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

by Bygott, Hugo C.

  ****

  The Cube hummed with a radiant energy as Kry stood before Abel. There were no other sounds except for their footsteps in the snow. Kry looked across and saw someone standing in his way, someone he had to defeat. Unlike in the past, he had been held back by unnecessary emotions and feelings of self-doubt. However, those feelings no longer resided within him, and the pressure which weighed him down was gone. Everything was clear in his mind, clearer than it had ever been. A single, powerful goal glowed like a beacon in his thoughts; it was like a lighthouse to a lost ship by the coast.

  “Are you sure you still want to go ahead with this?” asked Abel.

  He looked at Abel with determination. Once, he had admired Abel, even feared his strength at times, but those feelings no longer had a place in his new, clear mind. The Cube had created their battleground as a harsh and snowy terrain, much like the real weather outside the university, but the wind was stronger, and the snow fell harder.

  “There’s no going back now, Abel. One of us will walk out of here a winner,” said Kry. Not for a second did he take his eyes off him.

  Abel was unfazed by the snow. The Cube door was locked and would not open until one was left standing.

  “We’d better make it a quick fight. The professors will surely not like the fact that we’ve used the Cube for our own entertainment,” said Abel.

  Somewhere in the grounds, Zero was watching. Kry knew it. He could not sense his presence for some reason, but he somehow knew he was here. Zero had been the one who had given him the permission to challenge Abel in the Cube. At first, he thought Zero would refuse him, but he was pleasantly surprised when Zero was more than happy to answer his request. Even now, he did not know what Zero was thinking. But Zero had helped him, whereas his friends had offered nothing but complaints and worry. None of that mattered now as the feelings for his friends was like an empty shell. There were no more distractions, and there was no more worrying; only his purpose was left intact. Destroying the Shadow Government was now his sole driving force, and the last powerful memory he had left untouched was the memory of the two boys playing together. He was one of those boys, and whatever life he had then had been taken from him. It was a past life stolen by Jaeger, another loose end which would be dealt with alongside the end of the Shadow Government.

  “You think this is entertainment? This is not entertainment. This is a means to an end, and if you think this will be a quick fight as our other fights have been, then you’ll be disappointed,” said Kry.

  Abel’s expression was hard to read. “So, if you beat me, then I’ll join you, is that it?”

  Kry shook his head. “Join what? I’m no longer a part of any faction.”

  “Then what is this about? I thought the whole point of our fight was that if you beat me, I would join your faction,” said Abel.

  “As I said, Abel, there’s no longer a faction to which I belong. What this fight is about, is proving that I can beat you. It’s also something greater than that. You’re just a stepping stone for my progression,” said Kry.

  “Stepping stone? You’ve grown in hubris, and your arrogance is pathetic. Do you remember what I told you when we first fought?” asked Abel.

  Kry recalled their first fight in the students’ graveyard. Abel had avoided him for so long when all he had wanted to do was to talk. Abel knew his secrets and knew about his confrontation with the Shadow Government. For whatever reason, he kept those secrets to himself. It did not matter anymore, though.

  Abel was unfazed by the snow that had covered his hair. “I told you that there was a darkness inside of you—a darkness that would eventually take over you. I can see now that it’s progressed faster than I had imagined. You’re not the same person I spoke to that night.”

  “You’re wrong. There’s no darkness inside of me, Abel. I feel stronger and clearer in my mind than I’ve ever been in my entire life. You’re right about one thing, though. I’m not the same person you spoke to that night, and I’m not the same person you’ll fight this day,” said Kry.

  Abel turned his back to him.

  “What are you doing?” demanded Kry.

  “I offer you a free attack. Come at me, and we’ll see who is on his back in the end,” said Abel.

  Kry wanted to strike at him, but that was not the way. “No, we’ll fight fairly with no disadvantage to either one of us.”

  “You think this is a disadvantage for me?”

  “Who’s the one with hubris now?”

  Abel turned back to him. “Is this about Athena?”

  A slight tingle touched Kry’s mind, but then it was gone. “I don’t care about Athena. You and she can do whatever you both want.”

  “Are you sure? Because when you saw us at the party together, you seemed mightily agitated. We were just talking and nothing else. She’s a beautiful, intelligent, and caring woman. I’m surprised you pushed her away with what you’ve become,” said Abel.

  Kry would have found Abel’s comments infuriating. Now, there was neither anger nor resentment. There was nothing. “It doesn’t matter anymore. And if what I’ve become pushed her away, then she wasn’t worth my attention in the first place.”

  This was the first time Abel looked angry; his eyes pierced through the snow with a hidden rage.

  “Does that offend you, Abel? I’ve seen how you look at her when she’s not looking. Perhaps this fight means more to you than you might think?”

  “You’re deluded, Kry. You’re blind to what you’ve become. You’re a lost soul just like the last person who was overcome with his hidden darkness.”

  “You speak of Ander? If he were still here, I’d fight him, too, after I’m done with you,” threatened Kry.

  Abel looked at him with a hidden pain in his eyes. “You’ve no idea what the darkness will do to you. Ander was once kind, honest, and my friend, but he’s no longer any of those things. He only cared about power and strength, and it consumed him to the point of madness. You’ll end up the same if you keep pushing your friends away. They have been trying so hard to get through to you, Kry, but you keep turning them away. Eclipse was a kindred soul to you. When I entered your mind, I saw the bond between you two. She was a friend and person you could trust. You both had family taken away, and there was a mutual suffering you could share with each other to lessen the pain. Or, how about Whisper? I saw those memories, too. You considered him family. I saw how you helped him to find his father. Your bond with Whisper is even stronger than your bond with Eclipse. And now you just throw it all away?”

  The wind hissed as the snow fell from the Cube. He understood everything Abel was saying, but he felt nothing for Eclipse or Whisper. The only memories that came to him now were empty blanks of nothingness. He felt absolutely nothing.

  ****

  The stadium was filled with many students who had come to witness the fight. Eclipse sat next to Whisper with a troubled heart as she saw Abel and Kry standing inside the Cube.

  “They seem to be talking,” said Thrace.

  “What do you think they’re saying?” asked Inessa.

  Eclipse wished she could go down there herself, stand between them and bash their heads together. There was nothing to gain from fighting each other, but Kry had been persistent in wanting to fight Abel. She was surprised that the professors had yet to intervene. “They’re both as bad as each other.”

  “Men with power,” joked Thrace.

  “Usually, that tends to be the case,” said Eclipse. She turned to Whisper who was staring intently down at the Cube.

  Whisper did not look at her and kept his gaze on the Cube. “Who do you think will win?”

  She was surprised by his question. In fact, she had not even thought about it. “I don’t know. Why?”

  “Because if Kry loses again, what do you think he’ll do?” asked Whisper.

  Another question that had not crossed her mind. “Does that worry you?”

  Whisper nodded. “I miss the old Kry, the one who to
ok me in when I was alone and barely surviving in the underground tunnel of Baker Street Station. Do you think that Kry still exists?”

  Eclipse placed her arm around his shoulders. “I do. I know it. Whatever happens, we’ll bring him back.” It had been a long time since she had lied so freely, but in truth, she did not know whether Kry would ever truly return from his chosen path.

  ****

  “We have an audience,” said Abel.

  Kry sensed their presence, too. More and more beacons of energy filled his mind as the students took their seats around the stadium.

  “Eclipse, Whisper, and the others are all here,” said Abel.

  “I don’t care.”

  “You keep saying that, but it’s not so easy just to cut your feelings for them.”

  “You would be surprised how easy it is.”

  “You may think so, but you’re wrong.”

  Kry turned on his first barrier; the gentle blue glow around him hummed in tandem with the Cube.

  Abel ignored it and did not react by creating a barrier of his own. “Eclipse and Whisper watch from above, and they still care for you, hoping you’ll stop turning them away.”

  Kry turned on his second barrier, allowing it to expand around him. “I don’t care.”

  Abel had yet to form a barrier. “We know about the two boys, Kry. And we know you might be one of them, but we can’t help you if you don’t let us in.”

  What was this feeling? Kry thought he had ridden himself of everything. The anger was returning. “What do you know?” he shouted, blasting the ground with a shockwave that threw the snow upward.

  Abel blinked to the side and raised his first barrier. “We know the Shadow Government did something to those boys, but no one really knows what happened to them.”

  Kry clenched his fists and ran toward Abel at lightning speed. He punched his barrier with immense energy, and it exploded as he made contact. Abel was thrown into the distance landing deep in the snow.

  Abel quickly returned to his feet and created his second barrier. “Listen to me, Kry! The darkness will consume you!”

  Kry spread his arms wide and lifted the snow all around him. The snow shifted from the ground at his command and rose into the air shaping into a giant wave. “You know nothing!” Kry released his energy, and the wave of snow sped through the air toward Abel. The wave of snow almost made contact, but it suddenly melted away.

  Abel burned with radiant energy, the heat searing everything around him. “I’ll make you listen, then.” He blinked next to Kry and kicked a hundred times with bursts of energy flowing from his legs.

  Abel’s power was incredible as Kry tried to resist the bombardment. His powerful kicks came from both sides, and Kry directed his energy to reinforce his barriers. For now, his barriers were holding, but Abel’s pressure was relentless. He created a bolt of lightning from his hands and directed it toward Abel, and another, and another.

  The bolts of lightning struck Abel’s barrier and forced him to go on the defensive. Abel spun around and kicked the bolts of lightning back to him. Kry blinked in different directions trying to avoid the returning energy, but Abel blinked with him and was applying more pressure as he slammed Kry’s barrier with fists of fire. Kry was sure that this was the real Abel; he was giving everything he had, unlike the Abel who had fought against Aiyax. This realization caused Kry to smile.

  Abel caught his smile as he struck down hard with a fist of fire. Kry spun around and created a whirlwind of ice which wrapped him up like a cocoon. The force surrounding the whirlwind gradually pushed Abel back. The snow around Kry rose up creating a towering storm of energy as high as the Cube.

  Kry’s feet left the ground, and he rose up within the whirlwind as it became faster and faster. Abel stood far below watching him and waiting. Zero was right. The power was easier to control with the feelings for his friends removed. He looked down at Abel who appeared like an ant, and with clarity of mind, he struck Abel with a powerful ray of dark matter from the whirlwind of energy.

  An explosion of immense proportions rocked the Cube as well as the stadium. Great clouds of smoke rose from the area where the ray of dark matter made contact. Kry was calm and relaxed as he descended from the air toward the rising smoke.

  ****

  Thrace stood up. “What the hell was that? I’ve never seen Kry do that before.”

  “That’s not Kry. He’s someone else now,” said Whisper with disbelief.

  Eclipse had been briefly blinded by the explosion. The power was incredible, but that was not what gave her concern; it was the fact that he had not even transformed into the Ascended state. “He’s more powerful than ever.”

  “But how? He’s taken the same classes as us, and there’s no way those classes by themselves have been able to teach him what he’s doing now,” replied Thrace.

  Eclipse agreed. There had to be another reason why Kry was able to progress so quickly. She was more worried than ever.

  ****

  The rising smoke drifted around him as he approached. Abel lay on the ground with his face in the snow. His hair was white with the snow falling on him, and his barriers had been removed. Kry stepped closer and smiled. He raised his hand, turned it into stone and then struck Abel’s body with great energy. The impact caused the snow to burst into the air around him, and once everything had settled, Abel’s body was gone. Kry looked around. “I was fooled by this trick once before. It’d be a poor display if I fell for the same trick twice.”

  There was a hum of energy which came from behind him, and he turned to see Abel unharmed.

  “It seems you’ve learned new tricks since we last fought,” said Abel.

  “I’ve much more to show you.” Kry blinked in front of him, placed his hands on Abel’s barrier and closed his eyes for a split second before reopening them.

  Abel jumped back surprised as his second barrier dissipated with Kry’s touch. “How did you do that?”

  Kry blinked forward again, keeping his steps close to him and placed his palms on his remaining barrier. Instantly, the barrier fell.

  Abel blinked away, but Kry would not let him get too far as he continued to apply the pressure.

  “Ander could do as you did,” said Abel. “Who taught you this?” He blinked away again and reformed his barriers quickly, but he was already growing tired.

  “Really? I’ll look forward to beating him,” jeered Kry. With both hands, he threw fireball after fireball at Abel.

  Abel jumped into the sky. Kry looked up but found no sign of him. He was alone with the hissing wind and the cold falling snow. He continued to throw fireballs in all directions, but there was no sign of Abel. Even his presence was missing. “Fight me, Abel!”

  A sound of roaring wind came from directly above, and he looked up to see a giant ray of dark matter coming straight down at him. The energy exploded against his barriers and pushed him deep beneath the snow.

  ****

  Eclipse had left the stadium. She had enough of seeing them fight. They were even in ability, but Kry had grown substantially stronger since, and his innate powers of being an Ascended would no doubt give him an advantage in the long run. She did not know if Abel could resist much longer, or even if one of them would die in the process.

  She walked back through the courtyard. When they had first arrived here, there had been so much hope that together they would succeed in reaching new levels of understanding of what it meant to be a User. In the end, what she found out was that a User was all about power. Well, at least, that’s what the university taught.

  Everything was quiet as she decided to return to her dormitory to rest until the next class. As she returned, something was unsettling her as she sensed powerful energy coming from outside the university gates. There were multiple beacons of energy, and as she came closer, they only grew in strength. These beacons were much like the ones she remembered when Dominus and Geminae had fought them on Tower Bridge.

  She turned the corner
into the path which led to the university gates and quickly moved behind a pillar, concealing her presence. Sonus and the many New Order students were by the university gates. What were they doing? She peeked around the corner and saw them open the gates. A giant man with rotting teeth and wearing a chef’s apron held a large carving knife in his right hand. Eclipse felt ill at the sight of him. Next to him was a petite woman with a black cape and dressed in tight black leather. She almost looked like herself in the way she was dressed in black. She did not recognize either one, but the power she felt from them was incredible.

  Eclipse heard footsteps and moved deeper into the archway, hiding behind another pillar.

  “What’s going on here?”

  Eclipse recognized the voice of Professor Nam. Again, she peeked around the corner.

  “Sonus? What are you…?” Professor Nam became quiet.

  The woman dressed in black blinked next to her and pushed her down to the ground. The look on Nam’s face was one of sheer terror as she tried to resist.

  “Do you know who I am?” said the woman in black.

  Professor Nam looked in pain as she struggled to move, but something was holding her in place. Eclipse wanted to help, but she did not know what was happening, and Sonus and his entire faction were everywhere.

  “Dice?” cried Nam.

  The name was unfamiliar to Eclipse.

  Dice pulled out two red dice from her pockets and rolled them on the ground. The big man next to her laughed like a pig as the dice came to a stop.

  “A shame. Only a total of four. Oh well, it’ll have to do. The Shadow Government punishes all those who betray them,” declared Dice.

  “No! Wait! I didn’t betray—” Professor Nam could not finish her sentence as she cried out in agony, her right arm bending backward.

  “One,” said Dice.

  Nam’s left arm suddenly twisted the other way.

  “Two,” said Dice.

  Nam fell backward onto the ground, her head hitting the pavement. Her right and left leg suddenly bent in different directions.