“As you know, I am the only master to have used chi energy to its fullest. I have imparted some of my own into this medallion to give you one last message."
“Help the others fight the darkness,” implored Wu’s voice.
“I can’t. I don’t want to lose anyone else,” said Yuan.
“Then you have failed already by giving up.”
Yuan put his head down in shame.
“Help them. I knew the risks of ordering you away from the battle and have accepted it. You have not. Help them as my last wish, my student,” said the spirit of Yuan’s former master.
“Yes, Mistress,” He got up and went to his master’s headstone to pray one last time before heading into town.
Chapter 11: Order of the White rose
The four disciples sat in a room where they watched the television. The local newscaster informed the group, “Breaking news: War. Several third world countries have formed an alliance and have taken over neighboring countries. No one knows why these countries have suddenly declared war, but the world’s powers refuse to step in, calling it a regional conflict,” said the reporter.
Guan closed his eyes. “That is mistake number one for the world powers. It will haunt them later."
“I did not think they would move so fast or so soon,” said Alexander.
“What was that?” Alexander said when they heard screaming in the street. He rushed to the window and saw cloaked figures killing the townsfolk below.
Guan joined him. “We will have to fight our way out and get what is left of the town to safety.”
They rushed out of the hotel and saw around fifty men, one of them about ready to kill a child.
“No!” shouted Mason as he ran at the attacker, knocking the man to the ground.
“The targets are here,” stated one of the cloaked figures as they surrounded the masters and charged.
Lenora kicked one back with her knee, as Alexander dodged one attacker before he drove through another with his sword. Guan moved between enemies hitting pressure points as Mason dodged and landed his own blows.
The sheer number of attackers meant they started to back up to the entrance of the town, protecting what was left of the citizens as they tried to flee. Lenora took out her staff and knocked a few attackers out as Mason used his spiked gloves with some degree of success.
No sooner than they had overpowered the first fifty, more attackers started to come in. “They are using waves of attackers to wear us down!” the monk said as he struck one of them between the eyes, killing him, before roundhouse-kicking another coming in from behind.
The warriors began to tire under wave after wave of attacks. As the soldiers of darkness advanced on the group, an arrow flew into one of soldiers, before a hailstorm of arrows followed. The dark-cloaked leader looked up as a man wearing a cloak with the symbol of the White Rose on the chest appeared on the hillside above, followed by another until the hill was filled with members.
“You will not stop the shadow!” the dark-cloaked leader shouted as he and his army charged the hilltop, hoping to kill some of the White Rose reinforcements in a futile gesture.
“Attack!” was shouted by one of the White Rose members as the order attacked the army of darkness.
In the ten minutes that followed, the shadow army was wiped out, staining the town and hillside with their blood.
One of the members walked up and bowed. “I’m glad we made in time.” The man lowered his hood, revealing himself to be Bain.
“Thanks for the help,” said Guan as the rest bowed to their savior.
“We have to get back to the hideout. We can’t talk here,” urged another member, keen for their conversation not to be overheard.
Alexander remembered the voice, “You’re Captain Hathaway of the ship that took me across the Atlantic.” The man lowered his hood, confirming Alexander’s suspicions.
“It has been a while, Alexander,” the captain said as further members revealed themselves to be the crew of Hathaway while others were townspeople of Hefei.
“We must leave now before more show up,” urged Bain.
“That will be for the best,” Mason agreed.
Alexander looked around, suddenly panicked. “No! My bag with the key is gone. They must have gotten it during the fight!” cried Alexander.
“The Lord of Shadows can now be resurrected,” said Mason, worry etched on his face.
***
At the temple, a cloaked figure walked to the pedestal and placed the final key in its slot. “It is time for your resurrection, my Lord.”
The eyes of the statue glowed, and it broke apart, revealing a black-armored, demonic-looking being with a metal mask. On his back was a massive jagged sword. He looked at his minion. “Your usefulness is over. I thank you for your services. I will take your life force to get the rest of my strength back. Know that you have served me well.” He stabbed the solider through the chest with his sword. The dark lord’s eyes glowed red. “Now for my final conquest,” he said as an orb of black energy was shot from his hand to the sky, spreading darkness around the world.
***
Kira looked up and closed her eyes. So he has done it. I have got find a way to stop my former master, she thought with bitter hatred.
***
On the road from the temple, Yuan’s medallion exploded into shards. “No! It is too late!” he cried as he rushed to the Order of the White Rose’s camp.
The four newest Guardians watched as their medallions simultaneously cracked into shards, as the members of the order looked on in horror. “He has risen,” confirmed one of the members as the sky became completely covered with dark energy.
Chapter 12: Elimination
In the Temple on the bleak mountain, the Lord of Shadows was sitting on his throne with his generals at his side. “It is time. Find any fighters with tournament rankings and eliminate them, all of them. Leave no one standing.”
“Yes, Lord of Shadows.” The four generals disappeared in a black vortex.
I shall not make the same mistake again; those who can oppose me will die, the evil one thought.
***
In a small dojo with swords decorating the walls, a man in a blue haori and black pants was sitting down meditating. A sword lay on his lap in its sheath when a black portal opened in the room.
“What in the world…?”
Kevin strolled out with two pikes pointing sideways out of the holster on his back. “Oroki Yu, you are due for extermination,” said the general drawing a pike from the holster and spinning it before him.
Oroki grabbed his Katana off his lap. He took it out of its sheath. “I don’t know who hired you to take me out, but I will beat you here and now,” said Oroki.
The two charged. Kevin barely had time to block as the Katana got close enough to draw blood from his cheek. Kevin growled, clashing with Oroki as the swordsman parried the pike, forcing Kevin off balance. Kevin eyed his opponent and pulling out his second pike, he attacked from a distance, throwing a gust of wind of Oroki.
Oroki was picked up by the wind and slammed against the wall as Kevin charged forward.
Oroki seeing Kevin charge pushed himself off the wall and tried to strike his opponent with his blade. Kevin blocked it with one of his pikes and tried to stab Oroki in the chest, but this move resulted in having his shoulder grazed slightly.
“You are skilled,” Kevin said with respect as he spun the pike forcing Oroki to be on the defensive as one of the pikes got past Oroki’s guard and severed his left arm.
Oroki looked at the general with defiance as he tried to slash with his good arm, still holding his sword, but it was kicked away as he was stabbed in the chest. Kevin sighed and bowed to his fallen opponent. Turning away, he headed back through the portal.
Xxx
In a small forest in France, a tall man was chopping trees with his ax when he felt the energy of a Shadow and threw his ax into the forest. A black blur rushed out. “So the rumors of
your skills in hatchet throwing are not exaggerated,” said a voice. Pulling out another hatchet, the man blocked knives being thrown at him with his ax. Kyral appeared before the man with his tanto posed to strike.
“Who are you? Why are you attacking me?” asked the man.
“I have been ordered by my master to eliminate you.”
“I, Léon, will not lose!” the Frenchman defiantly declared as he swung his ax, nearly taking off Kyral’s head but Kyral managed to block the ax with his Tanto.
Kyral was forced onto one knee as the Frenchman’s strength started to overwhelm him. Smirking, he disappeared in a black mist surprising Léon for an instant, before, again, he was quickly on his guard. I see he will be a difficult opponent, thought Léon as he looked around. Suddenly, he heard a noise and blocked a kunai but he was run through by Kyral’s tanto. Kyral pulled out his weapon as the body of Leon fell lifeless to the ground.
After a short wrestling championship, the winner was in the locker room when a portal opened up revealing Vladimir who said, “Brother, it has been a long time.”
The other man eyed the giant. “You have a lot of guts coming back to Siberia after the stunt you pulled.”
The general walked up to the champ. “You’re not happy to see me, Sergei?”
“After murdering our parents, I am not overly thrilled to see you,” said the wrestler Sergei, with a clear dislike of Vladimir.
Vladimir charged his brother, starting a grappling contest. Vladimir proved to be stronger, tossing his brother over his shoulder and into a locker. “Is that all you got, Sergei?”
Sergei got up and sent a right hook into Vladimir knocking him back. Vladimir smiled and said, “That is the only attack you will land on me.” He then rushed his brother and grabbed his neck, slamming him into the ground. “This was fun, brother, but I have other people to murder.” He punched Sergei in the temple, killing him.
***
Meanwhile, in Manhattan, a champion boxer by the name of Clay was taken out before he knew what hit him. Shun Xian hid in the shadows of a building and, with her lethal claws, grabbed Clay out as he walked from the boxing arena. His body would be found sliced to ribbons. “Well, I was hoping for more of a challenge,” she said with a bit of disappointment.
And so, one by one, the generals dispensed of well-known fighters around the world, showing no mercy.
And so, one by one, the generals dispensed of well-known fighters around the world, showing no mercy.
***
In the Lord of Shadows’ temple, the evil one opened a portal and went through it. I guess I should take care of him, the one with the item he thought.
At Mt. Everest, near the bottom of the high mountain in Nepal, a man with a white beard and white robes with circular bladed objects on his body was climbing down the slope when he sensed a presence before him.
So it is time, thought the man as he grabbed his bracelets which were circular daggers, one in each hand. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, evil one?”
A dark armored figure appeared. “You have something I want,” the Lord of Shadows said, pulling out his jagged sword.
The Ancient spun his bracelets and he swung them towards the Lord of Shadows. “Chakrams,” said the Lord of Shadow as he blocked them effortlessly with his sword.
The old man jumped back, took small blades from hiding places in his robes, and throwing them. The Lord of Shadows blocked the first one with his sword and grabbed the second one with armored hands.
. The old man blocked the sword that was swung at him with the chakrams he pulled out from his robes and the two stayed locked for a few seconds. The old man did a sweep kick forcing the evil one to back away.
“Impressive.” He fired a dark orb out of his other hand, hitting the sage in the chest sending him to the ground.
The old man struggled to get back up and ran forward, throwing his Chakrams, forcing the Lord of Shadows to avoid them by disappearing in the ground. He reappeared behind the Ancient and ran him through with his sword killing him.
“Now, to find what I am searching for.” He stepped into a hut that belonged to the Ancient and saw a red orb in plain sight. “I have the first elemental Orb of fire!” The Orb sank into his body and his eyes glowed red.
The Lord of Shadows reappeared in the temple. He sat on his throne and looked around. His three generals appeared. “Have you done what I asked?”
Kyral smirked. “Léon is dead my lord.”
“Oroki Yu has been killed,” said Kevin.
“I am the only one left of my family.” No remorse could be found in his Vladimir’s voice
Shun walked in and said, “That boxer had no skills. His blood was wonderful for my blades.”
The generals continued to tell of the extermination of renowned fighters around the world.
The armed warlord gave out a deep chuckle. “It is time to show the world my might. Are the troops ready for total conquest?”
“We have twenty thousand troops and thirty naval ships, my lord,” said Kyral.
“We shall start our conquest in Norway followed by northern Europe. Kyral, you are in charge of this operation. Don’t fail me.
“Of course, my lord,” Kyral said disappearing in black smoke.
The Lord of Shadows sat on his throne looking out from the bleak mountain his temple was situated on. “Let us see how this plays out,” the Lord of Shadows chuckled darkly. “Now to tie up one loose end."
Xxx
Kira had been in the forest since her battle with Mason. She got on a plane to get away from the Amazon, and soon she found herself in Norway again several days later. “What should I do? I am so lost.” Meanwhile, she was being tracked through the seal on her wrist.
Kira found herself walking through a dense forest when her musings were cut short. She heard voices echoing in the brush. “Why did our Lord send us to kill the traitor and not send his generals?” asked one voice.
“The Lord of Shadows picked us to take care of this traitor and his word is law to us as it will soon be to the world,” another voice responded.
Kira tried to get out of sight, but they saw her and prepared to attack. “Kira, you are to be terminated by orders of the Lord of Shadows,” the leader said as fifty more black-garbed warriors surrounded her. She rushed forward, killing two of them with a knife she had hidden
She quickly lost ground due to the relentless assault. She was backed into a corner when an arrow lodged itself in one of the soldier’s arms.”
The leader turned his head to find out where the assailant’s shot came from, and then the leader of the assassins caught one arrow with his hand before being struck down from behind by a figure with a mace. One by one, the soldiers were taken out by the black-robed warriors. Kira took a good look at one of the men and noticed him wearing black robes with a white rose. More warriors dressed the same appeared and defeated the soldiers. “Come with us to camp,” said the one of robed men.
Kira looked at the man and asked, “Who are you?”
The man sighed impatiently and he took off his hood showing a bald head with a tattoo of a rose. “My name is Rashid, second in command of the Sharp Thorns of the Order of the White Rose.”
Kira looked at him with curiosity. “The Order of White Rose?”
The man nodded his head. “More will be explained when we get to camp, Kira, former Captain of the Lord of Shadows. Our commander would like to see you,” Rashid said as he was joined by another member. “Report!”
“We have found the order for termination for Kira by the Lord of Shadows. He is also looking for the elemental Orbs.”
Rashid closed his eyes in thought. Then said, “This will complicate things greatly. Come with us and you will be protected until we get to camp.” Rashid motioned Kira to go with him.
Kira sighed and thought, I’ve got no other choice. She walked with Rashid.
At a small camp, situated in a circle, Kira headed to a tent decorated with flags. “Co
mmander, I have brought Kira,” said Rashid as he entered the tent.
“She may enter,” said a female voice.
Rashid nodded his head and motioned for Kira to enter the tent. She saw a woman with red hair and a black robe with a white rose. “Hello Kira,” said the woman
“Who are you?” Kira asked nervously.
“My name is Kin your twin sister.” The red-haired woman stated with her eyes closed.
“My twin sister?” Kira said with shock.
“You were kidnapped by one of the Lord of Shadow’s generals after he killed our mother. Our father was a member of the Order and tried to find you and was assassinated by an acolyte of the Lord of Shadows in his pursuit of you.”
You must have questions?” Kin aked
“Yes. I was told this is the Sharp Thorn of the Order of White Rose. What is that?” asked Kira.
“There are four branches of the Order. First is the root that consists of the Artisans who make the weapons and farmers who provide food and supplies, like a root who gathers nutrients from the soil.
Next is the Stem or the soldiers who fight on the front lines. The stem is the strongest part of the rose.
“The next one is the Sharp Thorn we who work behind the scenes, including spies and assassins. Like a thorn on the rose, you won’t know you got pierced until after putting your hand on the stem.”
“Finally the Masters branch known as the Commanding Petals which situated on top of the flower commanding the rest,” explained Kin
“So why did you want to meet with me?” asked Kira. “It’s more then me being your sister
Kin looked at Kira. “Simple. We need your help in stopping the Lord of Shadows. This monster must be defeated."
“I don’t know how I can help. I can give you information but he and his generals are much stronger than I am,” said Kira.
“True, they are now but we will train you to fight like us so you can help on the battlefield,” said Kin.
Kira looked up and nodded.
“Rashid, can you take Kira to her tent?” asked Kin.
“Yes. Right this way, Kira.” He escorted her out of the commander’s tent.
The Lord of Shadows Rises Page 9