FanFiction.Net - unleash your imagination|
Author of 6 Stories |
A/N: Sorry, I was busy (I think the reasoning is overused already... ^^;;). Am trying to write an original novel and applying as translator currently. Anyway, thanks for being patient. For those who had reviewed and include the story into their favourites, please accept my bow. m(_ _)m Hope you like this chapter.
Disclaimer: Standard disc applies. (Being lazy :p)
The marble stairs were shimmering under him. He knew this stairs. He walked upon them before. With Wataru. Or alone. He looked up to the winding and seemingly endless stairs. There would be a silver door in the end. One that he had gone through. With Wataru. Or alone. He was wondering why he saw all of these vain things when someone slip a hand into his. He jumped in surprise but the small hand didn't budge or let go. The small boy stared at him with his deep eyes.
"It's you again…" Mitsuru sighed. He had come into the term that he had some kind of past self ghost. "What do you want now?" He pulled his hand off the boy – or at least he tried to. The boy's grasp remained firm.
"Let's walk upstairs!" The boy said. His mouth slowly curved up into a smile, moments that made Mitsuru's goose bumps raised.
"If I say 'no'?" Mitsuru replied in futile attempt.
The boy turned stoic. "You've locked me up too long. Don't you think you need to start seeing? To start remembering…"
"Let me sum up, you're not taking 'no' as answer." Mitsuru cut him.
And the boy grinned widely. He never knew someone could grin that wide – as if you were ripping your mouth from ear to ear. It was unnatural. It was eerie. But this boy had never been normal since the beginning.
"Come, let's go." The boy started pulling him upstairs. Despite his size, the boy could drag the reluctant Mitsuru.
"Another torture…" Mitsuru murmured, his chest felt uneasy.
The boy turned back at him, his face was accusing. "Then what of me? You have left me alone for so long. When at last we can meet, you don't even remember me. Don't you ever think how much that torture me?" When Mitsuru averted his gaze from the boy that disturbingly appeared so much similar to him – he denied the probability that the boy was him. He believed he was not the type that project weird thoughts – especially the one that suffer oneself. The silver door was looming near. They went through the misty door and ended up in a forest.
The boy was still guiding and they walked in silence. The forest was green and beautiful. Mitsuru imagined the breeze that must've blown through, sounds of animals that must've heard, sounds of footsteps that must've belonged to humans. He paused. The footsteps weren't his imagination. He heard it. He didn't realize they had halted.
A man and… him? Mitsuru didn't recognize it at first due to the clothes. It was his younger self and he was wearing the brown garment. The one that he had wore out of nowhere when he arrived with Mitsuru in Vision. The one that he probably had wore at... other occasions he couldn't remember. The man's face was clouded. Even though he was facing them, Mitsuru couldn't see his face. The young Mitsuru was backing them and he could see the brown staffs had been adorned with a blue gem at the topmost. There are four other empty holes.
"I've poisoned them." The man spoke to Mitsuru. Judging from his clothes, he probably was a labor of some sort. Mitsuru couldn't put his finger where he had seen the similar attire.
"Good, we shall intercept their path." The young Mitsuru replied. Then man went off somewhere, different direction from the young Mitsuru.
"Do you still remember this?" The boy asked at Mitsuru after the scene was void.
It was familiar in his memory, it was like watching de-javu of some sort. You feel it happened before but you couldn't guess what would happen later. However, you remember the aftertaste. It was bitter, atrocious and full of guilt. He grimaced over the feeling.
"I see…" The boy said only by staring at his changing expression.
"Come." The boy pulled him again. Scenes were changing around them as if paints being washed away. Then suddenly, they were standing on nothing. Land was far beneath them. A group of traveler was fainting beneath them. On a closer look, Mitsuru realized it wasn't a group of traveler. They were guarding a passenger carriage. It must have been someone important. Young Mitsuru and the man who held a sword were approaching from behind. An old mage and an old man appeared from the carriage.
"What is this?! How dare you attack a government official! I could report you to the court and both of you will lose your head!" He said haughtily before falling on his knees. Mitsuru dislike him, even in the first glance.
"I don't think that's something you will need to worry now, my Lord." The man mocked. The mage staggered and whispered a short spell. Young Mitsuru responded hastily with a binding spell and the mage fell down on his knees as well.
The man approached them slowly, menacingly. The sword was unsheathed. "Wha… What do you think you were doing?!" The Lord said, frantically trying to stand.
"This is for my wife. One that was blameless but got killed because of you pests." His tone was full of hatred. The old Lord miraculously stood and run desperately through the bushes, into the forest.
"I think being a royal descendant means you have enough poison tests in your young age. No wonder the poison doesn't fully work on you while all your guards are down already." The man said before catching up, disappearing to the forest as well.
Young Mitsuru didn't budge through the whole event. He simply fixed his eyes to the old mage. Ignoring the unconscious guards, he approached him.
"Don't worry, your poison is light. Hand me the pearl."
The mage looked surprised. "I don't know what you are talking about." He replied and averted his gaze. "You better release me before…"
Young Mitsuru knocked the ground with his tip of staff and his blue pearl shone. A circle with lots of symbols and dominated by blue color emerged from the land under the old mage, followed with a ball of water. It enveloped the mage and drowned him. In a few seconds, the mage squirmed green and out of oxygen.
"Nod your head if you feel like talking." Young Mitsuru said. The mage immediately nodded and Mitsuru canceled his spell. The mage gasped and his breath came in hitch.
"I… have… it… But… it's not here!" The mage looked desperate. "I don't bring it."
"I see that you need another drowning before talking." Young Mitsuru said coldly. It was obvious that the young Mitsuru knew the mage had it.
"If I die, you'll never have it." The mage replied in fear.
"I pretty much know where it is. I'm just trying to simplify the process. The pearl is of no use to you too if you're dead." Young Mitsuru added the last sentence as intimidation.
The mage looked undecided. Then his face turned defeated. He handed young Mitsuru a red pearl from a hidden pocket inside his robes. The pearl immediately attached itself to young Mitsuru's staff.
Mitsuru chanted another spell where soft wind engulfed the mage. He fell with a thud. "Sleep until someone find you."
Young Mitsuru walked into the forest where the man and the fleeting Lord had gone in.
It was another blur around Mitsuru before he saw a scene he had absolutely sure seen before.
"This one you remember." The boy said to him. It wasn't a question. It's a remark. Mitsuru's jaw slightly dropped. The scene was crystal clear, not like an old static movie he used to have.
The man was clenching a bloody sword. Young Mitsuru was standing behind his back. The male was tense and his breath agitated. Blood was in the man's hand and sword, trickling down the glistening steel of the blade, creating a red line to the damp ground below. The Lord has fallen under his feet, face to the earth.
"I don't care what sin I should commit, who should I sacrifice... as long as I can get my wish come true, I'll do whatever it takes." The man said to Mitsuru.
"…You've gotten your revenge." Young Mitsuru said.
And the scene was cut - again. Mitsuru remembered. After this was one mistake that he had regretted for his whole life.
"Shall we go?" The boy tugged again even though he evidently saw Mitsuru's woeful expression.
"Can we stop already?" Mitsuru pleaded.
"You remember already." The boy repeated the fact.
"Yes, so we can stop already." Mitsuru half hoped.
"Then we can see it through together." The boy ignored his plead and started to pull again. Mitsuru's tried to pull his hand away but to no avail. It was as if his hand was glued to the boy's.
"We don't need to see it through. Please…"
"You are running away." The boy halted to his relief. "From me. From the guilt."
Mitsuru turned his gaze away, there was nothing to look - everything was white around them – but anywhere was fine, as long as not to the boy's piercing eyes.
"Face it. Be courageous."
Mitsuru locked his feet to his place. "It was an accident. I didn't mean it."
"That… I know more than anyone."
Mitsuru stared back to the boy. His face was a mix of frustration and misery. The boy returned him a firm expression instead.
"See it through. Forgive yourself. Forgive me." He added the last sentence in whisper and dropped his gaze.
The environment changed again. They were standing on a high stone hill. The man and young Mitsuru were also there. The man was holding the very sword he had used, pointed to young Mitsuru.
"Hand me the staff."
"It's useless. Only traveler can meet Goddess of Fortune and request for a wish. Beside, you need 5 pearls to request for a wish. I'm still lacking 3." Young Mitsuru said curtly. His expression was cautious. Mitsuru remember the man's vehemence of reviving his wife.
"I will collect the other 3 and I will find a traveler to help me grant my wish."
"You mean a traveler you can threat to make him grant your wish."
The male fell silent.
"Listen. It's useless. Even if you take my staff, no one can use it. It's mine and mine only." Young Mitsuru said with a final tone.
"I will find a way."
"There is no way."
"Just give it to me." The man advanced.
Young Mitsuru stepped back. Mitsuru still remembered how panic he was at that time. He had never intended to hurt him. He was trying to find a way to trick him instead. The man was just being blinded by the possibility of reviving his wife. And someone was waiting for the man to return. But the opponent moved too fast. Mitsuru knew the events by every tickling second.
Young Mitsuru was aiming to fend off the man by swinging his staff but in his hazy mind, he didn't realize he exerted the fire power he had just received. The staff's tip touched the man's skin, the red pearl glowed and the next thing he knew, the man was torched up. Mitsuru's face mirrored young Mitsuru in front of him, full of horror. Young Mitsuru clutched his staff and shook his head in denial. As if it could change the fact that the man was wailing and howling, engulfed in the red blaze in front of his face. The flame reflected in the frozen young Mitsuru's eyes. In the next second, the man fell over the cliff. Young Mitsuru ran hastily to the cliff's peak. Mitsuru didn't need to see that the man had vanished to the trees below. Young Mitsuru fell on his four and started to shook. He cried. He cried and kept chanting 'I'm sorry'.
Mitsuru's sight went blur. Tears were starting to roll down. He tightened the grip of the boy beside him – hoping that it could give him an assurance. He remembered he had spent some time in the cliff. The wind was strong that day. Young Mitsuru was distracted when he had seen smokes. The forest below him had started to burn! He frantically tried to recall a water spell and put out the fire. But the red monster spread fast. Young Mitsuru had only so much power. He couldn't put them out. Not when the monster and the wind had combined to defeat him.
He powerlessly saw the forest below burning under the fire rage. The trees below must be shouting, suffering under the blazing heat. "I've already gone too far, I can't turn back now… You of all people should understand…" Young Mitsuru whispered. "I'm sorry… Please forgive me, I'm really sorry…"
"… I… saved a girl that day." Mitsuru said with coarse voice, he wiped his tears out.
"Yes, the man's daughter." The boy replied and waved his hand.
The scene changed into young Mitsuru walking at the forest edge. He remembered it was hot and he was getting out of the forest before the inferno reached the forest line. Smoke was hindering his vision and made him coughing. Then a young girl fell from the bushes to the forest path. Young Mitsuru was surprised by her sudden appearance. Nevertheless he was more shocked that the girl's left arm was burning. He quickly put out the fire. Then he realized that he recognized the girl. After all, he… had just killed his father. She had lost consciousness. He inspected her left arm, her skin was totally burned. It would be fatal if he didn't get a help soon. Young Mitsuru heaved the girl and run as fast as his small body could. He was still a green mage at that time. He didn't know any transportation spell and he doubted even if he knew, he wouldn't have enough power to perform it yet. In his run, he kept recalling how the girl was even younger than his sister. How the girl would live alone from this moment on. No one at her side. Alone. Just like him.
"You managed to take her to the nearby village and get her treated." The boy said, the scene vanished back into blackness.
"Yes, and how coward I was that I had ran away when they were busy. I didn't even return to check the girl's condition. I… abandoned her." Mitsuru said. Yes, he was afraid. He had never expected to make another to bear the same fate. He would sacrifice a lot to have his wish come true. To have his sister back. Adults could go to waste with their egoism. But look at what he had done! He had yet has his sister back but he had created one like him! What could be crueler than the fate had designed for him?
They stood side by side in the darkness, hands intertwined. Tears were gushing out without Mitsuru being able to be restrained. Then suddenly he lost the tight grip in his hand. Wiping the tears, he saw boy standing in front of him instead. The difference was they were at the same height now. He sunk? No, he had turned into 11 years old again. The boy suddenly hugged him. Mitsuru was astounded. Not sure whether it was caused by the boy's tears or the fact that he felt warm. They hugged each other, each was part of themselves and cried into exhaustion.
They broke the embrace and looked into each other's eyes. Silently comprehend. It was all lost, they could have changed nothing. If they had a chance to fix their mistake, they would. But they didn't have the luxury of second chance. It was all lost. Even in his subconscious mind, he realized his soul was withering.
"To perceive is the path. Not to forget and run away from it." The boy finally said.
Mitsuru smiled weakly. "Yes. Thank you for being courageous. Thank you for burdening the pain for so long. For both of us."
The mirror boy beamed and went transparent before at last turned into a small ball of light, the only thing that shone in the darkness. Mitsuru felt it entered his heart. He couldn't see anything. Couldn't feel anything. Couldn't hear anything. He was again, fell into a deep slumber.
Wataru and the gang were trekking the forest. Wataru couldn't agree more. They had been arguing since the morning. She had pointed out the obvious thing. They had no clue whatsoever of the wolf's location, its ability and plan to take it down. The major had sent them a couple of brave young boys who could help them navigate the forest.
"We are already this deep in the forest and we still found nothing!" She said exasperatedly. She had been against the trip since the beginning. But her master's order seemed absolute for her. As the result, she was still following them – though of course, not jubilantly.
Meena looked at her with an undecided expression between pity and worry. They had wanted Meena to stay but she insisted to come. Wataru was not sure whether had agreed to her request was the best but... she was here.
"Probably we are close already." A boy said, Wataru didn't know how old he was since he was part of a crocodile tribe. You couldn't see their ages through appearance. Just like any other tribe. Teenager was his best guess.
Lione halted in alarm. He alerted all the parties. The 4 boys from different tribes were retreating; naturally they formed a circle along with Wataru's group. Wataru could see them shaking badly; he was shaking too, though not that obvious. The forest was so silent, not even a sound of bird chirping. As if all creatures were holding their breath, waiting for something. Then they saw it. Two red pearls between the gray furs emerged from the forest trees. Slowly and menacingly, it approached the retreating group with low growls. Saliva was dripping from the edge of its jaw, soaking its white fangs and furs. Another similar head appeared.
"We found it at least." Wataru murmured.
"But with no plan whatsoever." Bresin added under her breath.
When the wolves fully appeared, they could see it was indeed unnaturally big. Aside from having 2 heads, it has 3 tails. The paws were blood soaked and looked... sharp. Wataru gulped.
"Can you do something with your magic?" Wataru whispered.
"Like binding it? I doubt it could work with the destructive power it had." She answered sharp.
"Keep it busy, we'll aim for its weak spots." Lione said.
Wataru repeated Lione's explanation they had gone through in his head. Aimed for weak spots. Eyes, neck, stomach. He grimaced. None of it looked easy to be hit.
The wolf lunged forward speedily. And before their heart could skip a beat, a boy – one of their scout – had been torn in his jaw. Bloods were splattering, showering them in sickening red. Wataru's stomach churned. He wanted to vomit.
"Spread out in couple!" Lione shouted. Wataru followed him to run left. Through the corner of his eyes, he could see Bresin, the cat boy and Meena stayed together. The couple of horse and lizard boy were running to the right.
The wolf immediately chased Wataru and Lione. As expected, it knew well the best attack tactic, kill the leader first. Then it suddenly got tangled by tree's vines and roots. Slowly, they crawled from its leg to the whole body. Apparently, Bresin had started her spell. Wataru immediately turned his sword into skater and flew to its eyes. Lione sprinted and climbed the wolf's body though its foreleg with a speed that impressed Wataru. Lione didn't seem to have difficulties with the struggling and wriggling. They both were clinging to its eye brows in different head when it managed to break free. Quickly, they stabbed the wild ruby eyes and it roared in anger, shaking so badly that Wataru and Lione nearly fell. Wataru didn't manage to blind the other eyes and he turned the sword back into flying skater. The free head tried to bite down Lione and Wataru was flying on time to pull him off the deadly fangs.
The wolf roared again in pain and fury. When the roar was directed accidentally at Wataru, they were nearly tossed out of the skate. Wataru grimaced. He felt deaf. They swung and flied high, irking the injured wolf whose jump couldn't reach them.
Bresin's group was being blown away by the mighty roar. Meena thrashed powerfully to the tree, scathing her back and the bark. Bresin was luckier; she thrashed to the same direction but upon Meena. Meena passed out in an instance and Bresin was left crawling in sore. The cat boy was nowhere in sight. She seldom cursed but that didn't mean that she didn't know the vocabularies. It was a perfect moment to spat one.
She inspected Meena and left her behind a stone. She was not a doctor and not sure whether the cat had broken something but at least she was breathing. When she could see the battlefield, trees were broken due to being the stepping spring for the wolf. Both of the head had gone blind. Crimson streamed from the 4 eyes, as if the wolves were crying blood. Arrows were stabbed deep into them. It must be the horse and cat couple. They were nowhere in sight but only them who were skilled with arrows. No wonder she couldn't find the cat boy. Her face contorted. She hoped the three of them were somewhere safe. Wataru was like a fly taunting the wolf and Lione was somewhere at its back, slicing and chopping with both of his axes.
The wolf lost its sight but it relied heavily to its nose. She couldn't remember any spell that could help confuse the smell in the air so she casted the same spell as previous, hoping that it would bind the wolf stronger this time.
The wolf was tied down. Apparently the injuries had taken its toll upon the beast. Blood streamed out of the gashes Lione had made in its back and stomach. The wolf convulsed. Its end was near. It was then Bresin realized that such powerful and rare wolf must have a strong soul. She had never casted a spell that could indurate a soul - for soul was attached strongly to the physical body and it couldn't be severed easily. However, the wolf was dying and the attachment was weakening. She needed to try.
"Hear me the soul of dying creature. Let the chain be broken and the bond released. Relinquish the body back to the earth dust. Returned to your true substance..." She could see the wolf stop moving. A white light emerged from its heart. It floated in the air. Bresin quickly finished her spell. "I command you to brace up by the blood you have spilt. Be encased!" The bloods remained from the crocodile corpse was sucked and twirled around the light. There were 2 others blood trail sucked into the swirl. Bresin recoiled slightly. Three out of 4 boys sent with them were dead. The blood then enveloped the white light and it fell down as a crystal. It was a ruby crystal – red as a real blood.
:
:
:
:
