Event 30: Walk By Faith

Seiko's broken corpse hit the stone before Kalameet. Some of her blood trickled down the side of Paladin Jinta's helmet from when it had sprayed out of her. Had Kalameet left it at that, he may have escaped death. Jinta would have broken down and lost. But it wasn't enough for the enraged beast. Kalameet stepped forward, crushing her corpse beneath his foreleg and looking at Jinta as if to taunt him. You're next, said his one-eyed gaze. Jinta, water dripping from his armor, felt his blood shifting inside him suddenly. Only seconds before he'd felt as if mountain snow had melted into his veins as he'd watched Seiko die. Now that mountain was a volcano, exploding lava into his stomach, veins, eyes, muscles, and brain.

Absolutely unforgivable.

Had he given it any thought, Jinta would wonder why he heard the snapping of static electricity. Would wonder what the tingling in his extremities was. Question where the lightning tickling his back had come from. The water on his armor, the blood of his love on his helmet, and the tears on his cheeks boiled away into the air in an instant as the sun's grace flowed through him. Jinta took one labored breath. Then another, laced with hysteria. On the third his throat seemed to rip open with grief and rage. Never in his life had he issued such a battle cry. There was thunder in his throat, lightning in his brain, and a storm in his heart. Somewhere far away his brain wondered how his sword and shield had been sheathed and put away so fast. With hands now free, Jinta clenched his fists and felt sunlight fill his hands. The God of War had fought beside him, given his life for him, and today Jinta would be his avatar...

Whatever taunting aura Kalameet had held as he'd looked upon Jinta melted when he recognized the lightning dancing on Jinta's form. The light of the sun was turning directly into his power in such a way only two people Kalameet knew could do. It wasn't the brilliant gold of Gwyn's Sunlight Spears, but it was powerful lightning fueled by faith nonetheless.

"Gwyn's... Mighty bolts... Peeled apart their stone scales...!" seethed Jinta, his entire body wracked with his fury and flooding power. As if he'd been doing it his entire life, Jinta pulled a fist back and hurled a javelin of lightning at Kalameet. The bolt struck Kalameet's shoulder, burning off his black scales and biting into Kalameet's muscle tissue. The dragon reared his head back to spit fire only to have the next bolt strike his head, narrowly missing his eye. Jinta was lost in the roar of his blood rushing through his body and the crackling of his lightning, pitching Great Lightning Spear after Great Lightning Spear at Kalameet in a frenzy of righteous rage.

Any worshiper of any faith, and all those without it, can agree on one thing. Everyone has a demon. Some succumb to greed and gluttony. Some prefer to chase lust or pursue sloth. Some are proud beyond measure or only envy the success of others. For Jinta, his demon was surely wrath. Any normal moment, Jinta would avoid his demon, feeding his faith alone. But this was no normal moment. No normal fight. Jinta's faith was, for the moment, unquestionable. But it was wrath that moved his limbs, even as his brain believed he would bring justice to this foul creature who'd dared defile the sanctity of the flesh of his beloved.

When at last Jinta stopped roaring his displeasure and stopped hurling thunder and lightning, Kalameet had dozens of burns and gashes, missing scales all over the front half of his body. Kalameet was stunned from the onslaught, long enough for Jinta to smile cruelly in his helmet as he gripped the handle of his Divine Bastard Sword and pulled it from its scabbard, bathed in golden light and crackling with lightning. With this Sunlight Blade, he would avenge his beloved. Never once did the title of Dragonslayer cross his mind. Never did he think that this was solo combat with the last living dragon. His only brain activity was the same thing repeated over and over. Absolutely unforgivable.

Kalameet recovered in time to realize that if he stayed back, Jinta would continue hurling lightning spears. Roaring for revenge, Kalameet charged the human Paladin, black flame leaking from the sides of his maw. Jinta raised his shield and brilliant sword, the dazzling sun glinting off of his golden helmet. Kalameet spat a fireball and kept charging. Jinta slashed, bisecting the fireball and readying his sword overhead, stepping to the side barely a few centimeters. From his upper right to his lower left, Jinta's sword passed right through Kalameet's eye as the dragon missed his lunge. Jinta's shield and sword were shifted to his left side from the force of his attack, and the shoulder of the Black Dragon plowed into him as its charge continued into a trip and fall. Jinta rolled backwards with the momentum and jumped onto the dragon's back. He attacked Kalameet's back like a man possessed, his entire body shaking with every strike. Kalameet felt the blade's bite and the lightning attached coursing through his body with every swing. He dislodged Jinta with a roll, gaining his feet back in the pool of water in the shadow of the gorge's lip.

The Black Dragon stood in the shade, his orange eye glowing with rage and pain. Jinta had rolled to his feet as well, also in the water. Jinta raised his sword, charging Kalameet one final time. Kalameet misjudged Jinta's speed in the shallow water, breathing fire too slow. Jinta ran right under the dragon, slicing into his sternum and dragging his sword through Kalameet's guts until he was out of the water and back in the sun. Strategy successful. Jinta's weapons fell from his hands, no time to put them away, and he raised his fists again, turning to face Kalameet as the dragon turned to face him. Again, too slow. Lightning lanced through Jinta, from his very toes to his fingertips. So this was what Solaire felt like in all those fights. Jinta let the bolts fly, feeling them pull from his own strength now, the way Seiko's Pyromancy did all the time. He'd used too much power and still it wasn't enough. But it would be. Now it certainly would be. Jinta remembered the Sanctuary Guardian; how it had spat electrified globs that spread their charge in water. Kalameet was standing in water.

"Absolutely...!" began Jinta, hurling a bolt at Kalameet's leg near the knee to make the dragon buckle.

"...Unforgivable!"

Jinta hurled a lightning spear with everything he had, as if his very soul could ride the bolt to its target. The bolt hit Kalameet's eye, dead center, and the dragon slammed into the water. The charge from the bolt was such that it traveled through the dragon, through the water, and boiled the very blood in Kalameet's veins along with the entire pool of water. For a moment, steam blocked out Jinta's vision and the sound of a waterfall on water changed to a waterfall on stone. The smoke cleared to reveal the smoking corpse of the last of the dragons, laying in a small depression in the stone as it refilled with water. Jinta heaved several breathes, suddenly feeling his body go numb. He fell back, passed out before he ever hit the floor...

Lost to history, part of what Hollowed Paladin Leeroy was the failure of his miracles, namely Homeward. For the Undead, there was no such thing as a home country. The last bonfire that rested their flesh was their home. When used, an Undead could bring all of its possessions with it safely back "home." When Jinta finally awoke, he gathered up Seiko's coat and spent almost an hour moving Kalameet's severed tail over near her sword. Coat over his shoulder, weapons sheathed, one hand on her sword and the other on Kalameet's tail, Jinta recited Homeward with a hoarse voice. There was a brief moment much like stepping out into the sun after hours in a cold, dark place...

Then Jinta felt the ground shaking under his feet as what he'd brought with him crashed to the floor near the bonfire outside the coliseum. Kalameet's tail and Seiko's sword were both immensely heavy. The only reason Jinta could move Kalameet's tail was because it would roll under its own weight given the right push in the right place. Seiko's sword, however, was too small for the same trick to work. On top of that, Jinta could barely move at all. His next task completed, Jinta laid down by the bonfire and slept again, with no regard for time. Several times he thought he heard someone walking around near him, but he was spent...

Jinta was woken by a thundering in his chest, caused by a loud, low pitched sound. Gough was standing nearby, laughing proudly with one of his hands on Kalameet's tail. Seiko, alive and human again, was kneeling next to Jinta, not looking at him at the moment. Ciaran and Sif were there too, off to the side and quiet. Jinta remained still, waiting to see what was going on.

"Quite a warrior, he is!" said Gough, his heavy laughter ceasing. "The lad even brought a trophy! Wondrously played! Gwyn's blessing upon thou and thine partner, Blue Child. That beast will never take to the skies again. 'Tis good to see that there are still legends among ye humans."

Jinta sat up, the clinking of his mail signaling he was awake to Gough.

"Proud human! Dragonslayer Jinta, thou art! Has thine health returned at long last?"

"Dragonslayer...? Seiko helped a great deal! It's not a title I should hold," said Jinta, putting a hand on the side of his helmet, a headache spiking as he moved.

"The way it appears, and the way Seiko told it, she died long before Kalameet," said Ciaran. "This would lead us to believe you killed him alone. I have seen his body myself. No sword could make such wounds, and surely Pyromancy would fail to sheer the scales of a dragon. Only one warrior here could do such a thing."

Jinta looked at Seiko, then at Gough and Ciaran. He sighed, removing his helmet and setting it down.

"I should learn to take compliments..." he said aloud, shaking his head at himself.

"And accept titles," added Seiko. Jinta looked at her out of the corner of his eye and smiled.

"Well, regardless," continued Jinta, standing and stretching. "That tail isn't a trophy. Kalameet's bones would make excellent armor. Now that I can warp through bonfires again, we should be able to take it to Anor Londo. Only that giant blacksmith could work with this."

"Ahh," said Gough, "So the old chap does hammer still? I should like to visit him once more. Long have the days been since we last met. Worry not about the beast's tail. I shall journey to Anor Londo in thy stead to deliver it. Surely the flesh will rot, but bones such as these will remain long after any of we five. Return for it in thine own age, and ask for it in my name."

Jinta and Seiko looked at each other. They hadn't seen Kalameet's tail there before, in the future. Which either meant they'd changed history or, more likely, there was some secret chamber where it would be kept. Choosing to believe the latter, Jinta posed a question.

"How about it, Seiko? I'd have to agree it's a good idea. After all, you need armor. What better way than with the bones of Kalameet?"

Seiko must have instantly imagined it, because her eyes lit up. Subtle as ever, only the faintest grin came to her lips, but for Jinta who spent so much time with her, it might as well have been from ear to ear.

"If you're willing, Hawkeye, we would be honored," said Jinta.

"'Tis decided, then. Then this is farewell, proud humans. May every honour be bestowed upon ye," said Gough, dipping his head.

"Seiko," said Ciaran, standing and walking over. Seiko stood as well, and Ciaran put her hands on Seiko's shoulders. "My daughter. I can hardly believe it. If only my heart could beat as gayly as you deserve in the shadow of Artorias' death. In the short time I have known you, you have proven to be everything a parent could hope for. You are brave, strong, kind, and you have the love you deserve. I couldn't ask for more. I will make sure that, however long we spend together after your birth, I will treasure you each day. I choose not to be disheartened by your curse, for without it we would never have met this way. For myself, this goodbye is only a few short months. But for you, I'm afraid, this is a final farewell. Go now, with pride and strength, child. This is not to be the end of your tale, nor the end of mine. And Jinta, Paladin and Dragonslayer, you as well. I am honored to have met you both..."

Ciaran folded her hands at her waist and bowed, her faceless white mask disappearing as it faced the stones at her feet.

Jinta and Seiko bowed as well, their hearts full and at ease for once. Jinta reached a hand out to Seiko, his helmet in the other hand. Seiko smiled again, taking his hand and holding on tightly, her black sword in her other hand. Jinta faced the bonfire, putting his helmet on and straightening it. He reached into the flames and yielded as they washed over he and his love, vanishing into the fire across time and space...

A very different Seiko crossed the same stone bridge in the Darkroot Garden. A white knight beside her further altered the image. No wonder Sif had been so distressed when she'd first met him. In his mind, she was to be beside Jinta and wielding a black sword, not weaponless and harboring the wretched Abyss within her. This time, Sif recognized her instantly, along with Jinta, leaving them be as they approached his master's headstone. There, left in the ground, was the corrupted sword of Knight Artorias the Abysswalker. Jinta stopped a few paces away as Seiko approached the sword. In the setting sunlight, possible only because of the broken cycle of time, Seiko reached out to the greatsword, grabbing the handle with one hand. As she pulled it from the ground, her muscles flexing under her fair skin, the black blade seemed to cry out in fear. Like dust from a shelf, the Abyss fled her father's sword at Seiko's touch.

She stabbed her own sword into the dirt for a moment, turning to Jinta. With the flat of the blade in her right hand, Seiko presented the blessed sword to the only person she knew who could wield it. Jinta took up the sword which instantly gained the white glow of his other weapons. He held it up to the rising moon, causing Sif to howl where he lay. Handing it back to Seiko, who had a strap on her back specifically for this purpose, Jinta watched as she slid it into the strap and recovered her own sword.

"Now we go and get your armor... After that, there is nothing left for us in Lordran. The answers we need to end the cycle of death, if they exist, aren't here. Perhaps we can find a map and begin planning where to look next..."

Seiko tilted her head. Certainly, he was right that their answers were not in Lordran. But, were she to speak the truth, she wasn't leaving just for those answers. Seiko would leave Lordran because she was leaving with Jinta. Despite its many fangs and thorns, Lordran could be a beautiful place. In the same way, surely the rest of the world must be beautiful.

The duo turned away from Artorias' grave for the last time, regarding his proud partner as they left him behind, crossed the bridge, and continued on their path... Wandering the world forever after until the day could come when the Undead could at last die human...

終わり

Here are some songs to take you away.

Ending theme (if this were something with credits): Sirius by Aoi Eir
Paladin Jinta's theme: 進撃st-hrn-egt20130629巨人 from Shingeki No Kyojin
Blue Child Seiko's theme: Compression Space (Evocation Mix) from ZOE2 HD

Until next time. Humblest thanks for reading... For journeying through one of my worlds...