Opening Moves (The Lion Knight Book 1)

by Aurelius L. Zero

  “He’s cursed! I’m telling you he’s cursed! You’re all fools for not listening. That… that… demon is no child, once it’s large enough it’ll kill us all.”

  The words faded into a mishmash of shouts as the boy simply sat there listening and waiting for his dad to reappear and make all the scary shouting go away.

  He never showed.

  And the boy was condemned to hell on earth for two years before a kindly old man came to rescue him from the abyss he was trapped in.

  Mind snapping back to the present, Leon was startled to feel two tracks of warm liquid running down his face and his vision blurry. Facing the sky, he screamed to the heavens in denial.

  “No, no, NOOOOO! It can’t be, IT CAN’T BE! YOU’RE LYING! LIBRA CAN’T BE EQUINOX! HE CAN’T BE!”

  “Kid, if there’s one thing you should know about me it’s that I never lie to those about to pass, especially not about the one person I look up to more than anything else. Libra is the Equalizer, or Equinox if you prefer, true things stay true no matter what you believe in.”

  The sound of fingers snapping resounded through room and the Revenant attacked. Tail whipping through the air, the flail struck Leon full on.

  “Pity. I expected more.”

  Strange. It should hurt, shouldn’t it?

  Body perforated by multiple bone spines and his ribs shattered from the force of the flail, Leon was thrown across the chamber.

  A trail of blood following the arc of his flight.

  Coldness seeping into him, he crashed bodily onto the dais back inside the room.

  As his lifeblood drained onto the cruel unforgiving floor, his failing ears picked up nightmare speaking once more.

  “It seems your lovely little lady friend won’t be seeing you again. Shame really, the princess was a really nice catch.”

  Noire. That's right, I still have to see her again.

  I can’t die here.

  I won’t.

  I refuse to.

  Time seemed to freeze and the world was coloured grey.

  Before he could question the sudden change, Leon’s world faded into all-consuming whiteness.

  And Leon awoke to the ever familiar nightmare of fire and blood once more.

  Except… things were different this time.

  No longer was he in the burning city, he stood now on a castle’s ramparts.

  Night had covered the world and flickering torch light illuminated his surroundings.

  Wisps of smoke wafted lazily into the air from a dozen different bonfires around the place.

  Faceless, formless shadows scurried about the place doing their best to aid the defence effort.

  A pale moon hung in the sky and the titanic shadow hovered in the air

  Multiple attacks launched from the ground against it only to be completely nullified.

  An unending series of explosions lit up the night sky, what was being destroyed he had no idea but Leon had the distinct impression that it was a spectacular tragedy being painted across the cruel heavens.

  He could make out the burning city on the horizon.

  A grotesque, picturesque crimson stain on the horizon.

  Even from where he stood, he could still hear the screams and the sound of devastation.

  A fresh wave of fire brightened the distant glow every so often.

  Leon knew the voices around him were speaking, some hurried and panicky, some worried and some calm and collected.

  He couldn’t make out what they were saying though, as the voices were strangely muted, distorted.

  The sense of urgency was unmissable but try as he might, Leon was unable to make sense of anything.

  The shadows were hazy and indistinct, the more he tried to focus on them, the more they seemed to slip away.

  Constantly shifting and blending, he wasn’t even able to make out what clothes they were wearing.

  It was maddening, always slipping out of focus as soon as he directed his attention to them.

  Just when Leon was about to tear his hair out in frustration, he saw her.

  A lady garbed in a pure white dress and a veil walked through the castle’s main gates.

  The lady stood out like a bright beacon, unmissable and commanding his attention.

  He couldn’t make out any of her features save waist length obsidian hair, but he felt that he should know her, and know her well.

  Unsure of what to make of things, he wished to learn more about this strange and twisted dream.

  To Leon’s utmost surprise, the scene shifted in accordance with his will.

  Blinking, he found himself standing in a war room.

  The same shadows clustered around the place, muttering in tones too low and distorted to hear.

  One man stood out amongst the rest, like the lady from earlier, his features were in sharp relief.

  Back towards Leon, he was like the lady in white, fully covered up.

  Dressed in a crimson military outfit that seemed to double as armour, he had a single sword draped over his back and wore an ornate helm that hid his face.

  A stray thought wafted through Leon’s mind that this figure’s attire minus the helm resembled his dear puppet greatly.

  He simply stood there listening without adding to the conversation.

  The sound of a door slamming open behind him caught Leon’s attention.

  Turning back, he witnessed the lady in white stride into the room with purpose, flanked by two other shadows.

  At once, the exasperating chorus of voices quieted as the shadows watched on.

  The shadows seemed to blend together as the lady approached, the world itself seemed to be enshrouded in grey and the background faded into a misty haze as the only two figures clear to Leon began to speak.

  “We have a situation.”

  “I am well aware of what we face minister. No need to remind me, I just have to look out the window.”

  “It’s worse than that I’m afraid. They’ve found it.”

  “Well… things just keep getting better and better don’t they.”

  “… What do we do now?”

  “We do what we must. And if we fall, we make sure they remember our names for all time.”

  Turning to face the woman, the soldier’s voice lost some of its resignation and an upbeat tone infected it.

  How much of it was simply a show of bravado to stave off oncoming depression was unknown.

  “But enough of the doom and gloom, we’re not out of the fight yet. The key is still in our possession yes?”

  “That it is, we lost a lot of good men trying to hold it.”

  “They did their duty and now we do ours. This is it, everything hangs in the balance now.”

  A sense of finality creeped into his voice as he spoke.

  Leon knew whatever the man was about to do, he wouldn’t be coming back from it.

  “I will sortie personally. My new unit is finally ready, I’ll buy you as much time as I can. You get the key to the citadel, we can still do this.”

  “NO! If… if you go now…. Let someone else lead the men! It doesn’t have to be you!”

  Leon watched on in silence as the lady in white vehemently protested against the soldier leaving for the front lines.

  And despite the full face visor obscuring the man’s face, Leon could feel the bitter smile behind the mask. Bowing his head, he already knew the man’s response was a forgone conclusion.

  “I… I’m afraid I can’t do that milady. I can’t abandon my men, how can I ask of them to give their lives if I’m not willing to give mine? I could ask of you the same, give the key to one of your retainers and evacuate this place, there is still time after all.”

  Clasping her hands to her chest, the maiden bowed her head in defeat and resignation.

  “I… I… I won’t be seeing you again will I?”

  “Haaah, I’m sorry our time together had to be so short minister, but fate has already dictated our roles. The lord willing we will see each
other again, even if I don’t make it back it will be up to you to lead our people into a new world.”

  “I’m sorry I dragged you into this.”

  “Don’t be… this is an end I chose for myself…. The spires, they are ready for the transmission?”

  “That they are, it isn’t aware of their purpose yet. All we need do is deliver the key to the citadel and hold out for three days before… before the end. Come… come back to me safe would you?”

  “Hahaha… I’ll do my best minister but I won’t make a promise I don’t know if I can keep. And now… destiny calls.”

  Walking over to the maiden, the crimson clad soldier tightly embraced her and the world faded into whiteness once more.

  Leon was left floating again with more questions than answers.

  Those two figures, he knew them, somehow he knew that he knew them.

  But the life of him he couldn’t answer the how or why or even put a name to them.

  The brightness of the void seemed to diminish after a time and Leon found himself standing on the cliff overlooking the ocean that always showed at the end of his nightmares.

  This time though, his vision wasn’t obscured by the blinding light like all his other past visits to this place.

  There in front of him stood the ever shadowed figure.

  Only he could now identify it as the same uniformed figure from before.

  “Can you see it yet? The downfall of men?”

  “What? What are you talking abou- no what’s going on here? Where am I… what is this madness! I-I need to get back to the tower. The… the Revenant, I need a way to stop it. I don't have time to waste here.”

  The fuzziness in his mind that had inhibited him earlier in the fortress had gone.

  And all his recent memories came rushing back to him.

  Of the tower, of the revenant, of his death.

  And of Noire.

  “You hear, but you do not listen.”

  Leon’s frustration was peaking, he was sick and tired of all this nonsensical madness.

  He had things to do and more importantly a promise to keep.

  Being stuck in a dream that made no sense while his real body was probably bleeding out did nothing to help his mood.

  “Speak plainly or do not speak at all. Graagh, I have no time for this, unless you have something that can help me, leave me in peace!”

  Leon yelled at the figure before burying his face in his hands and groaning.

  “Oh what the hell, why am I even arguing with a figment of my imagination?”

  “You’ve forgotten my name haven’t you? Well that’s fine too, I am a nightmare best left forgotten after all. But you need to find yourself again, or you will fall… and the world with you.”

  “What? You’re not making sense! None of this is! Why do I dream of things I have never experienced, WHO ARE YOU AND WHY DO YOU HAUNT ME SO?”

  “Not everything has to. You don’t remember me, don’t worry, my identity is not important at this time.”

  “GRAAGHHH!”

  “The key must be kept safe. They cannot be allowed to unseal it.”

  “Key? WHAT KEY? STOP SPEAKING IN CIRCLES!”

  “The **** can only converse so much with the ******, even if I try, you can’t understand me. Fate will not be cheated so easily.”

  Self-deprecating laughter burst forth from the man in red, even as occasional bursts of static obscured his words.

  “Alas, our time here is nearly up. You need to go soon, once you awake you must stop them from bringing it back or all will burn… as it once did.”

  Opening his mouth to blow up at the cryptic words of this infernal figure, the puppeteer found to his horror that he was unable to speak.

  Looking down at his hands, Leon noticed they were translucent and rapidly vanishing.

  A shout dying in his throat, the world faded into white again and he just barely managed to catch the uniformed man’s parting words.

  “Word of advice, dark is not evil. Find yourself, accept what you find and grow from that into something more than what you are. Don’t be afraid of the unknown… especially not of yourself.”

  …

  Now rise * *, rise and fight.

  Coldness flooded through him, as though ice water had been poured through his veins.

  With it came a burst of clarity of both mind and purpose.

  Eyes snapping open, he returned to the waking world.

  Still in greyscale, nothing moved, clouds of dust hung in the air, suspended and distorting the light. He could see the Revenant snarling and its tail still outstretched from where it struck him full on.

  The same mechanical voice that granted him access to the Raynaxes spoke into his ear.

  Error code 6ys7ct pr****y ***m offline

  Core systems funct*****g at 63% s*****ary sy**ems offline

  G****al ********* condition critical

  Initiating recovery systems

  Skaix ***ected, rep**po**ng c**mence

  Upgrades 23% complete

  Com*and override error

  Armatus s**tem of*line

  Recovery complete

  <>

  Warmth spread through his body as the voice faded into nothingness.

  Power suffused his very being and he felt invincible. His previously depleted flux stores were filled to bursting and all his exhaustion washed away.

  Colour bled back into the world and time started up again.

  The barbed tail struck viciously at his fallen form, the Revenant fully intending to completely pulp the annoying insect that had caused it so much power.

  It smashed down on the dais with a deafening thud.

  The beast’s screech of triumph was cut short as its dim brain finally caught on to the fact that there was a conspicuous lack of blood where its tail landed.

  Lifting the flail from where it lay, it beheld a completely empty dais, no blood and no body.

  An ear splitting screech emanated from its maw at being denied its prey only for it to die as quickly as it came.

  In the short time the creature had existed, it hadn’t felt very many things.

  There was the hunger that drove it to assimilate as much as it could.

  There was the sense of satisfaction when it completed a task assigned it by its master.

  There was annoyance when its prey refused to simply lie down and be eaten.

  There was anger when said prey tried to hurt it.

  But this?

  This feeling was one it didn’t know how to place.

  Its body refused to obey its commands, its orders to move forth and crush all who stood against him were refused.

  Instead, an overwhelming urge to evacuate the premises as fast as possible threatened to take control.

  Every part of its anatomy screamed at it to leave now or face the consequences.

  The Revenant’s brain while in a state of upheaval managed to remember that it had felt this once before.

  It was back in the place of welcoming darkness and trees and food.

  The memory of his foray there on his master’s orders to devour whatever it wished brought with it another.

  A memory of blinding pain and… and….

  There.

  ‘He’ stood before it once again.

  Just as ‘he’ did that time in the dark place. Looking just like the insignificant insect he was about to crush earlier, this one was different.

  ‘He’ was an apex predator, just like it.

  No, the beast instinctively knew that wasn’t right.

  ‘He’ was predator, it was prey.

  As ‘he’ clenched his right fist, it became enveloped in a swirling maelstrom of wind.

  Taking a single step forward, it found itself unable to make a sound as it involuntarily took a step back.

  Another step forward.

  Another step back.

  It could feel the displeasure of its master at this turn of events, but its body wouldn’t obey i
ts thoughts. The side of it that wished to please its master was overruled by the side that wished to flee and hide in a dark corner until ‘he’ no longer stood before it. Where ‘he’ could never find it.

  “You don’t learn do you? Didn’t I already break you once? How many times do I have to break you before you take a hint? Well, it doesn’t matter anymore does it?”

  He looked at his wind encased fist and flexed the fingers within the funnel.

  He didn’t understand what had happened, all he knew was that his power had skyrocketed.

  The sagent on his arm had been completely repaired, and it seemed different somehow.

  Changed.

  Whatever it was he wasn’t complaining.

  The power to absolutely crush his enemies quite literally rested in his hands now and he revelled in it.

  An evil smirk finding its way onto his face as the Revenant retreated from it, its tail between its legs.

  Eyes shadowed by his hair, the glow in them had intensified and was now positively unearthly.

  Previously black irises were now tinged with a burning red.

  Smile widening, he slapped his left hand to his face before throwing his head back in dark laughter.

  “My my, what is this? Somehow you came back from the dead, stronger and fully healed. But you came back wrong didn’t you? How very interesting, how very interesting indeed. So… Leon was it? What do you intend to do now?”

  “Don’t call me that you fool. I, am not, that, weakling! I am Loewe. I am the darkness in his heart that he tries so desperately to deny. HAHAHAHAHA! How ironic, to lock me away and pretend I don’t exist when things are going well only to call me out whenever the chips are down? Hehe, a sick joke, that's what it is.”

  Facing the Revenant, Loewe sprang into action.

  Before the abomination could take another step backwards, Loewe had impacted it full on.

  Right arm digging into the beast’s underbelly, he drilled a small hole in it and shoved his arm through before unleashing gale force winds directly into the Revenant’s body.

  With the sudden introduction of so much wind into its stomach, the creature expanded comically.

  Opening its maw as wide as it could to release the wind and keep from exploding, the results were as spectacular as they were gruesome.

  A hurricane of red mist exploded outwards as the winds diced and shredded everything in their path before forcing it all out.