Part Three: The Reason for my Tears

Part Three: The Reason for my Tears

 

 

Three Years Later;

 

(Kodou- Dir En Grey)

 

            After years of training, Lucas receives his Grecian curse mark-Omega.  His mentor, Gris grants him the power. For the past year, Argento and Kiya have been away, leaving Gris in charge. Sephora had been coming and going as she pleases. Milan and Malechi have coming and going as they please as well. Ayesha, Weiss and Nero have been helping Gris train Lucas.

            Lucas feels more powerful than ever before. With the Murasaki clan’s mark and the Grecian curse mark he feels unstoppable. All of his plans are now possibilities. It was time for him to move on and seek out his brother- the only one who stands in his way. Tonight he would leave. While doing this he will do a test run of his newly acquired strength.

            In his room, he gathers his things. While packing, he hears footsteps approaching. They walk past his room and then back tracks until they reach the doorway.

“Oh, you’re actually here. I thought you had left for good.” He says to the girl in the doorway.

“Our father has murdered Michael Malik and has framed it on Gurren Kage. I came here to find Milan, but she and Malechi have probably gone after Argento. Where are you going?” Sephora asks.

“With the Grecian curse mark, I can finally continue my journey.”

“To kill your brother, right? The one who fled when you wiped out the whole village. The one you spared?” She gets his attention. He glares with his back to her and turns around with a puzzled look.

“What do you mean?”

“Cut the crap, I know who you are. You want to know how I know; I’ve been in the Silver Nation this whole time with my mother. I have met your brother who is training under Oro. I know you are Leon Paladin!” His confused look becomes a smirk.

“At least someone around here has realized that Lucas can’t be in two places at once. Yes, I am a Paladin, but am I Leon? Is the Lucas you know really Leon and I am Lucas? Am I the one who slaughtered my clan or was that my brother. Who really did what? Lucas or Leon.”

“I don’t care who did what or who you really are! You’ll both meet the same end! Do you really expect that you will kill your brother when you are both equally matched? He has a Grecian curse mark as well- Omicron. From what I can tell either both of you will go down or neither.”

“Is that right? Well, you just wait and see. In the mean time, wait for him on the other side!” Leon lunges at her with his lance. She unleashes her ball with spikes on a chain that wraps around his lance; stopping him mid stoke. She pulls the lance towards her, trying to rip it out of his hands but he pulls back even harder loosening the grip of the chain. He is able to reclaim his lance and uses it to counter her attacks. He swings his lance in a big circle and summons a python. The python charges at Sephora and tries to bite her, but she bites it instead. Her body glows silver. Her curse mark, the mark of Delta, shines. Her eyes turn from green to red as if blood has filled them. Veins pop out of her face, arms and hands. Out of her mouth drips purple liquid- venom. She spits it at Leon who shields himself with the lance. When he looks in her direction she is no longer there. She runs on the ceiling and strikes him from above. She wraps him, squeezing every muscle in his body. She releases when she sees that he is almost out of breathe. He falls to the ground and tries to catch his breath. She hits a mechanism on her weapon to allow the spikes to rotate. She cuts at him from different angles, leaving deep wounds all over his body. Bleeding out, he slowly loses consciousness. Satisfied, Sephora leaves to go find her sister.

            On the ground, Leon reaches for his lance to provide leverage so he can get back on his feet again. He can’t reach it. He inhales and starts choking on his own blood. His vision becomes blurry and everything slowly everything hazes away. Everything is dark around him. His floats in this darkness; he slowly drifts as if he was floating down the river of death. In the silence, he hears a faint voice.

“Leon.” It says with a strong yet eerie voice. “Leon, use my powers. The Great White Wolf has not abandoned you.”

Another voice interrupts; this one has a lisp, “I have not abandoned you either. The Mighty Python will grant you the strength you need.” Leon listens to the two voices, deciding which one he wants to rely on. Facing both creatures he reaches out on hand to each.

A deep breath, he inhales and when his eyes open they open to a room wet with fresh blood that creeps into the cracks of his toes like waves creeping onto the shore. A bloody battle has ensued but yet, there isn’t a speck of blood on him. His katana is tucked away in its sheath, shuriken is still tied to his back and kunai is still hidden in his secret side pocket of his shirt.

 

(Merciless Cult- Dir en Grey)

 

He stares at the unrecognizable remains of his long time mentor who had taken demonic form. Frozen in time as a rabid dog, his eyes are wide open with an intense stare-blacked out. He is foaming at the mouth with his sharpest teeth showing. Across the way, he sees the lifeless human form of his mentor sitting up in his bed, head cocked to the side with his long silver hair laying across his face. The Grecian mark- Gamma-slowly disintegrates off of his neck. Gris was the first victim of Leon’s new found power. Finally, Leon stares at the ceiling of this dimly lit room with a gaze of invincibility as he looks through the ceiling of the underground hideout to the sky of the upper world.

In the midst of his gazing, he hears light footsteps coming down the hall. Nearing the entrance, the footsteps become lighter and then stop. This person is hesitant to come any closer seeing that the entrance had been forcibly opened.  He lets his eyes slowly drift to the lower right corner of his eyes to see behind him without the on-looker knowing. Out the corner of his eye he sees strands of red hair that looks even more orange due to the orange glow of candle lights in the hallway. He reaches for his kunai in his shirt, closes his eyes and appears behind her with the kunai pressed against her neck. By this time, she had already mustered up the courage to look inside the room and the fear of God was in her eyes. Tears ran down her cheeks, heartbeat rapidly increased, body began to shake- all without force.

“Why” she murmurs.

“We are all Monsters. Guilty now, guilty go!” He pierces the kunai through Ayesha’s neck- right through her curse mark. The blade she was holding falls out of her hand. Silver light shoots out of her neck; her bond to her spiritual guide and her father has been severed. She falls into his arm-lifeless. Leon lays her on the ground, wipes the contents on the kunai on her shirt and returns his kunai to his secret spot in his shirt. He searches for Nero and Weiss.

            He paces through the corridors of the hideout, ready to strike when he sees one of them. In the kitchen, they sit at the table eating noodles.

“Always together I see.” He says to them teasingly. Nero could sense something was different. Weiss however replied, “Well when you are part of a half-matched set that tends to happen. I heard you and your brother look a lot like each other, it’s a shame you don’t have that brotherly bond like Nero and I do.”

Leon smirks, “Well, lucky me I say then.  One less person I have to worry about!” He strikes Weiss on the back of the head and knocks him unconscious. Nero leaps from the table, gets Weiss out of the line of fire and attempts to strike back with his deadly puppets and uses Weiss’s staff to block.

“Now the lazy one is provoked. What will you do when your brother isn’t the one fighting your battles?” Nero is pissed. His curse marks glows- just what Leon wanted. This time he tests his strength being fully conscious. If he took out Gris unconsciously, he can handle these two no problem. He relies on the power of his curse mark but channels the energy to his wolf spiritual guide and his Murasaki evil eyes. Nero couldn’t believe this power- he has surpassed.

“Why fight a battle I know I can’t win. That’s not being lazy, it’s called being smart and knowing how to pick your battles.” Nero throws down his weapons and holds onto his brother.

“Well sometimes there isn’t a battle that you can’t refuse.”

 

Couple Days Later;

 

(The Final " Dir en Grey)

 

A full scale launch of spiritual guides by both nations is in effect. The Aka clan and what’s left of the Ao clan release their Giant Toads and Monkeys while the Orenji clan and the Kiiro clan release their Spiders and Porcupines into battle. Michael Malik had been murdered and now Gurren Kage has met the same fate. The Silver Nation is on edge even more knowing that Leon Paladin had murdered Gurren and is now sided with the Gold Nation, or so they believe. Both nations are in possession of large quantities of the serum that will spread the Grecian curse. Oro and his allies prepare to confront Argento and Leon Paladin. They journey to the Gold Nation and split up. Oro takes Ferrah, Sephora, Milan and Malechi with him to confront Argento while Lucas, Hiro, and Hellina confront Leon. From Ferrah, Oro receives the mark of Xi and Lucas the mark of Omicron.

            At the capital city of the Gold Nation, they find Argento and Kiya. Both have taken more demonic forms. Argento turns back into the form that he had first saw himself, the first time he had taken the serum. His body temperature is much colder than normal. His skin is slippery and scales appear all over it. His complexion is a tan color, but his chest is yellow, his eyes are black, tongue is purple and long, two black dots appear on the sides of his neck, his neck stretches further and his teeth are big and sharp. Kiya has like black hairs sticking out of her skin; they have a soft texture to them. Her eyes are no longer green, but black. She has six extra ones; one in each palm of her hand, two on the sides of her neck, one on her forehead and one in the middle of her chest. Four legs protrude out of her back; two on each side, two from each of her shoulders, two from each side of her lower back. Her teeth are sharp like fangs and her skin is striped orange and brown. Her butt has become that of a tarantula’s back side. Argento the Silver Snake and Kiya the Mother Tarantula.

They sit on the thrones of the Gold Nation. Left leg over right and eyes closed, Argento speaks, “So, you finally appear again? Long time no see, Master Oro.”

“Argento, so this is what you’ve become.”

“The embodiment of my spiritual guide. We are one. Snakes are far superior. Like a monkey they can scale structures many times their size, like a spider they inject venom to weaken their prey, like a toad they have a tongue that can snatch their food with ease, like a wolf they have fangs to pierce their enemies and like a porcupine their grip is death.”

“You have disrupted and corrupted the spiritual world and this world as well.”

“I did no such thing. I only allowed us humans and spirits to live together. I broke down the barrier to allow those of the dead be reborn in this world; for the dead to keep a connection to the living through rebirth. We breathe each other’s life.”

“No, all you did was create an endless cycle of violence that will end in the destruction of this world. All those who didn’t die peacefully are out with a vendetta and have taken the form of these evil spirits. These spirits have corrupted you and turn you into the demon you are now.”

Ferrah steps forward, “There once was a person in there I loved. He wouldn’t and couldn’t let me go. But I had to and eventually he was forced to let me go. Instead of accepting loss, he started a new family to eternally be in his life.  But even with their company, he is lonely. He gets weaker by the day as they gain power, as they start to separate from him. They see all the hurt and pain he has caused but he still fails to see it himself. The one thing he was trying to rid himself of; he brought it upon himself.”

Argento stands and reaches his hand out to Kiya signaling her to stand up too.

“You’re right. My goal was to not let those near and dear to me die. I could feel all their pain and sadness from the death of their loved one, the death of my loved ones, and the death of you. I started a new family with the hopes of sharing this gift of eternal life with them so I can continue to live in this world without the fear of losing them. When the world was destroyed by the hatful, the greedy, the competitive, we would remain and create a new and bright future… All my efforts are in vain now. My own family has abandoned me. My own family now fights against me… trying to bring an end to this idiotic war. I guess…I must start again!” Argento and Kiya transform entirely, into their true forms- a king cobra and tarantula. Oro’s comrades draw their weapons; Ferrah wields a Chinese sword, Milan a giant fan, Sephora a ball and chain, Malechi a claymore and Oro wields his katana- the masamune.

 

(Beautiful Dirt- Dir en Grey)

 

Kiya strikes first by spinning webs all around the room. From her mouth, thousands of tinier spiders crawl along the threads. Sephora cuts through the web as fast as she can. Malechi unleashes his spiritual guide against Argento.

“You’re not the only one with a deeper connection to their spiritual guide!” He embodies both of Argento’s and Kiya’s in one. Oro unleashes his King Monkey on Kiya. They break through the roof. Argento encases Malechi who uses his extra legs to pry Argento off of him. Argento strikes back and bites off two of his spider legs. Unbalanced, he resorts to slithering. Oro’s monkey uses its hands and feet to hold off Kiya’s extra legs. Milan uses her fan to blow the smaller spiders away while Ferrah and Sephora cut them to pieces. Argento sees Kiya struggling while he is being overwhelmed as well.

“My spirit will not waver!” Argento’s eyes glow red and without control over his own body, he snatches Milan and Sephora and engulfs them. His body begins to show various Grecian curse marks. On his face appears Phi, and along his back appear Delta, Zeta, Theta, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Rho. He breathes heavily with his mouth open, dripping venom, craving more power.

In a demonic voice he says, “You should have relied on your own strength. All those with the Grecian curse mark will become one with me once again!” A silver flame spouts from his mouth and from each Greek letter on his back. Gold horns sprout out his body from the sides. The King Monkey and Black Widow Cobra continue to protect their masters, so as long as they have their marks. Without the marks attached to a human they would too become demonic in the presence of the Devil.

Kiya flings Ferrah outside the building and continues her fight there.

Ferrah, hesitantly, unleashes her Toad Sage to be evenly matched with Kiya. Ferrah continues to use her Chinese sword to attack the swarms of massive spiders.

“Come on, Ferrah. I thought you were stronger than that. I don’t know why Agento wanted you to live, you’re so weak.”

“I don’t know why you’re still alive. You just let your husband eat our kids! You have a mark, I’m sure he won’t hesitate to eat you too!” She commands the toad to strike her with his tongue; hitting her in the eyes he blinds her. Kiya tries to spin a web big enough to restrain the toad but she is unable to. In distress she spouts webs in every direction. Ferrah give the toad her sword. He makes it bigger so he can wield it. Cutting through the webs he heads in for a strike to the gut.

            Argento, possessed, tries to engulf Oro and Malechi. The monkey tries to repeal the blue flames he roars at them. Malechi grabs Argento’s horns a swings him into the wall destroying it. Boulders tumble on to the ground and buildings below. Argento gets right back up angrier than before.

“I will kill you! I must have more power! Give me your spirits! I must have your spirits! Come to me!” He roars and the blue flames become green. Malechi feels weak. King Monkey is exhausted. Two more Greek letters appear on his body.

           

In the ruins of a Murasaki clan village;

 

(Today " Tom Scott)

 

            Lucas and his two teammates approach the ruins of one of the Murasaki clan’s villages that occupied land in the Gold Nation; another one of the few places in the Gold Nation that support greenery.  It is located near a Kiiro clan village that too is now abandoned. The sun is high in the sky. Clouds are nowhere to be seen. The wind favors the east as for it blows in that direction.

            In the center of the village, Leon stands facing the opposite direction. He stares into the stream at the reflected sun. Lucas, Hiro and Hellina slowly walk over weapons drawn. Hiro has his kunai, Hellina her bow and arrow and Lucas his shuriken.

“You’ve finally come, brother. I’m glad.”

“You finally decided to resurface.”

“Well I had to train. I can’t fight against someone who wiped out an entire clan in one night.”

Hiro and Hellina are puzzeled.

“What is he talking about, Lucas?” Hellina asks.

“Oh, so you never told them?”

“Shut up you b*****d. I don’t want to hear any of your lies!” Hiro shouts.

“No, Hiro. He’s telling the truth.” He puts his hands on their shoulders. “I was the one who wiped out the Murasaki clan. Leon was planning on rallying rebels in our clan to wipe out both nations and rule over a new one; a world in which he would reign supreme. To prevent this, I wiped out our clan single-handily. I let Leon live with the hopes that we would be on opposite sides of the war so there will be balance once again.”

 “Lucas…” Hellina is in shock.

“I hate the situation we were put in. We are blessed with the evil eye that made us more than what others are, but we wanted to become more than who we are.” His right hand forms into a fist, he lowers his head and tears flow from his eyes. “I love our clan, I love our people. I cry at the path we choose to take.”

“Which worked out for me because now the two nations are at war and I can sit back and relax; wait for them to destroy each other and whoever wants to live will find salvation in me.”

“Lucas, you did the right thing. You have to power to stop your brother. Even if there is only one Murasaki clan member left, I’d rather it be you than him. With our team we can stop this war- us three of the Silver, Gold and Bronze nations.” Hiro reassures.

“Yes, Lucas. We can take him down together!” Hellina encourages.

“No. I must do this alone. You two should head to the capital of each of your nations and tell them to cease fire-together. They may listen to you. You inherited the Grand Sage Toad from Gurren and you have Goliath Spider from Malechi who got it from Michael. Malechi and Oro, leaders of the Aka and Orenji clans are on our side. They want the war to end just as much as we do. Inherently, we have the power to rule over both nations, making them one and the same. We are not so different as much as we want to be. We all want the best for our people-our clans. But we must do what’s best for this world.”

“Aww, nice speech. How inspiring, brother. You still have hope for this world. It’s inevitable. This world will end and from its ashes I will rise! Come brother; let us see if your dream will come true.” Leon raises his right hand and swirls of purple light; energy from the Great White Wolf erratically encircles it. He holds his lance in his left hand. His curse mark glows silver and unleashes the Big Black Snake which becomes a part of his weapon. Lucas unleashes the Great White Wolf on his weapon. His curse mark glows silver but he doesn’t allow the snake to come out. Suppressing the power of the curse mark, he relies solely on his clan’s will power.

 

(C " Dir en Grey)

 

“Oh, not using your curse mark?”

“I don’t need it to beat you.”

“So smug, but for how long?” He cracks his neck. “Hmm, this should be fun.” Leon shoots the purple light from his hand. It becomes electric. Lucas dodges by rolling away. Back on his feet he throws his shuriken Leon releases the snake from his weapon so it can catch it. The snake catches the shuriken in it mouth and tosses is away. Lucas goes to retrieve it. Knowing he won’t be fast enough, he releases the wolf from his weapon that catches the shuriken in midair and tosses it back to him. The snake catches up and wraps around wolf. Only wrapping around two of its legs, the wolf uses the other two to claw at the snake causing it to loosen its grip. Back on the ground, they have a standoff. The snake repeatedly sticks its tongue in and out of its mouth. The wolf pants with his sharp teeth showing.  Its eyes begin to glow purple; the snakes glow yellow. Leon and Lucas sit back, waiting to see what they will do next.

“Devil, your presence curses this world.”

“As does yours, Dog Demon.”

“You were banished by The Supreme. Why can’t you just stay where you belong?”

“Where I belong is where you belong. Or have you forgotten your duty?”

“No, I have not. I shall protect the humans from you. I’m always guarding the gates of Hell whatever world they may be in.”

“But the gate is open, this world is no more. It is mine now, ever since the grand ancestor of the Murasaki clan accepted my powers, ever since Argento summoned me. The clan may have worshiped you for granting them my power while keeping me at bay, but Leon has opened the gate by choosing me over you. I am free, finally free from damnation!”

The Great White Wolf howls and orange fire escapes his mouth and nose. The Big Black Snake hisses out blue flames.

“You will never know freedom! I shall send us both back to our fiery prison!”

            The wolf stands up on its hind legs. On its chest is a tattoo of and eye peering through a flame. The flame glows orange as the wolf reaches for it. “You can’t die but I won’t allow you to live!” He reaches deep into the mark and then slowly pulls out. From his chest a giant sword- the Excalibur arises. The snake begins to cough up a weapon of his own. Out of his mouth, the devil’s trident sticks out. Blue flames occupy each point.

            Lucas and Leon are paralyzed. Both have lost control over their own bodies, their minds, their souls, and their spirits. Facing each other, they stand with weapons in hand ready to strike, but neither move. Rage, deceit, pain, betrayal, every negative emotion shows on their faces. Everything around them fades to white and then black stripes the scenery. Black takes over. Every color of the rainbow swirls around them, energy is freely flowing. It becomes erratic-unsteady. They can’t keep their balance. Overhead the Dog Demon and the Devil Snake clash and from their weapons they release more energy. It becomes overbearing. With each slash, drips fall from them. With each drop, Leon and Lucas feel weaker. The drops form a pathway between Leon and Lucas.

            Below them, the ground starts to crack. The drips run through them. Its falls into the abyss below; the ground is now spotted with black and white. Lucas is on one piece that hasn’t fell yet while Leon is on the other. From each platform, silver drips off of them like a waterfall. They are able to stand again; facing each other at such a great distance. As they step, the platform moves with them. Silver rain still falls onto them. A golden light shines between them. At its source a golden bird flaps its wings; wings of an angel. Lucas sees the light and the bird within it. Leon pays no attention and seeing his brother distracted he charges at him with his lance. The Dog Demon and the Devil Snake pierce each other in the golden light and silver rain.

           

(Folklore - Clammbon)

 

            Time begins to have a steady beat- like a ticking clock- tick tock, tick tock. Like a reverse strike of lightning, energy burst out of his body. He falls to his knees and hands. Breathing heavily, sweat falls off his face, silver hair sticks to his forehead and cheeks. His eyes are wide open; color is being sucked out of them. He is kneeling over the stream where he can see his reflection in the ripples. Drops of blood hit the water and disperse. With a breath, he lets go of his lance and lets it roll into the stream.

“I...can’t…believe it…even with….all this, power…I still fall to you.”

Lucas draws back his shuriken; the light around it dulls.

“I feel sorry for you. I’m sorry that power and dominance are your only drive.”

Heavily breathing, Leon replies, “My drive…was you. You were…the only person…I could not defeat. You…the one…who…could have…killed me…with the rest…but you didn’t. You…let me…live.”

“Yes, I did. I hoped we could be on opposite sides of the war, but what I really hope is that you would be on my side-working together and not against each other. I hoped we would be equal in strength so that if we were against each other, neither or both of us would fall.”

“Hmph, you make me happy, brother…I’m happy…you have faith…in me. I’m sorry…I let…you down.” Smiling with a waterfall of tears, Leon closes his eyes. His body gives out and splashes into the stream. Lucas wipes away the tears that try to fall from his face. He places his shuriken on his brother’s back. Leon’s Grecian curse mark is washed away by the water. Lucas turns around to face the exit. He isn’t in the best of shape either. Battle scars and open wounds cause much pain. He slowly walks away from his dead brother, dragging his feet every step of the way. He falls to his knees and looks up at the sky. The sun shines on his body; it is setting. He can see thin clouds moving in. The air feels cooler. Rain comes.

            “Brother, do you remember when we were kids. We would always play in the creek by our house. You would hide and I would try to find you. You were always a good hider and when I did find you, you would always run away faster than I could catch you. You are my motivation too; you gave me the wings I need to fly. Now we both can rest, see you soon.”

            Lucas closes his eyes. Still sitting up, he reaches his hands out to catch the raindrops. Gracefully, they turn into feather, white feather, which surrounds him. In the sky, the Great White Wolf has grown angel wings. He walks towards the sun. Lucas with a new found strength stands up and follows- disappearing into the orange glow of the setting sun.

           

One-Hundred years later;

 

(Sleep Away (reprise)- Bob Acri)       

 

Silence; the land is quieter than it ever has been before. The land is scared. Mountains have craters in them. Rivers continue to flow to dump debris into the seas. Trees grow and lose leaves as the seasons change. Plants and flowers are starting to grow in some parts of the desert while the land becomes dry in parts of the forest. The wind blows through all the villages that now lay in ruin. It blows the dirt off of the bodies of warriors buried in shallow graves. It blows the flowers off the tombstones of the innocent dragged into war. It blows the sands of the desert into the land of the forest. It blows the leaves from fallen trees into the desert. The sun reaches all corners of the world; no place is in shadow.

The Silver Nation is no more. The Gold Nation is no more. There are no more clans, no more villages, no more people. Both capitals show the extent of the humans own destruction. The graveyard that holds Argento’s parents is covered in snow. The cliff overlooking the valley is dry and cracked. Oro’s vacation home has fallen into the ocean and drifts in pieces. Leon’s and Lucas’s home is now frozen under an ice cap. Oro’s training base is covered in leaves and vines. The Malik mansion is buried under a sand dune. Only the throne room remains surfaced. The secret hideout has been filled with water. Water has taking over most of the lands that were once above its level. The winds have changed direction. The sun feels further away. It is distancing itself from this world. All is becoming cold.

Life returns to the watering hole. Birds occupy the trees and gleefully chirp all day long. Monkeys swing from branch to branch and eat a banana when they need energy again. A Spider spins a web and catches a butterfly. Fish swim in circles the pond, becoming dizzy. Frogs and Toads hop from lily pad to lily pad while catching flies with their tongues. A Wolf decides to take a drink and catches a fish for dinner. A porcupine is startled by a snake and projects its spikes. The Snake slithers away and catches a mouse instead. Animals kill to eat and eat to live and die when the times come.

When night comes the only noise heard is the noise of crickets and fireflies. All the animals rest for another day; some will live to see it, some won’t. They know this and accept it. They have seen the destruction caused by those who wanted to prolong their own lives. When a circle is broken and becomes a line; there is a start and an end. When the cycle of life is disrupted- life will be no more. Demons disguised as holy beings had escaped the other world and destroyed the spirits of the humans in this one. He finally realized this and tries to set things right. For the past century he is closing the door he once opened by sending the demons back to the other world and severing their connection to this one. He hopes that his race will one day roam this world again, form a new connection with the pure spirits of this world, but until that time he must rest just like the rest. Life’s energy floating through the cosmos, may they find a new land to begin again.

 

Throne Room;

 

(With Rainy Eyes - Nujabes)

 

Nothing lasts forever. Argento lies on the floor and stares at the sky through the massive hole in the ceiling. Silver hair lies on the floor, tainted with red blood. Kiya lies next to him, silent and grey. She has been in that same spot for over 20 years. Her body is just starting to decompose. With no one left with a curse mark, his spirit drains. He hears a clock ticking at a steady pace. It is sunset and rain gently falls down. The raindrops reflect the orange, red and pink glow of the sun. The clouds are still. The raindrops create puddles of water that ripple each time a drop hits them. Argento stares into the clouds as if he is searching for something. The ticking becomes louder but still steady. The sky becomes one big puddle with ripples. From the ripples, faces begin to appear. He sees his children with grey faces; distance grey faces. Tears run down their faces until they are washed away by their own sadness. He sees the faces of those he once mentored. He sees Nero in the fetal position, rocking back and forth on the other side of the fence. He sees Weiss gripping the shirt of his mother whose body is stone cold. He sees Gris horrified by his sister being burned. He sees Kiya griping her stomach in fear after Malechi was born. He sees Ferrah holding Gurren’s hand as she holds flowers to put on her mother’s grave. He then sees himself gripping Oro’s hand as he stands over the grave of his parents’. In the reflection of his own face he sees his father’s; a face he didn’t even know he knows. He sees him smiling as the assassin delivers the final blow. As he falls to the floor a silver light shines from his chest and floats through the house. The light enters Argento’s heart and awakens him. From the sky a silver beam shines though the ripples. From its glittery gleam, a figure appears before him. Oro, the man that took him in, the man who raised him, the man who saves him. They are back in their home. Argento is in his bed and Oro is tucking him in. He winds up his alarm clock. It ticks softly with a steady pace.

“Will you sing me our lullaby?” Argento asks. Oro smiles and sits next to him, holding him close with one arm.

 

(Gymnopedie No. 1 " Erik Satire)

 

“Bless the child from the earth we love. Bless the vision he has for your soul. Will it come? Lying down by the bay, winter came in May. Beauty of its frailness or is beauty frail? I got to say, you became sun’s rays. I see more than you are or are you more? Bless the angels from heaven above. Bless the devil from haters of God. Will they come? Heaven’s gates opened your way, heavenly applause was gay. I see the living of the dead or is the dead living? May these prayers reach through and guide you to rest in peace, my dear, son.”

 

(Never-ending Dream " Ayumi Hamasaki)

 

The ticking of the clocks becomes fainter and fainter as it slows down. Asleep, he is young again, innocent again. A bell chimes in the distance as if he was nearing a church. He is in the graveyard where his parents are resting. The ticking stops. Asleep, he is in a room filled with balls of silver light that shines from his heart. In his dream he can see all the people he is connected too and instead of seeing them crying, he sees them smiling; Milan smiling at Malechi when they first met, Ayesha smiling when she’s training with Gris, Sephora smiling when she meets her mother, Kiya smiling when she catches Argento’s attention, Gris smiling when he reads a book for pleasure, Nero and Weiss smiling while bumping foreheads, Ferrah smiling when Sephora was born. Argento smiles at the tombstones of his parents and Oro smiles back and pulls him into his chest"all happy to be on the other side where new life waits. Gravity leaves them and they begin to levitate. They grow wings and fly to the sky. A feather lands on the area between the two tombstones. They float through the clouds together, flying into the sun, disappearing. All becomes white- a clean slate.

 

 

The Reason of My Tears - Akiko

 

“Do you believe that our soul was as one in ancient times? Over the years, I've finally found in this world the other "me"; you found the other "you". I wonder why, although my heart seems to be so clear to you. We are combined, two pieces filling the tune of puzzled life; breathing each other's life.

 

Is it just because you're an angel, or you are the devil? You make me happy or you make me sad? Is it just because I love you or I'm just sorry for you? Never know the reason of my tears.

 

Is it just because you're an angel, or you are the devil? You make me happy or you make me sad? Is it just because I love you or I’m just sorry for you? But you’ll never know; it’s time you should know.

 

Is it just because you are hell or you are heaven above? You make me blue or you make, you make me fly? Am I sorry for you? No, it's 'cause I love you.

Never know the reason of my tears
No one knows the reason of my tears.”

 

 

 

 

Gymnopedie No.1 - Akiko

 

“Bless the angel from heaven above, home. Bless the devil from haters of God. Will they come? Days full of silence, light sighs in the night. It’s frailness, its beauty or is beauty frail? To lift this fate that we carry is taking its only God now.

 

Bless the angel from heaven above. Bless the devil from haters of God. Will they come? Daydream of summer and nightmare of day. The laughter and sorrow this song knows so well.

May these prayers reach through and guide all to rest in peace my tear song.”