Ep 166. Plead Your Case. (5)
“…Goodness.”
Serenis sighed out loud as everyone fell silent to the professor’s sudden shouting.
And, realizing how loudly he’d yelled, Karas shamefully cleared his throat.
“Ahem…apologies. But Light’s just told me that we’re in…the Archive?”
“…That would be correct, yes.”
As soon he heard the dragonlord’s affirmation, Karas’ eyes wandered off, iing every nook and y of the pseudo library they were in.
It was the stra sery: there was seemingly nothing above them, and a blue sky beh. They were clearly on solid ground, but he couldn’t perceive it whatsoever other than the hardness of its surface.
And finally, the professaze fell upon the individual in the distance, rapidly waving his quill along the length of the scroll he held.
“If this is the Archive…that’s…?”
Zenon’s hand soon stopped along the scroll. He quietly raised his gaze to meet the academic’s eyes.
“Zenon. The Historian, as you know it.”
“Then-!”
Karas scrambled to his feet, shaking Light off without even realizing to approach the deity. It was almost as if he’d fotten how exhausted his body was.
“Is it true that…the Archive retains the ey of Nerion’s past?”
“More or less, yes.”
“Then…is it truly possible t back memories of the dead?”
Zenon pced his quill against his , musing at the professor’s question.
“T back memories of the dead…is that what Felicir’s told you? An intriguing notion.”
Although his expression didn’t seem particurly amused, Zenon heless let out a derisive snort.
After carefully pg his scroll onto a nearby shelf, he quickly walked alongside the aisle’s length. But instead of searg for the corree, this time the deity seemed to pie out at random, revealing a random page to hold out towards the professor.
“One could read the past, yes.”
“…”
“But memories? No such thi here.”
“…I see.”
Karas’ shoulders instantly slumped in disappoi.
‘The dead…’
Light sloroached her teacher from behind, peeking at his forlorn eyes.
“Is this person that important to you, professor?”
“…”
One g Light was all it took for Karas to shake his head.
‘However important a person may have been…how could it outweigh their importan the present?’
He’d already attempted to chase the past at the expense of the present. And as it turned out, the result was nothing but regret.
And so, he found the question easier to ahan before.
“No. No, not at all.”
Irospect, Karas’ answer had been decided the moment he’d awoken; the Historian’s response was but a nail in the coffin.
But once again, his student’s keenness would refuse to let the matter go.
If anyone could read the academic’s expression, it was Light – and far be it from her to simply let the matter sit at ‘it’s not important anymore.’ Not when she’d made the erip here, aainly not when she now khat the matter was ing herself.
The half abruptly turo face Zenon, interrupting the deity before he could resume his work.
“Excuse me!”
“…Yes?”
“ we at least read your records then? It seemed like you knew which books to pick out earlier. You would know where my past records are…right?”
“I do. But I ot allow that.”
“Huh? Why?? Are these books another ‘only a deity read these’ – kind of thing?”
“No. I simply dislike having others touch my records.”
“…”
Under different circumstances, Karas may have elected to ugh.
This time, he hurriedly turo Light with an apologetic look.
“Light, it’s alright. I’m no longer-“
“It’s someone important to you.”
“…”
“And besides, this person’s my past life, right? I wanna know too. What kind of person I was before.”
Zenon tio study the two. He didn’t even bother to pick his scroll back up; the matter at hand was far more eaining.
And finally, the deity made a small, affirming nod.
“Very well.”
Snap!
As Zenon abruptly snapped his fingers, both Karas and Light cut their versation midway to focus their attention on the deity.
However, the first thing they noticed wasn’t a ge in Zenon himself, but rather how iive and ung Serenis and Aymeia seemed to be – as if they hadn’t heard the snap whatsoever.
It didn’t take long fht to notice that her of them were moviher…or even blinking, for that matter.
Not that Zenon seemed to care.
“It’s best others don’t listen to this.”
“Huh? What do you mean by…what did you do?!”
“Acquiring privacy.”
Karas likewise gnced around the Archive. Nothing had actually ged – and nothing was giher. Serenis and Aymeia had stopped moving, as well as the clouds beh their feet.
Everything around them had suddenly e to a standstill.
“Privacy…? But this is more like as if the world itself has e to a halt…?”
“…”
While he’d clearly heard the professor’s observation, the deity didn’t bother to address Karas’ inquiry in his response.
“her of you are of divinity, a you’ve together reached the Archive. Perhaps this, too, is fate.”
“…?”
“Should you both wish for it, I will allow a temporary reunion. A brief meeting with the girl’s past ination.”
Light stared at the deity, blinking in fusion. She’d uood perhaps 20% of what he’d said.
Oher hand, Karas seemed more distraught than fused, cautiously w his reply.
“…Temporary reunion? As in…you’d send us to the past?”
“Nothing quite so grandiose, but in a way, simir. Well?”
Both Karas and Light turowards each ain.
“…”
“…”
No words were exged – but her of them felt that they o.
And, after a few seds, the two turned ba unison to ahe deity.
“…No, it’s alrigh-“
“We’ll do it!”
As his refusal was cut off by his student, Karas gave an incredulous stare, shocked by his student’s reply.
“Light! This is not the time to be rash, we’ve little idea what this entails. I’d resider if Serenis was with us, but even she’s been cast away at the moment. Something’s odd-”
“Professor…if yoing to lie to me, at least wipe off that excited look on your face.”
“…”
“I still don’t get why others say you’re hard to read.”
As Light almost immediately silehe academic, Zenon quizzically looked at Karas; for the first time, the deity’s eyes betrayed a hint of fusion as he tried to figure out how Light was reading Karas’ expression.
Unfortunately, he had little time to think, what with Light rushieacher and all.
“You want to see her again, don’t you?”
“…I…do, but…”
“Then it’s fine!”
Nodding to her professor, Light looked to the Historian with determined eyes, holding out a finger against the deity.
“Besides, I think I trust this one. And…you did say it’s temporary, right? What’s gonna happely?”
“You will regress to your past self for a short period, but I ck the means to make such ges st. It’ll also require some time to take effect.”
“That’s fihen.”
“…Very well.”
Following suit, Zenon held out two of his fingers, pg their tip against the cat half’s forehead.
“…”
“…”
And soon enough, they were wordlessly withdrawn with an affirming nod from the Historian.
“It’s done.”
“…Eh?”
Light examined herself, looking for something that might’ve ged.
She certainly didn’t feel any. And she couldn’t see aher.
“…Did you do something?”
“You will know in time. And…”
Snap!
The deity snapped his fingers again, turning his head to face Serenis.
Only then did the dragonlord’s body resume its movement, her eyes blinking for the first time in a long while.
“Serenis. Your business here is finished, I trust?”
“…What? Hardly. You’ve yet to answer Karas and Light in proper, and I’ve yet to address your divinity-“
“Fihen.”
With a wave of his hand, everyone present could feel a sudden force that began moving them against their will; each person moved squarely towards the entran the exact same mahey’d entered in.
And in the distance, Zenon remaianding, giving a curt nod towards his leaving guests.
“Worry not, we will meet again. I’ll be expeg your arrival.”
“Wait! You-“
“Until ime, Serenis.”
Thud!
“…”
In mere moments, Serenis found herself in the obsidian chamber once more, outside of the Archive’s gates. Light, Karas and Aymeia were likely sprawled on the floor outside, fag a door and statue that had both been broken before.
Aymeia hurriedly rose to her feet, studying the t obsidian warrior up and down.
“Wait, it’s…fixed? How…?”
“Step aside.”
Boom!!
After pushing Aymeia off to the side, Serenis once again bsted the gate and statue with her magic. She’d already broken them once, and she could do so again.
But much to her dismay, the smoke settled to reveal the gate firm and closed, the warrior before it unscathed and unharmed.
“…?”
Everyoared in fusion save for Karas. The professor carefully walked up to the obsidian statue, tapping his knuckles against the cold surface.
“Odd. What is this material…?”
“Eh…isn’t it just rock? Like, obsidian?”
Karas shrugged at his student, tapping the statue a few more times before answering.
“Not quite…obsidian’s nowhere near as tough as this. It’s as if the statue’s made of some densed gemstone…or something even beyond that.”
“Really? Last time, Serenis bsted through the ehing pretty easily.”
“…Huh?”
Hearing Light’s reply, this time it was Karas’ turn to blink in fusion.
“Serenis? Is this true?”
“…I’ve been meaning to ask. What do you remember, exactly?”
“Well…to be ho, my st memory is being bsted by yi Chell…”
“…”
‘Sht when the Reaper took over.’
Serenis awkwardly locked eyes with Karas, trying to remember how many days it’d been since.
Then again, so much had happened since; for all she knew, it might as well have been a decade since.
“…Has it been a long time since?”
Instead of answering Karas, the dragonlord only shook her head.
She approached the statue as well, pg her hand against its cold surface. But as Karas had pointed out, something was off – she couldn’t perceive anything from the material or from beyond it, almost as if this was the boundary of their world.
And to that end, the gate showed no signs of opening again.
“…”
Everyone was looking expetly towards the dragonlord for a decision.
Frankly, if Serenis couldn’t opee, then no one could.
And with her not seeing a way forward, the only option was to go back.
‘Then again…’
This time, Serenis turo face Aymeia – or more specifically, the spider that was still in the former deity’s hand. The little critter seemed much more fortable than before, but that did little to hide their eagero return home.
‘…Perhaps it was for the best.’
