The Last Light Series Omnibus One: - The Dreamer and the Deceiver - All Things Eternal - Ode to the King: A Superhero Epic Fantasy Collection (The Last Light Collection Book 1)

by Alex Villavasso

  From the sky, the three remaining snakes coiled together and lunged at Emil. Unaware that an attack had even launched against him, Emil was unable to dodge.

  “Ahh!” The viper struck at Emil’s chest but was thwarted by the aura that danced over him. Stunned, Emil jumped backwards, putting distance between himself and his foe once more.

  Shit...he didn’t even touch me an—, he thought as he fell to one knee and gripped his chest. But he can be killed. That much I know for sure. As Emil shakily rose to his feet, he watched as splotches of blood dripped onto the concrete from the hooded man’s clothing. I managed to get to him, but it’s not nearly enough. I can’t trade blows with him again. I’ve got to keep my distance.

  The hooded man watched patiently as Emil took his time to recover, all the while wondering why Emil refused to succumb to the odds stacked against him. The hooded man was confused, yet amused at Emil’s tenacity; his undying will to live.

  So he managed to do some damage to me, and it wasn’t till I landed that I realized it. He’s quick. If I hadn’t extended my defenses before he charged, his strike would have been potentially fatal. This one is most particular indeed. With the proper guidance, he could join us.

  “Why do you stand? Don’t you know when to give up? I haven’t even used my hands and you still believe there is hope?”

  “Because,” Emil said as a rush of energy ignited from his core, “I have people who need me.” The hooded man tried his best to maintain a straight face as he watched Emil’s flame-like aura engulf him.

  So, he finally decides to show his fangs. Good. But just how far is he willing to go?

  “Is that so?” the hooded man said as he extended his hand towards Emil. A tremendous snake shot through the air but remained undetected as it rapidly gained ground. Confused, Emil raised his sword to guard his body but failed to protect himself from the unseen force. As the snake approached Emil, it split into three different entities which struck him simultaneously by drilling into his aura.

  Emil’s body hit the ground as his aura left him. His body lay still as he struggled to bring back the air that escaped his lungs.

  Humph. Just as I figured. His aura protects him mainly against physical attacks but his defenses against psychic attacks are next to nothing. He should be done now.

  “I hope now you understand,” the hooded man said as he overlooked Emil’s body from afar. “Lay there while the ones you fight for fight one another. Watch them. Learn from them. I only started the spark. The rest is of their own doing. You know how quickly they can turn, yourself. That’s why you hide your face... Why protect those who would gladly throw you out to die? Only a fool protects the one who beats him.”

  From the ground, Emil reached for his sword and lethargically rose to his feet. “And only a madman kills his own people,” Emil said as he tensed his aching body to remain stable as he stood. “If you want me to stop, then kill me. Until then, I’m going to give it everything I got until you do.” His aura resurfaced and he assumed a defensive stance; a bold front to delay what was to come. The amount of damage he had sustained caused his body to lag. Each time he had been struck, it felt like he meandered on the brink of death—a hot flash of heat exploding from the point of impact followed by a bone-chilling numbness that resonated through his entire system, dulling his senses as the feeling spread.

  He had been hit twice now, and the inner workings of his body had already begun to exhibit signs of duress. As Emil watched the hooded man raise his hand again, his vision doubled over as he tried his best to remain able.

  Once he understands that his crusade is vain, he’ll find me. When he has nothing left, he will gladly find a rank within our domain. He lacks the power to overthrow Arius, but, in time, he will grow to be a fine warrior. Until then, I’ll track his progress.

  “I’m afraid this is goodbye.” The hooded man extended his hand once more and the serpents that levitated from his back molded into a giant tendril that floated above his head. Spotting the familiar pattern, Emil closed his eyes and braced for the expected impact, but as time passed, no harm came his way.

  “Skye?” Emil said as he groggily tried to decipher the silhouette he saw in front of him. The screams and panic of the town mulled his hearing as the world slowly began to turn black. Amidst the chaos, it was indeed Skye who saved him. She stood in front of him and formed a barrier that shielded them from the hooded man’s latest assault. Omari was also there, fighting on their behalf.

  After Skye’s successful block, Omari warped in and swiped at the hooded man with the blade he hid in his gauntlet. Omari’s strike grazed the man’s cheek, drawing blood, before reappearing in front of Skye.

  “Took you guys long enough,” Emil rasped as he fell back to his knees. “...He’s strong.”

  The barrier that Skye forged collapsed as she turned to Emil. The smile she wore faded as she saw him on his knees trying to stand to his feet alongside Omari. “Stay still! You’re hurt!” Skye rushed to Emil and placed her hands over his head, focusing her energy.

  “His attacks are invisible. You’ve got to warn Omari,” Emil whispered.

  “I can see them and Omari should be able to sense them,” Skye said as she continued to heal Emil. “He uses psychic energy to attack. To you, it may seem invisible, but to me, it’s clear as day.”

  “If that’s so, how is Omari able to sense them?”

  “He’s my brother...he’s been working with me for a while now, so the sensation of energy being channeled shouldn’t be unfamiliar to him. In addition to that, the nature of his abilities make his body extremely sensitive to changes in the atmosphere around him. When Omari warps he has to create the perfect balance between the planes he shifts between. Essentially anything that is around him at the moment, he has to be aware of and calibrate before he can properly execute his technique. It’s complicated, no doubt, but to him, it’s second nature. Think of it like how your aura interacts with the world around you. Omari, in a way, has one, too. It’s just different.”

  “That man...he’s in a league of his own. Omari is strong but I don’t know if he’s strong enough to take him. I feel like he could have killed me if he wanted to. He was toying with me. Let me help him, Skye. He can’t do this by himself.”

  “If you go now, you’ll be a burden to him. You have to get better before you can do anything.”

  A faint grunt escaped from Emil’s mouth as he calmed himself for Skye’s sake. She was noticeably tired. Unmistakably from working out in the field, keeping casualties to a minimum, and healing whenever she could. Her limit had not yet been reached, but it was obvious from her breathing that her body had been reasonably taxed.

  “Skye,” Emil said, “save your energy. You’ve done enough. Please. You need to have some for after this is over.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.”

  The warmth of her energy left Emil as her hands receded from his head. Moments later, the dull pain from before returned but on a smaller scale.

  “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

  “Don’t worry about me. You should know by now that I don’t go down easily. You gave me a running start. I’ll be fine in no time. Just cover me until then.”

  “Okay.”

  As Skye protected Emil from inside her barrier, she watched as her brother stared down the one who was responsible for wreaking havoc on their hometown. Twice the rogue Abnormal had been struck, but it seemed like he was the least bit worried. The cut to his side, he ignored, and the blood from his cheek, he licked whenever appropriate. Skye looked on as his manifestations danced around him, tethered to his back, ready to strike the solemn warrior at a moment’s notice.

  Chapter 5: A Fighting Chance

  “If you wish to die here, then fight me.” Omari’s words pierced the hooded man’s psyche, ripping the smile he held from his face.

  As Omari stood before him, Skye sensed the quiet storm brewing underneath Omari’s calm disposition. Emil, s
omehow, too, felt the tumultuous storm that orbited around him, giving way to a side of Omari he had yet to see.

  For the four warriors that remained in the square, time seemed to operate at a different frequency. A realm in which no man dare set foot, least he or she sought their own damnation. The golden cross that dangled from Omari’s left gauntlet swayed silently with the breeze that carried the screams of the fighting and those in pain. A curse had fallen over the land, turning brother against brother, family against family.

  The roars in the distance passed through Omari’s ears only as an obscure blur. Ignoring their lamentations was something he had regrettably done long since the fighting had started. There were too many of them and he knew that. Far too many bodies to defend at once, far too many wounded to ensure their survival. In a moment of reflection, The Saint of Everrmore had opened his eyes and found himself in Hell. His absolution buried in the blood of the man who walked with vipers.

  The hooded man said nothing, but instead spoke with a covert act of aggression. From his body, his unseen serpents hurdled towards Omari with their fangs exposed, looking to pierce into his soul. True to Skye’s words, Omari perceived the oncoming attack and countered by warping in front of the hooded man, delivering an attack of his own. His fist connected with a surface invisible to the naked eye—a manifestation of the hooded man blocked Omari’s unforeseen attack with relative ease. Wasting no time, Omari warped behind his foe and delivered a swift leg sweep that managed to get through the hooded man’s defenses, tipping him off balance. Omari then pushed off against the ground with his hands, launching himself vertically as his boot connected with the hooded man’s face. The sharp but painfully dull impact reminded Omari of bones breaking, castles falling, crumbling gravel eroding in the sands of time.

  “Omari!” Skye called as she witnessed what appeared to be a whip tear through the atmosphere, rapidly approaching her brother. Omari’s sights refocused in front of him as he braced for impact in case his evasion was unsuccessful. In a blink, he emerged above his opponent unharmed, dodging the serpent’s sting that struck where his body was only a second before. From above, Omari came crashing down, landing a devastating heel kick that drove his opponent face first into the city square, plowing through the concrete as his head burrowed deep into the ground.

  Did he kill him? Emil questioned himself as he saw Omari reappear in front of the spot where the ground had been frayed. Omari stood silent, unwavering, forever on guard against the threat of a formidable opponent. His cross swayed eerily in the silence around them as the outside world failed to play its key.

  “Skye, what do you see? Did he get him? Skye!” Emil waited for what seemed like a short eternity before he rose to his feet to see what left her at a loss for words.

  It was Omari.

  Though he stood, it was as if he wasn’t there, only a mere illusion passing in the wind. An echo that passed through an empty hallway.

  With a thud, he fell to his knees first and then onto his face, lifeless. Still.

  The hooded man rose from the rubble virtually unharmed, no longer donning the hood that covered his head, but silver, layered hair that was lightly cascaded with blood. The smirk he wore before their battle returned at the sight of their heartache—the viper had pierced through Omari’s chest from an attack that stemmed from underground.

  Emil’s heart bled for his fallen comrade as his aura fell over him, crackling violently like the lightning that surged through his soul. In a fit of rage, Emil dashed onwards towards the Angel of Death, leaving a current of his blue energy that trailed him as he rushed to avenge his fallen friend in the moment of his darkest hour.

  “Damn you! Damn you!” The blade that weighed heavily in Emil’s hand bled with his energy, pouring out in excess, ravaging the land his feet treaded against as he approached his target. Ricochets of Emil’s energy ravaged the land as he sped forward in a burst of speed, reminiscent of a bolt of lightning desperate to touch ground.

  Instantly the gap between the two rival forces closed and Emil swung widely at the head of his enemy with all of his might. His blade fell short, colliding with the head of the serpent’s wall. The silver haired man watched, un-amused as Emil struggled to destroy the object that separated him from avenging his friend.

  “I’ll...I’ll kill you!” Emil roared as the sky darkened in tandem with his rage. The silver haired man’s expression didn’t change in the slightest as Emil emptied his reserves in a final attempt to push through.

  As the silver haired man looked into Emil’s eyes, he remained apathetic, unfazed by the springs of hate that gave wake to a pain he had long since forgotten. A deep-seeded hatred that had been buried the day he was no longer alone.

  “OMARI!”

  Emil’s blade pushed against the serpent’s head as he pulled deeper into his reserves. Skye remained still, unmoved from the spot where she first witnessed her brother fall. Emil...don’t you know? He’ll kill you this time. You’re not strong enough. Please. Just run, before it’s too late. Please, don’t die.

  “RAHHHH!”

  The ominous sky that hovered over the City of Everrmore grew darker as Emil drove his blade further into the serpent’s head.

  Damn it! I’ll burn out at this rate! I have to do something, quick! Emil thought to himself as he continued to unleash his rage.

  After a final push, Emil retracted his sword and focused the remnants of his energy to the tip of his blade.

  As predicted, a rash move by a desperate fool, the silver haired man thought as he slipped beneath Emil’s guard and struck him in the chest with his fist. Stunned, Emil fired the volley of energy off course, redirected by the guiding hand of his enemy. Emil’s eyes grew in disbelief as he watched in shock as his bolt of energy accelerated towards the city clock tower.

  No...No!

  The loud boom rang in Emil’s ears, ricocheting back and forth between the furthest corners of his mind. His eyes widened as the burning debris fell from the clock tower, sharing its common flame with those on the ground level. The flaming shards of gravel fell from the tower like an unholy fire, consuming all who were naïve enough to stand in its way. As Emil watched in horror, his body trembled as the screams of people magnified tenfold; the weight of their agony crushing Emil as he hopelessly endured his own torment.

  No...No! It wasn’t supposed to end like this. Not like this. Anything but this. I... I.

  The silver haired man smiled as his grip tightened around Emil’s wrist. From Emil’s mask, he heard his pattered breaths; a well-known symptom of a tattered heart. The jet-black sky faded and returned to its former beauty as Emil’s body grew numb. In his final attack, the fight had been drained from him, both from his actions and the repercussions of what he had just done.

  “Now you see,” the silver haired man whispered. “No matter your intentions, it all ends the same. Guts and ambition do little against the sands of time. All that matters is absolute strength. If you aim to change the laws of this land, wishful thinking and ignorance will only send you to your grave.”

  The words hit Emil head-on as he sluggishly looked to respond. His voice was gone, lost in transition to his newly found reality.

  Emil’s body lurched forward as the silver haired man’s vipers struck his chest, draining the life from him with a single strike. His vision grew murky as he struggled to utter his last conscious thought, but his body failed him. The silver haired man paid him no mind and tossed his worn body to the side. As Emil floated, he felt weightless, uninhibited in his free fall until his head smashed against the ground.

  Skye...live.

  Between the fog that tore into Emil’s world, he was still able to locate Skye, who was several yards back watching from afar. The hope he saw faded as his vision of the waking world left him, leaving him alone once again in the darkness.

  The silver haired man casually returned the hood to his head and dug his hands into his pockets once more.

  Emil. Omari. I can’t feel their
energy anymore. That means...no.

  “If you want to end up like your friends, you are more than welcome to fight me. I only come baring a message, not for you but for the people of this land and the king that rules it,” he said before turning away. “I have no qualm with you. I only wish that they know terror.” Skye watched in horror as the hooded man began to leave the town just as quietly as he came. The three manifestations that hovered behind him shrunk back into his back as he slowly distanced himself from her. “These people will grow to hate you. Not by your own doing, but because it must be so...and when they rise against us ‘Abnormals,’ we will gladly be the ones to put them in their place. When the ones you love turn against you, find me, for injustice has no equal here.” With his back to Skye, she watched as multiple tendrils spread from his shoulders like wings and pierced into the hearts of all of those who were on the battle field. The nature of his energy was violent, offensive, and destructive. Its presence alone was enough to induce nausea in the pit of Skye’s stomach. As she watched the violet tinted tendrils bind to their victims, the overwhelming feeling of helplessness consumed her. “W-what is he doing?” Skye said softly to herself as she surveyed the battlefield. The people fighting remained ignorant to the manipulation or the apparent strings that tethered them to the man who was walking away unharmed. Skye gripped her sides as she felt the pressure of his energy grow. The tendrils that he dispersed grew thicker in tandem with the rising tension from the hay-fever that he had created, driving all the he touched mad. Simultaneously, they grew, pulsating rhythmically like a beating heart. With every beat, a rush of red energy spread over the landscape like a gust of wind blowing a tide to shore. It was excess. It was their energy. He had taken what he wanted but everything else was just for the sake of destruction.

  He’s taking their energy.

  After the silver haired man had his fill, he retracted his tentacles en-mass, releasing everyone who shared a common link. Instantly, their bodies dropped lifelessly to the ground one by one, causing the warzone to plunge into silence. Amongst the rubble and carnage, Skye was the only one standing. Both the bodies of her enemies and her allies lay still.