Chapter 4 - Real or Fake
#4 of Chains of Destiny
Chapter 4 - Real or Fake
"Do you think they woke up by now?" asked Li.
"It is noon after all, and they need to eat sooner or later," replied Kuropi-kun.
"Food doesn't seem like a big deal at all. This place is full of food!" sang Fay-san as he danced in and out of trees.
"Food! You call this shit food!" shouted Kuropi-kun shoving bark into Fay-san's face.
"Of course that's food. Besides, if we asked Yuuko to send us food, we would need to pay compensation for the amount of food she gives us. Be happy that bark is edible and so are the flowers," said Fay-san trying to evade Kuropi-kun's grabs at him.
"I'll show you edible food you no good son of a bitch of a magician!" shouted Kuropi-kun in rage.
"Mokona wants to play!" shouted Mokona as he hopped after Kuropi-kun.
Fay-san led Mokona and Kuropi-kun away from Sakura and Li on purpose just so that these two can spend time on their own.
"It seems like Fay-san is doing us a favor today," giggled Sakura as she watched the three disappear in the distance.
"Yes, he is but I want to know, are we real Sakura?" questioned Li.
"I don't know if we are real Li. We should be in the Country of Clow but I keep thinking that we are nothing more than memories or characters that came out of a book he read. He does have the power to alter time and space though. The dragon on the other hand, I can feel that he is a real being who does live," responded Sakura.
"I thought so to. When ever I look at the dragon, I can feel his aura but when I look at the rest of us, it's as if we don't exist...including this world," said Li.
"We can't deny who we are, even if we are not sure to begin with."
"Do you think Fay-san and Kuropi-kun knows?"
"I can't be sure but I doubt the Yuuko-san is real either. The worlds that he just went to, including this one, must be fragments of his imagination."
"Even if it is, we must protect him till he leaves for the greater good. I just hope he does not have to go to the accursed land."
"That land will only bring him sadness and grief unless he knows about the truth before hand, right?"
"Yes. Yuuko told me that if he goes without the proper knowledge then he will surely suffer greatly."
"Like what we did a few years ago, it is now his turn, to save the dimensions as well as save lives."
"Land that is neither real nor fake. Is that possible to make?" thought Bahamut as he looked across the barren land before him. "It seems real because of the sparks of energy I used, yet, the energy wasn't at all strong."
"This world is only an illusion. A fragment of his imagination," spoke Leo.
Bahamut quickly turned around and saw that Leo was not himself. "Who are you?" asked Bahamut.
"I am simply Leo, just not who he seems at the moment. It is confusing but over time, you will understand," responded Leo.
Taking a closer look, Leo was sitting and leaning against the tree but his eyes told a different story. It had signs of life but was empty, no pupils to account for. The tone was different as well but can't be described.
"You said that this is only an illusion. Can you please elaborate?" asked Bahamut politely.
"I would be glad to. You see, the Country of Sakura doesn't exist at all. It is the same with the Country of Japan that he visited earlier. During his transportation made by his brother, the real witch tapped into his memory and created an exact replica of her world. The Country of Sakura was formed during his transportation out of the Country of Japan. Everything on this country is nothing more than a portion of his imagination, the portion that would keep a person's mind at ease, like a vacation or a retreat. It is very complicated to explain of course because I am not sure how such a thing is possible," stated Leo.
"Yet here we are. The ancients are not even aware that such a power can be possessed by the Kanis Falthelom."
"Kanis Falthelom is actually a false name given to everyone. It is a mask to its true name which I cannot reveal until the time is correct."
"How is that name nothing more than a mask? When is the right time?"
"I will tell you this and only this and only to you. Kanis Falthelom is designed to place a restriction on the amount of power one can possess. I'm sure you know about the history of Kanis Falthelom so I'll get right to the point. Upon its creation, the first person to possess such powers, destroyed countless dimensions. The owner realized that this much power cannot be used like that again, thus, using the abilities he possessed, made the seal known as Kanis Falthelom. The right time though...is on the Country of the Forgotten."
"The Country of the Forgotten is a place that is impossible to reach though. The only way known is by riding upon either the Stream of Dreams, Pan'naiuk, or the Stream of Memories, Pan'sukque."
"There is another way, but that is only known to the chosen one."
"An illusion, who would've figured," smiled Bahamut as he turned away.
Leo fell back into his unconsciousness and nothing more was said between the two. An hour or two passed before Leo woke up again but as himself this time.
"Did you have a good nap?" asked Bahamut.
"It's either good or painful," responded Leo stretching out his arms.
"Don't bother getting up this time until you get new clothes. I'm sure you can create some out of thin air," said Bahamut.
"Out of thin air? Is that even possible?" questioned Leo.
"I don't know but the ancients have the ability to make matter materialize. Unfortunately, I don't have such power so I can't help you there."
"That's okay," said Leo as he looked around for the others.
"They were gone when I woke up so I guess it's no big deal right now. They have to come back at one point since that witch wants to talk to you."
"What does she want with me?"
"How the hell should I know?"
"I didn't expect you to know anyways. I'm not sure if anyone knows why to begin with."
"Ya, ya, ya. People can be mysteries especially when it comes to those with powerful magic."
Out in the distance on the barren land, small shadows appeared and slowly grew larger as the minutes passed.
Bahamut tried to make them out and was only able to see black blobs. "What do you suppose those are all the way out there?"
"What things?"
"Wait a little and you'll see what I'm talking about."
As Leo waited, the black blobs were drawing closer and the closer they got, the faster they seem to move. After what seemed to be five minutes, Leo saw what Bahamut was questioning about.
"They look like blobs. Why do you ask?"
"I don't trust them. I can't tell if they look friendly or not."
The wind began to pick up speed, settling down on a nice soft breeze that moved Leo's mane slightly. The smell that the wind carried was not a very pleasant smell. It smelled of burning rubber and car exhaust.
"I think we are about to find out soon enough. Because they are big, even though I'm sitting, and moving very fast...I think we are their lunch or something like that."
"Fuck! I'm not going to become dragon pudding for those creeps."
"Dragon pudding?"
"I couldn't think of anything worse than that, ok?"
"You could have thought about dragon bbq or dragon frappe."
"What the hell is dragon frappe?!"
"Never mind about the fucken' dragon frappe. We have bigger fucken blobs to fight right now!"
"Oh, now you bring those god damn creeps into this."
"Just shut up and let's get this over with already!"
"Fine. Why don't I just blast them with my mouth!"
"Why don't I just do something! Freezing Lancer!"
Shards of ice dust appeared overhead and large icicles erupted from the dust, flying straight at the blobs. Upon contact, the blobs just sat there and absorbed every single icicle, making them grow even bigger.
"Now those fucken blobs just got even bigger! What the hell were you thinking?!"
"Well that's something other than us fighting!"
"Blah blah blah! Let a real pro handle this! Lightening Storm!"
Large dark clouds formed over head and let loose lightening strikes one after another. The blobs stopped and absorbed the attack as well, growing even bigger than before.
"You made them even bigger!"
"You got something better than a Lightening Storm and your stupid looking Freezing Lancer!"
Both spells went off at once and the blobs repeated their earlier actions. Stop, absorb, grow, and move on.
"Great job! You sent off two spells on accident! Fire Storm!"
Waves of fire fell from the sky but that didn't affect the blobs either. Rinse and repeat or so the saying goes. Only problem, with fire, the blobs grew 10x bigger compared to the other attacks.
"Now they're fucken sky scrapers! Stop throwing spells at them without any thought!"
"You have any better ideas than the one I have!"
"YA! RUN YOUR FUCKEN ASS AS FAR AS YOU CAN OR ELSE WE'RE GOING TO DIE!!!!"
Leo quickly got up, not caring if what ever was left of his pants ripped right off and ran like the wind with Bahamut flying over head. The black blobs moved into the trees and ate them right up but didn't grow any bigger. As Leo was running, he didn't dare stop when he saw Fay-san, Kuropi-kun, and Mokona ahead of him. Instead he ran past them, grabbed Mokona, and has the other two run for them selves.
"What the hell is that thing?!" shouted Kuropi-kun as he ran as a fast as he could.
"I don't know but it's huge!" shouted Fay-san dashing ahead of Kuropi-kun.
"Run Kuropi-kun! Run Fay-san!" shouted Mokona happily because he didn't have to run but cling onto Leo as he ran.
"Those ugly bitches are catching up to us!" shouted Bahamut when he turned his head around for only a split second.
Leo spotted Sakura and Li up ahead but didn't stop like earlier. Instead, Bahamut dived down, picked both Sakura and Li up, and continued to fly in the sky.
"What are those things?" asked Sakura.
"I think they are dimension eaters. It is said that such creatures were designed to keep the number of dimensions in check but I don't see how that can be true," replied Li. "The land underneath them isn't disappearing, only the trees and grass."
"The land doesn't disappear?" thought Leo. "That's it!" Leo came to a sudden stop and faced the blobs head on. Calling the elements around him, small orbs of light appeared underneath his palms as his arms were spread out wide, perpendicular to his body. As soon as the blobs were close to him, small sparks erupted from the orbs and flew into the air. "Wielding blades, lay fall from the sky."
Twisting his body and having both of his palms make contact in front of him, caused the sky to rain large white circles from the sky. "Plasma Rain!"
The blobs stopped moving and began to retreat, trying to avoid the falling assault. Since they are large the attack was 90% successful, but that is enough to defeat two and badly injure one. If one is about to die, it has the ability to create a duplicate which is bad since the duplicate will be at full strength.
"Two's just pushing it! Atom Smash!" shouted Bahamut after witnessing Leo's attack. With a large energy mass as before, the attack stuck both blobs and vaporized both of them, leaving only a cloud of dust behind. A wave passed over land and struck both Leo and Mokona hard. Leo able to stand his ground but lost the remainder of his clothes and Mokona, flying away extremely fast. Strangely, as the the wave passed by, five gusts of wind followed, neither one touching Leo at all. Rather, the wind split and went around him and reconnected at his back. Once that past though, things began to get worse.
"I guess the time has come," spoke Sakura softly but loud enough for both Bahamut and Li to hear. Bahamut turned his head slightly to see what she was talking about and instantly became wide eyed.
"Yes, the illusion is breaking up which means he is ready. Leo doesn't know it, but he can move at will," said Li.
Both Li and Sakura began to disappear slowly. Small portions from their clothing and body turned into energy and flew up into the sky. Bahamut turned his head towards the ground and saw that the ground and trees were doing the same thing. He dived down with the intent of scooping Leo up but changed his mind and landed behind Leo softly.
"Is this country...fake?" asked Leo.
"I'm afraid so young one," responded Bahamut knowing that it was a rhetorical question.
"Then I guess everything here is also fake...even myself," said Leo looking straight ahead.
"You're not fake Leo. You're real. You're real in every way imaginable," stated Sakura strongly.
"No...this must all be a dream. I must have never left home to begin with. I'm still in bed sleeping and haven't woke up yet," said Leo.
"No, your..." began Sakura.
"It's best to leave him alone right now," said Bahamut cutting her off. "I know how much you want him to believe but he needs to take everything that has happened so far into reality."
"You're right, I'm sure he'll understand before the land completely disappears. Let's go Li, we did what we had to do," spoke Sakura as she began to disappear faster. Within a minute, Sakura was completely gone followed by Li leaving only Bahamut and Leo by themselves.
There was only silence between Leo and Bahamut. Leo refusing to accept reality for what is is and Bahamut silently waiting and counting the seconds that passed by while observing the disappearing trees.
"Bahamut, do you know if any of this is real?" asked Leo when the edges of the country could be seen at Bahamut's height.
"To me, this world was but if you're talking about the events that lead you here...then I don't know. You called me from the depths of the past so I have no knowledge of your life," responded Bahamut bluntly.
"Why is it that only the world around us is disappearing and not us as well?" questioned Leo again.
"If we were to disappear, then this would most likely be a dream. It's up to the person to determine whether what they see is real or fake," responded Bahamut.
"My uncle used to show me books filled with illusions that played tricks on your eyes when I was little. Probably around 3 or 4 years old at the earliest. I would have a lot of fun with him even though my father doesn't like it when he is around. Could this also be an optical illusion?"
"I doubt that this is an optical illusion but did your uncle say anything about perceiving things?"
"He told me that 'it takes only the mind to tell you if something is real or if something is fake. It took me years of practice but I finally got it when I was studying abroad for a few years. Things that may look real are not but things that may not look real are real.' It was confusing but now...I think I know what he means."
"Do you believe that what has happened to be real?"
"I understand that everything happens for a reason but what I don't understand is why did it have to be me?"
"Like everything, it will occur in due time. Like what the ancients would sometimes say. 'Those who refuse to wait are fools. Those fools end up dying. The dead then learns to wait and becomes reborn a new man.' I would tell you more but..."
Leo didn't hear the ending and didn't even noticed that he didn't hear anything. The world around him began to come an art project. The colors, or what was left of the colors, became a sea of mixed brown, pink, and green. It looked like abstract art until the colors blurred together into a dark black. The blurred art did return but under different colors. Forest green, dark gray, black, and thin lines of white circled Leo quickly but began to slow down. As the colors slowed down, the forest green began to form trees. The dark gray, rocks while the black and thin lines of white became the night sky. A soft breeze could be felt, even as the colors stopped to blur together. It was a peaceful breeze, warm and yet cool.
The world stopped turning and Leo returned to his senses immediately, taking in the view. He was within a thin, rocky forest. The ground beneath his bare feet, cold and hard, but he didn't mind the feeling one bit, it was almost as if his feet was already used to the land. The night sky above was dotted with millions of stars and instead of one moon, there were three moons visible in the sky. One silver, one gold, and one bronze. The gold and bronze didn't shine as brightly as the silver but all three took Leo's breath away.
Returning to reality once more, Leo couldn't feel Bahamut's presence behind him. Bahamut was left behind in the disappearing country. There was nothing he could do for Bahamut now. "This place is real. I can feel the ground beneath me. How do you determine whether a place is real or not?"
Not thinking, Leo began to walk straight ahead, climbing over large rocks if needed. The travel was slow but the ground remained relatively flat after a few large rocks. The ground was composed of rocks placed next to one another in an unorganized manner but this was a typical rocky land that can be found in other places that involve climbing. Using his hearing, Leo was able to find a stream that ran near-by and used the stream to wash his face, hoping to empty his mind all together until gun shots were heard.
Off in the far distance, there was a battle going on but the reason and description will be saved for later. Hearing these noises, Leo began to move towards. Someone stepped out from behind a rock and raised his arm. A gun was at the end of his hand, ready to fire and pointed directly at Leo's head. The moment this stranger pulled the trigger, Leo tripped and fell onto the ground hard barely missing the gun shot. Leo quickly got up and turned to face his attacker who mysteriously vanished from where he was standing.
"Did someone just try to kill me?" murmured Leo.
Turning around, he moved on towards the battle as the stranger moved out from his hiding spot and took aim. Not wanting to miss again, the stranger took the risk of approaching Leo and shooting at point blank which has a low percent of missing all together. The attacker walked with the shadows, scarcely touching anything that would give his position away. Leo continued to walk minding his own business while the attacker moved quickly and covered more ground quicker with the boots he was wearing. There was another stream near by and the stranger stopped at that stream, just far enough to see Leo clearly. Finding a perfect bush to hide behind, the attacker positioned himself in such a way that he was one with his surroundings no matter how you look at it.
"Another stream," noted Leo as he approached the stream.
"This spy's not going to get far, not on my watch anyways," murmured the attacker taking aim at Leo once again. While taking aim, he faltered and shook the bush slightly but enough for Leo to hear and notice. "Shit."
Leo pretended not to notice it and began to walk across the stream. Just to be safe though, he armed himself with one of his spells that glowed in his right hand.
"It's now or never," murmured the attacker and pulled the trigger. The gun was positioned slightly ahead of Leo so the bullet would hit his arm or if the attacker was lucky, Leo's heart. Leo heard the shot and immediately shot letting the glowing spell go. Pointing his finger towards the bush that moved, a stream of energy shot towards it and left a hole where the attacker was hiding.
"Ok...what the hell is that guy?" thought the attacker as Leo walked on. "Could he be a new war machine they thought up off?" Placing his gun in the carrier that was around his waist, the attacker removed a gun that was attached to his back, an machine gun of some sort.
Jumping out from hiding, the attacker pointed his machine gun towards Leo and began to fire, not caring whether he missed or not. Leo was lucky that first 20 shots missed him by a long shot and began to sprint before any of the other shots actually hit him. 1 out of 10 hit him during the sprint, they mainly struck his abdominals and thighs with a few strays towards his upper left arm. The sound of the battle grew louder but the attacker kept on his onslaught until the point where Leo fell into a ditch. The attacker caught up and pointed his gun at Leo.
"This is the end for you spy," spoke the attacker. "Any last words before I blow your fuckin' brains out?"
Leo was face flat on the ground and struggling to turn onto his back which was hard because of the wounds he received. His legs felt like lead even though he felt pain similar to that of shards of glass stuck into this skin and someone turning it continuously. His mouth wasn't spurting out blood but it was dry from all the dust he was breathing in.
"I guess you don't have any last words," said the attacker as Leo looked at the attacker but couldn't make out who or what he was. Leo's vision became blurry and his mind became a mess. He lost focus and the ability to think.
"There is no way in hell I'm going to die to you," spoke Leo roughly.
"Well, you just did," laughed the attacker and pulled the trigger.
A shot was heard but it didn't come from the attacker. From what Leo could make out, the attack had red flowing down from his fore head. In the clearer perspective, the attack was shot with a hole leading from the front of his head to the back, stopping him from attacking. No sound followed his death as he came crashing down onto Leo. Leo let out a grunt. Someone came up to the ditch and peered in, checking if Leo's attack was dead.
"Made it just in time," said Leo's savior but Leo couldn't make out the face as his world was succumbed to the darkness.
"He looks like someone I know," thought Leo before he became unconscious.
The savior lifted the body off of Leo and threw it to one side to pick up Leo's body and placing it outside of the ditch. Getting out of the ditch, the savior picked him up once again and walked towards the sound of the battle.
"The moons red," said the savior as he looked up to the sky for a moment. "Something bad is going to happen. Hopefully that bad thing will end this war. 150 years is long enough. 150 years since that day to. I'm sure that this guy will change everything for us or so the commander says."
He stopped at the edge of the trees and looked across the plains. There was a full scale war occurring. On one side, there were beasts firing towards the other end in ditches, much like the one Leo fell into but deeper. War machines lined the beast men's side. On the other side, humans fought just as fiercely as the beast men were using the same kinds of weapons.
"150 years...that is way too long for any of us. Hopefully, this third party will make a difference. Real or fake this may be, the call from above has finally been answered. The spirits of past want to restore what has been lost."