The sun rose above the highlands, and the blue mountains shed streams of mist-filled dew into the valleys between them. The black mountain remained silent about the events of the previous night, casting only its serene scenery like an ink wash painting upon the blue sky.
The mansion atop the hill, having witnessed everything, pretended to know nothing as it watched the shining solar chariot pass by. As if hoping the dawn goddess Eos might drop some hint.
Though the Sun and the Moon were siblings, they never leaned their shoulders together in affection. The only time they joined hands was to deliver divine punishment to those who insulted their mother, Gaia.
The northeast-facing room within the residence inscribed with the name Dadukos remained cold and holding its breath even as morning came.
Sunlight poured through the small square window like comb teeth. Thetis, sitting with her legs together on an ash tree chair, had insteps that sparkled white in the light, as though fine sand had been strewn upon them.
The blue eyes that had been blankly staring outside turned at the sound of the door opening, having listened without emotion to the chirping birds. A maid had brought bread and milk and placed them on the table.
"Please eat, Your Highness."
"That's fine. Leave it there...."
Thetis paused. The maid, who had been bowing her head, smiled faintly and met her eyes.
"Lady Asteril?"
Thetis covered her mouth with both hands, overcome with joy. She sprang up so abruptly that her chair tipped backward, and she threw her arms around Asteril's neck.
"Now, now, we haven't time for this."
Asteril held out a saffron-dyed yellow ceremonial dress and a crown made of white lilies.
Thetis laughed, exclaiming, "My goodness...."
"Normally, criminals sent to the Valley of Death are bound in ropes and shabby clothes.... But I suppose they give special treatment since I am a former princess."
Asteril inwardly cursed Perius with every profanity she knew. She was suddenly flooded with regret—perhaps she should have let Rhea cut his throat back then.
"Actually, I could help you escape just like this. It wouldn't be difficult. If you go to Demeter, I could ask the Mother Queen to arrange shelter for you."
"...."
"But then the remaining Poseidonians would lose their last hope. You are the only one who can save Poseidonia from the quagmire."
"Am I truly such a person?"
"Of course. My eyes are never wrong."
"...."
"Gather your courage, Lady Tetis."
"If you say so, Lady Asteril.... I shall try to be brave. What must I do now?"
"I do have a plan...."
"A plan?"
"Would you like to hear it?"
Instead of asking for details, she gazed into Asteril's eyes. They were a gaze steady enough to inspire envy.
"If you asked me to, I would follow you even to the path of the underworld."
"I had intended to push ahead even if you refused.... Hearing you say that leaves me speechless."
"How could anything you do be anything but excellent?"
The North Wind, sitting on the windowsill and observing, laughed softly at the sight of the two princesses, reminded of their days in the star palace. For a brief moment, he felt his tension melt away.
Shortly after, the two having changed their clothes slipped quietly out of the confinement room, muffling their footsteps.
Following Asteril out into the inner courtyard, Tetis was startled to see soldiers collapsed here and there.
The residence resembled a battlefield.
The floor was littered with broken jars and fallen torches, and the unconscious ones were mostly groaning with broken limbs or clutching their faces with bloody noses.
"Are you out?"
Aris revealed himself from among the densely layered pine trees. He wore an expression of utter annoyance, gripping the neck of the last soldier he had subdued.
"For us, being told not to kill humans but to subdue them is the same as being told not to kill mayflies but to catch them. Do you know how tiresome that is?"
"Nevertheless, you did splendidly. You've caught dozens of mayflies. What of Antonio Beotos?"
"He was the first to flee. In a complete panic, he ran out barefoot and sprinted down the hill path. You told me not to pursue, so I let him go."
Asteril gazed toward the main building for a moment.
"Lark.... What about the baby and the baby's mother?"
"They were hiding behind a jar holding the baby, so I pretended not to see."
"Well done."
Though it was true that Megara had hated Lakne, she would not have wished for the baby to die as well. The remaining years of her life would be punishment enough for that woman.
"Lady Asteril, what is all this? Antonio Beotos.... Surely you don't mean the merchant house of Beotos?"
"I'll explain as we go. Truly, many things happened in this mansion last night."
"What of.... What became of Dadukos?"
"That man had been marked by the god of misfortune long ago. Without knowing it, he invited his father-in-law, Antonio Beotos, to the mansion for a dinner last night. He didn't even know how pleased the god of misfortune is by the combination of night and dinner."
Dadukos had calmly lied to Antonio that his daughter had died suddenly from illness not long ago.
Dadukos, who had been cooped up in Nysa alone, had forgotten how meticulous his father-in-law was. He had even forgotten that in the early days of his marriage, half the workers in his mansion had been spies for the Beotos family.
"Megara is dead?"
As expected, Antonio was bewildered. He stared blankly at the suckling pig and hen dishes Dadukos had prepared with such care, wondering what kind of situation this was.
Dadukos chattered incessantly. He spoke excitedly, as if discussing some festival, of how they would hold a very special mummy funeral, how he had entrusted her to the Kokkinos family, the finest embalmers.
Was he always such a talker?
Antonio clenched his fist with a scowl. To think my daughter had died without his knowing. To think he was held in such contempt by that man.
He suppressed his boiling rage and stuffed any piece of meat into his mouth.
"Pah! What is this?"
He gagged and spat out the chunk of meat, in which a human finger was mixed.
Dadukos dropped his wine cup with a clang. The white linen cloth decorating the table was stained dark red with wine. Like the face of Antonio, flushed with anger.
"F-Father-in-law...."
Antonio was born with abundant doubt and anxiety. He was a man who could only be satisfied after confirming everything with his own two eyes.
He shoved aside Dadukos, who tried to stop him, and kicked open the kitchen door. The startled slaves retreated at the sudden appearance of the intimidating Antonio.
Antonio inspected the jars and sacks containing ingredients as thoroughly as he would examine cargo from his trading ships.
Sacks and bundles toppled over, spilling grains and foodstuffs. Jars filled with wine and water shattered with the blows of his club.
"Please calm yourself, Father-in-law! One of the kitchen slaves died recently, so perhaps he...."
"Silence!"
Antonio glared at the large earthenware jar remaining in a corner of the kitchen. Its lid was half-open, and the water jar was large enough for even a sizable person to fit inside.
That's it. There's something inside.
Antonio placed considerable trust in his own intuition. Especially when it came to ominous premonitions—he had never been wrong.
He approached the jar and carefully opened the lid. His eyes, peering inside while lowering his head, hardened in shock.
A human head was submerged in the water, floating roundly like a watermelon. Its long black hair spread out like seaweed, covering the surface of the water in inky blackness.
Antonio grasped the wet hair and lifted the head out with a splash. Upon recognizing the face of the pale corpse, he let out a sharp scream.
"Me-Megara!"
He had hoped against hope, but it was truly Megara. Antonio turned away, gasping and clutching his chest. His eyes reddened with rage. He gritted his teeth and looked around frantically. Among the neatly arranged kitchen tools, sharp knives hung in various sizes.
Dadukos, having also seen Megara's corpse in the jar, was out of his mind with shock. He waved his trembling hands and stammered.
"F-Father-in-law! I swear I know nothing of...."
"Shut up, you ungrateful wretch! I knew it was you from the start! I knew it!"
Antonio had lost his reason. He swung the blade toward Dadukos, who backed away in terror—specifically, toward his detestable face he could no longer stand to see.
"Aaack!"
The slaves screamed and fled in confusion.
"You dared deceive me? You? If not for me, did you think a petty nobody like you would be sitting in this position? Not even grinding your bones to dust would satisfy me!"
Antonio climbed atop the convulsing, fallen body of Dadukos and stabbed his chest relentlessly with the knife.
The tragic screams gradually weakened into feeble sobs, then stopped abruptly. Antonio's excited breathing also subsided.
However gruesome, every death ends in silence.
Looking at Dadukos's blood-soaked corpse, Antonio rose without pulling the knife from the body. He thought this wretch deserved no better.
"Horrifying."
Asteril, watching everything from the mansion rooftop, sighed at an indescribable turmoil. Aris glanced at her with an expression of incomprehension.
"Didn't everything go according to your plan? Why are you sighing?"
"It went too exactly according to plan.... That's why I feel uneasy."
She could see the members of Hecate, disguised as kitchen slaves and cooks, slipping away through the garden path. Asteril dusted off her behind and stood up.
"Then I'll leave the cleanup to you."
"Just until before dawn, right?"
"Yes, and I'm telling you again—no killing. Not a single person."
Aris folded his arms with an annoyed expression. She was the one giving orders, yet laid down so many conditions.
Tetis wore a horrified expression. To think such a tragedy had occurred.
Yet more surprising than the events of the night was the sight of Asteril and Aris bickering and exchanging glances right in front of her.
When had those two, who used to growl at each other like sworn enemies, grown so close?
"I intend to bury Lady Megara in the family tomb of the Beotos house, where her mother rests."
Asteril added this explanation, perhaps thinking Tetis's stiff expression was due to worry over Megara.
"That's a good idea."
"I'm going ahead."
"Yes, please go and prepare."
Aris nodded at Asteril's words, stepped on a large olive tree, and leaped—soon disappearing from sight.
"You two have truly grown close."
"Rather than close.... We've come to understand each other a little."
Tetis burst into laughter. The way Asteril acted shy, like a child who had just fought and made up with a friend, was endearing.
"I'm envious."
"Pardon? Of what?"
She was envious of one who loved Keton and shared friendship. She was envious of Aris, who understood her with just a look and conversed with her without restraint. She envied the two of them. She thought it was beautiful, even if envious. Those with power were originally such beings. Now Asteril too was among them.
Before the mansion gate, a palanquin with ornate decorations awaited them. The decorative craftmanship of irises and pansies finished with narcissus was striking. It seemed to have adopted the style of the Eastern Continent.
Asteril suddenly thought of the palanquin she had ridden as Persephone on her way to Hades.
Were not irises and pansies flowers usually carved upon the tombstones of the dead? Moreover, narcissus was the flower symbolizing the god of the underworld, who governs eternal deep slumber.
This too must certainly have been prepared by Perius. Or else by that lackey of his, Dadukos.
"Don't worry, Lady Tetis. I will accompany you to the altar where the ceremony is held. We must reach the mountaintop before sunset, so let us depart quickly."
"One moment, Lady Asteril."
Tetis's yellow ceremonial dress rustled with her urgent movement. Her eyes made up like a priestess performing a magnificent ritual glanced sideways at the palanquin bearers as if wary of them.
"It's all right. They are all my people, so speak freely."
"By any chance.... Is His Majesty of Hades here as well?"
"Yes, he is nearby."
Tetis looked relieved. Asteril smiled faintly and pointed behind the palanquin with her finger.
"And that person is here too?"
"Pardon? Who?"
Among the palanquin bearers, feet wearing deerskin sandals moved soundlessly. When she appeared in a short tunic holding a bow, Tetis's face brightened with joy.
"Lady Melinoë! I'm glad you are safe!"
"Yes, are you unharmed?"
"Yes, thanks to all of you. What of Ampia?"
"She is staying safely in the village, so do not worry. She is with Princess Leuke."
"Princess Leuke is here as well?"
Seeing the bewildered Tetis, Asteril and Melinoë explained what had transpired.
The circumstances of parting with Callian and coming to Poseidonia, the events in the agora, how they had threatened the High Priest Gaius to go to the royal palace and meet Perius, how they had secretly left the capital and were heading toward Nysa when they discovered by chance the message Leuke had left at a crossroads statue, and afterward meeting the Hecate clan and Mnemosyne in Nysa....
"So many things have happened. I am grateful for your safety. O Ananke of fate! I thank you."
Asteril winced unconsciously at the name of Ananke coming from Tetis's lips. The fact that she was Callian's mother.... It would be best to keep that secret for now.
"I too have something to tell you both."
Tetis lowered her head bashfully, then raised it.
"Coming to Nysa was in fact my own will."
Now that she mentioned it, they had forgotten to ask why Princess Tetis had returned to Poseidonia.
"You have met Perius, Lady Asteril, so you would know well. He is a simpleton, a foolish human. And yet he harbors considerable inferiority toward me.... It takes but a little provocation to excite him and make him jump. Provoking such a person was simple. His lacking competence in state affairs, his weak leadership, his paranoia about not becoming like his father—grasping just one of these was enough."
"I can clearly picture how red Prince Perius's face must have burned."
As Asteril spoke with a laugh, Tetis laughed along before gradually assuming a shadowed expression.
"I think I had come to believe myself quite capable after experiencing various things in Hades. I thought I could find my mother immediately upon arriving in Nysa, but...."
The reality was that of a powerless princess locked in a provincial governor's residence, merely waiting for death. She could do nothing. All she could do was desperately wait for Melinoë's help beyond the walls.
"The provincial governor Dadukos wouldn't even hear my story. I had heard he was quite greedy, so I thought he could be easily bribed, but he was already Perius's man. A very devoted lackey, at that. It was foolish. Ampia was nearly endangered because of me.... What confidence was that, indeed? I am not Lady Asteril...."
"No, anyone would have done the same. It is not your fault, Lady Tetis."
It had already been several years since the queen's disappearance. Megara had met her end in just a few months, reduced to such a state. How likely was it that the queen still lived with her sanity intact?
But she could not say such things to Tetis.
"Thank you, Lady Asteril."
Melinoë mounted her horse first. Though she had only just learned of these facts, she was so excellent at horsemanship that she could accurately shoot her bow even from horseback.
In contrast, Tetis and Asteril, who boarded the palanquin, slowly descended the slope and gazed toward the farm where the harvest fields stretched out.
There, beneath an olive tree, lay Antonio clutching his stomach, and beside him stood Anaktra, holding a knife dripping with blood as she looked down upon her former master who was drawing his last breath.
Tetis covered her mouth in shock, while Asteril silently turned her gaze elsewhere.
The Sun God witnesses all from his solar chariot, yet some things he deliberately turns away from and ignores.
Such was one form of compassion. The way capricious gods overlooked the justice of the most wretched. Yet one must remember that the cold indifference of the gods may visit anyone.
Because tragedy and death were the most equitable endings that any of us could face.
Ψ
The path to the Dionysus altar was narrow and steep.
Fortunately, the members of Hecate bearing the palanquin were bodies trained in preparation for diverse terrains. Since the clan's hideouts were always located in rugged mountains and deep caves, such mountain paths were no different from flat ground to them.
Furthermore, Circe had even applied a mixture of camelina oil and sap to the soles of the palanquin bearers' shoes so their feet wouldn't sink into the muddy road.
The effect was remarkable. Where other parties of prisoners took a full day, they arrived in half a day.
Two wooden pillars painted with alkanna dye in wave patterns were the structure marking the altar's entrance.
Before the right pillar, engraved with a giant snake in relief, stood a water jar for measuring time, secured firmly to the ground with ropes.
From the hole in the jar's bottom, clear water trickled out like the Milky Way. When all the water drained and the bottom was exposed, it would be time to offer the sacrifice.
Around the time the evening glow settled, golden sunset light spread brilliantly in the west like the palace of the Sun God. The water in the jar had drained to more than seventy percent.
Boom!
With a resounding drumbeat, the ceremony began. The crowd gathered was several times larger than usual.
From the entrance of the altar where the two pillars stood to the steep slope leading to the beak-like precipice, the crowd drenched in sweat and heat swarmed like ants with nowhere to set foot.
Tetis, descending from the flower palanquin, swallowed dryly with a nervous expression. Soldiers clearing the path blocked the reaching arms of the crowd toward her and shouted with angry faces.
"Don't push!"
"You there! Can't you step back?"
The leading priest held a purified vessel and shook a staff adorned with bells. At this, people with wide eyes stared at the priest's staff as if entranced.
"Let us go, Your Highness."
The crowd's curiosity-filled gazes trailed closely behind the priest and the princess.
For a commoner to approach a member of the royal family this closely was difficult even if they spent a lifetime's fortune. Moreover, the sight of a princess—the king's eldest daughter of a nation—being executed before the citizens was truly a rare spectacle.
Thus, it was no surprise that the entire black mountain surged like waves with sightseers who had flocked from across the kingdom.
The Sun God looked down upon the scene from his solar chariot, clicked his tongue as if in pity, and gripped the reins.
Was it not madness itself to show such enthusiasm for someone's death? It was paradoxical and contradictory behavior. Truly, humans were serpents with their throats and anuses attached in a round circle, devouring themselves.
The executioner in black clothes awaited. In his hand was rope wrapped around the back of his hand for binding the sacrificial victim's hands and feet.
Boom!
The drumbeats grew faster and more intense. Tetis, head bowed, glanced sideways to confirm Melinoë and Asteril, who were holding her arms and leading her.
The crimson sunset was swallowed beyond the western mountain like a fireball, and the sky, which had blazed like a roaring furnace, darkened at the breath of Eos.
The full moon, having escaped from the womb of the Night Mother, rose thick and clear. Thanks to the brightly pouring moonlight, even the opposite mountain peaks and the trees in the forest were visible in fine detail.
Before she knew it, Tetis was kneeling atop the altar where the ceremony was to be held. The executioner bound her two hands tightly behind her back with rope.
Fires were lit in the braziers surrounding the altar. Upon the ground where grass had been trampled to death, the shadow of the princess sitting humbly gathered in a circle.
A faint sob leaked from somewhere. Someone remembered—the shining glory of the princess who had been Poseidonia's pride.
"Do not weep, my people."
Tetis spoke softly. Her voice was clear and graceful, as if woven from scales.
"Today, this sad tragedy shall reach its end. No longer shall innocent blood pool in the Valley of Death. The lives of your families and children shall no longer be threatened."
A murmur rippled through the crowd. They regarded the princess with half-doubting eyes. They seemed to think the princess, facing death, had finally gone mad.
"Raise me."
The executioner, robed in black down to his head, roughly lifted her up with one arm. Asteril assisted from the side.
Asteril, bending at the waist, whispered with only her lip movements when their eyes met: "Well done."
"It is time for your next line."
At those words, Tetis nodded her head invisibly. She shouted to the executioner:
"Set my body aflame!"
The crowd exclaimed in surprise. Tetis raised her bound hands toward the sky and cried:
"Fire purifies all and heralds a new beginning! O gods of Nysa! I offer this body, its sins washed away, as sacrifice. I pray you quell your long-standing wrath!"
The executioner, exchanging glances with the priest, approached her with a lit torch.
The faces of the crowd still held hatred. Yet at her demeanor and bearing, maintaining her dignity and grace until the very end, their trembling eyes wavered like flames.
Fwoosh.
The executioner threw the torch upon Tetis's body. The flames instantly engulfed her entire form in a blaze. Without uttering a single scream, she walked toward the precipice.
In the darkness, the sight of her burning was wondrous enough to inspire awe. Hissing breaths flowed from the tense crowd.
Boom!
The executioner advanced to the drumbeats. He pushed Tetis in the back with a long stick as she stood at the edge of the precipice. Losing her balance, she swayed and toppled over.
The princess has fallen!
Everyone held their breath and strained their ears. The bottom of the precipice was rock. If she fell, there would be a thud. All previous prisoners had done so.
Strange. Why is it so quiet? No dying scream. No cry of pain.
Then a rising current soared like an eagle, sweeping fiercely above everyone's heads.
Swoosh.
The trees sparsely planted atop the precipice shook their branches and leaves wildly in the rough wind. The groves lay bent and flat against the ground.
Mountain birds fluttered up in flight. Beasts cowered and hid in the shadows. Something was happening.
From below the cliff, a stony gust mixed with dust blew fiercely. Sand grated and crunched between teeth. The crowd covered their faces with their arms and squeezed their eyes shut.
"O-over there...."
Someone pointed with a finger, and the people's gazes converged in that direction. Everyone squinted open from curiosity. Below the precipice where Tetis had fallen, it was gradually growing brighter.
It was as if a single flower were rising above the water's surface. The flames that had swallowed the princess's body exploded and flared up, then gradually subsided.
The spectacle captured the crowd's gaze like the hair of Thalassa billowing in the waves, flashing like lightning in their entranced eyes.
"Using fire in the dark certainly creates a more dramatic effect."
Asteril and Aris stood a short distance apart, staring straight ahead as if they didn't know each other.
Though everyone was mesmerized by Tetis's appearance having flown up from the precipice, paying no attention to the two of them, some suspicious soul might be watching quietly.
"How did you come up with this?"
Aris, dressed in black, tossed the end of his burnt stick to the ground and glanced sideways at the slope. There, the man who had originally been the executioner lay naked and collapsed among the bushes.
"I learned from your ways. Are not humans beings who believe what they hear and what they see?"
True words, though his mood was not entirely good. As Asteril stood there noncommittally, Aris snickered.
"That is not necessarily a bad thing."
By now, the flames had died out and turned to ash. Tetis landed softly upon the ground, still clad in her yellow saffron ceremonial dress.
Scattered embers scattered like dandelion seeds through the air, gradually gathering toward Aris's side. When Aris opened his palm, the ember that settled gently upon it disappeared into his fist with a pop.
"Well done, Hestia."
Asteril cast a sidelong glance. For some reason, she felt Hestia was pleased as well.
Soon, a great cheer erupted from atop the precipice.
Hooray! Thalassa! O Thalassa!
The vast crowd, overcome with wonder, stretched their hands toward Tetis.
A miracle! A manifestation of the divine!
Those in the back pushed and shoved each other, rushing forward to raise both hands in worship and reverence.
The Poseidonians had always loved myths. While envying tales of miracles performed by foreign priestesses and priests, they had inwardly longed for a figure like Diocles of legend to appear once more.
The priest presiding over the ceremony slipped quietly beneath the shade of a tree and removed the wooden mask from his face. Asteril, whose eyes met Circe’s as she revealed her true face, smiled.
Here and there, Hecate members who had been inciting the crowd by shouting Thalassa’s name began quietly withdrawing their feet when Circe raised her hand adorned with the sapphire ring to signal.
As Asteril turned around, she spotted familiar faces in the crowd shouting Thetis’s name in excitement. The Agora merchants she had met in Triton were waving their hands at Thetis, their faces filled with exhilaration.
Her chest swelled with emotion. It was a different feeling from when she had saved a patient hovering between life and death.
“Why are you so moved?”
“Because it makes me happy.”
“That’s exactly why I’m asking why you’re happy. It’s not even your business.”
“….”
“Why?”
“Lord Aris, you wouldn’t understand even if I explained.”
“Then try explaining.”
Asteril heaved a sigh, as if annoyed.
“Lord Aris, have you ever felt your chest grow warm or your mood lift when you saw someone else happy?”
“No.”
“Then what about feeling sad alongside someone who was grieving? For instance, seeing someone cry and feeling a stinging ache in your chest….”
Aris, who had likewise been tilting his head with a doubtful “Well?”, flinched when he saw Asteril’s eyes flushed red.
His pupils, which had been blankly relaxed, trembled. Aris gently rubbed his chest with his left hand. A bewildered expression crossed his face.
“You haven’t, right?”
“Huh?”
Asteril narrowed her eyes as if she had expected this and snapped, “That’s exactly why I told you you wouldn’t understand.”
“No, it’s just….”
“They say Ketons are born without the ability to empathize.”
Of course, excluding Ketons who possess Anteros. Even so, even if they have Anteros, they display empathy more barren than a desert toward anyone other than the one bonded by Anteros.
“Hey, let me ask just one more thing.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Then are you all emotional because you like that princess?”
“Of course.”
Asteril rolled her eyes. Did he really have to ask such an obvious thing…?
“Is this that thing?”
Aris muttered, tilting his head. Like someone suffering from indigestion, he kept rubbing the left side of his chest.
“What thing?”
“Huh? It’s just….”
“Why do you keep rubbing there? Are you in pain?”
Asteril approached him with round eyes. As she pressed one hand against his forehead to check his complexion, Aris stopped breathing entirely.
Following her worried gaze, small and gentle breaths touched his throat before pulling away. Every muscle in his body stiffened rigidly.
“I-It’s nothing.”
“It doesn’t sound like nothing?”
“….”
“Lord Aris, your earlobes are as red as ripe peaches. Your breathing is strange, too….”
His blood vessels swelled and pulsed wildly. This foolish creature, saying foolish things. What did it even mean for a Keton to be in pain? Did that even make sense?
Aris glanced sideways and, without thinking, reached his hand toward Asteril’s cheek. If he touched it, it would surely be as warm and soft as cotton. Her lips would be smooth like rose petals yet moist.
Snapping out of his daze after imagining such things, he jerked his hand away.
“It’s because you came so close that I’m actually feeling worse!”
“Why are you getting angry at me?”
“Get away from me, now!”
Asteril stared at him incredulously, then stalked off in a sulk.
Aris wiped his chest in relief. Something had nearly happened. He had nearly done something irreversible….
—I shall report this to Lord Kallian.
Aris flinched and raised his head. Bukpung was glaring at him with a fierce face.
—Report what?
—That thing just now.
—…
—Even if I do not report it, our perceptive lord will realize it soon enough, no?
—Do you have a death wish?
—Not at all. I am fulfilling my duty precisely because I wish to live. If Lord Aris also wishes to live, do not lay a single hair on our Despoina. The lord commanded that no male, regardless of race or age, is to come anywhere near Despoina. He will not overlook you, Lord Aris, no matter who you are.
—You…
—I shall turn a blind eye just this once. Just this once.
Aris glared incredulously. That little gnat-breath of a thing, how dare he….
Bukpung, having said his fill, shot up into the sky like an arrow.
In any case, the skill with which he fled… truly, how should he even be punished?
Someday, he would definitely catch that guy, wrap his tail tightly around a cypress branch, and thrash his cloud-like bottom until sparks flew. Aris gritted his teeth and vowed as much.
Meanwhile, beneath the altar where a cauldron of frenzy was unfolding, a chilling killing intent permeated the silence and stillness that lay heavy as death.
Hanpung, after finishing his task of escorting Thetis to the top of the cliff and returning, surveyed the lingering tension that clung like spiderwebs between the underbrush and sand grains upon the murk-soaked ground.
At last, he caught sight of Kallian standing with his back against a large boulder. Hanpung approached his side, bowed his head, and reported in a measured, low voice.
Kallian, who had been resting with his eyes closed, raised his head and looked up toward the top of the cliff.
Anteros was steeped in joy. From the rising heartbeat, it seemed Princess Thetis’s affair had gone smoothly.
She was enjoying it as though it were her own affair. Naturally. She was the sort of woman who would cast everything aside and run off for the Hound Princess and the Blue-Eyed Princess.
She was the woman who had chuckled, “You can handle the rest yourself, can’t you?” while he was in the middle of the work to enter the clay body, before leaving to go to them. What more need be said?
Naturally, just as she had said, he had handled it alone and perfectly well. The moment he entered the clay body, he instinctively sensed what to do from the residual breath circulating within. Thus, there was nothing to complain of.
However, he had been considerably shocked that she, who had blushed and poured out words like “I was curious how it would feel if Lord Rian took on a male form,” or “I wondered what it would feel like to be held tightly by you in Lord Rian’s face,” had, upon hearing that she would be entering the clay body, immediately rushed off without looking back, saying she was busy.
It was work he carried out while feeling shame for the first time in his life, yet the fact that even that was a lower priority to her than the affairs of her comrade princess….
Kallian crossed his arms and stared into empty space. A hollow sigh welled up and caught on his lips.
Today, for some reason, the darkness spread around him felt more gloomy and grating than ever. As a Keton for whom darkness—Erebus of the primordial age—was womb and cradle, he had no reason to hate the dark; in his original body, he would have torn even this darkness to shreds.
To that extent, his nerves were honed to a razor’s edge right now.
It was much like the time when the Night of Selection had arrived. Back then, every blood vessel had surged like an active volcano; now, it felt like riding waves across lava and snowfields.
Emotions that had been standing on edge like shards of broken glass grew brittle as if caught in a downpour. The inner self, once a silent lake in a forest visited by no one, transformed into a sea swept by tidal waves.
Suddenly, he craved a drink. Wine undiluted with water, deeply fermented apple liquor, or perhaps subtly sweet dohwaju….
Kallian’s pupils grew hazy. Come to think of it, it had truly been far too long since he had held her.
When it came to self-restraint, he was second to none. Impulsive emotions that churned his insides to this extent were not something his pride could permit.
He lowered his gaze and took a long, deep breath. Even breathing was uncomfortable and suffocating. It felt as though his lungs had been charred; every breath was short and shallow.
What a pathetic body… Is this truly the caliber of flesh that humans inhabit?
He pressed his forehead in despair. Hanpung, watching him with pity from the side, blew a cool breeze as if to comfort him.
In any case, the situation had reached a temporary conclusion. In one month, the entire region of Poseidonia would be abuzz with rumors that Thetis was the incarnation of Thalassa.
Now, what remained was the matter on this side? Kallian turned his body at an angle and gazed toward the overgrown thickets surrounding the swamp.
Several shadows crouched with bated breath. They were the ones who had been waiting for prey to fall from the cliff. They did not seem poised to attack; rather, they appeared tense.
He needed to deal with them as quickly as possible and go embrace her. For every moment they had spent apart, he would pass a night so deep it seemed endless.
If necessary, he would catch even the one-eyed wolf said to carry darkness within its mouth and turn even broad daylight into night. The joy of union that would melt this mental fatigue was desperately craved.
Meanwhile, unaware of his inner thoughts, a slender shadow hidden in the underbrush clutched her pounding chest, her face flushed with excitement.
It’s him… Without a doubt!
The amethyst eyes visible within the man’s seemingly indifferent gaze seemed dyed with the juice of night-blooming narcissi, and his hair, which appeared close to black at first glance, rustled each time the clinging wind touched it, rippling blue like the night sky just before dawn.
Simply standing still, his noble bearing was more magnificent than any statue of a youthful god.
Especially the way he smoothed his throat as if quelling his anger was incomparably elegant, yet sensual….
She covered her heaving mouth with her hand. She felt dizzy.
He was too beautiful. Her heart raced far more violently than when she had peeked through the door gap that one time.
It was the first time she had felt an impulse to touch a man. She wanted to be touched by those hands. She imagined his rose-colored lips descending to meet her own, pressing together, tongues and breath intertwining.
Her breath hitched. Her chest felt constricted, and her blood vessels pulsed wildly.
There was no way he had failed to notice her. Kallian narrowed his eyes and began walking slowly toward the thicket. He was not the sort of generous man who would overlook being spied upon.
He walked across earth densely spread with moonlight. Then, a sword buried in the mud caught his foot, making him pause.
The sensation of the hilt gripped in his hand was heavy. It was a weight that felt different from when he possessed a Keton’s body.
Kallian signaled Hanpung with his eyes to step back.
This was an opportunity to test this body’s physical abilities. It would undoubtedly be an unsightly level compared to when he was a Keton.
The moment he made his decision, a shadow lurking in the right-side thicket lunged aggressively, its mouth gaping wide.
Kraaack!
Kallian’s long eye-line drew a slender streak like raindrops striking the water’s surface.
It was a Maenad whose lower body had monstrosified. He extended the arm holding the hilt straight out. Though it was his first time wielding a sword, it felt little different from moving the wind.
He shifted his shoulder as if pushing aside atmosphere, then swung the sword down in a straight, cleaving arc.
Swish.
The sharp sound of slicing air rang out fiercely. The surrounding trees seemed to flinch and hold their breaths.
Blood splattered in a line across his hand and the hilt. With an expression of revulsion, he immediately cast the sword aside. Hanpung brought leaves and vigorously wiped the back of his hand clean.
Kallian gazed at the Maenad, whose breath still faintly clung. He had failed to cut her down in a single blow. Though the bleeding was severe and she would die soon enough, it was an attack that would have caused instant death without question in his original body.
Accuracy was not poor, but the difference in strength and attack speed was considerable. It was not a gap that could be closed through training.
It seemed he had no choice but to rely on weapons.
The Maenad before him seemed to have lost its reason to hunger. It appeared to have judged him as human.
He had thought he and Aris had eliminated all the half-human, half-beast ones during their previous encounter, but for some to remain… Or had more appeared in the meantime?
Indeed, Nisa’s madness had crossed the line. To the extent that it was no longer easy to overlook.
Kallian swept his gaze around and spoke in an irritated voice.
“I will not say this twice. Listen well.”
He could feel them focusing and pricking their ears from every direction. Having just witnessed their comrade’s death, they must have felt their limbs freezing in terror.
“By rights, you are fated to meet your deaths right here, with no passage to Lethe even granted.”
Kallian gazed up at the moon, already distant. Eos, reclining with her long hair spread across the sky, laughed that dawn was short.
As if entranced, a low voice slipped from between his parted lips.
“However… just this once, I shall grant you a choice as an exception.”
The figures cowering fearfully throughout the thicket flinched and exchanged glances.
Only the woman, who had not been able to tear her eyes from Kallian, wore a gaze of rapture.
Who would have thought a man’s voice could be this pleasant and beautiful?
His voice, resonating through vocal cords like a human’s, was as profound as the breath of night, and as soft as the deepest darkness come to soak the world.
“Close your eyes for three breaths, starting now.”
For a Keton devoid of mercy or compassion, it was a warmth rarely bestowed. Of course, his impatience and desire, pushed to their limit, influenced this exception.
He closed his eyes. From here and there came the rustling sounds of fleeing. Fleeing to the best of their ability was itself a struggle. A Keton’s attack range transcended imagination. Even without sight, he could hurl the wind and shred them to pieces.
Watching the Maenads flee in utter turmoil, the woman bit her tongue in disappointment.
The sacrificial offering for this round had already crossed the water anyway. The top of the cliff was in a festival atmosphere. Cheers poured out boisterously without cease, matching the drumbeats.
It was the ability of the male deity before her eyes that had saved the princess who was to be offered. With extraordinary power, he had created a spectacle fit for legend.
She would have to report to Se’at, wouldn’t she? But then, wouldn’t that put him in a difficult position?
The terrified Maenads had already scurried away, concealing themselves beyond the swamp.
Having lost their memories as humans and even their intelligence, nothing remained but nature and instinct; they were no different from beasts. It was impossible to be comrades with such creatures.
Just then, Kallian approached with leisurely steps and stopped before the thicket that encircled her like a fortress. The black silk chlamys woven by Mnemosyne draped over his feet, boasting a lustrous sheen.
Hah, hah….
The woman caught her breath. She couldn’t calm herself. His solemn, lofty eye-line looked down upon the crown of her head from above the thicket.
Clutching her chest with her eyes squeezed shut, she seemed to reach a resolution and sprang to her feet.
The chiton dress provided by the Sibyls was not a bad garment, but she thought it would have been even better if it were the pleated linen dress she had often worn at the manor in Side.
Then this first meeting could have been more perfect.
Even so, this unexpected encounter would surely become a radiant joy like the spring of Ananke.
Of course, had Asteril heard this, she would have quipped, “The Lady Ananke has laced that spring with a poison known only to herself. For she loves fate at its most cruelly paradoxical and contradictory.” But what of it? Ignorance, too, was fate.
Her round forehead gleamed brilliantly as she revealed herself beneath the moonlight. Lips praised as belonging to a goddess formed a confident, upward curve.
She composed her voice. She had learned the method of offering hymns to deities while serving under the education priestess at Clitie.
“O most perfect being wrought by all the darkness, all the winds, and all the moonlight of the world….”
The hands clasped beneath her chin trembled. An impassioned tone, elevated in its fervor, flowed forth.
“Psyche of Side greets the exalted master of night, Lord Nyx. I beseech you, bestow upon this lowly one the blessing of the moon!”
She prostrated herself flat on her knees at Kallian’s feet. Kallian looked down at her askance.
What was this?
His expression seemed to say as much, but Psyche, head bowed and only stealing glimpses of his feet, had no way of knowing it.
She simply waited, her cheeks flushed red.
For the first words his beautiful lips would utter—perhaps the soft and sweet words of praise that would pour forth….
“So it was her. The human woman Se’at had brought to Lethe….”
Yet the dark gaze Kallian turned upon her was growing chillingly cold.