“No.”

His answer was direct.

Cedar, no. He decided that the man in front of him wasn’t Cedar. The man was different. Though the face was the same, their glare was different. It wasn’t cold, but it was filled with life and emotion.

“To get rid of the threads tied around your neck,” he explained, tapping his neck to show the threads made from spirit energy. “Easiest way to do that is to die. When I was imprisoned, I heard from a couple of the Warden’s people that you’re immortal.”

At that, Kagami turned his head away, and crossed his arms.

“I don’t want to. A person should die once.”

Subaru smiled to mask his annoyance. If he had a technique that could be used, then it should be used.

“You’re not dying. You’re probably regenerating. If you were truly dead, than your Gate would be destroyed.”

“Gate? I’ve heard that word tossed around. What is that?” Kagami looked at him quizzically.

The oni tilted his head, rubbing his thumb against his horn.

“Well, I guess I did say I’d teach you the basics of Aura. A Gate houses Aura. It is within every soul. Opening a Gate allows you to transform your Aura into Spirit Energy.” He held up the Spirit Key, a blue fruit that gave a dim glow. “To open one, usually one must eat a Spirit Key. There are some people that do not need to eat one to open one up. I do, and the last time I saw you, you did too.”

He handed Kagami the fruit, and he gave it a look, turning it in his fingers as he frowned.

Kagami looked up at him. “Aura? I think I used it in a fight with that tree monster. I didn’t need to eat one of these though.”

“Why don’t you try to eat it then.” He offered.

Kagami tossed it in his mouth. His face turned purple. Subaru stood up, raised a hand towards him.

“Wait, if you’re going to do that don’t do it her-”

Too late.

The smell of the vomit filled the cave, and burnt his nose. It made him want to vomit. Kagami wiped his mouth, still looking sick from eating the fruit. He looked angry though.

“What’s the big idea, giving me poison?!”

Subaru sighed, rubbing his forehead.

“Listen, don’t start with these accusations. You said you could use Aura without a Spirit Key. I had to find out. The easiest way was to let you eat one. I heard rumors that people that don’t have locks on their Gates have a violent reaction.” Subaru narrowed his eyes at the mass of vomit. “I didn’t expect it would be that bad. That looks like your breakfast and more.”

To demonstrate his point, Subaru pulled out another dried Spirit Key. Kagami flinched at the sight of it. Inwardly he laughed at his reaction. He ate the whole thing, feeling the weird rubbery texture and the sour taste as he swallowed it.

Then his Gate opened. Aura flowed through every bit of his body. He whispered, but with Aura, he was able to transfer the sound as if he were whispering next to Kagami’s ear.

“See. My Gate is open now.”

Kagami flinched, holding his ear. He looked to his right, seeing nothing but the wall. It made Subaru chuckle at the sight of the Prince who would probably order him dead if he messed with him enough.

Kagami rubbed his chin, and frowned.

“You said you’re using Aura, but I can’t see it. I saw it when I was fighting the tree monster. It looked like a candlelight.”

“That’s Aurasight.” He used it to look at Kagami and frowned. “But I don’t see anything coming from you though.”

Even if someone’s Gate was closed, they would still have a sliver leaking from their body. Yet, there was nothing.

He walked over to Kagami. The prince watched him closely, his guard up.

“I don’t like doing this, but I have to knock on your Gate. That involves me touching you. Can you stop acting like I’m going to hurt you? If I wanted to, I wouldn’t have rescued you,” he said, holding up his hand to see if it was okay to do what he needed to do.

“I can’t help it.” Kagami said. “Ever since I came to this world, a lot of people have have tried to kill me.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t bite.”

Kagami looked at him directly in the eyes. It made Subaru shiver. Those piercing eyes felt like they went through his soul.

His guard went down.

“If you do anything, I will kill you.”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“You’re not very trustful.” Subaru sighed. He placed his hand on his back and then pushed Spirit Energy. He knocked on the Gate.

“Wha?”

He found himself transported in a dark space with a giant Gate. Flames coiled around the Gate like a snake. It shimmered like glass, colors shifted every second. The Gate tried to open, but the flames prevented that.

But what surprised him the most was the second gate right next to that.

That should be impossible. One person should only have one Gate. The flames originated from the second gate. He stared through the crack, seeing an eye stare back at him.

Flames burst and he pulled his hand away from Kagami’s back as if it were a hot stove.

“What’s wrong?” Kagami asked him.

Sweat dripped from his face. He looked down at his hand, seeing a mark burnt on his palm. It faded away before he could get a good look at it.

“You-”

He stopped. He felt heat bubble up his body, and he gasped. The mark reappeared on his hand and he saw it clearly. It was the mark of the Sun. Whatever was behind the second Gate was preventing him from telling Kagami. It was a Curse.

Kagami placed his hand on his forehead.

“You’re hot.”

“I’m fine.” He smacked away Kagami’s hand. “Just…overused my Aura is all.” He calmed himself and made the intent to hide the truth about his Gates from him. His body felt cooler, and it proved his theory that the Curse prevented him from telling Kagami.

Still the prince looked at the hand that was slapped away and looked at Subaru.

“You’re not fine. Is that what’s supposed to happen when you knock on Gates?” Kagami watched him closely. He had thought the Prince without amnesia to be stupid, but that may be a mistake. He felt as much pressure, maybe even more, from Kagami than Cedar Oswell.

“What happened?”

He took a breath, and forced himself to smile.

“I didn’t see anything. Your Gate has no lock.” He managed to say. The sun mark on his hand faded away. His voice regained its strength. “I’m not sure why you’re not able to open you Gate. I can teach you the basics, but the rest is up to you.”

To that, Kagami snorted and sat back down cross legged.

“If you don’t want to tell me fine. I’ll take your word for it.” He leaned in, his teeth baring. “You better teach me well.”

But he knew if that thing was preventing him from opening his Gate, then whatever he taught him would be useless, until he was able to open the Gate himself. He wouldn’t be useful if they went to get the Aura Eraser from their storage.

The Aura Eraser would get rid of both the threads on his neck and the mark on his right hand.

His nose wrinkled.

“First, clean up this mess.” He pointed to the Kagami’s vomit.

#

“Did you feel anything when I knocked on your Gate?” The blue haired oni asked him.

“Yeah.” It had been a weird feeling. If Kagami had to explain it, it was like if someone plunged their hand in his chest and knocked his insides.

“Just do that. Bring your hand to your chest, and imagine yourself knocking on your Gate.”

Kagami did as he was told, bringing his hand to his chest. He closed his eyes to imagine it. He stood in front of a Gate, and knocked on it. It tried to open, but he felt resistance to it opening. As if the Gate was shackled by iron chains.

His eyes opened, and he crossed his arms. His lips tugged in frustration.

“It feels like there’s a lock.”

“If there was, then you wouldn’t have violently thrown up when you ate the Key.” Subaru pointed out. “Let’s try a different tact. You said you felt Aura rush into you when you fought the treant? Do you recall the trigger that allowed you to do that?”

That was easy.

“My wife.”

Subaru rose an eyebrow to that. “You have a wife?”

Kagami glared at him and Subaru lifted his hands to surrender.

“You know, I have to be skeptical of you. Even if what you say is true, imagining Cedar married hurts my head.”

“I can understand.” Kagami lifted his chest in pride. “This body is super weak. I trained and trained for over a year, and it’s still not as strong as my true body. My real body is bigger, stronger, and better. When I was in my body, I could no doubt defeat the Warden.”

“Cedar? Weak? I don’t think you understand how powerful Aura is,” he said. “With Aura you have a chance of beating the Warden do you not? Can you beat him right now?”

To that, Kagami felt his mood blew like a candle flame.

“No,” he answered him. “But if I can use that power.” He clutched his fist. “Then I have a chance.”

“Where’d all that bravado from before go?”

“Lying to myself won’t help me defeat him. If I can use this.” Kagami trailed off, remembering the feeling of explosive power from his fight earlier. He compared it to his fight with the Warden, if it could have been called that. “Then, I have a chance. Not a guarantee, but a chance to defeat him.”

For a moment, he felt something stir in him, but it disappeared just as immediate.

The oni looked at him stunned.

“Hm? Something wrong?”

“Yeah,” he shook his head and sighed. “I don’t think you can do anything for me. I was hoping you were still Cedar, but it’s obvious you aren’t. But, you’re much, much different from Cedar. You’re too pure.” He glared at him. “Bad people would take advantage of that.”

Kagami gave a hearty laugh.

“My wife would say something similar to me.”

“Your wife must have the patience of a saintess to deal with you,” he huffed a sigh. “The truth is, I don’t see us getting my stuff. The only way I could think of is to use you as a distraction.”

“If that’s what you need to do, then you should do it,” Kagami said.

Once more, the oni was stunned by what he said.

Kagami continued.

“I can’t do much right now, but I can do what I can do.”

Subaru looked at him hard.

“And if I told you to die to get rid of the threads?”

Kagami glared at him.

“I won’t do that.” He made sure to repeat that as firmly as he could. “A person should only die once.”

Subaru sighed, scratching his head. “Those threads on you, won’t come off. I don’t know why you’re against dying so much, but you shouldn’t limit yourself in a fight you know. Do you understand that?”

“We just have to get it before our heads come off,” Kagami said.

“You think you can do that?”

“I’ll give it my all.”

Subaru snorted. “That’s not good enough. If I die, I die.”

“Which is why I’ll go into the cave.”

His eyes changed.

“You’ll go in the cave?”

“Yes. I’ll put myself at risk.”

Subaru scratched the back his head and sighed.

“You’re weird, but if you’re willing to risk that then, I’ll use you how I like. You’ll be the distraction while I fight the guard. You’ll be the one that goes in the cavern to grab my bag. You’ll take the most risks, because you hold no power right now. Do you understand?”

“Easily.”

Subaru stood up.

“Follow me then. The sooner we do this the better.”