Chapter 10 - Twilight
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The light from the projection flickered — shifting from gold to pale white. 𓆩⟡𓆪
Damon's eyes followed the images hanging in the air. They didn't feel like stories anymore. They felt like memories — raw and real. 𓆩⟡𓆪
He leaned forward, the dog resting its chin on his arm, both watching silently.
His mother's voice softened. 𓆩⟡𓆪
"It started with a conversation… about apples." 𓆩⟡𓆪
And as her words echoed, the light formed shapes — a marketplace, laughter, the smell of fruit carried by the wind .𓆩⟡𓆪
A man stood by a stall, bartering over apples.
This...is where Gamishi's story begins.𓆩⟡𓆪
Gamishi stood at a market stall, bartering over a basket of fruit. His son tugged his sleeve, laughing. 𓆩⟡𓆪
The man had eyes like sharpened steel and a calm smile that made strangers trust him. 𓆩⟡𓆪
A man approached — tall, cloaked in grey. His voice low. 𓆩⟡𓆪
"I'm guessing that's Kroxus in human form" Damon stated. 𓆩⟡𓆪
"Yes" his mother replied. "Watch carefully." 𓆩⟡𓆪
"The apples this season aren't as sweet as they used to be," he said. 𓆩⟡𓆪
Gamishi didn't look up. "That's because most eterna users fled with Saro. Our crops lost their touch." 𓆩⟡𓆪
The stranger hummed. "Makes sense. Oh—where are my manners? My name's Kalev." 𓆩⟡𓆪
Gamishi nodded politely, still focused on the apples.
"You don't seem like a local, Kalev." 𓆩⟡𓆪
Kalev smiled. "Maybe not. But I can offer something you'd want. For you… and your family." 𓆩⟡𓆪
Gamishi finally turned to him, one brow raised. 𓆩⟡𓆪
"What's that supposed to mean?" 𓆩⟡𓆪
Kalev leaned closer. "When was the last time your sons had a true taste of what this earth has to offer?." 𓆩⟡𓆪
Gamishi's hand tensed. He signaled to his son, "Haruki, go play near the fountain." 𓆩⟡𓆪
When the boy left, Gamishi turned — his tone sharp. "Talk." 𓆩⟡𓆪
Kalev chuckled. "Straight to business I see" 𓆩⟡𓆪
"Walk with me" Kalev said. Calm but commanding. 𓆩⟡𓆪
Gamishi obeyed. 𓆩⟡𓆪
After a couple minutes of strolling. 𓆩⟡𓆪
"You said you had way, Kalev — a way for things to go back to the way they were" 𓆩⟡𓆪
"Kalev?" asked Kroxus. "Oh yes...that's me" 𓆩⟡𓆪
Then his face flickered. The calm grin twisted, his skin shifting like smoke. 𓆩⟡𓆪
And suddenly, Gamishi wasn't looking at Kalev anymore. 𓆩⟡𓆪
He was looking at Saro. 𓆩⟡𓆪
Gamishi stepped back, eterna flaring from his hands like fire. 𓆩⟡𓆪
"You're supposed to be gone Saro, why are you back?." 𓆩⟡𓆪
Saro smiled. "You need not fight anymore, Gamishi." 𓆩⟡𓆪
"The children on this planet are thinning. The soil's dying. You see it too, don't you?" 𓆩⟡𓆪
"The soil's dying because of you!" Gamishi shouted. "All the blood you spilled! You poisoned it!" 𓆩⟡𓆪
Saro's expression didn't change. "I'd call it progress not something as feeble as poisson." 𓆩⟡𓆪
"Gamishi, we are similar than you think." 𓆩⟡𓆪
"I am nothing like you, you bastard!" Gamishi yelled. 𓆩⟡𓆪
"Hmm, I only offered you fruit not fire. Yet you've offered me flames so far"
"Watch" 𓆩⟡𓆪
Saro's eyes glowed faintly, a crimson ring swirling around the iris. 𓆩⟡𓆪
Gamishi felt it before he saw it — the pressure in his head, his vision flashing.
Suddenly he was seeing things — his home, his wife Yuki, his sons. 𓆩⟡𓆪
And around them… soldiers. Cloaked. Watching. 𓆩⟡𓆪
"See?" Saro whispered. "I'm keeping an eye on you. For security reasons, of course." 𓆩⟡𓆪
"Stop!" Gamishi shouted. His voice broke. "Please… leave them out of this! What do you want from me?" 𓆩⟡𓆪
Saro tilted his head. "So you do understand." 𓆩⟡𓆪
He smiled. "We leave at sundown. Say your goodbyes. Soon your eyes will be open to the error of your ways." 𓆩⟡𓆪
And in a blink — he was gone. 𓆩⟡𓆪
Gamishi's heart raced. He ran, faster than his lungs could carry him. 𓆩⟡𓆪
"Haruki!" he shouted, grabbing his son mid-play. "We're going home." 𓆩⟡𓆪
"But I just started the next round!" the boy whined, laughing. 𓆩⟡𓆪
Gamishi didn't reply. His grip was tight — desperate. 𓆩⟡𓆪
He could still feel eyes on him. 𓆩⟡𓆪
And when Haruki glanced back, through the crowd — he saw him.
Saro. 𓆩⟡𓆪
Smiling. 𓆩⟡𓆪
The world slowed. The smile burned itself into the boy's memory like a scar.
At home, Gamishi burst through the door. 𓆩⟡𓆪
"Yuki! Akira!"
His wife turned, startled. 𓆩⟡𓆪
"It's only been a few hours, my love. I didn't know you missed—" 𓆩⟡𓆪
He kissed her — hard, sudden. 𓆩⟡𓆪
"Yuki… there's trouble." 𓆩⟡𓆪
Her eyes widened. "What happened?" 𓆩⟡𓆪
"I saw Saro," he said quickly. "He's here. He threatened you and the boys. I have to go to him before sundown." 𓆩⟡𓆪
"Go to him?" she whispered. "No… why not tell the council?" 𓆩⟡𓆪
"Because more will die! They'll fight without knowing what they're up against!" 𓆩⟡𓆪
She trembled, gripping his arms. "You can't just leave us!"𓆩⟡𓆪
He looked at her, eyes soft, voice breaking. 𓆩⟡𓆪
"What's worse, Yuki — my death, or you and the boys suffering alone?" 𓆩⟡𓆪
She shook her head. "Don't say that." 𓆩⟡𓆪
Her hands pressed against his chest — she could feel his heart racing. 𓆩⟡𓆪
He smiled faintly. "The world was perfect once. Maybe I can remind him of that." 𓆩⟡𓆪
Tears welled in her eyes. "Promise me," she whispered. 𓆩⟡𓆪
He hesitated. "Yuki…" 𓆩⟡𓆪
"Promise me," she said again, her voice cracking. "Promise me you'll come back." 𓆩⟡𓆪
Gamishi took her hand, pressing it to his chest. 𓆩⟡𓆪
"I promise." 𓆩⟡𓆪
He kissed her forehead. The two boys watched quietly — one confused, one scared. 𓆩⟡𓆪
Yuki buried her face into his shoulder. "Please come back." 𓆩⟡𓆪
He didn't answer. 𓆩⟡𓆪
In a couple hours…. 𓆩⟡𓆪
The sun was already sinking below the hills. 𓆩⟡𓆪
And in its fading light, Gamishi walked out — his shadow stretching long behind him. 𓆩⟡𓆪
Back in the throne room, Damon's mother stood silently for a moment, the light dimming again. 𓆩⟡𓆪
"That's where it began," she said softly. 𓆩⟡𓆪
"The war that ache all three planes." "But that was only the beginning" 𓆩⟡𓆪
Damon leaned back in the chair Hazel had made from eterna. The dog scratched behind its ear.𓆩⟡𓆪
"So Gamishi went to meet him," Damon said. "Knowing it was a trap."𓆩⟡𓆪
"Yes." 𓆩⟡𓆪
"Then he's either brave," Damon said quietly, "or stupid."𓆩⟡𓆪
"You'll understand why soon enough." his mother replied. 𓆩⟡𓆪
The dog barked. "So basically, moral of the story — don't trust creepy apple guys?" 𓆩⟡𓆪
Hazel giggled. "Exactly, little one." 𓆩⟡𓆪
Damon looked up at the dragon symbol above. 𓆩⟡𓆪
Its shadow framed his mother with near perfection. 𓆩⟡𓆪
And for a moment, he wondered which side she stood on. 𓆩⟡𓆪
The thought lingered longer than it should have. 𓆩⟡𓆪
Her eyes were calm, something in them looked odd. But her voice had the tone of someone who'd chosen a side long ago. 𓆩⟡𓆪
He wondered if, this whole time, she was speaking to him as the Queen. 𓆩⟡𓆪
The dog yawned beside him, tail flicking. 𓆩⟡𓆪
"Guess bedtime stories hit different here," it muttered. 𓆩⟡𓆪
Damon almost smiled — almost. 𓆩⟡𓆪
"Damon, Gamishi's story is not over" his mother said in a serious tone. 𓆩⟡𓆪
If its not over, he thought, then what comes next? 𓆩⟡𓆪
༒༻⟡༺༒༒༻⟡༺༒༒༻⟡༺༒༒༻⟡༺༒༒༻⟡༺༒༒༻⟡༺༒༒༻⟡༺
End of Chapter 10– Twilight.