Awakening
Page 92
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She walked on in this way for several more hours, all the while feeling her strength fade. She knew that she had only a limited amount of time before her legs failed her completely, and she was resolved to reach the safety of the oasis before that happened. Eventually, she arrived at a strange rock formation: two gigantic pillars of rock bridged by a narrower piece. From her angle, it looked like an earthly gate, though the opposite side did not appear to be different in any way. As she approached, she noticed another figure, this one leaning on one of the stone pillars.
“Another enemy? This time, I'll finish it before it has a chance to attack.”
She stealthily crept near, while mustering what remained of her strength into one, powerful blow. Once she was in position, she leap forward, whilst extending a tendril of power towards her foe. It was perfectly executed, and would have undoubtedly slain all but the most resilient enemies, but something made her stop.
The figure turned towards her and smiled, saying, “Alza! I'm so glad you're okay! I've been looking everywhere for you!”
Barsch turned towards the now stunned Alza, cheerfully continuing, “You have no idea how worried I've been! Come with me, I know a short-cut to the oasis.”
“What about Kingston and Maloch? Did you find them?” Something was wrong, but she could not figure out what it was.
Something about his eyes…
“What! Who cares about that old geezer and that bag of bolts! Now hurry up, we have to get there before nightfall!”
Barsch reached out his hand and took hold of Alza's slender digits, trying to coax her into following him. She resisted, trying to pull her hand from his firm grasp.
He was… wrong, in every way.
“What's wrong Alza? Don't you want to come with me?” The thing’s voice was sickeningly sweet. Alza felt the bile rise in her stomach as Its words settled into her mind.
“No. You aren't Barsch. You are nothing more than an illusion. A mirage made for the sole reason of hampering my progress.”
Bars- Its face transformed into one of surprise, as it said, “What are you talking about? It's me, Barsch! What has gotten into you?”
“Barsch would never say those things about Kingston or Maloch. He would never abandon them to save his own skin. You are an imposter. Be gone from my sight.”
She saw it now. Its eyes were empty. There was no life, no hope, no thought behind those eyes. They reminded her of the red-haired man, and made her step back. With a firm tug, she removed her hand from his.
“I see. You're sick, that's all. I just need to cut you open... and see what's wrong with your insides, right?” said the thing pretending to be Barsch with a sickening grin. In one deft movement, he brought out Lanista, twirling it around his head with an expertise the real Barsch did not have. Bringing it down to the ground, he pulled the ripcord, filling the air with its customary roar. The metal teeth began their slow circuit around the blade, picking up speed as they completed revolution after revolution.
Although Alza had seen it in action before, it was still a fearsome weapon to behold. Barsch swung the screaming blade forward, driving it towards Alza's chest. She moved on instinct, though her fatigue slowed her down just enough for an errant tooth to leave a strip of blood on her collarbone. It stung for a moment, before fading away. Alza's power was still coursing through her body, healing her.
“Alza, do you know why I helped you back then, in the glade? No? I didn't think so. I did it because I pitied you, since someone so weak and feeble would die if she didn't rely on others to do all the hard work. That's what you are to me, a burden of responsibility and mercy, nothing more, nothing less. So, if I kill you now, I'll be free. Free from you, free from that old man, and free from my destiny. So, won't you let me kill you? Pretty please?” The thing wearing Barsch’s face smiled at her, but it did not reach his eyes. They, however, had their own smile: the smile of the truly insane.
He attacked once more, this time a vicious downwards swipe that Alza barely managed to avoid. He was relentless in his onslaught, and soon Alza was covering in scrapes and gashes, as her blood dyed the sand red. Barsch hopped back, preparing for the next wave of attacks, allowing Alza time enough to heal her wounds.
“This is going nowhere! I don't have the strength to attack and I don't have the speed to flee. My only chance is to wait for him to tire. He is only human after all...”
It was then that Alza realized her mistake. She had been subconsciously treating the figure before her as the real Barsch, when in fact he was no more than a shade, created by Ion for an unknown purpose.
“If he isn't real, then neither is his blade. I've already won this fight, Ion!”
Barsch came forth with renewed vigour, thrusting Lanista directly at Alza. In spite of her instincts desperately telling her otherwise, she refused to evade. It felt real: the sound of the spinning teeth, the smell of burning fuel... and the touch of cold metal as it pierced her chest. She could clearly feel the blade burrow deeply, before lodging one inch below her throbbing heart. From the instant it connected, she knew it was a fatal wound, which was reinforced by the rivulet of blood that leaked from the site of impact. The teeth were still churning, cutting up her insides. She felt a stream of blood pour from her soft, pink lips, splattering the black blade with crimson life. She looked into her killer's eyes and saw nothing: no remorse, no joy, no hatred.
With a shaking voice, she managed to say, “You... You are not Him... You will never be Him...” As she uttered those words, the pain began to fade, as her power fought desperately to fix the unfixable wound. She closed her eyes, and her body began to feel weightless.
“So this is what it feels like to die... However, I really doubt that I can be killed by something that isn't even there, right, Ion?”
She opened her eyes, not particularly surprised to find herself alone once more. The phantom feeling of the blade had disappeared, leaving behind no trace. Barsch, or rather, the thing that had called itself Barsch, had vanished. The blood, her blood, sank into the earth as she watched. As with the other two, she could still feel where the blade had pierced her flesh, though in her mind she knew that what she had seen, what she had felt, was nothing more than an illusion. This time, she didn't even turn around to face the perpetrator.
“Three for three, I'm impressed. I guessed that you would be able to beat the first two without much trouble; but I thought for sure that you would try and kill Barsch in self-defence.”
“That… that thing was not Barsch, as you very well know. Now, are you finished? Have you grown tired of these childish tricks? Or do you still wish to test my patience?” she said as she turned to face Ion. The blue-garbed woman stood a few feet away from her. Her face was a mask, but Alza would swear that she saw a hint of respect in those deep blue eyes.
“Now now, calm down, little girl. I didn't mean any harm by what I did, I just wanted to see how you would react. Don't worry, you passed my test with flying colours, though how did you know that Barsch wouldn't kill you?”
“As I said before, it wasn't Barsch. He did not exist, so therefore neither did his blade. I was never in any danger.”
“Hmm... well, no, that's not entirely true. The blade was very real. The only variable in the situation was you. If you had continued to see that illusion as Barsch, it would have killed you and there would have been nothing I nor anyone else could do about it. In the end, your steadfast belief that Barsch would never willingly attack you rendered the blade powerless.”
“And if I had struck back? If I had destroyed him like the others?”
Ion's face darkened for a moment, and she said, “Then... we probably wouldn't be having this conversation right now.”
Alza suddenly decided that she had no desire to learn what could have happened if she had acted differently. Instead, she stared into Ion’s eyes and asked the question that had been long delayed, “What are you?”
However, Ion had already begun to fade
away, her body evaporating in the afternoon sun. Just before she completely vanished, she whispered, “I think the real question is… what are you, Alza?”
Once more, Alza found that she could not answer. However, she made a vow to herself that day, that she would find out where she had come from and who she really was, no matter the cost. Where, Ion had stood, only moments before, lay a shallow pool of clear, cold water. Alza took advantage of this phenomena and drank to her heart's content, feeling the cool liquid wash away some of her weariness. As she passed under the stone gate, she felt an odd sense of peace, and she knew that she had just taken another step towards her goal.