Upon returning back to her home, the younger Saya and a recovering Sulva sat face to face with one another. For the sake of letting both of them talk, her parents moved all cooking tools and ingredients to the kitchen counter.
Despite being encouraged by her mother to somehow solve the situation with the only other person who didn’t belong in this world, she felt utter disdain for the cultist who had cursed her best friend.
She sat with her arms crossed, glaring daggers at him. Sulva, on the other hand, was healing surprisingly quickly. The teeth that she had knocked out of him were mysteriously growing back, and his bruises were slowly clearing, as if his skin was painting over itself.
From both mages’ perspectives, it seemed something akin to time reversal. But with such mystics not existing, or at least not being known, they brushed off the theory almost immediately.
“You said we’re in a dream world, right?” Saya asked, wasting no time. Although she enjoyed the time she spent with her parents, and had received great words of encouragement from her mother, the fact remained that she needed to go back to the real world as quickly as possible.
Sulva nodded as he replied, with bits of blood still swelling around his gum, turning his speech wet, “That’s the only conclusion I managed to come down to. Though, I will admit, I wasn’t expecting anyone else to venture into this realm.”
“I would have assumed Mother Tella would have destroyed the monster by now, or at the very least, saved me from drowning in all that strange mud.”
The name “Mother Tella” was one she hadn’t heard before. Saya noted it down mentally, but figured that it wasn’t as important in regards to the situation they were in. Besides, there was another word within Sulva’s claim that interested her more.
“Mud?”
“Yes,” Sulva replied.
“Mother Tella and I travelled to the city of Yucu Saa in order to contain and control a giant, gray monster. I’m not sure how she managed to know it was going to appear in the city before it even happened, but I tend not to question my superiors.”
“Anyways, since the boy was its anchor to this world, we wrapped him in a sort of magical spell, and forced me to use a curse that admittedly, not even I know its purpose of.”
“After that, the monster used its Soul Symphony. Black mud started raining down from the skies, and before I knew it, the entire city was on the verge of drowning. I begged Mother Tella for help, but she didn’t.”
Saya raised her hand to pause Sulva, “wait, what do you mean the city was drowned?”
“It’s just as it sounds like. In a matter of seconds, it was like we were at the bottom of a cup, and mud had been filled from top to bottom. It’s likely it didn’t leak out of the barrier, but it all happened too fast for me to even properly assess the situation.”
His claims didn’t match her own experience. Having been inside Yucu Saa, and witnessing the destroyed version, it was extremely evident to her that the city was simply in ruins, and not drowned.
If Sulva had stated that it was drowning in magical energy, darkness, or even a miasma, then she would have absolutely gone along with his words. But since he had specified the word ‘mud’, there were more questions being raised within Saya’s mind than they were being answered.
“You’re able to use curses, so does that mean you can see them as well?” she asked, but Sulva claimed he couldn’t just as quickly as the words left her mouth.
“Your teammate, what was her name, Lucia?”
“I’m not sure how long you’ve been here, but she managed to cast a barrier around Atrila. Whenever that happened, I could see its structure and point of origin. But whenever I tried using my Soul Sight against the barrier in this city, it was pitch black.”
“Soul… Sight?” Sulva cocked his head curiously. Having been so distracted, she had forgotten to tell Sulva about the nature of her unique ability. If she were to activate it, there was no doubt that he would recognize it, as the shine terrified him to the core.
But the real question was whether or not he would be able to maintain normal conversations afterwards. Leaning forward, Saya informed the person across from her of the functionality of her ability, explaining as thoroughly as she could so there wouldn’t be a need for her to activate it.
Surprisingly, he took the information very well. Although Saya wasn’t aware, this wasn’t the cultist’s first time dealing with magic and mystics that were beyond his understanding. Even the curses that he so easily fired were a result of years of hard work and training under Quintella’s tutelage.
“I see, I understand the base functionality quite well now. The barrier being black could indicate the fact that it fused with the mud. I’m not one hundred percent certain, but there’s a good chance it might be the case.”
“Regardless, my question still remains… How did you manage to escape?”
“You claimed that when the Cradle King was deployed, that it had a point of origin, and that you destroyed it. But if the barrier in this city had no point of origin, how did you manage to break out in the first place?”
As the conversation went on, Sulva’s signature elegant composure slowly returned. He straightened his back and cleared his throat whenever he could, making sure each and every single one of his words was as clear as day. With him reverting to his uninjured form, it seemed like his mental damages inflicted by Saya had been repaired too.
“The first time I saw it pulse was when the book did some kind of magical shockwave,” Saya stated. Upon hearing her, Sulva’s face grew even more curious.
“By book, do you refer to the one that we were after?”
Saya knew he was just asking to confirm, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit peeved. It was already tough for her to even stand being in Sulva’s presence, the action creeping her out from the bottom of her stomach. And yet, she needed to cooperate not only to leave this dream world, but also get on his good graces enough to make him free Albo.
“Yes, that book. What other book is there? After all you’ve done in Kala, the least you can do is to have some tact.” she shot back. Her parents, who had been silently eavesdropping while making huaraches, flinched slightly at the mere thought of their daughter snapping again.
Yes, although saving Albo was her main objective, she couldn’t deny the fact that both him and Rias were responsible for not only killing the knights guarding the academy, but nearly all of its students.
According to Hana, there were a few survivors, but a dozen out of a few hundred barely made a difference. In many ways, the young mage felt entirely justified for her behavior towards the evil cultist.
“You don’t have to reply to my question if you do not wish to, but may I ask how the book works in terms of functionality?”
“Whenever Rias bit off a large chunk of your body, you immediately came back to life. But what shocked us, me, the most was the fact that the moment you hit the ground, the book started levitating and casting spells on its own.”
Saya wasn’t entirely aware of what had happened to her whenever she got “killed,” so hearing Sulva’s testimony slightly put her at ease. Lifting her gaze, Saya stared at the ceiling while pondering upon her past experiences.
“At first I thought it had a sentient mind, since it seemed like it could cast spells on its own. But whenever I was fighting the monster, all I did was visualize some pink ribbons, and they shot out from the book.”
Sulva’s eyes widened in shock.
“It makes sense though,” she went on, “since the ribbons are a specialty of the Butterfly Mage. But what doesn’t make sense is the fact that I was able to come back to life, or that it was able to put magical limiters on me back in Atrila.”
“To be honest, the way the book works is still a mystery to me, and I haven’t used it much for offensive purposes. It has some really good tips about arcane magic though, so I’ve been reading up on the notes that the Butterfly Mage left behind.”
Saya’s gaze dropped back down to Sulva’s still shocked expression. It was like he was frozen in time, somehow not able to fathom what she had just said. Slightly uncomfortable, Saya scooted her chair back slightly. “W-what…?”
“Excuse me. I was just a bit shocked that your book was able to shoot out pink ribbons.”
Saya raised a brow. “Yeah? Why wouldn’t it be able to? Surely the greatest mage of all time is capable of doing that. Hell, if I was her, I’d probably imprint some of my own styles into an artifact too, if I could.”
Sulva shook his head. “Apologizes, I should have been a bit more clear.”
“Perhaps you may know, since you used to attend a magic academy, but usually objects and creatures that don’t have blueprints aren’t able to cast any magic. You, and most likely the Butterfly Mage, found workarounds for that, opting to use arcane magic instead.”
“But from the studies that had been assigned to me by my master, arcane magic is simply mana manipulation.”
“That’s right,” Saya confirmed, before letting the cultist continue. So far, everything that he stated had become obvious to her. But she didn’t blame him for not possessing too much knowledge about the arcane, as it was a subject that most couldn’t comprehend anyway.
“However, the creation of something out of a catalyst, like a piece of paper, or a strand of hair, is something I’ve seen only one other time.”
Saya stared at him curiously.
“My master, Mother Tella, often casts seemingly random spells and magic by plucking out a single strand of her hair. I’m not sure if she possesses a Birthmark or not, but it’s highly likely that your book is utilizing the same technique.”
“But, going back on topic, you claimed that the shockwave merely created a ripple within the barrier, showing its true nature even for a second. So then, what did you do to break it completely?”
“All I did was punch the monster away. I think its flying body eventually hit the barrier, which momentarily shattered it,” Saya replied, before continuing. “But I don’t necessarily think its physical impact has to do with the barrier shattering, since I tried that before and failed.”
Sulva placed a hand on his chin. “Hm, then perhaps the key is either using your book, or hitting that monster when we’re in this dream world. The only problem with that is the fact that neither of them are present at the moment.”
“I don’t think we necessarily need those two things,” Saya claimed. She closed her eyes for a second before opening them again. With their conversation seemingly coming to a close, she felt like it was about time she actually demonstrated her ability fully.
The world sank into a deep blue. Everything except for magical energy, souls, and Birthmarks became obscure. As she suspected, the gasp coming from across the table was all she needed to hear to deduce Sulva did, in fact, have new trauma inflicted by her.
She scanned the house, spinning her head and body around for any sort of clues. She even pointed her eyes at the window, hoping to find any sort of magical gathering, a place that would be acting as this world’s core.
But to her dismay, nothing came up, as the only highlights she was able to spot were the souls and Birthmark of Sulva, and her own parents.
Turning off her Soul Sight, Saya let out a defeated sigh, grabbing the glass of water in front of her and taking a large gulp. The refreshing liquid cleansed her throat, which she had dried with her loud cries back at the pond.
“I didn’t find the source of the dream here. But there’s still a high chance it might be somewhere in the city, so it doesn’t hurt to check the main plaza when we’re done.”
Sulva chimed in, “I may have an idea of where the source could potentially be, though it isn’t a full confirmation.”
His words perked Saya’s ears immediately. “Where is it?”
“Back when I first arrived here, I found myself at the top of the pyramid, which was the exact same location where I had drowned back in the real world. It is entirely possible that the place that we woke up at is where our bodies are currently still residing.”
His theory checked out, at least to Saya. If Sulva had been laid out on the ground somewhere back in Yucu Saa, then she absolutely would have noticed a second soul string, even despite all the chaos that was happening at the moment.
Then, she came to the sudden, horrifying reminder that the pyramid had collapsed when she punched the monster right through the middle. If he was truly at the top, then there’s a good chance he might be extremely injured in the real world, or worse.
“Whenever I made my way down from the pyramid, every single citizen of Yucu Saa was getting angsty and uneasy. They looked like they wanted to beat me down for even setting foot on the grounds.”
“I remember that!” Mark, Saya’s father, jumped in. “You were in such a pickle, we had to come save you! GAHAHAHAHA!”
Joy, her mother, also entered the conversation. “I hadn’t seen everyone so violent ever since I got here. But the moment Sulva disappeared alongside your father, it was like they just forgot about the outburst in the first place.”
“Wait, when you ‘got here’?” Saya asked.
Joy nodded. “Oh, I thought I told you. I think among all of us here, we came to this world first. The last thing we remembered was being in that carriage all those years ago, and then seemingly teleported here.”
Though Saya started to get emotional over what her mother just said, she couldn’t bring herself to start crying again. This meant that all this time, the people that she had just assumed were manufactured by the dream were her actual parents.
Then this at least confirmed one thing…
“The only people who weren’t emotionally affected were those who don’t belong here. So that has to mean that the pyramid is the source, right? And the citizens all acting so weird could be a result of the dream’s sort of defense mechanism?”
Sulva nodded. “Good to see that we’re on the same page.”
“I personally couldn’t spot an anomaly at the top of the pyramid, but perhaps you would be able to once we come in contact, no, if we manage to even get close to that megastructure.”
“There’s a few things I still don’t understand though. Why would the dream choose the top of the pyramid for its central core, and why would it make itself so obvious? The Cradle King was different, since that curse had a tremendous amount of ego.”
“But everything about that monster’s movement and action practically screamed desperate. I mean, it kept using the same moves over and over again. At first, I thought it was a mindless beast, but the way it put the boy in its arms, I dunno, it was a bit weird.”
“It was as if it was…”
Before she could finish, Sulva completed the sentence for her. “Protecting him. I will admit one thing, whenever we ventured to the top of the pyramid to subdue him, there were pools of blood scattered all over the structure and the altar in the middle.”
“It’s entirely possible that before we intervened, he was meant to be a human sacrifice. Or I suppose, before the monster intervened.”
“I don’t see a difference between the two.” Her jab came out of nowhere, but it was wholly deserved. Sulva was someone that most would consider to be a villain, but he wasn’t mad enough to deny his own humanity.
He still felt bad about his actions, only choosing to execute them out of loyalty and fear of Quintella’s punishment. Besides, there were greater stakes he wasn’t willing to compromise, no matter how much his decisions weighed on his mind.
“Then it’s settled? We venture out to the pyramid. If the structure does end up being the source, and you know for a fact that we can be pulled out, then I’ll make sure to hold back anyone who tries to get in your way.”
“Though, I will admit, I cannot use my spells here.”
“You can't?!" Saya was taken aback. She had seen her parents use elemental magic at least twice, and she was able to channel her arcane energy within her body for physical strengthening.
Shaking his head, Sulva replied, “Unfortunately, no. Since the magic I use originates from the Third World, I believe there’s some kind of interference or something that’s keeping me anchored down to just regular elemental spells.”
“About that,” Saya cut in, “I’ve heard world magic a few times already, but I don’t quite understand what they are.”
“According to my master, it’s a type of magic that once existed in an era that’s now long dead. Unfortunately, she didn’t give me a ton of information to go off of, only focusing on how to cast these curses.”
Saya frowned, clearly dissatisfied with Sulva’s lackluster explanation of something she wasn’t entirely familiar with. But if worse came to worst, she figured that she could just one day ask the person who taught the curses in the first place.
“It explains why Albo can’t be cured with normal medicine. I guess it’s like getting an ancient disease.”
“Which brings me to my last point, before we go.”
Bending her knees, Saya stood on top of the chair she had been sitting in. If she were to just stand from the floor, her eye level would barely reach the top of the desk. For the question she was about to ask the cultist, she needed a complete view of his eyes, facial expression, and body language.
“If we get out of here, can you heal Albo?”
There was a stern look on Sulva’s face. He understood what Saya was doing in the moment, and he didn’t want to make light of the situation or give a confusing answer that could potentially anger her. From his perspective, even as a little girl, she had the capabilities of beating him down, not to mention the scare she gave him back at the academy.
“Yes.”
“Will you heal Albo?”
Again, he replied with a single, simple word, “yes.”
It would logically be a win-win for both of them. Saya would get her friend back, and Sulva would potentially be free of this monstrous mage hunting him down. When he was assigned to go alongside Quintella to Yucu Saa, after countless hours of begging on his knees, he assumed that he was completely safe from Oktavia’s wrath.
But with how the situation has turned out, if they do manage to leave, he’ll have little chance of escaping Saya’s grasp. The truth was, the elegant cultist was putting up a false bravado. Deep down inside, he was extremely terrified of Saya.
When she returned back home, every fiber in his body screamed at him to run away. But as long as he fulfilled this one request, then he would guarantee his safety from her for the rest of his life. Plus, it wasn’t like Quintella cared much for the curse he put on a seemingly random boy, so there most likely wouldn’t be any consequences.
“Good.”
With that, a deal was struck, as the two enemies swore themselves to a truce in order to leave this dream world.
Before Saya could leap down from her chair and make her way toward the door, she heard a loud slam from the desk, as a porcelain white plate was placed just in front of her. Immediately, the scent of meat, heated dough, and sauce infiltrated her nostrils.
“Now that’s settled, let’s eat!” Joy exclaimed, clapping her hands in ecstasy.
“You really had us worried there, kiddo. I thought you were going to beat this guy down at any time. GAHAHAHA. Don’t worry, if you need to, I’ll beat him up for you! GAHAHAHAHA!” her father exclaimed while puffing his chest out proudly.
“Ah, apologies, but we should be going now,” Sulva stated, as he slowly got up from his chair. But to his surprise, Saya simply plopped herself back down, scooting her chair forward to draw herself closer to the food.
The two parents smiled in delight as they saw their daughter fiddle with the huarache in front of her, unaware of how to approach the mouth watering dish. Upon feeling the surprised stare coming from Sulva, she sighed.
“I want to get out of here too, but we have to eat first.”
She said it like it was a matter of fact. However, there were deeper reasons why she wanted to stay beyond just nutritional purposes.
“Also, this is the last time I’d be able to eat mom and dad’s food. I want to enjoy it as much as I can. Sorry.”
Upon hearing their daughter’s sweet words, both Joy and Mark leapt forward, embracing her warmly with wide smiles. Their cheeks pressed against Saya’s, their laughter soft and close, as an unrelenting warmth of unconditional love spread across her face and down her chest. She giggled, her shoulders relaxing as she leaned into them, savoring every second she spent wrapped in their embrace.
“Mom, Dad,” she called out while tearing out a piece of huarache.
“I love you.”
“WE LOVE YOU TOO!!!” they exclaimed at the top of their lungs. At the other side of the table, Sulva could feel the infectious influence of their seeping love, as he couldn’t help but crack a sweet smile, reminiscing of what he once had.