Opportunity
Several years after Harle was sent to another world…
Harle: (I've learned quite a bit about my place of exile, but I've yet to find a way home.)
Otherworld Harle: That man doesn't understand a THING!
Harle: My, my. What's gotten you so worked up?
Otherworld Harle: Oh. You. *sigh* I'm simply fed up with King Leonidas's naïveté.
Harle: That's certainly not a word I'd use to describe His Majesty. "Strict" or "unrelenting," maybe. What happened?
Otherworld Harle: You know about how this world is facing desertification, yes?
Harle: I do. It would seem the grave consequence of eradicating those dragons is happening quicker than expected. We can't keep up.
Harle: I hear that even the old capital, Sol Alberia, has been swallowed by sand.
Harle: ('Twas disorder they sowed, and now they reap.)
Otherworld Harle: We're migrating those who lost their homes to safer places—like Valkaheim.
Otherworld Harle: The problem is, we're running low on resources. We simply can't afford to waste them on the weak.
Otherworld Harle: Thus, I suggested we should instead trim the fat. Get rid of those devoid of use. I've even drafted a plan for it here.
Harle: "On Saving the Nation." Hm... I can certainly see the efficiency in it all. What did King Leonidas have to say?
Otherworld Harle: That we will not change course. And he wouldn't hear anything to the contrary.
Leonidas: A country cannot grow if we prune the buds of talent before they even develop.
Leonidas: The weak will die out whether we have a hand in their culling or not. Yet we must also wait for those who would one day become stronger.
Otherworld Harle: The grace he would grant is nothing but a waste of precious time and resources.
Harle: A rather hasty judgment, don't you think?
Otherworld Harle: Not at all. I've had plenty of time to mull it over. No matter how long we wait, we'll never find a leader more exceptional or talented than myself.
Harle: ......
Otherworld Harle: The time is ripe. We need to enact our plan to assassinate the king. I will rule in his stead.
Harle: You really wish to take on such a bothersome role?
Otherworld Harle: If a ruler outlives his use, I have no choice but to seize his power for myself. The hour for revolution is nigh.
Otherworld Harle: Heh... I can only imagine the look on his face when his authority is stripped away by a man who crawled up the ranks from base servitude!
Harle: Someone is here. I'll hide.
Cassandra: Hm. I could have sworn I heard someone else in here.
Otherworld Harle: Your ears play tricks, fair madam. Now, your report, if you will.
Cassandra: With that, I must take my leave. Should you find anything amiss, do contact me.
Otherworld Harle: I will. Your help is always appreciated.
Harle: Who was that?
Otherworld Harle: That was Cassandra, the court sorceress. Was she not in your world?
Harle: I know her name, but I have never met her personally.
Otherworld Harle: She was retired, but the former king's will decreed that she support King Leonidas.
Otherworld Harle: I have asked her to do some research into other worlds. In particular, to see if it's possible to voluntarily open a gate into one of them.
Harle: ...! Why are you asking that?
Otherworld Harle: To trim the fat, remember? It'd be too much trouble to kill the weak, so I thought we could instead round them up and dump them into another world.
Harle: ...I suppose we could.
Cassandra: That was quicker than I expected. Did you forget something?
Harle: It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Cassandra. I have come seeking your wisdom. My name is Harle.
Cassandra: Is this some sort of jest? We JUST saw each other earlier today.
Harle: You did in fact meet with the Harle of this world. However, this would be your first time meeting me.
Cassandra: Explain yourself.
Cassandra: I see... So essentially, you're a foreign body that was shoved into this world by someone else.
Harle: Do you believe me?
Cassandra: For the time being. Now, what is it you want from me?
Harle: It's quite a simple request. I would like to work together to find a way back to the world whence I came.
Cassandra: Sorry, but no. Your situation is pitiable, but I've far too much on my plate as well.
Harle: I'd not dream of assuming otherwise. Indeed, no matter how much you do believe me, I've spun quite the yarn.
Harle: You wouldn't have time to focus on something so far-fetched. I certainly understand that. However...
Harle: What if I were to offer myself as a test subject?
Cassandra: What do you mean?
Harle: From what I can tell, you have an impressive collection of books on communing with the dead and bringing them back to life in here.
Harle: I'd wager you have your own reasons for agreeing to perform the other Harle's research.
Harle: And what better research subject than a man from another world? Tempting, no?
Cassandra: ...You certainly are observant.
From then on, I helped Cassandra with her research, and in turn was able to investigate means of getting back home.
But one day, we suddenly lost contact.
I didn't hear from her for several months.
Harle: What happened? The way I lost touch with you so suddenly, I'd thought you'd died.
Cassandra: My apologies. There was something I needed to test.
Harle: And? Did it bear fruit?
Cassandra: You understand what a chain of causality is, right?
Harle: It's the force that tethers a person to their world, no? So that even if you manage to travel through time, you'll quickly be pulled back to where you came from.
Cassandra: Correct. And a different time is the same thing as a different world. Normally, it would be impossible for someone to exist in another world for as long as you have.
Cassandra: Not that one would expect otherwise. For two of the same person cannot exist in the same world.
Cassandra: Worlds themselves are quite delicate, you see. They'll try to correct paradoxes and remove any sorts of foreign bodies.
Harle: And yet, I have been able to remain here for some time now.
Cassandra: That's right. According to my research, the only way that's possible is to either use the Dawnshard or to be severed from the chain of causality.
Harle: And yet, as I told you, I have nothing of the sort in my possession.
Cassandra: Which leaves us with only one option.
Cassandra: Though even if that's the case, there should be a limit to how long you're able to stay in another world.
Cassandra: I wasn't getting anywhere without looking into that. So I performed a little experiment.
Harle: And that was?
Cassandra: To see if your chain of causality really had been severed.
Cassandra: Those affected by this phenomenon cannot remain in people's memories.
Cassandra: After a few months without contact, no trace of you would remain in the mind of another.
Cassandra: Thus did I purposely keep some distance from you. However, no matter how long I was away, I could still remember you.
Harle: So does that mean...my chain of causality WASN'T severed?
Cassandra: It's the only theory that holds water. It also helps me understand why you've been able to stay here for so long.
Cassandra: It means that your chain of causality is yet bound to your original world.
Harle: Is that even possible?
Cassandra: I wish I knew for certain. Do you know of anyone who could wield influence over such a thing?
Harle: ...Yes, now that I think about it.
Cassandra: Well, then I hate to say it, but you're going to have to do something about them, or else you're stuck here forever.
Harle: ...No. There is another way.
Cassandra: There is?
Harle: If I can't interfere with my chain of causality myself, then perhaps I should simply have myself removed from this world.
Cassandra: You can't mean—!
Harle: Unfortunately, this is where our collaborative efforts come to an end.
Cassandra: Hold it! While that method may indeed force the world to right itself...
Cassandra: If something goes awry, not only will you be unable to return whence you came, but you might simply cease to exist! Are you sure about this?
Harle: ...Our partnership has been fruitful indeed, my lady. I pray that your wish shall one day come true.
Harle: Now, let us begin. The climax of this story is upon us.
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