Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [230]
“But Mitsuru will get there before me…”
“It is not always the Traveler who runs fastest who will reach the Tower of Destiny.”
Huh?
“The Tower of Destiny appears only before the Traveler who has walked the true path. Young Traveler, let go of your doubts, make for the Tower of Destiny. There you will find the truth. Only when you ask the Goddess will you receive your answer.”
The Elder smiled faintly. “And only when you reach the tower and stand before the Goddess will you know the question you must ask.”
He then instructed Wataru to make for Sasaya. “Now is the time to borrow the knowledge of the great scholars. They have studied the history of Vision, and wish to know of its making. The Tower of Destiny, where sits the Goddess, is distant indeed. Yet the true path goes there directly. You must find it. Only the starseers who possess the power and knowledge of the ancients know the whereabouts of the gemstone that lights the way to that path.”
With that, the Elder leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. The adviser stood and placed a small blanket over the old waterkin’s knees.
“He is weary now,” the adviser said. “Do not forget what he has said. My hopes go with you as well, Traveler.”
Wataru hesitated and then nodded. “I will go to Sasaya as you have requested.”
“Good,” the adviser replied. “The National Observatory is there. It is a great gathering place for starseers. You will find the Observatory in the town of Lourdes. Take a darbaba. You should reach your destination in five days.”
Without thinking, Wataru grasped the adviser’s hand. “I-I don’t even know if I want to change my destiny anymore. I’m not even sure what that means.”
“Do not fret. All Travelers who come to Vision know this doubt at one time. Some are able to free themselves from it, and others are not, and fall off the path.”
“What happens if you fall off the path?”
The adviser shook his head. “That is something not known to us who live in Vision. It is something for the Goddess to decide and know.”
“That’s what I don’t get,” Wataru blurted. “How can you all just trust the Goddess to do everything, without even bothering to question it? Isn’t the weakening faith throughout Vision a sign of something? Aren’t the disturbances in Arikita and Bog a sign of unhappiness?”
Wataru had no doubt that the people upset with the news of the sacrifice and Halnera would understand how he felt. They might even go along with that suggestion—destroy the Goddess, she had said. What if that was the correct way? What if that was the true path?
Wataru heard the gravelly voice of the Elder. The adviser quickly moved to his side, put his ear to the Elder’s lips, and returned to Wataru. “Now go, Traveler.”
The adviser put his hand on Wataru’s back and gave him a gentle push. “If your path is true, you will not see us again. In parting, let me tell you what the Elder has just said, his final words for you.”
How can you defeat a god in whom you do not believe?
Chapter 29
The National Observatory of Lourdes
The journey across Sasaya to the town of Lourdes was more depressing than Wataru could have imagined.
For one thing, he was still thinking about his discussion with Meena by the pagoda in Sakawa. For another, he couldn’t easily forget the advice he received from the Elder. He needed to put aside all his distractions and find the Goddess. But that was easier said than done…
He also wondered how Mitsuru was faring. He thought about it all the time. Where could he be? Wherever he was, Wataru was sure that he wasn’t wavering from the path. Undoubtedly he was using the powerful sorcery he had acquired in Vision and making a beeline straight toward the Tower of Destiny.
He’s not as weak as I am.
Now that he thought about it, he realized it had always been that way. Mitsuru was totally amazing when he saved Wataru’s life at the Triankha Hospital. The wind storm he conjured destroyed the barrier