Walking out of the vapor that remained of Harewood, Momo concealed his thoughts. It was for revenge, so they could put down the corrupt Hjalmarr and Ellanher, but could he go through with it? The cost weighed upon his mind, twelve hundred people, humans with lives to live, he took their lives from them, none being able to have the sweetness of a long life.
He bleakly carried on walking, a few miles from the estate, a slight comfort keeping him intact from his sleeping sister, resting on his shoulder, unbeknownst what he had just done. Momo trekked forward, having no sense of direction, simply the initiative to keep his sister away from the bloody path he led.
Stopping a few miles from the castle, and placing his sister down upon his cloak, as he prepared a small fire. He sat in a solemn silence, as Rancour appeared before him.
“What troubles you, Momo?” Rancour asked.
Momo stared back; the lifelessness of his eyes reflective in their gold-crimson hues.
“I thought it would kill him Momo. I thought, one big final attack to put the Hjalmarr the Unyielding to death, before we killed Ellanher.” Rancour explained.
“You think that’s some justification? You think I’d feel differently if he had died? We had no right to kill the people living upon the estate, nor the soldiers in the castle.” Momo snarled at the wraith.
Rancour stared blankly at Momo, their gazes like the wind stoking fire, their gazes holding an intense animosity.
Momo heard the slight groan of his sister, signaling the end of her sleep. He took his eyes off Rancour, placing his sister closer to the fire, to keep her warm as he got up to check if the surroundings were safe. Returning to the now awake Amirah, he gave her the remains of the food he had brought from Poclinton. Knowing he would need more, he got up to leave for food.
“Where are you going, Momo?” Amirah inquired.
“To find food.” Momo quietly remarked as he began to get up, taking a shilling and a few pennies to find something that Amirah could eat for the next few days.
As the two found themselves before the small town of Harrowgate, they walked into its midst, walking to the small shop that sold regular goods and services. He opened the door and found the shopkeeper waiting behind his counter, as Momo began grabbing what he needed.
Giving him a singular shilling for all the necessities, he walked back out of the shop and into the midst of the town. Spotting an irregular patrol within the walls of the city, Rancour beckoned Momo to begin moving. Opening Momo’s eyes, Rancour allowed him to see through the eyes of a wraith, giving him total coverage of the area, allowing him to see through matter and distance.
Finding his way through the town and out of it, he made his way back to Amirah, who had fallen back to sleep once more.
A slight smile broke through the slump of pain that had overwhelmed him. Through all of this war, fighting, suffering and pan, he still had his sister, and her smile and unknowing nature to what he had done or was to do brought him a small glimmer of hope, that once this bloody path had concluded, he may be free.
Rancour appeared before him once more, gesturing him away from Amirah.
“If you wish for the ability to control the battle, and minimize the deaths of the innocents, we must train. You have a natural ability, but until we can hone it, my power and yours shall be limited to a fraction of what it could be. We have retrieved two pieces of my soul, however we have yet to unlike an ounce of its capacity, even with my complete soul, we would pale in comparison to our original selves if we had maximized their full power. We have strength and power, yet we lack the control and mastery of it for our true power to be unlocked.” Rancour explained, raising his sword.
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“You want to train me?” Momo asked.
“Yes, you are naturally talented, however, your innumerable developmental spikes have only come from the near-death experiences you have had. A plethora of abilities, masteries and skills await you if you truly work to find them. Observe.” Rancour continued, raising his hand.
Rancour let out three spectral slashes, each cutting Momo deeply, forcing him to regenerate the atomized tissue.
“What is that, it’s as if you sliced me with a blade at the atomic level.” Momo coughed, as blood spilled out of his mouth.
“It functions as a blade, slashing or skewering one from any distance, with a little more time, it would destroy you at the sub-atomic level, with the reaction of what will come to be known as anti-matter and matter, a state of pure annihilation from existence can be achieved. This will find use against the noblemen if they refuse to locate the rest of my soul.” Rancour explained.
“This is not a power we need, Rancour, what we need are practical and applicable skills and understandings of Spectral Energy.” Momo countered.
“You want to understand Spectral Energy? What I know is limited, however it will be good for you to understand what it shall take to awaken your true power. Spectral Energy originates in a realm above anything you can think of, entirely outside of its reaches, and its power is secondary to something none upon this plane could ever comprehend. However, this is not a time for speculation. The Spectral realm governs all things, no matter what they are, time, space, distance, gravity, heat, revenge. You name anything, and it is below the Spectral Realm, I have a slight comprehension of its scale, but my mind is too unexpansive and is not upon what could possibly comprehend such a power. However, what I can tell you, is that it is the source of our power, and it is intrinsically linked to one’s soul, as we train, our souls link, further and further, strengthening them, and increasing our arsenal. Shall we start?” Rancour queried.
“Fine, let’s move a little further away though, to keep Amirah away.” Momo cautioned.
Rancour nodded, as the two moved a few miles further into the countryside, they stood, facing one another from exactly a hundred yards, the anger of Momo, and the power-hungry nature of Rancour prepared to fight.
In a twentieth of the passing of a second the two closed the hundred-yard gap, sword and glaive clashing at incredible speeds, massive shockwaves filling the air as their clashes increased in their exponential power.
Ducking a swing of Momo’s glaive, Rancour pointed at Momo’s midsection, detonating a small spectral explosion which pulverized a portion of Momo’s torso, which he quickly regenerated. Flicking his fingers, large slashes lacerated Momo’s body, creating shallow wounds that impeded him, as Rancour kicked him away with immense force, into a nearby hill, destroying a portion of it as he leapt after Momo.
Rancour fired multiple spectral arrows at Momo, which far exceeded speeds he could even react to. They landed upon him, creating small explosions, carving out more of his flesh as he fell to his knees from blood loss. Pouring all his Spectral Energy into regeneration, Momo created a small barrier that blocked the killing blow from Racnour, cracking and exploding as it sent Rancour flying back to the base of the hill, as Momo closed his wounds, regenerating to his full strength.
It seems he uses his spectral energy to create different attacks, perhaps through the actions he makes, or the techniques he’s developed. I can copy them, as I share his soul. Momo thought to himself as Rancour leapt toward the summit once more.
As he landed before Momo, the two clashed in close quarters combat, Rancour’s superior physicality and skill over whelming Momo, who largely could not keep pace. Momo visualized the bond of their souls, mimicking the hand gestured made by Rancour, as a few spectral slashes hit Rancour, catching him off guard as Momo impaled him on his glaive, slamming him into the ground and kicking him into the hill, creating large cracks in the hill and the surrounding area.
Rancour dodged a second kick from Momo, slashing his leg off with his sword, forcing Momo to retreat as his regeneration began. Rancour equipped his bow once more, charging another flame arrow, firing it, as it vaporized the hill and grievously wounded Momo, who lay in the crater created by the explosion.
“You fought well Momo. However, you lack technique, and you cannot properly augment your physical powers with Spectral Energy, which we will need to work on in the future. You are going to die; however, you will soon return at a place I have vested for us. I shall take you and your sister there, as it will be important in the conquest against Hjalmarr and Ellanher.” Rancour explained, as Momo felt his regeneration stop, and his blood pour onto the charred soil.