by Adam Lynch
“We are your protectors.”
“Protecting me from what?”
“From the Hypnotist you have been seeking.”
He scoffed, taking another look around the room. There was nowhere he could go. Was this not their intention? “What will you do with me?” he asked, facing the man again. “You’ve separated me from my mental inhibitor and trapped me inside your mind. I’d receive no better fortune fighting you here than in my dream.”
“Kelanassa Kaliete can offer you mental protection—but not from the Hypnotist you have been seeking.”
“Why should I believe what you have to say?”
“You must. We are the ones who reveal to you the truth.”
“And what is the truth?”
“That we are not the enemy. We have come to warn you.”
Ashkii scoffed again, but out of curiosity he humored him. “About what?”
“About the Hypnotist close by your hand.”
“Even if this was news to me, why have you waited until now to tell me?”
“We will explain ourselves, but you must first listen without making inquiry. For time is of the essence. We have tried to communicate with you many times—since the moment we have uncovered the Hypnotist’s identity. However, we could not do this because the Hypnotist close by your hand has hindered us from being seen or heard by you in your world. Like the Hypnotist, we possess hypnotic powers which we have been using to battle its illusions. However, we have been unsuccessful in overriding its hypnotic prowess because it is much stronger than we are. And so, we have been following you throughout your journey, waiting for an opportunity to break into the Hypnotist’s hypnotic world and communicate with you. Now understand: at every instance you’ve seen one of my children, those were instances when we were able to break through the Hypnotist’s hypnotic marble and uncover truth about its identity. In the tavern, we tried uncovering Rolf’s memory of the Hypnotist for you—of what he saw when the Hypnotist captured him. In the Dungeon, we sealed your attention long enough to witness the blackout before the Hypnotist had put you to sleep. In Oztior’s chamber, we tried keeping Oztior alive long enough to tell you what he saw—before the Hypnotist fogged his mind and he died. In the incident with the White Shuck, we summoned it to protect you; Then we dashed into the woods to lure you away from the Hypnotist close by your side, who by then grew stronger at keeping us hidden from you. Finally, in Summeria, we tried fooling the Hypnotist close by your side by disguising as a son of the Summerian locals. But the second we revealed our identity to you, the Hypnotist banished our presence from the world it had trapped you inside.”
When he had no more to say, Ashkii thought over it a moment. It was a lot to take in. But was it something that he should take in? Were they trustworthy? Was their story true?
To make his decision, he decided to humor them until the end. “Why would you go through all the trouble of this? If you infiltrated the Hypnotist’s marble that you say I was trapped inside, why didn’t you explain to me what you’re explaining now? And if you wanted to warn us, why did you run away and make it impossible for me to catch up with you?”
“Even after we’ve infiltrated the Hypnotist’s world that you were trapped in, we were unable to speak. The Hypnotist was smart and powerful enough to have gained the ability to mute every infiltrator. By this, all infiltrators would appear as mere hallucinations, quickly cast out of sight once the Hypnotist had noticed their presence. In discovering this, we knew that the only way we could communicate with you was to lure you away from the Hypnotist close by your side, by having you chase us until you had separated from it and its hypnotic marble. Once you had escaped it, we’d then ensnare you into our hypnotic marble to hide you, so we could then tell you everything as we’re doing now. But time is short. It will not be long before it finds you again, snatching you away from us. It is more powerful than we are.”
It all sounded very convincing in Ashkii’s head—mind blowing actually. If this was all true, then it would make sense of everything—of their part in this play. But was it true? They could be formulating a lie. That would all depend on who they were and what they’re after. So who were they? And why were they protecting him? These were his next questions to them.
“Our time with you is short. The Hypnotist is nearing,” he emphasized. “We cannot explain such things now. But you must know the Hypnotist’s identity.”
Ashkii’s eyebrows sprang, his eyes intensely focused. “Fine. Then who is it that you say it is?”
“Kelanassa Kaliete.”
He stared blankly a moment, unable to process. Without realizing it, his face had turned pale. Was he surprised? Did that mean that he had actually believed them?
But it didn’t make sense. It made no sense at all. Kelanassa couldn’t be the Hypnotist. She was his shield against it. She was immune to illusions. Ashkii had seen it many times in demonstration. Also, Kelanassa had helped him uncover clues about the Hypnotist on numerous occasions. In fact, most of his best theories came from her council. What these so-called protectors were claiming here was complete utter nonsense. False lies.
In hearing this, Ashkii was clear of their motives now. They were manipulating him to kill her. They were manipulating him to remove his shield so he’d be vulnerable.
But wait… was he not vulnerable now? Could they not just kill him now?
It didn’t matter. She wasn’t the Hypnotist. It made no sense for her to be.
“An absurd accusation,” he finally answered. “The Hypnotist has killed four champions in four different regions simultaneously. How could a single woman have done that? No. The Hypnotist would need to have authority, influence, and power. It would need to be a collective. A cult...” He paused, looking around the room. “Like the individuals present here.”
“Do not let your cognition leave you. Search your mind. You’ll know that what we’ve said is true. You’ve been inside her hypnotic world all this time, a slave to whatever she lets you perceive. She controls all your senses and guides your thoughts. The story with the immunity of illusions was formulated to deceive you. Have you ever heard of such a power? Has anyone? It doesn’t exist. She relied on that so you’d have no choice but to rely on her—which is exactly what she wanted. She used you. We don’t know what for, but she used you and will continue to use you until she no longer has any use for you. Would this be so hard to believe? Are you not the legendary Spirit Gatherer? The sole wielder of the Spirit Bow?”
“And what exempts your kind from these claims made?”
“What we have spoken was the truth. Now, hear us and understand this, Spirit Gatherer. Our time with you is almost up. Kelanassa is on the hunt for you and it won’t be long before she shatters communication. Listen carefully. When our realm is disturbed, you will have grasped reality for a moment before she ensnares you again. With this moment in hand, you must kill her. Such an opportunity will not arise again. The instance you see her, you must eliminate her without question, without hesitation. Do not delay. If you do, you will resume as her puppet until she’s finished with you. We were fortunate to have gained this time with you, but understand, she will not allow it to happen again. Let not your only opportunity flee from your grasp. You must destroy her immediately. The Spirit Bow will get the job done.”
When he finished speaking, Ashkii found himself speechless, overcome with confusion. Suddenly, he noticed blood dripping from the ceiling—a larger quantity than before and continually escalating. The tall being in front of him held a strict fixation, his body quickly drenched in the blood spilled. Ashkii looked around him. The blood began pouring like a river, staining the white room and all its inhabitants. An explosion sounded from behind him. Ashkii spun his attention there. Half of the children were caught on fire, but not one of them flinched an inch—their eyes bright in the raging flames. Suddenly, a larger explosion sounded from where the tall being was standing. Ashkii aimed his attention there and saw nearly all the children caught on fire.
The tall being held a strict glare—his eyes brightest of all the children.
“Kill her, Spirit Gatherer,” he asserted, his eyes peeled at their peak. “Kill her quickly.”
Once he said this, parts of the ground where he stood lit up like a bursting volcano, Ashkii staggered off balance. Sweat poured over his body like his skin was melting. He fled from the burst, escaping the wrath of its hellish flames. Then behind him he heard the sound of a crashing wave, like a river bursting out of a shattered damn. He spun his head in that direction. Blood swept their bodies from beneath their feet, carrying them off the balcony like a bloodfall. Before Ashkii had time to react, he was swept away with them. There was nothing he could do. He was shoved out of the room over the edge of the balcony. The one thing he could do—scream and brace for death—he did. His body hurdled over the balcony to the pit of the unknown. He wrapped himself as tightly as he could, thinking back at all his greatest fears that he couldn’t even remember—the trauma of his past, the indecisiveness of his life, and the horrifying unknown that’s to come of his future. He let out the biggest cry that he’d ever shouted in his life—falling and landing onto the wooden floors of a large room…
Everything came to a hush that instant—nothing but the sound of his shivering and hyperventilating. Seconds after experiencing extreme panic, he came to the realization that he was still alive. He composed himself, slowly returning to rationalization. Then, he opened his eyes. Around, he saw household members in the far corners staring at him. He looked at the ceiling. He saw wooden frames and lighting sources. Then he observed the room in its entirety. He was in the middle of a large room of staring household members. He looked at himself. He was not covered in blood. Nobody was set on fire. Everything was fine. Everything was normal. He didn’t even remember the horrifying thoughts he had thought up before he assumed his death. He removed himself off the ground, standing slowly. Nobody made a sound in the room, eyeing him like he was a madman. It’d seemed that Ashkii had stumbled and fell to the floor—after suffering an insanely intense trance…
The entire thing… it was all an illusion. Ashkii couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t a dream. It was real but it wasn’t—yet it felt so much like it. He saw and felt the flames. He heard the explosions. He smelled and tasted the blood. Yet… none of it was real...
That… was the power of hypnosis.
“Ashkii!” A familiar voice called his name, sprinting towards him. The tears in his eyes blinded him, forcing himself to wipe them to see her. After he did this, he still couldn’t see. It wasn’t his tears blinding him—it was her eyes. They gleamed as bright as the sun. But after a few seconds, they dimmed, appearing now as two refulgent lights. Then suddenly, all the memories of before rushed in like a flood. Kelanassa. He remembered what they had said. “There you are!” she exclaimed. “Where have you gone? I thought you were right beside me?”
Ashkii gave no reply, turning from her to the queen standing a distance beyond her—she was now dressed in more casual apparel. Taa stood beside her, her look of astonishment the same as the others. Then he faced Kelanassa, pondering over everything the—whoever they were— had told him. He remembered that he didn’t have much time to decide—a moment to be exact.
But he couldn’t act hastily. Killing her now would prove that he had trusted everything that they had told him. Killing her now would mean that he had trusted them… more than her…
But who were they? What did they want? He couldn’t attain these answers. Would he ever attain them? Not if what they said was true and he didn’t kill Kelanassa…
It was madness—the very thought of it. The thought of actually going through with it. Trusting her, then hearing what they had to say; then becoming convinced to strike her dead the moment he saw her again? It was madness. Nonsensical madness. The whole thing felt very wrong.
He knew Kelanassa. She was not the enemy. She couldn’t be. It wouldn’t make sense for her to be. He knew he could trust her.
But could he? Thinking on it now, what had he known about her? What had he asked? He’d never given her much attention, even when she’d tried conversing with him. He’d distanced himself from her, because that was what he did with people. It was only those whom he had suspected that he had investigated deeply. But now that his attention was on her, he didn’t have time to investigate her. He had to decide a verdict off a whim.
But to kill her based off the words of a disturbing cult that he knew nothing about? Was this the only evidence he had of her being the Hypnotist?
This was everything he knew about her: She was an entertainer—a dancer and an actor. She was a huntress, skilled in fighting with a bow and a knife. She possessed valuable treasures—the Bow and Knife of Embers. She was familiar with witchcraft. She was immune to illusions and hypnosis. She could infuse her body with a substance, digest that substance into energy, then use that energy for a purpose it was capable of until her body had rejected it and forced it out. She was born in a land outside of Seasons. She was highly intelligent—always having great ideas and theories. She had suffered a traumatic past and was disturbed, reacting strongest when they had lodged at the Antelope village in Autumnum, when they had uncovered the symbol of the Sky Pirates in Summeria, and when the Sky Pirate’s airship had appeared suddenly. She was invasive of personal boundaries, both physical and mental. She had many times sought out attachment with him, opening herself up, asking him personal questions, seemingly wanting a connection with him.
She never had anything to hide. It was him that did the hiding. If he would have let her, she would have told him everything. There was no doubt in his mind.
Was this all the information he had on her? Could any of it be used as evidence against her? No. It could not. Not without speculation and theories.
But could everything that she had told them have been a lie? A forgery? Wasn’t that what the Hypnotist did? Forge lies?
Without replying to her, he scrutinized her, a fixated glare. It was so intense that she appeared disturbed by it, but Ashkii hardly noticed, his mind sucked in a black hole. It drove him insane. He wanted to string his bow and aim at her skull. He wanted to force a reaction out of her, ask directly whether she was the Hypnotist or not. Would that unveil the mask? This was the moment he had to expose any real reaction from her. After that—assuming that what the cult had informed him was true—he could no longer trust his senses.
What should he do? Whom should he trust? Which truth was reality? It was all so confusing, so frustrating, and so sudden.
Ashkii felt a tear rolling down his eye—but he was too wrapped in concentration to wipe it away. Time was up. He needed to make his decision: trust the cult who could be right about everything, or trust Kelanassa, the woman who could have deceived him this entire time. He exhausted both options with full objective consideration. But then suddenly… the thought of her not being anything he thought she was, was devastating. It skewered his heart. It made him feel things he didn’t understand… and didn’t want to—things that confused him… like worthlessness… like betrayal… like emptiness after everything had been taken, including the things that were given. The thought made him feel like he was a piece left of a house still standing after a massive storm—already leftover debris of what should have been destroyed after the time he frustratingly couldn’t recall. At this very moment, he realized he didn’t want to believe that she was the enemy—that he couldn’t. And so… he didn’t.
Premonition
Are you okay?” she asked again. “Ashkii… what happened to you? Why do you look like this?”
His eyes had finally adjusted to meet hers—like when the moon had shifted over the sun. She enclosed him, brushing her soft hands around his head. Her touch soothed him, his heart rate slowing as he calmed. She wiped the tear from his eye. He realized he was exhausted, letting himself daze at her stunning complexion. She grinned slightly, her eyes full of vigor. They held this gaze a moment. For the first time really looking at her, Ashki
i noticed how beautiful she was. He’d never really stopped to notice before, but Kelanassa was utterly stunning, her face glowing like a celestial host. Her grin expanded, chuckling. “What?” she asked softly. “What’s gotten into you?” Still, he made no reply, persisting his admiration. When she saw he wasn’t going to shake out of it, she took his hand and led initiative. “Come on,” she whispered softly. “Let’s get to the queen’s chambers.”
Chiharu had already gone ahead, so Taa escorted them there. She remained silent on the way, frequently checking back to ensure Ashkii hadn’t wandered off again. Halfway through the five minute walk, Ashkii regained himself, withdrawing his hand from Kel’s. His consciousness returned, reminding him why he was so uncomfortable with intimate contact. But Kel smiled, having been intrigued by the whole incident.
Clear distinction gave indication of their arrival at Chiharu’s quarters. Nine steps led up to two well-designed shoji, two three-tailed samurai guarding at each side. They hadn’t budged an inch upon the guest’s approach, not so much as flickering a glance. Taa stepped up, sliding the shoji open and entered in. Kel cast a glance at Ashkii before following in, checking on him. Ashkii exchanged her gaze, examining her countenance. Though he knew that this observation was futile if what they had said about her was true—that by now all his senses were under her control. Regardless however, he was glad he’d decided to trust her.
They entered a large enchanting room, rich with cultural design and symbolism embedded in the walls, floors, and ceiling. Colorful paper orbs of light floated about, magic dust sweeping in from the wind of the wide balcony straight ahead—where the queen had waited. In the center was a chabudai, one zabuton set against it. Many candles were lit around the room, resting on tall skinny tables made of bamboo. There were also shoji lamp stands scattered to the corners of the room. Shoji shutters masked the closet hidden behind the walls. Ashkii looked around. Oddly, there didn’t seem to be a bed anywhere.