Chapter XVII

She was standing alone in the place she called her home. It was the main room of the orphanage where Abigail Reiner once took care of her and the other children. It was a big space with plenty of room for the little ones to play in. Arisa had been brought there when she was barely over twelve years old, having been discovered by her mother in the back alley slums of Erika. Her parents served in the Ijirian army and were both killed in a skirmish against the Trovians along the northern border, leaving her without any family left to care for her and unfortunately, nobody cared about the fate of an orphaned girl with nothing to offer. She was abandoned and alone until her adopted mother extended her hand.

These types of tragic histories were common among the Children of Reiner. In fact, one of her best friends, Orin Olyn, lost his parents at the same battle that took hers. In that house, they were all brothers and sisters. They cared about each other and looked out for each other. No matter what, they had each other’s backs because nobody else did. They were the ones society had no room for, so they told themselves that they would make room for each other. The older ones cared for the little ones by playing with them and teaching them about the world and how to control the mana that flowed through their bodies, and at the head of it all was their mother.

Abi Reiner had started that house to take care of children with nowhere to go. She acted as their mother because they didn’t have one. She was kind and loving, but also very serious and firm in her decisions. She didn’t baby them. If they did something wrong, she made sure they understood why their actions were wrong and taught them how to be good people. She was the primary teacher of magic, though Arisa and the older kids spent plenty of time tutoring as well. Even the ones with lower mana levels were given free lessons until they with the goal of supplying them with the knowledge to someday get accepted into the Academy of Erika once they were of age. That way, they would be able to fend for themselves and would have the option to choose where their futures took them.

In that house, life was good. They were happy and they were loved.

So…where is everybody?

As she looked around the home, there was no sign of Abi Reiner or any of her siblings. Arisa frowned, suddenly feeling worried that something bad might have happened. She quickened her pace and was about to rush into the hall when a sudden presence behind her caused her to spin around.

“Arisa,” came a soft voice.

A wave of relief washed over her upon seeing her best friend’s face. Orin stood in the doorway, as tall as ever. Yet, he wasn’t smiling like he always did, and it made her fear that something bad truly had happened. His eyes were blank and lifeless and when he spoke, his voice was wheezy and weak.

“Arisa,” he repeated.

“Y-yeah, I’m here,” she replied. “Orin, where are the others? Where is everybody? Where’s Mom?”

“Are you really asking me that?” he suddenly spat, his fury uncharacteristic of him. “Don’t act like you’re blind! Look around you! Do you not see them all?! Do you not see what’s become of them?!”

Arisa flinched back at his fury and frantically scanned the empty room once more. “I don't… Are they pulling some prank with distortion magic or…? Orin…please, you’re scaring me.”

“Scaring you?” he snarled, taking a threatening step forward. “Can you not see it?! Look into my eyes! Look around you, Arisa! We’re all dead! We’re dead!”

“Dead…? I don’t—!”

As if his words cast the incantation for them to appear, the room was suddenly filled with dozens of mutilated corpses. Blood was splattered across the walls and the stench of rot stung her nostrils. She recognized each and every one of their faces and the wide open and lifeless eyes made her want to scream. She saw friends of hers—people she held so dear to her. She saw Caldoran Noh, the mischievous and fun boy who she always happy to be her dueling partner, laying at her feet, a violent gash across his torso and his innards spilling out to stain the carpets. A few feet away was Rikki Karda, a quiet and reserved girl who enjoyed reading her books, headless and bloody. Next to her was Karda’s best friend, Loir Eiri, the confident and boisterous warrior who loved to joke that he would be Master of Fire someday, a slash down his face. The more she looked around, the more faces she recognized, and she knew there was nothing she could do to save them anymore. They were all gone, never to come back to her.

“W-who did this?” she stammered, tears pouring down her cheeks. “Why? Why would they kill them? We didn’t do anything wrong! We were just—!”

“It’s your fault!” Orin spat, and when she looked back at him, she found that his own stomach was sliced open, blood oozing out of the wound. “You failed us, Arisa! You thought taking on the Citadel was a smart idea? You thought continuing the fight against the Masters was what Mother would have wanted?!”

“N-no!” she desperately shouted back. “That’s not… I just wanted…to do something! To avenge her! To make Ijiria pay!”

“And how did that work out?!” the boy screamed. “Where did that take us except hell?! They offered us freedom if we denounced Mom’s actions! But no! You needed your revenge! And now…you rallied us all to follow you to our deaths!”

Arisa was shaking and she was barely suppressing her sobs. “Please…we got the relic, right? Ijiria doesn’t have it. We won.”

“You call this a victory?” Orin growled furiously. “You call the extinction of the Children of Reiner a win?! Were our lives worth that one measly stone?!”

“N-no… We aren’t extinct! Malt’s still out there, right?!”

“And that makes this any better?” he roared. “Whether Malt and the others survived doesn't change the fact that most of us are dead because of you! And then to make matters worse, you just had to go after Nigreos Noctis,” he went on. “You had to fight him! You wanted more revenge! And that killed me, and Karda, and Loir, and Cal! We’re all dead! And yet you live! You! The one who killed us all! Why you?! Why do you live while we’re dead?! Why haven’t you joined us?!”

She opened her mouth to speak, but words wouldn’t come. He was right. She didn’t deserve to live. She’d done everything wrong and had single-handedly wiped out everything she ever loved. She failed her brothers and sisters and even her mother. She deserved to join them in death.

“Why?”

The question was uttered not by Orin, but instead came from the body below her. When she turned to look, Cal’s eyes were fixed on her.

“Why did you kill us?” he asked softly. “Why are we dead, Arisa?”

She shook her head and frantically stepped back from the talking corpse. “B-because I…”

“Why?”

This time, it was a different corpse who asked the question. She looked around the room to see each and every corpse staring at her with their dead eyes, their heads tilted in her direction to gaze at her. Slowly, they began to crawl toward her, their bloody hands reaching for her legs. She went to run, but Cal clutched her ankle and knocked her off her balance, sending her collapsing into the ground. She cried out in pain and desperately wanted to get up, but she was too slow. The bodies were on her in seconds. The corpses of her siblings lunged at her, placing their cold hands on her limbs and head.

“No!” she shrieked. “Stop! Please! I’m sorry!”

“Join us, Arisa!” she heard Orin shout from nearby. “Join us in hell!”

They began to pull her along the carpet and no matter how much she tried to escape, she couldn't break their hold.

“Please!” she begged. “Don’t…”

A hand grabbed her mouth and cut off her screams as she felt herself being pulled into the ground, through the carpet and the concrete beneath. She couldn’t move. They were holding too tightly and as her head began to submerge, all she could think about was wanting to escape. Her eyes went below the surface and then there was nothing. She was in complete blackness, being dragged further and further down.

No! Please no! Save me, somebody! I don’t want to die! Mommy! Help me!

Finally, she was given relief as the world around her shifted back to the cell in which she was locked. Her memories returned and she began breathing heavily, her heart beating harder than it ever had before. She was trembling in utter fear and before she could process anything, her stomach gave out and she puked what little food she had in her stomach onto the floor.

“Did you like that?” Seiras whispered from somewhere nearby, a touch of excitement in his voice.

Spitting up the last drips of bile, Arisa raised her head to look at the halfling. His hood was now removed, revealing his scarred features and his insane expression.

“W-what did…you do?” she breathed.

“Heh heh…” he laughed. “What indeed? I think I shall keep that information to myself. But let that serve as a demonstration of my powers, Miss Kirisan. You’ve seen what I can do and there’s much more where that came from.”

More? He can do that again? No! I don’t want to go back!

Those haunting images of her dead siblings were burned into her mind and she knew they would be tormenting her for the rest of her life. She knew their blood was on her hands. They were dead because of her misguided choices.

“Please…no more,” she sobbed. “I can’t… I don’t want to…”

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“Oh?” Seiras tilted his head in glee. “No more? Well…I suppose I could stop…but I need something from you. I want answers…and you know what answers those are. So if you give them to me, I won’t do it again.”

“But…” she uttered. “I…can’t betray…my mother.”

Seiras clicked his tongue in annoyance. “You can’t? But if you don’t, I’ll cast the spell again. Do you want that?”

“No…”

“Then do as I say!” he snarled. The halfling moved across the room and grabbed her head with his hands, forcing her to stare into his bulging blue eyes. “Why would you defy me? I am asking but a simple request! The pain can end! The suffering can end! Just give me what I want! Give me answers!”

“Please…no…” she cried. “Don’t make me… Save me… Save me, Mommy…”

“No, no, no,” Seiras growled in a singsong voice. “Your mommy will not be saving you. You are all alone because your mommy is dead…a corpse rotting in her grave…left behind by the living. She can’t come back. She’s gone…all dead.”

Arisa was crying freely now but she couldn’t shake her head from Seiras’s grasp.

“And so are your siblings,” he went on. “Nobody is coming for you. You’re alone. Who would help an orphaned little traitor like yourself? Hmm? Who? Can you tell me that? Who’s coming for your worthless life?”

She could only whimper, unable to form words in the face of his questions.

“Are you crying? Did I say something to make you cry?” he asked in a mocking voice. “My apologies, young girl. How very rude of me.” He finally let her go and took a few steps back. “So? What’s your answer? Last chance to do as I wish or I will continue the torture.”

Despite how broken she felt, she slowly shook her head, knowing that she couldn’t betray her mother. The world that Seiras showed her was a living hell, but if she told the man what he wanted to know, then her sins would only grow. She didn’t have an option but to continue enduring everything the Masters had to throw at her.

“Un…fortunate…”

Arisa braced herself for the spell, but in one last ditch attempt to save herself, she looked up at the other individual in the room. He was staring back at her, his features tensed, but the emotions behind them hidden.

“Please…” she whispered. “Save me…”

“Aniextiam!”

Right before the spell activated, she saw Caeli look away, but the expression of utter pain that he failed to hide surprised her.

***

Arisa Kirisan’s shrieks stayed with him long after Ryokumo left the dungeons behind. He had listened to the girl cry out in pain numerous times already, but it felt different that day. What Seiras did to her had truly left her a broken mess to the point that she couldn’t even respond to his questioning anymore. When they left her, she was sobbing and screaming in attempts to bash her head against the concrete. In order to prevent her from killing herself, they chained her neck and gagged her mouth. It was a terrible sight, and he knew he wouldn’t be sleeping that night.

I don’t think I can do this, he thought. This is too much. Seiras’s spell is horrible. It isn’t something anybody should ever do. That poor girl…

The way she cried for Abi had been heartbreaking and when she looked at him, silently begging him to save her, he wished he could have cut Seiras down on the spot and freed her, but he knew he could never do that. He couldn’t betray Ijiria more than he already had. There was nothing he could do for Kirisan except watch and remember her. He wouldn’t allow her life to fade into nothing. At the very least, she would remain in his thoughts for the rest of his life.

I can’t forget them. I shouldn’t be allowed to.

Ryokumo shook his head, rounding a corner and making his way toward a golden door at the end of the corridor. Two guards stood in front of it, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords, wearing the same armor as the ones in the dungeon. When they noticed him, they straightened up then bowed.

“Master Caeli,” the man on the right greeted. “Good evening.”

Ryokumo nodded. “Yes, good evening, Jax. You as well, Cray. I am here to meet with the prince. He has requested my presence.”

“Of course,” Jax replied. “He is expecting you. Go on in.”

“Thank you.”

The guards stepped aside and Ryokumo pushed open the golden door to enter the room. It was empty, lacking in furniture or windows, resembling an empty silver box rather than a room. However, he could sense the charms in place, ready to strike him down should he prove himself to be a threat. It was a kind of old magic from the time of the Citadel’s creation. It could sense ill-intent and would unleash waves of mana on anybody who entered it with the desire to do harm to Prince Reigious. Even knowing he would never be the target of the spell, he still tensed up whenever inside. Anxious to get out, he crossed the room and moved through the doorway opposite him to enter into Reigious’s personal office.

But the moment he did, he stopped short in surprise.

He had expected to find the crown prince sitting at his usual spot in the golden throne behind the large, emerald desk that served as his workspace. That was the typical sight that often greeted him, but this time, while the prince was sitting on his throne, he wasn’t alone in the room. Standing beside the desk was his older sister, Anna-Piura, not dressed in her typical military attire, but instead in a more casual tunic and pants, both matching the royal colors of green and gold. In addition, her emerald hair was tied back. It was one of the few times Ryokumo had ever seen her dressed like that.

The Master of Wind immediately bowed. “My prince. My princess. Good evening.”

“Yes, good evening, Ryokumo,” Reigious replied. “Thank you for coming so quickly. I hope you do not mind if my sister is present for your report as well.”

He rose and shook his head. “Of course not, Your Majesty.”

Piura regarded him for a moment then smiled softly. “It’s good to see you again, Caeli. It has been quite a while since we last spoke.”

He smiled. “Well, that’s understandable. Between investigations into the Citadel raid and the tensions on the Trovian border, things have been quite hectic.”

“Yes, they have been,” she murmured. “The Trovians are unfortunately getting bolder, especially in the territories around Harunhein. I do fear the possibility of a war should this persist so I hope Master Ka’s plan is as efficient as he claims it is. We need this situation wrapped up as soon as possible so we can turn our attention to the north.”

Reigious smirked. “Stop being so dramatic, Sis’. While I agree that we need answers soon, I do not think the Trovians would ever challenge us again. They’ve lost enough times in the past to have learned their lesson. A war is unlikely.”

“Perhaps…” Piura replied sharply. “But do not forget that it was the Assassination Stone that enabled us to defeat them the last time. Without it…”

“Yes, yes,” the prince interrupted. “But we’ll get it back. Noctis and Luz might be taking their time, but soon enough, they shall return and, if Seiras succeeds and we learn who the guide was, we can brush this whole situation aside.”

Piura frowned, seeming disapproving of her brother’s laid back attitude, before turning her attention back to Ryokumo. “So, Caeli, what are your thoughts? Does Master Ka have a chance of getting the Children to talk?”

Ryokumo hesitated, unsure of how to respond. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that Seiras would succeed if he kept at it long enough, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to stomach much more of it. It was selfish and could cause them to mistrust him, yet he couldn’t stop himself from wanting to try.

“It’s possible,” he answered softly. “However…I do not like it.”

Reigious cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“The spell,” Ryokumo clarified. “It’s too much. I don’t know how much he explained to the two of you, but it’s something I believe is best left to the unknown.”

“Why?” Piura asked. “Master Ka explained the details to us and it sounds efficient. To use one’s regrets and fears against them…well, it might be what we need to make the Children talk.”

“Maybe…” he admitted. “But…it’s just that I don’t know if it’s worth it. Seiras used the spell on me and I know what it’s like first-hand. It’s horrifying.”

At that, Piura straightened up and her brow furrowed in obvious concern. “What? He…cast it on you? Why?”

“Because that’s just who he is,” Ryokumo replied firmly. “There was no reason other than to entertain himself and the things I saw—the way it made me feel. Enough of it could drive anybody insane and…”

“You saw Abi, didn’t you?” Reigious interrupted softly.

For a moment, Ryokumo could only stare into Reigious’s eyes and the longing behind them, reminding him of a past that he wished could have turned out differently. “Of course I did. . There’s…nothing I regret more in my life than what happened to her.”

For a moment, he debated revealing the contents of his third vision to them, wondering if perhaps they could help him regain his memories from Album when she returned, but he quickly opted against it. Without knowing what he forgot, he couldn’t know how much of it he wouldn’t want them knowing about. Combined with its link to the Angel and he knew keeping his mouth shut was for the best.

“Look, Ryokumo,” the prince began, “I understand why you wouldn’t approve of his methods, but I think you’re having trouble separating yourself from the Children. I understand that they were hers to care for, but like Abigail, they betrayed us. You have to see them as what they are—traitors. Even if Abi’s rebellion led them astray, they are still humans with their own choices…and they chose to attack the Citadel and steal a relic. Therefore…they will be punished.”

“O-of course,” he uttered.

He knew that they would respond in such a way, but he had to try. Seiras’s magic was terrible but without killing the Master and burning his notes, there was nothing he could do to destroy it. Whether he liked it or not, that magic was going to be released into the world and he would have no option but to stand by and watch the damage it caused.

“So you think it will be effective?” Piura pressed.

Knowing that he couldn’t lie, Ryokumo nodded. “Yes…it will do what we need. Kirisan and the other Children will break in time. In fact…I barely give it a week.”

Piura exhaled softly, seemingly satisfied. “Good…then all we need to do is wait for Noctis and Luz to return. Then, we can put this mess behind us.”

“Yes,” he muttered. “Let’s hope so.”

***

When Ryokumo returned to his quarters, he stopped just outside the door and merely stood in place for a long moment. He had invited Hannah for dinner that night—something they did once a week ever since Ryokumo suggested it as a way to get to know each other. He was a strong believer that a master and an apprentice should have a good personal relationship. Of course, there were certain boundaries to be kept, but he knew that if she came to like him as a person rather than simply as her master, then she would be more open to learning from him. On the flipside, he wanted to make sure he understood her in order to choose the best way to train her. As he expected, he could sense her presence on the other side of the door, yet he didn’t open it. After the day he had, he wasn’t sure he could keep on a confident front.

But it’s not like I can just stand here. She’s waiting for me. I just need to put on a smile and go in.

He took a deep breath, attempted to put all thoughts of Seiras’s spell and the Children of Reiner to the side, then opened the door. He was greeted by the smell of grilled meat and vegetables, and he smiled at the realization that she had already picked up their food from the dining hall.

“Oh, welcome back, Master!” Hannah greeted cheerfully as she looked up from the table, yet that smile vanished the moment she saw him. “Master? Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

He frowned. “Huh? I-I’m fine. Why?”

“W-well…it’s just that…you look like you’re about to cry.”

Ryokumo glanced away, dropping the forced smile he’d hoped to use to mask his true emotions. Yet, it seemed it was a mistake to think that he could hide them from Hannah. She knew him better than he gave her credit for.

The girl got to her feet. “Is there anything I can do?”

“N-no,” he replied softly. “I’m sorry to worry you, Hannah. I’m fine. It’s just…”

Ryokumo trailed off and he could tell by her worried expression that his lie wasn’t going to achieve anything. He knew he couldn’t tell her anything about Seiras and the interrogations, but he wasn’t sure he could hold himself together anymore. Arisa Kirisan’s shrieks were still echoing in his head, forcing him to remember what he was doing to them. He had hoped that Reigious would listen, but as was expected, the prince didn’t care what happened to the Children so long as he got his answers. Ryokumo was the only one who didn’t want to see them in pain, and there was nothing he could do for them.

“Master?” Hannah repeated. “Please…if I can help, even if it’s just listening, let me.”

He smiled sadly. “Thanks, Hannah…but there’s nothing you can do. There’s nothing either of us can do.”