Archive of Our Own

Toshi had seen her before. It was not the first time they had met.

Her father, one of the most famous spirit guides, came to them when there was a famine in the village and people began to die. They thought it was all because of some angry spirit, and the only way to find it out was to call one of those who could touch the world of the dead.

She was with him. Very young, not even aware yet of their grief and the fact that death happens around them. She was naively looking at everything around her with her dark blue eyes and focused on circling around something visible only to her alone.
"What is she doing?" He asked her father then, and the latter frowned at him with his staff on the ground.

"She has..." he began slowly, glancing at his daughter "a strong connection to the world of the dead. Stronger than a child her age should have. So... what's intangible to us is quite material to her. And vice versa."

Toshi looked at the girl, looking somewhere into the emptiness, then at her father, grimly clutching his staff, and decided not to ask any more. It wasn't his problem, and he ought to worry about his people, not some strangers' children.

Except her father didn't give him the answers he wanted. The spirits had nothing to do with it. It was all just life changing, something that comes by itself, that is inevitable and cruel, but that must happen.

The spirit guide shook his head, took his daughter by the hand, and disappeared from their village, taking another of the paltry shards of hope they had left.

Toshi did not accept his answer. The deaths continued, the village was dying. He did the best he could, then quarreled with all his friends, and finally did something irreparable, signing their own death warrant for them all. He destroyed the balance, destroyed something beautiful, and then...

Well... by his actions, he condemned the entire village to death. Not just himself.

But he refused to leave. He couldn't admit that he'd let everyone down like that. No. No, it's impossible, he... He was trying so hard to make things right. He... he did so much. It's just not fair!

And he stayed. He just couldn't leave his people behind. Even in death.

The corruption was spreading, taking more and more territory and poisoning the land, but he didn't care about that. This land was dead - it couldn't be healed. But his people...

His people...

He does not know what he is doing. But he's sure he won't back down. Never.

The spirit guides come one by one, trying to restore balance. They come and die, struck down by the corruption and its spawn.

Blood-red flowers bloom at the sites of their deaths and the pools of poison grow larger. The filth grows stronger. The creatures it spawns are bigger and faster. They evolve and each one is more dangerous than the last.

The spirit guides have no chance to heal these lands.

Their souls stare sadly at their bodies each time before disappearing into the streams of the world of the dead, departing beyond the edge. Not one of them stays here, letting go of their lives easily and without regret.

Sometimes Toshi envies this easiness of theirs.

He does not know how much time passes. Lost souls roam the earth that was once their home, unsettled, suffering, searching for something and never finding it. They are embittered, they are sad, they are lonely.

This world was changing because of their tainted souls, being consumed by the abyss more and more, but they didn't care. They were all too absorbed in their own problems to notice anything else.

There were fewer spirit guides. They kept coming - balance had to be restored - but there were fewer young ones among them now. Those who were unsure of their skills no longer risked coming here.

It is quieter without them.

And then she comes.

Toshi doesn't recognize her right away. His memory no longer works the way it used to. He only remembers certain moments, the ones that have tormented him since his death, preventing him from letting go of his past.

He meets her first in the ruins of the old city and soon leaves, certain that she too will go to the spirit world after a while.

But she doesn't die.

Slowly and surely she goes on, destroying flowers of corruption and gathering her "entourage" of rot.

Toshi is not worried. The heart of the filth is here, in the mountain shrine, and she will never get here. He is sure of this.

The spirits are alarmed and strangely excited by her presence and the fact that she passes a little farther than everyone else and the village is filled with their almost inaudible whispers. Toshi, listening to their words, finally remembers her.

Young Kena, the same girl with a too strong connection to the spirit world. She is grown up now, and a shadow of loneliness and grief can be seen on her face, despite her innocent and soft expression. She wears her father's staff and Toshi sees her weakness through.

But for now, he does nothing. The filth can handle it for him.

Nevertheless, he continues to silently watch her, noticing something he didn't pay attention to before. Spirit energy flows through her veins, shimmering brightly on her arms and immediately revealing her identity as a spirit guide. For some reason, the rot is strangely friendly to her and does whatever she asks of them.

And that's strange.

Why would she need them?

Kena doesn't touch anything but what is associated with the spirits and what has lost its materiality. She doesn't touch chests and earthen vases, she asks the rot to lift overturned statues instead of doing it herself, and all her actions are done with her staff or the very spirit energy she channels through her veins.

Despite the fact that she is alive... she seems strangely immaterial to this world.

Toshi is still watching.

She talks to those spirits who are waiting for their relatives to leave, learns new things from them, and promises to help. Benni and Saya, ask her to find her brother. Rusu smiles sadly at her, shows her how to use soul energy for arrows, and points her to the forest, telling her that Taro is there.

But Taro is corrupted, Taro is lost to this world - he is completely consumed by the filth, and Toshi is sure Kena will not make it. None of the spirit guides could do it. Why should she?

She gathers all three relics and summons the boy's spirit. He's frightened and lost - he's still searching for his brothers. It's easy for the filth to take control of him.

Toshi waits for the Fox to tear her apart.

But Kena shows no fear. She has determination on her face and confidence in her eyes. She has no doubts about her actions.

Is it foolish of her? Toshi doesn't know. He's not sure.

She uses her knowledge as a spirit guide, she understands the importance of relics, so she first aims for the lantern on Fox's neck, blinding the corrupted Taro.

Her movements are swift and light - Toshi already knows that all guides move this way. They have their own style, a special one that echoes the movements of the energy flows of the spirit world. He also knows that no one teaches them that. The spirit guides perform that almost instinctively because of their connection to something that's already gone.

But somehow... This time it's different. Kena doesn't mimic the movements of these streams. She is that flow.

She is wounded, but she wins. She speaks to Taro, lets the brothers reunite, and lets them go, finally unburdening their souls. Rusu disappears with the boys and Kena is left alone with her rot. For some reason, the energy of the spirit world restores her body.

It's strange. This has never happened before.

The spirit guides didn't have the ability to heal themselves this way. That's why so many of them couldn't make it to the end.

Toshi feels doubts creeping in. The forest is cleansed of the filth, returning its colors and some part of the land begins to heal.

But it is not enough. He knows it is not enough.

It doesn't mean she could go any farther.

Woodsmith is cruel in her desperation - she won't let her go any further. She will do anything, but she will stand her ground to the last, protecting the lighthouse she has built. Without Hana's spirit just as lost wandering through the village, Woodsmith will not leave. And Hana herself will not be able to approach her while Adira is corrupted.

Toshi walks away, ceasing to follow the young spirit guide, confident that she does not have long to live, but after a while, he feels someone trying to watch his memories, and the rage he feels understanding this... Burns.

He shows up in the Hall of Chiefs, pushes the spirit guide out of his memories, and laughingly hits her in the most painful way, showing that he knows all about her little weakness that will eventually ruin her. He frightens her, knocks her down, slowly approaches her as a living embodiment of her punishment for lying and interfering in their deaths.

Toshi breaks her crystal, which normally serves as a source of strength for guides, and tosses her into the world of the dead. She no longer has her staff and is left without powers. Her return is impossible.

But, of course, she proves him otherwise. She has her weapon with her, as well as the three relics with which she summons him. And Toshi feels that all-consuming rage again. He grips the staff tighter and gathers the energy at his fingertips.

It's time to get this over with.

Kena seems to feel the same way.

"It's time to go, Toshi." She tells him, and the calmness in her voice is infuriating.

He won't abandon his people. She doesn't understand what he's been through, what they've all been through! How dare she pretend she can help them? They don't need her help. They need her death.

Toshi doesn't lunge at her. His movements alternate sharpness with fluidity. He moves steadily, not breaking into a run and letting the spirit guide circle around him.

Seeing her movements up close is almost as thrilling as seeing an opponent fall after a long battle. Toshi is sure that her loss will remain an unforgettable memory in his memory.

He manages to hit her a couple of times, but Kena is still on her feet and doesn't give up. She keeps attacking, keeping her own rhythm, and at one point, instead of seeing her fall, Toshi falls himself.

Then he lures her out to the mountain shrine and takes her rot. It's easy to get the corrupted Rot God on her. The creature, mad with pain, lunges at her, no longer even aware of who is the enemy and who is not, and constantly throws her into the world of the dead, from which she gets out every time to continue the battle.

And when the huge creature falls, Toshi realizes that... this time, he lost. This time for good.

He lets himself stop fogging his mind with anger and lets her see his true self. The one that is full of misery and can never forgive itself.

Then she looks at him sadly, tells him that the human soul was not meant to experience so much suffering, and puts her hand on his shoulder.

Except, for some reason, it does not go through as it should.

"Why..." he asks quietly, looking at her small palm. "How do you..."

Kena smiles. It doesn't feel like a smile, but he doesn't say anything about it.

"I've never been part of just one world. Except the living one wouldn't let me be material to him, and the dead one decided the opposite. But... I suppose that's what allows me to help you."

Her smile grows softer this time. She takes a step to the side, allowing the spirit of Dzadzuro to come closer, and Toshi sees the shadows of the villagers behind her.

Kena carefully circles around them all, unable to walk through like any other spirit guide would do and lets them all say goodbye.

The last thing he sees before he finally lets his soul rest is her young face and the silhouettes of his people ready to follow him.

And now it seems to him... that all his mistakes, all the things he has done while blinded by his despair will be righted. The balance will be restored and everything will return to normal. His people will stop suffering and be able to move on.

And he is finally at peace.