The Legendary Warrior (Book 5), page 21
He looked at his hands, stained with blood, and he buried his face within them, crying so hard that his stomach hurt.
No one said a word.
A distant thud from behind the wounded and dead garnered their attention. In the distance down the street, Orchid walked with Sway in hand, dragging him by the back of his shirt. The unconscious Sage’s face was bleeding but from what they could sense, he was still alive. Bastion lifted his tear and blood stained face, and looked at Orchid in her cold and uncaring eyes.
“Good work,” she said to him, and he trembled in anguish. He felt like throwing up, and his heart was beating so fast that he clutched his chest.
“What did you do?” Catherine gasped from her vine trap. She began fighting against her restraints but Orchid pointed a finger at her.
“No one moves, or I begin executing, starting with James.” Catherine stopped moving.
“You won’t get to him,” Bastion sobbed, putting his hand on his mentor’s shoulder.
“It won’t matter if I die in the process,” Orchid said. “I have finished my work.”
“What have you done?” Bastion’s voice cracked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Daisy crawl over to Kent, examining his face for life. He turned away and grit his teeth, fighting back another flood of tears.
“What was necessary,” Orchid said. “For the good of everyone. I simulated the Yama.”
“There were none?” Arimus shouted, and Orchid turned to him and put a finger to her lips.
“Not a one, Sage,” she said. “They were all manifestations. At least…the ones in the beginning.”
“How were you,” James whispered, his eyes still closed, “able to manifest so many?”
“Because my power is greater than you know. You Sages have gotten so used to relying on what your eidolon tells you that you don’t realize that what lies before you could be a trick. I may have bided my time before I showed you what I could do, but make no mistake, I was the true threat all along. Lakrymos was a pawn. He was a manifestation of me.”
“That can’t be,” Bastion said. “I saw his soul.”
“You saw what I infused into him from myself. And it was also why you were able to beat him so easily. That was but a fraction of my power, designed to test your ability. Through that fight I found out that you are far more powerful than even I realized. Though I could kill you even now, I won’t because I have seen what lies within you. If only you were able to draw it out. If only those around you weren’t holding you back from your true potential. After the fight with Lakrymos, I feared that I would lose you. I had to formulate a plan that would steer you right on track. Thus I began planting the seeds of what would become this day. The day in which you would lose everything, so that you could embrace your destiny.”
“How did you do it?” Catherine asked weakly. “The illusions?”
“Manifestations are a combination of Langoran size manipulation and Allayan fashioning. With the energy of our souls, we are able to create grand illusions. Creating swords, buildings, new places, copying what’s in our dreams…but they are still illusions. The raw energy and core of every manifestation is our soul. And so, with that in mind, I used my energy to cast fine energy shells around you, manipulating every one of your senses. I spent a whole day putting my energy under Languor, and when it was time, I let loose. Every Yama you killed today was either a Langoran, or one of your own people. None of you are innocent.”
“Because we were tricked,” Arimus said. “And nothing more.”
“I used your pride against you. Because I know that the Allayans of today believe that they are all knowing and righteous in all that they do. I knew that you wouldn’t try to reason with the Yama. You wouldn’t study them or try to understand. You would just kill them, and in turn, you killed each other. Now the traitorous James is out of the way. The stone in Catherine is destroyed. Your numbers are down, and more importantly, Bastion is born anew. I have won.”
“No you haven’t,” Bastion said, rising to his feet. “No, you haven’t.”
“Don’t do it,” Catherine pleaded with him weakly. “That’s what she wants.”
“But by killing me you’re insuring something like this doesn’t happen again,” Orchid said with a smile. “Killing the enemy seems to be all you Sages know, isn’t it?”
“You tricked me,” Bastion cried.
“It doesn’t matter. You’ll have to live with this day. Your friend Kent is forever gone. Daisy will never look at you the same way no matter how much you want to believe she will. The others will see you as dangerous and treat you even more like the tool and weapon that you are. Your only choice at this point is to give in to what you have felt inside of you from the day you were taken into Quietus. That you are a god. That you are going to completely destroy the Yama, and in order to do so, you must give up your humanity. You must cast away friendships and sentiment and love. You must train and get stronger. To embrace the darkness that others cannot, all so that you can guide them into the light. You may be lost, but they will be saved, both in this life, and in the next. Now do what you know needs to be done.”
Bastion tried to hold back the tears, but they streamed down his face against his will. He called forth his eidolon, and gripped it tight in his right blood-stained hand. Orchid stared at him with sympathy.
“I know the road is hard. But to be a true Sage, and especially one of Legend, it must be done. Lakrymos is the one they sing of and praise, and yet he was just the public face of the Sages. I was stronger than he and yet I stayed in the background, because I knew what needed to be done. We were born from the shadows, Bastion. We do not enjoy it, but we receive satisfaction in knowing that the world will go on. Hear what I say. The Yama. The true Yama…they are coming. They look just like I showed you, but it will take more than strength to defeat them. If I, one Sage, was able to do all of this, then just think about what they can do as a collective. Do you understand?”
Bastion nodded. Orchid smiled, and then she closed her eyes and stretched out her arms.
Bastion raised his eidolon over his head.
But then he hesitated.
With a sigh he let his eidolon disappear, and he put his arms to his side. They stood there in silence, and then Orchid opened her eyes.
“I am disappointed,” she said, and he shook his head slowly.
“I don’t care.”
“We’re doomed then.”
“That doesn’t mean you won’t pay for what you did here.”
“I won’t pay for a thing,” Orchid said. Before he could move toward her, she punched him as hard as she could in the face, sending him onto his back. Bastion clutched his face tightly as she stared down at him with contempt. “If any of you try to harm me in any way, I will kill you. Now that we have lost our only hope, I have a Kingdom to prepare.”
“You won’t win,” Arimus said. Orchid looked at him, and then she slowly looked at each of them, finally stopping at Bastion.
“If any of you want to back up that claim with more than words, you are free to. But considering what has happened today, I doubt you will. Even so, you know where to find me. Have fun burying your dead.”
Orchid walked away just as the pain subsided in Bastion’s face. He turned to confront her, but she was already gone. He stood to his feet and stared off in her direction, and he dared not to look at the others. He couldn’t bear it.
“Bastion,” Daisy said, and he instinctively found himself looking down at her legs. She was able to reattach most of the severed pair, but they were still mangled and blue. She might not be able to run again. He slowly looked up into her eyes. “This isn’t your fault.”
“Stop,” he said to her. “Even if I was tricked…it doesn’t change the fact that she’s right. I can’t be around you.”
“Stay here,” she pleaded.
“KENT’S DEAD!” he shouted at her, his voice echoing down the street. A scurrying sound was heard from up above and he looked up to see Langoran guards getting into position. “He’s not coming back,” he whispered. “I killed him. All of them. I’m not human. I can’t be...it’s the only way I can live with myself.”
Bastion turned and ran, just as Daisy yelled something out to him. He cupped his ears and shook his head as the arrows began flying at him. He was able to dodge them easily, but he almost wished they would hit their mark. He considered it for a moment. To slow down and accept it. But he knew that it would take thousands of arrows to truly stop him, and if he was to die, he wanted to go quickly.
Daisy bowed her head as Catherine roared and released her multicolored eidolon, using it to tear through the vines around her. She fell to her feet and sheathed her sword, caring little for the swarming army of Langorans, coming at them from all sides. She rushed to James’ side.
“James,” she called out to him, giving his face a quick slap. “James, wake up.”
“Nice,” James groaned, his eyes fluttering open.
“You’re okay,” she laughed. “You just can’t stop making jokes.”
“Ah,” James sighed. “I wish.”
“Stop playing around,” she laughed, but then she examined his wounds. She noticed that they weren’t closing up…they weren’t healing.
“Hey, stop being lazy. You’re still hurt. Heal them.”
“Wish I could,” he said with a whisper. He had a smile on his face, but his eyes were full with tears. His lips pursed suddenly and she could see his pupils beginning to lose their luster. She slapped him lightly again and he stared at her listlessly.
“James, you can’t leave me,” she whispered to him, and he gave her a curt smile.
“I died long ago,” he said to her, his lips nearly touching hers. “All this time…I’ve been in Paradise.”
“You’re a fool,” she said, her voice cracking as she reached down and kissed him tenderly.
“I’m your fool,” James whispered, and then he reached up to brush the back of his hand against her cheek. She closed her eyes and kissed it, and when she let go to look at him once more…he was gone.
It didn’t feel real.
She wasn’t sure if it ever would. But she did feel a part of her leave that day with him. She knew that from that day on she would laugh less, and perhaps never love again. James was a bum, but she was all his, and he fought for her like a knight in shining armor to his dying breath. As a lover, a wife, and a Queen…she couldn’t ask for anything more from her husband.
“I’ll always love you,” she whispered to him, placing a hand on his sunken chest. “I won’t forget anything you have taught me. Especially how to live. I won’t stop…” she fought back the tears and bit her lip. Her fists clenched tight as she closed her eyes. “I won’t stop living. I know you wouldn’t want me to give up. I’ll keep on fighting, and maybe one day, I’ll be able to die as honorably and valiantly as you have.”
She considered her words after she had spoken them from the heart, and then she stood up quickly and turned to her warriors, the spirit of a Queen rising within her.
“As honorably and valiantly as they all have,” she said to them, forcing back her urge to break down. “Krave, Shanelle, Kent…the Langorans that have fallen. They will be remembered. We will take their loss and what we’ve learned from it this day, and we will use it to ensure that the Yama will not succeed when they arrive. None of their deaths will be in vain.”
“Well, I’m glad someone’s feeling encouraged,” Zain seethed from the roof. The Sages cast their heads upwards as he threw Marie over the edge. A guard threw Ashalynn over right after her. “You can have them back.”
A groggy Sway caught Marie in mid-air and then landed on one knee. She stepped out of his arms as he stayed where he fell, clutching his forehead in pain. Zhou caught Ashalynn and let her down gently. She rushed to Arimus’ side, sobbing.
“I want nothing to do with any of you,” Zain spat. Catherine took a deep breath as Talia placed a weary hand on her shoulder. The former Queen nodded at her bodyguard and then looked back at Zain.
“And why is that, old friend?”
“Not only does your presence bring destruction wherever you go…but now the stone is gone. There is no reason for our relationship to continue.”
“We can help you repair the—”
“Save it,” he said, holding up a hand to silence her. “Please. Just stop. Leave my Kingdom before I fire upon you, and never…ever come back. Is that understood?”
“Clearly,” Catherine said, nodding at her Sages. “Let us be going. We will carry our dead with us.”
“Where will we go?” Arimus asked. Catherine cast a steel gaze at him and said wearily.
“We have to find the new set of stones.”
Chapter 20 – Origin
It was a fitting place to go.
The origin of him. The place of his birth. His true birth.
Bastion stood over the crater and closed his eyes, feeling the wind blow through his hair and softly pat against his face. He took a deep breath and took in the smell of the Quietus trees—that sweet and yet rustic smell that hung off its bark. He opened his eyes and crossed his arms.
The fallen Kingdom of Quietus.
This would be his training ground, and his new home. No one would come there unless they were looking for trouble, and that is exactly what they would find. He would leave for food and supplies when necessary, scouting out the other Kingdoms while he was out, but that was it. Until the Yama came, he had no reason to interact with others. His purpose was clear, and it was not yet time. He needed to get acquainted with who he was, and exactly what he could do. No more being afraid.
Bastion face twitched as the memory of him, Kent and Daisy together flashed through his mind. He would miss them, but they had been worse off since they met. He didn’t know Shanelle and Krave, but their faces would always be seared in his mind as well. James…he knew before he had left what his fate would be. He didn’t know how Catherine and the others would deal with that. The Yama were coming, and he had killed two of Allay’s greatest warriors. He knew that he couldn’t think about it too much or it would be his end. But at least he could have some satisfaction in one of his actions.
He hadn’t killed Orchid.
When push came to shove, he hadn’t gone through with it, and though it might end up being a costly mistake in the end, he was happy that he wasn’t completely lost. The candle of his soul, as dim as the light may have gotten, still had a little wax left to burn.
He looked down at the large dome at the side of the crater. The place where the common Quietus had lived. Maybe he would find supplies there. Who knows? Maybe even a lost Quietus or two. A surge of emotion suddenly swept through his chest, and he came to a realization.
He didn’t blame the Quietus for his childhood anymore, or rather, a lack thereof. As misguided as it had been, they were merely doing what they had to. They answered to a master, as he now answered to his purpose. Unbeknownst to him and them at the time, the Quietus had contributed to his upbringing, and helped to shape him into becoming the cold hearted killer the world needed. A part of him knew, deep down, that nothing short of the Yama’s genocide would put an end to what was to come. He wasn’t sure if he could go that far…but he was more prepared to make the call than he had been.
The thought saddened him.
Bastion sighed and scratched his head, wondering where he should look for food first, when a whooshing sound came from behind him, as if the wind had created a large vortex, but only for a second. He quickly turned, ready to engage in battle, but he saw nothing. His face turned into a scowl and he haphazardly looked down.
At his feet sat five stones.
All of them grey and glowing blue within the cracks. Bastion’s eyes widened as he recognized what they were, and then he remembered how it was all possible. He had destroyed Catherine’s stone back in Languor, and they had learned that if the five stones were broken, a new set would come in its place.
But…why here? Why now? Who had sent them to him? And for what purpose? Did someone want him to use them, as Thorn once had?
Bastion pursed his lips as he thought about the possibilities. What such power in his hands could mean for the future, and more importantly, the incoming threat.
He reached out to touch one when a flash of light, as if someone had unleashed their eidolon, blinded him. He shielded his eyes with his forearm and took a step back, and then the light vanished. He dropped his arm, and was more surprised by what he now saw.
It was a young girl. About his age. She was wearing a lacy white dress down to her shoulders with long sleeves. Her feet was bare, and her skin was kissed by the sun. Her hair was a dark black with blue streaks within it, but the most identifying feature was the side of her left cheek. It was grey and cracked, and within the cracks, the color blue was humming deep inside. Her eyes were a chocolate brown, and when she looked at him, the cracked grey feature on her cheek sunk into her skin and disappeared.
She smiled at him weakly, and then her eyes rolled in the back of her head. Bastion ran forward and caught her in his arms. He looked down at her and saw that she was sleeping soundly. He tried not to move, so he wouldn’t disturb her.
For a moment he thought that his arms might get tired, but then he remembered how strong his was, and he knew that wasn’t going to happen.
If he had to, he could carry her in his arms forever.
* * *
“Are you sure it’s fine if we leave them here?” Talia asked, and Catherine nodded.
“There’s nowhere else we can put them for now,” Catherine said, looking over the fallen warriors, now buried deep within the forest between Languor and Allay. “I’m fine with it.”
“So what’s the plan?” Zhou asked. Sway nodded in agreement.
“Can’t go to any of the Kingdoms,” Marie said. “I assume based on everyone’s wounds we’re not ready to go after Orchid.”
