Chapter 243 - Awakening

Nilya slammed against the door of the village healer’s home, yelling and pounding at it for half a minute until he saw a flicker of a lantern come to life from inside. Light spilled out into the night as the door opened.

“Nilya?” The old healer with waist-length braids answered the door in a simple smock.

“We need the guru-chi’s help!” Nilya exclaimed.

His eyes turned to movement within the home, as the robed holy man passed through the fabric doorway. Even at this time of night, the guru-chi was still dressed in his same heavy robes, his face wrapped by the thick block cloth with only his red eyes revealed. The colourful braided tassels and ceremonial ornaments were missing, giving him a plainer appearance.

Nilya dashed past the healer, falling to his knees in front of the guru-chi and bowing with his forehead touching the floor, “My sister is in trouble! Please save her!”

“Hoh?” The guru-chi planted his walking stick on the ground firmly, looking down at Nilya, “What has happened?”

Nilya’s mind spun as he remembered the terrifying scene in his home, “Th.. there were vines coming out of her!”

“So- the gaze has taken her.” The guru-chi nodded, “How unfortunate, but not unexpected.”

“Please help her! My uncle gave you our savings, you have to help her.” Nilya jumped to his feet as he moved toward the door, “Please hurry!”

“Ah? Your uncle. Yes, he did offer me a small sum, but I did not accept it. My services are not something that can be demanded.” His voice took on a sharp tone as he remained in his spot.

“But- but my sister-“ Nilya trembled as he looked at the guru-chi’s cold eyes. He turned to the village healer whose expression was a mix of scolding and anxiety.

The old lady reached out and grabbed his hair, forcing his head down into a bow as she bowed as well, “Holy one, please forgive our disrespect. I will take him outside and discipline him.”

“No!” Nilya’s eyes burned with tears as he grasped at the woman’s thin, bony wrist, trying to get out of her grasp, but her fingers dug into his hair like a vice grip.

“Quiet, Nilya! You cannot speak to a guru-chi in this way!” The village healer dragged him out the door, scolding him in a hushed voice as she yanked him by his hair, “You’ll bring disaster to our village!”

Several villagers were already standing outside the door with lit candles, murmuring to themselves in curiousity. They were a few steps away from the house when the soft, tinny voice of the guru-chi called out from the doorway, “Wait.”

“Deka help you.” The healer muttered through gritted teeth as she shoved Nilya toward the holy man and quickly stepped away. Nilya saw fear in her eyes.

“I will help you, boy.” The guru-chi said, “For a price.”

“A-anything!” Though the words were what Nilya wanted to hear, he only felt a dread tingle in his body. He felt the adults’ gazes piercing into him. None of them were interested in interfering.

“You shall join me as my Oji.” The guru-chi said, “Is that acceptable?”

Oji. It took Nilya a moment to recollect his uncle’s explanation of the foreign word, which meant chosen heir. Heir of what, Nilya didn’t know.

“Y..yes!” Nilya repeated, bowing.

“I have your word, then.” The guru-chi said.

Nilya froze. There was a finality to the holy man’s voice that caused the hairs on the back of Nilya’s neck to stand straight. He remained in the respectful bowing posture as the guru-chi stepped past him in the direction of his home, his staff thudding heavily against the packed dirt road.

“Y.. you’ll save Anya, right?” Nilya asked.

“Death by the keeper’s gaze is unforgiving and terrible.” The guru-chi said solemnly, “I will save her… From her suffering.”

What have I done? Nilya’s blood ran cold as he clearly understood the meaning behind the guru-chi’s words. The illusory feminine voice that had spoken to him a few days past bubbled in his mind, which had warned him not to let the guru-chi near his sister.

On that day, that voice had saved her life.

Regret hit him hard as he came to a dark epiphany. The guru-chi was never interested in healing his sister to begin with. He would have killed Anya the first time they met if Nilya hadn’t stood his ground. And now Nilya had thoughtlessly called the guru-chi back to finish the job.

“No!” Nilya ran forward, reaching out to grab the guru-chi’s robes to stop him, but just as he was about to reach he was yanked back and lifted into the air.

“Stop, Nilya!” The voice of one of his neighbors growled as the man grabbed tightly onto Nilya’s arm and shoulder. Nilya kicked and screamed, ignoring the adults that were trying to hush him. “Calm down before you upset him!”

He heard the tension and fear in their voices. They didn’t care about Anya, they only cared about not further angering the guru-chi. He struggled so hard that it took three of the adults to hold onto him.

“He’ll kill Anya! He’s going to kill her!” Tears streamed down his face. He felt his face pressed into the dirt, felt a weight pressing down on his limbs. He didn’t parse any of it.

Through Nilya’s tear blurred vision he saw the guru-chi’s back as it turned the corner at the end of the road. A desperation flooded the small boy as he summoned all his strength to push himself off the ground.

He felt the adults struggle against his efforts.

“How is he so strong?!” One of the adults exclaimed.

Nilya felt a hand grip his wrist and he flung his arm out to shake it off. The man suddenly let go with a surprised yell. There was a crash from several meters away as the man collided into a wall.

He kicked out with his feet at the weight that was pressing them down and again felt a sudden lightness.

I’m free! He realized with a start as he didn’t even process what happened and scrambled to his feet. A cloud of dust shot out behind him as he dashed away, single-mindedly chasing after the guru-chi.

Behind him, the adults watched him speechlessly, unable to believe their eyes. The small boy had just thrown impossibly two grown men through the air. Even the men who had experienced it couldn’t explain how it had happened.

~

“Here is the house.” The village healer gestured to the guru-chi, bowing respectfully, “Thank you for your kind assistance.”

“It is nothing.” The guru-chi said, “What I must do is not pleasant, but it’s for the safety of the village.”

“I understand.” The healer replied.

They were several meters away from the door when the guru-chi suddenly stopped mid-pace. The village healer took a few steps forward before she noticed that the holy man had stopped following her.

She turned around, holding up the hooded lantern, casting the small pool of light over the guru-chi. The holy man didn’t take notice of this. His expression was alert, his body was tense in anticipation of an unseen presence.

His right arm jerked up, blocking a figure that flew in from the darkness. A knee connected with his forearm as his robes billowed back from the force of the blow. His feet left gouges in the the dirt as he was pushed back a full meter, though his posture remained strong from the blow.

Nilya kicked off the forearm, landing between the guru-chi and his home. His body trembled from adrenaline, a shock filled his eyes as he realized that he had just done something extraordinary.

The guru-chi pulled back the robes on his right arm. The hand had gone limp, bone stuck out of the arm where it had fractured from the impact. The guru-chi’s red eyes narrowed in shock at the sight of his injury.

Nilya’s eyes widened. Did he do that?

“S-stay away!” Nilya summoned all the bravado he could.

The guru-chi let go of his sleeve, letting it cover his injured arm. He tilted his head at Nilya with a look of curiosity, “Could it be…?”

Nilya tensed up as the guru-chi took an aggressive step forward, but a sound at the door interrupted them.

“Nilya, stop!”

The voice of Nilya’s sister jolted Nilya out of his desperate state. He turned to see his sister in the doorway, accompanied by his mother and uncle. The teenage girl had numerous bloody sores over her whole body that were in various states of bandaging, but the strange vines and fern-like leaves were gone.

“Anya, you’re awake!” Nilya exclaimed.

Anya smiled and nodded. Nilya’s eyes opened wide, his jaw dropping open as he looked at his sister. Even as she stood in front of them, the open sores on skin were scabbing and healing at a rapid rate.

He was so focused on his sister that he didn’t notice the guru-chi come up behind him and put a hand on his right shoulder. The holy man’s right hand which had just a moment ago been broken in half gripped his shoulder tightly, holding Nilya in place.

Nilya instinctively wanted jerk away but found himself unable to. A fatigue filled his body such that he could just barely remain standing. The guru-chi was doing something to him, though he didn’t know what exactly, nor could he explain how he knew this.

Anya backed away a step under the guru-chi’s imposing gaze.

“What do we have here… you are cured?” The guru-chi asked in a soft voice.

“Y..yes, holy one.” Nilya’s mother bowed, “My son… he bought some medicine, at first we thought it was doing- doing horrible things, but soon after our daughter recovered.”

“What kind of medicine, from where?”

Uncertainty flickered in Nilya’s guardian’s eyes as they looked at him for an answer. Nilya was filled with weakness and hadn’t heard the question, though to the others it just looked like he was filled with emotion. The exhaustion was so complete that if it wasn’t for the guru-chi holding him up he wouldn’t even be standing.

“Tell me about this medicine, boy.” The guru-chi released his grip on Nilya’s shoulder and strength immediately flooded back into his body.

“I don’t know-“ Nilya said, “There was a person in the marsh, they sold me a bottle to cure Anya.”

Nilya’s mother presented the bottle to the guru-chi. The strange liquid had already dissipated completely. The guru-chi raised the bottle to his nose and gave it a sniff, but found nothing out of the ordinary about it.

“How did you meet this person?” The guru-chi asked.

“I- I don’t know.” Nilya replied, not wanting to reveal anything to this would-be killer.

He tensed up as he saw the guru-chi scrutinizing him. Was the guru-chi going to force the answer out of him? Nilya resolved not to let the guru-chi grab him again, even if he had to fight him off.

“Well, well, well.” The guru-chi chuckled after a moment, clasping the top of his staff with both hands in a relaxed posture, “It seems I was right to have my eyes on you, boy.”

“We deeply apologize for disturbing you tonight.” Nilya’s uncle hesitated, motioning Nilya to come over to him. He held onto the boy’s shoulders firmly, giving it a supportive squeeze. “If we can compensate you for the trouble…”

“No, no compensation is necessary. It seems that the boy has done all the work.” The guru-chi said, “In fact, there is something that I can do for you.”

As they conversed, a crowd had gathered around in a wide semi-circle, carrying candles and lanterns to light the night. Nilya saw them whispering amongst themselves, gesturing and looking at him.

The holy man rubbed his right forearm, remembering the injury that had been dealt to him, though the damage had already disappeared. He nodded sagely, looking Nilya in the eyes.

“Your boy has a gift, and I shall offer my guidance in developing it.”