The sound of waves crashing against stone. A salty scent in the air.
We’re here.
When I open my eyes, the full view of the island we’re on comes into sight. Surrounding us are countless whirlpools, guarding the island as if it were royalty. The moment I try moving my body, it feels like a thousand needles are prickling against my skin.
I’m still holding the foreigner’s hand. Even after going through the portal that she was so scared of the first time, there isn’t a single quake coming from her.
In fact, the only one shaking… is me.
In front of us, there is a short climb up a hill. There’s only one dirt path, surrounded by large patches of grass on each side.
Flowers and grass all remain still on this island. They don’t grow, but they don’t wither either. A curse of being frozen in time.
At the end of the hill is a stone tower the size of at least ten regular homes. It stretches high, but not enough to pierce the clouds.
There’s a single window along the tower’s surface, and that’s at the top. The roof resembles the tip of a lance, spiraling and pointy.
“Are you ready?” the foreigner asks, barely turning to look at me. She’s already two steps in front of me, and if she were to take another, I’d be pulled forward.
The portal behind us is still open. If I really wanted to, I could just shake my head and go back to the academy. We could live out the rest of my days in peace. I could teach her the history of the world and its people.
Maybe even explore it.
So I can help her find a name she likes.
But this…
…
No. I decided to do this earlier at the office. There’s no backing away now.
Taking in a deep breath, I nod, and we start making our way forward.
My heart feels like it’s about to burst, and there’s uneasiness in my bladder as we take more steps. Every part of me wants to just curl up on the ground until the sharp pain subsides, but I use every bit of willpower within me to continue.
Neither of us says a word. My heavy breathing is drowned out by the sound of waves and strong winds. It’s honestly such a blessing in disguise. Come to think of it, we seem to really take in the environment when going places.
I should savor this more, since it’ll be my last time coming here. But knowing what’s beyond those stone walls, I just can’t.
After a few minutes of walking, we stop in front of the singular wooden door. A normal person would instinctively knock, but the foreigner just grabs the doorknob and twists it like she owns the place.
Without hesitation, she pushes onward, and I follow her.
The tower is barren and empty.
The first time I came here, it was full of books and furniture. But I had to get rid of them to accommodate my prisoner. It wouldn’t affect her jail time, but I didn’t want to leave her with potential entertainment.
Besides, everything belonged to my own personal teacher, who this tower belonged to before.
We go up the spiral stairs. The clicks of our shoes against polished stone echo with each step. I thought it’d smell musty, but it feels no different than being in a freshly constructed room in the city.
I guess even the sea’s influence doesn’t pierce this island’s magic.
“D-Don’t you want to know more about this place?” I ask, my voice still shaking.
“I was curious, but I did not want to bother you with something so trivial right now,” she replies, eyes ahead.
“I think if anything, talking about something will keep me distracted.”
“So… can I?”
She nods.
“Well… this used to be the Mage Tower back when I was in my teenage years.”
“It was the place that every mage wanted to achieve one day.”
“There was one person who ever managed to break the island’s defenses, and everyone admired her.”
“Did you admire her?” she asks plainly.
“I did. She had everything I didn’t.”
“Um… eventually there was a big fight that broke out between me and the other Mage Tower candidates.”
“Oh, uh, they’re people who were selected by each nation to…”
“Uhm…”
My tongue fights me. Normally, I would be able to explain the history of this place, what happened that day, as if it happened yesterday. In fact, I remember some of my students calling me a walking book for describing it in so much detail.
But tonight, I can’t gather my thoughts together.
Is it because I can feel her presence at the top?
I take a glance at the foreigner in front of me, who seems unbothered by my interruption. She silently walks up the stairs, like I haven’t asked anything at all.
My mind starts to get hazy. I’m still walking, but my body feels weak, as if I haven’t had anything to eat for the past two days.
Weird. I haven’t felt anything like this in a long time.
“We’re here.”
Our footsteps stop. I look around to see that we’ve made it to the top of the tower. In front of us is another wooden door.
“There seems to be no lock here,” she says, inspecting the mahogany frame.
“Yeah. I had to expend a lot of magic to cast a curse on her chains to keep her inside.”
“Any other lock is a bit useless.”
Letting go of her hand, I walk up toward the door. Placing my hand on the handle, I reluctantly push it open. I don’t want to spend any more time contemplating whether I should confront her.
The cold wind that pushes through from the other side reminds me of death.
“Hmmmm???”
A pretentious hum comes from across the small stone room.
In front of us is a single, short girl caged inside a metal cell. She has iron shackles binding her wrists, and magical wards surrounding the entire room.
Her long, silver hair is laid out across the prison floor. It reminds me of my first interaction with the foreigner standing behind me.
Raising her head, her disgusting smile and crimson red eyes come into full view. Her teeth are pure white like snow with a sharp dagger-like shape. Drool seeps through the gaps like a hungry beast.
“Ocky?!” Her voice carries enthusiasm, but it’s raspy, like she’s been screaming for an entire day.
“How, how, how, how, how, kind of you to stop byyyy~!”
I take a step back in reaction to her tone. My eyes then glance over to my partner, whose face already contorted into disgust.
“Mmmm, I guess if you’re visiting me, it must mean either two things are happening out in the world.”
“The world is either dying, or you are.”
“Or both!”
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”
A laugh piercing enough to cut through stone. Spit spews out like rain.
She kicks her feet in delight, the metal chains rattling with each bit of movement. Despite being trapped for nearly eight thousand years, she doesn’t seem to act like it.
“How does she…” the foreigner takes a step forward, her face plastered with confusion.
“She used to be the Fifth Prime, Quintella,” I reply.
My partner hitches her breath in shock. “I never would have expected a Prime to be so heinous. I believed everyone born with the duty of protecting the world had good hearts and intentions.”
I shake my head. “Not this one.”
“She was hell-bent on making my life miserable.”
“How meaaaan!” Quintella squeals.
“I never wanted to do all the things I did. In fact, I only did it because you were super duper fun to play around with!”
“If you weren’t as entertaining, I wouldn’t even have bothered.”
“So if you reallllyyy think about it, this is all your fault. AHAHAHAHHAHA!”
I step forward, slamming the wall by her side with full strength. It takes me a second, but I realize that I’m not shaking anymore.
“You shut the hell up before I kill you.” My voice is deeper. I want to kill her so badly. I want to dismember her and heal her, and kill her all over again. Not a single day has gone by in these last eight thousand years where I haven’t thought about doing so.
“I know you better than that, Ocky.”
She smirks.
“If you really wanted to kill me, you would have done so a long, long time ago.”
“Hmmmm, maybe you do want to. But something’s stopping you, isn’t it?”
I hear a single footstep behind me. It’s something small, but it’s enough to pull me back to my senses. While my emotions are all over the place, she seems to be much more focused on staring daggers at Quintella.
“What was it? C’mon, Ocky, tell me! No, tell the girl next to you!”
“If you won’t, then I will!”
“Speaking of, is that girl your new love?”
“In that case, his words don’t really matter now, do they?”
“C’mon! Why not just kill me in that case?”
“Silence!” The entire tower shakes in reaction to the booming voice next to me. It’s like the world itself is straightening its back at her anger.
“Any more, and I’ll silence you forever.”
“If Saya will not kill you, then I shall.”
The foreigner raises her hand. It begins to glow a vibrant, pure white like a blade fit for a holy knight.
“Saya? HAHAHAHAHA!”
Quintella ignores the threat in front of her and only looks at me.
“Y-You made her call you Saya?!”
“Were you feeling THAT nostalgic, Ocky?”
Furrowing her brows, the foreigner begins to lower her hand with intent.
She’s also tied to this world, so she’ll most likely die around the same time I do anyway. But is this right? Is this okay?
As much as I hate her, she’s right about one thing.
I can’t kill her. Albo wouldn’t want me to kill her.
“Perish,” the foreigner says coldly.
Just before her attack is about to connect, time seemingly freezes around me. My breathing is frantic, and I want to throw up from the amount of pressure I’m facing right now.
Is it really okay to let my friend kill someone for my sake? I didn’t bring her here for this, but this isn’t all bad… right?
Right…?
My hands reach out, grabbing the foreigner’s arm just before she can make contact with Quintella’s skin. I breathe heavily, reacting to what I just did. I saved the person I hate the most, all because of the words Albo spoke to me all those years ago.
Words that I repeat.
“Killing is bad.”
The foreigner looks at me in confusion. To be honest, if I were her, I would be too.
Pulling away, she ignores Quintella completely and turns her body to face me. Her state of confusion then transforms into the same ice-cold gaze she had when we first argued about the coat.
“I do not understand.”
“I had believed you might have brought me here to finally kill this worm.”
“She killed the love of your life, which is why I was fully prepared to deliver justice on your behalf.”
“But you stop me and claim that killing is bad.”
“Do you think so little of your friends, the people she has hurt, to carry such vague morality even to the greatest of villains?”
“It’s because I think so highly of them, that I can’t kill her. ” My response freezes the foreigner in her tracks.
“Albo told me that killing was bad. Hana told me that I need to live for myself before others.”
“If I killed her, then I’d be betraying him. If I killed her, I’d be betraying Hana.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t clear with you. But for you to have a name, I—”
“AGH! Boring. Boring. Boring!”
Quintella’s voice interrupts my own, and we both turn to look at her. The smile she had on her face is now completely gone.
“Why’d you even bring her here then, Ocky?”
“If this was how it was going to turn out, I would have rather you not come at all.”
“How disappointing. You’re disappointing.”
“Especially when you’ve already killed people.”
I snap back at the chained prisoner. “I had to those times. I had no choice.”
“They weren’t in control of themselves,” I sneer at her, “you were using the last remnants of their souls to manipulate them.”
“I’d say that isn’t killing them at all.”
“BAHAHAHAH!” she laughs again. It seems like the foreigner is holding back the same rage as I am.
“I’m not talking about those times, silly.”
“The night of the Shrieking Tower.”
“Whenever your precious little Alby was infected…”
Clicking my tongue, I pivot on my heel, turning toward the door. My body begins to move on its own, stomping my way out without hearing another second of her taunts. Then, a second pair of footsteps follows closely behind.
I’m so grateful for my partner. Despite not having had human interactions for so long, she sure does know how to read the room.
“Let’s go.”
“We don’t need to hear her out anymore.”
That’s right. Don’t listen to her.
You… I already know what she’s going to say. She’s said it a hundred times, and I’ve managed to endure it all those hundred times. This should be no different. It’s the same as usual. Just walk out and pretend nothing happened.
“...You killed him.”
Quintella’s final words ring in my ear.
Keep walking.
Keep walking.
The second pair of footsteps, though, comes to a complete halt, skidding against the dusty stone floor.
I turn around slowly, only to find the foreigner with her head lowered.
“He was crying, oh what a poor child!”
Quintella continues her teasing. It’s not good. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible. But if I leave my partner behind now, there’s no telling what she would do to Quintella. Deep down, I couldn’t care less whether or not she lives or dies.
I just don’t want her to do something she’d regret.
“I remember it as clear as day, y’know?”
“He still had life in him. He was fighting oh so valiantly to maintain control of his body.”
“Sure, he was vomiting blood and bugs all over the place, but he was giving it his best!”
“And what were you doing, Ocky? Hmmm… Oh! Right!”
“You stood there, watching him go through it!”
“Shut up!” I yell at Quintella, but it does little to faze her. If anything, my words seem to have the complete opposite effect.
Taking a step forward, I grip the foreigner’s arm and start to pull her toward the door. She’s surrendered all force in her body, so she takes her steps forward with relative ease. Wait, so does that mean she didn’t stop to kill Quintella?
I can’t breathe. My heartbeat’s racing. My mind’s hazy.
I want to throw up.
I don’t want to remember.
“Ah… I wonder what he saw that night.”
“Saya! Saya!” Quintella mimics Albo’s voice. “P-P-P-Please… save me…!”
“And what happened next?!”
Shut up.
Shut up.
Shut up.
“Your eyes started to glow.”
I activate my magical gears.
“The world sank into a deep blue.”
The world around me sinks into a deep blue as I fully activate my Soul Sight, something I haven’t done since that day.
If I pull her thread, I can shut her up for good.
“And you pulled his soul thread!”
I clench my fist.
“All he wanted was some comfort, for his girlfriend to save him again.”
“Did you see it?! Did you see his life flashing before your eyes when you touched his thread?!”
“HAHAHAHAHA!”
Inhaling sharply, my legs fold, and I kick forward. There’s an explosive sound behind me as I launch myself toward Quintella at full force.
One touch.
One touch is all it takes.
Within a fraction of a second, I see Quintella’s lips curl into a sadistic smile. I’m sure this is what she wanted all along. Fine. So be it then. If this is what she wants, then I’ll do it!
And yet—
“Killing is bad.”
—His voice rings in my head.
“Ghk!”
Using every bit of strength within me, I stop the attack.
My open palm hovers right in front of Quintella’s nose. The wind that was tailgating me finally spreads across the room, sending dust flying and fluttering everyone’s clothes and hair.
A sudden silence. That is then immediately interrupted by my heavy breathing.
Each time I draw breath, it feels like there are miniature spears poking into my brain. Gripping both of Quintella’s shoulders, I let out a guttural scream as loud as I can.
“I want to kill you so badly.”
“For eight thousand years, that’s all I could think of.”
“All I wanted to do was kill you!”
“But you don’t get to destroy who I am.”
“You’ll stay in this cage until the end of your miserable life.”
“And when I die, I’ll die knowing that I didn’t betray the people that I love.”
“And you’ll die knowing that I beat you.”
“Nothing you ever say, nothing you ever do, will ever hurt me again.”
Quintella’s smirk disappears. That’s right. Deep down inside, she’s still an immature child. She can’t bear the thought of losing.
“Kill me now or I’ll never stop hunting you down,” she says in a spiteful tone.
Staring her dead in the eyes, we both grit our teeth.
“No.”
Standing up, I start to walk away. My eyes momentarily meet the foreigner’s. I can’t tell whether it’s judgment or sadness, but right now, I don’t want to stop and talk about it.
Not when Quintella’s still here.
Softly grabbing her hand, I lead her out of the door in a hurry.
“I’ll hunt you down until the universe itself collapses!”
Her angered voice shrieks across the room.
“Until the Manastream breaks!”
“You’ll regret making an enemy of me. I’ll make sure to make you suffer ten times more than you did that day!”
“DO YOU HEAR ME?!”
“OKTAVIAAAA ! ! ! “
I turn the corner. Just before we start walking down the stairs, I hear the foreigner speak her final words to Quintella in a soft voice.
“Her name is Saya.”
…
…
…
We finally make it out of the tower. Despite going down the same number of stairs, I’m the only one huffing in exhaustion.
The whole way down, we are both silent. But now that we’re outside and I can smell the fresh air, the tension in my body slowly starts to deflate.
My hands are still holding hers. I should probably let go, but I don’t want to. Right now, I want to savor this moment as much as possible.
Warmth spreads from her body to mine. My eyelids start to get heavy, but the salty air keeps me awake.
“H-Hey…” I call out to her without turning around. She hasn’t let go of my hand yet, which means I still have time to talk to her.
“Do you hate me now?” I ask, lowering my head.
“Huh?” she reacts, as if I’ve asked the strangest question in the world.
“That’s why you stopped walking earlier, right?”
I feel ashamed to even look at her.
My breathing is steady, but my heartbeat isn’t.
Then, she slides her hands away from mine. I guess this is it.
Those eyes, I could tell she was upset at me. I mean, it’s not like we’re that close to begin with anyway. To her, I might as well be some random—
…There’s a thud.
And I feel a pair of arms wrap around my waist. Just a second later, I feel her head resting atop my arched back.
“Silly mage. I could never hate you,” she says quietly. The way she’s talking makes me want to cry.
There’s so much tenderness in her voice.
“I was merely upset that you had to kill your love.”
“When I heard that…”
“I wanted to embrace you just like this.”
“And now that we’re alone, I finally can.”
I’m lost for words…
My nose starts to feel stuffy, and before I know it, my cheeks are wet.
As comfort starts to settle in, I fall down onto my knees. My vision is blurry, but the warmth from her body keeps me anchored.
My legs lose all their strength. Something within me starts to slowly fade away.
It’s getting harder and harder to keep my eyes open. But at least, my heart rate seems to have gone back to normal.
“Hey…” I whisper.
Resting her head on my shoulder and neck, her presence sends a sense of peace that I haven’t known in a long time. She hugs slightly tighter, just enough to bring us as close as possible without hurting me.
“You know, Saya,” she whispers into my ear, making it tingle.
“I think I want to tell you something.”
“Tell… me…” my voice weakens even more.
My eyes slide to a close, but I’m still conscious enough to hear her out.
I still have tomorrow, but I don’t want to wait to talk to her.
Ah, this feeling… it’s—
“I think I—”
Just before I can hear the rest of her sentence, I fall asleep.
I’m sorry.