act29side

A remnant of the Witch King? Is that what you wanted to ask?

Are you worried that your birth itself was... some sort of evil ritual?

Nein, quite the opposite. But you wish it were, don't you? You want your entire life to have been a conspiracy, through-and-through. That way, you'd feel comfortable despising it.

But that doesn't make sense, my dear Franz.

Your mother was a respectable woman. She was a descendant of the Urticas, part of the Witch King's bloodline. So to others, she was almost by definition one of his remnants.

Before she died, she entrusted you to a friend, an old servant of the Witch King. And to protect you, he too was killed by the Empresses' Voice.

Would you scorn <i>them</i> as well? Even though they truly loved you?

...So after taking away my love, now you tell me I don't deserve to hate either?

You want me to be nothing more than an empty husk. All the better to squeeze that old fart into me.

Hah... Just try.

The Witch King's whispers, his robes, his crown... What else is there?

Don't worry, my child.

When Herkunftshorn's power arrives, he will end your cruel fate and heal you of your scars and pain.

I thought I told you to let him go.

So you chased us after all.

It must have been hard to make it past all the enchantments outside, no?

This is my responsibility, and I don't give up.

I'm surprised you were able to cleave through my defensive enchantments.

I sharpen my sword with my Arts every day. I make sure that it's as solid as my will.

Your sword... It has a special enchantment that specifically targets traditional Leithanian Arts. Did the Professor teach you that? Has he always been prepared to make an enemy of Leithanien?

The old man's never been one to pick his enemies. And neither do I. Our enemies crawl out the shadows on their own.

Just like you, Gerhard.

I never expected to point my sword at someone who was once my ally.

We don't <i>have</i> to be enemies, Lessing.

The Maeyers have served the Urticas for generations.

As long as you're willing to stand on our side and help Franz, there will always be a place for you by the throne.

The throne?

All I see is a musty old chair.

My grandfather, my parents... All of them have been held hostage by that chair for far too long.

Why should I repeat the same mistake and bind myself to it again?

Hm, well said.

Those unwilling to be bound by the past will always try to seek out a different fate.

Like you, and like me.

The Concertmaster has started the performance.

It's almost time.

No one can stop the advent of Herkunftshorn anymore.

But Herkunftshorn isn't the one sitting on that throne.

His name is Ebenholz.

And it's my duty to bring him back with me.

As long as I live, nothing will stop me from reaching that battered chair.

It doesn't matter how many men you have—

Come at me.

Gesatzswächter...!

The melody has begun. Not even you can stop its flow!

Perhaps not.

Your sword is... reverberating?

It's useless, Gesatzswächter. You may be able to chain down a single man's mind, but a hundred? A thousand? Your melody will be drowned in chaos.

Much like how the Gesatzswächter were unable to stop the melee at the foot of the Witch King's Spire twenty-three years ago...

If so, I will kill chaos itself.

His longsword pierces not his enemy's chest, but instead the ground beneath them.

A golden radiance surges from the blade, drowning out even the Gesatzswächter's armor, then dashes toward the sky to form a webbing the color of the setting sun, enveloping Sonata Spire within it.

All sounds within reach of his Arts are drowned out, leaving nothing but the solemn melody reverberating in the air.

A golden curtain?

Those Arts should take at least ten Gesatzswächter to cast! How did you manage it all on your own?!

I... ugh!

The harmony of the Güldenesgesatz is inviolable.

Today, no one outside Ludwigs-Universität will hear a single discordant note.

I swear by my flesh, blood, and soul—

Not a single remnant of the Witch King will leave this spire alive. You and your Arts must be extinguished here.

The melody's changed again.

Gerhard.

Took you long enough, Professor.

I'm sure killing us Leithanian casters would be a simple matter for you.

But as always, you're unwilling to dirty your own hands.

How many times do I have to tell you? Us Liches are just the keepers of the palace of knowledge.

We bring our wisdom to the different races to advance the development of Arts, but we never interfere with a country's own affairs. That was the Court of the Lich King's contract with your ancestors, and it is the Liches' creed.

I understand all too well. A group of Sarkaz living in Leithanien's most ancient spire, the seat of her power—No Leithanian would willingly accept that truth.

I'm quite jealous of you, you know. Even against Herkunftshorn, all you did was provide the enchantment that molded those twins.

You didn't need to bear the responsibility of changing history, nor did you stain your hands with... the blood of your closest friend.

I don't get what you're thinking at all. Years ago, <i>you're</i> the one tried to convince me to stop Herkunftshorn, but now you're mingling with these third-rate wannabes!

Ja, because I changed. And you're the one who changed me.

You had me research the Güldenesgesatz and think on Leithanien's history. And I did exactly as you asked.

But the deeper I got into my research, the more I... despaired.

Herkunftshorn's accomplishments were simply too dazzling.

He resolved the Siracusan problem and saved Leithanien when it was on the verge of breaking apart. He crushed Corsica I and prevented us from becoming a Gaulish vassal state.

Only through his presence have we thwarted every existential threat to the country, again and again.

We had such a great man on the throne, and... we killed him.

When did I ever tell you to read up on how great Herkunftshorn was?

Besides, what does his 'greatness' have to do with him killing so many Sarkaz and Leithanians alike, turning the country into a smoking hot mess, and plugging his ears to anyone else's opinions?

I had you study the Güldenesgesatz because I wanted you to have a more open-minded outlook. Not to pour over every trivial growing pain every nation goes through. Hardships happen, then everyone goes back to their lives.

But somehow you ended up caught up in <i>this</i> nonsense. How can you even consider this when so many have died?

...Because I can't see them, Professor.

I'm not like you, a Sarkaz with control over even death itself. When we die, that's it. We become a speck of dust on this land forever. The dead can never feel my hatred.

All those years ago, I was the one who persuaded them to fight. I sent them to their deaths in the Witch King's spire. If that battle had never happened, he wouldn't have died, and neither would they.

You idiot. And that's why you want to resurrect him?

You can't possibly think that, when you do see him, he's going to praise you for this? Or even comfort you? He wasn't some kindly old grandfather who sang nursery rhymes to dumb kids!

He wouldn't even spare you a glance. He'd treat you as a speck of dust dirtying his floor.

Ha... Haha... You still don't understand a thing.

A selfish and cowardly man like me...

Everything I do... I do to seek my own forgiveness.

That thing you're holding... The missing Güldenesgesatz?!

More precisely, it's the lingering trace of Herkunftshorn's power he left in the Güldenesgesatz.

You want to use his Arts by force? Don't be stupid, Gerhard! You can't do it!

I've come too far not to.

I don't want... to regret this a second time.

A flame rises, so black and so red that it seems drenched in blood.

The walls of the chamber tremble violently. Originium crystals sprout and grow from every crevice between the brick and tile, even piercing the ground's foundation.

Ugh... Argh...

Ebenholz!

Hurry, Gerhard's going to destroy this whole school!