Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [105]
“Vision—you mean that place? That other world?”
Mitsuru nodded. “Your memories should be returning to you. Remember?
You’ve been there once. There is a doorway hanging in the space above the staircase in the haunted building. A Watcher waits there for you now. Don’t keep him standing around for too long. Go before the star of morning rises.”
Vision…That strange world, like the fantasy world of Saga II—only this was real.
“So it wasn’t a dream,” Wataru whispered.
Mitsuru smiled. “No, not a dream. Vision exists. In fact, I just came from there. I’ve already begun my journey, but when I looked into the Mirror of Truth, I saw you here. I could have left you to your own devices. But…” Mitsuru chewed on his lower lip. “Like I said before, I owed you one. And, we are alike, we two. We carry the same burden. I suppose that’s why I wanted to give you a chance.”
“A chance?”
Mitsuru stood, brushing back his cloak. “We created Vision—us, the people in this world—with our imaginations. Our thoughts create the energy that makes Vision what it is. It will always be there. But the way in, the Porta Nectere, opens only once in a decade—and then only if there is a place suitable to make the connection. There also has to be someone nearby who wants to change his fate more than life itself—to get back something that was lost. Only then will the gates open.”
Mitsuru took up his staff.
“A suitable place?” Wataru repeated.
“Yes. Like the staircase in the Daimatsu building,” the other boy said, his voice ringing loudly in the rank air of the room. “Staircases are often excellent routes for passage into other worlds. A lot of famous ghost sightings happen on staircases, did you know that? It’s in their nature. Stairs cut through space vertically and make a handy passageway for all sorts of spooks.”
Wataru sat dumbfounded.
“The staircase in the Daimatsu building was made, but it goes nowhere. That’s why the way into Vision opened at its end. That’s where I found it. That’s why the Porta Nectere opened…”
“You…wanted to change fate?”
“I did,” Mitsuru said, showing not a trace of doubt in his voice. He nodded deeply. “You know what happened to my family? You heard, didn’t you?”
This time, Wataru nodded. Mitsuru’s father had killed his mother, killed her lover, killed Mitsuru’s sister, and then lain in wait for Mitsuru to come home from school.
“I want to change my fate,” Mitsuru said, his voice quiet and crisp. “That’s why I went to Vision.”
Gripping his staff, he slid it beneath his cloak. “Vision is a vast place, with much danger, and fearful monsters. But if you can find the Tower of Destiny, the way will open to you.”
“The Tower of Destiny?”
“That is where she lives, the goddess of fate. She listens to the pleas of those who come to her. That’s where I’m going.”
For the first time, Mitsuru’s voice showed a wavering trace of emotion. “And if—and if I’m not strong enough, if I can’t save my parents, then at least, I will save my sister. I must bring her back. She was so small…”
Beneath the folds of his cloak, Mitsuru wrung his hands as he talked.
“I want to go too. I want to go to the Tower of Destiny,” Wataru said, standing up, reaching for Mitsuru’s hands. “Please, take me with you.”
“That I cannot do,” Mitsuru said, stepping back. “Each Traveler must find the path to the Tower of Destiny on his own. If you do not reach it by your own volition, the Goddess will not see you. You cannot rely on anyone else for this journey.”
“But that’s—that’s too much. We’re just kids!”
“Kids trying to change fate. Did you think it would be easy?”
For a moment, that familiar disdainful sneer returned. The old Mitsuru. Wataru had almost forgotten he existed.
“I have to go,” Mitsuru said, taking another step backward. “Once you’ve made up your mind, go to the Porta Nectere. If you’re scared to go, that’s fine. Just wait until dawn, and the gates will disappear, never to appear for you again.”
Then it seemed to Wataru that Mitsuru’s outline suddenly blurred. Silver light spread from some unknown source and enveloped the