Editor's Note: This is the third installment of an 11-part short story written by Shawn Smith, a junior English major from Keene, N.H. A new installment will be presented in each issue of The Norwich Guidon during the 2001-02 school year.

Reality's End

by Shawn Smith

Part 3

CHRONICLE I: ECHOES FROM THE PAST

I stood on the hill and watched my master and his student as they faced one another. It was not my place to speak, even though I had the experience to do so. I knew I could answer what I read to be his question in mere seconds, but this was his student, not mine.

“Why were you beaten?” my master finally asked his opponent as he sheathed his sword.

I approached slowly and saw that my master’s opponent was a young girl, about eighteen years old. She looked down at the ground at her discarded sword and then stared into her teacher’s eyes. I could feel her disappointment and loss even before she answered his question.

“Master, you are better than me. You are faster and more skilled than I am,” she said sadly.

Akagi shook his head and said, “No. You only believe that I am better. Until you realize what should be done and not what can be done, you will never defeat an opponent.” He took a short breath. “Now, go and think about what has happened this day.”

The girl nodded and quickly bowed to my master, who returned the gesture. She turned around and walked down the hill. Within moments, she was completely out of sight.

My master must have sensed my presence, because he faced me and smiled broadly. He walked to me and we bowed to each other. He looked exactly the same as he did when I first met him.

“David-san! I am pleased to see you here. Has it been a year, already?”

“Yes, sensei, it has been. I see you have a new student. How is she doing?”

“She has much strength within, but lacks focus at critical moments. But, I feel that she will learn to tame her vision soon enough.”

“Yes, I felt that, too.”

“You still look to be quite young, my old student. You wear your age well.”

I grinned, as I knew that I only looked to be about twenty-five or so. “Not as well as you, I’m afraid. I’m not even a hundred years old, yet,” I replied with a grin still on my face.

“Ah, but someday you will be. And then, many more years after that, perhaps two-thousand more, as I am now. Come, walk with me back into the world,” my master said as he grasped my shoulder lightly.

My six-foot, two-inch frame seemed to dwarf Master Akagi’s five-foot-five, but certainly not my immense respect and admiration for him. I maneuvered around to his left as we walked back the way I originally came. I noticed that the breeze had died down and waved my hand in the air as I focused my ability to stir it back up. Sure enough, the breeze was back just as it had been when I first arrived.

Every year on this day, I paid my respects to my master. It was on this day, twenty-six years ago, that I freed him from the control of the ones who use science and technology for their own magickal purposes. They are known as the Aurelians, our sworn enemies; they represent everything that we have grown to distrust and, in some ways, fear.

The Aurelians do not abide by our traditional ways and have exploited their power in order to gain wealth and domination over the entire globe. They are responsible for the technological advances the human race has made over the centuries, but more recently their goal is to integrate the machine into the lives of every single human on Earth by making our race into the machine. The only forces that stand in their way are the traditional sects, and they mean to destroy us all. They are, by far, the most brutal and ruthless forces in the world.

To further their cause of destruction, a member of the Aurelians had somehow infiltrated our dojo and gained my master’s trust. Somehow, this person was involved in the contamination of my master’s mind to the point where he was susceptible to any suggestion the Aurelians put forth.

When I was twenty-three years old, Ishiru Akagi was given his first order: the elimination of all his students whether they were currently studying magick or not.

I had just dismissed a group of students from a sparring exercise when the first screams were heard. Like everyone else in the dojo, I turned my head toward the noise. I saw the wooden, sliding door to the next room bow outward and splinter as three shadows were pressed against it; the shadows flailed their arms about as blood flowed from the crack between the door and the floor.

The screams increased in volume until, all of the sudden, they were cut off and only a slight gurgling sound could be heard. The shadows dropped violently on the floor and the sound of hideous laughter filled the entire dojo.

“It can’t be him,” Kenji Sakura, a fellow sensai, mumbled. “It just can’t be.”

I couldn’t believe it, either, but I knew that it was him. My master had just killed three of my fellow instructors in his private chambers.

The door blew apart and sent splinters throughout the room. A number of students were badly hurt by the flying pieces of wood; their cries of pain echoed across every beam in the large, wooden dojo.

“My eye! My eye, master, my eye!” a student screeched in Japanese as he held the remains of his left eye in the clutches of his hand.

Master Akagi stood there while he held the head of Sensai Yukimoto in his right hand. His face was twisted in a purely evil smile as his ivory white teeth shone brightly between his lips. Tomi Nagumo rushed him, and he tossed the head right at her. He moved so fast that all anyone could see was a blur, and by the time he had stopped, she was nothing more than a crumpled piece of flesh and bone on the floor. His smile only grew wider with this new kill.

“TOMI!” Masahiro screeched. “NO!”

My master laughed maniacally as Masahiro stepped toward him. That grin was still on his face as he blocked every strike Masahiro attempted to land. He grabbed one of Masahiro’s legs as he kicked and ripped it right off his body.

Tomi’s brother emitted a scream the likes of which I had never heard before; my ears actually hurt and tears welled up in my eyes. Blood sprayed from the empty hip socket as he hopped around on his only leg. He gripped the small stump that swung around in the air with both hands as he continued to scream. The spine-tingling scream was cut off with a soft grunt as Master Akagi grasped both sides of his head and twisted sharply to the right. A loud crunch ended Masahiro’s pain in an instant, and my master dropped his lifeless body to the floor with a thud.

Kenji stood right beside me as my master continued to advance ever so slowly on the rest of us. He was sweating just as much as I was and equally scared. “What has happened to him, David-San?”

“I don’t know, Kenji-san, I just don’t know.”

We both moved to the back of the room to protect several students as they quickly exited. All the while, Master Akagi slaughtered each student and instructor that challenged him. We watched as he used the full extent of his powers on his attackers; bodies blown back by immense fireballs from his hands, bones shattered with a single touch of his fingers, flesh melted with a single thought from his mind. If he was encircled by scores of opponents, he placed subliminal messages in their minds so they would kill each other until they could kill no more. Rivers and pools of blood and gore were everywhere, and some students slipped on the remains of their fallen comrades, much to my master’s delight.

I knew that those who stayed to fight had our ability, but if they were too badly injured or near death, they couldn’t use it. Only the most powerful of us could hope to use magick when they’ve reached that point. The way things were shaping up, few were still alive to use any powers. I couldn’t stand it any longer. I had to do something. I ran for the weapons rack on the far wall to my right, grabbed a double-bladed spear off of it, and turned around to confront my master, but found that he was already there.

“You wish to kill me, insignificant piece of trash?” he said calmly. “Try if you will, but I will destroy you as I have everyone else here.”

I let out a loud kiai as I tried to thrust the spear into his body, but he had already moved to the side and smashed his foot into my ribs before I could even blink. My body went straight through the wall and landed violently outside the dojo. After I stopped skidding on the cobblestone outside, I rolled into a fetal position while blood cascaded out my nose and mouth.

“MASTER! NO!” I heard someone scream. The next thing I heard was a loud snap of vertebrae, then more screams.

I summoned up strength from deep within myself and used my powers to try to heal my battered body. I was only able to heal part of my ribs and some of the internal bleeding, but I could at least stand. I slowly rose from the ground and wobbled a bit before I ambled back to the dojo.

A body was flung out the opening that I had made just moments before and exploded. Limbs and other bodily organs were strewn all over the ground and the dojo as more screams penetrated my ears.

“This must end now,” I said as I treaded through the gore.

I ran as fast as I could through the opening and stopped in the middle of the floor, just in time to see Master Akagi strike Kenji with a double palm-heel strike to the temples. Kenji fell to the ground like a stack of bricks as I levitated myself with enough speed to deliver a flying side kick to my master’s head. I figured that since he had his back to me, I would be at least somewhat successful. I was wrong.

He didn’t even turn around to see me. He merely raised his arm up and extended one finger in the air. That was enough to stop my flight just inches from his head. He laughed that sickening laugh one more time as he slowly pivoted on the balls of his feet to face me. His body and clothes were covered in the blood of his students and his eyes were the darkest green I had ever seen.

“You are stubborn. You are no different than the rest of these—people,” he grinned.

I groaned as my body hovered in the air, completely helpless and scared out of my wits. I knew it would be over soon, but I felt that there was one more thing I could do against him. I focused my powers at the bones in his face to see if I could shatter them. I hoped it would be enough to at least release his hold over me.

“Aaahhhh!” my master shouted as my effect worked itself into him. Unfortunately, he was too powerful for it to do any permanent harm, and he shook it off with no trouble. His face grew tighter and he spoke again. “You will die a very bad death. A very bad one.”

For the first time, I felt the full effects of my master’s ability as he twisted my innards until they bled, then used telekinesis to throw me against the ceiling with such force that my entire face was smashed and bloody while vital parts of my skeletal structure were shattered. I crashed onto the dojo floor and the last thing I remember was Master Akagi as he walked right out of the bloodbath he had caused. Before I blacked out, I could see a cloud of mist as it surrounded him and then nothing. Nothing at all.

My vision was severely blurred and my eyelids fluttered wildly as I gradually regained consciousness. I had no idea where I was or how long I had been out. My body was still racked with pain, but for some reason it slowly subsided with each moment that passed. I thought I heard a voice behind me, but I couldn’t tell for sure, since my hearing was slightly impaired, probably a result of the impact as I hit the dojo’s ceiling. I tried to focus my magick to restore my sight and hearing, but I was too weak to have it do any good.

“Don’t try to use your magick now, David. You have to rest first,” a voice inside my head said softly.

The voice startled me and I fought to regain my senses. I tried to speak, but only a high-pitched moan escaped my sore lips. I licked them with my tongue and jumped as the tip came in contact with the bruised puffy flesh. I quickly retracted my tongue into my mouth as I tasted the remnants of blood. I used the powers of my mind to send out a message of my own.

“Please, David, just rest. Don’t weaken yourself any more than you are now,” the voice said. “You’re safe here. There’s no more danger.”

I submitted to the voice and let my body lie where I was, wherever that may be. As I focused away from my fears, I felt a hard surface underneath me, and my arms and legs weren’t restrained. There was a constant surge in pure energy and magick that flowed in tremendous strength all over my body as it healed me; I could feel my bones knit back together and my muscles rebuild themselves with each second I was awake. I forced my body to relax and let my mind slip into a meditative state while I continued to heal.

It would be some time before the voice spoke to me again. I wasn’t sure exactly how much time had passed, but I assumed that at least a few days had gone by while I recovered.

“David, open your eyes very slowly. Don’t be scared. The light will only blind you for a moment,” the voice told me.

I did as the voice asked me, but I still felt afraid as the light penetrated my vision. Afraid that Master Akagi would be waiting for me, just waiting to strike again like a rattlesnake. The light blinded me, and I instinctively squinted my eyes while I readied myself for the sight that would emerge. Would it be my master, still bathed in blood, that I would see first? Or would it be a portal to the afterlife where my ancestors would be there waiting for me?

“How do you feel, David?” the same voice asked me, not within the confines of my mind, but in the world of reality.

My eyes hurt from the light, but I could make out the simple shapes of several figures that stood above me. I blinked several times before the shapes gained more definition. My throat was dry and my lips were still a little sore, but I could speak in communicable sounds again.

“Where am I?” I rasped slowly.

“You are safe. Tell me how you feel.”

I tried to move off the hard surface, but was immediately braced by a mass of hands and eased back down.

“No, don’t move yet. You’re still hurt and we haven’t healed all your wounds yet.”

I fought the hands that held me down, but to no avail. I blew air out my nostrils and tensed my muscles while I spoke.

“How do I feel? I feel like my body’s been bashed and beaten to hell, all my friends are dead, I have no idea where I am or what happened to my master. How do you think I feel?” I spat venomously. I grew angrier with every word I spoke, but I didn’t care any more. I wanted answers, but more importantly I wanted Master Akagi’s head on a spike. I wanted to be the one to beat him to a bloody pulp and then spit on his face as he bled from head to toe.

The voice must have scanned my mind because it answered plainly, “David, don’t think that way. You don’t honestly believe that your master could have done those things voluntarily, do you?”

I gritted my teeth and pushed my ability through my eyes to completely restore my vision. The effect was instantaneous, and I saw that the figures were all members of the Brotherhood by the brown robes and colored sashes they wore. I lifted my head slightly and saw I was in a completely enclosed room and candle fixtures around the whole perimeter. The floor consisted of mahogany with large, elaborate rugs placed at what looked to be doorways.

“I’m in a monastery, aren’t I?” I asked with a raspy voice.

A woman in what looked to be her mid-forties bent over me slightly. Her long brown hair toppled off her shoulders as she leaned down. She didn’t look Japanese, more Western than anything. As soon as she started to speak, I knew that hers was the voice I heard before.

“Yes, you are. We’ve been healing you ever since you arrived two weeks ago. You were badly hurt and barely alive when we found you at Akagi’s dojo. We only managed to save you and another one of his students before we burned the entire dojo down,” she said sadly. She turned to the Brothers who held me down and motioned for them to let me up.

“High Master, is that the wisest—” one Brother began.

“Do as I say, Yi Sun. Let him up right now,” the High Master ordered sternly.

Yi Sun bowed as the rest of the Brothers inched backwards from where I lay. I watched him as he backed away. He kept his head bowed down in shame and embarrassment while his ears burned bright red.

I placed my hands on the table I was on and used my arms to lift my upper body off the surface. I cleared my throat and asked, “Who else survived?”

“A boy by the name of Kenji Sakura. He’s been up and around for the past few days, but still is very weak,” the High Master replied.

“Kenji’s alive? Where is he now?”

The High Master moved to my right side and placed her hand on her temple. I saw a slight shimmer in her dark blue eyes then she said, “He’s in the courtyard right now, sitting by the gardens.”

“I need to see him,” I said to her.

“Leave us,” the High Master told the Brothers.

The group of six Brothers, both male and female, bowed to the High Master and exited the room through the doorway behind her. There was silence for a few seconds before she spoke to me again.

“I still can’t believe that it’s true. Everything that Akagi told us about you was true.”

I was sick of craning my neck around to see what was going on in the room. I used my ability to lift me into the air as I performed a front flip off the table. Unfortunately, I wasn’t strong enough to control the magick and I landed right on my stomach with a loud grunt. I cursed loudly, then picked myself up from the floor and faced the High Master.

“What did he tell you, High Master, huh? What could he have possibly told you?” My anger was building, and I didn’t make any attempt to hide it.

She sighed deeply. “That you possessed the most potent source of natural magickal talent that he has encountered in a thousand years. And because of that, your knowledge and power will grow to a level that is beyond your years.”

I turned away from her. “I don’t believe you,” I said roughly.

“I’m telling you the truth, David. It wasn’t just luck that you’re still alive. The fact that you were able to heal your wounds beforehand should tell you that—”

“How did you know that I healed myself?” I interrupted.

“In order to find out what happened, we were forced to scan your mind while you were still unconscious. It was the only way to know for sure what really took place.”

I stared down at the ground and waited a long time before I said anything else. “So now what happens?” I said finally.

The High Master put her hand on my shoulder and said softly, “That’s up to you, David.” She dropped her hand and turned to leave the room. “It would be a shame if you stopped now, so close to your goal of mastering Tir-An-Yi. You really are one of the rare ones that only come along every few hundred years or so.” she said over her shoulder as she left.

“Wait! What do you mean?”

She turned and walked back slowly to me. “In the past, there have been those who have demonstrated such enormous power that they have permanently changed the concept of reality.”

“So who are these people? Where are they?”

“That’s the problem. All we know is that these individuals were able to focus their abilities so strongly that once reality was changed, all memory of their identities was erased from the world as a whole. It was as if they never existed at all. However, their presence is still felt to this day, but no one can remember who they were or what they did. All we know is that we can feel the change, at least the ones that lived during those times.”

“What makes you think that I’m that powerful?” I placed my arms across my chest and shifted my weight to my left hip.

“You tell me.”

I looked up to respond, but I was greeted instead by a gust of wind. She was already gone. I was left alone with only my thoughts as my companion.

Kenji was mesmerized by the small waterfall in the gardens when I found him. His head was bandaged, more than likely from the blow he suffered at the dojo, and his shoulders were slumped as he leaned forward to see the water glide across the rocks. His black robe and green sash with one stripe around his waist fluttered when the occasional breeze hit them.

It hurt with each step I took toward him as I walked with a pronounced limp in my left leg. I ignored the pain and continued my uneven pace until I was at his side. I was breathing a little hard and it took a few seconds for me to speak.

“Kenji-san, are you okay?” I asked him softly in Japanese.

His body jumped when I spoke and I knew I had startled him. He quickly whirled around to face me, his eyes were lit up like stars and he had the biggest smile on his face that I’d ever seen.

“David-San! You’re alive!” he screamed in delight.

“Yeah, I’m all right, all things considering. How do you feel?”

“The masters told me that I have more healing to do, but I feel good. At least, I guess I feel good.” He looked confused for a moment.

“Did the masters tell you what happened to the dojo, or Master Akagi?” I asked him quickly.

“They told me that the dojo is gone and that our master hasn’t been seen since the . . . . the attack,” Kenji said while he held back tears. “I’m sorry, David-San It’s just that it happened so fast, and ever since I’ve been awake here at the monastery, the other students look down on me.”

I felt my face get hot when I heard those words. “How do they look down on you?” I asked him in Japanese.

“They say that our master is a traitor, and because I was his student and a sensai, I must be a traitor, too. I’m not strong enough to begin training again, so they all mock me even when their masters are looking. They all want us to leave—I sensed it in them,” he responded back in kind.

“I may not be strong enough yet, but I’m not letting anyone insult the honor of our school or our own. Where are these students now?” I demanded.

“Please, David-San, don’t do this. You don’t have much farther to go before you’ll become a master of Tir-An-Yi. If you go after them, the masters here won’t train you.”

“The hell they won’t. If they didn’t want us here, then they wouldn’t have kept us here at all. Did you know that they scanned me to find out what happened to Akagi?”

“They—scanned you? I didn’t know.”

“I’ll bet they did the same to you so they’d have more than one side to the story. I didn’t get much information from the High Master that was there when I woke up, though.”

“Was it a woman with long brown hair? Not Japanese, more Western in appearance?” Kenji inquired.

It was like he read my mind. “Yes, that was her. She was with you, too?”

He nodded in response. “She was there when I awoke. There were other Brothers as well, probably masters.”

“I didn’t have enough control to scan any of them, but I imagine you’re right.”

As Kenji stood up, it became evident to me that he was in as much pain as I was. I didn’t dare use magick just to sense what kind of injuries he had; I wanted to save all my strength for the students at the monastery. He held his arm at his right side and groaned when he tried to straighten his back.

“My ribs are still very bruised, David-San. I have trouble breathing, sometimes,” Kenji strained to get the words out.

“Look! It’s the two traitors!” a loud voice shouted from behind us.

I scrunched up my face as an intense wave of fury and rage rushed through my mind and body. There was no way that I could contain all this anger inside me and I knew exactly who would bear the brunt of it.

“No, David-San, don’t do it. You’re not well, and there are too many of them,” he pleaded. He was really frightened, as it showed by the look on his face; he was completely pale and his eyes were wide as a doe’s.

His words fell on deaf ears as I spun around to confront our adversaries. I counted seven males, all around my age with the same brown robes and red sashes, as I stormed right up to them. I stood a small distance from the tallest of the group — whom I still had a good few inches on — and stared right into his eyes.

“Who are you calling a traitor?” I asked him.

“I’m calling you a traitor. Who else would be with a master like yours? Besides, just because you are a sensai of Akagi-Do, don’t think that matters here,” he said with a prominent grin on his face.

My jaw tightened as I used magick to increase my strength and speed. I would make an example out of the student by striking with most, if not all, of my remaining energy and force. My muscles relaxed in preparation for the strike and I shifted my weight to my back leg.

“KIAI!!!!!” I yelled at the top of my lungs as I threw a side thrust kick with my front leg into my antagonist’s torso; his ribs crackled and snapped upon impact.

The student was launched backwards against a stone wall some distance away. His body made a crude popping noise as he collided with the wall. He slid down very slowly and lay in a slumped position on the ground while blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth.

One of his cohorts charged me, but I easily sidestepped and hip-tossed him several feet from me. I created a huge gust of wind to lift him in the air and throw him into the top of the waterfall. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the clear water begin to run red with his blood.

Two more came at me and Kenji tried to stop them both. They overpowered him and one grabbed him from behind in a choke hold while the other kicked and punched his ribs and face.

I ran over to the student that delivered the blows to Kenji and struck him on the base of the skull with a knife-hand strike. Before I could help Kenji, the remaining three wrestled me to the ground and commenced their assault on my body. I couldn’t block all the blows that landed on me; my face was soon bloodied, my ribs screamed with pain, and my legs were useless. I knew if I didn’t do something, both Kenji and I wouldn’t survive much longer. A punch landed directly on the spot where Master Akagi had kicked me in the dojo and I spat up blood and groaned in pain; apparently, that portion of my body hadn’t been completely healed yet.

“We’re going to show you how the Brotherhood deals with traitors like you!” a student yelled at me.

The fourth student that choked Kenji joined in with the three who had me on the ground. He grabbed me by the hair and pulled me to my feet, then drove his knee into my groin. He placed his leg back down on the ground and thrust his knee up as he drove my head into the hard bone.

I felt him let go of my hair as soon as he landed the strike, and my body collided with the ground again. I was completely dazed and had only the feeling of pain and sticky blood in my mouth to let me know I was still somewhat alive. I thought I heard Kenji moan in anguish, and one of the students shout to him to shut up. Then, there was dull crunching noises as if someone was kicking him hard enough to break something.

“Leave him alone,” I mumbled.

“What did you say, traitor? Eh? You want mercy now?” a student said to me in Japanese.

“I said leave him alone. Just leave him alone,” I told him as I healed my wounds. The effect felt especially strong this time, like nothing I had experienced before. All my injuries were repaired almost instantaneously and my senses came back to me. I smiled as I started to pick myself off the ground.

“Ah, but we’re not done with you yet, traitor—” the same student started as I levitated clear over his head and twisted like a corkscrew in the air.

No one could see any more than a blur as I landed on both feet and shot out blasts of pure electricity from my hands at the student. Without hesitation, I launched back in the air in between two students who stood next to each other. While still airborne, I threw a front kick-side kick combination into each of their faces. As I floated back onto the ground, I faced the last student with the coldest expression on my face that I could ever remember.

“Please, I don’t—I mean, you can’t—” he sputtered.

I moved with inhuman speed directly at my opponent, picked him up by the neck with both hands, and lifted him straight off the ground. His legs dangled by my hips as he thrashed about in my iron grip.

“The next time you insult my honor, or my friend’s honor, I will kill you and anyone else that stands in my way,” I said coldly as I gazed into his brown eyes.

He tried to speak, but my grip cut off any air to his lungs and brain. His eyes were rolling into the back of his head and the thrashing was slowing down to a minimum. He was making gasping sounds and his air supply was slipping away.

“Members of the order of the Brotherhood do not make war on one another. Remember our mission in life. We are here to preserve and protect all life, David, especially those within our sect,” a voice in my mind said to me. It was the voice I had heard while I was between death and life; it was the voice of the High Master.

I released my hold on the student’s throat and stood completely still as he plunged to the ground. I backed off as he clawed and writhed on the ground hopelessly to catch his breath. My mouth was partially open as my rage gradually died down. I went to Kenji and kneeled down on one knee beside him.

“Kenji-san, I am so sorry. I should’ve listened to you, but I let my anger get the best of me,” I whispered to his mangled body.

I took his hand in mine and focused all my ability to heal him. I saw a soft, amber glow surround us and penetrate his flesh. His cuts, lacerations, and broken bones were all slowly healing before my eyes. When it was over, Kenji was completely healed as I was. I tried to stand, but my legs wouldn’t move. I felt extremely weak and dizzy, and before I knew it I had fainted. I think only a couple seconds went by before I came to enough to see just blurry images all around me. I could make out several shapes in the courtyard and I heard them gasp and whimper as they took in the horrific sight of their fallen comrades.

“Take them to the purification springs. Go on, be very careful.” The High Master’s voice was unmistakable.

I rose to my feet and swayed as if a strong breeze gently blew my flesh and bones from side-to-side. I smiled a big toothy grin and crumpled back down on the courtyard’s ground. I was completely out this time, exhausted from my use of magick and physical exertion.

“You were thinking of the past again, were you not, David-San?”

I had a distinct feeling that my master had probed my mind just enough to figure out why I hadn’t said anything to him for the past few minutes. As we continued down the hill, I smiled only a little and looked at him.

“Yes, sensai. I was.”

“Hm. Try not to think of it so much. It is a reminder, not something to relive day after day.”

“I know, but it’s hard. I can’t shake it.”

“As much as you felt anger, I felt shame in what happened. I feel responsible for my actions all those years ago, but I could not control what I was doing.”

“Don’t look so grim, Master. I realize that you didn’t have any choice in what went on in the dojo. I just wish—”

“Wish that you could have done something? I can still read some parts of your mind, David-San You cannot block out everything from me, after all. No, there was nothing that you could have done at that time. You were not strong enough, not as you are now. Not one single person in that dojo could have stopped me.”

“Master, I’m sorry that I even thought about it, but I can’t get it out of my head.”

Master Akagi waved his hand about and shook his head. “Some day you will, but for now let us forget about it.”

“Of course, sensai.”

We approached the bottom of the hill and walked toward the Shinto shrine at the end of the cobblestone path in front of us. Side by side, our feet treaded on the smooth, grey stones until we arrived at the shrine and its torii gateway. It was a large, red structure made purely of wood yet had an unnatural shine to it, as if it were made of metal. I remembered that the shrine was formed not only to honor my master’s Shinto religion, but also to honor those in the dojo who died that fateful day and to serve as a focal point for the return to the real world.

“David-San,” my master said while he looked at me, “I have noticed that you are not wearing our traditional black robe and your sash. Why?”

“I felt the presence of one of your students, and I didn’t want to be too much of a distraction during your training. Besides, you know as well as I do that I haven’t worn those in a long time.”

“Yes, but what happened between you and the Brotherhood is of the past.”

“That’s true, but the Brotherhood still doesn’t want any part of me. I’m as much of an outcast as you are, sensai.”

A look of sorrow drifted across my master’s brow. “If you would please, David-San, I wish to return to the outside world.”

I bowed to him and faced the shrine. I raised my right arm halfway and pointed my hand skyward. Without thinking, I extended my hand, palm out, and concentrated on the gateway. As I did so, the air quickly rippled in a perfect circle, then turned a silvery color. Not even a second lapsed before a portal formed from the center as the ripples expanded outwards.

“You truly have learned much these past years, my student. Much indeed.”

I said nothing, but bowed again as I followed behind him through the portal back into reality. The same liquid-like feeling hugged my body while I penetrated the surface of the portal. I reemerged from the ripples and found myself back into the world I had temporarily left behind. While my clothes had remained the same, Master Akagi’s traditional Outer Realm robe and sash were transformed into a simple white shirt, shoes, and a pair of khaki pants.

The room we entered was thick with dust and the few beams of light that pierced the broken windows and rusted steel roof illuminated the various particles of debris that floated through the air. There was nothing inside except vast amounts of space, as far as the eye could see. It wasn’t the most likely place to contain a portal to an Outer Realm, but it was the best choice for the given circumstances.

My master held his katana and sheath in his left hand while he spoke. “If only I could have my dojo back. But, I fear that they will never allow me that pleasure again. Even if I were to move elsewhere, the Aurelians would still find me . . .”

Something was bothering him and I probed his thoughts to find out what it was. I felt him try to block me out, but I was able to focus enough to see past his mental barriers.

“Master, why didn’t you tell me that you didn’t want to return with me to New York? You could’ve been safe until—”

“Until, what, David-San? Until they find me and make me into their slave again? We have been fortunate these twenty years, but they will find a way.”

“But, sensai, I don’t understand how they could force you to do what they want? I thought that we had destroyed the only way they could control you.”

“No, it was not destroyed, only silenced. It is still there for them to exploit at a later time. I am afraid that I will never be cured of this . . . this curse that I have on me.” Master Akagi started to walk away from me before I darted ahead of him.

“It’s not a curse, sensai. The Aurelians are the ones to blame, not you or anybody else. If it’s true about you, then it’s only a matter of time before they do find you, and I can’t be sure that I’ll be there this time.”

“It is all right, David-San I am not alone this time. Even though our Brothers will not help me, I have you and my new students that can. This is a new age for us, thanks to you. Now, I must go. You must return without me, and I must continue to train others for the battles ahead. We are not rid of our enemies yet, and I fear that the time is drawing closer to this reality’s end.”

Oh yes, thanks to me, the entire balance of the traditional sects was offset. That series of actions changed the face of magick forever. I shook the memory from my mind, but there was still another matter. I was puzzled by Master Akagi’s last words, and I didn’t understand what he meant by reality’s end. I was confused and wanted to ask what he referred to, but I wasn’t about to search his thoughts again because I was sure that it wouldn’t do any good. Something that cryptic wasn’t usually found right on the surface of the mind, and in Master Akagi’s case, there would be too many barriers to cross.

He walked to the door of the rundown warehouse that housed the only remnant of his once great Outer Realm, now a mere shell of its former glory. It must have been hard for him to create such a place on his own; normally, masters would draw strength from each other to form an Outer Realm because of the enormous magickal and physical strain on their bodies. Since my master had no one to aid him, this Outer Realm barely met his training needs. The door shut quietly, the sign that my master was gone. For how long this time? I didn’t know.

I was left alone, as I had been all those years ago at the monastery. I closed my eyes and tried to block those painful memories from my mind, but they flooded my vision. I had no choice but to remember those echoes from the past. I ventured to the same door that Master Akagi had just left and turned the doorknob. The squeak of rust and age greeted my ears as the door opened, and I exited the warehouse and entered the sunlight.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4

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