Chapter 11: [ARC 1] Chapter 8 - The Sanctuary

Yoru took in the sight of Cedar dead. His eyes glassed over, his mouth hanging open, and pool of blood that went down the arch’s edge. She took in the scene, closing her eyes.

It still wasn’t enough.

She wrenched her sword from his chest and swung her black blade down over and over again, chopping him up until he was just a pile of meat. She would have kept going on, but her comrade caught her wrist just as she was about to swing down again.

“Yoru.” Kenichi’s solemn voice broke through to her. “Why did you kill him? Why did you do this?”

The monk waited for her answer. She knew that disappointing look he was giving her. He had given it to her when she told him she would quit being a Priestess, and one that he gave her when she came back. He wouldn’t move until she answered him.

“You didn’t hear me? This man is Cedar Oswell!” She answered him. “He killed Elm! He killed his own brother! My lover! Why wouldn’t I kill him?”

Kenichi watched her closely.

“Was he truly Cedar Oswell? Did he not say he wasn’t? Wasn’t Cedar Oswell hung for attempting a coup against the Eternal Queen? Why would he be down here?”

They were valid questions. She didn’t know any of the answers other than the first one.

“My nose doesn’t lie. There is no doubt. This was Cedar. The Queen must have sent him down here. He had been one of her favorites,” she said gesturing at what was left of the body.

Kenichi gave a big sigh. “Yoru, you know that isn’t true. The Queen, is pretty infamous for killing her children if they betray her. She wouldn’t give him a pass, even if he was her most favorite son.”

He had her there. The Eternal Queen killed her first born son when he tried to take the throne from her. She hung him just like any other. The only thing she gave him was a big stone slab in the middle of the graveyard of other children she killed.

But it still didn’t make a difference.

“It doesn’t matter.” She shook her head. “He’s here. That’s proof enough she placed him here.”

“Or maybe he escaped his death.” Kenichi murmured.

She paused for a still moment. “Release me.”

“Will you promise to stop attacking the body?” He said.

“That’s a pointless question. You know I’ll continue once you let me go.”

“Then I’m going to have to hold on to your wrist until you calm yourself. You remember our goal don’t you? What we came down here for?” His tone tight. “What happens if you use too much and turn to ashes? We already lost Subaru. If you die, then Aria stays like this. You remember why she’s like this don’t you? Why I agreed to come here with you?”

She stiffened at that.

“That’s not fair to say.”

“It is fair, because your word is your bond, Yoru.”

Well, what was she supposed to say to that? She dropped Shadow Heart, and the sword stabbed her shadow and sunk into it. Kenichi let her go. She looked regretfully at the pile that used to be Cedar. She kicked what was left of the head into the crevice.

She watched it get swallowed by the darkness.

“Let’s go,” she finally said.

#

They followed the heart shaped hole and continued descended lower and lower. Yoru wondered if they could believe the words from the prince. That shitty prince had been surprised when he saw her face.

That was genuine. So, he didn’t know that it was her.

A….sa.

“What did you think he meant by those last words?” Though she tried to speak in a whisper, her voice reverberated.

“His last words? A saw?” Kenichi thought for a moment, his frown deepening. “That couldn’t be right. But should you care for the words of a man that you wanted to kill?”

She shouldn’t. Yet she did. It bothered her, because it felt like he had been calling a name. But if he had called out a name, wouldn’t it be hers? Or shouldn’t it have been a curse?

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“It doesn’t feel right,” she said.

“Are you now doubting that you killed the wrong man?” Kenichi went silent.

“No. My nose doesn’t lie. I would never forget that putrid scent. But his actions were strange.” She admitted.

“You’ll never get your answer now. He’s dead. No point in thinking of it now. It’s best if we focus on what’s ahead,” Kenichi said.

They continued to walk down the stone steps.

“There’s not much ahead of us,” she said. “Just a descent further and further down.”

They had been going down for about fifteen minutes. Yoru turned back, but she could no longer make the outlines of the entrance they came from. The only thing lighting their path was the lantern they stole from Cedar. Inside of it was a small glowing bud.

“It’s a trap isn’t it?” Kenichi said.

“It’s absolutely a trap.” Yoru agreed.

“Should we go back.”

“Absolutely.”

“It’s not a trap.”

A new voice echoed from below, and the two of them froze.

The two of them met each other’s eyes, having an invisible conversation between the two of them. Kenichi gave her a nod, and Yoru reached for her pouch to eat another key.

“If you’re not going to come down, then my friends at the top will push a large boulder and trust me, neither of us wants that. Cleaning that mess up is never pleasant.”

Kenichi shrugged at her, and Yoru looked back down.

“How can we trust you?” Yoru yelled back.

“Well, you can’t.” The man answered back. “But I don’t have time for this, so if you don’t come down, we’re just going to roll that boulder down and then I won’t need to have this conservation.”

With little choice in the matter, Yoru continued down. After fifteen more minutes, they reached the bottom of the stairs, stepping into another open area. The only thing light were the torches on the wall roared on. They saw a red haired man with a black spear resting on the wall right next to him. He opened his eyes, giving a great big yawn.

“My nap was ruined thanks to the two of you talking. Your whispers carried down here.” The man grumbled.

It took a moment, but Yoru recognized the man.

“You’re Luke the Red Spear.”

“That I am.” The man gave a lazy nod. “And I recognize you too. You’re the Shadow Wolf. The former moon cultist.” His gaze moved to Kenichi. A grin cracked on his face. “I guess a former former cultist?”

“Hey!” Kenichi’s tone grew dangerous. “We’re not a cult!”

“That’s what a cult would say.” He gave a shrug and a laugh. “So, I guess the two of you were caught and tossed down here like the rest of us?”

“Yes.” Though, they came down here on purpose. “We met a man that told us about a safe haven.”

“Oh did he now?” Luke straightened himself. “Did you happen to kill that man?”

Her heart pumped against her chest.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I mean…I could hear you talk about it. The tunnel is pretty useful you know. Plus you’re covered in blood.” He gave them a wry smile.

Yoru snorted. “Okay, so, what now?”

“Now? Well.” He scratched his cheek. “We don’t really take kindly to murdering in our safe haven.”

“That’s funny coming from you.” She scoffed. “What about your whole village?”

“Let me finish.” His tone went dangerous. “We don’t care what you did up there, and usually I would care very much about who you killed. But I’m not a fan of the prince myself. I’ve been trying to kill him for some time, and he just keeps on getting back up.”

Once more, the two of them looked at each other. They turned at him.

“You’ll just let us go on ahead?” Kenichi asked.

“Oh for sure. Once you enter the Sanctuary though, we do have rules. No murdering is a rule though. Doing anything like that will incur a penalty.”

“Penalty?” Yoru asked.

“It means, what it means. Behind me is a Bounded Field. A rule is set up so that no one tries to kill each other. We are all criminals after all.”

“A Bounded Field? Down here?”

He shrugged. “If you want to see for yourself, the entrance is right behind me. Now, if you kindly either enter by pushing the boulder behind me, or go back the way you came, either way, I’d like to sleep now.”

With that, Red Spear lowered his chin and closed his eyes.

She wasn’t sure what to make of their conversation. She covered her mouth, deep in thought. Her ears twitched and she grumbled.

A Bounded Field down here was strange. Depending on how big the safe haven was, a Bounded Field would take a lot of work to maintain. No, the Seal is down here. Strange things were bound to happen down here.

With her expectations revised, she moved to push the boulder, but Kenichi blocked her path with his hand.

“Stay here,” he said. Gently he placed Aria down. With a few cracks of his neck, the Bear shoved the boulder aside like a screen door.

Unexpected light blinded her. She covered her eyes too late, and her eyes stung and tears formed. She panicked for a moment, her ears perked up only hearing Kenichi’s befuddled steps. Had this been a trap after all?

Her fears were abated though as her vision came back. Her gaze quickly turned to Luke, who was holding back a snicker, his eyes still closed.

“Remember. I could have killed all three of you here.”

He was right. That was all he needed to say. She turned her attention back to the source of the light. She stepped past Kenichi who was still rubbing his eyes. Walking through the threshold, she looked up, holding her hand to block, seeing her source of the light.

“A sunroot? Deep down here?”

On top the ceiling, stood a bulbous root, shining just as bright as the sun itself. She had seen one before, once, the sunroot for that tree had been the size of her hand. This one, was a big as a small town. For something that big down here, the tree it originated from must have been grand. But the area surrounding the Wishing Well was nothing but a wasteland.

So where was this grand tree?

That wasn’t the only thing that demanded her attention. Kenichi shook her shoulder, pointing ahead of them.

She blinked. It felt like the ground underneath her had lifted. Her head felt light, and she took a few steps forward, pushing against a rail, leaning forward to look down.

In this place, she saw a vast city, on the scale of the capital.

Behind her, she heard the smug voice of the Red Spear.

“Welcome to the Sanctuary.”