In a World without God

Darkness is the friend of mice and spiders. As Ed opened the warehouse door, a dense web greeted him.

That’s good, he thought. I can stay here undetected.

“Unbelievable! Yug, bring the Saint the best quilt and pillow you can find!”

After shouting to Yug, Kurzina turned to Ed.

“Saint, please wait a moment. I’ll sweep up the dust and remove the cobwebs.”

Ed shook his head, stopping Yug from running back to the manor.

“Forget it. You two go back. The servants might be out looking for you.”

Ed had spent his life sleeping in the Barus Swamp. A spider web didn’t bother him, but Kurzina couldn’t help feeling sad about leaving him.

“I’ll be back after the sun sets, and if you need anything, just ask. I have access to most places within the clan.”

“Then I need you to fetch me a curved sword. I’d like it to be about… this long.”

Ed stretched his arms, remembering the sword he had used as Bosha. The Black Fang’s swordsmanship specialized in slashing movements, requiring a curved sword. The descendants of Ygraine, isolated in Kaldura, had no access to the weapon of his choice.

“Yes!”

Kurzina beamed like a child receiving a birthday present. All her life, Kurzina had worshipped the Goddess Lutea, but being asked for a favor by her reincarnation was more gratifying than any gift.

Ed left Yug and Kurzina and trudged into the warehouse. The warehouse door closed behind him, and Ed was alone with Aruru. He sat on the floor, and Aruru whispered in his ear, his voice small and cautious.

“Scion of the Witch, is what you said true? Ygraine is not a witch, but a saint? And you are also a reincarnation of Lutea? Or was it just a lie, a prank on the kids?”

“It’s all true, except that I’m not the reincarnation of Lutea.”

“In that case, what about Laotou? Laotou, the Queen of Spiders, is she not an ally of the witch?”

“Nonsense. Laotou was one of the first beings created by the Goddess Lutea. Together with Ygraine, they drove back the witch’s forces.”

“Then,” Aruru’s voice trembled. “Then, my mother worshipped…”

“Apostles.”

“That’s right!”

Aruru jumped down from Ed’s shoulder and began running around in circles.

“I’m a fool! Why didn’t I notice such a simple fact before now? My mother was good and kind. There’s no way she would have sided with a witch! She didn’t gnaw on spellbooks or serve the witch’s minions! My mother served the one who deserved to be served!”

Aruru’s voice echoed through the warehouse. It was loud for a rat and held a strange resonance. The room brightened. It wasn’t the light from the cramped window. It was Aruru.

Ed was surprised. He had never heard of a rat using Magick, but Aruru was definitely wrapped in a blue aura that shimmered like the surface of a lake.

“What is your purpose, scion of a witch? No! Of a saint! You said you would attend the Festival of Saints to bring down the false ones and restore my mother’s honor. What will you do after that?”

Ed locked eyes with Aruru.

“I will fight all the lies in the world.”

When Aruru heard that, he circled Ed three times, looked at the ceiling, and shouted.

“Did you hear that, rats? Did you hear that, spiders? Do you hear, my stigmatized friends?”

Rats squealed from every corner of the warehouse, and shadows flitted through the stacks. A closer look revealed a swarm of squirming spiders.

“Those who have tainted our parents and souls with falsehood! Will we just leave them be? Will we just dig our graves and end our lives? We are the army of the Apostle Laotou! Though we live in darkness, our souls shine with the light of the Goddess Lutea!”

Ed noticed that Aruru was suddenly wearing a Magick crest, and his voice had Magick in it. He had seen someone use a Magick crest like this when he was Bosha. During the rebellion in the Ur Empire, the leader of the rebels had said:

“Cowards who have forgotten their pride go out into the darkness! Those who have not forgotten who they are come out into the light! Those with burning hearts, we will be an army against falsehood with the children of saints!”

As Aruru finished speaking, a spectacular scene unfolded. Things lurking in the shadows crawled out into the light. It was a sight that would have stunned the faint of heart—hundreds of rats, each as big as Aruru or bigger, thousands of spiders, large and small. Aruru stood before them all and turned to look at Ed.

“Descendant of the Saint, as long as you stand against falsehood, we will be your strength, but the moment you turn your back on the truth, we will become your enemies. You will not be able to walk comfortably through the darkness. Our descendants will visit you in your coffins and defile your tombstones and graves!”

With the thousands of rats and spiders behind him, Aruru was intimidating, but Ed was unmoved. He would not make the choice Aruru feared; he would not betray Lutea and Ygraine. Ed placed a hand on the center of her chest.

“I swear by Assyria, the first life created by the Goddess Lutea and the Goddess of truth.”

A blue dagger appeared in the center of Ed’s chest. It was the dagger of Assyria, visible only to those who swore an oath to the Goddess.

“When I, Edulis Le Fay, betray Lutea and side with the false, my heart, gallbladder, and intestines will be pierced through, and I will be food for rats and spiders. Assyria, see what I, Edulis, have sworn is fulfilled!”

Assyria’s dagger plunged into Ed’s heart. Aruru leaped to his feet. The spiders and rats stamped their feet in place as a substitute for a shout.

“Very well, descendant of the saint, we are all on your side now, so do as you will with our hands and feet!”

“Two things, then.”

“What?! Ask us anything!”

“Don’t call me the descendant of a saint. Call me Ed. I don’t like being called a saint. People who call themselves saints are usually looking for something.”

“Okay, Ed. What’s the second thing?”

Ed looked around at the scurrying rats and spiders.

“Keep your friends quiet. I’m going to get some sleep.”

***

“You must think of my name before yours. Otherwise, you won’t be able to call me.”

A strange scene had surfaced in Ed’s mind. There was a girl in the middle of nowhere. Her silver hair was down to her waist. She was so small, yet strangely, she looked down at Ed.

Who does she resemble?

Ed tried to think. It was strange. He felt like he was alone in the middle of the Casbah desert. He felt a deep thirst that an oasis wouldn’t even quench. Suddenly, Ed understood. Somehow, he knew this was what the girl was feeling.

“Edulis! Ed!”

“I told you to be quiet,” Ed mumbled groggily, dragged from his dream.

He opened his eyes. Fading sunlight streamed through the narrow window.

“You should be grateful! If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have awakened! I called you two hundred times, but there was no response!”

“That can’t be right.”

“Not only that, your body was glowing white the whole time, just like before!”

Ed raised an eyebrow and examined his body. Outwardly, nothing seemed to have changed. But it was strange. A lot more time had passed than he realized.

“Did I fall asleep?”

Ed closed his eyes and contemplated the Magick coursing through his body. Then he realized something was wrong.

What’s this?

Ygraine’s Magick, the tiny fragment he’d finally managed to control, was gone. And that wasn’t the only thing.

“Has your Magick changed?” asked Aruru. “Did it change color?”

Magick changing color was unheard of. Like a fingerprint, the unique pattern through which Magick flows is unchangeable. But Ed’s Magick had indeed changed, not only in how it flowed but also in its hue. It was as if he had become a different person overnight.

“Aruru, you said my body was glowing. How long has it been like that?”

“Since about an hour ago?”

Magick was handled differently depending on its nature—it’s like water turning into fire. The Magick’s pattern and color change suggested this new Magick might not suit Ed.

What if all my work refining my Magick was for nothing?

Ed focused all his attention now on the Magick. It was strange. It flowed through his body much smoother and more naturally than the Magick he had been cultivating. It was almost as though it was designed purely for him.

What’s happened? Ed wondered.

He didn’t have time to ponder as a harsh voice was heard outside the window.

“Why are you so late?”

“I’m sorry. I had to run an errand. I went to the Lunar Mansion to deliver something to Lord Tariq.”

Ed recognized the second voice. It was Enri, the boy he’d traveled with on the wagon from Kaldura.

“That’s your excuse? Do you think I don’t have work to do? You’ve taken away my rest time!”

“I’m… I’m sorry.”

Ed stood and looked out the window. Enri was bowing before a woman in a maid’s outfit, and behind her, four silver-haired children stood and watched. They each held a black, lumpy loaf of bread in their hands.

The woman in the maid’s outfit had protruding cheeks and a face full of freckles. Her tone was fierce. Enri, on the other hand, had a delicate and pretty face, but his hunched expression made him look quite miserable.

“It’s not enough to give you cursed things something to eat! You’re taking up my time! People like you should be punished!”

The maid threw the bread she held to the ground and stomped on it.

Enri stared at the crumbled bread in disbelief. Ed didn’t know how much bread Enri was rationed daily, but it was obviously not enough, or he wouldn’t look so desperate.

“Ha! Now put your face on the ground like a pig and lick it off!”

Aruru, perched on Ed’s shoulder, shook in anger as he watched the scene.

“What a shitty world! To treat the descendants of Lutea like that!”

Ed watched in silence.

“Ed, are you going to let that happen? Laotou’s army can move at any time!”

If Ed had a temper, he’d storm out and wreak havoc. But he said nothing.

“Ed? What’s wrong?”

Aruru was confused. A single teardrop had formed in the corner of Ed’s eye.

A familiar emotion overtook Ed, and thoughts raced through his mind.

Why would she do that? Why would she hate someone like that, trample on them, curse them? Humans weren’t born that way!

“Edulis?”

Ed’s body shimmered with Magick. It grew more and more vibrant, emanating outwards from Ed, until it poured out through the window and ran down like rainwater, pooling around the area where the maid had trampled the bread. The Magick wrapped around the muddy, dirty pieces of squashed bread and gathered them together until they floated into the air and formed a single mass, making the loaf whole again. It was like time rewinding.

Steam rose around the loaf as though it was freshly baked. Enri’s eyes widened, and he took the loaf into his hands.

The maid screamed at the sight.

“Witch, witch, witch! He’s bewitching me!"

She almost tripped over backward in her haste to get away from the scene and back to the manor.