A sun…
Bright and shiny, it would illuminate the whole world.
'When did things go wrong?'
That's how she would describe her brother, who would make a smile bloom on people's faces.
Or…
At least used to.
Hanging limply, she eyed her brother with an intense glare. The knights at the back watched her in silence as they had stopped in their tracks.
The hall was silent, and two pairs of yellow eyes stared at each other.
'..Ugh... I need to find a way—'
Until it was broken.
"Do you know what is common between humans and puzzles, Samantha? "
'wha-what?'
He didn't stop.
"Humans and puzzles are two sides of the same coin, but there is a catch…" He scanned the hall for a brief moment. Knights in red armor, mana coursing through their bodies, some fallen, some disheveled by the fight, others fresh.
Broken floors scarred by weapons, the cracked pillar he was smashed at. He observed it all in that brief moment.
"…you can solve a puzzle two times, three times, ten times, or even a thousand times if you know the trick behind it, but—they get boring the more you solve them. It is no fun to solve something that you already know the answer to."
All attention was on him. As if he had put them under a spell, they all listened to him quietly, even the indifferent king.
"It is like reading a thriller book with a lot of plot twists twice. It gets less enjoyable when you know all the plot."
His voice was entrancing, trapping all who listened. Samantha's mind started to drift with each word she heard.
"But… humans, they are just like puzzles; you need to solve them. They are the hardest and the easiest puzzles one could ever imagine. How ironic, right?"
"Give a random child a candy, and they will love you for it. If you give the same candy to a random adult, they will feel confused by your gesture, yet if you give them money, they will feel gratitude."
His voice was calm and soothing, almost therapeutic. It reverberated through the large hall.
"Humans are very interesting. A puzzle that changes itself, each human a unique puzzle of their own. That is what I like about them. I love solving puzzles, and they are the greatest puzzle one could ever imagine."
Turning his head toward Samantha, he opened his mouth.
"What do you think, sister?"
Shiver!
'…what the hell? What happened?'
Samantha suddenly snapped out of the trance she was in, as a sudden repulsion washed over her. It was so strong that she forgot all about her earlier struggle as her body shook.
Her entire body was screaming to move, to distance itself.
At that moment…
'Those e-eyes…'
Her gaze fell on her brother; no… it was something else, something alien, something bizarre.
The repulsion intensified in her chest, as her heart beat so hard that it drummed in her brain.
'Move!'
"Ughkh"
Pained groans escaped her lips as she tried to move her body.
"Oh dear, did you find out?"
Her eyes flicked to the man holding her. The grip on her neck is tightening.
"Now, then, I can't let you leave."
'Move!'
Her face started to change color as she tried to move her body with more force, breathing increasingly becoming harder by the second.
"Ukhhg"
Move! Dammit! Move!'
Her vision started to darken, her face becoming purple; she was about to lose her consciousness.
'…I am sorry.'
Just before her vision could completely darken, her gaze moved toward the unconscious figure of Julie. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically, oblivious to the events that took place.
'Brother, when will you come back?'
As Samantha's vision grew darker, the noise around her ceased as she remembered a certain memory from the past. The one that probably started all her misfortune.
'Hmm… I don't know."
She remembered asking her brother, When will he come back.
'Oh, come on. Just give me a time.'
She remembered throwing a tantrum, wanting to have a time limit.
'Hmm… then about 3 months.'
But…
"You—"
Huh?
She suddenly found herself on the ground. The hand wrapped around her neck was gone.
"Haaa…haaa…"
As the realization hit, she found herself taking large breaths to fill her empty lungs. Her mind started to come back to its senses. Looking around, she saw everyone staring at a certain figure with wide eyes.
The figure was short, his face hidden under a demonic mask that had two horns and four fangs. He strode forward with an air of majesty, a long tachi twice his size resting over his shoulder.
All eyes were fixed on him.
Not a single person uttered a word.
No…
'… What is this pressure?
That thought ran through the minds of all the people present in the hall, except…
'Liam?'
Samantha, who had an incredulous look on her face.
***
Moments prior to the fight in the hall.
"It is bigger than I thought!"
Following Anton and his men, Liam found himself in front of Phenia's large gate.
His eyes were sparkling with excitement as he looked at the huge tree.
Snapping out, he quickly approached the gate through which Anton went inside.
"I'm pretty sure he channeled his mana and then traced his hands… right! Over there."
Reaching the gate, he remembered Anton glowing with the light of mana, tracing his hands over the gate's intricate design.
But to Liam's dismay…
"Huh? It is not working?"
The mana was used to recognize whether someone is affiliated with the Royal Family or not. If they are, then the gate would open automatically, but if they are not, the gates won't even budge.
"I am sure it worked when that man tried it. Oh well…"
Casually shrugging his shoulders, he tensed his calves' and arms' muscles.
"…Might as well be the answer to everything."
Mana started to course through them, reinforcing them, giving them much more power. Surging with tremendous power, Liam's lips imperceptibly curled into a smile.
"Now then, let's…"
Raising both his arms, he suddenly brought them to the gate.
"Push!"
Bang!
Unfortunately for Liam, the force he exerted was too much for the fragile gate, shattering the place he pushed, turning it into splinters.
"Wow! I didn't know I would shatter it."
Without even feeling a shred of shame for destroying something that had a long history for the people of Liora, he went inside.
"…that is looooong."
Lifting his head, Liam tried to see the end of the spiral staircase, but no matter how he tilted his head, he never saw the end.
"Do I have to use it?"
"No, if they used it, then I would have been able to see them..."
Indeed.
Looking at the huge staircase, Liam didn't see anyone.
"…there must be something else."
His gaze wandered around before eventually coming to a stop.
"Holy moly! Is that what it is that I am thinking it is?"
Going near it, he examined everything about it.
"It really is… an elevator."
"But how?"
Liam started to muse over it, but remembering his goal, he quickly discarded them all. Pressing the number 100, he boarded the elevator.
"I hope it is the correct number."
Of course, without any clarity.