“You sure picked a good spot to hide yourself,” Jason intervened, “Though, despite everything you have done, I must commend your persistence to retrieve the Imperial Crown.”
The masked man chuckled at the prince’s deduction, and in turn, replied, “So, you knew? Of course, you do – the trail we left is not exactly subtle, isn’t it?”
“I don’t think that is something you or anyone should be proud of,” Sam remarked, his brows drawn together.
“If you think we are proud of everything that went down, then you are sorely mistaken. Sacrifices must be made if one wishes to achieve greatness and that applies to everyone – including the two of you.”
“Thank you for enlightening us on the significance of sacrifices,” Jason answered sarcastically, “The only problem I have is that you viewed those deaths as meaningful, when in fact, they are not. You spoke of them as if they were martyrs to your cause, but in reality, they were victims of your delusion of grandeur. I knew each and every one of them; their ambitions and their hopes. You spoke of achieving greatness, but all you did was rob them of their chances to make the world a better place.”
“Ambitions and hopes alone are not enough to change the world, Your Radiance,” the hooded figure scoffed before a lanky right arm came out from between the robe.
Sam quickly raised his katana, and his action was soon copied by the Opal Prince himself.
“There’s no point in resisting, Your Radiance,” the hooded figure chuckled, “Look around you, this Realm – YOUR realm is no longer under your control and it is a matter of time until the Tree of Vigilance liberates you.”
“Liberate me? That’s utter nonsense,” Jason growled, “You murdered my people, destroyed my city, and almost made me kill my friends. Please do tell me how is that going to lead me to my ’liberation’?”
“How, you asked? Have you ever wake up in the morning, wondering whether you’ll live to see the sunset? Or quietly carrying that shameful guilt of spewing lies to your beloved subjects, telling them that everything will be alright? You may have been their hero, but even someone like you has their own limits.”
Sam turned his attention to Jason who slowly squinted both of his eyes at their foe. He also noticed the gentle gaze worn by the prince vanished without a trace, leaving behind a furious glare that he had never seen before.
“So what? I should be grateful for your concern for my well-being? If that’s the case, then you have my thanks,” chided Jason, his hands tightened around the handle of his rapier, “Sadly, I have no need for your concern – your life, however, is a whole different story.”
“Killing me will not bring them back-.”
“Shut it!” the Opal Sun Prince exclaimed before a radiant, white ring manifested over his head.
“You’re going to throw one of those at me now? May I remind you that I know every single one of your tricks and how to counter them? Also, do you think it is wise to let those things fly around in the vicinity of the tree?”
“Um, what’s he talking about?” Sam interjected, but Jason remained quiet. His somber gaze, however, betrayed his calm expression. In that instant, he instantly recounted his previous conversation with the prince regarding the Tree of Vigilance. “Jason, don’t tell me…if something happens to the tree...”
“The entire realm will collapse and his life will be forfeited,” the hooded figure answered smugly, “But that will be a waste of your talent.”
“I see. The strange condition of the tree – you intend to wipe out my existence from this plane and take control of my body permanently.”
“Correct! We expected nothing less from the son of King Cyrus,” said the hooded figure, applauding the Opal Sun Prince, “For your astute observation, allow us to present you with your reward.” As soon as the hooded figure stopped clapping their hands, a large crack appeared across the ground in front of them, and from the darkness, countless hands sprung forth, grabbing the edge of the hole.
“What…is that?” Sam gawked at the grotesquery that emerged from the fissure – a massive blob of flesh with multiple humanoid arms that he had never seen before. His mind began to race, trying to identify the monstrosity that loomed over him and Jason, but he could only draw a blank. A few seconds later, he heard the prince cursing fervently at the giant and he soon found out why. What he thought was a blob of flesh was in fact clusters of twisted human bodies fused to each other. Furthermore, the faces were moving – it was as if they were screaming in agony though not a single voice came out of their mouths.
“Marvelous, isn’t it?” said the hooded figure as he appeared next to the creature.
“What did you do?” Jason snarled, “Those people – they are the residents of the Edge!”
Sam was rendered speechless by the revelation. His eyes darted toward the monster and as he took a closer look, he realized the faces on its gelatinous body – they were of various sizes and colors ranging from the elderly to children.
“Well, technically, they’re not,” the hooded figure responded gleefully. “Allow us to introduce you to the Miasma and it is, in fact, the embodiment of your regrets; your failure in saving your beloved subjects.”
The Miasma instantly let out a roar so guttural, that the entire Subconscious Realm started to quiver. Sam gasped as felt his bones rattled from top to bottom, but to his astonishment, Jason was seemingly unperturbed by the monster’s bellowing.
“How repulsive,” the prince murmured in disgust. He pointed his left index finger forward, causing the halo over his head to fly toward the Miasma with staggering speed. The ring cut through every single one of the Miasma’s arms, and shortly after, changed its course toward the hooded figure. Unfortunately, the projectile dispersed into rays of light before it reached its intended target.
‘What just happened?’ Sam thought until he saw Jason drop to one of his knees, and panting heavily.
“It seems someone is nearing his limit,” the hooded figure commented, “It must have been tiring – to break free from your shackles AND to keep your body from succumbing to fatigue. One would say it is a miracle you’re still standing on your feet – well, one of your feet.” The hooded figure spun around and raised his head upward, looking directly at the branches of the Tree of Vigilance. From beneath the black mask, a loud sigh was soon heard – loud enough that it reached both Sam’s and Jason’s ears. “A pity. A pity, indeed,” the hooded figure added before his entire body disintegrated into black mist.
“Letting someone else clean up your mess. Typical,” Sam huffed. Then, he shifted attention to his sole companion who was still gasping for air. “Are you alright, Jason? Can you stand up?”
“I’m fine,” the prince responded confidently, though Sam noticed both of his friend’s hands were shaking terribly. “Don’t you worry about me - just focus on the enemy,” Jason exhaled.
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“Said the one who drained all of his stamina,” Sam retorted. But, the moment of silence was short-lived as the Miasma started to growl, presumably infuriated by its amputated limbs. Then, right in front of their eyes, the monster’s severed arms grew longer until they split in half, giving rise to cleaver-like appendages. “That is a little gnarly,” said Sam with a frown on his face. But strangely enough, he was not concerned by the sudden turn of events. No, in fact, he somehow felt…exhilarated.
“Another big one,” Jason stated, already on both of his feet, “Cutting off its limbs is obviously not an option.”
“How about blowing it to pieces?”
“That’s a good idea, but sadly, I don’t have the energy to create another halo.”
“Then,” Sam sighed as an idea came into his mind, “We’ll just have to burn it from the inside.” Jason immediately scowled at him, wondering what he was talking about. However, the prince’s facial expression eased up and his tangerine-coloured eyes settled on the katana.
“It’s quite bold, but doable,” Jason asserted.
“Doable aside, are you sure you want to be a part of this? I mean, those faces on the Miasma’s body…”
“All of them are already gone, Sam,” replied Jason solemnly, “and I’ll be lying if I said I’m not affected by them. So, let us get this over with before I start to lose my composure. Again.”
“If you say so. What’s on your mind then?”
“First, I’ll distract the Miasma and when I give you the signal, you sneak up on it to do…whatever it is you intended to do.”
“That's it? Doesn’t that sound a bit…reckless?” Sam responded, surprised by the proposed plan.
“It is, unfortunately. Now, wait for my signal.”
“What kind of signal-Wait!” before Sam could finish his sentence, Jason had already dashed toward the writhing monster.
As the prince made his approach, the Miasma extended one of its arms to reach him. But, Jason swiftly dodged it and thrusted his rapier into what he assumed to be the giant’s forearm, causing the monster to scream in agony. “Here comes the painful part,” Jason blurted out before hopping on top of the Miasma’s limb.
“Ja…son…”
Hearing a familiar voice calling his name, Jason instantly froze in his place. His eyes raced toward the Miasma’s body where among the multitude of faces was Rudolph.
“Jas…son…Look…at what…you’ve done to me…,” the old guard moaned.
“Should have guessed you would be part of the ‘reward’,” Jason murmured, shortly before he felt movement beneath his feet. Wasting no more time, Jason ran up the Miasma’s arm while keeping his full attention on the other limbs. “Ah, curses,” the prince spouted as he saw multiple arms heading his way. Jason instantly came to an abrupt stop and he began carving a symbol on the Miasma’s bony arm – an arrow pointing northeast. In a blink of an eye, the monster’s pale skin around the emblem turned reddish brown which eventually spread all over the giant arm. “Sam, go! Now!” shouted Jason, glancing over his shoulder.
“That’s the signal? Ah, crap!” Sam remarked before sprinting toward the Miasma. On his way, he noticed the arm Jason was standing on crumbled into dust, filling the air with the noxious odor of rusting metal. ‘What in the world just happened?’ the thought popped into Sam’s mind.
“Wonder about it later!” Jason exclaimed, “And look where you’re going!”
“Wha-Oh crap!” Sam dove to the ground as he caught a glimpse of the Miasma’s arm over his head. He felt a cold breeze brushed against the nape of his neck, but less than a second later, it was replaced with a coarse, sand-like sensation. “Urgh, not again,” Sam whined as he wiped the abrasive red dust from his hair and clothes.
“Sam, move it!”
Hearing Jason screaming his name, Sam scrambled to his feet to resume his march. However, the entire realm began to quake once again, causing him to fall on his knees. Luckily for him, the tremor also toppled the Miasma on its back, giving him a brief moment to breathe – that was until he noticed the Tree of Vigilance’s branches slowly expanding its domain. Then, he heard a loud thud coming from behind him and when he spun around, he saw Jason on both knees; his grimacing face was as pale as snow.
“Jason!” Sam called out, but before he could reach his unconscious friend, the prince raised his hand to stop him.
“Don’t get distracted! The fight is not over yet!”
“But-!”
“Don’t you get it already? When that tree covers the entire sky, my current well-being will be the least of your problems. It will make the massacre in the Edge look like a minor accident!”
Sam opened his mouth, trying to protest but then, he heard growling from the direction of the Miasma. As he was shifting his attention toward the monster, he felt a hand grabbing his forearm, followed by Jason whispering to him, “If the branches manage to shroud the entire sky, promise me you will destroy the tree.”
“You want me to…” Sam paused after seeing the desperation on the prince’s face, “No, if I do that, you’ll die.”
“Then I will die as a man, not as a monster,” Jason’s voice trailed off.
“No one else is going to die today,” said Sam before yanking his arm out of Jason’s grip. With his katana still in hand, he rushed toward the monster without a shred of hesitation. All he felt was this burning sensation in his chest that only intensified at every step he took. Was it rage? No, it was, “Desperation,” Sam inadvertently whispered.
Let it guide you.
Sam’s eyes widened as a mysterious voice rang inside his head. It was a totally different voice than the Veiled Lady – in fact, this time, it sounded like a man.
Let your desperation be your guiding light, the voice repeated.
Suddenly, the katana burst into flame, much to Sam’s surprise. However, the flame felt…strange – it was as if it had a life of its own. He tried to extinguish it, but instead, it grew larger and hotter until the red flame turned chalky white. The burning sword instantly dragged him forward like a hunter chasing its prey. Sam winced; his hand felt like it was fused to the handle, making it difficult for him to let go of his katana.
The blade eventually embedded itself into the Miasma and the searing flame rapidly enveloped its monstrous body. Sam promptly shielded his eyes from the sudden explosion of light and luckily for him, the katana slid out of the Miasma’s viscid flesh, allowing him to put some distance between himself and the creature. As his stinging eyes gradually returned to normal, Sam scowled at the voracious fire that slowly consumed the giant; it did not scream nor move from its position until a minute had passed.
The Miasma rose up -- the heat melted its skin along with the faces on its burly body. What remained behind was a cloud of black smoke still retaining its monstrous form. “So, this is the embodiment of Jason’s regret,” Sam muttered in disbelief. He wondered how Jason who was barely in his 20s could carry this kind of burden without crumbling into pieces.
Spare your amazement for later.
Sam fidgeted as the male voice returned, causing him to exclaim, “Stop telling me what to do!”
No answer.
Sam let out a sigh of relief, thinking he was finally freed from the voice until a small ball of flame manifested in front of him. Despite its size, Sam could feel its heat pricking his face like tiny, countless needles. Before he could react, the fireball swelled and twisted around, subsequently shaping into a humanoid. “Who…who are you? Or what are you?” Sam blurted out.
The fiery figure did not reply. Instead, it gestured its right arm to the branches over its head which were almost covering the entire sky.
Burn it down. Burn everything down.
Sam grimaced. He pointed his katana to the figure and with a stern voice, said, “No.”
Then, you and your friends will die.
As soon as the strange figure finished its sentence, it disappeared into thin air and Sam instantly realized the Miasma was slowly dragging its wispy body toward him. He glanced over his shoulder, only to see Jason already lying on his back with both eyes closed. Then, he recalled his prior conversation with the prince – more specifically, his final request.
“To die as a man…than as a monster,” Sam spouted before reluctantly reigniting his katana. With both hands grasping the handle, he reluctantly swung the sword skyward, launching a large red fireball toward the overlapping branches.