She glares at the crowd.
“Let it be known, by the power invested in me by the Sage of Gotha, I will protect the three floating continents of Tritania. Working in conjunction with the Thulean Elders, and the government of Aramis, we will see to it that these types of attacks, against the very freedom granted to us by the Sage, will be crushed. All opposition will be crushed, and those that have any ties to these attacks will learn very quickly the extent of my power.”
Empress Thun scans the crowd, and for a moment, Kodai gets the sense that she’s looking right at him. His nerve is suddenly shattered; the Empress locks eyes with him and he swears, for that single moment, they are alone, just the Empress standing at the top of the balcony and Kodai below her.
His breath cut short, he exhales audibly when she turns to another quadrant of the crowd. After she’s finished acknowledging all in attendance, Empress Thun parts her lips into a half smile.
“Nearly two decades ago commoner time, we came together to stave off a terrible infection that would have taken all Proxima worlds had it not been dealt with. There were many a guild involved, and as all of you know, the Knights of Non Compos Mentis led the attack. I’m afraid to say that this force is back. It isn’t the same force as before; no, the Reapers of old have long been vanquished. This is something entirely new, but its ties to the past threaten Tritania, other Proxima Worlds, and the world of the commoners.”
Kodai slowly places his hand on the pouches attached to his belt. He palms two knife marbles, and an explosive marble.
Only one chance, he reminds himself, and as he does, he feels a force come into his body.
I’m here, the serpent woman whispers in his ear. I will guide you.
Good, he thinks. Thank you.
Empress Thun raises her finger and begins to make her final point, and as she does, Kodai fires off all three marbles at her.
His explosive blades tear into the front of Empress Thun’s chest, her body disintegrates, and her robes drop.
Run! the serpent woman shouts in his head.
His four henchmen kick it into high gear as Kodai races through the crowd, the masses swelling around him, shouting, terror-stricken.
One of the Empress’ knights appears in front of him with a lance and goes to peg him. He stays just long enough for the knight to get a glance at him.
A sudden flash and Kodai is in a darkened galaxy, the place behind the golden door.
He takes a few slow-motion steps, control of his feet no longer his own, and as he does he steps back into the guild quarters they are secretly staying in near the Port of Porthos.
That fast, he thinks, marveling at the serpent woman’s teleportation powers.
He hears the cries in the distance, senses the chaos, and knows without a shadow of a doubt that when Ryuk does get to Porthos, he’ll be hunted down.
Tamana spawns first, badly bruised, but still at decent enough health. The two mages come second and third is Tomas, who has an utterly wicked grin on his face.
“Good,” Kodai tells the group. He takes a deep, satisfying breath, already regretting the fact that he’ll miss most of the chaos. “Now I have some things to attend to in the world up there.” His finger comes up and the logout button appears.
(0)__(x)
Kodai waits for the sine waves to settle on his NV Visor. It’s morning and he can hear Sarah rummaging about in the kitchen. A beeping sound tells him she’s made herself an espresso; the trickle that follows from the machine soothes him in some way.
He smiles, his visor still over his head.
He’s sure the Empress will recover but the shock of what he’s done, and the fact that so many people saw him do it, will be something the holy bitch will have to deal with for quite some time.
So much pageantry, he thinks, and for what? To celebrate that you’re a fucking NPC?
Kodai shakes his head bitterly. The autonomy of NPCs is something he’ll always find idiotic. They are created for our enjoyment and our usage, he thinks as he removes his visor, nothing else.
“You finished yet?” Sarah asks from the kitchen. He waves his hand over his shoulder to silence her. She laughs, and he hears her footsteps as she comes closer to him.
Tokyo, when viewed from his penthouse, is a city of towering scale and grandiosity that continues to capture the imagination, no matter what he sees in digital worlds. He doesn’t take his eyes off the rising sun over the massive city until Sarah steps in front of him.
“You’re blocking my view,” he tells the lingerie-clad Australian.
“I’m sorry.” Sarah glances across the room at Tesla, who stands near the door with her arms crossed over her chest.
That’s right, Kodai thinks, seeing the sudden flash of fear in Sarah’s eyes.
There’s something completely intoxicating about fear when viewed in others. It has become one of Kodai’s favorite fetishes, something he looks forward to every time he has to exercise his force.
Sarah gulps and steps aside.
“Go get ready for work,” he tells her. “I need to speak to Tesla alone.”
“Um.” Sarah clears her throat, and opens her mouth to say something but stops herself.
“Anything else?” Kodai asks.
She bows her head and returns to the room he’s assigned to her. Tesla approaches him once Sarah has gone. He admires her for a moment, and suddenly finds himself curious about what is under her blue MercSecure field outfit.
I wonder if …
Just the thought sends a bolt of electricity to his lower half. He pushes it down, tells himself he can explore it later, and smiles up at Tesla.
“How are you?” he asks, standing. “Did you rest well?”
She smirks. “As well as an artificial being can. I spent most of the time reviewing some of my training videos.”
“Exciting,” Kodai says as he steps towards the kitchen. “I’d offer you an espresso, but, well, you know.”
“You should drink two then, one for me.”
“I’ll be sure to. About today … ” His eyes narrow on the humandroid. “I want you to size up my brother’s humandroid, Hajime. I want you to really watch, to find out the best way.”
“The best way to what?”
Kodai locks eyes with her. “To end his existence.”
Chapter 18: Cave --> in
As soon as Ryuk logs out, he gets a prompt from Hajime asking what he’d like for a late breakfast.
Eggs or a smoothie?
He chooses the smoothie, mostly because it looks like it’ll be sweet and after being logged in for so long, he’s craving something sugary. Plus it’s the color of a Chocobo, which seems fun.
He yawns, and an icon appears on his iNet screen updating him on a few Googleface messages he still has yet to respond to. One is from an acquaintance at Waseda University, asking him if he’s planning to enroll for the summer. Another is from the Proxima Company telling him that he’s been given an exclusive ticket to tonight’s collaborative performance between DJ Ride the Lightning and the holo-Beatles.
FeeTwix is well connected, he thinks as he slowly gets out of bed.
After grabbing his towel, which is folded and placed on his desk thanks to Hajime, Ryuk heads to the bathroom. He barely pays attention to taking a shower, so busy is he playing a game of pong with someone else in the building.
Part of him wants to know who he always plays against; the other part of him is perfectly happy remaining anonymous. It could be anyone, really. Well, not anyone, it definitely isn’t a salaryman – he’d already be on his way to work.
Maybe it’s a housewife, he thinks as the player yet again hands him his ass.
Once he’s toweled off, Ryuk heads to the kitchen just in time to hear the blender roar to life. He can smell a bit of pineapple in the air as soon as he enters the space. Hajime stands before it, his hand on top of the blender as it pulverizes fruits and vegetables. In front of him is a cutting board with gooey residue on it.
; Ryuk’s eyes jump from Hajime to the drawer that he stored the weapons in – a humstunner and a gun, taken off his brother and his thug. Curiosity tells him to check the stuff out, but he’s also afraid of the weapons.
“Sleep well?” Hajime asks after he’s finished blending the concoction.
“Is that a joke?” Ryuk sits at the table, well aware that there is likely an oblique quote beneath his placemat.
“Using your Skip Box is a form of sleep, so no, it’s not a joke. How’d it go?”
“We’ll get to Porthos later today, and from there, we’ll try to get in touch with the Knights, my old guild. We also have a concert to go to.”
“Sounds like you have a fun day ahead. How did you kill the wolf?”
“We didn’t. Instead, we cured its owner. The wolf’s our friend now, sort of.”
“So the ultimate quest has become canine friendly?”
“Um … ” Ryuk considers this. “Something like that. Sure.”
“And what’s up next?”
“We have to make our way through the catacombs to Porthos.” Ryuk yawns as Hajime sets the smoothie in front of him. “It should be fun and we’ll definitely be leveling along the way.” He takes a big sip from the shake. “Wow! What flavor is this? I thought it was pineapple.”
“Passion fruit, pineapple, half a banana, an apple, strawberries, a little spinach, yogurt and three peaches.”
Ryuk nods, impressed. He takes another sip from the smoothie, feeling good as it slides down his throat.
“So before we get ready to meet your mother, I think it’d be best for you to read your oblique quote for the day.”
Ryuk takes another slurp. “At least let me finish my smoothie first.”
“By all means, finish.”
Ryuk takes his sweet time finishing the smoothie, and once he’s done, he sets the beverage aside and lifts his placemat to find the new message: Repetition is a form of change.
“Repetition is a form of change … ”
“I want you to stare deeply at me for a moment,” Hajime says.
“Stare at you?”
“Yes.”
“Um, okay.” Ryuk settles his gaze on Hajime, taking in his perfectly formed features, from his sharp nose to his dark eyes to the single strand of hair that isn’t tied back into his manbun. Hajime’s eyes dilate, akin to the way FeeTwix looks when he goes live.
“Now center yourself, focus on your breathing. Really focus on it. Don’t take the shallow breaths you normally take, the breaths that most humans live on. Take a deep breath, a breath that moves past your lungs, see that breath move all the way down to your stomach. Now hold it.”
Ryuk stops the air from going out.
“Hold the breath in. Longer … longer … ”
Ryuk does as instructed.
“Now I want you to let it out slowly and then tighten your stomach, completely squeezing all the air out. Now do it again, without my instructions this time.”
With a nod, Ryuk takes another long breath, holds it, keeps it there, and tightens his stomach as he lets it out.
“Do four more,” Hajime says, his eyes still dilated. “If you break your focus, start over.”
To his surprise, and likely to the surprise of the humandroid, Ryuk does exactly as instructed. Something about it reminds him of his Extreme Focus skill in Tritania. He doesn’t get the tunnel vision, nor can he see colored outlines, but there is something about it that feels the same as Extreme Focus.
“Good, you did well. It’s a breathing exercise that I’ve created based on Kundalini yogic texts, which I translated myself, and a practice done by Milarepa. Heard of him?”
Ryuk shakes his head.
“He was a Tibetan buddhist, a direct disciple of Marpa Lotsawa, who is considered the founder of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Milarepa used a similar technique for a spell in which he existed only on tea made from nettle leaves, which is why there are many depictions of him with a green skin tone. Alongside the tea leaves, he also subsisted on air, deep breaths to ignore the hunger pangs.”
“Air and tea, huh?”
[Accept image from Hajime?]
Ryuk selects yes and an image of a green Buddhist appears in the lower right hand corner of his vision. He’s seen similar images before, but the image has always been of a female, Tara Bosatsu, or Green Tara.
“What’s he listening to?”
“He was an advocate for the teaching of Buddhism through song. As you know, most music, at least memorable music, plays into repetition heavily.”
“So what are you trying to say? And what was the breathing practice for?”
“A minute of breathing could hardly be considered a practice, but my reason for having you do it, and my hope that you will continue to do it for longer stints, is for you to realize the meaning of your oblique quote for today: repetition is a form of change. Can you think of any other way this could apply?”
“Leveling,” Ryuk says almost immediately. “I mean, there are variations, but leveling can be repetitive, especially if you are doing something such as casting a necromantic spell on a certain creature that gives out EXP, killing it, casting it again. I guess the quote is more about the long game, like writing a novel maybe. You just keep doing the same thing, which may bore many, but there is reward in the end and that reward is change in, um, the thing you originally started.”
“Good, go on, explore that a little more. Tell me of a time in your life not game-related that you grew through repetition.”
“Coming home from Waseda University, I always logged in right away, before doing anything else, you know, to see Tamana.” He swallows the memory down. “We did this every day for the first semester, even if we had a test the next day, even if it was just to do some bullshit in Tritania, like going fishing or going to a drama in Porthos. I liked that repetition.”
“And was it a form of change?”
“I don’t know, well, yes, sure, it was. It increased our closeness.”
“So then, do you agree with the phrase?”
Ryuk considers this for a moment. “I agree with the aftereffects of repetition, the change that comes over time. Repetition itself isn’t a form of change, it is an, um, instrument of change, but I guess referring to it as a ‘form’ works too.”
Hajime lifts an eyebrow. “Good, Ryuk! Repetition can inspire the most profound change known to man. Just think of the social changes and the repeated behaviors that led to them, and think about those oppressed people, the many that there have been, and how iniquitous repetition led them to sudden, often violent, change both to their betterment, and sometimes, their detriment. Many find repetition the epitome of boredom, but I find it fascinating.”
The humandroid smiles, completely enthralled by the subject. “But we can discuss this later. We should leave soon. We’d better not leave your mother and brother waiting.”
(0)__(0)
Ryuk can barely focus on the way to his mother’s office located in Ikebukuro, Tokyo’s famous commercial and entertainment district that has grown up around the fourth-busiest transit station in the world. Outside the sprawling entrance to the station, one can find everything from department stores to Nishi-Ikebukuro, a pleasure district well-known in Tokyo’s water trade.
But none of these things are on Ryuk’s mind as he rides in the backseat of an Uberyota aeros.
He pays little attention to the Bic Camera electronic megastore across from his mother’s building as they land, a place he frequented as a child, nor does he notice the towering height of the Sunshine 60 building, which looms over the Toshima Ward.
His thoughts circle around what his mother may say – that, and seeing his brother again.
“We have to be careful,” he whispers to Hajime.
The humandroid responds with a low grunt.
“I don’t know what Kodai is planning,” Ryuk continues, “or why mother wanted to see us both.”
“It seems that Cain and Abel have reversed roles,
or are at least in the process of doing so,” Hajime muses, “although I don’t see you killing Kodai.”
“I’d never,” Ryuk says, shocked Hajime would even mention that.
Silence permeates the cabin of the Uberyota as it lowers onto a clean rooftop.
There’s an arcade to the northeast, a place he frequented as a child with the hopes of winning prizes, and later, a place he visited on occasion with Tamana. They’d play combative games – Takio: Drum Master, Dance Dance – the archaic arcade games were fun, plus they were a great way to get exercise. He recalls a particular time in which she won him an Empress Thun doll in a claw machine, which he subsequently regifted to her.
“Kodai’s already here,” Hajime says as the doors unlock.
Ryuk sees his brother’s aerosSUV, which is black with sleek chrome features. Already inside, he thinks as he walks towards a door on the rooftop. A man steps out, nearly the size of Gorira with the center of his hair slicked back and the sides shaved.
This gets Ryuk wondering, where exactly is Gorira?
Whenever he’s seen his brother’s aerosSUV at his mother’s office before, Gorira would wait outside, keeping the vehicle running. The man nods and Hajime nods back.
Ryuk doesn’t have much time to consider where Gorira is, as they take a flight of stairs down to the top floor.
After Ryuk’s retina is scanned, a door slides open and he’s greeted by a remote sentry attached to the ceiling. The red light on a clear lens between two short barrels blinks as it takes in Ryuk and Hajime.
As the two pass under it, the barrels swivel and follow them towards the reception area, which definitely makes Ryuk uneasy, as it has in the past.
What if it malfunctioned … ?
Up ahead, they see his mother’s personal assistant, Satomi. She’s a clean-cut Japanese woman with impeccable skin, her bangs cut at a sharp angle. She nods for Hajime to move to the reception area, and instructs Ryuk to enter.
It’s then that Ryuk sees a woman sitting in reception, a beautiful brunette with high cheekbones and a dark bodysuit. Hajime steps in front of Ryuk as messages appear on Ryuk’s iNet screen.
Fantasy Online Polynya Page 18
