Chapter Text
Charles Castle was all white brick walls and stained glass windows and pointy rosy roofs, and its gardens were dotted with daisies and forgetmenots. The walls fencing it in were broken and rebuilt over and over, a patchwork of stone and mortar, and the dark wood gate connected to a townwards stony road. Here along the road, cherry trees bloomed, turning the world into a pastel of pink blossoms, azure sky, and teal grass. Bushes and herbs covered the roadside, and on the tree trunks, posters were hung with calls to find the notorious Villain of Amia, or pleas for aid where the abyss had ruptured the ground not long ago. The wartimes were over, but the kingdom was yet to recover. It was Kanade riding along this very road, following the call of the knights.
Kanade was a young man, though not everyone recognised him as such, but among knights, it did not matter. That he was short, that his features were soft and childlike, that his voice was quiet and tender – it was secondary to what he did. Because regardless of how little money and fame Kanade had to the rest of the world, within the knights, Kanade was regarded as the greatest talent of his generation.
He possessed very little, but magic, of this he had plenty.
The gates of Charles Castle opened with a creaking noise. To Kanade’s ears, it was as much a melody as everything in this world: The rustling of leaves, or the clip clop of his horse’s hooves. Or rather, it would be percussion., he thought to himself. But horse’s hooves make for a satisfying sound. I wonder what kind of song I could write with it…
Kanade’s horse, Carnation, was the world’s calmest and kindest horse. When he was tired or exhausted from life, Kanade could bury his face in the soft mane or spend hours brushing the snow white fur and forget about the world’s worries at least a little. He loathed parting with her, but reluctantly handed her over to the stable girl, who ran off to feed her and take care of her. At least, Charles Castle was nothing short of a luxury stay for Carnation. And it would have been a luxury stay for most humans, but Kanade was not one of them. He couldn’t bear all the brightness, with his eyes so sensitive that he’d rather stay day and night in his small living quarters or in the dim corners of the library than have to look at another stupid white wall in the stupid sunlight that was turning him blind. But he knew he was the exception, so he forced himself to make a politely neutral face and not squint too obviously as he headed into the castle.
Guards were well acquainted with him. He had been a knight long before the abyss had opened. A talent, in training, he had not expected to ever amount to anything – to suddenly be thought of as a hero, to have such a thing as importance, it was a new and unwelcome sensation. Of course he wanted to do good. For all the lives he had maybe saved, it was not nearly enough. But he couldn’t bear the idea of being considered important. It meant having to go to conversations and tea parties and if worst came to worst: balls.
He was finally welcomed by Knight Airi. If Kanade sucked at being important, she was great at it: Talking and singing and dancing were just additional talents she had when she wasn’t wielding her sword with the power of all love and cheer of the world. She was nice to Kanade, and Kanade wasn’t sure why, but he appreciated it and was nice back.
“You’re early!”, she called him. “But I’m glad to see you arrived without troubles!”
Kanade smiled dimly. “It was just a ride from one town over. How many troubles could there have been?”
“Plenty.”, Airi argued. “The abyss may still reopen, or you could have run into that Amia Villain. Who knows? Not to mention that as much as you are a knight, we all know how frail you are.”
Kanade elected not to respond.
Airi lead her forwards. “Ichika is bound to arrive later today, with an ally of hers. A new member may be joining our rounds too.”
“A new member?”
“A certain Hanasato, but insists we call her Minori. She is young, and this is her dream. I have been training her, together with two others, and her talents are nothing short of a miracle.”
“Is that so?”
“She is clumsy, and not the brightest.”, Airi continued. “I’m also, frankly, not sure if she really understands what is going on. I don’t think she’s ever seen the abyss first hand. But she has a strong heart. I believe that she can continue, no matter what. And that is the kind of knight we need.”
Kanade couldn’t argue that. It wasn’t the exhaustion of traveling or spellcasting or hiding for days on end, it was all the misery and hunger and the destruction that couldn’t be undone that was weighing on all of them. It was weighing on Kanade too, everyone knew, but everyone knew better than to say anything, so he was yet safe.
Airi lead Kanade down a hallway where guest quarters were located. Kanade needed no explanation, he had always taken the darkest room, and it had become a matter of respect that it would be reserved whenever he would attend. Airi smiled and bowed. “I think I’ll let you settle in now. If you need-- well, you know how this place works. Oh, Kanade, don’t you think we ought to be less formal with each other?”
The question caught Kanade off guard. “Oh, uh, sure. I don’t mind.”
“Great. We’ve fought all kinds of battles together, I just can’t look at you anymore and treat you like a stranger.”
This was a little beyond Kanade, who applied social interaction in a scientific “if x do y” type of way. “O-Of course.”
“I’ll see you at dinner, Kanade!”, Airi called, and then left him to his own devices. Kanade could barely get out a “See you later”, and she was gone.
There was still time, plenty of time. In old times, Kanade would have spent this time studying, working on magic, or, if he was in a REALLY good mood, playing the grand piano and coming up with all kinds of songs on the fly. But now people were talking to him, he had to be suited for conversation, and that meant having to beat the horse smell. Kanade didn’t mind the horse smell, it reminded him of Carnation. But everyone else minded the horse smell greatly, especially when dinner was involved. So Kanade resigned himself to a change of dress and a quick wash at the basin, and then rested up. Dinner would require all the energy he had left.
Dinner was served a little before sunset. Ichika had arrived, which was great, because now Ichika and Airi could talk to each other, and Kanade could relax for a little longer and allow himself to enjoy having company without having to talk. After all, despite the troubles of social interaction – somehow, Kanade still liked company. Ichika’s ally, Shiho, had quietly joined him. Kanade roughly recalled meeting her once before, they both had been standing in the same quiet corner away from the posh bustle of festivities, and had found an unexpected common interest in music. Not the way it was most of the time, where someone would say, “Oh I sure love music!”, and another person would go, “Oh yes, music is quite wonderful” – Kanade held nothing against those people, and felt joy when they danced to his own music – but Shiho made no smalltalk and began immediately to talk about all the same technical terms that Kanade cared about. A short conversation it had been, but one of the most pleasant ones Kanade had ever had at any sort of event where suits and floor length dresses were appropriate.
Of course, Shiho had not recognised Kanade. It was before he had cut his hair and sold off all his dresses. Unless she picked up the name – one that Kanade had long considered changing, but ultimately kept for a reason he didn’t like to think about – Shiho would hardly find anything to recognise him by. And Kanade was not going to open that conversation if he didn’t have to.
“So overall”, Ichika was concluding whatever she had been talking about, “The Duchy of Leo is recovering alright.”
“It has to be better.”, Shiho threw in.
Ichika continued with no hesitation. “Shiho’s right. It’s recovering, but we need to do more. That’s why I’ve brought her here. She has been great at coordinating our efforts and making sure we don’t miss anything.” A smile passed her lips. “She’s saved many lives, I’m sure.”
Shiho huffed. “I do my work. That’s all there is to it.”
The dinner banquet, meanwhile, was being taken away. Staff would eat the leftovers. Kanade had eaten half a plate – the travel had made him hungry.
But dinner being carried away could only mean…
Ichika was the first to get up. “We’re expected in the salon.”
“I thought we were here to fix the kingdom.”, Shiho responded. “Not for parties.”
“It’s not a party. It’s just introductions, and some conversation.” Ichika took Airi’s arm, and lead her along the hallway. Years ago, her boyish attitude – short hair, boyish clothes, the way she took whichever side of a dance or a walking pose she was needed in at the moment – had caused some controversy, but the opening of the abyss had silenced any doubts. Kanade was glad for it. That silence had allowed him to make himself who he was now.
As was polite (Kanade knew this from studying his surroundings), he was now bound to offer his arm to Shiho. Shiho took it, but walked so fast that she was really the one leading Kanade, not the other way around.
“I hope whoever expects us won’t mind my going to bed early.”, she muttered.
Kanade couldn’t help a smile. “It’s no problem. I’ve had to excuse myself before. What we do is valued here. Not how we present ourselves.”
“Lovely. Then I may make it more than three days.”
And then they arrived at the salon.
Kanade hated alcohol, but he knew to take a glass as soon as he was offered sparkling wine. Sparkling wine was weak, you could sip it when you didn’t want to talk, and holding it made you look busy, even if just a little.
Familiar and unfamiliar faces filled the room. So much for “just instroductions and some conversation”. There was no way that this wasn’t a party. Airi was all but zooming across the room, greeting everyone with hugs and smiles and a cheerful attitude. Kanade hoped to disappear into the pink and blue wallpaper. The noises were already too much.
“Some strange bandit.”, he heard from one corner. “Steals and destroys. But never caught. And seems charitable too. We’re reports from citizens saying the Amia Villain brought them food and medicine. Hard to arrest someone like that, we can’t risk causing any more unrest.”
Before Kanade could continue his voluntary eavesdropping, a different voice tugged at his attention. “Oh, I don’t believe in those...music fairies. Sure, much magic exists, but a blue haired fairy playing a rainbow piano? That…” And before that sentence was finished, Kanade’s attention was replaced by another. “…and there’s finally good harvests. Of course, as soon as they’d eaten, everyone’s next step was to try and make alcohol. I just don’t know if I really---” And that got replaced with a “So there I was, raspberry sauce on my cheesecake…”
Such was the torture of full rooms. Dozens of voices, dozens of conversations, constantly tugging at Kanade’s attention, constantly ripping him into different directions, all at once. He needed a focus point. So he emptied his sparkling wine and did the one thing he always could.
He sat down at the piano and played.
Gently and quietly, of course. An inoffensive melody, winding on and on like a river, with chords that never came quite home. Like a long journey, an uneventful, melancholic stride. But upbeat enough that everyone listened for a moment, said “Oh that boy plays rather nicely” and then let the music blend with the background noise.
It took a while for Kanade to be at ease, but the tension in his shoulders dissolved. Nobody looked at him, and nobody found it necessary to talk to him. He’d gotten away just one more time.
Until Shiho turned up, and leaned onto the piano. “Say, Kanade…?”
Kanade stopped playing. “Shiho?”
Shiho opened her mouth. She didn’t get to say whatever she was thinking about. The ground began shaking.
“An earthquake?”, someone called.
Airi jumped into the center of the room, all eyes on her. “This is not an earthquake.”, she announced. Kanade knew she was right. He, too, could hear the distant howl. A sound, like a dark chord, played on an instrument made of dark magic.
“Everyone!”, Airi called. “All guests must seek cover. Inform staff as fast as possible. Nobody needs to risk their lives. The knights will be moving.”
Shiho made a tsk noise. “I knew we were wasting our time with parties. We could have detected it earlier…”
Kanade got on his feet. Duty called.
They left the castle into the back gardens, where the noise had come from. The ground shook in brief episodes, then lay still, while that unholy chord kept playing somewhere far away.
“Locate the rift!”, Airi called. “Split up! Ichika and Shiho, that way! Kanade and I go this way!”
Kanade followed. He struggled to keep up with Airi. He was a spellcaster, not a swordfighter, or whatever kind of person it was that could run without running out of breath. Airi took them to a back exit, out of the castle wall’s confines.
From here on out, it was wide fields. The world was painted dark blue by the nightsky. Clouds locked away the stars and dimmed the cool moonlight.
Kanade stumbled, and caught his breath. Airi was a whole field ahead by now. Kanade grit his teeth, he couldn’t afford losing her in the middle of some cornfield or apple trees. Not that he couldn’t take care of himself if push came to shove, but…
Then he saw her.
She was a pale girl in a pale white dress with pale white hair. Like the moon, she stood alone in the dark, and reached her hand out to him.
Kanade’s father had always told him that ghosts weren’t evil. They were hurt. They needed someone to save them.
They needed Kanade.
So when the girl called “Help…”, Kanade caught his breath and dashed.
The girl was gone in the blink of an eye. Of course, she couldn’t have been human. Kanade followed anyway. If this was how he died, then, well – he wasn’t too concerned about that possibility. He kept running for as long as his meager lungs let him, then stumbled through fields, until he finally heard that chord again.
The abyss.
For years, knights, wizards, kings, alchemists, and the greatest of scholars had tried to find out what the abyss was. There was no answer. They only knew this: It was a great darkness that opened itself up in the earth, and it brought only evil and pain.
And the rift cracked open the ground right before Kanade’s feet.
He readied his spells, gasped for breath, did everything to prepare to close it. Of course, he couldn’t do it alone. He had to call the others. But he couldn’t wait, because every second he waited was a wasted moment of his life, a life that he was barely allowed to have, after all that had happened--
There was someone.
A figure was clinging to a chain, on a cliff, about twenty meters down the abyss. They were bathed in purple light and white smoke. The chord played so loud now that Kanade’s ears were threatening to come apart.
The abyss was falling to pieces. It would take that person with it. There was no time for the others.
Kanade jumped in.
The abyss smelled of lavender. Kanade slid along the rocky wall, not caring for the sharp edges tearing into his fancy clothes, and climbed along the strange metal poles and warped steel that littered the cliffs. Movement spells guided him to the outcrop where the figure was sitting.
It was a young man, almost a boy, similar to him in age. He was passed out, as peaceful as if he was asleep. His purple hair hung into his pale face, and no matter how much Kanade shook him and shouted, he wouldn’t wake.
That was when Kanade realized that he was not clinging to the chain. It was the other way around: It was the boy who was chained to the rock. Kanade rattled at the metal, to no avail. Of course, he didn’t have the strength to tear it open. But what if…?
The boy couldn’t have come from above. There was only one logical conclusion: He was from the abyss. He could have been the enemy, but Kanade wasn’t going to risk a stranger’s life. If he had come up here, the rocks from the abyss somehow must have gotten him there. Maybe, if they were lucky, the way the chain was anchored in the rock had come loose…
A yank in the right direction, and the boy was rid of his prison. Just in time too, as the outcrop started splitting beneath their feet. Kanade took no time to think: He grabbed the boy and put all his magic into a wind spell. It was not a gentle way upwards. The air tossed them back and forth and they hit rock and metal more than once. But finally, they landed on bushy grass. Kanade’s world was turning. He knew that the ground was under him, but his head told him otherwise. It was all he could do to cling to the purple haired boy.
Steps were fast approaching, and Airi’s voice was calling across the fields, just as everything went dark.