City of Culture V

“Where’s Kayin?!”

“I’ll lead you to him!”

More of Kimiko’s oni emerge from the shadows, with most of them standing in between their master and the enemy. One of Kimiko’s oni grabs hold of Narada and slings him onto its shoulder, before running in front of Kimiko, as the two manage to make their escape.

Heitsi boils with rage, and hundreds of his crows emerge from the night sky, ready to face the group of oni that stands in their way.

“So many obstacles for a single man’s head! It’s no wonder he managed to make it this far!”

Heitsi charges forward towards the oni, with his murder of crows following close behind him.

“Just get out of my way!!!”

Even as Kimiko runs through the difficult pathways of the city’s layout, she encounters many dive-bombing crows aiming to take her head.

So I’m your main target now, huh?!

With the skill she holds with her katana, Kimiko manages to cut through every single one of them. However, that doesn’t stop the blood of the crows from splashing all over her.

That damn bird loving bastard!!…You're asking for death!!!

The number of crows only seems to increase, as Narada continues to navigate his team through the city to the best of his ability. A few that try to aim for Narada instead are met with firm strikes from the open palm of the oni carrying him.

“Thank you so much!” Narada says to the oni, every time.

The oni groans, tired of the amount of times Narada keeps speaking to him.

“There!”

Narada points to the area in front of the large building that Kimiko had been in prior to coming to Narada’s rescue, causing Kimiko’s heart to skip a beat.

“Why would you warp him here?!!” Kimiko aggressively asks.

“What? I don’t know! I was too concerned with saving his life!”

However, as the both of them reach near Kayin, they are forced to stop in their tracks. In fact, most of those who had bore witness to Kayin’s sudden appearance, were also not able to move anywhere near him.

Not because of a force field, or any type of defensive ability.

But purely because of the frightening scene that was playing before them.

Even while laying down, Kayin’s entire body continues to emit a powerful energy of lightning that circulates his entire body. Kayin’s heartbeat pounds out loud like a drum, emitting an intense wave of fire that spreads like ripples of water across the entire area that his body resides.

Kimiko looks to her feet, and sees the ripple of fire pass through her. As it does, a sense of empathy flows through her, but she quickly understands this not to be her own.

The same happens for Narada, as a sense of appreciation sweeps through his soul.

One by one, many of those around him feel the same sense of value, and others feel a sense of ease, as if a being is wanting to not only protect them, but also uplift them.

However.

A few end up feeling a sense of abhorrence, and disgust.

Immediately, the few that end up with that feeling suddenly burst into flames, and scream at the top of their lungs due to the intense pain.

Kimiko, Narada, and many of the others situated around the area look to see what’s happening, and although the others are left confused and frightened by this phenomena, Kimiko herself quickly comes to terms with the reasoning.

Those are the men that were guarding the altar!

The men continue to scream, but there seems to be no end in sight for them, as the fire continues to inflict pain, but their bodies refuse to melt away.

Kayin starts to rise up from his slumber state, allowing Kimiko to notice the disappearance of the white cloth, and the appearance of his fiery eyes. Kayin, however, doesn’t notice any of this.

“Kill them…”

A voice whispers deep into Kayin’s ears, causing Kayin to try to look around desperately. Even with the balls of fire circulating around his eye sockets, he still completely cannot make out what is around him; but he does clearly see the spirits of the men burning in front of him.

“What…is the meaning of this?”

“A chance…”

“...has arrived.”

Suddenly, two figures grab hold of Kayin’s neck and shoulders from behind him, and plant their heads onto both of his shoulders. One of them glares forward towards the men burning, and the other stares deep into Kayin’s eyes.

Kayin becomes slightly afraid, as a shiver runs down his spine.

“...Oshé?”

The heads now switch gazes, as the one staring at Kayin shifts its focus towards the men, and the one glaring at the men now shifts its focus towards Kayin.

“The gods…”

“...are watching closely.”

“Choose.” Oshé says.

“Choose what?”

“What kind of king you wish to be…”

“...I’ve already done that. Plenty of times.”

The heads switch gazes once again, and begin to run the long nails on their fingers through Kayin’s body, slowly.

“Choose…Kayin.”

Kayin looks forward, and notices the auras emitting from the men now change from red to green. A recollection of memories from the men flows through Kayin’s mind, causing his head to ache intensely.

“Enough!”

Oshé pauses.

Kayin holds his face in his palms, and breathes deeply, before staring towards the men in front of him once again.

“I see. So these men…are also victims…”

“Forced to protect their own children…by allowing for the sacrifices of other children,”

Oshé says nothing, but now both of its faces stare at Kayin.

“And by killing them…their own children will surely die?...”

Slowly but surely, Kayin’s expression changes from passive to assertive.

“...and what of it?”

Oshé turns its gaze fiercely towards the men, which now allows for all three heads to stare towards them intensely.

The situation with Belogun in the dungeon comes to mind, as well as with the fighters in the underground arena.

“It was the same then…and it is the same now.”

“We humans are naturally all so obsessed with ourselves…”

“But…it is the moment you allow that obsession to bare its fangs towards others…”

“That you have truly lost your humanity!”

The flame of fire within Kayin’s eyes erupts, and the men’s bodies immediately react by melting into the fire.

“You can sin against yourself as much as you like…that only counts for the spirit…”

“...but as king...I will never allow mortal transgressions against others to become undone!…”

Wrong answer.

Suddenly, Kayin’s mind aches, as the situation with Narada in the desert also comes to mind. Oshé turns its gaze fiercely towards Narada, forcing Kayin to do the same. Suddenly, Narada’s body also becomes engulfed in flames, causing him to scream out in pain. Kimiko begins to shake, unable to understand the situation playing out in front of her.

Wait!...

“Choose!” Oshé demands.

Suddenly, Kayin’s mind aches again, as the situation with Kimiko in the dungeon also comes to mind. Recollection of memories from Kimiko prior to their meeting also comes to mind, forcing Oshé to turn its gaze fiercely towards Kimiko as well.

Kimiko’s body also becomes engulfed in flames, causing her to scream out in pain. The oni that had accompanied her and Narada also faces the same phenomenon.

But!...

“CHOOSE!”

Kayin becomes filled with all kinds of emotions, as he can clearly understand the reasoning behind Oshé’s newfound gaze, but still wishes to resist for the sake of his companions.

The more Kayin resists, the more his mind aches, and his body shakes.

Until Kayin himself becomes engulfed in the flames, as Oshé glares fiercely towards him.

Am I truly this much of a hypocrite?!!!

Kayin screams out in pain, and he begins to cry, but no tears fall.

I never wanted this…I never wanted any of this!…

So why?...Why must I be the one to bear such responsibility?!!!

“No one says you have to do it alone, Kayin,”

Kayin freezes, as an important memory of his father comes to mind.

“As king, you will have to face trials time and time again. And every one of those times, it will be up to you to make the final decision,”

“But in being there for your people…you will come to understand that the decision was never truly yours in the first place.”

“It is…and always will be…in the hands of fate…”

“And that…is a god beyond any of the gods we know and love,”

“A god…beyond the gods?”

“...yes, Kayin. So don’t be a weak king that always worries about pleasing others. And don’t become a tyrant that only worries about pleasing yourself.”

“As long as you gain the wisdom needed to face each and every decision head on, and steel your resolve in making them…”

“Then you’ll eventually come to understand the reason why fate placed you on the throne,”

The flame around Kayin bursts into an even more intense flame than before, but the pain Kayin feels begins to subside.

Kayin stares towards the ground, and then towards his hands.

“The reason being…”

“...that there is no right answer.”

The flames around Kimiko and Narada begin to fade as well, and the two of them fall to their knees. Kimiko holds her shoulders aggressively, and quickly realizes that not her clothes, nor her skin, has actually been burned.

Kimiko slowly glances towards Kayin, as Kayin attempts to stand up properly.

What…was that?

It’s like he became something else entirely.

Kayin holds Oshé in his hand, and sees a much more unique aura emitting from the weapon itself. His fiery eyes look up towards the moonlight peeking through the dark clouds that hover directly above him…

Unable to see anything else but multiple large figures standing in front of the moon, from the distance.

However, as those figures fade, a new figure emerges.

One surrounded by a large murder of crows.

“I see you’re back on your feet, then,” Heitsi says, as he wipes off the blood of oni from his face.

Kimiko grits her teeth in frustration.

“There simply is no right answer.”

“Even if you are a king…even if you are a god…”

Kayin smiles.

A burst of fire erupts from the area surrounding him, and a streak of lightning pulses around Oshé. 

“Alright then…no point in adding more weight to my shoulders…”

Kayin’s eyes of fire gleam with pride.

“...I’ll just do as I see fit.”