Song of Heaven

1

Our next few days in Yunha village went by relatively quickly. Despite what I deducted about the ‘treasured gemstone’s’ location, the three of us still spent two extra days searching the village. It amounted to nothing, but that only strengthened our resolve in my theory. That and we actually got to know some of the locals.

We ate dinner once at Kazha’s place and met his family. They were nice. And as an expert in watching movies and tv, I managed to give Kazha a few pointers in how to make his performance a bit more dramatic. Gave it a bit more pizazz, so to speak.

Me and Jennifer trained with the Yunha guardsmen in the Everdark forest with Misha. That was quite the terrifying experience, but it gave us some time to sharpen our skills, if not our senses. Turns out, Jennifer’s sun magic didn’t actually pierce the Everdark like the lanterns despite having a similar color.

We also met the Ieyana and Hia families who were in charge of the farm. We learned that a river passed through the Everdark like normal, so water was never an issue, and plants actually received their dose of sunlight from the sun lanterns and other magical implements. It was no wonder they did not want to waste their resources by keeping the lanterns on the road to Yorutei at all times. As for the animals? They kept some in the village, but they also had a small farm on the northern side of the Everdark as it was significantly closer in distance. Seeing those snow mountains and flatlands really got me thinking.

Allen taught some of the villagers and Hakan some pop songs from earth, which they liked, but when they tried to sing them back, some words came out weird. Modern earth words and names were either translated literally or substituted with a local equivalent. As for me, I taught some of the guardsmen, as well as children of the village, to play a version of chess. I changed the names of the pieces and substituted trinkets for them, but the rules were the same. I just thought they could use something fun to pass their time in this place.

Funny enough, that was how we briefly met the village chief. She was a pretty chill woman despite not having the most favorable opinion of the Protectorate Guild as of late. Jennifer tried to use her ability to… well, make shit up and trick the chief into confirming my theory, but… no dice.

The villagers were nice, welcoming people and it would really suck to take their treasure for them, but our lives and their world was on the line.

As for guildmaster Yin, he left the village on the fourth day. Negotiations were still on-going with Meifan taking the helm, but according to rumors on the grapevine, Yin hadn’t given up on searching for the treasure himself. He had his lackeys scouring parts of the Everdark with sun lanterns he had fashioned over in Yorutei. It wasn’t as if making the devices were impossible. As for his real goal? The guild was filled with rumors from shady dealings with the mayor of Yorutei, to rebellion against the Keslahir branch, to pure unbridled hate for the Everdark fiends. Maybe all of them at once. Meifan on the other hand swears the guildmaster was doing it to protect the village of Yunha, and I was more keen on believing that. Because at the end of the day, fate decide that me, Jennifer and Allen were the bad guys in this story out to destroy the village’s sacred treasure.

The only thing I hoped for was they keep their attention elsewhere on the last day of the festival. Fat chance that was happening though. If my theory about the gemstone was right, then we’ll take it during the ritual performance. If I was wrong, then I was counting on the guildmaster to actually find it elsewhere. And then… I guess we’d have to fight him for it. Hopefully it didn’t come to that.

On the evening before the final day, Jennifer and I laid separately on our bed, chatting here and there, wondering if we’ll get any actual rest before our mission. As I watched my time limit tick at the corner of my eye, I eventually drifted into sleep, into a pleasant dream I desperately needed.

I was back on earth among friends and family. There was food on the table and laughter all around me. Karaoke was playing on a distant monitor, but when the mic passed to my hand and I stood up to sing, I was transported to a fantastical land. The mic was a sword, and I was defending the woman I would come to love. It was the day I met Recesa, naïve and reckless as she was back then. She could barely use magic, but her family had gifted her some priceless gemstones. Together we stood up against the world. “A ring? Is this a proposal?” Recesa laughed. My face burned hotly. “It has a special metal inside,” I said, hiding my emotions. “It resonates with my armor so we can always find each other if need be.” Recesa almost put the ring on her finger, but she fashioned it into a necklace instead. “You make me sound like I always get lost, but you’re the one with the terrible sense of direction! But okay. Someday we need to make this into a pair.” How I missed those days. How I wished I could go back to them.

When I woke up Jennifer was nudging me with lantern light to my face. I blinked and remembered who I was and what I needed to do. All that was left was for the Song of Heaven festival to reach its climax.

2

“It wasn’t we who betrayed the empire… it was the empire who betrayed the people of Yunha!”

A deluge of emotions hit the audience like a wave of irony and catharsis. The crowd jumped and cheered in their silence. Every single person who watched around the stage, even those teetering on the edges, was stunned by Kazha’s delivery.

A man wearing a bright red kimono and sporting six feathered wings floated above the stage. It was the herald who sang the song of ascension four nights past.

“Believe what you must. The Emperor… the King of all Lusia condemns you for this theft. It was his last wish to see your kind brought to justice!”

The weight of disdain swept across the audience. Silence bubbled, waiting to burst, held only by the elegant motions of the herald as he spun in the air and descended to level with the last King of Yunha. Or as the herald called him, a common man.

“This will be your final warning! Your only chance! Hand over the treasure you stole, and perhaps in my eternal compassion I shall leave you be and carry the King’s wish unfulfilled!”

“To give this treasure to you is to hand over my soul! You shall never have it!”

And then, with perfect timing, the violinists at the edge of the stage plucked their strings. The low beat of percussion followed, and then the humming of flutes.

Kazha sang his heart to the heavens, all while the medallion on his chest blazed with a beautiful golden color, filling the air with magic. The village was never to be left dark, but during that last performance, the only light came from the gemstone on stage and the lanterns that floated about.

Every single night, a different singer performed, but one by one they reappeared for this final act, walking up to the stage from the audience below.

Once the music hit a startling crescendo, all eight singers were present. They wore beautiful white kimonos accented by eight different colors. Their voices echoed in harmony, often challenged by the herald with a deep, rumbling cry.

“This shall be the day we gain our freedom! This shall be the day we run no more! This shall be the day!”

The singers on stage fought their mock battle, pushing the herald higher and higher into the sky.

“This shall be the day I destroy you! This shall be the day you reap what you sowed! This shall be the day!”

Eight medallions were raised to the sky. Eight singers sang in unison. The stage was filled with gleaming lights, four gold and four silver.

The magic the performers were allowed to use was limited to this spectacle of light, unable to summon any true power, but even then, magic permeated the air like gravity, pulling everyone in awe.

Allen hummed in tune with the singers.

He may not have anything significant to contribute to this mission. He wasn’t as smart as Jennifer, or as reliable as Ryota. But he was a soldier. He did not hate that his family pushed him to be one. He did not hate that they had expectations of him. He hated that he was clumsy. He hated that he couldn’t follow through.

But not without trying.

“You shall not ascend! Remain in the ground defeated and helpless. The curse of the Lusian King be thrown upon you!”

The stage was suddenly surrounded by floating lanterns, gathered mostly around the herald. The winged man raised his arms as if to summon the curse and one by one the lanterns ran out of light, bathing him as well as the stage in shadow.

The drums rose to its peak and the strings plucked in hurried haste.

This world had given Allen a taste of what it was like to be strong. It was an opportunity unlike any other. A fantasy only possible in another world. But tonight, he did not hold his axe, fought beasts, or protected the weak. Tonight, he stood next to the stage, among many who lent their voices to the performance, and sang.

Allen was closest to the gemstones. He watched the singers carefully as they danced away from the herald’s oncoming assault. They huddled close to each other on the western edge of the stage, crouching, and slowly dimming their medallions’ light.

The lanterns were mostly gone now, leaving but three around the singers. But they, too, blinked until only the medallions’ light was left.

The singers’ voice dimmed as low as their gemstones’ glow. They held them up together in their hands, joining forces to push for one last shimmer of gold and silver against the herald’s curse.

And then darkness.

The Everdark enveloped everything.

Tears of silence washed across the audience. Even Allen felt the hopelessness the people had against the herald of Lusia.

But now came the legend of modern Yunha.

People needed hope and stories changed. Whatever happened next was open to interpretation, but one thing remained true.

Yunha endured.

Slowly, the medallions, now connected into a single device, shone brightly with the brilliance of the sun. Its color was similar to any white lantern used to fight the cursed forest, if not slightly brighter, and now Kazha held that power by his lonesome as the herald in the sky screamed in agony.

The winged singer writhe in pain, spinning until his crimson robes vanished into the background.

Kazha stood triumphant holding the sun in his hand.

The audience watched with bated breath as the symbol of Yunha, their first king, remained on stage with the power to rebuild his kingdom.

Of course, to most people, the gemstones on stage was nothing more than a prop. It was nothing special, after all, just eight magic stones that had a unique gleam to them.

But whether it had any real power or relevance did not matter. A treasure was a thing people cherished, something they deemed important or dear.

The mission was about stealing the village’s treasure—the gift that gave them hope—and Allen was staring straight at it.

Suddenly, a bright light exploded from the upper right corner of the stage.

For the first time since the performance started, the audience cried in a unified gasp. There was no music, only surprise.

A woman, dressed in a bright red kimono similar to the herald, stood on the second floor of the stage. She did not have wings, but she stood poised in pure elegance and beauty. On her face was a white mask decorated with various trinkets and tiny gemstones.

Kazha, oblivious to this turn of events, reacted perfectly. He was stunned. Confused, but still in character.

“King of Yunha,” the woman shouted. “The heavens have seen your defiance! We have seen your courage! It is for this reason I have come!”

“Who are you?” Kazha shouted in turn. “What do you intend to do?”

“I am the herald Esecha…” the woman responded. “And I have come to grant you your ascension!”

Allen slowly reached inside his cloak. He held two things in his hands: a mask in his left, and one of Jennifer’s bracers embedded with a sun stone in his right.

3

Jen, currently masquerading as the herald Esecha, stood a top the stage of the recreation block. She surveyed the crowd, and everyone was fully captured by the show.

The festival was performed every year, but the songs and performances varied depending on who was leading it. Not a single soul in the audience knew the part they were playing wasn’t planned.

Kazha held the combined gemstones in his hand, still raised towards her. Ryota had predicted it correctly.

“I need to see your map,” Ryota said brusquely, several days ago. It was when they first convened at the top of the tower that went past the Everdark canopies. He impatiently rummaged through Jen’s bag and took out the book. “Here it is, look.”

“What am I looking at?” Jen asked, slightly annoyed.

“The asterisk map?” Allen said.

“Exactly, Allen.” Ryota grinned. “Did you know that each of the eight ‘noble’ families were originally situated on each block of the village?”

“What about it?” Jen said.

“Look at the map! The village was shaped using magic, be it by combining several castles or whatever the builder deemed appropriate. That part didn’t actually matter. However it was done, it ultimately resulted into this shape—this asterisk! Each family held a gemstone separated into different blocks, but they unified into one at the middle. It’s either the true gemstone is hidden in the plaza or…”

“…it combines into one,” Jen finished.

Ryota paced around, arms crossed, with one index finger tapping. “Now, we don’t actually know if the original treasure was one gemstone split into eight or if it was eight originally but considered as one treasure. History is weird like that.”

Interesting. Jen had spoken with villagers about previous performances of the ritual, and many times in the past the gemstones were simply shown as they were. But there were also times they were held together. “But they’re nothing special,” Jen argued. “I could borrow the medallion right now if I wanted. Well, Kazha would let me inspect his at the very least.”

“True,” Ryota said. “But recall our mission objective. Steal the village’s treasured gemstone and let people know. I’ve always wondered about this… I kept going back to my first mission. I initially assumed I needed to kill the Mage Queen of the enemy empire, but my mission specifically stated I needed to stop her from destroying the bridge. I don’t know if the Queen is still alive, but I chose to not kill her. I merely stopped her means of succeeding.”

“And you got MVP last time,” Allen said.

Ryota scratched his head. “I think that had more to do with my unfair time limit.”

“So we’re back to what we planned initially,” Jen said. “Take the gemstone on stage while the performance is happening and destroy it. Only difference is we have eight gemstones to contend with.”

“I’ll talk to Kazha,” Ryota said. “They might have planned to separate the gemstones during the performance… but I’ll convince him how amazing it would be if he held them all together. Maybe around supper tonight… But there’s one thing I want to change.”

“The masks, right?” Jen sighed. “I just thought it wasn’t necessary to have our identities be part of the theft or destruction of the gemstones. I thought it would help us escape if we ditched the masks after the theft, then act as if we weren’t even there.”

That was how Jen’s parents did most of their acts of larceny. There weren’t any ski masks in Yorutei or Shusui, but any kind would work, really.

“Oh, the masks are great,” Ryota said. “It’s the best part. If people recognized us while we stormed the stage, they’d immediately know something is up. But I haven’t even considered our escape yet, so you have something there.”

“So what was it you wanted to change?” Allen asked.

Ryota grinned as if to hold us in suspense. Jen resisted the urge to punch him in the face and kiss him. In that order.

“Remember how the mission objective was three—no, four separate things? Steal and let the people know, destroy, and escape. I don’t know why this is exactly, but… this gives us options.”

Jen blinked when she saw Kazha looked around himself on the stage. They were counting on it, but the man really kept in character, not wanting to ruin the magic for the people in the audience.

Is it time yet? Ryota should’ve triggered our signal, but… was he fast enough to get back in position?

Jen scanned the crowd and saw some of the village guardsmen walking closer to the stage. Dammit. Where was—

There.

At the corner of her eye, she saw a single lantern float near the connecting bridge exit.

“What do you say, brave King?” Jen shouted, careful in making sure she matched the other performer’s song-like style. “All I require is the treasure in your hand! Are you willing to part with that you hold dear in order to save your people?”

“Save my people?” Kazha responded. “We’re done with the empire! To the shadows with your ascension! We will save ourselves!”

Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

“As expected of one who endures…” Jen raised her right hand, revealing a crossbow. They modified it slightly with fancy decorations to make it seem less threatening. “…but you leave me no choice!”

Jen pointed the crossbow to Kazha’s side, fired, and at the same time several lanterns around the stage flashed an intense light.

“Watch out, my King!”

The distraction Ryota caused worked a bit too intensely, blinding most of the audience and Jen herself for more than half a second.

When she came to, a newcomer had come on stage, a man masked much like Jen herself. He had pushed Kazha out of the arrow’s path and protected him as the singer lay on his back. In Kazha’s stead, the newcomer raised the treasure of Yunha. It glowed whiter than it did before. “You will not take any more from us, herald!” the newcomer turned to face Kazha and offered his other hand. “Your majesty, by your command we, the people of Yunha, will fight by your side!”

Those words got a rise from the crowd. Allen’s delivery was perfect. They needed to make the audience think this newcomer was a villager and part of the show.

Kazha took Allen’s hand, but he was clearly surprised that someone other than a member of the eight families was using magic on stage. Allen may be a Warrior, but something as simple as making a gemstone glow was easy for him. And they just happened to have the perfect substitute.

But now it was time to put on the real twist to the story. The reaction to this would make or break their escape.

“If you truly mean to leave your cursed fate…” Jen aimed the crossbow directly at what Allen was holding—her sun stone bracer glowing fantastically. It was important to her, but that was a fake story anyway, right? “Then do so without relying on the treasure that caused this strife in the first place!”

Jen pulled the trigger… and shattered Yunha’s treasure in front of the crowd.

Ryota flashed the lanterns a second time.

Following the surprise of the audience… the entire stage and all of the recreation block went completely dark.

4

We really did it… I couldn’t believe that worked out flawlessly! The icing on the cake was Kazha following Jennifer’s lead without missing a beat.

I held my breath, worried that any sound I made would give me away.

I slowly walked back towards the exit and removed my mask. Not that anybody saw it, but I wasn’t supposed to be sneaking around. If anybody asked, I was watching from the audience with my lovely fiancée.

All that was left was for Allen to leave the stage during the blackout with the real gemstones in hand. Had the performers decide to not hold the gemstones in one place, we would’ve gone with plan B which involved a more… chaotic approach.

“Options? What options?”

Jennifer and Allen stared at me with curious eyes that day on the tower.

“The mission needs us to steal the gemstone and let people know about it,” I started to explain, “but those two don’t need to happen at the same time. Same goes for destroying it. As long as we fulfilled these objectives, we win. Of course, there’s the possibility that we won’t pass the mission perfectly… but at least we’ll complete it. Like you two did last mission.”

“It would suck to not get the reward again,” Jennifer said, “but our lives are at stake here. I know what’s more important.”

“I agree,” Allen echoed.

I nodded.

“In that case, here’s what I propose. We steal the gemstones publicly as planned. We swiftly make our exit back to Yorutei and, to really hone in we stole Yunha’s treasure, we tell the people there what we took and destroy it in front of them! The mission never said where we do it, right? So, let’s do it in a place more familiar to us. That way we can really plan how we escape.”

“We technically have a few more days after the festival,” Allen said as if realizing it. “Maybe that’s why we have two months!”

“That makes sense… I like this plan,” Jennifer said. “I’m in.”

Feeling myself get hyped for this heist we’re about to pull, I thrusted my fist forward with a giant smile on my face. Jennifer and Allen thrusted theirs and we formed a three-way fist bump.

“We have a lot of time to make this work,” I said. “Let’s plan this carefully… and if all else fails, guildmaster Yin is looking for the treasure too. Plan Z would be to sabotage whatever he got going.”

Murmurs echoed across the recreation block when the crowd started to realize the lanterns weren’t turning back on. Maybe the people on stage would light some? Or perhaps the guardsmen?

I stood next to the connecting bridge, waiting for Jennifer and Allen. As soon as they get to me, we should—

Hurried footsteps echoed from behind me. Many of them. Little by little, light poured into the recreation block, but it wasn’t from any lanterns floating in the area or the magic gemstones embedded on the ceiling and walls.

It was from the hallway behind me.

Was it more guardsmen? Who the hell would come late for the performa—

Guildmaster Yin’s face appeared, looking very angry and very impatient. He walked past me with a group of guild members I barely recognized, while lanterns floated above them providing light.

I noticed Meifan trailing behind the group looking worried, but I resisted the urge to call out to her. Jennifer and Allen would be here any moment now and I didn’t want to be involved in whatever was about to happen.

Where the hell were those two?

My heartbeat got louder and louder as lanterns and light fixtures came alive around the recreation block. My eyes searched the stage. Jennifer wasn’t there… I moved closer to see and Allen wasn’t there either. Kazha looked panicked though, and a couple of the other singers had gotten up on stage too. I think they’ve wizened up on the fact that the gemstones were actually shattered… and it wasn’t even theirs.

Where the hell were—

“Enough with this farce!” The guildmaster yelled, his voice reverberating across the entire block. “Time is running out! I must save this village!”

Oh, shit. The old man snapped.

“Guildmaster Yin!” a voice shouted from the crowd. People parted and an old woman wearing a tight-fitting white kimono and blue coat walked forward with her cane. It took me a moment to realize it was the village chief. “What is the meaning of this? How dare you come in here and—”

“This will be the last chance I ask, Uri. Hand over Yunha’s spirit core or I will be forced to resort to drastic measures!”

“So, this is how the Protectorate truly operates, eh?” The village chief spat on the ground before her. “Our talks are finished. Yorutei and the guild can keep their promises. We will not be part of your schemes.”

“You’re making a grave mistake, Uri. My only wish is to see the Everdark cleansed once and for all.”

The village chief cackled a dry laugh. “How ironic!” She turned to the people around her. “Do you hear this man, people of the village? Does it not remind you of the same words the heralds promised our ancestors?” She tapped her cane loudly, then pointed an accusatory finger at the guildmaster. “Shadows take you, Yin! I would’ve let the open road policy you and mayor Himena have worked years to forge with the Shusui government. If not for the flow of goods it will bring our village, then for the friendship we once had. But now you come clamoring for our village’s treasure like a mad man! We’ve seen this story before, and we refuse!”

“Chief!” somebody shouted from the stage. It was Kazha. “Chief, the—the gemstones!”

“What is it now?” the village chief turned to face the stage, but to everyone’s surprise, guildmaster Yin pointed his hand towards the sun lantern floating on the far eastern side of the block... and destroyed it with a shot of lightning.

The people in the crowd screamed and crouched in unison. Some covered their heads or turned around to shield their loved ones. Others tried to get away from the guildsmen.

“S-Sir! What are you doing?” Meifan pleaded with the guildmaster, but the old man was quick to push her aside. Yin raised his other hand and shot two other sun lanterns, the one in the far western side and the one close to me near the exit. The lanterns weren’t even turned on.

Yin had targeted all of the sun gemstones present in the block. There were regular lanterns still floating about, as well as gemstones affixed on the walls and ceiling, but… there was clearly a goal here and I didn’t like it.

“Last chance, Uri!” the guildmaster yelled. “Don’t make me do this! Hand over the spirit core! It’s the only way to save you!”

“Shadows take you, Yin!” the village chief screamed, then threw her cane at the man. “Guards of Yunha! Warriors of Yorutei, if you have any heart to keep this village safe! Seize that lunatic!”

Guildmaster Yin gathered power in his hands, it sparked with electricity and cackled with crimson flames. When he raised his hand, he didn’t point it towards any lantern, or the chief, or anyone else in the block. Instead, he pointed it towards the ceiling.

And then—

Red lightning.

The sound and blinding flash of light reminded me of my time back at the Great Bridge of Joren.

The sudden burst of magic was so strong, it blasted a hole through the ceiling, completely disintegrating stone and whatever else it was made of. The Everdark loomed like black water about to spill. It was held back by whatever magic protected the village, but the ceiling was, by every definition, open.

“If you won’t hand over the spirit core, then I’d have the fiends find it for me!” Yin shouted. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but I had my men lead the creatures outside this sorry place you call home!”

It didn’t take long for two creatures to make their way into the hole. The first was a spider-like fiend, the other a long-necked beast with massive fangs.

“We both know the creatures are made by the Everdark to seek and destroy Yunha’s spirit core!” Yin shouted. “You’ve really made it difficult for me, Uri, but if this is what it takes to save this place… then we shall dance!”

That’s when the screaming got louder, and the people rushed to exit the room.