Part 6.10 - Destiny's Call
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The Maiden of the Sea had quietly left the island behind, leaving the evacuation to the Order's crew. Whether Levi's crew also helped or not would hopefully not matter if everything went as Silas predicted. The mist was spreading out in all directions from where the Phoenix Isle use to be, and if the Maiden was unable to stop it, there would be no time to return to Bariki before the mist reached it and destroyed every living thing on it. The men of the Maiden trusted Silas, but they still were taking a terrible risk in coming back here.
"Are you sure of this, Silas?" Alex asked quietly, all four men standing on deck watching the mist creep towards them on the horizon. "What about your family?"
Silas knew the risks he was taking. "I know. I miss them terribly, and if I don't come back from this, they'll probably never forgive me. But this is something beyond words, Alex. As soon as I heard that voice in my head, I knew what I had to do. I can't forget my family, but I can't ignore the fate of the whole planet." Silas grinned. "Besides, how often do you get a chance to save the world?"
"We all know the risk here," Bismark said. "What about you Alex? You have a family too. Silas isn't the only one in danger here. None of us may come back from this, and yet we're all here. Let's just do what we came to do and go home, all of us."
They all nodded and peered out over the waters, watching as the poison cloud drifted towards them. It circled the ship and grasped at the four men on deck, but was repelled by the power of the Nacre. Silas had not needed to say anything this time, and it appeared the initial incantation made by Jehad was still working to stave off the poison and guide them towards the location of the sunken island. Soon the mist had surrounded the ship and moved on, towards Bariki. They would not have much time before it hit the defenseless island now.
As the ship approached the former location of Phoenix Isle, everyone looked out to see if there was anything left to land on. The only thing that could be seen was the thick purple cloud that covered the water in all directions. A faint red glow still rose up from far below the surface of the water, a sign that the island was still destroying itself, right down to the bottom of the ocean.
It was up to Silas now to point the way to the source of the mist. He held out the Nacre and let its light wash over the clouded waters. Its guiding light pulled on Silas's soul, and he talked Bismark towards the deceptively calm center of the glowing waters. This was the spot. This is where Jehad met his end, and where the ritual must be finished.
He thought hard about the voice, hoping it would guide him through the rest of the ritual, but his mind was a blank, and he still could not figure out how to make the Nacre do the miracles like Jehad. Had he been wrong?
"My voice shall guide you..."
Silas felt a shock run down his spine as he heard the voice again. But there was no more. Silas thought hard, and realized what he had to do.
"Bismark, give me that scroll. It is the key."
Bismark didn't want to have anything to do with that horrible talking scroll again, but the look in Silas's face brooked no argument.
"Aye, aye," Bismark said. "I hope you know what you're doing."
"Yes. Now hand me the scroll. Its power combined with the Nacre will show me the way."
Bismark handed the scroll to Silas, careful not to look at its contents for fear of being overtaken by its power again. He really hoped Silas knew what he was doing.
Silas took the scroll in one hand and the Nacre in the other, letting the scroll unfurl itself. He still remembered the painful reaction he had to the scroll before, but he must concentrate this time and use its power to direct the Nacre. The words of God were needed to activate the power of the pearls, and those very words were written on the scroll. For the brief time Silas looked upon its contents, he was one with the mind of God, and would be able to say what he needed to say. But could he remain sane long enough to finish the ritual? He pushed his fears aside and let his gaze fall on the forbidden text.
The moment he looked at the scroll, he felt the familiar rush of knowledge into his brain, and almost dropped both relics into the ocean as the pain swept over him. He could once again feel his mind warping and straining, trying to contain the infinite wisdom of the Holy Master. He must remain focused.
Concentrate only on the ritual at hand. All else is meaningless now.
He began to speak in an unknown tongue, softly at first, but as the pain increased he raised his voice to a mighty yell. He finished the incantation, yelling "Al-Shinjuo!" and collapsed onto the deck of the ship, writhing in agony as the pain overwhelmed him.
Bismark, Alex and Indie ran to help him, but were pushed back by a white blast of light from the Nacre. It surrounded Silas and forced him back to his feet, then raised him off the deck of the ship, growing so bright that it even dwarfed the glow that protected the ship from the poison. A roar of wind was now filling the calm waters, the mist mixing with the light in a violent reaction of holy and unholy power that tore the very air around it.
The light continued to flare outwards, destroying any mist it came into contact with, but it was not enough. Not nearly enough. Silas's power was quickly fading as the immense power of the Nacre drained him of his life. The powerful aura of light began to flicker as Silas grew weaker, and Silas's body slowly descended back down to the ships deck.
"It's not working!" Bismark yelled over the wind. "It's gonna kill him if we don't stop it!"
"What can we do?" Indie said, fear creeping into his voice. This was far beyond the realm of science now. This was magic, plain and simple.
"We're gonna save our friend, that's what!" Bismark yelled defiantly. "He's not going to sacrifice himself like a dog out here! We'll grab him and yank that scroll out of his hand. Alex! Indie! C'mon!"
The three men recovered themselves and lunged at Silas, hoping to bring him out of whatever trance the scroll had put him in. As soon as they touched him, though, the light grabbed hold of them as well, and greedily began using their strong souls for its own. The men were helpless before the power of the scroll and Nacre combined.
With all four strong men's life forces feeding the light, it burst outwards like a small sun, blinding everyone on deck, scientists and crew alike. The light devoured the poison cloud with such force that the calm waters now formed mighty waves that crashed and buffeted the ship mercilessly. The roar of wind was now so loud that no other sound could be heard, and all the members of the ship were struck deaf and blind at the power before them.
All save for one. Levi had seen his opportunity, and while the other fools were blinded, his poison-stained eyes could still see everything with perfect clarity. He didn't question this fortuitous coincidence, he just took advantage of it, as was his way in all things.
He silently crept up to the four men, now all hovering a few feet off the deck of the ship, a look of agony in all their faces. Like taking candy from a baby, thought Levi. He reached for the scroll in Silas's hand and wrapped his filthy hands around it, ready to yank it clean from Silas's grasp. But it would not budge. Levi felt a horrible power wash over him, but it passed over and through him without joining him to the power of the four. This dark man was an affront to the holy power of the light, and it could not make use of even an ounce of his will, as powerful as it was.
Levi felt the power shoot through him and then back out again, never letting go of the scroll in Silas's hand. He pulled with every bit of energy he could summon, refusing to let his treasure slip away. The wind was slashing at him from all sides as the holy power attempted to cleanse the poison in him, but it was no use. This poison was too deep, even for the cleansing light of the Nacre. He laughed at the feeble light that had no sway over him and continued to pull for all he was worth.
Soon he felt Silas's iron grip slipping, and the four men began to sink back to the deck of the ship. Levi guessed that whatever was happening would soon be over, and he hadn't much time. He gave one final tug that would have dislocated a man's arm under normal circumstances, and the scroll flew from Silas's and Levi's hands, falling to the deck. Levi lost his balance and fell backwards, taking Silas with him.
The light was still unbelievably bright, but it was quickly fading, and the four men were coming to their senses without the scroll maddening their thoughts. They rubbed their eyes and looked around. There was none of that violet haze to be seen, and the sky was actually sunny and clear. The wind had died down to a gentle breeze, and everything seemed to be back to normal.
Bismark quickly turned around to find Silas, who had fallen away from the group towards the end of the ship. What he saw made his blood run cold with fear, anger, and hate. Levi was standing at the prow of the ship, Silas in front of him. He had a cruel-looking knife held against Silas's neck, and an evil grin on his face. He was looking right at Bismark, enjoying the stupid look of surprise on the man's face.
"Levi!" Bismark roared. "What are you doing here? Get the hell off my ship!"
"Now, now, Captain," Levi said with false sweetness. "I have something you want, and you have something I want. That scroll by your feet. Give it to me. Now." He held the knife tighter against Silas's neck to punctuate his threat, drawing a thin stream of blood.
"You...you demon!" Indie cried. "How dare you! All this for a piece of paper? You would kill a man for such a thing?"
"I've killed for less," Levi said without emotion. "If you want your friend to live, you'll give me that scroll."
"Mobius..don't do it," Silas struggled from under Levi's knife. "That scroll has terrible power. He mustn't take it."
"Gahh! You foul...rotten..." Bismark could barely speak through his hatred of the man before him. What was he supposed to do? He would not let this man harm his friend, but he knew the power the scroll possessed just as surely as Silas did. But he could not abandon Silas...
"Dammit all...Levi, you win. I'll give you the scroll," Bismark said through clenched teeth. This man was the devil.
"Now that's more like it," Levi grinned. "See? We're all friends here. Just give me that piece of paper, and we can all go home peacefully. My ship should be arriving shortly to pick me up, and I'll be out of your hair."
"Shut up and take it," Bismark said quietly. "And get your scurvy ass off my ship before I throw you off it."
Bismark picked up the scroll and walked over to Levi slowly. There was a gleam in Bismark’s eyes not quite sane, and something was not right about the way he measured his steps towards the evil Levi. Levi was too fixated on the scroll to notice, but Alex saw at once that Bismark was up to something. Something dangerous, even suicidal.
"Mobius...," Alex whispered to him as he passed. "What are you..."
Bismark shot Alex a glance that would have sent any of his crew running below decks. There was definitely something crazed in that stare. Bismark was going to do something foolish, but ridiculously brave, and Alex was afraid for his friend. Both his friends.
"Here," Bismark said through his teeth, his eyes never leaving Levi's eyes.
Levi reached for the scroll with his free hand hungrily, not even registering the malicious look in Bismark's eyes. The second Levi touched the scroll Bismark pulled back, stretching the scroll back out and exposing its surface. His other hand reached for the Nacre still in Silas's hand and grabbed the necklace from him before he could react.
"Bismark what are you..," was all Silas could say before the white light exploded from the Nacre and all three men were struck dumb with pain. Silas was thrown backwards from the other two, dumbfounded at what Bismark had just done.
Bismark's hatred and anger were fueling the Nacre now, and he would finish off this monster even if it killed him. The power of the Nacre was not to be used for evil purposes, however, and soon the white light changed to violent red. The fifth pearl's light had faded to nothing after the cleansing of the poison, its task completed, and now the sixth pearl was glowing a deep red the same color as the flames that had taken Jehad.
Levi may have been immune to the light of the fifth pearl, but not this new light. It seared his skin and burned his eyes. He howled out in pain, clawing at Bismark as he tried to get away from the burning light.
Bismark felt the vengeful light of the pearl as well, but it was his light to command, and he grinned malevolently and bore it with the power of a man accustomed to pain. His eyes glowed a deep red as he stared right into Levi's terrified face, pushing the light onto him with greater and greater pressure. He would save his friend and rid the world of this beast, even if he had to take him down to hell himself. Vengeance filled his mind with a red haze that blotted all other thought out.
Silas watched horrified as the two men gripped each other, the blood-red light now flowing off them both in crimson waves. The heat...the heat was just like before, in the shrine. Silas thought sadly of Jehad standing resolutely before the flames, and knew what he had to do.
"Not again..." He said quietly to himself, mustering up his courage, then again much louder.
"NEVER AGAIN!"
Silas jumped between the two men and grabbed the Nacre. He felt the pull of the voice of God again but his mind was too determined to let it break him this time. There was another voice he could hear in the distance, seemingly from far under the waters, and yet right in front of him. It was ancient and evil, and sounded like the voice of a burned-out corpse. It was laughing.
Silas ignored both voices and uttered a single word in the unknown tongue. It was a powerful word, and its effects were immediately apparent. The flaming light flared out uncontrollably, bursting from the two Captains in a red-hot rage. The two men had their hands at each other's faces, Bismark's hand clawing at Levi's left eye and Levi clawing at Bismark's right. The light blazed out of their free eyes like a lighthouse, both men uttering a cry of pain and letting go of each other. Bismark let the scroll and Nacre drop to the deck, and Levi's knife clattered behind them.
The light suddenly cut off as the two men toppled apart, each grabbing their eye in pain. The evil glare hovered a moment in the space between them, then burst like a firework and shot off in all directions, vanishing into the distance. The angry red glow of the sixth pearl quietly faded back to the peaceful white it was before. It was slightly dimmer than before, but only slightly.
Bismark quickly came to his senses and ripped the sleeve off his jacket, wrapping it around his head to cover his eye as he got to his feet. He walked over to Levi's prostrate form and kicked him violently. The man coughed and continued groaning in pain, blood oozing from his eye socket. He struggled to his feet, but Bismark readied another kick to his head to knock him down.
"S-stop..," Silas said weakly, grabbing at Bismark's leg from the deck where he lay. "Enough...Mobius..."
Bismark stopped as if shot, his mind clearing at the sound of Silas's voice. He blinked and looked around him. Silas was on the ground, barely breathing, and Alex, Indie and his crew were all huddled at the other side of the deck, fear in all their faces at what they had seen their captain do. Bismark felt a deep shame at his actions, and stepped away from Levi in horror.
Levi staggered to his feet, coughing up blood that mixed with the blood already streaming down his face from his eye. "You filth...you haven't won...my ship," Levi coughed violently, "My ship...is here. Ha.." Levi tried to laugh, but he only coughed violently and could say no more until the fit passed him.
As if waiting for this cue, a barrage of cannon fire rang from behind the Maiden, and soon the ship was under fire from the Golden Goddess. The projectiles fell all around the ship, but none struck. The crew was not foolish enough to risk hitting their Captain. This was just a diversion to allow Levi to escape.
Levi had planned for this moment, although it was a bit more dire than he had hoped. He stumbled over to the side of the ship and tried to jump off into the water, but Bismark was too fast for him. The larger and stronger Bismark tackled Levi like a rag doll, and both went tumbling off the side of the ship.
"Captain!" Alex yelled from the side of the ship, but it was too late. Both men were in the water, still fighting each other, and the Golden Goddess was quickly coming along side their ship to pick up their stranded captain.
Bismark struggled to get Levi under control so he could bring him back on board, but the wiry man was stronger than he looked, and managed to free himself, laughing the entire time. He swam as fast as he could ahead of the Maiden, and began yelling. He knew the perfect thing for this thorn in his side.
"You up there!" Levi yelled to his ship. "Ram the Maiden! Crush their precious captain against his own hull!"
The crew of Levi's ship set about this murderous order like any other order their captain gave them, and increased the speed of the ship, ceasing their fire for the moment. In a few moments Bismark would be caught between the ships and crushed to death.
Bismark saw the ship coming and tried his best to swim out of the way, but he knew he would never outrun the ship. Levi was a few yards ahead of him, still laughing. Bismark cursed his rash actions, and kept trying to swim towards Levi. If he could get close enough to Levi, the ship may think twice about crushing him for fear of crushing their captain as well.
Bismark did not count on the depths of Levi's wrath, though, and even as the mad man saw Bismark swimming towards him, he maintained his orders and demanded the ship to stay its course.
"Ram him! Ram him!" was all Levi could say between fits of lunatic laughter, and even as his own ship's shadow passed over him, he still kept repeating his orders. Fearful of their own captain's anger, or perhaps eager to have a chance to be rid of him once and for all, the crew of the Golden Goddess heeded their captain's suicidal commands, and maintained their direction.
Bismark reached Levi just as the Goddess came into contact with the Maiden. The two ships collided with a sickening crunch that sent wood and metal flying. But the Golden Goddess did not stop, and kept on driving against the Maiden's battered side.
Bismark saw the ship pass over him and tried his best to dive below it. Levi seemed to come to his senses when he saw Bismark dive, and quickly dived after him. It was no use, though, and the bottom of Levi's ship struck Bismark as he tried to dodge it, pushing him towards his own ship and trapping his leg between them. Levi didn’t escape either, and as he swam beside Bismark in an attempt to keep him from escaping, his own ship clipped his side and trapped his leg just like Bismark's.
Both men opened their mouths to scream, but only swallowed a mouthful of salt water. The Maiden had managed to push itself away from the Goddess now, and was slowly putting distance between them. Its left side was scarred from the collision, but the Golden Goddess had remarkably little damage, probably due to the shear amount of metal lining its hulls. Bismark and Levi surfaced and each man swam towards his own ship as best he could, their crippled legs hindering their progress.
Alex watched carefully for any sign of his captain, and was ready to throw a life preserver to him as soon as he surfaced. Levi's men likewise snatched their beaten captain from the waters. Bismark grasped Alex in gratitude as he hobbled onto deck, but Levi simply swatted at his men as he threw himself onto his deck.
"Damn imbeciles!" Levi could be heard yelling from his ship. "I told you to crush him! Blast it all! Get us out of here while we still have a ship to sail." Levi looked over his shoulder at the Maiden one final time, a look of victory on his scarred face, and a knowing grin on his face. He may not have gotten his treasure back, but had gotten his revenge.
"That bastard," Bismark winced through his pain. "He thinks he's won, doesn't he?" He'll get his someday, and I sure hope I'm the one to do it."
"Enough of that, Captain," Alex said from his side. "There's been enough violence today. We need to get you to a doctor fast. Your leg is crushed and your eye is...well I don't even know what happened to your eye, but we've got to get you back to Bariki."
"Silas isn't looking too hot, either," Indie said, kneeling over Silas. "He's barely conscious, and he's running a fever. Heck, he's more than feverish, he's positively on fire!"
"Silas?" Bismark said, turning himself over and crawling to his friend. "What have you done to yourself, Silas?"
Silas was lying on his back, his eyes now a deep red, his chest heaving with each troubled breath. There was an unmistakable aura of heat coming off him, much worse than a mere fever. But his mouth was set in a confident smile, and a look of peace was on his face when he spoke to Bismark.
"Mobius...I've channeled the flames of the Vengeful One into my own body. It was the only way to save you from destroying yourself, and possibly the entire ship."
"What?" Bismark said, a sinking feeling growing inside him. "What Vengeful One? What do we need to do to help you?
Silas continued smiling his serene smile, and said weakly, "Nothing. It is done, and I am going to die. I am sorry, Captain."
"No! I didn't come this far to just give up on you now. We saved you once before, we can save you again. Where's that necklace?" Bismark glanced around nervously, trying to find the miraculous necklace.
Silas put his hand on Bismark's searching hand calmly, the heat burning Bismark. The captain did not take his hand away, though, and grasped his friend's hand tightly, knowing this was likely to be the last time he would be able to do so.
"Mobius, listen to me, " Silas struggled, his voice growing weaker as his body grew hotter. "Take the Nacre and protect it. It must return to this place when the time is right and be tossed into the sea. Only then can this ritual be finished properly and the next one begun."
Bismark listened, but did not understand. "What? How am I supposed to know when? And what next ritual? Are you saying there's more to do? Silas!"
Silas had begun to fade away, but he was still smiling. "You'll know when, don't ask me how I know, but I do. Promise me Mobius."
Bismark fought back tears as he watched his friend grow weaker. His hand was so hot he could barely stand it, but he kept his grip firm. He would not let go.
"I promise, old friend."
"Good," Silas said after a moment. "I have one more favor to ask. My son...he will be without a father now. Could you...look after him for me? I couldn't think of anyone better to be his godfather than you, Mobius. Just...make sure he's safe, that's all..."
"Of course, I'll treat him like he was my own. I can't say I'm really father material, but I'll give it the old seadog spirit."
"Thank you. That's all I ask. Ah, I’m sorry Katherine, I love you, but…,” Silas’s voice grew to a whisper now, a strange smile of peace on his face. “Just make...sure...Dune...is..."
But Silas could not finish the rest, and he finally let go. The heat flared up for a moment, then rose from his body like a cloud and was blown away by the wind.
"Oh, Silas..." Indie said through his tears. No one else spoke, and Bismark still held onto his friend's hand, now growing cold. Silas had given his life after all, but it was not for some ritual, it was for his friend. That was what Silas believed in at the end, and it proved more powerful than any force of nature.
The three men stood by their friend's body for the entire trip back to Bariki, not saying a word to anyone. The crew left them alone, running the ship without Bismark or Alex like the well-trained group of sailors they were. Soon they had arrived back at the quiet island, but something was wrong. The island was too quiet. Bismark looked away from Silas, his vigil broken by the intense feeling of wrongness he felt as they neared the island. What he saw would have broken his heart if Silas's death hadn't already.
There were no ships in the harbor, only flaming wreckages. The docks had been destroyed, and the entire village razed to the ground. The bodies of dozens of people lined the shoreline, blood soaking the water all the way to the Maiden. Bariki had been slaughtered.
"Levi..." Bismark said through trembling lips, his old rage firing up within him. "Levi did this..."
"The monster..." Alex said. "How could even he be so cruel?"
Indie was shocked beyond words, Kumiro hovering beside him. The gentle creature was uttering a soft, high "puuuu..." as it felt the death around it in its own strange way. This felt just like his homeland as it had sunk, taking with it all the lives of his friends and family.
"Even the women and children...," Indie finally managed to say as the ship neared what was left of the harbor and the bodies came into view.
"Did...did anyone escape?" Alex tried to stammer. "The Order ship...surely it escaped..."
Now Bismark spoke up again, his anger swallowed as he remembered Silas's words of peace.
"There's only one thing to do now. We give these people a proper burial, then return to Narsille. The Order of the Pearl has a lot to answer for this day. They brought this curse onto all of us."
"I agree," Indie said, his eyes never leaving the dead bodies on the shore. "These people didn't need to die. Not like this. Levi will pay for this someday, if there is any justice at all in this world."
Alex spoke up, "If what we have seen here today is any indication, then there are definitely higher powers at work in this world, and Levi will answer for his crimes, if not to us, then to them." Alex looked up at the sky, wondering what these "gods" made of the senseless genocide below.
The men of the Maiden went about their bitter work long through the day and into the night, not resting once, to sleep or to eat. It was an ungodly way to end their mission, and the vision of Bariki's shoreline would haunt their dreams for the rest of their lives. This tragedy could never be repeated. Too much had been lost.
The sins of the past had swept over this place, washing away the hopes and dreams of its people. They could never have known the dark destiny that had awaited them on these shores. But the land does not forget the blood spilled here, and never again would another living thing be able to inhabit this solitary island, in honor of the penance that had been paid here this day. The Balance must be maintained, in life and in death.
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