A Gap in the Spirit World
He had been buried beneath a tide of stars.
All around him stretched a space with no visible end.
There was nowhere to go.
No road, no destination, not even a hint of direction.
Within that vast current of starlight, the boy was nothing more than a tiny speck, a scrap carried helplessly along.
And yet his eyes were fixed firmly ahead.
Not the eyes of his face.
Perhaps these were the eyes that truly saw.
The second pair of eyes that ordinary people never possessed.
They were taking in phenomena from a higher plane.
And that, in turn, placed an even greater strain on his mind.
It would almost have been better not to see at all.
Something beyond human comprehension churned endlessly before him.
His mind melted, and melted still further.
The boy’s very existence lost its shape and was swept away in the wave of stars.
Human beings could not resist such a current.
They could only drift along with it, like part of nature itself.
...At the end of those endless stars, a shadow fell.
At last, something within the stars observed Lawrence.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The aimless journey through the stars came to an end.
When Lawrence regained consciousness, he couldn’t remember what he had seen in that current of stars, or what he had come face to face with.
All he could feel was that his body had grown light.
There was no headache.
No fever haze clouding his thoughts.
Not even the ache that had tormented his entire body remained.
He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
The bitter cold left a white plume hanging in the air before his lips.
He tightened the robe that had once felt so warm.
He was sure of it.
This was the Spirit World.
Until now, he had never imagined that one could come here in a way like this, without it being a dream.
And that a shattered goddess statue had been the entrance to the Spirit World, of all things.
It was beyond anything Lawrence could understand.
He should be grateful.
Perhaps the beam of light had been a signal sent by a neighbor of the Spirit World.
Maybe they had truly wanted to save the boy who had been in danger.
Even if the truth was different, he wanted to believe that.
For the moment, he looked around.
As the Spirit World so often did, the sight spread before him was wondrous.
In stark contrast to the summer outside, here it was winter.
A kingdom of white snow, piled high beneath eternal frost.
Rugged mountains and the valleys threaded between them.
Forests of trees that seemed to belong to an entirely separate ecosystem.
Nameless snowflowers bloomed on the branches.
The mountain beasts roaming through the untended valley were full of life.
The creatures darting about nearby did not fear the boy.
They were not ordinary beasts.
These, too, were neighbors of the Spirit World.
Looking closely, he could see body parts that no normal animal should have, just like the fire lizard had.
Wings growing from the back, perhaps.
Or a tail that was not one, but nearly nine.
Following the neighbors of the Spirit World, a breathtaking vista soon appeared.
Two hills stood at the heart of the mountain.
Formed so as to face one another, they looked almost like a woman beckoning him inside.
Untouched nature existed here.
No one could look upon that scene without their heart stirring in response.
And if you gazed at it with shining eyes, you would soon realize something: the branches growing at the edge of the cliff, just barely within reach, were entwined like a pair of married trees.
White breath kept painting the sky.
Great nature. The mother of life.
So many sayings came to mind, only to vanish again.
Never before had he felt those words so deeply.
He had the strange feeling that if he didn’t do something, he would be overwhelmed by the majesty of the landscape.
The Spirit World always made the boy aware of how vast the world truly was.
How long had he been lost in the scenery?
Suddenly, he felt as if something was looking down at him from above.
When he raised his head, he saw a gigantic lizard.
“I■ t■e l■g■ ■e■ ■e■es ■h■n■er h■n■s■■.”
A voice he could not understand rang out.
The lizard’s words did not reach Lawrence.
The ears that heard.
The cognitive concept the Red Eyes had spoken of did not yet exist for him.
Fortunately, he felt no headache.
Nor any hostility.
As though to show that the enormous lizard was gentle, other neighbors gathered around him.
The lizard did not seem bothered by the neighbors running and playing atop his body.
Let them be, or not.
Like an elder indulging the antics of children, he simply accepted them, without moving from the spot.
Only then did Lawrence realize.
He had thought the thing was so huge that he hadn’t noticed.
The lizard’s legs had become one with the ground.
The roots and branches tangled above its head were exactly that, in the literal sense.
Its body was so vast that it was no exaggeration to say it had already merged with nature itself, beyond all hope of measuring its ends.
For some reason, the sight felt a little sad.
Even a being that enormous could not escape the flow of time.
The lizard regarded Lawrence with clouded eyes.
He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t look away from that gaze.
“M■ lit■l■ b■i■, y■u h■v■ n■ nee■ to be a■ra■d. Wh■t y■u s■e i■ a h■gh■r i■t■n■i■n. A mes■a■e fr■m t■e end of t■e st■rs. T■e i■di■at■on of th■ v■ry c■sm■s.”
He had no idea what the lizard was saying.
And yet the warmth carried in that tone came through clearly enough.
That gentle exchange came to an abrupt end.
From beyond the hills, an inhuman being arrived and leaped down in front of Lawrence as if to guard the lizard.
“Centaur?!”
Without warning, a bowstring was drawn at him.
The neighbor who had suddenly appeared was a centaur.
With long silver hair tied back, he was a man of striking features.
Strictly speaking, his lower half was that of a horse with four legs, while his upper body was human.
“Y■u... th■s f■el■■... W■t ar■ y■■ d■ing h■r■?”
Perhaps sensing no hostility, the centaur lowered his bow.
“I... I’m not sure if the words will reach you, but I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Lawrence bowed deeply.
Even if their words did not match, sincere apology ought to be understood.
“S■t■ll, B■l■s?”
“N■w p■pl■... y■u r■ally d■d it th■s t■■?”
“N■t m■.”
The lizard and the centaur conversed.
“I c■n fe■l n■ h■stility f■om th■ boy. And y■u kn■w, d■n’t y■u? He’s a g■es■ who’■ com■ a l■ng way. If w■ can’t even g■ve h■m a proper welcome, is it not only natural that he’ll feel uncomfortab■e?”
“You’d make a terrible teacher. Are you saying that because he’s been chosen by love, he should be granted special treatment no matter what?”
Lawrence quietly watched the two of them.
He felt rather like unwanted baggage, but there was nothing to be done about it.
He could tell, simply from their guarded looks, that he was not exactly welcome.
“He came? I suppose the fact that he’s not far from here made it easier to guess. Still. Even if he is a child blessed by stars, I cannot simply overlook the matter.”
“Are you saying it’s fine because he’s still so young? Foolish. Then again, perhaps you’re the one who’s being narrow-minded.”
“Thank you for the sentiment.”
When the conversation ended, the man slid his bow behind his back.
“Do you understand what I’m saying?”
It sounded like he was speaking to him again, but just as before, Lawrence couldn’t make sense of it.
“I’m sorry. I still don’t have the ears for hearing.”
There was nothing for it.
Lawrence pointed to both ears with his hands.
He couldn’t hear anything, so he didn’t know what was being said.
He finished by shrugging and tilting his head.
“I see. So that’s why.”
The man seemed to understand, and took out a branch.
He tapped himself on the head a few times, then extended the branch toward Lawrence.
Was he saying he was going to tap Lawrence on the head with it?
He still didn’t sense any hostility.
If he had intended to do something harmful, he would have used the bow long ago.
Lawrence leaned forward slightly.
Tap, tap.
A light impact landed on his head.
“Can you hear me now?”
“...! Yes, I can.”
“Then that’s settled. Go back to the Material World at once. This is the Spirit World, where forgotten beings dwell. Even if you’re a child loved by them, there is nothing good about staying here too long.”
“Pardon?”
He had been told to leave in a way he had never expected.
“Acheron.”
“Don’t say another word, Veles. A child loved by the Spirit World is not free. On the contrary, merely being able to cross between two worlds makes him dangerous.”
Despite the lizard, Veles, trying to stop him, the man’s eyes remained fixed on rejecting Lawrence.
“A child loved by the Spirit World is pure, whether he wishes it or not. And because of that purity, he can be stained by any color at all. Haven’t you seen the fate of the loved children exposed to the Spirit World?”
“Every being has a role it must fulfill. Children bound by a great covenant bear duties they must shoulder. That is not a domain for us to intrude upon. Your thinking is self-righteous, and arrogant.”
Even if Lawrence couldn’t understand the details, it was clear they were discussing something heavy.
This was no conversation to be having in front of an outsider.
Feeling increasingly awkward, Lawrence cautiously raised his hand.
“Um... even if you’re telling me to leave, how am I supposed to get out?”
He asked without regard for his dignity.
The look directed at him was suddenly colored by confusion.
“Then how did you come in here?”
“You may not believe me, but the thing is...”
Lawrence told them what had happened in Spider Forest.
How he had wandered the woods and eventually reached the sacred site.
How he had followed a beam of light and found the shattered goddess statue.
How he had entered the Spirit World through that statue.
“Someone guided you here?”
“Yes.”
“Nonsense. This is Dragon Valley. There is no neighbor, not even in K■■■’s tomb, who can guide someone into the Spirit World.”
What had he just said?
Even with the hearing ears, he still couldn’t catch it.
“No. That isn’t quite true either, is it? You know as well as I do.”
“You don’t mean the guidance of the stars? Impossible.”
“And do you truly think that? When coincidence piles upon coincidence, it, too, becomes woven into inevitability. How can we possibly understand the great purpose whispered by the stars? Still, there is no denying that the child loved by them arrived safely in Dragon Valley, where you and I stand.”
“.......”
The guardian said nothing, as if unable to refute it.
“Old friend. I can no longer read your true intent. But all of this feels to me like guidance granted to me before I depart on my own journey. What is already past cannot be undone. Yet if you are willing, you could still forge a new bond. Please, do not leave behind any more time stained by regret. This is advice from one who has been your ally.”
A heavy sigh escaped at the words of a sincere friend.
“Very well, Veles. Since it is you, and no one else, who has said it, I will do my duty as the last guardian.”
I’ll do what must be done.
Setting aside private feelings, the guardian opened his mouth once more.
“I am Acheron, the last guardian of Dragon Valley. I would know your name, child loved by the Spirit World.”
“I’ve been rude and slow in introducing myself. My name is Lawrence.”
The matter was settled.
Lawrence bowed again.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Acheron led Lawrence deeper into the valley.
Veles, having lost the use of his legs, could not come with them.
“Strangely enough, you’ve asked me almost nothing.”
How far had they walked?
At some point, Acheron casually said that.
“Should I ask?”
“No. If possible, ask me nothing at all.”
“That’s a relief. I didn’t say anything because I thought that might be the case.”
“.......”
The atmosphere still wasn’t welcoming.
To be honest, Lawrence found Acheron difficult to deal with.
If Veles were willing, he would have preferred to stay behind with him instead.
But he had no choice.
It was because of the hearing ears.
If Acheron left, there would be no way for them to communicate.
“How much do you know about the loved children?”
“Only that the neighbors of the Spirit World call them that.”
He answered honestly.
It had only been recently that he had even learned that name.
“And the great covenant between the neighbors of the Spirit World and the loved children?”
“I heard about it for the first time today.”
“Good. Then I’ll rephrase the question. You knew about the hearing ears. Who taught you the cognitive concept?”
“I heard it from Red Eyes.”
“Red Eyes? Your teacher?”
“I don’t think that’s quite right.”
Lawrence explained about the Red Eyes he had met in Shadow Forest.
“Shadow Forest, huh... It’s a miracle you’re still alive.”
“Pardon?”
“Listen carefully. The one you met was a follower of the god of death and chaos. A being without fixed form. A spirit born of death and chaos. Rage and terror. To a spirit venerated at the end of fear, there is no such thing as good or evil. In other words, your life at that moment depended entirely on the whims of that spirit.”
“What...?”
Spirit?
He had no idea what the man was talking about.
But one thing he did understand.
Red Eyes was far more frightening and terrifying a being than he had imagined.
“Just because they are neighbors of the Spirit World, don’t trust them easily. The Spirit World was never meant to overlap with the Material World; it is a world on the other side of the mirror. Those who could not be accepted, and so had to be forgotten. In a sense, the neighbors of the Spirit World are the most dangerous of all. You must understand that clearly.”
He couldn’t argue.
Acheron’s cold words were right.
Lawrence knew nothing of the dangers the Spirit World held.
Only now did he realize that he had simply been relying on the goodwill of its neighbors.
“Even if it’s true that they helped you, that doesn’t mean it was necessarily out of kindness. Did the spirit of Shadow Forest say anything else?”
“He warned me that Shadow Forest was dangerous, but...”
No matter how he thought about it, Red Eyes had never gone so far as to say that he himself was dangerous.
As Lawrence recalled the spirit’s words, he said, “Now that I think about it, he often said there was nothing he could do if it was a request from a loved child.”
“The great covenant saved your life. A neighbor of the Spirit World bound by covenant cannot refuse a request from a loved child. From the moment you were born into the world, you were beings who received blind love from us.”
“When you say ‘us,’ do you mean the neighbors of the Spirit World?”
“Not all of them. Even the spirit of Shadow Forest was only drawn in by instinct. Granting your request was no more and no less than a whim. So remember this. The goodwill offered by the neighbors of the Spirit World does not always lead to good results. Keep in mind that love and curse have the same root.”
He couldn’t understand what that meant.
Seeing the boy’s puzzled expression, Acheron continued.
“Do you know of changelings?”
Lawrence shook his head.
“It is not only the loved children who can observe the Spirit World. If a human works hard enough, it is also possible to pry open the seam of the world and glimpse what lies beyond. Or, on rare occasions, a miracle may occur and one may cross over into the Spirit World through a chain of coincidences. However, an unprepared being will instead be seized by the Spirit World.”
Acheron raised a hand and pointed toward the hill.
There, Lawrence could see a boy who looked much like the fairy friends he knew, running and playing with the neighbors of the Spirit World.
The unusual thing was how large he was compared with the others.
“That child was once human, just like you.”
“No way...”
“When one lingers too long in the time of the Spirit World, even a being from the Material World begins to live under different laws. They are seized by the neighbors of the Spirit World and can no longer escape. We call such broken beings turned children changelings.”
“.......”
The changeling disappeared over the hill with a laugh.
Its face was clear and bright, far removed from worry or distress.
Unlike Acheron’s concerned voice, the changeling looked far too cheerful.
...The Material World wasn’t exactly happiness itself, either.
If anything, living as a neighbor of the Spirit World might be happier.
“If I stay here too long, will I become a changeling too?”
“A loved child is different. That is precisely why they are dangerous.”
Acheron stopped walking.
By now, the two of them had reached the open area before the valley.
“You learned magic from the spirit of Shadow Forest, did you not?”
“I learned Shadow Spear.”
“Interesting. To have an affinity for void attributes...”
He held up a branch.
At his gesture, four elemental forces rose into view.
“Do you know? Magical attributes are generally divided into four great elements: earth, water, fire, and wind. These are known as the four primary elements.”
Acheron’s branch moved again.
“The four primary elements... I don’t see void included.”
“Void is not generally counted among them. Like radiant attributes, it is an exceptionally rare affinity. That does not mean it is wrong. A miracle that only a tiny few can wield is, in itself, already a form of mystery.”
This time, small shadows and lights appeared beside the four elements.
“Rare. Is that good?”
“Every attribute has its strengths and weaknesses. What matters is not whether the attribute exists, but the sorcerer who wields it. It is a different matter from mana.”
There was no absolute superiority among attributes.
As if instructing a child, Acheron gave a wry smile.
“However, when dealing with void attributes, there are many more things to be careful about than with the other four elements. Do not try to understand the world inside the mirror. Void carries the dual nature of death, so remember this: when you look into void, void is looking back at you.”
The shadow, now swollen into shape, swallowed the other attributes.
Having greedily devoured everything, it vanished back into darkness as if nothing had happened.
“There is no miracle without a price. Void is too dangerous a magic for you, who are still unprepared, to master.”
“I think I’ve been handling it fairly well, though...”
He bristled, feeling as if all his efforts had been dismissed.
Even if someone else might not think it a big deal.
He had sacrificed sleep and worked with genuine sincerity.
If it hadn’t been for Shadow Spear, he would never have survived the fight with the mercenaries.
But Lawrence soon steadied himself.
He must not repeat a mistake he had been pointed to time and again.
Knowing better and still refusing to fix it was foolish.
“It is good to feel pride. Your efforts have not been wasted. In fact, to have learned Shadow Spear without a proper teacher is an impressive feat.”
“.......”
A strange feeling washed over him.
This was the first time someone had ever acknowledged his magic.