said. “Also, I’m not going anywhere.”

As expected. Anytime he asked a question, before speaking a word, he already knew the answer. Every time. He could probably go through life without making an single inquiry. But I don’t want that. He hated how his foresight robed him of human interactions.

Wise looked around. Rose and Light were still spying. Free was pacing, lost in thought. She thinks too much. Soul was installed across from them. No doubt out of concern.

“I wish I could read lips.” Rose muttered.

Hope leaned over, “What’s that?”

“It means understanding what someone is saying by watching their mouths move.” Wise said. With their Martial Arts, it would’ve been possible, even at this distance.

Rose overheard and glanced over. Drats. Soon she’d come interrogate him. Once I would’ve welcomed the attention. Today, he found it far less pleasant, especially when it came from Rose. Because I know the answer she wants so badly… Or at least part of it.

Sighing, Wise touched his headband. Back when his abilities were at their wildest, he’d dreamed of what lay below the ice. Outside the fortress, far from the surface, he’d seen a network of metallic structures. Monsters crawled everywhere, frozen still. They were diverse in their features, similar to Astra’s creatures, except made of living flesh. Twisted flesh. Even in his sleepy torpor, he’d sensed their malevolence. They weren’t dead, merely inactive.

The next moment, he’d been flying through a winding maze of steel. He saw machines humming and tanks containing horrors. Dread-inspiring forms wandered the halls. The undead… Other parts he couldn’t or wouldn’t remember. That place was wrong, full of things which shouldn’t exist and secrets not mean to be known.

Eventually he was in a large room, two stories high with metal walkways. Thousands of tanks, smaller in size, filled the space and lined the walls. In each, a little corpse floated. Endless rows of dead babies. Whatever had kept them alive had failed long ago. A few were empty. Eight of them.

When he’d confronted Astra, she’d gone pale and swore him to silence. It’s not as if knowing is useful. He still faintly hoped it’d been a meaningless vision, but knew it wasn’t. If Rose found out, she’d want more. She might ask me to take my headband off. If she pestered him as she did Astra, he wasn’t sure he could take it.

On schedule, Rose walked over and caught his eye, “Stop keeping everything to yourself. Tell us about Simon Black.”

I’ve only myself to blame. He hadn’t been able to resist showing off earlier. This is the price. “He’s strong, very strong. Weaker than Astra though. I don’t sense any danger, yet something feels off. Maybe it’s because he’s a necromancer.”

By wishing it, Wise could receive any information obtainable in the next few hours. He could find out taste or temperature just by looking. Or someone’s combat potential. This was useful when Astra matched them against her ice creations.

“That’s interesting, but not relevant. Why is he here? Give use the details.”

Wise frowned, “Didn’t he explain? It was to deliver news and invite Astra to the Isle.”

“Details we don’t know.” Rose stressed.

She’d make a great dictator. He continued reluctantly, “Let’s see… There were two terrorist attacks before Arther’s death. Lily’s regency is in peril. If Astra accepts, Nero will take over safeguarding Sola’s Legacy—”

“What’s that?” Rose cut in. Blast it. He’d been trying not to think of the reference. Now the answer flowed into him.

“Please, we all want to know.” Soul added. If he’s asking, there’s no choice… But I’m not doing it for free.

“Make it warmer.” He demanded.

“What?” Rose said.

“Like when you get upset.” Wise clarified.

Rose stared, resignation creeping over her, “Fine.” He felt the flow of power, and she began radiating heat.

“What’s ‘Sola’s Legacy’?” She asked tersely.

“The place where we live, that’s only a tiny portion of ‘Earth’s End’. It was the section Sola kept for visitors, back before the Dark Age.” It was always strange giving an explanation on a subject he knew nothing about. Information comes out of order.

“So Sola built it?” Free chimed in, approaching from behind.

“Yes, it’s where she did her research for years.”

“What does this have to do with us?” Rose pressed.

“It…” Wise frowned. “I don’t know…”

Rose clicked her tongue, “So he’s still keeping silent about that? Then how about this: Why’s Astra guarding Earth’s End? What’s so critical?”

“It was here that Sola performed her first resurrection, an act widely considered the cause of the Dark Age.”

“Why’s that?” Free asked.

Wise groaned as a garbled torrent assaulted him. This is why I hate being quizzed. Simple answers, a couple of sentences worth, arrived effortlessly. In fact, it’s hard to stop. Broad queries were a different story. It’s like a dozen voices barking at once.

“Why don’t we give him a break?” Soul interjected. “That he’s getting answers means Simon will be available later. Also, Free, you know better than to ask something complex.”

Rose and Free looked like they’d swallowed bitter pills. Only Soul could reign those two in——or any of them for that matter. He’d earned his out-sized influenced from years of tireless effort. When he spoke up, it was never on his own behalf. It’s hard to go against that selflessness.

“Fine, but one last one.” Rose said. “Will Simon persuaded Astra?”

“That’s…” Wise smiled. “…all for now.”

Silver burst into the room, “Any news yet?”

“They’re still talking.” Light said. “Where’d you run off to?”

“To grab this.” He dropped a book on the table and plopped down besides Soul. Unbridled enthusiasm… At the prospect of the thrilling, his brother had no brakes.

Silver opened to an illustration, “This is the Isle of Dreams.”

The landmass was shaped like an upright cylinder with a hole in its center. A beam of light shot up through this interior. The pillar of Enera. The city was built on the surface around it. There was also a chunk missing on one side. From above, it’d look like a extremely thick ‘C’.

“Apparently, when the crust moved upwards during the Fracturing, the Pillar’s base stayed fixed. Hence the hollow inside.” Silver explained.

“Here’s a ‘skyriver’” Silver traced a stream of blue to where it disappeared near to pillar. Hydraulics would convert this passing water into energy. Also, the Isle’s skyriver was famous for being the only one which traveled above ground. Did I really need to know that?

“I imagine we’ll be staying here: the Rose Palace.” Silver pointed again. “It’s where Lily lives. What’d you think?”

“It’s just a coincidence.” Rose replied icily, still releasing heat.

“Maybe not. Your name could’ve been inspired by this place.” Silver tapped the pink buildings, which were built on the highest elevation of——Nope, enough for now.

Wise leaned back and stopped listening. Although he could consciously force his ability off, it was easier to tune out topics which might trigger it. Facts about the Isle of Dreams weren’t currently important. Our departure isn’t confirmed. The mind could only hold so much, and prolonged use gave him migraines.

He frowned. With Simon’s arrival, he’d understood just how powerful his ability could be. I showed off because of this. Yet, on further reflection, he was growing apprehensive. If one person unlocked so much, what would happen when he reached civilization? There were… ——half a million—— …people on the Isle of Dreams. Surrounded by that many, what would happen?

Observing Silver talk passionately, pangs of jealousy stirred. At one time, he’d also been excited, eagerly dreaming of being a hero from Astra’s stories.

“…Here’s the Stone Coliseum. We’ll definitively compete there…”

A coliseum… We’ve one too. They’d started dueling there when they were nine. That’s where it all went wrong.

At the very beginning, he’d been able to keep up. If a possibility of winning existed, he could find it. However, as his siblings got stronger, discovering that path proved increasingly elusive. Eventually, it was nowhere to be found. The experience was devastating. To search a millions futures and see yourself failing in all of them… Every loss was amplified a thousand fold.

In desperation, he’d attempted to summon combat expertise from the future. Who better to teach me than my older selves? It’d worked, and he’d won. From then on, he’d done it whenever he fought.

There’d been issues from the outset. He’d only half-remember his matches. Worse, during battle he’d be filled with emotions which weren’t his own. He’d laugh or cry without knowing why. The emotional imbalance didn’t stop me. That his siblings were afraid had even given him a twisted sense of pride. As time wore on, personality fragments had begun entering outside of the ring. One time, I looked at the others and thought, ‘they’re so young.’ He’d hid his collapsing personality as best he could. Madness was a small price for power. Or at least that’s what I believed, right up until the dreams.

He began experiencing his future deaths in his sleep. It wasn’t only my own. He’d seen his siblings perish dozens of times each. Slumber brought visions of terrible places. And there was also the reoccurring nightmare where he was repeatedly killed by a man cackling madly…

Wise paused. They’re the same. Simon’s ‘Laughing Man’ was that murderer. The certainty was unmistakable. Wonderful, this eliminates any doubt of its authenticity.

He took a deep breath. Let it go. It’s not as if you can do anything about it. This was why he despised his gift. He couldn’t lie to himself. How is this helpful in any way?

Wise hid under his blanket as more came. For the first time, he understood the reason behind the dreams. Foresight was a necromantic ability, and all necromantic magic contained a trace of malignance, a desire to harm life. Even when used perfectly, foresight had a bias towards tragedy. When he’d lost control, the results had been those nightmares.

So that’s why necromancers take the oath. Since it offered protection against this corruption, they could channel death without destroying themselves…

Enough! Wise stopped all thought. A minute passed. He rubbed his head.

He didn’t remember when Astra froze him. When he woke up, the headband was keeping the madness at bay. Later, he’d recalled enough to piece together a rough martial art, so the experienced wasn’t a complete loss. On the other hand, I remember the dreams clearly.

Watching Silver, his resentment grew. It’s not fair. From the years they’d spent together, he could vaguely perceive his siblings’ future potential. It was blinding in its brilliance. Especially Dawn, but I’ll never tell her that. As for himself, he sensed nothing. He could guess why. When he used foresight, what he saw was the branching outcomes of all his conceivable actions. From his perspective, the future of his siblings appeared relatively linear while his own was blurred by infinite possibilities. I can observe others better than myself.

Life hadn’t improved in recent years. He saw attacks coming with greater clarity yet was increasingly helpless to respond. Knowledge without power… It’s useless. Efforts to develop his martial arts had failed. Rose did so on her own, so why couldn’t I? He envied her progress. Not just her, but all of them. He felt himself drowning in jealousy. It came against his wishes, just like the knowledge.

What saved him was his sister. Hope’s situation was worse in every way. She was slower, weaker, and barely possessed foresight. Despite always being last, she never let it discourage her. She simply worked harder, becoming more determined with every setback. If Hope has a bright future, then so do I. If she didn’t give up, neither would he.

“Hey, Wise.” Sliver said. “Can you tell us if we’re traveling to the Isle?”

I don’t really want to. Silver’s grating optimism might worsen. He was about to refuse when Hope added, “If you check, we can go somewhere warm.”

Now that sounds appealing. “Alright, I’ll try.” Then it hit him. Surprised, he looked up as a fairy flew in. “We depart tomorrow.”