Rise of the Young: Warriors are not made; they are forged (The Ascended Book 2)

by Bygott, Hugo C.

  Seranay looked over the bodies of the dead students which filled the corridor. There was sadness in her eyes. Eclipse could only assume that Luka was a Blade. He was certainly as strong as Dominus, probably more so.

  “Your students fight well. I recognize the weapons of Nightshade,” said Luka. He looked at Eclipse. “You must be her daughter.”

  Eclipse was worried that Seranay and Svana would be shocked, but only Svana seemed slightly surprised.

  “She’s just as strong as her mother and will continue to grow long after this fight is over,” said Seranay.

  Eclipse was surprised at Seranay’s words. She recalled Seranay once saying that she had been a friend to her mother before she became a Blade. Now, Seranay was speaking just like her mother.

  “Nightshade was formidable with that black weapon, or so I have been told. It was your mother who I replaced in the Blades,” said Luka. “I always wanted to test my skill against her legendary black samurai sword, Kuro.” He turned behind him as if looking for something. “Makai? Where did you go?” He turned back to them. “Well, three against one is still no challenge.”

  Seranay swung her steel staff and pointed one end at Luka. “Come and test your duty then.” She glanced left at Svana and then to her right at Eclipse. “Show me how much you’ve learned.” Seranay launched herself forward striking at Luka with ferocity.

  Svana followed with her own deadly weapon, and then Eclipse came forth gripping Kuro and charged Luka. The three of them danced around him striking fast and without mercy.

  ****

  The New Order lay broken around him. Kry had no choice but to kill in order to survive. He was numb as he unleashed his energy to take the lives of the many New Order students who continued to bar his path. He had never truly killed before. Unlike when Dominus died, it was Eclipse who had made the killing blow. The feeling then was far different to what was happening now. The New Order students had clear intentions of killing the rest of the university body, and he did not enjoy having to fight them.

  Sonus screamed like a maniac as he tried to strike Kry, but Kry found his attacks slow and sloppy, easily stepping aside and throwing him back. Wei Long was on the verge of collapse as she stumbled on her feet. She had taken down a fair few and bore the scars and bruises to prove it. Other students from various factions had come and aided them, but many had fallen in the fight. Both sides bled red, and the cries of the families of the ones who were lost this day would ring for many days to come.

  Kry deflected another strike from Sonus. He then generated a ray of dark matter and blew Sonus’s spear of fire into a thousand pieces. Sonus raged, shouting his curses at him, but Kry paid little note to his anger. Instead, his attention was on the loud explosion that had occurred in the distance behind them. He could sense something had happened in the courtyard of the seven paths. There were cries and shouting that rang inside his mind as he tried to understand what had happened. An image suddenly formed in his mind; the entrance to the Chamber had been hit by a blast from a Purifier, and the iron gates had collapsed under the rubble.

  Many students were still trapped on the other side. Whisper’s presence was one he could still sense behind the rubble. Many of Sonus’s faction remained and continued to pressure them, but other students were slowly joining the fight, realizing the only way to survive was to fight back. Yuri and Ren, from the Japanese faction, had just joined them, and so had members of the Russian faction. Ilya was not with them, and Kry could no longer sense his presence.

  “You will die this day!” shouted Sonus.

  Wei Long spun in the air and threw a fan of knives which exploded against Sonus’s barrier. The shrapnel from the projectiles fell on the New Order students like rain.

  A strange feeling welled up inside Kry as he thought about the rubble trapping the many students still inside the Chamber. He knew he should not care, and mostly he did not, but there was a part that spoke to him—a caring and feminine voice inside his mind that urged him to help them. He jumped forward and punched through Sonus’s barrier, knocking him across the courtyard.

  “There are students trapped in the Chamber. I’m going to go back and help,” said Kry.

  Yuri turned to Ren. “Ren, go with him. The rest of us will stay here and hold the way for the others to get through to the Research Center.”

  A slow clap followed by laughter stopped them from leaving. Kry saw two people enter the courtyard. One, a large man much like Dominus in size, wore a chef’s apron and held a butcher’s knife. The other was a petite woman dressed in black beside him. She reminded him much of Eclipse, but she walked with an arrogance that was unlike any other. Sonus backed away as did the remaining New Order students, but his eyes revealed a deep satisfaction.

  “Is this the person we’ve spent so much time looking for?” asked the dark lady.

  “He looks weak to me,” snorted her partner. He took his knife and began to sharpen his nails which were long and unnatural.

  “Kry Ensis, is it?” Her voice was as cold as ice.

  Kry picked up great energy readings from them both and knew these were no ordinary Users. “Blades.”

  She clapped and grinned. “Are you scared, child?” She turned to her partner and distorted her face. “I would be, too, if I saw this man.”

  Her partner snorted, and his pot belly moved like jelly as he laughed. The stench from him was spreading, and Kry tried to avoid breathing the air around him.

  “You get used to the smell after a while. I’m Dice, and this is Abbas. It looks like we were the first to find you. Good for us, bad for you.” Dice pulled out two dice from her pocket and rolled them on the ground.

  The students in the courtyard all watched as the dice rattled across the ground before they finally came to a stop. Kry saw the two dice equal a total of twelve.

  “Perfect roll!” said Dice. She pulled out a black whip from her side. She then struck Wei Long across her barrier, fracturing it and knocking her backward.

  Students backed away as Dice focused her attention on the Chinese faction leader. Kry sensed other powerful sources of energy closing in on them: other Blades. He had little time and knew he could not help the trapped students as well as fight the Blades that stood against them now.

  “I’ll go with you. Leave them unharmed.” Kry stepped forward to protect Wei Long from another strike of Dice’s whip.

  Dice pulled back her whip and looked dissatisfied. “Have you not heard of us?” she said with disappointment.

  Abbas snorted as he laughed.

  “That’s not how it works.” Dice pointed down at the dice on the ground. “The dice have told me a number, and I must follow through. You’ll live, but you’ll watch as I deliver tremendous pain in twelve different ways as I break these students’ fragile bones. And you’re coming with us no matter what.”

  Dice pulled back her whip and aimed to strike, but Kry raised two of his barriers to defend Wei Long and himself. The attack did not happen as Dice’s whip was pulled out of her hand.

  “Kry! Out of the way!” The large frame of Yujin appeared alongside another imposing figure. Kayne and Yujin stood together like two giants, their barriers up, and their bodies transformed into stone.

  Dice was furious and looked across to see who had taken her whip. Then she saw the glowing green eyes staring back at her. Aiyax whirled her two whips around in a circular motion which crackled as they slashed against the ground.

  Dice cartwheeled backward and used her mind to bring her whip back to her. “The renowned champion of the Cube, and the once former but old champion of the Cube,” she said, looking from Aiyax to Yujin.

  Abbas bared his ugly teeth at Yujin and plucked at them with his knife. “A pleasure this will be.”

  “Go, Kry. Help the other students,” said Yujin. “We’ll give you the time you need.”

  “Are you so sure?” hissed Dice.

  Aiyax cracked her whip toward Dice who hissed again.

  “Twelve ways h
ave been rolled, and I will see it through. I had heard that the Shadow Government was interested in your talents. Maybe you could have been a future Blade. What a shame that will never happen,” said Dice.

  “A bit of luck I’d say,” replied Aiyax.

  Yuri signaled at Ren. Without hesitation, Ren obeyed his faction leader and came to Kry. “We go help the others,” he said.

  “We’ll return with the others,” said Kry. “Keep them at bay.”

  Yujin slammed his fists together. “You’ll see why I was a former champion.” He turned to Kry. “Go now, and help them!”

  Wei Long had recovered and joined with Yuri. Many other students stood with them facing off against Sonus and the New Order. Kry thought he had disconnected his feelings but found himself caring more about the students’ safety than was necessary. Did Zero’s technique not work properly? The fighting was already under way as he and Ren ran back toward the courtyard of the seven paths all the while hearing the sound of Aiyax’s whip crackling like lightning.

  ****

  “Bronson, is everything in order?” asked Katar.

  Bronson had gathered all the files from Katar’s office. He would need these to continue his research on Kry and his origin. Now, the Shadow Government had arrived, and the entire campus was under fire; many buildings had already been turned to rubble, and the sounds of fighting were in every direction.

  “Bronson, find the other professors and take them to the exit leading into the mountains. I’ll follow you,” said Katar.

  “I would rather stay and make sure we both get out safely,” said Bronson.

  Katar hugged his close friend. “We will, but I need to sort out a few more things, and then I will join you.”

  Bronson did not like it, but he accepted the President’s command. “Hurry,” said Bronson and left his office.

  Katar trusted Bronson more than any other and knew he could count on him. But there was something that kept bothering him for a while now, and it was his gut feeling that Zero had something to do with Professor Himura’s disappearance. Since Zero had joined the university, things never worked out smoothly. At every turn, Zero had gone against him, tried to provoke him, and always appeared as an obstacle rather than a friend of this university. Even before Professor Himura disappeared, Himura had told him to keep a watch on Zero as there was something not right about him. Himura had tried to read Zero’s mind following his order, but he had failed. Katar remembered the fear in Himura’s eyes as he told him how Zero’s mind was nothing like anything he had ever tried to break into before.

  Katar waited awhile before leaving and then walked down the hall toward Zero’s office. With the university in such disarray, this would be the last chance he had to investigate. He found Zero’s door open and crept inside. Zero’s office was scattered with books and the explosions that rocked the university had caused most of them to fall off the shelves. He rummaged through Zero’s desk and looked through several notes left on the table. He then found one of the drawers was locked. With his mind, he forced the lock open and discovered a tattered book. He looked through the pages with astonishment.

  “Impossible.” Katar flicked further and realized how dangerous Zero truly was. He had to take the book and placed it under his robe.

  The door to the office slammed shut, and he looked up to see Zero standing opposite.

  “It seems you have something of mine.” Zero pointed to the book hidden under Katar’s robe.

  Katar raised his barrier and then two more. The book had to be protected.

  “Oh dear, this is a problem.” Zero came forward and touched Katar’s barriers; each one dissipated before his eyes.

  “What…are you? Who…are you?” Katar asked with fear.

  Zero smiled, and a gentle mist enveloped him in a globe of darkness. “Nothing and no one.” Zero grabbed him and touched his forehead.

  Katar shouted out in pain as the fire erupted inside his head. He tried to resist and push Zero out, but Zero’s power was incredible. Katar’s memories flashed before his eyes as Zero entered his mind.

  “That book is important to me. I was not planning on this, but I guess it is a bonus.” Zero pressed hard against Katar’s skull.

  Katar screamed, and then it was over.

  Chapter 32 – Reunion

  With his hands tied behind his back and his knees digging into the floor, Rush was helpless as he witnessed the terrible destruction that the Purifier machines were causing. The explosions were painful to watch, and each blast sent a shiver down his spine. The machines had breached the university barrier; it was never meant to withstand an attack of this magnitude and was only used to protect the campus from the heavy snow in the region.

  His wrists ached as the rings of energy clamped his hands together. Seekers wielding their rods stood on either side of him, forcing him to watch as the university burned. He knew Kry, Eclipse, and Whisper were down there; whether they were still alive, he was not so sure. He was unable to sense their presence as long as the Seekers suppressed his abilities. He had been subjected to watch against his will, and there was nothing he could do to help them.

  Around him, five Bellum staff operated the machine. They moved like drones and handled the computers without a care in the world, oblivious to the death they were bringing.

  His knees ached. The viewing window, which he was forced to look out of, was in the control room. The Bellum workers moved stiffly, pulling levers and pressing buttons; they had no emotions to share. Rush could not believe the Shadow Government had moved so quickly and had so little concern for the welfare of the students. There was no warning and no ultimatum given; there was only sudden and brutal violence from which the students had little hope of surviving.

  Rush struggled against his bonds, but it was no use. He glared at the Seeker to his right. “When I get out of here, you’ll regret forcing me to watch this.”

  The Seeker displayed little emotion. With a sudden swift movement, he then struck Rush on the back of his head with the rod. Rush fell forward onto his face. With his knees still firmly on the floor, he raised himself back to his original position.

  He spat blood and grinned. “Your technique needs some improvement.”

  The Seeker raised his rod again ready to strike.

  “That’s enough.” Tai-Lao stepped into the control room. His green silk dragon robe glided across the floor as he came toward the viewing window.

  The Seeker turned to Tai-Lao with disdain. “We do not follow orders from you.”

  Tai-Lao turned to Rush with hatred in his eyes. He then looked back at the Seeker. “Botulinia has given me the reigns of this Purifier and insisted that I run the operations here, but I’m not giving you an order. I’m simply asking you.”

  The Seeker said nothing and stepped back from Rush. He returned his rod to his side.

  “I thought you’d enjoy seeing me get hit,” said Rush. “Change of heart?”

  Tai-Lao grabbed his shoulder and pulled him up. “On your feet.”

  The blood returned to Rush’s legs, but there was a numbness that remained as he stood up next to Tai-Lao.

  “Do not mistake my kindness for sympathy,” said Tai-Lao. “You killed my brother, something that can never be forgotten. A blood debt is owed.”

  They stood together by the viewing window. The Purifiers had stopped firing and circled above the university.

  “A blood debt, is it? Why wait when you can kill me now and end the debt?” asked Rush.

  “Botulinia has other plans for you. I imagine the Shadow Government has a much more painful scenario compared to what I could envision. After they are done with you, I’ll end the debt,” promised Tai-Lao.

  “It was your brother who attacked me first. I merely defended myself. He had a violent temper and was a sore loser,” said Rush.

  “He did, and he was, but he was still my brother, no matter how much of a fool he was,” said Tai-Lao.

  “There’s always one fool in every family
,” confessed Rush.

  Tai-Lao was expressionless. “Despite what you have done, I have respect for you. You fight like a warrior with perseverance and courage—traits I regard highly in my organization.”

  Rush held out his chained hands. “Maybe I can be a dragon warrior?”

  Tai-Lao scoffed. “Do not mock me. Your other traits hold you back: arrogance, impatience, and your lack of understanding of your current situation.”

  Rush pulled back his hands with mock dissatisfaction. “Your loss. And I’m very aware of my current situation, thank you.”

  The Purifier hovered over a burning building. Tai-Lao showed his displeasure at the sight.

  “You don’t like what you see?” asked Rush.

  “There is no honor in this. The Dragon Wang-Tu fights fair and with pride. That pride stems from our honor in battle. What this is, is a massacre,” said Tai-Lao.

  “For someone who talks a lot about honor, you sure seem to have picked the wrong side. Bellum and the Shadow Government are not synonymous with honor,” said Rush.

  Tai-Lao turned away from the window. “No, they’re not,” he said with sadness in his voice. He moved past the Seekers, who were watching silently, and climbed the steps to leave the control room. “A blood debt will be paid, Rush. Very soon.”

  Rush bowed to him with hubris.

  “And stay away from my daughter,” demanded Tai-Lao.

  ****

  Rhea sat alone in her small compartment. She hated being inside this thing, but her father insisted that she be a part of what was to come. The first time she saw the Purifiers she was in awe of their size and construction. Unlike the others, she was not immediately put off at the sight of them. Now, though, was a different story. The Purifier had several compartments inside and was much larger than even she had expected. It was of simple design, but everything had a purpose.

  Except for the control room, the rooms were small. They were made to fit each of the Bellum workers, and there were a few other compartments for storage. The walls were metallic, and a smell of hard iron drifted throughout the inner compartments. She had become used to the smell, but the constant reminder of her lifeless former colleagues, whom she saw operating the machines, was a daily nightmare.