Chereads / Chasm: The tale of the Cahaya / Chapter 17 - Chapter 15

Chapter 17 - Chapter 15

The king of Vroborg sat on his bed and scowled at the Takau that materialized out of the wall. "Has your master said anything? Does she believe in my loyalty?"

"Yes," the Takau growled. "Queen Rangda believes it is high time you became a jahat." The king's eyes were wide. "So, she's acknowledging me at last?"

"Yes." The king's shadow morphed into that of another creature. "The Warui you will be fusing your soul with is in your shadow. Once you become a jahat, Tiga will give you further instructions." The Takau disappeared, and the king put his hand on his shadow. "I am ready. Come inside of me, and grant me your power." The shadow became the king's again as the king collapsed to the floor.

Sora pointed at some scrambled eggs. "Karna, if you're not going to eat that, could I take it?" Karna nodded. "Sylvia, you should eat. We're going to see your dad again today." Sylvia nodded, but she would not meet his eyes. Velvet placed a hand on her shoulder. "Karna promised you that he'll try his best to persuade the king to join our side. Rest assured, Sylvia. Karna lies very little, if at all." Sora grinned. "I doubt he would ever do it. He's always been such an honest goody-two-shoes." Velvet smiled. "More importantly, it's clear Vroborg is rife with darkness, most likely because of the king. We will need to undo what he did if we want to stop Kegare from invading the empire any further." Sora nodded. "I might have a plan for that. We can discuss-" He was cut off by a bald man who fumbled on his way toward Karna. "Lord Cahaya! Kegare have breached Cido!"

"How many?" Karna asked. "Only one at present. But hurry! There may be more!" Karna looked at Velvet and Sora. "I guess that ends our breakfast. We need to get going before things get any worse."

Karna saw Tiga hover in the air as he flew towards Cido. "Not him again!" he thought. "I don't think I've prepared enough to take him on." Tiga gave a mock bow. "Why, hello, Cahaya. I've been expecting you." Karna glanced down and saw Velvet, Sylvia, and Sora looking straight up at him. He was sure they'd seen Tiga, too. "Your friends are here as well. Excellent," Tiga howled. "The stage has been set."

"What do you mean by that?" Karna asked. "Things will get very interesting for you. You have no clue what's going on, do you? Vroborg is in the grip of Lord Yami. This is our empire, Cahaya. You don't belong." Tiga's sly smile worried Karna. "Doesn't matter. I'm taking Vroborg from Yami's clutches."

"Oh, are you now?" Tiga cackled. He snapped his fingers, and someone another Kegare appeared next to him. "I have other matters to attend to. You've been wishing to speak to Sylvia's father so much, I thought the least I could do was wrap him up like a present and hand him over. Bye-bye now." Tiga dissolved into black smoke and was carried away by air.

Karna focused on the other Kegare. "Sylvia's father? How could that Kegare be him?" he thought. His face contorted into fear as a horrible thought dawned on him. Karna lunged at the Kegare, which vanished and popped up behind Sylvia.

Karna grit his teeth. The Kegare held Sylvia as a hostage until Velvet blasted a spinning mass of green wind at it. The Kegare flew back and managed to regain its footing. Karna flew down towards Sylvia.

Sylvia's features warped into horror as she realized who the Kegare was. She grabbed Karna's hand. "Is that... Is that my father?" Karna grimly nodded. Tears welled in Sylvia's eyes. "So, does this mean you're going to kill him?"

"Most likely. I know this might sound hopeless now, but there still is a way to save him. If a Warui attaches to a host for some time, the host will die. If the king's transformation was recent, and if I can purify him, he will be free from the darkness."

"Then, please, save him, Karna. I know I'm being selfish when my father has done terrible things, but please! He's all I have left! You need to save him!

"I promise I'll save him. Sora, protect Sylvia. The king will most likely try to kill his daughter. Velvet, come with me. We're going to bring the old king back." The Kegare tried to grab Sylvia again, but Sora was ready. He shot an arrow, and the king's arm flew in the air. The Kegare tried to jump back, but he realized his feet were stuck in cracks in the ground. At that moment, Karna shoved his spear right in the king's chest.

Black smoke curled around the king and gradually faded into the shadows. The king coughed out blood as Sylvia hugged him. "Father!"

"Yes, Sylvia, it is me. I'm glad you're not dead." The king looked at the Cahaya and smiled. "I owe you and your friends yet again, Cahaya." Karna shook his head. "No, this is all part of the job."

"I see now that darkness leaves nothing but regret and emptiness in one's heart," the king sighed. "I am such a fool. Now Vroborg will suffer for my sins." Karna extended his hand. "Yeah, well, there's still time. It's not too late to fix the damage."

"I suppose you're right. Well, we have much to do in that case." A black vortex appeared in the sky. Noises could be heard from it, strange murmurings that were unnerving. Karna gripped his spear. "Kegare are going to come out of that thing! Sora, Velvet, cover me and protect these two!"

Armies of Kegare rained down from the sky. Pontianaks, hellions, winged daemons, and even a basilisk flooded Cido. Karna hacked and slashed through numerous Kegare. Velvet whipped up masses of swirling green wind, and Sora blasted streams of water. The hours went by, but there seemed to be no end to the onslaught.

Karna shot arrow after arrow, but to him, it looked as if there were more Kegare than before. He looked up at the black vortex. "If I can close it, no more Kegare should pop out of it? But how do I do that?"

"Master," Visavi said, "There is a way to get rid of that portal and all the Kegare here at once."

"How?"

"By using the power of the sun. Right now, you can only use a small part of that power, but it should suffice. We Kami get our strength from our stars, and mine comes from the sun."

"So, what should I do?"

"Speak the words I'll put in your mouth and concentrate every fiber of your being on the sun." A basilisk zoomed towards Karna, licking its mouth as if it had found a very delicious meal. Karna closed his eyes. "O matahari, aku adalah cahayamu, bersinarlah padaku!"

The sun released a blinding light as if it was glaring. A swirl of yellow energy encircled Karna and filled him with power. The intensity of the light grew and grew until it changed from yellow to red. Kegare roared and howled, crashing into buildings and some even disintegrating. ""O matahari, biarkan musuhku mati!" Arrows the size of a cathedral rained down from the sun. Flames erupted left and right, engulfing huge masses of Kegare. Even a basilisk was taken down in one shot. The city of Cido was covered in flames.

Arrows kept pouring down until there were no more Kegare. The sun's light returned to its original color, and the flames evaporated. Velvet caught Karna in her arms. She smiled as she realized he was sleeping. "That move must have taken a lot out of him," she thought. The king was agape in shock. "My God... I see now that the Cahaya truly is our savior." Sora nodded. "Yep, he's quite the powerhouse. You'd be sorry to mess with him. Anyway, we need to get back home. It's been quite a day, and I'm exhausted," he yawned. Unbeknownst to them, Tiga watched them, hovering in the sky. "Oh man, that was a delight! I can't wait to fight them again!" He flew into another black vortex, which closed as soon as he went inside.

Halona and Lemrina stood atop a building. "My Queen," Lemrina began. "I know you wish to join forces with the Cahaya, but be careful. This is a man with the power of the sun, a man who can obliterate whole armies of the fiercest Kegare single-handedly, whereas you struggle to take down a dragon." Halona blushed. "Well, taking down a dragon is hard. You know that yourself. But I really am taken aback by his powers. I see now why he is called the savior of humanity." Lemrina nodded. "Which is why I'm advising you to be extra careful."

"Lemrina, he's called a savior for a good reason. I doubt he has any malicious intent. You were wrong about Lucia, remember?"

"Yes, well, I..." Halona hugged Lemrina. "Not everyone is hiding something evil, but I'm grateful for you worrying about my well-being so much. I learned a lot from you on how to be careful. Anyway, we've finally found the Cahaya! This is our chance to join him and save Akuma!"