User blog:Thrycius/Zheiro and The Moonlight Sculptor: Chapter 22

'''Disclaimer: This is a crossover fanfic between Brave Frontier and The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor. I don't own either of those; they belong to their respective owners, namely Gumi/Alim and Nam-Hi-Sung (남희성) respectively.'''

'''Disclaimer (extended): This crossover fanfic now also contains some elements from the Type-Moon universe, owned entirely by Kinoku Nasu. I don't own anything from there, either.'''

Is this your first time seeing this story? Go directly to chapter 1 here!

2 weeks passed as they searched around Volcano Eldent, but there were no signs of the missing youth. And between the fighting, the heat, and the need to search every location they could find, it was beginning to wear Zheiro down.

“They don’t seem to be around the area,” Thrycius simply commented when they took one of the many breaks they had during their search. “Perhaps we should move on?”

“Sarui already made the promise to find them though,” Zheiro replied tiredly. “And promises should be kept, so we can’t just give up. I’m all up for a break though, this heat is killing me.”

“I certainly had no intention of giving up,” Sarui said indignantly. “We’ve only spent a mere two weeks searching, there’s no way we’re done looking around the area.”

“I believe the two of you misunderstand my meaning,” Thrycius said, laughing. “Who said the missing youths have to be near the volcano, or even the village? That housewife said that they had made numerous attempts to create a search party, and had also asked a number of summoners, but to no avail. That must mean they have gone missing for quite a while now, correct?”

“But what does that have to do with our search?” Zheiro asked.

“A lot of things, actually.” Sarui answered. “I had forgotten until the storyteller pointed it out, but since a lot of time passed it means that the youths could potentially be very far away. But at the same time, there’s no guarantee that they would be at a distant place, either.”

“That’s right,” Thrycius said with his usual grin. “But we might as well go onto the next area to keep searching. It’s unlikely they could have gone into Morgan since Abaddon should have been in the way back then, so advancing would be our best option.”

“And how do you know that Abaddon wouldn’t let the missing youths through?” Sarui asked.

“I think,” Thrycius said, chuckling, “that if someone tried to sneak past, Abaddon would have made quite the commotion, which has not happened in a long while. And trust me, everyone on the continent would notice if such a monstrosity makes a commotion.”

“And if Abaddon was the one who took them?” Zheiro asked.

“Did either of you see any signs of anyone else that could be the youths in the tower?” Thrycius simply asked. “No? That’s because there weren’t any. I didn’t appear in the window for no reason, you know.”

“So be it. We can continue our search in the next area.” Sarui said in resignation. “Where are we heading next?”

With a grin, Thrycius pointed to another mountain, off in the distance, completely covered in snow and ice. “Sacred Mt. Craylia. Doesn’t it look like fun?”

Sarui took one look and groaned.

“Are you sure the youths could even survive travelling through that?” Sarui asked, not looking forward to it at all.”

“If they could survive the heat from Volcano Eldent, I think they could.” Thrycius said with a laugh.

“...Let’s hurry up and get this over with.”

And so they did.

“Are you sure that was sufficient searching?” Zheiro asked.

They had only spent two days looking over the mountain—and as expected, they didn’t find anyone.

“It’s enough.” Sarui said indignantly, standing over the corpse of a strange monster that Thrycius referred to as the ‘Loch Ness’.

Zheiro decided to ignore the fact that the monster was also completely dismembered thanks to a certain painter.

“No matter how you look at it, spending only 2 days to search the entire mountain is not enough time to cover the mountain completely,” Zheiro replied. “Didn’t we spend over 2 weeks searching that volcano?”

“If you consider the storyteller’s movement over the past two days, I think we’ve covered enough ground.” Sarui grumbled, crossing her arms as she looked away in annoyance.

“Oh my, I didn’t know you thought so highly of me,” Thrycius said with a laugh. “Or are you just wanting to get out of the cold?”

“Well, excuse me for disliking a place because it is cold enough to freeze all my paints solid,” Sarui grumbled. “How am I supposed to paint when my paints are frozen?”

“Oh, I have an idea,” Zheiro suddenly spoke up before Thrycius could reply. “How about Thrycius and I continue searching this frozen mountain, and Sarui can search somewhere else? For example, making sure we didn’t miss any spots at the volcano.”

“Yes, I find that acceptable,” Sarui replied, nodding. “Then, I shall be on my way. Let us meet up in the next area in a week to report our progress. Of course, if we find the youths, returning them will be our first priority. Is that clear?”

“Crystal clear,” Thrycius said, laughing.

For whatever reason, Sarui made a displeased face at the storyteller before storming off, yet despite her clear displeasure Thrycius only continued to grin as she disappeared off out of sight.

It was only then that Zheiro decided to resume the search with the storyteller, not feeling very confident about the harmonization of their little group.

“Thrycius?” Zheiro finally spoke up a short while later as they were searching.

“Hmmm?” Thrycius tilted his head as he cheerfully gave his response. “Is there something wrong, Zheiro?”

“Well…” Zheiro started, not sure how to put this. For Zheiro, it was a rather delicate subject, but he wasn’t as good with words as the storyteller was, so he tried to tip toe his way around the subject. “Is Sarui attuned to the element of fire, by any chance?”

“Oh, good guess,” Thrycius said, grinning. “She very much is. Why do you ask, all of a sudden?”

“Well, in part, I was curious,” Zheiro said. “After all, she hated this mountain and that beach, both of which were lands where the element of water was very prominent. And water is strong against fire, right?”

“Yes, it is.” Thrycius confirmed. “But that doesn’t seem to be all you’re thinking.”

“Well, no, it’s not,” Zheiro confirmed. “But I was wondering… Could that be the reason why Sarui can’t seem to stand you? It seems like you and Sarui don’t get along very well, so I thought maybe it was due to elemental incompatibility or something.”

In the end he ended up being rather direct about what he had really wanted to talk about, Zheiro thought with a sigh. Then again, Thrycius definitely would have figured out what he wanted to say regardless, but still… There were better ways to say that, weren’t there?

“I know full well that she doesn’t like me,” Thrycius said with his usual grin, replying as if he had just announced that the sky was blue or that the snow around them was cold. “She’s not really hiding it, either. What made you feel the need to point that out though, Zheiro?”

“It’s just that I thought you should do something about it.” Zheiro replied. “Aren’t we travelling together now? I don’t think it’ll be a good idea to keep travelling like this if we can’t even get along together as a group.”

To put it simply, Zheiro generally disliked conflict. It was a part of his nature. After all, isn’t it always nicer when people get along?

Perhaps it was for this reason that while Zheiro had complained a lot in the past, he had never actually truly gone against what Thrycius had told him to do. But it’s not that Zheiro was weak or pushy, however. When it came to certain things, he could be as immovable as a mountain—such as his reason for starting this journey from the beginning, a reason for which he’s kept for many, many years.

“But you seem to be forgetting something, Zheiro.” Thrycius said lightly, waving a finger back and forth. “While you did remember parts of the story that I told you about how everything in this world was attuned to an element, you have also forgotten one important factor. I’m quite disappointed, you know.”

Zheiro blinked. “But it was over a year ago when you told me that extensive story! Did you expect me to remember every little detail?”

“Of course, it was a story told by me, the greatest storyteller in the world! To think that my stories and I could be forgotten so easily!” Thrycius said as he staggered in mock horror and dramatically clutched his chest. “Oh, the sorrow I feel!”

It was only then that Zheiro realized that the storyteller was joking around as usual, causing him to groan as he placed his head in his hands. And he was trying to have a serious conversation too!

“Jokes aside,” Thrycius continued, restoring his posture as he continued to grin as usual. “I had said that it’s possible to become friends with people whose elements are weak or strong against yours. So while it is possible for compatibility issues to occur because of these elemental affinities, it generally never actually matters in the end. It just so happens in this case, there’s a slightly different reason as to why Sarui dislikes me.”

“How can you be so sure?” Zheiro asked. “You’re not Sarui, so unless you were purposely trying to get on her bad side…”

“Oh no, it’s not like that,” Thrycius said, laughing. “Let me ask you this instead, Zheiro. You know I am attuned with water, right? How often do you see me act like someone who is attuned with water?”

Zheiro thought about it for a moment, but he wasn’t too sure. He wasn’t even sure how the elements would affect someone’s personality in the first place, after all.

“Well, let me answer this for you,” Thrycius said, not even bothering to give Zheiro much time to think. “People tend to act in a way reminiscent of that of the element they are attuned to. In the case of someone attuned with water, one can easily imagine someone who passively goes with the flow—that is, whatever is occurring around them, right? On the opposite end, one can also imagine a person whose icy cold heart spares no mercy nor emotion for anyone. Now tell me, has my personality been anything like either of these two examples?”

“Not really…” Zheiro trailed off in his answer, thinking about it. If anything, Thrycius had been rather obnoxious, which was anything but like water—but he wouldn’t admit it straight out to the storyteller. “But why is that?”

“The element we are attuned to can certainly affect our personalities, but it does not define us or who we are,” Thrycius said, smiling. “People and their personalities change over time, so is it really impossible for me to no longer act like a person who is attuned with water?”

“I see, that makes sense.” Zheiro said, nodding.

“If anything, I’ve been acting more like a mischievous and playful child, wouldn’t you agree?” Thrycius said jokingly, laughing all the while. “Although that’s usually paired with the lightning element.”

“You? A playful child?” Zheiro said incredulously. “Really? Aren’t you a little too old to be one?”

“One is never too old to release their inner child,” Thrycius said, grinning. “Surely you know what it’s like to be kid again, right? We were all children at one point.”

Zheiro thought about it. Certainly, while Thrycius wasn’t entirely wrong, but if he was asked to describe what it was like to be a kid he would only have one answer, and it would describe a certain person he met while he was a child himself...

A long time ago, when Zheiro was still but a budding child trying to learn the arts of sculpting—

“Zheiro, Zheiro, let’s play!”

With a bang, the door to his room was slammed opened as it was accompanied by the cheerful voice of a young girl, which completely shattered his concentration and caused the still young sculptor to accidentally cut a large gash into the wood he had been carving.

Sighing in frustration, the young Zheiro calmly put down the now ruined remains of what was to be a wooden horse and his knife before turning to scold his childhood friend.

“How many times have I told you not to disturb me while I’m concentrating?” Zheiro asked with frustration.

''Despite how angry he was, he still wasn’t one to raise his voice. Besides, he always somehow managed to get the point across, even if she would probably end up forgetting the next day.''

''“Ehehehe, sorry, sorry,” The girl said, sticking out her tongue. Seeing her usual antics, Zheiro just sighed and gave up.''

''“Well, it’s okay. Just make sure not to do it again,” he said, patting her on the head.''

“Mm!”

Apparently all that did was make her even more excited as she practically flew around him to take a look at what he had been working on.

“So what were you making?” the girl asked excitedly, looking at the wooden carving he had been making.

''“I was making a horse.” Zheiro said proudly. “Well, it was supposed to be one, but my hand slipped so I have to start over.”''

“It looks more like a cow, though.”

''“Well, excuse me!” Zheiro exclaimed in embarrassment. “Why don’t you try to do better?”''

''“But I’m not learning sculpting like you are.” The girl replied easily, laughing. “More importantly, let’s play, let’s play!”''

Tugging at his arm and dragging him outside before he could even begin to protest, the two of them went outside to play.

Zheiro found himself smiling fondly at the old memory. Even back then, he was dragged around by a rather impulsive person to do whatever they asked of him. Granted, Zheiro had no reason to go against the storyteller since he would get compensated in the end, but that didn’t really change things.

“Seems like you’re back,” Thrycius said, laughing.”Were your thoughts that entertaining?”

“Sorry, I got distracted by something. What were we talking about again?” Zheiro asked.

“How people’s personalities may not match the element they were attuned to.” Thrycius simply answered with his usual grin. “And why you thought Sarui disliked me.”

“Oh, that’s right, I remember now,” Zheiro said. “But if it’s not because you are attuned with water, why does Sarui dislike you so much?”

“Oh, it’s not for me to say,” Thrycius said with a laugh. “You’ll have to ask Sarui yourself.”

“Well, okay, but at least you know why, right?” Zheiro confirmed. “Then shouldn’t you at least try to get along with her?”

“I see no reason to, so I won’t.” Thrycius said with a slight smile. “I don’t really care if she dislikes me. In the first place, the only reason Sarui and I are here is because of you. I have no business with Sarui, and she has none with me, so it doesn’t really matter in the end.”

Zheiro frowned at Thrycius’ response. While the storyteller was technically right, Zheiro didn’t like it at all, but he decided that it would be impossible to change the storyteller’s mind. Thus, he decided that perhaps he should try talking to Sarui about it later.

As for their search for the missing youths, their efforts turned up fruitless even after an entire week.

“You’re all too slow!”

By the time Zheiro and Thrycius made their way to the next area, Sarui was already standing there, waiting with her arms crossed.

Of course, the moment she spotted them she marched right over and commented on how slow they were, but Zheiro felt that it was unreasonable given that they were technically on time.

“Did you find any clue about the missing youths?” Zheiro asked her after getting dragged over by Sarui.

“Yes, actually.. And I definitely combed the entire volcano this time. They were definitely not there, but there were some tracks that could have been them, leading back into that icy mountain you guys were searching.” Sarui declared. “So let me ask you: Did you find them?”

“We didn’t even find a trace of them,” Zheiro admitted.

“Well, tracks are easily erased in the snow, especially with what the weather is like up there,” Thrycius commented. “If the tracks really did belong to them, then the moment they went onto Mt Craylia was the moment their tracks would be lost. But although we searched the entire mountain, we didn’t find them so we should try searching the next area.”

“The next area, huh…” Zheiro said, trailing off as he looked over the only place in the area that wasn’t a mountain. “I’ve never seen a forest like that before.”

“It’s called the Blood Forest,” Thrycius said. “Considering how red even the trees are, I suppose anyone can imagine why.”

“But why are the trees so red?” Zheiro asked. “Even during Autumn normal trees are not like this.”

“Who cares?” Sarui said, cutting in before Thrycius could begin an explanation. “It just means more pigment for my paints for me. And no, Thrycius, we don’t have time for your lengthy explanations when we have those youths to look for.”

“Ha ha ha,” Thrycius laughed. “I suppose you’re right. Then, let us begin the search!”

And just like that, the three of them advanced into the forest.

“I’m a little bit nervous. Is this really all right?”

“Don’t worry. Although this may be new for you, I am confident in your ability. Furthermore, preparations are everything, so please be more confident.”

Ixia took a few breaths before relaxing once more.

“All right, close your eyes now,” the court magician continued, also closing his eyes as he kneeled on the ground next to her bed. “Continue that breathing, and allow your bodily sensations to gradually fade away…”

Ixia quietly muttered the incantation she had been taught earlier as the court magician continued to speak.

“Gently… quietly…”

…

There is nothing. Ixia absentmindedly thought. Everything is fading away. Hands, feet, legs, even the bed I lay on, all gone. I can feel nothing, hear nothing, see nothing.

What I have, is only what I believe myself to have.

Therefore, create it.

Stitch and sew it together.

My hands, my feet, my body, my clothes— make it appear.

When Ixia opened her eyes again, she was floating in the air, the ceiling merely inches from her face.

Blinking a few times, she slowly looked over her shoulder to find herself still lying on the bed.

“Don’t panic,” a voice said next to quickly her.

Ixia calmly looked over towards the voice to find the court magician floating upside down next to her, his real body still kneeling on the floor.

“...What is this?” Ixia asked, more curious than afraid. “Are we really in the astral realm?”

“Yes,” the floating court magician said. “We are both currently in our astral bodies, the form we take in the astral realm. You should feel proud, you know. This is the result of all the training we’ve done. And I have to say, you really look exactly like your real self. I don’t see any problems anywhere.”

Ixia tilted her head in confusion. “Exactly like my real self? What do you mean?”

“You’re quite talented so you may not have realized this, but a lot of magicians have trouble properly forming their astral bodies on their first try. At best it’s slightly deformed, and at worst the entire thing is fuzzy and unclear. Some magicians bypass that issue by taking on a completely different shape or form, but that may also cause issues. You on the other hand did it perfectly on your first try. So, congratulations.”

“How many times did it take you?” Ixia asked.

“Hm... More than you, that’s for sure,” the court magician said, laughing with a bit of embarrassment. “Anyway! Allow me to welcome you to the astral realm, the true world of magic. You may encounter creatures of fey in this world, but in this area where human population is so dense I doubt you will encounter any. Now, let’s take a look around and go outside, shall we?”

“But where to?” Ixia asked, looking around excitedly.

“Let’s show you the world from above,” The court magician said, holding out his hand. “Don’t let go until you get used to moving around in your astral body.”

“Of course,” Ixia nodded, taking a hold of his hand.

And just like that, the court magician pulled Ixia along with him up through the ceiling—and within moments, Ixia found herself floating high up in the sky, looking down upon the castle.

“Wow,” Ixia said, looking down at the view below her. Being able to see the world from the eyes of a bird, she was in awe. “This is pretty amazing.”

“It is,” the court magician agreed. “Once you get to movement, shall we explore the city in our astral forms?”

“Oh yes, that does sound like fun!” Ixia said brightly. “But what about our real bodies?”

“If any harm comes to them, we’ll immediately find ourselves back in them; but I did lock the door beforehand, so there should be no issues of anyone coming in and bothering our physical bodies.” The court magician replied. “And tomorrow we will return to our lessons of magic, so today you should just have some fun while getting used to your astral body.”

“Well, that sounds like a plan,” Ixia said with a smile, still looking down at the city. Being able to see such a view, it was something she definitely wanted to show her childhood friend when he returned. She could imagine the fun they would have together, maybe even racing each other down to see who could get to places first...

“...Is there something wrong?” the court magician asked when he realized that Ixia hadn’t moved.

Ixia shook her head, clearing her thoughts. “No, it’s nothing. I was just thinking of something,” she admitted. “Now then, let’s go!”

And for the rest of the day they explored the city, with all of its inhabitants completely unaware of their presence.

A/N: IT'S BEEN A YEAR GUYS WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

''Well, almost a year, but still. Sorry for the long, unannounced hiatus. Honestly, I was once again expecting this to come out during the summer but the proofreader went fwoosh and disappeared into the land of twintails, rip me. Anyway, we finally have an update, yay (monotone)''

''Anyway, we're mostly following up after the last chapter where they start looking for the missing youths. Thry once again explaining a few things, and for once a small flashback for Zheiro. That childhood friend doesn't act at all like Ixia as she is now, don't you think? It's a mystery, a mystery.''

''We also get a small bit of insight between Thrycius and Sarui from Thrycius' perspective. I think by now it's pretty obvious that Sarui doesn't like him, but seems like Thrycius couldn't care less, huh?''

''Finally, as usual, an Ixia scene. User:The Zero of Faram told me how uninteresting and unrelated to the plot her scenes appear to be, and I do think he's right; compared to the rest of the story, they don't seem to do much. Yet. But he is right, I do need to pick up the pace on her side of the story. Just know that the correlations and the things you pick up from her side may not seem like much, but there may be small hints and such that will eventually give more insight into the story, like I mentioned just earlier in the AN. Unfortunately, I already have up to ch26 written down at this moment, so I can't move her plot along anytime soon. ''

Basically, what I want to say is that her side of the story is not completely unrelated to Zheiro and co, with minor things that they do may end up affecting the other, and that I'm going to to try to make Ixia's side get more interesting soon.

''I probably should stop rambling now. Hope you guys enjoyed it, and I hope I can also get my proofreader back to work again soon. lol''

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