Chapter 56: Want, Wishes, And Goals
Reinhard approached Anasha with slow steps, Zenuken dragging faintly at his side. The cage of black spears had begun to fade away, with the Werefang users no longer alive to power it.
But a few of them were still, leading Reinhard with one swing to cleave through the remaining black spikes.
The black spikes shattered like glass and vanished into mist. Reinhard knelt down and then, with his free hand, gently brushed through Anasha’s tangled hair.
"Enough now Anasha." Reinhard whispered softly. "No more crying. The people of Mensis gave themselves up so they would never hurt you and because they saw you as more important than themselves. You understand that, don’t you? Their wish was clear, they wanted you to live, and the only way you can do that is by moving forward."
Anasha looked up at him with her blue eyes widening in surprise, while her trembling lips parted, but no words came out.
Marie stepped up beside Reinhard and smiled faintly. "Reinhard is right. Living is the best way to answer their wishes. So let me ask you, Anasha. What is it you truly want?"
Anasha bit her lip so hard it nearly drew blood as her little fists clenched together. Finally, her voice cracked through the silence. "I... I want to make friends. Lots of them! I want to build a place where everyone belongs, my own town where no one is left behind!"
Joseph chuckled as his lips curled into a faint smile. "Then do it, don’t disappoint the people of Mensis. The best way to show what they did wasn’t a waste is to achieve your dream."
"And don’t worry, we will be there with you. You won’t be alone, in fact, you’re already starting on what you want since we are your friends." Marie says softly, leading Anasha to tremble.
Anasha lowered her gaze again and then muttered. "So... Is it fine for me to be happy?"
"Of course." Reinhard says, leading Anasha to lightly laugh.
Then slowly, she looked up with a shaky smile, one that made Reinhard smile at the sight of her blue eyes shining.
And then.
A smooth voice broke the moment.
"They ended themselves... just so they wouldn’t hurt her? Remarkable."
Reinhard turned his head behind and his eyes narrowed.
Phineas casually stood balanced on a thread of gold stretched across the ruins with one hand stroking his chin. His smile glinted in the faint light, and his silver eyes shined in delight as he surveyed the area.
"Far different from what I expected or actually planned." Phineas continued. "But that’s what makes these stages so fascinating. Even the director doesn’t always know how the play will end."
Anasha flinched before shrinking closer to Reinhard as tears started to leak out again. Marie and Joseph both tensed, weapons shifting into ready positions.
Phineas ignored them as his gaze settled on Anasha. "As you’ve heard, little Anasha. You wandered into this ruined town long ago. Your heart ached for family, for community... and so your Beast Spirit answered. You didn’t just alter the beasts, but you also altered the very town itself. That ’new town’ everyone thought was rebuilt? No... It was your illusion made through your desire and wish."
Reinhard’s eyes widened slightly as he began to recall how the restricted district had seemed whole again overnight. But he was confused by this previously, as there was no way the workers could rebuild everything so quickly. But now it made sense, Anasha when she wakes up, unconsciously reapplies the illusion back over the town.
This also means that when the town changes back to this fully burnt district, Anasha would fall asleep. And then when she woke up, it would revert back. Reinhard thought.
Joseph’s brows furrowed. "Wait. Are you saying this entire town was... Her skill? That none of it was ever real?"
Phineas’s smile deepened with a chuckle. "Indeed. That child achieved something far beyond the ordinary, as expected of a Blessed One. It was enough to make me shiver with excitement and stop my original pursuit. I was passing by, looking for a high-class Beast Spirit, and instead... I found this miracle."
"Is that when you notice the change and trace it back to Anasha?" Reinhard asked with a slight frown.
"Yep, I was interested in what else she could do and how long this could go on for. I even tested it out by controlling her and saw that the time when the illusion is applied could be changed based on the will." Phineas says with a grin.
"That’s how Ven could transform when Anasha was awake... Because you switch it from her seeing the town in their human form while she awakens to her seeing them in the beast’s form." Reinhard said.
"Pretty much, I couldn’t let you all ruin the stage plot now~ That wouldn’t be any fun and enrage the audience." Phineas says with a chuckle.
"The audience would already be enraged by your crappy play." Joseph says with a scowl.
"You really are a terrible existence." Marie says softly as the grip on her spear tightens.
Reinhard only let out a long breath, shaking his head. "Enough. I don’t care about your words anymore, Phineas..."
He stretched out his hand toward the nearest corpse, which was the Werefang that was Ven, with its body still wrapped with lingering shadows.
The moment Reinhard touched it, a rush of emotion flooded him. He felt Ven’s sorrow, regret, and relief rushing through him, but they weren’t overwhelming him.
But instead, he was gently pushed behind as he felt their pleas and encouragement that made him clench his fist.
Then the images of Ven laughing with Anasha, Leafa humming as she cooked, Raphael’s booming laugh at the table tore through his mind.
Memories of a family that never should have existed, but had.
Reinhard then closed his eyes.
In the darkness behind his eyelids, the darkness of his mind unfolded. Floating in the mind before him was a black-blue horned helmet with a single crimson-blue glowing eye. Above the helmet was a long spear while below were two swords crossed in an X pattern.
It was his Beast Symbol, a glowing construct of shifting light and energy. At the side of it, he saw little orbs that swirled around like little stars in the night sky.
Reinhard focused, recalling the soul of Ven, the memories, and the emotion. Then he recalled the memory of the technique where black spears would rise up from the shadows and pierce through objects.
He recalled how the spears could grow out of each other and extend out, creating an array of shadow spears.
He remembered the helplessness of having to constantly evade it and the cold feeling when it almost pierced through him.
In response, the light of his Beast Symbol shined, and then a new light shone on its left side. A single orb glowing brighter than the rest on the left, and Reinhard stepped toward it.
The sphere bore the mark of the Werefang, a beast with its mouth wide open and claws out wrapped around in shadow bindings.
Reinhard reached out and touched the symbol. When his hand touched it, a light burst out from it before the symbol rushed out of the Beast Symbol. Before then, appearing on the top left next to the Crow symbol and golden lines burst from the orb.
The lines rushed back down and struck his Beast Symbol with the contact, sending vibration through him.
Reinhard grit his teeth as the connection formed before, and then silence.
Reinhard opened his eyes and raised his hand slowly. On the back of it, a black-blue horned helmet with the long spear above and two swords crossed in an X glowed faintly.
Around it, two smaller dots now shimmered with the second giving off wisps of dark shadow.
Reinhard clenched his teeth, his grip firm. "I don’t care about your commentary. I’ll fight in their stead."
Phineas tilted his head in amusement. "Oh? Taking their words to heart already?"
He waved his hand, but then Reinhard’s shadow trembled, and then black spikes burst upward to block the threads.
"How fascinating... You made one of them your Beast Sigil? How reckless. A bad Sigil will only weaken you." Phineas said with a smile.
"Shut up. We don’t want to hear anything from you." Reinhard says.
Phineas chuckled, and then he spoke with his voice carrying through the burnt district. "Ah, my actors hate their director. How unfortunate, but perhaps another director would suit you better."
He clapped his hands.
Golden lines erupted across the ground like veins of light, spreading through the cracked streets in complex patterns. Reinhard’s instincts screamed danger, leading him to scoop Anasha up and launch himself toward the nearest rooftop. Marie and Joseph followed as they vaulted over debris to land beside him on the crumbling tiles.
From their elevated position, they watched golden threads spread across the entire street. Before it then glowed even brighter until the entire place was shining and illuminated.
"I think..." Phineas’s voice dripped with delight. "Three hundred souls should be enough."
Reinhard’s stomach dropped in realization. That bastard is planning to use their souls-
The light from the ground rushed upward and tore through the air. A crack split across the sky itself, which was jagged and unnatural. It spread wider until the sky over multiple buildings shattered like glass.
From the rift, something big emerged.
A massive hand came out first, dripping with stardust and with its edges like the night sky itself. Then a towering body followed with its form composed of constellations and shifting galaxies inside of it. At its chest were glowing star-maps, constellations flickering across its translucent skin. And around it were white wisps that curled around its faceless head.
The creature stood as tall as a three-story building, and after it landed, the street began to tremble.
"What... Is that?" Joseph’s lance trembled faintly in his grip.
Marie’s eyes widened. "A Beast Spirit from the Throne of Myth."
"But how..." Reinhard muttered in surprise.
Phineas spread his arms wide with golden threads swirling around him like serpents. "Yes! At last! This proves the method works! A spirit descended and pulled from the Throne itself!"
The massive being shifted before flexing its hand that could crush buildings, and when it stepped forward, cracks formed on the ground.
The being clapped its hands together, and then the surrounding area transformed instantly. In the next moment, buildings and streets were painted with constellations and stars, as if space itself had descended to earth.
Anasha’s breath hitched. "It... it feels cold as if we were in the north."
Reinhard tightened his hold on her. "Stay behind us."
He summoned Mimir, who materialized on his shoulder in a flash of black light, and the crow’s golden eyes studied the towering spirit.
"Tier E Phantasm Beast." Mimir announced. "It’s known as the Star Walker. Be careful of its energy attacks."
The Star Walker raised its faceless head, and void-gaze fell upon them..
Phineas laughter echoed. "Dance for me, actors! Let’s see if you prevail against this boss or fall and be forgotten!"