Fractured – Chapter 2
A few hours after the Pontifex left Eugeo, he heard the door to the sentry jail open. "Alright you, time to go," the guard said gruffly.
"Finally," Eugeo heaved a sigh of relief. "I really need to talk to Gashupt." Adding to himself, "I'm not sure how to explain whatever happened but there has to be a reason."
The guard took Eugeo by the upper arm and led him outside. Waiting outside was a heavyset, enclosed wagon with two large black horses pawing at the ground. It was too dark to make out any details as the moon was covered by thick ominous clouds.
With a flurry of fabric, a woman leapt down from the driver's seat. "You are relieved of your duty, sentry." She whistled softly as if signaling someone. Eugeo heard the whoosh of something graze by him, then saw the sentry drop to the ground. There was a dagger sticking out of the man's chest. Eugeo gasped, but saw the man was still breathing.
Ignoring the sentry completely, the woman withdrew a long and very narrow sword. Eugeo went to reach for his own sword, forgetting that his hands were bound by iron manacles. He looked down at his hip, only seeing a blank space where his trusted sword always hung. Goddesses, he missed it. Where was it anyways, he wondered in frustration. His thoughts were cut short as the woman pointed her sword directly at his neck, the tip brushing against the tender flesh.
"Cooperation would be best," the woman advised coldly.
Eugeo saw she wore armor of the Integrity Knights, hers the color of storm clouds. But it was her eyes that startled him the most, they looked completely empty, almost…dead.
"On your knees," the woman commanded. Eugeo narrowed his eyes and slowly went down.
"Girls," the woman in grey called back towards the wagon. A heavy door swung open from the rear of the wagon and two young girls hopped down. At first glance, they looked harmless, but Eugeo knew otherwise. The girls too seemed to be moving on auto-pilot, their eyes just as lifeless as the other woman's.
"Yes, m'am," they called in unison. They glided silently over to where Eugeo was kneeling, one to either side. They checked out his manacles and nodded. "These seem intact, so we'll jump right to it." They held up a cloth between the two of them. The one with short hair gave Eugeo a swift kick in the back, causing him to gasp. The other girl with the long braids tied the cloth around Eugeo's mouth, gagging him. "He won't be making any noises, m'am," they replied blandly.
"Good." The woman looked down at Eugeo. "Get up and go inside the wagon."
"Damn it," he thought to himself. These three Integrity knights had him in checkmate. He staggered to his feet and stepped forward slowly. The woman in grey followed his movements with her sword while the two girls with their daggers followed behind. He approached the rear of the wagon and peered inside. There were no windows, light, or anything. Just four walls of solid, thick wood.
"Inside," the girls prodded him with their daggers. Resigned, Eugeo stepped up into the wagon, the door closing heavily behind him, sealing him in complete darkness.
A giant lock was placed on the door from the outside, the click echoing eerily into the night. The woman then went to the front of the wagon and climbed back into the driver's seat; the two girls sliding up on either side of her. The woman readied her reigns and was about to leave when she felt a tug on her cape. Looking down with a subtle glance of annoyance, she noticed a man had appeared next to the wagon. He was kept hidden beneath a thick robe. He kept glancing around nervously, shuffling his feet.
"Ah, yes. Our master thanks you for your contribution to the cause," the woman reached under the seat and brought out a rather large bag. Its contents clicked softly. She tossed it to the man who caught it greedily. The man grinned like a Cheshire cat at the amount of shia that was inside.
The woman slapped her reigns and the horses were on the move.
Inside, Eugeo felt the wagon lurch, but after that, he felt nothing. There was no conversation from the woman or girls driving and no light entered from any cracks in the wood. It was one heck of a solidly built wagon. Or as he began to think of it, a cage.
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Selka was appalled at what she had witnessed. She withdrew into the bushes she'd been hiding in as the man walked back to the village whistling happily to himself. She wanted desperately to confront him and what he'd done, but she was no match for the older man. Stepping out quietly, she went to the outskirts of the village and studied the retreating wagon as best she could, using a small amount of a luminous element to give her a bit of light. She was barely able to make out a rather stylized "M" carved into the back as it headed out of town. She attempted to study the wagon further when a large thunderclap boomed. "No, no, no," she muttered, looking at the sky. Within seconds, the rain came down, washing away the tracks made by the mysterious wagon.
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Eugeo sat inside the wagon, his irritation mounting at his lack of information on what was happening to him. His head felt fuzzy and the pain from earlier started to resurface. His eyes turned icy blue and the temperature began to drop inside the wagon. The manacles on his wrists began to freeze causing cracks in the iron. Ice started to form along the floor of the wagon. Soon, a small rectangular panel slid open from the front of the wagon. Eugeo squinted his eyes at the meager light that poured in. Peering in, the girl with the long braids said, "We can't have any of that, 32." The girl with the short hair held up a tiny pipe to her lips. "Go ahead, 28." The girl nodded, and giving it a small puff of air, she sent a dart flying into Eugeo's neck. It was filled with their specialty, a paralyzing poison.
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I woke up with a pounding headache. "Again?" I scowled. I rubbed at my forehead, hoping it would pass. I took a few calming breaths, then I pulled the curtain of our wagon back to look up at the sky. Dark clouds were gathering, and I heard the distant peal of thunder. We'd been lucky weather wise so far on our journey, but the number of beasts in every area was much higher than normal. Granted, the experience was good and there were even a few decent dropped items, but overall, the ratio was way off. Ronye was doing well holding her own and we even made a good team against some of the higher-level beasts. But it wasn't like fighting with Eugeo. With him, we just synced up and it was like we were two extensions of the same body. I wasn't certain where he was, but I hoped I could learn something in Rulid Village. It'd be a good a place to start as any. The rain started to come down as I retreated back into the wagon. "Generate Luminous Element." There wasn't much sacred power to draw upon, but I was able to make a soft glow. A small globe of light emitted from the fingers of my left hand as I turned to pull out the map of the area.
"Morning already?" Royne stirred and rubbed at her eyes.
"Nah, go back to bed," I said. I tried to focus on the map and planning the next day's path, but my headache kept pounding away. I grumbled to myself, massaging my temples.
"Kirito?" Ronye began hesitantly.
I looked up at Ronye, my eyes turning gold, as a purple haze started to form. It held me in a strange trance, and the more I looked at Ronye, she was no longer my partner or companion, but rather something I needed to remove, permanently. My eyes narrowed and I reached towards her, one hand encircling around her neck, the other reaching for my Night Sky Blade.
"Ack!" she squirmed in my grasp. "Kirito, snap out of it!" As I began to squeeze tighter, Ronye reached behind her for her dagger. She gripped the hilt, swung it out, then slid it across to top of my hand. The cut wasn't deep, but it was enough to smart. Blood began to pool and dripped down my hand. I stared at it, then brought it to my lips. I was about to lick it when Ronye kicked me.
"Ow!" It seemed to break whatever trance I'd been in. I blinked rapidly, my head clearing. I dropped my blade and released Ronye, who skittered away from me.
What the hell was I doing?
"It happened again," she whispered.
"What did?"
"Your eyes, they change," she began. "To gold, I've seen it twice. Just now, and on the stairs at the Cathedral when you first arrived. And you also seem to….change."
I was perplexed. That usually only happened when I was in what most people called, my "god" mode. But I wasn't in the mist of battle at the moment, nor was I earlier. I didn't really 'change' either, I just powered up, a lot. I stared at my hand, the blood dripping slowly onto the floor of our wagon. I went to use a quick healing art, but stopped myself. "About what happened…" I began slowly.
"Look, just forget about it," Ronye replied a little too quickly. "You're alright now and that's what is really important."
I wanted to discuss the event further, but Ronye clearly didn't. I decided I'd leave it for now. "Alright, fine then. We leave at first light." I wrapped my hand in a dry cloth as the rain continued to pound at the canvas of our wagon.
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Duesolbert stormed into the meeting hall. "Things have gotten worse," he told Fanatio. "Some of our very own knights have gone missing now. I haven't heard from Fizel, Linel, or Sheyta, in four days."
"Let's not jump to conclusions. They may just be in an area where communication is difficult," Fanatio reasoned. Where were they last seen?"
"They were patrolling the area up north, towards the End Mountains."
"The Star King was headed that way with his page. I'll send reinforcements up that way."
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"This rain is making the roads incredibly difficult," I growled. I was pulling the horses, which were fighting me every step of the way, from the ground, while Ronye sat in the driver's seat. She'd been quiet since the incident last night. I couldn't remember anything other than Ronye's looking at me with fear in her eyes. My cheek hurt from her kick, and my hand was numb from the cut. I didn't know what to say as I was confused myself. So, we'd started the morning off in awkward silence. For hours, we'd been dredging through the rain. My hair was plastered to my head, my jacket was soaked, as were my boots.
"Look, Kirito, there's a town up ahead," Ronye pointed.
I was startled to hear her voice. "Oh?" I squinted against the onslaught of the rain. "Let's see if we can find a place to dry off." We trudged through the mud and made it to the gates. We didn't get much further as two sentries approached us.
"Halt! What do you want?" one of the sentries said.
"We need someplace to get out of the rain, at least for a little while," I replied. My stomach gave an embarrassing growl. "And maybe some food."
"I'm sorry, but no one is permitted to enter or leave at this time. You'll have to go somewhere else." He turned, and retreated back into the gates.
"Awesome," I replied sarcastically. "Fine, let's go find a cave or something then."
"Hang on," a muffled voice came through the gates. "Don't you recognize the Star King?" she scolded the sentry.
"Not my fault, m'am. It's hard to see in this rain," the sentry mumbled to himself.
"Wait a minute, I recognize that voice," I thought to myself. "Leina?"
The gates creaked open and a young woman popped out. She had her hood tied tightly about her head and shoulders. "Come on, Kirito." I followed my former sensei through the gates, which were instantly shut behind my wagon. We walked along the streets of the town which were a lot like those in Centoria, empty. Though I could catch glimpses of people watching us from their windows behind barely opened shutters. We arrived at an inn, where stable hands took my horse and wagon, while Ronye and I headed inside with Leina. We sat at a table close by a roaring fire. It felt so good against the chill of the rain. A server came by, dropping off a plate of meats and bread. My stomach growled and my mouth watered.
"Rooms are ready for you," the innkeeper addressed me.
"If you don't mind, Kirito, I'm going up to rest for a while," Ronye declined any food and left the table.
Leina looked at me with raised eyebrows. "What's this? A lady…leaving your side?"
"Well, um…anyways, what are you doing here?" I quickly changed topics.
"I was investigating the abductions out this way," Leina replied.
"Did you learn anything?
"As I make my way further north, the number of people who have been abducted in each town has been steadily increasing. It leads me to believe that whoever or whatever is taking them must be out this direction. In this town alone there have been nine people taken. The last town, there were seven, and the town before that, four."
"Anything in common between them?"
"The only thing I found out was that they were all similar in age to you. Didn't matter if they were male or female though."
"My age? I suppose being twenty is considered the prime of one's life here. Life and vitality are high. Maybe someone is going after that?"
"Life?" Leina blinked at me. "Life is sacred. The Taboo Index doesn't allow it to be taken."
"Hmm…," I placed my hand on my chin. "Rulid is up this way. You think they've had any abductions?"
"Not sure, that village is pretty small, it may have been overlooked."
"That's where I'm headed. As soon as this rain breaks, I'm gone."
"Why there?" Leina asked me.
"I know people there, and I want to make sure they're safe."
"Always looking out for others," Leina smiled warmly. "May I join you? It'd be nice to have some company."
"Have you been gathering information on your own?"
"Yes, the knights and elite disciples are stretched pretty thin with so much ground to cover, so a few of us are going at it alone."
"Of course, Leina. You're more than welcome."
"So," Leina began, "what's the deal with Ronye? She practically worships the ground you walk on, and she just bolted away from you?" Leina raised a brow. "That's not normal for you."
"Well, it's complicated…," I replied, eyes darting away. "Oh look, the rain is stopping. Let me get freshened up and we'll be on our way."
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Higa turned to Kikouka. "That strange anomaly happened again, sir."
"Hmm…" Kikuoka murmured to himself. He leaned in closer to the monitor. "Despite that, the memories seem to be linking up correctly so far. Say, you wonder if Asuna would be jealous if she knew about all of this," he mused, watching the memories stream by on a small monitor.
"Kikuoka, be serious here," said Higa. "What about the anomaly?" he pressed.
"Fine, fine," Kikuoka raised his hands in mock defeat. "Increase the memory flow speed. We'll see if that helps."
"Increasing memory flow speed," Higa confirmed. The nodes on both boy's bodies pulsed with energy.
"Just think, Higa," Kikuoka put his hand on the tube in which Eugeo's body was floating in. "Saving this boy's fluctlight was the best thing for us."
"Yeah, but are you sure that merging his data with that of his divine weapon was a good idea? It's keeping him alive for now, but…," Higa placed his hand on his chin.
"I realize it's just a quick fix, but Kirito won't mess around; he'll want to find his friend as soon as possible. Once they meet up in the Underworld, I'll send him instructions on where to meet for extraction. You need to relax, Higa, things are going well so far."
Higa sighed, then turned back to the monitors. The wave lengths seemed locked for now, but he was still troubled by the anomaly. He'd have to keep a watchful eye on the situation.
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"Ladies, anyone heard from Kirito in the past three days?" Asuna paced around the quaint cabin.
"For the fifth time, nobody has heard from him," Sinon, a bow and arrow master, replied harshly. "We're just as worried about him as you are, but asking us the same question over and over again isn't going to find him."
"Don't snap at Asuna," Lisbeth, a pink haired blacksmith, glowered at Sinon. "This is a real situation we have here."
"I know that," Sinon replied, sinking back into the couch. "What are the facts?"
"He was last at my house. But he left abruptly after checking his phone."
"Did you see what it said?" Lizbeth asked.
"No, I didn't," Asuna sighed.
"You think my brother is involved in something with the Underworld, again?" Leafa wondered. She had long blonde hair and was quick with a sword. "He likes to do that sort of stuff. Plus, it's really important to him."
"I thought we cleared things up back there," Lisbeth crossed her arms. "What else is there?"
Leafa murmured to herself, "Maybe not a what, but more of a who."
"What's that Leafa?" Asuna looked at her friend. "Do you know something? If you do, I need to know," she pleaded.
"I'm only guessing here, but if has to do with the Underworld, I'd say maybe Eugeo is involved."
"Eugeo?" Asuna blinked. "Who is that?"
"Kirito never told you?" Leafa's brows shot up. She looked over at the other two girls. Both Sinon and Lisbeth shook their heads no. They seemed equally lost.
Another blonde woman spoke up. "It seems that now would be a good time to introduce him."
"Alice?" Leafa turned to the woman who was wearing armor and sported golden cat ears. "I'm not sure Kirito would want us to talk about it."
"The situation makes it clear that we must. Eugeo was Kirito's best friend in the Underworld. The two of them did everything together and went on a journey to stop the wrongdoings of the Axiom Church."
"His best friend?" Asuna blinked. She felt a brush of jealousy go through her, then shook her head. "That's ridiculous, I'm Kirito's best friend. I have no reason to feel threatened," she added to herself.
"Though when we fought the Pontifex, Eugeo had sustained a fatal wound and was presumed to have passed." Alice continued.
"Presumed is not the same as definite," said Sinon. "I suggest we search for any details on Rath and if the company has resurfaced at all. And of course, any personnel who were involved."
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The next few days passed without any more headaches as Leina, Ronye, and I made our way to Ruild Village. Ronye seemed to be back to her old self again, which I was thankful for. The number of beasts were still high, but between the three of us, we were able to handle them without too much trouble. As we passed more villages on route, the number of missing continued to climb. The trend Leina stated was keeping consistent. More young adults like myself were being taken. I was beginning to worry about Eugeo. He was my same age, could he be targeted?
"Looks like we made it," Leina stopped our wagon at the gates.
"It looks okay," Royne added, glancing around.
"Well, we will see about that once we get inside. Hup!" I told our horses.
Gasupht Zuberg met us as we stopped by the church at the center of town. "Star King, how good of you to visit our village. We are truly blessed upon your arrival." He bowed deeply.
I scowled. I would never get used to this. I decided to cut right to the chase. "Has anyone gone missing in your village?"
"Missing?" Gashupht's brows rose.
I couldn't help but catch a glimpse of guilt cross his face. "Well?" I pressed.
Gashupht quickly regained his composure. "So far, our village has been spared of anyone being taken."
"How fortunate for you," Leina replied skeptically.
"Yes, indeed," Gashupt replied anxiously. "But we can never be too careful. Precautions are put into place if such a thing should happen."
"We will be staying the night, so please prepare a place for us," I cut in.
"Of course." Bowing, Gashupt turned and starting shouting orders to the stable boys and sisters inside the church.
I looked at Liena, then Ronye. "He's hiding something."
"I noticed as well," Leina concurred. Ronye nodded in agreement.
"Will you two check around the village and verify that no one has been taken? Just to see if he was telling us the truth," I said.
Leina took Ronye and the two left me standing in front of the church alone.
It seemed so long ago since I first came here. Eugeo was kind enough to bring me to his village and introduce me to Sister Azalia and Selka, who in turn, gave me a place to stay. Speaking of Selka, I caught a glimpse of her standing off to the side in a doorway. "Selka? Hello," I called out.
She looked around nervously. "Kirito, I…"
"Selka!" Gashupt called out his daughter's name. "Stop dallying. We need accommodations made ready for the Star King."
"Yes, father," Selka replied obediently. She looked at me though, and I could see in her eyes she needed to talk.
"Later," I acknowledged with a slight nod.
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Later that night….
I lay in bed, my arms behind my head, staring at the ceiling. People were accounted for, there were no beast attacks, and the village was generally peaceful. It should be good news, but I still hesitated. In addition, I was discouraged not to get any information on Eugeo. Now what do I do? I was lost in my thoughts when I barely heard a soft knock. I got out of bed and went to open the door. "Selka?"
She scuttled inside. "Kirito, I can't stay long, but there's something you should know," her words raced out quickly.
"I'm listening."
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"You fucking bastard!" I slammed open the door to Eugeo's childhood home. Orrick was seated at the table, his shia laid out before him in large piles. "How could you?" I seethed.
"Seems to me that what I do with my family doesn't have anything to do with you," Orrick clipped.
I stopped in my tracks as a realization hit me. "That's why this village has been spared."
"The deal seemed to benefit everyone," Orrick calmly replied.
"Except Eugeo," I spat.
"One out of many seems reasonable," Orrick replied curtly. I grabbed him by the collar, my eyes flashing gold. "Star King, isn't it your duty to make sure the human realm is safe? That those who occupy it are looked after? Well, that's exactly what I did here. Surely, you can see no harm in that," Orrick challenged.
"Don't bother trying to justify your actions. I know exactly who benefitted from this so-called transaction," I growled.
"Be that as it may, this village is safe, thanks to me," Orrick snapped at me. "As for Eugeo, the woman assured me he'd be in good hands."
"Woman? What woman?" I felt a wave of dread wash over me.
"She was quite a beauty," Orrick replied, cheeks blushing.
"What. Woman." I ground out each word.
"Why," Orrick paused, smiling broadly, "Our great and glorious pontifex, of course."
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End Chapter 2