Hope's Pure Light

Chapter 3: The Magic
They say that it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. Sakura couldn’t help but think that if she hadn’t loved him, if she hadn’t lost him…that she wouldn’t hurt so much. Maybe if she had found someone else to fall for, things would’ve been different. But at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel that Syaoran was the one, and that she would’ve given anything to have that.
The cards had gone untouched for years, gathering dust on a spare shelf or hiding underneath Sakura’s bed. Though she had used them immediately after and in the years proceeding Syaoran’s departure, as her hope faded, her use of them ceased. She had tried to find him using various cards and spells, but nothing seemed to work. It seemed that Syaoran had disappeared off the face of the earth; Sakura had since convinced herself that he was merely hiding from her, and not the entire world. It seemed that if the cards could not find him, the sole remaining light of her life, they had no use or higher purpose. At first Sakura had stubbornly ignored them, trying to punish them for not helping her more. Soon enough, the obstinate disregard turned into complete forgetfulness. Every couple of months she would remember that she actually was the Mistress of the cards, but held the memories of the adventures in contempt.
Kero had stayed by her side throughout the years. It was only when she had entered college that he felt that he could do nothing for his Mistress. The first summer after the “brat’s” exit, he had grudgingly supported Sakura and cheered her on. After the first year, he had felt that the boy was gone for good. Though he felt that his Mistress would be in for a world of hurt when Syaoran never returned, he continued to encourage her happily. Once the young, hopeful girl had fallen asleep each night, Kero had always frowned and fretted. For any other girl, perhaps the foreboding despair would conquer them, but Kero felt that Sakura could handle it. After all, she had dealt with all the cards, defeating Yue, and passing Eriol’s test. Surely the brat couldn’t defeat her seemingly invincible heart…didn’t other females deal with heartbreak every day?
He saw her slipping as if it happened in slow motion. Every movement she made seemed pained and stressed. Sakura spoke less and less often, losing her friends and scaring her family. The cherry, bright faith she had held so close to her heart had changed into raging storm clouds of confusion and hurt. Kero bitterly thought of the brat who was the clear cause of all this trouble. He and Yue had combined their strengths to try to locate Syaoran. They had almost found a pinprick of his aura, when sudden walls rose before them, forcing them back. It seemed hopeless. Sakura, despite encouragement and sympathy, fell deeper and deeper into the endless well of darkness.
Though Sakura had little use for him or Yue when she had entered high school, Kero had chosen to keep her company throughout the four years. Yue, on the other hand, had woken up to the reality: Sakura was lost, and only one thing could bring her back. He retreated into Yukito, surfacing only rarely in order to speak with Kero regarding the weakening of their Mistress. When Sakura had moved to the college dorms, Kero had returned to take his place on the cover of the Sakura cards. He had little hope that he would be reawakened soon, and wondered if Sakura would even be the one to do it.
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Syaoran walked calmly into the dimly-lit room, his back tall and his shoulders straight. He held his chin up, both commanding and giving respect to and from his elders. He had finally come to this room as the beginning of the end. His training was complete, and he proudly had stepped forward to take his place in the world, choosing to face the Masters’ test two years earlier than his fellow pupils.
Upon passing his test, Syaoran would be free to leave the grounds. Though the payment for his training entailed missions for the Masters, he felt that this chained life of freedom would be far superior to being caged at the monastery. Once he was able to leave the grounds, he could make his way back to Tomoeda, find Sakura, and take her into her arms. Every day he had pictured her in his mind, letting her grow more beautiful by the day, and lovelier with age. The missions surely would not prevent this. He had assumed these small tasks to be minimal and short. Surely the Masters could not assume to take over the lives of all the boys who had come through these heavy doors.
The room was just as he had imagined it all these years. He stood in the vast expanse of stone, circular room. Etched on the grey walls were scenes of samurai and mage alike that had etched their great deeds into the history of man. Torches stuck stubbornly out of the walls, providing dim light for the people who waited inside. Syaoran stood in the middle of the room, where the light was the faintest. Thirteen Masters stood in silence around him, waiting for the test to begin. Though many were eager for this student to pass, their faces did not show it. Their icy expressions did not unnerve Syaoran, however. He continued standing broadly in the center, waiting for his instructions.
“Are you adequately prepared to undergo this mission?” They asked solemnly.
“I am.” Syaoran replied confidently and coolly.
“Do you understand the obligation you are under, should you pass?”
“I do.”
“Then let us begin.” As they spoke the last words, they faded into the darkness as the torches were blown out. A moment of fear grasped at Syaoran’s heart, making it beat faster. He quickly drove the trepidation away and focused on what needed to be done. Searching inside himself, he quickly found the well of magical strength he held where it had always rested. Touching the inner fire with his mind, he forced a string of light to emerge from his palm. The brilliant white flame lit the entire room, freeing it from darkened shadows. Almost as soon as this light had ended the darkness, the walls fleeted and Syaoran was left in an endless abyss. Regardless of how intense his magic may be, eventually the darkness waited all around him. It was as if the room stretched forever and he stood at the tip of eternity.
He waited in silence for what seemed like hours, unsure of what to do next. Eventually, Syaoran realized that there must be more to this test than simply standing in darkness with a magical light. He absently chose a direction and began running. The light shining from his palm ate away at the oncoming darkness. Regardless of how far or how hard he ran, nothing seemed to exist in the endless shadows. Out of breath, he stopped running abruptly, angry and tired of the confusion of this test. Syaoran sighed heavily, closing his brown eyes to rest for a moment. He opened them abruptly, and looked in the direction that he had come from.
To his surprise, a giant tree rested before him, its branches stretching up higher than Syaoran could see. The bark was a dark mahogany color, rich with age and sturdy with time. Leaves sprouted out in a brilliant green with small veins of shining magic. He reached out, tracing over the rough bark with his fingertips. As he felt the connection between his own magic and that of the tree, a symbol began burning in the bark. A thin, red fire traced the outline of a stretched heart. A small crown rested upon its crest and wing sprouted from the sides. Though he had never seen the symbol before, immediately Sakura came to his mind. Syaoran reached out and touched the fiery mark, drawn to its clandestine power. As his fingers reached the outline of the heart, a sudden jolt flew through his body, filling him with a strange and foreign power. It consumed him, burning away his skin and drowning his mind in memories and thoughts. Through blazing eyes, Syaoran saw the heart grow as it ate away at his essence.
He closed his eyes, trying to focus on anything but the pain. His mind grasped at the only truth he had ever known and focused on the image of Sakura coming back to him.