A carriage rode across the bumpy road. Inside it, on one side, was a noble couple dressed in the most fancy gowns and suits and on the other side was Tai and Hal, whose tailcoats were torn and stained with blood
The couple looked horrified by them, and it made Hal start to imagine what could be going through their minds at this very moment.
Maybe they thought they were hunters, but that would be an unlikely thought since no hunter would go on a mission dressed like butlers, and also they had the Harleyclover Emblem on their tailcoats and personally on their gloves.
So maybe they might think that they were fired or that maybe they're assassins. He let out a sigh at the awkward environment and passed a glance to Tai, who looked deep in thought.
He thought it better not to disturb him after what he had told him about the final trial.
'So the one handling the test was Lyrrah's dad, I should maybe hold back on telling him my fight with a shell of a higher being's spectre'
He turned and leaned his head to the window as he saw tall fields of grass rushing by outside. He lifted his hand and displayed his silver bangle, now aligned with his two daggers, a bow, a hammer of sorts, a kotinos and the moment keeper.
These were some of the things they got from the room where Hal found Tai, who had kept mostly the defensive weapons since he claimed he could not fully utilise the offensive ones.
But for now, a new objective was already loading in Hal's mind: the cultists' attack on the Harleyclover mansion.
The entire reason they had come here was to get strong enough to deal with that very issue, and now with the new weapons in his inventory and the things he had come to learn, he was pretty sure they were ready for the upcoming conflict.
Or at least he was. Tai still blames himself for Lyrrah's condition, and now he feels guilty for being the same guy to took her father's life.
Hal could not begin to understand how he's friend must be feeling, and as a scholar, he found himself thinking more about the possible relationship Tai and Lyrrah's dad must have shared.
Not only does it give him a reason why Lyrrah decided to reveal herself to Tai, but it also opens up a new question.
Lady Roxanne only took Tai in because she knew his dad, so by extension, she could also know Lyrrah's dad, giving her a reason to shelter her from her uncle, the Owl.
He once again let out a sigh as he finally felt his body tire and weaken, as slumber crept up to him.
"Maybe a few minutes of rest won't hurt"
His eyes drew shut, and his mind drifted to some other place, only for him to once again awaken in that field of grass illuminated by a familiar glow.
He wanted to turn and face it, only for his face to be grabbed by a familiar face, Alostella. She caught him by the face and stared deep into his eyes with those starlit eyes.
Although one was covered by her beautiful black hair, and just like Hal's, it had stars embedded within it.
Her cold, beautiful face made Hal freeze as he found their faces dangerously close to each other.
"You are neither a law, embodiment, nor concept, yet you dare to stare at the tree of knowledge. Do you seek madness or something? You might have survived the first time, but that was because the great Fernis interfered, so don't go killing yourself off like that"
She let Hal go and backed away from him into a sitting position, resting her hands on her lap.
"So, how did you get back here?"
Hal sat down in the same position and resisted the urge that plagues all men alike, the urge to do what you have been told not to do.
Alostella twisted her head and stared at him closely as a strange breeze blew over the land, making her hair sway like leaves dancing in the autumn breeze.
She looked like an angel sent down by the lord of Stars to rescue him
"Get such thoughts out of your mind, angels, a mere facade, they do not exist in this world nor should you… think about them"
Hal was happy that was her major source of disappointment, but also how she was able to read his thoughts, and more so, how she can claim they don't exist, but her tone shows she knows what they are
Hal nervously looked up at the indifferent face and smiled at her, to which she simply sighed
"I'm a generous scholar, so I will answer your questions. First, I am literally an embodiment of knowledge, so little knowledge can be kept away from me, especially from a mere human such as yourself"
'Hurtful'
"Wait, you are an embodiment, I thought you were..."
"What, just an assistant, don't make me smack you or worse, don't make me drive you mad"
Hal nodded slowly as he tried his best not to think of anything that could lead him to be driven mad.
"For your second question, I do know what angels are, and after reading JJ's book, it told you, didn't it? The concept of gods and all that is related to them fell to oblivion, and all that remains is the idea of them that replaces their original meaning with aspects being gods and laws being angels"
"Shouldn't that be the other way around?"
"That is what I thought, so too, but that's the way the world chooses to arrange, and so that is how it will be, but now it is time for you to answer my question: how did you come here?"
Hal froze
"I don't know, I slept and found myself here"
The cold face of Alostella suddenly turned to a frown as she turned away from him.
"How…how"
"Umm, Lady Alostella"
"You really are a mysterious thing, Hal Leonardo Fernis, being able to slip into our world even when it is protected by the veil, gaining the trust and power of two concepts and even that KING is picking interest, not to mention that aura around that protects your past, even the lord can't penetrate it and dared threatened to drive him mad"
Suddenly, a cosmic chain resembling a galaxy wrapped around his neck. It didn't tighten, but Hal slowly felt his mind begin to give in to madness.
Hal tried to hold the chain, but his hands simply passed through as his eyes began to bleed, and his mind and body began to hurt with indescribable pain.
But he couldn't scream, or, most precisely, he did not know how
"I was just here, yet you force me to save you almost all the time, dear Hal"
The voice faded as Hal got a brief vision of the umbrella he was used to seeing, and in the next moment, the chain around his neck faded
He stared up at her with fear in his eyes, and she stared back with her indifferent, cold eyes, but there was confusion in those eyes as she sighed
"Go and leave this place, and if you dare bring trouble for my lord, I will not hesitate to vanquish you to the point that even your knowledge fades away"
Hal coughed blood as Alostella touched his forehead and pushed him back, forcing his very vision to blur and his mind to fade
"HAL...HAL…HAL, please wake up"
Hal woke up coughing as he looked up at his friend
"Hal, I'm glad you woke up. You almost scared me. I thought I was about to lose you just after regaining another"
"Hal touched his face and realised nothing was wrong with him, only to turn back to Tai and realise there was another person behind him
Hal smiled as the pain in his body began to fade
"I see, welcome back, Lyrrah"