Myths Reawakened

“Wayne, you want to bring people from the inner world to the surface world?”

“Is it doable?”

Three faces turned to Darienne at the same time, waiting for her answer. The Moonlight Knight of the surface world was a strong individual that the mirror couldn’t replicate, able to come and go in the inner world freely. Her words would determine the fate of William and Filomina.

“No!” Darienne shook her head, pointing above. “The inner world is a mirror world. The world of magic calls it a reverse world of the surface world, but that’s not true.”

“The fact that it’s mirrored explains everything. The world inside the mirror is illusory and false. Even if the living beings of the inner world are projected to the human world, they exist only in the inner world.”

“The true inner world serves as a stabilizer for the surface world. It’s because the inner world extracts all the negative information that those in the surface world haven’t been influenced by the chaos of the Astral Plane. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

William and Filomina slumped into their chairs in hopeless despair. Their resignation tugged at Wayne’s heartstrings. He said bitterly, “Is there no hope at all? There’s a belief in the inner world that becoming a demigod will allow one to escape.”

“Wishful thinking.” Darienne refuted the theory. “You should be able to tell. Everyone’s eyes are red in this world. The divine artifacts keep the chosen knights here rational, but they cannot cut off their connection to the inner world, nor can the artifacts make them real.”

When none of them said anything, she shook her head and said, “I know it’s cruel, but it’s the reality. I don’t want to give you a comforting lie. Without the surface world, there would be no inner world. If the mirror in the sky is shattered, the inner world will vanish.”

Besides, this world had fallen apart and been reconstituted many times.

William and Filomina were no longer hearing Darienne. After a moment of silence, Wayne asked, “How did the inner world emerge? Did the goddesses and the Heavenly Father create the mirror together to protect their faiths in the surface world?”

“That, I don’t know. The inner world emerged a long, long time ago, most likely as the world’s protective mechanism. The Astral Plane is too dangerous, so the surface world needs a mirror to stabilize itself.”

Darienne shot William and Filomina an apologetic look before saying to Wayne, “I know what you want to do. You saw familiar faces and wish to change the tragedies that befall them. I’ve tried, but on my next visit, I found the newly created inner world as hopeless as before. The chosen knights have no power to change a world. The gods... may not be able to do it, either.”

She said ‘may not’ only out of her respect for her faith. She meant ‘cannot.’

That was a cruel death sentence for William and Filomina. They remained silent. Wayne didn’t know how to offer comfort. He came from the surface world and would leave with Darienne. Whatever he said would be nothing but infuriating platitudes.

“Darienne, have you visited the inner world many times?” That was all he could say.

“Yes, for the goddess’s mission.”

“Would you tell me about it?”

“I wouldn’t have told you, but you’ve come to the inner world and seen the state it’s in. I can tell you now. Just don’t spread the word, or things would be difficult for me.”

“White Night Creed exists in the inner world...” She paused, realizing that Wayne was likely the one who had taken the divine artifact that day. She gave him an approving look.

Good boy. I saw your devotion to Moonlight. You’re a qualified successor.

She didn’t ask about it, worried that Wayne would take out Elemental Mantra and pick up Dawn Doctrine later, proving him to be three chosen knights in one even in the inner world. She didn’t want to subject herself to such an eyesore.

“The White Night Creeds of the two worlds are different. The one in the inner world does not disappear when the world ends, which may be the origin of the rumors. The White Night Creed serves as an anchor, allowing me to enter the inner world as the Moonlight Knight.”

“Moula, Leo, and I have all gone on the same mission, coming to the inner world to collect negative information.”

“For what?”

“I don’t know, and it’s not for me to ask.” After a bemused pause, Darienne continued, “Collecting negative information delays the collapse of the inner world and decreases the number of times the inner world ends and restarts. Perhaps the goddess has made the order out of mercy, or perhaps it’s meant to protect the surface world.”

“Where did the negative information you collected go?”

“Taken back to the Divine Realm by the messenger. It’s most likely back in the Astral Plane...”

Darienne didn’t know much about it. She was a knight tasked to carry out the Goddess of Moonlight’s mission. There was no point in asking a question that was beyond her pay grade. She chose blissful ignorance rather than asking for trouble.

“Darienne, can you collect all negative information of the inner world?”

“Of course not. There’s infinite negativity here, and I’m only able to collect a part of it.” Darienne pointed at the bottomless abyss behind her. Once the abyss was filled with negative information, her mission would be complete.

Wayne looked over at the abyss. With his thoughts, he sensed that it was a sacred vessel for negative information. Things could go in, but not get out. The Book of Greed stared at the vessel helplessly. To feast on the negativity, it would have to enter the storage like a mouse; basically, Wayne would have to enter.

“Chosen knights can only collect parts of the negative information. Most remains in the inner world...” Wayne muttered, confused. “But then, where does the negative information go after the inner world falls apart? Does it just return to the Astral Plane?”

“It disappears.”

“Disappears?” Wayne was even more confused. “How could it just vanish? It has to go somewhere.”

“Good question. I don’t know the answer, either.”

“...”

“That’s the truth. The inner world started out looking no different from the surface world. Save for the few entities too powerful to be replicated, everything else is perfectly mirrored, like a reflection. It’s under the influence of negative information that the world grows darker and more hopeless.”

Darienne sighed. “When the world ends, the negative information ceases to exist. If it’s been destroyed along with the crumbling inner world, then that must be the purpose of its existence—to protect the surface world.”

“Are you done?!” Filomina slammed the table and shot to her feet, glaring at Darienne with crimson eyes. Every word out of the chosen knight’s mouth cut like sharp blades, leaving bleeding gashes on her already injured self.

“Life in the surface world is life, and life in the inner world is life, too. I’m not fake. Never have I been fake. I’ve never agreed to sacrificing myself for the surface world!”

Filomina drew the Pistol of Full Moon and pulled the trigger several times at Darienne. None hit.

Darienne hadn’t dodged, but Filomina didn’t dare to shoot at her for real. After venting her anger without doing real damage, she turned around and stalked off, drawing the Single-edged Sword of Waning Moon to make wild slashes at the black rubble.

Darienne and Wayne remained quiet.

Then, Wayne broke the silence. “Darienne, have you been through the inner world’s end?”

“No. Once it does, it’ll be difficult for me to leave, too. It’s too dangerous.” Darienne shook her head. Wayne shouldn’t have given Filomina and William hope. She had done that in the past, attempting the futile task of reaching for the reflection of the moon in water. She ended up creating more regrets and amplifying the despair.

She didn’t voice those thoughts. Kindness wasn’t a flaw, and she hoped that Wayne would keep his kindness. She gave him a look, telling him to comfort his girlfriends.

You’re good at deceiving women, aren’t you? Then keep deceiving them. Let them be happy for as long as they can.

Wayne felt his scalp go numb. He was a scummy man, not an actual scum. He couldn’t make false promises.

“If the world is going to end, then we play cards until it does,” William suddenly said. “I’d rather meet destruction in joy rather than pain. The negative information will destroy the world, but it will not destroy me.”

Darienne turned to William in surprise. “That fact that you could say that and share optimism despite the circumstances... It’s a real shame that you aren’t the successor of the Sun Knight in the surface world.”

Perhaps she is!

Wayne looked at William. Had his involvement stopped Vera from becoming the Sun Knight? She came from a family of squires, and Valkyrie had been training her. Both were proof of her potential...

But no. Without Wayne, Vera would’ve died in Klofron. She would’ve never met the knight’s armor on Dragonheart Island and acquired dragonslaying swordsmanship.

Still, Wayne decided to test the theory. Perhaps Vera would be a good match with the Dawn Doctrine. Senna, too. The fact that they could become the chosen knights in the inner world meant that the divine artifacts approved of them as backup plans.

William radiated positivity like a small sun. Wayne and Darienne knew that he was lying, that he was in great pain, but he had chosen to keep his pain to himself rather than lashing out like Filomina.

It might be because of the Dawn Doctrine, but it was more likely his innate personality. In the surface world, Veronica had very few friends; she had two, in fact. One was her white moonlight, and the other was her roommate, Vera.

Vera had managed to break through the young lady’s defense, not just because she was Veronica’s roommate, but more so because her optimism made Veronica willing to accept her.

The muscleman is so good-hearted!

Darienne nodded in approval. Although Wayne’s taste was getting more bizarre, his eye for people was still keen. Under William’s strong physique was a gentle heart, making him a worthy com—

She couldn’t continue. Recreating a table and some chips, she called on William to play cards with her.

Coincidentally, this Vera was also a card lover just like the Vera of the surface world, sharing an interest with Darienne. Darienne approved of the excellent card buddy and showered William with praise. She promised to visit him for three days of card games once she returned to the surface world.

That amused William. His other self would surely be a great surprise to Darienne. What a shame that he wouldn’t get to see it.

He turned around and saw Filomina curling into herself and sobbing, while Wayne comforted her by standing by her side rather than saying anything.

William envied her. He would like to be comforted, too, but if he acted like Filomina, it would only put Wayne in a difficult spot.

He didn’t know about the Filomina of the surface world, but he was certain that this Filomina didn’t like Wayne.

“You’re more extraordinary than she is, kid,” Darienne said.

“I have Dawn Doctrine. It’s not a fair comparison.”

“That answer proves you even more extraordinary.”

Darienne had taken a serious liking to William. Unfortunately, the mirror world was nothing but a vivid illusion, and she could not take William with her. She could only hope to meet him again in the surface world.

She had to admit that while she felt aversion for the kind of relationship William and Wayne had, she was curious about how they interacted.

They were all friends here. Shouldn’t it be fine for her to have a peek?