Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [357]
It was the same as it had been with Mitsuru. Wataru rose up the column of light, without hesitating, as fast as he could. He left the clouds below. He caught up to the moon and with the Blood Star. He continued upward, dwindling into the distance.
And then he disappeared.
“He’s gone.” Meena’s whispered words were lifted away on the wind. “I guess that’s goodbye.”
“No, it’s not.” Kee Keema shook his head. “You forget what he said. We’ve all got our own roles to play now. Sure, we may be apart, but this isn’t goodbye.”
Meena had thought so too, but suddenly her certainty fled. “That’s a lie! We can say whatever we want, but that doesn’t make it true. We’ll never see Wataru again. We’ll never even know what’s happened to him!”
Wayfinder Lau took a step toward Meena. “My dear kitkin. Do you truly believe this?”
The circle of light had begun to dim. Slowly, starting at the edges, it melted into the night.
“If Wataru reaches the Tower of Destiny and makes his wish of the Goddess, and should she grant it, you will surely know. I believe that was his promise to you.”
“Promise?”
Does that mean Wataru’s really going to…?
Meena and Kee Keema watched as the column of light faded into the sky, leaving only a faint trace of an aura before it was gone completely.
“Now, children of Vision, go. Your trials await you.”
The two looked back at Wayfinder Lau, but he was already gone. He left the way he had come, suddenly, with the soft sound of wings in the night.
Chapter 53
Freedom
Even though he had been running uphill the whole way, Wataru didn’t feel tired in the least. His breathlessness was more from excitement than exhaustion. He ran up the column of light, heading ever upward. The shining steps seemed to flow past his swiftly moving feet. Then at last he reached the top of the staircase and stepped into a wide open space.
Is this the top of the sky?
It was no less bright here than it was in the column. A luminous white mist swirled around him. He stuck out his hand and the mist clung to his fingers, sliding over his skin with a soft sensation, like touching silk in a dream.
A dome of fog hung low above his head. Looking down, he couldn’t see his own toes. When he began to walk, it was like he was crossing a shallow river, sending ripples through its surface as he took each step. He saw nothing. He was alone. This place was vast, without limits, yet a warm sense of security wrapped around him, and he could feel his pulse steady.
Suddenly, he heard the chattering of birds from somewhere high above.
—Who has come?
Wataru’s eyes widened in surprise.
—A Brave has come?
Though he hadn’t heard it then, it was just like the twittering of the birds in the forest when Wataru visited the Village of the Watchers and met Wayfinder Lau for the first time.
—Who has come?
This time the sound came from behind him. Wataru looked around and called out into the mist. “My name is Wataru. I’ve traveled Vision and gathered four gemstones. Wayfinder Lau opened the path here for me.”
Somewhere in the mist, the unseen birds began to chirp to one another.
Wataru, Wataru.
You have come far, Wataru.
He bears the Brave’s Sword.
Welcome, Wataru.
You have done well, Wataru.
Then, the mist began to clear. Wataru’s view widened.
He gasped.
He was standing at the entrance to an entirely new world up here in the sky—a city of crystal. Everything was translucent, shining with a blue radiance.
So vast, so huge. The city was crowded with building after building after building. Their eaves jostled for space, their roofs slanted, and their windows were open. It was like a giant work of art carved directly from a vein of crystal—the largest ever seen anywhere.
In front of him, far in the distance, stood a beautiful tower, poised like a slender woman against the backdrop of the blue sky. It was lofty and magnificent, appearing to have grown out of the crystalline city. Its spire was shaped like two hands clasped in prayer, pointing toward an even