CHAPTER TWENTY
THE DARKSENT, PART 2
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Six of Dante’s clones flew through the air, their golden wings of flame leaving a trail in the air as they went right at Arkanis. Arkanis slashed at them with shadow but the clones dispersed into flames in time to avoid the slash and reformed immediately after. They aimed their hands at Arkanis and created flaming chains that wrapped around the monster’s neck, hands and feet.
The monster bellowed and attempted to break free of the chains. The clones held on by summoning even more chains that they wrapped around themselves and attached to the ground below for added resistance.
Dang and Dante went at Arkanis simultaneously. Dang launched himself at Arkanis’ chest and struck him with one of two escrima sticks that he was now wielding. The strike was delivered with such pinpoint precision and frightening force that it cut the monster’s flesh and sent thick purple blood gushing out of the wound. Arkanis roared in agony. Dante zipped through the air, the jets of flames firing from his feet propelling him. He arced around Arkanis, slicing across every inch of the monster’s form with a flaming sword before propelling himself a little above the creature.
He held one hand out above his head and his eyes glowed. “Inferno Spear,” he commanded. At once, a spear of dazzling flame materialized in his hand. He blasted it through the air, launching it right at Arkanis. The spear struck the monster in the chest and upon contact, it exploded, engulfing Arkanis entirely in flame.
Dang raised a hand to shield his face from the searing heat of Dante’s flames, watching through the cracks between his fingers as Arkanis burned. The seconds ticked by, and extended into minutes. The flame raged on still.
And then, the air turned cold.
Dang’s eyes shot wide and a gasp escaped him. He felt the pain before the impact. A slicing pain, one that seemed to cut through his entire being. The pain was intense, enough that it blurred his vision out of focus entirely and brought him down to one knee. He drew shuddering breaths as he tried to process what had just happened.
He heard Arkanis laugh, feeling the air turn even colder. He knew another attack was coming. Move, he commanded himself. GET OUT OF THE WAY!
But his body wouldn’t budge.
CRAP! He cursed silently.
The air got even colder and he knew it was about to happen. He was about to die. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the end to come.
And then came the heat. He felt hands grab him and felt an intense breeze against his face. He cracked his eyes open to find that he was sailing through the air. Dante set him down some distance away and stared at him, his face filled with concern.
“Are you okay?” Dante queried.
Dang blinked his vision back into focus. He made out the cuts on the back of his hands. Diagonal cuts. And it wasn’t just his hands. Judging from the way his body stung, he must have been cut everywhere.
He stared in the direction of Arkanis. The flames that had engulfed the monster had dissipated now and there it was, still standing, unscathed. Smoke issued from the monster’s skin but there was nothing to hint at any significant damage having been done.
“Are you okay?” Dante repeated.
“Yeah,” Dang nodded and pushed himself to his feet. “I’m fine. Just had to catch my breath for a moment.”
“Can you, uh, can you heal?” Dante asked.
“Not quickly enough,” Dang gritted his teeth. “But it’s fine. I can still fight; I’ve got enough energy left in the tank. But if I get caught by another one of his attacks like that, it’ll be–,”
“Yeah,” Dante agreed. “We can’t get hit again.”
Dang stared at his doppelganger’s face and noticed he was wounded too. He had a diagonal cut on his face, and blood was trickling out of it.
“How–,”
“Nicked me while I tried to get you to safety,” Dante responded. “It’s fine, though.” As he said that, the wound began to smoke, quickly closing up. “I’d heal you too but–,”
“We don’t have enough time for that,” Dang rubbed the back of his neck and winced in pain. He’d been cut there too. “We have to figure out how his attacks work.”
“It’s shadow, right?” Dante asked, studying the environment, the expression on his face indicating that he was hard in thought. “If he’s just manipulating the shadows around us then that means his attacks have more range than either of ours. There are shadows everywhere, it’s hard to deal with an attack that can come from all around us.”
“Yes, it is,” Dang said, his eyes lighting up. “But we can get rid of shadows, can’t we? Or at the very least, reduce them?”
“With light, yes,” Dante nodded.
“How about fire?”
Dante glanced at Dang and raised one eyebrow over the other. “Are you serious right now? You’re not suggesting what I think you’re suggesting, are you? With your wounds, my flames could kill you.”
“Don’t worry,” Dang smiled. “A little fire never hurt anyone, right?”
“We’re talking more than a little fire here,” Dante said, staring back at Arkanis and the wrecked buildings around. There were no civilians in their immediate vicinity so he wouldn’t have to worry about them. He could set up the flame barrier such that the heat would fold up around it, keeping it contained to the area so that it wouldn’t spread far enough to harm anyone else.
But if he did this, he’d be turning this battle into a–
“Cage fight,” Dang said, as though he’d known exactly what thoughts had been running through Dante’s mind. “A barrier of flame, brilliant enough to eradicate shadows. It’ll trap us here with him. We’ll fight within the barrier.”
Dante nodded. “I can do it,” he said. “But there’s no telling what else he might have up his sleeve. And even if the shadows within the barrier are nullified, I won’t be able to do anything about what’s beyond the barrier. If he has enough time, he could cancel out my barrier with an attack from outside of it.”
“Don’t worry,” an aura of crimson formed around Dang once more as he spoke, crushing pressure emanating from him. “All I need is one minute in the cage with him. He’s not gonna have enough time to launch an attack from outside.”
“Okay,” Dante nodded. “Alright then. Here goes. I’ve never tried something like this before so I can’t guarantee its effectiveness.”
“Can you guarantee a minute?”
“Yes.”
“Then do it.”
“What are you two talking about?” Arkanis demanded, staring straight at them with eyes like death. “You’re not planning to run off, are you? You know I can’t let you do that, right? Our fun’s just get started.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Dante smirked. “No one is running. Not from this.”
He held a hand out and drew a deep breath. He felt the power bubble from his core, feeling it spread through him, coursing through his veins and spreading warmth through every inch of him. His eyes turned a flaming gold and he snapped a finger.
“Dante’s Circle,” he uttered. “Golden Cage.”
The flames erupted instantaneously, exploding from the ground. In less than five seconds, the flames had encircled them and formed a dome around them. Arkanis, who’d been advancing toward them, halted suddenly.
The monster looked around, examining the dome.
“Are you ready?” Dante asked. He glanced sideways but Dang wasn’t standing next to him anymore.
His eyes widened as he saw the crimson streak shoot through the air. The next instant, a loud roar escaped Arkanis as one of the monster’s hands went flying through the air, severed from the rest of his body in a mere instant.
Dang landed on the ground, scanned the environment quickly, and shot forward again. As he approached Arkanis, the monster’s mouth opened wide as it prepared to roar. This time though, something was different. At the very depths of Arkanis’ mouth was nothing itself. Just darkness, a pure abyss.
And then, out of the abyss, came a frightening purple glow. Dang firmed his grip on the escrima sticks.
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Arkanis roared and a purple beam shot right out, straight at Dang. Dang changed course in a bid to maneuver around the blast, but the beam followed him, scorching the earth where it touched. The blast made it such that it was difficult for Dang to get close enough to Arkanis to land a solid hit.
And the clock was ticking.
Dang studied Arkanis’ blast and drew a deep breath. He tried to feel the energy coming from the blast. It was cold, unlike anything he had ever felt before. But he could tell that it was very powerful.
“Alright,” he nodded.
He stopped running.
“What are you doing?” Dante murmured, eyes going wide with fear. “Dang, run, are you out of your mind?!”
Dang extended a hand toward the incoming blast. He could do it. He reminded himself of the basics to Resonate. Identify a concept, or an action. Resonate with it. Become it. Maintain it. Amplify it. Distribute it.
The blast touched him, and his world became engulfed in pain.
“NO!” Dante yelled. He propelled himself forward and came to a stop just beside Dang, who had dropped to the ground at the exact same time the blast had hit him. His eyes went wide with horror when he saw what the blast had done to Dang.
His skin had blackened in patches, such that he looked like he was spotted. Gnarly purple veins pulsed across the entirety of his body, concentrating particularly in his face and his eyes…his eyes had gone completely black.
Dante extended a hand toward him, then paused. He bit his lips hard. He had no idea exactly what the blast had done or was doing to Dang but from the looks of it, it couldn’t have been anything good. He looked at Arkanis. He had no idea what the monster was exactly, and as such, he couldn’t risk touching Dang.
“Arrogant fool,” Arkanis chuckled. “What do you think this is? A game? Idiot. My power taints all that it touches…and soon, the boy will be dead. Pity, I thought he would be a worthy opponent. What say you, Flame Child?”
Dante looked at Dang, then at Arkanis. “How long does he have?”
“Not very long,” Arkanis answered. “Arcane’s Touch kills its victims almost instantaneously. That he is still alive is a testament to his strength…but all the strength in the world will not save him. He will die.”
“Then…so will you!” Dante spat angrily.
He rose to his feet and coated his hands and feet in his flames. His barrier was still up, but he was certain it’d been over a minute. If Arkanis was charging any attack from beyond the barrier, it wouldn’t be long until he launched it; wouldn’t be long until he broke the barrier. When that happened, Dante wouldn’t be able to do much. He couldn’t stop Arkanis’ Shadow Cuts. He had to win before the barrier came down.
He took a step forward and materialized clones of himself. He and the clones encircled Arkanis, all of their hands and feet burning intensely. Six clones–his maximum output at the moment. He wasn’t certain that it would be enough but it had to be.
While he was fully aware that this wasn’t his world, he shuddered at the thought of what could happen if Arkanis bested him and made it out of the cage.
“Don’t worry, Dang,” he smiled as he started to advance on Arkanis, the clones all following suit. “I won’t let this ugly little schmuck ruin your world. He’ll die here.”
With that, he launched himself at Arkanis. Arkanis roared again, firing off another blast exactly the same as the one that had hit Dang. A clone propelled itself in the blast’s path and took the hit. The clone dissipated as soon as the blast made contact, but Dante quickly materialized another.
He summoned a flaming sword in one hand, shooting straight for Arkanis’ face. He tensed as he approached, aware that the monster was about to fire another blast. That was exactly what he was counting on.
Arkanis’ mouth glowed purple as he powered up another blast. The glow turned brighter and brighter, and then he fired. Dante smirked, and upped his speed, zipping out of the way instantaneously so that it looked like he’d vanished into nothing. But he hadn’t vanished. He’d gone around Arkanis and had his sword raised, ready to deal a critical attack from behind.
The spikes that jutted out of Arkanis’ back detached themselves from his body and shot straight at Dante. Dante’s eyes went wide as the spikes zipped at him, glowing an intense purple as they approached.
He exploded flames from his elbows and feet so he could shift in the air and as a result, he managed to maneuver around the spikes, all four of them missing him by a few inches. However, focusing on avoiding the spikes meant he had let his guard down and left himself open to a different attack.
Arkanis’ hand struck him, sending him sailing uncontrollably through the air. He flipped over a few times and then fired off jets of flames from his feet to stabilize himself. He landed on the ground and drew deep breaths, staring right at the monster.
He glanced in Dang’s direction. His doppelganger’s skin still pulsed purple, but the dark patches he’d noticed earlier were all but fading.
His eyes widened and his heart skipped a few beats in excitement. Could it be?
“Are you ready to submit?” Arkanis demanded. “You will not win this fight, Flame Child.”
“We’ll see about that,” Dante smirked. His eyes glowed and he shot forward in a blur of gold. He went at Arkanis and morphed his flaming sword into another Inferno Spear. He launched it straight at Arkanis.
He saw the monster smile. It was a fearless smile. Arkanis was aware the spear wouldn’t hurt him; he’d already survived it once.
But Dante hadn’t been counting on the spear to do anything. He snapped his fingers when the spear was close enough to Arkanis’ face, and it exploded immediately. The explosion generated a massive cloud of flames in the monster’s face, temporarily restricting his field of vision.
Dante upped his speed, shooting right at Arkanis and summoning his sword once more. He cloned himself once more and all at once, they struck, slicing across the monster from every direction and angle. Dante specifically targeted the spikes on Arkanis’ form, slicing off as many as he could while firing pulverizing blasts at the others. After only just narrowly surviving those spikes earlier, he couldn’t risk Arkanis using them again.
Each strike at a spike earned an agonized roar from Arkanis who would then fire off another blast from his mouth. Dante was quick, quick enough to avoid the blasts while one of the clones took it instead. And as soon as one clone went down, he was quick to generate another. Sure, it was taking a toll on him and he could feel himself slowing and his attacks weakening, but he couldn’t stop just yet.
By the time Dante halted his attacks, he’d taken care of every spike on Arkanis’ body. Now, where the spikes had been just moments earlier, there was nothing but steaming holes.
Arkanis took a staggered step forward and Dante felt a flicker of excitement. Finally, after everything, it looked like he’d managed to do some damage to the monster; managed to weaken it.
And then, Arkanis started to shrink.
Dante’s mouth dropped open in awe as he watched it happen. The monster advanced toward him, shrinking with every step forward, becoming less and less of a monster. Steam issued from his skin as he shrunk, clouding the air around.
Finally, Arkanis had transformed into a boy. He couldn’t have been any older than Dante was. The boy had skin black like death, with shadowy hair that seemed to float around him. His eyes glowed an evil purple, as did the claws he had for fingernails.
For clothes, the boy had on a purple-and-black metallic outfit, one that pulsed with energy every few seconds.
Dante took an instinctive step backward, still reeling in confusion and shock. “What the hell is this?”
The boy ran a hand through his hair and let out chilly laughter. “My, my,” he spoke, his voice cold and dark. “It’s been some time since anyone managed to damage my monster form that much. That was absolutely incredible.”
He took a step toward Dante, then stopped. He cocked his head to the side, an odd expression on his face. “Hmm,” Arkanis said. “You look confused. What, you didn’t really think that was my real form, did you?”
“You’re human,” Dante murmured.
“No, not quite,” Arkanis shook his head. “I actually despise that word. Human. I find it to be synonymous with filth, with weakness. Tell me, do I look like weak filth to you?”
“I’m thinking about it,” Dante smirked.
“I am not human,” Arkanis went on. “I have since transcended that description. There are few words that can describe what I am right now. But make no mistake about it, I am a superior being to the likes of you.”
“Okay, whatever, buddy,” Dante rolled his eyes. “So now that you’re a scrawny little kid, I take it it’ll be easier to beat your ass?”
Arkanis snorted. “Do you believe so?”
“I do.”
“To strip the arrogance of their confidence is one of my greatest pleasures,” Arkanis said. He raised a hand into the air and his eyes glowed. “Before I do this, I’d like for you to know…I did enjoy our battle. You are strong. The both of you were. Just not strong enough.”
And then, he brought his hand down in a slicing gesture. “Die,” he uttered.
A powerful blade of shadow seemed to slice through the world. The blade came from beyond the Golden Cage, and sliced straight through it before cutting across Dante. Dante’s eyes went wide as he felt the agony of the cut, one that went along the diagonal length of his body.
Blood sprayed out of the wound and his knees wobbled. He dropped to the ground at once, landing hard on his back. Above him, he saw the sky. It didn’t look like a sky anymore. Embers floated about, and smoke had filled it. The remnants of Arkanis’ rampage were all he could see above him.
Until the boy’s face itself came into view. Arkanis was standing over him and in his hand, he had a sword made entirely of shadow. The tip of the sword’s blade was just inches from Dante’s nose.
“That slash should have killed you,” Arkanis murmured. “I’m positive I’d built it up enough that it should have split you in half. You’re even stronger than I thought. Oh well,” he sighed. “Goodbye, Flame Child.”
Arkanis raised the sword, his eyes glinting manically as he did. He cracked an evil grin, and then he brought the sword downward.
Dante squeezed his eyes shut in expectation of what was about to come. And then he felt a strong gust of wind, one that almost lifted him off the ground. What followed was the sound of someone crashing into something, and then an excited howl.
He cracked his eyes open, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Arkanis wasn’t standing over him anymore. He pushed himself upright a little to find that the monster had been sent flying several feet away and was only just getting back up.
“You guys need a hand?” a voice asked from behind Dante.
Dante looked in the direction the voice had come from to find Daniel standing there, eyes aflame. Next to him was Megan, hovering a few feet above the ground, a small vortex of wind keeping her suspended.
A wave of relief swept over Dante and he did the only thing that felt right. He smiled. “You two came.”
“Got news that a dome of firesuddenly erupted in the middle of the city,” Daniel offered a hand to Dante to help him up. “It’s sort of hard to not turn up when you hear something like that. I take it the dome was you?”
Dante nodded as Daniel pulled him to his feet. With his wounds, the mere act of getting back up was deeply excruciating and the battle had exhausted him so much that his healing had slowed considerably. But he’d survive. Although it was clear that the fight was not done. He couldn’t go on.
“Man, you’ve gotta teach me how to do that once Meg and I’ll kick this guy’s ass,” Daniel grinned.
Dante stared at him. “No,” he shook his head. “It’s too dang–,”
“Relax, dude,” Daniel smiled and jerked a thumb at his chest. “We’re going to win,” he declared confidently.
Dante was quiet for a moment but finally, he nodded. “Be careful,” he said. “He attacks with the shadows, so you’re going to have to look out for that.”
Daniel nodded. “Look out for the shadows, right, got that.” He glanced in Dang’s direction. “He’s not dead, is he?”
Dante observed his doppelganger. The black patches on him had vanished completely now but his skin still pulsed with the purple veins, a purple glow emanating from behind his shut eyelids. “He’s not dead,” Dante decided. “He’s healing,” he noticed. Most of Dang’s other wounds had all but closed up now too.
“Okay,” Daniel nodded. “Good to know. It’d be a bummer if he was dead.”
“New champions,” Arkanis spoke, back on his feet now, a crazed grin on his face. “Oh, and one of them likes to play with fire too. This is incredible. This world is brimming with potential…I think I’ll like it here.”
“Sorry, ugly, but this world isn’t accepting visitors at the moment,” Daniel swung his arms around, loosening himself up and readying for combat. “Meg, you ready?”
“Yep,” Megan nodded. “Let’s kick ass.”