The Ancient’s Son -The life and story of Arkanon Leyan
Re: The Ancient’s Son - Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Jared was standing in front of the console in his ship making a report to Harei.
“So how has Arkanon been doing?” Harei asked.
“Well, it’s been two years since that incident with Jetark, and his mental state seems to be healthy. He’s been sparring with Jetark, Veld and Berok. They seem to be his closest friends.” Jared answered.
“That’s good. You didn’t mention that he and Jetark were close friends before.”
“I didn’t? My bad. After their initial meeting, it’s turned out for the better. Arkanon told me that his friendship between Veld and Jetark was tense for the first few months, but they gradually began to grow closer together.”
“I’m happy that Arkanon was able to find friends.”
“Harei, about what you told me before, is it possible?”
“Hm? About what?”
“About Arkanon.”
“It’s very possible. The strength he has is comparable to the first generation of guardians, the half-bloods.”
“So, he is…”
“Yes, he most likely is an Ancient’s son.”
Arkanon, Veld and Jetark were out in the dueling grounds. Arkanon and Veld stood together, facing against Jetark on the opposite side of them.
“Alright, Arkanon. So here’s what we do. I’ll rush at his left side, you take the right.” Veld whispered to Arkanon.
“But isn’t his left side weaker?” Arkanon asked.
“Yes, it is, now let’s go!” Veld charged forward.
“Hey, wait, you asshole! Making someone younger than you take on something harder!” Arkanon followed after Veld.
“Hm. Come. You won’t beat me.” Jetark said with confidence.
“Oh yeah? Try this!” Veld jumped at Jetark’s left side and kicked with both his legs, trying to knock him over.
Jetark bent his knees and took the blow head on. When Veld’s kick landed, he withstood it with ease. Jetark countered by grabbing onto one of Veld’s leg. He swung Veld in wide arc and threw him in Arkanon’s direction.
“Oh, why meeeeeee!” Veld cried out.
Arkanon only narrowed his eyes and knocked Veld aside with a swipe of his left arm.
“You fucker!” Veld yelled as he was knocked away by Arkanon.
Arkanon grinned a little hearing Veld yell. He reached Jetark and infused his body with energy. Little bolts of white lightning covered his whole body. He then punched towards Jetark with his right hand, using his full strength. Jetark also punched towards Arkanon with his left hand, and their fists collided. The ground under them cracked from the power of the punches. Arkanon and Jetark stood like that for a few seconds when a cracking sound came from both of their hands. Arkanon winced and pulled back his hand. He looked down and saw the skin on his knuckle was broken and his hand was limp.
“Seems we both broke our hands from that. Although mine can still function.” Jetark said while looking at the cracks in his left hand.
“It must be nice, not having a skeleton.” Arkanon said while he covered his right hand with his left and healed it.
“Some think so. However, we’re dulled to simple pain like this. Therefore we usually tend to be a little more reckless. But if we were to lose a limb or something, then the pain we experience is far worse than anything you’ll feel.”
“Why is it like that?”
“I don’t know. It’s how our bodies work.”
“It isn’t explained anywhere?”
“I’m sure one of the books explains it in some complex way, but I never bothered to look it up.”
As Arkanon was about to speak, a fist came down and smacked Arkanon on the top of his head.
“That’s for smacking me instead of catching me!” Veld’s voice came from behind Arkanon. He then walked up to Jetark. “And this is for throwing me!” Veld kicked Jetark in the leg. Veld’s face then cramped up with pain. He then hopped away while grabbing at his foot.
“Are you okay there?” Jetark looked down at Veld.
“I’m sure he’s fine.” Arkanon said, chuckling and rubbing where Veld hit him.
“Mother fucker, it hurts!” Veld cursed loudly. “What the hell is your body made of?”
“Stone.” Jetark said flatly.
“Bull shit!”
“You should’ve known better than to kick Jetark.” Arkanon said.
“I bet if you did it, you’d be fine.” Veld whined.
“I wouldn’t be too badly hurt if I infused my body, but I would still get hurt. Now stop being a cry baby.”
“Who’s a cry baby?”
“You are.”
“Bah, I’m just vocal about things that are on my mind.”
“So complaining is on your mind most of the time.”
“Shut up!”
“I don’t mean to interrupt you two, but I’m going to take my leave.” Jetark said out loud.
“Alright, I’ll probably head back too.” Arkanon said and stretched his arms above his head.
“Hey, are you two really going to abandon me?” Veld asked.
“Yep.” Arkanon and Jetark replied at the same time.
“You guys are assholes. Fine. Go. I don’t need you two.” Veld said while acting hurt.
“Alright, see you later Veld, see you Jetark.” Arkanon waved his hand to them before walking off.
Arkanon walked back to his cabin and went inside. He went and took a shower, put on new clothes and fell asleep on his bed.
Two years have passed since Arkanon and Veld met Jetark and Arkanon talked to Harei about his problem.
His life has so far returned to its daily routine, except Jetark has become Arkanon and Veld’s friend. Arkanon and the others usually train together during the day, from sparring to training their bodies to joining together to come up with different ways of using energy. At night, Arkanon would meet up with Berok and usually spar against him. At times, they would try using energy against each other, but not to the point where they were actually hurting each other.
With the help of the three, Arkanon devised a new method of using energy. He would summon the energy from his arms and gather it at his hands. He would then slam the ground and send it underground to come up and form around the target. The target would have a lightning sphere form around them, trapping them within. Arkanon would only be able to maintain this energy prison of sorts for a short period of time. He theorized that once he got stronger, he would be able to do more with it, such as strike the target within the sphere.
Arkanon also improved his energy ball and was able to expand his lightning gauntlets. When he threw it at a target now, he could cause it to pull in everything around it in a very small radius. The first time he tested it on a target, it imploded on itself and the entire top half crumpled.
For the gauntlets, Arkanon trained up to the point where he could summon them up to his shoulders, covering his arms completely. He had Jetark test them by having him hit Arkanon straight on with the energy armor on. Once he took the hit, Arkanon barely felt anything and was only forced back a few steps. After that, the energy armor dissipated since a large majority of it was used to absorb Jetark’s hit. Arkanon was happy with the results.
As for the others, Jetark was able to form a wind wall that was impossible to get through, Veld was able to shoot little liquid balls like shotgun blasts from his fingers and Berok was able to make a flame geyser that incinerated a small area. Arkanon was happy to see his friends making progress in their training as well.
Inside Mith’s cabin, Grie was desperately pleading with Mith.
“Hey, Mith, don’t do this. That Arkanon kid ain’t worth it.” Grie said.
“Not worth it? That fucking shit eating kid has completely fucked up my life here!” Mith yelled angrily.
“But going to kill him? Isn’t this where we draw the line, Mith?”
“Grie, you’re going to help me or you’re going to get the fuck out of my cabin.”
“Mith, please, you’re one of my best friends! Forget about Arkanon!”
“I’ll only forget about him after I gut his ass.”
“But you’ll be imprisoned after this!”
“Not if they don’t find out.”
“They always know what’s happening though. They always watch us.”
“No, no they won’t find me. I’ll run and hide until this is all over. Arkanon is just one person. They won’t make a big fuss over it.”
Grie could hear the madness in Mith’s voice. “Mith, I’ll beg you one last time, please stop!”
Mith turned around backhanded Grie, knocking him down. “Get the fuck out of my cabin. It’s still a few hours until he gets up, and I want to make sure I’m prepared. Also, don’t you dare warn anyone of this, otherwise I’ll kill you next.”
Grie got back up and rubbed where Mith hit him. “Fine then, if you really want to throw your life away for petty revenge, I won’t stop you. Go ahead and try to kill Arkanon, I won’t tell anyone.”
“Try? He’s as good as dead.”
Arkanon found himself back in the dark void inside his mind, and standing in front of him was his doppelganger.
“Hi, friend.” The doppelganger said with a malicious, wide smile on his face.
Arkanon narrowed his eyes as he glared at his second self. “What do you want?”
“Why so hostile? I merely wanted to talk.”
“I have no interest in anything you have to say. Now let me go.”
“Not so fast. I have some interesting things that you might want to hear about.”
Arkanon gritted his teeth. “Fine then, speak.”
“Well, you could ask nicely, you know?”
“Like I’d ever speak to you kindly.”
“You know, it’s rather rude to be so hateful towards yourself.”
“You are not me. I don’t know what the hell you are.”
“But I am you. I’m Arkanon Leyan, and so are you. Our lives are linked together. If I die, you die. If you die, I die.”
“Is this the supposed ‘interesting thing’ you wanted to tell me about?”
“It’s one of them. What I really want to let you know is I hold a majority of your power.”
Arkanon’s face cramped up. “What do you mean?”
“I’m saying that if there ever comes a time when the opponent you’re fighting is too strong, you can rely on me. You have to willingly allow me to take direct control of your body, have your mind at its limits or be on the verge of death.”
“Thanks for telling me how to never let you get in control.”
“You say so, but you can’t always control everything. There will most likely come a time when you’ll need me. I’m only informing you of how I can come to and help. Just know that I value my life more than that of your friends. If there comes a time when I need to leave them behind to save us, I’ll do it without hesitation. So try to keep us out of trouble.”
“I don’t need you telling me that.”
“You always seem to attract trouble, so I was merely giving a warning.”
“Since you only seem to value yours and my life, why did you heal Veld after Jetark attacked us?”
The doppelganger’s face had an annoyed look. “You still have a bit of influence, even after I take over, so it felt like the right thing to do. It was like a constant itch and it wouldn’t go away until I did it. What a pain.” The doppelganger looked up and a sneer formed on his face. “Out of time already, huh? Also, when we next meet, refer to me as ‘dark Arkanon’, it makes it easier to define which Arkanon is which.”
“But I’ll never see you again. That I promise.”
“Then that’s a shitty promise, because it’ll be broken soon enough.”
Arkanon awoke with a start. His body was sweaty and he felt uncomfortable, like something wasn’t right. He got up, went to the bathroom and washed his face off. ‘Berok is probably waiting for me, I should get out there soon.’ Arkanon thought to himself. He stepped out of the bathroom, went and grabbed his cloak and was heading outside.
As he opened the door, a fist came and struck him in the head. Dazed, Arkanon grabbed at his head and stepped back. A dagger then struck out and sliced Arkanon from his right shoulder to his left hip. Arkanon jumped back as blood sprayed out of his wound. Clenching his teeth from the pain, Arkanon look up and saw Mith closing the door behind him and locking it.
Mith’s face was twisted in madness, his eyes wide open and a crazed smile on his face. “Die, you shitty brat.” He muttered and jumped forward.
Jared was standing in front of the console in his ship making a report to Harei.
“So how has Arkanon been doing?” Harei asked.
“Well, it’s been two years since that incident with Jetark, and his mental state seems to be healthy. He’s been sparring with Jetark, Veld and Berok. They seem to be his closest friends.” Jared answered.
“That’s good. You didn’t mention that he and Jetark were close friends before.”
“I didn’t? My bad. After their initial meeting, it’s turned out for the better. Arkanon told me that his friendship between Veld and Jetark was tense for the first few months, but they gradually began to grow closer together.”
“I’m happy that Arkanon was able to find friends.”
“Harei, about what you told me before, is it possible?”
“Hm? About what?”
“About Arkanon.”
“It’s very possible. The strength he has is comparable to the first generation of guardians, the half-bloods.”
“So, he is…”
“Yes, he most likely is an Ancient’s son.”
Arkanon, Veld and Jetark were out in the dueling grounds. Arkanon and Veld stood together, facing against Jetark on the opposite side of them.
“Alright, Arkanon. So here’s what we do. I’ll rush at his left side, you take the right.” Veld whispered to Arkanon.
“But isn’t his left side weaker?” Arkanon asked.
“Yes, it is, now let’s go!” Veld charged forward.
“Hey, wait, you asshole! Making someone younger than you take on something harder!” Arkanon followed after Veld.
“Hm. Come. You won’t beat me.” Jetark said with confidence.
“Oh yeah? Try this!” Veld jumped at Jetark’s left side and kicked with both his legs, trying to knock him over.
Jetark bent his knees and took the blow head on. When Veld’s kick landed, he withstood it with ease. Jetark countered by grabbing onto one of Veld’s leg. He swung Veld in wide arc and threw him in Arkanon’s direction.
“Oh, why meeeeeee!” Veld cried out.
Arkanon only narrowed his eyes and knocked Veld aside with a swipe of his left arm.
“You fucker!” Veld yelled as he was knocked away by Arkanon.
Arkanon grinned a little hearing Veld yell. He reached Jetark and infused his body with energy. Little bolts of white lightning covered his whole body. He then punched towards Jetark with his right hand, using his full strength. Jetark also punched towards Arkanon with his left hand, and their fists collided. The ground under them cracked from the power of the punches. Arkanon and Jetark stood like that for a few seconds when a cracking sound came from both of their hands. Arkanon winced and pulled back his hand. He looked down and saw the skin on his knuckle was broken and his hand was limp.
“Seems we both broke our hands from that. Although mine can still function.” Jetark said while looking at the cracks in his left hand.
“It must be nice, not having a skeleton.” Arkanon said while he covered his right hand with his left and healed it.
“Some think so. However, we’re dulled to simple pain like this. Therefore we usually tend to be a little more reckless. But if we were to lose a limb or something, then the pain we experience is far worse than anything you’ll feel.”
“Why is it like that?”
“I don’t know. It’s how our bodies work.”
“It isn’t explained anywhere?”
“I’m sure one of the books explains it in some complex way, but I never bothered to look it up.”
As Arkanon was about to speak, a fist came down and smacked Arkanon on the top of his head.
“That’s for smacking me instead of catching me!” Veld’s voice came from behind Arkanon. He then walked up to Jetark. “And this is for throwing me!” Veld kicked Jetark in the leg. Veld’s face then cramped up with pain. He then hopped away while grabbing at his foot.
“Are you okay there?” Jetark looked down at Veld.
“I’m sure he’s fine.” Arkanon said, chuckling and rubbing where Veld hit him.
“Mother fucker, it hurts!” Veld cursed loudly. “What the hell is your body made of?”
“Stone.” Jetark said flatly.
“Bull shit!”
“You should’ve known better than to kick Jetark.” Arkanon said.
“I bet if you did it, you’d be fine.” Veld whined.
“I wouldn’t be too badly hurt if I infused my body, but I would still get hurt. Now stop being a cry baby.”
“Who’s a cry baby?”
“You are.”
“Bah, I’m just vocal about things that are on my mind.”
“So complaining is on your mind most of the time.”
“Shut up!”
“I don’t mean to interrupt you two, but I’m going to take my leave.” Jetark said out loud.
“Alright, I’ll probably head back too.” Arkanon said and stretched his arms above his head.
“Hey, are you two really going to abandon me?” Veld asked.
“Yep.” Arkanon and Jetark replied at the same time.
“You guys are assholes. Fine. Go. I don’t need you two.” Veld said while acting hurt.
“Alright, see you later Veld, see you Jetark.” Arkanon waved his hand to them before walking off.
Arkanon walked back to his cabin and went inside. He went and took a shower, put on new clothes and fell asleep on his bed.
Two years have passed since Arkanon and Veld met Jetark and Arkanon talked to Harei about his problem.
His life has so far returned to its daily routine, except Jetark has become Arkanon and Veld’s friend. Arkanon and the others usually train together during the day, from sparring to training their bodies to joining together to come up with different ways of using energy. At night, Arkanon would meet up with Berok and usually spar against him. At times, they would try using energy against each other, but not to the point where they were actually hurting each other.
With the help of the three, Arkanon devised a new method of using energy. He would summon the energy from his arms and gather it at his hands. He would then slam the ground and send it underground to come up and form around the target. The target would have a lightning sphere form around them, trapping them within. Arkanon would only be able to maintain this energy prison of sorts for a short period of time. He theorized that once he got stronger, he would be able to do more with it, such as strike the target within the sphere.
Arkanon also improved his energy ball and was able to expand his lightning gauntlets. When he threw it at a target now, he could cause it to pull in everything around it in a very small radius. The first time he tested it on a target, it imploded on itself and the entire top half crumpled.
For the gauntlets, Arkanon trained up to the point where he could summon them up to his shoulders, covering his arms completely. He had Jetark test them by having him hit Arkanon straight on with the energy armor on. Once he took the hit, Arkanon barely felt anything and was only forced back a few steps. After that, the energy armor dissipated since a large majority of it was used to absorb Jetark’s hit. Arkanon was happy with the results.
As for the others, Jetark was able to form a wind wall that was impossible to get through, Veld was able to shoot little liquid balls like shotgun blasts from his fingers and Berok was able to make a flame geyser that incinerated a small area. Arkanon was happy to see his friends making progress in their training as well.
Inside Mith’s cabin, Grie was desperately pleading with Mith.
“Hey, Mith, don’t do this. That Arkanon kid ain’t worth it.” Grie said.
“Not worth it? That fucking shit eating kid has completely fucked up my life here!” Mith yelled angrily.
“But going to kill him? Isn’t this where we draw the line, Mith?”
“Grie, you’re going to help me or you’re going to get the fuck out of my cabin.”
“Mith, please, you’re one of my best friends! Forget about Arkanon!”
“I’ll only forget about him after I gut his ass.”
“But you’ll be imprisoned after this!”
“Not if they don’t find out.”
“They always know what’s happening though. They always watch us.”
“No, no they won’t find me. I’ll run and hide until this is all over. Arkanon is just one person. They won’t make a big fuss over it.”
Grie could hear the madness in Mith’s voice. “Mith, I’ll beg you one last time, please stop!”
Mith turned around backhanded Grie, knocking him down. “Get the fuck out of my cabin. It’s still a few hours until he gets up, and I want to make sure I’m prepared. Also, don’t you dare warn anyone of this, otherwise I’ll kill you next.”
Grie got back up and rubbed where Mith hit him. “Fine then, if you really want to throw your life away for petty revenge, I won’t stop you. Go ahead and try to kill Arkanon, I won’t tell anyone.”
“Try? He’s as good as dead.”
Arkanon found himself back in the dark void inside his mind, and standing in front of him was his doppelganger.
“Hi, friend.” The doppelganger said with a malicious, wide smile on his face.
Arkanon narrowed his eyes as he glared at his second self. “What do you want?”
“Why so hostile? I merely wanted to talk.”
“I have no interest in anything you have to say. Now let me go.”
“Not so fast. I have some interesting things that you might want to hear about.”
Arkanon gritted his teeth. “Fine then, speak.”
“Well, you could ask nicely, you know?”
“Like I’d ever speak to you kindly.”
“You know, it’s rather rude to be so hateful towards yourself.”
“You are not me. I don’t know what the hell you are.”
“But I am you. I’m Arkanon Leyan, and so are you. Our lives are linked together. If I die, you die. If you die, I die.”
“Is this the supposed ‘interesting thing’ you wanted to tell me about?”
“It’s one of them. What I really want to let you know is I hold a majority of your power.”
Arkanon’s face cramped up. “What do you mean?”
“I’m saying that if there ever comes a time when the opponent you’re fighting is too strong, you can rely on me. You have to willingly allow me to take direct control of your body, have your mind at its limits or be on the verge of death.”
“Thanks for telling me how to never let you get in control.”
“You say so, but you can’t always control everything. There will most likely come a time when you’ll need me. I’m only informing you of how I can come to and help. Just know that I value my life more than that of your friends. If there comes a time when I need to leave them behind to save us, I’ll do it without hesitation. So try to keep us out of trouble.”
“I don’t need you telling me that.”
“You always seem to attract trouble, so I was merely giving a warning.”
“Since you only seem to value yours and my life, why did you heal Veld after Jetark attacked us?”
The doppelganger’s face had an annoyed look. “You still have a bit of influence, even after I take over, so it felt like the right thing to do. It was like a constant itch and it wouldn’t go away until I did it. What a pain.” The doppelganger looked up and a sneer formed on his face. “Out of time already, huh? Also, when we next meet, refer to me as ‘dark Arkanon’, it makes it easier to define which Arkanon is which.”
“But I’ll never see you again. That I promise.”
“Then that’s a shitty promise, because it’ll be broken soon enough.”
Arkanon awoke with a start. His body was sweaty and he felt uncomfortable, like something wasn’t right. He got up, went to the bathroom and washed his face off. ‘Berok is probably waiting for me, I should get out there soon.’ Arkanon thought to himself. He stepped out of the bathroom, went and grabbed his cloak and was heading outside.
As he opened the door, a fist came and struck him in the head. Dazed, Arkanon grabbed at his head and stepped back. A dagger then struck out and sliced Arkanon from his right shoulder to his left hip. Arkanon jumped back as blood sprayed out of his wound. Clenching his teeth from the pain, Arkanon look up and saw Mith closing the door behind him and locking it.
Mith’s face was twisted in madness, his eyes wide open and a crazed smile on his face. “Die, you shitty brat.” He muttered and jumped forward.
Re: The Ancient’s Son - Chapter 18
Chapter 18
Arkanon jumped to the left, just barely avoiding Mith’s attack. Blood continued to run out of his wound, making him grit his teeth in pain.
Mith turned and charged Arkanon, swinging his dagger once more. Arkanon formed his lightning armor and grabbed Mith’s arms. Mith then head butted Arkanon, causing him to stumble. Mith took the chance to try and stab Arkanon in the stomach, but Arkanon grabbed his arm with one hand and pulled it away. He then punched Mith in the face, forcing him back. Arkanon slammed the ground with the remaining energy in his armor, sending it towards Mith. He formed a lightning sphere, trapping Mith inside.
Arkanon ran to grab his sword while Mith was imprisoned. But Mith swung his arms outward, smashing open the sphere. Arkanon was able to reach his sword, and he pulled it from the sheath. Before he could turn to face Mith, Mith had already gotten to Arkanon. Mith then stabbed Arkanon in the stomach, while Arkanon countered by bringing his sword down towards Mith’s head. Mith raised his arm, catching the sword with his forearm. The blade went halfway through his arm, causing Mith’s face to twist in pain. He then pulled back while keeping his arm close to his body. Arkanon similarly grabbed at the stab wound in his stomach, his face grimacing while also turning a pale white from blood loss.
“Why won’t you just die, damnit!” Mith cursed loudly.
Arkanon didn’t respond, and only continued to stare at Mith.
“Any last words? I’ll make sure you’ll die in the next strike.”
“Try me.” Arkanon whispered out.
Mith’s face contorted in anger. He then gathered fire energy in his right hand and swept it towards Arkanon. Arkanon raised his arms to cover his body and took the attack head on with nowhere to go. The blast momentarily stunned him, making his body lock up. As he opened his arms slightly, a dagger swished and Arkanon felt his throat get slashed. He collapsed to his knees and tried to cover the wound on his throat, but it was useless as his vision started to dim from blood loss. As his vision turned dark, he only heard a voice in his head say, “What a useless display. Now it’s my turn.”
Mith watched as Arkanon fell, and could only smile and laugh as he saw the blood flow from Arkanon’s body. But his smile froze on his face and his laugh died as he noticed something. Black flames started to burn on Arkanon’s wounds, sealing them up. The tips of Arkanon’s hair also faded to black.
Arkanon stood up, his body unsteady. “Hey now, it’s quite rude coming into someone’s place and attacking them.” He leaned his head back slightly, his eye now blood-red. His pale appearance and blood-stained clothes combined made for a terrifying visage. “You should know it’s punishable by death.”
“What the fuck are you?!” Mith trembled as he spoke. He could feel an overbearing pressure pushing down on him.
“I would say Arkanon, but that’s not quite right. Just think of me as the one that’ll kill you. It makes it a lot easier for you to understand then, I’m sure.”
“Shut up! If I can kill you once, I can kill you again!”
“Aah, but you never truly killed me. Although I’m quite happy to be out again, you still attempted to kill me and I’m quite angry about that, so enough words.” Arkanon took a step forward, then flashed from Mith’s sight.
“What the fuck is this?!” Mith was truly scared now. He kept his dagger up as if to ward off Arkanon. Mith had his feet swept out from under him, making him drop his dagger, and was mid-air for a second. Some powerful force then slammed into him, sending him flying into one of the walls. He felt a few of his ribs break upon impact, causing him to cry out. Mith pitifully stood up, his body shaking and tears could be seen in his eyes. He could only feel fear and pain at that moment. “It’s all your fault! Everything that’s happened is your fault!” He screamed out.
“My fault?” Arkanon appeared in front of Mith. Black flames sprouted at his hands, and a look of disdain was on his face. “Everything was my fault?” Arkanon pressed one of his hands against Mith’s stomach. “This was all your doing. You couldn’t let go of past hatreds and now you’re blaming others for your own doings.” Arkanon slowly pressed his hand further into Mith’s stomach. “I had thought that I could have a bit of fun coming out and ending your pathetic life, but this has only left a disgusting taste in my mouth and made me pissed at how completely idiotic one person can be.”
“Please, please no. Don’t kill me please.” Mith begged as he felt Arkanon’s hand slowly burning it’s way through to his body.
“Your life has no place here. Perish.” Arkanon’s hand pushed all the way through Mith’s stomach and was inside his body. He then sent black flames through Mith’s body, torching him on the inside.
“Noo-Aaaaaaaaaaaah!” Mith screamed in agony as he felt his body was being completely burned on the inside.
Arkanon stood like that until Mith’s screams stopped and all that remained was a burnt husk. Arkanon pulled his hand out and Mith’s corpse fell to the ground.
“What a waste of time. I thought I would be entertained, but instead all I feel is anger and disappointment. How annoying.” Arkanon walked to the center of the cabin and gathered the remaining energy from his body. His body then erupted with black flames, scorching everything in the cabin and turning Mith’s already burnt corpse into ash. “There. It’s up to you to come up with the excuse now.” Arkanon then fell his knees and fell to the ground, passed out.
Areath was frantically running for Arkanon’s cabin. “Damnit! Please be alright, kid!” It took him a few minutes to be notified of what was happening and then the time it took to get to Arkanon’s cabin. Once he got there, he rammed his shoulder into the door, busting it down.
“Arkanon!” He called out. But as soon as Areath got a good look at the cabin, he felt a chill go down his spine. The entire inside was charred black as if some bomb was set off in there. He then saw Arkanon fainted in the middle of it, his clothes stained with blood.
Areath rushed to Arkanon to check his body for wounds. Upon inspection, he only found three scars. One was at the base of his throat, another on his stomach and the last one, a long one, from his right shoulder to his left hip. Areath saw no other wounds. He let out a sigh of relief, then heard a voice behind him.
“What the hell happened here?” Areath turned around to see Jared was standing in the doorway, looking around in shock. He then looked at Areath and saw Arkanon lying unconscious beside him. “Is he alright?”
Areath nodded his head. “Yeah. He has three scars, but that’s the only injury I see on him.”
“Have you checked his internals?”
“His organs are fine. I checked them.”
Jared stepped in and looked around at the whole cabin. “What could’ve done this?”
“I don’t know. I think Arkanon is the only one that can answer that.”
“I was told that another student suddenly attacked him. Where’s that other student?”
“I wasn’t told of him leaving the cabin. Look around for evidence, if you can find any in here.”
Jared walked around exploring every part of the cabin until he came on a pile of ash. “Hey Areath, I think I found that student.”
“Where?” Areath got up and walked over to Jared.
Jared pointed down at the ash pile while frowning. “Right there.”
Areath stared silently at the pile of ash momentarily. “To be burned away to this, what a horrible fate. We don’t know who this is. The student was hooded when he came in.”
“Well we’ll find out soon enough. Once you guys notice who’s missing.”
“Yeah. For now, let’s get Arkanon out of here.”
“Where do you want to take him?”
“We have an infirmary inside the building. I’ll take him there until he wakes up. After that, I’ll have to get him a new cabin.”
“If you need help with anything, let me know.”
“Since you said it, please contact Harei about this.”
“Was already planning to.”
“Good, then I’ll take Arkanon.”
“Yeah, keep me updated.”
“Will do.” Areath walked over to Arkanon and picked him up. He then walked out of the cabin and towards the building.
Arkanon was back in the black void sitting down, his darker version sitting cross-legged in front of him. He looked bored and annoyed as he rested his head on one of his hands.
Arkanon spoke up first. “I suppose I should say thank you. If not for you, I would’ve died.”
“Shut it.” Dark Arkanon replied angrily. “Also, I’m sure you meant to say we. We would’ve died. Also, aren’t you supposed to be getting all angry or scared or whatever?”
“I’m not angry or scared. Just conflicted.”
“Hah! Conflicted over what? Are you going to try and make ‘friends’ with me?” Dark Arkanon asked mockingly.
“No, but I’ve accepted the fact that you reside within me.”
“Already accepted it? That certainly was fast.”
“I’d appreciate it if you cut out that mocking tone.”
“Well I’d appreciate it if you weren’t such a failure. I barely had to do anything and that pathetic worm had already broken down and begged for his life. How could you possibly fail at killing him? AH! Thinking about it again is making me pissed.”
“Weren’t you the one asking if I was supposed to be getting angry?”
“Shut your mouth before I use you as a punching bag.”
Arkanon smiled slightly before leaning back and stretching his legs. “So where did you come from?”
“What do you mean?”
“How did you come into existence? Were you always with me since I’ve been born?”
“I… don’t know.” Dark Arkanon had a troubled look on his face. “I just remember waking up one day, residing inside your body. With no motive or sense of direction, I could only see through your eyes. It wasn’t until Jetark had beaten you badly that I found a way of getting through.”
“So it’s completely optional for you to take control of my body?”
“Yes, although it’s temporary. Even though we’re both Arkanon Leyan, you still own the body and I’m just some parasite.”
“Sounds about right. But in a way, you are a failsafe.”
“A failsafe?”
“Yeah, you mentioned before that you hold a majority of my power, and you always come out when I’m on the verge of death.”
“Now that you say it, it makes sense. But we’re far too different for me to be just a failsafe.” Dark Arkanon sighed. “I hate to ask this of you, but can you help me find the meaning of my existence?”
“I planned on finding out what you were already.”
Dark Arkanon stood up. “Just know we’re only acquaintances. I have no desire of ever being your friend.” He looked up. “Our times up.” He looked back at Arkanon with a malicious smile. “Have fun explaining.”
Arkanon woke up, he sat up slowly. He looked around the white room he was in and noticed that it was like a hospital room. When he looked down at his body, he saw that his originally bloodied and torn clothes were swapped out. He felt around the area at his neck where the dagger slashed him and felt that the wound was gone. He pulled up his shirt and looked down at his chest. A long scar was there from his right shoulder to his left hip. He also saw a small scar from where he was stabbed. He absentmindedly poked at his scars. ‘So this is my body now.’
“Excuse me, Arkanon Leyan, correct?” A voice came from Arkanon’s left.
He pulled down his shirt and looked to see who was talking. He saw a draconic person in light brown armor standing there. “That’s correct.”
“Good. Can you stand up?”
Arkanon moved his legs to the edge of the bed and put them on the ground. He put a little weight on them and noticed they could handle it. He then slowly stood up and stretched his body. “How long have I been asleep?”
“Only a few hours. My name is Calan, and I’m one of the instructors here. I have to ask that you follow me as we have some questions that we want to ask you. Are you able to walk?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
“Okay, follow me.”
Calan walked to the door and opened it. He stepped out with Arkanon following him.
Arkanon jumped to the left, just barely avoiding Mith’s attack. Blood continued to run out of his wound, making him grit his teeth in pain.
Mith turned and charged Arkanon, swinging his dagger once more. Arkanon formed his lightning armor and grabbed Mith’s arms. Mith then head butted Arkanon, causing him to stumble. Mith took the chance to try and stab Arkanon in the stomach, but Arkanon grabbed his arm with one hand and pulled it away. He then punched Mith in the face, forcing him back. Arkanon slammed the ground with the remaining energy in his armor, sending it towards Mith. He formed a lightning sphere, trapping Mith inside.
Arkanon ran to grab his sword while Mith was imprisoned. But Mith swung his arms outward, smashing open the sphere. Arkanon was able to reach his sword, and he pulled it from the sheath. Before he could turn to face Mith, Mith had already gotten to Arkanon. Mith then stabbed Arkanon in the stomach, while Arkanon countered by bringing his sword down towards Mith’s head. Mith raised his arm, catching the sword with his forearm. The blade went halfway through his arm, causing Mith’s face to twist in pain. He then pulled back while keeping his arm close to his body. Arkanon similarly grabbed at the stab wound in his stomach, his face grimacing while also turning a pale white from blood loss.
“Why won’t you just die, damnit!” Mith cursed loudly.
Arkanon didn’t respond, and only continued to stare at Mith.
“Any last words? I’ll make sure you’ll die in the next strike.”
“Try me.” Arkanon whispered out.
Mith’s face contorted in anger. He then gathered fire energy in his right hand and swept it towards Arkanon. Arkanon raised his arms to cover his body and took the attack head on with nowhere to go. The blast momentarily stunned him, making his body lock up. As he opened his arms slightly, a dagger swished and Arkanon felt his throat get slashed. He collapsed to his knees and tried to cover the wound on his throat, but it was useless as his vision started to dim from blood loss. As his vision turned dark, he only heard a voice in his head say, “What a useless display. Now it’s my turn.”
Mith watched as Arkanon fell, and could only smile and laugh as he saw the blood flow from Arkanon’s body. But his smile froze on his face and his laugh died as he noticed something. Black flames started to burn on Arkanon’s wounds, sealing them up. The tips of Arkanon’s hair also faded to black.
Arkanon stood up, his body unsteady. “Hey now, it’s quite rude coming into someone’s place and attacking them.” He leaned his head back slightly, his eye now blood-red. His pale appearance and blood-stained clothes combined made for a terrifying visage. “You should know it’s punishable by death.”
“What the fuck are you?!” Mith trembled as he spoke. He could feel an overbearing pressure pushing down on him.
“I would say Arkanon, but that’s not quite right. Just think of me as the one that’ll kill you. It makes it a lot easier for you to understand then, I’m sure.”
“Shut up! If I can kill you once, I can kill you again!”
“Aah, but you never truly killed me. Although I’m quite happy to be out again, you still attempted to kill me and I’m quite angry about that, so enough words.” Arkanon took a step forward, then flashed from Mith’s sight.
“What the fuck is this?!” Mith was truly scared now. He kept his dagger up as if to ward off Arkanon. Mith had his feet swept out from under him, making him drop his dagger, and was mid-air for a second. Some powerful force then slammed into him, sending him flying into one of the walls. He felt a few of his ribs break upon impact, causing him to cry out. Mith pitifully stood up, his body shaking and tears could be seen in his eyes. He could only feel fear and pain at that moment. “It’s all your fault! Everything that’s happened is your fault!” He screamed out.
“My fault?” Arkanon appeared in front of Mith. Black flames sprouted at his hands, and a look of disdain was on his face. “Everything was my fault?” Arkanon pressed one of his hands against Mith’s stomach. “This was all your doing. You couldn’t let go of past hatreds and now you’re blaming others for your own doings.” Arkanon slowly pressed his hand further into Mith’s stomach. “I had thought that I could have a bit of fun coming out and ending your pathetic life, but this has only left a disgusting taste in my mouth and made me pissed at how completely idiotic one person can be.”
“Please, please no. Don’t kill me please.” Mith begged as he felt Arkanon’s hand slowly burning it’s way through to his body.
“Your life has no place here. Perish.” Arkanon’s hand pushed all the way through Mith’s stomach and was inside his body. He then sent black flames through Mith’s body, torching him on the inside.
“Noo-Aaaaaaaaaaaah!” Mith screamed in agony as he felt his body was being completely burned on the inside.
Arkanon stood like that until Mith’s screams stopped and all that remained was a burnt husk. Arkanon pulled his hand out and Mith’s corpse fell to the ground.
“What a waste of time. I thought I would be entertained, but instead all I feel is anger and disappointment. How annoying.” Arkanon walked to the center of the cabin and gathered the remaining energy from his body. His body then erupted with black flames, scorching everything in the cabin and turning Mith’s already burnt corpse into ash. “There. It’s up to you to come up with the excuse now.” Arkanon then fell his knees and fell to the ground, passed out.
Areath was frantically running for Arkanon’s cabin. “Damnit! Please be alright, kid!” It took him a few minutes to be notified of what was happening and then the time it took to get to Arkanon’s cabin. Once he got there, he rammed his shoulder into the door, busting it down.
“Arkanon!” He called out. But as soon as Areath got a good look at the cabin, he felt a chill go down his spine. The entire inside was charred black as if some bomb was set off in there. He then saw Arkanon fainted in the middle of it, his clothes stained with blood.
Areath rushed to Arkanon to check his body for wounds. Upon inspection, he only found three scars. One was at the base of his throat, another on his stomach and the last one, a long one, from his right shoulder to his left hip. Areath saw no other wounds. He let out a sigh of relief, then heard a voice behind him.
“What the hell happened here?” Areath turned around to see Jared was standing in the doorway, looking around in shock. He then looked at Areath and saw Arkanon lying unconscious beside him. “Is he alright?”
Areath nodded his head. “Yeah. He has three scars, but that’s the only injury I see on him.”
“Have you checked his internals?”
“His organs are fine. I checked them.”
Jared stepped in and looked around at the whole cabin. “What could’ve done this?”
“I don’t know. I think Arkanon is the only one that can answer that.”
“I was told that another student suddenly attacked him. Where’s that other student?”
“I wasn’t told of him leaving the cabin. Look around for evidence, if you can find any in here.”
Jared walked around exploring every part of the cabin until he came on a pile of ash. “Hey Areath, I think I found that student.”
“Where?” Areath got up and walked over to Jared.
Jared pointed down at the ash pile while frowning. “Right there.”
Areath stared silently at the pile of ash momentarily. “To be burned away to this, what a horrible fate. We don’t know who this is. The student was hooded when he came in.”
“Well we’ll find out soon enough. Once you guys notice who’s missing.”
“Yeah. For now, let’s get Arkanon out of here.”
“Where do you want to take him?”
“We have an infirmary inside the building. I’ll take him there until he wakes up. After that, I’ll have to get him a new cabin.”
“If you need help with anything, let me know.”
“Since you said it, please contact Harei about this.”
“Was already planning to.”
“Good, then I’ll take Arkanon.”
“Yeah, keep me updated.”
“Will do.” Areath walked over to Arkanon and picked him up. He then walked out of the cabin and towards the building.
Arkanon was back in the black void sitting down, his darker version sitting cross-legged in front of him. He looked bored and annoyed as he rested his head on one of his hands.
Arkanon spoke up first. “I suppose I should say thank you. If not for you, I would’ve died.”
“Shut it.” Dark Arkanon replied angrily. “Also, I’m sure you meant to say we. We would’ve died. Also, aren’t you supposed to be getting all angry or scared or whatever?”
“I’m not angry or scared. Just conflicted.”
“Hah! Conflicted over what? Are you going to try and make ‘friends’ with me?” Dark Arkanon asked mockingly.
“No, but I’ve accepted the fact that you reside within me.”
“Already accepted it? That certainly was fast.”
“I’d appreciate it if you cut out that mocking tone.”
“Well I’d appreciate it if you weren’t such a failure. I barely had to do anything and that pathetic worm had already broken down and begged for his life. How could you possibly fail at killing him? AH! Thinking about it again is making me pissed.”
“Weren’t you the one asking if I was supposed to be getting angry?”
“Shut your mouth before I use you as a punching bag.”
Arkanon smiled slightly before leaning back and stretching his legs. “So where did you come from?”
“What do you mean?”
“How did you come into existence? Were you always with me since I’ve been born?”
“I… don’t know.” Dark Arkanon had a troubled look on his face. “I just remember waking up one day, residing inside your body. With no motive or sense of direction, I could only see through your eyes. It wasn’t until Jetark had beaten you badly that I found a way of getting through.”
“So it’s completely optional for you to take control of my body?”
“Yes, although it’s temporary. Even though we’re both Arkanon Leyan, you still own the body and I’m just some parasite.”
“Sounds about right. But in a way, you are a failsafe.”
“A failsafe?”
“Yeah, you mentioned before that you hold a majority of my power, and you always come out when I’m on the verge of death.”
“Now that you say it, it makes sense. But we’re far too different for me to be just a failsafe.” Dark Arkanon sighed. “I hate to ask this of you, but can you help me find the meaning of my existence?”
“I planned on finding out what you were already.”
Dark Arkanon stood up. “Just know we’re only acquaintances. I have no desire of ever being your friend.” He looked up. “Our times up.” He looked back at Arkanon with a malicious smile. “Have fun explaining.”
Arkanon woke up, he sat up slowly. He looked around the white room he was in and noticed that it was like a hospital room. When he looked down at his body, he saw that his originally bloodied and torn clothes were swapped out. He felt around the area at his neck where the dagger slashed him and felt that the wound was gone. He pulled up his shirt and looked down at his chest. A long scar was there from his right shoulder to his left hip. He also saw a small scar from where he was stabbed. He absentmindedly poked at his scars. ‘So this is my body now.’
“Excuse me, Arkanon Leyan, correct?” A voice came from Arkanon’s left.
He pulled down his shirt and looked to see who was talking. He saw a draconic person in light brown armor standing there. “That’s correct.”
“Good. Can you stand up?”
Arkanon moved his legs to the edge of the bed and put them on the ground. He put a little weight on them and noticed they could handle it. He then slowly stood up and stretched his body. “How long have I been asleep?”
“Only a few hours. My name is Calan, and I’m one of the instructors here. I have to ask that you follow me as we have some questions that we want to ask you. Are you able to walk?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
“Okay, follow me.”
Calan walked to the door and opened it. He stepped out with Arkanon following him.
Re: The Ancient’s Son - Chapter 19
Chapter 19
In the purple void, the two beings were observing Arkanon.
“This child, he’s an abomination. Having both corrupt energy and normal energy, his body should’ve been torn apart long ago.” The white one said.
“No, the energies aren’t combined. Have you noticed how much of a difference there is when he changed? Not once has he used corrupt energy until now. It’s as if there’s another person that resides within him.” The dark one voiced his thoughts.
“Two people inside the same body? Is that possible?”
“I don’t know. This child defies the logic that we know. He’s an enigma.”
Jared was standing in front of his console speaking with Harei. He recounted what he found when he was at Arkanon’s cabin.
“What you’ve said, it’s strange. You said that the entire inside of the cabin was scorched, yet those cabins are built to resist such destruction. You’ll have to ask Arkanon if you want to know what happened, as I have no possible idea on what could’ve happened.” Harei said.
“But there must be something that you know. I’m worried about him.”
“I am too. Arkanon is someone extremely important, I can feel it. His very existence may shake the foundations of not only this war, but this universe.”
“So where am I going?” Arkanon asked Calan as they walked down the hall.
“There’s someone that wishes to speak with you about what happened?” Calan replied.
“Who is it?”
“It’s better that you see yourself.”
“Hm?” Arkanon tilted his head to the side in, curious at who it could be.
They continued to walk down the hallway until Calan stopped at a door and knocked.
A voice came from the other side of the door. “Come in.”
Calan opened the door and waved Arkanon to come over.
Arkanon walked inside a medium sized room with a desk in the middle of the room. There was a chair in front of the desk. Behind it was a massive being standing there. It looked similar to Harei, except for the left side of it’s face was completely scarred and burned, with no scales and only rough pink flesh showing.
“Greetings Arkanon, my name is Xerva, and I’m one of the remaining Ancients.” Xerva introduced himself.
“One of the remaining Ancients?” Arkanon asked curiously. “How many are there?”
“I’ll let you ask whatever you want after you answer a few questions of mine, alright?”
“Okay.”
“Good! You can leave now Calan.”
Calan only bowed his head and walked out of the room.
“Go ahead and take a seat, this may take a little bit.”
Arkanon walked over and sat at the chair in front of the desk.
“I’ve been curious as to what happened. Those cabins are specifically designed to withstand a lot of damage, yet yours was so easily burnt up. Are you able to recount what happened?”
Arkanon racked his head for a moment, not wanting to tell a lie, but not the truth either. “I can’t remember clearly, my memory is hazy whenever I try and remember it.”
“Are you sure? Try and remember as best you can. This is important.”
“I think that Mith, the student that attacked me, tried to do something with energy, but it backfired and exploded, destroying everything around it.” Arkanon decided to lie.
“A backfire, huh. It would have to be one hell of an explosion to damage those walls… You are telling me the truth, correct?”
“As best as I can remember.”
“Hmm, the power needed to damage those walls can’t come from just one person.” Xerva crossed his arms. “Arkanon, your last name is Leyan, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Could you perhaps be the son of Sylvan Leyan? Do you recognize that name?”
“No, who is it?”
“Sylvan Leyan is one of the few remaining Ancients next to me and Harei. We’ve been out of contact for the past fifty or so years. He’s one of the one’s missing, along with Malanak, Zardel and Plyn. Have you ever met your father before?”
“No, never.”
“Did he leave you any messages?”
“None. I haven’t seen or heard from my father since my birth.”
“It’s highly possible that you’re his son, although there’s no way for us to know for sure. You have the same feel about you.”
“What does it mean if I’m his son?”
“What it means is that you’re a half-blood. That’s the term we use for direct descendants of Ancients and Corrupted. Half-bloods tend to grow in strength fast and can become a rather powerful force.”
“If they’re so powerful, why don’t you Ancients have a lot of children?”
“Good question! The problem is that we have a very small chance of ever having children. That’s what makes half-bloods so rare.”
“Could I become as strong as an Ancient if I am a half-blood?”
“It could happen. It all depends on how strong you get. Once you reach a certain level of power, guardians and demons can access a transformation known as a true form.”
“True form?”
“Yes. A true form calls out the Ancient blood within you and causes your body to more resemble an Ancient with the power to match. Any guardian or demon can reach this state, but the less Ancient blood you carry, the harder it is as your power becomes less. If you’re a half-blood, you can achieve a true form with relative ease.”
Arkanon was amazed at hearing what he could possibly be. “Is there any way you can see if I’m a half-blood?”
“There’s no way to tell, at least not currently. Only time will tell. As you grow older and keep increasing your strength, if you are a half-blood, you will eventually achieve a true form. Ah, my apologies for keeping you here this long, I’m sure you wish to go check on your friends and such, therefore you can leave now if you wish.”
“Thank you very much for the information, Xerva.”
“Mm, thank you for the conversation. Oh, one more thing. If you wish for a challenge, try dueling my great, great grand-daughter Mira. She may prove quite a challenge for you.”
Arkanon nodded his head, got up and left the room.
Xerva narrowed his right eye. “This one may be a problem.”
Arkanon stepped out of the room and closed the door. Standing to his right, Calan was waiting there.
“I’ll be taking you to see Areath now. Since your former cabin is uninhabitable right now, he’ll be assigning you a new one.”
“Okay.”
Arkanon looked around as he followed Calan. He then asked, “So where are we?”
“Inside the main building. You were brought to the infirmary here.”
“Why does it seem so empty?”
“Because mainly instructors use this building. The students that live in here are few.”
“Instructor Calan, you said that I was only passed out for a few hours, right?”
“Yes.”
“Has there been a big commotion about me?”
“Amongst the instructors, it’s limited to only a few of us. As for students, no one knows a thing.”
“Do you know what would drive Mith to try and kill me?”
“We’re investigating that right now. Areath will be asking you about what happened.”
“How come you aren’t?”
“Areath is the instructor in your area, therefore all students problems are mainly dealt with by him. I’m only acting as an escort.” Calan answered, slightly annoyed. “Any more questions?”
“No. Thank you.”
“Then let’s continue on.”
Calan lead Arkanon through the empty halls until they reached a large reinforced door. Calan pushed a button on the wall, and the door lifted up.
Calan motioned for Arkanon to go out. “Go on and head to where your cabin is, Areath should be there.”
“Okay.” Arkanon nodded his head slightly. He stepped outside and turned around to the see the large door closing behind him. He looked up to the sky and saw that it was fairly early in the morning, with the sun still rising. He then looked around at his surroundings, trying to figure out where he was at. After guessing where to go, Arkanon muttered to himself, “Time to get going, I suppose.”
“So you met with him?”
“I did, and there’s nothing too special about him. He seems to be a normal half-blood. But he is hiding something.”
“Do you have any idea?”
“No, but I’m sure it is some kind of power he’s hiding.”
“Keep an eye on him and let me know if anything else happens.”
“I already know. How is your research going?”
“We’re making progress. So far we’ve only got a rough prototype.”
“Good. I’ll continue working on my end and you continue on yours.”
“Ah, Arkanon, so you’re here.” Areath said. He and Jared were standing outside the cabin. The door to the cabin was closed off.
“Yeah, I’m here. So what’s going on here?” Arkanon asked.
“We have a few instructors inside inspecting the damage. We’ll have to move you to another cabin, as the damage to the cabin is too severe. It’ll take time to repair it.”
“Was it damaged that badly?”
“Everything inside is completely burnt. Do you remember anything?”
Arkanon decided to stick with his lie. “No, I just remember Mith tried to do something and it resulted in an explosion. After that I blacked out.”
Jared looked at Areath questioningly, to which Areath only shook his head side to side slightly. Areath then looked back at Arkanon. “Arkanon, I’ve helped build some of these things. To do this much damage, it isn’t possible even if Mith did blow himself up with a rebound. You’d need to be just short of General level to do what happened to the inside of that cabin. If you know something, please tell us. We’re here to help you, and we won’t shun you.”
Arkanon heard a voice snicker in his head, ‘If they knew the truth, they’d betray us in an instant.’
The voice caught Arkanon off-guard and caused him to panic a little on the inside, ut he kept calm on the outside. “I don’t remember anything except for what I told you. I’m sorry.”
Areath sighed. “It’s fine. Just don’t hesitate to let us know anything. Since they’re still busy here, I’ll go ahead and take you to your new cabin. Follow me.”
Areath started walking away and Arkanon followed him. They walked in silence until they reached a cabin. Areath unlocked the door, tossed Arkanon a key and said, “If you remember anything, be sure to let me know, okay?”
“Hey Areath, can you let me know where the students Grie, Cyrel and Jikkel are?”
“I can, but why?”
“I just want to ask them a few things.”
“Well, I have no reason not to tell you. Just try not to cause any problems, okay?” Areath then told Arkanon where they were at and how to get to them. “Is that all?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Then I’ll come check in on you later.”
“Alright, see you later Areath.”
Areath walked off while Arkanon closed the door to his cabin, locked it, and went to search for the three he asked about.
Grie was laying down on his bed, his hands behind his head. He waited for any sign of Mith, secretly hoping he would give up on trying to kill Arkanon. He stayed like that for a while until he heard a knock at his door. He got up and hurried to the door, anticipating Mith. When he opened the door, he saw Arkanon standing there and Grie was momentarily stunned.
“Arkanon?” Grie asked confused. “Wait, if you’re here, where’s Mith?”
“Would I be able to come in, Grie?” Arkanon asked solemnly.
“Can you tell me about Mith?”
“I can tell you what I know.”
“Then come in.”
Arkanon walked in and stood in the center of the cabin.
Grie closed the door and locked it behind him. “Alright, tell me. Why did you come here and what happened to Mith?”
“Mith is dead.” Arkanon said bluntly.
Grie froze after hearing Arkanon. As his words registered, Grie clenched his teeth and balled his hand up into a fist. He then punched the wall as hard as he could. “DAMNIT!” He stood there breathing heavily with his fist against the wall for a few minutes. He then slowed his breathing, pulled his hand back and asked, “Can you tell me what happened?”
“I can’t tell you completely, but he was engulfed in an explosion from a rebound.”
“Was it a quick death?”
Arkanon thought back to how Mith was burned from the inside and flinched from the thought. “It was.”
“What did you want to ask?”
“Why did Mith go so far to try and kill me?”
“He hated you. He blamed you for everything. Ever since we first fought, he’s only had revenge on his mind. He planned to fight you, but saw that you kept getting stronger. That’s when he had Jetark try to beat you. But once you beat Jetark, he found out the truth that Mith lied to him and publicly announced that he’s a coward. People then shunned him. Cyrel and Jikkel abandoned him and I was the only one to stick by his side. It was then that he wanted to kill you. I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen to me. He was too far gone.” Grie took a deep breath. “I can’t say that I hate you Arkanon. I dislike you, but I don’t hate you. That’s all. Now please show yourself out, Arkanon.”
Arkanon walked over to the door, unlocked and opened it then said, “Thanks, Grie.” He then walked out.
Grie closed the door and went over to his bed and laid down. “Hopefully you’re in a better place.” He muttered under his breath.
In the purple void, the two beings were observing Arkanon.
“This child, he’s an abomination. Having both corrupt energy and normal energy, his body should’ve been torn apart long ago.” The white one said.
“No, the energies aren’t combined. Have you noticed how much of a difference there is when he changed? Not once has he used corrupt energy until now. It’s as if there’s another person that resides within him.” The dark one voiced his thoughts.
“Two people inside the same body? Is that possible?”
“I don’t know. This child defies the logic that we know. He’s an enigma.”
Jared was standing in front of his console speaking with Harei. He recounted what he found when he was at Arkanon’s cabin.
“What you’ve said, it’s strange. You said that the entire inside of the cabin was scorched, yet those cabins are built to resist such destruction. You’ll have to ask Arkanon if you want to know what happened, as I have no possible idea on what could’ve happened.” Harei said.
“But there must be something that you know. I’m worried about him.”
“I am too. Arkanon is someone extremely important, I can feel it. His very existence may shake the foundations of not only this war, but this universe.”
“So where am I going?” Arkanon asked Calan as they walked down the hall.
“There’s someone that wishes to speak with you about what happened?” Calan replied.
“Who is it?”
“It’s better that you see yourself.”
“Hm?” Arkanon tilted his head to the side in, curious at who it could be.
They continued to walk down the hallway until Calan stopped at a door and knocked.
A voice came from the other side of the door. “Come in.”
Calan opened the door and waved Arkanon to come over.
Arkanon walked inside a medium sized room with a desk in the middle of the room. There was a chair in front of the desk. Behind it was a massive being standing there. It looked similar to Harei, except for the left side of it’s face was completely scarred and burned, with no scales and only rough pink flesh showing.
“Greetings Arkanon, my name is Xerva, and I’m one of the remaining Ancients.” Xerva introduced himself.
“One of the remaining Ancients?” Arkanon asked curiously. “How many are there?”
“I’ll let you ask whatever you want after you answer a few questions of mine, alright?”
“Okay.”
“Good! You can leave now Calan.”
Calan only bowed his head and walked out of the room.
“Go ahead and take a seat, this may take a little bit.”
Arkanon walked over and sat at the chair in front of the desk.
“I’ve been curious as to what happened. Those cabins are specifically designed to withstand a lot of damage, yet yours was so easily burnt up. Are you able to recount what happened?”
Arkanon racked his head for a moment, not wanting to tell a lie, but not the truth either. “I can’t remember clearly, my memory is hazy whenever I try and remember it.”
“Are you sure? Try and remember as best you can. This is important.”
“I think that Mith, the student that attacked me, tried to do something with energy, but it backfired and exploded, destroying everything around it.” Arkanon decided to lie.
“A backfire, huh. It would have to be one hell of an explosion to damage those walls… You are telling me the truth, correct?”
“As best as I can remember.”
“Hmm, the power needed to damage those walls can’t come from just one person.” Xerva crossed his arms. “Arkanon, your last name is Leyan, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Could you perhaps be the son of Sylvan Leyan? Do you recognize that name?”
“No, who is it?”
“Sylvan Leyan is one of the few remaining Ancients next to me and Harei. We’ve been out of contact for the past fifty or so years. He’s one of the one’s missing, along with Malanak, Zardel and Plyn. Have you ever met your father before?”
“No, never.”
“Did he leave you any messages?”
“None. I haven’t seen or heard from my father since my birth.”
“It’s highly possible that you’re his son, although there’s no way for us to know for sure. You have the same feel about you.”
“What does it mean if I’m his son?”
“What it means is that you’re a half-blood. That’s the term we use for direct descendants of Ancients and Corrupted. Half-bloods tend to grow in strength fast and can become a rather powerful force.”
“If they’re so powerful, why don’t you Ancients have a lot of children?”
“Good question! The problem is that we have a very small chance of ever having children. That’s what makes half-bloods so rare.”
“Could I become as strong as an Ancient if I am a half-blood?”
“It could happen. It all depends on how strong you get. Once you reach a certain level of power, guardians and demons can access a transformation known as a true form.”
“True form?”
“Yes. A true form calls out the Ancient blood within you and causes your body to more resemble an Ancient with the power to match. Any guardian or demon can reach this state, but the less Ancient blood you carry, the harder it is as your power becomes less. If you’re a half-blood, you can achieve a true form with relative ease.”
Arkanon was amazed at hearing what he could possibly be. “Is there any way you can see if I’m a half-blood?”
“There’s no way to tell, at least not currently. Only time will tell. As you grow older and keep increasing your strength, if you are a half-blood, you will eventually achieve a true form. Ah, my apologies for keeping you here this long, I’m sure you wish to go check on your friends and such, therefore you can leave now if you wish.”
“Thank you very much for the information, Xerva.”
“Mm, thank you for the conversation. Oh, one more thing. If you wish for a challenge, try dueling my great, great grand-daughter Mira. She may prove quite a challenge for you.”
Arkanon nodded his head, got up and left the room.
Xerva narrowed his right eye. “This one may be a problem.”
Arkanon stepped out of the room and closed the door. Standing to his right, Calan was waiting there.
“I’ll be taking you to see Areath now. Since your former cabin is uninhabitable right now, he’ll be assigning you a new one.”
“Okay.”
Arkanon looked around as he followed Calan. He then asked, “So where are we?”
“Inside the main building. You were brought to the infirmary here.”
“Why does it seem so empty?”
“Because mainly instructors use this building. The students that live in here are few.”
“Instructor Calan, you said that I was only passed out for a few hours, right?”
“Yes.”
“Has there been a big commotion about me?”
“Amongst the instructors, it’s limited to only a few of us. As for students, no one knows a thing.”
“Do you know what would drive Mith to try and kill me?”
“We’re investigating that right now. Areath will be asking you about what happened.”
“How come you aren’t?”
“Areath is the instructor in your area, therefore all students problems are mainly dealt with by him. I’m only acting as an escort.” Calan answered, slightly annoyed. “Any more questions?”
“No. Thank you.”
“Then let’s continue on.”
Calan lead Arkanon through the empty halls until they reached a large reinforced door. Calan pushed a button on the wall, and the door lifted up.
Calan motioned for Arkanon to go out. “Go on and head to where your cabin is, Areath should be there.”
“Okay.” Arkanon nodded his head slightly. He stepped outside and turned around to the see the large door closing behind him. He looked up to the sky and saw that it was fairly early in the morning, with the sun still rising. He then looked around at his surroundings, trying to figure out where he was at. After guessing where to go, Arkanon muttered to himself, “Time to get going, I suppose.”
“So you met with him?”
“I did, and there’s nothing too special about him. He seems to be a normal half-blood. But he is hiding something.”
“Do you have any idea?”
“No, but I’m sure it is some kind of power he’s hiding.”
“Keep an eye on him and let me know if anything else happens.”
“I already know. How is your research going?”
“We’re making progress. So far we’ve only got a rough prototype.”
“Good. I’ll continue working on my end and you continue on yours.”
“Ah, Arkanon, so you’re here.” Areath said. He and Jared were standing outside the cabin. The door to the cabin was closed off.
“Yeah, I’m here. So what’s going on here?” Arkanon asked.
“We have a few instructors inside inspecting the damage. We’ll have to move you to another cabin, as the damage to the cabin is too severe. It’ll take time to repair it.”
“Was it damaged that badly?”
“Everything inside is completely burnt. Do you remember anything?”
Arkanon decided to stick with his lie. “No, I just remember Mith tried to do something and it resulted in an explosion. After that I blacked out.”
Jared looked at Areath questioningly, to which Areath only shook his head side to side slightly. Areath then looked back at Arkanon. “Arkanon, I’ve helped build some of these things. To do this much damage, it isn’t possible even if Mith did blow himself up with a rebound. You’d need to be just short of General level to do what happened to the inside of that cabin. If you know something, please tell us. We’re here to help you, and we won’t shun you.”
Arkanon heard a voice snicker in his head, ‘If they knew the truth, they’d betray us in an instant.’
The voice caught Arkanon off-guard and caused him to panic a little on the inside, ut he kept calm on the outside. “I don’t remember anything except for what I told you. I’m sorry.”
Areath sighed. “It’s fine. Just don’t hesitate to let us know anything. Since they’re still busy here, I’ll go ahead and take you to your new cabin. Follow me.”
Areath started walking away and Arkanon followed him. They walked in silence until they reached a cabin. Areath unlocked the door, tossed Arkanon a key and said, “If you remember anything, be sure to let me know, okay?”
“Hey Areath, can you let me know where the students Grie, Cyrel and Jikkel are?”
“I can, but why?”
“I just want to ask them a few things.”
“Well, I have no reason not to tell you. Just try not to cause any problems, okay?” Areath then told Arkanon where they were at and how to get to them. “Is that all?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Then I’ll come check in on you later.”
“Alright, see you later Areath.”
Areath walked off while Arkanon closed the door to his cabin, locked it, and went to search for the three he asked about.
Grie was laying down on his bed, his hands behind his head. He waited for any sign of Mith, secretly hoping he would give up on trying to kill Arkanon. He stayed like that for a while until he heard a knock at his door. He got up and hurried to the door, anticipating Mith. When he opened the door, he saw Arkanon standing there and Grie was momentarily stunned.
“Arkanon?” Grie asked confused. “Wait, if you’re here, where’s Mith?”
“Would I be able to come in, Grie?” Arkanon asked solemnly.
“Can you tell me about Mith?”
“I can tell you what I know.”
“Then come in.”
Arkanon walked in and stood in the center of the cabin.
Grie closed the door and locked it behind him. “Alright, tell me. Why did you come here and what happened to Mith?”
“Mith is dead.” Arkanon said bluntly.
Grie froze after hearing Arkanon. As his words registered, Grie clenched his teeth and balled his hand up into a fist. He then punched the wall as hard as he could. “DAMNIT!” He stood there breathing heavily with his fist against the wall for a few minutes. He then slowed his breathing, pulled his hand back and asked, “Can you tell me what happened?”
“I can’t tell you completely, but he was engulfed in an explosion from a rebound.”
“Was it a quick death?”
Arkanon thought back to how Mith was burned from the inside and flinched from the thought. “It was.”
“What did you want to ask?”
“Why did Mith go so far to try and kill me?”
“He hated you. He blamed you for everything. Ever since we first fought, he’s only had revenge on his mind. He planned to fight you, but saw that you kept getting stronger. That’s when he had Jetark try to beat you. But once you beat Jetark, he found out the truth that Mith lied to him and publicly announced that he’s a coward. People then shunned him. Cyrel and Jikkel abandoned him and I was the only one to stick by his side. It was then that he wanted to kill you. I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen to me. He was too far gone.” Grie took a deep breath. “I can’t say that I hate you Arkanon. I dislike you, but I don’t hate you. That’s all. Now please show yourself out, Arkanon.”
Arkanon walked over to the door, unlocked and opened it then said, “Thanks, Grie.” He then walked out.
Grie closed the door and went over to his bed and laid down. “Hopefully you’re in a better place.” He muttered under his breath.