"Pursued"

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There has never been such thing as a right choice and a wrong choice. That which is perceived to be right and wrong is different depending on the perspective of the viewer. Thus, we must distinguish for ourselves what is the just thing to do in this world. However, when one is torn between two whom he loves equally, how is he to know which is right for his heart?

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Two years ago, the faceless man was forced to make a choice. All his life, he had lived a sheltered, secure life within the Juliannes ranks beneath the rule of the one who held the Eye of God. He lived, but he did not thrive, for in this world where dreams grew scarce, he was afraid to lose what little he still possessed.

Two years ago, the faceless man was not faceless, for he did not yet know true despair.

Two years ago, he made his choice, only to realize how foolish he was not to take the one chance he had to break free.

Seeking redemption at the hands of the one he had hurt the most, Blackwing donned the white, sterile mask and set out to find the woman he loved once more. However, when he finally found her, she was no longer the woman he once knew. Now, he had to crane his neck upward to look at her face, and when he did the powerful, glaring eyes that looked back at him made him shed away from their blaring light. This was not the person he had abandoned two years ago. This was a fighter, a warrior. Among the Kuruda, she was a legend of defiance and power, a skilled fighter who was to be feared and hated. But Blackwing knew better. He knew why she had grown so strong.

"Demo kimi wo korosu yatsu wa watashi jyanai." ("However, the one who will kill you will not be me.")

No, she would not be the one to ease his burden, for she had become so powerful that she already knew that killing him would do nothing. And when she turned his back on him for the final time, bidding him to do what they had promised to one another so long ago and become free, the mask cracked and shattered into a million pieces, scattered across the ground along with his heart. He had sought only one thing, but even that would not come to his arms so easily...

What does it mean to fight in a world with no hope? What does it mean when one suddenly realizes that their ideals and wishes are as thin and transparent as the wind, climbing higher and higher into the air as they soar off into the distance, but never quite breaking through the atmosphere to nest with the stars high above?

"Nanda, teme wa..." ("What are you...") hissed Blackwing as he clutched his pulsating chest, rivets of sweat falling in round beads from his forehead, gliding down his cheeks before dropping to the parched ground far below. "Ore wa teme wo kizutsuketemo, kono ore wo korosanainoka?!" ("Even if I hurt you, you still refuse to kill me?!")

What does it mean to be someone who cannot live and cannot die? Even hate is better than love, for at least in hate, one is not ignored. People fear being washed away into the timeless soil that we walk upon, for we all want to think that our lives have amounted to some kind of meaning. But once one's perceptions of what reality are broken, after one has wasted so many years trying to believe in something that would never come, can he still pick up the fallen pieces after the mirror is destroyed? Without morals, without values, does life become a dull, numb thing in which we exist only to roam about like fleeting wraiths waiting for something to carry us off to a better place?

What does it mean to be strong? To love someone? To follow one's dream?

When you love two things but cannot have both, how are you to know which choice is right? For is it not a cruel thing when one must choose, like a child to his father and mother, whose path they will take? No matter what that young boy's choice is, they will be tormented for the rest of their lives as to what their life might have been like had they chosen the other road...

"Ore wa yume nado nai. Ore no jinsei ni wa, mou nanimo nokottenendazo..." ("I don't have a dream. There is already nothing left for me in my life.")

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Give a man everything, give him hope and give him love. Then take it all away from him and watch him wither away. A weak man will simply die, finding nothing left for himself after he is deprived of that which he desires.

The strong man became Lucifer, and began his quest to destroy everything that ever existed.

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"[Yuuki] wo motte tatakaeba tatakai ni kateru to omoteimasenka? [Tomo] wo shinjiru koto de [jibun] no chikara ga kyodai ni naru to omoteimasenka?[Ai] wo ukereba nandodemo tachiagari [muteki] ni naru to shijiteimasenka?"

("Do you think that you can win a fight if you hold [courage]? Do you think your [own] strength will rise if you believe in your [friends]? Do you believe that you can stand up no matter what and become [invincible] if you find [love]?")

--- Darkness (Megumu Okada's "Shadow Skill")

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The sun had long set over the horizon by the time Fumiya returned to the group. Kouryuu stared at his sullen figure for a while as he slowly made his way towards the edge of the clearing they rested in, but he didn't seem to give any outward sign of wanting to share his thoughts with them. He often seemed to keep to himself no matter what the situation was, and it troubled the rebel to see the man act as such, even if she didn't particularly like his attitude. It wasn't so much that she was worried for him as she was worried as to how his actions might affect their progress in the near future. With the way he acted, she could never be sure as to what he might be planning. Careful watch might be needed just in case he attempted something that none of them predicted, and yet another part of her said that this supposed premonition was simply ludicrous. It wasn't as if the feelings he exhibited at the moment weren't natural, no more so than joy, anger, or sadness. Despite everything that happened, despite his self-proclaimed death wish back within his father's mansion, he must have experienced a fairly traumatic event in his unexpected family reunion, and it was nothing that any of them could ever confirm because they had been locked away deep in the bowels of the gangster's prison at the time. No. She was not completely callous. She did worry for him, but the same part of her that said to keep her eyes on the main goal also told her that Fumiya could potentially screw up and cost them dearly in his current emotional state. She would surely need to keep watch over the man, but only to make sure he didn't stray too far from the objective at hand.

"We need to move out soon," said Double, walking up close to her side and keeping his voice low. "I just checked with Yoshime and Iesu. They're still a little exhausted, but there's not a lot we can do about that at the moment. If we can cover at least fifty kilometers in the next hour or two, we'll set a pretty good pace. We just need to keep moving if we're going to keep out of range of Yoshiki's scouts."

"We'll wait for ten more minutes and then move out," said Kouryuu firmly. "If we push Yoshime and Iesu too hard, they'll collapse and become more of a burden to our escape than they already are. A couple more minutes of rest will go a long way and I'd rather risk that than getting shot down halfway through our flight. Besides, Clef is still trying to work on Edge's brain. Breaking his condition would give us a real advantage if it's possible at all. I think it's worth the trouble to make an effort in that direction. It could potentially be the very thing that turns around this mess."

The assassin stared at her for a second and closed his eyes, sighing heavily as he stared out towards the others.

"With the sun out of sight, our light-energy absorption systems aren't of much use anymore," said Double grimly. "And the longer we stay out here, the more energy we burn, energy that could be used for running. Time's running out for us, Kouryuu, they're going to catch us if we wait around any longer."

"Just wait a little longer," said Kouryuu softly, watching Clef as the youthful figure sat still next to Edge's body, several wires connecting the two by the nape of the neck. If they could somehow get Edge to regain consciousness, it would make a world of difference in their flight from the gangster. Clef was an incredible hacker, possessing abilities far beyond anybody she had even seen or heard of. Whether or not he could bring the boy out of this state was questionable, but she was at least willing to give him a chance. A few minutes of their time might be able to save them a lot of trouble. However, her companion was also correct in saying that a failed trial might just grant them the opposite fate as well, and she tried hard to push that thought out of her head as she hopefully watched the hacker at work..

Clef's eyes finally opened as he reached back to remove the wires from his head. His face never showed any sort of emotion, hidden behind the plastic mask of a child's face that did not move. Yet, today his eyes seemed to be heavy with failure, and the rebel knew that his analysis would not be one she necessarily wanted to hear.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to bring him out of this state without damaging his cpu," he said carefully. "The extent to which this program is entrenched within his system is astounding. Even for a automated program doing the job, it could have taken months of analysis within Edge's brain before it was able to activate itself. For a human being, it surely would have been an impossible task. I may be able to break him out of this condition eventually, but that would also be presuming that I had the time to do so. There's nothing I can do now to bring about an immediate or even temporary solution to his ailment."

Kouryuu sighed and nearly began to pace before she barely stopped herself. If things weren't going to get any better, then she was just going to have to work with what they had.

"Okay, ten more minutes and we move," she said firmly. "We're going to keep a steady pace to the south and hope we can get as close to Kei-Shu as we can. For now, we're going to have to count on the fact that Yoshiki doesn't know which direction we've headed in yet, so we have a small advantage on our side for the moment."

"We will need to think of a better plan than that to escape," said Clef bluntly. "Sang-Wu's resources are plentiful, and covering ground will be the least of his concerns. I suggest that we begin sending decoys to create false tracks for them to follow. That will buy us some time. Motion-sensor traps could also prove to be valuable in diverting scout units, possible even destroying them. I believe that you will find a good medium for both in Terpfen's drones since they can serve as useful tools for both occasions. We will have to limit the range of his explosives for the motion traps, but they will surely be more than sufficient to divert Yoshiki's attention for a while."

The rebel nodded her head in agreement as she studied the childish figure. She had always figured him to be more of an intelligence expert rather than a field soldier, but apparently he seemed to have a healthy knowledge of the latter as well.

"Sounds good," she said. "I'm not sure if his drones can detect a nearby presence, but a couple technical modifications might be able to fix that problem fairly easily."

"It certainly makes sense in this situation," said the assassin, musing to himself. "Putting them on a false trail might be exactly what we need. But is it worth it? That man has technology at his fingertips that even the world governments have yet to access. He may be able to see through our plan a lot faster than we're hoping he will, and that could just amount to a waste of time and resources on our part."

"I believe you can leave that much of the problem to myself," said Clef. "I may not have the sheer amount of reserves that our enemy has, but it won't be too difficult for me to devise a jamming signal that will confuse even Toy's soldiers. I'm not sure that I can design a failsafe program given our time constraints, but I can create something strong enough to give us a better chance at continuing our flight. Putting that in Terpfen's drones will easily keep them off of our trail for at least a couple hours, if not longer."

Kouryuu felt the corners of her mouth pull up a little as she caught a small bit of hope right before it threatened to fly from her heart. At this point, even the smallest thing brought her mood up a little. It was just what she needed to keep her confidence up and keep moving like she always had.

"Then let's get this plan in gear. How long do you think it will be before you can have that program ready?"

Clef's apathetic gaze never wavered as he paused to think about the question at hand.

"It shouldn't take more than five minutes at most," he said. "But I believe I can probably have it ready in four if I start now."

"Okay," said Kouryuu, already looking around to see where Terpfen had stationed himself. "In the meantime, we'll talk to Terpfen and see about making the necessary modifications to make this plan work. Even if this does get them off of our backs for a while, we're still working against the clock and we still need to make haste to keep ahead. If we can get have the traps set and get moving within the next ten minutes, then we should---"

She was abruptly cut off as Double's hand roughly clamped over her mouth, stifling the movement of her lips and keeping her speech from progressing any further than it already had. Anger immediately flared in her body as she clenched her fists and prepared to violently retaliate. It was bad enough that he teased her in his spare time, but he was really pushing the limits to think he could continue the habit when she was trying to establish a sense of order to a perilous situation. But as her dagger-like glare whipped about in his direction, she suddenly noticed that he was not focused on her at all. Rather, his eyes were silently peering into the dark trees about them, studying the shadows carefully for the slightest of movements beneath the cool shelter of the thin leaves. Before she could even speak, he quickly brought his free hand up to his mouth with an extended index finger, signaling for her to keep quiet. Clef had already seemed to get the message clearly enough, and watched on silently as the assassin stalked the silhouettes. A full minute passed quietly, the others in the camp hardly noticing the trio as they rested, too exhausted to care about much else for the time being. Finally, Double slowly lowered his hand and raised himself from his crouched stance to stand upright in the clearing once again. Seeing little point to her companion's actions, Kouryuu straightened herself indignantly as she turned on the killer.

"What the hell was that all about?!" said the rebel angrily. "We don't have time to play games when we're already---"

“There!” exclaimed Double and wheeled his right arm back, cutting through the air so fiercely that a faint scream could be heard as it sliced through the atmosphere. A thin, four-bladed throwing star sprouted forth in the assassin's hand as he arced his body for the attack, and a second later his limb rocketed forward and hurtled the spinning projectile into the dark forests with a high-pitched whistle that echoed throughout the woodland. Kouryuu looked on in confusion as the whistle began to fade in the distance, glancing between the spot where the star has disappeared and Double's level gaze as she waited to see what he had been aiming at. A faint screech of tearing metal answered her question after a few seconds, and Double began to relax a little once he had confirmed that his target had been hit.

"Clef, keep an eye on the others," said the assassin, not even waiting for the short child to answer. "Kouryuu, come with me. If that's what I thought it was, then we're in big trouble."

Kouryuu simply nodded as she sprinted into the woods after him, deftly leaping over fallen brush and ducking beneath low-hanging branches. After running for a full minute, she began to notice that the distance they had covered was a lot farther than she expected a typical eavesdropper to listen from. She presumed that that must have been what her friend had spotted, there was little other explanation for his hasty actions. But why were they moving out this far for one unit when it probably wouldn't have even noticed them from such a distance, especially since they had been careful to keep energy-sensitive equipment offline? They had already covered nearly a mile's worth of ground from their resting spot and still no sign of their prey. What could possibly be out here that posed that much of a threat to them?

They covered nearly three miles before Double finally began to slow down, and even then he continued to trot at a slow pace, stopping from time to time to listen to their surroundings as if more of their unseen enemy continued to stalk them in the eves. Eventually, trails of bitter smoke began to hit the rebel's odor receptors, and the assassin gingerly walked up to a crushed bush that had become a cushion for the heavy object that had landed in its midst.

"It looks similar to WNHR S.S. drones," he said slowly, picking at a small, oblong object that rested upon the leaves. It was nearly spherical, but not quite, and a single, red "eye" seemed to mark the front center of the metallic surface with what must have been a sensor. "The design is sleeker though, more advanced. It didn't move like an S.S. drone either, far too fast to be of government make. The only thing that I know for certain was that it was watching us and doing a good job of it too. This thing is clearly designed for scouting and almost managed to outrun my shot, but who the hell uses this type of scout?"

"It's called a 'ghost,'" came Asimov's voice suddenly, and Double nearly jumped when he realized that the golden warrior was standing directly behind him, silently observing the heap of twisted metal that had crashed in the brush.

"Geez," said the assassin crossly, trying to regain his composure as he turned to face his companion. "Where the hell did you come from?"

"I followed you out when I saw you leave the group," said the warrior, walking forward to get a closer look at their quarry. "I thought something was amiss when we stopped to rest, but I was never quite sure until you actually shot the unit out of the air." He poked absently at the burning metal with his index finger, finally sighing in length once he had been satisfied with his observation. "This thing is an advanced, automated scout unit, loaded with cloaking devices and evasion technology designed to stay hidden from its target. It’s a wonder you were able to snipe it down. These things tend to bend the light about them to stay invisible from the normal eye. Luckily for us, its design focus is on avoiding high-tech weaponry and sensory systems, not physical projectiles. I had a suspicion that this might have been what was tailing us, but a single kinetic blast would have been more than sufficient to confirm our presence to the enemy, and none of us have the energy reserves left to even try catching this thing by hand."

"Is this Yoshiki's?" asked Kouryuu, arching her eyebrow just a bit. "I know that he specializes in high-end weaponry, but even this seems a little out of his league."

"Unfortuntely, no," said Asimov slowly. "Only Toy manufactures these, and that makes this situation a lot worse than it was before."

Double made a vexed noise out of the side of his mouth as his eyes narrowed, his gaze suddenly darting out to the forests suspiciously as if something might leap from their shadows at any moment.

"I can't believe Yoshiki's was able to get his hands on stuff this advanced," he said coldly. "How much does he know about Toy, and how long has he had access to this kind of technology? With these kinds of units, he might be embedded far deeper in government infrastructure than we first thought he was. It might not even matter where we run to now if he's been able to work his way behind the council's backs with the information that he extracts. If we reach Kei-Shu and he's convinced them to be waiting for us, we'll have nowhere left to run. Even if we never make it to the border, there could be hundreds of these things sweeping the timberlands and we might never even notice. I got lucky enough spotting one, but who knows how many more are out there now or already exploring the border areas for our presence?"

"I think you're misunderstanding me," said Asimov, the tone in his voice only growing darker. "Luckily for us, ghosts are not used by Yoshiki, for Toy does indeed realize the extent to which one may take advantage of their abilities and does not entrust them to human beings for usage. However, because they are exclusively used by Toy himself, this means that Yoshiki is no longer the only one looking for us either." He paused and cleared his throat uncomfortably, but the rebel already knew the dire situation that her companion was proposing. "Toy is now in pursuit of us as well, and I personally think that we have far more reason to fear his advance than that of the gangster."

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Yujin's eyes perked up a bit as a signal far away suddenly winked out of existence. His personal ghost had been trailing the Edge unit's party almost immediately after they had left the safety of the gangster's supply tunnel, but he had chosen to follow them for a little while longer to assess the situation before revealing his find to the battalion. He had made the mistake of underestimating them before, and it had cost him dearly in the end. Despite his eagerness to end the renegade's existence, he was unwilling to let it overcome his good judgment a second time, especially since he was now the mere puppet of that fool, Neon...

The general's iris-less gaze glared in the monstrous mecha's direction as they reached cruising speed over the lush woodlands that hid Yoshiki's secluded palace. How could Toy entrust such an important mission to a lifeless shell? How could his master go so far as to give it a lock program to use on himself, one of the most decorated and respected creatures to ever walk the face of the earth? Having had a little time to cool down after his initial rage, Yujin accepted the fact that he would not be able to do anything to rectify the situation until this travesty of a mission was completed. Yet, it did not stop his mind from twisting into knots of madness inside his head that only grew tighter with each passing moment. Already, he must have dreamt up a thousand ways with which to make Neon pay for treating him with such disrespect back in the training room, each one more violent and brutal than the last. If the bastard let the lock program down for even a second... all he would need was a second...

"We have a fix on the Edge unit's position," said Neon, transmitting a signal to their group. "Several units have spotted him moving south towards Kei-Shu. We will pursue him immediately and cut him off before he reaches his goal."

Yujin snorted in disdain, but there was nothing he could do. As long as the lock program was in place, he was at the mercy of this fool whom his master trusted more than himself. But if he was patient, he would find the chance that he was looking for, and when that time came, he would tear Edge apart and extract the vengeance that he had waited so long to achieve. He had already missed one opportunity because he had been too rash in his action. He simply could not risk passing up another one again.

"Yujin," came Neon's voice, interrupting the general's train of thought. "You will bring up the rear with units fifty-four through sixty-eight. You are to cover any attempts of our quarry to escape should their demise be missed by the leading assault force. Understood?"

Yujin's face tightened in rage as he turned to glare fiercely at the shell who called himself his superior, his power aura almost exploding with pure insanity as he fought to suppress the excess energies. He could not lose his composure now. Not now. Not yet...

"Don't you think it would be a better idea for me to lead the attack?" he said in low, dangerous tones, fighting the urge to try and tear the mecha's head from its shoulders. "My powers far exceed that of the normal marine-class soldier, and I alone would have a much better chance at annihilating our enemy on the first past than any ten of them ever would."

"You are correct in that respect," said the lumbering behemoth without even giving him the respect of turning its massive cranium in his direction. "However, as of late your performance on and off the battlefield has rendered your reliability to have taken a distinct drop in merit. At this time, achieving the main priority of our mission without having to account for your instability is a more efficient solution. Therefore, you will bring up the rear and act as backup while I and the others carry out the primary goal of our task."

The general's mouth might have been gaping in shock at having been confronted with the very idea that his performance was inferior had his teeth not been clenched so tightly in anger. Every instinct in his body told him to cut down the bastard where he stood, shredding his body away until nothing remained but a few shards of metal that had somehow remained untouched by his never ending fury. Yet, he forced himself to hold back, to hold it all within, and straighten his vision away from this one who attracted so much of his hatred. If he acted now, perhaps he was only re-enforcing the idea that his reliability had been lessened in combat. Perhaps it would only drive Toy to more extreme measures to restrict the general's power, or do away with him completely if he felt threatened by his "abnormalities." No, he could not act now. He would get his chance, but he just had to be patient. He had to be patient...

But no matter how many times he said it, it didn't seem to quiet down the screams of anguish that echoed throughout the darkness of his mind.

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The notes of the piano tinkled down like falling drops of rain, gentle and light in their touch, soft and cool upon the ears of the unseen audience. The harmony slowly began to grow behind the peaceful melody, and gradually the silence became filled with the soft hum of a serene void. Yet, even the calmest of showers can bloom into a harsh storm of thunder and lightning, and as the song continued to progress, so did the disorder in which the notes began to fall. Soon, no longer were they merely dropped quietly upon the ivories, but instead thundering down with the force of hammers. The once carefully formed chords no longer had form as notes crashed up against one another in waves of vehement passion and unexplainable fervor. And even as the main melody continued to swell in the background above the rising chaos, the turbulent waters only grew more brutal, threatening to drown any unlucky enough to fall beneath their dark surface.

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Three days had passed since the rebels successfully took the castle.

Word of their victory spread quickly, and the people of the countryside slowly began to emerge from their burrows to observe the mysterious army that had successfully resisted the empire. At first, they trickled in one by one, and those who still held the old rebellions fresh in their minds were the first to come forth with weapons in hand. However, more continued to follow after that. Shopkeepers frustrated with the results that the empire's harsh controls had on their business, farmers who could no longer afford to let passing soldiers steal their crops, and peasants who had grown so destitute from abuse that they fought out of the sheer fear of dying from hunger if they did not act. In three days, a great migration had begun that brought tens of thousands of tents and camps about the fortress that Falcoon's rebels had taken, and slowly their collective fervor grew forth into a force ready to be hurtled into the heart of the dark country that lie at their feet.

But Edge did not watch their masses from atop the battlements with pride. He did not see the hope that permeated throughout their numbers. Deep within his heart, he felt something missing, wretched from his chest without care to the pain that it caused its owner. The passing of time did not help this wound, for it only continued to bleed deeper and deeper, the pools of dark blood overflowing upwards from his gut and threatening to drown him in sorrow. And even as he let the crimson liquid fill him to the brim, the gaping hole festered in upon itself, a growth of darkness covering up its opening like a mold of death.

Huddled deep in the black confines of the castle's vast library, Edge sat wearily upon an old wooden chair with the leathery pages of an old tome in hand. A single candle sitting on a nearby table was his light, but neither his eyes nor his mind gave any heed as he had engrossed himself far too deeply in the text to care. Dust and cobwebs that had not been touched for decades sifted in gentle layers all about him, lightly disturbed by the movements of his hands and the flaps of the book. Intricate stone carvings of gargoyles and other grotesque monsters adorned the high ceilings of the chamber, sometimes even perching atop the tall shelves that held the books themselves. It all meant little to him when he had found the room though. All that had mattered was that he was alone in the darkness once again with only the silence to accompany his despair. If he had never existed in this world, would Sanjurroh have been spared the pain of death? Who knows what other horrible things they had done to him in the boy's time of captivity, the crimes, the sins... if Edge had never existed in this world, could it have been a better place...? 

He gently turned the page, moistening the tip of his finger on the end of his tongue as his index digit softly pushed the corner aside. He read absently as the accusing voice continued to reverberate throughout his head for hours without cease. No matter where he was, he only seemed to bring pain and suffering to those he touched. No matter how hard he fought, no matter how much he tried, the ones he cared for just seemed to get hurt in the end. Was he wrong to ever think that he could do any better? Was he foolish to ever hope for a life without this horrible violence?

His eyes absently looked down at the page his finger pointed to, a book titled "The Thousand Year War," and his gaze numbly glistened over as he read to himself.

"Fifty years after the fighting started, few could remember why the war had begun," he read in soft tones. "By then, man was content in hating one another and tearing his brother limb from limb for the sheer sake of creating savagery. After a hundred years, no one questioned why they fought anymore, and it seemed as though the Cloudwalkers and Stormriders had accepted each other as natural enemies, as something that the ambience of nature might apply to its predators and prey. But this was truly not the case, for we killed not for food nor protection, but only for personal satisfaction of our own hatred towards one another. We were not animals, but rather, we had transformed into something far more primal. For what animal kills and tortures so aimlessly as we? What animal inflicts pain only for the sake of doing so? While animals accomplish their violence to satisfy their physical welfare, we do so to satisfy our mental instability. It is this aspect of passion that flaws us, and perhaps this is the signal of the downfall of our civilization and our species. Perhaps God has decided that the only being worthy enough to become our own predator is none other than our own wretched souls. But if we do indeed live through this tragedy, I pray that man may be able to find peace for himself once again, if it ever existed in his heart in the first place."

"If it ever existed in his heart in the first place..." repeated the young boy stolidly. Could it be that the thing that he sought out was really only a figment of his imagination? Could the path which he had followed for so long really only be a road which man had paved for himself, something to give hope to those who had none in a life that was meant to fall into chaos anyways? He still knew little of human beings and their ways, but perhaps there was much more to their kind than he had first presumed. Maybe the fighting was simply a constant variable that he had mistaken for an exception to the rule. Perhaps what he saw as human aspirations were only delusions, fake, flittering optimism that some held in hopes of escaping their misfortune. Was the life of a human being really what he wanted? So far, it only brought him pain... and hatred. That was surely not the life he wanted to live.

No.... it was not the life he wanted to live...

Then what did he really want...?

Footsteps faintly echoed throughout the stone hallway as Edge recognized the smooth sound of leather boots tapping on granite. Rusty hinges creaked on the doors as someone threw open the wide, intricately carved gates to his resting place, but he had already guessed who had come for him as soon as he heard their approach. In the days that had followed the success of their assault, few had gathered up the courage to try to raise his spirits after the death of his son. Even fewer returned to face him after receiving the boy's fierce and curt rebuttal. In the end, Mikaeru had been the only one persistent enough to keep coming back, and even now she stopped just behind his chair and watched him read as the dim light of her lantern brightened the dark room.

"I brought you some food," she said softly, and Edge could hear her set down an iron plate on the table surface beside him. "There hasn't been a lot left because of all the people who have come in, but it seems that we've managed to pick up at least a few skilled chefs along the way."

Edge didn't even move as he continued to stare at the tattered pages, listening to the cold silence that hung in the air. Mikaeru had always been nice to him, but he still could not bring up the courage in his throat to form words for her. No matter how hard he tried, the grief that gripped his body had shut out the rest of the world, and he knew of no remedy to open up to it again.

"Shizuru, you've been here for days," said the windrider behind him, her voice gentle but firm in its resolution. "We all grieve for your loss, but you can't let a single setback ruin you completely."

Edge felt his eyes turn into daggers as his neck suddenly craned back and shot the vicious points into her skull with his bloodshot eyes, and he could feel his jaw unhinge from its clenched state as he spoke for the first time in what seemed like ages.

"That 'single setback' was my son," he said in an icy voice. "Don't you dare talk about him like that ever again."

Mikaeru cringed beneath his tone, but patiently laid her hand on his shoulder as she tried to calm him down.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to---"

"Please, just leave me alone," said the young boy, turning back to the ancient volume and letting his eyes lazily settle into place once again. "Just... leave me alone."

Many times over he had told her the same thing, and many times over she had simply nodded numbly and turned away, only to come back several hours later and try to console him again. However, today she did not simply turn to go, and as Edge silently wondered what was taking her so long to leave him in peace, the pressure on his collarbone abruptly shot up as her fingers dug into his flesh and spun him and the chair about to meet her face to face.

"Stop it!!!" she shouted fiercely, her voice resounding off the stone ceiling high above. "Just stop it, Shizuru! You can't just shut yourself down like this. I'm not going to let you!"

"Don't do this to me!" snarled Edge fiercely, nearly leaping up from his chair. "I need some time to myself. Can't you see that? Or do you think that I could just as easily shake off everything that just happened to me?"

"We don't have time for this!" said Mikaeru firmly. "We have been granted an advantage by our victory and we must move out as soon as possible while Shin's forces are still off guard. If we wait too long, he will surely be able to assess the situation for a proper counterattack and all we'll have done will be for nothing. You must come with us! Don't you realize that where we stand right now may be the turning point in our entire battle? Thousands look up to you as their hero, Shizuru, Falcoon looks up to you for what you did! You must fight with us to the end!"

"Thousands?" The legs of the chair scrapped violently against the floor as Edge leapt up from his seat with failure and anger in his eyes, and gently he felt himself losing hold on all the barriers that once held so much of his rage in. "I fight for my son and my wife, and I have just lost one of those reasons to participate in this damn war. What's next, is my wife already dead too? Or has she met a fate far worse than what I can imagine? What if they've cut her open like a grazing beast and left her to bleed to death? Or what if they've starved her nearly to death and when I get there she'll only be a dry husk of the woman I once knew? Or what if they've raped her? Or already killed her? Can't you see what's happening? Why do you think I'd care about what everybody else thinks about me when I am losing everything I have?!"

A sharp pain flashed across his cheek as a loud slap echoed throughout the room. He touched his face gingerly and felt the tender flesh sting at touch, and as his shocked eyes worked their way back towards his companion, he watched her retract her hand from the force of her blow with the eyes of an experienced soldier.

"Do you think you're the only one who's lost something or someone in this fight?" she asked fiercely. "Countless numbers have had to let the ones they loved go, all in the name of the pursuit of freedom. But that never stopped them from fighting, and that won't stop us from moving forward. People risk their lives for things they hold sacred in their hearts, whether it be a person, a physical object, or a principle. But there are bigger things than all of that, bigger than me, bigger than you, and bigger than any of them out there who are waiting to die for victory! And that's the future, because whether we are doing it to protect something that already exists or to reclaim something we never had, we all fight because we want to see a better tomorrow!"

She watched him in cold silence as Edge stood before her. And he found himself at a loss for what to say.

"...you... don't know me," he said slowly. "There's nothing more that I fear now than losing the family that I've been blessed with, and if I lose them... then I have nothing. What good is this war... what good is fighting in it if all I can go back to in the end is nothing?"

"But your wife is still out there, is she not?" said the windrider, and the young boy said nothing in return. "You still have something to fight for out there, and for many of us even that much is a luxury. I do not mean to undermine your loss, but horrible things happen every day that many of us cannot help. If we stop to grieve, then sometimes we simply miss our chance to change things for the better, and that is why we must save our tears until after the fight has ended. Then, and only then is it safe for us to weep. You must be strong, Shizuru, for your wife, for your son, and for the people who look up to you for their own strength."

And Edge could only shake his head wearily, falling back into his chair as his gaze slumped towards the cold floor below.

"I cannot be strong for everybody."

"But you must try," said Mikaeru. "And we can only do our best for you as well."

The sound of her boots against the stones echoed long throughout his head, and it seemed to take an eternity for her to reach the gates and pull them shut on the other side of the mammoth chamber. Again, the silence returned to his ears, but no longer was it comforting to swim in its endless notes. Now, it only held him in suspense, and as he slouched back into the stiff wooden chair and gazed towards the ceiling high above. He wished that he still had tears left to cry, for he felt very, very lonely.

...

...

...

If we live in a world where our every wish is fulfilled, then life has no meaning because the very concept of hope is eliminated from our existences. However, if we live in a world where none of our wishes are fulfilled, then we die a horrible death because life has become nothing but empty hope, a dream that can never come true. So what is the reality of our world, this place where people strive to become better, stronger people each and every day of their lives? What is this reality in which human beings make conscious decisions to tear one another apart out of jealousy and out of ambition? What is the driving force behind our small, petty existences?

Kono [yume] wa nandaroune?

...

...

...

The sun's rays had began to slant and grow low in the horizon through the tall, multicolored windows that dimly lit the bookroom, and Edge continued to sit in the lengthening shadows absently reading the same book that he had held in his stiff hands hours before. He had barely moved since Mikaeru had left long ago, the food which she had brought for him having long since grown cold and crusted. Had he been so wrong to want to pursue that which he desired? Had he been so viciously evil to only want his wife and son back without care to what happened with the rest of the world? Mikaeru thought so, but she was also a person who had been involved in this battle long before he had. It was only logical for her to want to protect the group interests of her coalition. He could not blame her for that. But did she have a right to talk to him like that? Did he have a right to talk to her in the way he did?

"You're not there, are you?" muttered Edge to himself, his eyes scouring the pages as if the majestic seraph, Adam, might spring forth at any moment. No, the angel would not come. The young boy himself had said that he did not want to see him again until the man could answer his questions. Unconsciously, he knew that the man had helped him on more than one occasion and he was grateful for the assistance, but he could not help but feel abused at being the butt of a joke that would not be revealed to him. He did not want to live a life that was not his own. He did not want to life a life without hope, without happiness. Yet, that seemed to be all that was granted to him, both here and on Akuji. The only thing that seemed to willingly come to his side was pain...

"Is Yu-Lan even alive?" he whispered softly, his eyes growing drowsy as he lost the will to stay awake. Could he stand seeing her die as well? Perhaps it was just better to accept the fate from afar before he let his expectations rise too high. Perhaps it was better to simply accept that he could do no better no matter where he was. He had fought so hard for his son, and Sanjuroh had still met death in the end, even though Edge had been standing only a couple feet away as the last of the boy's warm tears dripped down his cheeks. Was this the true nature of the human being? To always be helpless to tragedy? To always be fearful of grief? For no matter how hard he fought in life, did not all things constructed by the hand of man crumble from the winds of time? Were all of his efforts... all of his dreams... meaningless?

The sound of boots echoing down the hall abruptly broke his train of thought, but this time the sound was different from the approach of the windrider, the clicks heavier and harder on the surface of the solid stones. The strides were crisp and succinct as well, and Edge could tell that the man walking towards him was probably not one of the many rebels who had learned to respect his private space on earlier occasions. As the doors swung open grandly, the hinges screeching loudly from the force with which they were thrown apart, the young boy looked up tiredly through his drooping bangs of hair to find Falcoon marching towards him, the man’s face still etched in stone as he slowed and came to a stop in front of the chair, a murky silhouette in the eves of the dark chamber.

"Mikaeru said I could find you here," he said carefully, looking down at the head of the young boy. "I was wondering where you had gone after everything that happened."

Edge did not answer at first, looking up at the chiseled warrior's face blankly before settling back into the warm confines of his seat.

"She should have told you that I didn't want to talk to anybody as well," he said blandly. "Or have you come here to try to continue what she started earlier?"

"Not really," said the rebel leader as he eased himself on top of the table with a grunt. "I know the value of solitude well enough to leave somebody alone when they want it.."

Edge resisted the urge to shoot the man a volatile stare and bit his tongue lightly.

"Then why don't you listen to your own intuition?" he said softly as he settled for a slightly less bitter stare.

"Because I don't think you understand the position you entered when you joined us!!" shouted Falcoon as he slammed his open palm down on the table, causing layers of ancient dust to take flight in a hazy cloud that almost made Edge jump out of his seat from the speed with which it erupted into the air. The rebel retracted his arm slowly and gently straightened his jacket with a quick jerk of his collar, and when his gaze focused on the young boy again Edge swore that he saw something else in his eyes besides the blood and tears of constant battle. For just a second, for one fleeting moment, he saw a glimpse of hardened sympathy from the man. For just one second, he saw the same sadness that he himself held in his very heart.

"I'm sorry for your loss. It's not something I would wish upon anyone. I'm sorry that you feel like you've lost your reason to fight in this war, it is an understandable decision considering your situation. And I'm sorry that Mikaeru talked to you the way she did. She had no right to say those things, especially when your pain is still a tender wound. What you have suffered is not to be overlooked, and your son will be given the burial and respect that he deserves. If you no longer wish to fight, I will not keep you in. You have already proved your loyalty to our cause through your short service to us and I am deeply honored for everything that you have done."

When the rebel leader said nothing else, Edge cocked his head in confusion at the man. This was not what he had been expecting from a soldier who so fiercely fought for the liberation of his people. This was not the response that he expected from someone who was ferociously strict in protecting his men and their lives at any cost. He had expected Falcoon to hate him just as much as everybody else, to be disappointed in him for no longer wishing to fight for their cause of justice.

"You're willing to let me go that easily?" he said, looking up into the rebel's eyes. "What about your war? Your people? Where do they fit in to all of this?"

The man cracked a hard smile as he chuckled to himself. It was the first time Edge had seen the man grin.

"It is important for a commander to understand the problems of his soldiers," he said. "And it is just as important for me to be able to accept what they think is right. I am not a dictator and I will not force you to fight, Shizuru. I must respect you for what you have done, and I must respect the son that you have lost as well." His firm gaze fell upon the young boy once again, but it was far more gentle this time. "I know not who you are or where you came from, but I can see it in your eyes when you fight; you are not the simple farmer that you claim to be, but a real warrior... a real soldier. More so than any of the others out there. More so than even myself. You fight as though you will not wake tomorrow morning, and you live haunted by the crimes you have committed through your violence. But we are all still human, you and I. And though I have asked you to hold the heads of my men up high to give them the courage to fight, I can still offer you my hand to pull you forth in your times of trouble as well."

He glanced at the book Edge held in his hands and smiled a sad smile, tapping a finger on its fraying binding.

"They say that we humans are a horrible race, do they not? We hurt and kill each other not for food or protection, but for ego and power. We are emotional, and therefore irrational. We make the same mistakes and commit the same atrocities over and over again without ever learning from our past mistakes. This is what the ancient scholars concluded at the end of their age, and it is what we can still see in the twilight of our own." He gingerly took the text from Edge's hands, and blew the fine powder from the top of the page, watching as it fell to the ground in a gentle haze of light. "But what they do not say is that our extremes may tip in the other direction as well, and in times of peace this land and these people have seen wonderful visions of prosperity and solace. They fight to get that back because they are tired of suffering, of being besieged and downtrodden simply for existing, and I will do my best to help them do it."

Edge watched as the man closed the book and placed it flat on the table, and the young boy did not try to pick it up again as he looked at its tattered edge.

"Why do you do it?" he asked slowly. "Why do you lead these people? Is it for the same reasons as everybody else, to protect your life and the lives of those you care for? Or is there something else that I can't see anymore...?"

Falcoon did not say anything at first, the air growing bitter with the swelling silence. At first Edge began to worry that he had offended the man with his question, and looked up towards the rebel to apologize for the starkness of his inquiry. But when he saw the man's face, he realized that Falcoon simply stared at the ground, his eyes sullen in their gaze.

"There is no easy answer for why a man fights," he said slowly. "Sometimes it is easy to say that we do it to protect those we love. Sometimes it is easy to make that distinction between what is 'good' and what is 'evil.' However, good and evil are only words, and in the end my view is no more right or wrong than that of Shin's. Naturally, his reasons for action are different from my own, as are the effects his reign has had on the very people who I have said I would defend. But there is nothing to say why I could not be the dictator and he the rebel, and my quest to dethrone him is nothing more than an insane man's journey to conquer a peaceful kingdom. I know you are troubled now by your dilemma, and I know that you carry a heavy burden with you in your journey to save your family, but I cannot answer those questions. We must each be able to create our own answers, for there exists no distinct universality for that which is light and dark. I will not make your decision for you, Shizuru, not because I won't, but because I can't. I do not want you to leave, but only you know what is best for you from here on and I will not be the one to stand in your way."

The counter creaked on its legs as Falcoon pushed himself back on his feet, and without another word he turned about and began to walk towards the door. Yet, even as Edge watched the man walk away, he suddenly paused in his tracks and came to a halt in the middle of the room, waiting as though he still had a lingering doubt on his mind.

"I think you should know one more thing before I leave you," he said without turning his head. "Mikaeru said that she is sorry for hitting you earlier. It was not something that you deserved. However, though I know that she would never say it for herself, I will say it in her place. Unlike you, she has nobody left. The windrider clans were massacred years ago, and she was the sole survivor to their secrets. She has no one to love her and no one to call family. And when we met, she had sought us out and not I her."

Edge slowly picked himself up from his chair as his face grew flushed with shame. He had mulled for so long over the death of his son, and yet his companion had long since felt that same sting of suffering far worse than he ever had. He wished that he could take back what he had said earlier, for it seemed like such a selfish thought in the face of a woman who already understood the heartache of death. Yet, even as he tried to grasp the words to apologize, he knew that he could only regret the haste that he had shown before, for he would not get a second chance to take back the harsh things that he had said to his selfless friend. For did not Mikaeru continue to fight even though she lost everything she had? Did she not continue to hope even though her entire world had been shattered? Even though she had nothing left to yearn for in the future? Did she not continue to strive forward even though she had already endured the very things that Edge feared for himself?

"Then... why did she join you?"

Falcoon paused as he bowed his head, and when he brought it back to glance at Edge over his shoulder, his eyes held the same clear sympathy that the young boy had seen earlier in the man's eyes.

"She never told me," he said simply. "You're going to have to ask her yourself." 

Edge began to walk forward to ask another question, but a fierce crash suddenly rocked the entire building and his hand immediately shot out to steady his balance on the nearby table. Pieces of stone gently rained down from above as the room trembled under the might of the blow, and eventually the castle seemed to settle back on its foundation once again. Screams and shouts were quickly raised outside the walls, and as the young boy peered out the window into the setting sun to try to get a glimpse of what had caused the disturbance, his heart began to pound as he realized that the voices were slowly growing from a few scattered cries into bellows of massive proportions.

"What just happened?" said Edge quickly, his senses suddenly alert as he felt the heat of battle draw near. "What's going on?!"

Falcoon simply looked out onto the plains with a calm gaze, but his eyes were already narrowing with suspicion as his body became visibly tense with worry.

"They've come," he said, staring coldly out the library's tall windows and suddenly turning on heel to march out the front door without another moment of hesitation. "They've come..."

...

...

...

As fast as Edge ran, he could not keep pace with the rebel leader. No matter how hard he pumped his legs, he always seemed to be just on the verge of trailing on the man's heels as they moved up the hundreds of steps towards the top of the battlements. Faceless men and women on the stairs blurred by his vision as he focused on moving upwards, and the tall tower hallways raced by in a flurry of flying stones that only seemed to drop with ever increasing speed towards the ground far below. Edge's lungs burned for air as he began to reach his limit, and just when he thought he would never catch up, the bright light of the setting sun shot up from the darkness and blinded him as he came to quick halt on the tops of the ramparts. Falcoon was already there, standing tall without any apparent fatigue as he looked sternly towards the east.

"I knew that he would regroup quickly, but I didn't think that retaliation would come this soon," said the rebel as his gaze fought against the harsh glare.

"What are you talking about?" asked Edge as he came up near the man's side. "Who's coming?"

"Shin is coming," said Falcoon simply, nodding towards the sun, his eyes never straying from their target. "Look out there, Shizuru. He has no intention of holding back this time." 

Another crash violently shook the ground as Edge struggled to keep his footing in place. More screams of distress followed down below as the massive crowds began to mill about in a flurry of panic, rushing to gather and save their meager possessions from the threat that came from afar. As Edge straightened himself and forced his eyes into the glaring light of the descending ball of fire, he watched as small, writhing shadows began to take form. They were hard to focus on because of the luster of the sun, and their shapes looked more like miniature dolls in the distance rather than real soldiers. However, their steady approach slowly began to bring more detail to his eyes, and his heart began to race with fear as he became aware of what he was looking at.

The creatures towered over the height over a human being even thought their heavy bodies lurched forward upon themselves from all the upper body muscle. Even as they slowly plodded along on the knuckles of their enormous front arms and significantly shorter hind-legs that seemed to be in place more so to keep the behemoth's balance rather than move, they still rose up nearly three times a normal man's height. Gigantic mouths attached to the front of their faces dripped with hideously long teeth, the ground seeming to smoke and crumble from the touch of the dark saliva that trickled from the dagger like ends to the earth below. A mammoth shackle remained locked around each of their thick necks, though the chain it was attached to felt no solid ground, and grotesque knobs of bone protruded from its spine as it swung around its short tail like a wary cat. Several bulging eyes were attached to either side of their heads, each one glaring about independently of one another searching out prey for the enormous creature. Yet, one feature remained somewhat familiar to Edge as he took in the fabulous monster, and that was the horrible caricature of a human head that seemed to live out of the left side of each one's throat. It seemed oddly out of place on the foreign beast, and yet its permanent visage of terror only seemed to cement its place upon its inhuman host. Their mouths were always open, ear-splitting screams rocketing forth without cease from their lifeless maws, and Edge felt his body shiver at the very thought of the things that marched towards them from the gates of hell.

Suddenly, his eyes were diverted by another movement along the ground that seemed to accompany the new enemy advance. The earth undulated in waves along the creatures' sides, moving higher and higher the farther that they walked. Suddenly, the ground broke open with a deafening crash, and endless branches of dark, thorn bristling brambles sprouted forth from the corrupted soil, spinning high into the air in intricate and perverse sculptures. Some of the entanglements continued to slither like tentacles towards the human encampment, living off of some strange will that was not their own. And as they came closer to the edge of the growing rebel settlement, the people began to flee in terror, horrified by the beasts that came to tear them apart.

"Knolls..." muttered Falcoon steadily, watching the small army of monstrosities advance with his arms crossed beneath his chest. "It looks like we've finally made ourselves a serious threat to him."

"What?" blinked Edge in confusion.

"Knolls," repeated the rebel leader without pause. "Those are what those things out there are called. They serve as the backbone of Shin's armed forces, a type of heavy ground soldier if you will. There's many rumors on where they come from, none of them confirmed. Some say that they were kidnapped from a foreign country and tamed here to fight against their will. Others think that they were summoned forth from the bowels of hell through black magic and witchcraft. No one knows for certain. But they are deadly, and any one of them could kill hundreds of us without even noticing the deed. Though it's to a lesser extent, some people refer to them as 'harvesters' as well. Those plants that you see coming up from the ground are their creations, iron vines that can tear apart any living creature like paper. Perhaps it is their own form of sorcery that creates them. It is still a mystery to us. Few have survived facing a Knoll to tell their stories, and those that have might as well have gone insane."

Edge watched in awe and dread as the enormous monsters continued their steady advance. The edges of the camp had already been cleared and the bravest of the men and women amongst their numbers had taken up a haphazard collection of swords and halberds, apprehensively poking at the first of the prodding creatures while trying to keep as much distance between them as possible. At first, the muscular ape-like beast did not seem to recognize them as a threat, but as soon as an arrow flew out of the crowd and struck the creature solidly in the shoulder, its eyes went wild with fury and it bellowed a roar that seemed to shake the earth itself. The wound itself did not even bleed and the single shaft had probably meant nothing more to the Knoll than a mosquito bite to a human being. However, the flurry with which it retaliated was unbridled as it tucked in its huge forearm and fearsomely flung it out in a wide back-fist that completely gored entire bodies in midair before the open entrails could even hit the soil below. Edge watched in horror as the other beasts began to follow suit, tearing into the human ranks with great lust and bloodshed. But even as the pile of corpses piled high, there were always others who rushed forward to take their place, and few in the camp hesitated to fight the giants no matter how futile the battle seemed.

"These people have nowhere to run, Shizuru," said Falcoon softly. "Even if they fled today, they know that that will not free them from Shin's grip on their lives, and they know that eventually they will have to turn back to fight if they ever want to claim their souls for themselves again." 

The young boy just shook his head as he watched them die. He was horrified by the sight before him, but what could he do? Even he was just one man, one man against a legion of destructive, living machines made to kill people like him. Even his power could not stop this from happening, and he felt helpless because he did not know how to act next...

"I know you're still holding back," said the rebel suddenly, and Edge cocked his head in confusion.

"What do you mean by that?" said the young boy. "I'm not holding anything back from anybody."

"It's not from me," said Falcoon bluntly, and looked at him with steeled eyes. "It's from yourself. I can see that you are a soldier when you fight, but I can also see that you are reluctant to reveal your true potential. You still do not think that this war is yours because you do not share the same dream as those dying people down there."

Edge's breath caught in his throat as his mind immediately flipped to a single thought, and he felt despair grip him like a vice.

"Yoshime," he breathed quietly, the girl's flittering image flashing across his mind. He could still remember the pledge that he had made to protect her, the promise that he had uttered to always make sure that she was safe. But she did not exist in this strange, new land, and neither did the memories that he continued to blindly grasp at as his consciousness fought to exist between the two realities.

"Maybe you do not wish to continue to fight because your mind has not yet decided where it wants to go. Maybe, even though you desire to win back your family and have thus joined us to achieve this goal, you still feel alone in your quest. I am not you, so I cannot claim that any of these are true. However, I can see when a man has lost himself. It is something that we all experience when we must make a choice that we are not ready to be divided upon, and it is not something that is easy for anybody. Even myself."

Falcoon no longer focused on the battle that raged down below as siege machines began to volley boulders and flaming packages at the monsters, thousands of arrows piercing the air like rain as they fell down upon the intruders.

"There is no right or wrong in this place," he said coolly. "But we must choose sooner or later, because if we sit idle for all of our lives, then we simply let the actions of others dictate our lives for us. I do not know why you hold back, nor can I say that I truly care either. I said earlier that I would not stop you if you walked away, and I will stay true to my word. However, if you do not choose, then you will forever float between the two worlds and claim neither for yourself. You must be whole to follow what you want. That is the only advice I can give you."

Was this why Edge hesitated so much now? He had felt real, true pain in this world for the first time with the death of his son, and now he feared that perhaps this reality would only bring as much suffering to himself as the other one, if not more. He faltered only because he could no longer tell which world he wanted, which one would bring him less pain. But Yu-Lan was still out there somewhere, still waiting for him to come and save her. She was still alive- she had to be- believing in him. And the happiness of a human life was still out there as well, no matter how faintly the light shined. He just had to have a little faith... just a little...

"Then... why do you fight?" asked Edge. "What do you have here that is so special and worth dying for? If you can tell me that much, I’ll be satisfied."

Falcoon's mouth tipped up at the ends as he cracked a small, sad smile, and he turned back to watch as the men who believed in his dream died for it.

"My reasons..." he said. "I was born in an age of peace, when the empire did not yet exist in this place I call home. In my childhood, I was allowed one small glimpse of heaven before somebody took it all away. Just one glimpse, but I still remember it vividly, just like the warmth of the morning star. Before I die, I want to feel that warmth again, one last time. If I can have that, I will be happy."

And Edge nodded numbly. He had nothing left to say.

Without another word, he turned about and sprinted down the stairs, down the tower and past the people, never caring that the world turned into a mindless blur as he hurtled himself through the gates and rocketed towards the front lines. He was not strong, and he was not invincible. But he did believe in something, and he had to follow that to the bitter end to find what he was looking for...

He had to make a choice.

...

...

...

“*** Commander: Yoshime: Priority 1.”

"*** Syntax Error. Proceeding with correction."

"*** Priority 1: Deleted. Awaiting new commands."

...

...

...

A strange, serene chaos erupted throughout the camps as Edge dodged between cook pots and tents to reach the main battle. Families seemed to be relatively few in number in the scattered masses, but anybody who could pick up a weapon was bravely heading out towards the front ranks. A scant few fled towards the safety of the castle walls, but many of them were either too young or too old to fight. Almost everybody else picked up what they could to head out and fight the horrific creatures that stood in their way, and not one held a look of fear upon their face. For every man and woman who ran out to defend themselves and that which they held close, there was only determination in their eyes, and within that strong resolve was the distinct willingness to do whatever it took to protect that precious treasure that they embraced within their hearts.

"You seem to be feeling better now, don't you?"

Shizuru turned in mid-stride to find Mikaeru standing just a few feet away, and he skidded to a stop to address his companion.

"I've changed my mind," he said, panting for breath as he suddenly realized how quickly and how far he had run from the tops of the walls in the span of less than a minute. "I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier, I wasn't thinking about you, or the others, or even this entire war. I didn't have a right to take it all out on you and I shouldn't have said those things about this fight. I hope you can forgive me. I just want another chance to try to redeem myself."

Mikaeru simply nodded in response without pausing to consider the past.

"Don't worry, I don't blame you for acting the way you did," she said. "People sometimes do rash things when they're frustrated, and I'm not going to pin it on you for acting naturally. Besides, right now we have a much bigger problem on our hands. The windriders used to have much knowledge about the supernatural, and subsequently how to combat things like these Knolls, but most of that knowledge was lost when the clans were wiped out. At any rate, most of that was before my time anyways."

"Do they have any sort of weakness?" asked the young boy, looking out towards the creatures as one of them summoned forth entire forests of iron stakes with a fearsome bellow, impaling the advancing legions of humans like trophies adorned on the end of spears. "Those things are huge. I don't think I could knock one down if I tried, let alone a dozen. Our guys are just getting slaughtered out there though, there's got to be a better way around this!"

"There is, but it's just as difficult as killing a Knoll itself," said the windrider grimly. "Look closely behind the enemy's front ranks, I'm sure you'll see something very interesting."

Edge squinted his eyes against the harsh evening sun as he peered past the ocean of brambles and the flying showers of blood. Shadowy silhouettes moved in the distance, painted against the bright light of the ball of fire, and as he forced his vision to focus on their figures they began to take a solid, humanoid shape. Several of them were soldiers, dressed in the heavy plate armor that he had already seen several times before. However, several more donned intricate robes of purple slashed with stripes of red, long hoods hiding the faces of their gaunt bodies in the shadows. These mysterious men did not walk upon the ground either, but rather floated gently in the air with their legs crossed serenely beneath them, riding the gentle breeze forward as they put their hands together in a silent chant for murder.

"Black wizards," said Mikaeru in a hard voice. "Old legends say that their kind are actually not of the human race, but something far more ancient that existed long before man walked upon the earth. Like the windriders, they have devoted themselves to studying aspects of mystic arts, but their focus is far more directed towards black magic and the manipulation of demonspawn. Nobody knows where they came from and it is very, very rare to actually see one in person, but somehow Shin has managed to ally himself with their clan and thus wield the powers they harness for himself. The taming of the Knolls is but one of those powers, and it is the only thing that is keeping the monsters on their course to this castle."

"So if we get them, we can stop the Knolls," said Edge, twisting his wrists in anticipation.

But Mikaeru hesitated as she looked out towards the battle once again, watching as the monsters tore up the earth.

"I'd like to say yes, but I can't confirm that I'm completely positive that that'll happen," she said. "Nobody knows what Knolls are like in their natural habitat, so they may go completely berserk and continue killing our ranks even if we release the binds over their minds. It's the only shot we have though, because those things will just stick to their current agenda right now if we don't do something about it."

"I guess there's no choice but to do it," said the young boy. "Either way, breaking control will at least keep them from creating a concentrated offensive, and that'll have to be good enough for now. How many wizards do you see out there?"

"I've been able to count five so far, but don't underestimate them," she warned. "They may seem occupied enough at the moment, but they can do a lot more than just control those things. The spectrum of mystic arts is enormous, and nobody knows just how far their knowledge of it extends. I have no idea how much concentration they need to direct the Knolls, but I wouldn't doubt that they'd drop that to fight if they needed to."

Edge set his jaw as he looked out towards the battlefield. He was against a lot more than he had first anticipated with the odds heavily stacked against his favor. The Knolls were slowly spreading out in a living wall that massacred anybody who came close enough as they edged onwards towards their stone compound in the distance. With the ground rising up in waves as the majestic iron sculptures strangled anyone lucky enough to get past the giants' grip, it seemed nigh impossible that someone could break through their fortification to strike at the controllers of the assault, let alone disable their abilities. The first thing they would need to do to get to the black wizards was knock a hole in their numbers, and that alone might have been easier said than done.

"Can you help me crack their defense?" he asked Mikaeru quickly. "If it were just the creatures alone, I'm pretty sure that I could handle getting past them. Those vines are going to cause a problem though. They easily make up for whatever speed the Knolls lack."

"My power is limited to however long my endurance will last, but I can try," said the windrider with a stern nod. "You must remember that these things that we're facing are practically living tanks and they'll surely outlive me if it came to a test of endurance. However, I'll give it my best." She added a smile and a wink to the end of her words as she gave him a rough pat on the back. "It's all we can do, ne? I can promise you one thing, and that's that I'm not going to disappoint you."

Edge forced a smile in return as he gave her a thumbs up. Doing his best... he had to give it his all if he was serious about this world, these people, and his family. His dream. He had to risk everything if he wanted to get any of it back...

"Then I'll see you later," he said, launching off his left foot as he faced the behemoths head on. "I trust you more than enough to know that we'll get the job done in the end."

She simply nodded as she watched him head off, her entire body beginning to lightly grow with the power of the gathering breeze as she brought her arms back to prepare for her spell.

"Thanks, Shizuru," she said too softly for his departing figure to hear. "I knew you would."

...

...

...

Edge kept his breathing steady as he sprinted towards the front lines. He stopped only briefly to snatch up a pair of short, abandoned blades no longer than his forearms before he continued his advance towards the enormous creatures that bared his way. He was still not accustomed to this particular type of weapon, the short swords being far too wide for his liking. However, they might prove useful in holding off these particular enemies, especially since he was unsure as to how well his martial arts would effect such enormous creatures. A prick in their hide might not be much, but it could be to prove more of a distraction than his blows if the Knoll's muscular structure was as thick as they looked. He didn't have to knock them down, just keep them confused long enough for him to slip under their noses unharmed. But the closer he got the mammoth beasts, the more he began to doubt the validity of his so-called plan.

He was still about two hundred meters away from the first one when he ran past the last wave of rebels to head the front of the assault, most of them having seen enough to scare them back to poking at a distance rather than charging in for a frontal assault. The Knoll's shadow immediately engulfed his small figure as he stepped beneath the shade of the massive silhouette and into the pools of blood left by his comrades, and as he looked up at the thing's horrible glare he began to feel much smaller than he had been running so bravely into battle. The stench alone nearly forced him to the ground to retch out his stomach, but he coerced himself to hold it in as he continued his steady approach. No matter how big or strong this thing was, it was just another hurdle that he had to jump to make it to his goal. To their goal. If he really was going to fight in this war, then he needed to put in everything he had or else he'd be killed by his own carelessness. This Knoll was just another mountain that he had to climb. All he had to do was make it to the top.

Suddenly realizing that one of its opponents had grown a bit more daring than his compatriots, the Knoll opened its black maw wide enough to swallow several men whole and howled to the sky with a roar that shook the earth before crouching low towards the ground and shuffling forward on its enormous knuckles to meet the challenger. The wailing human head grafted on the side of its face tore through Edge's cranium as the unbearably loud sound reverberated through his skull like a jackhammer, but he refused to fall as he shut out the white noise and continued moving forward, brandishing the blades in his hands as he finally came within the giant's reach. He didn't expect it to be able to move so quickly as an enormous fist suddenly fell down in his direction, and he bounced to the side just in time as it smashed into the ground beside his feet, sending a shower of rock flying into the air from the impact. The earth felt as though it was going to fall apart as shockwaves rippled through the ground, but Edge kept himself upright as he trudged onward, and just as he thought that the tremors had ceased he suddenly caught sight of the other fist falling down on him from above.

"Ch-!" cursed Edge as he threw his body across the ground, the huge hand narrowly missing his legs just before it tore into the earth. He scrambled desperately across the dirt and leapt to his feet as quickly as he could. The Knoll was a lot swifter than he had first anticipated. Certainly not what he had expected from something that big. He was going to have to make up for that disadvantage if he wanted to break through, but he was already being pushed to his physical limits as it was...

The ground grew dark as intertwining shadows suddenly loomed overhead, and as Edge looked up from the trembling loam, his eyes widened in horror as iron vines curled up over him in a cylindrical dome, threatening to squeeze the life out of him as they dropped down to the earth with inhuman speed. His legs bolted forward as he desperately tried to escape the trap, but the tunnel that the twisted branches created was already contracting at their ends, set on ensnaring him within the metal cage. The young boy's arm reared forth in desperation as he flung one of his swords towards an opening, and just as the thorny limb was about the crash down, the blade caught vertically between it and the ground with a resounding ring, its solid length the only thing keeping the murderous growth from cutting off his escape. The alloy immediately began to crack under the pressure, but the short pause was all that he needed as he dashed and slid across the dirt to safety. As soon as he reached the outside, the sword shattered like glass and the iron whips smashed down relentlessly into the soil, but Edge was too preoccupied to notice as he quickly took aim towards the beast's face and hurtled his last blade in its direction. Blood exploded from the monster's largest eye as the shard of metal lodged itself in its face, and the scream of rage that echoed from the beast made Edge's skin stand on end as he tore his gaze away from the wounded animal and put the black wizards in his sights. They were no more than three hundred meters away from him now, and the only thing that stood between them was a few enemy soldiers and the scattered remnants of iron roses that fell from the unnatural creations of the harvesters. The only thing left to do was finish the job.

"Shizuru!!! Behind you!!!"

Mikaeru's voice ripped through his head as her frenzied warning whipped his body about by the words alone, and the sight he saw was nearly enough to loosen his bodily functions altogether. He had only been able to put a little distance between him in the Knoll after he injured it, but that didn't seem to matter much now. For as slow as it moved before, it now exhibited unbelievable speed as it bounded towards him in a blind rage, its remaining eyes bloodshot with vehement malice as they focused on him for the kill. A putrid crimson continued to spray all about its face from the open wound, but that barely seemed to matter anymore as it leapt nearly fifty feet into the air, droplets of the searing red liquid burning the ground as it descended from the sky with every intention to flatten its prey into a blood smear mixed into the earth.

Edge's neck nearly snapped as he suddenly found himself thrown back, and when he straightened himself again he realized that Mikaeru must have pushed him out of the way while he had been distracted by the monster's offensive. Grinding his boots into the ground just as the Knoll crashed face-first into the earth and the wind currents stopped carrying him away from the threat, he sprung forward again towards the giant monster as he twisted his body like a spring. If he couldn't escape this thing, he was going to have to fight it. There was no way that he was going to be able to take on the Knolls and the wizards at the same time, especially with the speed at which the monsters moved. One good blow would be all he needed. Just one.

Jumping off the creature's forearm as it tried to pick itself up from the ground, the young boy sprung upwards like a rocket as he began channeling every single bit of energy he could muster into a single blow. Just as he was reached the behemoth's grotesque face, he lashed out as hard as he could with a roundhouse kick directly to the creature's jaw, the force of the jarring strike causing the Knoll's head to snap back like a spring from the recoil. Grabbing the sword that he had lodged in its face earlier, Edge held on and planted his feet against the side of its putrid face preparing to leap out of the way. The acidic blood had eaten so far through the metal that only a small twist was required to wrench the blade free from its resting spot, and a good chunk remained embedded in the creature's face even as Edge leapt to safety and rolled free of his opponent's lengthy reach. The Knoll simply howled even louder as it grasped at its head in pain, and the young boy nodded in satisfaction as he threw the melting weapon aside and turned back towards his target. With this Knoll out of commission and the other ones busy with their offensive, there was nothing holding him back now. Even if they called back the other beasts to re-establish their defense, it would mean breaking the assault that they had so heavily fortified until now, and that might just give the other rebels a chance a break through as well. Either way, their enemy was now at a disadvantage, and that was all that matter---

The horrific wailing suddenly ceased and Edge circled about to find the bleeding monstrosity towering over him with a sick mockery of a grin pasted on its face, its bristling teeth shaking with glee.

"A feint---?!" he started, but never got the chance to finish as the Knoll's gigantic knuckle smashed into his side, sending him flying over the dusty ground with only a single punch. It took a couple bounces on the hard clay before the friction brought him to a stop, and by then Edge was hacking up blood, fiery pain erupting throughout his entire body. He had put everything he had into that kick and struck the enemy in a place that had shown particular sensitivity before, but perhaps it had been faking the truth of its injuries the entire time they had been fighting. How smart were these creatures? How much had they been leading them on? Maybe he had been going about his battle strategy in the wrong way from the second he set foot outside the castle walls. Maybe these things were capable of just as much strategy as he was. But none of that mattered much now, not if he couldn't get himself moving again...

Edge stumbled to his feet blindly and nearly toppled over again as he braced his hands on his knees for support, but the cacophonous moans of his opponent were already upon him, the ground trembling with the confident steps of the giant's feet. The soil broke apart as the venomous thorns wrapped themselves around his body and carried him high into the air, and as Edge watched the people on the earth grow smaller and smaller as he was carried high into the atmosphere, he felt the life being squeezed from his body by the relentless metal carving of beauty. Slowly, he felt the breath in his feeble frame grow faint as his once flaring vitality was choked into a faint whimper. Slowly, he felt his tight fists grow slack and his fierce struggles lose their vigor. Slowly, Edge began to feel himself die. And just as he realized how far down he fell with every passing second that the Knoll's grip carried him into the sky, something inside him broke loose and screamed like a wounded animal, clawing desperately to free itself from the trap it was caged in. He was not sure what he was anymore in this world that he could not remember and did not understand. He was a human being, and yet still a robotic entity that did not understand the workings of human consciousness. He was different from these people even though he fought at their side like one of their own. But as he flew up to the gates of heaven, he slowly saw that he was not invincible. And just like everyone else in the world, his dreams could be shattered as easily as glass, like a grain of sand being blown away by the winds of destiny...

...

...

...

"Edge... you've fought so hard."

I can't do this, I just can't do this anymore. I don't have what it takes to make it through this horrible nightmare.

"It's okay to rest, my friend."

Is it wrong to want to be happy? Do I expect too much by following my wishes?"

"Nothing that you have done is wrong, life is filled with as many failures as it is with success. You are not wrong to do what you did. Just rest for a while..."

I'm so tired of living. I'm so tired of pain.

"It's okay to sleep, we'll take care of things from here on..."

... but... I can't give up.

"We'll take care of things from here on..."

I need to be stronger... I need to be powerful...

"We'll take care of things from here on..."

I still have a little bit left, don't I? I still have something to fight for. As long as I have that much, I can get up again. I can get up again.

I have to get up again.

...

...

...

Blue light tore across the sky as the entire heavens lit up with an explosion that sent a hail of iron brambles tumbling towards the ground. Heads from both factions rose to look up at the spectacle that rose above their heads, and as the Knolls looked on in stunned confusion at the force that broke through their twisted creations, Edge rose up from the burnt metal like a dark angel from the depths of hell, his eyes glowing white with a blessing of holy retribution.

He fell from the clouds like a stone, watching as the earth came closer and closer to his face. Yet, he was not afraid, for the power that he held in his hands now felt warm and familiar. It was not the mystic energy that he had been able to wield before, though he could still feel traces of that force flowing through his body along with the newer skill. Or should he say older? He suddenly realized how natural it felt to fall through the atmosphere even though another man might have been terrified at the prospect. He suddenly realized that his hands felt as though that controlled the flows of the air itself, that he could control the ways in which he twisted and turned through the endless void. He felt strong and powerful. He felt like he could take on the world. And yet, for some reason it didn't feel like it had any meaning at all, as though the fulfilled wish was just an empty prayer without anyone to listen to its call.

And as he fell down to the ground and cushioned himself against the dust with a mere thought, the gravitational field about the socket of the Knoll's right arm violently ripped apart and shredded the limb from the creature's torso. This time, there was no doubt as to how genuine its scream of pain was.

"What's going on?" whispered Edge to himself as he watched the giant thrash about in agony. His own body glowed blue as stray bolts of electromagnetic force trailed about his frame, and even as the air shimmered before his very eyes he grasped hold of an invisible field of energy that only he could see, the young boy could only breathe in awe as he watched the world bend to his will. There was no longer any question as to the skill he now possessed. "Gravity," he said breathlessly. But why? Why had the terrible gift that he possessed on Akuji come back to him now? Why here? His mind raced for an answer, but a sudden crash brought him back to reality as he realized two of the other Knolls had turned in his direction, racing after him with howls of fury. The wizards might have underestimated him at first, but now they seemed quite attentive to the danger he posed. This could only mean bad things in the long run.

A small grunt escaped his lips as his legs nearly buckled out from under his body. If the mystic power had drained his energy at a faster rate before, then the gravity control threatened to nearly suck it dry. He might be able to fend off two more of the creatures if that was what it came to, but he would certainly be in trouble if it was any more than that. It was time to finish the job he came out to do before he wore himself out.

The ground exploded beneath him as he threw himself towards the wizards, and the behemoths bounded after him with zeal. His arm felt weak even as he extended it towards his foe, but he forced himself to do it anyways, a powerful shockwave rushing forth from his fingertips as a wall of gravitational force shot out to smash his foes. It stopped just short of the floating group of mages as a golden barrier of energy erected itself before their feeble bodies to block the attack, Shin's soldiers idly twitching as they stood behind the protective wall unsure of how to act. Edge winced as searing pang shot up his arm, desperately trying to keep his concentration so that he wouldn't lose his assault. Yet, as he grew weaker with every passing second, the Knolls behind him simply grew closer and closer, the smashing discord of their feet and fists against the ground growing louder as Edge was forced to stop about fifty yards away from his target so that he wouldn't waste energy flying. If it was going to come down to a test of strength, then he would surely loose. He was already pushed far beyond his reserves and facing more than one enemy at once was going to kill him. If he was going to win this battle, he wouldn't be able to rely on brute strength. He was going to have to think of something else.

"You must not know the consequences of resisting us," echoed a voice throughout his mind, and Edge's head instinctively whipped about to find who had spoken to him. "You're looking in the wrong direction, boy. We're right in front of you."

Edge looked straight forward towards the floating wizards as they easily held back his force blast, his vision blurring as he began to reach his limits.

"I don't care about your consequences," he grumbled aloud, wondering if they could even hear him above the roar of the clashing energies. "I'm with these people now, and I'll fight to the end with them as well."

"Shin can give you what you want, young Shizuru," whispered the airy voices through his cranium. "You don't want your precious wife to die, do you?"

Edge's head throbbed as he wondered why they knew his name, but he forced himself to concentrate hard. He was only going to get one chance at this, and screwing up would certainly mean that the Knolls would kill him before he broke the wizard's psychic control. Just one chance, but it he did it right then it would be all he needed.

"Walk away from all of this and perhaps we will return her to you. Perhaps when all of this is over, Shin will take pity on your plight. But do not resist us today, for you would be a fool to continue this absurd war of yours."

Return her to him? Wasn't that all he really wanted? Didn't he simply want to live with his wife- his family- in a normal human life? Didn't he just want to be happy...?

"Walk away, Shizuru. Walk away and pretend that none of this ever happened."

But when Edge opened his eyes again to the black wizards' gaze, the doubt had been wiped from his mind, and he knew that once he had made the choice to step forth so long ago, there was no way that he was ever going to be able to step back again. He couldn't return to the past. He could only move on into the future.

"You bastards killed my son," he breathed fiercely, standing up tall as he defied his enemy's will.

"And we will kill your wife as well if you do not comply."

"You're lying," said the young boy. "You'd do it anyways, even if I did listen to your demands. If you can kill someone's child in front of his eyes so heartlessly, without even caring about ransom or gain, why should I believe anything you say now? Why should I believe that she's not already dead?"

"As long as we have her, we hold a trump card against you," said the wizards vehemently. "Why do you fight us despite your weakness? Can you not understand that this battle is futile and that it will only result in the death of those you try to protect? By giving them a leader, you act only as the icon that will lead the unwitting cattle into the slaughterhouse. That is your only purpose! What is so grand about that? Why is that worth wasting your life for?"

"Then why are you so afraid of me?" asked the young boy curiously, a hint of sarcasm hanging on the end of his voice. "Why is it that important that I not fight?"

Silence was the only answer he got, and as the Knolls approached ever closer behind him, he knew that he would need to be quick before the beasts tore him in half.

"I want to believe in [justice]," said Edge without waiting for a response. "I don't know why you know who I am, but then perhaps you can send this message to your master before I finish you off. I'm not turning back, no matter what any of you say. And nothing's going to keep me from my dream this time. Nothing."

The wizards turned in surprise as a second wall of gravity came at them from the behind, the wall of force shredding the earth to pieces as it slammed against its target. However, another magical barrier stopped it in its tracks just as easily as the first one and the hooded figures almost seemed to laugh with amusement.

"We can do this all day, but your time is just about up," they said, one of them nodding towards Edge's rear as the monsters nearly descended upon his back. "Your skills are surely amazing, but you're wrong to think you would be able to trap us with such a simple snare---"

They were abruptly cut off as an invisible force suddenly shoved outwards from their compactly gathered circle, throwing them up against the very barriers that they were using to hold Edge's assault back. The young boy allowed himself a small smile as he begin to see the panic settle in his opponents' writhing movements, the wizards finally beginning to realize what he was really trying to accomplish.

"No,” he said as he finished the weave. “The only victory today will be mine!”

And the opposing pulls of gravity that he had created within the wizard's own space smashed them against their own walls of magic, distracting them just enough from the physical blow so that the protective barriers dispelled themselves upon impact. With the shields down, the gravitational fields proceeded in colliding with one another in a powerful flash of irresistible force, tearing the fallen bodies apart at a molecular level as pieces of flesh and bone sprayed up in a brilliant display carnage and butchery. Edge nearly fell to the ground from the sheer exhaustion of the attack, though relief flowed through his body like a cool shower of water. The wizards had certainly been at the advantage, but somehow he had managed to work quickly enough for them to be taken off guard. It probably had also helped that they did not seem very familiar with his powers. Yet, he himself did not have the ability to explain why the control of gravity had returned to his hand. Why did this vestige of Akuji continue to haunt him? Why couldn't he forget the life that he wished to leave behind? The thoughts tumbled through his head as he wobbled unsteadily to his feet, but he was too tired to think straight as it was. He needed to get some rest before he attempted to pursue the mystery any further, and for once he would be more than content to reside himself to the soft beds that humans seemed to enjoy so much here. The questions could wait for now, wait until after he cleaned himself from the entrails of war...

Edge stopped in his tracks as he watched the horrible sight unfold before him. With the wizards dead, he knew that their control over the Knolls would be broken along with the offensive against the stronghold that his enemy had intended to push through. However, not even Mikaeru had been sure as to how they would react once control over their senses was freed, and he now recoiled in horror as he observed the true nature of the carnal beasts.

Liberated from their mind control, the Knolls no longer held together their wave of attack, nor did they concentrate on advancing towards the castle walls. Instead, they now romped about in violent glee, stomping into the human camps with great gusto as they snatched up as many rebels as they could and stuffed them down their enormous throats, pausing only to grind the flesh and bone between their long teeth long enough so that they wouldn't choke on the bodies. Several of the soldiers tried to bravely hold them back with arrows and siege weapons, but only the heaviest of boulders seemed to cause the creatures any harm and ammo was scarce this far out in the wastelands. Soon, most of the rebels had began to retreat to the far side of the castle as they realized that they couldn't possibly combat the behemoths, and only a few brave stragglers remained behind for the lumbering giants to feast upon. At first, the Knolls had seemed content to gorge themselves on the plentiful morsels that surrounded them in their new environment, but now that only a few scattered soldiers remained, competition for the remaining bits became fierce and they seemed far more content bickering amongst one another rather than follow the fleeing masses around the stone barrier in their path. It started with only a single human being split between two of the monsters, but even that much was apparently far too much for them to bear. Horrible screams erupted from the maws of the beasts as they came to blows, and a few terrified rebels looked out from the foundation around the battlements as the two gigantic monster smashed down their fists upon each other again and again. The grisly crack of bone could be heard for miles as they literally began to rip one another's bodies apart, and the putrid smell of their acidic blood oozed from the bodies and stained the earth dark with sin. Yet, even as they beat the life from their massive forms, neither seemed to care much for the inevitable approach of death, the only thing that mattered being the greed and gluttony that had driven them to such violence in the first place. Similar fights soon broke out between the rest of the creatures, and as Edge looked on in horror the Knolls began to cudgel one another to death, painting a living picture of hell's atrocities across the broken battlefield.

He limped forward determinedly, unsure of what he might accomplish but knowing that there must be something that he could do to stop this horrible scene from unfolding before him. Abruptly, he realized that his body was no longer moving forward as he felt a light pressure on his shoulder, and when he turned his head back to look at who had stopped him, he found himself face to face with Falcoon, Mikaeru's gentle winds dying down behind him.

"Don't," said the man patiently, squeezing Edge's shoulder emphatically. "You did a good job. You don't need to do anymore now."

"They're... they're eating us alive," protested Edge, nearly out of breath from his previous. "We have to do something, we have to..."

But he trailed off as the rebel leader shook his head and looked out towards the bellowing monsters killing one another with a sad look on his face.

"They will be done soon," he said ruefully. "Once all this is over, I doubt that they'll be in any shape to be a threat to us again, if any of them are still alive. We can take care of this much, Shizuru. Just rest for now. You've done a lot for us already."

Why did everything he touched have to be bathed in blood? Why did he live in this world where death seemed to be the only answer to escape the violence that living creatures inflicted upon one another? Why was this the life that followed him no matter where he went? But he couldn't think like that, could he? Even Falcoon had said so. He couldn't hold back if he wanted to make his wishes come true. Surely, horrible things occurred in life, but there was more to his own mortality than simply that. He had to shape his own reality, his own place in the world. If he couldn't do that much, then maybe he had never been strong enough to live in the first place.

"I just have to keep moving forward," whispered Edge as felt the fatigue wash over his body, his eyelids falling shut even as the horrible screams faded away in the distance. He couldn't despair now. As long as he had hope, he could keep going on. As long as he had hope...

"I have to keep moving forward..."

It was all he had left.

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...

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End "Pursued"