Using the No-Space Telescope, Lia was atop the Misfits' tower, delegating some of the other, freshly recruited Misfits as 'fuel' for its operation. All the others were either on a mission or with Lucian, trying to learn about No-Space.
"Let's stop for now…" She murmured in a defeated voice, looking around the exhausted members of her group. They were unused to the effects of the telescope, and she could only explore for a limited time before taking a break.
Coming down from the top, Lia couldn't help but sigh again, walking out into the heavy snowfall. Since returning, she found herself in an uneasy state more and more if left to her thoughts. All the things he learned and the fact there was nobody to share it with besides the Headmaster were frustrating. She had many questions and tried to ask them from the bracelet, but Somia refused to answer her. The knowledge that the Undead, and the most dangerous ones at that, were hiding somewhere, planning something, and she had no way of knowing or stopping made her dreams wild and her nights restless. Especially when the face of Rose accused her of killing her for no reason. Without trying to save her. Even if she would tell this to her mother, nothing would change. Not as long as they are stuck here, in this floating prison.
"Stuck? Prison?" She asked herself, stopping her steps, realizing she was already in the city, walking along the cobblestone streets and brick buildings. "I shouldn't think like that!" She shook her head, shaking off the snow and pushing back her depressed thoughts to the depth of her mind.
If one thing she learned when Simbad beat her down was that rushing into things was not the way to go. She had to think about it differently and stop her fantasies about running off and finding where the Undead was gathering so she could warn the others. If her mother and the rest of the Six did not find them yet, she wouldn't be able to either.
"Even if I do, I would just lead my friends to their deaths…." She mumbled, and before knowing it, she entered an old bookshop.
She wandered amongst the shelves before settling down at the counter, slowly flipping the pages of the thick codex, indexing all the books that were available in the Library of Rejects.
"You don't even know what you are looking for, do you?" Cici spoke up after watching Lia stare at the book, her eyes distant, not paying attention to it, just flipping the pages instinctively.
"No, I don't think so." She shook her head, looking at the black cat sitting beside her on the counter. "I just… thought it would be good to look around. It helped with my problem last time."
"It just gave you the necessary push."
"Maybe I need another one?"
"If you know where you want to go, I may be able to give it to you," Cici said with a yawn, starting to lick her paws lazily.
"I…" Lia opened her mouth but then, glancing at her bracelet again, fell silent.
"I see." Cici nodded as if knowing, "Even I can't give you books about the Undead or about the old Sects that dotted our world once."
"Wait!" Lia shuddered, standing up straight, gazing at the stretching figure of Cici. "You know about it?!"
"Of course I do. I may not have lived back then, but I am married to a dragon. I knew about a lot of things!"
"..."
"Hm?" The cat tilted her head to the side, watching Lia's eyes grow larger and larger.
"You are married… to a dragon?"
"Yes. Why?" She asked, not seeing any problem with what she just said.
"To… a… dragon. The big ones." Lia asked, blinking her eyes so rapidly it was about to catch on fire.
"Of course! Do you think I would mingle with some wyverns? Or salamanders? Please! I have standards too!"
"How… how do you do it?" She blurted out the question that floated up to her mind at the first instance.
With a pop, Cici's figure changed, and now a beautiful, dark-skinned woman was sitting on the counter, wearing nothing but her ankle-long, curly black hair as a cloak, watching Lia with yellow, glinting cat-like eyes.
"Good enough of an answer?" She asked, measuring her breasts with two hands, but they were too big to fit into them properly. "I hate this form! It is so cumbersome..." She groaned, shaking her body, and with another pop, she transformed back into a cat. "Much better!"
"..."
"You honestly didn't think we could transform? We are not animals, mind you! What did you think? How the beast folk came about? Some of us were attracted to humans!"
"..."
“Hahhh… humans…” She scoffed, stretching once more, watching Lia with clear annoyance.
"Do your husband…? Can he change too?"
"Of course! You already met him!" She answered impatiently.
"I did? Wait! Albert?!" Lia shrieked out.
"Yes. I have been living here since the very beginning. I am a loyal wife!" She exclaimed proudly, sitting straight and her face held high. "He knows more and may have some answers for you. You should go and seek him out; tell him I sent you! Then he will wake up for sure! Living for long causes memories to fail, so be patient! We may need certain triggers that bring them to the surface... So when explaining things, be as descriptive as possible!"
"T-thanks… Cici."
"Sure." She said, watching Lia turn around and leave, "It always helps to talk to someone about things that are bothering you."
…
….
……
By the time Lia arrived in the north, it was already pitch black, and she had to illuminate her way with orange-colored fire floating around her quickly moving vessel. Guiding her small, borrowed ship, she glided towards the spot she first met Albert, circling the forest that looked undisturbed and void of human presence.
"Albert!" She shouted loudly but received no answer. Lia was sure she was at the spot where they last met, but the dragon probably went to sleep once more. "Do you think he is here?" She asked, looking at her bracelet, but of course, no answer came from it. "Thought so… ALBERT!" She roared again, infusing magic into her voice so it would travel far and wide, shaking off the piles of snow from the treetops. "Your wife, Cici, sent me!"
Just as she said it, the earth trembled, and a deep roar echoed as she saw the silver dragon stir, shaking off multiple trees before his neck raised, its head glancing up towards her, blinking with tired looks.
"What…? Cici? Is she here?" He yawned, smacking his lips, trying to look for her, "My choco-darling? May sweet purring baby?"
"..."
"Where is she? I can't see or smell her…." He grumbled while searching for her and getting disappointed.
"She… she is not here. I said she sent me, not that she came!" Lia scratched her throat, driving the boat closer to float on a leveled height with Albert's head.
"Oh… Hauh… I always adore the days when she comes and visits me! She is so considerate of an old dragon like me! Tell her I love her, okay?"
"O-okay… um… why don't you meet more often?"
"We can't. I have to sleep most of the time to not lose focus and not let the Island's protection falter."
"Protection? To stay in the air?" Lia asked, thinking about it.
"No. Protection against Undead. They can't come here, not until we bring them on with special seals planted onto their bodies. So they can't run or hide in No-Space! Although..."
"Although?" Lia asked, gulping, feeling something bad had happened.
"Nothing... It is just that Somia, that reckless girl, built that tower of hers! It can smuggle Undead in without our notice! She built a literal backdoor into our defenses!"
"Hah!" Lia chuckled, glancing at her bracelet, grinning, feeling vindicated that Albert was grumbling about her.
"I had to modify some hidden formations so I would be warned about it if it ever gets exploited! Tsk... So annoying! Anyway! Are you here to chit-chat? It isn't a problem if I don't fully wake up, is it?"
"No, no, this is all good! And yes, I came to, well, chit-chat! Many things happened and… I needed someone to speak with. Someone I can speak with openly, and your wife said… you could be of help!"
"Bless her heart, my little choco-pumpkin! So? What happened?"
“Err… where to begin…”
In the end, Lia told him everything from the moment they were off to the Sub-Realm of Azurat and all of their experience there, right up to the point of returning and having that talk with Somia. Albert listened silently, sometimes nodding a little but never interrupting.
"I see, I see. So they did have Azurat's body. I think he would be happy to know you destroyed it. But… taking over a dragon's body? That is too much effort and risk! Even for a diversion!"
"It is?"
"Yes. The stronger the vessel is, the stronger soul it needs to move! Not to mention, they are humans or beast folks, all things considered, they are still far away from magical beasts! It is harder for them to control our bodies than vice versa!"
"I am more worried about… you know, that they are down there… in our world. Who knows, maybe they are already converting or brainwashing people! Maybe even whole cities!"
"Most likely." Albert agreed very quickly, and his voice was calm and unbothered.
"Then-!"
"It was already predicted! I get it, girl; I do! You want to go out and save everyone! Kill the monsters before they can do real harm!"
"I…"
"People will die, Lia. That little girl's death is not on your hands."
"I stabbed her through the heart…" She said, her eyes watering again.
"She was no longer alive by then," Albert said, his voice trying to soothe her. "Their eyes, their… magic is evil. Down to the bone! They can see the soul; the better they are at it, the more secrets they can read out of your mind! They can even influence it! If one of them sheds their vessel and invades you… You are dead. Only other strong minds, trained to protect their souls, can fight back against it. The girl you told me about? No chance. It was merciful what you did, Lia Amarin. It was the correct decision."
"I don't want to do it again.." Lia sniffed, wiping the tears that already froze onto her face.
"Nobody wants, but sometimes you must. Your ancestor said the same things once… yet he had to steel his mind and heart."
"My friends… I don't… I don't want to do the same thing to them."
"I can't say you won't have to," Albert answered after a momentary pause before deciding to be honest with her. "The risk will always be there. From Erias's friends, many didn't make it."
"Are you saying… I should be ready to sacrifice my friends and many others… if I must? Watch my family die?"
"Yes," Albert answered stoically. "If it makes us live a day longer."
"I don't know if I will be capable of doing so…" She whispered, lowering her head, watching the wooden floor of the ship.
"You will be."
"How do you know?" She shot back angrily, raising her head and looking into the dragon's eyes.
"You are his descendant. He had the same talk with us many times! I heard it from Arcus himself. He was also unsure if he could do it and had many sleepless nights after making such a difficult decision... But, I can only say the same things, Arcus said to him."
"That… is?"
"It is good to have those doubts. It shows you are still human."
"It… it does not make it easier… does it?" Lia murmured, feeling a bit better, but deep down, she was still conflicted about everything that had happened.
"Not, it doesn't. It makes it harder, in fact… You are no better than the Undead if you ever lose that feeling. Speaking about Undead!"
"Hm? You know something?"
"Nope!" Albert chuckled loudly, bobbing its colossal head up and down, "But I have experience! You won't find their nests for now because they are masters of No-Space and the in-between places! They have the knowledge that is to create those ancient sub-realms so they can occupy one and cut it off from the others!"
"I bet it was how my big brother got trapped…." Lia murmured, thinking about it, biting into her lips.
"This means keep an eye on for sub-realms that… disappear. Became unplottable or simply close down!"
"I bet the Six is already doing that."
"For sure!" Albert laughed again, "But there are countless of them! There will be times when you travel the continent. When you will find such places… you will know you found a nest! Their influence does not spread in a day! It takes years to fester!"
"My Mother said we are already accelerating things… the old ones start to wake up, and I think the Headmaster is already shipping out artifacts from the school's vault."
"I know… and you can't do nothing about it." He said, leaning close, almost nudging the ship with his massive head. "What you can do is to get stronger and improve the people around you! That is what you have to focus on. With your current strength, rushing into the battle will mean nothing! You will be, at best, a mild annoyance to the Undead!"
"What… strength would make me into a… big annoyance?" She asked back, trying to smile.
"Three Ri. From then on… yeah… you can be more than just an annoyance. It would make you into a target, and you would find Undead everywhere, even when you aren't looking."
Using the No-Space Telescope, Lia was atop the Misfits' tower, delegating some of the other, freshly recruited Misfits as 'fuel' for its operation. All the others were either on a mission or with Lucian, trying to learn about No-Space.
"Let's stop for now…" She murmured in a defeated voice, looking around the exhausted members of her group. They were unused to the effects of the telescope, and she could only explore for a limited time before taking a break.
Coming down from the top, Lia couldn't help but sigh again, walking out into the heavy snowfall. Since returning, she found herself in an uneasy state more and more if left to her thoughts. All the things he learned and the fact there was nobody to share it with besides the Headmaster were frustrating. She had many questions and tried to ask them from the bracelet, but Somia refused to answer her. The knowledge that the Undead, and the most dangerous ones at that, were hiding somewhere, planning something, and she had no way of knowing or stopping made her dreams wild and her nights restless. Especially when the face of Rose accused her of killing her for no reason. Without trying to save her. Even if she would tell this to her mother, nothing would change. Not as long as they are stuck here, in this floating prison.
"Stuck? Prison?" She asked herself, stopping her steps, realizing she was already in the city, walking along the cobblestone streets and brick buildings. "I shouldn't think like that!" She shook her head, shaking off the snow and pushing back her depressed thoughts to the depth of her mind.
If one thing she learned when Simbad beat her down was that rushing into things was not the way to go. She had to think about it differently and stop her fantasies about running off and finding where the Undead was gathering so she could warn the others. If her mother and the rest of the Six did not find them yet, she wouldn't be able to either.
"Even if I do, I would just lead my friends to their deaths…." She mumbled, and before knowing it, she entered an old bookshop.
She wandered amongst the shelves before settling down at the counter, slowly flipping the pages of the thick codex, indexing all the books that were available in the Library of Rejects.
"You don't even know what you are looking for, do you?" Cici spoke up after watching Lia stare at the book, her eyes distant, not paying attention to it, just flipping the pages instinctively.
"No, I don't think so." She shook her head, looking at the black cat sitting beside her on the counter. "I just… thought it would be good to look around. It helped with my problem last time."
"It just gave you the necessary push."
"Maybe I need another one?"
"If you know where you want to go, I may be able to give it to you," Cici said with a yawn, starting to lick her paws lazily.
"I…" Lia opened her mouth but then, glancing at her bracelet again, fell silent.
"I see." Cici nodded as if knowing, "Even I can't give you books about the Undead or about the old Sects that dotted our world once."
"Wait!" Lia shuddered, standing up straight, gazing at the stretching figure of Cici. "You know about it?!"
"Of course I do. I may not have lived back then, but I am married to a dragon. I knew about a lot of things!"
"..."
"Hm?" The cat tilted her head to the side, watching Lia's eyes grow larger and larger.
"You are married… to a dragon?"
"Yes. Why?" She asked, not seeing any problem with what she just said.
"To… a… dragon. The big ones." Lia asked, blinking her eyes so rapidly it was about to catch on fire.
"Of course! Do you think I would mingle with some wyverns? Or salamanders? Please! I have standards too!"
"How… how do you do it?" She blurted out the question that floated up to her mind at the first instance.
With a pop, Cici's figure changed, and now a beautiful, dark-skinned woman was sitting on the counter, wearing nothing but her ankle-long, curly black hair as a cloak, watching Lia with yellow, glinting cat-like eyes.
"Good enough of an answer?" She asked, measuring her breasts with two hands, but they were too big to fit into them properly. "I hate this form! It is so cumbersome..." She groaned, shaking her body, and with another pop, she transformed back into a cat. "Much better!"
"..."
"You honestly didn't think we could transform? We are not animals, mind you! What did you think? How the beast folk came about? Some of us were attracted to humans!"
"..."
“Hahhh… humans…” She scoffed, stretching once more, watching Lia with clear annoyance.
"Do your husband…? Can he change too?"
"Of course! You already met him!" She answered impatiently.
"I did? Wait! Albert?!" Lia shrieked out.
"Yes. I have been living here since the very beginning. I am a loyal wife!" She exclaimed proudly, sitting straight and her face held high. "He knows more and may have some answers for you. You should go and seek him out; tell him I sent you! Then he will wake up for sure! Living for long causes memories to fail, so be patient! We may need certain triggers that bring them to the surface... So when explaining things, be as descriptive as possible!"
"T-thanks… Cici."
"Sure." She said, watching Lia turn around and leave, "It always helps to talk to someone about things that are bothering you."
…
….
……
By the time Lia arrived in the north, it was already pitch black, and she had to illuminate her way with orange-colored fire floating around her quickly moving vessel. Guiding her small, borrowed ship, she glided towards the spot she first met Albert, circling the forest that looked undisturbed and void of human presence.
"Albert!" She shouted loudly but received no answer. Lia was sure she was at the spot where they last met, but the dragon probably went to sleep once more. "Do you think he is here?" She asked, looking at her bracelet, but of course, no answer came from it. "Thought so… ALBERT!" She roared again, infusing magic into her voice so it would travel far and wide, shaking off the piles of snow from the treetops. "Your wife, Cici, sent me!"
Just as she said it, the earth trembled, and a deep roar echoed as she saw the silver dragon stir, shaking off multiple trees before his neck raised, its head glancing up towards her, blinking with tired looks.
"What…? Cici? Is she here?" He yawned, smacking his lips, trying to look for her, "My choco-darling? May sweet purring baby?"
"..."
"Where is she? I can't see or smell her…." He grumbled while searching for her and getting disappointed.
"She… she is not here. I said she sent me, not that she came!" Lia scratched her throat, driving the boat closer to float on a leveled height with Albert's head.
"Oh… Hauh… I always adore the days when she comes and visits me! She is so considerate of an old dragon like me! Tell her I love her, okay?"
"O-okay… um… why don't you meet more often?"
"We can't. I have to sleep most of the time to not lose focus and not let the Island's protection falter."
"Protection? To stay in the air?" Lia asked, thinking about it.
"No. Protection against Undead. They can't come here, not until we bring them on with special seals planted onto their bodies. So they can't run or hide in No-Space! Although..."
"Although?" Lia asked, gulping, feeling something bad had happened.
"Nothing... It is just that Somia, that reckless girl, built that tower of hers! It can smuggle Undead in without our notice! She built a literal backdoor into our defenses!"
"Hah!" Lia chuckled, glancing at her bracelet, grinning, feeling vindicated that Albert was grumbling about her.
"I had to modify some hidden formations so I would be warned about it if it ever gets exploited! Tsk... So annoying! Anyway! Are you here to chit-chat? It isn't a problem if I don't fully wake up, is it?"
"No, no, this is all good! And yes, I came to, well, chit-chat! Many things happened and… I needed someone to speak with. Someone I can speak with openly, and your wife said… you could be of help!"
"Bless her heart, my little choco-pumpkin! So? What happened?"
“Err… where to begin…”
In the end, Lia told him everything from the moment they were off to the Sub-Realm of Azurat and all of their experience there, right up to the point of returning and having that talk with Somia. Albert listened silently, sometimes nodding a little but never interrupting.
"I see, I see. So they did have Azurat's body. I think he would be happy to know you destroyed it. But… taking over a dragon's body? That is too much effort and risk! Even for a diversion!"
"It is?"
"Yes. The stronger the vessel is, the stronger soul it needs to move! Not to mention, they are humans or beast folks, all things considered, they are still far away from magical beasts! It is harder for them to control our bodies than vice versa!"
"I am more worried about… you know, that they are down there… in our world. Who knows, maybe they are already converting or brainwashing people! Maybe even whole cities!"
"Most likely." Albert agreed very quickly, and his voice was calm and unbothered.
"Then-!"
"It was already predicted! I get it, girl; I do! You want to go out and save everyone! Kill the monsters before they can do real harm!"
"I…"
"People will die, Lia. That little girl's death is not on your hands."
"I stabbed her through the heart…" She said, her eyes watering again.
"She was no longer alive by then," Albert said, his voice trying to soothe her. "Their eyes, their… magic is evil. Down to the bone! They can see the soul; the better they are at it, the more secrets they can read out of your mind! They can even influence it! If one of them sheds their vessel and invades you… You are dead. Only other strong minds, trained to protect their souls, can fight back against it. The girl you told me about? No chance. It was merciful what you did, Lia Amarin. It was the correct decision."
"I don't want to do it again.." Lia sniffed, wiping the tears that already froze onto her face.
"Nobody wants, but sometimes you must. Your ancestor said the same things once… yet he had to steel his mind and heart."
"My friends… I don't… I don't want to do the same thing to them."
"I can't say you won't have to," Albert answered after a momentary pause before deciding to be honest with her. "The risk will always be there. From Erias's friends, many didn't make it."
"Are you saying… I should be ready to sacrifice my friends and many others… if I must? Watch my family die?"
"Yes," Albert answered stoically. "If it makes us live a day longer."
"I don't know if I will be capable of doing so…" She whispered, lowering her head, watching the wooden floor of the ship.
"You will be."
"How do you know?" She shot back angrily, raising her head and looking into the dragon's eyes.
"You are his descendant. He had the same talk with us many times! I heard it from Arcus himself. He was also unsure if he could do it and had many sleepless nights after making such a difficult decision... But, I can only say the same things, Arcus said to him."
"That… is?"
"It is good to have those doubts. It shows you are still human."
"It… it does not make it easier… does it?" Lia murmured, feeling a bit better, but deep down, she was still conflicted about everything that had happened.
"Not, it doesn't. It makes it harder, in fact… You are no better than the Undead if you ever lose that feeling. Speaking about Undead!"
"Hm? You know something?"
"Nope!" Albert chuckled loudly, bobbing its colossal head up and down, "But I have experience! You won't find their nests for now because they are masters of No-Space and the in-between places! They have the knowledge that is to create those ancient sub-realms so they can occupy one and cut it off from the others!"
"I bet it was how my big brother got trapped…." Lia murmured, thinking about it, biting into her lips.
"This means keep an eye on for sub-realms that… disappear. Became unplottable or simply close down!"
"I bet the Six is already doing that."
"For sure!" Albert laughed again, "But there are countless of them! There will be times when you travel the continent. When you will find such places… you will know you found a nest! Their influence does not spread in a day! It takes years to fester!"
"My Mother said we are already accelerating things… the old ones start to wake up, and I think the Headmaster is already shipping out artifacts from the school's vault."
"I know… and you can't do nothing about it." He said, leaning close, almost nudging the ship with his massive head. "What you can do is to get stronger and improve the people around you! That is what you have to focus on. With your current strength, rushing into the battle will mean nothing! You will be, at best, a mild annoyance to the Undead!"
"What… strength would make me into a… big annoyance?" She asked back, trying to smile.
"Three Ri. From then on… yeah… you can be more than just an annoyance. It would make you into a target, and you would find Undead everywhere, even when you aren't looking."
