Granblue Fantasy V1 Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – The closed off island《Zanktinzelle》^[1]

 

Prologue

I always looked up into the sky.

Again and again.

Tirelessly.

Chasing the drifting clouds.

My dream always lied beyond the skies.

I wanted to try going there, to not lose to the clouds spreading to infinity.

Even if my father never sent me that letter,

I believe that fact would still remain unchanged―

1

A single white bird, along with the sound of its flapping wings, soared towards the blue sky.

My gaze chased the bird in the sky from right to left. When it went out of sight as it reached the treetops of the forest, I stopped chasing it with my eyes and turned my face to the side.

Vyrn - A creature resembling a small, winged lizard floated there. He was my childhood friend.

I fixed my gaze on Vyrn.

“Wh-what’s up? Scrutinising me like that! If you’ve got something you want to say, out with it!”

“Vyrn, you are flying around like that all the time, but I was wondering how far can you actually fly?”

“Haah? How far I can fly?”

“You can’t fly very long distances, can you? Can you fly to the skies of the neighbouring island?”

“That’s well, not with these little flappers of mi……wait, we’re talking about this again……?”

Vyrn merely expressed his disappointment and shrugged his little shoulders. That strange, almost human-like behaviour amused me, and my cheeks reflexively laxed.

“Gran, you really love the skies. Say, Gran, someday you really intend to set off, don’t you? Even if it was mentioned in your father’s letter, do you really think you can reach the ends of the skies……wait, what are you laughing at!?”

“Nothing at all. That aside, let’s quickly get this over with and head towards the forest!”

I gazed at the hatchet in my hand and then, at the firewood in front of me placed atop the stump. Next to me there was already a stack of firewood which had been cut earlier.

“And, done!”

I swung down the hatchet I held aloft. It headed straight downwards and struck the standing firefood right at its center, splitting it in two far too easily. I then nimbly grabbed the firewood that got split apart, along with the rest of its kind, and piled them up beside the house. I dusted off my hands after tidying them up together with the hatchet.

After that, I grabbed my short sword which was leaning against the wall.

The blade of the sword was straight, and its length was short, around half my height. Since it was made from bronze, its firmness fell short when compared to iron, but it was still a mass of metal, so it wasn’t a plaything. It was a splendid weapon.

“Come on, let’s go!”

“Haah~~. Well well, you just don’t get tired of swinging your sword every day. Didn’t you just finish your work?”

“I don’t dislike moving around. Wood-splitting is just, well, not tiring enough.”

We continued on the path leading outside the village.

The place where we lived was a tiny village located between the mountains. There was not a single house that was taller than the treetops. The houses there were spaced far apart, and there were also the thin winding paths that ran between the spaces of the fields and ponds.

“Ah, Gran. Heading to the forest again?”

The granny living next door who was taking a break in the field came up while calling out to me. The gramps who was sitting nearby stood up assisted by a hoe in place of a cane.

“Yes!”

“Be careful. The forest is a frightening place.”

While nodding to the granny’s words, I replied to her with “I haven’t heard about dangerous monsters coming out recently. Don’t worry”. The villagers had always been concerned about me since neither of my parents were around. The adults there were sort of like parents to me.

“Nonetheless, I’ll be careful. Thanks!”

After giving a bow, I went towards the forest.

Up until that time, I thought it would be a usual day. There was no danger in the forest. Nothing strange should have occurred.

“Yo, Gran, the forest again?”

“Be careful out there!”

I waved my hand at the adults who had stopped their fieldwork to call out to me and replied with “I’ll be fine”.

I looked up towards the small flour hut’s windmill and then turned to the left of the pond.

Children were fishing, sitting next to each other at the extremely big pond near the village. The older lads were teasing the younger ones as they were unable to catch any fish.

“Pell, please lend it to me.”

“Onii-chan!”

I took a look at Pell’s fishing rod. I changed the bait, dangled the hook a bit, and told them about a good spot. There was a bite on the hook immediately, and he could be seen having a red face as the rod was being drawn in.

“Hey, you should help out.”

I slapped the back of the elder lads who were making a frustrated face.

They then started pulling the rod together. Big cheers rose up due to the size of the caught fish.

After ascertaining that the catch was successful, we once again started walking out towards the direction of the gate.

“You’re really a helpful person, aren’t you, Gran?”

Vyrn said.

“Is that so?”

I was not really aware of it myself.

“Haa. Gran, you should go and enjoy yourself a little. Your free time is always spent on either assisting others or on sword practice.”

Vyrn said.

“But it’s fun.”

“You’re a weird one.”

The wooden gate and fence that surrounded the village came into sight. It was currently midday, so the entrance was open. If it was at this time, anyone could freely go out to the forest. The monsters of the forest had also gotten smart these days and seldom came close to the village. Even so, a post was established by the entrance for the purpose of watch-keeping in times of need.

After giving a simple greeting to the gate guard, Vyrn and I entered the forest.

Within the forest that stretched outside the village, all kinds of tall trees grew without proper space between them, and I had to weave my way along the thin pathway as I travelled through the forest.

After Vyrn and I walked for a short while, we made a right turn along the way. Then we went through the road–narrow like an animal trail–and arrived at a small shrine at the foot of the mountain. The surroundings of the shrine was an open meadow.

Since the shrine’s temple was an off-limits sanctuary, this was as far as we could go. Entry was allowed only with the permission of a shrine maiden. It was said that the shrine maidens divined the future from the golden dew that remained on the leaves of the sanctuary. Because this was a forest that held golden dew, it was hence called the《Golden Dew Woods》……….

Making use of the open plain of grass, I started swinging my sword. I wouldn’t be a nuisance to anyone if it was there and could do as much training as I liked.

Actually, it didn’t mean that monsters didn’t appear in the forest at all. The weak ones like Dragonflairs and Wind Rabbits had been encountered before. I didn’t want the adults in the village to worry, so I kept silent. They were just right as training partners.

However, even those monsters did not come out today. It was a quiet and peaceful day. I reluctantly swung my sword as I imagined that there was a monster before me.

After repeating the usual movements, I picked up around ten fallen twigs.

“Vyrn, please.”

“Agaaain?”

“Come on, don’t say that!”

Despite my winged lizard pal’s complaints, He went along with my training. Holding the small twigs, he soared in the air. Having ascended up to a height of approximately as high as the treetops, he dropped the carried twigs one by one after yelling a “here goes!”.

With the help of my sword, I successively sliced the fist-sized twigs tumbling through the air. Nimbly swinging my sword like this was the result of training.

One, two, three, four, ……fifth one was a little far! But ― I'll make it! I quickly stepped forward and slashed diagonally at the height of my line of sight.

Five!

“Hey hey, look out! There’s still more and more!”

Six, seven, eight, nine ― just one more left―but then, Vyrn threw the last one at me with all his strength!

“Wai―!”

Not enough time to raise my sword and cut it! By reflex, I faced the twig that was aimed for between my brows and I swung my sword up from below!

I barely made it. Along with a dry sound, my sword sliced the twig from the centre.

“You’re horrible, Vyrn!”

My heart was still pounding. That was frightening. That was a shocking thing to do without warning.

“Hehe. Gran will be fine with this much after all. Besides, monsters don’t give advanced notices.”

“Ghhh”

That was quite reasonable. It was my request to begin with anyway.

“W-well, shall we stop for now?”

“Yes yes. I’m getting hungry too……”

It was only a moment of relief. When suddenly, a loud, thundery sound descended from the sky.

“Gran, over there!”

While sensing a bad premonition, I looked up at the sky.

A black mass could be seen filling the blue sky. No, that was ― a ship? A ship flying in the sky.

When looked at from below, it had the shape similar to a vertical, stretched barrel painted pitch black. The thin beard-like rod attached to the bottom of the warship’s bow was its cannon.

“An imperial battleship! Gran, it’s heading towards the village!”

Moreover, it wasn’t just a single ship.

One after another like clouds gushing out, several imperial battleships covered the sky overhead.

Before Vyrn could finish his sentence, the front of the battleship shined a bright red and, along with a slightly delayed roaring sound, the sound of a terrifying crash was heard from the direction of the village ― are they shelling it!?

“Gran!”

“Vyrn, we’re returning to the village!”

As I started to run while looking up at the sky, I bumped into something and rolled over from the momentum. Having received the impact to my stomach, my breath ceased.

“Kyahh!”

― Kyahh?

Looking around in confusion, I noticed that I had run into a girl. That girl was holding her forehead and grimacing close by.

“S, sor―“

“Umm―“

Before I could apologize, she raised her head and spoke.

“Help me!”

2

She painfully held her head in reflex.

She ended up crouching down, but realising this was no time for that, she raised her head.

It appears that the lad she had bumped into was a resident of this island.

From her perspective, the boy appeared to be two or three years older than her.

He held a somewhat small sword.

Though, rather than that sword, what caught her attention were the lad’s eyes.

His eyes that looked straight at her weren't clouded in the slightest, and they made her feel a nostalgic calmness to the point that she felt she would be sucked into them.…….

The girl spoke before she could think it over.

Help me!

3

The girl I bumped into had an unfamiliar appearance.

She wore a pure white one-piece, but it emitted a soft, strange lustre under the light, and it was clearly different from the hemp of the clothing worn by the girls in the village. It looked softer. It may have been made out of silk or something. Because there was no cloth covering her shoulder areas, her delicate skin could be seen. The whiteness of her skin was startling.

She had brooch with the large blue gem in it attached to her chest. That jewel was as large as a fist.

“Wh, what’s with this little miss?”

Vyrn spoke, surprised by a face he had never seen.

I also took another look at the girl I bumped into.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes……”

She told that she was fine in a small voice.

“Hey, grab on.”

Taking a step to get up, I extended my hand. That hand tightly grasped her small hand.

I was easily able to pull her up with only a bit of force..

How light, it was as though she had no body mass!

“Are you really fine?”

“I’m okay.”

Peering into her eyes, my breath ceased once more. The colour of the girl’s eyes were not inferior to the jewel on her chest, as they too carried the lovely blue brilliance of the summer skies reflected in them.

The colour was that of the skies I loved.

She quickly arranged her very long hair that got tangled up as she fell down. So long, in fact, that it reached to her feet. And strangely, even her hair seemed to be tinged with blue. One could never forget seeing such a child. She was definitely not a girl from the village.

“You’re……”

“Umm! Please help me!”

The girl repeated the words she said not too long ago.

The empire’s enormous flying battleship that was floating across the sky was shelling the village. Even now, the incessant thunderous sounds could be heard in the distance. The village was inhabited by a lot of people who had raised me. Just what in the world was going on? I did not understand at that time. And then, there was this girl before me who is seeking my help.

“Err, you said help.”

“Please! As it is, we―“

Before she could finish her sentence, the sound of someone treading on the undergrowth was heard. Along with the dry sound of withered branches being snapped, the figure of a soldier in armour came in sight.

“You over there, halt! Place your sword on the ground and raise your hands!”

He said as he pointed his sword at us.

“Wh, what!”

At my side, Vyrn flapped his wings in a rage as he yelled in a threatening tone.

“Bastard! You asking for it!?”

“Imperial soldier……huh?”

Although it was my first time seeing one, it was obvious from the design engraved onto his armour.

The imperial soldier donned in full-braid armour threatened us saying, “hand over the girl if you hold your life dear.” Just like the words of an abductor.

While trembling, the girl clung to my arm. It was apparent that she was putting her strength to her legs and trying to stay on her feet. Even so, she needed additional support since she was taking hold of my arm.

“No……no way……”

“She said no.”

“Silence! Hand over the girl immediately! I don’t want to get violent.”

“I think that’s plenty violent enough…….”

“You don’t value your life?”

He threatened us. The eyes that peeked out from the visor of his helmet grew sharper.

“She was seeking help. I can’t ignore that.”

While giving a flat reply, I gently pulled off the girl who was clinging to my arm. If that continued, then I couldn’t move about. Vyrn caught on to my words as well.

“Right right. You’re just saying selfish things.”

The imperial soldier did not try to conceal his irritation in the slightest and clicked his tongue. And then said in a low volume,

“What a hassle……you brats, don’t regret this!”

“Wha!”

I couldn’t believe it. Although he called us kids, the soldier raised his sword overhead and came charging at us! Rumours said that “they don’t give leniency,” that they were only notorious imperial soldiers.

“Gran, watch out―!”

Vyrn yelled in a shrill voice.

I also promptly raised my sword. Then metal clashed. My hoisted sword narrowly blocked the imperial soldier’s sword. Clang, and my arm became numb. The weight of steel swung down seriously surpassed my expectations. If I had been struck by it, the injury might have been serious.

“What!”

He let out a surprised voice. The soldier pulled back his sword, changed its trajectory and let out the quick thrust this time.

“Haaaa!”

“Wah!”

After I pushed the girl away, we tumbled onto the ground together.

4

“Y, you okay?”

I called out to the girl.

“Yes……somehow.”

Although it was for keeping her out of the fight, I still ended up pushing her fairly strongly. But without crying the girl courageously stood up by herself after dusting off her clothes.

Contradictory to her appearance, she seemed to be a strong girl.

However, I who wasn’t carrying a shield couldn’t protect myself from being stabbed. The imperial soldier thrusted his sword without hesitation. I felt a cold shiver run down my spine. That soldier……Did he think that it wouldn't matter even if I died!?

“How long can you keep dodging!”

Having said that, the man once again raised his sword.

Standing up, I readied my sword once again. I’ve done countless imaginary battles in my mind.

However, this was―no longer practice.

If I am defeated, I die.

“What’s wrong, your hands are trembling.”

Honestly, I’m afraid.

The enemy wasn’t some beast in the forest. It had the figure of a person, and could be communicated with.

“If you aren't coming, then I'll come!”

The sword he held overhead was ― no, that wouldn’t do. Don’t just look at the sword.

Having sharpened my senses, I tried to assess my opponent’s body. That was what the old huntsman from the village had taught me. Fangs and claws were also terrifying. But, the problem was the wit that the cunning beasts used to gain victory.

From the enemy's line of sight, faintly visible through the slits in his helmet, and the movements of the muscles from his shoulders down his arms, how would he twist his body? Would it be a feint, or would it be a full powered attack? Look at his footwork, is he shifting his body weight, or perhaps—

I feigned getting struck by the sword.

“Haa! I got yo― what!?”

The sword that was swung down had its trajectory altered midway through the slash like a swallow flipping over the sky. I learned much later that this was a technique that was handed down to the imperial soldiers.

I had read his movements.

The hoisted sword had its trajectory forcibly altered midway. I then thrusted my sword’s tip directly at my opponent’s face.

Such an absurd attack could not have had much power behind it, but the imperial soldier could not avoid it because he made a step as he tried to return the strike. He forcefully twisted his body so much that I worried whether his neck would snap, and defended his face with all he had.

My sword had missed and slashed at the air by only a hairsbreadth. The sword passed by, grazing the steel helmet. It had missed, but the soldier’s stance was broken.

There was an opening.

As I took another step, I struck the enemy’s dominant arm with the small sword I was holding. The sound of stiff steel rose. Because it hit the gauntlet, it probably didn't leave an injury but it clearly resulted in an awful bruise.

“Gah! Damn you!”

“Please pull back!”

“You will let me off it I pull back, is that what you are saying? Don’t underestimate me, you brat!”

The imperial soldier wasn’t negligent anymore. When he got up, he swung a clean, conventional attack towards me. A commendable sword technique without openings. My head might have been blown off from that ― if it were an ordinary slash.

However, the soldier’s dominant arm didn't move as usual.

The soldier in full body armour was not wounded by my sword. However, it was not as if there was no shock from being hit by a lump of metal. There was no armour that could completely absorb the blow. Of course, if magic was involved then it’d be a different story.

The movement of his sword was lower by the distance of two fingers or so compared to how I imagined it, and it also lost its speed.

Compared to the twigs Vyrn threw from the sky, those movements were far too slow for me.

I had narrowly avoided the blow that imperial soldier unleashed by moving merely a single step.

“What!?”

A voice of surprise reached my ears, but at the same time I struck my sword at that man’s abdomen.

“Ooooooh! Rraaahhggg!”

I swept my sword with all my might.

Even while having thick armor, the soldier couldn't come out unscathed after taking a full-powered hit to the abdomen with a sword that was akin to a metal rod.

The eyes of the man in helmet turned completely white.

Gah, after raising a groan, the man fell down on his face.

“You got him!”

Vyrn raised cheerful voice.

“As expected of Gran, niiiiice one!”

“Y-Yeah……haah haah.”

I breathed heavily as I looked down at the unconscious soldier. That was close. I still couldn’t believe I won. But since he merely fainted, he would get up soon.

It was hard to imagine that there was only one soldier here. If his comrades appeared now, I wouldn’t be able to put up a fight.

“Better quickly get out of here……”

“Lyria! You alright!?”

I turned towards the voice and an armoured female figure showed up from within the thicket. She was only lacking a helmet to cover her head, but her whole body was fortified with shining, silver coloured armour, which to me was no different from the collapsed soldier’s. So his allies were nearby, after all - that’s what I thought at that time. I forcibly put my fatigue-laden body on guard. Although I had no fighting strength left.

“It’s dangerous so, run.”

I tried to at least let this girl – clad in sky-blue clothes and the same colored eyes – escape.

However―.

“Katalina! Thank goodness... you're safe too, Katalina...”

The girl, upon seeing the face of the female soldier, breathed a sigh of relief.

 

5

“She doesn’t seem to be hurt. Were you guys protecting Lyria?”

After taking a glance at the fainted soldier, the female soldier inquired.

By saying “you guys”, it wasn’t only me. Vyrn was included as well. His chattering voice seemed to be heard.

“You know, rather than protect, this soldier was aiming at us too.”

Vyrn said. I also nodded to those words.

I believe it was no different than us protecting ourselves from danger.

“Hey, hey! Listen to this, Katalina! This person was sooooo cool when he came to help me!”

“Ohh……?”

This female called Katalina was an adult over 20 years old. Her chestnut-coloured, straight hair stretched from the right to the left of her forehead, and reached down to her shoulders. And on the waistband coiled many times over was a rapier with an elegantly ornamented grip.

“I am Katalina Alizé. I would like to give you my thanks as well.”

On saying that, Katalina held her hand against her chest and gave a bow.

“I’m Gran.”

I just gave a small bow in return. Katalina’s bow appears to be out of formality, but having been born in the backwoods, I couldn’t manage a formal address.

Nevertheless, with that, it appeared that she was a soldier who had formal etiquette driven into her. Rather than a soldier, she was a knight. That’s the kind of feeling she gave off.

I took another look at Lyria and Katalina.

An adult woman who looks like the empire's knight, and a girl even younger than me but with something mysterious about her.

What was their connection?

No matter how you looked at it, it was unlikely that there was anything in common between those two.

Because their facial features weren’t similar, it was not likely that they were family either. On that subject, both of them used the same pronoun, but while Lyria spoke it with a lisp, making it sound cute, when Katalina used it she gave off a composed feel. She is a mature woman - that was my image of her, but...

“Hmph!”

Vyrn came out in front of me, gave a rude snort and puffed up his chest. He asserted himself, as if saying not to forget about him. I introduced Vyrn in a hurry.

“Well, this guy here is Vyrn, and―”

“That Mr. Lizard also helped!”

“I ain’t no lizard! I've got a proper name and it's Vyrn!”

“Wh….aaa……”

While taking a long hard gaze at Vyrn, Katalina eyes opened wide.

“What, what is it? Hey you, got some complaints about me!?”

“Hey, Vyrn, come on.”

Angering her wouldn't end well. I wanted to warn my little friend of that fact. The other party was a knight of the empire after all. At present, it appeared that she was sort of an acquaintance of this girl, but I still don’t know her connection with the imperial soldiers in pursuit.

“Such……”

Katalina was taking one step, two steps, sidling up to Vyrn.

“H-hey. What is it?”

“Looking closely, such adorableness! Small body, little wings. While it seems like a lizard, it’s still nice and round……. And above all, those big and round eyes. Furthermore, just that tsun attitude is great. Magnificent!”

……What?

Katalina grabbed the floating Vyrn in front of her with her gauntlet-covered hands and gave him a big, squeezing hug in her arms.

“To think something this cute existed in this world!”

“H, hey……what are you doing……squeezing, p- painful.”

This is bad. Though she appeared to be a delicate lady, she was easily wearing that full body armour after all. While getting hugged by her at full strength, Vyrn's complexion started to change. It seemed that he would black out from the lack of air at this rate.

“Hold, hold on there, Katalina!”

“Umm……excuse me, can you let go?”

“That’s right, Katalina! Come on, hurry!”

“Besides……we better quickly get awa―“

After knocking out a pursuing imperial soldier, I think we got a little negligent.

So when we heard that voice, we were startled.

“First lieutenant Katalina!”

A sudden shout calling out to Katalina could be heard from the direction of the groves.

A male voice. His awful shrill hurt the ears. The one who showed up, clad in armor, was once again a guy that looked like an imperial soldier.

As he looked at us, a disgusting smile appeared on his face.

6

That man who wore steel armour on top of coarse red clothes had a long and narrow face and had quite an unfitting mustache growing above his mouth and chin.

“Whaaat? And this wannabe-stylish, shabby beardo is………?”

Vyrn whispered close to my ear. Fortunately, it seemed that his voice wasn't heard by that man. Some things were better left unsaid even if you believed it to be true.

“My goodness. First lieutenant Katalina was in such a place?”

……Did he just say first lieutenant?

So, that means Ms Katalina was a soldier of the empire after all…….

“Captain Pommern! D-deepest apologies. I was safeguarding Lyria.”

Eh…….? That surprised me. It seemed she said something about safeguarding Lyria just now.

……Then, likewise, Ms Katalina was also pursuing Lyria? But if that’s the case…….

“Safeguarding her? Oh dear. How insincere. How utterly shameless! It was you who set that girl free, wasn’t it?”

The bearded man she called captain showed a snakelike smirk. I had no idea whether snakes actually laughed or not, but if they did, I believed that’s how it would look. I felt a chill run down my spine.

“Slow down there. What’s going on?”

Muttered Vyrn. Even I wanted to know. Just what the heck was going on here?

This Lyria girl was sort of running away from being pursued by the imperial soldiers. Running into me was because she was in a panic. I somehow managed to knock out a pursuing imperial soldier. And afterwards, this female knight Katalina appeared, who seemed to be protecting Lyria.

But ― Katalina said that she was protecting Lyria, and this bearded Captain said that Katalina was the one who set her free.

One of them was telling a lie.

When I examined Lyria’s state, she was standing stock still frozen in place watching that bearded Captain. There was a shadow that could be seen in those blue eyes that reflected the sky. I instinctively reached out to her and tightly grasped her trembling hand. Lyria also took a fleeting glance at me and pulled closer to my body to hide behind my back.

The bearded Captain reprimanded Katalina again. Cross-examining her in a shrill, high voice.

“Turning on the great Erste Empire! Whatever would the Black Knight say when she becomes aware of it!? Because that girl is essential for the sake of controlling that. You should be well aware of that too. And yet, you’ve set her free……”

“Captain Pommern! I’m doing no such thing.”

Katalina gave an excuse, but that bearded man cast it aside.

“You……breach of trust is a serious crime, you know?”

The situation had grown suspicious. “Somehow, the mood’s gone strange”, Vyrn murmured. I had the same feeling.

“You should be well aware that our nation isn’t known to show mercy to traitors. Ku ku ku.”

“B-but Captain. ……It is still too dangerous for us to be controlling Primal Beasts……there are still too many things not known about Primal Crystals which were the legacy of the ‘Astrals’……”

When the word Primal Beast left Katalina’s mouth, Lyria who was grabbing onto my arm had put in more force in her grip.

Primal Beasts― They were magical beasts who still remained as legends in these islands of the skies. According to the village elders, it was said that they could only be used by the Astrals. Presently, they were considered to be sleeping within these jewels referred to as Primal Crystals. Those jewel fragments were said to be contained in the Primal Crystal Shrines.

Words heard only in the tales of old suddenly came flying out. I couldn’t see where the conversation was headed. A while ago, when that Captain had said “that”, to take a guess, he was probably referring to the Primal Beasts. Lyria wouldn’t stop trembling. It seemed like this was a painful topic for her.

“I hoped you wouldn’t change the subject!”

“That’s not what I...!”

“Hmph. I’ve had enough. Good grief, I don’t want to spend any more time on these trivial matters! Let’s speed things up shall we. Thaaat’s right……”

The bearded man ― Captain Pommern lowered his high voice in restraint, and once again gave a smug sneer.

“Kuku ku ku…… since this is such a remote region, I won’t be traced if I erase everything along with the village here, right? Now, let me test the research results of that girl!”

The me at that time had no idea what that bearded Captain was up to. The only thing I felt was some immense energy overflowing from that man’s body. It gave me the illusion as if he had swelled up to twice his size.

The Captain raised his arm, and when he swung it downwards, a sudden roar resounded from beyond the groves.

It came towards us breaking through the narrowly spaced trunks of the densely-growing trees. Along with the loud cracking of branches underfoot, forcing its way through the thicket, the figure of the source of the roaring had revealed itself.

“Grrooooooaaa!”

Many roars were heard at the same time; they overlapped with each other.

The reason for that was that the monster had several heads.

What came into my sight was a monster so tall that I had to look up to even see it; it was a strange monster possessing the body of a lizard covered with deep red scales and had five long necks extending from its torso.

A multi-headed dragon that I thought only existed in old stories ― a Hydra!

“Wha! Where did this monster come from……!?”

“Th-this is baaaaad!”

Vyrn raised a voice full of shock.

Even I was surprised. Until just now, I hadn’t seen any signs of it. Just where in the world did that monster come from!?

“I never wanted to believe it...but it seems the empire was researching the Primal Crystals power for such a reason……”

Katalina said.

“That’s right, this is the result of studying that girl, the power of the Dark Essence! Wonderful, simply maagnificent! Ku ku ku…!”

Pommern laughed.

The dragon with five heads started advancing towards us. The body that resembled a stout lizard mowed down the obstructing trees. Flailing its neck around, the trees broke and fell left and right.

The five heads simultaneously turned towards my and Lyria’s direction.

“Captain Pommern! Are you intending to get Lyria swallowed up in it!?”

“Ku ku ku. There’s no way a monster can get killed by another monster, wouldn’t you say? That monster there can hardly be killed by something like a Hydra. And now, weaklings are unneeded here! You brats ought to curse your own fates! If you will, Hydraaaaa!”

Simultaneously with that man’s voice, five jaws flared up and opened.

I promptly pushed Lyria to keep her away.

The following moment.

I was wrapped in the hydra’s flames, and my vision was dyed a deep red.

7

Rather than heat, I didn’t even feel any pain.

My consciousness was robbed in an instant, and I was surrounded by pitch black darkness before I even realised.

I could hear Vyrn’s faint voice calling out to me from beyond that darkness.

“Hey! Gran! P-pull yourself together, come on!”

However, I had no more strength left to respond to that voice…….

“Wonderful. Isn’t it wonderful!? This power!”

That was Captain Pommern’s voice. Laughing as if he had gone mad.

“There are civilians, children even! Pommern, you bastard, just how rotten can you be!”

That scorning voice belonged to the female imperial knight, Katalina.

“Hey, Gran. You’re kidding, right? Answer me already!”

Vyrn’s voice was already mixed with his sobbing. That voice was also gradually becoming faint as my consciousness was rapidly fading. The darkness wrapping my surroundings became pronounced; it was so dark I couldn’t see a thing.

Did I……die?

The only memories that resurfaced in my mind were plain old everyday sceneries of my childhood.

My parents were not around.

Although I had a father, he had gone out on a journey when I was a child and I couldn’t even remember his face. I have arrived at the at the end of the sky, the Island of Astrals, Estalucia ― That was the line written in a letter that I received.

Even with that letter, I had no way to check where had it come from and whether it truly was my father who composed it. I didn’t even know if he was alive or not.

Even so, the people of the village had treated me kindly.

The girls in the village would take care of the children who did not have parents all together. They would sing them lullabies on sleepless nights, and even dissolve wheat flour in water and bake it to make simple sweets for them.

Even at the time I fell down from the tallest tree in the village, though they became angry, they still worried for me. They then questioned why I did something so dangerous, but when I replied, “I thought that I could see the end of the sky”, they didn’t say another word. They did not get angry beyond that, but inside their eyes, I could still sense that they judged that they shouldn’t say anything more.

Since the adults would give a look filled with sorrow every time I did something rash, I gradually started going to the forest whenever I was up to something.

But even after all that, I was unable to forget about the letter that my father had sent me….

Ah, it was becoming difficult to even think any more…….

It was cold. It felt as if my heart itself would freeze.

My consciousness was being slowly swallowed up by the darkness, but there was a voice barely keeping me in check.

“It’ll…… be alright.”

It was a clear voice.

A voice I had heard before. A voice of a girl.

…………Lyria?

Along with that voice, I was wrapped in warmth. When the warmth permeating through me reached within the deepest parts of my heart, a glow was lit in my chest. My consciousness slowly cleared up. And even Vyrn’s voice started to reach me.

“The Primal Crystal is……! The shrine’s Primal Crystal is reacting!”

Primal Crystal is reacting? What in the world does that mean?

The glow and warmth I felt in my heart was slowly spreading to the edges, towards the ends of my limbs.

“My power……I entrust it to you……”

I could clearly hear Lyria’s voice.

What struck my eardrums was the commotion in the forest, the gusts of wind, the roars of the multi-headed monster, and the voice of my winged lizard friend calling out to me.

I opened my eyes. But it was too bright and I couldn’t see anything.

However, shapes and colours gradually returned to my field of vision.

“Gran!”

“……Vyrn?”

“He, hey. You alright, get up already!”

“Okay.”

I struck my shivering legs with my fists as I stood up. I grasped my hands firmly. I’m fine. Though I do not know why I was saved.

“Wh……what, are you!?”

Pommern shouted as he pointed at me. Staring at me with eyes wide in shock.

But now, there wasn’t any time to be paying attention to the bearded man.

I picked up my sword that I had dropped and glared at the multi-headed monster ― the Hydra.

I could not leave such a monster roaming around so close to the village. There was no guarantee that it wouldn’t go attacking someone in the village. I couldn’t leave that thing be…!

Once again grasping the sword tightly, I tried to take a step forward.

“Gran……!”

What stopped me was the cornered Lyria’s voice.

“The energy…… it feels like it’s overflowing!”

Lyria who said my name was standing right in front of the monster and yet had her eyes closed. She had sweat on her forehead and she looked like she was enduring something with all her power.

Next instant, my vision blurred.

My eyes should not have left the Hydra which I was extending my hand to, and yet I could see something else as it was hanging over the visible scene.

It was a dark-coloured jewel.

(What……is that?)

(A Primal Crystal.)

My inner mutter was responded to not by a voice but a gentle and calming thought.

This is……the voice of Lyria’s mind ―?

(The Primal Crystal had been sealed in this closed-off ground. For a long…long time, it was sleeping. Although it was asleep, it had been supporting this land ― the island……)

I stared at the large jewel floating in the pitch-black darkness with my newfound sight. The stone that was cut into the polygon shape was dyed in a colour deeper than the darkness itself.

So this is……a Primal Crystal……

In my gaze, that jewel repeatedly turned big and small. Quite like a heart. Going thump, thump, thump……

(It’s coming!)

Coming!? What is?

(The primordial dragon ― the scion of dark flames……)

She shouted out her thoughts.

(Bahamut!)

8

I could feel the sensation of something coming out from inside my body.

It was not unpleasant in the least, but more like light dizziness combined with what that felt like a bit of my energy being sucked out and heading somewhere―.

It appeared that the voice of Lyria’s emanating heart was originating from within myself. It could perhaps be that Lyria and I were somehow connected right now.

Along with a roar that tore up the empty sky, a dignified giant body slowly revealed itself from the rift between the clouds.

That thing was a dragon a size bigger than the Hydra. It was an even bigger dragon covered in dark-coloured scales and silver wings. Its mouth and arms were bound by thick red bindings……

―Thy ardent roar shakes the skies, inspiring awe in all who hear it.

―Thy name is《Proto Bahamut》.

That famed dragon of the legends flapped its wings and circled the open meadows. The body of the gigantic dragon made a black cut in the blue sky that looked as if night had descended. A night sky devoid of stars.

“Wha, what, is that!?”

The bearded man’s face distorted as he shrieked, but I did not have the luxury of looking at him anymore.

There was rage in the dragon’s eyes. A rage towards being bound when it should have been a free dragon. When power filled its eyes, the insufficient red restraints binding its mouth burst apart!

The primordial dragon opened its jaws and took a great breath. Magical energy could be felt converging before that dragon’s eyes. The dragon’s breath was coming!

Catastrophe.

Having been released from its jaws, a mass of bluish-white light soundlessly shot towards the Hydra!

The body of the red multi-headed monster which was many times my size ― had a gaping wide hole pierced through it.

The five heads tried to give a cry of resentment without understanding what had happened to itself.

However ― the next instant, the body that suddenly had an enormous hole opened in it became unable to support itself and slowly came falling. Thump went the five necks after they rigidly stopped moving.

And they collapsed on top of its body one after another with flapping sounds.

“Wha! Th, that’s absurd! The Hydra was done in with a single blow!?”

Captain Pommern fell into a state of frenzy.

“Hey, now’s the time. Gran, we are getting away from here!”

Vyrn yelled out, but the strength left my body and I couldn’t move. I couldn’t fully support my staggering body on my own. I was barely able to try to walk in the direction of the voice.

“This way, lad!”

I heard Katalina’s voice coming from a distance.

“Pull yourself together!”

“R, right……”

I squeezed out my voice, but I couldn’t articulate well. A wave of fatigue washed over me, and my body seemed as though it wasn’t mine.

Lyria was shouting something.

“Gran! Gran! Please get a hold of yourself!”

“His senses seem to be clearing up, but we have to treat his injury fast……”

Just how far my unsteady legs could take me was unclear. The only thought remaining in my hazy consciousness was that I had to get as far away as I could; from the bearded captain, and from the imperial soldiers.

And yet I thought that I was completely healed just now……

That black dragon appeared as sudden as the Hydra. As though it responded to Lyria’s call……

I lost my consciousness and fell into the darkness once again.

9

“Haah haah……Would this be far enough?”

Vyrn’s voice arrived at my ear. Seems that his breathing was erratic from running frantically. No, I suppose in Vyrn’s case it was due to flapping his wings too much. I felt Lyria’s and Katalina’s presences as well. In my slowly recovering consciousness, I could hear surrounding voices.

“What the hell was that. That was the Primal Beast thing, wasn’t it. Why did it suddenly appear to come and save us!?”

“That’s likely Lyria’s powers. Even if it’s a Primal Beast that obeys only the Astrals, with Lyria’s powers…… Wha! What is this!?”

I heard Katalina’s voice right next to me. And someone’s hand touched my body.

“What happened to the wound earlier. It didn’t even leave a scar!”

With that voice as the trigger, I completely regained my consciousness. I somehow opened my eyes. By my side were Katalina and Lyria. Katalina was fixedly a staring at me who just opened my eyes.

“Are you……okay?”

“……Yes.”

When I raised my body, I inspected myself, and even I was surprised. It was natural for Katalina to be shocked. I should have been burnt to a crisp in the Hydra’s fiery breath. If that scorching heat had gone on, I would have been reduced to ashes without even leaving bones.

However, after taking off my clothes, not a single wound could be found on my chest. Much less burn marks. It was as though all the skin on my body was brand new, like I was born just now. It wasn’t even painful no matter how I tried to move my limbs.

“I seem to be... fine.”

“But it’s ridiculous……”

“Katalina. Gran risked his life to save me. But bore a severe injury because of that. Losing the spark of life, he should have been roaming the abyss of purgatory. I did not want to allow that.”

“Lyria……no way, did you?”

To Katalina’s inquiry, Lyria gave a small nod.

“So, I used my own life to contain Gran in this world. After all, my life was saved by him.”

It was difficult to understand what Lyria was saying. It seemed that she wasn’t the naive and ignorant little girl she appeared to be.

“What……do you mean?”

I questioned Lyria.

“I don’t think you’ll understand it immediately but…… Simply put, I’ve shared my life-force, my spark of life with you. In this way, Gran and I are……”

Lyria gently held out her hand to my chest.

Her weak fingertips came in contact with me.

Through her fingertips, a mild warmth poured into my body.

“We are sharing a single life, my life-force becomes your life-force, what wounds you also wounds me……from now on, forever……”

“Forever?”

“Yes. Gran. I’m so sorry. But this was the only way to save you.”

Lyria said in a truly apologetic manner.

“No……. You don’t have to apologise.”

“Gran?”

“After all, if you hadn’t done that, I would have died, wouldn’t I? You did that to save me. I can’t get angry for that.”

When I said that to Lyria, she finally released the breath she was nervously holding in.

“What the hell! So, Gran and the little miss ― Lyria have to be together from now on?”

Vyrn asked, and Lyria said “yes” with a nod.

Sharing one life, huh……? That’s not something easy to fathom but, it seemed that Lyria and I were now in a situation where we shared life. If I got injured, Lyria would get injured too, and if Lyria collapsed, so would I.

“I don’t really get this. But as long as Gran’s okay with it, I’m fine with it too! But hey, what the hell wazzit. That thing just now was a Primal Beast, wasn’t it?”

“That was most likely, the Primal Beast called Proto Bahamut.”

Katalina said.

“I knew it! So, that means you woke up and summoned the slumbering Primal Beast!?”

“No. It was slightly different. What woke that child wasn’t my power. I only noticed that it had woken up. It seems to me that it woke up when my and Gran’s lives got linked……”

Lyria’s words sounded as though I was the cue to waking the Primal Beast. That’s unexpected.

“E-Even so, the Primal Beasts who carry the power of stars should only be summoned by the Astrals. So who in the world are you!?”

Vyrn’s words make Lyria freeze on the spot. As if she was asked something she didn’t want to hear. “that’s, well……”, She hung her head and her words became muddied.

“It’s fine for now, Vyrn.”

“Gran?”

“This isn’t the place for that.”

I looked up at the sky. The imperial battleship was still suspended in the sky above the village. The shelling seemed to have ceased, but I was still concerned about what had become of the village.

“If we’re headed for your village, let’s go together.”

Katalina said.

“You sure about that? You’re a still a knight of the empire, right?”

Katalina responded with a nod to Vyrn’s question.

“Right. Still, haven’t you heard? I turned traitor to the empire, and was the one who set this child free.”

“Why would you do such……”

“We’ll talk about that later. Come on!”

As Katalina said that, I nodded as well.

However, we ― Vyrn and myself–couldn't bring ourselves to return to the village. We couldn't bring ourselves to see the village. When the village entrance was just up ahead, I was stopped by a voice.

“Gran!”

The one who was peeking part of his face out from behind the grove was a child of the village. It was one of the children who were fishing by the pond. Pell.

I was together with unfamiliar people after all, so he was peeking in my direction timidly.

“Pell!”

“Gran nii-chan!”

“What are you doing here? It’s dangerous.”

I was in no position to say it, but Pell was barely 10 years old. It was too dangerous.

“I came because I knew that Gran nii-chan went to the forest alone……and you were probably unaware that those scary people came. I was worried you would be in danger……”

“Scary people……?”

“They are wearing armour. A lot of them came, and a proud-looking bearded man.”

“That would be Captain Pommern. He must be searching for us.”

Pell was frightened of the armour-clad Katalina. I told him that Katalina wasn’t a bad person.

And then asked him what was going on in the village.

The imperial soldiers who had turned up at the village seemed to be searching for “a princess-looking little girl”. I could roughly guess that it was about Lyria. When the village head replied that there was no one like that in the village, the bearded man ordered his subordinates to search outside the village, saying hiding her was useless.

“I see. And because of that, they were searching the forest……”

Katalina expressed a look of agreement.

“Then, that person isn’t in the village anymore?”

When I listened closely, the noise of the shelling could no longer be heard.

“Yeah. Everyone’s gone somewhere.”

“You came to tell me that? Thank you.”

“Ye, yeah. Umm……nii-chan……”

I realised he was looking at Lyria behind us. The “princess-looking little girl” who the bearded man – Captain Pommern was searching for .

“Pell. Could you keep silent about seeing her?”

“Yup.”

“Thank you. You better go back home since it’s dangerous.”

“What about you?”

I hesitated for a while. At first, the situation of the village was weighing on my mind, and I was thinking that I should return. However, if I took Lyria along there was still the slight chance that the Captain would return and find her. I couldn’t put the village in danger.

But still, Lyria and I could not be separated anymore.

“It’ll be fine, for now, go back to the village. Don’t go into the forest until you grow much older, okay?”

Pell nodded, and we saw him off close to the entrance.

Now then ― what do we do.

The imperials were undoubtedly searching for us even now.

I looked over at Katalina and Lyria. It all depended on what they wanted to do.

“We are out of options, huh……”

Katalina spoke as she cast her eyes down.

“Katalina……”

Lyria watched Katalina with a sad looking face.

“We cannot hand Lyria over to those guys. Let’s flee the island!”

“Leave you say……”

An airship was necessary to leave a floating island.

“I have made preparations. Actually, it was only for Lyria to escape but……seeing that you cannot be separated from her, Gran, you’ve also got no choice but to come along with us. I’m sorry.”

“Nah ― it couldn’t be helped. Even I wouldn’t want Lyria to be caught by those guys who shelled the village without any warning.”

“That’s right, yeah! I definitely hate those guys!”

Vyrn raved in concurrence, fervently flapping his wings.

“Are you sure?”

Katalina asked. I understood that this would be the last query.

“Yes.”

I nodded.

I could no longer return to the village.

We stayed vigilant of our surroundings so that we wouldn’t be discovered by the imperials as we went towards the house that concealed a small airship that Katalina prepared.

10

My village was surrounded by mountains.

We arrived at the foot of the mountains at the west side. It was called Azure Sky Gate, one of the few locations from where we could look beyond the island. Only this one corner had a slightly lower summit like a gate that opened into the steep mountain range. The gentle slopes that connected to the valley resulted in meadows which were concealed by the shadow of the even trough.

“Wow.”

“What an interesting shape! Moreover, look how shiny it is!”

Vyrn and I shouted almost simultaneously.

The shape of the small cavalry ship fundamentally differed from that  of those ‘boats’ that floated above the rivers and lakes. Even with that said, the imperial ‘battleship’ currently suspended above the village had more of a ‘boat’ shape .

The shape of the small airship in front of me was closer to that of a ‘bird’.

The boarding spot was shaped like a bowl with seats at the front and back. There were ‘wings’ similar to that of a bird’s attached on either side, and also two sets of tail wings standing vertically at the back.

This ship flew by flapping its wings just as its appearance suggested.

“Even though it was brought about by the current circumstances, you’re departing on the sky journey that you’ve always dreamt of! You better prepare yourself!”

Said Vyrn.

“I’m prepared for this.”

I swallowed my saliva. What could hold me back after coming this far? Only thing left for me was to move forward.

“When you get on, fasten your seatbelts. Hurry up!”

We slipped into the airship in a hurry. It appeared it wasn’t a lie that it was only intended for Lyria to escape since the airship was originally meant for two persons. We even ended up using the support seat, with Vyrn sitting on my lap.

“Lyria, pass that to me.”

“Okay.”

Lyria passed a bundle of paper that was on the seat to Katalina. Peeking over her shoulders, there was a sketch of something identical to some complicated gauges drawn on it and accompanied by something similar to a written series of numbers or a memo.

“That is……?”

“The instructions for operating this ship. It’s a manual, in other words. I still haven’t fully memorized how everything works.”

Katalina said some frightening things.

“I see, right, that’s it. This one should be ― like this.”

As she tapped on several buttons and flipped up a thin stick, the airship started to vibrate along with the faint sound of an engine. The operator console full of numerical figures and needles lit up, and all the needles that were shaking left and right flew from zero all the way to the right edge.

“Hold tight!”

Just before Katalina’s shout, the wind burst around the ship.

Its folded wings soundlessly unfolded, and the hanging sails started to flutter as they filled with wind. the rumbling sound of winds hitting the windshield struck my eardrums.

“Here we go!”

Katalina yelled.

A moment later, our bodies rose up into the sky along with the ship!

“We’re flying! Unbelievable, man!”

I even forgot to breathe as I looked outside through the glass windshield. The greenery of the forest we could see on both sides up until that moment was no longer around. There was only the sky being gradually dyed in twilight. After all, it was nearing the evening.

“H, hey, did we hit something?”

I turned my sight back to the front at Vyrn’s panicked voice.

In front of the slope at the foot of the mountain where our ship took off from, we were approaching the Azure Sky Gate which acted as a wall. Although it was lower than the surroundings, it doesn’t change the fact that it was a steep cliff.

“We are going over it!”

Katalina drew back the yoke.

The airship's nose pulled up into the sky.

The ship grazed the approaching mountain surface as it steadily continued its ascent.

And at last, we passed over the Gate.

 

“Woooohooooooo! This is incredible, Gran!”

Vyrn shouted in excitement.

With the yoke placed back to its level position, the sea of clouds dyed orange in the twilight　stretched out in front of our ship.

“We're in the sky! We’re totally flying outside the island! We really are!”

There it was―the sky.

The endless,boundless sky―as far as the eye could see.

I looked back.

What I saw was the village I had been living in, and the small island that the village was on.

Floating above a sea of clouds…….

Our village was in a slightly flat mortar-shaped valley that resulted from being surrounded by tall mountains. Passing over these mountains to view the outside of the island was my dream. Even that was something I wasn’t sure I would ever see achieved in my life.

We easily crossed over the mountain and now viewed the island from the outside.

Seeing it this way, what a small place it was……….

“That’s……..the place were lived in……..”

“Zanktinzelle, was it? Right. A tiny island floating in the remote region of Phatagrande skydom.”

Katalina said.

“Well sorry for it being so tiny!”

Vyrn pouted.

“Haha, sorry sorry. That tiny island is supposed to be worthless to the empire, so why an imperial battleship happened to stop by was beyond me ― but….to think it was where a Primal Beast was sleeping.”

“Katalina. Where are we going now?”

Lyria inquired.

“Let’s see…. Well, Lyria, the Phatagrande skydom is under the empire’s influence. It’s for certain that we must get out of this skydom.”

“I’m fine with going anywhere. Is there somewhere you want to go?”

Being asked by Lyria, I was unsure of how to express it.

“To the end of the sky……..to Estalucia.”

“Es-ta-lu-ci-a? It sounds strange…….”

Lyria said.

“That fabled island where the Astrals are said to inhabit? Why not then. It also coincides with our aim. However, it would be a long journey. So with that settled, we’ll start with preparations for the journey.”

“Which reminds me, we haven’t had anything to eat since morning.”

“I wish we had an apple at least.”

“Vyrn likes apples?”

“Yeah!”

“I would like some cake. One full of honey set atop and fluffy…….”

“Cut it out. You’re making me hungry!”

“Fufu.”

The tension had calmed down. And Vyrn and Lyria started talking about their favorite food.

After Katalina took a fleeting glance at the two, she faced me and spoke.

“From here, Port Breeze is the closest. How about we start by making preparations there?”

“Understood.”

“Alright, here we go!”

Katalina tilted the yoke to the left and the airship gently rotated, turning its nose slightly to the left. The clouds outside the windshield slid from the left to the right of my sight.

And into the endless skies, our ship flew.

The sun was about to sink below the wave of clouds. The surface of the sea of clouds below was dyed in orange. It looked as though we were flying over an orange fluff.

The clouds broke up here and there, and an indigo sky could be seen under the tattered sea of clouds. It was the The Sky Below^[2]. Was there a sky as well, or maybe islands, or perhaps something else entirely?

Nobody knew what lay below the clouds.

It was said that if a ship flew a certain altitude below the clouds, it would suddenly stall and sink.

No one had come back from a fallen ship.

The island’s elders were saying that The Sky Below connected to the nether realm.

I moved my gaze from the bottom of the ship and fixed it at the bow.

The nether realm was the place where the dead went to. It had nothing to do with the current me.

Right now―

Going through the twilight-dyed sea of clouds beyond the windshield was all that I needed to think about. Beyond even this sky illuminated by the setting sun.

We departed on our way, towards the ends of the skies.

[Previous Chapter] [Main] [Next Chapter]  

---

1 Romanised as Zinkenstill in the official translation of the game. Note that some terms may not follow the official translations but instead use the Japanese pronunciation. ^↩ 
2 Also known as the Crimson Horizon in the official translation. ^↩

• Tweet
• Share
• Share
• Share
• Share