Chapter 77 - Fading Notes of a Farewell Song

Skyle howled until his throat was scraped raw. It was only a dim echo of the deafening scream tearing his soul apart.

Deep inside, Skyle knew something precious had broken.

No, he had torn it apart with his own hands.

The pain was simply too raw and too strong to hide from. It did not grow numb as every other pain did, and instead grew more insistent in its agonizing embrace. The lines of fire scorching his insides burned everything they touched into a charred mess. The smoking remains of his flesh and soul moaned feebly, but never grew numb or died. They only hurt with ever more pressing insistence.

The sword of night had melted away as soon as Ria was gone, almost as though it had never existed at all. Only the silver disk shining amidst the puddle of scarlet blood with an ethereal light lay as a silent witness to the tragedy that had unfolded.

“Ria..” Skyle whispered, broken and hollow as he stretched his hand towards the disk.

As soon as his skin brushed against the metal surface, he heard a soft, humming song coming from it. It was a simple, joyful tune that tore at him in his misery with all the lamenting sorrow of an autumn rain. Each note told a story, and sparked within his memory scenes of days filled with the careless, reckless love only foolish, innocent youth could find.

From within each of these moments, words slowly came into being. It began as a whisper, but they swiftly coalesced into the words of a letter, her final farewell.

My Sky, if you’re hearing this final song, it means our time has finally come. How to convey the full measure of my sorrow and longing for you, dear Sky? I may be gone from your life, but know that until the final moment, I treasured each and every second we spent together in our little sanctuary. If I were given the choice, I would do it all over again, not changing a single thing. If anything, I would only wish that we had one more day, a minute, a second, to share and to love each other the way only we could. Don’t cry for me, Sky. I knew this moment would come from the moment I heard you call out to me, back when we first met. I hesitated then, only because I knew the dreadful price our love would demand from you. Myself, I’m only a mere wisp of the goddess’ will left behind. My purpose fulfilled, I return to the source, and bear with me the precious warmth of our time together. Sky, you must not let go. Remember who you are, and why I loved you so. Within your veins dwells a power that runs both deep and dark. Any other soul, and it would be hopelessly swept away in its dark tide. Any other soul, but yours. Sky, you hold the key within you to unlock this power, and seal away its dark taint. May you fulfill your destiny, and walk down this lonely road with all the warmth my memory can give you. Remember, you are never alone. Wherever you are, I am there with you - always. So long as you don’t let go of my hand, I will always answer your call. Just close your eyes, think of me, and call my name in your heart. There, tucked in the silence between one moment and the next, I will answer. Listen closely, and you will hear the laughter in my voice, the longing of my heart, and all the love I leave for you in all the wonders, great and small, where I lie asleep and dream of us, and the day when we shall one day meet again. Until then, know that I love you, now and always. Your Ria

Skyle wept then. He wept like a child, desolate and alone upon a strange land. He wept like the sky that has lost its moon and stars, like the ocean without its waves. He lay still and broken, crying his heart out until he could not remember the day or the season, or even who he was.

He only knew that he had lost her, and no amount of tears would bring her back.

“So, you have finally done it,” said a cold voice from nearby.

Skyle slowly raised his tear-filled eyes and met the naked hatred filling the eyes of the Guardian of Sanctuary. Feeling as though it reflected only a mere fraction of the self-loathing Skyle himself bore, he shook his head mutely.

“I told you, didn’t I? That you would come to regret your decision. Are you satisfied now, mortal? You have slain the hope of Sanctuary, the light of the world,” The Guardian cried bitterly.

He did. Skyle had never known regret the way he now did. He lay drowning in the darkest pits of regret. If only.. If only..

“Ria, you must know a way to save her,” Skyle murmured, sudden, desperate hope flaring in his chest.

His plea was only met with a cold mix of pity and disgust. “You speak with all the ignorance only mortals could have. Do you even realize what you have done? The doom you have wrought upon us all? Sanctuary itself trembles, for the darkness is nigh.”

“I don’t care about your damn Sanctuary. I only want Ria back,” Skyle snarled, fury engulfing his heart in flames so hot their heat startled him out of his grief, if only for a brief instant.

“Ah, now the beast bares its fangs. Yes, I can see what you will soon become. This is only the beginning, and the end is still a long ways off.”

“Take your riddles and be gone, wretched immortal. Where was your wisdom and your power when Ria needed you most?” Skyle spat.

Grief flooded the Guardian’s eyes at this. She opened her mouth, but was unable to utter a word. She let out a slow, heavy sigh as the fury slowly drained out of her expression.

“Even Gods must pay a price for interfering with the decrees of fate. In her blood is this price finally met, and I’m here to fulfill my part. Take your wretched inheritance, and begone from these lands.”

The Guardian pointed towards the silver disk, and light flared from it as the song faded away, then was gone. Instead, the vague silhouette of a bow and a book could be glimpsed upon the surface of the disk.

Skyle scrambled back as though he had been burned.

“No! I refuse, I will not-” He cried.

“Your choice has long been made for you, mortal. Regardless of our respective wishes, these are the dark trophies of your legacy. Take them, and leave me in my grief.”

“Ria, I refuse to forget her. I will not take your accursed gifts. I’d rather burn in my pain for all of eternity. I will not fail her again,” Skyle sobbed, his hands clawing at the soil beneath him. “Not again. I will never let go of her.”

“Heed me mortal. Whether you take these final gifts left for you or not, in mere moments you will return whence you came, your memory gradually scoured clean by your own cursed gift. Dark is the road ahead of you, and cold is the shadow lingering in your wake. I know not what she saw in you for all these years, but I do understand her final promise to you - far better than you yourself do. I hold you in nothing but the utmost contempt, but for her sake I once again urge you, take her gifts and be gone, that one day you may perhaps fulfill your promise and see her again.”

Skyle stopped at this, desperate hope flaring in his eyes at her words. He did not trust her, but at this moment he did not care. He would have believed the devil himself - anything at all to fill the void in his heart.

“Ria, I can see her again?” Skyle’s voice was faint and tremulous, just like the hope that slowly dared to raise its head within the depths of his heart.

The Guardian dipped her head for just a fraction, but it was enough.

“Then I accept. I will show you the miracles mortals can achieve through their foolish courage and their undying hope,” Skyle said as he stood upon shaking feet, roughly wiping away the tears on his cheeks with the back of his bloody hands.

“Even gods must pay a price to defy the decrees of fate. What can a puny mortal do except submit to the woes of destiny and crawl ignominiously, then die upon their wretched lot in life?” The Guardian sneered in contempt.

“No, I am different. I will arise. I will embrace my cursed blood and embrace its foul taint, that I may wield the power to see my promise fulfilled!”

“May you live long enough to do so, Skyle Arrow. May you prove me wrong, and may you fulfill my mistress’ dying will. Now, begone, you foul wretch!”

The Guardian lifted her hand up then, pointing it toward Skyle. A radiance blossomed within her grasp, then flew toward Skyle in order to banish him from Sanctuary once more.

It bounced. The power of the Guardian reached within arm’s length of Skyle, but then hit a barrier of thick shadow and promptly crumpled into shimmering dust.

The Guardian gaped for a long time, a look of absolute disbelief plastered on her face as she stared at the thick curtains of shadow bellowing out from Skyle.

“I am done being your puppet, immortal,” Skyle said quietly, looking down at the fists he held clenched tightly at his sides.

Slowly lifting his gaze to meet the Guardian’s astonished eyes, Skyle’s expression was one of cold determination as he gave voice to the snarling beast he had awakened within his heart.

“I am your plaything no more. Never again, will I yield to the whims of fate. From this moment forward, I am my own man. May the world howl and the heavens weep, for I shall not care. I will find Ria, one way or another. One day, we will be together again.”

The Guardian lifted both hands this time, summoning her power in a great globe of light. She flung it toward Skyle with a mighty cry, and the air warped as the orb of power sizzled its way forward.

Skyle did not even lift his hands, for the shadows had become a sea of darkness shrouding his figure within its depths. The shimmering ball made from the Guardian’s condensed will struck the shadows with terrifying momentum, yet the results were shockingly mundane. There was no explosion of energy or blinding flash of light. No energies were released, nor any power visible to the eye. Instead, the shadows opened their maw and swallowed the Guardian’s power whole. One moment, it was a great orb of divine power corruscading with godly will; the next, it was a mere shadow swiftly being consumed by a growing tempest of darkness, its edges growing thick tendrils of inky black tentacles which seemed possessed of a primordial instinct to devour all in its path.

“This.. cannot be..” The Guardian staggered back, her face growing pale and her lips trembling as she stared with wide, terrified eyes.

This emotion - fear - which Skyle had not believed the immortal would be capable of, it set off something inside his chest which exploded into a dark lust wholly unfamiliar to the little boy. He wanted to use his newly awakened power to shove back against this arrogant immortal. He wanted to press upon her with all the uncontainable might he could feel coursing through his every last vein and muscle. He wanted to break her under his power, and to sneer coldly at the shattered remains of her divine pride.

What color would the blood of a goddess be as he tore the still-beating heart from her body, he wondered with an unfamiliar, yet near irresistible hunger in his eyes.

The Guardian raised one hand to the skies with a loud cry, and a shimmering sphere of light condensed from the air around her. Its surface was glowing brightly with innumerable runes of power. They were each exceedingly complex, hopelessly beyond any mortal’s capacity to comprehend, let alone wield. Alone, they would have brought any practitioner of the magical arts to his knees. Woven together like tiny scales forming a glowing layer of living, breathing skin, they would have driven most mortal minds mad with their sheer complexity and splendor.

Skyle did not care. He hardly spared the magical barrier a look before lifting his open hand toward the Guardian.

Only one tendril of darkness shot out at first, a mighty dragon which roared as it smashed itself into the immortal’s protective ward. The barrier flared brightly with its protective might, and the dark dragon was instantly banished by the golden light.

Skyle’s expression did not shift at all, however, while the Goddess’ face paled even further, and sweat began to bead her forehead.

“Mortal, wait,” She called out hoarsely.

Skyle sneered in response. He was done listening to others. He was done waiting. From now on, he would take. Strength was the only true redeemer, the one constant in life.

He was strong now, and he would only grow stronger still.

Skyle clenched the fingers of his upheld hand into a fist with a furious roar. It was instantly answered by dozens of shadow dragons as they burst out from the surface of the sea of darkness churning all around Skyle. They were each as thick around as an adult bear, and struck with all the fierceness of an enraged tiger as they exploded into the Guardian’s magical barrier.

One after another, they crashed and burned into thick clouds of smoke while the barrier flickered with increasing dullness, groaning under the relentless assault. Step by step, the Guardian was driven back, until the final dragon tore through the flickering remains of the magical ward with a triumphant, malevolent howl.

The Guardian lifted her hands up before her to shield her face as doom soared through the air to devour her whole.

“Mistress, save me!” The Guardian cried, naked fear tearing down the last remaining shreds of divine dignity left.

A shimmering glow erupted around the final dragon. It was almost shaped like the fingers of a hand as they took hold of the snake of darkness and with an almost fond tap, send it scurrying back towards Skyle’s side.

Skyle rocked back in his steps as he stared at the hand. He could have recognized those fingers anywhere.

“Ria? Is that you?” Skyle cried out hoarsely, hope sparking to painful life within the crumbled, smoking ruins of his life.

“Ria is no more, Skyle. She gave her life as a sacrifice in order to protect your soul when your powers awakened, and though her essence has once more returned to the source, she is no longer as you once knew her,” came a serene, though sad ethereal voice.

“Then she always knew she would die for me?” Skyle asked, the jagged pieces of his heart cutting fresh wounds in his flesh.

“Yes. Do not grieve for her, for it was her own choice - as much for her love for you, as it was for the sake of the world she was born to protect.”

“I don’t care about the world. I just want Ria back,” Skyle snarled.

“Such sentiment is unworthy of you, and of Ria’s memory. Is abusing the power which Ria has granted you within this domain the extent of your love and devotion towards she who sacrificed her all for you? For hundreds of years, she watched over your soul and nurtured it, that you may one day live up to her hopes for you. She gave her everything for your sake. It is now in your hands to fulfill your promise to her.”

Skyle bowed his head as he remembered his promise. How easy it had seemed to promise the world to Ria when he had her in his arms. Now that he was left alone and lost in a bleak, colorless world, he wished nothing but to burn everything to cinders if only to warm the desolate husk of his ruined soul.

Yet, that was not what he had promised.

“Love binds us, Skyle. It creates gossamer chains that we ourselves fight to preserve, even until our last breath is gone.”

He had not understood her words back then, but now that these chains fashioned from his own enduring love for Ria had taken shape around him, he understood her meaning all too well. His love demanded that he swallow his madness, that he curb his hunger, and rein in his wrath.

He must strive to never let go of that simple boy whom Ria had loved so deeply, and sacrificed everything for. Only then, would he be able to close his eyes and listen for her voice, hidden within the timeless eternity between one breath and the next.

“There is hope yet, Skyle. Don’t give in to despair. Ria lies dormant, her life poured out before you and her essence spent. However, you carry within you the shard of memory which comprises her core. You should understand what this means.”

Skyle blinked the tears from his eyes as his breathing sped up. He was only now beginning to understand Ria’s words to him.

“No matter where you go, no matter who you are, I will always be there with you - forever.”

These were no mere empty words. It had been a promise - her promise.

“Will I see you again?” Skyle had asked.

“So long as you hold even the smallest sliver of my memory within your heart, you will..”

Her memory lived on inside of him. She was still alive!

“Sky, no matter how long the road, how dark the night, how lonely the hearth, hold on to my hands and don’t ever let go. One day, you will return. You will come back to me, and I will be there waiting for you. This is our promise, from now until the end of time.”

Ria..

Skyle would call, and she would answer. He would hold his arms open, and she would return to his embrace.

They would be together once again.

Within the obscure depths of the ocean of darkness that was Skyle’s soul, a single dazzling flame came to life.

It was hope, and so long as that fire burned, his love would never die.

“Wait for me, Ria.”

Darkness howled and flung itself at this tiny spark of flame, trying to smother it under its cloying weight. Still, the flame burned, brilliant and pure within a sea of corruption and despair.

It burned brightly; it burned warmly; it burned fiercely until the darkness could only recoil, for this fire, it was too strong.

“I will never let go, Ria.”

“One day, when I am strong enough, I will return for Ria,” Skyle said softly.

“We will be waiting for that day.”

Skyle found the words surprising, but he did not speak further. Instead, he clutched the silver disk within his grasp and whispered the words he felt in his heart.

“Take me home, Ria. I will be back soon.”

The words of his previous promise inevitably echoed within his mind.

“I promise, Ria. I won’t let go. I will return.”

The fading notes of a faraway song whispered the words of Ria’s reply right next to his heart as Sanctuary faded from his eyes.

“And I promise, Sky. I will be waiting.”