Bacorium Legacy (21 page)

“You mean to assassinate him,” he said to her.

The princess met his gaze for a moment, without even a trace of weakness in her eyes. And then, she slowly nodded.

Luca looked down at the floor. Everyone else in the room was looking at him now - Brand with an look that suggested nothing more than observation, Wiosna with curiosity, Selphie with an unreadable expression, and the halberd-carrying guard with a distrusting frown. He had made himself the centre of attention, and now everyone was waiting to know what he would say, in response to the princess' confirmation.

“I don't know if I can be part of this mission, princess,” he said. “I have other obligations.” He thought of Emila, and the Soul Tether. “I don't know what you expected of me, or of my brother before I came here, but I am not my father, and neither is Ash. My father killed Manorith and brought peace to your kingdom. But that doesn't mean that history will simply repeat itself.”

“We know that,” Selphie said gently. “That is why we came here to give you the choice. It is not a command, but an offer. We have heard what has happened. Your father - he has been killed by Zinoro.”

“Yes, he has.”

“Would you not want to be part of this, then? You could avenge your father, and save many other lives from the same fate.”

Luca knew what he was capable of. How could he forget? Every time he thought of Zinoro, he felt a rage burning deep within him. The sight of his father being stabbed replayed in his mind's eye. He longed greatly to kill Zinoro. It was the only purpose he could find to give his life direction.

And yet - he felt he had failed already. He had lost
Siora
in those caverns. What justice would there be in avenging his father if he did not do it with his own sword? Sure, he could run Zinoro through with any plan steel blade he could get his hands on - but it just wouldn't be the same without
Siora
.
 

But still - he was determined to go to Acaria, hunt down the man in black armour, that one-eyed man of darkness, and end his life. Even without
Siora
, he would do this. And going on this mission might give him the chance.
 

Or he might ruin it. His very presence on the team could doom Selphie's chances of resolving the conflicts peacefully. He might even get them all killed. What good did Zaow think sending Lodin's son would do? The moment they entered Zinoro's hall, and he caught sight of Luca's white hair, blades would be drawn. Their meeting could get a lot of people killed under those circumstances, not just Selphie's team, but even thousands of innocent Sonoian citizens.

And putting all that aside, there was still the matter of his connection to Emila. He could not go off to Acaria while his life depended on being near her. He could not drag this innocent girl into a battlefield to satisfy his lust for vengeance, if Selphie would even permit bringing her at all.

His head hurt. There was simply too much to think about. He liked when things were simpler, when there was just him, and a goal in sight.

Luca looked up at the princess, who was eagerly awaiting his answer.

“I need time,” he told her. “This is not a decision I can make right now.”

She nodded. “At the very latest, we are to leave at this time tomorrow, though we hope to leave sooner. You may take this time to think about this, and to set your affairs in order if you do choose to come. All three of you may. Just please consider what is at stake.”

<> <> <>

Emila was still outside, when Luca finally emerged. The sun had risen in the time he had spent within the sanctum, and the students of the temple were awake and going about their business, unaware that the princess of Sono was among them.

“You've been waiting out here this whole time?” Luca asked as he approached her.

Rather than answering, she drew closer and stared at him with apprehension. “So - what did they say?”

They found a bench to sit at, and he told her about the meeting with the princess and King Zaow's plan of sending a team to Acaria to confront Zinoro. And he told her about his hesitation to go, of how he could not take her to Acaria. Emila listened quietly as he spoke, her eyes distant and remembering.

“I cannot go to Acaria,” Emila said softly. “Of all the places in Bacoria, it is the only one I cannot follow you to. That place is a land of death.”

“If I go - what will you do?”

She shrugged and gave a weak smile. “Leave. Find some other place.”

“The Soul Tether...”

“That's what I wanted to talk to you about,” she said. “You've recovered, in the three days we've spent here. We're still connected - but you no longer need me. You can breathe on your own now. If I were to break the connection, you would live.”

She sounded sad as she said that. He knew why. Only a fool could deny they had grown close.

He thought of the guilty dreams he'd had of Emila. The impure acts he had imagined - things he never thought in his life he would do. He could not confess it to her - he could never even confess that to himself. How he hated to have fallen victim to such a base emotion...

He saw one of the students glance at them as he passed, and a thought came to Luca. Perhaps the reason he feared anything thinking he and Emila were together was because it would imply that Luca was the sort of person who could have the emotional capacity to care for someone. There was a sort of weakness in that - a vulnerability that a justice-seeking warrior could not have.

“Just before we came here, I checked you and you were nowhere near healed enough,” Emila said. “In fact, you seemed to be getting worse. You weren't able to go very far without straining the connection. And through the connection, I felt you every day we spent here, relying on my mana to stay alive, because without it you would not be able to breathe. But this morning, I realised something was different. Your lung has healed, and you - no longer need me.”

“So then this means...” Luca said slowly. “That you can break the connection. I can go with Selphie to Acaria, and you can go off on your own.”

She hesitated. “Yes.”

Silence fell over them.

Logically, there was no reason not to break the tether. It was a hindrance, to be bound to her the way he was. If she didn't want to go where he wanted, there was nothing he could do to stop her from controlling him. They were two completely different people, bound together by an impulsive act of charity. It was true that she had saved his life - but now that life was frozen in place by her actions. There was no reason now why they could not go their separate ways.

And yet - they were both hesitating, and they knew it.

“Well - what do I need to do?” Luca asked her.

“Just start walking away,” Emila told him. “March away from me. Eventually, we'll be so far away from each other that the tether will be strained. It'll hurt, but if you aren't mortally wounded, it won't kill you. Push through the pain, and keep going. After a while, it'll just break, and you'll be you, and I'll be me.”

“I see.”

Another uncomfortable silence took them. Emila was looking away from Luca, keeping her gaze on the grass, unable to look him in the eyes.

“Then-” He started to speak, but he couldn't.

He was going to say goodbye. He could go back to Selphie, tell her he was ready, and Allma Temple would be a disappearing gleam on the horizon in only an hour or two. There was nothing stopping him now. And if he was going to leave, he should at least say goodbye to the girl whom he owed his life to.

But he couldn't say it.

“I- I need to go think for now.”

It was a compromise. And also partially a lie. But it was all he could say to her for now.

“Of course,” was her reply, emotionless and flat.

He couldn't think of anything else to say. He got up, and started to walk away.

He felt like he was making a mistake. He felt like he still needed her.

But he buried those thoughts within himself, and he forced himself to walk back towards the centre sanctum.

He walked and walked, and when he turned back around, he was in a completely different part of the garden, and she was gone.

<> <> <>

There was an explosion.

The ground burst open, and the entire temple shook. The sound was deafening. Right in the centre of the grounds, within one of the garden's sparring rings, a hole had burst open from the hidden caverns underneath, set off by a burst of magick.

Luca was just passing by as it happened.

He was thrown back by the impact, as were several of the white-robed students who were also passing through. He hit one of the stones walls, and collapsed against the ground.

“What...?” he groaned as he forced himself back up on his feet.

Where the explosion had taken place, there was now a gaping hole bordered by rocks and debris. People were climbing out of the hole - people wearing black armour and carrying swords and bows.

“Attack!” someone shouted from afar. “The temple is under attack!”

A horn was blown. All around, Luca heard the sound of weapons being drawn. The atmosphere was charged with energy, as the students and their masters began gathering mana.

“Acarians!” another student shouted. “They've broken in from underground!”

Students charged, hurling fireballs and bolts of lightning. The sound of steel weapons clashing filled the air.

The Acarians...

It was as history was repeating itself. The black, red-lined armour they wore was identical to what Luca had seen before, when the town in Arimos was attacked. Already, the sounds of the first to die filled the air.

And then, he had a thought. Zinoro could be with them.

Luca scanned the men in black armour, looking for that unmistakable eye patch and black hair. He did not see it.

His hand was at his side, absently reaching for the sword he always carried.

No, he had lost lost it.

Several of the students had already been killed. Their blood-stained clothes were scattered here and there. Luca spotted a sword that rested by one, and dashed over and grabbed the blade. The blade was heavier than the one Luca was used to, a bit chipped and worn, and very slightly bent. Not as good as
Siora
had been, but it would have to do.
 

Luca rose. An Acarian was rushing towards him, preparing to drive his sword through his chest. He deftly knocked the blade aside, and decapitated his opponent in a one fell stroke. The Acarian's body disintegrated, and his armour collapsed around him.

Luca found himself grinning. The thrill of battle filled him, and the satisfaction of slaying one of those whom he had such hatred for.

He found another Acarian, busy clashing blades with a student. He gathered his mana, and fired several dozen magick needles into the Acarian's back. They passed right through his armour, striking the man's flesh. Distracted by Luca's attack, the Acarian was quickly cut down by the student.

The Acarians continued to climb up out of the hole in the grounds, pouring forth like ants.

“Get back!” someone shouted from afar. Immediately, the students disengaged their opponents and retreated away from the Acarians. Someone grabbed Luca's arms and pulled him back as well.

The Acarians ceased their advance, wary of the sudden retreat.

A rain of arrows came down from the sky, fired by unseen archers on the roofs of buildings and atop the walls. Many of the Acarians were struck down. Some used their weapons to block the first arrows fired, but most of them were struck during the second wave. After the third wave, no more stood.

“Are there any more down there?!”

“The tunnel looks empty, sir!”

“Have the water magi flood it, then close the hole up with earth magick!”

“Yes, sir! You all heard him, water and earth magi up here, everyone else go to battle stations!”

The students divided up and ran off.

Luca stepped away from the pit, and leaned against the same wall he had been thrown against, breathing heavily. He looked down at the blade he had picked up from the dead student. It was slightly shorter than
Siora
had been, but it should fit in the old sheath well enough. After wiping away the blood, he sheathed it.
 

Everything was suddenly different. The peaceful atmosphere of the temple was gone, replaced by a rigid military order. Everywhere, students were putting on armour and grabbing weapons from racks that were being wheeled out. This wasn't the training gear they were used to wearing - this was actual armour.

The masters had assumed the role of commanders, and were going around, spreading messages and information. Luca listened to them, and caught snippets of their messages. It would seem two other holes had burst open within the temple walls, all at the same time. All had been dealt with, but the Acarians would not have made an attack like that in only one stage. Without a doubt, there was more to come, and so everyone was preparing for that.

Luca wasn't sure what he should do. He could still feel Emila, through the soul tether. She was unharmed, as he felt no foreign pain on his body. But still he wanted to go to her, to make sure she was okay. On the other hand, it was possible that the Allmans might need him.

“To hell with that. She's more important.”

Sudden concern for her drove him, and yet he did not fail to remind himself that he had been just about to leave her.
 

But there was no time to think about that. He had to go to Emila, before any more Acarians appeared. He had to find her and get her somewhere safe. He couldn't let anything happen to her - if she died, then he would...

That didn't matter. Even if he didn't need her - even if he never had - the fact remained that he could not let what happened to Arlea happen to Emila as well. It would only take a second for a stray arrow to find her, and he could not live with himself if it did.

Luca ran back, retracing his footsteps to the bench where he had parted with Emila. Some distance away from there, he saw one of the other spots where the Acarians had emerged from, surrounded by students with drawn weapons.