As soon as the last body hit the floor, I stood before a door. A silver light shined from above it and cast a sea of scintillating shadows across its surface in an imitation of water. It was breathtaking. Maybe one day, I’d buy something like this. After all, I did like pretty things.
I reached my hand out and pressed it into the door, and with a silent hiss, it decompressed and swung inwards. Behind it was a large room, filled with large blocks of silver lighting. Brown carpet hugged the ground of the enormous expanse. Paintings and holograms of the forest gave the room the impression of a large, boundless mystical forest with no equal. The air here was a few degrees cooler than the outside was and a little more humid.
In the center of it all was an old man. Large chasms were carved into the withered skin of his face and framed by tired blue eyes. His beard had long since fallen apart, and in its places were a few snow-white wisps that spoke the tales of lifetimes. Mr. Uehara was my target. An old man, well past his prime, but still a monster, nonetheless.
“To think that the famed Dragon Empress of Asteria would be the one to end my life. Truly, the heavens are twisted.” A faint smile danced across the thinned lip of the old man. His words were slow and methodical, but also labored, as if each took an immense amount of effort.
I paused as the words strummed my mind. Asteria? How did he know what I dreamt of? For a second I wavered, before my curiosity won out for a few seconds. “What do you mean?”
A soft smile crossed his face as he sat back in his chair. Next to him sat a simple brown cane that looked as if it were torn from an ancient tree and twisted by the hands of a master. He reached out to the cane and gripped it. His hands were as pale as a winter morning, and his veins stuck out as brightly as spotlights. “You know very well what I mean. You are not of this world, child, and neither am I. In your heart, you know this to be true.”
I paused as I felt a strange emotion coil in my chest. All my blood lust had faded away and in its place was the same hollow feeling that had plagued me all my life. It was a sense that I didn’t belong here. That, who I am now, isn’t truly who I was.
My silence served as his answer, as the old man pushed himself up with great effort. “In all my years, I didn’t think you would have ended up in this world. I wonder what chain of events lead a powerhouse like you to the lowest realms.”
I hung on his words for a second, unsure if it was a ploy or not. But his words resonate so deeply within me that my trepidation faded away. “I don’t know. All I have are fleeting memories.”
He hummed softly as his blue eyes landed on me. For a brief second, I felt like everything that made me was laid bare for this old man to see. “Ah, I see, a soul fracture. That would explain why you are here.” The old man took an unsteady step forward and motioned for me to follow him. “And don’t worry at the end of the exchange, you may have my life.”
I cocked my head slightly at his strange words. A mystical feeling settled over every inch of my flesh, and I stepped behind him. I dropped my pistol to my hip and fell in step behind him. His words seemed to have some strange attraction behind them, and they teased me with knowledge that sat just outside of my grasp.
Carefully, I plied through my memories, trying to dredge up any sort of knowledge that I had about him. I had everything on him, who he was, where he came from. Yet nothing seemed out of place.
“I see the confusion in your eyes. That is understandable. Fate works strangely at times, pulling us together, or pulling us apart. It’s much like a coursing river with stones that force fate to flow a certain way.” The old man chimed on pulling me from my thoughts and back to him.
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I clenched the handle of my pistol, as my mind became a whirlwind. I was on high alert, ready to react at a moment's notice. Yet there was a very large part of me that heard his words and felt a sense of familiarity.
“Who are you exactly?” I asked as my mind started to wander. What was Asteria? Was it home?
“Just an old man, living my last moments.” He responded with a heavy tone as he limped towards his desk.
I eyed him wearily as my finger hovered near the trigger of the pistol. I wasn't worried if he tried to trick me. He would die just as easily as my finger could pull this trigger. “Cut to the chase.” My words came out with a hiss, as my eyes stayed focused on him.
He chuckled slyly as he slid into his brown office chair. “Truly, I’m just an old man. Specifically, I’m a point in time, destined to be reached. I was wondering who was going to do me the honor of ending my life. Now, my dear, when you’ve reached this stone, tell me, do you want to go home?”
At the mention of home, I felt my heart twist in my chest. Home? Was that what my dreams were? I could feel homesickness settle into my stomach like a rock at the thought. I knew that this place wasn’t my home. I knew that there was something more for me. “Yes.” I whispered and I felt my hand waver slightly.
“Worry not then. I have something for you.” He waved his hand, and a small wooden box appeared almost like it was created by magic. “Come, and take this,” He whispered as he set the small ornate box down onto the table.
Carefully, I crossed the distance between us, and got to the table. I kept my gun pointed at his face and reached out to the box. Just as my fingers were about to graze the surface, he spoke once more. “Once you take that box, your fate will be sealed. Turn back now if you do not wish to join this current.”
“What do you mean by that?” I asked quietly as my fingers hovered over the box. I could feel small arcs of electricity as they reached up to my fingers, begging me to take the box within.
“This box is a marker in time. It is destined to fall into someone's hands. I am its destined keeper. Death, nor life has a sway on me till this box leaves my grasp, for that is my curse. Someone will claim this box, and fate will unfold. In your case, you will return to the place you belong. Though, once you do, your fate is sealed. I ask you again Dragon Empress, do you wish to seal your fate?” The old man's voice took a different tone, as if he were singing.
I froze for a moment, as I pondered what he had said. I knew this wasn’t home. I felt it every day. I wanted to go home. No, I needed to go home. I didn’t belong here. A soft sigh escaped from my lips as I reached out and took the box.
Electricity went shrieking through me, as the box rested in my palm. Shortly after visions appeared and took my sight from me. I could see an army in the distance marching down toward me. Fire rose into the air, and so too did the rancid scent of burning flesh. Screaming filled my ears, and pain assailed my body. It felt like hundreds of burns, cuts, and bruises all at once. But there was something else there that caught my attention. A single voice that pierced the haze. “Mother, don't go!” They were words that slammed into my heart, and almost brought me to my knees. Who was that? What was happening?
But just as fast as the visions came, they left, leaving me breathless, and with an aching heart. “What was that?” I asked as I sucked in air.
“That was the glimpse of the fate that you have sealed. Congratulations Dragon Empress, you get to go home.” A wicked smile crept across the old man's face as he sat back into his chair, It was a smile that conveyed a sense of peace. Like a man who had finally crossed the finish line after a long race. “Now please, kill me.” He whispered as he gazed up torwards the ceiling.
“As you wish.” I replied as I brought my gun up, and set a bullet through his skull. The cough of the gun filled the room for a split second, causing my ears to ring. The man’s eyes went wide as the chair fell backwards. Blood poured from his head as he gazed up at the sky. His eyes gleamed for a moment, and a single whisper reached my ears. “Thank you.” His last words were also his last breath as his life essence seeped into the tiled floor.
I stood there for a moment, and gazed at his corpse. An ominous feeling settled into the depths of my mind as I stared at his corpse. Was this it? Did I finally get to go home?