What the—Lex wondered what was the meaning of his sudden loss of energy.
This body of yours cannot handle so much power for too long… Still, that burst of strength proved enough to take Juventus down even in his toughest form. According to how these mongrels are using him, he grows stronger by the second, so if we don’t end this fight right now, things will become dire. I wonder-- Lex!
Lex rose up quickly, his mind quickly putting together and analyzing the calamitous situation. In order to be of the efficacy he needed, he would have to move as fast as his thoughts, even faster. Reaching out from Juventus’ cloak of dark energy were deadly streaks. Two wings appeared on Lex’s body as he pounced off from where he was, easily evading the ray of dense darkness that was coming at him. But that single attack wasn’t quite the problem; each of the quick attacks was aimed at one of his friends.
Lex’s wings disappeared and his eyes widened scarily as the thick strand of unfriendly power blasted through his back, piercing through the defensive cloak that Maximo had provided. Three more of the vile streaks bored through the boy’s body, jerking him harshly. He coughed up blood in inhumane pain, and the friendly darkness flashed in his eyes and grew faint, almost disappearing completely.
Still lying on her back, the young witch stared up with the face of a boy staring at a headless ghost with red eyes. Blood gushed and flowed from the barely standing boy. Azar had evaded the streak that went after him, saving Star narrowly, and Mike had saved himself and protected Zen, who was still, though conscious, unable to move. The boy’s companions stared at him with wide, shaking eyes.
“No…” Kyle whispered.
Still unable to speak, Clover stared up at Lex, tears finally settling in her eyes, then slowly rolling down her cheeks.
I’m sorry… Lex heard Maximo’s faint voice in his head, then he felt the presence of the spirit leave him. The darkness in his eyes disappeared completely as Juventus quickly absorbed, through the black cords that had torn through Lex, the essence of Maximo. The black streaks, having penetrated Lex and the aura set by his demon to protect him, could not go further to hurt Clover. The streaks disappeared into a black mist and Juventus folded his fists, a thousand and twenty-four wings stretched out from him. Clover stood quickly, catching the blood-soaked, falling Lex. She caught his limp, heavy body, her eyes still wide in disbelief and denial. As she stared over Lex’s shoulder out to the man of darkness a few meters off, her sorrowful feeling transformed suddenly into a kind of rage that tears or screams could not begin to convey.
Her eyes turned black with a threatening darkness that more than just slightly interested the watching gods. Black mana rapidly orbited both her and Lex. Those around her looked on in awe and wonder.
“Seventh grade mana…” Azar muttered. “That ominous energy…” Even if she has miraculously achieved arcane magic, why are her eyes black? Azar wondered. It must be due to the suddenness with which her mana has jumped levels. Her soul can barely contain this power. His eyes widened as he saw something even more impossible. The powerful black mana began to change its form. Almost suddenly, a bright white mana had surrounded the witch and the Icemaker.
***
Oga and Kizer glanced at one another, an unsettled, almost worried look on Oga’s face, but a more excited look on Kizer’s.
“Kizer, she is at the bridge between the seventh and the eighth,” Oga said to the god of elements. “This is cause for concern.”
“You are afraid that this child has the potential to outdo you in your own art,” Kizer replied with a smirk on his face.
“Such a thing is impossible!” Oga answered quickly. “And do remember that your power is on the same wavelength as mine. It is still eighth grade magic – technically.”
“Only in your theories, my piece. I have proven the superiority of my elemental powers to simple magic, and even if a world of sorcerers reached the eighth stage, the secrets of reaching elemental power will never be unlocked unto them. At the end of the day, it is my genius that draws the thick line between our strengths, and it is more my wisdom than power that separates me from man. Not even you, Oga, knows the secrets and depths of my power.”
***
Through the blinding white mana, Clover saw her brother’s body lying in a river of his own blood.
***
“Her reaching the eighth level is impossible,” Oga said with certainty, “but her being at the bridge is dangerous enough.”
“Have you forgotten our power, Oga?’ Kizer, asked, sounding a little annoyed. “Have you forgotten my power?”
“That’s not the issue – if we leave things as they are, Juventus will be destroyed. Two of the witch’s companions were killed in one sweep. She will wield the power to crush Juventus, and he is our last power piece on the board.”
“Do not misunderstand. You are more than a pawn, but I alone am the king. Do not pretend we are equals. Disillusion yourself quickly. Now go and fix this problem.”
***
Juventus bolted toward the most powerful witch in the history of magic. He rose in flight, ascending a great distance, and readied and tossed at her a quickly made tera bomb. The black, dense sphere, made in a very brief moment, left Juventus’ hands and headed for the witch and the Icemaker. It was many times larger than the sphere of blinding white mana that surrounded the girl and the boy in her arms.
Suddenly, everything stopped moving. Juventus remained frozen like he was paralyzed by an impossibly strong suspension spell. Breaths and heartbeats stood still. Particles of dust stood suspended where they were. Minds stopped processing thought. Then, as suddenly as motion was stopped, motion was resumed, but something quite unusual was happening.
The massive black sphere moved backward toward Juventus, and he flew backward, catching the huge ball, landing and running backwards. Somehow, time was set in reverse! The sphere’s energy flowed quickly into its creator’s hands, but then, there was no creator, as it was never created in the first place. Or was it? Black mist gathered from the air and formed the black streaks that pierced Kyle and Lex fatally. Clover lay on her back, staring up at the punctured Lex. The white mana had already turned black, revolving around her and then disappearing into nothing. The streaks retracted from Lex and Kyle, and from close by the others who had narrowly escaped. The deadly wounds on Kyle and Lex disappeared, as they simply had no reason or grounds to exist. A few fateful moments were undone as time was altered.
Lex! The boy heard Maximo’s voice warn. Lex rose up quickly as swift streaks emerged from Juventus’ cloak. Clover’s eyes opened suddenly, and they glowed an eerie white light; the same light that suddenly enveloped her whole body. She vanished from where she was in a white cloud of mana, appearing by her brother. Grabbing him, she disappeared again. Lex dodged the incoming attack quickly, rescuing Zen. Azar saved Star, and Mike saved himself. Clover appeared close by Lex.
Juventus shook as a bolt of Azar’s black lightning struck him from behind. Lex ran up to the weakened enemy and slammed a sphere of pure ice energy into his chest. As the Icemaker released his own natural energy, his own power, a prison of ice trapped the exhausted Juventus. Two wings appeared on Lex’s back, and the darkness in his eyes thickened once again. With a backward leap, he flew back into the air, forging a dense black sphere in his hands. He released it with no question or hesitation. The shadow shell blasted its target without fail, shattering the ice in a black explosion. A thick darkness rushed out from the blast and entered Lex.
Juventus joined his brothers.
The Icemaker landed on his hands and feet, and the darkness disappeared from his eyes, and his wings became a quickly vanishing mist. He breathed heavily, and stood as the darkness from the bang quickly vanished. For a moment, there was just silence, as everyone realized that they were still alive and the enemy was defeated. Azar’s brows knit together as he tried to catch something in his mind, but it slipped away and disappeared.
“What just happened?” Clover asked he
rself in utter confusion.
“Was that a vision?” Lex pondered aloud, “Why do I remember clearly being killed by Juventus?”
***
“So she managed to use a time reversal technique,” Oga said to himself, “disrupting the flow of time in a particular space…” This young witch cannot be taken lightly… Could she really be capable of crossing the bridge?
***
Clover walked over to where Lex stood. The others finally found their way to their feet, and the group of heroes slowly converged.
Suddenly, with no splash of mana, with no coloured cloud, a man appeared in the midst of them, a man menacingly familiar to Lex, and even far more familiar to those inside him. The earth’s defenders stepped back, widening the circle, and took their stances and readied themselves to fight some more. A bolt of red lightning, quicker than they could react to, struck the earth in their midst, right before the mysterious man. As the bright flash ended, another man was revealed, a man with long, jagged black hair that contrasted strikingly with the other man’s smooth, snow-white hair.
“Kizer and Oga!” Lex blasted, readying ice energy in his hands.
“Have you not fought enough, young one?” Oga said, trying to pacify Lex, obviously unfazed and unimpressed with his ability.
“Kizer and Oga?” Azar asked, almost laughing, having studied both men in great detail and being certain that their bones had long dissolved under the earth.
“These men are far from the saviours the world thinks them to be! They controlled Trium and tried to use them to destroy the world! They wrote the history and prophecies we read and study, and painted Trium, who tried to save the world from them, as a villain!”
“The boy speaks truth,” the black-haired man who came down in a bolt of strangely coloured lightning said.
“Nonsense!” Azar blasted, “Regardless of what happened back then, the gods of magic and elements died thousands of years ago!”
“Gods do not die,” Kizer answered calmly, and positioned himself to sit, even to rest his arms on the arms of a chair. Instantly, wood burst up from the ground and formed under him a well-carved, kingly-looking chair. He leaned back comfortably, crossing legs and all.
“You will pay for what you’ve done!” Maximo’s voice blasted through Lex, and the now black-eyed boy quickly forged an instant shadow shell. The group widened quickly. Oga glanced over at Lex and the darkness in his eyes quickly subsided, and the shadow shell turned to mist. Everyone stared at the two men with wide eyes.
“Listen now,” Kizer began speaking. “First, let me tell you all… I am quite impressed with you… You managed to create a minor setback for my master plan. It was my error to have thought that Trium would be enough to defeat all of earth’s forces.”
“Your plan was to kill us all, then reveal yourself and kill Trium, and unite whatever remained of the world to be ruled under your empire!” Lex exposed.
This isn’t possible… Could they really be—
“You will have proof soon enough,” Oga said, looking at Azar.
Azar gasped. Did he hear my thoughts?!
Oga smirked slightly.
“So, congratulations all of you,” Kizer said, but with no visible expression on his face. “Notwithstanding, you are not enough to challenge Oga and me. Still, I will let you see things play out. In order for you to truly and unmistakably see how hopeless and defenceless you are against the power of gods, I will refrain from crushing you right now… I will allow you a little time to recover from this battle, to rebuild and train, to hope and dread… Then I, the writer of the past, present and future, will rise from the ashes of the destruction wreaked by Trium the villain, and set up a kingdom that will rule for eternity. With all your might, you will fight and rebel, and when you see how easily you are overcome, then and only then will you understand my overwhelming power.”
“This boy is destiny’s child!” Clover came in, grabbing Lex’s shoulder. “It is his destiny to protect this world, and we will all stand by him!”
“Little girl,” Kizer said, “do understand that I am destiny’s father… The past and future are a story, and I am its writer… You are all strong-willed, and are by no means weaklings… But strong will, you see, cannot fill the gap that separates men from gods… Still, do not be discouraged… Young witch, you are the strongest child of Oga. You shall travel to the capital of magic and there explore the limits of your power. Only you can challenge Oga… Icemaker, I have spared you a potent teacher in the capital of ice. You cannot forever rely on the spirits' power – you should know by now how unreliable they can be… Farewell, my children. Ready yourselves.”
Oga gave Clover a chilly stare, one that literally stopped her breath. She looked into his eyes, and in them she saw overwhelming power. Kizer smirked slightly at the straight-faced Lex. Then, in a jiffy, the two men disappeared; there was no flash, no cloud of mana, no lightning.
***
There was a long moment of shared ponder. It was broken by the voice of the world’s strongest witch. “Why would you die for me?” Clover asked Lex, tears forming again in her eyes.
Zen looked on.
“…You make a mean hot chocolate,” the boy answered, a smile nostalgic on his face.
***
The man who was destined to lead Zakashi Village into a time of greatness staggered into his father’s house. He glanced at a small box under a dusty bed, one he used to lie on every night. Recognizing the little box, he knelt and took it in his blood-covered hands, old memories rushing back to him. He opened it, and looked for long moments down at the suspicious piece of paper inside. Finally, he grabbed it and carefully unfolded it. Holding the letter with a shaking hand, he stared down at the fine words. “Brother…”
The Beginning
© Adam Webb 2013
Next: Black Eyes Book 2: The Ancients
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The Seventh Spirit Page 70
