The Answer Within

Pluto King nodded.

The motion was slight, but unmistakable. He looked at Situ Xuan's clenched fist, then at his sharply defined face. A flash of light crossed those dark-blue eyes—a light of recognition, of appreciation.

"Yes. This world is far too cruel."

Pluto King turned and looked back toward that illusory starry sky. Under the dark-red light of the heavens, his back cast a long shadow, falling across the cracked ground like a black spear thrust into the earth.

"And yet that is what makes it beautiful. Isn't it?"

Situ Xuan froze.

He stood behind Pluto King, staring at the figure wrapped in heavy black armor, his mind gone blank. Beautiful? In his understanding, that word had never had anything to do with this world. He had seen too much ugliness, too much blood, too much betrayal and slaughter. The word "beautiful" was far too unfamiliar to him, so unfamiliar it felt like some kind of mockery.

Pluto King did not wait for his answer.

He slowly walked forward, his steps landing on the barren sandy earth with faint, gritty sounds. He walked very slowly, each step as if treading on some invisible staircase, one step at a time, toward that illusory starry sky.

Situ Xuan watched his back in silence for a moment, then stepped after him.

The two of them walked one behind the other across that desolate land. The wind blew past, kicking up dry sand and dust that struck Situ Xuan's exposed skin with a rough, stinging ache. He did not speak. He simply followed Pluto King, one step, then another.

Pluto King suddenly stopped.

He stood before a massive rock shaped like a huge beast crouching on the ground. It was pitch-black all over, its surface covered in weathered cracks. Pluto King reached out, and