Thunder, lightning, and rain continued to cover the city. The sight of destruction plagued the metropolis. Jason and Sam held the body of their deceased brother in their arms, Sam covering them with his wings. Dye’s lifeless body, in the hands of his brothers, caused them to wail loudly, the sound of their sobbing taking over the streets. Arayan lay upon the ground in his golden suit of armor, looking upon the mourning brothers. Dye’s blood seeped from his body and created a stream of bloody water that flowed to the feet of Griflore.

“Who shall be next?” he said cold heartedly.

The sound of Griflore’s voice caused the two to stop their crying. Sam and Jason laid the body of their brother to the ground and quickly turned to face Griflore.

“You won’t get away with this,” said Sam, whose fury was building rapidly. “You won't get away with this!” He shouted as he stood up quickly, throwing his wings out.

“This fight is far from over!” Said Jason. “You’re gonna pay for this!” He said as he too stood up from the ground. The both of them towered over the dead body of their younger brother, their bodies regenerating quicker than before. The hole in Sam’s armor repaired itself and soon their armor was as blinding and shiny as it was before the fight had erupted.

“You still wish to challenge me?” Said Griflore, annoyed with the duo’s defiance. “I won’t be so lenient this time!”

He took his blade that was covered in Dye’s blood and ran towards the two. Suddenly a gale of wind picked up and Griflore was pushed away and slammed into the ground.

“This time,” said Sam, who finished his attack instinctively.

“We won’t lose,” finished Jason without a second thought.

Moments later, two blinding lights started to cover the brothers’ bodies. Sam’s began shining with a white light and Jason’s began glowing blue. The lights were immensely bright. So bright in fact that the constant flashes of lightning couldn’t be seen. The white and blue lights retreated into Sam and Jason’s body and began to race through their armor etching out lines in which the light ran through. The lights surged from their feet to their upper body, down to their arms and up to their heads where the lights filled their symbols. The Quailocian symbol for the Skies on Sam’s face glowed with a bright white light and the Quailocian symbol for Water on Jason’s face glowed with a blue light, making it the most brilliant part of their bodies. The two brothers felt more powerful than before and they had their eyes set on their target.

Griflore looked at the radiant Xenton and prepared himself for battle. He took his blade and charged at the two vigorously. With a wave of his hand, Sam sent a powerful gale of wind that threw Griflore back to the ground. The evil Xenton arose from the rubble exploding with rage.

“What is this?” He snarled. “What is this power?”

Without warning, both Sam and Jason took off against Griflore at blinding speeds. They whizzed through the streets in the form trailing luminosities that bashed and beat the murdering Xenton. Griflore tried his best to dodge all their attacks, but was unsuccessful; being hit with a hydro geyser of water that sent him crashing through debris and rubble. As Griflore was struggling to get up, Sam flew down and smashed him deeper into the ground. Sam punched him vigorously until he grabbed him by his head and threw him aside. That’s when Jason fell out of the sky with his fists covered in solid ice and slammed Griflore through what was left of a building.

Dye’s dead body lay in the street, his blood mixing with the water, sending it down into the nearby storm drain. Arayan regained his consciousness and saw Dye lying there dead. He struggled for movement but couldn’t seem to make it to his feet. He looked at the dead body of the boy who saved his life and compassion overcame him. All he could remember was staring down his last moments, and out of nowhere this young boy came to his rescue.

No powers.

No armor.

Not even a fighting chance.

Just a brave spirit who was met with a blade through the heart.

Arayan’s golden armor was battered, cracked, and scratched all over. He continued to look at the dead boy’s body and came to a decision. He crawled his way through the rubble, his armor scraping against the debris. The loud sounds of fighting fueling his desire to reach Dye.

“You saved me,” he said, “You didn’t have to, but you did anyway...”

He finally made it to Dye’s body and saw the wound that ended his life.

“I see now the Ka chose you for a reason,” Arayan said to the dead boy. “It was you. It was you all along, Dye, who was supposed to stop this enemy. Not me, and for this I am sorry.” Arayan's golden helmet opened up and revealed his beaten and bloody face. He took the blood that was running from his lip and with his golden finger he drew the Quailocian symbol for fire on Dye’s forehead.

“Even without the Ka’s power, the fire inside you still burns brightly.”

He took both of his hands and together the two of them started to glow red. He rested his hands upon Dye’s lifeless body and the symbol that was written upon his head started to shine with a colorless glow. He watched as the wounds on Dye’s body started to heal and the beating of his heart resumed its pounding against his chest.

Dye flicked open his eyes and threw his body up from the ground.

“Where am I?” He said, looking around. Dye was in a dark and cold place. He looked around the dark area, but didn’t see anything. Suddenly it became immersed in flames and Dye became trapped. He threw his arms over his face to protect himself from the heat of the fire.

This didn’t bother him though because he was familiar with this happening. He knew what this was. He knew he was safe.

“You,” said a voice, “you, who’s spirit burns brightly. Let my Ka empower you once again. ”

Dye’s body started to get hot, and his eyes turned orange. The fox stepped out of the flames and closer towards him. It turned into a red aura and settled around Dye in a cyclone of raw power. The power flooded him and refueled his soul.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Dye woke up in the streets gasping for air. He choked for a moment and then looked up into the dark sky. Lightning flashed, and thunder crashed. He slowly lifted his body up and saw the entire street completely destroyed.

“What happened?” He said with confusion. He looked around himself and saw Arayan lying on the ground next to him, unconscious, dressed in his usual garments.

“Arayan?” He questioned himself, “What happened to me? The last thing I remember was–”

Dye had a quick flashback of his death and the blade of Griflore striking him down. He looked down at the ground and saw blood moving through the water. He quickly touched his chest to find the wound that ended his life but found nothing.

“How am I here?” Booming sounds raged from down the street. He looked further and saw glowing streaks of blue and white flying about.

“What’s happening?” He asked himself. The thundering booms causing remaining structures to fall and crumble to the ground.

“Where are Sam and Jason?” He said looking around for them. He acknowledged the swirling blue and white lights up ahead.

The battle between Sam, Jason and Griflore raged on. Sam and Jason, who had the upper hand, were not holding back against the evil entity anymore. Displaying impressive power, Sam conjured the power of the sky and air and summoned a lightning strike along with a razor sharp wind of cyclones that sent Griflore slamming into the ground. Controlling the power of water, Jason pressurized the water and turned it into a blade that could cut through anything. Griflore ducked and dodged the stream of water as much as he could until the water caught him. The water sliced off the armor on his right arm, exposing human skin. With Griflore distracted, Sam fell from the sky and slammed Griflore right into the asphalt; a loud booming noise took to the air. Sam retreated himself to Jason’s side and together, the light shining through their bodies beamed with an infinite brightness.

Griflore came crawling and struggling out of the smoke. His human arm was dressed with blood. Both Sam and Jason were shocked at this sight.

“Sam, do you see that?” Asked Jason.

“Yeah, I do,” he replied.

Griflore struggled to get to his feet, but it wasn’t an easy task for his battered and broken body.

“This changes nothing!” he said with contempt, “I will make sure you perish.”

The light on Sam and Jason started to shine stronger. Griflore took his good hand and covered his face from the intense light. Dye was watching the growth of the light from down the street. He got to his feet and sprinted towards the strange glow in high hopes of finding his brothers.

“You just don’t know when to give up,” said Jason, who was calm, holding back his anger.

“You killed our brother,” said Sam, “you're not leaving here alive.”

The two charged towards Griflore and delivered powerful blows that tore through his armor, exposing his abdomen. He fell to his knees and unable to catch himself, fell to the ground and landed in a puddle of water.

“How does it feel to have your face in the mud?” taunted Jason.

Griflore laid there at the feet of the two victorious brothers. The light that was radiating from their body was beginning to dim. Their bodies returned to normal as the light faded away. Both the armored bodies of Sam and Jason stood there, glaring at the motionless body of Griflore.

“Like I said, this changes nothing,” Said Griflore, struggling to look up.

Jason's anger started to creep up behind him. He took his foot and kicked Griflore in his head, allowing his body to roll over.

“Last time I checked,” said Jason, “You were down and out, my guy.”

Griflore started to laugh as he made his way to his feet, revealing his bloody, human arm and broken armor.

“It is so much you have yet to discover,” he said, “the power you’ve displayed here today has proven yourself to be worthy adversaries for the future. I will find the source of this power and will return to fulfill my mission. You’ve won this battle, but I do not falter so easily. Something more terrible than I shall arise and you will be powerless to stop it.”

Sam and Jason watched as Griflore started to heal himself. His armor repaired itself and with a sudden flash of purple lightning, Griflore was gone.

“Damn it!” Said Jason furiously, “We almost had him.”

“True,” said Sam, “But we have more important things to worry about.”

The atmosphere of the battlefield suddenly changed. The brothers had proved themselves to be victorious, but feelings of failure ate through them. The death of their brother came flashing back into their minds and sorrow filled their hearts.

The armor on their bodies disappeared and returned them to their original states.

“This is too much to handle. He was right here. I saw him, but when we remember what happened–”

“We remember that he’s dead,” finished Sam. “Damn it, Dye! Why didn’t you listen to me?” The two brothers started to walk away. The rain finally stopped, and a ray of sunshine pierced through the dark cloudy sky above.

“How are we going to explain this to Mom and Dad?” Whispered Sam.

“Explain what?” Said a voice that sounded familiar to the both of them. The two brothers stopped in shock, their hearts missing a thump

“It can’t be,” said Jason, recognizing the voice.

The two brothers slowly turned around and saw a young boy with green eyes running up the street, his shirt with a slit rip in his chest.

“Dye,” said Sam, whose expression started to morph. The two brothers ran to their baby brother and hugged him tightly, both of them beginning to cry.

“Dye!” Jason rejoiced, sniffing and wiping his puffy, red eyes. “We thought you were–”

“Dead?” He finished.

“This is impossible,” said Sam, tears gushing out of his eyes. “We saw you die. We saw it!”

“We saw the blade go right through you,” said Jason.

“I know,” said Dye, “And I felt it, but when I came to, I found Arayan lying face down next to me.”

“Arayan?” Asked Sam.

“Yeah, and strangely enough I feel like how I used to. I think Arayan gave my Ka back.”

“We're just glad you're back,” said Sam. “Next time! Please, just once in your life, listen to your big brother!”

“Sam, you’re like a year older than me.”

Sam placed his hand on his brother’s head. “That still makes me older, smarter, and stronger than you!” Sam smiled, tears still in his eyes.

“I don’t know about stronger…”

“Shut up, Dye,” said Sam softly.

The sky started to clear as the sun poked through, showing its face to the city of Beach Shores.

Author’s Recommendation: Check out the Xenton Chronicles: Halloween Nightmare for an interlude story.