Delilah and Alice aided Terevalde on the long walk across the silver bridge back to shore. There they sat on cracked, dry grass, to rest. With them came the rest of the group, and Sarabelle sat as well. Marcus and Maribelle remained standing, and Isabelle stood too, holding Maribelle’s hand.
“I apologize for my frailty,” Terevalde said, bowing his head. He took the gold-framed monocle that dangled unused from his waistcoat and turned it over and over in his fingers. “My time in the Event Horizon has changed things. It has changed me. I am not accustomed to being in the world.”
Alice was frowning at him, arms folded across her chest. She knelt down, scrutinizing his face. “Yes?” Terevalde asked calmly, noticing her expression. “Is there something the matter?”
“You’re talking all wrong!” Alice said, pursing her lips. “All that weird dialect in the book, and you talk just like a normal person. What gives?”
“The book?” Terevalde asked, his eyebrows lifting. “Ah, so you… you have retrieved the Book of the Key?”
“Parts of it,” Delilah said. “It’s still incomplete.”
“Well, the change in how I speak isn’t quite so drastic as you might think,” Terevalde said. There was a hint of a smile in his voice, though one didn’t show on his face. “I’m not the one who wrote the Book. My knowledge and discoveries played a part, but I am not the Author. She spoke with a much stronger dialect than I did — though, even she found her speech patterns changing as we spent more time in the changing world.”
“You could’ve rewrote it,” Alice said, plopping down to sit on the ground. “Would’ve been helpful for everyone.”
“The Book was not meant for ‘everyone’,” Terevalde countered. “After it was completed… we did make a few changes. Because of the Tragedy. And then… scattered it. For the Keybearer to find, one day, if a Keybearer did indeed emerge.”
“Gioracchi wasn’t a Keybearer, then,” Delilah said. It had been implied several times, but now it seemed as clear as day.
Terevalde shook his head. “No,” he said softly, a weight of emotion barely contained in his voice. ”He… was not.”
“He was your —” Alice started, but Isabelle suddenly stepped between her and Terevalde, pulled off her backpack, and sat on the ground, staring at Terevalde.
“You’re hungry,” she said, gazing at Terevalde with her big, earnest blue eyes. “Don’t worry.” She smiled as she rummaged through her backpack, Teddy’s head lightly bobbing. “I packed a lunch. You can have it.”
“You packed a lunch?” Alice asked. “What’d you think we were doing, going on a field trip?”
“Yup!” Isabelle said, nodding. “We were just going to go to the Astral Wall and back, after all.”
“Huh,” Alice murmured, nodding thoughtfully. “You really came prepared.”
“Why do you think I wore my backpack?” Isabelle asked. She pulled out a small box wrapped in a silver cloth patterned with blue books and handed it to Terevalde. “Go on, eat up. You need your strength. You didn’t eat at all in the Event Horizon, right?”
Terevalde was taken aback, accepting the box slowly. “No,” he finally said, bowing his head. “I… never did.”
“But you were in there for ages, right?” Alice asked, leaning forward. “Like, literally ages! You’ve been gone for so long that most people don’t even remember you ever existed!”
“That is correct.”
“And you haven’t eaten in all that time?”
“That is correct.”
Alice whistled, raising her eyebrows. “You’ve kept it pretty well together for a guy who hasn’t had a meal in a few centuries.”
Terevalde opened the box, bowed his head and prayed a silent prayer over the food, and then ate slowly. Everyone else sat around him, keeping a comfortable distance so he wasn’t crowded, and waited. Alice clearly struggled the most with waiting. She was the first to stand, and started pacing along the shore, gazing out at the shattered, crumbling sky. Delilah joined her, doing her best not to smile or laugh too much at Alice’s obvious impatience.
“We can’t understand what he’s been through,” Delilah said softly. “So let’s just be patient with him.”
“He went through it all of his own free will,” Alice muttered. “Came here on his own self-imposed exile. He can’t complain when it was his choice.”
“He’s clearly not complaining,” Delilah said gently. “But even so, it’s probably going to take time for him to get back to normal and be able to fully help us. We’ll just have to take it slow.”
Alice let out a long, heavy sigh, tilting her head back to stare at the sky above. “How do you do it?” she asked.
“Huh?”
“How are you so patient all the time?” Alice asked. She slumped her shoulders, and her eyes flickered to black, then back to white. “You’re way too good at this.”
“I’m… not patient all the time,” Delilah said, looking away. Her thoughts immediately went to Fae.
I wrote her off. Basically disowned her, as much as a sister can.
Because I didn’t have the patience to deal with her. To see the pain going on underneath the rude façade.
“Deeeeep thoughts,” Alice said, poking Delilah in the cheek. “Don’t keep ‘em to yourself. That’s your bad habit.”
Yeah, I guess —
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Delilah said, laughing as she pushed away Alice’s hand. “Sorry about that.”
“I’m gonna keep harping on it until you fix it, you know,” Alice said. “Let the deep thoughts out! Or what, you think I can’t handle them?” Her eyes flicked to black as she gazed at Delilah intently, but with a slight air of mischievous playfulness.
“No, no, I’m sorry,” Delilah said, shaking her head. “I just… yeah. It’s my bad habit. I’m used to just… keeping things to myself. Dealing with…”
“Dealing with everything alone,” Alice said. “As if you didn’t have four older siblings and two loving parents to help you out.”
Hitting right where it hurts.
But it only hurts because… she’s right.
Summoning my Felines in secret… training them up in secret… fighting Hollows in secret…
“Maybe I… try to carry too much by myself,” Delilah slowly admitted.
“That’s what I just said,” Alice said, rolling her eyes.
“It’s so true!” Isabelle said, surprising Delilah and Alice both. Neither had noticed the little girl join them. She gazed up at Delilah with her big, earnest blue eyes. “I noticed it all the way back on Hollow Island, but I never really knew how to say it. And there was always so much that we were dealing with back then.”
“You noticed all the way at the beginning?” Delilah asked.
“You had Caleb, and even when he left, you still had Chelsea and Lorelei and Gwen,” Isabelle said. “But you never really asked for help, and I never heard you complain, even when you looked like you really wanted to.”
“Well, now’s the best time to get over it,” Alice said with a smirk. “You’ve been figured out now, so there’s no use going on the way you always have anymore, right?”
“Fair point,” Delilah said. She ducked her head, resisting the urge to pull up her hood. It was embarrassing, being called out so cheerfully like this.
The fun conversation, however, came to a sudden and abrupt end.
“…the Key…”
Delilah’s blood ran cold at that voice, that hollow whisper that pierced the air with its relentless, greedy hunger.
The Lingering Will.
“Gio…?”
That haunted, heartbroken question came from Terevalde, and Delilah stared at the sudden change in the man. Grief filled his eyes.
When the Lingering Will began to appear, its physical self following the voice that announced it, Terevalde began to stand, and then slumped forward, onto his knees. Tears glistened in his eyes.
“Gio… so this… is what you’ve become…?” he asked. Ghostly hands began to rise from the ground, grasping and then evaporating, reforming, grasping again.
They were trying to reach for Delilah. But they were far away, struggling to maintain their form. Maribelle was racing to Delilah to protect her, but Marcus stopped her.
“It’s still weakened,” Marcus said, tapping his staff on the ground. Three bells chimed, their resonance piercing through Delilah’s sudden, paralyzing fear. She ducked back as a hand actually came close, and then raced around the hands to Terevalde.
“Are you all right?” she asked, taking him gently by the shoulders. “Terevalde?”
“Gio…” Terevalde said, his voice mournful and solemn.
“…the…K…e…y…”
The Lingering Will’s voice was fainter than ever, and as Delilah turned to look, the hands vanished entirely.
“We still have time,” Marcus said. “But we shouldn’t linger. We’ll be at the greatest disadvantage if it regains its full form out here in the open.”
“Mari,” Sarabelle said, nodding to her sister, “can you show us the fastest way out?” And then, she added with a slight tinge of embarrassment, “Although… perhaps not the most difficult?”
“Right,” Maribelle said with a nod, smiling sympathetically. She helped Sarabelle up and walked with her up the hill, away from the shore. “Come on, everyone. Walk if you can, and if you can’t, then those who can will help you. We should get out of the Final Frontier as fast as possible.”
“Terevalde, can you stand?” Delilah asked.
Slowly, Terevalde looked up. And, Delilah realized with surprise, the tears were gone.
There was a sudden fire in the man’s eyes.
He stood, turned, and started up the hill. Not until he was halfway up did he speak.
“I apologize for my weakness,” he said. “So long in exile… it left me somewhat the worse for wear. But I see now that my time has come. I belong here, in the world, one last time.” He looked back, but not at Delilah, not at first.
He looked at Isabelle. And, with a smile in his voice that didn’t touch his face, he said, “Thank you, young lady. Lunch was delicious. And invigorating.”
“You’re welcome!” Isabelle said with a broad smile.
“Now then, Keybearer,” Terevalde said, as Delilah came up alongside him, “I will say what I can, and do what I can, to aid you in your journey. And… I will find a way to finally put Gio to rest.”
“Gio?” Alice asked. “You mean Gioracchi? He’s just the Lingering Will now, right?”
“And it is his will that lives on in that foul Void-beast,” Terevalde said, cresting the hill and following after Maribelle. “He cannot fully pass on until his will is ripped free and that monster returned to the Void where it belongs.”
“Can you do that?” Delilah asked. “It seemed like… well, it seemed like there was no real way to defeat the Lingering Will.”
“Not as long as I and the Author remain in exile,” Terevalde said. “Now that I have returned… there is a chance.”
“You’ve got magical Lingering-Will-slaying powers?” Alice asked, excitement apparent in her white eyes.
“No,” Terevalde said, and Alice’s eyes flickered to black as she pouted, disappointed. “But I… and the Author… we were Gio’s closest friends. Closer than such words can properly convey. We three were inseparable. And we knew each other perfectly. That knowledge… may have been our undoing.”
“You knew what Gioracchi was planning?” Delilah asked. “And yet… you couldn’t bring yourself to…”
“We could see the darkness in Gio,” Terevalde said. “But no man is darkness alone. We saw him clearly — the good and the evil, the light and the dark. And while darkness ruled him, there was always hope. And we… clung to that hope. Perhaps more than we should have. Or perhaps we simply… were too slow, and too weak, back then.”
“So how can you help us with the Lingering Will now if you couldn’t deal with Gioracchi’s will back then?” Alice asked.
“I will explain,” Terevalde said, “in time.” That earned a groan from Alice, and she cast a particularly nasty look Marcus’ way, who simply chuckled. “But I must know, first and foremost — how much have you accomplished so far? You have part of the Book, but not all of it. Have you met with the Bellkeepers?”
“Yes,” Delilah said, “and all three Bells have been rung. It was Irielle who told us where we could find you.”
“Ah, yes,” Terevalde said, nodding. “I did tell her, didn’t I?”
“You forgot?” Isabelle asked.
“Much time has passed since I left the world behind,” Terevalde said with grave solemnity. “And the Event Horizon… is a place where reality becomes… blurred.”
Delilah knew exactly what he meant.
“So, the Bells have been rung,” Terevalde said. He gazed up at the sky as he walked. “It’s hard to hear them with the harsh winds out here, at the edge of the world. Do you have the Book of the Key with you?”
Delilah shook her head. “I… didn’t expect to come here quite yet,” she admitted. She’d left the Book behind with Revue, knowing she’d keep it safe, while they went to the Astral Wall. She hadn’t liked the idea of having it on her when surrounded by so many Paladins who might be all-too willing to follow Lady Kodoka’s lead and shut down her quest.
“But it’s somewhere safe,” Terevalde said. He nodded slowly. “Good. Then we should go to where it is, first. I must see what you’ve found so far, so that I can help you find the rest.”
“But if you already know all that stuff, why do we need the pages?” Alice asked.
“Because it has been too long,” Terevalde said. “And we didn’t just put it all down in writing for the Keybearer’s sake. It was for our own sake, as well. There are very precise details that must not be trusted solely to memory.”
“We?” Isabelle asked.
“You mean the Author,” Delilah said, earning a nod from Terevalde. “Who is it? Where are they now?”
“She is in an exile of her own,” Terevalde said, a faraway look in his eyes, “in a place where none of us can reach. Our only hope is for her to emerge of her own will, to somehow recognize the time has come. I… do not know if we can count on that.”
“We went to the end of the world,” Alice said, grinning confidently. “There’s nowhere we can’t go!”
“The Orphan of the Dawn,” Terevalde said with a tone full of reverence. Maribelle and Sarabelle stopped and turned, staring in surprise.
“She’s at the Orphan of the Dawn?” Sarabelle asked. “Then it’s… a real place?”
“Oh, she is very real,” Terevalde said. “And none — save a precious few — can go to her unless called, or is trusted by and accompanying one who has been called. The Orphan of the Dawn is quite outside of our reach. But we can take solace in that.”
“Solace?” Alice asked, incredulous. “Don’t we need her help?”
“If we do, we still might be able to have it,” Delilah said. “Fae’s going there. She might be at the Orphan of the Dawn already.”
“You know someone who’s been called to the Orphan of the Dawn?” Terevalde asked, gazing at Delilah with amazement. He wasn’t the only one. Though Maribelle, Marcus, Isabelle, and Alice knew from traveling with Delilah all this time, Sarabelle did not. And she was just as amazed as Terevalde.
“My sister,” Delilah said, nodding. “She’s on her way there, for her own needs, but… she does know about our mission, and the Key of the World. If she meets the Author there, she might be able to help her understand what’s going on.”
“To see her again…” Terevalde murmured thoughtfully. Then he shook his head, casting his gaze forward. “We can at least take solace knowing that the Author is safe. The Orphan of the Dawn is the one place in the mortal universe that Darkness can never touch.”
“The Author,” Alice said, raising an eyebrow. “She’s your friend, right? Doesn’t she have a name? Or did you forget that, too?”
“She and I swore certain oaths after the Tragedy,” Terevalde said, his voice heavy. “The Tragedy affected her even more deeply than it did me. She asked of me not to use her name ever again, unless she willingly returned from her exile. I agreed.”
“I guess… it was pretty intense,” Alice said slowly, bowing her head.
“Indeed it was,” Terevalde said.
They walked on for a time in silence, Maribelle confidently leading the way across the Westward Plains. She sometimes helped Sarabelle walk, but Sarabelle seemed to be regaining confidence and strength, and often walked tall beside her sister.
The journey gave Delilah time to think. To put the pieces together. After a while, she was the one who broke the silence. “Is the Orphan of the Dawn where the Key of the World was forged?” she asked. She pulled out the Key that hung from her neck, turning it over in her fingers.
“Yes,” Terevalde said. “Excellent deduction. Yes, it was the Orphan of the Dawn and the Travelers who forged the Key together.”
“So, wait,” Alice said, raising an eyebrow. “What is the Orphan of the Dawn? Because you said it was a place, but then you talk about it like it’s a person.”
“The Orphan of the Dawn is… ‘both person and place’ is the easiest way to describe her,” Terevalde said. “That does not do the truth justice, but words struggle to capture her true nature. But, yes. The Key of the World was forged there, and was also forged by that same place, who is also a person, in a manner of speaking. If you’re confused, you aren’t alone.”
“Nah, I think I kinda get it,” Alice said, shrugging. “Magic’s weird, you know? And Solla and Lunos are pretty strange themselves. They’re like Summons, but also… more than that.”
“Yes, they are Summons the likes of which have never been seen elsewhere,” Terevalde said. “Summons without a specific Summoner. Summons that, some believe, are made up of multiple Will Wisps joined together. I don’t know as much as I would like about them. I’m not sure anyone truly knows what they are.”
“Do we need to know?” Alice asked. “Explanations are nice and all, but magic’s one of those things that can’t always be explained. If it could, it wouldn’t be magical.”
Delilah smiled at that. She had a natural inclination to seek out all of the answers about anything, and yet…
She understood. The longer her journey had continued, the more she’d accepted that there were some things she’d never understand, and that magic was bigger and more amazing than she knew.
My Felines remind me of that every day.
I’ve read all about Summons. I’ve seen so many other Summons and Summoners.
But those four… they’re different. I tried something no one else had, and it worked — Summons with their own weapons to wield. And even though Gwen explained Will Wisps as beings that live to do as their Summoner desires, they aren’t just robots. They have minds of their own, personalities of their own, and they can make their own decisions.
Magic… is amazing.
“Oh,” Delilah said, having had a few more pieces click together for her. “The Orphan of the Dawn, Solla, and Lunos. Three together to forge the Key of the World. That was intentional, wasn’t it?”
“Three is a sacred number,” Terevalde said, nodding, “and especially important for the Key of the World. It must reside in three Locations, it must be turned by three individuals, and it required three specific parties working in concert to bring it into the mortal realm.”
“So Gioracchi didn’t cause the Tragedy alone,” Alice said.
“No,” Terevalde said, bowing his head. “He… had numerous followers. His original hope was that I and the Author would turn the Key with him, that we would complete his trio, but when we refused, he was prepared.”
The conversation entered a lull, then, as Delilah and her companions gave Terevalde some emotional space. He didn’t emote much with his face, and his voice was largely calm and steady, but even so, it was clear how much he had endured. It was abundantly clear just how much he regretted.
On they walked, across ruined hills, amidst the howling wind. Isabelle held tight to her sisters’ hands. Marcus walked at the back of the group, and Delilah occasionally joined him. His presence was always comforting, even if they didn’t talk.
And Delilah and Alice frequently walked side-by-side. In all the commotion, it had been easy to forget about Rabanastre and the way he’d tried to attack Alice. But now, as silence settled in on the group, the memory of Felix dashing to defend Alice came to the forefront of Delilah’s mind.
And she could see that the situation weighed heavily on Alice.
They talked a little bit about it, but only in scattered fragments, not really sharing a conversation. Delilah didn’t have any answers, not yet. And Alice didn’t say as much, but it was clear to Delilah that she still wanted to keep this issue between her and Delilah, and not share it with the rest of the group.
And there was that title, the one that Alice had spoken in her sleep, and that Sen had called her.
Dark Eater.
What did it mean? On its face, it seemed like it might be a good thing. Alice was able to consume the Darkness and neutralize it, like with Valgwyn’s arrows. Wasn’t that a potent boon on their journey?
And yet…
The term sent a shock of fear through Solla and Lunos.
If they feared it… then there was more to the story.
Delilah wasn’t frightened. But she was curious, and concerned, and her heart ached for answers that might soothe Alice’s soul.
And she worried that…
Maybe there won’t be answers.
Maybe this is just another thing that we can’t ever fully understand.
She hoped she was wrong.
Hours passed uncounted, Maribelle leading onward without a shred of hesitation. They occasionally stopped to rest for Terevalde and Sarabelle’s sakes, but Maribelle always knew the way to go.
It was at their fourth break that Delilah suddenly realized something, and Maribelle confirmed her concern.
“It may take several days to reach an exit,” Maribelle said with a nod. She looked towards Sarabelle apologetically. “I… have done my best to find the quickest route, but this landscape is always changing. The journey won’t be over as soon as I’d hoped.”
“Just like when Shana was here,” Delilah said, bowing her head. “Only we… aren’t prepared for this.”
Isabelle confirmed that she had given all the food she had to Terevalde. She had a water bottle, but she’d already drained two-thirds of it.
No one else was even remotely prepared for this journey.
“Hey, hang on a sec,” Alice said, hands on her hips. “Can’t we just call Solla and Lunos here? They’re attached to you, right, Delilah? And they’re drawn to the Key, but in a good way, not like our ghost-hand creeper friend. Shouldn’t they be able to sense something’s wrong and find us here, or something?”
Both Alice and Delilah looked to Terevalde for confirmation. He mused over the question in silence for a moment, turning his gold monocle over and over in his fingers. “I am not sure,” he said at length. “It seems possible. But if they were able to, then why would they have not yet located you? Perhaps, if you could call out to them somehow…” He looked at Delilah, a flicker of humble helplessness in his eyes. “I must confess, Delilah, that, as far as I know, you are the very first Keybearer.”
Delilah stared back at him, silent for a long while. The wind howled over the valley they’d sheltered in, but a breeze snuck down and tousled her hair.
What…?
It took her a long time to process what he’d just said. Was he being serious? She was…
“Why?”
The question escaped her lips before she realized it was there.
“The Key has accepted you,” Terevalde said, “and the purpose to which you intend to use it.”
“But why?” Delilah asked. That wasn’t a reason, it was just a fact.
“That is a question only the Key of the World can answer,” Terevalde said. “I do not know.”
“But you trust its judgment,” Delilah said. Terevalde nodded. “Even though you only just met me.” Another nod. “But…”
“Stop with the self-conflict already,” Alice said, poking Delilah in the cheek. “Listen up. The Key of the World recognized what a bunch of us already know: you’re honest, and good, and dependable. You’re full of hope and full of love. What more do you need?”
Delilah bowed her head. The praise was simple, and yet too much.
And…
Things we can’t understand. Things we’ll never understand.
The Key of the World… made its choice. And it can’t be wrong.
So… it’s okay. I’ve been carrying it for a long time now, haven’t I? All three Bells have been rung. Why am I only now freaking out about it?
“…you are the very first Keybearer.”
That’s it, isn’t it? I just… the first? Me? Really? No one else has done this before? No one else has been this before?
She pulled out the Key and stared at it.
You’ve never trusted anyone as much as you trust me?
All of a sudden, tears stung her eyes. They started to overflow, running down her face, and she rubbed at her eyes vigorously with her sleeve.
“Okay,” she finally said, blinking away what remnants remained of her tears. She turned away from the others — she couldn’t bear the stares, the expectation, the various emotions and responses in their eyes.
You trust me. And I trust you.
So… is this something we can do? Can we call Solla and Lunos? Can we get their help?
I… I don’t want to misuse the power you hold. I don’t want to be selfish with it.
So please, just let me know. If this is okay or not.
I trust you.
Warmth flooded her heart. That was all there was. The Key didn’t light up, didn’t sparkle, there was no display of power.
She just felt… so warm.
In the best way.
And then she looked up. Because there was a song on the air. A song that touched her heart, that brought a smile to her face, that put more all-too welcome tears in her eyes.
Solla and Lunos had arrived.
They flew down to them with grace far beyond their enormity, and Solla lowered one of her massive fins and extended several flowing tendrils to form a makeshift staircase up to her back.
Alice was grinning from ear to ear. Marcus smiled warmly. Isabelle was bouncing on the balls of her feet, eager to leap aboard right away. Her sisters smiled at her and held her hands, holding her back for now.
And Terevalde…
Disbelief was so full in his eyes. And reverence, and awe, just sheer amazement at what he was seeing.
And then, tears glistened in those eyes. He brushed at them, and the tears vanished, but the awe and reverence remained. Slowly, he spoke, not looking away from Solla and Lunos.
“I… have never actually seen them before,” he said. “Not in person. Illustrations, yes. But I… this is my first time… oh, but they’re beautiful. And that song…”
“You can hear the song from here?” Alice asked, pursing her lips.
“More like… feel it,” Terevalde said, his fingers brushing against his chest for a moment, and then he lowered his hand. “Just the faintest echo, but it’s more than enough.” As he said that, Solla extended a white, flowing tendril towards him, and Terevalde reached out tentatively. His fingers brushed the tendril’s gleaming white feelers, and a gasp escaped his lips. “Ah, but that’s…”
He stopped, and he needn’t say more. Delilah understood.
One by one, the group climbed aboard Solla. Delilah lay down on her stomach in the center of Solla’s back, pressing her hands and face against the soft, fluffy warmth of Solla.
“Thank you,” she murmured, and Solla and Lunos sang their reply, a joyful exultation at being reunited with Delilah.
You were worried about me? About us?
Tears stung Delilah’s eyes again.
Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
“Thank you.”
The last thanks didn’t come from Delilah. Alice had come to lay beside her, pressing her hands and face against Solla’s back. And she whispered her thanks softly, too softly for anyone to hear except Solla…
And Delilah.