Chapter -121: Let the Shadow Fall
The coldest air from Cryofloe's mountain could not compare to her gaze.
The heat spewing from Canofloe's volcano could not compare to the way her blood boiled with ecstasy.
For the first time in years, Ophelia had been freed from her leash and was ready to indulge her desires for as long as she could drag this out.
And all Sarajin could tell himself...Was "Run". This wasn't a fight he, or anyone on this planet, could win.
He turned and tried to take to the skies with a burst of wind only for one of her shadowy claws to latch onto his ankles and drag him back to the ground like a hammerhead.
Sarajin was given a rough flip onto his back and dragged towards the blood lake, forced to look his aggressor in her smiling face.
"You cannot run from your filthy humanity, Sarajin Stratos!" She proclaimed, her voice echoing throughout the twilight skies.
She raised her knife over her head and a twister of black mist gathered around it, growing as tall as a mountain.
Sarajin's expression went silent with fear as she brought the knife down, and all the ill winds that came with it.
In a panic he tried to call upon any of the Conduit Forms for aid, the mix of emotions bringing forth the wild power of Electricity to his side to zap the shadow around his ankle.
He then scrambled onto his feet and dashed to the right in the nick of time as the black twister sliced apart the ground far beyond what he could see.
Ophelia then quickly pivoted in place and pointed her knife at him, commanding the clasping denizens of darkness to splash atop the blood lake like breaching sharks.
They lunged out of the surface dripping with crimson ooze and came crashing down in the blink of an eye, each one getting closer to successfully pinning him to the ground.
Sarajin's heart had such a rapid pace that he had no way to think let alone breathe.
Ophelia then raised her knife over her head and the shadow thickened at her sides, crashing down in Sarajin's way as two massive walls.
The walls grew over his head to consume the sky and leave them both trapped in a pitch black land, only kept lit by Ophelia's glowing eyes.
She then pulled her arm around her neck, the knife behind her head, and thrust forward across the span of land between them faster than a millisecond.
The only reason Sarajin had time to weave out of the way is because she took longer to swing the knife, wanting to savor this for as much as she could.
The thrust of her knife penetrated the shadow wall and revealed the outside light, with her then dragging all the shadows into her knife, thickening and lengthening it into a fanged blade.
She then twirled right back around and started attacking Sarajin with a dance of broad and lengthy cuts.
If even a single one hit, Sarajin would die. His agility was his only saving grace while the queen of shadows played to her heart's content, like one in the prime of their youth.
After leaping and barreling between her slashes for a while Sarajin fell onto his shoulder and skidded along the surface of the blood lake.
Ophelia then stabbed her makeshift sword into the ground and shadows dispersed into roots, combining together beneath Sarajin's feet and pushing him back onto his feet.
She then slid on over and hoisted him by his neck, forcing their gaze to connect. Her smile shook with immeasurable delight, and he could feel that elation on the pulse of her boney wrist.
"If you do not fight me you will die! What is more valuable to you, your shameful humanity, or your life?!" She shouted with an orotund tone.
"Ghhh...!" Sarajin saw the light slowly fade from his eyes as she squeezed tighter, making his throat crack.
His body responded to his sense of urgency by granting him the power of the Ice Conduit Form, and with the power called forth by his growing feelings of panic he froze Ophelia over in a quick and thick frost that spiked off her back.
Sarajin then tried to slip free from her grasp, taking this precious time to breathe...While he still could.
For the ice cracked and the first part to break free was her smile, followed by her hand, which pulled him down so hard that the rest of the ice shattered off instantly.
She slammed him atop the blood lake and held him just above surface level, as all her shadowy hands rose independently from one another along a spiral path around her.
Their fingertips arched down and pointed at his face, sharpened, and ready to feast.
Ophelia then brought the pitch of her voice down to a chilling whisper, "Your dream was flawed from the very beginning, Sarajin Stratos. Those born into a life of blissful ignorance can never stop war."
"You have shamed the Titans who put their trust in you." As Ophelia held on tighter, Sarajin tried to use the Fire Conduit Form, only for her to dip his head in further so the lack of air kept his fire at bay.
She then pulled him back up, leaving him gasping for air as the blood caulked up inside his mouth.
"How can mere words stop the blade from rending flesh?! How can kindness delay the march of armies?!" She rammed her critique into his ears like a rusted spike, as her shadows began to descend, moving at a tense, crawling pace.
"You will shout into their ears for peace until their ears bleed but they will merely take blood in equal measure from their fellow man!"
"That is why I have succeeded where many such as yourself have failed! Because I do not hesitate while you do!"
Sarajin raised his head slightly and saw a slit open up in the cage, with a sole hand of shadow dragging Ophelia's knife along the ground.
Sarajin then found more shadows wrapping themselves tightly around his arms and forcing them closer. He was then forced to take Ophelia's knife and firmly grasp it in both hands, the blade being pointed at her chest.
Her smile grew extra-wide as she looked into his now shaky eyes and told him, "But you can still walk out of this alive...All you have to do is stab me through the heart! Take my life, and with it, my ideals! Only then can you truly bring about 'peace'!"
Sarajin shook all over, struggling in a vain attempt to force the knife out of his hands. But the shadows would only budge on one condition...If he plunged it upward, through her chest.
He looked into her maddened gaze of anticipation and the shadows above her. Only one person would survive this encounter. Only one dream would live to see the dawn of a new day.
All the blood in his body was rushing to his head and hands and telling him to live on and survive. And he wanted to kill her. In this painful, desperate moment, he could have taken a life...
"N-No...!" He jerked his head around in defiance and caused her taunts to only deepen their malicious tone.
"Even when your life is at stake, you refuse to kill?! You aren't just a hypocrite, you are a coward. What if it wasn't you?! What if I chose to kill that half-breed whelp...Or the Aurian?! You would leave them to die just to keep your hands clean?!"
"Answer ME, Sarajin Stratos!" Ophelia said, her voice echoing with the primordial power of the Titan inside of her.
"I REFUSE!" Sarajin screamed at the top of his lungs, beginning a long and arduous series of pants as the words strained to escape his throat.
"I...I am not like you, Ophelia...I'm not going to take a life just to fulfill my dream!"
The shadows over them began to fall further, with Ophelia's expression briefly twisting into a scowl.
"T-Then you are a fool...! People will die because of your weakness, but you'll be able to sleep just fine because your conscience will be clean!"
"I won't let ANYONE die!" Sarajin screamed.
"Protect everyone?! What folly...You cannot hope to manage that!"
"M-Maybe I can't right now..." Sarajin admitted, finding himself running out of breath, "B-But...somebody once told me...that the desire to protect someone...Is true strength. So I...so I...choose to protect everyone!"
Ophelia and her shadows stopped dead in their tracks. And after a tense argument of blood-curdling screams and pain...There was finally silence.
Ophelia's smile weakened slightly, and she closed her eyes. The shadows above her began to withdraw, followed by the ones binding Sarajin unraveling.
He was allowed to part his hands and the knife splashed down at his side.
Ophelia began to rise, like a mummy wrest from its slumber, and finally took her hand off Sarajin's neck.
Night had finally taken its hold over the skies above, bringing about a glistening curtain of stars over the planet.
Her shadows brought her knife and parasol to her side, and she put them back together, pointing the tip of the parasol at the base of Sarajin's chin.
"Stand." She said firm and quietly.
Sarajin slowly forced himself onto his feet, and Ophelia kept the parasol level with his neck once he was fully upright.
The two's gaze met again and the fire was still faintly burning in his eyes following that declaration. Her smile then widened with a curt hum.
"So, that is your vow..." She murmured with intrigue, "You will stand in antithesis to everything I am. As I have delivered penance, you shall offer them redemption...While my hands bathe in blood, you shall keep yours stainless."
Sarajin's expression got a little melancholic as he nodded his head and told her, "That's...what I want to do."
"Fu fu fu, very well then," Ophelia whipped the parasol away over her shoulder and unfurled it, "I will let you live. Only so that I may see your dream come crashing down."
Sarajin's brows arched upward as he let out one, limp plea, "Why...? Why does it have to be this way?"
She fiddled her fingers around on the handle of her parasol and chuckled, "Because this is the strength of my resolve."
"If you are truly to conquer the violent nature of mankind's heart, then you cannot afford to be weak."
She then began to walk elegantly past him, whispering as they stood side-by-side, "Surpass me, Sarajin Stratos, for as long as my ideal exists, it shall always be watching over, like the shadow on your back..."
A chill went down Sarajin's spine and a few seconds later he turned around, staring at her walking away without another word exchanged between them.
He laid a hand over his chest and took a few deep breaths to get his heart to calm down.
"Ophelia..." He whispered mournfully.
He clutched his hand into a fist and then flinched at the sound of water dropping. He looked himself over and realized his clothes were drenched in blood and drying fast.
There was no way he'd be able to go home like this. So first he disrobed and washed the blood out with water, then gave everything a quick dry with the heat of fire.
Once he was finished clothing himself the moon was starting to rise over the horizon below his home. He looked at it fondly and then glanced back over his shoulder, wondering if Ophelia made it back home safely.
In the end, neither of them won that battle but Sarajin felt he came out of it gaining a somewhat stronger resolve. And for that, he could thank her for it.
From there he flew on back home, using the time to ponder things over in peace.
When he arrived he was welcomed with a silent village and a peaceful walk, his reward for surviving that intense encounter...
And a gentle breeze moved through the streets he walked. He looked around at all the little homes and the people living inside of them and thought "There's no place like home".
But he wasn't ready to go home. Not yet.
A thought stirred inside of him regarding what he said in the spur of the moment to Ophelia.
"I will defend everyone," He whispered, which his heart believed in fully and yet...How would he actually go about that?
He craned his head towards the tower of the wise and mighty Twinbeak and made his way towards it, climbing those very steps as he had twice before.
And at the top of this tiring climb he found the Titan perched at the edge of it's nest and gazing lovingly up at the star-speckled night sky with both it's faces.
The second one looked down upon him and the collective being hopped to turn around, using a gentle flutter of its wings to descend upon the nest, and grace their company with a light breeze.
"It has been some time, young Sarajin Stratos."
"What ails you, on this cold, starry night?" Spoke the two heads, soothing in their voice.
Sarajin nodded and first asked them, "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything."
"There is no need to worry."
"Until the end of time, the stars will shine for us to see. We can spare our time for you, if you require aid."
Sarajin bobbed his head and then pressed his chin against his chest. Giving it a little thought, there was one thing that had been bugging him for a while now.
"Why...do the Titans give out pieces of the Wellspring to others?"
"Hmmm..." The creature stirred, rubbing its beak, "You've proposed an interesting question for us, young cloudwalker."
"The Shadowbearer, Ophelia...she has found residence in your heart. And now, a dark fog envelops it."
Sarajin clutched his hand into a fist and raised it before his chest, unfurling it and staring long at the palm, the memory of the power he unleashed still burned into his retinas.
"I thought if I had all these elements I could show them to the other Tribes and help them get along that way,"" He then dropped his hand and shook his head, "But now...I don't think it'll be that easy. There's a lot of hatred and bias in people's hearts."
"Yes. The heart of man has been flailing in a sea of negativity for as long as the Rot has existed," Twinbeak nodded, "In the time of the world's beginning, there used to a messenger, one from each Tribe, who would bear the burden of power over their Wellspring."
"They would be responsible for delivering necessities to other Tribes. Crops for animals, water to quell thirst, heat to bend metal, ice to preserve food to be delivered."
"There was unity...And it was beautiful."
"But when the Rot spread over the land, the messengers were lost to it, and with it, came the messenger of Death."
"And in turn, mankind lost the ability to communicate with one another. They could no longer see the good they could accomplish together and focused solely on their differences."
"Some tried to replace who had been lost, but did not have the strength to do so."
"Thus, the differences bloomed into bigotry, and bigotry gave birth to war."
"So it all started because mankind lost the will to speak to one another?"
"There are many factors involved, some known only to a select few of us."
"But after many eons, something has finally begun to change..." "
"You, Sarajin Stratos. You are that change."
"I...I am?"" Sarajin said, pointing at himself.
"Fighting against logical reasoning, you have stayed true to your heart through thick and thin, and reached out to many of the Tribes of man."
"You have even managed to survive the will of Ophelia to return here to us, alive."
"Never in our years have we bore witness to one who has succeeded in claiming as many fragments of the Wellsprings as thee."
"But...do you understand now what it is you must do with them, our child?"
Sarajin lowered his head and closed his eyes. With just a little thought, he nodded and then looked up at the Titan's gaze with determination.
"Ophelia is right, I can't just lay down my hands and do nothing with the power you and your siblings have entrusted me with."
He laid one hand on his chest and swung the other hand, taking a couple steps towards Twinbeak, "I thought you could only use power to hurt others...But it can be used to save people too. And that's what I want to do...I want to use this power to make sure that nobody gets killed because of the violent nature in our hearts."
"I want to build a better world, and strengthen my control over the elements so I can bridge the gap between all the Tribes. So that someday, we can all relax at night and look up at the stars like you can!"
For the first time ever Twinbeak closed their eyes and bobbed their head, "You have shown us passion. And dedication."
"We cannot hope to find even a single speck of fog in your heart, no matter how hard we may try."
"However…" Twinbeak opened their eyes and rubbed their beak, "Just as you seek a balance in the world, you must maintain a balance within yourself. In your mission to train the other elements, you have sort of neglected your own power."
The owl chuckled at the sight of Sarajin flinching in realization. Sarajin looked at himself and then rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, "I-I really haven't done any exploring with my Wind element, have I?"
"Bear no concern, young cloudwalker. Out of respect for the arduous road you shall tread, we shall offer you a fragment of our Wellspring to aid you."
"Thank you," Sarajin said with a respectful bow, "I won't let you down."
Twinbeak then bent over and plucked a few of the sticks out of the center of it's nest. A few seconds of this and gray light began to break through.
And then, guided by the raising of its Titan's head, the Wellspring poked out, having been buried inside of the tower's peak.
Twinbeak then plucked a small fragment of it into its beak, letting the rest return to hiding as it walked closer to Sarajin and bent down to present it to him.
Sarajin raised his cupped hands and let the power of pure wind flow inside of his body. He felt his own power rise a little, as this power seemed to mix well with the other Wellsprings and bring a sense of balance to his inner self.
He then laid both his hands on his chest and breathed in deep, letting out a relaxed sigh.
Twinbeak then brushed the tip of its wings against Sarajin's cheek, making him giggle in a ticklish manner.
"We had brought our people to the sky to avoid the consequences of war...How ironic that this would thus create a child with the potential to stop it."
Twinbeak then stood tall and proud and gestured it's wing out towards the open sky, "Go forth, young Sarajin Stratos. May your heart be your guiding wings."
Sarajin began to turn and make his way off the tower, but stopped to look over his shoulder and remark, "If I need any help, can I come to you again?"
"Please do."
"But if you seek to control your elements, there is another who could help you, and he may be much closer than you realize."
"Much closer than I realize...?"" Sarajin blinked a few times out of curiosity then nodded, "Got it! Thanks again!"
He then marched down the stairs with a lightness to his steps, and a renewed sense of what he needed to do going forward.
For now though, he would return to the comfort of his home and sleep. Tomorrow, he will enjoy celebrating his 16th birthday with close friends.
Time is indeed like a river. It moves at its own flow. Sometimes steady, sometimes turbulent. And our lives are like boats, drifting along its course.
However, even a stone thrown at the beginning of it's flow, has the potential to ripple out and affect the boat's way down the line...
The next morning, Justek was sitting at home bright and early in the morning with a tired look under his eyes and his face planted in front of yet another book.
But he finally got to flip the final page and put it to rest on his lap with a resounding sigh of relief.
He took his glasses off to rub the crumbs off his eyes and then stood to return the book to his shelf. He then rolled his shoulders and grumbled, "Morning already, eh...?"
He turned to look outside and saw it was a bright and sunny day. No surprise, nothing ever changed in that regard.
Probably should have gotten some rest but oh well..." Justek cracked a tiny smile and shrugged, "I've studied everything I could on Caimanabel. Now I'll be able to help Sarajin out a little when we go there."
"Heh,"" He chuckled, "What a perfect way to celebrate his birthday, by taking him to the last Tribe he needs to visit. Almost can't believe that pixie didn't try to take the idea for herself."
He began to head outside while stretching his arms over his head to get the blood flowing, "No, that's not fair to her. She's not been as much of a bother recently…"
As he left his house and began to make his way to the gate, a large shadow began to be cast over the village.
Hmmm?" He cracked his eyes open and nudged his glasses. Not only was there a shadow, but it felt...colder.
And slowly, a crimson hue began to bathe over the land.
"..."" Justek felt his body shiver and forced himself to turn around and look up towards the sky. Just as so many of his kin did in unison.
The sun laid high up in the sky, but it's place as lightbringer had been poisoned. Poisoned...by the presence of something.
It had many arms and six-wings. It floated there. Existing. Proving that the Devil had an equal, if not it's greater.
Pitch black. So vile that as it's tendrils stretched over the sun behind it, it looked as though the sun was being made to bleed.
But it was of no greater size than any man or child born of this world. But to define it in any form, whether it be size or shape, was foolhardy.
It existed. And in doing so, was burning itself into the brains of every man, woman and child of this small village.
Justek trembled from head-to-toe and ran back towards his house, where he found his father and mother standing there with their eyes raised at the black being.
"F-Father, what is that thing...?!"" He shouted in a panic.
His father slowly gazed over his shoulder, and his stone-cold face bled tears from the eye.
And from his mouth, exited one final word…"R-
The skies SCREAMED as the blackness streaked to the ground and impaled one of the villagers through the chest with it's gruesome talons.
UN."
Justek turned around the blackness tore the body asunder, plunging it's maw into the ribcage and wrenching it's heart free, snapping the arteries off all at once, so that it's wings could feast upon the blood.
Had the beast been all-black, perhaps that would've been for the better.
But the blackness turned it's fuzzy, inhuman head and bore it's many eyes, compounded together into these dead, lifeless orbs.
It had seen the abyss...and now the abyss would see to their end.