ARC 3 - IDOLS OF MAGIC: ALTENA
Chapter 14Bell breathed into his hands, a fine mist escaping his mouth. Shivering, he tried to create with the friction between his hands. Staring up, the sun was hidden behind the grey, rather depressing clouds. He could almost taste the ice and snow that could fall any moment now. If nothing else, they were a bit protected from the wind, inside the carriage they were, thin as the cloth was that hid Bell, Nyx and Kojiro from view. The swordsman was dozing off, not caring for the rough shakings the wagon caused. Neither did he shiver at all, unlike Bell. Was it just control over his body or was he really not bothered by the cold winds of winter, that grew colder the more they went north? Either way, Bell felt a bit of jealousy as he tried to wrap his cloak around himself. Still, he couldn't muster up a lot of emotion lately. It was almost ironic, with the year almost at its end. Not even passing by the imposing walls of Orario on their way to Altena could cheer him up. His thoughts kept wandering back to what he saw and heard, repeating themselves over and over again. Every time they came back, Bell asked himself the same question.
Would he do such things as well? Would he go so far for his own ideals, to push down others? Was... was that what it meant to be a hero? Whether he liked Romulus' methods or not, he could not be called by anything but that title. Bell felt it in his heart that nothing else could suffice, just like with Kojiro and the Sakamoto. Which is why, he thought while biting his lip, that he knew he acted disrespectful to someone who was an excellent host, giving them protection and authority no one else would receive. Yet he spat at that generosity to confront and basically accuse the man. Then he remembered.
Bell already did such a thing. Not for an ideal, but for 'someone'. To push someone down, to take their life. He could barely remember it, either because he was very exhausted at the time or because he didn't want to think about it. But the lifeless eyes. The blood on his hands. This time, he believed he did the right thing. He had to act, to protect Haruhime. But how many times would such an excuse arise? How many times would he push such a line until there wasn't one?
"Is-is... s-something wrong?"
Bell blinked, turning to his left to see Nyx tilt her head at him. He cleared his throat, feeling his face heat up. He couldn't have looked that obvious, right? Looking away, he stared at the shaking trees, the wind blowing away whatever few leaves were left from autumn.
"I was just... thinking."
"A-about w-w-what?" The woman shuddered, pulling out a second blanket to wrap herself in. She started to look like a cocoon. Bell cleared his throat to hide his laugh that was forming. Instead he pressed his lips together. Well... Nyx shared a lot about herself. It was only fair to do the same in return. As little as this issue of his mattered to divinity or the large scheme of things. Still, he wasn't about to burden her with the question of 'is killing alright' or anything like this. With a deep breath, he pushed the memory aside, focusing on the more recent one instead.
"Just... trying to figure out what it means to be a hero." He sighed, shaking his head at himself. "I just keep asking and asking myself, but... "
The uncertainty scared him. Not knowing what the future held. Would he one day call himself a hero while doing atrocious things? Where could one draw the line? He recalled how he wanted to be the main protagonist of a story, just like the ones grandfather liked to talk about. But looking back, he knew he was just being childish. Naive. The young him didn't think about what it took to bring peace to an isolated country. Back then he didn't even fathom how one could bring glory to one's country by bringing ruin to another. It felt like the pretty veil was lifted from his eyes. To reveal how the world really worked. And now that he was in it... he wasn't sure what to do, he thought with slumped shoulders. He scoffed at himself. Some future hero he was. With each second passing in which Nyx didn't say anything, Bell felt more and more tired as he started to close his eyes. Before sleep could take him in his depression, he felt a soft hand run through his hair. Slowly, he looked up, to see the goddess leaning forward, stroking his head a few times. Bell felt the urge to scream, but suppressed it as he blushed. But as the young woman kept touching his hair, even as she bit her lip nervously, he couldn't help but clear his throat.
"N-nyx?"
"What... ?"
"Why-why are you touching my hair?"
Nyx blinked, not stopping her hand motions. Slowly, she tilted her head, raising an eyebrow as if Bell said something weird.
"Is... isn't that w-what friends do?"
Friends with a goddess? Bell gulped. Something about that didn't sit well with him. After all divinity was considered above mortals like him. It just didn't feel... proper. But just as he was about to say it, she just kept staring at him, innocently blinking as she tilted her head. The fact that he still felt this weird terror every time he saw her didn't help either. So in the end, he could only surrender and sigh. Alright, apparently he was friends with a goddess now.
"I guess they do."
"Oh. G-good." Nyx kept brushing his hair, any sort of hesitation gone by now for her standards, and to his utter embarrassment he leaned into it. As he began to relax, Nyx coughed awkwardly. "I... I don't... know w-what to say." Licking her lips in thought, she blinked to herself. Suddenly she raised her finger with a shaky smile. "B-but you-you remind me of someone!"
"Who?" Bell asked with a small frown, confused as to how that was supposed to help. Especially considering how she told him herself that she had next to no friends. But the way she seemed to relax a bit gave him some hope.
"A-A fellow g-god. She looked up and let out a wistful sigh. Erebus."
"Erebus?"
It sounded like an ominous name. The kind that could belong to someone shady. Honestly it did not fill Bell with confidence, as he would've sweat if it weren't so cold. However he kept quiet as Nyx closed her eyes, delving into memories.
"Hm. He... was a bit... scary. B-but he k-kept visiting. D-During work. S-starting to t-touch m-my hair and... stuff." She lowered her head, letting out a small scoff. "O-One of the f-few... t-that d-didn't i-i-ignore me... " She hid her face behind her knees as she giggled a bit. "...called me p-pretty... "
Contrary to her good mood, Bell gaped at her with wide eyes. By the gods, was she being groomed back in heaven?! Was this Erebus guy one of those 'lady killers' grandfather talked about, those that took advantage of innocent, naive girls?! Yet the way Nyx smiled about her memories... there was no way he could call attention to such things. As wrong as it felt to see that faint blush on her cheeks. Still, being compared to such a man... it filled Bell with a complicated feeling. Biting his lip, he tilted his head as he pointed at himself.
"Uhm... why do you compare me to him?"
Startled, Nyx shook her head. Coughing into a fist, she started to touch the tips of her index fingers a few times, avoiding his eyes.
"Oh. Ri-right." Smacking her lips, she shyly looked at Bell, smiling ever so slightly. "He also a-a-always asked q-questions. T-trying to find that o-one, r-right answer."
"About what?" Bell asked, leaning forward, anticipation building up in his chest and tensing up his body.
"N-not sure." The young man almost hit his face on the ground of the carriage. Nyx whimpered, playing with her hair nervously as she looked away. "The... questions were a-always... r-r-r-random." Taking a deep breath she forced a smile as she raised her finger. "But he-he definitely w-was going for s-s-something!"
She really didn't have a lot of friends. Not that Bell could say that out loud without being a hypocrite. Still, her... cheering up skills required some fine tuning. He must've made it too obvious on his face as he frowned. Nyx flinched back when she noticed. Bell opened his mouth to apologize but then the goddess scratched her cheek.
"I... I think it-it's fine not k-knowing y-y-yet." She slowly tilted her head. "It... takes t-time?"
Bell blinked before staring at the ground in thought.
"I guess so... "
Maybe she had a point. Compared to Romulus or Ryoma, he was still just a child. He didn't have their same beliefs, their same drive. It made him feel lesser... but maybe that was alright? At least for now. Not to mention he was stuck in a hellish loop anyway, so just accepting that little fact actually made Bell feel lighter. Besides, rushing it could be a mistake on its own. He remembered some stories from grandpa, about being impatient led to bad things for some heroes. As for his first act of killing... no, thinking about it wouldn't help either. Maybe he could ask Kojiro later, but for now Bell closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It took time. And that was alright. With a genuine smile, he nodded at the goddess.
"Thank you."
"N-n-n-n-n-no big d-d-d-deal!"
At her stammering, Bell could only shake his head in amusement. Sometimes he didn't get her. She seemed so happy to be complimented. It only made her seem so much more sad. With that illogical aura she exuded to make people fear her, most would miss how nice she was.
"You... " She smiled softly. He perked up as she closed her eyes, nodding to herself. "You're a... good person."
Bell squirmed as he felt his cheeks flush with heat. Covering his face, he heard her awkward giggle, causing him to let out a small whine. Was... was she holding a grudge just because he complimented her? Did she think he was teasing her back then in Rakia?! Or was that payback for feeling more awkward than he did seconds ago? Whatever the case, he needed to change tracks now or else he would die of embarrassment!
"D-do you work with Erebus as well?"
"N-no." Nyx shook her head. "It's... it's been ages. I-I heard he went down to the Mortal World but... I-I haven't... met him."
Her shoulders dropped. In an instance, Bell forced out a laugh, raising his hand as he tried to placate her.
"Maybe you'll meet him again! Then you can sell him some great products!"
"Heh... " Her cheeks flushed a bit as she tilted her head a few times, her eyes lost in thought. "Maybe he-he'd like a... ring? We could... m-match... "
"Ah."
"Hm?"
"Nothing!"
Bell was starting to believe that Nyx really was groomed by this Erebus. Well, if he ever were to meet him, he'd give him a piece of his mind! One couldn't just mislead a girl like that, goddess or not! Matching rings was basically marriage already and Nyx clearly wasn't aware of that! Or maybe she was and that would be even worse! Because then Bell would need to question her taste in men too, from what he heard about Erebus!
"As amusing as it is to listen to you two... It appears we have arrived."
The two let out a startled yelp, backing away from Kojiro who stared at them with crossed arms and an amused expression. Bell put a hand on his beating heart, wondering since when he was awake. The thought that he heard everything caused his head to get a bit dizzy from the heat being generated in it. Then the rest of his words caught up to Bell. They arrived? Already? How long was he out of it? How long was he talking with Nyx?! Looking outside, he could tell it was already getting dark, the sun setting.
The wagon came to a halt. An instance later, the carpet was pushed aside, revealing a man wearing a white robe, spear in hand. It was quite the contrast to the armored soldiers Bell saw in Rakia. Still, he had an intimidating aura as he motioned with his head outside.
"Control. Please leave the wagon," he ordered with a snap. The albino remembered the last time a control went, but in this moment he didn't feel any anger. While the man tensed up at the sight of Nyx, he appeared to be stressed to begin with. In the end, he and the others politely heeded the call and exited. Bell blinked at the sight in front of him.
Unnatural. That was the first thought that came to mind when the white, glistening walls faced him. Even as the sun colored their surroundings red, the walls remained pure. They didn't seem real. The walls of Rakia appeared sturdy. Something built up by the wisdom of craftsmen, painstakingly over time. But these walls? They seemed frail, like snow. Yet their cold almost seemed to scream "come and try it" to any outsiders. That one could not beat these walls by using natural means.
He was shaken out of his musings when the guard whistled. Turning to Nyx, who flinched, he offered an awkward smile before bowing.
"Apologies for the harsh controls."
The goddess and Bell blinked in surprise. They glanced at each other, with Nyx shrugging lightly, not sure what was wrong. Bell cleared his throat, twirling his finger in the air as he got the guard's attention.
"Is everything alright?"
The guard sighed, shaking his head.
"Nothing we cannot handle." He stepped aside and tipped his helmet at them. "Welcome to Altena's main city... Yggdrasil."
"Well, that was not concerning at all," Kojiro commented in dry amusement. Bell could only chuckle awkwardly. Apparently the city had its own problems then. Still, there wasn't anything he could do. It wasn't like he could conveniently stumble over a plot like he did in the Far East. Coincidences had their limits after all. Though he did wonder why their weapons weren't taken. Some other travelers shouted, trying to argue as entry was forbidden or at least with weapons. Bell wondered on what kind of basis they made their decisions. Were the guards such great judges of character?
Any further thoughts on the topic vanished when they entered the city. It took Bell's all to not openly gape at everything. But his eyes were wide, reflecting the glistening reflections of light on... everything.
The trees holding houses high in the sky. The large buildings with windows, revealing many shelves of books. Each and every single one of them appeared to be made of ice itself. Even with the temperatures going lower and lower as days passed, not one of these structures seemed to melt even a bit. What also stood out were the weird symbols on each wall and street, creating a sort of chaotic, yet orderly feel as they began to glow, as if in response to night approaching. As if there was a speech, a hidden text written, with the city itself being its parchment, in a language he didn't understand. Not to mention, a part of Bell felt they were supposed to be more than decorative markings and lights. Overall, Bell could only call this place... mysterious. Unreal, unlike the Far East and Rakia. It was then that he truly realized it and he couldn't hold back the giddy laugh escaping his throat. So this was the land of magic...This was its capital.
Altena's Yggdrasil.
