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Silence of the Dragonrider, part 3.3
Chapter Index
Crushing Blow
3
Judith was jolted awake to darkness, her whole body trembling. The floor was shaking. Fierce tremors struck Temza as the ground rumbled. Shouts from both children and adults arose throughout the gloom. The loud sound of something being smashed apart somewhere reverberated in the distance.
Although Judith had instinctively woken up, she'd never experienced anything like the ground shaking, so she didn't know what she should do and just stayed still as if she was petrified. It was so dark that she couldn't really tell, but the other people didn't seem to be in much better shape, either.
Fortunately, it didn't last long. Even though it felt like the world was ending, it didn't even last ten seconds. The ground ceased rumbling just as abruptly as it began. She held her breath and waited for more, but there were no other sounds at all.
After a short pause, someone finally lit a flame in a square, handheld lantern. Seeing that it didn't cast enough light to rely on, Judith thought, If only Dad's lux blastia was here right now. She remembered that even though her father had gone to the trouble of showing them something so useful, everyone said the tools they already had were sufficient and they didn't want to switch—why?
Encircling the flickering lamplight, everyone was whispering to each other in agitation. A few people left to fetch additional lamps.
"What was that just now? What happened to us?" Nelni, who'd been sleeping beside her, said in a frightened voice. She was hugging her stuffed doll so tightly that she was practically crushing it in her arms.
"I don't know either, Nelni."
The other kids crawled over to them on their hands and knees.
"Whoa, that surprised me! What the heck was it?"
"That was some serious shaking. I've never felt anything like it before."
Although they were keeping their voices low, they couldn't hide how excited they were.
It seemed that some among them hadn't even woken up until the tremors had already subsided. A boy named Sennal was eagerly questioning the other kids about it.
"Hey, tell me, what's everyone freaking out about?"
"What are talking about? You didn't even notice anything?"
"Y-yeah, but I just thought it was kind of noisy."
"Wow, I can't believe you kept sleeping with all that shaking."
"Shaking? What shaking?"
"Hmph!"
As the other children amused themselves by not telling him, poor Sennal became more and more flustered.
While partly exasperated by how childish the boys looked, Judith was listening closely to the adults' conversation. What she heard bothered her.
"There must have been another battle going on down there."
"Oh, and right before the shaking, there was that same sound we kept hearing yesterday."
"No, compared to then, the noise was awfully louder. Especially the last one—I'd thought the mountain might even be collapsing."
"When it shook, it looked like the sky was shining. What in the world is going on..."
A battle. That word stabbed Judith in the chest. A series of ominous thoughts bubbled up, one after another—the Fortress—monsters—the knights—Dad. But it didn't seem like the adults really knew the details, either.
Just as she was wondering what she should do, the group that had gone to check on the situation outside came back. The rest of the adults immediately rushed over to them. The other children also stopped chatting and were listening carefully, not wanting to miss anything.
"No good, it's pitch black down there so we couldn't see a thing. But it looked like the buildings' walls were cracked and quite a few roof tiles were falling off."
A stir ran through the adults. Questions flew one after another, but the people who'd returned from outside waved their hands to brush them aside.
"It was dark and dangerous, and we couldn't look around all that closely. And there's nothing we can do about it until daybreak, anyway."
Some people were impatient and said that they wanted to go and see for themselves, but in the end, they couldn't do anything but settle down and wait until tomorrow. The children were also told to go back to their own beds, so they reluctantly dispersed.
Although she was wrapped in her blanket again, Judith was unable to sleep. It seemed the others were the same way, the sounds of slight movements never quite disappearing. They were all uneasy, adults and children alike.
There was still a long time before dawn. Between those who were joined with the Great Circle and those who were not, Judith wondered just which side was feeling less anxious at that moment.
----
"Oh, my word," Murcy groaned as he stood near the bridge. Right before his eyes, the once-magnificent bridge now stopped short in mid-air. There was a gap between there and the opposite side where a considerable portion had collapsed and was now missing. The remains of the support pillars stuck out from within the white clouds like stakes.
When morning came, the people of Temza had set out right after breakfast to examine the damage sustained by the city. The children were instructed to either go with the adults or stand by at the assembly hall.
Wanting to retrieve the letter box, Judith had tagged along with Murcy and his family.
The city was in a terrible state wherever they looked. Just like last night's report, walls everywhere were streaked with ugly cracks and some areas had even collapsed from the damage. Fragments of walls and roof tiles were strewn all over, and bulges and crevices had formed in the ground.
But worst of all were the bridges. Two bridges had collapsed and couldn't be crossed, while another four were damaged in some way. Fortunately, the residential areas weren't isolated thanks to the multi-layered structure which connected them, and the path to the lower world was safe too. However, one of the missing bridges lead to the summit of Mt. Baeme where the fields were, effectively giving them no choice but to abandon them.
"And the fields over there had such good grapevines, too. Even if we rebuild the trellises on a different mountain, it'll be a long time before we can get a proper harvest. I wonder what will become of the flavor, too. You know, I really loved the wine we made from them, but now......"
Murcy gazed wistfully across the fallen bridge and towards the mountain.
Unlike the houses, they couldn't possibly rebuild the bridges. Not a single new bridge had been built since Temza's creation long ago, and the method for constructing them had not been passed down. It was yet another thing that Judith remembered Hermes bringing up once before.
"I'm not saying that we have to expand Temza by building any more bridges. But even if they've never collapsed before, no matter how sturdy they are, they're still man-made. They can't last forever. If we don't sufficiently understand how they were made, one day they'll be destroyed and we won't be able to repair them. That's all I'm trying to say."
But just like every other time, nobody paid any heed to Hermes' opinion on this subject, either. Large undertakings were unsuitable for the Great Circle.
Judith was worried about the letter box. There was no telling how long Murcy would keep moaning and groaning, so she tugged his sleeve to bring him back to reality.
"Mister Murcy, I'd like to go home."
"Hm? Oh, yes, that's right. Come on—hey, Omin, let's go!"
Omin shrugged in reponse to his grandfather's voice. He was well aware that Murcy, whose children and grandchildren were all male, was indulgent towards Judith—even though he'd probably never admit it. Omin followed his grandfather while thinking he'd better help clean up Judith's house.
It was fortunate that the bridge leading to Judith's district was safe. Everyone who'd been using one of the collapsed bridges was forced to take a large detour, even if their destination was unaffected and right in front of them. Not only that, but it would always be this way from now on.
Along the way, Murcy kept repeatedly grumbling about Mt. Baeme's grapevines. It was rare for Murcy to keep on complaining like this. For an instant, Judith wondered if he had also been cut off from the Circle, but she quickly realized that wasn't the case. Each and every adult they came across was in a similar mood. In other words, it was—ironically—proof that the Circle was working.
They finally arrived at the house, which was fortunately neither collapsed nor severely damaged, as far as they could see.
Judith politely turned down Murcy's offer to accompany her inside the house. She wanted to be alone when she retrieved the letter box. She declined so they would wait outside.
Omin turned to back her up since it looked like he wouldn't have to help after all, so Murcy reluctantly gave in, saying, "Then we'll go see how our house looks too, so hurry and get whatever it was you forgot-"
Omin immediately interjected, "If we end up missing each other, just make sure you go to the assembly hall."
Everyone had agreed that they would stay at the assembly hall for the time being, until they confirmed the situation was safe. Although Omin had simply reminded him of that fact, Murcy gave his grandson a sidelong glance—perhaps he felt that Omin was questioning what he said.
Omin shrugged and turned the other way.
"Then just be sure you're really careful," Murcy said before he took Omin by the ear and left. While they soon disappeared around a corner, Judith didn't move a muscle until she could no longer hear the sounds of Omin's protests.
----
Deep in the sea of clouds, they firmly gripped small protrusions in the dampened rock wall. Slowly and steadily.
They were not familiar with climbing, but bracing their feet against the barren and slippery rock, they continued their ascent. Up. Up. Nowhere but up.
Every so often, a black shadow would come plummeting down, trailed by a howl-like scream. There were also some that would get dragged down when it slammed into them, or others that would be struck by falling rocks—which turned into deadly weapons—loosened by those in the lead, and even those that found their footholds crumbling away. Or the unlucky ones that slipped and fell simply from their own carelessness; in the blink of an eye, they would disappear amidst the damp, white mist surrounding them.
They didn't care. They didn't care about anything.
They were being driven by the huge and fearsome will behind them. If they hesitated even a little, they would be burnt to dust.
Up. Up. Nowhere but up.
A splendid release was surely awaiting them further ahead.
----
Inside, the house was in considerably better shape than Judith expected. The shaking had caused instruments to fall from the desk and break, and the contents of a few shelves were dumped on the floor, but that was about all the damage as far as she could see. That said, when it came to her father's study, it was hard to tell how much of it had been this way from the start and how much was caused by the earthquake.
The study aside, it looked like she would be able to manage tidying up on her own somehow. But she'd leave that for later, anyway. Sticking to her primary objective, Judith headed for her room.
The letter box was exactly where she left it.
Gently picking it up, she wrapped it in her arms and held it to her chest so she would feel her father's presence. It was strong, yet warm.
She wanted to see her father. She wanted to go to the Fortress, one way or another. And if that wasn't possible, she at least wanted to contact him.
That's it. Judith had an idea. Why don't I write a letter? Even if she couldn't go herself, it was possible that someone might go down the mountain to see what was going on, so maybe she could give it to the adults.
It didn't seem like a bad idea. Besides, she felt like she could be more honest in a letter than if they talked face-to-face.
The problem was, where to write it? She was reluctant to write it at the assembly hall where the other kids would be watching. But she couldn't write it now and keep Murcy waiting, either. Judith took a quick glance out the window.
Oh, I know. She tried not to be too impressed by her own idea. I'll just write it in the ancient language.
After placing the letter box on the desk, Judith decided to look for some stationary to bring with her.
There should be some in the study. I just hope I can find it soon.
----
Ba'ul was trembling. With nobody coming to visit him, he was trembling alone in the depths of the cave on Balbusa.
It wasn't from loneliness—it was out of fear.
He had been given a warning. Stay there until it's over. That was what he'd been told.
He didn't understand what it meant at all. He could only guess that it meant something frightening was coming. That was because he didn't know of anything as frightening as the ones who had told him.
It wasn't as though he wanted to obey them. However, imagining otherwise was terrifying. Just remembering those glaring eyes, Ba'ul felt as though the very bones in his body would crumble to pieces. If he were to disobey that—
He was trembling. Without any companions he could consult, he was trembling, all alone.
----
To induce any kind of emotion, catalysts are necessary. They could be produced inside the mind or brought about by something external. Either way, it means that in the absence of any stimuli, eventually those emotions will subside again.
As the night, dawn, and noon went by, the Great Circle, which had been dominated by uneasiness since the previous day, had calmed back down considerably. Although it would be a long time before the city was back to normal, everyone was displaying their typical shared calm and nonchalance. With people laughing with each other during lunch, they were nearly back to the normalcy of the day before yesterday, almost as if they had never changed.
In one such area of Temza, a lone Krityan thought that he suddenly heard something. Dry sounds and wet sounds—he didn't recognize either of them.
Wondering where the sound was coming from, he turned his head with a dazed expression. It seemed as though the noises were coming from beyond the nearby cliff. Beyond the cliff should have been nothing but sky. But he was definitely hearing sounds.
Tilting his head in confusion, the man approached the cliff and peered below.
There was something dark red right before him. Just as he realized that it was a creature's mouth, its fangs pierced into his throat.
Oh, the man thought absently. The dry sounds were its claws scraping on the rocks, and the wet sounds were its heavy breathing—then the man's gaze was seized by two, three more approaching jaws.
Feeling them tear into his body, the man's last agonizing moments ripped a scream from both his throat and his very soul.
The Great Circle erupted.
----
Judith lifted her head. At that moment, she had found her father's stationary and was struggling to pull it out from between the books and piles of documents without toppling anything.
She felt like she heard something—like a scream. Maybe I'm just getting too jumpy? However, she noticed a strangely tense feeling in her skin. It was an unpleasant, even painful, tingling sensation.
Judith softly let go of the stationary. While being careful not to disturb the mountain of documents, she left the study behind and returned to her room.
She picked up the letter box from the desk. As quietly as possible, she then tiptoed closer to the window and peeked outside.
She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Or rather, at first she just couldn't comprehend what she saw.
There was some sort of animal passing by, around the size of a cow—was its jet-black body covered in scales? And it wasn't just one. She couldn't tell for sure since she was crouched down, but it looked like there were at least three of them.
Monsters. Judith felt a memory resurfacing. When she saw the lower world from the cliffs yesterday, it had been covered with a swarm of black monsters. These ones must have been part of it.
But why?! As far as Judith knew, monsters had never invaded Temza before, not even once—despite the path that connected it to the foot of the mountain. She'd never heard any stories or anything about it happening, even in ancient times.
She thought desperately as she began to shiver. Whatever was happening, there was no doubt that it was connected to the chain of frightening events that had occurred since yesterday.
With her arms wrapped around her legs, Judith pressed her back to the wall directly beneath the window and curled up tightly until she couldn't make herself any smaller.
She heard growls from the monsters in the street. Judith's hair was standing completely on end. They're coming closer! I hear sniffing sounds. They smell awful. Judith instinctively quelled her chattering teeth by biting her lip hard enough to draw blood.
What am I supposed to do?! Help me, Dad. Help.
Her hand, which was clutching the letter box, was filled with strength.
Feeling the hard wood, she was struck by a sudden thought. Although she'd been cut off from the Circle, her nageeg was still working. Couldn't it help somehow?
Desperately clinging to her last hope, Judith concentrated and opened her nageeg. She was expecting to feel faint again, but she was slightly relieved as her awareness spread out with no resistance. It seemed that it would be okay as long as she wasn't trying to reach out to another person.
She sensed them. Like ripples in her consciousness, she sensed two, three, four of them. She might have perceived more if she expanded her mind's reach further, but she couldn't afford it. She had to rely on all five senses, and one of those things was getting awfully close.
Her nageeg was working properly. Not only that, she was managing to pull off a feat she'd never tried before now—pinpointing a living creature's location.
But, Judith was perplexed, how should I use it? I know the monsters' positions. That's really good. Way better than not knowing. So what next?
Judith decided to try searching for the monsters' thoughts. There's a chance they might not bother. Maybe they'll just keep passing by.
But compared to using it on an inanimate object—and even then, the nageeg was far from all-powerful—capturing the constantly-changing thoughts of a living creature was no easy feat. That was why, when joining the Great Circle, one was shown the Circle's code. It was necessary to have a so-called guidepost to promote subconscious synchronization. However, resonating with a vast number of people and emotions was still the best one could do; they couldn't possibly expect to read things like specific thoughts.
Although her power had grown, when she tried it on Hermes it was with a fellow person, and furthermore, she'd been directly touching him. This time both were different.
Nevertheless, Judith tried. There was nothing else she could do.
She focused on fluctuations in the target consciousness and tried to understand their meaning. Compared to that time with her father, the mental images were classified far more simply. In this case, maybe—
Judith recoiled with fright.
What she saw there couldn't be called thoughts so much as a manifestation of emotions. They were nothing but impulses. I want to rip, I want to kill. That was it. They were feelings of bare desire without even the slightest trace of reason.
This was the same as knowing nothing beyond the fact that it was dangerous.
Her ears were telling her much more practical information. Approaching footsteps were already just beyond the house's wall.
As if mocking Judith, who had focused all her awareness in the hope it would lead to some kind of salvation, the tip of the monster's snout poked in from the window overhead. The sound and decayed odor of its breathing was right above her.
She couldn't move. It's all over if it sees me. She squeezed her eyes shut so that she wouldn't see her impending fate.
Saliva dripped from between the monster's teeth and fell on Judith's shoulder. The next moment, the monster noticed her, and its horrific fang-lined jaw opened—
Stay away!!
An invisible spark exploded in the depths of her mind. The spark pierced through her skull, and arcing furiously around, it scattered in every direction.
The monster yelped and seemed to stiffen. It struggled to breathe, as if its throat was constricted. Then, in an instant, it wrenched its head away from the window so forcefully that it leapt back through sheer momentum. No sooner had it spun around than it was running away as fast as its legs could carry it.
The other monsters in the street whined as if they too were frightened and they fled in complete disarray. Some even got so carried away that they threw themselves off of the cliff.
Dumbfounded by the monsters' sudden frenzy, Judith picked herself up as they faded into the distance, but she staggered as a powerful dizzy sensation abruptly washed over her. She pressed her back against the nearby wall and slowly sank to the floor.
She was struck with an intense feeling of exhaustion. It was too much, even considering the stress she had just been under. She did something that was repelling the monsters right now—that was all she comprehended.
The nageeg's primary function was for sensing things. Instead, Judith had unintentionally transmitted her own thoughts directly. Like with Ba'ul.
She didn't know herself how she had done it, and even if she did know, she didn't think she would be able to do it over and over again. Her fatigue wasn't normal, and she had the feeling that if she did it again, next time she really would end up fainting.
While she took deep breaths to calm down, Judith considered what to do afterwards. The monsters left. I wonder if I should see what's happening while I have the chance.
No. Whatever was going on, it would be better if she joined up with other people soon rather than being alone.
If she ran into monsters again, she wasn't confident that she'd make it out alive next time.
She cautiously focused her awareness once more and tried searching the surrounding area. Fortunately, doing so didn't seem to take too much out of her, although it did require her concentration. She couldn't find any perceptible consciousnesses nearby, though.
Resolving herself, with the letter box containing her father's letter held to her chest, Judith left her familiar home behind.
----
The street was completely silent. It wasn't just the monsters; there were no signs of any people, either.
Judith headed towards Murcy's house. Her steps were still a little unsteady because of the incident earlier.
The total silence even made her feel that she could have been dreaming everything that happened so far.
However, that fantasy was shattered all too quickly when she arrived in front of Murcy's house.
The front door was left open. The door was cracked and there was a dent in the middle, as though it had been struck by something large and heavy. Numerous scratch marks had been made in the surroundings walls.
She didn't hear a single sound coming from inside the house. Nor was there any reaction from her nageeg. Of course, even though she was now capable of sensing the monsters' presence, that didn't necessarily mean she would understand how to do it with a person, too.
Holding her breath, Judith stood at the entrance and peered inside.
She instantly regretted it.
On the floor just inside the entrance, there was a pool of blood, still fresh. A red streak, like something was dragged from there, extended down the hallway. What was that she was seeing in the open doorway down the hall? On the floor, unmoving, stained deep red was—
Judith looked away immediately. She desperately told herself, I didn't see anything, I didn't see anything at all. However, her mind ended up understanding what was there, anyway. The whole time, her nageeg still didn't sense anything.
Struck by a lightheadedness that was separate from her exhaustion, Judith spun around. She started running, no longer caring about making noise.
The assembly hall. I have to get to the assembly hall. I have to tell someone.
She crossed a bridge and was approaching a fork in the road when there rose a terribly strange cry from her side. To her disbelief, the source was a single Krityan man. He was crouched at the side of the road and crying something.
Although Judith was initially frightened by the voice, she all but ran over as soon as she realized that she'd finally found another person.
"E-excuse me—"
She couldn't finish what she was going to say. Maybe because he was reacting to her voice, the man shot up like a spring and turned to face her. Judith was left speechless.
The man wasn't really looking at her. His bloodshot eyes weren't looking anywhere, and there was foam at the corners of his mouth. His body was covered in wounds, yet it didn't look like they were all caused by the monsters.
Judith tensed involuntarily, but the man cried out once more and, without paying her any attention, he started running.
That's the way to the assembly hall district. Not knowing what else to do, Judith was about to start following him but immediately stopped in her tracks.
The man was already halfway across the bridge—all while bumping into the balustrades over and over—and he was still going, but just beyond the other side, she saw many squirming black shadows. There must have been at least ten.
Upon closer scrutiny, among the black monsters, there was one that had a different appearance. It was ash grey and standing upright, unlike the others.
Seemingly unaware, the man was still plunging forward, shouting all along.
Judith gasped, looking on as the man finished crossing the bridge and headed right towards the pack of waiting monsters.
Judith simply couldn't watch any longer. She turned away and starting running in the opposite direction, towards the other road in the fork.
An especially loud scream rose behind her before it was abruptly silenced.
----
Temza was on the verge of death—intense feelings of agony and horror were simultaneously erupting all over the city and transferred to everyone else through the Great Circle. As people were plunged into terror, unable to understand what was happening, the monsters attacked them.
If the invaders had taken the road leading from the foot of the mountain, perhaps the situation would have been different. The people probably would have noticed the approaching monsters while they were still far enough away.
Even if they were inexperienced with battle, they could still get ready and would not have been completely unprepared, while the Great Circle would have brought them feelings of courage and solidarity. There would still be some people fighting on the front line who became frightened, but they surely would have been supported by the feelings from the ones standing behind them.
But reality was different. People were attacked all at once without any mental preparedness, and as they influenced each other by spreading their fear and confusion, their spirits were weakened.
Even then, it should have been possible for them to recover their composure as time passed—because if the catalyst was stopped, the resulting emotions would fade away. However, the monsters appeared one after another and indiscriminately attacked as soon as they found their prize. Everyone was so confused by the relentless stimuli that they could no longer understand what was happening, and despite seemingly resisting, they were unable to avoid becoming prey. Although a few people were saved from the initial panic because they weren't joined with the Circle, in the end they followed the same fate.
Those who sent the emotions conveyed by the Circle as well as those who received them, everyone vanished like dry grass in a fire.
Without people to sustain it, the Circle could not be maintained.
The Great Circle, which had been passed down uninterrupted for one thousand years, collapsed here from the ruin that it fueled itself.
----
Ba'ul was crying. His voice echoed in the cave on Balbusa—before long, anyone who knew its name would disappear—and reverberated nearby.
Because it was frightening to do something. Because not doing anything was just as frightening.
Judith wasn't here. Hermes wasn't here either.
He was alone.
He had to decide for himself.
Ba'ul struck his head against the rock wall. He struck it over and over.
The pain wasn't any help, either.
He cried out once again. There was nobody around to respond.
Ba'ul contemplated. About days of wandering. About days of loneliness.
He thought more.
About the day he finally arrived at Balbusa. About the day he met Judith.
Ba'ul remembered. About the sense of unity they experienced, rushing around the sky together.
My other half.
He recalled Hermes' voice.
"Please—protect her."
A gust of wind whipped up.
----
[END OF PART 3.3.
I tried editing a bit more as I went this time. Some days I can only do one or two sentences, so it'll probably be a while until the next part too, but poor Judith's bad day will continue...]
Crushing Blow
3
Judith was jolted awake to darkness, her whole body trembling. The floor was shaking. Fierce tremors struck Temza as the ground rumbled. Shouts from both children and adults arose throughout the gloom. The loud sound of something being smashed apart somewhere reverberated in the distance.
Although Judith had instinctively woken up, she'd never experienced anything like the ground shaking, so she didn't know what she should do and just stayed still as if she was petrified. It was so dark that she couldn't really tell, but the other people didn't seem to be in much better shape, either.
Fortunately, it didn't last long. Even though it felt like the world was ending, it didn't even last ten seconds. The ground ceased rumbling just as abruptly as it began. She held her breath and waited for more, but there were no other sounds at all.
After a short pause, someone finally lit a flame in a square, handheld lantern. Seeing that it didn't cast enough light to rely on, Judith thought, If only Dad's lux blastia was here right now. She remembered that even though her father had gone to the trouble of showing them something so useful, everyone said the tools they already had were sufficient and they didn't want to switch—why?
Encircling the flickering lamplight, everyone was whispering to each other in agitation. A few people left to fetch additional lamps.
"What was that just now? What happened to us?" Nelni, who'd been sleeping beside her, said in a frightened voice. She was hugging her stuffed doll so tightly that she was practically crushing it in her arms.
"I don't know either, Nelni."
The other kids crawled over to them on their hands and knees.
"Whoa, that surprised me! What the heck was it?"
"That was some serious shaking. I've never felt anything like it before."
Although they were keeping their voices low, they couldn't hide how excited they were.
It seemed that some among them hadn't even woken up until the tremors had already subsided. A boy named Sennal was eagerly questioning the other kids about it.
"Hey, tell me, what's everyone freaking out about?"
"What are talking about? You didn't even notice anything?"
"Y-yeah, but I just thought it was kind of noisy."
"Wow, I can't believe you kept sleeping with all that shaking."
"Shaking? What shaking?"
"Hmph!"
As the other children amused themselves by not telling him, poor Sennal became more and more flustered.
While partly exasperated by how childish the boys looked, Judith was listening closely to the adults' conversation. What she heard bothered her.
"There must have been another battle going on down there."
"Oh, and right before the shaking, there was that same sound we kept hearing yesterday."
"No, compared to then, the noise was awfully louder. Especially the last one—I'd thought the mountain might even be collapsing."
"When it shook, it looked like the sky was shining. What in the world is going on..."
A battle. That word stabbed Judith in the chest. A series of ominous thoughts bubbled up, one after another—the Fortress—monsters—the knights—Dad. But it didn't seem like the adults really knew the details, either.
Just as she was wondering what she should do, the group that had gone to check on the situation outside came back. The rest of the adults immediately rushed over to them. The other children also stopped chatting and were listening carefully, not wanting to miss anything.
"No good, it's pitch black down there so we couldn't see a thing. But it looked like the buildings' walls were cracked and quite a few roof tiles were falling off."
A stir ran through the adults. Questions flew one after another, but the people who'd returned from outside waved their hands to brush them aside.
"It was dark and dangerous, and we couldn't look around all that closely. And there's nothing we can do about it until daybreak, anyway."
Some people were impatient and said that they wanted to go and see for themselves, but in the end, they couldn't do anything but settle down and wait until tomorrow. The children were also told to go back to their own beds, so they reluctantly dispersed.
Although she was wrapped in her blanket again, Judith was unable to sleep. It seemed the others were the same way, the sounds of slight movements never quite disappearing. They were all uneasy, adults and children alike.
There was still a long time before dawn. Between those who were joined with the Great Circle and those who were not, Judith wondered just which side was feeling less anxious at that moment.
----
"Oh, my word," Murcy groaned as he stood near the bridge. Right before his eyes, the once-magnificent bridge now stopped short in mid-air. There was a gap between there and the opposite side where a considerable portion had collapsed and was now missing. The remains of the support pillars stuck out from within the white clouds like stakes.
When morning came, the people of Temza had set out right after breakfast to examine the damage sustained by the city. The children were instructed to either go with the adults or stand by at the assembly hall.
Wanting to retrieve the letter box, Judith had tagged along with Murcy and his family.
The city was in a terrible state wherever they looked. Just like last night's report, walls everywhere were streaked with ugly cracks and some areas had even collapsed from the damage. Fragments of walls and roof tiles were strewn all over, and bulges and crevices had formed in the ground.
But worst of all were the bridges. Two bridges had collapsed and couldn't be crossed, while another four were damaged in some way. Fortunately, the residential areas weren't isolated thanks to the multi-layered structure which connected them, and the path to the lower world was safe too. However, one of the missing bridges lead to the summit of Mt. Baeme where the fields were, effectively giving them no choice but to abandon them.
"And the fields over there had such good grapevines, too. Even if we rebuild the trellises on a different mountain, it'll be a long time before we can get a proper harvest. I wonder what will become of the flavor, too. You know, I really loved the wine we made from them, but now......"
Murcy gazed wistfully across the fallen bridge and towards the mountain.
Unlike the houses, they couldn't possibly rebuild the bridges. Not a single new bridge had been built since Temza's creation long ago, and the method for constructing them had not been passed down. It was yet another thing that Judith remembered Hermes bringing up once before.
"I'm not saying that we have to expand Temza by building any more bridges. But even if they've never collapsed before, no matter how sturdy they are, they're still man-made. They can't last forever. If we don't sufficiently understand how they were made, one day they'll be destroyed and we won't be able to repair them. That's all I'm trying to say."
But just like every other time, nobody paid any heed to Hermes' opinion on this subject, either. Large undertakings were unsuitable for the Great Circle.
Judith was worried about the letter box. There was no telling how long Murcy would keep moaning and groaning, so she tugged his sleeve to bring him back to reality.
"Mister Murcy, I'd like to go home."
"Hm? Oh, yes, that's right. Come on—hey, Omin, let's go!"
Omin shrugged in reponse to his grandfather's voice. He was well aware that Murcy, whose children and grandchildren were all male, was indulgent towards Judith—even though he'd probably never admit it. Omin followed his grandfather while thinking he'd better help clean up Judith's house.
It was fortunate that the bridge leading to Judith's district was safe. Everyone who'd been using one of the collapsed bridges was forced to take a large detour, even if their destination was unaffected and right in front of them. Not only that, but it would always be this way from now on.
Along the way, Murcy kept repeatedly grumbling about Mt. Baeme's grapevines. It was rare for Murcy to keep on complaining like this. For an instant, Judith wondered if he had also been cut off from the Circle, but she quickly realized that wasn't the case. Each and every adult they came across was in a similar mood. In other words, it was—ironically—proof that the Circle was working.
They finally arrived at the house, which was fortunately neither collapsed nor severely damaged, as far as they could see.
Judith politely turned down Murcy's offer to accompany her inside the house. She wanted to be alone when she retrieved the letter box. She declined so they would wait outside.
Omin turned to back her up since it looked like he wouldn't have to help after all, so Murcy reluctantly gave in, saying, "Then we'll go see how our house looks too, so hurry and get whatever it was you forgot-"
Omin immediately interjected, "If we end up missing each other, just make sure you go to the assembly hall."
Everyone had agreed that they would stay at the assembly hall for the time being, until they confirmed the situation was safe. Although Omin had simply reminded him of that fact, Murcy gave his grandson a sidelong glance—perhaps he felt that Omin was questioning what he said.
Omin shrugged and turned the other way.
"Then just be sure you're really careful," Murcy said before he took Omin by the ear and left. While they soon disappeared around a corner, Judith didn't move a muscle until she could no longer hear the sounds of Omin's protests.
----
Deep in the sea of clouds, they firmly gripped small protrusions in the dampened rock wall. Slowly and steadily.
They were not familiar with climbing, but bracing their feet against the barren and slippery rock, they continued their ascent. Up. Up. Nowhere but up.
Every so often, a black shadow would come plummeting down, trailed by a howl-like scream. There were also some that would get dragged down when it slammed into them, or others that would be struck by falling rocks—which turned into deadly weapons—loosened by those in the lead, and even those that found their footholds crumbling away. Or the unlucky ones that slipped and fell simply from their own carelessness; in the blink of an eye, they would disappear amidst the damp, white mist surrounding them.
They didn't care. They didn't care about anything.
They were being driven by the huge and fearsome will behind them. If they hesitated even a little, they would be burnt to dust.
Up. Up. Nowhere but up.
A splendid release was surely awaiting them further ahead.
----
Inside, the house was in considerably better shape than Judith expected. The shaking had caused instruments to fall from the desk and break, and the contents of a few shelves were dumped on the floor, but that was about all the damage as far as she could see. That said, when it came to her father's study, it was hard to tell how much of it had been this way from the start and how much was caused by the earthquake.
The study aside, it looked like she would be able to manage tidying up on her own somehow. But she'd leave that for later, anyway. Sticking to her primary objective, Judith headed for her room.
The letter box was exactly where she left it.
Gently picking it up, she wrapped it in her arms and held it to her chest so she would feel her father's presence. It was strong, yet warm.
She wanted to see her father. She wanted to go to the Fortress, one way or another. And if that wasn't possible, she at least wanted to contact him.
That's it. Judith had an idea. Why don't I write a letter? Even if she couldn't go herself, it was possible that someone might go down the mountain to see what was going on, so maybe she could give it to the adults.
It didn't seem like a bad idea. Besides, she felt like she could be more honest in a letter than if they talked face-to-face.
The problem was, where to write it? She was reluctant to write it at the assembly hall where the other kids would be watching. But she couldn't write it now and keep Murcy waiting, either. Judith took a quick glance out the window.
Oh, I know. She tried not to be too impressed by her own idea. I'll just write it in the ancient language.
After placing the letter box on the desk, Judith decided to look for some stationary to bring with her.
There should be some in the study. I just hope I can find it soon.
----
Ba'ul was trembling. With nobody coming to visit him, he was trembling alone in the depths of the cave on Balbusa.
It wasn't from loneliness—it was out of fear.
He had been given a warning. Stay there until it's over. That was what he'd been told.
He didn't understand what it meant at all. He could only guess that it meant something frightening was coming. That was because he didn't know of anything as frightening as the ones who had told him.
It wasn't as though he wanted to obey them. However, imagining otherwise was terrifying. Just remembering those glaring eyes, Ba'ul felt as though the very bones in his body would crumble to pieces. If he were to disobey that—
He was trembling. Without any companions he could consult, he was trembling, all alone.
----
To induce any kind of emotion, catalysts are necessary. They could be produced inside the mind or brought about by something external. Either way, it means that in the absence of any stimuli, eventually those emotions will subside again.
As the night, dawn, and noon went by, the Great Circle, which had been dominated by uneasiness since the previous day, had calmed back down considerably. Although it would be a long time before the city was back to normal, everyone was displaying their typical shared calm and nonchalance. With people laughing with each other during lunch, they were nearly back to the normalcy of the day before yesterday, almost as if they had never changed.
In one such area of Temza, a lone Krityan thought that he suddenly heard something. Dry sounds and wet sounds—he didn't recognize either of them.
Wondering where the sound was coming from, he turned his head with a dazed expression. It seemed as though the noises were coming from beyond the nearby cliff. Beyond the cliff should have been nothing but sky. But he was definitely hearing sounds.
Tilting his head in confusion, the man approached the cliff and peered below.
There was something dark red right before him. Just as he realized that it was a creature's mouth, its fangs pierced into his throat.
Oh, the man thought absently. The dry sounds were its claws scraping on the rocks, and the wet sounds were its heavy breathing—then the man's gaze was seized by two, three more approaching jaws.
Feeling them tear into his body, the man's last agonizing moments ripped a scream from both his throat and his very soul.
The Great Circle erupted.
----
Judith lifted her head. At that moment, she had found her father's stationary and was struggling to pull it out from between the books and piles of documents without toppling anything.
She felt like she heard something—like a scream. Maybe I'm just getting too jumpy? However, she noticed a strangely tense feeling in her skin. It was an unpleasant, even painful, tingling sensation.
Judith softly let go of the stationary. While being careful not to disturb the mountain of documents, she left the study behind and returned to her room.
She picked up the letter box from the desk. As quietly as possible, she then tiptoed closer to the window and peeked outside.
She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Or rather, at first she just couldn't comprehend what she saw.
There was some sort of animal passing by, around the size of a cow—was its jet-black body covered in scales? And it wasn't just one. She couldn't tell for sure since she was crouched down, but it looked like there were at least three of them.
Monsters. Judith felt a memory resurfacing. When she saw the lower world from the cliffs yesterday, it had been covered with a swarm of black monsters. These ones must have been part of it.
But why?! As far as Judith knew, monsters had never invaded Temza before, not even once—despite the path that connected it to the foot of the mountain. She'd never heard any stories or anything about it happening, even in ancient times.
She thought desperately as she began to shiver. Whatever was happening, there was no doubt that it was connected to the chain of frightening events that had occurred since yesterday.
With her arms wrapped around her legs, Judith pressed her back to the wall directly beneath the window and curled up tightly until she couldn't make herself any smaller.
She heard growls from the monsters in the street. Judith's hair was standing completely on end. They're coming closer! I hear sniffing sounds. They smell awful. Judith instinctively quelled her chattering teeth by biting her lip hard enough to draw blood.
What am I supposed to do?! Help me, Dad. Help.
Her hand, which was clutching the letter box, was filled with strength.
Feeling the hard wood, she was struck by a sudden thought. Although she'd been cut off from the Circle, her nageeg was still working. Couldn't it help somehow?
Desperately clinging to her last hope, Judith concentrated and opened her nageeg. She was expecting to feel faint again, but she was slightly relieved as her awareness spread out with no resistance. It seemed that it would be okay as long as she wasn't trying to reach out to another person.
She sensed them. Like ripples in her consciousness, she sensed two, three, four of them. She might have perceived more if she expanded her mind's reach further, but she couldn't afford it. She had to rely on all five senses, and one of those things was getting awfully close.
Her nageeg was working properly. Not only that, she was managing to pull off a feat she'd never tried before now—pinpointing a living creature's location.
But, Judith was perplexed, how should I use it? I know the monsters' positions. That's really good. Way better than not knowing. So what next?
Judith decided to try searching for the monsters' thoughts. There's a chance they might not bother. Maybe they'll just keep passing by.
But compared to using it on an inanimate object—and even then, the nageeg was far from all-powerful—capturing the constantly-changing thoughts of a living creature was no easy feat. That was why, when joining the Great Circle, one was shown the Circle's code. It was necessary to have a so-called guidepost to promote subconscious synchronization. However, resonating with a vast number of people and emotions was still the best one could do; they couldn't possibly expect to read things like specific thoughts.
Although her power had grown, when she tried it on Hermes it was with a fellow person, and furthermore, she'd been directly touching him. This time both were different.
Nevertheless, Judith tried. There was nothing else she could do.
She focused on fluctuations in the target consciousness and tried to understand their meaning. Compared to that time with her father, the mental images were classified far more simply. In this case, maybe—
Judith recoiled with fright.
What she saw there couldn't be called thoughts so much as a manifestation of emotions. They were nothing but impulses. I want to rip, I want to kill. That was it. They were feelings of bare desire without even the slightest trace of reason.
This was the same as knowing nothing beyond the fact that it was dangerous.
Her ears were telling her much more practical information. Approaching footsteps were already just beyond the house's wall.
As if mocking Judith, who had focused all her awareness in the hope it would lead to some kind of salvation, the tip of the monster's snout poked in from the window overhead. The sound and decayed odor of its breathing was right above her.
She couldn't move. It's all over if it sees me. She squeezed her eyes shut so that she wouldn't see her impending fate.
Saliva dripped from between the monster's teeth and fell on Judith's shoulder. The next moment, the monster noticed her, and its horrific fang-lined jaw opened—
Stay away!!
An invisible spark exploded in the depths of her mind. The spark pierced through her skull, and arcing furiously around, it scattered in every direction.
The monster yelped and seemed to stiffen. It struggled to breathe, as if its throat was constricted. Then, in an instant, it wrenched its head away from the window so forcefully that it leapt back through sheer momentum. No sooner had it spun around than it was running away as fast as its legs could carry it.
The other monsters in the street whined as if they too were frightened and they fled in complete disarray. Some even got so carried away that they threw themselves off of the cliff.
Dumbfounded by the monsters' sudden frenzy, Judith picked herself up as they faded into the distance, but she staggered as a powerful dizzy sensation abruptly washed over her. She pressed her back against the nearby wall and slowly sank to the floor.
She was struck with an intense feeling of exhaustion. It was too much, even considering the stress she had just been under. She did something that was repelling the monsters right now—that was all she comprehended.
The nageeg's primary function was for sensing things. Instead, Judith had unintentionally transmitted her own thoughts directly. Like with Ba'ul.
She didn't know herself how she had done it, and even if she did know, she didn't think she would be able to do it over and over again. Her fatigue wasn't normal, and she had the feeling that if she did it again, next time she really would end up fainting.
While she took deep breaths to calm down, Judith considered what to do afterwards. The monsters left. I wonder if I should see what's happening while I have the chance.
No. Whatever was going on, it would be better if she joined up with other people soon rather than being alone.
If she ran into monsters again, she wasn't confident that she'd make it out alive next time.
She cautiously focused her awareness once more and tried searching the surrounding area. Fortunately, doing so didn't seem to take too much out of her, although it did require her concentration. She couldn't find any perceptible consciousnesses nearby, though.
Resolving herself, with the letter box containing her father's letter held to her chest, Judith left her familiar home behind.
----
The street was completely silent. It wasn't just the monsters; there were no signs of any people, either.
Judith headed towards Murcy's house. Her steps were still a little unsteady because of the incident earlier.
The total silence even made her feel that she could have been dreaming everything that happened so far.
However, that fantasy was shattered all too quickly when she arrived in front of Murcy's house.
The front door was left open. The door was cracked and there was a dent in the middle, as though it had been struck by something large and heavy. Numerous scratch marks had been made in the surroundings walls.
She didn't hear a single sound coming from inside the house. Nor was there any reaction from her nageeg. Of course, even though she was now capable of sensing the monsters' presence, that didn't necessarily mean she would understand how to do it with a person, too.
Holding her breath, Judith stood at the entrance and peered inside.
She instantly regretted it.
On the floor just inside the entrance, there was a pool of blood, still fresh. A red streak, like something was dragged from there, extended down the hallway. What was that she was seeing in the open doorway down the hall? On the floor, unmoving, stained deep red was—
Judith looked away immediately. She desperately told herself, I didn't see anything, I didn't see anything at all. However, her mind ended up understanding what was there, anyway. The whole time, her nageeg still didn't sense anything.
Struck by a lightheadedness that was separate from her exhaustion, Judith spun around. She started running, no longer caring about making noise.
The assembly hall. I have to get to the assembly hall. I have to tell someone.
She crossed a bridge and was approaching a fork in the road when there rose a terribly strange cry from her side. To her disbelief, the source was a single Krityan man. He was crouched at the side of the road and crying something.
Although Judith was initially frightened by the voice, she all but ran over as soon as she realized that she'd finally found another person.
"E-excuse me—"
She couldn't finish what she was going to say. Maybe because he was reacting to her voice, the man shot up like a spring and turned to face her. Judith was left speechless.
The man wasn't really looking at her. His bloodshot eyes weren't looking anywhere, and there was foam at the corners of his mouth. His body was covered in wounds, yet it didn't look like they were all caused by the monsters.
Judith tensed involuntarily, but the man cried out once more and, without paying her any attention, he started running.
That's the way to the assembly hall district. Not knowing what else to do, Judith was about to start following him but immediately stopped in her tracks.
The man was already halfway across the bridge—all while bumping into the balustrades over and over—and he was still going, but just beyond the other side, she saw many squirming black shadows. There must have been at least ten.
Upon closer scrutiny, among the black monsters, there was one that had a different appearance. It was ash grey and standing upright, unlike the others.
Seemingly unaware, the man was still plunging forward, shouting all along.
Judith gasped, looking on as the man finished crossing the bridge and headed right towards the pack of waiting monsters.
Judith simply couldn't watch any longer. She turned away and starting running in the opposite direction, towards the other road in the fork.
An especially loud scream rose behind her before it was abruptly silenced.
----
Temza was on the verge of death—intense feelings of agony and horror were simultaneously erupting all over the city and transferred to everyone else through the Great Circle. As people were plunged into terror, unable to understand what was happening, the monsters attacked them.
If the invaders had taken the road leading from the foot of the mountain, perhaps the situation would have been different. The people probably would have noticed the approaching monsters while they were still far enough away.
Even if they were inexperienced with battle, they could still get ready and would not have been completely unprepared, while the Great Circle would have brought them feelings of courage and solidarity. There would still be some people fighting on the front line who became frightened, but they surely would have been supported by the feelings from the ones standing behind them.
But reality was different. People were attacked all at once without any mental preparedness, and as they influenced each other by spreading their fear and confusion, their spirits were weakened.
Even then, it should have been possible for them to recover their composure as time passed—because if the catalyst was stopped, the resulting emotions would fade away. However, the monsters appeared one after another and indiscriminately attacked as soon as they found their prize. Everyone was so confused by the relentless stimuli that they could no longer understand what was happening, and despite seemingly resisting, they were unable to avoid becoming prey. Although a few people were saved from the initial panic because they weren't joined with the Circle, in the end they followed the same fate.
Those who sent the emotions conveyed by the Circle as well as those who received them, everyone vanished like dry grass in a fire.
Without people to sustain it, the Circle could not be maintained.
The Great Circle, which had been passed down uninterrupted for one thousand years, collapsed here from the ruin that it fueled itself.
----
Ba'ul was crying. His voice echoed in the cave on Balbusa—before long, anyone who knew its name would disappear—and reverberated nearby.
Because it was frightening to do something. Because not doing anything was just as frightening.
Judith wasn't here. Hermes wasn't here either.
He was alone.
He had to decide for himself.
Ba'ul struck his head against the rock wall. He struck it over and over.
The pain wasn't any help, either.
He cried out once again. There was nobody around to respond.
Ba'ul contemplated. About days of wandering. About days of loneliness.
He thought more.
About the day he finally arrived at Balbusa. About the day he met Judith.
Ba'ul remembered. About the sense of unity they experienced, rushing around the sky together.
My other half.
He recalled Hermes' voice.
"Please—protect her."
A gust of wind whipped up.
----
[END OF PART 3.3.
I tried editing a bit more as I went this time. Some days I can only do one or two sentences, so it'll probably be a while until the next part too, but poor Judith's bad day will continue...]