Rupture: Rise of the Demon King

by Milo Woods

  Seeko began to hyperventilate. His blood pounded within his balled fists, soon pulsing across his entire body. His jaw clamped so tight he felt like he cracked a tooth. Seeko looked to Yoshino with tears streaming down his face. Kerodesis echoed his feelings, rebounding them across the link, feeding each other.

  “Yoshino!” Seeko roared. “You planned all this!”

  Yoshino smiled a half smile. “What can I say?” He shrugged. “There’s only one thing left for me to do now.”

  Seeko lowered his father and rose shakily. “And what would that be?”

  “Kill the Irenic hero!” Yoshino said as he shifted into air. He reappeared behind Seeko, blade in hand. “Sorry, Seeko, but I need those necklaces. I couldn’t kill my friends, but you could. The Voice would warn them if I tried. But you … you were already the enemy.” Yoshino’s blade flew toward Seeko.

  He avoided it, turning to flame.

  “Impressive,” Yoshino said.

  Seeko reformed, a burning emerald blade in hand. He knocked Yoshino’s blade away and pointed his blade to Yoshino’s neck.

  Then Yoshino sent a pressurized ball of air into Seeko’s stomach, sending him flying into the fireplace. Seeko pointed his palms at Yoshino and the fire behind him flew into the demon, sending him through the open doorway and into the hall.

  Seeko teleported to Yoshino as he rose, blade in hand once more. Seeko pointed his blade at his neck again.

  “Teleport too? I underestimated you.” Yoshino faded into black smoke and reappeared farther down the hallway, running.

  “Where are you going, Yoshino? Scared?” Seeko shouted, chasing after him.

  Yoshino’s response was to send a sheering wave of air at his pursuer. Seeko narrowly avoided the wave and continued to chase after him.

  They ran through the castle, climbing higher and higher. In the straight hallways, Seeko would launch fire at his foe, but Yoshino would either dissipate it or send it back to him.

  Seeko slowly gained on Yoshino despite the demon’s attempts to flee. Yoshino kept climbing and eventually went through a doorway that led outside. Seeko burst through the door after him, catching his breath.

  He stood atop the citadel, a large, square area with crenellations and battlements all around. The ground was seventy feet below and the view of the surrounding inner city was incredible. Seeko could see the Irenic army beyond the outer city, readying for battle.

  Yoshino smiled, turning around. “Just like how I first met you. Chased me to a dead end.”

  Seeko sent fire at Yoshino’s face, green streaks of light racing forward in the setting sun. He roared as Yoshino blocked the fire, so Seeko sent more his way.

  Yoshino dodged the assault easily. “Not even a response? A question?” He cocked his head. “Come now. You’re always full of questions.”

  “Why the roof?” Seeko yelled, still firing at the demon.

  “So that your friends will find your corpse in a couple of minutes,” Yoshino said, laughing. He teleported to Seeko and began to duel the hero.

  Seeko’s practice with Keith’s quick strikes conditioned him well against the lightning-fast demon. He was put on the defensive, but managed to keep his cool and was soon rewarded. Yoshino overstretched and Seeko parried the blade away, then brought his back in, slicing across Yoshino’s arm. Yoshino made a face and brought his blade around to Seeko’s left. Then he feinted and stabbed instead.

  Seeko knew how to deal with a stabbing attack, blocking Mori’s rapier thousands of times. He knocked it away again and spun around the blade, flinging a fireball into Yoshino as he did so. Yoshino jumped back, extinguishing the fire that started on his clothes.

  The duel went on, Seeko and Yoshino evenly matched. But Seeko soon slipped and Yoshino cut into his leg. Seeko screamed and Kerodesis echoed him, then an orange pillar of flame appeared under Yoshino. Yoshino was caught unaware and began to burn. A whirlwind appeared around the demon, put out the fire, and sent Seeko flying.

  He collided with a battlement, cracking it. Dazed, Seeko reached into the necklaces and soon dark hands gripped the demon that was approaching him. Before Yoshino could escape, Seeko sent a twirling green-and-orange cylinder of fire straight at him, crashing into the demon with incredible force.

  Seeko’s eyes refocused and he looked to where the demon was. There was nothing there, however. There’s no way he’s dead …

  Sure enough, Seeko was right. Yoshino appeared in front of the searching hero a moment later, kneeing him in the stomach and sending him back to the ground.

  “I hate to admit it,” Yoshino said, “but you’re a lot stronger than I gave you credit for.”

  Seeko teleported away from the demon, appearing on the other side of the roof. He leaned up against a crenellation, grabbing his wounded leg.

  Yoshino turned slowly toward him, calmly approaching the hero.

  Seeko smiled, then snapped his fingers.

  An emerald explosion appeared behind Yoshino, blossoming almost instantly. The blast flung Yoshino forward, and Seeko advanced, blade ready to skewer the demon as he came down.

  Yoshino recovered in midair and teleported to Seeko’s side, blasting him to the ground with a slanted pillar of stone. The hero slammed into the ground hard, but had no time to rest, for Yoshino was before him, swinging his blade. Seeko rolled to the side and sent a fireball back at him, which Yoshino deflected.

  Seeko kicked the distracted demon in the chest with both legs, knocking him over. He rose, called on Kerodesis, and sent dual flames emitting from his palms into the downed demon. He shouted as he did so, desperate to defeat Yoshino.

  The demon shouted as well, twirling as a whirlwind surrounded him, shielding him from the worst of the assault. Yoshino waved his arms and the whirlwind expanded in all directions, buffeting Seeko. The whirlwind ended and Yoshino was gone again.

  Seeko scanned the area for him, trying to find him in the dying light. He found him after a moment.

  He was right above him.

  Yoshino fell to the floor, augmenting his fall with his mastery of wind magic. He slammed into Seeko at an unbelievable speed, crushing him into the rough citadel rock. Yoshino hopped off the hero, blade reappearing in hand.

  The stunned hero hurt everywhere. After a moment, he rose like a puppet, dark hands supporting him. Seeko’s dark hands released him and he stood shakily on his own feet. He pointed at Yoshino and the dark hands obeyed, launching themselves at the monster with sharp claws.

  Yoshino cut at the hands as they approached, and while he did so, Seeko teleported behind him. Their duel started again, but both were much slower than before.

  Yoshino was fighting from two directions and losing. He put a priority on blocking Seeko’s burning blade, and as a result was cut multiple times by the dark hands. Even when he cut a hand down, another would appear and take its place.

  The demon brandished his blade, cutting two dark hands and leaving himself momentarily open. Seeko pressed the advantage, jabbing at Yoshino’s chest. The demon shifted just enough and was cut on the arm instead.

  The tired and aching hero made mistakes as well, however. He was too slow now and Yoshino made him pay with cuts across the upper arm and again on his already wounded leg.

  Seeko stumbled back, disengaging his dark hands. Yoshino fell back as well, blade disappearing.

  They circled each other, two foes on the edge of exhaustion.

  Yoshino was scowling. His white hair was disheveled and he was breathing hard; his clothes were burnt and his stance faltered.

  Seeko echoed him for the most part, but the hero was worse for wear, bleeding and losing consciousness. This is it, he thought, trying to calm his mind.

  He reached for his dim spark one last time.

  Seeko conjured a ball of darkness, mirroring Yoshino’s. They flung themselves at each other and raised their palms, a parallel movement. They screamed as the orbs connected … and all went silent.

  / / / / /

  Seeko awoke
, facedown, on the ground. He opened his eyes, dazed and disoriented, and rose to one knee. The world around him looked badly painted, colors and streaks swirling in randomness. In the sky, he saw a humongous, brilliant orange sun, adding more streaks to the sky as he moved.

  Yoshino spoke from behind Seeko. “Where are we? Is this some type of new magic?”

  Seeko turned to Yoshino quickly, which sent the world spinning. He quickly lost his balance. Yoshino looked unharmed from the previous fight, whereas Seeko still felt dizzy and scarred.

  “Ah, I know where we are,” Yoshino said, hand to his chin. “This is a version of your mind!”

  What? Seeko thought. As he thought it, the world echoed it. This is just an illusion …

  “I think so too, Seeko. “Very interesting, though. This is how you’re coping with what I’m currently doing in your mind.”

  “What do you mean?” Seeko said, slurring his words slightly.

  “Well, obviously my last attack succeeded. I am currently standing in front of you, palm to your head. This version of me is your depiction of the invasion of your mind.”

  Seeko looked at Yoshino. “I won’t let you take over my mind!” He charged at him, sword suddenly in hand.

  Yoshino also had a sword out of nowhere and they traded blows. They were still evenly matched, for Yoshino was moving in slow motion, even though Seeko was still dazed. Seeko jumped back and stumbled, but sent orange fire into Yoshino nonetheless. As he did so, the orange sun faded slightly.

  As the fire connected, Yoshino tumbled to the ground. He rose, patting himself off. “Seeko, you are doing so much better than Lorissa or even the Mother. Your spark fights valiantly, even on the edge of collapse.” Yoshino teleported behind him and shoved him over. Seeko rolled and countered, cutting Yoshino’s leg. “Very impressive.”

  Then he teleported again, this time far to Seeko’s right. Seeko looked over to him, dizzy once more.

  “Ah! What is this?” Yoshino stood next to a tube of lightning that raced infinitely in either direction. Yoshino’s hand came close to the lightning and a small part arch into him. Suddenly, Seeko could feel Yoshino’s power, for at that moment, he was linked with the demon. And I thought Kerodesis’s spark was huge … Yoshino’s dark gray spark was twice as big as Kerodesis’s. His mind was so alien to Seeko that he flinched from the connection. However, Seeko did notice that the spark was dull from the recent combat.

  Yoshino moved away from the tube of lightning and the awareness was broken. Seeko was still reeling, shaking his head, which only blurred the world more.

  The demon smiled. “So this is how you and Kerodesis share power?” he said. He raised his hand and his blade materialized in it. “What would happen if it was destroyed?”

  Seeko rushed toward Yoshino but was not quick enough. The blade flew downward and connected with the lightning in a flash.

  Seeko’s head felt like it was going to explode. The light expanded, both in front of his eyes and behind them. The orange spark in the sky disappeared and Seeko’s world was bathed in darkness.

  Yoshino teleported in front of the stunned hero. “One more thing, Seeko. If there is a future version of me running around somehow, do you know what that means?”

  Seeko wasn’t listening. He was in too much pain.

  He came close to Seeko’s ear, almost whispering: “It means that no matter what you do today, I am still alive at the end of it. And you know that I am too, for I eventually offer you the chance to come home.” Seeko’s eyes went wide. “You cannot deny it. But … there is no such guarantee for you, my friend. I am afraid that today is your last day.” Yoshino backed off, laughing. “I have such a bright future ahead of me! I must be going, but there is someone I want you to meet.”

  He moved to the side, revealing another Seeko. Yoshino faded into black smoke and out of Seeko’s mind.

  “Hello, Seeko Dris,” the copy said. “My name is Kerodesis.”

  Seeko squinted at the copy, head still spinning.

  “No hello back?” Kerodesis summoned a sword of copper flame. “No matter.” Then he walked briskly to Seeko and impaled him on the blade. Kerodesis withdrew the blade and Seeko coughed blood. He fell to the ground as Kerodesis laughed. “I’m free again!”

  With his fading eyesight, Seeko saw Kerodesis look at him one last time.

  “Good-bye, Seeko Dris. And good riddance.”

  Then all went black.

  35: Rekindle

  Empty, white, a blank canvas. White that extended in all directions, unification in a formless world. An infinite time span passed, or maybe no time at all, and still nothing existed. Then, something appeared in the white, a dot of other. The anomaly expanded, becoming a weakly pulsing green pinpoint of light. It floated in the white, alone and purposeless. After a lifetime, the spark became self-conscious. It questioned itself, its existence, until a miracle happened: it remembered who it was.

  Seeko Dris, Hero of Endetia. What happened?

  The white canvas responded to Seeko’s query. An imprint, like a faded image, of his fight with Yoshino appeared in the white. It was from a different point of view, separate from himself, and he watched with impassiveness. It came to the part where he and Yoshino charged at one another with orbs in their hands. Then, something new to Seeko: Yoshino overpowered him, and soon he was standing at Seeko’s side, palm to his forehead. The view expanded, and Keith, Mori, and Bianca climbed to the top, wounded. They saw Seeko collapse.

  “Your hero is dead,” Yoshino was saying with a smile. He rummaged through Seeko’s pockets. “Thanks for gathering the necklaces for me. It would have been way more difficult for me to do it, with turning on my own kind and all.”

  Mori tried to run to Seeko’s body, but Keith held her back. “Seeko!” she cried.

  The Seeko spark watched on with morbid curiosity. My friends! They’re going to die!

  As the Seeko anomaly thought that, more imprints opened around him, showing the deaths of his other friends. He saw Lorissa fall to Greg’s blade, Kazuma to Yoshino’s, and Hannet plummet into the canyon before someone’s knife stabbed her through the heart. Simultaneously, he saw people he didn’t even know dying. He saw a man with curtained blonde hair lose his head to Yoshino. He saw a man with no hands kill another man with messy brown hair and a sword even bigger than Keith’s.

  The images, the pain, were too much … Seeko dispelled the thoughts about his friends and the images disappeared.

  The Seeko spark was so enthralled in his images that he did not notice another anomaly appear before him. When he did, he jumped, or he would have, if he had feet.

  A young girl of maybe five years old stood before the green light. She had long purple hair that covered her eyes and was wearing a black dress. She reached out to the emerald light, but her hand stopped an inch from it.

  “Are you another image of another friend?” Seeko asked.

  Something harpooned itself into Seeko’s consciousness. Seeko reached to it, reminded of the first time Lorissa talked to him. The imprints responded, showing images of her, but he dispelled them.

  The intrusion spoke to Seeko. It was the girl, as Seeko suspected, but her voice was bone-chillingly cold: “Seeko Dris?”

  Seeko responded shakily, “Yes?” He thought back to the girl.

  “Your soul has been split. Was it Yoshino?”

  Seeko was confounded. “Who are you? How do you know Yoshino?”

  The girl ignored his questions. “I cannot take a spilt soul back into the Aether.”

  “Aether? What is that?”

  “First demon-human, but not the last.”

  The girl looked to the spark that was Seeko. She cocked her head and Seeko saw her grinning. Her teeth were pointed and razor sharp, like shark’s teeth. Seeko pulled away from the contact, frightened.

  “I will see you again. Next time, you will not escape.” The girl turned and faded into white, laughing as she did so.

  Her laughter kept Seeko from doing a
nything for a while, so frightened he was. I hope I never run into her again.

  / / / / /

  Seeko wandered the blankness, the only chaos in a world of order. A second passed. Minutes passed. Years passed before the emerald spark. All time felt the same to Seeko. An eon passed in the same amount of time that a second did. Maybe there was no time in the blankness. It reminded him of when he had been trapped within his own mind. The blankness responded with images of Seeko as his friends took him to the Penumbran Forest. The memories made him think of what his friends were doing right now—which only opened dozens more images. Seeko quickly dismissed the images before he was overwhelmed.

  Thoughts involving time do not work … What were my friends doing after I died on the citadel?

  The white responded with an image.

  “Seeko!” Mori cried out. She tried to run to him, but Keith stopped her.

  Yoshino stared at the necklaces, watching them reflect the dying sun. “It looks like the Irenic Empire is here,” he said. “The Halcyon are done for.”

  “So are you!” Mori yelled. “You’re not getting out of here alive!” The trio ran for him.

  “I beg to differ.” Then, using the necklaces for support, Yoshino quickly created a demon portal before him. He waved. “Good-bye, Keith … Bianca. Good-bye, Mori. Tell Luxant I’m sorry I didn’t kill him myself.” Then he was gone, running through the portal before they reached him.

  Bianca cursed and Mori stopped before Seeko. She knelt before him and reached out—tentatively, fearfully.

  Seeko’s body grabbed Mori’s hand suddenly. Orange fire engulfed her hand and she screamed. Seeko’s body rose, keeping its iron grip on her. Keith, alarmed at her scream, tackled Seeko, forcing him to let go of Mori.