Medoria stood in the middle of the corridor, holding Time and Lie, which she used to communicate with Specria. She took a deep breath and watched her candle burning away. Its light flickered and swayed with the wind, melting into the wax.
"Medoria, you're smart. I wouldn't be able to figure it out without you."
"It's because the trial restricts you. If you're without any constraint, you will solve it even without me."
"It feels strange to know that I'm not real. I hope you cherish your time with me."
"Every moment I spend with you is precious. I promise I won't forget what happens here."
The candle ran out of its fuel and extinguished in an unimpressive final spark. The smoke twirled alongside the feeble wind, which shifted through the bookshelves.
After the last spark of light faded to silence, Medoria nodded at Specria and opened the book. She read the messages engraved on the page and drew a spell formation with her pen. Because she didn't use Fons, the array was merely a complex drawing that lacked life.
"It's your turn, Specria."
Specria smiled and sang a melodious chant. Her voice echoed inside the corridor. Despite using no Fons, the heavenly air descended as the ceiling and bookshelves creaked. From the darkness above her, a swarm of dark purple Fons moved to her location. It resonated with her chant and revolved around her, enveloping both Medoria and Specria. Like a group of fireflies, it glowed in soft light and illuminated the corridor.
Specria trembled as her voice turned hoarse. She struggled to maintain the ascending frequency of the chant. When her tone fluctuated, the Fons dispersed into the surrounding. Through her determination, she managed to retain more than half of them, but she couldn't continue anymore.
Medoria grasped the dark purple Fons and tucked it to the book she held. The tingling sensation itched her hand.
Little by little, the dark purple Fons seeped into the page, turning the ordinary paper into a mystical material that flowed with the current of the Fons and radiated a soft chill. The letters on it shifted their places and rearranged into strange symbols which integrated into the formation she drew.
Specria ceased her chant and leant against the bookshelves. They supported her weight with their soft texture, though a mysterious power kept them from getting dirty. She panted as she walked to Medoria.
"I hope you're right," Specria said.
"If I'm not, at least we'll know what to do next."
"I believe you can do it. As the real me would do, I wished for your success. The next floor must have something you yearn for."
Specria held the pen with Medoria and pointed its tip at the centre of the formation. The dark purple Fons circulated through the pathway and activated the spell. The book vibrated and sent a wave of disruption across the corridor.
As soon as the spell succeeded, Medoria and Specria stabbed the pen on the central point of the formation. Purple electricity burst from it and sprung into a fountain of Fons. It twisted into a storm, filling the corridor with blazing light.
Muffled creaks echoed everywhere as the gears of the impossibly vast formation moved. Through the void between space, rifts opened and reached out to the page. All Fons in the area froze and disintegrated into nothingness upon touching them.
With their strength, Medoria and Specria ripped the page from the book and flung it upward. The darkness above them engulfed the malfunctioning formation and restrained it with countless dark hands from beyond. They gripped and pulled the page toward the rifts, slowly devouring the Fons within it.
Like a star struggling against the tide of darkness, the page resisted the all-consuming power. The symbols written on it emerged and rotated around it, creating smaller formations capable of enhancing the defence and the offence power.
The light and darkness merged and separated, periodically filling the corridor with intense glares and empty void. The flash from above blasted the veil of concealment, revealing the surrounding.
Aside from the bookshelves on both sides of the pathway, the parallel corridors infinitely stretched both forward and sideward. Countless books shook as the impact of the clash from above rocked the floor. Specria and Medoria could only see books and shelves with no further iterations of Specria anywhere.
Medoria stared at the wonder she created, overwhelmed by its power which exceeded her expectation. The power of the unique Fons overload the formation to explode with the destructive potential that could touch the realm of Divinity.
"Let's hope for the best and go," Medoria said.
"Even if I disappear, I want to see the outside just once."
"When you let go of my hand, I'll remember you. You exist in my heart, always."
Medoria took Time and Lie with her and held Specria's hand. Though everything supposedly was an illusion, she believed in the life Specria lived through. Despite her fake memory, her present experience and consciousness were undeniable.
They rushed through the corridor as the page above the sky burnt into ashes and released its ultimate attack. The self-destruct move created a dome of a blaze that stretched across the floor, illuminating every layer of existence.
Medoria sprinted through the blinding light with all her strength. Her grip remained firm on the book. The brightness from the outside burnt her eyelids and forced themselves into her pupils. Tears began rolling, but she never slowed her pace.
After one hundred steps, she opened her eyes and surveyed the surrounding. The bookshelves and the pathway around her remained the same, except a book on the hidden corner was missing. She reached for space, but she had no empty hand.
"Where am I?" Specria said.
She stared at the same scene in front of her, though her face showed confusion. Everything remained the same, but something was off. She trembled as she clasped her hand, pulling Medoria closer. Her infinitesimal existence escaped her world and saw something she shouldn't.
The corridor was strange, its air viscous, its composition unsettling. Specria was looking through a concave lens where all were distorted and disconnected. They were close, yet she could never reach them.
Her memory twirled inside her head. The surreal experience she recalled felt alien. The concept of outside the corridor of bookshelves was incomprehensible to her.
"I'm here, Specria," Medoria said as she grabbed Specria's shoulders. "Everything is fine. You can relax."
Medoria stroked Specria's head and hugged her. Though she didn't know what happened, she had expected that a certain degree of dissonance might occur. To travel from the original time loop to a new one must be unfamiliar to Specria whose life originated and remained in it.
It took one minute for Specria to compose herself. She sighed and let go of Medoria before surveying the corridor. On the ground, there was one candle lantern burning softly, illuminating in the darkness. The new Specria wasn't there.
"The new me dies for me," Specria said. "I kill her to survive."
"You didn't kill anyone. She is you." Medoria tapped Specria's chest. "When you stop existing, she will emerge with your memory. You could die for her, not the other way around."
"Sorry, I'm getting too emotional. The real me wouldn't be like this."
"There is no real you or fake you. You're you, a cute little Specria that exists for me. Don't undermine yourself."
"I'll strive to be what you describe me as."
Specria smiled and held the lantern. She looked around the shelves to kill time as the next operation would happen after the candle melted completely. Though the darkness remained around her, Specria felt a sense of suffocation and isolation from the world. She could only step closer to Medoria, who was reading Time and Lie.
"Medoria, it's time," Specria said as the candle turned into a pile of wax.
Medoria nodded and opened the book, showing a page that had another integrated formation on it. She handed it to Specria and prepared herself by softly breathing in and out. She closed her eyes, her thought wandering into her memory.
"Mistress, you can sing?" Medoria said as she methodically dressed the Second Princess and applied makeup for her. "I haven't heard you sing before."
"Everyone can sing, but the quality is another matter. I used to sing for my mother. After she passed away, I'm too ashamed to sing for anyone else." The Second Princess smiled. "If I have any harmless secret, that will be it."
"Your voice is powerful and lovely. I'm sure you'll make a great singer."
The Second Princess shook her head and stared at Medoria. "I'm not a great singer. The one with that talent is you."
"You're flattering me, mistress."
"Your vocal range is flexible. You have the potential and time to practice if you want to."
"We're about the same age, mistress. Anything I can do, you can do better. I've never won against you in any category."
"It's because you always compete in my domain of expertise. Who will win in a contest of gardening and maid work?"
"Mistress, you shouldn't dirty your hands. You're royalty. Your time is more valuable than doing laundry."
"I would lose in the contest of housework. No one is perfect, Medoria."
"With the same starting point, you'll accomplish much more than me."
"Not always. People have different talents. I'm just lucky to have the resource to pursue most of them."
"Mistress, please don't undermine your achievement."
Medoria buttoned the Second Princess's dress and finished applying the makeup. She led the Second Princess to the study room. She closed the door and saw the Second Princess staring at her with an amusing smile.
The sunlight penetrated the window and highlighted the Second Princess's silhouette. The soft fragrance of the scented candles permeated the room with soothing music playing in the background. The smell of the forestry mixed with the hint of perfume painted a comfortable mental picture.
"How about this? I'll sing for you once, then you'll sing for me," the Second Princess said.
"Please go easy on me, mistress."
"I'm certain you're more than you think."
Medoria poured the Second Princess tea and watched her slowly savouring the aftertaste. With a mix of lemon, it would help enhance the Second Princess's voice.
The Second Princess closed her eyes and leant on the chair. She listened to the chirping of the birds and relaxed.
"The next song will be the traditional folklore song I used to sleep to."
The story detailed the journey of a naive young boy, set in the ancient past where the Arachna had yet to come into existence. The child, fallen for a beautiful Elf who visited his village for a ceremony, left his little world to find the Elf.
The song was one of the many. They detailed a different section of his life, from the beginning until the end.
"This one is 'Who Are You, and Where Am I?' " the Second Princess said.
As the Second Princess sang, Medoria stared at her. She listened to the voice filled with elegance and power as her mouth slowly moved according to the familiarity. Everyone knew about the folklore and the songs.
In the corridor, Medoria relaxed and opened her mouth. Her voice turned up and down according to the rhythm she memorised. With her talent, she easily hit the note and maintain the frequency without breaking any sweats.
"To you, whom I love, and to me, whom you forgot.
"This is a letter to the one I adore.
"If I seek you, will you love me?
"If I reach you, will you hurt me?
"Please tell me, my love. Is this love, or is this dream?"
Thanks for the chapter!~
Did that turn into a flashback at the end there?
It is!
Thanks for the Meal