Episode 20 Red Eyes of Fire

In a land emptied of all but oblivion and a feeling of desolation, a single man stands at the peak of a ruined hill with a large burden upon his back.

As a cloud shifts in the sky, a beam of moonlight falls upon his visage, revealing the darkened features of a Ranger known as Arayu.

Arayu lays down the burden strapped to his back wearily, and allows it to lie at rest beside him. He squats down as well, and takes a rest. From within his pockets Arayu takes a few tiny, brown warrior pills, chewing them silently as a supplement for rejuvenating his energy.

A single wolf howls eerily off in the distance its cry of despair echoed by none other than the emptiness of the wastelands. Arayu turns to the coffin-like burden he had lain down.

Soft plumes of white smoke surround the tomb, enveloping it and whirling into a thin mist about the box. Arayu takes a long stare at it, not drawing his eyes away from it for a long time.

“He said that it would be ready by now…” Arayu mutters to himself, his eyes boring into the coffin beside him, on which there is a single cross engraved upon the cover.

“Hm?” Arayu turns suddenly, as the coffin begins sliding open, apparently of its own accord. Arayu stands, anticipating the arrival of whatever is inside.

The smoke about the coffin thickens and sizzles loudly as the coffin slides slowly open, until a blackened hand is seen protruding from the narrow opening carrying a Doombringer.

The sky remains pitch-black, littered with stars scattered in a heavenly storm of novas. Below, lost under a swirling blanket of nighttime mist, lies a small group of humans gathered around a campfire.

The fire blazes with a soft, murmuring crackle as it sends spires of smoke whirling into the air, to be lost in the cool breeze of the night.

A huddle of sleeping bags is untidily strewn around the campfire in a circle. Sasha is wrapped up in one of these, sleeping soundly. Ayame lies next to her as well, her eyes shut and an expression of utmost calmness as she breathes slowly in and out.

Lying on top of his sleeping bag next to Ayame is Ryuu, his eyes sharp and alert despite the tranquil settings of the campsite. Ryuu is sitting stiffly, with his arms lying tensely at his sides, resting on top of his outstretched kneecaps. His sword lies by his side, unsheathed.

A soft dapple of wind whistles past him, rustling the tips of the long strands of red hair hovering over his lined forehead. His jade green eyes are pointed skyward, roving about the nighttime sky as if counting the stars.

Next to Ryuu is Kunai, lying still on his back on top of his sleeping bag. Though he does not move, Kunai’s eyes are wide open as well, staring up at the stars with a rather clouded, dazed expression.

And next to Kunai, completing the circle, is Ivy, sitting upright, her sleeping bag partially covering her legs for warmth. She is ardently writing with a pen in a journal, an inexplicably mischievous smile on her face.

‘Dear Diary,

It’s been almost three weeks since I’ve decided to keep my memories in you. Let me sum up what’s been happening lately. For the last two weeks after we left Queen’s Port Sasha started leading us farther and farther east. She says she thinks that Lily might be hidden somewhere in eastern Night World.

Since then, we’ve been journeying for two weeks in the wilderness. The only times we’ve had contact with other people is when we’ve stopped at monasteries along the way for rest. Ryuu and Kunai say that they’re tired of seeing all this wilderness, but I secretly think that Kunai likes it. For me, seeing the outdoors has been really beautiful and the stars at night are incredibly pretty.

So far Sasha hasn’t said much except when we ask her questions or she tells us where we’re going. I think that she’s still depressed about losing Mayor Stan, because sometimes when we stop to set up camp and sleep I can hear her crying. Kunai hasn’t seemed like himself either, so I’ve tried to cheer him up by getting him excited about our adventure.

I’m not sure how far east we’ve gone, but Sasha says that soon we’re gonna reach the capital city, which is called Meridean. That is where the King and Church are! She says that once we get there we’ll probably stop for information in Meridean. But first we have to pass this dangerous place called the “Volcano Country.” It sounds dangerous but Sasha says that there are lots of saunas there.

But anyway, I can’t wait until we get to Meridean! Sasha says that it is very pretty there and that she’s only been there once, when she was a little girl. I’m really excited about seeing the Kings and the Queens and the Princes and the Princesses! Kunai says I sound like a little kid when I talk about it, but—’

“Ivy,” Kunai’s voice interrupts suddenly.

Ivy glances up at him, pausing her journal writing. “Huh? What’s wrong, Kunai?”

“Go to sleep,” Kunai mutters. “It’s getting late, and we need rest.”

“Okay! Let me just finish this part and then I’ll go to sleepy time!” Ivy whispers back.

‘Kunai thinks I sound like a little kid when I talk about Meridean, but I’ve secretly noticed that he also smiles every time he hears me talk about it, so it’s proof that he’s excited too!’

Ivy then closes her diary, and stuffs it into her sleeping bag, crawling inside it as well and closing her eyes, yawning sleepily. Within moments, her breathing slows as she enters sleep.

As Ivy falls asleep, Kunai turns his head at an angle, to get a better look at Ryuu. “Hey, you awake?” Kunai mutters to him.

Ryuu shifts restlessly, inclining his head slightly to indicate so. “Yeah. I’m awake.”

“I was just thinking, Ryuu…” Kunai murmurs, the light of the moon and the countless stars above reflecting in his eyes, “about how…”

“What about?” Ryuu replies in a low grumble. “Zack?”

“Yeah.” Kunai remains silent for a moment, lost in his train of thought. “Well, not just the Zack incident, but everything that’s happened so far since my family got dispatched to fight the first Triplicate. I’ve had a lot of time to think these past two weeks.”

“Watching the stars’ll do that to you,” Ryuu replies nonchalantly, in a sleepy tone. He lowers his head and lies flat on his back as well, folding his arms beneath his head. His green eyes stare up into the heavenly abyss stretched out before him.

“Why, though?” Kunai murmurs. “Why does Lord Kimura go through all this trouble to get his hands on the three Phonemes? It’s not enough that he makes everyone suffer by making the Paradoxes, but he has to go and hunt after the Phonemes as well? Countless people have suffered and even died just so he can get closer to his goal. It doesn’t make sense, all this suffering!”

“You’re not…questioning yourself, are you, Kunai?” Ryuu mutters seriously.

“Wh-what?” Kunai mutters, thrown off guard by the unexpected question. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that if you start thinking too much about these sort of things, you’ll go crazy. The ‘what ifs’ will never end as long as you keep thinking about it. What if Yttrius hadn’t died? What if Arai hadn’t died?”

“Yttrius…” Kunai murmurs, “I don’t hear you talk about him much. Do you miss him?”

Ryuu utters a soft chuckle alien to Kunai. “Heh, heh. Yeah. Sometimes. You miss your family, don’t you? Yttrius was like family to all of us. It’s a shame you never got to meet him.”

A thoughtful silence blankets both Ryuu and Kunai for a moment, as they reflect upon their conversation. Suddenly, Ryuu speaks up again. “But anyway, back to the point. You can’t forget that there will always be people who seek power, and they will stop at nothing to possess it. Lord Kimura is not as evil as you think, Kunai. He’s just let his obsession with knowledge get the best of him.”

“But still,” Kunai retorts, “how can you just stand by and watch as people, living people, die before your very eyes and not do anything about it? Like Zack…he just let Mayor Stan explode right in front of him, without even flinching, he let that happen…”

Another long silence envelops Ryuu. Finally, he answers again. “Zack…something is strange about him. I mean, we’ve seen Shuriken, and we’ve seen Arayu. But he’s not like the other Naraku…I tend to think that there was something strange about that incident back in Queen’s Port.”

“Like what?” Kunai asks.

Ryuu allows his eyes to shut, lying still in a dreamy stupor. “Like…” Suddenly his eyes open and widen in alarm, as he jerks into a sitting position.

Kunai looks up at Ryuu, who has already picked up his sword. “Ryuu! What’s wrong?”

“Something’s…not right.”

[Four Weeks Ago – Meridean Region, Night World]

The capital city of Meridean stands a powerful castle-city in the center of the world, lit up under the bright rays of an artificial sun. Forbidding walls of marble stand as gates around the city, their contours reflecting the light of the sun. Archways stand built into these walls, enabling traffic to freely pass in and out.

At each archway stand two guards, dressed in royal chain mail, each uniform bearing a coat of arms depicting a crescent moon crossed with a red cross. Each guard is armed with a magnificent, gleaming Skylar.

From each archway a beautifully paved path of cobblestone leads to the center of the city, from which is built a stone citadel, housing an enormous, luxurious palace composed largely of winding towers and spires piercing high into the sky. Around this palace and citadel stand innumerable smaller buildings, some of which bear the nobles’ coat of arms, others of which bear specifically the red cross upon their roofs.

At one such archway, from outside the desolate wilderness contrasting highly with the magnificence of the castle-city Meridean, two strangers dressed in strange cloaks stand.

“State your names and business here,” one of the armed guards shouts to the visitors.

The first one lowers his hood, revealing a pair of majestically green eyes hiding underneath a pair of Green Sports Goggles. His black hair ripples in a soft, warm breeze under the bright artificial sun.

“My, my,” he says calmly, “this is far too many formalities to greet an ally with. I should have thought that my subordinates have already sent a letter addressed to King Norman IV forewarning by imminent arrival, should they not?”

The guard suddenly starts in recognition. “L-Lord Kimura!” he stammers. “My greatest apologies! I did not recognize a great lord such as yourself dressed in such unbecoming rags. Please, please, right this way; the Charemis Monarchy welcomes you to their capital Meridean.”

Lord Kimura smiles wryly, a subtle distortion of his face. “Hm. Very well.” He turns suddenly, and beckons to his comrade. “Come, we shall meet the King.”

“Yes, my lord,” Kimura’s disciple replies in a hoarse mutter.

Lord Kimura and his comrade stand still inside a large, cathedral-sized hallway within the confines of the palace at the center of Meridean. Kimura’s disciple gazes awestruck at his magnificently garnished surroundings, a golden collection of luxurious items painstakingly gathered over years of spending vast riches.

Upon the walls hang long tapestries, each depicting either a famous battle in Night World history or else a famous King or Pope. Woven into the first one on the right is a picture of the former king, Grendel, wearing rich robes of a blood red color, with intricately elaborated designs of golden thread.

Guards wearing suits of armor stand still on each side of the hall, each similarly armed with a Skylar like the guards outside the city. Upon the floor of the hall is a rug of softest velvet.

At the end of the hall, on top of a low pedestal sit the thrones of the King and Queen. Upon the left sits King Norman IV, dressed in attire similar to that of Grendel’s depicted in the first tapestry.

Over his brow and sitting atop his curls of thick brown hair sits a crown made entirely of gold, with rubies and sapphires set in alternating patterns engraved into the royal crown.

Beside King Norman sits his wife, the Queen. She sits silently in a stately manner as well, awaiting the audience of Lord Kimura. Her face is of palest hue, while on the crown of her head sits a silver tiara with even more jewels than her husband’s set into it, especially that of diamonds.

Together, the two of them, composing the heads of the Royal Family, sit in anticipation of the audience of Lord Kimura and his companion, known only as a mysteriously cloaked stranger.

Lord Kimura strides serenely up to the thrones of the King and Queen, his expression calm and resembling that of imminent royalty as well. He confidently meets them, staring first at the Queen, and then the King directly in the eye.

Both the King and Queen do not blink nor react to Kimura’s gaze, though their figures hunch over interestedly. Finally, Lord Kimura arrives at the foot of the pedestal, while his companion stands just behind him.

A herald suddenly runs up to the stage, blowing a trumpet loudly as he does so. “The Royal Family King Norman IV and his lady the Queen Evereny wish to welcome the audience of Lord Kimura of the Myougun and his companion of whose name shalt not be mentioned.”

King Norman’s eyes stray over to Kimura’s companion as the herald speaks these words. As the herald is finished speaking, King Norman raises a hand to call for silence. “You,” Norman mutters, addressing Kimura’s veiled companion, “why do you not reveal your visage to your King? It is disrespectful.”

“My apologies, my liege,” Lord Kimura answers for his friend, “but my companion here has suffered gruesome abrasions of which he is ashamed to reveal to your royal highness.”

“Fair enough,” King Norman replies, though his voice does not convey a sense of satiety. He then turns to Lord Kimura, directly addressing him this time. “Lord Kimura, the letter in which you have sent me warning me in anticipation of your visit today has most troubled me. The information you have inscribed in that letter is appalling. It is all true, is it not?”

“Certainly, your majesty,” Kimura replies politely. “It is for those reasons listed in that letter that I most urgently came to your side to offer my humble succor, your highness. My forces are at your disposal.”

“What you have revealed to me through your letter writing is most alarming. My subjects and I have long known of the nature of the multiple worlds in which you spoke of, but never could I have imagined the possibility of ruffians entering my country to cause havoc and alarm!” King Norman replies.

“Allow me to emphasize that they are not mere ruffians, my lord,” Kimura replies, “rather, they are dangerous criminals from the Maple World come here to seek the Third Phoneme. I feel I must also reiterate the fact that my empire, a political faction with which you may sympathize with, has long sought after these criminals but without avail.”

“Yes, I understand,” King Norman answers.

“Then, what do you propose we do about such criminals?” Queen Evereny speaks for the first time, her voice a commanding, yet soothing tone of beauty. “According to you, Lord Kimura, these such criminals have eluded your forces and escaped into our world. Very soon they will locate the Third Phoneme, a fatal felony that must be stopped at once. What precautions might you suggest? Your Myougun Empire is welcomed as our prideful ally, of course. Peace must be kept in this world.”

“My suggestion, as well as my intention, is this,” Lord Kimura answers, his voice softening into a deadly whisper, “If your Royal Highnesses may be so kind as to divulge this information for me, I assure you my empire will attempt to uphold your trust to the best of their ability. Having said so, I request that the location of the Third Phoneme be divulged to me, and only me, so that I may, in hopes of stopping these criminals, take the Third Phoneme away to a safer place, and thus ensure her safety.”

“Though you have spoke oft about these criminals,” King Norman replies, “you have failed to convey their names to me. Might you know the names of these deplorable individuals?”

“Their names?” Lord Kimura replies, feigning a surprised nonchalance, “Why, certainly. They go by the names Kunai, Ryuu, Ivy, and Ayame.”

“What’s wrong, Ryuu?” Kunai whispers in a hoarse voice.

Ryuu does not reply, but continues to scan the faint, darkened outlines of the hills nearby, his eyes constantly roving and prying into every nook and cranny. Finally, he turns himself away from the hills, shaking his head. “I had a feeling right now like someone was tracking us.”

Unnoticed by Ryuu, behind him a pair of darkened eyes narrow, clutching more tightly the Dark Arund by its side.

Next Time: Episode 21 The Lantern Behind The Eyes of Fire

Otis: Oi! This guy is ugly?

Arai: Who?

Episode 21 The Lantern Behind The Eyes of Fire coming soon!