Chapter 1054 - ........................
I woke up about five hours later, according to Ashe.
I didn't even want to ask how she managed to track her internal clock even while sleeping. No one would offer a belated retort to the invincible princess.
The retort I really wanted to give was to the system clock, which still hadn't moved even after twenty-four hours. I held back a sigh of resignation.
"...Now, the second one."
After sleeping in the virtual world, my mental condition was perfectly restored. At least, I was recovered enough to act tough.
We moved past the green barrier of the Wedge we had used as a camp.
"...West's [Sage Folkana], right?"
Following [Hero Alistia], the one we had already overcome. We stood before a small shadow in the center of the green-themed castle ruins.
I muttered that for Ashe's sake, but the shadow didn't move. He simply stood there lifelessly.
He was small. About the same height as Sora.
He wore a large hooded half-robe. His hair was long and tied, draped over his shoulder. Because he was entirely black, his features were unreadable, but those were his main characteristics. Unlike the [Hero], his hands were empty.
But,
"...It's the same."
"Yeah."
"Mm."
There was a line. There was a pressure that told our experience and instincts that it would begin if we crossed it. In that regard, he was of the same kind as the [Hero].
"...Will we fight? Even though it's the West... the West person?"
Next to the row of me, Ashe, and Tora-kichi was one more person. Sora, who had finally been permitted to return to the front lines after receiving status souvenirs from Alistia-san, asked that question.
She could see the line too. But her common sense as a player regarding the factions gave rise to the question. The West should be non-combat, shouldn't it?
"Well, yeah. Even if we feel the pressure..."
"True."
"Mm."
It was exactly as the three of us thought. We felt a great pressure, but it was like a presence. We didn't feel the fighting spirit or thirst for battle we had from Alistia-san.
...
The small shadow doll gave off only a quiet power. It was enough that we might have mistaken it for our own expectations.
I couldn't imagine a fight beginning if we took a step forward.
"...Well, let's go anyway."
"Mm... it won't start unless we begin."
"Everything here has been unexpected. No point in thinking about it."
"Y-Yes...!"
As Ashe said, nothing would happen unless we started. From East to West... following Kendy-dono's rare advice to leave the North and South for later, we had crossed the maze.
There was no point in being afraid. We would face the trial of [Sage Folkana].
I checked behind us. After the [Hero] battle, Nia-chan had complained that it was scary when we just suddenly started. She was waiting in the back, guarded by the knight. She gave us an overly rapid, panicked nod.
I was prepared now. With no information, I didn't even have anything to worry about.
We nodded to each other and stepped forward. The moment our feet crossed the line on the floor...
"Wait there for a moment."
We stopped for various reasons. Caution, surprise, and a reflex to obey. It was a high-pitched voice, like a boy's before it changed, yet it possessed a softness and deep wisdom of an adult.
It came from the shadow doll before us.
"Let us listen."
Ashe's murmur wasn't directed at him, but at the party members who were looking to her for guidance. We remained still.
"To those who have arrived from the far future. Please forgive me for using a recording rather than direct words, but I offer my greetings."
It came from the shadow doll, without its mouth moving.
It was a recording, as he said. A message spun in the far past was being replayed from within the featureless depths.
"I am Folkana. I am embarrassed to be called by such a grand name as the [Sage] by my companions... In truth, I am but a weak person with no talent other than making things. Therefore..."
He mixed in some playfulness and friendliness into his calm tone.
"I cannot measure your martial prowess by myself. ...So, let's do this instead."
In that same calm voice, lacking any fighting spirit, he moved slowly. As we watched, he bent a knee and placed his hand on the floor.
"Here is my work."
The moment his palm touched the floor...
"...!"
Only Ashe could react to that simple action. I, who was confident in my reflexes, Tora-kichi, who had wild instincts, and Sora, who had normal reaction speeds, couldn't even react.
From our position to as far as we could see behind us...
"...S-Seriously?"
It was like a pin cushion for swords. Faster than a blink, countless weapons had erupted from the floor, points downward. Seeing that incomprehensible phenomenon, I felt a chill.
Nia-chan, who was frozen like a scared cat, and the knight next to her were safe.
In fact, our positions were carefully avoided... but what if he hadn't? If he hadn't left gaps, if the weapons had pointed upward as they erupted, we would have been full of holes in a blink.
"...This, right now..."
"Yeah, I know..."
As I answered my partner, who couldn't hide her shaking, more changes occurred on the stage.
"The rules are simple."
The mountain of rubble, the remains of the castle, began to float. The mass that once formed the great building remained, and it was now taking a new shape.
"Use my work as you wish... and break my work."
In a stage blooming with countless weapons, the giant rubble Dragon under the [Sage]'s command stomped its four legs in a silent roar.