The Sun Has Tilted (4)
It was the same format, the same explanation I had seen countless times before.
What I could use after devouring Yagnus came down to the basics: Steel Transformation and Storm of Steel, which could be considered the shared abilities of the Six Swords themselves. And then there was the direct visual ability called the “Eye” that Yagnus had desperately shown me in his final struggle.
Each of the Six Swords had received a fragment of the Goddess of Evil’s body. The power granted to Yagnus was the eye itself. Of course, that had been something he could wield as the evil goddess’s spokesperson. Since I had torn open his seal, it was only natural that I could use it now.
However.
Because I had dragged an existence that was “originally unobtainable” out of the setting and bound it to this world, the abilities now available to me were not limited to those alone.
It was the reason he was called a shadow. It was the power belonging to Yagnus the great hero from his human days—a power that had existed only in the setting materials.
Yagnus’s Shadow
A fist-sized shadow is created beside the user. This shadow changes shape according to the user’s will and can project any weapon, tool, or object from his memories.
※Legendary spears recorded in ancient texts, forgotten magic tomes, even the blurry memory of a childhood toy sword—any weapon at all…
Furthermore, if a sword already swallowed inside the mental world is summoned, the synergy is incredible—!
Yagnus’s Shadow. The authority he had wielded in the distant past when he was praised as a great hero. The setting materials for Eternal Eclipse that I had personally purchased and read contained only a single fragmentary line about it: that he was skilled in shadow magic and could wield thousands of armaments at once. The original creators probably had not developed the concept much further than that.
Yet even from that single meager line, this sword had been created in order to manifest the ability in reality. Since I could not use even the slightest trace of magic—let alone shadow magic—if the sword itself handled the projection, it meant I would be able to instantly create any weapon I wanted from now on.
While I was organizing the information flowing into my head and figuring out how best to utilize this new existence, Burga—the little monkey tamer who had called Yagnus a sweet little monkey—answered for him.
“Mental… world?”
But Yagnus needed no further explanation. He was a soul who had died long ago, become a Steel Lord, and been sealed inside a demonic sword. If he resonated with the other Steel Lords who had already taken up residence in my mental world, he would be able to share every event and memory I had experienced until now.
Sure enough, Yagnus’s eyes flashed as he spoke.
Most likely, the last memory he possessed ended at the moment he took the Goddess of Evil’s head. After that, her eye would have devoured his soul and turned him into the corrupted sword known as Yagnus. The memories from that time would feel like nothing more than a fleeting spring dream.
Even so, the things he had done while corrupted seemed to disgust him. He began slapping his own cheeks hard enough to make my head ring.
Slap—! Slap—!!
Ugh, damn it. Stop that, you idiot. When he was one of the Six Swords he had been overflowing with arrogance and style. Why had his character flipped so completely? Well, I suppose this had been his original personality.
From his self-reproaching words, I caught something important.
Solart… He’s talking about the first Hero.
When I thought that, Yagnus answered in surprise.
And only when he spoke my name did his voice transform into an ancient, butter-layered tone that felt like it would be written in italics. I know him, all right.
I nodded at the question. Solart was Eclipse’s distant ancestor, the first Hero, the man who had slain the Goddess of Evil, inherited her soul, and become the Demon King. Until now I had not paid much attention to that fact because it was none of my business, but since Yagnus had awakened from his long slumber, I figured he ought to know. I told him about Solart’s current situation.
Yagnus let out a wail.
…A failure?
His writhing reaction to my words left me merely puzzled. Even if Solart had killed the Goddess of Evil, he could not have known that they would inherit her will. That was why, contrary to their good intentions, they had become the Demon King and the Six Swords and driven the world to ruin… Or so I had thought.
Could there be something I didn’t know?
Lies.
He laughed hollowly.
Absorb the divinity… and create a new sun?
Does he mean a sun for humanity?
If that were true, driving out the entire demon army would allow the human world to escape the yoke of livestock and be reborn. But nowhere in the main story of Eternal Eclipse had there been any happy ending like that. The only conclusion I remembered was Eclipse ending every fate and quietly stepping into a gradually fading winter world.
The explanation of the Six Swords had been the same. I had no memory of them attempting to create a new sun. Not even in the setting materials.
Then why have they been carrying out this massacre all this time? Becoming the Six Swords and the Demon King who slaughter humans, leaving indelible hatred between them…
Yagnus answered honestly.
But if you’ve regained your mind like this, doesn’t that mean it worked…?
When I thought that—
He suddenly raised his voice and buzzed around. Whoosh—! A shadow in the shape of a sphere burst from my chest and began spinning around me.
“Yohan, something just flew out of your chest…!”
“Ah, please don’t worry, my lady. It is one of the new abilities I gained by manipulating this sphere.”
“I-I see…? You were staring into space so long I wondered what was happening.”
Yagnus shook his shadowy tail.
Huh? Wait…
Does that mean the time has come?
Suddenly, a reasonable suspicion rose in my mind as I wondered why unknown setting details kept popping up. These settings didn’t appear for no reason.
What if they were parts that had been cut for “adult reasons”—details never included in the game and therefore never needed in the setting book?
Then, all at once, I remembered an old interview from a gaming magazine I had once read.
“The truth is, we tried to create an ending for Eternal Eclipse in which the world’s fate is fundamentally changed. However, the company went bankrupt midway, backup data was lost, and we simply ran out of time and money. In the end we had no choice but to plan a single-fate route.”
“You mean a sad ending, right?”
“Exactly.”
“Still, there are many people who enjoy watching desperate struggles within such a tragic fate. I think it was a good choice to focus on that.”
“You’re right. Our fans do have a bit of a perverted side, after all.”
Hahaha…!
The perverted developers could have cut everything except the happy ending if they wanted, yet they had left only the sad ending. If that was the case, then the method of salvation that led to the happy ending the creators had originally envisioned might still exist in this world.
And the will Solart had left behind… was most likely the path toward that very outcome. Yagnus had explained it so clearly. He was once a living person who had existed in this world. I doubted he would spout such things as mere delusion.
Perhaps today, while visiting Cryan, I had made the greatest discovery of my life.
“Good…”
“…What is it, Yohan?”
“It seems I’ve found a breakthrough. I’ll give you a proper explanation someday.”
……
……
“This won’t do. My lady, if you are returning to the dormitory, could you stop by my room for a moment today?”
“Y-Yohaaan?!”
“R-really…?”
Now that I thought about it, although I had gone to her room before, this was the first time I had ever invited her. Well, it was a good thing I had cleaned yesterday.