A wide, purple ray was coming my way. People screamed, and all my nerves tensed, ready to run. But in that panicked crowd… easier said than done!

  Luckily and magically, with a poof, a pinkish cloud appeared before me, acting as a shield. The purple ray clashed violently against it.

  "Watch out!"

  Raising my head, the dragon's fire breath was raining down.

  "Evacuate, everyone!" John shouted.

  A magic barrier blocked the flames from above. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Crimson and I were finally able to move.

  "Snowflake?!"

  "Ah."

  I hadn't realized I was trapped until my body was wrapped in cold chains and I couldn't move. When did they even appear?

  "Whoa!"

  "Snowflake!"

  Abruptly, I was thrown into the air, and blinking, I witnessed as the sight of the arena grew smaller and smaller, propelled so high in the sky to even surpass the dragon.

  There'll always be something magical in soaring up in the sky, far away from the familiar ground our feet are so accustomed to feeling and touching beneath the soles of our shoes. The wind, and that pleasing sensation of it ruffling my hair and fervently caressing my body. It is not out of adrenaline, but rather, a feeling vaguely attributable to an ethereal, distant dream, yet vivid enough to taste the clouds softly as they brushed past.

  But, um… let's not make this a habit. Especially when there is no brake to save me and the ground is imminently rushing toward me bringing unavoidable demise.

  Whoever did this, however, deserved praise…

  Well… aren't I just dead?

  Descending, plummeting, while the wind whipped against me. Not looking so good.

  Should I summon her…?

  I was now well beyond the arena.

  "Oh?"

  Another fluffy cloud appeared below out of nowhere, apparently intending to cushion my fall. And so it did; I was welcomed and embraced by a warm cloud as if it were cotton candy.

  I stood on my feet, noticing chains shooting upward, coming toward me. From their trajectory, however, I could tell they were not aiming to hit me. They planted right beside me, and from them, a tiny girl emerged.

  "At last, I'm able to discourse with thee…" she murmured, kneeling as she placed a hand over her heart. "My Eminence…"

  "What…?"

  Never opening her eyes, her head tilted slightly. Frowning, she leaped backward a second later, evading a swarm of blue flames coming her way, and that almost fried me too.

  "Explain yourself," Crimson sneered atop her floating orb. "I don't care if you're a member of the Golden Lucenti. I'll give you five seconds."

  Now my mind recalled… This girl with pink hair… Abby, was it?

  Abby's face soured; she seemed ready to attack.

  "Wait, Crimson," I interjected calmly, stepping between them. "I think she saved me."

  Crimson just looked down on both of us. She inhaled and, relaxing her body, lowered herself to the ground. "That doesn't change the fact that she has to explain herself."

  Well, not that I disagreed with that. She was a mystery the first time, and now her words were just as confusing. I turned to her; her expression was neutral, and she lowered her head slightly.

  "I wished, so, so, so fervently… to stand before thee, with nothing standing in our way! Prithee, forgive me if I hath wounded thee in anywise, My Eminence. I-"

  "Uh… sorry, but could you, like… speak normally?" I begged, waving my hands.

  Her mouth opened, and a little laugh escaped. "I suppose it runs in the blood," she said with a fond smile. "Your will is my command, My Eminence."

  "Why are you calling me like that?"

  "Your mana. Your… soul is… heavy. Even heavier than hers was…" she murmured. "It was not so upon our first encounter. But now, I'm certain of it. You're… you're her. You're really her."

  "Um…"

  "Reconsidering it… Snowflake, do we really need to waste our time on this girl?" Crimson asked, raising an eyebrow. "She saved you, great, but I'd rather return to my family. My mother and Carolina are probably fighting with that girl right now, you know?"

  "Well, I'd like to know what she's talking about…" I replied, glancing back at Abby. "Could you be less vague?"

  Crimson groaned.

  "You can go ahead, Crimson, I'll catch you later," I reassured.

  "I'm not leaving you."

  "If I may ask," Abby interrupted, tugging lightly at my sleeve. "What is this girl to you, My Eminence?"

  "I should be asking that!" Crimson angrily reproached, leaning toward the tiny girl. She shrank backward in response.

  "Crimson, please!" I grabbed her arm. "Don't make this more difficult than it already is," I lamented, sighing, turning back to Abby. "She's my… girlfriend."

  I said it again. I managed to say it again.

  "I see."

  "Now, Abby… please, explain. Let's make it simple, alright? For starters… why did you even save me, and throw me out of the arena?"

  "That girl was aiming for you, My Eminence. I wished to protect you, and to speak with you. These are the reasons behind my actions."

  "Why?" I encouraged.

  "Because, you… you truly are her daughter, aren't you?"

  I blinked. Was she actually talking about… "You mean…?"

  "The Silver Witch."

  My heart skipped a beat, and I grabbed her by the shoulder. "You knew her?!"

  So that song was referring to her!

  She nodded with a smile. "I do, My Eminence."

  "Please, Abby! Tell me more!" I gripped her shoulders so hard I feared I might hurt her. Her body looked so tiny and frail; I had to breathe in to relax and step back, lest I cause her harm.

  "What do you wish to know, My Eminence?" she asked softly.

  "I… well…" Where do I even start?! "From the beginning, I suppose…"

  Crimson sighed and walked to a nearby city tree, slumping at its base. She didn't seem to be in a good mood, but also looked partially interested. Perhaps she was worried about her family, but I was fairly positive they could handle a single girl. Besides, the dragon was nowhere to be found in the sky, hinting that they probably had already dealt with her. Everything was fine. So, I focused all my attention on the tiny girl before me.

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  Abby rested her little fluffy ball on her shoulder, and gently clasped my hands in hers. "You see, My Eminence, our mother granted me the strength to move forward."

  Our mother…?

  "She was gentle…" she continued. "She was pure. She saved me, just as she saved everyone! Never had I felt so safe in someone's arms. And now… now I feel like I'm finally able to repay her, even if just a little… thanks to you…" Abby's voice trembled as she lifted her head. "I have no words to express how grateful and happy I am."

  Despite the lovely words and undeniable sincerity they brought along… I was perplexed, and I couldn't help it. "What… are you talking about exactly? My mother… saved everyone? She held you in her arms?"

  She nodded. "Do you know The Forgotten City, My Eminence?"

  "Hm? Yes?"

  Offering a little smile, she continued, her voice as soft as ever. "I was supposed to be part of it."

  Do I have to pull the words out of her mouth for her to keep going?!

  "Abby, please… just tell me what you know!"

  "Sorry…" Blushing, she lowered her head. "To tell the truth… I have so much to say and I feel so content to stand before you that I can't make order inside my mind… Could you give me a few minutes, My Eminence?"

  "Huh… sure. Take your time…"

  "Thank you…"

  She leaned in, resting her head on my chest. Unsure of what to do in this awkward situation, I just caressed her, poking her fluffy ball, and glanced at Crimson from the corner of my eye. She was just casually lounging now, resting her arm on her elbow. Though, judging from her expression, she was probably fighting the urge to facepalm.

  Well, not that I could blame her…

  Thankfully, Abby regained her composure in the promised few minutes. With a soft smile gracing her face, and a deep breath, she resumed. "I hadn't found out the truth until I met my new family… about The Forgotten City. Tell me, My Eminence, how much do you know about it?"

  "Not much, actually," I admitted. "Just that my mother and her lover were there, and that the city's goal was the cultivation of strength, through powerful libromagus."

  Abby's face soured. "They sugarcoated it… They made it sound sweet and noble through arranged marriages, but that place was nothing more than a breeding ground, a ranch… where the livestock consisted of both men and women, treated 'equally' as beasts… Libromancers forced to follow orders, because The Forgotten City possessed knowledge no one else had, even today..."

  Her teeth gritted until she exhaled sharply, continuing her disdainful explanation. "Are you perchance familiar with the process of creating powerful humans through reproductions?" she then asked, raising her head.

  "Huh, like… strong breeds sire strong blood?" I replied, blinking. "My mother once mentioned it in passing, talking about nobles."

  "Correct; strength begets strength. It is no different for libromancers. Those highly attuned to mana have a far greater chance of producing a child with similar characteristics. Pair that with another great libromancer, and their offspring is likely to have a high mana affinity from birth, even without a book," she filled in. "This was The Forgotten City's goal… To cultivate libromancers, so that they could outshine their own and be considered libromagus. Only then, they'd match them with a proper partner."

  She caught her breath. "But not all were lucky… Even from the very beginning; you could get recruited, or sent there. Were you of high rank, you were granted the illusion of choice; it was harder for them to find a suitable partner. But were you weak… then enjoy being treated like trash. Still, that didn't stop them, because the odds were that even unworthy libromancers could produce a strong creature. It was rare, but it could happen. If they dared to refuse, they'd be burned alive as an example. And if they tried to escape, they'd be lured onto the bridge, only to be thrown into the Abyss…"

  At that, a gasp escaped me. "Then, in the Abyss, there's…"

  "Corpses," she murmured bitterly. "Thousands upon thousands of corpses of those who attempted to run away, to be free..."

  A silence followed, where I processed all the new knowledge I had just gained.

  "I've never heard of such a thing," Crimson chimed in, raising her voice from her position, breaking the silence. "Was this practice hidden or underground?"

  Abby turned to her with a scoff. "As if… It was done under the bright sun, out in the open for everyone to see. Like I said, you could even get sent there by your own parents, or recruited." She then lowered her head. "I was also supposed to be there."

  "What do you mean by this?" I asked, resting a hand on her shoulder.

  She offered a faint smile, slightly turning back to me. "My past was not an easy one, My Eminence… You see, even now I have difficulty trying to understand what my family truly was."

  Hah! Words I could definitely relate to. Still… "What do you mean?"

  "In the northwest of The Forgotten City, not too far from it, there's a small city; or rather, a town. The Forgotten City had influence over it, and that's where they sent most of the weaklings, since the main city was reserved for the promising ones. I'm from that town," she informed.

  "Hm…"

  "I believe both my father and mother were weak because of this. I, however… was a success," she murmured, squeezing my hands. "From birth, I had a great affinity with mana, and my body, though frail, was also influenced by it; my eyes were pink, apparently because of it. They were beautiful and shimmered with hues of mana."

  Her aura doesn't look so prominent, though…

  "However…" she said afterward, "that didn't work in my favor."

  My head tilted. "It didn't?"

  She shook hers. "We might have lived under the same roof, but… we weren't a family. Not even the shadow of one." She squeezed harder. "I don't know how it was before me, but they hated themselves. They rarely talked, and when they did, it was to blame me like a curse. They denied me a name, reserved me harsh words, struck me with heavy blows, ignored my cries, and fed me cold meals. And yet, they allowed me to live. I can't even understand the reason why…"

  Well, I couldn't relate to that…

  "One day," she continued. "My mother said she didn't like the way I looked at her. It was not the first time… she loathed my face; she said it was revolting. Not once have I heard a compliment come out of her mouth. That day, however, her words were followed by more violence. She stood up, took a knife, and sliced. That's… how I lost my sight, and with it, all my chances of being sent to the city, since a human who cannot see… will hardly prove useful."

  For a moment, I thought that was the end of her story. But she kept going.

  "Then… the Silver Witch arrived, and my parents disappeared," she whispered, bringing my hands closer. "Your mother… our mother…"

  Again, our…?

  Abby's lips trembled. "I never felt so loved. Without asking for anything in return, she gave me the world. Warm meals, bedtime stories… Gentle caresses, kisses, tenderness! Words emptied of any trace of disgust! And then, even when she left, she made sure I'd be loved and treated as an equal human being. That's when I discovered… our mother was also pushed into the Abyss, and she survived. And… and…"

  Tears freely rolled down her cheeks now, and her voice completely cracked. "And saved us…" She pulled me closer, clutching my hands tightly. "She saved us… Where she could've chosen to walk away and start anew, she decided to turn back and carry everyone's wishes on her back…"

  I couldn't understand anything anymore…

  "She's a savior," she murmured, breathing in deeply. "She shouldered all our responsibilities, all our sins, all our burdens! She took them all for us…"

  This did nothing but raise further questions.