An Apostle…?
The sudden words that Ryuzu spoke left Lillian momentarily bewildered, completely breaking his immersion. For a split second, he even thought he had somehow stepped into Evangelion. But after confirming that the words had indeed come from Ryuzu, he asked in confusion:
"What?"
As he spoke, he withdrew his attack and flung Garfiel to the ground. After all, although he was angry, he had not reached the point of wanting to kill him.
Ryuzu glanced at Garfiel, who lay sprawled on the ground, unable to move. Though his entire body was drenched in blood, at least his life had been spared. With the recovery ability of demi-human, it would not take long before he was lively and energetic again.
"Apostle…"
She looked back at Lillian. After hesitating for a while, she finally sighed.
"Please come with me."
With that, she turned and walked outside. Lillian had no idea what she was being so mysterious about, nor did he understand what "apostle" meant. In order to figure it out, he followed her.
Throughout the journey, Ryuzu remained silent. The direction she headed was not toward the village, but toward a forest—the magical beast forest that surrounded the entire Sanctuary. Lillian was only familiar with the road he had taken when arriving here; he had never explored the other areas. The place Ryuzu now led him to was a forest on the western side inside the Sanctuary.
He was not worried about traps or schemes being used against him. Lillian was confident in his own strength.
Soon, after passing through dense woodland, a white building appeared before them. It resembled a spire-like tower. From within it, Lillian could sense a powerful aura of a Witch. That presence seemed to reject all living beings—there were no insects, no birds, none of the creatures commonly found in the forest anywhere near it.
"You don't feel that sense of rejection, do you?" Ryuzu asked.
"No. What is this place?"
"Come with me, and you'll understand."
Ryuzu led Lillian inside the building. The interior was empty, showing no signs of habitation. The walls were covered in cracks and scars from years of neglect, giving the place an extremely aged appearance.
After going up to the second floor, Ryuzu brought him to the innermost room. It was several times larger than any of the others. At the very center of the floor stood an enormous crystal.
The crystal itself was not what surprised Lillian. The real shock was the person inside it—
A girl with peach-colored long hair, wearing a simple dress, her entire body curled up.
A girl who looked exactly like Ryuzu.
Within the pale, transparent crystal, she was displayed like an exquisite piece of art. That ethereal beauty, combined with the cruelty hidden behind it, stirred Lillian deeply. He turned to Ryuzu beside him, knowing she would give him an explanation—about herself, about the girl in the crystal, and about the identical girls he had encountered twice before.
"You once noticed, didn't you," she said, "that aside from me, there were other girls with this same appearance?"
"Yes. Twice."
"Those were children among the many 'Eyes of the Sanctuary.'"
"The Eyes of the Sanctuary?" Lillian said. "From the name, it sounds like some kind of group that monitors others."
Ryuzu nodded.
"That's correct. They observe everything that happens within the Sanctuary and the forest, preventing undesirable events from occurring without warning."
"…"
"You must already have some guesses about my origins—and those of these children."
"I don't know about origins," Lillian said slowly. "But… these should be, how should I put it—clones?"
Aside from clones, he could think of no other possibility. They could not all be identical siblings. There were no two identical leaves in the world, let alone identical people.
"Yes. We are all clones of Ryuzu Meyer."
Ryuzu spoke expressionlessly. Lillian had expected her to show sorrow or grief, yet she appeared completely calm, as if this seemingly tragic matter had nothing to do with her.
"You were just wondering why I called you an 'apostle,' weren't you? The reason is simple—I discovered that I cannot disobey your commands."
"…"
Lillian thought back. He had indeed said "stop" at the time, and afterward had felt something strange. Ryuzu's expression back then had also been unusual.
"You can't disobey my commands? Why?"
Looking straight at him, she said word by word:
"Because all of us 'Ryuzu Meyers' have made a contract with the Witch of Greed—we cannot defy the Apostle who walks in Greed's name."
The Apostle of Greed… me?
Lillian was utterly confused. In common terms, an apostle meant one who was sent or commissioned. But when had he ever become the apostle of Echidna? When had he ever acted under her orders?
"I know you have many questions," Ryuzu said. "I will explain everything to you from the beginning."
"That would be great."
She turned to look at the girl curled up within the crystal, a trace of reminiscence flickering in her eyes.
"Where should I begin… Do you know who built this structure?"
"The Witch of Greed? Roswaal?"
"The former. It was built by the Witch of Greed, Echidna. This place is a testing ground she created to achieve her goals."
"A testing ground…"
Lillian looked at Ryuzu. She gave a self-mocking smile.
"You've guessed it, haven't you? The experimental products are me—and the Eyes of the Sanctuary outside."
"…"
Lillian had indeed guessed as much, though it still felt somewhat exaggerated. He had long known that Echidna could create "life." For example, the great spirits Puck and Beatrice were both artificial spirits she had created. But Ryuzu did not resemble a spirit—she was more like a life-form existing somewhere between human and spirit.
"From that perspective," Lillian said, "did the experiment succeed?"
"Yes. It succeeded."
"Then she…" Lillian looked at the girl inside the crystal. Ryuzu also gazed at her, and after a long silence said:
"She is different from us. She is the original."
If there were clones, then naturally there would be an original. Lillian had already assumed as much.
"Now that you know I am merely an imitation," Ryuzu said, "what are your thoughts?"
"My thoughts? What kind of thoughts?" Lillian replied. "Your way of speaking and thinking now isn't something that was simply copied, is it? They're yours. Once a being possesses intelligence, emotions, and memories, it can be called a sentient individual. Even if your appearances are identical, you are already completely different existences."
"…I didn't expect you to say that."
Ryuzu revealed a surprised expression, while Lillian remained calm.
"What you're describing is nothing extraordinary," he said. "At least you have physical bodies. I know friends who were born from things people call 'machines.' They developed emotions, so to me, they're no different from ordinary humans."
"Then your friends are fortunate—to have someone who accepts them."
"…Fortunate? I wouldn't really call it that."
Ryuzu did not continue that topic and instead said, "As for the 'body' you mentioned, it does not truly exist for us either. To us, it is merely a temporary shell—a vessel formed by mana, woven around the soul as its core."
"A soul as the core?" Something occurred to Lillian. "Wait… the soul—was that created too?"
When he saw Ryuzu nod, he was struck with overwhelming shock.
"If even souls can be manufactured, then…"
Lillian had originally thought that Echidna could only create spirits composed purely of mana. But if she could create souls, wouldn't that mean life itself could be produced endlessly?
Watching Lillian's astonishment, Ryuzu said, "I know what you're thinking. But the conditions for creating a soul are extremely harsh. The Witch spent a very long time before succeeding, and paid an enormous price. But this was what she pursued—no cost was too great for her."
Lillian did not know what to say. To accomplish such a thing meant possessing authority akin to that of a god. Even if the requirements were severe, it was still…
After a moment of silence, he asked, "Then the Witch—Echidna's goal—was it the creation of life itself?"
Ryuzu shook her head. "You think too kindly of the Witch."
"…"
"Creating life was merely a condition for achieving her objective. As for the objective itself—manufacturing vessels capable of carrying souls, and producing souls to test their fusion with those vessels… You should understand her purpose now."
Lillian understood.
"To explore all wisdom and knowledge," he said, "one would need an immortal body to support it. Unfortunately, she failed."
"How do you know that?"
"…"
If she had not failed, things would not have turned out as they were now. Roswaal would not have needed to pursue something like dragon's blood.