Chapitre 45: The Research
Persephone
It had been two days since Epoch and Carolinus warned us about the demons. Since then, I have been going to Epoch's study, aiding him in searching for a way to end the demonic threat. However, time after time, we ran into a brick wall, unable to come up with any solution. We knew too little to make any headway. For these two days, I would come back exhausted, drained from the countless hours we spent on research. Every night I would come into my room and collapse into my bed. I was so exhausted that Savah's warning could barely register in my mind, despite the grave circumstances. However, Solskin didn't forget. He remembered it with every step of his life. He spent every moment glaring at the nearby rooftops, at the sky, and at every window. It had become a paranoid obsession, turning anything and everything into an attempt on my life. It was like he wanted to get into a fight just to be done with it.
Solskin added to the stress that was slowing building and building to an all time high. Every day, it felt like I aged a full year. It was beginning to show on my face. I looked hollow, dead inside. Behind my unkempt hair were two pitch black eyes with all signs of life leeched away.
Murmuring about what happened today, I drifted into a deep slumber. When I opened my eyes again, pure white light was shining from above through a small opening on a very familiar roof.
"You awake?" a soft murmur said from beside me. The voice was barely audible. I turned my head and looked over. Ophelia was sprawled out on the floor, her face serene. She basked in the light, her hands still dirty from when we were playing earlier.
"Yeah," I replied quietly, turning my head to stare at the opening again.
Ophelia rolled over, her short blonde hair cascading down her face. Her eyes were barely open. "Happy birthday."
That was right. Today was my twelfth birthday, I had almost forgotten. "Thanks."
Ophelia merely mumbled in acknowledgement. The day was hot and both of us felt a deep seated exhaustion. Quietly, a door opened. Crono walked in, trying to not make a sound. He sat down next to us, stretching in the light. "Nice spot," he whispered.
Everything was peaceful. Everything felt nice. It felt like the warm fuzziness of this moment dragged on for eternity. Quietly, the three of us lay in the warm sunlight, without a care in the world.
Suddenly, Ophelia sat up, her eyes wide with excitement. "I am going to join the guard."
Shocked, Crono shot up too, "You are going to join the guard? Do you want to die?"
I also sat up, "Why?"
"So you guys can also be like this, relaxing without fear. I will keep you safe!" Her face framed a huge smile. That was the Ophelia I knew, making sure everyone around her was happy. The same person who would fight a monster for us with her reckless bravery.
I nodded, "Sure." Oh, how I would regret those words.
Solskin
I was in the inn. I sat alone in the corner, my hand clutching my sword warily. I felt like the whole world was out to get me, ready to betray me. I sat in silence, scanning. The innkeeper shot me a few concerned glances, but I ignored him. I was looking for any black marks. I felt like every person in the inn was an enemy, an assassin sent by the Three Kings Gang. Somewhere here, the Hunter hid, lost in the crowd of unfamiliar and hostile faces. This became a nightly ritual. I couldn't remember the last night I had a good night's sleep. From dusk to dawn, I sat in that corner, unmoving, gazing at the bar's patrons, trying to find the evil within the depths of their faces.
Once again, the sun rose into the sky. Persephone walked down from her room above and sat next to me. Looking at the bags under my eyes, she said nothing, only staring. She was in a worse state than me. "So, the necromancer got you too, huh?" The joke came out forced and dry. It didn't matter. There was no way out of this slippery abyss that we had all fallen into. Getting up, the two of us left for Epoch's house, preparing for another mind-numbing day of research.
Like every other day, Epoch was out front, waiting for us. Behind him, every single book he had was stacked on tables and strewn about the room. He hadn't cleaned up from the other day. Raising his hand in greeting, he let us into the room, already babbling on about possible leads or new venues of information. He had already spent ten years researching the demons. He was the foremost expert now. But still, even he couldn't figure out a way to end the threat.
I sat down in my corner of the room, the books I was looking at were organized into a circle around me. Picking up the heftiest tome, I began to read, careful to not miss a single detail. Hours went by, my mind drained and eyes dry, I got up and began pacing the room. My legs were on the verge of falling asleep and I was about to slash all of the books into ribbons. "I think I got something," Epoch called out from his desk. Beckoning us over, he began reading out an excerpt from some obscure book.
"It is my belief that demons, the beings themselves, behave in a similar manner as to souls. Being incorporeal and possessing the ability to inhabit and control so-called hosts, they must possess all of the defining characteristics that allows a soul to achieve the same functions. From this conclusion, I hypothesize that magic based in necromancy or targeting the soul will have an effect on the demons themselves. However, it is unclear what happens to the original soul. Therefore, exercise extreme caution in using these spells when recovery of the original soul is desired."
"Well, that is a start." For the first time in a while, I felt that there was some hope left.
"Well, I hesitate to trust this source. No one has confirmed this and I myself have used magic of a similar nature during the war to no avail. Maybe full blown forbidden necromancy is required?"
"At least it is a start." Persephone looked like there was something on her mind.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone