Another Sacrifice

“Eat up.” Leo placed five plates down on the table and massaged his hands. “You’re going to need a ton of energy to take on this quest.”

“It’s just cake though.”

Mira gasped, placing her hand against her chest. “It is not just cake.”

“Well, either way it is something.” Azalea started to cut into her cake and took a bite. She chewed it carefully before shooting Leo a questioning glance. “What kind of cake is this? I’ve never tasted anything like it before.”

“Raizeberry cake,” Leo said as he cut off a small piece of cake and stuck it into his mouth. “It’s from the berries that only grow on the ninth floor of the Ancient Tower.”

Just as Yusato was about to start cutting up his own slice, he stopped. His fork hung over the cake, shaking slightly. “Leo. You’ve been all the way to the ninth floor.”

Leo picked up a napkin and flattened it on his lap as he licked the crumbs off his face. “That I have.”

“Then could you please tell us what we need to do to reach that level?”

“Tsk tsk.” Leo waved his finger in front of Yusato’s face in a patronizing manner. “I may be your Quest Manager, but I can’t help you with that. You’ll have to figure that out on your own.”

Yusato scowled at that man. Was that tone of voice really necessary? He had half a mind to punch Leo for that, but was helping them out, so he held himself back.

“Don’t treat me like a child.”

“Right my mistake,” Leo said, folding his hands together on top of the table. His eyes grew darker as he stared at Yusato from across the table. “Truth be told, I could help you if I wanted. I’m not usually one for doing things by the book. But where’s the fun in that? It’s much more entertaining this way.”

Entertaining, huh? So, that was it. This man viewed this all as a game. All he wanted was to have fun and be entertained.

Yusato felt a bit of regret at having chosen to align himself with this man. But he always had an inkling there was something off about him. Besides, it was far too late to walk away now.

A team. A new weapon. And a Quest Manager. Leo had given him everything he needed. Leaving him now would not only be pointless, it would be stupid and only serve to make things even more arduous.

“Anyway, enough of that.” Leo’s face transitioned back into a casual smile before he tossed another piece of cake into his mouth. “Enjoy your cake, Yusato. Your friends certainly are.

Mira, Azalea, and Saria had all already finished their first slice and moved on to another one. Looking at her plate, Yusato realized that Mira was actually on her fifth helping.

Watching them and seeing how much they enjoyed filled Yusato with a sense of anticipation. It smelled good too.

Finally, he stabbed the cake with his fork and brought it up to his mouth. His mouth watered just before he took a bite. And then…

Nothing. He couldn’t taste a single thing. Strange. Why didn’t the cake taste like anything?

He took another bite and again…nothing. It wasn’t even that it tasted bland, it was as if he was chewing on air.

A shiver ran down his spine as he heard a familiar voice ooze around him. “Why so surprised? You didn’t expect to be able to use The Spirit of Fire’s power without a cost, did you now?”

That same spirit from before. The one who had taken a year of his life away.

“I didn’t even want to use the fire spirit's power,” Yusato spoke to the voice within his mind. “I wanted to use a power like Azalea’s to counter her.”

A deep chuckle resounded in his ears. “You can’t help that. Whenever you use the Spirit Call. I am the one who links you with another Spirit. Since you have no magic at all, that is the only way for you to connect with them.”

“And because of that, I lost my sense of taste.”

“Precisely. If it bothers you so much, then try not to rely on our powers.” With those words the voice faded away.

Forcing the cake down his throat, he watched as everyone else ate their pieces with blissful looks filling their faces.

Seeing that made him lose appetite entirely. There was no point in trying to eat it anymore if he couldn’t enjoy it. Plus, watching everyone be able to enjoy the cake only worsened his mood.

Yusato grimaced, moving his fork around in the cake.

“Yusato?” Saria asked, her eyes on his plate. “Aren’t you hungry?”

“Nah. I had a long day. Yusato pushed his plate away and got up from his chair. “I’ll be waiting for you guys to finish. Take your time.”

He didn’t wait for a response and headed out the door.

***

After everyone finished their cake they met up with Yusato outside and made their way down the path to the Ancient Tower.

Mira inched closer and closer to Yusato as they walked, practically hugging his side. Saria looked to be taking in the surroundings of the lush grass and trees, her eyes shimmering in awe.

“Why’s the short one so close to you?” Azalea crossed her arms and gave Mira a brief judgmental glance.

“Beats me.” Yusato stuffed his hands in his pockets. “She loves doing this though.”

“Don’t call me short!” Mira gave Azalea a fierce glare.

As fierce as she could. So fierce, Yusato had to laugh.

“Hey! Don’t laugh!” Mira pouted.

“You’re the shortest one here.” Azalea poked Mira’s head. “What do you want me to call you? Glutton?”

“That sounds fitting.” Yusato smirked, ignoring the growl coming from his side.

“You’re really gonna take her side, Yusato?”

“I’m not taking anyone’s side. I’m just saying, it fits.”

Saria stopped looking around at the nature and quickened her pace to catch up with the others. “Let’s not fight okay. We’re all supposed to be a team for this quest, aren’t we?”

“Tell that to Miss Moody over there.” Mira stuck her tongue out at Azalea. “She’s way too mean to me.”

Azalea’s eyebrow twitched as she came to a halt. “Do that again brat. In case you forgot, I’m not exactly here by choice."

“Guys,” Yusato said. “Calm down. Saria is right. If we’re going to make it through this tower, then we will need to get along. It’ll be way too risky otherwise.”

They continued to make their way forward and eventually came to the entrance to the tower. The ivory spiral tower reaching into the sky brought back all sorts of bad memories for Yusato.

As his eyes traversed from the top of the to the bottom, his lips curled.

What a twisted joke.

Three figures stood in front of him, preparing to enter the tower as well. The one in front walked forward, flashing a smarmy grin. “Yusato, hey buddy. Long time no see. So, you’re still kicking, after all?”

“Tomoki…”