So Far From Reach

When the male receptionist opened the guild’s door, we were immediately met by the night’s piercing chill.

The sun had already set, and the city appeared to be plunged into darkness. Only faint specks of light hung distantly over the road.

It was way quieter than I expected it to be. Some people still walked on the main street, but it was nothing compared to this afternoon’s crowd.

The light beneath me vanished the moment the door’s clunk echoed behind me, the guild’s warmth quickly dissipating into the air.

It was cold. Mist formed as I exhaled.

I turned to face the receptionist. Gesturing for me to follow, he began walking towards the stairs on the left.

The tap and slight rasp of his shoes on the ground easily filled the silent void left by the quiet city and the cloudy, dark sky. I trod slowly after him.

As we descended the stairs, I once again trailed my fingers over the railings. The stone’s gelid touch numbed my fingertips.

The lit street lamps sprang clearly into view as we neared the main road.

Similar to the lanterns inside the guild, their brittle light wavered like a flame. They cast scant light through the black streets, illuminating the posts’ complex figure.

I attentively watched the back of the guild’s receptionist. It felt as if we were the only life in this deserted town.

Even though there were still people wandering around, their presence felt negligible compared to the sound of the receptionist’s footsteps.

The occasional shiver, the rough sound of his hands rubbing together, the exhales followed by the floating mist. He was all I could see.

Aside from the street lamps, most of the windows were either shut or had no light. It looked like the strange lamps weren’t used for all houses in the city. It would definitely demand a lot of mana and didn’t seem very realistic.

Except for important buildings such as the guild, I would imagine they still used candles or perhaps powered similar mechanisms with their own mana.

By the main road, the receptionist looked at me with a barely visible smile, pointed to the left, and turned that way, continuing to walk.

We were going back up the road I had taken this afternoon to reach the guild.

I recalled the map of Riges Talira~ had shown me.

If we continued going up and turned left once more, this time on the large intersection I had gone through earlier today, we would reach the place she had pointed to. The receptionist was likely taking me to the inn they recommended.

We kept walking. The receptionist hadn’t said anything since we left the guild. He simply continued forward, without turning back, and I merely followed. Only the tap of our shoes consistently resonated through the ground.

Tap Tap… Tap Tap…

Our footsteps synced into the same melodic rhythm, like the symphony of two percussionists striking a single triangle, their sharp notes reverberating through the walls of the silent theatre. The rest of the world’s sounds felt absent.

Nevertheless, sporadic squeals and squeaks roamed beneath the stage. I sometimes caught a glimpse of small creatures running down the streets before plunging into the darkness where the lamps couldn’t reach.

However brief their appearance was, they looked like the same creatures I had found by the castle in Mida.

There was also the faint rustle of the rare trees, their leaves shaking with the night’s breeze.

After a few minutes, we could finally see the main intersection, illuminated by a strong light coming from the left.

As we got closer, I began hearing the faint chatter of people.

Candles illuminated the inside of stores and cafes to my right, near the poorer area I had previously seen. Their laughter echoed through the streets, breaking up the monotony of the alternating brightness from the lamps.

Reaching the intersection, once again, the receptionist looked back and pointed to the left before rounding the corner. He was definitely taking me to the place Talira~ had pointed at on the map.

My jaw dropped as I made the turn.

Where this morning stood the deep blue sky, now sat the moon in its full glory.

The moon’s light wavered, cloaked by drifting dark clouds as if trying to hide it from me. Untethered to both worlds, it shone in a bluish hue, covering the street in its gleaming mantle. The lamps paled in comparison to its astonishing glow.

We kept walking up the road, my arm stretched towards the sky.

I couldn’t focus on anything else.

Awe sent a shiver down my spine.

My breath sparkled before my eyes.

I was enthralled by its beauty once again. A beauty so far away that I could never reach. Each step towards it only seemed to push it farther away. I laughed lightly, a hint of sadness in my smile.

As the clouds drifted across the sky and swallowed the moonlight, another light wavered, flaring as if roaring in the blackness. It vanished only to return again in an uneven pulse, each time spilling its glow across the city’s figure.

It was as if the beam tried to uphold the moon when its light faltered, but it wasn’t enough, impossible to replace. Nothing could take away from the moon's splendour stemming from its own glow.

Minutes of walking later, as we approached the top of the street, what looked like a lighthouse, surrounded by trees, loomed into view in the distance. Its shadow sat in the middle of the moon’s path.

The wandering light roamed the darkness of the sea and night alike, as if guiding not only ships but also wanderers like myself, lost amidst the unknown.

I couldn’t make out the reason for it, but this scenery touched me warmly.

Against the coldness of the dark, the gentle caress of the beam over the town warmed its core. The town couldn’t go without it, and neither could the moon.

I smiled.

The guild receptionist began going up a small flight of steps to the left. I didn't notice at first, continuing to walk while watching the clouds whispering to the moon’s ears as they passed by.

“Hoy,” the receptionist called softly, careful not to disturb the serene ambience of Riges’ night.

When I looked at him, he stood by the door of a building, flickering light spilling from its first-floor windows. It seemed to be open.

I followed him up the stairs. As he opened the door, a warm light spilt out, drawing me in and shutting out the night’s chill.