Frenzied Flame

Neither Audrey nor Klein answered immediately.

The hall fell briefly silent. The grace burned quietly, casting its warm light between the three of them.

A few seconds later, Audrey spoke first, her voice cheerful and sincere.

"I'm willing to stay, if you don't mind."

Leon nodded without saying anything more.

He turned his gaze to Klein.

The figure shrouded in Gray Fog was silent for a moment before speaking slowly.

"I also have a question I'd like to ask."

"Go ahead."

"Do you know of a certain kind of flame?" A trace of barely perceptible tension entered Klein's voice as he recalled the previous afternoon's attempt to retrieve the Antigonus Family's relic.

Welch McGovern had suddenly turned into a monster with a ball of fire in place of his head. Even divination had failed to reveal what that flame actually was. Perhaps this unexpected visit was some kind of special reward.

Klein considered the flame's characteristics as he described them. "It seems to be unusually contagious. It burns the body completely from the inside out, finally emerging from the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth?"

Leon froze for a moment at the question, then looked at the face behind the Gray Fog.

"Where did you see it?"

Realizing that this unusual being seemed to know something, Klein took a deep breath and quickly put together a story in his mind.

"My family." Klein's voice grew low, tinged with restrained sorrow. "My older brother was tormented by that flame until he died. I tried everything, but I couldn't find even a scrap of information about it."

"You must know something, don't you?"

"Yes." Leon didn't evade the question, though his brow furrowed slightly.

"That was the Frenzied Flame, the power of an Outer Deity that doesn't belong to this world. It represents the will of chaos and destruction. It believes life itself is a mistake, and that the birth of all things brings suffering and strife. The Frenzied Flame's purpose is to burn away all life, returning everything to chaos and the primordial 'One.'"

Leon remembered Ranni's words, but didn't rush to probe further. He added, "If you happen to encounter it, try not to let any sparks touch you. Run if you can."

The Frenzied Flame.

Klein recalled what he had seen the previous afternoon: flames that burned everything to ashes.

It doesn't belong to this world. Does that mean this person who knows its name might also...

He was thinking about how to continue his questions when he heard Leon speak.

"Since someone has chosen to stay, there are some things you'll find out sooner or later."

He looked at Klein, then at Audrey.

"I'm not from this world either."

He said it calmly, but to Klein and Audrey, it was as though something had exploded deep inside them.

Klein's fingers clenched sharply.

He's not from this world.

Just like me!

Audrey's eyes widened slightly, the starlight reflected in her golden pupils.

Although she hadn't fully thought through what this meant, it was certainly some kind of extraordinary information.

Leon looked at their entirely different reactions and waved a hand, somewhat amused.

"Don't be nervous. I'm not an invader, and I'm not here to destroy the world."

He paused, then added, "I'm just looking for a way home."

A way home.

Those words made Klein's heart skip a beat.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know where to begin.

He couldn't just ask, "Are you from Earth too?"

That would be far too risky!

Audrey spoke first, her voice carrying a young girl's distinctive innocence and earnestness.

"Have you found it, then?"

"Not yet." Leon smiled. "But I won't give up."

As he spoke, he gazed through the hall's towering dome, as though looking at somewhere very, very far away.

There was a blue moon there.

Klein remained silent for a long time.

For some reason, the lady across from him seemed familiar.

He thought of someone, then quickly dismissed the idea.

It had to be his imagination. It couldn't be such a coincidence.

He turned to look at the figure before him, shrouded in starlight, at the quietly burning grace, and at this hall that was unfamiliar yet somehow reassuring.

Then he heard himself say, "I'm willing to stay too."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was firm.

Leon withdrew his gaze and looked at the two of them.

"Then it's settled."

He patted the armrest, as though bringing the conversation to a close.

"For certain reasons, I'll temporarily suspend your ability to come and go freely on your own. It would be best to settle on a fixed time, and I'll bring you into the Roundtable Hold. As for the time..."

He thought about it and decided to go with the majority. After all, he had plenty of free time.

"Do you have any suggestions?"

"How about one o'clock on Monday afternoon? What do you think, sir? And you, sir?" Audrey stood up and addressed Leon before turning to Klein.

Klein said nothing, merely nodding slightly.

"That works. Just find somewhere private at one o'clock every Monday afternoon." Leon seemed easygoing.

"Then shouldn't we give ourselves titles too? We can't use our real names to speak to each other, after all." Audrey nodded vigorously, her blond hair swaying gently with the movement, and spoke with some enthusiasm.

"You can use the names of your Potions as code names. Unless I'm mistaken, you're both Beyonders." Leon watched the lively noble lady before him with interest.

As for how he knew she was a noble, it had been written all over her face from the first second she entered.

Audrey had originally wanted to keep her Tarot Club title, but after hearing Leon's suggestion, she said, "Then I'll be 'Spectator.'"

"Sailor." Klein spoke at the same time, then abruptly raised his head and stared at the graceful figure in astonishment.

It really is Miss Justice... What a small world!

This series of revelations left him no choice but to confirm her identity.

But is it really all right to have our identities exposed so soon?

"What should we call you?" Audrey hadn't noticed Klein's reaction. She looked at Leon.

Leon raised an eyebrow, his tone suddenly turning serious. "You can call me-"

He thought about the name.

"Stars."

Audrey drew a soft breath.

Stars. The name reminded her of the Evernight Goddess's authority, but the man before her clearly had nothing to do with the Evernight Goddess.

"Mr. Stars," Audrey said, trying the name, then lifted her skirt slightly. "It's an honor to meet you."

Klein likewise stood and paid his respects to him.

"All right, that's enough for this meeting." Leon stood up. "Before we go, I'd like to ask you both to keep an eye out for information about an organization called the Erdtree Church, as well as the Frenzied Flame Mr. Sailor mentioned. Information on other unusual beings would do as well. I'll reward you accordingly."

"See you both next Monday."

Leon reached into the Greater Grace, and a second before he severed the connection, Klein suddenly spoke.

"Could you give me a way to communicate with you?"

"A way?"

"If we happen to be somewhere inappropriate at the time, your existence could very well be exposed." Klein considered it. "A simple ritual that points to you might do."

"That's very thoughtful of you." Leon thought for a moment, then reached out and traced a symbol in the air.

It was an intricate design formed from several interwoven, flowing arcs-the Elden Ring.

"Four candles, this symbol placed in the middle, and a snack that isn't too sweet as an offering. I shouldn't need to teach you how to recreate a sealed spiritual environment, should I?"

Audrey shook her head, making an effort to memorize the design of the Elden Ring.

"And the incantation, Mr. Stars?" Klein swallowed. This was why he had asked for a way to communicate.

The incantation would allow him to determine just what kind of being stood before him.

Surrounded by swirling starlight, Leon touched the remaining marks on the roundtable and, in an even tone, recited a modified version of the prayer that had summoned him here, using Ancient Hermes.

"Eternal Lord of Stars;

You are the light that shines throughout the Lands Between;

You are the one who ended the Golden Order;

You are the king who walks beside the Lunar Princess;

I pray for your gaze;

I pray for your power;

I pray for the guidance of the stars."