The Rising Sun: Episode 6 Read online

  Ahead of him, his black hair spinning like the fire serpents across the cave, Zardin stood death defyingly calm amidst the raging mayhem. His pale face was livened with a deadly fervour. His blank sockets fixed on Ion.

  Two of the fiery ropes swooshed downward and shot right in between them. As the second passed, Zardin raised his sword and lunged. The Xeni sent another heavy assail of jabs and slashes, which Ion would have fallen for if he hadn’t taken advantage of his surroundings to jump in and out of the swishing fire.

  As one of the fire serpents shot from the right, Ion threw himself to the right, out of its way. He hit the ground at the force of his leap. Zardin stood just as calmly, his eyeless sockets more terrifying than ever in the blaze spinning around his surroundings. A sudden tongue of flame rushed in from behind him. He lazily flicked his hand aside, and the fire serpent exploded into black smoke.

  As Ion struggled to get back to his feet, Zardin progressed on him. Ion lifted his blade just in time to block the heavy slash the Xeni sent him. Their blades collided with a burst of sparks, their glimmer dampened in the fierce flames all over them.

  __________

  Mantra had reached Qyro, who was standing a few metres from where Vestra stood. The two of them were now wading down the inferno to reach her.

  A fire serpent came in from her right, and Vestra had the space of a second to throw herself out of the way. Her mind lay parted in its concern, now between herself and the other two: Mantra and Qyro were slowly making their way to where she was, halting, jumping and twisting amidst the flaming ribbons that danced all about them mercilessly.

  As managed to reach her, Vestra said, “Wait, what about Ion?”

  “We don’t know where he is.” Mantra said, looking about. “There’s nothing we can do for him, except to hope he isn’t still inside here.”

  Vestra swept her eyes over the surroundings, trying to find him. Trying to make out evidence that he wasn’t still in here, trapped … because if he was, he was done for.

  But she could make nothing of the flaming mayhem. She turned to Qyro, whose eyes echoed her fear.

  Mantra spun towards the entrance far ahead of them, which was blocked by an endless supply of swirling fire serpents.

  “Let’s go,” he said, glancing back at them.

  And the three of them started a mindless dash through the place, towards the entrance far ahead. Aiming to reach it in one, uncharred piece…

  __________

  This has to be a dream. thought Ion, half praying for it, as he blocked blow after blow sent at him by the man he was fighting…

  The man he had been fighting for two years now, within him.

 

  Zardin seemed to move at the speed of thought, slashing and jabbing at such a savage pace that Ion was pushed back with every blow…

  Ion felt utter hopelessness overrun him. But his outer circumstance, the fact that he might be struck down, or hit by one of the fiery snakes, wasn’t the cause of the hopelessness. It was the revelation. The revelation of what his actions had wrought in this world.

  He was now looking at the effect of his actions … his wrongdoings. His evil.

  Zardin was his evil. An effect of the ill deeds of the past. He was responsible for transforming an innocent, noble young man into the horrid creature that was now duelling him inside this chamber of swirling flames.

  The fault was all his own. And this realisation brought more pain than all of his past regrets put together.

  He was the one to blame for this…

  But as the thought crossed him, a sudden flame kindled within him. Because Ion understood that, as the fault was solely his own … so was the responsibility to now correct the fault. To correct his fault.

  A tongue of fire zipped between them, throwing both of them out of the way in reflex. Ion took advantage of the split second delay in Zardin’s motion, and lunged forth…

  His sword met Zardin’s with a sharp, steely cling that sounded clearly over the rushing flames around them. And the sword held in his opponent’s hand was sent flying off at the force of Ion’s swift blow.

  Disarmed, Zardin stood just as unfazed amidst the flames spinning about, with Ion holding his ignited sword up before him.

  And then, very slowly, a look of delighted acceptance stretched across Eol’s pale face.

  “Congratulations, dear brother.” His pointed teeth exposed as he smiled. “You’ve won. You’ve won again.”

  Ion held his sword an inch from Eol’s chest, his chest heaving. He lowered the sword slowly.

  “Eol, come back.” he whispered, stretching his free arm towards his brother … the brother that he had lost, and was now trying to reclaim. “Everything that’s happened … it’s all over. We’re gonna fix everything, take it all back to normal. Come back to the right side. We’re family, Eol.”

  His words seemed to leave a silent, yearning screech in the air after he’d said them.

  Ion stood there with his hand held out towards Zardin, waiting.

  And then, Zardin’s smile stretched longer, and the blaze of a lunatic came over his pale features.

  “Eol is gone.” he said softly, but his voice seemed to thunder through Ion’s mind. “And now, Zardin will follow.”

  He kept both hands outstretched, and two of the ribbons of fire suddenly came swirling in from behind him … And as one, they both hit one of his outstretched hands…

  Ion heard a scream of eternal horror pierce the world … before he realised it was coming from his own mouth.

  Feeling as if he himself were on fire, he watched as the fire swept across his brother’s body within the fragment of a second. The body that had been Ion’s brother blazed like a pillar set on fire. Eol didn’t scream. He didn’t move. He didn’t even flinch as his entire form lay engulfed in flames…

  And then, after the passage of a few eternities, the blaze slowly dissolved, and what was left to remain of the body crashed over the ground behind in a pool of ashes. All that now remained of Ion’s brother, Eol.

  24

  Ion was barely aware that he had sunken to his knees, staring at the ashes that had once been a living, breathing being. His heart seemed to have clutched his chest, unwilling to beat … He couldn’t move. He could hardly breathe.

  He slowly reached out and clasped a handful of the ashes, raising it to his eyes. Brother…

  A gust of wind sent the ashes scattering, and his attention snapped back to the present. The fire serpents swirling all over him seemed to have gained a new fury in their senseless flow.

  Now that the duel was over, his mind fell in complete tune with the true depth of whatever was happening around. The danger of the present circumstance…

  He tried peering through the large crash in the wall which his body had made. The swirling ribbons of fire could be seen in the main chamber of the cave outside. But as he swept his eyes through it carefully, he felt a spark of elation: the other three weren’t there … at least they were saved.

  He, however, was not going to be … Because as Ion analysed the climate with all honesty to himself, he knew that the chances of him being able to make it out of here alive were next to zero.

  He kept himself pressed to the ground, almost trembling. The fire serpents swirled and coiled menacingly all around him, some of them missing him by mere feet as they passed dangerously close to the ground. But Ion made no effort to move, or to save himself … He knew it was all futile. He was going to die in here, alone and helpless … And it was about the worst type of death he could have asked for.

  He shut his eyes, keeping his body pressed to the ground. Waiting for one of the flaming serpents to swoop down anytime now and claim him … He knew the moment wouldn’t be too far at all…

  “Ion!”

  Ion jolted upright, his eyes snapping open. Mantra stood at the entrance to this chamber, his robe fluttering in the winds cast by the swirling fires all over.

  “Get up, kid.” he
ordered, holding an arm out. “Or my returning here to get you out of here alive, would go wasted.”

  He noticed Mantra standing in a slightly hunched posture, one hand over his stomach, and the other held out towards Ion. There was a trace of suppressed agony in his eyes as he stood there. Ion held his hand out, grasping the master’s.

  Mantra’s hand trembled as he heaved Ion up. And as he rose, the two of them locked eyes, and the very instant, Ion saw it.

  No!

  Horror flooded Ion as his eyes fell on the charred, crisped portion of Mantra’s robe. There was a large glowing slash across the master’s torso, surrounded by his burnt robe: one of the fire serpents had struck him, apparently, while he had come back to rescue Ion. It had gashed a large cut through his stomach. A part of Mantra’s insides were now fried.

  Ion rose his eyes back to the master’s wizened features, which bode no sorrow or fear. Just the same, unblemished calm as ever: he was obviously fighting the agony of the wound as he kept it clutched with his other hand … But Ion could tell that it was costing him too much. He wouldn’t last long…

  His mind thundering with alarm, he made to move forward to help. But Mantra gave a sharp wave of his free hand, his face wincing slightly in pain. “Don’t worry about that. I’ll live long enough to get you out. Now, follow me!”

  Without a word, Mantra turned and sprinted down the cave, and Ion hurried on along with him. He kept pace with the elderly master as they dashed senselessly across the cave.

  As though predicting the fire serpents’ motions, Mantra held his hand out a couple of times, stopping a few of the flaming ribbons before they hit him or Ion behind him. His features were contorted in focus and agony throughout, one hand clutching the gash across his stomach. He seemed to be propelling all hia energy into each step, and the agony of his wound could be seen in his face as he ran on…

  Ion fought back the hopelessness and shock, keeping the meanest flicker of hope alive that the master wasn’t doomed. That the two of them would reach the exit of the cave, and would be able to heal him. But even as the thought crossed him, a part of his hopes died: he knew that the wound Mantra had fallen prey to was not within the scale of healing that the three students knew. It was too grave. They would not be able to heal him with their powers…

  The thought ran through Ion like an icy shard, dragging his spirits down with it. But he quickly thrust it aside, knowing that he could not falter at this moment: the raging fires spun about like loosened tongues of fire, lashing the place with all their energy. Mantra and Ion were in the middle of a senseless sprint across the cave, both of their eyes kept peeled for the fire serpents swirling all over the place. They ducked, dodged and shot their way across the place. Mantra kept his hand over the wound the whole time, and Ion could feel the pain of the wound draw its effect over him … closing in on his energy like a vast shadow. The resolve in his deep white eyes seemed to flicker as he sprinted on, and his speed was ebbing.

  “Master, come on!” Ion stopped to call, his heart now hammering within his ribs. “Don’t stop now!”

  But Mantra gave a slight shudder, and fell to a complete stop. He swayed once, and then toppled to the right.

  No! Without the meanest care for life or death, Ion turned, changing course, and dashed towards where the old man lay, stirring feeble amidst the swirling flames. No!No!No!

  Ion threw himself to the ground, pulling Mantra’s limp body along. Then, without wasting the breadth of a moment, he heaved Mantra up and shot the remaining distance between there and the cave’s entrance.

  He could feel Mantra’s weight drag him slower, and the fury of the fires all over him seemed to have bounded now: the fiery tongues seemed to dance about with a renewed fervour, as though acting with a mind to strike down the lone survivor. But Ion kept his teeth gritted firmly and sprinted through the place.

  Through the entrance approaching far ahead, Ion could see Vestra and Qyro waiting nervously. They stood at a distance from the cave’s entrance and the hysteria raging inside of it.

  The thudding of his own footsteps seemed to absorb everything in Ion’s attention as he ran with Mantra’s body over his shoulder.

  Then, like a fiery snake striking out of the blue, one of the flaming ribbons coursed in from above … heading towards them from the left. Ion saw it and, not a moment too late, dodged out of the way. But as he swayed to the right, he felt another rush of burning air reach him from the left. Without even thinking, he broke his flow of motion and jumped to the opposite side, just missing the flaming tongue on his left by a deadly whisker.

  Without waiting for a breath, he turned back and shot down the cave. The distance remaining closed rapidly, falling to less than ten metres.

  Before he knew what or how, he had carried Mantra’s limp body and had flown straight out of the cave’s entrance. As fast as a bullet. Qyro and Vestra watched him pelt out, and the same shock stretched across their faces as they watched him carrying Mantra’s lifeless form. As Ion sped to a stop, he tripped, hitting the ground in a whirl of sand and dirt. Mantra’s body slipped and hit the soil by his side.

  Ion sat back up slowly, Vestra and Qyro rushing to where Mantra lay beside him. They tore the front of his robes off and there, a bright orange slash lay across his torso: the fire serpent had cut right through it, like an ignited sword.

  Ion’s heart plummeted horribly.

  “No,” he whispered, getting to his feet. Qyro caught him from behind as he staggered. Vestra lay crouched over her master, trying to find a pulse as she kept a finger over his neck.

  She then turned to the two of them, her mouth wide open. “He isn’t dead!”

  “What!” gasped Qyro and Ion together. Vestra shook her head, the tears in her eyes draining.

  As if on cue, Mantra’s white eyes popped open, and he slowly levelled his gaze with the three of them. He clutched the orange gash across his torso where the fire serpent had passed, his face contorting.

  “It’s all right, master!” squealed Vestra, pressing the wound with the torn front of his robes.

  “Healer -” croaked Mantra, his eyes drooping again…

  “We’ve gotta get him to a healer!” exclaimed Qyro, his voice urgent as Ion had ever heard it. “We can still save him!”

  Ion stared at the gaping orange slash across Mantra’s torso, and he had to struggle to force down the wave of hopelessness.

  “Well, let’s go, then!” he called to the other two.

  Mantra’s eyelids flickered as unconsciousness swooped over him again … He uttered a dry chuckle, and his white eyes fell to focus on the stars spreading on the night sky above.

  “And so it starts,” he whispered, his voice strong despite the injury. “All over again.”

  And then his head lolled to the side, his eyes slacking shut.

  Ion, Vestra and Qyro exchanged a fleeting, terrified glance. Qyro bent down, scooped the master up and slung him over his shoulder, and without a breath wasted, the three of them dashed off down the land to where they had parked their ship.

  __________

  Epilogue

  Endless darkness…

  Toneless silence…

  Stillness. Serenity. Calm unmatched by anything else…

  An elevated existence, transcending beyond all borders of being. Independant of all.

  Unbound by space. Undefined by reason. Unanchored by purpose.

  Unheld by control.

  Eternities passed … spanning within the gap of one moment.

  The moment that defined it all.

  The silence drew on … the darkness waded on.

  The stillness persisted…

  And then, piercing the silence, it came…

  Like a ray of light…

  It started as a fickle movement.

  And it then gathered pace, slowly forming out of the nothingness.

  And a new gravity came through the non being … a new direction.

  A ne
w glow…

  The sensation expanded slowly … sucking everything into it.

  And then there was light…

  There was knowledge…

  There was reason…

  There was purpose…

  And it brought everything together, solidifying out of the non being. And bringing a new being…

  And the spaceless void rumbled as an ancient, deadly force awoke within it.

  A force more terrible than anything dreamt of … a violent darkness with no bounds, no borders.

  The world was suddenly swept by a bright new joy…

  A joy unlike anything seen before…

  For something had been found out of nothing.

  A power unlike anything seen before. A gravely terrible power.