Our conversation flowed like the changing seasons.
I"m sure that no one is oblivious as to how seasons change. It"s not the theme of life. Without you realizing, it could be spring one day, and fall the next. Another day, you go out with some light clothes, only to feel the cold air around you.

"Father, you would probably sincerely think of me as your son. I, too, sincerely think of you as my father. But… …."

Those contradictory words that were hard to explain, I decided to say it in the end.

"It seems… … that I don"t really think of myself as your son, father. Though I need a father, I do not want to rely on you and become a burden. The fact that you need to leave soon, I know that too. Even if you leave me be and depart, I won"t say anything. I…. …. am a person from here and I have sustained myself well to this point. Going forth… I can do well."

Those last words were a lie.
And I was wholly unsure if what I said was what I really wanted. It"s just that the whole situation was distressful.
… … After my mother had pa.s.sed away, I have a lot more tearful moments nowadays.

The eyes that stared at me for an instant, shook.
But soon, it returned to that gentle light from before. I wonder what he was pondering in that short amount of time. What could he be thinking in front of his foolish son? What had caused his heart to move?

"Don"t say such words."

After putting a piece of pie in his mouth, he poured wine into my empty gla.s.s.

"I initially had the mindset of bringing you with me. To come all the way here to meet you, do you expect me to leave you here alone? And are you telling me to return to my province alone?

"That"s… …."

I had nothing to say.
I listened to the words of my father.

"Fabian. I have plans on raising you as the successor of our family.

Moving to a world that I thought I could never move to. After thinking of the place I belonged to was shattered, to be invited to such a high place.
I was lost for words as this was too unfamiliar, but my father had showed a slightly melancholy smile.

"It seems that you"re not very happy to live with your father."

"No, it"s not like that… …."

"Then, did you really think I would leave you here alone and go back?"

My father was now obviously laughing. He was joking. The relationship between my father and I, was it originally supposed to be something like this? It"s possible that he would see this pessimistic son of his as silly. Adequately, he was a wonderful father who I couldn"t reach out to.
After exhaling a long breath, smiling, I brought the gla.s.s to my lips.

"Look at this."

Putting his hands under his shirt, from within the armor, he drew out the necklace he wore on his neck. Taking off the silver chain off his neck, he placed it on top of the table and pushed it towards me. Tak, as I could sense that it was quite an item just from its heavy sound.
At the end of the chain was a large black disk-shaped ornament that was as large as my palm. It was an item that emitted an unfamiliar feeling, as if it belongs to a different world. Especially, that pure-black, dark light that was absorbing the light.

"What"s this?"

I extended my hand to grab it. Then, I lifted it up.
I did not have the ability to recognize the level of craftsmanship, for I was only at the stage to see a few black lines on it, but I recognized in one glance in exclamation of just how admirable this piece was. I inspected it carefully for a while. Those pieces that were so small that you couldn"t see its detail from afar.
My fingers followed the disk up. I could feel those smooth concluding b.u.mps with the edge of my finger.
Rotating it backwards, I could see the engraved name in unknown characters, as well as the symbols of the fourteen months that encircled outside the black sun evenly apart.
My fingers stopped at the dent at the center of the disk.

"It"s called the Necklace of the Four Seasons, and amongst the treasures that are pa.s.sed down, this one is the most valuable. Look at it carefully."

Listening to what my father had to say, my fingers began lingering on the four pillars of the cross engraved on the dent.  And on the head of that cross was a diamond-shaped gemstone embedded in that spot. A green stone with brilliant shades of sunshine.
Having green on top of the glazed black stone was a very unique attribute.

"Four seasons… …. Then this would be spring?"

Though I might have said this because I did not know what it meant, my father nodded.
I see, four seasons huh. Then where are the jewels of summer, winter, and fall go to?
As if my father had expected what question I had, he soon said this.

"The rest are scattered among each of the continents. So that the necklace original hidden abilities are lost, so it has no strength, but it is still a beautiful ornament."

Honestly, even if you say it"s just an ornament, it was such a beautiful item that it would be of great value. At least, that was how it was in my eyes. And the green jewel that was delicately embedded needed no extra words. Earlier like this wine, there was no mistake it would be "incredibly difficult to a.s.sess in terms of value."
But, I wonder what powers this necklace has?

"That "spring" is what I had discovered in this journey. I found it at a female shaman village far west, near the borders of Rojondiawa. Maybe, all these coincidental incidents were what led me to find that jewel, and so I still marvel at what happened then to this day.

Coincidence. That"s quite an ambiguous word.
Tenderly holding the necklace, I waited for my father to give me more of an explanation in detail.

"This necklace that has been pa.s.sed down by our family for the last 200 years, was a one-of-a-kind, unique item that even the nation"s King desired to possess it. In here lies the "Magician Ezekiel"s" hidden magic sentence that he left behind. What that sentence is, there has been no record of it, other than the fact that all the secrets will be solved once you find the Four Season stones and fill it up. This tradition has been told from father to son even till today. Of course, there was a lot of controversy leading up to the authenticity of those words, so this has been pa.s.sed down as more of a relic."

What… … did you say?
I briefly shook my head, and asked again after swallowing my saliva.

"The Eternal Redeemer, Ezekiel?"

My father slowly nodded his head.
The thought of this item being related to that legendary person caused me to inspect the item in my hand once more. Surely, considering it was pa.s.sed down for that long a period, there were no old traces at all. But, those peculiar patterns seemed ancient. Though I"m not sure if I have the ability to sense such a thing.
My father resumed his explanation.

"As you can probably guess from me finding one, the main reason that had allowed me to depart from my province was my promise towards the elders of the family on finding the four jewels and embedding them onto the necklace. In our family, it had been pa.s.sed down that the person that would complete this necklace would be granted enormous powers, yet as it is only a legend, no one knows for sure. And it"s also unconfirmed as to what type of power it brings. But, due to the great affinities that the elders have towards this legend as anyone would have some sort of affection towards a legendary story, the chiefs had all welcomed my proposition. As you may well know, a lot of impressive knights are dispatched. And isn"t our family the center of excellence among the Salvation of Knights as the best knights in the continent? Despite that, the expectations to complete this necklace is still not completely lost."

It would"ve been impossible for my father, the leader of the knights as well as the head of his family, to leave everything behind and travel all the way to this faraway place. For some reason, I feel a bit sad. This necklace, it"s countless times more important than the existences of my mother and I.
My father resumed.

"To be honest, there were a few people that did attempt to achieve this mission, but they all failed. You can recognize that just from seeing the necklace at this state. For 200 years, this necklace has preserved itself in this condition while being pa.s.sed down."

I nodded my head. I understood. I wonder how frustrating it would be.
How do you find three more jewels in this wide continent? And it"s not like they know what they look like, no information at all.
Asking my father like this, he laughed.

"Every item that"s called a treasure has their own unique traits. This necklace basically possesses the attribute of returning to its original form."

"Returning to its original form? What do you mean?"

"Did you really think this necklace was like this originally? What I want is to see this necklace slowly restore the rest of the jewels and reclaim its completed appearance. It has been pa.s.sed down that several signs will appear to the one who wears this necklace due to Ezekiel"s special spell. I can sufficiently certify this ambiguous claim when I departed in search for the first jewel. I left for my journey without any information, and yet I could feel a path opening automatically in front of me."

"Eheh… …."

It doesn"t seem real. To hear the same story that was spoken of for over 200 years, and still my father had directly experienced that. Was it true, really?
And the necklace creepily felt as if it was alive. Could it be that this necklace has a will of its own and desires to return to its original form? Though I"ve heard stories that were continually repeated over time, this kind was a first in my life.

TL Afterword

A necklace that is alive? Four jewels? d.a.m.n that"s some amazing combination of Lord of the Rings and Final Fantasy xD

Translator: Calvis
Proofreader: Sai101