Chapter 7
We Can Finally Talk
Tokiya opened his eyes. While moving his eyelids, it felt as if they had been trapped in stone for thousands of years. He brought his arms to wipe the crust from his eyes. However, he experienced a similar feeling with the muscles in his arms. His movement was slow and rusty. He began to move other parts of his body to see if they had also become rusty, and they had.
The covers over him ruffled as he slightly moved his moved his body parts. He was in a bed again. Light streamed into the room from the window beside him. This room was much bigger than the one in the police station. His bed was stationed near the window and last in a long line of other beds against the wall. To the side of every bed was a table and a curtain. On the adjacent wall was the exact same set up.
"This must be the hospital. What would I be doing here?"
Then he remembered. He scurried to sit up quickly but instantly felt the repercussions. There was a sharp pain in his back. It was nowhere near the level of pain that he had experienced when he got the wound, but still definitely painful. He looked down to see his whole torso wrapped in bandages.
"Judging by how rusty my body feels, I must have been resting for a while. The last thing I remember is Gremory throwing me to the ground. Jerk. Wait, if I'm resting here, that must mean he took care of Mors. He defeated Mors while I was lying on the ground unconscious. Good job Tokiya."
Tokiya let out a sigh of relief. It was over. Everything was finally over. Except it wasn't. His moment of relief was short lived. His interaction with Eien was brought to his mind. That one simple conversation had opened up a new can of worms that Tokiya didn't even want to think about right now. However, he didn't have a choice.
He took a deep breath.
"There's no point in panicking. That will only make the situation harder to deal with. I should recap things for myself. "
He paused and recounted everything that happened to him that day.
"Thinking about this logically, it would be best to split the day into three main events. The first would be everything that happened in Karasu's time domain, and the second my altercation with Mors. Lastly, my conversation with that asshole."
A small breeze from the window came in, so Tokiya pulled the covers back up. He didn't do well with the cold.
"When I met Karasu, she told me about the Divine Root Blessing and also about by fated death. Then I met Eien, but not much came out of that. According to Karasu, the only way to prevent my death is to fully master my Divine Blessing. Those are the takeaways from that. For Mors, I only learned that he was a member of The Cult of The Black Sword who was sent to kill me. I've never heard of them. I'll ask Gremory about them later. He was also obsessed with this idea of fate. That has to be connected to my death."
As Tokiya got to gathering information from the third event of the day, he became filled with anger. Just the thought of Eien filled him with hate. He tried to calm himself by taking a deep breath, but that barely helped.
"Then there was that asshole, Eien. According to him, Karasu was withholding information in order to prevent him from taking over my body. But what is Eien? Why does he look like me, and why is he in my head? Maybe a split personality? No. He also hinted at the fact that my fated death hasn't been prevented."
Tokiya looked out the window next to him. His mind was now buzzing with thoughts, similar to after his first interaction with Mors.
"I guess I'll only get answers to these questions at Ardston. That's where Karasu told me to go. If I want to stop my death I have to make it there."
He paused.
"Wait. Why am I talking about this so casually? This is my own death I'm talking about. I could die right now. Another assassin could be on their way right now."
He looked down at his hands. They were shaking. Death was the type of thing to make a usually calm and cool person like Tokiya fidgety.
Tokiya without thought turned to leave the bed. He staggered a bit and found that as long as he took small, slow movements, he could get around without much pain. He slowly made his way to the door, passing the other beds, some which were occupied by awake and sleeping patients. This was the second time he had recently found himself trudging towards a door and bearing the pain of his injuries.
His innate determination reduced the pain.
There was no real plan of what he wanted to do. He just needed to get somewhere safe from anything that could potentially kill him. Being alone was a big no. Gremory popped into his head.
"Find Gremory. I can do that."
He opened the door to the room and entered the hallway which was moderately busy at the time.
"I guess they have to deal with the other people affected by Mors' rampage."
As he made his way down the hallway, nurses stared at him with concerned looks. Any nurse who tried to approach him was immediately discouraged by his unwavering movement. Again, this kind of determination was not normal for Tokiya. His determination usually came from want to for purpose, but this determination was from the fear of death.
Tokiya reached the lobby area of the hospital which was moderately crowded. He was going to talk to the receptionist until he saw two familiar faces. Gremory was standing by the entrance talking to Mr. Shaut. Tokiya walked up to them as fast as his body would allow.
Gremory's eyes widened, and Mr. Shaut turned around in response.
"Gremory, Mr. Shaut, I'm glad to see you guys here."
A smile appeared on Gremory's face. It was the widest smile Tokiya had ever seen out of him.
"Looks like someone finally decided to wake up."
Mr. Shaut nodded. He then spoke in a slow and old voice.
"This is my third time coming here to check up on you, kiddo. Gremory and I walked in here at the same time. It fills me with much joy to see you moving around."
Tokiya performed a small and quick bow.
"Thank you both for being concerned enough to check on me. You really didn't have to-"
Gremory interrupted Tokiya with a dismissive tone.
"Don't even start with that. Everyone in the town was worried about how the hero who defeated the cultist was doing."
Mr. Shaut lightly flicked his cane at Tokiya's leg.
"Gemory's right, you know? Those children who come by the store wouldn't stop asking where you were."
Tokiya furrowed his brows.
"Hero? Who spun that story? I wasn't even conscious when Mors was taken down. I'm assuming it was all you, Gremory."
Gremory walked next to Tokiya and wrapped his arm around his shoulders.
"While I was the one who apprehended the cultist, there's no way we would've figured out his ability if you didn't kill him first. So, I think it's fair to give you some credit."
Tokiya looked down.
"I guess... Anyways, how are you doing? You were beat up pretty bad."
Mr. Shaut chuckled.
"Don't worry about him. The young lad's very durable."
"Mr. Shaut's right. I only needed to take about two days of recovery. My injuries are still healing though, so I guess I'll just be relegated to paperwork and interrogations for a while."
Tokiya sighed.
"That's a relief. Although, I can't help but feel guilty for what happened to all those soldiers."
Gremory briefly tightened his grip around Tokiya's shoulders.
"Now's not the time for a pity party."
"Ow! Careful."
"Sorry, sorry. Besides, I've got plans for you. You were out cold for four days, and that whole time, my bosses have been bugging me about the details behind this incident. So, I'm going to have to take you in for an interrogation."
Tokiya frowned and shrugged Gremory's arms off of his shoulders.
"Wow, as soon as I wake up, you want to interrogate me? Your lack of patience never fails to amaze me."
"The kid's right, Gremory. Give him some time to orient himself."
Gremory crossed his arms and indignantly pointed a finger at Tokiya.
"No. It's the least he can do after he got me soaked in blood. Besides, four days is already enough time to forget important details. This needs to happen now."
There was silence between the three. Tokiya looked up at Gremory still frowning. Gremory sighed and softened his tone.
"Don't worry, Tokiya. I'm not going to treat you like a criminal or anything. I just need to get information."
Tokiya ran his hand through his hair.
"Fine, but you'll have to help me get to the station. My mobility is still bad."
"Ugh, more carrying? You're going to be the death of me."
Tokiya snickered.
"It's the least you could do for the town's "hero"."
"Ha, fine. Shaut, I'm going to take Tokiya to the station now. I'll talk to you later."
Mr. Shaut nodded.
"You two be safe now. And Gremory, please go easy on the kid."
Gremory gave a grunt of affirmation and carried Tokiya out of the hospital.
The walk to the station was completely silent between the two. They both knew that once the interrogation began, they'd have enough talking to last them a while. Both chose to mentally prepare for the information they would either give or receive. However, the walk was short as the police station was just down the street.
Eventually, they arrived at the police station. Gremory gently dropped Tokiya off his back, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Was that tiring for you? You didn't even walk that far."
"You're heavier than you look, and remember that I still have my own injuries."
Tokiya looked down.
"Oh, right."
Gremory hit Tokiya on the back, signaling him to follow him into the police station. Tokiya looked back up as they started walking.
"The front wall is still destroyed from when Mors rocketed through it."
"Yeah, that cultist really caused this town a lot of trouble."
Gremory was going to continue his statement but stopped. Tokiya was thankful for that.
Tokiya followed Gremory through the building as he checked in and greeted some of his coworkers. He followed him past the stairs to the basement. Tokiya's eyes lingered on the door. Eventually, Gremory stopped in front of the door to an interrogation room.
Gremory opened the door.
"Ladies first."
Tokiya gave off a deadpan laugh but walked in anyways. He sat in the chair that was clearly meant for the person being interrogated. Gremory sat down across from him.
With his usual impatience, he began the interrogation.
"Ok Tokiya, let's get started. Just remember to take your time when answering, and the only thing that I need is honesty."
"Honestly, I think it would benefit me more to be truthful. My confusion is just as great as yours."
By now, Gremory's expression had changed. His soldier persona was now in full effect. However, he still intended to make good on his promise to Mr. Shaut. Gremory interlocked his fingers in front of his face.
"That's fine. Despite your confusion, you can start by telling me everything you know about the Cult of the Black Sword."
Tokiya seriously stared into Gremory's eyes.
"Nothing."
"Is that one hundred percent truthful?"
"I had never heard of them until I met Mors."
Tokiya leaned forward.
"What do you know about them, Gremory?"
Gremory unfolded his hands and leaned back. He smirked.
"Usually, in interrogations only one person asks the questions."
"Please, Gremory. I need your cooperations just as much as you need mine."
Gremory's smirk disappeared.
"I was just kidding. Yeah, I'll tell you what I know."
He curled his finger to his mouth and began to think.
"The majority of the information on them is reserved to the knowledge of the Imperial Knights. The cult doesn't seem to be very active with only a few acts of terrorism here and there, but the Imperial Knights always seem to be making a big deal out of them."
Gremory took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair.
"I know that their cult centers around worshiping a sword-"
Tokiya frowned.
"No shit."
"Watch your tongue, boy. Anyways, if you want information on them, I'm not the one to ask."
"So, what about Mors? Surely if you have enough time to harass a victim who's still recovering, you also had the time to interrogate the cultist who actually caused all of this."
Gremory sighed.
"Yeah, multiple times actually. But he's pretty good at not talking or at least not talking about what we want him to. He keeps going on and on about the concept of fate. I almost feel bad for the poor guy."
Tokiya looked slightly disappointed.
"I see."
"So, if you know nothing about the cult, why would they be after you?"
Tokiya looked down.
"Tsk, that's what I'm trying to figure out."
Gremory was getting annoyed by both of their lacks of knowledge, and Tokiya's poor attitude definitely was not helping. Tokiya couldn't help having a bad demeanor towards people when he was in difficult situations. Similar to when Gremory first tried to interrogate him, his responses became extremely curt and standoffish.
Really, Tokiya hated this about himself. He felt bad for anyone who had to interact with him when he was like this, except for maybe Gremory.
Tokiya looked back up at Gremory.
"There are some events that happened that morning though."
He paused.
"I want to share them with you, Gremory."
Tokiya's lips slowly began to mouth something before he decided to just say it out loud.
"I need your help."
Gremory seemed a bit taken aback.
"The lone worker, Tokiya, is asking for help? You've just been filled with mysteries for these past couple of days. So, what is it?"
"Earlier that day, at my farm, a female mage approached me. She claimed to have been watching me ever since I was born, but that's not the craziest part. She told me that my birthmark was proof of me having this thing called a Divine Blessing. I later found out that it's because of this that I'm fated to die. Later that day, a fate obsessed maniac tried to kill me, so she wasn't lying."
Gremory put his hands over his lips.
"Divine Blessing? That's like what the cultist had?"
"Yeah, except mine apparently lets me control timelines."
"The cultist didn't have any weird marks on him though."
"Maybe mine works differently?"
"Perhaps... Although now we have a new player involved in all of this, that being the lady. Any other details about her?"
"Her name was Karasu. She was a mage of temporal magic. She had long purples hair with a purple coat to match."
Gremory furrowed his brows in thought.
"Temporal magic. That's not an easy skill to learn. Is it possible she's a former imperial knight? I don't see how else she could've learned that. The only other temporal magic user I know of is Clydo."
"Should I know who that is?"
"He's the personal advisor to King Lucian."
Tokiya leaned forward almost standing up in his chair.
"Like the king of Oravell? Are you suggesting they're connected to Karasu?"
"No! That's way too far of a stretch. This is exactly why I do all of the thinking. Anyways, is there anything else this Karasu lady told you?"
"Yeah, she said if I wanted to escape my death, I had to make it to Ardston to master my Divine Blessing."
"That's pretty far away. Did you plan on going?"
"Well, yeah. I don't really have many other choices. And I trust her."
"Trust her why?"
"Because she warned me about my death and how to stop it. If she wanted me dead, she would've used her magic."
Gremory thought for a bit.
"I want to meet her before I decide to trust her."
"It's too late for that. She's already headed towards Ardston."
There was a long silence between the two.
"Have you thought about how you're going to get to Ardston?"
"Considering the cultist attack I really haven't had the time. My main concern is making sure I don't die in the meantime."
"..."
"..."
Gremory stood up. Tokiya looked up at him with slight surprise.
"Where are you going?"
"Follow me. I'm going to get you to Ardston and make sure you don't die."
"Just like that? I thought you weren't going to trust Karasu's words."
Gremory stood by the room's door.
"At first I wasn't willing to, but then I remembered what type of person you are. Despite your good guy facade you're really just an asshole. You don't trust people easily."
"I'm not an asshole. Only to you."
Tokiya looked almost hurt by that statement despite his best efforts to hide it.
"It was just an exaggerated joke. But my point still stands. If you trust this woman so much, then I'll do the same."
"You're putting a lot of trust into me."
Tokiya seemed uncomfortable with that. Gremory winked at Tokiya.
"You are a pretty safe bet. Now come on. Let me show you how I intend to keep you alive."
Tokiya followed Gremory out of the room. The two began walking the way they came.
"I plan on making sure you get to Ardston, so you can master this Divine Blessing thing. However, I won't be with you to ensure you survive."
They stopped at the door to the basement. They made their way into the basement, descending down the stairs and passing the room Tokiya was in before. At the end of the hallway was a door which they stopped at.
"To make sure you this prophecy doesn't come true, I'll assign you a bodyguard to take you all the way there and stay with you until your power is mastered. And don't you worry because people like the cultist will be a walk in the park for him."
"A bodyguard? That's actually really reassuring. So, what's behind this door?"
Gremory placed his hand on the doorknob.
"Behind this door are the prisoners that this police station holds."
Tokiya shouted.
"You're going to make my bodyguard a prisoner? Are you insane?"
Gremory snickered.
"Just like I believed in your trust of people, you should believe in mine. Now follow me."
Gremory opened the door, and the two walked into a barely lit hallway filled with cells.
"Stay close, Tokiya. It's dark in here."
Gremory left the door open so light from the previous hallway could leak in. Tokiya stayed close to Gremory as they walked down the hallway until Gremory stopped in front of a cell. Tokiya bumped into him.
"Thanks for the warning idiot."
Gremory ignored him, so Tokiya turned his attention to the cell. Inside, there was a large figure who appeared to be resting on the ground. However, Tokiya couldn't really make out anything else.
Gremory slammed his fists on the bars to the cell. This woke up every prisoner causing a large racket. The large figure broke from his rest. A deep booming voice came from it.
"What?"
Gremory spoke.
"Wake up. I have a job for you."
"A job?"
"Yeah."
Gremory suddenly grabbed Tokiya and pushed him towards the cell.
"This is Tokiya. From now on you'll be his bodyguard."
The figure rose from the ground.
"Tokiya? Odd name."
Tokiya barely spoke up. He was honestly a little frightened.
"Well, what's your name?"
The figure approached the bars. His eyes glared at Tokiya. His eyes were a dark purple color, but they shined with an extreme intensity. His presence was crushing.
"My name?"
Tokiya nodded.
"It's Berserker."