Thief of Time

“Got all that?” Nero asked.

“Damn. I thought I was insane, but there’s someone else like me in the Black Church?” Claud asked, bobbing his head. “The level of security just to talk to a decision-maker in the Black Church is insane, man.”

“It’s the special line for the Blessed and His Holy Son,” Nero replied. “Of course it has to be really secure.”

“Well, if you put it that way, it sounds reasonable,” Claud replied. “Still, this entire set is insane…”

He gazed at the map, which had been laid out on the floor. Nero had spent the last hour explaining to the two of them the directions to the Nihal capital, where there were allegedly entrances to multiple Divine Kingdoms. The Black God, the Violet Goddess and the Indigo God apparently could be found in the capital, much like how the White God and the Green God could apparently be reached in Grandia.

“We can’t really go to them ourselves, right?” Claud asked.

“No can do,” Nero replied. “You need to have the Black Church’s top echelons conduct you there. With my help, it won’t be a problem, so you two just need to play nice. You two have the rationality to maintain discretion, so it shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

Lily nodded. “We won’t cause any trouble for you.”

“There is no need to reassure someone who has faith in you,” Nero replied.

“Trust is the prerequisite, not the expectation,” Kemata added.

Claud nodded, and then touched the small package that Nero had prepared for them. The Holy Son of the Black God had written down the instructions and drawn some directions for them to move in.

“Well.” He stood up. “Thanks for your help, Nero.”

“It’s nothing, really.” The Holy Son winked at him. “Besides, I owe you quite the debt. This house is pleasant and well-protected. I even saw the emergency instructions you left…that’s very useful, really. And I’m glad I learned about this issue too.”

“Don’t go spreading it around.”

“I’m a Holy Son. Keeping my lips shut is like the basic requirement, if you get my point.” His expression turned solemn. “Good luck, Claud, Lily. If all this blows over and you two escape this fate, treat us to a meal or something.”

“Sure.” Lily took Claud’s hand. “We won’t hold you up anymore.”

“Mhm.”

Nero and Kemata walked them out to the garden, where the barriers were hiding everything inside from sight.

“Farewell. Good luck.” Kemata bobbed her head at them. “Come back with good news.”

“We will,” Lily replied. “Well then…”

The two of them walked out of the barrier together.

“Gosh,” Claud muttered. “So many of you guys here, waiting for us. What do you intend to do? Fight us? I’m quite down for that, if you really want.”

Against predators, backing off and fleeing was always a bad idea. For one, fleeing was essentially giving up the chance to observe the enemy directly. It would immediately put the prey at a disadvantage, and depending on the power differential, such an intelligence gap could be fatal. Secondly, fleeing also heightened the predator instinct, and reduced the chance of a peaceful negotiation way out.

Lily eyed the Moonlit soldiers, who were all waiting outside the barrier. None of them seemed particularly strong to Claud, but what he was looking at was the personage behind those Moonlit soldiers. Was it a Moon Emissary that was directing them? Or was a Moon? This question was the one that concerned Claud the most, but getting the answer would not be easy.

After all, the Moon Emissaries definitely knew that they would be able to get a better effect by claiming that they were from the Moons. If they really weren’t backed by the Moons right now, Claud wouldn’t mind just leaving directly, but if a Moon was backing them up…

He stared at the Moonlit soldiers in silence, and before long, some of them backed away. Some part of him found the fact that he had just stared down a bunch of Moonlit soldiers quite hilarious, but it definitely helped that his and Lily’s name had become a bit well-known.

As the other Moonlit soldiers retreated back by another step, one extra-shiny fellow took three steps towards Claud. “What business do you have in this house?”

“This house?” Claud narrowed his eyes. “It’s my house.”

The Moonlit soldier, probably an officer, narrowed her eyes. “Your house…mhm. You are?”

“Is there a need for questions?” Claud asked. “Last I checked, the Moons and the Dark are at a ceasefire. And this is my house.”

“That may not always be the case,” the soldier replied.

“But this is my house,” Claud replied. He narrowed his eyes. “Mhm. Well, if war really begins once more, you will not just be facing a Bearer of Destiny, but other personages that rival the Dark and the Moons. For your own safety, I suggest that you do not take part in this at all.”

Lily nodded. “Now, if you’d please, we have places to be.”

The Moonlit soldier glared at them, but said nothing. Fortunately, this confrontation had not played out the way that Claud had feared, which was probably for the best. From the looks of it, the bunch of soldiers here were acting without the Moons or the Moon Emissaries’ backing, which explained why they weren’t pushing the issue any further.

After a few seconds, the Moonlit soldiers turned and left.

“Alright. At least we’re all peaceful and stuff.” Claud closed his eyes. “Now then…”

“Are we going to Nihal now?” Lily asked. “In your current condition?”

“Don’t worry. I’m not feeling it much right now for some reason,” Claud replied, a grin on his face. “Sure, my body feels like there’s armour on it, but the number of layers has dropped quite significantly ever since I stumbled on this lead. All thanks to you!”

Lily eyed him once, and then sighed. “I’ll be keeping an eye on you, but don’t go pushing yourself. Time is our ally, for now.”

“You think?” Claud shook his head. “I think not, actually. I have this sinking feeling that time is running out for us. Maybe in one year or so. The Distortions sweeping the world didn’t happen before, in the previous iterations. It must be something that the previous me did, but I’m not sure why he did what he did. I don’t understand.”

He held his head. “Is it intentional? Or is this an outcome that arose from something else?”

“…What is that something else?” Lily asked.

“Moons if I knew,” Claud replied. “Moons if I knew.”

He let out a small sigh, and then checked his Status. The cooldown of his Will of Freedom had refreshed; at level 11, its cooldown was only two hours. All his Will skills were at level 11, but now Claud was wondering if there was a level 12 to his skills.

If so, it would mean that he could have his skills accessible at any moment, even if he dispelled them immediately after use…but that was just him being very extravagant at this point

He shook himself. “Okay. Let’s go.”

Pulling Lily close to himself, he activated Will of Freedom, and they began to rise up. Claud swept the city beneath him once with a slow gaze, burning into his eyes the sleepy little town of Monsville.

“Is this going to be a long trip?” Lily asked.

“That’s a pretty good question.” Claud made a face. “After all, I don’t know how fast cross-continent travel can be, even with Will of Freedom.”

Of course, the fact that Will of Freedom lasted thirty days meant that there would never be a moment when they weren’t flying. It was not a matter of whether they could get to the Nihal continent, but a matter of when.

“Mhm. At full speed…well, it’s time to test it out, right? If we can charge there and back in a matter of hours, we can consider flying to other continents for dinner next time.” Lily rubbed her hands. “And we can even bring other people along, right?”

“Wait, what exactly are you thinking of me as?”

Lily blinked cutely at him, and Claud promptly gave up. “Fine. I’ll ferry you around to wherever you feel like it.”

“Yay!”

“Okay, so hold on to me now…wait. We should keep time too,” Claud muttered. “If it’s a few hours, it’s not so bad. Otherwise, we’ll have to lower the number of trips.”

Lily’s eyes shimmered, and Claud patted her again. “Maybe we can also go around to the Lacheln continent too. Wouldn’t it be nice? Getting dishes from all over the continent.”

“I’m getting hungry already.” Lily rubbed her tummy. “Let’s go!”

Claud gazed at Monsville one last time, before recalling the map that he had memorised earlier. Flying towards the Nihal continent wasn’t hard; it was finding his way around the continent itself that was far harder.

For that reason, the first stop was most important.