PROLOGUE
WHEN TIME WAS FREE…
// eight of years ago, Swiss Alps //
"What must we do, sir?"
The old man observed the area. It was a complete carnage. The entire valley was buried in mud. Some soldiers were seen collecting bodies from beneath the remains, while others performed post-disaster inspection. Everywhere stalagmites and megalith-like structures prodded out of the earth, creating natural monuments around the landscape. From the scale of destruction, the old man was certain survival of the disaster would depend entirely on luck and fate.
He looked down. The three-years-old girl said no words; she was staring at her dusty hands, unaware of the catastrophe that unfolded itself before her.
"I'll take responsibility. I'm taking her."
"With due respect, sir, your assistance here is urgently needed," the soldier protested. "This girl can wait."
"There's no need for argument, private," the old man reminded. "I alone understand her better than anyone else."
"S… sorry, sir," the soldier apologized.
The robed man next to the old man sniffed the air. He winced in disgust; even his ears tingled in reaction. "The smell of death… it irritates my nose," he murmured.
The old man ignored the commotion. He knelt down and patted the girl's head. "Annabelle." It caught her attention, and she moved her head so that she looked up at her.
"…yes?"
"Would you like to come with Grandpa?"
The girl looked around her. Then at the accompanying soldier and the robed man who gazed at her in interest. Then she turned back to the old man. "But what happened to Papa and Mama?" she asked. "They said they'd come back for dinner."
Her innocence is absolute, the old man pondered. She had no idea that her parents had perished in the landslide. "Your parents will be alright," he lied. She was too young to learn the truth, yet it was better than telling nothing.
"Oh… okay."
He stood back. He corrected his dust-covered Barrier Jacket. "Return to command post," he told the soldier. "Inform HQ that I need further reports regarding the landslide."
"Yes, sir!" The soldier ran down the hill and headed to a camp at the western edge of the valley, leaving the old man with the girl and the robed man.
He turned to the robed man. "Leonidas, bring this girl to the ship," he uttered. "I'll catch up with you later. I need some privacy here."
The robed man nodded. "Yes, master." He approached the girl and offered her his hand. "Little girl, your master asked me to bring you to the ship. Please follow me."
The girl looked at him. She was perplexed at his weird appearance. Yet she did not hesitate and took his hand. "Say, can I ask something about your ears?" she asked and their conversation took place, even as they headed to a ship at the north-eastern section of the site. He looked at them for a while before he threw his sight to the evening sky up above.
He sighed. "If only I could turn back the time…"
x-x-x-x-x
Author's note: please note that although this arc takes place during and after all events in Heart of Melting Blood: the Whistling Gale, it is deemed necessary to put in at least some insight of the Chrono magic and its significance to the course of timeline. Lyrical of Time may also give readers some hint of the history of The Gale Whistlers, and the relationship of Chrono magic with Lost Logia, or "Ancient Knowledge" as it will be referred to throughout this story.
Anyway, I present to you…
Heart of Melting Blood
The Whistling Gale
Lyrical of Time
Written by:
Lone Wolf NEO
Conceived by:
Lone Wolf NEO
