Arcturus came to a realization that he had an odd habit of falling, whether it be into a void or out of an airship. In fact, he fell into them so many times that he's not surprised by them anymore. Instead, he anticipated what he would see when he reached his destination.
He had closed his eyes when he was dropped into the void. When the feeling of falling no longer lingered, he opened them to find himself not inside the green-filtered world, but in a large, spacious bedroom full of hard to see colors due to the lighting. He squinted to see that there was someone in the bed staring out at the window.
He heard soft knocking and the door behind him opened, illuminating the darkness to reveal an elderly woman resting on the bed and her guest being a little girl carrying a book. From his prior experience with how he had to see his own memories with Nova, he wondered if he was staring into Mebsuta's memories and wondered how she could have the same ability as him when memory viewing was something only he could do.
The light had also basked upon Polaris who was standing next to him with his gaze fixated on the scene playing in front of them. It was hard to tell what Polaris was thinking, but Arcturus could tell he was very focused; it felt rude to ask questions, so he just clammed up and imitated his companion.
"Grandmother." The young Mebsuta called out. "Are you busy?"
"Not really, dear." her grandmother stated as she turned on a small lamp. "Come here, I'll read to you."
Mebsuta smiled as she gripped her book tight and approached her. Arcturus took a good look at her grandmother. She was an elderly woman with the same shade of platinum blond hair as her granddaughter, but her skin tone was much fairer compared to Mebsuta's tan complexion. She had very noticeable wrinkles all over her face, yet it made her look graceful rather than frail.
Come to think of it… I don't think I've ever seen an elderly Ilacian before since they're so long-lived that it's hard to tell how old they are or how long it takes for them to really show their age…
Mebsuta climbed up onto the bed and sat in between her grandmother and the lamp. Her grandmother took the book from her and opened it. "Where do you want me to start?"
"From the beginning!"
Her grandmother chuckled as she started reading aloud. "Long ago, the planet of Terrenter was a barren wasteland."
Arcturus's eyes widened. He knew those words all too well. Everything related to Souhait's lore was engraved into his mind as if he carved them himself. The book they were reading was The Collection of Souhait's Lore.
So, they had a copy with them…
They kept reading until Arcturus noticed a deviation from the text he was familiar with.
"One day, Souhait granted his first wish to a woman who wanted to live forever. Once he did so, the woman and the dragon decided to live together forever. It was because of the woman's wish that the people of this world started to become interested in wishes."
Arcturus raised an eyebrow. "That is nothing like the story I know. What I know is that the first wish was of a father wanting to cure his sickly child."
"Well, you're wrong." Mebsuta muttered. "This is the original text."
"No, it's not!"
Both Arcturus and Mebsuta glared holes into each other.
The grandmother asked, "What's the matter, my dear?" Arcturus noticed that the young Mebsuta was deep in thought.
"It would be nice if Souhait really existed. If he did, I would want to wish for you to live forever like the woman from the tale!"
The grandmother stared at her granddaughter and then smiled. She moved her position so that she was much closer to her. Their bodies were in contact as she pulled the young girl into a gentle embrace.
"I appreciate you worrying about me, Meb, but I'll be fine. It's normal for people to age and die."
"But I don't want you to die!"
Seeing the young Mebsuta upset, her grandmother started humming. "How about I tell you a little secret?" She leaned close to her granddaughter's ear and whispered, "Souhait really does exist. I've met him before."
Her eyes widened as she pulled away. "Really?"
She nodded. "I met him long ago when I was just a little girl." She looked at the book. "He was the most beautiful thing I've seen. Absolutely breath-taking. So much that I wished I could be with him."
Mebsuta, surprised, looked down at the text and then back at her grandmother. "Is that woman in the text you?"
"It's not. I wish it was, so I decided to make some changes of my own."
Arcturus suddenly remembered what Nova had told him when he had deduced his companion to be the real Loresser. Nine fake Loreseers… Nova killed one of them… Does that mean…?
Arcturus then saw a glint in the young Mebsuta's eyes, triggering curiosity into her. "Tell me more!"
Before she could, the adult Mebsuta swooped in and tore through the memory as if it was made of paper.
"What was that for?" A perplexed Arcturus asked.
Just like paper, Mebsuta crumbled the memory up and threw it onto the ground before crushing it with her foot. "The days I believe in fairy tales are no more."
"Souhait wasn't a fairy tale! You, of all people, should know that best!"
"He refused to grant my wish. The Souhait I know would never do that! He'd grant the wishes of everyone and anyone."
Arcturus's anger welled up. While he understood that Mebsuta was in a state of despair due to the circumstances of this realm, that didn't mean he shouldn't be angry at her. He started to hate everything this woman was spewing.
"You're only into the idea of him! You believed in a Souhait that would grant anyone's wishes without knowing the deeper implications of it all! There are rules, regulations and restrictions to his power!"
"Well, I didn't know."
"Lies! He would've told you on the spot about his power's restrictions. Saying you didn't remember means that you chose not to remember it."
Ignoring his words, she approached him and hummed. "Even though I showed you this memory, you're not faltering?"
"Why would I falter? I trust and believe in Nova and Souhait with all my heart. My belief in them will never waver."
"Well, he's not the person you think he is. I know him best."
"Like hell you do!"
Polaris placed a hand on his shoulder. "Stop. She's doing this on purpose–to make you have doubts about Master Nova and Souhait." He then glared at Mebsuta. "Unfortunately, it's not working, so you better tell us where they are."
Mebsuta just hummed again. "I guess I need to show you a different memory."
She walked off. Arcturus yelled, "Wait, get back here!" and chased after her. Polaris tried to stop him but also chased after him.