THE STONES OF PURITY AND GOODNESS VS THE SOULS OF SLOTH AND DECAY PART II: THE HUMAN-FORCES FEUD
DECEMBER 27TH , 2011
The scene that followed showed the Nightmare King and Mr Kirisawa conversing in the Hall Of The Kirisawa mansion. Ai arrived in the scene and stared at the two of them in utter shock. She was invited in. She sat as far away from the Nightmare King as possible. Ai demanded an explanation as politely as possible and ended up being quizzed by the Nightmare King regarding how the romance between Zan and Ayumi was developing. Mr Kirisawa also appeared interested in Ai's answers.
Suddenly, the sound of argument broke out upstairs and soon, Ayumi and Zan came walking down the stairs. Ayumi had a clenched fist and Zan was rubbing his cheek painfully.
"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?!" Ayumi yelled angrily.
"Sorry" Zan apologized.
The two walked to the dining table without noticing the three in the Hall and began to eat silently. Ayumi kept pressuring Zan into eating more vegetables but he was more interested in the bacon, eggs and hot dogs on the table. Ayumi's voice was heard criticizing him sternly, and a loud hitting sound followed by a crashing sound was heard. Ai turned to look at her father.
"Just like Saito" the Nightmare King said.
"Darou?" Mr Kirisawa said with a funny expression on his face.
Ai smiled.
Soon, Ayumi and Zan were heard approaching the Hall, and then they came into view. Both held a sandwich in their hands and were about to chew on them; but when they saw the three in the Hall, they dropped their sandwiches simultaneously.
"N-N-N-Nightmare King?!" Ayumi exclaimed in shock.
"D-Dad?! What're you doing here?!" Zan seemed even more surprised.
"Naïve brat. Does a father need a reason to visit his son?" the Nightmare King said.
"Says the guy who never showed his face in nineteen years! Temae (Damn you!) You better give me a good reason for showing your face here! Depending on your answer, I might give you a round of stargazing!" Zan yelled angrily.
"Quite the rude one, aren't you?" the Nightmare King said calmly.
"Do you see all the papers on the table before me?" Mr Kirisawa asked.
Zan and Ayumi took a close look from where they stood.
"What, you guys studying for some post graduate exam or something?" Zan retorted.
The Nightmare King laughed.
"Looks like the wish I made on the day of your naming ceremony actually did come true" the Nightmare King said with a sinister laugh.
"What wish?! I hope you didn't jinx me in anyway?! You better take it back!" Zan roared.
"I couldn't even if I wanted to. You've become far too warped for me to take it back now" the Nightmare King said.
Ai chuckled nervously.
"What a wonderful father-son moment, seems like something out of an anime" Ai laughed silently.
"What are those papers?" Ayumi asked suspiciously.
"Ayumi, I received a letter last night from your grandmother back in Kyoto. You've officially been recognized as the strongest flame wielder of the Kirisawa clan and named heir to the clan once I'm gone, though the fact that I'm alive today means you're still second place" Mr Kirisawa said with a sinister laugh.
Ayumi glared at him angrily, yet tried to keep her cool.
"You can't tell me all those sheets are letters" Ayumi said
"What the hell are you two up to?!" Zan roared angrily.
"Why? Aren't you happy to see your dad, Zanny boy?" the Nightmare King teased.
"No" Zan answered almost immediately.
"That was quick" Ayumi had a look of surprise on her face.
"There's no way I'd be happy that he's here! He's the Nightmare King, my dad. Yet for the past how many years he kept plaguing me with dreams of evil bunnies with red eyes saying oh my God, I don't even want to imagine it! Temae! The chances of Hell freezing over in a single night are way higher than the chances of me ever calling you dad…in a loving way! Go water the desert!" Zan roared angrily.
"I already did that before coming here" the Nightmare King said.
"Wow, he's always prepared isn't he?" Ayumi said with a funny look on her face.
"Then burn the sea!" Zan roared.
"I covered that also. Haven't you noticed how hot the weather is today?" the Nightmare King asked.
At that moment, Mr Kirisawa turned off the air-con and everyone felt an intense heat. Ayumi and Mr Kirisawa appeared to be enjoying the heat a lot.
"Take me under your wing, Nightmare King sensei!" Ayumi immediately exclaimed much to everyone's surprise.
Mr Kirisawa turned on the air-con and the room became cooler after a while.
"So what are those papers dad?" Ai asked Mr Kirisawa.
"Ayu, do you also really want to know what they are?" Mr Kirisawa asked.
"Of course!" Ayumi declared.
"You know our clan has always been the strongest and we must remain the strongest" Mr Kirisawa said.
"I can see where this is going. Sounds like a line from some anime" Zan muttered suspiciously.
"Those papers, Zan, Ayumi, those are your marriage documents, certificates, family shares and all, an entire marriage contract legally recognized" Mr Kirisawa said.
"WHAAAAT?! YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS DAD! A MARRIAGE ORGANIZED OUT OF POLITICAL CONVENIENCE?! TELL ME YOU DIDN'T JUST AGREE TO THAT NONSENSE!" Ayumi roared angrily.
"He-e-ey dad, you must be hungry. Would you like some food? If you'd like something, I'll prepare a real Dagaare treat for you" Zan's attitude suddenly changed.
"And hell's not frozen over yet" the Nightmare King said with a sinister chuckle.
"I couldn't help it Ayu. He gave me a pretty good deal" Mr Kirisawa said.
"What kind of deal?! You should even be embarrassed to call your daughter's marriage contract a deal!" Ayumi roared.
"He promised to teach me a new flame technique, the most powerful in existence" Mr Kirisawa said.
"You sold your daughter for a flame technique?! That's so low dad!" Ayumi yelled angrily.
"Ugh, boys! I guess no matter the age, the idiotic characteristics will always be the same!" Ai muttered to herself.
"So where do I sign dad?" Zan said as he held one of the papers in his hand.
"That one, oh, you can use my pen" the Nightmare King said and handed Zan a pen.
In less than a moment, Zan had signed his portion.
"TRAITOR! How could you?! You were supposed to be the one to propose to me, not your dad! You should at least have the guts to do that!" Ayumi roared angrily.
"That can easily be remedied. Ayu, will you marry me?" Zan asked robotically.
"NO WAY IN HELL DAMN YOU!!!" Ayumi roared and punched Zan through three walls in the Kirisawa mansion.
"Yup, definitely a second Saito" Mr Kirisawa said with a laugh.
"Why do I feel like I'm watching a Korean drama?" Ai muttered worriedly.
Then Ayumi turned to face Mr Kirisawa.
"You should be ashamed of yourself old man! What would Mom say?!" Ayumi roared.
"Actually, those papers were prepared by your mother six years ago" Mr Kirisawa said.
Ayumi fell on her knees.
"I can't believe it, even Mom? Both my parents betrayed me?" Ayumi seemed depressed.
Zan walked back in.
"Come on Ayu, it won't be so bad. Besides, I love you. I've already told you so many times, and you love me too so why shouldn't we get married?" Zan said.
Ayumi began to weep.
"You don't understand. None of you understand!" Ayumi yelled and ran away.
"Ayu!" Zan called and ran after her.
"Aaah, young love. It can be compared to eating well spiced meat and drinking six cans of beer, then going to bed and dreaming of heaven, only to wake up the next morning with a hangover and feel like crapping terribly, rushing to the washroom only to find the WC hasn't been flushed in over a week and there's no T-roll in sight. Pitiful" the Nightmare King said.
"That's a nightmare you're describing! A full-fledged nightmare! Don't go comparing love to a nightmare!" Ai screamed worriedly.
"Ooooh, looks like young Ai is quite knowledgeable in the affairs of love. Where is your experience coming from?" the Nightmare King teased.
"Uh-um-uh…novels" Ai said with a look of embarrassment on her face.
"Romance novels? Come on Ai, I expected better. Don't go reading stuff like that and think it's real love. Love is like a king who decided to travel to another country to make peace, then he discovered that his country had been besieged. Immediately, he leaves the country he is in to save his country but gets sniped by an arrow no sooner than he left the castle of the other king" Mr Kirisawa said.
"Ryuuji! You're not doing the subject enough justice! Love is just like it's portrayed in Dante's inferno!" the Nightmare King exclaimed.
"I see. That is true. Braving the dangers of hell for a loved one while facing your sins!" Mr Kirisawa said with a laugh.
"No! It's more like when Dante's fiancée died and her soul was ascending into Heaven and Satan came and snatched it like a chicken about to be slaughtered!" the Nightmare King roared passionately.
"And I'm just going to pretend I didn't just hear that coming from the lips of a man far older than my grandfather. I guess boys will always be boys, unruly as always" Ai thought and walked to the garden.
The scene that followed showed Ai outside a cinema, staring at the movie posters. A poster caught her attention.
"Hajime no Olele, Code Ageless huh? And what's that supposed to be anyway? Let me take a closer look" Ai said and approached the poster.
"Hmm, a boy with a book, another with a sword, another with a sling, one with a trumpet, a woman with a nail and a peg…hmm, could this be…a man with a rod…masa ka? (You can't be serious). A biblical parody huh? I really wonder what Christians have to say about this. Well, it won't hurt to give it a try" Ai said as she walked into the cinema which happened to be connected to a shopping mall as well.
She bought some popcorn and some ice cream, then headed off to buy a ticket. There was a long queue to the counter.
"Is this Hajime no Olele movie really that good?" she wondered.
She knew with her special privileges as a member of high society, she could cut the line but she didn't want to draw too much attention to herself. As the line began to grow shorter, she noticed a familiar figure approaching.
"Hey Prince! Over here!" she called.
Prince turned around and noticed her.
"If it isn't Ai Kirisawa!" Prince called as he ran towards her.
Suddenly, the mall became deathly silent.
"Did he just say Ai Kirisawa? The daughter of the wealthy Ryuuji Kirisawa who owns the multi-million Kirisawa Conglomerate?" voices rang and soon, people gathered around to constrict Ai and Prince's movement.
"Are you really Ai? Now that you mention it…you really do look like a Kirisawa!" voices rang.
"I don't even want to know what that means" Ai muttered with a nervous laugh.
"Oops sorry Ai, I forgot you rich folks really have it tough" Prince laughed.
"Yeah, I guess everyone has their own share of problems to deal with" Ai laughed nervously.
Prince suddenly grabbed Ai by the hand.
"Let's make a run for it!" he suggested and pulled her away, breaking through the wild crowd.
After running for a long time, they managed to hide in the cinema hall. Luckily, the lights of the cinema hall were dimmed and it was already half full making it difficult for people to recognize them. Prince and Ai panted heavily.
"That certainly took a few years off my life" Prince laughed.
"It certainly did, didn't it?" Ai said with a laugh. "We didn't even get a chance to buy tickets…and when the line became short enough too, too bad" she muttered regretfully.
"Tickets schmickets! Who need 'em when you can just break in?" Prince said.
"And there conveniently happened to be no guard around making it easy to sneak in" Ai said.
"I'm just that lucky. Let's take advantage of this fortunate 'accident'. After all, better to ask for forgiveness than permission" Prince laughed.
"That's not the problem. It's not like I can't afford a ticket you know?" Ai said.
"Don't be so stiff all the time Ai. Life wouldn't be fun without rules…you know why?" Prince asked.
"I'm just going to pretend I don't know what you'll say next" Ai said silently with a funny expression on her face.
She just shook her head.
"Because if there were no rules…there'd be no rule breakers" Prince said with an innocent laugh.
"Your thought patterns really are scary Prince. You do know that's another word for delinquent/rogue/villain/criminal?" Ai said.
"That's the whole point" Prince said.
"You remind me a lot about Zan" Ai said with a laugh.
"Hmm? Did you say something?" Prince said as he led Ai towards the seats hidden in the darkest area of the shadows.
He seemed distracted with searching for seats.
"Never mind" Ai sighed.
Ai and Prince sat down and talked for a while before the cinema finally filled up and the movie began.
The next scene showed Ayumi under a tree in the garden of the Kirisawa mansion. There were tears in her eyes but she was trying to hold them back; the whole tough girl routine. Zan also felt really depressed because he thought he had caused Ayumi a deeper hurt than he realized. He approached her.
"Ayu, are you alright?" he asked her.
"Please leave me alone…I wish I could say that but…it's my worst fear" Ayumi wept.
"You've been crying a lot lately you know?" Zan asked her.
"I've kept too much within me for too long. This is precisely why I chose not to feel anything…for anyone but my family" Ayumi said.
"I understand Ayu…I know what you feel. When Wanye, my gramps was killed…I wanted to destroy every single person alive. Somehow the only person I never seemed to be able to think of destroying…was you, and we'd known each other for little more than a month" Zan said with a laugh.
Ayumi clenched her teeth hard to prevent herself from crying any more than she was trying to keep her tears bottled up.
"Thank you for trying to make me feel better but you know…it only makes me feel much worse" Ayumi said.
"Then let it all out…if you want…I'll help you with a little music" Zan said and weaved an acoustic guitar from dreams.
He began to play single notes, one at a time and then he began to fill in the chords and main lines of harmony with his dreamweaving abilities.
"This is a song from Edwin Mwintome Bozie's story Dragon Zone, The Code Of Heart And Hate…but of course I'll make my own modifications or…it'd be copyright infringement" Zan said with a wink.
Then Zan began to sing…
"A wounded bird flies high,
Searching for a lonely place
Not knowing where or why this world
Is such a really messy maze
The wounded bird flies high,
Searching for a Holy Place,
Not knowing where or why this world
Is such a really messy maze
Searching, seeking, for the way back home…
Flying (Flying), Trying (Trying) not to give up hope
Searching, seeking, for the way back home
Flying (Flying), Trying (Trying) not to give up hope
Timeless, windless, wordless, endless
Something from my past seems worthless
Memories I can't define
Of things I just can't seem to find
A star, a storm, a great starship,
That blazes on a timeless trip
A black hole comes and wakes my fears,
The silent stars shed endless tears
Bended, ended, winded, worded,
Silent the crew disappear,
I awaken the next day on a bed
To find that all my memories are dead
Growing, rising, hiding, finding
I can't fit in this strange setting
My past is lost but I am here
And the stars keep shedding timeless tears
The wounded bird grows wings,
Soaring higher, breaking strings,
Wounded wings, stretch further
Breaking burdens, hardened yes…but tender
The toothless beak grows fangs so stronger,
Tearful eyes, now fearful and wiser
Wounds of the past become a shield
Impenetrable and light to wield…
A star, a storm, a great starship
That blazes on a timeless trip
A comet streaks and calms my fears
The invincible dragon sheds no tears!"
Zan sang as tears began to stream down his eyes. He did not seem to understand why the song brought tears to his eyes but he knew it made Ayumi feel much sadder than she felt before he began to sing, though as clueless to her fears as he was, he could not understand why.
"I can't take it anymore, I can't hide the truth from you any longer Zan. I know I'll lose you once you discover the truth but I can't keep lying to you" Ayumi cried.
"Lying to me? I don't think you could do that Ayu. You know what? A good cook can never lie!" Zan tried to divert Ayumi's attention.
He didn't seem to want to hear what she wanted to say.
"What do you mean by that?" Ayumi asked.
"Since I came to live here, I've never tasted bad food and cooking is only as good as the feelings you put into it no? Well, if you think you're lying to me, why don't you just cook something for me to eat?" Zan joked and winked.
"Haaah?" Ayumi exclaimed in surprise.
"In my hometown, we have this saying, 'a woman's heart is only as good as the food she can cook'" Zan said with a laugh.
Ayumi stood up and walked away without saying a word.
AN HOUR LATER…
Ayumi walked to where Zan sat under the tree before she left, carrying a tray containing a bowl that was covered.
"Well, looks like you really took me seriously. So I wonder, kekeheheh, what does Ayumi's heart taste like" Zan rubbed his hands together with a mischievous grin.
He uncovered the bowl.
"So how does it look like Zan?" she asked.
Zan stared at the food suspiciously.
"What's this? Is it supposed to be edible? It looks like a volcano in the middle of an oil spillage" Zan thought.
"Why don't you have a taste Zan?" Ayumi asked.
"Besides that, I think she cooked this with Pyrogeysers" Zan muttered almost silently.
"Well…uh…um, you know Ayu, I just remembered this other saying from my hometown which says… 'a woman must know her heart well before she presents it to a man' so why don't you try it first?" Zan faked an innocent smile.
Ayumi picked the food, fetched a bit of it with a spoon and ate it.
"DID SHE REALLY EAT THAT?!" Zan exclaimed in horror.
Ayumi played with the food in her mouth to see if it tasted alright and then she…spat it out and coughed violently!
"I guess it's not edible after all, I'm sorry about that Zan" Ayumi said downheartedly.
"Hey hey hey, if you spat out the food you prepared yourself…then…I fear for my future…" Zan muttered with a grim expression on his face.
"I'll pour this away, it's not good after all" Ayumi said but before she could take the bowl, Zan snatched it from her reach.
"Hey hey, don't take what doesn't belong to you. It's a present for me isn't it?! Well good or bad, I'm just going to have to cope with it" Zan said and began to gulp the food.
He had a painful expression on his face and threw a few spoonfuls behind him when Ayumi wasn't looking.
"You don't have to try so hard you know?" Ayumi said with a sad look on her face.
"I'm suffering enough as it is, don't try to discourage me Ayu" Zan said and ate more.
After eating, Zan looked as though he was barely able to remain conscious.
"So how was it?" Ayumi asked.
"Do you want the 'sweet-talking reply with sugar coating and a lot of meaningless words' or 'the truth which might be harsh?'" Zan asked Ayumi.
"Th-The truth" she said.
"W-Well then, here's my review of your cooking. It tasted like sand mixed with gravels and poured into oil, then cooked with sulphur. There was so much going on in there I couldn't taste anything" Zan said.
"I see" Ayumi turned away.
She seemed slightly irritated but was trying her best to conceal it.
"But…you put a lot into it. In the end the taste was terrible but that was because you put in a lot of ingredients with conflicting tastes so there was a lot of disharmony in your cooking, but that doesn't mean there was nothing in it. There were sweet and bitter ingredients, salty and sour ones as well but you really tried your best, didn't you Ayu?" Zan said with a thumbs up and a wink.
Ayumi smiled but her smile was wavering.
The scene that followed showed Ai and Prince standing in thick mist beside Shining River. As Prince and Ai stood staring ahead, an outline began to take shape from the mist, from an intangible outline to a solid body. It approached the two companions and as it drew closer, it split into two bodies. One of the bodies seemed to be of masculine build and the other seemed to be of feminine build.
"Who are you?!" Ai called seriously.
She seemed to seriously be considering her alternatives. The figures before her were cloaked in the mist making it difficult to determine their identities.
"Who…are you?!" Ai growled the words.
"We are…I am…Decay, the fifth soul of evil, the worst enemy of conscience…" the figures said as the mist surrounding them slowly cleared… "It wouldst be more accurate to proclaimeth thus…I am thine true self…Ai Kirisawa…the embodiment of the untainted will of water" the figures said as they fused to form…an exact replica of Ai.
Ai didn't seem surprised.
"I have no time for mind games!" Ai declared and observed the situation closely.
"Have no fear Ai Kirisawa, mine very own self…for I have no interest in a prize I hath already claimeth" Decay said in Ai's own voice as he/she/it gazed at Prince as though he was worth no effort at all.
"What business have you with Ai?!" Prince yelled defensively.
"Mine business layeth not with thee, lowly human. Know thine place scum. There layeth no worth in putting that much effort into deceiving me. Thou hast done an impeccable deed in deceiving thine own soul and I must speak thus; I hath utmost pride in thee than I hath ever had for any other human however; it wouldst be easier for an ant to pose as a behemoth or the firmament to be inverted in its position…than for a hopeless pitiful creature as thineself to confound the senses of such a grand being as mineself" Decay said.
"You sure have some nerve speaking to me like that!" Prince yelled angrily.
"As you wish then; I shalt prove to thee, thine own worthlessness; thine own despicable nature" Decay said as his eyes glowed with a sinister purple glow.
The figure standing before Ai stretched out an arm.
"I need thee to stand aside whilst I deal with the trash" the figure said as the mist surrounding Ai solidified to form a cloudy orb.
The orb was solid in nature and couldn't be destroyed so easily.
Ai seemed to be considering her alternatives deeply. The evil soul approached Prince and as it approached him, its form slowly changed till it became an exact replica of Prince. Ai seemed slightly confused about why the evil soul would expose its process of transformation to its victims. The evil soul glanced at her and smiled.
"I knoweth that which troubleth thee Ai Kirisawa. Humans art not the brightest of creation. Even beasts wouldst grasp the danger instinctively however…humans weigh truth against their own logic and discardeth that which they canst not comprehend. That serveth as their greatest weakness and it is thus…our greatest fort. Even after revealing all of this to a human, he wouldst still be deceived by anything I speaketh. Yes…for as long as there liveth a concept of 'logic' and 'intelligence' as defined by thine human standards…lying to a human would always be possible even after revealing to thee…the complete truth…from Alpha to Omega" Decay said.
His lips didn't seem to move and it was as though he were speaking directly within Ai's mind.
"Hmmph! The naivety of humans confounds even a being of great pride as mineself" Decay said.
Then Decay turned to face Prince.
"Prince Asante…thou didst not hesitate to speak of humans, time…and reflection as though thine limited human mind couldst grasp such powerful abstract concepts as these. Therefore, I take it upon mineself to instruct thee in the errors of thine limited and fragile understanding" Decay said.
Prince stared at Decay in horror.
"I wilt now explain to thee…mine preferred mode of operation. I wilt reveal to thee thine experiences without which thou couldst not have become the despicable being thou art today. For every action thou attempteth to justify, mine likeness wilt become more and more like thine. If by the time I am done with thee, thou hath not learnt the errors of thine ways, I wilt assimilate thee completely and thine existence wilt completely and instantaneously be erased. Well then…hast thou the resolve…to face mine judgement?"
Ai opened her eyes in shock.
"What is he saying?!" she exclaimed in horror.
The figure turned to her and smirked.
"This is what distinguishes the fourth through the seventh souls of evil from the very first three. Engaging us in combat is engaging thine very own self. Thou canst not win against us by relying solely on the power of thine sigils. Hast not thou ever wondered why the Messiah of the citizens of that abominable kingdom is most renowned for Self-Denial? He couldst not be chained by mine words precisely because he retained no sense of individuality but always acted on His Father's command…for the good of all. But then again…it is not as though a lot of people actually seek Truth…nowadays…and when they do…it is not for a genuine desire to learn but simply for a base desire to make themselves look grander by debating against the Ultimate Soul Of Virtue Himself…" Decay said as his smile widened.
Then he turned to face Prince.
"Now to get down to business" Decay said as his smile suddenly became a serious frown.
He reached out to Prince. Prince seemed to be on guard. He even tried to prevent Decay's hand from reaching him but Decay glared at him…
"After everything I've revealed to thee about mineself…dost thou really not understand a thing I've said? Then let me rephrase everything I've said in a way even the most unintelligent of humans would understand. Give up on trying to shield thineself from me…" Decay said as his hand phased right through Prince's. "…for I am thine very own self!" he said as he laid his hand on Prince's head.
Prince's body began to blur.
"Hast thou already begun to fade away? I haven't even begun to judge thee. All I did was reveal to thee thine very own memories and feelings" Decay said.
Ai frowned.
"Exposing the Dream World can't possibly matter more than what is happening now. I am sworn to protect the dreams of humans. It is contradictory to let humans die…in order to defend their dreams" Ai muttered.
Decay stared at her.
"Hast thou finally decided to act…Ai Kirisawa? Go ahead. I dare thee to make a false move!" Decay threatened.
Ai stared at him in shock.
"How did he know that?! Can he read minds?!" Ai exclaimed.
"Hmmph! See mine point? This is exactly what I meant to reveal…by telling thee everything concerning mineself…revealing my very nature to thee. I saith to thee…I am thine very own self. That should have been plain to understand but thou wast quick in assuming that…what I meant was that…I couldst read minds. Even if ye knoweth every single thing about me…mine nature, mine power, mine strengths…and mine weaknesses…ye couldst never hope to beat me for thou and thine pitiful human brethren wilt always weigh me according to thine own logical standards and that is why we evil souls have a saying… 'humans art intelligent; intelligent humans art rigid in understanding…and intelligent humans that call themselves… 'realists' and 'practical' art not even worthy to be called 'prey' for their own intelligence…is their 'predator'" Decay said.
Ai looked puzzled. She also looked quite afraid.
"If it is thine wish Ai Kirisawa…I wilt judge both thee and this fool simultaneously!" Decay roared angrily and shattered the orb around Ai.
In an instant, he had grabbed Ai by the head as well. He split in two, the one holding Prince, bearing the likeness of Prince and the one holding Ai, bearing the likeness of Ai.
"Now…let us begin…!" Decay roared in unison.
While Prince was made to face his memories and Decay's efforts to corrupt them, Ai was made to face her past with Ayumi, the events of the Battle Of Black Water Bridge, and her mother's ordeal.
The scene that followed showed the Nightmare King and Mr Kirisawa conversing. After Ai, Ayu and Zan had left their presence, the tone of their discussion suddenly changed.
"It is very rare for you to visit the human realm Nightmare King. You must have a very grave reason for doing so…and I hope to God it is not bad news you bring" Mr Kirisawa said.
"Unfortunately Ryuuji…it is grave news for every living thing in existence. Something far graver than we originally anticipated…and judging from the way things are currently…even with all the knowledge I've unearthed…it might be far-fetched to assume that humanity is going to survive the impending disaster…and even if we do…it will most definitely come at a great cost" the Nightmare King said.
"I don't like the sound of things from the way you're putting them. You defeated Ziri, the most terrifying of the Seven Souls Of Evil. That makes you a being of immense power…so it is even more frightening to hear this come from you than hearing it come from the Chancellor…or even the Dream King" Mr Kirisawa said.
"The situation is just that dire and I must say…even having said that…there is no human word in existence that can describe how dire it is Ryuuji. Have you heard of The Human-Forces Feud?" the Nightmare King asked.
"I can't say I have" Mr Kirisawa said.
"I can understand why. You've never really been religious or superstitious even after everything you've seen and experienced. You've tried your best to be upright…but…there's a limit to how far you can go in that state and it's all part of the conspiracy of the forces" the Nightmare King said.
"Tell me more…" Mr Kirisawa said.
"The forces have had a grudge against humanity for a long time now for one reason only… 'Humanity bears a special place in all of creation as God's greatest paradox'. Haven't you wondered why all of creation that bears life possesses some form of 'fangs or claws' to fight with? Plants also bear defense mechanisms in the form of docile poisons that cause itches and other things of the sort…but humans possess no fangs to fight with because of the structure of their mouths and their 'nails' are fragile enough to be broken…which needless to say results in great pain if broken violently. Yet…why does humanity bear such a high rank in the hierarchy of existence?" the Nightmare King said.
"That has been dealt with quite well through science" Mr Kirisawa said.
"True…I haven't studied much of human science however…the comparison of humanity to apes is quite a wrong analogy. Using anatomy and intelligence as a reference works but…it is still quite far-fetched. Humanity's nature is less like that of apes and more like that of ants. Of all of creation…ants and bees possess a clearly defined organizational hierarchy. Ants are small in size, yet they find strength in numbers. When one of them is killed, the others gather for a while around it…as though showing a sense of compassion, then they go by a different route. Ants try to avoid obstacles in their paths by taking alternate routes thus it can be said that ants have great intelligence when it comes to strategy and perceiving danger. They live by the standards of the classes they've been born into, a worker as a worker, a warrior as a warrior…with one queen…obeying her instructions obediently and trying not to defy the purposes for which they were made. Like humans…though it may be limited in ants…they can also perceive the future and read signs in nature and thus they store food to prepare for winter. Ants are an embodiment of true wisdom which humans can learn from and they live in harmony with the things around them…finding strength in one another and making up for their individual weaknesses. It takes a few ants to slay an elephant and an ant doesn't have to engage the elephant in direct combat. All it needs to do is crawl into the openings in the elephant's head, cause pain that turns the elephant into its own worst enemy…inducing it to commit suicide" the Nightmare king said.
"That's a very good point" Mr Kirisawa said.
"Humans possess all these qualities as well but the difference here lies in one thing a human possesses that an ant does not. Humans possess a trait distinct from all of creation…both material and spiritual…and that trait is…the human soul. Animals possess spirits and bodies, spiritual beings are beings of pure spirit and great intelligence but none other than humans possess all three Godly attributes…body, soul and spirit. Spirits cannot know the secrets of their creator unless spoken directly to them from which the information moves from a source to a destination…however…with humans…the source Himself lives within them, the Ultimate Soul Of Virtue…He that Is. Humans thus do not need to seek knowledge from external sources like everything else in existence for Ultimate Knowledge and Wisdom lives within them. Humans were created in the image and likeness of God Himself and though on the outside they have weak and fragile bodies that do not possess 'fangs and claws', their ultimate weapon is within them and that is why humans alone are gifted with the 'need for speech as a medium of communication' for they do not wrestle against material things. Humanity's ultimate weapon is the very same weapon God possesses, the power to crush all adversity, forces or otherwise simply by the utilization 'OF THE WORD'. They are weak physically true… but within them lies a power which though far from God's is closest to his than any other created thing in existence. Humanity's role is thus to serve both as students and tutors of the forces by unravelling the mysteries of God within them. For this very reason, a being known as Lucifer rebelled against God and swore to threaten all of His creation. Lucifer was cast down from the Heavens, true home of forces… then he forsook his name and nature as "Bearer Of The Light" and took on the name and nature of "Enemy", the name "Devil, Satan, Diablo". Diablo incited in humans the very same nature of rebellion he had himself come to possess and that is where the 'conspiracy of the forces' begins. It is not as simple a plan as we often believe it to be. In fact…it is so complex in nature it's impressive. The grudge of the forces against humanity for humanity's unique nature in being similar to God was expressed in the words;
"There are two kinds of creatures that exist within time…
Forces and Humans…
Forces are born as a result of the whim of the gods…
Humans are born as a result of the whim of the gods…
Forces obey the divine will of the gods…
Humans rebel against the divine will of the gods…
Forces have power…
Humans have free will…
Needless to say, the two are very alike…
But at least humans have a choice…
You call yourself the Dreamweaver but that choice was made for you…
Even before you were born…
It was your destiny to defeat Zanfar…so that I would be reborn…
That was not your choice…
SO DREAMWEAVER, WEAVER OF DREAMS…
DO YOU HAVE THE POWER TO FACE…
THE WEAVER OF CALAMITY?!"
"But the words of this grudge speak as though Zanfar has already been defeated by Zan" Mr Kirisawa said.
"I will get to that but the conspiracy comes in parts. The first was simply to incite a rebellious nature in man in the Garden Of Eden.
The second was to create a bold spirit of defiance within man that would lead him to justify his actions and thus seek to prove God's actions unjust;
Around that time, man had not yet began to "have dreams" and you know that man had a terrible nature God would find deplorable and try to stay as far as possible away from. But God did not forsake man. God created the force… "Zanviel" as Jacob slept on the Holy Ground. In Dagaare, Zanviel means "the beautiful dream". Through Zanviel, God could show man the beauty of spirituality and a world beyond anything man could imagine. Through Zanviel, other forces like "Literature" which interprets spirituality and "Science" which interprets materiality were born out of "fantasy". But just as Diablo perverted man, man's perverse nature and imaginings created another entity from darkness and that entity was "Zanfar" which is the Dagaare word for "Nightmare." However…it is not the same kind of Nightmare you've come to know. "Zanfar" literally means "the Evil Dream". Zanviel sought to advance human wisdom by protecting the Dreams hidden within the Alpha Gate, which houses the core nature of humanity's dreams. Zanfar sought to dominate humanity by corrupting dreams within the Alpha Gate and hiding them within the Gate Of The End, "The Omega Gate". These dreams would then become a force of terror for their owners. That was the third scheme in all of this.
The fourth scheme was an important event hidden within the Origins Of Babylon. Yes, it was hidden in the Story Of The Evil Tower, the Tower Of Babel, mankind's ultimate symbol of defiance. That was the Tower with which man prove himself a worthy adversary to God by means of a perverse unity. To break apart this perverse alliance, God mixed up human language. No one knows what the root language was but if I were to take a guess, I'd say it was the language of Spirit. God took away the "Spirit" within words that serve as a universal medium of communication. For instance, humanity is now separated into nations however every human can tell when another is sad or happy so things like "a smile," "a frown" are universal symbols of communication…and therein lies the problem. Humanity came together and agreed on a set code of communication in their various groups. The reason they did this was to "avoid confusion in communication." They agreed that a set of symbols would represent an existing object in nature. Diablo saw a chance here. Since "Spirit" had been isolated from communication thus transforming communication into mere codes, the forces conspired and deceived humanity into believing that the symbols were the very thing itself instead of being a means to differentiate one thing from another and through this…a false wisdom was imposed on mankind by name "Reality, Practicality, Materialism, Logic". These in themselves are not evil but "Spirit" was gradually isolated from these concepts making them "Absolute Truth" independent of "The Ultimate Soul Of Virtue, Truth Himself" the Nightmare King explained.
"That is quite deep. I find it quite difficult to understand" Mr Kirisawa said.
"Try to understand it Ryuuji because this knowledge will be required in our final showdown with Zanfar…which is very soon…to come. This was just the beginning; Diablo was very much active for a long time making it extremely difficult to deny his existence. Zanviel noticed how things were progressing too much in Zanfar's favour and sought to warn humanity, however…humanity's reply was always "what you're saying is impractical! It's not possible! It's not logical! Stop fantasizing!" Even a being as pure and strong as Zanviel had emotions. It is irritating to defend people who do not wish to be defended. No matter how much you wound yourself for their sakes, they'll never listen to you and always stay within firing range of the archers even after seeing you get wounded for their sake…thus a grudge was born in Zanviel's heart, for Zanfar had made humanity forsake the beauty of the knowledge he had tried to teach them. So Zanviel who drew strength from humanity's pure dreams had his power diminished while Zanfar's increased. Regardless, Zanviel took a stand against Zanfar by teaming up with a human and the Seven Souls Of Virtue. It was a tough battle and Zanviel knew there'd be no clear winner. To avoid sacrificing humanity's dreams to win this battle…Zanviel allowed himself to be absorbed by Zanfar as a sacrifice but through sheer will, Zanviel suppressed Zanfar's evil nature by setting the limiters called "Emotion". Zanviel managed to prolong the battle and disappeared into the world of symbols…the world of Dreams, of fantasy. However, Zanviel was unaware that this was also a part of Diablo's scheme…and this is where the fifth scheme sets in. Zanfar despised humanity and Zanviel was made to sympathize with that grudge by watching humanity become more and more corrupted in nature. When Zanviel finally succumbed to his grudge and Zanfar's; the wills of the two completely coalesced to create an even more terrifying entity called Zanbӧngfar, from the Dagaare words "Zan" which means "Dreams" and "Bӧngfar" which means "A Deplorable Object". Zanbӧngfar represents the ultimate extension of Zanfar and is a symbolic connotation of "The Deplorable Dream". Zanbӧngfar was the fifth scheme.
By unleashing Zanbӧngfar and using him as His Ultimate Living Sigil made from the compressed evil of humanity's desires, Diablo terrified humankind through dreams and manifestations that resulted from the combination of the symbolic nature of spirituality and the material nature of material existence. Yes, the force through which this was accomplished was by merging spirituality with materiality to create… "mythology, otherwise known as superstition". Through the creation of mythological events that could not be proven through scientific knowledge, like the existence of the "Loch Ness Monster Of Scottish Legends, and the existence of demigods, it became more and more difficult for mankind to distinguish "spirituality" from "mythology". Mankind was thus deceived into believing that the power he possessed was not enough to stand up to the threat of Diablo's perverse ambitions.
To give mankind…a firm foothold of his stand in God's creation, the Seventh Soul Of Virtue, Truth, God Himself decided to manifest within materiality as the force most other forces know now as "Zion, the King and Kingdom that was not built by Human Hands, the terrifying pacifistic lion who is so pacifistic, he is known as the Ultimate War God by all forces. Yes, that person is the one you know as Jesus The Christ!!! The one known to look down on all creation so much it is almost as though he is looking up!"
The Nightmare king explained.
"Even in human form, Zion was not a violent man in nature and seldom raised a hand against another…but there was a point he was so irritated by mankind's disrespect for its creator that he unleashed his rage in a form so powerful no one could suppress it. If not for anything else, that proved that even Zion had a limit on his anger that could be breached by humans. At the time Of Zion's death, an event occurred that severely halted Diablo's plans for a long time. The first was what has come to be known by forces as "The Hellwide Rampage That Tore Time Apart!" It is no coincidence that prior to Zion's death, time flows backwards…when counted in BC. It is only after Zion's death that time began to progress normally…forward again into a future of hope. At the same time, Zanbӧngfar was torn apart, separated from Zanviel and Zanfar. Zanfar being the entity of Destruction was Bound with Zion's Seven Souls Of Virtue; Fortitude, Freedom, Forgiveness(which halts Chaos' progression), Hope, Conscience, also known as Spirit, Purity, Kindness (which impedes Sloth's progression and had come to be replaced by humanity's perverse nature by wit and cunning) and finally Truth…which had now been made manifest as Zion!
Zion had now restored to humanity the knowledge of the true power within humanity's nature but due to the limit imposed on mankind by vanity and vain knowledge; vain intelligence imposed on mankind by Diablo, mankind could not completely grasp the truth of Zion's words since he had been deceived into viewing materiality as "existence" and spirituality, as merely "symbolism". You should ask yourself what makes this material existence "real" and that of dreams "illusion" if the number of hours mankind spends in sleep is approximately equal to the number of hours mankind spends awake. The younger humans are…the more hours they spend in dreams…for humans dream even when they are awake. Why then are dreams called "fantasies and illusions?" That is where the sixth conspiracy begins. It begins because even God's word called Dreams worthless and that seemed like a contradiction to Truth's own words but think deeply;
Zan in himself is not worthless…and he is not an illusion. The reason dreams are called illusions and worthless is because of mankind's creative abilities. Mankind's creative powers drawn from Truth Himself…the power of "imagination". The threat now lies here; because mankind can create…he can create and deceive himself into believing his creation is 'absolute truth', even when it is false truth, wicked imaginings, perverse ambitions…the power of imagination has been reduced to just this. It was shortly around this time that Diablo performed a second self-defying act no one could see coming. The words Of Truth…
'And the Dragon Stood On the Seashore'.
After hunting Zion and his people for so long…had humanity been deceived into thinking that Diablo decided to take a rest and stop fighting? No, it is rather at that point when it seemed as though he was resting that…he actually implemented the scheme that endangered all of God's creation even more by handing more power to the force called Ignorance. The most deceptive form of ignorance…and the most dangerous was ignorance that posed as knowledge…and intelligence.
In the realm of spirituality, the land is defined as the boundary of man's familiarity, reality as man had come to call it…and the sea defined as the realm of man's mystery… "spirituality". By standing on the seashore, Diablo stood between the realms of reality and fantasy…he allowed himself to be known now as a myth…and this was the sixth and most deadly scheme…deceiving mankind into…a false sense of security. Turning spirits like "Deception", "Love", "Truth", "Hatred", "Wisdom", "Heaven", and "Hell" "God" and "Devil"…into purely abstract concepts called "Emotions," "Ideas", "Ideals" and "Imaginings" and it was this deception Chaos despised about humanity and sought to reveal to Ayumi. I am even shocked to have only discovered this now. The only reason the forces don't mind revealing this now…is because they are absolutely sure…they have completely taken away mankind's "fangs and claws" to fight back. Zanfar will awaken soon and when he does…it won't take a few powerful Dream Knights and Nightmares to defeat him even if we decided to ally our forces. It is a fight that all of humanity will have to face…but the question is no longer about whether humanity will or will not stand when that "Evil Day" comes. The question is… "Can humanity stand against the wrath of the forces…and even if they do…for how long can they hold their stance?" The forces do not wish to rule over mankind…they seek to destroy mankind…and the one that has been moving the forces from the shadows…is Diablo, the Spirit Of Zanbӧngfar!" the Nightmare King declared to the utter shock of Mr Kirisawa.
The next scene showed Ai and Decay within Ai's mind.
Ai was trembling in fear.
"Dost thou finally perceive the truth as it is…or wilt thou continue to deny it? Though I decided to hold back a bit of this information for my own devices…I despiseth thee enough to shew all of this to thee. Wilt thou still stand as a force in opposition to the one that moveth forces or wilt thou surrender and ally thineself to him that cannot be beaten?" Decay asked.
"I-I-I…can't believe this. It can't be true…all this time…we thought the Nightmare king was a diversion…and discovered that Zanfar was the true threat. We worked so hard to be able to withstand him? We believed we could face him…yet even Zanfar…is merely a diversion. Will Zan truly become…the Devil Himself?
"But that is not all…Ai Kirisawa…for I have not yet revealed to thee…the final scheme…the final conspiracy…the conspiracy in which Zan's humanity plays…a very vital role…ah…too bad…it looks like Prince Asante…is already dead" Decay said.
Ai's heart began to beat quickly and harder than ever before…so much her body began to hyperventilate till she eventually collapsed.
"Slumber well Ai Kirisawa…when thou awakeneth…I wilt finally shew unto thee the true meaning of the terror all of humanity…wilt be forced to face…" Decay said.
As Ai slumbered, she witnessed the rest of the events of the Battle Of Black Water Bridge. Now Ai stood before Decay once more.
"I had forgotten most of this" she wept after witnessing her mother's ordeal and her father's grief.
"Wouldst thou keep pushing those memories away from thineself? If thine sister and thineself hath been strong enough…thine mother wouldst not have had to face the anxiety…of saving five lives that day" Decay said.
"Five lives?! What do you mean?!" Ai exclaimed.
"The first two lives…two children about to be consumed by the Grave Of Unforgiving Souls; those two lives…allegorical representations of the pain about to consume thine sister and thineself…and one other life everyone else hath forgotten for over ten years. The life of the woman that faced Zanfar to protect her son; the life of the Princess Of Dreams…who still lives…within Zanfar" Decay said. "Two children were pulled out from my malice, Rotten River. Two girls were pulled from my Decay…into Conscience which is one of the Souls Of Virtue…and one woman…hidden within the Omega Gate…was pulled from within its pages and hidden in the Alpha Gate. The Mirror Gate is not one…but two Gates…and from the Omega Gate…my final brother…Sloth…is shortly about to burst forth. You should be able to feel the presence of the one you've feared the most now. His presence dwelleth within this very space; right here where we stand. Pay homage to the True King And Origin Of All Nightmares…Great Demon King, Zanfar…Himself!" Decay exclaimed in awe.
As Ai watched, a dark shadow appeared a distance away from Decay.
It raised its head slowly and opened its eyes. Ai could see sinister red eyes and two lines, glowing red lines…almost like tears of blood streaming down the eyes of the shadow.
When the Shadow gazed at her, fear gripped her as images of terror, disease, war, death engulfed her mind. Its malice was unimaginable and immeasurable. Ai's mind could hardly contain all the evil and she felt like she was about to die.
The three students put up their guard.
"You three can calm down. Everything you see are images from a distant world. They are records. There is no need to fear" Ryu motioned to them.
Ai watched the Shadow as it opened its mouth. A high pitched sound permeated everything around. Ai's memories slowly began to decay. Her good memories began to turn bad. As the figure's lips moved…so fast in fact they appeared to move in slow motion, Ai noticed that on its tongue, there was something resembling the tattoo of a two-pronged fork.
As Ai listened to the terrifying high pitched sound that sounded like a continuous shattering of many glasses or swords…she began to comprehend its words almost as though her mind was beginning to adapt.
"Thank you Ai Kirisawa. You have served my purposes splendidly. My true plans could not have come to completion without your participation. Your love for your sister gave her the gift to endure pain and you taught her to love. The hatred Ayumi had before would not have acted in my favour. What she truly needed…was for someone she adored…to despise her. Your kindness saved Ayumi's life. Your kindness made her heart grow cold; that coldness allowed me to introduce a random variable into her life that would advance my plans more perfectly. Indeed…it was the fraction of myself you refused to see for what it truly was; the fraction called Zan. Zan became the only one aside from yourself that Ayumi could truly open up to. Zan became the one she could depend on more than anyone else but that Zan was the same one I spread my lies about long before his birth. I have been waiting patiently. The word 'Dreamweaver' was a term I originally invented to give my fragment a name through which he could come to be despised by everyone…like a brand of darkness…just like the one…on my forehead" the Shadow said as a dark red omega symbol appeared above its eyes…on its forehead.
"Don't tell me…it was…you all along?!" Ai screamed in horror.
"Do you finally understand? I am the one…that turned Zan into a force to be despised by everyone. That fool only wishes to see the accomplishment of the dreams of those he loves. He takes the term 'Dreamweaver' a little too seriously. I turned him into a force you Dream Knights would plague…and simultaneously brought him into Ayumi's life while using Ayumi to slaughter his mortal guardian" the Shadow said.
Ai gasped in horror.
"Throughout all of history…is it not strange that there was almost no gap between the ideas of 'religion' and 'superstition', 'spirit' and 'mythology'? You humans are so slow. I took that time to study all of you closely. There are many things you believe you fear…but only one thing…you truly fear. Do you fear God? No, you don't understand his workings so he does not exist. Do you fear the Devil? No, humans are the ones that cause suffering…so we are our own Devil. Do you fear Heaven or Hell? No, they can't possibly exist. They're mere ideals. The only thing you humans…do fear…even more than the bottomless pit…is your own ignorance. To know and understand everything is your greatest goal…and I must say…one of your most commendable traits. He who has knowledge of another is master of the other is a Law that applies even spiritually. But with all of this…the one thing that confounds my senses is how you can be so ingeniously proficient in seeking out knowledge and so stupidly naive in penetrating to its depths. You seek out Love as though it's an object and at the same time keep telling yourselves Love does not exist. You say Love…who is a person; God, does not exist yet are angered most by the mention of anything related to Him while blaming Him for suffering. Blaming…a non-existent entity…for your suffering is something even I in all my conceit admit…confounds my understanding completely. You proclaim "ignorance is bliss" foolishly without considering your words and the one thing that opposes ignorance, "knowledge", is what you call "Power". How can two contradictory ideals all bring about "a positive outcome" I'd be interested to know. If knowledge is indeed power; then I surpass you all for I know you all…personally and can predict your every move. That is why history will never change but remain a loop. Fortunately however…I will turn this loop into a terror confounding any evil you've ever conceived. The loop of 'History' always contains an antagonistic individual, organization or force oppressing the weaker pacifistic forces until an individual often called "a hero", "an avatar" or "a Christ-One" appears to save the day. You humans are the envy of us Forces for you possess all three Godly Attributes; the body…soul and the Spirit…yet above all creation…you are to be pitied the most, you rely on just two…the body and the soul while abandoning the Spirit. If evil has always lost to mankind…its simply because we possess only One of the Godly attributes, the one you've denounced…Spirit…and that is why we appear to be more terrifying than you are. The two things we lack…are about to be remedied…by the boy you call Zan. He will become the new Zanbӧngfar and lead evil to unimaginable heights…as the Anti-Christ One of your world! If Knowledge is indeed power…then my power is unsurpassable and if Knowledge is indeed Power like you humans proclaim…ignorance…is fear and what you proclaim as bliss is My Gospel! The one thing you fear above all else…ignorance! Well then…it's about time…for the Herald Of The Deplorable Dream to appear. Awaken…Sloth, the Herald Of The Deplorable Dream! Your time has come to proclaim the Gospel Of False-Sense Of Security! Proclaim Blessings! Proclaim A Time Of Glory! Proclaim Plenty To Eat, Money and all the desires of the Flesh! But most importantly…proclaim the Spirit that opposes the one thing that can hinder my purpose…proclaim…UNFORGIVENESS!" Zanfar said as he faded away.
The scene that followed showed the Nightmare King and Mr Kirisawa continuing with their conversation.
"There is one more thing you should know as well Ryuuji. I may have mentioned it before…but the True Mirror Gate…are Two Gates…not one. The Gate we've been passing through to enter the Dream World is the Gate Of Alpha, the gate of beginnings, the Gate Of Hope, the Gate Of Light, Love and all virtues. It is the gate that houses the true core of humanity's dreams, the Dreams Zanviel sought to protect. Then there is the Omega Gate, the Gate within which the dissatisfaction of those whose dreams appear as illusions lie nested. This Gate contains the built up resentment and hatred of those whose dreams could not be accomplished, those as well who forsook their dreams and took out their bitterness on others. The two gates are positioned a distance away from one another but are not parallel. They have a perpendicular binding that holds them together at one edge. The other edges extend infinitely. It could be likened to a book. In fact…its very structure is like a book opened halfway and made to stand erect. The binding between; that narrow space, is what humans often call "Reality"; the irony of the fact.
The True Mirror Gate is almost like a book. The Alpha and Omega Gates can be described physically as the mid-point splitting the book into perfect halves yet containing the ability to keep the book standing upright. The Alpha and Omega Gates aren't exactly physical structures…but the Physical Mirror Gate we pass through to enter the Dream World is probably a literal expression of the Mirror Gate's Nature. The Alpha and Omega Gates are actually perspectives…or it would be more right to say…ideals. An ideal of "Good" and an ideal of "Evil". The way the Mirror Gate is constructed ensures that while it does not slander the truth concerning the alternate possible realities, it reveals to the one it passes through…exactly his nature" the Nightmare King said.
"So say I pass through the Mirror Gate…what would I see?" Ryuuji asked.
"The first thing I suppose you'd see is something probably like 'Saito still lives'" the Nightmare King said.
Ryuuji suddenly became serious.
"And if I passed through…I might be seeing things like…'weigh yourself before weighing others', 'all life is precious'" things like that I suppose. "Most of the time, people that attempt to pass through it tend to be destroyed by the power of its images. Though it shows you everything you could ever ask for…it would not hesitate to show you the things you despise the most about yourself. It could instantly attack your prejudices and at the same time it could make light of your dreams. Sometimes attempting to pass through it again with a different perspective might make things look a little better…or harsher. In that way it's almost as though the Mirror Gate is alive" the Nightmare King said.
"There is only one thing I can think of in this world almost similar in nature to it" Ryuuji said.
"Darou?" the Nightmare King said with a smirk on his face.
"Hmmph, you don't say" Ryuuji muttered with a look of amazement on his face.
"To get down to the matter, the Mirror Gate has two ideals it operates upon; An Alpha ideal of Ultimate Good and no real end to everything but a cycle of ages and eternity…and an Omega ideal…everything will come to an end and no one can stop it. Unfortunately…Diablo has ensured that…only few dreams remain hidden in the Alpha Gate by using his Ultimate Living Sigil, Zanfar…to steal and hide many Dreams in the Omega Gate. One thing remains between now and Zanfar's reawakening…his herald" the Nightmare King said.
"Zanfar's herald? Who might that be?" Ryuuji asked.
"The one who diverts everyone's attention from the real battle and directs them all to fight false battles; there is only one person I can think of and I have no doubt he's been pulling some strings from behind the shadows. The Dream King's Chancellor…Tyrannes!" the Nightmare King declared.
In the scene that followed, Ayumi and Zan sat on the lawn in the Kirisawa mansion. They'd been silent for a while. Zan reached for her hand. They drew closer to one another.
"I'm sorry about this morning Ayu" Zan apologized.
"I might have overreacted a little bit" Ayumi laughed.
"I've been wondering Ayu" Zan said. "I've always told you what my dream is. What is…your dream?" Zan asked her.
Ayumi seemed surprised.
"My…dream?" Ayumi muttered in surprise.
"Hmm, well…I don't really know. I haven't actually thought about it. I always figured I was satisfied with being a Dream Knight" Ayumi said.
"You sure?" Zan asked her.
"Actually…I always considered being a Dream Knight a sacred duty. I wasn't really satisfied with it. Fighting seemed to matter to me more than protecting lives so I did not understand what motivated the other knights so much…but now I do" Ayumi whispered the last words.
"So what is your 'Dream?'" Zan asked, a little impatiently.
"It's a secret" Ayumi said with a smirk.
"Meanie!" Zan grumbled and poked out his tongue at her.
She laughed.
"But I'll give you a clue. My dream is… 'a dream'" Ayumi laughed.
"Haaaah?! What's that supposed to mean?" Zan asked her.
"I honestly thank God you're so oblivious" Ayumi teased.
"Well…I guess it is kinda rude to pry. I'll just have to figure it out on my own" Zan said with a smile.
Ayumi returned a smile.
Suddenly, Zan had a look of terror on his face. He began to scream in pain.
"Zan! Zan!" Ayumi called worriedly.
There were sounds like those of an over amplified static wave mixing in with the scene. Zan perceived a cloaked and hooded figure surrounded in flames approaching.
"… … hear ..? … you comp..hend ..?! … … under…nd me?!" faint words could be discerned from within the sounds.
"… words futile? … your sens.s n.t comprehend me yet?" the voice asked.
"What's that noise?! Whose voice is that?!" Zan screamed in panic.
Almost immediately after Zan had said that, the figure raised his head slightly and Zan could see his lips moving so fast they almost seemed to be open and closed at the same time.
As Zan raised his eyes to stare at the figure, he and the students observing the scene could feel the power emanating from its body. It was tremendous and filled with pure malice, the only trace of humanity they could feel was perhaps an overwhelming conceitedness.
"Am I perhaps still too vast for your human senses to perceive? I have slowed down my speech as much as I believe is necessary but if you can only comprehend words spoken at a rate below one thousand words per minute…then I guess humans are much more pathetic than I originally thought. I compressed the waves of energy released by my psyche as much as possible; yet you seem to be in so much pain. I guess you might not be ready yet…after all" the figure said.
"Who…are you?" Zan muttered in pain as his surroundings slowly disappeared.
Zan's consciousness was projected inwards and he found himself standing alone with the strange figure.
"What have you done?! Where is Ayumi?!" he roared in anger.
"You're still harping on about that pawn, are you? Hmmph, you are much more naïve than I perceived. And I thought Enslavement did a good job of explaining your current situation too. How did she put it? 'If you were a fraction of what you once were, you'd realize you're just being used and will soon be cast aside.' That 'soon' is almost upon you. The way I see things, you can either join me now…or cling to your love for Ayumi and suffer, before succumbing to me later. Either way…it's not my place to argue with you about what you choose to do. At least…not yet anyway...but I hope you're not callous enough to have forgotten to consider that the one that murdered Wanye might actually be quite close to you. Perhaps it could even be your dear little Ayu" the figure said.
"What are you implying?! And who are you?!" Zan yelled.
"Don't be so hasty. If you want answers, seek them out for yourself. I don't want to be accused of throwing false accusations about. It is after all…irrelevant to lie about something…when you very well intend to destroy without hesitation…EVERYTHING!" the figure said as a bright Omega symbol appeared over its forehead.
Red lines flowed down to its chin almost as though it was shedding tears of blood and its bloodthirsty eyes became even more sinister. Zan began to tremble uncontrollably. He could not understand why he just couldn't stop shaking.
"Y-Y-You are Zanfar…aren't you?" he asked.
The figure raised its hand and snapped its fingers. Ai appeared in its hands. She wasn't moving.
"Ai!" Zan screamed in concern.
"I'll leave this little thing in your care for now" the figure said as it tossed Ai over to Zan.
Zan caught her instinctively.
"Ai! What have you done to her?!" Zan demanded an answer.
"I originally intended to curse her with the same curse I did her mother but the fatality of the curse could just be lengthened by that abomination you call your father so I thought up something much more interesting. I altered her memories slightly. It was quite painful but she had quite a bit of guilt within her. Yes…guilt even concerning the death of Wanye. I don't need to tell you that she knows the person that actually carried out that diabolic act. Ai Kirisawa is a very kind human; that…I must admit, but because of that kindness, she tries to take upon herself the weight of the sins of those she cares about however…tell me Zan; if there were five rats in a cage with five serpents and one pup and the rats and serpents attacked one another ferociously thus literally circulating their poison around; yet before they could suffer from the wounds of their sheer stupidity, the pup takes all the poison upon itself; would you call that justice? Wouldn't all that poison kill the pup?!" Zanfar roared.
"The rats and serpents are better off ridding themselves of one another!" Zan declared without hesitation.
"An honest answer…and the right one; but see Zan, the rats and serpents are not so different from the filthy humans you've come to adore. Amongst those…your parents, Ayumi's and Ai's are probably the only worthy adversaries I've found. When I cursed your mother and Ayumi's, I expected your fathers to wipe each other off the face of existence…but surprisingly your father extended Ayumi's mother's life and repaid the debt he owed Ayumi's father when he shielded and protected your mother from the Dream King…your grandfather. There is a lot of bad blood in your family Zan and I find the cursed blood of humanity to be not so different. It is justice to wipe out evil…irrespective of whether the one that carries out that action is good or evil" Zanfar declared. "…even you agree with me…after all, the serpents and rats should just rid themselves of one another" he said.
Zan opened his eyes in horror in sudden realization that he had just confessed Zanfar's ideals as just.
"See Zan? The reason you fear me so much is not because of my power. What you really fear is the fact that…" Zanfar began to say.
"SHUT UP!" Zan ordered.
"…that you and I…" Zanfar continued.
"Don't say it!" Zan roared.
"…are not…so different. Our ideals are compatible" Zanfar said.
"GET OUT OF MY MIND!" Zan screamed desperately as everything around him shattered.
He collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness.
"Zan! Ai! H-Hey! Wh-What is going on?! What happened to you two?!" Ayumi called desperately.
The next scene showed Ayumi and Ai in the Hall Of The Kirisawa Residence talking to each other. Zan lay unconscious.
"Ai calm down! What's wrong Ai?!" Ayumi called desperately.
"I…I did it! It was me! I killed him! I…killed Zan's grandfather!" Ai screamed fearfully.
"What are you saying Ai?! You know it's not true! You could never harm another person! Besides, you were still paralyzed then! You know the one that committed that terrible sin…was me" Ayumi confessed.
"I was the one that killed Zan's grandfather Ai. Don't try to take my sin upon yourself" Ayumi said firmly.
Ai burst into tears.
"What are you talking about Ayumi?" Zan's voice suddenly sounded.
Ayumi panicked. She turned slowly…to face Zan.
"Tell me the truth Ayumi. What do you mean by…you were the one that killed Wanye?" Zan said.
He appeared to try his best to remain calm but his grief made the words sound like a growling whisper.
Ayumi opened her eyes in shock, and then she lowered her head in guilt.
"So…you finally found out huh?" she muttered.
"It is exactly as you heard Zan. I was ordered to find out your location and kill you…as well as anyone that knew about your existence and wilfully decided to keep you concealed. I was the one that killed…your gramps" Ayumi said, perhaps a little too calmly.
Zan seemed to be growing angrier.
"Those are the humans you love so dearly" a voice sounded within the scene.
It was a voice only Zan and the three students could hear, the voice of Zanfar.
"So what was I then, a means to keep sight of your enemy? A threat you could watch and dispose of whenever I became too dangerous, like some animal?! No…even worse….at least animals have rights nowadays. Apparently…I don't even have the right to live" Zan said sadly as tears flowed down his eyes.
"That's not true Zan!" Ayumi roared.
"Really? How can I believe anything you say now…tell me?!" Zan roared.
"Though it doesn't change anything, when I carried out that order…I didn't know then that you were the Dreamweaver" Ayumi said as she turned away from Zan.
Zan looked infuriated.
"Look at me Ayumi Kirisawa!" he ordered.
She turned around but she still could not raise her eyes to meet Zan's.
"That does not change anything, you're right! In fact, it only makes it worse! And all this time…I've been oblivious of everything! Working for a cause I thought I believed in when that very cause was to find its accomplishment in my death! You can't possibly understand how I feel now Ayumi! Thinking back now…the fact that I never knew my parents…was because of you Dream Knights as well! I grew up thinking I was an orphan and was treated many times as such! What makes me even madder is the fact that Wanye warned me about this on his death bed…and his death bed was the back seat of a car I attempted to steal! You didn't see it! The fact that humans value their vehicles more than the lives of their own brethren! Wanye was thrown out! That was the last time I saw him. Next I knew, he had already been buried! We couldn't even afford morgue fees yet somehow, through it all…stupid me like all stupid guys, all I could think about was you! I despise myself and I despise you! I despise the Dream Knights. No…I despise all of humanity!" Zan roared in anger.
"Zan!" Ayumi exclaimed in horror.
Zan turned around.
"I'm sick of it all. I'm sick of being here! I'm leaving!" Zan roared and run up to the room he stayed in.
The golden glow in Zan's eyes had taken on a slightly crimson glow now. He took nothing except for what he came with and walked past Ayumi. Ayumi stood in the hallway. Apparently, the Nightmare King and Mr Kirisawa were not around by then.
"Zan, it might be true that at first I might also have kept you at arm's length as a means to protect myself, but…that has not been true for a long time now. Since the day you summoned the Silver Dream…" Ayumi was saying when Zan cut her off.
"I have nothing to say to you, and I don't want to hear anything you have to say. I am quite shocked myself by the fact that…I haven't slain you yet but the fact that I despise you is a truth that cannot easily be changed" Zan said silently and walked out on Ayumi.
Ayumi remained standing right where she was as Zan walked out.
Ai tried to stop Zan as well.
"Zan, please listen to Ayumi! We might all have been deceived as well. Don't hate her so much Zan!" Ai pleaded.
She was speaking so fast and so hysterically that Zan had to pat her on the head to silence her.
"You don't need to explain yourself Ai. You are one of the reasons I can't bring myself to attack Ayumi. If I couldn't kill her after learning this…it's probably because you'd be most affected by it but don't ask me to forgive her. Wanye was the only family I ever felt I had…and I lost that. Remember how it felt to lose your Mom? Well to me…it felt like I lost both my dad and mom on the same day" Zan said while attempting to brave a smile.
"It's my fault that things are like this isn't it?" Ai burst into tears.
"No, it's not. It's mine…and Ayumi's. If this hadn't come out now…anything Ayumi and I could have ever had…would have been nothing but…a painful lie" Zan said and walked past Ai.
Ayumi and Zan had their backs to each other, both unaware of the silent tears the other was shedding.
"Zan! You can't afford to leave us now! Zanfar might be freed soon and…I think…Prince was murdered!" Ai confessed.
Zan opened his eyes in horror.
"What are you talking about?!" Zan asked without turning back.
"The fifth soul of evil, Decay; he attacked Prince and I…and I think…he might have killed Prince!" Ai screamed.
Zan sighed.
"So Prince got taken out huh? It was only a matter of time I guess. Creation is so…so pointless and humans are their own devils. I don't care anymore. Destroy yourselves as much as you like. I'm sick of it all. I'm sick of creation and I'm sick of existence but above all else… I'm sick of you Dream Knights!" Zan muttered in disgust and walked on.
"And a grudge was born in Zanviel's heart. In the heart of the beautiful dream, the deplorable dream found weakness…and trapped within darkness…light lost its way…" a voice echoed but this voice was not Zanfar's.
"Do not tell me that…after all you made me go through…you've finally decided to give up here Ayumi Kirisawa. Is love truly pointless? Well I did promise to aid you" a voice rang within Ayumi's mind.
As the distance between Ayumi and Zan increased, she dropped to her knees and began to weep.
"It's my fault. It's my fault for giving up on people too soon. So soon in fact that…I hurt the only man I've ever loved" she cried.
"If you truly feel that way…why don't you tell him yourself…CHAOTIC RESONANCE!!!" the voice of Chaos echoed through the halls of the Kirisawa mansion.
Ayumi screamed in pain as silver looking vein-like structures appeared on her neck and began to extend.
"My power…the power of Chaos reaches its zenith when forced upon a person suffering from severe internal turmoil. Decay leads to Chaos, Chaos leads to Sloth and Sloth leads to destruction. If you want to survive Ayumi Kirisawa…then you must find within yourself the spiritual strength to face the darkness within your own heart. You must discover Conscience and the worst enemy of Sloth…which is goodness. You must come to terms with your sin and find the courage to face it…or you will die…Ayumi Kirisawa" Chaos's voice rang within Ayumi's mind as she struggled for a while and eventually lost consciousness.
Ai remained screaming desperately for help.
"Ayumi! Ayumi! Ayumi! No…NOOOOO!!! What is going on?! Wh-What's happening?! Why is everything suddenly becoming a Nightmare?!" Ai screamed in horror.
The next scene showed the Eternal Mirror Gate. The life surrounding it turned into death as plants and birds that flew around that area turned to stone and shriveled away. Growls could be heard from within the Mirror Gate as a sudden explosion rocked more than half of the Dream World. The usual brightness of the Mirror Gate turned into darkness and an ominous stillness remained thereafter.
"It's because…the Deplorable Dream is about to be awakened. Indeed…it is as thou perceiveth. The Dream that devours all dreams of humanity; but before that dream awakens…do my bidding Sloth! Oh…it appears my memories are still slightly hazy. You go by a new name now don't you…Tyrannes?" a dark voice rang from within the Mirror Gate.
Standing before the Mirror Gate was the treacherous chancellor of the Dream king who had advanced Zanfar's plans.
"I understand…Lord Zanfar. It is finally time…to hunt the Dreamweaver" the Chancellor said as he opened his eyes.
The lazy look in his eyes appeared momentarily and faded away as the Chancellor's clothes turned into Sloth's tattered clothing.
"Yet I seem to have forgotten your true nature just as all of humanity has Sloth. Could you remind me of the name you were given…at the birth of time?" the voice within the Mirror Gate asked.
"You've been quite forgetful these past few days Lord Zanfar. My name…the name from which humanity has disassociated me and thus underestimated my true terror; my name is that which gives all the souls of evil their power…for how could humanity tremble before us…without 'Sin'?" the evil Chancellor said with a smirk.
In the next scene, two figures stood just outside the borders to the world of Dreams. They appeared to be engaged in conversation.
"It's been almost six years since we've shown our faces hasn't it…Arälpheisl? As usual, your prophecies are always inevitable…'Wise One Of The Unison Courts'" the other figure said.
He was Darag-Arökna, the Mandragon of the Distant Lands.
"I think it's about time we also step out of the realm of mythology, don't you?" a third person asked.
"It seems that way. Even the Weavers have begun to move and I feel 'that man' might soon make an appearance" Arälpheisl said.
"That man? You can't mean…" Darag-Arökna asked.
"Yes indeed, I can sense multiple strong presences within reality, dreams and mythology…but none so far seem to have surpassed him…probably except for Zanbӧngfar. It is said that no one knows his age and that he has lived throughout history however…his appearance defies man's concept of age; the one known only as the Old Living Everlasting Entity, aka Code Ageless. It also appears the Weavers are honour bound to never interfere in the destinies of one another. It seems this time…the fate of mankind will be entrusted into the hands of 'The Dreamweaver'. So what will you do now…Ayumi Kirisawa? Can you save the man you love…from falling to Depravity? Will fire become the flame that reveals to Light…his true identity?" Arälpheisl mused.