Rise of the Young: Warriors are not made; they are forged (The Ascended Book 2)

by Bygott, Hugo C.

  “Better juice than Flash wine. I can keep a clear head, unlike some,” said Abel.

  “You think I don’t have a clear head?” He looked at Abel fiercely. “My head has never been clearer.”

  There was sudden cheering across the hall. They all turned to the cheering and saw Professor Nam directing students to two long tables.

  “User pong,” said Athena.

  Each table was filled with several cups, and students were using their minds to throw the balls into each cup from various distances.

  Kry was invigorated by the wine and was interested in the game that they were playing. It seemed Abel knew what he was thinking.

  “I’ve never played User pong before, but I’m feeling pretty lucky today. I want to challenge you,” provoked Kry.

  Athena moaned. “Stop it, Kry. Let’s just enjoy the party without you two getting at each other.”

  Kry laughed. “Abel, are you scared you’ll lose in front of your new girlfriend?”

  Athena turned to him with annoyance. “We’re not together. Why are you acting this way?”

  Abel stood up from his seat. “Jealous?”

  Kry was infuriated with Abel and stood toe to toe with him. “I will beat you.”

  “Bring it,” said Abel as he led the way toward the cheering.

  Kry turned once more at Athena. She was beautiful, just like Rhea had been. He pushed back his feelings and returned to his angry state, storming off after Abel.

  ****

  “Athena’s been gone a long time. I’m still waiting for my drink,” said Eclipse.

  “Maybe she found a strapping man to spend her night with rather than with you?” joked Thrace.

  Inessa pinched Thrace’s arm. “Don’t be rude.”

  “I’m just kidding. I’m sure she’ll be here in a moment,” said Thrace.

  Eclipse had noticed the cheering from where Professor Nam was standing. It seemed she was hosting a game, and the students loved every minute of it. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to the bar to see where Athena got to.”

  “I’m going to check out the game they’re playing,” said Whisper.

  “Meet us over there,” said Thrace.

  Eclipse went to the bar. She almost got there but stopped halfway when she saw Zero having an argument with Professor Himura. The two of them were standing by the doors to the gymnasium, and Zero looked ready to murder. She wondered what had gotten Zero so upset, but before she could even consider what they were talking about, a great roar of excitement erupted from behind her. It came from the area of Professor Nam and the games. Eclipse pushed on and saw Athena was nowhere to be seen and headed back toward where the games were. She pushed into the crowd and was surprised when she saw Kry and Abel on each table, moving white balls with astounding speed into different size cups with their minds. The balls floated across the tables and dropped into the cups.

  “Six-Six!” shouted Nam. “These two men are neck and neck!”

  Eclipse could see the fury in Kry’s eyes as he manipulated the balls with finesse.

  “Eclipse, sorry. I got caught up. Here’s your drink,” said Athena who appeared beside her.

  “What’s going on?” asked Eclipse.

  Athena rolled her eyes. “Just two guys with egos, trying to be the better of the other. I was talking with Abel at the bar, and Kry seemed angry I was with him and wanted to challenge him. Abel, being Abel, agreed, and here we are.”

  Cheers roared around them. The balls were flying across the table at super speed into the cups.

  “Ten-ten!” shouted Nam. “Incredible! But who will be the victor tonight?”

  On each table was a large bowl filled with balls. The balls continued to shoot up from the bowl and whizzed across the table, dropping in the many sized cups at the other end.

  “Kry had some Flash wine,” said Athena.

  Eclipse could hardly believe that Yujin had given Kry more Flash wine knowing that it had affected him so badly the last time. She could see Kry’s confidence, his eyes glowing with a fervor of delight, most likely a side effect from the wine.

  Abel and Kry were now flying multiple balls into their cups. Neither one missed their targets.

  “Thirty-Thirty!” shouted Nam.

  “How many balls are there?” asked Eclipse.

  “Fifty,” said Athena.

  Neither one was letting up. Despite her differences with Kry, Eclipse was proud he had improved so much. She just wished he was still the same Kry she had met in London and not the Kry who ignored her at every turn.

  Eclipse glanced back and forth trying to see who would be the first to miss, but not one ball missed its mark. As they approached their final balls, she did not know who would be the first to reach fifty.

  The cheering grew louder. “Ascended! Ascended! Ascended!” shouted the crowd. Eclipse was surprised by the encouragement they were giving Kry.

  “Kry’s impressive. I didn’t think he had it in him to keep up with Abel.”

  Eclipse turned to see it was Svana who had spoken. Svana looked as different as she did. Her dress was a vibrant purple with sequenced diamonds. She stood taller than normal in her white high heels.

  Svana turned to Eclipse. “But I guess that shouldn’t be a surprise for someone who appears to be an Ascended, isn’t that right?”

  Ascended. Eclipse felt a chill hearing the word.

  “Fifty-Fifty!” roared Nam. “I’ve never seen such an equal contest. There is no victor. It’s a draw!”

  Kry and Abel were equally upset. Cheers of Abel and Ascended intertwined among the shouts, and Eclipse feared it was only going to escalate the situation. Eclipse decided she needed the drink after all and sipped down some of her cocktail.

  A loud clapping resounded around them, soon so deafening that it drowned out the cheers. The clapping came from every direction, and Eclipse almost dropped her glass as many students pushed past her.

  “Very well done,” said Sonus. He clapped slowly with many New Order students who surrounded the tables.

  Eclipse could no longer see what was happening as the members of the New Order had created a circle around Kry and Abel.

  “Sonus, there’ll be no fighting this evening. President Katar has decreed that tonight is for fun only,” asserted Nam.

  Sonus opened his mouth and yawned. “Oh, but there will be fun. Fun for me and my faction.”

  “Hold this.” Eclipse passed Athena her drink.

  Eclipse tripped up two New Order students who were blocking her path.

  Kry moved up to Sonus. “Sonus, I’ve beaten you so many times that I no longer care to count. Why don’t you run off, now?”

  Sonus shoved Kry backward. Eclipse was going to react, but Abel was already there and stopped Kry from falling.

  Kry looked at Abel with disgust and pushed him away. “Get off me, Abel.”

  Kry then looked at Sonus and struck him to the ground. Instantly, the New Order students swarmed over Kry and Abel. Eclipse knocked some of them back as they rushed forward. The gymnasium was soon becoming a brawl as the other factions were now attacking one another for no reason. Everything was chaotic as shouting and breaking of bottles were heard in every direction. Professor Nam and the other professors were trying to keep order, but it was too late.

  Kry was tackled to the ground by a dozen members of the New Order, but Abel quickly pulled them off him. Kry rose to his feet, and they stood back to back brawling with the New Order students. Barriers soon started appearing around the students, and the brawling turned into a more dangerous fight.

  Athena screamed, and Eclipse saw some New Order students struggling with her. She moved toward Athena, but then there were two flashes of light, and Kry and Abel appeared beside the New Order students, throwing them across the floor. They both helped Athena regain her balance. More New Order students were rushing into the fight, but Eclipse kicked off her high heels and with deadly precision kicked their jaws, instantly knocking them unconscious.
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br />   Kry turned to Eclipse and realized it was the first time he had seen her this night. He looked surprised as much as any other man in the room. He then returned his attention to Athena. “Are you hurt?”

  “I’m OK,” said Athena. “My dress…” A portion of her cocktail had been spilled onto her dress.

  Kry then glared at Abel. “I don’t need your help.”

  “Everyone needs help sometimes,” replied Abel.

  “Not from you,” insisted Kry.

  Eclipse was sick of their bickering. “Kry, we’re not against you. Stop pushing us away.”

  “Then stop trying to help me. I can take care of this myself,” said Kry.

  “I’m not talking about the fight,” said Eclipse, but Kry was already gone, back into the brawl, looking for Sonus.

  A giant blast of energy rippled throughout the gymnasium. Everyone was flung into the air and then back to the ground.

  When Eclipse rose to her feet, President Katar was standing with the other professors looking appalled. Aiyax and Kayne were standing with them, both of them with weapons in hand. It was evident no students wanted to continue the fight now.

  “No more. Tonight was supposed to be about bonding, but I see that it’s impossible now,” said Katar.

  Kry and Abel were back on their feet surprised by the blast. Aiyax cracked her whips, startling many of the students.

  “The party ends now. There’ll be no more fighting this day,” said Katar. He said nothing more and left.

  The other professors began to close everything down. Aiyax and Kayne were vigilant maintaining order.

  Sonus was furious but said nothing as he and his faction left. Many students’ traditional clothing had been ripped and torn. The beautiful dresses looked dirty and uncouth. Eclipse picked up her high heels. Unlike many, her white silk dress was untouched, and her red sash was still intact.

  Kry returned to them and went straight up to Abel. “I didn’t need your help.”

  “Kry, stop being a moron,” said Athena.

  Kry turned to her with a look of pain. “So, I’m the moron?”

  Whisper, Thrace, Akira, and Inessa now joined them. They all looked like they had joined in the fighting with the several marks on their faces and clothes.

  “This scar makes me one, I guess,” said Kry, drawing his finger down the scar. “I was stupid to believe I had friends.”

  Athena lowered her eyes. “I didn’t mean…”

  “I know what you mean,” said Kry, glancing at Abel. “You know, I enjoyed our time in the library, but I guess you have a new friend.” He ignored everyone else and pushed past Abel but stopped to say something in a low voice to him.

  Eclipse tried to talk to him, but he just left.

  “We’re never going to get him back to his old self,” said Inessa.

  Eclipse wished Rush was here.

  “I won’t give up on him,” said Whisper.

  Thrace undid his tie. “He might be giving up on himself.”

  “I shouldn’t have said that,” said Athena.

  “Don’t blame yourself,” said Eclipse. “Whatever we say, he’ll take it the wrong way.”

  “You weren’t wrong, though,” said Abel. “He is an idiot.”

  “Stop it, Abel,” said Athena.

  “What did Kry say to you before he left?” asked Eclipse.

  “Like I said, he’s an idiot,” said Abel.

  Athena glared at him.

  “He said to meet him in the Cube in one week where he says he’ll beat me,” said Abel. “That’s why he’s an idiot.”

  ****

  What an awful business this was. Zero could still smell the blood on his hands. He placed the body deep beneath the earth alongside his other departed business, the Blade. It was good the fight had kept everyone distracted while he was able to do as he wished.

  “Enjoy your rest, Professor Himura,” said Zero.

  He covered the ground with a protective barrier to make sure the bodies would never be found. It was surprising how much Himura had screamed before he had died. The blood-curdling screams were always the worst.

  Zero wrapped his cloak around his shoulders and returned to the Professors’ Tower. The Shadow Government would no longer have a spy to pass information, and that made him feel exuberant. He had crushed Himura’s mind and, in time, he would crush the Shadow Government, too.

  Chapter 26 – Zero’s Rule

  “Faster!” Zero shouted. “Feel the power within you and grab it. Grab it as hard as you can and do not let go. Tame it, make it bend to your will, your desires, and you will be able to do things no other Users can dream of.”

  Kry was strained, and his head was pounding. Boom, boom, boom. His curse of a headache pressed against his will. He tried to control the energy as it traversed through his body like fire, the energy burning with a wild heat.

  “Feel the power, bring it all into one place, and direct it to your target,” said Zero.

  Kry felt the power was going to explode within him. He wanted to let go and release it all, but he still tackled the energy, trying to bend it to his will. The energy was wild and rejected his attempts, pushing him into a frustrated state.

  “You are the master of your mind. You are the owner of the energy. You cannot be afraid of it. You must show you are strong enough to handle the power it brings,” said Zero. His eyes gleamed with energy as he watched Kry struggle to maintain the energy inside of him.

  “It’s too much…” complained Kry, struggling to speak.

  “It is never too much!” shouted Zero who stood over him like a giant. “Enough is never enough. Remember that! More!”

  Kry could not control the energy any longer as it burst from him creating a blinding shockwave, propelling him backward and into the wall. With his back to the wall, he opened his eyes and saw Zero unharmed standing in the same spot he was before the explosion. “How did you—”

  “Become unaffected? You still have learned nothing. Get back to your feet at once!”

  Kry rose to his feet, and his hands were trembling.

  Zero walked over to him and grabbed his hands. He flipped them over and then back again. “Control,” he said, tapping each hand with his finger softly.

  To his amazement, Kry’s hands stopped shaking. He turned them over, and they did not shake even once. The remnants of energy had left him, and he looked up at Zero with questioning eyes. “You healed me?”

  “Nothing is impossible. A Master User can bring death, but they also can bring life. It is up to you when and where you decide either,” said Zero. “Now, again!”

  Kry returned to his standing position and started his lesson once more. He reached out for the energy. It began as a small spark within his chest, a sharp but powerful beat, which then rippled over his arms and legs.

  “I do not want to see you fail again,” ordered Zero.

  Kry could feel the penetrating look Zero gave him. His eyes burned through him just as powerfully as the energy that was starting to build inside of him.

  “I have seen you manipulate fire, water, lightning, earth, and dark matter but always erratically and uncontrolled. I want you to learn control. Once you have the control, you will see how much more you can achieve,” said Zero. His eyes continued to pierce into Kry.

  The beats of energy regathered and hummed as it flowed through Kry’s body. It was a great river, raging by the banks, trying to break free, but he could not allow it to be free yet—only on his terms, his control. Kry touched the energy with his mind, feeling for the kinetic vibrations. It moved wildly trying to coarse away into another direction, but he took hold and stopped its movement, redirecting it his way. His energy was wilder than it had ever been and seemed to grower wilder as he grew in strength. He could feel it now. Almost. He had his energy by the reigns and began to manipulate the energy to his will.

  “Fire. Show me your fire,” said Zero.

  The image of flames burned in his mind as he heard Zero’s voice. He r
aised his hand into the air and gently tried to disperse the energy, forming it into a ball of fire in his palm.

  Best friends forever?

  Best friends forever.

  The fire in his hand began to expand wildly and with no direction.

  I’ll protect you, Kry. Our parents were friends, and so I hope we can be, too.

  Kry stared into a faraway place forgetting everything around him.

  You’re like my older brother.

  The memories of the two boys, Eclipse, and then Whisper formed inside his head, distracting him, and then there was a scream.

  Kry!

  “What are you doing?” shouted Zero, quickly grabbing Kry’s hand and extinguishing his energy.

  Kry was panting heavily.

  “I said fire. I didn’t say try to blow yourself up,” scolded Zero.

  “Rhea…” Kry whispered to himself.

  “What? What are you mumbling about?” Zero touched his head with a gentle tap.

  The memories of his friends and Rhea blew back far into the recess of his mind. He was back in the room with Zero who looked down at him with furious eyes.

  “You lack concentration. You have too many things running through your mind—things which will hold you back. You have to get rid of these distractions, or you will never reach your potential,” said Zero.

  “I’m sorry. Let me try again,” insisted Kry.

  Zero held him back. “No. Not until you rid yourself of these distractions. I could do it myself. I could cleanse your mind and wipe away the memories that are holding you back.”

  Kry remembered Jaeger’s book and the thought of wiping away memories just made him angrier. “No! You’ll not touch my mind.”

  Zero watched him like a hawk. “Good. Because if you had asked me to do that, you would have proven your weakness to me. You must rid them yourself. Do you understand?”

  “What must I do?” asked Kry.

  Zero pulled a string above him, releasing the ladder attached from above. They had been training in secret in a special room beneath Zero’s office, away from prying eyes. It was almost like a dungeon with the wet and cold walls that surrounded them. The bleakness of the room matched well with Zero’s persona.