Thief of Time

The others looked at the person who was apparently her brother, before Schwarz said, “Just to check, but your mother wasn’t a person who had silver skin and looked like she was about to vanish at any moment, right?”

“No, of course not,” Dia replied. “Don’t be silly.”

“Just checking, you know…” Schwarz turned his gaze back to the silhouette.

“As weird as ever, Schwarz.” The figure bobbed its head at the bartender.

“You know me?” Schwarz asked.

“Yes, and everyone else here too. Happy? Time is running out for me, so I cannot delay for much long. I estimate that I have only around ten minutes of speaking time, so let’s get down to business first. There are tens of restrictions on me, so I am limited in what I want to say,” the figure replied. “Sorry, Uncle Rubia, but there’s no taking me in today. I don’t have much time left.”

“I can take you in after you’re done speaking,” her uncle replied. “Do your thing first.”

“You don’t seem surprised.”

“I always thought you were a weird child,” Uncle Rubia replied. “I wasn’t all that surprised to see you in this state, considering your weird ideas and thoughts.”

“Wait,” Dia cut in. “What happened to you? What’s going on? Why do you sound like you’re about to die, Brother? What’s—”

“I am about to disappear from this instance. As for the other questions, I’m afraid I can’t answer,” the silhouette replied. “It’s been a long time…and I’ve changed too. That’s all you need to know. Now, the main points at hand.”

The sithouette sighed. “First, Dia, I apologise. Your Lord Brother put you through all this…it’s amazing what happened on that day, to be honest. I never did foresee such a weird thing happening back then. The plan was hurried, rushed and not that well thought out, but I did succeed in ensuring my goals were achieved.”

He paused. “Second, you must be wondering why I’m here, yes? First, to warn everyone present about the nature of that Distortion you will soon face…but I’m afraid only a few people can hear this right now. Farah, Schwarz, Uncle Rubia, I need you three to step out right now.”

The three of them turned to Dia, who was flummoxed by their choice, but she nodded three seconds later. The translucent, silvery sithouette nodded once, and then clapped his hands.

“Okay, if the plan didn’t go wrong…Dia, you should know about Limbo, yes? As well as the Logia?”

Dia blinked. “You—”

“You might already know that Distortions happen to non-folders who can draw on the powers of the Eternal Sea when experiencing immense emotions,” her brother continued. “However, the Distortion that will soon destroy Istrel isn’t any ordinary one. In fact, Distortions can also occur to mana-users. What’s key is that extreme emotion or obsession,” her brother continued. “But the scale is different.”

He held his head. “One month from now, on the first New Moon of 602..3, I believe, a mana-user in Licencia will undergo profound grief. It will create a Distortion like no other, one that will hatch within a day to give birth to an otherworldly monster. The entire city will be slaughtered, and Licencia will become a nest for the Logia.”

Dia thought about the squirming white maggots, and then shuddered.

“Can’t we stop that mana-user before the Distortion occurs?” Dia asked. “I mean, since you already knew the date.”

“You can try,” her brother replied, “but the problem lies in how I do not know who that mana-user is. The…future I saw was…not pretty, at least.”

“…I have a lot of questions,” Dia muttered. “But you created this entire set-up to make sure I met the others, formed a mercenary group with them and became a hexa-folder, right?”

“Sorry. For this entire convoluted process. But it was necessary, you see?”

“You could have killed that thing yourself, right?” Dia replied. “But you decided to surrender your right to inheritance and throw me into this stupid game for whatever reason you deemed fit. Did you not ask for my permission? What if I died? I could have died!”

“Sorry. But I’ll make this clear. Whether or not I acted, you would have formed the Moon Lords eventually. You, along with the others.” Her brother paused. “To be honest, it doesn’t make sense to me either. I’m not too sure what’s going on, and I’m not sure why…I believe my actions were aimed at allowing you to reach the heights of a hexa-folder and the ability of one. That is all. Originally, Duke Lustre would have captured you, and you would have broken out forcibly…I think. I can’t tell too much of the past either.”

He mumbled a few more words, something about how he didn’t quite understand and whether there was a grand iteration of something, but the key points were too quiet for Dia to hear properly. One thing was for certain, though, which was the fact that her brother probably still didn’t quite understand what was going on either.

“What are you muttering about?” Dia asked, peeved. It was one thing to hear him mutter sentences, but…what was the point, if she couldn’t understand them?

“Something that has been mystifying me for a long time, alright?” He shook his head. “Only at the end do the pieces start to fall in place…”

Dia eyed her mysterious brother. “Alright, whatever. I thought you didn’t have much time left.”

“Yeah. But I don’t have a lot to say either,” her brother replied. “Sorry. Heh. I’ve been using this word a lot, eh? Ever since I last saw you…”

“Right. You were apologising for what you were about to put me through, weren’t you?” Dia asked. “Right. Sheesh. Anyway, can the others come back in yet? They’ve been waiting outside, and Risti’s already lost herself trying to figure out what you’ve been saying the whole time.”

“Right.”

An incredibly refined string of mana flew out of her brother, dispelling the silencing field around them. Her brother raised his voice a moment later, and said, “You guys can come in now.”

As the others trooped back into the room, a thought struck her. “Wait, if you created this entire set-up, does that mean you’re the Thief of Time? Like, did you frame yourself or something?”

Her brother’s translucent figure tilted his head. “Don’t be silly. I was on guard duty when Tot struck. I’m not Tot.”

He chuckled once, and then froze. “Right. You know…just a little question. Like, a weird one. Have you ever heard your Status say something about a miracle or whatever?”

“A miracle?”

“Yeah. Like in your comments or something,” her brother replied. “Or maybe during your Second Tutorial. I mean, Salvation Star, yadda yadda. Is it related to that one month?”

Dia breathed in sharply, and her brother narrowed his eyes. “So you have heard that word. When did you come across it? Are you able to tell me about it? It might be able to explain what’s going on.”

He paused. “At least, I might understand what’s going on.”

The others looked at Dia, with a face that practically screamed for a story, but before Dia could even open her mouth, a sense of deadly crisis filled her entire existence. It was as if something would wipe her out if she dared to say it, and Dia shook her head numbly.

“…Okay. I see.” Her brother let out a sigh. “This is…getting really weird. Really? Really? Really, me? This is unbelievable.”

“Is your brother alright?” Risti whispered.

“Yeah…probably,” Dia muttered.

“As far as I remember, your brother has always been a bit weird,” Commander Rubia muttered. “Very weird. He doesn’t like swords, for some reason. Kept making faces at me and the other knights.”

“That’s just his preference, okay?”

“And he has a weird habit of thinking out loud, like what you’re seeing now,” her uncle continued.

“Stop talking about me already.” Her brother let out a sigh. “Anyway…I suppose my time is running out. There’s only a minute or two left before I vanish. It’s been fun, Dia. And everyone else, too.”

Dia trembled, and some distant part of her mind noted that she hadn’t fully registered the fact that her brother was actually dying.

“You’re…really dying?”

“Not in the way you think it is…but I suppose it’s not that different. It’s alright. Anyway, listen to me very closely. Make sure you take a record of what I’ve said thus far, word for word, and mail it to all the other members of the Seekers of Life, those that are not here. They will play a significant part in the future. You have to do it. No matter what. This scheme must succeed. For eternity and beyond.”

Dia nodded numbly, and her brother let out a sigh.

He let out a sigh. “Man, I’m tired. Feels like back then…”

“When you were badly injured?” Dia asked, a memory abruptly rising to the forefront of her mind. “Are you still suffering from that old injury? Can we cure it?”

“…Maybe. And no. I’m afraid not. It’s not that simple.” His figure flickered once, and Dia felt her heart clench up.

“Brother?”

“Your Highness?”

“Looks like this is it for me now,” her brother replied. “Grief not. It has been a fun, if weird, life. Tut tut. Say, call me that once more. You only called me Lord Brother once, you know.”

“You’re still joking at this juncture?” Dia asked, before turning to her uncle. “Uncle…”

“I can’t even designate him as a healing target. In fact, it’s as if he’s not really here anymore.” He breathed out heavily. “Your Highness. Do you have any last wishes?”

Dia felt her head spin at those words, and a few hands supported her as she stumbled backwards.

“Live well, everyone.” A hand patted her head, and her brother chuckled. “Yes. Indeed. The cycle has been closed. Dia, everyone…we will meet again, if fate permits. Remember my instructions, and we will surely meet again.”

A sigh filled the room, and his body began to shimmer.

“Your Highness!”

“Brother!” Dia’s hand shot up to grab the one on her head, only to pass through it effortlessly. “Brother? Brother? Brother!”

Only a small speck of silver remained at where he used to sit at.

“Brother…”