Chapter XIX

„The Beginning of the End"

After the combat concluded, and the only thing missing on the battlefield, that was my neat bedding not long ago, were corpses, we took care of the shambles and decided to call it a day. After the mental and physical strains of the past days I fell asleep almost instantly.

But that night I awoke unexpectedly for some reason, when the world around was already in the deepest phase of peaceful slumber.

I sat up abruptly and stared at the darkness of my room for a moment, listening to my own, hastened breath. I looked around. I didn't notice anything that could be a reason for the disturbance in my usually intense sleep. I glanced towards one of the windows. It must have been pretty late already, since the moon, approaching its full phase, cast its light in an angle that suggested it was already finishing its journey through the west side of the sky. I didn't even remember dreaming anything...

I got up, still semi-conscious, and went over to the table, where I always had a glass of water prepared. I took one little sip, then a second, listening to the crickets calling to one another outside. Like usually from this spot, my sleepy gaze fell on the mirror.

I frowned slightly and put the glass back. I went up to the mirror and shifted my face really close to the cool surface. I wasn't sure, but it felt like something about my eyes has changed. They usually seemed like very dark storm clouds to me, but right now they took on a pure, deep obsidian-black. Was it just the darkness, that made them seem different? But it wasn't that dark in my room due to the moonlight. Or was it one of the side-effects of being a Disciple? Or...

I craned my neck.

There was a noise from the room above, like the gentle creaking of the wooden floor boards. I wasn't sure if it really came from upstairs, or from the haze in my mind, that demanded sleep, so I listened for a moment, unmoving.

And then there was another sound, like a heavy book being put back into the old, solid bookshelf. Could it be Eugeo or Asuna? But why would any of them be there at this hour? Or was it possible, that the maids were cleaning the room at night...? No, that was ridiculous.

I quietly opened the door. All other doors, including the one leading outside, were closed. I creeped towards the spiral staircase and soundlessly made my way up.

At first I stopped at a step just high enough to allow me to just barely peek into the library. A small candle stood on the dining table to my left, but it felt unnecessary. The moonlight coming from the west was now perfectly illuminating the east side of the vast room, where all the bookshelves towered. In front of one of them I spotted a slender shadow in a deep-sapphire gown, holding one of the books open in its hands. I sighed in relief and traversed the last few steps up.

Eugeo turned his gaze away from the script and his eyes glimmered with surprise in the semi-darkness. "Kirito?" he asked softly. "... oh no, I'm sorry... did I wake you up?"

"It's alright," I waved it off. "But what are you doing here at this hour?"

He lowered his gaze to the book again. "Well... I had some trouble falling asleep. At some point I just gave up and wanted to do something productive with the time left until morning."

"Are you not feeling well?"

"No, it's not like that," he closed the book and put it back to its place between the others. "There was... just too much on my mind." He left the deeper shadow of the library area and went over to the balcony behind the dining table, into the direct moonlight. Two moths that came in from outside were dancing around the flame of the candle like two restless ghosts. I followed him, but felt some unpleasant stir just above my stomach. Like some inner instinct silently whispering to me that something was wrong...

"Are you sure everything's alright, Eugeo?" I asked again, standing by his side and leaning against the balustrade.

"Of course," he gave me a reassuring smile. "I will be sleeping like a log the next night, you'll see."

I stared at him for a few more moments, then turned to face the lake with a tiny sigh. I closed my tired eyes, taking in the calming night breeze that caressed my hair... and suddenly a chill ran down my spine.

When my vision stopped to occupy a vast part of my brain, my mind started to concentrate on other aspects of the surroundings. There should have been only the rustle of leaves, the touch of wind coming from the north, the whisper of the waves below and the tiny flicker of a soul to my right. But there was none of the usual calm tenderness. What I felt next to me was almost palpable, the presence heavy and aggressive, almost putting pressure on me, nearly causing mental pain...

My instinct instantly threw everything else out the window.

I turned to fully face him, involuntarily taking a step back. Upon seeing that, the boy before me hung his head a little, as if to hide his expression beneath the flaxen fringe and laughed shortly. It was a completely unfamiliar sound, deep and sharp. It sounded like purified danger.

"It seems you're far more perceptive than I thought," said that unfamiliar voice. "And you don't trust blindly, that's a virtue as well..." the figure lifted its head. It was Eugeo's face, Eugeo's eyes, but their expression definitely didn't belong to Eugeo. There was malice glimmering somewhere deep inside them, a coldness that almost froze me in place. "But your reaction time still needs a lot of work."

"Who are you...?!" I demanded, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Oh, you're hurting me, it's not been that long since we last met... or... maybe you don't remember because you've lost your memory back then?"

"What...?"

"You won't even try to guess? Surely you must be suspecting something."

Before I could answer, the shadows around us moved and gathered before me, covering the figure. No logical thought came to my mind, that was able to explain what was happening. I wanted to do something, defend myself, but... how? And from what? And before I could even come to a conclusion as to what I was seeing, the shadows faded away slowly, like ink dispersing in water, revealing a completely different person. I wasn't even able to blink. Reality must have just gone on a lunch break. Suddenly I was staring in the bright eyes of a tall man, looking down at me with a hawk-like gaze, as if considering me his next prey. The delicate scent that reached me sparked the thought of a mountain forest, his sharp features gave away a foreigner.

"Or maybe..." the intruder continued, "you don't remember because it was me, who erased your memory back then?"

I had to support myself on the balcony's balustrade with one hand. "You... you did... two years ago...?" I stammered.

The stranger smiled, visibly pleased with the effect of his words. "Indeed."

"So... you're working for Sharish?"

"For this madman? Not anymore. Our viewpoints have become too diverse. Besides, I never truly worked for him, but that's none of your concern."

"Why would you... this is just sick..."

"Why?"

The simplicity and natural curiosity echoing in this question froze my brain. How... how could a human being even ask something like that? "It's... because..." My dumbfounded face must have seemed amusing to him for some reason, because he laughed shortly. "Shut up!"

"You haven't changed much since the last time I saw you," he said collectedly. "You have the same transparent eyes, which I can read everything from: fear, uncertainty, desperation... funny thing, it was the same with your beloved companion, Eugeo..."

That name on those vicious lips thawed all ice, that held me in place in the blink of an eye. My mind suddenly focused on reality and I started remembering what Asuna told me about summoning fire. I opened my hand at my side, already feeling the flame coming to life. "Don't you dare involve Eugeo..." I warned him. "He has nothing to do with it."

"You have no idea how wrong you are..."

Not noticing how big the flame in my palm has become, I concentrated all of my anger in this one spot and hurled it at him like with a horizontal sword slash. The fire left a bright line behind, hit one of the chairs standing by the table first, then the stranger standing before me and lastly one of the semi-transparent curtains behind him to his right. The candle fell to the floor and went out.

A sudden gust of wind hit me from the side with a surprising force, spraying around little sparks, that my attack left behind. It died down as quickly as it came, and suddenly, in the spot where the man was standing, I saw a little brown feather lazily floating to the floor. When it touched the wooden surface, I sank to it as well, my knees finally giving up on me. Only that feather and the smoldering remnants of the curtain were an evidence, that what I just saw wasn't a dream. The man was gone... Did I just...?

I heard footsteps coming from the direction of the staircase and a second later the silhouette of Eugeo entered my vision. The real Eugeo, I didn't have any doubts this time... Asuna appeared right behind him and started to look around in confusion.

"Are you alright Kirito?" I heard Eugeo's concerned voice, as he kneeled by my side. "What did you...?"

I didn't answer. How in the world was I supposed to explain to them what just happened?

Unexpectedly, it turned out to be unnecessary. Eugeo suddenly turned his head towards the feather, still lying in front of me, moving slightly in the night breeze coming from the lake. I wasn't sure, but it felt like he held his breath, and a sudden shadow appeared in his bright eyes. "Eugeo...?" I finally managed a whisper. "Is..."

"He was here..." he interrupted me in an absent, hollow tone. I blinked. "He was here, wasn't he...? It's the same feather he left... by Sitriel's body..."

I would have needed support, if it weren't for the fact that I was already sitting on the floor. I had no idea...

I wasn't aware in the slightest... that the man standing before me just seconds ago, was the one responsible for all of Eugeo's suffering...

„Maybe Time has a shape..."