Mountain of The Suns • Book 2

Chapter 4

We came deeper into the lower chambers and I could see the floor had a series of small divots that water flowed through. I didn't know where the water was coming from but it all pooled in as each small river flowed in and met in the center. Each line was drawn as if it didn't have any rhyme or reason, it just needed to end up in the center.

It was as if water from several sources were all collecting into the middle of the room into one spot which was the fountain. It was then I looked around the large fountain in the center stood the three Masters and Midori stood there seemingly waiting on Jun and I.

I had seen him before at Yabune just a few days ago and he was a bulky bald man. He looked just as scary as Daigo just in a very different way. He was much larger and while I knew he spoke kindly of me around the other Meishu he looked meaner than all of them combined. Riku was stood next to the fountain as well still in his same green robes which I had noticed was too without sleeves.

A very small dark haired woman stood by him and she almost looked like a child. As Jun and I walked closer I could see she was a lot older than I had thought. She had very sleepy looking eyes and her hair was rather slickly pulled back. She wore a soft smile as she clasped her hands in front of herself. Though she looked young you could see her age in her eyes.

An older man stood next to Midori on his other side and he wore a stern face. His jawline was quite angular and cold but something told me he wasn't making any faces, that was just his face. He watched us closely and I could have heard a pin drop in this silence.

"It is nice to see you both here, I say we get this over with so you can get comfortable. I can sense you both are uneasy." Midori said with his hands clasped in front of himself.

"Can I go first Midori?" Jun asked and I snapped to him.

"I see you take your duty of protecting young Makio very seriously." He said and I could hear a slight chuckle from Midori, something I never heard from Daigo. "Very well come forth."

I watched as Jun went first and I unwrapped my arms around my waist. I wanted to tell him not to but he was already wading through the fountain before my words would have even come out. I stood back and watched as he joined Midori in the center. I could see the water was deeper than the Fountain of Yabune despite looking flush with the ground. Jun was nearly up to his chest in the water before he had started to float on his back in front of the Meishu.

I had never seen anyone else go through the ceremony before. The one time Yami and I both went through it, I was unconscious before he could even go. I was confused why Jun or I needed to do the ceremony in the first place since we had already done it back at Yabune. I guess it was just a technicality, but that didn't make it any easier.

I saw water dripping from the ceiling and Jun's eyes would finch with every drop. I saw Midori look up and his eyes glowed white and Jun was submerged under the water. My breathing hitched in my throat as I looked to him. I took a few steps forward to see better and I saw him slightly shaking. All emotion had left his face and he looked pale. I looked around at the others and they looked calm and collected. I started to get unsettled, but just before I got too worried he had come back up.

I guess I had never realized how quick these ceremonies were because it felt much longer when I had gone through it myself. Jun flailed his limbs for a moment before flipping around to see us all looking at him. He was out of breath as he pushed forward through the water to get out. His clothes were soaked wet and his hair was sticking to his neck.

As he walked up the steps I rushed forward and helped him out before the other Masters even had a chance to come over. He was cold and out of breath but he appeared to be fine. Though, it had to be said that his eyes were nearly popping out of his head. He looked to be in a state of shock as the color had drained from his face.