<Sixth gate, noon>
"Looks like they are not coming," says Cynthia while looking at the horizon for the familiar figures of Imogen and Ian. She is also expecting Kyrie and his little group to come, but even when the sun has reached the highest, no one else but Cynthia, Sil, and the demon puppets occupy the spot in front of the sixth gate.
Sil is sitting on a pile of bodies, looking where Cynthia has been watching. Except for some men that different kingdoms have dispatched, there are no signs that Kyrie and the rest would come.
Although they are aware that Kyrie has entered the White Forest in search of the Fae Kingdom, they are not expecting that it would take so long to the point of missing the sixth gate.
"Aww, Sil… You won't see your loverboy…." Cynthia giggles, "Now, I am very curious as to the reason why they want to meet the Fairy Queen."
"Don't be too curious, Cynthia… Didn't Erebus tell you not to meddle? Our force has shrunk since Saskia went crazy and died. Don't tell me you want to end up like her or worse."
"It's not like she can even enter the gates…. Talk about useless!"
Cynthia clicks her tongue and walks away. Sil watches her figure turning small as she walks towards the large gate doors.
If Sil is honest, he is also curious, but the more curious part is that Erebus specifically forbids them from following Kyrie into the Fae Kingdom. Ever since his resurrection, Sil has seen inconsistencies with Erebus and Cynthia. They have been acting like athletes with good sportsmanship who do not contact the other team in their own free time. Because of Erebus, Cynthia has been too quiet and calm while gathering the relics. Her composure makes it more evident for Sil that Cynthia is scheming something.
From the part of the novel he has read, he roughly knows what Imogen and Ian are trying to do by clearing the gates. However, Cynthia and his position do not exist in the novel, and from what he has gathered, Cynthia has already relived some loops of this world. Yet, according to the novel and the author Moon Fairy, Cynthia's position is not important enough to be written down. Only Erebus is mentioned as the main villain of the story.
Sil wouldn't think about these tiresome suspicions if Erebus has not changed so much ever since they failed to wipe Kyrie's memories and stop Ian from remembering. Although their main mission to help Erebus to descend has not changed, something feels extremely off. The story is different due to Kyrie and his own meddling in the events, but the story's plot and roles seem to be slowly shifting. This change is making the future so unpredictable that his plans might fail.
Sil sighs.
'If Kyrie and I die in this loop, that is it for us. We are outsiders, so the Eternal Loop does not affect us. I wonder how Cynthia manages to loop again even though she is also an outsider.'
The more Sil thinks about it, the more uncomfortable he gets.
'No, I cannot let this go on. I need to find Cynthia's schemes.'
---
<White forest>
The blinding light subsides. When Kyrie regains his vision, the mud creature is gone. Instead, a beautiful woman is in its place. The woman has long white hair with loose curls and sunkissed honey skin. She is wearing a loose white dress that reaches to the floor. Her wings fall flat against her back like withered flowers. On her head, a delicate silver crown adorns her simplistic yet elegant hairstyle.
"My queen!" The fairies start to circle her in joy, "You have turned back!!!"
"Children… I have told you just to let anyone who enters the forest alone, but you never listen."
Her voice rings sweet but elegant. She looks like a good queen with her worried expression that her people wish to protect her with all their might.
"But these people didn't come with good intentions!" The orange-haired fairy appears from the fairy queen's back. "They have come to bring back bad memories for the queen! Our queen has suffered so much because of that vile goddess!"
"Elle," The fairy queen calls with a serious tone to Elle, the orange-haired fairy. Elle closes her mouth with reluctance after seeing the queen's uneasiness.
The fairy queen walks closer to Kyrie and takes his hand in her palms, "I have been waiting for you for a long time. I am glad that you are here now."
Kyrie smiles at the queen's welcoming and gentle gesture, but the sharpness of a sword appears in front of his eyes, pointing against the queen's throat. The fairy queen turns to look at Imogen, who has a chilling expression. She smiles and flicks the sword. The sword rings and shatters into pieces like glass.
"With the same foul mood as your parents, your holiness…."
"You have exceeded your natural time, Sinner. Before you turn your surroundings into misery, I suggest that you forfeit your life."
Only a few can understand Imogen's words; the rest are rather annoyed at Imogen's sudden antagonistic behavior.
They all think, 'Why is this woman making things more difficult for everyone?'
However, Imogen is currently doing her job as a saintess. The previous form of the queen shows the consequence of using chaos energy. She is lucky that she does not show signs that her body and mind are not breaking down like Saskia's more common case. However, anyone who is exposed to chaos energy has an unquenching thirst for destruction.
Kyrie puts himself in front of the fairy queen, "Imogen, please… let this go…. For me."
[I did not expect the fairy queen to form a pact with a fallen god… This could go south if the fairy queen is not on our side, but this is really the only chance I get.]
A blade made out of light condenses from thin air on the broken sword. Imogen hardens her expression as Ian shields Kyrie. The tension of the air grows ten times heavier as Imogen and Ian wordlessly stare at each other.
"Child," The queen puts her hand on Kyrie's shoulder, "She is not wrong. It is the natural law of the living. I have violated that law, so she is in the right."
Imogen puts her broken sword down and lets it go. Once it hits the ground, it turns into particles that fade into the air. Kyrie widens his eyes, watching Imogen yield. The queen smiles at Imogen.
"Let's go… We should not stay standing out in the wild. I wish to welcome you to my kingdom," says the queen, "And I will tell you an interesting story."
---
The fairy queen quietly guides everyone into the denser parts of the forest. Since the night has settled in, the fairies are carrying flowers that glow from the core. The bell-shaped flowers are turned upside down and carried like oil lanterns.
Kyrie looks over to Federline, and Federline nods at Kyrie. Before they have started to get deeper into the forest, Kyrie has silently instructed Federline to mark on the trees. Their surroundings are a plane of darkness, and everywhere they look to be the same. Because of Kyrie's signal, no one has dared to lower their guard.
As Kyrie looks around, he suddenly stops walking. The rest of the guild also stops, and the queen looks back.
"Is there something wrong?" The queen smiles at Kyrie, looking at a tree trunk.
Their unique symbol has marked the tree trunk, so Kyrie is sure that Federline has marked it. They must have circled back to where they started to mark.
"I didn't expect that the queen would want us to have such an extensive walking exercise."
The queen widens her smile, "Well… One should not have thoughts of harming others, but one should always be cautious."
Kyrie looks back at the queen, "Are we that untrustworthy?"
"I wouldn't particularly say that you are, but more, I think humans, in general, are not all that trustworthy."
All the guild members draw their swords, but Kyrie puts up a fist to signal everyone to hold.
"Then, why would the queen start anything at all if you have deemed us unworthy?"
The queen's smile widens, " Like I said before, I have been waiting for you."
"Why?"
"It was a promise to a friend of mine, so I am doing this for her. Since you have come with a part of her, I accepted you. But…"
The queen extends her hand, and suddenly, the trees of the surrounding forest start to move. The majority of the guild members get dragged away by the ground extending back like an elastic. Before Kyrie could do anything, rows of trees separated their group and blocked his way. He looks back at the queen, calmly returning the stare.
"As I said, child, one should not have thoughts of harming others, but one should always be cautious. I would not want an entire army of humans into my kingdom, so I hope you understand. They are by now in the outskirts of the forest."
One of the fairies flies in front of Kyrie with a chrysanthemum in her hand.
"The flower will record your voice, so just tell your men to wait for you outside of the forest. The mist will soon cover the forest again, and they will not be able to enter here."
Kyrie records the message like how the queen has told him to. He looks around and sees that the ones remaining are Ian, Imogen, Laurel, Federline, and the unconscious Lemuel on Federline's back. Since Celine has been dragged away, Kyrie checks on Lemuel's countenance.
"Don't worry… He will get the best treatment in the kingdom. Then… Shall we head in?"
The front view of the forest suddenly wobbles, and it changes to a sight of a giant tree with a large carved entrance. Kyrie looks back at where he saw Federline's mark, and the mark has disappeared. The queen has been testing them. Their reaction might have contributed to the queen's decision to let them in.
"Kyrie, are we really going in?" Federline asks as he sees the queen and the fairies entering the giant tree.
Kyrie looks at the entrance and sees the downward spiral flight of stairs. Although what the queen has done would come out as alarming, her reasons are not completely groundless. She is smart to lower the uncertainty that comes from bringing humans into her kingdom.
Guarding against too many can turn messy and less thorough, so a handful is always better. She is more confident of taking control over the situation if the humans turn out to have bad intentions. Meanwhile, she is also fulfilling her own promise. What she has done is hit two birds with one stone.
However, that also means that Kyrie is in danger if the fairies have bad intentions. His decision now is quite risky. There are too many things to consider, and the most worrying one is that the fairy queen has colluded with a fallen god in the past. Imogen has said that the fairy queen has outlived her own nature, which gives him a clue that the deal between her and the fallen god has been ancient history.
If Kyrie follows the queen, the only excuse he can think of is his presentiment. When the light has erupted from his body, he has felt Phanes's essence from the queen resonate with the reserve Phanes placed inside his body.
If Phanes has left some of her essence in the queen, then most likely, Phanes has cared for her. That might also explain why the fairy queen has not gone crazy just yet.
Kyrie sees Imogen and Laurel step into the flight of stairs.
Laurel turns and says, "Don't you need to find out about Phanes from that fairy?"
"Yeah…"
Ian takes Kyrie's hand, giving him a squeeze that calms his mind. "I am always here, so you won't worry or face danger."
Ian brings up his hand and kisses it. Kyrie smiles while nodding.
[I guess beggars cannot be choosers… Let's stop doubting for a bit.]