A/N: First of all. I would like to apologize for not uploading. I had a busy July, August and September with me having to do exams and also start my new job. As of now, I can work on fics once again and I aim to finish this fic as soon as possible
Also another thing, I have updated and changed the chapters Kian Origins Part 2 all the way to Kian 9. So just before you read this chapter, read the earlier chapters (unless of course, you've read it before, then ignore this). I'll give you guys a month to read through it before I upload more chapters.
There's only going to be 4 more chapters of this so it'll get back to normal soon enough. Just bear with me :)
Chapter 10: I learn to breathe fire
The next day, near 3 PM
School the next day was weird.
I had an entire day to let it sink in that angels and demons existed, let alone that I was a Nephilim, a hybrid between the once two warring sides. My mother an angel and the vessel for Archangel Michael and my father, the demon and vessel for the fallen Archangel Lucifer Morningstar
I wasn't the only Nephilim however.
Marcel was sitting on my left, his forehead on his desk and his shoulders slumped tiredly. He absent-mindedly played with his pen while he waited for the lesson to finish
The other Nephilim hybrid: Jazmine was sitting to my right. She held her head up with one hand and listened to the lesson despite still being as tired as me and everyone else in the room.
I turned to look at my other classmates. Violet, one of my best friends and a hybrid-although she lacked the demon half I had was sitting on her seat, twirling a strand of her long black hair on her finger. She stared into thin air and I could sense that she was still thinking over what had happened yesterday
Harry, out of the three of us, was the only fully human one out the three of us. From looking at him, he didn't seem to let it affect him but I was sure he wasn't at all used to this. I mean come on, I was a Nephilim and it was weird for me!
The bell rang and the teacher for the day had started packing up. It was a history lesson but I didn't pay that much attention given what I had been told yesterday. That was a history lesson which was more interesting than the thing he had taught today!
I started packing up my bags quickly and glanced at my PE kit. The three of us were supposed to be taught by Rennan to defend ourselves from those Vessel Killers.
Another thing, my teacher was our guardian angel. A Physical Angel whose job was guarding me and that was weird to get used to. But it made sense. Rennan always did his best to protect me, when I was growing up and he was doing his best to protect me now.
Why? Well, my friends and I were attacked by Vessel Killers, monsters that came from Hell whose primary objective was killing angels. Someone had sent them on us yesterday and if my other guardian Angel Michael hadn't been there to encourage me, I was sure we would have died
That was the point of this training so that I didn't need an angel to help me. So that if something like this happened, we could survive.
"Hey,"
I turned to see Violet. "Hey," I said back. "Are you feeling okay?"
"I was just about to ask you that." she smiled. "I understand if you aren't yourself. You know after you learned about that."
She glanced up to make sure that no one else was listening in.
"If you keep doing that, you'll just be getting more attention to yourself."
Despite not knowing who the person's face was, I knew it was Harry from the sound of his voice. I turned to him and he had a bag slung over his shoulder, the other bag in his hands.
"You guys ready?" he asked me.
"Harry?" I asked him. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Of course I am!"
"I mean, are you, are you really? After what happened, do you need some time off or something?" I asked him. "I can understand if you do."
His eyebrows rose in confusion but fell soon enough. "Don't worry about me Kian! To be honest, I never, you know, though it wasn't real. I always kept an open mind."
"Really?"
"Well yeah. If you want to prove something exists, you have to have clear evidence. After what happened yesterday, well, I got all the proof I need." Harry explained. "Scientific method."
"I'm happy to know that you're doing well."
"I think we should be going now. Rennan said straight after class and I'm sure our teacher wouldn't like to be kept waiting." Harry said.
I nodded and with the three of us, I walked with them to where our teacher had planned for us to meet. Although on the way, I saw Jazmine on her desk, her shoulders were dropped and she looked like she was tired.
I couldn't help but chuckle at her and leave the classroom.
X
"This is the place right?"
Harry shuffled in front of a push door. We were in a different place compared to the classrooms we had been for the past 2 days. A short walk from it and we had arrived at the place Rennan had told us about. Eden Academy had an amazing place where heroes could train, it was a huge building complex, filled with state of the art equipment and specialized rooms where depending on what your evolutionary ability was, you had something here to challenge you.
Sometimes, it was also used for after school clubs too so that's why we were here
"Yeah," I looked around and saw a few other people walking around, some of them in their costumes. "He said the door with the star symbol on it. He said he booked it for us."
Harry checked the door and like our teacher had said, there was a star symbol on the door with a sheet of names on the front with one Rennan Silva on a column. "Well, we're in the right place."
"You think?" Violet raised an eyebrow. "We should go in."
"Kian," Harry looked at me. "Do you know, does he talk to you?"
"Who?" I asked him, confused at who he was talking about.
"You know?" Harry replied by putting his fingers on his head upwards. "Him!"
"Oh, you mean-" I looked around and satisfied with no one in my earshot "-Lucifer. Well, he did talk to me this morning."
"What did he say?"
I chuckled. "This is going to sound weird but he told me to do my best. It's weird, I thought he was supposed to have red skin and look scary. You know, like he's supposed to be but he's actually helpful." I explained. "He told me that he'll talk to me if I'm in danger so if he does speak, I'll let you know."
"Kian, let's go in. I think Rennan's going to be ticked off if we keep him waiting don't we?" Violet said hastily.
"Do you not want to talk about this?" I asked her
"Something like that. It's one thing to know that I'm a half-angel and then you, your Lucifer's future vessel!" she replied
"That's not going to happen," I replied sternly. "Even though Lucifer isn't as evil as he's painted out to be, I'm not letting him use my body as a vessel. Not ever."
"Even if he was evil, I doubt he could make you do any evil deeds. You're like a cute puppy who everyone wants to look after." Violet chuckled
"H-hey," I said with a slightly red face. "I'm not a puppy, I can be scary if I want to."
"Yeah, just like a puppy." Harry laughed.
Deciding to ignore them, I pushed the doors and walked in. The room inside the door was huge. Like a dance studio but even larger. It was similar to the sports hall I had been to earlier, the walls and ceilings were padded up and to bring colour to this room were golden yellow lights placed all through the ceiling.
"Damn it!" I heard a voice say. "You just had to use the banana peel don't you?"
I turned to see Rennan leaned against the wall with a games console in his hands. With how his eyes were stuck on it, I think he had gotten pretty into it.
"Rennan?" I raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What are you doing?"
He glanced at me sideways and immediately put away his console inside his coat pockets. "Hey!" he began. "You guys ready?"
"What were you doing?" Harry asked him. "Do you need some more time to finish your game?"
He waved his hands. "No, I was just waiting for you three. Although if you were going to be late, you could have given me some more time. I was just about to come in first and well, I'm not going to now."
"It's okay Rennan. You're an adult if you want to play your games you should." I replied trying to make him feel better.
"I'm a teacher with a job to do. That comes first now." Rennan stated
So what are we going to do first?" I asked him.
"Get changed. That's your first task." Rennan announced. "No one can fight properly in their school clothes."
After doing what he asked, we returned to the same place just now in our PE kits instead of our school uniforms.
Rennan for some reason had decided to get a lollipop and had started eating it while he returned to playing his game. After he saw us, he put it away and faced us, wiping the blonde hair away from his face. The plastic end stuck out of his mouth making him look like a cowboy I used to see in those old western films.
"Right. Let's make a start. I'm not sugarcoating when I say that what happened yesterday was really dangerous. Your lives were in mortal danger but luckily for you, Archangel Michael did enough for Kian to defeat them. Defeat the angel vessel killers. " Rennan explained
"Angel Vessel Killers?" Harry asked him.
Rennan nodded. "If you recall correctly, during the time the physical angels and demons fought against each other, each side created Vessel Killers. Angel Vessel Killers are made in Hell and Demon Vessel Killers made in Heaven. Each one designed to kill the other side."
"Wait," I asked Rennan. "Lucifer is the King of Hell right?"
"Yes."
"So can't he stop them?" I asked. "Can't he stop them from attacking me?"
Rennan pursed his lips. "He can't. For some reason, the worst monsters created in Hell don't listen to him, not anymore. Of course, the other Fallen Angels listen to him but not the monsters that have been created so long ago."
"Why?" I asked him. "Why not?"
"I don't know, Kian," Rennan replied. "Sorry, if I did I would have already told you. You know that, don't you? All of you. As your Guardian Angel, I'll do my best to keep you safe."
I shrugged. "Well don't I know what to do already? Not to brag but I defeated them on my first try."
"Kian, you got lucky. If Archangel Michael didn't encourage you, had been there to give you the push, I'm certain you would have died. Your Heavenforce may be strong but you've still got a lot to learn."
"O-okay." I rubbed the back of my hair. "What's going to happen now then?"
"To be prepared to face them. You must face them until you can beat one without the help of an Archangel on your back. Rennan answered.
"How?" I asked him. "Are you going to bring them here? Because I remember I almost died when that happened!"
"You won't die, Kian. Your mother will have my head if that happens." Rennan laughed. "I'll be using the Demon Vessel Killers in this example. Ones summoned from Heaven instead of Hell."
"Wait, won't I still get attacked. I am half-demon." I replied. "They have Demon Killing in their names!"
"Well yes if they were programmed to. Think of them like beasts, magical creatures. They listen to whoever summoned it." Rennan explained.
"Summoned?" I said confused. "They can be summoned?"
Rennan nodded. "That's how whoever summoned those Angel Killing Vessels tried to kill you. They programmed the vessel killers to search and kill you. Of course, if the summoner knew you could use your heavenforce, he or she would have come up with something to get around that. Luckily for you, they didn't."
"What if I use my Heavenforce like last time?" I asked Rennan. "I remember it working out pretty well."
"Of course you can now, the summoner knows you can use it. If the same summoner sends those vessel killers again, they'll attack you from a distance rather than from the front. They know that attacking you from the front is how they died the last time." Rennan answered.
"Well, how can I defeat them then?!" I asked Rennan. "Come on, I need to get strong so I can find out whoever killed those people!"
"Kian relax." Rennan began. "All in good time. The key to defeating a Vessel killer from either side is to be unpredictable to the summoner. Do things that they don't expect, be as crazy as possible."
"Can we start then?"
"Just a moment," Rennan grabbed something out of his pockets. "I need to get some other things out of the way first. Harry, catch this!"
Harry went on alert and he cupped his hands. Into them, Rennan threw something and Harry inspected the object. "What is this?" he held it in his hand. "This is a pen!"
"Well, that's not a normal pen." Rennan chuckled. " See, the lead isn't made out of graphite. It's made of demon metal, a metal that's harmful to angels and any creature from Heaven. I've given it to you so if you see Kian and Violet under attack by Angel Vessel Killers, the ones sent you can help them."
Harry clicked the pen over and over again. "What am I going to do with this? Write 'Go away' on them?"
"Well, you click it, press it to the angel vessel killer and Boom, they vanish. Angel Vessel killers can't hurt humans nor other species but if a human were to have a weapon to defeat them, well, you get what I mean don't you, Harry?" Rennan said with a bright twinkle in his eyes.
Harry's eyes lit up brightly. "Ah, I see! Thanks, I'll keep this with me!"
"Yes. That's why I gave it to you." Rennan rolled his eyes. "But your welcome."
"Couldn't you have given me a knife, I think a knife is cooler than a pencil." Harry spun the pen in his hands.
"Yeah, that's a good idea, isn't it?! Give a knife to a 12-year-old, what could go wrong with that?!" Rennan said sarcastically.
Harry's face turned a bright shade of red and he laughed weakly. "Sorry."
"Rennan rolled his eyes and turned to us. "I've got something for you two too also. Catch!"
Into our hands, he threw two little silver orbs, no bigger than a pebble. "What is this?" I asked Rennan. "Did you raid a pinball machine?"
"Do I look like a person who raids pinball machines?" Rennan massaged his temples. "I swear, looking after you three sometimes gives me a headache. Anyway, channel your heavenforce through them."
"How do I do that?" Violet asked him.
"Well, you've been doing it without knowing it's Heavenforce." Rennan chuckled. "Remember healing Kian? That's your Heavenforce. Do the same to those orbs and we'll see what comes up."
"O-okay," Violet answered. She breathed in and out and thrust her arm out. She squeezed it tight and her hand started to glow with a bright yellow light just as before.
"Now, open your hand," Rennan said.
Those two silver orbs now glowed with bright yellow light in Violet's hands. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at it closer. "Wow, I did that?!"
"Your affinity is Light," Rennan announced.
"Affinity?" Harry asked. "Like the water company?"
"No Harry, not like the water company." Rennan sighed. "Depending on your parents you have an easier time controlling what they can do. For example, Violet's father can use solar energy to heal so she inherited his affinity."
"I see," Harry said. "What about Kian?"
Rennan turned to me. "Go on Kian. Let's see your affinities."
I closed my hand around those silver orbs and channelled my heavenforce through it. After enough time, I stopped it and I opened my hand to see one glowing bright blue, like a light bulb and a blue orb of fire in my hand. I thought it would burn my hand but instead, it just felt warm and tingly.
"Your affinity is Fire and Light. Of course, I shouldn't have expected anything less." Rennan summarised.
"Fire and Light? What do you mean?"
"Your parents can control fire and light and it's something they have extreme control over. Lucifer, as you know, is the Lightbringer and since your father is his vessel, you probably have better control of it than me or Violet!" Rennan explained
"Who would have thought? The Devil is the one associated with light!" Violet remarked.
"So I can control light and fire? Awesome!" I said with a wide smile on my face.
"All Angels, physical and spiritual can control light to some degree but if you happen to be Lucifer's or Michael's race of vessels, their light manipulation is quite stronger compared to the others.." Rennan announced.
"Rennan?" I said. "What are your affinities?"
"Oh? Throw those little orbs over here and you'll find out." Rennan held out his hand and I threw the orbs into his hands, Violet too.
Rennan closed his hands around it and after a few seconds, he opened it. To my surprise, the orbs did not glow.
"Rennan, they aren't doing anything?" I raised an eyebrow.
But before I could say anything, the orbs zipped out of his hands and cut through the air with ease making an audible woosh sound as they went across the room before they returned to Rennan's hands.
"I have an affinity for controlling Trajectories. On the registration form, it's called Vector Manipulation. That and I can create pistols made out of light from thin air but I don't want to use that since. Well, it's not responsible for an adult to use projectile weapons in front of children." Rennan explained.
"Awesome!" Harry and I both said at the same time.
"I think we've wasted enough time messing about. Okay, time to get serious." Rennan made a few gestures on his right hand and then placed it on the ground, his fingers spread out. A 3 point star formed around his hand and in a bright flash of light, there was a bright cloud in front of me and just in front of Rennan.
"Is that a Demon Vessel Killer?" Harry asked Rennan
"Of course. I just summoned it from Heaven. When you're older, I'll teach you two how to summon creatures from Heaven." Rennan stood up. "Ready to show me what you got?"
I nodded. "Yeah, of course I am. If I am to bring down the person who did all those bad things in the past, I have to beat this Demon Vessel Killer up."
"Rennan, what's that on your hand?" Harry asked him
Rennan looked at his right hand and more specifically the blue pattern on his hand and chuckled. "Oh yes forget to mention this. When I summon a creature from Heaven, I form a contract with it. It stays here until it's killed or I ask it to leave. If the summoner's creature is killed, this is how they know what killed them."
I took up a fighting stance and faced this cloud off bright light. "I'm ready Rennan."
Rennan nodded and turned to the cloud. "Do not kill but make it as difficult as possible. Understood?"
Understood Master.
Violet and Harry stood besides Rennan as they left me along with this demon vessel killer. I breathed in and out, knowing that this was just one step to achieving what I wanted to do. Be a hero and bring the person who destroyed my home planet and caused the Great Disaster 6 years ago.
Without warning, the cloud of bright light rushed forward and punched me right in the stomach, winding me almost instantly. I tried to move, tried to think of something but I was kicked in the side hard and sent crashing against the padded walls.
"Kian?!" Rennan yelled. "Are you okay?"
Violet covered her mouth with her hand and Harry winced
I ignored their concern and coughed a few times, trying desperately to get my breath back. "Y-yeah. I am." I coughed a few times at how violent the air poured out from my lungs. "I won't let it defeat me!"
The Demon Vessel Killer didn't reply and he just stood there waiting for my action.
I reinforced my body and charged in to attack, trying to pay him back for that sudden sucker punch to my stomach. I threw punches and kicks so fast that I sent gusts of wind behind the punch however the Angel Vessel Killer dodged every one of them and swept my standing foot. While I was hovering, he hit me in the stomach again sending me crashing against the ground and leaving me with a bad headache.
"Kian!" Rennan cupped his hands over his mouth. "Observe your opponent and attack. Don't attack like you're angry, stay calm."
I didn't care to listen, instead, I just got annoyed at how my opponent was attacking me and well, beating me very easily. All of my attempts were dodged and I was flat against the ground, my back now sore with the impact. I grit my teeth and using the pain, got up easily and attacked my opponent. I reinforced my body further, knowing how tired I would get but I wanted to destroy my opponent completely, he was in my way of getting where I wanted to be!
Attack after attack I threw but none of them connected to my disappointment. I threw a wild punch aimed at his head and he ducked. He brought his arm back and launched a punch to my stomach. Luckily, I reinforced my body at the last second and I blocked some of the pain.
While I was recovering from the sore spot, the DVK ( A/N: DVK stands for Demon Vessel Killer, cba to spell out every time) roundhouse kicked me across the face and then side kicked me in the knee so that I was forced to buckle to the floor, screaming in pain because of the impact on my knee.
I looked up to see the DVK launch a punch to my face but stopped just before making contact.
"That's enough!" Rennan held his right hand up and the blue tattoo glowed brightly. "Stand down."
Understood Master.
The DVK pulled his arm back and walked away from me. I stumbled on to my feet. "R-rennan, I can beat h-him."
"No, you can't." Rennan dashed over to me. "Listen to me, Kian. If you want to defeat whatever caused the Great Disaster 6 years ago, then you'll need to do a lot better than that!"
I grit my teeth under my teacher's criticism. "I can beat him if you teach me something! Maybe an advanced technique!"
"No Kian." Rennan stood stern, crossing his arms over his chest. "If you can't beat him without using the basic techniques, then you can't learn any advanced techniques."
"T-then let me try again!" I demanded from him. "P-please?!"
Despite my teacher's objections, that's what I did, I tried again and again but I still couldn't beat this cloud of bright light in front of me. Every punch, every kick I threw this cloud saw it coming and countered with extreme ease, punching and kicking me instead and it left my body screaming for me to stop.
I kept going on and on until I physically couldn't. My face was filled with cuts, my lip was swollen and I was sure under my shirt, my chest was filled with bruises.
"That's enough," Rennan called it. "You're done!"
I couldn't help but lie flat against the ground behind me. The pain thundered in my body and I felt the taste of blood in my mouth as I breathed heavily. I heard the clattering of footsteps and saw Violet running to my aid and immediately put her hands on my face, flooding my body with a soothing light the moment she made contact with me.
"Kian, are you okay?!" she asked frantically, holding my face tightly. "Why didn't you just stay down?! Why did you keep going?!"
I coughed and sat up, wiping the blood away from my mouth. "I can't give up when I have to find out who killed those people. It's my responsibility!"
Her sky blue eyes started to tear up. "Do you have any idea what it's like to see you getting kicked around like that?! To see you getting hurt punch after punch? Why do you keep doing this to yourself Kian?!"
"H-hey, look I'm sorry okay," I said breathing hard. "I was just trying my best."
She crossed her arms and looked away
"Violet, I said I'm sorry!" I cried. "Can you help me?"
She pouted and placed her hands over my chest. "Just stay still, I have to make sure you don't end up piercing your lungs," she said.
I did as she asked and pretty soon, the discomfort I felt was dissipated just as easily. "Thanks, Violet," I said now free of the swollen lip and blood on my face.
She replied by pulling on my ear hard enough that it was painful. "Don't do it again okay?" she let go while I was left grasping at my ear.
"Ow," I complained. "If you're a healer, why did you hurt me?"
"That was to teach you a lesson." Violet stabbed her fingers at my forehead. "Don't hurt yourself to the point where you can't walk. I won't be able to help you then."
"Kian."
I turned to see Rennan impatiently tapping his fingers against his arms. His brow was furrowed and his amber eyes were filled with anger. "Why didn't you listen to me?!"
"What? I thought you said to be as unpredictable as possible?"
"Yes, to the summoner! I told you to observe how the DVK fights. To observe your opponent and see what they can do! Why didn't you listen to me?!" Rennan yelled loudly. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
"Hey!" I replied. "I was just trying my best okay!"
"Try harder!" Rennan snapped back. "Do you-" his voice was fragile. "-do you know how hard it was to see you get kicked around like that, and you not even taking a moment to listen to me? Your teacher?! I'm trying to help you Kian! Do you think I like to see you struggle, to see someone who I'm supposed to protect get hurt over and over again?!"
"I'm sorry okay, I was just trying to destroy it as quickly as possible! I have to get strong as soon as possible!" I snapped back.
Rennan sighed, his shoulders dropped and he massaged his temper. "I know you're angry. Every decent person is angry at what happened but you can't let it control you, you have to work in small steps!
"Then how can I defeat it?!" I asked my teacher. "I'm trying, I'm trying as hard as I can but I just get hurt. What can I do?! Tell me?"
"Control," Rennan replied.
"Control? Control what?"
"You're a smart kid. You'll figure it out." Rennan chuckled and patted my head. "You're done for today. I need to train Violet and Harry because well, I know Violet isn't a fighter."
I pouted and crossed my arms like an angry toddler. "Really?"
"Hmm. But if you do want to learn to fight better, then well, go and visit Phoenix," Rennan said. "Remember him?"
"Yeah, why?"
"He runs a martial arts club after school and he's very welcoming. Does that interest you?"
I nodded. "Yeah, fighting always gets me pumped up!"
"Good, I think he'll like you. I would visit it but I have my responsibilities of my own." Rennan gestured around. "Come back when you're done, okay?"
"Yeah okay, Rennan," I answered. "I'll go and pay him a visit."
I strolled past this huge facility, taking a break now and then to see what the building offered. There were images, heroes of all shapes and sizes displayed proudly with a little caption explaining what they were being praised for.
I felt a sense of pride at this. This was something my parents made, a place where people like me could learn to harness their powers and if they wanted to save people, they were praised for it.
I wanted to be in those pictures, to be made to look like a champion of justice like the superheroes I read in the comic books but I knew at least, for now, that was far away.
"This is funny." A voice rang out. "You're a pitiful case. Why were you even allowed in here?!"
I turned my head in the direction of the voice and turned the corner. There were 3 people. One of them was Phoenix, the same person I had seen in that lesson two days ago. He looked uncomfortable at what was happening as the two others, around his age looked at him.
"Say, why don't you drop out? It makes it better to not see you struggling?" one of them said in a mocking voice.
"I'm not going to drop out. I was saved for a reason, I can't let him down!" Phoenix said determinedly
The two people laughed again, very much attempting to hurt Phoenix with their display. "What are you? Vorakian scum? They don't stay down until their dead right? I wonder if we should see if that happens to him, worst-case scenario, we get rid of him!"
A burst of anger flooded my body and I wanted to do nothing but rush in there and attack them but I knew even if I did, I wouldn't stand a chance at their sizes.
"I'm going to ask you to leave!" Phoenix said angrily. "If you're not here to join, then leave. You aren't welcome here!"
"Neither are you. I remember just who you are. An orphan who refused to listen to his classmates and still became a hero. How foolish, you just don't know when to listen do you?!"
The person who spoke grit his teeth and attempted to punch Phoenix in the face but instead only met his closed fist.
Phoenix twisted his hand and looked at him with his narrowed steel grey eyes. "I told you. I will be a superhero. Even if you don't accept me now, I will make you accept me eventually. That is a promise!"
I got a better look at the person who had thrown the punch. He had impish features with a crooked nose, pointy ears and silver hair. The rest of his body, however, was not the same. He had a well built upper body with biceps that looked bigger than my head.
He tried to get out of the hold that Phoenix had put him in but he struggled massively and to humiliate him further, Phoenix punched him in the stomach forcing him to cough up air violently
"That's the thing with you elites. You think just because you have a superhero in your family, you're better than everyone else," Phoenix began. "Piss off!"
"I'll make you pay for attacking me, commoner!" The silver-haired man roared.
His free arm started to grow darker and started to crack like rock. His cream coloured skin changed into maroon and turned into actual rock. I figured out well, from seeing of course that he had the ability to turn his body into a rock-like surface.
He tried to punch Phoenix with his rock-like arm but to both our surprise, Phoenix's chest had turned into the same surface.
"H-how?!" the silver-haired person asked him.
"It's simple. Fuck off!" Phoenix launched a sidekick and launched him across the room, his right leg the same rock-like surface as before.
Phoenix brushed his hands together and turned to the one left staring at him with an open mouth. "Next?"
The remaining person stumbled and turned to run away. "Y-you haven't heard the last of me, commoner!"
Phoenix's rock-like arm and leg soon turned back to normal and he looked proud at what he just did. I felt the same way too. I wish I was just like him back in my primary school, having the guts to fight back against my torturers. He wanted to be a hero just like me and we were on track despite both of us being mocked and told it wasn't real.
As Phoenix turned to head inside. I turned the corner and spoke. "Hey, is this the martial arts class?"
Phoenix turned back and he looked almost surprised to see me. "It is. Are you here to make fun of me or are you here to join?"
"Join please," I replied. "What was that about?"
"Oh?" His face turned a light shade of red. "You saw that huh?"
I nodded.
"Well, some people think it's funny to come here and try to beat me. Of course, they don't know that I know how to fight. My Superpower makes me always learn new skills." Phoenix explained.
"They seemed like bad people," I said. "Are you okay? Do you need some help?"
Phoenix waved it off. "Unfortunately, I'm used to it. I grew up an orphan you see, no superhero in my family so I'm the odd one out. I'm lucky you came along, I was in danger of getting my club shut permanently."
"Why?" I asked with a confused face. "Does no one like to fight?"
"They still see me as the weirdo. But don't worry, I'll make them change that viewpoint." Phoenix smiled.
I wanted to explain that I knew what it was like. How it felt to be made fun off 24/7 for wanting to be a hero and how bad it must have felt but before I could say it, say what was on my mind. I heard more footsteps. Deciding to turn around, I was surprised to find out that two of my classmates had turned up when I had least expected it too.
"Huh," Marcel smiled at me. "Looks like we both came to the right place. Hey Kian, what's up?"
"Marcel?!" I stepped back a little. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I didn't need much training and I-uh, did what Mum asked me properly. I came here because well, it's all about fighting!" he said with a wide smile. "I like martial arts so here I came. Are you a fan of boxing?"
"Well, I don't dislike it," I shrugged. "I think my Dad taught me Karate."
"Interesting," Jazmine stated. "I did Taekwondo."
"What are you doing here?" I asked her. "Not to be rude but I didn't expect you to be here."
"I came here because I couldn't stand my dad." Jazmine crossed her arms over her chest. I didn't know why but I liked how cool she looked with her red shirt and black sports trousers.
"Brilliant!" Phoenix smiled widely. "Well, I do happen to know those styles of martial arts and I can teach you some more styles if you want. So, are you going to come in?"
The 3 of us nodded
Phoenix took us through the basics and Health and Safety before he started us on the basics. Unfortunately for him, all the three of us knew it so he had started us on the more advanced stuff, including the fancy moves that I saw in martial arts movies.
He taught us how to block someone's punch and then throw them on the floor which we were practising. Marcel was practising with Phoenix while Jazmine and I were doing it together.
We were both slightly hesitant to start because of what happened earlier so I broke the tension. "Look, if you don't hurt me, I won't hurt you."
"It's not that," Jazmine said. "I came here because I wanted to train on my own, away from my Dad. We had a pretty bad argument."
"Oh." I began. "Well, you can go first. Just imagine me as your dad as you throw me around."
She smiled and then took up a stance. "Sure, I like the idea of throwing you around."
So that's what we did, we threw each other onto the soft padded floor but this time, neither of us were trying to kill each other which I was very glad about. While we were practising, I began to wonder why she had that argument. I mean, I knew what could have caused it but my curious mind was just filled with questions.
"Hey," I blocked a hook thrown at my face. "I know it's none of my business but what were you arguing about?"
She grit her jaw but stopped. I hooked my hand around her waist and put my foot against hers and threw her to the floor. After I was satisfied she had landed, I put my hand out and pulled her up
"It's complicated, Kian." she began. "Do you remember me saying that he sent me to fighting school?"
I threw a hook of my own and like we had practised, she had blocked it. "Yeah. What about it?" I replied.
"Well, it's one of the best on the planet. The teachers were the best, each one of them like Taekwondo grandmasters." she hooked her hand around my waist, threw me to the floor and pulled me back up again.
"How do I get in?" I said with a light grin.
She rolled her eyes. "Well, you have to be good, like really good at fighting. It's one of the best schools on the planet and you have to pass gruelling entrance exams. Every parent tries to put their child through it. Eden Academy sometimes recruits the best fighters from and with the entrance exam for Eden Academy not being accessible for normal people, you can imagine the competition."
"Huh. That sounds tough. I guess you breezed through them?"
"I did."
"Then what's the problem?"
Her eyes flicked between the floor and me. "Promise me you won't say anything to anyone?"
"Yeah of course!" I said. "I know how to keep a secret."
She crossed her arms and looked around the room before she set her emerald green eyes on mine. "My problems began because I breezed through the tests. Every challenge they gave me, every time it got tough, I never gave up and completed what they asked me. I was powered on because I wanted to find out what happened to my mother."
She continued. "At first, it was amazing. Everyone there praised me, all the teachers and the other kids. But it only lasted for so long. One morning is what it took, someone saw my Dad dropping me and then the rumours started. It started slowly, the others I used to hang out with and spend time with left me one by one, soon, all that admiration and praise was replaced by jealousy. After they learned that I was the daughter of the current number one hero, they mocked and belittled me all the time, thinking I would look at them with the hatred that any elite would when looking at a commoner."
She wiped her tears away. "I never hated them. I just wanted to be strong to find out what happened to my mother!"
I felt my throat close up at her past.
"After my mother died, my dad sent me there because he wanted me to be protected at all times but instead he did the opposite. For the last 6 years, after they knew about my father. All they did was make fun of me. Taking every chance to mock and belittle me for something I had no control over."
"W-what did you do?"
She clenched her hands. "One day, I had enough and I couldn't stand the pain. One of them made a joke about me not having a mother and I just snapped. There were 40 of us in that class. I put 39 of them in the hospital." Jazmine replied. "I was expelled of course. None of them wanted me. I had no friends, no teachers who would stick up for me. I was alone with my dad who was too busy for me."
There was no way someone could live through pain and hurt like that without any friends. I was a lucky one. Harry and Violet both stuck up for me, both of them played with me, both of them were there for me when I was at my lowest points.
"I know what that's like. I told you before, didn't I? That I used to be made fun off for wanting to be a hero? I understand how that can make you feel. You feel hurt, insulted and sad. You never did anything to hurt them yet they do everything they can to hurt you and you wish with everything that they would stop but they never do." I said.
Her eyes seemed to glaze up and she wiped something out of the corner of her eye. "Y-yeah. It's why I was so jealous of you at first. You were just like one of them, confident and raring to go and I just felt..angry. No matter what happens to you, no matter what pain you feel, you just don't seem to let it get to you. How do you do it, how do you not let it get to you?"
"It does get to me," I said. "Sometimes, when I get back home. I would end up crying because of how much it hurt. For no reason, I was thrown in the trash can just because it was funny and I couldn't stop the tears that night."
"How did you get through that?"
"I had good friends. I had people who loved me and cared for me and they would always be there for me in my darkest moments." I replied and put my arm out. "We started on the wrong foot you know with the whole trying to kill each other thing. Can we ignore that and start trying to get along?"
She slapped my hand away. "I already shook your hand. But yes, we can start over. I'm glad that I know someone who's been through the same pain."
I grinned and wiped my eyes, brushing away the tears that had formed. Even though it was in the past, it still affected me, I guess a scar that would never heal.
"So what, was this the argument?" I asked her
She nodded. "He suggested that I go to this to train and of course I refused. He went on and on about how I would learn a lot but I didn't budge. In the end, I sped away when he wasn't looking."
"I think he's just trying to keep you safe. He means well." I started. "Did you tell him about the things you faced?"
"I did but he was too busy for it. He couldn't get involved with it, it would make me look like a pretentious prat." Jazmine began. "I'm not going to train there again, I would rather let insects crawl over me than go in there."
"Tell him that you'll train with me," I said.
"Huh?"
"Think about it? Your dad trusts me right? And he doesn't have to be scared if he knows you'll be spending most of your time with me." I grinned
"Well...It does make logical sense." Jazmine nodded
"Hey!" Phoenix shouted. "Keep doing those blocks and counters. You aren't here to chat!"
"Yes sir!" Both of us replied sharply and began doing the moves we were so used to for the last 5 minutes.
"So," I said again. "Do you know your Heavenforce Affinities?"
"Do you?"
"Yeah, I have fire and light. What about you?"
"Well, my Hellforce Affinity is Speed and my Heavenforce Affinity is Nature," she explained. "Dad can use his Heavenforce to create forests, I can just make a little seed germinate."
"Red hair, green eyes and can control plants. Are you sure you're not Poison Ivy?" I chuckled.
"Hey!" she slapped my arm hard enough that it stung for a moment. "I'm nothing like her. She kills people, I don't!"
"Aw," I said. "That way I could have a reason to not like you."
She pouted and I swore she had a little blush on her face but crossed her arms and spoke again. "Marcel's Heavenforce Affinity is Warfare. It's not as strong as his mother but for right now, he can throw small scale explosions around."
"Cool!" I replied. "You know what I can do there's no point in explaining that! His power sounds amazing!"
"Yeah for him!" Jazmine quipped. "He just throws explosions around like a maniac. He has no control over it and someday, he's going to get hurt by it."
"Wait, what did you say?" I asked her.
"Marcel's a maniac?"
"Hey!" Marcel complained. "I'm doing my best not to be a maniac! Come on!"
"No that!" I shook my hands. "The other thing."
"He has no control?" Jazmine said. "What's gotten into you?"
"Something my teacher just said. Hey, how would you like to see me fight a DVK?"
"Are you sure that you know what you're doing?" Rennan asked me. "I remember you getting pretty badly hurt when you tried it last time."
I nodded. "I know what you mean now. I know how to defeat the DVK. Please can you let me have another go?"
Rennan sighed and did the same gesture with his right hand again, placing them on the ground and summoning a second DVK. Jazmine and Marcel stood to the side with Violet and Harry. Jazmine and Violet seemed to avoid each other and give each other dirty looks which confused me because I had no idea why?
I had explained to Violet that Jazmine was not an enemy but she didn't seem to buy it.
"So," Marcel began. "Did you just bring us here to show off?"
"Not exactly," I replied. "Something Jazmine said got me thinking about what happened here. I know how to beat it now."
"I'm surprised that she said something useful," Violet said under her breath
"Hey, I heard that!" Jazmine snapped. "Wait, are you jealous of me?"
"I'm not!" Violet replied, her face slightly red. "I have nothing to be jealous of you about."
"Sure." Jazmine chuckled and glanced between me and Violet. "Look, I have no interest in Kian so don't worry. I'm not going to try and steal your boyfriend."
"For the last time, he's not my boyfriend!" Violet yelled at her, this time fully red in the face. "Why can't you get through your thick head?!"
"Well I mean," Harry started. "You ran to him when he was hurt."
"He needed help!"
"And put your hands on his face."
"Harry!"
"You cried and you always smile at him." Harry finished.
"Harry!" Violet said angrily. "You're supposed to be on my side."
"Oh," Harry chuckled. "Sorry, I must have said too much huh?"
Jazmine laughed to herself. "Looks like I touched a nerve. Sorry, guess I'll stay off that then."
Violet couldn't help but pout angrily.
"Enough!" Rennan yelled. "You kids and arguing. When is it going to end? Anyway, Kian." he turned to me. "Ready?"
I put my arms in front and stretched my legs into a fighting stance. "I'm ready Rennan."
"Go!" Rennan said to the DVK.
Yes Master
The bright cloud rushed towards me and launched its attacks. If I was the same person earlier, I would have tried to attack with full force but instead, listening to my teacher and learning something from what had happened to Jazmine and Marcel, I waited patiently.
I dodged the attacks, ducking under punches, sidestepping kicks and batting away little jabs now and then. I understood what Rennan had told me, that I should control this energy, this determination to find the person responsible for so much death and destruction and use it to my advantage.
I saw an opening and reinforced my right hand, using it to land a punch on the DVK's body and make that small section vanish into thin air.
You are improving. Well done.
It didn't stop the attack. The DVK increased the pace of his attack this time, his punches were getting wilder and his kicks weren't as controlled as before. He swung his leg towards my head forcing me to bend over backwards and snapback only to get punched in the stomach.
The DVK threw an arm to my face but in a moment of madness, I thrust my hand forward and using my telekinesis, pushed him backwards leaving a solid 10 feet away between me and him.
The DVK shook its head and charged in but this time I was waiting. I waited and observed his movements, waiting for the right time to attack and as he got closer, I found an opening.
I raised my left hand and blocked his hook punch. I twisted my foot behind it and with my free right hand, threw him over my knee and sent him crashing against the floor. With a reinforced punch, I punched its head and in a loud burst of light, it vanished into thin air
I heard clapping and turned to see my teacher clapping with a proud smile on his face. "Well done. I guess you understood what I was trying to teach you weren't you?"
I nodded and wiped the hair from my face. "Yeah, I did. Thanks!"
"Excellent!"
I turned sharply to see Lucifer just smiling at me with his hands in his pockets. "A vessel of mine always conquers his obstacles!"
"What are you doing here?!" I asked him.
"I came here to visit. See how you were getting along and to no one's surprise, you're doing extremely well!" he said with a wide smile.
"T-thanks," I said not trying to make it obvious that I had appreciated the comment.
"Archangel Lucifer. It's nice to see you." Rennan saluted.
"Of course. Reviel, you are doing an excellent job with him. By all means, continue." Lucifer replied. "Why don't you teach him one of the...flashy techniques.
That got my attention. "What flashy technique?"
Rennan grit his teeth and gave a Lucifer a dirty look which he ignored and feigned innocence.
"Well, I did say you could if you beat the DVK. If you want I can teach you an advanced technique."
"You can?!" I said with my eyes wide. "Really?!"
"Yes, you did well so I thought I might give you something fun," Rennan explained. "Ready to learn it then?"
I nodded frantically. "Yeah, what is it?"
"Ah, well. Give me a second." Rennan chuckled and pressed a button on a control panel. "Safety first, when your father mother taught this technique to me, we ended up burning a room down. It won't happen this time haha."
"What are you trying to teach me?" I raised an eyebrow.
"I'm going to teach you how to breathe fire."
My eyes-excuse the pun-lit up at the mention of breathing fire. "Really?!"
Rennan nodded. "Breathe in and out and convert your Heavenforce into fire and breathe it out. Remember to keep control at all times."
Rennan breathed in and out and then out came a small stream of orange fire from his mouth. "It's not my affinity so it took me some time to learn how to do it properly. Give it a go Kian."
I breathed in and out, doing exactly what Rennan said. I willed my inner Heavenforce to change into fire and I felt a hot and blazing warmth fill up my lungs. I breathed in and out, all until I felt that heat threaten to explode out of my lungs.
I stretched my legs along the floor and to make sure I did it as well as I could, I did a few gestures with my hands and took in a large breath of air.
With a roar, I breathed out a column of blue fire that enveloped the room in bright blue light, the heat strong enough to make me sweat. I kept going until I ran out of breath and after I did, I couldn't help but stumble around, feeling a bit lightheaded at the sensation of emptying my lungs.
"Amazing!" Lucifer clapped his hands. "BRILLIANT!"
I took in large breaths of air and sat down to stop myself from losing balance. The whole room in front of me was covered in black soot, and some of the padding had ignited and was burning. Fortunately for me, white mist started pouring out of the ceiling, putting the embers out so I didn't need to worry. I felt a pair of hands go across my shoulders and turned to see Violet looking a bit embarrassed.
"I'm not your girlfriend or anything okay, I just wanted to heal you because you're my best friend," she said red in the face.
"It's fine. She's just teasing you." I laughed. "She doesn't really mean it."
"Amazing," Marcel said while I was being healed again. "My Mum told me how her friend was a master of breathing blue fire. Mikayla of the Blue Flames she was called. She could breathe out fire large enough to cover a desert! I can't believe your son!"
"T-thanks!" I replied feeling energised by Violet's healing hands.
I wasn't at all used to this attention. I never got this kind of attention in primary school, at least not in the last years. if I did something good, if I got the highest score in the class I was looked at like a freak, 'How dare that hero wannabe freak do better than us!' they used to say
Now that I was here, however, this praise felt amazing! I felt so amazing that I brushed away a tear because of the sheer joy I felt.
"Normally a Physical Angel to manipulate their innate supernatural life energy needs to be in an excellent state of mind. I'm amazed that you mastered your control of it so soon!" Lucifer said with a wide smile. "I am so proud of you!"
"You were amazing!" Harry said with starry eyes. "You were amazing against that DVK!"
"Can I have your Mum's autograph?!" Marcel said with stars in his crimson red eyes.
"Erm, sure," I said as they surrounded me. I looked at Jazmine who was content to just stand away from the 4 of us. Deciding to help her, I spoke up.
"I don't think I deserve all the credit." I pointed to Jazmine. "She was the one who allowed me to come with the method to defeat him. She deserves some of the praise too."
As everyone one turned to her, a visible blush formed on her cheeks which I summarised to be just embarrassment. "D-don't put me on the spot like that, Kian!"
"What did you say?!" Marcel asked her again with starry eyes.
She rolled her eyes at his antics but I swore I saw a little smile on her lips so I think I did something good for her. It wasn't enough to save her from a childhood of loneliness but it was a start.
"You did good Kian. Don't use that technique unless your life is in danger okay?" Rennan told me. "If you run out of life force, you die, is that understood?"
"Wait? Die?!" I said with wide eyes. "What do you mean die?"
"It's in the name. Life Force. You manipulate your own supernatural life force into attacks so make sure you have enough left to stay alive. It regenerates over time so make sure again, you control how much you use." Rennan explained. "It's why I said control."
I nodded frantically. "Yeah, I got it!"
"Well," Rennan scanned the soot-covered floor. "You guys made a mess. Get a mop, we have to clean this up."
"Can't you press a button and clean this up or something?" I asked Rennan.
Rennan laughed. "Yeah, good joke. If you made a mess, clean it up."
All of us stayed behind to clean up the mess I had done to the room. What mess? Well, I had to clean the soot off the walls and floor because of my fire breath. Luckily, Jazmine helped me with it and her speed came in handy.
Marcel, Harry and Violet had done their bit and left. Rennan made sure that we would know what to do before we finished up for the night.
"Hey," she put her mop away. "When your Mum and Dad talked to you, why did they call you Kina?"
"Oh, well." I wiped the soot off my section. "It's like a nickname."
"I see." she resumed wiping her section down and after a few minutes, she was done. She played with her hands and her eyes seemed to dart around the room. "Is it okay if I call you that?"
"Woah," I chuckled. "Only close friends and family call me that. We aren't there yet."
She just chuckled. "Yeah, sorry, I don't know what came over me. I mean, we have only known each other for a few days."
"Uh-huh. Ask me that in let's say 6 months, granted that you don't try to hurt me." I said. "It's only fair."
"But hurting you is the best part," she said with a little grin
"Hey!"
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I won't hurt you, okay. We're an endangered species so it's probably safer if I don't try and kill you." she said. "Are you done or do you need my help?"
"No, it's okay. I'm done."
We both cleaned up and headed outside the huge room. Through the window, I saw that the sun for this planet had already so the sky was a nice shade of dark blue. I managed to see the 7 moons that I had learned in science class shining brightly in the dark blue sky
"See ya tomorrow?" I asked Jazmine
She nodded. "See ya...Kina."
"Hey! thought I told you no!"
"You can't stop me!" she laughed as she walked out of the facility. "But it's nice knowing that we share something in common. Have a good night."
I couldn't help but sigh. "Yeah. You too."
"That's nice, isn't it? You making friends."
Knowing who that voice was, I turned to see Lucifer looked at me with his kind scarlet red eyes. "You again?"
"Yes of course. I have to make sure you return home safely don't I? I can't risk your life when you could be hurt at any moment." Lucifer replied
"I have one question about you?"
"Ooh, what is it?"
"Why do you look like...well James Bond instead of you know, having red skin and horns?"
Lucifer's smile dropped. "Of course you would ask me that. Well, Kaliel. When the humans blamed me for their sins, they made me as ugly as possible, no one would be tempted if I looked like a piece monster, do I? In fact, I can look like anything I want to."
"So why James Bond?" I asked Lucifer
"It's not really James Bond. Well, see there was this TV show, I forgot what it was called-Wait, I know, it's a Medical show that your Dad likes to see in his free time. Holby City that's tight! and I thought the actor in one episode was quite handsome so I decided, Why not, why can't I look like a Hollywood actor? It makes temptation so much easier doesn't it?" he chuckled at the end of the sentence.
I couldn't help but laugh at Lucifer's antics and as I went to comment, Lucifer's eyes snapped around me. "Kaliel. Someone's near, I can sense another...half-angel?"
"Half Angel?"
Okay, so Rennan or Violet might have been around-
"K-Kian?"
I turned to see someone who I didn't expect actually
Milena was leaning against the wall, her eyes just peering at me through the corner. "C-can you be my partner?"
"...Guess I was wrong…"
"Partner? For what?"
"H-hero Rescue." she shuttered out.
"Oh!"
Hero Rescue was a field trip Assignment that we were going to take in a few months and we were going to get partnered. We were given the chance to partner with the people in our class so I guess that was what Milena was talking about.
"I mean...I think my friends would want me to be their partner." I said rubbing my head
Her blue eyes started to glaze over. "P-please. My b-brother wanted me to find someone that's not him. P-please, K-Kian." She looked like my little sister and I couldn't help but give in to her pleading eyes.
"Yeah, sure!" I sighed. "I'll be your partner!"
She smiled and ran over to me, hugging me tightly. "Thank you, Kian!" She pulled away and waved goodbye leaving me alone in the hall.
"Hmm, guess you're making more than just a friend." Lucifer chuckled.
"What are you talking about?" I snapped at him, trying to not make it obvious that my face was starting to warm up. "She needs my help so of course, I had to help!"
"Hmm, that's how it starts doesn't it." Lucifer chuckled. "You help each other and one thing leads to another. You've inherited more than just my intelligence it seems. You have my charm too!"
"S-shut up!" I said red in the face. "Anyway, I'm a little too young to be thinking of that aren't I?"
"Hmm. I guess you're right. Not to worry then, if you need my help with the ladies. Just tell me. More than happy to help!" Lucifer chuckled.
"I have one more question for you," I asked him. "Is it true that you can't control Hell's Creatures"
"Yes, it is. For some reason, they chose to not listen to me. Right now, Hell is filled with us trying to find out what's going on with them, blasted creatures." Lucifer replied. "But that's no need for you to worry about."
"Sure thing. Try not to embarrass me okay?"
"No promises." Lucifer chuckled.
I was sure this was a dream but some part of me thought this was real like it was happening just in front of me.
I saw a boy, around my age walking around with heavy metal chains in a dark warehouse. His hair was a shade of chestnut brown and his eyes were a shallow black.
"Hey!" he yelled. "Are we on schedule?!"
From the shadows, another person stepped out. This person was clad in black armour and behind him followed a dark black cloak. "Of course we are. Our inside agent has given us the perfect time to strike!"
"Perfect!" the boy with the metal chains fist bumped to the chorus of metallic clinking. "Eden won't know what hit them!"
"The summoned creatures. Did you know what destroyed them?" the man in the black cloak asked.
"Some kid with some blue light. I dunno, I just ordered them as Mum asked me." the boy said. "What, do you have a soft spot for them?"
"They're just kids, Auras. I think we should not aim to hurt them." the man in the black cloak stated.
"What? And let them get scott free? You know what our agent said about them. They're nothing but arrogant bastards who think they're better than everyone else. I'm going to make them feel a lot of pain." Auras said with sinister glee.
The man in the cloak stood up. "Do whatever you wish. Just remember the mission."
"Of course." Auras chuckled darkly. "They won't know what hit them, especially with what we're going to bring."
With that, my dream vanished and I woke up to see my alarm clock with the time of the day leaving me wondering what that was.
