Asylum

Face-to-Face

Xavier Walker

Having him agonize over his so-called hallucinations was one of my favorite parts of torturing Ren. Every time I appeared, he looked so weak. No longer was he the Dragon that Japan held on a pedestal, but he was the little boy who was begging for my forgiveness after he killed our father and burnt my eye out. It was tempting to tell him I wasn't a figment of his imagination, but seeing him crumble so slowly made me too happy.

The rainy day that I plummeted down a cliff was the day I thought I was going to die. The day that I thought Ren was going to get his way just because he was a monster. As I fell, I didn't close my eye, but I looked for the bottom. There was a river, but with how high my fall was, I would still die on impact. I remember looking down and wishing I could just land safely.

Something fuzzy had begun to tingle my nerves right about then, and when I looked at my hands, I was horrified to see them slowly disappearing, like some freak-show magic trick. Slowly, the world ate away at my body, and when I was still falling to my death, I vanished into thin air. In my mind, I had pictured where I wish I was: safely standing near the river in the chasm, unscathed. And soon enough, I was there, body gradually coming together like a puzzle made of fog. I couldn't believe it. I was like him. I was just another monster sent to stain this world.

But I never killed anyone. That was the distinctive difference between Ren and I, and I decided then that only one of us could live, and I knew it had to be me. I was a stain on humanity, but I was a much smaller stain than Ren. Somehow, I had to figure out my power and use it against that selfish brother of mine. As I stood there in the chasm, befuddled and clueless, I barely managed to hear stone rolling against stone, like a tomb opening.

I turned to face a couple of heads peering out from a wall of the ambiguous pit, blank eyes taking me in. They were human, at least I thought they were. Tentatively, they approached me, circling me like prey. There were tens of them and one of me, and my katana was nowhere in sight. The only thing to defend myself was a power I didn't understand. Finally, one of them spoke in a raspy voice, eyes looking at the lack of one of mine. The empty and crisp socket Ren left on my face was far more than ugly. "Welcome, Xavier Walker. We have been waiting on you for a long time."

They were human, but they talked like robots and moved like ghosts; swift on their feet and leaving no trace of their presence. Their leader explained that they've been living in this damp crack in the earth for years, waiting for people to wander so they could "help" them. I wanted to get as far away from the creeps as possible, until the leader spoke again. "You've been wanting to execute your brother. We've noted your deep hatred for him. Wouldn't you like to see him fall to his knees, slowly and excruciatingly?" These people, the "Seekers" they call themselves, used my wide-open vulnerability to use me as they wanted.

"I'd give my life for it," I had growled. "What do I have to do?"

The Seekers, who seemed more like alternative Sages living in rocks, didn't tell me much of anything. They claimed they would perform experiments and make me stronger so I could punish my brother for what he had done. I wish I could remember what they had done to me, but after every trial and test, they wiped my memory. Vaguely, I remember the terms "alternative strands," and "synthetic strings," being thrown around, but that's about it.

The one thing I will never forget, however, is waking up to a burning sensation. I roared so loud that I was surprised Ren didn't hear me from his dojo. I didn't know what the hell was happening to my body, or how this was supposed to make me stronger. I recall looking for a Seeker to demand some answers, and when I looked around, I could see perfectly. I had another eye.