The room was dark, empty, humid, and Toshirou couldn't help but feel claustrophobic within the building. Instinctively, he placed his hand on the hilt of the sword strapped to his waist and moved slowly to the centre of the spacious room.
He brought up the Thessalonica in his left hand. Ever since he touched the orb, it had been glowing even brightly than before, something he couldn't help but wonder if it was due to the object truly belonging to him.
He shook his head, dismissing the thought, but even if he denied it, it didn't matter because everything the old man said was true. Right now, he could only use the Thessalonica for himself, which was the original idea, but he didn't expect it to be in this kind of circumstance. Sure, he would have eventually tried to use the Thessalonica for himself, by asking Yeong-ji of course, but for these turn of events where the artefact belonged to him? It was truly a massive opportunity.
All he had to do was place his hand on the orb and concentrate, right? 'Easy enough to do,' He thought. His mind briefly drifted off to Junhyung, but he erased the thought from his mind. He didn't want to think of him, at least, not now. Any thought of Junhyung was likely to make him throw a fit, and that was something he couldn't afford to do, especially at this crucial point in time.
He took in a deep breath and placed his hand on the orb, shutting his eyes. Everything that had happened to him so far came back to him like a tidal wave. From his encounter with Kuroma to his Sensei, from his Sensei to Sekaila, from arriving at Sekaila to the guild, from the guild to Joel, from Joel to the Housekeeping Guild, from there to Bonnie, from Bonnie to Rose, from Rose to Min-ji, from there to Sung-nim, from her to Yeong-ji, from Yeong-ji to Raynell, from Raynell to Min-ae, and from Min-ae till now. Everything lay bare before him, but one thing remained certain, no one was going to stop him from feeling pain, and no one was going to stop him from taking revenge. His conviction had almost been lost because of the previous situations, but he knew, and he still felt it; the void in his heart. Every smile he mustered, every bit of happiness he felt, no matter how small it was, was overshadowed by a painful pang in his chest. He didn't deserve it, he didn't deserve one bit of joy or love, or even friendship given to him. After all, he let her go... He let her die.
'Chiaki...'
In response to his feelings, the orb shone brightly. Purple and blue hues mix together around him, surrounding the entire space, and drawing him in with each movement. He felt like his consciousness was being lifted, drawn out of him. It was neither a pleasant nor uncomfortable feeling, till finally, his body dropped to the floor, limp and lifeless, as the Thessalonica also hit the ground.
...
"The weather is surprisingly cold," Dae remarked, rubbing her hands together, to create heat through the friction.
*Achoo*
Joel sneezed, his nose started to turn red because of the cold temperatures in the atmosphere.
'This isn't normal. No way should the weather be this cold, and it should be impossible for snow to fall at this time of the year.' Yeong-ji grimaced. 'What is going on? Who is behind this?'
"Dae," He called out.
"Yeah, I know." She replied, placing her hand on her hip, is on full alert. That much she knew, there was something in the works, and while Yeong-ji handled the dome of wind that covered the building, she had her own task to defend them against unexpected troublemakers.
'This will certainly not end well.' She thought to herself. 'It's almost as if it's that ice user's doing.'
Her breath hitched for a second.
'But he's dead, isn't he? Didn't Yeong-ji kill him? Then how is it possible for this to happen? No, what exactly is happening?'
While the elderly Byung-jin did not react to the weather, she, Dae, took Joel's hand and pulled him to herself. The other two would be able to take care of themselves, but the boy? Aosaki would never forgive her if anything happened to him, and so would she. There was a certain innocence that surrounded the boy and she couldn't help but see why Toshirou chose to keep him by his side.
'Hurry, Aosaki, I've got a really bad feeling about this.'
...
'Huh? Where am I? Cold... It's so damn cold.'
The blizzard blew all around him, snowy fields of white filled his vision as he slowly opened his eyes. The snowstorm was heavy, very very heavy. All around him, the snowy ground stretched onwards endlessly. White and winter-blue was all he could see, and feel.
The boy slowly got up from the snowy ground, his clothes drenched with the wetness and his legs sunk deep into the snow.
With no destination in mind, not that there was one, to begin with, he simply wrapped a black hooded cloak around himself, pulling the hood over his head, and began to walk. With each step he took, the weather only dropped in temperature, lower and lower, till the point where he was sure that it was at least 0 degrees.
His fingers were all blue due to the cold, and his nose and ears were blood-red. Cold, icy pangs of pain stung him everywhere. He felt his skin break like frozen glass, his nose was blocked, eyeballs threatening to pop out of their sockets, and his bones squeaked like the rusty hinges of a worn-out door.
Collapsing to his knees, he fell face flat into the snowy ground, unable to move any longer or think any longer. The only sound he could hear was the faint beating of his own heart, and the ringing of his eardrums, before slipping into unconsciousness.
"Wake up, Toshirou. There's a fire within you."
Slowly, he opened his eyes. The blizzard was still strong all around him, but a faint light in the distance caught his eye. With his body screaming for heat, newfound strength entered him. Shakily, he pushed himself up. Still drenched to the bone, he found his footing and took a step forward. The step increased, one, two, three, till he pushed himself on, trying to reach towards the faint light that became clearer with each step forward he took.
Finally, he came to the source of the light. It was a small fire, burning on large pieces of wood. A cuboid-like structure made of stone was seated in front of the fire.
"Have a seat, you need it."
The words came like instructions to him, but somehow the voice sounded familiar, like someone he knew from the distant past. Obeying the voice, he sat on the stone structure, warming himself by the fire that somehow managed not to be blown away by the wicked blizzard.
"It still is not able to fully heal you, is it?"
"Who... Who are you?" Toshirou managed to speak for the first time.
"Who am I? I am you." The voice responded.
The answer made it all the more confusing.
"I know everything about you. I know about the void that fills your heart, and I know exactly what it is."
The voice was deep and smooth. It sounded like a man's voice, to be precise, and it was comforting, but Toshirou refused to let himself be comforted. Coupled with the man's words, he grew troubled and anxious. What exactly did this person know? The void in his heart? What a joke. Not even Chiyo knew his deepest of thoughts, his innermost secrets and desires. If she didn't know, then no one would... or could. So who was this person that claimed to know him so well?
"Show yourself!" Toshirou said.
"I already have, but it is up to you to see me."
"Cut the bullcrap!" He shouted. He had the urge to stand up to express his annoyance, but the cold wouldn't let him. Instead, his voice came out hoarse and he felt it crack too.
"Just stop, please, I beg you. You don't know what you're saying, or what you're speaking of." He settled down, not having the strength to even place his hand on the fire.
"Why do you refuse to search for me? Why do you refuse to believe in me? We've been together since the foundation of this world, and yet, you refuse to acknowledge me."
He felt the world spin around him, the sky breaking into pieces, and the ground rolling up like a mat. Fear wasn't in his dictionary at that moment. All he could think about was loss and pain. Whether it was the cold that caused it or something else, it didn't stop the feeling of loneliness that was in his heart.
He closed his eyes, and he felt the world around him crumble. He was falling, falling, and falling, till his body plunged deep into the sea. He didn't bother struggling for air, he didn't bother moving at all. He simply sunk deeper and deeper into the endless blue sea, and his eyes shut close.
"What art thou so afraid of? Why does thy heart feel so much emptiness? Why don't you share that burden with me? I have always been with you, I have always partaken in your troubles, yet, you shut me out. What is it that makes you feel so? What is it that makes thy heart feel anguish and despair?"
He felt like he was floating, even though his body continued to sink into the water. It seemed like the ocean had no end, and a familiar memory, all too familiar in fact, sprung up from within Toshirou's mind, playing itself like a film tape before him.
"Toshirou-kuuuun!!! Over heeerrree!!" Two girls walked up towards him. The younger of the two girls was short in stature, with silk auburn hair tied in cute twintails with pink ribbons. She was about the boy's age, seven there about, and overflowed with positive energy and life as she approached the boy. Her yellow flowery dress was proof of that. The second girl was much older than the first, and much taller as well. She was fifteen years of age, with smooth brown hair that reached the middle of her back and gentle chestnut eyes that seemed to caress his soul. She wore a dress similar to the smaller girl, but light pink in colour and sleeveless. The smaller girl pranced around the boy, taking his hands in her little ones and putting a smile on her face. "Ne, ne, Toshirou-kun, we've been waiting for you." She said. "Soka? Gomene, Chiyo. I didn't realise." The boy replied. "Oh my, where you staying by yourself again, Toshi-kun?" The older girl stood behind the bench he sat on, bending over him and gazing at him with amused eyes. "Maybe. What does it matter to you, Chiaki-nee?" "Hmm... A healthy boy shouldn't be by himself. Don't you want to grow up big and strong to protect Chi-chan?" "Of course I do. I'm not a kid anymore, me being alone has nothing to do with being strong." The winter-blue haired boy replied. The older girl, Chiaki, flicked his forehead, with a playful frown on her lips. "It does, Toshi-kun. When you are alone, there'll be no one to use your strength to protect. You'll drift away from people and will be weak in your heart." She said. "Weak in my heart? Not sure if I understand." "But I do!" The smaller girl, Chiyo, shouted excitedly. Giving the boy a gentle, angelic smile, she pat him on his head and walked to his front. The little boy blushed heavily, seeing her beautiful face. "Then come with us, we'll teach you the right way to be strong." She said, lovingly.> Coming back to his senses, or rather, what was left of it, he was still sinking underwater, going deeper with every passing second. 'That's right, that night, there was a fire in our neighbourhood.' The result was a massive boom, killing the one who lit the matchstick and causing the entire building to be on fire. "Is everyone alright?!" A firefighter shouted, having rescued and evacuated all the residents of the large house. "Hey, Ruri! Calm down! Ruri-chan wait!!" A beautiful woman with long dark-blue hair that could almost be mistaken for black, rushed into the scene. Heavy tears streamed down her cobalt blue eyes as she pushed through the crowd to grab a hold of the firefighter. "Where's my son?!! Where's my son, where's Toshirou?!!" "Ruri-chan stop!!" Another woman with long dark hair and light grey eyes, held Ruri by her arms and peeled her off the firefighter who was astonished by the sudden hold the woman had over him. "Let me go, Misaki-chan! Toshirou is still in there!! Let me go!!" "You'll get yourself killed! Calm down and listen to me! I'm begging you, please!!" Facing the dark-haired woman with eyes swollen with tears, Ruri dropped to her knees, holding on to her as she cried. Misaki also knelt down, hugging her and comforting her, in hopes, she would finally be calm. "I'm sorry, Misaki-chan, I'm so, so sorry. I can't lose Toshirou, I can't lose him." She cried desperately. "Aosaki-san!/Onee-chan!" A large, muscular man with somewhat spiky chestnut hair and hazel eyes, ran with his daughter's hand in his to meet them. "Aosaki-san, where's Toshirou?!" The man asked her. Ruri did not answer, she simply held onto Misaki harder. Misaki spoke for her. "He's still in the building." The man's eyes shot open, and in the frenzy, he looked up at the house on fire and clenched his teeth. "Arisugawa-san, where's Chiaki?!" Misaki asked him. "She's... still inside." The man spoke through clenched teeth. This time, it was Misaki and Ruri's turn to widen their eyes. "No, it can't be..." Ruri burst into fresh tears, unable to bear the harsh reality that was befalling her, and the people around her. Misaki Takezawa squeezed her brows in frustration. 'Just what kind of situation is this?! At this rate, I will have no choice but to' *Boom* A section of the house exploded again, causing only more confusion to the already disordered crowd. The muscular man, Arisugawa-san, literally ripped the jacket off the firefighter who was calling out instructions and ran towards the door of the burning house. As he was about to hold the handle, the fire behind the door blew the door apart, sending the huge man flying back a few metres. "Otou-san!" The little girl with Ruri and Misaki shouted. "Arisugawa-san!!!" exclaimed the women. Another firefighter rushed over to the man, placing his hand on the pulse of his neck, and shouted out commands, "Mild concussion, fractured arm, get me a medic over here!!" While all these took place outside, no one was aware of the mental breakdown that was occurring inside of the house. "Watch out!" The girl pushed the little boy out of the way. A part of the roof fell down on the spot the boy had just left. He was stained with smoke and dust. He had coughing fits and the girl patted his back to comfort him. "I'm... *Cough*... sorry, Chiaki-nee. It's all my fault... I'm sorry." "Hush," She placed a finger on his lips. "Let's get out of here first, okay? It wasn't your fault." Her gentle voice soothed him, and he used the little willpower he had left to carry him on. Curse whoever made so many rooms in one house. They manoeuvred their way through the fire, occasionally stopping when it was too hot and trying to find another way. But alas, it was certain that their hope would be short-lived. "Toshirou!" She pushed him away to another room. Another section of the roof fell and crushed her legs, pinning her to the ground as a wave of fire blew all around her. The boy could only stare in horror as these things happened. He grabbed her hand and desperately tried to pull her out of the rubble. A small chunk of wood fell and cut him across his head, but that did not stop his little body from trying desperately to pull her out. But there was only so much his body could handle, even with the adrenaline pumping in his veins. "I... don't regret it... one bit, Toshirou-kun." The reddish-orange hue of fire filled the entire space. The girl lay on the floor, debris mixed with wood and brick crushed her legs to the ground, rendering her unable to escape the den of flames that encompassed the room she was in. "No! NO! DON'T SAY THAT!!" The little winter blue-haired boy shouted. Shock, fright, disbelief, unbelief, fear, and all manner of emotions coursed through his blood. His head had been bruised badly, his arms and legs were torn up and dye red with blood. Blood mixed with sweat washed down the boy's face, down to his neck and torso. Tears mixed streamed down his cheeks. He was just seven, what did he know about death? How could a child comprehend the meaning of life? "Go out... I'll always... watch over you... and Chi-chan." "Please stop saying that! Oh God, Kami-sama, please!!" The boy cried out to the heavens for help, desperation sinking deep into his blood. "It's alright," Chiaki patted his face fondly. With the remaining strength she had, she rubbed his hair softly and pushed him out of the way. Another pile of rubble suddenly came rushing down and crushed the head and torso of the girl on the floor, smashing her head and body to a pulp as the heat of the fire suddenly increased, burning her battered body. Those feelings aroused themselves intensely within the boy. Releasing himself into despair, the boy screamed in a loud voice, "CHIAKI!!!"> The painful memories hit him hard within the waters. He didn't even know if he was crying or not, but all he knew was guilt, pain, and emptiness. It was his fault, and no one could prove otherwise. No one, in the entire world, knew exactly how Chiaki died. He alone saw everything, and he alone knew everything. It was a nightmarish feeling, knowing that nobody could share in what he knew, burdened with the knowledge of Chiaki's death alone. It separated him from reality, from humanity. He was by himself, alone with no one to truly understand him. It haunted him, each and every single day. Almost a year later, after the incident, he broke down. A seven-year-old burdened with that suffering, it was enough to send him to madness. Every day, he scraped the walls of his room, refusing to come out, scraping the walls till his fingers bled. It was not a good time for anyone that knew him. He bashed his head into the wall repeatedly, tearing his clothes and anything his hands could lay upon, letting out shouts of madness and insanity. He couldn't take it anymore and handed his mind over to suicidal hands. If not for the timely intervention of Ruri, his mother, he would have most likely killed himself in an attempt to be free. In fact, he considered himself dead already. Although reluctant to let her son go, the boy was admitted to an asylum, unable to function properly like a normal child. For almost two years, the boy was physically isolated from society, and mentally unstable to fit in.> "You were in love with her." The deep male voice called out to him from the depths of the waters. 'I loved them both, but as a child, I was infatuated with her, which made it all the more hard.' Toshirou responded. "I know. I told you, I have shared in your suffering. Your burdens are mine to bear. I will not judge you, neither will I condemn you, for I am you. You do not have to suffer alone, your grief is mine to bear, your sorrow is mine, your loneliness is mine also." 'Who are you? Why do you know so much about me? Why would you go so far for a person like me?' "Because I am you. This world is yours for the taking and even the real world belongs to you. Lean on me, and it will never be cold again, trust me, and this world would never know despair, rely on me, and you'll never be alone anymore. We are one, we'll be together, supporting one another. I know your name but yet you do not know mine. Do you hear my name, Toshirou? Don't you hear me desperately calling out to you?" Toshirou stretched out his hand in the water, reaching out towards the voice that earnestly called out to him. 'I do, I hear you. Where are you? Let me hold on to you.' In the depths of the waters, a hand suddenly reached out to him. "Take my hand. We are one, bound by the same fate and destiny. For thou art mine, and I art thou. Call out thy name, for thou art...' ... "Yeong-ji, what in the world is that?" A bright light shot out from the ground in Jinhae to the sky, forming a ceiling of ice that spread out to the entire city of Min-ji. A figure levitated to the sky, seemingly the one responsible for such a phenomenon. "It's Azahel," Yeong-ji replied in great astonishment. "But how? How is this possible?" He was right, it was indeed Azahel, but he was a shell of his former self. Like a zombie, he hung his head, his body parts were connected by wires made of ice. His form was in the sky, with his arms stretched out to the firmament. "All of creation will rot away at my touch. The world will come to a standstill and the universe will be frozen." He repeated this chant over and over again. With each word, the ice spread out further and further, till it entirely covered the whole of Min-ji, blocking out the sunlight from reaching the city. The weather was frozen solid. Absolute zero was the result, and massive torrents of wind blew around the entire city. From the palace, Sung-nim and Raynell watched in fear, the inhabitants of the towns within the city shook visibly in horror. It was the end of the city, the end of a dynasty. "Way Of The Tiger: Act 1; Sacred Fangs!" Dae shot an enormous burst of silver energy at the ceiling of ice, but it was futile. Not a single damage was done to it. "Air Creation: Whiplash!" Accompanied by a thunderous bang, visible torrents of wind twisted together, increasing in size and number, with a pointed edge like that of a spear, shot at the ice ceiling, but just like Dae's, it was to no avail. Azahel, up in the sky, shouted with a loud voice. "Begone from the face of the earth!" In response, the people felt their blood freeze. Everything considered matter with mass and weight, liquid, solid, and gas, was freezing at an incredible rate. Dae, Yeong-ji, and Joel were caught up in this too. Byung-jin did not say a word as the ice froze his entire being from his legs upwards. He simply looked at the building in which Toshirou was in, with a blank expression on his wrinkled face. Like a dome, the ice covered the city, sparing no one within it. They were helpless. Dae, Yeong-ji and the elder were about to be the first to go. 'Please save us, Toshirou-nii!' Joel cried out in pain and cold. His torso and legs were already frozen solid. He knew his end was near. But despite it all, he clenched his teeth and screamed out to the open, "PLEASE SAVE US, TOSHIROU-NII!!!" "FUYUTSUKI!!!" A mighty powerful torrent of blue energy shot out from the building towards the sky. The warehouse was destroyed, pieces of brick and stone flew everywhere as a result of the unexpected burst of energy. The shockwaves were so powerful, they destroyed the very ground and ice that covered everywhere. "What in His Majesty's name is that?" Dae exclaimed. A thrilling excitement mixed with bewilderment coursed through her veins at the sight of such power. Yeong-ji was equally just as astonished. That energy, that presence, it could only mean- "It's Toshirou-nii!" Joel shouted joyfully. *Crack* *crack* *scatter* The ice dome that encompassed the city was broken, shattering into dust without a single trace. Gradually, the hold the ice had over the city and its people, faded away, with the clouds dispersing too and the evening sun casting a warm glow on the city. The dust and rubble cleared, finally settling down, and both feudal lords, Joel, and the elder, Byung-jin, looked towards the place that once held an enormous warehouse. Out of the mist, a figure walked out slowly, the dragging along of metal accompanied it as the figure came to the open. There Toshirou stood, dressed in a black hooded robe... with a huge broadsword in his right hand, steam escaping through clenched teeth. "...Tentsuki."