ONE FELL SWOOP - CHAPTER 4
Author's Note: As you readers can probably tell, I'm starting to pick up the pace. That said, you can partly thank the chaos of emotions happening in my life at the moment, which, as much as I'd hate to say, is currently one of the major driving forces of this chapter. Anyways, before I start, I'd like to give somewhat of a caution sign. Towards the end of the chapter, there's going to be a segment where younger readers may not understand completely due to its complex diction and language. It's meant to take somewhat of a victorian-era to Shakespearean impression to the audience. Please, I urge you, really try to understand that part as it is critical to understanding what the character is actually thinking and feeling.
Aghh I'm sounding like an English teacher now ... Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter. As usual, if you like this fanfic, show your support by clicking 'favorite' and 'follow' for this fanfic!
Enjoy!
Chapter 4: Choose and Sacrifice, Bleed and Breathe
6 years ago, exactly 2 years before the even known as "Lunar Festival Massacre", in the Order of the Lotus's main hall. This room would look no different from the occurrence 5 years from this moment, save the gentle atmosphere about, in contrast to the tense future to come.
"Young one, would you be so kind to give us your name?" an middle-aged man dressed in plain white kimono with a light-lavender haori over-top, sitting behind a plain wooden desk, seemed to be giving some sort of interview to a young boy with messy black hair. The boy looked to be approximately 13 years of age and was dressed in plain Ionian commoner clothes.
When the man could see the hesitance in the boy's willingness to reply, he laughed warmly and stood up from his chair. He walked over to the boy, who shrunk back ever so slightly. Bending down so he would not look down on the boy as if intimidatingly, he placed a hand on each of the boy's shoulders.
"There's no need to be shy. Tell me your name, young one." The man smiled. The boy began to look more relaxed.
He's changed so much compared to when he was like . . . this, I thought. Here I was, standing off to the side watching this scene play before me. I remember it so well yet—a memory is nothing compared to the actual occurrence. I looked at my hands, then my arms, then my entire body in one quick scan. My entire body, translucent. I scoffed at the thought of looking like a ghost. I never imagined that being in a flashback—or whatever this vision is—would be so, I don't know, cliché. I was referring to the Grandmaster. Despite being well over the age of 40, he still looked as if at typical father in his forties. And mark my words, any other man with his job would succumb to the physical and mental stress required of them, looking twenty years older than they actually were. Then again, this was why no other man was fit for the position Grandmaster of the Order.
And yet, in a matter of 6 years . . .
He looked as if he had aged thirty years in this short period of time. His demeanor changed too, from a warm, openly kind man, to a hardened, suspiciously, and most noticeably, tired man. And it was all . . . because of me?
The young boy's response brought me back to my senses.
"My name is Kassadin. Kassadin Lunacrux Reiyver."
The Grandmaster laughed heartily.
"Kassadin Lunacrux Reiyver! What a magnificent name for a young boy like you."
The boy blushed and looked down in embarrassment.
"Th—thank you, sir," the boy replied timidly.
"Alas, young Reiyver, you have quite the complex name. How 'bout we shorten it a bit? Let's see — how's 'Kaleb' to your liking?"
The boy brightened and nodded slightly.
Ahh, I remember this moment ever so clearly, I thought, closing my eyes briefly. You know what, speaking of change, I too have changed quite drastically since then. Nevertheless, it's an unfair comparison. Whereas puberty changed me fundamentally, six years in the forties is nothing. As a young boy, I was quite . . . naïve. Not surprising though, considering the face that I had just been an orphaned street-boy before this miraculous day, where I was chosen by the Grandmaster himself to join not only the Order but his—
"I take it you like it then. Alright, Kaleb." The Grandmaster placed a hand on the boy's head and ruffled his hair playfully. "Let me tell you a little secret. I have a long name too. Rivello Aurorus Proteagus. I'm the Grandmaster of this—you can call it a dojo if you want—this place. But most importantly of all, this is my home."
"Gra—Grandmaster?!" The boy gave a mixed expression of fear and admiration.
"Yes, Kaleb, but honestly, it's not much to worry about. I don't do much around here." The Grandmaster said quickly in an attempt to ensure the young boy was still comfortable with such a powerful title, Grandmaster, sitting in the same room as him.
Hah, that's a lie. You don't do much eh? It would be an understatement to say you worked the hardest of all members of the Order. Well, perhaps, a lie for the good of the boy's confidence. I commented silently, still standing off to the side. I don't know why I'm not standing any closer even though I know very well there was no way they could see me. Logically speaking, I didn't exist in this recollection, for the very reason it is called a recollection. A memory. Right—?
I froze.
The Grandmaster had unmistakeably looked up, looked straight at me, and nodded solemnly.
As if acknowledging my sacrifice. Not possible. Unless—
This was not a memory, but a vision of the past. And logically speaking, if that were the case, I exist as an extra-dimensional being, which is something between actual existence and temporal non-existence. I guess that's the best way to describe a spiritual entity visiting the past.
Was that what I am at the moment? A spiritual entity visiting the past?
A new voice spoke up. A girl's voice.
She walked through the door to the stairs leading down the lower levels of the building and then to the main courtyard of the 'Grand Temple.'
"Hi there! I already know your name from listening through the door—"
"Young lady, rudely eavesdropping—!" the Grandmaster half-scolded.
"—my name is Karma Proteagus! You can just call me Karma. Pleased to meet you." She greeted him cheerfully.
The boy could not respond immediately for he was once again in awe of the presence before him.
I too smiled. I don't think I ever had the courage to tell it to her face, but Karma was quite a stunningly beautiful young lady, even at the age of 13. She had a modest figure, but a smooth, charming face and long flowing black hair that split cleanly center of her forehead. No wonder my 13-year old self was speechless.
"H—hi, pleased to meet you too," the boy almost whispered.
"Oh come on, you're gonna have to be more open than that if we're going to get along well! Father tells me you're going to be my little brother from now on."
"Little brother? That means—you're my older sister?" the young boy looked questioningly over to the Grandmaster.
"Yeah!" the girl responded for her father. She tilted her head to one side and gave the boy the warmest, most loving smile he had ever received in the thirteen years of his life.
"Welcome to the family."
The boy seemed as if had never been happier in his life.
Suddenly, everything around me became distorted. The voices, the conversation between my younger-self and younger-Karma became distant. Their faces blurred, stretched and contracted. There was a whooshing sound behind me and reality was swept in a jumbled mess. The environment around me dissolved into meaningless colours and circled me in a vortex of light.
No. Please, no.
"No!" I said aloud, knowing very well no one could hear me. I want to stay in this moment, just for a while longer. But fate demanded otherwise. The meaningless shapes and colours rearranged themselves to form another picture.
I was now in the main courtyard of the 'Grand Temple'. It was night-time and the moon shone brightly overhead. As I navigated the various paths, around the rocks decorating the sides of the pathways and the streams of water snaking about the courtyard, I instinctively walked towards the centre of the courtyard where an Ionian gazebo was built. It was raised approximately a metre off the ground so it wasn't until I got closer that I saw what was happening within the gazebo. Remembering the Grandmaster's unmistakeable acknowledgement of my ghostly presence, I stopped and looked for a spot where I could observe the gazebo from afar.
There.
A rock large and tall enough suited for my purpose. Impatient as I was, I closed my eyes and willed myself to become atop the rock. I felt a thrilling rush, a slight breeze against my cheek, and when I opened my eyes, I had arrived at my intended position. So my powers still work to a certain extent within this . . . vision.
From where I was, I could see a boy and girl sitting next to one another on the bench that outlined the circular shape of the gazebo. They were sitting quite close to each other. I squinted my eyes to make out the faces of the two individuals.
Oh.
I recognized the girl's face.
Oh man.
I recognized the boy's face as well. How could I not?
I remember this moment. Not as vividly as I'd liked, but still. I would never forget this moment.
The boy seemed nervous.
I'm not even surprised. What's about to happen next is completely foreign to him.
The girl seemed to say something to the boy, then leaned closer to him and, in one swift motion, kissed the boy lightly on the lips.
Oh boy. Thinking back, this was an embarrassment. Shame on you, boy for not knowing what to do.
As if reading my thoughts, the boy's hands awkwardly grappled her sides, unsure of how to proceed, and as overwhelmed as both of them were, the girl lost her balance. The boy fell backwards, as did the girl, who hesitated momentarily before kissing him with more passion. She shifted her weight to straddle the boy's waist.
This is me. At age 16, experiencing my first kiss. But strangely, this is a vague memory, as if someone had tried to erase it but did so quite sloppily. I barely remember any details, despite my nigh-perfect memory.
I took a deep breath, I inhaled as much oxygen as I could. Slowly my vision grew sharper and my hearing was enhanced comparable to that of a cat. In exchange, I gradually lost all feeling on the surface of my skin, as well as my senses of smell and taste. This is one of the first and most foundational abilities I've learned and mastered. 'Sensory Exclusion' allows me to sacrifice certain senses to enhance the other senses. In this case, I could go to further extremes; in addition to sacrificing my senses of smell and taste, I also sacrificed my natural ability to intake oxygen.
With training in consideration, I guess I can hold my breath for at least 5 minutes, easily. That is, with the deep breath I took before.
I could now see and hear the events within the gazebo as if I were one of its occupants. As I observed, one thought consistently bothered me.
I don't remember this. Neither do I remember that. I subconsciously brushed my fingers against my lips.
Why don't I remember the feeling of her lips on mine?
The boy and girl had parted lips now, though the girl was still straddling his waist and the fingers from both their hands remained interlocked. The boy's black dress-shirt had become unbuttoned down to his sternum, while the girl's floral kimono stayed intact. The boy, clearly still blushing and grateful for the shadows in hiding his expression, spoke first.
"Karma, isn't this— isn't it wrong for us to do this?"
The girl looked away, taken aback by his question.
"But—" she hesitated again, trying to find the right words. "This is how I truly feel about you. I—I can't suppress this desire anymore."
"Karma, we're siblings," The boy said slowly. "You're my elder sister."
"Not by blood," the girl seemed desperate in her justification, despite the boy's kind honesty. "And I look older than I am. I'm only older than you by a few months."
"Your father—he would kill me if this happens."
"I don't care what father thinks. Kaleb, why are you talking as if it hasn't happened already? 'If' this happens? Are you saying you feel nothing for me?" the girl's eyes began tearing up.
"No I—I like you Karma. But I owe a duty to father for accepting me into this family. I can't take his kindness for granted."
Their fingers were no longer interlocked.
"So," the boy swallowed his own tears and clenched his fist. "Before this turns into romantic love, I have to stop it."
Tears were streaming from the girl's eyes.
"You—I—," the Karma wiped the tears from her eyes but it was futile. A gate of sorrow had unlocked within her. "It's too late. I already . . . I've already fallen in love with you, Kaleb!" She cried out.
"I'm sorry." The apology sounded heartless and empty, but the boy was simply at a loss. He sat up and wrapped his arms around the crying girl, who welcomed his embrace. "I'm sorry, Karma."
As the boy hugged her tightly, a singly tear rolled down his cheek. He raised on hand to his face and felt the wetness of his eyes, but didn't try to wipe the tear away. Instinctively, I placed my own hand on my cheek, finding that I too had a single tear slowly trail my right cheek, stopping at my chin and finally dripping onto the rock I stood on.
Then I sensed it. Movement to my right. There was another individual in this scenario?
There. At the top of the stairs leading into the main entrance of the Grand Temple stood a boy that looked about 17 years old. He was rubbing his eyes—
Wait. No way. He's . . . He's crying too?
As his hand dropped down to his side, I noticed something strange about his eyes. They were a dark shade of purple. And they were bleeding tears of jealous fury.
Shit. That's—
The boy at the top of the stairs suddenly turned his head, focusing his eyes on me. Immediately, I felt my body jolt and shake uncontrollably.
Not him too. First the Grandmaster, then him?
Without warning, an intense pain took to my eyes. I clutched my eyes and tried to scream, but in my panic, I had forgotten all about my Sensory Exclusion.
Such power. I can feel it. It is driven by hate.
As I finally lost all my vision, the environment around me, once again, started to dissolve into meaningless colours and circled me in a vortex of light. However, this time, in a matter of moments, all the light risen up had magically disappeared, leaving me in pitch blackness. I slowly felt my consciousness slipping, if you could call it consciousness, and with that, I had one question that remained before I completely blacked out.
Did I ever love her?
. . .
(End of POV)
A soft sound teased his consciousness. It was as if a distant wind chime and it spoke to him in musical tunes.
Wake up young one.
His eyes snapped open and immediately, he sat up and scanned his surroundings. He sat on a tiny, desolate island, only large enough to barely hold a small house. Three bodies of water lay around him, each of its own distinct color and shade, each separated from one another by a wall of obsidian reaching the bottom of the lakes and peeking slightly out of the water. The walls protruded slightly onto the island and were only wide enough for one person to walk across. He placed one hand on the wall closest to him in an attempt to push himself off the ground to stand, but as his fingers made contact with the obsidian a chill shot through his arm and sent a shiver throughout his body. He shrank back in surprise.
"What-the-shit?" Kaleb narrowed his eyes and looked closer.
The wall wasn't made of obsidian. It was made of ice. Black ice.
He looked up again.
Turning slowly in a circle, he noticed the peculiar natures of the three bodies of water. A Sea of Gold. A Sea of Lavender. And a Sea of—
"What is that?"
The last body of water before him—he couldn't quite comprehend what it was. A dark, secretive mist hovered above its waters. It kept shifting in form; one moment, a tidal wave steadily rushed towards the island's shores, the next moment, it harbored a violent storm that could've sunk any vessel and drowned any individual, regardless of how competent it was with water. But this Sea of Black Nothingness was truly unsettling when it was at ease. Still. Quiet. Motionless.
Unpredictable.
Choose.
It prompted him.
Choose.
It played with his perception of reality.
CHOOSE. It boomed. Kaleb stepped closer to the slick, opaque waters that took a shade as if the silver of mercury. He felt a subconscious urge to look at his reflection on the surface of the water and did so, but paled at the face that looked back at him. It was feminine. And familiar. Regretfully—painfully familiar. He closed his eyes and looked away. A single tear slowly rolled down his cheek but he wiped it away immediately.
No. That was of the past. The past is behind me.
"Do not deceive me!" He shouted to no one in particular. "Show me what I am really here for."
He suddenly felt a sense of warmth behind him. Spinning around, he immediately used one arm to cover his eyes.
A sphere of brilliant light rose shyly from the Sea of Gold. It pulsated and shook gently beginning to take the form of a translucent, humanoid spirit. The figure slowly came to a stop as it finally took a coherent form. Opening its mouth, it sang a beautiful melody, but its words carried a message much less beautiful than its sound.
O vile heart of stone,
Lacking fervor of life!
Neverth'less with breath and blood
Draining strength and virtue
By envious and covetous devices
Not a word of reassurance
Nor a phrase of consolation
Shall comfort these ears
For they catch only daggers from thy speech.
I know not thy fickle art of deception
Which may stand for the good of all
But doth cause me treacherous pain
Speak! Thy words doth poison
The spirit of mine blackened fragility
Hark! Won't thee?
Thither art strange thoughts
Populating the poor animal
That is mine mind
Lest I forget the feeling of pain
For it remindeth me that I still
Breathe and Bleed my humanity
in this Cursed World
Admonish mine ears, for I lack remembrance
Say to thy friend, "Touch not thyself
In the flesh forbidden"
For such pleasuring ecstasies doth plague
The excellent conscience and breaketh
Mine bread, consuming it before the wine
Has been spilt upon it,
Wasting the sacred practice of mind, heart,
And spirit. O Salvation!
"Stop it." Kaleb said with clenched teeth.
The golden spirit continued singing.
"Stop it." He said more urgently so.
The golden spirit ignored him. Or rather, it could not hear him.
"STOP IT. Stop singing! I don't want to listen to your lamentations. They're not mine! They're not!" he could not stop his tears now, yet the spirit still had more to sing.
And in that moment of realization, the carriages of Hades
Ride past the gates of ignorance, which doth make me blind
But my salvation in this hellish guise, pointing to a hellish road
Is nothing but a fickle art, that one must call deception's heart
Irony rains on the fields of Asphodel, its evident insignificance,
Harboring the hate of the dead, who desire recognition
For death is a gift that steals from its master
And laughs at the souls, buried and forgotten
The spirit's song had finally ended, as the last few notes of the song seemingly echoed infinitely within Kaleb's mind. It opened its mouth again, causing Kaleb to flinch weakly. But instead of singing, it spoke.
"Kaleb, you must endure, for your song of sorrow has not ended."
"I don't want to hear—" Kaleb sniffed, then paused. "Who the hell are you anyways?"
The golden spirit's lips curved up visibly into a smile.
"My name is Anima."
Yeah uhh ... sorta depressing haha. In case you didn't read the 'Author's Note' above, I'm allowing the chapter to reflect my emotions, so please forgive any technical grammatical errors.
Please leave your comments in the review section below.
~Nightrous