Anna
Anna was at the back of the temple when the walls suddenly trembled. Dust and stone flaked off the ceiling of ancient building. The onset of a commotion thundered in the background. Remembering that Emil was at the front, she immediately sprinted back towards the temple entrance.
Oh fuck.
She froze as she returned to the center of the cavernous chamber. Under the radiant moonlight streaming in from ceiling opening, she saw an eight-foot monstrosity towering amidst the rubble. A hole had been blasted through the walls of the temple entrance. Behind the monstrosity was a researcher situated by an array of nasty, macabre vines. Emil was across from them near the workbench area. Alone. Blood was seeping from his right shoulder.
“Stop!” she screamed.
All eyes in the room were suddenly fixated on her. She squirmed, overwhelmed by the immediate weight of the murderous eyes. Bloodlust dangled in the air. Anna realized her outstretched arms were trembling. Sweat cascaded down the side of her neck. She gulped, trying to suppress the knot in her stomach.
What the hell do I do now?
She had yelled out of instinct, trying to divert their enemies’ attention from Emil. Now that she had it, she wasn’t sure if this was the best idea. The ensuing silence was suffocating. The situation was like a powder keg—one sudden move and all hell would break lose.
Anna glanced at Emil out of the corner of her eyes. Her friend was staring at her intently. But there were no instructions. No attempts to communicate anything. If he was trying to express something, it was impossible to read.
You liar! You told me to wait for your instructions back in the grove!
Realizing that she had to do something before her distraction lost its effect, Anna decided to buy time.
Pretend this is a negotiation.
“I have smeared the entirety of this lab in naphtha!” she suddenly proclaimed, putting on her most confident and authoritative voice.
Help them understand the severity of the situation.
“It’s a black liquid. It’s the source of this sweet, pungent odor proliferating in the area.”
Make them aware what’s at stake.
“Its key characteristic is that it burns.”
She let the last word dangle, forcing herself to sneer, pretending to wear the visage of a madman.
“You bastard!” the researcher yelled. The monstrosity followed with a guttural roar. The deafening cry shook the air, amplified by the cavernous temple. Anna bared her teeth, widening her smile to hide her grimace. Her heart was threatening to leap out of her chest.
“Don’t move a single step!” she screamed to conceal her trembling voice, “In my hands is a flint and steel!”
The monstrosity and the researcher immediately froze.
I brought the fire starter as a precaution. I don’t need it. I have my Gift. But they don’t know that.
“Follow my demands! Or else I’ll set this entire place ablaze!” she proclaimed with a mad cackle. In the midst of her theatrics, she shot another glance at Emil.
This time the boy sent her a nod and mouthed a single word. Under the dim illumination of the moonlight, Anna struggled to make out what he said.
‘Fight?’ Did he say fight?!
“What do you want?!” the researcher yelled back. Anna pried her eyes away from Emil. Their enemies were waiting. The macabre vines before her swayed violently. The monstrosity’s eyes and shoulders twitched with bloodlust. She didn’t know how much longer she could keep up this farce.
I really hope I didn’t misunderstand him.
Her heart pounded with uncertainty. The knots in her stomach cramped tight. Anna was no stranger to throwing punches, but this was different. The fights she got into were only scuffles. This was going to end in someone dying.
She forced herself to grin at the ridiculousness of the situation. Someone needed to start the fight. The flint and steel suddenly felt unnaturally light.
“I want you—” she spun towards Emil mid-sentence, “—to protect me!”
Anna tossed the flint and steel into the air.
Time slowed.
The researcher screamed. Vines that he controlled snapped back and surged towards the falling flint and steel. The monstrosity stomped towards her. The temple ground shook under the weight of each step.
Around her feet, a wall of stone rose from the floor. Emil’s Gift. Anna pointed her outstretched hands at a puddle of naphtha near her foes. Mana tingled at the tip of her fingers. Her ears heard the familiar buzz of static.
“Shock.”
A line of static charges beamed at the surface coated in naphtha. A distinct pop crackled over the temple. The air seemed to flicker, stirring with indecision. Anna immediately closed her eyes and crouched under the covers of Emil’s stone barricade.
The temple then burst into flames.
***
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
EMIL
Emil saw a flash of red before he slammed his eyes shut. He dove to the ground, just as a massive heat wave swarmed the space. A high-pitch ring buzzed in his ears. The entirety of the temple rumbled from the explosion of naphtha.
When the shaking finally slowed, he glanced up. Flames raged everywhere. The hellish scene before him was terrifying familiar. Fear clawed up his throat. He caught himself heaving—on the verge of a panic attack. Desperate, he grabbed his chest and chomped down on the side of his lips.
Get a grip, dammit!
He winced at the pain. His head trembled, still dazed by the concussive shock of the spontaneous ignition. Evidently, Anna had underestimated the dangers of the naphtha. The black liquid had exploded into a maelstrom of flames the moment her Gift made contact.
Where the hell is she?!
The tempestuous flames were unrelenting. Emil couldn’t see anything beyond several feet ahead of him. The center of the temple where Anna had stood was shrouded in black fumes and cackling inferno.
In his periphery, a colossal silhouette loomed beyond the blaze.
It was the ogre. The left of its torso was scorched red and black, but the monstrosity seemed unfazed. There were no hindrances to its movement. Its hideous face stayed unblemished as it scanned the burning ruins.
Emil cursed his luck. Guess it would have been too convenient if they just died. The ogre’s blood-shot pupils suddenly landed on him. Emil shuddered—startled by the monstrosity’s bloodthirsty gaze.
The ogre bellowed. Guttural rage accompanied its feral cry. Emil’s blood ran cold. For a moment, his mind blanked, overwhelmed by the intense urge to flee.
No! Not when Anna is still here!
The ogre charged. The walls of the temple shook under its immense weight. The monstrosity stomped through the inferno with ease, undaunted by the flames clinging onto its body.
Emil lowered his stance, pressing his feet into the ground as he channeled mana into the earth.
“Pierce!”
A trifecta of stone projections erupted from the temple floor. Sharpened like spears, they soared at the ogre’s torso.
To his surprise, the ogre swung with his right hand. The bulging mass of muscles smashed into the path of the stone projections, swatting the constructs apart like gnats. Stone fragments sprayed as the spears were easily shattered.
Shit!
Emil narrowed his eyes, noticing a thick shroud of mana enveloping the ogre. A product of the shapeshifter’s Gift; it was likely granting the monstrosity a protective veil. His proficiency with Bulwark lacked power to penetrate.
The ogre suddenly lunged to close the distance. It lashed with a vicious swipe. Caught off guard by its speed, Emil had no time dodge. With no other options, he raised his arms to cover his vitals. Mana flashed, generating a layer of hastily made stone armor as his only source of protection.
Crunch!
The clumsy stone armor fractured with minimal resistance against the ogre’s strength. The bones in his arms creaked in protest—the flesh throbbing in agony from the shocking force. Before Emil could even scream, he felt his body flung airborne.
“Ngh!”
He smashed into the burning temple wall. Flames seared his back, devouring the flesh with ravenous glee. Emil’s head spun as he landed onto his knees. Something foreign threatened to claw out of his throat. He forced himself to resist, until the compulsion grew too strong to hold back.
He puked. Dark blood pooled beneath his chin. The puddle of crimson shook with the ground as the ogre continued its relentless pursuit.
What the hell am I doing?
The sight of his own blood stirred the question. Emil didn’t fear death, but he feared what happened after he died. Namely, the fate that would await Mia and Raz in his absence. He let out a derisive laugh.
Since when did I care so much about defending?
He wasn’t fighting like his usual self. There was too much overthinking, too much doubt, and not enough reliance on his instincts and training. As a result, his movements were slow and sluggish.
I must be getting conceited. This is a life-and-death situation. And here I am, trying to play around my new Gift.
The ogre cocked back its fist for another attack. The shadows of its fists loomed above, descending, aimed to crush his head.
“If you ever find yourself terrified in the middle of a fight, then just go wild.” The witch’s conniving voice slithered into his mind. “It’s savage and barbaric, but pure, unrestrained violence will always get you results.”
Emil discarded all thoughts and let his combative instincts take over. He ducked, lunging past the ogre’s reach. The monstrosity smashed into the stone crevices of the temple. The ground shook. The ogre was slow, clumsily trying to pry its hands out of the walls.
An opening. Emil seized the chance. A pair of stone gauntlets enveloped his hands as he drove his fists into the ogre’s torso.
Squelch!
The grotesque crunch of flesh being tenderized blasted into his ears. Blood splattered; his face wet. Emil narrowed his eyes—shielding his pupils from the fragments of rock and flesh sprayed into the air.
Squelch!
He launched another hook into the ogre’s side. The monstrosity staggered. Groans of pain escaped its deformed jaws as it tried to retaliate with its off-hand. Emil twisted his body, squeezing into the tiny crevice of airspace available to evade the counter. The ogre’s fist smashed into the ground. Shockwaves rippled through the earth, turning the floor of the temple into a turbulent sea. Unfazed, Emil stepped to the side, light on his feet, almost as if he was in the midst of a waltz.
Squelch!
Another blow pulverized the ogre’s chest. The satisfying recoil sent a rush through Emil’s body.
“Ha!” he screamed, relentless. The ogre was now a bloodied mess. Still, the monstrosity refused to back down. Finally, it managed to pull its right arm free from the temple walls. With both arms raised skyward, it brought them down like a hammer.
Emil dove into the space between the ogre’s legs. As he slid across the earth, he unleashed a vicious jab against the ogre’s right knee. The monstrosity roared. It spun around awkwardly; its injured leg struggled to maintain its colossal mass.
With a bit of distance between them, Emil concentrated on his vision. The veil of mana surrounding the ogre had thinned. But despite his violent beatdown, the monstrosity appeared unfazed. The wounds from its mangled body were already beginning to heal.
His Gift must allow him to regenerate his wounds with mana.
Emil glanced down. His stone gauntlets were breaking apart from the excessive force. His arms were also bloody from the recoil of his savage attack.
I don’t see an Azurite accessory anywhere. Then, I’ll have to crush its head. Destroy the Exalted’s brain that’s maintaining the flow of mana.
He also considered another alternative—use Blaze. Anna was somewhere beyond the wall of flames. Visibility was poor due to the harsh smoke. Even if she saw him, he had plausible deniability from the inferno rampaging in the surroundings.
No, I don’t need to risk exposing myself just yet.
The veil of mana around the ogre suddenly shifted. The torrent of azure gathered at the ogre’s arms. It’s about to attack again! Emil reacted first, predicting the ogre’s next move. The flow of mana gave him a hint. However—
Huh?
Something clung onto his left foot. Emil looked down. A small tendril of vine had sprouted through the cracks of the temple floor. It wrapped around his ankles with an ironclad grip, pinning him to the ground. The shadow of the ogre loomed close.
There was no time to free himself. He couldn’t evade. Bulwark’s stone projections were too weak to stop the ogre. Taking the blow head-on was a guaranteed death. Desperate, Emil’s eyes flew to the ogre’s injured right leg. An idea came to mind.
He stomped the ground. Mana poured from his Azurite pendant into the earth. Suddenly, the floor beneath the ogre’s right foot caved in. The sudden emergence of the crevice knocked the monstrosity off-balance. Without a stable foundation, the ogre collapsed to the side.
Emil spun around. A surge of bloodlust. It was the researcher. His face was smeared in red, part of the skin on his cheeks drooping, mauled by the flames. His clothes had been charred to rags. Blood leaked from the nasty wounds revealed from the gaps of his outfit. Without warning, he raised his arms.
A torrent of mana exploded at the ground. The temple floor before Emil suddenly split apart. A forest of macabre vines sprung forth. Like spears, they flew at him with the intent to kill.
I don’t have a choice!
Emil prepared to channel Blaze, desperate to burn off the vines holding him down.