Chapter 16

Chartreuse knife

Golbez's vision was blurred, his jaw stiff and his mouth moved as slowly as the blood seemed to flow in his veins - he was not even sure if the words he uttered were audible at all:

"So I was right about the factthat you would kill for a cent."

"Oh, Ko Min is giving me more than a cent…" Tristan remarked calmly.

"Ko Min? So you were trying to kill me from the beginning…"

"No - had it been so, you would not have survived the brawl in the tavern, you know. When I first met Ko Min, he only handed me the map and told me to use it as a lure to get you to journey with me. He probably wanted to see first if I was capable of gaining your trust. The order to kill didn't come until we came toKaipo." Tristan explained the details of the plan in a casual tone.

"But Leah and Edward--" Golbez had to stop speaking as a wave of burning pain was flooding through him.

"You mean why I hired Leah and why I tolerated Edward?" Tristan ended the other's thought. "Well, I did not know the way through the desert and, also, I could never resist a pretty face. And the King of Damcyan - he simply meant even more money. Of course it made planning on how to kill you harder, but when they ever find your body, I am at least not the only one they could suspect of having murdered you…"

"But what about the Rocs… You saved me…"

"My, my - your logic won't even let you die in peace, will it?" Tristan sighed sympathetically. "I like to play safe - a Roc attack is hardly killing a person instantly and I believe that even in a wounded state you would have been able to roast me with a spell rather fast. I needed to find a safe way to kill you, without witnesses and without bringing myself into danger… And look - the wait was worth it! Due to the poison you can't even raise a finger and we can even have a cozy talk before you die," he concluded proudly.

It was true - Golbez was completely helpless and although it wasn't the first time he was in a life threatening situation, it was the first time that he could actually see death coming; the poison slowly spreading through his veins until it would have conquered his very essence, his very life. Just one day before, he would have welcomed such an end or at least accepted it as fate, but now his mind wouldn't stop asking questions and his body desperately tried to move its limbs, although it was an impossibility to do so. For the first time he understood what it was that drove humans on, what let them ignore the inevitable even when doomed.

"I don't… want to die…" he brought forth. His breathing had become labored now and made it even harder to speak. 

"Is that so?" Tristan wondered. "Never looked that way tome… I thought that you wanted to do this endless sleep thing on the moon which sounds pretty much like death to me. Why the sudden change of mind? Ah, now I understand - it's because of Leah!" He clicked his tongue. "Don't worry - she'll find another. She was too good for you, anyway." 

"Greedy… murdering... bastard…"

"No, I'm not." Suddenly, Tristan sounded very serious. "There's one thing I want to let you know, Golbez. I'm not doing this here because it's fun. As you accused me in the caves of Kaipo that I would even kill for money, you hurt me - it hurt because it was true and because I never had wanted to fall that low. Swindling, thieving, betraying - that's my world. If you're cleverer and faster than others - well, that's just too bad for them! Everyone lives for himself and only the strongest and smartest win the game. Still, that does not mean that only the strongest is allowed to survive. You know, I was once weak, too… I got cheated, lost my money when gaming and, hey, as unbelievable as it may sound, there were even some women who left me!" His voice took on an instructive tone. "But I didn't want to be the loser and I endured only to learn, until one day I was able to turn the stakes and I could compete with my former "masters" and then I was the one who won the game. And all this without killing a single person."

"Then… why now? Just… money?"

"No. Of course killing you will change "Tristan, the swindler" into "Tristan, the rich" and maybe even in some circles to "Tristan, the hero"…" the flaxen haired man said and became even more earnest, "but the real point is that I know when someone is stronger than I am. And Ko Min is such a person, probably even stronger than you. I never had the impression that I even had the option to reject the mission. Maybe in the beginning, but I couldn’t--wouldn't say no to the wealth and fame he offered me… But from the moment on where he told me to kill you, I knew that there was no turning back. It was my life or yours… You might understand who I chose… I'm truly sorry about all that. To take the life of someone is… cheating."

"Then don't do it, Tristan."

"Edward?" Golbez noticed dimly and felt a slight twinge of regret that of all people the bard had come to his "rescue". "He'll never make it…"

Slowly, it became an impossibility to ignore the inevitable. Death was near. 

xxx

"What are you doing here?" Tristan jumped up with a raised knife.

 Edward took a hesitant step forward, trying to keep at least his voice stable: "Leah and I were wondering why you had been so insistent on going with Golbez and when we accidentally stumbled over your "breakfast". It all came together then - your strange acquisition of the map, your lie that you couldn't swim, your remark that you regretted only one decision you had made and of course the poisonous herbs you bought in the tavern of Mysidia. I remembered just in time the stories Cecil told me about the establishment."

"Well, with that many hints it still took you a long time to figure it out… But why do you care if Golbez dies or not?" Tristan asked innocently. "He killed your girl… Here's your chance to watch him die."

"It is true that part of me wants revenge and Golbez may even welcome death, but it's like you said: Death is cheating. We're all on our roads and we need to walk down them - no matter how hard they are. So, if I'll have to walk the road of my grief, I don't want that the man who is partly responsible for it has it any easier. He should have to walk his road, too, a path stony with his guilt."

"Nice. You forget two things, though: First, I'd never break a contract I made and second…" Tristan pointed at the writhing form of Golbez. "I believe that it's too late. There's nothing that can save him now."

"Is that so?" Leah had suddenly appeared next to Golbez - while Tristan and Edward had talked, she had used the opportunity to creep tothe body of the black haired wizard.

"You, too? Why are you all trying to help a man who brought you nothing but trouble?" Tristan whirled around and with a determined expression approached her with the raised knife.

Leah's features paled. "Tristan - don't come any closer!"

Tristan's gaze had already spotted the little flask in her hand. "Trying to save him, are you? I'm not sure if it will even help, but just in case you should give the stuff to me. I don't want to hurt you." As if he wanted to make it clear what he was capable of, he twirled the knife deftly with his fingers.

Leah gave Edward a desperate look - there was no time to waste if she wanted to give Golbez the antidote and still Edward wished that he had just a second more to gather his strength, to gather his courage, to wait for the right moment--

"Don't move!" Tristan's voice commanded stridently.

"Edward!" The bard heard Leah's shout, and he knew that he could not let his weak body ruin everything, again; he would, could not fail to protect someone once more--

With a cry he hurled himself onto Tristan, who whirled around to meet him.

"Surprised?" Edward greeted the other as they tumbled together onto the icy earth.

Tristan's eyes were fixating on him coldly. "Only a bit."

The bard became aware of a sharp pain and his arms lost their strength -- Tristan slipped out of his hold like an eel and rolled to the side, while Edward landed on his stomach on the snow, the meeting of the hard ground knocking his breath away. As soon as the air returned to his lungs, he tried to propel himself up, but his wrist bended under his weight only shortly after he had seen the blood.

***

Golbez had only been vaguely aware of anything around him and it seemed nearly unreal as his head was raised out of the cold snow. Some kind of sticky liquid was forced in his mouth and he had the reflex to gag, if his body would just have allowed it or the hand that was firmly closing his lips to keep the antidote from flooding out.

"Leah…"

The liquid inside his mouth seemed to choke him--

"Don't fight it or you will become too tense to swallow it." His head was raised even more and a soft hand brushed over his hair. "You know, I really didn't know what to wait for in Mysidia, so I decided to find out…"

As strange as it seemed to him that she was telling him all this, as calming as her voice was, he could no longer feel the pain in his bones, but only the rhythmic strokes of her hand against his head.

Suddenly, he noticed that the liquid was no longer in his mouth and that the weariness was seeping away, the burning in his veins subsiding and getting replaced by pleasant warmth…

Only a second later, Golbez's head landed in the cold snow again, once more bringing back the pain.

"Edward!" he heard Leah cry, but his sight had not returned fully yet.

"Need to gather a bit more strength…"

"Tristan… He… he hit me…" Edward's voice hovered between horror and surprise.

"I… Look, I told you to let me do my job! And what am I to do now? I have no choice but to end what I have done, I guess…"

"Hesitation in Tristan's voice?" A small chuckle escaped Golbez.

"Can move again…"

"Stay away from Edward! Haven't you caused enough damage?"

"Can feel the magic again…"

"You don't understand! My life is at stake! If I don't--"

"QUAKE!" A shout echoed through the air. With a deep rumble, the earth began to vibrate, throwing the unaware Tristan on the ground.

"That's enough." Golbez's dark voice thundered and to stress this point, a heavy black boot was pressed on the back of Tristan's neck, squeezing out a grunt from the young man.

"Golbez! Are you alright?" Leah had not even seen Golbez standing up - it had all happened so fast.

"It… My state of health should suffice…" Golbez was still feeling a little shaky and his sight seemed to be shifting. He tried to focus his gaze and looked around. "What's with Edward?" He spotted the young man kneeling on the ground, holding his shoulder.

"It's… only a little wound..." Edward panted, though looked like he was about to faint any minute.

"Let me see…" Leah sat down next to him. "It bleeds, but the cut doesn't seem to go deep. Tristan is as bad in close combat as he is a cheap poison brewer. Otherwise I cannot explain why the remains of the antidote from the Kaipo cave were able to help Golbez…"

"Hey - after all, this "cheap" poison brought the mighty Golbez to his knees," Tristan had somehow managed to turn his head to the side so that he could at least croak. "Normally you need at least a woman to render him helpless…"

Despite what Tristan had put them through, Leah had to laugh. Golbez wasn't amused, though and the boot pressed harder into the swindler's back.

"You're still joking?" The black wizard snapped. "You don't seem to realize that you are in a very unfortunate situation, do you?"

"Is that so? Although my plan failed and Ko Min will probably be after me, I'm right now in a very good situation, I think…" Tristan ached, spitting out some snow. "After all I'm still alive and since none of you will kill me--"

"Are you so sure about that, boy?" Golbez growled.

"Stop with these games, Golbez. He's right." Leah said. "No one here would kill for revenge. Not I, not you and surely not Edward."

Golbez raised an eyebrow. "If you say so."

Against the ground, the swindler grinned. "See! And you probably will not let me go, either."

"That is correct."

"Thus, you will have to take me with you which means that I will have protection against Ko Min if he finds me! Isn't that great? And could you now please let me get up? You're breaking my spine!" Tristan asked with as much amiability as the pain in his throat would allow.

"No one will protect you here. Didn’t you say that Ko Min was stronger than me, anyway?" Golbez stepped aside, releasing Tristan. "I changed my mind. You are free."

The other gave him an insulted look while scrambling to his feet. "Don't take my words that seriously. I'll not be leaving you." He smiled mischievously, his old self once more. "If you leave me I'll just follow you. Of course you could beat me up or to tie me to some tree to stop me from doing this, but in this cold climate that would mean certain death for me and you wouldn't risk that. Killing is cheating, you know?"

"He has some point…" Edward admitted quietly. "But still he tried to kill me and--"

"Hey, I told you that I'm sorry!" Tristan tried to placate him, "besides if I had wanted to kill you, I would… err… I would have aimed the knife better." He pointed towards Edward's shoulder nearly accusingly. "It doesn't even bleed anymore!" 

Edward's blue eyes grew wide with indignation. "What?! Truth is that you didn’t aim at all and--"

"Hey, Your Majesty." Tristan interrupted him with a charming grin. "Don't forget that thanks to me you got to play the hero!" He winked towards Leah who was just now trying to bandage the wound scantily and was not paying much interest to anything else besides her task. 

Edward's face first paled, then reddened and his mouth opened only to close again rather quickly.

"See Gobs?!" Tristan triumphed with exaggerated joy. "No one seems to have any objections against my further company." 

Golbez raised a hand towards his forehead where a headache seemed to be building.

"You… you had all this planned, right?"

"Well, I had to think of the possibility that I wouldn't be able to kill you, so this here is plan B." Tristan said slightly sheepishly.

"I just hope that there isn't a plan C in which you stab us in the back, again," Leah had finished taking care of Edward and was now watching Tristan with a look of distrust, but also slight amusement. 

"No, I'd never do that!" Tristan put all his powers of persuasion into the words. "I also never intended to harm Edward or you, but you know - things happen…And now let's go, shall we? Hey!" He gasped in shock as Golbez gripped him at the collar, raising him upwards.

"Things happen? This means that you'll probably try to betray me once more. Don't try to kill me again, I warn you or you could be the one to who things happen!"

"A… alright…" For moment, Tristan's nervousness became apparent, but it disappeared as soon as Golbez had set him on the ground, again: "But you know Golbez - I thought that you liked people trying to kill you! The number with the knife last night was extraordinary!" He grinned nastily.

For a moment; Edward forgot completely the pain of his wound, as he had the blue-planet shattering pleasure of seeingGolbez blush.

xOx

The higher the group climbed Mt. Ordeals, the icier the wind became. The mountain was in the merciless grip of winter, a frozen, stony desert in which a snowstorm was raging, making it hard for Golbez and his companions to see even their hands before their eyes. To the dark wizard, the inhospitable conditions were well fitting to the inner frost that filled him when he thought of his nearing meeting with KluYa … 

"I wonder how Cecil felt when he climbed the mountain, his soul tainted with evil deeds, as well. And Dawn…"

A cold hand slipped into Golbez's like it was the most natural thing in the world. Slightly startled, he held onto it and watched Leah's shivering figure out of the corner of his eye. "I still haven't thanked you for saving my life. It--"

"--it is something you didn't deserve…" Leah ended his sentence through clattering teeth. "And I won't even disagree with it! Still, I came back." Despite the cold, she offered Golbez a warm smile. "That's human illogic, eh?"

"Yes, probably…" Golbez grumbled, feeling slightly stupid that the so often derided habit of humans to act without thinking was the one thing that had helped save his life.

"Say Leah--did you have any new memories?"

Leah stopped abruptly and it was visible that she was trying to stay calm. "Now are you starting again? I bet this Dawn was here on the mountain, right? Or is it still about Ko Min? No, I don't remember anything and even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you! Why do you still care?"

"Call it thirst for knowledge!" Golbez snapped.

"Thirst for knowledge? Thirst for love, I'd call it. But you know - I bet she wouldn't love you! She wouldn't love you like… Ah, you're so... so…"

"Can't you two stop quarrelling for just one minute?" Edward stomped through the snow towards them, Tristan following behind. The bard looked tired, but still managed to give Golbez, or better, his hand that was still holding Leah's, an annoyed glance before addressing the young woman.

"Did you really think that he would start to act differently in front of you just because you saved him? What do you expect from him?"

"More than she can expect from you, bard. If it comes to a fight here, you'll be the first to need protection!" Golbez hissed, feeling strangely insulted.

Edward bowed his head, red shame shooting into his face. "It's right that I can't fight well, but at least I'm not taking advantage of other people like you or Tristan!"

"Excuse me?" Outraged, Tristan began to run from one person to another like an upset weasel. "Don't you set me even with Golbez! It's not my fault if he is stupid enough to trust me! It's Leah's fault that he was stumbling about like a love sick idiot!"

"What?!" Both Golbez and Leah exclaimed in disbelief.

"I should have given you a beating when the time was right, but it's never too late for these things!" For the first time it seemed that the dark haired wizard was not only making threats and Tristan backed fearfully away.

"A quarrel… Hate… Lies… Violence…" A deep voice sounded amidst the raging storm. "It is not difficult to find you, Master Golbez. But you never were one of the subtle sort, Destroyer of Nations…" Out of the wall of swirling flakes, a tall, white robed figure broke through; short white hair and a short beard framed ageless features, intelligent green eyes and a grave expression.

"Ko Min..." Golbez murmured, so lost in the appearance of the Lunarian that he didn't notice what Leah was doing when she had taken his sword out of the scabbard, raising it against the stranger.

"So you are Ko Min after all. What do you want of us?" Her voice was shaking slightly.

"Don't--" Golbez held Leah back at the hand. "A sword is not needed. This is about magic…"

She followed his wish with hesitation, but let go of the weapon and took a step back.

"I see that you have failed, Tristan…" Ko Min glanced sternly at the flaxen haired man, who had paled considerably. "I told you that failure is not acceptable, didn't I?"

"Uh... that…" Tristan began to stutter nervously. "I--"

"Silence." Ko Min ordered calmly. "I did not expect any better of you. The foul and the evil always kill the good ones, but never their own kind…"

"Are… are you saying that Golbez and I are--"

"Don’t worry, Tristan," Golbez's deep voice sounded sarcastically. "Ko Min is not talking about you, but about me. He surely wanted to remind me that it wasn't me who killed Zemus but my brother, that I, the one who had killed so many innocent people before, was not strong enough to raise his powers against him, against one of my kind."

"When the times of honor are over, the time of weakness will begin…" Why was he thinking ofthis sentence just now?

Ko Min shook his head. "Your failure had nothing to do with power, but with the evil inside you. It is in all the children of Klu Ya… Your brother might have become a Paladin, but his past as a Black Knight has left his soul stained. He is only slightly better than you."

"How dare you!" Edward, who had watched the whole scene frozen until now, could no longer bear to stay silent.

Ko Min was not even looking at him. "I'm only saying the truth. However, I might decide to spare your friend since he is so popular among the Lunarian elders. Master Golbez's death, though, will delight everyone - except maybe for this weak fool FuSoYa."

"I have no doubt about it." Golbez admitted coldly. "But tell me: Why have you waited so long to meet me in person?"

"Because I wanted to watch you and to collect proof that your execution is justified. I'm no murderer and I don't want that the Lunarian council condemns that I killed one of our ranks, when all I'm trying to do is to carry the heavy burden of eradicating what we are at fault for. We Lunarians are a peaceful race that wants to coexist with the humans in harmony like we did before our misguided brother Klu Ya cursed the lands with his violent offspring."

"I think that the thing you're interested in is not peace, but power and influence… And since a final separation of the moon and the Blue planet would mean a lack of just that, you have to convince the elders that there is no need to "abandon" the humans," Golbez replied dryly, although a fit of shame made it hard for him to keep up the cool facade.

"Abandoning… I lied to Cecil… I abandoned him, too… " He tried to fight down the sudden thought - this was not the time to ponder about such things.

Ko Min was unmoved by Golbez's words. "The power I'm interested in is a "good" power," he patiently explained in a nearly gentle tone. "It's a power used for the benefit of all people, a power of order and peace: Not a power like yours which is only used to destroy and kill." He gave Golbez a thoughtful stare out of the bright green eyes that seemed to wander into the dark depths of his soul--

"I…" Whatever Golbez had wanted to say to his defense, the thought was swallowed by yet another memory which came unwelcomed into his mind - it was like he was living through all these horrible dreams once again.

"Why aren't you saying anything, Golbez?" Leah asked nearly angrily. "Tell him that you have changed! That you have learned to use your powers for the benefit of others…"

"She fights for me… But does she know how you once watched her kind? How you desired absolute control over others?"

"Besides you tried to fight against Zemus…" it escaped Edward's lips - for some reason Ko Min was scaring him more than Golbez had ever done.

"Why does he defend me? He is the one who is weak, yet he has the strength to stand up for others when I can't… Does he know that you felt no regret when you killed his men and family? Do you even now feel true regret?"

"Why don't you answer, Master Golbez?" Ko Min asked. "Tell me that you have bettered yourself."

"To better yourself…" The words were familiar to him… Had he bettered himself?

Hadn't he opened up to Leah?

"No. Lies. You are only using her, hurting her to compensate for the guilt you feel upon letting Dawn die."

Hadn't he spared Tristan?

"No. Cowardice. Cowardice because he is your own kind."

Hadn't he saved Edward from death?

"No. You did it only to mock him, to be able to see how much power you still had over life and ruin of your victims. Yours to give, yours to take…"

"Golbez? What's the matter?" Leah's voice asked anxiously next to him.

"He remembers…" Ko Min said nearly reverential. "Golbez, do you remember? Remember the dreams I sent you… Remember the reality of your deeds and then answer me: Have you changed?"

"I… No…" The memories overcoming him seemed to burn themselves into his inner eye, marking him forever; every evil deed he'd ever committed, small and big alike plunged itself like sharp needles in his conscience and every time he tried to hurl the flaming pain away, tried to fade out the pictures before his mind, more memories crashed upon him like an avalanche; another wave of bitter guilt hit him, buried him, filled his being with nothing but black despair. It felt like his brain would explode from the pain in it and holding his hands to his head, lost in the middle of a giant dark vortex of suffering, he broke down into the snow.

Cold embraced him and suddenly the pain stopped and it was silent, silent like he had reached the eye of the storm. It was empty here; he was alone in a dull, dead vacuum, surrounded by nothing but walls of ice.

"Golbez!" The silence was dispersed.

"What have you done to him? Is this what you call justice? To torture him in such a cruel way?" The voice was now brighter; the wall was touched, getting melted by warmth. "Can't you see that he is already suffering enough under what he has done?"

"Then death will be a relief to him." Golbez raised his head and beheld Ko Min stepping towards him while slowly raising his hands; his eyes were still fixed on Leah, however. "Who is cruel, girl? Do you want to let him live with such pain?"

"After the pain stops, there always comes the healing!"

Her voice was warm like her touch and filled the emptiness with meaning.

Ko Min sighed. "You poor girl... Your lack of memory must have made you vulnerable to his "charms" or whatever it is that your misguided soul could find in such a monster… The teleportation from the moon must have destroyed more in you than expected… "

"Teleportation from the moon? You said that you knew me - who am I?" Her voice was no longer calm, but afraid now and Golbez felt that his strength was wavering, as well, as if it was connected with Leah's inner state.

"He should stop telling her lies…"

"I have no idea who you are or why you interrupted your sleep and fled to the Blue Planet, but I know what you are: a Lunarian. I know one when I see one."

"What?" Leah's voice faltered.

Golbez had never before witnessed Leah as insecure as now and it filled his soul with rage that Ko Min's words made her weak - her, who had always been so strong.

"Need your strength…"

"Seeing that you are of my own kind, it is disappointing that you were not much of a help in dealing with Golbez," For the first time, Ko Min sounded menacing. "I'll decide what to do with you when I'm finished with him."

"Keep your hands off her!" Golbez growled between clenched teeth and raised himself on staggering legs. "I will not let you confuse her anymore!"

Ko Min watched him, surprised. "Oh… So you want to fight? I thought you'd accept your sentence more willingly."

"I deserve punishment, but not by death…" Golbez tried to shake his head free of the thoughts - and of the anger that was filling him. "I hurt a lot of people and I owe it to them to make it up to them as best as I can. I will not run away from responsibility any more. You are a danger to all beings on the moon and the Blue Plant with your self-righteous justice, which knows neither forgiveness nor sympathy!"

"How do you dare!" Ko Min's figure stiffened and his tall figure straightened imposingly. "I will teach you that the likes of you should not speak such words from their foul mouths! ICE!"

Amidst the whirling snow flakes, giant icicles rose like stalagmites out of the trembling earth, ready to skewer everything in their way.

"FIRE!"

The columns were melted by a rain of blazing fireballs before they had even risen fully.

"Don't mess with me!" Golbez let out a low chuckle. For some reason, it never had been easier for him to summon the magic energies and to counter a spell - it was like the most powerful magic was only waiting for him to unleash it with a snap of his finger. Was it because some hidden might of the mountain was strengthening him?

Ko Min regarded him attentively. "You wield a lot of power. And I can see in your eyes how much you enjoy wielding it. Wielding a power which cost the lives of so many people... You act like you curse it, but you still use it... And you want to tell me that you have changed?"

The banter from the man became unbearable for Golbez - not only because the Lunarian had tortured him with his mind manipulating abilities during the whole voyage, but because he had also confused Leah with his mysterious assertions. The rage in Golbez as well as the magic power in him grew stronger and stronger until it felt like he would burst - the magic beckoned to be left out.

And he let it.

Red fire filled him with a burning desire, his soul was set ablaze, mirroring in his eyes and Golbez's expression changed. It was a hungry look, inclined to--

"Kill you!"

"NUKE!"

"Psyche!" Ko Min countered, the green mist immediately draining Golbez's magic energy, so that his spell fizzled before even reaching the Lunarian.

The dark wizard laughed disdainfully. "Think you'll get me by draining my magic? It's so huge that I could cast Nuke thousands of times!" In fact, he felt more powerful than ever before, now, in this moment--

"Golbez, stop it…" Leah begged quietly next to him. "You're making me afraid! Don't lose control!"

Golbez wasn't listening. "No one can stop me… "

"METEO!"

The burning rain from the sky came immediately, not distinguishing between friend and foe -

"Hey - be careful! You'll get us all killed!" Tristan tried together with Edward to find some cover in the barren surroundings of the mountain.

Golbez did not care - after his soul had nearly succumbed to nothingness, his mind was now filled with joy by the feelings the magic invoked in him.

"Hot red rain... So better than the cold, colourless one... Makes me feel... so alive..."

Despite the flaming missile which had hit him, Ko Min was still standing.

"You forget that although you are able to wield stronger black magic than I, I have an ability you have not…" the white haired man panted.

"Golbez - he's planning something! Don't attack!" Leah grabbed Golbez arm, but the wizard shook her off.

"Don't fear -- don't you see that I'm trying to use my power for good like you said?"

"Helpless before my power…"

The feeling of victory surged though him

"I may have to carry the guilt of the world on my shoulders, but at least I'm not weak… Not weak…"

The slightest of smiles spread across Ko Min's lips as Golbez raised his arms once more:

"BOLT!"

"Golbez, no!" Leah pounded against his chest, but it was too late.

Ko Min had already raised his arms: "WALL!"

Golbez was thrown back by the impact - but it hadn't been the bolt spell, but Leah's form that now slacked in his arms. Slowly he realized that she accidentally had been in the line of the reflected attack spell.

"I... told... you…" he could hear her whisper and the smell of burning flesh filled his nostrils.

"The sweet smell of destruction… No--" His eyes widened in utter horror as he realized that this smell wasn't sweet like it once used to be... It was sickening, acidic… It seemed to him as if time had stopped just for him to come to his senses again - a moment ago he had felt so alive and now…

"Leah…"

This power, his power… It brought only…

"Death…"

He slumped with her in his arms into the snow, her body heavy, so heavy all of a sudden…

"In contrast to you, I can use White magic…" Ko Min looked down on him with more reproach than pity. "I told you not to mess with me - now you see what has happened! Had you listened to her, she would have lived."

Edward shook his head, hot tears gathering into his eyes. "You did this and then boast that you are able to use white magic? White magic is used to heal and protect, not for killing!"

"It was her fault to stand on his side!" Ko Min replied calmly and slowly opened his arms. "And now I'll finish this… Golbez, prepare yourself. WHITE!"

Golbez looked up into the glaring ball of light that was floating towards him, a serene light, so peaceful, so much better than the hard reality in which he was sitting in the cold snow, a passing life in his embrace--

"No, I cannot die before--" But it was too late - the light was coming nearer, and he closed his eyes, waiting.

"WALL!"

Everything was black once more.

"Ko Min - you have no right to judge others…"

Golbez opened his eyes to see Fu SoYa standing before him; a groaning Ko Min curled at his feet.

"I feared that you would be no match for him, so I decided to help you a bit, child…" Fu So Ya smiled slightly.

"Help… me?" Golbez brought forth - then he became aware once more of the weight in his arms.

"Leah? Leah?" It was as if everything else around him became invisible in this moment -- as if her face was the only sight that existed, the blue of her eyes the only existent colour - and the blue was paling. 

"Golbez…" Her voice was barely audible and he bent down to hear her better. "You never told me... how it really felt… your first kiss…"

"What?" How could she ask him such a question in this moment? She was dying! How could this be important for her?

"It… it… was… warm… and secure…" He could barely speak out the words - a lump of sadness was choking him and for the first time, it was not only sadness about himself…

Leah tried to smile, but she failed. "Now... it's so cold… I don't want to die…"

"You... you don't have to…" he said, although every fiber of Golbez's logic screamed: "No - that is not true! It was your spell that hit her - it would be too strong for anyone."

Edward was saying something, but Golbez didn't hear it - he only heard her fading breath.

"Liar…" she coaxed. "Hold me… feels more warm…"

"No. Leah... Hold on!" Golbez pulled her more into his embrace; but the cold rigidity of her body would not lessen, more it was spreading over him, too. Her breathing was so shallow now that there was hardly any sound... He looked up to FuSoYa, pleadingly.

"Can't you…"

FuSoYa regarded him sorrowfully. "No…"

A sudden burst of rage went through Golbez. "Uncle! She has nothing to do with my deeds! Help her! She's dying!" he snapped, his voice dark and torn.

"You don't understand! It cost me enough powers to get here! I'm old... too old and it took all my energy to generate a wall which could reflect something as powerful as Ko Min's White spell," the Lunarian explained, huffing.

"No! It cannot end that way - I cannot let her die… Let a person die once more…" Disbelief spoke out through Golbez, mixed with anger.

/Anger will lead you nowhere…/

"Who said that?" Golbez thundered.

"Said what?" Tristan was the only one who was rather composed, despite Leah's lifeless form in Golbez's arms.

"Brother…" FuSoYa whispered softly, wise green eyes no longer directed on Golbez but gazing towards the misty mountaintop, which shone through only barely in the storm around them.

/You must let go…/