Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [375]
Onba howled with rage and charged. Wataru met her head on, the point of the Demon’s Bane aimed at a spot directly between her eyes, which burned red with hate.
For an instant, Onba’s entire body gleamed as bright as the sun. The demonkin horde writhed in mortal pain.
And then she exploded into a thousand particles. The pieces scattered, swirling through the air like snowflakes. Not a trace of the giant frog remained. The particles seemed to melt in the air, fading into nothingness.
Only her scream lingered, trailing off through the air until the last particle was gone.
Wataru put the Demon’s Bane back in its sheath. He wiped the sweat from his brow with a hand.
“Thank you,” he said, though he wasn’t sure who he was thanking or why. The words just came to his lips.
Wataru walked across the chamber, stepping over the top of the glowing star pattern on the floor, and passed through the praying hands of the last arch.
Chapter 56
Wataru’s Wish
Another long staircase. This time the stairs climbed not in a spiral but in a zigzag.
He could no longer see the walls of the tower around him. The reflections of images from his past were also gone. He was surrounded by a void—the color of the sky just before dawn. At the top of the stairs hung a circular platform that had to be the Goddess’s throne. It was like Wataru was floating in space, and the staircase touched the outline of some unknown constellation.
Getting closer, Wataru could see someone sitting right in the middle of the disk. He steadied himself. Finally—the last step.
The seat of the Goddess.
A girl was sitting quietly in the middle of that crystal disk. She was wearing a long-sleeved dress of pure white, and she was looking down at her lap. Her long hair was tightly bound on her head, revealing the slender, graceful curve of her neck. An aura of pure light enveloped her body.
She lifted her face and a single curvy strand of black hair fell down upon her forehead.
It was Kaori Daimatsu. Again.
“Wataru,” she called. Her lips were the color of cherry blossoms. “You’ve finally arrived. This is the end of your journey. You have reached the Tower of Destiny.”
Confused, Wataru shuffled his feet. He didn’t want to step back, yet he was afraid to go forward. Kaori smiled brightly. “As it was with Onba, mine is also a borrowed form. I took her shape from among the people of the real world that you hold in your heart. But I am not Lady Onba. I do not wish to deceive you, nor harm you in any way. Be at ease.”
I am the Goddess of Destiny.
It was the same voice, yet filled with an incredible presence.
“Why…” Wataru opened his mouth. He felt like his soul was melting and running down his legs. “Why Kaori?”
The Goddess smiled again. “I believe you already know the answer to that question. Lady Onba told you.”
“Because…” Wataru put a hand to his chest. “Because she has been in my heart?”
The Goddess nodded. “She, like you, is an innocent soul who became victim to a cruel fate. As you traveled to save yourself, you wanted to save all those who suffered as you did. That was your true objective, whether you knew it or not.”
“‘Those who suffered’? Does that include Mitsuru?”
“Of course. He was in your heart as well.” Then she added in a whisper, almost too soft for him to hear, “From the very beginning.
“If you speak the wish that is in your heart now, I can make it come true. That is why I’m here. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” Wataru replied in a squeaky voice. His forehead felt like it was on fire, and his body was trembling.
The time has come at last. The time when my wishes will be granted.
“Then, come to me,” the Goddess of Destiny called to him. “Take my hand, and put your wish into words. Give your wish unto me.”
Then those long, slender arms—Kaori Daimatsu’s arms—reached out toward him.
All was silent. Wataru found himself wondering at how such pure silence could be so calming. Only his steady breathing