"Of course I'm willing, my most respected teacher."
Under Sellen's anxious gaze, he nodded.
Just like every cycle before, Sellen was moved beyond words.
"…My apprentice… you truly mean it? Ah—thank you. I'm so happy…"
Her voice trembled. The joy and gratitude were genuine—so genuine it bordered on shaking apart.
She didn't even remember how long it had been since she'd found someone who could walk the same road.
What she didn't know was that this "like-minded" Tarnished apprentice knew absolutely nothing about researching the origin of glintstone sorcery.
Still, for now, the matter came to a pause.
After parting with Teacher Sellen, he continued toward the Weeping Peninsula.
On the road, he rode his beloved Torrent, casually casting Elden Stars as he went, while pulling a book from his pack—
The Colour Out of Space.
He read as he rode.
"The phosphorescence from the well inspired in the onlookers a strange sense—an impression of coming ill. It surpassed anything their minds had ever shaped; the colour was no longer merely glowing, but seemed to pour out of the mouth of the well. And when that intangible flood of unnamable colour flowed forth, it felt as though it ran straight toward the sky."
When he reached that passage—combined with what he'd already read—an odd familiarity pricked at him.
"Is it just my imagination…?"
He frowned deeply, then drew Lusat's Glintstone Staff and flicked it lightly.
In an instant, the sky became a dazzling sea of stars—like stormclouds blotting out the sun—before countless sorcerous meteors rained down, pulverizing the soldiers on the road into silence.
This was the spell he'd once found at an old heretical mage tower in the Mountaintops of the Giants—
Founding Rain of Stars.
An ancient primeval sorcery, discovered by the astrologers of old.
They said it was the beginning of glintstone sorcery—
The astrologers beheld the Primeval Current, turned the intangible into the tangible, and caused star amber to fall upon this land.
And in The Colour Out of Space, there was a strange entity described—something like a living phenomenon.
The "Colour."
It was said to be intangible, yet when it manifested, it appeared as pure colour itself.
A shimmering, formless hue that flowed like liquid light—glittering even inside the pale shadow it cast.
And when it reached maturity, it would drop a "seed."
A hollow sphere about three inches wide.
Set into rich soil or a shallow pool, the seed would develop.
As it seeped into the ecosystem, local plants would swell into sickly overgrowth; fruit would turn bitter; insects and animals would bear warped offspring.
At night, all vegetation would glow with the Colour's faint radiance—branches twisting and tangling together, thrashing as if lashed by unseen winds.
Even humans would begin to shine with a ghostly light.
It sounded—uncomfortably—like pieces of what the astrologers had spoken of.
Like star amber falling from the sky.
Like certain places in the Lands Between that felt… wrong.
But there was one crucial difference.
After the seed fell, the shell would dissolve, and something like jelly would appear—something you could call a larva.
That larva would devour the life force of the land to grow. Once it absorbed enough energy and reached its "young" stage, it would return to the heavens.
So far, he hadn't seen any land in the Lands Between reduced to that kind of widespread, unnatural wasteland.
Nor had he witnessed anything like a ribbon of starlight rising back into the sky.
And yet…
He couldn't shake the feeling that there was a link.
Riding Torrent, he scratched his head, thoroughly troubled.
It felt connected.
But he couldn't figure out what didn't fit.
"Glintstone is star amber… the origin of glintstone sorcery… exploring the stars, and the life of the stars…"
And in his memories—
The green glintstone crown focused on meteor sorcery.
The blue crown focused on comet sorcery.
The purple glintstone crown belonged to Carian practice, treating the moon and stars as equals—branded heresy by some.
There was even the twin-sage crown of blue and green that allowed broad study across schools.
He stared at the four glintstone crowns in his hands and fell silent.
What were these things truly meant for?
If glintstone sorcery really had something to do with the Colour… were these crowns meant to suppress the "larva"?
If that were true, then why was he fine?
Why was Thops, hiding out at the Church of Irith, fine too?
And then there was the bigger contradiction—
What Azur saw in the Primeval Current was darkness.
What Lusat saw was the destruction of a star cluster.
So what did that make all this?
After thinking until his head hurt, he gave up.
But he did reach one conclusion:
He needed to find time to "deal with" Lusat.
According to Sellen in past cycles, Lusat's body was the closest thing to a "star child."
He still didn't know what a star child even was.
But doing this would greatly delay the moment she turned into a ball.
Soon, he arrived at the Bridge of Sacrifice, the crossing into the Weeping Peninsula.
But the bridge guards were already dead.
Misbegotten, wielding crude, blunt cleavers, had fully taken the bridge.
Ash-black fire pits, torn bodies, shattered steel—everywhere.
Even the massive ballista had been destroyed.
"Tch. Torrent—run them over."
He flicked the reins.
Torrent whinnied, as if blessed by the wind, and charged onto the bridge at terrifying speed.
Misbegotten gnawing on corpses were sent flying.
Those that leapt to kill were crushed beneath iron hooves.
Torrent—absolute menace.
But after he crossed and reached the familiar open area beyond…
He didn't see Irina.
Only a dark red stain remained on the ground.
"…Too late?"
He slid down from Torrent, crouched beside the stain, and rubbed a little between his fingers.
It was nearly dry.
Irina had been killed a long time ago.
Yet there was no body.
And the blood pattern, along with the flattened grass, made it obvious a corpse had been here earlier.
But there were no drag marks.
Which only reinforced his conclusion:
Irina was Hyetta.
Same hair colour.
Both blind.
Same build.
And Hyetta never appeared while Irina lived—only after Irina died did Hyetta enter his path.
Yet Hyetta never admitted the identity.
He'd confirmed that much during earlier cycles, back when he'd had time to kill.
Even so… there was a faint regret in him.
He rose and looked ahead—toward the ravine almost entirely overrun by Misbegotten—then back at the slaughter on the bridge.
There was no need to guess.
Castle Morne had fallen.
And he'd actually had some hope for that lord.
"…Forget it. If Castle Morne has fallen, there's no point going in. I'll rest first."
He muttered softly, glanced at the sky already sinking into dusk, then led Torrent toward the Site of Grace on the hill opposite.
After a full day of travel, both he and Torrent were exhausted.
Especially after wrestling with all that pointless thinking.
Who knew saving Teacher Sellen would be this difficult?
He had just sat down at the Grace when a long-familiar figure appeared—
Melina.
"…Welcome back, Tarnished."
"Uh… thanks."
Maybe it was his imagination, but her tone felt… slightly different.
Still calm. Still restrained.
But somehow—
Like she was a little annoyed.
Was it because he'd been gone from the Lands Between too long?
Not quite sure how to read his wife's mood, he stole a cautious glance—like a child caught sneaking out to play.
Melina's eyes remained fixed on him, as if she meant to see straight through his bones.
"Lady Melina… what are you looking at?"
"…Is there someone else living inside you?"
"…Someone else?"
Her words left him completely lost.
Then—
A small creature came out of nowhere, horns first, and slammed into his chest.
That familiar sensation made his expression freeze.
He looked down.
The creature from his dream was now in his arms.
His eyelid twitched.
How in the world did this thing follow me back?
And if he focused… he could feel it.
A faint, threadlike connection between them.
"But why the hell did I not notice it this whole time?!"
His inner voice was screaming.
With practiced ease, he grabbed the little creature by its horn and lifted it out.
It didn't struggle.
It just stared at him with innocent eyes and made a soft sound.
"Aa…"
"…."
What face was he supposed to make right now?
What was this—an illegal stowaway?
"A… aa?"
Tiamat tilted her head, clearly confused by his expression.
She reached out a tiny hand, trying to touch his cheek.
Too short. Couldn't reach.
"…Forget it."
One look at that shamelessly cute posture, and he gave up thinking.
But when he lifted his head to explain, Melina spoke again.
"…I don't sense malice from it. But is this what you want?"
Her gaze was serious—earnest.
"…Yeah. I guess it is."
The whole process was absurd, and he still didn't know how this little thing had ended up "staying" inside him.
But having a cute little companion might make the road less miserable.
"…Very well. I understand. I'll leave the judgment to you."
Melina nodded, then looked at the creature in his hand.
"…So this is the 'other one.'"
"My name is Melina. I have an accord with this man.
It seems we may travel together for some time. Please… take care of me."
"Aaaaa?"
Tiamat turned and stared at Melina blankly.
After three… four seconds—
Tiamat suddenly wriggled free and dove straight into Melina's arms.
The sudden attack made Melina's body stiffen, but she didn't retaliate.
She simply allowed the creature to climb over her calmly.
"Looks like it likes you."
His voice came out oddly sour.
For some reason, seeing that little thing climb Melina so freely made him feel jealous.
If only that were me.
But wait—
Melina had said "that one."
Did that mean this creature counted as a person?
What kind of "person" was this? Why so small?
Melina only nodded faintly, giving a quiet "Mm."
Her expression was still as flat as water—impossible to read.
"By the way, Lady Melina… what about the suggestion I made earlier? Have you thought it through?"
Melina hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
"…You mean traveling together?"
"…I've considered it carefully."
"If that is what you desire… then I'm willing."
His smile nearly broke free of his face as he extended a hand.
"Then… from now on, please take care of me, Melina."
Melina looked at his outstretched hand, then at him.
After a beat, she lightly took it.
"…Please take care of me as well."
He had won her over.
Earlier than in any of his previous cycles.
Before, their brief journey together always began around the Altus Plateau.
Now it had happened here.
How could he not be happy?
At this rate, the plan of putting on a puppet body and having a hundred children was practically within reach.
Tiamat, perched on Melina's shoulder, stared at her son and daughter-in-law, then tilted her head again.
She didn't understand.
But her son seemed… incredibly capable.
From then on, he rode Torrent through the Weeping Peninsula with Melina seated in front of him, and the adorable creature clinging to his shoulder.
Since he'd come to the peninsula, he intended to do everything that needed doing.
Including saving Teacher Sellen.
If he remembered correctly, Sellen's real body was imprisoned at Witchbane Ruins.
Near Tombsward, below the Fourth Church of Marika—a ruin guarded by puppet soldiers and a larger version of the same fate awaiting Sellen:
A giant human-headed sphere.
Thinking of it made him genuinely curious.
What would cause someone to become that?
Was it truly because they had glimpsed an Outer God?
The more he thought, the more convinced he became.
He just needed evidence—step by step.
But before that, he would go to the Church of Pilgrimage at the far end of Tombsward.
Marika's words remained there.
He wanted to analyze them carefully.
Because after hundreds of cycles, he felt it more strongly than ever—
Queen Marika was not simple.
It was as if everything that had happened… had unfolded within the bounds of her grasp.
And the feeling of being used as a piece on someone else's board—
It disgusted him.
Unlock 120+ advance chapters on Patreon — every follow inspires me to keep going!
patreon.com/legacyverse1
Please support my writing on p@treon