Awashima raised her palm and fired another incendiary blast at her mother. Izanami felt a flash of searing pain throughout her entire body and fell towards the Ultimus Point below her. But she managed to right herself just in time.
Awashima flew down and began pummeling her mother with powerful strikes. Izanagi used her naginata to block them, but her daughter displayed ruthless aggression, not giving her a moment to breathe.
Eventually, Izanami spotted an opening and bashed Awashima over the side of the head. It only served to briefly stun her, but it gave Izanami enough time to think. I have to attack a part of her body that’s not protected by her bones. Either her stomach or throat. But can I really kill my own daughter?
The heart-wrenching decision took too long to make, and Awashima swiftly resumed her attack. This time, she raised both palms and fired off two blasts simultaneously. Izanami used her god-speed to dodge, but her daughter kept up the barrage. “How long do you think you can run, Okaa-san? Sooner or later I’ll put an end to you.” She was right, of course; she would surely succeed unless Izanami did something.
An idea suddenly occurred to her. She decided to stand her ground as Awashima launched more balls of white-hot energy down at her. Remembering an old American game called baseball, she swung her blade, knocking the balls back at her daughter. Awashima screamed as they exploded into her, causing Izanami’s heart to be torn in half at seeing what she was doing to her own child. She began crying uncontrollably. “Why? Why must I do this?”
But through the smoke, a voice replied, “Save your tears, Mother. No member of Zero Grade would ever be defeated so easily.” The smoke cleared, and Izanami saw her offspring burned but very much alive. Despite everything, she was unspeakably grateful.
But Awashima raised her palms again. This time, however, she did not fire off quick bursts, but instead generated a ball of fire five times larger than she had unleashed so far. “Don’t!” her mother yelled.
Her daughter didn’t listen.
* * *
Hiruko was currently wrapped around his father like a living rubber band. Try as he might, Izanagi couldn’t escape; Hiruko was on there tight, and he couldn’t get his tanto into position to stab him.
“How about I show you my other ability, Father. Can you feel yourself getting weaker?”
As a matter of fact, he could. Izanagi found his strength being sapped rapidly, and he didn’t know why. “How…?”
“I am called the Leech of Zero Grade. Both my sister and I have the power of absorption through physical contact. While she can steal bones and internal organs, I can siphon off energy. It won’t be long now before you can’t even move. So what do you say? Ready to admit defeat?”
“Never.” But he needed a way to back up his words. Overpowering his son clearly wasn’t an option in this situation, and he wasn’t positioned correctly to fly, either. But…perhaps he just needed a little push.
Concentrating, he generated gale-force winds which proceeded to buffet them about. “What are you doing?” Hiruko said, alarm rising in his voice.
“We need some fresh air,” Izanagi said, slightly embarrassed at the terrible pun he had just made.
The wind rocketed them across the cavernous chamber where they collided with the wall. Since Hiruko was pretty much covering his father, he took the full impact and came loose. Wasting no time, Izanagi stabbed him in the chest.
However, the attack merely stretched Hiruko’s skin without actually penetrating it. “It’s useless, Father. You can’t cut me.”
Nevertheless, Izanagi wasn’t about to give up. Among the Lost Gods, he had the rare ability to manifest his god-energy as a physical force. He summoned his remaining strength and poured it all into his blade which began to glow with a golden light.
“What is this?” Hiruko shouted.
“My responsibility as the father who failed you.”
The power erupted from the tanto’s tip, exploding into Hiruko’s body and tearing it wide open, unleashing a torrent of blood and organs.
As he fell, Hiruko reached out to touch his father, but couldn’t quite reach. Izanagi leaned forward and grasped his offered hand, but there was too much blood and Hiruko fell slowly into the abyss.
From below them, he heard his wife yell, “Don’t!” Awashima was there, and she had created a massive ball of fire which she was preparing to rain down upon Izanami.
* * *
Awashima hurled the ball at her mother. Izanami knew she should get out of the way, but that would only lead to more fighting with her precious child. It was better to just allow herself to be killed right there. She didn’t have her husband’s resolve or his will to fight.
But right before the incendiary attack hit her, she was whisked away in a blur and reappeared above Awashima with her husband by her side. “That was close,” he said.
The ball fell into the maelstrom of Ultimus Point energy and was absorbed by it. That appeared to be the end of it. Now there was just Awashima to deal with.
“Where is my brother?” she demanded.
“Dead,” her father replied.
“You lie! I’ll—”
She never got to finish that sentence, because the entire underground area began to vibrate violently. Below them, the roiling energies were twisting and shaking about in a frenzy.
“What’s going on?” Izanami said.
“Awashima’s attack must have destabilized the Ultimus Point,” Izanagi replied.
Apparently having forgotten her fallen brother, Awashima said to them, “What do you mean? What’s going to happen?”
The cavern was now shaking itself apart. Large chunks of rock fell down from the walls and ceiling. “I think there will be a massive explosion,” he replied.
“No!” Awashima flew up and, surprisingly, embraced them. “Please! Mother! Father! Don’t let me die.” Her pleading eyes nearly crushed Izanami.
“I am sorry,” her father said. “I no longer have the strength to outrun the explosion.”
“Nor do I,” Izanami said sadly.
They looked at their daughter. Most likely she, too, had expended too much energy with her relentless assault.
Izanagi said, “At least we will die as a family. I could ask for no more than that.”
By now, Awashima bawled uncontrollably. “I’m sorry. We never wanted this to happen.”
“We accept your apology. I am happy with this. In a moment, we will be at peace. I love you all more than you could ever know.” Izanami said.
* * *
The explosion completely vaporized Kornia and could be seen for hundreds of miles. Witnesses described a shaft of light piercing the heavens before fading out, leaving an aurora borealis. The surrounding ecosystem was completely destabilized, and experts said the region might never fully recover.
* * *
With heavy hearts, the Academy faculty watched the ensuing news reports in the conference room, almost too stunned to say anything. Brandon eventually stated the obvious. “The Ultimus Point exploded.”
“But how?” Freya asked. “Shouldn’t that have destroyed the entire universe?”
Bethos shook his head. “Not necessarily. From what you told me, the previous universe was destroyed because you taxed multiple Ultimus Points at once. If it happens on a much smaller scale, perhaps a massive explosion is the result. At any rate, we’ll have to have a funeral for Izanagi and Izanami.”
“More people are going to die, aren’t they?” Aphrodite said.
No one said anything right away. Bethos eventually answered, “Probably. But we must not blame ourselves. Zero Grade are the ones who brought this war to us, and we’re going to see it through, no matter what. I just hope we don’t lose anyone else in the coming battles.”
* * *
Maya sat at Ev’s side in the infirmary. He still hadn’t shown any sign of recovery. Nevertheless, she stayed with him as much as she could and even talked to him.
“I’m about to leave for Chrichton.
I agreed to go with Jaysin to retake his homeland,” she said. She didn’t mind being the only participant in the conversation; she believed that, on some level, he could hear her. “I may not see you again for a while. But before I go, I just wanted to let you know how much you mean to me. Ev Bannen, you saved me from a nightmare I can’t even describe, and you continued to support me even after many people were against me. I’d like to thank I was able to repay your kindness—if only a little—during the incident with Arcturus Reich. And even though I’m leaving your side for a little bit, I will always come back to you. Ev, you are my light, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. This may sound strange, but I pray for you to be at peace while I’m gone. Goodbye.” She gave him a kiss before getting up to leave.
As she neared the door, Jaysin came in. “Ready to go, Maya?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
He looked over her shoulder at Ev. “Any change?”
She just shook her head.
“It’s OK,” he said. “Ev’ll come out of it eventually. He’s strong.”
But she said, “No one’s unbreakable. Ev is strong, but everyone has their limit. Even if he does regain consciousness, what kind of state will he be in? We both saw what they did to his mother; how can anyone recover from that?”
He pointed a defiant finger at her. “If anyone can help him get through it, it’s you. Maya Brünhart, you are the only one who can bring him out of the darkness. I believe you somehow helped him escape from Hades’ dimension, and I believe you can do it again.”
She hugged him. “Thank you, Jaysin. You’re a good friend.”
* * *
After leaving the infirmary, they made their way to the hangar where a private plane was waiting for them beside a proud Brandon Strong. “Why the plane?” Maya asked. After all, they could fly under their own power just fine.
He explained, “Chrichton is on the other side of the world. It’ll be too exhausting to fly using your god-energy.”
“Makes sense,” Jaysin said.
They climbed aboard and found a group of second-years already seated. Maya recognized a few of them, but none she was particularly familiar with. She and Jaysin took their seats in the back towards the lavatory which was currently occupied.
The plane soon rocketed out into the sky. “You know,” Maya said once they reached cruising altitude, “I really don’t know much about Chrichton. What’s it like?”
“Very different from everywhere else you’ve been, that’s for sure,” Jaysin said.
“How so?”
“Well, unlike the rest of the world, Chrichton’s an atheist nation. We don’t believe in any gods. At least, Chrichtons in general don’t. We’re a proud people; we won’t bow to Zero Grade no matter what.
“Also, the whole continent has a desert climate, and my ancestors had to adapt to extreme heat and sand storms.”
“I’ve heard the early Chrichtons were a nomadic people,” she said.
“Yeah. The sand storms and heat waves are strongest in different places depending on the time of the year. My ancestors used to keep moving to avoid them. Eventually, though, they learned to construct strong buildings that could withstand the elements, thus allowing them to remain in place and build cities. Oh, and that’s another difference, as well: Chrichton buildings are actually pyramids.”
She raised an eyebrow at this. “Pyramids?”
“That’s right. They discovered the shape protects really well against sand storms. Also, up until the last century or so, the country was cut off from the rest of the world by the twin mountain chains, so they couldn’t be influenced by other cultures which built in squares. So most houses are pyramids, although in recent years our architecture has begun to adopt the square style. You’ll see a few here and there.” His voice then took on a more somber tone. “Assuming Zero Grade left any standing.”
She put an arm on his shoulder. “It’ll be OK. We’re going to stop them and get Durydu back.”
“But…” he said. “But what if the Ultimus Point explodes just like in Kornia?”
Shaking her head, she replied, “You can’t think like that. You have to stay positive and believe in yourself.
He nodded. “You’re right. I need to look on the bright side.”
* * *
The plane soon passed over the Stangea mountain chain which isolated that part of the world from theirs. After another six hours, they were very close to Chrichton.
One of the students discovered he couldn’t get into the lavatory, as it was still locked. At first, Brandon just assumed one of the others was using it. However, a head count revealed everyone was accounted for. He banged on the lavatory door. “Who’s in there?” No answer. “You’ve got five seconds to come out before I break this door down and drag you out.”
The door opened, and out stepped first-year students Deep Matthews and Sahara Alotto. “Sorry about that,” a sheepish Deep said.
A now-fuming Brandon said, “What the hell are you two doing here? Only second-years and up can go on missions.”
“We’re here to help our friends,” Sahara said. “We couldn’t just stand by while they risk their lives to save one’s homeland.”
Brandon sighed. “Dammit; it’s too late to turn back now. Just take a seat, and don’t do anything I don’t tell you to do. Understood?”
They nodded and made their way past Maya and Jaysin. “You guys are crazy, you know that?” Jaysin said.
Deep shrugged. “Yeah, I guess we are.”
“Still… thanks,” Maya said.
“That’s what friends are for,” Sahara said, brushing a lock of reddish-brown hair out of her eyes.
* * *
An hour later, they passed over Chrichton’s western coastline. The beautiful sandy beaches were a stark contrast to the vast expanse of desert that followed, marking the nation as truly one of extremes. Past the desert was a series of arid savannas where numerous varieties of wildlife could be seen running around engaging in the universal struggle for life that was ubiquitous on this continent. They hunted, they ran and they fought over food. It was, Maya thought, not so different from the sentient struggles now playing out across the globe.
Standing at the front of the plane, Brandon told them, “We’ll be passing over Durydu in a few minutes.”
“Wait,” Maya said. “Won’t Zero Grade see us flying overhead?”
He gave her a sly grin. “They’re not the only ones to invest in new technologies. Working with the Academy eggheads we’ve come up with a cloaking device. They’ll have no idea we’re in the area.”
Without warning, the plane’s lights flickered, and a dying hum sounded. “What was that?” Jaysin said.
“Probably nothing,” Brandon replied.
He returned to the cockpit, and Maya followed him. “It’s not nothing, is it?”
After examining the instrument panel for a moment, he said, “The cloaking device isn’t working.”
“That’s bad.”
“Return to your seat. We’re aborting.”
But from up ahead, a ball of light flew at them at unbelievable speed. “What the—?”
She wasn’t able to finish that thought before it slammed into the underside of the plane.
* * *
At first, Jaysin’s brain couldn’t process what was happening. One minute the plane was intact, and then it wasn’t. The right side of the plane disappeared in an instant, replaced by an indescribable heat and flames. It was as if a science fiction death ray had vaporized the plane, not leaving even a trace of the students that had been sitting there.
Next came the sudden drop as what was left of the plane fell out of the sky like a meteor. Jaysin ripped out his seat belt and staggered forward through fire and smoke, looking for Deep and Sahara, who had been sitting only a few rows ahead of him. He shouted for them, but his voice couldn’t break through the scream of the falling plane.
In a few moments it was all over.
Chapter IX
/> Maya opened her eyes. She had had a horrific nightmare about being on a burning plane. And then it all came back to her, and with a shudder, she realized it was no dream.
Something incredibly hot lay on top of her. She pushed it off her; it was a flaming piece of fuselage. Her head was killing her and she wiped blood from her brow before willing her body to heal itself.
She looked around. Smoking wreckage was strewn over a wide area. She stood up, intending to look for survivors.
Until We Break Page 9
