The End of the Fantasy (Book #6 of the Sage Saga)

by Julius St. Clair

  “You’re welcome,” he said, beaming from ear to ear. “And I’ll be right behind you. I just have to perform a couple tweaks on the machine first.”

  “Take your time,” Catherine replied, walking behind her two Sages. They exited the compound and Talia began laughing as soon as the clay door shut in their wake.

  “So how much did it hurt to thank him like that?”

  “Surprisingly, less than I thought it would,” Catherine laughed.

  “As soon as Bastion gets in that harness he’s talking about, he’s cooked,” Daisy said, gritting her teeth. “They just need him alive, that’s it.”

  “Whoa, calm down,” Talia said, patting Daisy on the back. “We’ll do whatever we have to do to save him if it comes to that, but it’s up to Bastion to make the choice on whether he gets in or not.”

  “Are you crazy? Why?”

  “Because if he believes everything Tillian tells him, we’re certainly not going to change his mind. We might break him out and find ourselves at the wrong end of an eidolon. We’ll have to hope that he makes the right decision from the beginning.”

  “But then what’s our job here? I don’t understand.”

  “We’re not supposed to,” Catherine said with a satisfied sigh. She smiled warmly as her Sage robes began to form over her from toe to neck, spiraling around her clockwise as if the winds were dancing and clothing her at the same time. “The only way we’re going to interfere is if Bastion refuses the job, and they try forcing him into it. Otherwise, we see how this plays out.”

  “But that doesn’t make sense!” Daisy exclaimed. She looked to Talia for approval but found none. Only a sly smirk and a Sage robe staring back at her.

  “At this moment in history,” Catherine explained, “Bastion is in a sense, our King. And we are his Sages, here to carry out his biding. He’s the one that has to decide how the three worlds carry on. His decision is law. And not one of us can stop him if we disagree. The best we can do is support him and help him make the most informed decision. If he asks for help, we give it to him, but otherwise, we don’t interfere. He’ll think that we’re only looking out for our own self-interests if we do, and that might make things worse.”

  “Fine,” Daisy huffed. “I’ll keep quiet until I’m spoken to.”

  “Just perform your duty,” Talia said. “And all we be okay.”

  “There,” Veer shouted from behind them, opening the clay door. He shut it behind him and began powerwalking until he was at their side. “There,” he repeated, pointing to the sky. “There he is.”

  Catherine, Veer, Talia and Daisy looked up in unison. The wind sphere shed as if it was made of hair, with strands of dirt and sand flying off onto the air currents. From the middle of the once solid sphere was Bastion, hanging for a second in mid-air. Daisy couldn’t help but notice the disapproving scowl on her old friend’s face.

  * * *

  As they fell, Bastion was surprised to see Catherine, Talia and Daisy on Yama land, waiting for him. A flood of memories came to him, with not any of them being good, and suddenly he was overcome with a wave of anxiety. Whatever was to happen next, he was sure he wasn’t going to like it.

  “Who are they?” Lily asked from inside him as his feet hit the dirt hard. Bastion grunted and whispered as low as he could.

  “Catherine and her Sages.”

  “Are they friend or foe?” she asked, and he didn’t have an answer for her. Why were they here? Or was that even them at all? Were they just illusions meant to give him pause? Were they Yama in disguise, waiting for him to get close?

  “What are you doing here?” Bastion asked them as he slowly approached. Before any of them could blink, his black Sage robe was draped over his shoulders and billowing behind him. Though his eidolon wasn’t yet unsheathed, they knew that it would be in his hand just as fast.

  “We came here for answers,” Catherine said, keeping her arms as close to her sides as possible so she appeared non-threatening. “We thought that we might be able to stop the threat by going to where they lived.”

  “I thought the same,” he said, focusing on Veer in particular. He had noticed Daisy, but he couldn’t gaze at her for too long. The last look she gave him back in Languor still haunted him.

  “This is the Yama headquarters,” Catherine said calmly. “But things are not what you think. The Yama are just drones. The Delilah use them to carry out their fighting for them.”

  “If that’s true, then why are you just standing here? Shouldn’t we be fighting the Delilah?”

  “It’s a lot more complicated than that. Maybe you should listen to Veer,” Catherine pivoted to the side and let Veer step forward. He offered a hand to Bastion but the young Sage refused to take it. He looked at it as if he had been offered garbage.

  “So you’re responsible for the Yama? You’re the ones that sided with Seeker?”

  “The Yama were given a mission. We have no control over them once they’re sent out.”

  “Then call them back and when they’re here, you can tell them to stop.”

  “We have,” Veer said quickly. “Now that you’re here.”

  “To fight me?”

  “No, it’s because everything we’ve worked for has culminated to this. Please, let me explain.” Bastion reluctantly followed Veer inside the “Yama Headquarters” and Catherine and her Sages were close behind. Once they were inside and the door was closed, Tillian quickly introduced himself, but once again, Bastion was reluctant to exchange pleasantries. He merely listened, as they explained everything that they had told Catherine earlier. When they paused to gauge his reaction, they weren’t sure what to make of the smile that came upon his face.

  “So you’re saying there’s three worlds. But we can’t survive on the other two until our shells are shed, is that it?”

  “Being born into this world gives us the shell we need to survive, but once we die physically, our souls go back to the atmosphere it can survive best in. The bridge controller, whom we call the Emissary, determines where the souls are to go when someone dies. Whether it’s to Paradise or Oblivion.”

  “And how does he decide that?” Bastion asked. Veer and Tillian glanced at each other and then back at the young Sage.

  “That’s up to the Emissary,” Veer replied.

  “But how does he know?”

  “I don’t understand the question.”

  “He’s just like us, right? I mean, he was picked out of a pool of people, so what makes him any different? Just because he has a lot of power? That shouldn’t mean he gets to decide where one soul goes. He might not even be qualified to do it. Everyone I’ve met with great power had issues, even me. Not one was worthy of such a position.”

  “But even so, someone has to make that decision. A King or a Queen is human, but they still have to make decisions that will affect the lives of generations to come. None of us are infallible, but that doesn’t mean a leader is not placed in that position. For you, Bastion, we tried to teach you all we can, and we think that it was enough.”

  “Me?” Bastion asked in disbelief. “What do you mean?”

  “You are destined to take over as Emissary. The current one is getting old and losing his power daily. In an estimated four more years, he will be too weak to keep the bridge and gates between the worlds charged. You, and only you, are strong enough to take over for him. It is your destiny. Without you, the gates will break. The bridge will be destroyed, and the three worlds will converge. The atmosphere will kill everyone in this world, those in Oblivion will be freed to wage war against those in Paradise, and all that die will cease to exist altogether. It may be the very end of humanity. A complete genocide.”

  “And I was chosen…only because I have the power to keep the gates closed?”

  “More than that,” Tillian broke in. “You have a strong sense of justice that few people on this planet have. You understand the pain of suffering but yet you have the compassion to have mercy on those that have wronged you. You
innately realize the difference between what is right and wrong. These strong principles are what helps makes you the destined one.”

  “But that’s not completely true, is it?” Daisy spoke up to everyone’s surprise. “He has the right to know, doesn’t he?” Tillian took a big gulp and turned back to a suspicious Bastion.

  “I was going to get to that,” he said, wiping his brow. “You see, we’ve been using the stones, the Yama, and the Quietus to guide you into becoming the man you are today.”

  “The Quietus?” Catherine asked in confusion. “What does that mean? You didn’t mention them earlier.”

  “Once we identified Bastion as a potential Emissary, we had him captured, along with a number of other individuals to be…um…I know this sounds terrible, but we had him tested.”

  “Experimented on,” Bastion said, staring directly into his eyes. “You had kids cut up and ripped apart. You had me broken down so that you could know for sure that I was the one you were looking for. That I could take the pain…didn’t you?”

  “It was for the future of all. You had to suffer so that we may all live on.”

  “And what happened to the Quietus you used?”

  “They were killed,” Veer said. “But it’s because we couldn’t have anyone else finding out what we were doing.”

  “And then you used the stones,” Bastion said, shaking his head.

  “The stones were created to have the Kingdoms divided and to keep the wars to a minimum. Without a macguffin to fight over, they would have massacred each other.”

  “Or actually came to a long lasting peace. Why do you get to manipulate their lives like that? And the Yama. What are they? Who are they?”

  “Using a combination of human flesh, and the technology that helps to create the stones, we amassed an army to carry out our biding. The army was used to give you someone to fight. See, you needed a threat that would make you question your purpose in the world and whether you should interfere or not. If you had chosen to just let everything play out, we would have deemed you unworthy of becoming the Emissary.”

  “And then what? You would have just left me alone? Doesn’t sound like it.”

  “We would have been forced to find another,” Veer lied coolly. “We can’t have someone who isn’t worthy making such tough decisions.”

  “Let us show you all that this is real,” Tillian butt in, waving for them all to come into the first room on the left.

  “I’ll stay here, if that’s okay,” Talia said. Tillan nodded nervously and then averted his eyes from hers. Catherine, Daisy and Bastion followed him into the room while Talia stayed back with Veer.

  When they entered, it was the same bare room as the last one they had gone into, except this time there were no pulleys on the far wall. There was no real wall at all. It was as if the entire back had been replaced with empty space. A black mass of nothingness that seemed to ripple like the skin of a Quietus. Catherine saw that Bastion was just as surprised. Once he saw the living black curtain before him, he stopped in his tracks.

  “I know it’s disconcerting to behold at first,” Tillian lamented. “But Veer should be getting everything started. Let’s give him a moment.”

  “So they are my masters,” Lily whispered from within Bastion. “The Yama, or…the Delilah I guess. Are you believing all of this?” Bastion stretched his neck, but otherwise he gave no answer one way or the other. “I wonder if they know I’m here…it makes me wonder why they sent me to you. Because they had to have done it for a reason…I just want you to know that whatever that reason is, I don’t have a clue. Bastion, I knew nothing about what they’re telling you.”

  Bastion nodded, but his face remained expressionless. Lily wished that he could talk to her, but he didn’t dare break concentration. Even if they spoke from within him, the Delilah were sure to notice. Before she could say something else, a humming sound reverberated throughout the room and the back wall changed completely. It shifted to the right as if a painter was wiping a brush across his canvas, and suddenly, they were watching a completely different world.

  There was a vast meadow before them, with bumblebees and tall blades of vibrant green grass that was nearly knee high. There were thousands of red roses, as far as the eye could see, and so many that they nearly overpowered the grass blades. But what was the most surprising was not the landscape, but the elderly woman stooping down to smell the flowers. Catherine gasped and cupped her mouth, catching the attention of everyone in the room.

  “That’s Ma Conun,” she whispered.

  “Who’s that?” Bastion asked. He had been trying to stay silent, but he was eager to know.

  “We met her and her husband near Old Prattle. They were killed…” Catherine paused to choose her words carefully, but then she opted for the truth. “They were killed by Kyran in order to convince Thorn that we were allies of his. They were a sweet elderly couple that showed us nothing but the best in hospitality.”

  “So this is Paradise?” Daisy asked. Tillian nodded.

  “A part of it. It’s near the entrance so this is the first place you see when you get off the bridge. If we were able to see beyond the field, you would find cities and villages. And more importantly, your loved ones, working hand in hand.”

  “James is out there?’ Catherine asked, and he gave her a wide grin.

  “Yes he is. So is Zhou, Arimus, Sway, Chloe, Kryan, Scarlet…all those that you thought were lost are there. And you’ll join them someday too. Now don’t you see how precious all of this is?”

  “And those in Oblivion…” Bastion said. “Those that get sent there…I’m sure they don’t have the same experiences.”

  “People like Seeker go there,” Tillian relied darkly. “So you have an idea of the kind of chaos that occurs. Thousands of individuals with egotistical minds, all fighting for supremacy. In a sense, they have their own Paradise. Think about it. If someone like Seeker got everything he wanted in this world, there would still be no end. He would get bored, and he would develop new enemies and new wars to wage. That’s how people like him are.”

  “I get that,” Bastion said to Catherine’s surprise. “There has to be a separation in order for there to be any kind of peace.”

  “Yes,” Tillian said, trying to maintain his excitement. “So now you understand the importance of the Emissary, and why you are the only one fitted to do this. It can only be you, Bastion. Not only do you have the strength, but you grasp the principles behind what we do. Not many people can.”

  “And what about Lily?” he asked. “Why did you send her to me?”

  “I know she’s with you now,” Tillian said, taking a big gulp. “So I can address you both. The truth is…when you killed those people in Languor, we knew that it was a very delicate moment for your psyche and your future. We thought that Daisy would follow you into the wilderness and be your guide. To help you deal with the horrors you committed and witnessed. But that was not the case. We were sure that if not Daisy, surely someone else would go after you. They all knew you were a child, trying to make sense of it all, but to our surprise, not a single one did. And so, we had to send Lily.”

  “A young girl,” Bastion replied, clenching his fists instinctively. “Someone I would easily latch onto. Because you’ve probably seen how I interacted with Daisy. You saw how much I needed someone to love, and for them to love me back in return.”

  “That’s right. We were afraid that if you stayed in the wilderness alone, you wouldn’t embrace your destiny. You wouldn’t intervene when the Yama arrived. You would just stand idly by and determine that you would just mess things up. We couldn’t have that. We needed you to realize how important you are to the world. And Lily was there to walk with you along that path, hand in hand.”

  “The way she looks. Her personality…that was all for me?”

  “We designed her for you, yes. And we had to take a risk and give her a level of power that would rival your own. Otherwise, you wouldn’t feel compatible.” />
  “If you have the ability to give her that amount of strength, why not use that to power the machines?”

  “Because we need a body,” Tillian explained. “The body and spirit is a renewable and sustainable energy resource. The stones, as impressive as they may be, are not. There is a reason that in order to use them continually, the host must give up chunks of their life. In a way, every use by the host charges the stone.”

  “So what happens now?”

  “You decide. If you want to be the Emissary or not. If you don’t, then I will have to ask you to leave, but if you do…then we will begin the process immediately. There are two facilities that keep the bridge intact. Our current Emissary is keeping the bridge and gates secured from the second building, but we would start assisting him here, so that you can get used to the process.”

  “So I’ll be stuck in a machine for the rest of my life?”

  “No, not at all. Once a couple of years have gone by, and we’ve calibrated your body so that it can handle both this world’s atmosphere and that of Paradise, then you will be able to take breaks and walk your soul through Paradise. Depending on how much energy you’ve left behind for the machine, you could take months off at a time. It’s really not that bad. However, as you get older and weaker, of course, you will have to stay in the machine more often. As I’ve said, the Emissary only has a few more years left before he’ll be dead. So he’s been in the machine for the past six years.”

  “And Lily?”

  “As long as she latched onto you, she can be with you, even in Paradise. The stones are not souls like you and I, but they are alive. Funny enough, she’ll be able to withstand the atmosphere of Paradise long before you will.”

  “It doesn’t sound too bad,” Bastion muttered, deep in thought. “Is there anything else to show me?”

  “No, that’s it.”

  “Then let me go outside for a moment to think. Alone.”

  “Certainly,” Tillian said nervously as Bastion left the room first. Catherine and the others watched him curiously as he continued powerwalking out the building entirely and into the open air. The crashing of oceanic waves greeted him but they didn’t put his mind at ease. He bent down and put his hands on his knees, shaking his head at the ground. When he came back up for air, he gave out a heavy sigh and then looked out over the ocean, admiring its beauty from afar.