When Myra finally couldn't endure it anymore, they set out.
Cyril walked side by side with Myra into the forest, where the ruins supposedly were.
Morpho flew in the air, exploring nature. She dashed back and forth, chasing insects nearby with a hunter's glee.
"Sorry if this was a bit too suffocating. I just felt I needed to come here." Myra sighed as she kicked a pebble on the ground.
"I am not a strong person, and recent events have been a bit too much..."
He briefly glanced at her, her head was hung low as she walked.
What is this about?
The aftermath of her fight with Tom flashed on his mind, as well as the thief's terrified face.
"If you are not strong, then who is?"
To his rare musing, Myra sighed again and raised her head. "You."
"..."
Should I thank her?
"She is not wrong in her assessment."
"Myra, you have defeated me in a duel. Do you want to mock me?"
"A month ago I had, today maybe. But in a year? You'll grow far stronger than I am now."
"Again, she is not wrong."
He frowned, giving Myra a confused stare.
"I see."
Let's switch topics.
"...About the Tower. You didn't know an archdemon was going to be present?"
As soon as he said that, Myra flinched, her head drooping a bit lower.
Now what?
"This is related to what I want to talk about... The ruins are close."
Cyril gave her a long stare, then switched to observing Morpho, who chased a dragonfly at this moment.
Suddenly a bird swooped in on her, its beak wide open as it pecked.
The red butterfly's body completely disappeared inside of the bird's beak.
"...!"
In a startle Cyril quickly raised his hand, about to cast a spell.
However, the next moment, the bird flinched in the air as its beak opened little by little.
Morpho, using her fragile-looking wings, pushed the beak open, escaped, and slapped the bird on the way out.
The bird faltered a little in the air and flew away in a panic.
Morpho fluttered her wings as she observed the challenger's departure, her antennae twitching in triumph.
Cyril blankly observed it all, then slowly lowered his hand, giving a sigh of relief.
"Morpho is the strong one here! Stronger than Myra, I bet."
Rhamn clapped with a proud smile.
"Your butterfly is... not ordinary." Myra commented with widened eyes.
"In a good way."
"She's really brave too, I remember her standing between you and Cosmas back in the Tower."
Myra's gaze seemed to follow the butterfly, but at the same time it went somewhere beyond.
"That's something she should never do again!"
Morpho flinched, then quietly landed on Cyril's shoulder.
Cyril glanced back at Myra. She was now silent, walking with a bitter smile.
The frown on his face returned.
...
A short walk later, a small building came into view around a turn.
It was a stone dome barely holding its shape. Plants grew on its walls, somewhat hiding it among the greenery.
"This is the one." Myra's smile widened as she sped up her pace.
"This used to be my favorite place. Far away from all, just me, nature, and the mysterious."
She walked through the collapsed entrance and inside.
Cyril slowly walked in after her, scanning everything he could see on the way.
...It's too damaged.
The roof was full of holes, letting in beams of light that illuminated the sorry state of the place.
The walls were weathered, and the passage of time erased all hints of what used to be.
"Here, it was easy to imagine myself as some heroic figure from stories."
Myra wearily took a seat on a pile of rubble nearby and stared at Cyril as he walked around.
"It's just an old ruin, nothing special in the end... Though there is a mural behind the plants there."
She pointed to a specific wall.
Giving her a quick nod, Cyril approached the place and tore off the vines that grew over it.
It revealed a somewhat familiar sight.
A mural depicting a winged monster and humanoid figures around it.
This time, the monster was spewing fire from its mouth as the 'humans' cowered and ran away, some engulfed by the flames.
This seems like the next part of that mural?
"Wait, so it wasn't them transforming into a monster? It was them praying for help after all?"
Rhamn tilted her head, confusion in her red eyes.
"It looks cool, right?" Myra cut in with a smile.
"Apparently that civilization was mortal enemies with dragons. There are shrines like these placed everywhere."
"I knew you would be interested." She nodded with satisfaction.
Demons are enemies with dragons? Never heard anything like that.
"You'd think the Empire would have figured it out. The enemy of their enemy and all that."
"You've seen other shrines? What else do you know?"
Myra scratched her cheek and looked away. "I saw a few, but... I wasn't too interested, sorry."
...Maybe they aren't demons after all? No, Ophelia confirmed it. It was a time long before her...
Rhamn shrugged, her face calm.
"Doesn't really matter, does it?"
...I want to know more about their conflict.
"It won't help. Demons are demons, and humans are humans. That's the reality, and it won't change."
"..."
Maybe you are right.
He shook his head and turned towards Myra.
"What did you want to talk about?"
Myra took a deep breath and put her hands on her knees.
"So, Cyril. You said you trust me, right?"
He nodded.
"What I'll say next might sound ridiculous, but I am being completely serious."
She fidgeted in place, twirling a strand of her auburn hair as silence settled in an old ruin.
Only the sound of birds flying above them and wind rustling the leaves outside could be heard.
"...Well?"
"We don't have all day!"
Cyril crossed his arms, waiting for her next words.
Finally, Myra sighed and clenched her teeth for a moment.
"In ten years the Empire will be destroyed, maybe the world too."
Huh?
"Huh?"
He froze, having underestimated the magnitude of this conversation.
"...Why do you think so?"
Myra clenched her fists and looked him straight in the eyes.
"Because I saw the future... Suddenly flashes of things to come appeared in my mind a year ago."
"It's not much! I only saw brief fragments, but there were a lot of them."
"Demons will destroy the Empire completely, the city will burn to the ground."
Demons.
With a heavy heart, he cautiously made a guess.
"...Was I present in that future?"
The butterfly on his shoulder folded her wings, making herself as unnoticeable as possible.
Myra observed his expression without speaking.
The heaviness in Cyril's heart intensified the longer the silence lasted. Soon, his own heartbeat echoed in his ears.
"...You were."
He tensed up, fingers clutching his arms.
Finally, Myra evaded his eyes.
"You were a knight of unparalleled strength... I saw a hero in those visions, someone capable of solving any trouble."
She turned her head at the ground, her auburn hair hiding her face completely.
What?
"A hero? Are you sure?"
Her face still aimed at the ground, Myra whispered. "That's what I saw."
Cyril slowly turned to look at Rhamn.
Rhamn, her bright red eyes widened, shrugged.
"...What happened to me? I seem to have failed in that future?"
Myra shook her head, her fists still clenched.
"I don't know, maybe demons used some vile trick."
Cyril sat on another pile of rubble nearby, not minding the dust on it.
The butterfly on his shoulder tapped his face, her antennae twitching in excitement.
Myra clasped her hands, her head still lowered.
They sat like this for a moment, none of them speaking.
…
"Maybe she is delusional? She did hit her head."
You don't believe I can be a hero?
"I always believe in you, I am talking about the world ending. Myra is unreliable. She doesn't even dare to look you in the eyes as she spins this tale."
"Something doesn't add up."
"Do you believe me?" Myra's cautious whisper brought him out of his thoughts.
"...I do."
"But why?"
There is something in Myra that makes me trust her... I am not sure what it is.
Myra finally raised her head, on her face a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"I originally thought that, with this knowledge, I could change the future for the better."
She massaged her temple, the smile disappearing.
"However, the attack on the Tower shouldn't have gone like that."
"There was never an archdemon there, not to mention two. They shouldn't have done anything for the next three years at least."
She slumped her shoulders, her hands resting on her knees.
"Something's changed, the future is different now."
"I just- I just don't know what to do. There is no way I can handle this."
"So many more deserving people are out there, why did it have to be me...?"
Her whisper gradually became quieter until it almost became a whimper as something glistened in the corners of her eyes.
Cyril sat there, expressionless. The butterfly on his shoulder intently stared at Myra's slumped back and arms that lacked their usual strength.
A moment of weakness not seen before from her.
At this sight, Cyril was experiencing a peculiar emotion, a certain bitterness that wiped away any worries about himself.
"It's disappointment." Rhamn's cold voice echoed in the dome as she looked down at Myra.
"Her acting really managed to trick us. Back in Ailanthus, people thought of her as strong, and so did we."
"However, now we see the truth. Myra is completely right, she is weak."
Cyril glanced back at Myra, not saying anything. She buckled further under his stare.
The two sat like this for a moment, prolonged silence between them.
Suddenly, a red butterfly flew in the air and landed on Myra's auburn hair.
"Morpho?"
The butterfly gently tapped the girl's head with her insect legs.
"Eh." Myra slowly sat up straight, and Morpho flew up, energetically fluttering in front of her face.
"Is she... trying to cheer me up?"
"...Looks like it."
Cyril got up as well, walking closer.
"Since you worry about being weak, just get stronger."
"Just...?"
Myra's eye twitched a little as she stared him straight in the eyes.
"Yes."
His cold blue eyes met her tired black ones.
Myra's complaint remained in her mouth as she continued staring.
"Just listen. I'll help."