Despite being so high up, I could feel the intense heat radiating from the Fermata.

I slightly parted my lips.

‘So, this is… the system.’

It was built upon the foundation of the imperial power, <Record>, started with the heart of an immortal creature, and was erected with the divine power of a demigod and human divine power.

The world’s greatest invention, capable of stopping a demonic invasion.

As I was mesmerized, watching the system, my father gently placed a hand on my shoulder and whispered softly.

“Call the wind, Claire.”

“To what extent?”

“As big as you can.”

Then my father signaled to Duke Yorbonne. He also nodded.

After a brief hesitation, I stomped my foot hard.

Yorbonne’s title as an Astariol was <Creation>. Astariols of Creation usually inherited some form of <creative> power.

And as far as I knew, the current Duke Yorbonne’s power was <Fusion>.

He could fuse completely different things into something entirely new.

‘Even if it’s the power of another Astariol.’

At the end of my thought, a tremendous wind swirled around us.

I had rarely opened my power to this extent in my life.

As I struggled to keep my eyes open, my father pulled me into his arms and shielded me from the strong wind with his wide sleeves.

But Duke Yorbonne stood facing the gust, with his hand on the system.

And then, I saw the wind being swallowed by the system.

Beyond the slowly subsiding wind, the system blazed even more intensely in a vivid blue.

Each brick-like character and every curve of the pattern forming the partition wall stood out as if they were on fire.

As he observed this overwhelming sight, Duke Yorbonne whispered.

“Lucy, stop.”

Even though his voice was not loud, it reached my ears instantly, so I followed his words and calmed the wind.

The chant that had been subdued by the incoming wind suddenly grew louder, echoing through the chapel.

And the system moved in sync.

The chant struck the system, making invisible waves visible to the naked eye.

When the rhythm and origin-laden sound perfectly synchronized with the system’s beat, my father suddenly leaned in slightly and whispered to me.

“Don’t be too surprised. You don’t have to do this.”

Before I could ask what he meant, the answer appeared before my eyes.

At some point, Duke Sisana, holding a small dagger, rolled up the sleeve of her ceremonial robe, revealing her dry forearm, and without hesitation, slashed it.

Just when I thought blood might splatter…

The pattern on the system in that area unraveled like a thread and quickly settled onto her arm.

“… ah.”

Even though I tried not to be surprised, I gasped softly.

The system was drinking the blood of an Astariol…

But everyone except me remained calm.

Even Duke Sisana handed the dagger to her granddaughter without any sign of concern.

As I watched Lady Sisana sliced her arm and drew her blood with an indifferent expression, I nervously clutched my father’s sleeve.

And then the dagger came to my father.

He smiled at me reassuringly.

“Not every Astariol can directly infuse power into the system like you.”

But… even so… this was…

Yet it wasn’t something I could intervene in.

The system, having drunk the blood of three Astariols, now shone so brightly that it was blinding.

It was only then that Duke Yorbonne slowly declared.

“It’s perfectly normal.”

The chant, which had resonated grandly until then, came to a gentle conclusion.

When the chant ended, the light of the system disappeared, and the Fermata lightly flew down from the top to my father.

He stroked the head and body of the phoenix several times with the back of his hand, soothing it.

But Duke Sisana’s expression was grave.

“It’s fortunate that it’s still normal, but it has already lasted for decades…”

This system was newly started about 60 years ago, when the current Duke Sisana, who had long passed seventy, was only slightly older than me.

It was understandable that she, the only one here who had experienced an invasion, was worried about how much longer the system would last.

The atmosphere naturally grew heavy at her words…

But my father glanced at me and deliberately spoke in a calm tone.

“At any rate, today we are safe, so it’s fine. We may not know when the shower will come, but we can know when the storm will hit, can’t we?”

Not knowing when the shower would pour down.

This was a saying from the House of Sisana, the Astariols of Truth and Seers.

Their foresight only revealed certain moments, so they couldn’t see every moment of life.

And ever since the system functioned stably, the foresight of the Sisana family mainly concerned <timing>.

When the system would stop. When the invasion might begin. When we might seize victory… those significant timings.

Duke Sisana nodded, seeming to acknowledge this point.

“If the God is merciful, He will soon allow me to fulfill my final duty.”

It was the perfect thing to say to garner the support of the devout, but no one, not even as an empty gesture, prayed for God’s mercy.

I realized the reason a beat too late.

‘… the last duty of Duke Sisana is, of course, prophecy.’

And the <times> when Astariol of Truth would prophesize were well-known.

When they first became self-aware in their mother’s womb. When their predecessor closed their eyes in a natural death.

And finally, the night before their own death.

So, for the next prophecy to happen, Duke Sisana must die.

Who would answer such a suggestion, that she must die soon? Even my father only referred to it obliquely as a <storm>.

“… let’s go back, Claire. It seems we’ve done everything we need to do here.”

Dad’s cold words pierced through the awkward silence.

I followed my father, almost dragged along a few steps, when a slight commotion behind me made me turn around unconsciously.

“Lord Eclasio?”

“You should go inside quickly…”

The Duke of Yorbonne.

His face had suddenly become haggard, and he was staggering. He must have overexerted himself.

Even though he hadn’t shed blood…

It couldn’t have been easy to channel a completely different power into the system and inspect every part of a place that had been disrupted from start to finish.

It was then that I realized I had been clenching my unfolded hand into a tight, white-knuckled fist. I slowly released it.

A person’s life flowed like clouds.

He barely made it over steep mountains, scattering rain as he went. If he caught a good wind, he raced ahead quickly, only to disappear once he reached the horizon.

And so, before I met my father, I would sometimes look toward that distant end.

What would be there when I reached the horizon?

Was I now at the entrance of a deep mountain, in the midst of a good wind, or just under a decent and calm sky?

How far could I go if I caught a favorable wind?

And then I met my father.

My life completely changed from what I had expected, and the course of the future I had planned out was entirely altered, but a strong and ideal wind held me firmly.

So, I was happy, but…

Perhaps Astariol’s life was not as smooth as the one being whispered to me now.

This realization came far too late.

 

* * *

 

“What did Claire do when she was little?”

Bright green eyes sparkled.

Priest Ebencio quietly looked down at the child.

No matter how many times he told her to speak freely, she never did, just like her own twin.

Even though she didn’t remember him, he remembered her.

The twins’ mother had almost died giving birth to them.

If the mother and both children survived, it would indeed be a blessing from God.

Everyone in the monastery prayed, watched over them, and devoted themselves to treatment.

They didn’t know at the time that they were caring for the wife and children of the Duke of Chelsiers, but even if they had known, they couldn’t have taken better care of them.

… how delighted they would have been to see the children growing up healthy, if only they had all survived.

He reflected warmly, with a touch of regret.

“… she wasn’t much different from you.”

She was born, rolled over, started to crawl, sat up, walked, and then ran…

Having watched every moment of the baby growing into a child, he could say this with certainty.

But the child in front of him shook her head, smiling brightly.

“No, not that.”

“Then what?”

“She liked the priests.”

“… we liked her too.”

“What kind of days did you spend with her that made Claire like the priests? Could you tell me?”

He felt a different kind of regret.

The days in the humble monastery were filled with prayers, service, and labor, leaving him little time to spend with the children.

Moreover, he mostly remembered sternly teaching them what not to do. He had few words to share and felt his stories would be lacking.

After thinking back on many memories, he asked cautiously.

“I’m not very good with words, and I feel like I might end up telling you a story that’s not very interesting. Would that be alright?”

“Then I’ll tell you a story that’s not very interesting too.”

“….”

“I’ll tell you how we’ve been, how we met my father, and what Claire and I like now, as much as I can remember.”

And then the child smiled.

It was the same smile everyone at the monastery had returned to her. The thought crossed his mind that she had grown up just like that.

“So, as we tell each other these little, unimportant stories, the fact that our memories aren’t great, that we’re not good with words, and that we don’t know each other well won’t seem like a big deal anymore.”

Priest Ebencio offered a short prayer of thanks in his heart.

God, with His mercy, not only saved the three women but also cared for the smallest and weakest of them so that she would grow up to be the brightest and most dazzling child.