Grasp (グラスプ Gurasupu) is a short story from volume SIV of the Shakugan no Shana light novel series. It gives more details on the story that Khamsin Nbh'w once told Yoshida Kazumi during his brief return to Misaki City.
The story recounts the backstory of Khamsin when he was a prince of a certain country, his transformation into a Flame Haze and his centuries-long journey to hunt his nemesis, referred in story as the Monster (怪物 Kaibutsu). It also includes his involvement in the Ancient War against the Snake of the Festival.
Chapters[]
- First part: The Prince of the Hot Land (暑い国の王子 Atsui Kuni no Ōji)
- Last part: The Journey to Kill the Monster (怪物を殺す旅 Kaibutsu wo Korosu Tabi)
Summary[]
First part: The Prince of the Hot Land[]
Once upon a time, in a certain hot land, there existed a prince who was referred to as a prodigy; he was blessed with both intelligence and strength. However, the Prince was also selfish and violent when things did not go his way and looked down on his colleagues for their inferiority. If they were not smart, they could not comprehend his intents and, worrying about him, opposed his words. If they were weak, they could not fight as valiantly as him, got hurt and died before him. There was no one who could catch up with him.
The Prince dreamed of becoming a valiant hero from an old story he had heard. But people around him could not assist him, even held him back. Even though he answered the correct answer to a difficult question, both the minister and the scholars frowned upon him, feeling insulted. Even though he cut down enemies, both the general and soldiers complained that he rushed ahead on his own. In his view, no one acknowledged him, so he did not acknowledge anyone either, believing that someday he would accomplish everything by himself. But that "someday" never arrived.
His father, the King, who had been letting the Prince doing anything he pleased since he had no other sons to succeed his throne; he also did not acknowledge the Prince. His Concubine had been whispering to the King how the Prince was disliked and questioned whether he could really fulfill his role as the successor. So when the Concubine gave birth to a son, the Prince was put into a jail. This jail located deep within a crack in the large rocky mountain where the castle stood. It was a terrible place with no bed, no light, and food was thrown down from above.
The Prince quickly grasped what had occurred to him, as well as how this jail was inescapable with his strength alone; his strength was meaningless. For the first time, he grasped that no matter how much he felt vexed and angry, no matter how much he rampaged, nothing could be done. So the Prince endured and waited in the darkness, until he could do something about it. The Prince then closed his eyes. In that same moment he closed them, another pair of eyes opened; someone was there and was staring at him.
Days had passed, the amount of food also got smaller. The Prince also grew weaker. Still, the Concubine was wary of him; she had a fear that the Prince, who was renowned for being rampant, would break out of the jail before he succumbed to hunger and climbed up to the castle in order to kill her. Overwhelmed by these nightmares day after day, the Concubine secretly ordered for the Prince's assassination.
In the dead of a certain night, the assassin sneaked to the Prince who was asleep without making any noise. The Prince's eyes were closed, but another pair of eyes were opened and staring. The moment the assassin swung down his dagger, the Prince suddenly sprung up on his feet, broke his arm and stabbed the assassin's stomach with that same dagger. Yet, another dagger stabbed deeply into the Prince's arm; the assassination was conducted by a group of two assassins. When one of them was defeated, the other would take action as the target eased out. With his remaining strength, the Princes grabbed the second assassin and threw him into the wall, defeating him.
However, the Princes fell down on his knees as the dagger was laden with poison. His conscious started to get blurry as he removed the dagger. The Prince fought with all his might not to close his eyes, muttering about refusing to die and that he would become a hero. Like a story he heard from a storyteller, he would fight for his king, see the ocean beyond the desert, cross the river that winded like a dragon, and the mountain that spat fire, and fight wherever beyond them; the hero always moved forward.
As his strength ran out, a voice was heard, asking what this "hero" was. The Prince, with half-opened eyes, stared back at someone who had been staring at him. A voice asked again: why would you do such thing? The Prince had no strength left to answer. As he collapsed, his hand reached out and touched something; for him, it felt like someone's hand.
When the Prince woke up, he was fever-ridden from the poison he got. He was in pain and lost consciousness many times. Every time, he gradually grasped his surroundings. Right beside him were the strange, evergreen-colored sparks of fire floating in the air. When he lifted his injured arm, it was treated with clean pieces of cloth. His other arm's fingers could sense the presence of foods and water. There was someone taking care of him.
After dozen of times of waking up, the Prince was finally out of danger from sickness. He wondered why there was no other assassination attempt, since the previous assassins did not return to report their mission. A voice was heard, answering that there were indeed other attempts. The Prince, surprised, saw a pair of eyes glowing in the darkness. The voice continued to explain that it had devoured all of them. Still, the voice felt intrigued that the Prince could remember about those assassins, since they now should not have existed.
The pair of evergreen-colored eyes continued to explain to the confounded Prince about itself. This someone devoured the energy that humans possessed in order to exist. Those who had this energy devoured would not exist in the first place. While the Prince was laid up, it had devoured the first two assassins who were barely alive, including others who followed the next day, and many times later. The pair of eyes believed that either the Prince grew accustomed to the process of devouring that occurred in this place, or he had already possessed the talent to sense it.
The Prince now came to realize that he was saved by a monster that devoured humans. Yet, not out of fear nor criticism, the Prince asked why the Monster helped him. The Monster had been watching him even before he was put into this jail. Still, it wondered why the Prince yearned to become this "hero" even though he was already superior than others, blessed with high status and beauty. It wanted to know the meaning of this "hero" thing that the Prince, who was already the best anyone could ever wanted to be, would strongly long for even in the face of death.
The Prince proudly recounted his dream of what kind of hero he yearned for: the one who destroyed approaching enemies, achieved unparalleled feats of valor. The one whose name would be passed down through the ages. Then he stopped, realizing that he could not make that dream came true anymore. The Monster pondered and muttered to itself; the Prince did not only yearn to be astounding, but he also wanted to accumulate results and reputations from his actions. The Monster came to believe that, from many actions it had taken, it might have been getting in the way of the Prince to become that "hero". It then smiled and told the Prince that it would find a way to help its "cute prince" before closing its eyes and disappeared. For the first time in his life, the Prince felt lonely from the silence that settled in.
The Prince, who had been sitting with his eyes closed in the jail, suddenly felt overwhelmed by a nauseating sensation. It felt as if something from the familiar view had vanished, like somewhere of the place he was standing on had collapsed. Then, the same pair of eyes opened, announcing the Monster's return. It told the Prince that he would be able to return to the place above tomorrow. While he did not fully understand what it meant, the Prince fell asleep soundly, knowing that the Monster was here with him.
The next morning, as the Monster predicted, the soldiers frantically came to pick him up. In the throne room, the Prince reunited with the King once again. The King, with troubled look, made an excuse as if he totally had no idea why he had put the Prince through such punishment. The Prince did not understand the situation at first, but then he saw a certain chair beside his father; the chair that was his deceased mother's, then that Concubine's, was now empty. The Prince now grasped that the Concubine was "devoured"; the Concubine had always shown contempt for him, now that she got devoured the contempt itself had come to never happened. The nauseating sensation he felt earlier was the devouring of the Concubine. That sensation strongly remained inside the Prince.
That night, the Prince returned to his room after a long time. He asked about the child of the Concubine. The Monster, from the dark corner of the room, gleefully revealed that it devoured him along with the mother, as he would pose as a nuisance to the Prince. The Prince could not respond to its smile.
Since that day, the Prince and the Monster spent more time together. When he called out to the dark corner of his room, that pair of eyes would open and talked with him. They talked about many things: what they liked or hated; what they found interesting, boring, or nonsensical, what they kept as secrets from other people.
Among them, the Prince came to learn that the Monster was a Crimson Denizen who hailed from the Crimson Realm, and that it was also a Crimson Lord who possessed immense power. The Monster had traveled to countless places for a very long time even it could not remember. The Prince learned lots of things from the knowledgeable Monster, more than storytellers in the past. The Monster also told him a lot, as it saw the Prince enjoying those stories. Sometimes, the Prince became selfish and they quarreled, the Monster would closed its eyes and disappeared into darkness. But immediately after that, the lonely Prince would ask if it was still there; the Monster would then casually answered his calling.
There were times when the Monster went outside and the Prince would feel that nauseating sensation. He once asked the Monster to stop devouring humans. But the Monster told him that they were foods for Crimson Denizens, as other things could not fill its stomach. Even though the Prince secretly grew more afraid of it, he did not reject the Monster, since the Monster was the only person who normally befriended the rampant Prince and had given him so many things. On the other hand, the Monster continued to question him about the hero the Prince dreamed of; it had developed an interest and obsession specifically with the Prince, not humans in general. They would spent their days talking into the night, getting to understand each other better, or that was how they thought.
Before long, the hot land came under frequent attacks from nearby countries. Substituting the frightened King, the Prince led the army and protected his land. Witnessing his exploits, the Monster asked the Prince whether these were sufficient for him to become a hero. The Prince, not satisfied, answered that they were still not enough. Without realizing, the hot land had made enemies on every directions. Eventually, the Prince managed to knock down all opposing countries. However, one large country attacked and conquered another country that had grown weak. That large country had the hot land as its next target; it united all countries that the Princes had defeated into a single army and came to attack. The Prince braced himself for an upcoming battle, believing that the moment he would become a hero had arrived. The Monster also watched the Prince's behavior with amusement from the corner of the tent.
However, at the night before the battle, the King, who rarely came along with the Prince into the battle, summoned him to his tent. The King considered surrendering, as the opposing army was far too formidable. He also reprimanded the Prince for his savage valor that garnered anger from all countries which led them into this dire situation. At first, the Prince was surprised, but surprise then turned into anger; an anger towards foolish humans.
In the past, the King had tampered with the Prince's schemes for too many times, but the Prince had endured them all, since the King was both his father and a ruler. But to ruin this very moment the Prince had been waiting for, the Prince was greatly furious. Suddenly a laughter was heard. The Monster revealed that it had anticipated that this all of this was going to happen, since the King unusually came to the battlefield himself. Furthermore, the Monster had already planned to devour the King before the war began, so it found this moment such a fine opportunity.
Its voice frightened the King and confused the Prince. Now that everything was set, the Monster crawled out from the depth of darkness. The appearance was of a giant lump of something neither human nor animal with big, hollow eyes and mouth at the center. The pupils shone glaringly and its mouth full of uncountable fangs was smiling. With its hands with thick claws extended into four, grabbing the large men, the Monster joyfully exposed them as the men that were ordered to capture the Prince and sold him to the enemy country.
The prince was seething with intense anger at the King's scheme, more than the Monster's appearance itself. The Monster further revealed that it had devoured many captors prior to this, but because this made them never existed in the first place, the King persistently did the same thing over and over. The Monster then devoured the captors before the Prince's eyes, knowing that it was an usual thing that he had already knew.
However, in this very moment, the Monster overlooked one thing that, though seemed trivial for itself, was significant for the Prince; that being, for the first time, the Prince saw a scene where humans became nonexistent. The Prince was dazzled by a mix of burning rage and icy terror. The sensations and reactions to the events swirled and raged inside his chest as what were former humans turned into the evergreen-colored flames and got consumed by the Monster, making it stronger than before. The Prince was made to remember the same sensations of something vanishing and collapsing. The unnatural and nauseating feeling lingered.
"Something" that came from somewhere, connected to "something" else, and led to somewhere; all of them got severed. At the point of severance, that vast "something" became distorted. The Prince now came to realize the true meaning of what it meant for someone to have never existed, and that it was something no one should ever be allowed to do.
The Monster paid no heed to its action and continued to sidled up to the petrified King. It claimed that after the King was devoured, the Prince would become the next king, defeated the mighty enemy army, and achieved unparalleled feats of valor. At last, the Prince's name would be remembered as a "hero" for generations to come.
The Prince stood up between the two, with unsheathed sword in his hand. The Monster, bewildered, asked what he was doing, but no answer from the Prince. He stood silently, starting to sense the distortions; not only the distortion caused from the devouring of those captors, or those the Monster had devoured up until now, but the uncountable distortions in this world which were breaking the world's original shape. The Prince now knew the Truth of This World. With sword pointed at the Monster, he painfully said that he now understood what the Monster and its kinds really were.
The Monster, still confused why the Prince pointed his sword at it with both angry and sad expressions, asked him why he would do such things; it went through the troubles of devouring the Concubine who was trying to take his life, the incompetent ministers, and the meddlesome generals, everything in order to help the Prince, and it was going to devour the king to make him a hero he wanted.
The Prince recounted when he heard the Monster's words that it would make him a hero. He realized how selfish he was going along with those words. Perhaps he was even hoping that it would "take care" of his father and shamelessly accepting the fortunate heredity granted from a man-eater. Perhaps, he was really trying to build his grand dream atop the summit of the dead which left no corpse. With his anger toppled his sadness, the Prince proclaimed that a true hero would have done everything by himself. Along with a new emotion born from sadness, the Prince bid his farewell to the Monster: Ahh, to finally wake up from a dream, knowing how the state of this world really was.
The Monster, sensing the imminent parting, tried to cling on the dream on the verge of fruition; it revealed that it had already devoured the enemy king and generals. All that was left was for the Prince to lead his army to crush the disorganized enemy army. This time, he would become the hero for sure.
Since he came to feel the distortions, the Prince unwaveringly torn down the dream the Monster had planned for. Even after what the King had done to him, he was still his father. The Prince could no longer allow it to devour anymore. He could no longer turn a blind eye to the way the world distorted when they consumed humans. And he could no longer accept the fortunate heredity. He now renounced being a hero.
The Prince's word angered the Monster like never before. Its anger toppled its bewilderment on how he abandoned the dream they were creating together so easily. On the other hand, the Prince became saddened on how the Monster would definitely clashed with him, even though they had dreamed together for so long.
As both of them wondered how things had ended up like this, the Prince thrust his sword with all his might and the Monster instinctively swatted it away with its arm. No matter how strong the Prince was, he was no match for the Monster. With that single strike, the sword was shattered and the Prince's body was crushed. The bloodied Prince watched as the Monster stood in stunned silence, astonished by its own actions. Then, the Prince’s consciousness was swallowed by darkness.
In that darkness, he heard a distant and echoing voice like that of an old man: "Can you hear me, you who resist with a fierce heart? You who rage with a sorrowful heart? I am the one who forbids the devouring of humans. Will you abandon everything that makes you human and become my Vessel? In return, I shall grant you immense power."
Even though he felt something ominous from that voice's word to "abandon everything", the Prince felt a strong sense of honesty when it mentioned "forbidding the devouring of humans". The Prince accepted the voice's term; he would not mind abandoning everything if he could gain an immense power. From the depth of darkness, the Prince felt the swaying of brown flames, spreading, along with massive power piling up inside.
From where the flames had shone upon, the Prince saw the face of the Monster who was going to devour him; its face, which had seemed to be on the verge of tears, was now overwritten with surprise. The Prince, who should had been on the brink of death, rose powerfully and stood before the Monster.
The Prince did not want to meet the Monster’s gaze because they were about to kill each other. In response to that will, brown flames poured forth from the heart that beat like a cracked bell. The flames gathered the surrounding rocks, forming a temporary figure that resembled the heroic form the Prince had dreamed of. A giant made of stones, rose up into the night, breaking through the tent. Both its appearance and the sight of the Monster standing against it threw the surrounding army into a frenzy.
The Prince used all the giant’s might to strike the Monster. Its overwhelming force shattered half of the Monster's body in a single blow. Evergreen-colored flames burst like blood spray. The Monster's scream echoed through the night sky. Both the giant who delivered the blow, and the Prince who commanded it, instinctively stopped, frozen in place at the sound of that painful cry. With only half its body remaining, the Monster fled into the night, with evergreen-colored sparks scattering like tears.
After everything was over, the Prince extinguished the brown flames that had formed the giant. As he stood atop the mountain of rocks that crumbled down, the Prince murmured to himself that it was like being a hero. What he had accomplished were truly fit for being one. He had helped the King, his father. He saved the country. He drove away the Monster.
However, he became terrified when he went to talk with the King; the terrified King treated the Prince as if they had met for the first time. Those generals and soldiers he has known also posed the same attitude and pointed their weapons at him. This was not because of they feared or were wary of his power; no one really remembered the Prince. The Prince once again heard the old-man voice, echoing from within himself: "You agreed to abandon everything that made you human in exchange for an immense power, did you not? That was your wish, was it not? You are no longer anyone as a human."
The Prince, no longer anyone, finally realized the cost of his choice and the price of his contract. Now, his existence was not of a human, but of a Flame Haze; the Tool of Destruction that roamed the world.
That very night, the Prince set out in pursuit of the Monster on a long, long journey as a heart-stricken avenger. Harbored inside him were anger, hatred, sorrow, and another feeling he had yet to grasp.
Last part: The Journey to Kill the Monster[]
The Prince traveled the world, chasing after the Monster that had escaped. The memories of the Monster continued to torment him inside. He did not understand nor care about Flame Haze's duty; his only objective was to pursue and kill the Monster. The Prince remained as selfish and violent as he was back at the hot land. However, the world was overwhelmingly big, even for the Prince who had become an existence that surpassed a normal human; it was not that small for him to find it right away by chasing blindly.
Before long, the Prince reached the end of the desert and saw the vast sea. Even though he had seen this new scenery for the first time, the Prince did not pay attention and discovered a seaside town where he happened upon a Crimson Denizen; the same kind with the Monster. The Prince in his giant form swiftly killed it by tearing into two. The Prince angrily looked down upon the dead weakling, while his Partner laughed scornfully that they could not test their power with enemy like this, and urged him to move on.
This Partner who resided within the Prince was also one of the Crimson Lord who lent his power to stop his brethren that disrupted the world's peace. Similar to the Prince, he was no less of a violent person himself. The Partner neither soothed nor stopped the Prince; he only thought about testing various ways to utilize the power. The two continued their journey.
Near places densely populated by humans, there were always shadows of Crimson Denizens. These Denizens devoured humans and creating distortions that erased their existence. They enjoyed their life in this world as if it had become their playground. Some were feared as demons that attacked on a whim. Some had assumed the place of gods ruling over settlements. Some even took human form and nonchalantly blended into the crowds. The Prince smashed and trampled all of them that he encountered. His Partner, satisfied, continued to hone his Tool of Destruction.
The two continued their journey. They would find Crimson Denizens nesting in the land, forced them to reveal what they know, and then killed them. The two walked, searched, killed, over and over again. However, the Monster seemed to be very cautious, rarely even allowing them to grasp a single clue.
On very rare occasions, the two would encounter other Flame Haze like themselves. Although those Flame Haze were fearsome fighters, the Prince's Partner would always boast greatly about him, calling him "the best". On the other hand, the Prince would reprimand his Partner and claimed that he just could not afford to look too pathetic while pursuing their nemesis. The two made an impression on the Princess Who Loves Insects and the Tornado of Life when they were accidentally caught in her power but survived. The two were also admonished by the Angel of Blue Coffins and the Maiden Wearing a Golden Circlet about their boastful, uncontrolled method of violence that could have involved others. Be it impression or admonition, how the two did things remained unchanged.
The Prince continued to meet a number of other Flame Haze, then he realized that there were far too few Flame Haze compared to Crimson Denizens that ravaged this world. His Partner explained that, for the contracts to be made, there were rarely humans who possessed emotions strong enough for them to get through the Rift and reach the Crimson Realm. And it was even rarer to have aptitude and brimmed with will to fight, like the Prince. The Prince muttered that those who possessed lucks to fight and survive were surely even rarer that that.
The world where Crimson Denizens were causing distortions was a far too big place for the two to search without any clue. Still, they continued their journey. The memories of the Monster now tingled deep in the Prince's chest like an old wound. For him, he put Flame Haze's duty second to his personal mission to pursue and kill it. His violent Partner did not complain, as long as the Prince continued to kill the man-eating Crimson Denizens. But no matter how careful they were, or how hard they tried, they could not find it.
Eventually, the two entered a land beyond the river that winded like a dragon; there, they encountered a major incident unprecedented for anyone.
Unlike this world, there existed real "gods" in the Crimson Realm. One of them, the God of Creation, had crossed over to this world along with his servants. If a great number of Crimson Denizens wished for something —be it anything— that God of Creation would make it came true. Crimson Denizens who lived in this world wished for a more comfortable playground; thus, the God of Creation had set in motion the realization of his divinity. The God of Creation, who bore no ill will, gleefully spread to various regions about holding the ceremony to create the playground. And he wanted Crimson Denizens as many as possible to come and celebrate. Crimson Denizens that scattered all over the world rushed in to join the ceremony.
Not only them, Flame Haze had also come to gather; they were angered by this ultimate act of selfishness which trampled on the others' world. On the way to the place of ceremony, the great and strong ones called out desperately for help; a group of a certain size was formed. Flame Haze were by nature lone wolves; they were not known for cooperation. But this time, it was an exception.
With the strong ones at the center, they devised a plan to prevent the creation ceremony. The Prince and his Partner were also involved in this center. Truthfully, they wanted to launch an attack right away, but they were stopped by a fellow Flame Haze they had came across several times: the Singer Who Disperses Darkness and the Great Drum That Bursts and Dances. The Prince and his Partner had always thought that these two were not on the same wavelength as they were always showing off. But strangely enough, they listened to what this Flame Haze said: that even killing needed the correct time and opportunity, as they were not beasts that killed blindly.
The operation began. Flame Haze attended to celebrate the ceremony and the innocent God of Creation welcomed them happily. Even though the Mediator, who oversaw the ceremony, had already seen through their plan, she let them be due to her master's order. For the worst case, she made arrangements for the General to be readily prepared to protect the Priestess, the crux of the ceremony.
However, unbeknownst to them, Flame Haze did not target the Priestess; their target was the God of Creation himself. Their operation began as soon as the ceremony started. The operation was a success; the God of Creation was banished to the Rift Between Both Worlds by the secret method of unreturning. Flame Haze had stopped the ceremony, but that was how far it went well.
After that, a terrible hell awaited them. Soon came the counterattacks from the enraged General and Priestess, along with the powerful Crimson Lords who had been invited, and numerous Denizens that had gathered there. Flame Haze were swallowed up in this hell. No matter how strong or prodigal ones were, luck was the the best thing for them to rely on just to escape death.
The Singer Who Disperses Darkness and the Great Drum That Bursts and Dances, along with the Girl Who Flicks The Reins and the Dragon Horse That Runs like Violent Wind got caught up during the banishment of the God of Creation.
The Princess Who Loves Insects and the Tornado of Life, along with the Lightning Swordsman and the Purple Lightning Strategist vanished in the dust of war.
The Angel of Blue Coffins and the Maiden Wearing a Golden Circlet, along with the Priest of the Heart of Earth and the Gold that Controls the Firmament barely escaped the battlefield while protecting the remaining Flame Haze.
The Prince and his Partner were also trying to slip through this hell. While doing that, they were unexpectedly attacked by a Denizen. But with their accumulated experience, the Prince managed to turn the tables on his assailant. In the next moment, "another" assailant attempted to slash him from behind, hoping to catch him off guard. The Prince felt a great joy gushing out like electric currents towards the link he had found. He struck it down with a mighty force, mortally wounded it. With a ferocious smile, he hurled the words he had been waiting for so long at his prey: Where is it?
The two acquired the information regarding their nemesis for the very first time. They learned that the Monster had infiltrated the palace of a certain land, becoming its king's favorite concubine. The Monster had used its beautiful appearance to deceive the king and commit various misdeeds. In this God of Creation's ceremony, there were humans who were to be the sacrifices, along with gifts like ornate ritual vessels and drinking vessels that the Monster had sent in as tributes. The Partner surmised that the Monster, having learned of the Prince's appearance in the ceremony, hurriedly sent out assassins hopefully to kill the Prince in the commotion. The Prince muttered that he would not let it get away.
The Prince started running, gathering rocks around him to create the giant and strike down any Denizens who blocked his way. In his mind, the Prince deeply hated the Monster; it had ravaged his homeland, devoured his people, made his father and his subjects forget him, and cast him into this fate of endless battles. And yet now, the Prince was overwhelmed with pure joy; he had longed to meet the Monster more than anyone in this world. The Prince believed it was from the intoxication and pleasure of revenge. But in truth, such emotions had withered away long ago. Everything was already a distant memory to him.
So what is the real reason behind this pure joy? The Prince realized this when he, in his stone giant appearance, stormed into the palace where the Monster was said to have hidden. When he learned that the Monster was no longer there, disappointment struck him. And then he realized that he simply wanted to meet the Monster. This realization shocked the Prince, as he now knew of the presence of another emotion; the one that had been mingled with his hatred all along.
In this luxurious and gorgeous palace built by the king for his favorite consort, there was a note left hidden quietly in the corner of a wall; it was unclear whether the writer actually want it to be found or not. Also, its language was not of this land and so obsolete that no one used it anymore. The note simply said "You will surely regret if we meet. Do not chase me."
His Partner was outraged by the writer's selfishness and how ridiculous the note was. He was about to say something more, but then surprised and gasped when the Prince suddenly dug his nails into his own face, tearing at it. His action was as if to suppress the emotions swirling inside from becoming visible on his face, or perhaps to blame it because it could not create the expression he wanted. Otherwise, he writhed in agony, not knowing what expression he should wear. The Prince's lips was smeared with fresh blood. He then spoke with a voice suppressed of emotions, that despite knowing that, he would still chase the Monster. His eyes were burning with the usual hatred, and also something else.
The two then continued to travel the world, chasing after the Monster that had escaped. Since the day they let the monster escape, the Prince had changed. He became more expressionless; his demeanor also seemed calmer. But his Partner knew well that it was only on the outside. The Prince only had begun to conceal his fervent emotions within.
The same went for the Monster as well. Ever since the day it escaped, it had repeatedly interfered with their journey at every turn. It sent assassins, set traps, and then narrowly escaped them. On the other hand, the two would forced those assassins to spill information, turned the traps against the Monster, and came within a hair's breadth of catching it. In this relentless pursuit, the three continued to travel the world.
The Partner, who watched the Prince and the Monster's actions closely, felt as if they were having a face-to-face conversation without confront each other directly. They probed each other's thoughts through life-or-death situations, exhausting themselves to the utmost limit. These fierce exchanges continued for a very long time. And over time, they began to understand each other; they could predict the other’s intentions and their power came to reach each other.
Finally, the centuries-long chase came to an end. At the temple beyond a fire-spewing mountain, the Prince crushed every single of the Monster's minions in his stone giant form. There, they finally met.
A tall woman stood still with her back turned, gazing up at the altar. She was waiting for him. Her robe was adorned with gleaming jewels.
Without turning around, she spoke in the same voice with the Monster. She pondered to herself why did she leave behind that note on the wall, and why did she send those assassins in the first place. All those things had done were giving out clues leading to her. The Prince said nothing because he knew that her words were merely spilling out the obvious answer.
The Woman continued, that when she learned that the Prince and his Partner were present at the ceremony, her heart helplessly was overflowing with emotions: the fear of being pursued by the Prince, and another feeling that was different completely. Once again, the Prince remained silent because he knew exactly what her words were pointing to, and what she was about to say.
The Woman continued by regrettably saying that she had been searching all this time for the reason the Prince rejected her back then. She wondered if it was because of her ugliness that she revealed to him. This time, the Prince responded, as if to confirm what they both had already known. He spoke with his expressionless face but the words carried emotions that it was not about the Monster's appearance at all; the true reason was because he had come to understand that humans and Crimson Denizens could never coexist.
After that, the Prince released the power that had formed the stone giant, even though he was facing his nemesis. As he stood atop the crumbling mountain of stone, he spoke to the Woman whose back was still turned, that his appearance was because he did not want her to see his face as they were going to kill each other.
The Woman felt genuine happiness now that she understood what he had thought. She finally turned around. But before her face could be seen, her body was completely wrapped in the evergreen-colored flames. From inside the raging flames, a voice filled with repentance could be heard; it apologized to the Prince for talking so much. Even after being apart from him for a very long time, it never managed to stop its habits of chatting endlessly. It also apologized him for unnecessary things it said back then.
The Prince responded with the same unchanging expression, but his words carried emotions: both hatred and something else. He was the one who dreamed, and the Monster simply went along with it. But because he dreamed selfishly, and then discarded it on his own, which caused the Monster to do that it did. He stared intensely into the flames, waiting for the figure that would emerge from within.
His Partner came to understand the meaning behind their cryptic conversation. Everything became understandable to him once he grasped that simple key, that despite all these things, they both loved each other.
Soon, the flames vanished, and the Monster appeared. Its appearance was the same as it was long ago; a giant lump of something neither human nor animal with big, hollow eyes and mouth at the center. Its pupils shone glaringly and the mouth was full of uncountable fangs expressing joy. The Prince, too, remained unchanged; his appearance was the prince of that hot land which had long gone.
The Monster narrowed its large eyes and smiled at this joyous reunion with its beloved Prince. The Prince responded with the same old smile. Even though he wished they never met, yet he had always wanted to meet it.
And so, the two gazed into each other's eyes. As if being reluctant, as if willing time itself to stop for this moment, since they both knew what had to be done from here. They remained in the present, savoring this moment of connection. At the same time, they sensed that each of them were building the power within themselves.
Eventually, they shared a heartfelt sense of sorrow. The Monster asked why must they have to fight each other as it did not want to fight. The Prince also did not want to, but he knew as long as the Monster kept feeding on humans, he had no choice but to fight. And so the moment of inevitable parting they had knew all along had arrived.
The Monster bared its fangs and leaped at the Prince, who summoned the stone giant once again. They fought each other without showing any mercy. The Monster struck the giant with its claws and fangs; sometimes it used confusion and illusions to trifle with the Prince. On the other hand, the giant paid no heed to such tricks and overwhelmed the Monster with sheer force and its brute strength. The Monster trapped the giant in a searing cage of evergreen-colored fire. It threw vicious strike that pierced through the giant's body. While the giant hit the monster with shards of rock clad in brown flames. Its powerful blows slammed the Monster into the ground. Yet, the Monster still rose to its feet, and the giant stood tall, over and over again. Until their strength completely drained and their spirits utterly broken.
The fierce battle came to an end. The Prince, who no longer had strength to summon his stone giant, dragged his shattered leg while clutching his severed arm. His was considered barely alive, completely exhausted. He approached the Monster, who had been laying on her back. There was no power left in its body, with sparks of fire began to flow out; for it had used everything, and now on the verge of death.
The Prince gazed at the Monster, and it gazed back at him. There were sparks of fire coming out with its breath as the Monster opened its mouth. It asked the Prince why he always did foolish things: attacking it with sword when it saved him from being killed by the Concubine; destroyed the dream of becoming hero by his own hands; sacrificed everything that made him as a human; killing the one who was the last existence that knew who he originally was. It was not a grudge, but a deep lament. It felt concerned for him, for how he had ended up this way because of it. It felt pity for the Prince who always chose something he did not wish for. Now he had to bear the burden of the consequences and kept walking. The Monster considered doing something it could at least did for the Prince.
The Prince did not respond right away, lingering in this moment which he felt more precious than even before the battle. He brought his face closer to the Monster, delivering his answer while gasping. He thanked the Monster for those words, but affirmed that he had always chosen what he thought was right.
Suddenly, the Monster mustered its last bit of strength to try to bite him and tear him apart. The Prince instinctively leaned back, dodging that fatal attack just in time. However, his lips were grazed by a vertical cut. His fist slammed into the Monster, followed by a burst which sent the Monster into the ground once again. The Prince reaffirmed that he chose what he thought was right. The Monster answered back that this time, too, he would regret it.
The Monster then showed a happy, yet bittersweet and sorrowful smile at him. It was the first genuine smile of affection it ever did, since it could do nothing else for him. The Prince used the arm he had just used to knock it down to give a tender, loving embrace. It was the first time he could show his genuine affection, only after the Monster had lost all its strength. Then he vowed with a strong will that he would continue to choose what he believe was right. That he would continue living, staying the way he was. The Monster, still smiling, turned to embers and vanished. Its body crumbled and the sparks of fire scattered.
The Prince stood still as everything had come to an end. He then collapsed weakly to the ground. His Partner said nothing to him.
Many Flame Haze, like the Prince, sustained their existence through the burning passion of revenge. When that revenge was fulfilled or broken halfway, they could no longer maintain their existence. In order to live on after fulfilling their deepest desires as the Prince had done, his heart required something beyond vengeance. It could be a lingering attachment to the world or to humans; a fear or rejection of their existence getting extinguished. Conversely, it could be an impartiality or detachment towards the state of things. Or it could be a sense of duty as a Flame Haze who held a burning rage toward all Crimson Denizens who ravaged the world, to maintain the balance.
The Prince remained seated. He stayed true to his vow to the Monster; he did not disappear. For whatever reason, he was able to continue existing. His wounds healed slowly at first, then gradually sped up. His severed arm and shattered leg were restored over time. For the first time in what felt like ages, he lifted his head and cast his gaze far across the horizon. Even with the Monster gone, he saw the world still distorted as always. Without anyone ordering him, he stood up. As a Flame Haze who stepped their feet beyond vengeance.
At last, his Partner called to him, as if to confirm something: Hmm, shall we go, then?
The Prince nodded in response and took a step forward into a world where the Monster no longer existed. Yet, it was still a step he believed to be right. He wore a smile of self-mockery: And the hero marches on, fighting endlessly, huh? Ahh, how naïve a child can be.
His lips were marked by a vertical scar. As if it were the only proof that the Monster had ever existed, or the trace of a passionate kiss.
The two would continued their journey, to places far and far away. Until the day when their lives in these endless battles would come to an end.
Characters[]
Appeared[]
- Khamsin Nbh'w (unnamed, referred to as "The Prince")
- The Monster
- The King
- The Concubine
- Behemoth (unnamed, referred to as "The Partner")
- Princess Who Loves Insects
- Valac (unnamed, referred to as "The Tornado of Life")
- Asiz (unnamed, referred to as "The Angel of Blue Coffins")
- Tis (unnamed, referred to as "The Maiden Wearing a Golden Circlet")
- Snake of the Festival (unnamed, referred to as "The God of Creation")
- Singer Who Disperses Darkness
- Great Drum That Bursts and Dances
Mentioned[]
- Bel-Peol (unnamed, referred to as "The Mediator")
- Hecate (unnamed, referred to as "The Priestess")
- Sydonay (unnamed, referred to as "The General")
- Nam (unnamed, referred to as "The Girl Who Flicks The Reins")
- "Bridle of Wilderness" (unnamed, referred to as "The Dragon Horse That Runs like Violent Wind")
- Lightning Swordsman
- Takemikazuchi (unnamed, referred to as "The Purple Lightning Strategist")
- NorthAir (unnamed, referred to as "The Priest of the Heart of Earth")
- Huitzilopochtli (unnamed, referred to as "The Gold that Controls the Firmament")
Trivia[]
- The story is written using nicknames for all characters instead of using their names. Also, its style of writing is similar to a storybook.