General's Expedition

Tap. Tap.

The sound of the mutant horse's hooves was muffled and quiet, making little to no noise in the silent forest. A horse of this breed was made like that to increase stealth.

Lunan held tightly onto Ireciez, and Ireciez held onto the horse's reins, steering clear of any rocks, trees, or obstacles in general.

"You know, I must tell you," Ireciez briefly spoke, waiting for a response.

"Huh? What is it?" Lunan responded.

"When we encounter— if we encounter the General that I'm looking for— a young woman with an eccentric dye job— don't let her know of your name."

"Why?"

"Her ability is a conditional one. If she figures out your name, she'll be able to use her illusion magic to a higher level and mess you up. Or so I believe."

"A conditional… wow. I've never heard of something like that. But now that we know the conditions, we'll be fine, right?" 

"Don't let your guard down, ever. She can cast illusions from incredibly far away."

"… Hmm."

The ride fell quiet.

Both Ireciez and Lunan were using [Cast: Detection], a learnable cast that, with enough mana, can detect things at a radius as far as 500 meters across.

Lunan suddenly spoke.

"Why did you decide to join the military, Ireciez? I have this idea in my head, but I'm curious about what the real reason is."

Of course, Ireciez didn't answer straight away. He was too focused on paying attention to his surroundings, only realizing Lunan had spoken to him a few seconds ago.

"I think it's because of my stealth. The king didn't say it outright to me, but I think that's why. After all, I am a bit of a special case."

"Special case?"

"My Cast… it allows me to completely erase my presence for a moment. Like, absolutely."

"Absolutely?"

"To a spatial scale. Let's say, an individual with spatial magic, with the ability to detect the slightest shift in space. Since it's spatial magic, it is far more amplified than just regular detection. Even with that, I would not be perceived."

"How intriguing."

Lunan rubbed his chin, pulling his arm away from Ireciez. He turned around on the horse, acting as a rear-view camera. 

"Complete erasure of your presence."

"Mhm."

"That's… a very remarkable ability. I have a question, though."

"What is it?"

"Erasure. Is it literal? Does your existence... disappear? Cease to exist."

"No. An ability like that would be way too overpowered."

"..."

Again, the horse ride became silent.

As they rode across the island, they encountered several battles. The island was always at war, like this. Countless soldiers are dying, starving, and suffering, just to make sure the other side doesn't get past this island and cause mayhem in their homes.

The pair did their best to avoid the battles, scurrying in the darkness, slipping through shadows. This attempt was successful.

They continued searching and searching.

"I reckon we'll stumble into the enemy bases at this rate, being this deep into the island. Shouldn't we turn back?" Lunan asked.

"If you're afraid, you can turn back and take the horse with you. But I won't stop until I find her."

"What? What's so special about this general that you're willing to search the whole island to look for her?"

After a few seconds of thinking, Ireciez finally responded.

"... Her name wasn't very familiar, but once I saw her face... I felt as if I knew her."

"Old crush?"

"No..."

"Childhood friend?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure. My memories from then are iffy. But once I see the real her, something that isn't a projection, I'm sure my memories will come back."

"..."

Lunan sighed.

"Such a childish reason, huh? You're the type of person to chase after what you want, no matter the consequences. Interesting... Finding out more about you is gonna be interesting."

. . .

Lyrei had nervous breaths, panting softly as she stood in front of the birch oak door in front of her. Beads of sweat collecting on her forehead, she stretched her hand out, twisting the door knob.

Creeeeek!

With how slowly she opened it, the sound of the door filled the room.

"You're finally here, Lyrei."

In front of her was a round wooden table, with three wooden chairs surrounding it. Two chairs were occupied, while the one closest to the door was empty.

Lyrei groaned, walking toward the seat. 

"Jeez. I was all nervous. It's just this."

In the two seats in front of her, there was a boy and a girl.

The girl had simple black hair, with neat bangs, and dark eyes behind her rectangular glasses. She dressed in the apparel of a schoolgirl.

The boy beside her lay back in his chair. His face was obscured by a passing bird, or a gust of smoke, or a large apple that so happened to fall from the open ceiling that revealed colorful blue skies. 

It was strange. She couldn't perceive him at all. Whenever she turned her head to focus on his face, something covered it. But of course, she thought nothing of it.

"In this room, we're all equal in mind. You're all aware of your positions, right?" the woman, named Valerie, spoke.

The unnamed man sighed, still leaning in his chair. "Yeah, yeah. We understand that. What is this exactly?"

"Our sister Lyrei has awakened. Because of this, I was able to sense her energy. [----] had already awakened a while ago, so it was just Lyrei's turn. I can connect us through this," she continued.

"Why have you brought us here?" the unnamed man asked. Although his face couldn't be discerned, Lyrei noticed somewhat spiked white hair that revealed his forehead and a thin, tall body.

"Of course, after this, you'll forget mostly everything. But this is all just a test. To see how tapped our minds are. How much will you remember? I'm 'Knowledge', [----], you're Patience, and Lyrei, you're 'Frustration' "

"We already knew that." Lyrei yawned.

"You only knew that because I gave you all the 'knowledge'. The knowledge that will leave you very shortly. Don't get too cocky."

Lyrei looked to the side.

"So, when are you sending us out? I wanna see just how much I'll remember." the unnamed man asked again.

"Now. You all, stay alive. I'll find you all as soon as possible. Then, we can all be together."

The ends of Valerie's dull, straight lips curled slowly into a smile.

"Sister, don't smile. It doesn't fit you," the unnamed man laughed.

(Hiatus Note)

Dear readers,

I'll probably be posting a lot slower. My parents have grounded me after I got into trouble with the police, so most of my devices are being taken. I'm typing this chapter on my brother's laptop as we speak.

I'll try to maintain a good schedule, though.

From, the author.