Phantom entered the bedroom from the balcony. He scared himself, stepping on broken glass. Luckily, there was no one around to witness the legendary thief's blunder. He examined the room. Nothing seemed out of place other than a broken mirror. He left the bedroom to look for Neinheart. That was the plan, until he saw a hoard of guards marching slowly towards him just as he stepped out of the room. The guards were moving from the end of the hallway like zombies, chanting 'there is nothing' repeatedly. Phantom was not interested in facing them. He went back into the bedroom and locked the door.
"Already retreating?" Gaston asked, from the balcony.
"Some creepy stuff in there." Phantom shrugged.
He wedged a chair against doorknob before joining his butler at the balcony.
"Please, allow me to assist you this time."
"For you, to be offering assistance? I must be in a real pinch this time. You've always had a good sense of danger. I guess I'll take you up on that offer."
"It's my pleasure to serve." Gaston bowed slightly.
"Well, she's not in her bedroom."
"That broken mirror could mean something." Gaston pointed into the bedroom.
"What? She suddenly couldn't stand her own face?"
They both smiled. The banging on the bedroom door drew their attention.
"We should get out of here." Gaston suggested.
"I concur."
They climbed down the side of the palace and entered an open window. By coincidence, it was Neinheart's office and the man himself was waiting for them there.
"There is nothing..." Neinheart staggered towards them.
"Neinheart?" Phantom gulped.
"There is nothing...there is nothing..."
"Snap out of it!" Phantom grabbed Neinheart's shoulders to stop his advance.
Gaston swiftly punched Neinheart's stomach and knocked him out.
"What was that for?" Phantom asked, as they placed unconscious Neinheart on a chair.
"I was merely protecting him from hurting himself."
"Oh well, he was creeping me out."
"And that too..."
They looked around the room for clues. Phantom took a look at Neinheart's report on the table.
27 Aug XXXX
During our 5th expedition to look for World Tree, in the forests between Henesys and Kerning City, all our expedition members suddenly became unconscious. When we woke up, The Empress told us everything was fine. She then called off the expedition and told us to return to Ereve. She only told us that she received a message from the World Tree and there was no longer a need to look for her.
"Interesting. So she met The World Tree." Phantom passed the report to his butler.
"Whatever that she met is probably the cause of whatever that is happening on this island now."
"I guess Neinheart had too much faith on The Empress."
"What a fool. Even I don't put that much faith in my own master."
"Oi..." Phantom glared at his butler.
"Now, where do you think we can find this damsel in distress?"
"You're gonna just change the topic!?"
"We don't have any leads. So we should start looking at the places she frequently visits."
"Sigh...Not in her bedroom, so in her garden perhaps?" Phantom gave up.
"Better then running around aimlessly."
They left the room through the window and continued climbing down the rest of the palace. They entered the pavilion, meeting someone who was waiting for them.
"Eckhart..." Shurikens landed near his feet before Phantom could finish his sentence.
"You shall not come any closer." Eckhart warned them.
"Woah...Someone's taking his personal space too seriously." Phantom took a step back.
"Mister Eckhart, could we inquire you to the whereabouts of your Empress?" Gaston asked politely.
"You can find that out, over my dead body." Eckhart sneered.
"We could take a detour." Gaston suggested to Phantom.
Phantom nodded and they took a detour around the Night Walker. More shurikens land on the path they were walking.
"You shall not leave." Eckhart demanded.
Phantom and his butler looked at each other for a moment.
"Master, you go on ahead, I'll take care of this."
"I hope I don't have to eat with my hands." Phantom disappeared, leaving an after image of cards falling to the ground.
Phantom's sudden disappearance startled Eckhart, who turned his head about, trying to locate the missing thief.
"He is long gone." Gaston broke the silence.
"Where did he go? You will tell me this."
"You know, in fiction, authors like to portray butlers as wise and flawless characters."
"You will answer my questions."
"Some even portray them as super-humans that can take down an army of a hundred men."
"Did you not hear me?"
"It's quite absurd if you tell me."
Eckhart lost his patience and threw several shurikens at the butler. Gaston flick his wrist, and a dining knife appear at his hand. He used the single silverware to parry the projectiles.
"But it's unfortunate for you, I'm one of those absurd butlers." Gaston flick both his wrists, and more knifes appeared at his disposal.
Phantom appeared in the forest, quite a distance away from the pavilion. He ran though the forest, scanning the area with his glowing, enhanced eyes. Ahead of him, he caught sight of The Empress, running towards the garden. Phantom wanted to call out to her. That was when he realised, he couldn't remember her name. He froze in his tracks, surprised by the gap in his memory.
A flash of light pierced through the tree beside him. Phantom rolled to the side as the laser blasts through the forestation. Behind the burning stump, the warrior of light appeared.
"Draw out your weapon, thief." Mihile pointed his sword at Phantom.
"Shouldn't you be after your Empress?"
"She's in good hands."
"Well that's good news, you wouldn't mind if I ensure her safety?"
"That won't be needed." Mihile closed the gap and swung his sword at Phantom as a warning.
Phantom leapt back and raised his arms.
"Draw out your weapon, thief."
"If you want a duel, we can do this later."
"Seems like I need to persuade you some more." The warrior swung again, three times at the thief.
Phantom dodged the blows and created more distance between them.
"Okay, okay." Phantom tried to calm the warrior down.
He focused his mana on his hands. They glowed and a sword and shield appeared.
"You are just a copycat." Mihile sounded displeased.
"I would prefer to be called, a good learner."
"You are just stealing other people's skills."
"Well, learning is basically imitating others."
"You are just a fake."
"A fake, can be more real than the real thing."
"Enough of your nonsense! I shall make you see the light."
Mihile raised his sword, four new swords appeared, floating above him. He pointed down at Phantom signalling a strike. The four floating swords flew towards the thief. Phantom raised his round shield, enchanting it with paladin's defensive magic, took the four blows that exploded on contact with his shield. With a warcry, Mihile charged ahead, striking continuously. Phantom traded swings. Sparks fly each time their weapons meet. Their swordsmanship was a magnificent sight to see. Trees fell around them, from collateral damage. Phantom struggled to keep up with the warrior. He had no chance to flee from the fight. Their battle dragged out for a few minutes. Meanwhile, at the pavilion, the battle had already ended. The ground was littered with shurikens and silverware. Gaston and Eckhart laid on the ground in a pool of blood.
The ground shook. Phantom and Mihile continued their skirmish. As the tremors ended, so did their aggression. They stared at each other, catching their breath. Their clothes, stained with blood from multiple shallow cuts. Cries of the feathered beast could be heard clearly in the quiet night. The cry spurred them to continue the fight. After several swings, Phantom lost his footing and fell to the ground. That moment, Mihile's sword finally made contact with deep flesh. His sword pierced the thief's chest. A green star glowed under the thief. The illusion of the pierced body disappeared. The thief appeared behind Mihile. Before Phantom could deal the next blow, they were removed from the battlefield.
Phantom suddenly returned to the witch's garden with a blink of an eye. Just as before, he was sitted on the same chair, facing the round table. His half full cup of tea was still there. The witch was fiddling with a gramophone beside the table. As the orchestral music started playing, she returned to her chair. He finished his tea before questioning the witch.
"What is this? A game?"
"Your doom." She answered with a cheerful look, like always.
Phantom, in shock of her answer, paused for a moment.
"That's funny. I thought you were going to answer 'maybe'."
"You managed to entertain me in your last run. So I'll answer your questions this time."
"Last run? So this time loop thing will continue?"
"Yes."
"Till when."
"Till the right outcome is reached."
"Which is?"
"Your doom."
"Hah...Why don't you just kill me now?"
"Where's the fun in that?"
Phantom paused again, organising his thoughts.
"But, didn't I die in the first loop?"
"You died after that stupid bird cried."
"So that's the time limit?"
"Yes."
This is bad...real bad.
Knowing all this won't help me in the time loops.
I won't even remember them.
Am I going to be tortured like this till I die?
Her incomplete transformation doesn't even matter.
Or maybe that's what's causing this situation.
This means I have a chance.
Many chances. To stop her from becoming like this.
I just need to believe in myself.
She still looked like the old Empress when I saw her in the last run.
Which reminds me...
"Why can't I remember your name?"
"Who knows? Maybe you hit your head somewhere."
"What's your name then?"
"Silly thief, my name is Hilla."
Author's notes:
It's my first fanfic. I wonder if I'm doing this right.
To be continued-
(24 Nov 2014)