Harmonizer's Evolution (Balancer's Soul cycle)

by Lee Morgan

  “Then we’d better steer clear of the trail and find a safe way to find out where they keep heading.”

  They then entered even deeper into the trees while maintaining stealth.

  A few minutes later Connor spotted something different and grabbed Mark’s wing. He didn’t say anything, but went rigid and came to an abrupt halt. He slowly turned his head and looked to his best friend. Connor crossed his finger over his lips and he followed where his other hand pointed. He understood and went even quieter. Connor took the lead this time and Mark had his back. No leaves or sticks were ruffled or snapped as they approached. They were extra careful to not be seen nor heard.

  They finally hunkered down when they saw what they were looking for.

  In the distance lay the slopes of the volcano and a black trail leading up to it. Towards the base of the slopes and vegetation covered volcano, were two burning torches. Below the torches stood a steel door that looked to be well worn. Then below the torches stood two Keepers, but they weren’t like any Keeper they’ve ever previously seen before.

  These Keepers looked strange, unnatural. The male on the left had what looked like a tumor or growth that had completely made his right eye be permanently shut. Also his legs were showing similar tumors, but smaller. The female on the right had smaller arms than usual and a tail that looked withered and diseased.

  Knowing that speaking aloud could give away their location, Connor used telepathy with Mark because it doesn’t use enough energy to be traced. “Mark, are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

  He quickly came to the conclusion that telepathy couldn’t be sensed as he replied. “Sure do. Why do they look so…deformed?”

  “This is exactly why Keepers have a bloodline chart. Those two over there are a genetic mutation that has been caused by inbreeding. They have mutated to the point where they are physically deformed. We can also expect that they aren’t very smart. There are studies and proof of what occurs when inbreeding happens. But there is still a problem.” Mark looked back at him with a blank expression. “These powers that we have are used by instinct. They might be physical abominations because of their parent’s deeds, but they might still be formidable opponents. They might even be able to fight without feeling pain like you or I do. We do need to get in there,” He pointed to the gate. “but to do so, we will have to cut our way in. That means we will need to take them out simultaneously before they can raise an alarm or fight back.”

  He returned his silver eyes back to the next objective. “That works for me, but we should stay here and scope things out until tomorrow night.”

  “Good thinking. Sorono must be starving and we will need to collect some fresh food. If he was well fed, he would have gotten himself free by now. And no, I’m not even planning on using those slaughtered people as food. After this is over I’ll give them a proper burial or at least give them some kind of respect. I’d do it immediately, but we need to worry about the living right now.” Mark understood with a simple nod.

  A while later, when the sun came up and Mark and Connor watched as the two Keepers changed shifts. This time there was only one guard who took their place, but he looked relatively normal except that his claws were short and jagged. Mark said “It seems like the fourth Keeper is watching over our dear friend.”

  Where they stayed last night remained safe because of the distance and for the cover it offered. They later moved throughout the island and gathered all of the fruits they could and ate only what they would need for what would happen tonight. Soon their hidden location was filled with food. They didn’t dare open any incase the smell would drift to the still stationed Keeper, so they ate elsewhere. Unfortunately the lone gate is the only entrance they could find into the volcano after an extensive search.

  Once it became night again they changed shifts. This time the male with the growth over his eye was accompanied by someone new. This Keeper had a pristine figure. Why are you here? Then Connor looked into the male keeper’s black eyes and a choke caught in his throat.

  Mark tapped his shoulder and then his temple. “Connor, you look like something’s wrong.”

  His focus returned to the black eyed Keeper. “There is. See that normal looking Keeper?” Mark looked appraisingly and then turned back to Connor. “He is even older than Sorono. Just looking into his eyes, he is sixty six to sixty seven million years old!”

  Mark’s brow drew together. “Isn’t Sorono supposed to be the eldest of the immortals? If so, where did that ancient Keeper come from?”

  “I’m afraid it’s even worse than that. He is an Original. That means he is the direct child of either Ragke or Afleen.” Mark’s eyes widened. “I’m glad you suggested we wait or else this guy would have been a detrimental surprise. If we are to do this, then tonight is the night. I’ll take out the Original because he will be an opponent only I should deal with. You will need to remove his backup.”

  Mark swallowed thickly. “Alright, I’m with you all the way. I’m glad you showed me how to stain my bone sword black with the volcanic soil or else the white blade would be a brilliant beacon. I’ll leave the old one to you. We’ll split up and come at them from the sides. This rock will serve as a distraction, when I throw it, wait five second to strike.” Mark picked up a softball sized jagged rock.

  “Good hunting, Bud.”

  He grinned and they pushed their fists together.

  They separated from the covering and luckily the sky was cloudy so Connor blended in the shadows more easily. His gaze didn’t stray from the opponents and they were both completely unaware of his movement. Connor crossed to the right and then circled around them. Not a single sound came from him, even after arriving at an appropriate position. He dropped into the high grass for more cover and waited.

  Not thirty yards away stood the two giant reptiles.

  Mark also reached an ideal position because his silver eyes were locked on Connor’s. He too hid at the same distance away from his target. He lifted up his black bone sword and Connor lifted Tool. They were showing each other that it was time.

  His mind began racing which made everything seem slower. What seemed like hours to him was in fact just a handful of seconds.

  Mark lifted himself from the grass without making a single sound. His black wolf form was perfect for this mission and his fur had already fused into armor. With the jagged volcanic rock in his right hand, he threw it easily. It sailed and arched through the air and it landed fifty yards in front of the two guarding Keepers. The sound of the distraction sounded almost like an explosion because of the silence. The crashing echoed off the trees and the wall to their back.

  One.

  Both Keepers heard it and were instantly on alert. The deformed keeper looked to his elder and they began grunting and hissing while they both looked forward.

  Two.

  The younger, deformed keeper dropped on all fours while the older one moved in behind to protect his backside.

  Three.

  Mark watched all this and Connor witnessed his shoulder muscles bunching.

  Four.

  Connor stood silently and took a running position, flipping Tool to its sledgehammer side.

  FIVE!

  Connor released the tension in his legs and was instantly propelled forward. He ran without sound and jumped. In less than a second, the thirty yards were crossed and he made a perfect jumping trajectory. His grip tightened on Tool while his right arm swung back and his strength was finally unrestrained.

  The ancient Original didn’t react in enough time to defend himself as Connor brought his right arm around. As Tool connected with the side of the Keeper’s skull, it didn’t stop. The sledge hammer side went through the skull like it wasn’t even there. The skull seemed to explode as Tool exited the other side of its opponent. There was no coming back after that kind of hit.

  After Tool cleared its opponent, his jump had already reached its peak. Connor landed over fifty feet away. He then spun around to see that there we
re only the two Keepers, but they were motionless. Almost as one, Connor’s opponent fell lifelessly in his direction and Mark’s Keeper fell flatly on its gut, but not before its deformed head dropped from being severed and it fell to the ground and rolled.

  Connor ran back to the kills a second later and Mark stood on the other side of his kill. He grabbed the long left arm of his kill and threw it into the shadows. He also threw Mark’s Keeper, but Mark picked up the head and threw it away himself. They had to remove the evidence in case someone shows up unannounced.

  Neither of them were short of breath. Mark slowly and silently trotted up to him. Since they couldn’t speak, they were still linked. He said “That was perfect and efficient. Neither of them were ready for us.” He looked at his blood dripping sword. It remained in pristine condition. “I cannot believe that Kara’s bone was that sharp. It went straight through the entire neck, bone and all, like it was nothing. Remind me later to tell her thanks.”

  “Will do, Bud, but get your head back to the matter on hand.”

  He did and they kept their weapons drawn. While they headed towards the door Connor checked Tool for any signs of damage. There wasn’t any change except for the blood and a few tiny specks of brain matter that clung to its surface. The old Tool wouldn’t have been as useful and it would have been destroyed from the force exerted. Now the weapon is truly perfect after finally being put to the ultimate test. It had been baptized in blood.

  He made a quick swing and flung off much of the gore that clung to Tool’s body. They couldn’t afford to leave a blood trail that someone could pick up and follow if they made a mistake. He heard a short whistle behind him and Mark was also using a centrifugal force to clean his blade too.

  They then made their way to the door. Connor pressed his ear to it and there came a faint humming from several feet away and even more further from it. The sound seemed to echo. He met Mark’s eyes. “I don’t hear or sense anyone, but there is a faint hum close by. I expect there to be lights and they sound like they are in a tunnel. Sound’s easily echo in there, so we need to be even quieter.”

  Connor grabbed the side of the metal door and opened it outward, ever so slowly. It was needed because the hinges needed to be oiled. If it opened quickly they would be alerting the enemy. Once it silently opened to a crack he took a peek. Inside it was a hallway, but a lava tube would be a closer description. Stapled to the roof were florescent lights that were separated about every thirty feet or so. The walls were volcanic black and the tunnel lay over two hundred feet long and held no places for them to safely hide behind.

  Mark listened to the problem and stated “We’ll move quickly down the stretch and stop at the corner. Go ahead and open the door wide enough for us to fit through.”

  The door had opened wide enough, after two minutes of slow moving, they managed to squeeze through the crack.

  Once inside they moved along the left side of the wall and silently managed to make it to the end. Once there they came upon an intersection. To the right laid a short hall that led to a dead end, but there a large metal door stood at the end. To the left was a stairwell that went down deeper into the volcano.

  Mark made the decision to check the dead end first. They hurriedly made it to the door. Connor pulled on the door and saw that it shielded a large sleeping chamber. He counted, within seconds, over three hundred Keeper sized cots. They were packed closely together and all of them were unused, except for one. The female Keeper with the short arms lay fast asleep in a cot, that was close to the door. She slept on her side with her back to the door. There were four lights on in the room, but their ambiance gave off only enough light to navigate safely, but for Mark and himself it is more than adequate lighting.

  Mark looked in and said “Connor, wait here. I’ll take care of this.”

  This door wasn’t as loud as the others, but the tunnel’s light was brilliant. He quickly entered the room and walked stealthily up to the cot. Luckily all of the cots were close to the ground so he didn’t need to climb. Mark grabbed his sword with both hands and with one perfect stroke, beheaded the Keeper. Not a sound escaped, nor did she twitch. Connor then watched Mark do something strange and quickly. He opened her jaws and brought his nose close to the opening. He sniffed the face of his kill before returning to the hallway.

  “Mark, what did you smell her for?” He asked while closing the door behind him.

  He didn’t meet Connor’s eyes as they walked towards the stairs. “I had to make sure of something. I smelled her mouth to see if they were actually eating humans. I wish I could say that they weren’t… What? You’re not going say it was cowardly that I killed someone in their sleep?” His eyes were wide confusion.

  “Not at all, Buddy. It was the right call and our only solution. We wouldn’t want her waking up and catching us off guard just because we didn’t have the stomach to do what needed to be done. We are in a battle situation right now, of that there isn’t any doubt. Sometimes you must take out your enemies, however you can. Plus for what they did to those poor people, they are getting off easy. We can discuss ethics some other time.”

  Mark and Connor went mentally silent as they reached the enormous stairs. They were dimly lit as they made their way lower and lower. They stepped off on the first exit and searched every corridor to find nothing, but a large kitchen and an empty room, but Connor did spot a sharp steel tooth, but it was hollow. It was like a tooth could be inserted to make their teeth a more dangerous weapon.

  On the next level they found what looked like a large assembly hall with a single podium at the end. Everything remained empty and silent.

  As they made it to the third level, they noticed that this was the end. The descending stairs stopped here. Mark allowed Connor to take the lead down another long corridor, but it was only over a hundred feet. Things were still extremely quiet as they found themselves at the end of the maze. Connor carefully peered around the left side and saw nothing, but a large fan that wasn’t on. Then as he peered around the right he froze. A second later Mark pulled him back. His eyes were asking a silent question.

  “Mark, down that hall is the other Keeper we saw during the day. He’s sitting in a large metal chair about three hundred feet to our right. Plus he is alert and staring straight down this tunnel. How can we get him to come to us?”

  His best friend grew quiet for a minute and then he looked up at him. “We can throw a rock at that metal fan.” Since they were right up against the wall Mark used his clawed hand to quietly rip a small chunk from the wall itself.

  His wolfish form moved closer towards the fan, while remaining hidden. He swung his arm back and threw the rock. It hit one of the fan blades and a metallic twang sounded through the tunnels. Mark ran back as the sounds echoed. They both knew that the sound was a little too much for a distraction.

  They stopped breathing as they heard the metallic twanging finally become silent. Then they heard the sound of metal grating against the stone floor. They knew the Keeper was standing, even without looking. But they didn’t hear footsteps coming in their direction. A few seconds later all the hairs on the back of Connor’s neck went straight up. He felt the sensation of someone trying to enter his mind, but he didn’t let him in. Unfortunately Mark didn’t have a mental defense like himself. Then he felt the Keeper gathering energy.

  Connor didn’t have time to mentally speak. “Mark! After him!”

  As Connor blasted around the corner he witnessed the disappearance of a black tail moving down another corridor. His instinct were warning him that the guard fled to kill Sorono. He forced a torrent of energy down his legs and began flying. Then a slight pressure wrapped around his ankle, but he forced more energy through his feet. He rocketed down the tunnel in less than a second. Knowing that a sharp turn lay up ahead he reached out his left hand and doubled the energy through it to make himself turn, altering his flight of strong momentum. There was just enough room and time for one last ditch effort.

  Sand
and rock blew from the Pressure that came from his arm. It was all or nothing. He barely managed the turn, but something crashed behind him as he redoubled the flight speed. Not one hundred feet away ran the Keeper with gnarled claws, running on all fours. Connor closed the distance in a half second. As the guard reared up to pull the door open Connor crashed into him like a cannonball. Almost at the same time, the strange pressure on his ankle vanished.

  The Keeper and Connor tumbled into a room together. They both rolled on the flat ground and sprung up to their feet simultaneously, but they were now facing one another. His energy was still gathered as they managed to stand concurrently. The Keeper reached out his arm and extended his jagged claws, over Connor’s smaller body. He found himself a half-step too far to be able to stop the guard, even with his speed. Connor launched himself at the creature anyway. This was a last ditch effort on both of their parts.

  Green flame started igniting from his gnarled claws. Just when Connor thought the worst would happen, it didn’t.

  Mark showed up in the nick of time. He opened up his enormous muzzle and sunk his teeth onto the Keeper’s large right shoulder, while stabbing with his bone sword through the shoulder bone. Mark was still moving fast as his powerful jaws latched onto his prey, with his tremendous bite force. Because of Mark’s momentum and weight, he diverted the flames away from its target without a single moment to spare.

  The second level of Fire diverted to Connor’s right and the Keeper’s left. The green flames shot forth from the claws and began lapping the corner of the room with extreme heat. Now Connor was free and clear to deliver a final attack.

  His leap at the now kneeling Keeper brought him within striking range and Connor sliced his throat with Tool’s axe side. It wasn’t enough to take off his head, but the move wasn’t finished. With his left hand, he grabbed the upper jaw of the grotesque creature and his momentum was too powerful to be stopped. As Connor moved he wrenched his arm forward and snapped the reptile’s neck all the way back. The deep axe cut, plus the snap, killed the creature instantly.