Emperor of Steel

Kung! Thud! Thud!

Reina sitting on the back of Hertes was busy looking around at the forest and rivers which were quickly slipping away from her sight.

The spirits didn’t seem to live in cities and towns like humans or fairies. Maybe because they were a group of beings who were born along with nature. Nature seemed to be their home and town.

Were the spirits homeless?

Among the spirits, there were the kings who had houses in the caves or tree stumps or deep waters.

In the case of a Spirit King, he lived in the iridescent castle which was carved out of crystal.

Kung!

Hertes put Reina down and pointed at the gate.

“Once you walk in there, you’ll be able to meet Sylphid.”

Reina, upon hearing his instructions, walked in with nervousness.

However, even as she walked further into the castle grounds, she wasn’t able to find even a single spirit. It was like no one was living in the castle.

Kiiik!

The large crystal doors in front of the royal looking castle opened automatically.

Reina, gulping down on her saliva, went inside with a lot of caution.

As she entered through the doors of the castle, she went to the center of the room. She saw someone seated on a crystal throne.

A man with three pairs of transparent wings on his back with frothy blue hair hanging till his waist.

A gentle calming wind was rotating around him. The outstanding appearance of the being looked like a beautiful sculpture carved by the most artistic sculptor.

‘This is Sylphid! The Spirit King of Wind!’

She had never seen him before, yet Reina was convinced that the man was Sylphid.

The place was silent, but the moment he got up from his throne, a strong wind formed.

Sylphid got close to Reina and asked,

“Are you the one who opened the Spirit World after a thousand years?”

“That is right, Spirit King, the purest form of nature, the friends of fairies!”

“Hmm, you seem to know quite something about us.”

“I heard a few things about the Spirit World before coming here.”

It was a long time ago, thousands of years ago, that the spirits had lost contact with the other world.

Almost all records related to them have disappeared. However, some of their traditions were passed down through legends and fairy tales.

Reina had information about the Spirit World because of those traditions and records.

“But, you have a very interesting tattoo on your body.”

Sylphid while looking at Reina with his clear eyes, told her.

“You’re talking about the Earth’s Tears?”

Reina never knew that her body was displaying a magic tattoo. It was because her father and her retainers were keeping her away from the truth.

However, after meeting with High Elf Erenes, she found out what the tattoo was and why it existed.

“You refer to it as the Earth’s Tears? Looks like a pretty great Elementalist created it to communicate with the Spirit World. Was that why you were able to open the doors of the Spirit World and come to this place?”

In the days of the ancient Abaron Empire, the number of Elementalist began to decrease as the World Tree disappeared and the communication with the spirits weakened.

In response, some of the outstanding fairy Elementalist began to work together to increase communication with the Spirit World.

The result of their hard work was the ‘Earth’s Tear’.

The Earth’s Tear forcibly created a cipher in the dimension, acting as a key to the door of the Spirit World.

However, the side effects were severe.

Moreover, even before it could be completed, the Abaron Empire had walked into the path of destruction.

The last Empire’s Elementalist regretted it.

The descendant of the few Elementalist was known to have inherited the Earth’s Tears. Eventually, when there was only one of them left, he turned over his work to a human servant, who later married the royal member of the Volga.

It was an unknown secret and was forgotten for a long time.

The only thing known was that the Earth’s Tear was constantly being passed down in the Royal Volga family.

With a little nervousness, Reina continued to talk to Sylphid,

“I along with some fairies held a ritual together. Do you maybe know where they are?”

“You are the only visitor we have today.”

Erwin and Sylvia along with the other party members were back on Middle-Earth.

Knowing their whereabouts, Reina’s expression turned calm, but she still had a few questions which weren’t answered yet.

“Why am I the only one who has come here? Was it because I am the heir to the Earth’s Tear?” Asked Reina.

“It isn’t because of that. It was because you are the purest and the noblest of those who have opened the door.”

“Me? I was the…”

Sylphid smiled at Reina, who was trying to speak by interjecting her, and said,

“You must have done this for someone, right? An earnest heart of one person and you have opened the door to fulfill the wishes of those who have shed years of tears. Isn’t that it?”

Sylphid was speaking like he already knew everything. At his answer, Reina nodded.

Even after knowing that there would be a huge change in her identity and her personality for performing it, she opened the door to the Spirit World for the sake of Luke, whom she loved dearly.

She also couldn’t just discard the feelings of the fairies who have been ill-treated for a thousand years.

“You have no greed. No, you have greed, but it is for the love and devotion you have for a specific person. And such a heart will be loved not only by the land of the Spirit World but every land for being someone similar to Lord El Kassel and Goddess Belize.”

At the words of Sylphid, Reina shook her head.

“Thank you very much. But for me to be compared to them?”

“You don’t have to feel burdened. It isn’t the origins of the birth that matters but the heart.”

Sylphid, who had a rather dull look, seemed lost while reminiscent of something.

“El Kassel and Belize loved all the things in the world and showed generosity. They never wanted anything in return. But there were those who didn’t know of their love and devotion and were greedy for more.”

Sylphid exhaled.

The world was originally one but was separated because of the endless desires and struggles which created hatred for one another.

The first ‘nature of evil’ revealed itself, the Devil.

His desire was to build a world that would follow his lead. An army of darkness to invade the world of light.

However, he was defeated by El Kassel.

However, the devil left the ‘Seed of Evil’, and the demons who followed him left the world forever.

“The world which was cut down for the first time formed the Devildom. The demons had endless quarrels among themselves. The endless battles among themselves devastated the Devil himself.”

“How could that…”

“Those who went there turned more depraved, obsessed with power to survive and ruined their world. The Ether transformed into a destructive force called the Magi, which reflected their willingness and greed for power.”

The gates of the Devildom was destroyed so that the demons wouldn’t snoop around the other worlds, and Sylphid said the weak couldn’t survive.

“Even though the Devildom had been destroyed, hatred and desire didn’t disappear. Dragons and fairies prospered in a land of milk and honey, but their desires were endless.”

Eventually, the dragons were destroyed, and the Gods, disappointed by the fairies, declared that they would move away from the Middle-Earth. And that created the New World.

As the omnipotent gods were divided, ideals arose in the prosperous world.

Just before the founding of Abaron Empire, climate changes and natural disasters happened.

The Gods watched the downfall of the demons, and they did not let the fairies destroy themselves and the others. They decided to separate the Spirit World.

“That was how the Spirit World was born,” said Reina.

“Yes. However, even after the World Tree had disappeared, we continued to interact with the fairies who were in a world referred to as ‘Middle-Earth’ at a limited level. Those who were active were called the Elementalists.”

However, the more the Empire prospered, the greed of the fairies increased.

Tired spirits began to refuse their summons, and eventually, the communication got cut off.

The result of their communication with the Spirit World being cut off led to the fall of the fairies.

“This… is really a shocking revelation.”

Reina was shocked to hear the stories of myths and legends.

She had no idea that such things had happened in the past, especially about the pure fairies whom she thought were constantly being tortured by the humans, and the dark past they hid.

“The fairies have tried to open the door to the Spirit World to regain their communication with the Spirits and restore the prosperity they lost, isn’t that it?” Asked the Spirit King.

“Yes, as the Spirit King has said, that was the purpose.”

“I think that is the only thing they can do after their constant decline and their history of persecution. But, I am worried that their cravings and desires would bring about another ambition, discord, and hatred.”

At the words of Sylphid, Reina nodded.

The same could be said for humans.

The nomad became a king, and the small tribe which ate grass and rats in the far lands began to build empires that crimped the continent.

The problem was that the victim always turned into an offender.

Retaliation and torture were used rather than opting for tolerance.

And that didn’t differ much from the fairies. If history remembered fairies as talented beings with a long life and was superior to humans, and if the fairies were given the chance to create a new history, they would dominate the humans due to hatred.