A blinding flash engulfed the cathedral.
The Light Megalith unleashed a wave of mana so powerful that it knocked out the vestals nearby. The Confessor was tossed off his feet, while Frea and Satine quickly cast a barrier to protect them from the sudden ‘miracle’.
“What’s going on?!” Alphonse shouted as he put on his Class outfit. Even he had to protect his eyes from the overwhelming radiance. “I can’t see anything!”
“Belzemine!” Frea called out to her, but the barrier barely held out against the waves of mana radiating from the Light Megalith. The entire cathedral shook and trembled from their relentless onslaught.
The holy light that now engulfed the cathedral only increased in potency. It burned Simon’s skin beneath his Fiendmask, forcing him to shroud himself in a Nightveil instead to give himself a respite. His Dark Visionary eye was ablaze, the darkness in his soul recoiling from the holy power.
This is… the Mana Sword’s power… Simon had died too often to the weapon not to recognize its magic. The Mana Goddess’ power!
“Yes…” Belzemine spoke to herself, her back against the group, her body nothing but a shadow cast by the light. She alone did not recoil from the crystal. “Yes, this… this is what I was born for…”
“Belzemine, come back!” Simon ordered his friend and retainer. She either didn’t hear the command, or didn’t listen. “Enough!”
His shouts fell on deaf ears, as Belzemine walked into the brightness and disappeared.
An otherworldly vision akin to those he saw when consuming Noble Crestones filled Simon’s view. He saw a green-haired elven woman weaving sunlight into a cocoon of crystal to entrap a creature with six wings and crimson eyes. The fiend’s shrieks turned into silence once the prison fully engulfed it. The lady smiled, then collapsed into a pile of leaves and dust as the laughter of Mardok Endymion rang out into infinity.
Belzemine has left your Party.
The vision faded away with those terrible words, and when Simon returned to reality, he found that Belzemine was gone.
The Light Megalith had finally calmed down and stopped spreading waves of mana in all directions, with the rumbling coming to an end. The crystal glowed so much brighter now; merely looking at it would have likely burned Simon’s eyes without his newfound Blind immunity, but he powered through the pain, searching for the missing Belzemine. He couldn’t see her anywhere.
“Belzemine!” Simon called out to her after reapplying his Fiendmask and cancelling his Nightveil. Satine and Alphonse moved to help the vestals and Confessor, while all color had left Frea’s face. “Belzemine!”
She was gone. Gone from the room, gone from his Party System, gone from his sight!
“The Light Megalith…” Alphonse muttered, his voice heavy with shock and incomprehension. “It… it absorbed her.”
“Look at this brightness, this holy radiance…” The Confessor’s zealous reaction only poured further salt onto Simon’s wound. “A miracle… it is a miracle!”
It most surely is not! Simon’s fists clenched in alarm and incomprehension. What about Helel? Did she escape? No, she couldn’t have, or everyone here would have already transformed.
“Holy stone, restore that which was lost!” Simon cast, trying to check whether the Maiden would answer his Prayer. “Regenerate!”
His words rang across the hall, and went unanswered.
It wasn’t that the Light Megalith refused to lend him its power, or that the Maiden tried and failed to control him through it; there was simply no feedback of any kind, no connection, no bridge of faith linking his soul to the demon within the sacred stone. The crystal would not recognize his Miasmic Archmage Perks as the empty imitation of faith it truly was.
Frea studied him for a moment, then cast analysis spells on him. “Try again,” she ordered. “Try it.”
Simon clenched his teeth and then followed through with the request. He tried to cast Kindling and Sunbeam, to no avail. No magic flowed through him, though he was merely steps away from the Light Megalith.
“My Prayers no longer work,” Simon said, astonished. This had never happened in any prior reign. He had always retained a connection to Helel, even after she escaped.
“It is working for me,” Satine replied, being in the process of casting a healing spell on one of the vestals. The purifying light flowing from her staff was like starlight. “I am channeling more power than ever before.”
This made no sense to Simon, until he realized the issue: the Light Megalith had never answered his Prayers at any point. A usurper and parasite had simply lent him her stolen strength through cracks in her prison, and she could no longer shower him with her gifts. The door was closed shut.
Helel’s false light had faded from the world.
—------
The Light Megalith’s radiance never dimmed after the disaster. The Orthodoxy’s priests called it a miracle and heaped praise upon Alphonse’s group, praising their holy actions as a sign the Light had shone upon them and that it was a sign they were destined to destroy the Overlord at last. Simon wondered if they would reach the same conclusion if they knew their kingdom’s mortal enemy had been standing in the room, but he bit his tongue.
Either way, the whole city broke into celebrations and the priesthood announced a spontaneous festival in response to this divine miracle, with Alphonse and everyone politely declining to attend so as not to draw attention. The group quickly retired back to the Paladin’s manor to run more tests. Simon’s unease grew as he failed to cast Prayers again and again.
“So?” he asked Frea once she finished casting yet another analysis spell. The frown on her face was plain to see. “Is it as we fear?”
“I think… I think Belzemine indeed reinforced the seal somehow,” Frea confirmed with sorrow and uncertainty. “The demon inside can no longer reach out to others nor subvert the Megalith’s power from within.”
“So that is why our Light Megalith Prayers have grown stronger?” Satine guessed. “Since the demon can no longer steal and corrupt its mana, we have more to draw upon.”
Frea nodded slightly. “The lock is airtight now.”
“But why? How?!” Simon complained. This didn’t make any sense! “Did she merge with the Megalith somehow?! Is Helel still sealed inside, or is she gone for good?!”
“I don’t know!” Frea snapped back at him, her hands clutching her staff. “I… don’t know.”
Alphonse put a hand on her shoulder to console his elven mentor. “She must be alive,” he said, trying to reassure her. “I have informed Alcyone through her Party System. She told me Voltobauta couldn’t summon her soul.”
“That’s not saying much,” Simon replied grimly. “It could be trapped inside the Light Megalith for all we know.”
Was that why his father was so unconcerned about Helel, besides his vile plan to kill Anna? Because he could always sacrifice Belzemine to the Light Megalith to reinforce the Maiden’s prison?
And that vision of his… Simon would bet his hand he had witnessed the Mana Goddess sealing Helel into the Light Megalith. It made sense that she would have done the deed herself, since the crystals were fossilized fragments of her own Worldtree, but the fact she collapsed into leaves after completing the deed carried some heavy implications.
Could Valravn’s words carry a kernel of truth? A dryad shouldn’t die so long as their tree remained strong and healthy, yet imprisoning a Zodiac Fiend as powerful as Helel might have come at a cost. Had the Mana Goddess somehow entrusted some of her power to Belzemine, which invited Mardok’s wrath and abuse? Had she always been destined to serve as a failsafe to repair the Light Megalith, should Helel threaten to escape?
So many questions, so few people willing to answer.
“I’ll have to leave soon,” Simon said. “I cannot linger here much longer.”
Frea glared at him. “You are abandoning her?”
“Never!” Simon snapped back, his tone taking Frea aback. He would never leave Belzemine behind, not after all of the tears they shared and the ordeals they went through together. “But some of the Confessors are in the Cobweb’s pocket, and I’m sure word of what happened here will reach Illusea quickly enough. It is only a matter of time before both Chrom Cruak and the Oracle investigate this event.”
“Inquisitors would come down on us with fire and steel should they learn we sheltered the Overlord,” Satine conceded.
The dining hall’s door opened at that moment, with Mel walking in. “Why the long faces? I heard you guys set the Light Megalith alight in my absence.” Her grin faded away when she noticed the issue. “Where’s Lady Firewand?”
“It’s… complicated,” Alphonse admitted. “Have you found anything on Shura?”
“I have! Sort of…” Mel scratched the back of her head. “So, Shura apparently roams the world as he wills and shows up wherever he wants, but according to hearsay, would-be Summoners used to contract with him at the Magefalls, in the heart of the Proving Grounds.”
This didn’t seem to surprise Alphonse, though he didn’t sound pleased. “Of course it would be the Proving Grounds.”
“Magefalls? Proving Grounds?” Simon inquired. “I assume it’s a dangerous place from the latter’s name.”
“It wasn’t always the case,” Frea said, a scowl forming on her face. “The Proving Grounds used to be a mana-rich region until Gargauth expelled the dragons from the eastern continents. A few fled there and claimed it as their territory. Many knights looking for glory visit the place in the hope of proving themselves as dragonslayers, hence the name.”
Simon assumed that few returned from those trips. Vouivre and Casval had accumulated the lion’s share of his deaths across the reigns. “Have you ever visited the area?”
“I wasn’t deemed ready,” the Paladin admitted, before straightening up. “I should have the levels to tackle it now, but it would still be a dangerous trip.”
“Shura is our only lead to learn what’s going on with the Light Megalith for now,” Simon pointed out, with Frea nodding in assent. He was their best chance of finding out what happened to Belzemine and hopefully restore her.
“I already secured supplies and a map, just in case,” Mel said. “Reaching the Magefalls usually takes a few days on foot through the Knightsroad.”
“We could just fly to the falls,” Simon pointed out. “Or ask Alcyone to teleport us.”
“Flying would invite many dragon attacks,” Frea replied. “Contacting Alcyone is an option, however.”
Alphonse shook his head. “I would prefer to take the longer and proper road to the Magefalls. We need levels and training. And besides, Shura appears to test Paladins. Would he show up for a warrior who takes a shortcut, or one who relies on stronger allies to protect him?”
Frea pondered his words, and then turned to Simon. “Would you mind allowing our teammates to slay your dragon mount for experience? I fear they will not survive the journey otherwise.”
“Suit yourself,” Simon replied.
“Will you join us as well?” Alphonse asked him. Was he actually seeking Simon’s company? Alcyone was right, battles to the death did create strong bonds…
Simon wouldn’t spit on an opportunity to gain more levels, and he needed any lead on Belzemine’s situation. Besides the fact he worried for her, her absence meant he had no way left to prevent the Oracle’s attack on Frightwall.
However, this didn’t change the issue of his enemies tracking him down. Fiendmask was a tap away from being dispelled and many things could go wrong. He could devour somebody’s soul gem and mimic them, but it likely wouldn’t sit well with the White Unicorn.
Then a genius idea hit him.
“Yes, I think I will join in.” Simon smirked ear to ear. “I have the perfect disguise in mind.”
—---
And thus, Simon Magnos began a new life as a bird.
His eponymous Title worked as advertised and successfully polymorphed him into a normal-looking—if larger than average—raven of impeccable breeding, with splendid black feathers, sharp talons, and a beak big enough to pluck out eyes with.
It was still a strange experience. His eyesight and hearing were sharper than ever, and his new proportions felt odd. It would take some time to get used to his wings and other appendages. On the plus side, his clothes transformed into feathers during his transformation, and he could stock the rest of his equipment into his Inventory. Anathemic Secrecy ensured he showed the same stats as a normal animal too.
In short, it was the perfect disguise.
“And you can keep that up at all times?” Alphonse asked as they rode along a forested road connecting Serras to the Proving Grounds. Serras’ priests had been more than kind enough to provide the party with horses.
“As far as I can tell,” Simon replied. He had adopted the Paladin’s shoulder as his new perch for the time being, and found that the shapeshifting actually changed his mass. Frea kept staring at him strangely though, which was getting on his nerves. “Let's see if my other Perks still work…”
He glanced at a random stone on the side of the road and then blasted it with Hellfire Gaze, startling everyone and nearly causing Alphonse’s horse to throw him off.
“Ohoh, they do!” Simon rejoiced. I could easily sneak up on anyone unseen… nobody expects a raven assassin, except maybe the Ranger.
“How can you speak?” Mel asked with a quizzical frown. “Birds don’t usually talk back.”
“I think it’s a mix of my auto-translation Perk and superb avian mimicry of human words.” Simon chuckled, but his laughter came out as an ominous croak. “Besides, what kind of assumption is that? Maybe birds can talk, just not to you.”
“I don’t think ravens have laser eyes either.”
“How can you tell? We should find a Birdkeeper Vassal Class user to settle this debate.” Frea’s gaze was becoming unbearable to Simon, who couldn’t hold his tongue anymore. “Is there something on my face?”
“Can I…” Frea reddened slightly. “Can I… pet you?”
Simon stared at the elf in dumbfounded silence, while Satine pouted in what looked like jealousy.
“Pervert,” the princess muttered under her breath.
“So mean,” Frea replied with the same tone. She raised a finger and violated Simon’s personal space by scratching his throat. “Who’s a good bird? Who’s a cute little bird?”
“S-stop!” Simon pulled back and slapped her finger away with his wing. “Enough, you deviant!”
“Lady Frea, please stop petting our Ravenlord,” Mel said with a grin. “He’s a sensitive boy.”
“My apologies…” Frea blushed and scratched her cheek sheepishly. “I… I just find ravens so cute and fluffy…”
Such indignity… no wonder birds didn’t give people the time of day if they were always treated like this! Simon couldn’t believe they would demean him like this after he so kindly sacrificed his dracozombie to them for the sake of their mutual survival!
Frea thankfully lost interest in him and the group continued on their journey, which gave Simon enough privacy to whisper into Alphonse’s ear. “Before you ask or imagine anything, I have no design on your elven crush. I didn’t know she liked birds that much.”
Alphonse had enough self-restraint not to show embarrassment. “I do not…” he said, before stopping himself. A Paladin couldn’t lie, especially to himself. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to you.” And probably to the Oracle too. It struck Simon as fortuitous that she would send an elven agent the Paladin had feelings for to keep the latter in line. “Have you at least tried to confess to her? The worst she can say is no.”
Alphonse’s scowl was an answer in itself. “Frea is focused on saving Lady Belzemine for now, and elven and human relationships do not work out.”
“I know at least one half-elf girl who would beg otherwise,” Simon replied as he recalled Elaine Malphas. “Her father loved his human wife so much he was willing to die to avenge her memory.”
“And watching his human wife wither away led Chrom Cruak to commit terrible crimes. The songs are full of stories of elves weeping the loss of short-lived human lovers.” Alphonse sighed. “Frea has outlived many, many Paladins, and still grieves for Lady Belzemine. She knows I am likely to perish young fighting your empire, and that my existence will take place in the blink of an eye from her point of view. She will never consider me a good partner, and I have made peace with that.”
“I agree that death can strike at any second—” Simon had learned that lesson over two dozen times by now. “—but watching her from afar and bottling up your feelings is no way to live, Alphonse. Unrequited love stories are for books and bards, not for the living.”
“And what do you know about love?”
“More than you.” And more about loss too. “If you feel things won’t work out with Frea, why not ask Mel out then? She would be overjoyed.”
Alphonse blinked at him. “Why would I ask Mel out?”
Simon met the Paladin’s gaze, half-expecting him to be joking, before realizing his mistake. The confusion in Alphonse’s gaze was genuine.
“Are you seriously that dense?” Simon asked in sheer disbelief. How could he have S-ranked Charisma, be in a party full of girls, and never notice? It boggled the mind.
“Mel is a dear friend, she would never…” Alphonse scowled, partly out of doubt, partly out of denial. “Besides, I don’t have time for romance when there is a world to save.”
“You can save the world and find love, one doesn’t exclude the other. I daresay you’d be more motivated to save the world to protect those you love.”
“Why are you so invested in my love life anyway?”
“It’s all to be a better shoulder devil to you, Alphonse,” Simon deadpanned. “There is no sweeter poison than love and happiness.”
“I doubt that.” Alphonse tensed up and looked up to the sky. His Class armor immediately covered him. “Stay on your guard.”
Simon stared at the clouds as a shadow passed over them; a winged form which had so often heralded his death across his reigns.
They had entered a land of dragons.