The Fallen arc

The Azalea Forest

Both Jayden and Ziera continued to Arkin back to his hideout. Ziera was still injured and couldn't walk very well on her own, so Jayden was going to continue carrying her on the way. Jayden never told Ziera this but she was actually kind of heavier than she looked. But if he wanted to leave this forest alive he'd keep that to himself. Right now though he was more curious about Arkin.

"Hey um Arkin right?" Jayden asked.

"Yes? What is it?" Arkin responded in question.

"You said you're the guardian of this forest and whatever I get but I have a few questions. One, how can you enter our minds? Two, how do you know who I am? Like I get Ziera but I'm just a guy. Three, how can you produce fire when you're not a dragon or cyborg? Four, why does this forest affect our friend's magic but not you? Five, why didn't you reveal yourself to us sooner? Six, did you know the original guardians personally? And seven, do you happen to know a kid named Luca? He's a Fallen. He'd be about seven years old I think? And probably being chased by a group of evil ruthless imperial douchebags. Sound familiar? No? Maybe so? Huh? Hm?" Jayden asked.

"Jayden, are you trying to annoy him?" Ziera asked with an annoyed face.

"What? I'm just being thorough." Jayden argued.

"You sure like to talk don't you boy? Well all your questions will be answered soon once we reach my home. Now stop talking and get moving." Arkin ordered.

"Alright. Alright geez." Jayden said.

"Just leave him alone for now Jayden. Arkin is an extremely ancient and powerful being that's walked Esos for over thousands of years. He's been here since the time of the gods." Ziera explained.

"Seriously!? He's that old?" Jayden asked.

"Yeah. And he's one of the strongest yokai there is, if not the strongest. He's the main reason why the empire hasn't burned this forest to the ground already. Zenal himself would have to come down here and fight him and that would be a hassle." Ziera said.

NO FREAKIN WAY! Zenal himself would have to come here to fight this guy!? Only people I know that can fight Zenal are Merlin and maybe some of the big royalty wigs from all the kingdoms. Are you telling me this guy is that strong!?

"You give me far too much credit Princess Ziera. I may be powerful but I wouldn't hold a candle to Zenal the way I am now." Arkin said. Ziera raised an eyebrow.

"The way you are now?" Ziera asked.

"It's nothing, princess." Arkin said.

"Sorry but can you not call me a princess please? That past is behind me." Ziera requested.

"My apologies. I meant no offense." Arkin said sincerely.

"It's fine." Ziera replied. Ziera didn't mind that much as she had had other things on her mind at the moment.

Dammit! I was almost killed by that thing. If Jayden hadn't shown up I'd probably be dead right now. Tsk! If only my scanner had worked I would have seen those extra arms coming. No, that's just an excuse.

If my sister fought that thing she would have easily crushed it with or without her scanner. Come on Ziera! This isn't like you. Ever since you tried to retrieve Ragnarok you've been off your game.

[Flashing through Ziera's mind was the memory of Ziera looking depressed at the imperial medical bay].

Ziera flinched at the memory. She grit her teeth and began getting stiff on Jayden's back.

No. You know that's not true. Even before ragnarok you....

"Hey Ziera?" Jayden asked. Ziera snapped out from her thoughts and focused on Jayden. "Is everything okay? How are you holding up?" Jayden asked with concern.

"I'm fine Jayden. It cut into me but not so deep to where it'll be fatal. Only real pain is this headache." Ziera answered.

"That's crazy. I didn't think androids could even get poisoned." Jayden said.

"They can't. I'm the exception because I'm technically a cyborg. My body is 99% mechanical. While 1% of my body is human." Ziera explained.

"Wow. What's the 1%?" Jayden asked with curiosity. Ziera was silent for a moment. They only made Jayden more curious.

"Don't worry about it. Let's just focus on the objective at hand." Ziera said.

"Ziera, are you sure you're okay?" Jayden asked with concern.

"I said I'm fine okay?" Ziera said with a harsh tone.

"Right. Jayden said begrudgingly. Jayden was going to just let it go but after getting the same answer for Ziera for a week, that on top of her getting hurt again in front of his eyes, Jayden had lost any patience he had. Jayden stopped in his tracks. "Ugh I can't keep doing this!" Jayden complained.

"What?" Ziera asked.

"Ziera, this is stupid. How long are you just gonna brush me off and act like everything is fine?" Jayden frustratedly asked.

"Jayden, now is really not the time to talk about this." Ziera said.

"Then when!? Every time I try to talk to you about how you really feel you push me away!" Jayden said, raising his voice. Now Ziera was getting frustrated.

Is he serious!? I push him away!? Ziera thought.

"I push you away!? That's rich coming from the guy who won't talk about how he's really feeling either!" Ziera shot back.

"Huh!? What's that supposed to mean!?" Jayden yelled back.

"Don't play dumb with me! I'm talking about that night when you couldn't sleep. That night you were going through something. Something bad. I tried to talk to you about it but you shut me out!" Ziera shouted.

"I already told you nothing was wrong! I was okay! I'm okay!" Jayden shouted back.

"No you're not! That night, your heart was racing. If it went any higher you would have had a heart attack. You were far from okay Jayden!" Ziera retorted.

"It was just a nightmare! No big deal! Why can't you just leave it alone!?" Jayden shouted.

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"Because you're my friend you idiot! I told you that you could tell me anything because I care about you! I don't want to make the same mistake twice!" Ziera shouted back. Ziera gasped. Realizing what she had just said.

"Wait. Twice? Ziera what do you mean?" Jayden asked.

"It doesn't matter. Look if you aren't ready to share your problems with me that's fine. But you don't get to lecture me about not wanting to talk about my feelings when you won't either. You can't have it both ways, Jayden." Ziera said.

Jayden had stopped trying to argue. He remembered exactly what he said to Ziera that day.

["Look I said I'm fine okay!? So can you back the hell off already!?"].

Jayden went from feeling frustrated to feeling ashamed. He hadn't forgotten how he treated Ziera a few days ago. Nor had he stopped feeling guilty ever since. Now he was making the same mistake again.

Ziera's right. I'm being a hypocrite. I can't criticize her for not being honest with me when I'm not honest with her. Shit. Who am I fooling? I'm not even honest with myself.

["You're just some ignorant bastard who doesn't give a shit about what's going on here! You don't even know half the shit we've been through because of the empire! But now you think you can solve everything just because all of a sudden you're the chosen one now!?"].

Henro was right about me too. I don't know anything yet I act like I do. I want to change but I still haven't. Am I just going to keep fucking up for the rest of my life?

"Are you two finished?" Arkin asked. Jayden and Ziera took their attention away from each other and towards Arkin who was waiting for them up ahead. "If you're done with your petty squabble, then make haste. We're almost there." Arkin said.

"Right." Jayden said begrudgingly.

"Yeah." Ziera said harshly.

Jayden and Ziera didn't say a word toward each other for the rest of the journey ahead.

***

"We have arrived." Arkin announced. Jayden while carrying Ziera walked beside Arkin. Both him and Ziera were in awe at the sight before them.

"Whoa!" Jayden said.

"It can't be! Is this!?" Ziera asked in shock.

Before Jayden and Ziera's very eyes was a huge village hidden within the forest . All of the houses were inside the trees. It seems they built their houses within those trees to keep them hidden. Plus some go up really high so they most likely enjoyed the view.

"Yes. This is Oak Village. Was once a happy and peaceful village to many humans, demons and demon hybrids, is now nothing but a home to us yokai. Come. Your friends are waiting for you." Arkin said.

Jayden and Ziera followed Arkin and entered the village. As they walked inside they saw all types of yokai around the village. Yokai children playing in the grass, fully grown animal yokai taking care of daily duties like cleaning and even some human looking yokai.

"I can't believe this. I thought the village got destroyed by the empire" Jayden said with excitement.

"Yeah. It was said they burned the whole village down after capturing the demons and escorting the humans to another town." Ziera bluntly said.

"You would be correct but the yokai here rebuilt the houses within the trees and took good care of this village. It holds....great sentimental value to them." Arkin stated.

"Wait what do you...?" Jayden was about to ask.

"YOU!" A voice cried out from ahead. It belonged to the ghostly woman who had attacked Jayden and Ziera earlier. She was flying towards both of them in a fit of rage.

"Oh shit! Ghost lady is back!" Jayden shouted.

"Tsk. Here we go." Ziera grumbled.

"STOP!" Arkin roared. The ghostly woman stopped in her tracks.

"Amira. I told you that these two are not our enemies. Especially not princes-I mean Ziera. She has already left the empire and means us no harm. Please, stand down." Arkin asked gently.

The ghostly woman named Amira looked and glared at Ziera. Ziera glared back at her. But Jayden wanted to avoid another fight.

"Ziera." Jayden called out trying to calm her down.

Ziera sighed and calmed down. "Look, I promise I'm not your enemy. And for what it's worth I'm sorry I called you a skank back there. You're actually kinda pretty. Do we have a truce?" Ziera pleaded.

Amira continued to glare at Ziera but didn't say a word. She just grunted and flew away. Jayden released a sigh of relief.

"I apologize. Amira assumed you were still with the empire and acted on pure emotion. But she's not a bad person. Please, forgive her." Arkin advised.

"It's fine, don't worry about it." Ziera said, waving him off.

"I'm cool." Jayden simply said.

"I'm glad to hear that. Truth be told, the empire has taken a lot from Amira and everyone else in this village. Their home, their families, and even took their right to go to the afterlife." Arkin said.

"Took away their right to go to the afterlife? What are you talking about?" Jayden asked.

"I'm talking about the truth Jayden. The whole truth. You know the story of how the humans were safely escorted from this village while the demons were arrested? That was a lie. The truth is after the imperials arrested the demons, the half breeds, and the fallen child Luca, Zenal sent his witch to this village." Arkin said.

"Witch? Wait! Ziera, is he talking about Circe? The witch you told me about earlier?" Jayden inquiered.

"Yeah. The Vermillion Witch, Circe. She became a recent member of the Crimson Knights three years ago before I had left the empire. She can summon and control various types of yokai. But I never heard anything about her attacking the village. How much did Zenal cover up?" Ziera questioned.

"Much more than you think. The truth is the humans who lived here were never safely transported by the empire. Three years ago, every single human within this village was killed by the witch, Circe." Arkin stated.

Jayden and Ziera were shocked to hear this. They couldn't believe it. All of those people were gone.

She....did what? Jayden thought.

I knew she was a bitch but...this!? Wait a second. Ziera thought.

"That's impossible! There's no way they could have faked the transportation of hundreds of people!" Jayden yelled.

"Actually they can." Ziera said. She looked down at the ground and bawled up her fists. "Trust me Jayden, this isn't the first time Zenal covered up the death of one of his own. I should know." Ziera spat with a venomous tone.

"Ziera?" Jayden asked with concern.

"Indeed. The human villagers were at peace with the demons and some even barred children with them. Zenal couldn't just arrest all those with demonic blood without resistance. So he crushed that resistance. Until there was nothing left. The humans were killed and the demons taken by the empire were later killed and discarded. But it didn't end there. Their bodies were destroyed but not their souls." Arkin said.

"Their souls?" Jayden asked.

"Do you know how yokai are created, Jayden? From the negative emotions of humans. Fear, yearning and hatred. We may be demons he's but we are also abnormalities. That is why I can use fire magic despite having demon blood. Like machines, Yokai do not fall under the rules of 8 elemental natures. That is what makes us valuable in the eyes of people like Zenal and Circe." Arkin explained.

"Circe of course knew this. So what better way to create such feelings by committing the most sinful and disgusting act imaginable? Circe not only killed the villagers but also tortured and toyed with them for as long as she could that day. She did this until their hatred grew and grew. Then she killed those people, removing their souls from their bodies. All with a twisted smile on her face."

"Wait. No. Don't tell me.." Jayden trembled. Fearing what he was about to hear next.

"Yes. Their souls became yokai. Thus Circe used that opportunity to capture them and keep them as her pets. I tried my best to stop it. To save the demons, to save the humans and hybrids. But I wasn't strong enough to prevent her from turning all the humans of this village into yokai. Circe was just a child at the time but she still caught me by surprise. Her magic...is also abnormal. It doesn't belong in this world. Thus, the result was losing half of my life force. That is why I said I cannot defeat Zenal." Arkin said.

"No. No that can't be...". Jayden said with denial.

"No. He's telling the truth Jayden." Ziera said. Jayden looked at her. "When I first met Circe, she had about 80 yokai at her disposal. I never knew how or where she got them in the first place but now it makes sense. I knew there was something that felt....human about those yokai." Ziera said with sadness.

Jayden was horrified and shocked from hearing this. All the people, including children that were in this village are all yokai. Zenal had Circe kill them all to turn them into yokai. And even now they still won't leave this village or this forest alone.

Unforgivable! Completely unforgivable! Zenal! How many!? How many lives do you have to take in order for you to be satisfied!? You heartless monster! Jayden thought.

"Yes. There were 180 humans in this village. At a certain point I was finally able to drive her off but Circe still managed to capture 80 of them. I was powerless to stop her. I am supposed to be their guardian and yet I failed to protect the people of this village while she laughed at my expense. That is why I said I cannot defeat Zenal. Because.... I am a failure. To the demons, the humans and to my fellow yokai. I failed to protect my home. And I failed them. I failed them all." Arkin looked down at the ground saddened.

"No man! It wasn't your fault! The empire did this! They're the ones to blame!" Jayden shouted with passion.

"I thank you Jayden. But even so I am their guardian and I failed to protect them. I am just as much to blame as they are. Now then let us be off. We shouldn't keep your friends waiting." Arkin said.

"Jayden. Let's go." Ziera said.

"I know." Jayden bitterly said.

["I am a failure."].

The truth is, I know exactly how he feels. Jayden thought.