I Guess There Are More Secrets

 Welpen fell to the ground in frustration, failing again to win against Ryoko or Saikou in swordsmanship. He struggled with the heavy weight from the added sulner and extra materials, and didn’t know what to do. He sat on the floor upset as the days continued to pass by.

Tairen: “Do not focus so much on the sword as compared to the opponent’s movement. Watch the way his body moves and adjust to that. Going all out at the beginning and rushing in will do you no good.”

Welpen: “You make it sound easier than it is. Besides, I don’t want to kill anyone. What did anyone do to me?”

Rynjuro: “We are not saying to go and kill everyone you see, but remember, if someone were to come after you or someone special to you, could you live with seeing them get hurt or die because you weren’t able to save them? Can you see beyond the present and into the future? Can you see the death of your comrades?”

Welpen thought about it.

He certainly did not want Clara or Ryoko or Astro or Saikou or Isara or anyone else he loved to die. He couldn’t picture them dying, only their happy smiles on their faces, yet he didn’t want to see those smiles fade. His mind started to question things…things that he hadn’t thought of before.

Clara came outside at this moment and hugged him again knowing that he was trying so hard at training. He sort of smiled, but couldn’t stop thinking about what Rynjuro said. He wanted to apologize for leaving again, but before he could, Clara stopped what she was doing.

Clara: “What is that? Does anyone else feel that?”

Tairen: “Feel what?”

Rynjuro: “What do you mean?”

Clara: “Ren! Azelth! Where are you both?!”

Azelth: “Right here young mistress. What is the problem?

Ren: “Why are you yelling Clara? You’re interrupting these boys' training.”

Clara: Do you not sense that?”

Ren: “Sense what?”

Clara: “It’s slight. It’s not like concealing mana…This is–Different. I can barely sense it with my sword, but it’s there. It’s not mana and it’s not cryen. This is someone that shouldn’t be here. What is this?”

Ren: “You’re not making sense. Where is this?”

Clara: “It should be passed the outside walls on the other side in less than 2 minutes. Everybody, follow me.”

As they jogged over to the other side, Welpen did not say a word. Ryoko looked at him worried and unsure of what to tell him. He didn’t know what he was thinking, but tried to find the right words. Saikou ran next to him, putting his hand on his shoulder like before and nodding his head at him. It was his way of being positive.

Azelth seemed completely unworried in the eyes of Clara, but she didn’t question him yet. They got to the wall just in time to see a dark figure wearing a straw hat and a small grey goatee. A black Cuirass, leather red straps, and a dark blue haori. 2 samurai swords, dark glowing red sheaths, and his head that was tilted down with not a care in the world.

Clara: “Ren, come with me. This is not something normal. God may have sent this down to us.”

Ren: “Alright. I think I know what this is though. I mean, I don’t know, but I’ve heard rumors. They have been spreading more lately of a person that looked exactly like this. It’s been scaring kids and parents, but nobody has done anything about it because it isn’t causing any harm to anyone. I’ve been busy at my office and the shrines, so I don’t know if anyone has tried to battle it.”

Clara: “Let’s go and check it out…”

Ren: “What do you think? He’s paying us no mind at all and just keeps walking. Should I try to stand in front of him?”

Clara: “Be my guest. Just don’t die in the process.”

Ren: “If only I could die. I’ve perfected life and studied it for years. Trust me when I say this…No matter what he does, I will not die. I can heal myself.”

Clara: “Everybody dies. This life is only temporary. No matter what we do, immortality is still only a short lifeline until death takes us.”

Ren stepped in front of the slow moving swordsman and smirked. As he approached, the swordsman pushed him with little resistance forward, continually steadily and at the exact same pace. Then, it felt as if time froze for Ren. He was stranded in his own space unable to breathe or move before everything resumed to normal and he was behind the swordsman, coughing and trying to get air into his body.

“The hell were you doing?” Clara asked as she laughed. “Wh-What just happened?” Ren asked.

Clara: “You got pushed back and then stumbled forward behind it. You stood there for a good 5 seconds before you started to cough.”

Ren: “I-I did?”

Clara: “What do you mean? You don’t remember what just happened?”

Ren: “N-No. No I don’t. This kind of pisses me off more than when Arata just uses me for healing. I’m not a huge fighter anyways, so I’m glad at least that I didn’t have to do that.”

Clara: “Hold on, let me see.”

Clara stepped in front of the swordsman to recall the exact same thing that had happened to Ren. Ren explained what it looked like on his end, aligning with what Clara had described before. They both stood there as he walked in slow motion, examining what he was doing.

Clara: “It’s not causing any harm, but I can’t let this just wander around. It obviously is a danger to something. Ren, stand back.”

Clara pulled a sword out of her brown pouch on the side of her hip. A handle made of dragon flesh that extended to the sides that angled down, looking like demon horns. Strips of goblin flesh that wrapped around her wrist, acting like white tape that allowed her to keep hold of it easier. A gold, pearl ingrained blade that shifted into a silver color the more the blade extended. No holes for chaplets, just a pure sword that shimmered, but at the tip of the sword, a dark black color engulfed it. Clara stepped in front of the swordsman, grabbed 5 Smile Chaplets, a Rose Chaplet, and an Accompany’s Escort Chaplet. She threw them all on the ground at once and pointed her sword at it.

Clara: “Void’s Disturbance.”

The chaplets took effect, creating a large barrier to ensure that nothing would pierce Moonshadow Village. Accompany’s Escort grew 5x in size while it shot out spikes at the swordsman, which had no effect as it continued to move forward. The jelly-like consistency threw itself at the man, but did not affect his speed either. Void’s Disturbance created a large black hole behind it, which began to suck in the land at a rapid pace. The pathway began to disappear with all the rocks and grass being pulled in. Layers started to diminish that sunk them further and further into the ground, but the swordsman did not sway and continued on his path. Clara was shocked that the void did not even move him slightly, but her secondary goal was to sink him into the ground to see what he would do.

They waited as he got to the broken edge underneath the ground where Clara’s ability had sucked up a large portion of the ground. Mounds of dirt formed stairways for the thing as he climbed up the stairs back to the surface and continued on his path. Clara headed back to Moonshadow Village and confronted Azelth immediately.

Clara: “You knew about this, didn’t you? You know what that thing is after. Tell me. I’ll make this part of our deal.”

Azelth: “I do not know what you are talking about.”

Clara: “I can add something to our deal, but you’re going to tell me what that thing is after. Is it associated with God? Did God send that down here?”

Azelth: “Miss Clara, I will repeat myself. I truly do not know anything about it.”

Clara: “Then go look at your scriptures. You can certainly find out right now. What’s stopping you?”

Azelth paused for a moment, but snapped his fingers and agreed to check the scriptures. They headed off back to the room from before, pulled down a paper, and checked for who this thing was and what he was after. The paper came up empty and the pen would not write.

Clara: “Wh-What happened? Why isn’t it writing?”

Azelth: “This means that there is no future. This has happened before with people. People that wander this world that gave up on themselves and their lives have no future, so the scriptures do not write.”

Clara: “That doesn’t make any sense. Everybody has a future no matter if you give up on yourself. It’s only till death that the future is uncertain.”

Ezra wanted to say something but refrained. It was not her place to speak just because of her own belief. Welpen still sat down on a bench with eyes that peered down, not paying attention to the conversation. Lingering thoughts of Rynjuro’s comment still stuck in his head. He pictured his loved ones dying over and over, unable to get the thoughts out of his mind.

Azelth: “Keep in mind, Clara. This is only the knowledge that we have from past ancestors. It is right in our minds down to a T, however we only know what it tells us. We believe in its knowledge, so we have no right to question it. If you want, then I assure you, you can go to the Infinite Library yourself and ask the question.”

Clara: “Tch! I can’t.”

Tairen: “You can’t?”

Clara: “I can’t. I went as a kid with my father. He forced me to ask for wealth and fortune while I almost died trying to get there. It didn’t matter, he died in the last portion when his mind failed the test. The whole crew that went with us died just getting us there. That’s how devoted they were to a useless man who couldn’t hold his own. I ended up getting what I wanted anyways there.”

Rynjuro: “Everyone here has already ventured to the Infinite Library. There is nobody else that can do it. I’m sorry, but you will have to find someone else to do it.”

Ren: “Clara, let’s focus for a second…Ezra, you’re a ruler of a realm. Can you sense anything from this thing?”

Ezra: “No. Without my main body, it’s hard for me to do much fighting on these grounds or anything having to do with mana. I’m very strong, I’ll admit that for myself, but it only goes so far. Even so, if I had my main body I still don’t think I would be able to sense anything from that thing. Plus, my original goal here was to help Welpen, not all of you. I will stay true to that with his needs first, then I can focus on the plan against God. If that entity is not causing harm, then we can focus on that after everything is said and done. However, I will say this. That thing has come close to Welpen and Astro before when they were venturing, and something similar happened to them, but I will not explain any further.”

Ren: “I agree with that. Clara, any objections?”

Clara: “No. That’s fine with me. Although, I want to keep an eye on that thing. I stuck a Rose Chaplet on the back of it. I can see where it’s going at all times. You’re right Ezra, forgive my arrogance. Let’s get your body back first. Welpen, Ryoko, and Saikou will stay here. Ren, come with us as a support. Any objection to heading out now?”

They both shook their heads.

In doing so, Clara took out a Yellow Egress Chaplet and chanted “Deceased Paradise” out loud to specifically the outer border, leaving everyone there while she dealt with this matter first. Azelth walked away with Tairen and Rynjuro, ending the training for the day with the Welpen and his friends. Welpen still sat there looking at the ground, unsure of what to think or do before finally getting up and yelling, “Let’s go! Train with me Ryoko…Saikou. Let’s push ourselves to the limit!”

As everyone headed out, Rynjuro and Tairen followed in the footsteps of Azelth who ascended to the higher levels of the church at the top where the belltower seemingly overlooked the land and more importantly, the dark figure that continued to walk at its pace.

Tairen: “Not that I care, but why did we all lie to them?”

Rynjuro: “I was just following all of your leads. What’s the deal, Azelth?”

Azelth: “I do not want any careless intervention. That being cannot be stopped no matter how hard anyone tries. I rigged the scriptures so it would come up blank on purpose. The girl has a goal in mind. Any disturbance would interrupt her plan. If she can defeat God, then she might be able to defeat what will come of her adopted son. The scriptures foresee not long until it reaches the Dark Mold. However, it simply stopped writing, meaning–”

Tairen: “Ah, I see.”

Rynjuro: “So it really will happen. Well, we are only here to seek knowledge and help those in need.”

Azelth: “Indeed. Let’s continue on our path brothers and the world will shape itself the way that it wants.”