The Virtual Realm

by Daniel Perusko

  Raven grinned wider than they had ever seen. He looked absolutely overjoyed.

  “Do you want to see? Very well, I’ll show you!”

  A towering flat television screen instantly appeared in front of them. On the screen Tsuki saw what had to have been one of the worst situations imaginable for her. She turned a razor sharp glare at Raven, her eyes saying everything she needed to say to him.

  “Two people enter, but only one person leaves. Sit back and enjoy the show!” Raven proclaimed gleefully.

  ~~~~~

  “Kevlar...” Dusk seethed as his voice transformed into that of a demon’s.

  “Hello, Dusk, it’s been a long time.” He spoke with an empty tone, hiding the shaking rage within that rivaled his opponent’s.

  “Finally, I found you. I’m going to slaughter you,” Dusk growled.

  “You know, it’s funny, Dusk. When I killed your friends, I really had nothing against you; but now I think I hate you just as much as you hate me.”

  “What are you talking about, you piece of shit?”

  “C’mon use that brain of yours.” Kevlar tapped his head in a taunting manner. “I know you’re stupid, but you should be able to figure out that much at least.”

  “Yeah, I get it. The reason you killed my friends. Just so you could see Karla again. Was it worth it?”

  “When I kill you and finally see her again, it will be absolutely worth it.”

  “I hope you're prepared to die painfully, because I'm going to enjoy savoring every last bit of agony I can draw from you.” Dusk stabbed his sword into the ground violently.

  “As if you're strong enough.” Kevlar kept his emotions clouded behind a wall. “Let me ask you something, idiot. Did you have fun fucking my girl while I was away?”

  Dusk’s eyes lit up, his teeth grinding each other in a ravaging grin as he stared down his enemy.

  “I had so much fun. We fucked each other senseless all day and night. It’s funny. All she could talk about was how much better I was than her last boyfriend.”

  Kevlar’s body began twitching. As much as he wanted to hold it back, he couldn’t take it anymore. This bastard took his reason for living away from him and now was still holding it in his hands. Killing his friends? No, Dusk hadn’t suffered enough yet. He would kill every single person he cared about for the rest of his life. No one in the history of the universe would suffer more than Dusk by the time he was done.

  “Hilarious...” Kevlar snarled. “A pathetic little worm like you thinking that you can even compare to me in any way. I’m way better than you and always will be.”

  “Is that so? I wonder why all Karla could talk about was how much of a mistake you were?”

  Kevlar remained silent as he boiled inside. Dusk, noticing his words getting under his skin, smirked straight at him.

  “If you’re so much better than me, come prove it. I’ll send you straight to hell where you belong.”

  The entire room was stifled with a suffocating cloud of malice and hatred.

  Kevlar reached behind his back, slowly unsheathing the gigantic sword

  from within. The two gladiators who had once fought side by side would now engage in a fight to the death.

  The Berserker’s boots shuffled slowly on the hard tile floor as he slowly approached his fated battle. The pace gradually quickened into a jog, and then a full on sprint as he charged his greatest foe, who had been waiting what felt like his entire life for this moment.

  The swords met in a clash of eternal loathing, sending sparks of evil flying as they engaged in a battle of strength.

  If it was pure power, Dusk would lose to a Berserker. Keeping this knowledge in mind, he rolled to the side right away as Kevlar’s blade bit into the tile below. Kevlar sliced his blade along the tile floor, flowing towards Dusk like a shark fin sticking out of the water. He sidestepped the vertical swipe, aiming a horizontal slash at Kevlar’s side.

  Kevlar instantly spun around, evading the swipe as he blocked it with the brunt of his great blade. He thrust the blade upwards, sending Dusk into another sidestep motion. This dance of death had everything on the line, and Dusk wasn’t about to let him lead it. His enemy had other plans, however, sending a swift kick to his stomach, causing him to double over backwards.

  Dusk barely had time to notice Kevlar taking a swipe intended to slice his head clean off. He just managed to duck the fatal motion, sending a sword jab at his hatred’s chest. Kevlar jumped to the side, barely avoiding the skewer as the two continued to clash blades in unmatched fury.

  Kevlar was throwing a hook punch straight at Dusk’s face. He ducked yet again to be met with another swift kick to the stomach. Kevlar took his opportunity to do an airborne charge straight at him. He had seen him use this move before. The speed was lightning quick but he could only go in one direction. Dusk had no choice but to do an immediate dive out of harm’s way. He felt the wind of the blade shredding by him at breakneck speeds as it slammed into the stone wall, leaving a humongous gash.

  Dusk’s heart rate was out of control, beating in his head like the climax of a fierce thunderstorm. He hadn’t found a single opportunity to attack Kevlar yet. But he wouldn’t let him win even if it killed him.

  Admonishing himself for giving Kevlar even a moment to recover, he charged at him while he removed his blade from the wall, but he was too late. Kevlar had swung that great piece of metal, slicing a large chunk of skin off Dusk’s arm as he stumbled backwards.

  His eyes tightened into needles as he glared down his foe with hatred and agony.

  “I told you I was better than you. You can’t even land a hit on me. Pathetic. All that time bragging about how you won those tournaments in the past and how you were so great at games. You’re nothing compared to me, remember that,” said Kevlar asserting his dominance.

  “This isn’t even near over, shithead. I’ll pay you back for every single one of my friends you killed.”

  Kevlar laughed. “Oh right... your friends who were even more pathetic than you.”

  It wasn't enough to kill his friends who had done nothing to deserve such a fate, now he had to piss on their graves? Was there no end to this sick bastard's depravity? “Shut up,” Dusk hissed.

  “That’s hard to believe isn’t it? But it’s true. Every single one of them was worthless. I enjoyed ending them.”

  Whatever, he would send Kevlar to his own grave very soon; but not before tearing him limb from limb. “Shut your mouth.”

  “I can see now. You deserved every bit of this. Just like they deserved to die. This is the way it should be.”

  The only person who deserves to die is you, Dusk flared. “Shut the fuck up!”

  He sprung up from his kneeled state—he’d shut Kevlar up for good. The enraged assassin charged at him with rage guiding his every step.

  Kevlar smirked, knowing he had the foolish swordsman right where he wanted him.

  A straightforward stab at me from that range? How typical.

  Kevlar readied himself for a horizontal swipe, meaning to cut the Phantom before him into two pieces. Dusk pulled back his sword, instead doing a front flip over Kevlar, using his back as a support. He turned around instantly, swiping his second sword at the heartless Berserker, but it was blocked.

  Dusk, now an avatar of rage, stepped up his intensity, increasing his speed twofold. Kevlar started to lose track of his movements, and then it happened. Dusk tore his sword through his archenemy’s chest like butter, drawing a stream of blood in the air before Kevlar jumped backwards, wincing in pain.

  Kevlar was huffing to take in oxygen after that shocking display. How could he have let his enemy's blade touch him? Such an insult. His pride was damaged. He would never let such a thing happen again.

  For Dusk, seeing his foe panting in agony was incredible. Three months later, he would finally be able to enact his sweet revenge. Kevlar would finally get what was coming to him. “So how is it? Does that feel good? Not yet though.” Dusk laughed. B
ut this was short lived as he sprinted at Kevlar yet again, like a shark out for blood.

  “This is nothing compared to the torture I’m going to put you through!”

  Dusk howled as his blades clanked against the great blade of white before him.

  “Getting cocky? You got a lucky strike but you’re still nothing compared to... me!”

  Kevlar yelled out as he slashed so hard he broke one of Dusk’s swords, sending him crashing to the ground with his broken sword.

  ~~~~~

  “We’re going to stop this right now,” Omni boomed with urgency.

  “You’re not going any-” The sound of a bullet shattered the room. Raven had his barrier ready but, it seemed the bullet was deflected by... another bullet.

  Scarlet couldn’t believe her eyes as a figure she’d never thought she’d see began walking down the hallway. Her rifle hit the floor as her blood froze inside her body. A sleek blonde haired beauty dressed in a tight yellow body suit. Those eyes that had seen the worst this world had to offer glanced straight at Scarlet.

  “Athena?” Scarlet spoke as if she had just seen the undead.

  “Well met, Poison Flower,” Eagle replied.

  “What are you? Everyone thought you were dead!” Scarlet was trembling from the trauma. She couldn't decide if she wanted to embrace the woman in front of her or shoot her.

  “I thought you were dead too, for the longest time. I wanted to find you, to take you away from that shithole. I wanted to show you the truth. But I heard you had died, Sergeant. It seems we are both ghosts,” Eagle said solemnly as she took her place by Raven’s side.

  What happened to you Athena? “What are you doing with them? Have you lost your mind?”

  “You know this person, Scarlet?” Reaper asked.

  “It’s a long story and now’s not the time.”

  “That’s right. Right now, we have to get through those doors! We can’t let this go on.” Tsuki had steeled herself to plow through these enemies no matter what the cost.

  “None of you are to move,” Raven boomed as the air around the four Phoenixes tightened, locking each of them in place.

  “You’re right, Karla... we cannot let their desires come to pass,” Omni said as he walked slowly through the powerful restraints as if wading through a thick swamp. Normally he’d be able to move quicker, but he had spent a good chunk of his mental energy on the barrier earlier. As he moved forward, Leo appeared in front of him in a flash.

  “Take a seat, Jed,” Leo commanded as his fist connected straight against Omni’s face, knocking him backwards as he fell to the ground.

  The situation looked bad indeed. Out of the four Phoenixes, three of them couldn’t even move a muscle. The only one who could move was bored down by weights, a sitting duck. They saw no way through here. All they could do for now was watch and wait, and hope that things wouldn’t turn too ugly.

  ~~~~~

  “What now, Dusk?” Kevlar chuckled in condescension. “Phantoms are garbage without two swords. Not that you weren’t garbage anyways,” He spat at him in disgust. “I’m going to have such a good time with Karla while you’re gone, I’ll finally be happy. She’ll finally be mine again.”

  “She’ll be yours again? Disgusting. Stop speaking of Karla like... she’s some item for you to possess!” Dusk’s shout blasted Kevlar in the face. He shot himself like a lightning bolt at his archenemy, not yet satisfied with the paltry amount of blood he had drawn from him.

  Kevlar readied himself for a vertical slash this time. Dusk would have to sidestep this rather than jumping over him like before. It was in that moment of weakness where he would knock him to the ground and finish him. But instead of sidestepping, Dusk vanished in midstride. Kevlar panicked, having completely lost sight of the elusive assassin. He had no time to think before Dusk’s one remaining sword tore through the side of his chest, slicing through two ribs. Kevlar lashed out in rage, breaking Dusk’s only remaining sword before sending him tumbling to the ground again.

  Dusk was out of hope now, with both blades rend asunder. Kevlar was by no means unscathed either. The pain burned along his side mercilessly. The fresh wound was deep, but it’s not like it was fatal. He could deal with this. He raised his sword up into the air, intending to send it right through this bastard's heart. Dusk surprised him yet again as he planted both of his hands on the ground, doing a handstand of sorts as he kicked Kevlar’s left wrist hard. His great sword went flying behind him. If it wasn’t for the armored gloves, his wrist bone would’ve snapped like a twig.

  Dusk planted another kick on his chest, sending him backwards a few steps, giving the enraged Phantom time to rise to his feet to dish out fisticuffs. Kevlar grabbed his enemy’s wrist and squeezed hard.

  “I never said she was an item, you idiot!” Kevlar yelled as he elbowed Dusk in the nose, breaking it. “I’m going to make everything up to her after you’re dead! A knee to the gut. “I’ll protect her from Raven and everyone. And I’ll apologize to her for everything. Now die already!” Kevlar launched his fist like a rocket, but Dusk caught it in his hand.

  “You treat her like an item. You stalked her into another world. You smothered her. You tried to control her. Why do you think she ran from you? Do you think she’d approve of what you’re doing now?” Dusk yelled as he decked Kevlar in the face, sending blood flying.

  Kevlar smacked his arm aside, grabbing a firm hold of the back of his head.

  “Shut your mouth!” he screamed as he charged straight toward the wall with his grip still powerfully on Dusk’s head. With a loud crack, the poor assassin's head met the unbending stone, leaving a small crack as copious amounts of warm blood started to pour down his face. One hit wasn’t enough. He would keep drilling Dusk's face into the wall until it was pudding. Dusk's pale visage smashed into the hard surface over and over...

  “You’ll never!”

  Crack.

  “Love her!”

  Crack.

  “As much as I do!”

  Crack.

  Dusk’s body fell to the floor, lifelessly. His face was disfigured into a bloody abomination: dark bruised eyes, missing teeth, a broken nose. But he hadn’t completely given up on life yet. He swore to himself no matter what, he would make Kevlar pay for his friends, for Phoenix, for Karla, and for Stacy. But his body wouldn’t obey. He could only watch as Kevlar walked slowly to his sword, claiming hold of it once again. He could only watch as Kevlar strolled slowly back to him, greatsword in hand, ready to finish him off.

  ~~~~~

  “Isn’t that just touching, Kaya?” Raven teased. “They’re both fighting each other to the death over you.”

  “Drake is fighting for his friends,” Tsuki said, seething.

  “True, but you can’t deny that he’s fighting for you too. So is Kevlar.”

  “What a crock of bullshit!” Scarlet said, the timbre in her voice prominent. “They’re fighting because of you. Just like the people outside!”

  “But I’m not the core cause, I merely gave them the final push to what they so desired. This is what they wanted. To be pitted in a fight to the death like mongrels; and do you know why?” Raven’s sharp eyes were forming into a fine point on Tsuki as he answered his own question. “Because of you! You lied and deceived them the entire way. You abandoned Kevlar without a single word instead of having the decency to say goodbye like a respectable human being!”

  “You son of a...” Scarlet’s body was beginning to shake violently in rage.

  “No, it’s okay, Joanna,” Tsuki interrupted. “The last person I want to hear about being a respectable human being from is you, Raven. It’s true I left Kevlar without saying a word, because I knew words were useless at that point. There was no working out what we had. Sometimes lies are necessary to protect others; the governments of this world do it all the time. Do you know why? Because people can’t handle the truth—they’re soft. That’s the same reason I left Kevlar without telling him anything, because he’s soft. Look
at how he’s handling things right now, and that’s your proof of what I’m saying. I don’t even know why I’m explaining this, aren’t you supposed to be smart?”

  Raven chuckled boisterously. He knew what Tsuki was saying was true, but he loved trying to make her miserable. Playing games with her and Dusk was so much fun.

  “Protect, you say? Great job protecting so far! Two of the people you love are in a fight to the death because of you. Why don’t we continue to watch and see what your lies have wrought?”

  Tsuki bit her lip to the point of almost drawing her own blood. She couldn’t take it anymore. She was about to explode from the inside, watching these two battle each other. Something had to give.

  Think, Karla, think. There has to be a way out of this. I can’t let my emotions best me.

  It was at that point she felt something deep within her body, a faint light that barely flickered deep in the abyss. What was this? She had felt it ever since she remembered her ancient past, but it had never flowed this strongly until now. Either way, now was a better time than ever to attain new strength. She began to channel all of her focus, that she might grasp that faraway, untapped power.

  ~~~~~

  “I told you... I was better than you. Now, go and join your friends in hell!” Kevlar shouted with an entire planet’s worth of hatred.

  Dusk saw the sword come down in slow motion.

  This is it? After this bastard killed my friends... I’m really going to die here?

  No!

  And let him make Karla’s life miserable again?

  No!

  I’m going to disrespect my friends’ memories by letting him get away with murder? This was really all the strength I had in the end? I’m going to die like a dog by the person I hate the most? Accomplishing nothing at all?

  No! I won't lose! I won't let you hurt anyone I care about ever again!

  A mighty explosion rocked the halls of the throne room. The area quaked as if the Earth had been torn asunder as small stones came crashing down from the ceiling. Just before Kevlar could end the life of his greatest enemy, a barrier of crimson blocked his blade, sending him flying back clear into the opposite wall. He smacked into it with a resounding thud.