Rei couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She had followed Yoko’s instruction to the letter. She packed only her essentials, got into her car, and raced out of Kyoto as fast as she could. She never could’ve expected Osamu’s announcement to the world, nor the otherworldly panic that would ensue from it.
She was speeding down the highway up until she hit a wall of standstill traffic. She sat in her car and frantically checked the traffic reports on her phone, her right hand trembling over the screen. Every major street and highway in and around Kyoto was highlighted in red lines, representing severe traffic that formed ahead of the order to evacuate the city.
The deadlock was so severe that some people hopped out of their vehicles with their belongings and family members, deciding to walk along the road instead of sitting and waiting for their deaths. Even with her windows closed the screams of thousands of fleeing, terrified people pierced her ears as though they were all in the car with her.
“Please…not like this…I don’t wanna die here…” Rei sobbed.
Seeing she was well and truly stuck, Rei grabbed her red backpack off the passenger seat and stepped out of her car. She was immediately deafened by the sheer volume of the screams, police sirens, and air sirens blasting from every direction. JSDF helicopter blades whirled in the air and sounded like muffled car engines from afar, but the ear-ringing roar of the motors became clearer as the helicopters passed directly over the highway.
“Oh my god!” Cried a woman in the fleeing crowd, pointing towards Rei’s 6 o’clock. “They’re coming! Run!”
Rei turned around and looked back as scores of people ran past her. The unflinching, colossal eye of the Underworld loomed in the sky right next to the eclipse. The raven sky was dotted with one-hundred pairs of distant, red light that Rei initially thought were stars.
But the lights were moving, swaying as if they were carried by something with a gravitational center a momentum to maintain. It was then that Rei realized those red lights were the glowing, distant eyes of the colossal skeletons Osamu set free. They were marching upon Kyoto, crushing all traces of life and civilization beneath their feet, then immolating it with their nebula veils. They left a sea of flames and stardust in their wake, spelling certain doom for those standing in front of their their deadly march.
A swarm of winged shikome flew over the heads of the colossal skeletons, but seemed to ignore Kyoto altogether. Some were being sent to other Japanese cities, while others diverted in the direction of the Asian continent. Rei’s eyes widened and horror as she quickly spun around and ran down the highway with her backpack slung over her shoulder.
She looked around at the people running with her and saw the pallid faces of terrified mothers carrying their young children in their arms as they sprinted for their lives. Young men, old men, tough and weak, everyone was made equal by the shared helplessness of the massacre.
Rei saw the ugly grimaces on everyone’s faces, their gnashed teeth and bulging eyes that threatened to pop out of their skulls. These were the expressions of people who knew they were going to die, and that running would only delay the inevitable.
Scared and running in the dark, the crowd rushed down the highway like a river of people. All of a sudden, a flash of white light flashed in the darkness. The eye of the Underworld shrunk its iris and instantly set the highway ablaze. The thousands of people ahead of Rei became walking bonfires, flailing around and falling to the ground to roll the white flames off their flesh.
As thousands of flaming bodies fell upon the floor, the fire ignited trails of fuel on the road and set fire to nearby cars that were still filled with gasoline. In seconds, the crowd reversed course, running away from the men, women, and children burning alive before their very eyes. The resulting shrieks of horror drowned out the sound of Rei’s own thoughts as she turned and ran with the crowd just to avoid being trampled by them.
Just as soon as the crowd turned around, however, they all came to a stop. The stampede of colossal skeletons Rei saw in the distance just moments ago now seemed much closer than they were before, so close that the purple glow of their nebula veils shined faintly on her skin.
Innumerable voices assaulted Rei’s ears from every direction as the crowd realized they were stuck with nowhere to escape.
“We’re trapped!” wept a college-age girl behind Rei. “I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!”
“Mom! I don’t think there’s anywhere we can go!” screamed a sobbing young man.
“Oh my god! We’re fucking dying!”
“Move, get out of the way! Let me out!”
Rei frantically turned her head in every direction, searching for a way off the freeway. Her chest tightened as tears filled her eyes as she watched the colossal skeletons come closer with each, plodding step. Her hope of surviving Osamu’s wrath was diminishing right before her very eyes. It seemed there were only three options available to her: be crushed by the approaching skeletons, burn to death in the flames raging behind her, or leap off the side of the highway to her death.
She pushed through the crowd and made her way towards the edge of the freeway. Looking over the cement wall, it didn’t look like she would survive the fall. It was a long drop into a major street packed with abandoned cars.
“Osamu…” Rei sobbed, her eyes turning red. “Why?”
As the white flames scorching the highway crawled closer towards the crowd, the wind blew the noxious, black smoke in the crowd’s direction. If they continued to do nothing, most of them would die from smoke inhalation.
And so the crowd pushed its way towards the edge of the highway. Packed together like sardines, even those who did not want to risk jumping over the edge were pushed by the thousands of panicking people behind them. It was either march or be killed by crowd crush.
The air was saturated with the stench of sweat, blood, and flaming petrol. The black fumes cloaking the highway choked everyone and turned their eyes bloodshot. Tears running down their burning eyes, the first few people in the crowd were pushed over the edge and went tumbling down towards the street.
They crashed into the pavement with hard thuds, their screams going dead silent after slamming into the ground. Like an overfilled cup tipping over, swathes of people fell from the highway edge. Some landed on their faces, some the crowns of their heads, and some flat on their backs. The bodies piled up on the street, enough so that the first layers of corpses acted as cushions to break everyone else’s fall.
Instead of dying instantly, they landed upon their dead neighbors with broken limbs, but as more people kept falling from the highway, they were crushed by the rain of bodies. It was a nightmare of pained shrieks, pulverized bone, and the percussive bangs of bodies slamming through the roofs of empty cars. Shoved from behind by the force of thousands of terrified people, Rei fell into that terrible nightmare.
Her heart nearly stopped as she felt the weight of her body tip over the edge, past the point of no return. She let it a horrified scream as she felt her right foot slip off of solid ground. She flipped forward and tumbled as the air rushed into her ears and mouth. Her hellish free-fall came to an abrupt end as she slammed onto the mound of broken, bloodied bodies in the street.
Then, within seconds, thousands more men, women, and children came falling on top in the same brutal, terrifying fashion. The weight of so many people on her back knocked the air out of her. She couldn’t inhale nor exhale, and with each body piling on her, it felt as though her eyes would pop right from their sockets.
The weight grew so intense that her ribs cracked under the pressure and her organs flattened like pancakes. Vomit and blood filled her mouth and her crushed lungs, drowning her from the inside. The blood vessels in her eyes exploded from the pressure, dying her white scleras red.
Her jaw was forced shut and her teeth dropped upon her tongue like a guillotine’s blade, severing it inside her mouth. Unable to breathe and her organs crushed beneath the weight of thousands of human bodies falling on top of her, Rei suffered a death of otherworldly pain and terror.
The moment she passed away, Izanami stopped dead in her tracks. She had been hopping across rooftops to stay above the chaos and traffic in the streets when she felt a powerful jolt shoot down her spine. In seconds, she witnessed Rei’s final moments through her eyes, as well as the dying moments of the thousands that died with her.
She screamed out in horror just from the sight of it all, nearly ripping her vocal cords apart in the process. She slapped her hand over her mouth and fell to her knees, dropping her scythe by her side. Her throat burned and her lungs felt heavy, as though they were made of iron.
“Rei…” Izanami sobbed, the breeze lifting her raven hair. “I’m so sorry…”
It was fair to say that although she wouldn’t be killed in Osamu’s plan, Izanami was suffering more than anyone involved. She had to endure the sting of every single life lost in her spine. She had to witness their terrifying, final moments. She had to watch children be crushed under debris or scorched alive in the backseats of their parents’ cars. She was forced to watch the demise of each and every life lost, two of them being her beloved friends.
More than that, there was nothing she could do to save any of them. She had no way of finding Aika and Rei in all the chaos, nor any means of controlling the massive horde of demons Osamu unleashed upon the world. Having never been to Yakutsk, she had no means of going there and stopping Osamu. And that ate at her.
The Underworld, the product of her own passionate hatred for Izanagi, was created to enact vengeance upon him and humanity. She fought to change into the nurturing and loving person she was, and she had Osamu to thank for helping her in the first place. But now, that very same man had used her misguided creation to take revenge upon mankind. While Osamu was the one murdering all those people, Izanami had practically handed him the knife to do it. It was her original wish for vengeance that enabled all of it, from the outbreak of the First Great Holy War to the beginning of Dark Dawn thousands of years later.
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It all brought back visceral memories of a similar, cataclysmic event that she was directly responsible for; the Black Death. Before all of this, she never would’ve expected Osamu to walk the same, genocidal path she tried so hard to abandon, to go so far as to kill his own child and friends.
It was because she had been down that dark road before that she felt she understood Osamu. It was because she understood him that she knew he had to be stopped. And yet, she couldn’t act on her own moral obligation to do that. Armed with the knowledge of the future, Osamu was able to protect himself from all of his enemies; the Shinto pantheon, the exorcists, the global alliance, and even his own family.
Everything was going according to Osamu’s plan. Almost everything, at least. While he did heed Carmilla’s warning of a political divide in Yakutsk, he didn’t expect any real threat to come of it. Unfortunately, that political threat found a figurehead, and his name was Johan Sommers.
While Johan was en route to the hotel to meet Osamu, Hannes passed the time taking a walk through a children’s park in the west end of town. The park’s playground was constructed entirely of crystal clear, carved ice. Dozens of children played around in the snow and climbed the playground apparatus, filling the air with shouts and giggles. Warm beanies covered their hands and mittens protected their hands, allowing all the children to play to their heart’s content.
Hannes walked by the playground with his hands behind his back and a long, white scarf wrapped tightly around his neck. A slight, gentle smile adorned his angelic face as he approached the playground. His presence immediately drew the children's attention and they all took the ice slide down to greet him. Within seconds, Hannes found himself completely surrounded by dozens of kids with ice on their eyelashes and joyous grins on their faces.
“Hannes is here!”
“Did you see how fast I went down the slide?”
“Hannes, where’s the candy?”
“I want mine first!”
Hannes laughed as opened up both of his with his fingers outstretched. “Now now, let’s all get into a single-file line, okay? Otherwise, no one gets any candy.”
With their candy at stake, the children immediately followed Hannes’s order. The kids quickly went from surrounding Hannes to forming a jittery, but quiet line in front of him. Hannes bent down on one knee and reached into the pocket of his black overcoat, taking out a handful of caramel drops in golden wrappers.
“Here you go, Anton.” Hannes said. “Keep up the good work in school, okay? You can be the first person in the family to go to college if you try hard enough.”
Anton’s big, green eyes sparkled like emerald caves as he gave Hannes an affirmative nod. “Thank you Hannes! Anything I can help you with in return?”
“Oh no, you don’t have to do me any more favors at all.” Hannes said with an embarrassed, crooked smile.
“Come on, name it! Want candy? A game?” Anton urged.
Hannes looked off to the side and took a moment to think. “Then…how about this? I’d love to see more family photos. Bring your photo book next time and let’s take a look through it together.”
“Gotcha! I’ll be sure to bring it!” Anton ran off with his candy, making way for the next kid to get theirs.
“Are you still drawing, Mika?” Hannes asked as a young girl stepped up to him.
Mika nodded, her long, brown hair flowing in the wintry breeze.
“Your art has gotten so much better in just the past year.” Hannes complimented. “I knew several people who all started out just like you and they all became big artists. Never stop.”
Mika ran off with her candy and his words of encouragement. As per Hannes’s rule, each kid that received candy had to go sit down somewhere and eat it. None of them were allowed to play with a piece of candy in their mouths, given the obvious choking hazard it posed. After a few visits, Hannes didn’t need to explain this rule again. The kids simply learned to follow his instruction as a condition for getting their candy.
The children’s parents watched from afar with charmed smiles on their faces. They waved to Hannes and Hannes waved back. After handing out candy to every child, Hannes sat alone on a wooden bench in front of the playground. He watched as the children conversed with each other, sharing stories and making snow angels together.
Hannes made sure to save a piece of candy for himself as a treat for his generosity. He twisted the wrapped open and dropped the caramel candy into his mouth, his expression brightening with delight.
“The sweet taste of good karma.” Hannes said as he reached into his overcoat. He pulled out leather-bound copy of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard and began reading it in silence. Just as he was getting lost in the story, he noticed a familiar, elderly woman take a seat next to him on the bench. Her curly, gray hair was hidden beneath the hood of her fur coat, and her eyelashes with dusted with snow.
Hannes closed his book shut and gave the woman his full attention. “Ah, hello Yura.”
“I’m sorry, I hope I’m not disturbing you, Hannes.” Yura said with a soft, sweet tone.
“Not at all.” Hannes said. “I’m happy to see you.”
Yura’s eyes stole a glance of the book in Hannes hands. “Oh, you like Chekhov? It’s rare to see a young man like yourself show interest in the classics.”
“Yes, I have quite the library at home, actually. Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Turgenev, you name it, I have it.”
“I’ll have to donate some of my late husband’s books to you, then.” Yura chuckled. “I couldn’t read them even if I wanted to.”
“Oh, is your vision still giving you problems?”
“Yeah, I thought it was because I wasn’t sleeping too well, but the doctors say I’m just getting old. That’s not why I can’t read them, though.”
“Ah…” Hannes said, leaning forward. “I understand. I’m sorry.”
“I thought I had finally made peace with it all…but then that announcement happened. Is it true, Hannes? Is Osamu really going to destroy the world?”
“I don’t know him myself, so I can’t say this with absolute certainty, but I think his intent is real. I doubt the Yakutsk Lords would move so quickly to reform the city if they didn’t feel safe enough. Osamu’s threat to the world is probably real.”
“My god…” Yura gasped. “It’s like Dracula all over again. It’s been so long since the Old Kingdom fell, but it feels like nothing has really changed. Are we vampires just…predisposed to senseless destruction? Is all this violence part of our nature?”
Hannes returned his gaze to the children on the playground, watching them go about their lives with all the innocence and blissful ignorance in the world.
“Life is about finding out who you really are.” Hannes said. “It’s hard enough discovering who we are. Things get even trickier when other people come into the equation. Those children over there hold infinite potential. They’re all blank canvasses. A good parent will try to guide their children to help them discover themselves. A bad parent will force the child to become someone they’re not. Either way, I think it’s fair to say that we can’t really control who people truly are. We can raise them however we like, but persistence and temperament will always win out if the conditions are just right.
“Anton is getting good grades and might very well be good enough to attend a university in Moscow. That’s what his parents want for him, anyway. But I know that nearly every previous generation of Anton’s family served proudly under Lord Dracula. Anton’s grandparents possessed a particularly potent hatred for Armenians.
“After the Armenian Genocide, Romania was the first state to offer sanctuary to those fleeing the Ottoman Empire. Anton’s grandparents and their children volunteered to provide supplies and food to the Armenian refugee camps. One night, one of their daughters was ambushed on camp grounds. Her body was found three days later, stripped naked and covered in blood.
“No one saw who did it. There certainly wasn’t enough evidence to blame either the Armenian refugees or the Romanian guards, but Anton’s grandparents were blinded by their grief and hatred. His grandfather called a few of his war buddies from the Second Great Holy War, and a week after the incident…they walked onto camp grounds and shot forty-three Armenians.
“For as kind as they tried to be, Anton’s grandparents couldn’t outrun who they truly were. Their hatred for humanity and for foreigners was informed by generations of service to Lord Dracula and his expansionist campaigns. Anton’s parents don’t take any pride in their heritage, but you can bet that Osamu’s announcement has stirred up some emotions they thought had been put to rest. I have a feeling that they’ll make a decision that’s in line with their family history.
“On the other hand, Mika’s family fled to Moravia after Dracula began expanding outside of Europe. They saw the writing on the wall and didn’t want to be part of it. They kept their vampire heritage a secret for centuries, spending their lives as farmers, artists, writers, and architects. Her family fled again after the founding of Czechoslovakia. The Czech struggle for independence and ethnic identity reminded them all too well of the Old Kingdom.
“They’ll stand opposed to Osamu’s genocide. Mika might be too young to understand what’s happening, but she’ll most likely stand in lockstep with her parents. It’s who she is. It’s who her family have always been.”
“And what about you, Hannes? If family and heritage determines all of this, then what’s your stance?”
Hannes smiled as he aimed his piercing, blue glare at Yura. “I’m free from the shrouded hand of heritage. I make my own fate and walk in my own shadow. The next step I take is mine and mine alone.”
Yura sat with her mouth agape as Hannes stood up from the bench. He handed Yura his copy of The Cherry Orchard and stuffed his right hand into the pocket of his overcoat.
“You should read this, Yura. Perhaps recalling the pain of the past is more important than ever.”
Hannes walked off, departing from the park in silence and disappearing into the snowfall like a winter ghost. Yura clutched the book to her chest, silently resolving to read it, if even just the first few pages. More than anything, she wanted to feel the same freedom Hannes lived his life with. She wanted to feel like she was more than history and heritage dictated. So, she opened the book and determined to discover who she really was.
Osamu sat at the end of the long, black conference table in Room 1313, the same room where he was made king of a new nation. He watched the golden hands tick by on the black, leather watch on his left arm.
“Any minute now…” Osamu said, leaning back in his chair.
Hima sat in a chair right next to his, wearing a long, red dress and black, cotton gloves. Carmilla plopped down two wine glasses in front of them, as well as a fresh, unopened bottle of pinot noir.
“Actually, do we have any bourbon?” Hima asked. “I prefer to save wine for friends and whiskey for enemies.”
“Sure thing. I’ll get the short glasses then.” Carmilla said, taking back the wine and glasses. “Just don’t let the passive-aggression spill over too much once he gets here.”
Hima smirked as she leaned forward in her seat. “No promises.”
While the political fate of Minavere hung in the balance, Osamu’s family gathered in their bedroom at Moonglow Castle to have a meeting of their own. Yoko and Amatsuki sat at the coffee table in the corner while Shinju, Taeko, and Kagutsuchi sat by Tsukiakari’s bedside, watching over her as she slept.
They waited in silence for Izanami’s return. They expected Izanami and Rei to pop in through the door at any moment. They expected an emotional reunion and a wave of relief knowing that Rei would be safe with them at Moonglow Castle. They waited with tightly clasped hands and tucked in lips. The only sound in the room came from the oakwood grandfather clock ticking away the seconds.
The door handle twisted, prompting everyone to turn towards the door. Yoko stood up from her seat the moment she head the doorknob squeak. However, instead of Izanami or Rei, it was Akatsuki that stepped into the bedroom.
“Akatsuki!” Yoko gasped.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Amatsuki recoiled.
Amatsuki and Shinju stared daggers at Akatsuki. Akatsuki felt their gazes over her body like insects. No one stood to greet her. No one hugged her or even shook her hand. No one asked if she was okay or where she had been. The utter contempt and hatred between both parties was palpable the moment Akatsuki entered the room.
“We need to talk.” Akatsuki said.
“About?” Kagutsuchi asked.
“About all of you, and about Osamu.” Akatsuki answered. “You were all taken by complete surprise, but Sis and I have known about Osamu’s true plan for years. In the end, we were the only ones he felt he could trust. I’m sure there’s a lot you’re asking yourselves. I’m here to give you some answers.”
“Fine.” Yoko said. “Let’s talk.”