你就是武器 You Are the Weapon

作者：David Slagle

他的训练从一次呼吸开始，吸气，呼气。

He started his training with a single breath. In, and out.

他可以听到水滴顺着山洞顶端的裂缝落下，湿漉漉的岩石地面在黑暗中反射着亮光。他知道岩石地面上刻着的神圣纹样——它宣告着命运与天体轨道。即使他闭上双眼，也能看到每一个月弧。

He could hear water dripping through a crack in the cave ceiling, dampening the stone floor until it gleamed against the darkness. He knew the holy patterns carved into the floor’s stone—proclaiming destinies and orbits. Even when he closed his eyes, he could see each lunar arc.

他尝试挥动了几下手中的刀刃。月石的触感坚硬，但依然是虚无缥缈的，好像并不存在于这个世界。这是第一次月合留下的魔法残迹，当月亮和它在精神领域的镜像重合、透过天界的帷幕短暂交际的时候，月石会从天而降，如同雨滴般的泪水。

He made a few tentative swings with his blade. The moonstone felt solid in his hand, but remained ethereal, as if it wasn’t there. It was a magical remnant of the first convergence when the moon and its reflection in the spirit realm briefly touched across the celestial veil, and moonstone cast off by the union rained down on the world like tears.

两轮月亮会按照各自的轨迹继续运行，不得不分离。

Following their orbits, the two moons were forced to part.

厄斐琉斯认定了自己的运行轨道，于是他继续训练。

Embracing his own orbit, Aphelios continued to train.

刀刃就是他如今的呼吸，一次比一次更快。他按照多年来的习惯练习劈砍，直到他流血，濒临自我毁灭的边缘。他跟随自己的武器，在空中扭转身体。他劈砍、格挡——每一个动作都行云流水。他闭上双眼让自己不需要看见……不需要回忆他为了拿起自己的武器所付出的一切。

His blade was now his breath, drawing faster and faster. His slashes followed arcs he had practiced for years until even he bled, training to the verge of self-destruction. Following his weapon, he twisted through the air. He slashed, parried—each attack flowing into the next. He closed his eyes so he would not need to see… would not remember everything he’d sacrificed to wield his weapon.

“厄斐琉斯……”你看到我的脸庞。我的嘴唇在颤抖，但我的声音坚定。

“Aphelios…” You see my face. My lip quivers, though my voice is firm.“厄斐琉斯。”通过我眼中的倒影，你看到了……

“Aphelios.” Reflected in my eyes, you see…

厄斐琉斯突然无法站稳，他的月石刀刃闪过红晕，一个异邦人的画面从他眼前掠过。是幻象？是记忆？他有多少次为了弄清答案而下了杀手？那把刀刃从他手中滑落，厄斐琉斯也跟着一起，跌倒在地，没有武器的带领，让他无法自律。

Aphelios stumbled as his moonstone blade flashed red and an image of an outlander passed before him. A vision? A memory? How many times had he killed to not know for sure? The blade slipped from his hand, and Aphelios soon followed—colliding against the floor with no weapon to lead him, losing grasp of his discipline.

全都想起来了。他吞下的一切。他在敌人身上砍的每一刀，比他砍在自己身上的更深。

It had all come back. Everything he pushed down. Every cut of his blade into his enemies cut even deeper into himself.

拉露恩……他的妹妹。她伸出手越过帷幕。她让他看到……但她被强行拉开了。

Alune… his sister. She’d reached across the veil. She’d shown him… but she’d been torn away.

厄斐琉斯把他永远说不出口的话语咽了回去。他的手握成拳头，有那么一刻，他决心要打破石头上刻着的天体轨道和命运。可是，他的手开始颤抖……然后他松手了。

Aphelios pushed troubled words he would never say back into his throat. His fingers tightened into a fist, only for a moment, ready to strike against the orbits and destinies carved into stone. But, hand shaking… he let go.

厄斐琉斯站起来把头发拢在脑后，他看到月亮已经升起来了，月光照进圣庙更深处的神龛。月亮在召唤他，正如此前每一次他被需要的时候。

As Aphelios stood and swept back his hair, he noticed the moon had risen, its light shining onto a shrine he kept deeper in the temple. Calling to him, as it did whenever he was needed.

是时候了。他的信念将得到奖赏。

It was time. His faith would be rewarded.

皎月教派的力量正在增长，相位转移越过天界的帷幕。精神的魔法，奥秘的魔法——即使经过这么多训练，厄斐琉斯也不能凭自己介导皎月的力量。但他并不需要仅凭自己。

The Lunari’s power was growing, phasing across the celestial veil. A magic of spirit, of the secrets within—for all of his training, Aphelios could not channel the moon’s power himself. But he would not need to.

他小心地准备夜绽之花，他在圣庙的池塘里养了许多，随用随取，把它们的精粹榨成苛性的灵药——就是研钵里这种泛着微光的液体。

He carefully prepared noctum flowers that he’d cultivated in the shrine’s pool, pressing their essence into a caustic elixir—the liquid glowing faintly within the mortar bowl.

他把训练用的刀刃放下，举起研钵，邀月对饮。

He set aside his training blade and raised the bowl to the moon’s light.

然后，毫不迟疑地，他把花毒送到唇边。

Then, without hesitation, he pressed the flower’s poison to his lips.

这种剧痛无法用语言描述。痛苦包裹着你的喉咙。你无法发出任何声音……

The agony is indescribable. The pain wraps around your throat. You cannot say anything at all…一切都在燃烧。你在折磨中颤抖，你干呕、呛咳，毒药流遍你的身体，为你打开一扇门，你找到了月之力。Everything burns. You convulse in misery, you retch and cough as the poison flows through you, opening you to the moon’s power…找到了我。To me.“厄斐琉斯。”我从我的要塞中发出轻语，我的精神与你摩挲。你透过帷幕感知到了我的存在。你抬起一只手，你知道我就在不远处。这是你必须坚持的疼痛。“Aphelios,” I whisper from my fortress, and my spirit brushes against yours. You sense my presence across the veil. You raise your hand, knowing that I am too far. That it is the pain you must hold on to.你收紧了手。它成为你的武器。You close your hand around it. It becomes your weapon.我把它递给你……I send it to you…坠明。Gravitum.“厄斐琉斯。”我轻语的同时能感受到你在品味那炽烈的毒药。我知道你为何做出这个选择。我请求你牺牲的东西……

“Aphelios,” I whisper as I feel you cling to the poison that burns you away. Knowing why you make this choice. What I ask you to sacrifice…

随着一声撕心裂肺的喘息，厄斐琉斯从山洞的圣庙进入黑夜。他的表情严峻起来，顶着钻心的剧痛，接受痛苦，忘却一切。

With a final lung-wracking gasp, Aphelios emerged from the cave temple into the night. His expression hardened as he fought back the wrenching agony, embracing it and leaving everything else behind him.

巨神峰在圣庙的上方和下方，沿着两个方向延伸。

Mount Targon loomed above and below the temple, stretching in both directions.

嚎哭的山风夹着寒霜抽打在身上，晶莹闪烁，时隐时现，拨弄厄斐琉斯的围巾，掀动他的斗篷。冷峻的月光高挂在天上。它将为他引路。

The howling wind whipped up frozen wisps that shimmered as they faded, dancing with Aphelios’ scarf and buffeting his cloak. The light of the moon shone higher still. It would guide him.

那是她的光，透过月光照耀着他。

It was her light, shining through the moon’s.

她已经给了他所需要的。

She’d given him what he needed.

坠明不仅仅是月石刀刃。在训练中，他用劈砍、突刺和旋扭的招式。而要使用坠明，他的招式不需要改变——但攻击的范围却会大大增加。简单的戳刺就将释放它的力量，他的武艺和她的魔法如月合般完美交叠。

Gravitum was more than a moonstone blade. In training, he had slashed, stabbed, twirled. To use this weapon, he would do the same—but his reach would be much greater. A simple thrust would unleash its power, his skill and her magic converging.

喷射出的黑色法球飞向一块岩石，巨神峰的天界魔法让它漂浮在空中，而坠明的力量则把那座浮空的孤岛缓缓拖下来。一记飞跃，厄斐琉斯开始朝向浮岛顶端奔跑，他的脚步把小块的积雪踢下深渊。他发射的每一颗法球都将另一块岩石拖向自己，漂浮的巨石在他身后互相碰撞，而他则灵活地在巨石间跳跃前进，迅速攀升。同样的路程会耗费其他人数日的时间才能攀登……但多数人根本都不会尝试这段山路。

Firing the cannon’s black orbs toward a floating rock that was suspended by the Targon’s heavenly magic, Gravitum’s power slowly drew the island down. With a single leap, Aphelios began running atop the island, his boots casting small drifts of snow into the abyss. Each orb he fired drew another rock close, the floating monoliths colliding behind him as he leapt from one to the next, swiftly scaling a mountain that would take most people days to climb… if they attempted the climb at all.

只有烈阳教派，以及那些追寻力量的人，会守在这里。

Only the Solari, and those who sought power, held vigil here.

他从他们星罗棋布的聚落上方经过，每个聚落都悄然无声，对黑夜视而不见。许多年来，他一直都想不通为什么烈阳教派的狂热者能够否认他信仰的存在，只敢追寻太阳，不敢像皎月教派那样面对黑暗。但他对自己的天命十分明了。

He passed their settlements below, each quiet and ignorant of the night. For years, he had wondered how Solari zealots could deny his faith’s existence, walking their paths to follow the sun, fearing darkness that only Lunari dared face. But his destiny was clear.

那些狂热者将在月光下原形毕露。

The zealots would be revealed by the moon’s light.

厄斐琉斯跳上最后一座浮岛，暂时停下脚步，在他下方的一片白雪皑皑的空地上，一队烈阳教派的人刚刚集合，每个人都刀剑出鞘。皎月教派管他们叫焚烧者。夜里，他们用火焰清洗皎月的异教徒。日间，他们的祭司否认烈日以外的一切存在。在黑暗的罩帽下，他们的面庞被火焰遮挡，和他们的判决一样不近人情。他们包围了一个穿着深红和钢铁的野蛮人。

Aphelios leapt to a final island of stone and paused above a snowy clearing where a party of Solari had gathered, their weapons blazing. Burning Ones, the Lunari called them. By night, they scorched out heretics of the moon. By day, their priests denied there was anything but the sun. Beneath dark hoods, their faces were hidden by flame as impersonal as their judgment. They had surrounded a barbarian cloaked in crimson and steel.

正是那个他在幻象中看到的异邦人。

The outlander he’d seen in his vision.

月光停在了这片空地上。停在那个野蛮人双脚前。

The moon’s light stopped in this clearing. It stopped at the barbarian’s feet.

“厄斐琉斯。”我再次开口。我对你的灵魂轻语，聚集起我的魔力，我知道你只想听到一句话。

“Aphelios,” I say again. I whisper it to your soul and gather my magic, knowing the only words you want to hear.“我与你同在……”

“I am with you…”

厄斐琉斯从浮岛纵身俯冲，落在战场中，焚烧者的武器在坠明散发的黑暗中燃烧得更加明亮了。烈阳教派的人大声发出警报，转过身迎战，但却发现他们都被黑色的法球束缚在原地。厄斐琉斯扔下了手中的火炮，一把新的武器出现在他手中。

Aphelios dived off the rock island and plummeted into battle, the Burning Ones’ weapons blazing all the brighter as Gravitum’s darkness spread among them. Crying out in alarm, the Solari turned to fight, but found themselves bound to the ground by a black orb. Aphelios dropped the cannon, and a new weapon appeared in his hand.

“断魄。”我悄声说。

“Severum,” I whisper.降落的同时，厄斐琉斯的视线始终不曾离开敌人燃烧着的面孔，他用断魄向身后猛砍，月牙形的手枪发出光束，划破上空的岩石浮岛。惊恐万分的焚烧者们只得呆呆地看着巨大的石块被弯月的力量切开，砸在他们阵线当中。Landing from his descent without looking away from his enemies’ burning faces, Aphelios slashed behind him with Severum, the crescent pistol’s beam tearing through the island of stone. Terrified, the Burning Ones could only watch as massive slabs slammed down among them, cut loose by the energy of the waning moon.幸存的人很快就在空地上分散开，用他们手中的熔岩长枪猛击厄斐琉斯。在攻击的缝隙之间穿插游走的同时，厄斐琉斯继续用断魄劈砍，同时用另一只手抓住另一把武器，他知道它将穿过帷幕，凭空出现在那里。The survivors quickly spread across the clearing, lashing at Aphelios with their molten spears. Weaving between the blows, Aphelios continued to slash with Severum and reached out with his free hand to grasp one more weapon as it passed through the veil, knowing it would be there.“折镜。”我对黑夜说。“Crescendum,” I say to the night.一道弧线在空气中翱翔，空地上剩余的皎月教派都被折镜切开了脖子——月石环刃扭转回旋，向厄斐琉斯飞来，被他一手接住。With a soaring arc, Crescendum cut through the throats of the remaining Solari in the clearing—Aphelios catching the moonstone blade as it twisted around and returned to his hand.寥寥数秒，战斗已结束。In seconds, it was over.野蛮人站在你面前。他抬头满怀感激地看着你。在他身边，是焚烧者们正在搜查的：一把月牙形状的弯刀。The barbarian stands before you. He looks up, gratefully. Beside him, what the Burning Ones sought: a scimitar curved like the moon.他开口感谢你，但他看到你的表情扭曲，即便你已经在尽力隐藏。你抵抗着恐惧，用拳头敲打自己的肩膀，那是焚烧者的长枪刺穿你斗篷的地方。你努力记起那痛苦。追寻那痛苦。He opens his mouth to thank you, but he sees your expression twist, though you try to hide it. You fight the fear, punching your shoulder where the Burning Ones’ spears cut through your cloak. Trying to remember the pain. Reaching for it.你不想杀掉他。但你必须杀掉他。You don’t want to kill him. But you must.你的面庞已经麻木，无法感觉到自己的眼泪……相反，你感到了我的眼泪。Your face is too numb for you to feel the tears… Instead, you feel mine.“厄斐琉斯。”我说了最后一声，用力将我的声音送出帷幕。我们的天体轨道让我们相聚，随之而来的是一阵眩晕的冲击“Aphelios,” I say one last time, forcing my voice through the veil. There is a dizzying rush as our orbits bring us together.通过你的双眼，我看到月光在弯刀周围揭示的真相。看到它为何被遗弃。Through your eyes, I see what moonlight reveals around the scimitar. Why it was abandoned.她正在逃……She is running…我们必须找到她。We must find her.穿着深红色盔甲的野蛮人和烈阳教派的人一起躺倒在雪地中。The crimson-clad barbarian lay in the snow among the Solari.随着一声艰难的喘息，厄斐琉斯跪倒在地。With a gasp, Aphelios fell to his knees.他抬头看了一眼月亮，倾听那个只有他能听见的轻语。He glanced up at the moon, listening for a whisper only he could hear.他的表情再次黯淡下来。他一言不发地拾起那把弯刀，走进夜里。His expression dulled again. Without a word, he picked up the scimitar and walked into the night.