Chapter 90: Where Earth and Sky End

Nerez approached the book that seemed to be floating in midair and took it in his hands. Opening it and moving it around produced a strange sensation, as though the book itself were underwater.

Then again, the very space within the chamber had felt strange from the start.

"This doesn't look good at all," Nerez remarked as he put the book back where it had been. "How long has this been going on?"

"I found my father like this a couple of weeks ago," Falme replied, lowering her head. "But a few days ago, I began noticing the same thing happening around him. At first, it was only the objects closest to him. Then this bookcase. And today, it had already reached the flowerpot on the small table beside the chamber door."

"At this rate, this phenomenon is going to wreak havoc in Tirelia," Ily warned as she moved closer to Nerez. "The worst part is that it could begin affecting people and other living beings at any moment."

"Now that you mention it," Falme said. "I hadn't even realized it hasn't affected me... It would be a tragedy if anything happened to the servants. I'll tell everyone to evacuate the manor at once."

"It probably has something to do with living beings having vital energy, while ordinary objects have none," Nerez mused, one hand on his chin. "If you start feeling lethargic for no apparent reason, that's when I'd begin to worry."

"For now, the most noticeable thing is how thick the air feels," Ily noted. "Even so, I think it's only a matter of time before the situation gets worse."

"That's true, though something tells me this problem won't be solved simply by sending Falme's father to the underworld." The visiare and those with the 'Gift of Light' were not the only ones capable of seeing beyond the ordinary. Nerez's golden eyes settled on the magic circle at the center of the chamber as the symbols encircling his irises revolved. "Time itself has been distorted. Alegor Artius is merely at the center of that distortion."

"Does that mean my father could recover if we moved him?!" Falme asked hopefully, clasping her hands together.

But her expression darkened once more when Nerez shook his head.

"Since your father caused the distortion, he was at its center when it formed. That's why his time is frozen even though he's alive. Anything the distortion has already affected won't be so easy to restore."

"Won't be so easy?" Ily repeated. "Nerez, does that mean something can be done about it?"

Falme's eyes lit up again at those words.

"I can't promise anything, but I know someone who might be able to do something about it," Nerez replied thoughtfully, though his expression soon darkened. "Well... 'know' is a strong word... And, to be honest, he isn't exactly someone I feel comfortable dealing with..."

"Sir Nerez, please!" Falme pleaded. "If dealing with that person would be too uncomfortable for you, then at least tell me how I can find him. I will use every bit of influence my family has and do whatever is necessary to meet any condition he sets in exchange for his help."

But Ily, who had just realized whom Nerez meant, placed a hand on the young woman's shoulder.

"Lady Falme, I doubt even the king of Phatar would be granted an audience with that person..." Ily warned, shaking her head.

"Is he really that important?!" Falme exclaimed in surprise. "I mean no offense, but how could two adventurers possibly have any contact with someone like that...?"

"Of course, even I wouldn't be allowed to see him, not even from a distance. Nerez is the only one who can do anything about this. (Now that I think about it, the same is true of Lord Nereziel. Merely being at his side is already an incredible miracle in itself.)"

"Well, it's true that he's important..." Nerez explained. "But more than that, he seems to be extremely reclusive. We have crossed paths before, that's true, but I can't promise he'll agree to see me either."

Falme stepped closer to Nerez and took his hand in both of hers.

"Please, Sir Nerez. I'll give you any reward you ask for, so please... help my father..."

Nerez let out a resigned sigh.

"For now, everyone should leave the manor. Do you have somewhere to stay?" he asked her.

"I will immediately order the servants and guards to move to our summer manor," Falme replied with a nod.

"Only the servants and guards?"

"I cannot abandon my father like this," Falme said firmly. "I know it is a bad idea, but I will remain with him until the last possible moment... until I feel that lethargy begin to creep over me, as you said."

The young woman's voice trembled slightly, but Nerez could tell that nothing he said would change her mind, so he let out another resigned sigh.

"I can't leave my client to fend for herself, especially not a lady from a prominent family who could be kidnapped at any moment." Nerez turned his gaze to the visiare. "Ily, I'm leaving Falme in your care. If the situation becomes dangerous, get her to safety, even if you have to take her away by force."

"By force?!" Falme exclaimed, covering her mouth.

"Your wish is my command, Nerez," Ily replied with a bow. This time, at least, she had kept 'Lord' from slipping out, though in truth she always used it deliberately. "If necessary, I'll carry her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes!"

"Like a sack of potatoes?!" Falme exclaimed again. "And I'm bigger than you..."

***

Nerez had learned to appear in different parts of the underworld, as well as in temples and other places dedicated to him. He could do the same within the enormous complex of buildings known as Dusk Manor, his residence in Empyrean Peaks, the city of the gods.

"Ugh, to get back to Tirelia, I'll have to appear in the cemetery again... Cemeteries are interesting, but pretty depressing too..."

Nerez stretched out his arms. To him, traveling that way felt a little like waking up, though the exact sensation depended on the circumstances and timing.

After a few light stretches, he opened the doors of the ceremonial hall where he had appeared and began making his way through the corridors of the main building.

"How many years has it been since I was last here?" Nerez's gaze wandered through the nearly empty corridors of his residence in the city. "Speaking of depressing things, it really is about time I decorated this place. I'm paying taxes to maintain it, after all... but decorating even one of these corridors could take an entire week..."

Unfortunately, Nerez was the kind of player who preferred his in-game homes to come already decorated. He had little patience for that sort of detail.

"I've had to build a house from scratch more than a few times, but honestly, this place is more complicated than anywhere I've lived in any of my previous lives, and only the palace in the underworld is larger. Its sheer scale makes me lose all desire to even get started..."

As Nerez passed through the main gates of Dusk Manor, he thought of the truly talented souls who had helped with his palace in the underworld and wondered whether he should ask them to handle this manor too.

"But there are more important things to do right now," Nerez said, trying to encourage himself as he stepped onto one of the main streets of Empyrean Peaks. "Though I'm really not looking forward to meeting that Aion fellow..."

That small burst of motivation did not last long.

***

The three manors of the absolute gods stood on the highest of the city's five peaks, so it did not take Nerez long to spot Aion's residence in the distance. Even so, in a city as immense as Empyrean Peaks, it still took him some time to reach it.

Once he arrived, however, he immediately noticed that the manor was shut tight.

"Hey, kid," Nerez called when he spotted a small boy playing with a ball in the street near the manor's entrance.

The boy looked more like he came from a family of mediators, or perhaps from among the servants of some deity, than like a future god himself. He approached with cautious, measured steps.

"Did you call me, sir?" he asked when he drew near.

The boy was clearly intimidated. Since he lived in Empyrean Peaks, he knew how to tell gods apart from everyone else. But he was also used to being around divine beings, so their presence alone was not the problem.

What made him nervous was the aura emanating from the person who had called him.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to eat you or anything. (It's not like I'm Cerys...)" Nerez assured him when he saw the boy beginning to tremble. "I just want to know if you live nearby and whether you've seen anyone enter this manor."

"Me?! Live nearby?!" The boy shook his head with all his might. "I'm only waiting for my mother. She works at the Palace of Concord..."

"I see..." Nerez said thoughtfully.

"But whenever I wait for my mother, I come to play in front of this manor because no one is ever here!" the boy exclaimed, trying to be helpful. "I mean... um... I've never seen anyone enter the manor!"

Nerez thanked the boy and ruffled his hair with one hand. The child smiled bashfully and ran off with the ball in his arms.

"Aion might simply be shut away inside, or perhaps his comings and goings don't happen to coincide with the times that boy plays here. But the truth is, I can't sense even the slightest hint of a presence inside. Between this one and Dusk Manor, I can't tell which feels more desolate," Nerez sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "At least I got a walk out of it..."

Nerez left the area as well and began wandering aimlessly through the city's pristine streets.

"But seriously, I have to find out where he might be..."

That was when he remembered the boy's words.

"The Palace of Concord... I haven't been there in centuries. Literally. Maybe they can point me in the right direction."

Nodding to himself, Nerez headed toward the magnificent structure visible in the distance.

"For now, though, I'd better keep quiet about the temporal distortion. Tirelia is my refuge from all these divine problems, and I don't want to draw everyone's attention to it if I can avoid it."

***

When Nerez arrived at the Palace of Concord, he found the place in an uproar. It was not because anything was happening there. He himself was the source of the commotion.

Every mediator made way for him. Rather than merely stepping aside, they pressed themselves against the walls as he passed and held perfectly still in a bow.

When the space along the walls ran out, the poor mediators who had not found a place there prostrated themselves, pressing their foreheads firmly against the floor.

"Seeing all this makes me think that boy was the bravest of them all, though probably only because he didn't know who I was..." Nerez remarked with another sigh. "Come to think of it, I don't even know how they remember me when I hardly ever come here."

The same thing happened a few more times as he made his way through the palace corridors, until he finally heard a voice calling him from behind.

"Lord Nereziel! Your Exaltedness!"

"Your Exaltedness...? Right, I think I heard something about that before..."

When he turned around, he saw a girl with disheveled hair running toward him with one hand raised.

"Your Exaltedness...! We... We weren't expecting your visit...!" the young woman exclaimed, trying to catch her breath. "Please... next time... let us know in advance!"

"Dililei... Dili, if I remember correctly. I think every time we've met, you've been out of breath."

"I was on my lunch break!" Dili protested. "I received an emergency call saying that one of the three absolute gods was wandering through the palace halls... Everyone is terrified, Your Exaltedness...! Or was that your intention?! To frighten us to death and increase your power in the underworld?! Have mercy, Lord Nereziel!"

"Has no one ever told you that you have quite an imagination...? I'm only looking for Cassian's office. I wanted to ask the receptionist, but she nearly fainted when she saw me."

"Ah! Then why didn't you say so sooner? Please follow me!"

"..."

***

"The Void?" Nerez asked, puzzled, as Dili set a steaming cup of herbal infusion before him.

Cassian Veyr's office was enormous, as befitted the High Arbiter, the highest-ranking mediator. The vast windows behind his desk overlooked the clouds, many of the city's peaks, and the waterfalls cascading from them.

Cassian had not welcomed Nerez from behind his desk, of course. He had been waiting for him with a respectful bow, and after greeting him, the two had settled into a sitting area within the office.

"That is correct, Your Exaltedness," Cassian replied, adjusting his glasses. "His Eminence, Lord Aion, spends most of his time there. It is a space without earth or sky, where the very essence of Eryndea can be observed."