Thief of Time

The bell that was fixed to the door jingled as the two of them stepped outside, but as expected, the little toddler that had made it a routine to come by some time ago didn’t show up. Claud felt a bit sad, and judging from Lily’s expectant expression, she was also probably looking for that tiny little fellow as well.

However, with those Distortions popping up, there was no way Lesser Half was going to let little toddlers run around…probably. The reports from Schwarz and company mentioned the Moonlit babies, so maybe there was a difference in policy?

“He’s not showing up,” Claud observed. “Well, we’ll go and visit Lesser Half soon, so maybe we’ll see the little guy again.”

“Yeah!” Lily brightened up. “Let’s hurry up, then.”

Claud thought about the little kid that Dia had apparently adopted or something, and wondered if he and Lily would try to jostle with her for some affection. It was a bit funny to think about it, but…there wasn’t particularly a problem with it, was there?

“Alright. Hold on to me, then,” Claud murmured.

Lily’s left arm wrapped around his sides and pulled him in. “Ready.”

“Okay.” Claud smiled. “Will of Freedom. Will of Solitude.”

Something deep in his mind stirred, and the feeling of being shackled by gravity completely vanished. Smiling at Lily, he wrapped his right arm around her.

“Let’s go!”

There was no wind or anything as the two of them rocketed to the sky. With Will of Freedom, Claud’s ability to move around was truly unhindered and unrestricted, and the world around them soon turned into a blur.

“It feels like I’m not part of this world,” Lily observed. “Flying like this, or rather, being under Will of Freedom’s effects, is so…weird. I’m like a shadow, or something that doesn’t quite exist. How do I put it?”

“Well, that’s Will of Freedom’s effect. It does feel surreal, though.”

“Like a dream, I suppose.”

The two of them hurtled past forests and smaller towns for a few minutes, before Claud began to slow down. Now that he was getting used to Will of Freedom, the incredible speeds that the skill allowed him to reach were something he could readily access.

“…No way.”

“Yes way.” Claud grinned at her. “Yes. You saw it right. We’re here. We’re already here. With my full speed, with all my power…”

Monsville came into focus as their incredible, high-speed flight came to a standstill, and the two of them began to descend. There was no indication that they had just experienced a county-crossing trip, and Claud was reasonably certain that he could probably go around the entire Grandis while his skill lasted.

“How is this possible?” Lily muttered. “We’re already here! It’s way faster than your Flight!”

“We’re not affected by any physical forces at all,” Claud replied. “That includes pesky things like air resistance or whatever. There’s nothing stopping us from accelerating forever, in a sense, and there’s nothing stopping us from accelerating at whatever speeds we deem fit. We don’t feel dizzy or anything either, right?”

“We’re just…standing.”

“Exactly. It’s very useful for combat too.”

The two of them landed in the centre of the barony. While Claud could have easily just landed right in front of his little house, he wanted to eavesdrop on the townsfolk for a while.

No one noticed them as Claud dispelled his Will of Solitude and his Will of Freedom.

“Seems the same as ever,” Claud noted. “People behaving as they should. Do you sense anything weird?”

“Nope. Although I think our house is quite the popular subject for gossip,” Lily replied. “See that group there? I think I heard something interesting.”

The two of them drifted over to that group slowly, and Claud’s ears twitched.

“…I suppose. I wonder if they’re actually fugitives?”

Claud glanced at the speaker, who was chugging alcohol in tankards, and then shook his head.

“Well,” said the speaker’s buddy, “maybe they seriously hate visitors or something. Who knows? I mean, I won’t want to cross them, at least. So many barriers…they are definitely one of those rich fellows. I heard from the bartender that the owner of that house is actually a bigshot noble who wants a holiday estate with his lover or something.”

“Oh, a big shot, then…”

Claud and Lily listened to the rumours for a few more minutes, but most of them were concentrated around a few facts. For one, no one had left the house, apparently. Secondly, there were Moonlit soldiers stationed near the house, and they weren’t the friendly kind either. Third, the barriers had stayed up the whole time too, so no one actually knew what was going on in there.

“…Moonlit soldiers, huh.” Claud made a face. “Well, I suppose they were always going to stakeout the place. I mean, there’s the Thirteenth Bearer of Destiny sitting in my house. I’m actually surprised that they haven’t attacked it the way I would have attacked it.”

“Giant lance of death?”

“Giant lance of death.”

The two of them exchanged grins, and then headed towards their home. Claud had allowed Kemata and Nero to stay in there for the time being, since it did not make any sense at all for the Thirteenth Bearer of Destiny, or rather, a Dark-aligned Bearer of Destiny, to enter Moon territory. Sure, they were in a ceasefire and all ever since the Trial of Aeons concluded, the Red God died and the Distortions began, but that certainly did not stop the divinities from apparently plotting against each other.

“Mhm. The defences are perpetually on, and there are soldiers that aren’t even hiding at this point,” Lily observed. “And playing Moon Phase too. How does that work? I mean, they’re the Moonlit soldiers. Shouldn’t there be something wrong about plotting to capture the Moons, as represented by the pieces?”

“It’s quite amusing, isn’t it?” Claud asked. “Well, let’s just ignore them and march up to the front door instead.”

The Moonlit soldiers glanced at them once, and then returned to their games as the two of them stopped in front of the front gate. Clearly, they had already seen similar sights too many times to actually care about Claud and Lily.

Lily raised a hand and rapped on the outermost barrier. Three seconds passed in silence, before the barriers opened up. Two hands pulled them in, and the barrier sealed up, leaving behind a bunch of dumbfounded Moonlit soldiers.

“The looks on their faces are hilarious.”

Claud looked at Nero, who had a nasty smile on his face, and then shook his head. “So it seems. It’s been some time, Nero, Kemata.”

“Nice to see you two again,” Lily added. “How have you been?”

“Living together splendidly,” Nero replied.

“Interesting experience, living this way,” Kemata added. “Nero…is good.”

“That has so many possible connotations that I can’t even begin to list them out,” Claud replied. “Anyhow, it seems that the Moons are watching you two very closely. Are you guys fine? Have they done anything yet?”

“Nothing,” Nero replied. “Anyway, what brings you two here? The two of us were having some morning tea just now.”

“Well, we actually came here for lunch and to ask you about the Black God,” Claud replied.

The sunny look on Nero’s face faltered somewhat, and he nodded. “Which would you prefer first? Lunch, or my Lord?”

“Mhm. Well, that’s hard to say. Remember that book you gave me?” Claud asked. “We deciphered part of it somehow. We’re actually looking to ask your master about the rest of the book, as well as the person who gave it to him.”

“…I wish He’d brief me about this,” Nero muttered. “Uh. My master…well, he definitely didn’t leave many instructions for me, although he did tell me that you two may be swinging by for some questions sooner or later.”

He paused. “Much later, apparently. It’s rare that he got the timing wrong, but who said the gods were infallible?”

“Red God,” Kemata added.

Claud resisted the urge to twitch, and then nodded. “The God of Precision died. I suppose that’s the ultimate proof that even the Coloured Gods are not fully infallible, even with their power.”

“Right?” Nero thought for a moment. “Anyway, do forgive me if the process to meeting him becomes quite convoluted. My Lord’s Divine Kingdom...the entrance to it, anyway, is in the Nihal continent. I’ll draw you a map and some directions later, but…it’s going to be quite a trip, if nothing else. You should think long and hard before flying over first.”

Claud and Lily nodded together.

“We need to get some answers, though, so it’s a matter of when, not if,” Lily replied. “And besides, it’s Nihal we’re talking about! It’s a new world for us!”

“…I’ll start thinking of a packing list, then,” Claud replied. “And I’m now feeling excited too. Mhm. What’s Nihal like?”

“This is a topic that is better discussed over lunch, is it not?” Nero replied. “Come on in first. We have some light dishes simmering over a nice flame, and I think you’re also interested in seeing how we treated your house, right?”

“I’m sure you’ll restore it to its original form after you leave, so not really,” Claud replied. “Still, it is interesting to see how you two normally leave.”

“Follow.” Kemata gestured. “And welcome.”