Chapter 35: A Flares Ignition

Crunch, Rsst, Crunch, Rsst.

Brittle leaves get torn and broken as dirt flicks back from the bottom of Ace’s temporary walking stick, a fallen tree branch he stumbled across after being exiled last night. As he firmly planted the stick in the ground so it stood upright on its own, he took a deep breath as he fished out his canteen from the depths of his backpack.

As he unscrewed the lid, Ace quickly began to gulp down the water inside as if there were no tomorrow. Fortunately, after spending last night snuggled up in his sleeping bag atop a thick tree branch, Ace was able to refill his canteen at the stream before setting off on the long journey ahead of him today.

Ahead of him, the path he’s been walking on for the past few hours becomes even steeper. Looking back over his shoulder with the thought that he’s been scaling a mountain, Ace takes a deep breath before resuming his trek upward.

If there are other people here besides us… I need to find and warn them.

After hiking a few hundred more feet, a clearing came into view. The morning sun has now fully risen, and if it weren’t for these trees providing some shade, Ace probably would’ve drank all of his water by now.

As he entered the level clearing, Ace stood still and observed what lay ahead. He couldn’t help but feel as if he just stumbled across a canyon or tunnel with no roof, as giant rocks dispersed amongst the ground while these large, stone cliffs stood tall, towering on either side over him. The pathway was dim, and various piles of rocks jut out like thorns along both sides. But besides the high cliffs and random patches of stones, a fairly broad and level path lays out in front of Ace before seemingly coming to a sudden end, with a light shining through what looks to be the other side. Letting a brief smile escape his lips, Ace’s tense muscles relax.

I wonder how far I've walked…

Looking back, Ace takes in the vast scenery offered from this viewpoint. Noticing a string of smoke rising from the direction where camp would probably be, the vast forest surrounds the thin line of smoke in all directions.

His smile disappearing, Ace refocuses on what lies beyond the forest. Although difficult to make out due to the distance, the hazy silhouettes of mountains stand tall behind the forest. Following the mountains all the way around back to where he was standing, Ace realizes the mountains make a complete circle. The forest surrounds the camp, and the ring of mountains surrounds the forest.

This entire place looks like one giant, inescapable trap, with camp at the very center. It's like we aren't meant to leave.

CAW!

Ace’s once relaxed thoughts wash away as his body enters into a fight or flight mindset, his eyes immediately looking toward the sky and locking onto a crow circling above him. Ace recalled what Flora told him, ‘They're always watching…’

Crunch.

Rotating around to the sound of what Ace thought was a footstep, sweat surfaces along his forehead. Staring toward where he believed the sound came from, Ace doesn’t dare look away.

Crunch.

Letting his backpack and canteen fall to the ground, Ace raises his fists in preparation for the unknown. His eyes dart back and forth at the canyon-like path, trying to pick up on any possible movement. The rocks that seemed like nothing more than inconvenient obstructions before have suddenly become a real nuisance.

"Who's there?!" demands Ace, his voice echoing off the walls.

A familiar voice then responds, "Just as I thought, you're perceptive."

Instantly recognizing whose voice it was, a flare ignites within Ace, "What the hell are you doing all the way out here?!"

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

A dark-purple light begins to give off from behind a pile of rocks to the left. As Ace swiftly readjusted his stance to face the emanating purple light, he remained laser-focused. An arm then comes into view first before the rest of the body follows, a shadowy figure walking into view. His eyes narrowing at the sight that he’s unfortunately been familiar with, Ace hesitantly watches the man step out from behind the rock wall edge in his monster form.

"I could ask you the same question, Ace."

Ace’s hair erupts into flames while his eyes morph into a vibrant orange tone. Glowing tattoos promptly emerge across his chest, neck, and face as he says, "You made a mistake showing your face here. I won't make the same mistake twice."

Switching out of his monster form back to his human form, Crow’s stance oozes confidence. Just like before, the man is wearing a black cloak, black pants with dark violet lining down the sides, black shoes, and a black mask with violet streaks.

"Easy does it. I'm not here to pick a fight."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Ace extends his arm out, showcasing the flames dancing in his palm.

"Why is that? Is it because you know you'll lose?"

The man chuckles, "Me? Lose? No. I won't lose to somebody as weak as you. But I won't attempt to change that if that's what you would like to believe."

Provoked, Ace’s teeth gnash together. Unable to keep himself composed, Ace lashes his arm out as he snaps his fingers. Three small fireballs seemingly spawn out of thin air, directed at their only possible target, the man.

"I knew I liked you, kid," says the man, his hands still in his pockets.

The three fireballs pass through his body, never landing. Dumbfounded, Ace hesitates on his next move, disbelief temporarily suppressing his rage.

"You're out of your league, kid."

The man’s words snapped Ace out of his daze, allowing him to refocus as he took off, charging in hopes of catching the man off guard with a frontal assault. While Ace closes in, tiny embers wisp off the ground with each step until Ace snaps his fingers again, shooting a larger fireball.

Watching carefully, the man quickly detects the intent behind Ace’s frontal attack. Ace realized this, but he planned ahead.

It's irrelevant if he figured it out because there’s no way he could avoid an attack like this!

Smirking, the flames he sent directly toward the man for a head-on strike suddenly veer their course toward the ground, and the ground beneath the man bursts into flames.

Not wasting a moment, Ace hurriedly followed that attack up with another snap of his fingers. The flames in front of the man quickly rise, setting everything trapped inside ablaze.

It worked! Now, to finish him off…!

What?!

Unaffected by the flames, the man stands as still as a statue inside the inferno, continuing to observe Ace. As Ace’s smirk disappears and a terrified countenance takes the smirk's place, the man takes note of this reaction while thinking.

The attack was clever, but he’s not skilled enough to leave a scratch on me yet. Even though he now understands the difference in our strength, his body language showing his inner turmoil, he’s still resolved enough to press onward and set up for his next attack. I must credit the boy for thinking he could pull off a combo attack with iris after awakening only a few days ago. He's promising…

No. He's more than just promising; he is extraordinary. To say you underestimated his potential value to our cause would be a lie, Kane.

As Ace reels his arm back, his hand engulfs with flames as it closes to make a fist. Firmly planting both feet, Ace lunges toward the man with increased speed, leaving behind a blazing trail of flames as he swings his fist at the man with as much force as he can muster.

But his fist passes right through the man, with no contact ever made.

“I missed him again?!” mutters Ace on his follow-through.

But he still has much to learn…

Ace catches himself without tumbling over, regaining his focus as he builds strength into his leg muscles in preparation for another attack. However, as the two locked eyes, the man could tell Ace was hesitating. Brushing some dirt off his shoulder, the man slightly turned toward Ace.

"Not bad at all…"

Before Ace can process what those words mean, the man’s body is revealed to be a mirage as it disappears out of sight. Remaining vigilant, Ace scans the area around him over and over in an attempt to relocate his foe.

Where'd that son of a bitch go now?

CRACKKK.

His gaze sharpening to his right, Ace immediately spots dust lifting off a newly fallen pile of rocks.

What's his plan…?

Knkl. Knkl. Knkl.

The kinkling of swaying chains gives away the man’s position just behind Ace. As Ace flings his body around, he sees a dagger just inches away from his face. Quickly leaning back as the dagger flies over his head, Ace realizes the dagger is connected to a chain.

Shit!

Snapping his fingers again, Ace casts a fanned wave of flames, hoping to buy himself some time. The dagger is swiftly recalled back to where it came from, and Ace stands straight back up, prepared to engage. Locating the man as he walks through the scattered flames, he's holding a dagger in each hand, a chain seemingly connecting the two.

"You just might be the one…" says the man.

Enraged, Ace kneels and slams his hands down, causing a path of flames to quickly riffle across the ground at the man. The flames pass through his feet, still not affecting him in any way.

I don't get it. Why aren't my attacks working? Is there any way I can beat this guy?!

A dagger then shoots out from Ace’s left. Narrowly dodging it by lunging backward, the blade still sharply scrapes across Ace’s chest. Grimacing as the dagger implants itself into the ground just behind Ace, he brings a hand to his chest and feels blood starting to surface. As Ace glances at the dagger, the chain connected to it is sharply strained.

What the hell…?

Chains begin to quickly wrap around Ace’s body.

Damn it! This isn't good…!

Grunting, Ace pours all his strength into loosening the binding of the chains, but the chains only marginally budge. It was then that Ace realized that he wouldn't be able to break out.

Shit…

Blood from his chest seeping out, it oozes onto the chains restraining him.

"As I said, I'm not here to fight. And to make things easier, your friends dubbed me the name ‘Crow’, so feel free to call me that moving forward."

Walking toward Ace, each step Crow takes makes Ace’s heart pound even louder.

"But, rest assured, I didn’t come here to lose some fight against a brat like you either."

The chains suddenly increase in weight ten times over. Ace instantly buckles and drops to his knees, unable to handle or bear the sudden weight change. Once more, he attempts to loosen the chains around him, but they don’t budge this time.

"Stop struggling, you've already lost."

Ace grits his teeth as Crow draws near, "Get the hell away from me!"

Crow sighs, "If you keep fighting for the sake of your pride, give it up."

A chain then wraps itself around Ace’s neck and the back of his head. This time, prepared for the weight, Ace struggles and grunts in a valiant attempt to resist. However, he could only withhold the weight for a few seconds before his gaze was forcibly lowered.

Stepping up before Ace, Crow says, "Let's try this again, shall we?"