The Hall of the Silver Sage

It was dark.

It was empty.

I was not entirely capable of sleeping, but when I rested for a long time, I would fall to the delicate line straddling between dream and reality. It was just enough to be aware of my surroundings, but deep enough to reach the delirium-like state where impossibilities sounded reasonable, and imagination has difficult to distinguish from reality.

In the cold dread of the night, the only light that accompanied us were the bolts of lightning flashing from the distance. Were they from Rocksplitter’s party? Were they reactions from nature itself?

I did not know.

My world, in that moment, was one of darkness. We were camping somewhere in the wilds of the Kingdom of Holy Brenna, halfway through the night and on our way to the Silverpeak Mountains.

The bolts of lightning were familiar.

Perhaps, too familiar. Somewhere deep in where I once had a heart, each bolt cast shivers. I was never scared of lightning in my past life, so why was it so piercing now?

Bang!

Thunder struck across the wilds, and with it, a flash of blinding light.

“Stop!” I cried out.

I did not know why I shouted that.

“Ah… what?” muttered Leona.

She rubbed her eyes as she woke up from her slumber.

“Sorry,” I said. “I… I don’t know why I said that.”

Something moved in the wagon.

“Sybille?” I called.

“Hmm… Bastion?” she responded.

She grasped the edge of the wagon’s wall, and peered over from there, almost hanging her neck on the edge.

“Are you alright?” I asked her.

“Did we do it?” said Sybille. “Did we stop Number CS-1?”

I brought my head down.

“No,” I said. “We could not win. Rocksplitter’s party arrived just in time to give us a chance to escape, but… I don’t think that they made it.”

Sybille frowned.

“Why?” she asked.

“I was wounded. I am wounded. My arm has fallen off, I have a hole in my head… I don’t think I could have stopped him even if we joined forces with Rocksplitter.”

“No. Why did you stop me? I could have killed him. I could have ended it all right there and then! So why…”

I returned my gaze towards hers.

“Because I did not want you to die too,” I confessed.

Sybille looked down, with a tear coming out from her eye.

“That would have made things right,” she said.

Leona smacked her tongue.

“Like hell it would have, witch,” said Leona. “So you are guilty you helped design a war machine. Tough luck. If we take down Siege, another like him will be on his place. This does not end with just him alone. That old Master of yours? He needs to go down. Then, and only then, will you have some kind of absolution. Then, and not a moment sooner. So, I don’t want to hear a word about you dying to make some noble sacrifice! You got that?”

Sybille was speechless.

“Leona…” she muttered.

Leona turned her gaze away.

“Rest,” she said. “We have yet to reach the Silverpeak Mountains. The sooner we find that old man, the sooner we can beat that bag of rocks.”

Leona slid back into her bedroll and made her best to fall asleep.

“I’m sorry,” said Sybille. “About all that. I thought that maybe if I took him down, and even if I died, I could make things right. But Leona’s right. We will not make things right until… until Master Croghan.”

I looked down to the ground again.

“I will have to kill him,” I said.

“Are you sure?” said Sybille.

“I tried killing him before already. It did not work out too well, but I tried.”

“I thought that your philosophy was that killing people was unforgivable.”

“Calling it a philosophy is giving me too much credit,” I said. “I only believe that killing is wrong. However, even I know that sometimes, that is the only way to stop someone evil. Someone like Master Croghan cannot be contained. Even if we just imprison him, he will escape, and everything after that will be our fault. I will do what needs to be done… even if I do not enjoy it.”

***

Early in the morning, practically just as the sun rose, the three of us continued on our way towards the Silverpeak Mountains. Sybille had healed me from my injuries by the night, so I thankfully was not going overextend myself so easily now. With Leona and Sybille affected by the rebound effect, however, the two of them continued resting on the carriage as me and the horse walked the road up to the mountains.

It took us half a day, but we eventually reached them in the northern shores of the kingdom.

Once at the base, we stopped to let the horse rest, and for Leona and Sybille to get up to eat some rations, accompanied by what nuts and berries we foraged around. Once everyone had their strength again, we all continued onward to climb the path of the gray mountain.

It had a paved road, thankfully, and at the far end of the snowy mountains, there was a temple overlooking a village. Climbing up however, proved more even more daunting than the way we took to reach the base. It required careful steps, navigation, and patience to eventually reach the temple.

The building proper was pretty much a large monastery, but had some shacks outside as well as some stables for visitors.

We knocked on the door to the monastery and hoped to get an answer.

The door slowly creaked open.

What was on the other side, however, sent us to fast alert. Weapons and fists raised, spells prepared, and stance lifted.

It was a golem.

“WELCOME,” said the golem.

It was just a regular golem.

With that, we let our guards down, but remained on edge.

“We are looking for Sage Hanor,” I said.

“NO VISITORS.”

“I am from Gaia. Sir Tiberius sent me here.”

The door swung open.

“INSIDE,” said the golem.

We all walked into the monastery and let the golem be our guide. Although the place was guarded by a large wall, there was a large open-air section in the middle. Crossing through this clearing, we crossed to the building on the other side.

It was like a chapel, but without pews.

At the far end, there was an elderly man on his knees, praying to the statue of Goddess Iona.

His presence felt very different from that of other people. There was always something off with how I registered the presence of the people of this world… but his, it was familiar.

“You are from Earth,” said the old man. “Though, not quite from the usual way. You are something quite new.”

He stood up slowly and then turned towards us. He was wearing a plain white robe, and had a bald head, as well as a pair of eyes clouded by cataracts.

“You can tell,” I said.

“It is a matter of the soul. Ours are inherently distinct from those of this world. We are those who do not belong in this place. We are outsiders. And naturally, the world tries to force back outsiders. Tell me, young one, how long have you been here?”

“About a year,” I told him.

“I see. You have done well to survive. This world is somehow even more dangerous than our own, with the monsters going about.”

“What about you?”

“Fifty years, I believe. I lose track of time.”

“They must have been more, Sage Hanor. You are far beyond fifty years old.”

“Ah, no, no. I am, what, sixty-nine, I believe. I was transported to this world when I was a boy age sixteen. That is why you see my age as such.”

I turned towards Sybille. Her jaw was dropping as well.

“I thought people from Earth, from Gaia, could not survive here,” I said.

“I thought so too!” added Sybille.

Sage Hanor stroked his beard.

“That is true,” he said. “It is rare that one of our world can survive for long in Mene for long. Most otherworlders survive by being reincarnated, or well, put into different bodies, as I believe is your case. Ah, such disrespect of me. What is your name?”

“I am Bastion,” I said. “The mage here is my friend Sybille, and the lioness warrior is Leona.”

“A pleasure to meet all of you,” said Sage Hanor. “I am Sage Hanor. Now, what has brought you to my monastery?”

“I am here to learn how to defeat Siege,” I said. “He is another ReConstruct like me, but…”

“Ah, you must mean that flying golem I saw going around the sky lately. I have seen him. Or, at least his soul.”

“You have?”

“My eyes may be clouded to see the light, but not souls. In my time in this world, I have learned many things. How to see with more than just light is one of them. Learn what I have learned, and perhaps, you will be able to stand against those who walk in the road of evil.”

Leona raised her eyebrow.

“How can you tell we are not the evil ones?” she said.

“Your souls are not evil. That Siege fellow, however… hmm, it is an interesting case.”

“Is there something wrong with him?” I asked.

“I am not entirely sure. It appears to me that his actions are not entirely his own, but he is not uncomfortable with the situation. Similar to like how a loyal dog will be glad to work to the bone, perhaps they may have no choice in the matter, but at the same time, they enjoy it.”

I clenched my fist.

“So, he truly is a monster,” I said. “For a moment, when I fought him, I thought him hesitant. Was that a trick? Was that some deceit to let my guard down?”

“Deceit, perhaps,” said the Sage. “The possibility that rumors have been misconstrued, however, are equally likely. At least, however, I can tell you that he is no monster. You do not need to dehumanize a man to call them evil. Men are plenty evil already. Arguably, animals and monsters, even in their great capacity for danger, are incapable of evil, as they are guided only by instinct and are incapable of reason.”

“I know. You know what I meant.”

“Indeed. Now, you seek to defeat one who is like us. One in a similar situation to yours. Why?”

“He is a destroyer and a murderer. He has the power to kill people and uses it with impunity. He is a threat to my home. He is a threat to my friends. That is why, as one of the few with the power to stop him, I will stop him. Even if he is just mind controlled… he has to be stopped.”

“I see. Very well. Now, that fear in your voice… you challenged him already, haven’t you?”

“I have. Unfortunately, I lost.”

“Then, you come here with the hopes that I may help you master something in you, and then, you will be able to face him off in a second chance. Is that correct?”

“Yes. Am I wrong?”

Sage Hanor gave out a light chuckle.

“You came just to the right place,” he said. “We will just need a little bit of extra help. Come with me.”