Chapter 4: Downpour! Fateful First Encounter
Dark clouds gathered over the skies of Prontera, the sign of an impending storm. Outside, merchants were busy gathering their merchandise and closing their shops, before the rain came pouring down in torrents. They silently cursed under their breaths, lamenting their ill fate; rainfall meant shortened vending hours.
Without warning, the rain came down, beating hard upon the stony floors of the Prontera streets. Merchants who weren't fast enough swore loudly, as they stuffed all their goods into their pushcarts and hurried to shelter. The entire town fell silent, and soon only the sound of rain crashing down onto the pavement could be heard.
A lone figure, draped in a long, traveling cloak, slowly made his way out of Prontera. He was soaked from head to toe, but it seemed that he didn't mind it at all. His footsteps were oddly light and quick. It seemed as though he wasn't carrying any defensive gear at all. With great speed, he made his way to the giant golden gates of Prontera, eager to cross over to the outside world.
"Stop there, Kira," a voice called out from behind. The cloaked figure paused in his tracks, before speeding up towards the gates.
"Running won't help you," the voice called out again. "So just give up will you?" Kira ignored the voice and continued to run. He needed to make it out, he had to! He had risked his life for this moment! He wasn't about to let some other guy foil his dreams!
Kira ran, and soon the golden gates came into view. Seeing this further motivated Kira, as he sped up towards it. The exit was only few feet away! He was going to make it! He was saved!
Suddenly, Kira saw a dark shadow dart out before him, cutting off his escape. Before Kira could stop and analyze the situation, a fist flew forward and punched him in his face. Kira retreated, as he felt the warm trickle of blood flow down his lips – the attacker had broken his nose.
"That's better," the attacker said. He, too, was dressed in a similar fashion, having a long cloak wrapped around him. He however, was far taller than Kira, being almost 6 feet tall. He flexed his fists, and continued, "Why did you run, Kira?"
Kira said nothing, his right hand still clutching his bleeding nose. His left hand, however, was pressed against his cloak, near his heart, as if hiding something inside his cloak. At the sight of this, the attacker's lips curled. "Hand it over to me, now." He commanded in a menacing tone. Once again, Kira remained silent, except this time, he demonstrated the point by shaking his head.
"Pity," the figure said. "I was hoping that we could be friends." Cracking his knuckles, he ran towards Kira, and pulled his fist back, ready to strike. Kira closed his eyes, ready for the impact.
A pink barrier suddenly flew up from beneath Kira, separating him from the assaulter. The attacker's fist hit the barrier and bounced off harmlessly. Seething with rage, he turned around to see who had cast the spell.
Behind him was yet another cloaked figure, only this time, that figure had two large, protruding horns shooting up from its head and reaching up towards the dark, stormy sky. Like the others, it was clad totally in black, shielding its identity from everyone.
"So… cloaks the latest fashion craze is it?" it said, its voice much resembling a girls'. The tall attacker clenched his fists in anger. "Mind your own business, traveler!" he spat. Kira, who was still protected by the magical barrier, was too stunned to say anything.
"The oppression of the weak is not something I highly approve of," she said. "Should you wish to settle something, settle it peacefully, and, not to mention, fairly."
Upon hearing her words, the tall person immediately flew into a rage. "What gives you the right to judge me? Mind your mouth, woman, or you shall have a piece of my mind!"
"It seems that you not only enjoy oppressing the weak, but you also take pleasure in threatening us females as well," she replied. "Perhaps it is time I teach you a lesson." Raising her right hand high, she prepared herself for the other figure's answer.
"I've had enough of you, you troublemaker!" he shouted hotly, before leaping towards the horned figure. Without even flinching, she pointed her right index finger at him, and lazily said "Napalm Beat."
There was a sharp crack, and the tall figure found his world spinning upside down. He lost his balance, and crashed into a puddle nearby. The third figure looked at him with interest – this was great amusement.
Picking himself up, the tall figure steadied himself, burning even hotter than before. "Fine!" he roared. "Two can play that way!" He silently chanted a spell under his breath, as his fingers traced mysterious symbols in the air. He looked up at her, and bellowed, "DECREASE AGILITY!"
The third figure found her muscles abruptly slowing down, as she felt a sudden sense of weariness. She knew this skill. It was a skill acolytes usually mastered, and used correctly it became a great debuffing weapon. Taking advantage of her momentarily weakness, the second figure charged at her, fist raised high, ready to strike.
Knowing that it was impossible to cast a spell fast under the effects of the Decrease Agility spell, the figure opted for a fast and simple way, a method that did not involve complex spells or rune drawings. She closed her eyes, and pictured the attacker in her mind. She then imagined a powerful force knocking him backwards, far away from her.
Suddenly, the second figure stopped, as if held back by an invisible force. The horned figure looked at him, and only then did he realize what had happened. She had held him back with her telepathic skills, disabling his movements via mind magic. And he knew that this was only the start. There would be a second, more destructive wave….
Summoning all the energy she could, the figure pictured in her mind a great ball of light flying towards the foe, before splitting into five smaller spheres and raining upon him. Very slowly, a shining orb began to materialize before her, as she threw it at her assaulter with a cry of "Soul Strike!"
Just like she had imagined, the sphere broke into five smaller shards, and made their way towards the attacker. He looked helplessly as the rays of light bombarded him on his five weakest spots – his eyes, his throat, both his wrists, and on his groin. The impact was just too much for him to bear, and he toppled over in pain, crashing on the hard, stony pavement.
Satisfied, she turned towards Kira, who had been motionless ever since the battle had begun. "Its okay now…" she said. "You're free to go." Kira looked at her, before taking a long bow. He then thanked her, and made his way out of the golden gates, along with the rain.
The horned figure turned to leave, when she suddenly heard faint moaning. "Not… so… fast…" it said. She turned to face him, totally shocked. Nobody had taken a full impact of her soul strike and recovered so fast before!
The figure slowly got up to his knees, and looked at her. Suddenly, he noticed that Kira was gone. Swearing loudly, he dashed out of the golden gates, hoping that he might catch Kira in time. All that greeted him was the howling of the wind, and the massive downpour. "No…" he said as he fell to his knees. "This can't be…." He punched the ground in anger, not knowing what to do.
Very slowly, his mind began to clear, and he turned towards the horned figure, who was looking at him, very much puzzled. "You let him escape!" he spat out, blood boiling with rage. "Its all your fault, you meddling mage! Now the church will be forced to pay the price!"
Curious, the figure asked, "What do you mean, escape? Weren't you trying to rob him of something important? And what does this have to do with the church?" The second figure threw his hands up into the air and let out a cold laugh. "Rob him? That useless thief was the one who robbed us! He was sent by an unknown party to spy on us, the Pronteran Church!"
Too shocked to say anything, she remained silent, as he continued. "Today, he stole valuable data on the High Priests, Priests, and serving acolytes stationed here in Prontera, as well as Pronteran personals serving in other nations. After stealing the data, he had hoped to make a clean getaway under the cover of the rain. Unfortunately for him, I happened to see him leave."
"Since teleportation cannot be performed within city walls, the nearest place he could teleport was outside the city gates. I waited in ambush, until I finally spotted him. But before I could retrieve the data, you happened to come along."
"If you hadn't butted in, I would have caught him by now! Thanks to you, important information has fallen into the enemies' hands, and who knows what they're gonna do with it!" he lamented as he frustratedly threw his cloak aside. Under the cloak was a young acolyte, about the age of 19. He had jet black hair that obscured part of his face, both long and unkept. His eyes were as cold as stone. Usually black in colour, they now burned red with rage.
Not knowing what else to do, the horned figure removed her hood, revealing the face of a young 18 year old. She too had dark black hair, but her eyes were a piercing brown. Although they were of similar age, they were far different in stature. He towered above her, like a great giant, making her seem even more prtite-sized than before.
"I'm really sorry…" she said. "I really hope there's some way I can make this up for you…" The acolyte said nothing but merely growled. Seeing this, she quickly said, "What I mean is that I can… err… explain to your superior if you wish me to…" The acolyte shot her a mean stare, and she fell quiet instantly. She lowered her head, not quite knowing what to say.
Seeing her with her head bent down in apology softened his heart, as he said, "Tell me your name." The girl was shocked at the questioned, as she blurted out "Chidori. Yukino Chidori."
The acolyte said nothing, but merely nodded. Chidori looked at him and cautiously questioned. "Err… And yours?" Upon hearing her question, he looked at her. After staring at her for quite some time, he finally said, "Sousuke. Tsukiyo Sousuke. And as you can see, I am an acolyte of the Pronteran Church."
Chidori nodded in return as Tsukyo continued, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to return to the church." Chidori looked at him in surprise. "But what about Kira?" she asked. Tsukiyo looked back at her and said, "Don't worry. We have our own network. Just forget any of this happened, okay?"
Chidori looked into his eyes, which had softened, very much different from before. She forced herself to smile and say, "Thank you…"
Tsukiyo turned to leave, heading back to the church. Chidori watched his back fade into the distance, as she too got on her way, towards the royal castle. She needed to see the king at all costs. It was an important matter, one that involved the entire nation, if not the entire world. She brought great news, news about the prophesized end of the world; the twilight of the gods.
Ragnarok.
End of Chapter Four
