The Circle and the Sun

     Keisuke found himself walking through a long corridor, which made little sense to him at first. True, it looked quite a bit like the network of caverns they’d been traversing, but he couldn’t recall how it was he came to be in this place. All he could remember was the sight of Yukiiae stumbling in the corner of his eye, then his vision was filled with yellowed, rotting teeth, an enraged expression- then red and black. He remembered the alien feeling of steel as it slid, sickening, through him, the screaming pain of nerves tearing. Name of the Wolf, he thought with sudden clarity, I’ve died.

     It finally happened, and so suddenly that he hadn’t even had time to savor the moment. Shrugging off any regret, he grinned to himself as he proceeded, more quickly now, down the cavernous corridor, his footsteps echoing. He walked toward the finality of his death, at last to be free of all that had troubled him in life. Oddly, he had a sense of foreboding rather than peace, as though he moved toward a den of serpents rather than a garden of light. He tried to shake his apprehension, but it only grew as he went on, until he felt sure his destiny in death may yet be worse than his cursed life. The smile slid from his face as he knew he walked toward eternal darkness.

     It was then that he felt the presence behind him- warm, inviting, and peaceful. He tried to ignore it, stubbornly proceeding onward. Finally, fear of what lay ahead and curiosity at what lay behind caused him to turn. He was struck by the sight of the most sorrow-filled pair of eyes he’d ever seen, lit with compassion and regret. Mercy. The creature before him could be the embodiment of no other virtue. He stood vacant with wonder, and felt his hand taken. There was a sharp tug and he was dragged forward, staggering, running… but to what destination? Darkness fell around him, but he was unafraid.

     “They’re taking a really long time,” Chieko observed, coming out of her own numbness. “You don’t think something could’ve happened to them?”

     “I hope not,” Harata answered darkly. He watched as Ayame tested the barrier.

     “We still can’t get through,” she said, fear and sadness creeping into her voice. She peered at the opening in the wall with resignation. “I really thought Yukiiae would’ve been the last of us to fail.”

     Harata opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Mina.

     “She’s only human, Aya. And really, she was the only one of us who had nothing to gain by completing the Task.”

     “You think so?”

     “She didn’t even care about saving herself. Keisuke said the only reason she even agreed to do this was out of some vacant sense of duty. I don’t think that’ll hold up under pressure. She was always a loose cannon- she was just so nice to everybody that none of you realized it.”

     No one said another word as they all stared grimly at the opening with its cursed barrier. Ayame’s hand remained resting upon it as her mind drifted from Yukiiae to Keisuke, realizing for the first time how much she’d cherished the moments they’d spent together.

     The darkness left Keisuke like a mist clearing. Fuzzy objects came into focus in dim light. He became aware of sound and heard stifled weeping, made ragged by heavily drawn breaths, as though someone had been crying and running at the same time. Yukiiae. He whispered her name.

     She looked at him, mourning her betrayal, lost in her own despair.

     He sat up, surprised to find himself whole and without pain. He spoke her name again, but she refused to look at him. Gently, more gently than anyone would’ve thought the black-souled warrior capable of, he reached out and took hold of her. He drew her into an embrace and they clung to each other, shipwrecked souls on an island of grief. When he could trust himself to speak, Keisuke said softly,

     “I forgive you.”

     Yukiiae looked up at him. She saw no malice, no sarcasm, in his inky eyes.

     “I broke my promise.”

     “I know you did. I forgive you. Like you, I suppose I’ll have to wait until this is over for my peace. My death will only bring damnation, and I’d have paid for it. I was aware of that. I want to die in Honor, not in doom. When that time comes, I know you won’t forget your promise to me, though you were forced to break it once.”

     They separated from one another as Ayame’s voice drifted through the opening in the wall.

     “Harata, the barrier’s broken! My hand went through.”

     In an instant, Yukiiae and Keisuke were surrounded by their companions, all clambering to know what had passed.

     This is my challenge? Some old guy?

     Kazuki couldn’t help but feel a bit let down by the sight of the ruddy-faced, grizzled old Pantagruel that sat in wait, surrounded by an array of empty bottles. He was just some old, defeated tippler, swaying slightly in his drunkenness.

     “Kazuki!” the drunkard shouted in glee. “Well met!”

     “Yeah…” Kazu answered without enthusiasm.

     “Come join me for a drink! Just the one…”

     He sat down beside the man, but didn’t drink. Kazuki knew himself well. There was no such thing as one drink. The old tippler didn’t seem to notice.

     “Ought to be ashamed a yerself, boy,” the old man stated, peering blearily at Kazuki. “Supposed to be a hero of our people.”

     “I’m doin’ as best I can,” Kazuki replied.

     “Yer doin’ it fer them,” the drunkard said with derision. “Them that enslaved us, denied us the Celebration. You ain’t done nuthin’ to help yer own.”

     “It wouldna helped much to let the world blow up or whatever. Us Pantagruel woulda died with everybody else.”

     “Dumb ox that ya are, ya never gave any thought to the bargaining chip ya had there, didja?”

     “What’re ya on about now?”

     “Coulda said ‘no’, ya know. Coulda said ya weren’t gonna do it unless they made our people free. Ya didn’t have to agree to it right off.”

     Kazuki was silent.

     “Them. Denyin’ us the Celebration, druggin’ up the young kids- yer own brother, he’ll die on the Roller Coaster sure as yer parents died in the factories. An’ yer own kids! Ever stop to think about what became a them when ya decided to traipse off on this adventure?”

     “Every day.”

     “Don’t it scare ya?”

     “Yeah…”

     “Some life ya got. Know what? Ya look at me, yer lookin’ at yer own future, as addled by booze as yer brother is by drugs. Happens ta all a us. Know why? It’s the only way to cope with the life they gave us. Ya didn’t do it right, Kazu. Ya failed yer people by takin’ up the Task too early. Nuthin’ ya can do to change that now. Better to accept we’re all better off dead.”

     Are we better off dead? Kazuki thought of Marii, of his beloved children a world away. What would become of his pretty wife, really? Already she’d lost her youth, spent her days tired and filthy. She wasn’t much older than Chieko, still a child beside the world-weary Pantagruel woman. One morning she may leave for work, never to return, victim of one of the frequent accidents in the factories. What about Natsuno and Riku? What did the future hold for them? Those children, tiny as they were, would never be allowed to dream. They would never know aspiration. They would exist in lives that were no more than copies of their parents’, stamped out like a template… or worse, they would become like Raiken. In the future, Kazuki saw nothing but despair- a life lived in hardship, a death in agony. He saw that future for all of them. He hung his head.

     “I guess yer right, really.”

     “Damn straight I am. All that’s left for ya is ta quit.”

     Kazuki was silent once more.

     Chieko had crept over to where the two men were sitting. Gently, she laid her hand on Kazuki’s big shoulder. He started and looked at her in a way that indicated he’d forgotten she was there.

     “Kazu,” Chieko said softly, “this man isn’t right. You were the one that was right. It isn’t going to help your family or anybody else in your Clan if you give up now. What will help is if we both do what you told me- finish this, and use our power to change things. I want things to be better, too- not just for myself, but for Clans like the Pantagruel and Dauern, too. It’s not too late. This man is wrong.”

    Kazuki knew in his heart that he didn’t wish to condemn the people that he loved. As long as they lived, things could get better, but if they were gone forever… He looked back at the old drunkard, and was surprised to see the man’s body changing, his shape shifting. He grew in size and proportion, features twisting, until he was twice the size of Kazuki himself. His skin had grown tough and rock-like. The blow that fell on Kazuki’s face broke several of his teeth. Chieko was screaming.

     It took Kazuki a moment to gather his senses, to realize what it was he had to do. Focusing his strength, as he had done the night before in the jungle, he thrust his palm onto the midriff of the sending. In an instant, it was reduced to dust.

     Ayame closed her eyes. For a blissful moment, she imagined not having to re-open them. She had stepped through the opening in the wall that gave way to her- the last of the Champions- and wished that was willingness enough to pass her test. She knew what she was risking, no longer was her life hers alone. With a slight, inaudible sigh, she raised her eyelids.

     “Forlorn one, I will spare you.”

     It was an Angemal who spoke to her, a HeadHunter. He stood at the far end of the cavern, ramrod straight and in full uniform. He was a vision of the Takers- a perfect show of dignity, of duty, of unwavering adherence to the Code. The very sight of him instilled terror in her heart.

     “Yes, your time has come, but I will spare you. I am not without mercy.”

     “You’ll let me go on?”

     “Not through the way behind me. I shall lead you down another path, to a destiny far more rewarding. You want nothing more of this life that you have, yet you do no wish to die. Let me lead you to a better life.”

     “You can do that?”

     “Of course. Am I not one of those who controls your fate?”

     “Yes.” There was a note of brokenness in Ayame’s whisper.

     “So then let me show you mercy. It is no less than you deserve.”

     Without hesitation, Ayame crossed the cavern floor.

     “Aya, stop!” Harata called after her. “If you go with him, the Task can never be completed.”

     She hesitated, and the Angemal spoke.

     “Why do you bother yourself with that? You were allowed to live only for the fulfillment of this ‘Task’, and shall be led to slaughter at its end. Are you an animal? Do you exist only to serve your masters, your world? You help none through what you do. All it ever was was a lie. And you would give yourself up to continue a world that is nothing but a torture for your people. You would die to rescue a world that would only continue to do unto others what has been done to you- a world of poverty, of rape, of silent slavery. End this corruption. Come with me.”

     Gods, I’ve been a fool. Ayame realized that she’d never given much thought to the world itself. What was she saving? She walked toward certain death to save a world for the sole purpose of its continuation in a cycle of pain. Young women like herself would continue to live lives of loneliness and despair, hands tied, mouths gagged, stepping only where they were told, forever plodding in a line toward their deaths. Nothing would save them. If they were never born, there was nothing to pity. What care had she for the rest? They did nothing but profit from her pain.

     “I want to go with you.”

     “Ayame.”

     Harata had rushed to her side, was taking her by the arm.

     “Ayame, why did you become a Champion? What does the Legend mean to the Dauern? Tell me. Say it!”

     “The Clans united… not the way we’re united now, all lopsided, but really united. We always believed that when the time of the Legend came around, people would see the value that we have. But that was a lie. Qa Haran said it was only written to preserve society the way it is.”

     “But Qa Haran was wrong, Aya. He didn’t know when he was writing the Legend that it would truly come to pass. He didn’t believe Caiaphas, and he didn’t know, Aya. When you become a hero, people will see the value that you- we- have. The society that Qa Haran created was corrupt, but we can do away with it. Forget him, forget his ideals. Forget Caiaphas and his bitterness. We’re alive, Aya. They’re dead. We’re the ones who make our world. Forget about what could’ve been, and realize what you are. You’re everything the Legend said you’d be, and you can do what you want with your power. Don’t throw it away for some dead old men and their quarrel.”

     Ayame turned away from Harata. She stared long into the yellow eyes of the sending, even after the stalactite above was shaken loose, even after it had plunged into his heart. Their gaze was broken only when he collapsed under the weight. For better or for worse, the Champions had proved their willingness to rescue the world of Qian Ra.

     The air within the cave was strange. Or was it the air? Perhaps it was something else, something unknown in the balance of elements inside. Chieko watched with interest as the tendrils of Ayame’s long hair drifted as though in water or the ghost of a wind. It felt as though they stood in a river, tugged by an unseen current. It pulled them forward, but with the feeling that it was an endless forward. In. Into. Inside. All were compelled to move into the blackness that awaited, as though their very bodies were being drawn onward.

     Without a word spoken between them, they filed into the vast cavern that lay ahead. Unaware, they had moved downward, spiraling into the very bowels of Qian Ra. Within the cavern awaited a sight not one of them had expected, and none of them could comprehend.

     A ball. Like looking upon a miniature image of their own Black Sun, hot and devoid of light, it remained suspended of its own accord in that place. With an insatiable appetite, it sucked all within its vicinity into itself. The cavern itself was bowing, soon to give way. Surely this was doom. Every one of the Champions stood with all the power they possessed to prevent themselves from being swallowed.

     Blue, fearing that Takaeyama might falter, reached out and took his hand. They fed each other strength, will to resist being eaten by the force that would devour the planet. Chieko reached out to Kazuki and placed her small, bandaged hand in his large one. He looked down on her with concern, but she smiled at him, a show of the old faith and innocent confidence that had once burned so brightly within her. Keisuke smiled softly at Ayame, a shadow of his usual crooked grin. He grasped her hand and watched her eyes as they tried to communicate all the secrets that lay within. Ayame felt her other hand taken up by Harata, who stood resolutely between the two women he’d vowed to protect. He would let neither Kat nor Ayame succumb to the power that threatened to eat them alive. On Keisuke’s other side was Mina, who’d shocked herself by reaching for him, an instinctive gesture. He’d been her only friend, and she was surprised by how much that had meant. If she was to die, she wanted it to be beside the one who’d shown her camaraderie in this world of enemies. Chieko thought with a sudden ache of Kieran, a burn blooming in her heart. If she was never to lay eyes on him again, she could at least keep the promise that she’d made. She held her hand out to Takaeyama, who took it, his ghost’s smile playing on his lips. Yukiiae locked eyes with Kat, the Decameron moved with compassion for this woman who had suffered such fear and regret since they’d met, the Empirian struck once again by the silent nobility of her unlikely friend. They took each other’s hands with a smile of secret understanding. Yukiiae offered her other hand to Kazuki, memories of his family playing in her mind. He squeezed her tiny little hand, awash in the faith he had in her. Lastly, Mina turned to look at Blue, struck by the memory of the night he’d arrived at her door. Through her observations of him, Mina had learned much of what she’d always wanted to know about how a man could be destroyed. Yet she’d marveled at his strength and resolution, the way he calmly accepted the wearing down of his body and his soul. The new self had displaced the old without traces of struggle or regret. She recalled how she’d longed to be like him, that she might live her own life without bitterness or despair. In silence they took each other’s hands, completing the circle that encased the force that would envelope them should they waver.

     Harata’s mind was filled with vivid recollections of the Dream, of the things that Qa Haran had said to him as he struggled, torn and bleeding. People had turned within themselves, throwing off the balance of force within the world. He hadn’t understood it at the time. In fact, he hadn’t been able to comprehend until now what it was that the first Clanless had been communicating to him. Harata looked around the circle at the Champions and understood. Each of them would only ever see the world through their own experiences, and when they had met had carried only motivations of their own. Not one of them, nor their Clans, stood to gain very much through the completion of the Task… not for themselves alone. But they had changed as they traveled to this place. A well of compassion had sprung between them, turning their eyes away from themselves and forcing them to focus on the outside world- a world they thought they knew, but were sorely mistaken about. They now stood in a circle, rather than a line, no longer caring only what became of themselves, but feeding each other on concern and understanding. Not one of them stood alone.

     As the ravenous force within the cavern grew in strength, the Champions were showered with dust and small rocks as the ceiling began to give way. Stalactites speared the ground around them, and larger rocks crashed down. Yukiiae felt she’d swallowed her heart when a huge chunk of rock landed only feet from where she stood.

     The sun-like sphere continued to suck inward. As it did, the force of the Champions, emitted from their minds, hearts, and souls, grew in strength. They would stand together, even if the final moments of their lives were futile. The forces- the endless pull of the Negative and the eternal thrust of the Positive- met with a roar of thunder and scent of ozone. The ball of darkness swelled suddenly, touching the Champions, who felt as though they were being torn out of their own bodies. With equal abruptness it shrank, dragging them with it. Yukiiae felt her hands wrenched from the others’ as her body collided with the boulder before her. The impact caused her to black out as the sphere continued to shrink into itself.

     When Yukiiae opened her eyes, the first thing she became aware of was the silence and the change in the air. It’s over, she thought with relief. As she struggled to stand, sharp pains indicated broken bones and cracked ribs. I guess I hit that rock pretty hard.

     Peering around the boulder, her eyes searched the darkness for the other Champions. They lay scattered about the cavern floor, calling to mind her memories of fallen soldiers on the battlefield. But surely, if she’d survived…? Dismay ravaged her as she touched each of them in turn, their cooling bodies devoid of the souls that had once animated them. This couldn’t be real, this couldn’t be the result of all their trials, their suffering. How could she be the only Champion left living? As her eyes fell on Chieko’s body, curled in a ball on the cavern floor, her anguish ripped from her in a howl that was cut off as she choked, her own ribs tearing at her lungs.

     I have to undo this.

     She wouldn’t survive. It had taken enough of herself just to bring Keisuke back… and would she be able to catch up with them all before they reached their destination? Would she have the strength? Yukiiae cast about once more. Biting her lip, she knew there was nothing for her but to try.

     She hit the ground running and tore through the corridor between Life and Death. One by one, she overtook the Champions, thrusting their souls back, driven by the memory of loss, the acute sting in her heart that had never faded. She wasted not a second looking at them closely, not a breath on words. She felt herself leaching away with every soul she sent back, but spared no thought to the consequence. At last she’d reached Keisuke, who’d made it the furthest, and he turned at her approach. With the last of herself, she’d send him back as well. He stood before her, simply looking in her eyes. They spoke not a word, but understanding passed between them with seemingly impossible depth. They nodded at one another, almost shyly, and he held out his hand.

     The light of the funeral pyres danced in Blue’s eyes as he sighed, pulling away from Takaeyama. He wanted nothing more than to lie here, to rest for a while in silence. This was not to be, however. There remained one more thing he’d have to do before he was finished with his duties for the day. Already he’d performed the Rites, the final prayers that would set the souls of Keisuke and Yukiiae free that they might be judged by the gods. He’d kept his promise to Yukiiae and performed Rites for the Guardians, whose remains burned on a smaller fire than the two others. But he knew, in a way that he never would have known at the start of their journey, that his work was yet undone.

     “Where are you going?” Takaeyama asked, stretching.

     “Taking a walk.”

     “I thought you’d be done with wandering off all alone.”

     “Maybe this’ll be the last time.” Blue smiled through his weariness down at Takaeyama where he lay. He would love this man, he knew, come what may. They would never know if years remained to them, or simply hours, but such was the uncertainty of life. In a way they were blessed in the tragedy of their love, for they would never forget that each goodbye may be the last.

     Takaeyama watched Blue walk away in the dark, wondering what it was he was up to. He wondered as well if he would be okay. They’d both been close with Yukiiae, and it couldn’t have been easy for him- despite his outward calm- to have been the one to immolate the body that had housed her soul. Takaeyama himself had cried, thinking that he would never again hear her voice, feel the touch she had that could so mysteriously soothe a myriad of human pains. The funeral had been a somber and sorrowful event, as the Champions mourned the passing of two of their own. Yet amidst the sadness, there had also been cause for joy.

     Before the Rites had begun, Ayame stood before the body of Keisuke as he lay on the pyre, awaiting the flame that would turn the corpse that was his shell to ash. She gazed at him for a long time, as she had done in the cavern when she’d discovered him dead. In death, in peace, he looked almost child-like, revealing traces of the gentler nature he’d shown to no one other than Ayame in his life. After a time, she turned and walked away, taking Dawn and Dusk, which had been lying at his side, with her.

     “Ayame,” Harata had said gently. “Maybe it would be better to leave them.”

     “No,” she’d replied firmly. “They belong to his heir.”

     “Keisuke didn’t have any heirs. He was the last of his House.”

     Ayame had simply looked at Harata, who realized suddenly what heir to was to whom she was referring.

     “Aya…” Harata’s voice broke with a bizarre mixture of elation, compassion, and sorrow for her. He held her tightly for a while, and when they broke their embrace, she was smiling through her tears.

     “Help us to survive, like you promised. I know you never liked Keisuke much, but this child of his is also your niece or nephew. Don’t forget us.”

     “I won’t,” Harata whispered. “You’re my family.”

     Harata was now seated with his arms around Kat, to whom he’d excitedly announced the happy news. She’d smiled with him for a while, before returning to plumb the depths of her sorrow at the loss of Yukiiae. She’d fallen asleep finally, though Harata was still wakeful. He watched in silence as Blue passed by, walking purposefully into the jungle.

     Though he had lost sight of her when talking to Takaeyama, Blue found Chieko easily amidst the dark trees. She was weeping with heartbroken fury, the last of her innocence torn to shreds.

     “Aw, Chi…” Blue said quietly, crouching down beside her.

     She continued sobbing out her agony, clutching Blue who waited for the storm of tears to pass without another word. At last she calmed a little, breath still coming in ragged gasps.

     “Why, Blue?” she pleaded. “Why did the gods take Yukiiae and Keisuke? Why couldn’t they have let them live? It’s not fair.”

     “Chieko,” he said softly, looking into her wide green eyes. “Yukiiae gave up her life so that the rest of us could live. If she hadn’t made that sacrifice, you wouldn’t be here now. I’m sure she knew what she was doing. I know that doesn’t make it any easier, but she was happy to let us live in her place.”

     “But what about Keisuke?”

     “We’ll never know why Keisuke passed when the rest of us survived. Maybe there was some reason Yukiiae couldn’t bring him back. Maybe he didn’t want to return. Whatever the reason is, Keisuke died doing the most Honorable thing he could possibly have done. Honor meant everything to him in life, and I’m sure he can rest knowing that he couldn’t have achieved any higher merit than he had.”

     “But I miss them,” Chieko sniffled.

     “It’s alright to be sad. Of course you miss them- they were your friends. Allow yourself your sadness, Chieko. Let yourself feel it, let it pass. Don’t allow it to overwhelm you, for I suspect there’s a lot of work yet to be done.”

     Chieko sniffled quietly to herself for a while, then with renewed tears she added,

     “I’m scared. I feel so sad that Yukiiae and Keisuke are gone. I’ll never see them again. But… but what if I never see any of you again when we go back to Diasminion?”

     “Do you really believe that will happen?”

     “I’m afraid that it will.”

     “Would you allow it to happen, if you had the choice?”

     “No,” Chieko replied adamantly.

     “Well, you do have a choice. If you want to prevent that from happening, you’ll find a way.”

     “Kazu said we have the power to change things. Do you really think that, too?”

     Blue smiled down at Chieko in the dark.

     “I’m sure that we’ll all be doing a lot to change the world, Chi. It’s ours now that we’ve taken responsibility for it.”

     He’s right, Chieko thought, and Kazuki too. This Task may be complete, but now I have a new one. She vowed to herself that she would do anything she could to help break down the system that had caused so much threat to their world. She would never forget Yukiiae’s sacrifice, or Keisuke’s Honor. She would live each day in their memory, and hoped she’d one day make them proud.