Chapter 3:

Empty Plane

Grimoire's Spellbook: Primordial Sin of Selfishness


Aurelis found out that he in fact had unfathomable amounts of money. Wanting to get supplies for his travels, he was able to buy a whole storage house full of foods and drinks. He stored all of it inside his item box. He was surprised that it worked but even more so that all of that only cost him four gold coins. Six more were invested into a shoulder piece, which was a part of armour made from a pitch-black crystal. He would have never been able to remember its name. The rest was spent on a sword. Its blade was forged out of another crystal that reflected in all the colours of the rainbow. Neither of them had spirits inside, as such a weapon alone would have emptied his coin sack. But even if he would have been able to buy a spirit weapon. He would not have done so. Getting them by himself on his adventure sounded way more exciting to him. Still, he has been curious as to why the merchant was selling the weapons on a stall then, and not in a fancy shop, if they were so expensive and valuable. Of course he asked them. It turned out, that they were travelling merchants, going from town to town to sell their wares. They always had a party of former adventures with them, so they haven’t been particularly anxious about being robbed.

By the time he was done with everything, it was already night. He went down the street. When he was with Amalia, they passed a gate, by which guards were holding the ground. The lanterns were the only lights on the way. He walked for a few minutes, enjoying the empty, silent street. Then he was able to see the gate already.

Suddenly someone shouted again. “Criminal on the run, all guards help!”

The guards that were stationed at the gates ran right past Aurelis. Did they need his help? No- he wanted to finally start his journey. Aurelis still decided to turn around, so he could see what was going on. He saw a group of guards coordinating themselves. Thinking of the criminal, he once again remembered the burglar that Amalia captured. Was it him, who ran away again? Aurelis stepped through the gate. He took a deep breath, scanning every millimeter. For a moment he thought that his eyes adjusted very quickly to the dark but then he realized that his vision improved a lot. He saw everything, up to the horizon. On the left there was a gigantic forest. From what the merchant told him, he knew that the forest was insanely big. From the right to the front, there was only the empty plane to see. As long as he avoided the forest, he should not encounter any demons. At least not that close to the kingdom. Demons avoided that area. He knew that he could trust that information, as he made sure to verify what Lumina said with the merchant. 

He walked for an hour. So far it looked good. He felt the breeze of the wind on him, but besides that? No sounds, no sights. The view did not change at all over that time. But the further he went, the less he could see the lights that came from the kingdom. Maybe he should have waited till the morning? It did not make that much sense anymore to return. He went on for a few more hours, the view still unchanged. What would wait for him out there? He did not ask the merchant about the dungeons nor about what awaited him out there. He wanted to see it for himself. What would the dungeons look like? Would he find spirits in them? He was not even sure whether he would recognize a dungeon if he saw one. Aurelis grinned. That was what he has wanted to do his whole life. And he finally was able to.

He walked for hours over hours. Still, there was something in the back of his mind, that he kept thinking about. The demis. Lumina and Amalia both told him about the war while Segard dodged that topic. Was that man scarred by the war? It seemed like he was part of it. Judging by his sheer strength and size, Segard was probably very high on the ladder. Aurelis technically did not know much about the world but if he compared Segard to Amalia, who was a head captain under the guards, then Segard looked multiple times stronger. Still Amalia was the captain of a small town only. Maybe they had stronger guards inside the capital. At the same time, it was of the highest importance to defend the borders with strong fighters. Especially considering that they were still at war. Thinking about all of that, Aurelis grew a little worried. Was he in danger, going on his journey?

He definitely was. But it was not what he expected. While he was in thoughts, he did not realize it. Looking down to the ground, he found out. Aurelis was high up in the air, flying at such an insane speed, that he barely was able to see what was below him. He felt a cold shiver going down his shoulders. Aurelis looked up. A gigantic phoenix clawed its icy fangs into his shoulder. He tried to turn around, but the ice layer was so thick, that he was not able to. Looking down again, he saw how fast they passed gigantic forests, mountains and cliffs. The phoenix also did not fly straight but somewhat further to the left instead, making it impossible to track where he was. One thing was for sure. He stood no chance of ever finding his way back.


Amalia opened the door to the tavern. “Lumina, father! Long time no see.”

Lumina turned around. “Amalia!” She ran towards her, trying to give her a hug. The armour was so broad though that she barely reached around.

“We haven’t seen you in a long time, dear!” Segard said. He mustered her. “You are not here for lunch, wearing that armour. Are you?”

“I wish. Your cooking is the best. But no, I’m looking for somebody. Do you know a guy called Aurelis?”

“Yes, we do. He paid off our whole debt. Unknowingly that is. He wanted to sleep here, but he didn’t come back last night. Did something happen to him?”

“He paid off all the debt?!” Amalia was flabbergasted. Then she clenched her teeth. “I forgot to tell him that entering the empty plane without being part of the merchant’s guild or the adventurer’s guild is illegal, yesterday. I wanted to bring him to the adventurer’s guild, so he could sign up. But I cannot find him anywhere and merchants say that he bought unbelievable amounts of foods. They thought that he was an adventurer in a huge party. If you say, he did not come back…”

Segard stroke through his moustache. “We should look for him. Lumina, close the tavern for today, but stay here in case Aurelis comes back. And Amalia.” Segard looked at her. “When Alois comes tomorrow, don’t tell him about Aurelis.”

Amalia huffed. “He’s one of the noble seven. I can’t just not report it to him.”

“From what I understand, it is your fault, that Aurelis might be outside there. Don’t let him get punished for something that he didn’t know.”

“This time I’m agreeing with Segard, Amalia.” Lumina said.

“Every citizen knows it. Even if he is from a small village. It doesn’t change that leaving the borders without registration breaks the law.”

Segard raised his brow. “Did you become a guard to blindly follow the king’s orders?”

“I don’t follow anything blindly!”

“Then tell me please, dear. Why is entering the empty plane without registration breaking the law?”

“How does that matter?”

“How does that matter, dear? If Aurelis turns out to have gone into the empty field, is he automatically a threat? Think critically, dear! Will you have to protect the kingdom from him, or him from the kingdom?! What did you become a guard for, Amalia? To protect people or to protect orders?”

“What if he turns out to be a threat afterwards?! I carry the responsibility for all the citizens of the town! I can’t make an exception, just because.” Amalia couldn’t hold back her tears anymore.

“Did you tell him the secret about the spirits, dear?”

“Of course not! He is neither an adventurer nor a guard.”

Segard nodded. “See? Then he will not suddenly turn out to be a threat. Don’t make the same mistake that I made, dear. Protect what needs protection.”

Amalia wiped her tears away and went to the door.

“You can’t bring mother back anymore. She chose to fight the battle herself. It was her own responsibility.”

“She died because of my order, Amalia. Because I believed that humanity needed the protection, I put her life on in danger. It was my fault, dear. Putting somebody else’s life at risk, just to fulfil an order-”

“You might be a virtue, father. But you can’t tell me what to do. You aren’t part of the noble seven anymore.” The air around Amalia trembled. A feint ring of light appeared over her head, taking the form of a halo. She shut the door behind her as she walked out.

“Did you see that just now, dear?” Segard turned to Lumina, his eyes wide opened. “How could I have never realized that.”

“She was a virtue all along as well,” she muttered. “There is nothing you can do about it, Segard. Her beliefs are untouchable.”