Ayos: The Heir with the Crimson Eyes

by Justin Parks

  Chapter 21

  Doppelganger

  It had been a while since Jin and Liz returned from their mission. During that time, Jin had gained another promotion. He had been rising through the ranks faster then most of his classmates.

  Jin was once again sleeping in when he was kicked from his bed onto the floor. “Hey!” he heard Saga say.

  Why does everyone always bother me when I’m sleeping? Jin thought, as he flipped the sheets off of himself. “What the hell do you want?!” Jin said irritated.

  Saga leaned down and grinned. “Actually, I wanted to ask you about a mission,” he said.

  “Oh really? You’ve got a heck of a way of asking,” Jin replied.

  “Hey, first . . . I’m only asking because they won’t let me go on this mission alone, and besides, I think it’ll be beneficial for the both of us,” Saga explained.

  “Really? How so?” Jin asked as he stood.

  “Well, I’ve pretty much been guaranteed that if we pull this off, it’s an automatic promotion., but you know if you’re too scared, I’m sure I can find someone else,” he said.

  “Fine, I’ll go,” Jin said reluctantly. “Now if you don’t mind . . .” he said as he jumped back into bed.

  Later in the day, Jin received a black envelope with the mission details. The team was composed of, three-star apprentice, Jin Kaizer and three-star apprentice, Saga Dimyo. They are to work cooperatively so there was no leader assigned. The mission details were a bit vague. Apparently there have been a mysterious amount of disappearances in a certain forest called Echo Woods.

  The next day came and Jin and Saga headed out. They made their way up the dirt road toward the atlas gates. “So what do you think were up against?” Jin asked.

  “Oh yeah, I forgot the mission briefs weren’t updated.” Saga said.

  “What do you mean?” Jin asked.

  “Well, I know more about the mission then you do. You see a team was already deployed on this mission. They were to investigate the forest and see if there was a kami. Apparently, the team abandoned the mission when they were attacked. By evil versions of themselves,” Saga explained.

  “So . . .” Jin began.

  “Yeah, I know; pretty cool right?” Saga said excited.

  The two continued through the gate and traveled until they reached the forest. They decided to camp outside and head in the next day. The two awoke the next morning and prepared to enter.

  Saga turned to Jin. “You’re not nervous are you?” he asked.

  “Kind of. With the guy you’re fighting you’ll be fine, but me . . . I’ll be lucky if I get out alive,” Jin said, jokingly.

  “Yeah, whatever,” Saga said, shoving Jin forward.

  The two made their way into the forest. Everything seemed normal for the most part. There were no paths, so the two were wondering through at random. Saga reached out two shadows and cleared a path for them to walk. Then a mysterious fog began to form. “I guess this means we’re getting closer,” Saga said.

  The fog began to get thicker and thicker. “Wow! I can’t see anything,” Jin said turning to Saga. He could no longer see him. “Saga? Saga?” Jin said, awaiting his response.

  “Jin? Jin?” Saga said, realizing that Jin was gone. He continued walking forward when he came to a clearing. Saga saw what looked like a figure in the mist. “Jin?” he said calling to the person. The fog began to diminish as Saga began to make out the figure. Finally, the fog cleared completely and the figure became visible. It was Saga; at least it looked like him. Everything was the same except this Saga’s eyes were black, completely black.

  Saga moved closer to it. He stopped and began observing it. It was mirroring his movements. Saga couldn’t tell if it was real or an illusion. It stopped mimicking him and began laughing hysterically. Saga was surprised as he was whipped by a shadow tentacle, knocking him to the side.

  What?! He has my power, Saga thought, staring at the wicked creature. He formed tentacles all around himself. The copy did the same. They both began whipping at each other. They mirrored each other, hitting shadow to shadow.

  The more they fought, the more Saga learned about the enemy. He can’t weave shadows in my territory and I can’t weave them in his. That’s somewhat an advantage, he thought as he jumped back. The copy’s shadows stretched, but it had to move closer to continue fighting.

  Okay, so he has my range as well, Saga thought. He twisted his shadows together, forming a long barrel. He formed a large ball of dark blue energy, placed it in the barrel, and fired. It raised a wall of shadow and blocked it. The copy mimicked him once again. It fired and Saga blocked it with a wall of shadow as well.

  It has my power, but it can’t copy unless I do it first, Saga thought, as he remembered that he had used his shadows when he entered the forest and came to a conclusion. It saw me use my shadows when I entered the forest, so that’s why it was able to copy it, he thought.

  Saga formed two large tentacles and whipped down at the creature. The tentacles were halted as it made two of its own. How can I fight this thing if I can’t even reach it!? He thought.

  Saga’s eyes widened as he remembered his fight with Jin, when he had said the same thing to him. He ran that fight through his head. If I do this, it has to work the first time, or else it will just copy it too, Saga thought, as he continued fighting.

  Saga finally came up with a plan. He continued fighting. Though he began to act fatigued and left a gap in his attacks. The copy took the bait and capitalized on it. Shadows came through his guard, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him over, throwing him down. Then shadows grabbed his arms and legs and pulled him closer to the copy. It raised Saga’s body and held him tight.

  The creature tilted its head and looked at him before it began to laugh once again. Another shadow tentacle rose with a sharp tip. It moved in front of Saga aiming at his head. It reared back and began to thrust toward him. Now! Saga thought.

  Saga ran energy through his arms and legs, melting the shadows off of him. His body fell, dodging the tentacle heading toward him. The copy was surprised. It punched at him with its left arm. Saga blocked it with his left, grabbing the copy’s wrist. He pulled the copy down and grabbed the top of its shoulder with his right hand. Saga ran all his reaming energy through his palm and dug into the creature, ripping out its core.

  The copy fell to the ground and turned to mist as the core in Saga’s hand also turned to mist. The mist around him began to thin out. Saga looked around and saw something in the distance. He ran toward it. Saga came upon what looked like a large white tree. The trees surrounding it were dead and had begun to fall apart.

  “So this is the kami,” Saga said aloud with a smirk.

  ToC

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