Alone You Fall

Charlotte walked through those empty, ruined streets once again. This time, alone. She heard no footsteps behind her or ahead of her. No one spoke to her. She heard only her own thoughts and the pounding of her heart against her chest, which also echoed in her ears.

She looked all around for the hero, but to no avail. She stopped a couple of times, but immediately found the strength to keep going.

She ran and ran until she finally reached the central fountain. She rested on her knees.

I hope they find them.

Charlotte scanned the area. The fountain was destroyed, and water was spilling out. A statue of the hero lay on the ground, completely shattered.

“It’s a shame. It was a good statue.” The hero’s voice echoed.

“Show yourself!” Charlotte raised her left arm in defense.

“We’re finally alone, Charlotte Armelier.”

His voice sounded like wind coming from all directions.

“What do you want?”

“Nothing really… Maybe I just want you to understand us.”

“I understand you…”

“Really?”

“Yes, you were corrupted by the tree.”

He cackled. “No… the tree… she showed me the truth.”

“No, it corrupted you.”


“Let me ask you something, Charlotte Armelier…” He paused. “What do you think about the Magica?”

“What?”

Charlotte turned in every direction, trying to see him.

“To tell you the truth, we come from a boring world.”

“So you're not from around here.”

“Exactly… A dull world with nothing like the Magica.”

“So what?”

He sighed. “I was fascinated with this world and its Magica.”

“Yes, it's pretty…”

Charlotte remained alert, with her left arm raised in a defensive stance.

“It is… That’s why at first I thought that weird goddess sent me to save this world, and it’s Magica.”

“Goddesses?”

“Yes, she called me her pawn.”

A chill ran through Charlotte's body.

“Is that why you became a hero?”

“Yes, even though I got my memories back after falling out of a tree.”

“Trying to save an animal?”

“You really looked into me, Charlotte Armelier.”

“I guess I did.”

“I respect that.”

“So, what happened?”

“I did what they asked me to do.”

“Who are they? The goddesses?”

“Yes, but then something changed…”

There was no response.

“Hello?”

Again, he didn’t answer.

Footsteps sounded from the left. Charlotte aimed with her arm, which turned into a crossbow.

She felt her breathing grow heavy.

No one came out of there.

Immediately, she heard footsteps to her right. She turned around as quickly as she could. She was pointing with her arm.

Again, nobody was there.

“Relax, you’re so tense.”

“Stop playing around!”

“I’m sorry.”

“Show yourself!”

Charlotte’s hands trembled.

She stepped backward.

She felt herself bump into something.

“As you wish, Charlotte Armelier.” A voice whispered in her ear.

She tried to turn around, but a hand grabbed her arm and, as if she were a rag doll, lifted her with ease.

Charlotte was thrown into the air. She crashed into a hard marble structure that adorned the town.

The impact knocked the wind out of her, but she still forced herself to get up.

“Look at yourself, Charlotte Armelier.”

She looked up, and little by little, her vision came into focus on her attacker.

Finally, after days of blind interactions, the hero appeared before her, not carved from wood, not in paintings or sculptures. The real one stood right there in front of her, looking down at her.

“What’s wrong, Charlotte Armelier? “Did the cat get your tongue?”

Charlotte raised her arm again with difficulty. The blow still hurt, and her vision sometimes grew blurry.

Without taking her eyes off him, she backed away, nearly tripping several times.

The hero approached her slowly.

“You were so interested in my story…”

“I-I… I…”

Charlotte tried to catch her breath.

“We’re sorry. It was rude of us to attack you like that.”

Charlotte kept walking backward until she bumped into the wall of one of the nearby houses.

She raised her left arm in a threatening gesture.

The hero stopped.

“Stay away from me.”

The hero raised both hands. “As you wish, Charlotte Armelier.”

The moonlight illuminated him. Charlotte saw what he looked like.

Part of him was identical to the paintings and statues she had seen. But Charlotte noticed that something was wrong: the hero’s left side was made entirely of roots, branches, and rotten wood.

“We were chosen…”

“W-what?”

“To save the future of this world.”

“Future? What do you mean?”

“She spoke to me and showed me the reality of the Magica.”

“Who? The goddess?”

He nodded. “Someone better.”

Charlotte gulped. “Please... don't let the tree take control.”

He burst into laughter. “You’re so innocent.”

“What?”

“Don’t you realize? The Magica is the cause of all the problems.”

“That’s not true.”

“Everyone ignored you because you didn't have anything special, right?”

Charlotte remained silent.

“But they praise those who have the best Magica, while those who don't are treated like trash!”

Once again, she didn't say anything.

“Wars between kingdoms to demonstrate their Magica Power… People killing because they're stronger, going crazy with Magica… Millions of people have been killed because they don't know how to control their Magica! They lie!... They use Magica to erase people's memories and use them...”

He paused.

“They lie!... They use Magica to erase people's memories and use them… Your best friend lied to you, didn't she? ... Or maybe she did something like that to you.”

He paused again to catch his breath.

“They send children like you to fight wars you shouldn't have to fight… Why!? Just because they have exceptional Magica... and in the end, they'll end up dead just like you!”

His voice grew increasingly distorted.

“Don’t you see it!? You know that, because they treated you like trash too, just because your magic was irrelevant... To them, you're nothing!”

Charlotte's mouth opened, but once again, nothing came out.

“We will save this world… From its own destruction… If they can't control this power, they don't deserve to have it...”

“S-so you want to eradicate the Magica from this world…” She finally spoke.

“That was the first idea…” He giggled. “She told me to do that, but I disobeyed her.”

“What?”

“You see… you know… We’re not from this world… And in that world, even without Magica, equally horrible things happened… So we thought of something better…”

“What are you planning?”

Human-like figures with animal heads emerged from the shadows. Their entire bodies were made of roots and dead wood.

“It is the next step toward peace... United with The Buried Tree like its roots... Equal and without the need for magic.”

Charlotte was left speechless.

“You can’t do that.”

“We can and we will.”

The figures gradually drew closer to Charlotte.

“It looks like your teacher has run out of Magica, so the time has come.”

“I won’t allow it!”

Although Charlotte was still trembling, she mustered all her courage to stand firm.

Without a second thought, he charged at the beasts.

They attacked her with their claws made of roots.

Charlotte dodged them and moved behind them.

She placed her left hand on one of them.

“Pure Magica. Nullify You.”

The beast turned into flowers.

The second beast attacked again.

Charlotte did the same with great agility.

“Pure Magica. Nullify You.”

“As always, pulling tricks out of your sleeve, Charlotte Armelier.”

Charlotte turned her hand into a crossbow.

She fired several stakes at the hero.

Before he could react, roots shot up from the ground and immobilized the hero.

The shots hit the hero, damaging him.

Seeing her chance, Charlotte threw herself at him.

The hero quickly cut through the roots that had bound him.

He tried to jump backward, but crashed into a wall of roots and branches.

Charlotte had also enclosed it within barriers.

I got you.

Charlotte was about to put her hand on him.

The hero simply disappeared.

She came to a sudden stop.

Before she had time to react, the hero appeared behind her.

Even though she tried to protect herself, Charlotte took a brutal blow.

This time, she rolled across the floor until she crashed into a wall.

The impact left a giant crater.

Charlotte's ears rang, and her vision went blurry.

“It won’t be that easy.”

Despite her injuries, Charlotte got up.


She couldn't move her right arm, and she wiped away some blood that ran down from her head. She tried to move, but her left leg was also bleeding heavily, and the pain was so intense that it paralyzed her.

“You're a very interesting person, Charlotte Armelier, and we have to say that the Magica you use worries us.”

Charlotte staggered, but managed to stay on her feet.

“We didn’t want to do this… But you leave us no choice.”

The hero walked toward the fountain.

He cleared his throat and began to shout.

“Worry not, people. It’s me, the hero.” His voice didn't sound distorted anymore at that moment. “It's all over now… You can go out carefully. I've taken care of the situation.”

People came out of the houses in the neighborhood. They were a little hesitant, but they came out.

When they saw the hero, they began to clap, and many people ran toward him.

“It's time!” He shouted.

Even though she was injured, Charlotte rushed toward them to try to protect the people.