Panzhi leaves the room without a second glance on Leon though he really wants to have a look towards his best friend. ‘He is no longer my friend. Leon, where have you gone?’ he whispers to himself.
He slams the door and moves away from the room as soon as possible. Tears flow along his face once again and he has forgotten how many times he has cried today already.
He has lost a friend, one of his best friends. He wants to save Leon but everything has gone wrong.
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Chapter 10
Catala is flying in the sky above the centre of the capital with a Metos. The city is quiet. All buildings and streets are covered by thick white snow. She uses her sharp eyes to scan carefully. There are no one except a few guards marching and patrolling around the palace and the temple.
‘Very few guards are mobilized and there isn’t any emergency signal. It seems there isn’t any fighting or disturbance. Are they captured? Or they simply haven’t started the action?’ Catala thinks quickly. ‘Anyway, I must get closer to investigate carefully,’ she tells herself. Her intuition tells her that her friends are in danger.
Leon feels lonely and miserable but not regretful and hopeless. He looks at the candle on the table in front of him. The candle light is weak, but it is still shinning in the dark room. He must keep the truth that he has discovered and the ideals that he has developed. He must extend these ideals to every corner of the world. ‘Yes, the candle light is weak, but it is still shinning in the dark room. I must not let the candle light to be extinguished.’ He keeps on reminding himself.
The door is opened. It is him, the solemn and respectable figure that he intended to attack. He is accompanied by two tall guards. He steps in and walks towards Leon.
Leon cannot find a single sign of hatred or anger in the Sou-gen’s face. It is still the solemn expression which gives out a sacred and inviolable force.
‘Don’t be afraid. I come here without a single thought of hatred,’ the Sou-gen says calmly. Leon comprehends that it will not be a physical struggle, but a mental and spiritual one. The Sou-gen is the wisest and the most believable person in the world but Leon is confident that his independent mind will not be overrun.
The Sou-gen is standing right in front of Leon, looking at him calmly but intensely.
‘Leon, I understand how you feel now. I just want you to know that we are never your enemy. We are here to teach and guide you. But the most crucial part is that whether you are willing to open your heart to us and to the Sou.’
Leon looks at the solemn figure confidently. ‘I am sorry for attacking and having a conspiracy against you. I am not your enemy either, but I will no longer follow you. Please let me go and let me choose my own path.’
‘We are not controlling and restraining your freedom. The Sou grants each of us an independent and free mind. It is always our own choice in deciding whether we follow the Sou. But Leon, being the Sou-gen, I cannot witness you choosing the wrong path. If we do not give our guidance to you, you will get away from love and faith and get closer to mistrust and hatred.’
‘That’s wrong. I do not need your guidance. The Sou gives us the freedom in deciding whether to trust and follow him. But at the same time, the Sou will punish the people who do not have faith in him. He uses our fear to control us! So, has the Sou really given freedom to us?’ Leon says aggressively.
‘You are wrong. The Sou is about love and hope. He has created a path to us to lead us to brightness. The only thing that mankind needs to do is to follow and believe in him. The Sou created human and created this path for them because he loves and cares them.’ The Sou-gen says calmly.
Leon interrupts, ‘Then what happen to the people who show disbelief towards him! He will be excluded from the Sou’s future garden, descended into eternal darkness, separated from love and hope and eroded by demon perpetually! That’s what I read in that marble throne room. Is this love? It is fear! Admit that the Sou is created to control us by intimidation and fear!’
‘Leon, you have gone too far!’
Leon interrupts again, ‘I am not saying that you and all the Sou-gens from the past are trying to deceive us. But it is time for all of you to face the truth. I am not the one who is sealing the heart. It is you!’
The Sou-gen feels anger slowly rises from his body. It is the first time he feels angry since he has become the Sou-gen. He tries his best to restrain his anger. He clearly knows that anger and hatred is the first step leading away from brightness. ‘Being the sole messenger of the Sou in mankind, how can I step away from brightness?’ He thinks.
He decides that he must calm down first before talking to Leon again. He can only defeat the demon inside Leon’s heart by love and guidance, but not fear and force. Then, he leaves the room promptly.
The Sou-gen walks along the corridor quietly until he reaches another quarantine room.
He opens the door and steps inside. The patient, who was his student, who was the beloved leader, is sitting at the far end of the room. Her face is pale and emotionless.
‘If you come to convince me to follow the Sou, it will be useless,’ Nakashi says softly.
The Sou-gen cannot see any hatred in her face.
The Sou-gen walks towards her slowly and looks at her calmly for a while before saying the first word.
‘Nakashi, you always have a loving and tender heart. The Sou brings you to this world because you can contribute greatly to mankind with your compassionate heart. Mankind needs selfless people like you. Though darkness and uncertainty are clouding you right now, I understand that deep inside your body, there is always a compassionate heart. Please choose the right path and keep your compassionate heart.’
Nakashi looks at the Sou-gen. ‘Don’t be mistake. I’m still keeping my heart. But I strongly believe that I can help the world without the guidance of you and your belief. I’m sorry that my impulsiveness has created conflicts and pain to others. But I’m confident that I will always love the world and the others.’ She replies slowly and softly.
‘Nakashi, love always comes from the Sou. Love is a miracle that is brought by the Sou to this world. Without the Sou, there is no love in the world.’
‘That’s not true. I do not know whether we are created by any deity, but I’m certain that human can love each other and make the world a better place by themselves.’
‘Human-beings are weak and fragile without the guidance of the Sou. Human-beings have so many flaws. They will fall under temptations without the guidance of the Sou. Nakashi, even you are a very good person, you still have many weaknesses.’
Nakashi interrupts, ‘Yes, human-beings are not flawless. I’m not flawless. Nothing is flawless. But at the same time, human-beings are brilliant creatures. Only if all of us believe that we can do it, we will be able to improve the world by ourselves.’
‘That is the arrogance that made mankind make mistakes continuously throughout history! When will mankind truly realize their weaknesses and incapability?’
Catala is walking silently and carefully inside the palace. She is good at many things, including spying and infiltration. Everything seems normal. Yet, she still cannot see any signs of Nakashi, Leon or Panzhi after spying nearly every room in the palace.
‘Where are they? What have happened to them? What should I do?’ Catala feels confused and anxious. It is the first time that she has found some people that she care about for more than ten years. She cannot lose them. She has never had this feeling. She realizes that loving and caring a person is much more difficult than hating one. This kind of anxiety makes her want to cry.
She calms herself. She had promised herself that she would never cry since that day. Besides, she has support and hopes now. She must keep up her motivation and spirit.
‘Yes, the quarantine department. They must be there!’ she speaks to herself inside her mind. Catala’s parents had briefly menti
oned about this to her. The infidels will be kept in there from the outside world and they will be indoctrinated. Her parents told her that the department is under the Sou Temple.
Catala knows that it is dangerous to sneak in there. But she also knows that she has no choice. Take the initiative to get the upper hand. This is her golden tactic. She tells herself that she must act before her friends being brainwashed and violence is the only way.
She must get some weapons first but sneaking into the airport or the armory would be too dangerous and difficult.
She notices that there is a guard stationing in each floor. She sneaks to the back of one of those tall and solemn guards who is holding a rifle. She jumps and kicks his head precisely. The guard collapses and faints. ‘Sorry, you’ll be fine,’ she whispers. She picks up the rifle, runs silently and sneaks out through the window.
‘This is far too easy. Such crappy security,’ she talks to herself once again. The snowstorm still has not stopped. Though there are very few guards, she sprints at a tremendous speed towards the Temple to avoid being noticed.
She hides behind the large marble white columns of the temple. She did this in the past when he was trying to kill the Sou-gen. Yet, today, the place is so deserted compared to the normal days due to the snowstorm.
She is scanning at all directions to find the entrance that leads to the underground but she cannot find a single trace of where it is. Suddenly, she discoverers that a tall guard has come out from one of the meditation rooms and is matching towards her direction such that he will notice her within a minute.
Catala aims at the guard quietly and steadily. Then, she presses the fire button.
‘Cling.’ The rifle does not work. ‘Damn it! Pretentious and useless palace guards! What is the use of an unloaded gun?’ She whispers to herself, half angrily and half jokingly.
But Catala does not become desperate. She is always able to act accordingly in new circumstances. The guard has already matched to the column where Catala is hiding. Just at the moment when the guard is shocked to see a bold intruder, he is immediately disarmed and strangled by her.
‘Where is the Quarantine Department?’ she whispers towards his ear menacingly.
‘I don’t understand what you’re talking,’ the guard tries to respond calmly and hides his fear.
‘Don’t challenge my patience! Tell me now!’ She strangles him harder such that the guard can barely breathe. She picks up the guard’s gun and points it towards his heart. ‘Tell me! You know I can really kill people,’ she hisses.
‘No…wait…I will tell…you…’ the guard can barely speak.
Catala stops the strangulation and allows him to speak. ‘There is a stairway leading to underground in the southern hall…but…you can’t go there…you should not…’
‘That’s enough! I don’t need you to teach me,’ Catala hisses. Then, she jeers slowly, ‘So, you tell me eventually. Can’t your powerful Sou give courage to you? Anyway, I’m going to send you to meet your beloved Sou now. You should really thank me.’ She points the gun towards the guard’s head.
‘Please don’t…No…I have already told you…’ the guard is almost begging. Catala snickers and hisses, ‘If I discover that you’ve lied to me, I’ll come back and you’ll suffer more than death.’
‘Meanwhile, enjoy your nap and thanks for your laser gun.’ Catala uses the gun to knock the guard’s head powerfully and the guard collapses.
Nakashi is sitting alone in the dark room. The Sou-gen and the guards have already left for a period of time.
‘Am I too impulsive? Am I biased? Am I over-confident? Have I really thought rationally?’ Even the vicious debate has ended; questions and uncertainties are still clouding her.
‘What if I had never felt suspicious? What if I had not met Catala?’ Nakashi thinks.
‘It is true that I always have my own free will in choosing which path I should follow. But if I choose the path of detaching the control from any deity, I have to face the world by myself, I have to find the meaning of life by myself, I will not have any external support and guidance. And if I am wrong, I will have to bear all my consequences,’ she thinks.
‘Why is the cost of freedom and independence so high? Can I really afford it?’
She realizes that she is not just imprisoned physically, but also being trapped in a spiritual dilemma. And she understands that this dilemma will be bothering her as long as she wants to keep her free will.
She no longer wants to think. Thinking cannot bring her any solution or any spiritual emancipation. Instead, it brings her more pain and uncertainties. ‘How I wish I could be ignorant.’ She buries her head to the cold marble table and stops all the thinking. She is hoping for a good dream that can help her to escape from this painful dilemma, even though just temporarily.
A loud bang has woken up Nakashi, who has forgotten how long she has slept. She is astonished by seeing that girl standing right in front of her. Her black hair and clothing contrasts to the white marble walls and floor. She is holding a gun and she looks confident, or even conceited.
‘Quick. Get moving. We still have to find Leon,’ Catala says. She walks towards Nakashi, who is too surprised to react, and pulls her up.
‘Come on, you have saved me once. I’m not letting you spending the rest of your life sitting in this crappy room. At least you have more meaningful things to do,’ Catala says cheerfully.
‘Thanks.’ Nakashi says softly.
Nakashi notices that Catala has become much more optimistic and sociable than before. On the other hand, she herself does not want to talk much. She does not understand why, she is glad that Catala is being so confident and optimistic, but she simply does not want to talk.
They immediately go out from the room and start sprinting in the long corridor. Nakashi notices that there are a few bodies lying on the ground. She wants to stop. Yet, Catala is holding her hand and pulling her to sprint.
‘How did you manage to come here?’ she asks softly.
‘It would be a long story. But don’t worry, I am acting in your style; I’ve already tried my best to minimize their casualties. But sometimes it is unavoidable for me to shoot.’
The two girls force into one room after another to find Leon. Yet, they still cannot find him and they are still sprinting all along the long and winding corridor. As the two girls turn left along the winding corridor, they find themselves facing three guards in no more than twenty meters distance.
The guards look as perplexed as they are. The three guards pull out their firearms immediately. ‘Halt! Immediately! Put down your weapon!’ One of the guards shouts.
‘Pew.’ The guard who shouted just a second ago collapses instantly. Catala has already fired a laser bolt. The remaining two guards react and shoot back instantaneously. But right at that moment, Catala has already pushed Nakashi to the safe corner. She also immediately evades the bullets swiftly.
‘Pew.’ Another guard screams and collapses. Everything has just happened too quickly such that Nakashi does not know how to react. ‘Stop!’ That is the only word that she shouts.
The third guard attempts to run away. He is trying to dart to the nearest red button to activate the emergency signal. Catala aims at him carefully and precisely.
‘No!’ Nakashi shouts. ‘Pew.’ A laser bolt is sent and the guard screams.
Nakashi feels petrified. The whole thing just happened within three seconds. She understands that she is now a terrorist, a merciless killer. Catala pulls her up again and she does not struggle. She does not fear Catala, nor does she hate her. Instead, she just hates and fears the whole thing, the whole situation, possibly the whole world. But what can she do? After all, didn’t she start all of these conflicts herself? What she can do is shutting her mouth up.
Catala is still busy in breaking into every single room along the long and winding corridor. ‘Come on! Move faster!’ she says rudely. Nakashi does not speak a word and just follows
. Yet, she still moves much slower than Catala does. She has somehow lost the willingness and courage to continue.
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Chapter 11
The Sou-gen is sitting alone in the meditation room alone, peacefully. He has sensed a kind of disturbance. A bishop comes in suddenly. ‘My dear Lord, the security in the quarantine department has contacted us. They face a surprised attack. President Nakashi has escaped.’
‘Darkness and hatred have spread faster than we expect. Destruction is always easier than construction. But that does not mean that darkness will win against us. I can sense that the future is dangerous and difficult. But I can also sense that the Sou can bring us through this dark time,’ the Sou-gen says firmly.
‘I want to talk to Mr. Panzhiherashto. Please call him,’ he adds.
The door is opened violently. Leon is stunned. It is Catala.
‘Finally,’ Catala says.
‘How can you get into here? Where is Nakashi?’’ Leon asks.
‘She is fine. We don’t have time to talk. Just move and get to a safe place first,’ Catala says impatiently.
‘You two are great pilots. We should go to the nearest airport and grab a plane,’ Catala suggests.