pearl of wisdom

[Season 2] Chapter 35 - Riders of the Wind, Onward

"Hearing of this incident, the head of the family was very mad and ordered her family to be imprisoned. She regretted her decision but there was no way to turn things back. All that she had left were regret, self-reproach and a cold heart from being betrayed by her first love." Alphine started once again.

"The main family imposed a massive penalty fee on her family. In particular they sentenced her to a very special labor punishment. And as planned, she was chosen to climb the tower. Of course, she didn't expect she'll have to do it while not being a princess of Zahard."

"But having become a regular and quickly climbing the tower, she entered this station in order to perform her special labor punishment. At that time, the Name Hunt Station was a lawless, neglected area which only had remnants of the system from the time of the ten great families."

"It seems like the families conquered this place long ago and we're planning on transforming it to it's current form. A pyramid slave system which is impossible to escape. Trading the names of regulars. She was the best person to carry out this plan. The family sent her here, promising to use part of the money that she earns on the Name Hunt Station to repay her family debt."

"Feeling guilty about the massive penalty fee which had been imposed on the family, she immediately surpassed the regulars here and made them her slaves, and that's how she ended up becoming Kaiser of this place."

"After that, I ended up becoming a regular myself and climbing the tower. And I arrived at this station after hearing the rumors about her. During the time that I hadn't seen her, she had already become the cruel ruler of this station. She didn't even show me a glance of her face behind the mask either. And. . . I decided to serve her again."

"A vicious cycle of imprisoning regulars, treating them like slaves, selling their names, hiding festivals and collecting huge profits. Kaiser completed the system in a shockingly cold-hearted manner. For the last thousand of years, vast sums of money have gone to the family through this place. So I figured Kaiser's debt must've been repaid by now. But the massive debt that's been imposed on Kaiser and her family has not decreased at all."

". . . What!?"

"I see. . . I understand. If that's all, then you should tell us how to get to the gallery." You nodded to yourself, a hand facing Alphine as another rested on your chest.

"I told you, I'll tell you if you know of a way to rescue Kaiser from these oppressive restraints. But if you do not know a way to do so—" Alphine gestured forwards, shadows running from her feet to behind you, a magnificent fox with vivid orange fir emerging from the whisps of darkness, "then this shadow fox will lead you all to hell."

Khun whipped to the fox— "A s-shadow fox!? Where the hell did that come from!? Is that an animal that Alphine summoned. . .!?"

"Yes, I'm a scout and an anima. I got this nickname because I always stay close to Kaiser like a shadow and I have this shadow fox with me." You glanced to your feet as she spoke, your shadow merging with the whisps of black under you, akin to something straight out of a horror movie, "This shadow fox connects itself to enemies' shadows in certain places. Once it joins shadows with an opponent, it becomes immune to their attacks. And it can devour the shinsu in the boat of whoever's shadow it has connected too. Of course the people who has their shinsu sucked out of them die soon after."

"I know that any of you won't be able to save Kaiser here anyway. So I better end our conversation with this. I really wanted to send you all to the festival after stealing your names but after you made it this far, I have no other choice-!!"

The fox lunged, "Die-!!"

And in a blink of an eye, there was a barrier of water over you, Alphine's phantom vanishing into thin air, "Khun, lighthouses. Baam, prepare to move the shinsu in this room into the lighthouse using the thorn. We'll use the lighthouse to make another tank."