“Ugh…”
I woke up in a white space.
Where is this?
As far as I can see, it’s a world entirely covered in white.
There’s nothing here.
…It feels eerily reminiscent of my sister’s room.
Holding the staff given to me by Ahavain in both hands, I attempt to cast a flight spell.
However, I couldn’t fly.
It’s not that I’ve run out of magic.
The spell activated, but it seemed to dissipate.
I’m the only one around.
Mastema, who should have been with me, and Ahavain are nowhere to be found.
I recall the anxiety I felt back in that academy.
“Is anyone there?”
I called out, but there was no response.
As I wondered what to do, the all-white world began to change.
From white to black. As a result of this change, it seemed I was now inside a building.
I cast a light spell.
Confirming that it activated successfully, I let out a sigh of relief.
For me, magic is a lifeline.
I don’t possess a robust body like Ahavain.
I’m not an invincible being like Mastema.
No matter how skilled I am as a mage, I have only the endurance and strength of a girl my age.
When illuminated, I could see the black walls.
Indeed, it is a building.
I’m in a small room that has a wardrobe, a chair, and a desk, and for some reason, there’s a bed in the center.
There’s a door leading out of the room, but I decided to search the room first.
On the desk, there was only a blank white sheet of paper.
When I opened the wardrobe, most of it was empty.
The bottom drawer was stuck and wouldn’t budge.
Using my magical power to forcibly pull it open, I found a small skull inside.
It looked quite old.
Not wanting to touch it directly, I used wind magic to lift the skull.
It was shaped like a human’s, but it was far too small.
Even a baby wouldn’t be that small.
It might be the skull of some animal.
Suddenly, I thought I heard laughter.
I quickly pointed my staff toward the direction of the sound.
It was a fleeting sound, but I felt it came from the bed.
“Is anyone there?”
Ahavain and Mastema aren’t the type to play such tricks.
The bed was covered with a blanket.
There didn’t seem to be anything inside.
I used wind magic to lift the blanket, but there was nothing there.
I let out a sigh of relief.
Next, I heard the sound of something dripping.
It was coming from the desk.
The desk I had already examined had only one white sheet of paper, with no drawers.
When I turned to the desk, I noticed that there were red markings on the paper.
It seemed like a lot of the red substance had been used, staining the desk and dripping onto the floor.
That sound must have been the noise of the droplets.
It was eerie and unnatural.
However, I couldn’t just ignore it.
I approached the desk.
The paper had very difficult-to-read writing on it.
The content read… “Sin and Punishment.”
What on earth is this?
I think that four-winged angel said it was a trial.
Even so, what kind of trial is this? I couldn’t understand it.
“Is anyone there!?”
I called out again, but there was no response.
I pride myself on not being unintelligent, but I’ve never experienced something like this.
I tried recalling memories that were not just knowledge, but there were no ancestors who had encountered angels.
I had only seen demons from a distance, and they didn’t provide any useful knowledge.
It seemed there was nothing left in this room.
Though I disliked it very much, I put the skull in my pocket and opened the door.
I stepped into the hallway.
It seemed there was still no light, so I continued to illuminate my surroundings with my magic.
I had a defensive spell active, but it was frightening to have blind spots.
I illuminated the entire hallway.
The hallway was a straight path. There were no rooms along the way.
I walked forward.
Aside from the sound of my footsteps, there was complete silence.
It was so quiet that I could even hear my own breathing.
After walking a short distance, I saw a door on the left side.
There was a keyhole. When I touched the doorknob, I found it was locked.
Looking around, I noticed a ring with a key hanging on the wall.
It was slightly high for me.
The moment I used wind magic to grab the ring, a chill ran down my spine.
Something is there.
Up until now, there had been no presence. But the moment I took the key, I felt a presence.
The presence was coming from the direction I had walked from.
There shouldn’t have been anything there, but this space itself isn’t normal.
The light source had moved, so the area where the presence was remained shrouded in darkness.
It’s probably pointless to think about the principle behind it.
I inserted the key into the keyhole and turned it.
The sound echoed more loudly than I expected.
A presence turned its attention towards me.
I hurriedly opened the door and entered, locking it behind me. I felt something grasp the doorknob.
When it confirmed that the door was locked, it began to knock on the door.
The sound was loud.
I felt fear and instinctively covered my ears.
After several knocks, the presence vanished.
What on earth was that?
I thought it might be better to run away, but perhaps it would have been better to use magic to repel it.
Ahavain would have made a decisive judgment.
I illuminated the inside of the room I had entered with magic.
Inside, there were unused handcuffs, traces of blood, and an old man sitting on the floor.
The moment I saw the old man, I suppressed the voice that was about to escape.
As I approached slowly, I noticed the old man was breathing.
When the old man noticed me, he lifted his face.
“Eep.”
This time, I couldn’t hold back.
The old man’s face was sewn with a mask, making it impossible to see his features.
Slowly, the old man opened his mouth.
“…Sepia.”
“Why do you know my name?”
When I asked back, the old man opened his mouth again.
“The sister of Hain, the magician who was unloved by anyone. The Sky Knight saved her, but Jigil did not.”
“Who are you?”
When I asked, the old man closed his mouth.
And then he began to fall asleep.
There was nothing in the room.
Outside the door, there might still be some unfathomable entity lurking.
I decided to wait until the old man woke up again.
