Chapter 23
Renard tried not to openly stare at Illumi. The young man's once large eyes were narrowed with concentration. Although dressed in the clothes of a maid, he had somehow shed himself of his effeminate graces and had transformed into a single-mindedly determined, ruthless and efficient man who was deep in thought. Though his eyes were blank, the intensity of his concentration was proof that a multitude of things were computing through his mind at dizzying speeds. There was an icy pride in his posture that the soft pastel pink and purple silks could not possibly hide. It was actually a familiar image.
"You………remind me of someone." He said hesitantly, his smooth bass penetrating through the distant rumbles of the battle waged at the Gates. Now at the Dais near the throne room, all was eerily quiet and cautiously peaceful.
"Oh?"
Renard fought the slight tremble in his voice by coughing. "I had a brother, a very capable and talented brother in fact. Now that I look at you, it kind of reminds me of him."
"How so?"
Why had Illumi's voice become so dispassionate and detached? It was a carefully neutral voice, devoid of worries or pleasantries, hate or love, merely a voice responding to his questions.
Renard closed his eyes, allowing himself a brief moment to drift back to his glorious days – his days as the first Kalinnan Emperor. He had overthrown the ailing and corrupted Wardien dynasty to establish what he hoped would be an empire to last a thousand years. But he was only a commander of men's hearts – not a General of war. The war between the Kalinnan and the Wardien families had in fact been won by his younger brother, a proud, confident and cavalier type of man who turned away from the chance to be king with the fully outrageous comment that "being Emperor was boring and a lot of pointless hard work". Yes, Cat's face frowned slightly, his brother was that type of person – too intelligent and powerful, always restless and latching onto each and new obsession with a ferocity comparable to a tiger. With a wave of the hand, he dared to defy tradition and grew his hair long, a shimmering thick black mane which reached his waist and often attended court with white powder and slight amounts of rouge applied to his face. He was always drinking, always chasing women, laughing at each scandal and indulged in the latest gossips. When his interests as Lord were threatened, he engaged himself in the politics and intrigues of court – and everyone trembled whenever his lips lifted, not in casual humor, but in malevolent planning and deceit and heads would inevitably roll for all those who dared to defy his chosen path.
He supposed that perhaps he should have recognized Illumi as a splitting image of his brother sooner, but the young man had been different – he had been formerly trained as an emotionless assassin fated to walk the world on the perilous balance between life and death – neither living yet not fully dead, with one foot already firmly planted past the gates of Hell. His large dull eyes were distinctly different from the sparkling narrower eyes of his brother, brimming with contempt, arrogance, mockery and utter pride for everything around him because he had the intelligence to see through it all. His brother's voice was cutting and cruel at times, or otherwise just down right overconfident and condescending with the constant overtones of sarcasm. It could have been the voice of a great orator so filled with life and emotion, yet Illumi had, until the past few days, not been capable of emotion.
The assassin was changing, Renard concluded. He feels the ultimate power dwelling within him, coursing through his veins this very minute, offering him the world and all its possibilities. He was arising, passing through the clouds to become a dragon who would soar above everyone and everything and look down on the world below. Gone will be the assassin's shell that he had cowered in for all these painful years, and from that cocoon will emerge a creature so magnificent and beautiful, one who would not to live by the rules or wishes of others.
Just like his brother, dubbed the Black Stallion for he was indeed,
a magnificent creature who could not be tamed or bound.
Zeno arrived at the Dais and found the fallen and standing figures.
"Where's Echlan?" he asked, and at the same time kneeling down to check that his grandson was still all right. Oh yes, he saw Alluka suddenly swell up to amazing heights and the old master assassin could only begin to wonder what sort of battle had occurred before.
"The eunuch has gone to the North Gate fetch Karen." Cat quickly informed him.
Zeno scowled. "That can't be right. I was at the North Gate just a while ago before Kamus told me to back you guys up. Karen was called away about half an hour ago to reinforce the East Gate!"
"Please settle down. Echlan and Karen are already on their way back." Illumi stoically informed them.
"You have powers similar to Alluka?" Renard inquired.
Illumi closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. "No, but through the nen all around us, I know what is going on, and there are whispers in the wind, everyone is trying to tell me something."
How powerfully serene his voice had become. He spoke as if it were a beautiful spring morning where the sun was about to rise and the dew drops on the morning glories were winking gently at them all.
"Illumi….are you all right?" Zeno looked worriedly at his eldest grandson's unreadable back and then looked to Renard for explanations.
"Fear not Grandpa, I'm merely acting as a conduit for everything that is here. Through my body, they'll exercise a power unimaginable, as they had once done when they were alive. Or rather, I will carry out their will for them. Master Echlan and Karen-chan have arrived."
When the two figures arrived to the Dais, Karen was the first to speak. The very lack of compassion and cruelty in her voice gave Renard the creeps. Had Echlan found Karen's evil twin instead?
"I totally object to this task. I demand to be put back on the front line!"
"Heal the Emperor, and we'll let you gut as many rebels as you can lay your bloody hands on afterwards, ok?!" the eunuch cried out in distress, pushing Karen towards the limp form of Rudy whose ghostly pale face and white lips might lead to the mistaken conclusion that she had already slipped away.
Karen boredly glared at him. "I can't heal – you know that. Once I've started killing again, I can no longer work those miracles. The war has beckoned my soul – I feel like that the past year has been nothing but a hazy dream, its contents already quickly fading away, but now, I awaken, and now I am alive again. You will not take my delights away from me!"
"You heart is crying." Illumi commented quietly, his eyes were downcast and unfocused, and he was vaguely staring at the ground. The stiff breeze around them had threatened to carry his words away before they could be heard.
"Knock it off. It's reveling in the glory of what I am!" his cousin snarled.
His voice remained solemn. "The war has awoken a terrible beast which lurks inside you. This is not who you want to be – you told me so yourself."
She bared her fangs. "Well, reality can't always be as fancy as your dreams can it? You're the natural nen user – YOU heal the Emperor."
Illumi finally tilted his head and turned to her. His expression was
distant and aloof.
"Do you dare…….to step into my Sanctuary?"
He spread his arms as if he were opening up from an embrace. He took
in a deep, long breath and projected the tranquility in his heart upon
those around him.
They all felt like that they had been struck with a blast of icy wind – but it was not uncomfortable. Instead, it carried with it a strange sort of fragrance, the saltiness of the ocean and the cool spray from its crashing waves.
The vast spaces of stone courtyards and the magnificent Throne Room behind them all gradually faded away, replaced by a powerfully tranquil sky blue, boundless and endless in scope with not a cloud in the sky. They felt so small, so insignificant and helpless to the eternal stretch of water and sky around them. It was perspective – they were small and insignificant compared to the vastness of space and the world. What were their cares and troubles when they were but a speck in the never ending ocean of calm and tranquility? They felt their bodies gently rocking along with the lapping waves, a warmth like the sun embraced them with such wonderful heat. The small wind caused stray strands of hair to tickle at their faces but the air was so crisp, so overwhelmingly refreshing that perhaps they had all been granted a glimpse of the heavens.
And the image and sensations faded as quickly as it had been made, leaving them all with a sense of hollow emptiness. They would do anything to taste such blissful calm again.
Illumi's eyes were now transfixed onto his cousin who trembled beneath his gaze.
"Who are you?" she whispered hoarsely, one lone tear escaping out the corner of her eye to slowly trickle down her dust and blood caked face. "And where did you take me just then?"
"Just a place untouched and pure in our souls. It is our Sanctuary,
a holy and sacred place where none but yourself may step. It existed when
we were in our mothers' womb, and will be the last place we go to as we
pass into the eternity of death. During our life time, we may have forgotten
that our souls were capable of such purity, such whiteness, but no, it
is not something which can be destroyed or
lost. So the question is, who are you?"
There was a short, quiet silence as she balked at the question and blinked rapidly. The pause seemed to last eternity before she uttered the words:
"Karen Kalinnan Kastro….I am a doctor, and I heal the sick and injured – oh my GOSH!"
As if woken up from yet another trance, Karen dropped to her knees beside the Emperor who had somehow been able to crack an eyelid open and had the strength to give her a grin, showing bloodied teeth.
"Wel…..come ba….ck." Rudy croaked and choked on some blood as she tried to chuckle.
"Forgive me sire!" she exclaimed in a shaky breath and wearing an expression of direst concern, her brilliant white aura flared brightly around her and shared the miracle with Rudy who had been so close to death's door only moments ago.
Echlan's stomach finally unclenched and he was able to breathe again.
Stains of pink gradually returned to the Emperor's gray and colourless
face and her chest rose and fell with increasing firmness. Good signs,
good signs indeed.
Illumi watched, seemingly aloof as Karen's nen, a pure and brilliant
white light, began to work its wonders and in his mind, he heard a triumphant
laughter ringing proud and exuding confidence. He felt a presence trying
to dominate and overwhelm his consciousness but he fought back with stubborn
determination.
You want to save the Emperor don't you? The voice sneered. There are strong people coming through the secret tunnels beneath the Forbidden Palace. Even you alone with your newly awakened strength may not be able to deal with.
'And what do you suggest I do?' Illumi asked back with coldness equal to the strange voices' arrogance.
Good boy! Good boy! You seem willing to learn, and I am willing to teach.
Follow as I say.
Liam led his most loyal and supportive troops through the twisting underground tunnels and escape corridors down in the deep earth beneath the Palace and felt his throat constricting. Under the dim and yellow musty lights provided by the torch and the claustrophobic pressure he was feeling from the enclosed space, he felt like a trapped animal. Dust and dirt would sometimes fall in clumps onto their tattered clothing after a particular shell or grenade exploded above them. At certain times, progress through the narrow tunnels was slow and the muted groanings of the earth and the rumbles and shakes of the ground beneath them struck icy fear into the very depths of their hearts.
"Listen up men!" Liam pushed back his bottle yellowed coloured glasses to sit more firmly on his dust caked face. "We are VERY close to Throne Room now. The Emperor should be heavily guarded. I know full well that not many of us expect to live through this encounter, but think about what we came here for! We are here to rid the very essence of corruption and degradation left in Arcadia." He raised his voice. "We are here to end the Kalinnan dynasty and throw out the broken and despotic monarchy!"
His men had fierce determination shining dully from their weary eyes. They were the dispossessed and disenchanted soldiers from the front line. Half of them never participated in the war themselves, but were the type of intellectuals in the intelligentsia who sat around theorizing more about morality of the Emperor's actions without accounting for practicalities and necessities. They had been anti-monarchists for the good length of their lives and would follow Liam to the ends of the earth to fulfil their dreams. The other half were the soldiers who had deserted from the army, either sickened by the military practices or fell to the grip of fear in the bloody midst of war and battle. They were now fugitives, wanted, and had no future. Liam promised them that the end of the Kalinnan dynasty would also release them of their crimes or wrongdoings. Since they had not future anyway, why not bring down the Emperor and in doing so create another chance for life?
"Whatever happens, Rodimostev is our target. Forget about the guards, but avoid their attacks if you could."
With a dirty sleeve, Liam wiped the perspiration from his forehead and swallowed. The pressure was steadily increasing with each step towards the heart of the Forbidden Palace. Everything was about to end, the exit could be seen, and Liam and his renegade group of soldiers was greeted by the soft and unnatural glow of the illuminators, and also the Dark Executioner himself.
The maids clothing which Illumi had worn before were gone, replaced by flowing black robes which had grown from his former garments, his nen twisting and shaping his old clothes into a rich, black, and almost ancient fashion of gold embroidered sleeves and hems which lightly caressed the ground. Half of his hair had been pinned back and up into what Zeno thought was a rather strange cube shaped hat that he saw royalty and other court officials wore during the early days of the Kalinnan dynasty in pictures hung up in the vast museum. Wisps of dark, black nen continuously curled and lapped around Illumi's feet, giving the picture that he was some type of foul god who had just made his descent from the heavens and onto the mortal earth, the very ephemeral parts of the dark sky still clinging to him.
"Jordan!" Renald remarked with part welcome and part unease.
"No Cat – I'm still Illumi."
"But….why are you…"
"Dressed like him? Because he is a part of me right now, and together we will vanquish the enemy. Karen-chan, you stay well behind me and continue to work on Rudy and take care of Allu too ok?"
Calm as Karen tried to be, she couldn't help but feel the few small hairs on the back of her hair raise at the completely different persona exhibited by her cousin. He now carried himself with the full airs of a prince and took up the mantle of what it is to be a natural nen user. His pose was now unsettlingly relaxed and at ease as if he were attending a Sunday picnic. If she could see his face, there might have been a cocky smile on his lips and his normally large and feline eyes playfully narrowed. Rudy likewise was curious, or that might be the wrong word to describe her solemn and rather serious observant gaze on the impassive back draped in a stunning black satin cloak.
"Master Echlan, grandpa, the enemy is coming. Your task is to protect the Emperor and play defensive. I will deal out the damage."
None of them really felt like arguing and merely nodded. Time for the
fireworks to begin.