“Are you saying that you are a spirit?” Maryam asked the ghost woman flying in front of them. The lantern turned to face them, held by that pale, almost bony hand. “Like, a creature from another dimension?”
“I originate from the Spirits Realm, precisely,” said the spirit with a broad smile that left a bigger shadow on its face. “You must have heard of it, Master Oriole,” said the ghost toward the alchemist.
“How would you possibly know, Master Oriole?” repeated Maryam while staring daggers at him. “If you weren’t almost dead, I would have said that this is a part of your plan.”
“The fact that I ended up here has nothing to do with how welcomed I am,” said Oriole with difficulty as the runemaster dragged him along. “However, I may have some relations that I didn’t know, teehee.”
“You are one of the most honored guests, Master Oriole,” said the spirit in an untimely fashion. “I was instructed to treat you with utmost care if you get transported here.”
“And where is here, exactly?” interrupted Maryam. “Are we still in Runera, or is this a different world? I’m not the brightest, but I know this is an alien civilization.”
“Am I allowed to answer that, Master Oriole?” the spirit was silent before asking Oriole. Maryam stared at him as well, squinting her eyes. However, Oriole did not know how much he could trust her.
“I will answer it. This is a realm modeled after the other world, and the reason that she knows me is because I spent some years there,” he mixed lies with truths, and it worked well to convince the runemaster.
“I suspected as much since that explains your meteoric rise,” mulled the runemaster over the matter a little. “Are you a legacy user?”
“I wish I am,” said Oriole with a helpless and accidental chuckle. “I am nothing of that sort. But, as you guessed, my years in the other world worked well to increase my runic attainment.”
“If that is true, then Runera is originally from the other world,” Maryam’s eyes widened with surprise. “Can these ruins be nothing more than a dungeon that connects the two?”
Oriole was silent at the astray assumptions, but it wasn’t wrong to assume such. The catch was that the portal transcended time and was more of a message for a single person.
“Tell me about the Seika’s situation,” said Oriole to change the subject because he was worried. “How did he end up meeting another vessel?”
“It seems our plans are being intercepted,” said the spirit without turning toward them. The night was dark enough for them to lose sight of their hands, but the lantern guided them through the countless alleys and secret passages. “The Seika has been ambushed the moment he arrived here.”
“Ambushed by who?”
“It was hard to understand the opponent we have been targeting because he managed to sneak through our defenses easily. That earlier explosion was his followers fighting Grandpa Sal.”
“Grandpa Sal?” frowned Maryam.
“The Great Salamander Spirit that my master also left behind,” said the ghost. “It guards the palace in the distance. I was heading there myself in hopes of stopping them, but then I received a notification of your arrival.”
“And you decided that I was more important?” asked Oriole with surprise. “Where are you taking us, wise spirit?”
“I am taking you to meet my master. I have deemed this an emergency necessary for summoning her, even if it is too premature. I need you to meet her and find a way to aid the Seika.”
“I find it hard that he would lose a fight,” frowned Oriole. “I have seen what he is capable of doing, and no man can stand against that.”
“Naturally, one would only assume perfection from the perfect being, but we both know that he is not as they claim. The Seika does not need help winning, but he needs help accepting the outcome.”
“You are talking about Alexie, right?” asked Maryam with a pout. “What is this outcome you have mentioned? What is going on?”
“The outcome does not matter, but the states the two possible outcomes would leave him. If the Seika wins, he will lose a friend and gain an enemy. He will lose his family and friend and gain a nemesis if he loses. So there is no winning.”
“Is one of his family in danger?”
“The whole world is in danger. As much as the merge has saved us, it has also pushed forward an age of conquest. I am afraid the two worlds are clawing each other’s throats, and it has already begun.”
“Why did no one warn us before this mess?”
“The merge allowed the Seika to arrive at this world, but he was also the last one to arrive. This was necessary to retain his memories, but it also meant that his opponent could use it as a deadline.”
“…how do you know so much?” asked Oriole as the figure slipped into a dark staircase and floated above the steps. “Those details are unknown even to the Seika himself.”
“My master spent the remaining time of her life studying this new timeline by formulating possible outcomes. It was all to make sure that we outsmart the guardians, but most people were their blind believers. I learned what I needed from her.”
Oriole already had a suspicion in mind over the identity of this master, who created this space as well. However, the spirit would take them there anyway, and he could meet her for himself.
After countless secret routes and passages, they reached a small cabinet beside a pond. This place was in the backyard of the palace, which left the three of them with a view of the city.
“We arrived at my master’s abode,” said the spirit as it pointed toward the door. “I need to ask our beautiful guest to stay here. Master Oriole will have to meet our master on his own.”
“He can’t walk alone,” frowned Maryam. “How can we trust you? I will accompany him inside to protect him.”
“There is no need, Maryam,” said Oriole as he patted her shoulder and tried to stand on his own. “I know the person’s identity inside, and I need to meet them.”
“We are a team…”
“I consider us to be one as well, but knowing too much might threaten your life,” said Oriole as he squeezed his shoulder. “Please, wait here.”
After the runemaster nodded, Oriole turned toward the ghost, who simply shed light on the door. Then, he took wobbly steps until he leaned on the wooden door and opened it. The cabinet had a dim green light that welcomed him, and Oriole made his way inside.
It was different than he had imagined, as the place looked like the neglected apartment of a young woman: perfumes lay everywhere, clothes were thrown on the ground, and panties were hanging from doorknobs.
“Hm, hm, hm~” a voice sang from the deeper parts of the house, and Oriole leaned on the wall for support as he walked toward the source. “Hm, Hm-hm, Ha,” the humming grew louder until it was behind a door.
Oriole pushed the door open to reveal a large room with crystals embedded in the ground. Oriole looked around, and then his eyes rested on the figure sitting in the middle of the ores.
“My, my,” said the figure as the humming stopped. “I expected a dashing young man, but I don’t remember you to be this dashing, Seika.”
“You know that I’m not him,” frowned Oriole as he looked at the woman sitting with her face covered by a giant hat. “You must be the witch.”
“And you must be the alchemist,” said the woman as she raised her head to reveal her face. Her hair was silky violet as it rested on her shoulder, framing an elegant and bewitching face. “Careful not to be consumed by temptation, boy.”
“I am sadly immune to that temptation,” said Oriole as he hugged his side and limped toward the witch. “We have no time for chit-chat. I need answers about this place.”
“It is improper to talk without introductions,” said the witch as she rose from her seat. “I am the witch, Gala,” she said with a grin. “And you must be the friend my Seika adores.”
“My Seika,” repeated Oriole while standing on the room’s far end. “Are you the one who left him those messages on the encryption?”
“Indeed,” nodded the witch. “I wanted him to believe the princess led him here. That would be the only method to grab his attention, after all.”
“And what is your goal of deceiving him?” Oriole grew apprehensive as he heard what she planned.
“I did not lie,” said Gala with a playful smile. “I led him to believe that Princess Diana is here, but I never said she was not. This brings me to the reason that I am here, darling.”
