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Wish Journeys 1.1
Three Brothers
Chapter 19/Kouji
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He caught a tale about a burning forest and he froze. Then he caught the rest of it and wondered what the heck was going on. He'd passed through the forests twice. He'd taken the sphere from there and he'd fought the monster and caused some collateral damage while he was at it. So why were they talking like the forest was burning again?
He went to check it out. He told himself it was simply because he had no other leads on the fire sphere, but the truth was he felt guilty. And worried. If his sword had done something. He still didn't know why it heated up like that, but it had proven handy. And dangerous.
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It was another walk through the desert and through that annoying forest for the third time before he got there. Or, rather, before he saw it from afar. Creatures fleeing again. They were getting awfully good at fleeing. Lots of practise, he thought wryly. Though that was a cruel thought. And a depressing one.
He saw the fire, and he paused for a moment to stare at its orange and red flames and the grey smoke it produced, and then he started to walk towards it.
It was a slow and gruelling walk, gruelling both mentally and physically. Physically because it grew warmer with every step he took until his armour was hurting and he had to strip it off and drop it. He hoped he wouldn't need that armour to fight whatever enemy lay in wait.
He also hoped he could survive the heat there.
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His sword was, after a fashion, the only thing growing warmer and Kouji was glad. Because steam came out of the scabbard but his body didn't burn. Maybe it was a property of the sword. Or maybe it was because he had the sphere of water already. Either way, it was lucky. He'd have probably shrivelled up before making it into the centre of the fire.
Because it really was a long way away.
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He found the source of the fire finally. It looked like the wick of a candle. A tiny thing but it had caused so much damage already. There was only ash where he floated.
'What are you doing?' he asked. 'You'll burn the forest to the ground!'
Not that that was any worse than what he'd done, but that was an accident. And he didn't exactly have water powers. Or he hadn't found them if he did.
The thing just laughed: a warped laughter with jaws that looked like they were stitched loosely with thread. Like a child's nightmare.
He wasn't a child. He drew the burning hot sword, thankful that the hilt was tolerable. It was going to be difficult to hit something that wasn't tangible, but he'll manage.
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About half an hour in, he was willing to rethink his earlier concession. The smoke hadn't grown any thicker but that was the only good thing he could say. The sweat that covered him was from exertion as well as the heat. And though he'd struck the flying fireball a number of times, it was still floating about and laughing at him.
He really needed to think of another strategy.
What else could beat fire?
Water, his brain supplied.
Well, no duh. But where do I get that from?
Was there a stream anywhere in the forest? He didn't remember seeing one.
Which meant he'd have to search the parts of the forest he hadn't been to yet. With a fireball chasing him.
It didn't sound like a good idea at all, but really, what other choice was there?
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It was a very bad idea. The fire spread. But there was nothing he could do about that. Unless he wanted to be a charred mass of flesh. Which he didn't. Not even in a dream. And especially not when he was so close. Because he knew the sphere had to be there. There was a monster after all.
That gave him another idea. If the monster was guarding the sphere, then the sphere must be somewhere in the forest. And if the monster was happily following him, it couldn't be the area they just left.
Which essentially gave him the entire family of forests as area to cover.
Which was just lovely.
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He needed a break. But he knew he wasn't going to find one easily. But luck was with him because he tripped and fell with a splash into a stream.
And the mud greedily clung to him, even without his armour. It was just lucky the floating fireball didn't like the stream very much and so waited.
So Kouji decided to take advantage of the situation and think a little.
He'd run in squares, in a sense. And now he'd come across the stream. The sphere probably wouldn't be here, but it had to be somewhere. Somewhere already burnt, perhaps. Would be it be easier to get the flaming fireball into the water first and rid of him, or continue looking for the sphere?
Getting rid of the monster.
Though he hadn't worked out a good way to get it into the water.
He took a handful of water and threw it. It hit the flaming fireball and it hissed and shot a ball of fire. Kouji dodged it and watched a bit of steam rise and vanish into the smoke.
He'd need to pick up a whole lot more water than that to do damage – or keep the fireball under water.
And since he couldn't grab the fireball…
Looks like it'll be a battle of wits.
He stood his ground in the stream and waited. The fireball danced around and hissed, apparently sensing Kouji wasn't going to budge. Then it came lower. And shot fireballs. Kouji dodged them easily. It came closer still.
Almost.
And closer still.
And then it was suddenly in his face and Kouji sat down in the stream.
It hissed, and dropped closer, almost touching the water.
Kouji kicked and splashed as much as he could, and the fireball howled. And grew black. Wondering if this meant it was solid, Kouji drew his sword and smacked the fireball down.
It went down into the stream, and Kouji held it there with his sword until there was a thick film of smoke that made him cough and the monster was gone.
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He still had to find the sphere. He dragged himself out of the stream and splashed the fire that licked the edges. It was useless. He didn't have a clue how someone was going to put that fire out.
It wasn't his problem anyway, but…
And it wasn't like the world actually existed. Or the creatures that lived in it.
He closed his eyes, opened them again, and set off the way he came to search the forest on the other side.
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He found the sphere, eventually. Ironically, it was where he'd fought the other monster. He picked it up and fit it into his hilt. It glowed there, with the other four spheres.
He'd done it. He'd found all five spheres.
Now he just had to pick up his armour. And then open the Tower of Destiny.
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It was raining by the time he found his armour and he let the rain cool it down. It was a relief, too. Not greedy like the stream. And a way to put the fire out.
That thought made him wonder if it was the mage. That mage who looked like him.
He realised he hadn't gotten an answer for that.
He thought about it now. Maybe an alter ego? His conscience? That made sense in this dream world…but what about the other warrior then? A rival? Someone he'd met before?
They could be real.
They couldn't possibly be real.
And then suddenly, thinking of the devils, they were there. Appearing in front of him. Teleporting. And they had another kid as well. Around eight or nine with an orange hat that looked ridiculous on its own but suited him well.
They were probably going to harp on about the fire again. This time it wasn't his fault. And he doubted rain would have dealt with the source: that annoying ball of fire.
He lifted his hilt. He was wearing his armour anyway.
'Wait, Kouji!'
He blinked. Who was that, calling his name?
He vanished before he could see.
And it didn't matter anyway. An alter ego should know his name. So should a rival, but they'd call him by his surname, wouldn't they?