Chapter III

Justin

I thought he was dying, that time was running out. I wore a large coat and under it a hoodie. My hood was up. I carried a shopping bag by my side. I felt empty. What was I going to be without him? The air felt stale, the trees looked grey. Because of some sort of magic; I’ll lose him… Tears falling down my cheeks, I sat on a bench defeatedly. 

In front of me was a road, mostly empty. Grey tarmac, cracked, in those little cracks were clovers. Behind me was Sier forest. Where he was. Where I’d be going. 

“Please… Answer one question…” I said aloud. “Can I save him… With these powers… Can you save him?”

No. 

“Okay… Thanks…” I wanted to believe the creator was wrong, every bone in my body did but… I was so tired… I went back to walking into our meet up spot. Tears kept spilling out of my eyes, I managed to get it together for Brian. Magic has always been considered a death sentence, something we knew nothing about. Most of the time when it struck someone, it was death. And when it wasn’t… Humans fear what they don’t understand. So they made sure it was. 

~~~

I stared through the branches, where Brian sat… His left leg was now entirely covered in ice. It wasn’t just his thigh. Bags hung from his eyes, tear tracks ran down his cheeks. I’d never seen him so broken… I cleared my throat and walked forward. “Ummm~... Are you cold?” I asked, tears dripping down my face, my voice soft, and fragile. 

“No… The ice just feels like an extension of… Me.” I set down the bags, and sat beside Brian.

“You’re one of the strongest people I know. You’re going to be okay.”

“How do you know that?” He said; his voice cracking. 

“Well…” I let him rest his head on my shoulder. “If your leg works fine with the ice covering it… Why wouldn’t all of you?” I said fidgeting with the ring on my right hand. 

“That’s a good p-point…” Brian said. This was the one time I’d ever seen him so dishevelled up to that point. It felt… Wrong… And weird… But I was still going to be there for him. Like he had for me so many times. 

“I love you.” Brian said. It wasn’t a romantic thing… At least I didn’t think so. 

“Mhm.” I said, I’d always had trouble saying those words. You mean a lot. Thank you. I love you. I pulled him close into a hug, sniffling on his shoulder. 

~~~

“Do you wanna be friends?” Young Brian asked me. We were sitting on the bench in the playground. I paused, I wasn’t quite sure what I was supposed to do… Say yes. I didn’t have any friends.

“No…” I said simply. Brian sniffled and looked down. “Oh… I didn’t…”
“It’s okay…” Brian wiped his eyes of tears. 

“We can be friends.” I put my arm on his shoulder.

“Really?” Brian looked up at me with hopeful eyes. 

“Yeah… Wanna… Play?” 

“YEAH!” Brian tackle hugged me. 

“URK! Ummm… Okay…”

~~~

“You remember that?” I asked Brian, his arms wrapped around me in a tight embrace.

“I’m surprised you do!” Brian joked. “I didn’t think you would…” He admitted. 

“Of course I do. It’s the day I met my best friend!”

“Your only friend!” Brian gently pushed me, unwrapping his arms. 

“Heyyy!” I said, pushing him gently back. After a few seconds of sitting there I looked at him. “Umm… You… Um….” Brian looked at me patiently. “-Like… Mean, I’m… Happy I…” 

“I know.” Brian smiled at me. 

“No… I-I want to say it. I… I’m really thankful I-I met you.” 

“Me too.” Brian said with a warm smile.

Years ago…

I was defenseless when I was younger, when I had no powers. And during the war… Violent crime was at an all time high. People were high strung and worried, discharged for being too young. And they needed to let that all out.

And very unluckily for me, I was a runt. I was a punching bag…

Another punch cemented into my cheek, I’d already been punched there, so it hurt that much more. I heard a crack come from my face. Crying, hands bruised from throwing punches, “P-p-p-p-please…” 

“Please what!? Shut up ya’ little shit and stop fighting back!” Another punch to my nose. CRCK! I gasped, so much more pain… 

Throbbing pain, coming from everywhere. It was three against one, how was I supposed to win this? The main one, the one who dealt most of the bruises, stepped forward, looking me up and down with almost… Disappointment. He kicked me to the ground. He kneeled down and lifted his mouth to my ear. “Sit still like the good little bitch that you are.” He got up and threw a kick to my ribcage, I grabbed his ankle in anger, rage flared in me… I yanked him to the ground and scrambled to my feet, I ran away from the two other people. 

All of them were my age, but it didn’t matter, they were much stronger. 

“Hey!” Brian ran into the alley, I sent him a text the second I saw the guys approaching. He lived near.

The scum snickered at him. “Hey, man… This doesn’t concern you. Just… Run off, it’s not that hard.” The main one stepped forward. 

“Yeah, you’re right.” Brian said, I felt a lump form in my throat, my heart collapsed into itself. Brian turned away, laughing to himself. “It wouldn’t be a fair fight anyway.” 

The ones beating me up nodded in agreement. “I’d kick all of yalls asses.” Brian said, turning around. “And we wouldn’t want that, would we?” Brian took an offensive pose. 

Angry one of the kids stepped forward throwing a flimsy punch, Brian slapped it away, and grabbed him by the scruff throwing him to the ground, Brian walked forward slowly waiting for someone else to stand up to the challenge. The two remaining kids, the leader, and one of his friends struck at once. They both attacked Brian from the side grabbing his arms, they began to pull him to the ground. They kicked at him and threw punches. I groaned with sympathy on the ground. In the dark I saw a rusty pipe, with every move I made pain coursed through me, but I got up, and I moved for the pipe. 

I grabbed it in my hands, summoning whatever rage induced adrenaline I could find to do what I needed to. I stepped forward swinging the pipe into the leader’s face, Brian rolled backward and got up tackling both of them to the ground. After a few punches he got up, and they scrambled away. 

He lightly pulled me in for a hug to not hurt my bruises. His green jacket was covered in dirt from rolling around… I examined my bruises and injuries closely. “We need to get you to a doctor.” He cupped my face.

~~~

“Whats going to happen… If I do live through this. If I become some sort of… Celestial. What then. I just… Live life?” 

“I–... Don’t know.” 

You care too much! You are distracted from the mission! YOU HAVE BLOCKED MY VOICE! THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN! LET ME TELL YOU! LET ME SHOW YOU THE TRUTH! 

The voice screeched through my head, blocking out everything. I fell onto my knees, my hands wrapped around my ears, but it didn’t matter because that wasn’t where the sound was coming from. Let me teach you… The voice said annoyed.

I looked up, the sound had stopped. The air was cool, full of mist, the ground was a collection of stone tablets, with runes scratched onto it. They all were glowing, orbs swirled up from the runes. We; my child, are locked into an endless fight. I got up, moving forward slowly. Columns rose into the misty sky. A fight of good and evil, a fight of light and shadows, a fight of right and left. 

“Where am I? Where is Brian!?”

I kept walking forward. Orbs from the light led me, guiding me forward. A double staircase curved and converging on one point, came into view. They were made of stone. Each step was engraved with a glowing rune. 

I walked up them sliding my hand up the rail. I could barely see in front of me. When I reached the top I was in a temple of sorts. There was an altar in the middle of the room. It was a column with a bowl on top. I live on this altar. On this island. I live in you. A light shone from my chest. 

A man approached, he was large. He had a cat mask, almost like mine, but it had a slightly different design. He wore a large kimono, it was golden and black, with small splotches of blue on it. A katana was by his side. He slowly unsheathed it, the blade was golden. He slowly lowered the blade into the altar, water in it rippled as the gold melted off the blade, the blade melted into the bowl, it was glowing brightly. I had to look away as a flash of golden light sent me flying… Or at least I thought it had.

I hadn’t moved, but my head was spinning. My feet felt light. The man had no mask, the glowing gold slowly dimmed into a normal-not-glowing gold liquid. The runes on the ground lit up even more, clearing the mist. The man walked away. On an empty tile just ten meters away a new rune, uniquely shaped, carved itself. It slowly began to take light. 

“I live on the light of humans. There are two ways to take it. I can adopt one of you every now and then, take a small piece of soul, give a small part of mine, let you light it, and then take it back. And then I take the flame, take its strength, its warmth, pass the torch onto another. I let them light it” I looked behind me, a woman dressed in a long white silky dress stood behind me. Her features made sense, until I focussed on them, then they seemed to deform and unravel. 

“In order for you to light the torch, you have to have faith. You have to do as I say. If you do not do this, then I will fade, and without me. No longer will you remain, will we remain.”

“I-” I began. 

No. This is not the time. I felt my head roll back. The air shifted around me, the ground crunched under my feet. 

“JUSTIN!” Brian caught me. “You fell…” 

“No-I was…” I fell, witnessed all of that, and then got caught before I hit the ground. 

“Justin…? Are you okay?” He sat me up.

“Yeah-I ummm… Yeah.” I paused. “Hey-I… I’m supposed to be reassuring you.” 

“Ummm… I think this is my job.” Brian pulled me in for another hug.

Now. I call your name Justin, now it is your time. Fulfil your duties. I paused. Remember the stakes. He will be here when you get back. But if you do not do your duty, then he will not. I stepped up. 

“I have a lot to tell you, Brian, now’s not the time. I will explain–all of this… Just… Soon.”

“W-w-what are you talking about?” Brian stuttered. 

I looked at Brian sympathetically, before bursting out of the trees and running through the forest. As I ran I felt this energy spring off me, spring through me. I burst through more trees. I felt lightning hit me in the back. My kimono rippled into existence, I felt the wood of my mask rub against my nose, I grabbed onto a branch and swung around it. I let go using its momentum to burst through yet another scene of trees. 

I took my kama and struck it into a tree. The ground around the tree I was hanging on, was… Atrocious. Bodies scattered, bloody, deformed, but not naturally, no. They had been torn up into pieces. This is what happens when you fail to follow your duty. People die. Is this what you want? 

“What could’ve done this?” My fingers trembled. I felt like it was all my fault, because it was. I let my personal wants: kill…

This was what I had to do, whether I liked it or not. I had to be the one who looked out for other people.