Chapter 60 – Castle of memories

The goddess calendar, twenty first day of the fourth month of the year one thousand two hundred, ten after ten in morning.

That was when everyone in the capital was astonished as they looked up at the sky.

Everyone’s sights were on the majestic white castle floating in the sky.

What looked like white pages flew out of the bodies of the people on the ground, and the white castle continued to grow as it sucked them in.

“…What is that…”

“A castle…?”

“W-what is going on…?”

El, Labrys, and Lizbell, who were still in the Scarlet mansion, looked up at the sky from a balcony in awe.

Paper fell from their bodies and was sucked into the castle. And as it did, their memories gradually began to fade.

“…Where am I?”

“…Who am I?”

“…What was I doing?”

“…Mom? Dad?”

Maids spat out memory pages and stood in place with blank looks on their faces. Like blank pieces of paper.

Younger people and people with less magic resistance were rapidly losing their memories.

“Kuh! Everyone, go back inside!”

“It’s no good! Even inside the mansion, our memories… What happened to them?”

“Is it bypassing the barrier and obstructions…!? Such a technique… Ah, dammit! I don’t know what I was talking about!”

Groaned Lord scarlet, as memory pages fell from him.

If this was happening in the Scarlet mansion, where most people were very good with magic, the chaos in town must have been much worse.

It all felt so unreal.

But Labrys did see a being capable of creating such a spectacle one time.

“Demon king…”

Someone whispered next to her.

Labrys turned to look, and saw a silver-haired girl.

She was the only person present who was not releasing memory pages, and her cold eyes glared at the sky.

“…Another birth that defies the logic of fate. Is Chrom Chronogate meddling with history after all?”

“…Who are…”

Labrys felt she looked like someone, but could not remember who anymore.

If she tried to think of something, she would forget it immediately.

It was taking her longer and longer to remember even small things.

(…This is bad. At this rate…)

She would forget everything.

She felt she had to focus on controlling her magic energy, and leave at least some record.

But as she tried to resist, she forgot to resist.

She forgot why she was resisting.

(Ah…)

From there, it happened in an instant.

Labrys forgot magic. She forgot about swords. She forgot how to fight. Labrys forgot what she was doing. Labrys forgot how to speak. Labrys forgot how to walk. Labrys forgot how to stand.”

“…No…”

Labrys forgot her dreams. Labrys forgot her hopes. Labrys forgot despair. Labrys forgot love. Labrys forgot courage. Labrys forgot friendship. Labrys forgot hatred. Labrys forgot knowledge. Labrys forgot her techniques. Labrys forgot intelligence. Labrys forgot kindness. Labrys forgot joy. Labrys forgot anger. Labrys forgot sadness. Labrys forgot fun.

“…Ah…”

Labrys forgot her family. Labrys forgot her friends. Labrys forgot when she was. Labrys forgot where she was. Labrys forgot who she was.

And then, Labrys forgot she forgot.

(…Ah.)

Memory pages that fell from her body soared up into the castle in the sky.

As she became a blank piece of paper, Labrys crumbled to the ground and listlessly watched it happen.

She had no idea what those pieces of paper were anymore.

Paper, wind, the sky, the mansion, the castle, people…

She couldn’t remember a single thing she was seeing.

And then…

(…Eh?)

Suddenly, some of the paper stopped in the air, and created a path to the castle in the sky.

Someone ran up this white paper path, and Labrys could see that very well with her great vision.

(…Who…)

She didn’t know, but somehow felt this wasn’t her first time seeing this person.

In her memories that were painted over with white, that boy faintly remained.

She figured he must have been important.

Although she remembered almost nothing, looking at him made her feel a little warm.

For some reason, she believed he could do something about this desperate situation.

A small smile formed on Labrys’ face, as she completely lost her memories.

◇

(…That’s…)

Memoria’s attack stops, and I manage to escape the white papers.

What I see after this are pages being sucked up from all over the capital and into the sky. And they’re all headed to the white paper castle in the sky.

(A castle of memories?)

That’s something I also saw in my previous life.

It’s the magic dungeon of the White Paper Angel Memoria, and its difficulty is unknown.

No one who went there and came back remembered it.

(…Is it trying to collect all the memories in the capital along with mine?)

That’s a safe assumption.

Magic can’t really reach that castle high in the sky, and I can’t use my time magic to fly.

Maybe it’s because this magic is being used indiscriminately and covering a wide range, but I can still resist it, but…

If memories keep being sucked from outside of my range, it’s only a matter of time until I lose mine.

(…Memoria.)

I’m sure she’s in that castle.

It really makes it feel like she’s become a demon king.

(…Am I going to fail to save her again?)

I feel like I went through this again and again and again in my previous life.

I failed again.

Maybe it was a mistake to even try to save Memoria.

It probably wouldn’t have turned out like this if I managed to cut her down.

In the end, you can’t save someone with kindness alone.

It’s impossible to save someone without rightfully cutting someone down.

But still…

“…”

I pick up Memoria’s flower crown from the ground covered in rubble.

(It’s pretty. It smells good. Memoria is happy.)

(Everyone is so nice. There are a lot of happy memories here.)

(Memoria doesn’t want to forget.)

She was a nice girl. A girl that should be happy.

I really wanted to save her.

So, even if it’s foolish, and even if it’s a mistake.

“…I’m not going to quit.”

It hasn’t been very long since her transformation into a demon king, so I should be able to undo it if I act now.

The memories stolen from people in the capital might return too, so even if it’s a bad bet…

I’m going to save everything.

I scream in my heart.

If I was the type of person to give up easily, I wouldn’t have struggled so hard for a hundred years despite my lack of talent.

I wouldn’t have thought to go back to the past and fix everything.

“…”

I reach out towards that castle of memories far up in the sky.

Memoria is there, but I can’t fly, so I can’t reach it.

Then… I have to make a path.

“…Release resistance.”

I stop resisting the memory manipulation, and memory pages fly from my body and towards the castle.

I target those pages and chant.

“‘Time, stop’.”

The pages going up to the castle make a path.

I spent some memories, but…

I have a hundred years worth of them, so I can still fight even if I lose a few.

“I’m coming, Memoria.”

I step on the path of memories, and run towards the castle in the sky.