Chapter 39 – The Night Before
The city was awake.
Nobody said it openly, but everyone knew something had changed.
The attack at the western gate had shattered whatever confidence Shinokuni-01 still had in its Walls.
The Watchmen were gone.
Captain Mercer was gone.
The western district remained closed.
And the Royal Guard had taken over every defensive position that had once belonged to the Watchmen.
Brook stood at the edge of the city, looking toward the massive Wall.
Tomorrow, he would leave.
He had spent nineteen years believing that Wall was the boundary of his world.
Tomorrow, it would become nothing more than a line behind him.
Sera approached quietly.
"You really are leaving."
Brook looked at her.
"That's the plan."
"You don't sound excited."
"I don't think we're supposed to be excited."
Sera stood beside him.
"You've wanted this for years."
"I wanted answers."
"That's different."
Brook nodded.
"I think I finally understand that."
The wind moved through the empty streets.
Sera looked toward the western gate.
"Do you think we'll come back?"
Brook didn't answer immediately.
"I don't know."
"That's honest."
"I don't want to lie to you."
Sera smiled faintly.
"Good."
She looked down at her hands.
Brook noticed the faint red streaks in her hair.
They had become slightly more noticeable over the past few months.
"You've been using your magic."
Sera quickly looked at him.
"What?"
"Your hair."
She touched it.
"Oh."
Brook studied her.
"You told me it was from powerful spells."
"It's nothing."
"How much?"
Sera looked away.
"Not enough to worry about."
Brook didn't believe her.
"Sera."
"I'm fine."
"That's what everyone says before something goes wrong."
She smiled.
"You've become paranoid."
"Probably."
She looked toward the Wall.
"Shoyo told me something once."
"What?"
"She said magic always takes something."
Brook remembered the warning.
"What did it take from you?"
Sera remained silent.
Brook didn't push.
Not yet.
"We'll figure it out," he said.
Sera looked at him.
"What?"
"Everything."
"The Sources."
"My parents."
"Crowley."
"Whatever is outside."
He looked toward the horizon.
"We'll figure it out."
Sera smiled.
"That's a lot of confidence."
"Someone has to have it."
Henry was in the royal archives.
He had spent most of the day searching through records.
He knew he was running out of time.
Tomorrow, he would leave his home.
His father would likely never forgive him.
But Henry had made his decision.
He pulled another book from the shelf.
Nothing.
Another.
Nothing.
He opened an ancient ledger.
A folded piece of parchment fell onto the floor.
Henry picked it up.
His eyes widened.
A royal seal was stamped across the top.
The writing beneath it was faded.
He began reading.
To the next King of Shinokuni-01.
Henry's breathing slowed.
He continued.
If the vessel awakens, do not attempt to control it.
Do not kill it.
Do not allow the other kingdoms to capture it.
Henry's eyes moved down the page.
The vessel is not the enemy.
He stopped.
The next sentence had been heavily scratched out.
Henry carefully examined it.
Underneath the damage, he could make out a few words.
The enemy is the one who believes the vessel belongs to them.
Henry folded the parchment.
He now understood why his father was afraid.
The King wasn't simply trying to stop Brook.
He was trying to keep Brook from becoming the property of someone else.
Henry left the archives.
He found his father waiting outside.
"You've been searching."
Henry stopped.
"Yes."
"Did you find what you were looking for?"
"I found something."
The King stared at him.
Henry handed him the parchment.
The King read it.
His face became grim.
"Where did you find this?"
"The archives."
"You shouldn't have."
"Why?"
"Because some knowledge has consequences."
Henry shook his head.
"That's all you've ever said."
The King looked at his son.
"You don't understand what the other kingdoms will do if they discover Brook."
"Then help us."
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because I'm the King."
Henry frowned.
"That doesn't answer the question."
The King looked toward the western Wall.
"I have spent my entire reign trying to keep this kingdom alive."
"And tomorrow you're going to let my son walk outside."
Henry froze.
"How did you know?"
"I know you."
The King sighed.
"You're going with him."
Henry nodded.
"Yes."
The King closed his eyes.
"Then listen carefully."
Henry stepped closer.
"If Brook begins losing control, you stop him."
Henry's expression changed.
"How?"
"Whatever it takes."
"What if that means killing him?"
The King didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
Henry stepped backward.
"I won't."
The King looked at him.
"Then you may lose everyone."
Henry shook his head.
"I'd rather lose everything than become the thing you're afraid of."
He turned and walked away.
The King remained alone.
For the first time in many years…
he looked old.
Brook returned to the training ground late that evening.
Crowley was there.
Waiting.
Brook stopped several meters away.
"You wanted to see me?"
Crowley nodded.
"I owe you an explanation."
Brook remained silent.
Crowley looked at him.
"I won't tell you everything."
Brook laughed quietly.
"Of course."
"But I'll tell you enough."
Crowley removed his sword and placed it against the wooden post.
Then he sat.
Brook remained standing.
"Your parents came to me five years ago."
Brook's expression changed.
"Why?"
"They knew something was wrong."
"With the experiment?"
"With the world."
Crowley looked toward the ground.
"They had discovered records about beings that existed outside the Walls."
"Angels."
"Demons."
"Others."
Brook nodded.
"They wanted to leave."
"Why didn't they?"
"They did."
Brook froze.
"They left Shinokuni-01?"
"Yes."
"Then why didn't they take me?"
Crowley looked at him.
"Because they believed someone was watching you."
"Who?"
"We didn't know."
Brook's anger returned.
"You said you were protecting me."
"I was."
"Then where were you when they disappeared?"
Crowley looked away.
"Trying to find them."
Brook's expression softened slightly.
"What happened?"
"I failed."
The word came quietly.
Brook had never heard Crowley admit failure.
"How?"
"They reached a place called the Ashen Valley."
Brook waited.
"That's where we lost them."
"Did you see them die?"
"No."
"Then they're alive."
Crowley looked at him.
"I don't know."
"But Mara does."
"Probably."
Brook stepped closer.
"Why did she call you king?"
Crowley's expression became still.
"Because she knows who I used to be."
Brook stared at him.
"Who were you?"
Crowley looked toward the Wall.
"Someone who had a kingdom."
Brook's eyes narrowed.
"Where?"
"Outside."
"What happened to it?"
Crowley smiled without humor.
"That's a story for another time."
Brook shook his head.
"I'm starting to hate that phrase."
Crowley laughed softly.
"Fair."
He stood.
"One more thing."
"What?"
"If you encounter someone who claims they know your destiny…"
Brook waited.
"Don't believe them."
Brook remembered Shoyo.
Mara.
The records.
The voice.
"Why?"
"Because destiny is the easiest way to make someone obey."
Brook thought about that.
"Do you believe in destiny?"
Crowley looked at him.
"I believe people use it as an excuse."
Then he walked away.
Brook watched him disappear into the darkness.
He didn't trust Crowley completely.
But for the first time…
he understood that Crowley wasn't simply hiding something.
He was running from something.
Later that night, Brook packed his belongings.
One sword.
A small collection of supplies.
His father's notebook.
The old map.
A few medical items.
Nothing else.
Sera entered without knocking.
"You pack like you're going for a walk."
Brook looked at his bag.
"What else do I need?"
"Food."
"Got it."
"Water."
"Got it."
"Extra clothes."
"Got it."
"Something to sleep on."
Brook stared at her.
"We're not going camping."
"You've never been outside."
"True."
Sera sighed.
"You are going to die."
"Probably."
She threw a rolled blanket at him.
Brook caught it.
"Thanks."
Henry appeared at the door.
"Ready?"
Brook nodded.
"Yeah."
Henry looked around the room.
"Last chance."
"To stay?"
"Yes."
Brook looked toward the window.
The city lights stretched across Shinokuni-01.
His home.
His entire life.
He thought about Mercer.
The Watchmen.
His parents.
The hidden chamber.
The Sources.
Then he shook his head.
"No."
Henry nodded.
"Then tomorrow."
"Tomorrow."
Before dawn, Brook returned to the western gate.
The streets were empty.
Sera and Henry stood beside him.
Crowley arrived last.
For several minutes, the four stood together without speaking.
The enormous gate towered above them.
Brook looked back.
He could see the palace.
The training grounds.
The streets where he'd grown up.
Everything familiar.
Everything safe.
Then he looked forward.
Beyond the gate was darkness.
The unknown.
The world his parents had disappeared into.
The world where angels and demons walked among humans.
The world where the six Sources existed.
The world where something was waiting for him.
Henry stepped beside him.
"You ready?"
Brook nodded.
"No."
Henry smiled.
"Good."
Sera adjusted her bag.
"At least we're honest."
Crowley looked toward the Wall.
"Once we leave, things won't be the same."
Brook looked at him.
"They haven't been the same since we went outside the first time."
Crowley nodded.
"Fair."
The gate mechanisms began moving.
The enormous doors slowly opened.
Cold air swept into the city.
Brook took one step forward.
Then another.
He stopped at the threshold.
His eyes moved across the city one last time.
"Goodbye."
Sera looked at him.
"You're coming back."
Brook didn't answer.
Henry stepped through first.
Sera followed.
Crowley remained beside Brook.
"Your parents would be proud."
Brook looked at him.
"You don't know that."
Crowley smiled.
"I knew your father."
The gate continued opening.
Brook finally stepped outside.
The four stood together beyond the Wall.
Behind them, Shinokuni-01 waited.
Ahead…
the world waited.
Far beneath the city, the ancient chamber shook.
The third symbol glowed.
Then the fourth.
Then the fifth.
One after another.
For the first time, all four companions felt something change in the air.
Brook turned toward the horizon.
"Did you feel that?"
Sera nodded.
Henry looked uneasy.
Crowley stared into the distance.
"Yes."
Brook looked at him.
"What is it?"
Crowley didn't answer.
Because somewhere beyond the horizon…
something had just awakened.
And it knew they were coming.
End of Chapter 39