Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [355]
Wataru looked back at Meena’s face, then up into Kee Keema’s eyes. “I am,” he answered at last. “I’ve pretty much already been doing that for a while now.”
“It won’t be like it was before,” Wayfinder Lau said, tapping at the ground with the butt of his staff. “You see, the fifth gemstone, the one you need to transform your Brave’s Sword into the Demon’s Bane, is none other than the very same Gem of Darkness that Mitsuru has already claimed. Though there may be two Travelers, there is only one final gemstone.”
Then how am I supposed to get it? Mitsuru’s already left. Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?
Wayfinder Lau watched Wataru’s eyes, reading his thoughts. His staff connected with Wataru’s forehead once again, just as it had in the Cave of Trials.
“It will not do to make such an ill-mannered face at a Watcher, boy. Yes, the final gemstone you need is in Mitsuru’s hands. Therefore, should you wish it for yourself, you will need to take it from him. Understand? Take it from him.”
Up until now, Wataru’s competition with Mitsuru had been a kind of parallel race. He had never had to challenge him directly. He had never tried to take something away from him.
Why does the last challenge always have to be the hardest?
“Then I have to fight him. I have to fight him and win,” Wataru said, halfasking, half-telling himself. Wayfinder Lau said nothing.
You can win, someone said. For a moment he couldn’t tell who it was. It was a voice he had never heard, high, yet firm, and full of resolve.
It was Meena. Her eyes glimmered in the reflected light of the crescent moon. “You can win. I know you can, Wataru. You will win. You have to go.”
How can you be so sure? Wataru felt his heart shrink. I couldn’t even draw my sword when we were standing on top of that golem. I can’t even win an argument with Mitsuru. How can I win a fight?
Meena hadn’t seen any of that. She hasn’t seen the weak me.
“You will go even if you cannot win. You will go because you must. If you do not know this in your heart, I will not open the way for you.”
Wataru looked up, into the Wayfinder’s eyes. An old man’s eyes, wrinkled and teary. How does his gaze skewer me like that, like a knife going right through my heart?
Though the old man’s mouth was closed, his question rang in Wataru’s mind.
—What will you wish for at the Tower of Destiny? What do you wish for most, right here, right now?
What do I wish for most? What?
Wataru could hear Kutz’s voice as though she were standing right next to him.
—You’re a Highlander. You swore an oath to defend Vision. If you would break that oath, you aren’t fit to wear the firewyrm band.
Wataru looked down at the band, still circling his left wrist. He touched it lightly with his fingers.
What do I wish for most?
Then he saw the meaning behind the Wayfinder’s question. He knew what he was searching for. How could he not know? It was a straight path—there could be no stepping off. But once he chose that path, he would never be able to choose another. Am I okay with that? Is that what I want? Will I not regret it? Will I achieve what I set out to accomplish in the first place?
Charity and wisdom, bravery and faith, all in the sword.
It isn’t my destiny that has to change.
It’s me.
Wataru looked Wayfinder Lau straight in the eye. “I’ll go. I’ll confront Mitsuru and take the Gem of Darkness from him. I have to go to the tower. Wayfinder, open the way for me.”
Chapter 52
Wataru Alone
A single column of light rose into the night sky.
Even the moon seemed surprised, its light becoming focused as if it were squinting in disbelief. Below, the clouds stopped in their rolling path for a moment. Only the Blood Star maintained its cold composure, glittering red where it hung in the vault of the sky.
A pure circle of light lay upon the ground before Wataru. Just one step and he would be inside. Wayfinder Lau had opened the way for him.
The Wayfinder stood off to the side, leaning upon his staff, watching over Wataru. “Well, will you