by Milo Woods
“Why do you think you are the dominant one here?” Seeko thought back to the demon. “I was here first!”
“I think I am the dominant one because I am. Look at you. You are nothing compared to me; a flea compared to an elephant.”
“But do you remember this body? I was in control before you, and I will be in control after you are gone.”
Kerodesis’s voice grew louder. “I have always had this body. You are the one who showed up out of nowhere.”
“Don’t you get it?” Seeko thought. “Yoshino created you from me! You are just a demon version of me!”
Kerodesis remained silent, deep in thought, his spark flashing in understanding of Seeko’s words. “That makes no sense. You are a fool. No one can manipulate magic like that.” He severed the link to Seeko, leaving him alone.
Painfully alone. The silence was more maddening than the voices. Seeko continued to drift in his prison, alone and silent and losing sanity.
Another few days passed. At least he didn’t have to sleep or eat. Really, though, no sleep prolonged the loneliness. He found himself thinking of Mori more and more as the days went on. He thought of her red hair, her blue eyes, her lovely smile. He wondered if she was even alive anymore.
“She is still alive,” Kerodesis thought calmly. An image of her came through their shared link. “They have barred me from using magic. So I can’t kill her, even though it’s the only thing I want to do! She wounded me in battle!” Another image came through, this one of Keith. “And this one also! I would tear him limb from limb!”
“So they are fine. What are they doing?”
Kerodesis ignored him, sending him an image of Kazuma. “This one I do not know, but he is also irritating. He is the one who showed them how to seal me from magic.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Seeko thought. “Don’t you hate me too?”
“I do,” he responded, “but I cannot get rid of you. I have been trying to for a week, but nothing works. So I might as well get used to you. It’s not like you are a threat to me.”
Seeko balked at this idea. “I am every bit as strong as you, Kerodesis.”
Kerodesis responded with chuckles. “Keep telling yourself that. You are a speck of dust in the vast tornado that is Kerodesis.”
“What?”
Kerodesis severed the contact with Seeko, leaving him in silence.
/ / / / /
More time passed. Seeko grew increasingly alone in the silence of his mind, pondering the world and his surroundings. He debated against himself, asking himself questions like, “Do I really exist anymore?” and taking sides.
“Where exactly am I, anyway?” one Seeko asked another.
“We are in your mind,” Seeko answered.
“Are we? I don’t control a physical body anymore. Does that mean I am not alive anymore?”
“You aren’t dead.”
“How do you know? Have you been dead? Maybe this is a form of hell.”
The debates raged on. Seeko wasted days in this personal purgatory. Kerodesis’s spark always loomed nearby, a thunderstorm about to hit. What angered him so much?
Out of nowhere, an intrusion: another spark invaded the mind-space of the two. Kerodesis trembled at the contact with the other mind. Seeko tried to communicate to the intruder for help, but Kerodesis blocked him.
The intruder spoke in a soft, sad voice. “You hear the voices, correct?”
Kerodesis fidgeted at the contact. “How dare you invade my mind!”
The other spoke again. “You are not him?”
He had recovered from the initial shock, infusing bravado into his next words. “I am Kerodesis!”
“I see … I think our Mother can fix you.”
“There is nothing wrong with me!”
The other ignored Kerodesis, however. “She knows the counter to your magic, Akeni.” Then she was gone, leaving Seeko and Kerodesis alone.
Kerodesis spoke to Seeko, strangely subdued. “Is she the one who taught you how to intrude people’s mind-space?”
“I have no idea who that is,” Seeko thought back.
Kerodesis’s spark dimmed. “You will tell me how you got into my head, Seeko, or I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” Seeko interrupted. “Shout? Give me the cold shoulder? Oh, I’m so scared!”
The orange spark trembled with rage. “There will be nothing of you but a bloody mess when I am done with you!”
“What blood? I have no blood anymore!”
Kerodesis shouted into the void around himself. Then he once again turned away from Seeko.
Seeko laughed. “So predictable.”
/ / / / /
Another day passed. Seeko’s debates had turned into full-blown brawls, where hundreds of Seekos fought for what they thought was right. Seeko watched as another Seeko plunged a sword of fire into the belly of a third Seeko. The victor shouted a quote justifying the kill, then charged once more into the fray. An arrow to the face immediately cut him down. The bowman in question—another Seeko—shouted out his point of view. The archer Seeko took out three more Seekos before being washed away in a green inferno.
I’m going insane, Seeko thought casually as he watched another three Seekos die. At least the debates are more interesting now. Another Seeko died. They raise interesting points. Am I even alive anymore? I don’t eat or sleep. I have no physical presence in the world anymore. My mind still exists, though. Is that what defines a person as alive?
A dozen voices invaded the mind-space of Kerodesis and Seeko, dissolving his philosophical war for answers. The barrage would have driven a lesser man to insanity, but both Kerodesis and Seeko were used to voices in their head by now. Still, they retracted from the surprise of the assault, pulling closer for mutual defense.
Then the voices dulled and another voice intruded. This voice was cold, disinterested, and impossibly strong. Kerodesis retreated, leaving Seeko to communicate with the invader.
“Who did this to you?” she asked him.
“What? … Um … Yoshino? You know … you are the first person I’ve talked to in over—”
“Hmmm,” she interrupted. “I see. I will heal you, then, if only to spite him. Come to the altar. I have had practice with mastering the demon within.”
Kerodesis regained control as the invader left, keeping Seeko’s body from going with her. It was futile, however, and soon Kerodesis resigned to her control. At least until she began to cast a spell that targeted him.
“Syran, I will tear your Sisters to ribbons!” Kerodesis cursed madly at the woman. “I will consume the flesh of your still-beating heart! I will drink your blood—” A pinpoint of white light entered the mind-space and cut him off.
The pinpoint expanded rapidly. Seeko watched in horror as the blinding light washed out the abyss, leaving Kerodesis and Seeko in a flood of white. The whiteness contracted around Kerodesis, becoming a cage of lightning. Kerodesis lashed out in defense, orange flares combating ivory lightning, but to no avail. The white formed a protective shell around Kerodesis, sealing him away. He roared in fury and sent out a final barrage at the white. Seeko heard a woman’s laughter, and then the white shield caught the inferno of flame. The orange flame was forced into Seeko’s green spark, channeled by a tube of lightning. The abyss returned, with only two sparks as company, connected by a conduit of white.
The woman spoke. “Now, hero, you dominate again. Now, hero, you have his power again. Welcome back to the world of the living.”
Seeko responded after a moment. “What happened?”
“I sealed him away from you. I could not recombine you two, so I did the next best thing. You can take power from him now. All you must do is make sure the cage never collapses. Your spark powers it, so if you use too much magic, the cage will break.”
Seeko was humbled. “I can never thank you enough for what you did.”
The woman scoffed. “Anything to mess with Yoshino is thanks enough. Now, hero, awaken…”
19: Restored
16 Din, 112 AV: Day 145
Mori hugged Seeko, who was sprawled upon the altar steps. He looked around the room and then down at his hands. He could feel again! He laughed and hugged Mori back. Her smell! His eyes scanned the room, viewing the girls in white robes. Mori pulled away from the hug and stared into his red eyes.
Tears were flowing down her face. “I was afraid you left me. I was scared I would never see the real you again.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll never—”
Mori leaned in and kissed him, pulling him close by his shirt. He stared, wide eyed, into her closed eyes, not knowing how to respond, so he let her kiss him. He looked over and saw Keith and Kazuma staring at him, both with their weapons drawn.
She let go of him and pulled away. Mori helped him up, wrapping her arm around his.
“Where are we?” Seeko asked, looking around the dark chapel.
“My home,” a familiar voice spoke to him.
“Who are you?” Seeko asked in his head.
“Turn and face me, hero,” was her reply.
Seeko turned around and gazed at the demon standing behind the altar. Her wings were folded on her back and she stared at him with her red eyes.
“Hero, Yoshino placed a monster within you. You must control Kerodesis and defeat Yoshino at his own game.” She looked to them and spoke into all their minds. “Yoshino has big plans. He does things his own way, and won’t let anyone oppose him. Seeko, you have been chosen as the hero, and you now wield a powerful weapon. Kerodesis has given you power over dark magic.”
Seeko felt for his spark, feeling the second attached to his own. He pulled on Kerodesis’s spark, creating an orange fireball in his hand. “But if Yoshino turned me into a demon, he has to be way stronger than me, even with both sparks,” Seeko said. “How can I beat him?”
“There is no way to outsmart him. The only way to beat him will have to be through strength. He is just an Akeni. With enough power, you should be able to kill him.”
Seeko looked at his friends, contemplating their combined power.
“However, the demon problem is the priority. Removing the demon portals stops demons from entering into Endetia and obtains the necklaces, which will strengthen you in magic. If the demon portals are left open, killing Yoshino would solve nothing. He is just a pawn in the demon army.”
“But you’re also a demon. Why are ya helping us?” Kazuma said.
She looked at him and replied. “I am not the same as most Syran; I can hold back the madness, like you, Seeko. We share a lot, actually. Yoshino is the reason for both our beings.”
“If we’re the same, why don’t you fight Yoshino?” Seeko asked.
She smiled. “I may be stronger than you, but you are the Hero of Endetia. You have the ability to gather an army, or destroy one.”
Kazuma stared into the ground at the thought of this.
“You can save lives or destroy them. You hold a higher placement in this world. I am but a monster here.” She looked over to her children. “Besides, I have found my place here in this forest, hidden from the fear and hate of humans.”
Seeko looked back at Mori. “I’m the only one who can save Endetia,” he said. “They need a leader. They need me.” He smiled at her and looked back to the woman. “I’ll try my best. Yoshino needs to be stopped, but the portals come first. I guess I’ll just continue doing what I was doing for now, then.”
Keith put away his weapon and, reluctantly, Kazuma did also.
The Syran nodded. “You can stay here to rest, but tomorrow your journey continues.” She stepped down from the altar and moved over to Lorissa.
Seeko smiled at Mori. “Uh, so what happened?” he said, waving his arm around the chapel. “How did we get here, and where exactly is here?”
Mori hugged him around his stomach. She really missed me.
“We’re in the Penumbran Forest,” Kazuma said. “We had to drag you all the way here from Vicussa. You killed my entire company.”
Seeko stared into his cold eyes. “I’m so, so sorry. I would take it back if I could.” Memories of Kerodesis incinerating Irenic soldiers flashed into his mind and he stiffened. “I was being controlled.”
“I know,” Kazuma said. “It’s not your fault. Not entirely, anyways.”
Seeko leaned into Mori and smelled her hair. “I’m sorry. So sorry, for everything. I can never say it enough. To all of you.”
The demon walked back up through the chapel with Lorissa at her side. “Lorissa will show you to your rooms.” The girl had her hood over her face, hiding it from Seeko.
Lorissa turned and moved to the right side of the chapel. Seeko followed close behind her, and everyone else fell in behind him. Seeko had more questions in his mind, but couldn’t think of anyone to ask. Lorissa led the group up a flight of stairs and into a hallway. Who were these people?
“We are all human, with the exception of our Mother,” Lorissa said in his mind. She walked up to the closest door and stood before it. “This will be yours and Mori’s room.”
Seeko looked at her with eyebrows raised. “I didn’t know you could see into my mind as well.”
A faint smile spread on her face before she turned and led the others farther down the hall. Seeko opened the door and found two beds with giant windows behind them. The room was dusty and obviously never used.
“Lorissa, if you can hear me … who are you, any of you?” He walked over and slammed his hands down on the bed, sending dust everywhere.
He watched the dust go airborne, waiting for an answer. Mori sat on the bed opposite him, smiling and staring at him. They exchanged glances and Seeko sat down on the bed.
“I believe Mori wants to talk with you,” Lorissa’s voice said suddenly.
Mori blushed and looked away. “It’s weird having someone read your mind,” she said.
“Thank you,” he said, “for saving me. Some hero I am, getting changed into a monster.”
“I’m just happy to have you back.” Tears reformed in her eyes and she let out a nervous laugh to hold them in.
Seeko moved to sit next to her. “Hey, I’m here now. It’s okay.” He put his arm around her and pulled her close.
She leaned onto his chest and cried again. “I watched you kill hundreds of people. You yelled at me and said things that didn’t make sense. I watched your hateful eyes for more than a month. I even started praying near the end of it.”
Seeko looked up in surprise. Over a month? Was it really that long? “You never gave up on me,” he muttered into her hair.
She tipped back her head, and her beautiful, glistening blue eyes locked onto his. He brushed both hands through her hair, gently holding her head. Then he leaned in and kissed her. He let himself drown into her beauty, her perfection. He let her wash away his fears. He kissed her, lost in her for eternity, before pulling away in a moment. Then they fell over onto the bed and held each other for what seemed like hours.
/ / / / /
Eventually, Seeko looked out the window to his side, brushing his hand through Mori’s hair. She dozed away on his chest, for once without worry or fear. The dark ceiling loomed above and Seeko thought about the people who had taken him in and saved him. Who exactly were they?
“We are just people,” Lorissa responded in his head. “Just people who were taken in by Mother.”
Seeko raised an eyebrow, not expecting his thought to be heard. “Why live in the forest, then? Why live in solitude with a demon?”
There was a pause before she continued. “Mother saved me. I owe my life to her.”
“So, now you have to live here in the forest?”
“Becoming part of her family includes this ability see your thoughts. We are given power over the light side of our spark.”
He continued looking at the ceiling, conversing with Lorissa. “So, to gain power over light, you have to be put in a life-or-death situation?”
&n
bsp; “No, it’s an after-death situation. She alters our sparks so that we can use light magic. It’s her way of trying to understand magic.”
“I don’t understand. After-death?”
She paused. “We have all died.”
Seeko’s hand stopped moving in Mori’s hair. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Mother renewed our spark. She gave us a second chance,” Lorissa replied as if she were discussing the weather.
“You can bring a spark back to life? A person back to life? Why doesn’t everyone do that?”
“You can’t, not usually. Our Mother has the ability to reach a spark once it has passed on.”
Seeko slowly sat up, careful not to wake Mori. “So she can bring anyone back to life? That’s hard to wrap my head around.”
Lorissa paused again. “I am not fully aware of how this works, either, but she is a demon. She possesses both light and dark magic. She told me that she has to give back as much as she takes and more. A life for a life.”
Seeko stood silent for a moment. “So she can reach the afterlife or wherever sparks go after they die, and she has to kill someone else to do so?”
“Other demons usually take our place, and she uses her own spark to make the switch.”
“Wow, I didn’t know you were undead.”
“I would say that is the correct term. That didn’t change us, though. It was her embedding this voice in our head, allowing us to hear other people’s thoughts. It changed our sparks, the feeling … I can choose whose voice I hear and what you hear back from me.”
Seeko smiled. “Then could you tell me what Mori thinks about me?”
“I refuse to invade her mind for your personal gain. You should know what she thinks of you anyways.”
“It was a joke, sheesh.” Seeko snickered, still smiling.
Lorissa never responded, so Seeko glanced to the only window in the small room. The sun had fallen beneath the trees, darkening the room further.
“I lost everyone’s trust. I turned into a demon and killed countless people. Me! I wanted to save everyone I could, but none of that matters anymore. I’m surprised they didn’t execute me or imprison me for life.”
