To a Brighter Future - Chapter Two
Walking through the lush green forest that he once found himself lost in felt quite surreal, yet not completely unpleasant. The smiling trees and overly happy birds indicated that he was currently in the world of joy, and yet Bright did not feel particularly inclined to either world. He could stop to appreciate the blooming flowers and the rustling leaves, and he could smell the fresh air and watch the light fog that had appeared this morning. He couldn’t dillydally, though, as he had an old friend to visit, and he would rather not keep him waiting.
Navigating through the forest felt as natural to him as breathing, since he had done it multiple times, and so it didn’t take long to find his way to Elder Oakley.
Watching the elder’s face as it scrunched up in surprise and confusion upon his arrival made Bright chuckle a bit, and he gave the large tree a warm smile.
“Hello Elder Oakley.” He said. “How have you been?”
“Oh my, I did not expect to see you again, Bright. I can only hope your visit here is not because you have terrible news to report.”
Bright shook his head. “No, I… I’m here because I am done watching the world. I would rather be a part of it again, and atone for my sins down here.” Bright looked up at Oakley. “I feel like I owe that to my friends. They sacrificed so much for me, and I couldn’t even do anything in return.”
“Hmm!” Oakley hummed. “Do you think that is wise, young man?” Before Bright could say anything else, Elder Oakley continued. “I have watched over the guardian spirits of this world as I would my own, in honor of you, of course. Are you sure they are ready to have you back in their lives? The two of them lead quite different lives now, you must understand.”
“I do understand.” Bright agreed. “But I believe a new friend wouldn’t hurt them in the long run.” He sighed, looking down. “I just hope I’m doing the right thing this time, and not out of a selfish desire again… I have a feeling something terrible will happen soon.”
“Could you possibly mean Absolution?”
Bright knew Elder Oakley would catch on immediately. He took a step forward, clutching his Sun Spear tightly.
“I am afraid so.” He said. “And I have complete faith in my friends. I know they will overcome any obstacles to take on this terrible evil, however I would like to aid them this time around. I will finish what I couldn’t back then!”
“You must have thought this through then.” Oakley closed his eyes in thought. “If Absolution truly will return soon, then I leave the rest in your hands. I will play my part as I promised you, though it is ultimately up to you what you decide to do from here on out.” Elder Oakley smiled. “I have faith in you, great Sun King.”
“Thank you Oakley.” Bright felt tears at the corner of his eyes. He looked up at his role model with gratefulness. “I will do my best to completely destroy Absolution, once and for all. And I will do it as a team, with Rozen and Silvio…” Bright paused, and then chuckled. “But I suppose I should call them by their new names now. Heart and Soul...yes, they truly are the heart and soul of our team.”
“They have grown to be quite fine guardians, I must say.” Elder Oakley added. “I am very proud of them.”
“You and me both.” Bright’s smile widened.
“Goooooooood morning, Elder!”
Bright turned around, only for his eyes to widen and his heart to skip a beat. There – just a few feet away from them – was none other than Heart, walking over to them with cheer in his steps and a bright, sunny smile. Heart was looking at Elder Oakley, though upon realizing the Elder had a guest, the guardian of joy stopped a few steps away from Bright and looked at him with curiosity and all the innocence of a pure heart. Bright wanted nothing more than to keep that smile permanent.
“Oh, hello!” Heart began, but then his smile faltered. “Huh…” The spirit of joy said. “Your clothes look kind of familiar...Oh, right! Soul mentioned this to me!” His eyes widened. “Are you...the Sun King?!”
Oops… Bright probably should have changed clothes before he left his castle.
“Ah…” He began, at a loss for words. “Well, I--”
“Indeed he is.” Elder Oakley spoke up for him, effectively gaining both of their attention. “However, the stories told do not always ring true, Heart. Bright here is a good friend of mine.”
Heart looked at Bright again, this time with even more curiosity.
“Uhm, I don’t really get it, but any friend of the Elder is welcome here! Even if you happen to be the Sun King!” Heart laughed. “Gosh, I never thought I would get to meet you in person! You don’t look as evil as the stories tell, so I guess Elder Oakley is right, as usual!”
“Well, I am glad you accepted that so fast, Heart.” Elder Oakley spoke up again, sounding proud. “Bright will be accompanying you on your journeys from now on, so I hope you will get along well.”
Heart walked up to Bright and smiled. “Your name is Bright?” He asked, then spread his arms out. “Welcome to the Garden!”
Bright felt overwhelmed, but not in a bad way. He was simply filled with so many emotions, it was almost hard to breathe. Rozen – now named Heart – accepted him so fast, even knowing he might not be the best person… He could only hope Soul was just as welcoming.
But did he truly deserve their kindness, after everything that had happened?
“...Thank you, Heart. Your kindness is very much appreciated, and I truly look forward to getting to know you better!”
“Me too!” Heart said as he lowered his arms. “I’m sure we’ll become great friends, and when we are, you can tell me aaaaall about this Sun King business!”
Bright would really rather not talk about that, but if it was for Heart and Soul… Then he was sure he could endure that conversation when it came to it.
“Of course.” Bright nodded, and then turned to look up at Elder Oakley again as he adjusted his crown. “Elder, I trust you to handle things if it comes down to it?”
The wise tree smiled. “Of course, young man! Your faith in me will not be for granted.”
Heart looked at them both questioningly, but said nothing.
“Thank you, my friend.” Bright said.
He turned back around to look at Heart. “Do you want to go anywhere with me?”
“Sure! Oh, I have a great idea!” Heart began, looking giddy. “We can visit my brother, Soul! He lives in the world of Sorrow, so I’ll have to open the portal that leads to it first, but then we can be on our merry little way!”
“I can’t come with you, Heart.”
“What?” Heart faltered again. “Why not?”
Bright chuckled. “I guess you must have forgotten, but there are two instances of people in Soma, one Joy and one Sorrow. I cannot travel with you because I already exist in the world of Sorrow.”
“Oooooh, that’s right!” The spirit of joy bonked his own head. “I keep forgetting! If Soul was here right now, he would definitely be scolding me!”
“He sounds like quite the character.” Bright said.
Heart nodded. “He is a big grump, but he means well!”
Bright and Heart then turned to look at the wise tree. “I will see you later, Elder Oakley.” The Sun King said.
“Yeah, see you later Elder!” Heart added.
The elder of the forest would have nodded if he could. “Fare well on your journey.” He said.
Heart then walked with purposeful steps toward the centerpiece of the garden, and the Sun King followed closely behind. He couldn’t believe he was actually doing this. In a previous life, he would be watching everything from atop his citadel by now, all alone and left to ponder on his mistakes. This was all so different.
The more he looked at the garden, though, the more Bright was reminded of the place where he found Absolution all those years ago. It even had that strange archway in the center, and the abandoned house he found that note in looked surprisingly similar to the nice little house now standing in its place. It sent shivers down his spine – for how nice the atmosphere was here, Bright just couldn’t find it in himself to enjoy the place.
“Are you okay, Bright?” Heart snapped him out of his thoughts, and he realized that he had stopped walking. Bright wasn’t at all surprised by the worry in Heart’s tone, though he cursed himself for having worried his friend to begin with.
“I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” Bright managed to bring forth a smile. “I was just lost in thought. That can happen to the best of us!”
“Oh yes, I get lost in thoughts all the time! Soul keeps reminding me to watch my steps, but I always seem to trip over my own ropes.” The guardian of joy laughed.
“I’m not at all surprised.” Bright chuckled.
“Really? How so?” Now he looked curious again.
“Well, you just seem like a person that trips a lot. No offense though!” Bright quickly added, his eyes wide.
“Don’t worry my friend, Soul tells me that too!”
They had made it to the centerpiece of the garden, and the two of them stood before the archway with the mask that represented the split between Soma.
“Well, I look forward to meeting Soul.” Bright said, and he meant that.
“Great! Let me just do the chant.” Heart informed.
The spirit of joy turned around and spread his arms out, the whole area becoming darker like clouds had decided to cover the sun. He closed his eyes and began the chant.
“The key to unlock the gate,
Unite the heart and soul,
And become a greater whole.”
Flashes of light assaulted Bright’s vision as everything turned a blinding white, and when it receded back to normal, the portal to the world of sorrow had appeared just before Heart and Bright. It was a curious thing, being able to transport one to the other part of Soma, yet Bright decided not to question the logic behind that.
“Bright, did you see that? I got it on my first try this time!”
Bright nodded. That was pretty good, considering.
“Pretty good, considering!” Heart mirrored his thoughts. “Well then, I’ll go wish you and Soul a very merry morning!”
Bright nodded as he watched Heart enter the portal. Then he thought of his sorrow counterpart, and just like that, he was there – it was a surreal feeling, like the flick of a switch. From one world to another, a second passed without a hitch – and that was all it took for Bright to find himself in a world of perpetual gray. Here, the trees frowned, the inhabitants looked less than pleased, the birds sang of gloom and everything spoke of sorrow.
He was standing with his back to Elder Oakley and looking at Soul, who had approached not that long ago.
“...Is that the Sun King, Elder Oakley?” Soul questioned the big tree, gesturing to Bright. “Should I fight him? Is he threatening you?” He raised his dual blades, taking a fighting stance.
Elder Oakley closed his eyes.
“Soul, this is Bright.” The wise tree began. “He is an old friend of mine. I hope the two of you will become good friends.” He opened his eyes again.
“That sudden, huh?” Soul muttered, lowering his weapons and relaxing, if only slightly. “I can’t say I know the full story here, but I trust your judgment.” He glanced at Bright neutrally. “So, the Sun King, huh?”
“Uhh, yes, that’s me…” Bright mumbled, feeling a lot sadder than he had before. He supposed that came with being in the world of Sorrow, but still. “I won’t attack you, I promise.”
Soul Shrugged. “I don’t know why you decided to come here, of all places, but I guess as long as you aren’t causing mayhem you can stay.” His face was as stoic as ever.
Silvio hadn’t changed a bit. Still the analytical, practical and protective sort.
“I was actually just speaking to your brother. He’s very excited to see you again.” The Sun King informed kindly, to which Soul sighed.
“So you already met him? Yeah, he would be. That guy gets excited by everything, I swear--”
“I suppose he does. He is a very cheery fellow.”
“And clumsy. And noisy...yeah, don’t get me started with him.”
Bright looked past Soul. “Speaking of, look behind you.”
Soul did, and sighed once again, but the Sun King could tell that the sigh was very much fake and deep down the spirit of sorrow actually enjoyed getting visited by Heart.
“Heeeeeeeeeey!” The spirit of joy began as he ran forward at an amazing speed. “Sooooooouuuuul, Briiiiiiiighhhttt!” He waved, because of course he did.
“Here he comes…” Soul began.
“Yes he is.” Bright nodded sagely.
Heart soon stood before the three, smiling wide and looking pleased to see that Bright was next to Soul.
“Good morning, Soul, Bright, Elder Oakley!” He announced for the second time that day, still as eager to spread cheer and joy as always. He...well, he really wasn’t in the right place for that though.
“Do you have to be this full of energy this early in the morning, Heart?” Soul grumbled, sounding half-tired already.
“Don’t be such a grump, Soul!” Heart chuckled.
“It’s good to see you again, Heart.” Bright said, finding the scene utterly endearing and so much like old times.
“Yeah, great…” Soul muttered. “Have you come to wake the entire Garden? Because I think you already succeeded.”
“Well, that’s great!” The spirit of Joy cheered. “It’s, like, seven in the morning already, so they should be awake!”
“Not everyone is a morning person like you, Heart…” Soul informed.
“Pssh, don’t be such a party pooper!”
“Now now, Heart, Soul.” Elder Oakley interjected, effectively gaining said spirits’ attention. “Why don’t you skedaddle and be on your way with Bright here? I’m sure he would love to get a tour of the garden and meet the other residents, hmmm?” The Elder continued, giving the two a stern glance.
Soul shrugged. “Well it beats being called a grump and a party pooper by Heart.”
“Right! Sorry Soul, sorry Bright!” Heart said, then grabbed the Sun King’s robes. “Come come, there’s so much to see and so many to meet! I’m sure we’ll all be the best of friends!” He cheered.
It honestly felt like Bright was ten again and about to enter that huge forest Rozen and Silvio dragged him into. Only this time Bright would make sure not to lose sight of his friends. Never again, too much had been lost because of that.
“I’ll be right behind you, Heart.” The Sun King stated.
Chapter One: https://at.tumblr.com/toonpel/to-a-brighter-future-chapter-one-bright-had-made/j94hgp0vk6jb
