Chapter 81


    An Unexpected Battle/ Part Four


    Decision


    Douvaine, France.


    Your freedom. Those had been Azusa''s words.


    Mai still didn''t understand what she meant by it, let alone what she had just said, that the one she was supposed to face had just appeared.


    But she did not have time to inquire much more.


    The next moment several of the monitors began to display alerts.


    Something was happening in Lugrin.


    The controllers and technicians in front of the holo monitors did not understand in the first few seconds. The reports, coming from the main control point where the investigation of the plane crash was being carried out, could not have been stranger. But almost immediately the images began to arrive, showing the magnitude of the problem.


    In those images, a giant sphere was seen, as if it were an eye floating over the lake. As well as the attack of the creatures that materialized on the shore, and the fight that was taking place between SID personnel and the soldiers trying to get rid of those creatures.


    Neither Mai, nor Carissia, knew what Rein and the others were doing in that place, but they seemed to be one of the main supports in that fight that seemed more than unequal at that moment.


    That''s what I meant, Azusa said.


    “I don''t understand. What is the meaning of this?! It is somekind of space distortion?”


    That''s a space distortion. It happened because of the plane. Bringing something that large from another time has resulted in distortions in the fabric of reality accumulating over that point. It is different from other anomalies, such as evanescent islands or teleportation tunnels.


    “That... are they fractus?”


    They aren''t. But it doesn''t mean that makes those things any less dangerous.


    “What are they?”


    The easiest example I could give you right now is. They''re ants.


    “Ants?”


    Ants are small and you wouldn''t judge them to be dangerous, would you?


    “Those don''t look like ants,” Mai said, as she looked at the pictures. Carissia at her side had put a hand on her shoulder and was trying to get her to react, but Mai was barely listening to her.


    Then, imagine what can come out of there if it remains open, Azusa continued.


    “Can I close it?”


    You still can. But you have to do it now. If you don''t, everything that has been built up over so long will be for nothing.


    “Built? Who has built what?”


    You. Us. The entire civilizations that have been treading on this planet since almost its birth. This distortion is different. If it is not closed soon this place, in millions of kilometers, will be a new void in space. Or maybe something worse.


    “What are you talking about?”


    This... is what happened to my race before we arrived on this planet. That''s the only thing I can tell you about it without compromising reality. The rest you''ll have to find out for yourself.


    Mai swallowed. “What do I have to do?”


    The same as always. But it will be different this time.


    “Why?”


    Azusa''s voice relaxed. Because this is the last time you will hear my voice. This is the moment where we part. But I will leave my body to you. That way you will never be separated from my body, which from now on will be part of you and yours alone until the end of your days. Or until you decide to give the bow to someone who will inherit the ability.


    Mai knew it was useless to ask but, with a bitter expression, she asked. She wanted to hear it from her even though she sensed the answer. “Why last time?”


    It takes a very different level of energy than the one you used when you met me. I must go through my process of what you call death.


    Mai dropped her shoulders.


    She knew. Azusa wasn''t one to make jokes. If it was dangerous enough to destroy all existence then it must be so. She had no reason to distrust Azusa. How many times had she used the bow and always told the truth? She had many questions, but from what Azusa said there were some things she could not say. It had always been that way. Revealing very little.


    Mai pursed her lips to keep from biting her tongue at the questions she felt like asking.


    While there were things she had never told her, it had always been so as not to jeopardize the future.


    Azusa had told her that she could see the future to a certain extent and had revealed many secrets to Mai. Secrets that Mai could not reveal, and one of them was the reason why she had not wanted to reveal about that alien entity that they had found in Kolsay and that had escaped into space.


    Some things were too terrible for the world to be accepted yet, no matter how open it had become to the fantastic in the last hundred years. However, Mai knew that Azusa''s vision of the future was limited from her point of view.


    As calculating as Azusa seemed, Mai always knew from the day she had accepted her that she was someone who had seen much in her lifetime as an observer of existence on Earth. Her understanding of existence and life was different.


    Azusa in her case was much more realistic. She knew what was at stake from the beginning. Since that day she had saved her and helped to end the war. And now, in the same way, Azusa was asking to Mai help to save the world through Mai, even if it meant her own death.


    There was no time for emotions or anything like that. She could not delay.


    Mai made the decision and let the words out in a soft but determined voice. “I will do it.”


    As reports continued to come in, Mai headed for the door. At that moment Carissia stopped her.


    “What are you doing?”


    “It''s an anomaly. I have Azusa to close it,” Mai said with a sad gesture.


    I have the bow, Mai thought. Was it too much of a coincidence that the Council had sent Azusa to her through Lizbeth? No, it couldn''t be after all. They knew something after all.


    The same idea had crossed Carissia''s mind in the last few seconds.


    Carissia in many ways was one of those who had been closest to Mai for decades, but she knew what was about to happen. Even though she couldn''t hear the whole dialogue, but the words that had come out of Mai''s mouth were more than enough for her aeon brain. On the other hand, Lugrin''s images spoke for themselves on the projections.


    Anomalies in the fabric of reality tended to take spherical form. That portal was the shadow of a higher dimension in a three-dimensional space.


    “Mai, you shouldn''t go out yet, we should wait for more information. We don''t know what''s out there,” Carissia insisted, her voice laden with anguish. Her blue eyes settled on Mai, “We can''t risk it yet.”


    Mai, however, was adamant. With unwavering calm, she approached Carissia. “Don''t worry, I''ll be back soon. I need to do this,” Mai told her, her voice ringing with a certainty that almost surprised herself. “Stay here and take care of sending reinforcements while I''m gone, I''m handing over command to you as my second here.”


    Carissia wanted to say something but knew that last had been an order. She felt a sense of sadness that she could not express. She didn''t want to let her go but that was an order. In that situation she could not refuse no matter how much she wanted to accompany her to the battlefield.


    Mai took a step forward with a last glance at Carissia, who was looking at her with a mixture of sadness and at the same time determination. As she opened the trailer door, the cool morning air and fine rain enveloped her, bringing with it a whisper of promise and danger.


    The FRT soldiers and personnel outside were just learning of the situation and were surprised to see Mai''s face as she stood in the grass away from everyone.


    “Equip clothes,” she ordered to her turtle backpack. And then the clothes she had been wearing seemed to reconfigure. She was now wearing a top with light armor covering her chest. At the same time a new pair of boots and tight pants with protections appeared. Her hands were covered with tactical archery gloves.


    She extended one arm and in just about ten seconds a black bow had appeared in her hand. A green halo covered Mai''s body and her dark hair turned silver. Her skin acquired a very tanned tone, at the same time those bioluminescent patterns appeared on parts of her skin.


    I''m with you, let''s fly, whispered Azusa, her voice echoing deep in Mai''s soul.


    To everyone''s surprise Mai began to soar through the skies. Two pairs of wings had appeared on her back and another pair on the lower area, just as the moth-like antennae appeared on her head.


    They were moving in a northeasterly direction, towards Lugrin.


    At that instant, as they reached over three thousand meters, the world around Mai seemed to change.


    The shadows dissolved, and a crystal space expanded around her.


    “What is this?” Mai asked.


    We need some help, Azusa said in a solemn voice, and they rose even higher into the sky.


    “What kind of help?”


    One you know well.


    Mai felt her heart burn and made a face like she was in pain.


    Just a moment, little one, Azusa tried to soothe her.


    Mai watched as a crystal sphere began to appear around her. And then other crystallizations around her grew until they filled everything she could see. She couldn''t see more than that crystal place in all directions.


    “What is this?


    I need to extend my form to contact help. It''s only an instant.


    As Azusa manifested in her physical form in the world, something began to flow through Azusa to Mai.


    They were memories.


    The energy of those memories crystallized in Azusa was overwhelming, spanning periods of time that the human mind was not made for, and Mai felt small despite having lived for over two centuries. But before she could process what was happening, Azusa enveloped her further in her memories, carrying her with indescribable strength.


    It wasn''t more than a few seconds, but it had seemed to her that she had seen images of herself in those memories. A tall building and her near a window as everything collapsed around her. She had thought she had seen Lizbeth''s face as well as Shin''s. But that was fleeting and the flood of images continued.


    For some reason Mai felt that these were not just images. It had happened at some point. But as soon as she inquired about it her questions stopped.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    It is done. I will now attach my body permanently to your core, Azusa told her.


    Mai took a breath and prepared herself.


    Mai felt a pang in her chest as she watched those crystalline structures disappearing. More than disappearing, it was as if they became small and were attracted to Mai herself. Although Mai felt a pain in her chest, she was also flooded with a sense of warmth and oneness.


    At that moment, Mai understood. By joining her core, Azusa had not only placed her power in her, she had also secured her legacy. A part of Azusa would live eternally within her, an echo of her essence that could never be stripped away.


    No one could take the bow, the representation of their union, from her ever again.


    After the war, the Council and many governments were interested in studying the bow, but they had to content themselves only with studying that earring. A simple precious stone that did not seem very different from other jewels. Only Mai could listen to Azusa and invoke her. Or rather, it was Azusa who decided if she wanted to talk to someone and make herself heard. And that had only happened with a handful of people.


    The interested parties had to be satisfied that Mai was the only one who could close those distortions in the world and nothing else. They tried to contain Azusa by seeing her as a weapon, but the truth was that they had never been able to get much information out of her. Even when they had tried to copy the bow using fractus material, but those prototypes and copies were only marginally effective compared to Azusa.


    This was Azusa''s last prank on the governments. If she had to leave at least she was making sure that her body in form of weapon would not be separated from Mai.


    Mai could feel as if something was being written inside her. Although she could not see it, she knew it was her core reacting to the operation Azusa was carrying out inside her.


    Mai found herself immersed in a flood of memories, images of Azusa that kept flowing through her.


    Many more memories than she had seen on that day when Mai had first met her. She saw the life of her companion, the joys and sorrows she had borne over the millions of years. Memories of places she had seen, of creatures she had encountered, and of moments of horror yet beauty that seemed so far away in time.


    “So long,” Mai let out, feeling a tear welling up in her eyes. So many had died and Azusa could only intervene ephemerally. With each intervention she would have caused far more trouble than she could fix. That was the price of knowing both the effects of the future and how those effects led to the causes in the past.


    From people''s point of view it might have seemed that Azusa had committed millions of crimes by letting people die in the past. But Azusa''s understanding was different to begin with. She could not be judged by the parameters of ordinary people. And even if her sense of understanding was different, she had done her best to integrate into the world and carry a destiny through millions of years, even though she had known since her rebirth the certainty of the day she would die.


    Despite the pain, Azusa responded to her concerns through connection. No more words or concepts or images were needed. Azusa''s memories were the ones that spoke for themselves and, at the same time, the emotions flowing from Mai were the ones Azusa had always known. That small fey, but one that could hold so much value within her.


    “Life is a cycle, and each of us plays a part in that cycle.”


    As Azusa''s memories continued to flow, Mai understood that her friend had lived to preserve the beauty of life, whatever form that life took, even in the darkest of times. Even if she could not fully intervene.


    The transfer was over. The dark sky was visible again. No more memories.


    Suddenly, the sounds of battle reached her in the distance.


    With determination, Mai flapped her wings and launched herself into the battlefield across the skies, ready to fight, not only for herself, but also for Azusa and that future she always wished to protect, for the beauty of that pale dot floating in the cosmos that had been her home for millions of years.


    ***


    Minutes before


    Lizbeth paled.


    She had seen Shin hurt countless times over the years. Being stabbed, shot, blown up, burned, electrocuted, eviscerated, decapitated and even once accidentally poisoned by a meal she had prepared. It might seem that he was invincible, but if he was taken by surprise it was his only weakness. All those experiences had been etched in Lizbeth''s retina when she had been with him. And, even though Shin could regenerate, she could not deny that she did not want to see those scenes again, and yet they were now continuing in a dangerous job as before they separated.


    But whenever he had been injured, the blood never spilled from his body. On the contrary, when a wound opened up and, unless it was very serious, Shin''s body regenerated instantly.


    Therefore, she could not help but be surprised when she saw a drop of blood just flowing down from Shin''s left eye, as if it were a crimson tear.


    “What''s wrong?” Shin asked, seeing Lizbeth''s startled face.


    “You''re bleeding...” she said and moved to take a closer look. Maybe it was her impression, but it seemed to her that Shin''s yellow eye had taken on a slightly more golden hue and seemed to glow a little.


    “What?” Shin asked and ran his hand over his face. He didn''t believe it, but there on his hand he saw that red spot, resulting from the blood in his eye. That blood didn''t last more than a few seconds until it clotted, dried at rapid speed and then disappeared as if it had turned to dust in the air.


    “Let me look at you,” Lizbeth said, cupping his face.


    He was no longer bleeding. Whatever it had been seemed to have stopped, but on the contrary the eye still had a gleam in it. And it seemed to be increasing.


    Shin blinked in annoyance. He was now feeling a slight irritation in his eye.


    “What''s in my eye?” he asked and rubbed it.


    It was as if something had gotten into it. But what struck him most was that he felt a strange sensation towards the northeast. He had a need to look in that direction. A part of his body was telling him that something was happening. He couldn''t explain it, but every part of his being told him that something was there. And almost at the moment he had started to feel that sensation was when his eye had started to bother him.


    Ryuuji was waving an arm towards Lizbeth and Shin, but both of them weren''t looking at him. He was calling their attention to indicate that whatever was going on with Natsuki, since they had left the elevator she was visible and was now being attended to by the medics as well as Oxy. They had covered Natuski''s eyes because she was complaining that they were burning a lot, even with her eyelids closed.


    Granger and Jade were informing themselves of the situation in the other points, at the same time that they were giving reports to the GSN, about the situation.


    That all this had happened in barely an hour was incredible, although the work that was to come in the next few days would not be far behind either.


    But that darkness. That darkness of the clouds, even though it should be more than bright enough by now to be morning, bothered them. There was something wrong there.


    And as if it were an omen, the unexpected happened.


    It appeared from the northeast.


    “What the hell?” asked Granger, with Jade at his side. Both had their eyes fixed on the sky. But it was the same with everyone. Mercenaries, Swiss and French army soldiers, aeons, doctors and feys. Even Philip and Zi, still standing back where they had been offering support with their sniper rifles, were now looking skyward.


    Lizbeth released Shin''s face and, seeing her face looking up at the sky, he turned around and did the same. He opened his eyes in surprise and so did Lizbeth.


    They both knew what it was about.


    “Azusa...” they muttered in unison.


    The entity in Mai''s earring. The bow, but with her real form. It had manifested in the dark sky with a color ranging between shades of green, turquoise and blue.


    It was gigantic in size and floated somewhat hidden by clouds and fog. It must have measured several kilometers in a north-south direction. The central part was almost hidden, but the wings were visible and still, even though they had a movement around themselves, forming a spiral pattern.


    Lizbeth knew it from how Mai had described it to her and even drawn it, but Mai was the only one who knew the shape. Or so Lizbeth thought. She was unaware of the memories Shin had retrieved, even though she knew that Mai had also described Azusa''s form to Shin.


    “What''s going on?” Lizbeth asked and felt a chill down her spine. She had seen Mai manifest the bow countless times, but Azusa had never appeared in that form.


    Shin, on the other hand, now that he had his memories back, had no doubt. That was Azusa.


    “Why did she appear?” he asked. From the location of the central part Shin had no doubt that it had Dovaine as its center, several kilometers away. The place where Mai was with the command center.


    Can you hear me, old friend?


    Shin was surprised by the sudden presence that had just appeared in his mind. It spoke to him in a direct way, showing itself through images, but forming a dialogue that could be understood.


    The echo of the battle around him still resounded in the air, but for Shin, the turmoil of his surroundings faded away. His attention was focused on something beyond the physical, a mental whisper that pierced the distance.


    It was Azusa, manifesting in the sky, but speaking directly to him. The image of Azusa and her voice filled him with a mixture of awe and fear. He had too many questions for her.


    Shin, Azusa''s voice echoed in his mind, clear and powerful. Come here. You must do it now. Mai needs you.


    “What?” A shiver ran down Shin''s back at those words. “What do you mean?! What''s going on?!”


    Take good care of them, Wanderer of the Planes. It was a pleasure to meet you. Now move! That was a more relaxed tone, but it didn''t calm Shin down.


    Wanderer.


    Shin had heard those same words only a few days ago from another entity that had spoken directly into his mind. Rayana Ivraeva.


    Lizbeth at his side looked upset about something. Shin looked at her and she too had her eyes fixed on the sky.


    After a few seconds the huge presence in the sky disappeared. It was as if that shape had contracted to some point in the northwest sky. As if it had never been there to begin with. Shin remembered that Azusa''s size could be enormous even though it had almost no mass. In a different spatial dimension, size was a different thing and things could be made incredibly small or huge regardless of mass.


    Come here. That had been the order. The here was that point where it had disappeared? That must be more than sixteen kilometers at least, Shin judged. What had happened? Take good care of them. What kind of message was that? Was a pleasure to meet you? That sounded like a goodbye.


    The voice had disappeared too. Shin turned to Lizbeth, who was still staring at the sky. “Did she say something to you too?”


    Lizbeth nodded worriedly. “She told me: take care of them and goodbye.”


    They both looked at each other. “Did she say anything else?” Shin asked.


    Lizbeth hesitated. “What does it all mean?” Having said that, she immediately tried to communicate with Mai. But her Neurowire seemed to be disconnected at the moment. How could that be possible at a time when they most needed to know she was okay?


    She tried Carissia. Lizbeth was silent for a few seconds, during the Neurowire conversation with the redhead, but from the look on Shin''s face she judged that this was not good news.


    “Mai just left the command center...” Lizbeth said in a whisper.


    “What happened?!”


    “Carissia says she seemed to be talking to Azusa about something and she came out and started soaring in the sky.”


    “What?”


    “I don''t understand it either, but reports are coming into the CoC that something is going on in Lugrin. There''s some kind of creature attack and a sphere just appeared in the sky. Carissia says it''s a space distortion and that Mai is going to use Azusa to shut it down. She says Azusa said something that seemed to upset Mai.”


    Shin looked to the northwest again. Lugrin. That feeling he felt was not because of Azusa perhaps, but something that was happening at the spot where the plane disaster had occurred.


    Shin did not want to wait. A sphere had just appeared in the sky. Couldn''t that be a continuation of what had happened in 2012? How could that be possible and how much did Azusa know about it?


    Azusa''s final words ran through Shin like an electric current. Although the battle he had been fighting had come to an end, his heart was now pounding with urgency. Something very serious could be going on. The thought that Mai might be in danger filled him with instant concern. He couldn''t just stand there, watching from a distance. He needed to head in that direction.


    With a determined move, he turned to Lizbeth, the other woman in his life, with whom he had shared so many experiences, both pain and joy. She looked at him with a mixture of concern and understanding, knowing what they should do. Lizbeth had always been a pillar of strength, and at that moment, her presence was a comfort.


    “I''m going over there,” Shin said, his voice steady. “Mai needs me now. I don''t know exactly what''s going on, but I can''t ignore it.”


    Lizbeth nodded. “I know. Let''s go together.”


    Shin shook his head. “I''ll go faster by myself.”


    “That''s not going to happen.” She said taking his hand and catching him before he started to walk away, where was he planning to go? Take a ship and fly there by himself? The backpack team''s autonomous flight equipment wasn''t fast enough to cover that distance in minutes either.


    “Did Azusa tell you to go?” asked Shin.


    “No, but-.”


    Shin declined and gave her a kiss on the forehead trying to calm her down. “Stay here, it''ll be faster. Whatever''s going on I''m going to bring her back.”


    Lizbeth didn''t seem to understand what was going on, but Shin slowly pulled away letting go of her hand.


    “How are you going to go?”


    “There are some things I didn''t tell about what happened while I was regenerating.”


    “What are you talking about?”


    Shin closed his eyes for a moment, feeling that black particle energy bubbling up inside him, as if the wind itself was inviting him to rise up.


    “I''m going to protect her,” he said and turned his back to Lizbeth. “You can catch up with us later.”


    With an impulse that seemed to come from the very depths of his being, Shin opened his arms and, to Lizbeth''s surprise, and rose from the ground enveloped in a cloud of particles that propelled him skyward, while the mask of the armor covered his face. The air currents surrounded him, carrying him skyward, and soon he found himself flying, soaring through the dark sky with astonishing ease. It was a liberating feeling, but in his heart there was only one mission at that moment: to reach Mai.


    As he flew away, he looked back and saw Lizbeth, small in the distance on that battlefield. She was overwhelmed, she didn''t seem to understand, and Shin felt his heart clench. He only hoped that there would be time to tell all the stories and that the three of them would do it together. No. Rather, all four of them. Kotori too after all.


    He had loved them. He had lost them. Time had reset and found them again. He could not allow anything to happen to them once again.


    As he ascended, the landscape spread out below him like a picture of life itself: dark forests, meandering rivers, and hills rising toward the horizon. The cold, damp air surrounded him, filling him with foreboding as he flew.


    I must get to her, he thought and shot off in the direction Azusa had disappeared. He just hoped he could handle the deceleration just right.