“The Shadow Legion is in league with Abyssians?”
“A clever transaction for their own survival. They’re only pawns. They’ll go too, eventually. Abyssians are still ascending. There is no end to them. This is only the beginning. The past will again become the present but, this time, things will be different.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The Shadow Legion get to keep their lives for now,” he explained.
I sensed Blitzkrieg’s coming attacks and avoided them. I stepped back with a swing and missed. Our weapons slammed together. We were still equal in skill, it seemed. But Blitzkrieg was strong, fast, and menacing. I didn’t want to use the power of the Amethyst for fear that I might kill him. No matter how grim our predicament, my need for an explanation was stronger than anything. “You won’t win this battle without your powers. He will kill you,” said the Amethyst. I snarled. I wanted him alive.
I added just an ounce of the orb’s power to my attacks, but Blitzkrieg’s immortal strength stayed my blade. I teleported above him, slashing Rahginor downward. Blitzkrieg parried easily. I backed away, creating distance. Something’s changed about him. No mortal man could have defended that attack. I tried again, this time teleporting all around him, but again to no avail.
Smoke and fire were everywhere. “Listen to their screams. The fear, the pain, the desperation of tasteless death will deliver them.” It was at that moment that Blitzkrieg’s power revealed itself, and I felt what I had when I first arrived at the southern kingdom—quailing terror. My hands shook, and chills crawled my back. It was as if gravity had shifted, its pressure becoming stronger. I fought the feeling and rebound into battle again.
With little effort, Blitzkrieg brandished Masa, knocking Rahginor from my grip. At unseen speed, he slashed a thin incision across my face—a warning strike. I froze. Next came Mura, hacking through my jacket, scarring my chest with a crimson tear. The wound stung and leaked with hot blood. I took a knee. The slash should’ve killed me.
He walked forward and pressed the tip of Mura into my neck. At his mercy, I felt untapped energy triggering from deep within me. My fury abounded. I was ready to take down this murderer whom I hadn’t known. Rising again into battle took no effort. Rahginor returned to the hand of its orbed master once more. Blitzkrieg swung in the wind, gusting me as I teleported from decapitation.
Behind him, I rotated Rahginor to its flat side and slammed my old comrade forward. Blitzkrieg flipped through the air, landing in a stable stance, unscathed. Heaving Rahginor, I controlled its path with my burning orb. With the orb’s will, I commanded the sword into battle as if it were alive. The rattling clash resonated even in the ceaseless riots. My magic hand moved wildly.
Severing through Blitzkrieg’s defense, Rahginor gashed his armor. He laughed as he kneeled. Then he grabbed Rahginor by the blade, breaking the divine bond with a forceful explosion that knocked me sliding on my back across a metal plate. The duel had taken us to a different area where there was a statue of King Akhadius in the center of an extensive clearing.
Blitzkrieg tossed Rahginor in the fray, stared blankly, and made his way to me. I couldn’t move. I felt paralyzed. The Amethyst flickered with a slow, dying blink. A gauntlet clenched my throat. My former comrade lifted me off my knees and dangled me over the ground. A devastating blow to my face sent me winging into the statue of the king. Crashing to the plate, I felt tingling in my jaw. Half of my body was numb, as I lay covered in blood and rock. Wielding Rahginor with divine willpower had reduced too much of the Amethyst’s power. I knew by my sudden need for food, water, and the lure of slumber. With all my strength, I struggled to climb. But Blitzkrieg would only shatter the accomplishment.
He approached, sheathing his sword, and plunged his fist into my stomach. Winded and lurching forward from the first attack, a strong left gauntlet crashed into my face next, and then a backhand after. My vision darkened, quickly flickering as I began to slip from consciousness. I barely felt Blitzkrieg’s ending blow. A front kick rammed into my chest, snapping me backward to the hard plate. He only toyed with me, but I was defeated.
I heard Nova yell across the chaos, “Darwin.” She ran to my side and held me in her arms.
“Don’t... worry, sis.”
Tears rolled her cheeks. “I can’t lose you too.”
Blitzkrieg drew Mura and Masa. “Move, my lady, or you’ll be—”
Nova stood with rising anger. “Silence.”
The contour of her body glowed with energy as it once had in Lucreris, and her eyes whitened with light. She wiped her tears and faced Blitzkrieg as she hovered the air. Slicing through the wind, Nova was a glimpse as she flew and struck my enemy with a single blow. His swords divorced his grasp, and he went exploding into a burning building, embedding into the wall of its weakening structure.
As Nova soared, she stretched a hand before her; a white sphere of energy expelled from it. The blast crushed Blitzkrieg, sending him bursting through the building’s opposite side. She followed him, finding him sprawled on his backside. She stood over him, watching the fallen warrior as he was at her mercy.
“Spare me,” he said. “For when you learn the truth, this will have been a tragedy,”
Nova extended a hand again, awakening the energy. She leered ferociously, energy amassing into a globe of wispy light. “You’re nothing but an Abyssian—better to rid the world of the likes of you.”
“Nova—no,” I spoke through her mind.
“Darwin?”
“Let him go.”
The globe left with a blink. Flinching into realization, Nova stepped back, leaving Blitzkrieg’s life in his gauntlets. Her whitened electric eyes returned to normal, and she looked around as if ignorant of what had transpired.
A blanket of darkness covered the sky. When it dissipated, there was a ship as large as a floating city, gliding over the dungeon metropolis. It was of dark titanium and shaped like the lunging head of a trident. Diamond generators glowed with revolving energy rings. In the emergence of the vast vessel and the low rumble of its engine, everything seemed to pause, commanding everyone’s attention. “The Sky Bastion: Malandra,” the Arkhadians yelled.
Nova returned to me, and Sergio and Irvina soon found us. “The Northern King?” said Sergio, baffled.
“A human? Very doubtful,” said Irvina. “The spirit dwelling upon it is different.” She was right. There was magical gravity emanating from it, a kind very paralyzing and irresistible. At the end of the ship’s center bridge, red light formed on the hull beneath the circle deck, bathing Ortiz in a scarlet shade.
From the rubble of his unanticipated defeat, Blitzkrieg ran and leaped an incredible height onto the ship. Then the looming light shot downward like an arrow, erasing a quarter of inner Ortiz from existence in a blink. Bodies flew, and buildings crashed.
Sitting upright, my powers returned, strengthening me. The Amethyst forced my eyes shut. Everything around me slowed—all sound and movement. Then I felt myself leap, and I could see it all from the sky—the dead, the fire and destruction. In a flash, I was looking at myself and the Orbed Ones around me. Am I? I was outside of my body—a formless projection. The Amethyst turned my sight forward, toward the Malandra in the distance.
I thrust toward its deck where there stood three other cloaked and armored figures that resembled Blitzkrieg, but their powers were far beyond his. A white dragon sat upright with wings folded over its body. Tiamat? It was a dragon of legend. One of the three men was isolated and silver-hooded. His power was paramount; vast as the depth of the Aglaecein. His back was to me, and he laughed as he turned to my floating apparition, his voice familiar. He stood several feet from me, yet I could see nothing of his face. In his hood was shadow as if it were nonexistent.
“Quite a while it’s been since last we met. A shame that you would only meet me with your mind. Is this the treatment I deserve after I’ve been so gracious enough as to alter your life for the better? I assure you there�
�s no need for such caution—now. There won’t be any need for confrontation yet. However, I should inform you that several things have changed—old alliances put to death, new ones forged.” The man stretched his arms toward the other men in introduction. “We, are The Inevitable. It is my greatest hope that when the time comes for our next meeting, you won’t choose to stand in our way.”
In my mind, there lay the thought of whom this man was. He laughed and then answered with a bow. “You may simply call me, Guardian.” Then, reaching a black gauntlet forth, a bright beam scattered from him, removing my projected form from his presence.
When I returned to my body, I screamed in agony. The Malandra hovered above the kingdom still, moving over the citadel. It was a cast-iron tower, meeting at a point a mile up from its square base. Its maroon banner flew from the very end of the spire at its top. “I leave you this warning, and hopefully you’ll survive long enough for us to speak again....”
Light formed under the ship’s bow once more. I felt something come from the Amethyst concealing us—a dome of sheltering power. The beam shot from the ship and erupted, obliterating everything; the city and all the Arkhadians erased from humanity.
A Sword and A Stone
Wavering currents swashed in my ears. “Nova, Irvina, Sergio,” I whispered barely.
Nova leaned forward with excitement. “You awake?”
I opened my eyes and then closed them again as I freed my first waking breath. Her voice was a relief to hear; her presence put me at ease the way very few pleasant things ever had. She was a reprieve from my demanding lifestyle; a strand of hope symbolizing the normality I’d subconsciously longed for. “Nova... I’m glad you’re all right.” A warm smile stretched across her face. Irvina was at the center of a long gondola while Sergio rowed us along at the nose. Looking ahead, all I could see was a cover of blackness and blanketing smoke that darkened the sky to a morose shade of gray. “How long was I out?”
“Two days,” Irvina answered. “Sergio carried you to the coast.”
Nova’s stomach grumbled. “We’ve been on this boat for a day. Once we get to where we’re going can we get some food? I haven’t eaten in... Zasmia knows how long.”
I beamed at her, but when my thoughts wondered to what happened to Ortiz, Sphinx, and all the orphans, I winced with fright.
“All those people...” Nova uttered, turning my thoughts to words.
Irvina joined the conversation. “What came from the floating ship—I’ve never seen a power such as that. Even the leviathans could not create such havoc.” Her eyes found me; her face etched with concern.
“Xsiralite,” I said. She frowned until sudden realization captivated her.
“The blood of Angels?”
“The magical plasma siphoned from the blood of Angels, made into a weapon, then synthesized into northern technology.” She curled the corner of her bottom lip into her mouth.
“A king of Men possesses this power? Why has he not used it against the Abyssians?”
A grumble escaped me. “Your guess is as good as mine—though he doesn’t have a problem protecting his own borders. But something else is amiss. It wasn’t the Northern King or his men on the Malandra.” Guardian, I thought.
Nova stretched beside me and laid her head on my arm. “What happened to you that night? You screamed unto unconsciousness,” she said.
I don’t know where to begin. It all happened so fast. Cassidy. I took my time explaining. Sergio gave his attention when he heard Cassidy’s name.
“I knew he reminded me of someone—those swords, Masa and Mura. He never went anywhere without ‘em.” He restrained his shock and veiled his rage, allowing me to finish.
I detailed my spectral voyage to the Malandra and the three cloaked ones and the white dragon upon it.
“Tiamat?” blared Irvina. She spoke curtly; her excited and cumbersome accent unclear until she relaxed. “You must be mistaken. The dragons allied with them. It cannot be.”
“—It didn’t appear to be held against its will,” I said. “There was something off about it, though—can’t explain it.”
Irvina shook, looking away with severe distress. Her eyes flickered and spiraled. “This is... most horrible news. If even one of the Colossi fights alongside the Abyssians, then hope is surely lost.” She turned away.
“The one that spoke to me, it was the man Guardian that I told you about,” I said, talking to all of them. “But he was different this time—his power, I can't even begin to describe. The more I remained in his presence, the more I shrank away.” Nova looked perplexed.
“I felt the evil in his aura, so much so that it pained me to look upon the vessel,” said Irvina.
“I knew that Guardian duke was bad news when you first described him. And I don’t even know where to begin with Cassidy.... We just gotta’ concentrate on leaving this desolate turf,” said Sergio gravely.
“Wait. Didn’t Blitzkrieg board the Sky Bastion just before it blew Ortiz to pieces?” Nova questioned. “Does this mean that he and the Shadow Legion are in league with this man, Guardian, too?”
“It would seem so, Nova.”
She set her palms against her temples and shook, happy to have figured something out, yet vexed that she was still terribly confused. She was no more or less puzzled than the rest of us.
“Visqont,” Sergio announced. We sailed the Aglaecein, going downstream into the lower city. Before us was a metropolis built of grand arches and cascading waterfalls. Reaching the docks, we left the gondola into the Port City of Grand Terraces. Peace and tranquility populated this enormous place. It was devoid of the tainted touch of Abyssians. The clean air lightened our mood. People scattered about the lower district and much of the upper city. It was a lush and prospering region.
Irvina marveled at the civilization around her, staring agape at its striking design when an elderly woman bumped her shoulder. “Pardon me, dearie, how beautiful you are. I wouldn’t dare harm such a lovely face. None too many daughters of Men bear incredible eyes such as those. May the Superiors continue to bless you, child.” Irvina blushed, quickly concealing her aquatic uniqueness behind the semblance of a human woman.
We traveled into the calm forest-city. It was so well-kept I could’ve kissed the ground and blemished its purity. Our anxiety from the past days was diminishing steadily at last. Visqont was settled on two levels: a lower and upper colony created from long walkways linking balconies and terraces that connected the buildings. Separate laws governed each, but both adhered to the same officer of authority: Dana Guild IV, the Marquis.
“The Militia should arrive soon—if they aren’t already here. We’ll keep out of sight for a while. We’ll cross paths eventually,” said Sergio as he led the way through the astonishing city. Nova skipped along.
“This is far more pleasant than Lucreris,” she compared, humming merrily.
The Aglaecein flowed through the lower city by way of various canals. Mist from waterfalls pouring from the tall buildings of the upper district moisturized the air.
We settled in a peaceful park complete with public benches and tables, each one of us going off into our own space. It was just the quality time we needed to collect and decipher respective thoughts. I walked between two rows of evenly spaced trees. Sergio had gone off somewhere unseen, likely searching to see if the Militia had already arrived. In the clearing at my right, Irvina sat on a bench before a hissing canal. Nova joined her.
“You’re a very beautiful woman,” said Nova as she combed through the naiad’s raven hair. “I’m sure you get that all the time.”
Irvina was silent as she turned her gaze upon the young girl. “Yes, but beauty holds no merit from where I come. I would much rather be in your shoes than my own.”
Nova blushed in wonder. “I’m no one special.”
“Quite the contrary, I think you are. You have a brother that came looking for you when you were in distress. Darwin cares much for you.”
Nova sh
ook her red pigtails in realization and agreement. “He does love me,” she said as if reminding herself. “Even though he has a tough time showing it. He’s not good with expressing his feelings—too busy being serious most of the time.”
Irvina chuckled and smirked. “I can relate.”
Nova couldn’t help but marvel at the naiad’s exotic majesty. “You have such amazing features.” Irvina reverted to her authentic form, her lengthening hair startling Nova. The Lucrein girl froze when she pulled Irvina’s hair behind an ear and saw that it was colorful, scaled and tri-pronged. She flinched and stiffened.
“Did I frighten you? I’m sorry. I’m a naiad.” Nova was speechless at first, unknowing of what to say about the known tragedy of the aquatic race.
“I’m sorry for what happened to your people,” she came to say. “Are you the only one still...”
“Living? I would like to hope not. But I’ve yet to cross paths with another.”
She forced herself back into Irvina’s hair and pressed the subject onward. “It’s all right. I feel alone, too. We can pretend to be family and cheer each other up. I won’t mind if you won’t... I’ve always wanted a sister.” Irvina was silent.
“Eh, I found a place for us,” Sergio spoke from a terrace above the trees I walked beneath. I had been watching Nova and Irvina from a distance. They spotted me.
Nova smiled with teeth. “Look, Darwin, she’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Irvina started for a nearby staircase to higher ground as I approached. “Memoria... doesn’t have long... does it?” said Nova. “What are we gonna do? Explain it to me again, this journey to the shrines.”
“I don’t know much about them, Nova. There were these pages within them. I see visions of what’s written, sometimes.” She scrunched her face as she peered.
“What do they describe?”
Enigma: Awakening Page 26