Tales of a Lost Sword 7

I feel bad for spamming the new blogs column.

Episode 7 Regrets from the Past
Kunai narrows his eyes. A pair of demonic eyes stares back at him. Mira surveys the scene uncertainly. She steps forward. “Kunai, what’s going on here?”

Mira jumps out of the way as a Steely with a meso note pinned to it flies past her. It plants itself in the wall of the prison behind her. After a few seconds, the Steely explodes, revealing a hole large enough for one person to escape.

“Get out of here, now,” Kunai orders in a low growl. “Go find Ryuu and stay as close to him as possible.”

Mira’s eyes widen at the urgency in Kunai’s voice. She nods, leaving without another word while fleeing out through the hole in the wall.

Dark Kunai snickers slightly. Kunai’s eyes narrow, as he grips a Steely in his hand so tightly that his knuckles begin to grow white. “What’s so funny?

A frown flickers across Dark Kunai’s face. “Always caring about others first. That’s the thing about you that always sickened me. That’s why…YOU’RE WEAK.”

An explosion rocks the prison as Kunai flings a flurry of Steelys at Dark Kunai, a meso note attached to each one. The explosions erupt one by one, sending smoke and dust flying high into the air.

Out of the haze of debris flies Dark Kunai, launching recklessly towards Kunai. He raises his sword in the air, bringing it crashing down with a vicious stroke.

Kunai steps out of the way just in time, as Dark Kunai’s sword makes contact with the ground, forming a massive crater the size of a small pond. Kunai heaves a sigh, as he grabs another Steely from his side.

‘Just barely got out of the way in time…’

“No time to sleep walk!” Dark Kunai howls, flying straight at Kunai again.

Kunai dodges the blow again, rolling out of the way as his enemy’s sword blasts into the wall behind him, bringing it down with a resounding boom. Kunai flings two Steelys at Dark Kunai, who merely shields himself with the blade of his sword.

Dark Kunai takes several steps forward. In response, Kunai takes several steps backward. Kunai raises another Steely in his hand, preparing to defend himself against another attack.

Dark Kunai darts forward. Kunai pushes off and leaps backward to dodge the attack. However, he feels a hand grab his shoulder from behind. Kunai turns his head, with seconds enough only to widen his eyes as Dark Kunai plants a devastating blow across his shoulder.

Kunai drops to the floor immediately, crying out loud in mortal pain. Streams of blood pour forth from his shoulder wound. Dark Kunai lands as well, a disappointed look on his face.

“Tch, I missed. Meant to slice your arm right off.”

Kunai slowly stumbles back onto his feet, a look of absolute pain on his face. He grabs his shoulder with his hand on his uninjured side.

Slowly, Kunai pushes forth the effort to speak. “Why the hell are you back? What do you want from me?”

Dark Kunai narrows his eyes, a look of revulsion in them. “If you’d have stayed with me, Kunai, those Fatalists would have never stood a chance against us! Come join me again and then no one will be able to stand in our way!”

“No!” Kunai howls, his vision blurring as the pain in his shoulder intensifies. “You’ll just take over my body again. I’m better off without you.”

“You’re useless without me,” Dark Kunai hisses, pure hatred in his voice.

Kunai grits his teeth. Dark Kunai smirks. “Even you know that much,” he taunts. He closes his eyes momentarily, as if thinking about something. Suddenly, he opens them again. “IN THAT CASE I’LL FORCE YOU TO MERGE WITH ME AGAIN!”

Dark Kunai launches forward, his sword ready to kill. At that moment, multiple explosions rock the ceiling of the prison. Several large blocks of concrete and debris rain down from the sky, collapsing directly on top of Dark Kunai. Under the cover of the haze of destruction, Kunai leaps out of the way, fleeing from the scene as quickly as he can.

Once he is far enough to be safe, Kunai glances back over his shoulder at the chaotic scene behind him. He breathes a sigh of relief. “That was close. The only reason I survived that encounter was because I had the foresight to plant those meso bombs in the ceiling early in the battle. If I hadn’t…I’d be dead, or worse.”

Kunai suddenly releases his grip on his shoulder. He stares at his gloved hand, completely stained with blood. He grimaces. “I’m gonna have to figure out where Ryuu and the girl have gone, and then hopefully I can get patched…up…”

A surprised look makes its way onto Kunai’s face, as he suddenly grows dizzy. Losing his balance, he tumbles forth, falling face forward onto the ground unconscious.

Kunai opens his eyes. He stares up at the blank ceiling. After several seconds of staring silently at the ceiling, Kunai realizes that he is lying on a couch. He slowly raises his head, staring at the rather utilitarian furnishings of Ryuu’s office.

Ryuu’s voice sounds from somewhere behind. “Nice to see you’re awake. I patched up your shoulder. You took a pretty bad hit back there. You all right?”

Kunai groans, as the soreness in his shoulder becomes apparent. He sits upright, leaning his back against the couch. However, he remains silent.

Ryuu looks on worriedly. “You all right, Kunai? You seem rather quiet.”

Suddenly, Kunai’s eyes widen in a panic. He lowers his head, his breathing coming in quick, hurried gasps. Ryuu jumps to his feet, rushing over to Kunai. “Hey! What’s wrong?”

“I saw…him,” Kunai murmurs in a low voice.

Ryuu raises an eyebrow. “‘Him?’”

“My other half,” Kunai explains slowly. “The part of my soul that took over back when I learned to turn Myou into a sword… The part that Ivy destroyed.” The memory of Ivy’s Holy Arrow piercing his heart returns vividly to Kunai’s mind. He closes his eyes, clenching them tightly so that the tears don’t come out.

Ryuu narrows his eyes. He takes a seat on a wooden chair nearby. A slight frown appears on his face. “I thought she destroyed that part of your soul with the soul potion.”

“That’s what I thought too,” Kunai whispers, “but he’s back.”

Ryuu remains silent, thinking. His clear green eyes pore into Kunai, as if examining his soul. Finally, Ryuu speaks. “I see. It sounds like what happened when I split Ayame’s soul has happened in this case as well. That part of your soul was able to reconstitute itself as its own separate soul, and take shape in our world. This is bad.”

Ryuu’s eyes widen abruptly. “I see…! So that’s why Duncan called your name back then…! He must’ve had something to do with this.”

“Duncan?” Kunai says, attempting to keep his voice steady.

“Yeah,” Ryuu replies, “I found Duncan back there in their hideout. Don’t worry about it; I killed him, for sure this time. I also killed Soma Vesta. So it looks like the Anti-Hybrid League should be done for.”

“Speaking of which, what happened to Mira? Is she fine?” Kunai asks.

“Yeah,” Ryuu growls again, “she was pretty banged up, but we were able to treat her in the Academy Hospital. She’ll be fine. Her family was worried sick though.”

Ryuu sighs. “It’s hard to think about it, but…very soon people are gonna be fighting to the death again. Lives are gonna be lost. I just hope this time we can minimize the losses. But considering who the opponent is…”

“Arai,” Kunai mutters, a hopeless sense of loathing in his voice.

“Yeah.”

The two old comrades remain silent, seated there together for some time. Outside the window, several birds chirp in the vast, magical trees of Ellinia. A steady stream of sunshine pours into the room from the window. Some of it falls onto Kunai’s knees, warming his lap.

“Ryuu.”

“What?”

“What…what’s next?”

Ryuu stares at Kunai with those mysterious green eyes of his. “Well, before we got interrupted with the whole quest to save one of my students—which I apologize for—you were telling me about the Anti-Paradox.”

“Yeah,” Kunai says dully. “I’ve been looking for it, but I haven’t had any luck whatsoever.”

“The Anti-Paradox…” Ryuu says in the lowest of voices. “As far as we know, it only exists in theory. But it is rumored to be a power that is exactly what it sounds like…the reverse of a Paradox. In other words, it is something that is capable of fusing shattered souls back together. If we had something like that, hybrid seals would be completely needless.”

Kunai clenches his fists, as they begin to shake. “If we had something like that, I’d be able to—”

“Stop,” Ryuu interrupts rapidly. “I know what you were about to say. Forget it, Kunai. It would be impossible. Their souls were shattered so long ago that there is no way you could gather all the fragments and piece them back together. They are gone.”

Kunai hangs his head, his eyes growing dark. Ryuu sighs, shaking his head. “No…the real reason why I’m interested in them is because of something else.” Ryuu shifts in his seat, as if preparing to say something important. “I have a theory, Kunai.”

Kunai looks up questioningly. Ryuu continues. “My theory goes like this. If the Anti-Paradox exists, then it can fuse a soul that was shattered. Empirically, that would mean someone who has multiple pupils would return to having only one. Basically, the soul that was broken will become whole again. We’ve already learned that when you shatter a soul, you can start all over with a new class by using that separate soul process. Separate soul processes can be linked by hybrid seals. That is the limit of power one can gain from splitting their soul. Hybrid seals are helpful for bridging the gap, but they are weak, because they only connect split parts of the soul, not make the soul whole again. But what if such a thing as the Anti-Paradox exists? If there were such a thing as an Anti-Paradox, then we’d be able to fuse those separate pieces of the soul back into one, without the need for hybrid seals…”

“Your point, Ryuu?” Kunai asks.

Ryuu narrows his eyes. “This is my theory. The Fatalists do not have split souls. Yet they are capable of using moves that transcend the classes. Take that Fatalist Recelo, for example. He can throw Doombringers like throwing stars. Therefore…according to my thinking, by using the Anti-Paradox, you can become a Fatalist.”

Kunai’s eyes widen upon hearing the suggestion. He sits still for several moments, contemplating this revelation. His attention jerks back to Ryuu as he begins speaking again.

“Kunai…what I want you to do is find your dark clone, the one that you thought was destroyed, and defeat him. And then I want you to use the Anti-Paradox to merge with him again. I want you to regain control of your sword.”

“There’s no way that can be done…” Kunai says, his voice shaking.

“It can be done,” Ryuu insists, “you just have to get over your fear of him. If you defeat him, then you’ll gain control over him. We need those powers of yours, the powers that Azuma helped you unlock, the powers you have only because Lord Kimura made you a weapon that no one else can match. It is the only way we’ll defeat the Fatalists.”

Kunai swallows, thinking hard about the situation.

Ryuu suddenly stands up, striding over to the window of his office. He stares outside at the brightly lit day. “Think of two or three people you can trust, Kunai. I’m sending you on a mission. You have to find the Anti-Paradox before the Fatalists…before Arai returns.”

“The only one I can think of is you, Ryuu.”

Ryuu shakes his head. “No good. Normally I’d come with you on such an important mission, Kunai, but I have to stay behind and make sure the Academy is okay.”

Kunai sighs, thinking hard. “Well then…I suppose the others that we journeyed with four, almost five years ago…perhaps I can call on some of them. I can ask Rill, perhaps—”

“No good, either,” Ryuu interjects, “I’ve sent Rill on an important mission.”

“‘Important mission?’” Kunai repeats.

“Yeah,” Ryuu nods mysteriously. He sighs as well. “All right. I’ll pull some strings and see who I can get in touch with. The important thing is, Kunai, we’ve got to find this Anti-Paradox before the Fatalists come back.”

“Right,” Kunai nods, determination returning into his black eyes.

The clear blue summer sky stretches brightly across the horizon. Only a few spots of puffy white clouds dot the bright blue sky. The grand castle overlooking the town of Henesys sits high on a rocky cliff far above the fertile valley below. A slight wind blows through the upper reaches of the cliff, where a huddle of people is gathered on a large, rocky outcropping directly overhead the valley below.

A mage with bright blue hair and shocking yellow eyes leads the procession of masked individuals gathered on the hilltop. He is the only individual that is unmasked in the group. However, like the rest, he is clothed in a dark black robe. His companions each bear a mask in the shape of a pearly white skull over their faces.

Arai strides straight up to one such individual, standing alone by himself at the very edge of the cliff. His Fatalist companions are lined up in two straight lines, one on each side of the cliff. The sole individual standing at the edge of the cliff is masked as well; tufts of dark black hair poke out from behind the mask. He stands facing away from the group, his blank mask pointed towards the city below.

Arai comes to a halt just behind this individual. He narrows his eyes, a slight smile about his lips. The wind blows by again, ruffling his blue hair. “Turn and face thine new comrades.”

The Fatalist turns, facing the others gathered before him. He remains silent, standing still as the wind continues to howl through the outcropping of rock.

Arai’s voice rings out once more. “Now remove thine mask, and reveal thy face to thine comrades, Fatalist Number 777…Rill!”

The newly-anointed Fatalist places a gloved hand on his deathly white mask and removes it, revealing the face of the Hermit Rill.