Chapter 188 |
A little less than an hour later, I was standing in front of the stairs leading to the upper floors of the Chasm of Desolation, and eventual freedom. But first…
"Bed?" I asked, and my cute companion stood straight like a tiny soldier giving a report.
"I made it!" Ollie declared with a comically serious look.
For once, he was wearing the kind of outfit you would expect to see on a young Abyssal aristocrat. His bowl-cut was extra tidy after lots of brushing, and the combination of his spotless white silk shirt with its huge sailor collar, dark blue vest, matching velvet breeches, and thick white stockings ending in a pair of small leather shoes with oversized fancy bucklers made him look like he just stepped out of a period drama. It also made him look gosh darn precious, but at this point, that went without saying.
"Toys?" I asked next, and he puffed up his chest.
"They're all in the box!"
"Games?"
"I put all of them under the television!" After a beat, he also added, "Oh, and I coiled up the cables, too."
"Good job."
In other words, we were ready to move out, so I gestured for Ollie with a smile and a playful, "Hop on."
I didn't have to say it twice. He practically leapt over to my side and raised his arms so that I could lift and hold him on my hip, with his hands clasped behind my neck. I had little experience lugging kids around (I was much more familiar with the traditional princess carry thanks to the girls), but Abyssal nobility or not, I was pretty sure Ollie would be completely wiped out by the stairs if he tried to climb them next to me. Heck, even I found them aggravating, and I had physical enhancements to rely on.
Thus prepared, we began our journey to the top, and while the kid remained quiet for three whole floors, it was only a question of time before he would get bored.
"Uncle Polemos?"
"Yes, Beansprout?"
"Are we going to meet Aunty Dormouse and Aunty Princess?"
"Yes, but remember what I told you? When you meet them in person, you should call them Judy and Eleanor."
"Ah! R-Right!"
He balled up a fist to show that he was serious about this, but that meant he was no longer clinging onto me and he almost lost his balance. I hefted him a bit so he would remain stable, and once he grabbed onto me again and felt secure, he continued the previous conversation like nothing happened.
"Are we going to meet Uncle Antonio too?"
Now it was my turn to falter, and after some quick thinking, I told him, "Probably, yes. His situation is a little… complicated, so I'm not sure where or how we'll run into him."
It was at this point that I reached the top of a flight of stairs and was ready to move onto the next, but I stopped in my tracks and squinted. According to the unwritten laws of comedic timing, this was the exact moment when future-me would show up and casually greet me right as I turn the corner, just like… this!
"Ha!"
There was nobody behind the wall separating the stairwell from the cells. But wait. Future-me was me from the future (and also redundancy is redundant, but that's beside the point), so he would know that I would expect him to show up here, so instead he would show up… behind me!
"Double-ha!"
There was nobody behind us either.
"Uncle Polemos? What are you doing?"
"… Nothing, Beansprout. I'm just being overtly cautious, I guess."
Honestly speaking, the whole premise of trying to surprise myself by playing along with the rules of comedic timing was flawed, because I would expect it, and future me would know I'd expect it, and therefore, there was no point in doing it. Of course, he could be just busy elsewhere, orchestrating the grand finale and all, and I was simply overthinking this. Or… maybe that's what future-me wanted me to think, so that I would lower my guard, and then he would—
Ollie jolted me out of my train of thought with a sudden, "Look! What's that?"
I stopped and followed his finger pointing at the bright yellow square on the far wall. It was definitely suspicious, so I cautiously walked over, only to realise that it was just a standard-issue, self-adhesive post-it-note. It said…
"Yes, you're overthinking it. I really am busy elsewhere. See you soon. P.S.: Hi, Ollie."
"Oooh? Was this left behind by Uncle Antonio?" the boy in my arms asked excitedly as soon as I finished reading, and I couldn't help but nod.
"Sure seems like it." I also followed that up with a quiet, "Goddamit, me," but that was beside the point.
We continued on our way, up the next flight of stairs, and I used the lull in the conversation to summarise my thoughts. In short, we were supposed to meet soon, which meant the finale was probably even closer than I already expected. After all, everyone and everything was converging for the final battle with Crowy and Bel, so it was effectively a given that the next time I met future-me face to face, it would be for a climactic faceoff. An ultimate showdown, if you will. Potentially of the ultimate destiny variety.
I was kind of expecting Ollie to start asking questions again, but then I realised that future-me's note effectively answered his previous one, so he must've felt content. Or at the very least, content enough to remain silent and hug my neck. Or maybe the atmosphere was getting to him? Sure, as we got higher, the magic-dampening effects of the Chasm of Desolation lessened, but while the bottom floors were effectively empty, these upper ones had a few prisoners moaning and groaning and rattling their chains.
He was still a child, after all, and when I hugged him a bit closer, he automatically buried his face into my neck. Yep, he was spooked all right. I patted his back a bit to make him feel better, and I was so focused on that, I almost didn't notice the movement at the end of the hallway on the top floor.
"[Who goes there? Show yourself!]"
Ollie tensed up, so I redoubled my back-patting efforts and continued to casually walk towards the source of the warning. Was it time for Refuge in Audacity? Silly question.
"[I said halt, or I'll…!]"
The Faun guard levelled his halberd and squinted at me, only to freeze up when our eyes met.
"[I wish upon you an evening of pleasant quality,]" I spoke as I casually triggered a Rite of Dominance, establishing a connection through which I could sense waves of apprehension crashing towards me, each one topped by the white foam of confusion. I didn't send out any mental spectres yet, and only maintained eye contact until we were a couple of steps away from each other, then stopped. "[My countenance is ill-suited from merriments of felines and rodents today, so I reckon you place your feet in a lateral direction and allow me passage of the unrestricted manner.]"
"[Ah… But… Um…]"
For further emphasis, I summoned four ghostly copies of myself through the Rite, mirrored by the Faun's outline blurring with pale orange light. They didn't move; I was just staring him down with four more instances of me, and it clearly made him sweat quite a bit.
"[I request that you construct your cognizance upwards, because my patience is a well of insufficient water.]"
The familiar Faun (I was pretty sure I passed by him at least half a dozen times in the past) was quick on the uptake and evaluated his options in record time. He closed his eyes, which was effectively the equivalent of admitting defeat in the Rites of Dominance, pulled back his halberd, and sheepishly shuffled to the side.
"[I didn't meet you tonight.]"
I stepped forward, then stopped in front of him and told him, "[A man of sense less common than it should be, you are. Once the day of reckoning has drawn to a close, you shall partake in trifling castigation for your dereliction of duty, then obtain an advancement, for people of sense must be honoured.]"
"[Erm… Thank… you?]"
"You're welcome," I told him, this time not in Faunish for extra impact, and then I continued to stroll towards the exit with Ollie in hand.
Around halfway through the conversation, he stopped covering and began to look at me with a mixture of awe and confusion, and once we were out of the petrified Faun's earshot, he said, "You sounded so funny."
"Did I?"
He vehemently nodded and tried to mimic me, though it sounded more like a certain hairy crossbow-wielding space-alien than any Faun I'd ever heard.
"It was like that!"
"Really? Aunty Elly said it sounded more like Mongolian throat singing."
I spoke absently while scanning the perimeter, and my casual words made him tilt his head to the side.
"Mongolian? That's a country, right? Do Fauns live there too?"
"No, it's… complicated." I hefted him again and told him, "Once we're out of here, ask Aunty Elly about it. I'm sure she'll be happy to explain the details."
"Okay!"
Meanwhile, we were nearing the entrance of the prison. The yawning natural cave opening wasn't particularly bright at this hour, but Ollie was still squinting like he was staring at floodlights. It was probably because of how poorly lit these upper levels were, with their vintage torches and magical ceiling-circles and such. Once we got closer, he perked up even more, no doubt because he was smelling the slightly fresher air of the city, and as soon as we stepped outside…
"[Who goes there? Show yourself!]"
"Wow. Talk about déja vu…"
Needless to say, our appearance caused quite a stir, especially since I wasn't even trying to hide myself this time. As I said, every day was for Refuge in Audacity, but some days were more Refugeous in the Audacitiousness than others, and this sure as heck was one of them.
"[I… Is that the Hoar Hatter?]" a startled Faun yelped as he arrived at the scene, but nobody gave him an answer.
The original guard in the booth not far from the prison entrance was repeatedly pushing a big red button (probably some kind of alarm) while conspicuously trying to avoid eye contact, so he couldn't be bothered to respond. The same was true for the patrol group that hurriedly made their way over when they heard the commotion.
"[What's with the child? Another ghost?]"
"[Don't be stupid! Why would a ghost carry another ghost?]" a different Faun barked, his voice drawing even more of a crowd.
"[Wait, is that the Hoar Hatter? What happened to his hat?]" a newcomer blurted out.
"[I just asked that!]" the first Faun shouted, and seeing that still nobody dared to give an answer, he proposed, "[Maybe it isn't him?]"
"[Then who is it?]"
"[I don't know. You go and ask.]"
"[Why me?]"
The situation was going nowhere fast, and we were drawing an ever-bigger audience by the second, so I gently put Ollie down and raised my voice to be heard over the commotion.
"[Beast-men of Inanna, hearken to me!]"
My words made everyone tense up and fall silent, followed by a tentative voice from the back saying, "[… He sure does sound like the Hoar Hatter.]"
"[Ah, no. Nobody made eye contact, right?]"
"[Wait, but if that's the Hoar Hatter, then who's the kid?]"
"[Maybe a different ghost? Like, an Infantile … erm… Breecher?]"
"[That's a stupid name for a ghost.]"
"[Hold your horses! What if he isn't a ghost?]"
"[How should we know?]"
"[Have anyone tried to look him in the eye yet?]"
"[Do it yourself if you're so curious!]"
…
Did… Did I accidentally traumatise a whole barrack's worth of Fauns with my ghost play? That made me feel a pang of guilt, but I had no time for that right now, so I stuffed it into one of the many, many cabinets full of useless thoughts at the back of my mind and forcefully cleared my throat.
"[I said, hearken to me! I shall visit the castle of—]"
"[Wait! We need to figure this out first!]" One of the Fauns interrupted me and turned to his fellows. "[What if they aren't ghosts? Wasn't there supposed to be a man and a child locked up at the bottom of the Chasm? Maybe it's them.]"
"[Don't be idiotic, Khragwl! How are two prisoners supposed to just waltz out of the Inescapable Withering Layer of the Chasm of Desolation without anyone noticing it? Think for a second!]"
I was getting a bit impatient, so I raised my voice again, this time with a hint of exasperation creeping into my words as I bellowed, "[Cease your prattling and hearken to me already!]" That earned me a second of silence, so I quickly capitalised on it by starting over. "[In the echo of my words of the recent past, I proclaim that I shall pay a visit of official nature to the—]"
"[What is going on out there?!]"
"Oh, for god's sake…"
Once more, my words were cut short by a roar as a familiar face entered the fray. The leonine Faun in charge of the Fauns of House Inanna in general and these barracks in particular, pushed through the gaggle of guards encircling us with booming steps. He was about the same size as Brang, meaning about half a head taller than the rest of his men (not counting the horns, of course). His hair was a mane that covered his neck as well, his green-tinted breast plate was shined to a mirror finish, and he was carrying a large diamond-headed black mace that looked like he just pilfered it from the armoury of a dark lord of some kind.
"[What are you idiots standing around for?!]" he bellowed again and pointed his mace at me. "[Capture the intruders!]"
Ollie shuddered and hid behind my leg, so I lightly tousled his hair to reassure him. Meanwhile, one of the other Fauns responded to their commanding officer with, "[B-But Warmaster-General Redmane, sir! It's the Hoar Hatter.]"
"[What?]" The lionesque Faun squinted at me, then back at his subordinate. "[He doesn't even have a hat!]"
"[Yes, but…]"
"[Enough of this!]" He suddenly waved his mace over his head and then swung it vertically, stopping it so that he was pointing at me again. "[When you want something done, you have to do it yourself! I will put this idiotic ghost-story to the grave today, with my own two hands!]"
"[May I suggest that you beast-men of Inanna would just hearken to me for the span of fifty breaths of time, for the sake of tarnation!?]"
My request went in one ear and out the other, as he declared, "[I'm Warmaster-General Whorl Redmane! Tell me, interloper! Are you ready to test yourself against your better in the Rites of Dominance?]"
… Wow, I'm having déja vu, again. Those weren't supposed to happen so frequently.
Anyhow, seeing that he already worked himself up too much, I exhaled a shallow sigh, locked eyes with him, and pulled both Cal and Teeny out of storage.
"{Ah, young knight! Are we to battle already?}"
"{Report: Interface:Teeny, in optimal operating conditions.}"
I waited for them to finish, then I locked eyes with the lionish Faun and pointed Teeny at him.
"[Convey your fury upon me if you possess the audacity, you lumpy example of children's fuzzy hand puppets!]"
He clearly didn't know how to react to that, but by this point, the Rites of Dominance were established. He seemed startled for a moment, as if he didn't expect that it would actually work, but then he sent out four spectres at once. I matched him right away, but before our phantom versions could properly engage, he let out a strained grunt and took a step towards me. That was odd. Fauns were usually rooted in place at times like this. I should know; at one point I used to train using Dominance with them on and almost daily basis.
The so-called Warmaster-General's steps were slow and deliberate, as if he was under five times Earth's gravity and he had to exert great effort for every movement. It was almost comical, and the way he kept glaring at me, unblinking, almost made it look like some kind of weird power play.
Meanwhile, I was paying little attention to my spectres, though to be fair, by this point I was in a different weight category even without the ability to Phase. If anything, I realised that this might've been a useful opportunity to make sure I didn't get rusty and that my mana-burns from before wouldn't prove to be a handicap, but the way he kept approaching me made me unable to focus on anything else.
At last, he was just about to get into mace range, and while I wasn't worried about getting hit by some kind of out-of-Dominance not-at-all-sneaky-attack, Ollie was still behind me and gawking at the unfolding situation with equal amounts of curiosity and apprehension. I didn't want him to get accidentally caught up in this, so with a twitch of my fist, I shifted Teeny into spear-mode. The sudden extra reach I got made the Faun come to a stumbling halt, only to then reel back when I took a step, and Teeny's point stopped right in front of his face.
He let out a grunt that could've been either a sign of surprise or some kind of exotic Faunish swear-word I was unfamiliar with, and then he immediately tried to swing his mace at my weapon. However, when he raised it over his head, I sent out two more Dominance spectres, and the sudden added mental load made his movements falter. At the very same moment, I lightly twisted my wrist into a brandish, which then ended with the flat of the spearhead hitting him right on top of his head, causing him to...
"Hukk!"
… hiccup? Sure, why not?
"Do you yield?" I asked, this time not even bothering with the Faunish.
He glared at me in return, so I added two more phantom copies, followed by another flourish and hit on top of his head, making him reel back again. I followed after him, maintaining the distance of the spear tip from his nose.
"Do you yield?" I asked again, with a bit more emphasis, and when he didn't respond, I repeated the same process a third time.
By this point, we had twelve immaterial copies only visible to us duking it out around the cave entrance. 'Had' being the operating word, as it was clearly a number beyond his limit, as my phantoms kept cutting down his ghostly echoes one by one, and when he tried to produce new ones, their starting position would mirror our real bodies. Meaning, with my spear pointed right at his face. There wasn't much space for a contest there.
Feeling his imminent defeat, the General made one last desperate gambit, brandishing his mace with a roar… so I did another flourish and hit him extra-hard on the head, this time with the butt end of the spear shaft. His defiant cry came to an abrupt halt, and then his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed right where he stood, with a trickle of blood on the corner of his mouth. Did he bite his tongue?
It didn't really matter. I had more important things to do, such as theatrically twirling Teeny overhead, planting the butt end with a loud thud, and then bellowing out, "[Beastment of the House of Inanna! Are. You. Hearkening. Me. Now!?]"
There was a bit of a quiet spell while everyone waited for the downed Faun's mace to stop rolling, but then one of the goat-ish phenotypes stepped forth and responded with a supremely awkward, "[Y-Yes, we're listening, Lord Hoar Hatter.]"
Was he trembling? Dammit, I really did traumatise these guys. Note to self: once this whole thing is over, send the Fauns stationed here some apology gift baskets. More important though…
"[Eject a fleet of foot to the ancient bastions of the…]" I began, but cut myself short and took a deep breath. "Okay, let's try this again." I pointed at the Faun at the front. "You."
"[Yes?]"
"Take him to the infirmary, or whatever equivalent you have." Before he could respond, I pointed at another guard. "You. Send a messenger to the castle. Tell whoever's in charge that Archon Leonard Polemos-Dunning is going to pay them an official visit in an hour. Also, tell them that our future relationship is going to be entirely based on the reception, so think things through very carefully." I paused just long enough to turn Teeny back into the short sword form and make a sweeping gesture. "The rest of you, get back to work. Chop-chop."
Whether it was the power of Refuge in Audacity, my reputation, or just the fact that I beat their superior in Dominance in front of their eyes, but the previously skittish Faun guards immediately jumped at the opportunity to make themselves useful and started following my orders to the letter. It was a nice change of pace. The night was still young, and the fewer things I had to micro-manage myself, the better.
"{I'm feeling deeply disappointed, my young knight. This battle was rather…}"
Cal's complaints shook me out of it, and I was just about to roll my eyes at him when Ollie tugged on my sleeve, pulling my attention in the other direction.
"That was so cool!"
"{Was it?}"/"Really?"
Cal's response overlapped mine, though he obviously could only hear one of us, and it wasn't the grouchy sword.
"Yes! It was like, swish! And bang!" He waved his hands around, as if holding invisible weapons. "And then a boooom! Uncle Polemos was so awesome!"
Receiving such honest, innocent adoration was… refreshingly nice. Also…
"You were saying?"
My question was obviously aimed at Cal, and after a long beat, they told me, "{I'm too old to be arguing with a child.}"
"{Observation: Interface:Teeny posits that the saying, 'With age comes wisdom', might not be entirely baseless.}"
"{Well, obviously.}"
"{Conjecture: If true, then it means Interface:Teeny is, by defintinion, wiser than Interface:Caly.}"
"{… I knew there would a spin like this. Listen, Teeny…}"
I tuned out my weapons' usual banter and gestured for Ollie to follow after me.
"Come, Beansprout. Let's pay an official visit to a local a granny."
"A grandma?" He scurried after me, eyes full of curiosity. "Is she nice?"
"That's what we have to find out…"
And with that, the two of us began our leisurely stroll towards Castle Inanna, giving its inhabitants plenty of time to figure out whether they want to be nice or not.
Deep in the night, a silent beast of steam and metal slowly crept up on its prey. Which in this case was a whole… town? I wasn't very good with my similes, was I?
Anyhow, what was I getting at? Ah, right. The train.
It was later than expected that the heavily enchanted steam engine of House Ninhursag approached the outskirts of Eanna. All hands on deck (or whatever the railway equivalent of that idiom was) were on high alert as the silent locomotive passed by the first couple of unlit buildings by the rails. Some kind of switching station, maybe?
"We're in the clear," Josh whispered in the pitch-black driver's cab. The already fairly small cabin, originally designed to house only two or three people at most, was crammed like a sardine can. The whole gang was there, along with the patriarch, the unnamed military liaison, as well as the actual driver of the steam machine.
Not that he had much to do; as of this moment, the firebox of the locomotive was bereft of flames, and the whole train was carried by a mixture of inertia and whatever minuscule slope there was in the railways following the lay of the landscape. Or at least so I thought. I was many things, but a railway engineer definitely wasn't one of them.
"I don't see any wards," Snowy whispered back, then leaned out at the side of the cab and squinted hard at the darkness in the distance. After a few tense seconds, she returned to the gang with a reassuring, "Still nothing. I… don't think they're expecting us."
The portly Ninhursag aristocrat in the middle let out a soft hum, followed by an equally quiet, "Good." Seeing the relieved faces around him, he quickly raised a finger and added, "But we must remain vigilant." He pointed the same finger at the driver next. "Maintain silent running."
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The man, a lanky fellow in a railway uniform, immediately began fiddling with the instruments and knobs in front of him, but… what exactly did 'silent running' even mean here? They were acting like they were on a submarine doing some super-sneaky secret mission. They turned off the lights and were whispering and whatnot, but it was still a train. It was still making a lot of rackety noises, and cloudy sky or not, anyone with a pair of working eyes could see them coming.
Though again, they didn't have a lot of options. The alternative was to rush in at full speed and kick up the hornet's nest. In that context, maybe going about it this way was wiser. Of course, if only Judy put on her communicators, I could—
"I'm a little worried about the lack of defenses." Speak of the devil, my dear assistant spoke up in a low whisper while inattentively tapping on the glasses tucked into her collar. I figured she just didn't put them on because everyone was gathered here, so she didn't need to act like mission control yet. I would've really appreciated it if she thought of me as well, but I digress. She glanced through the window of the train cab and added, "Why would they leave such an obvious point of entry unguarded?"
The heavy-set patriarch stifled a drawn-out chortle and uttered a single word, "Conceit." He sounded thoroughly convinced of his point, but seeing that the gang wasn't, he made a sweeping motion towards the buildings barely visible outside (an act made a bit awkward by how cramped the place was) and explained, "The Lord of Inanna must have never even considered that someone would challenge him and his Emperor on their home grounds. I'm sure he considers himself to be the prime mover of this civil war, the one who attacks and conquers, and thus the mere idea of someone daring to assault his castle must've been so preposterous, he didn't even entertain the thought."
"I… don't know…" Snowy muttered on the side, looking less than convinced. "Noir is usually more… careful than that."
"Maybe," the man granted her, but then shrugged her concerns off with his very next sentence. "Absolute power, or the belief of possessing it, often makes a fool out of even the most prudent of men."
There was an odd, almost self-reflecting tinge in his tone, and it resulted in a long moment of silence… at least until my knightly sister exclaimed, "With great power comes great arrogance!"
"Pssst!" Elly hissed at her, putting a finger in front of her lips. "We're in silent mode."
"Ah, right!" My sister also put a finger in front of her mouth, all the while Judy was just shaking her head at their antics and continued her reasoning from before.
"I still think we need to be careful. It would be embarrassing to fall into a trap at this stage of the plan."
The patriarch eventually nodded along, but before he could formulate a proper response, Angie grabbed everyone's attention by saying, "I think we're getting close! I can see the castle!"
This was my knightly sister's turn to hiss, "Psst! Silent mode!"
The Celestial girl didn't seem to care though, and she leaned even further out of the cabin for a better look, so much so that her boyfriend subtly sidled closer and held onto her waist from behind. She let out a giggle (she might've thought it was a romantic gesture) and leaned out even harder, her finger aimed at the structure in the distance.
"Look! It's all lit up like it's Christmas!" Her expression suddenly turned thoughtful, and she finally stopped reenacting the bad example from a railway safety PSA. "Do you have Christmas in the Abyss?"
The question was clearly aimed at Snowy, and she awkwardly muttered, "Leo once asked me about this, too. No, we don't. We have—"
"Sorry to interrupt, but we should focus on the mission," Judy interjected, followed by Penny and Elly both going hush-hush again.
"Silent mode."
"Very silent!" Penny insisted, only to then immediately pause and tap her chin with her forefinger. "Wait. If we put Snowy's Sigils on the train, we could've gotten one step further! Stealth mode!"
"I'm… not sure they would work well on an object this big," my other sister pointed out.
Judy also added, "It still wouldn't help with the noise."
It was at this point that Angie crossed her arms and let out a soft huff.
"I told you we could've used a silencing hymn to mask our approach."
Hearing that, Josh subtly rolled his eyes and, since his hands were still on her waist, pulled her closer.
"And I told you that a 'silencing' song that you have to sing from the top of your lungs is a… what was the fancy word for contradictions?"
Judy uttered a disinterested, "Oxymoron," without paying much attention.
"Yes, that. An oxymoron." He sent an appreciative glance at my dear assistant, but then focused on his girlfriend and told her, "Also, a Celestial hymn needs a choir to work, doesn't it?"
"But Deus said we could do it!" Angie retorted with a pout, only for her eyes to switch colour and Deus to declare, "You have to be bolder, Boy! It's about time you embrace your Celestial nature and learn how to perform something more complex than just simple arias and cantatas!"
Josh froze up for a moment, and it looked like he was about to take his hands off her, but then he exhaled hard, relaxed his posture, and then retorted with a flat, "Yeah, sure. Maybe once we aren't in the middle of something like this?"
"That's not a good attitude!" Deus snapped at him, causing my princess and my sister to 'Pssst!' at her, but they were summarily ignored. "There's no better time to learn than the present!" She paused, then added, in an almost sheepish voice, "Maybe not the 'present' present, but maybe after we rescued Polemos? Oh! Maybe we could practice together! It should be much easier to learn the intricacies of a chorus with more voices!"
Oh, dear god, no.
"Maybe?"
No. Just no. If I ever sing anything, it's going to be in Faunish, about how much of a ponce Crowy is, and that's it.
Fortunately, before the childhood-friend… um… adjacent duo? Yeah, let's go with that. So, before the two of them could come up with any concrete plans, the patriarch in the middle of the group let out a low hiss.
"Quiet. We're getting close to the station."
"How can you tell?" Judy inquired on the spot, looking genuinely intrigued, so the man stifled a sigh and made a vague gesture towards the window.
"A sign, by the rails."
"Interesting." If it wasn't dark in there, I was sure she would've jotted that down into her notepad. Instead, she raised her hand to get everyone's attention. "Get ready. It seems like we haven't been discovered yet, but we still have to be prepared for heavy resistance once we disembark. Do you remember the plan?"
"Sure," Josh noted while still hugging… was Deus still in control? Anyhow, he kept absent-mindedly holding onto her while he explained, "First, we secure the train station. We're gonna set up a defensive perimeter inside the building." When he said that, he gestured at himself, Angie, and the military liaison who… holy crap. That guy had so little presence, I totally forgot he was there. Anyhow, he pointed at my sisters and the patriarch next, saying, "Team B will head directly to the castle, while Team C…" By process of elimination, that could only refer to my girlfriends, "… is gonna proceed to the Chasm of Desolation and rescue Leo."
"We need to move fast," Elly declared, only to then blink and turn to Judy. "By the way, shouldn't we contact Leo and tell him that we're coming?"
"Knowing the Chief, he already knows," my dear assistant responded a touch dourly, but finally grabbed her party glasses and was ready to wear them. "We might need directions, though."
She was just about to finally put them on, but she paused mid-motion when Angie exclaimed, "I think I can see the station!" Once again, she was leaning out the window and being held back by an eminently unamused Josh, but before the others could hush her, she turned around and said, "Hey, guys? Trains are not supposed to be running right now, right?"
"No, they aren't," Judy replied, her glasses almost touching her nose.
"Then we might be in trouble. The whole place is lit up and there's a lot of movement."
"What? Let me take a look!"
The Ninhursag noble tried to follow her example and lean out the window, though in his case, it was a far less graceful affair.
"You see? I knew we should've been quieter," Penny moaned, my princess nodding in agreement, and then the patriarch turned to face them again, cutting all conversations short.
"You! There's no point hiding now! Full steam ahead!"
"Yes, Lord!" the driver yelped and began to tweak the knobs again.
Meanwhile, the large man headed towards the door leading to the coupling and the passenger cars behind it.
"I'll tell the men to be ready for battle!"
It was at this point that Judy, mercifully, finally placed the stupid glasses onto her nose, and I immediately connected to it.
"Hey, Dormouse."
"Chief?" She let out a soft hum and turned to Elly. "You see? Told you he would be…" Her words trailed off when the image also came through. Unlike when I was in the Chasm of Desolation, there should've been no interference whatsoever, so I figured she was looking through my eyes at this moment, and as soon as the first surprise passed, she hurriedly called out, "Lord Ninhursag, sir. Please wait."
The rotund man stopped in the doorway, looking mildly confused by this development. It didn't show in her face, but Judy was probably the most confounded out of everyone in the cabin.
"Chief? Is what I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing?"
"Depends. Is it a train rolling into the station?" I asked back.
In the background, Angie exclaimed, "Look! Someone's waving to us!"
Meanwhile, my dear assistant forced down a groan and muttered, "This is going to be so awkward…"
"It wouldn't be if you put on the communicator earlier," I pointed out, much to her audible chagrin.
"Must've been narrative influence."
"Come on, Dormouse. We can't blame everything on that."
Snowy chose this moment to interject with a quiet, "E-Excuse me?"
She looked extra-perplexed, though the same could be said about the rest of the gang as well, which wasn't surprising, considering they were only hearing one side of the conversation. I left Judy to explain all that and returned to my body, where I was also met with a confused glance.
"Who were you talking to?" a raspy voice asked on my side, and before I could finish, an energetic voice answered in my stead from over my head.
"It was Auntie Judy, right? Is she coming?"
Ollie was riding on my shoulders and sounded pretty excited as he craned his neck to take a better look at the approaching steam engine languidly following the final bend of the rails leading to the platform. On my right, the Matron exhaled a sharp breath through her nostrils, looking generally annoyed. Next to her were a few familiar faces: the strapping young man from the salon, a couple of the Fauns from the barracks standing on guard, and a certain elderly bald military man. On my left, a small gaggle of nobles and servants (both the civil and the domestic variety) surrounded by even more Fauns. Further left, a group of different and visibly more 'working class' Abyssals bunched up in a huddle and trying not to draw attention.
"This is madness! If the Lord hears of this, we're going to lose our heads, I tell you!" the bald Abyssal next to the Matron whispered to her, but loud enough that I could clearly hear him even over the sound of the metallic groaning of the locomotive's wheels.
She didn't respond to him directly, just continued to stare dispassionately at the approaching train and said, "I shall decide whether I care about what Noir thinks of today's events or not after I listen to Neige's side of the story."
Speaking of her, the train barely started braking when the side door of the driver's cabin popped open and a dash of red and white escaped from it.
"Brother!"
Yep. Leave it to Penny to make a dynamic entry while dragging my other sister along. The two of them dashed under the evenly placed electric lampposts of the station's main platform, and she… kind of looked like she was gearing up to tackle me.
"Whoa! Easy there, Kiddo!"
I desperately gestured at Ollie, still sitting on my shoulders, and that finally made her slow down.
"Oof…"
She still tackled me all the same.
"Brotheeer!"
"Yes, yes. I'm here."
I was half-expecting Snowy to join in on the family hug, but she was frozen up next to me due to the presence of the Matron.
She muttered an awkward, "Ah, I-I…" so I reached out in her stead and pulled her in.
"Worry about it later."
She was surprised at first, but then she also opened her arms wide and caught both me and Penny in a big hug, and…
"Leooo!"
… and now the princess was diving towards me. Crap. I should've put Ollie down first, shouldn't I?
Hindsight was still a female dog, but for now held onto Ollie and tried my best to weather the storm. As soon as the train stopped, the rest of the gang crowded me as well, with Judy being the last in line, courtesy of being the only one who had to use the ladder to get out of the cab instead of jumping off a moving vehicle like it was completely normal. And while I waited for her to get here…
"Oh, come on, man! Would it have killed you to let us be the big damn heroes for once!?"
I listened to Josh's complaints.
"This was definitely anticlimactic," my dear assistant agreed with him as soon as she arrived, and she looked me in the eye. Or rather, she looked Ollie in the eye. "Éolienne Serua Ashur?"
"Yes!" he responded loudly, followed by a quieter, "If she's Auntie Elly, then you must be Aunty Judy!"
She responded with a soft, "Mm," and then looked me in the eye. "Chief? Could you please put him down?"
"… Why?"
"So that I could kick you for making me worry." That was extra-deadpan, meaning she was serious, but then she also added, "And I also want to kiss you," in the same tone, so maybe she wasn't.
"No way! I was here first, so I have dibs!" Elly declared while still attached to me from behind, since my sisters were still hogging my sides. "Not for the kicking part!"
"I know, I know, just… Everyone, could you please step back for a moment?"
They reluctantly did so, and while we were busy with that, the Ninhursag Patriarch and his retinue also got off the train, much to the present Inanna personnel's mild apprehension.
He greeted me with a cautious, "Lord Dunning?" so I did my best to appear as friendly as possible.
"The Head of House Ninhursag, right? Pleased to meet you, but I'm afraid proper introductions and pleasantries have to wait." In the meantime, I put down Ollie and simultaneously pointed a palm and the girlfriends. "Same goes for kicks and kisses as well."
"Is this the part where you're gonna explain to us why you decided to break yourself out of prison literally five minutes before we got here to break you out?"
"It was a bit more than five minutes, and no, that explanation also has to wait a bit."
"Are we heading back to Castle Inanna?" the Matron asked without taking an eye off Snowy, scrutinising her like a principal getting ready to dress down a troublemaking student. My sister looked self-conscious, but not afraid, so I let the attitude slide for now and shook my head again.
"No, that's not it either." By this point, the confusion was palpable in the air, so I raised my palms and said, "We don't have much time, so let's get things done first. Snowy?"
"Y-Yes?"
"Please explain what happened between you and Crowy to her." I jerked my head towards the old woman. "Just the abridged version. You can talk about the granular details later."
"O-Okay?"
She didn't look too happy about that, but obediently walked over to the Matron's side. Penny automatically followed after her, like her shadow. Next, I turned to my girlfriends and pushed Ollie towards them.
"Here, introduce yourselves. The Beansprout's been dying to meet you."
Elly looked happy to oblige, while Judy slightly narrowed her eyes and asked, "You're trying to distract us, aren't you?"
"Yes," I admitted without a shred of shame, which took her aback long enough for me to move on to the childhood friend couple.
"You two, I need you to help me throw some switches."
"… Switches," Josh repeated after me with a critical brow raised at my expense.
"Yeah. Rail switches, to be exact," I explained and waved at the group of hapless Abyssals standing a bit further off in the distance, wearing an eclectic combination of formal clothes, casual wear, and uniforms similar to the Ninhursag train driver's. Raising my voice, I yelled, "Come on, people! Look alive! I want this train turned around within the hour!"
"Yes… Yes, sir!" a middle-aged placeholder, apparently the senior officer or manager or who the heck knew the hierarchy of the railway, responded briskly and began to hand out instructions.
Meanwhile, Josh stepped up to me and whispered, "What's this about?"
"Exactly what it looks like." I made a few more urging gestures at the men, and only then did I turn on my heel and tell Josh, "There's a situation going on back at Castle Shamash, so we're all going back there."
My friend first looked incredulous, then angry, and finally just plain exasperated as he hissed, "What situation?"
"Crowy is besieging the place with his whole army. Oh, and the class rep's there too. Can't forget about her."
Now his expressions went in reverse, resulting in a skeptical, "Hold your horses, pal! Are you seriously telling me that he decided to invade right after we left?"
Scoffing, I responded with a miffed, "Yeah. Annoying, right?" followed by a more neutral. "Come, I'll give you the details on the way back." Then I turned to Angie, and asked, "Let's rearrange some trains, shall we?"
"Okay!"
With his girlfriend agreeing, Josh had no choice but to fall in line, and with that, I managed to weather the most critical junction by getting everyone busy, so that they wouldn't start asking more questions. Such as why they even needed to come get me if I could break out at any time, or why I didn't tell them about this before, or why this whole situation was moving at such a bloody breakneck pace.
Of course, I would have to answer those questions sooner or later, but with some luck, by then I could come up with something satisfactory. And who knew? Maybe even Judy would forget about kicking me in the meantime. I could only hope.
When was the last time I'd ridden a train, I wondered.
The first (and most memorable) occasion was definitely during our first research trip with Judy that rapidly turned into a silly amusement park date, but after that, I never had much reason to make use of the services of the Critias National Railway Company. After all, I could Phase around the place to go wherever I wanted, so other forms of transportation became pretty meaningless to me. It wasn't like I had much reason to leave Timaeus anyway, and when the stars aligned and I had to do it in a way where Phasing would've blown my self-imposed cover, I could always just fall back to borrowing the limo from Dad-in-law.
What I was trying to get at was that the experience was rather novel, though I admit I couldn't quite enjoy it considering the circumstances.
"Auntie Penny?"
"No-no! Not auntie! Call me… um… Big Sis Penny!" my knightly sister declared, and when Ollie nodded with all the unwarranted seriousness that request didn't deserve, she practically melted.
"Okay, Big Sis Penny! But… should I call you Big Sis Neige, too?"
That question was aimed at my other sister, and Snowy was momentarily stumped.
"Uuu… Um… N-No need for that, Lord Eolienne."
"You're being too stiff," Angie chimed in from the side.
"B-But he's technically the Lord of House Ashur…"
We were all squeezed in here like sardines, including some unexpected faces. Angie and Penny were sitting on the seats at the other side of the cabin, with Ollie sandwiched between them, while on my side, I had Snowy and Judy, with Elly reserving my lap for herself.
The kid wasn't supposed to come with us to the warzone, but he just casually followed after me when we boarded, and the girls were so curious about him that he ended up staying. I'd have to make sure he stays somewhere safe during the upcoming kerfuffle, with maybe some Faun guards assigned to him for safety, but for the time being, he was surrounded by the girls and being spoiled with whatever sweets they could get their hands on.
Honestly speaking, I still wasn't sure what to expect from the final confrontation between us and Crowy. Things felt way too rushed, and while I wanted to believe everything was going according to future-me's machinations, from my perspective, it was one big mess. But then again, if things weren't on the rails (figuratively, not literally), then he would've probably already warned me about it, so I had to presume that the messiness of the situation was intentional.
"What are you thinking about?"
That question came from Judy, and while on the surface she still kept up the 'I'm mad at you' façade, she was also nuzzling up to me on every opportunity she got. In other words, I was getting mixed messages, but I was getting used to them.
"Just meta things, as usual," I told her frankly, earning me a giggle from the princess.
"We're so back to normal, aren't we?"
"The situation is far from 'normal'," my dear assistant retorted with a soft huff, followed by a quiet. "I still think we should've found a quiet place where nobody would bother us and make up for the lost time."
"I don't think doing that would be appropriate, considering the circumstances."
My response made her look up at me and utter, "I was referring to having a proper discussion about the narrative implications of the latest events. What did you think I meant?"
We locked gazes for a few seconds as I tried to figure out just how serious she was, but seeing that she didn't move a muscle, I soon gave up and said, "Fine, whatever. We'll have plenty of time to do that after the night is over."
"Technically, it's already morning."
Elly blurted out an incredulous, "Is it?" and Judy answered with a nonchalantly echoed, "Technically."
While that intermezzo on semantics was going on, my sisters and Angie continued to pester Ollie, and their conversation just touched upon something tricky.
"Wow, you even had video games down there?" the Celestial girl marvelled with undisguised envy. "The last time we got locked up like that, we couldn't even get our hands on any handhelds!"
"… Why are you looking at me like that?"
My question made her huff, and then she pointedly turned away with a terse, "Think about it."
However, just as I thought that this conversation was over, her eyes shifted, and Deus suddenly stated, "The Girl is simply peeved because she got reminded that you broke your promise and didn't bring her any electronic toys back during our days in Elysium," followed by an indignant, "Hey!" this time coming from Angie again.
Whether it was due to his upbringing, being a kid, or just getting inoculated to weirdness by spending too much time around present- and future-me, but Ollie took the Celestial girl's switcheroo in stride and let out an amused giggle.
"Uncle Polemos's friends are so quirky."
"They sure are!" Penny declared with a grin, probably oblivious to the fact that she was included in that category. "You're part of the family now, so you'll never get bored again!"
"Is he?" my other sister blurted out in mild surprise, halting Penny in her tracks.
"Judy said he's getting adopted, right?"
"I'm… not sure she was serious," my Abyssal sister pointed out, only for my dear assistant to speak up.
"I was," she stated with the utmost solemnity. "I'm still working on the logistics of that, but mark my word."
"Dad always wanted a boy," Elly chimed in, her hair tickling my nose as she readjusted herself in my lap. "It would be a nice political move, too."
"Establishing a foothold among the Noble Houses in the Abyss like this does sound like a worthwhile endeavour," Judy noted, yet that wasn't the direction the conversation continued, because Ollie dropped a bombshell in a way only an innocent kid could.
"Uncle Antonio said I shouldn't worry about politics…"
That was followed by a short beat and Angie blurting out, "Uncle who?"
"Uncle Antonio," Ollie repeated himself, and seeing that everyone was confused, he tried his best to clarify things. "He's Uncle Polemos's friend, and he brought me all my toys and video games and cassettes!"
"You had another collaborator in the Abyss?" Deus asked, her head cocked to the side in mild confusion. "How come you never mentioned him before?"
"It's a long story, and I don't have the time to explain it right now."
I used deflection. It wasn't very effective.
"Suspicious…"
I really didn't want to even try explaining the 'Uncle Antonio' situation (I wasn't even sure I could), so I sent an SOS signal to my dear assistant. She gave me a deadpan look in return, but then she eventually let out a soft sigh that said 'You owe me one,' and she waved to Ollie to get his attention.
"Eolienne? I remember you said you had LAGOs. Did you manage to build something interesting?"
"Ah, right! I promised that I would show Auntie Judy my pirate ninja robot ship! But… we left it back in the cell…"
I chimed in with a reassuring, "Don't worry, Beansprout. I told you that we'll pick up everything once all of this is over."
"R-Right! Then I will show it to everyone! It's really cool, I promise!"
With the conversation successfully derailed, I was just about to relax, but then something caught my eye, and I lightly patted Elly's thigh.
"Princess? I'd like to get up."
"Oh, okay!" She hopped out of my lap, and as soon as I was on my feet, she took my place on the seat, as if afraid that it would get cold. "Where are you going?"
"The sun's almost rising." I pointed out the window with my thumb. "I'll go and check to see if everyone's ready and prepared."
"Don't go far," my dear assistant warned, as if afraid that I would disappear. I couldn't even if I wanted to, but I just nodded along to reassure her before kissing her on the forehead (plus giving one to Elly as well, in the name of equal treatment) and heading outside.
Ollie would normally follow right after me like a little duckling, but he was too engrossed in discussing LAGO stuff with Angie and my sisters, so I managed to slip out without any issues. This worked out pretty well, all things considered. While taking a nap was out of the question, it was best they relaxed as much as possible before our next (and potentially final) battle in a few short hours.
Or at least so I presumed. Again, I was clear as mud on the timetable, but the horizon outside the train's window was turning a deep shade of red, so I presumed sunrise was just around the corner, which was also our estimated time of arrival. I was a bit curious about how things were going with Crowy and Ammy and the rest, but before I had the opportunity to Far Glance their way, I was interrupted by a soft harrumph coming from inside another passenger cabin.
"Have you rested enough, Lord Peacemaker?"
Stepping closer, I found the Matron, the Head of House Ninhursag, the nameless military liaison, and Josh of all people sitting in there. The atmosphere wasn't exactly jovial, but that was to be expected. Also…
"Could you please stop calling me that?" I asked, but her expression remained stony.
"We must observe diplomatic decorum," she insisted and simultaneously sent a sideways glance at Josh. Did he piss her off with something, I wondered.
As much as I was curious about that, it was best to ignore it for the time being, so I told her, "Sure, but this isn't exactly a diplomatic mission."
"Are you still displeased by my presence?" she asked, and while I was raring to tell her I was more baffled by her insistence than anything else, she immediately followed that with, "I've listened to Neige, as you requested. Now it's Noir's turn to defend himself against the accusations, and I can't leave the matter of the questioning to anyone else."
"I still think it's a waste of time," Josh noted with a grunt, and this time it got him an outright glare.
"I don't know how things are done in Elysium these days, but here in the Abyss, noblesse oblige requires a certain propriety to be upheld, and I'm determined to uncover the truth without any prejudice."
"No offence, but I agree with Josh," I noted, earning me a glare of my own. "I also don't know what you expect from Crowy."
My friend got emboldened by my support, and he raised his voice with a defiant, "That's right!" followed by a rather more exasperated, "Let's say you talk to him and he admits everything. What are you going to do about it? Send him to Abyssal jail?"
She narrowed her eyes into a displeased squint and told him, "Let me deal with that when the time comes."
"Meaning you have no idea. Gothcha." Josh threw his hands into the air and got up. "I can't take this anymore. I need to clear my head."
"I was just about to catch some fresh air, too," I noted.
"Perfect."
He jumped to his feet and marched out of the cabin, leaving behind the sternly disapproving old woman, the curiously silent patriarch, and the other placeholder man whose continued presence still confused me to no end. Anyhow, I also bit my farewells and followed after Josh.
He was heading right towards the end of the passenger car, where a Faun was standing guard, halberd and all. I wasn't familiar with him, though the colours of his coat told me he was one of the Inannas', and while he didn't as much acknowledge Josh's presence, he immediately tensed up and politely shuffled out of the way as soon as we made eye contact.
I nodded in appreciation, and then we both stepped outside to the junction area, where the next car was attached to this one, and both ends had a small porch-like spot with an overhanging roof and wrought iron railings, with a narrow steel walkway connecting the two in the middle. It was, indeed, the most obvious place to get some fresh air, so long as one didn't have wings and wanted to sit on the top of the roof or something.
As soon as I closed the door behind me, my friend turned to me and his first question was, "When did you have the time to turn all those Fauns to your side?"
"… Pardon?"
"You know what I'm talking about," he insisted and made a gesture towards the door, or rather, the rammish man on the other side. "We've been all worried about you and stuff, and then we show up, not only are you out of the prison and waiting for us, but you're ordering everyone around like you own the place." He stopped his tirade and narrowed his eyes. "Do you own the place?"
"No, not yet," I jested, but he looked dead serious, so I hastily added, "Look, I maaay have been accidentally messing with the heads of the Fauns for a while, and they maaay have turned a bit too obedient after I beat them in Dominance, but that doesn't mean I'm their boss now or anything."
"Yet," he echoed me, so I rolled my eyes and geared up for an explanation. I had it all worked out already, how once we beat Crowy, Snowy is going to be the new Lord (or Lady, or whatever) of Inanna, and since I was her regent (sorta, it was never made official), I could be potentially in charge of the place for a while and whatnot. However, before I could say any of that, he continued with, "Once you're in charge, can you keep the old grandma away from me? She's getting on my nerves."
"Does she?"
"Yeah. It's all 'Elysium this' and 'Celestials that' and 'noble responsibilities whatever', like I have anything to do with any of that."
"Strange. She was mostly cordial with me," I noted, much to his further annoyance.
"I'm telling you, man, she's super-annoying. It's like, she thinks she's the most important person in any room, and I should be thankful she's willing to teach me stuff even though I never asked!" He let out a loud groan, and then inhaled sharply and added, in a much calmer voice, "Phew. I'm glad I could finally let that out."
"Whatever you say, buddy."
He nodded, and we both leaned on the railings for a while, just standing there in comfortable silence. Or maybe I was the only one who found it comfortable, because after some shuffling, Josh called out to me again.
"Hey? Leo?"
"Mm?"
"We have a plan, right?"
I turned to face him and raised a brow at his question.
"Don't you?"
"Well, we did, before Lili's bastard brother showed up and it all went to hell, but…" He met my gaze with an uncertain look in his eyes and asked, "You must have a plan too, right? I mean, you had a plan when you came down here, and you… what's the word?"
He snapped his fingers and looked like I was supposed to know.
"The word for what?"
"When you go to a place and manipulate everyone to do what you want?"
"… Subvert?"
He snapped his fingers one last time and pointed at me with a smirk.
"That wasn't the one I was looking for, but close enough. You subverted House Inanna for a reason, right?"
"I didn't do that, but even if I did, what kind of plan do you expect me to come up with in prison?"
"Idunno? One of your big, multi-step ones?" he told me with a careless shrug, but his eyes remained on my face, as if trying to read me.
"Don't be silly. This is just our regularly scheduled flustercuck on a slightly larger scale. All we can do is fly by the seat of our collective pants and hope that everything will turn out just fine."
"… That sounded way too optimistic." He pointed a finger at my nose and sternly asked, "Who are you, and what have you done with the real Leo?"
"Oh, ha, ha." I brushed his finger aside and leaned on the railing again. "Sorry to disappoint you, buddy, but I'm just as clueless about what's about to happen as you are."
"Riiight… Suuure…"
To say that he didn't look entirely convinced would be like saying that the ocean wasn't entirely dry.
"Listen, pal. You've seen how chaotic things have been down here. Did you think I orchestrated all this in some kind of master plan?" He unironically nodded, so it was time to deploy a tactical facepalm. "Oh, come on!"
He remained expressionless for a while, but eventually exhaled a long sigh and said, "To be fair to me, look at how many weird and erratic stuff happened to us since we came here. We just happened to land in a village in the middle of nowhere in Ninhursag lands, where we accidentally ran into Hareng, which caused us to get involved in their coup and we kinda took their Mana Well without meaning to, then we escaped on this train, only to get ambushed by Lili's brother looking for the Mana Well, except he didn't take the Mana Well, and then we went to rescue you while he was away, only for you to not need rescuing, and now we're rushing back to the place we came from to stop him from invading. Do you know what I call that?"
"… Rushed?"
"Nuts! But yeah, that too, I suppose."
Oh, boy. Josh was about as deaf to narrative shenanigans as it got, and yet even he was starting to see that this situation was contrived. He just didn't think in meta-terms, so he expected it to all be part of some kind of giant scheme, instead of the scenario floundering like a fish out of water for some weird reason. Though again, things were being orchestrated by future-me, so was he really wrong?
I didn't have much time to ponder that though, because he suddenly switched tracks and said, "That reminds me of something. Remember that you once said you're fighting against destiny?"
"… That's how you interpreted it, yes," I told him flatly, but he didn't get the message and continued with gusto.
"Yep. So, that had to do with these prophecies and stuff, right?" He didn't even wait for me to respond, and immediately revealed, "That village I mentioned just now? Back there, Angie… Or rather, Deus… Well, the two of us ran into this old woman, and… Man, I really have no luck with those in the Abyss, huh?" He hastily shook his head and started again. "Anyhow, listen to this! She sold us this old book about myths and stuff."
"I know." Josh paused to raise a brow at me, so I told him, "I've heard it from Judy."
"Oh. Good. But listen, she probably didn't tell you about how this whole Abyssal Emperor prophecy stuff that Lili's brother is peddling is bogus. Originally, it was supposed to be the Herald coming from outside of the Abyss, and then the Emperor being revealed after that."
"Yeah. So?"
"Now, listen. This might sound kinda far-fetched, but hear me out." Josh even went as far as to raise his palms and incline his head, like some kind of allegedly sciency-man on an allegedly educational TV channel going 'I'm not saying it's aliens…' He held the tension for a beat, then said, "I'm supposed to be this 'chosen one' thing, right?"
"Sure."
"And there were all the prophecies and stuff around me, right?"
"Also sure."
"And Lili's brother thought I was the Herald. Before he decided to take the spot himself." This time, I only nodded. "So, hypothetically speaking, let's assume that according to this destiny thing of yours, I really am supposed to be the Herald, and now I'm in the Abyss, right where I can do some Heralding, or whatever. Who do you think the Emperor of the Abyss could be?"
That was actually a question I seriously considered in the past, but before I could formulate an answer, I noticed something peculiar.
"… Josh?"
"Yes?"
"Why are you pointing at me?"
He let out a soft 'Pff!' and made his pointing even more blatant.
"Think about it, dude! You've been taking all these titles wherever we go! Who else could it be?"
"What? No. Nonono!" I crossed my arms for extra emphasis. "Just no! Don't even joke about that."
"But you have to admit it would make a lot of sense."
"I'm not admitting anything. This is silly, and you're silly for even entertaining the…" My words trailed off at this point, much to my friend's apprehension, so I jerked my head towards the skyline on our left to draw his attention there. "We're getting close."
"What? How can you tell in the…?" his words also trailed off when he looked over, and his whole attitude took a quick one-eighty on the spot. "I'll go fetch the others."
"Bring the patriarch and the Matron too," I told him, and while he clicked his tongue, he didn't argue.
Meanwhile, I kept my eyes on the giant red dome in the distance, shining bright in the twilight of the early dawn and surrounded by countless streaks of light and magical explosions visible even from this distance.
"Well, crap…" I whispered, once again wishing that future-me would've given me a heads up for something like this. "I guess this is going to be a bit more involved than just riding the train in there and bonking Crowy on the top of his head, huh?"