Thief of Time

“A death sentence on Lily…” Nero made a face. “An unavoidable destiny, a grand disaster…the only question is why the Lord has gone so far to help you with this, up and to and including the bit of having me play the role of deliveryman to get a book to you. A book!”

He sounded a bit miffed about that fact, but before Claud could say anything, the Holy Son of the Black God had let out a sigh. “It’s really weird. I’m sure He is not the type to do things for the sake of mortals. Just what is He looking at?”

“Did you hear about Dia?” Claud asked. “And how her brother…”

“Mhm. Are you implying that Lily’s presence is critical in preventing another nasty incident?” Nero asked.

Claud didn’t reply. The truth, however, was that he would probably end up destroying the whole world if something happened to Lily. In fact, he had the feeling that such a deed was precisely what the various him-s did when they finally gained the power to do so, making use of Destiny’s destruction to empower the ability to create another reality and to affect it.

As a result, he really wasn’t lying. Of course, Claud had no desire to let Lily figure this out; she would feel horrible if she knew that her being alive was the only thing that was protecting this world or something. It would definitely accentuate her sense of being persecuted, and Claud had heard her sleeptalk a few times already.

She, too, was scared. Not just about her fate, but about him if she really perished. Lily hadn’t noticed that bit yet, but the agony of watching her smooth over the fact that her death was coming was heart-wrenching for him too. Her smiles, her words, her actions…all of them were attempts to smooth over the fact that some time down the road…

“Claud?” Lily nudged him.

“Sorry. It’s just…nothing.” Claud forced a smile. What did his predecessors feel, as they wrestled with destiny? How did they confront their ever-growing fear of Lily’s death? And how did Lily react to that knowledge?

Now, however, was not the time to just freeze up. Edging closer to Lily, Claud looked at Nero and said, “That might just be the case. Who knows? But I don’t care about the world. I care about Lily. That’s it. Nothing more.”

“That’s very Claud, at least.” Nero looked at Kemata, who shook her head imperceptibly. “We’re not the right people to tell if there is really such a fate, and how one should best avoid it, but the Lord definitely has a stake in this too, given that book.”

“Yes.”

“And you want to ask him,” Nero pressed on. “Regardless of the various dangers you may face and the insanely long trip you will have to take.”

Claud nodded. “It can’t be helped. The pages of the book…spoke of horrific visions. One where mana-users fell prey to the Distortions in their own manner, turning into alien beings, outsiders that no one can comprehend without risking madness.”

“Limbo,” Nero muttered. “Lord. What do you mean by this? Are you inducting him? Or…”

“Limbo?” Lily asked. “What’s that?”

“You will understand, if the road in front of you two truly is that road.” Nero made a face. “I will instruct you on how to visit my Lord. If this is truly a book of prophecy, and I have no reason to doubt it, the fact that this book has made its way into your hands is too significant for me to handle. I must send you two to the Black God.”

He took a deep breath. “At the very least, you two must know that what you face are beings not of our world, not of this cycle. They are impurities that must be expunged, for the sake of all life.”

“That serious?” Claud frowned.

“You said it yourself,” Nero replied quietly. “Whatever it is…”

Lily glanced at Claud, and then said, “What does this…Limbo have to do with me?”

“It’s hard to say, but again, I’m sure Dia was also thinking what being the Salvation Star had to do with her. In the end, Schwarz told us that she was instrumental to solving the gigantic Distortion. The divinities work in ways we cannot quite fathom; it is best that we abide by prophecy and respect the warnings of the future.”

“But is fate malleable?” Claud asked.

“…It’s hard to say. After all, didn’t Dia overcome the fate of a destroyed sovereignty by herself?” Nero replied. “Mhm. I know this feeling. It’s the sensation when people come to ask me about something I probably won’t understand…fate, I suppose. Given your fixation on this.”

He chuckled. “Go ahead and ask. I may be the youngest of the Seekers, but I’m definitely the most knowledgeable about the world.”

“Moreso than Risti?” Lily asked, curious. “I mean, she looks like she knows a lot too. We might have gone to ask her first if we could reach her easily.”

“Uh, she’s special. An exception.” Nero cleared his throat. “So, what do you want to ask?”

“You did guess it right. What…conditions are needed if I want to change Lily’s fate?”

“Mhm. That book. Did it tell you that Lily would…pass away because of a certain incident, or that she would pass away?”

Claud frowned. The book that his previous iteration had written attributed her death to that particular event where something like a Distortion took her from him. However, he — and the various iterations of him — was very aware that the world had it out for her.

He hesitated for a moment, but Lily already knew anyway. To hide it now was to do her a massive disservice.

“The latter,” Claud replied.

“…That’s troublesome.” Nero cupped his chin. “Kemata, do you have any idea about this?”

“Why are you asking her?” Lily asked. “No offence, but you’re not a Holy Daughter, right?”

“Noble. Supreme Saran.” Kemata paused, and for a moment, Claud could feel the heavy pressure of an invisible scythe. “Learned many things.”

“Ohh…” Claud and Lily chorused together.

“You two are adorable,” Nero remarked. “Anyhow, do you have any suggestions? You said something about the teachers touching on fate and destiny, right?”

“Not my major,” Kemata replied.

“Okay, so that’s another place we have to go after this,” Claud muttered. “Mhm. And well, the Blue God is also based in the Saran Supremacy. Maybe we can ask really nicely and he’ll tell us something.”

“You do know that the Indigo God is based in Nihal, right? And the Violet Goddess too,” Nero added. “You can pay them a visit too. You can ask my Lord for help in this regard, but…expect there to be a commensurate price. Nothing’s free in this world, after all.”

“What would the divinities want from me?” Claud asked.

“Do I look like I’d know the answer?” Nero replied. “Anyway…well, I’ll pass you some tokens that represent me. The Black Church will treat you as they would treat me, and if you see my successor, tell him to come here. I have some instructions for him.”

“Your successor?” Claud asked. “The next Holy Son?”

“As long as I’m alive, there won’t be a next Holy Son.” Nero paused. “Apparently, anyway. Well, I don’t know what position that kid will have, but when that fellow hears about your visit, he or she will definitely come to look for you two. I’ll trouble you to hand that person a few things later.”

Claud nodded. “Got it.”

“That’s the least we can do after all,” Lily added. “So, a little Nero…should we get some drinks for your successor? Would your successor be equally immune to alcohol intoxication?”

“Sounds like a good research topic,” Claud muttered. “The Black God confers mental strength to his followers, protecting them from mental weakness…it would be interesting to see your successor gulp down alcohol.”

“Well, I actually do have a few bottles of Schwarz’s booze left.”

“You’re willing to give them some?” Kemata asked, in a tone that departed from her usual stilted speech.

“…She just conjugated a whole sentence,” Lily whispered.

“I know,” Claud replied. “Nero doing that is this surprising?”

“I can hear you two clowns, okay?” Nero replied, glaring at them. “And it seems so…”

“Alcoholic,” Claud muttered.

“Do you want my help or not?” Nero replied. “If so, just shut your traps. Sheesh. I’m going to get some things for you now.”

He got up and fled the room, leaving behind a gust in his wake.

“Quite a character,” Claud commented.

“We all have our own idiosyncrasies,” Lily replied. “Still, that trait must really come in handy at times…what other funny things have you discovered about him, Kemata? Anything interesting that you might wanna tell us?”

“Hey!” A distant voice echoed over. “It’s private, so stop asking!”

“Bah. Fine…” Claud made a face. “Well, it’s good that you kept my place neat and tidy. Keep it up. We’ll be gone for some time.”

“Mhm. Stay well too.” Her eyes flashed once. “Weakened, yes?”

“You can tell?” Lily asked. “Don’t tell him, though…”