The Demon Sword: Sorataki

Chapter 40: The clocks strike

Andrew sits in the sea of darkness that was the inside of his mind. And although things seem stagnant he could sense a presence moving through the endless black ink, one that you could very well argue is the darkness itself.

This fact did not faze Andrew however, for almost all his known life he had this nagging sense for it. Over the years he had grown to adapt to this fear. But adapting can only get him as far.

For as much as he has come to accept the fact that the darkness itself cannot harm him he was still convinced that there was something within it, watching him always. This moment was no different.

Knowing how he fell into this pit did not give him any comfort. Perhaps he was dead, he was not sure. One thing he did know was that he was out of sorts and thus out of the fight. Either case was a downer.

"This is no different to last time, go figure." he remarked to himself before bowing his head.

In the end, he failed to accomplish what he set out to do. He was not able to defeat one of Natalie's enemies; he failed as a protector once again.

He failed as a son to his mother, failed as a brother to Zoey. He gave up trying to build any noteworthy relationship with his father save for respect and a yearning to understand him better.

His father Shinichi, a calm and strong man. He held himself in a formal manner at all times like a seasoned worrier would.

This meant that his teachings of the sword were sharp and effective; this also meant that beyond that he had little in the way of a dynamic personality, at least physically. Having little to around six ways to express emotion through a stern face his outward appearance gave little away on his mental intent.

Being his son, however, and living with him though most of his life Andrew knew that he was hiding his true feelings, not just on occasion. But through every waking moment of every day. This along with the move away from his mother's put a rift between the two that never truly recovered.

Only seeing him as an end goal to surpass than an all-around father figure. Beyond that, he wanted to be nothing like the man. Opting to be an out going out spoken person to contrast his lack of speech and honesty. A habit that had started becoming harder and harder to play as of late.

What would he do in my position? Would he have an answer to even this? His mind wondered.

"You can't stay stagnant forever, Andrew." A voice boomed in his head.

Looking up to see who it was he found himself only frowning as he sees his father Shinichi standing opposite him in this sea of darkness. With his thick straight hair and moustache being the focal point of his facial features Andrew found his gaze drew to his dark brown eyes.

With a thin shaven beard and silk robes like that of a monk, his father looks upon Andrew with a stern demeanour. With his hands locked behind his back and feet shoulder width apart, he looks like he was more prepared to start training drills than comforting his clouded son.

Andrew unsure on what to make of his sudden appearance slowly gets onto his feet to face him.

"And why would you care for where I sit my ass? Better question: Since when have you been considerate for my state of mind?" Andrew chuckled to himself before repeatedly shaking his head. "I must have gone crackers, imagining my own dad lecturing me of all people."

He walks on past him with little regard to his own illusion.

"Because you made a pledge to follow your lingering will to whatever conclusion it may lead to, even if it meant going against my wishes. I gave you my sword in honour of that pledge."