Hmm...somehow I'm not as pleased with this chapter...but oh well. Oh, and before I forget, feel free to email/write in the review section any corrections to the data (for example, "it was blah war, not the one you wrote!" or "blah did blah before that happened, not after!" etc etc...) Corrections are greatly appreciated. And I just realized that doesn't like smilies...or at least my smilies...sigh

Disclaimer: I don't own Suikoden...as always...

Glistening Stardust

#3 Rewrite

If I told people I was 300 years old, they'd probably laugh, denounce me for a lunatic, and shut me off somewhere. Heck, they may even tie me up and throw me into the ocean if given the chance. I would have too, had it not been not that I was holding a True Rune.

300 years ago, my grandfather and I lived together in the Village of the Hidden Rune. Life was peaceful there, the other kids and I fished and hunted and played together all day. All we cared about was the present, that we were having fun and that we had enough to eat for the day. I had never wondered about the name of the village, though now that I think about it, it was kind of obvious, wasn't it? I believe I asked my grandfather once, but he brushed it off, saying that I would understand it soon enough.

And so I did, when Windy attacked the village. The forests went up in flames and nothing was left standing. Among all the confusion, my grandfather pulled me aside and before I knew it, an insignia of a scythe was on my right hand. The only thing he said before he pushed me into the woods into hiding was, "This is the Rune of Life and Death, the Soul Eater. Forgive me for placing such a burden on you, but it must not fall into the hands of evil!"

Perhaps I hated my grandfather for giving me this rune, this curse. But then, what other choice did he have? "Oh, you ransacked our village, but here's the rune that you wanted. Now you can cause all the destruction you want." Yeah, right. At any rate, whether I resented him or not, I was entrusted with the task of protecting the future, and so I ran. I ran and ran until I could run no longer. I've never gone back to that village since. I don't even think it's standing any more. With nowhere to go, the only thing I could do was slaughter poor helpless little furry animals (that bit me) and walking leaves with buggy red berry-eyes (that stampeded me when given the chance) for some cash. Along the way, I perfected using many different weapons, mostly out of curiosity, but also for protection purposes. If anything happened to be too strong for me to kill by simple attacks, I simply ran. The Soul Eater was a powerful rune, no doubt, but something told me that it shouldn't be used carelessly.

I traveled alone for almost 150 years, isolated from other humans. I avoided villages or crowded places as often as possible, and as a result, I became an unsociable outcast. Coming in contact with people made me uncomfortable, and as a result I just left them alone. However, no matter how much I disliked it and how necessary it was, I wanted company. I was tired from the curse. I wanted to talk to someone about my troubles, my worries, my thoughts and feelings. I had once heard that the future was predetermined, and that everything was predestined to a certain fate. Maybe my fate was to be alone, forever carrying my burden.

By this time, I had made my way to the Island Nations. Nice place really, but what place isn't nice to a person who has stayed away from society? The only way around was by ship, and so I hired a ship and the smallest crew possible and set sail north (you'd be surprised how much money you get from killing furry fluffballs and bunnies with axes can get you after 100 years…). After the 4th day on the seas, a heavy fog set in. This was extremely strange since we had not seen fog in the distance and the navigator had predicted clear skies. A loud crash suddenly sounded not soon after. Everyone was shocked. A huge ship had appeared out of nowhere and crashed into the side. I was overtaken by curiosity, and so I wandered into the ship. Suddenly I was transported to a dark corridor. Anxious, but intrigued, I continued on until I reached a dark chamber.

"Who are you and what business do you have here?" A deep mysterious voice asked.

I searched for a reason that didn't contain the word 'curious.' "…I would like for you to remove your ship from my ship's hull."

"…Who do you think you are, challenging the great Fog Ship Guide?"

"What, you have a problem with me boarding your ship?" which probably wasn't a good thing to say, since the Guide sent a spell flying at me. As a reflex, I raised my arms to cover my face, activating the Soul Eater. This caused the Guide to look extremely…interested (it's weird to be considered 'interesting' by other guys…especially by guy-ghosts…). Now that I think about it, the only reason this ghostly ship crashed into mine in the first place was probably because I was there.

"My my, what a dangerous toy you have there."

"That's none of your business."

"Carrying that around is probably very tiresome, isn't it?"

"Shut up…"

"Why don't you allow me to carry the burden?"

"SHUT UP!" I sent another spell his way, which didn't seem to affect him at all. Maybe it was because he was already dead (I think…he looked like a ghost at the very least…), so the Rune of Life and Death had no effect on him.

"Angry, are you? But you know it's true. After all, you wouldn't want others to die for your rune would you? How about this, I take you to another world, isolated from others, where you can't hurt others? Hmm…as a safety precaution, I'll keep your toy as safekeeping."

Oh, I knew where this was leading. But then again, as I've said, I was tired. I was mentally and spiritually exhausted. And so I accepted the offer. As much as I knew that the ghoul would not use the Soul Eater wisely, I was glad to be rid of my fate as the eternal bearer of the accursed rune. I can't say that I preferred living in darkness, but it was almost a relief to have the heavy pressure of the Soul Eater removed. Eventually, I lost track of time. A few years must have passed.

Then one day the Guide sensed another power. This time, however, the victim was the bearer of the Rune of Punishment. The Fog ship crashed into his, and the bearer, with some other men, came aboard. I was given the task to guide them to the chamber.

As I led them onwards, I could not help but wonder about this bearer. I realized how similar we were. Both of us bore Runes with great powers of destruction, and both pressed heavily on the soul of the bearer. I decided to see his answer to the Guide.

The bearer refused to hand his rune over. I saw this, and realized what a fool I was, handing something that was entrusted to me to a ghost! All so I could escape from the responsibility of a bearer! And so I decided to fight, and after retrieving the Soul Eater, I returned to the outside world. For once, I was glad to see the light. As a sort of repayment for the debt, I helped the bearer of the Rune of Punishment in the Island Nations War, and I housed on his ship (as my ship probably left quite a while ago…).

If the future is predetermined, written down on paper as this letter is, then I won't run, and I shall rewrite it with these hands.

PS: There's this really scary guy onboard…I think his name's Aldo. As I've said, it really is scary to be interesting to another guy…

A little weird...more like a retelling from Ted's POV...wasn't what I originally intended it to be, but oh well. Let's say this is a memoir thatTed put in a bottle with a heavy rock tied to it and dropped it in the ocean somewhere in the world...

Reviews:

Chii: I know who you are personally, so I'll just say thanks XD

Suiko Warrior: You like it:DDD is happy Thanks for the encouragement :D