by Milo Woods
“You didn’t know her like I did.”
“She was a sweet girl! She never did anything wrong!”
Bianca looked away. When Mori moved to get in her face again, Bianca turned on her heel and strode off, once more into the canyon.
Mori sat next to Seeko, sad and angry. “I don’t like her, Seeko. She’s an awful person.”
“I know, but we need her to get to the final portal.”
“As soon as we get into Vornal Castle, let’s ditch her.”
Seeko smiled a weak smile. “Okay.” The duo leaned on each other, lamenting for the lost. The sun set quickly in the gorge, leaving them in darkness.
After maybe two hours, Keith stumbled toward them, dusty and dazed. “It’s done.” He fell face forward, sound asleep.
I’ve actually never seen him sleep … Seeko gently moved off Mori, who had also fallen asleep.
“Guess we stay here for the night.” He looked around. “Guess I’m keeping watch too.” He sat back down next to Mori. However, despite his best attempts to fight his exhaustion, he gave in and fell asleep at her side.
/ / / / /
The next day came late to the company. The sun didn’t shine in the gorge until it was nearly noon. They woke up to find that Bianca had come back during the night, keeping watch with her longbow. After some talk and a weak breakfast, they went to Hannet’s burial site. Keith found a flower growing in the canyon somehow and placed it on the mound.
“Hannet was all I had left,” Keith said. “She saved me from myself. There were so many promises made that mean nothing now. She made those promises, knowing she was lying to me …” He looked up. “… knowing that this would happen.”
“Nyeri has her now,” Mori said, blinking back tears. “She’ll be eternally safe from harm—”
“I don’t want her with a damn god!” Keith said. “I want her here!”
Bianca shook her head. “She’s gone now, Keith. Get over it.”
Keith locked eyes with her and his face became marble. For a minute, Seeko thought Keith was going to kill her right here. Then he walked away. Bianca shrugged and followed while Mori held Seeko’s hand.
“I’m sorry, Hannet, for threatening you, for failing you,” Seeko said. “For getting you killed. You will not have died in vain.” Yoshino now was to blame for three deaths.
“I’m coming for you, Yoshino,” he said through the Kikoeru. “You will pay for your crimes.”
The utaru picked up their mindless chatter at the threat of violence, but Seeko could have sworn he heard Yoshino respond: “Good luck.”
/ / / / /
After the visit to the grave, the four wandered deeper into the canyon, looking for both a way out and the fourth portal. Bianca, currently the most eager of the four, led. Seeko walked near Keith, trying to comfort him, while Mori covered the rear.
“Keith, are you okay?” Seeko asked eventually.
Keith’s eyes narrowed, but he continued to stare straight. “Imagine burying Mori, Seeko. Do you think I’m okay?”
“I’ve already buried two friends, Keith. I know what it feels like.”
“Do you? Do you know what it’s like to lose the only thing you have left?”
“You still have us.”
He rolled his eyes. “Oh yes. The demon-boy, his spoiled girlfriend, and a crazy bandit. Yeah. Leave me alone.”
“Fine. But don’t hide everything from us,” Seeko said, almost mockingly. “Open up. Talk to us. We’re here for you.”
He sighed. “Were we really that annoying?”
Seeko couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“I’ll talk to you if we ever get out of this canyon, Seeko,” Keith said. “I’ll open up, like you say. But you won’t like it.”
Seeko nodded again, eager to learn more about the mysterious man beside him.
They walked for several hours before they found anything. They came upon a scattering of bones, and the company drew their weapons, ready to defend themselves from the monster that had scattered the remains.
They crept through the boneyard when Seeko’s ears perked up. A strange noise, something unnatural, was coming from farther down the canyon. They approached guardedly, and as they did, Seeko recognized the cause of the sound.
“Do you hear that piano?” Seeko said as the sound became clearer.
“What’s a piano?” Mori asked.
“You don’t have them here? It’s a large musical instrument. You sit on one side and hit keys that produce sound. The songs are beautiful, if the pianist is good at it.”
“It is beautiful,” Mori said.
The four of them continued to head toward the source of the music. They rounded a corner in the canyon wall and soon found the origin of the melody. A young man sat at an elegant black piano, producing hauntingly alluring music. He was dressed rather strangely for Kismetia, wearing a long black coat that fell off the chair. He also wore black pants, shiny black shoes, and a black top hat. Only his cuffs and his undershirt were white, as was his short hair. He continued to play as the company approached; only when they were a few feet from the piano did he look up from the instrument. The man promptly finished his song, rose off the piano bench, and bowed.
Only then did Seeko notice the red eyes.
The man spoke, a rich tenor. “I’ve been waiting for you four.” He locked eyes with Seeko. “Seeko, the hero. You know, I have seen you both win and lose. Very interesting, if I do say so.” The man smiled, directing his gaze to Mori. “Mori. He’s something different, isn’t he?” He looked to Keith, concern actually evident in his eyes. “Ah, Keith. Sorry for your loss. You will find another.” Finally, he stared at Bianca. “You … Bianca, I believe? Jealousy and revenge will not get the results you look for. You won’t listen, but I say it nonetheless.” A smile crossed his lips. The smile hauntingly echoed another’s wicked grin.
It didn’t exactly look like his hated foe, but it had to be a trick of some sort. Seeko drew his blade. “Yoshino! What do you want this time?”
The man raised a hand. “I am not Kotei Yoshino, Seeko. I am his brother, Shima. Put that away. I will give you the necklace in due time.” When Seeko didn’t obey, he said, “I am nowhere near as strong as my younger brother. You would destroy me in a fight.”
This piano-playing demon guarded the fourth portal? “Why don’t I just take the necklace from you?” Seeko asked.
“I can help you understand Kotei Yoshino. Besides, what type of hero would you be if you just took what you wanted?”
“One that would get the job done,” Bianca said with a sneer.
Shima smiled. “How did you like my performance? I thought it was appropriate for what had just happened to you.” Shima cleared his throat. “Anyway, I have information to share.”
“Out with it, then,” Keith said.
“It’s for Seeko only.” Shima pointed to the canyon wall behind him. In the rock wall sat a cave entrance. “There lies the portal, Seeko. Only the hero may follow me into the cave. I don’t want to scare you, but I really need someone to watch the piano while I’m gone.” He laughed. “But seriously, only Seeko can follow me.” He rose a finger when they began to protest. “Don’t ask questions! Just do it!” He gestured to Seeko. “He’ll be fine. He’s a big boy.”
Bianca actually giggled at this, but stopped at a glare from Mori.
The demon moved toward the cave entrance. “Seeko, if you would be so kind as to follow me?” Seeko obeyed, glancing back at his friends and hoping this wasn’t the last he would see of them.
“You’re probably wondering why I have a piano or where the strange clothing comes from,” Shima began as they marched into the cave. “You see, I stole this clothing from some human on Earth, from 1828, I think. I also learned of this magnificent instrument, this piano, and have been mastering it in the years since.” He shrugged. “I’m going to tell you a lot about Kotei Yoshino. Feel free to ask questions.”
Seeko was, as usual, full of questions: �
�Why do you keep calling Yoshino ‘kotei’? It means ‘king,’ from what the Voice told me. He isn’t the demon king, is he?”
“He is not the king yet, but I have seen it for so long that I call him that. Already the Kikoeru, a timeless entity, obeys him, for the most part. His time will come, and go, as all kings are wont to do.”
“So he has mastered the Voice?”
The demon nodded. “I’m afraid so. He learned from the one called Mother.”
They reached the end of the cave. It opened up into a large room, the ceiling maybe ten feet high and the opposite wall could not be seen in the darkness. The portal swirled dimly in the center of the cave room, giving off just enough strange black light to see by. Seeko and Shima moved to the opposite side of the portal.
Shima stopped, looking into the darkness, and Seeko moved to stand in front of him. “I wouldn’t take another step if I were you.”
Seeko obeyed.
“Light,” Shima said.
Again Seeko obeyed, and a green fireball appeared in his hand. Only then did Seeko realize why he shouldn’t stand in front of Shima.
There was nowhere to stand in front of him. They stood on the edge of a precipice, the edge of a cliff that dropped into endless darkness. Seeko gulped.
“Yeah,” Shima said. He placed his hands behind himself and stared into the void. “I followed my brother through a portal like that one ages ago. He led us to the Halcyon emperor, where the demons created a pact with them.”
When it became awkwardly clear that Shima was done, Seeko asked another question: “Did he ever take a young boy to Earth?”
“I’m not all that aware of everything my brother has done … It is very convoluted. I do know that he’s helped himself multiple times, and in doing so constrains himself.”
“What do you mean?”
Shima smiled but his eyes hid something behind them. “The burden of knowing what will happen is more binding than the tightest shackle. I suppose I already bear that burden, as does Kotei Yoshino. At least the girl, Hannet, had the illusion that she could see different futures. It gives the seers the perception of free will.” Shima blinked his red eyes. “But there is only one path that time will follow. The one path that I have already seen.”
“So … my destiny is already forced on me? I have no say in it? No free will?”
“Sort of. You do have free will, but the result will always be the same.” He nodded to himself. “Kotei Yoshino is fighting for true free will. He wants the result to not be the same, to be chaotic, if you so choose.”
At Seeko’s confused look, Shima clarified: “An example, then. Suppose you gave up your quest right now and jumped off this cliff. You have the choice to do it, correct?”
Seeko nodded.
“What if I said you don’t? None of the vision-branches, as someone so aptly named them, would allow it?”
“It’s stupid. I’m not going to jump off this cliff.”
“Yes. But is it because the future is set in stone, and I and others already know what you will do, or is it because you made the choice to not jump? Is it your responsibilities that keep you firmly rooted to the ground upon which you stand?” Shima looked down. “Little things may deviate from the plan, but something like the hero’s death would never happen before it’s supposed to.
“Kotei Yoshino’s enemies are the slaves of destiny, of fate. He wants more than anything to be free of the chains he has placed upon himself. He wants everything to have the choice of true free will.”
Seeko mused over Shima’s words: “The hero’s death would never happen before it’s supposed to …”?
“Hmmm …” Seeko said. “If he wants everything to have choice, then why did he take me from Kismetia? Force me back here?”
Shima laughed. “He did neither. You made the choice for yourself, both times.”
I made the choice? Suddenly, he was torn away from reality, thrown into his memories …
Two people are talking to one another. One of them, a tall man with white hair and red eyes, gestures angrily at a necklace in his hand. “The child wants to leave, Moses! Give him what he wants!”
The other man runs his hand through his black hair. He glances at me. “He is but a boy! He cannot make decisions like that!”
The white-haired man shouts at the other. “He has a mind, correct? Then he can make his own choices! Can’t you, Seeko?”
He points his palm away from him and a black oval appears opposite. The man smiles and reaches for my hand. Together, we walk into the darkness …
Then another memory flooded into Seeko, this one much more recent …
He stands before the darkness. A trembling hand reaches tentatively toward the void. A single heartbeat and time stops.
What am I doing? he wondered.
A deep breath and time begins again. He reaches into the darkness.
Instantly, the abyss pulls on him, forcing him into the void.
What have I done? he asked himself.
/ / / / /
Seeko was flung back into reality, breathing hard, and on his hands and knees. His fire was out and he was looking over the edge of the cliff.
“You thought on this,” Shima asked. He helped the hero up.
“How do you know? How do you know all of this?” Seeko asked as he created another fireball. “Are you a seer?”
He laughed. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes. December 21, 2012. Kotei Yoshino attacked Earth, bringing him one step closer to Perfect Anarchy.”
Shima saw it with his own eyes? “What is Perfect Anarchy?”
“Yoshino’s dream is self-explanatory: Perfect Anarchy. The Syran, his mastery of the Kikoeru, and his becoming demon king will allow him to push his Perfect Anarchy to fruition.”
“But how could he possibly do all that?”
“Power, hero. Pure power. With enough magic, anything is possible.”
“His actions will bring chaos to the world!”
“He knows that. Chaos is his specialty. Therein lies the problem: his dream is chaos incarnate.”
“How do I defeat him? How do I stop his Perfect Anarchy?”
Shima reached into his jacket and pulled something out from an inside pocket, a necklace. “You already know. The answer is simple: kill him and his dream ends.” Shima examined the necklace in detail. Its jade jewel glowed faintly in the dark cave. “Seeko, everything that has happened to you, and everything that you have done, has been for a single purpose: to make you stronger. The demon inside and the necklaces do exactly that. You have been forged into a weapon, a weapon designated to be the tip of the spear in the battle for reality. You are the hero, not only of Endetia, but of the entire universe.” He tossed the necklace to Seeko, who caught it reflexively. “Take this.”
“You don’t want to fight?” Seeko had been ready to fight this Shima, to take his life.
“Please, hero. Your fight has just begun … and I am so tired, so very tired. I have lived a long life. I told my brother he was crazy a lifetime ago. I punched him in the face.” Shima laughed loudly. “But I know how it ends, brother.”
“Tell me! Do I win?”
Again he laughed. “Only I know that, Seeko Dris, Hero of Endetia.” He paused and took a deep breath. “Now! Out with you!”
He exhaled and a terrifyingly strong gust of wind blew Seeko off his feet, quickly flushing him out of the cave. An instant before he was flung outside, Seeko could have sworn he saw Shima fall off the cliff, into darkness. As he flew out of the mouth of the cave, a slab of stone slid upward, sealing the cave from the outside. His friends were at his side in an instant.
“Seeko! Did he hurt you?” Mori asked. “Did you get the necklace?”
Seeko raised a fist. Inside it, he held the necklace tightly.
“Did you kill him?” Bianca asked. “He was a loser anyway,” she said with a smirk.
“No,” Seeko said. “I … I think he killed himself just now.”
“Did he tell you how to
leave?” Keith asked.
“Uh … no.”
“You’ve been looking for a way out?” Bianca said, then giggled. “I could have found that the entire time! I’ve been in this canyon before. But before that …” She placed a palm to the hard dirt. Soon a spire shot from the earth, rising through the piano and destroying it. “That was for that obnoxious device.” When everyone stared at her coldly and silently, she said, “I only did what everyone was thinking.”
“Wow,” Mori said. “What a—”
“This way!” Bianca shouted.
So they followed Bianca, deeper into the canyon, leaving Seeko to his thoughts.
Shima said Seeko would both win and lose. What did that mean? And how could that work? Was it at the same time? His thinking paused and he heard Kerodesis thinking the same thing.
Do I die when I kill Yoshino?
31: History
22 Seek, 112 AV: Day 211
The craggy passage bent gently as Bianca led the group along the canyon. “Ah! Here we are,” she said, coming to a halt. She pointed to a steep mound of loose rocks that led up the western cliff.
“You’re kidding, right?” Seeko waved toward the landslide.
Bianca picked up a rock and tossed it up. “Is it too hard for our hero?” she mocked. “I get wagons up this thing.”
Keith moved past her, silently making his way up the loose rock.
Bianca watched him with a crooked smile. “What crawled up his—”
“Please!” Mori said. “Let’s just get out of here.”
Bianca rolled her eyes back over to Seeko, who was climbing up the rocks. “Why’s everyone so down? It’s boring,” she said.
“It’s most likely because Hannet just died,” Seeko said.
“Oh yeah,” she replied. A smile twitched across her face for a moment. “That’s a bummer.”
They managed to stumble up the rugged terrain onto a smooth path leading up the canyon. Keith didn’t stop, however, moving along the crisscrossing path. Seeko and the others reluctantly followed the shattered man.
Within a couple of hours, the group had made it to the top of the gorge. Seeko stretched, smiling as he did so. He could see tall, wild grass for miles, unlike the lifeless canyon behind him. Then Shima’s words cut across his mind once again, causing his smile to fade. I’m surrounded by death.
