Endling - Chapter 12
Gakupo flew low above the mountainous terrain, without a particular destination in mind. The trees and bushes below were nothing but a blurry mismatch of shapes, rendered meaningless by the tears threatening to spill from his eyes.
Kaito wouldn't wait for him. He wouldn't, and Gakupo should've known he wouldn't. He had no right to ask that of Kaito in the first place, after all he had done for his sake. Kaito had protected him time after time and even dragged his own father into trouble, just for him, and yet here he was, ready to put his love aside for who knows how long.
But the endling couldn't see any other way out. How could he cast aside everyone he had ever known in his life, when he finally had the opportunity to be truly useful to them? His father and Prima needed space and food sources: both in scarce supply in a human-controlled world. The wildlands were always shrinking, and even the areas far from human settlements weren't completely safe, thanks to the many invisible eyes suspended in the skies, observing. Gakupo didn't know how the sky-watchers worked, but they were clearly a menace for big creatures like his father and the dragon. If the door to the new Arcadia needed IA's and his magical essence to function, Gakupo owed them to do anything in his power to open it.
IA was yet another issue troubling him. Despite what Kaito had said, Gakupo was guilty of bringing the girl here, with everything that entailed. And even if he returned her to the Pale Line, she would never be the same again: the blindfold had been lifted and she could see the bars of her golden cage. He did that to her.
Despite her inscrutable demeanor, Gakupo could see rage, sadness, fear and so many other emotions battling inside of her, and it reminded him painfully of his own struggles. That was something his lovely human couldn't possibly understand: Kaito did have a place in the modern world, even if he needed some courage to take it. They didn't, or at least not a place that would bring them any lasting happiness.
Suddenly, Gakupo spied a grey and brown shape down below, curled up in a small sun-bathed clearing. He dropped down until he landed almost between his father's paws. Goya showed no surprise at his presence; probably he had seen his approach. The beast man just licked his son's face and closed his eyes again, enjoying the nice weather. Gakupo leaned forward and hugged his father's thick neck. Unable to withstand his conflicted emotions any longer, he sank into the thick fur of Goya's ruff and hid his face while sobbing.
With so many years gone by, his birth parents were nothing but a faceless, vague presence in the back of his mind. Gakupo could remember arms hugging him, hands helping him dress and ruffling his hair. His mother's perfume enveloped him every time she kissed his cheeks. When he cried, they held him tightly, whispering reassurances. But both their touch and those words were long gone.
Goya, as always, let him cry as much as he liked, without saying anything. If he was in any way disappointed about Gakupo's fragility, he didn't show it. From his behavior, it seemed apparent that he was ready to protect his son for the rest of his life, which Gakupo found more than a little mortifying. But wasn't he doing just what Goya expected of him, acting like a weak little pup? That train of thought only made him sob harder; he rubbed his face against the warm fur, wishing for a second things were back like they used to be, just his father and him traveling across the wilderness. Everything was so simple then, so quiet…
Kaito's face surfaced in his mind, nervously hopeful. His youthful features smiled at him from the other side of the bars, at the loathsome place. Without hesitation, his hands pulled Gakupo outside and into the bright, amazing city.
"I don't regret meeting him," Gakupo whispered. Goya didn't reply or even move; only his breathing indicated that he was still awake and alert. "I don't regret the time I spent with him."
Still…It hurt. Gakupo placed a hand on his chest, and its fingers touched the spot where the turquoise pendant once brushed his skin. His jailers at the Pale Line had taken it, along with everything else. The fae gave out a hiccupping little laugh, as he continued to cry. He leaned on his father, on the patch of soaked fur. Neither one said anything for a long time afterward.
Kaito peered into the darkness of the big cavern, furiously trying to find the elusive figure of the little earth fae. He was well past the point of caring about anything that wasn't Gakupo, and keeping him by his side. If IA thought he was going to be intimidated by her new position or supposed powers, she was in for a surprise.
He set out walking along the shoreline of the underground lake, seeking IA's pale fur. His limbs were trembling and his fingers twitched, as he replayed inside his head all the things he wanted to say to IA. He was so focused on his inner dialogue that he almost missed the fragile figure watching him, until she laughed again. The sound made him stop abruptly and turn wide-eyed towards the lake.
IA was seating on the chain between two of the pillars of quartz rising from the waters. Her tail was wrapped around the metal links, likely helping her stay in such a precarious position. Her pale hair was dyed in many colors as Prima's fireballs danced around her.
"Come. Down. Here," Kaito spat each word like a gob of poison, throat constricted due to a mix of nervous energy and anger.
"Last time you had that look on your face you hit me. No, thanks," IA replied lightly. One of her tiny feet kicked the air, and she smiled. "I can hear you perfectly well from here."
"You're doing this just to get back at me, aren't you?" Kaito asked and gritted his teeth.
IA tapped her chin. "Hmmm… How should I put this? Oh yes, you both brought me to this dump! What, do you think I would be grateful for this?" She opened her arms wide, as if to encompass all the dark, dusty passages and rooms around the lake. "You aren't any better than them!" This time, she pointed upwards.
"Look, I know it's a difficult position," Kaito replied, anger giving in to a sliver of remorse. Then again, it wasn't like she had a much better life back in the Pale Line, he firmly told himself. "Just don't take it out on him, he didn't choose any of this."
IA cocked her head to a side, eyeing the flames nearby. "I can tell that much by looking at the situation, I'm not blind. They used him, just like me they want to use me."
"Then why do you hate him so much?"
IA looked back at him, one eyebrow raised. "I did say that, didn't I? And I still resent him, just a little." She smiled somewhat mischievously. "But it's rather refreshing to deal with a man that's not attracted to me at all." Her smile grew as she examined Kaito's face. "Even as I say that, you're jealous! I wonder if I could make him fall in love with me…" She let out a little chuckle.
"He's mine!" Kaito blurted out before he knew what he was doing.
His childish response only made IA laugh harder. "Oh, you want to own him? Make decisions for him, just like the others? Is he okay with that?"
Kaito's stomach sank. Again, he was being accused of wanting to control Gakupo. Was that what he was doing? But Kaito loved him, he loved him more than anything. He just wanted to take care of him!
You think I'm a stupid pup, just like Goya, a familiar voice echoed inside his head. You think I can't decide things by myself.
"You can't give him an open sky. And even if you could, you don't want to. If it were up to you, you'd cut off his wings just to make sure he couldn't escape you."
Kaito gasped in horror at the conjured image; nauseated, he shook his head frantically to eject it from his mind. A moment later, he remembered the time at the hotel he had briefly envisioned how Gakupo would be if he had been born human. He rubbed his forehead furiously. Back then, he had worried that part of his attraction to the fae was due to his helplessness, didn't he?
"No," Kaito finally replied with feigned conviction. "Stop trying to confuse me. If he wants...," he swallowed, forming the words with difficulty. "I'll support whatever he wants to do, I'm his knight."
"My, isn't he lucky?" IA's sarcasm was almost palpable enough to slap him in the face. In an impossibly graceful movement, she stood up on the chain and balanced like an acrobat. "In that case, even if he doesn't, I'll be sure to remind you of what you just said. See you later, hero." She leaped away and landed on another chain that swung dangerously under her. Undaunted, she repeated the process several times until she reached the other side of the lake. Kaito didn't bother to follow her movements. He didn't care one bit about her destination. His gaze instead travelled upwards, but there was nothing there to see. Nevertheless, he stood there for a long while staring at the small patch of sky trimmed by vines and rocks, gnawing the same thoughts over and over and over. The heavens remained obstinately empty and distant.
"Son?"
With reluctance, Kaito lowered his gaze to find his father and Yuki staring at him from a few paces away. He had been so wrapped in his own troubles that he had completely failed to sense their approach. They wore almost matching expressions of concern. Kaito felt a wave of shame and mental tiredness swept him. Some knight he was, troubling everyone around him. "I- I'm sorry about before. I shouldn't have made a scene."
Mr. Fuuga examined his face. "Are you ok? Did you eat?"
"I... No, not yet." And he didn't have the slightest trace of appetite at the moment.
"I brought you something soothing to drink, to help you relax," Yuki interjected. Only then Kaito paid attention to the steaming cup in her small hands. Likely in response to his frown, she added, "It's very mild, it's only so can you eat and rest awhile. After all, the last days have been very eventful for you."
"Please son, do as Yuki says. Your face looks pale."
Kaito bit his lip. For the first time in his life, he wanted to say a cutting remark to his beloved father and he hated feeling that way. There he was, in his wrinkled suit, his graying hair slightly ruffled, as exhausted as Kaito or probably more. And yet his father wasn't mad at him. Not at all.
"Alright," Kaito finally said and accepted the cup. He took a cautious sip after blowing over the surface; it tasted very similar to green tea, with a somewhat spicier aftertaste. "...It's good."
Yuki smiled cutely, and for a moment he almost forgot she wasn't a child. Or that her intentions weren't necessarily aligned with his. But he had enough arguments for one day, so he thanked her and excused himself.
Inside the room was his now cold food, looking terribly unappetizing. He chewed without paying any attention to it, drank the rest of the concoction without tasting it, and laid on the bed without doing as much as kicking off his shoes. He fully expected to spend the following hours staring at the wall, but drowsiness came quickly as soon as his head touched the pillow.
Mild, the cute little liar had said.
His head hurt. That wasn't anything new, Kaito was used to getting stress-related headaches, but never like this. It felt like two thick bolts being drilled into his skull. He blindly prodded his scalp, pushing blue hair aside, but found nothing.
He rose up from the bed, but the rapid movement only made it worse. He grabbed his head, moaning, then yelling. It felt like something was pushing his cranium from the inside. As the seconds painfully stretched, his whole body began to burn. He sank to the floor, writhing in pain. The contents of his stomach violently left his body.
And then, as abruptly as it had started, the pain began to recede. His breathing quieted slowly. Kaito sat on the floor, wiping his mouth and chin with his hand; he sensed a strange fire crackling behind his eyeballs and travelling through his airways. "Very mild," he croaked with a bitter grin. It had to be the result of Yuki's brew; whether it was deliberate or not, he didn't know. Whatever the case, sitting there on the cool floor wasn't going to help. He stood up shakily and went to the lake to clean himself.
Outside, he once again looked up at the hole on the ceiling of the cavern. It was dark. But then his eyes trailed downwards and he found that the room across the lake was bathed in light. Gakupo's room. He almost started running towards the warm glow, before remembering the current state of his clothes and face.
The water was very cold. Not for the first time, Kaito wished for a hot bath and new clothes. But he trudged through the process of getting himself as presentable as possible. Then, shaking under his damp clothing, he began circling the lake. He probably looked very funny, he thought, jogging clumsily like a drunkard, tripping and almost falling every few steps on the uneven ground. But he didn't care, he didn't care about anything but Gakupo. His hands would massage Kaito's temples and everything would be fine. His body would drive the cold away.
He finally reached a narrow set of stairs carved into the wall of the cavern; it had no railing and ascended sharply in a zig-zag pattern to meet several ledges before the door-less, dark portals overlooking the lake. The seemingly random distribution of the carved rooms meant the whole arrangement looked vaguely like a tree with many branches. Either the original inhabitants of the refuge had no concerns about safety or they possessed a dexterity similar to IA's. Soon enough, Kaito found himself clinging to the wall as he miserably tackled one step at a time. Vertigo has returned to reclaim him, to the point that he crawled up the last flight on all fours, hurting his knees and hands. It didn't matter, his destination was close enough to bear it.
One more step.
One more step.
Almost there.
One more.
One more.
One more.
One more...
"Kaito?"
Kaito looked up to see Gakupo standing just outside his door, eyes wide as saucers. Half of his body was clearly defined by the light of the room; the other half was shadowed, only slightly touched by the glow of the dancing flames down near the surface of the waters. Before Kaito could react, Gakupo swooped down and landed in front of him, cradling his face with his hands and peering at him intently.
"Gakupo, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"You're ill."
"It's nothing." Now that his endling was in front of him, Kaito knew he had a lot to say. But treacherously, his eyes closed and his mouth slurred. Gakupo's hands felt so nice and cool... maybe he could command the fire inside of him to leave.
Without saying anything else, Gakupo picked him up in his arms. Five seconds later, he gently laid Kaito down on his bed. The young man again tried to push some words past his lips, but the endling just shushed him. Like a grumpy nurse, he refused all attempts of communication until Kaito was out of his damp clothes and resting under a thick, warm pelt. Only then the fae asked, "You wait, yes? I can go to the icy rooms and wake Yuki."
"No, no... I'll be fine. Sit down, please." Kaito's hand shot out and grabbed Gakupo's wrist before he could fly away.
The pair stared at each other for a few moments before Gakupo sighed in defeat and sat next to Kaito's head. "Try to sleep, then." The fingers of his free hand gently but firmly freed his wrist; afterwards, he held Kaito's hand with a very light grip, as if afraid to hurt him.
"I love you so much," Kaito muttered. Guided by a sudden impulse, he wiggled and awkwardly propelled his body until his head rested on Gakupo's lap. And that's what I am, Kaito told himself, a worm squirming and burrowing and tainting everything with my wretchedness.
A hand began to smooth his blue hair. The tips of the fingers softly rubbed his scalp, drawing small circles. The sensation of well-being of that small act spread all throughout his body. Kaito closed his eyes again with a contented sigh, basking in that feeling.
Everything is going to be fine, as long as you're here…
Kaito opened his eyes and sat up. To his surprise, he could sense an evident change in the air around him; the freshness of the morning gently gnawing at his bare skin. Outside, the sun was pouring from above, vainly trying to dispel the darkness shrouding the underground lake. It only had felt like a second or two, but it seemed that he had fallen asleep again on Gakupo's lap.
"You feel well?"
He turned to see Gakupo watching him, head slightly cocked to one side. His tail was twitching wildly, in contrast to the immobility of the rest of his body.
"Yes. I feel great, actually. It's almost...I feel more alert or something." Strangely so, in fact. He wasn't the type to just roll out of bed full of energy, most of the time. But Gakupo gave him a small smile of relief and that was enough to push those thoughts aside. He had something more important to say. Drawing a deep breath, he took Gakupo's hands in his. The endling's eyes widened but he thankfully made no effort to pull away.
"Gakupo, I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. No, please let me say this. It hurts, it hurts to lose even a second of time I could spend with you. But I don't own you and I won't build cages to separate you from the world." Ridiculous being that he was, tears began welling up in his eyes, but he fought to keep his voice steady. "I'll stand by your side, no matter what you choose."
The eyes before him glistened, perhaps with hidden tears of their own. "…I wish it wasn't like this," Gakupo said almost too softly to hear. "But I need to help them." His mouth twitched oddly, before finally adopting a sad smile.
Kaito exerted every drop of will he had to nod calmly without saying anything. Gakupo didn't need his tears or anger. Instead, he inclined his head and kissed his endling's hands. His lips lingered on the skin, prolonging the moment. Inside his head, he pictured himself doing the same in front of the altar of whatever god had chosen this fate for him. It was almost comical.
Suddenly, Gakupo's expression shifted and he pulled away his hands. Kaito had a fraction of a second to fret about the gesture, before he realized Gakupo was looking past him towards the doorway. A moment later, a girlish voice broke the silence.
"Did I come at a bad time?"
Yuki stood just outside the room, holding a big bundle of fabric in her arms. She gestured with it, smiling. "I found some of my father's clothes! They are old-fashioned, but I fixed them to fit you. May I come in?"
"You tried to kill me." The words escaped Kaito's lips before this brain had any time to think better of it.
Gakupo gasped and actually dropped a pillow from the bed with an uncontrolled movement of his right wing.
On the contrary, Yuki barely reacted at his words. "May I come in?" She repeated the phrase as if she had heard nothing out of the ordinary. "We'll talk about it, but put on the clothes first."
"Oh sure, I'm dying to accept more favors from you. Maybe even literally."
"What- what did you say before?!" Gakupo grabbed his arm to demand Kaito's attention; his eyes were pleading for reassurance. "I hear wrong?"
Yuki sighed. "Settle down, dear, I did nothing of the sort. Kaito, please get dressed before you get a cold, then we can discuss the issue." She finally stepped into the room, placed the clothes on the bed and went out once more to wait on the ledge. She faced away from them, contemplating the lake below with folded arms.
After a second, Gakupo let go of Kaito's arm and examined the bundle of clothes. They were old-fashioned indeed, a set of dark hakama pants, a white shirt and a greyish blue kimono jacket. They even came with a worn-down scarf and a black cap.
"It looks like a movie costume," Kaito commented, not really enthused. But he shrugged and took the clothes from Gakupo's hands. He dressed up quickly, while the fae went to trade some words with Yuki, and then surprisingly flew off without a word. Kaito only managed to catch a glimpse of his figure in the distance before he realized what was happening. "Wait, where are you going?!"
"He went to bring you breakfast," Yuki explained placidly. "He'll be back soon enough, don't look so worried. That level of possessiveness isn't very cute."
Kaito evaded her eyes, equal parts annoyed and embarrassed. Every single magical being left on Earth seemed intent on critiquing his behavior.
Yuki stepped forward almost soundlessly, except for the rustle of her robes dragged over the polished stone ground. She touched his hand with her icy, tiny fingers. "Don't think I don't understand. I may live in solitude, but I know the sight of the first spring blossoms pushing through the snow. And this is your first spring, the first time you have truly loved someone not of your own blood. You're bound to pour everything you have into this."
"Don't pretend to know me!" Kaito took a step backwards, avoiding her touch. Even more than the cold she emanated, her words made him unreasonably uncomfortable.
If Yuki felt offended by his reaction, she didn't show it. "That's precisely why I gave you that concoction yesterday. Please forgive the subterfuge, but you have to admit you tend to make rash decisions when it comes to Gakupo. There's something I needed to verify."
"What do you mean?"
"Yesterday Prima told you she might be able to awake the part of you that's non-human, right? And you rushed to say yes without thinking of the consequences." Yuki paused for a second, as if considering her words. "Truth is, Prima and I have our differences on how to handle you. Therefore, I wanted to personally make sure your body can really resist such transformation. I'm sorry if it was painful."
Kaito touched his scalp in the spots where Prima's illusions placed horns. "…Can I, then? Can I resist the process?"
"In my opinion, yes." Yuki smiled. "I was afraid you were going to insist on going through the ritual even if it was dangerous, so this is quite the relief."
"…Huh." Gradually, it occurred to Kaito that he ought to say something more, but before he could formulate a sentence, Yuki continued talking.
"I think we might be able to give you the ability to switch between human and inhuman appearances at will. Wouldn't that be a huge benefit to our cause? Very few of us can pass as humans long enough to go into the cities. However..." The snow woman inclined her head. "That makes the process more involved, and more painful as well. We know now that your body can endure it, but it's up to you if you want to subject yourself to such a thing."
"How long would it take?" If his previous experience was any indication, Kaito was going to spend hours bored into numbness while Prima babbled over him.
"A week perhaps? It's difficult to say, we've never attempted something so complex before."
A week? A whole week?! Kaito stared at her, mouth agape. The snow woman nodded, seemingly pleased by his reaction.
"Can you endure days of torment? Days of huddling in the darkness while the magic works on your flesh?" Her theatrical tone clashed with her small, innocent features. It occurred to Kaito that she was trying to scare him. "You won't have Gakupo to soothe your pain either. You need to be sealed inside the chamber so the air surrounding you is overflowing with magic. Can you stand complete isolation?"
Kaito could almost picture the bleak scene she was describing. A small pocket of stale air surrounded by rock and limitless silence. A casket to let go of everything he had been until that point in his life.
"…Does Gakupo know about this?"
"Oh no, I don't think so."
"Good, let's keep it that way. Just say I'm off training or something."
"So, you'll do it." It was barely phrased as a question.
"Of course."
Yuki's eyes sparkled, full of something that Kaito was surprised to identify as admiration. "I wish I could love like you do!"
"I..." Kaito fiddled with the scarf, at a loss of words for several seconds. Finally, he mumbled, "Umm, when do we start?"
"The sooner the better. Prima wants the wedding and the opening of the door to the new Arcadia to coincide with the next full moon."
"Right..." Kaito said a bit drily. Did she really had to remind him of Gakupo's and IA's wedding right after complimenting the strength of his feelings?
"You need to be prepared to defend Gakupo," Yuki continued without acknowledging his tone or expression. "Just in case anything unexpected comes out of the door."
This was a new development. "Are you expecting some kind of problem?"
"Nothing concrete at the moment. But it's been a long time since we had some news from Oberon and his retinue, so it's best to take some precautions."
"That's a little vague."
Yuki shrugged. "Anything could be behind the door. If it's just Oberon waiting to greet us with open arms, all the better."
"Speaking of which... Gakupo told me the previous Oberon couldn't become IA's Oberon, is that right?" Maybe he had it wrong after all, Kaito thought hopefully.
"That's the custom, yes. Besides, usually Titania and Oberon have contrasting forces under their command. In our case, Gakupo is a wind fae and IA an earth one. The late Titania was a wind fae and her Oberon is a horned iterronte."
"If I descend from a mountain ogre, doesn't that make me a 'contrasting force' to Gakupo?"
"Yes, it does." Yuki chuckled, covering her mouth with a sleeve for a few seconds. "But you can't be our Titania, if that's what you were thinking."
It was Kaito's turn to shrug, though the idea had indeed crossed his mind. "I'll be by his side anyway; the label doesn't matter."
At that moment, the sounds of wings flapping became apparent. Gakupo was coming back. Yuki said quickly, "Come to my rooms when you're ready to begin. Let your father and Gakupo know that you'll be gone for a while."
"I will."
Gakupo landed outside, carrying an enormous basket with enough food for the three of them. As soon as she saw that, Yuki began to softly protest, saying "Oh no, I'm not staying. I wouldn't impose on you like that."
"Are you still fighting?" Gakupo eyed them suspiciously. Despite knowing Gakupo would probably object to the idea, Kaito couldn't help but think it was more adorable than threatening.
Yuki waved her hands. "Don't worry about that, we've talked things over. No, I have things to prepare, and besides, you'll have a nicer time if it's just the two of you." She retreated to the door and disappeared before Gakupo could finish his reply.
The fae turned to Kaito, puzzled. "What is happening?"
Kaito placed his hands on Gakupo's shoulders and pulled him closer softly. "It's not a big deal." The face before him remained unconvinced, so he continued with a reassuring smile, "Yuki offered to train me to be a better knight. I'll be away for a few days."
"Can't I go with you?"
"You have to get ready for the wedding, don't you?" Kaito reminded him, doing his best not to cringe at the word.
Gakupo lowered his eyes and replied only with a small nod.
Don't make that face, please. Kaito racked his brains trying to find something comforting to say, but every phrase sounded woefully inadequate. In the end, he leaned forward and kissed his fae's cheek, then hugged him tightly. At the very least, he could attempt to capture that instant in his heart, as a kind of shield against what was coming.
In his mind's eye, Kaito had pictured the cave he was going to inhabit for the next few days as a sickeningly narrow space, a sarcophagus of stone with walls thick as a mountain. Thanks to his unfortunately vivid imagination, he could nearly taste the stale air, its toxic components growing in number with every agonized breath. Rough ground to lie on, coldness and mind-numbing loneliness. So, a couple hours after his breakfast with Gakupo, as he walked after Yuki and Prima (again in her humanoid guise) through unknown tunnels, the specter of the confined tomb threatened to erode every ounce of confidence he had managed to scrounge together.
Thus, it was almost underwhelming when the mismatched duo stopped in front of a carved chamber much like the one he had been assigned as a bedroom, just full of dust, old cobwebs and run-down furniture. There was a greyish blanket on one corner over a mound of dry grass, and a pot on the opposite side of the room. The crystal hanging from the ceiling seemed much more worn-out than the others he'd seen elsewhere in the hideout, only giving a soft glow. The room's visible neglect matched the appearance of the other rooms nearby; no one had lived in that section of the hideout for years.
"Go in," Prima ordered without preamble. "And don't try to come out until one of us tells you to do it."
Kaito searched inside his head for a joke or funny comment of any kind, just to alleviate his own nervousness. But neither his brain nor his tongue wanted to cooperate with him, so he nodded and stepped inside. As he did, he briefly wondered how they were planning on sealing him inside, since the chamber didn't have any door he could see. But as soon as his foot touch the floor past the doorway, he felt something stirring. A constant stream of muttering crashed against his timpani like ocean waves, and goosebumps covered his skin. Insubstantial touches travelled all along his body, alternating between piercing and pinching him. The lights began to dim.
"Lie down."
"Let it happen."
The figures at the other side of the doorway were now black featureless silhouettes, aside from their eyes: one pair of fiery red eyes, one pair of icy blue ones. The glow of those eyes seemed to expand, engulfing him. For the first time, he was seeing what they truly were, under the deceiving mask of humanity. It was both horrible and fascinating. He fell backwards into a seated position, then dragged himself on the hard ground until his hands felt the prickly sensation of dry grass. He huddled on top of it, still mesmerized by the orbs of light past the doorway. He feared them. He feared them. He couldn't look away.
And suddenly they weren't there. There was nothing to meet his gaze but the deepest darkness he had ever known. It was all too easy to think he had stumbled out of time itself. He was drifting away from life, from the sun and the warm breeze of summer. Worlds away from the old house of his childhood and the yellow-green of the garden. Away from his father's kindness, away from the leisurely afternoons talking and studying with Hiroshi and Akane in the campus grounds. Away from Gakupo and his eyes full of golden light.
All of that had been replaced by the perennial night of the underground, the whispering and the prickling sensation on his skin. They seeped inside of him, darkness and magic oozing into his mouth, eyes and nostrils. He heard stone dragging over stone, a slab coming out of nowhere to block his way, announcing its arrival with the inescapable sound of captivity.
And then, the pain started.