Chapter Seven - The Threshold of Destiny

  A World without Misery (Interitus 1: Book 0)

Chapter Seven – The Threshold of Destiny

“As the demon falls to rest, it warps the fabric of the universe in a way we cannot understand. When the Interfectus falls asleep, it ceases to exist in this world for as long as it remains at rest. It is because of this that they are untraceable and also invulnerable.”

Though he watched through half-open eyes as he traveled west across south Agrideī, Hatasuko could sense that this voice emanated from the tempest. The voice was ominous and alluring but also familiar. It was not the voice of Sokaido or Adishina, but it was a voice he had heard once before. His golden eyes glanced at the narrow space between Vaida’s hair and the bottom of the sail, but his conscious mind waded through the screaming tempest in search of this voice.

“Who said that? Who are you?” Hatasuko asked the storm of souls.

“I can sense the Interfecti’s movements because that is the privilege of the damned. Every single one of us in here—every lost soul that was stolen from life by the forces of darkness—we can detect the Interfecti, even as they sleep. It means we have a unique ability that the living need more than anything, but we cannot communicate. You are our only bridge. You are the only one who can save them. You are the only one strong enough to uphold the weight of the tempest,” said the voice of the ominous woman.

“Do you know about the next attack? Please, you have to tell me! This is very important. Countless lives are hanging in the balance,” Hatasuko demanded.

“Yes. The Interfectus will not awaken for a few more days, but when it does, it will unleash its attack on the city of Sentia. Will you protect them?” she asked.

“Of course! Up until now, I thought you somehow understood who I am, but a question like-”

“I know exactly who you are, Hatasuko. I know that you’ve raced across Agrideī ever since your mother died, desperately trying to save people from the Interfecti. The only thing I don’t understand is why. Anyone else would have realized how hopeless this is. Anyone else would just become an ordinary rescuer. But I am lodged in your head and surrounded by lamentations—both their screams and yours. I know you still believe you’ll be the one to slay the Interfecti. I just don’t know why.”

Hatasuko glanced up again and saw the starlit silhouette of buildings on the western horizon. These buildings stood on the outskirts of Bones City. Hatasuko knew that Lazaro and Vaida had plans for their day in the city by the sea, meaning he would have to completely wake up in the coming minutes.

 “If the Interfecti are allowed to live, then there will always be misery in this world. There will always be screams, and there will always be pain. It is my dream to create a world without misery, so eventually I will have to wipe them out. I just want to make the world like it was before… before they ruined everything,” Hatasuko explained.

“You have a dream to get everything back to the way it once was, but what would happen then? If you get it, what can you do with it? The privilege of a dream is that it’s a fantasy, but if it happens, then it was never truly a dream to begin with,” she said with the same ominous voice.

As they rolled into the quiet streets of Bones City, Hatasuko let out a quiet sigh into the abyss that roared in his tired mind. People in the streets stared at their sail-ranae with intrigue, but he did not glance back at them. He stared disinterestedly ahead as he sifted through the silent screams.

“I have to ask one more time. Who are you?”

“I am Madeline, and I was once the servant of the most powerful man in this world. He may be strong, but he does not deserve his power. It is your destiny to save everyone, not his,” she whispered from the edge of the tempest.

The other screams in the tempest grew louder from a sudden rush of unrest. They could detect the pressing approach of an Interfectus. Hatasuko feared that Madeline’s voice would somehow be swallowed by the storm of screaming souls, so he yelled out into the tempest, “How do you know that? Who is the most powerful man?!”

But there was no response.

“Hatasuko, I need you to come with me today while I run some errands. I know you still got a lot of practice to do, but I need to make sure that you can act in my absence in case I get injured,” Lazaro yelled from one sail-rana to the other.

“Yes, sir. I will join you. By the way, I just learned the location of the next Interfectus attack,” Hatasuko answered back.

            Several heads turned toward the sail-ranae. Hatasuko realized that he had spoken too loudly, though he quickly dismissed his concern. He had always wanted to announce the locations of the attacks to the world so that people could evacuate, but he knew that no one would believe him. Even now, the bystanders watched skeptically. Vaida, on the other hand, turned around with a curious gaze.

“Oh yeah? Where’s that? Any clue when it’ll happen?” Lazaro shouted back as they rolled through the street.

The sail-ranae rolled noticeably slower now that they were within the streets of Bones City. The homes and buildings interrupted the flow of the powerful northwest wind. The wind was still strong enough to pull their sail, but they only moved at a jogging pace.

“The Interfectus will attack in at least three days. It might be more. The demon is going to strike the city of Sentia, from what I understand.”

“That’s one crazy ability you got there, boy. Alright, we’ll spend the night here and then sail north tomorrow. When we reach the river, we’ll have to go with the current all the way east. I don’t know yet if we’ll turn south or go all the way to the ocean. We’ll see. That’s the worst quadrant of Agrideī, at least if you’re trying to get somewhere,” Lazaro groaned from up ahead.

The streets slowly became more crowded with people and market stands. It did not take long for Lazaro to pull down the mast and fold in the sails. Vaida did the same, and then shortly after, both vehicles rolled to a stop. The onlookers seemed mystified by the sail-ranae when they first entered the city, but the people here seemed a lot less intrigued. The three friends piled out of their boats, and then Lazaro grabbed the handle on the front of his vehicle. He rolled it over to a large building on the west side of the street, so Hatasuko grabbed his boat and did the same.

“Hey! It’s me, Lazaro! I’m in town for the night; I’ll be leaving the sail-ranae here!” Lazaro announced as soon as he stepped in.

Hatasuko walked inside and saw two other sail-ranae on the first floor of this building. Candlelight brightly illuminated the space. The other sail-ranae were smaller and had different designs, but Hatasuko enjoyed that other people had mimicked Vaida’s invention. A creaky staircase stood in the corner of the room. After several seconds of waiting, a heavyset man stepped down the staircase with several pillows in his arms.

            “Glad to see you’re still alive, Lazaro! Come on and take a rest upstairs. A room opened up just before you got here,” said the large man with a big smile.

“That’s good luck, but I sure as hell can’t rest now. The boy and I’ve got a lot to take care of around here! Not sure what the girl’s gonna do,” Lazaro answered the friendly innkeeper.

“I promised someone I would see them when I came back to Bones City. I’ll be back before we leave,” Vaida said with her quiet voice and a shy smile.

“Take your time, Vaida! You know you’re all welcome here any time. We’ve been busy lately, but I’ll give you my room if I had to!” said the innkeeper with a big smile.

Vaida smiled again, and this time her mouth opened to reveal her white teeth. Hatasuko could see a joy in her eyes which proved that she called this city home. Since he was uninterested in the pleasantries of conversation, Lazaro grabbed a sack of gold coins from his sail-rana and then headed for the door. Though he never had the chance to greet the innkeeper, Hatasuko ran out and followed his mentor since he certainly wouldn’t wait.

When Hatasuko stepped out into the starlit air, he saw Lazaro buy a small bag of viridipomus fruit. Right in front of the vendor, Lazaro took a huge bite of a fruit, spit it on the ground, and then took a second bite. Hatasuko sighed and walked toward his mentor. He and Lazaro then quickly walked toward the north end of the street. Before they turned the corner, Hatasuko looked over his shoulder and saw Vaida step out from the inn. He struggled to see far through the starlight and candlelight, but he could see a look of excitement in her dead eye. She had a spring in her step.

“We’re about to meet the girl who handles all the Interfectus predictions. I want you to come with, but you don’t have to pay attention. I need to keep relations good with these guys just in case you get yourself killed. You’ll never need a forecaster yourself since you have that crazy power,” Lazaro explained.

Hatasuko retorted, “I’m not going anywhere.”

Lazaro scoffed and knocked upon a door on the right side of the street. After many seconds of papers folding and footsteps rushing, the door opened to reveal a red-haired woman. She had equations written all over the walls, countless papers, and even her own arms. The papers that littered the floor were simply hand calculations, though she kept the results organized on her desk. There were several maps of Agrideī on the walls, all with countless notes and markers strewn across them.

            Madeline said from the edge of the tempest, “I’ve decided that you’re ready to know a truth known by very few people. Do you remember earlier when I said I once served the most powerful man?”

Hatasuko was amazed that he could hear her while fully awake, but he welcomed this surprise. As the red-haired woman spoke to Lazaro at length about her prediction, Hatasuko let himself travel to the edge of the tempest in the depths of his mind.

“Yes, of course I remember. Is he someone I could somehow meet?”

“I think not. It would be a meaningless visit with a meaningless man. Hatasuko, what exactly do you think about the concept of a god? I know that many people would hate him for letting this happen. Some even believe that he’s responsible for the Interfecti—that he unleashed them upon us as a punishment. What do you think?” Madeline asked.

Hatasuko answered, “I’m afraid I never really put any thought into this. I know some say they can speak to a god or feel his presence, but I’ve never felt anything but the tempest. I don’t know if gods are real. I don’t know if they care about our plight, and I don’t even know if they could stop it. Sometimes I want to believe because it could validate my destiny in some roundabout way, but I can’t say anything with certainty.”

The voices and screams in the tempest quickly faded. Other than the sound of Lazaro speaking to the red-haired woman, the world fell completely silent. Hatasuko could not even hear the footsteps of people walking outside.

Madeline penetrated the silence and said, “There does exist a god, but he does not live in any special dimension. The truth is that he actually has a physical body. His name is Caelicola, and he lives in silence at the corner of this world. He sees all things, knows all things, and can transfer himself anywhere at once. He can create or destroy anything he desires. When I was alive, I was his servant until I realized that he does not want to intervene. When I got sick of watching people die, I left. As fate would have it, I was killed shortly after in an Interfectus attack. I believe that that happened for a reason; I believe that destiny chose me to enter the tempest so that I can guide you.”

“Come on, Hatasuko, we have to get going,” Lazaro declared with a firm voice.

Hatasuko nodded and ran over to the other side of the room. He walked cautiously to avoid stepping on papers, though he doubted that the red-haired woman cared about the scratchwork on the floor. She had already returned to her disorganized desk where she sifted through a stack in silence. Lazaro and Hatasuko both stepped out into the luminous streets as countless civilians walked by. When they entered the crowd and began marching west, Hatasuko realized that his mentor carried fewer gold coins than before. This meant that Lazaro had actually paid money for information that was meaningless to him. That payment that would only be worth anything if Lazaro lost Hatasuko and his Interfectus-finding talent.

            “But Madeline, what are you guiding me to? Why won’t God, or Caelicola or whoever it is, end the nightmare for us? He sounds like he’s omnipotent. You say that he can destroy anything, but I can’t even scratch an Interfectus. How am I supposed to save anyone?”

Madeline answered from the edge of the tempest, “Hatasuko, it has to be you. You are the only person who has ever withstood being touched by the darkness. You have a heart strong enough to endure the tempest. No one else in Agrideī can wield the ultimate weapon.”

            Hatasuko’s conversation came to a temporary end when Lazaro knocked on the door to another building. This part of Bones City stood on a small hill, and therefore they could stare out over the city as they waited for an answer. Hatasuko narrowed his eyes and gazed over the western horizon. The starlight forced the sea to shimmer. The waves looked small from this distance, but they continuously rolled ashore while glistening from the lights in the sky.

The door finally swung open. A thin man stood in the doorway with an apathetic stare; he did not seem to care that Lazaro had shown up again for the first time in ages. The man simply turned and walked toward his desk at the far end of the room. When Hatasuko stepped inside, he realized that this place looked like the red-haired woman’s house, though it was significantly more organized. There were papers and calculations everywhere, but the man organized them in piles and stacks.

“What would you like to know?” he disinterestedly asked.

“I need a four-day forecast for Sentia and the whole journey there. I believe I’ll take the river to the intersection, follow the next river south, and then we’ll row the rest of the way through the ocean,” Lazaro said.

“Alright. I don’t receive many requests for the weather that far away, so this will take a moment. You can wait here,” said the thin, tired man as he stepped into a second room.

Lazaro nodded and took a seat on the couch beside a stack of papers, but Hatasuko did not say anything. He wondered how this man planned to forecast the weather, but then his mind drifted back to Madeline.

He asked, “Madeline, what is the ultimate weapon? What do you mean by that? I don’t think I have ever heard that phrase. I was always told that we are hopeless and defenseless.”

“I learned about it in the days I spent with Caelicola. It is a truth unknown to the human world. Though we cannot see it and we cannot sense it, every person in the world has a unique power that exists in their core; this power is the essence of the human soul. It has never shown itself in this world because we as people do not possess the right fuel for this power, so it can never present itself. But I will teach you how to create this fuel. I will teach you how to access this power. Hatasuko, are you ready to step onto the path of your own destiny? Are you ready to shed your humanity and become the first Astrodeus?” she asked.

“Please, Madeline, you must tell me everything! If there is any strength or power I can use against the demons, I have to know about it!”

“Then keep the door to the tempest open. I will tell you everything as the time draws near.”

***

In another part of Bones City, Vaida sat quietly at a table outside a small restaurant. She watched without a word as people walked through the streets of her hometown. The customers spoke quietly to each other, and she eavesdropped as she waited for her friend. Since she faced the southeast as she sat, the strong wind pulled her hair behind her head, fully revealing her scars to the other customers. Anyone could see the burn scars on her right arm, her neck, her face, and even her dead eye, but no one seemed to care. She was calm enough to expose herself without the weight of her insecurities. 

             “Vaida! Vaida, is that you?” yelled an enthusiastic voice.

Vaida quickly looked to her left and saw her old friend standing in the starlit street. The starlight reflected on the white walls of nearby buildings and illuminated his brown hair, but his smile delighted her more than the shimmering light.

“Harvey! I’m so glad you found me,” Vaida said as she jumped up from her seat.

Harvey ran over to her, dropped his bag on the ground, and wrapped his strong arms around her. She closed her eyes and smiled widely as he held her. She could feel the wind force her hair to flap against his face, but then he reached one hand over and grabbed a handful of her hair. She felt his fingertips gently dig through her scalp, so she opened her mouth and smiled. All eyes watched her, but for the first time in a long time, she did not care.

“Vaida, you’ve changed so much! You’ve gotten so strong, and you’re prettier than ever! You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen,” he raved as he held her in his arms.

Vaida opened her eyes with surprise, but she said nothing; her surprise was not caused by disbelief. Her cheeks started to redden again, and she reciprocated his embrace so that he could not see her face.

“Thank you, Harvey. You don’t know how much that means to me.”

The shadow of a certain memory pressed upon her brain and unleashed a small rush of adrenaline. Vaida let go of him and threw herself into her seat so suddenly that every head turned to face her. The wind pulled her dark hair in front of her face, but she could not see her hair since her eyes were slammed shut.

Vaida remembered back to the first time that Harvey had embraced her. It was many years ago when the southern side of Bones City was in a state of total wreckage. An Interfectus had leveled a tremendous section of the city, and countless people had died in the attack. Harvey had stumbled into a makeshift hospital in the heart of the wreckage; she saw him from her hospital bed as she clenched the pillow in her little hands. Half of her body looked unrecognizable; she had been burned so completely that she did not look human. The young Harvey cried as soon as he saw her. He ran over and embraced her in that makeshift hospital because there was nothing he could say.

            “Vaida! Vaida, is that you?” yelled an enthusiastic voice.

Vaida quickly looked to her left and saw her old friend standing in the starlit street. The starlight reflected on the white walls of nearby buildings and illuminated his brown hair, but his smile delighted her more than the shimmering light.

“Harvey! I’m so glad you found me,” Vaida said as she jumped up from her seat.

Harvey ran over to her, dropped his bag on the ground, and wrapped his strong arms around her. She closed her eyes and smiled widely as he held her. She could feel the wind force her hair to flap against his face, but then he reached one hand over and grabbed a handful of her hair. She felt his fingertips gently dig through her scalp, so she opened her mouth and smiled. All eyes watched her, but for the first time in a long time, she did not care.

“Vaida, you’ve changed so much! You’ve gotten so strong, and you’re prettier than ever! You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen,” he raved as he held her in his arms.

Vaida opened her eyes with surprise, but she said nothing; her surprise was not caused by disbelief. Her cheeks started to redden again, and she reciprocated his embrace so that he could not see her face.

“Thank you, Harvey. You don’t know how much that means to me.”

The shadow of a certain memory pressed upon her brain and unleashed a small rush of adrenaline. Vaida let go of him and threw herself into her seat so suddenly that every head turned to face her. The wind pulled her dark hair in front of her face, but she could not see her hair since her eyes were slammed shut.

Vaida remembered back to the first time that Harvey had embraced her. It was many years ago when the southern side of Bones City was in a state of total wreckage. An Interfectus had leveled a tremendous section of the city, and countless people had died in the attack. Harvey had stumbled into a makeshift hospital in the heart of the wreckage; she saw him from her hospital bed as she clenched the pillow in her little hands. Half of her body looked unrecognizable; she had been burned so completely that she did not look human. The young Harvey cried as soon as he saw her. He ran over and embraced her in that makeshift hospital because there was nothing he could say.

            Harvey confessed with a quiver in his voice, “I missed you so much, Vaida. I’ve always heard them say that you never know what you’ve got until it’s gone, but I never really knew what that meant. Not until you left. Everything was just so mundane without you. Every day’s just the same useless thing. I don’t think I ever realized how much you meant to me. I never got the chance to tell you before you left. I was so afraid you would die before I ever got the chance to tell you, but now you’re back! Now I can tell you how much I care about you, and then you won’t have to run away! You can stay here with me.”

“Harvey… I had no idea. I, um, I can’t imagine what you see in me. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you miss me this much. I guess, well, I mean, I didn’t think I meant anything to anyone,” she nervously said.

“Vaida, you’re the most important person in the whole world to me. You’re so pretty, you’re so strong, but you’re so wounded. I know that you hate yourself, I know that you regret waking up; I know that you cry yourself to sleep, but I want to change that. Every day when you were gone fighting monsters, I knew you were in pain. I knew that you were cold and alone, and I hated myself for letting you do that. Vaida, please stay here in Bones City. Please just stay with me. Please don’t go back out there. When we’re apart, we’re just cold and alone. We just hate ourselves and wallow in misery. But if we’re together, then-”

“I cannot stay with you.”

Harvey glanced away from the candle and gazed at her with his intense blue eyes. She looked away because she was struck by a sudden rush of timidity. He walked over to her and placed his left hand on her scarred shoulder. She gazed at his hand with her shy eyes.

“But why not? Wouldn’t it be better than feeling the way I know you feel now?”

“It’s, um, because this is bigger than me. The Interfectus, that monster… that’s more important than my happiness. I know I knock myself down, but standing back up is the most important thing. I want to spend what little I have left of this life saving people. When the demon attacks, um, a lot of people need me there. I want to be there. I can’t stay here,” she whispered.

“They don’t need you more than I do. How could you possibly help them anyway?” he demanded. Vaida glanced up and saw that his face looked solemn. His blue eyes stared more intensely now than ever. The flicker of candlelight reflected on the light surface of his skin in a way that made him look threatening, so she took a small step backward.

“I can guide people to safety. Hatasuko and I save as many people as we can. A lot of lives, well, a lot of lives, um, they might be lost if I were to stop trying now. I’m sorry, Harvey, but this is important to me. It’s the only thing that lets me justify staying alive when I feel like this,” she confessed with her quiet voice.

“But I can stop you from feeling like this! Vaida, if you understood how happy we could be, you would give this up in a heartbeat! The whole world’s doomed anyway. There’s no saving it. But if I can stay with you at the end of all things, then that would be enough to make this life worth living.”

“But those people, Harvey, they need me,” she said as she looked down at the floor.

Harvey reached out again and touched the smooth part of her face with his hand. Because of the emotions roaring in her head, Vaida stepped back and away from his hand. When she glanced up, she saw an anger ignite in his blue eyes.

Harvey demanded, “And how the fuck do they need you?! You can’t do anything!”

“W-what do you mean?”

“Vaida, you’re afraid of everything. You might have some muscle on you, but you’re the weakest person I’ve ever known. Weak on the inside. You can’t save anyone—not by yourself. People don’t even want to be saved by you. You should just stay with me,” he said with a snarl.

Vaida looked away from her friend and started to move toward the door, but Harvey grabbed her shoulder before she could get far. Because of his strength, the grip of his hand hurt her. Her eyes started to well up with tears since she never expected this from her old friend. This was not how she remembered him at all.

“Do you know how stupid this is? I lost everything because I couldn’t fill the hole in my life that you left behind! I let everyone slip through my fingers; I just couldn’t bring myself to care about anything else. I’m gonna be dragging piscileo back and forth for the rest of my life! And how is that fair? How does that even happen? How did I let my life get ruined by a girl as flighty and ugly as you?” Harvey yelled while squeezing her shoulder.

Vaida felt a cold chill run down her spine. Her whole body felt like it became unresponsive other than the quivering of her lips and the sadness in her eyes. Her dark hair swayed slightly from the shaking of her head. She tried to pull herself out of his grip, but he overpowered her. With a quiet, breathy voice, she said, “But you always said that I’m beautiful.”

Harvey let out a scoff and pulled her toward the corner of the room. A small mirror hung from the wall, just above a flickering candle. Harvey forced her forward so that she stared at her own reflection as the candlelight flashed upon her face. The light shone on her right side, so the fiery glow accentuated her darkest scars. She stared for a second at the reflection of her dead, sea-green eye, but she quickly looked away.

“You’re burned and disfigured. You will be stained forever. I know you ran away because you couldn’t face the stares and gawks of the people here, but you’ll never escape me. You and I are meant to be, Vaida. You’re cursed to carry your scars in a place the world can see, but I am the only one who can bring you happiness. And don’t you want to be happy? If you stay here with me, then-”

“I don’t want to stay with you!”

Vaida suddenly slapped her hands onto Harvey’s arm, dropped herself to a crouch, and threw his heavy body over her shoulders so that he slammed against the wall. She let go and ran toward the door as he fell onto his knees. She opened the door quickly and swerved to face him with her good eye, but she struggled to see through the candlelight as tears rolled down her cheeks. His face revealed an expression that was somewhere between anger and misery, but she dashed out the door. She ran out into the street and raced toward the inn where she was staying. Since she sprinted so quickly through the dirt streets, everyone turned to watch her run, so she slapped her left hand over her face to hide her scars. She felt that she probably looked like a laughable clown, running through the streets with her hand on her face and tears flowing from her eyes, but anything was better than letting them see her scars. Her tears obscured her vision, so when she sharply turned a corner up ahead, she accidentally crashed into a person.

She stammered, “Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you. Please don’t-”

“Vaida? Vaida, what happened?” asked a familiar voice.

Vaida quickly wiped the tears from her left eye and realized that she had crashed into Hatasuko. His golden eyes looked sad when he saw her, but he reached out with both hands. Vaida jumped back and dodged his embrace, still hiding her face with her hands. With a silent look of concern, Hatasuko pulled his hands back to his side, but then Vaida wrapped her arms around him. With a breathy series of sobs, she buried her forehead into his chest and dug her fingers into his back.

As she covered her blind eye with her scarred hand, Vaida said, “I never listened when he said he loved me because I hate myself so much. He said that I’m blind if I can’t see it, but I can’t accept my own reflection. I am revolted by the girl in the mirror; her scarred face haunts me every day. So how am I supposed to move on? I want to gaze into the future. But every time I try to look ahead, one eye can only see the past.”