Chapter 28: Spring Break

Spring.

The winter season receded. A brittle breeze was all that was left in its wake, rushing winds that diced through the grainy sky above. Such a heightened gale grazed the young children’s heads, tufts of strained hair blown wildly in the wind. Their senses now toughened from their conditioning against the vile first run-in with the eternal storm and were fit to combat the drastic shift. These clouded skies were shattered by an orange-tinged shine that glazed the war-torn atmosphere—the color of spring.

This tender crisp air wafted in through the shutters over the children. Each woke in near sync with the rise of the Sun as its rays scaled along their supple faces, such a warm and loving touch.

Prepped and ready for the day ahead, they nourished themselves on a single bun of bread delivered in a coar wicker basket. Despite the small serving size, it remained their only sustenance until lunch. Their bodies adapted to the minuscule portions, capable of sustaining themselves on the burning energy within them. A forever pure source. Radiance.

Kiyo already had the tendency and capacity of riveting radiance within him to satisfy his hunger. Choosing to eat to keep his inner organs fresh and functioning regularly to refrain from any long-term damage, he joined in dining with Daisuke as they gave their praises to Amaterasu.

Daisuke could only go so long on energy alone. Eiko and Kono were in the same boat as fatigue grasped at their stomachs for something to push forward. Scarfing down the bread, it was only a drop in the bucket of starvation riveting their stomachs’ walls. But it was something at least.

Shoma grew closer to Kiyo, catching up to his level of pacing out the radiant surges within him. Able to last half of an entire day burning the energy that thrived within, more so than others in the household. Yet he couldn’t harness the blessed radiance within his skin, unable to draw it out and confine it within select parts of his body to amplify them.

Monterio struggled to accomplish such a feat as well. The link between the two severed deep, a gift only granted to those with the sacred light of Amaterasu. Her descendants were those capable of exploiting the Sun’s glory, genes aligned with its tenacious nature. They were special, but they were also few.

Regardless, they had all overcome their previous restraints. Steps closer to reaching the entry point to their first rank up, a grand transition into weaponry specialization. A strenuous time and energy-consuming practice for both sides of the sphere. Trainer and trainee. Teacher and student.

Each side was necessary for the other to exist.

Students not seen as capable of wielding such a responsibility were removed by the end of the year. Not sent home but to a lesser training grounds, one for dispersal roles throughout the Sunretsu domain. From guardians to royal bishops, their parts in the clan were closer to home. Their lives would become restricted heavily under the High Priest's jurisdiction, nothing more than pawns to dispose of how he pleased.

This week was a grand determiner of who would stay and who would go. A trial more surrounded based on whits than raw physical strength. Still, both were necessary to execute it.

Something they would learn soon.

All the children filed outside as per usual, bellies nourishment quenched and eyes widened by the distant charm of sunlight. Chatty lips laced with whispers and beady eyes were all that moved within the group, each laced with antsy jitters for what was next to come.

Early morning rose into midday as they stood there, attentive for any sign of Takeo. A few worried they may have missed or forgotten a signal from the day before, some hint for the possible trial ahead. Feet antsy as they tapped upon the ground.

Then it all fell silent.

All the children fell still at the sight of Takeo walking down the cobbled path from the temple toward them. His two guardians were behind him but burdened with something new. Two large wooden crates rested in each of their arms. The contents shuffled from wall to wall as they walked toward the children.

Takeo appeared excited for once. His arms crossed over his stomach as he walked his way around the pantheon's sparing square. Struck with the selfish nature of man, Takeo passed a glance at it, at the place where he had dueled over the winter. In what was only a rarity of occurrence, the memory’s satisfaction crinkled his face with a sly smirk. Instantly smudged off, he turned his attention back to the children. Words of change wrapped around his tongue.

“Today is something different. There will be no training sessions,” Takeo announced.

Murmurs broke out across the group, agitated voices perplexed by the sudden change of tempo. Yet Daisuke sparked up with excitement, pumped for the event that was sure to come. I mean, he was told it would.

…

Eiko filled him and the group in on his father’s knowledge as a trainer from years past, and it struck a cord within Daisuke and Kiyo. This trial was one they were all too familiar with. Their brief encounter in the past was enough to visualize it. Plan for it.

Kiyo looked Daisuke up and down, yet no worry quivered his lips. Instead, a firm confidence in their abilities laced his thoughts. He was sure they were prepared for anything this time around.

Eiko and Kono stared with grave anticipation, running through the plan over and over in their minds. Shoma was just waiting to see how it would all unravel if what Daisuke and Kiyo said would prove its use to them.

“Have you heard of cave stalkers?” Eiko muttered to the rest of the group.

Glimpses of their past near-fatal experience flashed in Kiyo and Daisuke’s eyes. The menacing territorial beasts, lurkers in the depths of the caves beneath the surface. One of the many creatures that fled Amaterasu’s glorious deliverance. Eyes fearful of the holy light.

Armed with long talons for fingers strong enough to slash through obsidian. Their sleek limber moonlight-pale bodies scrounged around in the darkness. Senses adapted to the cave environment as they developed massive pale white eyes and warped dished ears.

They were fearsome creatures not to be toyed with lightly, yet most grew up unaware of them.

…

“Today we will venture out of the light and into the depths. . .into the homes of cave stalkers.” Takeo declared in a casual tone.

A few children looked around for confirmation, for someone else to have an ounce of understanding of what Takeo was referring to. Some grasped enough through stories for what to expect, but that could never be nearly enough.

“Follow me. Before we descend, I will tell you what is expected from this trial. This being one that will determine your future here.” Takeo put bluntly.

The children nodded in loose understanding and tailed behind him toward the backside of Harion. Reaching the rear gate entrance, Takeo raised his right arm and knuckled two fingers up to the gatekeeper. A signal of exit as the gatekeeper gestured back the customary response, one of good luck.

“Open the gate!”

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrm. Buofff!

Curious eyes gazed upon the massive wooden doors as they unfastened from each other and opened up to the outside world. What had been secluded to them for almost eight fulls, eight months in a practical manner, was now unveiled. It all seemed so refreshing as they were confronted with a light burst of fresh dusty air, bits of dried topsoil carried off by the tepid spring breeze.

“Follow me,” Takeo ordered as he stepped into the barren landscape.

The ground cracked beneath their feet. Fragile grayed stone plates rested over the gravel. Color washed out by the intense heat beamed down from the Sun, rays amplified by the decimated ozone layer from the world before.

Takeo led them across the fragmented earth, the two guardians remaining at his side as they trailed down a beaten path, numerous sheets of brittle rock worn down to the texture of a smashed plate.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

Kiyo watched the ground shatter beneath his feet. Mesmerized by the strange patterns of stone that resulted with his every step, the noise was familiar. It was a callback to a memory buried within the recesses of his mind, one of regret.

Craacck. Craaacckk.

Memories of home spilled in, his relentless training enforced upon him every morning by Ronin. Flesh ripped open relentlessly till it was left scarred and numb to any sensation. Kiyo recoiled from the thought as a bitter chill rolled down his arms, hands rubbing at the goosebumps that poked through the surface. Forlorn emotions that cried out for attention to only be smothered by Kiyo’s roughened palms.

Daisuke gazed around the open flat terrain, finding peace in the little bit of scattered slanted pillars of rock that spiraled out of the ground. Almost irregular structures that didn’t match the landscape. Various sharp metal spokes pierced through the crumbled ends of the cornerstone, a remnant edifice of the world before. Such structures were lost with time, yet the memories remained on the earth, scars of humanity’s mistakes.

“Daisuke.” A voice called out from behind.

“Hey!” Eiko barreled forward as he squeezed through the crowd between them.

Tripped from a stray foot, Eiko collapsed upon them, using their shoulders as braces for his arms to carry his weight. Mouth full of questions to be unheard by those around, he gasped for air and lowered his voice.

“Where—” Eiko paused to make sure no one else was listening in. “Where do you think it is?”

“What?” Daisuke muttered confusedly with a shaky squint.

“What? The cave. The whole reason we’re out here.”

“I don’t know,” Daisuke replied with a loose shrug.

“You don’t—you saw them. I—” Eiko paused to lower his voice as he gazed at prying eyes. “I only heard stories, Daisuke.”

Sighing, Daisuke dug back through his memories to be able to pull something out. Anything that would satisfy Eiko’s anxious thoughts and let him get back to sightseeing.

“It’ll probably be some—mound of rocks. Like a cave.” Daisuke said as he peered around for anything of the sort.

Only an infinite abyss of gravel lined the horizon.

“Okay, so rocks.” Eiko turned to Kiyo with a concerned glare. “And how do you beat them?”

“Light,” Kiyo uttered confidently, not evening passing a wink of attention toward Eiko.

Yet Eiko didn’t care, caught beneath admiration of the unreal power Kiyo inhabited. Such strength Eiko could only wish to achieve one day, not yet skilled enough to do so. Hoping one day he would rise to such heights.

“Mhmm. . .light, simple enough,” Eiko said joyfully as he patted them on the back and propelled off of them back to Kono. Within seconds he was gone. Both boys were relieved at his departure in their own right as they reeled back into focus.

But just a couple steps away, Shoma watched the conversation unfold in full. He kept his distance from them all for the time being, towering above the other children. His sullen stare one to ward off any side glances as he remained enveloped within his mind. Picking through the possibilities that lay in front of them to discover something of use.

Eyes locked onto Kiyo, still resisting the urge to trust him. Held back by Monterio’s fear and interest in him. What else was he hiding?

…

Late afternoon.

Four turns had passed since they made their departure from Harion, the mouth of the cave still nowhere in sight. All the children remained steadfast and attentive, enveloped in silence as they tried to conserve their energy. To make it to the start of the trial.

The Sun beat the children down throughout the walk, not a cloud in the sky to give them rest. Their bodies were invigorated by its rays as they sloshed around in thick billows of sweat. A cool touch against their skin as the wind wrapped around their slimy bodies.

Little outbursts of light shot across the sky, each a burst of electrons in the atmosphere that collided with the fragments of the upper atmosphere. This spectacle was something regular in the children’s eyes, a sign of Amaterasu’s presence, that she was always watching over them.

Blessing them.

Daisuke couldn’t help but smile at the dancing lights, small blips of pink and orange that sparkled in his eyes. Yet his fascination came to a halt as he bumped into the child in front of him, their movement brought to a standstill. His mind whipped back into reality at the sight of their sudden change of pace.

They had arrived, Takeo standing on the edge of it all: a monstrous hole.

The bottom was nowhere to be seen, only a swamp of shadows that hid the grievous depths. Its walls were lined with jagged rocks poking out like teeth, descending from a light gray to a sheik inky jet black, a mouth for those who entered; souls swallowed whole.

The site was hollow and lifeless at the surface, a hiding place for the vile creatures beneath the overground layer ruled by the scraps of humanity, a divider between the dominant species of the region. Teratomas were the only major exception on the dusted vasslands, breakers of the blessed boundaries set by Amaterasu.

Eding around the hole, their sneak peek of the trial ahead was a grim one. Takeo was the only man who could clarify what it entailed. But he remained in longing silence. Guardians at his sides, they dropped the boxes onto the ground and let their arms fall flat to their sides.

A few moments passed before Takeo set his attention back on the children, arms clasped onto each other. The information lingering on his tongue was detrimental to the trial that awaited them. Necessary for them to make it out to the other end alive.

“You will enter the pit weaponless. But you will come back with a kill. With proof.”

Silence laced the children's lips, respect and understanding shown in their tanned grizzled faces. Eager to hear more. To listen.

“As there is five blessing and five souls that form one bond, five of you will bring back a single kill.” Takeo declared as he fanned out his palm.

Groups of five? Daisuke thought as he counted out each of his friends on one hand. A little tinge of relief rested on his face, shoulders at ease at the late realization that they had a full group.

“Do what you must, but I will say this.” Takeo paused and stepped closer toward the children with a clenched fist. “This trial is meant to show your growth. If you are worthy of the Sun’s blessing, those who are not will find themselves a new purpose in a new life.”

A mix of nods and wide-eyed stares were sent in Takeo’s direction in response to the information spoon-fed to them. They were children of warriors, but killing was foreign ground.

“Watch your back and every shadow these things move in silence and packs. They will not hesitate to claim your life. The blood of the Sun is unlike any other. Remember what blessings you hold.” Takeo continued.

Shadows. Kiyo and Daisuke both thought back to the cave experience, a run-in with a member of the horrifying species. Silent as could be as it crawled along its den walls. Watching them, hunting them, calling them by name.

“Many have lost their lives against just one, but what they offer us is immeasurable. A grand sacrifice to our people and the Sun herself.”

Takeo tilted his head back and looked up at the glorious Sun nestled high in the midday sky. Some children followed his gaze, yet a few nervous eyes wandered around the group to seek out groups. People they could trust.

“Each of you, take one of these. You will need it if you wish to leave this place.”

The guardians removed the box lids to reveal a bunch of slings, teratoma flesh nap sacks with an overlapping rope of coar hair. Each sling contained enough water and nutrients for a single child for seven days at the barest of minimums. Sustainment a pivotal key to this trial.

“You can only leave if you bring back a sacrifice otherwise. . .that is up for your interpretation,” Takeo said coarsely, with no hint of remorse or care in his words.

Whheeoooyuerooowhooeoeogarhrooo!

Desolate winds rushed out from the mouth of the cave and past the children. Vague whispers danced along the breeze, undistinguishable to the ear but noticeable enough to shiver their nerves. These winds were nothing more than a telltale of what dwelled in the Night’s Sea.

Horrors beyond one’s imagination lived there, a world lost to hate.

“You have one week.”