Chapter 216 - <23>
The next day, Franz awoke in a state of agitation. Before him, his room in Orphe's house, where he had lived for five years, existed exactly as it had been back then, completely unchanged.
He was under the illusion that the journey so far had been a dream he'd had between training sessions. Confused, he got out of bed and opened the window. Before him, as expected, was the familiar pond.
To quell the sense of unease bubbling up from the bottom of his heart, he looked around further and saw the hemispherical object called T slowly crossing the garden.
"It wasn't a dream…"
Letting out a deep sigh of relief, he followed T with his eyes. T had wings like a bird on both sides and was carrying a lot of luggage on them. Seeing the buckets, shovels, and soil, he realized they were farming tools.
He remembered that just before entering this house, there had been a vegetable patch and an orchard. The ingredients they ate here were probably grown by T.
The sun was directly overhead, and the house cast almost no shadow. It seemed to be noon already. He had slept for quite a while.
Sighing, he looked around the room. In the small room, the books and daily necessities Franz had left behind when he set out on his journey were lined up just as they were. He walked to the bookshelf and gently pulled out a volume.
"Ah…"
A nostalgic sigh escaped him. It was a book Orphe had given him when he took his first step as a spirit user.
He casually flipped through the pages of the book, and saw written within it the characteristics and techniques of spirit users that he had only understood in theory at the time.
Looking at it now, as the Franz who had returned after two years of practical experience, it was filled with things that were now common sense. But at the time, Franz, who didn't even understand the meaning of commanding spirits and had simply tried to make them bow down to him, couldn't comprehend it.
Thanks to Anna, he had realized his mistake quite early on.
Sighing, he closed the book and stroked its cover, casually reading the author's name.
Artis Ozmand.
His strength left him.
It seemed his past self had truly not even been interested in his master. Despite having read this book so thoroughly, he had never even asked Orphe who the author was. If he had asked, Orphe might have told him.
But the Franz of that time, who had simply wished with all his heart to be able to use spirits, hadn't even noticed the author. He had desperately read the books he was given, impatient to become a full-fledged user. If he had had a broader perspective, his journey might have been a little easier.
On an impulse, he pulled out various books for spirit users. The author of most of them was Artis Ozmand. The difficult-looking spirit research books stored on the bottom shelf, and the books on making tools using applied spirit magic, were all the same.
In other words, Franz had been seeing his master's name every day without even realizing it.
He returned the book and lay down on the bed. Come to think of it, King Edmond's documents had stated that Artis Ozmand was a great spirit user. It was only natural that he would have left behind writings.
But, to make an excuse for himself, he thought it was impossible to believe that the person who wrote such a difficult and magnificent book was the same person as his master, who lived so lazily before his eyes.
He closed his eyes and remembered Orphe from last night.
In his always-sleepy eyes was a light of wisdom, and beneath his incredibly frivolous personality lay a bottomless depth of knowledge.
That was Orphe's true form.
Taisha and Kuchiba's god, whom they revered, feared, and loved…
Franz sat up.
What is the truth? Why did Orphe become a god?
Was he born a god and has been here as a god all this time?
He suddenly remembered Orphe's sad smile, and with it, Taisha's words came to mind.
'The god was always seeking an answer. You are probably one of them.'
Orphe had said it was Anna's, his own, and Ritz's story. But he had certainly written in the letter that he wanted to see Franz again. So what was the answer sought from him, who was not included in the story?
"…I'll go."
Murmuring, Franz got up from the bed. He couldn't just laze around for a day. There was no way he could rest with his head in such a state of confusion and full of questions. Knowing the truth and then being given time to think would be far more restful.
He left his room and entered the kitchen, just as he used to. He was thirsty, so he decided to prepare some tea for now.
Indeed, as Orphe had said, the positions of the cups, the pot, and even the kettle were unchanged from that time. Only, there was only one of his most expensive and secretly favorite cups. It seemed to have been broken in just two years.
After preparing tea, he went to the living room where they ate, but there was no one there. On an impulse, he peeked into the adjoining reception room, connected by a single door, and found Ritz and Edward there.
"The tea's ready, if you want some?"
He asked, and the two looked up.
"Thank you. We'll have some."
Edward smiled amiably as usual, but Ritz's face was terrible. Until now, he had been putting on a brave face, but it was clear that he had no intention of hiding his displeasure and confusion.
"You want some?"
He asked again, and Ritz stood up, running a hand through his hair.
"Yeah."
As the three of them moved to the living room, Orphe was already sitting there comfortably. On the table, golden-brown croissants had been laid out, appearing from who-knows-where.
"Master…"
"Good morning, Franz. I came because it looked like you were making tea."
Whether he was unaware of Ritz's murderous aura and Edward's bewilderment, or was aware and pretending not to be, Orphe waved his hand as leisurely as ever.
"…Were you watching?"
Remembering that he had been told they were being watched from the tower called the Tower of Prayer, he asked, and his master shook his head.
"No wa~y. It was because of the nice smell of tea. Even I don't spy on people inside the house, you know."
"But you said you were watching all along…"
"There was a high hedge when you came in, right? The surveillance only goes up to there, and the basement."
"…The basement?"
He frowned at Orphe's casual remark. When Franz lived in this house, there was no basement.
"When did you build it?"
He asked in an interrogating tone, and Orphe shrugged.
"Hmm? When… let's see… about three thousand years ago, I guess…"
"Thr—"
He was at a loss for words at the casual reply. But Orphe was buttering a croissant as if nothing had happened.
"I rebuild the house from time to time, but the basement has always been there. It seems to rebuild itself occasionally, but I don't keep a close eye on it, so I don't know the details."
Orphe, having finished buttering, put the croissant in his mouth and murmured with satisfaction, "Delicious." Everyone except the cheerful Orphe sat down wordlessly and stared at him.
"Mmm, delicious! This is how tea should be. Ark, please learn this while Franz is here."
Suddenly, Orphe spoke to someone. But there was no one in the room. There shouldn't have been anyone, yet a voice came from somewhere.
'Understood. I shall learn.'
"I'm counting on you."
As he looked around to see whose voice it was, Orphe, having finished two croissants and a cup of tea, let out a satisfied sigh.
"Oh, let me introduce you. This is Ark, who manages this house."
'It is an honor to meet you.'
"She does all the housework and various other things. Ark is also the one who's remodeling the basement."
Saying so, Orphe poured himself another cup of tea. Bewildered, Franz asked.
"…Where is she?"
"Where… she's all over the place."
"But I can't see her… ?"
"Hmm."
Orphe seemed to think for a moment, then nodded.
"You can think of it this way. Ark is like the spirit of this entire house. So she knows everything about the house and can appear anywhere. She's like an invisible ghost maid."
"Ah…"
He glanced at Ritz and Edward, and they too seemed to understand. It was a familiar situation. This was the invisible version of Annie Hall, who was at the Clayton Residence in Sears.
"Well, I doubt that happens very often though."
Franz was about to say, 'We have one at our house,' to the grinning Orphe, but swallowed the words with a sigh.
"Well, now that I've had my tea, I think I'll go take another nap."
Orphe casually started to get up from his seat.
"Wait."
Ritz stopped Orphe with a low, serious voice.
"What is it, Ritz-kun?"
Orphe turned to look at Ritz, smiling as if nothing was wrong, as usual. Ritz, glaring at Orphe with an intensity that was almost a glower, opened his mouth.
"I'm prepared to hear anything now. Don't put it off, just tell me."
Ritz, who had been considerate of Orphe as Franz's master and a long-lived spirit user, now cast that aside and pressed him. But Orphe was calm.
"I'll tell you if it's the consensus of everyone. I believe I said that yesterday."
"Why?! It's fine to tell us one by one!"
"No."
"Please. It's painful for me to see her in that state!"
At Ritz's plea, bowing his head, Orphe smiled softly.
"Yes. I'm sure it is."
"Then…"
"Listen, Ritz-kun. The truth you want to know is a collection of my regrets and old emotional scars. So I don't want to reopen the wound and bleed over and over again."
Calmly, but dispassionately, Orphe said so and smiled.
"Hmm, well, it's my selfish whim. But are you sure you want to decide so easily? I warned you yesterday that there are truths better left unknown, you know?"
As Orphe spoke to Ritz in a preachy tone, Edward spoke up.
"Am I included in 'everyone'? I am probably the person least involved in their quest for the truth. I don't even possess an Eye of the Spirit King at present."
He couldn't help but look up at Edward's face. The Eye of the Spirit King was embedded in the crown owned by the reigning monarch, so Edward was indeed not the current owner. He was a man who had abdicated the throne to his son and followed them on their journey out of whim. He had helped them in many ways, so he had forgotten, but the one least related to the journey to find the truth was Edward.
But Orphe nodded softly.
"Of course you are included. My connection with Yuresla is surprisingly old, you see."
"You served as our country's prime minister for a time, I believe…?"
"Well, it was just how things turned out."
Saying so, Orphe stared at Edward as if sizing him up. Eventually, he let out a small laugh.
"You, too, share Ritz-kun's opinion, don't you?"
At Orphe's words, he looked up at Edward, and Edward shrugged his shoulders slightly.
"I am not a patient man either."
"You must be joking."
"I have no intention of joking. If I am included in the options, then I have come prepared."
Feeling Edward's gaze turn toward him after his firm declaration, Franz looked up. Then his eyes met Ritz's, who was also staring intently at him. Their minds were made up. It seemed it was now up to Franz.
He stared at the table, as if to escape their gazes. On the table that Franz had been familiar with for five years, the scratches he had made remained.
The five years he had been here, the five years he had not tried to know anything.
The author of the books on the shelf, his master's real name, who his master was, and the fact that his master had saved him—in those days when he had not tried to know a single thing, now he was filled with regret, wondering why he hadn't tried to know more.
If there was a truth, he wanted to know it. He wanted to know who Orphe was, who guided Franz, received Taisha's unwavering faith, and reigned as Kuchiba's god, and if Taisha's words were true, what was being asked of Franz.
Even if the answer was postponed, he would only continue to think in a dark, negative direction, and there would be no solution.
"…I want to hear it too."
He said it while still looking down, then raised his face and met the gaze of Orphe, who was staring intently at him.
"I may suffer and struggle after knowing the truth, but I hate even more to continue suffering until I know the truth, with my own selfish imagination and negative delusions. Taisha said that seeking knowledge is a sin, but there is no one who does not seek knowledge."
That's why he wanted to know. The secret of this world, which Taisha and Kuchiba were trying to protect with their lives.
"…It has nothing to do with me…"
Orphe said softly.
"Have you stopped thinking that?"
It was his old catchphrase. But for Franz, that was now a way of thinking from the past.
"I don't think that. If it's about my master and my friends, it has everything to do with me."
He declared it firmly in a surprisingly loud voice, and stared intently at Orphe. Orphe, who had been receiving Franz's gaze, eventually ran a hand through his unruly hair and murmured.
"You're not a child hiding in a shell anymore, are you?"
He declared firmly to the nostalgic, yet deeply moved Orphe.
"It's because you, Master, pushed me to go on a journey."
Otherwise, the journey would not have begun.
"…Yes. That's right."
Orphe smiled gently.
"Just coming here requires resolve. But I thought that letting you make the final choice was for your own good."
Saying so, Orphe let out a big sigh.
"You are my one and only disciple. So maybe I wanted you to remember my foolishness. Because there will probably be no one else who is as involved with me as you are in the future."
Franz frowned at the words murmured like a soliloquy with a sad smile.
"Master?"
But Orphe just smiled vaguely. But Franz had seen that smile several times during the time they lived together. It was the smile Orphe gave when he wanted to tell Franz to judge for himself from then on.
How he would take the truth from here on out was entrusted to Franz's own heart. He felt that keenly.
"Follow me."
Saying so, Orphe left the room. Ritz followed him, and Franz and Edward followed after. Orphe stopped at a dead end in the corridor where there was nothing and called the ghost named Ark.
"Ark, open the door to the basement."
'Understood.'
With Ark's voice, the place that had been just a corridor until now opened with a soft sliding sound. He had no idea how it opened without any seams or a door. But without paying any mind to the three surprised men, Orphe went down the stairs as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Descending the white stairs, from the walls to the treads, they came out into a white corridor. The white, bright corridor, with no visible source of light, was the same as the corridor where they had been chased by the hemispherical object called T.
Going a little further, Orphe touched a blank wall. Then the wall opened to the left and right without a sound.
"Please. This is my room."
Invited into the room, he found a mysterious space. Before him was a large, long horizontal pane of glass. Around it, several smaller panes of the same glass were embedded.
"Ark, bring out some chairs."
Saying that, Orphe walked toward the wall in front of him. He thought bringing out chairs was an impossible task, but three hard, iron-like boxes rose up from the floor. As he stood there bewildered, Ark announced.
'Please have a seat.'
Apparently, they were chairs.
"Thank you…"
He couldn't see her, so he didn't know where or how to say it, but he thanked her anyway. But before Ark's words could come back, Orphe ordered Ark to do something. He couldn't understand the meaning of the fragmented words he heard, but a picture he had never seen before appeared on the large glass pane in front of him.
A deep blue sphere, and in the center of that sphere, a large green and brown pattern. And in the blue part that made up most of it, several small, irregular green patterns were drawn. Looking closely, the background of that blue sphere was a starry sky with an unbelievable number of stars, just like the one he had looked up at when he came to the god's domain.
"It's beautiful."
He murmured, and Orphe turned around, looking pleased.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
"What is this?"
He asked while staring intently, as if mesmerized, and Orphe also stared at the picture and gently touched it.
"This is Planet Eden. The place where you all live."
"…Huh?"
Not understanding, he looked back at Orphe, and Orphe smiled.
"It's in the legends, right? The planet the goddess found. A planet is a star, you know."
A star he understood. The stars that always twinkle in the night sky. Because it was a legend, he had thought the tale of the goddess coming from that star meant she came from the sky.
"There are a lot of stars twinkling in the sky, right? You see, they're all round spheres like this one we're living on. From far away, the place we're at looks like a star in the starry sky."
"Then, do people live on all the stars in the sky!?"
"There aren't many stars where people can live. This star, too, was a star where no one could live at first."
Wordlessly, he stared at the picture before him in response to the sad-looking Orphe. Orphe seemed to be looking at it too.
After a while, Orphe murmured.
"You've collected all the legends of the demi-human races, haven't you? That is the truth."
Those words reminded him of Taisha.
"Taisha said that the legends of humans and demi-humans are two sides of the same coin…"
"That's right. Ark, bring up all the legends of the continent."
'Understood.'
With Ark's words, the picture of Planet Eden that had been drawn on the glass pane in front of him disappeared, and letters floated up. It was the familiar human legend. Every spirit user is taught this first. Orphe read that legend aloud.
"Long, long ago, on a blue planet, there were four great wars.
Time and again, people repeated their mistakes, and the blue planet gradually broke down.
The goddess who rules all the spirits despaired of humanity, which would not stop fighting, and left the planet, accompanied by five spirit kings.
After a long, long journey, the goddess found a small planet and descended upon it.
The goddess declared that land her final resting place and bestowed upon the planet the blessings of the sun."
Saying so, Orphe paused.
"Up to here is the story of past admonishment."
"Admonishment?"
"Yes. I'll continue."
Without answering the question, Orphe began to read the legend again. It was the legend passed down among the demi-human races.
"Long ago, the world was nothingness. Pitying the void, a pair of gods descended from the Blue Star.
The Goddess Eneonea gave birth to light from nothingness, and the world was filled with light.
The goddess created the first race in her own image to protect the light that is the beginning of all things.
They who are commanded by the Light Spirit King are called the Clan of Light.
Light took on heat, and the world was engulfed in flames. To suppress the flames, the goddess created a second race.
They who are commanded by the Fire Spirit King are called the Flame Clan.
Flames called forth the wind, and a fierce storm raged. As servants of the wind, the goddess created a third race.
They who are commanded by the Wind Spirit King are called the Wind Clan.
Wind called forth the rain, and the world was filled with blessings. To command the water, the goddess created a fourth race.
They who are commanded by the Water Spirit King are called the Water Clan.
Water filled the earth and made green trees grow lush. To protect the green earth, the goddess created a fifth race.
They who are commanded by the Earth Spirit King are called the Clan of the Earth.
Eventually, the world was filled with life, and the goddess deeply loved this land."
After reading it fluently, Orphe slowly looked around at everyone. Their eyes met, and Franz nodded. For Franz, it was a legend he had written down himself and seen many times.
"What is… this?"
"Yes. This is the story of rebirth."
"…Admonishment and rebirth?"
He said softly, not understanding at all, and Orphe nodded with a smile.
"Yes. It's the story of us… the seven humans called the goddess and the spirit kings. You see, we…"
Orphe's finger pointed straight at the ceiling.
"…are just ordinary humans who brought the seeds of life from our own dying star, far beyond that sky, to this cold, frozen star where life did not exist."
Orphe, who said so dispassionately, stared at the legend drawn before him. In his eyes was a mix of sadness and nostalgia. No one said a word, but Orphe alone continued to speak, without any emotion.
"Our star, you see, was completely dominated by a heartless magic called science. The opposing countries launched weapons that could kill tens of millions into the sky for all humanity to see…"
Orphe's quiet tone told of the tragedy of that planet.
Orphe's former home was said to be a beautiful star. But a huge rock from the sky attacked that star. To shatter it, a large number of preserved weapons were used.
The huge rock was repelled, but countless pebbles rained down on the earth, carrying poison, and the world was contaminated. People died writhing in agony, and only a few wealthy countries built small domes to survive.
"But even among them, people began to be affected by the poison. Humanity and animals were all doomed to perish. Everyone had given up like that. But you see, among them, a special kind of human with exceptionally high intelligence appeared. People called them 'The Hearers' and entrusted the future of the star to them. As expected, 'The Hearers' found a way to escape the star and devised a method for people to live on a star where life did not exist. Humanity might be saved, people wanted to believe so. But there was a problem with 'The Hearers'."
With a distant look in his eyes, Orphe touched somewhere, and the legend disappeared from the screen, replaced by a beautiful star as before. This star was called Eden.
"'The Hearers' were certainly geniuses. But half of the 'Hearers' who were born went mad and died. Because their ears always heard voices that ordinary humans couldn't hear. And without exception, those voices were voices of suffering, curses, and anger towards humanity."
Orphe's gaze slowly moved from the blue star before him and looked straight at Franz. As he accepted it with bewilderment, Orphe smiled and asked.
"Do you know what 'The Hearers' are?"
He had no way of knowing such a thing.
"…No…"
As Franz shook his head slightly and looked down, Orphe answered calmly.
"In the Eneonea Continent's terms, 'The Hearers' are spirit users."
He looked up at the unexpected words, and Orphe was staring intently at Franz. He was being asked if he understood what that meant… that's what he felt. After a long, long silence, Franz finally found the answer and looked up.
"…The voices they heard… were the voices of spirits, weren't they? Do you mean it was the voices of spirits cursing people?"
Orphe nodded at the serious Franz.
"That's right. At the time, they didn't seem to know what those voices were, but they gradually came to understand. 'The Hearers' were hearing the voices of the dying spirits. And that meant the end of the star was near."
Orphe's gaze turned to Eden again.
Franz couldn't help but grip his knees tightly. As a spirit user, Franz could imagine what it was like to constantly hear the painful death cries of the spirits. The meaning of life for spirits is different from that of humans.
Individual and whole, they are born, live, and then disappear. But they do not die or perish. They are always there as a product of nature.
Comfortably in the blowing wind, lively in the flowing water, divinely in the shining light, and dignified in the blazing flames. As a spirit user, it is easy to sense their breath. If they were constantly hearing the spirits' voices of resentment, it would be unbearable.
"It's not that we just let that situation be. Later, a part of the more powerful 'Hearers' who had received training to block the voices of the spirits continued further research to save humanity. Eventually, the research was completed, and with all its results, a chosen seven 'Hearers' set out on a journey for the final experiment to create a second home. And… the star they reached was this one."
When Orphe touched the blue sphere reflected in front of him, the blue sphere transformed into a cold gray and light blue mass of rock.
"The seven of them first gave birth to light."
As Orphe said, the screen began to change. The cold gray mass was enveloped in a white glow, and as if gradually warmed, steam began to rise.
"Light took on heat, and the world was engulfed in flames. Flames called forth the wind, and a fierce storm raged."
In the blink of an eye, the cold mass of rock was heated red and began to be covered by a membrane-like substance. It seemed as if something was about to be born in Orphe's hands, and Franz held his breath. Orphe's words continued like a spell.
"Wind called forth the rain, and the world was filled with blessings. Water filled the earth and made green trees grow lush."
Before his eyes, Eden began to be enveloped in a blue glow, and then green overflowed from it. While he stood there in a daze, the cold mass of rock had returned to the beautiful blue sphere he had been shown at first.
Quietly, Orphe turned around.
"Then this continent… was created by you?"
Edward, who had been silent until now, asked in a hard voice. Orphe nodded slightly.
"That's right, King Edward. And the most capable leader who led the seven was Eneonea, now called a goddess."
A person who had been a legend until now suddenly appeared before him with a sense of reality. It was a rather unsettling feeling. Without minding Franz, who shook his head slightly, the story continued.
"And, as the legend goes, the Goddess Eneonea placed the higher races to protect the six great spirits in this world and decided to have them offer prayers to the spirits. That's the reason why each of the higher races exists."
The planet before him was suddenly magnified. He immediately realized that what was on the surface of the planet was the Eneonea Continent. It was quite close to the map Franz had created. As he stared at the precise map, Orphe's voice came to him dispassionately.
"The seven 'Hearers' were all powerful spirit users, so when they came to investigate the situation on the surface, they learned that they each possessed powers of different attributes. So they decided to lead the people based on those attributes. In other words, I descended upon this continent as the Light Spirit King."
"As the Light Spirit King…"
"That's right. I guided the people who are related to the royal family of the Yuresla Kingdom."
He couldn't help but look up. His master, Franz, who was in front of him, was a person who was enshrined in the great temple of Sears as the Light Spirit King. He had never imagined such a thing. Edward, who must have been as surprised as the stunned Franz, asked calmly.
"So my ancestors were led by you to that country?"
"That's correct. And my other companions also brought humans and descended upon various places. To Luciana, Fornu, Sarnia, and Tarnien. And I am the last survivor of those seven."
"Survivor…"
"Yes. None of my companions are left. They entrusted the future to me and passed away. It is my role to watch over this star from its beginning to its end, all by myself."
"All by yourself?"
"Yes. All by myself."
Orphe said so quietly and smiled.
"This star is an amazing star. When I first descended to the surface after it became possible for people to land, I was so happy I cried. Because this star, you see, was a star of magic."
"A star of magic?"
"That's right. This star was filled with the power of spirits. The spirits of our star were dying, but even when they were healthy, they probably didn't have this much power. But the spirits of this star were so powerful they could manage the star itself."
Orphe said so with sparkling eyes. His gaze was directed straight at Franz.
"As a 'Hearer' who had only heard voices of resentment, the spirits of this star accepted me gently and softly. The feeling at that time, I'm sure you… no, no one would probably understand. But I will not forget the happiness I felt at that time. That's why I took on the role of eternally protecting this star. I don't want to repeat the same mistakes, no matter what."
"…Is that why you use the Clan of Darkness to seal the technique called science, which doesn't use spirits?"
At Edward's quiet words, Orphe nodded calmly. Orphe's calmness and what he was doing were completely different. What Orphe was doing using the Clan of Darkness was a great sin.
"Does that mean causing wars and assassinations?"
His voice cracked unintentionally.
"To protect this star and the spirits, you kill people? Isn't it human nature to seek knowledge for a better future? Yet, to not acknowledge progress itself, that's strange! Why?!"
Orphe, who had been quietly watching Franz say all that in one breath, gently touched the surface where Eden was reflected and did something. The picture that was reflected changed.
"Ugh…"
He covered his mouth without thinking. Reflected there was a human baby on clean white sheets. But the child had no eyes and no hands, and had two pairs of feet.
He didn't want to look directly at it, but he couldn't take his eyes off it.
The picture changed to the next one. Reflected there were trees that had withered white, and a desolate land with only sparse, short undergrowth. There, a fox with two heads was reflected. The background of such a distorted world was a terrifyingly clear and beautiful blue sky.
"This is a dying world. And we 'Hearers' all continue to hear the voices of the world's resentment."
The picture before him showed one broken world after another.
Dead fish floating on the surface of the water, a town where the dead were left as they were, perhaps because there was no one to mourn them—all of these were reflected against a background of a beautiful blue sky. The sky was beautiful, but its true nature was poisonous air.
Orphe's dispassionate words overlapped with the tragic scene.
"Painful, painful, who killed them, humans, die, just die… Every single day, without rest, the voices of those spirits reached our ears. I was able to learn a technique to block them, but many of my companions went mad and died, or committed suicide."
The many cruel pictures that had been projected until now suddenly disappeared. Realizing that his shoulders had been tensed, Franz let out a big breath and relaxed his shoulders.
Everyone was silent, but eventually Orphe opened his mouth quietly.
"I don't want to experience that sight ever again. So if necessary, I will not hesitate to use my power."
Franz realized the meaning of those words. That's right, Orphe knew what the weapons that could kill tens of millions of people were, and he had the power to create them. Realizing that, he looked at Orphe, and Orphe nodded apologetically. Franz's guess was probably correct.
"But that's a last resort, so I have no intention of using it. That's why I have the Clan of Darkness working as the guardians of the world. Those who become the high priest of the darkness see the same things you just saw. And to protect the world, they monitor it. I will never stop doing that. I've been living for that purpose, after all."
"So you banned all technology called science, like Taisha's flying ship?"
At Edward's question, Orphe slowly shifted his gaze from Franz to Edward.
"That's correct. But there are exceptions."
"Exceptions?"
At the unexpected words, Edward furrowed his brow. Franz also stared at Orphe.
"Science is the runaway of heartless spirits. But if it's a mechanism that only functions with the cooperation of spirits, I'd like to see its development."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Magical tools."
"Ah!"
Franz couldn't help but cry out.
"You noticed? Yes, it's that, that."
Come to think of it, Orphe's hobby was collecting mysterious spirit magic tools. Because of that, the house was always overflowing with junk. He had never imagined that it would lead to such an important story.
"Not science, but a power that develops together with the spirits, and by extension, with Eden—I want to watch over that. I believe that this world will evolve in that direction, so I can wait forever. But I will not allow it to proceed into a wrong future. No matter what happens, I am prepared to continue fighting to protect this world."
In Orphe's eyes, as he spoke with determination to Edward, there was still a sadness. Franz noticed that sadness.
"Aren't you lonely by yourself?"
The words that came out of his mouth were all too ordinary. But Orphe answered them with ordinary words.
"I have Ark, and sometimes I steal away from the eyes of the high priest of the darkness to live on the surface, and when nothing is happening, I sleep for decades, so it's not that hard."
That's a lie, Franz thought. He didn't know why, but Orphe was lying. He couldn't figure out what it was, so he was at a loss as to what to ask next.
But he suddenly realized. To have been watching over this world all by himself since its creation meant that among the seven, Orphe alone was immortal.
"Master, will you live forever?"
"Yes. You could say I'm immortal. This also presents a weakness to me, though."
Orphe, who said so sadly, commanded Ark while looking at the screen where the blue sphere was reflected.
"Ark, open the door to the 'Cradle' room."
With those words, what he thought was a wall of the room opened without a sound. A strange sunset color was leaking from the room. Compared to the pure white light until now, it was a somewhat gentler light. Yes, it was similar to the brightness of the flames spilling from the familiar lamp.
Urged on, he passed through the door and moved to the next room, but stood frozen before the bizarre object in front of him. What was there were three glass tubes filled with a soft, orange-tinged liquid.
Looking up at the top, he saw a complexly shaped metal object embedded there, and from it, several cord-like things were connected to the ceiling like intertwined snakes.
He had no idea what this was, and was just looking up at it, when Orphe spoke quietly.
"I'm not immortal. I'm currently using the same body as the Clan of Light, so I'll die within a thousand years. But that's not long enough to continue the surveillance, which I don't know how long will last, so I'm rebuilding my body and continuing to live."
"Eh… ?"
Not understanding, he stared at Orphe, and Orphe nodded.
"I'm sure you can't even imagine."
"Of course I can't. Please explain it in a way I can understand!"
He snapped back as usual, and Orphe smiled.
"Are you sure? I think you'll be scared if you hear it."
He flinched a little at those words. But having come this far, there was no way he would think, 'Then it's okay.' Looking at the two who were standing nearby, looking at the object in front of them and at Orphe, he knew they were already prepared to listen, so he looked back at Orphe again.
"I'll listen."
Perhaps Franz's resolve was conveyed, as Orphe nodded and gently stroked the glass tube.
"This is commonly called 'The Cradle'."
"The Cradle?"
"Yes. For example, it's a machine that can create another you from your nails, hair, or skin."
"Wha—"
Orphe's tone was calm, but Franz couldn't help but cover his mouth. The power called science, which could do such a terrifying thing, was becoming scary. Perhaps noticing Franz's reaction, Orphe, for some reason, continued his words sadly.
"This is where science leads. Immortality is such a grotesque thing."
"B-but, even if another me is created, I'm still me, so the me that's born… isn't me."
He didn't know what he wanted to say, but Orphe, who had been looking after the Franz who almost never spoke in such fragmented ways, seemed to have somehow guessed what he wanted to say.
"Yes. The you who is born from your nails in a baby state here will grow into a different child from you. Because you won't have your memories. You became you because you grew up in that family in Saradio, in that situation. If I were to raise you here, spoiling you rotten, you would surely grow up to be a completely different person, with the same face and same voice as you."
"Then Master, even if you change to your next body, won't your personality and memories all be different? You can't keep watch like that!"
"…If my memories aren't transferred."
He understood from the dispassionate words. It was possible to transfer memories to a new body. In other words, Orphe created himself from some fragment taken from his own body, and by transferring his memories, he continued to live forever….
"I only preserve my memories. So I don't die. Is it creepy?"
He was asked, but no words came out. Looking at that sad expression, he couldn't nod, nor could he not feel its horror.
Unconsciously, he had clenched his fists tightly. He didn't know what to do, what words to say.
"Even so, it's not forever, so to minimize my own duplication, I freeze myself and sleep for a hundred years, then thaw and stay awake for ten years, repeating that cycle. To put it simply, I'm like a bear that hibernates for a hundred years. In other words, with this body, I can live for nearly ten thousand years by calculation."
He couldn't imagine freezing himself to sleep. And it was all impossible, like waking up after being thawed. Humans freeze to death if they freeze. Was he saying that such a common thing only happened to Orphe?
Looking up at Orphe in fear and bewilderment, Orphe smiled playfully, like when Franz had found him making a selfish purchase.
"Mmm, I guess I should have let you not know."
He remembered the look in the cheerful Orphe's joking eyes. Orphe had always had a somewhat sad atmosphere since long ago.
"Master, uh…"
"Yes. I know, Franz. 'Give me time,' right?"
His thoughts having been read, he looked up at Orphe.
"Hmm? You look like you're wondering how I knew? You're always like that, aren't you? You don't say it out loud, but you want time, right? You come back after you've thoroughly convinced yourself. When you couldn't handle the fire spirit well, when things didn't go as you envisioned, and when we fought."
He nodded slightly and sighed. If he understood, then he wanted time.
"Wait a minute."
Next to the silent Franz, Ritz called out to Orphe in a low voice. Come to think of it, he realized that Ritz had been staring intently at Orphe without uttering a single word since entering the room. Ritz, who always interjected.
Looking up at the face next to him, Ritz's face, illuminated by the orange light, was more serious than any face he had ever seen.
"I understand that you created the world. I also understand the dangers of this science thing, and the hopes for the future. I also somehow understand your sadness and loneliness. But that has nothing to do with me."
"Ritz…"
He frowned, wondering what he was about to say, but Ritz declared straightforwardly.
"I don't care about the world or science. There's a story about Anna and me, right? Tell me that."
Orphe, who received Ritz's gaze, still said nothing. Ritz continued his attack, as if blaming Orphe.
"And you talk as if you've told everything, but you're intentionally not talking about the Darkness Spirit King. What are you hiding?"
Saying so, Ritz let out a big breath. It seemed he was telling himself to calm down. But Ritz couldn't stop his words and started talking again.
"You said you're the Light Spirit King. And you said you descended with four other spirit kings, leading humans. Then what is Zeum? What happened to the Darkness Spirit King? Why is there a gravestone in the holy land?"
To Ritz's interrogation, rather than a question, Orphe remained silent for a while, but eventually let out a small sigh.
"The Darkness Spirit King was Eneonea's lover."
It was a quiet statement, but Franz also noticed the subtle darkness in it. Ritz seemed to have noticed too, and stared at Orphe.
"Did the Darkness Spirit King not take humans to Zeum?"
It was a natural question, but Orphe remained silent for a while before opening his mouth.
"He was already dead at that time."
"…Wha—"
"Eneonea wasn't in this world either. In reality, only five of us descended to the surface."
Noticing the contradiction, he looked up at Orphe.
"Didn't the goddess lead the demi-human races down to this world, and the spirit kings guide the people?"
Franz asked, and Orphe smiled slightly.
"It's true that Eneonea guided the higher races to the surface. By the time we realized it, they were already on this land by the hands of just two people. As the only humans living on this continent."
A bitter taste mixed with those words.
"The only humans?"
He looked up, and Orphe was staring at 'The Cradle' in front of him with a serious expression.
"The two of them loathed humans, so they had no intention of bringing them down to the Eneonea Continent. They intended to eradicate everyone except the higher races."
"Eradicate humans…? Why?"
His words trembled at the reality of the goddess, so far removed from the image of her in the legends, being so cruel. But Orphe continued to speak dispassionately.
"That's because the two of them were experimental subjects created by humans at the end of a tragic experiment, and they were different from humans. I can't say exactly, but it far surpassed the atrocities humans are capable of."
A life created by an act more atrocious than humans creating humans… Franz didn't know and couldn't imagine what kind of situation that was. No one, not even Ritz who had started it, could interject, and could only listen to Orphe's voice echoing in this space.
"The two of them tried to create a utopia without humans, but we realized it and stopped their plan, protecting humanity. And to prevent the higher races from exterminating humans, we created the legend of the spirit kings and monitored them under the guise of faith, and at the same time, we instilled the Special Autonomous Region Law into the human side. And thus, this Eneonea Continent was completed."
He had heard before that no one knew when the Special Autonomous Region Law was created. If it was established around the same time as the legend of the spirit kings, it was natural not to know.
"How did the goddess create the higher races?"
At that question, Orphe was silent for a moment. But Ritz continued his pursuit.
"You said the goddess wasn't human. And that you can create a person from nails and hair."
Orphe, though being pressed, nodded calmly.
"I did."
"Then, are all the higher races the same as the goddess? Like you?"
Orphe, who slowly shook his head in denial without a word, sighed softly at Ritz's gaze that said such an answer was not acceptable, and gently tapped 'The Cradle'.
"She, you see, dissolved herself in this and created the Clan of Light based on herself."
"Dissolved… herself?"
"Yes. Down to every single cell."
For a moment, his mind went blank. The next moment, a sour taste welled up in his mouth, and he forced himself to swallow with a dry throat.
Creating the higher races by dissolving oneself…
The image of a woman falling and dissolving in the tube in front of him floated up, and he felt nauseous again. But without even noticing Franz's state, Orphe was staring straight at Ritz and continuing to talk.
"But for that, she needed a collaborator. A person who would dissolve her, and then, a collaborator who would create the remaining five races according to her orders. And that… was her lover, the man called the Darkness Spirit King, Asagi. Asagi first created the Clan of Darkness by combining his own fragments with the Clan of Light created from her. That's why the Clan of Darkness is the direct descendant of the Darkness Spirit King."
"So that's Kuchiba and the others…"
"Yes. And with the creation of the Clan of Darkness, it was destined for Zeum to be created, you could say. Because they didn't succeed in everything when creating humans from humans."
"What do you mean?"
"A vessel was needed to take in the failed races. That was the land where humans do not live, Zeum. The Clan of Darkness, while ruling, is also a clan that protects them. This was the scenario that Eneonea and Asagi created up to this point."
What came to mind were the Giant Clan and the Goblin Clan. They were indeed positioned higher than humans in the land of Zeum. It was the Darkness Spirit King who had created that situation.
What a terrifying situation. It was unthinkable that they could do such a thing while sane. And the existence of her lover, who watched her dissolve and created the other races, was also strange.
They were mad….
"What happened to that man?"
"After the remaining five noticed and his plan to eradicate humanity failed, he committed suicide. He dissolved himself just like Eneonea and threw himself into the planet's ocean. That's why only five of us descended to the surface."
Before he knew it, Ritz's questions had returned to the story of the continent. Realizing this, Ritz stood up.
"So, what does that have to do with me and Anna?!"
As Ritz shouted, irritated by the story that had returned to the beginning of the world, Orphe smiled.
"Ritz-kun, you see, I loved Eneonea and Asagi very much. I continued to admire them both for a long time."
"…So what?"
Ritz was bewildered by the abrupt change of topic, but Orphe continued without minding.
"When I was a child, thrown into a cold laboratory and trembling with a sense of placeless anxiety, the two of them were kind, strict, and doted on me like a real younger brother. I prayed for Eneonea and Asagi's happiness more than my own. I always wanted to please them, so I worked hard. I wanted them to acknowledge me. That hasn't changed since I was a child. That's why I was happy to come to this star with them. I wanted to do anything for them to be happy."
Sadly, Orphe stroked 'The Cradle'.
"And yet, the two of them disappeared from before my eyes in such a sad way. I wonder how much I grieved and regretted. If only I had noticed a little earlier, if only I could have shouldered something of theirs. If the two of them could be happy, I would have given them my own body. But I think those two probably couldn't have ended in any other way, and that's how they loved each other. There was probably no room for me to enter."
"So, what I want to know is…!"
"Ritz-kun, there is a machine here that creates people, and a technology that regenerates people. Let's say you were helpless before your eyes and lost King Edward there. And at the same time, you lost Queen Patricia. What would you do?"
"…I…"
"Of course, even if you regenerate a person, the created King Edward's memories will be lost. He will forget you. But I think you would revive the two of them if it meant you could watch over them."
Ritz was silent. He didn't know what he was thinking.
"You've always put yourself in a position where you have nowhere to turn. I know how much you adore King Edward. And because you're like that, I'm sure you'd give the same answer as me."
"So you're saying you regenerated Eneonea and Asagi?"
Orphe shook his head at Ritz's low question.
"Unfortunately, that's not it. I had Eneonea's hair. But I couldn't get a sample of Asagi's no matter what. Asagi disappeared without leaving a single strand of hair or a single piece of cell. He probably didn't leave a sample, anticipating what a fool like me would do. So I could only dream. A sample of Asagi would appear from somewhere, and the two of them, having lost all their memories and starting from scratch, would live happily on Planet Eden."
Orphe, who had been silently staring at 'The Cradle' for a while, slowly turned around.
"And then the fateful day arrived. That day, I met you, Ritz-kun."
Ritz, who was suddenly named, frowned suspiciously.
"…Me… ?"
"Yes. You."
Orphe answered in a light, yet somewhat dark voice. At his intimidating expression, even Ritz was at a loss for words and fell silent, and Orphe, as if looking at something far away, began to speak quietly to himself.
"Moegi was the first to defect from the Clan of Darkness to the Clan of Light. I was worried, so I was always watching over her at first. But I also knew the eccentric of the clan named Karl, and since he was with her, I was relieved and went to sleep for a hundred years. I thought it would be fine with Karl. And when I woke up from my sleep, the first place I headed to was, as expected, the city of Saradio. Because Karl is a man of his word, and Ark had informed me that he occasionally came to the place where my house was."
Saying so, Orphe asked Ark, "That's right, isn't it?" Ark clearly answered, "That's correct." For Orphe, Ark might also be a way to reinforce his memories. Satisfied, Orphe continued his words.
"As I thought, a few months later, I met Karl, Moegi who had changed her name to Ciela, and the boy who was born between them in the city of Saradio. But the boy didn't seem to like me, and after glaring at me for a moment, he ran off somewhere. Karl apologized profusely, but I was so shocked I couldn't move."
Saying all that in one breath, Orphe smiled.
"Because there was a child-like Asagi right there."
At the utterly unexpected statement, he could feel Ritz take a sharp breath.
"I… look like the Darkness Spirit King?"
After a while, Ritz opened his mouth and said only that, and Orphe nodded as if it were a matter of course.
"That's right. I couldn't believe it either, and I doubted my own eyes. I thought that maybe because he was a child, he would stop looking like him as he grew up, but I was wrong. You never showed your face to me again after that, but I continued to watch over you from the shadows while meeting with Karl and the others many times. You, who were growing to look more and more like Asagi."
"Isn't that just your imagination?"
"I certainly thought so too. Maybe I was seeing things because I wanted to see Asagi. But I was wrong. You inherited the blood of two lovers who were separated into two races, dark and light. You are the one and only person in this world who carries both Eneonea's and Asagi's blood. That's why you look so much like him."
"How can you be so sure? You must have gotten Asagi's face wrong when you transferred your memories to your new body!"
At Ritz's irritated words, Orphe quietly announced.
"Then you can see for yourself whether you look like him or not."
"What nonsense… he's long dead, isn't he?"
"Yes, he's dead. But science is a convenient thing. You can preserve the appearance of that time as is, in something called a video."
Simultaneously with Orphe's words, something was projected onto the wall opposite 'The Cradle'. Not something, but someone was projected there. There was a young man there who, in appearance alone, was the same age as Ritz or younger.
"This is a moving image from thousands of years ago… when we were all still alive."
As his voice faded, the picture projected on the entire wall began to move.
Across the long years.