by C. J. Anaya
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
The emperor’s eyes turned to Victor. “I believe my fuzzy memory recalls a time when I stabbed that man standing behind you,” he pointed past Victor to Daiki who to his credit appeared completely unaffected by the emperor’s presence. “Do you remember what you were willing to do for my precious daughter at that time?”
Victor looked confused but answered anyway. “I saved Daiki on her behalf. I couldn’t bear to see her suffer the loss of someone she loved.”
“Why?” the emperor asked. “What feelings motivated you to risk your immortality for a simple human peasant who would never matter to you.”
“Love,” Victor whispered. He gave me an uncomfortable look and shifted on his feet.
“Love,” the emperor said with great disdain. “When taking on tasks such as world domination, the rending of the veil, or possibly the healing of it, love will be your greatest weakness because its power to purify even the most ambitious and evil of us all is absolute. I warned you not to fall in love with your future wife, Victor. Too many men have fallen prey to that power, and the demon god is now no exception. The idiot walked right into it.”
Into what? This god was crazy. Nothing he said made any sense.
He rubbed his face with his hands and his mirth was replaced by an ancient sorrow that almost made me feel sorry for him.
“You met with no resistance once you breached the palace walls because, unbeknownst to Amatsu, I still have full control over its sentient abilities. I’m still the emperor and, therefore, I still possess the full power of our First Parents in ruling Kagami, however evil and hideous it’s become.”
“You cleared a direct path for us,” I said. Emboldened, I walked over to the table and placed my hands on top. “Why? I understand that you hate Amatsu, but you also wish to do exactly what he planned to do. Isn’t that why you built a kami army in the first place?”
He leaned back in his chair and studied my features for a moment before responding. “I’ve had a thousand years to prepare for the moment when you would return. A thousand years to decide if I would willingly hand over the translation to Amatsu, and a thousand years to try and figure out how the breaking of the world and Amatsu’s release might be beneficial to me in any way, and the bottom line is this: if Amatsu is freed of the Underworld absolutely no one wins. We may be greater gods, but he is by far more powerful than any of us save one person. If I give him all the answers, he wins and we all lose. I lose.”
“Who is more powerful than Amatsu?”
He gave me an enigmatic look, his slow smile revealing one of his more calculated expressions.
“Don’t you know, daughter?” He didn’t bother to hide the low mocking tone. “Do you still remain so utterly clueless.”
“You’re not my father so don’t use that familial title as if you actually have the right, and I haven’t had the benefit of a correctly translated prophecy to work with over the last millennium. Forgive me if I’m slow with the logistics of this situation.”
He stared at me for a few more moments, taking my measure and obviously approving of me in some way, something I couldn’t remember ever having achieved with him in my first life.
“Kenji, Benzaiten, show her the prophecy.”
Kenji ushered me over to the table and Benzaiten moved to the other side, spreading the scroll she had across the table so I could read it. Then she unrolled another scroll right next to it. The rest of my party gather around us.
“This,” she said pointing to the scroll on the left, “is the correct translation, and this,” she pointed to the one on the right, “is the incorrect translation. I want you to look at both and note the key differences, Hope.”
I leaned over a bit and read the incorrect translation first.
Once strong and firm the veil grows thin
Amatsu, with his vengeful heart
Will rend in two and tear apart
The earth and all therein
One warrior god will not suffice
His sword cannot undo this fate
Unless he meets his true soul mate
And love unite, but for a price
For only she, half mortal born,
Can heal the one that’s turned to stone
A kami father, a royal throne
Where mother sits, a kingdom torn
Her gift to heal is only part
Of when and where she must become
The Healer, but to heal the one
Death she must overcome
Then I switched my attention to the correct translation and noticed it was much longer than the first.
His pain is strong and tears apart
The love that binds each soul to mate
And with no love to seal the gate
The future soon grows bleak and dark
Once strong and firm the veil grows thin
Amatsu, with his vengeful heart
will rend in two and tear apart
the earth and all therein
One warrior god will not suffice
His sword cannot undo this fate
She must meet her true soul mate
And love unite not once but twice
Yet only love, its power hold
A gift to share, and knowledge gained
For he who cannot feel but cold
Must come to understand its pain
For only she, half mortal born
Can heal the heart that’s turned to stone
A kami father, a royal throne
Where mother sits, a kingdom torn
Her gift to heal is only part
of when and where she must become
The Healer, but to heal Death’s heart
Her will is overcome
Then second chance will all be given
With Evil stayed and Goodness wrought
And now accept what once he fought
Eternal love heals Veil and Heaven
“There are three extra verses in this thing,” Tie said. “And the ones that are similar have some significant changes.”
“Let’s just go over each verse one by one, and see what we can make of it,” I said. “Kenji, will you read it out loud for us?”
“Of course, Princess.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “His pain is strong and tears apart the love that binds each soul to mate, and with no love to seal the gate, the future soon grows bleak and dark.”
“That first verse has to be talking about Tie,” Angie said. “He spent centuries dealing with the pain of never having someone to love.”
Fukurokuju snorted behind us.
I turned to look over my shoulder. “Did you have something to add to this discussion?”
He shook his head. “Keep going. I want to see how far left you take this before I tell you what it’s really all about.”
“I just don’t understand the part about there being no love to seal the gate,” Kirby said. “What gate? What does Tie have to do with creating enough love to seal a gate?”
I thought about it for a second. “Maybe, Tie’s ability to bond souls together for eternity has something to do with helping to heal the veil, but he didn’t have a love of his own and couldn’t know what true love felt like.”
“Well, the very last part of that sentence is correct,” the emperor muttered.
“Why wouldn’t the first part be?”
“Just keep going. You getting everything wrong for the next few minutes will be more entertainment than I’ve had in centuries.”
I gave him a glare and turned back to the prophecy.
“I think the second verse is exactly the same and pretty self-explanatory. But the third verse changes in the last two lines,” I said. “It’s talking about me and my need to find my true soul mate instead of the warrior god’s need.”
“That’s because Victor never needed to find a soul mate to heal the veil. It wasn’t his destiny. It was yours and Tie’s,” Kenji said. “And I believe you foun
d each other not once, but twice, in your previous life and in this one.”
“I’ll give you high marks for that translation,” the emperor said, “but do you truly understand the significance of it? Why is it so necessary for these two love birds to actually find each other twice, and then to actually love each other?”
“To heal the veil,” I said.
“A correct answer, but slim on the details. How are you supposed to heal a veil that is failing due to lack of love in the world if you have never experienced love yourself? You must understand that kind of self-sacrificing love to be able to make the necessary sacrifices required of you in healing said veil. And why would you need to be separated from your soul mate once in order to accomplish this?”
“You’re saying my death had to happen?” I asked.
The emperor smiled. “Of course, but the way it happened and the consequences of it are really the details that matter. You’re not the only one who has had to learn the importance of what true love really means.” He gave me an expectant look, like what he had just revealed should tell me all I needed to know. My blank expression must have graced the faces of everyone surrounding me, because his expectant look turned to one that made me think he felt as if he were suffering fools at the moment.
He let out a heavy sigh. “You’re all imbeciles.”
“We haven’t had a thousand years to come to understand the full meaning of the prophecy,” I said.
He waved my comment off. “Next stanza, if you please. Hopefully, you’ll understand what I’m talking about once you read it.”
Annoyed, I turned back to the table and studied the next stanza.
“Yet only love, its power hold, a gift to share, and knowledge gained. For he who cannot feel but cold must come to understand its pain.”
Daiki turned to the emperor. “This is what Angie was talking about. It was important for love to heal Tie’s heart. And now it is important for him to understand its level of pain.”
The emperor finally lost his temper and in grand Fukurokuju fashion leaped to his feet, sending his chair flying behind him.
“I swear, I’m surrounded by the most simpleminded group of people to have ever walked the face of this earth.” He stomped over to Benzaiten’s side to which she glared at him, but refused to cower as he inched in next to her. Then he pointed to the next stanza. “Read that, you moron,” he said as he glared at Daiki.
“It’s exactly the same as the other translated part. She has to heal the heart that’s turned to stone, and Tie’s heart was tainted, blackened by the blossom Amatsu gave him.”
Fukurokuju let out one frustrated hiss.
“A heart of stone would suggest a heart that’s never before felt anything good or kind or wholesome or…well, anything that might be dubbed heartwarming in any conceivable way, and we all know that Tie didn’t always have a blackened heart. You all continue to circle back to him, but this prophecy isn’t just about Tie although he is central to helping Hope play her part in all of this. The crux of the veil’s problem has always been a lack of love, a lack of fulfillment, on one grand specific scale.” He pointed his finger at the next stanza. “Read it out loud, Hope.”
I took in a deep breath, feeling certain that whatever this prophecy was going to require of me, would be something I couldn’t do.
“Her gift to heal is only part of when and where she must become The Healer, but to heal Death’s heart her will is overcome.” I paused for a moment, taking in the glaring mistake in the other prophecy. It hadn’t been talking about Tie. Not completely. It was just as the emperor said. Tie was a main player, but someone else was the key player. The key to all of it.
“To heal Death’s heart,” I repeated. My eyes lifted and locked with the emperor’s. His penetrating gaze narrowed as he realized I finally understood.
“You see, Hope. This has always been about Amatsu. You had to learn how to love and sacrifice. How to recognize Tie’s soul as a part of you, and you had to die so you could be connected to the demon god. As The Healer, it is your job and your destiny to teach that screwed up kami how to love.” He let out a low chuckle. “And the idiot gave you the tools to do it.”
“But if I teach him how to love, I will have to accept all of him…all of his flaws and faults…I’ll have to accept the bond and be his forever.”
“Yes. ‘Her will is overcome,’” he recited. “Our First Parents never stopped loving their second born son. It would appear you’re meant to heal more than just the veil, Hope.”
“But in the end, I’m supposed to be with Tie. He and I are supposed to heal the veil together,” I protested.
“Yes, but the prophecy never suggested that you two would be standing on the same side of the veil when you healed it.”
My jaw dropped. “What?”
The emperor let out a maniacal chuckle that had me backing up. Tie gently nudged me behind him.
Then the emperor lifted his fingers to his lips and let out a whistle. Nekomata and kami alike came flooding into the room behind us, creating a thick, menacing barrier between us and our way out.
“Fukurokuju, what are you doing?” Benzaiten hissed. “You agreed that you would assist us in helping The Healer. You agreed that we would all be free from Amatsu.”
“And we shall, of course, just as soon as I do this.” Fukurokuju lifted his hand toward me and with a flourish brought forth the darkest piece of magic I had ever had the misfortune of encountering. The Black Blossom floated above his hand.
“How do you have access to that?” Tie said.
“Amatsu’s last instructions when he found out you were headed this way, was to send you to him as quickly as possible. He has no idea that you’re actually his demise in more ways than one could possibly fathom, but the moment you’re his, we will all be free forever.”
Tie pulled a dagger from his hip and stepped in front of the emperor.
“Seize them,” the emperor said in a bored voice. Our group of kami drew their swords, but Fukurokuju quickly pulled a black knife from his side and held it to Kenji’s neck, the other hand still allowed the blossom to float just above it.
“I wouldn’t make any foolish decisions at the moment. Your interference will not only get Kenji killed, but be the means of our entire world falling into Amatsu’s hands. The demon god is her destiny.”
“According to your interpretation,” Tie hissed.
I panicked, knowing full well that no one in my party was going to put their swords down and allow me to be sent to Amatsu, even if Fukurokuju had interpreted the prophecy correctly. I would have to stand there and watch Kenji die all over again. And just as I feared, Angie was the first one to make a move. With the flick of one lightning fast wrist she sent a shuriken, a ninja star, flying into the emperor’s wrist. He dropped the dagger, letting out an expletive while Kenji dove for Benzaiten and got them out of harm’s way. The minions surrounding us jumped into action.
I couldn’t help but take one irrational moment to lament the fact that a highly destructive sword fight was about to take place in this expansive library filled with a treasure trove of ancient texts.
Tie and I moved back-to-back and circled as the rest of our group split off and dealt with their various attackers. Tie lunged behind me and ducked away from the arms of a fully reformed kami, spinning to my left and bringing his hand around to jab the side of it in its throat. I accidentally bumped into him as a nekomata dove for me. The contact was a bit jarring and knocked me off balance, sending me tumbling to the floor. I grabbed the table and pulled myself up when a hand clamped down on mine. I looked up and glared at the emperor as he stood over me with a gloating smile. Totally familiar and just as terrifying as I remembered.
“I’ve never met anyone more intent on defying their destiny than you except one other individual. You’re as bad as Amatsu, my dear.”
He grabbed my hair and hauled me to my feet, spinning me around and using me as a shield.
Tie dispensed with a
nekomata and came running for me when two others grabbed him by the arms and pulled him back.
“Do not do this, Fukurokuju,” Tie said through gritted teeth.
The emperor gave him a pitying smile. “Love,” he said. “One of the most powerful forces upon the face of this earth. How lucky I am to never have suffered from its crippling side effects. I do, however, enjoy the benefits of the other greatest power our First Parents gave to us.”
“And what power is that?” I said.
“Choice.”
With that, he slammed the Black Blossom into my chest where the stem immediately embedded itself within my heart. The pain was ten times more excruciating this time around. My heart stuttered within me and latched around the stem, pulling in the dark magic it had to offer until it sucked it dry. The blossom shriveled in on itself and puffed out of existence. My tie to Amatsu increased ten-fold.
I watched with blurry vision as Tie fought off the nekomata to get to me, while the rest of our party remained fully engaged with an enemy that seemed to be numberless. No sooner was a hellcat cut down then another one emerged to take its place. At first, I fought the blossom’s power and the bond it tried to solidify, but in my mind, I knew it was futile and selfish to fight what had always been my destiny.
Deep down, no matter how much I disagreed with our First Parents’ methods or their designs, I recognized that choice was most definitely one of the most powerful forces in the world, and if I fought this, I would be choosing to destroy the veil and everyone I loved. What good would it do to choose Tie if in the end, we were all doomed to suffer the tyranny of the demon god and his wrath upon this Earth? Fukurokuju had made his choice, not quite so noble considering his motives, but it was definitely time for me to make mine.