The fading book - I

Hah-!

The sword cut through the air as the man moved his body around swiftly. The steps he was trying to perform weren't exactly working out well. Maybe because he was distracted by his thoughts.

The only thing on his mind were the multiple questions that had been troubling him since a day ago. The mysterious words that a certain person had said wouldn't just leave him alone.

-Ah... do they intend to get 'them' involved?

Who did the term 'they' exactly refer to? His eyebrows frowned while he pulled his sword a bit behind before hitting the practice target.

Thwnk

The blue blade glistened while in mid-air, and that sound followed. His hands were empty before he even realised it. The loose grip on the sword led it to fly out of his hand.

'I thought that would be the case...'

Despite being the author, Jaden was aware of what he was lacking. The irregularities on one side and the point of time on the other.

The story had progressed to the part that he never wrote. The afterstory wasn't something he, the author himself, was aware of.

He stared down at his open palm with a tense gaze. Had he chosen not to write the novel, would things have turned out differently?

That question was meaningless to ask since there wouldn't be anyone who would be able to answer it. Maybe Aliana might've been capable of answering it, but she was away at the moment.

The time she spent at Sabbianyth Empire was past one week already. Just what was she up to? Jaden had no way of knowing that.

"Lord-"

The voice that had been ringing in his ears for the past few minutes gradually became clear. That's how distracted he had been.

"LORD JADEN-!"

Alas, the owner of the voice lost his patience and shouted loudly. How much longer did Jaden expect him to continue with it?

Jaden shuddered while turning around to see the red-haired man holding a bunch of books between his arms. The monocle on his right eye wasn't worn properly.

Tsk-

Jaden, who was already troubled by all those thoughts of his, clicked his tongue at the man's sight. His right eye twitched as he spoke with an awkward smile.

"Tower Master, what is it...?"

Thud

The very next moment of Jaden asking that question, Blaise let the books fall to the ground. Folding his hands together across his chest, he fell down while crossing his legs.

He glared at Jaden for a while and then sighed. The four books of different sizes lied in front of the two. Blaise pointed at one of the books while speaking.

"Come and read one of these with me."

"Huh?"

Jaden had no idea why he was suddenly acting like that. The letters written on the books were surely in an alien language, but he could read them. It translated clearly into his mind.

[Basic Theory of Magic]

[The Fading Past]

[Way of the Sword]

[Adventurers Guide]

Amongst all of those, only one single book had piqued his interest the most. The history of that world wasn't clear to him. Whatever he once wrote in his novel was the only source of his knowledge.

He didn't say a word and grabbed the book entitled 'The Fading Past'. From the name of it, it was certain that it was a historical record. Blaise smiled lightly at himself as he noticed Jaden open the book.

Jaden would've started to read it if his gaze hadn't met Blaise's. The blue glow in Blaise's eyes must've been his imagination.

He couldn't tell at all since it faded away within a split second. Blaise was speaking before Jaden could think of anything.

"By the way... there's one interesting rumour going around."

"Hmm?"

Snap

As soon as he snapped his fingers, a glass bottle popped into his hand, filled with water. He listened to Blaise's words, gulping down the water.

"Sabbianyth Empire..."

The water stopped itself from going down his throat for a second. And when he continued to drink it, thinking it was just his imagination, his face went pale.

That name seemed like he had heard of it before. Wasn't that where Aliana had departed for almost a week ago?

"Their national treasure went missing overnight."

COUGH COUGH

The non-stop coughs from the assumptions he made left Jaden with tears in his eyes. Blaise had a pale face, thinking similarly to Jaden.

They both had no choice but to glance at each other nervously. Jaden's right eye twitched while he thought to himself.

'Surely not...'

---------------------

Fwip

With the sound of the pages turning clearly audible, the atmosphere filled itself with silence. The book in his hand, with a brown cover and white pages, had only the title on it.

"There's nothing here..."

He mumbled to himself while going through each and every blank page. The book he had picked up a while ago was looking like a scam to him.

His eyes shifted towards the path where the other man had walked after handing him the book. Did he get scammed by him or something?

It had been only five minutes since he got his hands on that book, and there he was, feeling like that. He gritted his teeth with an awkward smile.

Thwap

He violently closed the book to read the title again. The words written in golden were attractive enough to pull his attention.

[The Fading Past]

'Fading? Man, there's nothing to fade away anymore-'

The book was totally empty, despite looking like a history book. Jaden was regretting his choice to pick that book out of all.

If it was going to be like that, he would've gone with 'Way of the Sword'. Since he was using Frozen Roze, it would've proven to be helpful to him.

Or else, 'Basic Theory of Magic' would've done the deed too. 'Adventurers Guide' wouldn't have been much help, though. Jaden was already aware of almost all the monsters.

Thud

Jaden purposely let the book fall to the ground. There was no possibility that he could find anything in it at all. Even one page filled with words would've been better than nothing.

'And... what was that about...?'

The rumour, about which Blaise told him, wouldn't leave his mind easily. He had a feeling that Aliana was somehow involved again. It was obvious why he thought that way.

She had already gotten three treasures in the beginning. And getting them by leaving a note stating that she was borrowing was nothing but simple theft.

Even though she gave back the elven treasure, the other two items were still with her and Jaden. Their original owners might've been looking for them all over the continent.

Snap

The sword that lied beside him vanished into thin air with the snap of his fingers. He slowly sat down at the spot while trying to reason with the situation.

'It must be a coincidence...'

His finger moved along the circular path on the cover of the book. He wanted to know more about the history. The knowledge he possessed was limited.

As much as he wanted to read the book, how could he do it when it was totally empty? He let out a sigh and closed his eyes.

The Magic Tower master wouldn't have given him a book like that as a prank or something like that. Surely there must've been a meaning behind it.

He picked it up and held the pages in front of the sunrays. What if some kind of invisible ink was used to write it? Jaden had watched his share of detective movies.

His actions didn't help at all, as the book remained empty, no matter what he did. He thought of pouring water on it, but there was a chance that book would get damaged by it.

"Is there no way I can read it...?"

The question he mumbled to himself was a coincidence. The book he received from Blaise was the opposite of it, though. A light took over his vision.

「Prove your worth」

The fancy words appeared as if they were being written at the moment. Jaden stared at the words with a sense of confusion.

Before he could ask anything to himself, the light engulfed his vision completely. The silence spread across the atmosphere before a sound echoed.

Thud

The book fell to the ground as there was no one holding it. Jaden had disappeared without leaving a trace behind.

Tap tap tap

A man walked inside the training grounds with a faint smile. His green eyes weren't the same as before. The colour had become crystal blue for unknown reasons. Was it a spell of his?

[Good luck.]

The words of water floating in the air right above his head said otherwise. Soon, the colour of his eyes turned back to green, and the water evaporated.

Kuh

Blaise rubbed his head with one eye closed, trying to ease the pain. His groaning continued while he spoke in a confused tone.

"What am I doing here? Maybe I dozed off again?"

Saying that, he walked out of the training grounds again. The silence in that place didn't last long. The sound of water spread, with words being formed by the water.

[The ill-fated one.]