CHAPTER 63: THE VOID REALM’S WARM WELCOME

SMACK!

In an instant, Lirael, Aimer, Ash, and I were all in the same room.

We looked around in alarm. Wasn’t I just in that dark territory?

"Guys... you’re alive," Lirael breathed in relief.

And just as we realized we’d reunited—

We saw Sylas, Riven, and Tyrion sitting at the far side of the room.

"Guys...!" Lirael ran to them.

They stood and embraced her.

"Well, well. Someone’s been missing us."

The guys smiled bitterly for her, watching as she burst into tears.

It seemed they’d been through a lot.

"Guys, you... What happened to you?"

"We’re not sure ourselves. Out of nowhere, after the game, I ended up here. Then Tyrion came. And then Riven showed up."

"You’re alive... I’m so glad."

Sylas patted her head.

"Feels like we’ve all been through hell. Don’t know how I’m alive, but I think we were all trapped in some kind of illusion. Thank god we all made it. Ah, wait... Where’s Saddler? Did any of you see him?"

"I was with Aimer," Ash said. "Some maniac was chasing us — pure nightmare! You should’ve seen his face."

Aimer smiled in relief. But when she looked at me — covered in blood — she froze.

"Atheron..."

I hid my empty expression. No emotion showed on my face.

Clenching my teeth, I spoke quietly.

"Saddler’s dead. He’s not coming back."

Silence fell over the room.

"How...?" Lirael lowered her gaze.

Sylas exhaled, raising his arms.

"I see. A heavy loss, but it seems you don’t want to talk about it. I understand. I should’ve been dead myself. How to put it... we all just ended up here suddenly. Let’s calm down first, then talk."

"Yeah, yeah!" Ash nodded eagerly. "So, what is this place anyway? Someone’s palace? Did we make it back home?"

"No..."

Sylas placed his palm on the wall...

...The thin wood responded softly to his touch, and through his fingers he felt the chill of morning air.

The walls were light, made of lacquered frames and rice paper. Sunlight streamed in from a garden beyond a sliding door, casting straight lines across our faces.

"I can’t feel any magic here. We’re still in another world, but it looks like we’ve landed in an eastern country."

"Creepy!" Ash yelled.

"Why?"

"I don’t know a single word in their language!"

"Idiot." Tyrion smacked her on the head. "We’re not in our own world — of course we can’t speak their language. Do you have a black hole instead of a brain?"

"Ah, right! Forgot about that. B-but what if... they’re gonna sacrifice us?! The East has all sorts of weird traditions!"

"What sacrifice? Since when do eastern countries sacrifice people?"

"Huh? So all this time it was just a stereo-magnet?"

"What the hell’s a stereo-magnet?" Tyrion facepalmed. "It’s called a stereotype! A false belief!"

"By the way," Sylas knocked on the sliding door, "the servants here have been pretty friendly. An elderly maid even brought us a basin of water and a towel so we could wash up while waiting for you."

Riven was kneeling, palm to the floor, listening intently.

"I can hear normal life outside this place. Rustling leaves, a river... just like back home."

"True. You wouldn’t notice at first that we’re in another world. Even the smell of the greenery is the same. Hey, wasn’t there another guy with us? Claude, right? He’s not dead, is he?"

"Obviously, he’s with those Onmyōji. You guys ran into strong enemies too?"

"That big guy we fought was called Oldrich, I think," Ash rubbed her chin.

"Oldrich?!" Riven’s eyes widened. "I’ve seen him before, back when I traveled here!"

Ash snorted and grabbed his cheeks.

"Well, Riven — how exactly do you know how to make portals? Come on, spill it!"

"Ow! Ash, you’re gonna stretch my face..."

"She’s right, though," Sylas muttered. "Any portal spell is banned. And the kind Riven can make isn’t simple."

"Exactly! So that’s what you two were doing — world-hopping!"

"No, that’s not—!"

From outside, there was a faint creak. Someone walking on the veranda. The sliding door opened, revealing an elderly woman in a green robe.

We instinctively took a step back, on guard. But her calm face didn’t look hostile.

She set a basin of fresh water down in the room and said,

"The honorable Onmyōji wish to see you. Please, prepare yourselves. When you’re ready, knock on the door. I’ll take you to the hall."

...

Silence filled the room again. The woman shut the door, her shadow still visible behind the wall.

"Looks like we’re not out of trouble yet."

I washed my head. Aimer helped clean the blood from my clothes.

"You’re awfully quiet," she whispered. "Atheron, we’ve all been through so much... but we’re happy to see each other again. Whatever happened, maybe it’s time to stop dwelling on it."

She was right. I wasn’t myself.

"Well," I ran the towel through my wet hair, "the past is past. These Onmyōji are rotten bastards if they thought it’d be fun to mess with us.

We’re alive, which means they’re not killing us — yet. All we can do now is stick together. So keep your heads up! Let’s meet these thugs face to face!"

At first the group stared, then laughed. Smiles spread across their faces.

"Looks like our cheeky Atheron is back."

...

A few minutes later, the maid led us to a room where the Onmyōji were waiting. We stepped through the door and saw them sitting formally on their knees.

All seven great beings of this world.

Some we already knew. Others were strangers. Each one was different.

We sat opposite them. The room was bare—no tables, no cabinets—just an open view of the river.

"Honored residents of the Earth World, forgive what happened earlier and allow us to introduce ourselves," said a man with glasses and fading hair.

They seemed like majestic beings to us.

Among them were two women — one with cat-like whiskers and ears, the other with her chest nearly spilling out of her kimono.

One was the largest of them all, wearing a lion-shaped helmet. Could he be the half-lion?

"We are the Seven Honorable Guardians of the Void Realm. In common speech, we are called the Onmyōji. Welcome to our world. Our first meeting was hostile because we wanted to know who you were and what you’re capable of.

Allow me to introduce myself — my name is Payton. I am the First Onmyōji."

Payton’s gaze landed on Aimer, who struggled to form a word.

"You may speak. Do you have a question?"

"...That place we were trapped in — it was someone’s territory skill, wasn’t it? My friends saw themselves being killed. Why did you have to torment us like that?"

"Torment?" The well-endowed woman smiled. "What a strange word for ’trial.’ My name is Sayuri. Some of you already know me."

A mole graced her cheek. She looked at Riven and smiled. Riven flushed.

"The place you were all in was my territory. You humans have techniques like it too, but I doubt of this scale. This trial was prepared by myself and Sir Payton to see what goals you had when you invaded our world."

"In short," said the giant in the lion helmet, "we were deciding whether to finish you off or not. Turns out, you’re not as pathetic as some thought."

"That’s what you and Sid thought. Please, don’t speak for others," Sayuri added sweetly.

That woman was definitely a sadist in an angel’s skin.

"Ahem," Payton interrupted. "Honored Onmyōji, how about introducing yourselves to our guests? We should greet them properly, as agreed."

"I was about to. My name is Sigfried Nachtlöwe. I am the Fifth Onmyōji by rank."

Even his voice was fierce and regal, like a lion’s. Damn, I wanted to see what was under that helmet...

"Allow me to introduce myself, little humans," said the cat-woman. "My name is Nishitani, Second in rank among my friends—meow. You must be wondering if I’m a human or a beast—meow? I can see in your eyes just how curious you are to study me—meow."

Her wavy pink hair framed her sly voice that crawled under our skin. And what was with that "meow"?!

"Stop it, you stupid cat," Sid growled. "I’m not a fan of greetings. My name’s Sid. Some here already know me."

His back was hunched, his eyes sharp as they landed on me. Aimer immediately realized what that meant.

"Hmmm," a gentle, kind voice spoke — Oldrich’s voice. "I feel like some people here don’t like me much. My name is Oldrich. Please forgive how I treated you the first time we met. How should I say... I—hmmm..."

That was Oldrich?! Damn, he looked nothing like the savage beast we’d seen before!

"You’ve got split personality, you oaf! Spacing out for five seconds again—meow? No normal person pauses that long—meow!"

What a bizarre bunch... And these were supposed to be the majestic beings of this land? At first glance, they were just a group of oddballs from all over the place.

Only one was left, and he seemed the strangest of all. Too tall, too thin. Eyes black and bulging. Skin pale as a corpse. Something about him screamed wrong.

"I’ll keep it short," he said coldly.

His gaze swept over each of us before he continued.

"My name is Iceborn."