Chapter 1530 — One Story, Two Tellers

Lady Night, unusually, made no response—and that silence seemed a tacit admission. Verodai's voice continued from atop the stone pillar: "Mojin, full of curiosity, undertakes a journey of adventure that never halts, yet cannot record any single one of those adventures. Verodai, full of memory, holds fast to every adventure of the past, yet has never again set out on a new journey. No wonder he is a traveler walking the world, while I am an old book lying before the ruins of a throne. Seen this way, it is all quite reasonable."

Listening quietly to Verodai's words, Lady Night did not speak for a long time—until calm returned before the throne, and then several minutes more passed before she suddenly broke the silence: "Back then you carried a message, and that 'message' was far beyond what a mortal's reason and body could withstand. Splitting you apart and preserving you was the only thing I could do at the time—if it were the me of now, perhaps I could find a better way to cleanse the Reverse Tide contamination you suffered and repair your soul, but back then I could not."

"I know. At the time you were contending with the invading force of the Reverse Tide; that you could spare any effort at all to lend a hand to a tiny mortal like me was already extraordinarily difficult. I am not an ungrateful man—how could I, after receiving such a great favor, turn around and complain that my benefactor did not do well enough?" There seemed to be a hint of a smile in Verodai's voice. "I was merely struck by a sudden feeling—that I had been stalled so long before working out even this much. It seems the absence of 'curiosity' really does take a heavy toll. If it were the other me, in the same circumstances he would probably have noticed his true condition within a few years and sought change from you, wouldn't he?"

"…Death, too, is a kind of 'stagnation' in another sense," Lady Night said suddenly. "Once this journey ends, there are no new journeys to be had."

"No—death is not stagnation. Death is the witness of life," Verodai replied calmly. "An ending is also part of the journey, just as death is also part of life. To be forever stalled in the 'present' and to come peacefully to a close after completing an adventure are vastly different things."

That gaze overlooking from on high lingered long upon the stone pillar, and who knows how much time passed before a sigh from Lady Night finally came down from the sky: "Mr. Great Adventurer, you are a very good friend. If it were possible, I truly would look forward to having an adventure of my own—just as you tell it in your stories: pack up your gear, cast off this stale burden, and walk with head held high toward the end of the world."

"That won't do, my lady—at least not now. If you were to suddenly leave, this world would be in enormous trouble," Verodai laughed. "But I can offer you a blessing, and wish that you realize this wish soon—and perhaps it truly is about to come true. Didn't you say so yourself? They have already come very close to that 'perfect model' the Pathfinder described to you…"

"Then thank you for your blessing, Mr. Great Adventurer," Lady Night smiled. She leaned gently back against the cold backrest of the throne, her amber eyes seeming to gaze toward the silhouette of a city at the far edge of the horizon. "I am a little tired. Tell me another story—while there is still time, I want to hear a brand-new adventure."

"A brand-new adventure? That is a little difficult… but as you wish." The great black-bound book atop the stone pillar fell silent for a moment, then began in a low, slow voice. He started to tell a story—one he had not told in all the past several hundred years—

"Mojin the Great Adventurer had led his exploration team through endless dense forest and wild open country for a very, very long time. They wandered to and fro across Violet Island, and before anyone realized it they had reached the deepest heart of the Kingdom of Mages. In theory, Cinderfall City should be in this very place—yet before their eyes there was only a barren waste…"

…

Mojin the Great Adventurer had led his exploration team through endless dense forest and wild open country for a very, very long time. They wandered to and fro across Violet Island, and before anyone realized it they had reached the deepest heart of the Kingdom of Mages.

Along the way they discovered a greater number of "cairn monuments," and from those monuments they learned more of the historical records concerning the Violet Kingdom. They found the abundant traces this nation—which had once been born and flourished in dream, and then quietly vanished in dream—had left upon the world: messages left by the Violet people, images of history and cities, and a great deal of material on culture and the arts.

This material left every member of the exploration team deeply fascinated and awestruck. This "hidden kingdom," which had kept its gates closed throughout its long history, clearly possessed an inner richness far beyond what outsiders could imagine. Many things concerning folk customs and culture were being presented before outsiders for the first time—and even Maggie, who was no professional scholar, could imagine what a stunning sensation this material would cause in the world once it was published.

The Violet Kingdom might truly have "not existed" from the very beginning, but the material left on this island was utterly real. Even if it had been born of dreams, it painted a complete and vivid picture of an ancient kingdom's splendid civilization. To true scholars, this material was by no means illusory; even for the leaders, these "testimonies of an entire nation" were sociological data worthy of serious attention—a reference and a witness to a nation's history.

To maintain communications between the forward exploration team and the rear command post, the Coldstar, still anchored in the bay, dispatched dedicated communications relay aircraft. Three craft cruising in rotation above Violet Island ensured uninterrupted contact between the exploration team and the mother ship—and thanks to this convenient communications setup, Verodai and Maggie had been sorting, packaging, and transmitting all the material they discovered back to the homeland. How great an impact this material would have in the future was still hard to say, but at least during this period, Duchess Victoria, holding command in the rear, had been repeatedly astonished.

Violet, the hidden kingdom—this ancient realm had now unveiled its mysterious veil to the world in a manner no one had anticipated.

But apart from these cairns, Mojin and the exploration team he led had still never found what they had truly come to seek—they had not discovered Cinderfall City.

Upon this vast island there were only stretch after stretch of dense forest that seemed to serve as barriers, and wildlands, river valleys, and mountain streams scattered without pattern in the gaps between the woods. Although the cairns found along the way proved that the direction the team was searching was entirely correct, in the deepest heart of Violet Island they circled and wandered for several days without discovering that legendary "capital of mages."

On the fourth day after entering the central region of Violet Island, Maggie once again took the form of a dragon and scouted the entire area from the air—but as with the previous attempts, she returned with nothing.