The Song Of Sword And Magic

Chapter 29: The Illusionary World 

[Translator — Asuka]

[Proofreader — Karane]

“Have we met before? Even though I find you familiar, I don’t remember you. Sorry…” Kaya seemed to be confused. 

Fern’s rational mind told him that this was just an illusion created by the Source of Magic, but everything looked so real that he couldn’t help but fall into a dazed state.

After that, he took off a moon-shaped pendant from his neck and asked, “Do you remember this?” He raised the pendant. 

“Why do you have this?” Kaya widened her eyes and questioned in disbelief. “My mother gave it to me. How could it…”

“Yes. You passed it to me.” Fern looked at her in a dejected manner.

“That’s impossible! I’ve never passed it to anyone!” Kaya also took off her pendant and showed it to him. The two pendants were identical. 

Seeing that Fern was unable to extricate himself from the illusion created by the Source of Magic, Rae leaned closer to Stan and whispered, “We have to lug Fern away.”

“This isn’t going to be an easy task.” Stan gave it a thought but couldn’t come up with any solution. 

“Alright. I’ll do it.” Rae heaved a sigh and stared fixedly at Fern. 

All of a sudden, Fern, who was still gazing lovingly at Kaya, covered his head with his hands and screamed. Shocked by the sight, Kaya hurriedly helped him up. 

“Hurry up!” Rae said to Stan. 

It was then did Stan come to his senses and go over to support Fern’s weight. “I’m sorry. He has a chronic headache. This illness will strike him whenever he’s exhausted. He’ll be alright after a rest.” Stan explained to Kaya as he lugged Fern to another place.

“Rae, you…” Niss glowered at Rae. “How could you use dark magic on Fern?”

“Do you have another solution?” Rae said calmly, then she pointed at the meadow and motioned for Stan to bring Fern there.

***

Fern leaned against the tree in pain, and his face was still contorted because of Rae’s magic. Crouching down, Rae covered his head with her hands and started chanting a spell. A moment later, Fern calmed down as his breathing stabilized. 

“He’ll be alright after a rest.” Rae got up and took a seat on the meadow. “Stan, have a chat with them and tell them that we’re following them. That’s our only clue now.”

After a nod, Stan turned around and reached for Miles. At the moment, the mercenaries were boiling a pot as the aroma of the food permeated the place. 

“I can’t believe they’re going to have food right beside a fiend’s corpse.” Niss frowned and said with disdain. 

“It seems that the Dark Tide has been weakened in this illusionary world. It’s unbelievable that for a battle of such a scale, no one lost their life.” Rae watched as the mercenaries chatted among themselves and got their companions treated. “Only some of them are wounded.”

“If that’s the case, how has the Dark Tide even reached here? Could there be another reason?” Niss asked in puzzlement. 

“Maybe this mercenary group has some power to restrain the Dark Tide.” Rae gazed at her magic cane and shook her head. “Or maybe it’s just that the Source of Magic will create a different illusion for everyone who steps into it.”

It was then did Niss realize that Rae’s magic cane looked identical to hers. The only difference was that the gemstone on Rae’s cane was dark gray, as though a fog was swirling inside it.

Noticing Niss’s stare, Rae lifted her magic cane and showed it to her. “It looks just like your cane, right? Of course, the gemstone is different.” It was hard to tell whether Rae loved or loathed her magic cane. 

Looking at this slightly older magician before her eyes, Niss was grateful for her help, but at the same time, she was also fearful of her power. Although she had many doubts in her heart, she could never bring herself to ask those questions. Maybe I shouldn’t even attempt to find out more, she thought. 

“How is your companion?” Kaya approached them and asked.

“He’ll be good after a rest.” Niss took a look at Fern, who remained silent as he hung his head low. 

“Please pass this to him.” Kaya held a cup of hot tea and said with a smile. “This is kuzding tea. He’ll feel better after drinking this.”

“Thanks.” Niss took the cup from her.

“I see that Stan is asking to join us on our journey. I believe Miles will agree to it because we need magicians now.” Kaya flashed a warm smile at her. 

“That’s wonderful!” Niss replied joyfully. 

“I’ll go back first. Look for me whenever you need me.” Just when Kaya was ready to go, she suddenly thought of something and turned around to look at the mercenary. “What is your companion’s name?”

“Fern. Fern Woodrow.” Niss said slowly. She wasn’t even sure why she would say it at such a speed. Perhaps she wanted Kaya to recall something.

“Fern… Woodrow… Fern… Fern…” Kaya tilted her head, looking hesitant.

“How is it? Does it ring a bell?” Rae asked as well when she saw that.

“No. Nothing. It’s just that… I find the name familiar,” Kaya replied irresolutely. “I feel that this name is warm.”

After Kaya returned to her own companions, Niss and Rae traded glances.

***

“Does an illusionary person in the Source of Magic have the memory of the real person?” Rae kept her magic cane and asked.

“It’s not mentioned in the books, but—” Niss thought she found the answer. “Maybe this memory is also part of the illusion.”

“You mean the Source of Magic has created Kaya’s memory of Fern?” Rae thought of something as well. 

“Yes. This isn’t a coincidence.” After Niss took a sip of the tea, she suddenly remembered it was for Fern, so she immediately stopped drinking.

“It seems that the Source of Magic wants to make Fern stay here forever with this illusionary Kaya.” Rae turned to stare at Fern. 

“Fern will not be fooled. He’s a rational man.” Niss straightened up and said resolutely. 

“Really? Didn’t you see how he acted?” Rae shook her head helplessly.

Worriedly, Niss gazed at Fern and passed him the tea. “Have some tea, Fern.”

Fern lifted his head and glanced at the tea cup. After that, he took the cup with his trembling right hand and sipped it. “I will restrain myself.”

“So you already regained consciousness and eavesdropped on our conversation?” Rae shot him a stare. 

“I didn’t hear much.” Fern watched Kaya in the distance with mixed feelings.

“Is she the girl who got penetrated by a sword in your place? The one you told me that night.” Niss followed his gaze and looked at Kaya.

“Yes. It’s her. She saved me.” Fern lowered his head and watched the tea in the cup.

“No, Fern. It’s not her. The real Kaya is dead. The girl in front of you isn’t the one who saved you.” Rae raised her voice and said grimly. “You have to differentiate between illusion and reality. Otherwise, we’ll never be able to leave this place.”

“I know. Don’t worry.” Fern replied with a smile and gulped down the kuzding tea.

“I hope you’ll remember what you’ve said.” Rae closed her eyes and started meditating, trying to recover her energy.

***

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