Chapter 1: The First Letter (1)
Chapter 1: The First Letter (1)
It was a strange dream.
The twilight scenery was stained a murky black with blood. Crows pecked at the rotting earth, and corpses lay slumped everywhere. In this place where even sound seemed to have met its end, it looked like a dried-out cross-section of hell.
In the midst of it all, a man was weeping.
Filth flowing from the pile of corpses soiled his hands. Yet, he did not stop. It was a black-and-white world where no sound reached, only the squelching texture of the gore resonated.
Eventually, the twilight faded, and the gray world lost what little brightness it had left. Only then did the man stand. Though it felt like only a few minutes had passed, he looked as if he had aged years in that short time.
He stared blankly up at the blackened sky. After a long while, he began to stumble toward me.
Hidden by the descending darkness, his face was indistinguishable. Only fragments of emotion, burning like embers between his eyelids, could be glimpsed.
Grudge, hatred, and regret.
The moment the man brushed past me, where I stood frozen like a statue, the first sound was born into that world.
"…Delphirem."
The word was tossed out like a mere fragment. But to my ears, long accustomed to the silence, it struck like a bolt of lightning.
Startled by that dry murmur, my gaze snapped to the side. There, I saw burning golden eyes.
"Delphirem is coming."
He spoke to me as if spitting out the words.
*
It was around then that I woke up, gasping for air.
My heart thrashed like a freshly caught fish on a deck, forcing my eyelids open.
My breath felt sweet and sickly, and my pillow was damp with cold sweat. It was that same unpleasant sensation that always followed an awakening from a nightmare.
"Whew..."
I let out a long breath and wiped my face with my hands; only then did my breathing steady. It had been a vivid dream. Perhaps that was why it felt so repulsive.
And 'Delphirem.' Right. Delphirem.
I sifted through the details of the nightmare as if picking bones out of a fish, then let out a short, dry laugh.
It was a name that only appeared in the creation myths of the Holy Church. Humanity's first traitor, the source of all sin. And the Progenitor of All Demons.
Did I find Professor Levistross’s mythology lecture that impressive?
I shook off the lingering traces of the dream with a bitter smile. Avoiding the damp sheets, I pushed myself up.
The room, neither narrow nor spacious, was dark and quiet. It was a familiar sight by now. This was the dormitory where nobles attending the Academy stayed, and I had lived here for three years already.
If my family’s influence were greater, I might have used a larger, more luxurious room, but unfortunately, I was merely the second son of a rural viscount.
In other words, I had to be grateful just to have my expensive Academy tuition paid for. I didn't have the luxury of staying in a more expensive dormitory.
As I sat there dazed for a moment, my head began to throb. It was the result of overdrinking the night before.
It felt as if a heavy rock was pressing down on my brain. A parching thirst rose within me, and I fumbled around the nightstand near the head of the bed.
With a click, light and heat returned to the room. The mana lamp installed in the dormitory wasn't a particularly expensive item, but it was enough to clear my blurred vision.
I reached for the canteen I always kept on the table to take a drink, but then I paused.
A strange sense of dissonance washed over me. Nothing had changed, yet it felt as if something was different. I tilted my head, and soon, I found the cause.
The calendar had been flipped. There should have been three days left in the Month of the Lute, yet it was already the Month of the Bow. I must have been incredibly drunk last night.
Just as I was about to reflect on my hazy memories of the previous evening, I froze for a second time. Out of the corner of my eye, a foreign object caught my attention.
It was a letter. High-quality paper, elegant handwriting—anyone could see it was a letter from a noble possessed of culture and learning. That only deepened my confusion.
Was there anyone who would send me a letter? And even if there were, I had no memory of receiving one.
My hand naturally reached for the letter. The name 'Ian Percus' written on the first line confirmed that the recipient was indeed me.
If so, there was only one way to solve the mystery.
My eyes began to scan the refined script quickly.
To my beloved Ian Percus,
Well, I wonder if there is anyone who truly dislikes spring.
It’s something I heard not long ago on the streets of Arancote. It was from an elderly gentleman dressed in stylish clothes; his dignified manner of speech and restrained etiquette left a deep impression on me.
Looking back, perhaps he was someone who once worked for a prestigious noble family?
He said he had become a wanderer last winter, but his gentle smile was as warm as the spring sunshine. I suppose that’s the benefit of winter finally ending.
Whenever I feel like this, I think of what we achieved. That we protected the world and became heroes.
I used to think those were just empty stories from the fairy tales I read as a child, but the fact that our names are now engraved on a page of that book still feels so surreal.
It is all thanks to you. No, as you would say, perhaps it is thanks to all of us.
I miss you especially tonight, Ian.
I count the days until I can meet you again.
No, Brother Ian.
I will pray that I can meet you, even if only in my dreams.
P.S. I heard news recently that a she-cat from the Holy Kingdom visited the Capital. I’m telling you this out of caution, but I expect that even if that she-cat throws herself at you, you won't betray your faith to me.
From Sepia, thinking of you again tonight.
Imperial Calendar 571, the fifth day of the Month of the Bow.
After spending several minutes reading the letter, I fell into silence.
It was a long letter. There were no errors in vocabulary or etiquette, and the handwriting was refined, showing it was written with considerable care.
However, there was only one possible reaction for me upon receiving such a heartfelt letter.
"...What kind of nonsense is this?"
As if it were absurd, I swallowed a hollow laugh and crumpled the letter in my hand. From beginning to end, it was nothing but incomprehensible stories.
The Hunting Festival? It was indeed the biggest event of the Academy, held in the Month of the Bow. However, it was an event held at the end of the month, and so far, only the plans had been announced. How could I know what happened on that day?
The name 'Sepia' was also strange. It sounded like the 'Sepia flower,' but unfortunately, no one with that name or nickname existed around me.
Above all, the most bothersome thing about this letter was the date written on the last line.
My gaze turned once more to the calendar on the desk. Over the background where a bow was translucently drawn, the numbers representing this year were written.
Imperial Calendar 564.
If so, this would mean the letter had flown here from seven years in the future. It was a ridiculous notion.
Thinking that, I was about to finish crumpling the letter when my body suddenly froze as something caught my eye.
It was the unread back of the letter. There, a single phrase was scribbled in a handwriting that looked alien to the rest.
‘If the future is not protected, the world will perish.’
That phrase was steeped in such heavily pressed regret and resentment that I could only stare blankly at the writing for a moment.
For a split second, a scene from the nightmare flashed by. That person, staring at me with burning golden eyes.
But that moment was only a moment. I soon regained my senses and finished crumpling the letter. Then, I tossed it toward the trash can a short distance from the bed.
With a soft thud, the ball of paper that was once a letter landed in the trash.
Having confirmed that, I gulped down the remaining water in the canteen and went back to sleep. Knowing nothing.
From the moment I received that letter, my life had already changed irrevocably.