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<span class="mu-s">Impa</span> let's out another another dreamy sigh. <span class="mu-g">"Well, that was all very charming of course, but I'm not quite that easy. It was what happened next that captured my heart... He had made the conversation so easy, we moved to the topic of his mask, and he showed it to me. He was so humble, talking about it just as he had spoken about the spoon. I asked him how he was able to explore the <span class="mu-s">Temple</span> at such length, wasn't he afraid, you know? Do you know what he said to me?"</span> She finally asks.
You shake your head. You've never heard this story before, which she of course knows.
<span class="mu-g"><span class="mu-i"><span class="mu-s">"Light does not destroy the darkness; it embraces it."</span></span></span>
She heaves another dreamy sigh when she recites this line. <span class="mu-g">"It was a quote from <span class="mu-s">Elder Shikashi</span>, and it took me some time to understand what it meant... That we have to accept our fears, our worries... The ugly parts of ourselves and the ugly parts of the world. To him, it meant understanding those things as well, truly acknowledging them and being true to ourselves anyways. He said that it gave him <span class="mu-s">Courage</span> to remember that quote, and so even when he was frightened, he embraced the darkness, both outside and within him."</span> She leans into you, putting her cheek on the top of your head, then, and you can feel the deep breaths she is taking in her chest. <span class="mu-g">"I didn't stand a chance after that... This meek little bookworm had me wrapped around his finger from that moment on, I felt so outmatched in ways I had never known. Throughout my training, and ever since, I always remembered what he said that day... I remember it now, and I want you too as well, <span class="mu-s">Zuzo</span>. I am so proud of who you are becoming, and I want you to grow to be as brave as he was... He gave that <span class="mu-s">Courage</span> to me, and I want to share it with you now..."</span>
As she speaks, the sky is darkening into a rich navy, punctuated with countless twinkling stars overhead. Your gaze sweeps across the firmament as if you might find some sign of him there... And you eventually see one star begin to shine more brightly, expanding outwards into the form of a triangle, beaming intensely with a golden hue. The rays of gold light wash over you, brighter and brighter still, until the light is blinding warmth that embraces everything in sight... A golden void of pure, glittering light...
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>Cont'd
