Book Four
Volume 14
Ch. 195 Himiko
Pov.
-Kara-
I look around…
I was bloody and weak
My hands were nailed to a beam
But my body won't die. He won't let me die
What did I do to deserve this?
…
My God My God, Why did you Abandon Me?
My God, My God, why have You Forsaken Me?
…
My strength is dried up like a piece of pottery, And my tongue clings to my jaws; And You lay me in the dust of death.
…
They pierced my hands and my feet…
Save Me from the Lion's Mouth; From the horns of the wild oxen
My head rolls down…
At the foot of my cross I could see a Little Girl, With Very Long Brown Hair.
Cana…
As beautiful as ever, sobbing and catching the blood trickling down the beam, staining her small tender hands.
The more she cried the more it strangled my heart
Cana, I didn't know who she was then. But she has always cried for me.
I wanted her to stop, but my tongue was dry. I couldn't breathe.
My lungs have shriveled up and long since collapsed.
…
I squeeze my shirt in my fist, after realizing I was lost in my head. The pain in my chest sharpened the more I tried not to paint myself up there.
I watch the blood trickle off Himiko's feet and into the growing puddle in the ground.
A small tear rolled down her cheek when she saw Cana beside me.
Just before she took her final breath.
…
Cana sudden curiosity, the psalms she just so happened to be singing…
Cana… she wanted to forgive her for the things she did to her… after Himiko Begged me for Forgiveness.
I could have prevented this. Cana would be speaking to her, but now she can't.
…
It's like he's holding a mirror up to my face.
Like He's Mocking Me.
…
"Oh, my heart…" Cana looks up at me. "Please Bring Her Down, Kara… Please, I Need to Hold Her."
…
I nod…
I glare at the guards, who instantly recognize me from my time with Esdeath so they begin bringing her down as Cana weeps at my feet.
Cana crawls over as they carefully lower Himiko
She removes her veil to wipe the blood from Himiko's face.
I set a hand on Cana's shoulder, taking us back home in an instant.
…
"I don't understand, Cana… why do you weep?"
…
"She was my friend, Kara."
…
"And she split you open. She dismembered Lia, have you forgotten?"
She shakes her head. "Of course I haven't. I could never forget."
"So why, Cana? Why were you so desperate to forgive her? She doesn't deserve that luxury from you."
…
She shakes her head
"Why? Tell me."
"You know why…"
…
"I don't…"
She raises her gaze…
"Because God so Loved the World… that He gave His only Son, So Who am I to Hold on to Hate? When my God Loves and Forgives the World that Persecuted Him…"
…
"Is that from your book? You're just trying to buy yourself into heaven?"
"No! I'm doing this for you…"
…
"I have since forgiven her for everything… I didn't need to see her… to speak to her…. But you… you needed this more than anything."
…
"Need what? I don't need anything. Least of all from her."
…
"Theres too much hate in your heart, Kara. You Have to Forgive Her… Forgive Everyone Who has Ever Persecuted You. Forgive Esdeath for sending her. Forgive Yourself for letting it happen…"
…
"Why should I do that? That doesnt… that doesn't make any sense to me…"
"If you answer with hate, the cycle never ends, because it's easy to hate… When Hate and Wrath is Fueled by Pride the Flame Will Never Cease…"
She brings Himiko in, rubbing her tear soaked cheek against hers
"But if you Forgive… And Pray for those who Persecute you… the Pain Will Cease. Not due to any power of your own. But the same Love that Forgave us and Loved us, Before the Foundation of the World."
…
"I can't do that, Cana… she asked me to forgive her. She begged me to… but I felt nothing… I told her to…" the words catch in my throat.
Rot in hell…
…
Cana shakes her head.
"No, Kara… She hurt you, because she hurt us. To you, there is no greater sin than that, remember? My Pain is Yours. Yours is Mine. That's Something.
You Were Ready to Give Your Life to Save Me, so many times…"
"There is no greater Love than that… to Give your Life for your Friends. To give your Life for the ones you Love…"
"Thats why I held on to you for so long. And I've never let go since, because you have always been this beautiful Love. Even if it's enveloped, and buried beneath mountains of despair. It's real and begging for you to embrace it…"
…
My Despair, My Wrath, Rooted in love?
Is that what she thinks?
…
Isis… when we had Chaos. I hated them with all my being, but I didn't want to be Alone.
After millions of years something changed. And after a billion I wasn't the same…
I… embraced it.
But after that… all I felt was pain.
When I lost Chaos. I lost everything
That pain… I just wanted it to end.
The pain of losing your Only Son…
The only way to deal with it was to embrace that pain.
To Embrace that Despair, the same way I Embraced that love…
Because Love Dies. Despair is the Absence of that Love. It's easier to live in darkness than to get blinded by the flickering light that will cease to exist.
Without fail.
…
"I can't…"
I… I won't… I never will.
I know exactly what she wants.
This 'love' she's talking about…
I'm not stupid.
It's her God…
And I don't want it.
…
Pov.
-Thorfinn-
"Because God so Love the World that He Gave His Only Son." I listen to Cana, just outside, rather than barging in
That was Moms favorite verse…
After hearing them go back and forth I step outside, with Eri, Paris, and Lia.
"Eee! Eeek" Lia scrunches her fingers, begging me to pick her up
I scoop her up and sit on a bench, watching the other two play with their dolls.
Dismembered Lia?
Is that what he said?
Himiko… that was the girl across the cell from us…
The same one that brought me in.
She talked about Kara, all the time.
She was obsessed.
To think she did something so terrible…
I shake Lia's hand as she babbles about the sky and the clouds.
I set her down with the girls before joining Mine and the rest of Night Raid.
They were planning to sink a cruise ship filled with some of the nastiest Elites in the capital.
It was just Bulat and Tatsumi, so I decided to tag along.
…
"We're here…" Bulat wakes me up
We sneak aboard.
There were many slaves, so the mission quickly turned into a bounty hunt.
I took the south while Bulat and Tatsumi took the north.
…
"That makes thirty seven…" I wipe my dagger clean before a large explosion from the north side rocks the entire vessel
…
I shove my dagger into the throat of the poor bastard who stepped out to see what was going on.
I kick the door shut and twist the dagger. His blood spurts out before he could scream and kill him instantly as he lands on the bed where i quickly roll him up in the sheets to avoid his blood staining a thing
I bring my finger over my lips after seeing the terrified slave girl in the corner.
She nods.
I toss him out the window so they don't try to blame the poor girl. I jump out that same window and climb up to the deck once it was clear
Everyone's rushing to the north
I picked them off one by one, quietly before joining Bulat and Tatsumi who were tearing the ship apart.
I step in front of Tatsumi before he'd lose his head
"Nice one, Thorfinn." Bulat huffs inside his suit of armor. "What the hell?! Why didn't you freeze!?" The kid behind the axe guy squeezes his flute
"Thats Daidara and Nyau. They're the ones pretending to be Night Raid, giving us a bad rep!" Tatsumi says as Daidara throws his axe
I slap it aside and charge at him.
I slide right under it the moment it flew back to split me in half.
I roll aside before he could stomp on me
I throw my daggers as I jump to my feet
He blocks them with his axes. I squeeze through his forearms, digging my elbow into his chest.
He stumbles back as I catch my daggers. I spin around, but he blocks my blade before I could nail him in the eye.
I bob under his axe, he deflects my dagger, ready to split his side open.
I step back and aside, dodging his axe swing and raising my arm, cutting his arm.
I duck under his axe. After spinning into a hack twist flip, I slam my shin into his shoulder.
I pulled my daggers back, ready to chop his head off before I had to step off to avoid Nyau, who Tatsumi was supposed to be fighting.
"Crap, I'm sorry. He's too fast…" He stumbles behind me.
I looked over at Bulat, who seemed to be holding his own at least.
"Sure, kid. Take a break."
"What kid?! I'm older than you!" He coughs
I raise my daggers, defensively as Nyau raises his flute to his lips.
"Now, for my Trump Card!" He takes a deep breath
He begins playing a tune that instantly bulks all three of them up.
Shit…
I raise my blades.
Once their physiques settle, Daidara charges at me again faster and significantly stronger than before.
I managed to slip away from Daidara and smash my fist into Nyau's gut before he could finish Tatsumi off.
Daidara catches up in an instant, forcing me to block, dodge, and weave.
I managed to tank a few blows from Nyau's flute but Daidara's Axe easily tore across my chest.
…
Dammit…
I stumble back, holding my bruised side before they lunge at me again.
I twist and jerk around, dropping my daggers somewhere in between.
"Dammit." I curse after every close call
How does he do it?
Kara moves like there's not a thought going across his mind.
So why can't I?
"Fuck." I cough after his axe slams into my sternum and knicks my chin
But I managed to catch it between my palms before he could tear me open.
Nyau knocks me back with his flute
I can't keep up…
"Thor-." Bulat gets smashed through the deck before he could intervene
The guy he was fighting was able to manipulate water. With the entire ocean around us it was only a matter of time until he overwhelmed Bulat.
Unless he can manage a miracle…
Not to mention the dead weight behind me…
I slip and dodge, managing to keep my head for a while longer. Every blow enrages me more and more. Knowing I couldn't fight back with both of them on my ass.
I impatiently scoop dads dagger and raise it up to block his axe. Just I time to keep it from splitting my head in two, but it still smashes against my cheek bone and sends me crashing into the post holding up the main sail
"Damn you…" I hold my face as the blood in my eye turns my vision red
Bastard…
I Hate You. God I Fucking Hate You.
I'm still weak!
I tear myself out of the post.
I felt a sharp pain pulsating on the backside of my eyes.
I grit my teeth so hard my neck cramped but I was too possed to even give a shit.
I have to kill them.
"It has to be me!" I lunge at them
…
Only this time I could see what they would do before they did it.
I raise my dagger, slashing Daidara across the chest before nicking Nyau's ear. Even as they increased the strength and speed into their every blow I remained able to see all of it.
What's happening?
It's like my vision has become more clear.
I grab the Nyaus wrist and I yank him in.
I tear his throat open, twisting under Daidaras Axe as I dig my dagger into his side and snatch Nyau's flute
I jerk around, piercing his flute through Daidara's chest and stepping back as he brought his axe down to split me in half.
I step back in, slamming my knee into his chin and slamming my foot into the flute, piercing it through and through his heart before performing a backflip off his chest and landing in front of Nyau who was desperately clutching his throat…
I pierce my arm straight through his chest, obliterating his heart.
I tear my arm out just as the guy Bulat was fighting too dropped dead.
…
"Bulat!" Tatsumi hurries to his aid as he drops on his knees. "Whats going on?!"
I sat down, completely spent myself.
Guess he did manage…
Bulat hands Tatsumi his sword, before succumbing to his injuries.
…
-to be continued