"Lantis is Zagato's younger brother."
As much time passed since the conversation, they were still haunted by it.
"What should we do?" Hikaru whispered. Her gaze wandered, the ceiling above seemed so far away. Umi and Fuu lay asleep beside her, on the right and left. In the distance, thunder rumbled. She pulled her blanket tighter...
"Disturbing, isn't it?" Fuu whispered softly. "What surprising things will we encounter tomorrow?" She chuckled sadly. "What should we do?"
"He knows us. Will he seek revenge on us?" Umi asked. She worried about the possibility of retaliation.
"Don't think about that," Hikaru closed her eyes, trying to sleep. Her chest felt like it was about to burst. "He saved us." She still tried to believe something. "He saved me."
"He also saved that Autozam person. You know that..."
"We should be cautious... He might be planning something bad for us. He has a reason to retaliate because..." Fuu choked up. It was hard to say. We killed his brother, she thought to herself. "I want to sleep..."
...
"He left Cephiro long before you were summoned here. I don't know why. When I was appointed to serve Princess Emeraude as the head of the Pillar's protective forces, he had already disappeared from Cephiro." LaFarga recounted.
"I never knew Zagato had a brother before," said Caldina.
"That's because you're from Chizeta," Ascot said. "I know him. He was one of Master Clef's best students. Master Clef himself raised and educated him. He's the only vandarin in Cephiro. Lantis of the Cail clan."
"Why do you hate him so much?" Hikaru asked weakly.
"Because he abandoned the Pillar and let Zagato wreak havoc in Cephiro! I can't forgive him! As the head of the castle guard, now I am rightly suspicious of him. Only right after the Pillar was gone, he returned... From Autozam."
"He finally fell asleep..." Umi stroked Hikaru's hair. "He looks so troubled."
"I can't sleep," said Fuu as she sat up. She got out of bed and picked up her clothes. "Want to take a walk?"
"Good idea." Umi followed Fuu. Before leaving their room, she whispered to Mokona sleeping next to Hikaru. "Please watch over her for us."
"Puu..." it said.
Magic Guru Room...
"Leave that work for tomorrow..." Clef asked Presea, who was so seriously engrossed in piles of scrolls. "Rest."
"If there were still a tomorrow..."
"There is still tomorrow. Cephiro can still endure." Clef took a scroll from Presea's hands. Clef smiled at her. "The children in the teaching tower would laugh if you showed up tomorrow with a sleepy face."
Presea looked distressed. "I can't rest. My heart is restless... Let me vent my anxiety positively. Give me that scroll."
Clef shook his head. "You're really stubborn. Are you still unwilling for those three girls to regain their weapons and powers?" Presea didn't answer. "You can't deny their determination, Presea." Clef tidied up the scrolls and writing tools on the table. "They truly believe in themselves. Our task is to believe in them."
"Is relying on them the right thing?" Presea asked. She looked Clef straight in the eye. She demanded an answer.
Clef decided to sit down. He didn't answer immediately. "It's not entirely right or wrong. On one hand, we can't reject them who are determined to save Cephiro because we really need them to survive. But on the other hand... Cephiro needs to fight for its own future, to atone for its mistaken way of life all this time. We must take responsibility for everything that has happened."
"Take responsibility? Is the Pillar system that has protected Cephiro all this time a mistake?"
"The Pillar system doesn't protect Cephiro," Clef said, surprising Presea. "It only lulls Cephiro into a long sleep and beautiful dreams. Cephiro doesn't wake up at all to rouse itself. During that time, Cephiro is a weak country. Like a sleeping person, you can harm it anytime. Do you understand?"
"Yes, this is wrong," Presea said quietly, reluctantly believing it. "But is there another way for us?" In one day, she asked the same question to two people.
"There is."
"What?"
"By stopping the Pillar system..."
"That's a dangerous idea..."
"...and not appointing another Pillar."
"That's an extreme choice."
"In the past, the decision to uphold the Pillar system was also something extreme."
"Is there another choice, Clef?"
"For me, there isn't."
"You don't mind if it means sacrificing a country's life?"
Clef fell silent. He could never say no. He bowed his head. "Perhaps we can learn from this loss..."
Breaking the silence that ensued, suddenly a knock was heard at the door. Clef and Presea looked at each other. Who could it be?
"Let me," Presea offered to open it. "I'll return to my place as well. You haven't returned my work."
"Thank you."
Clef waited for a while until he finally knew who had come. Slowly stepping forward, Umi stood before him. Clef was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected a meeting at this late hour.
"Umi?"
"Presea allowed me to come in..." Umi said. "I'm sorry for coming at such a time. Is it okay?"
"Of course." Clef offered a chair to Umi. She sat down. "Shouldn't you be sleeping? Can't you sleep?"
"It's not like that." Umi looked down.
"If you can't sleep, I can make you a potion to help you rest..."
"I-I actually... there's something..." Umi cut herself off. She looked uneasy. She was actually afraid to say this. "There's something I've always wanted to say. I feel like I won't be able to find peace... until I settle something... with you."
Clef fell silent.
"I want to apologize to you."
"Apologize?" Clef didn't understand.
"I'm sorry. When I first came to Cephiro, I didn't realize how important this country was to you. I didn't listen to you and instead rebelled. I was a disobedient child. I always questioned why I was chosen to be a Magic Knight. I didn't realize how sad the fights and everything that happened were... Forgive me..." She bowed even deeper.
"Umi..." Clef stopped Umi from saying more. "You did nothing wrong."
"Huh?" Umi was surprised. She immediately lifted her head.
"Everyone would act like that if they were summoned to another world and had to face real problems that weren't their concern. You don't need to apologize. You have no reason to apologize," Clef tried to comfort her.
"Clef..."
"When you say that your soul has matured now, I'm happy to hear that. The hardships you've faced have made you better. I feel relieved, at least that the Pillar's decision to bring you to Cephiro wasn't entirely bad. If anyone should feel regret, it's me... I left you alone to face that battle."
"That's not true!" Umi suddenly exclaimed. "Without everything you've done, we wouldn't have grown this far. You also gave us Mokona, who has been incredibly helpful to us!"
Not that. What I have done, you never understood, Umi. Clef's expression turned sad. How will all of this end after 100 years have passed? What have I done? It was my fault for starting this through my failure and false belief that everything was going well... Who will forgive me? He remembered the people who had accompanied him and left him behind. Will I make the wrong decision again?
"Clef..."
Clef snapped out of his reverie. Umi looked puzzled. Finally, he said while reaching for Umi's hand, "I will make you that potion. Please, rest... Tomorrow might be tough."
"Clef... Thank you..." Umi said hesitantly. She watched Clef acting strangely. She felt somewhat worried.
Clef watched Umi leave. He sat back in his chair, despondent. He truly wondered if there was another way. A path that wouldn't destroy Cephiro, nor break the hearts of those three girls... nor his own. The labyrinth he had entered had grown even more complex. Perhaps this wasn't about whether there was another path... That path simply didn't exist anywhere!