Who Remains

“Good, Ignacio!” Koharu said as he tossed a ball of blue-light from his hand.

It burst against a tree trunk, blue sparks flying. Thin smoke curled from the burn mark it left.

Not bad, Ignacio thought. Not amazing, but not bad.

He smiled, turning to her with a grin. “I’m getting better,” he said, glancing sideways at Kiyomi as she turned a page in her tome. “I’m sure I’d learn even faster if I could borrow someone else’s powers to practice.”

She lowered the tome, raising an eyebrow. “Thank whatever you need to thank that Koharu is here, otherwise we wouldn’t even know you have powers.”

“Oh never mind,” Koharu said, placing her hands behind her back. “Maybe we can go look for something for you to fight?”

He stared up at the tree he’d hit. Bright yellow birds circled the top, letting out long springing sounds that made his ears ring. The other in the forest line had the same tiger-like stripes, the same grey colouration.

“Am I ready?” he asked, folding his arms.

“I’d say so,” she said, leaning towards him. “If you need help again-”

He shot her a sideway glance. “I won’t.”

She gave a tight lipped smile, her robe billowing as she shrugged. “Then let’s go,” she said, turning to Kiyomi. “You coming, Ki?”

Kiyomi sighed. “No, take Beltran.”

“He’s not going to want to join us,” Koharu said, throwing her arms up.

Kiyomi planted her face against the tome. “Fine,” she said, standing from beneath her tree and stretching. Her tome dissolved from her hand in a trail of red smoke.

“But we’re not going to find some random Ether beast,” Ignacio said, folding his arms. “If I want to help take on Cypher Corp I need practice against other Cypher users.”

Koharu nodded, folding her arms. “You can try that, but it’ll be risky.”

“The nearest city to here is Miraveth,” Kiyomi said, her dress side to side as she walked up to them. “It’s about a half-hour journey that way. So we can travel there, take a break from the Ethergeist, and then come back to find a challenger.”

Ignacio placed his hands behind his head. “There’s cities here?”

Koharu reached inside her robe, pulling out her pocket watch. “There are many cities all over the Ethergeist, but to find someone to fight you, we’d need to go to a major city like Miraveth,” she said, frowning at her watch. “We’ve only been here for ten minutes, Ki. We don’t have to take a break.”

“It’s safer to take a break,” Kiyomi said.

Ignacio nodded. It was better to start from minute zero if he wanted to fight. Anything could go wrong and delay them in this world.

His fists clenched. But this world we can still take on.

Koharu’s eyes flickered to his hands. “What’s the matter?”

He glanced at his hands, blue light swaying from them like single-tongued flames.

They lost their glow, returning to normal as he cleared his throat. “We don’t have time,” he said, looking up at her. “If we need to be at Miraveth, then let’s go.”

Kiyomi raised her eyebrows at Koharu. “You heard him. Let’s go.”

“Shouldn’t we wait for Beltran?” Koharu said, rubbing the side of her arm. “I don’t think leaving without telling him where we are is a good idea.”

Kiyomi shook her head. “Nope, he wants to go see his Remnants, that’s his pleasure. I really want to see Ignacio get beaten up by some big, strong Cypher user.”

Koharu shrugged. “I guess so.”

Ignacio folded his arms. He had never really spoken to Beltran. If he was part of Genesys, it was a good idea to change that.

“No,” Ignacio said, “let's go see him.”

Kiyomi raised an eyebrow. “And you’re the one calling the shots now, are you?”

“I'm working on it,” Ignacio said.

“Well, I agree with him,” Koharu said.

Kiyomi glanced between them, sighing. “Fine. Let's go find him.”

She produced her flying carpet with a swing of her hand, laying it flat on the grass.

“If we want to arrive at Miraveth before we need a break from the Ethergeist, we should get a move on,” she said.

Ignacio sat on the carpet knees first. “I agree.”

“And, Ace,” Kiyomi said. “Don’t hold onto me while we fly. I don’t want you taking my Aspect again.”

***

Ignacio pushed the branch aside, peering at Beltran between the leaves.

The man sat with his back to him, talking to a creature shifting like the shadows cast by a candle. It had white hair that flowed and faded like mist, a deep purple scarf hanging around its neck.

Koharu placed a hand on his shoulder. “Just be gentle. You'll scare the Remnant away.”

“What are Remnants? Are they like Fears?” Ignacio asked.

The Remnant crouched in front of Beltran, placing a hand on his shoulder as he spoke to it. Its face had the shapes of a nose, brow ridge and ears. But they were empty. No eyes, no mouth. None of the features that made something distinctly human.

Koharu paused, tucking her hair behind her ear. “No, they’re not like Fears. They’re the mind’s way of dealing with loss. With grief.”

Ignacio tilted his head as the shadowy figure sat beside Beltran, leaning its head on his shoulder. Its hair and scarf fluctuated like a flag in the wind. Except there was no wind, not even a breeze.

“So, he comes here…”

Koharu nodded, then frowned. “I’m not sure. You’ll need to ask him.”

Ignacio’s eyes moved past Beltran and the Remnant to the ruined pyramid beyond them. It was made up of faded gold bricks, large vines and moss entangling and patching it, plants sprouting from cracks in the stone.

“What’s the pyramid for?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Koharu said. “He normally comes to this place when we’re near this side of the Ethergeist.”

Ignacio tilted his head as he watched the two, sitting in total silence, staring at the ruined pyramid. Was a shadow enough for him?

It has to be better than not having anything left of her, he thought.

“Who is she?”

Koharu shrugged. “I didn’t want to intrude by asking.”

Ignacio tightened his lips. Probably wasn’t the best idea to ask, but it couldn’t hurt to know.

Sometimes that’s what people need.

Just to be asked, heard, and understood. But as he watched them, Beltran putting an arm around her shoulders, the answer became obvious.

Koharu leaned her head forward, cupping a hand around her mouth. “Beltran,” she whispered.

Beltran spun around, a pair of dark wings sprouting from his back as he produced a large black rifle, a set of cogs on the side clicking into place as the barrel pointed at Koharu.

The shadow-woman turned around, her scream echoing as she vanished into a dark vapor.

“Oh, well done, Koharu,” Kiyomi said, dress rippling as she walked out the tree line.

Koharu stood up, cursing under her breath. “Sorry, Bel,” she said, hands on her head.

He sighed, lowering the clockwork rifle. “What the hell do you want?”

“We just wanted to make sure you’re okay,” Kiyomi said, placing her gloved hands on her hips. “We’re going to a city to train absorbing-boy over there. You want to join us?”

Beltran glanced at Ignacio, his eyes narrowed and bloodshot. He wore a dark top hat, his curly hair reaching his jaw line, a thin beard framing his mouth and chin.

“Good luck,” he said. “I need to be alone right now, I’ll catch up later.”

Kiyomi glared at Koharu. “Then we’ll give you some space, Bel.”

She raised her hand, the carpet forming and unfurling on the grass beside Beltran as he stood up.

Ignacio walked over, Koharu behind him. She placed a hand on Beltran’s shoulder, the other over her chest.

“I’m sorry, Bel,” she said. “I didn’t mean to-”

He placed a hand on her head. “It’s fine, Kay. Get outta here.”

She nodded, her blue-light flaring as she took to the sky. Ignacio stepped onto the carpet, taking a final glance back at him.

“Who was she?” Ignacio asked.

Beltran frowned at him, dusting off his tweed pants. “What?”

“The Remnant. Who was she?”

Beltran paused, his jaws clenched. “Her name was Shirosawa.”

Ignacio gave a slow nod. “I’m sorry.”

Beltran’s wings retracted into his back. “Yeah. So am I.”

Kiyomi’s carpet zipped into the sky. He grabbed onto the edges of the carpet to steady himself, stealing a final glance over his shoulder. A twinge of guilt pinched the back of his mind as Beltran sat back down, and pressed his palms against his eyes.