Chapter 5: Night Flowers of Nostalgia
Ramus slowly opened his eyes. The pelt of the sun that he had been longing for
was replaced by darkness so enervating, it would make even the boldest of
heroes cringe. The sudden rush of melancholic atmosphere drawing the enveloping
darkness and the undisturbed ancient air sent shivers down to the his bone.
The thief took one deep breath. This is it. From the Ramus's point of view,
this is the only way that he can do something for his friends. This is the only
way that he can ever find out what had happened to his sister Tamara.
He drew his dagger and patiently waited for his sharp eyes to adjust in the
dark. Soon, images of drapes and velvet setting lined with thin rotten ropes
formed in front of him. Ramus stepped inside the large curtains and ended up in
the stage of an ancient grand theater of Glastheim, lost pride of a damned
legacy, entombed by time.
Ramus squinted his eyes to see as far as he could. Remains of what were once
ivory chairs and broken tables lay scattered along the aisles. Some were left
intact along the rows but time did not let them go without damages too. Dust
covered everything and created an almost dark winterish atmosphere.
Through the center of the empty stage he walked, where spectacles of old were
once displayed one night after the other. There is nothing there to grace the
long-gone audience now. Emptiness and silence served as the only merit to its
glorious past. The whole place looked like it has taken loneliness, put it in
form and painted it in a grand mural in all corners of the theater.
And though the thought would defy anything heard of and seen in the world, the
lights of the theater soon came alive. Torches started lighting themselves up,
almost as if they were gladly welcoming the first guest in thousands of years.
Ghostly music of the dark shortly followed. An aria of ghostly whispers soaked
the air with an ethereal feeling that deepened any emotion that lay in its
listener's heart.
Ramus couldn't believe what he was experiencing. The theater seemed so
unworldly. It seemed alive. He jumped off the stage and darted for the large
wooden doors that served as the exit at the far back of the seats. Not too
surprisingly enough, the doors sealed shut by themselves, locking the thief in
a most unwanted place.
A feminine voice similar to Sampaguita's suddenly came from the far end of the
stage.
"The
castle has its way of bending to its master's will."
A spotlight lit itself up and illuminated a red-haired Kafra of her early teens
on the stage. Her short wavy hair fell straight in front of her face but the
trademarked smile could still be seen, even from a distance. Her standard
uniform was torn and rent. And on her right hand was an ornate arcwand, twice
as long and twice as large as those used by the contemporary mage.
"Voshino Vinca, at your service," said the Kafra.
Ramus faced the woman. Another spotlight from the dark walkways above the
theater lit up, this time focusing on the thief. "Mm? Another Kafra? So what's
your story?"
" I have come to destroy the evil which has spawned my existence", replied
Vinca, "And unfortunately for you, you're in my way; you, and that wretched
sister of mine. I will do what it takes to get my wishes even if it means I
have to kill a thousand more of your kind."
Ramus smiled back and said, "Well, now that I know we both have our
reasons…Touché, loves!"
The thief pulled back his dagger and ran as fast as he could towards the
stationary maid. Vinca stood perfectly still and did not even change her
expression.
"Here I come!" shouted Ramus as he lept towards the stage and aimed to strike
the Kafra.
On the last possible moment, the Kafra lifted her chin up, exposing nothing her
demonic red eyes that blaze with sheer energy. "Die, thief!"
An ominous-looking warp portal that radiated dark colours instantaneously
appeared between the thief and the kafra. The distortion was unlike that of the
priests, which had a most serene feeling to it when opened. This one looked
like it would send any man unfortunate enough to step on it straight to hell.
Ramus put all of his energy in that one final step before the dark portal. When
his right foot reached the floor, he twisted it, put all of his weight towards
the right and kicked off. Ramus flew to the far right of the portal and evaded
the warp portal by a mere few inches. His pouch of stones, however, was unlucky
enough to get caught. It disappeared immediately leaving only the strap around
the thief's body.
Dust started to rise as Ramus slid forcefully along the still-smooth floorings
of the stage. The portal disappeared shortly after, leaving behind nothing but
a crater in the ground. Ramus expression changed to a serious tone. "That's why
I don't take warps from Kafras."
"You've eluded my attack. Now lets try something a little bit more
challenging," said the Kafra.
"Bring it on, cutie!" taunted Ramus.
In the blink of an eye, five different warp portals started materializing
around Ramus. Thinking of a plan was a luxury that he could not afford.
Meanwhile, somewhere above the theaters, a shadow, unmoving and tranquil, was
watching the fight.
At
the blink of an eye, Ramus was already airborne. He spread his arms in graceful
display and slowly inverted himself in an acrobatic move. As the ebony beams
from the portals started to shoot out of the holes of the stage floor, he
slowly moved his arms, torso, neck and legs in such a way that each beam missed
his body parts by a few inches. The sight of his high leap looked like a
complex aerial dance that could have been pulled off only by the most agile of
Ramus's trade.
The distortions quickly vanished after a couple of seconds. Ramus landed on his
hands and cartwheeled back to position. He then balanced himself forward, drew
back his dagger once more and ran towards the redhead. The fierce and agile
wolf strode on, carefully measuring his step as the ground erupted in violence
with successive openings of portals beside and behind him.
The thief quickly zeroed in on the young lady. The Kafra stared at the attacker
but refused to move from her spot. The warps finally stopped but the soulless
smile on her face seemed to be coming from a perpetual emotion of joy, forever
constant and unwavering.
Ramus finally got close enough and lunged in for the kill. Young Vinca's
exposed eye looked on without fear. She waited for him to get close enough.
Ramus drew back his dagger and swung at his target with swiftness that made the
air whistle. Sound of flesh torn apart followed.
Drops of blood dripped to the floor in front of the Kafra as Ramus landed
behind Vinca. Ramus clutched the hilt of his dagger harder than ever. He felt
insulted and at the same time, he felt pity for himself as he slowly got up
from his kneeling position.
The Kafra finally moved. She turned to the thief and lifted her bangs. The
uncovered red curtains exposed face of an innocent child with a deep new wound
in her right cheek that dripped blood on the floor. Vinca looked into Ramus's
eyes. Ramus got a blast of cold wind from just one look. Her face is almost
saying that he's gonna regret the fact that he couldn't kill a Kafra who
doesn't even move.
The two stared at each other for quite a while. The ghostly songs of the
abandoned theater grew louder than ever, almost as if it was opening the climactic
scene from a grand play.
The Kafra lifted her staff and pointed it at Ramus.
"Touché", whispered the Kafra. Her smile suddenly turned into an expression of
nothingness. The long bangs of her hair fell once more to cover her wounds and
one of her evil-looking eyes.
In a tacit agreement, the two went toward each other at the center of the stage
in full speed. Vinca violently swung her staff at Ramus with a force unnatural
for a Kafra. His Osafune dagger took the blow quite well but the sheer force
made Ramus slide back a few steps backward.
"Huff. Such strength is unbecoming of a sweet girl like you," scoffed the
thief.
No reaction. The Kafra once a gain started running towards Ramus. Ramus spread
his legs and planted his arms to the ground in a low crouch. He patiently
waited for the girl to come at him.
With this low a profile, you now have to choice but strike from above.
As predicted, Vinca raised her wand as if she was going to crush the low-lying
thief in one devastating hammer-stroke. Ramus, half-expecting the move, quickly
rolled to one side and went towards the girl's right flank.
This is all too easy.
Just before the edge of the dagger touched her flesh, the Kafra spun around and
eluded the strike by a half an inch. The momentum of Vinca's strike did not go
to waste as a bone-cracking full-circle kick from the Kafra's left metal shoe
landed on Ramus' cheek as he passed the Kafra in astonishment.
Ramus flew out of control towards the back end of the stage and crashed on a
box filled with ancient masks once used for the plays of the theaters.
He slowly got up and patted his cheek.
Damn. She's can't really be human. Outside, she looks like a kid but her
blows are stronger and quicker than some of the monks that I have encountered
in the forests of Prontera.
"That wasn't as bad as I had expected. This should be an interes…", said the
thief. He would have continued but he slowly lost his balance and fell to his
knees. He tasted traces of blood in his mouth.
Damn it! This is not good. I can't even move my body. I never imagined I
would be defeated by a young kafra with just one blow!
Ramus looked up to the red-haired Kafra. Her smile had returned. Her face
looked so peaceful, just like Sampaguita shortly before the games began.
"Do you like flowers, Ramus?" said the Kafra in a very sweet voice.
Flowers?
Ramus gave out a puzzled look. How could a person talk about flowers with
somebody she's trying to kill?
"I like flowers. Back in Al De, my sister and me used to pick all sorts of
flowers from the nearby mountains and keep them between the pages of our Kafra
manuals to preserve them. I would do anything to make the flowers stay the same
forever," Vinca merrily recalled.
Ramus tried to slowly rise from his slump but Vinca was all to eager to make
him kiss the floor all over again. She went over to his side and hit his back
with her metal staff. Ramus fell to the floor and lost grip of his weapon.
"Don't disturb me when I'm talking. I extremely hate that. Thank you for your
cooperation," monotonically said Vinca. "Girls from the Kafra are like those
flowers. We, Al de Baran women are brought up with only the purest intentions
in mind. Unfortunately…"
What the hell is she talking about?
The Kafra lifted her staff and thrust it down the Ramus' back. Ramus couldn't help but let out a gut-wrenching scream of pain.
"Filthy, greedy human hands expose them to the worst of human nature! Wars, death, destruction… We become tools of man's stupid quest for his own demise!", shouted Vinca while increasing the downforce on the staff.
Aaahh… The Kafra Corp? She wants to destroy the Kafra Corp?
"I like flowers and I would do anything to prevent them from tainted by the
evils of man. That is why I am here. I have to do my part to save the fate of
my flower friends. Sorry, Mr. Thief. You're in my way so I would have to do the
Kafra's final service to you, a final teleport." said Vinca as she looked down
and smiled upon the half-breathing Ramus. The Kafra stepped away from Ramus and
started opening an extra large black portal beneath Ramus.
I can't move. Is this the end of my journey?
Ramus closed his eyes and tried to think of something else before his death.
Ramus was uttering his last prayers when he heard something drop from the
planks suspended high above the ceilings. The sound of two metal shoes landing
on the marble reached his ears. Someone else was in the theater.
The pulsating noise from the opening portal ceased.
"Getting bored of watching us?" shouted Vinca.
A familiar voice came from the dark. "I've always hated your mush stories."
Vinca ran towards the darkness. Ramus could only raise half of his body using
his two arms as he watched her. The red-haired Kafra was indeed powerful.
Whoever was hiding in the shadows would be in for one hell of a beating,
thought Ramus.
Sounds of clashing steel echoed from the darker end of the theater. The tempo
of the sound of crossed weapons went faster and faster. The beat reached a
point that one would think it would have been impossible to produce by two arms
alone. The sound of fighting that emanated was that of two clashing armies. The
music of the ghostly theater played along with the beat, giving the whole place
a much more lively, but still equally morbid feel to it.
Ramus finally got the strength to stand up and hold his dagger on his one hand.
The blow to his back nearly turned him into a vegetable. He tried to look far
into the back end of the audience seats but to no avail.
Finally, both the music and the sounds of fighting stopped. Silence gushed
forth and filled the whole hall.
Down from the stage, Ramus jumped. There he could already see Vinca slowly
trying to walk back towards him. She still wore her usual smile. Only this
time, even her face was covered in blood.
Ramus put up his fighting stance and waited for the Kafra's move. The
red-haired girl walked a few more wobbly steps and finally fell to the floor
where she lay motionless. Her fall exposed a long, bloody katana piercing her
back.
A figure came out of the shadows and pulled out the katana. It was Sampaguita,
the green-haired Kafra that he had met earlier.
Sampaguita sheathed her katana, stooped down and grabbed Vinca's collar as she
inclined her bruised body. "What have you got to say for yourself, Kafra Elite
#34, Voshino Vinca?"
Vinca tried her best to put on her usual smile but her weakened body rebelled
against it. She looked at the equally bloodied Sampaguita in the eyes and in a
slow and weak voice she said:
"I'm… glad," said Vinca in a dying voice.
"I'm glad. That…. that… that in the end, even if I wasn't able to stop the
madness, I'm still glad that you are the one who came here to kill me."
With that, the young Kafran devil passed away, in the hands of her fellow
servant of Kafra Corporation.
Sampaguita slowly laid her fellow kafra to the cold ground of Glastheim.
You didn't have to stop the madness, Vinca.
