RISE OF LIGHT

Chapter 6

Part 1

Vertrex suddenly felt something about to attack just when someone, from behind them, shouted.

"Ballistic Cross Wave"

A slashing Air/Lightning combo attack was suddenly shot at them. As this strange yet a very strong attack neared, Vertrex acted by instinct and shouted, pointing his hands at the oncoming attack.

"Light Shield"

The barrier activated just in the nick of time as this strong attack neared them. The barrier and oncoming collided, making Daniel, Kayla and Sophia to get buffeted by the sheer force of the power behind that attack.

Vertrex was still holding his hands up, pointing them at the offending attack as he boosted the shield with his power considering that the "Light Shield" was struggling to stop the offending attack completely.

After a couple of seconds of frantic struggle, the attack finally stopped. Vertrex dropped his arms, exhausted from trying to hold the shield and stopping the attack from breaching the shield at the same time. Just as he had these thoughts they were completely wiped from his mind as the attacker finally showed himself to them.

The attacker was wearing a black clock which completely covered his face from them. All they could see that this man was holding a sword in an attacking position.

"A sword" Vertrex thought, eying the sword in the man's hand warily.

Vertrex wasn't sure what was going on. He knew that the dark users never carried swords with them and it was never in their nature to have one.

"So why does this man have a sword?" Vertrex thought but he was interrupted by the man's voice.

"Who are you strangers?" the stranger asked Vertrex loudly considering they were a few meters away from each other. Vertrex glared at him angrily.

"Why do I need to tell someone, who just attacked me for no apparent reason, my name?" Vertrex shouted angrily.

"No apparent reason?" the stranger said. Then just as he said it he started laugh. There was humour in his laugh which just added more confusion to Vertrex's already confused mind.

"I thought you people were evil so that was my way of clarifying whether you were evil or not." The stranger said after he calmed down. Then seeing Vertrex's continuous angry glare, the stranger said with a smile. "Please forgive my rudeness."

Vertrex was about to say something when Daniel spoke from behind him in a loud voice. Daniel was still recovering from his injuries so he had to speak up a little louder for them to hear him clearly.

"Vertrex, calm down already. The guy's saying he didn't attack on purpose so drop it already." Daniel said calmly as he smiled at his friend's angry back, knowing that his friend will calm down now that he had spoken to him.

Vertrex gritted his teeth for a few seconds before finally calming down in an instant.

Vertrex was usually a happy and talkative guy but the only times when he releases his anger is when either he or his friends were attacked or when someone is being attacked unjustly. He would ever listen to either Daniel or his uncle only. Anyone who tried to tell him what to do had already faced his wrath first hand.

Now Vertrex smiled at the stranger as the stranger started to walk towards them, shoving his sword back into his side and pulling off his cowl which had been hidden his face till now.

The first thing that came to his mind at seeing the stranger's face was.

"Wow!"

Vertrex had thought of only one person who he thought looked cool which was Daniel but here he was facing a stranger who had the same air coolness, if neither lower nor greater than that of Daniel's coolness. In that very instant he realised that Daniel has finally got a rival with coolness just as great as his own but Vertrex sensed that this man's coolness was something far different to that of Daniel's coolness.

When the stranger finally stopped he and Vertrex were facing each other face to face, only a meter apart form each other. For a few seconds neither said or did anything except look at each other. Then just as suddenly as they looked at each other for so long, they extended each other's hands towards the other and shook warmly as at the same time exchanging smiles at each other. Vertrex felt the stranger relax a little after realising that he had felt no hostility in Vertrex mind other than the warm welcoming thoughts that Vertrex had.

After the hand shake the stranger sat down next to Vertrex, who had sat himself next to Sophia. All at once Kayla and Sophia started to ask the stranger questions. Vertrex put up his hand to stem the flow of questions.

"One at a time ok" Vertrex said calmly as he was struggling to maintain himself from laughing at their sudden stream of questions the girls threw at the stranger who was looking a little startled by this sudden outburst.

"Ok then I'll go" Sophia said eagerly. She paused for a few seconds before beginning her question.

"Who are you?"

Everyone turned to look at the stranger, wondering what he will say. Vertrex saw him hesitate for a bit before replying.

"I cannot say. Not right at this point anyway…" and when Sophia opened her mouth to ask him 'why' when he replied without waiting for the question "I don't have enough trust in you people. Give me time as I've just met you I need more time to assess that your really do deserver my trust fully." After seeing Sophia's crest fallen face he added with a smile "Although I'm known as the 'Blade Master' mostly."

Chapter 6

Part 2

There was stunned silence in the group as every head turned to look at the stranger. Vertrex knew the man's name … of-course he would know who the 'Blade Master' was considering he was actually a legend. If the rumours were true, they say he had defeated ten dark users in a single confrontation. The 'Blade Master' said to have fought many battles with just one sword at his side. Not much was known about the sword but many rumours stated that he carries a hero sword called the Exzera.

"No way…" Daniel said in a hushed voice. Just like everyone, Daniel was also having a hard time believing that this stranger is in fact the hero 'Blade Master'.

The stranger wordlessly put his hand into his side pocket of his cloak before pulling out his sword that he had used to attack them with. Now that Vertrex had a closer look he realised he was looking that the real deal. It was the hero that said to have been passed down through generations from the time of gods. It was indeed the hero sword notably called Exzera that the stranger was holding in his hands.

"What does this mean?" Sophia asked quietly to the group at large but it was Vertrex who answered her.

"It means that this man here is in fact the hero 'Blade Master'." Vertrex said firmly.

Another awkward silence followed for a few seconds before the Blade Master broke it.

"Please everyone" he said as he smiled at them benignly. "Stop referring to me as the 'Blade Master' anymore, please. I prefer to keep that name a secret."

"So what do you prefer us to call you?" Vertrex asked him curiously.

The Blade Master turned to face Vertrex and smiled. "Call me Al." he said simply, smiling at them all now.

Vertrex stared at him for a few second but before he could say anything Daniel spoke his thoughts out loud distractedly. "That'll take time to get used to."

Everyone burst out laughing hysterically, lighting the mood greatly. After a moment, Daniel too joined in their laughter and for a while they didn't stop laughing. Kayla and Sophia bent over as their stomach started to hurt from the pain of laughing so much while they were trying to wipe away the tears of happiness filled their eyes. Vertrex was hammering his fist up and down on the grass as he too struggled to control his laughter while Daniel seems to have the similar problem. Al, due to his request of them to call him Al instead of 'Blade Master', was also laughing but not as hard as everyone else was. Soon their laughter soon quieted down except for a few hiccups every now and then.

"I can't be-hiccup-eve that you're lau-hiccup-ing with us, Al." Sophia said smiling at him after hiccupping occasionally in her sentence.

"Ah well." Al said smiling warmly at them as Sophia held her stomach as it hurt from the hard laughter. "I might be a mighty warrior and all that stuff but in the end, I'm a living being just like the rest of you."

Sophia nodded in agreement as she decided to give up talking while her hiccups last but Vertrex answered for her.

"I guess your right there Al." Vertrex said smiling.

Al returned to smile then becoming a little more serious he asked.

What were you guys doing in this forest, so far away from the town?" he asked Vertrex.

Vertrex started to retell the tale about how they had come to this forest when suddenly they got ambushed by five dark users and how they struggled. Al listened to the story while Daniel, Kayla and Sophia listened in as well as they never heard from Vertrex what he had done to finish off the two dark users he had been facing earlier.

After a while Vertrex finished reached the end of his story. Al, who had been listening quietly, remained silent for a couple of seconds. Vertrex looked at Al as he wondered what Al was thinking at that moment. Then Al surprised him with his next question.

"How old are you Vertrex?" Al asked Vertrex, looking at Vertrex intently.

Vertrex hesitated, trying to figure out why Al was so suddenly asking him of his age. After a few seconds of frantic thoughts jostling in a line in his mind, Vertrex decided it won't hurt him to tell Al how old he was.

"I'm 24 years old Al" Vertrex said "but why do you ask?"

Al momentarily looked taken aback then he straightened up to quickly hide his sudden change of expression.

"Nothing really … you look younger than your age says." Al said, smiling at Vertrex. The he saw Vertrex's unconvinced face and gave in.

"Ok fine I'm a year younger than you ok." Al said, sighing as he finished.

"Oh." Daniel said shortly, totally surprised by this sudden discovery about the famous hero. He, like Vertrex, thought that the hero 'Blade Master' might've been a little older so it was a huge surprise for him.

"So." Vertrex said smiling at Al. "Now do you trust us?"

After a pause Al smiled which came as a relief to everyone except Vertrex who had expected it off him.

"Yes. There's no way I can keep myself from not trusting people who just laugh so easily and be friendly to someone as me." Al said grinning at their relieved faces.

"Well you're a hero after all." Vertrex replied, also grinning.

Al stopped smiling suddenly and didn't say anything for a few seconds. Then he spoke as if he didn't like what he was saying.

"I didn't want to be a hero."

Everyone stopped smiling quickly and instead they looked confusedly at him. Vertrex guessed that they might be wondering why he didn't want to become a hero.

"Want to tell us about it?" Kayla asked him gently.

Al hesitated and he understood the reason even though Al hasn't told them yet. Al was hesitating because they were in the open and if anyone to hear it would cause major problem, not only for Al but for the rest of them. They were in touch with the 'Blade Master' which is a great reason for the dark users to pour into this area and start hunting them day and night restlessly.

Vertrex realising how Al was speaking, relieved him of his thoughts.

"It's ok." Vertrex said grinning at Al. "You can tell us in your own time."

Al smiled appreciatively at Vertrex.

"Thanks Vertrex." He said with a sigh of relief.

Vertrex smiled at his sigh of relief. Suddenly he felt some unknown presence somewhere close to them. Just as he felt the presence, Al said quietly.

"Air tomb"

They felt the wind change momentarily and in that instant they heard the drawn out scream.

Everyone looked towards the direction of the scream and then back at Al, too shocked to speak. Al got to his feet just as Vertrex did in that instant. Vertrex felt that evil presence suddenly disappear, which only meant one thing.

"You sensed him right?" Al said to Vertrex quietly and Vertrex nodded simply.

Al suddenly became more serious.

"We need to leave. Now! Staying here much longer will just make us an easy target for those who might be around this area." Al said very seriously.

Without another word Daniel, Kayla and Sophia started to get their packs. Vertrex was already swinging his pack over his shoulders as Al pointed the way out. Then all pain forgotten due to the sudden seriousness in Vertrex's and Al's faces, Daniel, Kayla and Sophia moved very quickly, trying to gain as much as ground as possible to reach the town before something else happens.

Vertrex came right up next to Al after a few minutes of their frantic movement.

"How did you know he was there?" Vertrex asked Al quietly who simply replied quietly, turning to look at Vertrex.

"The wind told me."

Chapter 6

Part 3

"So this is where you live?" Vertrex said, glancing around the house.

"Naturally buy I live mostly in the open." Al said smiling.

It's been one hour since they had left the forest when they finally enter the city of Marcromas. The city was magnificent with high buildings and shops crowded with people, customers hoping to get their shopping done quickly.

"Those people looked like they were in a hurry." Daniel said as he lay on one of the couches.

Al simply shrugged his shoulders. "It's natural for them to be afraid you know." He said, turning to look at Daniel.

Daniel looked puzzled but this time it was Kayla who asked the next question.

"Why are they afraid?" Kayla asked tentatively.

Al shrugged his shoulders again. "With so many battles going on and so much death to see … It's no wonder they try to stay at home a lot." Al said sadly.

"Is there a way to stop them?" Sophia asked, sitting up straighter on her couch.

Al looked at her sadly but it was Vertrex who surprised him.

"Of course there is." Vertrex said smiling at them. As they all turned to look at him, he continued. "There will always be a way to stop this." Vertrex said smiling.

Everyone looked at him in silence. Al was surprised, Sophia was impressed, Daniel nodded his approval and Kayla smiled.

"Thank you." Al said finally after a long pause.

Vertrex shrugged his shoulders as he continued to smile at Al.

"Don't be so down on yourself." Vertrex said then feeling as if he didn't have the effect he intended he added "Just remember … without light, there is no darkness."

A shocked silence greeted his last sentence. They weren't sure whether to believe what they just heard. After a minute of this continued silence, Daniel decided to break it.

"What do you mean by "without light there is no darkness" Vertrex?" Daniel said, looking at his friend intently, a look that was copied by everyone around him.

Vertrex looked at their stares and laughed nervously. He never thought he would be asked that question. He can understand why Al wouldn't know of such a thing but why would his friends no know of such important secret of this world.

"Are you" Vertrex began uncertainly "saying that you don't know about this?"

"Know what?" Daniel said shocking Vertrex back to silence.

Vertrex doesn't know how to say what they should've already known by now. It was difficult for the people who told him about it as it was a secret that only those of the knowledge of the secrets of this world know about.

"I guess you guys will be learning something new today … something that has to do with nature." Vertrex added as Daniel looked excited for a second.

"What … Nature?" Kayla said in an annoying voice. "What can we learn from nature this time? We already know how to control our powers and-" she was cut off as Vertrex stopped her with.

"There are some things that were never told to us." Vertrex said sadly. Seeing the question that Kayla was about to form he continued. "Just listen to me ok. This is something that you should know because it very important … for our very existence." With that all of them became quiet and watched him intently.

"Ok." Vertrex began. He still felt very nervous about the prospect of telling them this secret. "Well you all know that light and darkness balanced each other, right?" Vertrex said, looking from one to the other.

All four of them nodded in agreement.

"You also know that the darkmaster is capturing the light users lately rather than finishing them off." Vertrex continued.

Again four head, four nods.

"And that there was a prophecy about this unknown master called the 'Fusion Master'." Vertrex said.

"Hold on Vertrex.' Al said, looking at Vertrex curiously. "What prophecy are you talking about?"

Vertrex retold about the prophecy and he and Sophia had discovered back at the forest that they had taken to coming to the city. Sophia interpreted him every now and then to correct his statement.

Once the retelling was done, Al said after a pause.

"But how can we be sure that that prophecy can be valid."

Now Daniel and Kayla too looked at Vertrex and Sophia for that answer for that question. Sophia hesitated but Vertrex answered quickly.

"What makes use not believe it then?" Vertrex said smiling at Al.

Al hesitated. He knew that the light has made many prophecies that have always come true but this time he is not so sure about it and he doesn't know how to convey that to his newly found friends.

"Come on." Vertrex said in an exasperated tone. "That's not a good reason to not believe the prophesy Al."

Al looked completely surprised at how Vertrex was able to know what he had been thinking at that moment. Vertrex shrugged.

"I can read people's mind at will." Vertrex said which surprised Al.

"So you are a stalker then, Vertrex." Al said smiling at him.

Everyone laughed for a few seconds before Vertrex was able to speak. He looked a little hurt but deep down he was happy that they were laughing even though he had been framed for something that he uses to protect himself and his comrades.

"Hey!" Vertrex said indignantly. "It's a gift and I use it to read people's mind so I can be sure that they won't be plotting anything against me.

"This just makes you a stalker." Al said still grinning at Vertrex's indignant face.

Vertrex looked away from Al. Then he continued his conversation which was interrupted by Al's question about the unheard prophecy.

"Continuing on" Vertrex said firmly and everyone fell silent once again. "I've been wondering about all these things. The sudden change of activity towards the captured light users and the mysterious master called 'Fusion Master'."

"My uncle told me when I was twenty years old 'without light there is no darkness'." Vertrex said and everyone looked at each other and back again.

"Of course I asked him why he said that." Vertrex continued and everyone looked curiously at him, waiting for the answer.

"So … what did he say?" Kayla asked him curiously.

Vertrex looked at her and then at everyone's face which was filled with curiosity. He wasn't sure he could say it even now but he knew they have to know it and the sooner they know about it the better. So be braced himself to tell them the mind blowing secret that was kept from the people.

Vertrex took a deep breath which surprised Daniel. He knew his friend better than anyone except perhaps Vertrex's uncle and he knew that his friend would only take such deep breath when he was very nervous. Daniel suddenly felt a little chill as Daniel wondered just what is it that makes Vertrex, who was a very strong minded person, so nervous.

"He said" Vertrex began then paused. He was still nervous, just as nervous as he was when he had heard of the secret. Then he told himself that getting nervous over such a small thing is stupid. So he continued while looking at their curious faces.

"The reason was … The master who created darkness was the same master who created light."

END OF CHAPTER 6