The end of the Breach

The snow was so cold, Ruki had long since forgotten how it felt to have hooves. On and on they went, through the snow, no longer sheltered by the trees of the old forest. It seemed so long ago now, when they had left, early in the morning, just the two of them without saying goodbye to anyone. Aware that it was winter, Ruki had taken her warm cloak along, but now she wished she had taken even warmer clothes.

The cold wind had been strong ever since they left the forest. She cursed herself for not realizing the forest kept the harshest of winter away. But here, on these plains that could blossom so beautifully in spring, the wind roamed free to do whatever she wished. Takato walked ahead of her, but he didn’t say anything. Well, there wasn’t much to talk about.

They carried enough food to last them quite a while, but they had to find shelter soon. Evening was falling and in this weather, sleeping outside without any form of shelter was downright suicide.

“We’re almost there.” The wind carried Takato’s voice. “How do you know?” Ruki yelled, hoping that her voice would beat the wind. “Because of those rocks there!” Takato yelled back, pointing to the south. Ruki noticed them now, too, the strangely shaped, large stones that were piled up as if someone had dropped them. She had noticed them the last time she was here, too. The breach was only a few hundred meters away from them.

Because of the snow and the wind, Ruki had paid little attention to her surroundings, and it seemed they had travelled a longer distance than she had thought. Well, it was probably because of Takato… Ever since they left, he had been really distant from her. On previous, similar, journeys, Takato would always approach her the first evening, and even though she always told herself to resist him, she always failed. Now, as she had decided not to deceive herself anymore, Takato kept his distance.

Ruki was relieved, however, that they had reached the breach. It meant that there was a cave close by, one which they had used previously, and hopefully, the supply of wood they had left there last time was still there. As expected, Takato drifted off his original course and went towards the general direction of the cave.

Ruki was relieved to see it was still there when they reached the hill it was carved in. As they entered, they saw the firewood was still safely stored near the back of the cave, and it didn’t take them long to get a fire going. Ruki had quickly gathered snow to heat up, so they had some water to boil their dried vegetables in.

“So… now that we are finally here, are you going to tell me what the reason is why you wanted me to come along?” Ruki asked while stirring the soup.
“I will… tell you tomorrow. Once we can actually see the breach.” Takato replied, without even looking at her. Ruki sighed, annoyed.
Why was he being so cold now? He could at least tell her why he had wanted her to come along if it wasn’t for his own desires. But she didn’t dare to ask… She would never dare to.

They ate their soup in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. When they were done Ruki went to clean the bowl. Takato had crawled under his blanket already, but when she was almost done he suddenly got up and walked out of the cave into the cold snow, without even wearing his cloak and cape. As she watched him walking out of the cave, Ruki felt her heart fill with anger.

She threw the small cauldron on the floor and ran after him.
“Takato!” She yelled at the person standing a few meters father away in the snow. He didn’t even look back. “You cannot just turn your back to me!” Still, he did not reply or twitch, but he had stopped walking.
“I allowed you to use me for your selfish desires because there is no way in the entire world I could say no, but you cannot just ignore me like this! You cannot just… ignore those selfish desires that I, too, feel…” Ruki sobbed.
She wanted to yell and scream at him, but she just couldn’t fight back her tears. Unable to hold back, Ruki let it all out. She cried and sobbed and screamed words that even she did not understand.

Through her tears, Ruki vaguely could see Takato turn towards her. She felt him holding her, but she just pushed him away, unable to hold on to him, but unable to let go. She heard him calling her name, but she couldn’t listen, but neither could she ignore. She felt his body heat that she desperately tried to hold in the winter night, unable to feel any warmth inside anymore. Only when she felt his lips was she able to stop fighting.

“Ruki…” He whispered, and he embraced her.
He held her like no one ever could, he stared in her eyes as if he could see the world beyond them, and that moment she knew he loved her like no one has ever loved anyone ever before. There was nothing left to resist, she was vaguely aware of the cold winter snow beneath her body, but it did not feel real anymore. The only real thing in the world was his touch.

The snow reflected the vague morning sun which woke Ruki up. She opened her eyes and quickly realized Takato, who had fallen asleep holding her, had disappeared. She jumped up and ran out of the cave, and she was relieved to see he was just standing there.
“Ah, Ruki, you’re awake.” He said, smiling at her with his bewitching smile.
“Have you been up long?” She asked as she walked towards him.

“Yea, I saw the sun rise. It’s such a wonderful sight…” He whispered.
Ruki kissed his neck, and in return he held her for a moment. Lost in his embrace, Ruki swiftly lost track of time again. But he let go of her all too soon.
“Ruki, I…”
“Don’t…” Ruki interrupted him. She knew what he was going to say, and she didn’t want to hear it. Not again, not anymore…

“Okay.” He whispered.
It occurred to Ruki that he was relieved that he didn’t have to say it, either. Was it that painful for him to say as it was for her to hear?
”We should eat something and then head for the breach. I want to show you what we came here for.” He said, and Ruki reluctantly agreed.

She followed Takato to the breach. The gaping breach that divided the east and the west doomed up before them. The wooden poles that once had held the bridge that she had crossed were still there, the ropes still attached that forever would be pulled down into the breach by the gravity of the earth. The wind that was still blowing kept sweeping bits of snow into the breach, where it would fall down forever.

“Can you see it?” Takato asked.
Ruki looked around, not really sure what Takato meant but eager to find the answer. It took her a few moments to realize the breach looked, indeed, different. Was it the rocks? She remembered the sight of the steep walls of the breach, but they looked a bit… worn now. Or was it simply the snow?

“Something seems different… but I can’t point out what.” Ruki admitted. Takato nodded.
“So you feel it too. It took me a long time to figure out what it was, but I finally figured it. The wind… the wind is blowing here, from behind us, straight over the breach. But the wind never did that before. It always… stopped. Then, I began to notice something else. The amount of prana in the earth here is a lot lower than it has ever been. I’ve honestly never felt this little prana anywhere in the west ever before. Therefore, Ruki… can you feel it?”

Ruki finally understood why she had to come. He was trying once again… to make her feel what she had not been able to feel before. He had tried it twice now. He had removed the seal her father had once placed upon her, to hide her eastern powers that she apparently possessed. He had taken her to the east once, one and a half year ago, taking the only way possible for them… through the ocean.

But even in the east, she hadn’t felt anything. She hadn’t sensed anything she hadn’t sensed before, she hadn’t been able to do anything… They had stayed there over a month, but nothing had happened. When fall came, they had no choice but to head back. Ruki had felt so disappointed in herself. It had been the first time she had failed to do anything Takato had required from her, and until this day she was still ashamed about it. And now he wanted her to try again.

“You want me to… feel the eastern powers? To see if they have crossed the breach?” Ruki asked.
“Yes.”
Ruki sighed.
She stepped towards the breach, and once again tried to remember what Takato had told her time and time again. Open your soul. Feel the forces of the heaven take you over. They are out here, flowing even now, and you can draw upon them if you open up enough.

She breathed in deeply, and out slowly, trying to open her mind to something she couldn’t see, hear, feel or taste. She closed her eyes, hoping it would help her to open up to the heavenly forces. She tried to reach out and grasp whatever was out there, whatever… thing she needed to feel. But once again, there was only darkness around her.

“I… can’t feel anything.” Ruki had to admit after a few minutes.
She opened her eyes and looked at Takato, who was obviously disappointed. How could she have let him down so? She wanted to please him so much… but this was just a hopeless task.
“I see…” Takato whispered while walking back a bit. Ruki followed him, unable to say anything but apologies that would never be enough and thus remained unsaid.

“That’s… too bad, but it can’t be helped, Ruki. What won’t work won’t work, and I shouldn’t have hoped for it in the first place.” While the words were meant to comfort her, Ruki thought her soul was being ripped apart. She didn’t want him to apologize for her mistakes!
“You know, Ruki… I think the world as we know it will soon end.” Takato’s dramatic words shocked Ruki.

“What? Why?” She asked.
“This breach… has kept the east and the west divided for thousands of years. Why it was created, nobody knows. But there is a force in this breach that drains not only prana but also the heavenly powers of the west, and it is able to keep them separate. But more and more, this breach is losing its power. I do not know if you have noticed, Ruki, but the stars in the sky… are dying. Prana is flowing out of the earth here. I cannot prove it now but I think the heavenly powers are flooding in this area. If we don’t find a way to stop it, it might mean the end of our life how we know it.”

Ruki stared at the breach, remembering its importance for this world. The end of the world as they know it… “Then how do we stop it? We can’t possibly let it slip away like this!” She exclaimed.
Takato laughed sourly. “Oh, Ruki… I do not think there is anything we can do. This is something neither you nor me can, or are meant to, solve. But you are right; we cannot let it slip away like this. I think we have waited long enough.”

Waited? Could he possibly mean… Ruki remembered why Takato had created the Asana Bond. She remembered why it carried Takato’s deceased sister’s name. In the end, Takato meant to defeat his father and claim the position of High King for himself.
“Have you figured it out then? What your father is trying to do?” Ruki asked.
 “No, I have not. But there is no time left for that, Ruki.”

Ruki stared at Takato. She had never heard him talking like this. He was serious… which had to mean this problem was serious, too. Would the breach really lose all of its powers?
“We need to find out what is happening here, and we need to know how we can stop it. And there is only one place in the world where we might find information like that. When spring comes, we will go to Zoroaster.”