As Khai and Alci made their way back to the village, the imagery of Alci’s battle with Naadi ran fresh in his mind. The overwhelming malice, the loss of control, the utter power; they all terrified him. That’s the power I was born to use. My life has no other meaning than to swallow up the Locket Bearer in that eternal rage.
“Alci.” Khai said, putting a hand on Alci’s shoulder. They’d arrived, and looming before them was the village wall. “You’d better get your emotions in check before you enter. Forget your rage for now.”
“Yes. I have it under control now.” Alci said, running his hands through his hair as he tried to concentrate on what was important, receiving the message from the Master. Brushing a hand against a mud brick, inciting a clicking sound, and then the opening to the village revealed itself. Before Alci could even take a step inside, Baba sped through the gap in the wall, and pounced onto Alci, showering him with licks. Laughing, Alci slowly slid out from underneath Baba, petting the beast’s giant head affectionately. “Baba! How the heck did you even get in?”
“Alci.” Khai said. “Remove the vermin. We have things to do.”
“Ah.” Alci nodded, getting to his feet and patting Baba gently on the nose. “Of course. Baba, it’s time to go. See you, okay?”
“No, leave it be. It must stay.” Khai said.. “But you need to leave it for now; we must greet the Master.”
“REALLY?” Alci said, practically leaping into the air, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he grabbed Khai’s shoulders,squeezed them, and shook him frantically. “Really? Really? No take backs, okay?”
“Don’t worry.” Khai said, a cold smile spreading across his face. “There will be no take backs. Let’s go.” Khai pulled Alci’s hands off his shoulders and headed through the gap in the wall. Alci followed along, waving at Baba who blinked at Alci in confusion.
The village was eerily quiet; usually it was filled with the noises of blades clashing and warriors fighting, yet tonight, it was completely quiet. Dozens of warriors were gathered around an elevated mud platform, each holding a plate with a ball of green fire floating above it. Floating above the mud platform was the Master of Epe; she too was holding a plate, a plate with a fiery red orb floating above it.
“Welcome, my child. I’m glad you made it back on such short notice.” The Master said, her eyes twinkling, and Alci immediately fell to the ground, kneeling before her. It wasn’t his first time seeing her; in fact, she made it a point to stare at him longingly every time he entered her dome. And yet, she’d never spoken to him; she only spoke to the highest ranking warriors, and even that was scarce. “You may stand.”
“O-of course. It was nothing.” Alci replied, pulling himself onto his feet, glancing around nervously. A warrior holding a long stick with a ball of brilliant green fire at the end handed Khai a plate, and then tapped the fiery end of the stick onto the plate, a small green flame forming and hovering above Khai’s plate.
“Now then, let us start.” The Master said with a flourish of her hands. “This is a night I’ve been looking forward to for fifty long years. My time here has only been a momentary frame in my long life, and yet our rage has made it feel much longer. But no more. Very soon, our dear Alci will take that rage, and turn it into ecstasy.”
The circle of warriors gathered around the Master began to nod their heads solemnly, the flames hovering above their plates beginning to grow in size.
“Banjoko Creshun, the Usurper of the North, trapped us here with the power of the Orian Locket. And now, courtesy of fate, his successor has come here with the locket. He no doubt intends to finish us off, and yet he has no idea what I’ve worked so hard for.” The Master of Epe crouched, extending a hand towards Alci elegantly.
Am I supposed to shake it or fist bump it, or? Alci thought nervously, feeling the gaze of a hundred warriors on him, and extended a hand, grabbing onto the Master’s thumb and shaking it nervously.
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Oh shit. Did I do the wrong thing? Alci looked around nervously, and saw Khai glaring at him disapprovingly, along with every other warrior in the circle.
“Grab onto it, darling.” The Master of Epe whispered, her eyes sparkling with amusement, and Alci nodded, stepping onto her palm. Slowly, she raised her hand so that Alci was eye level with her and gazed down at the warriors below. “Alci, the embodiment of my rage, is the warrior gifted to us by fate to slay the legacy of Banjoko. He is the only one capable of wielding the power of our rage, and with his power, he will destroy the locket and break the seal, allowing me to leave this cursed forest and return to the Third Realm.”
Alci could feel the gaze of the warriors on him, and the weight that came with it. Their empty stares reminded him that he had nowhere to run too; that he had no right to run. This was what he was made to do.
This was what he had to do.
“Now then.” The Master sent Alci down onto the platform, and set the plate with the fiery orb down before him. Alci immediately realized that it was the same as the orb Khai had shown him earlier, and yet this time, he could hear it call to him even louder.
Fear me not, Alci.
We are one.
I am you.
And you are I.
Its thoughts crashed into Alci’s, practically overwriting his thoughts of hesitation and replacing them with a sense of duty. This was what he had to do. Extending his hands towards the orb, he clasped it in his hands tightly, and immediately, a brilliant vermillion aura extended from his body, shrouding the entire village in its fury. Alci’s eyes turned a bright red as the orb started to shrink, and the aura surrounding him grew and grew, tendrils reaching out from it and continuing to spread into the forest. It felt like his every nerve was being injected with condensed flames, prompting Alci to let out a bloodcurdling scream, the warriors down below watching with wide eyes.
Continuing to scream, Alci’s grasp on the orb tightened and tightened, until the orb completely vanished, its power completely absorbed by Alci, the aura of his furious energy so vast that it extended far, far into the sky, making the moon appear as if it was red.
Alci’s screams started to subside as his aura crawled its way back to his body, the nightmarish energy hovering just above his skin like an extra layer of skin. The entire village went silent with awe, astounded by the raw display of power Alci had just shown. Khai’s plate trembled in his hands as he glared up at Alci.
The Master of Epe gazed down at Alci, her eyes wide and sparkling with amazement. Her entire body began to tremble, causing the podium to rumble, and then uncontrolled giggles erupted from her lips, completely breaking the silence. Grabbing her chest tightly, she nearly collapsed to the floor in her giggles, the warriors watching from down below in utter shock.
“Oh my. Sorry for that outburst.” The Master apologized, the last of her giggles fading. “I cannot hold back my excitement! Alci, you are truly the chosen one; only you could bear the blade of our anger with such skill. I commend you, my knight.” She then gestured to the entirety of the village with a grand flourish of her hands. “And now, let us sharpen the blade of our esteemed Knight, so it may cut through this forest with unrivaled power and free us of this cursed fate. Bring forth the sacrifice.”
Alci’s body trembled with rage as flashes of the Orian Locket ran through his mind endlessly, feeding into the uncontrolled blaze of his anger. More than anything, he wanted to squeeze the Locket Bearer’s neck in his hands, revel in the satisfying crack that would come after, and crush the locket with his teeth. And all the people surrounding him, all the trees and buildings and animals; they were just roadblocks to him. Taking a shaky step away from the Master, before he could jump off the podium, his way was blocked by two warriors, each holding a chain in their hands.
“Move.” Alci said breathily, taking a step towards the warriors, the aura around him starting to act up again. Frozen in place, the warriors were too slow for Alci; in a single, violent movement, Alci’s aura ripped into the flesh of the warriors, tearing the skin off their bones mercilessly and flinging them off the podium, their corpses thumping against the walls of the village motionlessly. The only thing left standing in his way was a chained Baba, its eyes narrowed at Alci.
“Move.” Alci said, and Baba shook its head, baring its teeth threateningly at Alci, who blinked at it emptily.
And then Alci stepped towards Baba, his aura stretching towards the beast balefully.