.Hack//Epitaph of Twilight Volume1 Prologue

Prologue//Fragment

As the curtain of night descended, a thick fog settled over the land. In the midst of that heavy silence lay Alba Lake, said to rest at the very center of the world. At its heart, rising from the still waters, stood a cathedral of unknown origin. No one knew who had built it, when it had appeared, why it existed, or what purpose it served.

It was called the Hulle Granz Cathedral.

On this night — in this place whispered to have existed since ancient times — an unprecedented meeting was about to occur. Helba, the Queen of Darkness, had issued a summons, and Apeiron, the King of Light, had answered. They were the rulers of the world’s two greatest powers, locked in an eternal struggle.

― Their history was long. Before the birth of humankind, in the twilight near the end of the tenth month, the lands and skies brought forth spirits. Divided into Light and Darkness, they began fighting the moment they came into being, each seeking to overcome the other. It was during this conflict that humans were born — beings with whom the spirits could not coexist.

Though humans and spirits appeared similar at a glance, there was one unmistakable difference: humans cast shadows, while spirits did not — at least, not under ordinary circumstances. Once humans realized this, they began to persecute them. Many were hunted down or destroyed entirely. For a time, it seemed the three‑sided war would never end… but the spirits knew their defeat was inevitable. New spirits were rarely ever born, while humans multiplied endlessly. Thusly, the spirits withdrew, creating a world far removed from humanity. Since then, the war between Light and Darkness had fallen into a lull.

So why, even in this fragile peace, had the leaders of Light and Darkness chosen to meet now?

The spirits stood on the brink of extinction, threatened by a calamity known as the Cursed Waves. Manifesting as literal waves, they swept across the world, and the spirits had no means to resist.

It was for this reason that Helba sent her message:

I would like to discuss the Twilight Dragon and the Cursed Waves…

If not for that, Apeiron would never have answered her summons.

“It could still be a trap.” Fili warned quietly at his king’s side.

Apeiron’s retainer, Fili the White, was deeply troubled by this situation. Yet despite his fears, Apeiron steeled himself and set out for the Hulle Granz Cathedral.

The Twilight Dragon Helba spoke of was said to be the one being capable of saving them from the Cursed Waves. Whether it truly existed or not, they had no choice but to act if they hoped to survive.

In this world, there was a legend known to all — spirits and humans alike. No one knew whether it was true, but for the spirits, it had become their only remaining hope:

When the Cursed Waves appear, three shadow-bearers will set out in search of the Twilight Dragon that will save the world of spirits.

“… ra.”

A faint, familiar voice tugged me out of my drowsiness.

“… Lara.”

I slowly sat up in my seat, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as a yawn lazily escaped from my mouth.

“You awake, sleepyhead?” Papa chuckled, “We’re almost there, now, Lara.” I must have dozed off in the passenger seat.

“Sorry… I fell asleep.”

Papa smiled. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure…? I made you bring me along, and then I just passed out. I feel like I should apologize.”

“That’s alright. To be honest, I’m glad you tagged along.”

I smiled. Whenever Papa was happy, I felt happy too.

“It’s been a while since I last saw Uncle Harald, right?”

“A while?! But you–”

“Wait, haven’t I met him before?”

“No, not really. The last time I visited him, you were a just baby.”

“Oh… I see.”

“So, you shouldn’t remember him from that far back.” Papa laughed. “Though, I do remember him looking at you with wonder.”

“Wonder…?”

"You had just been born, and from the way he stared at you, I figured he’d never seen a baby before.”

“But we see babies all over the place, don’t we?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

I would be fourteen this year. Papa and the other adults still treated me like a child, but I was starting to feel more grown-up. I knew I wasn’t an adult yet, but I sure wasn’t a child anymore either — somewhere in between.

“Then, I guess I’m looking forward to meeting him properly this time,” I said, correcting myself as I stretched and rolled down the car window.

The scent of grass drifted into the car, and a wave of humid air smacked me in the face. It was different from the sea breeze I was used to back home but still pleasant. I took in a deep breath, letting the unfamiliar scents of the forest and soil sink in.

“By the way, did you check the boards again yesterday?” Papa asked. When I turned my gaze towards him, he was still staring straight ahead at the road.

Once, Papa got distracted during a conversation and scraped the car against a wall. Ever since then, he refuses to look away from the road while driving — even at red lights. No matter how much he talked, his eyes stayed locked on the streets ahead      . Sometimes, it felt like he was talking to the windshield instead of me.

“Yeah, but I didn’t find anything new. It’s been a very long time since the original site went down, so I don’t even know what to search anymore to find the original text.”

“The Epitaph of Twilight, hmm?” Papa muttered; eyes still fixed tightly to the road.

I’d been staying up late recently to look into the Epitaph of Twilight ― a web novel by Emma Wieland. She’d been an amateur writer, but I really liked the story she’d been working on and wanted to find it again.

The premise went like this:

The world of shadowless spirits was being destroyed by the Cursed Waves and was on the brink of extinction. The waves struck without warning, and the spirits had no way to fight back. In desperation, the King of Light, Apeiron, and the Queen of Darkness, Helba, formed an alliance to search for a solution.

In their world, there was a legend:

When the waves appear, three shadow-bearers will set out to find the Twilight Dragon.

The story began with one of the shadow-bearers – a girl known as the Little Witch, living in a windmill shed in a wheat field, rescuing a shadowless stag.

She believed in the legend and set out to find the Twilight Dragon with four others: Fili, a spirit from the Lands of Light; Bith, a spirit from the Lands of Darkness; and the two other shadow-bearers.

Unfortunately, the story was left unfinished. Emma Wieland had died in an accident before she could complete her work.

After her death, the story had been swallowed up by the sea of the internet, and no one had saved the works of an unknown hobbyist writer. Because of that, it was hard to tell which versions of the story were original and which had been altered.

The Epitaph of Twilight I had now only covered the early parts of their journey and was still missing several sections. Some of the chapters were complete, but many were nothing more than summaries of what supposedly happened.

I’d started reading this little-known novel after hearing about Emma Wieland from an online bulletin board.

Emma Wieland had lived an extraordinary life — she’d been caught up in a dispute over a massive inheritance while also being involved with a man twenty years older than her! And apparently, just before the accident, she’d become obsessed with anthroposophy.

She was like the main character of some tragic drama.

At least, that’s what I thought when I read about her. It was surprising to find out people like that actually existed.

And because someone so unusual had written a novel, I couldn’t help wanting to learn more about her and the things she was interested in.

As for anthroposophy — it was a philosophical study of the soul and human will, focusing on things that couldn’t be explained by normal science. It also claimed that psychic powers and reincarnation were real, but that part sounded a bit too pseudosciency to me.

“There it is.”

Papa pointed to a house along the edge of the forest. I followed his finger to a small, rundown shack that looked abandoned. It was the only one with an unkempt lawn, and an air of darkness seemed to hang over it despite the sunlight.

“… Uncle Harald lives there?”

Papa gave me a small, reassuring smile when he noticed my frown.

“He does; he just isn’t taking good care of it.”

“Is that because he lives on his own…?”

“Well, I’m sure it’s because he’s busy with work.”

I took another look around. All the other houses were beautifully maintained, with neatly trimmed lawns and freshly painted fences. Even from inside the car, it almost sounded like laughter could be heard coming from some of them.

Compared to the others, Uncle Harald’s house definitely stood out, sitting at the end of the road.

I knew that my uncle – Papa’s younger brother – was a famous programmer. A brilliant engineer with connections all over the world. He even apparently shared the same passion for anthroposophy that Emma had.

Once, Papa had said, “It’s amazing that he can stay on the cutting edge of technology and still make time in his life for philosophy.” But a bitter smile always tugged at his lips when he’d said it, so I couldn’t help feeling he didn’t really mean it.

The truth was, Uncle Harald had been out of touch for months now. He seemed obsessed with something, working on it day and night.

Papa was worried, and I happened to overhear him saying that he planned on giving him a visit, even though Uncle Harald lived so far away. That made me worry about Papa driving so far on his own.

I guess Papa and I were both worrywarts…

Still, I was also curious to know more about my uncle, so I decided to tag along.

“Come on, let’s go.” Papa parked in front of the house and waved for me to get out.

We walked up to an ivy-covered door. Papa reached out to press the old-fashioned doorbell, but it might have been broken —the button sank in and didn’t pop back out when Papa pulled his hand away.

“Is he not home?”

Papa tilted his head, then forced the button back out to press it again. Before he could, however, the door opened with a creak.

“… Who is it?”

For a moment, my heart pounded, and I felt like running.

A tall, lanky man leaned out from behind the door. He looked at Papa first, then let his gaze drop to me.

“It’s you, huh?” That man – my uncle – muttered as he recognized his brother.

“Yep. And since I’ve come all the way out here, don’t go making this difficult for me, OK?”

Uncle Harald glanced at me again, annoyance clear in his eyes. We obviously weren’t welcome here, but I greeted him politely anyway. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Lara Hoerwick.”

“Huh…?” He blinked at me, confused, then turned to Papa for clarification.

“She’s my daughter. You came to see her when she was born.”

Uncle Harald stared at me with a blank expression, as if digging through memories he wasn’t sure he had.

He had long silver hair that flowed over his shoulder; a few strands hung across his face, partially hiding the haunted expression he wore. Yet behind his amber eyes, his intelligence still shown through.

Papa had the same silver hair, but aside from that, I never would’ve guessed that they were brothers. It wasn’t that Uncle Harald looked old — but if I had been told he was a more distant relative… I wouldn’t have batted an eye. They were just too different.

I realized I might be staring, so I tried smiling up at him to avoid seeming rude… however, that didn’t seem to help at all.

Uncle Harald met my gaze briefly before turning away from us. He didn’t remember me, but that wasn’t surprising. I’d been a baby the last time he saw me — of course I’d look completely different now.

“… Well, alright then. Come on in.”

With that, he stepped back into the house. I quietly glanced over and caught Papa’s eye while Uncle Harald’s back was turned. “Papa, I don’t think he wants me here.”

“That’s just the kind of guy he is. Don’t take it too personally, OK?”

“Okay… maybe he’s upset because we showed up out of nowhere?”

“If that were the case, he wouldn’t have invited us in.”

“… Are you sure it’s okay for us to go inside?”

From what I could see of the interior, the house looked dim and empty — like it was haunted. Papa just gave a wry smile.

“A bit late to wait in the car, don’t you think? Come on.” He said with a chuckle, stepping inside before I could respond.

Uncle Harald was waiting at the end of the hallway, glancing back at us as Papa walked in. When our eyes met, fear gripped me again.

What in the world does he do here…?

Lost in thought, I realized Papa was moving further down the hall.

“Wait up!” I hurried after him.

“Woah…”

The inside of the house was much tidier than the outside. I’d expected dust and cobwebs everywhere, but the living room was spotless. A framed picture sitting on the cupboard caught my eye for a moment; everything else in the room looked state-of-the-art, from the TV to the audio setup.

“It’s surprisingly clean in here,” Papa said to Uncle Harald as he plopped down on the leather sofa.

Uncle Harald stepped into the kitchen off to the left, laughing at the comment.

“Come sit down, Lara.” Papa told me. I nodded and sat near the edge of the couch.

He laughed…

That had been even more unexpected.

I could see him standing in the kitchen, sunlight streaming across the countertops and floor from the window. Uncle Harald looked like a completely different person.

Maybe he’s a good person after all.

I started to feel a little more at ease about coming here.

A moment later, Uncle Harald walked back into the living room, the scent of fresh coffee drifting in with him. “I’m afraid this is all we have to drink.”

He set three cups around the glass table. Papa’s cup was filled with black coffee.

I like coffee, but not without milk and sugar…

I resigned myself to drinking it slowly, but when Uncle Harald placed my cup down, it was filled with pure white milk.

“Oh!” I couldn’t help but let out a sound of surprise.

“I figured you’d prefer milk, but…” Uncle Harald stated, straightening up.

“No, that’s fine. I don’t really like black coffee, so… thanks.” Uncle Harald sat back down without changing expression.

“Thank you for the drinks,” I added before lifting my glass for a sip.

His unexpected concern for my preferences further raised my opinion of him.

Next to me, Papa started talking about his recent affairs. We were supposed to be here for Uncle Harald, but Papa immediately shifted to his own life instead.

Guess it can’t be helped…

I shifted my attention from Papa to Uncle Harald. He seemed to be listening, but that same blank expression stayed etched onto his face as he sipped his coffee.

This is kind of boring…

Once I’d emptied my cup, all I could do was wait for them to finish talking.

“Could we step outside for a minute?” Papa stood; his cup held firmly in his hand.

Uncle Harald stared at him for a moment before getting up, as well, walking towards the front door; he looked annoyed again.

“I knew it… I shouldn’t have come.” I muttered to Papa after Uncle Harald stepped outside.

“No, no. I just thought he could use some fresh air over staying in this stuffy room.”

“Hmm…”

“We might be a while, so you can watch some TV while we’re out,” Papa said, already heading for the front door.

When the door closed behind them, the sound echoed throughout the now-empty living room. “I came all the way out here just to watch TV…?”

I got up, intending to leave the living room, but paused at the picture that had caught my eye earlier. It was of a woman in a long, flowing black dress standing beside Uncle Harald in a park around midday; her face was obscured by a parasol and veiled hat.

They looked like a good couple.

I wonder if there are any better pictures of her…

I set the photo back down and stepped out of the living room, curiosity getting the better of me. I wanted to know more about what Uncle Harald did here on his own.

Leaving the sunlit room behind, I entered a dimly lit hallway that stretched deeper into the house. At the end of it, a door stood slightly ajar, a bluish-white light spilling out from the gap.

“What is that?” I whispered, inching closer.

Peeking inside, I saw several monitors lined up side-by-side on a metal desk, their screens glowing faintly. As I stepped farther into the room, I noticed bookshelves stretching all the way to the ceiling along the far wall. Despite that, so many books were scattered across the floor that they’d formed piles. Layers of thick dust covered everything.

“Is this his study?” The monitors were blank, glowing with that pale, bluish-white light — probably in sleep mode. “What’s this?”

Sitting on the desk next to the monitors, I found what looked like a pair of thin goggles, with a controller lying next to them, like the ones made for game consoles.

Uncle Harald plays video games?

Carefully, I stepped closer, making sure not to knock over any of the book piles. Looking at the inner lining of the goggles, I could make out some kind of electronic display where my eyes would go.

It wasn’t reflecting light from the monitors; it seemed to have its own built‑in screen. I knew for a fact Papa would’ve told me if some new kind of video equipment like this had been released.

“What is this…?” Something was displayed on the goggle’s screen, but I couldn’t make it out clearly. I peeked out of the room to make sure Papa and Uncle Harald weren’t back yet. “I-I’ll just take a peek. That’ll be fine…”

I picked up the goggle-like device and peered into them curiously.

Inside the eyecups, an image appeared before my eyes: a vast field of golden wheat beneath a stormy night sky. The clouds that loomed overhead held a strange purple hue that made them look ominous — I’d never seen clouds like that before.

What country is this from?

As I scanned the endless wheat fields, I noticed a small windmill shed sitting on the horizon. Looking closer, I realized the windmill was turning slowly, and the wheat was ever so lightly rustling in the wind.

It was a simple place, but something about it really drew me in. I gripped the edges of the desk, suddenly feeling as though I might lose my balance — as if letting go would cause me to fall straight through the goggles into that picturesque landscape.

As my hands tightened on the desk, I heard something fall, causing my heart to leap into my throat. I tore the goggles from my face to find the controller upside down on the floor. It must have hit a few buttons on the way down, because massive, stylized letters slowly formed across the desk monitors.

Fragment

I guessed it was the title of a game. Below it, a login screen appeared, the same words now showing inside the goggles as well.

I wonder if I have to wear these to play.

I picked the controller up off the floor and pressed a few buttons.

“Whoa!”

This time, when the display changed, more words flowed onto the screen like sand caught in the wind. What they said felt very familiar.

There was a legend in their world.

When the Cursed Waves appear,

three shadow-bearers will set out

in search of the Twilight Dragon

that will save the world of spirits.

It was from the Epitaph of Twilight.

Does this mean the image of the wheat field in the goggles was where the Little Witch lived? I looked through the goggles again.

Could this be…

Was this what Uncle Harald had become so obsessed with? Had been working day and night to create a game based on the Epitaph of Twilight? I couldn’t know for sure, but it was possible that through anthroposophy, Uncle Harald had come to know Emma and decided to use his programming skills to bring her world to life.

I had no proof, but for some reason, it felt like the only logical conclusion.

Maybe I just wanted to believe something crazy like that could really happen. Maybe it was the strange atmosphere of the room — lit only by the glow of the computer screens — that was getting to me. Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter right now. I walked over to the door and shut it tight.

As if something was calling me back to the computer, I quickly returned to the desk, picked up the goggles, and slipped them on again before grabbing the controller.

It’ll be fine if I just play for a minute or two, right?

I logged in without hesitation, unaware that this single action would completely remove me from reality.

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