Age of Darkness (7 page)

But he did. Tired, exhausted, and
depressed, Keimaro pressed his back against the bark of the apple tree outside
of the village, grieving in silence. Night was beginning to reign over the world,
blanketing it in darkness. He ran a hand through his hair, wondering if he had
been a little too harsh to his family. No, they weren’t his family. They never had
been. They had taken care of him just because they couldn’t bring themselves to
kill him at a young age. It was all so pathetic! Everyone in Bakaara was
pathetic. Who would believe that a human could be half demon?

“Huh,” he scoffed in the silence of the
night. “What a legend.”

After hours of sitting in isolation, the
sound of shuffling grass caught Keimaro’s attention. He glanced up and saw Yata
and Aika walking toward him from the flat plains outside of Bakaara. They
ascended the hill to sit down beside him. He made no effort to stop them, but
he didn’t speak to them either. His emotions had drained with his tears in the
hours he’d spent weeping.

“Are you okay, Kei?” Yata asked, plopping
down on the grass beside Keimaro.

“How did you escape?” Keimaro muttered,
ignoring Yata’s question. He stared forward, unable to meet Yata’s eyes.
Instead, he watched as Aika sat down on the other side of him and placed her
hand on his shoulder as a form of reassurance. He didn’t bother moving the hand
but didn’t feel any better either.

“You knocked the guard unconscious in anger,
and Aika just took the keys and got me unlocked. Then we came out here to find
you. We went to your house and saw your mom crying, so we figured you’d be here.
We brought some weapons, in case you went into the forest,” Yata muttered,
holding two meager iron clubs. “They aren’t really much, but we figured that
since we were going after you, we might as well come armed.”

“You thought it was a smart idea to bring
the princess out of the barrier of Bakaara?” Keimaro said with a weak chuckle,
rubbing his left eye with the back of his hand. “Why would you come after me
into the forest? We’ve known each other for such a short time. Why would you risk
your life to come after me?”

“Because we made a promise that we would go
together,”

Keimaro was silent as he glanced up at the
sky. Yata was right. A promise was a promise. It was at that moment he saw a
glowing star streaking across the sky and frowned, realizing that the star was
moving much faster than normal. “Is that a shooting star?”

“Yeah,” Aika said with a bright smile,
“quick, make a wish!”

What would Keimaro wish for? Freedom.
Freedom from these terrible lies that haunted his life. Freedom from these
restricting chains that prevented him from seeing the world. He wished that he
could leave Bakaara and find this freedom and that he would obtain power in
order to claim vengeance on those who undermined him.

“Wait, why is that star moving so fast?”
Yata said with a blink, and the three of them noticed that the projectile was
coming in their direction. Their eyes widened when they saw a massive glowing
blue light streak through the night sky and down toward the forest, smashing
into the earth. The ground quaked and rumbled from the force of the meteor.
Trees were ripped out of the ground from their very roots and toppled over from
the enormous force of the alien object, sending dust everywhere. A moment
later, a beam of glowing white light burst from the area and shot off into the
dark night sky, piercing the heavens.

Keimaro pushed himself to his feet and
glanced off into the forest, his heart pounding furiously. There was no way….
Something had fallen right out of the sky! He took a few steps forward and saw
that the beam from the area somehow hit the sky as if it were solid. Radiating
waves of vibrant colors filled the dark night, like ripples in the sky. “It
landed over there. Quick, Yata! Hand me one of those clubs. We’re going to
check it out.”

“What?” Yata exclaimed. “That’s the forest!
And it’s nighttime! Why would you ever go in there? Are you mental?”

“We wanted a bit of adventure, didn’t we?”
Keimaro said, beaming. He grabbed a club from Yata and twirled the weapon in his
hand, testing its balance. Then he glanced at his two friends. “An adventure
just fell straight out of the sky. This is an opportunity that we will never
get again! Are you just going to toss it away like it’s nothing? Fine, you don’t
have to come! I’ll go alone.”

He took off, sprinting down the hill with
the wind blowing straight into his face. He stumbled as he moved in the
direction of the beam, dashing toward it. He grinned as he heard the sound of
Yata and Aika chasing after him. Looks like they were coming along after all. Dozens
of dangerous monsters were likely heading toward the meteor. Nearby adventurers
from Faar would probably start flocking to the area as well. A star falling
from the sky was ridiculously rare; such an event happened only in fairy tales.
If Keimaro could just get there first, before anyone else, then he was sure
that he’d find an adventure finally. Who knew? Maybe his wish would actually
come true for once.

The forest was at its darkest, surrounding
Keimaro and his friends in an overwhelming shadow that cast out all light and happiness.
The aura of the forest spread an overwhelming sense of fear. They could see the
beam of light in the distance, and Keimaro felt sweat beginning to form on his
brow as they slowly made their way to the fallen meteor. He could sense the
shadows of creatures that were watching and did his best to ignore them, hoping
that they wouldn’t lunge out. He gripped the handle of the club tighter and
felt Aika’s gentle breath on his neck, realizing that she was probably even
more scared than he was.

About ten minutes into their walk, he saw a
blue light glowing behind a bush. Keimaro gulped, holding his breath as he
brushed the bush apart and looked over the rustling leaves to see that the
ominous glowing was coming from the dark mouth of a cave. As the light beamed,
he saw its reflection coming off of the cave walls. The beam that entered the
sky burst from the top of the cave as well.

“Did the meteor fall inside of a cave?”
Yata asked with a raised eyebrow, standing beside Keimaro. “Aren’t meteors
supposed to, like, create big craters in the earth or something?”

“How would I know? I’ve never seen one fall
from the sky before,” Keimaro muttered. There was something odd about the cave.
The glow had an ominous feeling that drew Keimaro toward it. He didn’t like it,
feeling oddly attracted to the alien material. That was when his eyes locked
onto Yata beginning to walk through the bushes and out toward the cave opening.

“What are you doing? You have no idea what’s
out there!” the young boy exclaimed.

“Who the hell cares?” Yata said, glancing
over his shoulder, holding his club out in front of him. “Come and explore with
me then! This is a huge chance! When we are old and are sitting and looking
back at our lives, don’t you think you’d wish you went into the alien cave when
you had the chance? I’m willing to take the chance.”

That sounded exactly like what Keimaro had
said earlier. He sighed and grasped Aika’s hand. He pulled her with him through
the bushes and out toward the opening of the cave. Feeling multiple eyes
locking onto him, he gulped and looked around at the darkness. He knew that someone
or
something
was watching him, but he had no idea what it was. He
glanced at Yata and already saw that the boy was beginning to walk into the
cave.

“Let’s go, Aika,” Keimaro said and pulled
her after him.

“Whoa, this place looks pretty creepy,
doesn’t it?” Yata said with a chuckle, the sound of his footsteps echoing off
of the cave walls.

“Yeah, I guess,” Keimaro said, finding it
rather hard to see through the thick darkness. “I can barely see, though.”

“Yeah, neither can I,” Yata said. Then suddenly
the cave glowed with turquoise energy, illuminating the entire area for a brief
second. “Whoa!”

Keimaro blinked as he looked around and
walked deeper into the cave, examining the stalagmites that held up the natural
structure. He finally locked his eyes onto an enormous glowing rock that
somehow rested in the center of the skinny cave. The rock had deeply embedded cracks
but was otherwise normal. The cracks were glowing bright turquoise and shined
as bright as a miniature sun every few seconds. “Are you guys seeing what I’m
seeing?”

Yata whistled as he leaned against the cave
wall with a nervous laugh. “It seems we have made quite the discovery, huh?
What exactly is this thing? Does the educated princess happen to know anything?”
he joked, glancing over his shoulder at her.

Aika pouted lightly and shrugged, folding
her arms and sighing. “I’ve never seen anything like this before or read
anything about it in my books. I mean, I don’t think there have been many
meteors in this entire world’s history that have landed right in the earth! It’s
simply unheard of!”

Keimaro felt himself being drawn closer,
taking a few steps at a time toward the large meteor. Its glow, its jagged
edges—all he wanted was a single touch. He wanted to know what it felt like, an
alien rock that came from somewhere beyond the planet. Even adventurers on
their planet had yet to see such a thing. Keimaro had always wanted to journey
around and see the wonders of the world. But now, he was witnessing one of the
wonders of the universe. This was beyond the simplicity of their world. This
was something else.

An invisible hand wrapped around his body
with its fingers curling around his waist and guiding him toward the meteor. He
reached out. As his fingers brushed the rock, the entire cave pulsed. What
happened next was unexplainable.

A massive explosion sent Keimaro, Yata, and
Aika all rocketing back through the air. The world began to spin wildly. Before
he knew it, Keimaro found himself on the ground outside with no idea how he got
there. His head was pounding furiously, and an annoying ringing battered his
ear. He winced and coughed a bit of dust, turning to find Aika lying on the
ground beside him. His heart was pounding, and he glanced back at the cave to
see that there literally had been an explosion that had erupted inside of it.
An odd blue smoke rose from it.

Keimaro glanced down at his body, feeling
his chest growing extremely hot. He winced as he saw blue energy pulsing from
his chest and gasped, knowing that the meteor had done something to him. He
panted for a moment, staring blankly into the sky. He pushed himself into a
sitting position, gasping for air as he rubbed his eyes. He didn’t know what
had just happened, but touching that meteor probably wasn’t his best idea. He
glanced at Aika and Yata and saw that a blue current of electricity was surging
through both of them. He stared at them in absolute shock, unsure of what to
do. All of this was his fault….

Yata stirred, and his eyes opened as he
rolled over onto his side, gripping his stomach with a slight twinge of pain
surging through him. “Gah … what the hell…?” he muttered, coughing before he
pushed himself onto his knees. His eyes were closed, and he groaned. “W-What
just happened?”

Keimaro grunted as he pushed himself to his
feet, finding that he wasn’t harmed at all. Not even the slightest part of him
hurt. He shook his head at Yata, not particularly sure what to say, and reached
down to turn Aika on her back. He stared at the young princess’s unmoving body,
and a surge of fear burst through him. What if she was dead? It would be his
fault. She couldn’t be dead! He reached down and pressed his index and middle
fingers against her neck to feel for her pulse. She was still alive. A wave of
relief flowed over Keimaro, and he sighed lightly, lifting the princess up over
his shoulder and picking up his club as well. “It’s dangerous here. We need to
get back to the village. Let’s go, Yata.”

“Look, it was my fault that we went in
there…,” Yata said, still on the ground. “I didn’t mean for…. I’m not sure what
just happened, but if anything did, I take full responsibility for—”

“It’s fine,” Keimaro said with a reassuring
smile at his friend, placing his club down on the ground and offering his hand
to Yata. “Let’s get going.”

Yata looked at Keimaro’s hand for a moment,
his lip quivering. It was the first time that Keimaro had seen even a sliver of
fear on his face. His hand shook lightly as it grasped Keimaro’s. He struggled
to his feet and took Aika from Keimaro, holding her in his arms instead. “Take
both of the clubs and wield them just in case something comes along.”

“Why would you give me the clubs? You have
more fighting experience than I!” Keimaro exclaimed.

“I don’t have fighting experience,” Yata
said with a chuckle. “I just have confidence. All it takes to fight is to swing
those things around. Your mental strength is what really matters.”

Keimaro sighed and picked up both of the
clubs, holding the metal weapons in his hands. At Keimaro’s nod, the two young
boys began to race through the forest at incredible speed. Surprisingly enough,
no creatures of the night came at them. The faster they ran, the more
confidence seemed to rise in Keimaro’s heart. The heat in his chest radiated
throughout the rest of his body and pushed him onward to increase his speed,
letting off some energy. A gust of wind blew through his hair, and for some
reason, he felt good. No, not just good. He felt amazing.

***

Two cloaked men stood outside of the mouth
of a cave with the remnants of the meteor. Mere pieces of the alien rock were
scattered across the area, and one of the cloaked figures kicked at the rubble in
annoyance. “What in the gods is this? How is it possible that someone got here
before us?” He pulled down his hood, revealing a man in his forties with white
hair and a red tattoo running across his right eye. He scoffed in disbelief,
running a hand through his naturally snow-white, slicked-back hair as he clicked
his tongue. “Did someone know about the operation?”

Tobimaru didn’t say anything, though he
glanced to the side with an interested smile. “It seems like the kids that we
were examining before came out for a little exploring. They know how to breach
the ward, meaning I can find the weak spot. Catch up with the children and buy
me some time. The Faar army was waiting for us to bring down the ward anyway so
that they could go and take this beloved village of theirs. The kids stole the
energy from the meteor, so I suppose it’s only fair if we steal everything from
them.”

***

Keimaro and Yata rested against the apple tree
outside of Bakaara, panting. Keimaro was completely exhausted from the long run.
His eyes felt heavy, but he knew better than to fall asleep outside of the
ward. They weren’t one-hundred-percent safe yet. He sighed, knowing that he
would have to go home and apologize to his mother and father for his behavior.
He had been so angry about being lied to. But, now that he had cooled down a
bit, he knew that his parents still loved him despite everything; otherwise,
they wouldn’t have even taken him in or cared for him all of these years.

Aika lay in her sleep right next to
Keimaro, snoring soundlessly on the soft grass. Keimaro was reluctant to wake
her but was about to reach for her when suddenly he heard a shift of movement
and a grunt. Keimaro turned and saw Yata being lifted off of the ground. His
feet dangled inches above the ground as he choked, gasping for air and grabbing
at the arm of the man who was holding his neck. Keimaro’s eyes widened and
glared at a white-haired man wearing a black cloak. The man stared into Yata’s
eyes with a crazed look, licking his lips slowly. An odd tattoo crossed his
right eye, making it look as if he had been brutally slashed with a blade
across the right side of his face.

“Oi, Tobimaru!” the white-haired man said
with an evil cackle. “Looks like I found the fresh meat! They were off resting!”
He squeezed Yata’s throat tighter with a snarl. “You wasted the meteor’s power
on yourselves, huh? How selfish of you! Don’t think you’ll get away with it,
you little brat!”

Keimaro looked past the man and saw another
black-cloaked man. When his eyes met those of the man named Tobimaru, Keimaro’s
heart thumped, feeling an instantaneous connection to the figure. It was as if
he could recognize the man through the cowl of his cloak despite not being able
to see his full face. “Who the hell are you guys?”

Tobimaru ignored Keimaro’s question and
simply turned to face Bakaara, a gentle breeze blowing through his cloak,
swaying it ever so slightly. “I’ve located the weak point in the barrier. I’ll
bring it down. After I do so, signal for the attack, and we will begin the
operation.”

Keimaro’s eyes widened at Tobimaru’s words,
and he gripped his club tightly. This guy was planning on bringing down the
barrier? That would mean the deaths of all of the citizens. That was the only
thing that kept the villagers safe from the dangers of the forest. Hardly any
of the guards actually knew how to defend themselves and would probably run in
the face of danger. It would mean the death of his family.

A surge of anger shot through his veins,
and he rushed forward, leaving Aika’s side to sprint at Tobimaru. He leapt into
the air, gripping his club with both hands as he brought it crushing downward
upon Tobimaru. The white-haired man’s body moved in an attempt to save Tobimaru
from the blow, but he wasn’t nearly fast enough to match Keimaro’s speed.
However, what happened next was something that surprised Keimaro entirely.

Tobimaru swung around without any warning
and slammed his fist solidly into Keimaro’s face as if he were able to know
exactly where to hit before the boy had even attacked. The fist sank solidly
into Keimaro’s face, stopping his swing entirely. He flew backward, hitting the
apple tree’s trunk with a heavy thump. Tobimaru looked at Keimaro for a moment
longer before smiling and turning away, vanishing directly before his eyes.

Keimaro stared at the place where Tobimaru
had been only a second before. That guy … he had red eyes. They were demonic and
filled with hatred, just like the way Aika had described the Shokugan. Keimaro thought
he might have used it during his brief fight against the guard outside Yata’s
cell, but he had never actually seen what it looked like. Was it possible that
this Tobimaru person was actually also a member of the Hayashi clan? And how
had he disappeared? Was that another form of magic?