A Blade For Beasts

It's been some time since I last set foot on this land.

By the way, Sir Aldo. What brings you to Garulea?

What brings me here? You, obviously. You can't just say "Well, Sir Aldo, this is the end of our journeys together" and then hop on a ship and leave.

And even after I got on the same ship, you refused to talk to me at all...

My apologies. As I am betrothed, it would be improper for me to travel on my lonesome with another man.

Betrothed?! You?!

Yes, we were sworn to one another at a very young age.

...However, I imagine you wish to know for what reason I've come here myself.

That's right. I was so surprised, I almost forgot the important part.

Several days ago, a pack of specters was found running rampant in Migleina.

One of the specters made mention of a "beast" it fled from in Garulea.

I couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened here.

I'd be happy to go with you.

No, I cannot have that.

My heart and hand are already pledged to another, you see. I will not lead you on.

You've got it all wrong! I figured it would be hard to look into the specter all alone.

Ah. So I misunderstood... My apologies. Thank you for your kind offer.

Let's begin by investigating what the specters in the area have been doing as of late. For that...

We can ask around and see...

I suggest we set fire to anyplace that seems like a specter nest and smoke them out into the open.

Huh?!

Of course, then we'll capture them and interrogate them. They should be disoriented and easy to deal with.

That seems a bit extreme!

Really? My brother often extols the virtues of strategically set fires in battlefield control.

Hey, you two... Are you specter hunters?

Who are you?

I have a specter I'd like you to handle...

There you are.

We promised to look at wedding outfits together, didn't we? Then you didn't show up, so I came looking for you.

...Stay away from me!

Sigh...She ran away again. Maybe this just isn't working.

Something felt off about those two.

Let's follow that woman, Sir Aldo.

We may be able to glean some information on the specters in the area.

You there. You two.

Hm?

Come over here. I need to talk to you.

The young woman from the port. Kind of you to come to us.

And so? This specter you wish for us to cut down?

You plan to exterminate all the specters around here, right? Then I want you to kill the vortex specter on the Inanari Plateau​, too.

The one that the legends say is connected to another world, is that it?

A little while ago, I saw that vortex while walking with my fiancé.

He was curious about it, so he went over to the vortex... And when he came back, it was like he was a different person. I don't know that man...not anymore.

Do you think the specter did something to him, then?

I...I don't know. I just want the man I love back.

Legends are nothing more than tales that mislead people from reality, but...

You do seem to be genuinely troubled. We will investigate this vortex. It may have some connection to the beast that we seek, too.

Where does this specter haunt?

The east part of the Inanari Plateau​... On the road to the ruined temple.

A ruined temple? There shouldn't be anything like that in that area...

Akane?

No...it's nothing. Thank you for your information.

......

This is...quite different from how I remember this place.

Have you been away from Garulea that long?

Only half a year. But ceasefire or no, some small skirmishes do continue.

I suppose it's no uncommon thing to lose the places familiar to me.

Hm...? Sir Aldo, look there.

Is this a tear in spacetime? The "beast of the vortex"... Is that what it is?!

Huh?!

Hmph. No effect.

That really surprised me. Can I get some warning before you suddenly draw your sword next time?

If this truly was a type of specter, that blow should have caused it to show its true face, I thought.

But no, nothing happened. Maybe I should try again...

I would appreciate it if you didn't.

You're the man who was talking to that woman at the port.

She's my fiancée... Well, sort of.

The woman believes you were bewitched by a specter and driven mad. Is it true?

(Talk about direct...)

Driven mad... She might be more right than she knows. Both he and I have spent our lives slowly going mad. Or at least that's how it feels.

Would you be willing to talk to us about what's going on?

Sure, but I doubt you'll believe me. I'm a madman through and through, after all. You see, I...came to this world from another world very much like it, by passing through this vortex.

Like the Pure Land or the hells? Are you...a wandering spirit, then?

No, I'm very much alive. You're very rude, you know that?

The world I came from is more like... Like looking into a mirror. It seems so familiar, but there are subtle differences.

Oh, are you from a Parallel Time Layer?

I don't know if that's what it's called. Just that I come from a world that seems similar, but also different.

A... time layer? Is that similar to time travel?

That's what we call worlds that have experienced different possibilities, or different histories, from ours.

.........I see.

(Different worlds? Different possibilities? What is Sir Aldo talking about?) (The world is so large. How could there be more than one of something so... Wait, but...hmm...and yet...)

(...Never mind. I give up.)

I won't ask further about your identity.

But then, what happened to the woman's true friend? Did you spirit him away?

The two of us talked it over, and we decided to trade lives. My family runs a famous inn, and I always regretted inheriting the business the way my parents told me I had to. It felt like everything I did in my entire life would be decided by someone else... And that's when he appeared.

And you switched places?

From where I was standing, it sounded like he was leading the life I dreamed of. But he was worried about so much. I was envious. And hearing him complain, I suggested... If he hated it that much, he and I should switch places.

Okay...I think I get it. It sounds like you both wanted to do this swap plan, so maybe there's nothing we can say there, but...

So you ran away from your responsibilities.

......!

You are a coward. If you were a samurai, I would give you the honor of cutting open your own belly rather than living in this shame.

What's it matter to you? I didn't run away from anything. And neither did he. We both got what we want, and no one minds.

Do you truly think that?

That young woman is waiting for the man she loves to come home to her.

Even if you both are no braver than the insects that hide beneath the stones of the forest floor... Those who treasure you do not care about your weakness or your foolishness.

It is not a question of worth. Simply being there for them, with them. That is what they wish for. That's why I...

...Never mind.

If this is a door, it means I can pass through, yes?

You're planning to go find the other him over there, right?

You. Come with me. See with your own eyes the world and family you have left behind, and how they feel without you.

Akane, hold on. Give him a little time... And take some for yourself, too.

......

Are you prepared?

Then let's go.

This other world seems not that much unlike our own world.

Now. Where is the other you?

At this time of day, he's probably looking over the rice fields. Somewhere on the Inanari Plateau​, I guess.

Then we will search.

That man over there...

Honestly, what's happened to you? You've never spoken like that to our sellers before. Everyone always tells me how happy they are that you remember them when you come to pick up deliveries.

...A farmer's a farmer, right? The rice doesn't care who harvests it.

What was that?

Uh, I mean...Sorry, mom. I'm going to go get some air.

I swear, he's like a different person. Maybe we've put too much pressure on him...

I'm so sorry to always place such a burden on you...

You see? She misses you. Of course she does.

You may look the same, but he's not her son. You are.

Mom... I...

You will have time for regrets later. For now, you have someone to speak to.

Ugh, this isn't going well...

Maybe it was always too late from the very start.

Hm? What's that?

Uwaaaaaah!

Stand back.

I have business with this man, beast. Will you retreat, or will you die?

Nothing personal, but we have no choice.

There...done.

Get out there.

That should be obvious. What shaped each of you was the life you have led up to this point. Your thoughts, your feelings, and your choices. You may have the same face, but you are your own men.

You cannot so easily become a stranger.

No. Never.

I stand now at the end of the path I've chosen throughout my life. Someone who made different choices along that path would not be me. And in the end, what I think about the life and choices of a stranger does not matter to them, or to me. That is just wasting time I could be using for training, as I see it.

I think that's for the best.

Hey, Akane? Where are you going?

The matter is settled, and there is no reason to stay here anymore. I think I'll return to our world and do some training, perhaps. I feel rusty.

Be well, then.

I know how you feel.

Okay, we should get going.

You have returned. That took less time than I expected. Did you discuss to your hearts' content?

There wasn't much to talk about. I think we both knew what the right answer was.

I see. That is good, then.

I would not appreciate being stopped from cutting down this gate again.

Huh? But you tried to cut it earlier, and nothing happened to it.

But it should not exist here, right? It is clearly a danger to others. And besides...just because I could not cut it down before, does not mean I cannot cut it down now.

"Can" and "cannot" are words we use to limit ourselves in the present time. I prefer "may," which speaks to the limitless potential of a future not yet written.

Sure, but I still think it's a bit much to try to cut down a hole in the fabric of time and space.

......Perhaps.

Even so... I wish to cut this thing down. I must know if my blade has been honed sharply enough to reach it. This desire, the way my blood surges, how my hand yearns for the sensation of blade through flesh... You may not understand, Sir Aldo. But I cannot resist it any longer.

Here...!

...No way.

Victory is ours.

You really are ridiculous. But it's not a bad feeling, seeing you do ridiculous things.

Indeed, you seem much more cheerful than you have this past while. Your fiancée will be glad to see it.

Huh, you know her?

She's the one who asked us to find you and bring you back home, yeah.

Me? But the other me was a much nicer guy, more successful, all-around better put-together... She really has bad taste in men.

Yes, I agree. You are rather pathetic.

But, it is exactly you she wants. Not anyone else, from any world.

Haha, you really don't hold back.

I'm going back to Izana...back home. Thank you both so much.

These wormholes are a nuisance. Be it the past, the future, or other worlds entirely...such knowledge is not for people to know. It only robs you of the ability to walk your own path as you feel is right, and traps you in the mists of what-if.

Maybe so.

You should also take care not to be too deeply caught by the past and the future, Sir Aldo.

Else you may end up like my brother.

...?

My honored brother is said to have beheld the future. And in that future, I... I have perished, it seems.

Oh no...

It's nothing for you to worry about. Merely a nightmare that plagues my brother and disturbs his sleep.

He has always been given to tears, so I made him a promise when his visions overpowered him. I would become stronger than anyone, able to cut down anyone or anything that would bring harm to him. Whether that be a nightmare, a seemingly fixed future, or my own death.

So that's what drives you to keep growing stronger, huh?

I do have other reasons now, of course, but my original drive was to comfort my honored brother, yes.

Everyone else sees him as a genius, or as some manner of sage or super- human wise man. But he's only an ordinary man, one who works harder than anyone for the sake of his country and his loved ones. I myself did not realize it until I saw him weeping and shaking in the grip of that damned nightmare... I failed in my duty to him as his sister.

Don't be so hard on yourself. I'm sure you did your...

Hm? Sister?

Yes. Sir Aldo, did you also think I was a man?

Maybe it's because you don't really seem to mind all that much...

Sorry. You're right. I jumped to conclusions.

I don't mind. The only ones who ever do treat me as a woman are my brother and my betrothed, after all.

Wait, if you're a woman, then...

You might be the Parallel Time Layer version of my friend Akane!

Perhaps, perhaps not. I know no version of myself save myself, and I have no interest in changing that.

If she is a strong warrior, I would like to fight her, though.

Well, in that case...

(Actually, never mind. I feel like twice the Akane might mean twice the hassle for everyone else.)

Maybe...if the opportunity comes up.

I see. That's a shame.

Now, the beast of the vortex has been slain. I should return to my journey and continue honing my skills.

And there she goes... Leaving me behind again.

I feel like she'll run into trouble if I let her go, so I guess I'll follow.