Chapter 55: KAITO


    <hr>


    I found a quiet spot in the crumbling wall, away from the others, and held the crystal in my palm. My fingers trembled as I focused my Zii on it, dreading the message Sora said it contained.


    "Ember?" Kaito''s voice whispered through the crystal, weak but clear. "Master Xiang assured me you''d be able to hear this. I pray he''s right."


    A pause, followed by labored breathing.


    "The wounds... they''re too deep. I''m not going to make it through the portal," he said, his voice cracking. "I wish I could have seen you one more time."


    I pressed the crystal closer to my chest.


    "I wanted more time to get to know you better. You''re one of the most incredible people I''ve ever met." Another pause. "Sora told me about where you''re really from—about the other dimension. I don''t understand how it works, but I pray to the gods you find your way home."


    My chest tightened as he continued.


    "Stay strong, Ember. Stay brave. You''re Ninja through and through. Don''t let anyone tell you otherwise. You''ve got this fire in you that just..." His voice faded for a moment. "You''re going to change everything. I know it."


    I gripped the crystal harder.


    "Keep fighting, Ember. For all of us. For Hikari. Show them what we''re made of. Goodbye, Ember."


    The message ended. I sat in silence, a single tear rolling down my cheek. My hand clenched around the crystal, squeezing until my nails pricked my palm and warm blood trickled between my fingers.


    * * *


    I wandered deeper into the forest, away from the estate ruins. My fingers traced the bark of an ancient tree. Vegas felt like a lifetime ago. The endless poker tournaments, the social media followers, the book signings—it all seemed hollow now.


    In poker, you could always walk away from the table—cash out when you were ahead. But this wasn''t poker. The stakes kept rising with each hand I''d been dealt—Hikari, Kaito, all the children.


    I slid down against the tree trunk, pulling my knees to my chest. Back home, the worst that could happen was losing money or face. Here, people died—real people who trusted and believed in me.


    My mind drifted to my apartment overlooking the Strip, to Rocky dealing cards and cracking jokes at the table. Simple. Safe. Yet even as I yearned for that simplicity, I knew I couldn''t abandon this world—not with Kyra still captive, the Emperor faction stealing children, or the Jingozi pulling everyone''s strings.


    I pulled out one of my Jingozi cards, watching it pulse with energy.


    The thought of returning home tempted me like a mirage in the desert. But whenever I closed my eyes, I saw Kaito''s face and heard his final words through the crystal. He believed in me and thought I could change things.


    I pressed my palm against the forest floor, feeling the pulse of Zii beneath the earth. This world was real. Its people were real. Their pain was real.


    There was no way I could fold now.


    * * *


    I found Sora sitting on the estate''s broken wall, her legs dangling over the edge. Kitty purred softly on my shoulders, fast asleep after our long day.


    "What really happened at the Radiant Temple?" I asked, settling beside her.


    Sora''s jaw tightened.


    "The battle was fierce. Many Monks gave their lives defending the temple." Her fingers traced the hilt of her sword. "Kaito... he fought like a demon and honored his guild. But he fell."


    The coldness in her voice made my skin crawl.


    Sensing my reaction, she met my gaze, her eyes hard.


    "This is what war is, Ember."


    I took a deep breath.


    "Katorro told me something strange. He said I need to sacrifice three fathers. Back on Earth, I used to have these dreams... Shogun and the Overlord... now I know—"


    "I don''t know what Katorro meant," Sora interrupted. "But if your visions showed the Emperor and Shogun, then kill them both. That''s two fathers right there."


    I swallowed hard, thinking of my adoptive father''s face in those dreams but kept that detail to myself.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    "Isn''t there any justice in this world?" I asked. "The Jingozi—they have so much power. Couldn''t they stop Edric?"


    Sora made an incredulous scoffing sound.


    "Justice? Our faction doesn''t believe in justice the way you think of it." She stood up, dusting off her suit. "There is only one way this war can end."


    * * *


    Cragmarr kneeled beside Jon''s broken body, pressing Zii coins against the elf''s chest. The coins sank in but produced no effect. Jon remained still, his skin ever pale.


    Cragmarr''s shoulders slumped as I knelt beside him.


    "I am sorry, Em," he said softly.


    "Thank you for trying," I replied. "You came just in time to save us."


    "Tell me what else happened here. I need to understand to help."


    "I... I don''t know how to start."


    "Do not use words. Use your fire sight. Show me like you did with the Huntress."


    "Okay, meditate on my Zii." I closed my eyes and reached for the connection between us. Images flashed—the rescued children, Jon teaching them to fish, the pirate ships exploding in the harbor, Seyri''s smile, the Amazon attack.


    In return, Cragmarr''s memories flooded my mind like a torrent of vivid, haunting images. Kaito charged through billowing smoke and leaping flames, his twin blades dancing in arcs. Monks were falling to the relentless assault, their green robes staining the temple stones red. Master Xiang''s face twisted in anguish as he whirled and struck, desperately fighting to protect the sacred grounds of the temple. Through it all, I saw Katorro, his aged frame trembling but his spirit unbroken, directing the remaining defenders from the temple steps with quiet authority despite his blindness.


    When the connection faded, I caught my breath.


    "I treated you terribly," I whispered. "After everything you''ve done for me, I pushed you away."


    "You were angry. Scared. I understand," Cragmarr said, his marble eyes swirling with compassion. "You humankind cope differently with pain."


    I reached out and hugged him.


    "Ember, we Golems have no parents like you do. We are born from the elements. But as we interact with other races, and the more I spend time with humankind, some of us long for such relationships... for family."


    "What are you getting at?" I pulled back, narrowing my eyes.


    "In a sense, we Golems are all orphans," Cragmarr continued. "Many become slaves to the desire for family, and that is how the other factions have subjugated our kind. Our nature is to serve... that is how we find worth... identity."


    "What happens?" I asked. "How do you break free?"


    "Some become cursed, and the demons take hold. We become the Blight. But others channel their pain into becoming the children that all living things deserve. Many of our kind believe in the one source that gives us all life."


    I blinked into the Jingozi arena.


    * * *


    "Alphathir," I spoke after spending a few minutes piecing it together.


    "Yes, that''s me," the voice responded.


    "I get it now. What you''ve been trying to tell me. You''re the one that Cragmarr''s talking about. The source."


    "Yes, Alphathir is the name this dimension has given me."


    "And you''re the god to end all gods. That''s what you said before. If you can do that, why put us through this… show? It''s all a little much, don''t you think? Kind of like a kid playing god with an ant hill or in a video game?"


    "This dimension must end, Ember. That is my judgment. But my children do not have to end with it."


    "So what? We wait for some apocalypse?"


    "Of course not. That would be foolish. Yes, some will resign themselves to what they call fate. Others will take their destinies into their own hands. The Jingozi continue to rebel, but some of them will believe. That is why you''re here."


    "This whole time, I thought it was the Jingozi pulling the strings. But it''s you."


    "I have no control over you, Ember. I would never do that."


    "You''re sure lining things up, though, right?"


    "Haven''t I done enough? Aren''t you the one who''s received my gifts? Your eyes are only starting to open."


    I slumped to the arena floor, my legs giving out beneath me. The pristine white floor felt cool against my palms.


    "This is too much." My voice cracked. "I''m just... I was just a poker player. A social media personality. I posted pictures of myself at casinos and wrote a book about tells."


    "You were always more than that."


    "Stop." I pressed my hands against my temples. "Just stop. I can''t handle any more cryptic wisdom or grand destiny talk. People are dying. Real people. Kaito is dead. Jon might not wake up. And you''re telling me you''re actually a god? That this is all some divine plan?"


    "I understand your frustration."


    "No, you don''t!" The words burst out of me. "You sit here and watch us scramble around like rats in a maze. You talk about gifts and destiny while children get sacrificed and good people die horrible deaths."


    Silence filled the arena. I pulled my knees to my chest, feeling smaller than I ever had.


    "I said I wouldn''t fold," I whispered. "But what''s the point of fighting if it''s all predetermined? If you''re really a god, then nothing I do matters anyway. It''s all just part of your plan."


    "That''s not—"


    "Save it." I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. "I get it now. I''m powerless. Just another piece on your cosmic game board. You can dress it up however you want, talk about gifts and choices, but in the end, you''re the one moving all the pieces."


    The familiar weight of defeat settled over me—the same feeling I''d had in those early days at the orphanage, realizing no one was coming to save me. Some things were just too big to fight against.


    "Then I give up. If all this is just a game to everybody, please send me home." I clasped my hands together like a prayer. "You can let this play out just the way you want. Just keep me out of it."


    "No. I won''t. You are not done."


    I screamed. Every ounce of rage, every drop of despair, every shred of pain I''d bottled up since arriving in this nightmare dimension ripped out of my throat.


    Alphathir said nothing.


    I waited, my throat raw, but as usual, silence answered.


    * * *


    "Ah yes, Alpathir," Jon chuckled. "I''ve been getting to know him. It turns out he''s the one who urged me to turn my life around."


    I lay beside Jon''s reflection, exhausted from my tantrum moments before.


    "Why didn''t you tell me?" I asked.


    "So you could accuse me of losing my sanity?" Jon replied.


    "And now you''re saying we''ve been talking to the same god all along?"


    "It appears so, my dear. However, it seems you hold a special place in the god''s heart. The rest of us would be branded heretics and put to the flames if we shared what you revealed. But you should know, Ember, he''s not the only god."


    "Are you being serious right now?"


    "The Jingozi believe in three other powerful beings. They''re known as Zebelma, Zorbalith and Zammin. Our lovely friend, Lance the Lightslayer, serves the goddess Zebelma. Together, they seek to destroy all that Alphathir holds dear."


    "Gods and games… what have I gotten myself into?"


    "A curiosity indeed. This dimension has never encountered someone like you."


    "Just tell me what to do, Jon. I''m so tired."


    "Do what you know is right."


    "And what''s that, exactly?"


    "Alpathir said it himself: he doesn''t control you. Nobody does. Since the fateful day we crossed paths, you''ve been doing one thing—the only thing you know how to do..."


    "Fight."


    "Yes."


    "Alright, Jon. Let''s finish this."


    "Now that''s the Ember I''ve come to adore."