Chapter 3
The Existent ofEssentialism
The crazed, bandaged man remained hanging from the tower frantically searching the crowd. The blood dripping from his mouth flew everywhere as he swung his head back and forth.
"Where is he? This cannot be! Fate said he would be here! He said he would! He said he would!"
The hanged man threw his arms about. His childish tantrum frightened the crowd and even Tokiya.
"If you guys are hiding him, I will find him! Where are you Tokiya?"
As everyone in the crowd covered their mouths with their hands and gasped in shock, one brave soul stepped forward. It was Mr. Shaut. He was an old man with gray hair who walked with cane. He had his signature faded green shirt and worn out brown jacket.
"Excuse me, sir. I understand you are looking for someone, but I think you should be more concerned with your hanging situation."
The man stooped his frantic movement. He looked down at his body and then returned his gaze to Mr. Shaut.
"Mister, I appreciate your concern for my current state. However, I am perfectly fine up here. You see, I cannot die right now. To be more clear, Fate has decided it is not my time to die."
He threw his hands up to the side. At that second, as if by some divine force, the rope wrapped around his neck tore. The crazed man fell from the tower and landed of his feet. His legs bent like a spring as he hit the ground.
The crowd gasped. The crazed man wiped the blood from his mouth.
"See? I am in perfect condition. Now, where is Tokiya?"
Mr. Shaut stepped forward.
"You're looking for Tokiya? I just so happen to know him personally. Unfortunately for you, he left town two days ago. He'll be gone for a while."
The bandaged man cocked his head to the side. His eyes grew wider. He seemed almost disappointed.
"Yes, indeed, it is very unfortunate for me."
His head quickly returned to a straight up position as his eyes grew even wider. It seemed like they would soon pop out of his head.
"However, it is also very unfortunate for you. You see, Fate never lies, and Fate said that Tokiya would be here right now. Therefore, you must be a liar."
The man reached into the inside of his cloak and pulled out a sickle. Mr. Shaut backed up. The man smiled and quickly bowed.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Mors Fortuna, a member of the Cult of the Black Sword and the Existent of Essentialism."
Mid bow, the man launched himself at Mr. Shaut.
Tokiya starred on with horror. He thought about how Mr. Shaut was about to die because of him. He would die protecting someone like him.
"Watch out!"
Tokiya tackled Mr. Shaut out of the way, and they both fell to the floor. Mors stopped himself.
Tokiya stood up.
"Sorry, old man. If you can still walk, then get out of here."
He turned to Mors.
"And as for you, if you're looking for me, don't go attacking other people."
Mors stood up straight.
"Ah, it's you, Tokiya. Haha, see? Fate doesn't lie."
Mors cocked his head to the side.
"Although I must ask, why did you saved this poor old man? You could have run away from here and escaped. Your disregard for your own life amazes me."
Tokiya smirked.
"There's no reason for people to be killed because of me. That would only make my existence more worthless than it already is."
Mors smirked along with him.
"You are too hard on yourself. You don't realize that your life does have meaning. Fate made you so that you could be here, so that we could meet."
Mors looked up at the sky as he said this and cast his arms up to the side.
"You're really into this idea of fate."
He looked at Tokiya with wide eyes.
"But of course I am. Fate made all of us. Fate made everything. It is because of Fate that I have this sickle in my hand and because of Fate that I will kill you."
Mors launched himself at Tokiya. By this time, Mr. Shaut had managed to escape, so now Tokiya only had to worry about himself. The crowd around the tower had also dispersed with only some curious people staying.
Tokiya side stepped, but was still almost caught by the crazed cult member. He realized that this fight was not in his favor. Mors was simply too fast for him. Mors swiftly pivoted and launched himself at Tokiya again.
"Shit, what do I do?"
There was only thing Tokiya could think of. Tokiya winded his left arm back, and as Mors rocketed towards him, Tokiya socked him directly in the face. This sent Mors tumbling back with blood flowing from his face.
Mors staggered on his feet.
"Your strength is impressive, far above average."
He coughed up blood.
"Are you a fighter, perchance?"
Tokiya wiped the blood off his hand.
"Nope, just a farmer."
Mors prepared for another launch, and Tokiya prepared another punch to counter. The cult member went rocketing towards Tokiya. Suddenly, Mors stopped right outside of Tokiya's range and launched himself at an angle going right past Tokiya's punch. Once behind Tokiya, Mors launched himself at Tokiya's back.
Tokiya tried to turn around, but the cultist was too fast.
Blood splattered everywhere. The sickle sliced through the flesh on Tokiya's back. It burned. It burned so badly. Tokiya screamed in pure agony. He had never felt this much pain in his life.
He fell to the floor, and like a fountain, his blood geysered out of him just to land right on his back.
At the sight of the gore, any bystander who was still around rushed out of the square. Their panicked screams blended with Tokiya's scream of agony. However, in the blend of sounds, Tokiya's pained voice could clearly be heard and trumped all other screams.
The burning sensation continued. Then the burning erupted. Mors had stabbed his foot into Tokiya's back and was now twisting it. The blood sloshed around in all directions.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"Your screams are so awful. They show that you have not yet accepted Fate. You will die here, so you should spend your last moments enjoying what little time you have left."
With his last word, Mors plunged his foot deeper into the wound.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Mors frowned.
"You still insist on screaming. Very well, I will end your suffering."
Mors bent down to place his sickle on Tokiya's neck.
Laying on the stone ground, Tokiya could only wish that he had been stronger, more cunning, less pathetic. He was reminded of the words of the imposter, Eien.
"Damn it! I don't want to die! All I can do is cling onto life like a pathetic loser, but still, I don't want to die!"
Tokiya lost himself in his own consciousness, similar to when he talked to Eien. He felt himself being taken over by a dark cloud. Audible words of disgust and hatred swarmed around him.
"Weak"
"Unworthy of life"
"Waste of space"
These words were spoken by a familiar condescending voice. Eien's voice.
Tokiya felt the dark cloud in his consciousness fully surround him. He was losing control. It was only the warm blood on the sickle touching his neck that brought him to his senses.
Tokiya screamed out, talking to no one in particular.
"No! I don't care if I'm weak! I don't care if my life is meaningless! I just don't want to die!"
As if on cue with his willful exclamation, the symbol of his Divine Root Blessing, the thorned vine mark on his left arm, began to glow light blue. He could feel power going through his arm.
Mors' eyes quickly turned to look at Tokiya's are without turning his head. His eyes widened.
"That glow. That glow! No, you sinner! You have the mark of the Divine Root Blessing! You are an enemy to Fate! No wonder the boss wanted you dead! Fate must have chosen me, his loyal soldier, to kill you for this reason."
Out of hatred, Mors dug his foot deeper into Tokiya's back.
"AAAAAAAA! Why does everyone hate me?"
Tokiya lifted his left arm and reached back, grabbing Mors' leg. With all of his strength, he tightened his grip, and the mark of his Divine Blessing glowed brighter.
Crunch.
Tokiya shattered the bones in Mors' leg. Mors staggered back, falling on his rear.
Mors' voice became more frantic and high-pitched than before.
"Aaa! How could you do this to me? All I did was carry out Fates orders. How could you? How could you?"
Tokiya used his arms to drag himself away to gain some distance. His thoughts became jumbled. He thought of escape, the pain, and fear all at the same time. As his arms pushed him across the ground, he felt a small pinching pain in his left arm.
He looked at his arm. Small drops of blood came from where the thorns on his mark were.
Tokiya began to hear the groans of Mors behind him. He turned around to see that Mors had somehow managed to stand again. Tokiya realized he needed to get away, so he struggled to his feet. With every movement he lost more and more blood.
"Curse you, you defier of Fate. I will not allow you to live for one more second."
Tokiya coughed, and blood began flowing from his mouth. His body swayed back and forth. He felt dizzy. Mors saw this as his opportunity and launched himself forward, completely destroying his injured leg.
Tokiya feared that this would be the attack that would kill him. However, he realized that with his decimated leg, Mors could no longer use the pivot technique that allowed him to slice his back. With that in mind, Tokiya knew what he had to do.
He placed his left arm low in front of him. When Mors rocketed into his range, with all of his remaining strength, Tokiya released a forceful uppercut in Mors' guts.
A blue glow was released from the impact. Tokiya's arm tore through Mors and an explosion of gore was released in all directions. Mors' body flew into the air and landed about twenty feet away from him. Blood stained the ground where the body landed.
Tokiya starred at the gore with wide eyes. His left arm felt warm and wet. He looked to see that his arm was completely covered in blood. The skin on his arm wasn't even visible. His legs gave in and he fell.
He screamed.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
He continued to scream.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Tears formed in his eyes, and his screams only became louder.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
He dragged his arm on the ground trying to wipe away the blood. However, he did this so hard that it only caused more injuries.
As he continued to scream, his throat grew sore. He heard footsteps. It was a crowd of people rushing towards him. He could hear the clanking of weapons with them.
He looked up to see who was coming. The tears that fell from his face mixed with the blood on the ground.
The crowd emerged from the buildings. Their white uniforms and caps were easily recognizable. It was the local police force. They all came to a halt, looking on with horror.
One of the soldiers spoke with disgust.
"What the hell happened here?"
Tokiya looked up at them with teary eyes. His voice was quiet and weak from all of his previous yelling.
"Please help me."