by Harlon Banks
The chaotic noises silenced, and darkness settled back in...
... ... ...
"That was pretty good... You got me..." Kelgard couldn't help but chuckle from the misty red haze of destroyed crystalline blood around him. Jonath couldn't really pinpoint him through that haze, as the aether rich red interfered greatly with his aura reading. However something didn't seem right, his body tensing up and stepping back a bit as that red fog began to thicken and surround him and the vicinity. Something telling him to flare up his own aura around him as a filter to keep from breathing this stuff in. Danger signals firing everywhere in his head.
"I'll admit, you're pretty tough, kid. Dare to say you might be more impressive than a few old friends of mine even." His voice seemed to resonate with the foggy red around him. A deep huff accompanying a soft exhale of exasperation. Everything started to feel strange, the humidity was becoming rather suffocating and the feeling of moisture seemed to permeate the veil of aura that silhouetted Jonath's black garbed figure, feeling icky across his pale flesh. What strange supernatural powers was this? Grip tightened on blade, Jonath's instincts went haywire. As if his senses were being altered by the bloody fog surrounding him as it permeated his aether and into his person, stopping just at the surface.
"However, you and me don't even come close. I think it's about time we end this."
The ominous looking, blood-red fog started to glow an eerie red shade, like neon... The visage of Jonath dying if he sat right in that haze flashing through his psyche, briefly snapping back his consciousness as a breath hitched in his throat. Danger screaming in his mind, no time to question what the hell was happening as his awareness suddenly returned at the worst possible time. GET AWAY!
"Shit!" He cried out as his aura flared and he moved to try to get away!
Bloody Fuller.
The entire vicinity ignited in a beautifully lethal shade of blood-colored flames! Kelgard set the blood on fire!
The Wild Hunt
The Challenger Chapter Sixty-Two: The Wild Hunt
Red... Blazing blood-red color everywhere.
A sea of bloody hue that swirled like a whirlpool towards a singularity at the center. Heat, so much heat... Trees set ablaze in dark red and slowly having their visages turned to ashes. Kelgard had set his own airborne blood aether on fire in an instant. The crackling noises, the smell of blood and ash, the scorching heat and dancing fires overwhelming to all the senses. Though it wasn't anywhere near as overwhelmingly hot as Delaren's flames, such heat was still unbearable...
How did it even get to this point!?
A ball of fire leapt out of the chaos, Jonath hitting the ground some distance away in a roll with singed clothes and burn marks spanning his body and face. Smoke fuming off his visage, coughing profusely from air choked lungs and then quickly dashing away deeper into the forest to run away. Trailing red embers following after him for a few seconds before vanishing completely. Not even thinking, just running. He kept running as fast as his feet could move him; holding his right arm in severe discomfort, the burns spanning it and the same side of his face noticeably worse than everywhere else. He'd barely managed to shield himself with that arm before that fog ignited right in his face. Had he not jumped out of there as quick as he did well, he very well could have been dead.
Slowing down when he believed he'd gotten far enough away, Jonath ducked off into an old hollowed out tree nearby for shelter. Falling to his read with back against the scooped out inner chamber and trying to stabilize his breathing and his thoughts. It just felt like he'd ran across the entire damn continent. He couldn't hear fire anymore, nor could he smell it or feel its heat. He probably had a few minutes or so to catch his breath if Kelgard didn't hound after him. Bah, who was he kidding... If Kelgard had chased him he'd have already been caught by now. Especially since whatever power he had earlier was gone completely again. His eyes were back to normal and his hair was fully silver again too. No noticeable flair in his inner aether either, he was completely normal again.
Jonath's eyes shut tightly and he bit his lip in sudden, stinging pain as his wounds began to rapidly heal over. Burn marks fading all across his visage and leaving no traces behind. His breathing a lot calmer and quieter afterwards, body relaxing as it were fully healed and he just laid there for a moment. So tempted to just let his body drift off into sleep in this hidden hollow. So tempted to just rest...
... ... ...
He opened his eyes and pulled himself to an upright sitting position. Damned if he'd just run away like that and give up like a useless brat. The mere thought of just running away from Kelgard disgusted him. If he did that, this would be the second time he'd lost to the man too. The simple revelation alone was enough to make his stomach churn. A heavy grunt, and he held his head in slight discomfort. Another deep breath before pulling himself up to crawl out of the hollow and force himself forward.
"Gotta keep moving. What the hell even happened to me?" He thought to himself. Once standing outside of the tree he'd look down at his right palm, the glove over it halfway burned away revealing patches of his pale skin beneath its black fabric. Squinting a bit as he tried to focus, tried to remember. Everything came as a haze to him save a few jumbled memories of him and Kelgard engaged in what looked like a vicious fight. He didn't remember being in control, nor the pain from being kicked by the man either... It felt like he were just, watching everything with heavy delusion. Yet...
He got this strange feeling of remembrance in the back of his head. It felt like something deep within his psyche were reawakened from that brief battle. A sort of trigger mechanism finally having been pulled and recalling a deep instinctual revelation within every cell in his body. Tilting his head in thought, Jonath looked to his left hand, and raised it outwards before him with palm opened and fingers tensed...
Then, he swiped his arm through the air and in a sudden flare of creation that silver scythe appeared in his grasp again. Eyes widening a moment in disbelief, swiping again and causing it to vanish into nothing with an echoing chain rattle. Doing it one last time to make sure he wasn't just dreaming.
When yet again, the mysterious weapon appeared in his grasp and disappeared, Jonath couldn't believe it. A wave of emotions suddenly overtaking the direness born of the situation at hand. Confusion, hesitation, fear of the unknown, yet he also felt...
Excited...
This weapon, this gleaming silver scythe with crescent arced blade baring razor-sharp edges on both sides, was his? The power he vaguely remembered during his battle with Kelgard, they were his own powers? Everything up to this point earlier, was him fumbling around like an idiot trying to get a grasp on who he was and what he could do and yet, now here it was. A big piece of the puzzle that was his past... He uncovered a bit of his powers and could consciously summon a weapon now too. With the unlocking of his ability to summon this weapon along came other perks. His body felt more vigor and strength, like if he were to fight those snakes back at the ruins now he'd easily be able to keep up with and dodge their attacks and hit them back hard and fast.
It was an amazing feeling... He finally felt like he was getting somewhere.
A sudden pressure that exerted on the surroundings snapped Jonath from his pent-up excitement, that serious visage returning as pale eyes snapped towards the direction he'd run from. No doubt that was Kelgard's energy, he was coming for him again. Looking down at his left hand next, eyes narrowed in subtle thinking and head canted slightly to the side. A part of him figured standing his ground gave him better chances to figure something out over running. Especially since odds are he'd not get far anyway simply running.
Another part of him felt like he had no chance if he did stand his ground. He couldn't remember much of anything about whatever he did in that trance earlier. If he couldn't win then why would he fare any better now? All of this was still new to him. What the hell should he even do!?
...
Jonath sucked his teeth and took off running in
the opposite direction of that pressure. As much as he wanted to stand his ground and prove his power he still were a far cry from being able to become a real threat to Kelgard. Speaking of threats, he couldn't sense Melissa nor Thrain's energies anymore from over here. Did Melissa get taken down already? Did she somehow manage to beat Thrain? It'd be great if she offered a hand or something now if so... He hoped she'd gotten away.
The animals of the forest seemed to run away when Jonath passed by on his escape. No doubt fearful of the battles going on now. Looking up and seeing birds fleeing the trees into the sky, monkeys and squirrels and whatnot dashing away through the canopy foliage and rabbits and the occasional fox darting away on the ground. Shimmering hues of crystals reflecting shades of red, blue and green off his visage as he moved. Eyes narrowing straight ahead, was he still going in the right direction? Actually, was making a straight shot towards the relic a smart idea? Seemed safer to circle around, or would that actually be expected of him to do?
"Fucking great I'm thinking up a paradox now." Jonath cursed low skidding to a stop again when he reached another small clearing surrounded by vines and trees. A small sloping depression to his left leading a fair bit downwards into a running creek he could hear. Peering over his shoulder, that pressure having faded away again. He must've gotten enough distance to rest. This entire test Min gave him was really taxing on the mind. That wasn't what was bugging him though.
"Tch!" Jonath couldn't help but show a noticeable scoff of annoyance to his face. His hunch was right, Kelgard seemed the type to act as if everything could be done with barely moderate effort or it wasn't worth it. Probably some attempt to always look cool as that Nightborn whom only gets into things he knows he can win. No doubt Thrain would have put a bit more effort into at least trying to catch Jonath after he bolted away like that. This entire fiasco only made Jonath all the more annoyed at the situation. By running he was playing right into the image of Kelgard being some walking powerhouse that nobody dared man up and face. It was really starting to get irritating...
He recalled when Delaren stood up to Kelgard when the latter demanded him to stop bickering with Melissa. Delaren was confident and defiant, he didn't show any signs he'd ever be intimidated take any shit from him. Maybe... Jonath should take a note from Delaren's book. The way that one aggressively handled any opposition showed insurmountable fearlessness. An attitude like that would probably do Jonath wonders now, wouldn't it?
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. No, acting like that now would be stupid.
"Calm down... Don't let my dislike cloud my judgement. Delaren knows the extent of his powers and how to use them. He can act confident if he wants... He's on a different level than I am now. They all are... Probably even Kayda too." The amnesic calmed his thoughts, quickly relaxing as any drive to challenge Kelgard faded away. Imitating Delaren was a bit of a surefire way to get taken down by Kelgard. Jonath couldn't take him head on with his current skill set even if he wanted to. Otherwise when he were under that trance he'd have already beaten the guy by now.
Wait... Trance!?
"What even went on with me?" He questioned mentally, looking down at open palms again. "Last thing I remember before that bloody fire was he'd punched me through a tree. I said something out of anger and then everything just got hazy... I remember bits and pieces though."
Danger... Above!
Jonath's breath got stuck in his throat when he looked up with wide eyes. Just barely able to evade a very powerful impact that left a crater in the ground and boomed like a crackle of thunder! That supernatural jump backwards sending Jonath sliding on his feet to a halt with his balance keeping him upright. Arms raised to shield his face from the flying dust particles, he immediately had a look of utter disbelief brandish pale features. There was Kelgard, rising from a crouched position nonchalantly despite the very prominent impact crater beneath his combat boots. His body language lax as ever and his crimson colored gaze looking over to Jonath. Did this guy just casually catch up to him that quickly?
That speed reminded him of Liariana... Her visage flashing across his mind a moment with a colder gaze that seemed to match her strength. It was like Deja Vu all over again.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me..." Jonath cursed taking a step backwards about to take off again only to choke a bit in shock when he found himself paralyzed completely. His body locking up like a statue, muscles petrified and a tight feeling in his chest as he grunted. His eyes flaring in their glow from a flux of astonishment, what the hell!? No matter how much he struggled or tried to resist, he were frozen in place. What sort of twisted power was this? Was Kelgard the cause for this!?
"You're pretty impressive, for someone so confused and unsure of everything."
Jonath's frantic demeanor dispelled nigh instantly when his body suddenly were forced to its knees as if he were about to be executed. His head lifting against his will to look up at the approaching Nightborn's red eyes. Arms wrenched behind his back as if they had a mind of their own, Jonath through and through looked like a man about to be shot in the back of the head execution style. His assumed executioner standing a foot or so in front of him with hands idled in pockets and looking all to more indifferent to the sad sight before him. A vicious look of defiance showing in Jonath's eyes, unconsciously imitating Delaren's fiery attitude to keep from showing a sliver of weakness.
"That's the wrong look to give someone who has you at their mercy. I don't know why you are so embarrassed or surprised that you were subdued like this." Kelgard said with tranquil tone. "Your own actions were the reason you are on your knees now." He cryptically said which made Jonath scoff and visibly roll his eyes. At least his face still had some modicum of freedom to move.
"Yeah because I'd willingly get on my knees like this for you. You sound like a complete and total creep." Jonath's response laced with annoyance and agitation, almost akin to a growling dislike. Kelgard raising a brow slightly, looking for the briefest moment perplexed by the amnesic's words before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. He looked as if he were thinking about what to say, or do next. Jonath had already imagined this exam was over the moment he found himself petrified... Did Lys only do this to brag a little or something beforehand just to piss him off even more?
"Did you really think you'd have been able to carry out the goals Min gave you and Melissa one way or another?" He asked.
That question made Jonath squint at him. Eyes gauging for any hint of why he just asked such a seemingly dumb question. When Kelgard simply looked down at Jonath awaiting an answer, Jonath realized that he actually were seriously wondering that. A few seconds would pass as the amnesic contemplated answering just for the sake of it or staying quiet. Eventually, he gave in. Not like it'd change anything anyway at this point. He pretty much lost already.
"No, not without Melissa helping me. Unlike some people I don't think too highly of myself." He scoffed, vainly twitching and trying to force his body to move. It gave him a traumatic recalling of when Melissa paralyzed him with her ambush back at the facility, only this one felt different. With Melissa he'd felt like his body were immobile from fear. A difficult, yet possible to overcome response with enough willpower. However this paralysis felt as if the blood in Jonath's body had actually become lead. It felt like he could die at any second.
Kelgard yet again, vaguely lofted a brow as two thin black bangs swayed over red hues. The two looking each other right in the eyes for a passing moment before Kelgard responded in calm words.
"In nature, it's only natural for a predator to kill their prey. It's just the way the world works. The same basic principle applies here, I suppose." His words were collected and without any sliver of condescension or arrogance. More like he thoroughly felt as though this situation they both were in played exactly to the rules of the world. That rule being Kelgard taking down Jonath. Glancing around the crystal forest under the moonlight in quiet admiration of its beauty, Kelgard snapped his gaze back to Jonat
h. Eyes showing that he naturally viewed Jonath as inferior not because of arrogance, but because he simply was born that way.
"Even with that surge of power you had earlier, you still lost to me. The one hit you did land on me, I allowed it to happen so that we could have this conversation, believe it or not." He casually remarked.
Jonath's eyes sharpened on him, pupils contracting a moment from the sheer irritation welling up inside. Did this bastard just imply he played Jonath for a fool this entire time!? That he only escaped because Kelgard had already thought two steps ahead, casually at that?
"Hate to break it to you but I wasn't exactly trying my hardest either if you didn't notice." Jonath didn't even realize what he'd said until it was already too late. Mentally cursing himself for having said such a thing especially when Kelgard tilted his head in sudden interest. Jonath not even knowing what could have possibly driven him to, in that instant, make such a polarizing boast like that. This could easily backfire on him for the worst. Oh well, he had to roll with it now.