by J. C. Fiske
Ashlin kept going, and just as she was about to strike . . . she flinched.
In that moment, Gisbo’s clawed hand flew forward and down, shredding Ashlin Nora’s neck and voicebox, ending her life. Her Boon form came undone, and she and a brown bear fell, side by side, two lives lost way before their time.
Anaka watched the two bodies bounce to the ground, then settle. A moment later, the dripping black wolf creature, without a second thought, moved in and sliced the head clean off another advancing Renegade.
She couldn’t help it; her thoughts went back to the day when the nervous, shy, impulsive boy had asked her out to go fishing of all things and how they sat and talked for hours. She remembered that she never met anyone so fascinating, so funny, so real.
She spied Glinda, tears streaming down, mouth open. Glinda was screaming, but Anaka couldn’t hear her. Together, with blind rage, they leapt over their deceased friend’s body and charged recklessly into the fray of rampaging Renegades.
Crass Bastio turned to his left, charging beside his father, Bastio, only to be met with a splash of blood that washed over his left eye, stinging it shut. It was the blood of two boys from the next class up. He fought through the shock and kept charging, only to see ne of his classmates, the one he had had a crush on, fall to the ground beside her bear. Their faces were split open in three equal lines from one fierce swipe.
“Ashlin . . .” Crass said, pausing. He felt his father’s firm grasp on his shirt, tugging him away.
“Don’t look at her, son. Look at what’s ahead, look at what,” Bastio started only to feel his stomach burst open and the lower portion of his spine shatter.
Crass watched his own father fall, then, looked up into the wolf monster’s eyes as it cleaved two more Renegades in half. Crass had time to think one thought before he charged.
You’re not Gisbo . . .
Rolce observed all these deaths, mere seconds apart from one another, but seemingly lasting a lifetime before the young Renegade’s eyes. He didn’t even notice that Jackobi had suddenly appeared at his side for his feet were already moving. He did his best to fight back tears at the death of his Boon, but to no avail. Her death, his Harpies death, had broken his paralysis. All of this, all of it needed to stop. It was then, he felt his stomach lurch again. Within the chaos, he saw a flash of blond locks swaying, walking straight toward the monster that was Gisbo.
“Kennis . . .” Rolce stammered. His feet moved faster. He couldn’t forgive himself if he let her become a victim.
“Hurry, with everything you are!” Jackobi said.
Kennis walked forward through dozens of obliterated blue bodies toward the cause of the destruction, the wolf monster, the monster that contained her love, her Gisbo. The thing roared, it thrashed, and still she kept coming. Finally, it spotted her. With a grunt and a roar, it charged at her. It raised its claws to come down and end her life, only to freeze them in place, quivering above her defenseless head.
“Gisbo . . .” Kennis said softly, reaching up. She grasped his clawed hand and looked into white, dead eyes, eyes that weren’t his, with her calming, blue ones. “Come back to us, come back to me . . . please . . .”
Tears swam in her eyes and fell down her face.
“Kill her,” Purah ordered, standing behind Gisbo. He cleaved a Renegade to his right from the shoulder down. “KILL HER!”
The hand through the portal clenched and quivered, doing its best to force Gisbo’s claws down. Then with a roar, Gisbo came down with all of his strength, all of his will, and . . . bit into his own paw.
Black sludge sprayed out in every direction. He dug his teeth in, shredding it, back and forth. With the pain filling him, he felt himself shrinking, his hazel eyes coming back. Moments later, he was himself again. He stood there wobbily, his shirt torn open, his pants in tatters, drenched in the hot lifeblood of dozens upon dozens of murdered Renegades. He then fell to his knees and she caught him there, holding him against her.
“What, what happened? I . . .” Gisbo stammered. Reality began to set in as he looked all around at the splattered blood, guts, and scattered limbs of his fellow Renegades.
“What, WHAT DID YOU DO!?” Gisbo screamed, turning to Purah, trying to rise, but couldn’t as he fell and Kennis caught him again.
He doesn’t even know what happened, Kennis thought.
Purah said nothing, only stared as the once apple sized portal had grown big enough for an elephant to step through due to power of the deceased Renegades. The Drakeness symbol surged with power, glowing blue from Gisbo’s pure, Phoenix charged blood, and served as the battery for the portal as it grew bigger by the second.
It was then, that everyone stopped their fighting, and stared into the now, open Reath.
Before them was the crest of a sandy hill. A thundering storm cracked in the blood red sky, and atop the hill was a lone figure, glowing like a beacon. Many had to put their hands over their brow as the shining figure stepped down the hill, ever so slowly, savoring each step, until he had crossed the threshold and stood upon the granite arena floor.
Nobody made a move; nobody made a sound. The golden man stood at ease, his golden cloak and hair flowing in a breeze coming not from Thera, but from the Reath behind him. His golden mask hid his features. Only the most loyal to him had seen his face.
Drakearon looked to his right, then to his left, surveying the crowd of dumb-founded blue-clad warriors staring back at him, confirming his existence. He put his hands on his hips, paused, and took his first long breath, filling up his lungs with Thera’s crisp, clean air, then took five long strides forward, and stood over Gisbo, lying tattered and wrapped up in his love’s arms.
Gisbo looked up into history come full circle, into the eyes of Grandfather’s greatest adversary. He seemed no older now than he would have been then. Thunder cracked behind him in the Reath, eliminating the silence. Drakearon waited for the blast and echo to have its fill, then, said his first words.
“Gisbo Falcon,” Drakearon said.
Gisbo opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came. Drakearon continued.
“Grandson to Vadid the Valiant and heir to the power of the Phoenix. It is good to finally meet you,” Drakearon said, as he reached out a hand. Gisbo stared at it for a long moment. He went to smack it aside, but Drakearon caught his hand mid-backswing and forced him into a handshake. Gisbo couldn’t believe the strength; it felt as if his hand were stuck in a vice.
“Please, calm yourself. The bloodlust in your eyes, it’s . . . disheartening. Even now you are thinking of how to strike me down, and alas, it’s futile, but not in the way you think. I’d explain to you why, but something tells me you are more of a hands on learner.” Drakearon said, spreading his hands outward, exposing his vitals.
“Go ahead. Pour all your pain, fury, and resolve into this one strike,” Drakearon said. “It’s no trick. It’s an invitation to a reality you will only believe once shown.”
Gisbo, without a second thought, was on his feet, staring into his black, twinkling eyes. Drakearon was a good four inches taller than he was, but that wasn’t about to stop him.
“Gisbo, don’t!” Kennis said. Gisbo, threw all of his body weight forward into one solid straight right punch. He watched as his fist struck the corner of Drakearon’s chin with enough force to kill the consciousness of any other man.
The impact rattled within Gisbo. He felt as if he had just struck Diamond Mass. His knuckles shattered inside his skin as if they were made of glass rather than bone, and he was thrown backward past Kennis, spasming as his stike rebounded through his entire body.
“Gisbo!” Kennis yelled, running to him.
“Without Ying, there is no Yang. Without Evil, we cannot know Good. Without Pain, we cannot know Pleasure. Without the Phoenix, there is no Dragon. Understand? You and I, we are but opposing forces. To be more specific, we are Space and Time, avatars of reality itself,” Drakearon said.
Narroway stood, his hand in the ai
r, halting any and all movement, looking all around. All that remained was blue. In the confusion, the Strifes had vanished. Narroway cursed under his breath.
“Cowards,” Narroway muttered.
“Sir, should we . . .” Shax started.
“No, stand down, and study the situation. Wait for my mark. One false move, and Drakearon could eradicate this entire area,” Narroway said, watching the Man-Dragon pace back and forth, speaking to Gisbo.
“The powers of space and time that flow through us, Gisbo Falcon, hold this world together. For us to do battle is like a snake attacking its own tail. Vadid and I learned that truth the hard way. After the Phoenix and Dragon’s full power descended upon us in the Great Veil War, every strike I laid on him rebounded, and vice versa. I’m not here for war, Gisbo. I’m here for peace, for harmony. In order for that to happen, change, great change, is necessary. We need to come together, like a positive and negative charge, and cause a reaction like none this world has ever seen! As long as the world is split in two, there will always be chaos. Please, Gisbo, help me bring about the change that this world needs. Do what your grandfather could not, do what needs to be done; bring peace to this world. Join with me. I owe you this one opportunity. I bow to no man, but instead, I bow to a fellow god . . . You,” Drakearon said as he dropped to one knee before Gisbo and Kennis.
“Go fuck yourself,” Gisbo said, holding his broken hand.
“Your hand . . . Feel that, Gisbo? Pain. That is what you feel now. Pain is the universal language. Only through pain can we hope to understand one another and know the truth. This world, humans, we are but a flawed accident. An accident just waiting to be fixed by one who can. The human race is not beyond saving, Gisbo. All it needs is its savior,” Drakearon said.
“And what? That supposed to be you? How about you go and,” Gisbo started.
“You love her. I can see it in your eyes.” Drakearon said, staring at Kennis. “You love her with all you are, but at the same time, you’re afraid of what would happen to you should she leave you. Everything, even down to possession, needs to change. Without possession, things cannot be taken away.
“If love is never experienced, it’s never known. But once it’s known, it can never be unknown. When one loves, they give a part of themselves away, but what happens when that love disappears? That part of yourself can never be returned. When love dies, you’re incomplete and can never be whole again. The same love that once empowered you now hinders you. The uninhibited pleasure turns to unrelenting pain. To some, it is so unbearable it leads to suicide. No one deserves to feel this way. No righteous God would stand in the background and allow such a thing to happen to his children, would he? No loving God would make love so double-edged.
“Don’t you see? IAM didn’t create humans. Humans created IAM. They need a reason for everything. If there are no laws to this world, if there is no moral code, then there is no reason. When reason itself is meaningless, so are we. I aim to fix that. This world wants reason and everlasting love? Then I will be the loving God that this world craves and, frankly, deserves. I will sit in the empty throne of the Heavens, and bring peace to all.
“I only need put out an invitation and they will come. The people of Oak County, like it or not, set the bar for the world to follow. They have come together, multiple races living in harmony, and I have prepared them for my coming. I was the one who started the Freeists and the Purists. Karm made it all happen, down to the letter for me, and people went to the party system like moths to a flame. I simplified complex ideals and made them as cut and dry as black and white. As long as they remain caged, a slave to what their party is and isn’t, they are controlled. Their two party system has split them to the point that they’ve grown tired of the arguing, tired of the prideful games, tired of it all. The people have lost their spirits and their faith in themselves. They want to be taken care of, and when they ask, when they crave security, I will provide. People want to be fed? I shall feed them. People want light? I will shine for them. We will all come together, sharing in my blood to become one blood, one mind, one world.
“Just by the way you’re looking at me, I know what you’re thinking, Gisbo. The Phoenix, IAM, it spoke to you, didn’t it? A mere two years ago now, am I correct? I warned you then that pride comes before the fall, and that’s what all this is. That vision last year? What you saw? All of it was created by me . . .” Drakearon said.
Gisbo went to open his mouth, but found he couldn’t.
“It’s all right if you cannot speak. Does this not sound familiar?” Drakearon asked. Gisbo’s mind went black, and before his mind’s eye stood the fiery blue phoenix, speaking in the same voice as Drakearon.
“I told you back then to make friends, to make allies, everlasting bonds that you can trust. Now, why would I do that? Why would I tell you, a loner, to go against your nature and make friends? It’s simple. I don’t want to fight with you as I did your grandfather. I want to use your power, not kill it off.
“But for that to happen, you must be broken. You must feel a pain so severe that you will come to me, and beg, to be rid of it. Hence my weapon, a dual-bladed sword. When I strike and it connects, it leaves two wounds side by side. When you try to stitch up one wound, it rips open the other, and eventually your life, bleeds out. Everything in your life has led to this moment, Gisbo. You have become my weapon. Your pain has given you power enough to kill your own Renegade brothers and sisters with little to no effort . . .” Drakearon said.
Gisbo’s eyes went wide as he surveyed the area with a new outlook, seeing black Drakeness blots and claw marks, and a horrible realization came over him.
“Yes, Gisbo. You finally understand. This massacre? This slaughter? You did this, all of it, and it only hurts because of all the bonds I had you make. Killing your friends with your own hands, by my control, was the first wound, the first slice of my blade. The second? It’s still coming, and when it hits, you will be mine . . . and best of all, you will come to me of your own free will.”
Drakearon then lifted his arms high into the air and closed his eyes.
“The portal, it’s now fully open. Witness, the power of a God!” Drakearon said.
Suddenly, there was a fierce rumble across the ground. The portal, the height of it, shot upward into the heavens, and like an infinite mouth, it overlapped into their world, swallowing the sun, the sky, and mixing the Reath’s red sky, with Thera’s blue sky, changing it to a dark, dark purple. The two worlds became one and the sun, was no more, leaving the world in darkness.
The only thing glowing, was Drakearon as he let his hands fall, smiling and satisfied with his work.
"“Fall as One, to Rise as One. Die as One, to live as One. One as all, all as One, for Deity Drakearon, my stars, my moon, my sun. I welcome you all, to your new world. I am the only light now, the only light you need. The world now has but one choice. Join with me, or die in the darkness!”
Chapter Thirty Six: Code Risinyu
Gisbo fell to the ground, catatonic. His mind barely comprehended reality as the echoes and screams of his Renegade friends dying by his own hands ripped and tore at his mind.
“If you can still hear me, remember this. I’m not the villain here, and neither are you. Neither of us is guilty because guilt is not real. Guilt is only taught. The true villain . . . is free will. That is the source of all of this pain. Free will allows you to love and be loved, and once love enters the equation, so does pain. For peace to exist, free will must be eliminated. Your Renegades will fight, just as they did the last time, and again, I will grant them peace by ending their lives,”
“I know you have paused your men, Narroway, waiting for an opening, but I assure you, there is none. I have no weakness, and I do not blame you trying. Your free will, your pride, it is still corrupting you. Worry not, I have your salvation right behind me,” Drakeron said.
As if sensing an order, a legion of countless black Drakeknights and Drakelings marched over the Reath hillsid
e and down it. Drakearon held up a hand, stalling them for an instant before they crossed the threshold.
Narroway, speechless, looked across the black sea of glinting white teeth and eyes that were once fellow humans, now twisted and lost to the Drakeness, and holding the black ocean back, with one raised hand, was Drakearon and ahead of the army, was a lone man, ready to lead the charge.
The Shininja Traitor Lokin.
Gisbo, still upon the ground, eyes staring off into nothing in deep shock, started shaking. His eyes rolled back and his breath sounded choked as a mix of a seizure and panic attack enveloped him.
“Gisbo! Gisbo! Oh, please, please snap out of it! I’m here, Gisbo, I’m here, I’m right here!” Kennis said, holding him close, tears streaming down his face.
“And for that salvation to come, I must now embrace my other half.” Drakearon said as he raised his other hand and turned his mask, taking on the appearance of a horrible, terrifying monster. Drakearon spoke again, but his soft, charismatic presence was gone, replaced by the deep voice of a mad man.
“Kill them, kill them all!” Drakearon ordered, dropping his hand. The black sea of Drakes poured out of the gateway like a raging river and crashed straight into the remaining Renegades.
Drakearon walked toward Gisbo with a deep, mad chuckle, igniting his blade and activating only a portion of his Flarian essence.
“Gisbo . . . Gisbo . . . Gisbo . . . the final wound awaits you,” Drakearon said. Suddenly, a blue essence charged whip lashed out and around Drakearon’s arm, stalling him and sending up steam as water mixed with fire.
“Get the hell away from him,” Kennis Flora said, her long hair snapping all about from her released power as she stood in front of Gisbo, protecting him. Drakearon stopped where he was and pushed out his power further, causing Kennis to wince. She held her ground, rising up a forearm over her stinging eyes.
