Chapter Two

Jason Trevoc

"Time….Last Ancient….upon us…"

"Huh? Those voices. Those people."

"Cerinia…..location…..Ancients…."

"This dream. I've had it so many times before."

"…….Eternal Fire."

Jason awoke breathing hard; his heart pounding so fast it was as if he had just ran a marathon. His fur was slightly matted from sweat.

"Another one. I've had this dream so many times I've lost track of when I started having it." Jason looked at the clock next to his bed. It read seven o'clock, nearly 24 hours since he had defeated the Shadows in the wasteland. Jason had returned to his ship, The Crimson, shortly afterwards and set the ship in an orbit around Corneria. He then decided to sleep and recover from the battle. Unfortunately, throughout his long sleep Jason was drawn into a dream that he had been having ever since he had first discovered the unusual power that he could use.

"I remember that day as if it were yesterday." Jason reminisced. One year ago, on a mission where Jason was sent to aid the army of the desert-like planet, Katina, he had discovered a power that would change him forever. The army fought against the Shadows more effectively when Jason fought alongside them. However, one day when the battle seemed to be in the Katinians' favor, a large group of Shadows were ordered to track down Jason. They met with him in the middle of the battlefield and surrounded him. They all jumped on him and enveloped him in a cloud of never-ending darkness. Just when Jason was certain that this was it, his end, he began to feel a mysterious energy flow through every inch of his body. It made him feel warm and safe, but it also made him feel more powerful than he ever felt. He focused all of the energy to the core of his body and released it, his body becoming engulfed in a blinding light of fire. Every Shadow disintegrated around him in an instant. Everybody who heard and witnessed this event never saw Jason as a normal Lylatian again. Ever since that incident, Jason has been plagued by a dream where he sees a Lylatian fox and a human talking with each other. However, Jason could only catch certain phrases that have no meaning to him.

"I guess there's no reason to dwell over it if I don't understand what it means." Jason said aloud. He took a moment to look over his room. It was the only bedroom on his ship, but it was fairly big. It had one large window where he could see the stars and planets move by outside. There was also a bathroom that was connected to his bedroom. Adorned on his walls were various swords and other weapons he had obtained over the three years he performed missions for the Cornerian government and its general. One type of weapon he had become more accustomed to using was a saber sword. A saber sword was basically the same as a saber in that it had a guard that covered the handle, but did not connect with the bottom of the handle itself. The other difference of a saber sword was that the blade was thicker than a saber's blade and it also was part of the guard.

Jason also looked at his black-colored armor which he kept on a rack in the corner of his room. The armor was composed of several pieces: a helm, a chest plate, a back plate, shoulder braces, leg braces, gauntlets, and armored shoes. Archaic as it seemed, that one set of armor had proved its worth many times over. Except for a few scratches and dents on the different pieces, the armor itself was spotless and gleamed like obsidian rock. Jason had gained it from a traveling space merchant three years ago right after Jason had signed the contract with the general of Corneria for his aid in future battles against the Shadows. When Jason had tried on the armor with the merchant's permission, he felt a bit…strange, as if the armor was meant for him. The armor was light and flexed with his movements perfectly. What confused Jason beyond anything was when he asked the merchant how much it was. The merchant studied Jason for a minute before replying that he would give it to him for free. Jason was shocked and asked why, while the merchant just said that he saw something in Jason that he had not seen in other Lylatians and that the armor was destined for him and only him. After that incident, Jason saw that the armor was anything but ordinary.

"I guess I might as well get up and wake myself up with some exercise." Jason said while yawning. He quickly went into the bathroom to wash his face and somewhat make himself more alert. After splashing the cool water on his face, Jason took a moment to look at himself in the mirror. Standing 6'1", his whole body was well built and very strong. A lot of it came from all his sword fighting while in battle and from practicing in the gym of his ship. His entire body was covered with strange patterns of white fur which seemed to glow whenever he used his power in battle. Throughout all of his battles, Jason had obtained a great number of scars from the Shadows that could be seen through his fur. What surprised Jason by far was that each wound he received took only minutes to heal. He assumed it had something to do with this strange power of his.

"Time to head to the gym." Jason said. After putting on a black tank top, Jason headed down the metallic hallways of his ship to the gym. Although the gym itself was small, it included a holographic modulator that could turn the gym into any kind of environment, and also allowed Jason to make his holographic enemies look and fight like Shadows. When the environments are changed, it allows the user to roam freely without any boundaries. The room was also given controls for different training exercises as well as difficulty settings. Jason walked up to the console that allowed him to turn the gym into what he saw fit.

"Let's see here." Jason thought aloud, trying to decide what settings to make to the gym.

"Let's make the setting in a forest, with about 13 Shadows hiding in it, and I'll turn the difficulty to level 20." With the settings punched in, Jason made his way into the gym and was met with the sight of a lush green forest with trees that towered above his head. He could even hear little song birds calling out their notes to one another. He walked into a clearing in the forest.

"Let's try a different weapon this time." Jason said.

"Weapon program: Battle Staff, execute." He ordered. From out of thin air, a six foot long staff with a short double-edged blade at one end appeared in Jason's hand. Although Jason was more accustomed to swords, he was also very skilled with a staff and its techniques. Jason gave the staff a few twirls before he felt satisfied with it.

"Alright, let's get started. Begin program!" Jason shouted. A few moments passed. All was silent. Even the birds had stopped singing. Suddenly, Jason's ears twitched as he heard a branch snap behind him. He whipped around and brought the staff in a diagonal cut across the approaching Shadow. A few seconds passed before the Shadow cried out in pain and disappeared into darkness. Jason looked around and saw the other 12 Shadows show themselves to him, all of them growling and snarling.

"Sneak attacks, huh?" Jason said with a grin. "I never knew you guys were so creative. But that won't be enough against me." Jason once more took his fighting stance. One by one, each Shadow charged Jason, only to be met with the deadly blade of his staff. Each spin and twirl Jason made seemed precise and fluid, like a dancer who had gone over the same scenario time and time again and could have done the moves with his eyes closed. A stab here, a horizontal slice there, the Shadows were no match for Jason. He cut each one down until there was only one of them left standing. Jason and the lone Shadow stared each other down for more than a minute, trying to read each others thoughts and decipher their strategy. Jason looked into the Shadow's red eyes and saw only a burning hate and a sleepless malice. It was like looking into the very depths of hell itself. The Shadow then raised his thorn sword and charged, Jason doing the same. They came closer and closer to each other. Jason's patches of white fur began to glow. They passed one another in a flash, each of their weapons held outwards from their attacks. They stood the same way for several seconds before the Shadow collapsed to the grassy ground with a loud thump. He soon joined his fallen comrades in a haze of black.

Jason stood and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Though the forest was holographic, it felt real enough for him to feel calm and relaxed. However, his mind was clouded with questions.

'I just don't understand. What is it that feeds the hate of these monsters? It seems like they feed off of hate for power. What could have done this to them? Were they always like this before the war began? I only wish I knew.' Jason had been studying the Shadows and their behavior ever since he started working for Corneria, trying to find out what drives them. From what he had gathered, whatever was inside of them had turned all their thoughts and feelings toward malice and cruelty.

"Maybe I'll never find out the truth." Jason said. He opened his eyes.

"I should get ready to head down to Corneria. I still have to report to the general about the assault in the wasteland. I hope he doesn't mind that I'm a little late." He deactivated the environment setting and walked out of the gym, heading towards his room. He took a small shower in his bathroom and then put his pair of tan cargo pants back on along with his black tank top before walking over to his armor and strapped each piece onto its appropriate place. He always felt that it was more proper for him to wear his armor when visiting the military officials so that they would know who he was and not take him to be a mere soldier.

Jason made his way to the control deck of his ship and sat down in the command seat in the center of the room. The chair included the controls for the ship and a computer that showed the statistics of The Crimson and had many other functions, even a personal music player that was connected to the speaker system on the ship. Jason brought up the screen on his computer and entered the code to break his ship out of the geo-synchronized orbit. He decided to put on some music for his trip down to Corneria, selecting his favorite song, The Unknown Soldier by Breaking Benjamin. He then took the ship's controls and directed the vessel towards Corneria, watching as the front of his ship became enveloped in flames, the music from the speakers the only noise he could hear.

Show me what it's like, to dream in black and white, so I can leave this world tonight.

Holding on too tight. Breathe the breathe of life, so I can leave this world behind...

To be Continued….