City Of Blood (War Of The Elements Book 2)

by Perusko, Daniel

  "You little fool. The Sirians I speak of are an alien race that hail from the Arcturus star system. They have been seeking out the Earthlings, yet have been unsuccessful in their search. The only one who succeeded was Lenajara and her crew, and this was unintentional. During her travels, she came across this backwater solar system by mere chance while she was en route to another destination. Ever inquisitive of our planet, she decided to pay the Earth humans a little visit. This was about a century ago. Hence why the population of the Earth human exploded. I imagine she had hoped they would use her knowledge for good. In some ways they did, but they also used their mastery to create weapons of mass destruction. Tanks, bomber planes, even nuclear weapons that surpass even our blades, Drake. Her good intentions backfired."

  "We don't know that yet. Our fate isn't written in stone. People have choices. Not a preset path, but an infinite number of roads." Dusk was determined to fight this red-eyed doubter to the end, even if only verbally.

  X scoffed at his ignorant counterpart attempting to comprehend the very thing he understood so well. "You are so naive. What will it take you to wake you up? If you deny me, power will forever elude your grasp."

  "If being as powerful as you meant losing my humanity in the process, so be it."

  "Ignorance truly is bliss, after all. You know what this place is, Drake? It's our former homeworld. You might know it as Mars. Here too, humans became entrenched in war. For thousands of years, two nations clashed for dominance. The war never stopped until I stepped in. No amount of deaths satisfied the insatiable desire of those who stood at the top of their respective governments."

  "Humans existed on Mars?"

  "Of course, human beings aren't merely confined to Earth, you know. Merely more of that egocentric thinking I was talking about earlier. Human civilizations are scattered all over the universe. Sirius and Mars are two examples."

  "But Mars is no more. I'd imagine you're to blame. What did you do you monster?"

  X's mouth wrapped into a smirk as he remembered his foul acts with delight.

  "I killed millions of the depraved beasts. Thanks to me, the two nations finally realized their petty differences and agreed to a ceasefire. One thing about humans, if you present to them a mutual enemy, they will unite to take down that threat. I was that mutual enemy."

  "So they united to finally put a stop to your rampage once and for all? You had it coming. You can't just kill whoever you damn well please and get away with it."

  "Oh? Isn't that exactly what you want to do to Raven and his subordinates?"

  Dusk averted X's gaze, staring skyward at the wrecked and burnt structures they created in their bloody battle. "I fully expect retribution for my actions. Those who kill in revenge will have revenge taken upon them, it's a never-ending cycle."

  X leaned forward, grinning savagely. "Not if you have power," he said. "If you're stronger than everyone else, no one can oppose you. That's why you need to come to terms with everything that's happened here today. I can't let you continue being weak, it's sickening."

  Dusk laughed. "That's rich coming from you, the one who gave in to their despair instead of fighting it. Giving up is easy. Taking the higher path and working for a peaceful solution, that takes strength."

  "That takes stupidity. With Earth's current population it is impossible. You seek the unattainable holy grail."

  "And yet, look what happened with your method. You doomed an entire planet. Without your killing spree, Martian humans might still be around today." Dusk's voice took a haughty note, believing he had gained the upper hand.

  X had to admit, it was highly entertaining that this idiot spoke such hollow words with such an air of superiority, proving how little he knew about the universe time and time again. X's tone became firm in his verbal backhand. "You're wrong. Mars becoming a giant ball of ice was nature's wrath. I had nothing to do with it. The Martians died off because they were so obsessed with fighting each other that they didn't devote the proper resources to relocating to another planet. I was going to escape the planet after accomplishing my mission; well that was the plan anyway."

  "But you were killed." Dusk grinned smugly at him.

  X's eyes narrowed in a subdued fury as he recalled his past. "Not in the way you think. Even the united might of two nations couldn't best me. Perhaps a well placed nuke could have killed me, but it wasn't that."

  "What then?"

  "Another Eon user."

  "Huh?"

  X smacked the base of his hand against his forehead. "Man, you don't even remember that? You're such a lost cause. Listen carefully, because I'm only going to explain this once. This blade here", X flashed the blade inches from his eyes. The intense heat of the sword licked at Dusk's eyelashes.

  "This, is called the Eon Blade. When we grasped this weapon, we attained great power and knowledge. Before this sword chose us, I was like you. Naive and full of hope. But my eyes were opened, never to be closed again. I saw how vast this universe truly is. Many alien races live out their lives peacefully, ever progressing their species not just technologically, but spiritually and socially as well. Our human race is so far behind on our social and spiritual evolution we might as well be infants in comparison. The Earth human has had millennia to learn from their mistakes, but they never do. Wars continue to this day. In fact, we are heading in the opposite direction. Socially, we are actually regressing. Whenever this happens to any species, extinction soon follows."

  X's voice was descending further into a boiling pot of ire until he took a moment to cool off his hot heart. "Anyways, I digress. This particular Eon Blade can only be wielded by us. This blade is called Mataris. Its special power is mastery over fire. Eon Blades are very particular in who they choose to be their masters, but as I said, the universe is vast, and as such, there are hundreds of Eon Blades scattered throughout. Jupitas, the incarnation of lightning. Achila, the incarnation of poison. Boras, the incarnation of wind. The list goes on and on." X paused for a second to take a breath as he prepared to reveal the long forgotten truth to his counterpart. "I was ultimately killed by the wielder of Jupitas, though not before inflicting a fatal wound on him myself."

  Dusk wouldn't let himself be surprised by any new revelations. He had quickly grown a tolerance, accepting X would continue dropping unexpected bombshells upon him. "Someone had to put a stop to your madness. Just like I'm going to do here today." Dusk lambasted him.

  The fury took control, overwriting X's conceit with a venomous anger. "You have no idea how much he set humanity back socially in doing so. I was going to take our love with me and start a new world. One without war and strife. Earth would have been a planet of peace today if not for him! She and I would have started the new Martian civilization alone on Earth if we had to. You need to see the bigger picture."

  "Our love? Her? Who are you talking about?"

  "All this time...even after her death, she's been watching us. And she's here again. She's so close you could touch her, and still you don't even realize it." X held a hand to his blackened heart. "It kills me to think you've forgotten even her. She was more precious to us than anything in this universe. We would've died infinitely for her. Unfortunately, she couldn't see the bigger picture either. But her spirit lives on today among the Earth humans. She's still protecting us. She still loves us. And yet you can't sense it at all. How very disappointing, Drake."

  "Man there's just no end to your revelations, is there? I've had enough of your games and riddles." Dusk spat, swaying his hips counterclockwise, leveling a spin slash towards his talkative foe, but he only slashed the wind in two. X was already gone.

  "And here I thought we were an entity that valued truth above all else." X's voice echoed through the metropolis, circulating in the air like a toxic gas.

  Dusk swiveled his head erratically, desperately trying to pinpoint the voice's trajectory, that he might silence it once and for all. "I've had enough of your brand of truth. There's no
way to know if you're lying about any of this or not. Talking to you is a waste of time. X... or whoever the fuck you are, there's only one thing I want you to do. Perish."

  X's cackling fit seeped through his bones. "More of that misplaced hatred again. You're awfully confident for someone with one foot already in the grave. Fine, then. If you want to kill me so badly, then come get some."

  A chunk of burnt rubble flew at Dusk like a comet, and another, then another. He chopped through all of them with his sword, sending countless fragments of stone and steel flying along with the flashing sparks. How ridiculous this was. How ludicrous! He had barely stopped to think about how out of this world it was. Back on Earth, he was just a normal guy. He didn't even register on anyone's radar. Like a chameleon, he blended in to his surroundings perfectly, and that was just the way he wanted it. The less he was bothered the better.

  He would retreat into his games and anime, where he would play or watch epic battles like this unfold. They were so amusing to watch, so entertaining, and yet, here he was living it right now, and nothing could compare to the rush he felt. His heart was pulsating swiftly, thrashing around in his chest as the blood rushed through his body like a raging waterfall. The rapid beating was pounding into his brain. If not for the unprecedented focus he put into his battle, he would hear the thump thump thump smashing into his head relentlessly. Here he was now, living that epic battle, and yet it wasn't nearly as fun as he thought it would be. A one on one death match against a psychopath who was intent on erasing mankind? What could be so fun and glorious about that? He didn't feel like a gladiator, he didn't feel like a champion. He didn't feel like a hero. He just felt like a normal guy who was doing the only thing he could do when thrust into this unbelievable situation—survive.

  The number of rubble chunks increased, forcing him to quicken his pace. Dusk had to hone his reflexes into lightning's deftness to keep up with the debris pitcher called X who hid himself in the shadows. He felt like he was dodging a tennis ball machine gone haywire, or trying to maneuver his ship through an asteroid cluster. Finally, after each piece of burnt refuse had been decimated into tiny little pieces, Dusk secured a much needed break in the action. A distinct hum penetrated the city—the only sound left in the now tense silence which permeated this urban jungle of ruby.

  Suddenly, the ground trembled; the crimson lights flickered, and the audio spectrum was filled with a deafening rumble. No way...this inconceivable situation had just transcended into the realm of supernatural. An entire half of a building was flying Dusk's way, content to crush him under its colossal metal boot. Regaining composure of himself and conquering his sense of wonder, he shot off his feet, darting to the side to avoid being caught in the path of this unmovable object. But X had surfaced from the darkness, fully expecting this movement from him. Before X could get in range, Dusk fired a crimson blast from his blade, enshrouding his foe in a blinding flash of carmine radiance. He already knew it wouldn't hurt him, but he could at least temporarily blind the madman, allowing him to get to safety. By the time sight had been restored to X's world, Dusk was already gone, replaced by chunks of building flying in his direction.

  "Really Drake!?" X laughed amidst the carnage. "This is what you're resorting to? At least have some originality for God's sake."

  The two began exchanging hunks of the fallen structures with each other, using their telepathic abilities to chuck metal towards their enemy. It was as if they were children engaged in a game of dodgeball, or embroiled in an immature food fight with one another. Yet this was no game. The winner would live, and the loser would die. The two began jumping off the pieces of rubble, using them to push and strike at each other like thunderbolts.

  The various clashes and clanks of their swords were deafening. If their ears weren't protected by a fine veil of fluidal energies, their eardrums would burst and bleed. Metal and glass broke into even smaller pieces, heading towards oblivion. Dusk kicked off a piece of wreckage, firing himself like a cannonball at his enemy's left side, but X had jumped off, leaving Dusk's blade with only a meager slice of metal pizza to cut through. The two attempted attacks from every conceivable angle, but they were nearly an even match in pure swordplay. It occurred briefly to Dusk that if they truly were the same entity, this was logical and not altogether unexpected.

  At that moment Dusk launched another ruby flood at his opponent, blinding him so that he might conceal himself from his opponent's all-consuming eyes. X now saw a gigantic piece of corporate property, at least six stories high, homing straight in on him like a heat seeking missile.

  "Copying me again? Well I can't really blame you, but do you really think you can fool me with my own tricks?

  X knew. His more naive self was just waiting for him to dodge this so that he could slice him the moment his body uncovered itself from the titanic metal cloak which currently concealed his whereabouts.

  Too bad, Drake. You screwed up big time. This is it for you.

  X charged forward, swords crossed in front as he prepared to meet the giant of steel and glass head on. Large shards of glass flew like shrapnel past his form as he rammed through room after room like an unstoppable football linebacker. But just as he was about to complete his journey to the other side, his foe crashed through the ceiling behind him, ripping his fine edge through his back, tearing a long slit the entire way down. It wasn't deep enough to cut him in two, but it was long enough to leave a trail of blood gushing down his back onto the street below where he now laid. The monumental structure slammed into the ground, forming cracks in the rigid concrete that threatened to splinter and break into an earth consuming trench that would swallow the city whole.

  The pain. Oh god, the deep unbearable pain. The life was draining quickly, siphoned into the earth. His fluidal energy's light was becoming faint, dying down to a mere flicker. It felt like he was staring down Jupitas all over again. No... he would not lose again. He loved Earth too much to let humans continue to suck the life out of his world. No way would he let this weak idealist best him and challenge Raven. His opponent was walking towards him smugly, so certain that he'd won. No, if Drake won, the future of humanity would be steeped in darkness for all eternity. He couldn't let that happen!

  "Don't think you've won anything yet you fool!" X roared, a lion now cornered. He struggled to his feet, his arms shaking as he slowly fixed himself to stand upright. His body was leaking blood down into the deep puddle where he now stood, recovering his senses.

  Dusk stopped cold, staring cautiously at his opponent in focused silence.

  "You won't win. I won't let you condemn our future to the apocalypse. I would sooner kill us both..." X hissed in cobra-like passion as he hunched over, bringing his trembling hands up near his head, which was now gazing downward. His body was heating up, becoming consumed by the red hot glow of fire.

  "I'll burn everything to the ground!" He released all of his power in a fiery blast, causing the environment to scream with him. The entire area erupted into flame. The air was now scorching, blistering. The few buildings that still stood tall were now collapsing upon themselves from the intense searing heat which burned at their supports.

  The two warriors were now surrounded by an inferno. The flames lapped at their skin, caressing their heat absorbing bodies in its boiling touch. No one else but these two would be able to stand amidst the infernal cataclysm unharmed, but thanks to Mataris, these two both held dominion over the world of Hades.

  "A trial by fire! Just you and me. Let's end this, Drake!"

  The two slammed into each other, sending the flames dancing amidst the bloody battle.

  "You're on your last legs X, just die so that we can live our lives in peace!"

  clank clank clank clank clank.

  The yin and yang of Mataris oscillated their swords back and forth like flashes of light. Five strikes in less than a millisecond.

  clank clank clank clank clank.

  "Peace!? Peace can only be attai
ned after humankind has been destroyed! You're set on a collision course to destroy your own goddamn planet you idiot! Wake the fuck up!"

  clank clank clank clank clank.

  "This blade has destroyed you beyond repair! Nothing justifies your genocide! Nothing!"

  Two laceration attempts to the shoulder area, three to the stomach, an instant flip to X's back, to which he spun around instantly to counter, six more slashes aimed at the sides of his ribs, and every swipe of the sword was parried off.

  "Shut up! You don't fucking get it! You're so goddamn weak! I took on this role because no one else would! But you're too afraid to do what needs to be done! Just give up so a real man can take over! You're obviously too much of a pussy!"

  clank clank clank clank clank.

  The cries of their voices and their blades danced side by side with the wild twirling stalks of fire. Amidst the maddening pace of the fight, neither opponent noticed that the entire ground beneath them was giving way beneath their feet. The earth crackled and crumbed, the melted steel of buildings dripped down into the massive depression like rainwater into a stormdrain. The gaping hole swallowed everything whole. The flames, the rivers of blood and steel, even the light itself, and with them, the two unparalleled fighters fell victim to gravity's unforgiving push, sending them into an endless descent into a bottomless pit.

  Chapter 2

  Dusk's eyes opened again to the familiar crimson darkness. The metropolis had been restored to its former glory. The countless bloody husks that had previously been splattered across the pavement were no longer present. The buildings were whole and accounted for. In a moment of realization, Dusk noticed his body too had been revitalized. The bloody tears on his body had evaporated. He was back in top form. Dusk's patience was beginning to crumble. These games were wearing thin on him.

  Just what the hell is going on? This isn't funny anymore.

  "Drake?" That was his name after all. Who was calling him? This voice...it wasn't X. The tone packed into that one word was sweet and caring. He swiveled around to catch sight of the melodious voice, only to find the woman who called his name was just as beautiful as her voice indicated. A cascade of blonde hair swept down to her back, with golden bangs draping over her sparkling emerald eyes. This woman, it was her. Not long ago, he had his first vision of her. Since then, they came every now and again, like epileptic episodes. He could never predict when they would come next. This blonde belle was smiling at him with tears nearly coating her eyes. The same look he saw in his visions. Before he could ruminate any further she charged towards him, arms outstretched. Was this some kind of trick? Was X manipulating him yet again? He thought of unsheathing his blades to keep the mystery woman at bay, but something about her told him she was not an enemy. Something about her disarmed him better than any enemy could. She jumped off the ground, nearly tackling him to the floor as she wrapped her arms around him.