Virren Awakens

None of the Silver Kami spoke as Lily led everyone toward the coffin.

Nor did the kami move.

They only watched.

But since none seemed to pose a threat, her attention remained locked on the figure inside the glass.

A beautiful man appeared to be sleeping. Dark tattoos spread up from his throat, each one of a stretching leaf. The nature-theme continued via the coat he wore, which was made from black feathers, with blue and pink for collar and cuffs.

And when his eyes opened, a brilliant blue stopped Lily in her tracks.

Welcome to the shadow of Darkmoor, Lily. And you, Gabriel. And finally, Sasha, earnest Olana.

His voice was rich and soothing.

Virren straightened his coat as he stepped free – passing through the glass – to pause before them with a welcoming smile. “To answer your earlier question, yes. I am aware of your desire to save this doomed planet.”

“Then will you help us?”

“I may.”

“You may? What would convince you?”

He chuckled. “What indeed.”

Lily frowned at the man. For a being that the Twins had described as ‘god-spawn’, the sense of Virren’s power remained well-hidden. As though he was holding back.

She couldn’t discern any direct threat from him. Why? He didn’t even give off the sense of unease common to the Silver Kami… but there was obviously something about Virren that she would have to remain wary of.

Only a fool would trust the one who’d turned his back upon humanity.

“Are you actually Virren?” It was a simple question, but for some reason, she had to hear him identify himself.

“I am.”

“And you can direct us to the Ringwood.”

“Yes. While the journey would be long for humans and mutants alike, I know the path.”

“And the Silversong? Can we find it there? Will it be enough to save the earth?”

He sighed. “So many questions. But yes, you can. And I do not know for certain. It is possible.”

She couldn’t even feel elation or relief at having their hopes confirmed. Virren’s reticence spoiled what should have been a triumphant moment. “Then please help us.”

“Hmmm.”

[You had your kami bring us here. You must want something from us,] Gabriel said. [What do you ask in exchange for your help?]

“Assuredly, I do want something from you.”

But the man didn’t elaborate. Instead, he simply regarded them with a friendly expression. On the surface, at least.

But Virren remained impossible to read.

Sasha folded her arms. “What do you want?”

“I want to show you something and then I will pose some questions. If I care for the answers you give, I may help you. I may even abandon my plans to bathe these lands in disinfectant.”

Lily frowned. Exactly what was he suggesting? “That sounds threatening.”

“It is.”

And now, a hint of steel entered Virren’s gaze. He was no longer smiling. Anger was clear. But he didn’t seem poised to strike. Or even as though he would shout and rail, for that matter.

His blue eyes simply burned with ice.

Lily found herself taking a step back.

But she didn’t leave.

Not after coming so far. Not after Yellow’s sacrifice. Not when so many people were still depending on her. I can do this, she told herself. I have to! “You can’t keep us in the dark. What are you going to do if our answers aren’t the ones you seek?”

“You should be well-ware,” he replied. “You call them death-marked hearts, yes?”

“What?”

“Once they finish their work, the earth will be free from plague. Then, the natural world, from the largest animal to the tiniest flower, and even the most mischievous kami, all will be safe to start anew.”

A chill crept over Lily. Plague? If the plague he referred to wasn’t the death-marks, and he’d singled out nature, animals and kami as surviving… then that only left humans. And mutants. Which meant Virren hadn’t changed.

He thinks we’re the plague, she realised.

Gabriel was glaring at Virren. [That makes no sense. If you’re behind the death-marks, you’re killing everything. Not just us.]

“Am I?” He gestured to Lily’s belt. “Tell me, what of the golden sludge you ‘discovered’ recently?”

[It seemed to drain the poison from the death-marks. Why?]

“True, as far as you have surmised. But it will do so much more. Once the world is cleansed by my nettles, in time, elixir like that which your sister carries will bubble up from the earth. There, it will envelope the thistles and afterward, renew all that it touches. From this balm a fertile, beautiful new world will be born.”

“Without us,” Lily said, a sinking feeling overtaking her.

“Of course. What manner of caretaker would I be if I let vermin remain behind to spoil everything I had just cleaned? No. This will be my final gift.” He waved for them to approach. “Now come, I have something to show you and then you have a choice to make.”

“Wait!” Lily snapped. “You’re telling us you will murder every survivor. Why should we trust you?”

Sasha was nodding along beside her.

Virren ran a hand through his dark hair. “And what was survived?”

“People,” Lily replied. “Despite everything, we have banded together to live.”

“I see. And have any scraps of history survived? Your books, when they were plentiful, contained accounts of a First and Second Collapse, didn’t they?”

“You mean Cornucopia.”

“Not only. But yes, they were chief among the vandals,” he said. “And your governments and self-styled leaders were awfully quick to suckle at the teat of such glittering promises. Promises of boundless progress. Of course, it was not to be – and now look at what remains.” He frowned. “You cannot be trusted.”

“But those aren’t our sins,” Sasha cried.

“Inherit the earth, inherit the sin, my dear,” Virren replied. He glanced to the row of Silver Kami and nodded.

Before Lily could move or even speak, she found herself on the limestone circle again. Gabriel and Sasha were beside her, both appearing just as surprised – for the circle was rising at significant speed.

She had to drop into a crouch but the platform was stable.

When it stopped at the surface, she rose to follow Virren, who was already half a dozen paces away.

“Where are you taking us?” she asked.

“To the lake.”

Once they stood at the water’s edge, Virren folded his arms. He stared across the water for a long moment, before glancing at Lily. “Witness the last hope of your grubby, bitter people.”

The lake began to churn and bubble.

Something enormous waited beneath… and Virren was dragging it up toward the light. Lily reached for her kami, almost a reflex, but that was a futile gesture. Instead, her fingers quickly found the hilt of her knife, as pitiful as the weapon would be, compared to whatever was rising.

White and grey panels slipped free – and kept rising.

And rising.

On and on, until something the size of Haven’s citadel was free, water streaming from its sides.

But the object wasn’t done revealing itself.

More panels rose, wider, longer, and sometimes with strips of soft pink or gleaming windows. The thing was so gigantic that it soon blocked the very sun, casting deep shadows. And the more that rose from the lake, the more it began to bear some resemblance to the church in the abandoned village, with its stacked rectangles…

A ship!

It boasted some sleekness to its design, but it wasn’t some long-lost racing vehicle. No. The colossal size lent it the bearing of a floating fortress instead. Like a battleship, she thought, barely able to close her jaw.

Water continued to crash into the lake’s surface as she stared, stunned into silence.

Virren gestured. “You now gaze upon the Lionsheart.”