Chapter 4 NewFound Power
Northwind's P.O.V.
"Northwind!"
Rojo exclaimed in fear. Rojo ran over to me. He knelt quickly and put his hand on my neck. There was a weak pulse that pushed his fingers back. Rojo could not do anything to help me, as this was caused by a severe lack of Spirit Energy.
Spirit Energy is the amount of magic that lives inside of a Righteous individual. This magic is increased by good deeds and by helping others.
Rojo remembered as he decided what to do next. Then he remembered what else he was missing.
Rojo snapped his fingers.
"Emperor!"
He said nervously to himself as he took off running to the square. He looked into the water, which was boiling furiously. Bubbles rose to the surface and popped, but Emperor was still not moving,
And there were NO bubbles coming from Emperor's mouth or nose.
Rojo plunged his hand deep into the water but immediately regretted it.
"Ouch!"
Rojo yelped as he drew his hand back out of the water. The water was superheated by something Rojo could not figure out. Scrabbling sounds came from behind Rojo. lighting fast, He drew his sword and faced…
"Northwind?"
Rojo asked in complete wonder. I smiled weakly. I was in pain.
"Yeah, it's me."
I replied weakly. I looked at Emperor who was in the boiling water.
"Is Emperor going to survive?"
Rojo asked fearfully, looking at me. I smiled weakly again.
"Everything is a process, Rojo, very soon you will see the fruits of all of our combined works"
I said with a little bit of anger. The water slowly stopped bubbling, then it was clear and smooth as glass. Emperor started to move….slowly. A groaning sound came from the water. I smiled at Rojo, who looked in disbelief at what he was seeing. Emperor was moving to break the spell that was confining him to the water box. He was trying very hard to break himself out of his confinement. The water slowly started to solidify into a clear material. A bluish light started to glow from under the water. Rojo braced for an explosion. The groaning turned into a fierce yell as the water exploded into millions of tiny shards that flew everywhere. Emperor jumped high into the air. He landed with a loud thud on the floor, leaving small indents in the rock where his feet landed. Emperor looked at Rojo. Blades started to come out of the space in between his fingers and right iris was glowing a Deep Blue. He had gained a great amount of muscle mass. He now also had short fangs that were barely visible by looking from the front of him. Emperor shook his head at Rojo.
"Why did you let her keep me in that stupid box?"
He asked with annoyance. Rojo was nervous now.
What did she do to create something as scary as this?
He asked himself. I laughed and looked at Rojo. I created a magic spear to lean on and leaned on it to keep my weight off my feet. While I leaned on the light Blue spear, Rojo looked at me. He saw the light blue spear was obviously made of magic. The spear was about three feet long and was glowing a faint Blue.
"Now let the battle commence."
I declared. Emperor and Rojo snapped their heads to look at me.
"What did you say?"
Emperor asked in disbelief. Rojo looked at Emperor who had the same bewildered look on his face.
"I want to see what my efforts have done to the King"
I said with a smug smile on my face. The ground rumbled and a wall of rock started coming up from the ground. Lines started appearing on the ground around Emperor and Rojo.
The wall, when it was finished rising, was six feet in height. There was a hole in the ceiling now, from where the stalactites used to be.
"Stand where the back lines are. They are a Red color, and will be your starting point for this battle"
I commanded. Rojo and Emperor did what they were told, but Rojo walked to his line slowly. He did not want to fight Emperor. He was supposed to be Emperor's mentor, not his opponent. Rojo stood on his line. His breathing was getting quick and erratic with fear. With trembling hands, Rojo drew his sword. He looked across at Emperor who slowly drew the Reborn off of his back with the same trembling hands. Rojo held his sword out to Emperor like he was saluting him or something. Emperor unfurled the Reborn. The Reborn glowed with the Blue-Green light of the Undecided Art.
"Let the battle commence!"
I declared. My voice boomed throughout the room, bouncing off the walls. Rojo and Emperor launched forwards, the both of them running straight for each other. Rojo slid across the rocks and angled his sword that it was horizontal in orientation. Emperor saw this and bent over backward, the sword just barely missing its mark. Emperor leaned forward to balance himself but tripped and fell flat on his face. Rojo slid to a stop and launched towards where Emperor was lying. Rojo jumped into the air. Emperor rolled over and saw Rojo barreling towards him.
"Velocity"
Emperor shouted. He rolled so fast, that he was up and ready to counter the attack before Rojo hit the ground. Rojo impacted the ground close to where Emperor had rolled from, however, this move was very bad for Rojo, as his sword was now stuck in the ground. Emperor turned around to strike Rojo. Rojo turned in time to see a strike heading right for him. Rojo ducked under the Reborn's stab and gave Emperor an uppercut that sent him high into the air. Rojo tried to pull his sword out of the ground, but still, couldn't. I could see that Rojo was tiring already. Emperor had landed on the other side of the arena, sprawled on his back. Rojo was able to pull the sword out of the ground. He turned to walk towards Emperor, but he was gone… Rojo looked around tensely. His grip tightened around the sword's hilt. A flash of Blue illuminated the battlefield. Rojo turned to see Emperor holding the Reborn to his nose.
"Put...the…. weapon... down"
Emperor said between huge breaths. Rojo sighed. He dropped the huge sword he was holding on the ground. He looked completely defeated with that depressed look on his face. I chuckled to myself at Rojo's reaction. A noise came from behind me.
Scrabbling rocks?
I thought to myself as I looked behind where I was standing and gasped in surprise at who I was looking at. I kneeled before the one that was standing before me.
"Grandmaster! It's a pleasure to be in your midst!"
I said with a wavering, excited voice. This was the first time that he had shown himself in a week. I was so happy to see him because I always got along with him for some reason. He had treated me so well, I felt like a daughter to him. He also had this really kind soft voice like the one Siren possessed. The thought of Siren made me sad. It had not even been a week since the horrible war had destroyed our island chain.
"Why are you looking so depressed young one?"
Grandmaster asked me. I looked up.
"I was merely thinking about the war."
I replied with a hint of sadness in my voice.
"Stand up young one. You have given me the proper greeting already"
Grandmaster told me as he helped me up from kneeling. He brushed the dirt off my knees. Then his attention turned to look at Rojo and Emperor who were trading blows in the arena. Grandmaster looked upset. His left eye glowed orange and a weird object materialized above his head. His hand was raised up as the object continued materializing. When the object was done materializing, I gasped in shock. The object that was materializing was commonly known as a "Dragon Shot" or "Deathbringer".
"Emperor, Rojo! Look out!"
I shouted at the two who were still fighting. The object made a weird charging sound as a small orange ball appeared in its mouth.
Ku-ing
"Fire"
Grandmaster commanded.
POW
The object opened its mouth and a deep orange stream erupted from its mouth. The stream raced towards the two on the ground. The room faintly glowed a faint Orange as the energy barreled towards the two. Emperor looked up when he heard a shot. He gasped in surprise and jumped back in time to see the shot impact the ground in front of him. The shot blinded Emperor and he landed hard on his back, which knocked the wind out of him. I looked at the scene that Grandmaster created.
"What have you done!?"
I screamed at him. Grandmaster did nothing as I jumped from the ledge to the floor. I impacted the floor hard. I must not have landed like I was supposed to because I twisted my foot when I landed. Ignoring the searing pain in my foot, I ran over to Rojo first. I checked his pulse by putting two fingers on his neck. There was a pulse, but it was weak. Then I ran over to Emperor who was already rubbing his head. I knelt by his side. I could see some of his scales were melted. Emperor shook his head vigorously as if to be shaking something off of him.
"I must have been hit pretty hard. What did I get hit by?"
Emperor asked me through clouded eyes. I felt really bad for him.
"It was him."
I said as I pointed to the ledge that I jumped from, But there was no one there. I looked back at Emperor who was looking at me with a confused stare.
"But he was...was right there!"
I stammered. Emperor looked at me funny.
"I know that we've been through a lot recently, but has it dawned on you that you've been acting the weirdest of all the individuals that I've known so far?"
Emperor asked me. He narrowed his eyes.
"I'd hate to think that you're someone that I cannot trust."He told me with an air of untrust. The door to the room burst open and the wall started receding into the ground. I ran back over to Rojo to help him up, but he was already standing as well. He was barely standing, unable to keep his balance by himself. He would have fallen over if I had not rushed to his side. The wall was receding into the floor when I beheld who had burst through the door. It was Cynder, and like the usual, was not happy.
"I leave to run some errands, and come back to more destruction!?"
Everyone was silent. No one knew what to say or do. Emperor opened his mouth to speak, but got over spoken by Cynder.
"Does anyone have anything to say?!"
She shouted. Emperor stood straight and looked at Cynder with an intense stare. Flames were licking the sides of her mouth. She was unfurling her wings as well. Emperor had a flashback. It was odd since I was seeing it too. It was when Abyss was going through the Demonic Reversion process.
He probably saw this since Cynder looked a lot like Abyss when he was possessed by the Anti-Matter-Core.
I thought to myself.
"I have something to say."
Emperor declared. Rojo looked in disbelief at him.
"You really want to challenge the Queen?"
Rojo asked with awe. Cynder snorted, sending bits of flame onto the floor.
"You really want to challenge me?"
Cynder asked with a venomous sneer. Emperor nodded.
"Very well my may do battle if the Queen wishes it"
I declared before Cynder could speak again. The wall was rising from the ground once more. Lines appeared on the floor. Rojo and I jumped over the wall.
Anyone that is in the Battle Arena has to do battle whether they like it or not. Battles increase strength, dexterity, forward planning, and perception. It is for this reason that everyone that is in that area must do battle.
I remembered. I stood on the ground thinking about this when Rojo tapped me on the shoulder.
"Aren't we supposed to be somewhere special when we watch these battles?
He asked me excitedly. I chuckled to myself.
Rojo is always so eager to fight or to watch fights .
I told myself happily. I took his arm and led him up to the ledge I was standing on. When we were there, Emperor and Cynder were already at the Battle Lines. Rojo was looking down at the Battle
Arena.
"It's really cool to see individuals fighting from this view."
Rojo commented wistfully. I was concerned for Rojo, since he was still leaning on his sword heavily. I knew that Rojo was very strong, but what would happen to Emperor? What wounds would he take in this battle?
These questions flew in my head as I got ready to start the next battle. Cynder materialized a spear in her left hand. Emperor drew the Reborn off of his back. He ran his hand along the Reborn, unfurling it to its full length once again. I raised my right arm.
"Let the battle begin"
I declared. Rojo gazed intensely at the battlefield. Emperor and Cynder launched from their starting positions. Cynder smiled and threw a green orb at Emperor. Emperor dodged the orb and and chose a Sacred Art. A Purple flash illuminated the room for a split second.
"I love seeing Emperor wield the Reborn."
Rojo marveled.
"He's so graceful and his combinations are even better!"
He continued. I said nothing. I was too scared to say anything. Emperor swung the Reborn forehand. Cynder blocked the blow. The spear shattered and Cynder was sent halfway across the Arena still on her feet. She skidded all the way. She shook off the blow and created another spear. Emperor took off again. He curled the Reborn back into a circle and threw it like a Boomerang. Cynder looked at the object that was barreling towards her. She ducked under the Reborn and ran towards Emperor. While she was running, she threw spears at him. Emperor followed the Reborn as it went on its way back to him. Emperor saw the spears and expertly dodged every single one of them. The Reborn was flying towards him. He calculated the time that he could catch it and avoid Cynder's spears. He caught the Reborn and blocked a spear that almost went into his chest. The area flashed purple for a second. The Sacred Art Damage had ended. Emperor went into a defensive stance. Cynder threw her last spear at Emperor. She was breathing deeply and had sweat on her head.
"Why don't you give up already?"
Cynder asked Emperor. Emperor did not respond. He unfurled the Reborn once again.
"Armor!"
Emperor shouted. Cynder smiled. She knew that the Sacred Art Armor made Emperor slow, but greatly enhanced his ability to take damage and to block or parry shots. Cynder jumped into the air and let loose a stream of fire. Emperor stood without moving. Cynder burned a circle of fire into the ground where Emperor was standing. The flames rose high around Emperor. He started to panic. He looked all around him, looking for any place of escape, but found none. He had never seen this attack before, but he knew how to counter the attack. Emperor put the Reborn on his back and he took a deep breath. Cynder landed on the ground with a triumphant laugh.
"Where's your power now?"
She taunted him with a smile. Emperor looked through the flames, which made his vision waver. There was no way that he could escape. The fire continued to burn as Emperor continued to think about his options. Cynder prepared more spears. Emperor looked at Cynder with a smile.
"I'm not done yet, and I will last as long as you try to kill me"
Emperor replied breathlessly. Cynder looked incredulously at him. She then narrowed her eyes in anger. A spear dropped into her hand.
"Then see how long you can last against these".
she said seething with anger. As she threw the first spear, Emperor drew the Reborn off of his back. This spear was new in color. As it sailed through the air, it shone with a brilliance that rivaled gold. The spear was thrown with the point facing away from him. I was continually getting more and more nervous. Emperor had already been through a battle. This one, brought on by anger, was pointless. Rojo could see the mounting fear in me. He tapped my shoulder.
"Is something wrong Northwind?"
He asked me with concern. I said nothing. I was fixated on the battle that raged below me.
How could two individuals possess this much power?
I asked myself in complete wonder as I continued watching the fight. I could feel Rojo staring at me waiting for an answer.
"I'm fine. I'm just watching the battle."
I replied to Rojo. This was both a lie and a truth. I could only tell what others needed to know and nothing else.
"Are you sure you're ok?"
Rojo pressed. I shifted my gaze to look at him. I gave him an annoyed stare, to which, he looked back at the battlefield. The spears continued to be thrown at Emperor. He had blocked every shot so far, even with a sight disadvantage from being in the circle of fire that was slowly closing in on him. I could see the reflection of the fire in his scales. Every time a spear impacted the Reborn, the spear shattered, and shards of the spear flew throughout the area. These shards eventually became a liquid that seeped into the ground. Cynder was obviously becoming very impatient with the battle. I also noticed that the gold spears that Cynder threw at Emperor were reversing the direction that they were thrown in. Cynder stomped her foot on the ground.
"Why won't you just quit already!?"
She screamed at him. Then she fell silent and still. Emperor's right eye was was glowing a soft Blue. he snapped his fingers, and the fiery column that surrounded him vanished. A yellow flash illuminated the area.
"Why, if you are my friend, are you trying so hard to kill me?"
He asked as he threw the Reborn to the ceiling. He followed the movement of the sword until it lodged into the ceiling. The Reborn tried to return to Emperor, but couldn't.
"If you so wish to kill me, then do so. I have no way of defending myself."
Emperor declared as he spread his arms out to his sides. He was helpless. Rojo just stared open-mouthed at the scene before him.
"He really is taking a leap of faith isn't he?"
Rojo asked me. I said nothing. I could only just continue to watch this amazing event unfold before me. Cynder was internally torn. I could see her running through her options. She looked up at the Reborn, then at Emperor.
"You really have the belief that I would spare anyone?"
Cynder asked him as she stared him down. Emperor could only smile internally. It was only then I could see what Emperor was doing. It was the classic"I'm going to act defenseless, but then I pull a series of tricks that puts you in a corner" plan. Cynder materialized another green orb in her right hand and threw it at Emperor. This time, he did not dodge the orb that she threw at him. The orb impacted Emperor in the chest. The orb shattered into pieces and the liquid inside the orb seeped into his scales. Cynder laughed to herself.
"Now I have secured my victory, and you will lose...permanently."
She said as she prepared a fireball in her right hand. Emperor got ready to counter the attack and give his own. Cynder threw the fireball and I gasped in fear. The fireball rocketed towards Emperor, who smiled a little. Just as the fireball was about to hit him, he caught it in his hand and threw it up at the ceiling. The fireball hit the Reborn and ricocheted to the left. The Reborn fell towards the ground. Emperor caught the Reborn with his left hand, and the fireball with his tongue. Emperor winced in pain. The fire was obviously burning his tongue.
Would he lose tastebuds? Would he lose tongue tissue? Would anything worse happen?
These thoughts ran through my head as I saw Emperor blast the fireball back out of his mouth. Cynder reacted to the counter by raising her hand to the top of the room, her palm facing upwards. The fireball impacted the wall of spears Cynder had created. The fireball exploded into thick smoke. Cynder coughed heavily from breathing in the heavy smoke. Emperor lunged when he saw the fireball had hit. His left right eye started to glow Blue again. It illuminated through the heavy smoke. Emperor ran over to Cynder through the smoke. Without missing a beat, he tripped her by putting his right foot behind hers, and pushing hard on her right shoulder. She fell on her back with a thud that reverberated through the room. Then, Emperor quickly unfurled the Reborn and chose the Sacred Art Damage, As he plunged the Reborn into her chest.
(Emperor's P.O.V.)
I had resisted the sudden urge to kill my opponent. For some reason, I had had the urge to destroy things for some reason. I looked at where my sword(The Reborn) was. I had mustered the ability to move it two inches to the left of where my intended target was. The smoke had cleared from the area. I looked up to see Northwind looking at me with a mix of surprise and disgust.
Is she satisfied or disgusted that I had done so much damage?
I asked myself as I returned my gaze to the Reborn, which was now curled into its "Waiting Phase".
I looked to the other side of the Arena to break Northwind's powerful gaze. A figure phased through the far side of the arena. The individual was clapping, as if he approved of something. His scale color was Gold; A color that I had not seen actually living. I could tell that this individual was advanced in years by the dust that was coming from his scales as he walked over to me. His pace was fast, but his expression was that of a hawk; fierce, but beautiful and intriguing at the same time. The individual stood before me. He looked at me, then at Northwind and Cynder who was still laying on the ground. I opened my mouth to speak, but the Gold yoshi put his hand up to me, with the palm facing towards me. He silenced me without saying a word. Then he spoke.
"Northwind."
The Gold one started. Northwind quickly brought herself and her attention from caring for Cynder, to this individual's attention. Her eyes flashed blue for a second as if she knew this individual. I was captivated by the sheer wisdom that I could feel emanating from this individual.
"I need you to tell me why you were using this room for uses other than its intended purpose"
The gold one declared. Northwind looked at the ground.
"I wanted to assess the power of the magic that I had given to the King."
She replied sullenly. The Gold one walked over her. He angled her head up so that she was looking at him.
"Friendly competition is acceptable, but competition to ascertain power is not."
The gold one said. He looked at me.
"You must want to know who I am, right?"
He asked me. I looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"How do you know what i'm thinking?"
I asked him with contempt. He studied me closer.
"Why do you continue to question me, when you have the answers to your questions already?"
He asked me.
"Excuse me for not telling you my name."
He said with a laugh. I did not understand why he was so cryptic, but it bothered me for some reason.
"My name is Halcyon, but most people just call me Grandmaster. You must have noticed that I am a mentor to Northwind."
Halcyon bought Northwind to her feet.
"I have to show all of you something."
He said softly. He snapped his fingers and the wall disappeared from view. We walked in a line behind Halcyon to a staircase that was on the side of the room that we entered from, but did not see until Halcyon made it known.
"These stairs are very important. They lead to the High Council Members chamber room ."
Halcyon said as he stopped at the foot of the stairs. He then pointed at Rojo.
"You, however, need to stay on the bottom floor Rojo. You are needed to guard this premise."
Halcyon explained as he turned his attention back to the stairs.
"Northwind and Emperor, if you so wish to attend this very special event, you are welcome to accompany me."
He called as he started scaling the stairs. I started walking up the stairs. The first thing that I noticed was that there was not much head room. There was also a change in humidity as I scaled the stairs. I walked up the stairs not knowing what would await me at the top.