Rupture: Rise of the Demon King (40 page)

Kerodesis rose his blade up high, but before he could swing down upon Mori, the citadel shook and he lost his balance, falling on his wounded leg. He let out a howl and Mori reacted, becoming water. As the water fell to the ground, Keith burst through it, tackling Kerodesis.

Kerodesis and Keith struggled for supremacy, rolling and jostling along the floor. Kerodesis’s superior strength won in the end and he ended up on top of Keith. He slammed Keith’s chest into the ground, knocking the air out of him. He proceeded to punch Keith in the face repeatedly, knocking him out after a couple of blows.

Kerodesis didn’t notice that the water was flowing off Keith and reforming into Mori. She stood before him after a moment, kicking him off her defeated friend. Kerodesis teleported away from her, blood dripping from a fist. He smiled.

“Seeko!” Mori yelled. “It’s just you and me now!”

They charged at each other.

/ / / / /

After wandering through the castle, Seeko and the man arrived in a small room deep underground. Several desks littered the room, cluttered with jewelry and strange inventions. A man with black hair sat on a stool, scrutinizing an orange-topaz necklace. He rose hastily as the white-haired man entered, putting down the jewelry.

“Ah, Yoshino,” the man said. “Just the man I’ve been looking for.”

“Moses. The boy is ready to leave.”

“Excellent. We can take him back to Cerris, then.”

“He wants to go home.”

“Gemini is his home.”

Yoshino reached in a pocket and pulled out a handful of pendants. Then he put all but one back.

“Where did you get those?” Moses asked nervously.

Yoshino ignored him. “His home is Earth, Moses. I am taking him to Earth.”

“What? No! I will not test my magic items on a child!”

The man gestured to the pendant. “The child wants to leave, Moses! Give him what he wants!”

The other man ran a hand through his black hair. “He is but a boy! He cannot make decisions like that!”

“He has a mind, correct?” Yoshino shouted. “Then he can make his own choices! Can’t you, Seeko?”

Seeko nodded and Moses submitted. Yoshino pointed his palm away from them, and a black oval appeared opposite it. Yoshino smiled at Seeko while reaching for his hand.

Together, they walked into the darkness.

/ / / / /

The gateway to Inner Gemini collapsed, a tolling sound of defeat to those inside. Irenic white rolled through the gap, crushing all black that stood in the way. A man led them on a white kitsean. The leader looked to the citadel, pointed his blade that way, and charged.

The two figures still standing atop the citadel did not notice any of this, so engrossed were they in their duel of life and death.

Mori’s thin rapier kept Kerodesis at bay for a while, but then he slipped under her guard and slashed across her arm. She cried out and hopped backward, whipping water at her foe as she did so. The water slammed across his face and he scowled. He sent fireballs at her, and Mori’s water barely batted them out of the air.

“Seeko!” Mori cried. “I know you’re in there! Come back to me!”

“Never!” Kerodesis lashed at her with a cord of orange flame. He followed it up with a black claw that scratched deep across her leg. She bit her tongue and turned to water.

The water that was Mori flowed forward, picking up speed, then rushed into Kerodesis. He tried to resist, but the flow overwhelmed him, slamming once more into the battlements. Mori reformed twenty feet away from him.

“Kerodesis is a lie! Seeko, fight him!”

Kerodesis rose. “Seeko was the lie! I am the truth!” He recalled his blade of copper flame.

Mori threw down her rapier and water-skin. “Seeko! Please!”

“Seeko is gone, woman! It is only Kerodesis now!” He approached the girl with a grin.

“If you are lost, then kill me. Kill me!” She fell to her knees. “Do it, you coward! Demon scum!”

Now Kerodesis stood a foot before her, burning blade raised high. He stared at her with hatred in his eyes, then brought the sword down. But as it fell, it dissipated.

Kerodesis looked to her, ashamed. “I … I can’t.”

Mori’s mouth twitched, a tear rolling down her eye. “But I can,” she said, stifling another tear. Her fist curled around her rapier …

… and the blade pierced his body. Shock crossed his eyes, and he looked at her. Then he fell.

/ / / / /

Darkness surrounded Seeko and Yoshino for a moment, then light. Streetlights combated a rainy night. They stood together on the side of a street, the torrent quickly soaking Seeko to the bone. Small, worn-down buildings surrounded them, apartments where many people lived. The lights were on in many of them, inviting warmth to a chilled boy.

Seeko glanced to the man he held on to, shivering. As he did so, Yoshino’s clothes changed, going from baggy, worn clothing to a sharp black suit.

“Cold?” he asked.

Seeko nodded.

“Let’s get you inside, then. Let’s take you home.”

They walked to the closest door and Yoshino rang the doorbell. Seeko looked to the window, then back to Yoshino. But when he did, Yoshino was gone. The door opened, then brilliant bright light consumed him.

/ / / / /

I remember the memory so vividly because I have lived it twice!

Seeko reappeared in the Tabula Rasa, holding the hand of an angel.
“I was that boy!”
he thought. He remembered how safe Yoshino made him feel. What a lie that was now.

He looked to Anasheri.
“Why did you show me that?”

“You were one of his experiments,”
she thought back to him.
“A piece of his dream. But now he believes you are dead. You hold the advantage. You can stop him.”
Another image appeared before Seeko, an image of a crying Mori holding his corpse.

“Seeko. I have one more thing to show you.”

And he was torn from his body again.

/ / / / /

The green spark awakened not in white, but in black. The darkness surrounded the spark, threatening to destroy it. But the spark fought back, bravely standing up to the overwhelming darkness.

Seeko was the spark, the abyss his mind.
Is this another memory? Another imprint?

Another voice answered:
“Seeko.”

“Kerodesis?”

“My name is Seeko Dris.”

Seeko reached out, looking for the voice. Eventually, he found it, a sickly orange spark on the brink of extinguishing.
“Kerodesis?”
Seeko asked again.

After a moment, Kerodesis answered,
“You were right. I am a demon. Our pasts are shared. You are not the imposter; neither of us are.”
Silence, then Kerodesis continued.
“I couldn’t kill her when I had the chance. I wanted to, more than anything, but I couldn’t.”

“I love her,”
they both thought simultaneously.

A moment of lucidity and Seeko understood.
“All this time I tried to fight you, tried to defeat you. But I never tried to accept you. Now I know that I am you, and that you are me.”

Kerodesis stood silent.

“I must accept the demon within. Only then can I truly master it.”

He felt Kerodesis accept this.

“Then we will never be separate again. We are one.”

The orange spark finally spoke:
“We are one.”

Then the sparks combined, whole again. The spark glowed a vibrant green and Seeko felt life renew within him.

He opened his eyes.

36: Return

August 13, 2014

The familiar scent of Mori flooded his nose, and he stared at her as she held him tight. She was crying and didn’t notice him wake in her arms. He moved his arms weakly, inviting the sharp pain that surrounded his body. He moaned and stretched out his aching limbs. His voice and movements alerted Mori, and she looked at him in shock. She dropped him, and he slammed his head into the ground.

He grabbed his head and cried in pain as Mori held up her rapier, a scar now covering her hand where it had been burned.

“Mori,” he grunted. At that moment, he recognized his flickering spark working to maintain his thrashed body. He tried to sit up but fell back in pain. He saw Mori standing over him with her rapier. “Mori, I need your help.” He held up his hand.

Mori stepped closer and lowered her blade. “Seeko?”

He attempted a nod and dropped his arm in exhaustion. She got down beside him, placing her weapon on the ground. Mori looked hard into his eyes, and Seeko broke her focus by cracking a faint smile. She cried again and held him close.

“I thought you were dead,” she cried.

She squeezed him tight, which made him moan in pain again. She pulled him away and looked at the bloodied hero. She pulled water out of her water-skin and poured it onto his wounds. His cuts faded and his aches vanished. He watched her siphon water into him, transfixed on her.

“Mori,” he called out again.

She turned her attention back to him. She inched closer, letting her hair fall onto his face.

“I love you,” he said.

Tears fell from her eyes onto his forehead. “I love you too.”

Seeko held up his hands and pulled down her head to kiss her. She returned the kiss and held onto him, never showing any sign of release. Seeko eventually broke their bond and looked into her eyes.

“I don’t ever want to lose you again,” she said.

Her warm body moved away from his. After healing most of Seeko’s wounds, she rose and helped Seeko up. Both Keith and Bianca were lying battered on the roof. Mori walked over to Keith and healed his broken and bruised face. Seeko decided to assist Bianca. He flipped her onto her back and viewed her burned body. His first instinct told him to check if she was breathing, which she was, faintly.

Distant coughs erupted from Keith. Seeko watched as Keith stumbled to his feet and ran over to Bianca. He picked her up and pushed air into her lungs. Mori joined them around her and cared for her burns.

“C’mon … wake up,” Keith said.

“I thought you didn’t like her,” Seeko said to him.

Keith gave him a cold stare. “I may not like her, but I’m not heartless.”

Seeko watched as they removed the burns from her body, until they stopped and waited. Her body had been healed, scars replacing the burns. She was breathing, but she remained unconscious.

A loud crash from below the building tipped Seeko off to the war around him. Irenic soldiers were pouring into the citadel. His father’s face entered his mind. He had killed his own father. Physis had known.

Anger built in Seeko, but instantly dissipated when he heard Bianca’s voice. She moaned on the ground and propped herself up on her elbows. The others rose beside her, and Keith held out a hand to help her up. She took the hand and stumbled to her feet with Keith’s help.

“I’m … Ugh … I’m surprised you willingly helped me,” she said in her usual sarcastic tone.

Keith shrugged and turned away. “Maybe you’re not so bad.”

“You either,” she replied.

Seeko joined them and they looked at one another.

Bianca broke the silence after a moment. “Now what?”

“We still need to stop Yoshino,” Keith answered.

“We don’t even know where he went,” Mori said.

“Earth,” Seeko said.

“Technically, that’s not the first place he went to,” said an unfamiliar voice from behind them. “But you will find him there.”

The group turned to find an old man, heavily robed, standing before a portal.

“Moses?” Seeko asked. He looked closely at the man, who appeared to be a much older version of the one from his memory.

Moses stroked his gray beard and smiled. “You do remember me.”

Seeko readied himself for another fight. “I remember you helping Yoshino. You made those necklaces.”

“True, I did, but that’s not why I’m here. I’m here because I want to know if you want to save Earth.”

“Of course I want to save Earth,” Seeko growled. “And I’m not going to let you stop me.”

Moses let out a small chuckle. “I didn’t come here to stop you; I’m here to help you.”

“Am I supposed to believe that? You stole me from my home!” Seeko said. “Not to mention you created a way for demons to get here!”

Moses nodded. “My intentions were not to let demons roam Endetia freely. Seeko, a lot has happened since my involvement with Yoshino. I’m simply giving you a chance to end it.”

Seeko thought for a moment and spoke in a calmer tone: “What do you want me to do?”

The old man motioned behind him to the portal that stood there. “Come with me back to Earth.”

Mori grabbed onto his hand, forcing him to look to her. He looked back at the portal and at Moses.

“I’ve always wanted to see where you lived,” Mori said.

He nodded at the statement and took a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll go. But if this is a trick …”

“I understand that you do not trust me. But what more can you do here? Does it not feel like your journey has ended here in Endetia?”

Seeko wondered how much Moses knew. Was he a seer? His eyes
were
violet … Moses was right, though. There was nothing left for him here. His mission now was to stop Yoshino. If Moses could help him with that, then he would use him to the best of his ability.

Keith cleared his throat from behind him. “What about us?” he asked.

Seeko looked to his allies and gazed upon their exhausted faces. “Why don’t you come with me?”

Keith picked up his sword and stared at his reflection in it. “After today, I’m not sure if I want to.”

Bianca shrugged and Seeko knew that meant she would follow Keith.

“Keith,” Seeko said. “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here. I’m going to need you on Earth.”

“Make your decisions quickly.” Moses looked to the ring in the sky. “It wouldn’t be in your best interests for Irenic soldiers to run into the next Halcyon emperor, Seeko.”

Mori looked to him. “What is he talking about?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Seeko said. He watched Keith, waiting for his answer. His scarf blew in the wind as he looked down off the rooftop. The Irenic continued their attack on the town below, destroying everything in their path.

“I’ve lost everything I ever had,” Keith said, watching the destruction. He sheathed his blade on his back and faced Seeko again. “I’ll go. There’s no reason everyone everywhere should have to suffer.”

He held out his hand to Seeko, who smiled and grabbed it. Bianca walked up beside him, nodding.

“We’ve already destroyed an empire. What more is there to do?” Bianca stated.

They all faced Moses, and Seeko grabbed onto Mori’s hand.

“Let’s go,” Seeko said.

Moses nodded. He waved Seeko toward the portal, and Seeko moved in that direction. Moses walked calmly to the black, spinning orb.

“Are you sure you can trust him?” Mori whispered to Seeko.

He didn’t answer, instead standing before the large oval of black and purple emptiness. Another portal to another world. How he wished he had known that the first time he touched one.

After what seemed like hours, he stepped into the black abyss. The darkness consumed him, but he could still feel Mori holding his hand.

After falling into the darkness, he suddenly stood on firm ground. Seconds later, the darkness dissipated and Seeko squinted in the coming light. When his eyes readjusted, he recognized instantly where he was.

New York.

But it was not the city as he remembered it. Everything was crumbling or in ruin. The road, littered with rusted cars, was cracked, invasive plants growing up through it. The buildings, once clean and majestic, were broken and desolate. He looked to the skyline of downtown New York. The skyscrapers that once stood proud were missing, with only a few exceptions. How long had he been gone?

Mori, Keith, and Bianca stood in shock, taking in everything, while Seeko turned his back to the city. Instead, he looked to where he was.
The school?
Indeed, the school stood in front of him, weathered and battered like the other buildings.
Then this is …
He looked to the ground.
This is where I stood when I left Earth, so long ago.

Moses slammed his staff on the ground to gain everyone’s attention. “There is someone I want you four to meet, the leader of the resistance in New York.” He moved toward the school.

They went into the dark building and marched up the stairs, once so familiar, now so alien. They stopped in front of the door, which Seeko recognized as his second-hour classroom. A lifetime of difference. Moses opened the door slowly.

A single woman stood in the room. The woman was facing the window—the same one through which Seeko had watched his world end and another begin. The woman turned, slowly, noiselessly. Seeko could see that the woman had goggles on top of her head. The mystery figure approached the hero.

“Seeko. Hell of an end of the world, right?” She reached out for Seeko’s hand.

Seeko took it and smiled.

END

OF

BOOK

ONE