CHAPTER 13
THE HERO
Mado I
Mado was once a young boy with ambitions. He used to sit on the steps of the church he pondered upon the future. He never had parents or anyone to confide in
Mado longed for human connection. After living for so long he became slothful. All he would do was gaze into the clouds, he had no purpose. One day he awoke with no recollection of how he got there. But he no longer cowered in the cabin he lived in. He discovered a civilization. And with no way back he got what he always desired above all. Contact with humanity. However this came with doubts of his own. From the first moment of consciousness he was shaped by the only man he had ever seen. But that creature was hardly what you would describe as a typical human. He was a shadow. Who ordered Mado to stay in the cabin for the entirety of his existence. He swore to him that one day he would come and collect him for a greater purpose.
It was decided by the shadow that Madao was sloth. He was to serve no purpose until duty called. So mado waited and waited, he did not intentionally break his promise. He had not chosen\ to leave the boundaries, but he found himself stranded in uncharted territory, He was desperate to return feeling he had abandoned his one true purpose. He became aware just how far away from home he was when he wandered far and wide only to remain in the same location. A city full of vibrant people. At first he just observed. Mado had no identity, he had no name. Mado is the identity he would later be granted. Mado began to believe his purpose was meaningless; he could not fulfil his destiny bestowed on him. So what was he but an empty husk devoid of meaning. That was until he received an invitation.
While sitting on the grassy hill overseeing the city, Mado even considered taking his life. What worth was a life without an objective. That kind hearted young boy noticed Mado. and approached him. Mado was ultimately distraught at the sight of another human. The only experience he had with people had been taking notes from the side. Mado was unable to move, the kind boy snatched up a nearby dandelion and twirled it around. And sent a grin in Mado's direction.
???[The boy whats your name. The first step to becoming more than strangers is giving your name]
Mado [my name?]
That was the day Mado's life truly began.
Mado gripped his staff heavily in the fight between him and the hero. And it's still ongoing. Towering over the hero on the back of the. Once a dormant abomination, with Mado's touch it rose more alive than ever. The vanquished souls of the deceased, granted life for one last mission. They were much like Mado, soldiers who ordered a new purpose. To eliminate the Hero To mado the Abomination had not been an appropriate name, it was no abomination it was a convoy of soldiers. Its eye gleamed blank as a page, Their master controlling them more than the one who created them. The puppet master, for Mado had granted them life to him; they were not pawns but comrades. Each individual making up the abomination twitched and snapped into each other. Until they were truly interconnected. Mado heard their screams and memories they etched into his brain, all that ran through his mind was one word. Justice, Mado raised his staff and pointed it at Hero
Mado [Hero you have committed a grave disservice to these men. They were following orders, nothing more, yet you cut them down, not only did you slay them but you did so with disrespect. They deserve a death that fits the life they led, I can sense their achievements and how you desecrated them. Honest men are entitled to an honest death. They were not beasts yet you granted them a send off befitting of one. I shall show you no honour. You will serve the same punishment you enacted on them]
The abomination that held Mado as its pilot charged forward like a speeding train. The hero was already familiar with their moveset and how that would differ now that they held Mado in their ranks it was not quite clear to him. The hero slammed his feet into the ground and propelled himself upwards. While airborne he took in his surroundings to identify what could grant him the edge over Mado. There was a clear opening that would allow him to dislocate Mado's head from his shoulders, however to the hero it seemed fabricated, a victory granted to him like that would never come to fruition. He used his legs to change his trajectory into a retreat. He resisted the bait.
Mado chuckled at this. He didn't quite foresee that the hero would act on instinct instead of. The easy way out. The hero stood upright. Unphased by the manoeuvre. Until this very moment Hero's senses had been dormant. He was sloppy undervaluing his opponent as nothing more than a lazy mage. But now he had finally awakened his mind from the slumber it found itself in. The thousands of rotten deadmen that compiled the abomination, roared at him with all their might. But the hero didn't as much as flinch.
The Hero seize your pointless efforts to prolong the inevitable.This is where your story ends]
Mado lifted his staff over his head and sliced downwards. Sending a flying convoy of stars in the direction of The Hero. He made a mockery of Mados magic but erased it all with a single slash of his sword. The hero would not make any rash movements; he would await Mado's next move to effectively calculate his next decision. Mado thought to himself i finally have my purpose in my grasp, what they made for me. I must accomplish it, my previous one failed but this time can be different.
Mado had juggled through what he deemed his purpose. First it was to reside in the cabin next it was discovered on the way with that boy. The boy tilted his head in confusion when Mado questioned about his own name. How foolish is it for a person to question the name they possess. Isn't it ludicrous. Mado was a rare case; it hadn't been that he failed to recall his name, it had been an instance of never being assigned a name. The boy grasped his hands close to his chest. Above his heart and declared himself as Mujaki the sacred. Mado never responded; all he did was gaze back into the distance. He could only grasp the stars. But when he raised his hands he let them slip through his fingers. Mujaki looked at him with a puzzled face. He had not even given a suitable reaction to his identity. Neither that nor the "sacred" part. That's how Mujaki discovered that Mado was different from anyone he ever met. Instead of interfering in Mado's thoughts, Mujaki planted himself down next to Mado and shared the same view he did. They sat in silence for hours, not even as much as glancing at each other completely drawn to the sea of stars. After the 5th hour they both became weary. Fighting the urge to fall to slumber, it was only then did one of them move, Mujaki tapped the shoulder of Mado he responded by staring at him like an innocent child. Mujaki raised his finger and pointed at the sea of stars they had been staring at for hours on end.
Mujaki [you see that one, that's Sirius or the other one to its rear. That vega arcturus is racing behind it. While rigel and bettleguse. Soar in the opposite direction. And cappella is the one shining above the rest. It's important for them to be named. It's how we identify them, without those they would just return to being ordinary stars. Cappella would be the bright star, but we wouldn't classify it the brightest without the identity attached to it would we. The name we go by tells more about us than our physicals. For example my name is Mujaki. Holds more meaning than how it rolls off the tongue. It demonstrates the person I am, childlike innocence. Well so my parents tell me, who knows i could be full of shit but its worth to keep it in your mind]
Mado looks up at the stars. With a new understanding of them. He mutters under his breath a single word. "Identity" Mujaki nods. The experience of another human has granted
d mado more questions then answers, why was it that he was never given one of his own. His eyes begin to swell until water flows out. But before he knows it Mujaki is wiping every one of his tears away. One look in Mujaki's eyes brings such comfort but also confusion to Mado's eyes. They can all be articulated into a single thought "why" identity; perhaps he could bear the name of one of the stars. But would it truly be his own or would it be manufactured, stolen from the stars. The very thing that makes them unique. But what will make him unique? What is his identity? Mujaki holds his two cold hands around the sides of Mado's face. And whispers something to him. "Mado" his eyes tense up at the mention of this word. What is "Mado" and what does it mean? Is it another star or is it something else. It's as if Mujaki can peer into his thoughts as he slaps him on the face. With a disappointed look.
Mujaki [Mado. That's your identity. Thats who you are, you fail to provide one so i will craft one for you. So forget about everything before. This is where your life truly begins. Mado The one who has a withered tree, the one who is reborn. You will shape who you are, from the carvings of withered wood.]
Mado that does have a nice ring to it.
Mado reigns above the hero. On the throne of the abomination. This fight is more personal than Mado would have expected. However it does make sense. The hero must face his crimes. Mado pondered about the very abomination he stood atop of. "I am using their graveyards as a stepping stone. They should be free to choose. Like I never could, why do I use them in such a way? Is it because I've been born for this, to be slothful like he told me. Mujaki told me to mold my own identity i will not be shackled any longer" but that was easier said than done
The hero awaited the next move patiently like a game of chess. The next person who made a wrong turn would be caught directly in checkmate. Or so in theory nobody could say how things would go in the next few moves. If the hero were to act he could be struck down and therefore condemn Kekkan to death. But if he did not move the battle would never end, in a fight where opponents failed to challenge the other. It would be a stalemate. In which neither party would continue the battle. Normally resulting in a draw. But what if neither agreed upon the draw. It would merely be buying time, but how much time did they have. Would he wait forever, or would he lose his patience and risk everything. But no The Hero was too stubborn there was too much to lose here. Stuff he would never recover from. That Kekkan could never recover from. So he decided on a stalemate until further notice. He prayed that Mado would crack under pressure but that was not guaranteed. In any way you can put it. It was a gamble.
On the other side of the board Mado was contemplating the same. He had put his entire strategy into the line of thought that this new battlefield was. His playground that through fleeing into the abominations arena. He could control all the pieces on the board, but it seems he also underestimated his opponent. Especially regarding his patience and adaptability. The hero wouldn't budge or move. Mados patience was growing weary. But he always brought himself back to the line of thinking, what a disservice it would be to all the men the hero has slayed. If you crack under pressure due to how stubborn you were. That was a defeat he could not afford to suffer not with this much on the line. This was not a battle for himself, or his life; this was a battle of loyalty, this was a battle of respect, and this was a battle of identity. He had to prove he wasn't what they wanted him to be. He had to prove it to the boy. To Mujaki, he chose his own path. But to deny the destiny he was born to fulfil would be to stay in this stalemate. Proving he wasn't so slothful to not even move a muscle would be obliging with the very thing he was supposed to. And betraying everything he should stand for. But what is more important, the victory or his identity, would he do the selfless thing and give it all up for the sake of the cause. Or would he continue to reign slothful. Which was the correct course of action.
A game like this could hardly even be considered a game in the first place. The only way to turn the tide would be if an extra player stepped on the board. Although this would seem cheap and disrespectful it was the only way the hero could potentially strike Mado down. His sister was still pretending to be unconscious. If he could just get her in here then she could. Help him combat Mado and drag him down. If you look at it logically and unbiased it would then be 2v2. Since the abomination was a single organism separate of that Mado. or perhaps that was just the Hero's way of making himself feel better for committing such a scummy action. And there was also a probability that his sister would betray him. He couldn't be fooled by her display of heartfulness today for that was a one time occasion. On several other ones including the creation of the abomination his sister had attempted to remove him from this world. Until she fessed up and became friendly using nostalgia and reminiscing. But he could not assume that was her one true intention. That would be quite a foolish thing for The Hero to do. Letting his guard down just because she is family will kill him. What could the outcome of the battle be if she did. Assuming he could reach her and convince her to aid him in battle, say if they did come out victorious what is her goal here. At the end of the day she is still a member of the choir and quite a good liar, maybe if he put countermeasures in place he could stop her after they defeat Mado. he was running out of options but it still seemed he had plenty of time left to think about it, due to the predicament they found themselves in at the current moment. But if he did go ahead with this plan of action how in gods name would he avoid Mados strikes and manage to safely get up to his sister convince her to fill her in and take Mado down. He would need a distraction of some kind which he did not have so perhaps that plan was futile in the end. What could he do in this moment to proclaim victory. That was when it hit him with the element of surprise. Force would only lead to his demise so if he proposed something else to Mado had pursued him in an exchange of dialogue it could work in his favour. With that he called out to Mado. in an attempt of desperation.
The Hero [As you can see and are obviously quite aware of. We find ourselves in a stalemate. Now me personally i dont feel like waiting around all day so why don't we wrap this up nice and soon. I think that would quite benefit the both of us. What i propose is you get up off your high horse mount of the vanquished. And face me down here and stop using them as your mount. Quite frankly it's disgusting how you can sit up there on them. And call me out for killing them. Quite a hypocritical line of thinking. In fact everything you stand for contradicts itself. So come and fight me for real, or you can't do that cause you're a slave to sloth.]
Mado did not respond and he couldn't respond. He was baffled by the words The Hero shot towards him. He knew what game he was playing at to rile him up to get him to act. It somehow seemed that just like mujaki back then The Hero could read his mind, an internally metaphorical way of putting it but it fit regardless. The same things he shot at him were the very things eating away inside his very own line of thought. But no he would not let that get to him. But does that mean going against Mujaki, the person he swore to. He swore to Mujaki that he would never be shaped by others and that he would make his own choices to the day he dies. But no this was his choice it always has been blaming others for not being able to decide for yourself was pure cowardness. And Mado would not be a slave to it. This was his decision, this is what he chose for himself. Deep down he wanted to reject it and accept the hero's offer but he couldn't because. Because why, no it can't be that it was chosen for him. He decides for himself. But does he really. "Im sorry Mujaki" Mado was always just a coward he could never not be slothful. Mujaki saw something in him that was never a false hope. Back then when he gave him his identity that still wasn't what he chose for himself it's what Mujaki decided for him he must pick for himself. Would Mujaki be proud of him for this or disgusted.
Back then Mujaki showed Mado what being ordinary was like. He had never experienced anything but an empty cabin prior. And it's true he didn't decide to leave either, it felt free. That there were so many opportunities for him to explore, and not alone with his best friend. His brother Mujaki. The pair became quite close. They used to run around the street causing trouble throwing toilet paper around peoples houses and even pickpotting the adults. Although it definitely was morally wrong. They had fun and they felt that together they could achieve anything. But those moments of happiness weren't the only ones they shared together. When Mujaki's dad fell ill. It hit like a train for both of them seeing the childlike joy Fade from Mujakis eyes syphoned the same out of Mado. Mujaki was his joy so when he fell from it so did Mado. He tried to cheer him up in any way he could. He would bring him out and try those activities they used to enjoy so much. Pickpotting causing trouble. But they also became sloppy when Mujaki had been caught by one of the adults one day. Which was quite strange for them. Both of them received quite a beating and that's when mujaki spilled his true feelings . He spewed words of hatred at Mado.
Mujaki [ what the fuck do you think your doing. Nothing the same, nothing can ever return to how it was. My dad is sick and it eats away at me like a plague day by day. Do you even know what that's like Mado? nothing will bring me joy i dont enjoy it anymore. Running around with you doing all this pointless shit it never leaves my mind. My dad is fighting for his life while we are running around like headless damn chickens. Do you not have any bit of common sense to let me grieve]
Mado didn't understand. He thought it would help but he was only making things worse. Another week passed. Mado tried to talk to Mujaki but Mujaki never left his dads side. Until his dad succumbed to his injuries. But mado stood by his side the entire time. Mado didn't understand Mujaki's feelings. He had never experienced loss. And he never knew if he would have to. He didn't understand why Mujaki was so sad all the time. He thought it was his fault he did something to make his friend feel this way. People come and they go so why is he feeling so sad about his dad? Why was nothing fun to him? Ever since that day the boy's friendship was never the same again. Mujaki ignored Mado like he didn't know him. While Mado tried to act like things were unchanged. But nothing could ever be the same. Not for a long time, Mado didn't understand grieving loss or the feeling of it. In a way he yearned for it also. He wanted to share empathy; he wanted to know how Mujaki was feeling. He wanted to understand him so he could help him. He tried bringing him flowers and gifts but that was to no avail. One day when Mado went to Mujaki's house there was nothing but a note. "Leave me alone" Mado did not understand this. He worried about Mujaki that something had happened; he searched all across town but never found him. What had happened to his friend. He thought everything would eventually return to how it was. He traced his steps back to the place they first made contact. Underneath the sea of stars. He pointed out to one of the stars and just like Mujaki had named in them he called out the star as. "Mujaki" he slept on that very spot. Everyday he checked for Mujaki but he never returned. And every night he slept underneath the sea of stars. Imagining that one day he would return he dreamed it every night. Until one day he woke up and found Mujaki underneath the sea of stars. He had a different look on his face today, one of great sadness. But not the same he had been wearing for all this time. He embraced Mado in his arms. And spoke to him for the first time in months.
Mujaki [I'm so sorry Mado. I've been pushing you away. Because of my dad. Ever since I lost him I feel like everything's gone numb. I dont feel any pain or happiness i dont even feel sad about it. I feel like a star but one that never reaches its destination. Bound for endless travel but never reaching the end. I'm so lost in direction. So I've been neglecting you and I know I'm wrong for it. You wont understand how I'm feeling and god i pray you never have to. No matter where I go, what I do. You will always be my brother]
Mujaki gently thrust his finger to Mado's heart. Mado still didn't understand. He couldn't even begin to process what Mujaki was saying to him. But that word stood out as important. "Brother" He had always heard others refer to each other as it but never been called that by anyone. Although he didn't have much of a strong connection to that word when Mujaki spoke it out to him. He began to tear up.
Mujaki [It means we are family. It's not just a title, it's a soul connection. We are unshaken, we are unscathed. We flourish together. And we will always be by each other's side. We will listen to each other, we will protect each other, we will respect each other. We will love each other. We are brothers now. Mado that is your, no its our purpose. We live for each other. So god help me if anything happens to you. So stay alive, but most importantly do this for me. Choose who you are. Don't let those other pricks in the village speak for you. They call us thieves and scoundrels. Good for nothing, that's not their decision to make. Choose your own path and prove them wrong.]
Mado always wondered what his purpose was. I wondered what he was here for. But now he understood it better than he ever did. He always had that purpose to live for brotherhood. They were bound together. He would choose his own path starting from today.