Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Yuzuru

The tunnels stretched endlessly, down and up, around narrow bends and steep slopes. Yuzuru kept one hand on the wall and held his knife out with the other. The darkness was periodically broken by glowing lamps fastened to the stone ceiling, but many were broken so there were long stretches of gloom between each patch of light.

Even with his heightened hearing, Yuzuru could barely pick up on Gweyn’s footsteps behind him. He could feel the heat coming from her body, though, and took solace in that information.

The tunnel bent sharply. Yuzuru wasn’t prepared for it. His foot caught painfully against a bit of steel and he tripped.

“Strange,” Gweyn said.

“That I'm tripping on things I can't see?” Yuzuru asked, hobbling.

“That the tracks are all well maintained," Gweyn said. "There hadn’t been any more mining operations in the Corridor for decades.”

Yuzuru saw what she meant, except he didn’t. Even with Pekorin strengthening his vision he couldn’t see into pitch darkness.

“What’s strange is that you can even tell,” he said. “Why are you getting me to go first when you have night vision?”

“So you can make a fool out of yourself,” Gweyn said. She poked him in the back. “I might be able to see but you’re the one who knows where to go. Don’t worry. If there’s a chasm I’ll give a shout.”

Yuzuru continued on, mumbling, “I’d prefer you physically stop me instead.”

They walked a long time. The darkness never let up so Yuzuru didn’t lift his hand from the wall, and that was how he felt the vibration before he heard the deep boom.

The tunnels shook.

Gweyn clutched the back of his shirt to stop him from going further. “What was that?” she asked.

“Something far away, hopefully,” Yuzuru said. He pressed his ears to the stone and discovered something new. It was hollow. He knocked on a few places, then stepped back and asked Gweyn if she could break it down.

“Sure,” she answered. “Let me quickly pull out the dynamite I keep in my pockets for this very kind of situation.”

“You tamed a minotaur,” Yuzuru pointed out. “Surely that’s a testament to your strength.”

“Yes but…” Gweyn’s laugh was flighty, nervous. “Somehow I doubt this wall will revere my psychic powers if I showed it a magic trick.”

"Wait a minute," Yuzuru said. “You showed it a what?”

They both fell back as another explosion rocked the tunnel. Rocks peppered from above. Yuzuru pulled Gweyn against the wall, just as a section of the ceiling collapsed. Dust flew, coloring the dark. Yuzuru covered his nose and mouth and yelled for Gweyn to do the same.

“Is this happening because of us?” Gweyn sounded more scared than Yuzuru thought she would be.

Behind them, the floor fell away, revealing a yawning chasm. Metal screeched as cart tracks snapped. Lanterns fell, spewing their light across the cracking walls.

Yuzuru placed his hands flat on the hollow wall. “Get back!”

Fire burst through the stone, filling the cracks with tongues of bright orange. The wall blew apart, jagged stone flying in all directions. Yuzuru felt his cheek being sliced open but he barely felt the pain.

There was a hidden tunnel behind the wall, complete with another set of cart tracks. Yuzuru grabbed Gweyn's hand and leaped in, just as the main tunnel was buried under an avalanche of debris.

They fell to the floor in a coughing fit. The dust cleared gradually, and the shaking died down. The hidden tunnel was more enforced. Steel beams supported the narrow walls and more lanterns hung from above, flickering with faint blue light.

“You could have done that this whole time?” Gweyn wheezed. “And you gave me crap about the whole minotaur thing.”

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“I don’t like to use magic,” Yuzuru replied. “Feels ominous.” He helped Gweyn to her feet.

“No, you’re right,” she said. “Magic is bad. My mother drilled that into me.”

The ceiling was low enough that when Yuzuru reached up, he could unhook a lantern. “What else did your mother say?”

“That you can swim right after you eat, that the whole waiting an hour thing was a myth.”

“Hey, my girlfriend used to tell me that all the time.”

They continued down the tunnel, Yuzuru holding the lantern in front. He realized he lost his dagger in the collapse so was now unarmed.

Well, sort of.

Yuzuru raised his free hand and made a pinching motion. It drew Gweyn’s attention but she didn’t say anything. Yuzuru tried it again. This time, the air shimmered and a golden light filled the tiny space between his thumb and index finger. When the light disappeared, it left behind a tiny firecracker.

“What the hell?” Gweyn rushed in front of him and pulled his arm towards her. “How… what?”

Before Yuzuru could warn her, Pekorin’s ghostly form emerged from his chest.

Gweyn shrieked.

“It’s alright, she’s not hostile,” Yuzuru hurried to explain. “Ever since we went into the forest, I felt her getting stronger. She's now able to make things out of thin air.”

“Not air,” said Pekorin. “Soul.” She still had the lower half of her body stuck inside Yuzuru, but when she tried to pull herself out, she didn’t seem able to.

“God damn.” Gweyn placed a hand against her own chest. “I only heard about bonding. This is the first time I'm actually seeing it with my own eyes.” She took a tentative step forward. Pekorin smiled and offered a hand, but Gweyn didn’t take it. “So… she can make anything?”

“Somewhat,” Yuzuru said. He held up the firecracker and squeezed it, showing how it was hollow inside. “I think she can read my mind. When you said dynamite, this was what I was thinking about.”

Pekorin nodded, then deflated a little. “I don't know what a dynamite is,” she said in a small voice, then disappeared back into Yuzuru.

Gweyn shook her head incredulously.

An hour later - or several, it was impossible to tell - they finally saw a tiny circle of light.

Yuzuru felt Gweyn pulling on his bag. He turned and saw her staring past him.

“Something doesn’t feel right," she told him.

“I know," he replied. "We’ve been down here so long I’ve forgotten what wind feels like.”

Gweyn shook her head. “No… it’s more. It’s…” A visible shudder ran down her body. “Something bad.”

They carried on, desperate for the exit but fearful of what lay beyond. The circle grew larger, white turning into yellow. The wind grew stronger, but it brought with it a different smell, one of burning timber.

Yuzuru felt his steps lengthening, his curiosity overcoming anxiety. He walked faster, then started jogging, until finally with an exuberant cry he burst out into the open.

A crater stretched across an expanse of dirt land. Stretches of dark forests bordered the east side while deserts encompassed the other three.

But it was inside the crater that took Yuzuru’s breath away.

Fire and ash tumbled from the massive hole. There was movement. People. There were humans, racing around like ants on a rapidly shrinking island. Flames consumed the northern part of the crater and a dense layer of smoke hung over the top like the lid of a boiling pot.

Gweyn caught up to him and gasped. “Who made this place?”

“I don’t know but we need to get down there.” Yuzuru spotted a crumbly path and made his way over, holding out a hand for Gweyn.

“No!” The girl cringed away. “I-I’m not going.”

“You can’t quit now,” Yuzuru said, pointing to the destruction happening just within reach. “We’re here for a reason, Gweyn. I feel it, stronger than ever.”

Gweyn was shaking all over. “It’s not that. It’s… something is down there.” Her eyes were wet. “Whatever it is, it’s corrupted. There’s no other way to describe it.”

Yuzuru opened his mouth but closed it. She was right. He felt it too, as strongly as the heat washing across the mountain. He took a deep breath. “A wise man once said something very wise about heroing.”

“…What?”

“No. I mean…” Yuzuru tried again. “Four or five times. That’s all it takes to be a hero. You might think you have to wake up a hero, brush your teeth or whatever, but that’s not how it is. All it takes is four or five times.”

Gweyn frowned. “What?”

Yuzuru dragged a hand over his face. “It’s a movie quote. I messed it up. Nevermind.”

Another burst of light pierced the darkened sky. Columns of swirling flames drilled upwards, gouging the clouds.

A whimper slipped between Gweyn’s lips. She inched back up the slope.

“I know you’re scared, Gweyn,” Yuzuru said, reaching for her but the girl stepped away, cradling her hand to her chest. “But please, hear me out.”

Gweyn shook her head.

“I spent a long time feeling sorry for myself because I thought Honoka had left me.” Yuzuru had to speak loudly to be heard above the rippling winds. “But the longer I’ve stayed in Arcadia, the more I start to hate myself, because while I spent three years moping in my room, she was here, fighting to get back to me.”

Gweyn’s gaze flickered from the burning crater to Yuzuru. Her eyes mirrored the color of the fire. “She’s gone, Yuzuru. I didn’t tell you this before, but-”

“Don’t say it.” Yuzuru smiled, even though he felt tears stinging his eyes. The skies tore apart, bright red beams shooting down like God’s fingers. Or Satan’s. “I need to hold onto that hope, Gweyn. I need to hope Honoka is still alive.”

Gweyn’s expression told Yuzuru everything. She understood, perhaps not all of it, but enough to know that from the very beginning, it was always about Honoka.

“You think you still have some sort of connection with her,” she said. “You think you can find her by doing what she would do.”

“Yes,” Yuzuru said, his tears evaporating away by the heatwaves. “That’s why I think she’s down there. That’s why I have to go.”

Gweyn breathed in, and out. She reached for Yuzuru’s hand, her pale lips turning up into a papery smile. Then, she dropped her hand away. “I’m sorry,” she told him. “But you’re on your own for real this time.”