Kayura sat
alone in the room. It was a vast
chamber, dark and gloomy. There was a
chair in there. A throne.
A beautiful
staff lay on the floor before her. Her
great-great…—well lots of greats—grandfather's staff. The Ancient's staff.
Kayura
stared at it, expressionless.
Dais was in
a room somewhere, practicing with nunchuka, handsome despite his eye patch.
Cale, dark,
talented Cale, was out on the grounds with the wolves.
Sekhmet was
in the garden probably, and he was probably smiling.
Only a year
ago today…
She had
been bad then. Such a bad girl.
When she
was told that the Ancient was dead that day, she hadn't cared. She had forgotten the Ancient clan
altogether. All she knew was Talpa, her
power, and evil.
Kayura
closed her eyes.
When Shuten
freed her, he'd given her her ancestor's staff. He had begun calling himself Anubis; he had redeemed
himself. But he'd also given her
memories.
She'd loved
the old man. Loved him, loved him,
loved him. When she was little, he'd
played with her, taught her things, named her as his heir. Then she'd been taken. Mommy and Papa had been killed, and everyone
else too. Ancient was away from
home. He didn't even know for a
while. And little Kayura had gone away
with Talpa, and become a bad, bad girl.
Kayura
reached out a hand and gripped the staff.
Talpa had
warriors who fought for him. Kayura was
for the big stuff. She was his special
little one.
The
warriors had fought against the Ancient for Talpa. They were responsible for his death. If they hadn't been so mean…he wouldn't have had to die. He could have found a way to help the Ronins
defeat Talpa without dying. But Talpa's
warriors had been mean. They'd
been bad.
Kayura was
429 this year, but her body was only 13 physically.
She was still
the little girl that the Ancient had named his heir all those hundreds of years
ago.
Kayura
picked up the staff and stood.
She opened
her eyes.
The empty
throne was only that. Empty. She couldn't kill Talpa again, even if she
wanted to. There had been only one
death for the Demon and she hadn't even been the one to strike the final
blow. Instead, she'd taken
responsibility for the Nether Realm.
She'd come back with the Warlords to clean the place up. From the beginning, she'd had this chamber
blocked, barred, off limits. Walls and
locks everywhere. Even magic to keep it
closed off.
Kayura's
eyes were a dark, almost violet, blue.
Kayura's eyes were filled with tears.
The Ancient
was dead.
He was
killed.
Kayura was
a bad girl.
The
warriors killed him.
Bad bad
bad.
Kayura
looked at the Ancient's Staff.
"I'm
sorry. I'll do better this time."
Kayura
disappeared.
****
Sekhmet
finished planting the tree. It was
small right now, but it would get big in a few years. Things grew pretty fast in this world, if given half a chance.
A pair of
slippered feet, a young girl's, stepped beside him. Sekhmet looked up at her, smiling.
"Whadda you
think?" He gestured at the tree.
"It's
beautiful, Naaza."
Sekhmet
stopped smiling. "Why'd you call me that? You know I hate that name."
"But it was
the one he gave you."
"Kayura?"
"Talpa gave
you that name, Naaza. You fought for
him, killed for him."
Sekhmet
rocked back off his heels, sitting on the ground. He stared at the Ancient girl.
"Kayura, stop it." He was upset
now.
She stopped
talking. She smiled gently. "Are you sorry for what you did, Naaza?"
"Don't call
me that!"
"Are you?"
He
flinched. He looked at the fresh turned
earth around the tree. "Yes, I'm sorry
for it. I hated myself for what I did
for a while, too. I would do anything
to take it all back. I would like
forgiveness… But I know that life goes on, that there's nothing I can do. I've forgiven myself. That's what counts."
"I can give
you more forgiveness. True repentance."
Sekhmet
looked up, smiling as usual.
He never
even screamed.
****
Cale
laughed as the wolf pup staggered out of the koi pond, shook itself
ungracefully, and scampered after its mother into the woods. The little pup had fallen into the pond as
he followed his mother and littermates back towards the forest from whence
they'd come. Cale sighed contentedly as
the last of the wolves left him. Things
were so much nicer these days.
He heard a
jangling sound behind him.
"Hello,
Kayura!" he greeted pleasantly.
"Beautiful day, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"Why the
long face?"
"I went
into Talpa's throne room."
Cale turned
around, shocked. "What?!"
She cocked
her head to the side, blank faced. "I
went into Talpa's throne room. I was
thinking about the war."
Cale walked
over to her, hugged her. "It's over
now. We need to move on."
"I'm not
done yet."
"Huh?" He
looked down at her, confused.
"I'm not
done yet. How did you get that scar?"
"My
scar?" He unconsciously lifted a hand
to touch the scar on his left eye.
"Yes. How'd you get it?"
He closed
his eyes and shuddered. "Kayura…I don't
like to talk about it…"
"Tell me."
"While I
was still with Talpa…when we were conquering the Nether Realm…there was a
village. We attacked at night. Killed almost everyone, channeled their
souls to the moats to be turned into husk soldiers. A young boy, protecting his little sisters, in one house…he had a
dagger…I sliced his throat, speared his heart.
I thought he was dead… He slashed my eye, and then he died."
"Did you
know his name?"
Cale
swallowed. "No. I knew nothing about him."
"But the
villagers knew all about you. Talpa's
Warlord of Darkness. The little boy
knew your name. Didn't he, Anubis?"
"That's not
my name!" Cale nearly struck her in his anger.
"It
was. Talpa named you that."
"Shut up,
Kayura."
"I helped
Naaza. I let him leave his name. He really is Sekhmet now. Would you like me to help you, Anubis?"
Cale stood
before the girl, unarmored and alone.
"You could do that?"
"Yes. Would you like me to?"
Grieved by
his memories, Cale looked down at his feet.
He closed his eyes and nodded.
Kayura
smiled.
****
Kayura
watched Dais whirling, attacking an invisible enemy, leaping away from
imaginary blows. He finally noticed her
and stopped. He was sweating heavily,
wearing only a pair of homespun cotton pants, his hair pulled back and his eye
patch in position. He was grinning as
he walked over to her.
She waited
until he'd taken a drink of water from the pitcher that sat on the bench. "Hey, Kay."
"Hello."
Dais
frowned. "Something wrong?"
"Only a
little something. I've already fixed
half of it."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Did you
know that there isn't a single spider web in Talpa's throne room?"
"What are
you talking about?" he asked, smiling again.
He sat down beside her. "You
didn't go in there, did you?"
"I did."
"Okay." He
leaned back against the wall and looked at her over the rim of the glass as he
sipped at the water.
"There are
no spider webs in there because there are no spiders. There are no spiders in there because the room is so full of his
evil that nothing can survive in there for long."
"Is that
why you had it closed off?"
"Yes. But I went in today."
"Oh. Why?"
"I had to
think. There are some things I forgot to
take care of after Talpa died. I'm
doing it today."
"Mmm." Dais watched her stand up and walk three
steps away.
"Cale and
Sekhmet did things that they were sorry for.
They hurt terribly inside because of it. I showed them how to be truly forgiven today. But you never seem to be sorry for what you
did in the war. Why is that?"
Dais
grinned. "I'm a master of illusions,
remember? I never killed anyone, not
wrongfully anyway. Once or twice in
self-defense, but that was it. I merely
sent those I was sent to kill into a void.
I couldn't do that anymore, of course.
Back then I was only able to because I knew where a spirit well was and
those disappeared with Badamon. They
merely stayed in the void until Talpa died.
Then they came back."
"Why did
you do that?"
Now he
sighed. "Truthfully, I thought it
crueler than just killing them.
Instead, they would suffer in the void, in nothingness, for however long
Talpa was around. I wasn't so nice
then."
"None of us
were, I suppose."
"No…but I
don't have to feel guilty about anything really serious like murder because I
didn't kill anyone."
"I see."
"Something
really is wrong."
"Yes."
"What?"
"Did you
ever meet the Ancient?"
"Yes, why?"
"Did you
look into his eyes?"
"Well, no."
"So you
never saw the sorrow there, you never knew how hard life was for him, how much
he loved everyone, even his enemies.
Like you."
"Kayura,
what's this all about?"
"Talpa
owned you. You were his. But the Ancient still loved you, as if you
were a child in need of guidance."
"Kayura…"
Suspicious now, Dais rose and stood behind the girl. He placed a hand on her shoulder
"Are you alright?"
"You killed
him."
Dais jerked
away, stepped back. "What?"
"You killed
him, Rajura."
"What? What's wrong with you?! I never wanted that name. Talpa called me that. It's not real."
"It's real,
Rajura." Kayura was turning around.
"Kayura, I
think something's happened to you. You
must've been poisoned by Talpa's chamber."
"No. I wasn't."
"Kayura,
the Staff!" Dais stared at the object, which had just appeared in Kayura's
hand.
"What about
it?"
"It's
covered in-in…"
"Blood?"
Dais could
only nod. "Kayura, what…"
"I helped
Cale and Sekhmet. I'm going to help you
now, Rajura."
Dais
stepped back.
The water
pitcher fell to the ground, shattering into a million pieces.
"Don't you
want to be forgiven?" In Kayura's hand, the Staff turned into a sword.
Dais
grabbed his nunchuka off the bench.
"Kayura, don't do this. You
don't know what you're doing."
"I do,
warrior. I'm forgiving you. I'm redeeming you. As Shuten redeemed himself, as I helped Sekhmet and Cale to be
redeemed."
Dais
watched her carefully, analyzed the situation.
He waited.
Kayura
stood directly before him. She looked
up into his eyes.
His heart
nearly broke.
In Kayura's
eyes was an unfathomable sorrow. He
could see himself reflected in them and he thought of a mirror. He also saw that Kayura wasn't really there
anymore. She'd cracked. She was gone, retreated into some dark void
like the one he'd sent all those poor people into for years, but she wasn't
coming back.
"Kayura…"
"You and
Cale and Sekhmet…you killed the Ancient… I forgive you," she whispered. She pushed the Staff sword forward.
Dais
disappeared.
Kayura
sighed. "Where are you hiding, Rajura?"
"It's Dais,
Kayura. My name is Dais."
"Please,
let me forgive you."
"I think
you're forgiving the wrong person."
"What are
you talking about?" She remained
expressionless.
"You should
forgive yourself, Kayura."
"I don't
need to be forgiven. I was a bad
girl. It is my punishment to be
unforgiven."
"Then why
are you forgiving the rest of us?"
That seemed
to halt her. She tilted her head to the
side. "I don't understand."
"You do,
Kayura. Come back and face it."
"No."
"Come
back."
"No!"
screamed Kayura. She threw the sword
directly at Dais where he was hidden.
He paused
to calm himself. That was close.
"I can
forgive you, Kayura. That's easy. But you have to forgive yourself too."
"Shut up!"
Dais
stepped up behind her. "Come back,
Kayura. Don't do this. It's wrong.
You don't want to do it."
"I…I
can't. I won't!"
Dais
grabbed her.
She fought
him with a surprising strength. She
threw him off. He grunted as he hit a
wall. Kayura seized his nunchuka from
the floor and lunged at him, shrieking.
Dais's hand found a hilt. He
swung up the sword to block her attack.
Using her own force against her, Dais knocked Kayura back.
Kayura's
head hit the bench. She sagged to floor
with a moan. Dais cautiously approached
her, the sword still in his hand.
"Kayura?"
She closed
her eyes. A minute passed, then she
looked up at him. "Dais?"
He let out
his breath and knelt beside her. "Are
you alright?"
She closed
her eyes again, tears falling down her face.
"I'm sorry. I don't want to be
back." She opened her eyes again and
looked up.
Dais tried
to grab her hand. He wasn't fast
enough.
Blood
gushed from Kayura's throat. Her hand
fell limp, and the shard of glass from the broken water pitcher skittered
across the stone floor. Dais knew
better than to try to do anything for her.
She had cut through both her jugular vein and her windpipe. He knew no healing.
Kayura had
died.
Dais stood
up slowly. He looked at the Staff sword
in his hands, the blood of his friends staining its beauty. He looked at Kayura's open eyes, mirrors of
a broken mind.
"I forgive
you," he said.
There was
nowhere he could've heard it coming from.
But he heard it nonetheless.
"…thank you…"
****
Dais found
the village nearly eight years after Kayura went berserk. It was small, only about a dozen
cottages. The people seemed happy.
A family
invited him to have supper with them.
The father of the house, a tall man with violet black hair, was a
serious person but he smiled often. His
wife was a lithe young woman, her eyes a deep blue, her hair a soft green. They had three children, two little boys and
a girl. Dais couldn't figure out what
it was about the family that seemed so familiar.
It would be
half a year, and many meals with the family, before Kusaro—the father—would
mention his ancestors.
"Kayura?"
exclaimed Dais. Tori came running,
worried that something had happened.
"Yes,"
replied Kusaro calmly. "Her mother hid
her son away before the attack, sensing that something was wrong. He grew up, and I am one of his
descendents."
"But Kayura
said she had no surviving siblings."
"My
ancestor's sister was stolen away. She
was most likely led to believe that no one had survived. It is a family quest to find her. She was powerful enough to survive for
centuries."
Dais closed
his eyes, fighting back tears. "No need
to search anymore. She died a few years
ago."
"Oh."
Kusaro and Tori bowed their heads at this.
After a few
moments, Kusaro lifted his head. "But
we have others we must find. Tori's
ancestors also lost people to the Demon."
"Yes, their
names were Sasaki Kujuurou and Yamanouchi Naotoki." Tori smiled, projecting strength for her husband's sake."
"Impossible!"
shouted Dais.
"What?!"
Tori recoiled, confused.
"Those
names. Those were the birth names of my
friends Cale and Sekhmet."
"You know
them? Where are they?" Tori leaned
towards him in excitement.
Dais
sighed. "They died the same day Kayura
did. I'm sorry."
Tori sat
back. Kusaro wrapped his arm around her
shoulders comfortingly.
Dais shook
his head, not in grief but disbelief.
"It's amazing. You're kin to my
friends? How could this be? I thought I was alone."
Saturizaka,
the oldest boy, spoke up then. "No one
is ever alone. That's what father's ancestor's
sister used to say. And she was only a
little girl then. They say she was very
wise."
Kusaro
smiled. "Yes. Kayura was wise."
Dais smiled
sadly. "She was that. Among many other things."
Tori spoke
up now. "Dais, may I ask you a favor?"
"Whatever
you want," he agreed eagerly.
"Would you
take our daughter?"
"What?"
"We never
told you what her true name is. We only
call her Kari as a pet name. She is
called Kayura."
"I don't
understand."
"We would
like you to take her back with you, to train her, raise her as a noble
warrior," said Kusaro.
Tori's blue
eyes pleaded with the warlord. "She
seems to have the Ancient power within her," she explained.
Dais
grinned.
Just then,
the little girl walked into the room.
She looked around, bewildered.
"You're
speaking of me," she said. She cocked
her head to the side, thinking.
Dais's
breath caught in his throat. Kayura
used to do that. Exactly that way.
"I would
like to go with you."
"You
would?"
"Yes. My namesake was a warrior. She had no chance to fight according to her
choice. She believed she was bad and
hated herself for it. I would like to
regain her honor for her, so that she may rest in peace."
Dais wept
openly then.
****
A century
later, Kayura found Dais in the training room.
He was sitting beside a wooden bench, turned on its side. Broken glass was scattered across the floor,
a sword and nunchuka lay nearby. Dust
and cobwebs gave evidence that the room had been undisturbed for a very long
time. Kayura called the man's name.
Dais did
not respond.
Days later,
Kayura was meditating beside Dais's bedside.
The man had not spoken since she'd found him in the training room.
Kayura felt
something inside herself. She
identified it. A soul, not her
own. No, not even a soul, but a mere
shred of one.
"You. You are my namesake, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"Why are
you within me?"
"I've
been with you since your birth. I have
a purpose in this."
"What is
it?"
"I seek
forgiveness. I would forgive myself but
for one thing."
"And you
wish me to help?"
"Yes."
"…name
it."
"Save
him."
"Excuse
me?"
"Save
Dais. He is following me into the
void. I don't want him to become like
me, a cracked mirror. Bring him back
before he goes too far, so that I can forgive myself and leave you. Please."
Kayura gave
her answer and came out of her meditation.
****
Two days
later, Kayura helped Dais out of the castle grounds. They walked out to a small building in the forest. There was a garden on one side of the
building and a tree stood at enormous height in it. There was a koi pond on the other side, paw prints dotting the
mud around the water. Beneath the tree
were three palm-sized stone spheres.
One had wings mounted on either side of it.
"Their
graves," said Dais.
Kayura
smiled at him. "They lie here? Together?"
"Yes, as
they would have wanted. This is where I
want to be too, when I go."
She
laughed. "Well, you aren't going for a
long time yet, Uncle."
He grinned
tiredly. "No, not for a long time yet."
****
As they
walked away a few hours later, Kayura heard the same voice Dais had heard all
those decades ago. She heard it sigh in
contentment, felt it lift out and away from her, drift away into something
beautiful.
Dais looked
at her questioningly. "You're tilting
your head in the way that means you hear something. What?"
Kayura
smiled. "I hear forgiveness, Dais. No more cracked mirrors."
