ICO: Castle in the Mist by Miyabe Miyuki; Smith Alexander O

Author:Miyabe, Miyuki; Smith, Alexander O. [Miyabe, Miyuki; Smith, Alexander O.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Tags: PlayStation, ICO, Fiction, Game, Adventure, Japan
ISBN: 9781421542867
Publisher: Haikasoru/VIZ Media
Published: 2011-10-16T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 4

THE FINAL BATTLE

[1]

THE GIANT FRONT gates of the Castle in the Mist were closed once more. Ico and Yorda stood together in the sunlit courtyard. The memories of the castle and its history now returned to Yorda formed a link between her and the boy, a link firmer than his grip upon her hand.

Ico squinted in the breeze, looking up at the gates that blocked their escape.

“We’ll get out, I promise,” he said. On her knees, Yorda whispered something weakly. Ico looked down at her, still not understanding her words. “It’ll be okay this time,” he said.

How can you say that? she thought, her eyes widening. How can you know?

Ico smiled. “I just know. I can see it now.”

He understands my thoughts, even though he cannot understand my words, Yorda realized.

“There was a battle, wasn’t there?” Ico whispered. Yorda trembled, recoiling from her own memories.

“You broke the queen’s enchantment. Then you and Ozuma escaped and took the Book of Light to the outside world. That’s why the armies of Zagrenda-Sol finally launched their attack.”

Yes, Yorda thought, they came—

At once, a new vision spread before Yorda’s eyes. She saw a massive host of armed men, battle-worn and brave. An armada of warships covered the sea. Atop the deck of the lead galleon flew the flag of the Holy Zagrenda-Sol Empire, and on its bow stood the priest-king himself. She saw him closely now, in profile, his face filled with determination and battle lust. The sun lit his face and made the imperial emblem on his shoulder glitter like gold. Ozuma stood at his side, the longsword at his waist imbued with the power of the Book of Light.

Yes, they came to destroy the queen. With her enchantment gone, the seas around the castle were as easy for ships to enter as a grassy field is to a brigade of footmen. There was nothing to stop them. They crossed the narrow sea, made landing by the castle, and the sound of their boots upon the stones drowned out even the howling of the sea wind.

They arrived to find nothing waiting for them—not a single soldier stood in their way.

Yorda jerked her hand from Ico, wrenching him from the vision of the past. The phantasmal armada upon the waters vanished into the sunlight.

A seabird passed overhead, its cry plaintive. For a while the boy stood there, looking down at Yorda, whose hands covered her face. Then he knelt close beside her and rested a hand on her shoulder. “You don’t want to remember, do you?”

Yorda’s head drooped lower.

“There was a battle, but the castle still stands,” the boy said, thinking aloud. “In the end, Zagrenda-Sol and Ozuma couldn’t defeat the queen.”

Yorda was silent. Again, the seabird cried out, high above them in the clear sky.

“It’s all right,” Ico said. He knew the castle would tell him what Yorda would not. He would learn soon enough of what had come next. Now that the path to her memories had been reopened, the visions would continue whether Ico wanted to see them or not.

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