Authors: Brandon Chen
***
Gavin coughed a few times, not exactly sure
what had happened. He felt something heavy on him. He tried to open his eyes,
but honestly he wanted to simply keep them shut and just lie there and sleep. But,
he knew he needed to get moving; this place was dangerous … wherever he was. His
eyes fluttered open, and he blinked some dust away to find that he was actually
underneath debris of the inn, not exactly sure how the entire structure had
come apart. His chest burned with an agonizing pain, and he groaned, leaning
forward. His back was pressed up against a wall that was still upright. One of
the pillars that held the upper floors had fallen over and had almost landed on
him. It was hovering inches over his legs. Feeling uncomfortable, Gavin quickly
drew his legs back and began to push himself to his feet. Dust was everywhere,
and he couldn’t help but hear the grunting and clanging of combat nearby.
There’s no doubt that’s Yata. What
happened?
Oh, yes. That mysterious white-haired boy
had somehow teleported to their window and knocked them through several walls.
Apparently now the entire inn was destroyed, too. Perfect. Simply wonderful! He
knew he was gaining an affinity for Yata. Not really.
Why hadn’t that stubborn piece-of-work
listened to him earlier? No, why hadn’t he gathered his own guts and warned
Yata earlier? Perhaps then they wouldn’t be in this mess. Now the people in the
inn were most likely killed, dozens of veterans from the war. Yata probably
didn’t care, but Gavin knew that those men didn’t deserve to die in such an
unexpected way. Now that he thought about it, how had that boy gotten to their
window so fast? And how did he have super strength that excelled beyond even
Yata?
Don’t tell me he’s another one of those freaks with super powers.
Gavin stepped over the destroyed pillar and
looked at the desolated area around him, his eyes wandering over dozens of
corpses that had been buried underneath debris. Blood was splattered across the
ground, forming multiple pools around bodies. He staggered a few steps, finding
it rather hard to walk. Each step was as if he were drunk, incapable of walking
in a straight line. His legs were shaking as he tried to go in the direction of
the fighting. He didn’t know why he was even going to Yata. He could run away
right now, but there was something about this boy that seemed to draw him back
in. He had been spared for a reason, Yata had said. What was that reason? They
trusted him? He was a random stranger; why in the gods would they choose to
trust a random
enemy
soldier? There was no logic behind their decision.
So,
why am I trying to help these terrorists again?
Gavin lost his balance and fell over,
grasping another pillar. He leaned his chin on it, groaning. The unyielding
stone gave him a bruise as he slumped over the debris and looked outward to see
Yata and the boy exchanging heavy blows. Surprisingly enough, the enemy was
much faster and even stronger than Yata.
Yata was swinging his bat furiously, but
the opponent was able to dodge easily, as if he knew what was going to happen
next. His image would flicker, and he would reappear somewhere else in the next
second. It was near impossible for Yata to read the opponent’s moves because the
boy’s speed was unreal. The boy had reappeared beside Yata and rotated his
body, driving a full fist into the solid metal of Yata’s face. Normally, punching
that solid body would’ve at least hurt since the opponent was punching metal,
but that didn’t seem to stop him one bit. With an explosion of power, Yata was
rocketed backward through the air, flipping out of control as he smashed
solidly through a building, sending more dust everywhere. Debris rained down as
the wall of the building began to crumble.
Gavin stared at the white-haired boy,
incredulous. He was unbelievably strong; it was simply unnatural. A single
punch, capable of sending a full-metal young man through a building. This boy
had undoubtedly obtained his power from a similar place to where Keimaro and
Yata had gotten theirs. But from where? A twisting feeling grasped at his gut,
and he suddenly felt the need to go out there and help Yata.
But what could I do?
Gavin thought, looking down at the dirt.
All I would do is give
Yata a distraction for maybe a second or two before this guy sent me through
more walls. I’m not superhuman like Yata is. I’ll be killed. I’ll die. Isn’t
the point of helping these guys just to survive? And if Yata is a terrorist who
wants to assassinate our savior, our king, why should I help him?
Yata’s body had shifted from its metallic
form, morphing back into human flesh. The white-haired boy grabbed him by the
hair and dragged him from the wreckage of the destroyed building. He threw Yata
to the ground, where he gasped for air, blood smeared across his chin.
Yata placed his palm onto the ground,
trying to push himself upward, but he was swiftly kicked and driven back into
the earth. The boy had never felt so powerless against such a strong opponent
before. Defeated so easily, being humiliated without a single chance from the
very beginning. He saw his bat a couple of feet away and reached outward in a final
attempt to fight back. To his despair, Yuri kicked it away. A bolt of fear shot
through Yata as his eyes widened. He realized he was now unarmed and unable to
defend himself. Was he going to die? Was this the—
The mysterious boy interrupted Yata’s
thought process with a heavy kick to the cheek. Yata’s face snapped to the side
before he went limp and hit the ground, his eyes closed, unmoving. The
white-haired boy bent over and scooped Yata off of the ground, slinging the
unconscious body over his shoulder. He turned and saw Gavin, giving the soldier
a slight smile and a nod. “The soldiers will be here soon. I suggest you get
out of here,” he said, not specifying who he was acknowledging. Gavin heard, and
he watched as the boy began to walk off into an alleyway between buildings.
Gavin’s throat felt dry, and he felt
extremely hot.
What do I do? Follow him and possibly get killed?
It
would be the right thing to do so that Keimaro at least would be able to save
his friend. Ugh, why the hell am I so reluctant to go after them? This other
guy is not exactly a hero either. Both Yata and this other guy are bad. Damn,
what do I do?
Yata at least had smidges of humanity in him, despite the
fact that he was extremely aggressive. After all, he had been the one to spare
Gavin’s life twice. Damn it.
Gavin leapt to his feet and stumbled over
the debris in the direction of the alleyway where the boy had vanished. He
couldn’t just leave Yata to go off and be kidnapped. That would haunt his
nightmares. He had to try to save him at least. Staggering forward, still
feeling extremely dizzy, he leaned against the wall of one side of the alleyway
as he began to move forward more cautiously, wary of the fact that dwelling
within some of these shadows was the dangerous white-haired boy that they had
encountered. He could hear the sounds of soldiers yelling behind him,
questioning people. If they caught him, it would only slow things down and he
would probably lose track of Yata. It was better if he just stayed quiet and
kept moving.
The soldier’s eyes squinted as he peered
through the pitch-black darkness before him, feeling as if he were simply
looking at a black blanket. He couldn’t see a thing. Why in hell was it so
dark? He supposed that it was nighttime, but this was beyond any type of
darkness that he had encountered in the city. It reminded him of the Forbidden
Forest. He shivered at the very thought of that darkness that entranced
adventurers, then locked them into an abyss from which they would never escape.
Even as a young boy, he had been one of those children to boast that he would
be one of the explorers to go and camp out in the Forbidden Forest and survive.
He would be a legend. But as a child, he had known nothing of this darkness or this
silence—the silence that drove even the strongest of men mad. He blinked a few
times, thinking that his eyes would’ve adjusted to the darkness by now. Yet,
they didn’t, and he continued walking, deeper and deeper into the void.
“
This is your friend, then?
” a voice
suddenly spoke softly in Gavin’s ear. It was so subtle, a simple whisper, but
in this dead silence, it was like a horn blowing right into his ear. Gavin
nearly leapt at the sound and glanced around, his heart thudding harder against
his chest. He couldn’t see anything. He didn’t know why he bothered to turn
around. Even if there were someone there, he wouldn’t have spotted them.
“Who’s there?” Gavin demanded and finally
realized that the sound of soldiers had been gone for a while now. There was no
sound at all, and he was locked in this shadow that grasped him. His throat
tightened as visceral fear filled him. This was no alley. This was something
else beyond his comprehension. A void. He gripped the hilt of his sword, ready
to unsheathe it. But even he knew that there was simply no point. Why was this
happening? He didn’t want to die. Not in a place like this. Not in this
darkness.
“Gavin, the soldier. A trained warrior from
the simple barrack of Faar. What is someone like you doing with two strong,
independent killers such as these? Keimaro and Yata are both very dangerous
men. I heard they were traveling alone. So, who are you?” the voice whispered
once more, coming from all directions. “You seem bothered, warrior. Are you
afraid? Yes. Yes, you are afraid! I can smell it. Your fear.”
Sweat began to form on the warrior’s brow
as he stumbled backward and found that the wall he had seen only a second ago
was no longer there. What wizardry was this? Something from mythology, no doubt,
locking him in a void of absolute darkness and silence; he was being tormented.
Yes, he felt fear. So much of it. He feared death more than anything in the
universe. He cared for his life infinitely more than others. He regretted going
after Yata already. Now he was going to perish in this dark world. “L-Let me
go….”
“Let you go? Why, I haven’t trapped you.
You came after me. I have merely come for a single reason. Keimaro Hayashi. We
want to speak to him. Come to the old warehouse of the lower city. Come with
Keimaro Hayashi, and perhaps your friend here will live. All will be explained.
Come unarmed.”
A sudden gust of wind blew, and Gavin found
that his eyes were closed. They snapped open, and he found himself on the floor
of the alleyway, his face coated in a layer of hot sweat. He was relieved that
he had escaped that darkness—so relieved that he curled into a ball and began to
sob silently. Perhaps it was out of the fear that he would be trapped in that
darkness forever. Scared of the dark? Why was he a soldier if that was all it
took to scare him? Why, indeed?
***
Keimaro followed Judal up a long set of
stairs that led from the lower city to the noble district, where all of the
land belonged to the royal family or the nobles of society. Upon reaching the
top, he raised an eyebrow at the sight before him: outstretching plains of lush
grass that gleamed healthily even under the moonlight. A fountain spewed glistening
water that gushed down from a statue of the king into the well, mimicking the
exact same fountain that he had seen in the city square. Stone pathways were
carved into the fields, leading to gigantic mansions that looked at least
eighty times larger than the ordinary cottage. They filled the land with their
magnificence.
The boy was led down the stone pathways behind
Judal, looking around him in awe.
Wow,
he thought,
look at these
buildings! The luxury is beyond comprehension. These guys must be loaded.
Of
course they were. They were nobles, the highest rank in society besides the
king. One building that Keimaro saw had massive pillars in the front to support
the stretching tiled roof. The windows themselves were tinted different colors
for some odd reason so that the moonlight shone through them, displaying an
array of dissimilar light. Even the doors themselves seemed to have golden
doorknobs or knockers, worth enough to probably buy Keimaro’s entire home
village. A boy with golden hair peeked from a window on the upper floors,
watching Judal and Keimaro pass by. But, without so much as a nod, he fled.
While all of this was wonderful and
luxurious, Keimaro couldn’t help but wonder. If all of these nobles were living
large and could afford extra things like golden doorknobs, clearly the money
wasn’t being distributed evenly. He remembered that starving old man that had
looked like practically undead in the lower city. Judging from these buildings,
there clearly was enough money to go around to everyone. Clearly enough food as
well. Yet, it wasn’t being distributed, and the economic system was definitely
flawed. It bothered him that there were people here living like this while the
others in the lower city were suffering. He supposed that, by assassinating the
king, perhaps things would change for the better. At least, he hoped they
would.
But Keimaro had yet to see the final
building at the end of the pathway. He wasn’t even sure if it could be called a
building, for it was the size of ten of these mansions put together. A hulking citadel
stood before him, towering high into the sky. It consisted of buildings that
stacked upon one another, creating layers to make the castle look massive.
Gargantuan towers were placed on top of lower buildings and stretched even
higher up until Keimaro saw that at the very top was a single tower. All of the
other buildings that were combined to create this single castle led up to this
final tower that seemed to pierce even the heavens, so high that one could
stand on top of it and perhaps even touch the clouds.
It was clear that Judal could see the
disbelief painted on the boy’s face. He chuckled lightly to himself as he
nodded to two guards at the door, and they continued walking forward.
Passing a courtyard, which seemed to have
many different plants and trees, Keimaro drew his attention away from the size
of the castle to see a single tree that he recognized immediately. An apple
tree. Right there, on the courtyard in front of the castle. Glistening apples
that reminded him of that single day. He remembered the first time that he had
met Aika underneath that tree.
Haha, she was practically unconscious. Yet,
she reached for that apple anyway. And the next day, she ate another.
Keimaro
was about to see her once more. He couldn’t help but wonder how she had
changed.
Massive doors that were the height of ten
men slowly swung open, allowing for Keimaro and Judal to walk in. They stepped
into a long hallway that was filled with soldiers on both sides, positioned
perfectly. Their posture was flawless, their backs completely straight with
their swords held out two inches before their face, unmoving and emotionless.
They stood and made no noise as Keimaro and Judal moved forward through the
hallway along a blue carpet.
Keimaro noticed many side doors through the
hallway that probably led to a variety of different rooms. He wondered how many
rooms were in a place as large as this. Surely over one hundred. Maybe even a
thousand. Ah, that number seemed so high, but he knew it was true! Hundreds of
candles illuminated the dark hallways, and Keimaro watched as the door to the
throne room was slowly opened.
Gleaming gold shined in his eyes, and he
found that he was looking at three great thrones, two of which were filled while
the last stood empty. The perimeter of the room was lined with Royal Guards
that wore the same attire as Keimaro and Judal. Through a convenient window in
the ceiling, glowing moonlight shined and bathed the king, who was mounted upon
the centered throne. Then Keimaro’s eyes flickered to the figure sitting on the
second throne.
A beautiful girl—no, a woman—sat upon the
golden throne. The light in her royal blue eyes was enough to shine through the
room, brighter than any fire or any amount of gold in the entire world. Her
long, flowing hair came down past her shoulders in a straight, perfect descent,
cascading down to her lower back. Her full lips were pursed together as if she
were pouting, having just spoken to the king. Her soft skin was untouched,
pure, and delicate, as if a single rough tap would be enough to shatter it like
glass. She wore a long, tight blue dress that matched her eyes, wavering past
her ankles to reveal her glass slippers that shined with fragile heels that
touched down softly upon the marble floor. She batted her long eyelashes a few
times and opened her mouth when she saw Keimaro as if she had seen a ghost, but
she said nothing.
Keimaro did his best to hide his surprise,
but he could already feel the heat rising to his cheeks. His heart was skipping
beats, pounding excitedly at the sight of the girl he had long forgotten. She
truly was beautiful. In fact, for a moment, Keimaro forgot where he was entirely.
Everything else in the world had been completely locked out except for her and
her elegancy. Their eyes met, and he gave her a slight smile. Then, he realized
where he was and hoped to god that she wouldn’t give away his name if she
happened to recognize him.
“Ah, Aika!” the king exclaimed with
newfound excitement, clapping his hands together as he indicated Keimaro with
an extension of his hand. “We have found our newest member of the Royal Guard,
and without doubt one of the strongest at our disposal as well! His talent must’ve
been hidden all of this time, for I never heard of such a prodigy until I saw
him in action today!” Aika gazed over the Royal Guards wearily, tired after the
long day. But when she looked at Keimaro, she seemed to prop up straight.
Keimaro smiled. He bowed his head lightly
as he and Judal walked to the center of the room and knelt before the thrones. “Milord,
you are too kind. The adrenaline and threat of death were what drove me. That
is all.”
“Ah, but in combat, your life is always at
stake. Therefore, you will always be a triumphant warrior, Riku!” The king
clapped his hands a few times with a chuckle, nodding his head toward Aika. “This
is my daughter. Your job, when you begin in two days, is to be her escort.
Judal will accompany you. Understood?”
“Yes, milord.”
“Judal, show Riku to his quarters. I think
I’ll be heading to bed soon.”
Judal stood back up and nodded for Keimaro
to follow him. They walked out through a side doorway in the throne room toward
a long hallway. Keimaro couldn’t help but glance back over his shoulder to look
at Aika, and for a single moment, their eyes met. A spark ignited between the
two of them, but Keimaro immediately broke eye-contact, his face growing hot.
He continued to follow Judal through the hallways of the castle, candlelight
lighting their path. He couldn’t believe Aika was really there.
The shadows crept along the corridors, and
Keimaro raised an eyebrow as he saw squads of guards patrolling through random
hallways. There was a long blue carpet running straight through each corridor.
Every hallway had candles, thousands of them, lit for illumination. Sometimes
there were torches, but they ruined the elegancy of the castle, according to
Judal. Every hallway had about three doors on each side and maybe a few
interesting paintings and some sculptures to differentiate each corridor from
the next. Other than that, they were all the same.
Keimaro would undoubtedly get lost in a
place this big. They had taken random twists and turns in the castle, and he
hardly could recall how he had even gotten to where he was. But before he knew
it, he was standing in a room with Judal, who was apparently going to be his
roommate. Interestingly enough, the room was humungous. Two individual beds flanked
a table set up on the far side of the room with a basket of fruit in it. Each
bed was well made and completely lacked wrinkles with the smoothest white
sheets that Keimaro had ever seen. This truly was the definition of luxury. The
window had a view from the upper part of the castle, which indicated that they
were well above the first floor.
Keimaro walked across the room to the
window and brushed aside the red curtains. The translucent window refracted the
moonlight onto the table, making the fruit gleam brighter. He looked out the
window at the glowing moon and whistled as he saw the gardens outstretched below
them. But, what fascinated him was the beautiful view of the city beyond. He
could see it all. The thousands of buildings each gave off its own tiny glow in
the night from small candles or torches. Millions of small lights in the city
crawled all the way up to the walls that surrounded Bassada. Simply amazing.
“Nice place,” Keimaro said with a small nod
to Judal. “So, I’ll be reporting to you in two days’ time, correct?”
“Yes,” Judal said casually, lying down on
his bed. He had his arms crossed behind his head and yawned, clearly exhausted
from the long day. He closed his eyes. “Meet me at the front of the stairway at
first dawn two days from now. I’ll help you learn the princess’s schedule.”
Keimaro nodded and turned, opening the door
from whence he came. He stepped through and closed it behind him, looking at
the hallway before him. He gave a heavy sigh. How was he going to escape this
maze?
The young boy wandered, taking random turns
in hallways, clearly without any idea where he was going. He eventually turned
into a massive room that seemed to stretch three stories high. The room was
divided into layers, all of which were overrun with huge books. Shelves were
stacked upon one another and stretched up to the ceiling, filled with thick
books of all varieties. As if the entire castle hadn’t been a maze enough, the
royal library seemed to be even more so.
Hopefully there’s someone here who
can help me find my way out of this place.
Keimaro walked forward, weaving in between
bookshelves, not sure where to go. There were ladders with wheels at the bottom
that leaned against the tall bookshelves, which towered over Keimaro. He walked
about, realizing how late it was, and noticed that many of the candles were
actually going out. Soon the entire library would be filled with darkness,
making it all the more difficult to navigate—that is, without using the
Shokugan. But if he used the Shokugan here and someone saw him, he could blow
his cover almost immediately.
After a few minutes, the entire library was
dark, and Keimaro found himself stumbling over stray books that had been left
on the floor and tripping over the bottoms of ladders. How much worse could
this get? His eye caught sight of a small light coming from ahead of him, and
he blinked a few times, walking slowly in that direction and making sure not to
make any sound. He saw that the light was coming from behind the shelf. He
reached for the shelf and grabbed a single thick book. He slid it out,
revealing a small hole that he could peer through. He looked through the opening
and, to his surprise, found Aika sitting there at a table with a lantern and a
book in her hand, unguarded. She was alone.
Keimaro couldn’t believe that someone so
important would be alone. A part of him wanted to go forward and confront her,
to speak to her, but his heart was fluttering and almost a thousand excuses
popped into his mind.
I’ll blow my cover! I’m sweaty after that fight
earlier today; I probably smell bad. She’s a princess; I’m just a simple
undercover guard.
Damn. Where were his guts? He felt
completely powerless over his own actions and sucked in a deep breath. He wasn’t
afraid when the tip of a blade was pointed against his throat, yet he was like
a little child in the face of a beautiful woman. How ridiculous. He ran his
hand through his hair, toying with the pages of a book.
All right, I’ll go
and talk to her.
Keimaro made a quick nod to himself and went back to
looking through the hole, only to find her on the other side, looking straight
back at him.
“Looking for something?”
“Gah!” Keimaro exclaimed, completely
surprised. He stumbled, tripping over a book. His head hit the shelf behind him,
and dozens of books rained from the sky, burying him.
Kill me now.
He
heard shuffling and sighed as he lay there, a pile of books on top of him. He
was so embarrassed that he just didn’t want to move at all.