Chapter 15

CHAPTER TEN Shin woke to the sound of sobs echoing through the house. By now, he was able to get up. His limbs still felt a little heavy, but he climbed out of bed and went in search of the crying. The source was Manna, and the old man was looking after her. Mimi’s still body was curled in her hands. She died? Shin thought. If Asuna found out, she would be so upset. Peacefully, gently, the old man spoke. “Her role in this world has ended, and the time for her journey to the next world has come. Weep freely for her. —For the other young lady, too.” After they’d waited for Manna to stop crying, the old man took her and Shin to a plain outside the village. The vast landscape seemed to roll on forever. The elder pointed to a solitary stone pedestal, and Manna ran over and gently laid Mimi’s body on it. “It should be here before long,” the man said. A little time passed, and then— “That’s…a Quetzal Coatl!” Shin cried. Slowly, from the horizon, a Quetzal Coatl was walking toward them. It was flesh-colored and shaped like a human, but it was several times larger. Its body was marked with the geometric patterns unique to its kind. “It’s ancient…,” Shin murmured, astonished, but the Quetzal Coatl paid him no heed. Reaching the pedestal, it took Mimi’s corpse into its hands— And put it into its mouth. The old man spoke solemnly. “In this way, lives become part of something greater.” “…Do you think Asuna will be able to see it that way?” Shin said. “She lost someone who meant a lot to her.” No ordinary Agarthan would have said such a thing. “Elder, Agartha knows too well how fleeting and insignificant lives are in the mortal world. Isn’t that exactly why it’s falling into ruin?” The old man’s eyes widened slightly, but his smile soon returned. “Your inexperience reminds me of that Topsider fellow,” he said. Me? How am I like the Arch Angel? But even Shin knew that no one who’d spent their life in Agartha would ever have asked the question he’d asked. Those Topsiders had rubbed off on him. “…!” Shin was speechless— And just then, it happened. “That’s…!” The three men in tunics who’d met Morisaki and Asuna at the village gate were riding away at a gallop—and Shin had seen the weapons at their waists. “They’re carrying longbarrels!” The old man shook his head wearily. “So they’re planning to stop the Topsiders by any means necessary.” Then he glanced at Shin. “It’s the same duty you were given.” He was right. He had to stop the Topsiders, even if it meant killing them. He had to keep them from intruding on the heart of Agartha. “……—!” Shin ran. He dashed back to the old man’s house, quickly found his own horse in the stable, and leaped onto its back. Just as he was about to ride off— “What do you intend to do?” the old man called to him. The answer he should have given—Stopping the Topsiders is my duty, so I’ll be the one who does it!—didn’t even occur to him. What did he want to do? What would be the best move? What should he do? Shin couldn’t answer any of those questions; he just shook his head. “I don’t know! …But!” With a yell, he spurred his horse into a gallop with only one thought on his mind. He couldn’t leave Asuna on her own. He had to save her. Shin looked back and shouted to the old man. “I swear I’ll repay this debt! —Yah!” With a sharp yell, he tightened the reins, and the horse broke into a gallop with everything it had. Before long, the river narrowed, then ended in a lake with a rocky shore. Abandoning the boat on the rocks, Morisaki and Asuna began to climb the rocky slope. “It’s on the other side of this ridge,” Morisaki said to Asuna over his shoulder. Then we’re almost there, she thought. Their travels would be over soon. They had nearly reached the end of this painful journey. …So why was she so unhappy? “Let’s hurry, before the Izoku come out.” As Morisaki spoke— Completely by accident, Asuna noticed something. “……” “What is it?’ Morisaki’s voice drowned it out for a moment, but just now, she was sure she’d heard— “Can you hear that?” Morisaki looked around. All he could hear was the wind. —No. It wasn’t a sound he heard often, but he recognized it. Hoofbeats, drawing nearer. They were already unexpectedly close. The rocky ground rose and dipped sharply, so he’d been late in noticing their approach. Even if he’d noticed it earlier, there was little he could have done. The men who’d met Morisaki and Asuna at Amaurot appeared on horseback, and it was obvious they weren’t here on a peaceful errand. They were armed. Whatever happened, they had to press on. “Asuna, run!” Morisaki urged, breaking into a run himself. Hastily, they climbed the slope. Without dismounting, one of the men drew the long-barreled gun from his waist and fired. Luckily, the bullet only struck the ground, shattering rock. It might have been intended as a warning shot. Morisaki pulled Asuna into the shadow of a nearby boulder. What should they do? Asuna had no idea, but as she watched, Morisaki drew his handgun from his jacket. “Stay down. This won’t take long,” he said, then opened fire. The bullets flew back and forth; neither of them scored a direct hit on the other, but it was close. “Mr. Morisaki!” He knew what she wanted to say—that they shouldn’t kill anyone. “They’re planning to kill us!” he snapped back at her and got ready to fire his next round. Suddenly, a short sword streaked in and knocked the gun from his hands. The attack had come from a completely unexpected direction. Morisaki hadn’t been able to avoid it, but he hadn’t been hurt, either. It was a perfect throw, aimed directly at his gun. “What?!” Morisaki shouted, and Asuna looked over, startled— “Hah!” —just as Shin rode up on horseback. Without slowing his galloping horse, Shin jumped off, retrieved his short sword, held it at the ready, and faced the soldiers of Amaurot, shielding Morisaki and Asuna. “Shin!” “Stay out of this!” Asuna and Morisaki both yelled, but Shin responded in a firm voice. “Don’t kill anyone! You’ll just fuel Agartha’s hatred!” Was Shin trying to save them? And after he said he should have killed the Topsiders earlier, too… The thought made Asuna very, very happy. The Amaurot soldiers dismounted. “Villager of Canaan. Why are you protecting Topsiders?” “These two saved a girl from your village! You owe them a debt!” “Letting Topsiders do as they please will only invite disaster. We cannot let the roots of trouble grow!” Shouting, the man leveled his longbarrel— And Shin charged directly at him. Stepping to the side to avoid being shot, he closed the distance between them in a rush, knocking the gun away with his short sword. The man kicked Shin, putting a little distance between them again, then drew his own sword for a powerful slash. Shin caught it on his short sword and deflected it. One clash, two, three— The two seemed evenly matched at first, but gradually, the older combatant began to gain the upper hand. The man’s sword was heavy, while Shin’s short sword was light. “Shin!” Asuna nearly shouted, but Morisaki stopped her with a hand. “I’m repaying my debt!” Shin yelled. “Go!” He gave one more attack, and that stroke pushed the man’s sword back. When it came to weight, Shin was at a disadvantage, but his speed added enough power to his blows to give him a chance. He definitely wasn’t fighting a losing battle—at least, as far as the Topsiders could tell. In any case, Morisaki thought, they should listen to him. Pulling Asuna by the hand, he gave her a brave smile, then began climbing the rocks. Four clashes, five, six— Shin’s short sword and the man’s blade struck again and again. Neither of them yielded a single step. Beside them, one of the men who’d been waiting tried to slip past. Stopping the man’s sword with his own blade, Shin used that momentum to jump into the path of the man who was trying to get by. That man had drawn his sword and obviously intended to fight, but Shin’s roundhouse kick connected solidly with his chin. The man went down, and Shin turned back, resuming his earlier fight. The man grinned. “Formidable.” “Let me take care of him.” The last man dismounted, drawing his sword. Taking a few breaths to steady himself, Shin closed in on the second man. With that battle behind them, Morisaki and Asuna had reached the top of the ridge. Under the sunset sky, Asuna panted, shoulders heaving. “It’s Finis Terra,” said Morisaki. “The end of this world.” Before them was a huge, vast, enormous pit that extended all the way to the distant horizon. Morisaki started to go down toward its edge. “Hurry. Let’s make sure his efforts don’t go to waste.” Asuna followed Morisaki, but this was a sheer cliff. Even when she looked straight down, she couldn’t see the bottom. It was just a precipice that went on and on forever. It was despair made visible. We’ll never climb down this, Asuna thought. However, Morisaki removed his pack. “Make yourself as light as you can,” he said, as if this were hardly anything at all. “We’re climbing down.” Timidly, Asuna peeked into the pit. Much later, she would remember that view and wonder if it was possible for a professional rock climber to scale such a rock face. At the time, however, all she felt was the pure emotion at the base of life—fear. Her legs gave out on her, and she sank down on the spot, unable to stand. “…I can’t. Let’s find some other place to—” Morisaki flatly cut her off. “We don’t have that kind of time. Once the sun sets, the Izoku will emerge. Let’s go.” “—” Setting a hand on the rock wall, Morisaki carefully started to descend. Hastily, Asuna set down her pack. “Mr. Morisaki!” He was working his way down the wall. Asuna tried to follow him, but a wind that blew up from the bottom of the pit nearly sent her over the edge, and— “Asuna!” At the last moment, Morisaki saved her. The two of them were back at the top of the cliff. Asuna’s whole body felt weak; she was on the ground, on her hands and knees. Tears spilled out, and she couldn’t stop them. It might have been the first time in her life that she’d ever felt so powerless. How completely pathetic, she thought. She’d traveled this far, the goal was right in front of her, and yet she couldn’t cross the finish line. It was mortifying, but the impossible was impossible. She couldn’t do it. “Asuna,” Morisaki called to her. “……” Asuna looked up, tears streaming down her face. “Listen to me,” he said gently. “You crossed the Interstitial Sea, and traveled, and came all this way into the depths of the earth. I know you’ll be able to beat this cliff as well. Why did you come to Agartha?” His eyes were gentle as well. Like a father looking at his daughter. However, Asuna shook her head. It was understandable. Even a full-grown adult would hesitate at a cliff like this—if they didn’t have the good sense to avoid it altogether. It wasn’t a precipice a girl of eleven could take on. “—I can’t do it. I just can’t.” It was the first time Asuna had given up during that journey. Shin and the man were still fighting. However, there were two differences between them that would decide the battle. …Or possibly only one. All else aside, Shin was still eleven, and the man from Amaurot had lived about three times as long. In both strength and experience, Shin was at a distinct disadvantage. As soon as he made a sloppy strike, the man seized on the opening it created. He swung his fist, catching Shin squarely on the cheek and sending him flying. The short sword slipped out of his hands, and Shin rolled across the ground and lay there like an old rag. “Enough of this. Soon you won’t have a home in Agartha.” The man pointed his sword at him. Even so, Shin got back up. “I never—” Then he threw a punch of his own. “—belonged here anyway!” The man caught his fist. He didn’t swing his sword again but instead responded with another punch. Shin managed to twist away, then unleashed a second, third, and fourth punch of his own. The man fielded, dodged, and caught them. “All right,” Morisaki said as Asuna dissolved into tears. “I’ll go alone. Lend me the clavis. In exchange, you take this.” The object he handed her… …was the gun. “Travel upriver, back to the old man. When night comes, go into the water to escape the Izoku.” Then he said one last thing. If nothing else, he had to tell her this. “Asuna, I want you to live. “It may be selfish of me, but if you can, remember that.” Then he smiled. For Asuna, it was the first time she’d seen him look so kind. I have to say something. The thought was there, but she couldn’t put it into words. “Oh…” Morisaki said nothing more. Turning away from Asuna, he confronted the great pit of Finis Terra. Shin took a blow to the cheek, and while he was off-balance, the man gave him a kick that sent him rolling across the ground. This time, the boy didn’t have the strength to stand. He couldn’t even resist the blade pressed to his neck. He might kill me, Shin thought. Then it happened. “______” He heard the breath of the clavis—he knew where it was. It was something he’d never done before; that skill had been a wall he couldn’t cross. But just now, he’d managed it easily. Apparently, the men had sensed it as well. “The clavis has disappeared into Finis Terra. We can pursue it no farther. Fighting is pointless.” With that, the man sheathed his sword. “But the Topsiders will never reach the foot of the precipice alive.” He turned away from Shin. “Boy,” he said, mounting his horse. “You side with neither Agartha nor the surface. From now on, there will be no place for you to rest.” Slowly, he set off. “You have chosen a life of endless wandering and regret for the rest of your days.” Then the men were gone. After some time, Shin finally staggered to his feet and walked over to his beloved steed. “I’m sorry. I drove you too hard to get here. Can you stand?” he asked. Quietly, the horse stood, too. …Now, then. “Where should I go now…?”