Episode II: Trials and Subterfuge

Chapter 4-1:

Rise or Fall

Thunderous echoes shook the stalactites from their lofty perches high above the young CAST who had still yet slumbered for all this time. One such outcrop had struck home and fully awakened him in quite a fright. Dazed and confused, he patted the ground to orient his position in correlation to his surroundings. While cautiously navigating the dark cavern, he searched for the origin to this repetitious and intimidating shockwaves that caused the very earth to vibrate. Its creation was now apparent as he reached the exit to the cave.

The once lush forest which was full of life that had surrounded the cave was now replaced by scorched badlands. Some form of a peculiar white substance was precipitating from the sky above, lightly blanketing the entire world as it would seem. As it fell and touched his now dirty and sheen-less shoulders; a small cold and burning sensation resonated within him. Joyful and as new as the experience was, it was short lived as another explosion reverberated across the white landscape. This war zone was filled with craters and smoldering marks of dirt, ash, and rock alike; all covered in patches for seething red fire. Far in the distance were two giant blobbed masses on opposite sides of each other. Occasionally, black dots with a grey smoking trail would stream through the air as they hit their contenders in a sea of a crimson decree. Scared and curious still, the young CAST ventured down the cliffside to see what the commotion was all about.

Getting closer and nearer now, his fear heightened yet his curiosity pressed him forward. As the proximity between him and the war zone got smaller and smaller, the more the environment changed. The white substance was replaced with various different colors. Pools of red liquid with a translucent viscosity had seeped through the substance in places while another type of red liquid which was thicker and had a darker consistency was penetrating the substance in other places. A strange, elongated object was sticking out of the ground up ahead; it had five different but equal extensions coming out of its end. Reaching for it, it seemed very similar to what the CAST had reached out with. He immediately regretted grabbing it; dropping the object revealed it to be a disembodied arm. Initially shocked, his curiosity to continue was not perturbed as he moved further on. The fiery echoes had now become deafening and painful as the intensity of the heat coming from the blasts could be felt as well. All of the jubilant cold substance had evaporated and the only charred terrain beneath remained visible. To his right was a man; the man had noticed his presence as well and started walking towards them. Ignorantly, the CAST waved in an attempt to flag them down to see what the commotion was about.

[That man's speed is rather alarming…Maybe something is the matter? He appears to be wielding some sort of weapon…]

Before the man could approach him, sonic booms resonated through the air and pierced the man; a dark scarlet liquid showered out of him in three different areas for a minute before he fell to the ground motionless. Another man had ran past him from the left without giving him a second glance. "Move" he loudly declared.

[That man who just ran past…He looked similar to me…But not the same…]

The shelling was deadly close now but the fledgling CAST simply ignored it as he moved on. Something had driven him on, but to what end, he was not sure. While ruminating over the thought, the ground behind him suddenly exploded without warning. Various sparks had struck his back, leaving a painful burning feeling that lasted for a good while. It was time to run. Another blast hit in front of him. Turning to the left while running, he couldn't avoid the next one. He was blown sideways and onto his back as the final round hit the ground behind him once more. He struggled to cry, but he couldn't. Wracked with pain, his lower jaw had unhinged and was hanging off to the right, barely attached and seemingly only tethered to the rest of his face by a few sinewy threads. His back was badly burned, not to mention that part of his right shoulder was completely vaporized. An unfamiliar fluid was oozing out of his face, garbling his voice. He couldn't scream for help even if he wanted to. The two factions were still fighting in the distance, completely oblivious and too far off to see him in his helpless prone position. He needed help; his current condition would probably cause him to fall asleep again. He didn't want to stay unconscious all this time again. With all of his remaining strength, he endeavored to climb over onto his stomach. Every single motion surged with incredible pain. All he could do is blather and sob through the profuse amount of his own artificial blood. Each time he tried to push off the ground with his arms, the sheer force of this torture had willed them back to his sides; usually hitting his wounded face in the process. This pathetic deliberation went on for at least five minutes before he finally managed to get onto his knees and also successfully onto his feet.

[They…Have gotten farther away…I have to…catch up…]

As he got closer, they moved farther away. Each pitiable and pointless effort to continue was met with no solace. To make matters worse, something was wrong with this left leg as it wouldn't allow him to bend his knee to properly walk on it. Finally, he had made it to where the warring participants once were; alas no one was here. He looked around as he cried; they were nowhere to be seen. In the distance was more of the woodland that was previously residing in the now war-torn hell scape. His only chance might lie there. His hope undying, he was still compelled carry on; hobbling his way towards the forest. A serene cluster of light had protruded through an opening inside a tidy clearing. Exhausted, he moved towards a lone tree on the edge of the clearing as he leaned on it. He felt himself slipping along it until he rapidly fell and smashed his head on a rock that was lying beside the bottom of the trunk. Within the next second, all was darkness.

Rustling of leaves had awoken him once more. Apparently it had rained heavily the night before. He was saturated with water and leaves from the trees above. The CAST was incredibly weak; he was still bleeding a lot and his vision was becoming blurred for some reason. A twig had snapped underfoot; a small child was gathering fruit from the low-lying trees in the same clearing as him. Turning his eyes to the tree he was haplessly lingering beneath revealed it be bearing fruit; ripe looking green berries were looming over him.

[Maybe he'll…come to me…]

Sure enough, the boy did come over to the same tree. As he leaned over to grab the fruit that hung from its noble branches, he spastically dropped the fruit and it landed right next to the CAST by a stroke of pure luck. Bending over to grab it, he was soon horrified to see the twisted figure of what should be a CAST slowly reaching out to grab him. Unable to contain his fear, he screamed as he dropped his fruit basket and ran out of the clearing and further into the forest. The CAST tried to call out to him but all that came out was a distorted and muffled spittle.

[I…can't let…him get away…]

Putting the last reserves of his strength and his will to live into his arms, he clawed his way into the dirt and grass to chase after him. As best as he could, he tracked him through various broken twigs, trampled grass, and bent bushes until the trail soon went cold. Almost all hope was lost when suddenly a loud set of voices were apparent; one of them was similar to the boy's.

"Mommy! Mommy!" he cried. Struggling forward, he had chanced upon a village. The wet housing was glistening in the radiant blue sunlight from up ahead. A large group of people were busy going about their new day; people of all races it would seem but the one the CAST belonged to. A kindly looking woman wearing a pink blouse and brown worker's pants rushed over the crying child and held his face tenderly with her soft hands.

"What is it sweetie? What happened? Where did all the fruit you were gathering go?" she dotingly asked. The boy sniffed before replying.

"I-I was g-gathering the…gathering the fruits like you, you asked…then a big scary CAST jumped out of the leaves! I thought he was gonna eat me! He chased me through the forest!" wailing continuously, others started to take notice. The mother's attention was focused and scornful as she let go of the boy and instantaneously looked towards the direction of the forest. She scrutinized the shrubbery when she noticed that the CAST had managed to enter the village. Suddenly, men armed with rifles ran towards him, intent to kill.

"Wait!" the woman yelled as she broke through them, raising her arms outwards in defense of the frail CAST. The entire village was looking now. "He's clearly severely wounded! You are just going to put him down like that?"

"Gwen, you and I know both know that if you try and help him, he may very well attack us…" one of the men said.

"I know that, and if that is the case, I'll put him down myself. Now please, help me bring him to my house."

The CAST lifted his arm up and tried to speak but only unintelligible drowning noises came out before he fell unconscious again. Miraculously, he awakened on his own soon later. Rejuvenated, most of the pain had left him.

[Wow! I feel great again! Maybe I can ask what is going on?]

As he tried to sit up, a twinge of pain still struck him through his back. He turned his head to see that his shoulder had been repaired completely but his back had changed. Something was missing, yet something was replaced; he couldn't figure out what. Whatever it was, the change was painful to him but not so much that he couldn't handle it. Some weird looking wire was attached to his neck but it broke off as soon as he stood up. A large mirror-like pane was propped up against the wall conveniently so he could actually look at his own reflection.

[This image…is it me? I move my body and this image seems to reflect the movement I make…How interesting!]

His jaw had been completely reworked as the lower half was damaged beyond repair; a grey and less advanced version of the rest of his face remained, almost if it was a shoddy replica of the actual thing. Besides his jaw being fixed, a peculiar beige line with a reddish hue was running across the right side of his nose which went over its bridge and all the way down the left side of his cheek; only an inch under his left eye. He remembered that was where that giant feral beast hit his face before. A faint cerulean hue pulsated slightly between the stitch works of his new jawline. Most interesting of all were the brown extensions coming out of the top of his body. He massaged it with his hands to feel its softness.

[What is this on me? It feels so soft! I love it!]

Self-discovery was interrupted as his attention turned to a large amount of screaming that was coming from outside of his current location.

"Vahras!" someone screamed from outside. Strings lined with shells and beads were blocking the exit to the room into the next which he brushed aside. The mother was sitting down on the floor underneath a table here, clenching her child tightly. Intrigued, the curious CAST lifted the table in an attempt to see what the matter was.

"…H…Hello…What…is…What is wrong?" he asked ponderously. The boy and woman didn't look the same; the boy had large ruffled ears and a snub nose in comparison to his mother. All she did was furiously look back into his eyes as the boy motioned the CAST to be quiet by putting his finger in front of his mouth. Instinctively, the CAST sat down with them and got close. The table was still standing slightly off the ground from his large stature. "…There…is…this better…?" he asked more softly but still slowly.

"It's a Vahra attack…" the woman whispered.

"…Vahra? … What is…Vahra?"

"You really don't know? What happened to you? Did you lose your memory or something?"

"…Memory? …I'm sorry…I don't understand…Do…You know who I am? …Where am I?"

"Oh goodness, you must be a newborn CAST or something…Vahras are native creatures, they aren't nice." A large shriek was heard followed by a large crash; the ambient temperature around them started to rise.

"…What is happening?"

"That wasn't a Vahra…That sounded like a De Ragan! We aren't equipped to fight them off!"

"Mommy…I'm scared" the boy cried.

"It's going to be okay sweetie. It's going to be okay, don't worry, mommy is here" she reassured.

"…De Ragan?"

"A really large dragon, they normally stick to Raffon Meadow but all of this turmoil and war has invaded their natural habitat; they must be attacking the village in search of food…Holy Light save us…"

"…De Ragan…isn't friendly? …Wants to… harm...others?"

"Yes, so keep your voice down otherwise they might find us!" The CAST searched the room after hearing this; he spotted a glint amidst the rising flames and the beaded doorway that shone from what appeared to be a plaque high above the floor in the back of the burning abode. Standing up, the child had a premonition of what was going to transpire.

"Don't touch my dad's stuff!" he yelled before having his mouth cupped from his mother's hands.

"What do you think you are doing? You won't last ten seconds out there against them!" the mother angrily hissed.

"…I'm only borrowing this…I'll bring it back…" the CAST said, smiling to the two of them. Grabbing the double ended saber from the wall, he silently moved towards the entrance of the house before turning back once more to look upon the family that was so kind to him just now; braving the unknown. Quietly shutting the door behind him, the sounds of screaming and shrieking of people and monster alike filled his head in a disorientating cacophony. As he strained to perceive what this "De Ragan" was, he was sent flying from a large blow to his stomach. Hurdling across the air, he smashed up against the wall of a crumbling home that nearly buried him upon impact. Lifting himself from the rubble, his assailant appeared to be ginormous. A small protruding horn came out of its dulled grey and red face as well as two large extensions that went behind its head like furious yet wise-looking eyebrows. A crooked snout and bloodied razors for teeth were paled in comparison by the glow of its harrowing amber eyes. It had raised its head and long neck back above its large armored body which was fitting with the lusterless grey and red body with a beige underbelly that made off into two separate and elongated beige tails. The creature also appeared to be capable of flight with its large grey wings that it had folded up behind itself. For some peculiar reason, a sizzling sound emanated from its throat as it enlarged and undulated until it went to its mouth; a large ball of fire was now rocketing towards the CAST. Leaping sideways in a tucked roll, he landed on his feet and beheld the devastation of the blast that had all but completely disintegrated the standing structure that laid behind the previously destroyed edifice. Bodies were strewn across the ground in random hopeless and despairing positions, some with pieces of them missing. A group of people were scattering about to the left into the surrounding forest as a second De Ragan appeared out of nowhere as it swooped down and crashed through the forest; as it reappeared the CAST could see a pair of legs disappear down its gullet.

[They…They are hurting these people! …I won't stand for this!]

Undulation and hissing, the beast was ready to unleash another fireball. Starting a sprint on both legs, the CAST shortened the distance between them in less than five seconds. As he leapt at the monster, he caressed the blade in an uppercut with his jump which bit straight through its large ridged neck. As it yelped in pain it lunged at him with its mouth before he could return to the ground once more; sinking his teeth down into him. As he flung his head to the side, the nuisance he held flew with it. Undaunted, he rose forth from the bushes he landed in and readied for another bout, yet the creature's attention was distracted. Something was pandering focus elsewhere. Turning to its point of view, he saw why. The armed guards from earlier had organized and concentrated their efforts on the secondary De Ragan which was having a troubling time to continue its feasting from their combined effort. Without warning, a flash of glinting metal shot through the air and penetrated its lower jaw; within the same split second, a shadowy apparition materialized directly above the hovering creature. Just as quickly as it appeared, it had impaled another blade into the top of its head before retrieving them both and vanishing. All of this had happened before the De Ragan could react or even fall to the ground dead. Worried for its friend's condition, the current De Ragan began to gallop towards where it fell with all haste. Now was his chance. The CAST jumped down from the bushes and bum rushed the beast with a set of quick slashes to it legs and left wing. With sheer ferocity alone, a blood bath showered the CAST and the earth equally. Screeching in agony, the beast had met its match. It helplessly flailed about trying to fly away before giving up as it then limped on four legs; its image receded among the forest line as it shuffled through it.

"Wow, you're still alive?!" the mother shouted as the mysterious man had now re-entered their house. The CAST reverently returned the double saber to its rightful place back on the plaque before addressing the mother and her son.

"…The De Ragans….They are gone…It is safe for you two…and the rest of your village…Thank you…for helping me…You two are…both...very kind people…I'm glad that I….that I was able to meet you two…I must…leave now" he said laboriously.

"Wait…Where are you going?" He had already left, without another word. Heading out towards the forest, the CAST had made it to the corpse of the De Ragan. Guards from the village were still inspecting it before he had arrived; once he made a move towards it, they immediately turned their attention to the stranger and all took defensive stances. He recognized one of them.

"You! Stop right there! Where are Gwen and Timothy?" he demanded, frantically waving his rifle at him.

"…Who…? The mother...Oh…She is fine…I made…I made sure they are safe!" the CAST replied.

"…What do you want then?"

"…That thing…What…What hurt the…De Ragan?"

"To be honest…I don't even know."

"…Did you…see where it went?"

"Actually, yes. It went further into the forest in that direction. I'm glad it helped us, but I don't want to mess with whatever has those kinds of abilities" he stated while nervously pointing to the right.

"…Thank you…" he acknowledged as he ran straight for the very same direction. Sure enough, a man was drinking with his cupped right hand from a small stream that was trickling down a rocky path between a set of boulders, trees, and bushes. He had grey hair and was held up in a long ponytail behind him. A dark red and black helmet was being held between his left arm and his body. The rest was indistinguishable from this distance because of the deep brown cloak he was wearing around him. Before the CAST could get any closer to him to inspect further, the man put his helmet on and lifted his hood up quickly before turning. He gave one look towards the CAST before fleeing further into the forest at an alarming rate of speed.

[Wow…He is…really fast. I got to…keep up.]

As he gave chase to this mysterious man, the environment changed dramatically. During what seemed like hour-long pursuit; the forest had turned into a vivid white grassland that was still covered in snow, to even more ebony yet gray forests. Rocky peaks were seen far off into the distance, yet they seemed to get closer until finally it got so close that it became apparent that they were approaching a mountain range. As the rocky path had ended, so did the pursuit. He had him cornered with the rough cragged outcrops that encircled a clearing. The location was relatively warm despite being colder everywhere else.

"Well, you finally caught me" the man specified.

"…Why did you…run from me?" the CAST pondered.

"Why? You mean you weren't hunting me down because I let those De Ragans loose?"

"…What?! …You…you let them hurt…all of those people?!"

"Yes, I did. What are you going to do about it?!"

"…I'm going to hurt you for all those lives you ruined!"

"Really now?" he casually spat. He crossed his arms and stood tall against the juvenile CAST. "I bet you won't be able to let a single finger touch me. I'll give you a fair chance. Here take these." He had tossed him a saber and something recognizable. It was the helmet he had lost earlier. Even though he had already forgotten about it, the familiarity was strangely comforting to him. Dutifully, he grabbed the golden helmet and put it on his head and took the saber in his left hand. "Well, come on then! Show me what you are capable of!" The CAST screamed as he ran straight for the man with his saber in both hands above his head. Releasing all of his power in a downward swing, it met with nothing but air. The man had completely vanished as the blade went through him. Before he could turn around, he was thrown into the rocky outcrop that was behind the man earlier with a tremendous force. As he pried himself off from the wall, he fell to his knees and hands in a symphony of immense pain. He gasped for breath. "Try again." He stood up and swung wildly as he spun around only to have his wrist batted away which sent the saber flying out of his hands and into rocks high above him. "Good, but not good enough. You are in no position to fight me yet!"

"I'd rather die…than let someone like you go unpunished!" Feigning a punch straight for his face; he predictably vanished. Unleashing a powerful donkey kick, he knew he hit him this time as he felt his foot make contact with the man's abdomen. Rapidly turning to throw another haymaker, the man had vanished once more before hitting the ground. Three of cloaked marauders were now each running straight for him. Punching the one to the left deemed pointless as it was nothing more than another clone. Next the one on the right; as it vanished as well, a terrifying blow struck his helmet from behind which rattled intensely as his face struck the earth and dragged on for two whole seconds.

"Quit this senseless behavior; you will tire yourself out before you will even lay a finger on me. I haven't even used a fraction of my power yet. Face it! You have no chance of protecting those you care for! Those De Ragans?! They were adolescents! Mere youths! How could you even fair against an adult one? Let alone me!"

"…Shut up!" He picked himself up and took an offensive stance once more. His dash forward was blocked as a wall of fire suddenly engulfed and encompassed the surrounding area. Plumes of smoke flittering off of it made it impossible to discern anything from any direction.

"If you are in such a hurry to die, I will show you just what I am capable of!" Panicked, the CAST darted his head back and forth to see where he would come from; the man emerged and leapt out from the flames with a sword at the ready. He was too quick. The blade had made its mark deep into his left arm. Still undeterred, his voice was filled with anguish as he threw yet another walloping punch with his right towards the man. Instead of vanished he simply moved to the left as the momentum behind the punch caused the CAST to spastically fall down under his own weight. Without giving him the satisfaction to eat pay dirt, an abrupt rush of air concentrated in a conical ring from the man's left hand when it blasted forth. All the fire and smoke dissipated as the CAST was propelled into the sharp rocks once more. This time, the pain was just too much.

Slowly, he began to black out. The man took his hood off, hopefully to reveal his bastardized and demonic face. Unfortunately, he didn't even give him that pleasure as he was still wearing that dark and burgundy helmet. He leisurely sheathed his blade beneath his cloak before addressing him directly.

"That tenacity of yours…It is most likely your greatest strength…but also your greatest weakness. I want you to become stronger. Learn what you are and what you are capable of. Grip exactly what it is in life that you are here for and fight for it with that resolve of yours 'til your dying breath. Until then and only until then; will you actually face me in battle while having any chance in besting me."

Those words echoed in his head constantly until he completely and utterly lost consciousness. All he knew is that he wouldn't neglect the visage of that helmet. Ever. He wouldn't awake again for quite some time either.

Not for weeks. Not for a year. Decades. Centuries.