After Lantis left, Hikaru learned that there was someone else who wanted to meet her. It was Master Clef. In a way, Hikaru felt somewhat guilty for not discussing her decision to end the system with him beforehand. But what could she do? Everything had happened so quickly. Seeing Clef smiling at her, Hikaru felt reassured. She knew everything was okay.
"Umi said you were resting..."
"I can't rest. I still feel so happy that I can't close my eyes." Hikaru observed Clef deep in thought in his chair. "Is there something wrong?" she asked, sitting near Clef.
"No, it's just that there's been so much going on, and I'm grappling with significant questions." Clef looked intently at Hikaru. "What happens next for this land?"
"Yeah. Now is not the time for us to dream. It's about realizing the ideals we've envisioned. Master, you've dedicated your life to Cephiro and the Pillar System. When I stopped the system, I forgot that there would naturally be people who would find it hard to accept, including you. I feel like I've done something so selfish since I'm a stranger here..."
"No. You are a part of us," Clef countered. "It may be surprising, but the termination of the system is something I personally have long hoped for. There are thousands who have sacrificed their lives to fight for it. My teacher, the Magic Guru before me... My friends... The magic swordsmen..."
"Magic swordsmen? People like Lantis?" So far, she learned that Lantis was the last.
"They were the most determined to see the end of the system. They died for their steadfastness. The Cail clan... Until today, I have not been able to clear their names, and they have been branded as traitors in Cephiro's history. But now, everything has changed. Those who have passed away... Their deaths were not in vain. I am very happy."
"So... is that why Cail Lantis is the only magic swordsman left in Cephiro?" Hikaru pondered. Cephiro's history was far bloodier than she had known. Now she truly understood why Lantis considered his decision so significant. She understood that young man's tears now.
"For nearly a hundred years, I have alone believed that this day would come. I have always struggled with myself on how to bring it about. Ending this system... It never occurred to me that it could be achieved like this. How could you decide to trust and hand over everything to the people of Cephiro?"
"I want to be honest... Truly, there is still anxiety in my heart. However, I made sure that my trust was not blind because I truly have seen and learned something... from what has happened in both worlds, my world and yours... What is happening in this world is something unimaginable in my world. The extraordinary mysterious and supernatural powers, its creatures, and the system that sustains its existence... They are truly different but wherever you go, humans living here are the same. Their hearts wish for happiness and to stop suffering.
"The fact that I come from another world makes me see this world differently than you. In my world, there is no protective Pillar. Humans live in vulnerability. Death looms at every moment. Disease, disasters, wars, accidents... Suffering never ends, every moment bad news appears in newspapers and on television. Every day is a nightmare... yet, there are always people who strive to overcome it all. They are not perfect in terms of strength, wealth, or self-confidence. Some of them have short lives, working tirelessly without enjoying the fruits... Perhaps they just think that acting sooner is better, and as time goes on, they evolve; perfecting themselves for greater aspirations...
"Cephiro only needs the right decision, and for me, it's to end the Pillar System. Cephiro needs momentum, and now is the right time when everyone finally realizes the flaws of the system and learns from it. After this, there definitely won't be any more Pillars to choose. I am the last one. So, this is Cephiro's only chance to reform. Because we don't have a second chance, we will work hard, won't we?" Hikaru fell silent. "What's wrong, Master Clef?"
The expression on Clef's face was difficult to describe. He seemed to be trying to swallow something bitter.
Hikaru, not understanding, became worried. "Is it really difficult to achieve this? Cephiro being free from the Pillar system?"
Clef straightened up, looking at Hikaru, Cephiro's last Pillar, intently... He was serious about this one thing. "Hikaru... Do you know about Pillar Sienna?"
Hikaru shook her head.
"I will tell you about her. She was the Pillar before Emeraude. She have made a prophecy, about the future of this world and all the lands above it."
In a hall within the castle, a grand chamber served as the place to commemorate the Pillars of Cephiro. Dozens of paintings hung, depicting men and women who had once been Pillars of Cephiro from thousands of years ago. They were figures from the past who shared the same destiny and suffering. Many had resigned themselves to their fate, but one evidently did not give up...
The figure of Emeraude stood there as the last. Her long, beautiful golden hair cascaded in waves. She held a bouquet of lilies. Her lovely face, devoid of a smile, reflected deep sorrow. Clef shifted his gaze to the figure next to Emeraude, the Pillar before her. Here was the person who had changed his life, whom he had always blamed and silently cursed as the cause of all disasters that befell him and those he loved.
"Your Majesty..." Clef murmured softly. He vividly remembered that time. "I believe this time we can achieve it, a world without a Pillar... When I still have some strength, let me use it to prepare for the future..."
She always covered her hair, as far back as Clef could recall. Her rose red hair was slightly visible adorning the side of her face. Her eyes closed, as if indifferent to everything. Indeed, she was often vilified behind her back. She had come to Cephiro not as an extraordinary person, without connections, without power or authority. Her past was not truly known. She became Pillar by chance, even though she desired it. Yet, her fate was tragic... Her life ended in a great war, at the hands of the man she loved, the Pillar of the land of Runes.
"Your Majesty, Sienna... You always knew, didn't you? That you could never achieve it. Your life in Cephiro ended. I thought you were no different from the Pillars before you, who gave up and chose to die... But no. You were the one who knew what might happen in the future and decided to keep that knowledge to yourself... No. You didn't keep it to yourself. You let me know long before all this happened. Why didn't I realize? You kept me questioning without answers... and ironically, that's what kept me alive, no matter how tough and difficult the path I chose to reach this day... You have left something very significant, a prophecy about the united lands... through the hands of the last Pillars."
I have met her, Her Majesty," Clef said. "The last Pillar of Cephiro is Hikaru."