OHNIR – Chapter 2
Chapter 2: Origin
The fourth capture target was Wend Silentdis, the second son of Nobili's first ducal family.
Perhaps thanks to the prestige of the "first ducal family," Wend was quite popular at the Holy Light Magic Academy. And because he treated both nobles and commoners with the same cold indifference, even many commoner girls secretly admired him.
However, for all his popularity, he was just as hated.
The Holy Light Magic Academy was not as pure as its name suggested. After Wend garnered much attention at the academy with his refined, handsome, and cold face, many—whether they coveted the Silentdis family or were simply jealous of Wend himself—began to show their fangs from the shadows.
The incident occurred during an outdoor class where the professor had students pair up to search for herbs in the forest behind the academy. As the heroine, Kelusta was, of course, paired with Wend.
Wend was a man of few words and highly competent. Unlike other nobles, he never bothered Kelusta. All in all, being paired with him was probably a stroke of great luck for her that day.
But her good luck was immediately followed by misfortune. After they finished gathering the herbs, a raging fire suddenly erupted around them.
The fire spread quickly through the forest, and it was clear at a glance that this sudden blaze was man-made. Wend's expression changed instantly. Kelusta wouldn't learn until much later that he was a Dark Mage, and Dark Magic would only make the fire burn more fiercely—he was helpless against the ferocious flames.
However, Kelusta was a Water Mage—and a very powerful one at that.
After she effortlessly drew the moisture from the surrounding trees to extinguish the magical flames, Wend thanked her with a cold expression. Although Kelusta repeatedly insisted she was also just saving her own life, the surprisingly single-minded duke's son firmly committed her to memory.
Everything that followed seemed to fall into place. Time and again, Wend appeared by Kelusta's side whenever she was being bullied, helping her out of trouble. Though he still used the lame excuse, "It's because I owe you my life," they both knew in their hearts that an improper romantic affection had already blossomed between them.
After a winter snow, when Wend carefully wrapped the scarf Kelusta had hand-knitted for him around his neck, she decided she would confess her feelings on the upcoming Valentine's Day to this young man who seemed so inexperienced with romance.
However, on Valentine's Day, she didn't meet Wend. Instead, she was met by his older sister—the renowned top student of the Holy Light Magic Academy, Gloria Silentdis.
Gloria was the eldest daughter of Duke Silentdis, possessing the same beautiful, deep blue eyes as her brother and long, diamond-colored hair. This noble and elegant silver-haired young woman appeared with graceful poise in the garden where Kelusta and Wend had arranged to meet. She gently and politely apologized to Kelusta, explaining that Wend was being punished for angering their father and that she had come to meet her in his stead.
Kelusta was tongue-tied and blushing furiously—partly from shock, and partly from being captivated by this woman whose beauty seemed almost unreal.
Gloria had afternoon tea with her, and they chatted briefly about amusing anecdotes from the academy. Finally, the beautiful duke's daughter looked at her with a soft gaze, her voice full of pity.
She said, "Miss Breviou, you are a good girl, but I regret to say—you cannot be with Wend."
After saying this, she left, leaving Kelusta sitting there alone in a daze, her mind in turmoil.
Wend appeared three days later. He seemed to be avoiding Kelusta. On the few occasions she saw him from afar, the handsome, silver-haired young man was standing beside his sister, the two of them conversing in low voices.
After this happened several times, Kelusta finally couldn't bear it any longer. The last time she saw Wend and Gloria at the edge of the garden, she rushed out, seized the young man's wrist, and dragged him away from his sister with a force that brooked no refusal.
As she ran toward the garden, she glanced back and, for a split second, caught Gloria's frozen smile.
She apologized profusely to the beautiful duke's daughter in her heart, but her feet never stopped. Only when she had dragged Wend to an open area did she stand on her tiptoes, grab his tie, and fiercely demand to know why he was avoiding her.
Wend avoided her gaze and refused to give a direct answer. Exasperated, Kelusta simply threw her arms around his neck with undeniable force and buried herself in his embrace.
Wend seemed to freeze, his hands stiff and unmoving for a long moment. After a good while, as if he had made up his mind, he gently returned the embrace.
The embrace lasted a long time. It wasn't until Kelusta's hand moved unconsciously, touching a spot on Wend's back and causing the silver-haired young man to let out a low, muffled groan, that she suddenly realized her hands were covered in blood.
She frantically tried to stanch the bleeding, but the moment her fingertips touched his skin, they suddenly emitted a soft, warm white light.
—Light Magic.
After the fall of the Goddess of Light, Clara, no Light Mage had ever appeared in Nobili. In hundreds of years, Kelusta was the first.
The gruesome wounds inflicted by the Silentdis family's instruments of punishment healed before his very eyes. He stared at Kelusta in shock, and finally, trembling, the duke's son told her the truth about his punishment.
Wend hadn't been punished by the duke, but by his sister, Gloria.
Once Gloria confirmed that feelings existed between Wend and Kelusta, she had him locked away and used instruments of punishment on him, warning him that he must not indulge in useless romance before completing his mission.
And that "mission" was related to the Light Mage.
In this capture route, named "Origin of Magic," Kelusta learned much more.
Long ago, during the Age of Gods, there were no humans or demons on the continent, only wandering deities.
The immensely powerful Goddess of Light, Clara, founded the Holy Light Magic Academy. She led the gods in creating their own descendants—humans—and shared her divine power with them.
And that divine power was the origin of magic.
But this act provoked widespread anger. Other gods who valued power strongly disapproved of her methods: creating descendants was one thing, but why did she also have to disperse her divine power?
Among the gods who opposed her was Clara's twin sister, the Goddess of Darkness, Talebris.
The Goddess of Light persisted in her beliefs, and the gods of her faction continued to create humans without pause. The Goddess of Darkness, meanwhile, led the gods who were unwilling to share their divine power in creating a new race—demons. She told them that if they wanted to possess "magic," they had to kill the humans created by the gods of Light.
And so, the two races gradually developed. Though the demons were far outnumbered by humans, they were unexpectedly vicious. Countless humans perished at the hands of demons, and countless demons were slain by humans. Over time, a brutal war erupted across the continent.
When matters spiraled out of control, Clara angrily went to confront Talebris, only to be unexpectedly killed by the Goddess of Darkness. After her fall, the War of Gods swiftly began. Alongside the humans and demons on the continent, the gods themselves experienced the tragic "Cruel Era."
In the end, having lost its leader, the Light faction collapsed. The Dark faction was left with only the Goddess of Darkness and the Goddess of Deceit, Persedoro. They were supposed to equally divide the "Holy Force Source"—generated from the fall of so many gods—and share divinity thereafter. But for some unknown reason, at the final moment, a strange internal conflict erupted between them.
The Goddess of Darkness killed the Goddess of Deceit, and then took her own life.
No one knew why. The legends that were passed down ended there. The reason for the Dark Goddess's suicide and the whereabouts of the Holy Force Source were both buried beneath every inch of blood-soaked soil of the Cruel Era.
Not until a century later did the war between humans and demons end with the latter's defeat. Humans drove the demons to the Continent's Edge and established the Nobili Kingdom in its center.
Wend earnestly recounted this legend to Kelusta, then immediately followed by revealing the secrets of the Silentdis family.
In truth, during the Age of Gods, Talebris had never intended to oppose Clara. The sisters had always been close. Their tragic end was entirely the result of meddling by the Goddess of Deceit, Persedoro.
Persedoro used honeyed words to stoke Talebris's craving for power and incited other gods who harbored malicious intent. After the War of Gods, she wanted to claim the Holy Force Source for herself, but unable to contend with the powerful Dark Goddess, she chose a more circuitous method.
She told the Dark Goddess the truth of how she had been deceived, enraging her and provoking Talebris into using the most agonizing god-slaying curse on her—the Dark Mark.
The Dark Mark was a curse that bound the soul. A soul branded with it would be eroded and tormented by dark power for all eternity.
And this was exactly what Persedoro wanted.
If she wanted the Holy Force Source for herself, her only option was to make Talebris kill herself.
But after the Dark Goddess took her own life, she had cast the Holy Force Source to some unknown corner. Persedoro, whose soul was being eroded to the point of dissipation, could delay no longer. So she set her sights on the human race, with their many intense desires. She wandered to Nobili and bewitched a destitute vagrant.
That vagrant was the first patriarch of the Silentdis family.
The Goddess of Deceit, branded with the Dark Mark, lent the power of Talebris to the vagrant, turning him into a powerful Dark Mage. He achieved great distinction on the battlefields subduing the demons and was eventually made a duke by the King of Nobili.
Glory came at a price. The vagrant who made a deal with the Goddess of Deceit promised that he and his descendants, generation after generation, would offer the power of their faith to sustain Persedoro's soul and do their utmost to fulfill her every demand. In return, the Goddess of Deceit granted the Silentdis family powerful Dark Magic, the reverence of the royal family, and a century of glory.
When Wend spoke of this deal, he called it "Persedoro's Shackle."
The Goddess of Deceit's demand was that they find the whereabouts of the Holy Force Source.
The Goddess of Light, Clara, had been the most powerful of the gods and the first to fall, so the Holy Force Source consisted mostly of her power. This was also the reason no Light Mages had appeared in Nobili.
And if a Light Mage were to appear anywhere, then that mage's birthplace had to be the location where the Holy Force Source was hidden!
Kelusta's heart pounded in her chest as she listened.
Seaside Town was indeed a wondrous place. Even without magic, its people coexisted peacefully with the ocean. The townsfolk could easily command the power of water. Though they couldn't wield it with the same finesse as Kelusta, they could still do things like summon seawater into their homes to evaporate for salt.
It turned out this was all thanks to the Holy Force Source.
The overflowing holy force had granted every resident of Seaside Town a form of "magic."
"...You're a member of the Silentdis family, too," Kelusta said sorrowfully, looking at her lover. "Are you going to take me back and hand me over to the Goddess of Deceit?"
Wend looked at her, reached out to stroke her brown hair, and said softly, "No, I won't."
"I refuse to wear the 'shackle'," he said, "and I will destroy it."
—However, as it turned out, one shouldn't make such bold declarations, nor tempt fate so casually.
In the "Origin of Magic" route, Wend didn't survive, regardless of whether it was the Happy Ending or the Bad Ending.
Gloria inherited Persedoro's Shackle, and the main antagonist from the other routes, Second Princess Starangui, was actually her subordinate.
After generations of exhaustive searching, by Gloria's time, only Seaside Town at the Continent's Edge remained uninvestigated. Therefore, with or without Kevit as an inside man, she would have discovered the town's anomaly sooner or later and dispatched Starangui to lead an army, becoming the most ruthless of invaders.
In Wend's route, the pair were ultimately unable to stop Gloria. Wend was consumed by guilt over his family destroying Kelusta's hometown, so in the Bad Ending's Battle of the Seaside, he confronted Gloria head-on and was killed. Gloria then killed the now-useless Starangui, seized the Holy Force Source, and destroyed Seaside Town.
But for some unknown reason, she spared Kelusta and her father.
But with her hometown destroyed and her lover dead, Kelusta spent the rest of her life as a wanderer, caring for her father, who had fallen ill from overwhelming grief.
In the Happy Ending, Kelusta did everything in her power to persuade Wend, successfully convincing him to abandon the idea of facing Gloria alone.
During the Battle of the Seaside, the magical energy overflowing from the fight among Kelusta, Wend, and Gloria caused the ocean to rampage. Even Kelusta struggled to control it. The image of Wend being swallowed by the sea to protect his lover was precisely what Kelusta had seen in her dream.
After her lover's death, Gloria should have been the one to fight her. But for some reason, the ruthless duke's daughter never delivered a fatal blow. The longer the battle dragged on, the more of Seaside Town was destroyed. In the end, Kelusta chose to sacrifice herself, her formidable Light Magic forming a magnificent divine blessing that protected Seaside Town from harm.
"..."
The real Kelusta's head was splitting.
Wend's route was truly the most tragic of them all!
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