He immediately followed Ilarid’s gaze. But there was nothing visible at the end of it.

“…I’m sorry. I didn’t see anything.”

“I think our eyes met.”

Ilarid gently released Lebel’s hand.

Clearly, a white silhouette flickered like smoke on the far side of the hallway. And that back view closely resembled the older brother she had longed for even in her dreams.

“It really was my older brother.”

The taboo that one should never approach where a soul beckons came to mind again. But the desire to see him and the longing for times past were too intense to hold Ilarid back. She stepped forward as if entranced.

“You mustn’t go.”

“If I let him go now, I might never see him again.”

The trembling emotions were clearly transmitted from her tightly gripped hand.

The hazy smoke wavered strangely in a place without light. Lebel furrowed his brow and focused on the unidentified being.

It didn’t particularly resemble anyone. Was this ghost-like form really the young master of Melpiram that remained in Lebel’s memories?

In the end, Lebel approached the unidentified ghost together with Ilarid. The ghost’s form became clearer, swaying this way and that as if alive.

“…Older brother.”

After hesitating several times, Ilarid finally murmured. Though it was a title she had longed to call out, it felt unfamiliar after being unable to utter it for so long.

The ghost was silent. Was it looking at Ilarid and Lebel, or was it simply facing the empty space and far end of the hallway?

Ilarid slowly moved away from Lebel’s embrace. Hesitation and doubt were evident in each step she took.

“Is it really you, older brother?”

Looking closely, the ghost did seem to resemble Limless. That part swaying like loose threads looked like loosely tied hair, and the place her gaze kept returning to felt like his eyes.

Ilarid recalled the story of the northern wilderness that Lebel had told. Was this what a soul that bewitches people looked like? Without realizing it, her hand rose. The hazy smoke swayed along with her hand.

Perhaps that form was saying something like this: Come here, let’s go together, everyone is waiting there…

“Ilarid.”

Lebel immediately blocked her path. Ilarid startled and stepped back. Her memory of what had just transpired was hazy.

Lebel’s hand on her shoulder felt hot. The warmth spreading from it brought Ilarid back to reality.

That thing is dangerous. Lebel instinctively embraced Ilarid and glared at the wavering white form.

Should I cut it down? Even if slashed with a sword, it was unclear if that thing would disappear. Was there a separate method for making souls vanish? To think I’d end up facing a soul that’s neither human nor beast.

But even if it was a ghost that couldn’t be confronted, if it threatened Ilarid, it was an enemy to Lebel. Even if it was the soul of his benefactor, Limless Rowen Melpiram.

“…If you are indeed the young master of Melpiram, first show proper respect to Her Majesty the Empress.”

Ilarid looked up at Lebel with a bewildered expression at this random etiquette lesson. To an outsider unaware of the situation, it would look utterly ridiculous. But his tightly pressed lips and set jaw were nothing but serious.

The white silhouette simply continued to sway silently, still saying nothing. Lebel approached with the mindset of cutting down that suspicious movement entirely.

“You are not Limless Rowen Melpiram.”

It couldn’t be. The only place the young master would appear is ‘there’. Why would he randomly appear in the imperial palace to send chills down people’s spines?

Though he had a playful side, there was always meaning behind all of Limless’s actions. Even if he appeared as a soul, he wouldn’t have come without purpose.

“Your identity…”

“You foolish human!”

In the moment Ilarid was separated from him, her sharp cry echoed loudly through the hallway.

Lebel momentarily mistook that cry as directed at him and stopped in his tracks. Had his earlier muttering seemed that foolish? Or did his attempt to cut down the ghost look too stupid?

Setting aside his complex expression, Ilarid took a step forward and glared at the problematic wavering form.

“You idiot, what took you so long to get here after wandering around so stupidly?”

Relief brought tears with it. But unlike her teary eyes, Ilarid looked ready to grab that ghostly smoke and give it a good thrashing.

After Tamiel’s death, Limless no longer appeared in her dreams. That was a relief. And also a tiny bit disappointing. If he was alright, he could have at least shown up briefly to show he was fine, instead of making people worry.

Lebel sheathed his sword for now. First, he had to calm down the extremely agitated Ilarid.

“You’re not even directionally challenged…! Do you have any idea how much I’ve missed you?”

Perhaps due to the tears shed hours ago, the tracks under her eyes stung and hurt. To Ilarid, that pale smoke was already no different from Limless. She sobbed while frantically wiping away the tears that had fallen without her realizing.

She had always lived with a heavy heart, unable to even properly collect his remains. Though that form looked like smoke, it was whole compared to his miserable and lonely final moments. So she hoped that apparition was Limless.

Lebel soothed Ilarid as she finally released her sobs. He too, like Ilarid, wanted to ask. Is it you, young master? Why have you come here, what was your reason for giving me this name?

And the world you desired… what exactly was it?

But if that mysterious form was truly a ghost, could it hear and answer human speech?

Swallowing all the questions tickling at his lips, Lebel remained vigilant. His large hand was filled snugly with her small head.

“Perhaps… the reason I’ve been able to survive until now… was thanks to young master Limless.”

By the time Ilarid’s crying gradually subsided, Lebel voiced the words he had kept buried inside.

It was really just wishful thinking. He believed that deceased souls didn’t always linger for the sake of curses.

They might take root in this world to bestow blessings on loved ones, or due to unresolved attachments. Perhaps they remained, unable to let go of a fleeting attachment, wanting to capture their beloved in their eyes one last time.

Was it his imagination? The wavering form seemed to approach a little closer to the two of them.

Ilarid, wiping away the last of her tears, looked again at the figure that appeared to be a soul. Perhaps it had come to the imperial palace where Ilarid and Lebel were, dragging its tired body after wandering and drifting.

“Still… you’re as hopeless as ever at finding your way. Did you think all parts of the imperial palace were the same? You should have come to the Empress’s palace…”

How far is the distance between the living and the dead? If one speaks from this spot, can it reach a soul?

Choosing what to say was no easy task. The words she had always wanted to say when she saw her older brother, when she saw her family. It was time to break down the layers that had built up in her heart.

Though she had cleared away her tears, it was difficult to easily calm her shaky breathing. Her voice still trembled, but she conveyed clearly:

“I’m sorry… for not being able to step up then. I’m truly… sorry to everyone in Melpiram.”

If she had fought back with all her might, perhaps, could they have been saved? She couldn’t stand how pathetic that moment was, when she had been trapped in the Empress’s palace, only able to cry.

How much regret she had lived with. The lingering attachment and guilt that remained like dregs finally began to dissipate bit by bit.

“Thank you… for telling me to survive until the end.”

Those words were like a gift. The final promise she made with Limless hovered around Ilarid like a blessing.

“I love you.”

The last words to her beloved family. The magical words that can only be said to those most cherished and loved. I love you.

“See you in my dreams, older brother.”

The figure swayed gently as if understanding Ilarid’s words.

“Please come. Not alone… bring the others too.”

Wouldn’t it be possible in a dream? To have tea and chat with those who have already become souls, then part ways with a promise to meet again. She wanted to share what seemed like such an ordinary daily occurrence, even if only while asleep.

Since they couldn’t meet during the waking day, let’s meet in the sleeping night.

“Promise me.”

The ghost remained silent.

It was time to return. The sky gradually took on a blue tinge as it raced towards the middle of dawn. If they delayed any longer, the imperial guard forces would rush in even to this place.

Ilarid looked back several times. That which felt like a ghost simply continued to waver silently.

Though it was an impossible thing, still, please appear in her dreams. The two held the same wish as they left the hallway.

And one fact they failed to notice squirmed in the darkness.

Despite this being a pitch-black space without a single light, dark shadows fell beneath their steps.

It began as black smoke. The smoke that gradually spread behind Lebel came down to his feet. It revealed its presence, creeping from beneath Lebel’s feet.

The shadow, spreading like long tentacles, approached the ghost in question without making a sound. It closely resembled a snake gliding through grass in search of prey.

The black form, initially thin, swelled as it devoured the darkness. Several large eyes opened simultaneously amidst the writhing smoke.

Kigik, kigik, kigik

The eyeballs slid towards the ghost, dragging black tentacles. After seeming to explore for a moment, the area right below the eyeballs split open with a crack. What was visible inside was an enormous mouth made of sharp fangs.

It swallowed the ghost in one gulp.

The black mass of smoke heaved, making a chilling sound—wajak, wajak, wajak—but it did not reach the two people walking ahead.

Lebel sensed the strange energy felt from behind. No matter how dull his keen senses had become, he couldn’t shake the oddly unsettling feeling.

When he paused for a moment and looked back, the hallway was simply quiet.

**

Faint traces of a search reached Anent Palace. Rindein opened his eyes, hearing the footsteps of people felt beyond the palace.

Was that what woke him from sleep? It certainly wasn’t.

Was turning off all the fireplaces before sleeping the cause? A chill ran down his back and shoulders.

“…Well, of course.”

Whenever it felt eerie after waking up, there was always something nearby.

In Rindein’s case, it was mostly Awen coming in to play pranks or Melia arriving to urge reports.

“But this time it’s become quite troublesome.”

He muttered to himself as he got up. It was not yet dawn, and in situations like this, the things that appeared were predictable.

Things that shouldn’t appear.

Before Rindein’s eyes, a white form flickered like smoke. About the height of an adult man. Perhaps a bit shorter.

“Did you follow all the way here from the Eastern Continent?”

That couldn’t be. There are no sorcerers here who can summon souls. Even if it clung to an object to come, having crossed the sea, it would be too weak to even maintain its form.

The spell used in situations like this isn’t solved with just a few strands of hair.

Rindein frowned as he bit his left ring finger hard. The drop of blood that formed on his fingertip did not fall, but remained suspended in midair. He raised his bloodied ring finger and drew a spell in the air.

Whatever it was—someone’s soul or a minor deity—disappeared with a sharp metallic sound.

‘Seeing spirits with the naked eye means the boundary has become blurred…’

What’s the cause? What on earth summoned these things?

One must not carelessly summon the souls of the dead. If some riffraff poorly imitated necromancy without being a proper sorcerer, things would become even more chaotic.

What if what they summoned wasn’t a “soul”?

Rindein clicked his tongue as he relit the fireplace. Though he didn’t tend to feel cold easily, right now he desperately needed even a small bit of warmth. Souls always appear in cold and lonely places, after all.

**

At that time, when everyone was busy with the ghost commotion and the search for the Empress, Selina was sound asleep, oblivious to the world.

Judging by the comfortable smile on her lips, she seemed to be having a sweet and happy dream. The only sound in the bedroom was Selina’s rhythmic breathing. If there were any other sounds, that would be stranger.

And the strange occurrence happened on the bedside table next to Selina’s bed.

A small jewelry box sat on the table. Selina cherished that charm said to have been brought from the Eastern Continent, carefully storing it along with her jewelry.

As soon as she obtained it, a child came to her. How efficacious it was. She even thought about wanting to meet the person who made the charm in person.

At that moment, the charm inside the small box silently swelled. It was the beginning of a small disturbance that no one would notice.