Chapter -66: A Blind Man Sees All Flaws
On one seemingly inconsequential day, we find the likes of Auris and Cecilia sparring on the outskirts of Oreore.
The land was covered in scattered patches of frost and remnants of icicles spearing out of the ground. Auris' robes were coated by a thin layer of shaved frost as she tried to get within range of Cecilia.
Dashing about, she had to pressure herself hard to find an opening where the warrior maiden of ice was vulnerable.
Cecilia was testing her reflexes on the fly, trying to quickly alternate between the use of her lance and her twin blades.
As the two met and clashed the light splashing off Auris' slashes shone through the ice like a rainbow reflecting through a foggy prism, giving flashes of the two's silhouettes at the moment they struck.
Cecilia never stood in one place for long and kept jumping with fluid movements in spite of the girth of her lance holding her down.
The two ladies were covered in sweat and locked onto each other with wide, focused glares. No amount of ground shaking would keep them off their toes, or their eyes off each other.
Spectators brushed off their work loads to take a peek from out of the ravine but were dragged back along their heels and fingernails by Ezekiel and Lianne.
There were many steps being thought out and plans were shifting by the millisecond to account for any sudden surprises.
Who had the upper hand? Only they judged each other on that. Auris believed Cecilia was keeping up perfectly, but Cecilia constantly appraised Auris as untouchable...
Maybe that was true, to anyone who didn't know her personally. But if skill was quantified only by the amount of cuts visible on one person compared to the other they wouldn't realize that Cecilia had hit Auris more than vice versa.
That wasn't what was important though. Cecilia had her aim set high and so far Auris was only entertaining her whims, and to her, that was a little infuriating, belittling at that. But there was enough respect in Cecilia's heart that she was willing to let it slide, to a point.
After managing to repel Auris a few times with her blades, Cecilia dropped them to the ground and bent in a slant to sweep her lance up with her feet and then swing it around to blow Auris up a slope of ice.
There Auris stood, flinching at the ferocity through which Cecilia thrust her lance towards her.
"Enough playing around, Auris! I want to test my skills against the growing legend!"
Auris smiled and flicked her shield hand up to brush a few stray hairs away from the front of her eyes, "Fine, I suppose you've earned that right."
Auris activated her Aegis Dragoon, the phantasmal spirit at her back casting its shadow over Cecilia and making Auris' own eyes glowing brighter.
From a smile to a smirk, Auris then reeled her sword back and remarked, "Prepare yourself!"
Cecilia had no hesitation drawing her lance and thrusting it out when Auris jumped off the ice.
Her lance's tip met with that of Auris' sword and a bubble of aura popped out, wiping out any ice still erect.
But Cecilia's body was more than just the support for her weapon, it was the shield that protected her last trick.
Hidden under the ice fog all this time was an old set of armor that began to move, latching hold onto the blades she discarded.
Auris then winced and watched as the armor swooped through the air in an arc and tried to slash her from the side. Auris blocked her shield and thus lost her advantage in the air.
From there Cecilia swept her feet off the ground and assailed Auris from above with a flurry of lance thrusts, forcing her on the defensive.
Meanwhile her armor continued to sweep the ground in wide berths, aiming for Auris' legs.
Cecilia and her armor kept up this coordinated assault for a few swings, but once Auris was off the defensive and could swing her sword back, the action paused and the two figures looked at one heaving their chest to breathe.
Auris then lightly laid her sword at her side and closed her eyes, marking the dispelling of her Drive.
"That's good enough." She determined.
Cecilia fell forward and used her lance and arms to support her chin, while her armor crumbled to the ground at her feet.
She then gave a short smile to Auris and remarked, "I thought I could catch you by surprise, but like always, your clairvoyance is one step ahead of me."
Auris shook her head downward as she walked up to Cecilia, "I try not to rely on that during battle."
"So you're simply better than me." Cecilia stated so matter-of-factly.
"That doesn't diminish your performance. It's like you haven't lost your touch." Auris then extended her hand and though Cecilia used it to stand, she did so with an air of annoyance surrounding her demeanor.
"I won't be offended if you say I'm rusty."
Auris then went in deep with a sigh and remarked, "Yes, you're rusty. But given how long it's been-"
"It's not good enough." Cecilia curtly interrupted, then began to point her gaze elsewhere with a glint of vulnerability to her demeanor.
"I...appreciate the aid you and the others have provided defending my home from Colrez's assaults," She then firmed her gaze and swung her lance up as she declared, "But it's about time I take this fight back into my own hands."
She then closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her nervousness present in the way her body trembled, "And...if I am to stop Colrez, my victory against him has to be absolute. Which means..."
She thrust the tip of her lance between Auris' chest in a swift, unpredictable motion and then glared her straight down, a fire still flickering within, "I need to be able to last even a few seconds against a legend like you."
Auris then pushed the lance down slowly until it was withdrawn.
"A legend, she says. I've hardly done anything worthy of such praise."
Auris crossed her arms under her chest and presented a smile to her comrade, "I'll be available to spar as much as I can."
"You can't be dealing with too much stress these days, I imagine," Cecilia remarked in a mildly joking tone, "There's been less invasion attempts these days. Most of the incidents between Tribes seem to be caused by the few disgruntled folk wanting to cause damage, but are too few in number to start any actual fighting."
She then gestured her hand around, expressing with illicit respect towards her comrade, "And it's all thanks to our strength dissuading them."
Auris closed her eyes and sighed deeply through her nostrils, "And that's a problem. Keeping the Tribes' hatred of each other at bay through fear of strength makes me no better than Ophelia."
"But if my role gives Sarajin the time he needs to mend that hatred, then I'll keep playing it."
She then looked at Cecilia, noticing how her general posture and expression was a little softer these days, "You're changed Cecilia, but you still need to understand that your way isn't the way to go."
But to cover the long pause in their conversation, Auris said to her comrade, "We can't get cocky. The Ten Sages could very well be planning their next move."
Cecilia nodded, "Agreed. They've been quiet. Too quiet. But between your clairvoyance and our small group covering the ground in every Tribe, we should be ready."
She then brushed her hand up casually and remarked, "Even that messenger has been helpful...Though I still don't fully trust him."
"Neither do I." Auris whispered carefully.
Cecilia then crossed her arms and spoke with a faint hint of scorn, "But Sarajin does, so I suppose we must listen to what our leader decides."
"Cecilia..." Auris murmured.
"Ignore me." Cecilia said in a haste, then gathered up her tools to carry them on her back.
On their way to the ravine Auris was the first to start a new topic to pass the time, "How is little Pitori doing?"
"Ok, I suppose. He's spending a lot of time in his father's shadow. He seems to have more interest in identifying metals."
Auris looked at her and pointed out, "You sound somber about that."
"Haaaa, should I be, I wonder?" Cecilia's tone began to mellow out, though a bit of annoyance crept in on the occasional word, "It's not as though I have much to offer in terms of childhood experience. But after I spent a good chunk of my life helping him it feels...odd...to not have him want me anymore."
Another sigh slipped through her lips and then she turned her sights on Auris to ask, "Have you experienced this with your kid?"
Auris shook her head and admitted, "He's still too young to question his surroundings. I worry for the day when Sarajin or I will have to explain why he can control Fire..."
"Worries, hmm..." Cecilia then faced forward with her head bent to her chin and then began to trail off, not really caring over whether she would be heard nor answered, "We haven't decided what element to raise Pitori on. He's a child born of two Tribes, so he can be either Earth or Ice."
Auris then put in her own thoughts, "And it seems he's leaning towards an affinity to Earth."
"...Is it strange that I would rather he not have any element?"
Auris stopped and a moment later so did she. With a baffled look in her eyes Auris pegged her motives in an instant, "You don't want him to fight."
And Cecilia only showed embarrassment upon her face in response. She then brushed her hand through her hair and remarked, trying to maintain her collected demeanor, "Ezekiel seems to be leaning him in that direction."
"Ezekiel? Are you sure?" Auris spoke.
"You should see how much he adores that child. He's got his father's energy...I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to see him grow up to be as big and strong as him too."
Auris hummed, and Cecilia threw out a dry laugh, "I don't know why being around you that makes me say these stupid things."
She then laid her hand down and remarked, "If Pitori ends up fighting, that should be his choice. We are...in a war after all."
There was a crack near the end of her sentence that made Auris' heart feel spurned to say something. But all she could mutter was "Cecilia" in a worrying fashion.
Because ultimately, she had those same thoughts cropping up on occasion, "Will my son fight to protect the planet like his father? How...how long will this battle to reclaim peace last...? Will it be a burden passed down through many generations? And where...will I be in the future?"
There was comfort to be found in Sarajin's trust, but that didn't invite total honesty...
Auris had yet to tell him that she may very well live and a long, long...long time. She wanted to pretend that her life could be normal, that she could thrive in a long-lived, happy marriage with the man she loved and the child they raised together.
The temptation was there to peek ahead, see where it would all end for her...if there was one to be found.
"...But I've been strong. My clairvoyance may have improved, but I should only see as far ahead as I need to, lest I rob myself of the joy that comes from tomorrow. Yes...I am the master of this power, I don't need to be it's slave."
But after hearing Cecilia voice her concerns, opening her cold heart for someone to give it warmth, Auris found her resistance against temptation waning and chose to sneak a peek at Pitori's potential future.
The moment she closed her eyes and tried to peer at the images flowing through the corridors of time, however, she was startled by a sudden, nearly present sight.
"...!" Her eyes jolted open and with a quiver of shock flicking off her body it alerted Cecilia to look at her.
"Auris?" She wondered aloud.
"There's no time to waste, Colrez will be attacking the ravine shortly!"
Cecilia's eyes narrowed with hate and she reached for the lance on her back, rallying forth into the ravine while shouting, "Arms yourselves men! Lady Auris has foreseen an attack from our enemies of frost!"
And at her command a few of the miners dropped their tools of busywork and sharpened their arms of war to join her in meeting Colrez's forces at the other side.
Auris was shaken, feeling that something was...off about this sudden laceration between their two forces.
Their small army was gathered at the ready and stood there for a few minutes, with no signs of dust clouds over the horizon.
There was no doubt over what she saw...It was one of Colrez's more vicious, outright desperate assaults, where he had gathered up nearly most of his forces with the intent to wipe out the ravine or at the least, cause irreparable damage.
It was such a grand performance that three Sages were going to join in to ensure that it was a success: Vermilion, Nimus, and Adderbolt.
It would have led to Darnia and Brine getting involved, but the curious thing was that Sarajin was there too...Despite the fact he had just gone off-world for another mission this morning.
More time passed, and Auris' senses were so heightened that she would have caught an ant sneaking in.
But no one ever came, and the tension of the other men and women of Oreore started to peeter out.
Eventually, Cecilia glanced over at Auris to see her mumbling over herself.
With great haste Cecilia turned and swung her hand out to the people of Oreore and shouted, "Alright! This was a test to see how prepared we are! I'm sorry we had to pull this surprise on you, but you've performed admirably! We'll be ready for when he does show his dire face around here again!"
And this helped defuse any sudden aggravation, thus allowing Cecilia to focus all her attention on helping Auris out of her trance.
"You had an incorrect vision of the future?" She whispered aloud.
Auris stood up and put her hand on the side of her head. There was a twinge of pain coming from her eye and she sputtered like she had been trapped in a dream.
She then struggled to take even a brief look at Cecilia before staring forward and admitting, "No. Absolutely not. That was too real. It...was supposed to happen?"
Cecilia laid her arms under her chest and wondered, "Could it be that the Ten Sages have figured out how to trick your clairvoyance?"
"They...shouldn't know I have it," Auris then brought her voice down to a whisper, "As far as Atrax is concerned, we've been figuring things out with my sharp intuition."
While Cecilia thought it over, Auris had her own theories to muse about in the sanctity of her head, "This isn't the first time this has happened. I recall...vague contradictions between my visions and the present."
"The future should be concretely set in stone. That's what Temporis presumed due to her inability to change the past."
"But maybe that's not the case. Maybe time can branch out into different possibilities? So what I saw was something that could have happened."
"...In exchange for greater strength, it's become easier for my clairvoyance to go astray. I'll just have to be more careful from now on."
And once she had reached this conclusion, Auris stood tall once more and remarked to Cecilia to help ease her curious concerns, "The fault rests on my shoulders alone. I'll strive to do better next time."
"...I'll admit, it probably was a good idea it was a false alarm this time." Cecilia admitted.
Then she began to make her way into the ravine, leaving Auris to ruminate about what she should do for the rest of the day.
She kept her hand against the side of her head and wondered aloud, "Perhaps I should still drop in to Cryofloe and see what Colrez may be plotting next."
When she tried to take a more cautionary look into her immediate future though, she was caught off-guard by another worrying sight.
Back in Sancturia, soon enough, Lilith would be approaching Justek, and with her hand...would take Lunis right from under his nose?
It forced her eyes open with an alarming amount of surprise present in them, "That vision...H-How long has that been going on for?"
There were a few things burned into her retinas. The deep, cold smile on Lilith's face, the fear fraught within Lunis' eyes, and Justek simply sitting there...almost accepting of this fate.
There was no time to discern motives or think of a plan, Auris knew that what she saw was highly suspicious and required her intervention above all else.
Thus she hurried back to Sancturia, working up a ploy on the fly to avert these events from unfolding...
As she was on her way there, the players in her vision were busy making their way to that dreaded end point as though it was any other day so far...
It was yet another day where Justek only had the company of his daughter to look forward to.
He watched her read from the newest book she picked up, her curiosity leaning towards slightly darker tales these days.
There was gloom all over her face and Justek could feel her trembling constantly as she pressed against his arm.
It was the warmth of a blanket that kept their temperature up over the love a father should be giving his child.
He was tired, barely able to keep his eyes open, but made no intent towards denying her his attention so long as his heart still beat.
But he felt a chill in the air, once more the cold claw of darkness approached, ready to snatch his light away with ill-intent behind it.
He could scream, but to what end?
He could thrash about, but to whose harm but his own?
This day had been foretold for weeks now in his head.
He simply had to embrace it...
The door creaked, no remorse or courtesy spared for the act of cruelty that was to be committed.
Justek narrowed his gaze with the tiniest bit of scorn he could muster, and felt that feeling only grow as his daughter's shivering worsened with every step the depraved Lilith took towards them.
She held her hand firmly towards Lunis and commanded, not said, "It's time to go, child."
He may as well have been a fixture on the wall...Lunis clung to his arm, choosing not to speak of her sorrow as she gazed up at his face.
He could feel her heart begging him to do something, but all he could do was shed tears and try to hold her in closer.
This incited Lilith's remorseless spite, as she pulled her body in closer and forced her hand onto Lunis' wrist to tug her away from her father.
"I said, it's time to go." She uttered.
The imagination of Lunis crying for help pained his heart. He could not afford to have it broken into any smaller pieces...
But as Lilith approached the door, her way was barred by an unexpected face, whose voice cut through the darkness with glistening cold steel...
"Lilith, what are you doing with this child?" It was Auris.
Justek's heart stirred and his wobbling gaze was drawn to her. She was monolithic and radiant, instilling a sense of ease where there was once none.
"You..." He whispered faintly.
Lilith jerked Lunis closer to her side, holding back just a little. But though Auris now spoke calmly, it was visible to everyone that she was keeping her steel sheathed, "Well, explain yourself."
Lilith stood her ground and leaned her head back to look up into Auris' eyes, seeing this pressure as beneath her attention, "I believe you've lost the right to these questions long ago, princess."
"But if you must know, I have been testing this child's powers at Lord Borealis' behest."
"Really?" Auris remarked, narrowing her eyes, "So if I were to ask father, he would confirm your story?"
Lilith's lips quivered and in a haste that sounded desperate she mumbled, "Why are you here?"
There was a moment to let the tension between them settle, as Auris armed herself with a deciding blow in this conversation, offering her hand towards Lunis while bringing to her captor's attention, "I promised Justek that I would sit Lunis down and tell her some stories about the world outside."
Lunis' tender, frightened eyes glistened with awe as she muttered, "R-Really...?"
"Hmm?" Lilith glanced her way and then back to Auris, "You wouldn't actually go crawling back to your father, now would you?"
"I may not be a Sage anymore, but I still know the rules. You taught me them, remember, Lady Lilith?"
The two began a long staredown, with Lilith putting a tighter grip around Lunis' wrist, smugly smirking at Auris.
Auris stared back harder, her pupils shrunk.
The tension was thick enough to make the entire room tremble.
Suddenly, Lilith threw her grip off Lunis, forcing the child to stumble towards Auris. Lilith then gave a barely humbling bark of, "Fine. Take her."
She then tucked her hands into her sleeves and while walking past Auris, whispered in her ear, "Enjoy this tenuous sense of control...you spoiled, pampered, princess."
When it was certain she would not return, for now, Auris then kept Lunis held gently by her side and looked towards Justek.
"What is going on?" She whispered.
Justek remained curled up against his knees near the wall, muttering in a diminished, hostile tone, "How are you here?"
He could feel her gaze spurning him with it's confusion.
He put his staff against his shoulder then nestled his chin against his chest, whispering solely to himself, "I must be delusional."
"Justek, look at yourself," Auris said, using the bluntness of her concern to force some measure of responsiveness out of her friend, "Why haven't you said anything? And where is Solaris?"
"You knew to come to her aid now. Isn't that more curious?" Justek muttered, forcing Auris to pause with her mouth agape.
"Hmmm..." He perched his gaze knowingly towards her eyes, and his tone seemingly turned bitter, "Don't force yourself too hard, Auris. There's only so many people in the world you need to care about. What does it matter if a few slip by, even old friends?"
He could hear her bite her teeth down, angry and confused. His heart in pain, he curled deeper against the wall, burying his head behind his lanky arms.
Auris didn't let go of Lunis, in spite of his hostility.
He no longer felt he had to hold back his tears, no matter how dry they formed, because he felt certain of this feeling...This feeling that Auris saw further than he ever could in his prime.
"It must feel wonderful being...confident in where you'll go next." And it was upon this note he realized...he could hardly afford to speak so foul.
"...Thank you," He muttered in a tone of weakness, "For saving my light..."
Auris had her questions floating over him but what point was there in forcing a withering man to surrender the answers...
She seemed to settle on taking Lunis to safety as a victory, a lie though her reasoning may have been.
The door was left open, not another word to be spoken.
Justek extended his staff to close the door, and bathe his solitude in darkness.
Morose thoughts clouded his mind, with no one to relate to them but the pitch black depths of his soul.
"Once more I find myself at the mercy of another's aid."
"Time is said to be linear but for me it only appears circular."
"I wait patiently day after day for an opportunity to strike back against my captors but the devils and demons see fit to strip me of my will to fight, one anchor at a time."
"First I've lost my sun to the one-eyed monster."
"Now I can't even spare my moon from being devoured by the deepest darkness."
"I cannot see, I cannot feel, I can hardly breathe..."
"Sarajin, damn me for what I am about to think, but I don't know how much longer I can bear this crushing despair..."
"Not as though you need me anymore. I am but one voice in your mind, you've earned a better shoulder to lean upon."
"My feelings for you will never change, but can never be pursued. So must I bear yet another weight of helplessness upon my listless shoulders?"
"What is the point of opening one's eyes when all they can see are the flaws?"
"Flawed...Yes, this world is so very, very flawed."
"When a father...can do NOTHING to save their child. When a father...must watch as innocence is perverted. When a father...can only cry to show he still has a heart..."
"If God lives, if God sees, if God breathes...Then listen to me, and DAMN you...!"
"Damn you, damn you, damn YOU...! Cowardly specter...floating over my crestfallen face..."
"If you want me to take my own life I won't let you! Strangle the last breath out of my fragmented soul with your fickle hands if you're so desperate for me!"
"You are but another coward among many, and if you cannot be my executioner then for once cast aside your selfish observations and show me that you are kind, you are just, you are righteous!"
"I do not care what must be given, what I must TAKE...! My life means nothing...Theirs means everything...Just...please..."
Justek's tears rolled across his many wrinkles as his body shook with a pitiful whimper, "Show me a way..."
There was a twitch in the air, a flicker of something obscene and strange...
Justek raised his head slowly to face forward where he saw something. Yes, he saw something.
A pin-shaped hole pushed the air inward, seemingly imposing no effect over its surroundings.
This wasn't the only one of it's kind, there were a few others scattered around faintly in other parts of this palace.
Justek propped himself upright and reached out, his hand soon falling upon the floor. The hole was calling to him. It was made for him. It was something...only he could see.
In lieu of his hands failing him, he reached out with his staff until his tip was hovering before the hole upon which he waved it out just the extra bit further.
Then his balance failed, putting him flat upon the floor in an embarrassed heap.
He breathed in and out slowly and raised his head, feeling an ominous shift in the atmosphere around him.
The hole grew exponentially until it was his size if not a little bigger. He could see it, a black void outlined in white where the energy flamed out.
It howled quietly like a beginning storm, pulling at Justek to come closer...
He found the strength to grip his staff harder, using it to prop himself on his feet in a hunched pose. Then, curiosity drew him in closer, his thoughts silent as he ventured forth into the unknown.
It was weightless the way his body was flung through a silent beyond, and he found himself spat out in the blink of an eye.
He held on to some tenuous grip on his footing upon what appeared to be cracked ground.
His body immediately felt the assault of a greater, natural warmth. His eyes felt the burn as he craned his head back, mouth agape.
The warmth beating down upon his face was that of the sun.
His pale skin was being filled by it's golden rays, returning a hint of color to his otherwise tepid body.
The air, that oh so loathsome, foul-stenched air...It was dry. It was hostile. It was...beautiful.
He had been denied the familiarity of what rested over the walls that this felt like a final dream to ferry him off to the end of days.
He stumbled forward, his legs breaking down first as he fell upon his knees and started laughing mad among the empty wastelands.
His voice cracked, his tears rolled down behind his head. He held his arms out and back and let his staff fall upon the ground.
The golden rays of the glorious sunshine bathed him, bringing forth the rebirth of a man's younger years. Soon what sounded like insanity became a blissful celebration, as this man, wobbling and weak, embraced the freedom from his shackles with all his heart.
And he did this until his throat and eyes were dry, and continued to stare up towards the sun unabated.
Then, slowly, the sanity of the man came crawling back, as did his cunning...
He leaned over, pressing his glasses back into place, and then laid his hands atop his legs while the wind blew quietly over his body.
"This power...I do not know where it came from. If God answered me, or another...But now I see..."
He found himself peering towards the future once more, but while what lay ahead still remained blurred he found that everything he was seeing was completely new.
He smirked, realizing at this juncture, "It appears fate never planned for this. So many new possibilities stretch in front of me...I could escape from Sancturia if I wanted to now, be at my dear friend's side once more..."
But sorrow shone in the vision of what his children could become if he embraced negligence...
"...But I can't be so selfish. This new power...is a chance to enforce my will upon this flawed world, and a chance I could so easily lose if I'm caught..."
Thus, he had no choice but to return through the void he exited out of. And upon making it to his room, it appeared a mere jab of his staff closed the void shut.
He then stood tall and sluggishly paced throughout the room.
"I must patiently observe these new possibilities and wait for my chance to strike back." These were no longer the thoughts of a man wilting with despair, but of a titanic soul whose foundation rested upon a temple of hope.
"...I can fight back."
"I can topple my oppressors."
"I can...take vengeance upon those who've wronged me."
"I...can kill Lilith." And through the fog of future events, he could vaguely see a possibility inviting him towards his greatest desire. Where soon, he would find his staff pressed upon Lilith's neck...
"...I was a fool to give up so easily, but now I shall be neither a fool nor an obedient cur no longer. I WILL stake my place in this world once more, and mark my words..."
His eyes narrowed, as a hint of his draconic nature pushed forth with a growl, "I WILL take my light back...!"
Next Time: Dead Body Falling