Pilgrim 6, p.15
Pilgrim 6, page 15
“Good,” Sansar said after a short pause in which both of them waited for something to happen.
Danzen looked to the next platform, and saw that he could jump down to it. He did so, and as he landed, some of the rock crumbled away. He barely managed to avoid falling.
“Too close,” Sansar told Danzen as he landed on his shoulder.
Danzen focused on the second spherical stone that needed to be moved. He floated it into the air and looked to the platform across from them, to the empty port. As soon as the stone was in place, the ceiling above them began to shift.
Danzen looked up, the former assassin shielding his eyes with his hands as more dust fell from the ceiling. A spiral staircase lowered, one that would allow Danzen access to yet another platform weaving along the far wall of the cavern.
The raven smoothed out his wings before he spoke: “Let’s hope that’s both the exit and the remnant.”
.Chapter Four.
The spiral staircase that had lowered from the ceiling creaked a little, yet it held Danzen’s weight as he took it to the top, where he jumped over a six-foot gap to a narrow ledge. More stones crumbled beneath his feet as Danzen skirted along the ledge toward the open door. Once Danzen reached the door, a wave of relief flowed over him.
He turned around and took a final look at the cavern, confirming that he had explored everything that needed to be explored. Yet again, Danzen’s eyes traced over the strange writing that crisscrossed every surface, the demonic script that his father had unlocked in his mind. He wondered how many times he’d seen the script in various locations and never recognized it. Thus far, he had only unlocked the writings of a madman. But perhaps in some of the abandoned shrines and other locations he would find himself in the future, knowledge of the script would be useful. Only time would tell.
Danzen started up another stairway, expecting to come out at the top of the cavern. Once a cold wind started to hit his face, he realized that he was nearing what he hoped was the crest of the mountain. The cold wind was followed by wisps of soft snow, Danzen finally pausing halfway once Sansar spoke: “I believe we found our exit. Perhaps I should fly ahead and tell you what I see. All of this makes no sense. We enter the sanctuary, accomplish a few puzzles, and we are offered an exit. Where’s the remnant that Nova supposedly uncovered in his scrolls?”
Danzen placed his hand on his chest, feeling the whistle that would summon the raiju. “Maybe we should summon Timbero and the fallen angel once we reach the top.”
“Not a bad idea, honestly. Nova is the one that led us here.”
“Until then, stay with me.”
“As you wish,” Sansar said.
Danzen continued on, the wind becoming stronger, louder as well as it whipped through the stairwell. He kept his hand on the grip of his weapon, ready for anything, not knowing if he was about to encounter some sort of demonic entity, or simply another stone puzzle.
The stairwell exited onto a large swath of stone, much of it covered in pockets of snow. In the center of the space was a mound of rocks with a slight purple glow to it. The snow seemed to bend around the rocks; the sides of the space were shored up enough that a person wouldn’t be able to see this from beyond the mountain, unless they had somehow reached a higher peak. But in taking a look around, Danzen didn’t see a higher peak. This was likely the highest mountain in the range, at least from where he currently stood. There was none of the demonic script here. No warnings, no threats.
“What do you think?” Danzen finally asked Sansar.
“Something is buried there, beneath the pile of rocks. It might be the remnant.”
Danzen approached the pile of stones before him, some of the boulders large enough that they could have easily crushed him.
Starting at the top, he used his power to begin removing rocks one by one. As carefully as ever, Danzen set them in the space next to the mound. He had to be extremely careful not to dislodge other rocks, which had the potential to cause a mini avalanche. Focusing,
and going as slowly as possible, Danzen began to reveal the top of a glowing purple pillar.
Danzen stopped, as he got the sense that he was being watched.
“Scan the area,” he told Sansar as he set down another rock.
Danzen turned around to find some of the illuminated text he had seen in the cavernous space below directly behind him. The demonic etchings had taken the form of a man, his body made of cobbled-together stone. Was it Shimo? Was it some sort of spirit?
Danzen wasn’t about to take any chances as he drew his sword.
The being lowered one arm, its hand growing in size and forming into a sharp fist.
~~Why have you come here?~~
Its voice was androgynous, and light.
“For the remnant.”
~Who are you?~
“Danzen Ravja, son of Shodren Ravja, a human, and Tengir Gantulga, the ruler of Diyu.”
~What would a half-blood want with the information here?~
“Is it not a remnant?” Danzen asked as he gestured toward the pillar that he had partially uncovered.
~What would a half-blood want with the information here?~
Sansar answered this time: “To rebuild Sunyata. I am the son of Jimmu, born in Sunyata, which has since fallen. I am here with this human and can vouch for him.”
~And you are aware of the blueprint?~
“No, we are not. We came here because a fallen angel named Nova gave us information stating that there was a remnant here,”
Sansar explained. “We are currently collecting remnants to use in an effort to rebuild Sunyata. Danzen may be the son of the ruler of Diyu, but he is not like his father.”
~I am the guardian of the pillar. If you desire its information, you must defeat me.~
“Are you the one that covered the cavern in demonic script?”
~No, my creator did.~
“Who is your creator?” Sansar asked.
~I do not know his name. I only know my purpose. If you want the information, you will have to defeat me.~
“As you wish.” Danzen brought his sword to the ready.
The quick fists that followed were some of the hardest Danzen had ever blocked, to the point that he felt as if his heels had dug into the stone. The sanctuary guard was as fast as any opponent he had ever faced, Danzen having to use his foot to kick off the front of the being just so he could get some space. Once he did, Danzen brought his sword in a downward slice, immediately returning along the same path as he came back up. He had struck the sanctuary guard, and in piercing its flesh, Danzen saw a glowing purple blood start to trickle out of its body.
Not only that, he could feel it. The sanctuary guard was powered by Sunyatic energy.
Danzen rushed forward, intending to drive the tip of the Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds through the stone being’s torso. The guard brought its fists down to the ground just as Danzen reached it, causing a surge of rippling energy that threw Danzen backward.
Ready to be done with the fight, Danzen sent his blade spiraling forward as he had done so many times before. It struck the sanctuary guard in the chest, and tore through its body. His palm
open, Danzen’s sword returned just as he shot his other hand forward, and used his echo to shatter the stone.
It didn’t shatter like stones he’d worked on in the past. The temple guard simply crumbled into a puddle of glowing purple blood.
The blood started to bubble, and soon, it had shaped into a face.
~You have done well, Danzen Ravja. Continue removing the stones to uncover the Fatebrick. I will explain everything.~
****
The fluid apparition said no more as Danzen returned to his task of uncovering the pillar hidden beneath the pile of stones.
He kept his guard up, yet it was clear that everything had changed since he had defeated the sanctuary guardian, including the tension that had once been in the air. Eventually, he found himself in a position in which he was able to easily focus on removing the large boulders that were covering the Sunyatic pillar.
Danzen felt no strain in this process, which he surmised was due to the amount of time he had put into bending his echo. Had he
attempted something like this a month ago, it might have been much more difficult. But now, especially with what happened and how he had been forced to push himself, he tackled it relatively easily. Soon, more of the pillar was revealed, Danzen noticing that it was covered in petroglyphs, starting from the top and arranged in squares as they cascaded down the structure.
Continuing on, Danzen finally reached the bottom. It took him another few minutes to remove the last of the stones. When he was done he took in the pillar, noticing that it was just a bit taller than him, still glowing purple. He could feel the power as well, Danzen entirely familiar with that Sunyatic pull that he noticed with items that had been made in heaven itself. Luckily, he wasn’t feeling weak this time, which was another improvement. There had been times in the past when being too close to remnants had affected him.
“It is done,” Danzen told the apparition.
~Good. What you have uncovered is the piece to a larger puzzle.
You said it was your intended goal to rebuild heaven, did you not?~
“It is.”
~And why, if I may ask?~
“Because there is a lack of balance without it.”
Something shifted in the sanctuary guard’s glowing purple face.
~Another good answer. The creator would have liked this answer.
Approach the pillar. You will need to use your power to shatter it.
What you seek is inside.~
“Who is the creator of all this?” Sansar asked. “You keep mentioning him. Why did he do this? And why the demonic script this morning?”
~The warning is for those from Diyu to keep them away from this place. The creator did this to protect the Fatebricks of Sunyata.~
“Fatebrick. I haven’t heard this term,” said Sansar.
~I am merely telling you what I know.~
“Nova may know,” said Danzen.
“I suppose we should call him here now. What do you think?”
~Who are you planning to call?~
Sansar answered the apparition: “A fallen angel named Nova, and Timbero, a raiju who was once a defender of Sunyata.”
~I’m only allowed to reveal the meaning of this pillar to those who have been authorized. The two of you have been authorized.
Summoning others may create complications.~
“We can call upon them later, once we’re done here,” Danzen said as he approached the pillar.
He reached his hand out to it and went through the process of summoning the power of a nonexistent heaven. Danzen didn’t like the fact that he would be forced to destroy the pillar to reach what was inside, thus losing whatever information the petroglyphs might hold, yet there appeared to be no other way.
The pillar stopped crumbling at the midpoint, and as it did Danzen felt the air swell around him. He stopped, and as he did a cylinder within the pillar began to rise on its own. Perched on the cylinder was a small tablet carved out of a remnant, one that was glowing to the point that he had to avert his eyes for a moment.
“I know what this is,” Sansar said suddenly. “It is a projection map, a guide.”
“A guide?”
“Shine it toward…” Sansar took a look around. “There, that should do. That wall.”
Still averting his gaze, Danzen reached out to the small tablet and lifted it. He felt yet another swell of power press past him as he shifted toward the rockface. It produced a projection, one that Danzen couldn’t quite interpret. It then dawned on him what he was looking at. It was a map of the entirety of Kishu Kingdom, one demarcated by the barrier separating the mortal world from Diyu.
Portions of Diyu were also mapped on the other side.
~This map will help you find the Fatebricks of Sunyata. You should know that your challenges will be greater than they were here, that my brothers and sisters may be much more powerful than I proved to be. The creator has to be certain that you are worthy of the Fatebricks. My work here is done. I wish you luck in your future journeys, and you may summon your companions now.~
The apparition slowly began to melt to the ground until there was no longer a purple glow, only a pile of stones.
It was a moment before Sansar spoke. “The Fatebricks of Sunyata. I believe we should speak to Nova and Timbero before we figure out a way to return to the others. There must be more to this.”
****
Danzen summoned the wolf-like yokai, Timbero’s appearance coupled with crackling lightning and early-morning thunder. The sun had yet to breach the horizon, but it was close, a thin line of pink already transitioning into a blazing orange.
Timbero landed on the mountaintop, and as he did Danzen wondered if the others had seen the yokai flying in the sky. He had a feeling Nomin would have by now, and he knew that he would need to make it back to them soon.
Nova was barely visible in his spirit form. Danzen had already seen him once this way, when he separated from the abbot, a fallen angel with long hair and sharp features. He was transparent, his outline with a tint of blue to it. In closing his eyes, Danzen saw more of the fallen angel’s features, something he had already confirmed outside of Arsi.
“So, you found it,” said Nova as he admired the Sunyata tablet, which was still shining brightly onto the rock face. Danzen had yet to
spend much time with the map, but in looking at it again he saw that there were several locations marked, including some in Diyu itself.
“You knew this was here?” Sansar asked.
“I did, yes.”
“And you know about the Fatebricks of Sunyata?”
“Again, yes. These are the objects I was tasked with protecting, well, one of them, anyway. I believe you already have one of them,”
he told Danzen.
“The rosary?” Danzen asked. Nova’s rosary was currently in the cave with the others, the remnant tucked away safely in its protective pouch.
“That is the one. The Fatebricks are the name of the most powerful Sunyata relics in existence, named so because they were crafted by a master cultivator named Fatebrick. Sansar, you may have heard of him by his first name, Isoda.”
“The Isoda?” asked the three-legged raven.
“Indeed.”
“But he was killed during the fall of Sunyata,” said Sansar. “I was certain nothing he made was left behind.”
“Not exactly.” Nova gently placed his hands behind his back. “He was killed during the fall, but he had time beforehand, thanks to some of the protectors of Sunyata, to conjure these relics.”
Timbero spoke, his voice booming as always: “This must have been why the response of the raiju was so late. I remember now. I was tasked with fighting, but others were working to protect Isoda. I do not know why. Why, Nova? Be clear.”
Nova shrugged off the raiju’s question as he turned his focus to Danzen. “There are nine of these Fatebricks of Sunyata. I have given you one, the rosary. A map has been provided, but these are just general locations. If you want to rebuild Sunyata, you have now proven to me that you are up to the task. I do not know how well the others are protected, nor do I know if they have been moved, but the locations here,” Nova said as he gestured to the stone’s projection,
“are as close as you are going to get. You will notice that three are in Diyu, the rest here in the mortal plane. If it is your goal to rebuild Sunyata, which you have stated that it is, and which you have shown me is your true intent, you will need the Fatebricks.”
“This has been your plan all along, hasn’t it?” Sansar asked him.
“This was no ordinary remnant location. You knew where you were
sending Pilgrim.”
“I did.”
“With no warning, no explanation.”
“You know our ways,” was all Nova said about this.
“And these relics, these Fatebricks, what do they do?”
“The full essence of Sunyata is stored within them. While remnants may be helpful in restoring order to the three planes of existence, the Fatebricks are the missing piece that you seek. They are not written about, and no Sunyatic philosopher will have likely mentioned them. The Sundiyu Sect, even highly advanced abbots or those who can understand ancient scripts, will have no idea about these items. Knowledge of the Fatebricks is entirely an oral transmission, one that was never noted anywhere to my knowledge.
They are the key. In the meantime, you should continue collecting remnants if they become available. You may not be strong enough to attempt to collect some of the more remote ones. Not yet, anyway.
But in time, I’m sure you will reach that plateau. Each location will test you in different ways, and if I were you, considering that you are already here in the mountains of Arsi, I would head toward Tachibana.”
Danzen looked at the map to see that there was indeed a marker, off the coast of the desert that surrounded Tachibana. Was it in the water? This appeared to be the case.
“What do you know of these other Fatebricks?” asked Sansar.
“Sadly, nothing. Those tasked with hiding them were only given one each, plus the location of the tablet.”
“Who is the creator? Who wrote all the demonic script and gave it power?” asked Danzen.
Nova stared at him curiously for a moment. “Can you read the demonic script?”
Danzen explained what his father had done, how he activated this part of his mind. He then transitioned to the fight he’d just had, and the entity that remained behind. “The sanctuary Guardian told us that the script was to throw off demons.”
