NATURE’S GRACE

Lynne stood silently atop the warm sand, his white robes fluttering in the piercing wind, while he held tightly onto a gourd of red wine. His gaze was fixed onto the horizon, expression slightly solemn, almost as if his thoughts were lost to some other place. A few hours passed quickly, and he hadn’t moved from the spot he was standing at, waiting patiently.

Suddenly, just as he finished the third gourd, the earth beneath him shook lightly, causing him to release a weak smile. A man-sized hole, with makeshift staircase leading down appeared before him and, without hesitating, he immediately descended.

The journey was familiar, and about two hours later he had found himself in the beautiful garden, shimmering as brightly as the sun itself. Countless waterfalls cascaded down the rocky sides into a pure lake, and all trees – each thicker than the last – remained rooted like eternal sages, their branches swinging lightly.

“I’m back.” Lynne said casually as he walked over to the lake and sat down cross-legged before it. “How are things here?” there was no reply, but he wasn’t discouraged. Instead, he took out a bottle of Heavenly Ale and slowly began drinking it as his eyes fixated onto the center of the lake. Hours slowly passed, and the surface of it finally shuddered for a moment.

What came out was a small, head-sized tortoise, its shell emerald-green in color, nearly shining, yet also appearing as aged as time itself. Its head was small, eyes glistening above the still water.

“You’ve gotten Queen’s approval, I see.” although the tortoise didn’t open its mouth, the words still came out; but rather than sounding out in an echo like the last time, they were directed at Lynne only.

“Aye,” Lynne nodded, tilting his head lightly as he smiled. “So now you have to help me.”

“… shameless.”

“Haii, don’t be like that… how can a grand man such as myself be shameless? I merely wish you to uphold the promise! You promised me a Kingdom, so give me a Kingdom!”

“… your Flames aren’t kind.” a gentle voice beckoned out.

“I know,” Lynne said softly, his expression solemn. “But, they don’t have to be. They just need to burn, that’s all.”

“You’re just like every other Empyrean, then.” the voice said.

“What’s wrong with that?” Lynne smiled. “Not all of us need to be unique. Sometimes, being part of the whole is everything there is to it.”

“… strong words from the lips of a still breast-fed brat.”

“Hah, I truly am still breast-fed.” Lynne said, his smile somewhat twisted. “But probably not in the way you imagine… he, he.”

“Y’se told me you want to build a Paradise.” the voice continued. “How naive can you be? Why should I help a naive child?”

“Hah,” Lynne scoffed lightly as he raised his head up. “Am I truly naive? Probably. However, in the end, what of it? I have a dream, just like all others. To that end, what does naivety have to do with it? If all others underneath the sky are allowed to pursue their dreams, should I just abandon mine because it’s naive? Aah, I can’t do that unfortunately…”

“… strong words from the---”

“Ya, ya, still breast-fed brat, I get it.” Lynne interrupted, smiling. “You’re right. I’m young. Inexperienced. Hell, just keeping myself alive thus far has been an enormous challenge. My character is crooked, and hearts of others bleed when they mention my name. I’m selfish, ambitious, naive, hypocrite… but you know what they say? From youth comes a heart of thousand dreams!”

“Who says that?”

“I do!”

“You may as well not then.”

“I can’t fathom the future,” Lynne looked at the tortoise again, his expression that of determination. “And what will be of both me and you. However, I don’t think we’re fated for anything. Then, we can only take a leap, right?”

“You don’t believe in fate?” the tortoise asked, somewhat surprised.

“Ha ha, why would I?” Lynne laughed lightly. “If I attribute everything I’ve done to fate, what becomes of me then? I refuse to be a pawn in the bigger ploy. Whether it’s fate or those stronger than me, both can go fuck themselves for all I care. Do you blame fate for your own collapse? Of course you don’t, because that’s bullshit. For all the things in the world, there’s a cause. Actions, words, accidents, coincidences… whatever they are, they don’t just pop into being at random. The reason I’m talking to you here now is my own choice, and sum of all the choices I made in the past. Do you know why I want to build a Paradise?”

“To fulfill your childish, naive dream?” the tortoise asked, causing Lynne to chuckle for a moment.

“Partially, yes,” he replied then. “But, also, because everywhere I look, all I see are people content with the way things are. Those beneath bow because they think they have no other choice. Those above just want to remain above. And, those in-between, are persecuted by both of the extremes. For the great part of my life, I hated Magic because it drives the ugliest side of people out into the open. Before I became a Magus, the worst thing I ever did was pay a woman to screw me. Now, I can’t even bother to weed through all the terrible things I’ve done to find the worst one. Whether you agree with me or not, I only want you to give me a boost so my leap doesn’t end before it even begins.”

“The world doesn’t work that way,” the voice replied. “In the end, you’ll be crushed like all other idealists before you.”

“Maybe.” Lynne nodded. “Maybe not. Who can truly tell?”

“… on account of Y’se, I’ll help you.” the voice replied. “And, partially because I want to see just how far that idealism of yours can go.”

“Idealism?” Lynne chuckled as he felt earth quake gently. “You’ve misunderstood me, little turtle.”

“Little turtle?!”

“I’m a dreamer,” Lynne said, getting up. “Idealist would have wanted to build a Paradise without an ounce of blood shed. Dreamer on the other hand… dreamer doesn’t care how many oceans he has to fill.” grains of sand slowly fell from above as Lynne began walking toward the nearest tree and quickly leapt on top of it.

Bit by bit, the darkness above opened, and blue sky came into view. Currently, Thalia, Y’se, Gru and the monkey were standing atop the Tower, their eyes round wide. Beneath, desert slowly quaked and split apart, as if trenched by a gigantic sword. From beneath, lush green emerged as if lifted by hands of an immortal. Celestial colors brimming from the Heavenly Garden eclipsed the hue of the sun in their brilliance, and lakes upon lakes sprung for miles on end around the Tower. Trees slowly arose, towering nearly toward the very tip of the Tower, stunning the small group until they were barely able to breathe.

Rivers ran through the paradise beneath gently, their sounds filling the silence as the quaking stopped and, where once desert stood, now stood lush jungle, forest, lakeside, mountains…. All manner of beautiful nature’s monuments now stood above the ground, with gigantic Tower at its center behaving like a unifying pillar that can never be destroyed.

Thalia’s eyes slowly veered to one of the large trees and landed on the figure standing atop. His disposition calm, hair and robes fluttering in the wind, his gaze found hers and his lips curled up in a smile.

“Ha ha, aren’t I absolutely awesome?!” he suddenly shouted, causing whatever warm feelings her heart felt to vanish without a trace. “Huh? Aren’t I? Ha ha, look, I’m the King of the World! Ha ha ha!”

“… is… is Boss okay?” Gru asked nervously.

“Aah, I believe his ego just skyrocketed.” Thalia sighed.

“Seriously, that brat needs to die once to settle down…” the monkey chimed in.

“He’s kind of cute.” Y’se chuckled lightly. “You’re the bravest, most handsomest man, lil’ bro!” she then shouted back. Family for certain! “Ha ha, with you there, and me here, who else can be as great as the two us?!”

“Ha ha, exactly!” Lynne replied as he puffed out his chest. “Let all naysayers see: little Lynne has become a King! Ha ha ha!”

“Alright the greatest king,” Thalia said. “Let’s go and welcome others. They should be arriving soon.”

“Ooh, right! I nearly forgot!”

“Not nearly. You forgot.”

“Tche. You got me.”

“…”

* * *

On the far other side of the beautiful scenery, where sand still stood, a group of roughly 200,000 was standing with their jaws agape. Just a moment ago, they were peacefully walking through a desert when, just a few miles ahead of them, earth split open and random forests and mountains arose. Parsia, standing at the very front, could only sigh.

“Queen said that Master Lynne and others should be here to greet us soon.” the crow on his shoulder spoke. “I’ve taken a liking to you, so I asked the Queen to let me follow you for now. She has granted me her permission.”

“… we spoke three times since we left that fort, and every time was me asking you for directions.” Parsia said dishearteningly.

“Hm,” the crow nodded. “You understand the beauty of silence. You understand me.”

“…” he wanted to cry, but there were no tears.

“Ah, whatever, at least the journey’s over.” Parsia nodded. “I wonder how other preparations are coming. We still haven’t come across the Commander on our way back.”

“At least Lynne managed to find a nice place.” the other bird said. “Here, I can hide in shade from that damn sun above.”

“Hmm? Why are you so grumpy?” Parsia asked.

“Grumpy? Of course I’m grumpy! That brat Lynne has such luck with ladies, and I’ve gotten rejected on my first try!”

“… aii, are the two of you, by chance, competing in the size of your ego?”

“But of course! How can a great bird like me lose to my Master?! I’m supposed to be more arrogant so other people actually consider him a normal human being!” Aah poor bird… eh, whatever, I’ll just let him dream. To beat Lynne in arrogance? Ha ha ha…

Suddenly, Parsia felt space before him rip apart as he quickly drew back and warned others. Weapons flourished into the hands as dozen or so strongest people here – Principal being one among them – suddenly appeared by his side. A moment later, a woman’s scream echoed out as a body plowed out of the spacial tear and fell headfirst into the desert. Her skirt skittered down, revealing knee-long stockings and white underwear, leaving the warriors ready to fight until death somewhat confused. As the woman unburied her head from the sand, she looked around with confusion until her eyes landed on Parsia.

The woman appeared to be in her mid-twenties, her cheeks flushed brightly red, head oval-shaped, lips full and pink-colored. Her eyes were quite round and large, pupils shimmering in bright blue, with her hair completely golden running down until half her back.

“My Prince!” the woman leapt onto her feet and raced over to Parsia, hugging him suddenly. “I’ve missed you so.” then she proceeded to kiss him, his cheeks, his neck, and slowly unbuttoned his top.

“Hai, stop, stop!” Parsia finally came to, pulling her hands back. “Ayya, what are you doing here?!” he exclaimed.

“Aah, I missed you!” the woman continued to ignore him as she bit one of his fingers, then proceeded to put it into her mouth, sucking it.

“U-uh, sir Parsia?” the Principal asked, barely managing to look away. “W-who is this l-lovely lady?”

“Who?” the woman exclaimed as she looked up and pointed at Parsia. “Listen up, horny bitches! This here is my husband! Whoever dares put moves on him, I’ll slit that bitch’s throat faster than you can put your finger on him! He’s mine, you got it?!” Eeeeh?!