by Milo Woods
Mori frowned. “But you shouldn’t build up your anger. Remember the last time?” She placed a hand on his shoulder, but he shook it off.
They approached Bianca, who was leaning up against one of the crumbling buildings. She joined the group as they walked into an open spot to camp, and then they began to unpack.
“I can’t believe Emperor Physis doesn’t think he fights dirty,” Bianca said. “Burning down towns, kidnapping, and even using you to assassinating the emperor isn’t fighting dirty? If he was on the losing side, he would have used demons twice as quickly.”
“I’m sure once the war is over, this world will be a better place for everyone,” Seeko said. “You don’t have to come with us if you don’t want to.”
“I’ve lost all hope in either side. I’ve placed all my bets on you now, Seeko.”
He really didn’t know what to say to that, so he just lay down to sleep, dreaming of fathers and murder.
33: Assassination
6 Nyss, 112 AV: Day 225
Gemini was a town of duality. The Halcyon capital was separated in two parts: the flawlessly circular, walled inner city, and the surrounding outer city. The newer outer city was impressive, if only for the sheer amount of people crammed into one place. Tall, wooden shanties rose several stories, and people were all over the crooked streets, trying to get into the inner city.
Seeko and company got in line with the refugees trying to get into the walls and entered after some wait. The gates closed behind them, for the city had been forewarned of the coming invasion.
The inner city was even more impressive. Built with perfect symmetry, the city had a large road that bisected the capital cleanly in two. The Gemini citadel sat at the exact center of the inner city, the hub of many roads that met in the center like spokes on a wheel. The bisecting road was in pristine condition and was paved with black stone. In fact, the inner city as a whole was made out of dark stone, with slanted, golden roofs.
The company took all of this in with awe as they entered the crowded inner city. Gemini reminded Seeko of a small New York. The giant city was more populated than anywhere else in Endetia.
“Truly a marvel of Halcyon engineering,” Bianca stated as she gazed around the town.
“I have to admit, it is pretty impressive,” Mori said after a moment.
Citizens and refugees crowded the streets, trying to find places to escape the coming battle. Opposite the gate, Seeko and company could hear the fear of the people in the outer city, their cries and pleas to get behind the walls. Seeko did his best to ignore the pleas and led the company away from the walls, pushing through the crowds to get to the citadel.
“Emperor Cerris is in there,” Mori said as they made their way deeper into town. “The war is about to end.”
Bianca frowned. “And the wrong side is losing.”
“Why do you say that?” Mori asked.
“The Halcyon were here first. The Irenic Empire was at first nothing more than a rebellion. Now it’s going to win, for all the wrong reasons.”
Keith exhaled. “She’s right.”
“We have to do this,” Seeko said. “We have to stop this war, once and for all.”
“I know,” Bianca said. “It’s just weird to kill your own emperor.” She closed her eyes and placed a hand to her forehead. “But now I’m over it,” she added, cracking a smile.
The crowd thinned as they neared the citadel. Two Halcyon guards, garbed in black and gold, stood at the gateway to the fortress. They stopped a few hundred feet from the guards.
“This is the end, Seeko.” Mori smiled and grabbed his hand. “Whatever happens, I’ll be here with you.”
He held her hand tightly. “I know. I wouldn’t want you anywhere else.” They drew close to each other, about to kiss.
Keith cleared his throat. “Lovely.”
The couple stepped away from each other, blushing.
“If you two are done …” Keith pointed to the citadel. “… we have an emperor to assassinate.” He looked to Bianca. “You have a plan to get into this castle as well?”
“Yes, I do,” Bianca said. She pointed at the guards. “See that door they’re protecting? We’ll go through there.”
“Funny,” Seeko said.
Bianca didn’t answer back.
“You’re serious?” he said, but she was already gone. Seeko glanced toward the guards, and cringed, for they were both already knocked out. Keith and Bianca were standing at the large doorway. Keith lunged his sword between the double doors, using his wind magic to force it open.
“You coming, or are we going to have to do everything ourselves?” Bianca shouted to Seeko and Mori as Keith rushed inside.
Seeko exchanged glances with Mori. “Mori, I lo—” His heart flew into his throat.
Mori kissed him lightly on the lips. “Seeko, don’t say anything. It makes everything seem so final.” She kissed him again, more firm this time. “But I feel the same way. We’ll say it after all of this is over.” Then she rushed after Keith and Bianca.
I love you, he thought. He ran after her.
The strange thing was he thought he heard another voice echo him.
/ / / / /
Soon Seeko stood in the entrance hall of the citadel with the others. Several guards stood before them, guarding another large doorway on the opposite side of what Seeko assumed was the throne room. Keith and Bianca were already in the process of dispatching the guards, but it seemed like for every one they took out, another took his place.
“Seeko, Bianca, Mori! Get to the throne room!” Keith shouted over the fighting. “I’ll cover you!” He sent a wave of air that knocked down a few guards. “Go!”
Seeko and Mori obeyed, but Bianca continued to fight.
“No! I won’t leave you!” Bianca said. “I’ll fight with you!”
“I don’t need your help! They’re easy!” Keith said as he knocked another man to the ground. “Just go! I’ll catch up!” A pike cut across his leg and another across his arm. “Go!” he yelled through grated teeth.
Mori and Seeko reached the doorway to the throne room. They tried to push the great doors open but they didn’t budge.
“I’ll burn them down!” Seeko said.
But at that moment, a slanted pillar of earth slammed into the doors, forcing them open.
“Let’s go! Keith is buying us time!” Bianca said as she looked back to him. Then she rushed forward, and Mori followed.
Seeko looked back at Keith as well. “Don’t die! I won’t lose another friend!”
Keith nodded, then roared and knocked another man to his knees. Seeko rushed after his friends.
Once inside the throne room, Bianca summoned a large stone wall to block the doorway behind them. “That should slow them down, at least for a moment.”
The throne room was dark; Seeko and company couldn’t see the far side of the room. Seeko solved the problem by sending a couple of fireballs along the candlestick rows.
The large room had elegant pillars and Halcyon banners on the walls. A larger Halcyon banner hung behind the throne itself. The most important thing, however, was what was on the throne.
Or, rather, what wasn’t on the throne.
“Where is he?” Seeko said.
“He’s hiding,” Kerodesis said. “He knows all the pain he’s put us through, and doesn’t want to face your wrath. He knows that his executioner is here to end him.”
Seeko shook his head to dispel Kerodesis, knowing he was right.
Two doors sat on the opposite end of the room. “The emperor’s chamber must be behind one of those doors,” Mori said. “But which one?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Bianca said. “They both lead to the same place.”
“How do you know?” Seeko asked.
“A perfectly symmetrical place ruled by one emperor would have him right at the center.”
They went into the left doorway. Bianca’s prediction proved right, as the doorway led to a staircase, whic
h reconnected with the other at the top and also led into a hallway above the throne room. Guards poured out of the rooms parallel to the hallway, readying for the invasion. They stopped, however, when they found three intruders in their castle.
Bianca wasted no time. She fired an arrow at the closest guard, striking him in the neck. At the same time, she sent a surge along the ground and the floor buckled around the men, sending them sprawling. The company moved into the hallway, one step closer to the emperor.
However, more guards moved between them and their destination. Bianca used pillars of stone to slam them into the nearby walls. They made it to the end, which was another staircase that climbed higher into the castle. More guards flooded in behind them. Bianca faced them.
“We’ll need to get out of here. I’ll protect the way out,” she said calmly as her bow took another life. “If I take all of these guys out, I’ll find Keith and meet up with you guys on the roof.”
“Why the roof?” Seeko asked.
“Easy to get to,” she said. “Just keep climbing.”
“We’ll be trapped once we get there!”
“No!” Bianca said. “I’ll do what Hannet did in the canyon and catch us after we jump. Don’t worry about it.” She fired her bow again, sent another wave of stone forward. “Seeko! You have to stop him. Not any of us—you! It is your destiny!” She fired another arrow.
The stone under Seeko’s feet shifted him forward, up to the staircase.
“Move!” Bianca shouted.
“Don’t die … even though we don’t like you!” Seeko said, then took Mori’s hand and they climbed higher into the citadel.
“I don’t care if she dies,” Mori said as they left her behind.
“If she did, who would make the rest of us look good?” Seeko flashed a smile at her but she didn’t return it. Guess I should get serious. I have an emperor to kill, after all.
“He has to die for his crimes. He is the cause of all suffering on this continent. Kill him and his dream ends,” Kerodesis said.
Seeko ignored him, and they climbed to the top of the staircase, which once more ended at a hallway. This one stretched forward again, running parallel to the road that bisected the town. It ended at a single doorway, but that junction also split left and right, presumably to go to more rooms.
Four guards stood at that doorway, surprised to see Seeko and Mori at the opposite end of the hallway. They charged at them, but were easily beaten by Seeko and Mori’s superior magic.
Mori looked to a downed guard. “Seeko, I think these sashes they were wearing means that they’re royal guards. Remember how Physis always had four guards with him? It must be the same tradition here.”
“So that door they were guarding? That must be—”
“—where he’s hiding!” Mori finished.
Eager to end it, they ran to the opposite door.
Once there, Mori said, “I’m going to stand guard. If anyone approaches, I’ll knock.”
“You’re not going in with me?”
“Seeko, you need to do this alone. Besides, Bianca is right: we need a way out once we’re finished.” She kissed him on the cheek and jogged around the halls for more guards.
But Seeko stood at the doorway, hesitant. What if I’m not strong enough to?
“You are!” Kerodesis goaded Seeko on. “Look at the pain he’s brought you! Without Emperor Cerris, Kazuma wouldn’t have died. Lorissa wouldn’t have died. Hannet wouldn’t have died. He unleashed a hell that cannot—will not—justify his actions. On this day, Seeko, you must kill him! You must end his life!”
Every word Kerodesis spoke was painful, but true. Seeko gritted his teeth and furrowed his brow. With a roar, he drew his blade and kicked open the door.
The room was small and modest for an emperor. It had a small desk in the center of the room, with maps sprawled all over the desktop. A small fireplace sat behind the desk, with the Halcyon emblem above it. Two doors stood opposite the fireplace, likely leading to a bedroom.
A single man sat in the room, idly poking at the fireplace before him. He was garbed in an elaborate black robe trimmed with gold, and a golden crown rested upon his head.
“Emperor Cerris!” Seeko shouted.
The man turned around slowly and stood. A thin mask covered his face, gray and perpetually frowning. Age was apparent in the man, for he moved slowly, as if in pain. He seemed happy, however.
“You’re younger than you should be.” He laughed from behind his mask. “I’ve been waiting for you, Seeko. You’ve fixed my mistakes.”
Seeko pointed his blade at the old man. “Give me a good reason why I shouldn’t cut you down right now,” he said.
“Seeko, hear me out before you kill me.”
Seeko lowered his blade a half an inch. “Your actions have brought so much pain. Three of my friends are gone because of you! What could you possibly say?”
Cerris flinched as if struck. “I know what I have done.” He touched his mask. “My mask hides my scars, but the deepest scars aren’t visible. It hides my shame. After a lifetime of mistakes, of anger, of death, one begins to question his morality. I have brought too much suffering to forgive myself. And I know that Physis will never forgive me …”
“So you’re a coward, too?” Seeko yelled. “Can’t live with your mistakes?”
“No, I can live with them, regret them. But I don’t have to forgive them. Seeko, do you forgive yourself after every mistake?”
Seeko thought back to the time when he killed Greg’s bandits. He remembered the deaths of his friends and his failure to protect them. But thinking of Kazuma, Lorissa, and Hannet only angered Seeko more.
“No,” he said, “I don’t, but your mistakes are what killed so many!”
“Every day, I am reminded of that, Seeko! I would do it all differently if I could. But I cannot travel through time. I wish I could bring back the lives I have taken, even your friends.” A surge of courage flowed through the old man. “Strike me down. End the war. This is your destiny.” The man spread his arms wide, trembling. Then he took a deep breath and steadied himself. “Avenge your father!”
Seeko stopped. “What? How dare you mention my father? Physis is a good man!”
The man bowed his head in defeat. He spoke again, his voice cracking: “So you don’t know.”
“You are sad and pathetic. Why are you admitting all this to a stranger?”
A hollow laugh, then, “You aren’t a stranger.” Cerris’s head rose high.
Seeko looked at the mask, becoming angrier and angrier.
“Do it! Kill him! He’s killed so many! His hands are stained with the blood of your friends!”
Seeko lost control, immersed in Kerodesis’s rage. Before he knew it, the blade pierced the emperor’s heart. For a moment, time stopped, and Seeko became aware of his own heart, still beating.
Cerris’s heart stopped and time began again. The man fell, silent.
“This war is over.” Did Seeko say that? Or did Kerodesis?
Then, a sound—the sound of someone clapping slowly. Seeko turned.
“Very good, Seeko,” Yoshino said from a bedroom doorway. “You just killed your father.”
34: Rupture
6 Nyss, 112 AV: Day 225
“What?” the hero said.
“Remove the mask, Seeko.” Yoshino said, pointing to it.
Seeko did so with a slow, trembling hand. The mask slipped off easily. Cerris’s brown eyes had been crying behind the mask, Seeko saw. Seeko raised a hand to his own face and found that he was crying too.
“You see,” Yoshino said, “the Halcyon and the Irenic Empire used to be just one empire: the Halcyon Empire. Ruled by Emperor Phycer and his dynasty, the Halcyon Empire flourished for decades. At its peak, it even sent an expeditionary force that returned with an amazing gift: magic. But all was not well, for Emperor Phycer did not have the heir he needed. No, he had two: twins, named Physis and Cerris.”
Seeko looked down at Cerris
. The emperor did indeed look just like Physis. The only difference was a scar that crossed Cerris’s nose. Seeko pulled the man close, hugging the stranger who was his father, crying into his bleeding chest. Seeko felt more alone than ever before. I just … killed … my own father.
“The two brothers fought over everything,” Yoshino continued. “Toys, trainers, women, and eventually kingdoms. Emperor Phycer died and did not specify an heir, which only drove the brothers into more fighting. Eventually, Emperor Cerris declared himself heir of the Halcyon Empire and exiled his brother from the kingdom.
“Physis struck back a decade later. He raised up an empire in the east, with Asilis as the capital, declaring the Irenic Empire the true empire. They fought, with the Irenic Empire eventually capturing land all the way to Vicussa.
“And so began a cycle of revenge that ended with the kidnapping of Seeko, son of Cerris. Irenic Commander Todd personally led the kidnapping, taking the young boy all the way to Asilis.
“Desperate, Emperor Cerris reached into the legends of old for help. He found demons. He summoned two sages, named Moses and Yoshino, to create portals to the demons.”
Seeko had calmed down a little bit by now. He was still heartbroken, but he knew that Yoshino had to have planned this. Now he fueled his feelings into something else: hatred. He imagined Yoshino dead before him, and shook. He took a deep breath.
“Those are the two names from my memory … but one is you!” Seeko said.
“No. I have figured it out. That Yoshino is a future version of myself! Don’t interrupt my story, hero.” He nodded. “Out of that first demon portal came past me, my brother, and some other trusted demons. Moses gave five of them necklaces that could open portals to the demon world. Using my knowledge of the Kikoeru and the allies I had made, we made a pact with Emperor Cerris.
“After that, Moses and my future self traveled to Asilis, eager to see the new Irenic Empire. There we met a young boy. The boy was happy at first, but in time realized that Physis was not his father and wanted to go home. Yoshino told the boy that he knew a way home, but it would be a long and tumultuous journey and that he wouldn’t be the same. The boy didn’t care; his mind was set. And so Yoshino—future me, that is—sent the boy home.” He smiled again. “And see, now you are home, Seeko Dris, son of Cerris.” He pointed to his temple. “Very clever, right? Anyway, welcome home, Emperor of the Halcyon Empire!” He was clapping again.
