Apostle of Nocturna: Why the Final Boss Destroys the World - The Price of Shadow-Walking: The Shattered Wedge and the Fading Daughter's Memories

The shadow swayed. At the deepest stratum of the sea of stars. Beneath the world of reality, at the very bottom of the deep world. There, floating in that void, was the "Chamber of Shadows"—a castle of darkness where no light of any kind existed. Walls, pillars, ceiling—all were composed of shadow like black mist, changing form depending on the angle from which one looked. As though the castle itself were breathing, the surface of the shadows undulated slowly. Kagerou knelt on one knee at the center of the great hall. His black plate armor melted into the darkness. Only the lining of his mantle was blood-red, like a scar stitching his existence to this place. He stood just over six feet tall. His battle-forged, muscular frame carried not an ounce of excess flesh. His jet-black hair was tied back in a single tail, and an old burn scar running from his left cheek to his neck was clearly visible even in the dark. In his right hand, the greatsword Jörmungandr. Forged from star-iron, its blade was perpetually wreathed in black mist, trembling faintly as though inhaling the shadows around it. A cursed sword that devoured its wielder's memories with every swing. Kagerou had never let it go. If he released it, he felt he would no longer know who he was. "Raise your face, Kagerou." The voice echoed from the far end of the hall. There was a man seated on a throne—a massive chair made of shadow. His entire body was draped in black robes, and a silver mask covered his face. The mask had neither eyes nor mouth, only smooth, curved surfaces. And yet, Kagerou could feel the gaze. From behind that mask, something was peering into his very soul—an unpleasant sensation. The leader of the Apostles of Nocturna. Kagerou did not know the man's true name. He had no need to. Kagerou slowly raised his head. His deep gray eyes, as though stripped of all emotion, fixed on the masked man. "One of the Star Wedges sleeps in the royal capital, Luminaris." The masked man's voice was low and cold. A voice without warmth. Heavy and damp, like the very air that filled the Chamber of Shadows. "Your mission is to shatter that wedge." Kagerou did not answer. He knew he was not expected to. Here, orders were always one-sided. It had been that way ever since the day he became an Apostle of Nocturna two hundred years ago. "How is the memory depletion?" At the masked man's question, Kagerou paused briefly before speaking. "No problem." His voice was low and flat. Not a fragment of emotion clung to it. The voice of one who had fought for too long. No—the voice of one who had lost for too long. "Oh?" The masked man tilted his head slightly. "Each time you use Shadowstride, your memories are shaved away. How much remains of your memories from two hundred years ago, when you were human?" Kagerou's right hand tightened around Jörmungandr's hilt. "...What I need is still there." "What you need, is it?" The masked man laughed with his voice alone. From behind the mask came a sound like air escaping. "Then answer me this—what is your wife's name?" Kagerou did not answer. "Your daughter's name?" Silence. The air in the Chamber of Shadows grew heavy for a moment. The shadows composing the walls rippled with a restless murmur. Kagerou's gray eyes flickered gold for the briefest instant. Anger, or sorrow? But even that vanished at once. "...The mission." Kagerou spoke in a low voice. "Let me continue it." The masked man stared at Kagerou for a while. Nothing was reflected in the silver mask. Even so, Kagerou could sense something smiling behind it. "After you shatter the wedge, I will give you your next mission." The masked man rose. The shadow-throne shifted form as though melting in response to his movement. "The Gourmet Guild. A girl named Pecorine." Kagerou's fingertip twitched. "A girl of royal blood. She is the key to destroying the Star Wedges. Capture her." "...Royal blood." "The last royal the Seven Crowns have kept hidden. Without that girl's blood, the wedges cannot be completely destroyed. What you will shatter now is merely a fragment." The masked man walked until he stood directly before Kagerou. The air of the Chamber of Shadows split apart as he moved. "You understand." Kagerou nodded without a word. Kill all emotion. That was the way of life he had chosen two hundred years ago. Shadowstride— It was the power granted to Kagerou when he became an Apostle of Nocturna. The ability to move instantly from shadow to shadow. Physical distance, walls, guards—all were ignored. For an assassin, there was no more perfect power. But there was a price. Each activation cost him one memory of his past. Kagerou stood in the shadow of the outer wall of the royal capital, Luminaris. The capital of the Kingdom of Arcadias. Population roughly two hundred fifty thousand. Situated at the southern foot of the Boundary Mountains in the heart of the continent, it was the City of Light. Ruled from the shadows by one of the Seven Crowns—"Artorius of the Light Crown"—it was the nexus of this world. Stars twinkled in the night sky. A moonless night. The shadows ran deep. For Kagerou, that was convenient. He moved from the shadow of the wall to the shadow cast by a streetlamp. In that instant, something vanished from his mind. —A memory. What memory it had been, he no longer knew. The moment it was lost, he forgot what it had even been. This was the cruelty of Shadowstride's price. It did not take only precious memories. Randomly, without order, his past was shaved away. Kagerou traversed the streets of the royal capital from shadow to shadow. Luminaris was the center of the memory-stone trade. Memory-stone shops lined every street, and people bought and sold memories in their daily lives. Memory was the currency of this world. Use magic, and you lost memories. Use memory stones, and you could preserve them. The "Memory Alteration Mechanism" created by the Seven Crowns exploited this system to control the populace. Every use of magic shaved away memory. The more powerful the magic, the more memory it consumed. That was why the people of this world feared magic. Magic was a convenient power, but it was also an act of eroding oneself. The Seven Crowns used that fear to keep the masses powerless. Kagerou understood this system better than anyone. Two hundred years ago, when he was still human. He too had been a resident of this world, losing memories with every use of magic. But the present him was different. His power as an Apostle of Nocturna concentrated the memory cost into Shadowstride alone. As long as he did not use Shadowstride, his memories did not diminish. But each time he used it, the memories of his human life were inexorably erased. Two hundred years ago, when he became an Apostle of Nocturna, Kagerou still had many memories. His wife's face. His daughter's laughter. The days spent with his family. The gentle landscapes of the Granveld March. But now, it was different. Two hundred times. Three hundred times. No—far more Shadowstrides than that. Each one shaved away memory, and now most of his family's memories were gone. What remained were fragmentary images and names. And even those could vanish at any moment. Kagerou was heading toward the center of the royal capital. The Altar of the Star Wedge. The white tower towering at the heart of Luminaris. One of the seven wedges the Seven Crowns had driven into the world to fix it in place slept beneath it. The Memory Vault was beneath that altar. Moving from shadow to shadow, Kagerou slipped through the security network of the Star Wedge Guardian Knights. A knight order under the direct command of the Seven Crowns, roughly three thousand strong. They patrolled the perimeter of the altar day and night to protect the wedge. But before Shadowstride, they were powerless. Kagerou moved soundlessly from one cast shadow to the next. —Another memory vanished. A sensation of something bursting deep in his skull. And then, a blank. Kagerou tried not to think about what he had lost. There was no point. Lost memories never returned. The interior of the Memory Vault was wrapped in silence. A vast space enclosed by white stone walls. The ceiling was high, and memory stones were embedded across the entire wall surface. The stones, emitting a pale blue light, looked like countless stars scattered across the walls. Here, the memories collected from the citizens of the royal capital were stored. The Memory Tax. A tax levied on the use of magic. Payment was made in memories. Each time people used magic, they deposited a portion of their memories in this place. The Seven Crowns used those memories as an energy source for the Memory Alteration Mechanism. Kagerou descended to the floor of the vault. The consecutive use of Shadowstride had left his body slightly fatigued. Memory loss affected the body as well. A haze spread through the back of his mind, and for a moment he could not tell where he was standing. But the mission had to continue. Kagerou advanced deeper into the vault. There, a massive door awaited. The entrance to the Star Wedge, leading beneath the white tower. The door was engraved with the crest of the Seven Crowns, surrounded by a complex magic circle. Kagerou raised Jörmungandr. Black mist spilled from the blade. "...Let's go." He muttered low and slashed the door apart. The magic circle flared, trying to resist. But Jörmungandr's blade bisected the door along with the light itself. The sword that devoured memories devoured magic itself. Cold wind rushed out from beyond the door. A staircase leading underground continued into the darkness. The Star Wedge exceeded imagination. A vast subterranean cavern. At its center stood a colossal pillar. Dozens of meters tall. The pillar, shining white, was—upon closer inspection—an aggregate of countless crystals. —Crystallized human memories. Countless faces floated on the pillar's surface. Smiling faces, weeping faces, screaming faces. Old faces, young faces, children's faces. They melded together, overlapped, forming a single enormous pillar. The Star Wedge. The wedge the Seven Crowns had driven in to fix the world. Its true form was a mass of memories extracted from the populace. Kagerou looked up at the pillar. White light reflected in his gray eyes. (So this is the truth of this world.) He murmured inwardly. The false peace the Seven Crowns had created. Its foundation was built upon the memories of countless human beings. The people did not know what they had lost. Without being told, their memories were extracted, they were managed, and they were kept alive. Kagerou gripped Jörmungandr with both hands. "...Shatter." He kicked off the ground. His black armor plunged into the white light. Jörmungandr, scattering black mist, was swung down toward the Star Wedge. —In that instant, something burst inside Kagerou's mind. The sensation of a memory vanishing. The usual, random memory loss. But this time was different. He could recognize the memory that vanished. —Noelle. A young daughter's smile. Golden hair. Sky-blue eyes. Both arms spread wide, running toward him. Her mouth was moving. She was shouting something. "Fa—" He heard the voice. And then, it was gone. The smile crumbled like mist. His daughter's face, her name, her existence—sank into the depths of memory. Kagerou reached out. But he could not grasp it. The last remaining memory of his family. It was now, completely, gone. Jörmungandr slammed into the Star Wedge. A thunderous roar. Countless cracks raced across the white pillar. The crystallized memories shattered, scattering as particles of light. Each particle was someone's life. Someone's joy, someone's sorrow, someone's love, someone's hatred. And now, they were vanishing. Kagerou watched the spectacle with a blank expression. Nothing remained in his mind. —What was my daughter's n

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Name: Apostle of Nocturna: Why the Final Boss Destroys the World
Author: Novelia

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