Universe in Flames – Ultimate 10 Book Box Set: An Epic Space Opera Adventure

by Christian Kallias

  “Good... Now focus on that bright light within yourself. Make it grow; try to double it in size.”

  Chase doubled his aura in his mind. It was a great deal harder than he would have originally thought. Sometimes it grew, but sometimes it shrank as well. After what felt like a very long time, he had reached a volume of energy about double what he had started with.

  “Good. I’m actually impressed. Now, double it once more.”

  Chase took much less time doubling the energy this time. He started to feel a very warm and powerful sensation within his body. Like it was vibrating in a whole new way altogether.

  “Nice,” Ares congratulated. “Now for the next few minutes, you will double it again and again, without waiting for further instructions. Don’t worry how big it grows in your mental image; whether you feel like it’s as big as a planet or beyond, keep doubling it until I tell you differently.”

  Chase did as instructed. After a while, doubling the energy was just a slight mental push. Then it became like a game to him and he did it effortlessly, feeling that warmth burn deeper within every fiber of his being. The size of the aura grew as big as a small moon, and kept going; as big as Earth, and going. He now radiated an aura the size of the entire solar system.

  “Now, while staying in the exact frame of mind, slowly open your eyes.”

  When Chase opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was blue.

  It radiated from within his body, flowing in and out like solar flares of pure, blue light. It felt alive, and for the first time ever Chase felt like his mind could affect it. He kept looking at his arms and hands, the aura pulsating and vibrating in and out of himself. The sensation was intoxicating: both mindboggling and soothing at the same time.

  “Very good, Chase. Now, you see that mountain behind me?”

  Chase looked behind Ares, and, sure enough, a huge mountain stood there.

  “I see it,” said Chase with a calm he barely recognized.

  “Focus your energy in your right arm, then in your right hand. Let all the energy flow there naturally. Close your eyes if you need to do so to project your mental image. Once you’re ready, once you feel enough energy has been focused there, throw the resulting fireball at the mountain.”

  It took a few seconds for Chase to manage to focus almost all the energy in his fist, but when he did, the resulting fireball was nothing short of extraordinary. It wasn’t much bigger than the ones he had managed to create before, but the energy contained in it felt so immensely superior that it felt more akin to holding a small sun within his palm.

  He looked at the mountain with purpose, and, in a fluid motion, he threw the fireball at it.

  It reached the mountain at a speed that dazzled Chase’s eyes and the result was just as blinding. The mountain literally exploded in ten million pieces, each of them burning out of existence as if they were never there. A few seconds later, a strong wind almost knocked him off of his feet. The shockwave of the impact, he thought in surprise.

  Ares tilted his head in approval. “So how did that feel?”

  Chase couldn’t help but smile. “It felt… very, very… insanely good.”

  Ares chuckled. “Insane being the operative word here. I want you to remember that.”

  “Why is that?” Chase asked with a frown.

  “Because now I have helped you unlock the path to your inner power. It will take a bit more practice, but soon you will be able to summon this power at will.” Ares’ face grew serious. “But there is a warning attached. As I told you, before you were only using a fraction of that power, but now you have access to all or, at the very least, most of it. So when you threw that pathetic first attack towards me, you actually wouldn’t have done much damage.”

  “There’s a door in a building I was in that would disagree with that statement,” Chase said with a smirk.

  “Doors don’t fight back. To even wound someone as powerful as your twin brother, you will need to focus that energy and use it well. But be careful how much you use.”

  “What do you mean how much? Shouldn’t I use all that I can muster every single time?”

  “If you do that, you’ll be a dead man faster than you can say oops.”

  “I don’t follow.”

  “Right now, you managed to drain a lot of energy from your inner pool, but that pool depletes—it’s not infinite. You need rest, sustenance, and other things I won’t bore you with to replenish that energy every time you use it. Think of it as a battery, if that helps. Once it’s dead, it’s dead. Once it’s fully depleted, you will die.”

  Chase paled. “So the more I use my power, the quicker I will die?”

  “Not exactly. Since it can replenish to its full potential with a few hours of rest, your chances of dying of use are very slim. That is—unless you really use absolutely all of it down to the last atom.”

  “And chances of that happening?”

  “Not great, depending on how you manage your energy. Argos is very well aware of that and he knows just how much to use to defeat his enemies. Never drawing more than he needs.”

  “Yet I beat him.”

  Ares let out a sigh of frustration. “Are you so arrogant as to think you really beat your brother last time the two of you fought?”

  Chase looked down. “No… I agree, it felt too easy. I guess I managed to outsmart him and was just lucky.”

  “I’m more inclined to think he let you think you won.” Ares frowned. “For what purpose, I don’t know, but he must have had one hell of a reason.”

  “That was a pretty strong explosive that detonated on his back.”

  “And I’m telling you that for someone of Argos’ power, it was little less than a mosquito bite.”

  “You’re not serious?” Chase asked, trying to reconcile the two images in his mind.

  “I am, Chase. I don’t know why he did it, but don’t ever think you managed to beat him then, and do not think you are ready now. I have given you the basics to gain access to your potential. Argos has a similar potential, except he knows it well, and has used it for so long he doesn’t even have to think about it. Right now, he is the most dangerous being in the entire universe. Please make no mistake about that.”

  “More dangerous than you?”

  Ares smirked automatically, before his face grew serious. “We Olympians have a few tricks up our sleeves. We don’t really age which allows us to live for eons, but we can be killed. And if there is someone who can do it, it’s certainly Argos. Perhaps it’s his end game.”

  Chase didn’t understand. “Why would he want to kill the Olympians?”

  “Well, we helped defeat your people a long time ago, so off the top of my head, I’d say revenge looks like a potential reason.”

  “My people?” said Chase with a puzzled look.

  “Furies...”

  Of course—he kept having to remember that. “I’m only part Fury.”

  “Perhaps...”

  “What the hell do you mean perhaps? This is the second time you’ve alluded to the fact that I could be a pure Fury.” Chase raised an interrogating eyebrow.

  Ares shrugged thoughtfully. “The amount of power you were able to conjure is staggering. That’s why you must be very careful; you could destroy entire solar systems if you don’t master it. And somehow I doubt a diluted Fury gene would be able to manage that.”

  Chase’s heart froze in his chest. “Like in my vision.”

  “Yes. Look, I’ve fought the Furies before. I even defeated a few in single combat, and they were pure born. But they held a fraction of your potential and that scares me.”

  “Is this supposed to make me feel better? That you’re scared of me? What can you tell me that doesn’t involve Armageddon-scale, cataclysmic repercussions?” Chase exclaimed.

  “Actually I’m not done warning you. We got sidetracked.”

  Chase rubbed his eyes wearily. “Oh great.”

  “Now your power is incredibly strong, but it has its limits.”r />
  “Yeah, yeah, the battery thing.”

  “Yes, Chase”—Ares was clearly a little annoyed—“the battery thing. Like a battery, you must be aware at every moment how much of it you have left, how much you drain it, and never ever go under ten percent.”

  “Why ten percent?”

  “Because under this threshold, you risk two things. One, depending on the damage you take at or under this level you can actually lose consciousness.”

  “And the second?”

  “If that happened while you were using your energy, you could drain the rest of it without realizing... and...”

  “Yeah, I get the picture.” Chase’s voice was clipped. “I’d die.”

  “Exactly.”

  Chase absorbed this while Ares waited patiently for the questions sure to come.

  “What about blocking attacks or even healing?”

  Ares nodded. “All activity that forces you to drain your energy is part of the same pool, whether you do it instinctively or not.”

  “What are my levels now? And how do I know how to recognize them?”

  “Close your eyes and look at your aura from before. Now tell me, at which percentage do you think it is compared to when you opened your eyes prior to vaporizing that mountain?”

  Chase closed his eyes and tried to evaluate. He opened them again and looked puzzled.

  “So?”

  “I don’t know,” he said honestly. “Maybe it’s a little over half?”

  “Yeah, that’s what I’m sensing. About sixty percent; the rest got depleted in one attack.”

  “But how can I sustain a fight if I lose forty percent with one blow?”

  “That’s what I’ve been trying to explain to you this entire time, Chase. That blow was way too powerful. You could have seriously damaged Earth if you had sent it towards the ground at a ninety-degree angle."

  “I doubt I will ever be in that position during a fight.”

  “And I beg to differ. Once you learn to fly, it’s actually more than likely you will be.”

  Chase stared at him blankly. “Learn to… what now?”

  “Don’t play dumb with me,” Ares scoffed. “I have zero doubt you are able to use a ridiculously minimalistic amount of energy to lift yourself from the ground and fly.”

  A flutter of excitement whipped about in his stomach. “Will you teach me that as well?”

  “I will do my best, but not today.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much information,” Ares explained. “I need to let your psyche integrate all these concepts you have learned first. Your subconscious needs to know you can access all of this… well… consciously.”

  “I already feel overwhelmed.”

  “I know. But before I let you return to your previous activity—”

  “I’m listening…”

  “The attack you made: if you ever use something that powerful, be mindful of what is around you, who you can hurt, what you can destroy.”

  “Well, I’ll try, but what if I fight Argos again? I’ll need my A-game to even make a dent if he’s half the warrior you say he is.”

  “Yes and you will need to make every shot count. They’ll need to be concentrated, but you’ll have to summon them using the technique you’ve just learned today, one you must train on as much as you can. But unlike our practice, you won’t have seconds, let alone minutes to cast your attacks; you must learn to cast them in fractions of seconds, milliseconds even.”

  “Seriously? Milliseconds?”

  “The more you practice, the easier it will become. Don’t worry about that right now. Whatever you’ve integrated here today will get assimilated within a few hours. The next time you try, you’ll be amazed how easily you manage to summon this power. But with power comes responsibility—be mindful of that at all times.”

  “Yeah, I will.” Chase threw up his hands. “I’m already quite mindful of the fact that you’ve just given me the tools to destroy everything and everyone I love.”

  “Or to save them. It all depends on your point of view.”

  Chase couldn’t tell if the ex-god was messing with him. In the end, he just shook his head again with a little smile. “I wonder if I will ever sleep again…”

  “Of course you will. Don’t obsess over this now. You have other things to do. Just remember to practice and not get anyone killed while doing so.”

  Chase rolled his eyes. “What do you mean, I have other things to do?”

  “Well, you know, testing your new battleship, finding out what happened yesterday… Your daily life doesn’t stop just because you can obliterate a solar system with the wave of your hand.” Ares had an almost sadistic smile.

  “Very funny.”

  “Chill.” His eyes flashed with another grin. “I’d say you’ll age faster if you don’t relax a little, but somehow I don’t feel like you’re aging at all.”

  “About that,” Chase piped up quickly. “How come Argos seems older than me if we’re twins? Shouldn’t we age at the same speed?”

  Ares rubbed his chin. “I can only theorize here.”

  “Theorize away.”

  “Either you have different sets of powers, which is more than likely—after all your aura is blue, his is red.”

  “Or?”

  “Or you possess something different, something that replenishes your cells day after day, like it does to us. Although that would mean you’re the only non-Olympian I know who possesses that power.”

  “Other species live longer, don’t they?”

  “Yes, but only Olympians, and a few other older races, have unlimited lifespan, barring injury of course.”

  “I see...”

  Ares shrugged. “I wouldn't worry too much about it.”

  “Yeah, I bet you wouldn’t, but put yourself in my shoes.”

  “I understand, but this is a gift. You must use it to do good. Which leads me to my final warning for the day.”

  Chase sighed deeply and braced himself.

  “Power is dangerous, Chase, it can consume you. I know that from experience.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve held the name ‘God of War’ for countless centuries, remember?”

  “Yeah. You don’t really live up to your reputation,” Chase replied with a chuckle.

  Ares smiled back. “Perhaps, and believe me it’s a good thing. I got consumed with my powers. I thought I could do anything and everything I wanted. I seeded quite some troubles in the universe for a long time.”

  “What made you stop?”

  Ares’ face turned uncharacteristically stoic. “The realization of the countless lives my power games have consumed, the countless civilizations I’ve destroyed in a quest for more.”

  “I see...” Chase said softly, not really knowing what to think.

  “It could happen to you as well. It’s clearly happened to your brother, Argos. He’s being consumed by his thirst for power, and unless he sees the error in his ways, he can become way more dangerous than I ever was.”

  “Nightmares, here we come...”

  “I’m glad you have a sense of humor about it.”

  Chase stayed silent for a while.

  “Or not,” Ares corrected with a small smile. “So how about it, Fury? Any last questions?”

  “Yes, one actually.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Can I use my powers in space?”

  Ares paused. “Well, theoretically nothing is stopping you doing so, but I advise strongly against it.”

  “How come?”

  “You are part of that universe, so when you use these powers, you drain some of it from within but also the universe itself—as much as it allows you, as much as your pool allows. But since yours is very strong, you could actually tear the fabric of space if you tried.”

  “As opposed to when I’m on solid ground? What’s the difference?”

  “Think of it as a spider web.”

/>   “A spider web?” Chase felt genuinely puzzled at the comparison.

  “Where two strings meet on a web, the hold there is stronger. It’s a fixed point of matter, stronger than the single string. The more intersections, the stronger the whole web. If the universe is a web, then planets are the intersections. Their place in the universe is anchored more strongly than the vacuum of space. If you pop an intersection, the web still holds… But if you unleash fire in the web, you risk its entire collapse.”

  “Okay...” Chase’s head was spinning. “I’m not gonna even pretend I understand exactly what you meant right there, but I get the message. I should avoid using my powers when I’m flying a ship.”

  “I would, yes. You could most likely destroy an entire fleet with a wave of your hand, but you take the risk of creating black holes and other tears and anomalies in space and time. Trust me, you don’t want that.”

  “You did it yourself, didn’t you?”

  Ares’ jaw tightened and he broke eye contact. Chase was quick to move on.

  “Alright, I guess I still need to blow up ships the old fashioned way.”

  “You wouldn’t know it, but you’ve probably already used your powers instinctively to dogfight. They give you an edge—reaction time, precision, inventiveness…”

  “That would explain a few things.”

  “It would, wouldn’t it?” Ares smiled.

  “Yeah...” Chase let the word hang.

  “Well then, bye for now.” Ares waved two fingers away from his temples as if to enhance his goodbye, and disappeared into nothingness.

  A moment later, Chase opened his eyes to find himself back in the cemetery. The world around him was drenched in rain and he was still holding Sarah’s hand. As a delayed shiver ran through his body at everything he’d just been told, he squeezed it a little tighter.

  17

  Argos was resting in his spacious quarters when the annoying buzz of an incoming message jolted him out of his current reverie.

  He waved a hand to answer the incoming message, audio only.

  “What is it? I thought I had made myself clear when I said I didn’t want to be disturbed.”

  “I know, Master, I apologize,” came the crackling voice. “But there has been a new communication matching the signature you asked us to look for.”