Ascent

“Medrauta, what’s going on!?”

“I don’t know!” Medrauta replied, clutching Viviane close. The shaking continued, causing the knight to cast her gaze around the room frantically only to find nothing. For a moment, she thought the changes might be happening outside, but she didn’t really sense any changes in the behavior of the witchspawn outside.

The rumbling carried on for a few more moments until everything grew still and silent once more. Medrauta held her breath, counting to five just to be safe before releasing Viviane. The moment she did, the spiral formation of tiles in the ceiling began to move and shift, lowering themselves and forming a staircase that twisted upward.

“...Oh.” Medrauta blinked, surprised at the sudden development. Of all the things she expected to happen, that certainly wasn’t one of them. She exchanged a glance with Viviane, motioning for the noblewoman to wait as she approached the newly formed staircase. Just like everything else in the tower, it didn’t look intrinsically dangerous, but Medrauta wasn’t willing to take any chances.

Approaching cautiously, Medrauta peered up at the upper floor. Expecting the staircase to grant access only to the second floor, the knight was pleasantly surprised by their continuous upward spiral past the second floor’s ceiling. She couldn’t quite see the end of the stairway, but it went on for long enough to assume it ended at the very top.

Well, that’s a relief. Medrauta beckoned for Viviane to come closer, taking the noblewoman’s hand once she did. Leading the way, Medrauta stepped onto the second floor, her body tensing in preparation for a moment as she swept her gaze across the room, scanning it for any dangers. Sensing none, she allowed Viviane to enter shortly after her.

“Hey, Medrauta...” Viviane began, her voice still somewhat bleary as she’d only just woken up, and rather abruptly at that. “How’d you manage to get the stairs to open up?”

Medrauta shrugged, inspecting their surroundings. Unlike the bookshelf-dominated first floor, the second floor was rather bare. There were a series of pots and pans hanging on the wall, a plain wooden table that stood on the left side, and a few crates lying around, clearly marking the area as a mess room.

“I have no idea,” Medrauta said. “I was just reading a book and the whole tower started shaking for some reason.”

“Oh. Do you... remember if you said something?” Viviane asked, recalling the information she’d discovered about code words and shield towers before she decided to take a quick nap. While their current situation wasn’t something she could complain about, Viviane had wanted to solve the mystery of the tower together with Medrauta.

“If I said something...?” Medrauta frowned as she stepped toward the table, running a finger across it. Strangely, there wasn’t even a speck of dust. “Now that I think about it... I guess I did?”

“R-Really!? What was it!?” Viviane asked, her sudden burst of excitement slightly flustering Medrauta.

“Uh, I was just rambling after looking at a picture,” Medrauta said. “I think it was something along the lines of... ‘Empress Soleil’s shame’?”

“Empress Soleil’s... Ah.” Viviane’s voice trailed off as she recalled the very phrase that had set off Medrauta’s seizure. Her excitement faded away as she squeezed Medrauta’s hand hesitantly. “About before... Sorry, Medrauta. I should’ve been more careful.”

“What’re you even apologizing for?” Medrauta shook her head with a grin. “C’mon now, you couldn’t have known. Besides, I’m honestly glad it happened. Based on what I saw in that book, it seems like we were going to have to deal with the phrase sooner or later. I couldn’t read any of the text, but the drawings told me all I needed to know.”

“Is that so?” Viviane mused. Although she felt a little better after witnessing Medrauta’s recovery, she still felt like doing something to make up for her blunder. “Which book was this? Perhaps I can shed a bit more light on it?”

“I have no clue, honestly.” Medrauta admitted. “I couldn’t even read the title. The only word I understood was ‘shame’.”

“Hm... Let’s save it for later, then.” Viviane said, turning her attention upward as she peered at the spiraling stairway. “I’d like to go back for it, but I think we’ve taken long enough to find a way to the top... The faster we destroy that orb, the more time we’ll have to do other things.”

Medrauta nodded in agreement, continuing to lead as they ascended to the next floor. All the strange alternative history they’d been exposed to had nearly distracted them from their original purpose for coming here. So long as that black orb remained atop the tower, the witchspawn outside would continue to operate.

It sounds like they’re starting to slow down at the very least. Medrauta thought. That must mean the sun’s setting. The soldiers back at the border gate... I hope they’re fine.

While the pair continued making their way to the top of the tower, Viviane took the time to explain what the tower actually was and its function as an amplifier for magical power, taking great care to avoid terms like “Paladin” or “Oath” seeing as they were closely connected to Soleil’s exploits. The noblewoman certainly didn’t want to risk triggering another seizure, especially when they were about to reach the top of the tower.

After all, it was unlikely that Amelia would leave it unguarded when it allowed her to spread her mana and influence throughout the empire and even if it were, Viviane certainly didn’t want to cause her knight any more suffering regardless of whether Medrauta forgave her or not. The two spent the rest of their time brainstorming ways to deal with the orb, eventually settling on simply having Medrauta stab it while bearing Viviane’s Crest.

“For a tower that’s supposed to be used only for amplifying magical defenses, this place sure looks more like a barracks than anything.” Medrauta remarked. As the two continued ascending the staircase, they passed through numerous floors with varying themes. While some of the floors were pretty bare, there were quite a few that contained living quarters and recreational areas like the library on the first floor.

“Ahaha... Now that you mention it, I’m pretty sure the town guards used it as a barracks from time to time!” Viviane said. Her deliberate decision to omit the Paladins from her explanation of the shield tower’s history and function had been messier than she would’ve liked, and her lackluster description of the way the defenses actually worked made it obvious that she was hiding something.

“...Right.” Medrauta pursed her lips thoughtfully. It was painfully obvious to the knight that Viviane was attempting to avoid accidentally saying something that could possibly trigger another seizure, but she couldn’t help feeling that the information her lady withheld was rather important not only to their goal, but also to her own foggy past.

While Medrauta could easily recall her past at the Imperial Order when she served as a squire and her tumultuous time at the orphanage, the years beyond that were mostly lost. There were a few other gaps in her memory like the time she spent with her adoptive mother, Lady Merlynne, and some events that the imperial princess apparently remembered, but they were relatively brief periods of time compared to the chunk of memories that Medrauta had somehow forgotten.

Deep inside, Medrauta desperately wanted to get them back. She’d hid it well ever since she woke up, but the strange dreams and visions she received following her latest seizure only served to create more questions for her. Despite her burning urge to ask, Medrauta remained silent and continued soldiering on. She knew that Viviane’s choice had been for their safety, and it wasn’t as if the knight knew which words would trigger another attack again.

Medrauta shook her head, clearing her mind as they stopped at the top of the stairs. A metal door stood before the knight, emitting a somewhat ominous presence as it barred her way. Turning around, Medrauta met Viviane’s eyes and the two exchanged a nod of affirmation. It’d taken a lot longer than they expected, but they’d reached their destination at last.

“You think there’s something waiting for us behind that door?” Medrauta asked.

“...Hopefully not.” Viviane replied. “But things are never that easy.”

Medrauta grinned, nodding in agreement. “I guess we’ll just have to find out.”

She reached out, grasping the cold steel handle of the door. Although it was heavy, the door was unlocked and swung open with ease. With one smooth motion, the knight drew her sword and glanced at the vesper horizon. Although she had only been trapped inside the tower for several hours, it felt as though she hadn’t seen the sky in days thanks to the structure’s lack of windows.

Medrauta inhaled deeply, noticing that Viviane was doing the same. The cold evening air was biting at first, but refreshing nevertheless. Below them were droves of witchspawn, all of them still charging recklessly southward, albeit at a much slower pace now.

Tightening her grip around her sword, Medrauta gave Viviane’s hand a quick squeeze before stepping across the threshold of the door at last. Whatever was out there, they’d face it together.