Makiya

7. Earsight

Eyes as if sparkling. Breath as heavy as after a fight with a beast. Muscles and veins popping. Teeth grinding hard.

This was what described Andrey best as he was fighting the current of the waterfall, climbing the rocky mountain, following the bird that pierced through the waterfall.

The strong and cold current, the loud noise of gallons crashing and forming a lake, the water in his eyes - it all felt like a living hell to him. This torture was so strong that his face enraged as he wanted to scream, but he would then get plenty of water in his mouth and ruin his breathing tempo.

It took only as much as thirty minutes to climb to the middle of this man-destroying beautiful nature’s phenomenon.

Right before giving up, Andrey focused all his remaining force in this last rush up. He hung his head down and screamed as he tried to pull himself up so fast that the rapid burst of strength would allow him to succeed in his endeavor.

Soaked to the bone, he had entered the cave behind the waterfall. After crawling a few meters inside it, he realized he was in pitch-black darkness. There was no waterfall behind him. It was dark. As if his eyesight had disappeared.

Am I blind?

He asked himself, lowering his head, trying to look at his hands, but he could not see anything. Then he tried to feel his face with both arms, just to be sure that what’s happening is real.

Still breathing heavily, he realized he had to calm his breath and try to avoid the panic which had begun to pound his heart.

The ground was far from flat, therefore he tried to make a few steps, but fell down on his face.

“Ouch!” he mumbled in pain from the rocky edge which hit his rib.

“I'm not getting anywhere this way.” He said as he tried to use his Earsight.

...Breathe...

He tried to concentrate while hugging the ground.

After finally calming down, the waterfall still couldn't be heard. It was weird. It was as if the ground and the very air were vibrating. They were visible to his Earsight. Slowly he could now "hear" the landscape. Slowly getting on his feet with eyes closed, he walked a few steps forward with his jaw open.

             

(- Drawing by Desislava Kopcheva)

Marvelous! Stunned by what he could "see". Pitch dark background and turquoise-colored waves marked the edges of the ground. The air itself appeared like dust. The very concentration of oxygen could be seen in certain places. Like a blue-colored dust ball floating in the air.

Accustomed to his new sight, he started exploring the cave. Not everything was visible, but the movement of the air revealed the movement of a bird laying in wait just before him. Suddenly, blinding lights in the shapes of birds clapped wings around him. The dead silence was broken by their caws. It was hundreds of caws ricocheting in these cave walls. Complete madness.

As the birds flew past him he tried to hit them back with his hands, but his attempts were in vain, as his attacks went through them as if through ghosts. The madness ended when finally the birds went through his body. They didn't make an impact. They just crashed and disappeared into him, as if he was a dry sponge absorbing water..

Andrey ran down the cave, but it was meaningless. Screaming terrified of this horror, he fell down to the ground again. More birds flying towards him caused lights like sunrays. Upon their impact, Andrey’s body was set ablaze in blue flames. Engulfed in the light, he screamed for a few seconds, although he felt them for minutes.

He didn’t feel any pain. The birds’ screams as if pierced through his soul, though. And then there was complete silence again. Darkness returned. Andrey had lost his Earsight. Pitch black darkness came again.

After his body had begun recovering from the shaking caused by stress, he tried to concentrate and activate his Earsight skill again. After the landscape revealed itself once more, Andrey stood up and continued walking deeper into the cave.

He could see two short straight branches resembling small swords on the ground. He kneeled down and took them into his hands. Wondering about what the metaphor of this whole event could be. He was trying to figure out if he had fallen into illusion or maybe he ate something which caused hallucinations? Was any of this actually real and happening right now?

Footsteps of someone running behind him. As the image got closer, it got more revealed. A sword! Andrey stood up and turned around, trying to take a stance, but failed. That very moment he ducked so low to the ground as if he got squashed, but that way he managed to evade getting his body severed in half.

As if his body reacted on its own, he not only dodged but also tried striking back with his right short-wooden branch. To no appeal, though. There was nothing there. He simply went through the person, who just like those birds disappeared into the air as dust.

In awe, Andrey turned around again, this time with his guard up and walking as if in a fight.

More footsteps, this time faster. Andrey's Earsight started to improve as he could focus the image faster. A blue silhouette of a man carrying a sword was just about to try to slice through him. With confidence, Andrey believed he too would pass through him so he didn't react.

The body didn't swing the sword but just crashed into him, again dispersing into the air.

Andrey continued to walk forward with his eyes closed. He didn't need them to see.

A sword swing almost splitting him in half was coming at him. In a split second, Andrey blocked it with his wooden branches. The clash resonated a strong steel sound. A struggle formed and the steel grinding amazed the young man.

“It's not wood? It sure feels like it.” he spoke to himself, referring to the sticks in his hands, as the image of his opponent disappeared in front of him.

After walking forward, he destroyed more of those swordsmen until he finally saw a strong light in the distance. Impatiently his legs quickened up the pace towards it as more and more images appeared before him. He slashed through them all as he screamed furiously.

The menacing rampage had suddenly ended and his mouth closed as a source of light shined upon him. This time the image had a face and tattoos were all over. Actually, it was a normal human female body and the source of light was those tattoos.

"I am Dea'n'ha. You can call me Dea. We have met before." A beautiful, melodic, gentle female voice spoke to him."

"You are that girl!" Andrey said as he recognized her face. Still looking around with his guard up he was obviously worried about his life.

"You can lower your guard. You passed the test." her melodic voice still sounded so magical that his stress immediately as if disappeared.

"What was this test for? You are a sorceress?" He asked, as she wouldn't reply immediately to any of the questions.

"Go there and take the source of that light." she said as she pointed with her hand while the tattoos were sparkling beautifully. "It is yours." she added after a few seconds.

Now that she said that Andrey could see a great source of light behind her. He walked a few steps as that light shined so bright if he was using his eyes he would probably go blind.

Now that he was near this fountain of light, he could focus the object better. There were two blades as if floating a few centimeters above the ground.

"You came from another world, Andrey." Dea'n'ha said as he faced her to listen. "I saw your whole life from the day you were born. Things you don't remember." she spoke calmly and after a few seconds continued, "Every emotion, disease, hardship, I felt it like you did.".

Speechless Andrey just stood there feeling like his life wasn't even owned by him anymore. He felt completely helpless. Had any action even mattered? 

"Yeah?" he simply said without much emotion in his words.

"The source of that light. It's yours. Take it." She pushed him into action as he turned around and dropped those sticks he was holding on to all this time. He kneeled and grabbed those two blades gently. Black sparkles blew out from the weapons. As if black electricity went through them.

Andrey tried to stand up with his hands slowly taking the swords closer to his face.

Suddenly the blades as if on their own just turned around and pierced through his heart.

The moment of panic struck him as to him the whole world went white. A second later he realized he felt no pain. 

"Is any of this real?" he asked Dea'n'ha as he slowly faced her with the two blades striking through his body.

Silence was the answer. He waited for her reply for a while, but there was not such.

He hanged his head down as he opened his eyes for a second - still completely dark. He closed them again and restored his vision. He took the blades out one by one as they slowly turned from shining bright white to black.

"Open your eyes now." she said as she started walking towards him.

There was a rock right in the middle of the waterfall, and Andrey was standing on it. Philius resembled the Moon.

Before him, he could see the swords still going from bright white to pitch black. They emitted black sparks along the way as the white was consumed by the black. The swords suddenly started to vibrate as before his very eyes, in the middle of the blades’ length red magma-like letters, formed a word he knew well.

....Makiya....