Chương 14: I Was Its King

When Yuto got up the next morning, Shariel showed him a map.

"Take a look at this, child."

"What is this all of a sudden?"

"Can't you tell? It's a map of Callisto. Do any of the names bother you?" Yuto looked down at it.

"This world is split largely into three continents," she said. It was early in the morning, but she casually uncapped her bottle.

"To the left is Vermira, at the center Aberran, and to the right Kusar. Vermira mostly consists of forest, and to the north, there is a freezing, snow-covered plain." Her finger moved over the word that read, "Vermira."

"The World Tree is at the center of this great forest, and nearby is the kingdom of elves. We are right here." Her finger slid down from the name, past "Valisthera." It stopped near the border below that.

"This is the border of the most successful and violent empire in Callisto, Valisthera. And from here onward is the central continent, Aberran. And a little past here is the kingdom called Ristal," she continued. Ristal.

The moment he heard the name, his heart began to beat rapidly. He quickly controlled his breathing and clutched his chest. Shariel watched him briefly and grinned.

"You say you don't remember, but you react without realizing it. Does this mean that you are from Ristal?"

"No..." Yuto said, his voice shaky. Her one visible eye widened at this clear denial.

"No?"

"No. It's not Ristal... Not that one."

"Then what is this reaction from you? You didn't react like this when I told you about Valisthera."

"I... don't know." He gasped for breath and glared at the map. Vermira, Aberran, and Kusar. There were only three kingdoms written on these three continents.

"There is so much land here. Are there only three kingdoms?" he asked.

"Kusar is a land of barbarians and orcs, living in tribes. There is no kingdom there," Shariel said, drinking from her bottle.

"Most of Vermira is forest, and there is only one kingdom, made of elves. And Aberran is controlled almost completely by Valisthera." Her finger paused over the name Ristal.

"The only kingdom that stands on its own and is not under the control of Valisthera in Aberran is Ristal. All other regions are city-states at best and have no royalty."

"But that can't be right," Yuto said, gasping. He glared at the map and reached out a shaky finger.

"There should be a kingdom... right here." There was no name displayed on the spot on the map where he put his finger, but he spoke with full confidence. She narrowed her visible eye and watched the spot on the map.

"And why do you think that?" she asked.

"I... don't know. But I get that feeling."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, I am," he replied.

"Hmm..." Shariel cupped her chin, her eye traveling up to his face.

"How very odd. But child, you are right. There was a kingdom at one point, at that location, even though it's been wiped off the map." His heart felt as though it would explode as he listened to her speak. He tried to breathe more slowly and grabbed his chest.

"What do you mean... wiped off the map?" he asked.

"It's simple enough. It was destroyed three years ago." Yuto's face turned pale. The sound of his beating heart echoed far too loudly in his ears.

"Destroyed...?"

"Yes, child. That spot is where a kingdom called Velkyne once stood, just three years ago."

Velkyne. It brought back a memory. He had been there in Velkyne before he traveled back in time. He had lived there. In fact, not just lived—he had ruled it.

"I... I was its king." He was sure of it now. Two days ago, he'd had a dream, and in that dream, he had ruled over that very kingdom. The name that he hadn't been able to remember back then came back to him now, clear and familiar.

"Why... Why did it fall?"

"I don't know the details," Shariel said, watching Yuto's pale face.

"It's never been made public why. Just three years ago, it was a prosperous kingdom. It was allied with Ristal and split Aberran with Valisthera. But it was destroyed overnight." Yuto was shocked.

"A natural disaster. Lightning fell like rain during the night. The earth overturned, magma flowed everywhere, and the kingdom was gone afterward. Only a tiny number of people survived that disastrous night, but none of the royalty." But this couldn't be right. He couldn't say it out loud, but a denial echoed inside his throat. As his emotions surged, ether began to overflow from his body. Dark ether was about to cover him entirely, and that was when Shariel reached out to him.

She grabbed his wrist, and warm ether traveled into his body. His rampaging black ether went back inside, and his rapidly racing heart slowed down.

"See, this is why I call you a child. Calm your emotions. Your power is far too easily affected by what you feel," she said, tutting.

"Judging from your reaction, I would guess that you are a survivor of Velkyne. I suppose the trauma could mess with your mind if you survived a hellish night like that." His breathing was ragged, and he tried to get it under control. His entire body was drenched in cold sweat. Her ether had helped calm down his rampaging ether, but the shock and emotion still surged inside his heart.

"I don't know what you've been through in the three years following the destruction of the nation, but I believe you said you woke up in a cell in the Colosseum?" Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

"Yes, according to the guard, I was found lying naked in a forest."

"Your mind is already frayed, and I suppose even the slightest shock can confuse your memories. Naked... I wonder if you were enslaved by some perverted noblewoman?"

"I did not have any brands marking me as a slave."

"There are plenty of twisted nobles who refuse to brand their slaves because it is unpleasant to look at. You have a handsome face, so I would suppose that you were that kind of slave." She grinned and let go of his wrist.

"Anyway, that clues me in as to your past. I wonder how I can help you completely recover your memories..."

"Velkyne," he said quickly.

"I must go to Velkyne."

"No, we are not going there," she said immediately. He was greatly taken aback by this, since he had never imagined she would refuse. He stared at her now.

"But why not?"

"Isn't it obvious? Just hearing the name of the kingdom is driving you nearly out of your mind. If you see the ruins yourself, it will destroy you," she said. The words were cold, but he had no choice but to agree. He still didn't have all his memories back. If he went there in his current state and witnessed the destruction of the kingdom, he wasn't sure he could process all of it.

"Besides, it's difficult to even get close to that kingdom ever since it was destroyed that night; the land inside its walls has become cursed." Her finger returned to the map.

"So we are going to Ristal first of all. It's closer than Velkyne, and you reacted to Ristal as well. As for whether we will go to Velkyne—we will decide after we get to Ristal and see what you can remember." He bit his lip and nodded to her. She was doing what was best for him in the end.

"So nobody actually knows why it was destroyed?"

"Well, people have their guesses. They're inaccurate, that's all," she said. She smiled wryly and folded up the map.

"A catastrophe erased a prosperous kingdom overnight from the map. That's not normal. Who do you think would be capable of doing something like that in this damn noble world?" The smile vanished from her face. Her one eye gleamed coldly, and she pointed upward with her finger.

"The Constellations." Her voice was icy cold.

"They created this world, Callisto. And they watch everything that goes on inside it. Fairness isn't part of their concern. They are selfish, unpredictable, and true to their desires. Velkyne was destroyed by them, though the reason is unknown. If people are to be believed, Velkyne somehow disobeyed the Constellations and was judged." Shariel drank the remaining alcohol in a single gulp, then got up.

"And that is all there is to it. An unpleasant and terrible story overall," she said.

Destroyed by the Constellations. Somehow, it didn't strike Yuto as strange. He had to come back to the past, after all. And before he had, he had been its king. The kingdom which I ruled... was destroyed. He remembered the dream where the stars in the sky had laughed at him. He balled his fists, and the more he thought, the more his memories slowly came back to him.

I was betrayed.

But by whom?

It wasn't just the Constellations... There was somebody else. He remembered the blond man with the bloody sword. He still couldn't recall the face or the name. It doesn't make sense. My kingdom should have been destroyed dozens of years ago. So why is it already gone? He tried to think about it more, but a headache blossomed in his brain and stopped him from thinking any further. He moaned and clutched his head. Shariel saw this, tutted quietly, and put a hand on Yuto's head.

"Don't try to think too deeply about it. If it's an important memory, I'm sure you will remember it at some point. So, child, focus on the present rather than the past. Think about the future." Warmth came from her hand and soothed his mind once more.

"While we are on the way to Ristal, you must learn many things from me. The first thing we will do is stabilize your damaged mind. You tremble and release ether at the slightest provocation." She clucked her tongue and ruffled his hair.

"A perfectly clear and tranquil mind, and how to control your ether. Then I will teach you to rely less on instinct when fighting and to use that dark hand and movement skill effectively. After that... we will come up with an identity for you."

"An identity?" Yuto said, confused. He looked up at her and found that she was smiling.

"Right now, you are merely Yuto. Thankfully, you haven't been branded as a slave. But that doesn't guarantee your identity. You need a clear identity if you want to survive in this damn world."

"And how can I create one?"

"It's simple enough. Register with an adventurer's guild in Ristal. Right now you have nothing to your name, so I will lend you the money required for this." The hand that had ruffled his hair moved away.

"You are going to owe me more and more. I am truly excited for the day when you will be forced to repay me. Now that we've gathered our thoughts, come with me," she said.

"Are we leaving right away?"

"No, we must first do our morning training, and after that we must eat," she said. He walked away from the cabin with Shariel and found two swords stuck in the ground where the fire had been burning last night. She gestured with her finger, and the two swords were plucked out. They floated toward her.

"Since I will be teaching you to use the sword, I will be wielding one myself."

"You know how to fight with the sword as well?" he asked.

"What? Hahaha! Funny words, child. There is no weapon in the world that I am not capable of using." She laughed out loud and swung her weapon. It was a light swing, but clean and powerful.

"Because I did not have a contract with a Constellation, I trained my body in every martial art I was capable of learning. That sounds like I'm bragging. Well, allow me to continue. I am capable of fighting even a Constellation."

"Do you mean that?"

"No, that was a joke. At least partly. The Constellations in the heavens will never come down here to fight me." If only part of it was a joke, then she had been serious about the rest.

"It goes to show you just how impressive I am, but sadly I will not teach you my knowledge of martial arts," she said.

"Why not?"

"There isn't time. You cannot even begin to imagine how long I have been training. So I will focus on what you already have, the things that you are unable to remember." She flicked her finger, and one of the swords that had been floating in the air flew toward him.

"That should probably be enough for you. Yesterday you fought in a way that was true to your instincts, and that showed that you have some excellent skills hidden in your subconscious." Yuto was aware of this as well. In the past that he could not recall, he had been king of Velkyne and a hero of Callisto.

Why had he been called a hero? Surely he had done something deserving of the name. Vaguely, he could remember what he had accomplished. He had killed the Crimson Ringmistress, a woman who had wiped out the Colosseum with a single gesture, ruled the Arena of Blood, and was feared by entire kingdoms.

Not just the Crimson Ringmistress. He clutched the sword that stalled in the air.

I killed the Seven Eclipses... all of those monsters. He found it difficult to believe, and if anybody else heard, they would probably think it was absurd. But he was certain he had done it, though he couldn't remember how.

I killed her, but she's alive. It's clear that I traveled back in time, but this past isn't the same one that I partially remember.

He had to understand that somehow. He resolved to find out more.

"Shariel, are you stronger than the Crimson Ringmistress?"

"Hmm, what an interesting question. What do you think?" she asked.

"Frankly, I can't tell. You don't have the same intimidating presence."

"Hahaha! That's because I am being considerate of you and I do not like frightening people everywhere I go, like her. I don't think it's very dignified." She snickered and rubbed her chin.

"Since you say you don't know, I will answer the question. I am stronger than that nobody."

"Then why won't you kill her?"

"Why should I kill her?" Shariel asked with a smile. Yuto was briefly at a loss.

"Killing that monster would be for the best. It would benefit Callisto," he said.

"Then there is even less reason for me to do so." She burst out laughing again.

"I have no desire to do what is best for Callisto." Her voice went quiet.

"I follow only my own agenda." Her uncovered eye stared at the sky briefly and then glanced over at him.

"Child, you have the sword in your hand, so why are you standing there like that? Will you not move until I go over there and cut you?" Yuto dashed forward instantly, and she clicked her tongue.

"So many things to correct," she murmured. He obviously had so much knowledge and his mastery was deep, but most of it was going unused.