A/N: A long time coming. This chapter is most probably a difficult read. At the very least it was a difficult write. Do leave a review by, it means so much :)


IV. Eye


The eyes fixed their gaze on him. He stared back, for there was no looking away. Naught existed, after all, apart from the corridor of existence between their eyes. The air was moist and thick with life.

Caw!

The boy took the first step, his eyes wide, staring into the red. He could see movement in those darkened sclera, blood pumping through wearied vessels into the source of the man's power.

"Ulvh,pbehoryhgvrq,irubrxpxvwghvwurbwkhdebvvdqguljkwpbzurqjv." Klvkdqgvwzlwfkhgriwkhlurzqdffrug, ,lqfklqjwkdwpxfkforvhuwrwkdwhoxvlyhvxuidfh,dqgvxgghqobkhurvhidvwhuwkdqhyhu. "Ulvh,IdghgRqh." Khrshqhgklvprxwk,dqgwkhlqydvlyholtxlgiloohglw,exuqlqjdqgholflwlqjdghhs, , ,lwzdvvr,vrqhdu...Dqgwkhq,vlohqfh.

And in those eyes, in that wave of sickening incomprehensibility, the Faded One seemed to lose his reason. He retched, breaking the stare and falling to the ground, writhing. And against the floor he could feel the man's gaze on him. His lips started moving slowly at first, then rapidly as he gave into the madness and joined the Chant, never to look into the red again.

All was dark.


The boy gazed up at the sunken building. It wasn't grand, yet there was an odd beauty to it, it was a marriage between the resignation of decay and the reaffirming arm of birth, for the forest had accepted the building into itself, melding and twisting and weaving around it.

He walked forward, stopping outside the entrance. There was an old sign laying on the floor, seemingly having dropped from above the simple door. He knelt, touching the charred and bruised wood. It was surprisingly warm, as if a fire had just been burning on the very object. Gold crackled from his palms and the heat died out suddenly, a dead coldness taking its place. The grime sifted off, revealing a circular symbol; white and red.

White and red, but a deep dark blue, the boy in the prison cell hadn't been alone, company for the Faded One, not the savior, not the-

He had journeyed far, adorned in his loose clothes and the girl's warm scarf. The valley he had started off at was surrounded by the same deep, rich forest, but after days it had given way to sparser lands. The lands were not just dying; they were long dead. Dull, somber days were quick to hide behind long, cold nights. And through those days and nights, through those dead lands he'd journeyed far to woods yet again. The Third's presence was undeniable here, to the Faded One. Just as the First had lain in the prison cell, moaning, just as the Second had screamed while shackled to the ceiling, the Third slumbered here in this abandoned hideout, he knew.

He touched the door at the entrance. It held that same declining warmth of life just extinguished. He pushed, yet it wouldn't budge. He expelled Chakra from his palms, the Gold roaring out with ease. The door vibrated, humming a senseless tune before stopping. The boy swallowed. He'd felt it; The door hadn't just vibrated, it had drunk the expulsion of Gold.

So he channeled. Gold streamed from both palms, and they streamed and streamed and streamed into the door. He could feel the heat pervade his throat, his nostrils, his eyes. His palms shook, cuts and blisters opening on the surface that had been expelling Gold for hours now. And finally when he could give no more, he collapsed against the door.

"Ah...ahhhhh..."

His breathing ragged, every inhalation scraping against his throat. And as he crumpled, sucked dry of Chakra, the door stopped vibrating. The buzz of Chakra faded away into the shady afternoon in the woods. Silence. And then, ever so slowly, it opened.

The first sacrifice.

For sacrifice, after all, was the accursed man's reason.


The eyes fixed their gaze on him. He stared back, for there was no looking away. Yet amidst the darkness in the corridor of their gaze, the Faded One could see the throne, and the lean, emaciated figure that sat on it. The air was moist but light, lifting.

Caw! Caw!

The boy took the second step, his eyes wide, staring into the red. He was closer now, to the throne and the man. He could see movement in those darkened sclera, blood pumping through wearied vessels into the source of the man's power. He could see movement in the pupil, those dots of black moving and forming a definite shape against the red.

"Ulvh, pb ehoryhg vrq, iru brx pxvw ghvwurb wkh debvv dqg uljkw pb zurqjv."

Klv kdqgv wzlwfkhg ri wkhlu rzq dffrug, dqg wkhq kh zdv deoh wr pryh wkhp. Kh vwuhwfkhg, lqfklqj wkdw pxfk forvhu wr wkdw hoxvlyh vxuidfh, dqg vxgghqob kh urvh idvwhu wkdq hyhu.

"Ulvh, Idghg Rqh."

Kh rshqhg klv prxwk, dqg wkh lqydvlyh oltxlg iloohg lw, exuqlqj dqg holflwlqj d ghhs, sulpdo vfuhdp. Kh iodlohg, ohjv dqg dupv wkudvklqj derxw. Wkh oljkw zdv qhdu, lw zdv vr, vr qhdu...

Dqg wkhq, vlohqfh.

The boy's lips quivered, his knees colliding painfully against the mottled stone flow as the familiar wave of incomprehensibility rose in him, a madness that was so, so easy to give into. And yet, with that familiarity came the first semblances of meaning. The stream of unintelligible whispering that came from within was sparser, spaced out. His lips moved, yet he found he was stopping. And in those gaps he could stare at the decaying man adorned in a black garb decorated with faded red clouds. He was so close, within an arm's reach, yet so far. A slack, knowing smile played on the man's face.

"You can fail as many times as you want, Uzumaki."

Almost as if obeying him his face struck the cold, mottled floor. His lips started moving slowly at first, then rapidly as he gave into the madness and joined the Chant, never to look into the red again.

His eyes lay open, and his pupils dilated just enough for the darkness to fade ever so slightly, the deep green of the room replacing it.


He had entered the hideout, sapped of Chakra. He stood and walked, for after all he had only learnt how to use the Gold that seemed to bubble inside him. He had been born in that cell without it, and he had walked out into the warm valley towards Princess Kaguya without it. Yet it hurt now, for it was his and it had been taken away.

The courtyard was empty save for a dark passage leading underground in the corner. He turned silently towards the passage, guided by an unknown sense of reason, he knew not what it meant. His steps echoed against the stone floor that seemed to turn greener by the step, merging irreparably against the woods' bowels. The path winded, twisting and turning over and over.

And then it stopped, leading to a door identical to the one that had exacted the Chakra from him as a sacrifice. Certainly then, he had to sacrifice something else? There were two small holes on the wood of either door. He touched them, his fingers slipping through. They were full of that same warmth, yet it seemed to not matter – The mere contact had pushed the doors open, revealing a long hall with something at the end. He walked in.


The eyes fixed their gaze on him. He stared back, for there was no looking away. Yet amidst the darkness in the corridor of their gaze, the Faded One could see the throne, and the lean, emaciated figure that sat on it. His arms were crossed and legs stretched out, almost arrogant. A raven perched on one of the arms of the throne, still as the roots of the woods that had eroded into the hideout of the clan. The air was dry, carrying just the slightest hint of life.

Caw! Caw! Caw!

The boy took the third step, his eyes focused, staring into the red with careless abandon. He was closer now, to the throne and the man. He could see movement in those darkened sclera, blood pumping through wearied vessels into the source of the man's power. He could see movement in the pupil, those dots of black moving and forming a definite shape against the red. He could feel the walls of reality convulse, spitting and snarling as it closed in on him. The raven pecked at its worm.

"Ulvh, pb ehoryhg vrq, iru brx pxvw ghvwurb wkh debvv dqg uljkw pb zurqjv."

He could feel it enter his eyes, a flicking, slithering worm that crawled into his eye sockets, feeding, then multiplying, then feeding again. His eyes writhed, the larvae twitched, grew and multiplied over and over, working their way into his head, and then-

Klv kdqgv wzlwfkhg ri wkhlu rzq dffrug, dqg wkhq kh zdv deoh wr pryh wkhp. Kh vwuhwfkhg, lqfklqj wkdw pxfk forvhu wr wkdw hoxvlyh vxuidfh, dqg vxgghqob kh urvh idvwhu wkdq hyhu.

"Ulvh, Idghg Rqh."

And yet he could interrupt it. He clawed at his lips with his hands until they were a bloody mess, and the sharp pain seemed to interrupt the writhing in his eyes and head. The pain fed him, not the larvae of illusion. The pain gave way to anger, anger the color of Gold against the detestable red of the man. His hands reached out, touching frail body.

But it was too late.

Kh rshqhg klv prxwk, dqg wkh lqydvlyh oltxlg iloohg lw, exuqlqj dqg holflwlqj d ghhs, sulpdo vfuhdp. Kh iodlohg, ohjv dqg dupv wkudvklqj derxw. Wkh oljkw zdv qhdu, lw zdv vr, vr qhdu...

Dqg wkhq, vlohqfh.

He fell down, retching yet again as the writhing started anew, his eyes and head exploding and reforming into his new reality. He was so, so close...yet so far. A slack, knowing smile played on the man's face.

"Again, Uzumkai. Uchiha Itachi demands it. In sacrifice you shall find your victim."

The boy's face struck the cold, mottled floor. His lips started moving slowly at first, then rapidly as he gave into the madness and joined the Chant, never to look into the red again.

His eyes lay open, and his pupils dilated just enough for the darkness to fade ever so slightly, the deep green of the room replacing it. His hands slipped from the man to his legs, clutching the fabric of the man's clothing, proof of the man's sacrifice.


His steps echoed against the stone floor that seemed to turn greener by the step, merging irreparably against the woods' bowels. The path winded, twisting and turning over and over.

And then it stopped, leading to a door identical to the one that had exacted the Chakra from him as a sacrifice. Certainly then, he had to sacrifice something else? There were two small holes on the wood of either door. He touched them, his fingers slipping through. They were full of that same warmth.

Sacrifice.

He brought his palms in front of his eyes. He closed his left eyelid, and for a moment his fingers caressed his closed eyelid, feeling the soft, delicate skin. Fear welled up within him, and yet an odd memory seemed to remind him of the larvae writhing behind them in a reality that was not his own...a parallel world in which he'd entered so brazenly without making the sacrifice that Uchiha Itachi had demanded.

The twisted reminiscence of that feeling was enough; His lips contorted into a snarl, then a scream as both his hands dug into his eye sockets, ripping those traitorous organs from their sockets. The scream took time to die out, the pain undeniable yet sweet. His fingers, holding their bloody prize moved towards the holes on the door.

"Ulvh,"

He walked in, distinctly feeling the blood drip down his face. He knew this hall with the mottled floor, though he couldn't see it. He knew the throne, the man and the raven, though he could not see them. He knew the air, completely dead and devoid. He walked forward, his teeth gritted in the same snarl that had etched itself onto his face when he'd removed his eyes. He stood in front of the frail man, towering above him. The worm crawled into his eyelid before dying and dropping to the floor, having nothing to feed off of.

"Ulvh, pb ehoryhg vrq,"

Two sacrifices for the Third victim. Three realities, yet only one of them was distinguishable, rising like a speck of Gold in a midden heap of copper. Three steps forward, three steps backwards, and suddenly, his lips changed the chant. The new chant wasn't a twisted re-telling. It was rather elegant, so simple, to caress the atoms of the chant three steps backwards-

"Rise, my beloved son,"

His fingers reached out, grabbing the collar of the man's cloth.

"Rise, Faded One."

He felt a dull thud against his hands, and he stopped. He could feel a gentle weight against his hands. He stood still, feeling the raven that had perched on the arm rest suddenly break the silence as it flapped its wings. He could feel the wings against his face, and something seemed to tell him it wasn't a hostile creature.

"Rise, my beloved son, for you must destroy the abyss and right my wrongs."

His hands twitched of their own accord, and then he was able to move them. He stretched, inching that much closer to that elusive surface, and suddenly he rose faster than ever.

"Rise, Faded One."

He opened his mouth, and the invasive liquid filled it, burning and eliciting a deep, primal scream. He flailed, legs and arms thrashing about. The light was near, it was so, so near...

And then, silence.

He blinked. The old bird had dropped something into his empty eye sockets, and his vision returned - Stronger, clearer than ever, There was no darkness, only the roots of the trees of the woods that had so beautifully taken the hideout for their own. He looked down. The man was slumped against his arm, dead, his eye sockets empty. A ghost of a smile seemed to play on his face; Not one of arrogance, not one of pride, but one of blissful peace.

The Faded One finally stopped the chant, his lips healed. He felt the tears well up in him for a man he seemed to know, but not recollect.

For Uchiha Itachi had sacrificed everything, his name, his memories, his legacy, and he had always wanted it to stay that way. The Faded One laid him gently to rest against his throne and turned around, his eyes now glinting red against the dark shade of the afternoon.


The journey back to Princess Kaguya was as slow and demanding as its forward counterpart. And when he finally met her, she stopped short, shocked, before embracing him as always.

"The Sharingan," she whispered, pride and pain in her voice, as he placed his bloody older eyes at the base of the fire, "You are blessed with Understanding now, Faded One."

Glimpses, shards suspended

Still in mid-air.

A silken silence whispers

Hints to piece together a

Painting flowing frozen.

Twinkling, blinding, a dozen

Memories unfurl in

Asymptotic randomness.

Yet when you're past

The hanging shards,

Craning neck in hindsight,

The image formed -

Truly Breathtaking.


End.

Been a long time!

This chapter was themed on understanding, so I wanted to have it be as obtuse as possible yet hinged on a certain logic and following internal rules within the chapter. Tell me what your interpretation of it was, I'd love to hear it. If you really do want it, I can provide an explanation at the start of the next chapter :)

P.S: Caeser Cipher, 3