by Dreagen
“I survived this long without you, my love,” he replied, stroking the side of her face. “I can survive a few more hours.” The two embraced before she turned and proceeded to the edge, before DayKar calling out her name made her turn. “I told you a long time ago that I would give you the world. That is a promise I intend to keep.”
She smiled and said, “I will you hold you to your word, Grand Marshal.” With that, she spread her wings and took off.
DayKar watched as she descended half the length of the tower and began gathering others. He worried every time he watched her fly off that it might be the last time he saw her. The moment his memory of her had returned had been like a wildfire set loose in his heart. One that had been the greatest source of joy and pain he had experienced through the years since he came back into being as an AmaRanthine. Remembering that there was someone in existence that he loved so dearly but could not be with made him walk through this new life feeling incomplete. Like there was a piece of him that had been forcibly torn from him and left behind, a wound that hurt and bled continuously. The day she had awakened from her slumber and fell into his arms was like waking from a dream and having it follow him into reality. She was real, and she was with him once again. He swore to himself that day he would not lose her again, and that he would render this world incapable of keeping them from being apart. “Never again.”
24
THE DEADLIEST THAT EVER LIVED
Rex had been feeling unsettled ever since learning the tragic history of the friend he had come to believe as being his anchor in this world. We’re of the same flame, but I’m supposed to be the one who’s damaged…broken. The reality that DiNiya had a seemingly more difficult life than his was an unnerving one. Then again, what had made his so hard after all, he wondered? While not having come from the most luxurious upbringing, he had always had what he needed: food, shelter, and someone looking out for him who loved him very much. And while not having the use of his flame either, he was at least fortunate enough to be ignorant of its existence, thus making it so he did not know what he was missing. DiNiya had to live and grow up in a world filled with reminders that there was something drastically wrong with her…incomplete. In retrospect, he had been the lucky one. Maybe I’m not the only one with monsters in their head.
So lost in contemplative thought was he that he drifted silently into sleep without noticing that everyone else had done so well before him. The blackness of his mind now encompassed him, and he felt himself floating weightless, until he suddenly felt solid ground beneath his feet. Where once he would have been disoriented, even frightened, he was overcome by a sense of purpose by being back in the void.
“All right, where are you?” he said. “Come on, I know you’re here somewhere.”
“Rex,” came EliCia’s voice. “I am here.”
“Not you,” Rex said. “Him. Show yourself.”
“Rex, please. I understand how you—”
“You don’t understand a damn thing about me or what I’m thinking, feeling,” he said resolutely. “How could you, after all? You’re just a voice in my head.”
“I know that is what I must seem like to you, but I assure you I’m much more than…” She froze, remaining silent for a time being before letting out a small, bemused laugh.
“Care to share?” Rex asked, cocking his head to the side.
“Oh, it is nothing you would find terribly amusing, but I suppose that’s exactly what I am now—a mere voice in your head. So strange it is how things change.” She trailed off and remained silent for a moment. “Why do you seek him now, Rex?” she asked, sounding concerned.
“Because he’s the only one who can make me strong enough to kill DayKar,” he replied stoically.
“Why do you believe this to be true?”
“Because he’s always there when I feel this way. He’s always been there when they’ve pushed and pushed. Always the one I can feel when words fail me and there is no one by my side to fight with me. He’s the only one who can make me terrible enough to make them as afraid of me as the world is of them.”
“Do you truly believe that to be true, Rex?”
Rex nodded. “He’s the only one who has ever made me more afraid of myself than the world is.” He turned and gazed up into the blackness as if seeing something invisible to the naked eye. Then suddenly, the two gleaming red eyes appeared above him. “You’ve always wanted me to fight. Always wanted me to push myself harder and further. Up until now I was always afraid to, just reacting to everything that came at me, but not anymore. Now I’m making a choice: the choice. I want to fight and defeat everything that tries to manipulate my life for its own ambition because they want something and think I can’t stop them from taking it. I want them to suffer most from the shame of knowing just how wrong they were, and know what it feels like to have their whole world shattered. Then…I want them to burn.”
The two eyes came down to his level and seemingly pierced right through him. However, this time he did not give in to weakness or fear, instead choosing to stand his ground and stare back at the most terrifying thing he had ever been confronted with.
“Rex,” came EliCia. “Be true to yourself, and ask if this is indeed what you want, for the path you are choosing is one of darkness.”
“So be it,” he said, not taking his eyes off the great-unseen beast standing before him. “Besides, I’m more cut out for this role, anyway.”
“Very well,” she said, conceding. “But heed my words, warrior, for your understanding of them may truly be the only thing that will save the people you love. Power is not always what you believe it to be.” With that, her presence in the void vanished, leaving only Rex and the menacing force he felt pouring a fury so tangibly rich into him that he could barely distinguish between it and his own sense of self.
“All right then,” he said, stepping forward. “No more running. No more hiding. No more dreaming.” He took a deep breath. “Kill all that I’m not and bring to life all that I am!”
A pair of fiery red jaws opened before him and unleashed a roar that seemed to span the whole of time and space. What followed was beyond painful; it was as if his very being was being torn apart, a sensation beyond explanation. Parts of him were being destroyed into nothingness while others were coming to life in blazing red glory. His flame now felt more alive, burned so much hotter than he had ever felt it do before. Memories that once brought pain now seemed small and so far beneath him. Faces that once stirred feelings of anger and resentment now felt small and insignificant, as if their very presence was an insult to the titan of power and ferocity growing within him.
“Go now,” came a new voice, deep and proud, “and show this world once again who it trembles before.”
“REEEEEX,” a voice cut right through the void. His eyes shot open and immediately he saw EeNox nudging him forcefully as well as heard the sounds of countless voices crying outside. “I thought you were dead for a moment there! Come on, you need to get up!”
“What’s wrong?” Rex asked as he sprang to his feet.
“Something’s happening outside! We heard explosions! I think the city is under attack!”
“Attack?” he asked surprised. “By who?”
“Who do you think?” LyCora replied with a sideways glance.
Outside, the citizens of Bloodstone were in a state of panic and terror as DraGons rained fire down from the skies. The scene was hauntingly like that of the night that struck KaNar and brought with it a rush of unsettling memories for the five teens who were hiding away at the bottom of a ship.
“We can’t stay here any longer,” said ShinGaru. “If we were planning on leaving, we should do it now!”
“But what about all those people out there?” asked a panic-stricken AnaSaya. “We can’t just leave them for the DraGons!”
“It’s us they’re after, remember?” LyCora exclaimed. “If we leave they’ll eventually realize we’re not here and do the same!”
“A
fter killing how many?” the other girl protested in a display of anger that they were unaccustomed to seeing from her.
LyCora looked as if she was about to say something but refrained. What could she say? She too did not want anyone to die, but it seemed unavoidable. In fact, by the way things sounded outside, she would be surprised if the streets were not already littered with the dead or dying. “I don’t want anyone to die, but if we go out there and confront them in the heart of the city, then we’ll be bringing a fight into it that will no doubt get people killed.”
“Sounds like it’s already happening,” EeNox said, craning his head up at the sound of several shrill cries.
“Perhaps if we allow ourselves to be seen we can lure them out of the city?” ShinGaru suggested.
“Or we can just stop them here and now,” Rex said, stepping forward and blasting an opening in the side of the ship.
“What do you mean, stop them?” asked LyCora.
“I mean kill them.” With that, he stepped through the hole and was instantly bombarded by the concussive blast of a fireball that exploded no more than twenty meters from him. Rex was sent sailing back through the hole and crashed out the other side of the ship.
“Rex, are you all right?” EeNox shouted over to him.
Lifting his head up from where he was laying awkwardly on his back, he saw the large winged outline of a DraGon swooping down and back up again into the smoky sky. Following the DraGon’s movements carefully, he shot a blast, which struck it just at the base of the neck. The beast shrieked in pain as it tumbled out of the sky and crashed into several buildings, sending up a plume of dust.
Rising quickly to his feet, Rex ran through the newly created opening he had only moments ago been sent sailing through, and out the other, stopping only to call back to the others. “Now’s our chance! Let’s go!” The others exchanged quick glances and took off after him.
They ran through the throngs of people who had taken to the streets in fight or flight, all the while being careful not to be trampled by the larger DyVorians. They continued on deeper into the heart of the city, prompting EeNox to run up alongside Rex. “Hey, shouldn’t we be heading west to get out of the city?”
“We’re not leaving yet,” Rex replied as he made a sharp right turn, skidding a meter or so as he did so.
“What do you mean ‘we’re not leaving’?” he asked, surprised, but soon had his answer when he heard the shrill wail of a DraGon. “Oh, don’t tell me…”
From out of the dust and haze came the shape of the DraGon Rex had shot down. The beast turned and twisted its long neck in all directions as if trying to regain its bearings.
“Look,” Rex said enthusiastically. “He’s still disoriented! Let’s finish him!” Suddenly the DraGon shifted his gaze in their direction and blew a torrent of gold fire directly at them.
“Look out!” ShinGaru cried as he pushed AnaSaya off to the right, while everyone else jumped to the left. They had just barely managed to get clear of the deadly path of fire as it came rocketing past them. Recovering quickly, they immediately began jumping and dodging fireballs that exploded all around them. Rex saw the DraGon rear its head back as it seemed to gather all of its flame for a concentrated attack before sending out a pulse that immediately burned all the dust in the air, giving them a clear view of one another.
“Ahh, that’s better,” the DraGon said, filling his lungs with air and then unleashing another concentrated stream of fire.
With incredible speed, Rex and EeNox slid underneath while the other three hastily leaped over it.
“Not bad,” the DraGon said. “But let’s see how well you do when your attention is divided!” He reared back on his hind legs and shot out golden electricity from his hands. With looks of panic, they desperately did their best to dodge each electrical strike.
“ShinGaru, do something!” Rex roared.
“Like what?” ShinGaru called back, narrowly dodging an electric strike to his midsection.
“I don’t know! But he’s got the same power as you!”
“So what? It doesn’t make me any more resistant to it!”
With a sudden loud crack, EeNox was sent hurtling into the side of a building by one of the DraGon-made lightning strikes.
“EeNox!” LyCora cried out, altering her course and running over to him. “Are you all right?”
“Splendid,” he replied sarcastically as he stood up, but dropped to one leg, reeling from the terrible pain where he had been struck. “This one isn’t pulling any punches.”
Rex roared angrily and leaped high into the air, took aim, and fired off another blast from his mouth, just as several savage bolts of electricity struck him down. The DraGon, however, took the full brunt of his flame to the face, which sent him rearing back with an agonizing wail.
Rex hit the ground and shrieked as a sharp pain shot through his back from the impact, while his underside felt like it had been singed. Baring his teeth, he rose to his feet just in time to see the horrific sight of the DraGon’s horribly burnt face emerging from a cloud of smoke.
“You little bastard!” the DraGon roared. “I’m going to split you open and burn out your insides!”
“You’ll do no such thing.”
Both Rex and the DraGon craned their heads upward to see LemaRes and nine other armored DraGons hovering thirty meters above.
“The Grand Marshal has need of this one.”
“But look what he did to my face!” the other DraGon bellowed angrily. “You cannot deny me vengeance!” LemaRes fired a blast at his feet, startling him. “Are you mad?”
“Not as mad as you for thinking you can speak to your captain in such a way,” she roared back down, firing another shot that sent him scrambling backwards. “Then again, I would be the least of your problems when the Grand Marshal learns that you killed the very thing that all our fates hinge upon.”
He regarded her for a moment, then Rex, his face racked with indecision. Rex could tell he wanted to clear the distance between them and carry out his threat, but also seemed fearful of what the DraGon above had said. With a frustrated cry, the DraGon knight reared his head back and blew a torrent of fire before subsiding. With a single heavy flap, his wings were engulfed in his flame and carried him slowly up to the other DraGons.
“Wise choice,” LemaRes said, eyeing him sternly.
He looked away angrily, furious that he had been denied revenge for his disfigurement.
“Oh, don’t be that way,” she teased. “It’s not like it won’t heal on its own in time.”
“That’s not the point,” he snapped back. “That filthy DyVorian marred me. Do you have any idea how shameful that is?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” she said venomously, getting in his face and holding him in her gaze until he looked away once more. Now, refocusing her attention on the five below, she spoke in a booming voice that could be heard by all. “Hear me, Doom Bringer, or, as you are known now, Rex. As you know, your presence has been ordered to the tower to the west of here.”
“Yes, I know,” Rex replied angrily. “You also said we had five days to get there!”
“And this would be the fifth day,” she replied, crossing her arms.
“But it just started, damn it! We should at least have until sundown!”
“He’s right,” LyCora said as she and EeNox walked up next to Rex. “The full five-day period granted to us is technically not up until the end of the fifth day! Try and kill us now and you’ll be breaking our agreement!”
“Silence,” she hissed, firing a blast directly in front of them. “You will not tell me what I can and cannot do! Is that understood, you little bitch?”
LyCora’s eyes went wide. “Call me that again and see what I can do!”
“Wait,” Rex said to her. “Something’s wrong here.”
“Just noticed, did you?” she replied with angry sarcasm.
“No, I mean look at them. Why haven’t they just attacked us already?”
“Savoring the moment?” EeNox offered grimly.
“I don’t think so,” Rex replied, eyeing LemaRes warily. “She said ‘he has need of this one’ about me. Why would he want me, us, to come all this way to just kill us now?”
“You forget they already tried once on our way here,” LyCora said.
“That was a close call, too,” EeNox said, shaking his head at the thought of how close they all came to dying.
“Somehow I doubt that,” Rex said, now regarding the DraGons overhead with a menacing glare. “This was a set up: this whole thing. He wanted us, no, needed us to come. He knew that we were too well protected in KaNar. After all, he was beaten there once, already.”
Hearing his words, LemaRes scowled down at him.
“Wait…you don’t mean…” EeNox started.
“The one that KyGahl turned into,” Rex growled. “DayKar.”
“But we killed him! The whole village!”
Rex just shook his head. “I’ve had this strange sense that he was still alive ever since that night. I can’t explain it, but I know he’s there, calling to me.”
“We watched him die!”
“We watched him get blown out of the sky,” Rex said angrily. “But there was never any body.”
“How could we have been so careless?” AnaSaya said, looking down.
“It is the nature of your entire race,” LemaRes said, unfolding her arms. “Forever doomed to miss the obvious until it comes to kill you.” She turned to the other DraGons who had been silently watching them but now seemed to come alive with the prospect of her impending order. “Now, let’s have some fun with them, shall we? After all, we have waited so very long for this opportunity to pay them back for what they did to us…tenfold.”
“Aye!” they all said in unison.
