Return of the Fallen Volume 10 Chapter 28
The second option made a lot of sense to Kazuki. Leaving Fera’s body at the edge of the Realm meant anyone who entered this realm in the interest of said body would move to that location. Once there, they could trap that person, and by using their aura instead of physical attacks or magic, Kazuki and the others could essentially destroy that person’s soul without ripping this Realm to shreds.
“I would need to know more about how we would trap our enemies, but so far this sounds like the best option. Seeing as how it’s only the second one though, I assume the third option is better.”
Detra once again took a sip of her tea before her expression saddened.
“The third option is indeed better, but selfishly, I hope you don’t choose it.”
“Tell me.”
“The third option is simple: we make a barrier around our Realm. The barrier would be strong enough to hold back any outside force at the level of a Demigod and lower. No one would ever be able to make their way inside of our Realm ever again unless they were, in fact, a true God.”
“What, that sounds amazing; why would we not go with this option in the first place?”
Detra’s sad expression fell even more upon hearing Kazuki’s enthusiasm.
“There is a drawback. This barrier that I’m proposing is one that, once it is in place, not only will others not be able to enter, but we as well will never be allowed to leave. The only way for us to actually leave after it is in place is for a god to open it up and bring us out personally. This option is very possible but the reason I hesitate is because of my husband.”
“Your husband. The one you think is lost?”
“HE IS LOST!”
Detra roared and the place shook before she quickly calmed herself and restrained her own power.
“My husband, he… he must be lost or he’s in hiding or something. He wants to return, I know it. He wouldn’t just leave us here for nothing. He…He’s out there. He can’t return for some unknown reason so we need to wait or go find him or or.”
“DETRA!”
Detra was unraveling but with Kazuki’s shout, she stopped and looked at him in confusion and sadness.
“Kazuki, you have to believe me. I shouldn’t have said anything about the barrier in the first place but but
Kazuki’s voice softened.
“I understand Detra. Your husband, I’m sure there are circumstances, but do you really wish to endanger this Realm by not taking every precaution?”
Detra still didn’t wish for the barrier and thought how stupid she was to ever bring it up.
“What about you, Kazuki?”
“What about me?”
“If we close this Realm, doesn’t that mean that you will never fulfill your revenge? You got Fera, yes, but you did not get the main culprit. Your adoptive mother. Surely you could become strong enough one day and take your revenge upon her but if you are trapped in here, you would never have your chance to finish what was started so long ago. Just as I long for my husband, you long for revenge, and I know where my heart stands. If things never come to an end, how can I ever have peace? How can my mind ever ease and my soul rest? Forever, I would be trapped, not knowing what is or could be, and so too would you be. Your hatred has eaten away at you for so long; tell me, can you really stop now? Can you really just go on living knowing she is out there free and unharmed by any consequences? As if to mock you and everything you’ve gone through.”
Kazuki felt a twist in his stomach, and rage started to rise in his blood. His fists clenched tightly before he suddenly released them.
“Do not try and manipulate me, Detra. What you want and what I want are not one and the same and you know it, so don’t push it…At the same time, this is a grey area. Closing this Realm would be the wisest choice. There is no doubt, but no one has ever said I was wise. For some reason, I know I should be happy with what I’ve achieved and what I’ve attained, but it does irk me to no end to know Sephra still remains alive and well. Why should she get away with it all? Her only punishment is to be under my grandfather’s supervision. How is any of it fair? This resentment and hatred, you are right. It would most likely haunt me never-endingly. At the same time, there’s Nunully and Asuna, and my friends and I can make a place for myself and everyone else. I don’t have to let these chains of the past bind me. I can be the one to free myself and live in peace for the most part. I can be… happy.”
Detra didn’t know what to do. Kazuki seemed to be going back and forth with no clear decision in sight. If Kazuki really did decide to lock this Lower Realm off, there would be nothing she could do to stop him, and she would be forced to go along with this. Just as she was lost on how to try and convince Kazuki, he stood up.
“Ever since I was small, I fought and fought and fought. All this time, I wanted revenge, and everything I’ve done has been for it, but is this all that I am? Is this all that defines me? I…I need to think.”
Before Detra could say anything else, Fera’s body and the black compass vanished and entered Kazuki’s ring before he too disappeared from her tiny world.
…
Kazuki reappeared in space floating high above Gordonia. He watched the world spin naturally and observed many things down below. He saw the wind blow across the planet and heard the animals call. Waves crashed against the shore and the tectonic plates shifted around causing small undulations beneath the ocean. He watched ants move around and plants soak up nutrients from their environment.
He looked on as people were tucked away peacefully in their beds as they drew steady undisturbed breaths.
(I never really cared about such things like peace before but now that this world is finally entering a time of peace, why ruin that?)
Kazuki looked toward Feya and saw Asuna and Nunully along with the others. Even as the night was getting later and later, they were all smiling, laughing, and having a great time.
Kazuki stood above the world, a man now untouchable in this Realm. Those he cared about were happy and safe and Fera was dead and gone, yet somehow, even with everything he had, Kazuki felt an extreme sad emptiness within himself that was hard to explain. He could literally rule this entire small universe, this Lower Realm any way he wished but that as well just felt empty.
Kazuki has had this feeling for a while now and he thought once Fera was gone, it would leave him but the way things ended with Fera…One minute they were in a life-and-death struggle, and the very next, Kazuki had crushed her skull in his hand. It had just suddenly ended and was over. There was no satisfaction when he killed her, no thrill, or really any emotional attachment. His anger for her was gone; did he forgive her? Absolutely not, but there was no more hatred. At least not for her, which Kazuki found weird, but as he thought about it, it made more and more sense.
(Fera was a fiend and scum of the world, but everything she did was to be recognized by her father, and she was manipulated to no end by Sephra. Fera became what Sephra made her, and on some level, so too have I. I went down this path because of Sephra, and even now, with no more contact with her, never again will she be able to come near or cause me or those around me harm. Is this why I can’t let it go? Is this the reason why, even now, my blood boils? I felt nothing when I killed Fera, but the moment I destroyed her soul and finished her for good in front of Sephra, something within me was filled with euphoria. I only felt that way because she was hurt; no doubt she felt the same hurt I experienced when she took Kai from this world. In the end, it seems to all come back to Sephra. To leave her out in the cosmos untouched is causing me to feel nothing but rage.)
Kazuki gathered his aura around him along with his ki, creating a powerful barrier. He folded his aura making thousands of layers causing it to become the most impenetrable object in this entire Realm. With all the power in his voice, Kazuki roared at the top of his lungs.
“RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Even with all of his precautions, the barrier began to waver and was on the verge of breaking so he had to stop otherwise the fabric of this Realm could be torn apart.
The frustration of not being able to go all out and release some stress was building inside. He was angry at himself, angry at Sephra, angry at his Grandfather for not doing something. He was just angry and there was no place to put this anger, no outlet.
(Detra is right. Even if she wishes to keep the Realm open for selfish reasons, I am exactly the same. How can I ever rest until Sephra is no more? How can those who have fallen ever forgive me if I simply stop now? Would they not have died in vain? This…this doesn’t end until Sephra is no more. Not until I rip her to pieces and leave nothing behind. Sephra must die!)
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