by Sean Watman
“It will not be an easy climb. That does not mean I cannot reach it, though. It will take a while, so please be patient and go search for the others while I attempt to go for this one.” With another short nod, I turn and walk away from him. I know he can make it, so I should take his advice and go find the other artifacts. I finally find the second artifact in the training mats. It gives off a green aura and hovers in the center of the mats.
As I walk toward it, walls begin to form around me, separating me from the artifact. The walls surround me and are capped by the ceiling. It's a maze obviously, but there is no air circulating through. I am trapped in here until I either suffocate or find the artifact—the latter being the more preferred option. I break into a jog and keep my left hand on the wall, using the exact same method that I have in the past.
Something's wrong this time; I don't seem to be getting any closer to the center. It actually feels like I am going in a circle. In order to try and see if I'm right, I leave a handprint marked by my magii on the floor. My breathing begins to get shallower as I start to breathe in carbon dioxide. I shouldn't have been running; it's causing me to intake more of the oxygen I need to survive. I think it's affecting my brain now, because I am forgetting my plan.
Thank god for instincts. After I forget my plan, I just decide to punch through the walls and hope I get lucky. It is surprisingly easy to break, and I just keep walking and punching until I finally see what took me forever to find. The green artifact is a wooden block of some kind. As I grab it, the walls recede and I am left in the center of the mats. You were right Jack; there was an artifact up on the top of the pillar. Leo's voice rang in my head. The emotion that he sent was one of success. We now have two, but do not let your guard down. He walks toward me with a crystal that pulses bright yellow between his teeth.
We continue walking on until we find number three. It is surrounded by thundering waterfalls. Behind the rushing water are geysers that spew out flames. I find it rather intriguing that Gron would use opposing elements to protect whatever lies in the basin's center. I know it's there from the red aura it gives off.
“Well, what now?” I ask my companion.
“It is hard to say. I think you should gain some momentum and rush through, like you did at the waterfall cave.” That was the one option that I wanted to avoid, although I don't say that out loud. Leo reads my thoughts, and he begins to tease and taunt me, only motivating me to prove him wrong. Stupid reverse psychology! It works so effectively, and we as humans use it so frequently without even knowing how powerful it is.
Backing up from my Kreysor, I set myself into the running stance. I can't hear what Leo is saying anymore, but his mouth is still moving, and I am quite sure that whatever he is saying is not nice at all. Trying to keep control of how much magii I use, I decide to use a very, very tiny amount. Even with me using the smallest amount possible, I whiz past Leo so quickly that I don't think he notices.
“I guess even the smallest amount wasn't small enough,” I say to myself. Then reality kicks in. I am going too fast. I will pass right by the artifact and drench myself; well, that is if I don't burn myself to death first. Without thinking, I crouch into a ball to stop myself, but the moment my feet were off the ground, I was off. It is amazing how high I jumped. What was even more amazing was that the water was coming out of thin air. There was no top, and I pass right over the wall of water like it was the bar in a high jump competition. Now the only problem is getting back down safely. I can get down just fine, but it's the safely part that has me worried.
I had nothing to worry about. As I crash back to the ground, I call out Fuhrhealminok, and leave a small crater from my behind. Yes, I just did a cannonball from about a thousand feet. I have just proven that I have buns of steel. Whatever I damaged was repaired before I even knew it was injured thanks to my spell. Where would I be without magic? I was becoming as dependant on it as society on Earth is dependent on technology.
This next artifact was a sphere of some kind. Each one gives off its own auric color. Since the auras were all colors of the rainbow, I was looking for an orange, blue, or purple aura. I return to Gron with the three I had collected. I could tell from the soothingly warm air rushing down my back that Leo was trailing behind me, and I smile. I feel more relaxed, more confident.
“Gron!” I call out to him, “I have three of the …”I stop midsentence. For a split second I see something flash out of a bag he is carrying. Why didn't I notice the bag earlier? I don't know what's in it yet, but he quickly covered it up from me. I guess it was time for the lie-detector test. I take a deep breath and ask him head-on:
“Gron, do you have an artifact in the bag?” His eyes look like I've caught him in a criminal act. He knows that if I see that smoke turn red, he's caught. I know that he knows that I know that he would be lying to me if he says no. I take a few steps back, my eyes still locked upon his in this time-suspended staring contest for the ages. With a flick of his wrist, Gron's bow appears into his hand. I break eye contact with Gron and regain it with Leo, who nods and gives me a deafening roar.
“Leo, Kreysire!” I feel the softness of the cloth as it brushes through my hands. As I clutch the handle, the comforting warmth that comes and goes with Leo surges throughout my body. Are you ready for this? I ask him. No one can be truly ready for what happens in life, but, yes, I am ready. At his response I swing the box, the sword materializing from my magii and his power. Gron gives me a “bring it on” motion with his hand, but I remain fixed in my spot. Noticing my hesitation, he fires an arrow straight for my heart with a precision I have never seen before.
I instinctively raise my sword in defense and charge at my opponent, leaping into the air for a more powerful vertical slash. He doesn't move at all. He raises his bow and catches my sword, but his eyes seemed fixed somewhere else. He somehow has Leo trapped and unable to break free of the clash. With a gentle push, he shoves me aside, causing me to lose my balance. Not even a second later, he is replaced by the black door.
I walk through to find Gron pacing back and forth in front of the viewer's table. Already I knew the situation was not good if the calm but arrogant Gron was not sitting down in his chair, eagerly awaiting my questions. Being as impatient as I am, I quickly blurt out, “What's wrong? Has something happened with Tundar?”
“No. At least, I do not think so,” he replied hastily. He massaged his temples and began muttering to himself. This was the first time I've ever seen him like this; s a pacing back and forth, his eyes wild and terrified.
“The Shadow Riders are on the move,” was all he said. When I tried to press him for information, he pointed to the viewer's table. As I approached it, I saw what had Gron worried so much. The Shinso were pursuing someone—a woman upon closer inspection. The image was too dark for me to be sure. When the red hair flashed before my eyes, I knew who they were targeting. I felt rage well up inside of me. The warmth of Leo felt like ice throughout my body. My fists were clenched so tightly that I thought the cloth handle would break if I continued grasping it.
I did not hear what Gron had to say; by the time I think he was ready to speak to me, I was already gone.
Chapter 20: The Hunt
Do you have any idea what you are doing right now? Leo screams into my head. I feel his anger, but I don't care. I push his consciousness away from mine and release him from his sword form. As a matter of fact, I do know what I'm doing. I'm going to get revenge for Flizzle and Frizzle, who sacrificed themselves so that I could escape. I'm going to rescue Lyra from the Shinso. I won't let any more of my friends get hurt because I wasn't strong enough to protect them.
As I enter the forest, I notice my animal friends aren't around to greet me. They could always tell by the sound of my footsteps when I was here. I don't dwell on it; my main and only goal is to find the Shinso and make them pay. I channel my magii into my head chamber and close my eyes. The sound of the leaves as they collide with the wind fades away. I separate from the wo
rld, focusing only on the traces of magii they leave behind with every step. As I reopen my eyes, the wind slashes my face. The leaves from the trees blow around me, but I walk through it, a trail of smoke piercing my nostrils.
Repeating this trick Gron had taught me, I continue my hunt for the Shinso for three days, resting only when necessary. I don't get hungry, I don't get tired. Rage at my opponents and at myself are the only things keeping me going. I see Lyra's face in my mind—her eyes, her smile, the way her hair swayed as she walked. If something happened to her because I was unable to protect her, I would never forgive myself.
With this thought in mind, my pace increases. Leo tried to reason with me earlier, but once again I isolate myself from him. If he's not with me, then he's against me—plain and simple. You are acting irrationally, he says to me. Think about what you are doing! I chuckle at what he says. He replies calmly, but obviously annoyed at my arrogance. I missed the joke.
If I wasn't thinking this through, then I would be blindly tearing down the forest, hoping I would get lucky. I am using what Gron has taught me to hunt them down, I reply. Leo appears in front of me and roars. I'm surprised; he's never been able to come out to the physical world without me summoning him.
“How is hunting them down justified?” he screams at me. “If you kill those two, then you are no better than they are.”
“It's what they deserve.” I reply coldly, shoving past him.
“Then I will not be a part of this. You are becoming the very thing that you fought against. Do you not remember Ivan?” I stop, turn, and face him. The flames that make up his body thrash wildly with a crimson glow. “„Everything is either useless or dead weight.’ Does that ring a bell? If you are going to try and use my power to satisfy your revenge, then I want nothing to do with you. What you deserved was to die in the back of that alley on Earth.” Then, Leo disappears.
“Leo? Please come back, I didn't mean for it to …” My voice sounds like that of a scared child. All of the anger that I felt, all of the rage, disappeared. It was like waking up from a dream. What is happening to me? I don't dwell on it, realizing that I've been wasting time gets me fired up all over again.
“Fine! I don't need you! I can hunt them down on my own!” I scream at the trees. I waited for a response, for anything, but he didn't reply. I stomp off, refocusing on my goal. My magii chambers are ten times what they used to be! I can beat them easily, I say, but through all of my optimistic words, deep down I know that I can't defeat them without Leo.
Judging by the state of the forest, I feel as though I'm getting closer to them. The trees begin to show signs of damage, from missing limbs to sheared trunks. Some magii residue rests on the forest floor and branches are scattered across the ground, signifying that I'm not even three days from conflict. I'm exhausted, but if I rest, then the whole purpose of tracking them becomes pointless. I didn't know how long Lyra could hold out against the Shinso, and hesitating only wastes time.
The forest seems unfamiliar to me as I walk, despite that I took this path while coming to the record house. Since I have nothing to do while I run toward probably the biggest fight of my life, I begin to analyze and overanalyze this strange feeling. Does this unfamiliarity signify a change in me? Perhaps I shouldn't rush head-on into this. My confidence begins to waver. I catch myself before I sink too far. Shut up! Just shut up! You can think this over when you get back to the Core; for now, just remember what you are going to do.
Going for three days without rest is a bad plan; never try it. My eyelids droop, my energy is completely gone. I'm sorry, Lyra … I don't have the energy to continue right now. Please hold out a bit longer. The next tree I find, I collapse beside, carelessly leaving myself in plain sight. The moment I close my eyes, I pass out into the realm of my dreams.
My mental realm looks destroyed. There are gashes on the floor. The flames have disappeared and have been replaced by a giant black hole. The floor trembles with every step I take. What is happening here? I ask myself as a giant chunk of the floor flies right at me. I don't dodge in time and get carried away with it. My whole realm is collapsing around me! I realize as I charge across, heading straight for the black hole. I scream in terror as I get swallowed by the endless abyss.
I wake up screaming. I quickly pinch myself a couple of times to make sure I'm not still dreaming. Pyre was up in the sky still, so I couldn't have slept that long, unless I had slept for a couple of days. Just to make sure, I close my eyes and search for the remainders of the Shinso's magii. I wait…and wait…but nothing happens. I try again, but get faced with the same result. With a sigh, I decide to do it the old fashioned way.
“Trublind!” I call out. The world remains the same; my eyes remain the same.
“Trublind!” I yell again, angry and nervous at the same time. Still nothing happens. The forest remains the same.
“Why is nothing happening?” I ask myself. “Do I have a clog in my magii chambers?” Just to check, I try to channel some magii into my right fist. I feel no change. I punch a tree, but the only thing that happened was that I hurt my hand. I realize with horror that now I am a regular human once again. How could I have been so stupid? The title of Kreydur is given by the Kreysor. When Leo left, I lost my power.
To make matters worse, I could hear the sounds of fighting close by. It's hard not to mistake the sound of clashing steel when it becomes your rhythm. I stand still, staring in the direction of the sound. There was no point in trying to fight them as I was; I would just end up killing myself. Lyra's voice screams out in pain as I stand at the fringes. Human or not, I can't just stand here and watch her die! Leo may be the source of my magical power, but my physical strength is my own.
“If you charge in against two men with magically enhanced weapons and hope to win by brute strength, then you can think again,” Leo calls out from behind me. I turn around to gaze into his red eyes. He is as tall as me now, his flames still pulsing crimson. My heart leapt for joy, and I turned away from him at the same time. I was a tornado of emotions.
“Leo, I'm…” I begin. He roars at me, showing all of his teeth and cuts me off before I finish.
“You apologize because you believe you have learned your lesson, but I am the one who is sorry, for not seeing it through your eyes. If you have the resolve to see through this fight and protect her, then I will be by your side until the end.”
“Leo … I'm grateful for that; don't get me wrong.” He raises an eyebrow, obviously curious. “But I can't fight anymore. Magic no longer flows through my body. I am as useless as when I first came here.” He laughs at me. I am being dead serious here, and he finds my situation a riot.
“Jack, the only reason why you can't use magic is because you are afraid of it. Let go of your fear. We have a job to do, and fear is merely an obstruction.” I nod, and we stand together, Kreysor and Kreydur. In a split second, it is just me and a blazing sword resting upon my shoulder as I walk toward the battlefield to protect the ones I care for and to destroy all those that stand in my way.
The screech of the Shinso's flaming swords is a sound I hadn't forgotten, and it beckoned to me from across the battlefield. Only a cloud of dust separates me from the enemy. Are you ready for this? Leo's voice rings in my head, tensely and a little concerned. No, I'm truly not ready. I reply honestly. But we need to do what must be done. Let's roll!
The dust causes my eyes to water, but I walk on. I can make out the shape of three shadows outside the cloud, but I'm too far away to be certain who's who. A few more steps and I walk into what looks like the eye of a hurricane. Lyra was on one knee, in the exact same position I was in when I first fought them in the village. Her face is masked in blood, and I wouldn't have recognized her if it wasn't for her fiery red hair. The Rider raises his sword as I dash toward the scene. I can't let her die now. No …. I won't! I channel enough magii in my legs to propel myself in front of her.
His sword collides with my own, the screech silences as Leo's flames engu
lf the blade. The Shinso staggers back in surprise, and noticing my chance, I pick up Lyra in my arms and carry her outside of the cloud. Her breathing is faint. I lay her next to a tree and try to see if she can hear me.
“You'll be safe here for now. I'll heal you once I get back.” I try to make my voice as gentle and reassuring as possible. She looks like she's about to speak but instead coughs up a major amount of blood. Ignoring what I had previously said, I try to heal her with as much magii as I can spare. She falls asleep, her chest rising and falling slowly as she struggles to breathe. She'll live, but not for much longer unless I do something. I race back into the arena.
“Shame on the both of you!” I call out to them. “You broke a major law: never, ever, attack a woman!” They face me motionless as I talk to them. I wait a few seconds to hear their reply. All I get is a fist to the stomach. Temporarily winded, my knees buckle as I gasp for air. You idiot! Leo screams at me. Never drop your guard.
“I didn't even see it coming!” I yell back at him. “Just concentrate on the fight, okay?” The Shinso draw their blades, the screech returning as the metal merges with the air. The flames form and encircle us, preventing my escape. I wasn't going to run away though—not this time. I take a deep breath, preparing myself as I usually do before I train with Gron. No one escapes. If I strike, it's to kill. If I block, it's to counter. There is no mercy behind my sword.
