073

 

73.  Exhortation

 

A light rain trickled out from the dark clouds that loomed over Enmetropolis. The moon had risen in the sky, but its eerie glow did little to illuminate the city's dirty streets. On a shattered, abandoned highway north of the Belmarcian Tournament complex, Father Zeigfried Harknett Abaddon faced his audience and began to tell his tale.

 

"I'm sure you're all familiar with Yamato, a more or less primitive dimension that has consistently refused to abandon their false gods and gain the protection of the Church. Although Azuka was raised in a completely different dimension, Tartoch, she still has very deep ties to Yamato, and used to visit the dimension quite often. Why, you ask? Because she is the illegitimate daughter of their Royal Emperor, the one they blasphemously refer to as the Exalted Light.

 

"Azuka was born through a one-time night of passion with a woman who was neither nobility nor Yamatoan – an elite from Tartoch who had come to Yamato on business. The Emperor wished to keep his child, but social stigma and politics made that far too problematic. You see, the Emperor is the man who stands on the top of Yamatoan society, capable of decreeing any command. But even he was no match for the stigma that came with mixed blood.

 

"To Yamato, Azuka was nothing but a nuisance. She possessed foreign blood, and the xenophobic populace was frightened to death by what might happen if she were to assume control over their world. Left with no other choice, the Emperor left his baby in the care of one of his most trusted royal relatives – an entrepreneur named Tao Fukunaga.

 

"And so, poor little Azuka Ingram was sent with her mother to the dimension of Tartoch. Of course, her mother welcomed her with open arms, and bestowed Azuka with a quiet, peaceful childhood. Tao often stopped by to check up on her, and once she had grown a bit, he took responsibility over her psynergy training. She was naturally gifted, and soon became a phenomenal warrior.

 

"But that was not the only thing that Tao taught her. He also schooled her on Yamato's history, as well as current events, no matter how painful they seemed. As Azuka grew, her father's vitality weakened. And to make matters worse, Azuka's older half-brother had fallen overboard and drowned at sea. Scrambling, the Imperial Court decided to hand the title of emperor over to a five-year old boy named Makoto, the Emperor's last living direct heir. No longer in any condition to rule, the old emperor passed all political control over his 'trusted' Royal Court, while the boy began a life of solitude behind the palace walls.

 

"As the aging emperor's illness grew worse, a court elder named Suzunosuke Koga tightened his iron grip over the regime. While Yamato had staunchly refused modern technology and capitalistic business practices up until now, Koga zealously embraced them and began raising taxes in order to purchase foreign technology and strengthen the military. This upset a great deal of the public, and Koga was not afraid to execute his own people in order to quiet them down.

 

"It wasn't long before civil war broke out. As Koga seized control of the military, the Emperor's Royal Guard rose to stop Koga and restore political power to the Emperor. Yamato's capital city of Kyo was razed, and the young emperor Makoto went missing.

 

"This all happened recently. The prestige Azuka's father once had is now in shambles, and he fled along with his remaining guards. Now, do remember that Azuka could have returned to Yamato at any time to lay claim to the title. One might even say that her negligence brought this about. Was it her dedication to the Guild that held her back? Her fear of even greater responsibility? Or–"

 

"Shut up and get to the point," Azuka cut in.

 

Zeigfried coughed. "One year ago, when the Royal Guards began fighting an all-out war against Koga's troops, Azuka learned that Koga not only had superior technology on his side...but he had also somehow enlisted the help of ungodly monsters known as yokai. The situation was dire, namely for Azuka's father, who was about to die as he watched his empire fall to pieces around him. She was desperate to find a way to help them, prepared to do anything...

 

"Months ago, when I was making a bi-annual inspection to the Guild, Azuka approached me and requested assistance. She wanted me to gather an army of Acolytes, Church clergymen specialized for combat, and send them to Yamato to suppress Koga and restore peace to the dimension. Had Yamato been one of our allies, we would have immediately gone to their aid, but this was a different matter. After all, Yamato rejected the Church, our God, and, judging from our story, they may have been dabbling in demon worship.

 

"But God tasks us to help all those in need, so I wanted to do what I could. But in order to begin, I first needed data. And so, I scheduled a series of sessions with her where I learned all I could about the dimension of Yamato and what it contained. During these sessions, I learned that there is something known as the Royal Treasury in Yamato, which houses, among other things, the Three Sacred Treasures of the royal family. One of these treasures is known as the Dimensional Mirror...but in reality, it’s a clock."

 

"What?" Bruce barked. "I've never heard anything about that!"

 

"I doubt anyone has," Zeigfried continued. "Your Seneschal did a very good job of keeping it under wraps. However, at some point, he must have told Azuka of the treasures and their secrets. She trusted Tao, and she trusted me. She was only trying to be helpful...and only God could forsee that such knowledge would end up dooming the man who protected her for all these years."

 

"You used me!" Azuka screamed finally. "The only reason you asked me those questions was to bait me! You wanted me to give you something you could use to incriminate him!"

 

"We had our suspicions, yes," Zeigfried nodded. "But it is our God-given mission to always seek out the truth. Tao has always been such a secretive man, and some of his actions in the past have been rather questionable. But now that we know for sure that he has hidden a clock from our knowledge, I suspect that Tao has been planning to undermine us from the very start. And when there’s smoke, there’s fire. I know you came in contact with the Daughter, too. But did Tao ever think to tell the Church that he somehow managed to find the daughter of God? No...up to this day, the Guild of Dimensional Knights has been nothing more than a dark tool for an evil man who wishes to interfere with God's plan."

 

"No..." Ravi murmured. "Please tell me this is some mistake."

 

"You may rest at ease," Zeigfried said softly. "I assume that none of the Knights were involved with his treachery, so after the Guild is disassembled, you will all be assimilated into another one of the Church's institutions. First, though, Tao must be dealt with. I merely came here to inform Azuka and collect the defeated Dark Zodiacs before I detain him."

 

"After you detain him..." Ravi asked slowly. "What are you going to do to him?"

 

Zeigfried made a wan smile. "That’s up to God, of course."

 

Understanding exactly what the Apostle's words meant, Ravi and Azuka glanced to each other. Giving them no further notice, the Apostle moved over to Bruce and began to channel murky psynergy into his thin hands.

 

"As I suspected, this tournament was the perfect snare for the Zodiacs," Zeigfried said nonchalantly. "I trust the rest have been neutralized by now?"

 

Bruce let out a pained roar. Summoning what little psynergy remained in his body, he flexed his fiery aura and ripped through his bonds. Before Zeigfried could extend his hand, Bruce rolled back, desperate to survive.

 

"Seems like you went a bit too easy on this one," Zeigfried called back to Azuka. "Don't tell me a guilty conscience made you hold back. The Zodiacs are heathen terrorists...you needn’t spare them."

 

"Azuka, I take back what I said," Bruce said, as he struggled to catch his breath. "You aren’t the scumbag here...he is."

 

"Planning to resist, are you?" Zeigfried laughed. "It's futile. I am an Apostle...angelic power flows through my veins."

 

Bruce ignored Zeigfried and shifted his eyes to the two women across the street. "Hey, Rovy, Ravi, whatever your name is, lend me a hand here. I guess this is going to be the first time that the Dark Zodiacs and the Dimensional Knights have ever worked together, huh?"

 

"Possibly," Ravi answered. "But from the looks of things, the Guild is no more."

 

Zeigfried swerved and cast a sharp eye at Ravi. "I wouldn't get any funny ideas if I were you – especially not any about protecting your soon to be ex-leader. He has damned himself beyond all retribution. Would you rather be on God’s side, or that of a criminal's?"

 

Ravi's wings flapped gently as she hovered off the ground. "If the Seneschal hid that clock's existence from you, then he must have had a good reason. And if your God is one who advocates such cruel manipulation, then I shall happily defy him."

 

"Bruce," Azuka called out as she tightened her grip on her blade. "Run. We can’t beat him."

 

"Run? Okay, sure." Bruce laughed hoarsely. "I’ll be right behind you."

 

"Lord, have mercy on these souls," the Apostle sighed, as he outstretched his hands. "For they know not what they do."

 

Azuka seethed with rage as she stared down her foe. Images of the

 

*************

 

Seneschal and the captains of the Guild of Dimensional Knights flew through Amyr's head as his blood poured out onto the floor. The men stood face to face in close range, and Saffron's blade remained lodged in Amyr's side.

 

Seneschal, Ravi, Kamo, Maximilian, Azuka...I know you're all out there right now, fighting and sacrificing to protect us as we press on in this tournament. We’re going to win this...we’re going to stop the Dark Zodiacs, and the Guild will rise to even greater heights. I need to be as strong as you all are...I can’t let weakness take hold of me!

 

A serene smile covered Saffron's face, despite his own wounds. "Thou fought well...but thou art young, and I taste the sweet tang of potential in thy blood. Thou art on the precipice of growth..."

 

Amyr shakily raised his arms, barely able to keep a firm grip on his sabres. "So what?"

 

Saffron’s face lit up with excitement. "As a sign of respect, I present thee a choice. Step down and vow to battle me again on the morrow...or, we shall continue now."

 

I need to do my part here. Passion surged through Amyr’s body, blocking out his fear and pain. If I step down here, evil lives to terrorize another day...it’s nothing but a temptation. He’s incredibly strong, and I’m wounded. But if every warrior succumbed to such weakness, justice would never prevail...

 

The thoughts swarmed back and forth through Amyr’s mind like a cloud of gadflies. He thought again of his allies, Then, just like a coin falling onto the floor, a small cling resounded in the vice-captain’s mind. In the next moment, Amyr’s face contorted in a visage of fury, and he lurched toward his foe, refusing to back down.

 

"So be't!" Saffron’s face lit up with excitement. "Flaunt thy fury! Savage me with thy ephemeral rectitude!"

 

Amyr aimed for Saffron's neck as he slashed out one last time with his left arm. But a sudden bolt of pain made him stumble, and his sabre clanged to the ground uselessly, while Amyr's consciousness began to slip away.

 

Inside the waiting room, Sabine's face contorted into an expression of horror as she watched Saffron pull his sword from Amyr. Saffron's aura exploded, and in a flash, his ruby-crested bastard sword swung down straight through the Knight, chopping the man Sabine loved into two bloody chunks.

 

"Yes..." Saffron basked in the evening light as blood from Amyr's body painted his armor a devilish, crimson color. "T'was beautiful...such vitality...betwixt weakness and desperation...oh, the magnitude!"

 

"Yikes!" Trunculo screamed. "Amyr gave it his all, folks! He refused to run and used up every single ounce of blood he had, but it still wasn't enough! In the end, Saffron cut him down, but not without suffering a few wounds himself!"

 

Saffron's own stomach wound seemed to be an after-thought as he stood over Amyr's corpse, closed his eyes and made a silent nod to his mutilated opponent.

 

Sabine collapsed to the floor as tears gushed from her eyes. Gritting her teeth, the woman let out a wail that sounded as agonized as it did angry.

 

Trunculo's voice went on. "Saffron is clearly this round's winner...

 

*************

 

and what a satisfying win it was!"

 

"Vance!" Eden screamed, banging her fist on the Regeneration Tank to shut it off. "Vance...Amyr...he..."

 

Vance leapt out from the tank, feeling the cold air slice into his warm skin. "What?!"

 

"He's dead," Eden told him coldly. "Saffron cut him in two."

 

"He what?!" Vance scrambled to put his clothes on and looked out the window. The medics were busy scooping up Amyr's remains into a bin.

 

"Caleb lost too," Eden went on. "He made sure to forfeit before Averyl killed him. Amyr, though...he just wouldn't stop fighting! He must have thought he was the last choice they had."

 

"So Averyl and Saffron are both still in...Eden, do you know what that means?"

 

"It's up to us now," Eden said. "We each have to beat one of them in the semi-finals."

 

"It'll be alright," Vance said, struggling to stay strong. "Eden, I want you to forfeit your next round. Don't even try to fight him. Just get in there and then step out of bounds immediately."

 

"What?" Eden shouted. "But Vance–"

 

"Remember, Averyl isn’t one of them." Vance turned his back to her and walked to the door. "And he definitely won't kill me."

 

Trunculo's voice sounded back in once the platform was cleaned. "Sabine Cune, Amyr's first opponent, has requested that she be put in charge of his remains! Well, at least we know that the brave warrior will rest in pieces...er, in peace!"

 

*************

 

Frank shook his head as the medics brought in special cleaning equipment to suck Amyr's blood out of the cracks of the platform. "Utterly barbaric. There was no reason for him to die there..."

 

"Indeed, it was a grisly blow," Dr. Phileas said absently, then looked at his watch. "Hmm...it's gotten rather late. I think I'll go grab some dinner for all of us. Any requests?"

 

Frank looked at Phileas with incredulous eyes. "You're kidding, right?"

 

"We'll pass," Edward said coldly, as he stared down to the stage.

 

"Suit yourselves," Dr. Phileas said with a chuckle, then got up and left.

 

Frank shuddered as Phileas disappeared up the aisle. As soon as he was gone, Frank turned immediately to Edward, who hadn't said much since he saw his son.

 

"Ed," Frank said, giving his friend a soft elbow. "Phileas is gone."

 

"So?" Edward asked lethargically.

 

"We need to get out of here, Ed," Frank said. "This may be our last chance."

 

"But..." Edward continued to stare wistfully down at the arena. "I can't leave without Vance."

 

"Exactly," Frank said. "You saw how strong he is. If we can figure out a way to get down there to him, he might be our ticket out of here."

 

Edward sucked in a deep, unsteady breath. "Next time he comes out, I need to stop him. Or else he could end up just like that last man..."

 

Right on cue, Vance stepped out from the waiting room and entered the arena. As he walked onto the platform, he gave his body a warm-up stretch.

 

"Vaaannce..." Winslow hissed gleefully from the other end. "Isn't it nice how this turned out? I bet you hoped your little Knight friends would save you from fighting me, didn't you? And what happened? They all lost. Now you and your little girlfriend have no one to protect you!"

 

Psynergy rose from Vance's body as he shut out his surroundings and focused solely on his enemy, just as Averyl had taught him.

 

Winslow cackled. "Can't think of a good comeback, can you?"

 

Vance charged up his fists. "I don't need one."

 

As the air grew thick, Trunculo's voice swooped in again. "Here we are, at the last round of the quarter-finals!"

 

*************

 

"We have two powerful young men stepping up to the plate this time...the sickle-wielding scholar, Winslow Bandeaux, and the one-hit-wonder, Vance Darcouver!"

 

The VIP room was shrouded in silence as Tao tried to recover from watching Amyr's tragic death. Behind him, Nathan sobbed in a corner.

 

Why didn't he forfeit? Tao passed wrinkled hands over his bald head as his mental stress reached a new height. I watched that young man grow...we spent so many nights together discussing the universe, along with the rest of the captains. And now...he's gone.

 

Grayson's most likely returned by now. I want to go back up there...but I know that realistically, there's nothing I can do. Everything's already spiraled far beyond my control. There's nothing I can do but watch it all play out. Just like Victoria predicted...only our children can save us now.

 

Tao buried his head in his hands and wept silently. I spent my youth lamenting over the fact that I wasn’t a good fighter. My ability could only serve to help other people, and so that’s what I gravitated towards – a mentor, a spectator, someone doomed to watch it all happen from the sidelines. Was I wrong? Is there something more I could have done?

 

Trunculo's voice cut through Tao's sorrow. "I can see that both of our competitors are raring to go, so let's not keep them any longer, shall we? Vance, Winslow...get ready to duke it out!"

Next: The Fractious Fracture