A day later, my teacher invited me on a trip. We were both going to the northern states, which were on a different continent.
Getting there took quite a long time by carriage, and then continued by ship across the ocean. If one were to calculate it, it might take months or even longer.
The carriage we used was quite comfortable. Even though we weren't nobles or officials, Chroniclers were generally treated like royalty, or even better.
The seats inside were plush and the space was wide; in the back, there was a chest for our belongings.
We departed in the morning, at sunrise. We passed through dense forests where monsters and wild beasts often appeared. We also passed through vast grasslands, with colorful flowers growing naturally.
In the middle of the journey, my teacher asked, "What all did you bring? You didn't forget to bring your fishnet underwear, did you? Hahaha..." She laughed.
She really loves teasing me with that fishnet underwear. "Well, I didn't forget, because most of mine are already gone," I said, annoyed.
Annoyed by her joke, I turned my face to look out the window. Outside, there were only tall, large trees; we were on a forest road.
In the distance, I saw a tower. It looks like an abandoned castle, I thought.
Even though it was far, the tower's enormous and striking size allowed me to see it clearly. I could make out the size of its walls, the glass window frames, and the figure of a woman in a white dress behind one.
Wait... a woman? In an abandoned castle? In the middle of a forest? Damn, it seems I saw wrong, my eyes might be starting to have problems.
I rubbed my eyes and checked again whether what I saw was real or if my eyes were deceiving me.
Ahaha... I wasn't mistaken. It really was a woman with her back to the window.
Could she be the castle's guardian? Or... a ghost?
"Teacher, I see something over there," I told my teacher what I saw. "It's in the right window of the tower," I said, pointing deep into the forest toward the tower.
She rose from her seat and looked out the window, then said casually, "Ah... that is the Wife, a manifested figure of a vow," she said.
I didn't understand what she meant, and then she told me to open the book to page 002, which contained:
APPELLATION: The Wife
TITLE / EPHITET: The Eternal Promise, Keeper of the Empty Bed, Echo of the Final Vow
CLASSIFICATION:
* Primer: Legendary
* Status: Bound
* Scale: Local
* Level: Tethered
ORIGIN: She is an echo made manifest. In the early times, when the world was young, a Dawn King-an entity whose name is long forgotten-spoke a marriage vow to his empress. The vow was spoken with such pure and absolute power, a promise "for eternity" that bound reality itself. The King then faded with time, his power eroded by the ages. However, his vow remained. The Wife is not the spirit of the empress, but the vow itself, which took on the ethereal form of the woman who once received it.
FORM / ESSENCE: Her essence is the Conceptual Echo of a Vow. She is the embodiment of the concept of loyalty and an unbreakable promise. She is not entirely physical, existing on the border between memory and reality.
APPEARANCE & PERCEPTION: Her presence is not preceded by terror, but by a profound and baseless melancholy. The air might suddenly carry the scent of an unknown perfume or the smell of ozone just after a lightning strike. A soft hum of a lullaby might be heard from an empty room. Visually, she is only ever seen in glimpses-a faded figure in a gown with her back to the observer, a silhouette in a window during the rain, or a reflection in a mirror that vanishes when you turn. Her face is never seen, as if her own identity has faded with her husband, leaving only her role as "The Wife."
DOMAIN & INFLUENCE: Her domain is bonds and promises. In her presence, all oaths and promises become tangible and supernaturally binding.
Passive Influence: Promises spoken near her presence become etched into reality. Breaking them invites strange and inevitable misfortune.
Active Influence: She is drawn to strong bonds of love and loyalty. Sometimes, she "mistakes" a faithful husband for her lost king, and slowly draws that person out of reality to "accompany" her in her eternal, memory dimension. To the outside world, the person simply vanishes without a trace.
VULNERABILITIES & COUNTERMEASURES: She cannot be fought with violence, as she is not a creature of aggression.
Sincere Empathy: Showing genuine understanding and empathy for her sorrow and loss can temporarily soothe her, causing her manifestation to fade. She responds to grief, not threats.
Objects of Betrayal: She is conceptually weak to artifacts that symbolize broken promises. A deliberately broken wedding ring, a signed divorce letter, or irrefutable proof of betrayal will create a painful "dissonance" for her, forcing her to retreat.
The Vow Paradox: Speaking a new vow that logically contradicts her existence (e.g., "I vow to make you forget your vow") can create a conceptual paradox that temporarily paralyzes her as her essence tries to process the impossible promise.
ECHOES IN HISTORY & MYTH: The legend of the "Faceless Queen of the Dusty Castle" tells of a queen who loved her king so much that after his death, she refused to leave the castle. She continued to wait for his return, and her loyalty was so strong that even after her body turned to dust, her promise remained, haunting the empty halls as a guardian of eternal fidelity. It is said that any new couple who stays in the castle ruins will either be bound forever, or vanish together.
WHISPERS & FRAGMENTS OF KNOWLEDGE:
"In some quiet places, promises aren't just words. Be careful what you say."
"She doesn't haunt a place. She haunts a promise."
"They say the reason her face is never seen is because she is waiting for her husband to be the only one to see it again. And she will wait forever."
Scribe's Note: Of all the entities recorded, this is perhaps the most tragic. She is not a monster to be defeated, but a love story that has decayed into an anomaly. There is a real danger in her presence, but it is hard to feel anything but sympathy. My greatest fear while writing this was not being attacked, but being swept away by the endless tide of her sorrow.
Suddenly, I smelled a perfume I had never smelled before. Then I asked, "Teacher, so... is she a ghost or something?" I asked her, holding the open book, after I had read the page.
She sat back down in her chair and answered, "Calling her a ghost isn't entirely accurate, because she isn't a living being, as it's written in the book."
She opened the window and took a cigarette from her pocket.
"She is not a dead being, but rather a concept that was so strong it manifested into a form," she said, lighting the cigarette in her mouth.
"A concept that became alive?" I looked back out the window. Her white-gowned figure behind the window didn't seem intimidating, I thought.
My teacher smoked her cigarette and said, "Yes, a vow so pure and absolute that it formed a bound figure." Smoke exited her mouth, billowing and getting sucked out the window.
With my gaze still fixed outside the window, I asked, "Then isn't she dangerous?"
"That's a frequently asked question. Many people ask about things they don't know, starting with whether it's dangerous."
She paused for a moment to smoke her cigarette. She was always like that. Talk, then pause, then smoke her cigarette, and continue her sentence.
"Questions like 'is it dangerous' are commonplace because we living beings are reluctant to approach or understand something at the risk of danger."
"We humans will first determine if they are dangerous or not. We only think of our own safety when facing a new phenomenon, without thinking about our benefit as beings towards this phenomenon."
"They might be dangerous; that's because we are more focused and prioritize searching for the danger."
Then my teacher asked me, "Try reading the influence and vulnerabilities section," she asked me to read the page about the Wife.
I read it again and focused on the instructed section. She then continued.
"You can see, who is actually dangerous. Is she dangerous to us, or are we dangerous to her."
I read it and, well, I could conclude that what my teacher said was true. There was a big difference between her influence and her weaknesses.
There were only two influences, and one of them was very useful for binding a couple's vow, I guess. Meanwhile, there were three vulnerabilities: all of them non-physical.
She only sometimes mistakes her partner; I guess that's not a crime she does intentionally. And I would be angry if proof of my bond was destroyed. But not like her; she would weaken and retreat.
She is very sincere about it, so even when rejected, she doesn't get angry; she just leaves.
My teacher said, "How about it? Do you understand what I mean?" Then I answered, "Only a little. I'm still hesitant."
Without realizing it, we had arrived somewhere; our carriage stopped, arriving in a town. Our first stop to rest after a full day.
My teacher and I then got off the carriage, and my teacher said.
"Sometimes we don't have to respond to everything with its danger, but the opposite. We must think about what we can do about it; as rational and emotional beings."
I got out with a book in my arms. My teacher then looked up.
"A wife is not a figure you should fight with violence or even magic."
Her gaze shifted to me. "She just needs sincere feelings and empathy."
We then packed our belongings and booked lodging for the night, as well as dinner.
My teacher and I entered the reception area, where we were warmly greeted by the woman standing behind the reception desk.
My teacher chatted and ordered all our necessities for tonight until tomorrow afternoon. Meanwhile, I glanced around, because the reception area was adjacent to the dining hall. I could see many people sitting and eating; some were also chatting while drinking.
As I focused on the surroundings, I heard a man complaining. He said:
"Such a shame. Even though she's so beautiful and I really like her," he shouted drunkenly.
The man chugged his drink bottle then said.
"I promised her on our first date, and I already proposed to her in a very romantic place."
"In a magnificent castle in the middle of a forest, and she accepted. The atmosphere there was even very supportive of us." He looked very drunk; his body was slumped over the table.
"Then why, all of a sudden, did she cancel and reject my proposal?" But his mouth still didn't stop talking.
His friend sitting across the table rubbed his back.
"I can't believe she canceled without a reason," he said.
"Are you sure you didn't do something, my friend?"
The drunk man then spontaneously answered.
"I guess maybe because I idly flirted with a woman at the tavern."
Ah, so that's it. It turns out this idiot, even after making a promise, was still playing around with other women. He's stupid and foolish, I thought.
"That is the effect of making a promise near the Wife," said my teacher; she had finished booking the room.
I looked at her, and she continued.
"Even though that woman didn't know the man broke his vow, the binding effect of vowing near the Wife works directly."
So that's how it is. I concluded and understood what my teacher meant. The man went on a date with his woman at a castle, which turned out to be the one we saw this afternoon.
They made a vow there, and it was instantly binding, and as soon as one of them broke it, the effect would work immediately, just like the woman suddenly canceling.
"The effect won't stop here," said my teacher. "That man probably won't be able to make a promise again. His promises will never be accepted or heard."
"So, will that man be single for life?" I asked.
"Yes, it's possible," she answered, pulling my hand.
My teacher pulled me towards our room and said, "If one day you like a man, be careful with your promises. If you break them, you will receive your punishment."
Well, I'll remember that. Not to make promises around the Wife, I thought, following her.