44 Complete, But Hollow

Ryouma watched in horror as Arata barbarically charged at the young Forest Drakes in a vicious rage. Arata slashed and sliced at the Forest Drake's, massacring the young Forest Drakes. He was overwhelmed by the voices and screams in his mind and heart, he was completely unaware of the destruction he was causing. Ryouma wanted to stop him, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"This is the mission. Also he will kill you indiscriminately if you approach him now."

Ryouma hesitated. Not only did he want to stop the innocent baby Forest Drake's from dying, but he didn't want Arata to come out of the rage and feel the guilt of what he has done.

"The guilt and shame is what we of the Sato Clan are to bear so those in the light can live free from it. We sacrifice our souls for the joy of the innocent. That is our purpose."

Ryouma wanted to contradict him. But he couldn't. He stood there, shaking from the complex emotions. He wanted to turn and look away, but he couldn't. He couldn't let Arata bear this weight alone. The Shadowguard saw Ryouma watching adamantly and nodded his head in approval.

'You chose well, Young Master Arata.'

The voices were slowly retreating and the darkness in Arata's mind, heart and body were clesring up slowly. He had finally reached a point of submission. The Darkness had been satisfies and satiated. It was now obedient and under his control. Arata froze as he realized this. It had been satisfied. He blinked as he regained control of his body. He looked at his hands. They were firmly gripping the twin blades, Sunrise and Nightfall. They were also covered in blood. He was covered in blood.

A lot of blood.

Arata looked around him and felt slightly sick. There were cut up corpses of baby Forest Drakes scattered around him. A trail of blood leading from the dead Gold Ranked Forest Drake to where he stood. Arata felt a sick pain mixed with sadness and guilt fill him. He heard a soft screech behind him. He turned to find four baby Forest Drakes in the corner. They all looked at him with eyes of pure fear.

Arata was lost as he didn't know what to do. He had slaughtered so many in his rage, and he knew he needed to finish the mission and kill these four as well. But his hand shook in hesitation. He was hit by conflicting emotions as he stood there staring at the four Forest Drakes. Ryouma and the Shadowguard watched the shaking Arata. The Shadowguard sighed

"He has the power and a strong will. But at the end of the day, Young Master Arata is still a child. He is not yet ready."

The Shadowguard stepped forward and was about to draw his blade when a hand stopped him. The Shadowguard turned to see Ryouma. There was a hesitant look in his eyes, but he did his best to sound confident, as if to convince himself just as much as the Shadowguard.

"This is our mission. We can finish it. As Arata's Shadowguard, it is my duty to finish what he started."

The Shadowguard was surprised, although no one could tell as his face was completely covered. The Shadowguard let go of his blade and moved out of Ryouma's way. Ryouma ran forward to Arata. Arata was still staring st the four Forest Drakes, completely frozen and unable to move. The Forest Drakes were in the same state of shock and fear, frozen as the cowered before Arata. Arata flinched as a hand rested on his shoulder.

"Captain, sheathe your blades. Your battle is over. Allow me to finish things."

Arata continued to stand there shaking, unable to move. Ryouma stepped in front if Arata. He charged a powerful fire arrow. The four Forest Drakes shivered in terror as they saw the fire. Ryouma charged it so the explosion would finish it in one shot. He aimed at the Forest Drakes in the corner. His hand shook as he hesitated. He grit his teeth as he steeled himself.

"The Sato Clan fights in the Shadows so that people may live in the Light. Sacrifice our souls for the joy and safety of the innocent."

A tear came down Ryouma's face as he released the arrow. He closed his eyes as he felt the heat of the fire on his face. The loud sound if the explosion. And then there was nothing. Not a single sound. Deafening silence. Ryouma opened his eyes to see that the explosion had burst through the wall of the nest. He could see that the fire cage outside had completely dissipated. He turned to see Arata staring back at him. He put his blades back in their scabbards and Ryouma watched as Arata's eyes turned back to normal.

Ryouma could now see the pain in Arata's eyes. The two boys quietly stared at each other for a moment. Arata turned around as he heard the sound of footsteps.

"You have a worthy Shadowguard here, Young Master Arata."

Arata looked at the Shadowguard before him. He had a curious look that quickly disappeared as he put the pieces together.

"Makani. I guess my Father sent you to observe."

The Shadowguard bowed.

"Yes, Young Master. You both have done well. Congratulations on competing your first mission."

Arata went silent as he looked around at the nest.

"Completed, huh?"

The Shadowguard leaned forward.

"Young Master?"

Arata shook his head.

"No, it's nothing."

The Shadowguard stared at Arata for a few seconds before nodding.

"I will take care of the clean up and the minor details. You two can head on back to the Institute. Lord Azrail will contact you."

Arata nodded.

"Thank you, Makani."

The Shadowguard bowed as wind gathered around him and he disappeared and rushed away with the wind. Ryouma watched the Shadowguard.

"That guy is strong, huh?"

Arata nodded.

"In terms of assassinations, Makani is the best the Clan has."

Ryouma understood seeing how he just disappeared so easily.

"And his voice is so chilling. Scares the crap out of me."

Arata thought of something and chuckled. Ryouma looked at him curiously.

"What is it?"

Arata shook his head and walked to the exit.

"You'll know in time."

The two boys walked out of the nest. They looked at the carnage around them. Arata reined in his emotions as he continued to walk into the forest. Ryouma followed behind him. They walked through the dark forest in silence. Both boys in quiet contemplation of everything that had happened. It had been one hell of a night. They made their way back to the village. Everything was still as the two boys looked over the village.

After a minute, Arata walked over to the carriage.

"We should wash up and then rest. We can head back in the morning."

Ryouma nodded. They found a well in what looked like the village center. They drew some water and cleaned themselves. After getting changed, they fell asleep in the carriage. If you could call it sleeping. The two boys lay with their eyes closed as images flashed through their minds. After a long silence, Ryouma spoke up.

"After tonight, I don't think I could ever sleep properly again. How does your Father and the other Shadowguards do it?"

Arata stayed quiet for a moment.

"My Father doesn't sleep anymore. His deep meditation and cultivation during nights rejuvenates him and he doesn't need to sleep. Instead he grows in strength every night. I can do it too but it isn't effective for me until I break through my current bottleneck. I also can't enter deep meditation as easy as him."

Arata and Ryouma lay in silence again.

"Will it always be this hard?"

Arata sighed.

"No. It is more likely to get worse. Regretting your decision?"

Ryouma instantly replied.

"No! Of course not! It's just....hard."

Arata understood. He coughed.

"We should get some rest."

The two boys forced themselves to go to sleep. When they awoke, they fed the horses and headed off. They were silent for the first hour of the trip before they started chatting and cracking jokes. As they neared the Institute, the two boys were laughing together. Arata nodded at Ryouma who nodded back as the two boys donned the signature looks of arrogance and disdain. Arata felt comfortable in this mask of his. They went to the South Dorm. They headed upstairs to their rooms. There was a student in front of Ryouma's room. His eyes lit up as he saw Ryouma.

"There you are. Been hiding away, huh? I challenge y.."

The boy couldn't finish his sentence as he was sent flying down the corridor by an explosion of flames. Ryouma retracted his fist.

"I'm tired, don't bother me."

Ryouma and Arata entered their respective rooms. Arata closed the door and walked over to his bed. He collapsed on it as he began thinking about the mission. The blood and the death. He sighed as he rolled onto his back.

"Mission complete. Then why does it feel so hollow?"

"Why is a dark act needed for the light to continue?"

Arata wasn't shocked when he heard King's voice.

"Balance is needed in the world. Where there is light, there must also be darkness. If you can control and tame the darkness, the light can shine unrestricted."

"You have darkness within you but no light. Is it because the darkness is not tamed or the light is weak?"

Arata was confused. What the hell was King talking about? King continued talking.

"Light and Darkness are two side of the same coin. The same as the feeling you have within you. The mission is complete, yet hollow. The constant pull of contradictions create the balance of the world. As well as the balance within us."

Was King trying out to be a bad fortune cookie? None of what he said made sense.

"You have all the information you need. Now find your path. By being nothing, you can comprehend everything."

Arata tried to piece together what King was trying to say. King only ever spoke when Arata needed to grow stronger and would give hints to help him in the right direction. Arata sat cross legged and began meditating over what he was told. Contradictions. What did he mean by that?

Arata began thinking about his Elemental Reservoir. He had been stuck in his cultivation and wasn't able to compress his Energy since his Energy was nothing and you couldn't compress nothing. Arata paused. The method of compressing and solidifying different Elements changed depending on the characteristics and nature of the Elements. Arata used Non-Elemental Energy. He thought that it was impossible to compress nothing, but maybe his perspective on it was wrong.

He began thinking about the contradictive nature of balance that King was talking about. Relating that to Non-Elemental and the Void, in it's purest form, it could be used to reflect everything. By being nothing, you can comprehend everything. The contradictory nature. What if it isn't about compressing nothing, but solidifying everything? A complete Energy that is hollow. Arata's eyes lit up.

"My Elemental Reservoir!"

Arata concentrated on his Elemental Reservoir. The Elemental Reservoir was the container for one's Energy. But what if your Energy was nothing? Was there a purpose in a container? Instead of only using the empty space in the container, why not use the empty space everywhere? Arata began pressing against the borders of his Elemental Reservoir. Pushing it, hitting it with his Energy. He directed his Energy to smash against the walls of the Reservoir.

He felt a crack. Followed by another. Then another. A chain of cracks could be felt across his body. Arata felt a large crash within him as he coughed up blood. He had broken his Elemental Reservoir. Arata felt a surge of pain and power rush him. He was completely overwhelmed and wasn't sure what was going on. He felt that he was going to die if this continued.

He felt his Energy began to circulate through his body. It felt familiar. It was the pathway that King had used. The room around him began to shake violently. He felt that he had become a black hole as items in the room were pulled towards him. The Energy in the room was also being drawn to him. In an instant, the Energy within him exploded as it absorbed all the Energy in the room. He gasped as a massive rush of Energy hit him and he passed out.