Zectas Volume IV: The Salubrious City of Centzo

by John Nest

  He uploaded his latest video, and watched the results of his previous video. It was of how his Vigilantez went against Horrabelle's Therianthrope army. He figured it was pointless to hide those scenes from the rest of Zectas' players as many of Macher's army were Sonstwelters, and saw most of the battle.

  However, he stopped the video when Horrabelle was trapped inside the earth-dome. As he did not want his true abilities to be publicly known. Unknowingly, this stirred the comment section of this video.

  DMX: ...And Smoke was never seen again...

  Louche: Only that isn't the case. You should have seen the end of that battle. It was...something else entirely. I know, because I was there!

  Dark_AvEngER: Damn it! I was so looking forward to see how that ended, but knew that Smoke was up to his old tricks again when I saw the time left on the video...

  Manita: Oh you bastard! You got me hooked, and on the last moment you went and took it all away from me.

  Emagine: Imagine that. Looks like one of the Smoke's fan boys infiltrated his guild?

  Louche: I am not Smoke's fanboy. I'm a devote follower of Mamelon.

  Nozzie: And who's Mamelon? Some guys just keep on posting things and expect us to understand what they're saying.

  TriTank: Smoke's idiocy is a virus! He's even infected Amahan's video. You should see how abruptly they end those videos now.

  ProfessorXectas: At least Smoke and Amahan are still making videos, and what about your beloved Tristan? He hasn't made one for quite some time now...

  TriTank: Oh, I can assure you that he has transcended in playing on the same level as Smoke and Amahan. In fact, he doesn't see the need to post these videos anymore...but if he does post one again, I'm sure that it will blow Smoke's and Amahan's right out of the water.

  Magikera: Dream on!

  Nash did not mind most of the comments, but was intrigued to see that Amahan had done a similar cliffhanger post. He quickly searched through the Zectas website and found the Exorcist's latest video.

  It started with the Decane guild entering the last temple of Gahoul Comataz, Djinn of the North.

  Nash then saw an ice orb float in front of Amahan.

  After a few seconds the ice orb spoke. "You have reached your destination. Now, we shall see whether you are worthy to possess my master's powers..."

  The video skipped as Amahan edited out the ice orb's trial before him. Nash knew from personal experience how difficult a Djinn's trial could be, and completely understood why Amahan decided to remove it. This was exactly what he would have done as well.

  The next scene then showed a five-meter tall statue of the legendary Djinn, Gahoul Comataz. It was made of ice crystals with an array of vibrant colors, which gave it a life-like impression. The Djinn had a sharp, feathery humanoid body with the color of the night. Its head was that of a black falcon with a silver beak. Comataz had long talons for fingernails and storm colored wings that was twice the length of his entire height.

  As he continued to watch Amahan's video, he then saw the Exorcist walk slowly towards the statue with four sapphire crystals, which Nash recognized as Comataz's four essences.

  Amahan then placed all of the precious stones on the foot of the statue and uttered these words. "Je te convoque, Gahoul Comataz!"

  A blinding blue light appeared in front of Nash's monitor. When it cleared up, a notification window popped up.

  [REBORN] Djinn of the North: Gahoul Comataz

  This monstrous ice Djinn, now loyally serves Amahan!

  + Gained Djinn of the North: Comataz

  Nash then remembered that Gahoul Comataz was not only the Djinn of the North, but was also the keeper of Aquilo, King of the forgotten Northern Kingdom!

  As soon as the notification window vanished, Nash waited with anticipation to see what the actual Djinn looked like. He imagined that it would be similar to its intimidating five-meter tall statue, but Amahan's video abruptly ended.

  'So, that's how it feels,' thought Smoke to himself after he finished watching the video.

  Nash smiled as he was genuinely happy for Amahan. The Exorcist to the North may have gotten a Djinn before him, but he would not be far behind.

  "Nash? Are you done, yet? Mr. Cacoy is already driving up our street!" shouted Donny from below.

  "Yeah, yeah. I'm coming. Hold your horses," answered Nash and locked his computer screen.

  His youngest brother was excited to leave as today was his second Amateur Unarmed Tournament Open Martial Art Techniques Association, or as it was commonly called, AUTOMATA.

  Whereas, Seth decided not to join this year as he wanted to focus on his extra lessons for advance computer studies.

  Nash ran down the stairs, and saw Seth drinking a soda while watching television. It was a live broadcast of Zectas' CEO. She looked like to be in her early fifties and had short hair. She was receiving a humanitarian of the year award.

  "What's going on, Seth? Why is she being awarded?" asked Nash curiously.

  Seth shrugged while he finished his soda. "Not really sure, I just tuned in myself. I think it's because of all the positive things Zectas has done in society for the past two years since it's been up."

  Nash watched the coverage a little bit longer when he heard Donny scream out his name from Mr. Cacoy's silver suburban.

  "You take care of Mima, okay? You know how she's been feeling under the weather almost everyday now," reminded Nash as he walked out their front door.

  "Good Morning, Mr. Cacoy," Nash greeted his Eskrima master.

  "Shut up, and get in. Donny's almost late as it is," said Cacoy.

  "But, you were the one who just—" Nash instantly stopped talking when Cacoy sped out of their street, leaving tire marks all over the place.

  "What were you saying back there, Nash?" asked Cacoy meaningfully, as if trying to bait a prey into a trap.

  "Nothing. I said I hope we can make it on time, that's all," hurriedly explained Nash.

  "Don't worry, we'll get there in time, and he's going to win the nationals this year!" declared Cacoy.

  "But we need to win the city-preliminaries first," humbly said Nash.

  "Come on, Nash, you don't think I can win the city-preliminaries? I even trained harder this year. You don't have to be so pessimistic about it," said a hurt Donny.

  "Oh, no. I didn't mean it like that, Donny," added Nash quickly, but he already spoke such thoughtless words.

  Nash kept his mouth shut. He took out his phone and placed his blue-tooth headset on, and watched the live broadcast of Zectas' CEO receiving the award.

  Since he already missed the live broadcast, he settled for her trending video on her acceptance speech.

  "As some of you might have heard from the news. Zectas' strict requirements on their game pods entry to the virtual reality world has made quite an impact on ours. Their players have to exercise, and they even ban players who do drugs," began the presenter. "Not only that, but they also offer real opportunities for people to earn money."

  The presenter paused and smiled at Zectas' CEO. "But they didn't stop there. They even opened several free game centers where people could use their game pods for free. This selfless act allowed people who couldn't afford to play their game, gain access to its limitless opportunities."

  "To the person in-charge of giving our citizens new lives, new jobs, new hopes, we award the Humanitarian of the Year to, Dr. Lisa Zuckerman," said the presenter and clapped loudly.

  A short-haired brunette classically walked up to the podium.

  "Thank you, Harvey," she began, and received the award from him. "Thank you also to the governing body who thought that I deserved this award. But I would be a liar if I said that I did this alone. First off, I would like to thank the core developers. You know who you are. So, I will not mention your names."

  Despite her years, Lisa half-giggled and half-cried. "Sorry, I apologize for that. I just remembered what one of them said. He said that we are surely changing the world and someday soon we'r
e going to get rewarded by it. And now I'm standing here in front of you."

  The Zectas' CEO tried to recompose herself and took a deep breath. "Anyway, we also have our investors who gave us an overwhelming starting capital, but of course you got a lot richer from that investment, right?"

  The audience laughed loudly as it was well known that the stocks for Zectas had more than quintupled over the last two years.

  "But I must say that this award also goes out to all the Sonstwelters out there. That's Zectas' slang for its players," she explained to the audience briefly. "You've channeled so much of your time and effort into the virtual reality world of Zectas that it truly has become a different world to live in. Because of you, we now have our monetary system where almost everyone could earn and live out their dreams."

  She smiled and looked at the gathered crowd. "I also urge parents, who could pass the physical and mental conditions of the game to join your children inside Zectas. Our demographic for people who are in their forties to their fifties have increased as well."

  A song was then played by the orchestra to signify that her time was up.

  Lisa then paused and stared into the camera. "Lastly, I would like to thank, Darius, for convincing all of us of Zectas real existence. I used to feel my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I wasn't living, but you were the key to lifting that burden."

  'Did she just say Darius? It couldn't be the same one I know from the game. Could it?' Nash wondered to himself.

  After the video ended, Nash placed his phone inside his pocket as they were almost near the tournament.

  As soon as they got off the silver suburban, Donny immediately spotted a young black-haired teen, who was about the same age as himself.

  "Why is Kurt Santos here?" asked Donny loudly.

  "Who's Kurt Santos?" asked Nash.

  "Donny, Donny, overhear!" called out the smiling boy whom Nash thought to be Kurt.

  Nash and Donny slowly made their way to him while Cacoy parked his car.

  "I was so looking forward to our next fight that I registered in the city you were in," said Kurt excitedly. The kid then offered his hand to Nash. "Oh, you must be Nash. Donny and Seth spoke highly about you. My name is Kurt Santos. I actually live in Virginia Beach, but there were no rules that said you had to live in the city to participate in its preliminaries."

  From Kurt's lengthy and rapid manner of talking, Nash thought that he was very energetic and friendly. "Nice to meet you, Kurt," he smiled and shook the boy's hand.

  "So, you really did come here after all," interrupted Donny icily. "I thought you were kidding about wanting to fight as soon as possible."

  Kurt smiled and playfully slapped Donny's shoulder, but Donny easily deflected it with his right hand, and stepped back.

  "Come on, Donny, don't be like that. Even though I won the championship, I told you, you're the strongest opponent I've ever faced," explained Kurt eagerly. "I've been training ever since I was two years old. Honestly, practicing Eskrima everyday got boring for me, until you came a long. After we fought last year, I practiced even harder and even had my older brother train with me."

  With a hurt expression, Donny looked at Nash briefly and turned back to the boy.

  "Good for you, Kurt, now why don't I register and we'll see each other in there," said Donny flatly and entered the building.

  Nash shamefully followed Donny inside. He would have wanted to help Donny prepare for this competition, but he needed to be inside Zectas as much as possible.

  As the two of them walked farther in, Nash tried to defend himself. 'What is he still mad at me for? I'm already giving up an entire day of Zectas just to be with him,' he reasoned to himself as he carried Donny's things.

  Donny then went on to get his pairings from the officials. As it turned out, he wasn't scheduled to fight with Kurt until the finals.

  "You got this in the bag, Donny, you can do this!" said Nash energetically as he cheered his brother on.

  Donny looked at Nash skeptically. "Really? Just a while ago you told me I had to pass the city-preliminaries first, and now look who appears?"

  Without answering, Nash proceeded to help his brother wear his protective gear.

  "Just two wins and you'll finally get your revenge for last year," encouraged Nash.

  Donny bit his mouthpiece and paid him no mind.

  Cacoy then grabbed Donny's shoulder. "Remember, Kid. Don't do anything fancy. Stick to the basics and finish it quickly."

  Donny looked at his master and bowed to him respectfully.

  Obediently following Grandmaster Cacoy's instruction, Donny breezed through his first two opponents, and found himself waiting for Kurt to face him.

  A few minutes later, Kurt had also won his second victory and earned the right to face Donny in the finals.

  It was as if destiny called out to the two of them. These two young teens met in the finals, and the audience were enthralled to see their fight.

  "Good Luck, Donny," said Nash and offered his fist for a bump.

  Nash smiled widely when Donny met his fist.

  "I'm bringing home the bacon!" declared Donny to Nash and Cacoy.

  Donny and Kurt faced each other from the opposite sides of the square rubber mat. They bowed to each other, to the referee and finally to the judges.

  Nash could clearly see Donny's seriousness and determination on his face, but he saw the same expression on his youngest brother's opponent.

  Donny dashed out from his side and lead with a right jab. From Nash's standpoint, Donny moved fluidly. He had clearly improved, but Kurt caught it and bent it backward into Donny's body for an arm lock.

  However, Donny calmly performed a backflip and got out of Kurt's hold. He then delivered two quick kicks to Kurt's left shin and which made him out balanced.

  As soon as Kurt lifted his arms in the air, Donny's fist rapidly delivered a series of combinations to Kurt's solar plexus, and armpit.

  Kurt fell down on the mat and stayed there. Normally, Donny would have mounted his grounded opponent, but this wasn't just anyone else.

  Despite being grounded, the last year's champion grinned at Donny. Both his hands clutched the places where he was struck as they were all in pain.

  Donny remained in a fighting stance and waited for Kurt to get up. As the younger Smoak expected, Kurt got up without a problem.

  This time, Kurt charged in with a jab and Donny swiftly countered with a right cross. However, Kurt snapped back his leading hand while pulling hard on Donny's arm. Kurt lifted both his feet in the air and caught Donny in an arm bar.

  The two boys were on the mat with Donny's right arm hyper-extended. Donny struggled to break free. His left leg was going up and down a few times, when suddenly it hit Kurt's right arm and loosened his hold on Donny.

  The young Smoak quickly rolled away, and moved his right arm in a three-hundred-sixty-degree motion. Staying away from Kurt, he made quick jabs with his hand to check the damage. It made loud cracking sounds, but he was able to do fast and powerful jabs with it.

  Kurt then moved to the center of the mat and planted both his feet firmly while assuming a wide stance. He then motioned for Donny to step in front of him.

  Donny shook his head, but moved toward his opponent anyway. He then assumed a similar stance to Kurt.

  The two of them then performed blitzing attacks with their fists, while parrying and blocking one with the other. Then, Donny started kicking at Kurt's legs, but his opponent easily evaded his attack and countered with kicks of his own. Their arms and legs continued hitting each other and bruises began to show.

  Nash whistled loudly as he watched their match progress. Their stalemate lasted for a full minute, and the referee had to jump in between the two of them as the round had already ended.

  Donny returned to his corner where Nash and Cacoy were waiting for him. Nash quickly offered for Donny to sit down, but his brother shook his head.

  "No. I'm not sure that I could stand u
p again if I did," explained Donny and drank the water offered by Cacoy instead.

  Nash quickly proceeded to lightly massage Donny's legs with ice packs. He looked at the bruises on Donny's legs and couldn't help but be impressed at his brother. He looked over to Kurt and found the young boy standing up as well.

  He glanced at the people in Kurt's corner and found that one of them looked familiar to him, but Nash couldn't place him from where he knew him from.

  "Seconds out!" ordered the referee.