I had come too far.
Priasis's hand reached for the dagger at her back.
Even though the war was over, street thugs were still—
“Guess squatting around while everyone else partied paid off. Ptooie. Then I’ll join the festival too—!”
Thud!
The man crumpled forward.
“What a load of crap.”
Crunch!
A military boot slammed down on the back of the man's head.
A woman with sharp features stepped forward.
“You are...”
“Name’s Edith Kallen. Mercenary. But what’s a noble lady doing all the way out here? The Temple of the Nameless God isn’t this way, you know.”
Spinning a dagger around her finger, Edith looked Priasis up and down.
Nameless God.
Priasis blinked at the unfamiliar term.
“What, don’t tell me you came here without knowing?”
“What is this Nameless God?”
“Well, we mercenaries need something we can believe in, y’know?”
Priasis narrowed her eyes.
Back when the Fragments first ran rampant, there had been a chaotic cult called the Church of Tell-Icar that had caused serious disturbances.
Was this woman one of their remnants?
“It’s not a cult. Just a kind of grassroots faith. If you’re curious, you can follow. It's just one of those common legends, but maybe you’ll find it interesting.”
Thud.
Edith kicked the collapsed man aside and began walking deeper into the alley.
Nameless... god.
Priasis swallowed hard.
And began to follow Edith.
“Did you know?”
“......?”
“The Fragments that attacked here ten years ago—they say it wasn’t even a fraction of their full force. Not a tenth. Not even a hundredth. If they’d come at us with everything they had...”
“You’re saying Townia would’ve been destroyed?”
“Ooh, smart girl.”
Edith let out a short laugh.
Soon, the path widened.
The Legend of the Nameless God—
Though Priasis had considered herself well-versed in the affairs of the capital, she had never heard such a tale.
“See that?”
Edith turned her head.
At the outskirts of the capital, a wide alley had filled with people marching in line, each wearing ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) a black goat mask.
“They’re followers of the Nameless God. Once a year, they gather here and hold a procession. Don’t mind it—they’re just walking.”
Edith pulled out a goat mask from her coat.
She placed it over her face.
“I brought a spare. Wanna wear it? It’s fun.”
“...Th-thank you.”
Priasis accepted the goat mask.
What meaning is in this?
She didn’t know.
In some ways, it felt like a joke.
Letting out a quiet sigh, she lowered the mask over her face.
“Victory.”
A girl walking beside Priasis whispered.
“To the Nameless God... may He have victory.”
As if in desperate prayer.
The masked girl walked slowly, hands clasped together.
“Victory.”
This time, a short man murmured.
Everyone in the procession was offering their own prayer.
“What are they doing?”
“Cheering.”
Edith answered.
Her eyes narrowed behind the mask.
“Somewhere out there, in the depths of the universe... the Nameless God is fighting.”
“......”
“He’s been fighting, for a very long time, against countless enemies. To protect us.”
“To protect...”
Suddenly feeling a surge of urgency, Priasis grabbed Edith’s sleeve.
“Then—then the reason we weren’t destroyed is—”
“Don’t take it too literally. It’s just a legend. Don’t go putting too much stock into it.”
Priasis looked around.
Hundreds of masked believers were walking the road.
A sight she’d never see from the palace terrace.
These people...
Were they marching?
Praying for the Nameless God’s victory?
“When will the battle end?!”
Priasis clutched Edith desperately.
Her face was earnest.
“When will the Nameless God return?!”
“No one knows. Some say decades. Others say millions of years—or even forever.”
“I can’t wait that long!”
“Why are you so worked up?”
Priasis bit her lip hard.
“...I’m sorry.”
She looked up with damp eyes.
The sky glittered with stars. Then she looked down again.
Hundreds of worshipers continued their silent march.
“Victory.”
Their voices merged, a soft reverberation.
“To the Nameless God... victory.”
Priasis closed her eyes inside the prayer.
And beyond the darkness—she saw a vision.
He is fighting.
A world she could not perceive with her senses.
Through an eternity of time, a man swung his sword.
Even when he died, he returned to life.
Even when he lived, he died again.
The man fought through cycles of rebirth and death.
This isn’t...
What Priasis had wanted.
Where is your happiness supposed to be?
No one looked back at him.
Having lost all traces of humanity, unable to live or die, he suffered endlessly.
That man—could not be called alive.
A wraith.
Priasis reached out to him.
But her hand could not reach.
The distance was far too great.
Please... someone save him.
Let Townia be destroyed—it didn’t matter.
Let this world burn to ashes—it didn’t matter.
All she wished for was—
Fwoooosh!
At that moment, a blinding red flame blocked her vision.
“Miss.”
“Huh?”
Edith was tapping her shoulder.
Priasis looked around.
The vision had vanished without a trace.
“What are you standing there for?”
“...Was it a dream?”
“What dream?”
“Sorry. It’s nothing.”
Priasis shook her head and played the scene over again in her mind.
The Nameless God.
That was the man she had seen.
And in the final part of the vision—
He wasn’t alone.
She’d had the faintest feeling someone was fighting beside him.
Wielding a sword engulfed in flame.
If someone else had gone to rescue him—
Then Priasis would pray.
“To the Nameless God... may there be salvation.”