Gekka (月花)

Gekka: The Witch of Twilight

"The artificiality of scientific experimentation is not a weakness but the very thing that gives it its unique power to yield explanations about the nature of the world" - Stanovich.

Prologue

The Witch of Twilight

　(黄昏の魔女）

The curiosity of humans about the nature of the world is unbound, learning and experimenting in all ways to twist the fiber of reality to their advantage. What was once seen as witchcraft hundreds of years ago is now called science. Humanity has achieved the ability to travel and explore the land more efficiently than many generations ago. The invention of aircraft allowed for exploration of the sky, humanity once again reached its new heights and potential. Yet once again it did not stop there. Despite being recently developed for less than a hundred years, outer space, what was beyond that blue atmosphere is now within the grasp of the human hand. With every major milestone, humanity has achieved, the grander its next capstone. The benefits of revolution bring to those at the very top their pitfall, however. Such an example is the Father of the Renaissance of this era. A young man in his teens has made a name for himself in the world. Science, Artistic, Politics, and almost every other major aspect that had contributed to the advancement of human society, he has made his name. The young man is, frankly put, the very top of his kind, one that is not only fluence in what he does, but also goes above and beyond others' expectations. With that said, this is the story about a young man, one that is at his very top, and now experiencing his pitfall of success.

Once upon a time, a very long ago, there was a wandering witch. She traveled from land to land on this continent of Weiss to learn about the world. Bearing the reputation of a witch, humanity was not so kind in her presence. The witch hid her identity to live among the humans. The days went by as the witch made herself a name among the villagers for her ability to cure the sick. One day, however, the witch's identity was discovered and so the villagers cast her out of their village. In frustration and felt betrayal by those she held dear, the witch kept wandering and eventually, fell by a barn just off the main road. Everyone passed by but not one offered the witch help. Days went by when she felt like all was lost, then suddenly a young man appeared before her. The young shepherd offered her food and warm cloth he had at his disposal. The young shepherd also wandered the land and stumbled upon the sight of the beautiful witch. He was curious so the young man stayed by her side, offering help in exchange for her story during her time as a wandering witch. Just like that, the two have made a connection, subtle yet very strong. Soon the villagers nearby discovered the witch is staying at a barn near their village, however, they were too scared to chase the witch out. So they approached the young shepherd knowing he was close to the witch. Some days passed, and the witch was still waiting at the very same barn they used to meet up, but this time, the young shepherd was nowhere to be found. She waited, waited patiently from days to days, then months to months. But the young shepherd never showed up again.

Loid: Then? What happened to the witch and the shepherd after that?

Girl: No idea (playful tone). I can't remember what happened after that. The last I heard of this story was from long ago, there might be another part to the story ...or not. But that is why you are here right? We will find the last part of the tales.

... And so is the situation I'm in right now. To explain it, let's go back to yesterday evening just before dusk.

A day before,