Chapter 6

Power Absolute

The faster Corey ran, the harder it was for him to keep up with the glowing power sphere. It seemed impossible to him that such a small orb could contain power beyond his imagination, but he would do whatever it took for him to get it. It was what he wanted, after all. To become strong enough to defeat Darkine and bring peace to the world…wasn't it?

Or could it be that he just wanted to be the best once again? That was a possibility, but he didn't think that's what it was. He just wanted to help everyone.

That has to be it! There's no other reason! Corey thought reassuringly to himself as he ran. The woods, as thick and dark as they were, seemed to be glowing with the brightness of the power sphere. It was like Corey's own road that would lead him to victory over Darkine…and his own weakness.

"How much farther?!" Corey yelled at the voice that had been encouraging him.

"You're close, Corey Kartana. Once you have the power sphere, you will have power absolute, and no one will be able to rival you."

"Power absolute…" Just the thought of it drove Corey onward. He noticed that the trees were getting thinner, and that it was much easier to run. Soon, he came to an opening.

Finally! An exit! Once I get the power sphere, I'll go back and get Derek and show him where we have to go! He grinned and ran towards the lighted exit, but once he got there, he found that the light blinded him. Struggling to see, he slowed down and moved forward. Finally, the light dismissed and there before him floated the power sphere.

"Now what?" Corey asked the voice as he stared at the sphere.

"Take hold of the power sphere and let its power absorb into your body. Then, you will feel its true power!"

Corey nodded and slowly began to reach out for the power sphere. His hand was shaking with anticipation. He couldn't understand why he was so nervous. It was what he wanted. Power. The power to be able to defeat Darkine and save the worlds.

I have to!

His hand gripped around the orb and he slowly pulled it towards him. He gently pressed the sphere against his chest, and it slowly began to go into his body, until finally it disappeared within. He waited for a moment, but felt nothing.

"What is this?" Corey asked, gritting his teeth, "I don't feel any different at all!!"

"Oh, but you will! Watch!"

Suddenly, the world around him turned white again, and Corey was once again blinded by the brightness. When he came to, he wasn't in the woods anymore, but in the middle of a vast valley. It was nothing but dried earth, but what he did see before him was Darkine, covered in his black cloak and kneeling before Corey.

"Huh?" Corey asked, confused. "What…is this?"

"Corey!!" A voice yelled. It was Derek. "Finish him! Quickly!"

"Huh? Derek?" Corey looked over and found that Derek was badly wounded as well, his left arm having been severed off by what looked like a sword. "Derek!! Are you okay?!"

Derek grit his teeth. "Are you mad?! Don't worry about me right now! Kill Darkine!"

Corey had no idea what was going on. He couldn't be dreaming. This was all way to real. He felt the intensity of the sun against his skin, and the sweat on his body from a long battle. Slowly, he raised his right hand and held out his index finger, pointing it at Darkine.

"How…how did you become so powerful?" Darkine questioned, his voice raspy and cold.

Corey grit his teeth. "None of your damn business! This ends now, Darkine!"

Spiritual energy began to gather in Corey's right index finger as he kept his aim on Darkine.

"This isn't right!" Darkine howled, trying to get back on his feet. "It was enough that I learned that the two of you would beat me…but just you alone, Kartana?!"

"What? Derek…didn't help me?" Corey asked, still charging his Spirit Gun.

"No!" Shouted the voice in his head. "You did this all on your own, Corey Kartana! Derek was injured at the start of the battle, directly after you defeated Darkine's final elite soldier. Darkine severed his arm, and you have been fighting alone ever since! Rejoice! And defeat your enemy once and for all!"

It was too much for Corey to handle. He had beaten Darkine on his own? Without Derek? Had the power sphere been that powerful? He didn't even notice. Finally, a grin appeared on the young warriors lips.

"Hehe…I guess I'm number one again. Say goodnight, Darkine!! Spirit Gun!!" Corey roared, and shot the spiritual bullet towards his opponent. The blast was enormous. It was the biggest blast of energy Corey had ever conjured up, and it hit Darkine at point blank. Debris and smoke went everywhere, and once it had cleared, all that was left of Darkine was a few pieces of black cloak, and a bit of blood that happened to escape the blast, and a sword. The sword had an all black blade, with no guard, only a hilt wrapped in golden wrapping. Corey walked over to the sword, picked it up, and let it rest on his shoulder.

"Corey…you did it." Derek said, a small smile on his lips. "You won."

"I…I did do it, didn't I?" Corey asked, looking over at Derek with a satisfied grin. "I beat Darkine."

Corey walked over and helped Derek up with his free hand and the two began to walk away from the scene, when a thought crossed Corey's mind.

But now what?

The blinding white light appeared around him once again, and Corey found himself back in the woods. There was no in sight, but suddenly he heard screams coming into the woods.

"What the--?" Corey asked, still very confused over what had all just happened.

Smoke filled his nostrils, and he knew whatever was happening involved fire. Frowning, the young man began to sprint forward through the woods, in hope of helping whoever was being attacked. He noticed only then that he was unarmed once more; the black sword that he had taken when he defeated Darkine was no longer with him.

Could it have been only a illusion? Corey thought, but this time the voice that had lead him to the power sphere did not answer him.

Running faster, he could see flames starting to appear outside of the forest, and the screams were getting louder.

"Shit! Gotta hurry!" Corey yelled, clenching his fists and once again increasing his speed. Finally, he got to the forest's end and slid to a stop, stunned at what he saw.

It was the Rebel Base. What was left of it, anyway.

Corey saw that the once four mobile fortresses were now down to one, as three of them were lying in rubble in the vast valley that he was now in. The three were on fire and burning down, as was the only one with enough structure left to stand. People were running around in a panic, trying to escape whatever it was that was attacking them, but Corey could see no army.

"What the hell could be attacking us!?" Corey yelled, frantically looking around. "We should've been able to stop it! Fuck! Why wasn't I here?!"

Corey began to run towards the center of the commotion, when suddenly he stopped. There, amongst some of the dead, was Liz, her face in the dirt and a deep sword wound in her back.

"No!!! Fuck!! Liz!!" Corey could already feel his throat and eyes burning from the tears that were bound to come. He ran to her and flipped her on her back, but she was already dead. He noticed amongst the blood and dirt on her face that she had been crying as she was slaughtered. Corey cradled her as his own tears finally trickled down his face.

"Liz…why? I'm so sorry…goddammit…what happened? Shit…shit!!" He slowly put her down and took off his cloak. He carefully put the cloak over her body to cover her face.

"I'll give you a proper burial…I promise." He choked out, wiping his tears with his gloved hands. His saddened expression turned to one of pure hatred. "As soon as I obliterate whoever did this to you!"

In a rage, Corey left Liz's body and continued to look for whoever was responsible for the attack. His eyes were bloodshot from tears, and his throat hurt.

Damn it!! Whoever did this; I swear I'll destroy them!! Corey thought angrily as he ran.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, he got to a spot where an intense battle was happening. He stopped, as if unable to move, and watched.

Derek was the first person Corey could see in that battle. He wore his usual black karate pants and a black gi, with white bandages wrapped around his right arm. His left arm was gone, just like before. He was gripping his katana with his right hand, and slashing desperately at his opponent.

The man or demon was dressed in all black, with a white mask covering his face. Corey could not see any recognizable features about the fighter, only that he carried with him a sword with a black blade.

Is that…the sword that I took from Darkine? What the hell happened? Did it get stolen? Corey tried to move forward to help Derek, but found that he couldn't. Something was keeping his body from doing anything but watch as the two warriors fought.

"You bastard!!" Derek roared as the two blades clashed. "How could you do this?!"

The other warrior said nothing, only continued to attack Derek. It horrified Corey to watch as Derek was being pushed back. He could tell he was battle worn, and that this fight had taken place for hours. He was probably out of energy.

Derek!!! Corey shouted in his mind, unable to scream. Finally, the enemy managed to cut Derek's right hand, slicing it completely off. Derek howled in pain and drew the bloody stump of an arm to his chest, trying to stop the bleeding. Cold eyes stared at his opponent.

"Is this some kind of sick revenge on me?" Derek asked hatefully. "What did I do to you?"

The masked warrior began to chuckle lightly, "You always thought you were better then me, Derek…"

Derek's eyes widened. "What?"

"Ever since the first day we met. Goodbye, Derek Maison."

"Wait! Who—ugh…" and the black sword stabbed Derek through the heart. The demonic warrior fell to his knees, wide eyed. Corey tried to scream once again, fresh tears pouring out of his eyes for his fallen friend.

Noooooooo!!!!!!!

Derek looked up at the warrior for the final time. "Tell me…who…are you…?"

The warrior laughed again. "You haven't figured it out?" Slowly, the masked fighter lifted his hand up and took off the mask. Corey couldn't see the face, as his back was to the frozen man, but Derek did, and his eyes began to water as well.

"No…"

And he fell to the cold dirt, dead.

As if on cue, Corey felt his body able to move again. He stumbled for a moment, then regained his footing and ran towards the fighter, his hand out and charging a spirit bullet into his right index finger.

"You fucker!!!" Corey cried hatefully. Leaping into the air and grabbing his right wrist with his left hand, Corey aimed to deliver a point blank shot directly into the man who killed his friends, but sensing Corey coming, he held out his hand. A blast of blue spiritual energy shot out of the man's entire palm, nailing Corey and sending him flying across the battlefield. He landed hard and plowed into the dirt ground below him, sliding for thirty feet. Staggering, he rose and spit.

"Spirit energy?" Corey asked aloud. Only humans were capable of using spiritual energy, which meant that Derek and Liz were both killed by a human. The masked warrior walked towards him, still wielding the black blade. His cloak covered his face now.

"Just who are you?" Corey yelled, gripping his hands into fists and holding them up. He hated this man. He hated him for everything that had happened in the five minutes that he knew him.

"You don't know?" asked the cloaked warrior, laughing lightly.

"Don't fuck with me!!" Corey roared, running towards him. He threw a right-handed punch, but the man merely stepped out of the way. Corey retaliated with a swift kick towards the man's face, but once again he moved out of the way. In the process, the cloak flew off, revealing the man's face.

Corey's eyes widened and his jaw dropped at whom he saw.

The man looked to be about twenty-five years old, with long dark brown hair and green eyes. He had a goatee that matched his hair color, but with a hint of red on each end. His grin and the way he stood gave away the true identity of the warrior.

It was himself, only a few years older.

"What's up, Corey?" The elder Corey asked, "Surprised to see me? Or should I say…surprised to see you?!"