Chapter Ten – Rekindling the Dead Fire
The smell of the dew on the grass lingered in the crisp morning air of the low country. The sun had not yet broken the horizon, but the first light of the new day rimmed the edge of the Earth in a watery stretch of canvas. Overhead, Venus glimmered her last – along with accompanying royal court – as the morning would soon overtake her.
Rowen stared upwards. So beautiful. Sometimes he wished he could return to the heavens and just drift lifelessly in an orbit of the Earth and moon he loved so much. He wanted to let its peace run through his veins once more, much more so than ever before. For now, in the lingering aftermath of the final battle with Talpa, the world had returned to normal – as bustling and crazy as ever. If only he could find that serenity once more…
He looked into the darkness of his wide shadow, the sight of empty field whispering soft melodies enclosing all around him. Here – she had once stood here, next to him, amongst the grasses and the stars. She had once been in his arms here, her tears gushing from her red eyes, fueled by an inner agony. Rowen could still see her shimmering face, aglow with the brilliant, unending light of Venus, and her singsong voice still whistled through the trees in their meadow, a constant reminder of what he could no longer have.
Where was the harmony that was supposed to follow every war – the period of reconstruction where all things united under a common thread, where all the wrongs were made right again and where endings took a happy turn? Where was his Mirichu Tenku? Wasn't she supposed to return from the Land of the Dead once they had eliminated Talpa and his Dynasty? Hadn't that been the unspoken agreement between Rowen and Fate?
Instead of getting his happy ending, Rowen received only the pain of knowing that the one he loved would never return to share the joy of Talpa's defeat. Miri would never know the good her death had caused, the ironic strength it had given the Ronin Warriors to beat the evil she abhorred. And every morning when he made his trek to this meadow, Rowen cried, cried until his tears ceased to flow and only his mind could sob in the silence – the silence that would not have been there had Miri survived. He would choke on his sorrow and drown in his misery the instant Venus would come into view, and the cycle never stopped, only grew more tortuous as the months stretched languidly by.
@~~`~~~
Rowen recalled those following days after Mirichu's tragic death as though they were five minutes ago, not five months. After carrying her body down from the Great Mountains, a funeral procession of every Ronin Warrior and Anubis following in close distance in the two jeeps, he had walked in silence with her all the way to their valley eight miles away. His feet felt as though they had never touched the ground the entire walk. Not once did he stop to rest or break, but only did he push himself farther and harder. Rowen could feel his armor's strength being zapped from his own body, but if dying would let him see Miri again, he would have done it. But someone stopped him before he had the chance.
Seeing the desperation and loss in his eyes, Anubis halted one of the jeeps and clambered out, up to Rowen's side. "If you die now, Rowen, I guarantee you will not see Mirichu on the other side. For you have unfinished business on Earth, and unless that is completed, your soul will not reach the spiritual nexus where hers resides. Expect to wander the planet – unseen in your ghostly form – for at least 500 years, searching for good deeds to do to make up for what you did not take care of in your life.
"How would that be fair to Mirichu, I ask you? She waits eagerly for your arrival in the afterworld, but her patience will only last so long – long enough for you to live your life to the fullest and do all that you were destined to accomplish. 500 years from now, even in the afterworld, her love for you will be dead. You must not let that happen, not if you truly love her. She bestowed upon you a great gift: the gift of a second chance to save Earth. Do not take it, and it shall be like spitting upon her hallowed grave."
The warrior finally suspended his suicide pilgrimage. From his eyes finally burst forth the tears that had gone unshed on the mountain precipice. Droplet after droplet splattered onto Miri's bare face, his tears becoming hers even through the veil of death. The Eclipse helmet loosened on her head and went clattering to the roadway. All of her raven black hair spilled out onto his arms, strands intertwining involuntarily with his fingers. Rowen fell to his knees, bringing her face to his own and gently pressing her cheek to his. "My Mirichu! How I have failed you! I let you die! I killed you! I was never worthy to love someone so giving when I could not return a simple favor! It's my fault, all mine…" he whimpered miserably, uncaring of how the others saw his confession of guilt.
Ryo bounded to his friend's side, shaking him with all of his pent-up rage. "How dare you put the blame where it doesn't belong! In case you don't remember, I was the one that plunged the sword through Miri's black heart. I did! I did it to kill the evil, not to kill her, too! Don't you see that I was the one who failed. I took away her pain without thinking of another way to save her. I was weak and scared and driven by hatred for Kayura and Talpa. It was recklessness on my part, and look at the consequences!" Ryo released Rowen to reach down and tenderly stroke the woman's forehead with his thumb, pressing so hard on the skin as if to memorize its feel. "Some leader I turned out to be…"
And it went on like that until the gray clouds had turned black, darkened by the oncoming night, as the two bickered uselessly about whom was to blame for the death of Mirichu Tenku of the Armor of the Eclipse. And Rowen recalled that when Anubis had tried to intercede and insist that they get on with the funeral and the burial, the two had verbally attacked him. He had regretted the harsh words that he spoke later, especially when Anubis turned out to be the only person that could help Rowen get on with his life after the devastating shock of losing his best friend, his true love.
@~~`~~~
The moon overhead let forth the sallowest of colors, sickening the Great Mountains and their Great Valleys. And sometimes, when the winds would blow, nausea would churn Rowen's stomach. It wasn't the actual look of the scene or the feel of the wind, but just the fact that perhaps Miri had surveyed this same landscape with her shining eyes, or perhaps this wind same wind had brushed her silken hair with its invisible fingers. These thoughts lead to bad reactions on Rowen's part, so bad that he often had to leave the area to escape them.
But today Rowen had decided to stay in their valley and think some more about where his twisted life was heading him and how exactly it was getting him there. He had to confront his fears just like Mirichu had, if he wanted to prove his worthiness of her. The stars above seemed to approve of his plan, for they smiled down at him with their soft, white and yellow eyes, smiles twinkling with starry light.
Another breeze flew by, and upon it he heard the Ancient One's knowing voice, one with which he had recently become very familiar. After the devastating loss of Mirichu Tenku during the battle with Lady Kayura, Rowen had progressed to the point where the mere thought of the Ancient made him sick with anger. He had become bitter and resentful toward the old man in the reed hat, and often he would openly curse him when he was present within the room.
@~~`~~~
"Rowen," he said, surprising the young man, for the Ancient had never called him by just his first name before. "Listen to me!"
"I have nothing to say to traitors, liars, manipulators, KILLERS!" Rowen raged, pointing an accusing finger at the old man in the reed hat.
"You must listen to me, Strata, if you want to know why I did all that I did. You heart needs to know the answers to these burning riddles within you, and only I can supply them. I can finally reply to all the questions you may wish to ask."
"Oh, well, thanks for being so kind and generous about it," he spat sarcastically.
"Ask me anything, Rowen of Strata, anything. No questions now? Hmm, let me think. You wanted to know whose life aura that belonged to that day you went down for a swim in the valley? Honestly, that was the human embodiment of the Incarnation Fate. She had come to take away more of the growing life within Mirichu. I know that is mind-boggling, but Fate, ever since Mirichu was a baby, had been collecting her essence because she did not want the girl to fight her when her time came. She wanted the young warrior to merely accept her Destiny and come without qualms. Any other questions?"
"Fine!" He was so angered by the Ancient's flat tone as he spoke of Miri that Rowen slammed his fist into the coffee table as hard as he could, splinters of wood driving deep into the meat of his hand. However, the pain was nothing compared to what he already felt driving deep into his heart. Betrayed by his mentor. His love gone. Nothing could hurt worse. "You—You tell me WHY! You tell me why Mirichu isn't here today with the rest of us, gearing up to fight the Master himself. You tell me, and you do it NOW!"
The Ancient tipped his hat back over his pearl-white hair, his amazing eyes coming into view for the first time ever. "She is not here because she is dead."
The black wrath squirmed inside at this horrific statement. The knife within his back spiraled even deeper, his soul bleeding from the wound. "How dare you, old man! I should hit you for your rotten disrespect of the dead!"
"But it is the truth. Mirichu is dead. She died before Lady Kayura ever came into play, you could not tell?"
"What are you prattling on about?"
"She died the day the legend of the Armor of the Eclipse was prophesized – within the dank corridors of a wise man's cave in the Great Mountains. You must understand first that Mirichu was born dead, therefore making it easier for the transition into the afterlife following her ultimate sacrifice."
"Never! Miri was a bright, enthusiastic girl. I want to know what happened to the girl I knew and loved."
"Mirichu Tenku was the girl you knew. Setsuka, the wearer of the Armor of the Eclipse, was the girl I knew. I did nothing to Mirichu, albeit, I did train Eclipse. I trained her to be the supreme Ronin, in both the lives of Mirichu and Setsuka, the original wearer of the armor. But she was never supposed to fight unless the situation was dire or, unfortunately, Fate demanded her blood offering in order to save the spilling of so many others'. I had expected the latter though, for the wise man of which I spoke forewarned me of this horrific disaster."
Rowen's eyes flared, and he could feel his anger reaching the boiling point. Never had his heart consumed so much hatred for one man before. "So, you knew all along about Mirichu's death, and you never even seeped a warning to her, telling her to stay away for her own good? How cruel and vicious a man you are! How could I ever trust a demon like you?"
"Demon? Hardly. And as for Mirichu's knowledge of her Fate, she knew all the time. Unbeknownst to her – in the beginning of her life – Eclipse's Destiny was sealed the second the hellish armor was forged. But as time grew and the legend unfurled, the memories of her prophesized future instated themselves, so that even as you two played on the swing sets of your school playground, even then Mirichu knew of her imminent death."
"An even worse Fate than death! How could anyone haunt a child so young with images of her own demise? And all this time she knew and never told me! The pain she must of felt! The thousands of times she must have cried herself to sleep, and with no one for her to share her agony!"
"She needed not even you, Rowen. She was far stronger than any of you Ronins will ever be. Mirichu's faith in love and the human spirit was enough to give her the strength to complete the mission assigned to her 1000 years before she was even born. You cannot begin to understand this all now. Perhaps once the importance and necessity of her sacrifice has sunk in, then will I explain the entire sordid tale to you…"
Rowen was not going to let the slippery fish slide away now. If he ever wanted to learn what had driven his best friend, his true love, then he needed answers today. "No! You will tell me right now! I can't just keep going on without knowing how our past lives were, how Miri's entire life was. If I can ever reach an understanding about Mirichu's life, I want to start now. I want to know what made my friend who she REALLY was, not the façade she always wore before me."
"That was never a façade. Mirichu loved you with all of her heart. Everything she did was for you. You, Rowen, were the one person she could trust with anything, the one person she could love with her whole heart without fear of rejection. But the armor within also knew that you could not handle this responsibility. Perhaps it even knew of the way that you would try to stop it from carrying out its task. That is why Mirichu never told you about all of this: because your love would try and influence her duty. She was terribly torn, I'm afraid, and only Death himself could release her from that torture.
"So you say you want to know about your past lives and Mirichu's secret identity? Are you sure you can handle what I'm about to tell you?"
Rowen stared at his feet, bracing himself for the Ancient's information. "As ready as I will ever be."
The old man in the reed hat tilted the brim of his hat over his face once more, concealing his expressions again to the young, lost Ronin. "So be it…"
@~~`~~~
And the Ancient had spent all night trying to explain the prophecy of Mikisutori, a wise man from the time of Talpa's first invasion. Through all the tears – shed and unshed – Rowen finally discovered what power the ten armors really held.
Ten. Ten! He could hardly believe that there was a tenth armor. His entire existence Rowen had believed there had only been nine great armors derived from Talpa's one all-powerful armor. That's what everyone had believed because that was the way the Ancient had wanted it. If ever Talpa should return and capture the known nine armors, he still could never achieve full power. That was the reason the Armor of the Eclipse was kept secret. If Talpa did not know it existed, he could not take it and gain his unimaginable power, and, therefore, he could be defeated.
But there was another reason the Ancient One had kept the tenth armor such a closely guarded secret; he didn't want the prophecy of Mikisutori to become history. For his prophecy spoke of great sadness and loss for all of the Ronins and the world, but especially for one man in particular: the wearer of the Armor of the Strata. It foretold of the great battle with the mysterious female general from the Dynasty and the death of the woman who wore the Armor of the Eclipse. Moreover, it also mentioned of the unfinished love affair between Strata and Eclipse. Mikisutori told the Ancient that their love would be like no other's, and yet it would remain unspoken of and shrouded by duty until the Day of Eclipse's Reckoning. The Ancient did not want to torment any of his valuable samurai, especially Strata, with this information until that day. And so it was that Eclipse was meticulously hidden from even the Ronin Warriors, its utter secrecy maintained for 1000 years. No one, not even Talpa knew it existed. Until just a few months ago.
Now Rowen knew the painful truth and wished he had never asked about it, but at least he had come to understand Mirichu's ways more.
So there love had been fated. When she had told him that day of the battle that she loved Ryo, not him, it had been a lie. Miri had always loved him and no other, despite what she said. On the same token, she knew that he had always loved her. And yet they never made one romantic move toward each other, not even when she died in his arms. They had never spoken of their love, never even kissed once! Oh sure, they had hugged each other, came close to breaking through the boundaries of their accursed Fates, but never for even a second did they truly make it through to one another, to find their souls intertwined by their predestined love. And so they forever remained at the distance that was safe enough for them to care like they were just friends but not suggest that they were lovers.
And now everyday for the rest of his miserable life Rowen had to live with the knowledge that true happiness was within his grasp at all times, but he had never taken the chance to reach out and touch it. His curse was almost equal to the one under which Mirichu had unfortunately fallen.
Presently, with the dying of the another midnight and the birth of another dawn, Rowen stood with the letter in his hand, the white slip of parchment dyed scarlet with the rays of the morning sun.
He had unearthed the paper after the burial of his Mirichu Tenku as he helped the others empty out Miri's abandoned house. Actually, Cye was the one who found it, but once he read to whom it was addressed, he passed it around the room until it landed in the hands of the man to whom it belonged. "To my dearest Rowen" the simple white envelope read in fine gold Japanese characters – the familiar, delicate writing of his lost beloved.
Still Rowen had yet to open it and read its contents. He was too afraid of what it might say. The letter had remained affixed for these past five months, and he didn't think he would ever be able to tear away the red wax seal to discover what was inside.
The sudden rustle of the parting trees behind him sent cold shivers down Rowen's spine. Someone was there. Who could it be? The only people that ever came to this field were Mirichu, the Ancient and himself. Even then, the Ancient never came in the mornings, but only to meditate during the daytime.
It can't be her! he screamed at himself. She's dead! You held in your arms as she died! For god sake, you buried the woman! Mirichu is dead!
Rowen found himself frozen. The Dynasty Warlords had long since been destroyed in the last battle. In fact, in a fit of sheer rage, he had plunged Kale's own sword through his chest, watching with delight as its blood-smeared tip protruded through his back. Dais had fallen under Kento's Iron Rock Crusher combined with Sage's Thunderbolt Cut. And Talpa had been defeated by the Inferno Armor – an armor worn by Ryo that had mysteriously appeared once all five Ronin armors conjoined. There was no one left to know he was here.
He felt a gentle hand touch his shoulder. With that movement, Rowen could feel his body come alive with motion again, and he was able to turn his head to see the two men standing beside him. Sage and Ryo looked on at the horizon, distant tears shimmering in both men's eyes. "You still haven't opened it," Sage noted, staring at the envelope in his friend's quaking hand.
"No, I haven't."
"Why not? Aren't you curious as to what it might say?"
"Of course I am, but I'm just so afraid to know." His eyes darted from the sky to Sage's confused face. "What if she says that worthless? Or worse yet, what if she blames me for not being capable enough to save her? There are so many things. I can't face her right now-"
"Mirichu's dead, Rowen. Why should you fear her?" Sage informed as though Rowen did not know this.
"I wish you wouldn't talk like that about her."
"You make it sound like she is still alive. She's not though. You need to understand that. Miri isn't just going to stop by one day out of the blue so you can go swimming in the lake. And she certainly isn't going to show up here to watch the sunrise with you anymore."
"I wasn't expecting her to."
Ryo leaned forward to glance Rowen over quickly. "You lie. I saw the way stood here before we came. I saw the way you stood so rigid, as if waiting for her to comment about Venus or the moon or something."
"Is that what drives you to come here every morning, Rowen?" Sage drilled.
"No. I came to this meadow even before Miri even knew about it."
"Are you sure you're not just clinging to the insane hope that one morning Mirichu will simply show up beside you and whisper how much she's missed you right before she kisses you and says she will never leave you again?"
"No!" he roared at his best friends although he glared angrily at the shining Venus instead. His burning tears made their familiar trail over the brim of his eyes, snaking down his softened cheeks. The light from the morning star was so brilliant, as Mirichu once said. So beautiful. He wondered at what point the planet had stopped being just that – a planet – and become his Miri immortalized in the heavens he adored. "No! When Miri shows up, I'm the one that's going to kiss her first and tell her how much I've missed her and how I'll never let her leave me again. I'm the one who's going to tell her exactly how much I love her and how I was a fool to not tell her in the first place. She's just going to let me hold her until the sands in the hourglass run out for us both, and when that time finally comes she's going to say to me: 'I'm sorry I left you cold and alone, Rowen. But now we can be together forever, just like our hearts always wanted.' And I'll kiss her lips until we both die in each other's embrace." His shoulders shook with fury and sorrow. Rowen knew this dream was nothing but exactly that: a dream. But he just couldn't help believing that someday his patience would pay off, and in his arms would be his sweet Mirichu.
"Read the letter, Rowen. Do it, and do it now. Don't waste another minute of your life waiting for the impossible to happen," Ryo ordered.
The sun broke above the mountains, an egg pouring its sticky goo upon the dewy Earth. And just as that egg cracked, so did all of Rowen's hope for Miri's glorious return.
With a heavy sigh of longing, Rowen tore into the envelope, wasting the outside to get to the all-important middle – like a child with candy. He shredded the paper with a pent-up ferocity, one he refused to release upon his fellow Ronin Warriors. It hardly mattered. With each rip, Rowen could feel his own nails clawing, as though the envelope was his own skin.
"My dearest Rowen,
Where should I begin? What comforting words should I write that might lessen the pain? I don't think there are any in existence. Obviously, if you are reading this letter of mine, then the prophecy of Mikisutori-san has been fulfilled. I have passed on to the afterlife, leaving you, I am sure, anguished and in denial. I guess this letter is supposed to help comfort you, this being the only legacy I can leave behind. So forgive me if all I can offer you is this slip of paper with a little bit of me wrapped in it. I'd hoped to leave you something more, but what do I have that you want?
You know, I've always wondered that. What did I ever possess that made such a remarkable person like yourself want to be near me? I never had much money, or fantastic beauty, or a big house; so why did you ever like me? All I ever knew was a life where somebody only pretended to like me because they wanted something in return. But when I met you, oh so long ago it seems, you changed all that. Rowen, you were the one person that never asked me any 'favors' and never demanded 'payment'. Instead, all you did was give, give, give to me. How was I to repay you for that? No money could ever show just how much your friendship and love meant to me.
And so naturally, when the Ancient One approached me about my armor three years ago – before you even dreamt of yours – I finally discovered a way to show you how deeply my love for you ran. I decided to accept my Destiny as Eclipse, Bringer of Love and Hope (the official title) and give the ultimate sacrifice one can to demonstrate the way I cared for you.
Perhaps you are mad at the Ancient One for not telling you about this, but understand that I knew of my Fate long before he had even told me about it. I was born with this knowledge of my death, and he never ordered me to it. Also, you must know, Rowen, that the Ancient One had always pushed me to tell you, saying that if you knew, maybe in time you would grow to accept and conform to this alignment of Fates. Ah, but I knew you too well. At every corner, just like a big brother, you would try to persuade me, if not attempt to stop these events from occurring. You would never think of the consequences that delaying the inevitable would bring. Then were would the world be? Annihilated? Invaded? Poisoned? Or possibly worse? And all for the sake of a love that was destined yet also destined to be destroyed!
And so now I write this letter to help give you peace, to let you know that where ever I am, I am happy. Granted, I may not be as happy here as I would be if I were in your arms, but I am happy. And at least my death has allowed me the freedom to say the words that my life would never have let me speak:
I love you.
Eternally yours,
Mirichu."
It was silent. Ryo and Sage fought their urges to say anything to the man beside them. The moment could not be spoiled for Rowen at any cost. He needed time to assimilate all that he had read, the meaning of the characters. He had to understand that Mirichu Tenku was dead in body yet stayed alive within him as a spirit for the rest of eternity.
The forest closed in around them, the trees hungry for comfort and love. The grasses snuggled closer to hide their sorrows. The fireflies shuddered against the three men's bodies for warmth in the suddenly cold air. The remaining stars, dwindling in the fire of the sun, belched their apologies across the light years with their gaseous voices. And of course, only Rowen of the Strata could hear them all. Such was his blessing, his curse, his Fate.
There, in the hidden meadow amidst the towering Great Mountains, the three most important men in Mirichu's life stood. Sage, the man who had loved her in the past was on the end. Ryo, the man who loved her now leaned on Sage's shoulder. And Rowen, the man who had always loved her, from one eon to the next, across miles of sky and between the haze of life and death trembled alone in his spot – the little clearing in the expanse of high weeds.
The characters on the paper dripped onto his hands, entering his fingertips and making their way to his brain on a flowing current of blood. When they made it there, Rowen finally understood it all.
Miri loved him.
Rowen of the Strata let a single, crystalline tear fall from his lashes and splatter onto the dirt of Miri's grave before his feet. His eyes turned to the sky, reddening with ancient flames, and he spoke to the great planet Venus as though she were a real person. "I love you, too!" His call was heard for miles as he screamed it so loud so that the message would be carried up to her on the wings of unseen angels.
And in a split second, Venus disappeared from the heavens, swallowed up by her mother. But not before answering him back. "I already know…"
The End
