Jasper looked at the blue-skinned woman.
“So,” he asked, “what’s your name?”
She smiled warmly.
“Jenna,” she replied.
“Jenna Lockwood.”
Jasper nodded.
“So if I choose you… I get three wishes?”
“That’s right.”
He hesitated before speaking again.
“If I made a wish…” His voice grew quieter.
“My parents are trapped in suspended animation. They’re badly injured. Could you heal them and bring them back?”
The smile faded from Jenna’s face.
For the first time, she looked genuinely saddened.
“I’m sorry, Jasper.”
She slowly shook her head.
“I cannot interfere with the destiny of mortals. Their fate is beyond the limits of my power.”
Jasper lowered his eyes.
“…I figured it was worth asking.”
Neither of them spoke.
Then the Treasury’s voice echoed through the room.
“Marathon Runner Crimson. Your selection has been confirmed.”
Jasper blinked.
“…What?”
“You have chosen the gin. The Treasury recognizes your decision.”
“What? No, I didn’t!”
“You addressed the gin by name, accepted her hospitality, and willingly continued the conversation. The contract has been established.”
Jasper stared in disbelief.
“That doesn’t mean I picked her!”
The Treasury ignored him.
A glowing wheel materialized above the floor.
It began to spin.
Faster.
Faster.
Then it slowed.
Click.
The first reward landed on:
Crimson Dual Blades.
The wheel spun again.
Click.
Diary of the Demon Queen.
The light vanished.
“Compensation rewards have been selected.”
Jasper threw his hands into the air.
“Seriously?!”
Before he could protest again, two crimson chains shot across the Treasury.
They wrapped themselves around both of his forearms.
The blades dissolved into streams of crimson light before compressing into elegant golden bangles around his wrists.
A second later, a leather-bound diary lifted from its pedestal and drifted gently into his hands.
Jenna picked up her lamp.
She smiled apologetically.
“I suppose this means I’ll be seeing you again.”
She placed the lamp into Jasper’s hands.
Blue smoke surrounded her body.
Then she vanished back inside.
The entire sequence lasted barely ten seconds.
The Treasury spoke once more.
“Selection complete. Please exit the Treasury.”
Jasper looked around helplessly.
“I didn’t even agree!”
“If you have any complaints regarding Treasury policy, please file them with the Treasury Owner.”
A pause.
“Estimated response time: two to three years.”
“…”
“Please exit.”
“…This place is a scam.”
The door opened.
Jasper sighed and walked out.
Leon and Piper were waiting outside.
Leon immediately noticed everything Jasper was carrying.
“…Jasper.”
His eyes moved from the lamp…
…to the diary…
…then finally to the golden bangles around Jasper’s wrists.
“Would you mind explaining why you’ve returned wearing weaponized jewelry… carrying a demon’s diary… and holding a gin’s lamp?”
Jasper rubbed the back of his neck.
“I got tricked.”
Leon folded his arms.
“I imagine that’s a very long story.”
“It really isn’t.”
Jasper sighed.
“I walked through the Treasury. There were weapons that could kill gods, cultivation treasures, alchemy manuals, relics from stories back on Earth… all kinds of ridiculous things.”
“I found a lamp.”
“A gin came out.”
“She offered me tea.”
“I asked her what her name was.”
“And apparently…” he gestured helplessly, “…that counted as choosing her.”
Piper blinked.
“…That’s actually how the Treasury works.”
Jasper stared at her.
“You’re kidding.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
Jasper groaned.
“The Treasury said I entered a contract with Jenna. Three wishes. Then she returns to the lamp unless I set her free.”
Leon nodded slowly.
“So you’ve already spent one wish?”
“No.”
“The first thing I asked was if she could save my parents.”
His expression softened.
“She said she couldn’t interfere with destiny.”
Leon didn’t say anything.
Jasper continued.
“The Treasury said I was entitled to two compensation rewards.”
“It spun a wheel.”
“I ended up with these.”
He lifted his arms.
“The Crimson Dual Blades.”
“They transformed into these bangles.”
Then he held up the diary.
“And this.”
Leon’s eyes settled on the diary.
The worn leather cover.
The faint golden glow.
His expression changed.
“…Jasper.”
His voice had lost its usual warmth.
“Who does that diary belong to?”
Jasper glanced at the cover.
“The Treasury called her… the Demon Queen. Lyra.”
One moment the diary rested in Jasper’s hands.
The next—
It was gone.
Leon held it firmly against his chest.
“I’ll be taking this.”
Jasper blinked.
“W-What? Master Leon?”
“You are not reading this book.”
His tone wasn’t angry.
It was absolute.
“But… it was one of my Treasury rewards.”
“I know.”
Leon looked down at the diary for several moments before speaking again.
“Jasper.”
“Yes, Master Leon?”
“Let me ask you something.”
Jasper nodded.
“Since arriving on Asteria, you’ve seen fox-beastkin, wolf-beastkin, cat-beastkin…”
“I have.”
“You’ve seen dwarves.”
“Yeah.”
“You’ve heard dragons spoken of as though they’re ordinary.”
“Right.”
Leon folded his arms.
“Have you ever wondered why none of those races exist on Earth?”
Jasper frowned.
“…Honestly?”
“I’ve wondered about it ever since I got here.”
“When I lived on Earth, I thought elves, dwarves, dragons, and beastkin were just fantasy. Fairy tales. Movies. Video games.”
“I never imagined any of them were actually real.”
Leon nodded once.
“They were.”
Jasper stared.
“…They were?”
Leon met his eyes.
“Earth was not always home to humans alone.”
Silence hung between them.
Then Leon quietly said,
“Lyra changed that.”
Jasper felt a chill run through him.
“…What do you mean?”
Leon looked down at the diary again.
“The Demon Queen exterminated them.”
Jasper’s breathing stopped.
“…All of them?”
Leon gave a slow nod.
“Every elf.”
“Every dwarf.”
“Every race that stood against her.”
“They became legends.”
“Stories.”
“Myths.”
“Eventually…”
“…even their existence was forgotten.”
Jasper looked around the courtyard.
At the fox-beastkin.
At Piper.
At the bustling streets of Asteria beyond.
Then back at Leon.
“So…”
“…they only survived because they weren’t on Earth?”
Leon didn’t answer.
Instead, he tightened his grip on the diary.
“That…”
He lifted the ancient book slightly.
“…is why you are never opening this.”
Before Jasper could ask another question—
Music drifted across the courtyard.
A lute.
Then another.
A steady drum followed.
Leon turned toward the sound.
Walking across the pavilion were four familiar figures carrying their instruments.
The Clairvoyance.
The same musicians who had performed at Fang & Flame.
The lead singer stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
“Master Leon.”
Leon inclined his head.
“What brings you here?”
The young woman glanced toward the diary.
Then to Jasper.
“We couldn’t help overhearing.”
She smiled gently.
“If you will allow us…”
“…let us tell the story instead.”
Leon raised an eyebrow.
“The story?”
She nodded.
“The story of the Demon Queen…”
A brief pause.
“…and of her grandson.”
Another pause.
“Fi-Six.”
Leon looked genuinely surprised.
He studied the four musicians for a long moment.
Then he slowly nodded.
“Very well.”
“But remember…”
He glanced at Jasper.
“…he doesn’t need to know everything.”
The lead singer smiled knowingly.
“We understand.”
The members of The Clairvoyance quietly unpacked their instruments.
The courtyard gradually fell silent.
Jasper looked from Leon…
…to the ancient diary…
…to the musicians preparing to perform.
He had never heard the names Lyra or Fi-Six before today.
Yet somehow…
Those two names felt heavier than anything else he’d encountered since arriving in Asteria.
The lead singer closed her eyes.
Raised one hand.
And the music began.
The lead singer closed her eyes.
The lute gave a single, mournful note.
Then she began to sing.
“Hear now the Queen of ash and flame, Lyra was her dreaded name. Kingdoms trembled at her tread, For every path she walked ran red.”
The tavern fell silent.
“Elves vanished from the forests deep. Dwarven halls were put to sleep. One by one their banners fell, Their names became forgotten tales.” This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Jasper slowly turned toward Leon.
“…That’s why they’re myths on Earth.”
Leon gave a single nod.
The song continued.
“Yet darker still the tale is told, Of one young child she claimed to mold. Her daughter’s son, her flesh, her blood… She cast him through a sea of blood.”
Piper lowered her eyes.
The singer’s voice softened.
“She stripped his name and forged a blade, A king from all the tears he gave. The world would fear the crown he bore… Yet none recalled the boy before.”
Jasper swallowed.
“…She did that… to her own grandson?”
Leon didn’t answer.
The music continued.
“A maiden’s heart burned bright and true, She loved the child that no one knew. But fate is cruel where demons reign, And love was traded out for pain.”
The final notes lingered in the air.
“Some call Lyra monster born. Some call her the savior sworn. History still cannot decide… Which of those two names survived.”
The music faded.
Silence filled the courtyard.
Jasper looked at the diary in Leon’s hands.
“…Master Leon…”
“…Was she really that cruel?”
Leon looked down at the ancient book.
After a long moment, he answered.
“I’ve lived long enough to learn something, Jasper.”
“The most terrifying people in history…”
“…are rarely the ones who believe they’re evil.”
He closed the diary.
“They’re the ones who convince themselves they’re saving the world.”
No one spoke after that.
Jasper scratched the back of his head.
“Master Leon… I’m confused.”
Leon glanced at him.
“About what?”
Jasper pointed over his shoulder toward the members of The Clairvoyance, who were quietly packing away their instruments.
“You told me the Demon Lord is on World Ten.”
Leon nodded.
“But…” Jasper frowned.
“That song they just sang was about another Demon Lord. Fi-Six.”
He hesitated.
“So… are there two Demon Lords?”
Silence.
“…Or is Phase Six actually Earth?” Jasper continued.
“I’m trying to understand how this all fits together.”
He looked from Leon to Piper.
“I don’t get it.”
Leon didn’t answer.
Instead, Jasper turned toward The Clairvoyance.
The lead singer met his eyes.
“Could you explain it?”
The four musicians exchanged quiet glances.
Then the lead singer smiled apologetically.
“We cannot.”
Jasper blinked.
“What do you mean you can’t?”
“Our songs are not lessons,” she replied gently.
“They are echoes.”
Another member of the band rested his lute against his shoulder.
“We witness fragments.”
“The past.”
“The present.”
“And futures that may yet come.”
The youngest member continued quietly,
“We don’t decide which stories we receive.”
“The songs choose us.”
The lead singer folded her hands together.
“And there are laws we cannot break.”
“If destiny has not yet placed an answer before someone…”
“…then we cannot become the ones who reveal it.”
Jasper frowned.
“So you know?”
She gave a small nod.
“In part.”
“And you won’t tell me?”
She smiled sadly.
“If we did…”
“…our songs would lose their purpose.”
Silence settled over the pavilion.
Finally Leon spoke.
“They’re telling you the truth.”
Jasper looked back at him.
“So… there are answers?”
“There are.”
“And you know them?”
Leon took a slow breath.
“I know some.”
“But not all.”
Jasper groaned.
“Master Leon…”
Leon folded his arms.
“You’re asking questions that don’t have simple answers.”
He looked toward the sky for a moment before continuing.
“There are things you’ll learn when the time is right.”
“And there are things you don’t need to know yet.”
Jasper threw both hands into the air.
“Huh?”
“How does that make any sense?”
A faint smile tugged at Leon’s lips.
“Exactly.”
Jasper blinked.
“…Exactly?”
Leon nodded once.
“If you’re confused…”
“…that means you’re thinking.”
He turned and started walking.
“Come on.”
Jasper hurried after him.
“But Master Leon!”
Leon didn’t stop.
“Yes?”
“I have more questions than answers!”
Leon chuckled without looking back.
“I know.”
“But that’s how every worthwhile journey begins.”
Jasper sighed dramatically.
“I liked life better when my biggest problem was dancing fries.”
Piper walked beside him, hiding a smile.
“I’m afraid those days are over.”
Jasper looked toward the heavens.
“…Can I get the fries back instead?”
Nobody answered him.