Curtains Drawn — Meilin

We approached the person holding a brush and a blank canvas.

“Oh, hello there.” From his voice, it was clear that the guy was a man. He had slitted eyes and a sly smile worn over his face. “Nice to meet you, esteemed visitors, but this is a restricted area, so please return to where you came from.”

“Uh—” I started, but Lady Elpida shot me a look that said: Let me do the talking. “Now now, Eros, is this how you treat your esteemed guests?” So she did know him.

“Lady Elpida.” Eros squinted his eyes, making them even smaller, “Didn’t see you there. I would’ve loved to invite our guests for tea, but I’m busy tending to my art piece. Take a look at this! The citizens wanted to see some anemones in the fields, so I decided to draw some.”

The way he talks so informally, they must be close friends. But even he has to refer to her as Lady Elpida…I scowled.

“I see, I see.” Lady Elpida waved her hand to dismiss the subject, “But our dear guests here have a suggestion to make about Eikasia.”

“Oh?” Eros widened his eyes, then beamed. “I can’t ignore our visitors’ requests now, can I? Tell me, is the garden not to your taste?” He ruffled his messy hair, “But I assume you have a massive favour to ask. Otherwise, you wouldn’t come to me personally, bringing our Lady Elpida, no less.”

Jianyun stood firmly, and despite his earlier fatigue, he seemed to have recovered his energy completely. “I came to request that you kindly reveal the truth to the citizens.”

Eros scratched his ears, “Huh? But if I tell them, they would want me to remove the illusion entirely.”

“That is my request.”

“No.”

Jianyun clicked his tongue. At this point, Lady Elpida seemed downright uninterested. I can’t even tell which side she was on.

“Then I challenge you to a duel.” Jianyun raised his spear shakily, “If I win, you have to fulfil my request, and if you win, we’ll leave as you said.”

“Buh!” Eros pouted like a child. So this is the creator? I expected someone more mature…”Isn’t that a bit unfair? Since you guys have such an onerous request, I deserve to have an equal bet too!” His eyes gleamed, and he pointed straight at my orb, “If you lose, you’ll hand over the wish orb.”

Silence—

The air was tense.

Jianyun looked back at me, defeated. This was too much of a risk, he looked at me glumly. Lady Elpida was staring at me intently as well, as if saying: Well? What’s your decision? I looked at the people around me, then at my orb. It was glowering faintly, and that somehow gave me hope.

I pulled Jianyun aside, behind a bush.

“It’s okay. I know how important your wish is to you.” He put on a false smile, “We can just try to find the exit on our own—” “Don’t you have any belief in your ability?”

He blinked a couple of times, perplexed.

“The only thing that's keeping you from winning is your lack of confidence.” I said steadily, “I know you want to help the townspeople. I do too. When I see them walking on the street looking like drunkards, skipping joyfully, all because of a lie, I feel…I feel horrible. I feel guilty. And I don’t know what’s going on in that Eros guy’s mind, but this is a desire we share: to help the citizens. I don’t care if I lose the orb. If I give up this chance to help them, I’ll regret it forever. And besides, I believe in your skills, Jianyun. So go out there and knock some sense into that guy's head.”

Jianyun’s gaze softened, and a smile spread across his face. “You know, this is a side of you I strongly admire, Meilin.”

I gave him a pat on the shoulder and stepped out of the bush. “We accept your request,” I declared. Eros smirked, “Well, let this match begin!”

With a wave of his hand, illusions poured out of a magical portal. Illusions of warriors, all bearing sharp weapons, charged at Jianyun.

I held out my staff, but Lady Elpida stopped me in my tracks, shaking her head.

We stood at a safe distance and observed the fight from afar.

“That was a courageous thing you did.” Lady Elpida remarked, seemingly having lost the haughty tone she had had a while ago. Right now, she sounded genuine.

I stared at the wish orb. Yes, it was indeed risky. Very risky. “Who do you think would win the fight?” Looking ahead at the battlefield, Jianyun was severely outnumbered by the illusions, but showed no sign of fatigue or backing down. Eros was shrouded in the sheer numbers of illusions, making it hard to determine which side was closer to victory.

Lady Elpida had sat on a comfy chair and gestured for me to take a seat beside her. Where did those come from? It seemed like they appeared out of thin air. “There is no way to know exactly, until the battle is finished.” She snapped her fingers, and a drink popped into her hand. “All I know is that both sides are very formidable. I might not know of Jianyun’s weaknesses, but I do know dear Eros’s.” She said with a glint in her eye. “And I believe with how this battle is going, you’re going to witness his weak side soon enough.”

His weak side?

We continued to observe the match in silence.

Jianyun was holding on pretty well. I was quite worried for him when the massive amounts of illusions emerged, but it seemed like there wasn’t a need for me to fret.

On the other hand, Eros was panting. I squinted my eyes to get a closer look. It seems like Lady Elpida had noticed too, because she scoffed and shook her head in disappointment. The look of disinterest returned. Eros was clearly getting tired, but Jianyun showed no signs of stopping.

Jianyun wielded his spear perfectly, slashing any illusions that came close. The only downside was that he couldn’t get close to his opponent. From the start, he held a defensive stance, but it seemed like he didn’t even need to attack.

Eros’s face turned pale, and the number of illusions lessened. It must be hard, maintaining so many illusions at once.

Lady Elpida’s face twitched. She must’ve sensed something.

She began running to the battlefield. “Lady Elpida!” I called after her, but she showed no signs of stopping, so I reluctantly followed. As soon as we got closer, I figured out the problem.

Corruption.

There was no need for an explanation. The effects of sustaining the illusions, along with Eikasia, have taken a toll on Eros. His face was distorted, his pants turning into the growls of a monster. The illusions of warriors were also turning into monsters.

Lady Elpida clicked her tongue. I’ve never seen such an infuriated expression worn on her face. It was distant, cold, yet full of emotion. Sparks of anger burned in her eyes, causing me to edge away in fear. “So you decided to crack this early? And I was quite enjoying the show. What a shame.” She snapped and placed a cold finger on Eros’s forehead.

It felt like a sword sliced through the air.

The change occurred so fast I had to blink twice to witness it. The illusions all vanished at once, and Eros dropped to his knees. Not a sign of his corruption remained. His face stayed perfectly humane.

Jianyun sheathed his weapon. From up close, he had a few scratches over his face, and was sweating from head to toe. “Miss Elpida—”

“You won.” Lady Elpida beamed at Jianyun, not a spark of anger in her voice. “I’m impressed.” She held Eros by his collar, dragging him along with her. “He didn’t win.” Eros muttered, “And you interrupted our match.”

Lady Elpida’s cold gaze landed back on Eros. “You lost. You had corrupted in the middle of a match. If I didn’t stop you, you’d be dead by now. And because of that—” She forcefully took something out of his pocket, “You don’t deserve this.” It was the illusion orb. The orb that powered Eikasia.

She looked at it with a hint of disgust and threw it away. Eros wailed like a child throwing a tantrum, “You can’t! Eikasia is nothing without it! And my friends, they’ll be gone along with it!”

I stood next to Jianyun, carefully tending to his wounds. Thankfully, the cuts weren’t deep, so it’s likely to be completely healed with time. Oh, I almost forgot—I pointed my staff at Jianyun’s face. “It’s alright.” He pushed the tip of the staff away and strode towards Eros gracefully.

“I won’t take Eikasia down! I won’t!” Eros whined, pulling his own hair out. Lady Elpida smacked his head with a loud whack, and down he went, sobbing. “You lost. You'll fulfil their requests. I have no interest in the weak.” She said coldly, staring at Eros with large, emotionless eyes.

“And here I thought you were good friends,” I murmured to myself. Lady Elpida somehow heard and replied, “Yes, we are. That’s why I know being soft with him won’t solve anything. He’s a stubborn one.”

“Eros.” Jianyun crouched down so he was at eye level with the whining brat—I mean Eros, and spoke softly, as if tending to a child, “I know you must be upset with this. But it’s not right to be giving these citizens false hope. It’s cruel…You’re just lying to all of them, giving them what they want, but in reality, it's fake.”

“This is the only way they’d be happy.” Eros finally settled down and stopped wailing. “And it’s the only way I’d be happy.” He pouted, “These illusions are the only things that would provide me company. You’re taking something very precious from me.”

Jianyun’s eyes softened, “But you have Miss Elpida with you. And we’re willing to be your company. I’m sure someone will be very eager to meet you.” I assume he’s referring to Himari. “Think of this, how would you feel if you met some great friends, just to find out they’re illusions?”

Eros pondered for a moment. “I don’t know…I guess I won’t feel happy if I am lied to.”

“Exactly.”

“But behind the illusions, Eikasia is just ruins. There’s nothing.” Eros looked genuinely concerned. I’m glad the pouty child personality was disappearing, just like the fading illusion of Eikasia.

“We can help rebuild it.” I held up my wish orb. I’m sure I can use some of its power to do so…

Even though it wasn’t me who fought Eros, I felt really proud. Maybe being a hero isn’t that bad.

With that, the curtains of the illusion were successfully drawn. The sun shone through from the outer world. The lies were rid of, and the truth finally dawned on Eikasia.

I feel like I forgot something again.

Oh right!

I had wanted to ask Lady Elpida something.

Specifically,

How on earth did she prevent the corruption?