Kale
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Chapter Fifty-Three: Jukora Talen-Ben
Galactic Quadrant: Darna Quadrant
Ruling Government: Republic of Hekat
Solar System: D-447
Planet: Ora
Location: Agora City, tunnels under the Colosseum.
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Present Time
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Screams that pierce the sanity of one’s mind echo in the rumbling of the tunnel. I hear the insidious laughter of Adonius mixing in with it.
“Where are you little bug, my boot is hungry!” Adonius yells down the tunnel.
He is close, people run from his path, they only pause to look at me for a brief moment. A small flicker of hope in their eyes when they meet mine. As I round the corner, I see Adonius swinging his mace, killing all in his path, regardless of blood.
“There you are little bug, time for…” Adonius begins, but his eyes take in the glow of mine, his mouth pausing as his brain tries to catch up, for I am upon him now. My legs much faster than they were before.
Our Edicts connect releasing a shockwave, sending those around us to the ground, blood coming from their eyes. Sekat, I cannot fight him here. More will die. He swings again, my jaw flexes as I barely dodge it, he is faster than before. Stronger too, I realize when our Edict’s connect again, sending my feet sliding backwards. I must lead him away. My shoulders already heavy from the dead Valka slew with my body.
Bloody gore coats the walls as I press him back with a flurry of feints filled with intent. The metal hand of my right arm is glowing red now from the energy of the Black Edict. I feel Amon doing all he can to disperse it. I must hurry. My pace quickens as the blade arcs in the air, changing directions as he swings, slicing under his arm, severing his hand, the runes that once shone brightly on the skin flickering away as it plops to the ground.
He howls in pain like a child having a tantrum, the end of the arm sealing the wound in a stump. My blade lunges again, dodging his blows. His eyes are growing wider as he sees the gap his God created beginning to close as my fury rains down upon him. My other hand slicing with my other blade. As I move, I feel the will continuing to rise, my chest burning with warmth. My motions becoming more fluid, like how I saw Keeper Dargo move, my style trying to adapt it.
As my body begins to move like water, my rage flows into it, giving rise to a new form which presses him back, further away from those that flee. The blade of my people made flesh, striking at the darkness of this master and his God.
Adonius strikes the ground, dusting the air with rubble. I move back, waiting for him to move as it settles. I hear his boots, my mouth rolls into a grin, the gait of a coward fleeing echoes in the tunnel. My boots resound after his, as I give chase, leading him far away.
“Helenius, my God!” Adonius yells. His voice frantic.
He runs upon the sands now, towards his old grave, soon to be his new. People are fickle creatures, always running towards that which they do not seek. I will help him find it though. The honor of my people demands it.
“Grant me more! Please my God!” he yells.
My pace slows, each step measured with intention, finding the rhythm of the flow within me. My metal hand warping from the Edict. Amon’s soul straining against the pressure, as my will begins to pull more from the Abyss. He does not complain to me, he does what he can. We both do. For the honor of our people.
Lightning strikes Adonius’s edict, it grows in size, rippling with power. His cowardice falling back, a smile as he feels the advantage rising. On his body the cracking lines deepen under the strain. I do not despair, my feet move towards him still. For I know what he does not.
“Yes… Yes!” Adonius yells, waves of power coming off him, the sand pushing away.
His pride rises inside him again, swelling with his confidence.
“I am Adonius! Son of Heloc! Chosen by my God Helenius to render judgement!” Adonius roars, his voice distorting as the lines crack around his throat. His runes glowing brighter.
He does not know his confidence is unearned, as I have been holding back the raging inferno, for fear of killing those the blade does not seek. He does not hear what I hear. The chants of the dead, shaking the foundation of reality. They are with me, I am their blade made flesh. The blade sharpened by their hopes and dreams.
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He launches at me now, the air alive with electricity as he moves. The blade in my hand erupts as I release the will of my people. Torrents of energy exploding in the air. The hilt of the blade extends as it grows larger, my flesh hand grips it now too, sharing the burden. The weight of my people’s suffering turning into strength.
“I am that which rises, from the ashes of my people’s hopes and dreams.” My voice shaking the air, filled with the will of thousands of souls.
The dead are with me as I slam the Edict into his, the air cracks as the ground tremors, shattering Adonius’s confidence with the first blow, sending him flying backwards. My pace quickens as I move to meet him again.
He stumbles to his feet, barely blocking the blade of my people. The second blow bringing ruin to his pride. I feel Amon at my back, holding my body together, his power rippling through me. He is in pain, I can feel it through the connection, his power helping me defy the fates, for the sake of our people. My resolve rises higher.
“I am the will of my people, forged into a blade.” The flames inside me rising higher still.
The blade of my people sings a lullaby, one that even death itself is afraid to hear. A lullaby that resonates with my will as I bring the blade down, colliding upon Adonius’s Edict again.
I could slay him easily, but it is not enough. The honor of my people demands his God’s pride. So I aim for it, crashing the blade again into his Edict.
“I am the blade, which was tempered in the tears of mothers, mourning their lost children.”
I crash my blade into his God’s Edict, sending Adonius into the wall of the Colosseum. The stone cracking as he slumps to the ground. His runes flickering now. He staggers back to his feet spitting blood upon the ground. There is something forming in his cold eyes, something I have seen from him before. Something primal.
Raising the blade up, my voice filled with energy, I say, “I am the blade honed in darkness, to bring justice for my people.” I bring it down upon his Edict, he slams to his knees.
“Impossible…” Adonius murmurs, his Edict beginning to crack under the pressure. His eyes grow wide in disbelief. The primal feeling in him cascading upwards, frothing from the essence of his soul… fear.
The other demons gather with the dead now, having heard the call of the blade’s lullaby, ignoring it no longer. They press their strength into me. Valka’s crimson eyes burn like the sun, her mouth wide in a wicked smile. The dead gather in the thousands all around us, pressing their will forward, helping strengthen the blade. The red light in the Black Edict begins to flicker, other colors swirling within it now.
“I am that which will be….” I begin, giving every drop of will I possess, pushing it into the blade, bringing it downwards “your end.”
The skies erupt, lightning striking the ground around us as his Edict shatters, releasing pressure waves of energy outwards. Time slows almost to a halt as words fill my mind, coming from the waves of the shattered Edict. The words causing pain, I am unable to parse them. Like when we used the Gates to traverse the stars. I feel Valka’s hands cover my ears. The pain abates, some of the words I now hear clearly.
My words become law, bending the cosmos
Thus my commandment is born, forming an Edict
Pride above Mercy
As the last echo fades away, Valka let’s out a thunderous laughter. A satisfied look upon her face.
Time returns to its normal flow, the Black Edict parts the remaining energy, rending Adonius’s flesh, splitting him in half. His body sliding to the ground, his eyes blinking fast, his mind catching up to what has happened. The runes upon his flesh flicker away.
I stand over him, looking down upon his fearful eyes… he will go to the afterlife with the image of my people’s will burned into his soul. I grasp the Edict in my hand, leaning down to his twitching body, carving his head from his neck.
His eyes in a daze of terror and pain, looking upon me as I hold his head up eye level, by his matted hair. My eyes ablaze as I speak.
“The last thing your eyes will see, is the boot of my people, polished with your blood.”
I drop his head to the ground. His eyes growing wide as my boot comes down. Stomping his face again, and again, until it is a pile of mush under my heel.
Justice has been done, my legs buckle under me, bringing me to my knees. Leaving me to kneel in his blood and gore, spilled for my people. Amon is kneeling beside me in my perception, the exertion of giving me strength, and holding my body together having taken its toll. The other demons come around me, the dead gathering behind them, the center of their beings filled with light.
I feel the darkness creeping back from the Black Edict. Kotina nowhere in sight to give me the mercy she promised. In the distance I see Arrum and the others running towards me now. It brings hope to my heart to see them alive. There is sadness mixing with it though, as the darkness pulls, bringing a new resolve up from the depths of my being.
“Jukora Talen-Ben.” I whisper, in the old tongue of my people.
It is something my people did, when we still toiled upon the sands of this planet, before the masters forced us to the Colosseum. Those who were close to the end did the honorable thing, leaving in the night. So those they care for do not carry themselves to the grave as well. It is known as the ‘Jukora Talen-Ben’ in the old tongue of my people, it means - to walk and meet your gods.
“No!” Arrum yells, seeing the look in my eyes. They tell him to live for both of us.
There is no want in me to die, I want to live, but I will not let any of them follow me to the grave. Turning the Black Edict towards me now, I pull it into my chest, piercing my heart. There is pain, but it is nothing compared to what it would be. It is the last mercy I can give them, the last mercy I give my soul. Saving it from the grief of slaying those it cares for.
The wind that had become still, begins to stir once more, thunder booms. Time begins to slow as my body dies. The Nine demons assembling around me now, including Amon who rises slowly to stand beside them.
All of them looking down on me as I die, their eyes erupting in light. Each of the demons’ forms taking shape before me. They speak in unison, their words vibrating my being, shaking reality around me. The Black Edict glows brightly, shifting from the blade form, rolling into my body, the wound sealing behind it. My vision begins to fade as I feel the pull to the Realm of Dreams, their words echoing through the fabric of my existence.
We the Nine find you worthy
You shall carry our Legacies
Champion of the Abyss
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End Book One
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