Awakening
Page 91
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Alza sat there for at least an hour, trying to regain her composure. Her breaths were shallow and quick, as her body tried to get ever increasing amounts of oxygen into her body to speed up her recuperation. Eventually, she felt a portion of her strength return to her legs, allowing her to stand once more. She soon reached the top of the next dune. Searching with tired eyes for her destination, she found it. It lay where it always had, its leafy embrace a welcoming sight.
She took a step towards it, before stopping dead in her tracks. Another figure stood in her way, standing coolly unperturbed on the opposite dune. For a moment, she thought that the red-haired man had returned, and her blood froze. But this new obstacle wore a white podsuit with golden accents. His spiked, white hair was a mirror image of her own, but the malicious aura he gave off set them apart. His eyes were closed, as if he had suddenly decided to take a nap whilst still standing.
And then, he spoke, and everything fell apart, “You are the failure. You are the reject. Broken toys need to be destroyed. That's what He said... and His word is law!”
With a speed that defied logic, the figure moved towards Alza, somehow finding her location through closed eyes. She tried to evade, but her earlier escapades had robbed her of the necessary strength to do so. He landed before her, hands instantly gripping her neck. It was at that moment that he chose to raise his lids, revealing a pair of crimson eyes. They glowed from within, as if they were merely a portal to a burning netherworld. His grip tightened, choking her of air and rational thought. The snake might as well have been made out of string when compared to the strength in his hands.
“Resistance is unacceptable. Accept your flawed fate!”
Alza felt her feet leave the ground but could do nothing to stop it. She felt like a rag doll in his powerful grip.
She retreated, not physically, but to the deepest recesses of her mind. She hoped to coax her power out from its hiding spot. It was her only advantage. It refused to budge, however, as if it shared her hopeless viewpoint. Suddenly, she felt another mind enter her own, forcing its way through her brittle defences.
It was hostile, originating from the young man who even now had her at his mercy. His mind probed deeper, ripping apart her memories in an attempt to reach her cowering form. In a startling revelation, she realised that the same power that dwelt within her existed within him, though he appeared to have much greater control over it.
He used it to augment his mental attack, as he ripped through a memory of her first meeting with Ion. The memory unravelled and shattered at the same time, its countless shards dispersing into the darkness that was her mind. She cried out in pain, both from the destruction of her memory and from his tightening grip on her physical self. It was a strange experience, to feel pain from both the body and mind at the exact same time, and Alza had no desire to feel it again.
The probe drew closer, the only thing standing between it and her being Alza's memory of meeting Barsch. It had taken on the appearance of a bluish-green sphere, its contents playing a looped version of the memory. Although the image was blurred, Alza could still make out her own solitary figure, standing stock-still in the unfamiliar glade before encountering the earnest looking youth as he wandered in, full of worry and doubt.
The probe reached out with a crimson tentacle, striking the sphere with brutal force. A large crack spread from the area of impact, almost fully encircling the memory. One more blow would shatter it, erasing the moment from Alza's mind forever. Stubbornly, Alza said, “No, you can't have it!”
At that moment, the power sleeping within chose to awaken, its violet light filling her mind. The probe recoiled from the luminescence, as if it was being burned. It fled from her, chased by the raging light. Suddenly, the presence disappeared, as if it had never been. Alza opened her eyes, expecting to see the crimson-eyed stranger before her. But he was nowhere to be found, with no mark nor footprint that suggested he had ever been there in the first place.
“Ion once again. That's one powerful enemy after another. Is she trying to kill me? No, even I know that that’s not true. But… I could feel it, the red-haired man and the crimson-eyed boy had been holding back their true strength. They could have killed me easily enough, even if they were illusions. I hope that I never meet the things that Ion based them on…”
Alza turned, searching for the tell-tale blue cloak. There, Ion stood, hair whipping back and forth in the breeze. Once more, she left as soon as she was spotted, but not before changing her earlier statement to “Two.” And with that she was gone, leaving Alza with more questions than answers. She felt the raised ring of skin around her neck, reminiscent of her earlier serpentine encounter.
“Almost strangled to death twice in one day, what are the chances?”
The weariness from before had returned, stronger than ever. The pain from her neck and stomach seemed to combine, filling her with unease. She knew that progress would be impossible unless something was done, so, before her power drained away once more, she mentally rounded it up and redirected it to her aching legs, giving them much-needed support. Immediately, she felt her strength begin to drain, as the prolonged use of her power began to take its toll. However, with her reinforced ligaments, she was able to speed up her pace, allowing her to cover immense stretches of rough ground with seemingly little effort.