Episode 48 The Opening of the Gateways

“Ryuu…your eye!” Kunai gasps, as Ryuu stumbles forward out of the burning building behind him.

Ryuu clambers onto the hill to join the others. He puffs slightly as he wipes clean his soot-covered face. Ryuu shakes his head, allowing the dusk light to just barely shine on his brightly glowing four pupils.

“Don’t worry about it, Kunai,” Ryuu grunts, “It’s all been taken care of. The seal’s been formed and everything. I took some of Arai’s blood when I found him unconscious. I quickly made the Hybrid seal and that was the end of it.”

“Ryuu…why?” Kunai asks, gazing at Ryuu in astonishment.

Ryuu sighs, leaning the back of his head against a slightly charred and broken tree growing out of the hill. “I needed to become more powerful. Ayame, Fyx, the Triplicate…I wasn’t strong enough to defeat any of them. All this time I thought I was this powerful warrior, but I didn’t have the strength to defeat them.”

“Ryuu…that’s not true!” Kunai argues. “You didn’t have to go and risk your life by getting attacked again just to gain some more power! So that’s why you told us to go on if you didn’t make it! You had already had it all planned out!”

“Kunai,” Ryuu snaps, “If you don’t understand why I needed to do this, then don’t argue. It was necessary for me to become more powerful…”

“To save Ayame, right?” Kunai cries. “Potentially killing yourself in the process, for an opportunity that might not even be possible?”

“You’d do the same for Ivy,” Ryuu mutters in reply, and suddenly stands up, clutching his sword. He gazes off into the distance, where the town of Gamma Precinct lies under the shadow of the ruined Atelier.

Kunai remains silent for a moment, lost for words. He stares up silently at Ryuu, who remains fixedly staring off at Gamma Precinct. ‘Damn…he’s right.’

“Kunai,” Ryuu says suddenly, “You got the key, didn’t you?”

“Oh…yeah, right! I did!” Kunai replies slowly. He reaches into his pocket and draws out Otis the Green Snail.

Ryuu blinks at the sight of Otis. “Huh…? What the hell do you have a wimpy little Green Snail for?”

“Hey! Who you calling wimpy, you wimp?” Otis retaliates angrily, glaring at Ryuu.

Ryuu jumps back in surprise. “This thing can talk?!”

Kunai sighs as Ryuu and Otis continue to bicker. “Apparently…this guy is the key to the Rift World.”

Ryuu sighs as well. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Well,” Arai says cheerfully, “Now that we’re finally assembled as a group again and everyone’s had time to catch up, let’s head to Gamma Precinct and the Rift World!”

“Wait,” Kunai says, as Arai, Ryuu, and Shuriken begin to walk away. Kunai gestures towards Ivy. “What about Ivy? We need to make a Hybrid seal for her too, remember? That way we can at least control the Paradox mutation.”

“Right,” Ryuu replies. He turns to Kunai. “I’ve got some of Arai’s blood left from earlier. We could use that and—”

“No,” Kunai mutters quietly.

“No?” Ryuu inquires, looking up at Kunai perplexedly. “What are you talking about?”

Before anyone can stop him, Kunai quickly grabs a Steely and plunges it into his own arm, creating a fresh wound and a swift trickle of blood flowing down his arm.

Ryuu grimaces slightly at the sight of the wound. “Fine. We’ll use your blood then, Kunai.”

Ryuu takes off his bags and draws from within it a long, empty scroll. He then quickly begins writing the seal formations on it. Ryuu then quickly takes a sample of Kunai and Ivy’s blood.

At last, Ryuu looks up from the unfinished seal. “Last thing we need…a container.”

Kunai remains silent for a moment, gazing down at Ryuu and thinking. Finally, he reaches into his pocket and draws out his burnt-through Scarab. “My Scarab!”

Ryuu nods and takes the Scarab in his hands, and quickly seals the scroll within the Scarab, then walks over to Ivy and places it on her.

The Scarab glows brightly for some time, and then fuses with Ivy, disappearing with one last, bright blue flash. Ivy blinks for a moment, but nothing happens.

“Ivy…can you hear me? Did the seal work? Are you back to your old self yet?” Kunai asks worriedly, rushing over to Ivy.

However, Ivy remains strangely silent, and stares blankly back at Kunai. Ryuu walks straight up to join Kunai, narrowing his eyes. “Strange…did I make the Hybrid seal incorrectly?”

Kunai sighs, and shakes his head. “It’s no use. For some reason, the Hybrid seal’s not having any effect on her.”

Suddenly, as the sky above them completely darkens, and the first rays of moonlight begin to appear overhead, Ivy glows brightly, and becomes enveloped in a cocoon of swirling darkness.

Both Ryuu and Kunai take a step backward in alarm. They both glance at each other and stare as the darkness solidifies around Ivy.

Finally, the darkness disappears behind Ivy, leaving a trail of almost tangible darkness in the cool night air. Ivy falls forward, and Kunai steps towards her to catch her and break her fall.

Kunai gasps suddenly as he holds Ivy, staring down at her arms. “Her…arms!” he chokes.

Ryuu and Arai rush over to Ivy immediately, staring down at her arms. Ryuu grabs Ivy’s limp left hand, and stares at it for a moment, peering at the sharp nails that have grown there. He then inspects her arms, which have become strangely purplish and cold.

“What’s happening? What’s going on with Ivy?” Kunai asks nervously.

Ryuu shakes his head, lowering his eyes to the floor. “It looks like the Paradox mutation is progressing. From now on, as time passes, her Paradox qualities are going to become more and more pronounced.”

“But…but what’s happening to her?” Kunai persists.

Shuriken steps forward suddenly, causing Arai, Ryuu, and Kunai to turn towards him. “It would seem that the blood in her body is slowly disintegrating, to be replaced by the dark matter of the Paradox.”

“What?!” Kunai cries, staring at Ivy. “She’s losing her blood?”

“But won’t that mean she’ll die?” Arai asks.

“No,” Ryuu replies. “The dark matter will serve as her blood for the time being. But once the last stage finishes, then her existence will definitely end. As a human, anyway.”

“The last…stage?” Kunai asks in a hoarse whisper.

“The stage in which the red pupils appear, thus destroying her soul.” Ryuu answers.

Kunai stares down at Ivy again, and a resolute expression appears on his face. “Well then we definitely have to do something! We’ll find a cure, no matter what!”

Ryuu sighs deeply. “I’m beginning to wonder whether or not we’ll find one in time. We’ve even talked to Ayame, and suggesting the Hybrid seal was the best she could tell us. We don’t have many options. Right now, we have to head to the Rift World and sees what happens there.”

“Are we going to go there now?” Kunai whispers.

“Yeah,” Ryuu replies. “Additionally, Kunai…” Ryuu turns to Kunai suddenly. “From now on, you and Shuriken have to be prepared to use Dark Sight rapidly and right away if I tell you to. You must also be prepared to put your lives on the line. Starting from our first steps in the Rift World, Ivy’s life is the number one priority. You have to do whatever it takes to make sure the Myougun don’t take her. You got it?”

“Got it,” Kunai replies immediately.

Shuriken nods slightly. “Understood,” he mutters.

Ryuu jerks his head, signaling for the others to begin moving. He takes the lead, and leads the way down the hill into the town of Gamma Precinct.

Otis the Green Snail suddenly leaps out of Kunai’s hands to the ground, and attempts to scuttle away from the group, squealing loudly, “I’m not gonna open the gate for you! I’m not gonna open the gate for you!”

Ryuu suddenly loses his patience, and grabs Otis forcefully and throws him into the air, kicking him forward so that he lands several hundred yards away with a loud plop.

Kunai laughs as Ryuu does this, and Arai sends a barrage of chocolate chip cookies his way. Suddenly Kunai turns to Ivy, who continues walking without any expression. Kunai sighs. ‘Normally she would’ve called Ryuu a big meanie poophead…’

The night remains silent and quiet as Kunai, Ryuu, Arai, Shuriken, and Ivy approach a large pyramid-like structure in the center of the town Gamma Precinct.

Kunai stares up at the structure before them where many flights of steps on all sides lead up to the pinnacle, just where the moon has begun to poke out from behind the tall structure.

“So this is…?” Kunai whispers.

“Normally the people of this town cannot access this area,” Ryuu explains, “There is a magical barrier surrounding this structure. Only with the key can you cross the barrier.”

Otis, from the ground, continues to shake his head obstinately, squeaking, “I won’t do it! I won’t open the gate for you guys!”

Ryuu reaches down angrily and grabs Otis forcefully, squeezing him tightly in his hand. “If you don’t open it, I swear I’ll burn you to crisps!”

Otis sighs. “Fine, fine…have it your way, you big redheaded gorilla…”

A loud crackling suddenly erupts throughout the air, as an invisible barrier opens up around the pyramid. Kunai, Ryuu, Arai, Shuriken, and Ivy all step through the barrier as the crackling resumes, closing the invisible barrier.

Ryuu chucks Otis into the ground behind him as the barrier closes. He turns to the others. “The scrolls are at the top. We’re lucky we had perfect timing, because you can only pass through this particular gateway at night.”

“So…this is really the gateway to the Rift World?” Kunai mutters in awe as the rest of the group begins to ascend the stairs leading up to the very top.

Ryuu nods next to Kunai. “Yeah. This is it.”

“Tell me, Ryuu…tell me all about these gateway things. Is the Rift World really a separate world from ours?” Kunai asks, turning to Ryuu in the darkness.

Ryuu remains silent for a moment, and then speaks. “Well…it’s a very long and complicated story. Basically, there are multiple gateways scattered all about the world. They act as passageways leading in and out of different worlds, and only through such gateways can you pass back and forth through different worlds.

“Take the Doors of Dimension on Victoria Island for example. When you pass through them, you are no longer in Maple World. This is the same concept.”

Kunai nods in awe again. “I see…”

“It’s a very complicated matter,” Ryuu shrugs, “Not many people have actually bothered studying how these things work. Only the Joukai were the only ones who really bothered figuring these things out.”

Ahead of them, Arai, Shuriken, and Ivy suddenly stop in their tracks as they reach the top of the structure. The three of them stand circled around a large pedestal set in the middle of the platform, where five ancient looking scrolls are sitting in silent peace.

Ryuu and Kunai arrive at the top as well, and join the other three. Ryuu steps up to the pedestal and inspects the scrolls. “Everyone,” he orders, “Grab one of the scrolls.”

The others immediately obey, and each grabs one scroll, holding it in their hands silently for a moment. Overhead, a cloud passes in the sky, allowing a strong ray of moonlight to penetrate the sky and reach down, shining exactly at the top of the pyramid.

Suddenly there is a bright flash, and Kunai cries out in surprise as the five of them disappear in thin air, while a pentagram appears beneath them. Powerful waves of air and wind pass through Kunai until suddenly, all remains silent again, and the five of them stand on a platform similar to the one they’d just left.

Overhead, the sky remains pitch-black and clouded, while before them lies a brightly lit castle-kingdom with many brick houses, their windows lit with a soft candlelight.

Ryuu suddenly speaks up. “We’ve finally arrived in the Rift World at last.”

Watching overhead on a huge mound behind the pyramid stand three figures, one wearing a cloak flapping in the night breeze, with strands of long purple hair swaying in the breeze.

Behind her stand two other dark figures, standing side by side. “They’ve finally arrived in the Rift World at last.”

Next Time: Episode 49 Rift

Kunai: So after a long time of struggling and fighting Triplicates, we finally arrive in the Rift World!

Ryuu: Yes, but we encounter new troubles in this brand new world. We hardly even know the land, yet we’re constantly being pursued by the Myougun now that we’re this close.

Kunai: I sense…a high concentration of Paradoxes nearby.

Ryuu: This is going to be normal from now on, as we get closer to Lord Kimura, and finish him off!

Arai: A lot of dramatic things are going to happen now… Where’s Shuriken?!

Episode 49 Rift coming soon!