Chapter 22

“Well, here we are, back in the city.”

Makuro and Koji exited the black portal into the same dead end street that they had left Behalan from two days previous. Koji was once again in his Order uniform, as he did not want anyone to think anything was out of the ordinary until he made his move.

Makuro craned her neck to look in between two houses up at the headquarters of the Order of the Unbroken Path. Her eyes narrowed, but whatever opinions she might have had, she kept them to herself.

“Thank you for showing me the truth, Makuro,” Koji said to her. “And for, well… everything.”

“Well, you don’t have to tell me all at once,” Makuro said, glancing up at the morning sun. “I hope you know what you’re doing here.”

“Me too,” Koji replied, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. “I guess this is goodbye.”

Makuro gave Koji a friendly wave. “Catch you later, Koji. Watch your back.”

Then she turned around on her heel smartly and left through the portal, which closed behind her leaving nothing but that same blank stretch of wall.

Koji exhaled, then drew in a deep breath.

”It’ll be fine. The High Lords will have to listen to me. And it’s not like I’m defenseless, I’ve got my Mu abilities. They’ll have to listen and see what they’re doing is wrong. They’ve got to…” He gritted his teeth. “And talking to myself isn’t going to get things done.”

Squaring his shoulders, Koji began the long walk up to the Order’s headquarters. While he went, he thought about what he would say to the High Lords in order for them to agree to stand down. He had been shown so much in the past two days, and he knew he could make a compelling case if he really tried. At least, he hoped he could. If things got violent, then he could use his powers, but even after finding out that the Order had basically lied to his face, he still did not want to hurt anybody if he could help it.

The streets of Behalan looked vastly different to Koji after having seen what the rest of the kingdom was like. He had heard the grievances of some of its citizens before, like the two old women at the well and Gregory, but having experienced first hand what the rest of Firosa was living like, Behalan now to Koji seemed backwards and obsolete. So much of people’s lives could be improved if they decided to embrace the arcane.

“Re-embrace,” Koji muttered to himself as he passed over a bridge. Behalan had once been just like the rest of Firosa. Now it was up to him to save the city from the Order’s regime. The irony was not lost on him that if he managed to pull this off, then he could be hailed as a real hero, not just a puppet one set up by the Order to garner sympathy and followers.

By the time he came to this conclusion, Koji had reached the base of the plateau upon which the Order had built its home base. As he got closer, the Order soldiers let him pass, though not without a few curious stares. Koji hoped that in his absence not too much had changed.

Koji made it to the meeting chamber of the High Lords. There were two new guardsmen standing sentinel here now, replacing the two who had died in the bombing at the Market District.

They let him in without any objections, opening the grand double doors for Koji who marched inside.

The High Lords were seated on their thrones as usual, and they watched as Koji came up to them, passing by the statues and stopping in front of the High Lords, just like he had done many times before.

“Ah, Koji. There you are,” High Lord Tristan said in a way of a greeting. “We have been looking for you for the past two days, but were unable to find you. Where have you been?”

“I was… exploring,” Koji replied. “Outside the city, actually.”

“Oh, is that so?” High Lord Eliana said, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly. “Did you see anything interesting?”

“As a matter of fact, I did,” Koji’s mood darkened as he remembered what Behalan had been like before the Order had come along. “I saw how the rest of the kingdom is getting along. Much better than here, actually.”

“You were not supposed to leave the city,” High Lord Sampson said in a low tone. “It is far too dangerous out there, with all the magic and magicians, not to mention the presence of the Magecroft Organization.”

“Yeah, about that,” Koji said with a voice that brooked no argument. “I met one of those so-called interlopers. She showed me the truth.”

“The truth?” High Lord Tristan raised an eyebrow. “What truth might that be?”

While the three High Lords retained a polite and cordial appearance, Koji could sense that the air was suddenly full of tension. He swallowed and forged on.

“The people outside of Behalan have a much better standard of living than the people in it,” Koji declared. “I met a member of the Magecroft Organization, and they showed me around the kingdom of Firosa. I saw people using magic to better their lives and help others! Your Order has just been keeping people down, and for what? Destiny? Do you even know what that means?”

“You mean our Order, boy,” High Lord Sampson growled. He made a fist and thumped it on his throne’s armrest.

“No, not anymore!” Koji shot back.

He reached up and tore the medal for bravery off his chest and threw it to the ground in front of the High Lords’ feet. It bounced once and clattered to a stop just inches away from High Lord Sampson’s boot.

“I want a straight answer from you! Why do you care so much about destiny that you’d make everyone in Behalan’s lives worse for it? Tell me, or I’m going to go out there and tell everyone the truth about what you’ve done.”

“Careful, boy,” High Lord Tristan said, all traces of joviality gone from his face. “Think very carefully about what you are saying you’ll do.”

“You say you met with a member of the Magecroft Organization,” High Lord Eliana spoke up. “By their nature, magicians are deceitful and liars. What you saw may have been an illusion. You can’t trust them.”

“Like how I can’t trust you?” Koji barked back. “I heard you three talking the other day, about how you just set me up to be a figurehead for the Order, so that people would follow you and listen to what you tell them to do! What about that? Huh? At least the Magecroft Organization actually helps make people’s lives better!”

“And how do you know that, boy?” High Lord Sampson replied, his tone stern like a teacher telling off a misbehaving student. “You were not here thirteen years ago, when we first brought order and peace to Behalan. You have not even been part of our struggle for a month; what right do you have to talk like this to us?”

“Struggle for what, exactly?” Koji pressed. “You keep saying stuff like ‘for destiny’s true path’, but not once did anyone tell me what the hell it means! I fought for you because I wanted to be a hero and make something of my life, but now I’d rather be a nobody than work for people like you!”

“Our watchword, ‘for destiny’s true path’, is more than just a motto. It means that we aim to let everyone play their part in the grand scheme of things without anything interfering with it. It means not letting the unnatural warp our fates,” High Lord Eliana said with a scowl. “Do you think that the Order has done nothing to help the people of Behalan after taking away their blasphemous magical crutches? We have built wells, set up thousands of lamps to light up the streets at night, revitalized the postal service. All this to improve the lives of each and every person in Behalan. How dare you say that we have made things worse?”

“The people of Behalan were getting along fine before the Order came into the picture,” Koji rebuffed. He glared at the three High Lords venomously. “If you weren’t so intent on banning magic, then they wouldn’t need these wells, lamps, and other bullshit you’ve put in their place. You used me, and you’re using the people of this city to further your own stupid ideals. Well, no more. Either you admit you were wrong, or I’m going to walk out of here and tell people the truth my way. You may have set me up as a fake hero, but to the people of Behalan, I’m the real deal. Let’s see what they have to say if the great hero of the Order comes out and admits everything was a lie!”

The last word of Koji’s declaration echoed around the chamber. The High Lords sat there in silence, staring at Koji who met their gaze, his chest heaving with anger and indignation.

Finally, High Lord Sampson spoke.

“You make very serious threats, boy. Are you ready to back them up? What of the soldiers who believe in the Order and count on us for peace? Would you simply shatter their faith in us and in destiny?”

“It would be better than living the lie that you’ve told them,” Koji said resolutely.

“I see,” High Lord Tristan said. He slowly stood up from his throne and clapped three times, the clash of metal sounding throughout the chamber as his armored hands clashed. “Then I suppose you leave us little choice. I applaud your brazen attempt to undermine us, but surely you didn’t think we would just sit here and let you ruin everything?”

Koji gathered the golden light of Mu around his hands, shaping it into the form of a sword. “I wasn’t asking your permission.”

“No, I thought not,” High Lord Tristan sighed.

Then he gestured with his right hand and stars suddenly exploded in Koji’s field of vision as he was struck on the back of his head by something hard.

Koji fell to the floor, utterly taken by surprise. Before he could gather himself for an attack, he felt someone grab his hands from behind, and the cold grip of shackles being placed on his wrists.

“Hey! Wh-What are you doing?” Koji struggled against his bonds, but to no avail. He twisted his head around to see two Order soldiers holding him back. Without freedom of movement in his hands, he couldn’t properly concentrate his Mu abilities.

But his legs were still free.

Channeling energy into his feet, Koji leapt upwards toward the high ceiling of the meeting chamber. One of the Order soldiers holding onto him was knocked onto the floor, while the other managed to hold on to Koji.

Koji reached the apex of his jump and began to fall, angling himself in a way that meant the Order guard on him would receive the brunt of the impact with a metallic crash of metal on stone. However, hitting the ground still shook Koji’s body, disorienting him for a second before he could try to get back on his feet.

High Lord Sampson sprang off his throne with a clang, his armor rattling as he strode over to Koji and laid him out with a single punch of his gauntleted hand. He straightened up over the fallen boy and towered over him as the two soldiers tied him down even further.

“You should not have made enemies with us, boy,” He said to Koji’s stunned form. “The Order now holds Behalan, and sooner or later, the rest of Firosa will follow. Now you will pay the price for your own foolish short-sightedness. For destiny’s true path.”

And the others chorused, “For destiny’s true path.”