With every step Ayumi took, the path kept forming beneath her, leading her into an unknown destination. She started calling Chiyasu's name like a crazed girl, asking her where she was at, imploring her not to do anything rash or stupid, begging her to wait for her arrival. However, the walk was not getting any easier. The path remained as it was, grounded and unshaken, but the more Ayumi dashed through the endless darkness, the more stagnant the air became, the more difficult it became to breath, and the more her wounds pained her and weakened her body. After a period of running, Ayumi started to pant heavily, barely able to take proper refreshing breaths. It was not because she had grown tired, it was because she was approaching the gates to the other world. No one alive should be able to make this journey. This realization made her stop for a split second… did this mean Chiyasu had already… crossed that gate?
Despite Ayumi's renewed vigor and determination, the journey was not getting any easier. The air continued to grow thick and stale, it was unbreathable, it hovered like a congealed fog, meant to hinder one's lung and shut off his strength, chocking one's throat worse than the smokes of a fire. Ayumi was running fine until she could no longer even stand properly, feeling dizzy and disoriented. Her wounds started to hurt again as if taunting her that going forward would only bring more pain for a useless end. Grinding her teeth through the agony, Ayumi started crawling unceremoniously. After a while, even her knees gave up on her and she was dragging her body like some reptile slithering on her belly, only Ayumi's movements were less smooth or coordinated. She wanted to cuss at Chiyasu, but having experienced what might have been the same thoughts as the princess of the earth, she was in no place to do this, she was not sure if she was in any place to lecture her or if she had any left power to drag her back by force.
"Why Chiyasu? You idiot!"
Ayumi mumbled to herself through gritted teeth and flaring pain. Of course her body would give up on her… she was walking toward death! Only a failing decomposing body could walk that path, it was no place for a healthy person with a beating heart and alert senses. The sakura petals were still wafting around her, as if encouraging her and trying to offer her some sort of comfort and the girl was deeply grateful for them. Then, a thought accord to her… she had totally forgotten about the scepter she was holding amidst her inner turmoil, should it not give her some strength and heal her wounds? The girl got the holy rod out of her clothes, but before she could pray to it for strength and determination, the scepter shone viciously burning her hands with its heat, it was agitated, trying to drag her in the opposite direction, to where she came from, to where Noboru was.
"What is wrong with you? We are here to help someone in need and save her!"
But these words did not touch the holy relic in the slightest, it kept beckoning in the opposite direction, shining with a deathly intent to kill and Ayumi immediately understood… the scepter was calling for Amaterasu's unjustly shed blood, it was adamant on getting revenge and nothing else mattered to the item except the woman it was carved and molded in her name, demanding justice for her unfair demise.
"What is wrong with you? Are you not supposed to be a holy weapon created to defend the weak and help the desperate? You would rather go kill and exact your revenge instead of helping a loyal fellow who always stood by your side?!"
Ayumi chided the relic as if it was a misbehaving child, she knew the scepter was sentient enough to understand her words, its conscious had only grown more profound the moment it tackled its nemesis weapon. At her words, the scepter seemed to quiet down, as if expressing shame but before Ayumi could smile and compliment it, the scepter started fuzzing again, hatred overtaking it once more, its remorse and compassion lasting less than seconds.
"Fine, I will save her on my own but you are not going anywhere!"
Ayumi tucked the scepter back in her clothes, and the rod retaliated by emitting a scorching light that Ayumi paid it no mind, her body was already wounded and collapsing, and an extra injury meant nothing. She had to keep going.
Crawling on her belly, giving up on any useful use of her legs or arms, she continued forward, but even the muscles of her abdomen and back started to spasm and grow weak. She gasped for air but nothing got in… her sight began to get blurry and her senses became numb, she could not smell the blossoms fragrance anymore.
"Damn… am I even close to her?"
Ayumi thought, too weak to form this thought into spoken words. The souls continued their journey without any hindrance and Ayumi barely made the white lights that were blurring and fading one after one. She closed her eyes for a few moments then opened them again to the same scene. She tried to follow the hazy floating balls of light that were fading, anger and frustration filling her at her failure in saving Chiysau… let alone save her… she could not even reach her, leaving Reiha to use all her power and draining herself dry of breaths for the sake of saving the princess of the earth…She wanted to curse and shout but then she realized something… these souls were not disappearing before her dimming eyesight… raising her head and following them carefully, she found that these souls were going through something and disappearing behind it.
She had made it, just few more steps and she would reach the gate to the underworld!
"Hold on Chiyasu… I am almost there…"
Ayumi beseeched through strained breaths, her chest was growing tight, constricting every breath she inhaled or exhaled, sending her heart in the beginning into a frenzy of irregular beating that soon turned into laborious rhythm as the air continued to grow thicker and still like a heavy cloud of unshaken fog. Ayumi knew Chiyasu was not waiting for her, she was also certain that she would not be pleased by seeing her but this was not about the princess of the earth alone, it was about everyone else… it was about Ayumi trying to extend a helping hand that mattered, that left a trace, that marked benevolently someone's else life.
Staggering to her feet, Ayumi managed to stand on shaking legs that threatened to collapse at any moment, and when she raised her head through the dizziness from the lack of air, a huge gate stood before her, floating in the darkness upon no ground yet seemingly secure and grounded somehow. It had no carvings, no craft to it, no door knobs or keyholes, just giant two doors sealed tightly, while the floating souls that had accompanied Ayumi throughout this journey passed through the unknown material the gate was made of without needing to get the gate open. At the end of that paved path, by the foot of the gate, there was a figure hunched down, shaking, head lowered, brown locks obscuring the expression dwelling on the face.
"Chiyasu!"
The air was so still and hefty it barely transported sounds, yet faint sobbing reached Ayumi's ears that were buzzing and weighed by the stifling pressure. Even though she herself was crying moments ago and thinking about death, the thought that Chiyasu with her brazen personality and sharp taunts was kneeling with a bent head, sobbing softly on her own broke Ayumi's heart. Chiyasu had accused her on multiple occasions that she was the cause of her misery, and even if Ayumi did not believe that and was sure there was more to the story, she was still taken by an overwhelming guilt at the sight.
How many nights did Ayumi spend in this same position in her bedroom, shutting the door tightly, muffling any sounds that could escape, all on her own?
"Chiyasu…"
Ayumi called again in a hoarse voice, as if she had been stranded in the desert for days with no water or oasis in sight. She kept approaching the hunched princess despite anticipating mean insults and harsh reprimands. She would not be surprised if a fight broke between them instantly but she still went onward with careful steps, her hands ready to extend and help the kneeling princess stand. However, none of that happened, and it was not because Chiyasu had failed to notice her. The princess had definitely heard the wobbling footsteps coming closer to her. Still, she did not turn or show her face, she did not even stand up from that defeated position to exert her dominance.
"Even the gates of death refuse me…"
Her voice was mellow, neither sad nor desperate. It carried in its tone a strain of pity directed at herself, a melodious mockery targeting her luck and disposition. Ayumi trailed her gaze from the bent princess to the ground surrounding her all the way up to the gate that seemed to possess no end or start, neither in width nor in length; broken roots scattered at the ground, withered blossoms were dissipating under the cruel atmosphere, Chiyasu's hands were bruised and bleeding... still, her previously unabating punches and trials at breaking the doors open left no marks or dents on the formidable gate.
"Did it occur to you that perhaps it is not your time yet?"
'Everyone can choose his time… but not me... apparently…"
Ayumi asked in a soft sad tone, and Chiyasu answered with similar melancholy without meeting the girl's eyes.
"Maybe it is because there are still a lot of people in need of you."
"I do not need them, I only need one person."
Ayumi did not have to ask where that person was, it was easy to tell by now that he was beyond these gates.
"I wish you had managed to open the gate… if you at least just managed to leave it ajar for a few seconds…"
At this confession, Chiyasu finally turned her head at the girl, her eyes flaring with a murderous intent but Ayumi was not making light of her desire. She sat beside her without an invitation and went on.
"I would have also wanted to see my parents one last time, but to join them right now… I think it is still a bit too early."
These words managed to convince the princess of the earth that Ayumi was not mocking her or taking her plight lightly, so she shrugged her shoulders.
"Well, sorry to disappoint you."
"It is alright, it will never be late to meet the persons we love, even beyond these gates….
"They have no place to go… but we still have many places to see and people to meet, things to do and dreams to cherish and strive for…"
Ayumi stated as she gazed at the gate, avoiding what sad or disappointed expression the princess's of the earth face betrayed, not wishing to invade her self imposed pity.
"The only person I ever want to meet is right there, beyond this gate."
Ayumi was at loss of words, how could she console a woman she did not know much about her or the person she was longing? She understood the feelings but not the circumstances birthing them. The only thing she could do was utter words meant for encouragement and solace, as useless and meaningless as they were.
Patting Chiyasu's shoulder, Ayumi was about to speak when a sudden wave of pain and breathlessness seized her. This place was not meant for the living after all, and they were stranded right in front of the gates leading to death, overstaying their welcome by a long time.
"Chiyasu… whatever wrongness you were the recipient of, we can work together to rectify the injustice… but right now… Reiha is waiting for us… she is fighting Noboru and Laila all on her own… stripped of her power, exhausting herself to death! We have to…"
Ayumi's grip tightened for seconds pressing supportively on Chiyasu's shoulder before it went lax and weak due to air deprivation, her eyesight was turning blurry and her voice left her dry constricted throat with great difficulty. By comparison, Chiyasu should not be faring any better, but she still carried herself with a mask of power and composure. What hunched her back and weighed her head down was sadness, yearning, anger and nothing else.
"Maybe you cannot reach the person you yearn for right now, but as long as he resides in your memories, then you two are never truly separated… and the time to meet again will come whether you choose to live or to die…"
The princess of the earth did not respond, she did not push Ayumi's hand away nor did she turn to check on the dire condition she was visibly in. Her arm was extending toward the gate, so close yet untouchable. Unless that arm had renounced its flesh and stripped down to bones that tumbled into ashes and dust, it could never reach to or touch that gate.
Chiyasu had reached this conclusion after her first attempt at forcing the gate open, yet she still extended her arms in a fruitless cycle… she was a woman who had long forgot about hope, despised expectations and derided dreams. Nevertheless, in that place of desolation and nothingness, what she despised bloomed once more in her heart, only to be crushed as quickly as it had blossomed, a cruel reminiscent of older times.
The arm that was reaching hopefully, without a warning, took a turn seizing Ayumi's throat in a deadly grip. Chiyasu was pouring all her remaining power that the aura of death had not dimmed down completely yet into that grip; the reason behind her suffering was sitting right next to her, offering her words of solace, an insulting show of fake useless pity and compassion upon this stage of death… her eyes flared dangerously, and she wanted nothing more than ending everything right here and then, what place could be a more perfect for ending the suffering than the territory of death itself?
"Chiyasu…"
Ayumi barely gasped, having no power to retaliate or defend herself. At that moment, Even Noboru and Laila's threats seemed insignificant compared to the rage storming the earth princess's eyes and body.
"I cannot chose either… all because of you and that damned queen! She died yet still bound us to live to avenge her… how more selfish a person can be?!! Why did you have to appear and reignite what had been long dead and buried!!"
Chiyasu yelled in frustration, but her grip did not loosen for a second. Since Ayumi could not defend herself in her weakened state, there was only one item that could protect her, and it acted on its own without being prompted, in a clear refusal of the princess's of earth reasoning and with a visible hatred toward her logic and stance.
The scepter tucked in Ayumi's clothes shook and emitted a golden light, pushing the princess of the earth miles away and searing her arm. Ayumi was not pleased with the scepter's act but there was no other choice. She held to it, borrowing some of its power to stand and breathe, though barely and heavily and repeated herself focusing on the most important matter at hand since talking anything else with Chiyasu echoed uselessly in the princess's heart.
"Reiha is fighting Noboru and Laila on her own yet she still wanted to find you, worried about what you were planning to do to yourself… and whether you believe me or not, I share the same feelings with Reiha over you!"
"Huh!"
Chiyasu grinned, disbelief written all over her face, and the golden threatening shimmering of the scepter did not help Ayumi's case. However, that light did not only attract Ayumi's dismay and Chiyasu's anger, it also attracted viscous souls seeking escape in fear of judgment.
In an instant, the two girls were surrounded by shapeless shadows emerging from the darkness. These shadows had no features, long feasted on by the maggots of the graves, they extended what resembled limbs in muddled manner aiming to reach that pure light, guided by its aura rather than by the sight they did not possess anymore. Crawling on the stone path, they touched the two girls' legs and feet, it was a foreign sensation to what remained of their bodies, but it was not totally forgotten… a living flesh and a divine light… what more could they ask for to escape their last trial and return to the mortal world?
"What are these things!"
Ayumi exclaimed in terror while Chiyasu answered sneering.
"They are what you will become when you die burdened with your regrets and wrongdoings!"
Chiyasu's words were truly hurtful, and for a second Ayumi wanted to start a fight, she even desired to hit the cold blooded princess on the head and beat her to a pulp but the immense resentment the scepter kept showing this particular princess was enough of a slap to her pride and status, and Ayumi had to remain calm and hold to wisdom if she hoped to remedy this situation.
There was no other option than fighting these mash of creatures and warding them away. Although Ayumi felt sorry for them, she had no other choice if she wanted to escape this place and return to the world of the living. She waved her scepter left and right, trying to pry the mangled limbs clutching to her and dragging her down into the darkness without resorting to shooting any attacks, but this proved useless as these fearful souls were as desperate as determined to reclaim another chance.
"I am sorry… I am sorry… but you have already reached your time!! I am sorry!!"
However, despite the girl's sincere apology, these creatures turned into their current misshapen figures by their own wrongdoings, and driven by the fear of a well – deserved retribution, grasped with a resolute despair at what little glimpses of hope they encountered.
Ayumi was no in no place or position to determine whether punishment was justified, but she firmly believed the least one could do was face it responsibly, and these lost terrified souls who had wasted their chance for any reprieve should not be any exception. She could not save them from what they were destined to face ahead, but holding the scepter she realized warding them off was not the solution. If these souls were ever meant for salvation, this was not up to her to decide or know, but to face their judgment was a must, and for that they needed the courage and the peace of acceptance, and the tool to exact that was right in her hand.
Taking control over the scepter once more, it shone with a liver light this time resonating to Ayumi's prayers and wishes, casting a shower of lunar rays upon the unrecognizable tormented souls.
She could not erase their sins or weigh their good and bad deeds, but she could purify their heart from fear and hesitation and grant them some peace and strength to face what awaited them. And indeed, the creatures attacking her, bathed in that pure scintillating light calmed down and dissipated once more into the darkness they emerged from, turning into round balls of light, like the other souls that were still passing by, and joined them in that mysterious journey that only they could experience and feel.
Ayumi let out a long breath of relief, her knees buckled under her after having used all her power and she turned at Chiyasu ready to implore her once more to cast her hatred aside but the scene unfolding in front of her brought horror to her eyes and shock to her heart.
If Ayumi tried to calm down the troubled souls and send them away in peace, preserving herself and protecting her life while attempting to give these souls a sense of determination to venture into the unknown and face it bravely and justly, then Chiyasu had chosen for herself and them a completely different path.
These souls, whether purified or not, whether blessed by peace or not, were doomed to cross that gate sooner or later and with her supernatural abilities and semi – immortal power sooner was guaranteed much than later. She had totally given up, allowing the horrid creatures to climb all over her, feast on her flesh and spiritual powers, dragging her into the darkness while she waited for the gates to open and engulf them all… only then could she pass these one way doors.
"Chiyasu!!!!"
Ayumi exclaimed exasperated. Although she herself struggled with the same wish and hold to the same despair she could not imagine herself resorting to this measure… How deep did Chiyasu's longing run? How far was her love rooted? How merciless had her despair become?
Chiyasu did not put on any fight, she did not even show disgust at the persistent brushes and touches of these slimy figures. She had surrendered completely.
"You fool!"
Ayumi shouted with a raspy voice, but Chiyasu paid her no mind.
"You accuse me of being the reason behind your suffering, then choose to end it in this horrid way right in front of my eyes?!"
Ayumi breathed with great difficulty, not only because of the stagnant air, but because of her growing anger and frustration. She absolutely could not accept this.
"If I am responsible somehow for your misery, then I am also responsible for rectifying it! and I would never allow you to handle this matter like this! You want me to be bridled with guilt and lament over you… over this sight! Well I refuse to and I will not allow you to sink into this abyss of desperation either!"
The princess of the earth, out of character did not seem disgusted by the figures snapping and biting at her, dragging and pulling her down. She maintained a rare patience that she had never displayed before. Hearing Ayumi's words was the last of her concerns, so she merely demanded.
"Scram out of here and save yourself."
Ayumi knew it! She was not truly the reason behind whatever misfortune or curse had fallen the princess of the earth, Chiyasu was merely venting her anger on her because she resurrected the power responsible for her misery. Now that she had the chance to end this curse, she no longer paid attention or cared for Ayumi, but this did not mean Ayumi had stopped caring for her in the same manner of thinking.
"Like hell I will!!"
Ayumi replied angrily, blasting the souls climbing over Chiyasu and dragging her down with powerful strikes, her priority now was to save the princess who had lost her mind, and not to purify these souls whose resentments and regrets only grew stronger the more they clung to Chiyasu and peered into her heart and soul. You could say they were a lost cause at this point and Ayumi could sense this, her anger growing more and more at this heart wrenching yet also foolish desperate solution.
"You are not only harming yourself! You are infusing these souls with more hatred and hopelessness… you are depriving them of any chance of redemption!"
Chiyasu finally lost her cool and composure at Ayumi's words; what did that naïve girl know? Why did she had to act righteous and considerate of everyone else, extending her concern to evil souls? Did she truly come to believe she was Amaterasu's successor or was she genuinely caring to a fault? Both possibilities angered the princess of the earth, erupting in her usual raging tone.
"What do you know? Why should I care for everyone else while I am the one wallowing in the most devilishly designed misery tailored specifically for me?!!"
Ayumi rushed to the spot where Chiyasu was being swallowed, like a brush dipped in the darkest shades of ink till its head was unrecognizable, she wanted to slash at the shadowy figures with the scepter but the princess's voice stopped her, sharp and menacing:
"Do not you dare interfere, if you do so then you are truly no different than Amaterasu!!"
Ayumi halted at these words. Since she met the princess of the earth and proving herself to be a different person both in identity and ideals from Amaterasu was the idea she needed to drive into the princess's head and convince her of. Right now, it sounded as if Chiyasu's words were admitting the difference, a hidden imploring laying underneath their baleful tone for Ayumi to keep her claim truthful, to stand by her own principles, to prove her pretense to be faithful and veracious. Ayumi stilled, her head spinning with possibilities and different courses of actions that none seemed useful or helpful in mending the rift made between the two by a story yet untold.
Ayumi wanted nothing more than proving that she was different from Amaterasu in how she treated the other princesses, of how she acquired their alliance and loyalty, in how she shielded the burdens of others by destroying herself and those around her… Ayumi could only vaguely guess this was the root of the problem between Amaterasu and her princesses. However, she was certain of nothing yet, just mere hunches and speculations.
Right now, she wanted to prove herself to be Chiyasu's friend not queen, but that meant letting her be consumed into nothingness, and she could not allow that.
"Chiyasu, those things will not lead you to the afterlife, they will consume you whole and nothing will remain of you!!"
Ayumi tried to bargain with a weak voice, she herself was not sure of what these things were and what their aim was, but she had to grasp at anything to change the princess's mind.
"I do not care, even if they consume my flesh and bones, my soul will be finally free! Even if I completely dissipate, then it is far better than being chained against my will to a vow that wronged me so!"
"What if nothing remains of your soul as well? What if they devoured you whole?! Then what? Then whom will that person wait for?"
Ayumi pleaded in a shaken voice. Once again, she did not know why she was shaken, was it the aura of death surrounding them? Was it their interlaced wishes for dying and meeting their loved ones? Was it the possible futility of the act? She had no answer but she wanted to take no gamble at this dire time. She threw the scepter away, knowing it would only harm Chiyasu for the same reason she detested Amaterasu and wished death, and despite her injuries and onerous breathing, she kneeled down, extending her hand to the princess who was allowing the shadows to take over her body and munch at her flesh and soul.
"I know what it means to be obliged to do something that's consuming you… I understand the wish to be freed from a dream that has turned into a burden…I…."
Chiyasu was about to say something, probably along the lines that Ayumi understood nothing, and she was reciting stupid words that she had probably heard from some idiotic optimistic counselor or teacher but this assumption was not quite right.
"Suffering cannot be compared, no one's sadness or grieve is greater and more meaningful or justified than another's… in the end, all suffering and loss taste the same and leave similar marks and wounds…"
Ayumi spoke before the princess of earth could interrupt her. The girl could only muster few breaths to speak and extend her hand trying to reach Chiyasu's mutilated arm.
Ayumi's chained visions of the future and her dreams of a vibrant blissful life were far less grave or consequential than the princesses who were keeping the balance of nature and its composed flow, but they were no less important. The routine her life had fallen into, the repetition prolonging her loneliness, the fixed steps taken to a no less fixed future… these were all the same to each and every person who envisioned their life to unfold differently, with more avidity and colors, but that was not something easily obtained, if at all possible or within everyone's reach. In the end there was a rhythm to life, to the rise and falls of humans, to those blessed with happiness and wealth and those trapped in sorrow and misfortune, a perfect ambiguous balance keeping things in check for no comprehensible purpose by the standards of mortals.
By the end of the battle Ayumi could not tell what will become of her, but Chiyasu still had a chance, so why run now? Extending her hand further down into the black pit of shadows, risking being dragged down as well by these hungry creatures without the scepter's protection, Ayumi went on with her thoughts:
"I might not know what Amaterasu had done to you, and I am definitely different from her and I won't stop until I undo what she had done to you but this does not mean letting you waste like that!! If Amaterasu had hurt you then I want to protect you… because you have a dream, a wish, a loved one to share your thoughts and wishes with, but then a shackle was imposed on you chaining you and preventing you from living the way you wanted and imagined… and it was not for one life time… this chain persisted for thousands of years! It is totally unforgivable but now you have the chance to break free by ending this battle and becoming unfettered once more!"
Chiyasu remained silent, she had waited for so many years, yet as soon as a shady opportunity to abandon everything came her way, she surrendered to it with no thoughts or regrets, with no consideration to anyone else who had also shared with her the toll of that vow made in Amaterasu's name. Was this ultimate courage or undeniable selfishness?
Ayumi dipped her hand lowered, panting as cold sweat dotted her forehead, the movements of her chest while struggling to inhale were visible and wretched. But she still continued with a sad smile.
"Chiyasu, by the end of this battle you have someone to go to… you have something to achieve… and I truly envy you for this…as for me… I am still in the dark, even Amaterasu's light had not shown me the way…"
Chiyasu's eyes widened at this bitter confession, a carefree girl was jealous of her chained existence? But it was not like the princess of the earth did not savor the taste of beautiful days and faithful love. It was then that she realized that she truly knew nothing of Ayumi.
" You went to face death without any fear or hesitation… some might say this is stupid but I find it an undeniable strength… however, as much as it will bring you relief, it will bring me and Reiha great sorrow… If I did not have my grandma perhaps I would have chosen this path as well… I would be so happy and content but I know the great misery and grieve my grandma will be entrapped in… this path is a selfless and selfish one at the same time… it frees oneself but destroys other... so end this battle then meet the one you love with a sincere smile devoid of sorrow and regrets!"
After that long speech, wrought sincerely from Auymi's heart and wishes, the girl could no longer add another word or take a helpful breath. She started to slump down, her hand brushing faintly against Chiyasu's hand, about to fall into that pit of darkness at any given moment. Chiyasu merely muttered few words before she held the girl's wrist and yanked herself and her out of that hellish hole, blasting the screaming creatures with a palm of spiritual power.
"I truly hate you!"