The Book Of Letters

Ever since Litmus was young, he would collect all kinds of books. Some of them were hand-me-downs from his grandfather, and others were books he ordered from a catalogue. You might be wondering; where does he get the money to buy these books? Well…

"Man, I wish Benjamin was here," I sighed as I was tallying up Litmus"s books. "He"d know how to organize these."

"Same," Litmus chuckled, stacking his already tallied books in alphabetical order of the t.i.tles. "I could ask Mamoru to help, but he"s out foraging. I"m glad that you decided to stick around."

"Well, I was thinking of borrowing one, but now I"m interested in knowing how you got these many books, and where you get the money to buy these," I said, checking the Gloxinian Mysteries book with old and different cover from Postmaster"s copy. "What the... this one was published back in 1753! That"s one hundred years ago!"

I searched through the G pile and found the latest edition, published nineteen years ago, both were written by the same author, Sharon Nocturn. I looked at Litmus with a face demanding for answers.

"Well, I"ve been working under Sharon Nocturn as her a.s.sistant," Litmus admitted. "Gloxinian Mysteries is her side project, and her popular works are the romance adventure novels. As a vampire, she only comes out at night. She also lets me to keep her books as well."

"Well that explains the year and her surname," I commented. The latest edition was thicker than the first, and after a quick skim through, I could see that she dealt a lot of research over a century. The latest edition had more details, with sketches of the places mentioned and theories.

"That one is my favourite," said Litmus, pointing at the page about Oliver, the ghost boy waiting at the old train station. "Every Sat.u.r.day morning, the boy would wait for the train that never comes. I visited this place a few times just to update her, but nowadays I kind of forget to do so."

"Then you might haven"t realize that this one is solved already," I clarified.

Litmus"s eyes widened with surprise. "No way! So he"s no longer there? We got to tell Sharon about this! Wait, she only wakes up at night."

So Litmus decided that we should meet up at the town"s square later at dusk. I insisted that he should just pa.s.s the story to her, but Litmus wanted me to tell it to her directly, saying Sharon may want to ask questions too. Seeing Litmus hugging my leg, begging me to visit her, made it impossible to excuse myself out of this. If I was the old me, I"ll probably kick him without warning.

Fast forward after cleaning up his house, sending Evangeline home and having an early dinner with Benjamin and Piper, I finally met up with Litmus at the town"s square. I brought my broomstick and lantern just in case. The sun was already setting and he guided me to a cottage. We waited outside the door until the lights inside the house was turned on.

"Sharon told me to only come inside when the lights are on," Litmus clarified, opening the door. The interior looked minimalistic, with only the essential furnishing like, the first thing I saw was only a dining table with two chairs. I supposed she rarely has any guests. There were no decorations anywhere. The kitchen was an open concept, so I could see someone standing behind the counter brewing tea.

Now, when Litmus mentioned Sharon was a vampire earlier, I had a mental image of a gothic middle-aged looking vampire wearing black dress and red lipstick, like the ones ill.u.s.trated in the books. In reality, the author looked like a tired college student that I often see back in Lavender City. She had her long brunette hair tied into a messy ponytail, and she wore a blanket over her white shirt.

"Good evening, Sharon," Litmus greeted, pulling me into the house.

"Evening, Litmus," Sharon waved. "Who"s that guy over there?"

"I"m Kurai Yume, a friend of his," I introduced myself.

Litmus immediately jumped right into the main topic. "Sharon, you won"t believe this! You remember that Oliver mystery?"

"Yeah, the ghost boy who keeps waiting for the never coming train," said Sharon, taking a sip. "That was in my latest edition."

"It has been solved!" Litmus exclaimed.

Sharon spat out her tea. "What? How?!"

Litmus put his arm around my shoulders, pointing at me. "This guy solved it!"

At this point, I felt uncomfortable being stared by two pair of enthusiastic eyes. Litmus made me sat down on a chair, with Sharon sitting opposite me. She had her paper and fountain pen ready as he er a.s.sistant worked at the kitchen, making tea and sandwiches.

"Kurai, I know we just met but I need you to tell me everything that happened on that day right now before I get a writer"s block," she said. "Ask questions later."

I told her what I could remember; Oliver, Lily, the time loop curse and the Marigold Town earthquake. I used the same lie I told to Postmaster about convincing Lily to follow me back to Gloxinia station. Sharon listened and wrote every word I said. When I was done talking, she finished her writing.

"That"s incredible!" said Sharon as she straightened her back and cracked her knuckles and neck. "You really are something, Kurai. I can finally update that book. What other latest mysteries have you guys solved? What about the South Bridge Circle?"

"I... haven"t read that part yet," I admitted. "What"s South Bridge Circle?"

Sharon looked disappointed and offended. "In all my life I have been wanting to solve that mystery. It was one of the first mysteries I wrote about and to this day, I still don"t have the answers. In fact, I won"t let myself die until I find out what it is."

She explained that at the south of Gloxinia Town, lies an unused bridge. On the other side was a pathway leading to the forest, and within it, built a circular platform made out of stone and nothing else inside nor around it. n.o.body knew why it was even there in the first place. She believed it was built by one of the "Seven Ancient Ones".

I read about "Seven Ancient Ones" before. They were the founders of this world"s magic. Their names were unknown but they were referred by what magic they founded on. Six of those who were magic users; Spell Ancient One created spellcasters, Charm Ancient Ones lead the charm users, Familiar Ancient One guided familiar users, Oracle Ancient Ones with oracles, Alchemy Ancient One with alchemists and Heal Ancient One with healers, and the seventh represented the non-magic users; Null Ancient One. n.o.body knew Null Ancient One"s significance in the past, especially to the foundation of magic. It was hypothesized that Null Ancient One"s presence balances the other six.

"Now, it is said that Seven Ancient Ones descended from Hoyabella Kingdom, that ethereal sky kingdom from the old legends. One of the theories was that the first place they descended to is here, now we know as Gloxinia Town," Sharon added.

"Another theory is that South Bridge Circle used to be some gathering place for a cult that uses dark magic," Litmus added. "Either way, none of these theories have been proven."

"It is a pity that Gloxinia Town doesn"t have a single oracle here," Sharon sighed, grabbing a slice of sandwich. "And I can"t even go out in the morning without getting burned."

"Do we really not have a single oracle here?" I asked Litmus.

"Not that I know of," Litmus replied. "You and the others are the only friends I have."

After we finished the tea and sandwiches, Sharon brought in a folder of her research to the dining table. She and Litmus have been collecting unsolved cases and mysteries over the years. Sharon then showed a section of her research on the history of the town itself.

"You can read them if you want to while Litmus and I work on the next volume of Blight series," said Sharon as the two of them moved to the next room.

I read Gloxinia Town"s history, learning that it used to be the earliest recorded settlements. The town thrived with scholars and strong magic users, but wherever the Ancient Ones went, many would follow. One of them, Spell Ancient One, settled in a place that was now known as Rose City, a train stop away from here, and became the first king of this country.

Although, that was only a speculation, as Sharon found some historians argued that Gloxinia Town would have still thrive for the rich history. Looking at the current state of Gloxinia Town though, we don"t have much anything to attract tourists. The article then admitted that many of the historical places in the town were destroyed due to a war three hundred years ago, which I remembered that was the war between the world versus a single idiotic Ak.u.mu predecessor. This was one of the reasons that forced us into hiding. Although, records of everything about Gloxinia Town that happened before the war were kept in the royal archives around the world, so anyone who has access to it may know the truth.

Historians, who were oracles, tried to use their hindsight magic onto South Bridge Circle, but something blocked them from looking into further, as if there was a strong force of magic concealing the past beyond a thousand years ago. That got me curious, because that reminded me of something. There was one time when Aoko and I were training in order to regain my magic, and I tried to use my hindsight to look into Aoko"s memories. The problem was, I couldn"t look beyond the fire incident. Even if you have forgotten some memories, they could still be searched deep within the subconsciousness. We thought it might be because I haven"t regain all of my oracle magic at that moment, but then, maybe something, or someone, is blocking her remaining childhood. I"d like to try out breaking that force one day, though that might consume my magic a lot.

Then I read what Sharon wrote about Spimole"s cave. She had logged in dates for every time she visited Spimole"s cave, though only stayed at the mouth. On the same date of my arrival to Gloxinia Town, she noticed that the cave had been radiating "positive energy", feeling happier than usual. This was the total opposite of what I felt when we left the cave the other day, and that was because I knew what that ent.i.ty was.

Sharon recorded her visits after that day, describing the feeling getting stronger. That made me more worried. I grew more conscious when I realized that the date of the anniversary of that incident was close. I went to the room where they were working, finding Litmus and Sharon were in their own "zone". Sharon focusing on writing the book while Litmus reading her writings for errors. I softly knocked on the door once, and Sharon immediately hissed at me.

"Whoops," Sharon realized what she did and covered her mouth to hide her fangs. "Almost forgot you"re still here."

"Sorry to interrupt you, Sharon," I said, feeling awkward after being hissed. "Can you tell me more about the energy you felt at the Spimole"s cave?"

"Oh, that place? Yeah, it gave me good vibes that I rusher back home to do more writing. I always felt more productive every time I visited the place. Why?"

"Just curious, that"s all," I said, relieved that she only knew by that much. "By the way, I have to get back home."

"Is it already late?" Litmus checked the wall clock. It was half past eight.

"Yeah, I have to go back to write a letter to my girlfriend," I said.

"Sounds like you"re going to write a very long letter," Sharon commented as she got off from her seat. "Before you leave, let me give you something."

She brought me to her room full of her books, and handed me a deluxe edition of her Gloxinian Mysteries. It was more in-depth than the ordinary edition, containing sourced articles outside Languina.

"In case you want to solve more mysteries," she said. "Honestly, for a small town with hardly any notable landmarks, it"s more interesting once you find the hidden gems."

She saw me on my way out. I thanked her for the book and left with my broomstick and lantern. Without much thought, I flew pa.s.s my home and went straight to Litmus"s place. My mind was in a state of panic. I wished I noticed it before, but it was already too late. That "ent.i.ty" have been following me from the shadows ever since that incident, regaining his strength until he could confront me. I reached Spimole"s cave, feeling the good magic energy radiating, but inside, I knew something sinister within it. Rather than going inside, I casted a strong barrier outside the cave. I felt the ent.i.ty approaching the barrier. The moonlight shone upon the cave, revealing a white human silhouette, absent of a face.

「Nice to see you again.」

"Likewise," I answered. "Though, we were sure you died."

「I never was. As long as you"re alive, I am too.」

I hated it when we shared the same voice. "Look, we defeated you already. What do you want?"

「Isn"t it obvious? My goal never change. Once I have my full strength back, I will get back everything you own, including my beloved Aoko.」

"That will never happen. You will never escape."

「We"ll see about that, Kurai Ak.u.mu.」

The ent.i.ty disappeared into the cave. I was relieved that he was gone, because throughout the whole conversation, I was anxious and terrified. Just looking at it made me remember the horrible past from my childhood. My stomach curled by the thought of that incident.

I tried to regain my composure. I slapped my face multiple times, telling myself that things are going to be okay. When I turned around, I was taken by surprise by the Fairy Queen, standing before me with her arms folded and I-caught-you-red-handed look.

"Well, well, well," said the Fairy Queen, impressed with what I have done. "Care to explain why you"re yelling at Spimole? You do know that it"s attracted to noises."

I realized that she couldn"t see nor hear the ent.i.ty. "I can explain, Your Majesty."

"Then explain why is there a dark barrier inside my forest," the queen demanded. "I thought you have no magic within you, but I was wrong, and worse of all, its dark magic."

"It"s not my intention to use this cursed magic to hurt anyone, but to protect my friends," I admitted. "Beyond this barrier is not just Spimole, but a dangerous monster that grows stronger every day. Please, Your Majesty. Keep this secret from Evangeline and the others. The last thing I want is to hurt them."

Fairy Queen looked skeptical at first, but then she let out a sigh. "Indeed, if you would want to hurt others, then you would have done it ages ago. I had my suspicions on a new presence when it first came, but it was too weak for me to care. After the havoc caused by Spimole the other day, I suspected something, or someone, wanted to destroy my beloved Evangeline"s hometown. It was about time to set up a barrier anyway. I will not tell Evangeline about your magic, Kurai. As long as you only use it to barricade the cave."

I didn"t want to admit that the Spimole accident was caused by us and an enchanted mandolin. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I am honoured that you granted my wishes."

I went out of the forest, feeling that the Fairy Queen still watched me. Even after I went back home, the fairy presence lingered. I locked the door, closed the curtains, and skimmed through the books that I brought from Lavender City. The Ak.u.mu family books never wrote anything about their ancestors" connection to the Ancient Ones. Although, every generation, the successor of all-in-one magic would end up migrating to somewhere else. My father used to be from country of Nulliva before moving to Beastivo, where he built his house in Lavender Forest. I didn"t think I would end up following the migration footsteps.

The predecessor that caused the war three hundred years ago, Maou Ak.u.mu, was the only Ak.u.mu resident from Gloxinia Town. As for why he caused the war, well, he was that type of guy who always looked for someone on par with him. His magic would damage buildings, hence why Gloxinia Town lacked any historical sites. Despite his idiocy, we concluded that the all-for-one magic was so great that it took an entire world to tire him down. He ended up moving to Succulent Town in Orei, living the rest of his peaceful life, even though he had damaged our reputation that would remain in the world history textbooks.

In Maou"s journals, not once he had mentioned about South Bridge Circle"s history, except for trying to sleep there once. An unreliable predecessor, honestly. No wonder the journals after him were more meticulously written. After I finished skimming through the books, I slumped on the bed, thinking what I should write to Aoko. I didn"t want her to worry about me. After all, I have magic. I can protect myself.

❤︎

「All in all, it was a pretty relaxed day. Sharon helped me learn more about the town and its history. It was nice to have one day without anything chaotic happening.

I hope you"re having fun today as well.

Love,

Kurai」