Rupture: Rise of the Demon King (35 page)

“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.

Keith moved into the grasslands but stopped after only a few feet. “We should camp here,” he said, silhouetted against the sunset.

It’s about time,
Seeko thought, both about resting and Keith speaking.
He’s remained quiet since we left the portal.
But the silence continued, as Keith remained so while they unpacked.

Seeko sat down in the little flat area that Keith had picked out for camp. Mori joined Seeko but Bianca looked off past the group.

“I have to make sure that this route is clear,” Bianca said.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Mori asked.

“People aren’t ignorant of how stolen goods travel,” she said, smiling. “I just have to make sure we don’t get attacked for no reason.” She gave a shrug and jogged away.

“Sounds like they have a good reason to attack us,” Mori said.

Keith closed his eyes and sighed in relief. “She’s gone.”

Seeko laughed at this and asked, “How do you even know her? You have to have a reason for hating her.”

“I do,” Keith responded. “We all grew up in Irris … her, my brother, and me. We were poor, so we did what we had to do to survive.” He stared into the sky. “Then Hannet showed up and she turned my life around. Neither my brother nor Bianca liked her because she was Irenic and we were Halcyon. Unfortunately, her family treated her like trash, true to their blue-and-white colors.”

“So why do you hate Bianca?” Mori asked.

“She ruined everything I did with Hannet. Always intervened.” Seeko nodded, but then Keith spoke again. “Bianca fought with Hannet and her family threatened to put us in jail.” Keith let out a fake laugh before sorrow filled his eyes again. “That didn’t stop us, though; we still played together. At least until the Irenic attacked the town. I believed that I should defend the town. It was my duty. I joined the Halcyon army in battle. Greg joined too.”

“So you were always great with a sword?” Seeko asked.

Keith took a deep breath. “No. I would duel Greg every now and then, but only he was any good. I fought, but hardly made any difference; I was so young that they ignored me. Even though I fought against her country, Hannet foolishly followed me into the battle. And then she almost got us both killed.” Keith stopped talking, still reflecting on his past.

Keith shifted his gaze over at Seeko and Mori, who were both giving him their full attention. “I guess I better finish,” he said. “One of the soldiers decided to attack the two young kids on the battlefield. I couldn’t block his giant blade, but Hannet used almost her whole spark to create a rock wall to block his incoming attack. It caught his blade in the wall and encased both his sword and arm up to his shoulder in solid rock.”

“Wait, what? Seriously?” Seeko said.

Keith stared at the ground. “She almost died from that. When she finally opened her eyes, they were silver. Maybe the strain from the attack morphed her spark. Or maybe it was because that man ended up dying in that wall. Either way, that was the last time I saw her. Her family moved away, since it was likely the Halcyon would try to take Irris back. But I know it’s because I almost got her killed that they moved away.”

“It sounds like Hannet really liked you,” Mori said after Keith paused.

Keith looked up at the now dark sky. “Yeah.” Darkness hid his face and he remained silent for the rest of the night.

/ / / / /

Seeko rose early the next day and found both Bianca and Keith awake. Mori sat up next to him, rubbing her eyes.

“We should easily make it to the road to Rhemos by midday,” Bianca said.

“Too dangerous,” Keith said. “Someone will recognize a thief.” He stared hard at Bianca.

“I’m not stupid enough to get caught stealing,” she answered. “There’s a reason I was in charge of the most skilled bandits. Until you killed them.”

“Skilled? They deserved what they got.”

Bianca stomped the ground. “I miss the old Keith.”

“Good,” Keith said. “Go look for him.”

“I’m working on it,” Bianca whispered just loud enough for Seeko to hear.

Seeko packed his bags, ready to move again for the day. They waded through the yellow grass as it rolled and waved in the autumn wind. Within a couple of hours, they made it to the road, the dirt path hidden within the tall grass of the plains. Rhemos sat in the distance, visible across the flatlands.

Those hours passed and the gray town welcomed them. The buildings looked formed from the smoky clay beneath them. The town’s dull appearance was complemented by the dark colors all the residents wore. Although they wore blacks and gray, their attitudes were upbeat.

“I’m going to go get some supplies,” Mori said, breaking Seeko’s wandering mind.

Keith added to this, stating, “I have to go to a blacksmith. A fall like that probably weakened my blade.”

They both walked away, leaving Seeko with Bianca.

“I think that was just an excuse,” Bianca said.

“I don’t think he likes you, Bianca,” Seeko said.

Bianca waved her hand at him. “Really? Was it the fact that he ignores everything I say, or that he cringes at the very sight of me?”

Seeko was taken back at how straightforward she was. “Uh, if you know he hates you, why do you chase him?”

Bianca moved over and leaned against a building before speaking again. “Because we used to be good friends, before Hannet came and ruined everything. When we were young, we helped each other in order to get our next meal. Keith, Greg, and I always hung out together.”

Bianca moved over to a crate she had her eyes on and moved it to where she was standing. She then sat on it, making herself comfortable. “We had a thing for one another. Even though we were young, it was real. We often found ourselves sitting on rooftops, just us two.” She shook her head, anger entering her expression. “Then
Hannet
…” she hissed. “She came to Irris and ruined everything. That stupid Irenic took Keith away and ruined our perfect life.”

“What about Keith’s feelings for Hannet? Those couldn’t have been bad for him,” he asked.

Bianca spat at the very suggestion. “They
were
bad for him. He went from being a normal adventurous kid, to a pretend mature adult. He didn’t do anything unless he thought Hannet would like him more for it.”

“What about Greg?” Seeko asked. “He is still adventurous and reckless.”

“Eww. Greg is Keith’s brother. Keith is more my age, and he is cuter. But I guess I did join a rebellion with him. It’s weird how Greg somehow managed to bully everyone else into following him.”

Seeko looked confused, thinking back to what had happened in Caligula. “I thought Keith was part of the rebellion too. He knew exactly where to go and what to do.”

Bianca nodded. “Thank the gods Hannet’s parents moved away. But she never left Keith. She was in his head no matter what he did. He turned into a zombie, only doing what he thought would be right, while still following the rebellion.”

“I thought he stole from the Irenic Empire. That doesn’t seem right to me,” Seeko said, confused.

“All of Irris stole from Irenic. Irris was rightfully Halcyon anyway. I think the only reason Keith took the runs on Irris was to try to see Hannet again. I couldn’t follow him, though, because I had to do the harder, more thrilling routes, to make sure they were done right.”

“When did Keith have time to train in swordsmanship? It sounds like he was busy all the time.”

“You are way underestimating the Shadow of Dawn,” she said, kicking up loose dirt under her feet. “There are masters of all different types of skills that don’t believe in this war. That includes the swordsman that taught Keith and the magician that helped Greg.” She thought for a moment and smiled. “I like Keith’s decision of choosing swords over magic. Just the thought of him throwing around his big sword.”

“Uh … right,” Seeko said after a short pause.

Keith came around a corner and joined up with the two. “Okay, let’s go. Mori is nearby.”

They both stared at Keith, then Bianca flashed a smile at Seeko and stood. “Right.”

Keith led them into a market, where wooden carts lined the street. Mori stood at one of them, buying some food for the trip.

She waved at the incoming friends. “Hey, I’m just finishing up,” she said.

Seeko hugged her. “Cool.”

Mori blushed at his awkward response and led them away from the stall. Bianca walked behind them and, from another cart, grabbed a fruit that might have been an apple.

“Hey!” yelled the stall owner. “Are you going to pay for that?”

Bianca shrugged and continued walking. A group of guards stepped in front of Mori and Seeko, blocking the way. “Give back the stolen goods now or be punished in full,” one of the fully armed guards declared.

“Bianca, what did you do?” Mori asked.

More guards circled the group as they waited for the response. “Nothing,” she answered as she bit into the fruit.

“You lost your chance,” the guard spoke again and grabbed Mori’s arm. “It’s jail for all of you.”

“We didn’t do anything,” Seeko said. “It was only her.” He pointed at Bianca.

“Nobody likes a rat, Seeko,” Bianca said, but before anyone could reply, she launched herself up onto a building using an earth pillar.

“Hey, get back here!” the guard yelled. Some of the guards took off, chasing her, while others stayed to keep Seeko and the others there.

“Bianca!” Keith yelled. He used the wind to help him jump up onto the building to chase her.

“Another one’s loose!” another guard yelled.

One of the soldiers grabbed Seeko’s arm. He sighed and looked at Mori. “I guess we better go with them.”

The guard tightened his grip on Seeko, but was not prepared for when both Seeko and Mori converted into their respective elements and disappeared. They both reappeared above the building, landing within the guards’ sight.

“There they are!”

The guards pointed up at Seeko and Mori, who both ran toward Keith’s distant figure. They jumped from rooftop to rooftop, clumsily landing every time.

“How are we supposed to catch up to them?” Seeko yelled as he landed.

“We’re almost to the edge of town,” Mori answered as she vaulted across a small gap.

They jumped a couple more times before hitting dirt on the outskirts of town. They ran as fast as they could, soon reaching both Bianca and Keith.

“You put us all in danger!” Keith yelled as they continued to dash away from the guards.

Bianca smiled. “Yeah, just like old times. Isn’t it so exciting?”

“I don’t want to go back to old times, Bianca. We barely made it from day to day.”

“I didn’t realize you were such a baby, Keith.”

“Quit being so selfish, Bianca,” Mori said. “You could have gotten us all put in jail or killed. We’re still running, if you hadn’t noticed.”

“Am I talking to the same group who single-handedly took out four demon portals and destroyed a large chunk of the Irenic army?”

“That was an accident,” Seeko mumbled.

“That’s not the point,” Mori added. “We aren’t looking for trouble. We’re just trying to do what we need to do without causing problems.”

“So helping the Irenic win the war isn’t causing problems for the rest of us?” Bianca asked.

“If you don’t like what we stand for,” Keith said, “you can just leave. In fact, it would be nice if you would leave anyway.”

“I believe removing demons is a good thing,” Bianca said. “I only disagree with you three helping the Irenic spread their poisonous reign throughout the continent. Besides, where would I go, Keith? You killed all of my closest friends.”