The castle soared into the clouds, its silhouette half-veiled beneath the shimmer of blue aurora, like a hazy painting caught between dream and reality.
Around the lakeside, white blossoms swayed under the moonlight, releasing a delicate fragrance. Here and there, tiny phantasmal creatures flickered with faint light, like scattered stars fallen into the night, lending this silence a touch of enchantment.
This was—the Millennium Castle, once the domain of the Moon King, Crimson Moon, in an age long past.
The castle itself stood upon a mountain not the tallest, yet nearest to the moon, where sunlight could never reach. The slopes bloomed with moon- and star-born flowers that grew only from lunar radiance. It was also the place where the True Ancestors first came into being.
Originally built upon the earth, after the Great War of the third century, the castle was relocated into the Sea of Stars.
Since the death of Crimson Moon and the exile of Princess Arcueid Brunestud, the surviving True Ancestors had lived in centuries of uneasy peace.
But tonight, the Dead Apostles—regarded by the True Ancestors only as "servants" and "subjects of domination"—would once again ignite war, just as in the third century.
Led by Princess Arcueid, the White-Winged Duke Trhvmn Ortenrosse, and the Sorcerous Lord Van-Fem, the remnants of Dead Apostles who had survived the Church's relentless hunts would march upon the last two hundred True Ancestors and their vassals.
Most of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors had joined the Apostles' side, but some had chosen the True Ancestors instead—such as Merem Solomon, the Twentieth, once allied with Van-Fem.
Thus, the True Ancestors were not wholly unprepared for this assault.
From their high platforms, they gazed down at the black tide of Apostles gathering below.
It was as if dense, thunderous storm clouds had smothered the sun itself, blotting out the world in darkness. A vast and endless army poured across the land, over rivers and valleys, pressing upon the Millennium Castle in waves like a living nightmare.
The scale of this Dead Apostle army rivaled even that of the ancient Millennium Castle War.
Even forewarned, the True Ancestors could only watch in silence, the weight of that vision pressing upon them—the certainty of how dreadful this war would be.
"...So, just like Typhon said—you've been with me all along, haven't you?"
On the Apostles' side, Avia looked toward the figure of the Flower Magician manifest before him.
Though still within the Sea of Stars, the Millennium Castle was different—sealed off from the other realms, yet its mysteries had not grown so dense that flesh could not exist. Thus, they could enter with their bodies unscathed.
But because of this, Typhon could no longer take the form of armor on Avia's body. She had to choose between her mechanical or humanoid form, and in the end, she appeared as a red-haired girl.
At the same time, Merem—bound to the power of the Rhinegold—could not avoid appearing either. Though she had tried to make excuses, Typhon had unceremoniously exposed her.
"See, doesn't this just make you look amazing, Avia? I'm half a nightmare, after all! I'll live on forever, and your deeds—oh, your deeds—will be sung for ages! You've hit the jackpot, my friend! Immortality in history!"
Merem clapped her hands with a sharp slap, eyes sparkling.
Typhon, uninterested in the deceitful phantasm before her, only muttered—
"Nightmare? If I recall, your kind... shouldn't the females be called succubi?"
The red-haired girl tilted her head, genuinely puzzled.
"My brother forbade me from becoming a succubus, so I can only be a nightmare~"
The petite half-nightmare shrugged her shoulders with a sly grin.
The silver-haired youth, unmoved, replied coolly:
"I don't recall having a sister like you."
Only then did Avia realize that Merem had been flaunting herself as his "sister" to Typhon all along. Considering she was the Flower Magician, such antics were hardly surprising.
"What a heartless man! I've humbled myself to call you brother, and you won't even grant me that much? Boohoo, poor Merem, so pitiful~"
"...You—"
"Oh, what's that? Did you actually believe me? Sorry, just a joke~"
Her words denied it, but her laughter never ceased.
Avia looked at the mischievous Merem and, for a fleeting moment, thought back to the day she had cried. He wondered what had become of her afterward.
Would she, centuries later, when she faced the Knight King, finally grant him a gentler ending to his long war-torn years? Or would she, as always, stand aside, and watch him walk his tragic path?
To think they were looking now upon the same world, and that such futures might be rewritten—it felt strangely miraculous.
"They're about to attack. Have you settled your affairs?"
The voice came from the side—crimson eyes gleaming, unblinking. It was Arcueid.
During their journey here, she had seemed to watch Avia closely, gauging his state of mind.
"...I suppose so."
Avia fell silent, as if listening for some faraway sound. At last, he nodded slowly.
"It's fine. I think I'm ready."
"Are you sure? We can wait. There's no need to rush."
"It's true. But tell me, Princess... aren't you worried about failure?"
Arcueid's crimson gaze dimmed for just a moment.
"To lead one's retainers into battle yet distrust their strength—that is not how a sovereign should act. I believe we will succeed, just as always."
A sovereign—king, queen, emperor.
"My, my," Merem interjected, narrowing her eyes with a sly smile. "But isn't it true you can never inherit that title?"
Arcueid was the discarded "First" of Crimson Moon, an uncontrollable failure.
Even so, she still called herself Princess.
"You cannot be king, yet you still strive to act like one?"
The black-haired girl tilted her head, eyes red as blood, as if to devour all things.
She could not understand why this half-human, half-phantasm would ask such a question.
"Because I wish it so. Because I am—"
There was nothing more to ask. In the place of strife, it was only natural to cut down the other, even if that "other" was kin. Especially so. Even if victory came at the cost of shame.
"Arcueid Brunestud."
---
Not long after, the Dead Apostle army struck at the Millennium Castle in three great waves.
Though the True Ancestors had foreseen it, the chaos wrought by the Ancestors' relentless assault meant none could stop Arcueid from advancing step by step toward the very heart of the castle.
And once she arrived—there would be no chance for the newborn Princess still forming within. She would be cut down without resistance.
Thus would Arcueid achieve the impossible reversal—discarded as a failure by Crimson Moon, yet seizing the mantle of the planet's true and only "First."
But before the final door, one last obstacle stood between her and Avia—
Kishua Zelretch Schweinorg, the Wizard Marshal. Gravely wounded by the Holy Scripture, he had abandoned use of the Second Magic to avoid pursuit, and now stood guarding the last gate.
"Begone, Wizard Marshal!"
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