The previous chapter may be worth reading first if you have not already done so. To access the previous chapter, click the button below.
Chapter 20
The Grand Shrine
The morning sun cast a warm glow on the train as it glided along its tracks. Apricot carefully navigated the black grooved rubber flooring towards Cortez’s usual spot, mindful of the floor’s subtle shifts beneath her feet. As the doors opened, she discovered the space empty, her heart sinking with disappointment. Cortez had seemed quite upset the other night, and guilt gnawed at her as she wondered whether she should have followed him. She approached the weathered seat where he typically sat, her fingers grazing the cold blue vinyl.
Mimicking Cortez, she reclined on the seat, resting her head against the window. She couldn’t help but think she took up too much space. A part of her hoped his actions would serve as a message, to keep her from intruding on his personal refuge. Lost in thought, Apricot traced the lines of the windowpane, her mind swirling with images of ghosts and cults, of Cortez and his father. She felt a sudden sense of being overwhelmed.
Her gaze was drawn to a spot on the metal paneling where something had been etched—likely with a knife. As she ran her fingers over the strange texture, she realized that words had been carved into the metal. The message read, “Old Shrine On A Hill.” Apricot stifled a yawn and straightened up, a spark of determination igniting within her. Now she knew where she needed to go.
The hike between the train station and the shrine was not particularly long, but the hilly terrain and surrounding huts and shacks lent an air of isolation. Trees, untrimmed and unkempt, lined the roadside, and sculptures depicting crude, bulbous-headed figures stood sentinel along the dirt and brick pathways. These sculptures, known as spirit guardians, had traditionally been used to guide the dead to the afterlife. Moss-covered and neglected, the statues had long ago lost the candles that had once burned in their hands, the wax now a congealed mass at their feet.
The old shrine on the hill was known as the Shrine of the Forgotten God, a place mentioned in Cortez’s father’s notes. As Apricot looked up, she saw the entrance gate, its red and black colors a stark contrast against the clear blue sky.
As she ascended the stairs, Apricot recalled an old adage she had been taught: Shrines traditionally had fewer than a hundred steps, as the Uchella believed spirits could not ascend more than that and would be condemned to wander the earth. She was certain there were more than a hundred steps to the shrine’s entrance. At the top, she found a clearing before a small hall. Apricot passed through the rustic gateway and entered a courtyard of white polished stone, where she saw Cortez kneeling in front of the hall of worship. The sight of the Reaper’s body lying on the steps sent a shock through her.
Cortez turned slowly as the sound of Apricot’s footsteps echoed on the dusty stone floor. “Cortez?” His eyes held life but turned away when he saw it was Apricot who had approached to examine the Reaper’s avatar.
“Saw my note on the train. Surprised you came,” he said, his voice monotone and uninterested. “It seems like you care about me after all.”
Though his remark stung, Apricot moved beside him and knelt down. “What does that mean?”
Patting the floor next to him, she settled down. “It’s nothing.” There, with clawed fingers, lay the Reaper, or at least his attire, for now, the body seemed to slumber. Clothing hung on him as it would on a mannequin. He wore a mask that covered his face, revealing only his unnaturally smooth, poreless skin.
“Why are you here?” she asked, placing her hand on Cortez’s.
As he closed his fingers around hers, he smiled. “I wanted to see if the Reaper would talk to me again.”
“How did you know he would be here?”
Cortez smirked. “He told us when we met him he would be here. Seems he’s not here right now, or sleeping. I’m not sure how these kinds of things work.” Apricot recalled some garbled words about the hill, but it was hard to make sense of it all. Cortez’s face grew serious. “It looked like a terrible place when I peered inside that pit. It looked like an endless tower of pain. When I looked at it, I couldn’t stop gazing at it. Seeing it, it seemed to welcome me. Had you not… perhaps I would have jumped in.”
The imagery brought back haunting dreams for Apricot. “What do you mean by a tower?”
“It was like looking up from the bottom of a tower, but I was only looking down. It was as if I was upside down.” Cortez shivered. “I can’t explain it, but those spirits being awoken were in agony.”
“We need you, Cortez. Don’t do anything stupid like that,” Apricot whispered softly.
Cortez shook his head, tears streaming down his cheeks. “You don’t need me. Even if you did, it wouldn’t matter.” He wiped his tears away. “We’re up against another world, Apricot, and the powers of this one too. We’re fighting with gods. What are we even doing?” Cortez yelled, getting to his feet. “What the hell are we even doing? Do you know? Does Shiori know? ‘Cause I sure as hell feel like I’m fighting against the night with a damn candle. The night, Apricot, is impossible to defeat. It comes whether or not you like it.”
“Thou art wrong,” came a sudden voice, as the Reaper stirred and sat up, startling the pair. “Their window of opportunity is closing swiftly,” he continued. “Cortez, thou hast helped me greatly. Alas, I am dying, and I doubt I will last until the end. The Okabe hast one last ritual to wreak their devastation upon the orb. They are preparing now at their shrine. This is the battle for the orb. I thank thee, Cortez, for sustaining me for as long as thou hast. Please, do this one last task for me. Apricot, thou hast awoken greatly since we first met. Thy power is growing. Seek to merge yourself. The victory is at hand. I have one last request ere I may rest. Seek out the destroyer of the seals and stop him. If the devil hidden below the town is unleashed, all shall be lost.” With that, the Reaper lowered down again, seemingly lifeless.
Cortez shouted, “Wait, I have questions!”
“Thou may go as I gently descend,” he said before returning to his usual resting position on the ground.
Cortez’s chin dropped as he gritted his teeth. Frustrated, he grabbed the Reaper’s body and shook it. “Tell me, damn it! Tell me what it was I saw? Goddamn it! Why? Why is everyone ignoring me? What do I have to do?!” He yelled, pounding his fist into the Reaper’s body repeatedly. Apricot pulled him back, her gaze falling on his bloody knuckles. “Why won’t anyone explain to me what’s going on?”
Apricot stepped behind Cortez. “I’ve felt the same way since day one, Cortez,” she sniffed. “Look, this is a burden on everyone. However, this is coming to a head. The Reaper isn’t lying. The Okabe family is preparing for a ritual tonight. This is why I came to get you.” Cortez turned away from Apricot, staring down at the Reaper’s lifeless form. “I have a feeling the Reaper has been working on our behalf for a long time, Cortez. Come on, let’s go. He’s not here right now.”
“I gave my blood to him,” Cortez roared, lifting his coat sleeve to reveal strange symbols and markings on his arm. “I was feeding him to keep him alive. He never answers me. He only gives me a comment or thanks.”
Apricot’s stomach churned. “How long has this been going on?”
“Since he first appeared to us.” Cortez stood up and turned around.
“Let’s go tell the others what the Reaper said. We need as many people as we can get to stop them.” Cortez let out a heavy breath. Apricot grabbed his arm, leading him as they began their return to the train station.
“I’m not going, Apricot.”
She didn’t even look at him as she stopped in her tracks. “I can’t convince you, can I?”
Turning around, Cortez let go of her hand. “I’m sorry.”
An array of improvised bombs, cases of ammunition, and several rifles lay spread out on the table. In the nearby corner, several clips marked in red were arranged alongside body armor, pads, and an assortment of gadgets. Akagi gawked at the pile with wide eyes. “Which one do I get?” he asked, reaching out towards the weapons.
“None,” Shiori laughed. Akagi looked up, pouting. “You don’t have time to fight because you have an important job.”
Togashi slumped against the wall, while across the room, Apricot sat at a desk with her arms folded. Sumai inspected the items on the table, picking up a rifle to feel its weight. “Yeah, this is solid stuff, Shiori-boy.” Junko stood beside Shiori, near the others.
“Are we really doing this?” Junko asked, her expression a mask of horror.
Shiori smiled. “Don’t look so grim. We’re only about to become fugitives,” she joked. “Look, I don’t want to do this either. But if we don’t, everyone in the city – maybe even everyone in the world – will die for sure. We have no clue what a new world means. If this ritual is completed, it’s clear that something terrible will happen to everyone except Kyo and her wicked ilk.” Shiori rose from the table and stood in front of the group. “If you don’t want to do this, I won’t blame any of you.”
“Hmm, well, it ends on the road no matter what,” Togashi chuckled. “I’ll help. Fixed up caustic bullets like you asked.” He pointed to a plastic container of bullets. “Don’t touch with bare hands, wear rubber gloves. They burn flesh. I made them strong. Quick kill.” Togashi shifted his shirt collar as he cleared his throat. “I don’t like it at all.”
“If I get a chance to kill one of those assholes, I’ll take it. Teach them a lesson for what they did to my daughter,” Sumai said, her vicious grin making Apricot feel relieved not to be on her bad side any longer.
Apricot couldn’t remain silent any longer, though the lump in her throat made her feel nauseous. “I’ll help. I don’t want to kill anyone, though.”
Junko nodded in agreement. “I will,” she replied hoarsely. “There is no other way.” She picked up a rifle and looked down its sights. “I haven’t shot a gun in a long time. Would you mind if I went to the range before we started?”
“Go ahead. Don’t get caught,” Shiori chirped. “So we’re all in agreement. Alright. Here’s my plan: Apricot, you’ll stay in the shadows. I want you to protect us from any phantoms that may emerge from their ritual or maybe guardians of the clan. Sumai, Junko, Togashi, I want you to provide cover fire. When things go down, there will be guards. I want you to keep them away from Kyo. If you have a shot at Kyo, take it. Kill her first. She’s priority one,” Shiori growled.
“What about me?” Akagi moaned. “I want to help too. I don’t want my family to die. I want to fight, Shiori.”
Glancing over at Akagi, Shiori smiled. “You’re going to have the most important job. I want you to hack the security systems. I also want you to keep the lights off of us and on them. On top of that, I want you to jam their broadcasts. If you can also manage to keep us anonymous during this, that would be great. I’m counting on you, so don’t screw it up.”
Despite his nervousness, Akagi nodded. “I—I—that’s a lot of things to do.”
“If anyone can do it, it’s you, Akagi,” Junko said gently, placing her hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“Yeah, you think so?”
As she looked at the table, Apricot sighed. “So, what are we doing after? Do we wait for them to arrest us? What’s the end game, Shiori?”
“The end game is to stop the Okabe from completing this ritual. I’ve arranged for several cars to pick us up. There’ll be so many arriving, it’ll be impossible to track any particular vehicle. I bought a secured apartment on the outskirts of town. I’ve owned it for years. It’s nothing special, but I fortified it, and it’s anonymous. We’ll hide out there. If that fails, I have a second location we can hide in. It’s quite literally a bunker. These two locations will serve as our new HQs until we clean up the rest of this mess. I’ll clear all our names. Even still, the Kinjo clan will come to my aid if need be. That includes all of you. As a last-ditch effort, we can leave Okabe if necessary. So don’t worry.”
“What about before then?” Apricot asked.
“We’ll be considered terrorists,” Shiori stated firmly. “So let’s save the world at sunset. You know where to meet up.”
The shrine of the Okabe family stood proudly in the center of the city. Gold lined the slanted roofs and towering pillars, while the light from the shrine shone almost supernaturally. To Apricot, it was reminiscent of a torch burning with golden light. The ornate building, an interesting blend of modern and historic architecture, boldly contrasted the surrounding skyscrapers.
In the temple courtyard, a large circle of candles illuminated Kyo, who knelt at its center. She wore a crimson red dress adorned with gold, black, and red stripes. Her head was crowned with silver pieces, and her hair was left loose so as not to obscure her piercing eyes. An elaborate headcover trailed down her back, while gold and silver bands around her wrists sparkled majestically. Her lips were painted a deep red, and her eyes were outlined in black.
Men in black and red robes swung metal baskets around the circle, incense burning within their long chains. The flames of the candles danced in hues of purple and blue. Kyo whispered something to herself quietly, her voice barely audible. A large number of armed soldiers, wearing heavy black armor, were posted around the courtyard, a testament to the seriousness of the ritual taking place.
The sound of Shiori’s shoes clicking through the main entrance drew Kyo’s gaze from the bowl in front of her. A smile spread across her face as she took in Shiori, who was clad in a white suit with a blue tie. “Shiori Kinjo, prince of the Kinjo clan. I expected you to arrive,” she said calmly. Shiori’s eyes darted around the vast shrine, taking in the soldiers as they aimed their guns at him. As Kyo stood up and raised her hand, she reassured her guards, “It’s okay. Don’t worry. We finally get to meet.”
“Nice ritual you’ve got going on. It looks like this is the final act of our drama. However, I noticed something. I wonder where your sacrifices are,” Shiori remarked snidely, his heart pounding in his chest.
“It appears as if it has just arrived. Now, Shiori. How foolish do you think I am; to just allow you to walk in here with no one stopping you. I thought you were a smarter man. Now please come calmly. Arrest him.”
The armored soldiers approached Shiori, their footsteps heavy and menacing. In a split second, Shiori’s eyes flicked to them, then back to Kyo. His adrenaline surged as he warned, “When your back is against the wall, it’s all or nothing, Kyo. It isn’t wise to trap noble beasts.” Shiori grinned as he drew his pistol from his undercoat. He fired a single bullet, which hit an armored soldier squarely in the chest as he dove to cover Kyo. As the other soldiers prepared to fire, Shiori’s heart raced, and he tumbled to the ground. Shiori roared, “Come get it!”
Kyo’s eyes widened in horror as she watched Shiori take down one of her protectors. “What do you expect to accomplish, Shiori? You cannot win this fight!” she screamed, her voice shaking with anger and fear.
In the shadow of a skyscraper, Akagi rested his feet on the edge, allowing them to dangle as he clutched a laptop in his arms. From his vantage point high above the shrine’s walls, he could see the entire courtyard drama unfolding before him. As the soldiers encircled Shiori, Akagi’s fingers flew over the keys of his laptop, his heart pounding with anticipation. “It looks like it’s action time,” he said with a smirk. From the corner of his screen, he saw a live news feed reporting power outages throughout the city. His plan had been carefully crafted, infecting everything connected to the national database with his own worm, tunneling through the Okabe network.
Adding a few lines of code to his computer, Akagi commented, “I hope you’re ready for a light show.” All lights in the shrine flickered and went out. Even the front end of the shrine was plunged into darkness. The automatic doors and gates to the shrine flung open. “Alright!” Akagi cheered, his heart racing with excitement.
An armored soldier yelled, “Oh shit, I can’t see.” He ripped off his helmet in frustration. The other soldiers followed suit, removing their helmets as well. Each of them looked identical to one another, like clones.
Taking a step back, Kyo looked at the captain, her heart pounding with uncertainty. “What is going on?” The remaining lights around Shiori dimmed as well. In a protective ring around Kyo, the guards used their bodies as shields, their hearts thudding with determination.
The captain of the guard, his voice urgent, said to Kyo, “My lady, we must end the ritual and leave now.”
From the shrine’s wall, shots rang out from every direction. Togashi, in a kneeling position, aimed his sights down at the soldiers, his heart pounding with adrenaline. A motorcycle roared as Junko rode through the gates, her eyes focused and intense. With her hair flying, Sumai sat on the back of the bike, pulling back the trigger of her gun and unleashing a torrent of bullets at the group. “Die, you imp bastards!” she shouted with a gleeful laugh, her heart soaring with excitement.
Around the shrine, the soldiers returned fire, their hearts racing with fear and determination. As Shiori’s group moved, strobe lights appeared behind them. “Damn it! I can’t see!” Another soldier cried, his heart pounding with panic as their shots missed their moving targets under the cover of the shifting light.
In the distance, Sumai watched as the soldiers moved in a circle to the rear of the shrine, her heart pounding with anticipation. By a large gateway, she saw that a couple of other guards were waiting for the group. “Junko!” she exclaimed, her voice urgent. “Kyo is trying to escape through the back!”
Junko acknowledged her with a small “Mmm,” her heart pumping with adrenaline as she immediately turned her attention to the exit. She rushed around the side of the shrine, narrowly avoiding being shot. Sumai fired at Kyo’s guards as they passed by them on their way to the exit. The soldiers, their hearts pounding with fear, rushed for cover with Kyo as bullets rained down on the courtyard. Grabbing a pair of small rods from the side of the bike, Sumai tossed them at the exit. The rods instantly burst into flames, setting a few of the guards alight.
Those who were wounded on the ground began to smoke, their hearts pounding with pain and terror. When the other soldiers were caught in the fresh plumes, the air itself began to corrode their armor, melting it against their skin. In response to the acid breeze’s assault, they screamed, their hearts filled with agony and despair.
“I’ve had enough!” Kyo shouted, her heart heavy with frustration and desperation, as she raised both arms in the air. Suddenly, a black dot appeared on the ground, and a grotesque creature emerged from the pool of darkness that had formed before Kyo. “Help me, guardians of the forbidden. Come help me protect this child,” she pleaded
with desperation in her voice. The creature’s body was twisted in all the wrong directions. Its chest resembled a man with sharp teeth, its legs were like those of a bird, and its arms were like hooks. Its head was nothing more than a snapping mouth. Approximately ten feet tall, the abomination stood on four legs, a horrifying sight to behold.
“What is that thing?” Apricot asked herself, her heart filled with a mix of fear and resolve, as she charged out of the darkness with her rapier in hand. Her body flared in flames as she ran at the creature, her heart thudding with determination. Due to her unnatural speed, she collided with the beast, her blade piercing its body and knocking them both backward with the force of her blow.
“There’s my witch,” Kyo thought to herself, a cruel smile spreading across her face. After Apricot stabbed the creature in the leg, it had little time to react. The monster attempted to escape by swinging its hooks at Apricot, but she nimbly dove back to avoid being knocked down. The creature helped itself up by stabbing its spire into the ground, pushing itself up. Apricot struck again, landing a blow right in its chest eye. It broke away from her, the sword still embedded deep in its body, sizzling as it burned. Instantly, the weapon burst into flames, and as soon as it hit the ground, the creature crumbled into cinders.
“Kyo, give up!” Shiori shouted, his heart pounding with urgency. “There’s nothing you can do now.” The guards were still wailing in agony as the acid ate away at them. What few guards remained flanked Kyo, their hearts heavy with the knowledge of their impending defeat.
Kyo laughed manically as the circle began to glow brightly. “You fool,” she sneered. Apricot felt an intense burning sensation wash over her, her heart filling with dread. Below her, the ground appeared distorted and radiating with dark energy. “Shiori, something’s wrong!” she screamed, her heart hammering with fear. It felt as if she was slipping into shadows, sinking into their icy grip. As the demons from her nightmares clawed at her, she became paralyzed with terror. Shiori ran quickly, catching Apricot and lifting her out of the strange darkness that had appeared in front of her. Her eye caught sight of someone jumping from the wall – a man in black running to the edge of the circle. “Shiori? Who is that?” she asked, her heart pounding with confusion and fear. Shiori turned his head, and Apricot knew instantly from the look in his eyes that something was terribly wrong. It took her a few seconds to get back up. In a half-drag, they ran toward the entrance, with him pulling her along.
Other entities began to rise from the circle in swarms as the cloaked person placed his hand on the circle. Kyo’s group was left fighting these entities as the shadows told the story of their attackers. Apricot stopped to look back, but Shiori kept pulling her. “We have to get out of here!” he shouted, his voice urgent and tense.
Shiori had hardly finished speaking when the ring lit up. As a pillar of shadow rose from the circle, a deafening sound echoed through the courtyard before the shadows fell, turning the circle into a deep pit. An ear-shattering roar erupted from the circle as the group made their way to the parking lot. There, they were greeted by a swarm of cars. As they piled into one of them, Shiori said, his voice determined and resolute, “Let’s get out of here.”
The next chapter is waiting for you, why not read it? Just click the button below to go to the next chapter.
If you enjoyed the story, please like it and subscribe to my page to get notified as soon as I post anything new.
Subscribe Here
Do you have a comment about my work? Share it with me below.
Leave a comment