by Aaron Oster
However, conviction could only take him so far, and Koya collapsed, not ten feet from the exit. He could feel blood pumping from various wounds and the shattered bones grated as he hit the ground. He knew he was dying, yet still, he tried to keep going. It was pointless, and after just a few moments of effort, he collapsed onto his face in a growing puddle of his own blood.
“My, my. What have we here?”
A voice sounded from above him, and Koya forced his head up, staring at the blurry and indistinct form blurring in and out of focus. He tried to speak, tried to move, but found himself unable to.
“Not to worry, my young friend. I am not your enemy. Once, I was where you are. Burning for vengeance and on the brink of death. Then, a stranger made me an offer, and I accepted. So, tell me, would you like to join me?”
A hand entered Koya’s field of vision, and on it rested a gleaming Pill. Koya couldn’t be sure what it was but he had a feeling that it would make all his problems go away.
His hand moved in a blur, slapping the proffered hand away.
“Get lost!” he growled. “I’ve been one man’s slave. I’d rather die than do it again!”
And he meant it. He’d spent months being tormented by the Beast clan, and he was not going to take another man’s favor and end up in the same situation. Instead of reacting with anger, as he’d expected, the stranger merely laughed.
“We are not savages like those in The Crater. We do not take slaves. Our master believes in finding those with talent and offering them a place among our ranks. If you join us, you will have access to all the resources we have available, as well as a place to call home. You will not be mistreated but rather treated as part of our family.”
The Pill was offered once again, and though Koya wanted to slap it away, he could feel the truth in the man’s words. He was injecting his Essence into every single one and if he lied, his own Core would destroy him.
“And if that isn’t enough of an incentive,” the man continued. “We will also help you get revenge on those who have wronged you.”
Koya’s hand flashed out once again, but this time, he took the proffered Pill and popped it into his mouth. His vision began to clear immediately as power flooded through his body. He could tell it would take a few hours for his body to be fully restored, but his mind seemed to be sharp and focused once again.
Now that he could see, he was able to look up and meet the man’s gaze. He was a 3rd Dan Blue-Belt, which he had learned was the one that came after Green. This man could destroy the entire Shah clan without so much as blinking. And, in The Crater, he would be considered quite powerful, especially seeing as he appeared to be so young.
“Who are you?” Koya asked, looking up at the man, his eyes burning with the fire they once held.
Now that he was no longer on the brink of death, the hatred that had permeated every waking moment of his life had been rekindled. If anything, it burned even hotter now than it had before. The man smiled, hooking his thumbs into his Belt and leaning forward a bit.
“Why, I’m your new big brother. You can call me Kaido.”
***
Kai stepped from his trial, feeling all the injuries he’d accrued wiped away in an instant. It had been so long since he’d faced an actual challenge that he’d almost forgotten what it had felt like. He’d known the trial would be tough, all of them were, but he simply hadn’t been prepared for the sheer amount of effort it had taken him. He hated exerting himself in any way, which was why he lived out in the middle of nowhere.
“Didn’t think you were going to make it there for a minute,” his ever-present guest said.
“Yeah, well, I did, and it’s over.”
“I don’t understand why you’re so grouchy. An advancement like this would put you on par with the most powerful in the Chikurin Empire.”
“I doubt it,” he said with a sigh.
“Oh, come on. You were plenty strong when you left, and I doubt anyone could have grown much stronger in the time you’ve been away.”
“Yeah? Well, think again. The leaders of the Seven Great Clans would be constantly training to gain even an ounce of power over the other. Meaning that they would constantly have to be growing. Little Geki has probably already reached the ranks of Sages, and Ikari has probably become a Sovereign. She would have to if she wanted to continue leading the clan.”
“And you’re telling me that you can’t reach that rank by the time we arrive?” the Core asked skeptically. “You’re already practically there. All you need is a single Dan more. You’ve pretty much mastered Reiki, so that’s all you have left. And after pushing off an advancement for so many years, you could likely push for it right now!”
“Yeah, maybe,” he admitted.
In all honesty, he really didn’t want to. He’d never wanted to advance past Brown-Belt. He was already extremely long-lived, but with his advancement to Gray-Belt, he would no longer die of natural causes. That, more than anything, was why he’d put it off for so long. He’d been hoping that he would fall to the ravages of time. At Brown-Belt, one’s lifespan moved into many thousands of years. Though it had been a long shot, it had still been of some small comfort that he was still mortal and not immune to the ravages of time.
Now that he’d gone through the trial and achieved his Immortal Body, that was out of the question. He could still die of unnatural causes, like being killed. True immortality would only come by the next major advancement, one that had never been achieved by someone on Buryoku in their entire history.
“Finally!”
Kai was snapped from his thoughts by the annoying young girl, who was standing before him with a wide grin on her face.
“You owe us a whole lot of answers, Hermit, and we won’t be budging from here until we get them!”
Kai started, looking between her and the boy who’d been bothering him for over a month now.
“Hermit?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“Oh, right,” the girl replied, her cheeks taking on a rosy tinge. “It’s what Roy called you in his head since he didn’t know your name. Should we call you something else?”
Kai opened his mouth to give them his real name, when he stopped. Why give them his real name? He’d hated that name for years as it no longer suited him and had desperately wished to change it. Something resonated within him then, and his Core pulsed a single time, dispersing the red haze from around itself, leaving it shining a brilliant silvery-orange once again.
For the first time in centuries, Kai felt a smile creeping onto his lips. It seemed that his curse had finally been lifted, the blood of all those he had killed fleeing along with his old identity. No longer would he be Itachi Hakai, the Sage of Ruin, but Hermit, the man who had atoned for his sins and was now returning to honor his ideal.
“You know what?” he said, his back straightening as a little life seemed to flow back into him. “I think Hermit is just fine.”
***
Doragon walked purposefully down the long corridor, his soft shoes still sending echoes bouncing off the vast walls and tall ceiling. He had been summoned back from The Crater unexpectedly by his master’s aide. They had a new mission for him, and it was one he was eager to begin. The responsibility of finding lost souls had been passed onto Kaido, his payment for being inducted into the clan.
He would continue on this quest until the master deemed him worthy and gave him a new assignment. At first, Kaido hadn’t been too happy about it, but seeing as the Beast King had been killed and his clan avenged, he did as he was told. He still wanted to see everyone in The Crater perish for perceived wrongs against his clan, but that would have to wait.
Doragon had his own revenge to dish out, but he had the one he wanted to kill securely locked up and dangling from his waist. Irusaru’s real body was being kept by the clan, stored away in a safe location until the day when he had enough personal strength to kill him. Then, he would set his spirit free and butcher the old man.
He came to
a halt at the end of the corridor, facing a set of massive double doors. He did not need to knock. The master would know he was here and would open the doors when he deemed fit. He could be stuck waiting out here for days or even weeks. When the master called, one came as fast as they were able, but the Master could keep them waiting for as long as he saw fit.
The doors creaked open, a sliver of light splitting them down the middle and growing wider as they swung inward. It seemed that the Master was ready for them now.
Doragon entered the room, then dropped immediately to his hands and knees, pressing his forehead to the floor.
“This humble servant greets the Sovereign.”
He felt no shame in what he was doing. This was simply how one greeted someone of the Master’s power if they did not wish to be obliterated.
“You may rise, Doragon.”
The Sovereign’s voice echoed throughout the chamber, shaking him down to his very Core. Doragon rose immediately, keeping his gaze averted and not daring to so much as look in his direction.
“You may look upon me, for what I have to say is of the utmost importance.”
Doragon hesitated, just for a moment, before moving his gaze to the throne occupying the center of the room. A man sat there, his back rigid and his face inscrutable. He was the most perfect being Doragon had ever seen. His face was smooth and ageless, his body perfectly proportioned, and every aspect of his being portraying power and dignity in equal measure.
He felt his heart speed up, and a flush crept into his cheeks despite himself. He’d heard rumors that the master had this effect on everyone, both men and women alike, no matter their preferences. And though he’d scoffed at them in the past, he could now understand why. The being before him was not a mere man. He was a god.
“You have called, Master, and I have answered. How can your humble servant be of service?”
“I have had a vision,” the master said, his smooth voice echoing through the hall. “Though I had thought him dead, lost to savages along with my dear wife, my son, Leroy, still lives.”
His entire body blazed with power, his eyes so intense that Doragon felt he was boring into his very soul.
“Find him. Bring him to me!”
Afterword
What’s up, Super-People?! Thanks for reading yet another of my books! Seems like you’ve somehow advanced to Orange-Belt. Don’t ask me how. Books have magic powers that neither you nor I could possibly understand.
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Series by Aaron Oster
Rise to Omniscience
Supermage: Book One
Starbreak: Book Two
Skyflare: Book Three
Solarspire: Book Four
Stormforge: Book Five Coming April 2020
Buryoku
Power: Book One
Light: Book 2
Book 3 coming Spring 2020
The Rules
Somerset: Book One
Book 2 TBA (I promise!)
Land of the Elementals
Rampage: Book One
Book 2 coming February/March 2020
Animal Kingdom
Riot: Book One
Book 2 TBA