24 the FINAL WEEKLY MEE (1/2)
”What's happening?” Kayzar asked as he blinked a few times sitting on the smooth oak floor directly in front of the warm crackling fireplace of his Father's newly built quarters.
”What's that K-Z?” Karus asked craning his head taking a peek at him on the other side of Artemus's Long desk.
”Nothing,” Kayzar mumbled as he notices scattered papers all around him everywhere.
”Just memorize all the things you find there, and we'll compare notes afterwards, okay?”
As soon as Kayzar was about to mutter a reply, Karus returned almost immediately hiding himself perfectly in the other side as if it is an order that he knows his twin brother's going to obey. He was dumbfounded that he had come back to about two years ago and is magically reliving this specific memory.
He could smell the fresh sawdust lingering in the room as the surprisingly cold draft whispers intermittently to warn them of the night's growing darkness, increasing the risk of them being caught in their curfew evening by the second. Burned papers are everywhere but it's as if his purpose is to memorize and reproduce the vague written words etched from each piece from memory as they shed their fragile charcoal body slowly, almost giving him a favor to savor and commit to thought each readable ink that has been feebly clutching the burnt parchment. Through a very surprising fate, his hands grabbed the fragile paper numbered ninety-two and fixated on the center instantaneously reading, slowly and silently, the burnt paragraph that he can understand almost perfectly because of his gifted sharp eyes.
”And the moonless night followed with much dread as the venomous six-headed Downy-Haired Commander, tracked Prince Kayzar, the apprentice of the Immortal Specter and the shadow of Karus the Great. A great battle ensued with Prince Kayzar magnificently excising the six vile heads granting him a place of honor in the heavens. But, alas, all luck was forsaken as the vile poisonous venom of the youthful beast consumed his limbs bringing down the shadow to its knees where he vanished in the realm as he awaits for Death's execution in his sleep, alone and without comfort.”
A couple of sighs was all he could muster. Kayzar's hands began to tremble, weak and helpless. He forced a smile as he saw Karus peeking again mumbling.
”What?” asked Kayzar, ”I can't hear you!”
Karus began shouting but still without a sound. Kayzar furrowed with much confusion on why it is so. Karus tried to speak out his words but none reached the air. Kayzar tried moving closer but he stood up as if in a fit of temper and irritated still shouting now stomping his feet that should produce an awkward banging noise, but it didn't.
”Shh...” Calmed Kayzar still without a clue on what he wants, ”Stop it! You might draw attention to us!” Kayzar now stood up looking everywhere as if being careful not to be caught sneaking into their father's newly created quarters in the North.
Karus slowly backed away, still shouting, trying to get as close to the wall as possible, as if the room was being stretched, being pulled away from reality by an unknown force trying to keep their distance for tens of feet.
”Louder!” he screamed as Karus moved being pulled away now for about a hundred feet long. ”Louder, Karus! I still can't hear you!”
In all of a sudden, Karus began zooming close to him and in a split-second, nose-to-nose, he shrieked in an earsplitting noise, ”STOP SLEEPING HERE! WAKE UP YOU BUFFOON!!!”
Kayzar slowly opened blinking and gradually sat in a hunch with his gloomy eyes almost teary. This nightmare has become a recurring thought in every waking moment of his life for the past two years. He wants to deny what he saw as they rummage what was left of the burnt copy of the prophecy almost two years ago, but he couldn't. It is in their father's obscure handwriting so it must be true, however horrendous it might be. He has been hiding the prophecy of his death to Karus with much success that it almost gave him the comfort that it will not happen.
Being apart with his brother kills his will slowly as if being smothered by a pillow. He feels rather secured when they are together, most of which is primarily due to the fact that he doesn't want to die being alone and without comfort as was told by the prophecy.
He stood up stretching trying to ignore his terrifying dream now being more realistic and absurd than ever before and started thinking of the fact as to why he was asleep in the Veil of Transitus in the first place. No one gets tired in this realm, let along feel pain. He grabbed the two daggers connected by a sturdy thin chain that is connected to his bracers in his arms and realized immediately that he has managed to master three daggers in his Floating Dagger training on his stay there for ten months. In his attempt to try a fourth, he remembered that the pommel of his dagger began plummeting accidentally straight to his head at high velocity knocking him unconscious. He smiled a little bit measuring the sun as he found out that he had been sleeping for four earth hours which is forty hours in the Veil. What a waste, he thought as he pulled the chain of the two other daggers that has been ten feet away from him from both sides.
He saw Liv in the horizon entering his training field on the other realm, so he immediately packed all the things in his travel gear and then sat with a wide grin on top of the tree stump at the far end.
In a matter of minutes, Liv pushed into the Veil and joined him dashing to get near to him. Kayzar saw a strange look in Liv's eyes. Her eyes were smiling in the clearing, but he saw her with a strange surprised look for a second before returning to her mocking disappointed gaze as if she's been trying to hide something. Kayzar tilted his head finding an explanation for her emotions but he just let it pass in a thought that maybe he's been over-thinking things. He became hyper-observant in that realm possibly due to the whispering sounds he's been hearing for the past few months over and over again and he don't want to be dubbed as growing insane.
As he stood up to greet his sister, a loud stinging slap welcomed the back of his head throwing him a couple of steps forward. Kayzar was mystified on the speed and agility of her dashes in that realm. He's been staying there for ten months training his speed and reflexes too generating a profound feeling that his skills are near to perfection, but Liv still managed to crush his newly established confidence and fooled his eyes with her remarkable dashes. Truly a Master Sibara as she is dubbed to be, he thought.
”Whyd'ya do that!?”
”Are you trying to get yourself killed!? Are you suicidal!?”
”Well I can't get out! Seeing as you left me here to rot for ten months, I'm assuming that you'd be less violent and more forgiving...”
”Well I s'pose you're right. You do look kind of pathetic being stuck here for a long time... I should've never overestimated your abilities...”
”Hey! What do you mean by that!?”
”No worries, I'm here, you're stuck, so we should get out.”
With a tap of the hand they both returned to their Earthly Realm with the bright sun consuming all things to a blinding luminescence mimicking an intensely lit white room - an intense blinding white room that would violate every optic fiber in anyone's eyes. The experience made Kayzar shy away running to the nearest shadow, averting his eyes to the bombarding rays of white light, managing to scamper and take comfort at the edge of the clearing behind the most leaf-endowed trees.
He's been staying in the Veil of Transitus for a very long time and that adjusted his eyes to its cool bluish waving hues of serenity. Liv just laughed mocking him on how he looked quite helpless as if a bat magically waking up on a beach on a bright summer's day.
”Gets them every time...” she whispered slapping her thighs in pure happiness. He rarely sees her happy, and when he does it's usually because of a twisted reason - like what's happening to him now.
”Who's them?” Kayzar shouted almost trying with all his might to squint peering with his left eye, still trying to adjust to the bright sun.
”Oh nothing,” she replied still trying hard to breathe laughing, ”I should've tried slowly giving you the transition, but I can't resist the temptation.”
He knows she's Yiv and Kudos and Madj are the Lost Apprentices of the Shadow, her secret apprentices, so the thought of her giving them the prank quelled his irritation for a little bit. The idea gave him some comfort that at least he's not alone getting tricked at, and more importantly at least he's not the first which quite stopped him getting all furious.
”You could've destroyed my eyes you know!” he grumpily added still squeezing himself to hide in the shadows even further.
”Nah, you'll be fine. Don't be too sensitive. Man up!”
”Well I feel older,” Kayzar said changing the topic, ”It's been almost a year there. And I've been busying myself with other endeavors since escaping is not an option.”
”I've noticed,” she whispered arriving in front of him now sitting on the ground almost giving the hint about his exposed bracers peeping behind his long sleeves. Kayzar immediately buttoned them in his futile attempt to hide what was equipped on his arms. ”You've forgot to hide that from me, which is totally okay. You should practice your floating daggers even without my help. You'll need that someday.”
”And you won't tell?”
”Of course, not. I know it's forbidden to know that technique but you're talking to the number one troublemaker here in Nagozul. Heck, it's forbidden to know the shadow step and yet here you are, learning it.”
”So, you would teach me to cross over the Veil of Transitus some other time again?”
”Sure, so long as you don't use it frequently this time. You've been stuck in there for ten months. You got at least two months left on your clock, so don't be staying there too much or else I'm going to be the one to kill you!”
”I thought I'll die being trapped there?”
”Then I'll beat the freaking soul out of you here before you go in that realm ever again!” she shouted punching him in the left arm for trying to get a laugh. ”I'm serious, so stop messing around!”
”Okay, okay!”
”Oh, and by the way, I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but there's been trouble in Nagozul while you were away.”
”What's wrong? It's not that it's...”
”Father is ill,” she hurried with all seriousness, ”he fell into the Sleep of Death for about a month now.”
”Yit'ard Ate-Liv! And you forgot to mention that!?” he grunted standing up, trying to open his eyes, still making himself comfortable with the sun's intense radiance. ”AND YOU LEFT ME HERE FOR A MONTH BEFORE YOU GOT THE IDEA OF PULLING ME BACK!?”
”There's nothing you or anyone can do about it. I figured with father's skill, he would wake up on his own, since he's of Life Element, but it seems that he hasn't yet.”
”I HATE YOU!” Kayzar shouted now storming off to the woods.
”Hey!” she called stopping him, ”Father's vital signs are stable now, he's been activating his Amplifyer in its highest potential which means he's alive and well and is battling whatever curse he's been inflicted. It's only a matter of time, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Nagozul has more serious problem at hand!”
”I DON'T CARE! I'LL BE AT THE NORTH! DON'T FOLLOW ME!”
And with his raging declaration he dashed on disappearing to the woods.
-------ooO0Ooo-------
”Master!” whispered a silver image of a muscular man sprouting off from the tree, ”Shud we follow 'im?”
”No. He'll just spot you now with the sharp eyes he developed in the veil. The kid mastered the Blood Eyes by accident. That took me five years to do.”
”Master,” entered a voice of a young girl building off from the gold dust in the air as if she's being sculpted by the wind, ”I fear for that child, he's going to be a threat.”
”Yes, I know. His vessel is immune in the Veil. No vessel is immune in the veil and yet his vessel is. This keeps getting interesting.”
Kudos and Madj appeared forming in their normal bodies both kneeling for their master. Yiv just ignored them still looking at the direction Kayzar is moving with her violet eyes turning blood red.
”Good thing he doesn't really know how to escape the Veil right master?”
Yiv just smiled in reply as if in sarcasm which the two noticed right away.
”But why did he told ya' 'dat he can't?” asked Kudos now confused, ”Is he tryin' to deceive ya'!?”
”I don't know Auric, I don't know. But he knows how to get out of the veil and pretends that he can't which is somewhat rare seeing that any Nagozulian, even without being egotistical, would proudly flaunt that kind of feat in a heartbeat. That silly kid's got some trust issues. He likes other people thinking he's weak, so that he can easily be underestimated like what he did enduring my attacks when I was training him to traverse the Veil. I have felt his vibration then, but he seems to be holding it back to trick me into measuring his potential. I made a mistake giving you two missions when you could've watched him for a month. We don't know what he's capable of in that ten months he's been training in the veil, so we have to step back for a while and be careful.”
”What shall we do then, Master?”
”I have a few other missions to take care of alone, so your services wouldn't be needed for the moment. Go to the north and await my command.”
With his final orders, they disappeared almost immediately with Yiv snickering, still looking straight to where Kayzar is moving in sheer delight and excitement in her eyes.
-------ooO0Ooo-------
”Congratulations, Lime! I think you are really at a tremendous improvement since last month's demonstration. You've improved quite well.”
”Really master!?” she beamed with a wide smile with sincere joyous eyes but then was overwhelmed with sudden doubt. ”Wait! Are you just saying that to protect my esteem?”
Karus laughed unsheathing his sword. ”No, silly. What am I going to accomplish lying to you?” he posed with a convincing tone which suppressed Lime's disbeliefs making him sigh in relief.
In reality, she's been the worst student any Daomagar can have and he's only saying such praises to build her confidence - though the thought is richly exaggerated since no Daomagar has ever trained a foreign mortal ever before and now he is quickly realizing why. He picked the Katana because she doesn't have any upper body strength to maneuver their traditional long sword without injuring herself and any other people around her. In time, he thought, he could sculpt some warrior within her but for now he needs the spy that he's been nurturing within rather than the maniacal sword-swinging fighter that she wants to be. It's clearly much important to know everything now that their Aunt Prodea has sealed the City like a fortress tripling the regular scheduled guards posted. It is selfish and rude but certain types of principles should be ignored, however appalling it might be for him, when Nagozul is in shambles. Duty first.
”I will stand in this circle,” he declared drawing a circle with the edge of his katana around him, ”And I will only use my right hand. If you can manage to make me move from my spot or make me use my left hand then you will win, and we can move on with short swords.”
”Hey, this is a trick test, right? You're using your best hand! How can I beat that!?”
”Thank you for pointing it out. Although I am right-handed, I trained my left-hand to be better at handling swords. Thinking that I'm weakest in my left arm inspired me to reinforce it now making my left hand most adept in handling blades. You will die of old age training and still will be unable to defeat me if I use my left hand and that's a guarantee.”
”Okay, so no left hand and I only have to get you to move outside. Is that it?”
”Yes. And to help you further, I will leave an opening that you can strike. If you can find it then I will have to concede.”
”So, to sum it up, I make you move, or make you use your left hand, or attack the secret opening that you will be hiding, I win?”
”That's about as simple as it is.”
”Well, then, prepare yourself!”
Lime lunged straight trying to pierce him right in the chest but Karus just flicked his sword disabling her from her weapon, throwing her katana at least ten feet behind her to be planted on the ground. Lime looked at her shaking hands feeling the tremors from the residual force of the colliding blades, almost with a teary eye in pain.
”Remember your training. I've trained you day and night for the past month to make you one with your Sandata, yet you're still worried about your extremities. Without your Sandata, you are worthless. Without your Sandata, you will die! Now pick up your sword!”
Lime ran and pulled her sword with eager eyes and tried a lunge to Karus but again failed with him flicking only his sword throwing her weapon, yet again, but this time much farther.
”I am controlling my powers now. The strength you are now witnessing compares to your most muscular fighter.”