Episode 64 Beginning Anew
After escaping through the hole in the wall created by Fayvard, Kunai and Fayvard find themselves standing upon the edge of the massive hill on which the Fatalists’ castle stands. A steep, rocky downhill slope greets them.
“Nowhere to go but down, I guess!” Fayvard shouts. Taking care to cradle the Anti-Paradox in his hands, he cautiously takes one step forward, before sliding down the slope at top speed. A trail of dust rises into the air as he goes along.
With a deep breath, Kunai follows after Fayvard. He shoots down the hill, sliding down at full speed, taking care to change directions to avoid the occasional outcropping of rock in front of his path.
Once more under the canopy of evergreens, Kunai and Fayvard meet up again with Cynthia, Zack, Rill, Silver and Wake just at the very foot of the hill upon which the Fatalists’ castle stands. The five escapees breathlessly join Kunai and Fayvard under a tree, clearly out of breath.
“I think we should be safe here,” Cynthia pants, her breathing ragged. Blood still drips down her arm from her wound. Zack walks over silently and takes her arm, inspecting her wound. He slowly bathes her in a soothing bath of green light, healing the wound.
“Yeah,” Fayvard replies, sitting down on the surface of a particularly large rock. He folds his arms. “Now we’ve gotta figure out what to do next.”
“Say, Fayvard…” Kunai says, his voice barely above a whisper. “How can you speak so calmly after killing someone? After killing Ryuu?!” As he speaks, Kunai’s voice grows angrier and angrier, the rage clearly building up in his intonations.
“K-Kunai…” whispers Cynthia, watching him worriedly.
“Hm?” Fayvard mutters, not bothering to even glance at Kunai. “I can’t hear you. Do you have a problem with my strategic choices?!”
“Yeah, I do!” Kunai roars suddenly, reaching for his sword and taking a swing at Fayvard again.
At the last moment, Zack steps in between the two and deflects Kunai’s attack with his staff. However, Fayvard has barely flinched from the attack. “Oi, come on, stop this!” Zack cries, using his arms to shield Kunai from lashing out at Fayvard.
“Murderer!” Kunai howls.
“Why, you little bastard…!” Fayvard shouts, stepping forward threateningly before Wake grabs him from behind, desperately restraining him.
“Thanks to you…thanks to you, Ryuu’s back there in the castle, lying in his own blood! He’s dead because of you!” Kunai howls, not holding anything back.
“Do you honestly think I have no regrets either?!” Fayvard roars back. “Ryuu was just as much my friend as well! But we had no choice back there! Would you rather have let them kill everyone else?!”
“We did have a choice!” Kunai cries. “You should’ve let them kill you first before killing Ryuu!”
“Then everybody would be dead if that had happened!” retorts Fayvard.
“Enough, enough!” Zack says, separating Kunai and Fayvard.
Fayvard sighs. He stares at the necklace in his hand, raising to the sun to make a closer inspection of it. “Tch…we sure went through hell just to get this little thing. And to think we weren’t even gunning for it. But this is what we end up with…”
“So much happened back there…” Silver mutters. “We learned so much, and yet…it still seems like we don’t understand anything about the Fatalists at all.” Next to her, Rill remains conspicuously quiet.
“Yeah, about the Anti-Phonemes…” Fayvard mutters, turning his gaze towards Cynthia. She stares back, suddenly irrationally fearful as she steps away from him.
“Are you gonna kill her as well just to get the Sheath?” Kunai interrupts acidly.
“Hmph,” Fayvard smiles, but says no more.
“At any rate,” Wake says, “we should probably figure out what we’re going to do next.”
“It’s obvious by now, isn’t it?” Fayvard replies. “We’ve gotta finish off our mission. We have to kill Arai. That’s the only way we’ll end this war.”
“Which means we have to find another way to get to him…” Silver mutters thoughtfully. “Sneaking in didn’t work.”
“Yeah,” agrees Fayvard. “We’ll figure out another way to reach him. In the meantime, I’ll be taking over as the leader. You guys will have to follow m—”
Kunai laughs suddenly, a hollow bark. “Follow you?” he croaks. “There is no way I can possibly trust you now, not after you’ve dirtied your hands with Ryuu’s blood!”
“Bastard,” Fayvard growls, “did you not listen to Ryuu? He said that if anything were to happen to him, I’d be the leader! It’s enough that Ryuu himself trusted me!”
“Is that it, then?!” Kunai cries, his voice rising again. “You killed Ryuu just so you could take over?!”
“What did you just say?! You know that ain’t true!” Fayvard howls, throwing a punch at Kunai. He misses as the latter steps out of the way.
“You can be the leader all you want, Fayvard,” Kunai fumes, “but there is no way I will follow you. In that case I will forge my own path without you.”
Turning to the others, Kunai raises his hands. “Now, everyone, who are you going to follow? Me or Fayvard?”
“Idiot!” scolds Fayvard. “You’re just going to split up our group this way. We have to work together if we’re gonna get this done, just like Ryuu said!”
“I’m with you, Kunai!” Cynthia says suddenly, joining Kunai’s side. She turns to Fayvard, bowing her head low. “I’m sorry, but I cannot follow someone who thinks the way you do, Fayvard…”
“I’m with ya too, Kunai,” Zack chips in.
Fayvard frowns, staring as both Cynthia and Zack join Kunai’s side. He turns to the others. “What about you guys, then?” he asks in a slightly resigned voice.
“I’m sorry Kunai,” Silver says, speaking directly to Kunai. “But Ryuu designated Fayvard as the second in command. As such, it is my responsibility to follow him. The Rift Army will as well, of course.”
“If Silver’s joining Fayvard, then that’s where I’m going too,” Wake says. “As her First General, it is my duty.”
“What about you?” Fayvard asks, turning to Rill, who has remained strangely silent throughout the entire conversation.
Rill looks away from Kunai, avoiding his eyes. “I guess I’m joining you, Fayvard.”
“All right,” Fayvard grins, “it’s four to three. Are you guys gonna come back now, or—” A cry of surprise escapes Fayvard’s lips as he sees Kunai, Cynthia, and Zack walking away from him. “Hey! Where do you think you’re going?!”
“It’s been decided, then,” Kunai replies. “Each of our groups will go our separate ways. I refuse to work with you again, Fayvard. We will each attempt to defeat Arai using our own methods, but we will not work together again. I’ll figure out how to defeat the Fatalists in a way separate from your methods, Fayvard. Sayonara.”
Fayvard watches Kunai depart silently. He turns to Rill, Silver and Wake, his eyes deadened but resolute. He sighs, looking up at the palatial complex on the mountaintop above him. “We may have split up, but our goals remain the same. What method are we going to use to defeat the Fatalists?”
Kunai, Cynthia, and Zack drift slowly through the forest of trees around them, their footsteps crunching softly on the grass and leaves below them. Zack clears his throat.
“So how’re we gonna defeat these Fatalists, then, Kunai? The Sheath? Arai said that was t’only way for us to have a chance against his Sword of Nexon.”
“No,” Kunai says firmly. He turns around, facing Cynthia and Zack. Looking into Cynthia’s eyes in particular, Kunai speaks again, his voice steady.
“I will not follow in the steps of Arai. I’m not going to sacrifice you three in order to achieve my aims. I’ll find another way to defeat the Fatalists.”
—END SIXTY-FOUR—
Divided by the loss of their leader, the group now splits up! This chapter essentially concludes the first part of the Fatalist arc.