The Sun Has Tilted
Sigmund Academy had several student autonomous departments that came to mind immediately. Most students left after graduation, but those who wished could remain and continue their preferred research or activities. This structure allowed them to secure positions within the academy grounds, which functioned as an independent city. Examples included the Discipline Committee, responsible for maintaining order and security throughout the grounds; the Newspaper Club, which handled press activities and news from within and outside the academy; and the Gardening Club, which managed the Paradox Flower Garden. There were also countless minor autonomous departments whose existence made one wonder how they even received funding—research labs, in other words, were plentiful. Among them was a department dedicated to the study of celestial magic.
The celestial magic users I remembered were Hilken, the Aligners, and Vincent, one of the Six Swords. Beyond them, there were students who sought to wield the power of the stars and constellations. The department they formed was the Celestial Division. The place known as the Sun Observatory, which served as Eclipse's personal hideout, had been created by that very division. Its history was quite long, and with the passage of time since its abandonment, the facilities were severely outdated and shabby. Before the new-model all-directional observatory was built with proper funding, it had been a small magic tower and astronomical observatory used as a gathering place for celestial magic users.
If you climbed steadily above Sigmund's castle city, you could see it peeking out between the mountain valleys. The fact that no measures like access restrictions had been implemented made it clear how little interest people had in this observatory. 'It looks like a place ghosts would haunt, so of course.' Naturally, a quick glance inside revealed nothing more than a ruin devoid of valuable items or equipment. The only people who might feel curious about such a place were small children playing outside.
Eclipse... No, I'll stop there. Anyway, she liked this sort of thing. It could be called a secret hideout she had discovered while scurrying around the castle city during her free time.
"H-Here it is! If you go down the underground stairs below, there's a door with strange markings..."
She seemed genuinely delighted and surprised that everyone was showing interest in her exploratory activities. From the moment we crossed the ridge, she guided us with a bright, unrestrained smile.
Everyone looked curious about how she had found such a... place. Not that they were thinking anything negative.
"Oh, Yohan. Look over there? There's a palm-sized spider decorating its web."
"Eek..."
"Haha, you really do get startled easily."
"Please don't do that, my lady. You know how much I dislike insects..."
The mention of "my lady" seemed to remind Karalin of our childhood together, and she looked thoroughly amused.
"It would be strange not to be startled by a spider that large, Yohan."
Of course, carrying Cryan on my back the whole time made things a bit tiring, but that was beside the point.
Anyway, Eclipse led us down the stairs and stood before a stone door engraved with a massive image of the sun, moon, and earth aligned in a straight line. She chanted an incantation.
"O-Open up!"
With a soft hum, the door that had seemed immovable swung open lightly and smoothly.
"Huh, Eclipse. I thought there'd be something more complicated, but it's pretty simple."
"E-Even if you say that, there's nothing I can do about it, my lady... It's not particularly grand, but strangely enough, it seems like it won't open unless it's me."
Just as she said, this door was an ancient mechanism that could only be opened by the sole "human" created by the Sun Goddess rather than the Moon Goddess—the first Hero and those who carried her bloodline. In simpler terms, it was reserved exclusively for the protagonist. Consequently, there was no possibility of others entering.
"I was just trying to explore and investigate the area when it suddenly opened right in front of me. I'll go inside and close it, so would you try opening it from outside?"
Thud.
"...Huh, you're right. It won't open."
As Eclipse had said, even when Karalin applied her considerable strength, the door she had entered through refused to budge.
Thud.
"See! It's a spell that blocks access!"
Emerging from the hideout, Eclipse puffed out her chest with pride, clearly delighted to have demonstrated the excellence of her base to everyone.
"Does that mean if you go inside, you can't get out?"
"Ah, don't worry about that, Cryan. There's a button inside, so if someone enters, that person can open it."
Well, that settled it. As long as Cryan, who would be holed up inside, wanted to leave, he could. At least it wouldn't become a sealed room.
Once we entered, the interior unfolded—a scene that looked no different from Eclipse's second dormitory, meticulously decorated by her own hands. It was surprisingly clean inside. Looking at the ruined exterior, one could hardly imagine how neat it was within.
"Wow, you must have worked hard."
"Ahem. I'm quite confident in cleaning, you know?"
"Impressive, Eclipse."
Seeing the sight, I felt genuinely moved. It brought back memories from long ago. This was exactly the same landscape as the main menu background of Eternal Eclipse. Since it was her hideout and the base for her companions, it was only natural that it had become the main menu background. But when the scenery I had always viewed so casually now spread out before my eyes in reality, I felt my heart skip a beat—as someone who had once enjoyed this world as a player.
Eclipse then began showing us around her hideout, pointing out various spots.
"Cryan, you can lie down on the hammock I brought because I like it, or the fluffy cotton bed I sewed myself. Make yourself comfortable however you like. A-Any of you are welcome to come here anytime...!"
'...Heh, this kid.'
No one could know what it meant for me to hear her say, "You're welcome to visit this place anytime." It was the greatest display of friendliness Eclipse could offer to those she considered friends. If I had been a playable character in the original work, I would probably be on the character selection screen right now. Following her around to do the complicated work of cutting off the Demon King's head was something I truly disliked... And even though killing the Six Swords might mean having my body taken over, the fact that I had no choice but to kill Yagnus was something I found truly hard to accept. But this kid would voluntarily walk that fate from now on. What I disliked was that fate of hers. I had never once disliked the kid herself. Fate was truly capricious. From the illustration on the package displayed on the store shelf, all the way to here. In a way, receiving a love call from the very existence that had dragged me into this world. I had come a long way.
"Then I'll take the cotton bed, Eclipse."
"Ah, a-actually, that's... my personal— No, of course you can use it anytime!"
"I'm sorry, Eclipse, but since Cryan has difficulty moving, he'll need to stay lying down for a while. It can't be helped."
"...Hehe, Eclipse. Give the cotton bed to Cryan. We can just make another one together, can't we? I'll make the new one with duck feathers."
"D-Duck feathers...! Something so expensive, as expected of the Grand Duchess...!"
"Actually, I quite like sewing myself. If it's you, I'll even add ruffles."
"R-Ruffles aren't necessary, though..."
While they chatted amicably, I discovered a solar telescope that was still operational despite the long passage of time—one that could adjust the dome above ground. It was a special device coated with shading liquid, allowing one to gaze at the sun's appearance without worry at any time. When I first played the game, I had thought it was just an object placed there without meaning. But every time I eliminated one of the Six Swords as Eclipse, watching the sun tilt little by little, it had been the device that informed me that an eternal eclipse was coming to the world, and that the order of the world I knew would inevitably come to an end.
"...As expected, the sun has tilted."
This object, which had always informed me of the progress, was now telling me the same thing in this twenty-second iteration of the world. That I had killed Yagnus. Thinking that, goosebumps naturally rose on my skin. If Eclipse eventually became the Hero and completely killed the Demon King, the demon army that periodically slaughtered—rather, butchered—humans to keep the sun aloft would disappear. There would no longer be a world where humans had no choice but to have their heads cut off like livestock. However, in exchange, the sun would go out in this world... and humans would have to seek a way to live their future in a world without light, as creations of the Moon Goddess and beings of shadow. The true ending of Eternal Eclipse had always been like that. A sad ending, yet an open conclusion. I had witnessed such endings countless times. However, I had never looked beyond the ending. This world I knew had always returned to the beginning once the ending credits rolled, and everything went dark. So, in the world after the ending that I would soon have to face, would I be able to demonstrate the player experience that had always been my powerful weapon? Could I truly live well with the young lady in such a world?
'Could I really...'
But no matter how much I pondered, there was no groundbreaking method to change anything further. This seemed like something I simply had to accept. So I decided not to dwell on such complicated thoughts any longer.
"A-Ahem. Ahem!"
Eclipse was clearing her throat awkwardly, as if about to make some kind of declaration.
"E-Everyone. Do you like it here...?"
At that, the young lady smiled from her comfortable chair and nodded. Karalin was an unrecruitable character. After the field training, she would have gradually been eroded while standing on the demon army's side. This was a scene that could never be seen in the original work. It was mysterious.
"In that case! Since it's come to this, would everyone like to join the club I, Eclipse, created...?!"
"A club...? We don't have one at the moment, but what kind of club?"
"It's the After-School Autonomous Activities Club!"
She placed a hand on her chest and spoke of her excellent idea.
"Our club mainly engages in unrestricted autonomous activities! Ah, I haven't submitted the club application yet, so it's not an official club... But I've always wanted to create a club like this with people I'm close to and enjoy fun activities together during school life."
"...Huh, that's a good idea."
"There are no restrictions on joining conditions... After joining, you can just come here to rest, or research something. You can do anything! Please play with me...!"
Who could resist such an excellent explanation?
"Yohan."
The young lady looked up at me slowly, as if asking if it was okay to join. I let out a wry chuckle at Eclipse's irresistible presence that turned people into this state. So I spoke.
"If that's what you want, anything is fine."
"Good, then Eclipse. Will you let me have a spot too?"
"Y-Yohan and Karalin are the first ones to join!"
Then Cryan also spoke up.
"In that case, I suppose I'll join as well."
"W-Waaah, Cryan too...?!"
"I didn't have any club I particularly wanted to join, and since I'll be staying here for a while anyway, being a guest member feels a bit awkward."
"I-I-I—!"
As if she had done it, she plopped down on the spot and stretched her hands high toward the sky in delight.
"Yahoo—!"
Though I no longer wanted to do anything related to the demon army, the reason I accepted being by Eclipse's side was simple. It seemed the time had come to finally make the judgment I had been putting off. Eternal Eclipse was... an ending that had been foreseen anyway. And as the weak person I was, I still lacked the confidence to live in the world after that. That was why I had been avoiding her until now with all sorts of excuses. But perhaps thinking things through here would be more reasonable than the stance I had maintained until now. Therefore, I had no reason to refuse either.
Moreover, a thought had just occurred to me. If it was here, I might be able to perform manipulations favorable to my mental world.
"Then, as a joining benefit, I can use everything here, right?"
"Of course...! There are many things I don't know well either, but everything here is shared. Use whatever you like!"
"Then I'll try playing with this."
"Eek, this is something even I don't know about... It was just here when I arrived, and I left it because it was pretty..."
"It's fine. I just want to take a look."
The Mana Interference Lunar Sphere. This beautifully crafted moonlight orb was an item capable of precise manipulation of parameters within the human body.
'With this... I might be able to do something about Yagnus, who's trapped in the coffin in my mental world.'
In the original work, it had functioned as an item that created character stats and skill trees. In that case, something might be visible here as well. Without hesitation, I removed the orange cloth Eclipse had placed over the sphere.