“To save a life, it is right to offer a life in return.”
Blayden took a gold coin from his waistband and placed it on the blade of the shadow sword.
The 1 challis gold coin sparkled in the sunlight.
“This is my life for one day.”
His daily wage on the battlefield was 1 challis.
“Are you trying to pay the price of a spirit beast with just one coin?”
“All I can offer today is today’s life; it’s impossible to offer a life from a day that hasn’t come yet.”
Hahahaha, a hearty laugh echoed through the heavens and earth, and the sword’s shadow receded.
“To heal the King, you’ll need to make tea, so I’ll give you dried leaves. That amount should be enough. Brew it and mix it with the blood of a suitable person.”
“Yes.”
“You know that a potent medicine can also be a potent poison, don’t you?
If you mix it with the blood of someone who loves the patient, it will heal the illness, but blood filled with hatred will kill the patient.”
“I know.”
Blayden picked up the pouch and exchanged a glance with Charik.
He omitted any words of gratitude.
A careless word could, at any moment, return as a debt.
Debt.
A sudden thought struck Blayden, and he pulled out one more coin from his waistband.
It was a copper coin with a roughly etched sun on one side.
As he approached Charik, whose face resembled his own, and held out the coin, the shadow wavered.
“What is this?”
“It’s a coin from a kingdom yet to be born.”
“What good is something that doesn’t even exist?”
“Anything yet to be born can become anything.”
Blayden tossed the coin high into the air and proposed something to Charik.
The coin, glinting in the sunlight, landed on Charik’s head.
The shadow, having swiftly absorbed the coin, turned pitch black.
Charik, now a faceless, shadowy figure, approached.
Casting a deep shadow as if to swallow Blayden whole, he emitted a dignified voice.
“Let’s make a deal.”
Upon hearing Charik’s proposal, Blayden nodded in agreement.
“Don’t be late.”
Like a mirror, the shadow’s face moved up and down.
As Charik withdrew, shedding his cold gloom, he said,
“As for our alliance, I’ll give you a piece of advice. Be kind to the first person you meet from this moment on.”
The first person.
Was there another human who had entered the shadow realm?
“But don’t let him call your name.”
“What happens if he does?”
“Once or twice might be fine, but if he keeps calling it, he will swallow your soul. Just as a large shadow engulfs a small one.”
A sudden swirling wind enveloped Charik.
As the shadow dissipated, absorbing the sunlight, it left an ominous echo.
“Remember. If you let him call your name, you will endure unbearable pain.”
Blayden put the silk pouch into his satchel.
When he turned his head, the spot where Charik had stood moments before was empty.
Unbearable pain.
His body knew no pain, so even if someone called his name, there would be no swallowing of his soul.
Pushing away the ominous prophecy, Blayden began walking back the way he came.
The scene before his eyes left his mind blank.
There was no boat on the river.
Only vast, white water flowed endlessly.
How was he to cross?
Should he swim?
Just as he approached the water’s edge to examine the surface, something tapped his arm.
Soft yet firm hands were patting his forearm.
“Sir Knight!”
A voice that tore through the wind.
“Leni?”
The moment he muttered her name, Leni’s form materialized before him like smoke.
Her red hair fluttered in the wind, and her round face glowed with violet eyes.
Her full, red lips called his name.
“Sir Rehart!”
It was indeed Leni.
The real Leni, not an illusion or a shadow.
“How many times have I called you, and you didn’t notice?”
Her voice, breathless and husky, spoke.
Her flushed face was beaded with sweat, making it seem as if Leni had run a long distance.
“You were right in front of me, but you seemed miles away, in another world.”
Called?
Me?
I didn’t hear.
How long had she been here?
Had she overheard his conversation with Charik?
Countless questions swirled.
“How did you get here?”
“I ran.”
Blayden furrowed his brow at her overly casual answer.
“I crossed the bridge, and then there was a forest, and as I walked through the forest, I saw you, Sir Knight. I only saw your back, but I knew it was you by your scent.”
“Scent?”
“Yes. Your scent filled the wind.”
Did I have a scent?
No, that wasn’t important right now.
He needed to get out of the shadow realm as quickly as possible.
It was a place where time was fickle and seasons were jumbled.
The dominant sun could suddenly set at any moment.
Who knew what dangers darkness might bring?
Leni seemed to share his thought, nodding and pushing up the headband that had fallen onto her forehead.
“Let’s go quickly.”
“I’d like to, but there’s no boat. How will we cross this river?” Leni asked with a bewildered expression.
“River? What river?”
Blayden gestured with his chin towards his feet.
“Don’t you see the river? White water, like milk, is flowing.”
“Uh… there’s no river here.”
What kind of trickery was this?
“Then what do you see?”
Leni made a sound of surprise and looked around.
“I see flowers.”
She said that gray roses were blooming in a green field.
“They look like they’re made of steel.”
Blayden grabbed Leni’s wrist as she bent down.
“Don’t touch them.”
This was no ordinary place.
One shouldn’t trust human senses here.
“Let’s get out of here quickly.”
Going against what he saw, Blayden stepped into the river.
His body froze in fear for a moment, then he felt the soft sensation of soil beneath his feet.
What enters is the body, but what leaves is the mind.
If you think it’s a river, it’s a river; if you think it’s land, it’s land.
Keeping his gaze forward, Blayden tightened his grip on Leni’s hand.
His heart felt precarious, as if walking a tightrope, but his footing was solid. It was definitely ground, not water.
After walking for a long time, they reached a tree made of bones.
Just as a sense of relief washed over him, thinking they were returning the way they came, the wind carried a subtle fragrance.
Mysterious echoes surged from all directions.
Was it a fairy’s song, or an angel’s whisper?
It also sounded like the trembling of harp strings.
Forgetting his resolve not to be captivated by the scenery, Blayden looked up.
Leni, who had stopped with him, murmured,
“It’s beautiful.”
Her curious gaze was fixed on the branches of the bone tree.
“The flowers, you mean?”
“Huh? Where are the flowers?”
“There’s a red flower cluster on the left side of the scale.”
“Scale?”
It seemed Leni didn’t see the flowers, or even a scale.
She stared at where he pointed, then tilted her head.
“All I see are lanterns.”
Lanterns, out of nowhere.
“Don’t you see them, Sir Knight? Over there, there are large lanterns hanging from the branches. They’re sparkling as if adorned with gold. The edges are decorated with angels’ faces. Oh, looking again, they’re not angels, they look like children. Children’s smiling faces are clustered together.”
Angels and children, he saw no lanterns.
Only bleak bronze scales hung from bare bones.
Neither the swords nor the flowers glimmered, dim and elusive.
Blayden grasped Leni’s shoulders with both hands and turned her around behind the tree.
“What do you see?”
“Huh?”
“This forest. How does it appear to your eyes?”
“Oh… the trees are lush. Their green leaves are abundant. And there, colorful flowers are blooming, and purple rabbits and yellow squirrels pass between them. Oh, there’s a deer too. Its antlers sparkle as if they’re made of silver.”
This couldn’t be.
The same scenery appeared differently to him and Leni.
This forest was the mind itself.
It was the soul’s eye through which they viewed the world.
To escape this place, they had to break free from their minds.
His own mind, being seduced by an unknown magic, was the most fatal enemy.
“Let’s hurry.”
Blayden gripped Leni’s hand and turned.
As they desperately cut through the wind, there was a thudding sound from above.
A black apple was plummeting towards Leni’s head, making her flinch and freeze.
Blayden pulled Leni close and embraced her.
The apple landed with a thud on his head, which was sheltering her small body.
Then, a squishy sensation made the top of his head wet, and a jet-black liquid flowed down from his hair.
The liquid, with a sweet scent he had never smelled before, dripped down his forehead and nose, wetting his philtrum.
It spread to his cheeks and covered his jaw like a mask, then quickly seeped into his clothes and flowed down his arms and legs, dripping onto the ground.
A black puddle formed at his feet.
The dark crimson color, reminiscent of blood, was chilling.
Blayden tried to lift his legs but couldn’t move.
His feet, stuck to the viscous liquid, wouldn’t budge.
It wasn’t just his feet.
His entire body felt paralyzed, refusing to obey his mind.
Stuck to the ground, Blayden began to harden like a tree.
“Sir Knight! Are you okay?”
Leni’s voice sounded distant.
The puddle grew wider.
The black-stained ground liquefied and split apart.
The mounds of earth sucked his body in like a gaping maw.
As he sank underground, Blayden screamed.
He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
“Sir Knight!”
Leni’s cry was swallowed by the darkness.
Blayden desperately clung to Leni, as if protecting her, as if hanging on.
While the earth transformed into black lava, enveloping his entire body.
“Sir Knight! Please, snap out of it!”
Leni’s wails faded into the darkness, and the roar of a crowd rushed in.