Thief of Time

“Brother…” Dia stared sadly at the seat where he had been sitting at a moment ago. He had vanished, body and all, right before their eyes just a few seconds ago, leaving nothing behind.

“Your Highness.” Her uncle lowered his head. “What a disaster. Why did this happen to him? You were so careful, so cautious, so how did you end up like this? We don’t even know your name!”

Dia gripped her fists, and then got up. “Uncle. Can you report what happened here to my father? I’m going to continue burning my mana circuits. I’ll try to aim for my seventh mana circuit before New Moon. My brother did everything he could to save the sovereignty. I won’t let him down.”

“I’ll help send his words to the four out there,” Schwarz added. “You should go ahead and focus on burning your mana circuits.”

Dia nodded. She couldn’t quite feel her body properly, as if a good chunk of it was numb. Her fingers and feet seemed to have vanished, and everything in her vision felt extremely bright. It was as if she was floating or something, and simply gathering her thoughts had become something she couldn’t quite do.

“Come on,” Risti muttered, her voice quiet. “On my shoulder you go.”

Dia watched blankly as Risti offered her some support for reasons she didn’t quite get, but she couldn’t find the words to refute her offer.

The rest of the way back passed by in a blur, and Dia soon found herself lying in her bedroom.

Risti’s voice echoed throughout the room. “Here, have a cold drink, while I check on something…”

Sitting up slowly, Dia accepted the drink quietly and raised it to her lips. Some cold water ran down her throat as she drank from it, and the fog that seemed to cloud her mind seemed to lift slightly.

At that realisation, the rest of her mind seemed to whirl, and her thoughts began to flow again. The overly bright world around her darkened to a comfortable level, and she could feel her body properly again.

“…What happened to me?” Dia asked.

“You looked kinda out of it,” Risti replied, before showing her a broken skillstick. “I also thought there might be something wrong with you…and so it is.”

She shook her head. “Your brother’s…departure has some effects on the mind. I’ll go use the skillstick on the others first. You just rest and prepare to strengthen yourself.”

Dia nodded once. “Sorry for all that trouble.”

“Eh, don’t sweat it. Seriously, you should wear more artefacts. Barriers are good, but you also need artefacts that protect your mind. Didn’t you learn any lesson from fighting against Nero a long time ago?”

“Uhh…”

Risti sighed. “Go get more artefacts from your father before you leave. Otherwise, you might end up dying stupidly, and your brother’s sacrifice would be a massive waste. You have to cherish your life more. If possible, go and study Claud and Lily. Those two are professionals in staying alive.”

“Those two…fine.” Dia made a face.

“That’s a good girl.” Risti let out a small breath. “Alright, I’ll go and use these Purification skillsticks on the others now. See you whenever.”

The door closed behind her gently, and Dia found herself pondering on her next moves. Her mind had been cleared up, thanks to Risti’s intervention, but…was it really the right time to grow stronger now?

Letting out a deep breath, she changed into a more comfortable set of clothes, before thinking through the conversation between her and her brother. Her brother’s words had been very, very…meandering, to put it lightly. It was one of those conversations her father sometimes held with the other dukes — mysterious, mysteriously annoying, and very annoying.

Especially the monologue. Fortunately, he hadn’t minced words when he was talking about the disaster that would soon befall Licencia; in fact, it seemed that his entire life was devoted towards preventing this catastrophe. It was clear that he had seen an outcome of despair, one that forced him to take actions that no one else knew about.

“Was it worth it, you stupid brother?” Dia muttered. “And…what else did he know about the future?”

His last instructions were very strange. Essentially, he wanted Nero, Claud and Lily to hear what he had said, without any change in wording at all. Obviously, this act was important, but the question was why this act carried significance. Her brother definitely wouldn’t do superfluous things at such a point in time; Dia sincerely believed that his every act carried meaning.

After all, she had ended up in the position he so desired.

“Still, why did it seem so off?” Dia asked, talking to herself. “He was clearly uncertain of what was going on, but what was he uncertain about?”

More questions popped up in her head as she ran through the conversation again and again, and before long, her mind settled on a single word.

Miracle.

What did her brother mean by that? Was he referring to the miracle that sent her back in time long ago, to before she escaped Lustre? That was the only time that the word ‘miracle’ appeared on her status; it was in her Second Tutorial that such a thing happened.

What exactly happened? Why?

She rubbed her head. In addition, her brother’s state right before he vanished could be described as no longer human. His fleshy body had been transmuted into something no one could understand, and all his features were completely gone.

However, when did that start?

Dia folded her arms and tried to recall what her brother looked like. She definitely knew what he looked like, since his mannerisms and movements stirred up memories after memories. Therefore, his body had only began to degenerate at some point in time.

Was it during her Second Tutorial that such a thing happened? It definitely seemed like it, after all. She could remember that her brother’s body was still nice and fleshy when he came over, right before he left for guard duty at the Istrel treasury.

In other words…

“That degeneration happened after he met me, or something along these lines,” Dia muttered. “Now, according to Father, he…saw a bleak future when the Tot case happened…wait, how is that possible?”

She frowned. The Thief of Time struck while he was on duty. And yet, he managed to foresee the future and convince her father.

A letter was impossible — no letters moved that quickly. And since he was not the ruler of the Lustre Dukedom, he couldn’t have access to that mental space that nobles shared. If artefacts that allowed long-range communication at any given point in time existed in Lustre, Dia would have known too.

In that case…

Dia shot up. “I need to find Father…”

As those words left her mouth, the door to her bedroom opened, and her father walked inside. “You need to find me?”

“Father?” Dia blinked. “I thought you were—”

“Rubia sent a runner to find me,” her father replied, before sighing. “…Are you feeling alright? Do you need someone to talk to?”

“Yes, but not for the reason you think.” Dia thought for a moment. “Father, can you tell me the exact circumstance surrounding how my brother convinced you to carry out his plan?”

“How? He just went up to find me. He started by telling me about his Future Sight, which apparently triggered when the Thief of Time struck, and—”

“Didn’t you find it odd?” Dia interrupted. “My brother was clearly the guard captain when Tot struck. How did he cross multiple countries and an entire dukedom to find you immediately? After all, you summoned me the next day after Tot struck! In other words, he, within a few hours, arrived at the Lustre Dukedom from a treasury in the middle of nowhere!”

“Eh?” Her father froze. “Wait. No. I…wait. No…no…”

He swayed slightly, and then took a few steps back. His breathing turned erratic a few seconds later, and Dia hurriedly escorted him to her bed.

“…How?” Her father held his head. “How…how did I not notice that? Why didn’t I think about that?”

Dia thought for a moment. “Maybe it was some power at work. A skill, perhaps? Or…something greater.”

“Something greater…the Blue God might be working through him, I suppose.” Her father let out a sigh. “But it is physically impossible for your brother to return…”

A small shudder ran down her spine as Dia recalled the sensation she felt back then, during the Second Tutorial. When she laid eyes on her brother back then, the first thing she felt was an immense power radiating off him, a power that swiftly vanished afterwards. At that time, she thought that it was just a joke, but…

“What if he was far stronger than he let on?” Dia asked. “For instance, if he was a high-ranked folder.”

“Then he could have made it back in time,” her father replied quietly. “Yes, indeed. But…well, he might have skillsticks or something that allowed him to move at such distances too. He definitely used a skill to make me ignore that fact too…”

He snorted. “That punk. Daring to use a skill on his father.”

His voice broke slightly, and her father got up. Looking away from Dia, he said, “Train well. I need some time alone.”

“…Father.”

“Don’t worry. And don’t die out there.”

“…Yes.”