Reborn: From Darkness to Light
Chapter 1: Rei's awakening.
Reality felt like a coil of memories and dreams; the past repeating itself to the future. A silent scream of a distant history always present in her mind…that was her guiding. But as much as she searched and walked, the present would always lay on her shoulder, confusing her path, letting time roll over her faith.
Years had gone by and all these years she had had an only companion, hiding in the shadows of the trees and mountains she had conquered. Loneliness. In the old world she had been known as the Princess of Neptune; in the new world she was Michiru, a shadowed hero wondering alone from place to place unable to find her home. But it wasn't her home she was searching; it was her soul. Legends had passed in time over he; she was called immortal.
The night was dark; wrapped with the clouds of thunder and lightning, the late hour of the evening waited for the first drops to fall. Nature was silent and in the far away temple a dark haired maiden rushed through the corridor shutting windows, pulling drapes. She felt the shiver of the storm crawling upon her skin and she walked to close the door of the temple, always opened during the day. As she pulled the hard wood, a sword blocked her way, the maiden jumping back, prepared to defend her shrine.
"I come in peace," a crystal clear voice broke the silence. "I seek shelter from the storm."
The contour of a woman appeared in the shadow of the doorway, her face unharmed by time, her clothes the color of a blue night. Her eyes and hair captured the light of the turquoise sea; the sea at calm. She spoke the truth, so the maiden of the shrine felt and she dropped her guard.
"Come in, you are welcome. A pot of tea will warm your bones," the maiden said and shut the door after the woman, wind crushing on the hard wood. The woman looked back; every twist of wind would make her shudder. "Follow me," the maiden said.
They walked the long corridors of the shrine and the maiden opened a door.
"Wait for me here. There are others who seek shelter tonight and I must attend them. Sit by the fire; I feel your soul petrified by ice."
"Thank you," the woman nodded.
"May I know your name?"
"Michiru."
"Ah, you are the hero they talk about."
"A hero who is incapable of finding its path," a bitter smile covered her full lips.
"We shall talk about that. I am Rei, the priestess of the shrine and I feel your path has lead you the right way. I shall return," Rei hurried away.
"I feel the same," Michiru said; the glimpse of hope shining in her eye.
She entered the warm room and sat before the fire, placing the sword which was not hers on the floor. She closed her eyes; the warmth asking her to meditate and so she drifted in a world that was long forgotten. She remained in silence until she heard the priestess sit close to her.
"Tell me about your path," Rei whispered.
"I have awoken. I was just a girl, a young woman when my sleep was invaded by the dreams of my past. And it wasn't the first time, it happened before in a faraway land, a land of a strange past. I have awakened with a duty; I must find the savior of our times, a savior I should protect from a distance. She is a young woman, a princess, so pure a white rose would appear stained in front of her. She is a princess of kindness, her soul untouched by any traces of darkness. I seek this princess and I know I will find her, even though time has fallen over me in heavy clothes. On my path I will gather allies; allies of the past, women of great strength. But there is something I fear and I fear it more than any enemy I will encounter in my path: it is the sky, it is the sound of the hauling wind."
"You fear the sky?" Rei poured tea in two cups.
"Yes," Michiru opened her eyes. "The sky always rests on the sea; the sky is the purpose of the sea. I am the sea; I am the ocean."
"Then why do you fear the sky?"
"I do not know. It frightens me to my bones…something is wrong with the sky."
"You are right; I have felt it too. The sky has turned dark ages ago and even when the sun shines, the sky will remain pitch black," Rei handed her the cup. "Tell me more about this princess."
"You want to know more because you feel you know the princess."
"I must have heard about her in a legend or a story."
"No, all legends have been destroyed by our current dark ruler. What you feel is something coming from inside you, something guiding your soul."
Rei looked long at Michiru; the hero seemed to see right into her soul. Her eyes, as deep as the ocean, held a secret, a secret Rei felt she knew.
"You were right to say my path has guided me well; for the first time in an eternity I have found a trace of hope," Michiru said.
"You are not a common soul; you are of royal blood," Rei read the woman.
"And so are you. Have you noticed how this fire always burns close to you? There is no wood there and still the fire burns."
"Hush," Rei spoke looking at the doors. "Talking of such things will lead the guards of the ruler upon us. No one knows…"
"And no one will know other than us."
"How did you…"
"Because you and I are the same. We have the same mission imprinted in us. My words might not make much sense to you right now. But tonight you will meet a dream, the same dream that has filled your mind with visions. This dream will clear your soul and reveal your path. Tomorrow you will join me in the quest."
Rei scoffed.
"This is my home. This shrine has been untouched by the Shaded Knight, the commander of this land. She has permitted me to keep faith here as long as it won't cause any ruckus. For years now this place is a core of peace."
"You have not counted the years…don't you see they go unharmed over you as well? There is something you need to know about yourself: you are indeed a keeper of peace, but you keep peace by fighting. Now…I have spoken enough. Ignore my words; if I am wrong I will thank you for the shelter in the morning and walk my path."
Rei nodded.
"If your dreams are true then solitude is not your only companion. Faith lies on your other shoulder."
"I shall cherish your words."
2
Michiru felt at peace that night, resting close to the never dying fire. But Rei's dream burned its traces deep in the priestess' mind.
The sun was shining in the sky above the dark, never ending sky. It was a warm day; Michiru smiled at the warmth on her skin. She opened her eyes to notice Rei looking down at her.
"Thanks to you I had the worst night possible," Rei mumbled.
"Sounds more like you," Michiru stood up.
"And thanks to you I have to leave everything behind me now," Rei grunted.
Michiru smiled and Rei suddenly embraced her.
"But thanks to you I found myself again. I have escaped the lock," she blushed.
Rei moved her hand upon the fire, making it wrap around her. When the fire calmed she stepped out in new clothes, as red as blood.
"I will follow your lead until we find the princess," Rei said.