by David Walker
“WE...ARE...TIAMAT!” the enlarged, electrified beast roared, as it broke free from the Dragon Signet and flew off into the smoke-filled sky.
Chapter 13
Shade burst into the Ordered Chaoz guild hall looking for Aftershock. He risked another encounter with Vice Deceptus in order to check in on her. The hall was empty. He rummaged through Deceptus's desk drawer but was unable to find information on Obfuscation's latest deployment. He was too late.
Matthew turned on the television in his living room and quickly flipped to a news channel. Thirty-three, simultaneous explosions hit Triberia in the most catastrophic terrorist attack in modern history. The death toll was over thirteen thousand and climbing. Matthew clasped the top of his head with his hands and slumped down into his couch. He had underestimated how serious Leila's concerns were. Even so, he did not regret saving Kylie and Garret from Dullahan.
Matthew was about to drive to the Alverez home and check on them when another shocking news story caught his eye. A giant, real-life dragon, calling itself Tiamat, was terrorizing the Republic of Flux like something out of a fantasy movie. When Matthew saw the blue, electrified dragon, he was immediately reminded of the sparking, cloud entity that he had released into the physical world. He knew that the same entity had joined itself to the dragon. He entered into his heart realm dismayed, realizing that his old life continued to haunt him.
“Isaac! Nathanael!” Shade shouted in desperation. He shared a special, spiritual bond with his two brothers in the kingdom of heaven. A vibration rattled their connection to each other when one of them was troubled. His golden-clad teachers met him inside his crystal castle.
“What's wrong?” Isaac asked.
“Before I met you guys, I was using a weapon that drew its power from the shadow realms. Long story short: I ended up inside of a dynamic fusion and the sword released an elemental demon that attached itself to me...” Shade sighed and continued, “I allowed that demon to escape into the physical world. Now, that same demon has attached itself to a dragon named Tiamat, who is flying around in the physical world.”
“This is serious,” Isaac grimly stated.
“You're proposing that we banish it?” Nathanael asked.
“Yes, please!” Shade begged. The recent terrorist attack weighed heavily on his soul. He could hardly bear the thought of more innocents suffering because of his mistakes.
“We'd have to enter into another dynamic fusion in order to combat it. That would be extremely dangerous,” Nathanael warned.
“The King of Heaven entrusted us to train and guard you. We would risk failing our mission if we fought this dragon. You've already put our mission in jeopardy when you endangered yourself. I couldn't reach you in time when you entered the Valley of Death. We could have very well lost you there,” Isaac scolded.
“I know, I'm sorry. I had to. My friends' lives were in danger because I'd exposed them to the underworld. I've screwed up so much before and it's all catching up with me...You both have been wonderful, patient teachers. I appreciate everything that you've taught me. But at this point, I am no longer a trainee. You've both completed your mission successfully. Now, it's time for me to face my past and set things right. I'm not asking that you escort me on a mission as my teachers, but I'm asking that you join me into battle as my brothers-in-arms,” Shade pleaded. He was surprised to see Nathanael smile.
“Not only have you grasped everything that we've taught you, but you've also learned to hold yourself accountable,” Nathanael commended.
“And you're willing to lay down your life for others, a lesson that our honorable king taught us long ago. I will join you in battle, brother,” Isaac declared.
“As will I,” Nathanael agreed, creating a rift above the spiritual disturbance that he could detect in the physical world.
Shade, Isaac, and Nathanael dropped inside of a dynamic fusion near Tiamat. They landed on top of a skyscraper, which glowed due to its connection to the spirit world. The area below was plagued with chaos: fires, collapsed buildings, flipped vehicles, and frantic people running for their lives. Tiamat, who was at least a hundred feet long, toppled a nearby power line with a crushing sweep of his tail.
The three warriors formed a wind tunnel and used it to spiral down on top of Tiamat. Shade and Isaac attempted to stab Tiamat with their swords, but they were unable to pierce through the dragon's tightly-packed, interwoven scales. Tiamat quickly twisted his body around and swiped his claws at the warriors, who dashed off of him to evade the deadly attack. After establishing distance, Nathanael unholstered one of his triple-barreled shotguns and fired elemental rounds at Tiamat's underbelly. The fiery rounds were unable to breach Tiamat's seemingly impenetrable skin.
“How about a cannon blast through Resonant Prism?” Nathanael asked the group through their spirit bond. Resonant Prism was a collaborative, elemental fusion attack that Shade and Isaac had mastered during training.
“Sure,” Isaac replied, as he deftly evaded another claw swipe. Shade back-flipped away from Tiamat and starting channeling photonic energy into his sword.
“Alright, cover me while I put it together,” Nathanael said.
Isaac leaped high into the air and swung at Tiamat's neck with his long, slender blade. The attack ineffectively clanged against the dragon's thick scales, yet drew his attention. Isaac side-flipped to avoid the vicious snap of Tiamat's monstrous jaws. Nathanael ran into a narrow alley and generated a protective barrier around himself with one of his shield orbs. He focused on the component pieces of his cannon, transporting them, one by one, from his heart realm. He drew Tiamat's attention when he started constructing the cannon.
Tiamat opened his mouth and electrical sparks crackled inside of it. Isaac dashed in front of Nathanael's barrier and twirled his sword around in a circular motion. Tiamat fired thick bolts of lightning out of his mouth at Nathanael. Isaac channeled the earth element into his sword, which formed a mirror that reflected Tiamat's lightning bolts back at his chest. Tiamat took minimal damage from the blast, but he was distracted enough to get hit in the same area with an arcing beam of light that Shade projected from a swing of his sword.
After drawing Tiamat's attention, Shade ran circles around the beast, dodging the series of lightning bolts that arced out of his mouth. Isaac also ran circles around Tiamat, leaving thick billows of mist behind in his wake. The mist gathered upon Tiamat, forming a dense fog that obstructed the monster's visibility. Shade and Isaac, however, were able to see through the dark cloud of purified, aquatic energy.
“Mark his chest,” Isaac commanded his former student.
Shade dashed across Tiamat's chest in an upward, diagonal arc, slashing the area that he had previously hit with his light beam. Isaac slashed Tiamat's chest in the opposite direction, forming an X mark with Shade's previous attack. The nimble warriors continued to dart back and forth across Tiamat's chest and deepening the X mark wound. Nathanael finished building the cannon and began to channel fiery energy into one of its shells. Tiamat made a giant swoop of his wings, clearing out the fog and knocking Shade and Isaac off of him.
Shade spun his roped dagger in a circular motion and used it to lob an empty car at Tiamat's chest. Tiamat screeched when the vehicle exploded into his chest, but it did not take him long to recover. Isaac utilized liquid energy to generate a large bubble around Tiamat. The bubble froze, encasing Tiamat inside of a giant dome of ice. When Tiamat smashed through the ice dome, the ice shards transformed into dozens of holographic images of Isaac. The images slashed Tiamat from multiple angles and directions, doing no damage yet distracting the great beast.
Nathanael aimed his cannon at Tiamat's chest, readying a shot. Shade and Isaac rushed over to Nathanael and positioned themselves in front of his cannon. Isaac knelt down and held his sword out in a thrusting position, pointing in Tiamat's direction. Crystalline, aquatic energy emitted outward from his blade; it hovered and vibrated in the air. Shade moved behind Isaac and swung his sword in a star
formation, generating light beams in the direction of his swings. The light beams projected into the water, fusing with it, and created an intense, prismatic force.
“Resonant Prism!” Shade and Isaac shouted as Nathanael's cannon fired through the radiant halo, blasting Tiamat in the X marked wound on his chest.
The Resonant Prism vastly empowered the cannon's explosive blast, crippling the mighty dragon. His chest buckled as smoke slowly drifted out of his fiery, gaping wound. Multiple bolts of energy shot at Tiamat from his rear. Five warriors emerged and assaulted the injured dragon with various elemental attacks.
“Looks like the cavalry's arrived. We should leave,” Nathanael suggested.
“Wait, who are these guys?” Shade asked.
“They aren't from the kingdom but it doesn't matter. The threat's been neutralized. Let's get out of here,” Isaac instructed, as Unified Republic tanks rolled up on the scene. The three warriors from heaven's kingdom exited the dynamic fusion, taking no credit for their contribution to the fight.
* * *
Shade felt a familiar presence enter into his heart realm, prompting him to return to his garden. Aftershock was waiting for him there. She buried her head deep into his chest and wept. He held her in his arms and slowly stroked her hair, which had lost its rainbow highlights.
“I'm sorry, Leila,” Shade lamented, after giving her ample time to grieve.
“How are Kylie and Garret?” she sobbed.
“...I was able to protect them.”
“I'm glad they're safe. I know they're like your family. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to Carmen or Dom,” she sniffed. Shade was relieved to hear that they were safe.
“Leila, I'm sorry I couldn't...”
“Matt, just...don't,” she said shaking her head. “You were probably right, anyway. We were in way over our heads. I don't even know if you could've helped.”
“Was the stealth operative there?”
“No. Someone much worse fought us. We didn't stand a chance,” she answered. Shade found it hard to believe that he could not have helped prevent the attack, but he remained silent about it. Aftershock dried her eyes and stepped away from him.
“I've been thinking a lot about what we were trying to do. Trying to make the world a better place? What a childish thought,” she scoffed. “I can't believe I was so naive. Humanity is hell-bent on destroying itself. What can we do to stop that?”
“Your heart was in the right place, Leila. I don't think there are any easy answers.”
She pulled out a dried-up flower from one of her equipment pouches. He immediately recognized the flower that he had given her from his garden. She held it up to him.
“It died the night you didn't come with us,” she sighed. He stood in silence for a moment, not knowing how to process the situation. “We aren't going work.”
“...I know,” he acknowledged, having anticipated this moment days ago.
She took out the prismatic coin that he had given her and flipped it in the air towards him. He caught it and began to stare sentimentally at it. Memories of his first experience in Callisto with her came to mind.
“Go ahead and buy yourself something nice,” she teased. He let out a soft chuckle, breaking up the tension.
“So, we're still friends?” he asked.
“Of course,” she said. They embraced each other with a friendly, farewell hug.
* * *
Matthew reluctantly huddled in close with Kylie and Garret to take a group photo. He abhorred taking photos, especially ones that were shared on social media, but he patiently indulged Kylie's request. They took a day off to celebrate life at the Secov Coffee Factory. Kylie lifted her drink up for an informal toast.
“To Matt, for saving us from some crazy, headless guy,” she said, as her cup tapped against her friend's. “And to Garret, for becoming the new Combat Card Champion.”
“So, Matt, where did you learn to fight like that?” Garret asked, taking a sip of his drink.
“It's a long story...Apparently, I have some powerful enemies. They were using you both to try to get to me. Callisto isn't safe for either of you.”
“You should teach us how to protect ourselves,” Kylie suggested.
“There is a steep price to pay to do what I am able to do. Are you guys willing to give up your lives as you know them?”
“Uh-uh,” Kylie said, shaking her head with a laugh.
“That's a bit drastic, don't you think?” Garret questioned.
“So was the situation that you guys were in,” Matthew retorted.
“There are plenty of guilds that can teach us how to fight in Callisto. A couple of them have already tried to recruit me,” Garret said.
“Oh, the Combat Card Champion is famous now, eh?” Kylie teased. Garret smiled.
“I know that there are guilds that can teach you how to fight; that's not the point. Callisto itself isn't safe,” Matthew insisted.
“Look, Matt. I know that you're only trying to look out for us, but Callisto is like a second home. We'll learn to fight and protect ourselves. Right, Ky?”
“Yep. We'll guild up and watch each other's backs,” Kylie affirmed. Matthew rubbed one of his palms across his face and let out an exasperated sigh.
“Alright. But understand that if something goes wrong, I might not always be able to look out for you guys,” Matthew warned. At that moment, Carmen unexpectedly approached their table.
“Hey Matt, Kylie, Garret,” she greeted the table. Kylie and Garret greeted her in return.
“Oh, hey Carmen,” Matthew said. He felt blood rush through his caramel colored cheeks.
“I was at the post office and I saw Kylie tag you guys nearby, so I figured I'd say hello,” Carmen explained.
“It's good to see you again! How have you been?” Kylie inquired.
“I've been hanging in there. Do you guys mind if I steal Matt for a few minutes?” Carmen asked.
“Get em' outta here,” Garret chuckled.
“Don't be surprised if he rains on your parade,” Kylie teased. Matthew squinted his eyes at her. She countered with a disarming smile. Matthew walked off into a private area with Carmen.
* * *
“We hadn't heard from you in a while. I wanted to make sure that you were okay,” Carmen said.
“I'm doing alright,” Matthew replied.
“I know Leila was kind of harsh the last time we went out. I wanted to say something to her but...I didn't want to butt into your relationship.”
“I respect that. She's a firecracker alright, but, we aren't seeing each other anymore.”
“Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...”
“It's fine,” Matthew grinned. “It's clear to me now that we were never right for each other. Truth is...I wish I'd asked you out. I should've asked you out a long time ago.”
Matthew's stomach fluttered when he saw Carmen smile brightly. An irresistible force slowly drew their faces toward each other. He could feel the heat of her lips as his mouth inched closer to hers. Instantly, time froze and Shade was drawn up into his heart realm. He found himself face to face with his shadow.
Shade saw a large projection of himself in the sky with Carmen in his arms. They were about to kiss each other. As his shadow hit him with surprise attacks, the projection showed him kissing Carmen. When Shade hit his shadow with counterattacks, the projection showed them pulling away from each other.
Shade's combat abilities had grown tremendously since the last time he had fought his shadow. At this point, his shadow was barely a threat. Shade was able to pay more attention to the projection than the fight he was in. He allowed his shadow to gain the upper hand so that he could see how the projection would play itself out. He saw himself embrace Carmen and share a happy future with her. However, in the background, he could see Leila and Domingo being dragged deep into the kingdom of hell.
Startled, Shade advanced an offensive flurry at his shadow. The projection changed and showed him and Ca
rmen separating from each other. He saw Leila and Domingo's spirit bodies illuminate in the background. Of course, either I get what I want and the kingdom suffers, or I suffer and the kingdom advances. Shade finished his shadow off with swift, well-placed strikes. Matthew stopped himself from kissing Carmen.
“Carmen, I...I'm sorry. I can't...I don't want to cause issues with your family,” Matthew stammered. Carmen pulled back and smiled faintly.
“...I understand. Maybe another time, Mr. Richardson,” she said, softly kissing his forehead.
* * *
Splitshadow struck his training partner in the face with a series of rapid, spinning kicks, putting an end to their sparring session. Since failing to deliver in his operation with Obfuscation, he had returned to the headquarters of his ancestral clan for training. There was still no one in the Talon Clan who could match his skill in combat.
He went to his quarters and scrolled through his news feed. The headlines were filled with stories about terrorism in Triberia and a dragon named Tiamat's attack on the Unified Republics. A real-life superhero group, calling themselves the Luminaries, took credit for Tiamat's defeat. After viewing their unimpressive auras, Splitshadow was not convinced that they were able to defeat the dragon by themselves. He searched for additional footage of the Tiamat fight online.
Splitshadow found a small clip of three warriors fighting Tiamat without the Luminaries. He immediately recognized the warrior with the bright aura that he had fought before. The warrior's aura was brighter and more powerful than he had remembered. Splitshadow slammed his fist down on his desk, snapping it into two. In all of his efforts to grow more powerful, he had hit a brick wall. Meanwhile, someone who lacked formal training had become the most powerful person that he had ever seen. Was there any value in all of the hard years that he had spent training?