Chapter 346 - De-escalation

The world oblivion lingered on Yuzu’s lips as she looked at the small chest with half-closed eyes.

Oblivion.

The end of all things is coming.

These ideas came to her mind, not as words but as concepts. Her thoughts slowed. She exhaled softly, a feeling of weightless ease filled her.

She wasn’t scared of this oblivion, she was simply aware of it, the way one watches a dark storm brewing on the horizon. It was coming, but it was still far away.

The sound of waves gently lapped at her from all around.

The small chest, sitting at the base of the white shrine remained at the centre of her vision, but around it the white churning mist began to flow. The colours of the chest stood out vibrant against the washed out stone. The walls and ceiling of the chamber melted away into an endless white sky.

As she floated before the shrine, in her mind’s eye a rocky, grey landscape bubbled up in her thoughts, a lonely island surrounded by a bleak grey sea.

Waves lapping the shore.

The sound of lone gulls squawking into the wind.

A shuffling of pebbles at her feet drew her attention down to a round, spiral shell half-buried in the rocky sand. The shell squirmed up from the sand, as if there were a creature inside emerging from the ground, but when it was completely out of the ground the shell tipped over, revealing an empty interior.

Something glimmered in the dark recesses of the shell.

Yuzu knelt down, reaching into the darkness. Her fingers grasped something cold, firm and wet.

The next thing she knew her eyes were fluttering open in the physical world.

She was sitting facing the shrine in a meditative posture, slightly off centre. To her right Renshu sat in seemingly deep meditation, his back straight, his robes flowing gracefully onto the floor around him. In her hands was the smooth, polished clockwork shell.

Her thoughts took a moment to catch up with the present moment. It was as if she had woken from a dream. The memory of her experience at the bottom of the white world was distant and fleeting. She couldn’t recall if she had actually retrieved the ornate chest, or if she had just imagined it.

That’s right, I was looking into the past of the shell. Yuzu remembered why she was here.

She turned her head to look at Renshu. He noticed this and gently opened his eyes, initially looking straight ahead at the shrine rather than directly confronting her gaze.

A silence hung over them as he gave her the opportunity to speak first.

“The shell...” Yuzu said at length, “…was created by the Clockwork God, implanted into the heart of a girl. The girl was sent across the sea on a ship, but went corrupt on the journey. It sunk into the sea but eventually found its way here.”

“You saw this with your powers?” Renshu asked. For some reason his question sounded pointed, almost skeptical.

“I did.” Yuzu said, “The Clockwork God had a… well, he called her his daughter. She was the one that crafted the shell, under his supervision. She also inserted the heart into the girl. He called her Clairoix—“

She sensed Renshu tense at the mention of the name. He stood suddenly, turning toward her. His eyes were hard and cynical.

“What?” Yuzu asked, standing to face him.

“How did you learn this information?” Renshu asked.

“I saw it in a vision of the shell’s past.” Yuzu said.

“Don’t bother lying to me.” Renshu snapped, his mood suddenly shifting.“Your games won’t work with me.”

“Games?” Yuzu scoffed, smiling in spite of the accusation.

“Who is your benefactor?” Renshu demanded, looking around as if he expecting someone to show up, “Hyzegar? Relic? Or maybe Giuseppe himself!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Yuzu had never heard the names before.

“You have knowledge of the Council, you know the past of things that have only been in the privy of gods.” Renshu stabbed the air with his fan at her, “Now you tease me with names that even I am not aware of!

“It’s Hyzegar, isn’t it? Playing games on me? He’s sent you as a messenger to awaken me. Fed you His knowledge of the amulet and the Clockwork God to play a prank on me.”

Yuzu’s lips sealed together in anger as she returned Renshu’s glare. “You’re the one who asked me to look into the past!”

“You professed you had the ability to do so. I was merely humouring you.” Renshu said, “Akahi never had such an ability. Even the Gods of Knowledge and Chronos have no such power. The energies of the aetheric plane do not linger into the past. What you state is impossible.”

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Yuzu did a double take, her eyes flickering as she found Renshu’s words unbelievable. She had already looked into the history of objects many times, that was undeniable fact.

There were two options, then. One, he was lying to her about the feat being impossible. Second, he wasn’t lying, but had a flawed understanding of how things worked.

Yuzu found the second option less likely.

Then, was Renshu trying to trick her, somehow? Perhaps even his sudden burst of angry displeasure at being deceived, was part of the act?

It must be an act. Suspicion bubbled up in her mind as she wondered what Renshu’s ulterior motive was with this move.

Renshu read the emotions in her eyes as confirmation of his accusation. He opened his fan with a flick and fanned himself with a victorious air, “You see now, I’ve seen through your preposterous claim. Is it Relic? Perhaps He’s developed His powers of Concealment beyond my ability to detect? Tell me the truth, my patience is wearing thin.”

“I have not lied.” Yuzu said with thinly veiled frustration.

“Come to think of it, you refused to enter my Divine Kingdom. It’s because you were worried I could detect Their influence on you in my domain, yes? How quaint, appealing to my sense of propriety and good humour to manipulate me. Hyzegar trained you well.”

Renshu appeared to be convinced that one of these two gods, Relic or Hyzegar, which he seemed to know very well, was backing her.

He wants me to deny it and then goad me into going to His Divine Kingdom to prove myself? Yuzu thought. If I don’t go, He will take it as implicit proof that something is going on. But if I do go, I’ll be completely under His control.

If Renshu was lying to her to manipulate her, then perhaps this was what He wanted. To have her enter His Divine Kingdom where He could then do what he pleased.

If she didn’t go willingly, perhaps He would force her under some made up excuse.

With this outburst Yuzu felt less comfortable being alone in Renshu’s presence. She had thought that He had been on her side, showing interest in her, perhaps wanting to help her against Akahi. But now she was not so sure.

Yuzu reached out with her spirituality, grasping a few strings that lingered on the periphery of the chamber, fate threads that she had previously manipulated to avoid the chamber and allow her and Renshu some privacy.

The response was quick. Her spiritual intuition triggered as a portal opened up in the room. Finn emerged at the entrance to the chamber with Char Char, Kai and Firuzeh following close behind.

Confusion crossed the faces of the newcomers as they entered the room, portal closing behind them. A handsome gentleman in old style clothing, giving off an air of power while glaring angrily at Yuzu, made for quite a first impression.

Renshu was unperturbed by their arrival. He barely even glanced at them, treating them as if they were bugs. Perhaps he even guessed that Yuzu had brought them here and it was so inconsequential that it didn’t even register in his mind. He was a god, after all. Yuzu had no doubt that he could do anything he wanted to them with less effort than waving his pinky.

Yuzu glanced at Finn’s string, seeing how his thread was intertwined with the threads of higher ranking officers. With a twist of her fingers she wrapped his string around hers, linking their present fate together as well.

The last thing she wanted was to be whisked away at the whim of another divine being, and be trapped somewhere with no recourse. Finn at least was connected indirectly to Lord Noga. If he went missing along with her, or if Yuzu was spirited away by herself, he could be her insurance.

It wasn’t much of a strategy, but it was the best she could do against a potentially hostile god.

“I don’t know who Hyzegar or Relic are.” Yuzu said, continuing the conversation smoothly while also treating Finn and company as unimportant bystanders, “But the fact is, we made a deal. I looked into the past of the shell, in return for your knowledge on Akahi. Could it be you’re trying to weasel out of the deal?”

“Weasel?” Renshu scoffed, the anger rising on his face, “You—“

“Oh my lord, who is this HANDSOME man?” Char Char suddenly burst out, eyes bright as she stepped up to Renshu, “Yuzu, you haven’t introduced us.”

The kumin girl, who had at some point changed out of her battle-worn clothing into a clean set of pink robes, occupied the space between Yuzu and Renshu and bowed deeply in greeting.

“I’m Char Char, Yuzu’s best friend.” She said with a bright smile, her eyes not leaving Renshu’s face as she took it in with slightly flushed cheeks. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

Can you not read the room?? Yuzu’s eyes widened as she stared incredulously at her friend. Also, since when are you my best friend?

“Er—“ Renshu found himself hesitating as this bug that he had been ignoring suddenly landed right in front of him, spreading its wings and making a racket. His fan which had been pointing accusingly at Yuzu was now somehow directed towards this new girl who had stepped directly between them.

“So this is why you didn’t come with us, you were having some quality time with this hunk.” Char Char turned and giggled coyly at Yuzu, “You’ve been holding out on me, Yuzu.”

That— That’s not—! Yuzu couldn’t even come up with a response as her brain short circuited trying to understand Char Char’s crazy imagination.

A gentle chuckle turned all eyes toward Renshu.

“My dear, you have it wrong.” The handsome god gently flicked open his fan in an elegant motion. All the anger was gone from his face as he took on a gentle scholarly air. His eyes doted favourably on Char Char. “The two of us are conducting business.”

“My dear”? Yuzu couldn’t believe her ears as the sudden mood shift of this ‘God of Preeminent Wisdom’.

“Oh! My mistake.” Char Char’s face blushed as she looked up at Renshu with doe-like eyes, “It’s just, you’re so handsome, I assumed— I was so excited for Yuzu, she never shows interest in men.”

Char Char leaned forward, lowering her voice as she said softly to Renshu, “And she usually scares all the good looking ones off.”

Why are you leaning in? I can hear you! Yuzu fumed. Her eyes glanced to the side to see Finn start to nod, then stop as he caught Yuzu’s glare. Everyone can hear you!

“Yes, she is certainly…” Renshu’s eyes flickered toward Yuzu briefly, disdain flashing before he returned his attention to Char Char, “…lacking in some areas.”

Don’t agree with her! Yuzu clenched her fists at her sides as she opened her mouth to defend herself.

She didn’t get the chance as Renshu snapped his fan shut with a loud clack.

“We did make a deal, that is true.” Renshu declared to Yuzu, “However I shall take some time to verify the accuracy of the information you’ve provided. If there is nothing amiss, I will certainly provide the agreed upon compensation.”

“I must leave, but Miss Char Char, it was a pleasure to meet you.” He extended his hand toward Char Char, which she politely received. He leaned forward and kissed her fingers once, which caused Char Char to look away as she blushed even deeper. “If fate wills it, perhaps we shall meet again.”

He released Char Char’s hand and she bowed deeply to him to hide her face.

Renshu then looked at Yuzu, eyes hardening, lips bent into an ugly disapproving frown. Yuzu returned it with a glare of her own.

His body glowed with a bright light as he disappeared into thin air, parting with the scent of lilies floating gently on a cool breeze.