A Melting of a Heart Chapter 13
Darkness
By Key Mima
The sky was so beautiful... A shade of blue so rare that it seemed a bicentennial event when it appeared. The rays of sun were warm and comforting, and each of the clouds had a silver lining. Magus watched everything quietly, as he had been doing since that morning.
Sunev was dead. Every time that thought came to his head, his heart skipped a beat, as if it were unknown to him only a few moments before. How could she be dead? How could someone that sweet and caring die so early? Magus had never thought anything of death. If it happened to him, it happened. Ending his life would be no big deal. But as for someone as innocent as Sunev, it should never have happened.
He should have done something. She knew she couldn't defeat Lavos. Maybe if he had heelped her instead of watching, she would have survived...
Oh, stop it Magus, his mind scoffed. The girl was destined to die. She wanted it that way. There's nothing you could have done.
That was the truth. She was convinced when she first stood that she would die. She was aware that no one could kill Lavos at that point. But why did she stand up? What made her so adamant to take her life?
It couldn't be their quarrel.. As shook up as she was about that, it wouldn't be enough to prompt her to kill herself.
But... he had seen Crono. Crono was about to get up, and she pushed him back down. Did she die for him? Was he supposed to die? She knew the game...
Magus struck the ground with his fist. Why? Why sacrifice herself for the worthless life of a worthless boy?
Because he's a friend, Magus.
"So what?" Magus cried, although he was speaking to himself. "Do people value friendships that much?
You wouldn't understand, Magus. But yes, people do value friendships that much. Would you die for Sunev?
"I've never thought about it..."
You're a sad excuse for a boyfriend.
"Who asked you? Yes, I would probably die for her. But I would fight first to see if I could win."
You're weak, how could you win?
"Be quiet. Now isn't the time to hear of my inferiority."
I only speak truth.
"Truth that batters self esteem. Well, enough of this. I need to find Glenn and that boy." Magus rose to his feet, brushing off his cape and trousers.
Going to ask them for help?
"Or kill the kid, yes."
It was then that Magus started ignoring his mind. The truth hurt, and he didn't want to hear any more of it. He gazed once more at the view from the North Cape, then spun on heel and started to the village to confront Glenn and Crono.
She couldn't see anything. Everything around her was black, the darkest black the universe seemed to be able to produce. The air was damp and cold as well, and the expanse of this hell was wider than she could fathom. The day before she had walked almost seven miles to her right, and she had found nothing. Marle must have been in this place when she died. She hadn't seemed to have enjoyed it either.
Sunev whimpered and sniffled before she rose to her feet again, walking in a randomly chosen direction. What did it matter which way she was going if there was nowhere to go?
As she walked, she thought, which was probably the worst part about this strange place. You actually had time to think. What would Magus be doing right now? He didn't care for her; he was probably already off to find his sister. What a lonely person he had made her. Now that she had saved his life, she was condemned to be alone forever in a place where even light wouldn't dare to rear its head. What torture love comes to create...
Sunev tripped, stumbled, and gained her balance again, not even stopping to chuckle at herself like she would have just days before. She was determined to find something; even a rock to sit on would have made her sing with joy.
Eternal night. Infernal afterlife. She mused to herself in her head of what an ending like this must be. Was it where everyone went when they died? Or was it a place for sinners to go? Am I a sinner? A sinner for saving the lives of my friends? She sighed, and blinked her eyes.
And she kept blinking. She squinted to see what light was causing her eyes to react so violently. She stopped her feet, although they seemed to want to move as they were before. She peered out across the field at the newly discovered object.
It was a campfire. It was so small on the horizon that she couldn't see much else of it, but it was a fire of some sort. Or was it a candle? A candle of black wax that was close to her face? In that place, it could have been, but she was convinced that it was a beacon for travelers such as herself.
"Hello!" she cried, waving. Her arms dropped limply to her sides when it occured to her that if there was someone there, he or she couldn't see her if he or she wanted to. So she started running, sprinting to the source of the light. The closer she got to it, the less she could see, though, since her eyes were so accustomed to the dark. "Hello!" she called again, stopping to shade her eyes, as if from the sun.
A sound. The fire was now much closer, perhaps a half mile away, and she strained to hear it.
"Hello?"
She started again, racing toward the person at the light.
"Hello! Hello!"
She could now see someone, rising from his seat to look out across the blackened plains at her. She tripped as she was about thirty feet from him, and dropped to her knees, panting.
"Miss, are you alright?" the man asked, his baritone voice rich and kind. Thank God, Sunev thought, digging her nails into the earth that she could now see was the color of wine, or blood.
Strong, gloved hands grasped her by the arms, lifting her up, and she was carried to the fire, which she immediately crawled up to as she was set on the ground. The burn on her skin felt nice amid all the coldness of this land, and she smiled and closed her eyes, enjoying the pink she could see under her eyelids.
"Miss?"
Sunev looked up, for the first time seeing the man that had made this place. He looked slightly familiar, but she couldn't place where she had seen him before. His broad shoulders were cloaked in a purple cape, he wore tarnished silver armor and his face was hard and strong, like a soldier's.
She paused. Could it be? Was that who this.. But, no. Yes! She cupped her hand to her mouth and stared up at him with a look of concentration.
"Cyrus," she stated, feeling certain now who he was.
"Indeed. Do I.. know you?"
"No, I'm just a friend of Glenn's."
Cyrus chuckled, slapping himself lightly on the head, and she smiled. "Indeed you are! I hadn't noticed it was you, Sunev."
Sunev froze momentarily, and stole a sidelong glance at him.
"How do you..."
Cyrus pointed to something on the ground on the opposite side of the fire. She stood up and walked cautiously to him, and looked down. It was a small pool of water. It didn't explain anything to her, but she did fall to her knees and drink deeply. The water was icy, and felt good as it traveled into her stomach, making her shiver.
"Thank you," she mumbled, wiping her chin and neck.
"You're quite welcome, but that's not all the water is for, Sunev. Look at it."
Sunev turned her eyes down to the dark water, and fingered her bottom lip. As she watched, an image appeared on the surface, of the scene on the North Cape, where Magus tells the others that he might know a way to revive Crono. She smiled, thinking how nice of him to offer to help the party like that. He looked so concerned about the young boy, his eyes were serious and solemn, and his lips were a straight line across his jaw. I never knew he cared so much about Crono. I always thought he thought Crono was just a little punk, she thought to herself, studying the character's faces as the 16-bit game had never allowed her to do.
"Look around," Cyrus urged, smirking at her suddenly childlike wonder. "Just think about looking somewhere else."
To the left of Frog, she told it, since it was in so close to their faces it was hard to see who was at his side. She smiled as she saw Crono's familiar form come into view. Then a thought dawned on her, and she struck her fist into the water.
Cyrus jumped back, putting his hands out.
"What are they doing?" she asked him, her eyes burning into his like the fire beside her.
"They're finding a way to bring you back, Sunev, what else would they be doing?"
"What?" she cried. "When did you become God? How do you know everything? They aren't supposed to bring me back, I did this so I could go home!"
Cyrus coughed quietly into his hand, looking at her with clear blue eyes. He would have made the perfect valiant swordsman if she could have seen him before he died.
"You're not going home, Sunev," he murmured. "Unless they can bring you back, there's no way you can ever get home again."
Sunev knew his words before they emerged from his mouth, and the fear and emotion crept up on her, making her lips tremble and her eyes water. The tears came again, and a pair of arms enveloped her small frame. She didn't want to go back, to face Magus again, to find out that there was no way home, to see how pointless her existence in this world was.
Sunev let out a broken sob, and started calling for her mother.
.