In the Age of Myth—
Burning magic and freezing magic collided within the empty void, giving birth to the primordial titan, Ymir. The sun itself was a crystallization of that ancient burning magic. Even now, it continued to pour the warmth that became the source of all life down upon the world.
And a solar eclipse was the moment that sun was obscured. When the sun darkened, humans and gods alike weakened. Meanwhile, monsters grew stronger.
According to the gods, humanity and the divine had originally been shaped primarily from warm magic when they were created. We absorbed that same power from sunlight and transformed it into vitality. In fact, Solana’s Light of the Sun’s Awakening granted the gods the strength to resist their seals precisely by drawing upon the magic carried within sunlight itself.
That was why Ymir was waiting for the eclipse. Because when the sun waned, the magic sustaining the gods would weaken as well. And in that fleeting moment of opportunity, he intended to carry out a massive teleportation.
The world-wide message that had descended upon us had already foretold the great invasion of monsters—the coming apocalypse. Odin must have realized Ymir’s intentions long ago; that was why he had been able to predict the day of the eclipse and declare exactly when the end would arrive.
“—Hup.”
Lost in thought, I hauled another crate of supplies toward the Odis Temple.
Ever since our journey into the Blood-red sunset wasteland, time had passed in the blink of an eye. Now, the day Ymir would attack was only three days away. Carrying the wooden crate in my arms, I climbed the stairs leading up the fortress wall.
The spring sunlight had already grown almost unbearably warm. Across the rolling hills, flashes of armor and weapons glittered everywhere. Echoing battle cries rang through the air as knights and adventurers practiced formations in preparation for the coming war.
“—Shield wall, ready!”
“—OOOH!”
The answering roar filled the air with strength.
Listening to it, I turned my gaze southeast.
A long procession of wagons and people stretched toward the Royal Capital’s walls. They were probably villagers from nearby settlements. With the entire region soon to become a battlefield, the evacuation effort was entering its final stage.
“Rion!”
A group of adventurers preparing outside raised their hands toward me. I waved back before carrying the wooden crate into one of the towers built into the wall. Inside, the place had been transformed into a dwarven workshop.
Bari, leader of the white dwarves—the Aalvs—accepted the crate from me with a smile.
“Our thanks.”
When the dwarves opened the box, fist-sized magic stones were packed tightly inside. One of the black dwarves—the Dwergs—crossed his thick arms.
“Make sure you protect your little sister!”
“Yes. You all stay safe too!”
Leaving the tower behind, I ran along the top of the wall.
Just then, another wagon passed through the gate below. The courtyard had completely changed. Barrels and crates were piled everywhere, and temporary tents had been erected across the grounds.
There was a reason so many supplies had been gathered here. It was already public knowledge that Ymir’s target was this temple.
The Frost Orb housed within the warriors’ headquarters was the keystone maintaining the seal. If the orb were destroyed, monsters would pour out from the labyrinth beneath the royal capital itself. There was no way Ymir would ignore such a target, so reinforcing the defenses here was the logical choice.
But there were still truths we couldn’t reveal publicly.
Ymir’s true objective.
The fact that Freyja—the goddess herself—resided within Lu, along with the power of creation. That ability was far too dangerous. If the truth became known, Lu would inevitably be dragged into endless conflict and political struggle.
Part of me felt guilty for hiding it. Still… no matter what happened after the war, I wanted to protect Lou from becoming the center of the world’s attention.
The gold coin trembled, and Solana’s voice echoed from within it.
『So the time has finally come…』
A strange feeling suddenly washed over me, and I turned around.
Lu was standing there in her priestess robes.
“Oniichan.”
“Lu.”
“…Can you come with me for a moment?”
After signaling apologetically to the others working nearby, I followed after her. We stopped behind the cathedral, in the same place where everyone had once trained together.
Lu spoke quietly.
“The final battle’s almost here, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
Her eyes wandered uncertainly.
…What’s wrong?
“Oniichan… when the time comes, I’ll protect everyone.”
Her words trailed off there. Then she narrowed her sky-blue eyes slightly.
“Freyja-sama… at this rate, she’s going to disappear, isn’t she?”
My eyes widened in shock.
Lu lowered her chin gently.
Freyja’s existence had been a secret shared only between me and the gods. We had told the princess, yes, but I couldn’t imagine she would have revealed it to Lu. Because once the truth was spoken aloud, it felt like a burden too heavy for her to bear.
“…Lu.”
“Don’t apologize. I know you and the others were trying to protect me by keeping it secret. But… lately, I’ve started noticing changes in magic power somehow.”
“I see…”
“…I’ve been holding back during my magic training recently. So I don’t put too much strain on Freyja-sama.”
The ringing clang of dwarven hammers echoed nearby. Orders from adventurers rose through the air. When I looked up, I saw the Medicine God Sigris soaring across the sky, trails of light from his spear following behind him. The gods were watching over everyone’s preparations like that.
“…Sometimes I think about it.”
She spoke as though forcing the words out from deep inside herself.
“Why did Freyja-sama choose to enter a human, even though it was so dangerous? I think… she wanted Odin to see this.”
Her gaze drifted toward the bustling temple grounds.
“All of us trying so hard together like this.”
For my sake.
For a moment, I felt as though those words had slipped from Lu’s lips without sound.
Her hand was clutching tightly at her chest.
“Does it hurt?”
Shaking her head, she replied,
“No. I’m scared.”
Lu lowered her gaze.
“I… think I might understand Odin’s plan.”
A chill ran down my spine.
She gripped her left arm with her right hand and bowed her head.
“Oniichan, if you never came back….. it would hurt so much. I’d be lonely. And if that happened… then I think I can understand Odin wanting to run away to another world together with everyone he loves.”
Then she looked up and met my eyes directly.
“But… I also know that isn’t the right answer.”
For a long moment, we simply stared at each other. I gently placed my hand on her shoulder. Whenever Lu had been sick… whenever we’d fought as children… I’d always understood her just by touching her like this.
But now…
It felt as though she was thinking about something beyond my reach. Something different from me. Her feelings no longer flowed clearly through that simple warmth between us.
Then Lu smiled.
“No matter what happens… this time, I’ll protect you, Oniichan.”
“Lu…?”
Panic slipped into my voice.
“I’ll protect you too! No matter what happens—no matter what it costs!”
“…Thank you.”
Lu smiled again.
It was the first time I had ever seen a smile that looked so close to tears. My chest tightened painfully, and before I could stop myself, I pulled my little sister into my arms.
“…Everything will be alright.”
“Yeah…” Lu murmured softly.
All we need is wait for the end of the world to come.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
Previous ⚜ Table of Contents ⚜ Next
Yume Neiji's Works 