Sunshine enveloped Urn’s body as he stepped into a wide courtyard within an harmonious temple. The sounds of blades clashing rang out across the yard as hooded spear bearers fought, engaging in spars that seemed more like eloquent dances. As soon as they noticed his presence, which was rather quickly, they stopped, the temple turning completely quiet at his arrival.
It’s like they all move as one. Urn thought. It’s creepy, but also kind of cool. In unison, the hooded fighters laid their spears onto the floor and kneeled down, bowing before Urn. With their backs facing the sky, Urn could clearly see that they wore thick dark armor underneath their robes and each one of them had the symbol of an eye engraved onto their cloaks. “Welcome, Champion of Time.” They chanted.
“Champion of Time?” Urn repeated, stunned by the strange title. Huh. Does that have anything to do with my locket? Before he could ponder any longer, Abrax reached out and grabbed him by the neck, nooging him so hard it felt like his knuckles were digging into his brain.
“Aw, lighten up everyone! Repo isn’t here, you can chill out with the hivemind act for once!” Abrax said, grinning toothily at the hooded spear bearers, who seemed to relax in unison, and one by one pulled off their hoods.
“So he’s Banjoko’s grandson. He looks so scrawny!” One of them commented, laughing softly.
“About time you showed up. Been getting bored of doing the same shit everyday.” A tall lady said.
“What’s your name?” A man with long black hair asked, stepping forward and putting a hand on Urn’s shoulder. “Knowing that guy, he probably named you Banjoko Junior or something!”
Urn grinned. “God, no. My name’s Urn. And you guys are…?”
“Urn? Yeesh, I’d take Banjoko Junior over that anyday.” The lady joked, elbowing the man beside her.
“Urn, huh? Nice to meet you, Urn. I’m Qan, and that lady over there is Asha.” The long haired man smiled, extending a hand to Urn, who shook it. “We’re the guardians of Orian Temple, the remnants of your grandfather’s legacy. We’ve been waiting for you to awa-”
Before Qan could finish his sentence, he was promptly smacked upside the head by Abrax. “Watch what you say, dumbass.”
“OW! I THOUGHT YOU SAID WE COULD RELAX!” Qan barked at Abrax, who sneered back at the disgruntled spear bearer. “Anyways, just know we’re glad to have you here, alright? Don’t…” He paused, searching for the right words to say. “Let us down.”
Huh. So they do have an ulterior motive for me; but they’re keeping it mostly discreet. Urn watched Qan and Asha walk off, the hooded guardians returning to their sparring once again. “Wait, where’s Ralph? He should be back by now.”
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“He’s…going through his own test, just like you did. He should have been out by now; so he’s probably having more difficulty with it than even you!” Abrax laughed in an attempt to console Urn, who eyed him suspiciously.
“Alright.” Urn said after a lengthy pause. “It’s not like anything you could throw at him could stop him from getting here. But anyways, since I went through all your tests, that means you have to guide me! I need to learn magic; even if it’s just the basics, I don’t mind. But more than anything, I need direction.”
I didn’t expect him to have so much faith in that Ralph guy. He doesn’t seem particularly strong or smart…I wonder why Banjoko chose him to be his guardian? Abrax tilted his head in confusion, then realized Urn was staring directly at him and laughed nervously. “Right, right! Don’t worry, I’ll teach you everything that you need to know as of now. Including how to use that locket properly.”
“Good.” The corner of Urn’s lips quivered with excitement as he followed after Abrax. Together, they left the courtyard and entered an enclosed corridor within the temple, before descending down a spiraling set of stairs.
~~~
“URN!” Ralph was sent flying through a room that appeared to be some sort of training space, digging his feet into the tiled floor to slow himself down and glancing around rapidly. “That shady asshole! I knew it, he wanted to separate us from the start! I’ll kill him!”
“Whether you’re separated from him or not entirely depends upon you.” A deep voice called from the other side of the room; a tall, scrawny man with white hair and flowing robes stood amongst an assortment of steel, bird-like weapons that were stabbed into the floor.
“...Are you one of Abrax’s buddies?” Ralph asked, and the white haired man shook his head.
“No. My name is Repo, and I’m the master of this temple.” Repo replied, an irritated expression flashing across his face at the mention of Abrax, before shifting back to blankness.
“Damn it, were you also trapped here by that creep? Don’t worry, once we bust out of here, we’ll sucker punch that bitch in the face!” Ralph whipped around, prying at the walls he’d emerged from, and reared his fist back. That idiot. Didn’t he ever realize I could just punch my way out?
Before Ralph’s fist could slam into the wall, Repo promptly vanished from the spot he originally stood, reappearing right before Ralph, his back turned to the man. Extending his right leg, he whipped around and slammed his foot into Ralph’s stomach, sending the guardian skidding away from the wall.
Shit! He’s fast! Ralph slammed a foot into the ground to stop himself from flying any further away. Three steel weapons which resembled the silhouette of a bird floated around Repo, speeding along with him as he dashed towards Ralph, who’d planted his fists into the ground to keep himself from flying any further backwards. Ralph pulled himself to his feet, swinging fist at Repo’s chest, yet met only the empty air as Repo once again vanished. Reappearing behind Ralph, the steel weapons followed him, ripping through Ralph’s body with the ease of a greatsword, and the delicacy of a butterfly, and exiting out of his back.
Repo flourished his cloak, stifling a yawn as he sauntered away from Ralph, who looked down at the numerous wounds littering his stomach in shock. What? How did he do that? He only walked; that was the only movement I saw-unless. Ralph’s eyes narrowed as he came to the eerie answer; Repo was just that nimble. Shit.
“Ralph. It looks like you’re not good enough to guide the Champion of Time.” Repo drew his thumb across his neck. “Do me a favor and get lost, alright?”