Amphitheater (3)

Kleio felt sick. The conflict between Antigone and her siblings, and King Creon, who banned the funeral of traitors, seemed strange to Arthur.

“Hey, what the hell is this ghost doing? She’s going to bury her dead brother, but why is the king so angry? What did he even do to his son’s fiancée?”

“That’s because that command symbolizes the actual law represented by the king, that is, the law of man. Over there, Antigone is acting on behalf of God’s law, above King Creon’s reign and law.”

“Oh, both of them are frustrated. You need to learn how to bend so you don’t break… huh? Did they commit suicide?”

Arthur’s complaint was stereotypical of a teenager seeing Antigone for the first time without any prior knowledge. Kleio, who had unintentionally become his teacher, had the feeling he was his guardian on a field trip.

“Alright.”

“Wow! What is that?”

“Soon, the queen and prince will commit suicide, so go ahead and stop watching.”

“What? You asked me if I had ever seen them play, but Lei, you’re so quick. Did you compare it with your prediction?”

“Not quite like that…”

Ting-

The clock’s alarm intervened in their conversation. At last, the boring wait was over, and the scales had reached midnight.

“Hey, Arthur! The clock, now!”

“Okay!”

He immediately forgot about the play he couldn’t understand and started gathering ether. Beg’s sword flashed out, activating [Attack Circle] within seconds. Kleio used [Defense] to prepare for the spirits’ subsequent attack.

Kuahhhhh-!

Arthur’s sword cleaved through the stone structure of the clock and turned it into fragments. At the same moment, the amphitheater began to shake as the spirits tangled together in the auditorium and melted down, struggling for the last time.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

“Oooooh!”

“Who wants to stop time?!”

“Let the play continue.”

“The performance of the truth!”

“Ahhh.”

The dying spirits flared white and tapped on Kleio’s magic, their attacks unable to put even a single crack in the shield. They shed white tears as they screamed curses at those who hindered the play. One of them smashed into his shield with a double-edged sword that was glowing white.

Oooooh!

The only spirit capable of that level was the one that played the role of Creon. Kleio unfolded his [Defense] magic again, this time widening the circle to the maximum range of 80m. Beyond the dozens of seats, the orchestra’s realm came under Kleio’s golden shield.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

They were pushed back by his shield into the pillars of the stage background. Amid the blazing ether, Kleio saw the heart of the spirit reflected in gold.

“That one’s weakness is their heart!”

“Leave it to me!”

Arthur and Kleio, having fought together before, had no need for long conversations. Arthur sprinted down the auditorium using Kleio’s circle as a shield as he cut down the spirits. The spirit’s arm was sliced off and vanished a moment before Arthur’s golden blade soon penetrated its chest, scattering its form into dust. Arthur quickly snatched a large amethyst that had formed in its place before returning straight to Kleio.

[Amethyst of Heartbreak

: Anti-poison magic stone.]

“Look, it’s another great-looking mana stone!”

“Yes, it’s anti-poison, so take care of it.”

Even this was a development that Kleio knew about. Same dungeon, same mana stone. The clock had shattered, and the dungeon’s watchmen were now returning to dust. At the same time, the amphitheater began to deteriorate at a tremendous rate. The backdrop of the stage turned to dust first, as the auditorium suffered the passage of time of a thousand years at once. Soon after, the waterways around the orchestra began to flood.

Even though things were progressing as planned, Kleio still couldn’t feel relieved. Arthur had already received the dungeon’s rewards due to the aftereffect of Editor’s Authority. Now they could only wait for the results anxiously. After a few tense minutes, the Word came to them.

[―The Master Clock of Remembered World has stopped. The Amphitheater has lost temporal synchronicity.

-reward: – … .]

[―An error occurred in the post-war relationship. Compensation is delayed.]

[―… Compensation is delayed.]

The weathering of the theater, which seemed ready to collapse, stopped. The collapsing pillars remained in the air, and the seats that were cracking apart seemed frozen in place. Kleio suddenly realized that his concerns hadn’t been unfounded.

“Error… What the hell is that? Lei, do you know?”

“That’s…”

Under the air where the Word was still floating, Promise’s own messages began to form.

[―If the reward is not completed, the memorized world will be held.]

[―The period of the end is infinite.]

Kleio felt a sudden stinging pain in his stomach. He could practically feel the ulcer forming. He habitually rubbed the ring around his finger, which glowed red once more.

“Lei, stop scratching, and let’s think about countermeasures.”

Kleio raised his head. Arthur was still relaxed as he held Beg’s sword. If necessary, the prince would try to push through even if it meant crushing this theater to dust himself. However, that wouldn’t destroy the dungeon. Kleio knew a more fundamental solution; however, acting and knowing weren’t directly connected.

The prince’s sharp eyes held trust, but the execution of the Editor’s Authority would surely wear out that trust. Nevertheless, his hesitation was short. He knew what had to be done if they would ever break free of this place. Having made the decision, Kleio held his hand tightly over his ring.

“I have something. Arthur, you don’t need to do anything.”

“Oh, what other great tricks do you think the future arch-mage will show me?”

That familiar laughter and casual tone… Perhaps he would be disappointed that they wouldn’t come back. Kleio activated Editor’s Authority.

[―Unique skill: Editor’s Authority is used. (3/3)]

[―Remaining time/time limit:

00:04:59/00:05:00]

In front of the crumbling amphitheater, the Palimpsest and the quill appeared. Kleio slowly turned over the manuscript, which felt heavier than ever. Two boys were drinking alcohol secretly in front of the door, then the dungeon suddenly opened. There were the plays and the shattering of the clock. From that line, the ink was scattered and became unrecognizable. Kleio wrote a delete symbol on that part, then, on the next page, wrote down the improved Foreground skill. It wasn’t an original idea, but rather an improvement that removed the restrictions on the existing skill of the limited number of people and the limited space.

The blue and gold ink shone subtly. After dotting the last period, Kleio set down his pen and looked at Arthur. The boy, who blinked even under the constraints of Editor’s Authority in the past, now moved freely without any restraints at all. He tilted his head, trying to figure out what was going on as he stepped toward Kleio.

“Lei, what the hell is that tattered paper…?”

Before Arthur could finish speaking, a message from Promise appeared as if to separate the two.

[―Arthur Reignan is a being deeply involved in the composition of the world.

As the user’s involvement in the narrative increases, a certain portion of the influence is recognized.]

[―Due to the correction, some pages of the original Palimpsest of □□□□ of -Prince of Albion Kingdom- will be discarded.]

[―The author accepts the editor’s recommendation.]

[―The paragraph is edited.]

At the moment of the transformation, the remembered world regained its appearance before it was destroyed. The collapsed pillar was rebuilt, and the auditorium regained its youthful appearance as the years were erased. It left only Arthur and Kleio intact, reverting the world back to what it was a few minutes ago. The Word came to their minds again, not even a letter off from what Kleio had directly edited.

[―The Master Clock of Remembered World has stopped. Amphitheater has lost temporal synchronicity.

―Reward: Infinite Foreground]

Reading it, Arthur grasped the back of his hand, which had suddenly begun to bleed.

“Ugh.”

New lines were drawn on the back of his hand, inflicting him with sharp pain. Another circular outer line was drawn to the edge of the current streaks, causing bright red blood to well up. Finally, the bloody circle was completed. Kleio immediately opened a circle to heal Arthur’s wounds as he pushed ether into the stigma. Promise announced the details of the unique skill.

[Unique skill: Infinite Foreground]

—Creates a subspace that cannot be invaded by any force or magic.

—The internal composition of the subspace is changed without limitation at the user’s will.

—The user and the people specified by the user are separated from the incident and the background and moved to the subspace.

Time limit: 01:00:00]

Number of people admitted: ∞]

‘Done.’

Power drained out of Kleio with a long sigh.

“This…”

“Another proof of what I did.”

Arthur looked at Kleio with suspicion in his eyes.

“Lei, are you the same as then?”

“What’s different? You can interrogate or blame me as you like.”

.

.

.

The amphitheater, whose structure was tangled, once again began to dismantle very slowly. The destruction was so slow that it took the whole night. The morning sunset descended to the surface like a veil being laid down. The water flowing in filled the entire theater, though several rows of the auditorium were still above it.

The light shining on the water quietly lit Kleio’s weary face. He sat in the auditorium, one seat below Arthur. Arthur was quietly examining the wound on the back of his hand that had been just healed by Kleio’s magic.

“Since I made that faithful promise, I haven’t asked you anything. I buried Melchior and the king’s library because you are a wizard of prophecy. You have a plan, and I believed you would explain it to me someday.”

Arthur didn’t want to cut to the point by asking his wizard an impatient question. Really, until the last minute if he could.