The Infinite Bk. 05 Ch. 01

You and I haven't known each other very long, and it feels like we started this relationship just yesterday, but as we journeyed here, I was happy because I had you. You were my bastion, my comfort, my warmth. You were all mine, mine and mine alone. You're all I have left. I know that your relationship with the queen wasn't according to plan, and I honestly do believe you when you said you are loyal to me, but despite all that, despite having you first, you've slipped from my fingers. I lost Valon to his madness, and I don't want to lose you to Elisandra."

"I understand, and I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. I know this was all due to the spirits."

"But I will anyway, because I'm sorry you've been put in this position. You're right, it's not fair, but you aren't going to lose me to someone else."

"You and Elisandra are planning out your future together, but where do I fit?"

"I don't think she'll be kicking you out of the bed any time soon."

"You know it's not that simple. I am bound to Valon, and he can't come back here after everything he's done. I'm going to have to choose between standing beside my brother in exile, or abandoning him and being your concubine, and you know what my decision will have to be."

"We'll find him, and we'll find a way he can atone for what he's done. I want you both to stay here in Sylphtoria with Elisandra and I. That child is going to grow up calling you two Aunt Valia and Uncle Valon. You're going to teach them how to wield a sword and he'll teach them magic, and once I'm gone, you'll be there for them."

"Since we were first intimate, I haven't thought about children even once, because it just wasn't a possibility. But now, after finding out Elisandra is pregnant, I can't help but wonder why the spirits didn't bless me as well."

"Because they knew what you have to do. Between us and Valon is a long journey full of hardship and peril, and it would be impossible with you waddling on swollen feet and constantly stopping to pee." Valia stifled a laugh and gave him a soft push on the shoulder. "You know I'm right. If you got pregnant, you'd have to choose between your child and your brother, and that's not a decision you want to be stuck with. And who knows? Maybe once I'm mortal, you and I can take another journey to the Lunar Temple and ask the spirits for help making the next generation of Zodiac twins."

"Perhaps, but you're not allowed to get anyone else pregnant, got it?"

"No promises."

This time, rather than a push on the shoulder, she shoved him to the ground.

For the next several days, Noah busied himself with work and preparations. He spent a great deal of time improving his and Valia's equipment, especially their armor. For their journey to Kisara Island, they had been garbed in a combination of cloth and plate armor. Despite its weight and softness, a thin sheet of battle-ready elven silk was stronger than Kevlar. Noah liked the lightness, agility, and breathability it provided.

Atop his silk shirt, he wore a coat made of wyvern leather reinforced with titanium alloy plating. Like the elven silk, the wyvern leather was remarkably strong for its weight, and he enchanted it to help regulate his body heat depending on the weather. It could keep him warm in the most bitter storm, or cool him like a wet towel under the desert sun.

Most of his focus went into something more unique, something he and Valia delivered to the palace. It was a massive pyramidal diamond, so large that the point reached above eye level, and even with her strength enhancement, Valia needed help carrying it. Seeing such a gem shocked the elves, unable to imagine where it came from. In Vandheim, the dwarves were known to excavate jewels of every color of the rainbow and were expert craftsmen in all things metal, mineral, and crystal, but this had not been removed from the ground, and its purity was incomparable.

"What is this?" Lour asked, walking around the giant diamond, speaking with an awed voice. Elisandra was likewise dumbfounded by the gem, running her hands across its pristine surface, so smooth and flat that it seemed to mock the chaotic will of nature.

"Noah, did you make this? How is this possible?" she asked in shock.

"Alchemy, with some help from Hoapfa the glassmaker. However, this isn't simply a shiny rock. Look closer."

Per his words, the diamond was made by rearranging carbon atoms into a perfectly-repeating crystal lattice structure. However, it appeared somewhat foggy, and upon examining it up close, the elves understood why. Noah had started with a diamond just the size of his hand, etched runes into it with a magical tool he created for this project, and filled the carvings with transparent ink.

The gem was then wrapped in a layer of diamond material using alchemy, and Noah would carve more runes into it, cover it with another layer, and repeat, with each layer of runes appearing like rings on a tree. Without the runes and ink, it was so pure and clear that it would have been nearly invisible if not for its reflective properties.

"This is incredible, truly it is a priceless treasure," Lour gasped. "I can't even begin to imagine what it would take to replicate this."

"But what does it do?" Elisandra asked.

"You'll see tonight. We just have to get it into position."

Following Noah's instructions, Elisandra activated her magic, causing trees to sprout from the floor underneath the diamond and lift it into the air. The diamond was brought outside and set at the very top of the palace like the star on a Christmas tree. Later that day, elven nobles throughout the Anorvan Forest arrived in Sylphtoria. They didn't know why they had been summoned, only that it was of dire importance.

They gathered in the palace, engaging in small talk and catching up. For elves, years could pass in the blink of an eye, and though many of them hadn't seen each other in decades, they spoke as if they had run into each other at the grocery store in a small town. There was, however, some unease among them. They were quick to notice Noah standing at the queen's side, opposite Lour, and wearing the green mantle, signifying his nobility.

Who was this human, and why was he allowed to stand beside the ruler of the elves while garbed in the same clothing as them? If he was a messenger from another country, attending to pass on a warning, they could understand a human's presence being tolerated, but he might as well have been put on a pedestal. Valia was standing in the corner, silently watching.

Once everything was prepared, Elisandra cleared her throat and spoke in elvish. "Welcome, friends and kin, it is good to see all of you, and I apologize for the suddenness of your calling. However, there is news you must all be made aware of, both good and bad."

"Excuse me, Your Majesty," said one nobleman dressed in ornate robes, "by what right does a human have to attend this conference?"

"You will address Lord Noah with respect," warned Lour, surprising everyone, even Noah.

"Thank you, Lour," said Elisandra. "The man at my side is Noah, whom I recently granted lordship to. Do not let his young appearance fool you. He is the oldest being in this room, transcending both time and death." Her words left many brows furrowed as everyone tried to understand her meaning. "Were it not for his efforts, Sylphtoria would be in ruins. Early this summer, our people were struck with a plague that threatened to destroy our nation. This plague was orchestrated and released by a member of the Profane."

The announcement sent ripples through the crowd. Even for the elves, few in this room were old enough to remember the war against the Profane, but they remembered growing up in the aftermath and knew the stories of the horror they inflicted on the world.

"They were supposed to be wiped out," a dark-haired woman said.

"Yes, my own father fought against them alongside the races of men and dwarves, but evil is resilient and once again bares its fangs at our world. This agent of destruction sowed death and disease among my people, and in the middle of the night, infiltrated the palace and tried to end my life. The efforts of the Profane have been also encountered in Handent. The occupying forces of Uther are besieged by the evil spawn, and they have begun flowing into our woods and killing our people. Many of you should already be aware of this. The time has come once again for us to fight against this ancient menace."

She gave everyone a moment to process her announcement. Unlike humans, elves did not go to war lightly. With their low birthrates and long lives, they cherished the survival of their species above all else, and war with the Profane would bring immense casualties. They were smart enough to know that fighting against them was inevitable, which made it so difficult. They could not cushion the realization with denial.

"However, hope is not lost. Lord Noah, despite all doubts against him, cured the plague and averted my assassination. Were it not for him, the Profane would have succeeded, and I and everyone else in this city would be dead. He stands beside me as our greatest ally against this threat. For that, I granted him a deserving title. After, he traveled to Kisara Island and solved the monster epidemic, opening the possibility of the land being reclaimed."

Once again, shock and hushed muttering rippled through the crowd. The tragedy of Kisara Island was a dark tale in elvish history, not simply for the events that happened on the island, but for the fact that the island was lost to the elves. Even if it was never resettled and populated, to have the island back, to reclaim that piece of elven heritage, was monumental.

"And that is not the only gift Lord Noah has given our people." Elisandra paused and touched her stomach. Seeing her, Noah reached out and rested his hand on her shoulder, shocking everyone. Despite everything the queen had just said, a human touching her was nothing short of sacrilegious.

"During the time he's been here, Noah and I have grown quite close. We even journeyed to the Lunar Temple so that he could commune with the spirits. Not only did they recognize him as a being on their level, they encouraged us to act on our feelings for each other. By the will and power of the spirits of nature, I am now carrying his child, the heir to the kingdom of Sylphtoria."

Down on the forest floor, all the elves perked up and gazed at the palace, hearing an explosion of voices. Noblemen and women shouted in shock, anger, confusion, and disgust, with phrases like "filthy half-breed" tossed around. Some even demanded that the queen step down and surrender the throne to someone who hadn't been "tainted." Regardless of everything else they had been told, all that mattered to the elves was the roundness of Noah's ears.

He stood by Elisandra's side, silent and supportive, a resolute cliff face that their indignant voices splashed against like an angry tide. Finally, when the time was right, and the sun had set, he took a deep breath and whistled with a piercing volume, making every elf wince from the sound and drawing their attention. Like everyone, Noah spoke in elvish.

"For thousands of years, I have walked across countless worlds and seen innumerable events, great and terrible, beautiful and tragic. However, one thing always present is the same inane squabbling of people trapped in their own little bubbles, devoid of a sense of perspective. I had hoped the elves would be different.

Listening to your griping and arguing, how you ignore threats so that you can complain about blessings, I see that some things never change. I find myself quite disappointed that you would all act so belligerently human. All of you, lords and ladies of the elven kingdom, are little more than children in my eyes in terms of age, experience, and maturity.

I could go on. I could continue belittling you for your small-minded, juvenile behavior, but I don't want to. Instead, I want to let you know that earlier today, I delivered a gift to Her Majesty for her and the people of this land. It's outside, and I suggest you all go see it. Then you can decide where I fit in your view of this nation."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," said Elisandra.

She, Lour, Valia, and all the guards joined Noah outside on one of the many balconies lining the palace exterior. Irritated but curious, the elf nobles followed and stepped out onto the other perches, following each other's eyes to the diamond at the top of the palace. They were initially surprised, but after everything they had just heard, it failed to quell their indignation. That soon changed.

Once night fell upon the land, the Nadoku sang their evening prayer, and gasps were made by the elves as the diamond began to glow. The song filled the air with holy energy, which the diamond was amplifying and refracting as it would light. The more they sang, the brighter the diamond glowed, soon reaching sun-like intensity. Waves of gold luminance spread across the sky like the Aurora Borealis and fluttered down upon the land like snow.

The light shined down into Sylphtoria, passing through branches and leaves as though they were made of glass. The elves were left frozen where they were, feeling the aura fill their entire existence. Normal light at such a level would have blinded anyone who looked at it, but this holy light, enriched with elven verve, poured into the eyes of the witnesses like water down a parched throat. No one could look away, feeling the holy energy permeating their bodies, illuminating every cell, and nourishing their souls. It was like their hearts were all connected, every elf feeling each other's thoughts like a breeze on their skin and sensing the love of those they had lost, as though their souls and memories were recorded in the Nadoku's aria.

What had begun as gasps of surprise and turned into stunned silence then became a most unexpected sound: crying. Many elves had tears streaming from their eyes, unable to react in any other way the beauty of the light. All anger, grudges, and negative feelings were being purged, and ancient scars on the body and soul were fading and replaced with loving warmth. Many fell to their knees, sobbing as though in anguish.

Lour was among them, his shoulders heaving as he lost all control of his emotions. "So this is what it's like to look upon the face of Lumendori himself. This is what it means to stare into the eyes of God," he wept.

Standing on either side of Noah were Valia and Elisandra, each gripping his hands while tears poured down their cheeks. Noah was the only one with dry eyes, but there was a smile on his face. The pride he felt as he bathed in the light was euphoric, unlike anything he had ever experienced. He had created countless masterpieces across the multiverse, from priceless paintings to skyscrapers to doomsday devices, but this put them to shame.

"It's so beautiful," said Elisandra. "The Star of Sylphtoria, shining with the very soul of the elven race. This is a most holy relic, a beacon that will be worshipped and revered until the end of time. Every elf in the Anorvan Forest, maybe even the whole world, will make a pilgrimage here to experience this sacred light."

"How did you create this?" Valia asked.

"I gathered the carbon from holy sites and the ashes of wood nourished by the mana of Sylphtoria. If I tried to make this anywhere else, it wouldn't even be half as bright."

"Thank you for this, Noah," said Elisandra. "You have blessed our city."

"This light will also make sure no Profane ever again breach Sylphtoria. Even with the Hunter's Moon Amulet, that succubus would've turned to ash before she could come within five miles of the palace. After all, I want to make sure that the mother of my child is safe while I'm gone."

Elisandra leaned her head on his shoulder. "With this, no one will dare criticize you, me, or our child. Thank you, Noah. Thank you for everything."

Noah put his arm around her and kissed her forehead, then pulled Valia in close and did the same with her, and the three of them stood, basking in the light.

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