Merlin remained calm even after hearing himself referred to as a ‘fake’.
Is he truly a great sorcerer? Even the Merlin born within him maintained a stance of wisdom and contemplation.
I took a deep breath and began the story.
The audience was Selena. Speaking directly to Merlin felt overwhelmingly daunting.
“This place might be a dream created by Merlin, but it wasn’t originally meant to grow this vast. There used to be a pristine forest here, a realm of humans.”
But as what could be called an ‘era’ passes, circumstances change.
The domain of humans shrinks, the power of monsters grows, and Merlin expands the dream to protect the lake.
“The trees and animals of this forest are all too pretty and beautiful. However, none of them exist in reality. As time goes by, even dreams change. It’s a trace of ‘beautification.'”
Monsters do not enter this forest. Not so much because they cannot, but because there’s no reason to.
“Monsters do not enter, the forest remains a forest, and all that’s left is to wait for the eventual arrival of King Arthur to solve everything. But there was one problem.”
“What was it?”
“Merlin doesn’t have Excalibur.”
“……!”
In the legend of King Arthur, Merlin’s role isn’t to give Excalibur. He is a companion and advisor to King Arthur, a beacon lighting his path.
Selena asked again.
“So why did the Merlin of the past ‘design’ this dream? If he doesn’t have Excalibur, how does he intend to hand it over?”
“He trusted Nimue because she had Excalibur.”
Merlin, in his lifetime, trusted Nimue and designed the dream to repel others who might invade the lake before King Arthur’s arrival and to select a worthy person for Excalibur in case King Arthur died.
“But Nimue lied. ‘It’s stuck at the bottom of the Black Lake. Only those who are worthy will obtain the sword.’ Something along those lines.”
[Stop it, if you don’t stop…!]
Shick!
I fired a spear through the air with air weaving. The spear grazed by Nimue’s side.
“Shut up. I already know you’re the ‘real’ one. Didn’t think you could fool anyone forever, did you?”
I spoke threateningly, but of course, I had no real intention of killing Nimue. She’s a necessary witch, after all.
“Anyway, Merlin believed that. Since Merlin, the master of the dream, believed it, a real sword was indeed born at the bottom of the lake. At least within this forest, the Excalibur in the lake is ‘real’. Of course, it can’t be pulled out.”
“…But the real Excalibur is the one Nimue has.”
“That’s right. Even now.”
Nimue, having overheard our conversation, stepped back. She moved further back across the lake and took a defensive stance.
[If you plan on taking Excalibur, you must not─]
“I won’t take it.”
I answered curtly. Nimue made a foolish noise of surprise.
“You saw earlier. I already obtained it.”
Saying so, I wove Excalibur once more and then immediately canceled it.
I acted nonchalant, but I was worried about my mana.
“Merlin cannot leave this forest. He exists only in the dream. But Nimue is different. As a fairy, she knows how the world has changed. Yet, she did not tell Merlin. She kept saying that King Arthur is still alive and will come here someday.”
Here, Merlin is merely a persona created to protect the lake, thus his thought processes are not as complete as a human’s.
Just as we do not doubt anything in a dream while we are dreaming.
Merlin, within the dream, does not doubt anything as long as he is in the forest.
“And then she had the monsters attack Tyburn.”
“Excuse me? Nimue did?”
“Yes. Well, not exactly attacking Tyburn, but rather, she adjusted the timing of the monsters that were going to attack anyway.”
Whether Nimue was there or not, it was predetermined that the monsters outside would invade Tyburn.
However, the recent incidents of small, frequent attacks hindering the restoration of the barrier, and the all-out attacks when the barrier is at its weakest, were orchestrated by Nimue.
There’s no need for her to side with the monsters or ascend to a leadership position. By using magic to leak useful information to the monsters, the more intelligent ones outside will act accordingly.
“Why, why would she do such a thing?”
“Well. Because the barrier is visible from the forest.”
“Is that a problem?”
“Then Merlin would find it strange. ‘Why has the human domain restored this far, yet King Arthur cannot come here?'”
“…Ah.”
To prevent that, Nimue attacked Tyburn.
To ensure that the human domain could no longer advance northward. So that the lie ‘King Arthur cannot come to the forest because he is overwhelmed by the monsters outside’ would be believable.
In the game, Nimue’s actions ultimately led to the worst-case scenario, where the monsters broke through the barriers and swallowed up Tyburn.
Of course, Nimue hadn’t intended for it to go that far, but naturally, the gamers who learned the truth were incredibly angry.
“So, in reality, the only things that exist are the lake and the Lady of the Lake, known as Nimue. Everything else was created by Merlin and built upon by Nimue’s lies.”
I concluded this and then looked at Merlin.
“This is the truth.”
Merlin, having heard this, showed no reaction.
However, after a moment, he lifted his aged eyes and swept the empty air with his now clearer, more transparent gaze.
[Is that so.]
That was all he said.
Having lived for ages, losing both presence and meaning, Merlin remained unflappably calm even after learning all the truths.
“Let’s go, Selena.”
“Huh? Just like this?”
“There’s nothing left for us to do here. Above all, we’re running out of time. Time flows a bit slower in the dream, but the danger remains the same.”
Even now, the barriers would be under a total assault by the monsters, splattered with blood.
Even if Nimue ceased contact with the monsters, they wouldn’t strategize but would still swarm in the same way.
At least this assault had to be stopped.
I climbed onto Cassian’s back. Selena glanced at Merlin and Nimue before climbing up behind me.
“Let’s go, Cassian.”
Without hesitation, Cassian moved, and I glanced back as we ran.
The figures of Merlin and Nimue, growing distant, appeared as if frozen in a still frame.