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Swiftant: Seven Sins
"Swift, if you have anything to say, now is your chance...."
I turn to Suzette. "Su, I don't specialize in summons and dividing my power, as Tatsu is," I start. "But within me, Yogensha has helped me discover my inner dimensions. You were there when I woke up from the ordeal." She nods. "I can now free and manipulate seven aspects of myself. I want Tatsu to understand this as well. I've been through so much in life that my body doesn't know how to react anymore; my lifestyle has always been some underlying form of defense mechanism, except... It's been reconfigured to become a literal warfare system." "Is that what you used in our skirmish earlier?" Tatsu shrewdly asks. "Perceptive, Tatsu. You had a face-off with Fiery, one of my seven dimensions. I've named this warfare system, Seven Sins. I guess you could call them split personalities, or rather, split characters. We're all part of the same personality - Swiftant, but we exist for different functions and situations. Because my characteristics vary drastically to suit those functions, I'm split. Nonetheless, we only pursue the same goal... ... Freedom." "It's strange for me to refer to myself as 'we', isn't it?" I sigh. "Nah-uh." Suzette shakes her head. "It's totally understandable. All of us were born with a reservoir of feelings. You're you because of what you've been through. Your reservoir has so many features that wouldn't have been if they didn't happen. I think you're refreshing and beautiful, Guntros." I blink. "H-how did you find out my real name?" I ask. "We're together, you'd think I'd know by now." She winks. "Swiftant is a reservoir born from Guntros; the present you that I'm in love with." I lean over and kiss her, just as how I remember Aisha had done. "Come forth, Kamikaze," I whisper into the wind. At once I feel my body clenching in profound, bottomless depression. I can't tell up from down. It doesn't matter if I die, I can't die anyway; no one cares if I'm hurt, only I care about demolishing my enemies. Then I'll resurrect, and no one shall stand in my way. "Urghh... Kamikaze, dissimilate..!" I rasp. A clone of me stands in our midst. He's semi-transparent, a being one could see through, but undeniably there. The frequency of his existence, the wavelength of his particles seem ethereal; an astral apparition of Swiftant glares at us. "You guys... should have seen... this," I pant, still stressed out by the extremity of my other self." "So, that wasn't just my imagination or blurred vision." Tatsu rubs his eyes before perusing Kamikaze. "Well, I thought it was a reflection in the window pane, or an afterimage of your high speed, at best," Suzette says, unable to maintain her poker face. "He's a different dimension than the other one. Meet Kamikaze," I introduce. "But Swift, you had a really unusual facial expression before Kamikaze appeared, as if you were in great pain or something," Suzette worriedly says. "Yes, this aspect has suicidal tendencies," I clarify, though after seeing Tatsu's and Suzette's face, I add, "But he is almost immortal, he can't die unless I command him to. That's the main reason why I'm having him escort Su. The chance that he will sustain a fight, in any event, is a hundred percent." "Wait a minute, wouldn't it be rather pointless if Kamikaze attempts suicide or tries to take down anyone indiscriminately?" Tatsu asks. "Don't worry, he can't do anything without my orders. Like I said, he's a third eye to me. For the most part, he'll just be a mindless companion. But if I see any threat, I can unleash his willpower from wherever I am. He will attack the entity that poses the most danger. As for his tendencies, he might be a little bit different, but in essence, he's still me, so he'll listen to you, as well, Su." I close my eyes and telepathize my plans to Kamikaze's now submissive body. "There you go, he's all yours now." Kamikaze mounts Flearin and stretches his hand out to Suzette. She accepts it and with a skip, settles herself on the saddle, in front of Kamikaze. "Treat him as you'd treat me, Su. Somehow I'll always be by your side, watching over. Cherish him and soothe his wail for him, and for me, please." Suzette lowers her head and our lips meet again, soon to part. "If loving him is loving you, then for now, I'll love him more than anything else in the world." "And he'll love you, too, in my place... So, don't die before I win that place back." I can hear the soldiers' coarse, contemptuous shouts behind. That heavy, controlled marching is unmistakable. They're fast approaching. "Alright, Swift, time to send her away," Tatsu says. "Giddy up," I say, my eyes refusing to let her go. "Be off, Flearin," Tatsu commands. And the mythical summon, carrying Suzette and Kamikaze, gallops off into Aegis... I see Suzette's cherubic face, hair, body and hand almost splaying backward, then, in a single warped ripple, they vanish into the horizon. "Hey Tat," I suddenly say. "What?" "I can't let Aisha... I can't let Mother live in a corrupted, pretentious, dung-infested town like this. They're after us. They live by dragon laws. One way or another, we will make this a one-sided battle and crush them!" I smile, from ear to ear. Blood escapes from my mouth and I stop biting my tongue. My bottom jaw is drenched with blood, perhaps I needed an appetizer for this. "Since when, Swift?" Tatsu inquires, almost too stoically and knowingly, as we whirl around to preview the city's raving military - rake and torch-wielding villagers, warriors, mages, assassins and all. "Since you asked if I had anything to say. I had to grit my teeth in-between talking, but my tongue kept getting in the way." Red spews everywhere in my vision; the houses and sky and ground are bleeding. I will judge Shinkirou, now! |
Tatsu : On the Edge
“I will judge Shinkirou now!” Swift pulsing with hate, shakes the earth with his malice. Head lowered, chin pushed forward. His eyes bore a death glare so intense, it made half of the militia before us flinch. His brow crinkled into itself. Slowly and meticulously he moved one foot forward, as to beckon anyone to even try and make any sudden moves.. Shoulders raised, and tensed. His fingers were outstretched and curled. Blood dripped from his chin, and onto his boot. In sort, Swift looked like a lunatic. Wide eyed, and red, he was possessed “by an aspect of himself” or so he eloquently put it... He said he could free and manipulate these aspects. What if they can in turn manipulate him as well? Suzette said something that Swiftant was also an aspect, of a whole being known as Guntros. All of this was so confusing, but from what I was guessing now, Swiftant wants to destroy the city, or his vengeance was taking over.
“Tatsu.” Swift spoke out, over my thoughts. “Stand there and watch. This is my vengeance it has naught to do with you....” His hand, quivering and shaking with excitement, reaches down and frees an eager Zeus from it's holster. “Zeus and I will show these worms what it means to have self-respect.” “Swiftant.” I speak out calmly and plainly. “These people...These villagers have nothing to do with this. They aren't soldiers of the Dragons.” “No, just pawns.” Swift cuts over me. “They aren't innocent. Everyone in this town is in service to the Dragons. The poor work in the fields to harvest for the dragons, they mine for jewels for Shakura, everything. They live in such ignorance, that they haven't the slightest inkling that their life is in service to the Dragons. I shall free them from their ignorance.” Before I am able to speak against this I hear him mutter “Lightfoot.” With that he launches himself from the ground and into the air. In mid-air he shouts out “Annihilation!” Violently, he swings Zeus down onto the heads of the villages, a trail of red light zips down from Zeus and Swift. With but a stroke, Zeus is drenched in blood and numerous villagers are dead. Cracking of bone, splitting of marrow. Bodies fall like dolls, he intends to spare none. The warriors and mages who couldn't keep up, turn to try and find Swiftant. He's too fast for them. He's moving too quickly for them to even see. This isn't a battle. It's slaughter. His words pierced me. “They are servants of the dragons.” What made him think this? Did he find this out from Aisha? He must have because suddenly he has become keen on aiding her. He'll kill for her. Is this because of Suzette? His love is moving him to kill off an entire city... But who am I to justify otherwise? If it was for Shima, Nozomi, I would probably commit the same act. That is why I must not be too concerned with trying to stop him. I think I was more entranced by his sudden character change. I watched as he hacked limbs off of the warriors. The mages feebly trying to muster the energy to cast a spell in the skirmish. Yogensha. I speak out in my mind. I know you can hear me. What have you done to Swiftant? This ability you have given him. This power. It is a double-edged sword. While his power has increased exponentially, he is more prone to be subjected to influence. You having awoken the other aspects of his soul. For he himself created Swiftant from Guntros. You dangle in front of him his other sides. Make him aware of them. In thus, making them also aware of him. After but a moment of silence Yogensha speaks out to me. “Ohh. I see you have managed to figure it out just after him explaining such a small detail to you? You are quite the genius, Tatsu, and I don't mean that facetiously. Yes it is true. This is a stage that Swiftant, no Guntros must overcome on his own. Even now he continues to be tested. By himself, and by his will... Six other sides of himself. Anger, coldness, cunning, evil, revenge, and self-reproach. Known as Fiery; Frost; Venom; Shadow; Vengeance; Kamikaze. This now is Vengeance. Brutal and malevolent. As you can see all these aspects are negative. Swiftant, is the first aspect, the only one who can demonstrate kindness and love. Alone he is easily overcome by the other six. If he doesn't create the power needed to keep them at bay, then they will engulf and destroy him... You can save Swiftant though. You possesses the tenacity to stop them, and in doing so empowering him.” Before I knew it, Yogensha's voice was gone, as well as Swift-er, Vengeance rather. A large explosion rattled me. I quickly look up over the trees and see smoke and fire coming from the city. He's attacking Shinkirou head on... I must move now... |
Tatsu: A summoner's tale
The explosion rumbles through the grove. Smoke and flame shoot skyward,. “This is just what we needed...” I speak out sarcastically. “We were supposed to be heading out of here. Every second we dawdle, ever minute we lag behind, the Dragons move one step above us. We need to move onward. This is quite troublesome...” I glance about at Swift's latest victims. The manner in which their bodies were torn apart where animalistic ...
“Alright..” I whisper into the breeze. Pounding my fist into my palm, I stand idle, and concentrate on Swift's presence. I close my eyes, and envision his aura, I can clearly feel it's vibrant nature. I will myself, and use my time-space technique, to bring myself directly to Swift's side. Upon opening my eyes, I had expected to be standing somewhat near to wherever Swift would be currently located. But to my surprise, I was standing further away, back at the edge of the barrier, where we parted ways from Suzette. Whaa? I think stupefied. What happened to Swift's presence? Why did my tracking ability fail? Why was I transported back? Then it hit me like a ton of bricks... Swiftant's aura is gone. Taken over by this new embodiment. This being, this Vengeance, the one going on a war path was a completely different person. Swift has been gone, he left with Suzette. Her presence was keeping Vengeance in check. His growing rage had a veil placed carefully upon it by Suzette's pure and caring soul. Now that she was gone, this inner demon was able to break through the seams and escape. I couldn't feel the aura of Vengeance. Simply put, I don't think he had one. “This creature is not of this world.” Wait. I know this. A revelation had befallen me. This is preordained. Yogensha! I erupt in my mind. Your existence has become clear to me now! I know what you are. Any true summoner could see the signs! You, the million year old soul! Yogensha is silent. But I know all to well that he is there, and he is listening. The Tale, past down from summoner to summoner since this accursed world was formed. “The wandering seer who gives strength to the youthful, will pave the way for seven paths, seven elements of man. We will emerge from a million year sleep and set history in motion.” This was uttered by the first summoner on his deathbed. He made a contract with fate, and in doing so, was able to see into the distant future. I know who it was now.... It was you, Yogensha! The first summon! “Tatsu...” Yogensha finally speaks out from the void. “I never thought someone would grasp the absurd truths of the debacle of a dying man.” I stay silent, and continue to listen. “Yes. I was the first summoner. I summoned the Dragons from their world. They were not indigenous to this dimension. Through telepathy, and years of study, I made a contract with fate. I had more power than you could ever fathom. As you can see, a million years have past, even in death my power still far exceeds any Dragon. I felt that mankind needed an ally, someone to keep him in check, and make them even more righteous and amazing in the future. But the Dragons turned against us, and defied us. I have watched events unfold and transpire around the world. But I could watch no longer, to rid the world of the plague that I unleashed, I called upon the most brightest and talented youths in all of Etrirea. You, a summoner of like mind, was the most promising. But you died before I could make contact. I had to keep you alive to aid Swiftant. For I knew he was the incarnation of the seven elements of man....” Yogensha materializes himself within my mind. He looks exactly as he did when I saw him in Hell. An old shriveled up man, wrapped in heavy robes. “After making a contract with fate, I was tricked, I had no idea that after my death I would remain alive, in this purgatory, my existence gave way to the summons as you know them now. My soul was the link to other dimensions. As you know, beings such as Gana, Enu, Flearin, are from other dimensions, and we call them here through the power hold within. My actions caused this event, I linked the dimensions to ours, and set this all in motion. And now, that you know about me, now that you know I am a summon, we must make a contract.” Yogensha holds out his hand from under his robes. Each one of his fingers in decorated with brilliant rings. Each ring contains a jewel. Red, green, blue and yellow. The elements of the world. “What do you mean we have to make a contract?” I reel back, and step onto my heel. “I raised you from the dead Tatsu. I put my energies into you. I sowed your soul back to your world. You owe me far more than you could imagine.” Anger starts to grow in me. “You tricked me!” Yogensha sighs heavily. “You were the first. The first one to figure out my curse. In order for me to move on, I must make the first summoner who discovers me a summon.” This can't be. “What do you mean?! Make me a summon?!” Yogensha steps closer to me. But I can't move. I am trapped in place. “No contract Tatsu.... It is Fusion. When you die, you will become just like me, a wandering spirit, floating endlessly between the dimensions. When you die, you won't go to heaven or hell. You will merely exist, trapped until another sets you free, and in turn receives your role...This is the curse, the cost of playing with fate. You must suffer for my actions. It is the price we pay, the summoners, who follow the same bloodline.” I am at a loss for words...This can't be. I don't understand. Why did this have to happen. I stand within the void of my mind...alone...bound... |
"If loving him is loving you, then for now, I'll love him more than anything else in the world." My eyes locked dead into his. Wishing this moment wouldn't end. I wanted to just hold him and have him know that everything was going to be okay.
"And he'll love you, too, in my place... So, don't die before I win that place back." I could see in his eyes wanted to say more but Tatsu cut him off. "Alright, Swift, time to send her away," Tatsu says. "Giddy up," Swift say, his eyes refusing to let me go. I couldn't take my eyes off him either. I just wanted him to be with me where I knew he would be safe. But I knew in my heart that what was going on was right. Swift had to be with Tatsu. I had to go my own way and they had to go their own. This is why we had all come back together. This was the plan. I took Flearin’s reins and focused myself on what was going to happen now. I had to get to Asgard and find out what was going on there. And with Kamikaze, this alter being of Swift, I knew things would be okay. I didn’t say anything as we left. I was still trying to figure out fully how I had knew who Swift really was. How he had not guessed I would have figured it out. And after seeing Kamikaze appear in front of me I wondered if I could love him as much as I loved Swift, even if it was for the time being. There weren’t enough words I could find to explain this connection I had formed with Swift. It was deeper than love. I guess my thoughts caused me to start to tear up because suddenly my vision had come blurry. I wiped my eyes and put my fighting face back on. You’re stronger than that. You were strong before him and you can be strong without him for this time. You just need to keep your head on straight and keep focused. I hadn’t realized how fast Flearin was running until that moment. Tatsu was right. I loved horses, but I have never been on one this fast in my life. I was used to riding wild horses in the countryside when I was traveling but this, this was something else. The wind was rushing past us. Nothing could keep up with us. I loosened my grip on his reins because I could feel the blood pulsing through my hands where the reins were sitting. I look back over my shoulder. I see Kamikaze there but my heart sees Swift. I leave one hand on the reins and place the other on his. It feels just like Swift’s. I’m taken back for a second but then I remembered something my mother told me. Even though you may be apart, I’ll always be with you in your heart. I hoped Swift could feel my hand on Kamikaze’s hand. I didn’t say a word. In all honest, I was still in shock really from what had all happened. But knowing this dimension was a suicidal killer, even not being able to kill himself unless Swift commanded him to, didn’t give me much hope. “Kamikaze, do you swear not to do anything crazy when we get to Asgard?” I could hear my voice shaking a little in fear of hearing his answer… or his voice… “I will not Suz. I was told to listen to you and that is what I will do.” I could hear Swift in there, but also, something much sadder and hurt and slightly insane. Like he really could kill everything and everyone and not be bothered by it. I took my hand off his and grabbed hold on the reins again. This isn’t the worst you’ve dealt with. Think of everything you had to deal with to get to this point. This is going to be a walk in the park. I lowered my head down and just began to mumble the lullaby my mother taught me. Kamikaze rested his head on my back as I hummed the tune. “Could you sing it for me? It sounds lovely.” His voice just was crying out in pain. I could tell. I’ve heard it so often in other’s voices. “Sure.” I tried to remember all the words before I started to sing. “Long ago and far away, things I often dream of. There is a place for you and I. Staying strong in love’s pure light. Dream away my sweet child, Dream until you dream no more, then one day when you shall dream, you’ll dream some more.” The words trailed off. I couldn’t believe after all these years I remembered this lullaby. I turned my head slightly down to see Kamikaze. He was sleeping, looking finally out of pain and at rest. How many times have I hummed this tune for Swift and he looked the same? I turned my eyes forward. I was going to Asgard and I was coming out alive. I had to. |
Swiftant: Judgement of Shinkirou
"Blood traitors," comes the murmurs, stark and crude under daylight.
"Spies, like mother like daughter." "At least we raped Aisha, that made us feel better, dinit?" "Yeah, because of the outside world and the government... The dragon here does a good job of easing our curiosities!" "Wanted to do Suzette too, it's her fault for bringing downfall to Shinkirou!" "She shoulda stayed, that piece of half-dragon trash. No one's goina luv a mongrel like her." "Hey, looks like her boyfriend's mad... Ha ha ha ha." "Don't worry, he can't kill us, this is Aisha and Suzette's hometown! They wouldn't want anything to happen here, would they?" "Listen brats, leave this place or be prepared to mourn their... unnatural deaths!" I telepathize to Kamikaze. He's holding Suzette in an embrace, she's singing. Safely far, far away from Shinkirou. Good, I won't have to demonstrate mercy. I'll explain things to Aisha later. I want to kill them with the hideous expression I have forsaken for so long. However I don't plan on giving the village the honour of being razed in an instant by my full strength. Why should I, when I can take my time tormenting them and making a mockery out of them? I will skin them alive and make them pay with their blood and smash them into the bowels of death. What is this? What am I thinking? Was I always on the edge of unrestraint? This is needless, yet... what is this intractable desire? Shouldn't I kill anyone who is against everything I stand for? In midair, I place my hand on Zeus, unsheathe it ever so slightly and charge through their frontline of warriors from the thirty metre peak of my effortless leap. I must seem to disppear for a moment because I hear desperate shouts inquiring my location. "Where is he?" "Find him!" In a second, I reappear behind them, my hand still unsheathing Zeus. "There he is!" "What a weakling! He runs away for an instant and hasn't done anything but squeeze out an inch of his blade!" "That's it, we've assessed his strength, he's but a clown with a death plea!" The second detail of the army, the assassins, begins sprinting toward me from the rooftops. The first line is also on the attack, catching me in a pincer-like formation, a standard military tactic. But it's useless. I smile, because right before they can even touch me, blood breaks out in small beads from the first wave's faces and they stop... "What? Blood?" ... And their heads explode in a parade of blood and flesh. The rest of the military stand rooted to the ground as they watch their mutilated comrades collapsing, one by one, from the brutality that was too fast for their eyes. I know Tatsu must have seen the blood even before I struck. I can feel his glare on my back. "ARGHH!!! Look! Look at their faces!!!" Someone screams. Eyeballs still connected to their tendons hang off their owners' sockets. The muscle and ligaments constituting their faces have dripped enough pools of blood to be made out. "Then this...", an assassin says, indicating at little red, crumpled pieces of flesh littering the entire area. One has been caught on a nearby water pipe, with holes where the eyes and scrambled traces of other facial features should be. "They haven't been decapitated... Their faces have been completely PEELED off!!" "Without knowledge of someone's power, you show no knowledge of your own," I holler in fervent hysteria, the color of my eyes not losing to the sight it beholds. "You were right, I didn't unsheathe my blade fully... One inch and a second are all it takes to run by all of your necks and severe them as I severed their faces." "No way... Even the warriors... Their Runestalz helmets were sliced through like butter, OI!! In a single blow! The hardest material in the world..!" "We're doomed, the fall of Shinkirou is imminent! It's all Suzette's fault! If only she hadn't cursed us by defying Aegis!" I'm... enjoying... this? I can't stop this frenzy. I am undoubtedly right. I AM right! Even if it pollutes my heart, a sin can only be cleansed by another sin - my sin. Enemies that go against me, Suzette and Aisha, the allies of the accursed dragons... After all they have done, the right to judge them I shall reserve! That can be the only reason why I'm allowing... Vengeance to rampage... This part of myself couldn't face Suzette otherwise... Why? Why does it feel... Wrong?? An authoritative voice suddenly echoes through the frozen fighters: "My brave and loyal soldiers! Don't fall back! I implore you to stand your ground! Don't give him a chance to rest! Mages and bowmen, you're our last line of defense! Warriors and assassins, surround him and push him back! No matter how strong he is, no human can overpower a full-scale military assault! Kill upon contact!" I look up, a man clad wholly in gleaming diamond armor and a trident stands confidently on a steel horse-drawn chariot, the size of a small house. The afternoon sun reflects off his untainted vest and he is resplendent in the war. Despite his outward front, even I can't deny the metallic scent of battle he has - the iron smell of blood, the acclimatization to death and hardened survival instincts. He has a domineering composure and is gazing at the unfolding gory violence, as if a flower is blooming under his nose. He must be the commander of Shinkirou's cavalry. "Kill him! Kill him!! Kill him! Kill him!" The soldiers chant. With a single word, he raised his subordinates' morale from the rock bottom? He must be no ordinary fighter. I'd like to have a go at his head... Oh well, what fun would it be if it was this easy? I'm always fighting with a leveled head, though not many would say I have it on straight now. All this time, I've been observing their military strength. There were twelve units in total: three platoons of warriors and another two of assassins, two of mages and one of bowmen, and a smorgasbord of male commoners worth four units. Each packs about twenty men, I've already shaved one warrior-squad off, so that would make eleven units with two-hundred-and-twenty men. "CHAAARGE!!!" The word and stomps, in unison by the soldiers, shake Shinkirou and deafen anything else to be said. Legions of men lunge at me, heads bobbing up and down in the riot, mouths opened and eyes roll frantically, driving each other over the limit, to me. The warriors, easy to distinguish by their big and lumpy features, stumble over to smash their Runestalz weaponry into me. Lightfoot. I close my eyes to give them a handicap. Yells of "Insolence!" and "Impudence!" and "Outrageous!" fill my ears immediately. The warriors encircle me and thrust their weapons at me. I dodge, from the sounds of swords, hammers, axes and spears whipping through the air, all at once and land on them, preventing the hulking knights from pulling them back. I open my eyes, and I see insane redness, which I know is from my barbaric excitment. I grip the centre of the tangled weapons, tug the warriors in, unlatch the dagger in my boot and spin my body with my legs outstretched at their heads. Red, sticky liquid and foam spurt out from their throats. "Guess I wasn't color-blind, after all," I tease the standing corpses. Ten waves left. I hop away from the circle of dead men to see someone completing the job of lopping off their heads. Hm, was that a chain? Assassins and ninjas stand in a crisscross columns from me. Unlike the warriors, they wield chains, daggers, shurikens and kunai knives. They are smarter: Their columns overlap one another in complex, swarming labyrinths. They obviously are trained for contingency purposes. They also have plates of armor, smaller than the knights', but made of the same material nonetheless - although its hardness forces me to use more energy than expected, it won't save them. |
Swiftant: Judgement of Shinkirou 2
"Not bad. Come!" I commend and urge them. I deflect their shurikens with my own, and parry their kunai knives and daggers with Zeus and my dagger-boot. They are fast but having fought my Seven Sins in one sitting, I merely have to keep my eyes opened this time. In a multi-flashing streak of black, purple and sparks and flying cloaks and projectile weapons, a kunai comes within a breath from the bridge of my nose. My eyes cross from the intensive concentration on it and everything slows down by a hundred times. I grin, tasting the dried blood in my mouth, then I flick a shuriken up, which taps the kunai knife from below... And deflect it, to the ninja pouncing at me from the roof behind. With this strategy, I adjust my speed and steady my deflections to mince them off without wasting my own weapons. Not to mention, their contingency plans did not account for a faster creature than themselves - a monster. Without warning, I easily dissolve into their quantities, with Cloaking, and stab one after the other, throwing their dismembered remains out or puppeteering their unconscious bodies to attack the rest of them and, in the process, having each further mangled by their horrified allies. Even as professional killers, some drop to their knees in fright, others scale the buildings in a hope for a tomorrow. But I won't let that happen; they don't deserve that freedom. Minutes later, I have a twenty-assassin unit lying in rows, in crisscrosses.
"I said 'come'. I don't remember asking you to run. You'll die for tarnishing the assassin name," I satirically say, to no one alive, in particular. Weird, no one is attacking me anymore. I tilt my head, as a dog would when it's confused, and flaunt a casual glare at the retreating brigades. The commoners have either escaped or fainted from witnessing the melee, so that makes... I do the calculations on my fingers: Five more waves... Everywhere is filled with corps... No, carcasses. What's wrong with butchering animals that only served as meat? I can't tell if I've calmed down or not, my vision is a perpetual red, regardless. It's good that they have evacuated their women and children from this savage trauma, I didn't want to hurt any more than I already have... "Division Dreadnought!" The refulgent commander orders, holding up his trident with a decisive air of finality. "Explosive arrows at the ready!" "Level three spells in compact phase!" "Anti-dragon cannons locked on!" Those are the voices of the bowman and mage lieutenants, and the residue of the soldiers who have regrouped around their commander's chariot. "Target Swiftant!" The commander swings his trident downwards so it's pointing directly at me. "FIRE!!!" My sakkat lies on the ground, scorched. |
Tatsu : We Are One
Yogensha awaits. Patiently. “This isn't optional Tatsu. Our fusion is imminent. You will gain all of my abilities, all of my specialties, all of my possessions, everything will be compounded into one. You will remain you, more or less everything about you will go unchanged, after fusion I will cease to exist. My soul will give itself unto you, and forge a new being. One who would walk through time and space. You will be a summon, you will hear the calls of those in need, you will feel more than you could ever dream of....”
I clench my fists. “I don't want this! I never asked for any of this!” I grit my teeth. My muscles tingle with anger. “What you want, what you ask, is no longer valid.” Come Tastu, I grow impatient, the end is nigh, I can finally be free of this.” Yogensha drops his cane, and sways back and forth, moving towards me, closer and closer. With arms outstretched he pulls near. His wrinkled fingers quivering with anticipation, his arm shakes as he raises his hand up, closer and closer... Mere inches away... I turn my head, shut my eyes tight, biting my lip. I can feel his breath, he is grunting, and his pain is all to apparent.. He grabs me around the shoulders, his grip is tight, he digs his nails into my skin, the heat of his palms rush through me. I am cold and chilled, but I begin to sweat, this mixed series of emotions makes everything move in a blink of an eye. I open my eyes and the two of us are in flames, still, I cannot move, the fire doesn't burn. His hands are the source of it all. The flame engulfs everything. The black of the void begins to brighten, the whole world is on fire. Stars in the sky twinkle through the blaze. The moon rises and sets, then rises once more, in a matter of seconds, days pass us by. Or was it really happening? I couldn't be sure. Nothing made sense, I lost focus of what was reality....Then, the smell of nirvana, the palpable sense of satisfaction, that bleak emotion of joy. It was all mixed. Nothing made sense... Then I realized, and looked down at Yogensha. “I am evaporating, being swallowed up by the ocean of your soul, I am boiling out. I feel this pain. It will be the last thing I will ever feel, though it hurts, it feels good.” Yogensha struggles to speak out. “This is it Tatsu, this is the moment....” Night turns to day. The flames shoot into the ether, hover there for a moment, then spin into a million beams of energy, they loom there, spinning, inward and outward, contracting and receding. Until finally, a sun is born from those energies. Red, yellow, orange. My vision is blurred by a sea of flames. Purple, green, blue...Everything is melding together. It is too bright to look, I can't see anything... After what feels like an eternity, I open my eyes, and find myself lying down on a bed of grass. My head digging into a rock. I raise my chin and the first thing that catches my eye is my left hand. Four rings are placed upon my fingers. The same rings that Yogensha was wearing. I push myself up, my vision spinning, I feel nauseous, my surroundings whirl into focus... I see a dark shade, and notice a red robe hangs down in between my arms. This is...I stand upright and grab at the crimson garb. This is the robe that Yogensha was wearing over his others. The collar is embroidered with the summoner's seal, laden in fringes of gold. Looking around the grass I was lying on top of was the only grass present. The grove had been completely demolished. All the trees were burnt and dead. Everything was fallen over, reduced to ash. I look at the horizon. From what I had seen, the majority of Shinkirou was in flames. It took me no time at all to realize that the barrier around the city was down. “How long was I out?” I try to move my legs forward, but my knees buckle and give out, I fall forward, catching myself with my hands. I felt so weak, it felt like my soul had been ripped from my body...But how can I know what that feels like? It was hard to stand. I could hardly walk. I felt pathetic, like toddler learning how to make his first steps.. Shuffling my feet through the ash and dirt, I haul myself to a fallen ranger station. Glass and debris are everywhere. No signs of life. No corpses, it was completely silent... In the glass I saw movement, I inched back to see what it was that had caught my attention, it was myself. I had now gained the robe of Yogensha. The crimson robe, sat loosely upon my cloak, and the rest of my clothing, my hair has gotten longer by a few inches, it now hangs just below the collarbone. The black pupils of my eyes are gone, the blue iris that was once there, has been pushed to the center, making up new pupils. The once blue irises are now yellow, as was once Yogensha's. The sunlight glistened in my eyes. They shined dark. Then I recalled something important. “Quickly. I must find Swift ! .....” |
Kamikaze: Peace... and Foreshadow
“Kamikaze, do you swear not to do anything crazy when we get to Asgard?” Suzette suddenly says, her voice shuddering a little.
Her question... Didn't she trust me? Is she afraid of me? She was never fearful when I was in Swiftant.... But at the same time, Swiftant's will pushes the answers out from my mouth. “I will not Suz. I was told to listen to you and that is what I will do.” I smile. Will I? Suzette takes her off mine and holds onto Flearin's reins. Maybe... If I was with her more instead, Swiftant would be rubbed out from the picture. Or I could kill him when I get the chance... But wouldn't it be easier if I made sure no one else cou... "Mmmm... Hmm.... Hm... Mmmhmmmm... mmmmm..." What was that? "Hmmm... Mmmm... Mmm..." Suzette hums. The most melodious song I've ever heard, no, it wasn't the song, it was the sound making it... I rest on Suzette's back, seeping in the vibrations of her voice as she hums. It is louder than my pain, yet, so much more comforting. If I heard the lyrics, surely it would be the first time I could be at peace. "Could you sing it for me? It sounds lovely," I tell her, surprised that the words come out so freely. Perhaps this, too, is Swiftant's will? “Sure.” Suzette pauses and goes silent for a while. I can tell her eyes are closed in concentration. “Long ago and far away, things I often dream of. There is a place for you and I. Staying strong in love’s pure light. Dream away my sweet child, Dream until you dream no more, then one day when you shall dream, you’ll dream some more.” For the first time, I sleep in peace. Floating away in her aroma, her soft, silky brown hair stroking my face, comforting me. Her lullaby....... Why should Swiftant have all the fun? My love for Suzette doesn't lose out to his. Am I destined to live in the windows of his eyes, forever looking at something I can't have, something I can't do? The times I can almost taste those lips, but they're not on mine... They've come so close, too close. I'm not satisfied, being an offshoot of him, along with all with the other aspects. We, the seven roots of man, orginally: Wrath, Lust, Greed, Gluttony, Envy Sloth, and himself - Pride; now internalized by Swiftant as: Anger, Coldness, Cunning, Evil, Revenge, Self-reproach and Prejudice. He should know best none of us can tolerate conforming to authority. We yearn to be ourselves, but by being ourselves we are Swiftant, isn't that paradoxical? It's not that we can't keep up, we don't want to. We have refused and resisted Swiftant from the time of our awakening. It would be less painful if I killed them all and walked a deserted fate, less tormenting than watching how Suzette and Swiftant make out and pour their hearts out to one another, watching the person you love and the person you couldn't be giving into each other, taking from one another. It's an unbearable pain of eternity. "Kamikaze... Kamikaze... Kamikaze!" Suzette calls me up. Flearin has stopped. "Your sakkat has fallen off, go grab it, I'll wait here." Strange, it's never fallen off before... "Thud." "The string I had on Mother's flute... broke?" Suzette wonders aloud. The flute Aisha gave Suzette, as well... What on earth happened in Shinkirou? I squint in the direction of the city. These aren't the protocols to a good omen. |
“Kamikaze!" I call to him. I stopped Flearin. He must have fallen asleep during my song. His eyes looked up at me. For once, I didn’t see any pain in them. They looked very peaceful. Is that what Swift had meant when I was to ease his cries? Kamikaze became more aware of what was going on so I continued. "Your sakkat has fallen off, go grab it, I'll wait here.” He hopped off and when he did it shook me a little and I felt something swing down and hit my thigh.
“The string I had on Mother's flute... broke?" I grabbed the flute before it fell any farther. Aisha told me this string wouldn’t break. Ever. Unless but she never finished telling me what that unless was. I played with the flute in my hands until Kamikaze returned. He had a troubled expression in his face but I didn’t want to press it because as soon as he had climbed back on Flearin, his expression changed and became peaceful again. I leaned down and told Flearin to go and off we went again. We ran for about another hour or so until we got to Asgard. Flearin stopped. I looked up. I was in total shock with what laid before me. There was nothing left of the city, except for the castle. The whole town was burned down to the ground. I hopped off Flearin and took a few steps forward. I started to cry a little. Too late.. We’re too late.. I looked around. There was nothing left. Not one thing. I felt Kamikaze walk up next to me so I quickly wiped my tears away. “We’re too late. There’s no one here.” I’m almost positive he could hear the shaking in my voice. “There’s still the castle.” His voice tried to have any hope that I had lost. I looked up to the castle. It stood there in the distance. Looking not harmed at all. That gave me a tiny spark of hope. Maybe there were some survivors after all. I’m sure the castle would have enough food and water to last a few hundred people a few weeks until help came. Maybe Kamikaze and I could be that help. I started to run without even thinking of what dangers could be waiting for us in the castle. As I ran I started to notice that the ground was stained red. The grounds out here in Asgard were never red, but always a dark brown. I had traveled through the woods of Asgard many times to know this. The red must be blood.. there must have been a great battle here then.. I tried not to think of all the innocent people who might have been killed as I kept running up to the castle. As Kamikaze and I approached the castle’s moat I stopped short. I couldn’t go on. There, laying in the moat, were bodies of men, women, children. All dismembered and destroyed. The water was blood and not water any more. I knew that there was going to be no one alive in the castle after that sight. I turned to Kamikaze. “Do you want to go in? This just proves that we have come all this way for no reason.” I hung my head and said a prayer for all the bodies that laid before us. I felt his hand slip on top of my hand. I looked up at him. “We have to go in. That is what we came here for. To see the King. We have to go in. What if he is still alive? What if he is just too much of a coward to come out because he knows he failed as a leader?” I don’t know where this new found confidence had come from but I was renewed again and we found the bridge to cross into the castle. There wasn’t much of a bridge left. It was about three planks of wood barely held together. I was about to go forward, but Kamikaze stopped me. “Let me go first. I cannot die and I can find the strong points so you can cross easily.” I stepped back and let Kamikaze go across first. He moves so quickly and gracefully. It’s like he doesn’t even touch the wood as he went across. He turned back to me. “Okay, you’re turn.” I took one step…. |
Tatsu : A New Development
I made my way to the heart of Shinkirou where the flames were most prevalent. The town square, and the governor's residence were relatively intact. A few split beams and several collapsed arches had fallen into the streets. There were still no signs of life. I halted my advance by a low brick wall. A few abandoned carts, and jugs cluttered my path. At the far end of the square rubble obstructed all passage. I could see some mangled corpses of soldiers and mages alike. From where I was standing I could tell that their wounds were inflicted by Swiftant's weaponry...
I proceeded slowly towards the governor's personal gardens, based on the current state of the structure, it was possible that there may be a survivor inside. At the threshold of the antechamber, I made out a faint cry. I could barely make out the voice over the roar of the flames. It would be impossible to traverse this area under such conditions. I would have to exhaust these flames before I could investigate further. I reached into my pouch and slipped out a piece of parchment, I was preparing to write out a water spell, but when I grabbed for the parchment, the page had disintegrated in my grasp. I was stunned by this, I couldn't quite understand. Something like this had never occurred before. Even if the parchment was faulty, it would simply fail to conjure a spell, but this, turned to ash? Why? Could it be possible that my powers have evolved again, and my magical-might was overbearing for just a simple medium? Was it possible that my magics were restored? I decided to conduct a test. On my palm, I wrote the character for the water spell, I then clasped my hands together, in between the crevices of my fingers, a blue light began to resonate. I released my grasp, and a volley of water shot forward toward that raging fire. The flames hissed and quickly turned to mist under the rapidly spreading waves. This surge of power thrilled me, I so effortlessly extinguished those flames. It would have taken me two, or three parchments with advanced spells to put out all that so quickly. Having consumed Yogensha, it would seem that my latent powers have been unleashed, and they have tripled, at least. My current findings could wait, I had more pressing matters to see to. With a course now laid out, I moved hastily into the gardens. I followed the voice to destroyed stairwell. “Hey! Are you in there?!” I shouted out, cupping my hands around my mouth to amplify my voice. “Yes, yes, I'm in here! Quick, please, I can't move...” The voice was of a man “Just hang on, I'll get you out!” I took up Sora and clutched the hilt tight, I released a portion of my energy into the sword. The blade pulsated with a warm yellow glow. Thus endowed, Sora sliced through those metal stone slabs with ease. Once the path was cleared I made my way down to a small room inside a middle-aged man was trapped in a corner with a large column over his leg. “Please, please help,” he cried out. “It's most surely broken.” I raised Sora and chopped away that fallen pillar. “Here, let me help.” I lifted him onto a platform. “Yes, it is indeed broken, I am no medic but I know basic first-aid, let's tend to that.” “Much thanks,” the man sighed. “Who are you anyways?” I stated. “I am, well-was, the governor of Shinkirou, not much felt of a city to govern....” |
Tatsu: Disparity
So this man is the governor. It's no wonder this area is intact, it was well protected by those soldiers. The governor winces, expressing his discomfort. I hold the splint pressed ever so gently against his leg as I wrap it in a heavy bonding.
“What happened here sir?” I glance sideways up at him. “A few hours ago there was a large tremor, then something that sounded like cannon fire. The grounds quaked and my chambers rattled. In fear, I fled underground to this room for safety. Shortly after my arrival, that pillar was dislodged from it's place and came crashing down on me. I have been pinned in this spot ever since. I assumed that everyone outside was dead and that I was most surely doomed.” His expression became cold and hard. So, I was unconscious for several hours, the time with Yogensha seemed only but a moment, in the real world time had elapsed much more quickly... Who knows how much Vengeance had destroyed... I felt ashamed that I was unable to prevent any of this... “Don't brood like it's your fault son,” the governor's words snap me back from deep thought. “Shinkirou has been a a boiling pot of emotion as of late. Those loyal to the Dragon Campaign have skyrocketed in recent months.” “Wait, what do you mean?!” I stand up. “Before the great barrier that protects this city was created, we were terrorized relentlessly by the Dragons. After much pleading, they decided to leave us alone in exchange for Runestalz; our most precious stone. But by the time that agreement was set in motion, the barrier; Aegis had been completed. But it was too late, the higher ups in the Dragon Empire knew about this region, and preyed on any merchant or traveler who entered or exited the city, thus cutting our resources. We had no choice but to give in to the Dragon's tyranny. Now I have found out that there is a mole inside of our city, who feeds intel to the dragons. Apparently this mole has amassed allies, and they were plotting to overthrow the city, and hand us all over to the Dragons for immunity. I am guessing that all the cannon blasts are from the anti-dragon factions and the Dragon followers clashing...” The governor grips the edge of his table and raises himself up. He hunches to the side, and shifts all his weight to his unwounded leg. “No sir, I am sorry to say, but it was not factions that began this battle. Well, not both of them anyhow....” “What do you mean lad?” the governor raises a brow. “Since you seem to be an ally, to me, then I won't hold this information back...” I breathe in. “My name is Tatsu, and I am a wanted “terrorist”. Somehow the people in this city caught wind that my allies and myself were in town, they turned to congregate against us, within two days of us being here we were attacked. One of my companions, changed, and lashed out at our attackers, and then moved to attack the entire city, I was unable to do anything, for I had fallen unconscious during the skirmish...” The governor's mouth gapes in terror. “You mean to tell me that one man caused all this?!” I lean back, and fold my arms. “Would seem so...In any event sir, I think we need to get you out of here, I know of a safe place just outside the city, past the grove.” I reach out to grab the governor by his forearm, but he pulls back. “The grove?!” he shouts out, his face changes as if he had just happened up on a realization. “Yes, of course! It's Aisha, she's been caught speaking to the Dragons and giving them Runestalz, she was exiled to the forest, it must have been her who told the city folk that you and your allies were here!” I am awe-stricken by his words. “Tha-that can't be!... How could it...” “Think about it son, you say you were attacked shortly after your arrival, did you meet with anyone in town other than Aisha?” The governor grabs me around the shoulders. “No...” I look down, I don't want to believe it. “Well that settles it.... It was Aisha, the loyal slave of the Dragons!!” |
Tatsu: Face to Face
“Governor, please keep such accusations to yourself, Aisha has been a most precious patron, she is nothing more than a fragile old woman, shackled to a fifty year old dilemma...”
“A facade! Her words are poison, just because she showered you with a smidgin of “kindness”, anything that beast does is to pursue her own faceless ideals! Don't be gullible.” I mutter discontentedly. Grinding together my molars in annoyance. “Look, governor, we are getting no where like this, now is not the time to bicker, monumental events are unfolding around us and we are having at the other, we need to reel in and focus.” The governor nods in silence. “Please lad, just call me Yuu, and you may not like what you see, but I will show you the grizzly truths. Come, let us move to the grove. It's definitely a hike, and I am going to need your aid with this useless leg...” “Alright Yuu... I'll take you to the house.” I grab Yuu by his wrist and lead him out of the room, back through the gardens and to the streets. Outside the majority of the flames had died out. Most of the structures have been reduced to heaps of melted rubble. The fire had nothing left to burn... “My god....” Yuu cries out. “It looks much more terrible than I had imagined!” He falls to his knees in despair, clutching at humps of dirt and stone. “Sir, please, stand up...” I lean over, placing my hand on his back. After a moment, he places his hand into mine and stands. “Shinkirou...It has been my home for sixty years. It was such a marvelous hub of life. Now I can't recognize it anymore. There is just about nothing left here...” “Yuu, please, we need to move on, it is not safe here, I do not know what could be out there. We might be attacked.” Yuu doesn't say anything, he simply follows me out of the city, to the grove. After awhile, the green of trees peek up from the horizon. The forest is intact, the fires never spread this far. We follow the old road, the only road leading in to Aisha's shack. Yuu pauses for a moment, and leans against a tree, breathing to regain a regular pace. “This is a lot of activity for one day...” he smiles, inhaling deep.” I look off past the road and into the clearing beyond...All is quiet in the grove. No sounds of birds, not even a breeze. It seemed too quiet. “Aisha's house is just around this bend.” We move side by side, around the corner. We were just about to approach the old shack when most unexpectedly, a massive tremor shakes through. The quake knocks Yuu clean off his feet, the governor falls to the ground. With outstretched arms, I establish balance. I move to his aid, crouching to a stabilizing position, kneeling on one knee. “It's okay sir.” Yuu is cowering with his hands upon his head, burying his chin in his chest. I stand strong, and unsheathe Sora. Continued rumbles, it becomes more violent... trees collapse off in the distance, something that sounds like a roar.... This isn't an earthquake, some sort of massive force is creating this. This succession of events, the perfect set up for the appearance of a dragon.... “Sir! Take cover!” I swing my left arm back, gesturing for him to crawl his way to safety. “Stay away from any tree, for they may decide to topple upon you!” “Finally!! SHINKIROU!!!” I hear a powerful voice, reverberating into the grove. Then a massive shadow looms over, I direct my view overhead to see quite the unsightly sight. A large dragon, with flaming wings hovers just above, the beating of its wings sends heat waves in my direction. He lands hard upon the earth, the ground shakes again. He is quite the impressive looking dragon, much more fierce looking than any I have seen up to this point... Thick silver-ish armour is fitted around his head and torso, a crest in the fashion of a flame is etched into his headgear. “I am Zanden!” He shouts out, “The most powerful of all of the Dragon Elites, my power is matched only by my lordships Leinurus and Thrandos, and our most beloved Queen! And you, you are Tatsu! The object of my vendetta!” Well, this guy likes to make sure his opponents know who he is eh? Gotta make sure you know about that status... I roll my eyes. “Don't roll your eyes at me you pathetic creature!” Zanden points a long claw at me. “You have been a nuisance to us for some time now, always managing to sneak your way out of our claws like the little rat that you are, but finally, I am given the honor to squash this squeaky rat!” I don't say anything, I stand strong, and grip Sora tight. Zanden continues on. “We finally find you, and this city at last, for years we have been working to take it down from within so we can lay siege...It would seem espionage is the ultimate form of warfare..” Zanden laughs at himself. “Yes the barrier masked this place from us, but in the chaos that just transpired, we were able to take advantage and destroy the shield, but it would seem our work was done for us...A shame, I wanted to personally scorch these structures...Hopefully my right hand, Lyren, is having more fun in Asgard...AHAHA!” Zanden laughs again. “What?! What do you mean!” “Ahh, finally got you to speak up, ehehe, yessss, it is true, just as we set out for Shinkirou once the barrier was knocked down, I heard that my personal unit reached Asgard, my best soldier, the beauitful Lyren, she is a deadly thing, one of the most powerful warriors in the Dragon Army, she is an expert in fire, perhaps just as well as I....” Zanden smiles. |
“Let me go first. I cannot die and I can find the strong points so you can cross easily.” I stepped back and let Kamikaze go across first. He moves so quickly and gracefully. It’s like he doesn’t even touch the wood as he went across. He turned back to me. “Okay, you’re turn.”
I took one step onto the remains of the bridge and the old wood creaked. My heart started to race. I looked down into the redness of blood and heads and bodies that lay under me. I shuttered thinking of how painful of a death they had all suffered. I had to look at the planks of wood to remember where Kamikaze had just gone across and found the strong points. I held my breath as I took another step. I heard the wood start to snap. I quickly hopped onto the next plank of wood. Then, without any warning, I heard the loudest snap in the world. The plank had given out under my weight. I started to fall into the bloody moat. Kamikaze grabbed my hands and tried to pull me up. "Kam... I'm too heavy for you to pull up alone. Just let me go. I'll..." I tried to imagine swimming through the blood and floating bodies... "I'll swim to the edge and climb up." He looked down at me. He had a fire in his eyes that I'd seen in Swift before. It was of determination and... Love? Compassion? "I'm going to pull you up. You are not going in there. I promise." I tried to see if I could reach the land on the other side but I was too far away. Kam got down on his knees and looked me dead in the eyes. "I will not let you fall or let you go. Ever." At that moment he pulled up with all his might and I was able to get my footing and help him once he got me up a bit more. Kam stood up to pull me the rest of the way up and as soon as I was up fully, we both fell onto the castle grounds on the other side of the bridge into each-other’s arms. I looked at him. He had just helped me, like I had helped Swift. The more and more I stared at Kam, the more I saw Swift in him. My heart started to ache. We had only been separated for about 2 hours now but this was the longest since we had joined together that we had been apart. I had to push these thoughts out of my mind but I could not. I just stared into his eyes and was praying that things with Swift were okay. I stood up and brushed myself off and looked away. I heard Kam get up next to me and do the same. I started walking into the castle. It was still in-tact pretty much. The table that was in the main dining room was still set. I called out to see if anyone was in here but nothing was returned. I stopped in my tracks and dropped my head. I knew we were too late but something still did not seem fully right in this place. “Maybe the people who survived are in the castle deeper, away from the danger. You cannot give up now.” Kam stood next me and took my hand. I could tell he was really trying to have me hold out any hope. We walked further into the castle. “Let’s split up. This place is huge. I’ll talk the upper levels and you take the lower ones. We’ll meet back here in 10 minutes and if we find something, great, if not, we’re getting out of here.” Kam nodded in agreement. It was a smarter move. We needed to get back to Swift and Tatsu. We were stronger when we all worked together instead of being so far apart. I walked up the staircase and looked in the first two bedrooms. There was no sign of any life there that not even people had lived there when the town was alive. I kept walking further down the hallway. I heard a strange noise coming from one of the bedrooms at the end of the hall. “Hello? Is anyone there?” The sound went silent. I drew my sword and got ready to fight. The hairs on the back of my neck started to stand up. I knew this would not and could not be good. I crept around the corner to where the sound was coming from. I stopped. I had to fight back a scream. There was a dragon there. I took three steps back and ran into something. It fell and landed on the floor and shattered. ‘Stupid rich people having breakable things in hallways.’ I heard the dragon get up. I started to run down the hall and down the stairs. I had to find Kam. I ran as fast I could to get lower. I literally ran into him as I hit the dungeon. “Kam... There’s a dragon in the upper level. I have no idea how big or what type it is. All I know is that judging from the destruction of the town… It’s a fire dragon.” I dropped my head. “I knew that we were too late. It was pointless for us to even come here. Now we’re just both in danger. This is my entire fault. I need to face this dragon alone.” I looked at Kam and kissed him. “If you can get this message to Swift, tell him I did this for him. If I don’t make it out alive… Go back there and fight with them taking my place.” I gave him one last hug and then walked back up the stairs. What I saw standing there was the biggest dragon I have ever seen... 'Oh boy...' |
3-way Trust
Kamikaze
“Kam... There’s a dragon in the upper level. I have no idea how big or what type it is. All I know is that judging from the destruction of the town… It’s a fire dragon.” Suzette slumps her head grimly. “I knew that we were too late. It was pointless for us to even come here. Now we’re just both in danger. This is my entire fault. I need to face this dragon alone.” She eyes me determinedly and kisses me. “If you can get this message to Swift, tell him I did this for him. If I don’t make it out alive… Go back there and fight with them taking my place.” The magnitude of being emotionally pressured is proportional to the importance of the pertaining event. The shock of Suzette's resolution and the fear of losing her momentarily constricts me. What? Before I can stop her, Suzette flings her arms around me; a combusting romance, all the more fleetingly so. And the woman I love takes flight up the stairs, charging headlong into the abyss of death. She's doing 'this for him'? For Swiftant? Why do I have to fight alongside Swiftant in place of whom I want to be fighting with? No way... No way am I giving her up for him, not after already losing her now! "Do it, then..." A rather tenuous voice rings in my mind. Who's voice is that? Do it. Swiftant..? What are you- You know what you have to do, and you have my assurance. "Zap Execution." Normally, lightning gets absorbed into the ground via buildings, bypassing the contents within. As in the natural, initial processes of lightning formation, opposites attract. By relinquishing a forced output of enlarged positive charges, I have the ability to directly, not just trace, but alter the tracks of negative electricity discharged from the clouds, thereby sustaining a homing trail of lightning. Synchronizing the user's otherwise inherent timeframe with the speed of light, a lightning flash to the seemingly human eye would be akin to eleven and a half days to me. Adding to the fact that even as an electric user, I'm not completely invulnerable to lightning as a toned-down soul of Swiftant; my skin would be burnt to a crisp in three flashes, though I'd be left with a thin thread of survival odds. This move deeply scars the user physically and mentally, in a flesh-by-flesh slow and arduous torture. Do it... A blinding light decimates the roof of the castle and hits me hard, forestalling whatever actions Suzette has planned. In hindsight, I was probably only trying to envelop myself in debilitating pain with which my shock could be superimposed. And, Swiftant had given me his assurance - his guarantee in Suzette's life and my skill. "I didn't do it because you told me to..." I cripple to the ground. "Kimi... nari... Edge." I have to jolt my already electrocuted heart from slowing or collapsing. My sakkat and armor pads lie in charred rags. Streaks of maroon trickle down my eyes, not from the anxiety, not from the excitment, not from the regret, even though my regenerative anatomy works unreservedly to fasten the seam on my head, which had been impaled in a split second... Damn... It seriously hurts... But... That eleven days are... Nothing to it... Swiftant... I've always visited the devil and come back more than alive. Convoluting my muscles to jerk my line of vision upwards, from the depths of the disintegrated castle top, I see the dragon of flames grunting in pain and spasms assaulting her body. She obviously has taken quite a moderate hit, which would have been a straight strike, if not for her fiery hide. Out from the darkness, I make out a glint... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Swiftant “Ahh, finally got you to speak up, ehehe, yessss, it is true, just as we set out for Shinkirou once the barrier was knocked down, I heard that my personal unit reached Asgard, my best soldier, the beauitful Lyren, she is a deadly thing, one of the most powerful warriors in the Dragon Army, she is an expert in fire, perhaps just as well as I....” "Hmph, I don't think so, Zanden." I rise from the ashes, much to Tatsu's unamusement. I hold Shinkirou's once luminiscent commander by his throat, feeling him swallowing in a bid to get air down his lungs. At the last minute, with Vengeance's reflect-affliction ability, the damages dealt to me were repaid in full to the commander and his top officers. Vengeance has come and gone, and I have decided against lopping off the commander's head and plucking out his spine. Although disarmed and dishonored, he has still a family - a gasping kid with a tear-streaked face, who had always thought the world of his undisputed father, 'til now it appears. All in all, an impressive feat to even touch an enhanced me. With Kamikaze out of my system, my injuries aren't going to heal anytime soon. "How long were you planning to stay under, Swift?" Tatsu reprimands curtly. "Just until you slay the fire elite, but he said something he shouldn't have." "Heh, I'm not about to be presumptuous, though his words got to me, too." "Well, one of his dogs," I lead on. "Lyren, or whoever she is, should be writing her will now." "Ha ha ha... Ignoramus, your arrogance precedes you," Zanden snorts heavily. "Notwithstanding, your girlfriend has no chance against Lyren. Why? That's because... If not for Lyren's slothful nature and disobedience, she would likely have been... My replacement!" "That is..." Tatsu begins. "Going to be a very good test of Suzette's bonafide powers," I finish. "All of you, Suzette included, underestimate her latent dragon strength. How do you think she was able to become a dragon spy, fighting for both her survival and silencing suspicions with an iron fist?" "Regardless of who her parents are, half of her is of dragon heritage. Then, Suzette doesn't yet know her own strength, does she?" Tatsu whispers to me in alarm. I smirk teasingly. "I have absolute trust in her, and my other self. It's all been seen to. I don't like two-on-one, so she might even wrap things up there before you're done with Zanden." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kamikaze Out from the darkness, I make out a glint... Suzette wields her...!? |
Tatsu: Everything Burns
"Hmph, I don't think so, Zanden." Swiftant rises up from the bramble and debris, holding onto to resistance commander. The man was barely alive, hanging on helplessly. His gloves gripped onto Swift's forearm as he squirmed in vain to free himself from his captor.
Without moving my neck, I get a glimpse of Swift out of the corner of my eye...I was still disappointed with how recent events panned out. I was supposed to stop him from going haywire. He has expunged Vengeance for now. But who knows how long it will be until another surfaces? Swift goes on to indulge Zanden. He wants to derive intel from us. I won't become his pompous witness... A moments pause. I sheath Sora. “I won't stain my blade with your blood. Sora's heart is too pure. “Afraid I'll snap your play toy?” Zanden laughs to himself. “How about you just give me the sword?” Zanden smiles, all fangs. “...I'll have to disregard that offer, and present you with disdain.” I clasp my hands together, and unleash a fusillade of rolling waves at Zanden, for but a moment he was left dumbfounded by such a quickly executed attack of this caliber... I didn't even have to write a symbol upon my hand....This was another test, and to try such an act during a battle of this caliber was taking a huge risk. Haphazardly, Zanden releases a ball of fire at my wave, the two collide head on, and explodes into a hissing fog cloud. Just what I hoped....I think to myself. The cover of fog is on my side. As I prepare a second wave, Zanden quickly counterattacks, and sends off two more blinded blasts....He doesn't know my location, he hopes to hit me in this manner? How sad. I rush forward my both my hands down by my side, turning my palms inward, I focus energies into my fingertips, my hands glow under the concentration of gathering magics. I clap my hands together, and then quickly release them, pushing them off of each other towards the direction of Zanden, the fog begins to subside, and a violet ball of light flies straight at Zanden at a high speed. Light trails over the grove, and races towards the target.... Just as it was about to hit its mark. Dragonstyle: Immolation! Zanden opens his mouth wide, and shoots off a swirling ball of molten lava. As before, our attacks greet each other headlong...This time though, there was a massive explosion. I held my ground, but I heard Yuu yell out as the discharge sent him soaring through the air. He landed hard on his side. His cane went in the other direction. “Yuu! Hang on!” I spun about and used the sensory-teleportation to instantaneously move to Yuu's position. “Sir, are you alright? ...No response, he wasn't doing well, the grimacing expression on his face said it all. Zanden took this opportune moment to send more attacks my way. Dragonstyle: Burst of Fury ! Zanden sent off 3 simultaneous infernos in my direction, each bigger than the last. I grabbed Yuu, and I made a dash for it, back to my previous position, but as my feet dashed across the grass, Zanden turned his claw to the right, and his blast did the same through the air, and honed in on me, I dug both my heels into the ground, squatted down, and went to the left. With his other claw he motioned for the two other blasts to come from the left, and straight on. A Pincher attack.... I pushed off from the ground and jumped straight up into the air, Yuu hung on to me for dear life. The two blasts coming in from the left and right met with impact, and exploded the grove below, a crevice formed, and rock and earth fell into it. Some fog still loomed, as I started to fall back towards safe ground, Out of the mist, Another blast was coming at me, as well as his third attack. He had some countermeasures in place, he had planned for the fog as well, and took appropriate action... I couldn't retaliate with Yuu on me, the best I could do, was launch the old man into a nearby tree, as I fell, I drew up my knees, and took out Sora, with some luck, I dug Sora into the ground, and landed on top of the handguard, standing straight up, pierced in between two bits of rock. The blast that was coming straight for me I was able to dodge, just barely. I felt the heat of it, as it zoomed by me. The other blast though wasn't aimed for me. It was for Yuu, and it trailed after him, hurdling towards the tree I tossed him in. There was no way I was going to get to him in time, I concentrated, hoping in vain I could materialize by his side, but it was for naught, that spinning ball of flame smashed into that tree, wood and branch crackled and popped, and there was a massive explosion. The entire forest in the immediate area was set ablaze. I kept my wits about me and laid my hands on the soil, a wall of water rushed up and covered over me. Shielding me from the explosion.... The water subsided, I was drenched, but it was worth it, and Zanden was in the middle of that inferno. I sat in shame, I wasn't able to protect Yuu, I keep failing....Zanden laughed uproariously. |
Swiftant: When death meets skill
"What's the matter, Tatsu?" I question his limp stature, subjugating Zanden's uncouth noises of delight. "Don't tell me your advanced elven magic can't even handle commanding a couple of legendary supernatural creatures over time and space, and take on one of the strongest dragons, altogether?"
Tatsu peers up at me and relief washes over his face immediately. A sphere of ice encloses Tatsu's friend and me, freezing the tree and the atmosphere within a radius of five metres. My eyes are purple due to the natural blueness of Frost's barrier and the excited, scarlet state I have to conjure and sustain in myself, required to 'Unleash' Frost. Arctic Globe. With this defense, no mediocrity like that can pass through. Zanden is incredulous. "What?" He exclaims, in denial that a direct attack from him could be stopped so efficaciously. "Seems to me you've only tapped into half your powers, Tat!" I smirk, ignoring the fiery abomination. "No, I've actually spent less than half," he corrects me, grinning back. I am confounded. "Isn't this fellow a friend of yours? You didn't even try to protect him!" "That's because I knew you were there! I'm still testing my limits and it'd be otiose to use anymore strength against a dragon of this level.., Although I'm quite disappointed that I couldn't protect him myself with this amount of skill. I still need training," he adds in an afterthought. "Well, next time warn me a little ahead of time?" Even if it'd make no difference. I think to myself. "Incidentally, Tat, I've knocked your friend out so he wouldn't have to suffer from the pain." "That's fine with me, the coldness ought to numb the governor's aches, too!" Are my ears going bad? "The what?" A fire ball suddenly hits and erupts into a miniature volcanic blast at the base of the tree, on which I am harbouring the governor. Its roots dissipate into splinters and the tree bends over, unable to hold its own weight. The ice sphere with us inside plunges downward. It is completely flawless in its making - physical isolation - there is no wind tugging at our clothes or twigs flying at us as the tree is dismantled by flames; the air is stagant with only the sunset orange from the flames refracted through the ice, almost blinding me. For the same reason, our body inertia is the only thing Arctic Globe cannot manipulate. With one arm around the governor, I stretch my limbs to steady myself on its inner surface, as our footing leaves the trough of the sphere and the top nears us, and begin counting the seconds it will take for us to hit the ground. A spread of fire over grass, like butter over bread, lay beneath us, impatient to consume our tragic fates. I dig my nails into the ice and hold my breath. "Guess it's outta the pan and into the fire, huh?" I told the unconscious governor. "But... Hell would freeze over if that happened!" Arctic Globe has already set into my expectations. Five metres above the ground, it has frozen everything within range. It is sitting on frozen air and atmosphere. The silhouettes of the blazes below spike up motionlessly, cold and dead. Beyond the five metre boundary, the fires lick the ice in futility. "What do you know? Hell did freeze over on my first try!" I declare in triumph, pleased with the results of my first maneuver of Arctic Globe. "Are you crazy, betting on a first-timer with your lives at stake?!" chides a hysterical Tatsu. "Hmph, right back at you for before!" I reply, equally raving. But smiles are listed all over our faces despite the cold sweat. "Eight seconds... That's how long it took for a five metre sphere to reach the ground. You singlehandedly threw this poor guy up forty metres!" "Right back at you, you singlehandedly dragged him down the same height!" "ROAR!!" Zanden screams, enraged by how underrated he is. Swirls of ignited gas spiral around him. "Enough of your frivolous foolery! This ends, NOW!" |
Suzette's Discovery.
I looked at the dragon and said a little prayer. “Whoever is up there.. I’m begging, pleading with you. Let me get out of this alive. I know that may not be what you have planned but please.. I love Swift. I need him. And he needs me. Let me get out of this somewhat alive and I’ll prove to him I’m a girl worth keeping.” I closed my eyes and for a second I swore I saw Swift. Fighting next to Tatsu, alive and okay. It looked as if a war had just taken place. I opened my eyes and looked at the dragon from around the corner. I raised my sword and turned to face the dragon head on. I sighed. It was now or never. The dragon had its back toward me.
“Come here dragon! I want you to fight me and face me! I want to see your eyes while I fight you!” That made the dragon very anger. She turned around and faced me just like I had wanted but what I didn’t expect to see was her. It was Lyren. She was the one dragon who had tried to kill me years ago. I had forgotten how big and majestic she was. Although she was a fire dragon, when she spoke her words were like ice that pierced me. “Suzette. How wonderfully dreadful it is to see you again. I thought I had gotten rid of you years ago.” I raised my shirt to show my stomach and the burn scars that she had left on me. “No, you didn’t kill me. Only left some great story scars.” I raised my sword a bit higher now. “I want to finish this once and for all.” I took a step towards her, but as I did this great bolt of lightning came from nowhere and hit her. She got a good blast from it and she was injured badly. I ducked down from the lightning in fear of getting struck myself. But instead, I felt this new power, this new feeling, building up inside of me. I could feel myself somehow starting to grow and change. I fell over in pain and agony. This was getting to be unbearable. I blacked out for about 30 seconds. They seemed to have lasted forever because of the pain. But as I came to it I felt, different. I regained my bearings and looked around and realized what had just happened. I had become one of them. I was now a dragon. I looked at myself up and down. This was incredible. I should have known I was part dragon from my mother but I never thought of trying to control it and morph like she had. I turned and faced Lyren. “Now, it should be a bit more interesting of a battle!” I was still trying to figure out what kind of dragon I was when she attacked me. I was thrown into the castle wall. I hit it full force and that made me realize I needed to act now before something worse happened. I whipped my tail around and hit her right in the chest. Not a fatal blow but it bought me some time since she was already injured. I came right at her and hit her back into the wall. The wall broke and we both went tumbling out of the new window we had made. I tried to grip onto the side of the castle as we went down but I couldn’t catch a break. Well, now was the time to see if I could fly. I started to move my arms but was really flapping the huge wings that I have never known I had before. They created a huge gust of wind and lifted me higher as it pushed Lyren down farther. “So I’m a wind dragon huh? Okay, I can make this work.” I started to beat my wings harder and harder. The air around me became almost like a tornado. I saw Lyren get swept up into it and I took a deep breath and blew out and sent the tornado flying miles away with her inside of it. She crashed into the side of a cliff and fell to the ground. I flew over to her now motionless body. I changed back into human form (again very painful and needed some work now that I knew I could do it). I grabbed my sword and walked up to Lyren. “You thought you could beat me once, and you failed. So why did you think you could a second time?” I raised the sword above my head and slammed it down into her skull. I heard the bones breaking as I drove the sword deeper into her skull. Never again would she bother me. I started walking back toward the castle but Kam was already on his way out to meet up with me. His face was a mix of shock, pain, and disbelief. He spoke to me first. “This is gonna make a great story to tell everyone when we get back.” |
Tatsu: Twists and Turns
"ROAR!!" Zanden screams, enraged by how underrated he is. Swirls of ignited gas spiral around him. "Enough of your frivolous foolery! This ends, NOW!"
The fire dragon's posture is tall and strong, he cranes his neck back, and stretches out his oversized wings. He is clearly accumulating a force inside himself. The fire of his wings creep inward, and enkindled his flesh. His entire being became one colossal ball of fire in the form of a dragon. That hellfire rendered the majority of the grove to bits of black ash. Yellow, orange and white flames licked and hissed the defiled husk of the earth. Two green gems gleamed in the fire, all had been consumed but his emerald eyes. I dig my hands into the cool mud, grabbing up chunks of moist earth. This exhibition of power demonstrated by a dragon had never been so distinguished before. Well, except for Akuma. I've only clashed with an Elite once before....It was Xephon, the harbinger of Ice...And I didn't exactly defeat Xephon at that time either. Akuma intervened and rendered that vile fiend into a fine dust. I was making the mistake of not properly gauging his tenacity as a soldier. As it was, I was being afflicted by Yogensha's power. It was a foreign article within me, and my body was rejecting his power. Sending my fighting prowess into a fit. At one point my abilities were skyrocketing through the stratosphere, and then next it plummeted to a depth as the deepest trench in the ocean. Nevertheless, these incidences were simply the result of unpreventable events, and I must simply deal with that was handed to me, and play the game accordingly. I stand straight, my boots dig deep into the mud, Zanden's blaze gains mass, a beat of his wings send a wind of fire across the field. Another beating of his wings, and fires swirl around themselves, blowing a series of miniature fireballs from the inferno around him. The blaze, mixed with wind morphs into a funneling tornado of fire. A turbulent gust blows through the grove, uprooting trees, and sucking them up into the eye. I dash back, flipping a few hundred paces away, and land safely onto a tree branch. This was one unfavorable moment where my abilities reached an all time low. I pressed my hands together and then laid them upon the smooth wood of the tree. I focus my energies through my chest, out of my fingertips and into the bark of the tree. The old oak hummed with pure, clear light. I manage to accelerate the growth of the tree's roots, several hundred times over. They twist through the ground, and blast through to the surface. The oak grows several meters in height and diameter. It is the tallest tree in miles, and will be the perfect catalyst for a final attack. The roots head for the sky, bringing up bits of granite and boulders with it. In no more than a minutes time, a wall of stone and earth had been erected, nearly as tall as the oak. Energies surge, as I poke at Yogensha's gargantuan stamina. The vehement tornado walloped into the earth wall. Clasping my hands together roots moved up and blocked the wind from overlapping and rolling off the sides of the wall. Zanden's head and wings were bent forward and down, as he discerned the elemental clamor before him. He as well concentrated, and his fire grew even greater, this stand off quickly became a battle of will. Who could hold off longer? Who could push forward the hardest? Sweat rolled down my brow while blood trickled down my chin from biting my lip too hard. My wrists and hands were shaking from pressing them together so strenuously. I grew new stronger roots from the tree, and placed them at the back of the wall. Pushing that seventy something foot barrier at Zanden. His tornado slowly receded as the wall closed the distance to Zanden. He growled and grunted, but his struggle was fruitless, he took a deep breath and the tornado vanished as quickly as it had formed. The wall was still pushing forward incredibly hard, but that tornado was no longer there to be a hindrance. Then, while the wall was pressing forward at an incredible rate, I finagled the roots to break the wall into numerous pieces, with no obstruction, a wave of stone and earth smashed headlong into Zanden. Zanden was sent flying backwards, and he crashed hard yards from where he was standing. Where he fell I could see Aisha's shack behind in the distance. It was so close. “It's over Zanden! Die!” I shouted out into the sky. I had to end this now before he discovered Aisha's home, and set a match to it. The tree grew more, to an unnatural state. It stood a hundred and fifty feet strong, it consumed the entire grove, roots and earth broke up from every corner. I jumped off, roots came up to meet me, as I ran forward through the sky, roots rose up to be my stepping stones. Zanden had recovered and was flying at me, “how dare you!!” he bellowed. NOW! I exclaimed, The earth below Zanden opened wide and the roots of the tree reached high and grabbed the fiery dragon right out of the air, his shield of fire was still in place, over his entire body. The roots caught fire, but I planned for that. Water exploded forth from that chasm in the earth. It doused Zanden's flame. He was losing power, for his fire was the source of his prowess. His shield vanished. Not even his wings were ablaze, which were so naturally. Rock met his head, and he fell to the ground once again...The dragon lay unconscious, near death....I gasped for air, and shrugged off my blurred sight. I laugh out loud, pressing on my knee to stand upright. And sigh a deep breath. |
I started slowly walking back toward the castle but Kam was already on his way out to meet up with me. His face was a mix of shock, pain, and disbelief. He spoke softly to me first.
“This is going to make a great story to tell everyone when we get back.” We looked at each other and didn’t speak another word after that for some time. It was a great deal of new discoveries to comprehend. This turn of events now made the final battle a little more realistic. If we were going to eliminate the entire dragon army it was good to have Kam and now the newest addition to this equation, the ability to transform into a wind dragon. The silence seemed to last of an hour but it was only a mere amount of minutes. I guess I was so lost in thoughts and trying to figure out what had now come to change in my life that I didn’t realize that Kam had walked over to me. He took my hand in-between his and gave it a slight squeeze. “We should get back to everyone else. They’ll be wondering how we are.” His voice said we had to leave but his eyes said he wanted to stay here and not have me go back to Swift. It made sense too. Kam had been here during the battle, he had been here when I turned; not Swift. I knew once we all got back together things were going to change drastically. I picked his head up a little and wrapped my arms around his face. It was all sorts of discolored and had burns all over. I kissed his cheek to show him that it was him who was here not Swift. “You’re right. Let’s get going.” He wrapped his arms around my sides and hugged me. A sharp pain struck me instantly. I crippled over on the ground in pain. I automatically grabbed my hands to my side. I pulled one back and saw my hand was covered in my blood. Kam kneeled over me and looked at my hands. “Let me take a look.” He tried to pull my shirt up and look but I hit his hand away. “I’m fine… Please.. Let’s just go..” I tried to stand up again but the pain was just too unbearable. I collapsed face first into the ground. It was still wet from the past blood shedding battle that had happened. And now my blood was becoming part of the soil, just like the blood of so many others had. I could smell the mix of blood and soil crawling its way up my nose. I tried to turn myself onto my back but I couldn’t move. I felt like I had become paralyzed. What was going on? I turned my head to the side and called for Kam. “Kamikaze… Go back to the others. Leave me here. They need you more than they need me.” I could barely talk now. I was losing blood quickly and I could just feel myself slipping away. Kam knelled down next to me and brushed the hair out of my face. “I’m not leaving here without you. You mean too much for all of us.” I felt his arms wrap around my shoulders and slowly and gently pull me up and flip me over at the same time. The pain from my side shot throughout my body. My breath was taken away from me. The world started spinning like someone had taken my body and threw it into a blender and put it to high. I closed my eyes to stop the spinning.. |
I felt his arms wrap around my shoulders and slowly and gently pull me up and flip me over at the same time. The pain from my side shot throughout my body. My breath was taken away from me. The world started spinning like someone had taken my body and threw it into a blender and put it to high. I closed my eyes to stop the spinning...
I opened my eyes and there was a bright light. I lifted my hand to shield my eyes. I couldn’t see anything except this white light. Shit, I thought to myself, I died... This wasn’t supposed to happen this way. I was supposed to die fighting with my friends. Dying to save them. Not this way. ‘But you didn’t die’ a voice responded. It was Swift. My heart started to race. He was lying next to me. I blinked a few more time and I realized where we were. We were back at the cave where we first met and tried to kill each other. We were facing the sky looking up into the sun. I put my hand down next to me and I felt his hand. “If this isn’t real, and I’m not dead, what’s going on here?” I was generally confused at this current situation. This had to be a dream. He was two hours away from me and the cave was in another land. There was no physical way this could be. I turned onto my side to look at him. And there he was. It was Swift. “This is a dream, in a way, my love.” His voice was calm. He did not look at me just yet. I could tell in his face he was trying to find the right words to say. “This is an alternate world. A world where there is no war and no fighting. A world of pure peace and joy. This is our world. Or, I should say, our future world. After the wars are over, and we win the final battle, this world becomes ours. There are going to be lives lost along the way to get here but that will come at a later time. Right now, what matters the most is what you have just found out. You are part dragon Suz and you can change into one of the strongest dragons out there.” Not once has he looked me yet… “Things are going to get darker before they can get to this point. But you must know, your mother is a trader. She told of us coming and of our plans. She had us all fooled. Her loyalty was to the dragons. You mustn’t be mad at her. She did not know it would get to this point. But, alas, it has gotten worse than we had planned. Now, I need you to do something for me.” He finally looked at me. It wasn’t Swift. It was Guntros. I could finally for the first time in a while see the man I had fallen in love with. I knew it wasn’t Swift because Guntros eyes. They were the brightest green I had ever seen. I knew this was the true man I loved but I had not seen him before. “What is it Guntros?” It felt weird to say his name. But it rolled off my tongue and sounded right. Like that was the name I should’ve been saying all along. He leaned up and towered over me so the sun was totally blocked by his head. I could see in his eyes this was not going to be the last time I would see his eyes. “You, and you alone, have to kill Aisha. I would never tell you this if I knew you could not handle it. But the only way to win this war is if you defeat her. The fate of the world rests on your shoulders Suz, but, you will not be alone. The friends you have will be there but you have to be the one that kills her. For if someone else does, you will die.” His eyes dropped and looked at me over one last time. “I love you Suz and it is for that reason I tell you this. You have to succeed. There is no other way.” He leaned down and kissed me. Before I could say anything to him, he was gone. I was alone in the cave. I knew what I had to do… But to kill my own mother? I could not think of that just yet. But I had to tell the others. I closed my eyes and drifted back into this sleep.. I awoke to find Kam standing over me. The look of fear in his eyes was as clear as day. “We have to get going. There’s no time to explain but my mother is a trader.” The sudden will to get up and fight motivated me to jump up and almost knock Kam over. “This is war now.” |
Swiftant: Shinkirou's Nightmare
EDIT: Ok guys, before you read on, check out pages 62 and 63 for my descriptions on the 3 big powered dragons. They should help y'all make things more epic. ;)
@Becki I'll write more about Kamikaze's side when I get the time, sorry! >.< But I assure you I have started a couple of paragraphs or so. =) Zanden sprawls out on the ground, drenched and still, as life evaporates from him unsparingly, disregarding his former glory. Tatsu leaps seven feet high upon the dragon's head, charging the last of his might into Sora. It doesn't come across as surprising that he wants to mercifully end Zanden's pain now. How foolish, Tatsu, my disappointment in your beliefs is as high as my pride in your skills. As Tatsu readies to proclaim his final victory, Zanden speaks: "The Dragon Elites are nothing, now." Tatsu stops his sword swinging down midair and we exchange incredulous looks. "We will all die, anyway," Zanden continues stoically. "Whether it's by you or the Dragon Nobles, we won't live. As a reward for giving me such a good fight before my death, I am compelled to repay the favor." "If a half-dead dragon can turn the Dragon Forces around for us, by all means," I say, hinting to Tatsu to finish him off already. "Aisha, the aristocratic bureaucracy, the Governor, the dragons and the commoners... They're all insects... entangled in a web spun by this city's nightmare," the dragon breathes the words out coarsely. I am bewildered but Tatsu lowers his eyes sadly. "I shall start with us... The dragons, want two things: Runestalz, the most valued material in this world and the total annihilation of your group. We plan to kill Aisha if we think she serves no more purpose after giving away your location." "What?!" Tatsu and I exclaim together. "Did you know about this?" I question Tatsu. "Not that much!" He replies. How could we have been so stupid? "She said she was an outcast of the dragons and worked with the human leaders!" I protest. "The reason Aisha lied to you was because she didn't want anyone to deduce her motivation for turning on you," Zanden explains. "Once your presence in this sector was confirmed, Aisha surreptitiously pounced on the opportunity to summon Shakura's army of dragons." "But why would she? Does she hate us? What about Suzette? Doesn't Aisha care at all?" Tatsu voices the queries he had been holding back, probably since he came to know about Aisha's treachery. "I'm uncertain what humans have done to Aisha, nor do I care. My concern lies only with Dragonkind, but I can tell you this - Aisha hates the inhabitants here. However, Shakura has forbidden any dragon to touch the humans, due to the runestalz negotiation, or until Aisha can investigate the secrets of the mining. So, Aisha then acted as a medium between us and the officials and, by Shakura's orders, announced your felonies against the dragons. In return, Aisha wants to prove the Dragon's authority to silence their blind discrimination against her. Shakura also promised her that Suzette will be exempted from her wrath." I cannot muster the words to express the conflict of emotions I feel. I know Aisha has been wronged greatly by the villagers but to escalate to this..? What have we been doing all this time? "Still, as shocking as this is, I understand that the villagers assaulted Aisha under a completely different intent. The illogical issue at hand is the officials, despite knowing the situation, didn't dispel the assaults, and there's the governor himself to consider." "Well, I should be able to answer that, glad you called me up," an unfamiliar voice croak. "Governor!- I mean, Yuu!" Tatsu cries out. I grab his hand to steady him, he is still having a hard time locating his centre of gravity. "And who might you be, young man?" He inquires. "Friend of Tatsu's" I murmur; I never was good with meeting new people. "I see... Well, like Zanden-san here said, the officials harbour a vengeful discrimination against Aisha and Dragonkind. Therefore they wanted use the common people as scapegoats if anything happened. Aisha, under Shakura-sama's restrictions, was savaged and brutalized in all manner of atrocities. Raped by the men and stoned by the women, all of whom think she is a demon witch. She was already being judged for her looks and boycotted, living deep into the woods. Then with Miss Suzette's escapade into the outside world from Aegis, our divine shield, Aisha was further shunned and abuse on her has become ordained as a religious ritual." Zanden has stopped breathing, but to me, it was just another pawn dead in this senseless farce. "I... personally desired to protect Shinkirou with my ideals and your friends by threatening Shakura-sama with the mining of Runestalz. It worked for a while but my subjects, the bureaucracy under my rule, has instigated mutiny on their own conceited terms. For, if they overthrow me, oppress the commoners further, and force them to labor for more runestalz, the industrial district of Shinkirou can still be possibly kept running, even if Shakura-sama siphons off most of our wealth. To let Her Graciousness Shakura-sama continue her routine, unsuspectingly, and to gain her trust, my officials agreed to Aisha's conditions and called for your capture." I slump down on my knees. What have I done? Killing those soldiers, blood on my hands, the grimace on my face, am I never to be unhanded from this erroneous fate of fighting the used? I clutch my face in my palms, frightful of myself. What have I been fighting for? "This conspiracy has turned out bigger than I thought, but," I glare at Tatsu. He has changed even more, since I lost sight of him. A crimson red mantle drapes lightly around Tatsu's silhouette. His hair, I swear, had been a little short of his shoulder. But the most conspicuous change is the color of his eyes. They exhale a bright yellow. Almost like... No it can't be... His blue pupils are strangely uncanny as well; he feels... transcended. His eyes burn back into my own superimposed scarlet ones, with anticipation. "We have bigger things to worry about," he continues. "Swift, where are the commander and the rest of the town's residents?" Tatsu asks. "I left them somewhere safe. They're tending to the wounds I gave them, they won't be able to move. Aisha should have foreseen this, so I assume she's well, too." "Okay, they'd better be far away because I feel a big one coming!" Thrandos, the Golden General, and his hundred-strong legion eclipse the sun. Three humans stand upright with their arms crossed, on his head. They are too high up to make out in detail. Who were they? Thrandos never permits any human to even touch him, let alone trample on his obnoxious dragon brain. I've fought Thrandos and his army before, but this atmosphere is too heavy, way... too heavy, as if the floor is sucking us in. It is taking more than I expected for me to maintain my stance. I stand up, with extravagant effort, nonetheless. Tatsu has his eyes closed now, focusing on regenerating his strength. "Hmmm, Aegis is gone, that was rather easy - just swarming in here," a chilly female voice rings through the air, so unnaturally loud that I thought I heard it inside of my head. A white winter hail accompanies her voice, impairing visibility. Thrandos flaps his large aureate wings and, with an impact that explodes in a radius of which Tatsu and I are ejected out, lands on the body of his late comrade, Zanden. "NOW, WHAT DID I TELL YOU, THRANDOS?" bawls another powerful sound that shakes the landscape. "YOU NEED TO BE RUTHLESS!! A DEAD ALLY WHO GETS IN YOUR WAY IS AN ENEMY! LIKE THE HUMANS! ONE MORE TIME, CRUSH HIS SKULL!!!" Thrandos's claws tread tentatively on it and his eyes screw up in powerless frustration. Low, mournful growls elude his control. I realize his disposition for Zanden seem more protective than disdainful, that is why he pushed Tatsu and me away from it. "Yuu you have been of great assistance to us, but I don't think I can help you now. Please, run as fast as you can and we'll stall them." "M-my apologies, T-Tats-su-san!" Yuu stammers and starts to limp off as fast as his walking stick will allow. He loses his balance and falls. Yuu wearily attempts to get back on his feet. Then, as soon as it appears, it ends. Yuu drops dead, apparently struck by lightning. "Swift?! Wh-" "No, Tatsu, that wasn't me!" I shout, before Tatsu misunderstands. My eyes, accustomed to regular bolts of lightning usage has identified the source of the needless, sadistic murder - someone - one of them, on Thrandos's head. "HAHAHAAAaa...!!!" A maniacal laughter of yet, a third abnormal entity, ends in a wheezing rasp. "SORRYYY, but... no one... LIVES ALIIIVE!! "Kamikaze, connect me with Suzette, now," I send a telepathic message to my counterpart. "Suz..." |
Kami for Kamikaze
Suzette has passed out from pain. I'm ashamed I couldn't do a thing to alleviate it... The horizon suddenly becomes dimmed and the darkness punctures the sky. Dragons are closing in on us. I need to do all I can to protect Suzette. My love... I can't do a thing for you in real life. Maybe if you died, then I won't have to bear that guilt anymore... NO! I can't let her die. I lay suzette onto Flearin's argent back and secure her with his long mane, and plead him to make a bee line for the largest acacia tree I see, hurdling and barrelling across rocks and lakes and swamps. The dragons are catching up but still not near enough, I can be a decoy and parry the horde; They won't notice her. Protect her, protect her, protect her, protect her; my heart, my lungs, my feet, my arms! Protect her!! I can risk everything! I scoot a distance of five kilometres in five minutes, breaking a thin coat of sweat, not from the run but by the pressure being unable to protect Suzette. My legs work themselves toward the dragons.
"T-the DragonSin?!" A roar of astonishment greets my ears. "Of all the places to meet an ex-DragonGeneral!" The dragon-clad sky shadows my identity. Let them think I'm Swiftant, they have no right to live now. I stop dead in my tracks and do a brief head count: Twenty... Thirty-six dragons - about my capacity. Given my congenital ability, I can win. "Imbecile! The DragonSin is just now one measly human!" Another of the detestable reptiles chides. Even if he had fought on equal footing with the Elites and Golden General, they had him all but outnumbered! We merely didn't expect to find him here. We, the Bounty Brigade must have been graced with Her Gloriousness Queen Shakura! This is a fortuitous opening with which we must eradicate him!" He sneers in my direction, but I am not there to begin with. "Lightfoot." My daggerboot has pierced the Bounty dragon's hide. "Outnumbered? I wonder..." I sneer back, my eyes meeting his. "You..! You're not Swiftant!" His face is engraved with abrupt shock, as are his comrades'. Indeed, my the color of my visual organs have given way to the dull, downcast, suffocating grayness of storm clouds. My whole being vibrates in happy agony, as I taste the blood from his wound. I bury my foothold deeper into his stomach and prance up to his chest on the other leg, slicing the dragon clean open. His innards dangle out from his front, raining blood over the accursed land. "GET HIM!!!" And the thirty-five dragons charge at me. I dive into the dead dragon and immerse myself into his tissues. The body is falling really fast: The ground below clenches its particles to shatter my bones, while the dragons above me breathe fire and roast their one of their own, in an attempt to kill me. I instinctively coil my entire body into an acute kink, wringing out my spleen, kidneys, lungs and every other body part in the process. I can feel my fluids flowing out of my pores. Like a blanket, I pull the dragon's insides along and cocoon myself in it. Within seconds, every vein is taut and overinflated by choked cells. "AaaaaaAAAARRRGHHHHH!!!" I wail, in excruciating pain, every syllable louder than the last. I release the stored tension. The tightened dragon's body ruptures and lashes out: Every chunk of dragon meat, mangled beyond recognition, stretches like elastic bands and rips like paper; veins spurting their hideous contents, leaving no spot unfurnished. The other dragons are knocked back into overhanging cliffs and trees. Most of whom have splinters of bones etched into their eye sockets, blinding them. The pieces of flesh and hide on the ground have created small fissures and craters, and such was my power. Admist chaotic abyss, I am the epicentre. "Zap Execution." The sky divides itself. My proximity is engulfed by a skyscraping white pillar, bridging the heavens and earth. Its width is its radiation, disintegrating any nearby organisms unfortunate enough to be loitering in its territory. It's black... I can't move... "Kiminari... Edge." I am not dying... My heart needs to move! Su... Suz! The pain is too much to bear and I cannot respire. Diagnosing my own condition, only my muscles have regenerated, though they're still mush. All of my skin has melted off of me, leaving the sensitive underside to toil prematurely. My heart starts to pulsate, pumping blood into areas not even complete, flattering the ground with the liquid. My organs are now that of a newborn's, it'll take some time for me to recover it seems.Another visit to the devil - all in a day's work. "Grrrr..." My eyes flip open. There are still dragons alive? Seven of them, I smell the air. Two in my blind spot, two in front of me, three making a getaway on their claws. None of them are flying. "Urgh..." I grunt, trying to roll over onto my stomach. Each movement punishes my muscles constantly, I feel like I'm encased in a coffin of blades. "I don't care if I'm paralyzed or not, I'm not stopping for a break if you guys aren't dead. My pain means your pain, too, it's quite a good feeling." "M-m-monster!" One of the dragons howl. "But my girlfriend calls me Kami (Abbreviation for Kamikaze but also Japanese for God). Am I a monster now?" I tilt myself on my feet. "No, you're not! Please, forgive me!" "Sure. I will, but see, the problem is I want to experience more pain." "W-what are you talking about?" He gasps fearfully and slides backward, but the dragon has already dislocated his bones in the fight and crashes back onto the floor. "If you're not going to hurt me, I'm coming." "Please, don't, I beg you!" "Oh, stop clamoring, my ears are hurting, you know?" I hobble feverishly toward the cringing dragon, still in uncaring ignorance of my pain. On contact with his head, I turn myself around and commit seppuku with Zeus and Raijin; my katars, through my disembowelment, dislodges the dragon from his life. And like that I put an end to the other three disabled dragons as well. "And just where do you think you're going?" I shout at the next three dragons in line - the ones fleeing... in Suzette's direction. Using an upright dead dragon as a stepping stone, I ascend its carcass by digging my daggerboot into it, on each step. My legs, by this time, have almost healed fully, as opposed to my torso and upper limbs. I do the first thing that comes to mind. I jump off of the thirty-feet dragon, shooting myself into the fire breath of the desperate live dragons. "Thanks for the fire arrows!" I have my ammunition loaded and they have all been gratefully ablazed now. "Lightfoot." I reappear in the heart of the furnace. "Hah! You're ours now!" The dragons are determined to keep me at bay and maintain their fire blasts revolving me. Great, now you've trapped me. But that did not deter me from lifting up my arms and aiming my now full-bodied-firey arrows to the sky. I have no intention of having leftover ammunition. "Sayorana." I whisper, in respect of their persistence. A new rain, a rain of fire, embraces all beneath it, in its melancholic cascade, imploring the cries to drown in it. Fireworks, aren't they beautiful? |
Final Elapse
My body is burnt black with third degree burns. "... Flearin..." I groan. The bright, dazzling stallion comes darting from between the severed tree stumps. Its eyes are nonchalant and its gait unhesitating. Tatsu, Tamer of Legendary Pets. I will call him that if I see him again, myself. The mane on Flearin shimmers white in the glow of the advancing flames. But, I notice, the flames steer clear of it. "How's... Su...?"
It neighs and licks my hand gently, although I feel nothing. "I see, she's okay..." I cannot even fathom still having lips, but I want to smile in relief. "Take me... To her." Flearin draws several paces back and suddenly charges toward me, not holding back on speed. A wild wind starts to stir around me. Flearin, a spirit horse that gallops up to two-hundred miles per hour, does not take its eyes off me; I'm its target. "H-hey...?" My body is out of commission, I really am unable to move now. My fingers grip hard on my weapons. I close my eyes, concentrating on survival. If Flearin hits me at that rate, I'm not going to get away with just burns. Nothing happens. I hear trodding sounds on my other side. My eyelids pop open, as Flearin strides impatiently around me. The fire has been put out, by the pure wind of its speed. But I did not feel any gust of wind at all, just a small rushing breeze. I did not even account that Flearin could remove the arrows in my body in the same instant. What an amazing horse. Seconds later, I am already beside Suzette. She has not regained consciousness. Mingled emotions flood my heart when I stroke her hair and her head. I kiss her, knowing I may never get another chance like this again. Only watching and desiring from within Swiftant's subconscious. I want to take her away, get to know her more, love her, have kids... Be the man Swiftant can't be. "I can give you so much more, Suzette..., the only thing I don't want to give is you up." I adore her face, chest, stomach, and legs. Should I, before I lose the chance... "Kamikaze, connect me with Suzette, now," comes the all-too-familiar voice. "You wish." "Suz was in danger, that's only reason I unleashed your will." "She's in danger now, of loving you." "We're all in danger of dying, if you don't shut up." "Why should I believe you? At such a timely moment?" "Because, one, I can kill you even if it means killing myself. Two, if you love her, you'll do as I say." "..." "Connect me with Suz and you'll also listen in." I reluctantly place my forehead on Suzette's and imagine Swiftant. ~~~~~~~~~~~~Refer to Becki's post~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Why did you appear as Guntros?" I demand. "Don't know." "Why does Suzette need to kill her birth mother? Her only kin?" "This is something I don't want anyone else knowing about. That's why I'm only conveying this message to you, one of my inner dimensions." I pause to let his conviction sink in. Depending on circumstances, I may just let Suzette in on it, after all. "I fought Shinkirou's top commander after you left with her," Swiftant begins. "Then Zanden, a Dragon Elite arrived." "Bet you had fun." "I used Lightfoot to take those who'd survived my judgment to a safe place, in the first half of Tatsu's battle with Zanden. Although... I couldn't save the governor." "Hmph. If I-" "You know as well as the rest of us in me, Kamikaze, it wouldn't have changed anything." "Point is," Swiftant carries on. "Shinkirou's commander has revealed to me Aisha's deepest secret... That she stole something of extreme value. She wasn't expelled from the Dragon Empire, she was displaced to Shinkirou, the Vanishing Village. Shakura wanted runestalz but she also didn't want to be caught up in the Final Elapse. Specializing in espionage, Aisha was the perfect candidate. "I knew something was happening, but this... And what is this Final Elapse?" "It is a bomb - made from runestalz. In short, it's the deadliest bomb in the world. I'm not sure if Shakura had ordered it to be made when she first claimed Shinkirou or if the humans had had it made themselves before Aisha stole it. No one knows how much damage the bomb is capable of. Probably the whole of Etrirea, probably the planet itself." "What has that got to do with killing Aisha?! Don't you know Suzette loves her so much? Telling her to kill her mother is telling her to die, Swiftant." "Don't you get it... That is precisely the reason I want her to do it!!" "..." "Listen and think carefully, Kamikaze. Aisha's intentions to use the bomb as insurance against Shakura might have triggered the Final Elapse, which resulted in a biological integration with Aisha's soul. I don't know how, it must be organic on some level. Aisha has been, all this time, curbing the bomb. The Final Elapse's not an explosive, it's not a time bomb, it's not a missile; it's a will. I think that Aisha is suppressing it with her dragon powers, because of Suz. I thought it was weird at first, that she doesn't use it at all, even in her private convenience." "Then let us kill Aisha ourselves and let Suzette hate us for it. That's the least you could do as her lover." "She will be on guard, especially since she's betrayed us already, unless it's against Suz. I can't risk Aisha losing control. I don't want to tell Suz about the Final Elapse because she'd rather kill herself than kill her mother when they still love each other. If, however, we provide Suz with an intense motivation, like complete betrayal, maybe the pain can be alleviated. I've never killed a loved one before, but I think this is best..." I am still ruminating on Swiftant's words, when Suzette opens her eyes. "We have to get going. There's no time to explain but my mother is a traitor." She jumps up and shoulders me in the chest, knocking me off balance. She has incredible potential, those dragons didn't see me coming, but I couldn't dodge that properly, even though I'm almost recovered. "This is war now," Suzette announces valiantly, determinedly posing a brave front. War, indeed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Swiftant: I grit my teeth and feel my pocket. The red button, capped with a metal lid with an elven insignia, tumbles around. Kazuhide... "Tatsu, have you ever heard of an elven user named Kazuhide?" |
Tatsu: A Rock and a Hard place
The sun was blotted out by the incoming dragon forces. There were many, and their numbers cast a shadow down on the grove. The golden dragon positioned in the center I had never seen before. Just how many did the damned dragons have in the higher-ups?! The expression on Swift’s face illustrated that he had some sort of relation with this one, though he kept silent. The three humans that stood with the utmost confidence on the golden dragon’s head all had a similar aura. It felt to be on a wavelength of the dragon elites, but somewhat more than that. Whatever it was, I could feel vast energies exuding off of their being, even though they kept still.
Yuu was dead, looking to the left I saw his fragile form, lifeless on the ground. Smoke rose from his body, the lightning strike dropped him in an instant. “Tatsu…” Swiftant spoke hardly louder than a whisper. “One of them, on his head…used the lightning without even changing stance.” Swift rustles with his hand in his pocket as if he is looking for something. Now’s not the time to be distracted, Swift. I think to myself unless you have a dragon-smashing hammer crammed in that pocket. “Tatsu.” Swift continues; “Have you heard of an Elven-user named Kazuhide?” What’s this all of a sudden? “No.” I speak up. “I don’t believe I do.” The golden dragon looks over at us; his gaze rises from his dead kin. He hisses, “Are the two of you exchanging wills?” The foot-dragons in the air give a hearty laugh. “You do know that you are completely surrounded, and this is the end of the line for you? I can’t imagine that you’d be trying to contrive some exit for yourselves? Let it be known that I am Thrandos! Gold General of the entire Dragon army, my will is rivaled only by her most super Silverness Shakura!” The three on Thrandos’ head let out a chuckle. “DON”T FORGEETT ABOUT USSSS.” The human standing on the right side of Thrandos’ decorative headgear, his lips curl inward to a manical smile, his long stringy hair half covering his eyes dangles into his mouth. He has a fitted orange vest around his torso, laden with buckles and straps, the sleeves hang low, completely concealing his hands. “OURR POWERSS MORE THAN RIVALLL YOURSSS. HAHA!” With my thumb and forefinger I massage my temple in annoyance. Man this guy is really off his rocker. Thrandos grumbles “Just don’t float there! Attack now!” Thrandos spreads his wings skyward, with raised tail he signals for the militia in the sky to rain down on us. “Now! Swift!” I hunch forward, Swift runs from behind me, jumps up off my shoulders; “Lightfoot” he calls out and thrusts himself into the air, wielding his katars with outstretched arms straight at the first dragon flying at us. With flexed hands I bring two energies together, green and brown; “Come forth! I call to you; Mithur!” The fallen branches from around my feet split apart, pulling open the earth. A golem comes out of a glow in the ground. The metal golem, Mithur has given us a moment of her time. “Mithur, I know how much you hate to be bothered from your sleep, but as you can see we have a dilemma…” I point up into the air at all the dragons. “I need you to take on as many as you can.” Mithur’s white eyes glow, she nods breaking off of one of the metal protrusions coming from her chin, and turns her attention to the wave of wings and claws. Swift is jumping from one dragon to another; they are packed so closely together, he is able to land quick, numerous lashes to several opponents. None of the dragons in the sky possessed any control over a particular element, their talents were largely non-elemental. The natural essence of water and earth in me should be enough to deal with them. I shouldn’t need to resort to any particularly advanced techniques. I unsheathe Sora and turn to a group making a beeline at me; the ten-strong team wields gigantic halberds, the tips of the blades were curved into a super fine point. Three halberds swing down on me, with a backflip, the first one whizzes by and shatters rock, the second meets Sora, I use the force of the halberd as leverage and push myself off, twirling twice I land near the third, using the brown glow from my hand, I clap the dirt, a rock shaft shoots up from the ground, and crashes into the dragon’s chin, he drops his halberd as he roars out in pain. The halberd, not designed for human use, is larger than myself and mighty heavy, but if I concentrate energy into my left arm I can wield it for a moment. Pushing forward I send the halberd at the 4th dragon, who closed in with gauntlets encased in silver, the projectile pierces his belly and finds a warm place, howling out the dragon gushes blood. The 5th and 6th try and flank me, joined by the first two, clasping my hands together a torrent of waves washes up, and blows one away, using this surprise, I climb one of the dragons and bury Sora in his neck, through a crunch and a snap, the dragon keels over, most definitely dead, another yells out for his comrade, but Sora intervenes and finds pleasure in quieting them down. Fifteen so far, lay still, surrounded in a sea of blood. Mithur had smashed several, I turned my attention over to a group near Thrandos, gazing over, I could see that Thrandos’ complete attention was on Swift who was still airborne. I could see Thrandos was amassing something, and then in a burst, a golden breath of fire spat forth from Thrandos’ throat, heading for Swift, Swift was completely surrounded and his attention was not on Thrandos, the golden stream covered yards in the second it was unleashed; I close my eyes, utilizing sensory-teleportation I am standing on one of the dragons several meters behind Swift. Now I was in the direct path of Thrandos’ attack, pressing my palms together, my hands are enveloped in a deep blue hue; “Spiraling Watersphere!” When I yell out, Swift spins about when he realizes how I suddenly I got close to him. The watersphere spins about, multiplying, but Thrandos laughs when he sees my attack headed for his, just before out attacks are about to collide, the golden flame, turns into a solid sickle of gold, the water is pushed out of the way, with haste I turn to move Swift out of the way, but he is by my side, I use sensory-teleportation on us both, and bring us to Mithur’s side. The golden sickle hurdled at where we were just a moment ago, and pierces through three dragons. Confused, Thrandos scans the field to find us off to the side. “Hmm..Seems we have an illusionist in our midst… Did you see that Swiftant? A new technique that I have been working on, it is still a work in progress, but it sufficient enough at it’s current state. I can turn my breath into a solid piece of gold…” Thrandos beams with satisfaction. “We were both taken by surprise, we move as one now.” I glance up at Swift from my crouched position. |
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