Project Schemer - Salvatore Trilogy: Prelude

Arc 2 - Chapter 5: Artist

The celebration in the palace is luxurious, it is logical since they never spend too much on anything. Even the daily meal of the king, Alria is not a picky eater but he rarely eats anything luxurious, actually according to master Lucius, even the king before Alria live like that. They really careful with their spending most of the fund is used to improve quality of life and everything related to that problem. Of course, not all the fund is used for those things but most of them do, a small amount of fund left is used for trading with the east.

"I didn't know you can play an instrument too Tomoe."

"I can't but maybe this is the influence from you."

"Then let make our debut."

In this celebration, i'm invited to act as the musician in this special case, of course i'd love to perform in front of my audience, to pick a performance that suit the atmosphere. The performance to reach the peak of excitement, to touch the heart of the audience, the performer and their assistant need to understand each other. And here i am, only me and Tomoe perform this time, i miss everyone in the old world but i glad i can met a lot of new friends in this world.

"The moment i heard your song, it not just break the black box keeping me in but something else happened inside me, something inside say i have to escape, i have to get out. I need to find you."

"Then that is the reason i heard your voice but not just that, the first moment i saw you, i think i saw you before. But i don't want to dwelling in the past, i met so many people here in this new world and these memories, i won't lose them."

"Because you want to protect everyone, that's the reason why everyone want to protect you. You keep saying you don't want to lose this memory but i can see, the thing you don't want to lose is not your memory but the reality you are staying in. But we don't need that protection, you are an Arborian now, we want to protect you instead."

"You're right, then, i am in everyone's care now."

The night, the performance, everything happen so fast yet so memorable, the feast is wonderful, but everything is not over yet. After the war we need to do something about the replacement for the noble in the area, i think there should be no noble in an area since if everyone can find their own harmony that is good enough or if a leader is needed they should be chosen by the people in that region themselves. I think i need to make a trip to understand everyone in this world. But for now, the matter right in front of our face, a stranger and his secret organization.

I never travel to the basement of the castle but the first time i am here, even the dungeon look better than imagination. Even there is no criminal in Soleil the dungeon must be built for other reason, in the dungeon there are many flowers, their light is beautiful but according to Alria and other, this flower can disable any rule so anyone enter the dungeon must wear a special band allow then to goes inside while they still can use their rule. According to our plan today we will interrogate the mysterious man, maybe there is something he know, we have to get all the information from him.

"He still refuse to speak anything."

"Even when Lib use her power ?"

"Well, we tried but that man really have some endurance inside him, endure my burning light is possible but the agony Lib have, this man must have something in him."

"Sou, you seem silence, anything i should know before i talk to this man ?"

"No, you should face the truth on your own, it is a part of growing up, to endure the truth and embrace it. So i won't give you a word before, giving you the truth without letting you find it out will ruin you."

"Well then i guess i will need to find the truth on my own, if it is too painful, please stay by my side, Tomoe and Sousuke."

"We will always stay right by your side."

The cold air gently touch on my cheeks, the dungeon is cold and the flower's light is vibrating, their light cannot be vanished but also the poison to any rule user. According to Aethelred, when anyone enter a different world, their power will be modified by the law of that world, so it should make sense when the mysterious group's power will be modified after the law of Arborine but he also said something else, if a higher being enter the world with lower hierarchy than his previous world then the rule won't be modified and the appearance will be noticed. 

"So no one noticed them."

"You can say that, maybe they from a lower hierarchy world, we Edolin watched over Arborine and we didn't notice them so that is the only explain i can came up with. So at least we know they can't do any harm as long as the grace lilies still here, the flower will drain the magical property of anyone enter its range."

"Then i should be safe."

"You can say that, even if that not work, my pocket watch still can work."

"Thank you Charle."

"No problem, we are family after all, of course not official until the moment you went to Edolin but right now, just consider that to be the truth."

We reached the cell, the man is sitting inside the cell screaming everything about a person from the old world, the face, the hair, the skin, the clothing. There is no doubt, this person come from the old world, government maybe or some shady researcher. The moment i enter the cell, the mysterious man brought up a smile and then a gaze of scorn, he seem to know me but i didn't know who is he. Maybe i should but maybe i shouldn't know who is this man, but if this man know who am i maybe my past can be revealed. And the rain fall, the rain fall along with his work.

"Great, now i must talk with a mindless puppet, why don't you just go back and be the obidient puppet you are."

"A mindless puppet so you say, so you think you can make dancce by pulling your string ?"

"So this is how you can escape our control, escape into another world even blessed by the god, everyone love you now chosen child, everyone love a puppet know only one job is to entertain the leaders."

"A puppet you say, i rather say i still have free will on my own."

"So that is the illusion of your mysterious protector weave up for you, the illusion of free will, mark my word, you never escape our control. You are forever a prisoner, a mindless puppet sitting there playing your instrument for our pleasure."

"Sorry to disappoint you, high elite of WORLD, i already did what i need to let Higeki win back his control, this time, Higeki's grandfather is here, i won't hesitate any extreme measure to vanquish all of you."

Some spark appear inside head, i saw them now, how grandfather failed to save me from them, those man in uniform with the W mark on their left hand. WORLD caught me and twelve other of my friends, they turned us into mindless puppet only live to serve their purposes. I was forced to act as commander of my friend, command them to fight to serve their purpose as world domination. All the pain i felt, everything is painful, the dull pale world serve only a purpose to ease that pain in my heart. Sousuke created that world allow me to recover, maybe because we are friend ? No something is much more important than that, maybe there is some connection between us that i can't remember.

"Silence, Tomoe, my head hurt, i got everything i need to know from this man, let us leave, and you, i won't let you coming back and report to them. Sou, get all the information from him about their plan in this world, any method is allowed, any extreme measure you need."

"You can never escape your fate..."

"No, i won't escape my fate, i will face it to change it. I am not a mindless puppet, i am the most talented artist of Altoris, now your voice will no longer reach me, will tainted my soul. I am the artist of the ruined land."

"I will never speak, i don't need you to speak, you can stop now Tomoe, get me my instrument, Sousuke, prepare the smoke, i will get every single piece of information this delusional creature have. Then we will let Alria and other noble judge him fair in front of people of Soleil."

No one can resist the song, the smoke and the mind-soothing method of three of us, and with that the man speak their plan, to control and corrupt the eastern alliance from inside, using the mutated plan to corrupt the south and vanquish the north because they know about their appearance. For Soleil, their plan is vanquish Alria, from that they can have their place on the throne of Soleil... to vanquish Alria, we have to be quick.

We ran out of the dungeon, dash through the hall, Alria, please you must be safe, Sousuke tied the man and leave an everlasting smoke there to paralyze him. We made it to the garden and another man in black cloak is trying to stab Alria from behind, we scream but our voice is blocked by a barrier. Sousuke throw a knife toward the mysterious figure but we won't made it. But something else amaze us, Alria jump out of his wheelchair so fast, using his rule to create a bow and the next scene we see is printed in our mind, dodging the knife, Alria fired three arrows from his bow pierce through the figure. He slowly standing up.

"You should learn more about us, as long as i still live, i won't let you touch my son, my child will not be killed by a dirty assassin try to kill him while no one around, tell your order, Soleil will not hesitate to destroy all of you. No, Arborine declare war with WORLD."

The bow dissappear and the man fall, his blood leave a stain on the garden, this will take years to clean it. 

"So i guess you are the new visitor, let me introduce myself, i am Alria XVI the past king of Soleil, it is a pleasure to meet the visitor from the world of Altoris. I guess i don't need to be so formal since my child consider you as a friend, mind to have a few words with me ?"

In front of us is the past king of Altoris, we never know what will happen but this will be important. Since we have the same enemies, his way, the way he talk and everything, every words is his mind make the best decision to use. So right now, a child from the ORDER faced against the WORLD with the king of Soleil, a continent protecting Arborine. This will be tense.