Kuro: A Land in Eternal Night

Chapter 18.1: Answers

"And thus the tale ends."

There was silence in the cave. Not a word was uttered and the fire continued to crackle in the darkness, punctuating the stillness with its staccato pop, the sound of the water dripping slowly from the stalactites on the cave ceiling.

"With that move, I was able to gain the ultimate prize, the game piece that would allow me to eventually end the war. For the last five hundred years, I have walked Kuro, hunting every last denizen of the Yami. I am known through history as the Dark Priestess."

"And what of Searra?" Mina asked, tears streaming down her face.

A sigh escaped Vannah, uncharacteristic of the normally stoic priestess. "My sister was lost, dead by my hand. I buried her near the temple in an unmarked grave. I would not return there anymore. I took her name – the only thing of hers I could keep – and made it part of mine, that I might remember her forever."

"What fate befell Talthys?" Mykall the warrior inquired, his rough-hewn but oddly handsome face pensive again, the dark eyes sharp and inquisitive.

"Gaining control over Enma was instrumental in turning the tide, but it was too late to save Talthys that day. The Yami forces were too great, and my emotions had gotten the best of me. When Searra died, I fled the scene, taking her body with me. The Seal of Tsukuyomi had left me considerably weakened. In my state of mind, I could not risk losing control over the Demon Lord. Should his will overcome mine, I would become subservient to him. I chose the path of caution, knowing full well that this meant sacrificing all of Talthys in the process. One sin leading to another, in a never-ending chain of consequences. The war raged on, neither side aware of what had taken place. Ultimately, the inevitable happened. The forces of the Yami were inexhaustible, and the finite resources of Talthys ran out. The five-layer defense crumbled, and without a powerful priestess to guard over it, Tengoku-ji fell. My sisters perished, and with the death of the last priestess, Talthys was no more."

Vannah shook her head, her braids swaying in the darkness, stopping at last to rest comfortably on the robes she wore. Mina found it hard to believe that the pretty young girl that stood before them had such a storied life.

"With the temple overrun and without a clear leader, the Yami dispersed. Confused and directionless, the demons began to wander the land aimlessly."

Vannah slowly walked across the room to stand beside Enma's left.

"He has been by my side ever since, and I by his. For the last five hundred years we have hunted the Yami – he, doing so against his will. But it comes at a price. For I am one of them now, you see. The Yami are my brethren. Fated am I now to forever to live under the darkness, fighting for a cause that has long forsaken me, and that has been all but forgotten."

Vannah managed a half smile. There was sadness in the slit eyes. "I guess you could say that after five hundred years, the Justice of Vannah Searra von Talthys is alive and well."

"My actions that day saved Kuro from the Yami. Over the course of the last two hundred years I have witnessed a dramatic decline in their numbers. Believing Kuro safe from the Yami threat, and thinking I was no longer needed, I disappeared into the mists of history, leaving Kuro to fend for itself, all the while watching and waiting for the maiden of prophecy to come."

Vannah's expression darkened. "It was a mistake. The Yami did not disappear, it hid. It lay in the darkness, hiding its presence from me as it renewed its forces."

Vannah shook her head, and there was anger in her eyes. "At the time, something else happened, something, I did not expect. Man's greed has all but drained the land of the Goddess Essence. Taiyou-Shi, that accursed city, has made a mockery of the Goddess' benevolence, taking and hoarding the bountiful energy that she left for the benefit of all humanity, and giving it to a selfish few."

Vannah turned to Mina and pointed accusingly at her. "Taiyou-Shi's actions have depleted the Goddess Essence. The Troves, once abundant now lie empty. Spent. The land around us is dying, bereft of the Goddess' gentle blessing. Surely you feel it in the winds, they blow colder than before. Kuro itself is dying without the benevolence of the Goddess."

Vannah's eyes looked at Mina first, then Mykall, the slit eyes boring into them. In the darkness, she appeared more Yami-like. For a moment, Mina thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, for the priestess' skin had taken on a purplish hue as well. "Kuro's weakened state has brought about a great threat, one that has prompted my return to the land. You can feel the power of the gathering darkness. Enma was not alone in his leadership of the Yami. Draining the land of the Goddess Essence has awakened something else. Something far greater, far older and infinitely more powerful. His name is rarely uttered, even in the ancient texts that speak of myth and legend."

Mykall turned to Vannah, his dark eyes piercing. "Mikaboshi."