Miko
Farvakhin sat there for a moment, wrapping up the book in a shirt from his pack. Once he got it in a neat fold, he set it next to her. Then he tapped his forehead with the forefinger and middle finger of his right hand 3 times, whispering "Through light, through darkness, we will meet again." Then he pressed the same fingers to the book, whispering "From Light, from darkness, we reach the stars."
Then he cried.
A part of me was curious about the ritual, but I knew it was a spur-of-the-moment thing. Somehow, I knew that he performed it out of instinct, out of a memory that's no longer his. If I asked him about it, he wouldn't have the first idea of what I was talking about.
What a terrible fate.
If I forgot the princess, Roan, Mom, Dad, Kile, Farvakhin, and everyone else...
Let's not think about that.
There were no more detours on our way to the classroom.
As we approached the classroom, Farvakhin started slowing down. "You ok?" He drew in a deep breath before walking into the classroom. "Yea. It's just this place brought back a memory."
A part of me grew excited, hoping to finally find the slightest answer.
Farvakhin brushed his hand across a chair as if reminiscing. "Yea. Hyvakh found a room similar to this. He would pretend he was a teacher, trying to make us study Euclidean geometry. Ty... he would always say that he hated school before the apocalypse, let alone after."
Laughing, he said "Those 2 were always bantering. And when one of them lost an argument, they'd try to drag Terra into it. She never obliged, you know. But they still tried."
"Honestly, she just wasn't social. I think she's the only one of us who could acclimate to this setting."
A silence filled the room. Not knowing how to respond, I whispered "Well, you're doing fine? You're still alive, that's something."
He started walking over to the books. "Yea. It's as you said. Their memories are still alive. There are so many stories I want to share, but first, we have to survive. I have a promise to fulfill to Terra."
He picked up a book and opened it. Thankfully, his eye didn't start burning up, forcing him to the ground like mine had. Still, he had a troubled look on his face.
"What's wrong?"
He tried focusing harder, but each attempt just led to him growing more troubled.
"I- I can't read it. I see the words on the page, and I recognize the language as mine. But I can't read it."
It's like something is stopping him.
Like it stopped me.
Farvakhin gasped, snapping my gaze back to him. The book was... glowing. It forced itself to turn in his hands, flipping through page after page. Just as quickly as it began, the glow subsided.
Excited but also short of breath, Farvakhin muttered "I- I can read this chapter."
Whatever it was that's affecting us... it wants me to know this at least.
"What's it about."
Farvakhin furrowed his brow as he read. "Uh, the title is 'The Leviathan that Shapes the Cosmos.'"
Leviathan?
I bolted next to him, peering over his shoulder. Sure enough, there was a picture of a Leviathan. A leviathan circling... galaxies?
That... that can't be who I'm going to fight.
"Th- that illustration is just an exaggeration, right? The Leviathan isn't actually that big?"
Accessing some forgotten memory, Farvakhin responded "Well, this is an adult leviathan. A baby one would probably be smaller. Maybe just the size of a planet."
He smiled at me. "You're not planning on fighting one, right?"
I gazed at the book. "That's the entire reason I'm here. The quest I was sent on... was to kill a Leviathan."
Laughing he said "Oh! Yeah, good luck."
Thanks.
Turning the page, Farvakhin gave a hoot of delight. "Well, I don't know what was up with those earlier pages, but I can read these!"
"Go ahead."
Drawing in a deep breath, Farvakhin began.
"A leviathan is mighty, a progenitor of change. It is said that nothing could come before it, but we now know that is wrong. Something 'existed' in the primal times predating progress. Darkness. An unending, infinite darkness. Unfettered by the restraints of existence. Darkness is the true progenitor of change."
"But still, the Leviathan's might cannot be understated. Through its imagination, we are given life, through its scales we are given a reality to call home. That was how it was in the ancient days before it died. Now free from the shackles of the Leviathan, the infinite cosmos was free to expand as it wished."
He laughed. "Wow, this is an interesting school textbook. Reads more like some creation myth than anything else."
It did feel off. But I sensed the truth in the words. I was in way over my head. To think my mom was right, that the universe could really be this huge. Bigger than even she thought.
"Continue."
"Ok."
"Even after its death, the leviathan would struggle for control, as all living things do. Thus, it began its journey throughout the cosmos. It would consume one planet after another in an attempt to be reborn. Snaking its way through the stars, annihilation lay in its wake. The only way to stop its rampage is to kill it before it can consume the planet. Students, it is imperative that you pay attention for the 3 signs. The Crowned Reaper who loses his magic, the rise of a blinding light, and... the appearance of the necropic virus."
Those things...
Is it too late?
Out of instinct, I summoned my sword. At the same time, the book forced itself shut in Farvakhin's hands, causing him to jump with a yelp.
"Curse this stupid book!"
"That's all youuuuu need to knoooooow!"
I knew that voice anywhere. I swung at the air, hoping to hit the damned cat. He just flew through my arm with his hysterical laugh.
"The Leviathan awakes soon, my lord! At your current level, you are too weak to face him. So, I was asked to give you a chance to level up. And I accepted! I'm always happy to help!"
Level up? What is the cat talking about?
Suddenly, a voice boomed out through the bunker's intercoms.
"All containment centers opened. Decontamination is no longer needed. My fellow Vahkahdians, welcome to a world free of the darkness!"
Farvakhin's face was pale. "What? After all this time..."
I grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to look at me. "What the hell is going on."
"Everyone... All of those people... are waking up. Just to become corpses..."
His... his people. The past he doesn't remember... All those people in the tubes... How many is that? Thousands? Millions?
Wait... what did the cat mean by a chance to level up?