Episode 112 Light, Rekindled

Lily withdraws from her hiding place behind a hedge of rocks at last, and beholds the final exchange in Ivy and Kunai’s battle. She watches as the gleaming arrow soars through the air and pierces Kunai through the heart.

A massive explosion of white light occurs at that instant. It envelops Kunai completely, swallowing him whole. Lily dives back behind her protective barrier and holds on as the wind caused by the explosion threatens to sweep her away. Throughout the entire sequence, Kunai’s screams can be heard above all else, even over the roar of the thunder and lightning above.

Then, at last, the burst of light dissipates, as suddenly as it had come. The wind falls to a gentle murmur. The twinkling sky glimmers faintly. The stormy lightning clouds roar, but produce no sound. Kunai collapses to his knees, breathing heavily. At his feet, his sword slowly returns to its form as a claw.

“K-KUNAI!” Lily yells, leaping recklessly out from her hiding place. She runs the distance towards Kunai, only to be intercepted by another massive eruption of light.

This time, waves of black fire appear to ascend from the ground, surrounding Kunai with intense force and heat. The very precipice of rocking on which he, Lily, and Ivy stand convulses from the impact of the reaction.

A shadowy figure comes rising out of the flames, surrounded by a windstorm of ashes. The flames cling to his thin and almost transparent frame. The figure yells fiendishly, a bloodthirsty shriek that strikes fear into all those around to hear it. The screaming goes on unceasingly, as Kunai lays meekly at its feet, the searing flames pressing against his face.

“DAMN ITTTTT!”

“Who…who the hell are you?” Kunai asks, eyes bulging with horror.

“DAMNNNNN ITTTTTTT!” the shadow continues to shriek, as if the flames at its feet are burning it alive. Yet, even as it continues to scream, the flames do not seem to even touch it at all.

“Damn it,” the shadow spits again, quieting down at last. He looks up, meeting Kunai’s eyes directly.

Kunai stares into his own face. “Who the hell are you?”

“I knew it,” Ivy croaks, using all her might to suppress her Paradox and speak at the same time. “There was an evil spirit inside Kunai’s soul after all!”

“You’ll pay for this, woman!” Kunai’s other self howls.

“I saved Kunai, that’s all that matters,” Ivy responds defiantly.

“Kunai,” the shadow says, reaching out a twisted hand to a still-shocked Kunai, “come, let us join together again! Together, we can…defeat Lord Kimura! We can destroy those Fatalists! We can defeat anybody! Take my hand, and we’ll share our power again…”

“Get away from me!” Kunai cries, slapping away the spirit’s hand. “If what Ivy says is true, you’re the one who’s taken control of my body all this time! You can burn in hell!”

The spirit falls silent, staring for a long time at Kunai’s quivering body. “Very well,” he growls, “I shall disappear if that is your wish.

“But…” he snarls, “one day, I shall come back again, and I promise you that I shall kill you if you are not careful!”

Kunai does not answer; instead, he glares resentfully at his other self, until it finally disappears completely, blown away in a storm of black ashes.

A roll of thunder rumbles somewhere above. Several flashes of lightning illuminate the barren earth. All of a sudden, rain begins to crash down in torrents.

Lily stands alone, amongst the scattered bodies of Ivy, Kunai, and Rill. She starts in surprise as a soft shuffling reaches her ears. Kunai turns over to rest on his back, glaring up at her with a slight frown on his face.

“Lily,” he says hoarsely.

“Y-Yes, Brother?” Lily replies, surprised at the sound of her own voice.

“I’m…sorry,” he mutters, directing his gaze away from his sister’s saddened eyes.

“I-It’s okay,” Lily stutters hastily, “like Ivy explained, the circumstances were out of your control—that evil spirit had consummated possession of your body. It’s not like everything you’ve done until now was through the wish of your own heart.”

Kunai sighs, continuing to frown still. “Even still…” he whispers, “I feel like it’s entirely my fault that I brought so much pain upon everyone.”

He places a hand over his right eye, rubbing the area gingerly. “It feels strange to be back in full control. For a long time, it felt like I was there, but not really there. Like I was alive, but only watching everything through the lenses of a dead person. It was the strangest feeling…”

With an angry jerk, Kunai rips off Myou, his claw, and glares at it at arm’s length. “It’s all because of this thing…this thing that Lord Kimura gave me! I should’ve never used it to begin with. I never want to use it again.”

Kunai flings the weapon away. It lands with a plop on the ground several feet away, right at the spot Ivy had fallen. She stirs slightly as the claw hits the ground. With a strained effort, Ivy manages to raise herself off the ground. Although a steady flow of blood is running down from her forehead, she flashes Kunai a broad smile.

“It’s good to have you back, Kunai,” she murmurs.

Despite himself, Kunai smiles slightly in response. He clambers to his feet, and shuffles slowly towards Ivy. “Thank you, Ivy,” he says, no longer smiling, his tone completely serious. “Really. Thank you for all you’ve done for me. After all I’ve put everyone through, I don’t deserve to have someone like you still finding a way to smile at me.

“Even more so,” Kunai continues, “I was beginning to think deep inside that there was no one who’d be able to stop my other self. I’m glad you were the one who did it, Ivy. Even after so much time has gone by, you still surprise me lots.”

Lily smiles upon watching the exchange between Ivy and Kunai. She places a hand over her heart. “Thank God,” she murmurs to herself, “he truly is back to his old self.”

At that moment, however, Ivy stiffens, coughing out a substantial amount of blood. Kunai lurches forward, grabbing her and holding her in his arms. “Ivy, are you all right?!”

Lily’s expression quickly changes to one of worry. “It must be her Paradox Transformation,” she says to Kunai, “we must hurry and treat her. If not, the transformation may be irreversible!”

“Damn it!” Kunai curses, as Ivy begins to glow with a dark black light once again. “Where are we going to get help all the way out here?!”

Lily bites her lip, turning about helplessly. Her eyes fall upon the ruins of the Gates of Hell not far off in the distance. Her eyes suddenly widen in realization. “We’re so close to the Gates of Hell…” she mutters. “I am…home.”

“Huh?” Kunai asks. “Did you say something, Lily?”

“We’ll take her to Bishop Calburn!” Lily howls. “Right now, while there’s still time…Bishop Calburn will surely possess some knowledge of healing Ivy! He is the only one nearby who can help at this time! At the very least, he will be able to slow the progress and provide us with enough time to garner some real assistance!”

“Good idea,” Kunai says, bending over Ivy and heaving her onto his back.

Her arms hang loosely around his neck. Her delicate, but weakened breath warms his frozen shoulders. “Just hang on a little while longer, Ivy,” Kunai mutters softly in her ear, “we’ll get some help for you. I won’t let anyone or anything hurt you after all you’ve done.”

“Come,” Lily says urgently, “let us hurry to Bishop Calburn’s.”

Lightning sets the sky on fire. A flash blinds everyone momentarily. As the shadows settle, a new one stands where one hadn’t stood before. Both Kunai and Lily freeze before they can even begin running. Instead, their eyes lay frozen to one spot, to the one man who stands before them now.

“Lord Kimura,” Kunai says with dread.

“My, my,” Lord Kimura breathes, “where are all of you going in such a hurry?”