Chapter 9.
The two girls strolled through the jungle forest in relative silence, enjoying each other's company. Setsuna kept her guard up, she had become wary of the resort since their last ordeal, but she made sure her intermittent surveillance didn't interfere with their companionship. Konoka had let go of her arm and chosen to simply hold her hand, which Setsuna didn't mind. After all, it left her freer to respond if anything did happen. With something made by Evangeline, I guess we'll never know what to expect. Konoka stopped occasionally to point out pretty flowers, interestingly shaped rocks, or ancient looking trees. Every time, Setsuna focused more on the girl than on the thing she was pointing to. Eventually, the trees thinned and they found the beach that stretched the perimeter of the jungle island. Upon seeing the glistening water Konoka let go of Setsuna's hand and rushed onto the beach, jumping with more enthusiasm than Setsuna expected her to have, considering they hadn't had more than about an hour of sleep in what amounted to a full day since that morning in the real world.
On the beach, Konoka pulled off her jacket and set it on the sand so it wouldn't get wet, then ran, splashing into the water. She stopped when the water reached her knees and turned back to face Setsuna. "Come on Secchan! The water feels great!"
Setsuna never understood why the girl had so much energy, not unlike most of the rest of their class 3-A. With a slight grin she thought to herself, I suddenly understand why Chisame-san is always annoyed at the other girls… Shaking off her bemusement, Setsuna jogged down to join Konoka, pulling off her own jacket and placing it over her love's. She saw Konoka's bright smile inviting her into the water, but right as she moved to join her, a great shadow eclipsed the surface of the water. It swept up from behind Konoka and covered her in darkness. Setsuna watched in horror as the water around her turned from crystal blue to roiling, violent red. A figure she knew all too well rose out of the shadowed water behind Konoka. His black robe billowed around him despite the lack of wind. Ropes of shadows clawed their way out from his back, sucking the energy from the sky. An immense weight of tainted spiritual energy bore down on Setsuna, who could only stare, paralyzed from shock, at the Mage of the Beginning levitating above Konoka.
For a moment there was nothing. No sound, no movement, no time, nothing. Then a scream from the chocolate-haired girl pierced the silence when she turned to see the cloaked figure above her. Setsuna snapped out of fear and back to readiness, letting her wings erupt out of her skin and rip through the back of her white button-up. Why is he here?! Negi and Asuna defeated him! That's why they had to leave Mahora for now: to go find him and end it! What's going on? She tried to calm down, emotions always got in the way of combat. This is bad. It took both Negi and Asuna to beat him in Mundus Magicus, and I don't even have a weapon. I need to get Konoka away from him... If I fly, I might just be able to get her away. Setsuna readied her snow white wings for flight, but as soon as she launched into the air, a thick band of shadow burst from the hooded figure's cloak. It wrapped around the chocolate-haired girl's abdomen and pulled her into the air. Konoka let out a gut wrenching scream as she was raised up out of the water.
The hooded figure brought the girl close to his face. The hood cast shadows on his face, concealing his identity, but that only served to make Konoka more fearful. As she stared into the empty void under the hood, she heard a raspy voice laugh, the sound of it as dead leaves crumbling underfoot. The crackling laugh turned into a roar as the figure stretched its arms out to either side, his voice less of a leaf crumpling and more of a stand of trees falling down to the ground.
"The time is now!" Two bands of shadows extended towards Konoka and wrapped themselves tightly around her wrists. Two more bound her ankles. The one wrapped around her middle unraveled and seeped back into the hooded figure as the girl was lifted high into the air. It appeared that the dark mage was watching her placement, making sure she was in just the right spot. When he had her right where he wanted her, he turned his head back to Setsuna, who had touched down and fallen to her knees in despair. There's no way I can beat him. But he has Konoka! She's in danger! I have to do something! But I—I can't win against this kind of power, especially unarmed…
The hooded figure cackled at her, the sound of breaking, dry leaves returned. "Get up weak one. Come challenge the darkness and the light. The power of the void shall consume you. An absolute vacuum will enter your soul, and you will become full with its sustenance. Time will stand still as each minute passes. Come, join this divisional unity." Setsuna couldn't make sense of his words, but she saw he liked talking. Maybe there was a way to end this without having to fight unarmed.
She lifted herself unsteadily to her feet, putting on the best act of courage she could muster."Why are you here, and what do you want with ojousama?!" In her fright she forgot to use Konoka's real name, but she knew the semantics of names didn't matter right now.
Laughing derisively, the shadowy figure spat back an answer, lowering his arms. "Want? It is not a question of want, but of time. The time is here, and it must happen now. It might happen in the past, it might have happened in the future. But the present lasts only for the briefest of eternities, and it must not be squandered, lest it recur. And the Mage of the Beginning does not appreciate waiting." He seemed to pause, presumably waiting for Setsuna's response. Between the immense and tainted spiritual energy the dark mage was producing, and the endless string of riddles, Setsuna was having an understandably hard time coming up with an answer. She persisted on though.
"Time for what? You still have not told us!" She gave the figure wrapped in a shadowy cloak the strongest look she could muster.
A sigh reminiscent of a small storm blowing through a cave was released from behind the hood. "Everything. Time for everything, and nothing. A beginning, but also an end. Yes, it will be a beginning, but not the beginning. There are many beginnings and this is just one. One that contains many ends, and yet only one recognizable end, others to be revealed later. Now come, for I grow impatient!"
With that the shadows around his head formed spears and hurled themselves at Setsuna. Even burdened with the force of his spiritual presence, she was still able to dodge the spears, maneuvering this way and that, but the footing was difficult on the soft sand. Her last move to her left had left her a little off balance and she couldn't get out of the way of the final shadow-spear before it grazed her side, tearing her shirt and taking more flesh with it than seemed possible for a glancing blow. The only consolation was that the wound had somehow cauterized—there was no blood to speak of. But as soon as she shifted her weight to balance properly, a burning pain shot through her body, seeming to come from the fresh wound. Fortunately she was used to pain from her Shinmeiryuu training. She tried to focus through the pain but a scream broke her concentration.
"SECCHAN! What have you done you bully!" Setsuna looked up to see Konoka struggling uselessly against her shadowy bonds. The look of hate was a rare sight on her face, but it was there in full, directed through crying eyes at the dark mage. He was apparently ignoring her completely, withdrawing the shadows into himself slowly, so she turned her attention to Setsuna. "Secchan! Are you okay? How bad is it?" She looked as close to the point of hysteria as Setsuna had ever seen her.
"I'm fine Konoka, really." She lied to Konoka to keep her calm. No point in frightening her more. Setsuna covered her injury as best she could with her hand and turned her attention to the hooded figure. She called out to him with the best pleading tone she could muster, desperately trying to find a way out of the situation. "Mage, would you really fight an unarmed opponent, helpless to fight back?"
The shadow cloaked figure paused, then laughed—a darker, coarser laugh that sounded like a spade being dragged through gravel. "So a weapon is what you desire. A tool of war to bring peace. Peace that is but an illusion, yet solid in its foundation. Yes, you may have a weapon." He outstretched an arm and turned a pale hand, palm side, up towards the sky. The wind seemed to gather at that spot, and a whirlwind of light and shadow began to rage above his palm. The warring elements concentrated until they became as one, a single point of unity. Suddenly, the point detonated, sending forth a shockwave that nearly knocked Setsuna off her feet. She covered her eyes as she looked back up at the mage's hand. There was now two lights emanating from the point—a pure white light shining towards the water, and a black void of darkness creeping into the sky. The two lights separated vertically and what was left made Setsuna gasp. It was an exact replica of her sword Yunagi, except with a snow white hilt, and a pitch black blade. How the dark mage knew what her sword was like, she couldn't guess, but if she was going to be given a weapon, she knew she had the best odds with her weapon.
Momentary joy quickly turned to wariness as the hooded figure grasped the hilt of the sword and flung it, blade first, at Setsuna. She was able to dodge this time, and the blade dug into the sand at her feet. She reached down and freed the sword from the sand. She tossed it back and forth in her hands, feeling the weight. It's a bit light, but I guess that's better than too heavy. If it holds up, it might even be better than the real Yunagi. She set her jaw and readied for battle, her new sword raised in front of her.
"You want to take Konoka away from me? I can't let that happen. I have a promise to keep!" She launched into the air and flew at the mage, heading for Konoka. If I can cut her down, then we can flee. As she closed in on her love, a slash of shadow flew at her from her right. She spun down and to the left, easily avoiding the attack. Another shadow-spear came in from the other side, and again she rolled out of the way midair. More attacks came at her, but her agile wings allowed her to stay unharmed. She reached Konoka relatively easily and raised her sword above her head. With a roar she swung the sword down hard on the band of shadow.
But the blade didn't contact. It glided right through the shadow. She gaped at the bindings, completely intact, as her momentum tumbling her away from the bonded girl, sending her into the roiling sea.
Bobbing out of the water, she stared up at the unbroken bondage. A dry, grating laugh came from behind the hood. With a grunt of frustration, Setsuna launched herself out of the water. She wasn't done yet. She steadied herself in the air, focusing hard on the bands of shadows. There wasn't much room for error, with the girl so close to the bonds. Luckily, Setsuna had a technique to get around that. With a deep breath in Setsuna raised her blade in her right hand above her left shoulder. Her ki funneled into the black blade. Years of arduous training in the Shinmeiryuu arts had prepared her for this moment. She was ready.
As she swung down and away, she shouted the attack's keywords. "ZANMAKEN NI-NO-TACHI!"
An unusual, dark crescent shot from the blade as the dark metal cut the air. The crescent of energy passed right through Konoka as expected, but then wrapped around the bonds and slowed. The slash of blackness vanished as its energy dissipated. Setsuna gaped at the failed technique. "What? It didn't work? How is that possible?" Her head snapped to the cloaked figure as he huffed, the sound of a thunderclap ringing in her ears.
"Silly girl. Do you really think that something borne of shadow can break the shadows? How foolish. Darkness is all encompassing. You cannot destroy it." The dark mage added a small, coarse chuckle for effect.
Setsuna only scowled and shouted him. "I will find a way to defeat you!"
The figure remained silent for a moment. Then asked candidly, "did you notice anything strange about your attack?"
It was only then that Setsuna realized something was different. Usually the ken techniques released white energy. This last one released black energy. Setsuna realized that it had to be the sword. Something about it was corrupting the purity of her ki. She scowled even fiercer at him. "Damn you! You gave me a tainted sword!" Though she could not see his face, she got the distinct sense that he was balking at her.
"Tainted? Hardly. Darkness and light cannot be tainted. The two coexist. One extinguishing the other. They fight. Though they both pervade every aspect of life, they cannot affect the quality of objects, nor events. You fail to understand this distinction, and that will be your undoing."
The hooded figure launched spikes of shadows at her, too many to maneuver away from. She was going to be hit. Frantically she parried as many as possible given their high velocity. She felt one bury itself in her thigh; another impaled her left arm. One grazed her cheek as she deflected it with the blade, sending it ripping through her right wing. The assault only let up when a fourth plunged itself deep in her stomach. She doubled over in pain, her mind numbing itself in response to the overwhelming stimulus. She fell to the shallow water, blood mixing with sweat and the saltwater beneath her. Far off in the distance, she heard a scream.
"SECCHAN!"
She struggled to remain conscious, hanging onto whatever part of herself was still there. Breathing came first, then thought. She knew who she was, and who she needed to protect. That was enough. Kneeling, she pulled the spikes out of her body, one by one letting them fall into the water. She placed the point of the blade in the sand under the water and leaned on it to stand. Unsteadily she glared at the dark mage. She could go on. She had to go on. For Konoka.
"Impressive, weakling. But I have no intention of killing you yet. No, this time was meant for something else. Something else entirely." For the first time in the entire encounter, the hooded figure turned to face Konoka. He raised a hand towards the trapped girl and turned his head back to look at Setsuna. "This one, she is special to you. Insignificant in some ways, but the most important part as well. Tell me, what would eternity be like without her? What would a moment be in her absence? Would the darkness consume you? Would you spend night and day mourning over the instant you lost her? This, this is why I am here. And this is the time to find out. The eternity of this moment is here!"
With a booming laugh like a hurricane the dark mage sent a single black arrow piercing through the air, straight for Konoka.
Before Konoka could react, it impacted her, plunging into her heart. The chocolate-haired girl let out one final scream as the life flowed out of her, a growing red patch marring her white blouse. With the last bit of strength she looked towards Setsuna, her eyes watery and pleading, her mouth working with unspoken words. Then her body went limp. Her head dropped to her chest, the light that was always in her eyes went dull, and she was gone.
"NO! Konoka! NO!" Setsuna had stretched a hand up as if she could stop the arrow before it impacted. It fell to her side now as she watched her love die. Tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes and her voice cracked with emotion. "Why?! Why did you do that! You monster! No! Konoka, come back! You can't die. You can't… I never… I never got to tell you. To confess to you that I loved you. I love you Konoka! Now come back… Come back to me my love!"
Konoka's limp body didn't move. She didn't react. She really was gone. Forever.
Setsuna fell to her knees and gave into weeping. An emptiness filled her, a bleakness sought out whatever joy was left and snuffing it out of existence. Shaken out of focus, her injuries hit her anew. She had lost a lot of blood, and everything was going dark. She felt cold, so cold… but she didn't die. Something was keeping her alive.
With great struggle she looked up through watery eyes at the Mage of the Beginning. He had hovered over to her with his shadowy cloak billowing in the still air. He reached down with a pale hand and cupped her chin, pulling it close to his face. For the first time his voice sounded human. In fact, it had a familiar ring to it. "Now Setsuna, see what a moment of eternity is like without your light in the darkness." She caught a faint hint of a smile in the shadow of his hood before she felt a stabbing pain in her chest. The world around her grew blurry as she tried to make sense of mage's instructions. The cold seeped into her core as the last bits of life ebbed out of her.
As the girl crumpled to the ground lifeless, the Mage of the Beginning knew he had done his job well. He watched as a single yellow flower floated in the water. Two girls, two corpses, and a new beginning. Nagi Springfield grinned under the hood of shadows as he sank back into the water. A new beginning indeed.
End Chapter 9.
Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thanks for reading Chapter 9! I had so much fun writing this part! I hope you enjoyed it as well. If you do like it, please review it, or shoot me a PM. Don't worry, this is not the end of Barriers! I can't say anything more, but please stay tuned! Also, please visit the poll on my profile if you have time, I would like some additional feedback. Thanks again and as always, in the words of Glyph, "Have a pleasant day."
-Grimbt
