THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 347: 347. DEPARTURE

Sagiri sat on top of the supreme chief’s fortress. Well, it was now his. Not officially, but he was the only one staying in the huge building alone.

By sunset, Sagiri had taken his place atop the Supreme Chief’s fortress. Perched upon Zaira’s massive head, he sat cross-legged against the backdrop of the darkening sky, unmoving as a statue. From that height, he could see all of Thazir. The inner city glowed beneath the fading light while the outer districts stretched toward the canyon walls beyond. People noticed him almost immediately. To be honest, it is hard to miss the massive beast he sat upon.

They pointed from rooftops, paused in marketplaces, gathered in streets and courtyards. Everywhere he looked, eyes eventually drifted upward. That was the point. His presence could not disappear again. Not now. Not after everything that had happened. The South needed to see its Supreme Chief. It needed to know he was here and needed to believe he was watching. Just like Koru and Zaira had advised him.

It was a huge responsibility he had taken upon his shoulders, but a necessary one.

So he remained where everyone could see him. Beneath the stillness, every second was a battle. Pain moved through him in endless waves, clawing through flesh, bone, and mind. The markings beneath his skin stirred constantly. The relics remained restless. The Archive continued to press against the limits of what his body could endure.

Outwardly, nothing showed. His breathing remained even. His posture never shifted. His expression stayed calm. From below, he looked like a ruler meditating beneath the stars. Only he knew that every moment of stillness required immense effort.

He would remain there through the night. Meditating. Stabilizing what he could. Letting the city grow accustomed to the sight of him. Before dawn, he would leave with the boys for Tagayia. He needed them to take a message to someone.

The thought almost made him laugh. Instead, he simply sat in silence while darkness settled over Thazir. Lamps gradually appeared throughout the city like scattered stars. The crowds below slowly thinned, though many still glanced upward from time to time. They would soon need to rest, and they were acting like disciplined kids as much as Sagiri could see. It would take them a while to get used to him.

Sweat soaked through Sagiri’s clothes despite the cool night air. It gathered along his brow and neck before disappearing into the fabric beneath him. Every few minutes, a tremor threatened to pass through his body, and he had to crush it before it became visible. The pain was constant, and if he could be honest, it doubled at night. It had merely settled into a constant companion.

A slow, relentless thing gnawing at him from the inside. His muscles ached. His bones ached. Even his thoughts hurt. The Archive continued to move through his mind like an ocean pressing against a dam. Worse, he was beginning to notice other things. His body was weakening. He was growing weak, and he had a feeling he would keep getting weaker the more this continued.

He could not afford weakness.

He had not eaten since entering the Pool. Food now seemed like a distant pleasure he had experienced in the past. Earlier, Kaka had practically forced food into his hands, saying a man should eat and that he would beat him if he kept looking like a ghost. Some things really never change. Like Kaka’s temper. Sagiri was beginning to think that was a good thing. At least he would expect him to be the same in all situations.

Sagiri had tried. He really had. One bite was all it took. The meat had tasted like mud. The bread had tasted like dirt. Every mouthful felt wrong. He had swallowed once, nearly vomited, and quietly stopped eating. Nobody had pressed the issue further.

They thought it was stress or exhaustion. He wished that was all it was. His stomach no longer felt hungry. That frightened him more than the pain. Hunger was normal. Hunger meant a body still knew what it needed. This felt different. As though something inside him had begun changing the rules. His fingers tightened slightly against his knees.

He, however, immediately relaxed them before anyone watching below could notice. The stars slowly crossed the sky above Thazir. The city slept, but Sagiri remained motionless. The sweat continued to build. The pain continued to grow louder and louder. Somewhere deep down, beneath all the meditation, he knew the truth. He was in trouble. His body was failing to keep pace with what he had become. Every instinct told him the same thing.

He needed months. Months of seclusion. Months of meditation. Months he did not have. Instead, before dawn, he would leave for Tagayia.

The sky was still dark when the boys gathered atop the War Fortress. Dawn lingered somewhere beyond the horizon, painting only the faintest grey along the edge of the desert. N’varu leaned against the battlements while Kiuga sat on the stone ledge with his arms folded. The others stood in line watching him. Zifara was there as well, dressed for the morning despite the hour.

Beside him stood Azir, fighting sleep and losing badly, yet stubbornly refusing to leave. Their attention remained fixed on the distant silhouette of the Supreme Chief’s fortress rising above the city. Then movement stirred atop its highest roof after a few minutes. Zaira rose to twice his size when he was resting. The colossal serpent slowly uncoiled from where it had remained through the night.

Even from this distance, its size was overwhelming. Black scales caught the last remnants of moonlight as the beast lifted its head and looked across the sleeping city. A moment later, it moved. It was indeed, taking its time. The serpent flowed from the fortress roof and crossed the city with impossible grace for something so large.

Its immense body passed above streets and buildings while early risers stopped and stared upward. The closer it came, the quieter the roof became. Azir straightened immediately. Kai narrowed his eyes. The serpent finally reached the War Fortress and raised its head level with the roof. Only then did they see Sagiri standing atop it motionless, his cloak stirring gently in the wind. For several seconds, nobody moved. Then Zaira lowered its head toward the stone roof, offering its master passage.