The Boy Who Heard the Flames
“There’s no other issue with your daily life, is there?”
“My daily life is… yes, there are no major problems. It’s just the prophecies……”
I gazed steadily at Kasis.
Her long, flowing red hair and green eyes remained unchanged. Her beautiful appearance, too.
She’s been looking quite haggard lately.
The vitality that once graced her face seemed to be fading little by little.
Her wavering eyes betrayed anxiety and worry, and her lips were dry and cracked.
“You’ve been taking care of your health, haven’t you? Eating properly as well?”
“Pardon? Well…… I’m managing it. Meals and water, more or less……”
Kasis trailed off.
I took her wrist and observed the flow of mana within her body.
The mana flow was rough and jagged.
That meant she had lied.
“You haven’t been eating properly, have you?”
“Ugh. W-well, I’ve been drinking water just fine.”
“That doesn’t seem to be the case either.”
Even her claim about drinking water had been a lie.
I let out a sigh.
“As I’ve told you before, you need to eat properly. And drink plenty of water.”
“Yes……”
“There are many possible causes for auditory hallucinations, but in your case, it may be due to physical weakness. We haven’t found any other cause.”
The causes of hallucinations are diverse.
They can stem from delusional disorders or schizophrenia, of course, and can also occur in cases of severe depression or anxiety disorders.
Kasis doesn’t fit any of those.
She does show mild symptoms of depression and anxiety. However, they aren’t at a level that would trigger hallucinations.
There are no signs of schizophrenia or delusional disorder either.
I adjusted my posture.
“How are the others in the Sun Church treating you? The priests, I mean.”
“In what way?”
“I’m asking how they treat you. Last time, it sounded as though some priests disapprove of you even coming to the counseling office.”
“Ah……”
Kasis’s expression darkened for a moment.
Soon, she forced the corners of her mouth upward into a smile.
“……It’s the same as always. Some priests like me, while others disapprove.”
“You mentioned something about factional conflicts last time, didn’t you?”
“Factional conflicts, yes, something like that. At first, it was just light debates over doctrine, but the conflict has been deepening.”
As is typical of factional strife within religions, the Sun Church’s conflicts had arisen over doctrine.
“Whether to recognize someone as a prophet simply because they received a divine oracle. Or whether one must adhere strictly to doctrine even after receiving an oracle in order to be recognized as a prophet—that’s the debate.”
“I remember. The former is the ‘Oracle Faction,’ and the latter is the ‘Doctrine Faction,’ correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The Oracle Faction placed importance on the oracle itself.
No matter what the prophet’s conduct had been, if they had received an oracle, its will must be respected.
The Doctrine Faction, on the other hand, valued doctrine more highly.
Even if one had received an oracle, if their conduct did not match the qualifications, they could not be recognized as a prophet.
“It would be the ‘Oracle Faction’ priests who support you, then.”
“Yes. Simply coming to the counseling office is somewhat at odds with doctrine, after all.”
The Sun Church had a strong tendency to resolve problems arising within the order among themselves.
Even if Kasis had lost her prophetic abilities due to hallucinations, the Sun Church should have handled it internally through prayer and faith-based healing.
She should not have come to the counseling office for treatment.
What nonsense.
Doctrine is doctrine, and treatment is treatment.
“I may not know much about the Sun Church’s doctrines, but an oracle is literally the will of the goddess, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“Yet if they value human-made doctrine more than the oracle, isn’t that putting the cart before the horse……?”
“The prophet right before me committed apostasy and joined the Idras Church. His name was Judo.”
The Idras Church.
A religion hostile to the Sun Church, one that worshipped the World Tree as the origin of the world’s creation.
It had once been the state religion of the ancient Elf Empire that ruled the entire continent.
After the Elf Empire fell and the World Tree was felled, their influence shrank dramatically.
Now they were forced to hide from the Sun Church’s surveillance. Yet their power had not vanished entirely, and they were said to be scheming to overthrow the Sun Church like a secret society.
Kasis fidgeted with her fingers as she continued.
“The conflict arose because of Judo. Since Judo had received an oracle regardless, the Oracle Faction insists he must still be recognized as a prophet. Those who couldn’t accept that formed the Doctrine Faction.”
“I see. Hmm……”
After hearing Judo’s case, the Doctrine Faction’s position wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.
“In any case, the situation is quite chaotic.”
“It must be.”
Perhaps Kasis’s hallucinations stemmed from this.
Stress from the factional conflict within the order triggering the hallucinations.
Of course, this was merely a hypothesis.
There are many unusual aspects to Kasis’s hallucinations.
Usually, when someone experiences hallucinations, it causes severe problems in their daily life.
Because amid hallucinations of people mocking them, cursing them, or even trying to kill them, they end up suspecting and guarding against everyone around them.
Kasis isn’t at that level. While the hallucinations have affected her prophetic abilities, she doesn’t experience any other hallucinations that impact her daily life.
Her feelings of depression and anxiety seem to have increased recently, but they weren’t as severe as those of other patients who hear hallucinations.
“You still have the medicine I gave you last time, correct?”
“Pardon? Ah, the medicine. Yes, I still have some.”
“How much is left?”
“About a week’s worth……”
“That’s quite a lot. Have you had days when you didn’t take it?”
“……Things have been so hectic lately that there have been a few such days.”
“From now on, please take it consistently. As I’ve said, eat properly and stay hydrated. Mental and physical health are closely connected.”
“Yes…… I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”
After the session ended, a faint trace of emotion lingered in the seat Kasis had vacated.
The scent of anxiety, depression, and guilt.
……Guilt.
I considered the guilt Kasis might be feeling.
Chronic guilt as a prophet who has lost her abilities?
Or perhaps she felt guilty toward me, her counselor.
It was a common occurrence. When a mental illness showed no signs of improving, clients sometimes felt unwarranted guilt toward their counselor.
It wasn’t a good sign.
If her condition continued without improvement, there was a high likelihood that depression and anxiety symptoms would worsen, leading to an overall decline.
I needed to find a solution as soon as possible.
After the session, I stopped by the library.
It was to gather information on hallucinations.
As expected, there are no books that deal professionally with hallucinations.
This world had no concept of mental illness.
Therefore, there were no books that addressed hallucinations in a specialized manner.
However, there were quite a few books that studied similar phenomena under different names.
Calling it not hallucinations, but “spirit possession.”
The book I was reading now was one such text.
“A boy named Humit had long suffered from hearing unidentified voices. The cause was a spirit. It was clear that the spirit was periodically injecting beguiling voices into him in an attempt to seize his body.”
The story of a boy named Humit who heard hallucinations.
The people of that era judged that Humit was possessed by a spirit and attempted an exorcism ritual.
“They hired not only Sun Church priests, but also shamans from barbarian tribes and mages specializing in spirits to perform the exorcism. However, the ‘voice symptoms’ only grew worse.”
It was only natural.
Exorcism rituals were usually loud and bizarre. To a boy suffering from hallucinations, such a ritual would have felt terrifying and horrific.
As a result, his mind would have weakened further, and the hallucinations would have worsened.
I continued reading the next passage.
“The solution was surprisingly simple: exercise. When he combined appropriate strength training with running, the voice symptoms disappeared completely. The priests claimed that once Humit’s body became healthy, the spirit had become frightened and fled……”
So it was exercise after all.
Other texts were generally similar.
Hallucinations that had been heard during periods of weakness disappeared once the person became healthy.
This won’t be of much help to Kasis.
While continuing to flip through the pages, I came across an interesting passage.
“A woman suffering from voice symptoms found that a decoction made from the Longevity Herb was effective. She, who had not originally been a mage, began to wield magic after drinking the decoction. She no longer heard hallucinations either!”
A Longevity Herb potion?
Coincidentally, I had been researching the Longevity Herb I received from Director Justin the other day.
“For several days, he was able to wield magic, and at the same time, he became more intelligent. His strength increased as well, and he grew so wise and discerning that he seemed capable of anything……”
Come to think of it, it might be effective against hallucinations. Since it’s an herb with strong stimulant properties, if used properly……
With a pounding heart, I continued reading the text, only to be disappointed.
“After spending those brilliant days, he died a week later. Upon autopsy, it was found that all the blood vessels in his body had ruptured. It was likely a side effect of the Longevity Herb decoction.”
When I checked the book’s title belatedly, it read, The Dangers of the Longevity Herb……
I picked the wrong book.
After flipping through a few more volumes, I closed the book.
“Hoo.”
In conclusion, I hadn’t found any useful information.
“That’s five books in total, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I borrowed several books from the library.
All of them contained records of research on hallucinations or the Longevity Herb.
I planned to spend the entire night reading and studying hallucinations and the Longevity Herb.
It was when I returned to the counseling office like that.
“Oh…… Who are you?”
There was a stranger standing at the entrance to the counseling office.
It was a boy with a youthful face.
“Ah, well, I……”
The boy looked flustered upon seeing me and began rummaging through his pockets in a panic.
What he pulled out was a silver coin. A bundle of silver coins.
“I heard that you do something called counseling here. A place that treats things related to the mind.”
“That’s correct, but we’ve closed for the day……”
“Ah……”
The boy rolled his eyes, unsure what to do.
His bewilderment was plain to see.
I offered him a smile.
“……Well, I suppose I can take one more person. Please come in.”
“Ah! Thank you!”
I led the boy inside the counseling office.
With Erisa and Draksan already off work and no other clients present, the office was quiet.
Thud.
I placed the borrowed books roughly on the counseling desk and took my seat.
The boy glanced around warily before carefully sitting down across from me.
“This is your first time here, correct?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Your name?”
“Yurion Lumein.”
When I asked, the boy answered in a low voice.
Though his voice wasn’t loud, there was a strange firmness to it.
Lumein?
Meanwhile, that surname felt oddly familiar.
As I searched my memory, my eyes widened.
If it’s Lumein, isn’t that the surname given to children at the orphanage run by the Sun Church?
Since the orphanage children had no parents, the Sun Church orphanage uniformly assigned them the surname “Lumein.”
Kasis was also from the orphanage. That’s why she was “Kasis Lumein.”
There’s no need to pretend I know.
He might want to hide the fact that he was from the orphanage, and bringing it up unnecessarily might make him uncomfortable.
Maintaining the smile on my lips, I continued with my questions.
“You said you came for counseling. What are your symptoms?”
Yurion squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them.
“Auditory and visual hallucinations.”
“I see. Hallucinations and visions……”
I calmly repeated his words while looking at the boy.
People who suffer from auditory hallucinations alone tend to fall into extreme anxiety.
When visual hallucinations are added, they essentially cannot maintain their sanity.
Yet Yurion appeared remarkably calm for someone experiencing both.
Almost as if……
He’s just like Kasis.
Managing my expression, I carefully continued the session.
“Can you describe what kind of hallucinations and visions they are?”
“I keep seeing certain scenes and hearing voices.”
“Specifically, what kind of scenes? What do the voices say?”
“The church is burning.”
The voice that had been answering steadily began to tremble little by little.
“……It’s a scene of the Sun Church burning. The voice says I have to save it. That I was chosen, that only I can save it—it keeps saying that.”
Yurion’s eyes wavered precariously.
“I see. How do you feel when you see and hear these hallucinations?”
“I’m scared. The visions are so specific. Exactly where to go and who to save—it shows everything in such detail……. It feels like it’s really going to happen, and that terrifies me.”
I calmly observed Yurion’s expression.
Severe anxiety……
Throughout his explanation, Yurion trembled as though he were terribly anxious. Beyond the trembling, there were various signs of anxiety visible: pupil dilation, cold sweat, and slight difficulty breathing.
“Have you ever felt anxious from such imaginings before? Or have you experienced a fire in the past?”
“No. I haven’t felt that way before. I’ve never experienced a fire either. It just…… suddenly started one day……”
“Let’s try medication first. If drug treatment alone doesn’t work, we can move on to more in-depth counseling at that point.”
“Yes…… Understood, sir.”
After the boy named Yurion left, I fell into thought.
If the hallucinations involve fire, there must have been a similar experience…… Is he unable to remember it? Or perhaps some trauma has been distorted into hallucinations of fire.
It seemed highly likely to be a rather complex issue.
It’s a case that combines Berian, who suffered from pyrophobia, and Kasis, who experiences hallucinations. This won’t be easy……
Two days later.
While reading the weekly newspaper as usual, an article caught my eye.
It reported that a large fire had broken out at the Sun Church located on the eastern outskirts of Lumière.
Fortunately, there were no casualties. Thanks to a young hero.
The young hero was from the Eastern Sun Church Orphanage and had single-handedly rescued 33 children from the orphanage and 18 Sun Church priests from the main hall. He had saved nearly 50 people alone.
The hero’s name was Yurion Lumein.
The very same boy who had visited our counseling office two days ago.