"That tunnel isn't for you I'm afraid. You will never be able to reach The heart following someone else's path." Gardner had been waiting for J'baki to return to him.
"I have to get down to the heart, why can't I use your tunnel?"
"In due time. If you take the tunnel you'll arrive much too early. Follow the white stone path just outside of the village. You'll find yourself where you need to be."
The time for asking questions was done. Why wouldn't he have complete faith in Gardner at this point? J'baki traveled what felt like days in darkness, the only source of light the bright white stones under his feet. Widening up, spores began to filter into the root again. Great giant spores floating above like hundreds of tiny moons. Unlike any spores he'd seen before, bright and vibrant yellows, greens, and blues.
Traversing the darkness into the light of the spores, he couldn't know what floor he was on. He hadn't thought a single thing in the darkness, the light jolted a thought right into his head.
I haven't had a single thought.
My mind is usually racing out of control.
This Beo thing really does help, I can feel my spores all over my body now. Walk walk walk. Why do I feel so drawn here. It's like the spores in my body want so desperately to be here.
The thoughts were interrupted by a terrified scream coming from down the path. J'baki felt the spores violently force him to the scene like he lost an impossible game of tug-of-war.
What the hell was that just now? Did my body just pull me here? What was that screaming just now?
Mossy spores lined the walls of this ceremonial section of the root. A large circle with steps leading to a smaller circle decorated with an intricate sigil was positioned in the center of the room. The source of the screams was an Augen, tightly grasped by a figure with a hovering crown, holding him against the mossy wall.
"Look dude, you're making me mad. Take me to the lower levels. Do it!" The figure yelled at the defenseless Augen.
J'baki stepped closer, not by his choice, to the altercation happening before his eyes. J'baki got a better look at the man: his hair in a neat braid down to his lower back. A halo crown floating above his head.
Who is this guy? Body, why are you vibrating so much? Don't. Stop moving towards it.
J'baki stopped the mans arm right as he was about to smack the Augen. The Augen's eyes lit up excitedly at J'baki's apparent bravery.
"Hmm?" The man turned to meet J'baki's gaze.
"It seems I'm catching a break after all!" The man snatched his arm from J'baki. "The artificial Beo came to me"
The man dropped the augen to focus on J'baki. J'baki walked past him to check on the augen. He dazzled at the sight of its five eyes looking back at him.
"You're good now. Go on to where you were going."
The little augen had tears in its eyes extremely grateful for J'baki. It ran off down a tunnel on the right side of the room.
"Are you ignoring me asshole?" The man spoke in an arrogant pompous tone. "That's the one thing that pisses me off."
The man slugged J'baki as he stood, causing his head to fill up with air.
"Dude what the hell is your problem?" J'baki said angrily.
"That's more like it. Now tell me, who gave you that Beo?"
"I'm not gonna tell you a damn thing. You just hit me."
He lunged towards J'baki striking his face with malice. J'baki stunbled back absorbing the blow.
"Have it your way then. I just have to bring you back alive."
The following exchange of blows were non existent to J'baki. The spores had completely taken over his body. His arms floated through the air with ease, his body completely absorbing every hit that happened to land. Their skirmish ended with J'baki hurdling the man down the steps into the circle below.
"Bro just leave me alone. I have somewhere I need to be." J'baki pleaded.
"You're not going anywhere! How dare you touch me with your dirty hands." The man was growing more agitated. "You Beo-less cockroach. You're coming with me."
The man conjured chains made of water, shooting them up and around J'baki's arms singeing his skin. J'baki let out a howl of pain, dropping to his knees, feeling the spores forcibly removed by the chains.
A pair of voices came like angels singing into his head.
J'baki, call our names.
How could I have forgotten? I can't lose here. Not to some random. Sun! Mork! Help me.
Through the singeing pain, two succulent tonfas manifested on his arms, absorbing the liquid chains. Petals were engraved on the shaft of each Tonfa. With them, a new persona took over J'baki's body.
"Your cheap tricks won't work this time Pai," Another voice completely came out of J'baki's mouth. "You dare show your face here?"
The man wasn't phased at all by J'baki's threats. He conjured chains from the ground binding his legs. The man let out a wicked cackle at the realization of who stood before him.
"You again? I thought you were good and dead, but I see Vivabor had plans for you. The outcome will be the same. You and your vessel will fall."
J'baki effortlessly broke from the chains with a mighty leap coming down on Pai with an axe swing of his right Tonfa.
"Losing to you that day is my biggest regret in any life. I won't let you hurt him again."
Guiding the tonfas in a furious and most revolting dance he began an onslaught. Thrashing the man each time with intimate blows. No amount of pure liquid chains lasted in the face of the Tonfa's absorption. Pai stood completely exhausted at the center of the circle. J'baki, if you could call him that name right now, walked over in a huff. Satisfied anger welled in his body, his victory would bring him closer to his destination.
"You may defeat me here, Adrian." Pai coughed. "Don't let that build you up. Mother is here. You belong to her don't you forget."
J'baki stared Pai down and let a smile creep across his face.
"Like I told you all those years ago."
Raising both tonfas in the air he came down with the force of a thousand pound guillotine effectively smashing Pai's head into the circle fracturing the sigil.
"There's no way I'm going anywhere with you spooky niggas."
J'baki stumbled back into the steps rubbing his head. This time, the voice spoke directly to J'baki.
"Thank you J'baki. It seems I can finally use you. I'm going to rest, I'll see you again when we make it to the heart of the tree."
J'baki drifted away with an empty mind on the steps of the circle.
Waking up from the daze, Pai was nowhere to be found. The fractured sigil was gone as well, revealing a deep pit in the middle of the room.
"My savior is awake! I can't believe I finally get to meet you!" The happy augen flew up out of the pit scuttling abound J'baki's feet as he sat.
"You were amazing! The devil didn't stand a chance!"
"Hey didn't I tell you to run off where you needed to go?"
"Where I needed to go was right here. I'm Xena, I've been here in the eighth level waiting for the pit to open."
"Wait! We're on the eighth level?! I need to be on the sixth! I need to find an augen to get me to the heart!"
"I'm an Augen!" Xena's eyes blinked excitedly up at J'baki. "We can go to the heart together!"
"That seems oddly convenient." J'baki shrugged.
"Well as we say, there are no such things as coincidences. The Sigil of The Lovers, which you just broke, could only be broken by one of The Lovers. I came here to find you, you'll never be able to get to the heart without me."
W hat is happening? Why are things going this way? I don't remember breaking anything. Was that when I was asleep? It wasn't a dream at all. Who are you lover boy?"
Curiosity swelled in him like a blowfish on defense.
"Who are the lovers?"
"The lovers? Before our creator became this tree, they were a mortal. In that life they gave up their mortal being in order to save the one they loved. On Our creators instruction, our ancestors climbed up and built a special sigil that could only be destroyed by his lover."
"Have you been climbing ever since?"
"Oh yes! After the curse is broken, we will climb until we reach the outside world. That is the dream of all Augens."
J'baki rose to go examine the pit. To his surprise he saw an elegant staircase beautifully decorated with orange and purple spores. He could simply walk down the stairs and be at the heart?
"What's at the heart waiting for you?"
"What's waiting for me? The creator. I'm blessed to be the one chosen to meet them."
"Well I don't know about your creator, or the lovers. Our goals are the same though, after traveling alone for so long, I'd love if you'd guide me."
Xena's eyes blinked ferociously as she raced down the mossy steps of the pit. J'baki followed as they descended the steps, he could hear the faint sounds of snoring in the back of his head.
"Who is Akachi?" Xena kept a steady eye ahead her eyes blinking in a pattern of pink and blue.
"Huh?" The question sent an electric shock down his body. Xena walked ahead.
"While you were asleep you kept saying that name. 'Akachi stop that. Why are you so chaotic Akachi? You owe me one Akachi' who is he?"
Had I really been talking in my sleep? And about Akachi of all things?
"He's my older brother. He has a tendency to stir things up." J'baki chuckled, catching up to Xena. "There was a time when he turned my room into a volcano. I woke up sweating so much. I couldn't even get on the floor it was so hot!"
"Your brother sounds fun!"
"Oh he's amazing! He could change the spores into anything he wanted."
"Woooow that's amazing. I can't believe someone on the outside has a skill like that."
"The outside world is amazing, once all of this is over, we're getting out of this tree and you'll see it all."
Suddenly, rumbling came from the depths of the pit. Down below Xena and J'baki could see nothing. The rumbling came again, bring with it a glow of a substance gurgling below. Considering how far they traversed down, running would be moot. The third rumbling caused the substance to shoot up encasing the walls of the pit. Warm and soothing, the substance peeled them off of the stairs and into its grasp.
J'baki and Xena struggled in vain as the substance swallowed them whole, digesting them into the belly below.
Kenryu City was the shining capitol of the southern states, and in this bright beacon of a city sat a coliseum named The Duo Poculum.
"Wakey wakey!" The voice of a fiendish lady rang in J'baki's ear. "I thought you might be here, at the precipice of your lover's heart"
J'baki woke to the tone of heels walking towards him.
This isn't right. I know this room and there's no way I can be here. This can't be real, Akachi planted those lilies five years ago. Even the ceiling still has AJ burned into it for everyone to see. I'm in The Duo Poculum. Wait. How did I get to Kenryu City? Wait! I can't think of that right now. Who's voice was that?
J'baki felt his head whip around behind him. Walking towards him was Yara, a woman he'd never seen before.
"Who are you? Where's Xena!"
"Is that what her name is? I've added her to my collection." Yara pointed the three gooey yellow cocoons behind J'baki in front of a wall with the sigil of The Lovers. "As for me?"
J'baki turned back around to head for the cocoons. Then he felt his body stop dead in its tracks. He could feel the spores inside of him attempting to burst through him as he stood motionless.
"Now where are you running off to? I was in the middle of talking." Yara walked towards him as he stood unable to do anything.
"Disgraceful Adrian. I've heard through the roots that you don't even remember who you are. It's an impressive feat to reincarnate yourself, but what was the point if your vessel remembers nothing?" Yara held J'baki's face in her hands. "After you went through all that trouble to destroy our bond. You've gone against your mother and that's punishable by death no matter how many times you come back."
Yara. The Petyan Mother. She will stop at nothing until she links this world to the petyan network. Be careful, I can do nothing against her.
Adrians voice came like a message from the divine.
"But you're not him, are you kid? I could tell the moment I laid eyes on you. A mother knows. He's somewhere in there waiting it out. If I killed you now, there would be no satisfaction."
J'baki felt the restraints on him loosen as he dropped to his knees.
"I have something much more precious planned for you. You're going to become my child as well."
"Like hell I will!" J'baki was irritated. He hated being in a position where he could do nothing. "I need to get my friend and get to the heart. I don't have time for your games."
Yara let out a howling laugh.
"We are at the heart, and there's no further to go but the stadium of the Coliseum. Too bad you'll never make it there."
She beckoned the three cocoons to her. They orbited her showing J'baki their thick cloudy skin making it impossible to see inside.
"Pick one. If it's your friend take her. But if not, you'll see me take over this tree without fail. Choose wisely."
The murky yellow balls swirled gently around Yara. Hesitant, J'baki almost grabbed each orb five times at least. He grabbed one of the gooey leathery sacs in his hands.
"Ooo that's no good."
The remaining cocoons floated over her shoulders and slowly began to melt their outer shells revealing an opaque layer showing the inside.
J'baki couldn't believe his eyes. Not only had he not picked Xena. The other face brought a new sense of dread to his nervous system.
"ANYA!" He screamed clutching for the orb as it flew out of his grasp.
"Ah ah. You chose. These are my children now, my new catalysts. This ones due any moment now, he'll keep you entertained while I take over the heart."
J'baki looked down and felt a train plunge through his chest. Your friend taken by a fiendish devil with no way to save her was traumatic enough. Yet the orb in his hands now, made him utterly unable to breathe. Akachi sat fetal position in the cocoon floating in the fluid of the sac.
J'baki let out a wail of pure emotion causing Yara to be blown back a smidge covering her ears. The three cocoons popped releasing their prisoners. J'baki's wail quieted to a soft cry as he held his brother in his hands.
"NOO!" Yara jumped towards Anya catching her before she hit the ground. "Why does this always Happen?!" Yara left the room, Anya in tow as J'baki's emotions left him an uncontrollable mess.