Chapter 5:

  Shogai's wounds weren't healed when he woke up, which must have been hours later, as the sun had already risen. The fire was out, and as Shogai looked around, he could see that the entire village was damp. It had rained after all. That was lucky.

  Shogai hobbled to his feet and examined his surroundings. The villagers were back, rushing around. Trying to fix things.

  When they realised Shogai was awake, people were swarming him. They were... angry?

  "What happened?!" A man's voice cut through the morning air, angry and frightened. "You said you could protect us!"

  "He wasn't even here!" another voice shouted. "He showed up AFTER the damage had been done! Where were you, Shogai?!"

  "That's not fair-" someone started, but was drowned out by others.

  "My daughter is DEAD!" A woman's scream silenced everyone. Her face was streaked with tears. "She's dead, and you didn’t save her!"

  "He beat Sekara before," another voice tried weakly. "He couldn't have known-" "He should have known! He promised us we were safe!"

  "Everyone, please-" A man raised his hands, trying to restore calm, but the crowd was too raw, too hurt, too scared.

  Shogai stood frozen. What could he say? They were right. He had failed them. A rock hit his shoulder. Then another. Not everyone was throwing stones. Some people looked away, ashamed. Others had tears in their eyes. A few looked like they wanted to defend him, but were too afraid of the mob.

  "Shogai." It was Garen's mother, her son standing beside her with half his face bandaged from burns. So he was alive. Good. But he seemed… furious. His mother spoke calmly for the sake of her son. Her voice was cold but shaking. "You need to leave. Now."

  "I-" "NOW!"

  The crowd surged forward, and Shogai stumbled back. He saw faces he'd known his whole life. Some looked guilty. Some looked genuinely angry. Some just looked broken, needing someone to blame for their pain. And he was the easiest target.

  "You've lived up to your name," someone in the back spat. "Chaos." Shogai felt something inside him break. He turned and ran. Behind him, voices erupted - some defending him now that he was leaving, others shouting good riddance. But it was too late.

  Shogai staggered away from them, desperate to escape.

  "LEAVE!"

  Shogai took one look back. He made eye contact with Armison.

  Armison wasn't in the crowd. Shogai spotted him at a distance. He wasn't angry. Instead, his eyes were apologetic. A girl with green hair stood beside him.

  Armison raised a hand and made a beckoning motion, but Shogai turned away.

  It was official. He was banished.

  The weight of the village's words stuck with Shogai even as he left. Each step sent a sharp pain through his stomach - the wound Sekara had given him was still bleeding through his shirt. He pressed a hand against it, but that only made it worse.

  He retraced his footsteps from the night before and arrived back at the cliff. He'd sat by this cliff for hours. During that time, Nomun was attacked. He hadn’t been there.

  This was all his fault.

  Shogai crouched right next to the edge, one hand still clutching his stomach. Quite the drop. He'd been lucky his whole life, living without much trouble, even despite his name. But now it was catching up to him. The bad luck he was born with. This never would have happened if Nomun hadn’t drawn the attention of Sekara. If he'd never existed.

  …this really was quite the drop.

  If there was ever a sign, it would be this...

  Shogai took one step over the edge.

  He froze.

  He couldn't move. Why couldn't he move? A presence invaded his mind. Something was attacking him.

  With immense effort, Shogai broke free of whatever held him and lashed out behind him. His fist connected with a body, sending someone tumbling backwards. The movement tore at his wound, and he gasped in pain.

  Shogai prepared for a follow-up attack, but a voice stopped him.

  "That's enough, Shogai. Now, please don't kill my granddaughter."

  Armison appeared from the treeline, and Shogai got a good look at his attacker. It was the girl from before. About his age, with green hair. Shogai had never met her, and he'd lived in Nomun his whole life.

  "Granddaughter? Who is she? What's going on?"

  Armison sighed, then noticed the blood seeping through Shogai's shirt.

  "First things first. Sit down before you collapse."

  Armison gestured, and the green-haired girl pulled bandages from a small pack. Shogai sat heavily, his vision swimming slightly.

  "I was shortsighted, Shogai," Armison said as the girl unwrapped the bandages. "I don't know why I expected the Deviant to just give up after night one. I gave the villagers false expectations of you. I set you up for failure. And I am truly sorry."

  Shogai didn't know what to say. While this was probably mostly Armison's fault, he couldn't bring himself to blame him. Or the villagers. Only himself.

  Armison used a new word, and Shogai asked about it. "Deviant. What's a Deviant?"

  Armison carefully structured his response, but Shogai wasn't really paying attention. The girl was cleaning his wound now, and the sting of it made his eyes water. He truly didn't care what Armison was saying. There wasn’t any point in even treating this wound. If they'd come to stop him from jumping, they hadn't changed his mind.

  The green-haired girl spoke up as she worked.

  "Well, you'd better change your mind, Shogai, because you've done nothing wrong."

  "Nothing wrong? I-"

  Shogai paused. He hadn't expressed his unchanged mind out loud. How did she know?

  The girl smiled as she slowly wrapped the bandage around his torso, and her voice echoed inside his head - not from his ears, but from somewhere deeper.

  My name's Jade. I'm a telepath. Also a hypnotist.

  "And as I was saying, you haven't done anything wrong. This was the work of the Deviants."

  "What is a Deviant, though? I thought our enemies were Aberrants. Plus, why is Jade in on this? I thought this was meant to be a secret. Most of all, what do you want?"

  Armison fidgeted as he thought.

  "Shogai, this is going to be a lot to take in. I'm not sure how to explain it..."

  "Then let me," Jade said, tying off the bandage. "I've been practising with my powers - I can do this."

  Armison hesitated. "You couldn't hold back Shogai earlier. He broke free."

  "That's because I wasn't expecting so much resistance. I swear I can do it."

  Armison gave it another moment's thought, then gave in.

  "Just be careful."

  Jade nodded and turned to Shogai.

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  "Please just relax. Don't resist. It'll make it harder to do this."

  Shogai glared at Armison, then back at Jade. "Fine."

  Everything went dark.

  Shogai found himself in a blank plane of darkness. There was absolutely nothing around him as far as he could see. His breathing rate increased.

  Don't stress, Jade's voice came from everywhere at once. This is a telepathy extension, and resisting makes it harder to maintain the link. Let me explain the situation. You need to know what we're up against.

  A figure appeared before Shogai, formed from smoke. It was an Aberrant - one like the hundreds he'd killed. As if on cue, hundreds more appeared, stationary like statues, varying in size and shape. Shogai recognised the giant one that had towered over the village two nights ago.

  Yeah, it was, Jade's voice confirmed, reminding Shogai she could read his thoughts. I don't like people - they ask too many questions - and since I was only visiting for one night, I wasn't planning to introduce myself. I never do when I visit.

  She snapped herself back into focus.

  Anyway, these are Aberrants. You know them well. Their armour is warped and changes their bodies to reflect their corrupted minds. That's why they all look so different. That's why they're all mindless.

  The scene shifted. The Aberrants vanished, and Sekara appeared - her mouth bloody, identical to how she'd looked last night. Shogai recoiled, making Jade flinch.

  I'm sorry. It was rude of me, but I went through your memories while you were asleep. I had to know what happened.

  "It's fine," Shogai lied into the darkness. Jade didn't comment, but Shogai cursed himself. It was hard to keep things from someone inside your mind.

  Well, Sekara isn't just an Aberrant. When an Aberrant has a stable enough brain to support consciousness, its body reflects that. This is what we call a Deviant. Deviants are all humanoid, with vastly stronger armour than steel. They can think, strategise, and fight. Their armour grows denser over vital areas - protecting their core and major organs. They often leak energy through gaps in their plating, and that energy compresses their form into something roughly eight feet tall. The point is, Deviants are leagues above Aberrants. And one of them is hunting you.

  Jade let that sink in. Shogai could now understand how much danger he was in. But-

  "Isn't this all the more reason to jump? Why tell me this? She's a super Aberrant, so what?"

  Shogai was getting riled up, and it showed in his voice. The illusion Jade had created was wavering. Sekara's terrifying face glitched and vanished. Shogai could hear Jade breathing heavily.

  "... I'm sorry."

  It's fine. Just a headache. You want to know the point of knowing? This Deviant is a child compared to her brethren. She may be a century older than you or me, but Deviants can live for centuries. She's young and immature. And what happens when a child doesn't get what they want?

  Shogai remembered Heidi chasing around rebellious children in a constantly tired state.

  "They throw a tantrum. And they become destructive."

  Exactly. Sekara wants to hunt you. If she doesn't get that, she takes it out on the villagers. They all die. We can't just let that happen.

  Shogai wasn't happy about this. That much he was certain about. However, he felt that Jade was excluding a significant detail.

  "She failed, though. The Nexeans beat her. I'm sure they'll be keeping an eye on Nomun now. They can stop her."

  The black void flashed purple, displaying Jade's worry.

  That's the problem. The Nexeans will guard the village. Sekara won't be able to attack it. She won't be able to get what she wants. The next thing she'll do is ask her friends to help her.

  Shogai zeroed in on one detail, and his blood boiled. "Her what?!"

  The abyss tore away, leaving Shogai in the real world. Jade was on the floor, blood trickling from her temple. Armison was beside her, but didn't seem angry.

  "I'm surprised you hung in there that long. What's left to explain?"

  Jade filled Armison in on what she'd covered, and Armison took over.

  "Well, you heard her, Shogai. Nomun is doomed if we don't give Sekara what she wants. And if she's still dissatisfied, who knows who else will be in her path of destruction? We can't do nothing."

  Shogai felt empty. He felt like Armison and Jade were meant to have come to comfort him. But really, they just wanted him to kill himself in a different way.

  "Fine. I die in an extravagant way to keep you all safe. Got it."

  "Not quite..."

  Armison shook his head.

  "So eager to die, aren't you? Don't lose hope. You still have a chance."

  Shogai raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

  "Find Nexus."

  "But you said becoming a Nexean was a bad ide-"

  "I know what I said. But the situation is different. Besides, I never said to become a Nexean - only to find them."

  "... Why?"

  Jade picked up where Armison left off.

  "Simple. The Nexeans can ambush and kill Sekara. Then she won't be able to report back to her comrades. You're the bait. If this works, you get to live."

  Shogai's thoughts were racing. That sounded...

  "...incredibly difficult. Look, I get why I shouldn't just jump off the cliff. I understand. But if nobody knows about Nexeans, how am I meant to find their base? It'd be far easier to just die in a way that quenches Sekara's killing instinct. Why shouldn't I just die? Why do you want me alive? I'm bad luck!"

  Jade diverted her gaze to her feet, as if ashamed. Armison was visibly uncomfortable, but he knew he had to say it.

  "Nexeans... can't be everywhere at once. That's why we have to fight Aberrants. They primarily concern themselves with Deviant attacks for that reason, but again, they're not omnipresent. They patrol the island to stop attacks, but Nexeans are allowed to prioritise their home village on patrol. Do you see what I'm saying?"

  "Yeah. If I can become a Nexean when I find them, I can stop this from ever happening again. I can save you all. And I can be as strong as they were."

  Shogai wasn't smiling. This wasn't what he was expecting. To be strong enough to protect people... that was what he wanted. But he'd already resigned himself to death. If he didn't die now, he might not have the guts to do it when needed.

  He searched for an argument in the confusion.

  "What if I don't want to save the village? They banished me! I-"

  Shogai, you really need to stop lying to a telepath.

  "You did nothing wrong, Shogai," Jade said aloud, "but you don't think they did either. You understand them. You forgive them, even though they threw you out."

  She paused, then continued.

  "On top of that, they don't hate you. My grandfather told me never to read someone's mind without permission, but I can still feel their emotions. Trust me. Nobody was angry with you. I felt sadness, frustration, and conflict. They kicked you out because they didn't know what to do in the moment. I guarantee they'll forgive you. Especially if you return to protect them. It's not noble of them, and they deserve punishment. But they don't deserve to die. Neither do you."

  With that final statement, Shogai gave in.

  "Fine. What am I meant to do?"

  Half an hour later, Shogai and Jade were packed.

  "Got everything?"

  Armison had brought bags from Nomun and was helping both Shogai and Jade prepare.

  "It's not much, so you'll have to find your own way," he said. "Jade travels a lot - she can help you. Last chance, Shogai. You sure you're up for this?"

  Shogai didn't hesitate. "Yeah, I'm sure. I haven't got anything to lose. What about Jade, though?"

  "Don't worry about me," she insisted. "I was meant to leave last night, if not for the chaos. I'm a traveller. This is what I do. Now then, shall we go?"

  Shogai nodded. Jade ran up to Armison and threw herself into his arms.

  "It was good to see you. I promise I'll get Shogai where he needs to be."

  "Thank you, Jade. I owe you the world."

  Shogai felt a pang in his chest. He was determined to get Jade home alive. He was the one who owed these two everything. He was going to pay them back.

  "Good luck, you two. And goodbye."

  Armison shuffled away, back toward the village.

  Shogai was now alone with Jade, who gestured south toward the horizon.

  "Harabel is the closest settlement. We can be there by evening on foot."

  Shogai didn't respond. He was staring at the ground, seeing nothing and everything at once. The children's faces. Baker Thomas clutching that teddy bear. The village burning.

  "Shogai?" Jade's voice was gentle. "Are you ready?"

  Ready? He'd never be ready. But staying here meant dying, either by Sekara's hand or his own. And Armison had asked him to try. For the village. For the people who'd taken him in despite his cursed name. The people who hated him.

  "Yeah," he lied. Jade didn't call him on it. She stepped closer. "One step at a time. That's all you need to do. And I’m here if you need me."

  Shogai forced his legs to move. Left foot. Right foot. Again. Again. It felt wrong to walk away. Like he was abandoning them. But he'd already failed them - what more could he possibly do by staying except harm? So he walked. Numb. Hollow. Moving forward because that was the only direction left.

  Jade walked beside him in silence. She didn't try to fill the quiet with false comfort or empty words. She just... stayed. Shogai was grateful for that. Hours passed, and the sun climbed higher. Shogai's legs moved mechanically, his mind somewhere else entirely.

  "We should rest," Jade said finally, when the sun was directly overhead. Shogai sat without argument. He pulled out the piece of bread Baker Thomas had left him - his last gift. His throat closed up. He couldn't eat it.

  "Here." Jade offered her water flask. He took it numbly, drank, and handed it back.

  "Do you want to talk about it?"

  "No."

  "Okay."

  More silence.

  "...Thank you," Shogai said quietly.

  "For what?" "For being patient with me."

  Jade's expression softened. "Well, you’re going to be stuck with me for a while, so the least I could do is be respectful. You're not alone in this, Shogai. I promise." Shogai wanted to believe her. But right now, alone was all he felt. They rested for an hour, then continued walking. Forward. Always forward. Even when it hurt.