Arthur tried to make sense everything that happened in front of him.
Big sis Eunari, the one who showed care and concern for him, seemingly betrayed him at first, but it was to force the soldiers to focus on her instead of him.
To make Arthur look like the victim instead.
It was shocking. No normal human would sacrifice their own life just for someone they had just met, but after spending some time with Eunari, he soon found out she was truly no normal human being.
She was someone special, with a special heart.
Arthur felt something warm rising at the corners of his eyes. Was it the all-too familiar tears of sadness? But the feeling was strange – something he had never felt before in his entire life that he desperately wanted to forget.
A feeling of warmth that weighed his heart like a comforting burden.
He was going to die. He knew it within the boundaries of logical reasoning and human instincts.
Yet, as if blessed by some miracle, he was saved.
Arthur stared lifelessly at the spear plunging into Eunari's abdomen, blood rushing and leaking onto the ground in amounts that no human could ever recover from. The murderer raised his voice in eagerness.
"We have successfully purged a sinful monster! Now let's provide our support to kill the abomination that dared grace its presence in the Great One's heavenly sanctum! Brothers, with me!"
Arthur didn't know why, but he felt a seething rage upon hearing that.
The hypocrisy. The blind leads the blind.
Arthur took a deep breath, knowing that if he were to do anything reckless, he would lose his life.
But he still couldn't shake the strong emotion of hatred and loss that was eating him from within.
In a single wave of a hand, a stairway was created at the edge, reaching down to the depths of the swirling abyss.
It was then someone whom Arthur had never seen before appeared before the army, raising a hand.
She had silvery hair cascading down her back, with dark blue eyes that accentuated her fully black cloak and outfit, commanding with a familiar voice.
"Soldiers of the Lion Faction, halt your advancement! The minions of the Empire have been already subdued by the Mind Empress."
Almost instantly when she said that, the storms and winds plaguing the Castle subsided, opening up to reveal a bright ray of sunshine that parted the abyss below, revealing the scorched earth on the ground.
The weather went back to normal.
Arthur, after pondering for a while, suddenly remembered where he heard that voice from – it was a voice that he heard very recently.
It was the voice of that "Madam".
So, this was her true appearance without the invisibility skill she used to conceal herself.
The "Madam" walked over to Eunari laying helplessly on the ground, carefully avoiding her blood as she observed Eunari's condition, laying a finger on her neck to check for a pulse.
When this "Madam" made her appearance, the soldiers immediately stood at attention, showing that she was someone of much importance.
One of the soldiers muttered aloud in uneasiness and nervousness.
"Uhm, Queen of the Assassins, daughter of the Great One, Luciana Zion. If I may… that corpse is the Empire's…"
"Who gave you permission to speak?!"
A dagger flew out from thin air, with the thin handle hitting the soldier's forehead, knocking him out cold and his body collapsed into a heap of unconsciousness.
The army finally did not make even a pin-drop of sound, silently looking forward, muscles tense all over.
"None of you deserve to utter both my father's name and mine. Do you know what you all just did?"
No response, unsurprisingly. Luciana stood up, walking over to the soldier who held a blade covered in Eunari's blood, reaching out to grab something from one of her hidden pockets in the cloak.
Pulling out a long blade that was the length of Arthur's arm, she held the blade menacingly over the murderer's heart.
"You killed someone who wasn't even affiliated with the Empire. To make matters worse, you even killed her in front of her own brother."
Arthur and Eunari did not even look remotely related. But even so, most of the soldiers looked convinced, staring fearfully at the child and the body. Especially the ones who harmed Eunari using their spears, as they were sweating excessively, face turning pale as blood receded from their skin.
Knowing that these soldiers were put under control, Arthur rushed forward, wrapping his arms around Eunari as her eyelids were left hanging open.
He didn't realise how cold the body was until he touched it.
It was a strange, yet strongly depressing feeling he couldn't describe properly. It was as if the world was crushing his lungs.
He begged for air. His breathing quickened. His eyes watered.
Eunari didn't have to sacrifice herself, but yet she still did.
Why?
Why him, of all people?
Is it because he was weak?
Is it because he was a child?
Is it because he was deserving of being loved?
He begged desperately for the body to at least have a shred of warmth, a shred of strength - a shred of a soul. Nothingness greeted him coldly, mocking him.
This was the feeling of mourning – for someone he had just met and decided to put his trust on.
Why did he make that decision to follow her?
Arthur knew the answer.
Somehow, he felt that she was someone who he could relate to – someone who was just as lonely. He also wanted to ask her what she wanted, what her goal was, but felt it wasn't the right time to ask about that.
But at what cost?
At what cost?
Luciana stood in the distance, mostly keeping an eye on Eunari ever since she stepped into this area. Was that pity in her eyes?
There was a total of three soldiers that landed a strike on Eunari. All of them looked completely miserable, which felt satisfying to Arthur. But the feeling of loss weighed heavier than he has ever felt before, overpowering it.
A shadow fell over Arthur. He looked up with teary eyes, and noticed Luciana kneeling with one knee on the ground towards him, eyes kept on the ground.
"If I may, your name is Arthur, right?"
"Um, yes?"
"Arthur…"
She glanced at the army, which also followed suit and kneeled to the ground.
"Arthur, as the Queen of the Assassins, on behalf of the Empyrean Castle of Light, we express our sincerest apologies for committing such a foolish act which led to the loss of your sister. We humbly ask for your forgiveness on this matter."
Arthur did not respond. He stared quietly, embracing Eunari in his arms.
"We can provide a proper burial for her."
Arthur blurted out.
"Will we – no, I, still go to trial for the act of trespassing?"
Luciana didn't speak for a while, pondering.
"Apologies, but it is not my decision to make, but the Great One's. However, we can definitely make some amendments in terms of how the Castle would treat you, as an outsider. All further decisions and punishments are to be left to the Great One."
Arthur nodded. This was the best they could do, and he just had to accept it regardless.
"You two over there, retrieve a casket."
"Y-yes, Queen!"
Two soldiers hurried through the gate, and not long after carried out a wooden box just barely enough to fit the body inside. Arthur knelt at the side, not taking his hand off the casket.
Luciana placed a gentle hand on Arthur's shoulder.
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine."
No, it wasn't. Arthur didn't feel fine – he felt frustrated, upset and emotionally wrecked. But what was the use of unacceptance? It wasn't as if Eunari could just come back to life. Life just didn't work that way.
[You have lied.]
[20 Karma Points were rewarded.]
The soldiers weren't to blame, since whatever this Empire was also had probably played tricks and schemes with them in the past, making them doubtful and sceptical towards outsiders.
The one to blame should be the Pillar and the "Horsemen" who were behind all of this.
They were the reason for Eunari's death.
If anyone deserved retribution, it was them.
After a few minutes of silent mourning, Luciana lowered her voice as she spoke to Arthur.
"Come with me."
…
The Empyrean Army's Lion Faction was dispersed, with the perpetrators for Eunari's death are taken into custody, until the Great One instructs them otherwise. Until then, Luciana brought Arthur to a strange room in the castle, which turned out to be extremely spacious and huge in size.
Arthur looked up at the ceiling, which had a large canvas that throughout the room. The colours on the canvas blossomed with vibrant hues on one side, and dull, uninteresting hues on another.
The strange yet fascinating part was how the figures painted in the canvas were portrayed.
On the side with vibrant colours stood a white figure of light brandishing a bright sword towards the dullness, whilst having a black heart shown. On the side of the dullness, it was the opposite – a black figure, completely devoid of colour, except for a white, spotless colour for a heart, raised a shield in defence towards its counterpart.
Luciana spoke aloud.
"No human is ever truly good, neither is a human ever truly evil."
She glanced at Arthur.
"Some think they are being deceived, but are simply overthinking it and are deceiving themselves."
"What are you trying to say, Madam?"
"You don't have to be so respectful towards me. You can simply call me by my real name, Luciana."
Luciana looked towards the ground, not daring to look into Arthur's eyes anymore.
"Humans are contradictory, and that makes us hypocrites. So, I want to tell you this - even though we have no right to force you to forgive us, and I'm not asking you to – but what happened just now was a mistake."
"I figured as much."
Luciana looked up in surprise. Maybe it wasn't like for a ten-year old boy to immediately understand, but that's who Arthur was.
Someone who understands things better than ten-year olds.
"I'm glad to hear that."
It wasn't like Arthur to speak his mind, but he couldn't help it. If this incident was bothering Luciana, he had to say his thoughts.
"I'm still frustrated, but placing my anger on your soldiers is directing my anger at the wrong people. So, and therefore…"
Arthur placed a hand on the casket carried next to him by two soldiers.
"If we have a say in their punishment, I would want to forgive them and let them go. That's what big sis… no, Eunari, would have wanted."
Luciana's eyes widened. She nodded after a moment, and smiled.
"Thank you, Arthur."
After moments of silence, Luciana broke it.
"Then, I will explain the relationship and the grudges held between the Castle and the Empire, if it helps to clear up any confusion."
Arthur nodded.
"Have a seat."
Two pure white chairs and a table materialised out of thin air. Arthur comfortably sat down as the material of the chair had a softness to it, despite it being surprisingly durable.
Luciana cleared her throat before reciting a story as if it was a frequently-spoken tale.
It very much sounded like a fairytale to Arthur, but it was most definitely real, having seen things that were once impossible with his own eyes.
"Long ago, ever since when the world of Zion, and mortals, took form, some of them were gifted with the abilities to control two types of Magic – Pure Magic and Dark Magic. These mortals were known as the Awakeners. Pure Magic was abundant and could be controlled by those that were pure hearted and kind, while Dark Magic was rooted in those that walk the path of evil."
She added. "Pure and Dark Magic are very similar, as they both can be moulded to carry out various purposes, like this very table and chair here, moulded from Pure Magic."
Arthur shifted in his seat. Magic in this world is shockingly useful.
"However, the difference is…?"
"The difference is that Pure Magic is specialised in creation, healing and purification, while Dark Magic is specialised in destruction, disease and corruption. Using a magic type that does not fit their inherent traits is extremely ineffective."
Luciana's eyes glanced towards the canvas on the ceiling above.
"When the mortals of this world became one united civilisation, they needed a capable leader with a set of laws for control. So naturally, they needed one who had a good mastery over Pure Magic."
"And that person was the Great One?"
Luciana nodded.
"That's right. But calling the Great One's mastery over Pure Magic 'good' is a severe understatement. He was exceptional, together with his kind will and soul, he wanted both peace and freedom to exist simultaneously, loving everyone equally."
"He created three main councils to manage the nation – the Council of Mind, led by the Mind Empress; Council of Body, which used to be led by one of our envoys, but the role was passed to me. And lastly, the Council of Soul, previously led by the Heaven's Blade, but is now a vacant seat."
A shadow fell over her eyes, and Arthur could immediately tell the twist in the story was coming.
"And of course, there were many people who disagreed with the way he ruled. Those people formed a large group, called the Stasis Faction, led by none other than the Heaven's Blade; the traitor. They believed that there should also be evil in this world to balance the dominant good, and attempted a coup d'etat to overthrow the Great One in his authority using the one thing the Great One absolutely hated – Dark Magic."
Arthur responded, gesturing around the walls of the room.
"So, I'm guessing he won. The Great One, I mean."
"Yes, the Great One won, and the coup d'etat failed. However, instead of executing the Stasis Faction like the citizens expected, the Great One decided to show mercy to them and instead exiled them to the far corners of Zion under the Four Rings Covenant. I won't go through the details of the covenant but to summarise what it was about, it was to provide aid to the Stasis Faction for them to set up their own kingdom with their followers – in addition to the Stasis Faction being unable to step into the marked territories of the Castle."
Arthur stayed quiet pondering for a while. If it was any other ruler, perhaps the Stasis Faction would have been executed. But seeing how the Great One didn't do so, Arthur felt that he had a grasp of what he was like.
Luciana continued. "This thereby created the two powerful kingdoms of Zion, the Empyrean Castle of Light, and the Empire of the Exiled. Though they had never been at war for many centuries, the tension was there, silently lurking for someone to pull the trigger. And today was the day the unimaginable happened."
Arthur connected the dots with the newfound information. The Empire, which stayed passive for many centuries, finally invaded and attacked the Castle, and that could only mean one thing.
The Empire was confident that they could overthrow the Great One's rule.
But there was one contradictory piece of information.
"Didn't the Stasis Faction want to have a balance between good and evil? It doesn't give them any reason to wage war against the Castle."
Luciana agreed. "That's true, if the people ruling the Empire were the same Stasis Faction we once knew."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not entirely sure, since according to the Four Rings Covenant, the Castle cannot meddle with the Empire's affairs, but I could only make an educated guess – there were probably revolutions happening within the Empire itself."
A civil war. That explains it. And this was a nation ruled by Dark Magic we were talking about, the product of evil. Logically, order wasn't a trait of Dark Magic, but chaos, instead.
"It seems you have understood." Luciana responded, eyeing Arthur's expression. "This clearly shows their most obvious purpose – to let Dark Magic, or evil, be the dominant force in Zion. Therefore, we have to subdue their attacks and defend as much as we can, and hopefully they would lose this war in terms of attrition."
Arthur nodded in understanding. As of right now, they were currently in a war that had just started with the Empire's invasion, but he couldn't help but wonder.
What roles do the Pillar and the other humans who came to this place play in this war?
Arthur also had another question in mind that he asked Luciana, out of curiosity and a tinge of scepticism.
"Why did you trust us so easily?"
Luciana paused momentarily, and lowered her voice as if spilling out a secret.
"Actually, I have never told anyone this secret except for a select few. So, I want you to keep this to yourself."
Arthur nodded, fidgeting a little as he felt the atmosphere tense up slightly.
"I'm someone who is also not of this world, like the two of you."