A/N: Sorry it took so long to update... I tried numerous times, but the site was giving me a few issues... Luckily, it was nice to me this time! Please review after you've read this... I could really use some feedback. It's highly appreciated!
Chapter Five:
"Damn it! Why does she have to be so stubborn?" Hyottoko hissed angrily, watching his sister gallop off towards the center of the city.
"Yes, she does have a bit of a reckless streak," Baillon added, wiping his sword clean on the grass. "But standing here won't be of any use. The Order will be very displeased if she should die."
"The Order?" Hanako stepped off of the porch and placed a hand on her husband's arm. "Darling, what does he mean?" Hyottoko, however, did not answer her. Instead, he looked sternly at the blood covered elf whose crimson eyes were still focused on the fiery horizon.
"Baillon, follow Kakurenbo and make sure she isn't killed. I'll be there when I finish up with things here." Baillon nodded, looking at the Shadow Walker out of the corner of his eye and placed his sword back in its sheath. A small shriek escaped Hanako's mouth when she saw the enormous black demon wings sprout from the elf's back. Komako stared on in shock and disbelief.
"I can trust you to be merciless, can't. I, Hyottoko?" Baillon asked, turning towards his friend. "Because now that they both know, neither of their lives can be spared."
Hyottoko sent Baillon a sharp glare. "Focus on saving Kakurenbo and worry about my heartlessness later." The elf flapped his demonic wings and took off into the air, flying at a rapid speed towards the flames that still were still leaping into the hazy sky.
As Baillon soared off, Hyottoko turned to his wife and daughter, his crimson eyes completely void of all emotion.
"Hyo…?" Hanako's voice was soft, and her face was full of fear as she eyed the sword in her husband's hand.
"You've served your purpose, Hanako." His voice was dark and cold, very unlike his usual cheerful tone. Without another word, he leapt at his wife, driving the sword straight through her heart. A loud scream erupted from Hanako's throat before she fell limp and lifeless to the ground.
A gasp escaped Komako and she darted off of the creaky wooden porch, running as fast as she could through the nearest field and towards the forest in a desperate attempt to escape her father. Her attempt, however, was in vain. She only ran a few feet when the blade sliced through her neck and both her head and body fell in a wave of blood.
The scent of blood cut easily through the smell of smoke, and it covered up all other scents. And this worried Baillon greatly. If Kakurenbo had been killed, her body would be difficult to find. Auras were all he had now, and he hoped it would be enough to find her.
People, both humans and Shadow Walkers, scattered as he landed in the town square, his demonic wings disappearing in a wisp of shadows. His chain whip clutched tightly in one hand and his sword in the other, he lashed out at the nearest person, not caring if they were human or not. Finding Kakurenbo was his one and only goal at the moment, not saving a city that was unable to defend itself.
What must have been hours of merciless bloodshed passed before Baillon found the unconscious body of Kakurenbo in the arms of an auburn haired human. As soon as he realized just who this human was and what his intentions were, his wings sprouted from his back and he soared forward, landing in front of the human and cutting off his path. Surprise leapt into the human's brown eyes and his grip on the girl's unconscious body tightened.
"Well, Kratos, I never expected you to be here," Baillon said smirking as he folded his demonic black wings on his back. "Give up the girl. She's of no use to you."
"And she has a better purpose for you?" Kratos said more than asked. "Don't think I don't know what you plan to do with her, Baillon. Once her powers fully emerge--"
"Shut up," Baillon snapped, cutting him off. "I knew it was a mistake to let you live. But I can easily correct it, Kratos. And I will if you don't hand her over."
"And put the world at risk? What kind of a fool do you take me for, Baillon?"
"You are the one who is risking the world's fate, Kratos! Binding her--" But the elf never finished, for at that exact moment, those horrid beams of light once again shot down from the blackened sky. Baillon lunged forward quickly as Kratos dodged one of the beams and took hold of Kakurenbo's limp and unconscious form. The human lost his balance and fell to the ground.
"You're lucky this girl is my main priority, Kratos. If she wasn't, I would kill you now," Baillon growled, his crimson eyes narrowed.
"Why should she stop you?"
Baillon's eyes narrowed even more. "Orders." With that, he spread his wings and soared into the smoky air, the blood covered Kakurenbo in his arms.
Kakurenbo awoke hours later in a daze. Her head was pounding and she was almost sure it would explode very soon.
What the hell happened? she thought, slowly sitting up to find herself in her old room. The sun was shining in through the window, casting its warm rays across the floor and her bed.
Had the entire thing been a dream? It all seemed far too real: the blood being spilt, the screams of pain, the stinging smell of smoke. There was no way that something like that could have been a dream, and yet she could not bring herself to believe that it had been real. It seemed to her that not even a prophet could envision something as horrible as that massacre.
She stepped out into the silent hall, her body stiff and her movements slow and cautious. The more she moved, the more she realized what had happened could not have possibly been a mere nightmare.
Baillon and Hyottoko were both sitting at the table when she entered the kitchen, both pairs of crimson eyes staring into space. The two of them seemed to be either in deep thought or scared senseless. Hanako and Komako were no where to be found.
Kakurenbo, deciding not to bother her fiancé or her brother, stepped outside onto the creaky wooden porch. When she saw the condition the area was in, it was clear that the massacre had indeed not been something her imagination created.
The grass was either dead and brown or burned coal black, and blood stains were literally everywhere. The trees, even though they had seemed dead beforehand, were black, wilted, and in some places, not there at all. Some had crashed to the ground and Kakurenbo could just see the bloody corpses that had fallen over them. A little further away on the road, she could see dozens of dead bodies strewn about, some without their limbs or heads.
The sky, however, was mocking her. Despite the bloodshed and tragedy that had taken place, the sun shone brightly, its warm and cheerful rays free of obscuring clouds. Yet the air was still and silent; not a bird sang. In the distance, over the tops of the dead and charred trees, light clouds of black smoke continued to rise into the clear sky.
"There aren't any survivors, Ren." Kakurenbo turned to find Baillon standing behind her in the doorway, his face emotionless. His eyes, however, were full of sorrow. Yet something glinted behind the sadness, but Kakurenbo was unable to place it.
"That's not possible," she whispered, casting her gaze back to the dying landscape. "We were a city of over four thousand… They can't all be dead…"
"Hyo and I checked the city. A few humans escaped, but most of them are dead, along with the remaining Shadow Walkers…" The elf seemed hesitant to continue. "Ren, you and Hyo are the last of your kind."
The corners of Kakurenbo's eyes became hot. "And what about Hanako and Komako? They were fine when we left…"
"Another group of humans came out from the forest and took us by surprise just as we were about to follow you. The two of them didn't stand a chance…"
Kakurenbo was silent as the tears continued to prick at her eyes. Normally she would have collapsed into Baillon's arms, clinging to him as if he was the only thing that connected her with life, but for some reason, she kept herself from doing so. There was something different about him; about the way he looked at her. Even his aura seemed faintly unusual to her, but she just convinced herself that with all that had just taken place, she was imagining things.
Kakurenbo, Baillon, and Hyo spent the next two weeks burying their dead. The city's large cemetery became filled with gray headstones and was drearier than ever. The bodies of the humans, however, were burned. The three had agreed that the pathetic creatures did not deserve proper burials. And as the last of them went up in flame, Kakurenbo vowed to herself that she would destroy every human in this wretched world, whether it be man, woman, or child, so that they would feel the pain she felt. They would rue their decision to massacre a completely innocent race.
As the days passed, dark clouds gathered overhead and a strange fog settled in. The trees and other plants that had managed to survive the massacre quickly withered and faded away. The water from the rivers turned black and was extremely bitter, the wildlife disappeared from the forests and the wind no longer blew. The Devil's Plague had fully set in.
As the land continued to die, Kakurenbo became increasingly worried about her brother. Unlike her, he had not been exposed to the amount of Elven healing magic that she had. She wanted desperately to get him out of the city, but he refused to leave, saying he could not bring himself to leave his wife and daughter. To Kakurenbo, it was clear that he was heartbroken.
The days passed slowly once the burials and burnings had been completed. Food and water were becoming scarce. A well in the barn closest to the house was the only source of unpolluted water; the Plague had gotten to the rest.
Traders refused to enter Nightsedge after hearing about what had happened. As far as they knew, the Shadow Walkers were a dead civilization and the appearance of the city after only a few weeks scared even demons away.
Every few weeks, Baillon would travel back to Windycliffe to visit his parents and catch up on all of the news. Kakurenbo on the other hand, refused to leave Hyo by himself in the mental condition he was in. But Baillon was always able to bring back a good amount of food and news to share, which Kakurenbo was grateful for.
Months had passed and the war still raged on. Of course, there was not another city that suffered the same fate as Nightsedge, although a few suffered quite a bit of damage. It seemed that everyone was beginning to despair, saying this war would be the end of all life, an apocalypse of some sort. The Devil's Plague still ravaged the human population, along with many elves, demons, and other creatures, and people were beginning to believe that this was a punishment from the gods. The Shadow Walkers had long since been forgotten, and the massacre held little importance to anyone.
Nightsedge remained completely deserted, and as the years slowly passed, it became a place of myth. Stories began to rise about what had happened during the attack, stories that gave the half-elf Mithos undeserved glory and fame. And from these stories arose an even more intense hatred of the Shadow Walkers. Children were told of the release of the Devil's Plague and of how it was the Shadow Walkers, creatures sent by the gods to destroy all life, who created it.
Of course, none of these lies mattered much to Hyottoko or Kakurenbo. It was true they were the last of their kind, but that fact remained unknown to the rest of the world.
Ten years came and went, and neither Kakurenbo nor Hyottoko ever set foot out of Nightsedge. Baillon still continued to return to Windycliffe every few weeks to gather news, but that was the only way the two siblings ever learned of what was going on in the outside world.
Nightsedge was still as desolate as ever. In ten years the dark ominous clouds had never left and the mysterious fog had never lifted. The plant life had long since disappeared and the only remnants were the gnarled, black, leafless trees. The houses and shops in the town square were beginning to crumble and the bloodstains still remained on the cobblestones. The water running in the rivers remained black, icy, and bitter.
Kakurenbo was now thirty five years old, yet she did not look over twenty five. However, she did look a little different than she had all those years ago. Her skin was far paler than it had been, and her once glossy raven hair was dull and the ends were horribly split. Even her eyes had lost their light.
Hyottoko, now forty five, still looked like he was in his twenties, and had changed very little over the years. His ebony hair was a little longer than it used to be and his eyes held a vague sadness, but other than that, he still looked the same.
Baillon, however, had not changed at all, with the exception of what Kakurenbo thought she sensed was different. He was still the kind, caring elf she fell in love with and had hoped to one day marry. Of course, she knew that dream would never be accomplished now. There were too many factors preventing it.
Kakurenbo sat on the porch, gazing sadly into the thick fog as she always did. That had become a favorite pass time of hers since there was really nothing else she could do. It gave her time to think and reminisce, even though sometimes the memories that came to her were all too vivid.
"Ten years," she said softly. "Ten years ago today."
She had tried her hardest to forget what she saw that day, but every little detail still haunted her memories. Every time she thought about how she had failed, pain shot through her heart.
"Ren, you know Baillon won't be back for a few more days."
Kakurenbo let out a sigh. "I know, Hyo, I know… I was just thinking, that's all."
"You've been doing that a lot lately," her brother said, sitting next to her and staring at the starless black sky. "But you shouldn't keep beating yourself up about it, Ren. There was nothing any of us could do. It was the fate of Nightsedge to fall."
"How can you say that, Hyo? It didn't have to end the way it did."
"That may be so, but as you said yourself, the Devil's Plague is in the air. If the massacre had not happened, there would have been much more pain and suffering before our race diminished. At least the deaths of our kind were quick."
"But if only I had had more time, maybe I could have found some way to prevent it," she said quietly, directing her gaze to the ground. "I was so close…"
"Not every problem can be solved, Ren. Even the greatest of scientists don't have all of the answers."
Kakurenbo sighed again. "I suppose you're right, Hyo."
"I know you really don't agree with me, Ren, but I won't try to convince you anymore. I've been doing that for ten years and it hasn't gotten me anywhere. Just think about it, all right?" Kakurenbo nodded. "Good. Now, come on inside. Dinner is almost ready."
As the two stood up, the ground beneath them suddenly began to tremble violently. Trees crashed to the ground and the old barn next to the house toppled over, landing in thousands of pieces on the ground. Even bits of the house suddenly fell apart. Kakurenbo clung to her brother fearfully as they both lost their balance.
The earthquake only lasted a few minutes, but it seemed like an eternity to Kakurenbo. When she opened her eyes, she could only stare dumbfounded at the sight of her already crumbling home. The forest, although already dead, had collapsed almost completely. The barn was in a large pile of rotting wood and broken glass, and the house lay in shambles.
Kakurenbo slowly climbed to her feet, leaving her brother on the ground in a daze.
"What the hell just happened?" she wondered aloud, her eyes wide as she stared at the partially collapsed house.
"I'm not sure," Hyo said, standing up. "That seemed far too strong to be an earthquake."
Although Kakurenbo knew that earthquakes could easily topple buildings, especially ones as old as her home, she did not believe that it was just a normal earthquake. She sensed something in the world had changed, but what that was she could not fathom.
Two days passed by slowly before Baillon finally returned. Kakurenbo and Hyo had tried their best to get what they could out of the collapsed house, which only resulted in the retrieving of their weapons and the small amount of money they still had.
The three of them agreed that it would be best to get out of Nightsedge since the entire city had collapsed. Unfortunately, Windycliffe was no longer an option seeing as the humans, and now even elves, were still after any stray Shadow Walkers, even after ten years. The other cities were not optional either for the same reasons.
Zamary Forest was dark and dreary and the canopy of the trees refused to let light through. Of course, this forest was on the northern outskirts of Nightsedge and the sky above was still blocked out by the ominous clouds. The mysterious fog that refused to lift entwined its way through the thick old trees, giving the forest even more of an eerie look. And as much as Kakurenbo hated the fact that they would be staying here for a while, she knew it was the safest thing to do at the moment.
The cave that was in the center of Zamary Forest was fair sized, although Kakurenbo strongly disliked having to live in it. But it would do for a short while, at least until winter set in. What they would do then she did not know.
Within a few days, Baillon left again, this time traveling to the capitol city, Limarnia. Undoubtedly the research academy there had some idea as to what caused the earthquake.
And just as they had suspected, the academy had an answer.
"So what happened?" Hyo asked the day Baillon returned.
"Neither of you are going to believe this," he began. "Even I didn't at first when I talked with the head of the academy."
"Baillon, just get to the point. What the hell caused that earthquake?" Kakurenbo pressed. Baillon turned his head toward her and looked her in the eye.
"The world has split, Ren, and because of it, the war is over."
