The Rising Sun: Episode 6 Read online

  “You’re not my brother…”

  “No…” he moaned.

  “You’re a monster…”

  Ion heard himself release a wail of agony that seemed to drown out the maniac’s laughter. And then, as the pain split his soul from the inside, unbearable, he felt himself drift …

  Drift into oblivion…

  It was all over.

  Mantra, Vestra and Qyro were surely dead by now.

  And as for him, he knew that even if he lived on through this, it would be only to endure it all over again. Agony, and turmoil…

  Because it would never leave him, and Ion was certain of it.

  The guilt of his past, and the regret … it would never leave him, and he would have to live through all the suffering again as he had for two years now.

  All was lost … the entire spectrum itself had bowed to defeat now, to the greatest defeat ever.

  Why shouldn’t he?…

  As the acceptance slowly drew over him, it wrapped him in its folds like a cozy blanket.

  And as he accepted defeat, as he embraced the inevitable, he felt himself fade…

  Everything ceased. Warmth. Light. Joy. The ringing laughter of the killer, the person he had been two years earlier, was the last thing he remembered, before the world he knew came to a complete, cruel stop.

  And blackness swallowed it all.

  19

  The King stared for a long time without speaking.

  The impact of what he had just been told had robbed his voice for a few seconds. Around his office, the rest of the ministers were all staring pale faced at the screen over his desk.

  The King took a step forward towards the screen, looking out of which was the commander of their armed forces.

  “Did I hear right?” The King felt his voice leave him as a whisper. “Two thirds of our entire army have been destroyed?” As he said it, the air around them seemed to come to a stall for a moment. The rest of the ministers were looking positively alarmed at whatever was happening.

  The commander nodded grimly. “Whatever this strange entity is, it’s nothing we’ve ever faced before. It seemed to be deadlier than anything we could have imagined … And all nine of our Kingdom’s planets have fallen prey to it.”

  “What in the world is happening?” the King said under his breath, feeling his cold sweat gather behind his neck. “We’ve lost two thirds of our armed forces to a strange enemy we aren’t even able to know?!”

  “Do we have any idea what this threat is, commander?” spoke one of the ministers, a plea of desperacy in his voice. “What information are we gathering from it?”

  The commander seemed to need a moment to steady himself.

  “Whatever it is,” he finally said. “We aren’t alone. Every planet … every republic and state in the spectrum is facing chaos and hysteria like no other. And whatever this strange force is that is waging attacks upon us,” He gave a shake of his head. “It’s nothing like ever before. And it’s swept across the entire spectrum … Our entire realm is now facing something we can’t ward off.”

  The King needed a second to digest all of this. “And nobody is able to fend them off?”

  The commander shook his head. “All states in the spectrum have come under the grip of chaos like nothing before … mass mayhem and panic far worse than we’d imagined possible.”

  The King looked around the room. The rest of the ministers were standing as still as ice, their horrified gazes latched to the screen before them.

  “Whatever it is,” the commander’s voice dropped very mildly. “the only thing we can pick up about it … is bad. Very bad.”

  “What do you mean?” asked one of the ministers.

  The commander heaved a deep breath. “The strange entity is made … of a mystical energy field. An incredibly strong mystical energy field. More powerful than anything the Naxim’s radars have ever picked up.” He shook his head. “But we’re sure it’s not a mystic. It can’t be. It’s something far, far more deadly. Something nuclear in its scale of power. And it consumed almost all of our armed forces in the span of a few minutes.”

  “It’s Redgarn and the Xeni.” the King whispered, the dark revelation rising within them. “This is their making … whatever madness this is that they’ve set loose on the world.”

  “But whatever it is, how in the world do we fight it?” shrieked one of the ministers, looking between the King and the commander in the screen.

  The commander’s voice seemed to falter, and he needed a second to pull himself together before answering.

  “There’s no way we can fight this. Whatever it is, it crushed almost all of our army. We don’t stand a chance … none of the spectrum’s planets do. Around the entire spectrum, every republic and Kingdom has fallen. Chaos has overrun them all.”

  The ministers gaped at the commander for a lingering few moments. The very space in the room seemed to have shrunken in these last few seconds…

  Finally, as the dreaded effect passed, the ministers slowly turned to face the King. All of their faces mirrored the same helplessness and confusion.

  “What are your orders, sire?” one of the ministers asked.

  “What are we supposed to do?”

  The King had his eyes on the floor ahead of him for a long, quiet second. His insides writhing…

  And then, taking in a deep breath, he looked up at the rest of the room.

  “There’s nothing we can do.” He gave a weak shake of his head. “It’s over.”

  The rest of the ministers’ faces remained just as unchanged, as they listened to the final and undisputable declaration of their doom.

  “We should have known this was coming the very moment we learned of the Xeni’s return.” the King said, walking over to a seat at the back of the room and sinking to it. “And now, God help us all. Armageddon is here.”

  20

  The world had gone dull. All thoughts, sounds, sensations. Everything had faded, leaving an emptiness like no other. There was nothing but bleak darkness, and it engulfed Ion.

  But then something moved.

  Very mildly.

  A motion so faint in a world that had stopped.

  Through the silence, the voice came as a meek sliver of sound. And yet Ion heard it. It was a voice he knew.

  “I know I may not make much of a difference here, right now … but I’ll make myself heard anyway. For I now come to remind you,” The voice paused, and suddenly, something welled within Ion. “of a world. A world you once knew before. A world I taught you to see.”

  Suddenly, there was light…

  And through the endless darkness, Jedius’s clear green eyes were the first thing falling in Ion’s vision, as he stood in the same forest the two of them had spent two years in. His distant voice now growing into an echo, gathering might, he went on:

  “I come to remind you of a world where there is warmth … where is light. I come to remind you of a world where man’s heart can brave even the mightiest of storms. A world where you are never alone, where a companion and a guide lingers within you eve. A power beyond the might of our universe. An ancient force ever awaiting your command. Ever within you.”

  Jedius held an arm out, the fire in his voice brightening.

  “I come to remind you of the world you knew when you were here with me … when we were one, you and I. A world of fearlessness. Of strength and courage. So hear me out, for I now remind you that behind the veil of even the darkest of nights … awaits the rising sun. And I now remind you of a world that unites the two of us, Ion … For we are one. And we always will be.” He shook his head, his smile radiating. “You and I have not been so apart as you think … and we shall never be apart again. My voice shall always remain in you, and remind you. And my soul shall always stay with you, as the courage that carries you forward. The courage that guides you across the gravest of storms, the courage that shall show you the true beauty of life … and the courage that no
w tells you to get up and fight!”

  Back in reality, Ion’s trembling hand slowly reached for the sword lying a few feet from him. He felt his fingers tap the hilt … and very slowly, mustering all his strength, his fingers clasped around it.

 

  We are one…

  The sword lit with a crisp, dazzling flash that seemed to linger in the dark cave’s insides. The numb, chilling feeling melted from his bones.

  Feet ahead, the smoky form of the demon slowly turned around, sensing movement. His jaw dropped as he saw Ion stagger up to his feet, his breath heaving. Ion caught himself before he fell, fighting to keep himself steady as he held the sword up before him.

  “Impossible…”

  Frost’s icy blue eyes stared at him for a second that the two of them could feel expanding into a few hours…

  And then, with a battle shriek tearing from his throat, the demon charged at him…

  As frost lunged at him with both hands outstretched, Ion sent a slash of his blazing sword. The demon dodged the sword and then raised his hands towards Ion, his icy eyes piercing … The same wave of chill crashed over Ion. But there was something inside of Ion that resisted the torture this time. Something he always had within, but only came to realise now.

  Frost’s face slowly contorted, as he drove all his energy into the attack …

  Ion kept his mind steeled. Driving out all fear, and summoning all the focus he could muster. The icy feeling was unable to grip him this time…

  “You can’t resist me, boy.” Frost sneered, holding his hands outstretched at Ion. “None can resist me. I am the bane of all creation … I am the very seat of all anarchy, the very reason behind the existence of fear … Submit!”

  The icy feeling gushed with a new force, attempting to penetrate Ion’s mental defense. But Ion ground his teeth, feeling all the might of his mind solidify in a wall that resisted the demon’s onslaught. He felt his face contort with focus…

  “You cannot resist, boy.” Frost’s cold blue eyes glinted, and the icy wave began to breach Ion’s mind’s defenses slowly. “There is nothing in this world that can match my might. Let me prove it now.”

  His sneer grew longer … Ion’s defense slowly crumbled once more. He could feel chaos slowly seeping into his soul once more…

  “No,” he breathed, gathering himself again. But it was falling apart. The demon’s wrath was breaking into his mind again … He couldn’t resist it.

  “There is nothing in existence that can outmatch me, for I am the seed of all terror. And now, terror shall rule you once more.”

  Ion felt himself stagger, the darkness slowly overcoming his mind again. He continued to resist with all his might, feeling his fingernails dig into his flesh.

  “Welcome to a world where only fear thrives.” the demon hissed, his face filling with relish again as Ion’s mental defenses broke apart. “A world where nothing can triumph over the power of frost.”

  His teeth still gritted, Ion breathed, “Something can.”

  He rose his hands before the demon. It happened without him knowing how or why. As though through the help of some unseen force. A sudden surge of power rushed through his being … And as the demon watched, a burst of crimson flames flowed out from both of Ion’s hands. Enclosing the demon…

  As Ion’s blaze splashed over Frost’s misty form, the demon’s eyes widened for the tiniest notch of a second. And then, as the molten flames engulfed him completely, a high pitched shriek of agony sounded within the cave … lingering for many unpleasant seconds.

  And then, as the flames died down, what was left of the demon lay in a puddle of pale, smoky vapours. Ion stood there, panting heavily. He watched the remains of the demon disintegrate into the colourless, murky vapour and disappear. Leaving him and the world free again.

  21

  Mantra’s jaws clenched as he struggled to keep focus. the three of them were lying motionless on the ground in the middle of the crater with seven Ensys, but surrounding them in a semi sphere was a transparent, bubble like layer - a shield which he had conjured mustering all the strength he could in his frozen state. The freeze shot’s effect wasn’t wearing, and the stiff sensation continued to clog his thoughts. But Mantra’s composure helped him gain a measure of control back over himself, and through it, his mystical powers. He had gathered all of the will lying within him to weave the shield around the three of them to protect them from the Ensys.

  The seven creatures were snarling as they moved around the bubble like wrapping. Rigmrr headed forward and smashed his entire form against the encasing, and Mantra’s blood ran cold: the energy required to maintain the shield, faint as it was in his frozen state, was ebbing. A few more shots like those from the Ensys, and the shield would break … Mantra knew it wasn’t going to be long.

  Beside him, Qyro and Vestra were lying just as still as they had been all along. Their eyes were widened, spinning around all over the place to watch the creatures surrounding them.

  “Hold on, guys.” Mantra mumbled. The movement of his jaw left the muscles around it burning mildly, with the freeze shot’s effect still holding over them.

  “We’re done for,” Qyro whimpered.

  Mantra’s teeth ground harder as another of the beasts ran forward and threw itself over the shield. The impact took a heavy bash on Mantra’s mind, which held the shield, so that he almost lost control of it. He ground his teeth harder, refusing to let his will slacken. But the energy required for the shield, which he already was pulling up only with the heaviest effort, was falling swiftly … and every bash from the creatures took a hefty toll on the energy maintaining it.

  One of the Ensys bounded forward and leapt over the shield with all his might. As it crashed over the bubble like wrapping with a lethal force, Mantra felt the a hammering impact to his mind. He had to summon all of the courage in him to keep the shield still. He felt like a marathonist pushed far beyond his boundaries … and now teetering towards collapsing.

  I’m not lasting long…

  He locked eyes with the foremost of the Ensys, who had just attacked, now slowly backing off. And readying for a second assault … and possibly the final one required.

  And then, there was a sudden swish of black, mingled with a streak of flaring orange. Something seemed to have crossed the air before the Ensys in a lightspeed leap. And as the unknown flying object passed, there was a wide orange slash stretching across the torso of the creature. A slash of glowing orange colour. The creature’s expression went slightly fazed for a mean moment, before it topped to the ground in two pieces.

  Feet from it, Ion had landed with a dry thud, with the sword held raised in his right hand, glowing in bright orange.

  Vestra gasped. “He’s alive!”

  Even through the choking gloom of their predicament, as Mantra’s eyes found the boy standing a few feet away from them, he felt a swelling pride, coupled with relief.

  But their relief was short lived: with the arrival of this new, free target, the seven Ensys turned as one, re focussing their attentions. The first one, closest to Ion, swung his hand across the air, his pincers making a slash towards the boy. But Ion had swung his sword thrice as fast as the creature’s arm, so that by the time the pincers had flown over him, the Ensys’ torso was severed in two, the mark where the sword had cut glowing.

  As a second of their brethren collapsed, the remaining five of them howled in rage, diving towards Ion with a renewed burst of fury. Ion jumped back, just missing one of the giant spider bodies as it flew across the air before him and crashed to the ground. Then, he swung his hands forward and two of the beasts right in front were blasted backwards, sent flying at the force of the smash he had released. The last two of them came dashing from behind, their hands already halfway reached for him. But Ion’s next move seemed to have climbed to a new level of speed: he jumped over, his ignited sword flying, and dodged the pincered grasp of the two creatures. Then, in two orange flashes of his bla
de, he had brought the two of them down.

  Mantra severed the energy flow to keep up the shield. As the bubble like wrapping around the faded, Ion sprinted over towards where they lay, his sword doused. He bent down over Mantra, touching the back of his neck with his forefinger.

  “I’m sending an electric surge through you to free you from the freeze effect.” he told Mantra. “It was a trick my master taught me. Let’s hope I get it right.”

  And from where his forefinger was pressed, a gush of warm current shot across Mantra’s body, and the stiff numbness holding his body melted in an instant.

  “Yes, I think you got it right.” said Mantra, springing upright and turning to where the other two lay. He bent down over them and performed the same trick, which released a jolt of electricity into the frozen person’s body, freeing him.