Departed

Chapter 31: Battle

Morro's POV

     The Overlord will be ready to attack soon.

      The next few days were spent with endlessly attempting to find a way to fight with injuries. Jay's foot was still in no shape to be walking on, Nya could barely run without crying out, Kai was still weaker from the poison, and while Lloyd's leg wasn't that bad, I doubted his limp would give him an advantage during battle. My chest was recovering nicely, but it hurt more than ever with the stress piling on it day after day.

     The Vermillion were gathering in really small groups and wandering around the outskirts of the city. They hadn't invaded any villages, terrorized any citizens, or attacked anything in general. Sensei said to just continue to rest and heal, that we'd take them out if they started harming people. But nothing could hide the imminent darkness that was to come. I knew the Overlord wasn't going to wait until Harumi had a son to attack. It was very possible we could wake up the next morning to the city in carnage.

      The Ninja, despite being under orders to recover, didn't rest. I knew this because their room was next to mine, and they conversed late into the night. I didn't know if they ever went to sleep. At some point during their muffled conversations, I was able to block out the noise and rest. Whether they actually stopped talking or I just got used to hearing their voices was a mystery to me. Even when I did finally go to sleep, it was restless.

     I kept having nightmares.

     I would always dream of a battle. I'd hear the hisses of the Vermillion, see the glowing eyes of the Overlord, and smell the iron tang of blood. There was always so much blood. Harumi would appear in it all, screaming something I couldn't understand, yet I could grasp the tone of her voice. It was sorrowful, filled to the brim with pain. I would wake up in a cold sweat, gasping for air.

     Every time I had the nightmare, I would feel more guilty. It filled me with the internal struggle that kept me awake for the rest of the long nights. I couldn't tell Harumi what was to come. It would break her. No matter how guilty keeping secrets, especially one this big, made me, I couldn't tell her. I couldn't.

     I felt like someone had grabbed my heart. As each day passed, the grip slowly got tighter. It became harder to breathe and my chest always hurt. I knew the time was near. The time where everything I had seen on my destiny scroll came to pass.

     I knew one day I would wake up and the pain would be gone. That day would be the one where everything I had seen would happen. As time dragged on, I panicked more and more. How could I tell her everything? How could I say goodbye?

     I didn't let Harumi know anything was wrong. I knew she suspected something, since her gaze had become distrustful when I insisted everything was fine. She didn't press for details.

     Despite the various injuries that had been inflicted on her left arm, Harumi still kept training with it. She spent her time like the Ninja, endlessly perfecting her aim and slices. I could tell she was still processing the information her parents' had given her, and she was using training as a way to let out her frustration.

     I offered to help her a few times, but she always wanted to do it alone. I would sit out on the deck with her, to offer her some company, and pour through the Cloud Kingdom's book while she threw dagger after dagger.

      Transferring Elemental Power: The Houses' Guide to the Elements.

      The book was one of the most fascinating things I had ever studied. It went through each detail of transferring elemental power, from direct transmission to how to make a power dormant inside someone. There was a precise procedure for each transmission to make sure the recipient would receive the most power possible.