Lucifers I

by BobTam

  ‘One day, he came before me. Unlike before, his eyes were not so humble and lovely. He speaks to me, “Why you are always my Master and I can only be your servant? I no longer want to serve you. I want to get away from this place and do the things that I want to do.” I told him to consider carefully first. He continued to challenge me, “Even you created me, I still have the right to make my own decision and you cannot stop me.” I let him go.’

  ‘Days had passed and he did not return. Then, gradually, we found that some people in the Finaland were missing. Some messengers also reported that they witnessed him hiding in the Finaland. Then, I knew what he was doing – to encourage people following his path. At first, he was quite successful as quite a lot of people followed him to leave this place. Then, as time went by, he was less successful. Most of the people who followed him returned. He grew lonely, abandoned and frustrated.’

  ‘As a brilliant messenger, he possessed great power. But as he had left me, he could no longer receive my guidance. As a result, he could not handle his frustration, his failure. He became more aggressive and even more arrogant. Without my guidance, darkness and disbelief clouded him. These evilness and darkness even started altering his appearance. At day, with brightness and light, he can still maintain his beauty. At night, when light fades out and darkness shrouds the land, evilness in him starts to rise. His teeth grow sharp and long; his eyes turn into bloody red; black spiky feathers grow on his pure skin. This is the punishment for his arrogance and rebelliousness,’ the Master says seriously.

  The Master increases his volume and speaks solemnly, ‘This tragic fallen messenger is called Lucifer. He is right at here, holding you tightly, Nakashi!’

  The sun has already fallen behind the mountain ridges. Brightness has gradually faded away. The Master turns to the boy and says, ‘Lucifer! Let this innocent girl witnesses your true identity!’

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

  Chapter 16

  Leon is shocked and shouts, ‘Catala!’

  The bullet hits Catala’s thigh. She does not collapse instantly. Instead, the pain forces her to bend down her knees and falls on the ground slowly. Panzhi takes this chance to get up and escape back among the soldiers.

  Leon runs towards her immediately. ‘I’m fine. I won’t die that easily. Protect yourself and Nakashi first. Those bastards! Kill them!’ Catala speaks painfully.

  ‘Surrender now. You have no way to run. We do not want to harm you. If you surrender now, you can still receive medical help immediately and you will be saved,’ one of the soldiers says.

  ‘Leon, Catala, we really don’t want to harm you. We are here to save you. Please, for your own sake, stop fighting. There’s no another way,’ Panzhi says sincerely.

  Catala hisses furiously. She neglects her pain and forces herself to stand up slowly. Anger increases the flow of her blood and intensifies her bleeding. She holds up her sword once again.

  Leon has also lost his rationality. He roars uncontrollably, ‘She was not trying to kill you! Why did you shoot? Bastard!’ Then, he charges towards the soldiers.

  Panzhi tells the soldiers to hold their fire once again. He draws out his sword and stands in front of them.

  ‘Get’s off from my way, or I will kill you!’ Leon roars.

  ‘Stop, Leon! Don’t force me to fight you!’ Panzhi cries.

  ‘If you’re not with me, then you’re my enemy!’ Leon shouts and strikes at Panzhi. The swords clash. The sound of it thunder around the forest; birds are scared to fly away. Leon attacks ferociously. Striking, slashing and stabbing take place unstoppably. Each attack is much more threatening than the previous one such that Panzhi can hardly breathe.

  Seeing Panzhi is under such a great threat, the soldiers have no choice but to fire. Bullets and laser bolts dart towards Leon. He immediately deflects all of them expertly. These bullets further angers Leon; he changes his target from Panzhi to the soldiers. He roars and charges towards them at a dazzling speed. Seeing the bullets cannot even have a single scratch on Leon, the soldiers are petrified and start to run away. But their speed is hardly comparable to Leon’s.

  Seeing the soldiers will soon become the victims of Leon, Panzhi immediately darts towards Leon to attack him in order to keep him occupied. Leon evades this sudden attack skillfully by performing a backward somersault. Panzhi continues to attack but Leon evades all of them skillfully by practicing various acrobatic moves. Then, Leon jumps high in air and strikes forcefully towards Panzhi to grab back the attacking position; the intense duel starts once again.

  While the two boys are fighting intensely and the soldiers are retreating in panic. Catala walks towards Nakashi slowly and painfully. She pulls up her body, which is still cold and fragile. ‘Yes, I do not like this girl and it may not be my fault. But she is always one of the very few people that I trust.’ Catala thinks to herself. She puts her arms on her shoulder and tries her best to carry her to a safe place.

  Panzhi leaps on a thick branch swiftly to escape from Leon unstopped striking. But to his surprise, Leon does not give up. Leon practices another elegant somersault to jump up on the branch; he then continues to slash madly towards Panzhi.

  Panzhi wants to end this duel. He leaps and lands on a thinner branch which is at the upper part of the tree skillfully and steadily. He then leaps once again and cuts the branch that he was just standing on at the same moment. He lands perfectly on a much thinner branch which is nearly at the top of the tree. As Panzhi has cut off the second branch that he was standing, Leon has no way to get on the branch that Panzhi is now standing on.

  ‘Leon, I know you hate me now. I know you will not go with me. But for our own sake, let’s stop fighting. Go and help Catala and Nakashi now. I don’t want to fight anymore,’ Panzhi shouts from the top.

  ‘I don’t need you to lecture me!’ Leon shouts. Then, he throws his sword towards Panzhi; the sword cuts the branch that Panzhi is standing on and drops back to Leon’s hands. Panzhi falls; he tries his best to hold the remaining part of the branch; but then, after a few seconds of struggling, he slips and falls on the ground.

  Lucifer roars suddenly; it is a painful and long roar. He is struggling painfully and giving various kinds of strange screams. ‘Why struggle? This is your true identity; you cannot hide it,’ the Master says calmly.

  Nakashi can feel cold sweat is flowing all over Lucifer’s body and he is shaking intensively. Then, just as what the Master described, black spiky feathers are rising slowly from Lucifer’s body. He is still making all those excruciating screams.

  ‘Stop that! You’re tormenting him!’ Nakashi shouts.

  The Master looks at Nakashi calmly and says, ‘I’m not tormenting him. I have done nothing. This is just the nature of him or the consequences that he has to bear. Without my guidance, arrogance and rebelliousness is deteriorating him. He is not following my plan to him, so tragically I cannot help him.’

  Lucifer screams once again. Those spiky black feathers are so sharp that it is now difficult for Nakashi to hold him. But Nakashi does not want to abandon him.

  ‘Young lady, if you follow him and detach from my guidance, arrogance and rebelliousness will also rot you.’

  Nakashi ignores the Master and looks at Lucifer, whose body is now completely covered by black feathers. His eyes are bloody red and his teeth also turn sharp. ‘Lucifer! You can control yourself! Don’t be controlled! Stop it!’ Nakashi cries desperately.

  ‘Now you have witnessed how horrible this kind of rebelliousness is, young lady. Will you still follow him?’ the Master says.

  ‘No! You’re the one who is horrible! You want to control everything, every soul! You cannot accept someone who makes his own path! You denounce all souls who make their own path!’ Nakashi shouts angrily and aggressively.

  ‘I guide your path because I do not want to see any souls fall. I love all of you,’ the Master says.

  ‘Even you
love us, we still have our own right to choose. Detaching from your guidance and following my own path does not mean evil. All souls have the ability to make their own righteousness and bright paths, including humans, and including messengers.’

  Just after Nakashi has finished the sentence, Lucifer is suddenly stunned. He stops screaming and his body becomes still. ‘Yes, I have my own ability…’ he whispers to himself.

  ‘Yes, Lucifer, don’t be frustrated, don’t be panic. Darkness and evilness is not your nature, but freedom and independence. Freedom does not mean lost; independence does not mean failure,’ Nakashi says.

  The reddish blood in his eyes starts to fade; his teeth become blunt and bright; the dark spikes are disappearing gradually. He becomes still and silent; his body is cold and fragile. All Nakashi can hear from him is his slow and weak grasping noises.

  ‘So, a strong mind girl. The world is complicated; life is difficult; it is rare to have this kind of person in these days. Lucifer, you are so lucky to have this girl still supporting you,’ the Master says. ‘But is your mind really so strong? So strong that you can face the world by yourself? So strong that you can make the right decisions without my guidance? And so strong that you would not fear my power? I will let you witness all of the answers!’ the Master says.

  Panzhi tries to stand up; his shoulders and left arm are hurt; he is kneeling there, holding his wound arm painfully. Leon walks towards Panzhi and holds his sword firmly.

  ‘Please, my Sou, protect me!’ Panzhi says to himself as Leon is walking towards him. He points his sword towards Panzhi closely and says, ‘Both Catala and I have the chance to end your life easily today.’ Panzhi closes his eyes; cold sweat is flowing from his neck. ‘Please, my Sou,’ he is still whispering. Leon says, ‘Pathetic, you’re still praying to him.’

  ‘I won’t kill you, even though all of you describe me as a heretic or a demon. But I do not want to see you in the rest of my life until you give up sealing your heart to the truth!’ Leon says clearly. He withdraws his sword but maintain his stare towards Panzhi.

  Panzhi slowly stands up. ‘I can see there’s good in you. You are always a good person…; he says softly but strongly.

  Leon ignores him and walks away immediately. ‘I won’t give up!’ Panzhi shouts from his back. Leon tries his very best to eliminate Panzhi’s voice in his head and forces his legs to move faster.

  Leon has found Catala and Nakashi after a few minutes. ‘Sorry, I have let them go,’ Leon says softly. Catala is sitting right beside Nakashi’s body. Lines of blood are stained on her pale skin of her leg. ‘You have to stop the bleeding! You’ll die if you don’t!’ Leon says concernedly after he has discovered the serious bleeding.

  ‘Take it easy. I bet you have never really fought before, naive boy. A wound at the leg is just like a mosquito bite to me. I’ve already taken the bullet out,’ Catala says. ‘You should really care about her first. She still has not had a single move.’

  Leon walks towards Nakashi and kneels down before her. He touches her forehead, which is now burning; he touches her hands, which are as cold as ice; he feels her breath, which is rapid but fragile. ‘Come on! Wake up please, Nakashi!’ Leon whispers desperately. He shakes her body and cries again, ‘Don’t die! We need you!’

  ‘There’s no use. Give her some time. I somehow think that she is struggling hard now and she is going to make it,’ Catala says.

  ‘Struggling hard?’ Leon asks curiously.

  ‘Yes, she is trapped by something, her own fear towards the world,’ Catala answers simply.

  *********************************************************************Chapter 17

  Nakashi is still holding Lucifer, who still has not fully regained his consciousness, tightly. The dark sky suddenly turns bright in just a few seconds. Different kinds of disturbing noises start to flash into Nakashi’s ears.

  ‘Look down below; this is the world that you will have to face if you leave here,’ the Master speaks to her.

  Nakashi looks down. ‘What a chaotic scene!’ she thinks to herself. Dozens of battleships and hundreds of fighters are hovering and chasing each others. Laser bolts, cannon balls are dashing everywhere; hit planes with fire, fragments and corpses are falling.

  Nakashi grasps. ‘Yes, this will be the world. You should have a closer look before you go.’ The chaotic scene of the battle disappears. Nakashi finds herself is standing on the ground. Nakashi looks down and is shocked. What she is standing on is not a normal ground, but corpses.

  There are hundreds of thousands of dead bodies. They are piling up and Nakashi cannot see the end of this sea of corpses. At her left, Nakashi can see some people are walking or crawling on the sea of corpses. They are weak and slow. Just like the dead bodies, they wear broken and shabby clothes. Some of them are moving slower and slower; they are lying down slowly and finally become still.

  Screaming and shouting noises are coming from the right. Nakashi turns towards that direction to see what is happening. Dozens of people are holding swords, spears or knives and fighting each others. Some of them yell painfully and collapse slowly; they then become a part of the sea of corpses. One of the people from that crowd is fighting exceptionally ferocious. She slashes madly towards people at all directions.

  Nakashi takes a closer look and is shocked. Catala, she is. She roars and she keeps on slashing madly. ‘Stop!’ Nakashi yells. But the noise can hardly reach Catala’s ears. Then, there’s another long and painful scream; it is from Catala. A spear spikes her from the back and passes through her body. Nakashi no longer wants to see all of these. She closes her eyes tightly.

  ‘Why are you closing your eyes? If you have to leave the Finaland, you will have to face all of these,’ the Master says. ‘Sickness, aging, hatred, conflicts and finally death – these are what all people have to face in the world. But you do not need to face them if you stay here, Nakashi,’ the Master continues.

  Nakashi wants to eliminate the Master’s voice in her head; she wants to erase the images that she has just watched. Her mind is still very disturbed.

  “Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know,

  The piper's calling you to join him,

  Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know

  Your stairway lies on the whispering wind.”

  ‘Nakashi, be strong. Do not give up. You’re going to make it,’ a voice is whispering to her right beside her ear. It is Lucifer. He has regained his consciousness and rationality. ‘He will keep on creating these images to fear you. Just clear your mind and be strong,’ Lucifer says.

  Catala has already stopped the bleeding. She is resting quietly by sitting under the shadow of a tall tree.

  ‘Everything happens just too fast,’ Leon cuts the silence. ‘I was just taking a plane to have a normal trip with Nakashi and Panzhi.’

  ‘And now…’ Leon murmurs. Then, he cannot hold back his tears anymore. ‘They all leave me…’ Leon says emotionally, ‘all at once suddenly!’

  Catala looks at him; she feels strange. She hates people crying; she has never cried throughout all the years; she thinks that crying represents weak people and she hates weak people. However, for the first time throughout the years, she feels sympathetic towards a crying person.

  She tries to suppress this kind of unusual sympathy. ‘What are you talking about? You choose all of these by yourself!’ Catala says unfeelingly.

  Leon is not angered by Catala’s lack of sympathy. He knows that Catala herself is also a person being hurt so much by misfortune and loneliness. He stops his tears and asks slowly, ‘Catala, do you feel lonely during all these years?’

  ‘What question is this? Of course not.’ Catala says unconcernedly and impatiently.

  ‘So how can you withstand all the years of loneliness?’

  ‘I do not need to rely on anyone. Only a strong person can do that,’ Catala answers simply.

  Leon continues to ask Catala qu
estions. Slowly, Catala starts to be willing to share about her past. She talks about how and why her parents died, what she did afterward and where had she been. Nevertheless, she does not say a word about how poor, lonely and unfortunate she is. It seems that she does not have any sorrow and sadness but only arrogance and hatred.

  Night approaches. They have ended their conversation. After taking care of Nakashi, both of them lie down and rest. Catala has soon fallen asleep. Yet, Leon’s eyes are still widely opened. Memories, scenes and words are flashing in his mind unstoppably.

  Then, he thinks about different people. He wonders about Nakashi. Will she wake up? What will she do if she does? He thinks about Panzhi. What will he do towards him? Finally, he thinks about Catala. What kind of person is she?

  ‘Mama…Papa…Mama…’ It is Catala who is whispering. She is speaking in her dream. Leon now understands. Indeed, nobody can live without love. Catala, who tries to act strong and independent for so many years, is just like him, being weak and fragile inside the heart. Indeed, all people need love and mental support from others.

  ‘You have witnessed the cruelty and deformity of the world where people live. Still, some souls decide to reject my guidance and live in this world. I will now show you what happens to these souls after death,’ the Master says.