Storm was frozen where he stood, and even though Caim’s aura was slowly rekindling his spirit, he was nowhere near being useful in a fight. Using the second stage of Blood Aura had proven to be more hurtful to his body than he had anticipated, and his muscles would no longer support him. He tried to move, but only found himself fighting to keep his knees from buckling.
“Damn it all!” Storm growled. “The worst fight of our lives, and I can’t even move!”
He had to help Caim—his naive brother did not realize what he was getting himself into. He was forgetting that night long ago when death had nearly taken them. Storm swore loudly and tried to keep moving towards Caim, but knew it to be hopeless. There was nothing he could do.
Without warning, Kreitos lunged at Caim. With well-practiced agility, Caim ducked and weaved back and forth as the flare’s claws barely missed him again and again. Finding one moment of vulnerability, Caim let one of the claws come within an inch of his face, then quickly knelt and leapt upwards, sinking his fist into the underside of the beast’s jaw.
A terrible growl came forth from the beast as it took a single step backward. Quickly recovering and surprising Caim in the process, Kreitos was upon him. Feeling one of the claws just barely nick his shoulder, Caim cried out in pain at first blood. Despite being barely hit, the raw size of Kreitos’s claw was like being cut open in the shoulder by a full-size claymore. Seizing the moment of weakness, Kreitos lurched forward again, opening his mouth wide open and biting down. Rolling himself away from the great fangs of the flare, Caim flash-stepped and reappeared twenty feet away from the beast.
“C’mon! You can do better than that, right!?” Caim taunted. He grasped his shoulder with his left hand, blood soaking through his vest, then flashed a smile. “Not bad though, for a tree spirit.”
Kreitos roared at the smell of Caim’s blood and lunged again, this time moving faster than before. Caim sparked his blade against the sword-like fangs of Kreitos in defense, and his body shook as the hot breath of the beast came forth from its mouth, engulfing him. Long, thick strands of saliva seeped down Caim’s sword as Kreitos slid him back over the ground, overpowering him.
“I’ve been waiting too long for this, Silvers Fangless! I will have my vengeance for that night long ago! We kushala never forget those whom we have chosen as our prey! You and your kin will be mine to devour!”
As Caim danced and spun around the flare, Storm couldn’t help but notice the wound in his brother’s shoulder slowing him down. Even though he had only been grazed, the saliva of the flares was like a poison that would eat away at your strength and energy until there was nothing left. No matter how much bravado his brother was emanating, Storm knew that he couldn’t hold out long in a fight against Kreitos.
Hearing his brother cry out again in pain, Storm saw that Kreitos’s fang had grazed Caim’s leg this time. Watching him fall to a knee, Storm screamed out in horror as Kreitos’s jaws opened wide and came down upon Caim. Lifting his blade up at the last moment, Caim parried the fangs, and his body was forcefully thrown back across the dirt as if he weighed nothing at all.
“Caim!!! We have to get out of here, you can’t last in a fight against him!!”
“No!” Caim roared. “I’m not running and leaving my friend to die!”
Kreitos ran forward and slid his teeth down the fallblade, and just as the fangs were upon him, Caim dropped his guard, spun just inches out of the way and lowered his balance. Driving up with all his power from the ground, Caim shot past the beast, slashing his blade across Kreitos’s chest, leaving a streak of light and aura in his wake. Kreitos recoiled and howled loudly in pain, blood dripping from the wound. Caim landed softly on his feet, then turned and faced the beast.
A shadow split Caim’s expression, his eyes fierce as could be.
“You’ll bleed for that, Fangless! You’ll bleed! I’ll devour you whole and then rip the bones from your kin one by one! But first, I will kill that which you protect! I will tear my fangs through the one you call ‘friend!’”
“Get lost!” Caim snarled, his gaze burning the very air itself. “You won’t touch him!”
The force in Caim’s voice sent ripples across the once-still water of the lake. It began to shake the leaves and branches of all the trees he could see. Storm felt a strange feeling move through him, raising all the hairs on the back of his neck. The moment his brother had spoken, he felt an unseen, but deadly force pass him by, though without harm. It felt like Caim’s will had taken tangible form in the world, changing the very flow of nature itself. Even Kreitos went stiff, his muscles suddenly taut as a twisted rope.
“Caim?” Storm looked at his hands, feeling his strength returning ever more. He could feel the power of Caim’s voice swimming through his soul, replenishing his aura. He stood to his feet and clenched his fist, looking at his brother.
“The Soul of the Swordsmen?” Storm whispered. “Is this it?”
The trees of Neverend swayed harder as Caim’s energy grew stronger. Branches bent as powerful winds swept past, and it felt like a storm was taking form above them. All around them, the wake of energy left by Caim stirred the forces of nature. The clouds above them shifted and spread, opening up the night sky, and from the forest, Storm heard the sounds of the creatures come alive. They were faint at first, but soon their sounds grew louder, as if they all had been awakened at once.
No . . . It’s not just you, is it? Storm thought, looking all around. You’ve awakened something else. It’s everything. Everything is coming alive. The Spirits of the Forest . . . Storm looked back at Caim. Are they protecting us?
Kreitos’s eyes were solely focused on Caim, but his voice was silent. The fur on Kreitos’s back stood on end, and its vast wings became completely outstretched, but Storm could tell that even the beast was intimidated. Caim held the glare of the flare, and baring his own fangs, started walking toward the creature. The white fire surging around Caim grew brighter and hotter, singeing the grass at his feet.
“I said get lost!” Caim thundered, his voice an entirely different entity from before. A huge blast of energy cracked the ground around him, and Storm shielded his eyes from the strong gusts of wind.
I can feel his will from here, Storm thought. It’s like an inferno. Impenetrable and hotter than the sun. It makes you feel like there is no way you can touch him. It’s no wonder that even Kreitos is on guard.
Kreitos, snarling angrily, crept back from Caim, and Storm couldn’t believe his eyes. As Caim kept walking closer to the beast, it kept edging further and further away, until its tail was brushing against the trees of Neverend. Out of the corner of his eye, Storm noticed an unusual rustle in the forest behind Kreitos. Something else was there. But what?
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An uneasy feeling came over Storm, and his fingers found his hilt. It was then that he saw her walk forth from Neverend. She was a young girl, perhaps even a young woman, though unlike any he had ever seen before.
The girl walked towards Kreitos, completely unafraid. Even more strange was that she was grinning from ear to ear in a way that gave Storm the shivers. He held his breath, taking in the sight of her. The girl’s hair was short, jagged, and pitch-black. Her eyes were the same shade of red as the flares; piercing and contemptuous. She wore a necklace of ivory fangs, and was barely covered by black fur over her upper legs and breasts. Smaller bone-like fangs hung from dozens of bracelets around her wrists and ankles, and within her eerie smile were two sharp fangs of her own.
“Get away from him!” Caim shouted, noticing the girl for the first time. “He’ll kill you!!”
Storm could barely speak. “She’s . . . no, it can’t be . . .”
The girl came to a stop next to Kreitos. She looked up at the beast, still smiling wildly, then reached out and combed her fingers through his midnight fur. She whispered something then that Storm and Caim could not hear. Kreitos lowered his head, and she leapt into the air, landing on the back of his neck between the base of his wings. Kreitos stood back up to his full height, turning his eyes back to a bewildered Caim.
A soft voice entered the brother’s minds, and Storm knew it was the voice of the girl.
“The Spirits of the Forest aid you, Silvers Fangless, and under the dark that eats the light, we will not draw any more blood tonight. The cloaker is yours to take, though it soon passes to that which all unmakes. The fire in the shadow has already spoken of his passing. But you, Silvers Fangless, the one who wields the great fang, the one who has brought fear to even the great Kreitos, and the one touched by the Spirits of the Forest, shall be mine to keep. You, are the one I choose.”
She gave Caim one last long look, her wild smile deepening. Tilting her head and howling to the night, Kreitos turned and passed back into the dark of Neverend from whence they came.
“Until we meet again, Silvers Fangless.” And her presence vanished.
Caim let out a deep breath, and the aura faded from his body, leaving crystallized particles that rose up into the air before shattering and dissipating. The broken shards of energy passed out and over the lake, moving towards the distant Great Tree, as if it were absorbing them. Caim then turned and walked over to Storm, sheathing his sword.
“Can you believe that?” Caim placed both hands behind his head. “Starting a fight and then running away! And who was that girl!? She wasn’t scared of him one bit! And what does she mean, I’ll be hers to keep?” He blew a raspberry. “The only one allowed to keep me, is me!”
Storm didn’t move, still cautiously watching the trees of the forest. For a long moment, he couldn’t speak or think as all that had just transpired processed through his mind. As the moment passed, the true exhaustion that his adrenaline had been suppressing hit him all at once, and Storm fell to a knee, dripping sweat.
“I can’t believe we survived that,” muttered Storm. Laying back on the ground, Storm took a few deep breaths as he relaxed and looked for any energy remaining within. Caim stood next to him, eying the forest.
“I know who that was,” said Storm finally. “But I still can’t believe it . . .”
“You do?”
“It’s hard to believe, but the old man once spoke of a young girl that lives with the flares as one of them. I thought it was just another of his stories. It’s hard to believe even after seeing it with my own eyes, honestly.”
“Did he tell you where she came from?”
“He said that, long ago, there was once a village that was haunted by flares. Everyone there lived in fear and despair of the beasts. Except for one. There was a little girl that was outcasted by the village for having long fangs and blood red eyes, and many believed that she had the soul of a flare for she could only speak telepathically. Her mother had died in childbirth, and no one knew the father. They thought of her as a bad omen, and so they decided to sacrifice her to bring peace back to their village.”
Caim looked back at Neverend. “Sacrifice her? That’s crazy . . .”
“Fear can drive one to do crazy things, Caim. The story goes that one night they tied her to a wooden totem in the village and soaked her in blood. The flares came, but for some reason, they did not harm the girl. Instead, they ravaged the village, slaughtering everyone else. Surrounded by screams and cries, the girl watched as everyone around her was eaten alive.”
Caim’s eyes grew wider as he listened, his gaze never moving from the trees.
“Legend says that after the massacre, the biggest of the flares finally came to her, lowered his head, and placed his nose before her face. She smiled and laughed, baring her fangs to the beast as if they were a family reunited. It is said that, since then, she was taken in by the flares and has lived amongst them in Neverend.”
Storm shuddered. “I thought it was just another story, but I’m pretty sure that was Fang herself, the Princess of the Flares. And I think she either just declared your death, or . . .” A soft grin curled his lips. “Declared you as her mate, forever.”
“What!?” Caim protested, whipping around. “Mate!? No!! What if I don’t want to!?” He shook his fist at the towering trees of Neverend. “You hear that, Fang, Princess of the Tree Spirits!? I’ll never be yours! I don’t care how big your fangs are!” He pulled down the skin under his eye and stuck out his tongue.
Storm wearily stood and laughed, gently clasping Caim on the shoulder. “Anyways, what the hell was that, Caim? I’ve never seen you use that power before and . . . was she telling the truth? Were the Spirits of the Forest aiding you? Or were you channeling the Soul of the Swordsmen? For a second . . . I don’t know, I felt like I could feel their presence with us—” Before Caim could answer, a familiar voice permeated their minds.
“It would seem even one as ancient as myself can still be surprised. To witness one as small as you bring fear to the heart of Kreitos is something I might have never imagined. You two are kin of the great Ronin, are you not?”
Storm raised an eyebrow. “The great Ronin?”
Beaming, Caim spoke. “I believe Ronin is akin to the great Caim!” Storm smacked Caim across the back of the head and spoke to the Chameleoth. “Wait, you know the old man?”
Caim growled, holding his head. “Oi, what’s the big idea, Storm!? You wanna go!?”
The deep grumbling laugh of the chameleoth passed through their minds. “It is an honor to make your acquaintance under such circumstances. I am known as Galfanon amongst the cloakers of this world. The stories of you boys have reached many an ear of my kind. The Black Beasts have had a great dislike of your family since even your earliest days . . . they are stubborn in their own ways and do not abide the idea of others living in the forest who can counter their strength— the menacing Kreitos more so than others. But it seems that you have swayed the Flare Princess, and fought off the Master of the Forest. I thank you for what you have done here today. I might have wished to live longer, to see what you two will become in the end, but sadly, this is the way of things. My time has come, as she comes to all.”
“Wait!” Caim cried, rushing to his side. “You can’t die! We just have to get you to the water, and you’ll be fine!” He shouted for Storm to come help him, but his brother shook his head. Storm already knew it was too late. He could feel it. The pools of blood around the great beast were so deep they would have reached up to his ankles had he been closer. Storm bowed his head to the great creature respectfully.
“Storm! What are you doing!? Help him!”
“Caim, he—”
“Be still, my kin. There is naught to be done. When one’s time comes, one must pass with love for nature, not regret, and Death is but a fragment of nature, of Éién itself. Your kindness toward us of the forest is something that we will never forget. You have always respected the forest and, for that, the cloakers have aided you, without your knowledge, since you were young. I hope that your bravery and kindness will hold out, for a great darkness will soon threaten all worlds. Light fades within the star ocean, young ones, and unfortunately, my task is not yet complete, so regret I bear in my heart. Therefore, please, make use of what I bequeath you when I pass, for it is the greatest gift one of us can offer. And know that, if you are ever in need, the cloakers will come . . . you need only call.”
A strange feeling swept across the land as Galfanon spoke his last words, as if the creature had not only been speaking to Caim and Storm, but to the entirety of Neverend itself. Caim went to say something, but Storm placed his hand on his brother’s forearm, bringing him to silence.