Chapter 35: HIKARI


    <hr>


    They woo us with gifts and promises, yet all I see is the sorrow they sow among us. Where once tenuous peace held, factions now turn on each other in envy or fear. The Jingozi feign neutrality, but, in truth, they profit from every crack in our unity.


    ***


    I woke up on a makeshift stretcher, my body strapped down with torn strips of cloth. Even the slightest movement sent a searing pain through my back. Fire licked my spine, spreading out to my arms and legs, making breathing impossible without excruciating pain. The rough texture of the ground beneath me was a distant sensation.


    The forest felt quiet, too quiet. The usual rustle of leaves and the distant calls of animals were muted as if the world were holding its breath. I stared at the darkening sky, trying to focus on anything other than the throbbing in my body. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the emptiness inside me.


    First Hiro, and now Hikari.


    It felt like a dagger twisting in my chest. My heart ached in a way I didn’t think was possible, a deep, suffocating that left me hollow. I couldn’t even cry. I wanted to, needed to, but the tears wouldn’t come. All I could do was lie here, strapped down and broken once more.


    Kaito sat a few feet away, his face pale and drawn, eyes fixed on the ground. He hadn’t spoken since we made it out of Raishoto. He clenched his fists so tight his knuckles turned white, his body tense with a grief he couldn’t express. I wanted to reach out to him, to say something, anything, but the pain held me back. I didn’t have the words.


    Cragmarr stood under a tree, still as a statue. Sora crouched beside me, her usual sharpness dulled by exhaustion and sorrow. Even Kitty, always preferring my shoulders, lay curled at my feet.


    We sat silently for what felt like hours, with only the sounds of our shallow breathing and the occasional gust of wind amongst the trilling insects. The sun had long since disappeared, leaving us in the darkness. The weight of the night pressed down on us, a chill seeping into my bones I barely noticed. My mind kept drifting back to Hikari before we lost her.


    Taikumi joined our silent vigil. He didn’t say a word and stood there with his head bowed.


    ***


    Taikumi returned to the city in the morning while we gathered in a small clearing. Hikari’s body lay before us, wrapped in a simple cloth, her peaceful face visible through the veil. The grave had been dug by hand, the soil turned over and piled beside the shallow pit where she would rest.


    I wanted to help, to be a part of this final act for Hikari, but I was still strapped to the damn cot.


    We all depleted our Zii, escaping the execution. Once Cragmarr and Sora replenished their resources, they''d heal our injuries. However, an injury as severe as mine would require extra recovery time.


    All I could do was watch.


    Kaito knelt beside the grave, his eyes red-rimmed. His hands trembled as he laid the first handful of earth over his sister’s body.


    Sora stood beside him. She stared at Hikari’s body with her lips pressed into a thin line. Cragmarr was next, hunched over, his hands covered in dirt from digging the grave. Kitty nuzzled my arm, providing the little comfort she could. I mentally reassured her I’d be okay.


    Kaito spoke first, his voice rough and raw.


    “She was… she was the best of us. Always looking out for everyone, always… always so damn brave,” he choked on the words, hands clenching. “I should have done more. I should have… I could have saved her.”


    “No, Kaito,” Sora said. “You did everything you could.”


    “It wasn’t enough. I wasn’t enough. She’s gone because I failed her.” Kaito shook his head, his anger cutting loose.


    “She wouldn’t want you to blame yourself," I said.


    "Hikari… She knew the risks," Taikumi spoke. "We all did."


    "She made a valiant choice in an attempt to protect the mission,” Cragmarr added.


    “To protect me,” I said. “I’m so sorry. None of you would be in this situation if I didn’t—”


    “Do not dishonor us,” Sora cut in. “This is not about you.”


    She was right.


    Kaito didn’t respond, his jaw tight as he stared at the grave. The silence stretched.


    “I’ll miss her smile,” I said, “and how she could always find something to laugh about. She was… she was a sister to me.”


    Cragmarr nodded, his eyes fixed on the ground.


    I wanted to say more, to share my other memories, but the pain of losing her kept me silent. My heart ached with the need to express how much Hikari meant to me and how much I would miss her, but the words stuck in my throat.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Kaito broke the silence again, his voice barely above a whisper.


    “She was my twin. We shared everything… even our thoughts. Now it’s like… like a part of me is missing. I don’t know how to go on without her.”


    The silence returned, heavier than before. I wanted to say something to him, to comfort him, but I knew nothing I could say would relieve his heart. We continued to grieve in our own ways. Kaito stood, his movements stiff and mechanical, as he laid the last handful of earth over Hikari’s body. The finality of it… I had to close my eyes.


    The others also stood, and I watched as they finished the burial. I felt utterly useless, trapped in my own broken body, unable to even help lay my friend to rest.


    ***


    Sora and Kaito left to forage and hunt, leaving me and Cragmarr at the camp. I checked the notification I’d been ignoring.


    MISSION COMPLETE: THE EXECUTION


    Thwart the Shogun’s plans for your execution.


    Bonus Objective [FAILED]: Thwart the Emperor’s plans.


    Reward: Jingozi Token [1]


    Yeah, no shit, I failed. I muted my notifications again.


    Cragmarr stood a short distance away, moving his four arms through the slow, deliberate motions of Zii-Kata. The faint glow of Zii energy gathered around him, shimmering the air.


    I watched him, now lying on a cot. With every breath, my whole body burned, the agony relentless, but I forced myself to concentrate on Cragmarr. He stopped, his eyes closing as he centered himself. When he opened them again, they were filled with refreshed focus.


    “Ember,” he knelt beside me. “This will hurt, but it is the only way I can help you.”


    “I trust you, Crag. Do your thing,” I swallowed hard.


    He rolled me onto my stomach and placed four Jingozi cards down my back, one with each hand—the tingling sensation of Zii energy flowing into me. At first, it was just warmth, but then the pain hit—a sharp, burning sensation making me gasp and bite down on my sleeve. Kitty thumped her tail at Cragmarr.


    “I know, little one,” he said.


    Cragmarr snapped his fingers, creating a Zii coin, and let it melt through the first card and into my back. He did it again, pressing another coin into my upper spine. The next one was a little harder and a little lower. The process continued, getting more intense with every card and coin. My muscles spasmed, and I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I tried to endure it.


    “Just breathe, Ember. In and out, slow and steady.”


    I tried to do as he said, but it was overwhelming, like fire spreading through every nerve. It felt like my spine was being torn apart and then put back together, each vertebra shifting, cracking, and then realigning under Cragmarr’s hands.


    It was finally over, the fire fading to a dull ache. My breathing was ragged, my body trembling from the effort, but I could feel a difference. The sharp pain in my back lessened, replaced by a blunt soreness.


    Cragmarr rolled me onto my back. He looked exhausted.


    “Please sit up,” he said.


    I hesitated, then braced myself and pushed up with my arms. My back flared, but I managed to get upright.


    “It is not perfect,” Cragmarr said, “but it should hold for now. You will need more healing when we can spare the Zii, but this should at least give you some mobility.”


    “Thank you, Crag. I… I never thanked you for saving me. For everything you’ve done.”


    He gave me a gentle smile, his large hand resting on my shoulder.


    “We are in this together, Em. Please try not to break anything else.”


    I choked on my laughter.


    “I’ll do my best," I smiled. "But no promises.”


    ***


    “I’m sorry.”


    I stood alone beside the freshly turned earth where we buried Hikari. The sun filtered through the trees, but the warmth did nothing to ease the cold knot in my chest. I held the origami flower Hiro had made for me, feeling so fragile in my hands.


    “I’m so sorry, Hiro. I promised to keep you safe, and I couldn’t. I couldn’t save either of you.”


    I dug a small hole and buried the flower beside Hikari''s grave.


    “Hiro, meet Hikari. Hikari, meet Hiro. You two would''ve adored each other. Hikari, watch out, Hiro’s a real charmer. Both of you would have been the best Jingozi apprentices. Keep each other company now that…”


    Behind me, Cragmarr stirred but stayed where he was.


    “I’ll never forget either of you, even when I go home. That’s a promise I know I can keep.”


    I pressed a small cross of sticks I''d tied together with a strip of cloth into the soil and whispered a prayer.


    ***


    We sat in a rough circle around the fire, roasting the fish from my inventory. Sora had come up short on her hunt, but Kaito found various nuts and berries. We were waiting for Taikumi to return.


    I attempted to break the ice.


    “Hey, why aren’t there any storms out here?”


    “They are unique to Raishoto,” Cragmarr said. “The city is designed to attract storms and harness their power. Raishoto relies on lightning energy.”


    “That’s why there are so many blackouts.”


    “Correct.”


    “I used to be terrified of the dark,” Sora spoke, surprising us all. “When I was a child, I couldn''t even sleep without a lantern by my bed. My brothers teased me about it all the time.”


    “You? Afraid of the dark?” Kaito said. “I don’t believe it.”


    “It was my mother who helped me face my fear. She taught me how to make shadow puppets. She said they wouldn''t be so scary if I could make the shadows my friends.”


    “Now I get it,” Kaito popped a fresh berry into his mouth. “You make friends with shadows. That’s why you’re such a sneaky Ninja.”


    We all laughed.


    “What kind of puppets did you make?” Cragmarr asked.


    “Mostly animals. Birds, wolves, and sometimes dragons. But my favorite was a butterfly. It was simple, and I liked the way its wings fluttered.”


    I couldn’t imagine Sora as a child. The way she tore through the Samurai guards and Ryuunosuke…


    “Did it work? Did you stop being afraid?”


    “Eventually, once I realized shadows were just what I made of them. I started to see the beauty in the dark, how it could hide and reveal things, depending on how you looked at it.”


    “Where is your mother now?” I said, immediately regretting the question.


    “I don’t know. I became very ill—a sickness that put me into a deep sleep. When I awoke, she and my brothers were gone. That’s when I became a Jingozi dealer.”


    I felt terrible knowing what she was talking about. Cragmarr also nodded.


    “It is easy to get lost in darkness, but much easier to be blinded by the light,” he said. "I read that in the Book of Dojokynn."


    “Huh? I don’t get it,” Kaito said.


    “Sometimes it’s better to struggle with the unknown than to know all the truth,” Sora said, taking a bite of her fish.


    “We have the same expression where I’m from,” I said. “Ignorance is bliss.”


    “Yup, I still don’t get it.” Kaito scratched his head. “I’ll stick with the Ninja stuff.”


    We all laughed as I exchanged glances with Sora. It relieved me that the mood had lightened and that Kaito might be feeling better.


    Taikumi returned, his expression grave as he stepped into the circle of firelight.


    “The city is in chaos. The Shogun lives.”


    ***


    It is easy to get lost in darkness but much easier to be blinded by the light. The more illuminated the Jingozi’s influence, the more it consumes my every thought. When I see the carefree smiles of those who remain ignorant, I cannot deny a pang of longing. In their darkness of unknowing, they sleep peacefully at night, spared from the nightmares that plague my soul.