Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [379]
“Captain!”
One of the Knights crawled out of the barricade and took off his helmet. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Everywhere around him black dust was falling.
What is this?
The demonkin horde had disappeared. All of Gasara hung thick with black soot, as though everyone in town had decided to clean their chimneys at the exact same moment.
But it wasn’t soot. It was the remains of the demonkin.
The men stood slack, unable to understand their sudden victory. The Knight who was tossed aside by a demonkin attack was back on his feet. “Captain, Captain!”
Ronmel was nowhere to be seen. All of the remaining Knights were covered in black. Not even the silver of their armor could shine through that dark falling mist. They gaped at the sky, waving their hands to brush aside the swirling particles where their enemy had been. Beneath a layer of grime, the hard expressions on their battle-weary faces softened into smiles.
Is it over?
It’s over.
As suddenly as it began.
Someone began singing a prayer to the Goddess. Everyone joined in.
And Captain Ronmel was nowhere to be seen.
The Knight was sure of what he had seen: a demonkin, its fangs buried into the captain’s neck, fangs stained red by a spray of blood. But now the demonkin were gone. All around him, the Knights were breathing sighs of relief, and cheering. It was the sound of victory.
The demonkin were gone. But so was their captain.
The Mirror of Eternal Shadow became dust, and the demonkin hordes became ash. Wataru quietly watched as the many particles of darkness found homes in the people of Vision, where they belonged. Blue skies returned to the city of Solebria.
Wataru turned to the Goddess. She was smiling.
“Thank you,” he said, returning her smile. “Thank you for granting my wish.”
Suddenly the Goddess knelt and hugged him tight. “Thank you,” she said, but the voice was that of a girl. Kaori Daimatsu. Wataru was sure of it. At once, his heart leaped, and forgetting his restraint and embarrassment, forgetting that this was the Goddess of Destiny, Wataru returned the girl’s embrace.
They sat there like that for a long time. In the warmth of the Goddess’s embrace, Wataru felt the warmth of so many others—his mother, Meena, Kee Keema, Kutz, and even Mitsuru.
“Now, Traveler. The time has come for you to return to your world,” the Goddess said gently, her hand on Wataru’s shoulder.
“I know.”
“Go the way in which you came. Descend the stairs from my dais. Wayfinder Lau awaits you at the bottom.” She stood, smoothing out the folds in her robes. Then she brushed Wataru’s hair with the tips of her fingers. “Farewell.”
Wataru looked up into her gentle smile and bowed deeply. Unable to find the appropriate words, he silently turned and left.
Wataru felt empty. He was happy and almost dizzy with relief. But with each step down the stairway he felt as though he were walking through a void.
I’m floating. My eyes are open, but I see nothing. I’m just swimming through an endless blue void.
It took him a long time before he noticed the silver boots, their toes covered with mud, and the clang, clang of steel-shod feet upon the stairs.
Captain Ronmel was standing on the landing just below him.
He looked up, saw Wataru, and once again resumed climbing slowly. He’s coming toward me.
Captain Ronmel held his silver helm under one arm. Blood and grit caked his wild blond hair. Several long scratches scored his chest plate. He walked slowly, tiredly, his shoulders hanging low. A wound gaped on his neck, the blood caked and dried.
“Captain Ronmel? Why are you here?”
Ronmel climbed until he was standing on the same landing as Wataru.
“This is the Tower of Destiny…why?”
He took a quiet breath before responding. “I was chosen.”
Wataru didn’t understand.
“I was chosen. To be the Half. To be the sacrifice,” the captain continued, his voice resonating in the empty space of the tower. “The other Half will join me in becoming a Lord of the Underworld, to raise once again the Great Barrier of Light. Together