When Alice's woke to her senses, she saw only darkness and the smell of sourness came from the mire ground below. Alice lifted her hands and realized they were covered with wet mud that had gnats crawling all over. Luckily, the air was fresh.
A dark figure lay nearby – the Gatekeeper, his body brood in shadow against the murky backdrop.
"Good! You are awake!" Fung's voice, a clap that reminded Alice from her shock. A friendly voice came from behind Alice. Fung! Alice wavered back as she still frightened from her encounter she had at the hilltop. She could had been buried in flames because of this girl.
"Fung! Are you ok? What happened to you?" Alice held tight onto Fung's arms, with tears ran down her mudded cheeks. In return, Fung hugged back with a cherish warmth.
"I don't remember much. When I woke up, we were just outside this cave. I thought it would be safer to move you two inside... Who is he?" Fung's eyes shone her wittiness that belonged to no other, and the dirt on her face could not hide her unworldly beauty. Fung had finally become well again; Alice relaxed her breath.
"He is the Gatekeeper," Alice replied, blinking unwarily treasuring this moment of reunion.
"No way! He's too young!" She had been possessed by the demons and had no recollection of meeting him on the hilltop.
"He is the one who brought us here." Alice and Fung leaned in closer to inspect his wounds.
Suddenly He woke and held tight on to Alice's arm.
Alice was embarrassed as the Gatekeeper acted with such impulse. "I am not Claus. You are mistaken." Alice blushed. She was too young to have experienced such intense sentiment from someone, someone whom she just met.
The Gatekeeper quickly pushed himself away. "Sorry for my rudeness, I am sorry. I thought you were someone…I'm sorry." His face sank in utter despair.
"You thought I was Claus?" Alice asked, curiosity piquing as she remembered seeing him in the old photo.
The Gatekeeper became quiet, his face blanching in discomfort as he held tightly onto his thigh; his eyes filled with guilt and regret.
Alice enforced her inquiry, "why did you bring us here? Where is Claus?"
The young man looked directly at Alice, anguish stamped into his features as he roared with weep, "I am too foolish and naïve. It was all my fault that I couldn't save her."
Alice examined the Gatekeeper's face, reading the maps of scars that were marked across his face, yet transcend serenity reflected on his skin that it glowed with light, an inner luminescence that defied all explanation.
Fung's voice rang out sharp and clear, breaking the reverent silence. "Why did you take us here?"
The Gatekeeper finally spoke, his words carrying the weight of the fates on his shoulders: "Night gives way to day, student becomes master. You two stand as the appointed next keeper to my teaching.
☆☆☆
Alice's and Fung's senses were assaulted as they entered the dank, humid cavern of bats. The floor was slick with guano - an intolerable stench that impregnated their clothing - and the oppressive dark blocked out all daylight. They had accompanied the mysterious Gatekeeper here and watched him silently meditate in this revolting environment for days on end.
Fung brushed away a swarm of maddening insects, her temper flaring at the thought of staying here any longer. "I can't stand these crawling creatures!" she spat, her voice a snarl of disgust.
Alice looked at the boy, whose presence seemed to have compromised the clamor around them into a tranquil balance. She noticed with awe that despite sitting in mud and surrounded by bugs, his clothes remained spotless. Even in the darkest hole, light seemed to find him through impossible means. His eyes, a vibrant shade of blueish green, shimmered like emeralds, captivating her with their depth. His posture, though relaxed, exuded a presence of natural authority.
Fung whispered skeptically, "He is supposed to be our savior? Is he capable?" She creased her forehead with doubt, and she nervously fiddled with the hem of her tunic.
The Gatekeeper, who had not moved or spoken for past few days, rumbled softly: "Where there is darkness, I see light. Where there is light, I seek darkness. The guano of these bats provides sustenance for these insects to thrive; this relationship maintains this ecosystem. Balance between the two extremes must always be maintained, for whoever masters equilibrium controls both." He explained as the nature shift with contingency.
At this moment, a white bat descended from among its peer in the ceiling and perched on a branch near the entrance, its wings folding in as it settled. A luminous light blazed in the subterranean cavern above the Gatekeeper, a waterfall cascading down from the crevice in the rock. Millions of insects swirled around them, their wings flashing like colored gems. Bats flapped madly in their wake, spinning through the air to a spectral waltz as they feasted upon the bounty. The atmosphere inside the cavern was vividly electric, every living creature within it connected in a delicate dance of life and death. The Gatekeeper gazed upon poetic presentation of higher powers.
"Do not believe evil lies solely in darkness," the Gatekeeper proclaimed, gesturing to a grasshopper that was playing with its prey before it devours it. Before it could strike, the white bat swooped from an overhead branch and snatched the hopper with its claws. It soared back towards its nest to feed its younglings. Fung fell to her knees and bowed low at the Gatekeeper's feet. "Forgive my ignorance, please enlighten me as your humble servant." She pleaded for second chance to right her past.
Alice shook her head. "I will not bow to anyone," she said with resolute defiance.
"I understand. I'll leave the decision whether to accept the task as the keeper to you, Alice." The Gatekeeper paused, and then continued, "But before that, please allow me to explain myself." His eyes closed in contemplation before speech. His breaths came slow and deep, as though he were drawing wisdom from the very air around him. "Once upon a time when civilization was at its peak, people began exploring beyond physical knowledge and uncovering secrets that had been lost ages ago. Tales of supernatural creatures and deities were written down within the ancient Book of Darkness." He opened his eyes to regard Alice, the firelight dancing in their depths, then shut again.
The Gatekeeper sat by the fire inside the mighty cavern, his eyes continued closed in trance. "What has not been found nor known to exist is the Book of Light—a powerful scripture that contains knowledge unfathomable to man. It will grant you power over creation, instead of destruction." The Gatekeeper paused for a breath but didn't once doubt his purpose. "Alice, take up my offer of learning the way of light. Although we have scarce time to train, what you can glean will protect you from possession. When fully versed in my teachings, your might shall extend beyond this realm and into time and space itself." He spoke as with urgency. One side of the Gatekeeper's handsome face was brightened by campfire, the other side was hidden by shadows.
"Fung! You were under their control because they recognize who you are chosen to be. Your past is complicated, but with my instruction in the Book of Darkness, you will learn power of much more demanding objectives, but once you fully understand your teachings, your power can go beyond all might. At last, I will have you two to memorize the scripture to insure your lives. There will be seduction of Demons in the darkness of night, you two shall stay firm."
Alice's eyes narrowed, she still contemplated of his offer. "But what if I refuse? What if I choose to stay away?" she objected with uncertainty.
The Gatekeeper exhaled deeply, his chest rising and falling with each breath normally as though he already foreseen such decision by Alice, and he knew the result of this choice. "It is indeed your prerogative," he said as he maintains composure and resumed to meditation.
☆☆☆
Weeks passed since Fung had been given the task of memorizing the scriptures of the dark. During other times, the Gatekeeper remained in a deep trance of meditation and ignored Alice's present.
"There is a town two miles north. You can go home if you wish," The Gatekeeper reminded Alice many times that she had her will to leave anytime she wish. Alice shook her head regretfully with concern. "I can't leave Fung alone. She isn't doing well." For many nights, Alice heard Fung yell in fear of her experience with the beasts, plagued her with nightmares. Her shill cries usually lasted all night.
"Suite yourself. Just make sure you know this is your decision," the Gatekeeper warned Alice.
Alice tossed restlessly throughout that night. When she woke from her light sleep, Fung and the Gatekeeper were nowhere in sight. The damp air made Alice unable to go back to rest. "Maybe they went for a walk."
As Alice stumbled through the woods and found a mountain spring near their campsite, The trees loomed overhead, their branches intertwining like the fingers of giants, while the forest floor was blanketed in a thick layer of green moss. Then She saw shadows of two people at the nearby stream. Fung! She recognized the girl in the reflection of moonlight.
Alice gave a closer look, she realized the man was the Gatekeeper, Rin, himself.
Alice stood frozen. The man and the girl were behaving intimately in the shades of night. A bitter taste she had never felt overtook her. Under the soft glow of the moonlight, they entwined heavenly.
"He he he he. Are you looking at him or are you looking at me?" The mocking laughter of a young girl echoed in Alice's head. The familiar shadows of two merged into a beautiful girl without covering, standing before Alice. Fung. Her raven hair cascaded down her back, her skin glowing with an ethereal luminescence.
Alice continued to stand rigid as if she had been possessed of demon. "I ...I am not looking." Alice stood transfixed and petrified, unable to make sense of this vision before her.
"He he he, it's okay to look at me. You can even touch if you wish." Fung purred with perfect posture to lean closer to Alice. Her fingers teasingly touched Alice to enhance the luring sensation. Fung's dark eyes gleamed like polished obsidian as her hands teased on Alice's body, tracing the curves of her form.
"Stop! Stop! I can't ."
Just when Alice felt her clothes were taken off one by one, the fabric clinging to her skin as if it were a lifeline, a deep voice cut through the haze of sensation, pulling her back from the abyss.
The familiar voice of the Gatekeeper sobered her. "The satisfaction of desire is no comparison to the true joy of giving. Fung has fallen into the evil while training, we are at great risk." As Alice trapped in an elusive state, the Gatekeeper's voice sounded seductive.
When Alice realized she was nearly naked in front of the Gatekeeper, he grabbed Alice into his arms and kept her warm by his own body heat. The stars of the night can sometimes be seen in daylight, and the moon at night. Two souls of the same kind were rare, but not impossible.
☆☆☆
The languid sunrise over the creek valley was usually a sacred affair, the sun's golden rays casting a warm glow over the serene landscape. But something was different today. A tangible energy crackled through the bewitched woods into an illusion of extended celebration, the livings clinging to the trees and the ground beneath their feet, refusing to retreat before the encroaching light.
Rin and Alice kept each other in their arms throughout the night. They didn't sleep. Their bodies still close as morning approached, the gentle rise and fall of their chests in sync as they breathed in the same rhythm. Alice savored the closeness, as she had never felt so connected with another person, her very soul in one unity with his, forming a bond that felt as long and eternal as the stars above.
"I can tell you still love her," Alice said with bitter sweetness, her tender words were her promise to him, for she would forever trust him like she would to herself. Song of a lark sang on the tree branch.
"I....I don't want to lose you, again." Rin choked with emotion, his eyes glistening with unshed tears as he looked deep into Alice's own, trying to convey the depth of his feelings without words.
"Shhhh..." Alice's finger pressed softly against his lips, her eyes filled with understanding and compassion. "Don't say anything. Just promise me that you will never leave me and have faith in me without lies. I'll always be with you." Her plea sounded like a fragile hope that shimmered in the morning dew, but its source was with endless endurance and power beyond all strength.