A dying light embedded in the darkness.

That’s all they had left to chase after.

One way out of hell, up.

The group hastily traversed around mounds of rock and over steep puddles. Closing in on the scatter of iridescent blue glow ahead, hope was just on the cusp of their vision. The static rays fanned out over the crumbly clustered dripstone ahead, fresh water droplets reflecting the faint light right into their faces. A precious gleam that drew them into their escape.

Vigorous fear fueled the boys' feeble minds. Baited by the eerie whispers of the dead behind them, the stalker only loomed closer as they chased after the light.

After the promise of blessed safety.

Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh!

But the creature was nipping at their heels, closing in on its prey.

“COMNNNEE BBAARRRGH!” The stalker screeched.

Misumi clutched her brother tight and buried her head into his chest. Her young mind begged for relief from this tormented anguish. Daisuke could only embrace her back and provide comfort in the moment, mind racing against the clock. Strained from a bitter desire bigger than himself, he could only pray for deliverance. His feet the only portion of his vessel to adhere the call from Amaterasu, from the Sun.

“Kiyo!” Daisuke yelled as he peered back over his shoulder, just able to make out the stalker’s obscure movements in the shadows.

“A little more,” Kiyo replied assertively.

Tit-tat-tit-tattittattittattittat

The stalker forwent its stealth as it charged head-on toward the group. Its full attention honed on the special prey of the squeamish child Misumi. Her tender flesh adequate in its instinctual mind to suffice its children. To feed the pack.

Daisuke winced at the subtle burst of speed from behind. Terror washed down his back as glimpses of the teratoma blasted into the forefront of his mind. Pain flared from the lasting scars still prevalent on his lower chest. With the creature closing in, his heart cried out as he latched onto the terrifying truth within. The only thing he could think of as he winced at the extensive  distance between them and the end of this nightmare; he didn’t want to die.

“Kiyo, it-“

Chirtch!

Without hesitation, Kiyo reach out toward Daisuke with his left hand. Skin glowing a faint green, Kiyo dug his fingers deep into the neck fold of Daisuke’s overcoat. Veins pulsed and throbbed as the water on Kiyo’s skin steamed from the intense radiance within. Vile energy flowing throughout his body congested his left arm. Years of training to just control an ounce of this power for this moment.

For his friend’s sake.

Daisuke felt his footing give way to the immense force lifting his body into the air. Kiyo’s amplified strength was a marvel in Daisuke’s eyes. Put on display yet again, Daisuke delved back to the scuffle in the woods. The words of the High Priest made sense.

Kiyo was special, someone destined for something bigger than all of them.

Whoosh!

The thought lingered in Daisuke’s mind as Kiyo hurled him and a fear-stricken Misumi back onto the paved walkway. Paladinian claimed grounds.

Whump-thud!

Daisuke and Misumi slammed into the walls of the narrow trail and crumpled onto the moist beaten cave floor. His bulky leather overcoat was a saving grace as Daisuke took most of the initial impact. Sprawled out upon the smoothen stone, his back became inflamed by the collision. But the pain wasn’t even a concern. Sequestering it, he cranked his head forward and gazed back toward the abyss.

Kiyo was nowhere in sight.

“Kiyo!” Daisuke cried out warily, hands grasping at the mucky pebbles beneath him.

Nothing. No voice cried out from the abyss, only the brief distant whiff of footsteps. Step by step they came closer and closer. Yet no voice accompanied them. Pebbles and puddles of water were cast aside in the wake of the blanketed figure. Wide-eyed, Daisuke kicked back against the floor, arms wrapped around Misumi as he bumped into the wall. Was it the creature? Was it Kiyo?

With no time to think, Daisuke held his sister tight and prepared for the worst.

Stomp-stomp-stomp-splash-stomp-clink-stomp-stomp!

For the end.

Kiyo. Please make it.

Misumi became overtaken by nervous shivers that rippled from head to toe. Daisuke tried to remain strong for the both of them, but his mind toppled into the worst to come as silence enveloped them. The stalker’s whispers were nowhere to be heard, Daisuke unsure if it had disposed of Kiyo or just given up. All he knew was that it was so quiet. A single breath could be heard throughout the entire expanse of the cave.

“Kiyo, stop playing.” Daisuke whimpered jokingly.

Scuffle. Thump. Thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump-thumpthumpthumpthump.

An anxious fear aspired within Daisuke, his curiosity for the world overwhelmed by what was at stake. His little sister, Misumi, drove her face into his chest. Someone he swore to protect, to save.

They couldn’t die here.

“Kiyo!” Daisuke yelled in a blood-curdling cry.

Whoosh!

A burst of water sloshed up from the pit below, followed by a sudden blur too quick to recognize. 

Clap-clap.

Leaping out of the shadows, Kiyo landed right in front of Daisuke. Clothes lined with slashes and weathered threads, he huffed in rapid anxious breaths. Little splotches of blood trickled down his back onto the rock beneath him. His left hand emitted a visible heat wave that left his pale skin an irritated bright pinkish-red.

Yet despite the visible agony, Kiyo appeared emotionless.

Stolid.

Kiyo’s gold-tipped white bangs concealed his eyes, unfazed by the tremors of agony that spiraled through his left arm and back. Scorched and nearly out of energy, Kiyo stumbled over toward Daisuke swaying side to side. Feet shaky and knees buckled, he failed to get a proper footing on the safeguarded earth. With a slight stutter, Kiyo collapsed onto the floor face first.

Daisuke paused as he waited for his friend to get up, to move, to say something. But it was too late, exhaustion rattled Kiyo tirelessly. Rest was all that was in store for him.

“Kiyo?”

Daisuke stretched out his left leg and nudged Kiyo’s head with the sole of his shoe. No reaction. Kiyo just laid there and slipped away into sweet unconsciousness. Tuckered out in a deep sleep, his snores pierced his lips and filled the sullen air. The little short drags of air in and out of his lungs were evidence enough of his survival. Daisuke’s worry was put to rest as he dropped his head back onto the wall. A small sigh of relief groaned out.

Thank Sun.

“Daisuke! Kiyo!” Voices called out from either side of the hall anxiously.

Who’s there? Daisuke thought as he dragged his head back upright.

“Daisuke are you—Misumi!” Cho yelled out skittishly with extended hands toward her treasured child.

Daisuke peered over to the right and saw his parents weave between the narrow cavern back toward them. Cho’s usual calm and collected composure were masked with an uneasy dire panic as she rushed toward her children. Kneeling beside them, she took Daisuke and Misumi into her arms.

Botan was close behind as he laid a hand on Cho’s shoulder for comfort. A slight mellow smile creased his face at the emotional reunion. Yet, questions poked holes in his inner joy as he glanced over at Kiyo slumped a couple of feet away. The strange prophesied boy passed out radiating heat waves from his battered body.

Such a sight only inspired questions within Botan. The obvious on the tip of his tongue.

“Daisuke. What happened?” Botan asked sternly, a questioning glare accompanying his words.

“Well—we thought we heard something, so we, uhm, we went down there to check.” Daisuke said as he pointed toward the deepening pit of shadows lined with stalagmites and stalactites. Rock teeth lined the entrance of the gaping open mouth.

“And you found Misumi alone down there?” Botan asked with a firm point toward the abyss.

“No. . . There was something else.” Daisuke said skeptically.

“So, you just went down there alone?” Botan said pensively, hands crossed over his chest, his tone spiked toward the recreation of events.

“Um-”

“Son. We could’ve lost all of you because of what you did.”

“We just—we wanted to help, Father,” Daisuke said uneasily, offset by his father’s timid anger.

“I said stay put. You listen to me first before yourself.”

“But, Misumi-” Daisuke couldn’t finish as he caught sight of his mother silencing him.

Her right hand was sternly placed sideways in front of her mouth beneath a beady stare. A customary signal to bar your lips, being a way to force those of lesser authority to keep quiet. Something Daisuke instantly recognized as he slouched back and nodded, voice trailing off into a defeated whisper.

“Daisuke,” Cho said as she averted her attention away from Misumi.

Her voice was a little shaky but all the words flowed out loud and clear.

“Listen to your father. It may have seemed right in the moment, but you're too—valuable to the clan to do such a thing. You have to think.”

I’m what? Daisuke thought, baffled by his mother’s sentiments.

Despite the apparent tears in her eyes that trickled down her rosy red cheeks, she agreed. Cho’s position in the household was one of service to the head; to Botan.

“Do you understand?” Cho said blankly.

“Yes, Mother,” Daisuke uttered with a downcast glare, confused by his parent’s words.

How was his life worth more than his sister’s? Because he’s a chosen child?

Silence resided between the family as Ayame came tunneling in from the left end of the passageway. Hands clasped over her mouth, she dashed forward and crouched next to Daisuke.

“Master Daisuke, are you okay?” Ayame asked amidst panic that creased her gaze from Daisuke and Misumi to Kiyo.

“Aya—-me?” Misumi murmured, stretching her arms toward Ayame.

“Oh-oh hey there. It’s okay, let me just see where it hurts.” Ayame said in a de-escalated tone, voice smooth and airy.

Her sudden shift in mannerisms was a front. Ayame’s attempt to keep Misumi preoccupied with her voice and divert her attention from the sweltering gash on the back of her leg. The exact spot where the monster must’ve latched on the child to drag Misumi down into its den.

Conversation ensued as Cho and Botan moved over to inspect Kiyo. Shifting him upright, they took out some bandages to cover his scars, while Misumi left in the all-too-trustful hands of Ayame. But Daisuke just sat there and drifted away from it all. Unable to silence the new thought that echoed within his weary mind.

Something he saw as the truth. Something irritating.

It happened again. He saved me. Again. Daisuke thought as he collected himself back upright off the grimy floor.

A mix of baffled amazement and bitter disappointment flooded Daisuke’s mind. Left on the receiving end of this cycle, he only found himself as the one in need of a savior. Kiyo forced to exert himself to save his friend. Why couldn’t Daisuke do the same?

“Misumi, let’s take a looksy at your little tiny scratch real quick. Here—Daisuke, let me see her.” Ayame said as she pried Misumi off Daisuke’s chest.

Ayame was quick to whip off her pack and retrieve a sack full of necessary ailments to help numb the unbearable agony in Misumi’s leg. Herbal ointments and other

Daisuke whispered reassurance to Misumi as she underwent the necessary procedure to mend the wound. But besides that, he could only sit there and stare back into the infinite depths of the abyss. The pitch-black pit they escaped out of just moments before. Stuck on the thought of what he was in the situation.

Helpless.

…

The weekend passed relatively quickly to Kiyo’s dismay. Saturday night, or the second rotation in Paladinian terms, was already present in the heavens above. Everyone else found themselves tuckered out from a day spent inspecting the markings on the walls. Blood-painted visions and images that appeared similar to the one the high priest showed Kiyo. Tales of the past and future foretold by disciples of Amaterasu 

All Kiyo experienced along the walk of silence was a neslting of fear that ate away at him from the inside out. Realization kicked in as he dawned back on the tapestries the High Priest showed him, that they were real.

Yet one tapestry was missing, more so obstructed within the cave. The same one Kiyo asked about had been defaced by the appearance of tampered time. A prophecy marked by a single figure stood in the center of the world on fire. The sky and ocean clashed together as night became day. No other person was in sight but the single being seated above the world. But for some reason, the blood markings washed away. Why?

Too many questions for a child to worry about as Kiyo laid back on the cavern’s floor. Head rested on his knapsack beside Daisuke, he ignored the pricks of curiosity and searched for ample rest. Ayame sat slumped over near the entrance to keep watch, yet rest got the better of her as the night wore on. Cho and Botan, both tuckered out from the emotional toll the weekend delivered them, slept around their cherished child Misumi. Safe and sound.

But in the silence of night thoughts arise within the darkened space.

Daisuke and Kiyo’s gazes locked onto the massive hole in the cave's ceiling far above. Through it, they bore witness to a near-infinite mass of stars and the edges of the milky way galaxy. This sight a spiritual spectacle to behold for their people.

Both failed to descend into the lull of sleep, unable to get past the fact it was the last night there. Their second journey out of the village was at its end. Faint touches of sadness were fresh on their minds for their own reasons, left with one way to overcome it.

“Hey. . . Kiyo?” Daisuke whispered into the open air.

“Yeah,” Kiyo groaned as he batted sleep away from his eyes.

“You awake?”

“Sure.”

“Great,” Daisuke muttered as a smile creased his starlit cheeks.

They both remained in an awkward stalemate as Daisuke forgot to follow up with a question. No reason to continue the discussion as he got lost in the constellations above. A heavenly body of their ancestors, of those that were marked with great power now laid to rest. Symbols for the hope of a brighter future.

The lack of conversation picked away at Kiyo as he glanced over at Daisuke. Waiting for him to say something, anything at that point, but only silence filled the void.

“Is that it?” Kiyo uttered back, a bit confused by the lack of follow-up to his response.

“What?”

“You just wanted to know I was awake?”

“Well—I thought you were looking at the stars.”

“Yeah. But you can see them and talk.”

“Right, right,” Daisuke agreed with a slight nod.

“Then, what you thinking?” Kiyo prodded.

“Hmm. I guess about the future.”

“The future?”

“Yeah, the future. You know. All of it.”

“Oh, yeah,” Kiyo said as he switched his gaze back up to the sky.

“Where do you think we’ll be?” Kiyo asked.

“Hmmmm. I don’t know, but somewhere out there.”

“Where?”

“In the world. Fighting, traveling, getting to see it all.” Daisuke said giddily, his smile still entrapped on his face.

A brief pause rested between them as they got lost in the thought. Where they would be, what they would be doing, and who they would become in the uncertainty that surrounded such a thought as the future. The lives they would lead. Daisuke could only focus on the good things to come, the new world he would be able to explore. No longer through paladinian stories but his own two eyes. Kiyo was just anticipating his eventual escape from his father’s control. That day one he would be able to do as chose.

Freedom was his future, but what would freedom bring?

“Just imagine. One day we’ll be out there going wherever.” Daisuke exclaimed as he extended his hands up toward the stars.

Yawwwn. Shuffle-shuffle.

“We can see it all together,” Daisuke mumbled as exhaustion overtook him, hands laid to rest at his sides.

“Yeah. Together.”