Xero Chronicle
Page 22
“How are you still here?”
Xero slowly looks up at the mage, confusion no longer filled his eyes, only white hot rage. His mind was now clear. No longer was it torn by guilt and anger. The guilt had been stripped away when the scalding spell ripped through his body like a cannon ball. Xero gives the mage a wicked smile as he responds.
“My species is fueled by energy mage; do you think that your magic’s are powerful enough to stop me?”
Xero begins to get up. The mage quickly pulls a sword and rams it through Xero’s chest, puncturing his heart. It was a blow that as of moments before would have put an end to the banished prince of Boron. No pain howls through his body from the injury. Looking down no blood seeps from his wound. Taken aback and confused Xero reaches up and slowly pulls the blade from his chest. The wound closes almost immediately as a feeling of something far greater than immortality washes over him. ‘That should have killed me!’ Xero thinks to himself as he slowly stands to his feet. The mage puts a hand up as he speaks, wishing to quell the rage of the unstoppable force he had accidentally created.
“Allow me to train you. Become my pupil and together we can rule this world, you and I.”
Xero ponders the offer; if the mage had enough power to make him amortal then maybe this mage could have the power to send him back to his planet. Xero places his sword on his back deciding to accept the offer.
“So long as you swear on your honor as a mage to find a way to send me home, then I shall learn under you. What should I call you, teacher.”
The mage smiles evilly from behind the mask as he whispers two words.
“Dark Seclusion.”
The two leave the field of battle and begin their studies together, both learning from the other in a symbiotic relationship rather than a master student relationship. Over the years the two experiment with magic and science trying to find new ways to make mankind destroy one another, all the while attempting to find a way to get Xero home. Once again Xero begins to leapfrog through time, this time with an ally by his side. This helps pass the decades and eventually centuries. As times progress the two try using new weapons. Having evolved from swords to bows to guns, an opportunity arises to use a new weapon, politics. Xero, with the instruction of the mage, allies himself with a young man that is rising to power in Germany while Dark Seclusion goes west and Allies himself with the leader of the nation of the eagle.
Xero helps the young man rise to power. He helps him develop his ability of speech and ultimately helps him take over his homeland. He does this by manipulating him, convincing him to attack the world and to seize his birthright of becoming its rightful ruler. His attempts are successful and the young man declares war on everyone creating bloodshed on a global level for the second time this century. On the far end of the world the mage tries to convince the leader of the west to use both him and Xero as weapons against this rising tide but to no avail. It is not until the west is attacked that their leader agrees to use the two. As Xero marches down the hallways of the Louvre in a burning Paris one of the exhibits comes to life. Dark Seclusion forms from the statue and floats down to his ally.
“Xero, I have found a way to get you home.”
The prince, taken by surprise looks at his acquaintance.
“And how will you get me back to my planet?”
The mage looks out the window at the occupied city and speaks softly from behind his mask.
“There are two locations on this world that have weak points to it. If enough energy is displaced then the raw power of this world will seep through the weak points. That should give you enough of a boost to get you home.”
This proposal sounded far too good to be true, but over the past seven hundred years this man had never led Xero astray. Xero nods as he agrees to take part in Dark Seclusion’s plan.
“Where must we go. What must I do?”
Dark Seclusion turns and begins to walk once more down the marble corridors of the Louvre, Xero close behind.
“There are two cities in Japan that dwell on these weak points. You must go and crack ever so slightly at each city. Do not crack fully. I do not wish for this planet to be turned to ash. But with the combined force of both explosions, you will find yourself home, with an ally.”
Xero nods as the sirens begin to sound; an invasion army enters the city and begins to push the occupiers out. Walking over to the ancient Egyptian exhibit, Xero lays his eyes upon his sword behind glass. The blade he had forged and the one he had lost when Dark Seclusion had ripped his ‘soul’ from his body.
“It has been far too long since I held you old friend.”
With a swift punch Xero shatters the glass, reclaiming his weapon. Turning he looks at the mage who nods to him.
“Go Xero, get home and take your revenge.”
Pressing his family crest Xero teleports from the city. As he appears in a massive metropolis, he could feel the raw energy of the planet nearly breaking through. Without a second thought or a moment’s hesitation Xero begins to glow as he draws a massive amount of energy from deep within him and pushes it to the surface. In a blinding flash of light there is a massive explosion that levels the entire city creating a vacuum that pulls dirt and rubble into the sky creating a mushroom. The weak point is temporarily breached as Xero feels an enormous influx of radiation flow from the planet. Xero closes his eyes and allows himself to absorb as much of the power as he can. As it surges through him Xero begins to feel his body bursting with power. Beginning to fear that he would crack completely, Xero teleports once again. As he appears in the second city, his body unleashes some of the energy he had just absorbed creating yet another devastating explosion.
After his second detonation, Xero holds his hands to the Earth. Sword on his back, the tattered clothed Boronian begins to push his upper limits as he absorbs the untapped power of the planet. Once again fearing he would reach critical mass and crack himself, the now bald soldier reaches behind his head. Touching his glyph once more he drains everything he has into his weapon. Xero is pulled into a wormhole once again and spat out the other side. The sky is dark as Xero slides to a stop. An ancient familiarity settles onto Xero as he looks up the gravity pulls on him, the smell of the air, even the feel of the ground beneath him. He knew he was no longer on Earth and gives a quiet, psychotic laugh as the realization sinks in. Xero stands to his feet. He could hear the breathing of two beings behind him, one massive, even for him, the other quite a bit smaller.
Slowly Xero turns to see the Dark Titan and a Boronian Royal Guard in black and crimson armor. Xero grips his blade. The Dark Titan puts his hands up.
“I would love nothing more than to destroy you too Xero. But my master told me your arrival was imminent and that I was to aid you in revenge.”
A sense of conflict fills Xero. Part of him wanted to slay the beast where he stood, the other desired for revenge against his brother. The drive for revenge ultimately wins out as he loosens his grip on his weapon; turning to the royal guard he calls out.
“You wear the armor of the commander that banished me. Who are you?”
Xero growls. The young Boronian looks up at Xero. Peering through the slits in his helmet at a man that he had only heard stories about, at a man who he was brought up to respect. The Boronian prince had wanted to save his people and was banished for doing so. To this young man Xero was the true ruler of Boron.
“I am Disa’ani my league, My father told me all about you, how banishing you was the most difficult thing he had to do. After his death I inherited his role as general of the royal guard.”
Xero is taken aback by the words the boy speaks.
“How long have I been gone?”
The guard looks confused for a moment and speaks in an equally baffled tone.
“Twenty-five years my lord.”
Xero takes a step forward as he raises his voice.
“That cannot be right. It has been thousands. I have been gone for eons!”
The Dark Tita
n places a hand on Xero’s shoulder and tries to bring reason to the baffled soldier.
“Perhaps time moves more quickly where you were sent compared to here. It was all the way across the galaxy.”
Xero takes heed of his newly found ally’s words. The thing known as time dilation was not lost on him. He had to compensate for it once or twice before but never on this scale. Slowly he turns and faces the palace. The silhouettes of people inside can clearly be seen. Xero draws his sword as monsters slowly form out of the shadows around them. No eyes, no light emits from them just shadows of fangs and claws given life by an external force. Their snarls fill Xero’s ears as the sweet revenge that he had been savoring for eons was almost within his grasp.
“Leave the Lorain’s to me. Kill the rest.”
Xero, the Dark Titan, and Disa’ani all charge the palace as fast as their feet will take them.
The End
Epilogue
Xero will return in his quest for vengeance. Will he be able to succeed? Will his imprisonment throughout all of human history give him the resolve he needs to complete his task? Or will the light of the Boronian stem the darkness that has risen up against it?
Letter From the Author
Dear Readers,
I want to personally thank each and every one of you that have purchased my book; I genuinely hope you are enjoying the adventures of the Boronian people. Your support inspires me to continue to push forward with not only this series but others. Without you to read these books they are just words on a page, it is YOU that gives them life and turns characters like Xero from an idea to a man.
If you ever want to contact me for any reason please do not hesitate to like my Facebook page by searching ‘Ross’ O.W.S. (Out of this World Subscribers) and post a question and I will respond as soon as humanly possible. There I post short stories, previews of upcoming books and tidbits of what inspires me as a writer and you can let me know what inspires you too!
All the Best, and thank you again,
Ross Buzzell