Chapter 108: The Tales of Cinder [2]
In one of the areas farthest from the palace entrance, the group came across a sinister staircase that led downward into the depths. Darkness stretched from below, where only those spiral stairs rose up from the black mist toward them.
They were surrounded by narrow, gray, aged walls that seemed to guard whatever was hiding in the darkness. The large columns and the wide, broken wooden door they found upon approaching only reinforced that feeling.
’It’s like some kind of vault...’ Mitsuki thought, analyzing his surroundings.
Monar was the first to step onto the stairs. He glanced at the others before continuing downward.
"What we’re looking for is probably down here. Let’s be careful."
’Diving headfirst into a "vault" is never a good idea in most cases,’ Mitsuki thought as he followed behind Azel. ’But we don’t have a choice, I guess. Whatever fate has in store.’
They descended carefully. To avoid walking blindly, Monar lit the tip of his staff like a torch, creating a small greenish orb of light.
Within the dense darkness, Monar looked like a mysterious entity guiding them straight into hell. His calm steps, steady breathing, and almost expressionless face would make anyone trust him.
"What you said earlier..." Mitsuki broke the silence in a low voice. "About the prince and the princess..."
"Oh, that... It’s the love story between an unfortunate boy and a warrior princess during the war between Axorhibis and Warlock," Azel replied. "Holylight was involved too, but that’s all I know. I was never really interested in history."
"It happened a few years before the Mystery of Ash," Monar added. "They say Prince Arthur, son of King Uther, was born with a curse that brought misfortune wherever he went. However, that misfortune seemed to disappear whenever he was with Princess Guinevere. The story tells how they fell in love in the middle of the war between the kingdoms."
Marco sighed.
"You can already guess how that story ended."
Mitsuki went blank.
’Guinevere... Isn’t that Cinderella?’
In Arthur’s memories, he had called her Cinder or Cinderella, so it was confusing for that person to have another name. Was it possible Cinderella was just another one of her names? Well, some people had more than one name, so it wasn’t such a strange idea.
Unconsciously, he pulled out the locket and opened it. Inside lay that strand of brown hair.
’Maybe... Guinevere was someone else...’
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t find a connection. All he could do was keep moving forward and hope to find something useful.
Monar glanced at Mitsuki and said:
"Ash devoured the Land of Nemoria, Shadow filled the mountainous Land of Derwick with darkness and monsters, Solitude wiped out all the people of Ebonthyr, and Tears dissolved the fairies of the Land of Eldfame. Many stories came to an end with the arrival of misfortune. Arthur and Guinevere’s story did too."
"I see..."
The history of this world could be depressing at times. How could so many people die overnight? That was how terrifying the Four Great Ancient Mysteries were. There were still no answers about the origin of the calamity beyond the old prophecy of the four oracles.
"That’s just how the world works, even when it doesn’t make sense," Marco added.
Azel nodded.
"The only thing we can do is keep living to the fullest without thinking too much about how messed up the world is. You know—wars everywhere, famine, slavery, death, catastrophic disasters... We’re lucky to be on the side where that rarely happens."
"The places where those things do happen are always... sad," Monar said. "I’ve traveled enough to see many times just how horrible people can be. It’s... awful not being able to do anything about it."
Mitsuki would’ve liked to say his world was the same, even if he had only seen those things from the comfort of his home—but that would be an insult to the people of this world who were truly suffering.
The difference between a magical world and a normal one was too great. You couldn’t measure suffering with a plastic ruler—it simply wouldn’t be enough.
"What about the gods? Don’t they usually step in to do something?"
Monar shook his head.
"Many of the gods that once inhabited the world disappeared or were affected after the Mysteries. The few that remain are either very selfish or outright lazy. There was a time when all the gods walked the earth, but like Marco said, they had the same problems as humans and rational beings in general. Or rather, we inherited those not-so-divine flaws."
"That means..."
"Yes. Wars, death, slavery, and more. Everything people do today, the gods did thousands of years ago. Ironic, isn’t it? Many gods boasted of being perfect, divine, and powerful beings, yet they fell because of their flaws. In fact, on a few occasions, there were people who fought against gods... and won."
"Yadhis..." Mitsuki whispered.
Monar smiled.
"Yes. One of the craziest elves in the history of this world. His victory over that god laid the foundation for the Land of Fairies."
Suddenly, that agonizing scream echoed again, making the entire place tremble. This time it sounded much louder, as if they were only a few meters away.
’Again...’
Marco hurried forward and took the lead.
"We’re close. Get ready."
He drew his sword and continued as they reached the bottom of the stairs. What awaited them was a long, dark corridor with a faint light glowing in the distance. A beam of sunlight shone from somewhere above, projecting onto the ground like a chain of radiant rays.
It was still a bit far—maybe fifty meters or more—but the light was clearly visible.
The group’s footsteps echoed briefly over the ash-covered floor. The walls, illuminated by the glow of Monar’s staff, appeared cracked and overtaken by the ash curse.
When they finally reached the end, they stared into the vast dark void stretching before them. That single streak of light was like an oasis in the desert.
’There’s nothing here?’
It wasn’t that there was nothing—rather, "it" wasn’t ready to reveal itself yet.
Placing the locket back into his Spatial Storage, Mitsuki gripped his shotgun with both hands, sharpening his senses.
A whisper spoke:
"Help me... Please..."
From the darkness, a broken female voice—deep, chilling, and echoing with an otherworldly tone—spoke directly to Mitsuki.