Chapter 21 - The TaintedHollow NightImagine you begin with a completely bnk canvas, pin white, the possibilities of what it could become still fresh, unknown, and exciting.

  Then, one by one, colours start throwing themselves onto the once barren piece. Slowly but surely, different hues of different intensities, shades, shapes find their home on this space.

  Some are stronger than their neighbours.

  Others, perhaps, are smaller and faster.

  Even still, maybe a specific few were painted to fulfil an even more specific purpose.

  By the time you’re finished, well, what do you have?

  To others, it might just resemble an unorganized, uninspired mess. They might even go so far as to brand it the kind of immature, infantile arts and crafts project a toddler could put together.

  And, objectively, they just might be correct.

  But that swell of pride you feel in your heart whenever you look upon the object of their scorn, that eruption of ecstasy – that never quite goes away, does it?

  Because at the end of the day, you made it. All the colours that call this artwork their home belong to you. Nothing will ever change that.

  I hypothesized that was how the creator of EXS (should there even be one) looked upon their creations.

  Their creations that prey on my Master and His allies.

  Their creations that are the reason they have to look over their shoulders, into the dark nooks and crannies of this realm, because of these harbingers of death.

  I should know – because whoever created them also created me.

  I, too, am a harbinger of death.

  Even so, as I impaled my fist through my brother, I had to wonder if this was also intentional.

  That my creator would give me the freedom of thought, expression, intelligence – or if I only had these qualities because of the person I was joined to?

  If I were to be unlinked with him, what exactly would I become? Would I have to stop mirroring his patterns of speech in front of the others? Would I truly become an autonomous individual?

  “That’ll be the st one.” My commander spoke upon seeing the remains of my sibling, hanging on my forearm like an oversized bracelet, begin to fade away.

  “Phew,” His ally, Furusawa, exhaled, now approaching the golden mppost I’d previously used to smash another one of my siblings’ head against, at the command of my master.

  With a few flickers, the structure burst to life with a brilliant blue fme.

  Furusawa again confirmed, “You guys okay?”

  At the silent nods of his compatriots, they now looked to me.

  “Take it away, Tainted.” He commanded.

  And I obeyed.

  From what I could understand of my Master’s knowledge, we were currently walking down Jinnan Street, perhaps most notable for the Towa Records location it hosted a bit further down the avenue.

  “Are you familiar with this area in the real world, then?” I asked.

  He breezed, “Something like that.”

  We spoke no more.

  Instead, we passed through the district as though we were soundless wraiths, creeping down the decrepit, cracked tarmac with only our footsteps, and the occasional sighing of the wind, as our company.

  "Hey, Robes," Master spoke in hushed tones after a while. He gnced at the two trailing behind, Hoshino and Kozuki. They didn't appear to be in a chatty mood.

  "Want to hang out tomorrow? There's someone you should meet."

  Furusawa eyed him suspiciously.

  "And who's that?"

  "A good friend of mine, well-acquainted with the love of your life over there. Ever heard of Daiki Suzuki?"

  "Oh!" Furusawa excimed after a brief pause. "Isn't he Cupid's boyfriend?"

  Now seeing the visible confusion on my Director’s face, he eborated, "Cupid is the nickname for Tanaka-chan. You know, the one with the funny predictions about couples? Between you and me, I've heard she's the mastermind behind most of the rumours about-"

  "Yeah, yeah, you lost me already. Listen, Daiki's one of my best pals. Once he hears you're into the Tiger, he can give you some insider info, let you know if she's already seeing someone or whatever."

  It was only when a poignant silence fell over the conversation that I’d realized how intently I had been listening, almost neglecting my own duty of tracking.

  The sinister quietness between Him and Furusawa made me uneasy.

  "...No," The voice definitely belonged to Furusawa, but it was unlike anything I’d heard from him before.

  It seemed even my instructor was lost for words.

  “No, what?” He managed after a while.

  “No, I don’t think I want to meet Suzuki. You and I both know I don’t stand a chance with her. She’ll always just see me as an extension of him. So please…don’t give me hope.”

  The identity of him, whom I deduced was not this Suzuki fellow, must have already been known, for no more words were exchanged between the two after that.

  At first, I couldn’t tell if the sensation of my heart sinking was truly mine. After recalling that I, in fact, had no heart, I looked upon my boss sympathetically.

  We carried on.

  There. There it was again.

  That sensation of magnetism, like two halves of one whole being drawn back together by some kind of attraction.

  “Dead ahead.” I spoke, not taking my eyes off of the seductive white glow, and its accompanying shadow, deep in the distance.

  Hurriedly, the two behind me signalled for our rearguard to join us, and before long, I felt all four of them by my side.

  "Lo, what is that bright glint I spy before me?" Kozuki inquired.

  “I’m sensing a deep well of EXS right in front of us.” I expined, the image of a canvas with a deep purple blot in its middle coming to mind. “It’s unlike anything we’ve come across so far. It has to be one of these relics.”

  Hoshino whispered, “So what’s the hold up?”

  I paused.

  “I’m not sure if the EXS reading belongs solely to the relic. Notice that bck mass right below it?”

  Luckily, it seemed I didn’t have to say any more for the younglings to catch my drift.

  "Verily. We shall advance with subtlety, like panthers in the night. Our chief aim is to probe it. I shall alert thee of any swift changes."

  Following her lead, we crept closer into the darkness, and as expected, the distant silhouette far ahead of us slowly came into view.

  I almost retreated to shield my Master when I saw movements within the gloom. That said, they were not the same agitated, bestial motions we’d seen plenty of prior.

  No, these movements were measured, calm, and prepared. Slowly, the Noise made its ascent to a standing position, and turned to face us, blocking the relic’s shine.

  I could see it clearly. It was dressed in a bck and purple ō-yoroi – the traditional Samurai armour – its eyes burning with fury.

  A sheathed katana shone with a deadly gleam, reflecting the ominous light of the moon above.

  Interestingly – or perhaps terrifyingly - the Noise remained completely still. Only its head moved, switching from target to target, as if trying to ascertain who we were, and what we were there for.

  Even so, it made no hostile moves.

  “…Is he gonna come at us already?” Master asked impatiently. “I’m not in the mood for a staring contest.”

  While this may have appeared to be his default disposition to the others, I noticed the extra venom at the tip of his enunciation, and could guess the reason for his soured mood.

  “It seems to be among the more tranquil of its kind,” Kozuki commented. “Do you think we could reason with it?”

  “Tainted, go talk to it. Tell it to step aside.”

  Frankly, I was stunned. What exactly made Him think that I could communicate with it? Did he assume I could do so based on my sharp perception of EXS?

  Either way, a command was a command. Slowly, I approached our target, finding its eyes.

  Concentrating on that feeling of magnetism – of gravity – I let myself go.

  “Do you hear me?” I asked.

  It was only the slightest twitch. The others likely hadn’t even noticed it. But I did.

  The Samurai’s body jumped ever so slightly, as if surprised by something.

  “W?????H????o????? ?????A?????r?????e????? ????y?????o????U???????? ????w????h????A?????t????? ????d???O??? ???y???O????u???? ???w????A????n????T?????????”

  Its voice was jumbled, incongruous, and difficult to discern. I tried my best to decipher, or rather, predict, what it was trying to say.

  “My master, and his compatriots – they’ve been trapped here by someone named Juno. They will kill us if we don’t retrieve these artefacts for them. Please, we wish you no harm. Let us –“

  This time, my heart definitely sank.

  “J???U?????n???O???????? ????j????u?????N????O????????!???? ???Y???o????u?????'????r???e???? ?????W????o????R?????k????I????n?????G??? ????W????i????t???h??? ???T?????H????E????M???,???? ????A????R????E???n????'????T??? ?????Y???O?????u???????? ????y???o????u?????'?????R???e??? ????H????E????r????E????? ???T????o???? ????f?????i?????n????I?????s????H????? ????U???s????? ?????O????f????f???!???? ????i????? ?????W???O???n?????'????t????? ?????L???e?????t??? ????Y???O????U????!????”

  It seemed our negotiations were over.

  "Withdraw!" Kozuki cried. "NOW!"

  Whether it was at my Master’s telepathic command, or my own survival instinct, I did as I was told.

  Staring at the now drawn katana, brandished with a deadly flourish, I wondered. Why was it attacking us? What was the trigger?

  I found composure, and readied my hands, for tonight, I would be removing another colour from my creator’s canvas.

  For good.