Chapter 145: The Beginning of Truths

Sakolomé slowly pushed the door open. A slight breeze escaped from inside, lifting some dust frozen in the air like suspended ash.

To his great surprise, the room was intact, almost unnaturally well preserved. A perfectly made bed stood in one corner, and a female silhouette sat at a desk, back turned, surrounded by books, empty vials, and a few ancient objects. Her pale pink hair cascaded over her shoulders. She exuded a calm but ancient aura, as if she belonged to another century. Her attire resembled that of a warrior from a bygone age—elegant but worn by the battles of time.

In a soft, almost sung voice, she murmured without turning around:

— "Sakolomé… You have finally arrived. I have been waiting for you all this time…"

Shushu, motionless on his father's head, whispered quietly:

— "I feel a deep sadness… her words vibrate like a wound never healed."

Attentive, Sakolomé softly said:

— "Ysolongue?"

The woman slowly turned in her chair. Her face was beautiful, marked by silence, by waiting, by a melancholy that seemed etched into her features. Her yellow eyes met Sakolomé's. Her smile was gentle but tinged with a sad peace, as if this moment had been imagined a thousand times… but was arriving too late.

— "Too bad Sally isn't here to see us," she said simply.

At this mention, Sakolomé lowered his head, words refusing to come out. Sally's name hung in the air like a silent prayer.

Ysolongue rose, her slender figure outlined in the filtered light of the room. She approached Sakolomé and fixed her eyes on Shushu, still perched like a little living totem.

— "Is this strange creature the one who brought you to me?… That's surprising. And you… your appearance vaguely reminds me of someone."

She stopped, squinting as if a memory trying to surface was blocked by an invisible lock. Suddenly, she stopped and looked away.

— "No… forget it."

Sakolomé furrowed his brows slightly.

— "Are you sure you don't want to tell me who I remind you of?"

Ysolongue chuckled softly, almost tenderly:

— "It's strange. Because of Sally, I've always felt like I knew you, even without ever having seen you."

A moment of silence followed. The air vibrated with a gentle tension, like a dream one does not want to wake from.

— "I have… so many questions to ask you," admitted Sakolomé, voice calm but curious.

She tilted her head slightly, her pink hair falling softly over her face:

— "You came here for that? To question me?"

— "Let's say that was part of the reason. The other… is that I wanted to meet you. To understand you."

Ysolongue stared at him for a moment, then her lips parted:

— "So tell me, Sakolomé. What do you want to know?"

He thought, then simply asked:

— "Why do you live here, in this old abandoned castle?"

She looked away for a moment, gently shrugging.

— "Ah… that? I'm afraid I can't answer you."

Sakolomé's gaze hardened slightly.

— "Why?"

Silence settled.

Ysolongue lowered her head, her eyes shining with a distant light.

— "Because… that's just how it is. That's all."

— "You're lying, aren't you?"

She smiled faintly, without bitterness.

— "No. But I prefer to keep that truth to myself. It's my story, and it belongs only to me. There are wounds that cannot be told. Not yet."

Then, gently, she raised her hand and took his.

— "Come. Let's walk outside a bit."

Sakolomé followed Ysolongue through the silent corridors of the castle, then they passed under a wide stone arch leading to a path overgrown with iridescent ivy. The air was filled with a sweet and strange vegetal scent, blending the perfume of ancient leaves and flowers that seemed to softly sing in the wind.

The world of myths was finally revealing itself to him.

Before his eyes stretched luminous hills, dotted with floating stones, crystalline forests, and giant flowers with beating hearts. Celestial ruins seemed to float in the distance, as if the sky had preserved the remnants of a forgotten dream. A golden mist danced above shimmering rivers, and gigantic butterflies made of light passed regularly, as if watching over the place.

— "This world…" murmured Sakolomé, unable to look away, "it's unreal…"

Ysolongue smiled, her gaze toward the horizon.

— "You are in the Floating Heart of Myths. This realm exists at the boundary of the symbolic and the remembered. It houses all that peoples have dreamed, prayed for, or feared… without ever seeing it with their own eyes."

They walked under an onyx-leaved tree, whose roots seemed to whisper among themselves in a forgotten language. Shushu, still perched on Sakolomé's shoulder, watched everything with wide bright eyes.

— "There," said Ysolongue, pointing, "are Tiralyss, plant creatures that only grow when a person feels sincere regret. They wither when one lies too close to them."

Sakolomé stopped, fascinated, observing a black flower whose petals vibrated like harp strings.

— "They read hidden truths…?"

— "They feed on them," Ysolongue replied. "This world is built on memory, poetry, and silences heavy with meaning."

Further on, they passed near a suspended lake, floating in the sky like a giant bubble. A strange beast emerged, a mix of spectral feline and translucent dragon, watching them for a moment before flying off in an unknown direction.

— "What was that?" exclaimed Sakolomé.

— "A Zuhgura, a beast born from the recurring dreams of lost children. It is said it can find lost souls… if given a strong enough memory."

Sakolomé remained silent. Every detail of this world seemed a living poem, a riddle woven of melancholy and mystery.

They continued their walk. Living vines formed arches, and birds with multiple pairs of wings sang chants like ancient prayers. A cascade of light flowed in the distance, sparkling as if pouring liquid time.

— "You know this place well," said Sakolomé, looking at her walking ahead.

— "I lived here. I fought here. I loved and lost here…" she said simply, without stopping. "And now, I still walk here. Because there are memories I am not allowed to forget."

They stopped before a hanging garden where plants formed shifting patterns according to the emotions of those who looked at them. The pattern before Sakolomé froze in a violet hue, somewhat unstable.

— "You think about too many things at once," said Ysolongue with a gentle smile. "This world feels you, you know."

— "I just… need to understand some things."

She turned to him, more serious.

— "You want answers. But sometimes, Sakolomé, the answers are already there, only you don't yet know how to read them."

Silence fell for a moment.

After this visit with Ysolongue, Sakolomé returned home, heart heavy with questions and mind clouded. Lying on his bed, he stared at the ceiling, lost in thought. Ysolongue seemed capable of answering a multitude of questions, but as soon as the questions touched her personal life, she shut down into silence. This mystery made her being difficult to grasp, to truly understand.

Suddenly, he sat up on the edge of the bed, a sigh of exasperation escaping him.

— "Phew…"

A sigh escaped his lips as he looked at Sally's journal on his bedside table. Even Sally had never managed to make Ysolongue open up deeply… What was she hiding? Should he talk to Velda about it?

He shook his head, as if to chase away these intrusive thoughts, then lay back down.

— "No matter," he told himself. "Tomorrow, I'll try to dig deeper into all this."

He turned off the light and gently slipped into sleep.

The next day, still accompanied by Shushu perched on his head, they set off again toward Ysolongue's castle. As they approached the door, something caught their attention. Sitting in the garden of the old castle, surprisingly well maintained despite the apparent age of the place, several figures watched over it, their strange presence breaking the ambient calm.

Sakolomé and Ysolongue walked slowly through the quiet garden paths, where light filtered through foliage dancing on ancient stones. Silence had settled between them, but this time, Sakolomé felt it was the right moment to go further.

— "Ysolongue?" he said softly.

She turned her head toward him, her golden gaze peaceful but veiled with a discreet gleam.

— "Yes, Sakolomé?"

He stopped, looked at her for a moment, then asked frankly:

— "I would like to know more about you… please. Since we met, I feel an immense sadness in you. It's strange… And, from what Sally wrote, there was a certain Kai who spent a lot of time with you. Where is he now?"

At these words, Ysolongue lowered her eyes. A long silence stretched. She seemed hesitant… or evasive.

— "Sally's death…" she began softly, her voice trembling, "it's because of Shushu, isn't it?"

Sakolomé frowned slightly. She was dodging the subject.

But she continued slowly:

— "It's to Sally that I wanted to tell everything. I was ready. She would have understood, maybe even wanted to help me… even if she was too weak to really do anything."

Sakolomé felt his heart tighten. Yet he remained calm. This time, she was really speaking.

— "Sakolomé…" she murmured, looking up at him. "Do you think I can trust you? That you will never betray me?"

In response, Sakolomé raised a finger toward Shushu, still settled on his head.

— "Ask Shushu," he said. "If there's anyone who can testify to my loyalty… it's him."

He paused, eyes slightly darkened.

— "Shushu never killed Sally. But he was the indirect cause of her premature end. He pushed her to continuously use the mana of Sy666… which slowly doomed her. He didn't know what he was doing, he was young, uncontrollable, driven by a brutal survival instinct."

On Sakolomé's head, Shushu remained silent. The little demon seemed suddenly even smaller, crushed by the weight of his past deeds.

— "The one who killed Sally… is Sy666," Sakolomé continued. "Despite everything, I never could hate Shushu. Deep down, he was just a lost child. A being born to hurt, without knowing how to love. But I understood him. Until Sally's last breath. And even after. He stayed with me. I see him as a living memory… a strange gift Sally left me. I don't know why."

Ysolongue listened silently, her gaze veiled. A sad smile appeared on her lips.

— "I saw Sy666 in Sally's eyes," she admitted. "I tried to detach her from it… but they were already too linked. If I had tried anything direct, I probably would have hurt Sally too. That creature was part of her… down to her very being. So… it was already too late. Sally was doomed from the moment their bond formed."

She sighed deeply, then looked up at the sky where a few clouds floated slowly.

— "Very well, Sakolomé… I will tell you everything."

She turned her head toward him, her face suddenly more serious, more bare.

— "I don't even know where to start… but I suppose the simplest is from the beginning. From my family."