“True love, false fate.”
A warm breeze blew past as Aiko took out the food she had prepared for the picnic and placed it neatly on the wide picnic cloth. Kyoden sat beside her with his eyes closed. They had occupied the shade of a flourishing tree on a small hill near
“Alright, you can open your eyes now,” she said, smiling.
Looking at containers of home-made ham and cheese sandwiches, chocolate cakes, fruits with whipped cream cookies, strawberry puddings and rows of sliced sushi, Kyoden beamed in delight. It was like a banquet dedicated to him.
Using the pair of chopsticks which Aiko passed to him, he clamped it on a sushi and stuffed it into his mouth. Aiko watched him chew and swallow it in anticipation. Breaking into a smile, he complimented her for the delicious sushi. She exhaled, her tensed shoulders relaxed.
“Are you worried I would not enjoy your cooking?” He chuckled at her reaction, munching on a sandwich. She nodded nervously. “Do you know why I like the food you prepared for me?”
“No, I do not know, Junnosuke,” answered Aiko.
He stroked her long dark brown hair gently. “That’s because I felt your sincerity.”
Tears welled up in Aiko and a sour lump grew in her throat. “Aiko… what’s the matter?” asked Kyoden, surprised. She did not reply his question but wept on his shoulder. He held her comfortingly although he did not know why she was crying.
“Junnosuke,” she called through her crying, “Please know t… that whatever h… happens in the future, I have in… indeed truly loved you.”
“I know, Aiko, I know,” he whispered soothingly and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.
If only we met two hundred years ago, Junnosuke.
Aiko got up to her feet abruptly. “Come, Junnosuke, you must leave this place. Run as far as you can! I cannot let them harm you.”
Kyoden looked at her incredulously, but he stood up anyway. “Aiko, you’re acting quite strangely now.”
“You don’t have time! Go before it is too late, Junnosuke,” she pleaded, holding his arms. “We’re from two different times. We are not meant to be. Please just run away from this cursed land!”
Instead of obeying her instructions, he embraced her, leaving her speechless. “If I must go, you are coming with me. I’ve no idea what’s going on but what I do know is that I want you to be my side always.”
Unable to hold back her tears once again, she too held him, a pain tearing her heart apart. Couldn’t there be a better ending for them?
Clap! Clap! Clap!
She gasped at the applause.
“Well done, Aiko, you have such brilliance in acting.”
“Lady Maya,” murmured Aiko, transfixed. The couple turned to see the leader of the Himean who was accompanied by ten other ladies dressed in battle armour.
Hidaka glanced at her warriors and chuckled. “It is the end of the play, Junnosuke Arai. You have been a wonderful puppet.”
“What do you mean by that?” snapped Kyoden, his living titanium crossbow already formed on his forearm.
“Oh dear, you must have thought Aiko was really in love with you.” She clicked her tongue. “I’m so sorry to inform you that you were only under her enchantment.”
Kyoden shot a disbelief look at Aiko, a weird smile crossed his face. “It’s not true, right, Aiko?”
The girl dropped to her knees before him and wept shamefully in her hands. Her silence became her undeniable confession. He took a step back and shook his head slowly, unwilling to accept the fact.
Petrified by her betrayal, Kyoden could not even find the strength to defend himself and was easily subdued by Hidaka’s warriors. His mind was blank and in the state of shock. He felt weak and defeated, as if he had just lost in a war. When the warriors led him back to
Sonia and Lorenne stood in front of the solid, wooden gates which blocked their path to enter the forbidden grounds. A heavy padlock and chain rendered the gates locked, shunning off intruders.
“No walls can keep the birds away,” Sonia quipped. She toggled with her Visual-C to activate her Skyglide. Soon, she was hovering in the air, her Sacred Energy glowing beneath her feet. The same was with Lorenne. She could have simply blown the gates apart with one of her skills but it would have attracted attention, which was what they wanted to avoid at the moment.
Uncertain what they should expect to be behind the ten-feet walls, Sonia and Lorenne armed themselves; Sonia with her retractable spear and Lorenne with a staff.
“Let’s go.”
The sisters released a small burst of energy to push them upwards until the height where they were able to glide across the walls. They analysed their surrounding from above and found it disturbingly quiet and harmless. A rectangular building, like every other building in
“Be careful, we’re heading in.”
They glided forward and to their horror, as they past the wall, their Skyglides faltered and disappeared, leaving them to experience a ten-foot fall. Both yelped in surprise but managed to break their fall with their weapons once their instincts for self-preservation kicked in.
“That was close,” breathed Lorenne, relief. They escaped with no sprained ankles or injured limbs thankfully. Otherwise, that would be troublesome.
“We should ask Keith to check our Skyglides the next time we contact him. Equipments, which malfunction while being used, are liabilities, not assets,” she grunted, picking herself up.
She half-expected someone—or at least something—to intercept them and prevent them from going on any further. But nothing happened. “This is too simple,” the Strategist muttered.
“Hime Ryoodo no Toshokan,” Lorenne read out the words written in odd characters on the sign which hung above the entrance to the small single-storey building. An ominous silence followed. She could feel it in her bones that the pair of doors led to dark secrets no one was ever supposed to know.
“Lorenne, was that Haikenese?” Sonia broke the silence, impatient for the translation from her.
She nodded, telling her the translation. “It means the Hime Territory Library.” She looked at her tentatively.
Sonia narrowed her eyes, determined more than ever. “The more they emphasise on how forbidden the place is, the more eager I am to break into it and uncover whatever they’re trying to hide from us!”
She closed in onto the building and slipped the wooden bar which kept the doors shut, off from its handle and leaned it against the wall. Lorenne crept to one side of the door in case unknown enemies charged out of the building to ambush them. Sonia shoved the doors hard. She rushed to the other side of the door as they swung open. Musty air and dust rushed out, irritating their nostrils.
They held their position. So far, everything went smoothly. For a place where they were so unwilling to reveal to outsiders, the two sisters thought it lacked serious security. They moved in with caution after the dust began settling down once again. The stream of rays of afternoon sunlight shone onto their path through the doors and the few barred high windows.
“I don’t think anyone’s been in here for ages!” exclaimed Sonia, wiping the filthy surface of a bookshelf with a finger, leaving a deep trace. “How is it possible for a library to be on forbidden grounds? What’s the use of a library if it’s not for the usage of gaining knowledge?”
Lorenne picked up a book and blew the dust off the cover to read its title. She always had the concept that the library must have contained books of the dark arts due to its secretive existence. That could explain why she felt the fact that she was holding a cliché romance novel entitled, ‘Passion in the Garden’, was a huge let down.
“Is it me or is the forbidden library stuffed with romance novels? All these books hold nothing but sappy love stories,” said Sonia, flipping through the books on a shelf. “Or could it be that Raviex ordered a new decree about banning love stories which I do not know about? I’m very sure King Levon did not ban this genre of novels,” she sniggered.
The other giggled too until a sudden flash of thought dashed through her mind. “What did you say, Sonia?”
She paused for a second and then repeated, “I said I’m very sure King Levon did not ban this genre of novels.”
“No, no, you said something about Raviex ordering a new decree to ban love stories,” corrected Lorenne. It was that sentence which triggered the flash of thought.
“I was only joking, Lorenne,” said Sonia blankly. She didn’t know she would take it seriously.
“We all know Raviex did not do such a thing,” she agreed, “I just had a sudden thought when you said that but I can’t really place what it is just yet.”
Sonia dismissed her uncertainty, suggesting they should focus on Nasha’s book. Though it was like looking for a needle in a haystack without any clue of the book’s appearance and title, she was confident that it would tell them everything they wanted to know about
Normally, Lorenne would’ve commented on the size and number of books contained in a library but right then, it was a blessing to them that the place wasn’t big. There were five rows of books in two separate lines. Drawing to the last row, they started to doubt if it was possible to find Nasha’s book.
“I’m sure I went through the books thoroughly. I can’t have missed it,” grumbled Sonia.
“We don’t exactly know what we’re looking for,” said Lorenne.
“How could they even call this a library?! I find only love novels here!” she complained. They came to a door at the right end of the building. Sonia tried to open the door. Despite all her efforts, it wouldn’t budge. Fired up, she rammed at the door full force sideways, taking it down. The ancient door crashed and collapsed. Both of them coughed as the dust attacked them once more, their hands covering their nose and mouth and chasing off the dust.
It was a small empty room except for an object which was revolving slowly in the middle of it under a spotlight. The object was shielded by a cube-like layer of glass which was on a four feet tall stand.
“Sonia, I think we found it.”
She nodded, observing the thick brown book. “I don’t suppose we can just smash the glass into bits, can we?”
“That’ll make things too easy for us. No, we can’t do that. Notice it has a greyish colour when reflected under the light? Apparently, this category of glass is not fragile as it looks. It’s as tough as steel, just as transparent as glass. I don’t feel any flow of magic around it but it is better we take precaution,” said Lorenne, fidgeting.
“Can you destroy it?” It was more of a request than a question of her capability. Sonia knew there was nothing she could not destruct so long as her amount of Sacred Energy permitted it.
“Fire Orb!”
They only heard the mocking echo of her voice rebounding back at them. Lorenne glanced at her apprehensively. “Well, it was worth a try. It looks like my powers can’t work here.”
“In other words, we’re in a non-Sacred Energy territory. That explains why the Skyglides malfunctioned just now.” Sonia cursed the misfortune. “If sorcery won’t work, then I’ll use neutral-based moves. I’ve figured out how to remove that barrier,” announced Sonia smugly. She stomped the end of her spear on the ground.
When one is in a non-Sacred Energy territory, the person would not be able to cast any skills which involved releasing of Sacred Energy. However, that does not mean the flow of Sacred Energy in the body has stopped or disappeared.
That is why I never get too dependent on sorcery-based skills but I am very lucky to have activated Defensor de Plata before entering this damned place.
True, to extend or retract the spear, Sacred Energy is needed to execute the command but once it is done, no Sacred Energy is required to retain its length; required only when the owner wishes to change its form again.
Sonia swung her weapon effortlessly as she prepared herself. She concentrated to make it a perfect aim and calculated the amount of force she needed to exert while making her move. She was an idealist. There was no room for any mistakes.
Suddenly, when everything fell in place with her calculation, she thrust her spear forwards menacingly. “Terminal Ring!”
The tip of her long, pointed blade struck at the very centre of a surface of the glass. Sonia was careful not to thrust it in more than an inch so as to avoid damaging the rotating book.
Originally, this move was designed to hit the enemies at one focus point, specifically at the joints to cripple them. She was applying the same concept; only, her target presently was the weakest point of a glass which was the centre of its surface.
She had hit the exact spot she wanted to. Though she had successfully penetrated the glass, it barely cracked. This was in her expectation, which was why she summoned for her next skill. “Presiding Power!”
The spear shuddered as Sonia released a powerful surge of physical strength through it. Strong vibrations passed through the glass. Unable to withstand the pressure, it shattered into pieces. The book was free for them to acquire. The spear minimized as it had accomplished what its master wanted to perform.
“You alright?” asked Lorenne when she saw her flexing her fingers.
“I’m fine. It’s just multiple times harder to perform Presiding Power on the steel-like glass than on a human body. The strength I used just now could have killed a person twenty times over. I guess I overexerted myself a little.” Sonia smiled at her sister reassuringly. Nevertheless, she knew ‘a little’ was an understatement. Her body took on a heavy toll. If there was a sudden attack in the next few hours, she would be unable to battle.
Lorenne retrieved the book with a hand and quickly skimmed through its contents. “It’s a diary but it doesn’t tell us the identity of its owner.”
“It must be Nasha’s,” reckoned Sonia. “Check the date of the first entry the author wrote.”
She skipped through the first few blank pages and stopped when the diary began. “The date of the first entry is… 24th year of Prosperity, the 6th of Sen. That’s roughly two hundred years ago. How could this diary be Nasha’s?”
Sonia looked over her shoulder. “The diary’s written in Haikenese. I’m really starting to regret not learning Haikenese with you from Master.”
“It’s okay. You never liked studying languages anyway, Sonia,” said Lorenne kindly.
“You’re quite right, little sister. Thank goodness it is a compulsory for everyone to learn our Kingdom’s official language, Exodian, or we’d be having major communication problem in our party,” she sighed. “Read to me whenever you’re ready.”
“Sonia, I was right. This is not Nasha’s diary. Listen to this…
24th P-6-9 – Business today was as usual. The number of customers seems to be increasing. That’s a good sign to me. I’ll have enough income to support the household and give Papa money to buy his alcoholic drinks as well. Then, maybe he will yell and shout at me less. The guy whom I mentioned before came today too. He told me his name and I told him mine. Oonishi Yutaka… he is a very charming person. Every time I see him, my heart beats faster and my cheeks would grow warm. Does that mean I’m in love?”
Lorenne paused for an instance after briefly translating for Sonia. When Sonia did not speak, she gave her conclusion. “I think it belonged to Miyoko Sasaki,” she breathed. The diary was showing them history through the eyes of the founder of
“Miyoko Sasaki? But…” Sonia’s voice trailed off as her mind churned. “Let’s skip a few pages and see what it tells us.”
She flipped pass at least ten entries before she began translating again.
“24th P-4-10 – This year’s 20th birthday for me would be the most memorable of all. Yutaka stayed at the noodle stall the whole day especially to accompany and help me. When I was done for the day, he brought me to an eating place for dinner. It wasn’t the best in Haiken but I was still thankful to him. No one had ever celebrated my birthday with me ever since Mama died when I was ten.
Yutaka did not let our night end there. He took me to the theatres and we watched a beautiful, touching story about two star-crossed lovers. This was my first time going to the theatres. He made it a wonderful experience for me. On the way home, we rested on a bench in a quiet park. There, he openly confessed his love to me. I remember clearly the joy in me when I accepted his feelings for me. I can never forget the warmth of his body when he embraced me…”
“We’ll skip the rest,” interjected Sonia. “I feel like we’re intruding someone else’s privacy.”
“Technically speaking, we are,” said Lorenne.
“Well, we’re not doing it on bad purpose,” she stated curtly. “It’ll take us ages to complete reading this diary. We just want to know more about this territory and whatever the celebration which will be held tonight. We have to do a lot of fast-forwarding.”
The younger Fierell agreed and decided to skip to the following year in the month of Kin when hypothetically; Miyoko would lead the female race who shared the same terrible fate as hers out of
“Levon! Levon!”
Isn’t that father’s name?
Raviex’s head throbbed sickeningly; his whole body felt warmer than usual. He was quick to remember the high fever he was suffering from. He opened his eyes to see the caller.
“Ryn?” he muttered. His vision was quite a blur.
It was Christine who was sitting beside him, or at least her body was. However, Raviex knew it was another individual manipulating her body. This bizarre situation had happened twice before. It had remained as an unsolved mystery to him even now.
“Levon, you are in a monster’s lair! You must flee from this place at once!”
“Who are you?” asked Raviex weakly. His condition did not permit him to think straight presently. What was the meaning of her warning? He was unable to fully process her words. It was as though his brain was working three times slower to interpret what he had heard.
“Levon, it is I, Estelle! Can you not recognise my soul?”
He felt Christine’s hand caressing his cheek tenderly. She seemed to be talking to him. Regretfully, his physical self which was still recovering from his illness prevented him from keeping his consciousness.
“25th P-16-6 – Vengeance has corrupted me,” began Lorenne. “I have created a monster which I, myself, am unable to destroy. I am recording the truth now in hopes that someone could free me from this curse after reading this in the hands of fate. My world is meaningless and robbed by lies. Spare me, I screamed in my mind every single second of my pitiful life.
When Yutaka was brutally murdered, my very will to live has vanished. Papa admitted to me personally with no sense of remorse that he was the one who told that hateful wealthy businessman about dear Yutaka and suggested to him to separate us. From then on, I knew I loath them but I loath myself even more for not being able to do anything else besides crying for my lost love.
It was around one month after Yutaka left me, on the eve of my wedding day with that murderer, on a night of a heavy downpour, when I’ve decided to end my miserable life. I lay in my room alone with a knife in my hand. Just when I was about to strike the knife into my body, black wisps of smoke encircled me. I was afraid and confused but a voice whispered to me, wanting to befriend me and help me to avenge Yutaka.
For revenge, I sold my soul. I called them murderers but on that night, I became a killer myself. Papa was the first I killed. Oh, the pleasure it gave me as he begged for mercy and screamed in agony. I did not heed his pleas because Yutaka wasn’t given a chance to live as well. I was granted with incredible powers and with those powers; I burned him with the fires of hell but still kept him alive to feel the pain. I only let him die after eighteen slow and painful stabs on every part of his body. He deserved the tormenting death.
Someone must’ve heard the old man’s scream because soon, there were cries of murder. Before they could ram down the door, the black smoke blinded me. When I could see again, I found myself in the residence of the businessman. I captured his four wives, fifteen children and eight servants and slaughtered them one by one with him bound to the walls by my powers, watching. Then, I set the entire villa on fire. I made sure there was no escape. He was to be burned alive with his wealth.
My revenge for Yutaka was finished. I can die in peace now. However, the voice whispered to me again and said that my work was not done. It said I must save the other girls who were as misfortune as I was. The black smoke took me to the city square and presented to me at least four hundred girls whose ages were ranged from sixteen to twenty. They looked up to me with hope and I knew I couldn’t abandon them.
I promised them liberty from their suffering and the being accomplished it for me. The dark smoke encircled us and teleported us to new grounds where we would begin our second lives. We were baffled, nevertheless, to find ourselves standing in front of the entrance which opened up to a land where there were readily built buildings. We thought we had arrived at a town but when we went in to explore the place, it was empty, as if built generously for us!
I always knew things were too good to be true. I was their leader, their chief, their Lady. The girls split the work amongst themselves. Some would cook; some would do the housekeeping; some would farm; some would scout around the area for security. We were a community. We called ourselves the Himean of the
I enjoyed the first month of my life in
I should have known that glint in her eyes, which was so determined. Last night, I have finally paid my price to the devil for my cold-blooded act. When I realised it was the god of Hatred, Ijal who helped me avenged Yutaka’s death and prepared this land for us, I was horrified. He demanded for sacrificial offerings which were to be made on every full moon of Arythia and in exchange, all Himeans will receive immortality, eternal youth and enjoy blissful lives.
I betrayed the Light’s teachings once; I would never repeat it twice. I refused to renew my pact with the Darkness no matter how Ijal tempted and then, threatened me. I did not know that Maya was secretly listening to our conversation behind the door to my room. She entered the room and volunteered herself to serve Ijal and carry on the pact which I had foolishly forged.
Despite my effort to stop her, she did not change her decision. All the powers bestowed upon me were stripped off me and flowed into the veins of Maya. I was so vulnerable before her, like a lamb before a wolf. I pleaded with her but she wouldn’t let me go. That glint of determination in her eyes was no longer there for it was replaced by murderous eyes. This was what she wanted, to be powerful, to be the mightiest and to be feared!
I turned to run. Maya toppled the bookshelf over at me to prevent me from escaping. Heavy books rained on me. I crashed on the floor with the bookshelf on top of me. I cried, feeling the extreme pain on my right foot. I was immobile, too weak to heave up the bookshelf to free myself. Maya drew a dagger at me with a cold and triumphant look on her face. Was that how I looked like when I killed my victims?
The will to protect my own life drained from me. Death was much more inviting than living in this cruel world anymore, but she, Maya, would not even grant me death! She forced my tongue out and slit it off. Oh, the excruciating pain! I screamed but nothing came out from me besides gurgled voice. Why, why is my life filled with so much agony and misery?
My physical appearance was altered. Even though I had treated the Himeans like my own blood relatives, they, in return repaid me by treating me as an outcast since I am no more youthful, beautiful and perfect. They called me by a different name now: Nasha, just so they could erase me from their memories as their friend because I denied the Darkness. I am handicapped. I cannot walk normally and I cannot speak as I used to. Behold the hearts of the conceited and vain! I was forgotten too quickly.
Tonight, as I write, four innocent travellers shall become the first to be the sacrificial offerings to Ijal. Their lives will ensure the Himeans the continuance of their illicit lives by nature’s law. With their beauty and charm, they had trapped their preys. How I wish to rescue them! The guilt is tormenting me but I cannot die. I am immortal. Who shall break this curse?!”
Lorenne and Sonia digested the disturbing truth in silence. Nasha was Miyoko; Miyoko was Nasha. They felt their hair stood on their neck when they accepted what was happening to them. Maya Hidaka and the other Himeans were worshippers of the Darkness who were about two hundred years old.
How many souls were lost since Maya Hidaka made the pact with Ijal? The demonic ritual was not an annual event as they were told to be. It was a thirty-three days cycle. If Miyoko recorded the truth, it would place them in peril. They headed towards the exit of the library in hurry to warn their friends.
Sonia tried to open the door but was dumbfounded when she could not do so. She pushed and pulled hard. She could not kick it down for it was too thick a door. She turned slowly to face an anxious Lorenne, sudden fear gripped her too. Her voice was hoarse when she found it.
“We’re trapped.”
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