Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [367]
What do I care what becomes of Vision?
All I want to do is reach the Tower of Destiny.
I’ll do whatever it takes.
That hard determination. That will of steel. That mighty sorcerer’s power born by the strength of the gemstones—a power only a Traveler could hope to wield. Mitsuru used it all in his journey. Many were the people he injured, the towns he destroyed, the grief he caused, all leading up to his final act: the destruction of the seal on the Mirror of Eternal Shadow.
Wataru and Mitsuru had been fooled. They both thought Mitsuru knew what he was doing. The destructive will, the desire to kill, the arrogance that led him to trample anyone in his path—these things hadn’t belonged to Mitsuru. They belonged to his double, the one that bore all his hate. Yet that hatred was so close to his own heart. He had told himself for so long that he didn’t need anything else, that his hatred would see him through. At some point, Mitsuru had become unable to distinguish between his double and himself.
Mitsuru, too, had struggled at first, trying to defeat his double, yet this was the same thing as defeating himself.
Mitsuru’s eyelids fluttered, then opened.
Wataru was speechless. It was hard enough to choke back the sob he felt rising in his throat.
Two black eyes slowly focused on Wataru, after much long and painful effort. “You…”
Wataru nodded. Several times. With each nod, a tear fell.
“Why?” He said it like a schoolboy, upset with the teacher at being told to wait after class. How like Mitsuru. “I made it so far…how could this happen? What a disgrace.” Then he whispered, “I almost reached it.” His eyes looked up at the sky. “I could see it, the Tower of Destiny. It was right there. Yet…”
“Don’t speak, you’ll wear yourself out,” Wataru said. He lifted Mitsuru from the hard lake, realizing as he did so that the other boy’s wounds were too deep to ever mend.
“Mitani,” Mitsuru whispered. Wataru looked at him, into the clear eyes of the other Traveler. “Where did I go wrong? What mistake did I make?”
—Not only the one who runs fastest and first may reach the Tower of Destiny.
The Elder in Sakawa was right.
—The Goddess is still waiting for you.
And Kee Keema, standing before the ruins of Solebria. He was right too.
—Wherever you go, I’ll follow.
Wataru was never alone. Meena was always by his side. And when they last saw each other, she held him close and told him to be careful…
I had friends. They watched over my path for me. They didn’t let me stray.
But Mitsuru was always alone. The lone Traveler. Even if he stepped off the path, there was no one there to tell him so.
Mitsuru chose his own path. He chose to be alone.
Even so, it seemed too unfair, the conclusion too cruel.
“I’m sorry.” It was all Wataru could say. He could have ignored Wayfinder Lau’s warning. He could have traveled together with Mitsuru. But I didn’t, and look what happened.
“What are you apologizing for?” Mitsuru said, attempting a smile. That same imperious smile he had turned on Wataru so many times before. It wasn’t working. “You’ve won. Be happy. Why are you crying?” He shook his head. “Too nice for your own good…down to the bitter end.”
“It’s not over yet.”
“I won’t lie to myself,” Mitsuru said, his voice softening with a sudden kindness. “I’ve lost. I’m going to die here. I couldn’t change my destiny.” Then, after a pause, he muttered, “I brought this on myself.” His mind had gone through the same process Wataru’s had and come to the same conclusion. “I just…I wanted reach the Tower of Destiny. No matter…no matter what I had to do, I needed to go.”
“I know,” Wataru said. “Even if no one else will ever understand, I do. I know, Mitsuru.”
Mitsuru closed his eyes and smiled. “Get going. Take the gemstone, leave me here, and go.”
“No, I won’t. I can’t leave you here alone, Mitsuru.”
“Fool. Let it go.” Mitsuru’s body twitched. His breathing became congested, rough. “It’s…better alone.”
Mitsuru to the very