Boss Rush
XVI: Spiritual Forest
He awoke in what looked like a section of forest, cool and leafy and generally unfamiliar. Trees and greenery grew so thick that the edges could hardly be perceived, and there was a permanent shroud of shadows. Sounds were vague in the distance, and could almost not be heard over the buzz of locusts and the chattering of some kind of animal he did not recognise in the distance. Wind rustled the forest around him, and silver moonlight, brighter than he would have thought possible, gave everything an eerie, surreal beauty in the dark night.
"What...?" he muttered as he got up.
He was on a trail through the forest. Following his instinct, he followed it. It was not a long walk. The trail wound, back and forth, and then opened onto a grassy glade. No, not a glade. More like a garden. A pool rested at its centre, still water reflecting the moon overhead. Benches and stones of a good size for sitting on were strewn around the landscape. Statuary, most of it marble and of human subjects, stood here and there, often framed by flowers or placed between young trees.
On the far side of the pool stood, what at first glance he took to be a gnarled tree. It was not; it was a throne, a throne of living wood, its trunk grown into the correct shape, branches and leaves spreading above it in stately elegance, roots spreading and anchoring it in the earth.
The throne was made even more regal by the woman seated on it. Her long black hair was worn loose, but seemed more elegant and civilised than even the most elaborate of French buns. Her simple white gown was a normal curt, but flowed about her even as she stood. As she seemingly floated to him, leaving little ripples as she strode confidently over the still water of the pool, Ryuusei's breath caught in his throat.
"Ryuusei," she greeted, her voice a lilting melody of tinkling bells. Her eyes gleamed sapphire blue in the impossibly bright moonshine at him, warm instead of the familiar cold and pitiless that had greeted him for over seven years.
"M- Madame Shimotsuki?" He tripped over his own tongue.
Seiran Shimotsuki smiled, as beautiful as she had been in life and in death. "So you finally broke the bonds. I thought you might."
"You knew?" he said.
"Not at first," Seiran Shimotsuki tried to smile, but her expression remain heavy. "Over time, I did. You came to me to help you control your power. But you had so much power, like Setsuka, and without the restraints that could be trained on yourself borne from the bloodline. I doubt that the Signers and the Crimson Dragon had anything to do with it, but you are essentially a force of nature unto yourself if you wish. I bound you, hiding you from the spirits by sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste, and finally understanding. I expected that slowly, those chains of power would erode over years and years, until you were ready to return to nature and there was no more need to live your life."
"So you sealed my sight, but... the Dandylion?" Ryuusei started as Dandylion played, frisking about his legs before he scooped it into his arms. "They still remained, right? You used them to bind the chains to me... So you were why I couldn't see anyone else?"
"They understood," the Madame replied, beckoning him to follow. "A child with too much power will kill himself from the power, whether intended or not. You would have been hunted, prosecuted by spirits, recognised as like them but different. Your psychic powers inherited from Izayoi Aki was already powerful enough, augmented by the blood of Fudo Yusei. To cast you the die that fate intended so early would have damned you, stolen you away to the shadowed world. You came to me for sanctuary, and I can only give you this much."
Ryuusei frowned. In life or death, the Madame was still talking in riddles. "Where are we?"
"Well... I suppose we would call this a soul room," Madame Shimotsuki answered as they began walking on the pool. How, he could hardly guess at, but he attributed it to imagination. "You know, in a person's heart everyone has a room that represents them. A wide open forest indicates hiding in plain sight, the mysteries, that sort. Flowers, life, the midsummer night is bursting with it, an inheritance from your mother, I guess. And, look, the stars."
Ryuusei glanced up to see the full view of the heavens, the starry sky unlike anything seen from city or map or isolated camp. "It's..."
"Stars," she agreed as they reached land. "And the statues, see, there's so many."
He looked around. Most of them featured the same, cheerful individual, socialising with many different people, beginning from one end of the trail to advance further... and even the perfume of roses was prevalent. "These... are my memories."
"Happy memories, immortalised in stone," the Madame clarified, her eyes half-lidded. "Of course, I am a mere illusion, a shadow of the true Diana Hunter, or Shimotsuki Seiran as you knew her when she cast the bonds upon you. I give you
sanctuary here. As you advance, the world of spirits will slowly, surely pull you in, just as they will my daughter. It is the curse of your fate now."
"Why is it a curse?" he asked.
"Who knows," she shrugged gracefully as the winds stopped to let the heat of full summer descend over the glade, muggy and stifling as she moved him to the tree throne. "Midsummer and Midwinter, Beltaine and Samhaine. Those dates are the most important. Slowly, slowly, memories that were yours but are not you will come to you. You will learn things that no one will teach you through them. But, always remember... no matter how many memories you have, no matter how many titles you wear to defend yourself, you are Fudo Ryuusei. Even if you are the Summer King, even if you are the Night Rose Knight, you are Fudo Ryuusei."
The younger man choked as her arms wrapped around him. "What do you mean? I don't understand."
"You will," she confided as her breath played over his hair and face. "You will. One day, you will thank me for these years where you cannot see them, and I will never have heard them. Now, I am going to leave, so do you have any last questions?"
"Did it hurt?" Ryuusei swallowed. "Dying?"
"At the start. After that... it's like falling asleep." Even so, her voice sounded sad.
"And... is this real?"
She laughed, like a chorus of bells again. "To paraphrase an old fogey of a fictional wizard, of course it's all in your head, but why should that make my words any less true?"
Although there was a perfectly functional hospital, Setsuka had something about injured and vulnerable Duellists in public view where things could happen, and so it was that on operations like these that other psychics ended up in the infirmary instead of the hospital with alarming regularity. Ryuusei held back his sigh when he awoke to face the infirmary ceiling.
On the bright side, his insurance covered medical treatment most of the time. Sometimes he wondered exactly how did Shimotsuki justify the insurance, or even who was her agent. Surely no company in their right mind would insure the Arcadia
Movement.
He also idly reflected that it was cold here, for once. Usually the thermostat would be set to a comfortably cool level, so why was it so cold?
"You're awake!" Rex's voice rang as Ryuusei struggled up. "You alright?"
"Ow..." Ryuusei moaned, cradling his head as his red bangs fell past his fingers. "My head hurts, but I think everything's fine."
"Great," Rex nodded. "What went wrong? One moment I was searching and the next thing I knew the entire building was shaking-"
"Did anything happen?" Ryuusei demanded, before the pain eclipsed any concern he could have had.
"Nope," Chase's crisp voice came in from the other side as Ryuusei recovered from the second wave. "You were the only one who conked out."
"Well, considering what you did to the building, I guess it's expected," Youkai's voice broke in.
"What did I do to the building?" Ryuusei asked in trepidation.
The three exchanged looks for a moment before Rex puled up a holographic screen.
"...sources report that the Arcadia Movement were conducting an operation within the walls of this building, but exactly what could have caused such an accelerated rate of growth here is simply beyond measure..." There was a picture attached.
Before, the building was a squat monolith that had survived the joining of the two cities and the WRGP. Now, it resembled a mass of brambles about two storeys tall, crawling and digging into the walls by sheer growth and the thorny vines sprouting
about, climbing the walls and digging into brick and cement. Here and there, a flower bloomed, bursting through glass or even metal pipes where needed, and plaster cracked here and there from the plant mass running through it. It was a bramble
beyond the wildest imaginations of most gardeners, a living ruin embodied in hard black vines and green tendrils and woody forestry unseen till now.
Ryuusei set down the screen. "I did that?"
"Er, yeah," Chase scratched under his eye with his right hand. "Well, it was meant to be demolished, so it's a public service, really..."
"I did that," Ryuusei numbly repeated. The brambles and vines continued to haunt his vision even long after the fact.
Ryuusei got a visitor in the form of Shimotsuki Setsuka herself later.
His teeth were on edge, the icy waves that rolled off her embroiling him in cold that threatened to steal his strength even though there was a clear half-metre of space between them. "Shimotsuki... this is..."
"Winter," Setsuka whispered. "You're of Summer, so obviously you feel repellent to me. Can you manage? It will take a while to get used to it."
Ryuusei struggled to breathe air that was not laden with the sickly cold that seemed to fairly emanate from the immediate region of Shimotsuki Setsuka. "I... think so..."
"Good," Setsuka murmured in approval, why he had not a single clue.
The Witch of the Time Flower appeared, a vision of pink robes and elaborate staff and a pensive expression. "King Summer, Queen Winter," she carefully addressed.
"He's not King yet, but you may call him a lord," Setsuka dismissed. "I should have guessed that it would be you, Ryuusei."
"Wasn't... expecting it, myself," Ryuusei answered. "I feel... cold."
"This is my centre of power, so Winter influence is fairly clearly marked here," Setsuka's voice was dry. "If you're going to keel over at every cold area, though, I suggest you try to use that power you have to keep warm. Imagine, a flame within
yourself, and pull it out mentally."
Ryuusei pictured it, and soon the numbness and cold faded all the way to his extremities. "Thanks for the tip."
"As fellow monarchs," Setsuka answered.
"I'm not a king," Ryuusei automatically answered.
"No, you are not," Marguerite agreed. "Or at least, not yet. But, the proof of kingship certainly lies with you. I cannot believe this, but I can accept it."
"I- I don't understand!" Ryuusei burst out. "Why? Why do you Duel Spirits always choose amongst humans? What's with this about destiny and battles? Okay, I get that Summer and Winter are opposites, but why-"
"-do we have to get involved, is that right?" Setsuka continued for him. "Summer and Winter are rival entities, not enemies. This battle is to determine the balance of worlds, and most importantly, the change of seasons. Neither can have the edge when tall is said and done, or there shall be chaos, either the next ice age, or an era of rampant growth not unlike the bramble thicket you turned the building into."
Ryuusei coughed awkwardly. "That last one doesn't sound so bad."
"No. Not if you're an Ebola virus. You'll have plenty of friends."
"Oh. Bad, then." Ryuusei frowned. "The building. I did that?"
"And more," Setsuka mused. "There was blood. I have no idea why, but I will get back to you on it. Rest well. When you are out, Marguerite will brief you on what to expect."
"Wait!" Ryuusei stared at her. "Why not...?"
"You are Summer," Setsuka slowly repeated. "I am Winter. In the Movement, I am responsible for your well-being and in the physical world I have a deep attachment to your continued state of living. In the world of spirits, you are my mortal enemy, if not my rival. In these matters, you should consult the advisor you somehow acquired rather than the person who would become your worst enemy."
"Besides, there are many secrets exclusive to Summer that Winter cannot do, just like there are things Summer cannot do that Winter can," Marguerite said, twirling about. "Oh, my, what a turn of fate. I'll have the duty of teaching the Summer King~!"
"But I have a normal life!" Ryuusei pointed out. "I don't know..." He paused as a wave of sights crashed onto him, of flowers and a garden and battles. "W- What?"
Setsuka rubbed her forehead with two fingers. "It seems a little late, but welcome, my counterpart. Now I have to go."
"I don't understand!" Ryuusei shouted at her retreat. "Shimotsuki!"
"You will," Setsuka answered. "Soon, you will."
"Sunlight and fire," Marguerite murmured. "Quite an obvious indication, on hindsight."
"I'm not the Summer King," Ryuusei told her.
"Like it or not, you are, or you will be," Marguerite whispered as she tapped her staff and the windows of the infirmary opened. Sprites and elves, tiny and lithe, floated in, each bearing flowers that they dropped by his pillow, giggling.
"Oh, you're awake," Aussa floated outside, perched on her staff. "My King."
"I'm-" Ryuusei coloured up at the memory of the kiss. "Erm, er... why am I not asking questions?"
"I provided an explanation," the Aussa spoke up. "The knowledge and understanding you require is part of your mind now; there is no need to argue or explain. You merely need a few minutes to accept this knowledge."
Ryuusei gaped at the spirit who meddled with his mind, all the while wondering. "So... I'm the Summer monarch?"
"King," Aussa supplied. "By the agreements of the land Inis Fáil, and to the Imaginary World of the Gensokyo, within the expanse of the floating world of Ukiyo, and by the Illusory Gods of the twelve worlds, and the gods of the three thousand
worlds beyond, you would be monarch of the Summer, King Summer, Chatelaine of Cloch na Fáil, titled Lord of the Black Garden and..."
"She was a herald back in the days of Titania-sama," Marguerite whispered as Aussa threatened to drone on and on. "Heralds had to remember every single title in case the royal is late and recite them until they appeared."
"... that sounds like a very painful process," Ryuusei finally answered. "Erm... you're Aussa, right?"
"Yes," Aussa nodded as she landed in the room, shivering. "Winter's cold permeates here. Aussa was another Spellcaster that served in the days of Titania-sama. Aussa has remained loyal to the Ivory Throne even throughout the times when Tytannial has reigned, thought the Queen Summer then did not quite agree with Aussa's opinions."
"Tytannial was an upstart," Marguerite staunchly dismissed. "She did not deserve to be named as regent queen."
Ryuusei shook his head. "What does it mean? I mean, what do I even do?"
"The Monarchs of each court, Summer and Winter, have duties, by caring for and protecting all subjects within their domains, by protecting the interests of Summer and battling their enemies," Marguerite answered.
Ryuusei gestured for her to go on. "Tell me about their enemies."
"Winter," Aussa bitterly replied.
Marguerite looked surprised. "Not so, child. If Winter were an enemy, he as a vassal of Queen Winter by proxy would not be King. Winter is... a rival court. We do not always get on, and neither of us can hold the advantage for long; you know the risks of permanent imbalance. But one cannot – must not – exist without the other. Summer's enemies are those who would harm us and our vassals, and those who would overthrow power in any realm."
That... made a sick sort of sense. "And the interests of Summer?"
"Manifold. Foremost is to lay down and protect the laws," Marguerite elaborated. "That is, you are the law of Summer, and you may be as merciful or as cruel as you deem fit."
"That's tempting," Ryuusei shivered. "Being able to do anything you want to anyone you want and no one saying no."
"It has destroyed rulers from kingdoms far smaller and bigger," Marguerite agreed. "Another is to secure land and territory for Summer-bound to live and work, as well as protect existing territory. The forests and lands were traditionally ours, as Winter took the mountains and plains, but since the Laval and Flamvell attacked, parts of the Searing Land had been taken by Winter. We lose more with every victory Winter holds."
"...what happens if I don't want it?" he swallowed.
Marguerite's expression conveyed very clearly, that he was being deliberately obtuse or particularly dim. "For there to be balance in this world, there must be a ruler in each Court, Summer and Winter. And the rulers of the Courts do not – as a rule – retire. Nor do they quit. They certainly cannot be dismissed. Each serves for their lifetime, which amongst spirits can effectively mean eternity. And if there is a successor who will not take up the mantle while his predecessor still lives, however
unlikely in Summer, the current ruler must retain the position, at least officially, until the successor changes his mind... even if the current one is no longer worthy of the title."
"I killed Tytannial," Ryuusei bluntly replied. "Erm... officially..."
"Tytannial was revived by the World Tree," Aussa relayed. "Though officially she is on the Ivory Throne, everyone knows that she does not have Titania's soul, and she is paying the price."
"Tortured," Marguerite supplied. "So, she's looking at a long time of torture, or until you say yes, or you die and we search for the next one who holds Titania's soul, whichever comes first."
This...wasn't good. All Ryuusei could do was tell the absolute truth. "I don't want the job. I don't want to give up being a Duellist, or my friends and family, or Neo Domino, or anything else that makes my life matter. I don't want anyone to have the kind of power you're talking about. And I really don't want to become like Shimotsuki is."
Powerful. Isolated. At the top of the world alone.
"You are nothing alike," Marguerite persuaded him. "Setsuka Shimotsuki had had her life ruined because of her inability to control the great power of Queen Maeve at her tender age, already powerful and precocious without the glacial power of Winter and the Ice Barrier. She became alone and isolated to lead the Arcadia Movement and protect those members from following her life path and being targeted for their powers like she had been, with the Ice Barrier at her beck and call as their Empress. You have had a happy family. Why are you afraid of becoming like her? You are stronger than you know it, child."
"We need the Summer King more than ever," Aussa whispered, her expression hopeful. "The Laval and the Flamvell wreck our lands, and only those who inherited the will of Titania could have a prayer at controlling them within Summer. We Duel
spirits are largely autonomous, but Titania gave us security and we were proud to serve the Ivory Throne. Aussa hopes that Cloch na Fáil will become warm again."
The pixies chittered above, and the Dreamsprite lingered closely as Dancing Fairies wove a garland. The smell of flowers were sweet and comforting, the room turning warm and the atmosphere hopeful once more...
"Please, Your Highness," Aussa pleaded. "You are a symbol of hope to us."
Her quiet desperation reminded him of Marguerite's driving force, why she had unleashed chaos across the earth. I want to go back to those lazy days in the sun, where I grew Fleurs de Temps with Titania-sama! I want that warm smile, I want that security of knowing that, no matter what, there is a warm hand and a gentle smile and a watchful eye looking out for us! Is that bad?
Sanctuary... Shimotsuki had been providing this sanctuary for a very long time. He probably could not be as successful as she... but he could try.
Ryuusei shut his eyes as tiny sprites tangled in his hair and he fished out one that played with his bangs. "What do I do?"
It was a groaning Natashi Kiyomi that managed to struggle away from the building. "Dammit..." His right arm was scratched from where the storm of brambles had caught on it when he was running, and he was lamed from where another thorny vine
had dun into his thigh, but otherwise he was intact and in one piece.
"Is there something wrong?" A gentle masculine voice whispered as he came into the darkly lit room, that only had a single bulb as illumination.
"Obviously he failed, he failed!" A girly voice celebrated.
"Oh? So the Summer monarch has been found?" A third chirped.
"Dammit!" Kiyomi growled at them. "Kisaragi fell, he's taken in as well... Cheryl was probably killed by Shimotsuki."
"You didn't tell them anything, right, Kiyomi?" the first drawled.
"Neither of them know anything..." Kiyomi agreed. "I'm the only one who knew, I was the one who got in touch with Sandra Torolini. Neither of them know that you're involved..."
"Excellent," the second, childish voice chirped as the buzz of insects sounded. "Let's kill him." The light swung to reveal a short, white-haired beautiful girl with soulful brown eyes that proved a dichotomy to her words.
"W- Wait!" Kiyomi gasped as he nearly backed away, before fires raged. "I- I have two 'seeds'!"
"Be patient, Lilith," the first man warned. "Kiyomi still has that power, along with more, right? What do you present to us?"
"Drynwyn, the White Hilt," Kiyomi gasped. "Unfortunately, Areadbhair and Excalibur were lost, along with Gae Dearg."
"The Red Spear was useless without Diarmuid on our side anyway," the first man dismissed. "But, the Slaughterer and the Blade of Victory... well, we may have some use out of you yet."
"Thank you sir," Kiyomi bowed deeply.
"No need, my boy," the first man laughed as the light hit him. He looked like a lazy gentleman, with almond-shaped red eyes like two setting suns. His cropped hair was the colour of milk chocolate, worn in a practical, precise style. He is short, with a
masculine build, pale skin and a weak chin. His wardrobe is professional, with a lot of black and brown. "Between Arden and me? Kiyomi, my boy, we're going to blow them all out in the Stygian Dirge."
Kiyomi gingerly nodded. "Yes, Mr Fumizuki."
"Call me Hakuro, son."
"Hakuro, why do we have to do this?" the third voice rumbled.
"Dunames," Fumizuki Hakuro sighed. "Pete, you know the viciousness of that woman. What makes you think her bloodline isn't the same?"
Kevin said nothing for a long while. "I am sure, that Rafael's blood must be somewhere in there."
Hakuro's smile faded. "His single-mindedness, maybe. Both of them make terrifying foes, and their daughter even more of one."
"Yeah, I know," Lilith snarled, shivering. "She freaking disassembled me molecule by molecule, and then sold my soul to Exodia! I... I'm going to crush her. I'm going to carry this grudge for a long time, you hear me...?"
Hakuro sighed, reaching for a framed photograph. The frozen form of Shimotsuki Seiran hovered, resplendent in a white gown and little discreet jewels on her neck, earlobes and a small ring. "Dear, dear Diana..."
"I don't understand," Kevin spoke up. "How can you fall for a demon like that woman?"
Hakuro smirked as he stroked the picture. "None of your beeswax, Dunames. Diana, darling. I'm going to win, okay?"
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