Looming Shadow: Journey to Chaos book 2

by Brian Wilkerson

  “I don’t know. I was….Where's Staff Soiléir!?” Eric asked in panic.

  “I’m sorry, Eric,” Basilard said. “I looked as thoroughly as I could, but I didn’t find it.”

  His insides froze. His staff was gone; his partner in magecraft was gone. Gone, gone! Never coming back! Lost forever! A pulse resonated within him. Staff Soiléir is inside me! Hir was in the Battle Royale, so I guess that makes sense…But how do I reach hir?

  Kallen grabbed Eric's head and kissed him. His eyes shot open as a warm feeling rapidly replaced the cold, and knowledge rushed into his mind. More than knowledge, it was experience.

  “Try it now,” she whispered, so close.

  Eric nodded. Clapping his hands together, he focused on his staff. It was no different from pulling out mana...the motion was the same. It was all the same! With a spiritual pull, a crystal emerged from his palm. A grey sphere with a black mix floated in the center and now it was accompanied by a cerulean blue sphere.

  Ecstatic, he continued pulling and his staff flowed out, knotted end and all. He spun it once and thudded the butt on the ground. Then he hugged Kallen. A corner of her mouth quirked up and she hugged back. Warmth, peace, and security filled them both. Neither wanted to let go.

  “Kallen?”

  “Mhm?”

  “How did you know what happened to my staff?”

  “How do you think?” She whispered the next part in his ear. “A similar thing happened to me.”

  “You mean...at Siduban –”

  “Yep, but we can talk about that later. For now, let’s talk about what happened in Ceiha.”

  Team Four+ sat down together for the first time in eight days. They discussed the conclusion of the mission in Ceiha and its results. Kallen suggested that Eric himself choose the topics to stimulate his mind by seeking information.

  “First question: is there anything in here that I can eat?”

  “First answer: No,” Tiza said. “My meal will come soon and I’ll share it with you.”

  “You’re welcome, or thanks…which one is it?”

  “The first one.”

  “Tiza,” all three parental figures said.

  “Fine. It’s the second one, but I personally think the first is more appropriate.”

  Eric’s first question that didn’t involve food concerned a threat: Mr.15. The last thing he remembered was looking at the ashes of his body, and he wanted to confirm that he was truly dead. Basilard said this was the case.

  “We never found his body, but that’s because you vaporized it. I asked BloodDrinker to sweep the mountain and it didn’t find anything that matched him personally. All it found was his clones, who had trace amounts sealed in their brains so he could control them.”

  “Did you kill them all? It must have been a fantastic feast.”

  It baffled Eric that Basilard clenched his fists at this remark. Surely, a feast is never a reason for anger. Nolien stepped in and said that they did not kill any of them because getting Eric treatment was more important. Instead, Neuro and the Brotherhood of Death hunted them down.

  “He also restored as much kon to the people of Deimos as he could find. The town will survive, but its people will die sooner than they would have otherwise.”

  “AND he astral-projected to the Abyss to testify against Rent-A-Spade in the Court of Life and Death!” Tiza added. “Surrounded by deities, he threatened one of them! ‘If you ever come to Ceiha again, I’ll take the rest of your authorities myself.’ He’s amazing!”

  Nolien coughed.

  Eric’s second question involved Zettai. His last sight of her was a disgusting mess in a pretty dress. Now she was clean and wearing commoner clothing: a red blouse, pink skirt, black tights, and brown boots. Her hair was now long, vibrant, and covered her entire crown, instead of the patched and diseased clumps he remembered. The resemblance between her and Basilard was clear, but then again, it was off somehow.

  “You said I would only get out of Ceiha on the back of a trickster or a dragon, and you were wrong. It was inside a griffin.”

  “You’re all lucky my Albatross IX is powered by divine lightning. It wasn’t made to carry so many people.”

  “Basilard saved me from the Exile by giving me his own blood.” She flipped her hair and it shined in the room’s light. “I’m as good as his biological daughter.”

  “Legal ward,” Basilard said coldly; so coldly, Zettai shivered. “I am responsible for her, but she is not part of the clan. I am her legal guardian.”

  “The Trickster had to twist his arm to do even that much! He was going to watch me die!”

  “I remember you wishing as much after our last training session.”

  “That wasn’t training; it was a beating! You could have just given me the knowledge like the Exile did. Then I’d be as good you are already.”

  Eric watched with interest. Their mutual killing intent was raising and he could eat the weakened victor. Then a memory of his own training under Basilard surfaced and he changed his mind.

  “If I did that, you would turn into a clone of me; body and mind. I took a serious risk with you. Be grateful and work harder.”

  “I’m sorry my life did so much damage to your precious reputation! It’s bad enough that the rest of my blood family treats me like a disease, but you too?”

  “We’ve been over this. From their perspective, you are a disease because you were reborn with a forbidden art. You can prove them wrong by growing up.”

  “Abyss! You’re as bad as my real dad!”

  Nolien cleared his throat and said, “Speaking of real dads, Eric, do you have any questions regarding Professor Haburt?”

  Eric’s eyes spontaneously shifted from those of a human to something resembling a cat’s. It was slitted and feral. When he spoke, it was not with a human voice, but something deeper and savage.

  “Can I eat him?”

  “No,” said Basilard, Kallen, and Zettai. Nolien, Tiza, Sathel, and Retina didn’t say anything.

  Eric’s eyes returned to human form and he asked his following question in a voice more typical for humans of his age and experience.

  “There’s some kind of punishment in store for him, right? I remember I avoided punishment for killing an orc, but that was to save someone’s chastity and my little sister declared me innocent. However, Haburt has done more than that and I doubt his little sister can do such for him.”

  No one knew who he meant by “little sister,” so everyone but Kallen and Basilard, who noted it for later, ignored it and moved on.

  As a group, they decided not to press charges against Haburt for working with Mr.15. If he went to jail, Vaya would have no one to rely on and Kasile would have one less person pulling for her in the coming Mana Mutation Summit. Tiza herself pushed for this idea. No one knew why, but she said it was not “out of the goodness of her heart.”

  Haburt returned to the University of Roalt to analyze his research and write his papers. The first one concerned Dengel and Mana Mutation and would be submitted to the upcoming Mana Mutation Summit as part of the agenda. This satisfied the royal Powers That Be and justified the grant they gave him to travel to Ceiha. The second one concerned his common man interest. It would go through the process of peer review before publishing. This satisfied the academic Powers That Be and his own curiosity. It also justified altering history books and the inevitable debates with his colleagues.

  Vaya was living with him under the name “Sonya.” Unlike Zettai, she didn’t have a “neat” story like Bladi Conversion and so one was created for her. According to her official immigration papers, she was a citizen of Ceiha and her parents abandoned her during a food shortage. Haburt picked her up off the street and adopted her out of compassion. To lessen the chance that someone would see a resemblance to his dead daughter, Haburt changed a few characteristics with help from Basilard. Now she was a brunette instead of a blonde and with eyes to match.

  “Next question: Does Mia know I’m all r
ight?”

  “No one outside this room does.”

  “Abyss! She must be worried sick!”

  He ran out of the room.

  Epilogue

  High above Tariatla, Tasio did pinwheels among the stars. His joy radiated brighter than any of them. It obscured the sky with divine splendor and blocked the stars from sight. Local astronomers were cursing him at that very moment for interfering with their work. He couldn’t care less.

  “IT WORKED, MOTHER! FOR THE SECOND TIME IN A DECADE, IT WORKED!”

  He spun in a circle and drew clouds towards himself. Then he pushed them aside along with moisture and air currents. This would lead to odd weather in the region for the next couple of weeks. Naturally, he would be blamed for it.

  “I was afraid I would have to set something up myself, but then Nulso spun that little plan of his with Mr.15. All I had to do was whisper a few encouraging words in a little girl’s ear. It was worth it to overturn her fortune. So much change so quickly; hope and despair cycling; all these things do best please me, falling so preposterously.”

  He rolled his eyes and waved his hand.

  “She’ll be fine. Anyone her age that can survive on the streets of Ceiha as long as she did can handle Bladi Clan intrigue. She will transform in time and trigger more change for you.”

  He leaned back to examine the moon. It was shining brightly with the sun’s light.

  “The more important outcome of this event is that Eric overcame his hatred of Dengel and re-embraced his idolization. Holding these two feelings in his heart for the same person is precisely the outcome we wanted. His next adventure will be to harmonize the monster with the mercenary.”

  At this, he expressed relief.

  “From mook transformed into mercenary. It was simple enough. I’ve done it countless times but monster? That’s a rarity. Now he’s one step closer to being the tool you need to fight Uncle Odor.”

  He pouted.

  “But I like calling him that. It makes him mad. I wish I could do something about his pawns. A little accident here and a bolt of divine retribution there and it would be over. Nulso would be dead without backlash for us and Lunas would be dead too and so would his blasphemous claims. If we’re lucky, the shock and anger will make Epideus implode and take the Grand Obelisk with him.”

  He bonked himself on the head.

  “You’re right. I need to remember my own advice. It’s the same reason I allowed Selen Esrah’s coup to play out and why I didn’t help Eric in Ceiha: change, development, and free will. With Kallen’s help, it will work with minimal involvement from myself.”

  He smiled fondly at the thought of his favorite follower.

  “Without her, he’d still be a savage mongrel in a cell. It’s a pity that she couldn’t keep her kimono and such on. I would have loved to snatch a ‘beauty and the beast’ photo.”

  He cocked his head and nodded.

  “Yes, yes, it’s going well, but right now, it’s just a crush – simple puppy love. You know that Samael will make an appearance soon and that will be a useful occasion for them to bond further. As for Kallen, it’s just metaphysical right now. Something more personal is about to develop on its own. All three of them will be ready. All they have to do is survive the summit.”

  Eric’s Journey continues!

  Journey to Chaos Book 3: Mana Mutation Menace

  A spear wielded by the Trickster's Choice against a shield wielded by the Ordercraft Prince.

  Eric pulled out his staff and assumed a battle stance. “It will do fine.”

  He moved into a thrust and Lunas blocked. He struck left and right and Lunas parried each time. Eric put more strength into his strikes, but he couldn’t budge Lunas; his skill with a shield pushed his strength aside each time. Then Eric feinted for the prince's eyes and stepped forward into a swing with the butt that swiped Lunas off his feet. His head hit the ground and the crystal blade nicked his ear.

  “Again, Your Highness?”

  Eric offered a hand to help him up and, when Lunas grabbed it, he shifted it into a Grendel’s. For just a moment, there was instinctive fear in Luna’s eyes. They faced each other and again Lunas took the defensive by standing still and blocking attacks. Then he took the initiative. By deflecting a blow and stepping closer, he set himself up for a punch to the nose. Eric stumbled and Lunas shoved him with the shield. Eric lost his footing and Lunas dropped the pointed end of the shield between his legs.

  “Again, Trickster's Choice?”

  Lunas offered a hand to help him up and, when Eric grabbed it, a second hand reached out; a ghostly parasitic one like Nulso. For just a moment, there was instinctive fear in his eyes. The invisible feelers probed his mind and spirit. If he hadn't fought off such attacks from Nulso, he wouldn't have noticed at all.

  Their dance continued and, this time, neither gained an advantage. The chaotic mercenary struck with many and diverse attacks, but all failed to break his opponent’s guard. The lawful prince repelled every attack, infiltrated his opponent’s mind, and physically counterattacked when possible, but he failed to break his opponent’s will.

  If he wants in so badly, I'll open the door and welcome him.

  Eric unfurled his spirit just enough for Lunas to sense his monster madness. It permeated his sense of self so finely that it was easy to hide in public. It was also easy to give eavesdroppers flashes of it to scare them. A monster’s mind is unfathomably chaotic and savage, frightful for anyone. Someone like Lunas would fear it all the more for his lack of experience. Once he was sufficiently on edge, Eric struck him with the Right Arm of the Grendel. Lunas blocked with the shield but the force of the blow traveled through it and knocked him off his feet and several feet back. Lunas lowered the shield and revealed himself as fresh as a daisy.

  “Mr. Watley, you didn't tell me it was going to be that kind of duel.”

  A grey-white mist gleamed within him and the shield blazed golden-brown. Lunas grounded himself and fired a shot of chaotic energy. Eric dodged and the shot vaporized the wall behind him. Lunas fired again, Eric dodged again, and another section of wall disappeared. These weren’t just holes, they were voids. Eric half-expected eldritch beings from beyond time to crawl through them.

  Lunas fired a third time and Eric dodged into the path of the fourth. He Grendel-jumped to avoid it and kicked off the air to avoid the fifth. I have to end this now!

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  About The Author

  Born in Kansas, US, Brian Wilkerson grew up playing Final Fantasy and watching Power Rangers. During middle school, he discovered Cartoon Network's anime programming block “Toonami” and was inspired to write fanfiction based on its shows. All together, they inspired him to write his own original stories.