"Hunteeer!"
Saki tried to make out if there was any movement but she couldn't see anything. She could feel her panic rise to her throat. Her whole body started trembling and her mind erupted in a towering fury. She felt searing pain like it was going to leap out of her chest. She thought for a fleeting moment to obliterate the whole valley in a ball of pure energy much much hotter than the blazing sun.
"Child…"
A voice.
Her fury died in an instant as a calmness suffused her. She tried to look for the owner of the voice; her initial curiosity turned to alarm when she saw no one. The voice is familiar but she couldn't quite place it.
She turned to kneel and lean at the edge of the cliff hoping to continue her search when the gravel at her hands turned to smooth linen fabric. The smell of sandalwood incense hit her nose before it dawned on her that she is no longer on the cliff.
The room is like one in her many dreams. She looked around in awe and apprehension at the billowing curtains. She was on a bed not unlike her bed at home.
"Child…"
She turned to the direction of the voice.
A familiar face.
The woman smiled and despite what she felt, Saki smiled back.
"I'll make this quick," the woman said.
"Your questions, even the ones unvoiced, will have some answers. There are some truths you need to uncover by yourself but if you cannot defeat the Ghost, you will never get out of the valley alive."
Saki was stunned into silence. The woman nodded her approval and went on.
"This part of the valley belongs to the true dimension where everything manifests in their true form. This is the reason why Hunter looked different in your eyes and also why you yourself feels different. You are in one of the places where your true self can be found. Your actions here matter more than when you are in that other world."
"What are you talking about?" Saki could feel a sharp pain pierce through her temples and she feels vertigo overcoming her senses.
"Just listen for a while. Talking to you requires energy that I don't have in abundance. Just know that everything that has real impact demands an equally steep payment and I am paying it now. So hush...we don't have much time."
The woman faded for a second and became transparent. Saki can see the walls behind -- no, through her! Then just as suddenly, she became solid again.
"When this is over, follow the scrolls. All your other questions will be answered but for now, you need to uncover your eyes. You have to see in order to understand…"
Then the woman faded altogether, along with the room that surrounded them. Saki, once again, found her hands clutching at the rough earth.
She sat there, pondering for a moment.
Uncover her eyes… What did she mean?
Almost instantly, the answer hit her like a slap to her face. It was something her body had been telling her all along.
She wiped her hands on her clothes, rummaged for her case in her backpack, then removed her contacts.
As soon as she did, the world around her took on a different hue. She can see so much clearer and the darkness around her didn't seem so limiting. She saw faint colored light emanating from everything from the grass to the rocks and even to the air.
She looked down again and saw faint movement along the river. On one bank is a bluish light flickering in and out of the shadows of the trees and on the other side is a sooty black, almost slimy presence.
Saki gave a relieved smile in spite of herself, her panic gone.
She didn't know how she knew, but it felt like she was on the verge of discovery towards any concept she wanted to understand; like she only had to think about it and she would know how to make it happen. The thought made her giddy and afraid at the same time.
She didn't know that at that moment, she shared a divine being's consciousness and the part that frightened her is the erosion of her humanity in exchange for great power.
She threw her thoughts at Hunter.
"Go to your katana. I'm okay. Do not worry about me."
She couldn't help but smile when his answer came back in a string of random capitalized letters and clumsily formed emojis depicting doubt and concern.
"As I said, I'll be okay. I can hold on until you get back," she said more firmly.
A thumbs up… followed by a much bigger one.
What the heck? Does he think he's chatting online? She can't help but laugh. His answer was a petulant silence. She laughed even more.
She saw the bluish aura veer off towards the camp. The inky blob below roared in anger and frustration. Then it looked in her direction. Its eyes widened slightly in recognition.
She moved.
The creature started climbing up the narrow path leading to the top of the cliff.
She searched for a flatter terrain. She couldn't afford to be cornered.
Her body felt lighter but heavier at the same time. She knows it's a contradiction but it feels like that nonetheless. Her movements are quick and decisive and her lightness doesn't come from having no weight like a feather in the wind but rather from the thought that there is no force that can slow her movement.
The creature followed her, screaming what might have been obscenities in its own language.
"Right back at you…" she chuckled. Her fear is gone.
She reached the clearing where they made their stand. The bodies weren't there anymore.
She stopped and waited for the Ghost. This place is wide enough to outmaneuver it until Hunter comes back.
It came; it's gait no longer lumbering or awkward. In fact, it looked so graceful and balanced Saki knew instinctively that she was facing a once great warrior. It's armor is still mismatched but its face is now more human than monster. The shadow around it no longer looked scattered or tattered. In front of her is the true Ghost of Iya Valley.
Only, it was a face she never expected to see.
Save for its long hair, it looked an awful lot like Jiro.