No one's POV

Currently, in a forest two young boys are chopping away at a massive tree. One of the boys was blonde and has green eyes and was chopping and the other boy with black hair and blue eyes was sitting on the ground watching.

???: Forty...three! Forty...four!

He tried counting aloud the ax strikes against the tree as a means of encouragement, but sweat blurred his eyes, his palms slipped, and his accuracy fell further. He swung the tree cutter's ax around madly, putting his entire body into the rotation.

???: Forty...nine! Fif...ty!!

The last swing was wildly off base, hitting the bark far from the sharp, deep rut in the tree and producing an ugly ringing noise. The vibration nearly caused sparks to shoot from the boy with the blond hair and green eyes; defeated, he dropped the ax, stumbled a few steps back, and plopped down onto the thick moss. He sat there panting until he heard a joking voice off to his right.

???: I only heard 3 good hits out of fifty. Let's see, that brings it to 41 total, huh? Looks like you're treating me to the siral water today, Eugeo.

The voice belonged to another boy about his age, lying down a short distance away. Eugeo felt around for his leather canteen and lifted it to his lips. He gulped down the lukewarm water and tightened the cap again, feeling human at last

Eugeo: Says the guy who's only at 43 good hits. I'll catch up in no time. Come on, it's your turn... Zora.

Zora: Yeah, yeah.

Zora—Eugeo's closest, longtime friend and his partner in this gloomy "Calling" since last spring—brushed back his sweaty black bangs, lifted a leg straight up, then hopped to his feet. But rather than pick up the ax, he put his hands on his waist and looked up. Eugeo's gaze traveled to the sky with his.

The mid-July summer sky was astonishingly blue, and in the midst of it, the sun goddess, Solus, unleashed all her light. Yet the tree towering over them spread its branches so thick and wide that nearly none of the light reached Eugeo and Zora on the ground.

Zora: One year and three months. After swinging that ax this much every day... I can't take any more of this torture.

Eugeo: There's no point complaining. After all, it's our calling to cut down the Gigas Cedar.

Zora: Sure, I know that, but there's no sense of accomplishment in this job.

Zora glared silently at the Gigas Cedar and walked over to it, reaching for the trunk.

Eugeo: Don't do it, Zora. The elder told you not to go around constantly reading the tree's life.

Eugeo pleaded, but Zora wore only his usual mischievous grin when he turned around to look at his friend.

Zora: The last time I looked was two months ago. It's not constantly, just every once in a while.

Eugeo: Oh, you and your excuses...Hang on, I want to see, too.

His panting had finally calmed down, so he flipped up onto his feet like Zora did and trotted over to his partner.

Zora: I'm going to open it now.

Zora held out the index and middle fingers of his left hand, the others tucked away into his palm. Using this brush, he drew a shape like a writhing snake in midair—a primitive version of the sigil of dedication to the goddess of creation.

Once the sigil was done, Zora struck the trunk of the Gigas Cedar. It didn't make the usual dry bark sound but instead rang out soft and pure, like silverware. A little square window of light appeared, as if shining right out of the tree's trunk.

Everything that existed in the world, whether mobile or stationary, was given "life" by Stacia, the goddess of creation. Insects and flowers had small amounts of life, cats and horses more, and humans even more than that. The forest trees and mossy rocks had many, many times more life than humans.

Every being's life grew from its birth until a certain peak point, and then shrank. When that life ran out at last, the animals and people would perish, the plants would wilt, and the rocks would crumble.

A Stacia Window displayed the remaining life in sacred script. Anyone with enough sacred power could call one up by drawing the sigil and striking the target. Just about anyone could bring up a window for little things like rocks and grasses, but it was more difficult for animals, and a background in elementary sacred arts was necessary to open a human's window. Of course, everyone was a bit scared to look upon their own window.

Normally a tree's window would be easier to see than a person's, but the monstrous Gigas Cedar was much more difficult, and it was only half a year ago that Eugeo and Zora had become skilled enough to see it.

According to rumor, a master of the sacred arts who was elected senator of the central Axiom Church in Centoria once succeeded in opening the window of the earth goddess, Terraria, herself after a ritual lasting seven days and nights. One simple glimpse at the life of the earth was enough to terrify the wits out of the senator, and he fled and disappeared, driven mad by what he saw.

Ever since hearing that, Eugeo was afraid of looking at not just his own window but at other large things like the Gigas Cedar. However, Zora was not bothered in the least; in fact, his face was pressed up close to the shining window. Eugeo was reminded that sometimes he just couldn't fathom his best friend, but eventually he gave in to curiosity and peered at the window for himself.

The purple rectangle contained a string of odd numerals written in a combination of straight and curved lines. Eugeo could read just the numbers of the ancient sacred script, but writing it was forbidden.

Eugeo: Umm... 235...542.

Zora: Yeah...How much was it two months ago?

Eugeo: I think it was about...235,590.

Zora:...

Zora threw up his hands in a dramatic gesture of defeat and fell to his knees. He scrabbled his fingers through his black hair.

Zora: Just fifty! All that work over two months, and we took it down only fifty out of 235,000! We'll never topple this tree for as long as we live at this rate!

Eugeo: 😅 Ahaha... Well, it is a tree that's renowned for its steel-like durability. The six generations of carvers before us, worked on it for 300 years. So it should take another 18 generations...about 900 years.

Zora: Don't...even...start.

Zora groaned, looking up balefully at Eugeo. Suddenly, he lunged and grabbed his friend around the legs. Stunned, Eugeo toppled backward onto the local bed of moss.

Eugeo: Ouch.

Zora: Why do you always have to be such a goody-goody?! Try to figure out some way to deal with this unfair duty instead!

Zora demanded, but he wore a huge smile as he straddled Eugeo and ruffled his victim's hair.

Eugeo: Wh-What are you doing? D-Darn you!

Eugeo grabbed Zora by the wrists and pulled hard. Zora yanked back on his own to avoid being hurled over, and Eugeo took advantage of that momentum to roll upward and take the overhead position.

Eugeo: Let's see how you like it!

He laughed, tugging at Zora's hair with his dirty hands, but unlike his own flaxen hair, Zora's black hair already stuck out any which way it wanted, so the attack did little. He was forced to switch to tickling instead.

Zora: Agh! S-stop...n-no fair.

Zora heaved, out of breath, as he struggled against the tickle attack.

Eugeo: Alright, do you give up?

Zora: Now you've done it! Take that!

Zora laugh countering Eugeo's tickling with his own, as he slammed Eugeo back onto the ground.

Zora: Payback time!

Eugeo: Cut it out, Zora!

Suddenly, a fierce, high-pitched voice broke the grappling stalemate.

???: Hey! I caught you slacking off again, didn't I?

Eugeo and Zora instantly froze.

Eugeo: Ugh...

Zora: Oh, crap...

They both hunched their shoulders sheepishly and turned toward the voice. Standing atop a rock nearby was a figure with hands on hips and chest puffed out. Eugeo grimaced and muttered.

Eugeo: H-hi, Alice. You're early today.

Zora: Yeah. Y-You're done with your Sacred Arts class?

Alice: I'm not early, I'm exactly on time.

The figure snapped in a huff, the long hair on either side of her head throwing off dazzling blond light in the meager dapple that reached through the leaves. The girl leaped nimbly off the rock, her bright blue skirt and white apron flapping in the breeze. She held a large woven basket in her right hand.

The girl's name was Alice Zuberg, and she was the village elder's daughter. She was the same age as Eugeo and Zora.

Custom in Rulid—in the entire northern territory, in fact—stated that all children in the spring of their tenth year were given a Calling and entered into an apprenticeship for that job. Alice was the sole exception, as she attended school at the church. She was receiving private instruction from Sister Azalia to capitalize on her gift for the sacred arts, which was the most noteworthy of any child in the village.

But Rulid was not a bountiful enough place to allow an eleven-year-old girl to sit around and study all day, even if she was the elder's daughter and had a preternatural gift. Every able-bodied resident needed to work together to combat the Mischief of the Dark God Vecta—drought and flood, pestilence, and anything else that threatened the life of crops or livestock—or there wouldn't be enough to survive the winter.

Alice study only in the morning, after which she would tend to the livestock and clean the house. Her first task after school was bringing lunch to Eugeo and Zora.

Alice leaped off the tall rock, basket slung over her arm. Her deep-blue eyes glared at Eugeo and Zora, locked in mortal combat on the ground. Eugeo hastily sat up and shook his head before those lips could issue another bolt of lightning.

Zora: W-we weren't slacking off! We finished our morning work, promise!

He babbled as Zora mumbled an affirmation from below. Alice graced them with another withering stare, then snorted.

Alice: If you've got the energy to wrestle after finishing your work, maybe I should ask Garitta to up your number of swings.

Zora: You'd really tattle on your dear friends? That's so low...

Alice: I'm only kidding. Now then...let's have lunch.

She set down the basket and pulled out a large white cloth, which she proceeded to whip open and place on the flattest available bit of ground. Zora immediately leaped onto the blanket, his shoes already off, followed by Eugeo. The starving laborers watched as more and more food appeared before them.

Today's menu was a shepherd's pie of salted meat and stewed beans; thin sandwiches of black bread, smoked meat, and cheese; several types of dried fruit; and fresh milk that morning. Aside from the milk, they were all long- lasting types of food, but the hot July sun was assuredly doing its best to steal away the meal's life.

Alice held the ravenous boys at bay as though she were ordering dogs to sit, then drew the appropriate sigil in the air to open a window for each item of food, starting with the milk in its bisqueware pot.

Alice: Yikes, the milk only has ten minutes, and the pie, fifteen. And that was after I ran all the way here...You'd better eat all this quickly—just make sure you chew properly.

A single bite of bad food whose life had expired could cause stomach pains and other ailments in all but the extremely hardy. Eugeo and Zora gave a brief thanks for their food before tearing into their pies.

For a while, all three ate in silence. The two hungry boys were one thing, but it was surprising just how much food Alice could pack away in that tiny body of hers. First went the three slices of pie, then the nine black-bread sandwiches, washed down with the pot of milk. Finally satisfied, the trio sat back for a breather.

Alice: And how was the flavor?

Alice asked with a sidelong glance. Eugeo answered in as serious a tone as he could manage.

Eugeo: Today's pie was good.

Zora: Yeah. I think you've gotten much better at it, Alice.

Alice: D-do you think so? I felt like it was still missing a little something.

She turned away to hide her embarrassment. Eugeo shot Zora a glance and they shared a secret smile. Alice had supposedly been making their lunches for the last two months, but it was very clear which days she'd secretly received help from her mother, Sadina. No skill was attained without long years of practice—but Eugeo and Zora were just old enough to recognize when it was best not to bring that up.

Zora: Still... This lunch is so tasty, I wish we could've taken our time enjoying it. Why does the heat make it spoil so quickly?

Eugeo: What do you mean, why? Because all life drops quicker during the summer, of course. Don't be weird. Meat, fish, vegetables, fruit—it all goes bad if you just leave it around.

Zora: I know that, but I'm asking why. During the winter you can leave raw meat outside for several days and it'll still be good as long as it's salted first.

Eugeo: Sure, because it's cold during the winter.

Eugeo answered. Zora mouth twisted into a childish pout. His black eyes, rare among the northern territory, sparkled with defiance.

Zora: That's right, the food lasts because it's cold—not because it's winter. So if we can keep them cold, our lunches should last longer, even in the summer.

That caused Eugeo to lose his patience for good. He stretched and kicked at Zora's shin.

Eugeo: You make it sound so easy. How do you make it cold when it's the heat that makes it summer? Are you going to use the forbidden weather-altering art to make it snow? An integrity knight from the Axiom Church would show up before you could blink and spirit you away.

Zora: Hmmm...There has to be some way...Something simpler than that.

Zora muttered, thinking hard. Alice, who was twirling her long bangs with her fingertip as she listened to their conversation, interjected.

Alice: That's interesting.

Eugeo: Wh-what? Not you, too, Alice!

Alice: I'm not suggesting using the forbidden arts. Why go to the trouble of freezing the entire village if all you need is to make the inside of this picnic basket cold?

It made a lot more sense when she put it that way. Eugeo and Zora looked at each other and nodded together. Alice, now smug, continued.

Alice: Some things are cold even in the summer. Like deep well water or silve leaves. Maybe putting things like that into the basket will cool it down?

Eugeo: Oh...good point.

Eugeo crossed his arms to deliberate. Right out front of the church was an incredibly deep well that had been there since Rulid was founded, and its water was cold enough to bite the skin, even in the summer. The leaves of the rare silve tree that grew in the northern forest emitted a piercing scent and a chill on the skin when plucked, and they were treasured as a treatment for bruises. Now that he thought about it, putting well water in a pot and wrapping the pie in silve leaves seemed like it would be enough to keep the food fresh in transit. But Zora shook his head slowly.

Zora: I don't think that will be enough. The well water goes tepid just a minute after it's drawn, and silve leaves don't give you more than a brief tingle. That won't be enough to keep the basket cold from Alice's house all the way to Gigas here.

Alice: Are you saying there's a different way?

Alice snapped, unhappy that her idea had been shot down.

Zora ran his hands back and forth through his raven hair for a while.

Zora: Ice. We could keep our food cold enough if we had lots of ice. And then we could enjoy these delicious lunches for as long as we want! That's it! Ice! Let's go search for ice!

Alice: Listen, you... It's summer. Where would we find ice? I'm sure there isn't even any in the Centoria market.

Alice groaned and she lectured, like a mother to her stubborn child. But Eugeo felt foreboding creeping over him, and he watched Zora in silence. When his best friend had that look in his eyes and spoke in that tone of voice, it always meant he had some dreadful idea in mind. He recalled countless misadventures from the past: the time they went to get emperor-bee honey in the mountains to the east, the time they broke the hundred-years- expired jar of milk they found in the church basement...

Eugeo: W-well, who cares? All that matters is to eat the food quickly. If we don't get started on the afternoon work soon, we'll be late returning home again.

Eugeo urged, trying to divert the topic away as he returned his empty plate to the basket. But the glint in Zora's eyes told him that his fears were about to become reality, whether he liked it or not.

Eugeo: All right, what is it? What have you thought of this time?

Eugeo asked, resigned. As Zora grinned happily.

Zora: Hey...remember that story your grandpa told us ages ago, Eugeo?

Eugeo: Hmm...?

Alice: What story?

Alice asked. She was curious, too. Eugeo's grandfather, who had returned to Stacia's embrace two years ago, had been an old man with countless old tales stored in his beard that he liked to share with the three children as they gathered around his rocking chair. He had hundreds of stories—mysterious ones, exciting ones, scary ones—so there was no way for Eugeo to guess which one Zora was thinking about. His friend cleared his throat and held up a finger.

Zora: There's only one story about ice in the summer. 'Bercouli and the Northern White'!

Eugeo: Oh, please. You've gotta be kidding

Eugeo interjected, shaking his head and hands.

Zora: The hero, Bercouli, followed the Rul River to the north. Inside a cave in the End Mountains, he found a huge white dragon asleep atop a pile of treasure. He took hold of a beautiful sword in the treasure, but the instant he did...the northern dragon awoke and the two of them battled. According to the story, he found a giant icicles hanging just inside the cave, right? So if we break some off...

Eugeo: Look, you...

Eugeo groaned, then fell silent. He turned and glanced at Alice, pleading her to scold the ne'er-do-well in his stead. But the look of excitement in her blue eyes turned his consternation into despair.

Much to their outrage, Eugeo and Zora were considered the two biggest troublemakers by the elderly in town, receiving scoldings on a daily basis. But few people knew that the driving force behind their many bouts of mischief was the encouragement of Alice herself, the village's perfect little sweetheart. Alice put a finger to her plump lips and pretended to think it over for a few seconds, then blinked.

Alice: That's not a bad idea.

Eugeo: Come on! You do know, don't you? Under the laws of the village...

Alice: The village law forbids any child unaccompanied by an adult from playing in the End Mountains. But searching for ice doesn't count as playing. If it means extending the life of our meals, it'll benefit the villagers, won't it? So this should be interpreted as work.

Zora: I agree. You're absolutely right. It's work, so it doesn't break the village law about crossing the northern pass to the End Mountains. Remember what Mr. Barbossa always says? 'Work isn't just what people tell you to do. If you have free time, find something you can do on your own!' If they get mad, we can just trot out that line in our defense.

Eugeo: Yeah, but going into End Mountains isn't just against the village law, it's forbidden by " that", right?

Zora: " That"?

Eugeo: You know what I mean. The Taboo Index, of course. We can't just violate the Taboo Index, can we?

Alice and Zora both sobered, if momentarily. What Eugeo mentioned was not The Rulid Village Standards or the Norlangarth Basic Imperial Laws but an even more absolute, far-reaching set of laws that covered all the residents of the human world—the Taboo Index.

The Index was upheld by the Axiom Church, residing in its tower in Centoria that stretched nearly to the heavens. The heavy books, bound in pure white leather, were given to every single town and village in not just the northern empire containing Rulid but to those in the east, west, and south as well.

Unlike the village rules and imperial law, the Taboo Index contained well over a thousand entries of forbidden actions, starting with general things like rebellion against the Church, murder, and theft, and going down to specifics like caps on the number of animals and fish that could be hunted in a year or which types of feed were forbidden to give to livestock. Aside from learning letters and numbers at school, the biggest priority was teaching children all the entries of the Taboo Index. As a matter of fact, the Index forbade not teaching the Index in school.

But the absolute authority of the Taboo Index and Axiom Church did not extend to all corners of the world. Beyond the End Mountains that surrounded everything was a land of darkness—what was called the Dark Territory in the sacred tongue. Naturally, the entry that forbade going to the End Mountains was listed quite early in the Index, and that was why Eugeo said they could go to the foot of the mountains but not into the cave.

Eugeo stared at his old friend Alice. Surely she would not dare challenge the Taboo Index. Even considering such a thing was a taboo. Alice thought for a while, her long eyelashes dazzling in the sun like fine golden threads. Eventually she raised her head, and her eyes still had that adventurous gleam in them.

Alice: Eugeo, this is what it says in the Index. "Taboo Index, Book 1, Chapter 3, Verse 11. Thou shalt not cross the End Mountains that encircle the Hunan Empire. By "Cross" it means entering the Dark Territory on the other side of the End Mountains. That doesn't include entering the cave.

Alice noted, her crystal voice like the tiniest bell at the church. Eugeo had no response. In fact, what she said was making a certain kind of sense.

Zora(mind): But the farthest we've ever been are the twin ponds along the Rul, well short of the northern pass. We don't know what lies beyond that point, and this is the season where the itch-bugs come out along the water...

Zora roused Eugeo out of his hesitation by slapping him on the back, just softly enough not to damage his life, and shouted.

Zora: Alice studies more than anyone else in the village, so if she says so, it's fine, Eugeo! That settles it— next rest day we're searching for that white dra...The ice cave!

Alice: Yeah! Okay, then we'll meet at the North Gate at 7:00 AM. I'll need to make our lunch with ingredients that last longer.

Zora: Right! Don't overslept!

Alice: Same goes for you!

Eugeo looked at his friends, their faces sparkling with excitement, and could offer only a reluctant "sure" under his breath.

(Timeskip)

The third rest day of July was shaping up to be a beauty. Even the children over the age of ten who had been given their Calling returned to their younger days and were allowed to go out and play until dinner. Normally Eugeo and Zora would go fishing or have play swordfights with the other boys, but on this rest day they were out of their houses before the morning dew was gone, waiting for Alice beneath the old tree at the edge of the village.

Zora: She's late!

Zora grumbled, conveniently forgetting that he had forced Eugeo to wait several minutes, too.

Zora: Why do women always put their own preparations ahead of being on time? In two years she'll be like your sister and claim that she can't go into the forest because it'll get her clothes dirty.

Eugeo: She can't help it; she's a girl.

Eugeo even as he considered where they would be in two years' time. Given her status, Alice was still considered one of the children without a Calling yet, so the village tacitly accepted her activities with the boys. But she was also the village elder's daughter, which essentially guaranteed that she would serve as the standard for the other women of the village. It would not be long before she was forbidden from cavorting with boys and forced to learn not just the sacred art but the proper manners and bearing of a lady.

Zora: Hey, stop spacing out. Did you get enough sleep last night?

Zora wondered. Eugeo nodded vigorously.

Eugeo: Y-yeah, I'm fine...Oh, here she comes.

He pointed toward the village, where the sound of light footsteps was approaching. Just as Zora had groused, Alice appeared through the morning fog with her pristinely combed blond hair tied up with a ribbon and spotless white apron dress swaying. Eugeo looked at his friend and stifled a smile.

Zora and Eugeo: You're late!

Alice: No, you're too early. Honestly, when are you two going to grow up?

Alice retorted, handing Eugeo the basket and Zora the canteen with her nose in the air.

Once they automatically took the items, she turned to the path leading north out of the village, crouched, and plucked a stalk of high grass. She pointed the plump, fuzzy end of it toward the distant mountain and announced.

Alice: And now...we head off in search of summer ice!

Eugeo shared another look with Zora, wondering how it was that they always ended up being the princess and her two servants, and started trudging after Alice.

Zora: Jeez. Making us carry everything...

The road that ran north to south through the village was well-worn on the southern-heading side with the passage of travelers and horses, but the northern-headed side had long fallen into disuse, littered with tree roots and rocks. Alice stepped nimbly over all these obstacles, humming as she led the two boys onward.

Eugeo: Well, you shouldn't complain. I mean, we might not get to go out with Alice like this much longer. Since Alice is the daughter of the village elder, I'm sure she'll get even more tied up with her studies.

Zora: Well, the reason she hasn't been given a Calling is so she can study how to hone her Sacred Art skills.

Eugeo: And she might be forbidden from playing with boys too, to act as a role model for the other villagers.

Eugeo thought the way she carried herself was beautiful. A few years ago, Alice could be seen practicing her sword fighting with the other scamps from time to time, and somehow she usually managed to knock Eugeo and Zora on their backs with even the finest of sticks. Their blunt sticks hit only the air, as though they were clumsily fighting off wind spirits. If she'd kept training, Alice could have been the village's very first woman-at-arms.

Eugeo: A man-at-arms...

Eugeo mumbled to himself. It had been a distant dream, a hope that he held onto until he was given the Calling of a carver. If he'd been chosen as a guard, he wouldn't have to use a crude stick yanked off a tree. He could learn actual sword-fighting techniques and use an actual steel sword, even if it was a hand-me-down.

It didn't stop there. The guards from all the villages in the northern territory could enroll in the dueling tournament held in the city of Zakkaria to the south every fall. Ranking highly in the tournament earned a guard the actual title of Sentinel, accompanied by an official sword forged by a blacksmith in Centoria.

And not only that—if the sentinel garrison recognized your skill, you could take the test for entry into the venerable Swordcraft Academy in Centoria. If you passed that considerable challenge and graduated from the academy two years later, you could participate in the fighting tournament attended by the emperor of Norlangarth himself. Legends claimed that Bercouli once won that very tournament.

After that, at the top of everything was the Four-Empire Unification Tournament administered by the Axiom Church, which accepted only true heroes from all over the human world. The winner of this event, which was watched over by the gods themselves, stood atop the pinnacle of all warriors. He would be given the holy task of protecting the order of the world itself as a dragon-riding Integrity Knight, swooping into the Dark Territory to battle the demons there...

Eugeo never imagined getting that far, but he once clung to a vision in his head. If Alice left the village not as a sword fighter but as an apprentice of the sacred arts, she might go to school in Zakkaria or even the Artcraft Academy in Centoria. And perhaps, dressed in the green and beige of the official sentinel forces at her side, shining official sword on his belt, would be him...

Zora: The dream isn't over yet.

Zora murmured to him, breaking Eugeo out of his fantasy. That single comment had been enough for Zora to read every single thought that passed through his head. He grimaced at his friend's perceptiveness and muttered.

Zora: No, it's definitely over.

The time to dream of such things had ended. Last spring, it was Zink, the son of the chief man-at-arms, who had received the guard's Calling—despite the fact that his skill with the sword was far below Eugeo's or Zora's, not to mention Alice's. He felt a momentary surge of anger and even greater resignation.

Eugeo: Once a Calling is determined, not even the elder can change it.

Zora: With one exception.

Eugeo: Exception...?

Zora: When you complete your work.

Zora stated. Eugeo grimaced again, at the stubbornness this time. His partner still hadn't given up on the preposterous goal of felling the Gigas Cedar in their generation.

Zora: If we knock down that tree, our job is done for good. And then you get to choose your next Calling. Isn't that right?

Eugeo: It is, but...

Zora: I'm glad I didn't wind up as a shepherd or a barley farmer. There's no end to those jobs, but there is for ours. There has to be a way to do it. If we cut down that tree in three—no, two years...

Eugeo: We can participate in the Zakkaria Sword Arts tournament.

Zora: Well, well, sounds like you're still in the mood for that, Eugeo.

Eugeo: I can't let you go and hog all the glory, Zora.

It was strange how just joking about it with his friend made it seem like less of a crazy dream. The boys continued on, grinning at the idea of waltzing back to town with official prize swords to show off to dumb old Zink, when Alice turned around up ahead to glare at them.

Alice: Hey! What are you two whispering about?

Zora: N-nothing. We were just wondering if it's time for lunch yet. Right?

Eugeo: Y-yeah.

Alice: You're kidding. We've barely just started walking. Anyway, there's the river up there.

Alice pointed her grass stalk at a glittering water surface up ahead. It was the Rul River, which started in the End Mountains and flowed around the east of Rulid and then south to Zakkaria. The road split there, with the right-hand path crossing Rulid Bridge to the eastern forest and the left path continuing north along the riverside. They would follow it north, of course.

At the fork, Eugeo knelt down at the water and sank his hand below the clear, burbling surface. It would have frozen his skin in early spring, but now that it was midsummer, the water was much warmer. It would no doubt feel great to strip off his clothes and jump in, but he couldn't do that in Alice's presence.

Eugeo: It's definitely not a temperature that will support ice.

Zora: Yeah, that's why we're going to the cave where it comes from.

Eugeo: Fine, fine, just remember that we have to be back at the village by evening bell. Let's see...How about we turn back when Solus reaches the middle of the sky?

Alice: I guess we have no choice! Now that that's settled, let's hurry!

Alice commanded, walking away over the soft grass. The boys hurried to keep up. The branches of the trees on their left reached overhead like a canopy, blocking the sunlight, and the river on their right brought a cool breeze, so even when Solus was high overhead, the trio walked in relative comfort. The one-mel-wide river path was covered in short summer grasses, and there were almost no holes or rocks to trip them up.

Eugeo found it strange that it was such an easy place to walk, and yet he had never set foot beyond the twin ponds. The northern pass, which the village laws prohibited children from crossing alone, was much farther ahead. So he could have easily walked past the pond without being scolded—yet there was something, a kind of fear of the law itself, that naturally stopped his feet from going farther.

He and Zora often complained of how stuffy the adults were about rules, but they had never even thought about breaking them, much less gone through with it. This tiny little adventure was easily the closest he'd ever come to challenging the Taboo Index.

A belated anxiety visited Eugeo, and he glanced ahead at Zora and Alice, but they were singing a cheery shepherd's song together. It made him wonder if they'd ever felt afraid or even concerned about anything in their lives.

Eugeo: Hey, you guys.

Zora and Alice looked over their shoulders without stopping.

Alice: What is it, Eugeo?

He decided to lower his voice to scare her.

Eugeo: We're pretty far from the village now...Aren't there dangerous beasts around here to look out for?

Alice: What? I've never heard of any such thing.

Alice said, glancing at Zora. He shrugged and wondered.

Zora: Where did Donetti's grandpa say he saw that long-clawed bear, again?

Alice: Near the black apple tree to the east. And that was about ten years ago.

Zora: If we see anything around here, it's going to be a four-eared fox. You're such a scaredy-cat, Eugeo.

The pair laughed. Eugeo shot back.

Eugeo: N-no, I'm not scared, I'm just saying...this is the first time any of us has been past the twin ponds, right? Maybe we should be careful, that's all.

Zora's blue eyes sparkled.

Zora: You know, I think you're right. Did you know that when this village was founded, the monsters from the land of darkness—goblins and orcs and whatnot—would come over the mountains and steal sheep and children?

He leered in Alice's direction, but she snorted and then huffed

Alice: Listen to you two, trying to scare me. I know the story—an Integrity Knight came from Centoria and defeated the goblin boss to put an end to it, right?

Zora: 'And ever since then, on clear days, you can see the figure of a knight riding a white dragon over the End Mountains'.

Zora said, quoting the end of a fairy tale that every child in the village knew. He looked to the north, and Eugeo and Alice followed suit. At some point, the white peaks of the mountains had come much closer, blocking a large swath of the blue sky.

For an instant, they thought they saw a tiny light flash among the clouds, but after blinking and looking harder, there was nothing. The trio looked at one another and laughed awkwardly.

Alice: It's only a fairy tale. I'm sure Bercouli just made up that story about the ice dragon in the cave, too.

Eugeo: If you say that in town, the elder will put his fist down. Bercouli is the hero of Rulid, after all.

Eugeo warned Alice and she only gave him another chiding smile and sped up.

Zora: We'll find out once we get there. Better hurry, or we won't reach the cave by midday!

(Timeskip)

But Eugeo didn't think they could actually get all the way to the End Mountains in just half a day's walk. As the name suggested, the End Mountains were the very end of the world, the border of humanity's lands ruled by four empires to the north, south, east, and west. Just because Rulid was at the north edge of the northern territory didn't mean it was close enough for children to make the trip in just a few hours.

So Eugeo was stunned when, just before the sun reached the midpoint of the sky, the narrowed width of the Rul disappeared into a yawning cave mouth cut into the side of the mountain cliff right before them.

The deep forests on either side abruptly stopped, leaving a rough wall of gray stone before them. From here, the white peaks piercing the sky were still faded with distance, but it was undeniable that this rock face was the very edge of the mountain range.

Zora: Did we make it already...? These are...the End Mountains? Wasn't that a little sudden?

Zora gaped in disbelief. Alice's eyes were similarly wide.

Alice: Then...where was the northern pass? Did we just walk right through it without realizing? If that's the End Mountains...then just on the other side...is the land of darkness? I mean...we walked about four hours, but that isn't even enough to get to Zakkaria. I guess Rulid really is...at the very edge of the world...

Eugeo was stunned to realize just where in the world his lifetime home was actually located.

Zora(mind): Was it possible that no one in the entire village realized just how close the mountains were? In three centuries of history, were we the first to pass through the northern forest after Bercouli...?

Something felt wrong, he decided. But he couldn't say exactly what. The adults woke up at the same time every day, ate the same breakfast as the day before, then headed to the same old fields, pastures, smithies, and spinning wheels. Alice claimed that it took more than four hours to get to Zakkaria, but neither she, nor Zora, nor Eugeo had ever actually been there.

Before the vague questions floating through Eugeo's head could condense into a proper form, Alice sent them back into oblivion by prompting.

Alice: At any rate, now that we're here, we might as well go inside. Let's eat lunch first.

She took the picnic basket from Eugeo's hands and sat down on the soft grass right before it turned to gray gravel. Zora cheered the imminent end of his hunger, and Eugeo joined them on the ground. The delicious scent of pie was all it took to banish his suspicions for good and remind him how hungry he was.

Alice slapped Eugeo's and Zora's grasping hands away from the food so she could open the windows of the dishes. Once she was satisfied with their condition, she served the food: fish and bean pie, apple and walnut pie, and dried plums. Lastly, she poured siral water from the canteen into wooden cups and checked to make sure that was good, too.

Once he had permission to proceed, Zora said a quick grace and tore into his fish pie. Through the food in his mouth, he mumbled..

Zora: If we find a bunch of ice in that cave...then we won't have to eat tomorrow's lunch so fast.

Eugeo had the manners to swallow first before responding.

Eugeo: But if you think about it, how will we preserve the life of the ice itself, assuming we find any? What's the point if it all melts by tomorrow?

Zora: Hmm...

Zora murmured. Clearly this hadn't occurred to him. Alice confidently announced.

Alice: If we hurry it back and put it in my basement, it should last overnight. I'm appalled that you didn't consider that step first.

Properly scolded, Zora and Eugeo sheepishly continued eating their lunch. For her part, Alice finished the pie and drank her water faster than usual. Once she had folded the white cloth and placed it back in the empty basket, Alice stood up. She took the three cups over to the brook and promptly rinsed them out.

Alice: Yeek!

Alice yelped, and trotted back, showing Eugeo the hands she had dried on her apron.

Alice: The river water is freezing! It's like the well water in the winter!

Eugeo: Wow, you're right!

Sure enough, her little palms looked quite red. He reached out to touch them and was surprised to feel that they were pleasingly cool.

Alice: Hey...stop that.

She snapped, batting away his hands, though her cheeks were now the same color. Eugeo suddenly realized he had just done something he usually never did, and he shook his head.

Eugeo: Ah!... I didn't! It's not...

Zora: 😏 Wow, there. Slow down you two. You guys are moving too fast. We should get going.

Zora suggested with a knowing grin. Eugeo stomped lightly on his foot and picked up the water sack, slinging it over his shoulder. He headed toward the cave's entrance without looking back at them.

The clear, narrow brook they had followed was now so small that it was hard to believe it was really the source of the great Rul River. It was barely a mel and a half across. On the left side of the opening in the cliff face from where the water flowed was a rock ledge about the same width across. That would be their walkway inside.

Eugeo: Crap...I didn't bring any light. What about you, Zora?

They were barely five mels inside the cave, and already it was hard to make out one another's expressions. Eugeo was disappointed that he hadn't even considered the obvious fact that it was pitch-black inside a cave. The only response he got from his partner was an oddly confident.

Zora: How would I remember something that you failed to remember?!

Alice: Okay, boys, listen up...

Eugeo turned toward the faint shine of blond hair, wondering how many times they'd already heard that annoyed tone today. Alice shook her head several times, reached into her apron pocket, and pulled out something long and narrow—the stalk of grass she'd been carrying since they left the village.

Alice: System Call. Generate Luminous Element. Adhere!

She put her left palm to the tip and shut her eyes. Her little lips moved, and she chanted a strange mantra in the sacred tongue. Lastly, she made a quick, complex sigil in the air with her left hand, and the rounded tip of the stalk of grass began to glow. The pale light grew stronger and stronger until the darkness of the cave was kept at considerable bay.

Zora: Whoa!

Eugeo: Wow...

Zora and Eugeo could not contain their amazement. They knew Alice was studying the sacred arts, but they had hardly ever seen her execute them. According to Sister Azalia's teachings, all the arts that drew upon the power of Stacia, Solus, and Terraria—the dark arts of Vecta's servants excepted— existed only to protect the order and tranquility of the world and were not meant for everyday use.

The only times Azalia and her apprentice, Alice, used the sacred arts was when a villager became sick or injured in a way that herbs could not heal. So the sight of this stalk of grass glowing in the darkness came as some surprise to him.

Eugeo: Uh, Alice...are you allowed to do that? You won't get punished, or...

Alice: Hah. If I was going to get punished for something like this, I'd have been struck by lightning ten times before now.

Eugeo(mind): What does that mean?

Before he could ask what she meant by that, she thrust the glowing stalk of grass toward Eugeo. He took it without thinking, then blanched.

Eugeo: Y-You're putting me in the front?!

Alice: What, you aren't planning to put a frail little girl up front, are you? Eugeo goes in front, and Zora in the back. Now let's get going before we waste any more time.

Eugeo: R-right.

More out of her momentum than any desire of his own, Eugeo held up the tiny torch and started treading farther into the cave. The flat rock ledge curved here and there but kept a certain width as it went. The dark gray walls shone as though wet, and every once in a while, he felt the sensation of something small moving around in the darkness, out of sight. But no matter how hard he looked, there was nothing resembling ice. Sharp gray protuberances hung from the ceiling like icicles, but they were clearly just rock stalactites.

A few minutes later, Eugeo muttered over his shoulder to Zora.

Eugeo: Hey... you said the icicles were supposed to be right inside the cave's entrance, right?

Zora: Did I say that?

His partner replied, playing dumb.

Eugeo: You did!

Eugeo snapped. Alice held out a hand to stop him.

Alice: Eugeo? Bring the light closer to me.

Eugeo:...?

Eugeo held out the stalk to Alice's face. She rounded her lips and blew softly toward the light.

Eugeo: Ah...

Alice: Did you see that? My breath is white, like in the winter.

Zora: Oh, geez. No wonder it's been feeling colder.

Zora grumbled. Eugeo ignored him and nodded to Alice.

Alice: It's summer outside but winter in this cave. There must be ice!

Eugeo: Right. Let's go in a bit farther.

He turned and resumed his careful progress down the cave tunnel, which seemed to be steadily widening. The only sounds that could be heard were the scraping of their shoes against the rock floor and the streaming of the brook beside them. Even so close to the source, its flow was the same strength.

Zora: If we had a boat, it would be so easy to get back!

Zora piped up from behind. Eugeo hissed at him to stay quiet. They were already much deeper into the cave than they'd originally planned. So far, in fact...

Alice: Hey, what are we going to do if we really come across a white dragon?

Eugeo: We'll have to run, of course.

Zora: It'll be fine. The dragon chased Bercouli because he was stealing the sword, remember? Well, I'm sure the dragon won't mind if we're only taking icicles. But then again...if possible, I sure would like one of its old scales...

Eugeo: What in the world are you thinking?

Zora: I mean, just think of what'll happen if we bring back proof that we saw a real dragon. Zink and the others'll die of jealousy!

Eugeo: That's not funny! And just so you know, if you get chased around by a dragon, the two of us are running off and leaving you behind.

Zora: Don't shout so loudly, Eugeo.

Eugeo: That's your fault for talking nonsense, Zora...

Eugeo fell silent when he heard a strange sound at his feet. It was a cracking sound, like he had stepped on something and broken it. He brought down the light and checked under his right foot, then gasped.

Eugeo: Hey, it's ice!

Alice and Zora leaned down to peer at where his toe was pointing. A little puddle of water pooled on the smooth gray rock had a thin layer of ice over its top. He reached out and plucked free a piece of the clear film. Within seconds, the ice melted into water in his palm, but it was enough to bring smiles to the trio's faces.

Eugeo: There's ice! There's ice here! I bet there's more up ahead!

Eugeo said, holding out the light. A number of other frozen puddles reflected it back. And up ahead, much farther into the darkness of the cave...

Alice: Oh...there's a lot shining up there.

Alice pointed out. When Eugeo moved his hand, countless tiny sparkles flickered ahead. They forgot all about the dragon and trotted farther down the tunnel in that direction. After what felt like another hundred mels, the walls on either side suddenly vanished. And the trio was faced with a breathtakingly fantastical sight.

It was huge. A vast chamber that seemed impossible for a subterranean cave. It was at least twice as large as the square in front of the church. The chamber's walls, which curved in a spherical shape, were not the damp gray of before but were covered by a thick, pale-white film. The floor itself was an enormous pond—no, a lake. It perfectly explained how the Rul River came to be, except that the surface was completely still. It was frozen solid from the banks all the way to the center.

Zora: It's ice! Look! This... All of this ice!

Out of the misty lake jutted oddly shaped pillars here and there, easily taller than the three children. They were hexagonal, with pointed ends. Eugeo was reminded of the crystal that Old Man Garitta had shown him once, years ago, only these were much larger and more beautiful. The numerous pure- blue pillars absorbed the holy light that Eugeo's grass stalk emitted, then sprayed it all around to reflect off the other surfaces, such that the entire domed space glowed with light. The number of pillars increased toward the center of the lake, making it impossible to see to the middle.

Ice. The walls around them, the lake below them, the strange looming pillars—everything was made of ice. The blue walls stretched up to form a rounded top far above, like the ceiling of the chapel.

They stood still for minutes, breathing out white mist, forgetting the chill that stung their skin.

Alice: This much ice should be enough to keep all the food in the village cold.

Zora: More like enough to turn the village to winter on its own. C'mon, let's go in farther.

Zora suggested, and took a few steps forward to test out the lake ice. He carefully added more and more weight until he was standing on it with both feet, but the ice was so thick that it didn't even creak.

Normally it was Eugeo's job to reel in his partner's reckless ideas, but curiosity won out in this case. He couldn't help but wonder if there really was a white dragon up ahead.

Eugeo held up the holy light, and he and Alice followed after Zora. Carefully, silently, they traveled toward the center of the lake, moving from the shadow of one giant ice pillar to another.

Eugeo(mind): This is amazing. What if I see a real dragon? Will our story be told for centuries, like the others'? And if we're able to do what Bercouli couldn't... and bring home a piece of the dragon's treasure, will the village elder rethink our Calling and give us a new one...?

Eugeo: Mmph!

Eugeo had been so wrapped up in his fantasies that he smacked his nose right into the back of Zora's head after the other boy came to a halt.

Eugeo: Hey, don't just stop like that, Zora!

But his partner did not respond. He heard only a low moan.

Zora:...What is this...?

Eugeo: Huh...?

Zora: What the hell is this?!

Curious, Eugeo and Alice both peered around Zora's sides to see what was ahead.

Alice: What's the big idea, Zora...

Alice started—and then she saw what Eugeo saw. It was a mountain of bones. Bones made of blue ice. The fierce shine coming off them made the bones
look like carved crystal. The vast collection held a variety of bones of all shapes and sizes, all of which were far larger than a human. Together, they formed a pile that easily dwarfed the three children, and resting at the top was an especially large piece that told them exactly what kind of bones these were.

Eugeo understood at once that it was a skull. It had empty sockets and long, narrow nostrils. At the back were jutting growths like horns, and the gleaming jaw featured many, many fangs the size of swords.

Eugeo: The bones of the white dragon?

Alice: It died?

Zora: Yeah...but it didn't just die.

Zora answered, calm once again. Eugeo could tell, through his intense familiarity with the boy, that there was an emotion present that he rarely exhibited. Zora took a few steps forward and picked up an enormous claw that once may have been the dragon's forearm. He lifted the heavy thing with both hands and showed it to the others.

Zora: Look...see how damaged it is? And the end is chipped clean off.

Alice: Was it fighting with something? But what could possibly kill a dragon...?

Alice wondered. Eugeo had the same question. The white dragon of the north made its home in the mountains that surrounded the world, one of the great ultimate guardians that protected mankind from the forces of darkness.

Alice: What kind of creature could kill such a beast...?

Zora: These wounds aren't from fighting an animal or another dragon.

Zora muttered, tracing the blue claw with the thick of his thumb.

Alice: Huh...? Then what was it...?

Zora: These are blade marks. A human being killed this dragon.

Alice: B-but...but even Bercouli the hero, champion of the tournament in Centoria, could only run away from the dragon. How could any swordsman achieve such a...?

Alice started, then fell quiet as a thought occurred to her. Silence settled on the icy lake, now revealed to be a massive grave. Seconds later, tiny lips unleashed a fearful whisper.

Alice:...An Integrity Knight...? Did an Integrity Knight from the Axiom Church slay the white dragon...?

An Integrity Knight, the ultimate realization of law and order and symbol of goodness, killed a white dragon that served as protector of the human world. In eleven years without ever doubting the way of the world, Eugeo had never considered a concept as difficult as this. He agonized over a suspicion he could neither swallow nor chew, and he shot his partner a pleading glance.

Eugeo: I don't know.

Eugeo muttered, no more certain than Zora.

Eugeo: Perhaps...there was an incredibly strong knight from the land of darkness who came and killed the dragon...But if that was true, then it doesn't make sense that the armies of darkness never once crossed the End Mountains to attack. And it certainly doesn't seem like whoever did it was after treasure...

Zora walked over to the dragon's remains and placed the claw back on the pile, then reached down and dragged out something long from the bottom.

Eugeo: What are you doing, Zora?

Zora: Whoa...this is really heavy...

He unsteadily dragged the object about a mel and showed it to Eugeo and Alice. It was a longsword with a white leather sheath and platinum pommel. There were fine inlaid patterns of blue roses here and there on the handle, making it clear from a glance that it was more valuable than any sword in the village.

Alice: Oh...could that be...?

Alice wondered, eyes wide. Zora nodded.

Zora: Yeah. It's got to be the Blue Rose Sword that Bercouli tried to steal from the sleeping dragon. I wonder why whoever killed the dragon didn't take it with them...

He crouched down and, grabbing the grip with both hands, tried to lift it, but the best he could do was get the tip a few dozen cens from the surface of the ice.

Zora:...I can't!

Zora shouted, and dropped the sword. It clattered heavily to the ice, causing fine cracks to form in the thick layer. It had to be unbelievably heavy for such a slender weapon.

Eugeo: What do we do with it?

Eugeo asked. His partner shook his head as he stood up straight again.

Zora: No good. It's too heavy. Even Eugeo and I together couldn't carry it out. Looks like there are all kinds of treasure, too.

Alice: Yeah. But we can't just take them, can we? That would be grave robbing.

Zora: But the white dragon won't mind if it's just some ice, right?

The three of them then started to collect ice and they put it all in the basket.

Alice: It's pretty. What a waste, bringing it bac just to have it melt.

Zora: But it means our meals will last longer, what does it matter?

Alice: You mean everyone's meals, right?

Eugeo: We'd better get going, or we won't make it back by evening.

Alice: You're right. Hey...which way did we come in from?

Zora and Eugeo then pointed in different directions and they looked at each other.

Zora: Well then..

(Timeskip)

Once they had exhausted the other possibilities—that there should be footprints, that the exit the water flowed through was the right one, that the direction the dragon skull looked was the exit Alice finally suggested an option that seemed promising.

Zora: Remember how Eugeo stepped on that little puddle and broke the ice? We should find it a short distance down the correct tunnel.

It was a good point. Eugeo cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment that he hadn't thought of that himself and said.

Eugeo: Okay, let's check the nearer tunnel first, then.

Zora: I still think it's the other one.

Zora grumbled. Eugeo pushed him on the back, held up the glowing stalk, and walked forward toward the water- carved tunnel. Once they were out of range of all that reflective and refractive ice, the formerly steadfast sacred light seemed weak and unhelpful. It hastened their pace down the tunnel.

Zora:...Getting lost so we can't find the way back. Who are we, the Berrin brothers from the old tale? We should have left a trail of nuts behind us. No birds in the cave to eat them.

Zora groused, but it was an empty attempt to hide his worry. Oddly enough, Eugeo found it reassuring to learn that his best friend could actually be worried in this situation.

Eugeo: Don't be silly, we didn't have any nuts with us to start with. If you want to start making use of our lessons, why don't you leave a piece of clothing at every branch in the path?

Zora: No way, I'll catch a cold.

Zora complained, and mimed a sneeze. Alice smacked him on the back.

Zora: Ow!

Alice: Stop being stupid and start watching the ground. We don't want to miss the puddle. In fact...

She paused, then frowned, her brows arching.

Alice: We've walked quite a long ways, and I haven't seen any broken ice. Do you suppose it was the other direction?

Zora: No, I think it's farther ahead...Oh, hey, quiet.

Zora put a finger to his lips, and Eugeo and Alice clamped their mouths shut. They listened carefully. Beneath the quiet trickling of the brook next to them was a different sound. It was wavering between higher and lower pitches, like a mournful flute.

Alice: Is that...the wind?

Alice wondered. Eugeo thought it did sound quite a bit like the wind rustling through branches.

Eugeo: We're nearly outside! We picked the right way! Let's go!

He took off at a trot.

Alice: Don't run, or you're going to slip and fall.

Alice warned, but she was skipping, too. Zora took up the rear, his expression suspicious.

Zora: But...is that the sound the summer breeze makes? It sounds more like... the rattle of winter...

Eugeo: It'll blow that hard in the canyons. Let's just get out of this cave already.

He sped through the cave at an easy run, the light in his hand jiggling wildly. The desire to get back to the village and his comfortable home was rising within him. If he got some of the ice from Alice and showed his family, they would be stunned.

Zora(mind): But ice melts so fast. Maybe we should have taken one of those old silver coins instead.

Eugeo: It's the exit!

He cheered, only to immediately sour. The light was reddish. They'd gone inside just after noon and could have spent only an hour inside—but maybe it had been much longer than he realized. If Solus was already descending to the west, they might not make it back to the village by dinner unless they rushed the entire way. Eugeo sped up. The high-pitched whistling was now loud enough that it overpowered the sound of the river, bouncing off the cave walls.

Alice: Wait, Eugeo, wait! Something's wrong! It's only been two hours; it shouldn't be so...

Alice called out, but he did not stop. He'd had enough adventure. All that mattered now was getting home. He turned right, then left, then right again, and the red light filled his vision. The exit was just a few dozen mels ahead. He slowed down as he shielded his dark-accustomed eyes, then finally stopped.

There was the cave mouth. But the world through it was not the one Eugeo knew. The sky was entirely red, though not from the setting sun. In fact, he
couldn't see Solus anywhere. It was just an endless expanse of a dull, dark red, like the juice of overripe grapes or lamb's blood.

Meanwhile, the ground was black. The eerie mountain range in the distance, the bizarrely shaped rocky outcroppings closer up—even the water surfaces here and there were as black as cinders. Only the trunks of the gnarled dead trees were white, like polished bone.

A cutting wind set the dead branches to whistling, a mournful howl that droned on and on. It was clearly the source of the sound they'd heard within the cave.
This world, so forsaken by all the gods, could not possibly be the human world that Eugeo knew. Which meant that the landscape before them was...

Zora: The Dark Territory.

Eugeo: We can't go any farther.

Eugeo struggled to say through numb lips. He held out his hands, trying to motion Zora and Alice back. Just then, there was a heavy, sharp sound from above. Eugeo flinched and looked up at the red sky.

Against the bloodred color, he saw something white and something black, locked in a fierce grapple. They were like tiny grains, so they must have been flying extremely high—but they were clearly far larger than a human. The two objects dashed back and forth, closing in on each other and then breaking apart, the clashing of metal sounding each time they crossed each other.

Zora: They're dragon knights.

As he said, the two combatants were huge flying dragons, with long necks and tails and triangular wings. Barely visible on their backs were knights with swords and shields. The knight on the white dragon wore white armor, while the one on the black dragon was clad in all black. Even their swords matched their color—the white knight's shining bright, while the black knight's trailed a dark miasma. With each collision of their swords came a blast like thunder and a shower of sparks.

Alice: I suppose the white one...is one of the Church's Integrity Knights.

Zora: Yeah, I bet you're right. And the black one must be a dragon knight for the forces of darkness...He seems to be about as tough as the Integrity Knight...

Eugeo: No way... The Integrity Knights are the strongest people in existence. They'd never fail to beat a dark knight.

Zora: I don't know. From what I can tell, their sword skill is about even. Neither one is breaking down the other's defense.

Zora noted. Just then, as if hearing what they were saying, the white knight pulled back on the dragon's reins to open up the distance between them. The black dragon swept forward, trying to close the gap.

But before the distance closed between them, the white dragon pulled into a sharp turn and lowered its head, appearing to tense and summon its strength. Its neck shot forward and its jaws opened wide. A line of brilliant white fire shot from between its fangs, covering the black dragon knight.

An explosion drowned out the sound of the howling wind in Eugeo's ears. The black knight writhed in pain and lurched to the side in midair. The Integrity Knight took the opportunity to switch out his sword for a giant bronze-colored bow and loose a similarly long arrow. It flew through the air with a faint trail of fire behind it and landed smack in the middle of the black knight's chest.

Alice: Ah!

The three children watched in silence as the black knight struggled painfully to sit up. They could see the deep hole torn into the shining breastplate. The knight's head, covered with a heavy helmet that hid the wearer's features, turned to face them.

A trembling hand stretched out, pleading for help. Then an eruption of blood spilled from the throat of the helmet, and the knight collapsed to the ground with a clatter. Red liquid continued to pool beneath the still body, spreading along the black gravel.

Alice: Ah...ah...

Alice continued to gasp at Eugeo's side. She stumbled forward, as if compelled, out of the mouth of the cave. Eugeo couldn't even react.

Zora: Alice, you can't!

Alice twitched and tried to stop, but her foot stumbled and she toppled forward. Both Eugeo and Zora reached out on instinct, trying to grab Alice's dress.

Their fingers just missed and touched only empty air. Alice tumbled to the cave floor, her blond hair flying, and grunted.

She just fell over. That was all. It wouldn't have affected her life more than one or two points, if they checked her window. But that wasn't the problem. When she fell forward, the fingers of her right hand landed about twenty cens over the very clear boundary line between the bluish gray of the cavern rock and the cinder-black ground. Her white palm brushed the black gravel. The surface of the Dark Territory.

Zora and Eugeo: Alice!

The two boys cried together, reaching down to grab their friend's body. It was the kind of thing that she would scold them for under normal circumstances, but they were too desperate to drag her back into the cave to think about consequences. When they lifted her back up, her eyes were still fixed on the fallen knight. Eventually they fell to her hand. The puffy palm had a number of little pebbles and grains of sand stuck in it. They were as black as a brand.

Alice: I-I...

Eugeo: I-It's alright, Alice. It's not like you left the cave. Right? Isn't that right, Zora?

He looked up at his partner, pleading. But Zora wasn't looking at either Eugeo or Alice. He was down on one knee, focusing hard on their surroundings.

Eugeo: Wh-what is it, Zora?

Zora: Don't you feel it, Eugeo? Someone... something...

Eugeo frowned and looked around as well, but there wasn't even a bug in the cave with them, much less another person. All he saw was the black knight ten mels away, presumably dead. The victorious Integrity Knight was nowhere to be seen in the sky.

Eugeo: It's just your imagination. Come on, let's...

'Take Alice back down the other path of the cave', Eugeo was going to say, but Zora grabbed his shoulder. Eugeo grimaced and followed his partner's gaze, then froze solid with terror. There was something near the ceiling of the cave.

A purple circle, rippling like the surface of water. On the other side of the fifty-cen-wide circle was the vague image of a human face. The face was simplistic, so much so that it was impossible to say if it was male or female, young or old. The skin was pale, without a single hair on the entire head. The wide-open eyes contained no visible emotion. But Eugeo knew instinctively that it was not looking at him or Zora but at the stunned Alice between them. The face's mouth opened and spoke odd, unintelligible words through the purple portal.

???: Singular Unit Detected. Tracing ID... Coordinates Fixed. Report Complete.

The purple window abruptly vanished. Eugeo belatedly realized that the thing's words resembled the mantra of sacred arts, and he looked first at Zora and Alice, then at his own body. Nothing had changed.

Eugeo: It's gone. What was that just now?

Zora: I don't know! Let's just head back!

But the incident was much too bizarre to ignore. Eugeo shared a look with his partner, then they helped Alice up and cradled their trembling friend as they proceeded back into the cave. The group began to run in the direction from which they'd come.

Zora then grabbed Alice and then the three of them ran all the way back to their village and made it back.

Zora: Alright, let's go home. You should put that in the basement as soon as you get back. Then it might last until tomorrow.

Alice: Okay, I will.

She nodded obediently, taking the basket and looking at the two boys. At last, her confident smile returned.

Alice: Look forward to tomorrow's lunch. I'm going to make sure you get a proper reward for all your hard work.

Zora: Sure!

Eugeo: S-Sure.

(Timeskip)

Currently both Zora and Eugeo are chopping away at the Gigas Cedar tree and they both saw the Integrity Knight from before, flying straight for the village.

Eugeo: Hey, Zora!

Zora: Yeah. It's the Integrity Knight from yesterday. You don't think, Alice!

Eugeo: It can't be. Just for something like that?

Zora: Let's go!

They made their way down the familiar path around tree roots and rocks until they joined the main road into town through the farm fields. There was no sign of the dragon flying overhead.

Zora: Alice!

Alice: Zora! Eugeo!

Zora: Quiet. You'd better get away while you can.

Alice: Huh?

Apparently she had no inkling of the danger she was in. For his part, Eugeo hadn't realized it until Zora had brought it up, either.

Eugeo: Well...I think Integrity Knight is...

Eugeo started to explain, and then paused. A few soft murmurs from the villagers filled the silence. He looked over and saw a thin, tall man striding from the town hall toward the square.

Alice: Oh...Father.

Alice mumbled. It was the elder of Rulid, Gasfut Zuberg. His slender frame was covered in a simple leather tunic, and his black hair and whiskers were neatly trimmed. Despite having inherited the Calling of village elder only four years ago, the sharpness of his gaze earned him the respect of all the inhabitants of Rulid.

Gasfut proceeded before the knight, alone and unafraid, then clasped his hands in front of him and bowed in the manner of the Axiom Church. Then he straightened up and said in a crisp, loud voice,

Gasfut: I am Zuberg, the elder of Rulid Village.

The Integrity Knight, standing a full two fists taller than Gasfut, nodded with a faint clank of metal armor, then spoke at last.

Deusolbert: I am the Axiom Integrity Knight overseeing the northern Norlangarth territory, Deusolbert Synthesis Seven.

The voice had an unnatural ring to it, a quality that identified the speaker as something other than a mortal human being. The metallic sound echoed across the square, silencing all the residents of the village. Over twenty mels away, Eugeo grimaced as he felt the knight's voice pierce his forehead rather than his ears, burrowing into his mind.

Even Gasfut stumbled back half a step, overwhelmed by its force. But he quickly recovered, regaining his posture and proclaiming.

Gasfut: It is the utmost of honors that an Integrity Knight, protector of all human lands, should set foot in our humble, distant village. We wish to offer you a feast of welcome, however meager it might be.

Deusolbert: That will not be necessary. I am here on official duty. I am here to apprehend and escort Alice Zuberg, daughter of Gasfut Zuberg, for her crimes against the Taboo Index, so that she may be judged and her sentence carried out.

Alice's body shook. But neither Eugeo nor Zora could move a muscle, much less say anything. The knight's words were echoing, repeating in their heads.
The elder's body also lurched. What could be seen of his facial features from his distant profile were skewed with emotion. After a long silence, Gasfut spoke again, his voice no longer smooth with authority.

Gasfut: My lord knight...what crime is it that my daughter has committed?

Deusolbert: She has broken Book One, Chapter Three, Verse Eleven of the Taboo Index: venturing into the Dark Territory.

The villagers listening to the exchange abruptly broke into uneasy murmuring. The children's eyes bulged, and the adults muttered sacred mantras and made sigils to ward against evil.

At last, instinct pushed Eugeo and Zora into motion. They muscled Alice out of the way and stood shoulder to shoulder, blocking her from the view of the other villagers. But they could do no more than that. If they moved too quickly, they would draw the attention of the adults just in front of them.
The only thing in Eugeo's mind was a question that repeated over and over.

Eugeo(mind): What do we do?

Terror bubbled in his chest, demanding immediate action, but he had no idea what action that should be. All he could do was watch as Gasfut the elder stood, still and silent, his head hung low.

Eugeo(mind): It's all right, he'll do something.

Eugeo thought. He hadn't spoken much with Gasfut, but among the people of the village, the elder was most respected by all, after perhaps Old Man Garitta. However...

Gasfut: In that case, I will call my daughter here. I wish to hear her story for myself.

Eugeo(mind): No! You can't let the knight see Alice.

After ordering Alice's father to chain up Alice, he did so without any questions and Alice stood in front of Deusolbert chained up. Just then, Zora and Eugeo, reached the knight. The imposing helmet turned slowly to face them. The cross-shaped slit in the front of the helm was entirely dark, but Eugeo felt the power of that gaze on his skin. He automatically looked away and tried to say something to Alice, who was just ahead of them, but his throat was scorched, incapable of speech.

Zora was similarly downcast, breathing rapidly, but then his head shot up and he spoke in a loud but tremulous voice.

Zora: Sir Knight!! A-Alice did not enter the Dark Territory! Her hand merely brushed the surface! That was all!

Deusolbert: What more do you think she had to do?

Zora: Then...then we're guilty, too! We were in the same place! If you're going to take her away, take us with her!

But the Integrity Knight did not heed them.

Eugeo(mind): That's right...If Alice broke a taboo, then we ought to be punished with her.

But the words would not come out. He tried to shout like Zora, but all he could do was emit rasping exhaust, as if he had forgotten how to speak. Alice looked back at him. She gave a small smile and nodded, as if to say it was all right.

Her stone-faced father slipped the menacing restraints over her body. She grimaced as the three leather straps wrapped tightly around her shoulders, stomach, and hips. When the last was tightened, Gasfut took a few unsteady steps back. The knight approached Alice and picked up the chain dangling from her back.

Eugeo and Zora were dragged to the center of the square and pushed to their knees. Zora pretended to wobble toward Eugeo so that he could whisper into the other boy's ear.

Zora: Listen, Eugeo...I'm going to attack the knight with this ax. I'll try to hold him off for a few seconds, and you take Alice away to freedom. If you rush to the barley field to the south, you can hide among the stalks and slip into the forest. That should give you good enough cover.

Eugeo glanced down at the Dragonbone Ax still clutched in Zora's hands and found his voice at last.

Eugeo: Z-Zora... But that's...

Zora: It's all right. The knight didn't execute Alice on the spot. I don't think he can kill someone without a trial or whatever. I'll look for my chance to escape. Besides...

He turned his burning gaze upon the knight, who was checking that the restraint straps were on tight. With each tug of a strap, Alice's face twisted in pain.

Zora: Besides, if we fail, so what? We'll get hauled in with Alice and wait until we have a chance to escape. All that matters is that if Alice gets taken away on that dragon, we'll never see her again.

Eugeo: I...don't...

He had a point. But it was so brash and reckless it didn't even qualify as a "plan." Wasn't that just rebellion against the Church? The very greatest of crimes, outlawed in Book One, Chapter One, Verse One...

Zora: Why would you hesitate, Eugeo?! Who cares about taboos?! Are they more important than Alice's life?!

Zora's impassioned but restrained voice lashed his ears. And he was right. Deep down, Eugeo's mind screamed at him.

Eugeo(mind): The three of us were born in the same year, and we decided we'd die in the same year. We swore to always help one another. Each of us lives for the other two. So there's no reason to hesitate. Which is more important, the Axiom Church or Alice? The answer is obvious. It should be obvious. It's... it's...

Zora: Eugeo...What's wrong, Eugeo?!

Zora nearly screamed. Alice was looking at them, distraught. She shook her head. A strange, unfamiliar voice broke from his throat.

Eugeo: It's...it's...

But he couldn't finish the sentence. He couldn't even formulate the words that came next into his head. A sharp pain winced behind his right eye. An odd itching that refused to go away was blocking his thoughts. Wince, wince. Bloodred color covered his vision. The sensation of his limbs faded. The village elder noticed the change in Eugeo and weakly waved his arm to the two men standing behind the boys, commanding.

Gasfut: Take them out of the square.

Hands grabbed their collars and resumed pulling.

Zora: Damn...let go! Elder! Mr. Gasfut! Do you really want him to take Alice away?! Are you fine with that?!

Zora raged, knocking away the man's hand. He prepared to charge with the ax. But his simple leather shoes would not take a single step forward. Something impossible had happened.

Having finished checking Alice's restraints in the distance, the Integrity Knight merely glanced at Zora, and the Dragonbone Ax gripped tightly in the boy's hands clanged and flew high into the air. The knight hadn't touched his sword or his bow. He hadn't even moved a finger. Yet as though his own will were a physical blade, he had struck the ax from Zora's hands, sending it flying to the edge of the square.

Zora fell onto his back with the momentum of that strange collision. A number of villagers immediately set upon him and held him down. His cheek forced into the cobblestones, Zora screamed.

Zora: Eugeo! Please, you have to go! You have to help her! She didn't do anything wrong!

Eugeo: Ah...uhh...

Eugeo grunted. His body shuddered.

Eugeo(mind): Go. You have to go. You have to steal Alice from the knight's hands and run into the forest.

But then came that stabbing pain behind his right eyes again, robbing him of his agency. Another voice clanged inside his head along with the pulsing red light.

Eugeo(mind): The Axiom Church is absolute. The Taboo Index is absolute. Disobedience is forbidden. No one is exempt from the law.

Zora: Please, Eugeo! At least get them off me! Then I can—!

The Integrity Knight did not watch what was happening in the square. He fixed the end of the chain to another chain connected to his dragon's saddle. The creature lowered its head, and the knight swung up to straddle it. The silver armor shone again.

Zora: Eugeo!!

Zora screamed at bloodcurdling volume. The white dragon rose, stretched it wings, and beat them. Again and again, it pounded the air. Alice was tied directly to the dragon's saddle. She stared at Eugeo and smiled, her blue eyes seeming to be saying good-bye. The updraft of the beating wings brushed her golden hair, which sparkled just as brightly as the knight's armor in the sun.

Eugeo:...

But Eugeo couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He couldn't budge an inch, as though his feet were rooted right into the ground. Zora's eyes widened as she was taken away and he finally broke free from the villagers holding him down and ran up to Eugeo and looked helplessly as Alice was taken away.

Zora: ALICE.......!!!!!!!!

Suddenly, Zora then woke up and sat up from machine he was using and he looked around and then felt something wet touch his hand and he then felt his face and felt the tears streaming down his face.

Sora:...