Chapter Eighteen: So Alone, Be Sorrow

A pink light washed over me, blinding my eyes to where I was. I gasped as I was set down on a floating island of some sort.

"What is this...? Dust?" I asked, grabbing at the sandy material. I looked up, staring at a snow-white void. It was nearly indistinguishable, but some slight shade made it possible to see. A few more islands, all covered with the same material, floated around. In the distance, over three or four of these islands, was a huge castle, the same color as the islands and the odd dust that covered them.

"So, that's my way..." I muttered. I pulled out the sakaboto Ike had given me.

It's the weapon of my sworn enemy and savior... and it's his memento of a dear friend.

I began jumping across the islands. Unfortunately, I'd misjudged the distances, and needed outbursts from my Cursed Seal to cross most of the jumps. I decided to just leave it once I had made it to the castle.

After all, I'm gonna need its power to take down Charon, I thought.

I walked up to the platinum gate, pushing it open with one finger. The courtyard of the castle was filled with the same dusty material, but a huge crater was just in front of the entrance to the actual castle.

"What... happened here?" I asked aloud. There were also a couple of white trees in the white dust. I walked up to the door. I felt some sort of malevolent spirit from the past swirling around, but I didn't think there was anything I could do about it. I opened the door, but the spirit of some girl in a red coat popped up.

"Who're you...?" I asked.

"Serenity Sheno, you pathetic kid," she taunted.

Serenity... hey, wait! Isn't she...

"You're Jason's girlfriend!" I shouted, pointing a Curse Marked finger at the spirit.

The spirit laughed at me.

"That is another fate that isn't meant to exist! You're living a lie!" the spirit pronounced.

I stood there in shock.

"A fate that isn't meant to exist? What the hell's that supposed to mean?" I asked angrily.

"You see, five and a half years ago, a wound was ripped in destiny. The hero..." the spirit muttered. "The hitokiri, who holds the chain of fate in his hands, first grabbed hold of the chain here."

"The hitokiri...? Roy?" I asked.

"Yes... that foolish swordsman..." the spirit mused.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with a certain Luce. So move it," I shouted.

"First, you'll see what you're up against... and what kind of power your brother has been struggling to surpass for five years!" the spirit screeched. I braced myself, and when I opened my eyes, I was in a dream world. Every color was transient... faded. There was only one really distinguishable color, anyway: red.

The long, red coat of a white-haired boy. He wore a blue t-shirt, black jeans, leather boots, and black, leather fingerless gloves. He had four sword scabbards on him, though only two had blades. The boy also carried an immense broadsword, and was facing a girl, just like the spirit, locked in combat.

"That could only be..." I said quietly.

Roy...

That's right... an ethereal voice taunted. That's your brother. Now see what Charon... and Roy... are capable of!

A bright flash of light, and I was standing on nothing. I looked around to see Roy, still white-haired, clashing with Charon. He was now wielding a massive, red-bladed sword that looked a little familiar.

"So... what hapened to the islands? The castle?" I asked.

Charon... eradicated them.

"Hah! Is that what I'm supposed to be scared of?" I asked. "That's nothing. I have no fear of death, so why bother me with this crap?"

You're just as reckless as he was... very well. But know this: your brother is not the Roy you see in these illusions. He is a different man, changed entirely from years of defying destiny.

Another flash of light, and I stood in the courtyard again, staring into the bleach-white castle. A crystal staircase led up to some room, closed by a crystal door.

"So my fate is sealed. There's only one guy who could help me avoid this... destiny..." I muttered, looking down at my Curse Marked hands, "and there's no telling where he is. I have no doubt Ike will interfere in my fight, though."

I started up the stairs. As I did, I could feel a presence... not Ike. But it was familiar. It could only be the one I had come here to face.

I burst open the crystal doors. Inside was a large, white room, with several pointless obelisks made of ivory. There was also a large, white throne, with a white-robed man, wielding a legendary sword, seated in it.

"Charon. It's an honor," I said.

"And so the circle is complete. Tell me, Curse Marked boy..." Charon taunted, "do you understand the magnitude of what you're involved in...? This a game of life and death, and I have skills far superior to your own. So turn back now. If you do, maybe some light will pour into your heart."

"Light... hah!" I laughed. "This is my darkness, and my darkness alone! It's the power that was dormant in me all my life!"

"That's not quite correct," Charon said, rising out of the throne. "It is the darkness you were cursed with by... Ike. Yes, Ike. It isn't your darkness. It's his!"

"I don't care anymore," I said, pulling out the sakaboto and unsheathing it. "I've erred, and I have come here to fix that err... BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!!!"

"You are a fool to challenge me..." Charon said coldly. "The master of light! The one who controls the very power your soul opposes!"

We charged at each other. Our blades clashed, sending out a shockwave that cracked some of the obelisks. We stood there, clashing our powers, as the ground beneath us began to crack and crumble. Lightning sparked around us.

So... this is the full power of a Cursed Seal. It's so much...

I won the struggle between us, knocking Charon back. I quickly charged my blade with a Chidori, hearing the chirping of a thousand birds fill the silent air. I charged at Charon, who was just recovering, as fast as my feet would move. He moved behind me and hit me in the back, knocking me into his throne. I recovered fast enough to attack him again with my electrified blade.

We attacked and dodged each other's attacks for several minutes before I took a hit.

"That hurts... a little," I muttered as I felt my heart and soul be corrupted a little by Illumina's curse.

"This is impossible! You should have died from a single stroke of Illumina!" Charon muttered, stepping back in shock.

"Well, maybe because you don't have a SOUL, you can't use its full powers," I mused. Without warning, I charged at him. Unfortunately, Charon warped behind me. I just had enough time to put up the sakaboto to block his strokes, which hammered down on the piece of steel. The ground crumbled under me, sending me down into some sort of basement. It was as if the light was being drained into some sort of dark portal. Charon came crashing down after me, attempting another hammer strike. I put up Ike's sakaboto, blocking the attack with all my strength.

Charon warped to the middle of the room. It seems my Chidori blade had finally done something to him; it had numbed his hands.

"It's no use, Curse Marked boy. You cannot defeat Illumina, the sacred sword of light!" Charon shouted, charging at me. I braced myself for the almost certain deathblow. But I looked up...

Charon was knocked back by some sort of ethereal slash, a huge gash cut in his chest. I looked up to see a certain silver-coated, red sword wielding vagabond.

"What's this...? Damn you!" Charon shouted at Ike, who at last looked up.