Blind Phoenix

Slumbering Phoenix: Midway

After his speech, Byur’s eyes once again gleamed entirely red. His power had seemingly reached a breaking point, Kal looked pleased. “That’s right, let your anger guide you to new heights! I’ll beat you at your very limit; no other victory would be enough.”

            Byur did not answer. Instead he rushed towards Kal to meet him in combat. His friends looked at the battle in confusion.

            “Do we let them keep going?!” said Nico. “What’s their energy level at anyway?”

            Lynn eyed both of the fighters carefully and came to a conclusion, “About 2,300 and 2,350. Byur surprisingly is the latter…this is unbelievable. I expected Kal to come is as the stronger fighter.”

            Nico began to speak, “Ah I see- what?! No one’s ever gone up that fast. Not even us. Tch, s**t, I’m training my ass off after this is over.”

            “Well, brother, he’s the one who has a chance at becoming stronger than us one day so, uh…we’re going to have to accept the fact that he can pass us out of nowhere.”

            “Pff, that kid isn’t even close to you, let alone me.” Nico pointed at himself with his thumb, “I’m just waiting for the right moment to show off.” Nico said as he turned towards the fight. “Although…what’s important right now is what’s going on in front of us. Those two are really something. Let’s see how this ends.”

            Byur came from all directions in his usual aggressive style. Despite being stronger, his attacks could not breach Kal’s near perfect defense.

            “Is that all you’ve got, boy? You’re stronger, but a defense like mine will nullify any small power advantage you might have. I don’t even need to attack you to win at this point.”

            Byur jumped back and fire gathered around his fist. Kal’s eyes widened as he realized what his opponent was doing. Byur unconsciously smiled as if to say “try dodging this.”

            “The forging strike? Hah, you can’t hit me with such a telegraphed strike if it’s not a surprise attack.”

The young man darted forward and his fist exploded onto Kal. As the fire cleared up, one could see the outcome of the strike. Kal had devoted all of his defense to his face and ignored the fact that he could have been hit in the abdomen, which he was.

            “A-a body blow?!”

            It was far too fast for him to see no matter how solid his blocking was. His arm would have surely been broken if he blocked with it. The wall of muscle protecting his ribs and organs was the only thing that saved him. Either way, the damage was done and he kneeled forward. Byur’s eyes went back to their grey self and he regained control of his mind, saying, “A speed disadvantage, though. Now that’s something you forgot to take into account.” He vaulted over Kal’s body and kicked downward onto his neck, sending him spiraling towards the ground. Dust and earth went flying as Kal’s body dug into the floor.

            “Damn that was tough. Still…I expected more from that guy. He didn’t show me much of his special techniques.”

            As Byur finished up his sentence a small blue barrier surrounded his body.

            “Huh? What the?!”

            Several squares of energy formed all around him. The ball of energy picked up speed and it rammed into the squares wildly. Byur was being thrown around like a pinball in the small trap his opponent had made. Unable to stop what was happening, he found himself at a loss.

            Kal yelled at him from several yards under, “Let’s see your speed save you from this. Shell prison, stabilize and shrink!”

            The squares of energy were pulled toward Byur and he became completely immobile.

            “Impress me by getting up after this.”

            Moments later, a catastrophic explosion illuminated the sky; civilians from the City of Barrik believed it to be a flashing star. Kal had all but won the match with his move. The damage it did had yet to be seen. As the smoke cleared, in the air stood a heavily injured Byur.

            As Byur panted he said, “That was…one hell of an ace.” His body relaxed and he slowly floated down. As soon as he reached the ground he looked straight into Kal’s eyes.

            “Huh, what is it?” said Kal.

            “It’s just that your guards down.” Byur said as he charged forward. With quick reflexes the lizard man was able to put his defenses back into its maximum power.

            “The fight won’t end until one of us is completely out, isn’t that what you wanted?!”

            Byur’s punches pushed Kal back bit by bit, no amount of friction or resistance could counter the power behind the young man’s punches. He poured his heart and soul into each strike. Kal’s arms slowly began to lower.

            “There!” Byur thought. An opening presented itself, but he did not stop himself there. It was not yet time; the final punch had to land cleaner, as accurately as it could. As the seconds past the desperation in both of them began to be clear. The final moment was upon them, Byur c****d back his fist for one final punch. With all his weight and power behind this one swing he unleashed a monstrous right hook. Would it connect? Would it finish the fight resulting in a third consecutive victory? Time slowed down as Byur’s punch inched closer to Kal’s face. The fight would be decided in a second. Closer and closer Kal’s defeat was arriving.

            However…a once in a fight dodge saved him from the devastating attack. His eyes sharpened as he saw his turn present itself. Energy enveloped his leg and he landed one of the most accurate kicks in his fighting history. Byur’s head flew back, and so did his entire body. The sheer force behind the kick left him with an astounded expression on his face, it was an overwhelming kick. As Byur fell onto the ground there was silence. The tenseness of the moment did not pass for what seemed to be a very long time. Byur did not get up. He laid still with his back on the soil.

            Kal let out a breath of relief and fell to his knees. It was over and the victor was clear.

“His energy level was much higher than I could have imagined, yet he was still unable to defeat me. After all that, I still wasn’t pushed enough to use all of my techniques. He was not ready…his performance was still beautiful. I guess that’s all I could ask from someone of his skill level.”

            Nico got slightly irritated as he, Lynn and Maria approached Byur, saying, “Hey, bruv, you fell onto your knees from how tired you are. How can you say that you didn’t need to use everything if he exceeded the strength you expected?”

            “I thought the fight would drag on much longer than this, granted it was an extremely long fight all things considered. It’s just that he still wasn’t skilled enough to force my hand. I kind of got caught up in the brawl and thus handicapped myself. I guess you can say I was having too much fun.” Kal looked up at Nico and continued, “He didn’t even notice the one thing I wanted him too. It probably sounds like I’m contradicting myself a lot here, but I wanted to believe the fight would be twice as long as this. Maybe next time.”

            Nico sighed and messed with his hair, “Man, that takes care of that, but…I think it’s time we see how badly the organization is going to chew you out for this.”

            Kal laughed lightly, “Sorry about this. I think after I get the speech I expect I’ll just propose paying for rebuilding this place. Of course that will cost most of what I have, yet it’s a price I have to pay.”

            “And I’ll help” said a voice from the ground. Byur had woken up, but was still too damaged to stand. Lynn and Maria helped him up to his feet.

            “You don’t have to, this is my mess,” said Kal.

            “Geez are you joking? I did this too. This is strike two for me I guess, ahaha. But, I mean, we didn’t do this on purpose. Maybe they should have made a stronger arena!”

            Maria chuckled at her friend’s stubbornness, “You two are just a bit too strong for your own good. No one got hurt, thankfully.”

            As Maria spoke she looked a Byur and noticed confusion and anger in his face. He was looking up at the sky at something or someone.

            “Those two,” he said, “their energy feels just like his…it’s Tenno’s pawns. What are they doing here?!”

            Stigandr stared down the group and Anthroph slowly floated towards them. He finally reached the floor and stood dead straight in front of Byur, his single eye staring at him as if he were lunch. Nico slowly walked to his enemy.

            “It’s been a while, you annoying little freak. You came all this way just to say hi to our up and coming champion? I should kill you right now, you know. I can always ask your giant friend over there for any information I want.”

            “No!” yelled Byur. “He’s mine. Give me a week to heal, and I’ll meet you anywhere you want for a fight to the death.”

            Anthroph threw his head back and responded, “Yeah sure whatever, hehe. You might actually be a challenge at this point. You’re right in line with me, actually! If that perpetually rising power of yours is as amazing as I think it is, you’ll be at my energy level after taking another beating from me…so maybe I’ll kill you before you get the chance.”

            Lynn scoffed at him and said, “Unless you have Tenno with you, even if you end up winning I’m taking your head off the first chance I get.”

            She was met with corrupt laughter, “Oh no, it looks like I’m not wanted here! Rrrrrest up all you can, weakling, you’ll need it!”

            With those words, he flew off and left Stigandr alone as he continued to stare down everyone. A bead of sweat ran down Kal’s forehead. Even Byur couldn’t help but tremble a bit. Not only was that man giant, but strong as well. Only a few hundred thousand out of the trillions of fighters in the universe had power above his. Even more surprising was the fact that he could not even dream of touching Tenno if he ever was to rebel. Still, his strength was soul crushing.

            Kal wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, “What’s with him, hmm? He’s really starting to bother me. My spine is tingling.”

            Nico frowned and told him, “That guy…he looks like a monster overflowing with power. Don’t be fooled by the muscles, bruv, he’s one of the most skilled fighters out of all of em. He is a genius when it comes to countering and dodging. That defense of yours that held back our boy from landing a clean shot? It would look like child’s play if you were to compare.”

            “Ahaha, I see. Uhh, any way around it? If it’s that good, I don’t know what to say.”

            “A human probably doesn’t live long enough to be able to master such a degree of protection.”

            “He’s not human, then? He looks like one…more or less.”

            “Human, for sure. Yet…there’s something wrong with these guys. I always wanna barf when I see em.”

            Nico grew irritated and yelled, “Hey behemoth! Could you sod off from here?! If you want a damn fight come down here and I’ll give you one!”

            The huge man’s expression did not change as he slowly elevated himself and disappeared. Byur was gritting his teeth and it was as if his eyes were glowing with fire, “After I beat Anthroph, what are we going to do with him? Launch a full assault on him and Tenno?”

            While still helping him move, Maria began to speak, “You have to remember that they’re not the only ones. There’s at least two other leaders we have to deal with. There isn’t any reliable proof on this, but it seems like they have an army that can appear and disappear at will. The worst part is, that army is not only lead by those five. There are strong individuals among their soldiers who act as sub-bosses.”

            “Plus we have to find them first,” said Nico. “As much as it pains me to say this, they’ve been avoiding us for a while…somehow. They’ve been slowly destroying this planet and the people that live on it. I don’t even know how they manage to hide their massive energy levels. What could they even gain from doing this? Sure, they’re not exactly good guys, but what’s the point? They could destroy Earth right this instant without us knowing. It scares me, you guys. It really does.”

            Maria assured Nico everything would turn out alright and said, “At least Byur’s eyes have physically healed, so there’s some good news. It’s really a miracle this happened. Maybe his sight will come back in due time.”

“Yeah, maybe…we still have to take him and Kal to the main base. They’re in a lot of trouble. Even as some of the strongest fighters we don’t have infinite influence. This is our boy’s second strike, too. He probably won’t be allowed to fight for at least a damn year.”

            Byur made a surprised face and let his head hang, “Ah man…at least I can still train. Kal, thank you for the fight…”

            Kal’s scaled disappeared from his mouth and he spoke clearly this time, “I thank you as well. Maybe next time I can show you all of the tricks I keep for special occasions. Come on now. Take us criminals to the OWL base so we can receive our punishments.”

            The group and Byur, being helped by Nico flew towards their destination. Seconds after passing through the clouds, a large object came into view. The Organization of Legends had built an entire floating city. The architecture was quite futuristic. Alien life forms from across the galaxy had helped a select few humans in its construction. Undetected, these life forms roamed Earth as humans, scouting for men and women pure of heart.

            Once they had found a few thousand, they gathered them all to a secret location, known by no human, and explained their plans. This was how the Organization of Legends was kept a secret from the world. Even the most powerful governments across Earth had not a single clue of them. Once this was done, those who were selected underwent training in order to bring out their inner energy. Nothing on Earth had the ability to bring out these hidden powers. 87 years had passed now, and of all the humans in the organization, some of the strongest on record were Maria, Nico, Lynn, and another man with an undying love for his friends and allies. A man of great character, one who would not dare insult or injure if possible.

            He had long black hair and a contagious smile. Everyone, even the extraterrestrials called him “brother”. He had a frail younger brother who was just as caring. The boy’s orange hair was beautiful and softer than silk.  He usually did not speak unless spoken too, yet he was also quite humorous. The two young men were widely seen as some of the most enjoyable people to be around within the organization.

            The younger brother trained just as vehemently as his older sibling, yet his frail physical state left him miles behind. Despite his weak physical strength, he was a more than decent strategist in both combat and planning. But that was before the two of them had succumbed to the black fruit. Yes, Tenno and Urion, otherwise known as Anthroph were these two young men. One could call them fallen heroes, individuals who had the misfortune of stumbling upon such a corrupt force. The world, or rather, the entire universe had lost two astounding fighters. More than that, it had lost two good men, an invaluable commodity.

            The fruit was said to corrupt any being that neared it, or rather, mentally force them to devour it. It is said by information gathered by OWL that the fruit increases one’s power by unbelievable levels. The already strong Tenno had become breathtakingly formidable. This effect was not all; the individuals who ate the fruit lost their self-control.  They became a slave to it in many ways. One could either accept their fate and retain part of their sanity, or resist and end up hysterical. Either way, your thoughts and desires would change drastically. You will only hunger for power in order to further spread the fruit’s influence.

            Currently there resided a single tree on which they grew. From it, a thick black mist dispersed all around, corrupting nearby trees and plants while making organisms rabid or malicious. Studies on the tree showed strange results, only a single one of them can exist on a single planet; any other would fail to live past its early stages.  It is unknown just how large of a radius the influence of the tree is, but it’s estimated to be capable of having a sphere of influence of at least nine times as large as the Earth.

            The tree had not existed for long, but from what the Organization of Legends has discovered, it has most likely infected the entirety of the planet. It’s presence now hidden and protected, time was running short. Everyone knew, yet most of them absolutely refused to acknowledge it. The entire universe seemed to be at bay to the present situation. For that exact reason, Maria, Nico and Lynn have put their trust into their grey haired friend. Even the brave trio had little hope by themselves. They all saw something in Byur that allowed them to see light in darkness. None of them knew why, exactly, but perhaps they would soon find out.

“It’s coming, brother, there’s no stopping it now” said Anthroph. “Do you think it will be as great as we’ve predicted?”

            “Of course…I can feel the flame in that boy growing. He is turning into a fine specimen…prepare for the war that will decide the fate of this entire universe. The final key has nearly presented itself. All that will be left is to cover this world in blackness.”

            “Do you see the outcome? Will he somehow stop us? He is nothing like the others, Tenno, he-“

            “You fool. You think I cannot beat him? Our plan is, in fact, completely flawless.”

            “Hah, is that not what everyone believes? You are older than I, but not much wiser.”

            Tenno laughed as hard as he could, it would send chills down anyone’s back. “You misunderstand, brother! There is nothing I am not capable of. We have all corners of every idea they are capable of ready to be shut down swiftly.”

            Tenno’s smiling face then instantly turned into a visage that seemed to embody brutality, “In this story, there is no hope. There is no purpose beyond what we deem necessary. For those opposed to us, there is only pain, and I will make sure that is the only thing that remains.”

            Raising his arms into the air, Tenno roared with a terrifying voice, “And so it begins!”