The Golden Chamber

Chapter Two: Intertwined Destiny

I awoke. Cursing, I vented my rage on the sand beneath me, before caring about anything else. After creating a small mound of burnt, black sand and freezing the tide around me, I looked up. A beach. I was on a beach. That electric current must’ve frazzled my brain a little. That... That little witch had got to me. She’s improved, vastly, in the few short days that she had. That Japanese freak must’ve taught her things... L, it must’ve been him. I took a good, long look around. Axel, and, more importantly, Zexion...were gone.


I coughed violently, a cough that shook my whole body, and I became aware of a stinging feeling around my ribs. “Oh good, you’re awake.” Who was that? It wasn’t L, and it certainly wasn’t Sha’dak. I opened one eye slightly. It was no good; all I could see was a silver blur. So I forced myself to open the other eye, and slowly I was able to focus in on a silver-haired boy. He looked about seventeen, so not a lot older than me. His face seemed mature far beyond it should be at seventeen years of age, but he had a kind smile.

“Who…are…you?” I breathed. My chest was tight, and my voice came out wheezy. The boy smiled even wider, ad said, “My name’s Riku. Who are you?” I became aware that I was lying, face-down, on a sandy beach. The sun warmed me, and the sweet smell of fruit hung in the air. I rolled over, and the pain in my ribs was so strong that I had to sit up. “Careful!” Riku seemed more concerned now, and he pushed me gently to lie down again.

“Thanks.” I was so glad to see my voice had strengthened. “My name’s Haru…Where are we?” Riku looked puzzled. Man, he could portray a lot of emotions. “Well, this is strange. You know your name, but not where you are.” “I can explain!” Man, I didn’t know I could talk in such a high tone. “I got in a fight with a friend, and then everything just went black. But we weren’t on a beach then…So now I seem to be lost. Ouch!” I slapped at Riku’s hand; he was feeling my ribs.

“Hey, hey, no need for that, I was just making sure there weren’t any breaks. It looks like you’ve just bruised yourself. Well, Miss. Haru, we’re on Destiny Islands. Take a look around, just be careful getting up.” He took my arm to help me stand up, and I scanned the horizon quickly. We were on a golden beach, and I could see the twinkling blue sea, stretching out for an eternity. There were coconut palm trees dotted around, and lots of wooden structures. My bag was slumped on the sand, next to where I found myself. Then I remembered everything.

I was on my own. Thankfully, though my muscles were tense, I was in little pain. I had to summon if I stood a chance against whatever lived on this deserted Island. There was a fair few trees around me, one up above, shaped like a Star... and to my left, a wooden structure holding some sort of zipwire. Fantastic. Well, might as well try the full strength of Ifrit, so I summoned him. Halfway through the newly-shortened dance, I heard giggling from behind a tree. I saw Brown, Spiky hair, and black clothes, but no face. I continued the dance.

“Have you seen my friends – I mean, friend? He’s older than me, really white skin, and dark hair?” Riku shook his head. I felt like I was deflating. But then I saw something moving on the horizon – L! I started to run off, but my ribs ached and I collapsed again. I hated being this weak! But then, it would be difficult to crash through a wall of ice and not be injured at all. Riku caught me just before I hit the floor, and I blushed furiously, forcing myself up again. L had reached us now, and I could see Sha’dak was with him. “You okay, Haru?” L asked. I nodded. “Who’s this, then?” L nodded towards Riku as he spoke. Riku introduced himself.

“My name’s Riku. This is the island that me and my friends visit every day. I found Haru here. She’s got a couple of bruised ribs, but other than that, she’s okay. So, do you have anywhere to go to rest up, or will you stay here until you heal up?” I shook me head. “No, we don’t have anywhere to go – but I don’t want to put you to any trouble!” Riku smiled again. “It’s no trouble.” He still held my arm as we walked away, all four of us – well, three to him, since he couldn’t see Sha’dak. Soon enough, we were stood outside a small wooden hut.

Ifrit crashed through the sand in front of me. I heard the (Boy?) gasp. “Ifrit. I have used your power, but not summoned you before. Tell me, I know of the words to bring forth your power, but are there any other powers you Aeons have?” Ifrit chuckled, and shook his head. He was obviously too sore from his loss to speak to me. “Do you know of a way to amplify the powers of an Aeon, without summoning? A way to use the full strength, without summoning?” I was getting annoyed by now. Ifrit was silently chuckling to himself, a habit I’d have to get used to.

“Boy. You’ve seen my powers. Show yourself!” I stated. It was not a request, but an order. He stepped out from beyond his tree, and gave me an inquisitive look. “Who you calling boy? I’m older than you!” He replied. He was, but shorter. His spiky hair looked as if it was trying to escape from his head, it stood up so far. “Name’s Sora.” He said, “Remember it.”

“So, Sora.” I began, “Have you seen two men, in dark cloaks? One with red hair, the other, blue?” He looked surprised. “Red hair, you mean Axel?” I laughed. “You know this how, child?” He gave me a distasteful look. I was agitating him. I was having fun. “I fought alongside him once, he saved my life! How you know him, I dunno, but I haven’t seen him since he died!” Now this was something I hadn’t expected.

“Died? I’ve been travelling with him. You lie to me boy, I’ll see that you regret it.” I snapped my fingers. Ifrit turned to face the boy, and began to drool slightly. Ugh. “I’m not lying! He died, right before me, after we fought off a load of... never mind. It doesn’t matter anyway.” He looked crestfallen. The boy, by the look in his eyes, was telling the truth. “If he’s dead, peasant,” I started, “Why is he standing behind you?”

Axel hugged the boy. Sora looked behind him, tears in his eyes. “Sora, I thought I’d never see you again! How’s the training coming, still developing fast?” I was stunned. This boy... This... Sora, was the one Axel remembered? He looked pathetic! I needed to eliminate him, but with Axel (And now, Zexion, who had appeared from the shadows) watching, I couldn’t risk it.

“What a lovely reunion. One I don’t have time for. Lunar Tide Laboratory is simply too far away now. Boy, what is the name of this Hell..” Ifrit stirred. “-hole?” Ifrit looked sad. I’d almost said Fire. That’d teach the boy to mock me. Still, the boy might be useful. “Destiny Islands. It’s an island not too far off the western coast.” Destiny Islands. How appropriate. Leviathan could wait. Here, I could find Typhoon.

We entered the hut, and Riku put my bag on the floor carefully, as though afraid he might break it, and then sat me down on a small bed. He and L sat beside me, and Sha’dak stayed standing, still invisible to Riku. I was so confused. I felt like I could trust this Riku, but I didn’t want to throw all my secrets and problems at him, all in one go. So instead we just talked about random things, like school and books and music. While Riku disappeared for a minute, L healed my ribs with ‘Cura’.

In the afternoon, I asked Riku if there was somewhere I could go for a wash. He showed me a sparkling blue pool, clearer than glass, and twinkling happily. It looked so inviting that I jumped in, fully clothed, before gasping. Riku jumped in after me. “Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?” “No, no, nothing like that! It was just a lot colder than I expected. Oh, but now you’re all wet! I’m sorry.” Riku pretended to be angry, and splashed me. I couldn’t resist but splash him back, and we started having a water fight. We both knew we were too old for a water fight, but we were having far too much fun.

After a while, we got out and started walking down the beach. We paused for a minute so Riku could shake off his dripping hair, and I flopped down onto the golden sand. Riku peeled off his soaking t-shirt, and follow suit. It felt nice, lying there carelessly, feeling the Sun drying me. Riku’s fingers slipped into mine, and we lay there for – how long? I wasn’t sure…it felt like days of warmth had been compressed into what was only hours – holding hands. The sun had set when we pulled ourselves up, and we went off to find L. He was in the hut, crouched over and hugging his knees; but when I looked closer I could see he was sleeping. I shook him awake, and told him we had decided to have an ersatz barbecue.

Out on the beach, Riku made a pile of firewood, and I pulled some packets of trekking food out of my bag to cook. Riku looked around. “How are we going to make a fire, then?” I smiled. Somehow, I knew it was okay to tell him – did it have something to do with the hours we spent laying on the beach in a comfortable silence? Rather than telling him, I decided to show him, and shot out a fireball. The logs caught alight, and a fire crackled comfortably. Riku was stunned into silence. I panicked then. What if he hated me now? It wasn’t normal; being able to shoot fire out of my hands…

“That was awesome!” Riku laughed, and I joined in. He had the sort of laugh that lights up the world. After dinner, the three of us went back to the hut. “There’s a bed down here and two upstairs, so where does everyone want to sleep?” I wanted to share a room with Riku, to be near him, but L spoke up before I got the chance. “I’ll sleep upstairs with Haru, if that’s okay?” Riku nodded, and took my bag upstairs for me. Once we were in bed, L started whispering to me.

“What’s our next move, then?” I stared up at the ceiling. “I…don’t know. We have to stop Gildas, but we don’t know where he is – or even where we are…Besides, I want to-” I cut myself off here. What I was going to say was that I wanted to stay there with Riku, spending one sun soaked day after another basking in his warmth. But I knew I couldn’t, Gildas was out there somewhere, and he would go on causing destruction if we didn’t do something to stop him. “Yeah…But we have to leave tomorrow. We can’t get that Riku guy involved.” I started, but L said a quick ‘Goodnight’ and fell asleep immediately.

In the morning, I left L in bed and ran down the stairs to talk to Riku. But he wasn’t there; he must have woken up already. I left the hut to see him training with a wooden sword. I couldn’t help but smile at the way his silver hair shone in the Sun, the way his eyes twinkled…he was perfect. I heard a sound behind me, and turned to see L attempting to stifle a yawn. “I’ll go tell him we’re leaving soon,” he mumbled, walking over to Riku. I bit my lip to stop myself from calling out; he was right, we couldn’t involve Riku in our task. What if he got hurt?

I walked over to Riku and L to hear Riku arguing gently. “You can’t go yet. Stay another day; just one more – Haru needs rest, and you could use some, too, by the looks of you.” L slumped – he knew he had been defeated. I had to resign myself to it…I was leaving him tomorrow. We left L in the hut again, and spent the day walking around the island. Riku showed me all his favourite places, and some of the places he wasn’t so fond of. We picked watermelons from some trees for lunch, and threw them onto a wooden platform to break them. I wasn’t a huge fan of watermelons; I found them quite tasteless. But eating them with Riku made them taste sweeter than sugar itself.

That evening, we lit another campfire and opened another packet meal. Then it was time for bed again. I bid Riku goodnight, and it tugged at my heart strings. I knew it would be the last time I saw him…but I didn’t know when I had grown so attached to him. When did I start thinking my name had a special ring to it whenever he said it? When did I start laughing just because he was? When did I start aching for him with every fibre of my being? I had to let go of these feelings…It had only be two days, and this was a one-sided love that would only end in pain.

I was lying in bed listening to L’s gentle snoring and staring at the wall, when a hand on my shoulder startled me. I sat up quickly, ready to bite, scratch and punch my way out of any situation, but calmed down when I recognised Riku’s face smiling at me in the gloom. He put a finger to his lips and beckoned for me to follow him. I did so quickly, careful not to wake L. We sat on the beach in complete silence, gazing into each others eyes.

When it was pitch black, Riku got up, gesturing for me to stay that. I watched, puzzled, as he climbed the nearest tree. “Just wait! You’ll see!” he shouted down cheerfully, and I couldn’t help but smile. He threw down something; it was too dark to see what it was, but I caught it anyway. It seemed like some kind of fruit. “Good catch,” Riku said, as he jumped down beside me, pulling the fruit out of my hands.

We sat back down, and Riku explained the fruit. “It’s a Paopu fruit; the old legend says that when two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. This way, even if you have to leave today, we know we’ll be able to see each other again sometime.” We both took a bite at the same time; it was sweet, but had a bitter aftertaste. That seemed to sum up this love pretty well. Riku laughed, “So that’s what it tastes like, then.” He took my hands in his. “Let me come with you tomorrow.”

I was taken aback. “I want you to, but…but L thinks it would be…a bad idea, he says he doesn’t trust you, and…what if you get hurt?...I don’t know what to do…I want you to come with us, but…I…” I bowed my head, unable to fight the tears that flowed down my face. Riku used his hand to push a few stray strands of hair behind my ear, and I looked up. “If you don’t know what to do, then don’t do anything…until you know what you have to do,” he whispered, and kissed me.

It was the kiss that fractured time…that one perfect moment lasted an eternity, and yet it slipped away in a heartbeat…

That idiot Sora decided to tag along. He and Axel had some catching up to do, he said, and it could give him a chance to become friends with Zexion. It was the dead of night when we reached the shack, and Sora motioned for us to be quiet. Three people were sleeping inside, he said. We moved on, past the small waterfall and into a small tunnel with a very low ceiling. I could hardly see where I was going, and due to the cramped quarters, a summon was impossible. Axel refused to start a small fire, so we walked in darkness. When the tunnel opened out into a small cavern, he finally admitted defeat and snapped his fingers. A small ball of fire attached itself to the ceiling. Even I had to admit, that was neat.

The cavern was covered in childish doodles, make-shift caveman-style carvings that left you bored. I looked around. A door caught my eye. To the right, was a small carving of a boy and a girl giving each other... stars? The boy was Sora, that was obvious. The girl looked quite demented. “The door...” Sora said, quietly. “This is where it all started...” I walked forward, pushing him aside, and touched the door’s mahogany surface. “And this is where it shall begin again...” I mused. The door had no handle. However, I could tell that the ancient script at the top of the door told two different tales...

“Here lies the Keybearer, Seeker of Light, Vanquisher of Darkness...” I read aloud. This was to be Sora’s resting place, when he eventually died. But the second tale made me more interested. “Here lies the Stormweaver, Seeker of Pain, Vanquisher of Emotion...” Typhoon was locked behind this door. He would become mine.

“Hellfire!” I called, and a small meteor erupted from my hands. Now that I had time to look at it freely, it wasn’t too weak. The door splintered. “HELLFIRE!” I screamed. A large meteorite burst from my outstretched hands and exploded, the door going with it. Splinters of all sizes flew around the room, before settling on the floor. There, eyes closed, was Typhoon. He cocked one eye open, and grinned. “Ssssso, You would try and become my massster?” He began, and sssstretched himself out. Freak. He came through the now empty doorway and hovered before me, forked tongue licking the air before my face.
“Jusssst try me...”

“Axel. You may...Burninate if you wish. Sora, you have a weapon, use it! Zexion, I’m assuming your thought process will reveal the creature weakness to be his belly, seeing as he floats. Hellfire!” Axel rushed forward, Chakrams in hand. Sora held out his arm, and a key-shaped weapon appeared out of nowhere. I thought I had problems. Another meteorite flew from my hands, striking the belly of the creature and winding it. Sora struck its head, nearly knocking it out cold, and Axels Chakrams opened a painful-looking gash on the creatures back. Within five seconds, it fell.

“I am your new Master, Typhoon. What, may I ask, is the name of your ability?” The creature seethed. “Windslash.” It said simply. “WINDSLASH!” I called... Nothing. I kicked the creature. “Do not lie to me!” Typhoon looked up at me. “Fine. Disintegration.” I considered shouting, but if the creature had lied again I would look even more the fool. “Disintegration.” I muttered, and a small gust of wind blew from my hand. Weak, but with the Aeon summoned, it could become a raging storm. Interesting. I dismissed Typhoon and we exited the cavern. The sun as beginning to rise, and there on the beach was none other than Haru. And what was she doing? Kissing a silver-haired boy. How long had she been here? Two days. She was foolish. She would pay.

I quickly summoned Typhoon (Without a name, I call it the Dance of Deception) and walked over. “Haru. How perfect. Now I can get rid of you, and Riku at the same time.” Haru looked stunned. Riku looked confused. Typhoon looked like it had constipation. “Yes, I know all about you, Riku. Wielder of Darkness, you told Haru that? How you abandoned your friends, was willing to sacrifice Kairi’s life just for power?” Haru looked at Riku. “That can’t be true, Riku... can it? He’s lying isn’t he?” Riku looked at the floor. “No... he’s telling the truth. But I was possessed! I had an evil inside of me, a man who had stolen my free will!” I laughed, enjoying this very much. I’d just broken Haru’s heart, and with my next sentence, my secret would be out, and all fear for me would increase a thousand fold. “Ahh... Riku my boy. All that possession... and you don’t reCogniZE thE VoIce oF tHe OnE WhO PoSSeSeD YOU!?”

I was shaking so hard at that moment in time. Riku, my perfect, beautiful, Riku, abandoned his best friends; almost let some girl die for his own sake; and was possessed to the point of letting the dark rule over his heart. And now it turned out that Gildas was…the one who possessed him? That wasn’t possible, since Gildas was younger than him…So what? I wasn’t sure what was going on, who I could trust. I wanted to run away and just keep running, across the open sea…I glanced over at Riku. He looked tortured.

I wasn’t sure what it was, but I could feel something building up inside of me. “Gildas…How dare you come here and start shouting things like that! You don’t get to wreck my happiness! Maybe Riku’s done some things he isn’t proud of, but I’m not exactly perfect, am I? I’ve done some terrible things, and I didn’t tell him them! What is this, Gildas? Is it just jealousy? Are you jealous because for once in my life, something is going right for me? It isn’t easy, losing your parents and having nowhere to live, you know! And now, you, my best friend, have gone completely psycho on me and keep trying to kill me! Don’t interrupt me, Gildas!” for he had opened his mouth to speak. I was livid.

“You don’t get to decide whether or not I’m happy anymore, Gildas. I’ve started a journey, and I don’t need you to help me finish it!” Before I could control myself, I raised my arms in the air, and a thunderbolt flew down from the sky – right at Gildas. It was stronger than any magic I had used before – and reminded me of the episode in the park…Forcing myself not to cry, I turned and ran. I wasn’t sure where I was going exactly, I just knew I had to keep going, away, away from Gildas. A sudden pain in my leg pulled me out of my thoughts. I had tripped over a rock, and my shin was bleeding pretty quickly. And what’s worse, I had gotten sand in the cut, which stung like hell.

I dragged myself up and forced myself to get over to a log a few paces away from me, and collapsed on it. I wasn’t sure how far I had run, but I couldn’t see anyone else in either direction. Once I had made sure there was nobody around, I examined the wound on my shin. Blood was pouring out, and I had nothing to stop it. A huge wave of emotions flooded me, and I could see my tears mingling with the blood that was slowly staining the golden sand around me.

I felt a hand on my head, and span around, fists clenched; readying myself for a fight I couldn’t handle right now. It was Riku. “Oh…” I didn’t know what to say. I felt lost. “I don’t usually cry this much, you know…” I whispered. What else could I say? It’s not like I could say, ‘I love you, and I don’t care what you did before we met, purely because I don’t want to live without you?’ But the words had come out of my mouth before I could stop them, and I couldn’t grab them and take them back…Riku smiled sadly. “Thank you. I wish I could tell you that I love you too, but…A love from someone like me would be twisted.”

I stood up. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Riku shook his head. “It means I love you more than I thought I could ever love anybody…but that I can’t be with you. My love would crush you, Haru.” I shook my head fiercely. I needed to say something; I needed to put my feelings into words, give them a tangible shape…

“CoMe on, HarU. IT’s nOt LiKe YOu tO be lOSt foR WordS, nOw, Is iT?” That voice…Whilst before it always managed to soothe me when I was upset, now it sent a chill through me. But when I looked at Gildas, he had changed completely…Gone was the dark hair, the tired eyes, the pale skin… “Ansem,” Riku breathed. I looked at Riku nervously. How did he know this…this Ansem person who had sucked the goodness out of Gildas’s heart? “What do you want with these two? What’s your business with them?” I could tell Riku was holding himself together, that really he was terrified.

“RiKu, RiKU, RIKu…NoW yOU reCognIZe Me, I sEE? I NEEd tHIs boY, hE hAS GreAT poWEr iN HiM, aND whAT’s moRe, iT wAS easY to PUll thE DarKNess oUT of HiM.” I felt trapped. Who was Ansem? Why had he possessed Gildas – for his ‘power’…His summoning abilities? Whatever it was he needed Gildas for, he had to, “Give Gildas back.” I mustered up all the authority I could, and use Blizzara to freeze my once more clenched fists. Ansem laughed, a deep, booming laugh, that seemed to echo inside my head and ricochet off my skull.

Ansem clapped his hands several times, and soon a giant creature appeared. He towered above us all, with red eyes and black skin. Emblazoned on his underside was a red emblem I didn’t recognize. “ThIS iS TyPhOON, My NEw SumMONing, BuT ThIs iS HiS NoBODy – I SToLe hIS HeaRT tO MaKE HIm StRONgeR. DisINtERgrAtION!” Ansem shouted. A fierce storm flew up, whipping me around and making my eyes water. I couldn’t see anything; not Riku, Gildas, Axel, Zexion…There was nothing but wind. I don’t know how long I was in the storm for, but when I finally opened my eyes, there was nothing but a devastated landscape.

Then I saw him. Lying face down in the sands was Riku’s body. I scrambled to my feet and ran over, skidding to a stop next to him. I couldn’t think of anything other than him. “Please let him be alive…” I prayed, as I felt for a pulse. There! It was very weak, but there was a definite pulse there. But I didn’t have any time to be relieved. L crouched down beside me, and rolled Riku onto his back. His breathing was tense and slow, and his body was limp. “We came to see what all the noise was,” L explained, and quickly healed my still bleeding shin. “Now, let’s give this a try. I want to help Riku, but whether or not I can…” He tailed off, and I nodded grimly.

“Curaga,” L whispered, laying his hands on Riku’s chest. Nothing changed. “Curaga,” he repeated, louder, stronger. There was still nothing. “Curaga,” he shouted. Riku stirred slightly. “Cur-Curaga,” L panted. Riku groaned, and opened his eyes. “Haru!” he shouted, wrapping me in a tight embrace. L collapsed onto the sand. Riku lifted L up in his strong arms, and we carried him to his bed in the wooden hut. “Well, it looks like our departure has been delayed a little longer.” I laughed shakily.

“Haru, you look awfully pale. Maybe you should go to sleep for a while.” Riku’s voice was concerned, but that didn’t stop me from arguing back. “No, I want to stay with L…and with you.” He put his arm around me, and I watched L sleep, enjoying the warm, fuzzy feeling being this close to Riku always gave me. Eventually, my eyelids drooped and my head dropped. I fell asleep then.

I didn’t know it, but on the other side of the island, Ansem dragged himself up, the last of his energy spent in getting him and his two accomplices out of there. “BlASt iT…” he hissed, knowing that the summoning had been so powerful that it had outgrown his boundaries. Little did I know that that was the only reason that Riku and I had survived. Overhead, Sha’dak circled, watching from a safe distance.

Here I was again... Blackness... Darkness... No pain... No pleasure... Just, nothing... I was trapped... and it was all my fault... Haru was in trouble, in pain, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it... I felt so.. weak.

I may be power-hungry. I may be a little crazy about getting stronger. But isn’t everyone? I shouldn’t have sold myself to Ansem, I realise that, but humans make mistakes right? That’s how we learn, how we grow... And I’ve got the perfect plan. All I need is for Ansem to be just a little bit weaker...

Ansem dragged me up from the floor. He was manipulating my body now, there was nothing I could do... yet. He brought my arms up, to face the sky, and as He looked up through my eyes, we both saw what he was doing. This was my chance. I looked up at the figure flying in the sky. Sha’dak? No... black wings, but not Sha’dak... As the figure came closer, at an almost impossible speed, I realised it could hardly be described as a ‘figure’. The great Black Dragon flew down and stopped abruptly, causing shockwaves that nearly knocked me over. Before us, in all his royal glory, stood Bahamut. King of Dragons, the Final Aeon, I was in total awe. And then, Ansem spoke to it.

“Bahamut. You don’t recognize my body, or my voice. However, you can feel my power. You know who I am. I need you to perform a task for me.” I strained my soul. If I could be free, this would be the point I could do it. “I need you to use your ultimate power, which will require you to evolve past your current level of power. I require... Neo Bahamut.” I continued to strain, not believing what we were hearing. Neo Bahamut? That was out of the question! His power... could destroy worlds! I strained harder. “Bahamut, EVOLVE!”

“Yes, Master.” Bahamut began a transformation. His wings elongated, his scales took on a reddish hue, and he at least doubled in size. I could feel the energy radiating from him. It washed over me like water, pure, invisible energy in its rarest and strongest form. This was my chance. I had only one shot. I knew that I could do it.

“Now NeO baHaMUt... I oRDeR You TO uSE YoUR GiGAFlaRe AtTaCK oN...” Now was my chance. Go! I can do this! My voice superseded Ansem’s. “ME!” I could feel the pain within, Ansem was going to punish me for this. Through my eyes, we saw Neo Bahamut nod his head slightly, and he started building up a charge. “StOP YoU FooL, I tAKe It BAcK!” But I knew. An order to an Aeon was a binding contract. Nothing could stop it now. The bright blue light engulfed his maw, and burst from his gaping jaws like a cannon. The blast came straight towards Us.

I’m sorry, Haru... Please... Forgive me...