Hortus Arcanus planēta

ACT 2

Promise

As the wind gradually grew colder,

Al finally said, “Shall we head back now?”

I nodded in agreement.

Just before we left, I asked,

“When do you think would be the best time for me to perform the book restoration?”

“I think it should be after the final ball,” Al replied.

“Why?”

“Because after that, it’ll already be too late. The moment I meet the protagonist, the negative energy swells all at once, and almost all of it surfaces. That’s why you have to restore it at that exact moment.”

“I understand. Got it. And when I find my own dedicated book, I should come back here again, right?”

“Yeah. It’d help if you did.”

“The sun’s about to rise already. I should head back now. Ella might wake up.”

“Right. I’m counting on you.”

With those words, Al lowered his head once more.

I whispered, “Golden Tower.”

In an instant, a flash like lightning illuminated the inside of the tower, and before I knew it, I had returned to the tower near the eastern palace.

Then Al said, “To the surface.”

And we found ourselves back along the path we had come from.

“Al, I’ll come again,” I said.

As I spoke, I breathed softly onto the button once more, vanished from sight, and headed back to where Ella was.

When I quietly returned to Ella’s tattered attic room, she was still asleep.

For now, I decided to get some sleep as well.