by Aaron Oster
“They have to be at least 1st Dan, maybe even 2nd,” Duncan said quietly.
“Yup,” Hermit said. “Even with the help of all the other Scions, we might have a hard time taking the three of them down. That’s not to mention that the Beast would have to stay out of it completely.”
It was hard for either of them to miss the presence of the Bringer of Fire. If the presences of the Scions were like towering pillars, then the Beast’s was like the building they were supporting. It was so immense as to be nearly immeasurable, even by their standards.
“Let’s just focus on the good news then,” Duncan said, retracting his senses. “We have a third Scion on our side. That’s some pretty damn good news.”
Hermit seemed to sit up a bit, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
“Seems we have a bit more good news,” he said, hooking a thumb over his shoulder. “Guess who just came out of his Red-Belt test.”
Duncan was confused for a moment, then, realizing what Hermit was referring to, spread his senses wide. Past the Itachi clan territory, through the Crater, and into the Waterwood, where he finally found it, the blazing presence of gold that was his son. Leroy had grown by leaps and bounds since he’d last sensed him, and the intense presence of the massive power he radiated told him that he’d been reunited with his old power.
The only difference was that it wasn’t as wild or uncontrollable as it had once been. It seemed that however he’d recovered his power, it had tempered the violent impulses.
“He’s far stronger than even I expected,” Hermit said. “And I expect a lot from those I teach.”
“I thought you only had two students,” Duncan said.
“I do,” Hermit replied with a grin. “But I still expect a lot from them.”
Duncan examined his son again, feeling the power he was radiating. With the right amount of training, Pills, and Elixirs, Leroy could soon rise to incredible heights. If he started to display the same shocking growth again, then he could take the helm of the clan in no time, but that was only if they managed to come out of this war alive. Still, Duncan knew one thing for sure.
It was time to bring his son back home.
8
Tonde Aika slowly came to, her mind clawing itself back from the land of dreamless sleep and fathomless darkness to rejoin the waking world. Her eyes flickered open, finding a shining, blue crystal not five inches from her nose. She blinked a few more times and yawned, her mouth opening wide and her eyes almost closing.
It was only then, when she reached over to rub at them, that she realized that there was no more pain.
She pushed herself upright, finding herself in the crystal cavern where she and Roy had battled the golem. The Red Torii gate that Roy had gone through for his test still stood tall, radiating a soft light, and the statue that was apparently Roy’s mother loomed over her.
She looked down at herself, noting that despite her tattered clothing, her body had been completely healed. Had Roy’s mother somehow done this?
Aika looked back up at the statue, remembering well her conversation with the unearthly woman. She had never met anyone so beautiful in all her life. Even the Sovereigns she’d met couldn’t come close. Her voice had been so soothing, her presence divine. She remembered some of what the woman had said, that Doragon, the man who’d killed her father, was her brother and also somehow not responsible for his actions.
Aika shook herself, getting slowly to her feet and making her way across the room to where her pack lay, some of its contents having spilled out when she’d dropped it when the fight with the golem had started.
More than her aggravation and confused thoughts about Doragon and the woman claiming to be Roy’s mother, she realized how exposed she was. Her clothes were barely hanging onto her, and although she and Roy had finally taken the first step in forming a relationship as more than friends, she didn’t relish the idea of him seeing her in her current state.
She rummaged through the pack, emerging with a fresh set of black and white robes, and crouched behind a particularly large crystal to change quickly. She then removed a small mirror from the pack. There was a jagged crack through the middle of it, but she was still able to see the state of her hair.
With a cry of dismay, she saw that the hair on one side of her head had been scorched off by one of the golem’s attacks, though thankfully, the rest had survived. With a groan, Aika sat down, removing a small knife from the pack and beginning to trim off the scorched and ruined hair. By the time she was done, the hair on one side of her head, running from her temple to the back, was perhaps an inch long, if that.
She examined her appearance in the mirror, and while not loving the look, she knew it was better than leaving it as the scorched mess it had been. She was packing the knife away when she felt a flare of power in her Spirit Sense and looked up quickly, just in time to see Roy stepping through the Torii gate.
“You made it!” she shouted, immediately noticing the shining Belt, colored a solid Red, sitting around his waist.
Roy turned to face her, giving her a big, goofy smile as she rushed over. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, but an odor so foul and horrific assaulted her senses that she was forced to come up short, pinching her nose and gagging.
“Sorry about that,” Roy said, looking down at himself. “The advancement was a bit…messy.”
Aika tossed him the pack wordlessly and turned her back on him, still pinching her nose. She knew advancing between stages could be gross. She remembered the advancement between Orange and Green. It hadn’t been as horrible as it was for most people, as she’d been prepared quite well. Seeing as Roy hadn’t really purified himself to the point where there would be nothing for his body to be rid of, the advancement had likely been much more unpleasant.
She could sense the power of his Core, though. Where before it had been a deep pool, thrumming with energy, now it was like a vast ocean, containing depths that she couldn’t even begin to fathom. There was so much of it, as well as a deeper power, one that she knew to be Chakra, which she hadn’t yet touched on.
She heard the splashing of water as Roy used one of their canteens to wash himself off as best he could. He would likely still smell a bit when he finished changing, but that would go away as soon as he got a proper bath.
“There, that feels much better.”
Aika turned around cautiously, preparing to cover her eyes if he wasn’t decent. Thankfully, he was, and now that he wasn’t covered in dried blood and who knew what else, she could really take him in.
She noticed that he had grown, but taller, not broader. Roy had already been pretty broad to begin with, what with his Herald lineage, but now, his shoulders seemed to have become even more rounded. He was dressed in a sleeveless robe of black and red, which showed off his muscled arms.
His chest peeked through the part at the top where one side tucked under the other, and it too appeared to stand out more. More than anything else, Aika could see the difference the advancement had made on his complexion. Where every fighter picked up various scars, blemishes, and discoloration along their Paths, Roy’s skin was as perfect and smooth as could be. She had always thought he’d looked quite handsome, even back when they’d first met and he’d been relatively weak.
Now though, he looked downright perfect, which was probably why the second advancement was called the Perfect-Body.
“Is something wrong?” Roy asked, giving her a worried look.
Apparently, she’d been staring for too long without saying anything.
“No,” Aika said, quickly walking over and wrapping her arms around him. “Nothing is wrong at all.”
She felt a small thrill as Roy hugged her back, his arms wrapping around her slender frame and pulling her close. They stayed like that for a long minute before Roy pulled back, his now too-smooth hand running over her cheek and pulling her eyes up to meet his. Aika felt her face warm slightly as she met those eyes.
Then, he lea
ned in and kissed her, his lips meeting hers as he pulled her close once more. Aika felt her heartrate redouble as he did and all but melted into him. She wasn’t really the girly type, but in that moment, he just seemed so strong that she couldn’t help herself. The moment seemed to last for an eternity, the two of them locked together in the middle of the glittering, crystal cavern. Then, it was over, and Roy was pulling back.
Aika felt her breath coming just a little quicker as Roy released her, taking her hand and leading her to a spot where they could both sit down.
“I’m glad you made it out okay,” Aika said, finally getting past the dreamlike daze he’d momentarily left her in.
“For a moment there, I wasn’t sure I would,” Roy admitted, seeming to hunch in on himself.
Aika, sensing something was wrong, moved a bit closer, nudging her shoulder against his. Well, not his shoulder, as he was so much taller than she was, but it was the sentiment that counted.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really,” Roy admitted.
Aika was silent for a few more moments, then her lips quirked into a smile as she moved back a bit.
“Want to see what you’re made of now that you’re an all-powerful Red-Belt?”
That seemed to perk Roy up a bit, though it was with a subdued sense of excitement that he rose back to his feet.
Aika punched him before he even had a chance to brace himself, putting all the power she could behind the attack and sending him flying halfway across the room. He smashed into the wall of crystal, sending fragments scattering all across the floor.
“Ow!” Roy complained as he pulled himself from the wall, clutching at his jaw and glaring at her. “That was a cheap shot.”
“Come on, did that really hurt?” Aika asked with a raised eyebrow.
Roy, still looking at her sourly, seemed to think for a moment. Then, seeming surprised, he shook his head.
“Now that you mention it, I barely even felt that,” he admitted, the shock apparent in his voice.
“Perks of having a Perfect-Body,” Aika said, flexing her fingers. “I’m jealous!”
As she said the word, Light Qi encased her body, and she shot across the room in a flash, staff blurring out and slamming into the side of his head, driving it nearly a foot into the wall. Crystal shattered and rained around them, tinkling to the ground in a cacophony of chiming clinks.
Aika leaped back, her Light Saw blazing across her staff as she swung at him again before he could move. The whirling blades of Qi slammed into Roy’s shoulder, driving him deeper into the wall. She spun out of the attack, leaping back with the power of her Movement Technique, and sent a shower of Light Lances into him as he tried to pull himself out. The explosion of force ripped apart more of the crystal, but when Aika landed, Roy seemed no worse for wear.
He pulled himself from the wall, looking more shocked than angry that she’d basically thrown one massive attack after the next at him without giving him time to prepare. She was extremely jealous.
Aika remembered a time when a simple kick from her could easily have killed him, and now, her most powerful attacks didn’t even faze him.
“Why didn’t I feel that?” Roy asked, feeling at his unblemished face where her staff had slammed into him.
“The Perfect-Body,” Aika said again, trying to keep her breathing even. “I told you, it’s tough. I doubt anyone under Red-Belt will even be able to lay a scratch on you now, Armorer technique or not.”
“Is there that big of a power difference between Purple and Red?” Roy asked, finally meeting her eyes.
Aika nodded, slumping back to the ground and patting it to indicate that he should sit back down. She felt drained after that sudden exertion. Despite being healed of all her injuries, she was still recovering from her fight with the golem.
Roy sat next to her, still looking down at his hands as though disbelieving of the damage he’d just brushed off.
“So,” Aika said, still a bit breathless. “You ready to tell me what’s on your mind?”
Roy looked down at her, his expression turning grim once more as he was reminded of what had been bothering him before Aika had sent him halfway through a wall.
“Not really,” he said again, letting out a long sigh. “But I have no choice. I don’t think I can keep this bottled up.”
Aika listened as he explained what he’d been forced to endure in that test. Facing off against past enemies was nothing new, but future enemies was something else entirely, especially when Roy told her how strong they were and that their features had been largely obscured.
When he spoke of the last challenge, Aika finally understood what was bothering him. She listened, feeling his pain as he explained what he’d been forced to do, how he’d had to kill her, Ferry, and Hermit. He even admitted how brutally the killings had been carried out.
“…and even though I knew it wasn’t really you, I just can’t get rid of this feeling of guilt,” Roy finished, not willing to meet her eyes.
Aika was silent for a few moments, thinking how best to ease his conscience. He hadn’t been given much of a choice. It was either kill the fake versions of them the test had cooked up or stumble out of the gate and basically explode as his Core ruptured. But she knew Roy, knew the guilt and self-recrimination that was likely going on in his mind at this very moment.
She needed a way to assure him that everything was okay and that what he’d done was necessary. But at the same time, she had to say it in a way that didn’t sound like she was just brushing it off. Finally, she settled on something, hoping it would be good enough.
“I had a dream once,” Aika said, looking to the far side of the room. “I can still remember it clearly, even to this day. I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone this dream before because it still haunts me. It happened shortly after my father had been killed. In that dream, I was eating with my family. We were all happy, talking about our plans for the next day.
“Then, Doragon burst into the house. I still remember the crash as the doors were torn from their moorings. He lunged for my father and stabbed him through the heart. He killed my mother next, slashed her throat wide open. Then, he turned on me, except the moment he met my eyes, I realized that I was the one holding the knife.
“I can still remember the feeling, standing over my dead parents, my hands slick with their blood. For months, I believed that I was the one who’d really killed them, that Doragon couldn’t have done what he did to my father…”
She trailed off, feeling a chill run down her spine as the series of images flashed in her mind. They were still so real to her, even though she knew they weren’t. A hand slipped into hers then, fingers interlacing with her own.
She looked up, meeting Roy’s eyes, and felt herself relax.
“Thank you for telling me that,” Roy said. “I needed it.”
Aika let out a shuddering breath, then forced a smile.
“What are friends for?” she said with false cheer.
Her eyes flicked to the statue then, remembering what the stunning woman had said before she’d put Aika to sleep.
“Come on,” she said, getting to her feet and dragging him along with her. “There’s someone who wants to meet you.”
Roy looked confused for a moment, but when he saw where she was leading him, he followed more eagerly. She was glad to see that most of the pain and guilt had left him. That story hadn’t been an easy one to tell, but from the way he held her hand, fingers still interlaced with her own, she could tell they’d grown closer because of it.
They stopped before the statue, Roy staring up at the weathered and marred features of the woman who was supposedly his long-lost mother.
“Are you ready?” Aika asked as Roy continued staring.
“I’m not sure,” he admitted, suddenly looking nervous.
“Then let me help you,” Aika said.
She waited for Roy to nod before raising the hand he was holding, then pressed in against th
e statue. Just like last time, the world went dark, the crystal cavern vanishing in an instant as their minds, bodies, or both were dragged to wherever it was that Roy’s mother resided.
9
Blackness surrounded him on all sides, the only sensation Roy could feel being Aika’s fingers interlaced with his own. He couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, and couldn’t smell. The lack of sensation would have been alarming if not for the presence of the girl at his side. He tried to call out to her, but no sound came from his throat, and he was forced to simply stand there and wait. Wait for whatever was supposed to happen.
Then, a single drop of light shimmered into being. Seeming to be just inches away but at the same time, feeling as though it were coming from a great distance. Sound began slowly returning, the first signs being the steady drip of water landing in a larger pool. The light grew steadily until just a few moments later, it resolved itself into the form of a glowing woman, one who looked equal parts familiar and alien.
The familiar parts were her features, a couple of which he recognized from his own. For the most part, the woman was as alien as any he’d seen.
Her feet floated a couple of inches off the ground, small ripples spreading outward as though she stood in an invisible pool. She wore white, flowing robes that moved along with the invisible water, rippling outward unnaturally. A Belt, colored Black and White, sat around her waist, the colors constantly shifting and moving as though containing a life of their own.
It was her features that were the most striking, however. Her height was beyond anything Roy could have guessed, as the woman towered at least three feet over him. Her features were smooth and delicate, and her skin was an almost pure, alabaster white. Her eyes were larger than normal, containing slitted pupils surrounded by silver irises and black sclera.
Behind her back, he could see a large, bushy tail the color of coal, and from her stark, white hair poked a pair of small horns.
