A blinding light shone through the crypt. It was as if they were staring at the sun directly. As spontaneously as it had appeared, it vanished again. From Skystar's chest a glowing rose bloomed. Even thought it was coming straight through her body, there was no a drop of blood nor did the skin seem to actually break. It was ethereal almost. The princess opened her eyes.
"What?" she whispered "Where am I?"
"You're awake my love. You're awake."
Anon turned to see tears streaming down the druid's face and a large yellow-toothed grin. He gripped Skystar's soft youthful hand within his own crusty aged one.
"Who...?" she asked "Who are you?"
"You don't remember?" he asked, doing his utmost to hide his disappointment "Tell us, what do you remember?"
"My name. My name is Skystar. I'm a princess of the Elk Kingdom. But beyond that... it's all blank."
"How can this be?" Anon asked "I saw you in the crest memories. You were around when Clover the Clever was. You must remember that name at least?"
"I'm afraid not." she said flatly "My name and my title are the only memories I have."
"It must've been that particular Forever Rose." Sunset said weakly "This Skystar may be the same body, but her mind has reverted to its base state. She's a homunculus after all."
"Damn it!" Anon cursed "She was the only lead we had here."
"There is another way, I think." Rutherford said "Tell me, is the Dragon King of Sgòthan still around?"
"Of what?"
"He's referring to what we call the King of the East." Rarity said "But he does have a good point. It's rumored that he figured out the secret to eternal life and has been around since around the time of Rutherford. However the kingdom is... less then welcoming to guests. Not only that, but the King himself hasn't been seen or heard from in near two centuries."
"He was said to have a library filled with rare and unusual items. One that could help us here is a thing called the Mask of Remembrance. It's said that whoever dawns it to physically relive lost or stollen memories. It should work on a homunculus. The brain should still hold the memories provided it wasn't damaged. However there's one problem: it can only be used a single time. Seeing as it's been there for so long who knows if it still works."
Anon could feel Kovo's burning gaze from from behind him, cutting holes in his robe. Even though he wasn't in direct line of sight with her, it was as if she was making her intention physically felt without so much as moving a muscle. It was almost bone chilling.
"In the mean time though, I suggest we have ourselves a nice bath." Rutherford said, beating his chest with his fist twice
"A bath?" Sunset asked "At a time like this?"
"No better time to do it, especially in your cased. Now that the Leyline is open again we can use my special hotsprings. Not only is it nice and relaxing, but the mana from the Leyline tends to mix with the water. In other words, it'll be just the thing after that fight."
Sunset clutched her chest. He wasn't wrong. If she didn't get more mana soon she was liable to be completely drained of it entirely by the Greater Magic. Rutherford began to walk outside, prompting the rest to follow. It was a short trip from the castle, just ten minutes down a path. The spring was surrounded by large wooden spikes acting as a fence with a separated walk way.
"The left is for the ladies, the right for the men. Come, Anon."
"Right."
As they split into their gender segregated areas Anon caught one last glance at Novo. Once again she was starring daggers. He didn't want to have to think about it. Who's memories would he restore? What was the right choice? He couldn't think about it now.
Sunset settled into the hot springs. It’d felt like it had been ages since she just got to relax. She could feel the effects of spring immediately. The mana, now freely flowing from the Leyline, was mixing with the water, allowing her own mana to replenish at what felt like light speed. It was as if life was being absorbed into her pours. She turned her head to see Novo, still in her black assassin garb, waiting at the edge.
“What’s wrong, Novo?” she asked, “the water is perfect.”
Novo turn her head away, clutching the stump where her arm should have been.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed.” she assured her “I have a wound like that of my own.”
Sunset stood up showing the back of her naked body, charred from her shoulders to her hips. Kovo looked in amazement.
“That burn. Something about it isn’t right.”
“Right you are. It’s the price you get for solar magic. It burns you to the very soul.”
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
“You’ve nothing to apologize for. Come, join me.”
Novo reluctantly disrobed. Her small, frail body was covered in scars the most noticeable being one single scar that ran from her waist, up her belly, down each arm then around her shoulders and down her back. Sunset could tell what it was instantly. Surgery scars to reverse the direction of her magic circuits. It wasn’t a defect, but the product of a sick and twisted mind. Novo walked gently into the hot water, doing her best to get used to the sudden heat. She sat directly across from Sunset, never making eye contact. Even here she hadn’t left the battlefield. Her eyes darted from side to side, her body was tense, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. She sat in such a way that would allow her to jump onto dry land and into a fighting pose in the span of a few seconds.
“Relax, won’t you? We’re safe here.”
Kovo jumped a bit
“Sorry. I didn’t even realize I was doing it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It’s all reflexive. All in-built.” Kovo stared at her hand pensively “It’s as automatic as it is to brush my teeth or use the restroom.”
“If we get the artifact, if we somehow recover your identity… what do you think you’ll do? If you remember your mission to kill the two of us, would you go through with it now?”
"You'd actually entertain the idea?"
"Yes. Thing is... I don't think we really need Skystar's first hand account, however useful it'd be. We were intending to find the crest memories without her anyway. I think Anon is just impatient. I don't blame him, but we did make a promise to you."
"You'd actually give it to me? Even considering the gravity of the situation?"
"I don't know. I'm just saying it's an option. But back to my original question."
Novo looked down
“I’m not sure." she said quietly "I never really thought about that.”
“What will you do if the person you were wasn’t a good one?”
“I don’t know. I’d rather not kill again. Or fight at all, if I’m being honest. The whole process is so painful.”
“Tends to happen in a fight, yes.”
“No, I mean… every movement, every action hurts me.”
“From your mana you mean. Is it painful now?”
“No. well… not really. It’s just a dull ache right now. But when I’m actually in combat it’s searing. My arm feels like it’s filled with scalding hot razors trying to slice me open.”
“Well it’s said that Sgòthan is home to all knowledge, comparable to the King's Archives if not greater. Perhaps we can find something in there that will help you feel better, maybe return you to normal.”
“Normal?”
“I didn’t mean to cause offense.”
Kovo sank into the water a bit in a sulking manner.
“What about you?”
“Me?”
“Yeah. What are you hoping to get out of all this?”
Sunset looked at the starry night sky. She’d not thought of that. If they did win, if everything returned to how it was before what exactly was it that she planned to do? Go back to school? Settle down and have a family? Set out on her own to explore the world herself? She didn’t know.
“I couldn’t say. It never really crossed my mind.”
“You have no goal in mind?”
“None to speak of. I mean I’d like to finish school. Learn what I can about magecraft. But then what?”
“You’re a noble right?”
“Yes.”
“Why not take it easy? Live a life of leisure?”
“Because well… I can’t marry.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m cursed. And if I marry the one I love he’ll die within five years.”
“That’s a pretty steep price.”
Sunset lifted her hand up, staring at her crest faintly glow
“Like you wouldn’t believe.”
The door opened to reveal Princess Skystar. She removed her clothes and got into the springs with them.
“Oh, Skystar. It’s good to see you.” Sunset said
“Likewise.” She muttered plainly
“Is everything alright?”
“Yes. I forget you aren’t accustomed to me. Since I’m a homunculus, my emotions aren’t well developed nor are my facial expressions.”
“Do you feel emotion?”
“Something akin to that.”
From the male half of the hot spring a loud booming laugh was heard. Sunset couldn’t help but be jealous. At least Anon had cheerful conversation material. However, Anon’s feelings couldn’t be further from that.
“Oh, come now boy!” Rutherford said, taking another big drink from his bottle of whisky “This is meant to be a celebration! Like the Spring Solstice or the Autumn Age Festival! Live a little!”
Anon just huffed a bit. He just wanted to relax after having the very same man knock him into a wall.
“I need my rest. We’ll be going to Sgòthan first thing tomorrow. I need to be rested for that. Speaking of should you really be drinking when we have such a big journey ahead of us?”
“Oh, I’m not coming.”
“Why not?”
“I’m returning to the home of my ancestors in the west. The home of the druids.”
“I have business too there as a matter of fact." Anon said "Would it be alright if I met you there after I finish my time in Sgòthan?”
“Of course, m’boy. As you don’t have a formal teacher, I’ll be more than happy too. In fact, I can give you your first lesson right now. In druid magecraft there is a basic concept called the Five Points.”
“I remember that. Clover spoke of them in a memory. Said she could use it to save the mage world.”
“Save the mage world, huh? Well, I don’t know if they’re quite that potent. They’re more like basic fundamentals. I’ll teach you the first point for you to practice. It’s something you can do without much input or assistance from me. The first point is a spell called Measga. All you have to do is thread your mana into nature and have them become a single force. There is one thing to be careful of however, the stronger the force of nature, the more it will try to control your mana instead. You can start by practicing on the stone here. I want you to draw out its memory, its emotion.”
"It's memory and emotion? It's a rock."
Rutherford scoffed, taking another big drink
"I see the mages of the current era have forgotten quite a bit."
"Actually, sir" he said "I'm not a mage at all. I used to be a mortal and somehow ended up with this magic crest without my knowledge."
"Is that right? Well all the more reason to learn then." he said "Now, try out Measga."
Anon picked up the stone in his hand
"Measga." he said
He felt something different instantly. It was like he was playing tug of war with his mana. The rock glowed a bright emerald green and he couldn't let it go. His fingers were glued to it.
"Steady now," he said "Don't try to overpower it. Get to an equilibrium, an understanding."
Slowly but surely he felt his mana and the lifeforce of the rock center. It was as though the two forces were becoming a single entity. The rock went from glowing bright emerald to being covered in veins of mana.
"Excellent, excellent! You're a natural m'boy! And now that you've done that, take a look at this."
Rutherfords arm flashed a bright red and he hit Anon so hard the water around him rushed back as if hit by a gust of wind. To his surprise, it didn't hurt at all. His skin wasn't bruised and he didn't feel so much as a pang of discomfort.
"Since your mana has become one with that rock, you've taken on properties of the rock and the rock in turn has taken on properties of you. This can be done with any substance, however organic ones are what work best. But keep in mind what I said: the stronger the force of nature, the easier it becomes to lose yourself to it."
"Incredible." Anon said "Thank you."
"Anytime. Do stop by when you've finished your time in Sgòthan. By the time you're done there I'll have restored the Western Circle to it's proper glory and we can begin training in earnest. A word of warning though: if you ever come in contact with king ask but two questions and two questions alone."
"Two questions? Why?"
"It's best I not tell you. It'd only serve to stress you out."
"Well that's pretty stressful if I do say so myself."
"Trust me, boy." he said heavily, finishing the bottle of whisky "There are things in life that one is better off not knowing, both spoken and experienced."
After the bath had concluded, Anon found Rarity waiting outside for him. She had a clear glare on her face.
"Did you use it?" she asked "The Eye?"
"Yes. Well... rather it activated without my input. It's how we were able to restart the Leyline."
Rarity let out a deep sigh
"I appreciate your honesty. However this means you can no longer be my student."
"Why?" he asked "I don't quite understand you."
"It's against the code. Anyone who uses cursed or hexed artifacts must be excommunicated. You're lucky I don't just abandon you entirely."
"Why are you so strict about this? I technically didn't use it at all. It literally acted on its own."
Rarity bawled her hand in a fist tightly and began marching away
"That will be all, Anon."
"So be it."