Beware the Eastern Sun
Chapter 19
"God
made two great lights-the greater light to govern the day and
the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set
them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern
the
day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw
that it was good."
-Genesis
1:16-18
"The Light will come to find the
Dark entrenched, abroad. In the time of darkness there will be a land oppressed
and crushed by an iron fist. The Shadow Ruler, the one of the Dark, will be
supreme in this land. The inevitable conflict will come, the Duel between the
Chosen.
"The weapons of the Duel are
clear. The Light will yield the Gauntlets of
Power to enhance
the strength, the longsword Icewind as his weapon. The Dark will yield the Helm
of Shadows, the battleaxe Inferno as his weapon. Only the Chosen can bring
forth the magical powers of the weapons.
"The place of battle will be deep
in the heart of the darkness. It is the duty of the Light to approach the Dark,
and to engage the confrontation, for if the dark is left, the dark will
flourish, and when the dark should strike, all will be lost. It is the
necessity of the Light to be the first, to be the aggressor, for the Darkness
has yet another agenda-to build its power. The essence of darkness is to gather
in the shadows until, all at once, it rushes out to overwhelm the light. The
Light must venture into the shadows and seek the Dark.
"The Child of the Dark will be
the fallen prince, who looked beautiful until the hour of his downfall. His
tools will be the tools of darkness-lies, trickery, fear, power. His means will
be the means of darkness-brute strength, razing, death, destruction. The
strength of power lies in the hands of the darkness, as the dark will always
overpower the light in strength alone.
"The Child of the Light will be
the emissary of the heavens, the noble leader. His tools will be the tools of
light-truth, trust, honor, cleverness. His means will be the means of
light-unity, friendship, empathy, understanding. The strength of understanding
lies in the hands of the light, for the light has always been compassionate.
"To defeat the Dark, the Child of
the Light must see himself as the darkness. Only by seeing the darkness, by being
the darkness will the Light ever understand the darkness. Only by understanding
the darkness will the Light ever reach to the dark. The Light is the savior of
the Dark. The Light must reach beyond the darkness to save what lies within.
"The Light is defeated when it
fails to understand the darkness, either if the Light fails to reach the dark,
or the dark fails to reach back. The Light must not shun the darkness to
the shadows, or the darkness will rise stronger than ever. The power of hate
and fear feed the darkness. There can be no hate, there can be no fear within
the Light. There must only be trust and compassion, for only those can save the
Darkness. Should at any time, the trust or the compassion be violated, all is
lost, and the dark will rise with infinite fury.
"Thus lies the fate of the
digital world. All is as I have seen it. I can do no more than what I have
done, for the powers of Fate and Destiny are already in motion. Fate and
Destiny, the two half-sisters, will always be there-one who sees what will, the
other who does what is."
Tai reflected long after he read these
words aloud to the group. Perhaps the gravity of the situation had pushed him
along, but somehow he'd managed to read the book through twice. The passage he
read was in the middle, where the meat of the prophecy was. "I...I suppose
we should find those weapons, huh?"
The others did not respond. They were
self-absorbed in thought, contemplating the prophecy individually.
"Hello?" Tai almost shouted. Sora jumped; Joe looked up; Izzy was
still thinking. "Uh, yeah," Sora weakly responded. She rose.
"Where to?"
"I would suppose the
armory," Gennai said.
"Then lead the way," Tai
said, eager to move along.
It was a short trip over the
rock-strewn landscape to a small building depressed in the ground like a
bunker. The sturdy structure still held even after years of wear and tear. They
entered and coughed as dust kicked up on all sides. Cracks in the ceiling let
in just enough light to navigate the room and identify the items inside. They
walked along the aisles, looking at long displays of crossbows, longswords,
short swords, spears, long bows, and all sorts of weaponry.
"Hey Tai," Joe called.
"Look at this."
Tai moved towards Joe, as did the rest
of the group. In a display case on a pedestal was a pair of still shining
gauntlets, in front of which lay a glistening sword. The light came down and
caught it at just the right angle, causing an ephemeral glow to shine
surrounding the display. Tai sucked in his breath when he looked at the
weapons, the fine craftsmanship visible to even the most untrained eye. The
others parted for him as he approached the display case. They knew Tai was the
one. Not a word had to be said.
Tai looked around the case and found a
latch, which he released. He then swung open the display case and reached
forward as they all watched on in silence. He stopped short, hesitating for a
moment. Then, looking at the others, he bit his lip and reached forward.
He felt silly feeling such
exhilaration at touching the metal, which did not so much as notice his
presence. He fingered them, feeling the polished surfaces and contours of the
gauntlets. Finally, he dared to put one on. It was close fitting, as if the
maker knew his exact size. Then he put the other on. He flexed his hands; the
gloves were responsive to even the slightest movements. His eyes turned to the
long sword which sat in the display, enticing him with its sheen. Swallowing
hard, he reached out a gloved hand forward. He clutched the pommel and tensed, as
if he expected something to happen. When there was no response, he lifted the
sword with all his strength, expecting it to be heavy. It lifted like a
feather. He weighed it in his hands and tossed it back and forth. Cutting a few
slices in the air, which caused the others to back up, he tested its swing.
Then he assumed a forward stance and gripped the sword with both hands.
Suddenly, there was a blue glow that
emanated from the gauntlets and flowed through the sword. The others backed up
a few steps, giving off sounds of awe. Tai's face, at first registering
surprise, changed to a mystified wonder, and then elation. He looked at Sora,
who nodded at him with a smiling encouragement. Tai took a final swing, letting
the fine blade cut through the air with a swish. Taking a belt and hilt that
lay on the side, obviously meant for the sword, he put it on and sheathed the
sword.
Everyone looked at the display. Tai
stood tall and strong, his jeweled sword sheathed in the gilded hilt tucked at
his side. He was somehow transformed into a noble figure, a hero. It was as if
he had already gone to battle and was returning from a great success. His face
was proud and his stature strong. Then Sora approached him and planted a kiss
on his cheek. He blushed.
Matt looked on as he saw Sora kiss
Tai. Disgusted, he waved his hand and the image disappeared. In their
haphazardness, the group had tripped just about every sensor he had placed in
the area. So now they come here, he thought to himself. Good. It's
about time. He turned to his steward. "Make the preparations for our
guests." The steward bowed silently and exited the room.
Matt smiled. This time they would not
escape.
Mimi coughed as she tripped once
again. The guard was pulling her chain along too quickly for her to keep up.
She had no idea what Matt had in store for her, but she knew whatever it was,
it was not going to be pleasant. She kept running through her head what she
would do in certain situations, for she did not want to show weakness in front
of Matt. Let him flinch first, she thought to herself.
She was lead roughly to the Great
Hall, where Matt sat at his throne. She saw that there was an extra chair
placed on the dais, though. Immediately, she knew that it was for her. The
sick, disgusting, spiteful...
"Ah, Mimi!" Matt clapped his
hands together, wearing a huge smile. "What a lovely day it is
today!" Mimi glowered at her. "Looking so sweet my queen." He
ran a hand along her chin. She pulled away her head. Matt continued to trace
the contours of her body, running his hand along her arms, back, chest, working
his way down. She struggled violently, but was held in place by the guard. Matt
then looked her in the eye; she did not return the stare. After a prolonged
stare, he suddenly turned to his guards and snapped his fingers.
The guards dragged Mimi to the chair
beside Matt and chained her there. Mimi struggled, but in vain. Finally, she
calmed herself and stopped. "Good to see that your sense has returned, my
queen. You might as well accustom yourself to it." He snapped his fingers
again and a servant came hastily forward carrying two glasses of a deep red wine
on a tray. Matt took these, and then shooed everyone out of the room.
When they were
gone, he turned to Mimi. "Here, my sweet. Drink." He pressed the cup
to her lips, but she did not open her mouth. Matt sighed and, placing his cup
on a table to free his other hand, reached over to pinch her nose. She still
did not open her mouth. He waited patiently for a while until she began to turn
red. Finally, she could not take and gasped for air, but then the wine was
forced down her throat.
Being her first drink, it struck her
like an anvil. The tingling feeling on her tongue practically numbed her whole
jaw area, and the sudden feeling of lightness was unexpected. The taste was
bitter, but she found herself wanting more-somewhat. Not quite badly enough
that she was frantic, but she did feel a slight longing.
Matt then pinched her, forcing her
mouth open again. More wine was swallowed. Matt continued this way for two
whole glasses. When he began the third, Mimi was swaying in her seat. This
time, she opened her mouth willingly.
Mimi felt a funny feeling. It was like
she was flying. There was a buzzing in her head, but it felt good. Her mind
never felt more clear in her life. She was no longer bound by the chains, she
was floating through them. And it was no longer the cruel, harsh, Matt beside
her, it was some strange prince. The room rocked and swayed and her vision
began blurring. She began to notice things that she never noticed before, like
how funny it was that the hall was so long and that the walls curved inwards.
She felt a pressing at her lips,
without quite seeing what it was. Obediently, she opened her mouth. Another
rush of hotness flowed through her, and she was flying once more, this time,
across a vast lake. Her thoughts were cool, and she felt truly relaxed. All her
troubles were gone.
She dimly felt herself being whisked
around, and was vaguely aware of a feeling of growing coldness as a shadowy
figure grew larger and larger.
Matt glowered, staring at the wall.
Sitting on the throne, with a warm blanket around her, was Mimi. She had been
declothed until her undergarments. Matt glanced once her direction, then took a
long pull at a wine bottle. He wiped a hand across his face, clearing the
sweat.
He did not know what came over him.
There he was, taking off her clothes. Mimi was completely at her mercy. With
each layer removed, he became even more excited. But then something hit him. As
he stood there, watching her half-naked body, something compelled him to stop.
He could not get himself to remove the last layer. He tried breathing and
turning away, and even doing it with his eyes closed, to no avail. Something
was holding him back.
Damn, he thought. Damn damn
damn. Why do I have to have this annoying sense of morality. He could not
understand it. He would not quail to kill a man that had slighted him, but he
could not bring himself to consummate with this vulnerable maiden. He took
another swig from the bottle, emptying it. He clenched his fist. In a fit of
anger, he threw the bottle against the wall. On the throne, Mimi stirred
slightly before becoming still again. Matt grit his teeth.
Turning back to Mimi, he began to put
her clothes back on.
"So this is it, then?" Tai
asked.
"Yup, I suppose," Gennai
responded.
The two looked at each other in
silence for a moment. They stood atop a knoll just outside of the Oracle's
former property. The others were busy packing up their equipment and cleaning
up camp. Tai looked at them and sighed. In his duffel bag he carried the
prophecy, the gauntlets, and the sword.
"What's going to happen to
you?" Tai asked.
"Oh, I'll manage. Assuming you
succeed." Gennai smiled.
"Don't you worry about
that," Tai replied confidently.
"I won't." Gennai, too,
turned his gaze over the group. "I suppose it'll be back to retirement.
There's always fishing. And gardening. Maybe some bingo..."
"When we're done, we'll be back
for you."
"Don't worry about it. I've seen
enough come and go."
Silence.
"We'll meet again?" Tai said
questioningly.
"Of course." Gennai clasped
Tai's hand and shook it vigorously. "Then off you go. Into the sunset, if
you will."
Tai looked at the sky. "Seems the
right time of day." The glow from the setting sun was beginning to change
from a light orange to a deeper shade of red. He smiled at Gennai. "Too
bad we're heading east." Tai stepped forward to address the group as the
final pieces of equipment were packed. "All right, guys. Let's get
going!" He gave a huge smile of encouragement, which prompted amiable
responses from the others.
Before the disappeared from view down
the road, Tai looked back at Gennai and gave a salute.