Thief of Time

With a pop, the two of them appeared on a bouncy sofa, one that was soft that Claud thought that he was lying on a cloud. He didn’t quite have words to describe the comfort he felt from the sofa alone, and Claud stifled a yawn.

“How do you like this place?” Lesser Half asked, appearing as a small shadow this time around. “It’s peaceful and quiet.”

“It’s excellent,” Claud replied, before yawning. “It feels very good too, for some reason.”

“I have noticed your current…infirmity. And yet, you ventured into that place to save people. Do you know how dangerous a Distortion can be? Every Distortion has its own rules and laws that guide and dictate actions that are permitted within the place. If you did something that went against the laws of the Distortion there, you may very well have died.”

“Distortion?”

“Yes, you two indeed do not know what sort of place that was.” The shadow thought for a moment. “Do not worry, however. We are coming up with countermeasures to ensure that any further Distortions will be dealt with. However, their numbers are simply too many…”

“Numbers?”

“I am told that an entire dukedom of the Istrel Sovereignty has been swallowed up,” Lesser Half replied. “There are also reports of smaller such spheres occurring, spheres that can be the size of a small room, appearing all around the place.”

“What’s the cause?” Lily asked.

“People,” Lesser Half replied. “Specifically, people who are usually overcome by their emotions and their darker sides. It is unsure what are the exact conditions are, but extreme emotions are the first sign of such distortions. To be more specific, people who are overcome by emotions so exact that they warp space itself and are able to impose their emotions onto other people.”

Claud thought about the woman that he’d seen, and the immense air of sorrow that had surrounded her. “I see.”

“I suppose funerals will now become very dangerous,” Lesser Half murmured. “Us divinities have been casting our nets far and wide, but we will not be able to deal with the smaller cases that slip through our net. That will depend on the luck of the mortals, as well as their reaction time.”

“Great. At least I won’t be sleeping in the fear that me and Lily will be swallowed up by a purple dome,” Claud quipped. “But this is very new, right? What’s the cause of this? I mean, the phenomenon of people experiencing extreme emotions didn’t just start two weeks ago.”

“Indeed. The primary trigger seems to be the Red God’s passing, which upset the delicate balance that had sustained the world until today. However, the death of divinities is by no means news to us. It is thus inconceivable that there exists such a phenomenon…unless another entity from outside our world is doing something.”

“Another entity from outside the world?” Claud asked, intrigued.

“Extra-karmic, extra-chronological in nature…but that is our problem to deal with. Not yours, young heroes.” Lesser Half got up. “I imagine you two must be absolutely tired by now. I will not hold you up any longer. Do have a good rest.”

The shadow nodded at them. “Tomorrow, I suppose, we can have a small feast. I would like to invite you two to sample the cuisine of my Divine Kingdom, and along with Count Lostfon, of course.”

“The count…”

“Is looking around my throne room in the palace I rarely live in. He is presumably wondering how it is still standing,” Lesser Half replied. “Now, I’ll leave you two to ruminate on what you have experienced in that Distortion. I suspect that the others will press you on your experiences when you leave. If you have trump cards to be hidden, make sure to get your story straight.”

“Thank you,” Claud replied. “But…”

“Do not worry about what I need to know and what I do not need to know,” Lesser Half replied. “Each Distortion has its own rules and its own shortcuts. You two definitely came across these shortcuts by accident. It will be for the best if you can figure out how you used these shortcuts and explain it to the listening audience.”

Claud nodded. Indeed, there was a passage that led directly to the core of that, uh, Distortion. The only thing preventing people from going through it was their fear of entering the Distortion to begin with…and the biting chill. Claud hadn’t felt it himself, while Lily had stuck to him while travelling through that corridor, but if it was anyone else…

“Got it. Don’t worry, though. The shortcut you spoke off was a bone-numbing chill. I couldn’t feel it myself, maybe because I had the necessary qualities, and I got very close to the core of the distortion. Afterwards, I isolated the core with my mana, and allowed the Distortion to collapse on its own.”

“You are immune to cold?”

“He was like a torch,” Lily replied. “Very comfortable!”

She paused. “…You know, you’re still quite warm right now, though. Like a blanket warmed beside a campfire or something.”

“…Camping outdoors. Is it fun?” Lesser Half asked. “Is camping outdoors fun?”

“Uh…I suppose?” Lily thought about it. “If you’re with the right person, it’s definitely tons of fun. There’s a charm in setting up your own small camp outdoors, watching the campfire cook a pot of stewed meat…it’s fun.”

Lesser Half shivered. “I should try that one day, in a more convenient form. Who should I bring along, though?”

“Dust,” Lily replied. “She can definitely whip up a nice meal in the forest. I can see it in her movements!”

“She’s definitely a master chef too,” Claud added.

“Oh?” Lesser Half glanced at Claud. “You are certain that you yourself are a master chef? In that case, you and Dust should have a cook-off.”

“The two of us, and maybe Lily and Schwarz as well,” Claud replied.

“Schwarz…who is that?”

“He’s a good friend of mine,” Claud replied. “He sells alcoholic drinks that primarily serve to knock people out, but his specialty is roasting meat until it’s just nice and juicy. That smoky aroma, the juices that burst out when you bite down…can you feel it? The hot oil that faintly scalds your lips, and the burst of meaty flavours…”

“I’m hungry now. Thanks.” Lily rolled her eyes. “Didn’t we pack some smoked meat in the backpack? Cough it out, now.”

“Meh.”

Lesser Half laughed. “Well then, I will leave you two mortals to conduct your mortal affairs. Beget not fear, for I will not peek, even if the idea of eating pre-prepared meals is very enticing. I will trouble Dust to satiate my curiosity instead.”

“Uh, okay. Thanks for this very comfortable place, though. If the sofa’s this soft, I can’t imagine what the bed is going to be like,” Claud replied.

“You are very welcome.”

Lesser Half vanished with those words, and Claud let out a sigh. Setting down his backpack, he rolled onto the floor and laid out the provisions that had been stuffed inside. Incidentally, his storage ring, which was sitting snugly on his finger, had even more food, just in case something funny happened to them.

“It’s still warm too,” Lily noted. “I wonder why. Did you emit enough heat to cook it?”

“Probably.” Claud looked at the small feast. “No, Lily, you’re not allowed to place food on my forehead.”

The meeplings rolled out of his clothes a moment later. Claud had nearly forgotten about them — they had stayed silent ever since Crown pointed at the door that led to the freezing hallway — and they certainly hadn’t shown their faces after Claud tore down the purple dome.

Thankfully, Lily was distracted by the little meeplings, who proceeded to bounce around her thigh for some reason, and Claud took this chance to open all the packets of salted or smoked meat.

“One of them is actually giving off smoke, though.” Claud picked up a strip of smoking, half-charred bacon. “What’s with this one?”

“Who knows? But I call dibs.”

“Ugh. Fine…but I must feed you myself.”

“Are you even in a right state to feed someone?” Lily asked. “That’s my job, not yours.”

Claud looked at her, and she rubbed her nose. “Fine…but only this once. You’ve strained yourself too much just by going into that purple dome…uh, Distortion, even if it’s for a good cause.”

These words were enough to perk Claud up immediately, and he busied himself with feeding Lily the smoking piece of bacon. It wasn’t much, but he wanted to let her know how much she meant to him, and this little gesture was a nice way of doing just that.

“There, done.” Claud smiled. “Hmm. I’m a bit tired.”

“Are you fine?”

“Don’t worry. It’s just that my limbs are feeling a bit heavy, that’s all.” Claud shook his head. “Come on, let’s eat. And then sleep. I think I’ll sleep for a whole day or something…”