Blind Phoenix

The First Trial

An azure sky stared back down at Byur as he looked up with his feet firmly planted on the ground beneath him. The glass above him absorbed some of the light coming through so that he could look at the Sun with ease…that is, if he could see. A quick tap on the shoulder snapped him out of his concentrated stare.

            “Are you nervous?” asked Liam with a stern gaze.

            “More than I ever thought I could be. I can tell today is a beautiful day. I just came here to clear my head since it’s so quiet around these parts.”

            Byur was at the very top floor of OWL’s base, a place often used by all to relax. His attempts at calming himself had failed as he ended up becoming even more anxious. Someone was going to die today, the only question was who?

            “Everyone else is ready, kid. We can’t keep stalling. What are you afraid of?” said Liam.

            Byur gave a nervous chuckle and responded “What if it isn’t enough. We have so many great people and they’re so strong…I’m scared of us losing, Liam. If we can’t beat them, nothing will be left.”

            The old man closed his eyes stroked his beard in thought. “If you think there’s a single person among us who isn’t scared, I would be surprised. Look past your fears. If you don’t even try, you have no chance at all.”

            Byur shook his head and said “No, I know that…but…the entire universe is at stake, is it not? If we have all these billions of galaxies and so many strong fighters, why are we still hesitant? That must mean Tenno’s power is unimaginably high. If an entire universe can’t stop him, what will?!”

            Liam placed his hand on Byur’s shoulder and stared at him for a moment before speaking. “This is all we can do, Byur. I have already made arrangements for if we fail. We have all been instructed to above all, make sure at least a single person survives so that if we do fail, all hope will not be lost.”

            “But sir, what-“ as Byur attempted to speak, a man barged into the room. Drenched in sweat and with a worried look on his face, he shouted “Liam, sir! Two of Tenno’s men have been spotted in a distant section of the woods. Our scouts felt a large presence emitting from their location. Those bastards just smiled at us like devils and told us we knew what to do...Any recommended actions, sir?”

            Liam’s face grew painfully serious and he said “We’ll do exactly as they want. It saves us the trouble of finding them. Tell all our men to move out, it’s time.” Liam turned towards Byur, “That includes you. I will meet up with all of you shortly. I have some things to take care of…”

            “Liam,” said Byur, “where are you going? Why not just fight with us from the beginning?”

            “That is not for you to know, now go!” exclaimed Liam.

            A curious silence surrounded the room as Byur and the soldier next to him stood still. “Ok. Wish me luck. We’ll all be trying our best.”

Back at the home of James another conversation was going on with the mystery character. “W-what?! That wasn’t really part of the deal” said the mysterious man.

            “Is it really a problem? I mean…nothing will change. It’s not as if you’ll cease to exist”

            A bead of sweat dripped down the man’s forehead and he said “Fine…it’s not the time for this right now. Go!”

            “You’re right,” said James, “It’s time to see if we can save this world.”

            James walked out of his house and looked up into the sky, his eyes shining with determination. He had a mission to do, but what exactly that mission was, no one but the two of them knew. The clock ticked towards closure.

Everyone was now flying to the location of Tenno’s men. All of them were nervous as they were essentially like flies approaching a spider’s nest. Was it indeed a trap? This was a risk that had to be taken. This was what they had been waiting for and they could not do anything but make their way to their enemies.

            Kal examined the mental state of his friends and said “Well, are all of you ready? We’ve trained for this as hard as we could, so make sure you don’t have any regrets.”

            Lynn looked at Kal and replied “As ready as I can be. I just hope there isn’t something unexpected waiting on the other side. We’re going to be in their territory now. Who knows what’s waiting on the other side.”

            Nico sped up his flight to be parallel to his sister, saying “Don’t worry, sis, they can plan whatever they want to. It won’t save them. Remember, they might have the power advantage, but our numbers are vastly greater. We should be getting reinforcements shortly.”

            Everyone soon reached the deepest sections of the forest. The main city was nowhere in sight. That was how vast the entire area was. Miles upon miles of lovely grass and the greenest trees you could ever imagine. One of the guiding soldiers signaled the group to descend. They landed in a large patch with no trees. A beautiful essence emitted from the nature around them as they took in their surroundings. The scent of the grass was nearly lulling and the wind only heightened the experience.

            “This place is…unbelievable. I wish I could see it in full. You guys can feel it too, can’t you?” asked Byur.

            “Yeah,” said Maria, “it’s unusually peaceful here. I’ve been here a couple of times before and it was never this soothing.”

                        The escorting OWL soldiers hurriedly left, as they would be no help in this fight. Just then, a powerful gust of wind sent leaves flying across the air. Everyone turned towards the origin of the wind, and from the dark, dense forest, two figures emerged.

            “You’ve finally arrived” uttered Anthroph. “Courageous lambs, all of you. Have you accepted your death yet? It matters not, for we will wait no longer. Go on, present yourselves! Who will go first?! Nahahaha!”

            “Calm yourself, boy” said Stigandr in a commanding and composed voice. The sound of his voice perfectly fit his monstrous stature, yet his tone and way of speaking reflected that of a high-class general. It was strange for Byur and his friends to witness.

            Nico stepped forward and said “You…you’re quite big, bruv, but come now. You can’t expect us to accept the fact that there are only two of you, can you? Where’s your damn boss?”

            Without moving a single muscle, Stigandr set his eyes onto Nico. His gaze was astoundingly intimidating. It took great bravery to merely look him in the eye. “Tenno will be here later. For now, Anthroph and I are all you get. You have to prove you’re worth the time, anyway.”

            “Oi, are you trying to say you think we’re weak? Surely you can feel our presence. I can definitely feel yours, that’s for sure, and you’re no threat to me” said Nico.

            “Your senses may deceive you” responded Stigandr as he leaned forward. “Either way, I am not interested in you. He, however…” said Stigandr as he glanced at Byur, “interests me greatly.”

            The giant man walked right past Nico and towards Byur, unbothered by the individuals around him.

            “What might interest you, exactly?” asked Byur.

            “A specimen such as yourself is impressive, even to fighters of our caliber. Your power has grown far beyond expectation. You’ve turned into a respectable fighter. Only…in a battle such as this, your miniscule power won’t help you in the slightest” said Stigandr.

            Byur stood there, undaunted by the overwhelming pressure given off by Stigandr. He gave a slight smile and replied  I’m not sure if I care what you think. I might not be strong enough to beat Tenno, but that doesn’t mean anything. I’m not here alone and I am far from the strongest one here. In fact, I wouldn’t think it would be an exaggeration to say I’m by far the weakest.”

            Stigandr turned around and marched back to his comrade, saying “A powerful and valiant dog may be able to fend off a wolf, but against a lion, there is no competition to be had. Every single one of you…may as well be a corpse.”

            Nico then replied in a raised voice “Your intimidation won’t work on us. You have no idea what we have in store for you and Tenno. Whatever your reason for all this chaos and destruction is, your reign ends today.”

            There was a momentary silence until Anthroph leaped forward, right in front of Nico and his friends. He inspected everyone carefully, with his singular, soul piercing eye. “You all look so appetizing. Which one of you is first? Come on, step up!” he demanded.

            “Y-you…” muttered Nico as he saw Anthroph from close up. “You are…Urion?”

            “Are you sure that’s him? He looks nothing like himself…” said Maria. “Please tell us we’re making a mistake.”

            “Of course I look different you brainless girl! My entire body is covered from head to toe, or did you not take notice until now?” snapped Anthroph.

            Nico frowned as he looked at his former comrade and said “You are nothing that I would have imagined. This sorry state of yours…why? Surely you can at least tell me this, bruv.”

            Anthroph looked around as if the conversation did not interest him one bit and responded “My…sorry state? Well, Nico, I’m not quite sure what you mean. I think I look better than I ever did. For you, I cannot say the same. Your face still disgusts me as much as I remember.”

            Lynn stepped forward out of nowhere and furiously shouted “Don’t you dare mess with us! Your words can’t possibly be Urion’s. He never spoke to anyone like that. The way you are now…you don’t even have the right to be called by that name anymore.”

            Anthroph groaned and closed his eye. “I simply do not care. Call me whatever you would like, none of it matters to me. Once my brother comes here, all will be clear to those that remain. The reward for your survival is the answers you seek!”

            Nico balled his hand in a fist and grit his teeth “Fine. Have it your way, then…I’m finished with this.”

As the conversation concluded, everyone looked at each other wondering who would be the first to fight. They had not chosen beforehand as they did not expect this situation. With no one making a move, Kal decided he would take the challenge. “I will fight you” said Kal.

            “Hmmm, a lizard isn’t the first thing I’d pick, but I suppose you will do. I hope you’re hiding your true power, or else this will be disappointing.”

            “Hmph, I think it would have been better for you had I been weak. You may be asking for an enjoyable fight, but…” Kal took his fighting stance and his energy spewed forth from his body as he instantly increased his power to its full capacity. “I wonder how you’ll feel when you’re completely outclassed.”

            As Anthroph began laughing at Kal’s statement, everyone spread out to create room for the fighters. This fight entailed the beginning of their final mission.

            “Begin” said Stigandr with a commanding voice.

            Kal and Anthroph slows circled around each other, with Anthroph’s arms and hands down, as if he was taking a stroll through the park. He stared at Kal with an intense gaze. “I insist, go ahead and attack first. You are our guests, after all” said Anthroph.

            “How very thoughtful of you” said Kal. He opened his lead hand and extended it forward. He quickly pulled it back and closed his fist. Seemingly out of nowhere, something slammed into the back of Anthroph’s head.

            “W-what the hell was that?” yelled Anthroph.

            “It’s a little trick I came up with. Invisible energy waves. They might be much weaker than a standard energy blast, yet for moments like this, it comes in handy.”

            Anthroph grunted and responded “You must feel pretty confident to reveal your secret to me.”

            Kal repeated the same motion, this time sweeping Anthroph’s feet from under him. Irritated, Anthroph pushed off the ground and flip back to a standing position. He then leaned forward and propelled himself in the direction of Kal. His running speed was insanely fast. It appeared as if he caught Kal off guard, but his assault was quickly intercepted by a right straight. It stopped him in his tracks and he took a second to stretch his neck. “That was a nice shot. Prey should always have a bit of fight in them!”

            Anthroph charged at Kal again, but this time he leaped into the air. He used his black energy to create a platform for him to kick off of, and his body rocketed towards Kal yet again. He came down with outstanding force, yet he did not connect with anything. The ground underneath him had taken damage, but Kal had swiftly moved out of the way. Kal charged forward as Anthroph was recovering. They engaged in combat at blinding speed. It seemed that they had no interest in getting to feel out each other’s style as they went all in.

            “This is unlike Kal” said Byur. “What…is he doing?”

            Kal masterfully slipped a punch from Anthroph, as you would expect from a master of defense, and promptly crashed his fist onto Anthroph’s skull. This sent the short man flying backwards. Unable to stop himself, his body slammed against the large, thick trunk of a tree, nearly destroying the entire midsection. Anthroph stumbled forward and in his vile, miscreant’s voice said “You are quite a powerful lizard, then. I can use my full power against you indeed, but I’m going to save it for later. Let’s take this slowly, what good would all your efforts be if the c****x of your fate was decided so quickly?”

            Kal inched forward and said “That is very much the way I like to fight. You’ll have to excuse me for making this so abrupt…is what I would say if I didn’t detest you so greatly.”

            Anthroph let out a dry cackle, replying “Oh, what have I ever done to deserve detestation? Do you have something against murderers? I absolutely hate them myself. Competition never really was my style.”

            “I’m certain that charming personality of yours won’t get dull anytime soon” said Kal, visibly irritated.

            Anthroph then took aim at Kal and launched dozens of blasts at Kal. He simply created a barrier to protect himself and seemed dissatisfied.

            “Is this the sort of innovative strategy I can expect from you? I can only hope your allies aren’t all the same.”

            Anthroph ceased his blasts and gently let his hand drop to his side. He tried to rush down Kal and beat him with force alone and was swiftly countered with a rock hard elbow. Kal grabbed Anthroph’s next punch with his tail and delivered a blow to his now open ribs before kicking him in the chest, sending him flying yet again. This time, he was able to center himself and stop his momentum.

            Anthroph jumped back into range of Kal with blinding speed, staring him down with his menacing eye.

            “You’re pretty good. But you’re slow” said Anthroph.

            Before Kal could react, he swiped his hand across his face and attacked with an insanely quick combo, knocking back Kal and disorienting him. When he regained his balance he looked forward, but Anthroph was nowhere in sight. Kal looked in every direction he could, but his enemy was nowhere to be found. No one but Stigandr, who was observing as calmly as a statue noticed what had just happened. It was quite eerie as they could not even sense his energy. Just then, a black shroud formed behind Kal and out came Anthroph with dense black energy surrounding his fist, he thrusted it deep into Kal’s abdomen as he turned around. He was rendered immobile, the pain and shock of the punch was breathtakingly substantial. His body shook ever so slightly and as he backed away he nearly fell to his knees. He tried to gasp for air as he contorted in pain.

            “W-what was…th-that…” Kal managed to utter.

            Anthroph walked up to him, grabbed his head and brought it up to his eye level. “You’ll see more of that soon enough.”

            Kal coughed violently before laughing, “I would hope so. The sooner I can figure out what you like to do, the sooner I can win.” Kal then returned the favor by punching Anthroph in the gut, and it had similar results. “You can really throw a punch, you know! I’m going to enjoy this…” said Anthroph.

            “Not as much as I am.”

            They reengaged without a moment of hesitation. In the aspect of strength, they seemed to be equal. Kal’s thicker frame gave him an advantage but Anthroph’s fragile looking body seemed to be holding up just as well. His body was so ripped that he looked starved. If it wasn’t for his shredded muscles one could mistake him for a lesser foe. As the fight dragged on Kal became more defensive. In fact, he had not thrown a single strike in the past minute, a worrying sign.

“Are you overwhelmed?! How does it feel to be pushed back by someone half your size? Ahahaha!” laughed Anthroph. He threw another hook but it was intercepted. Kal head-butted Anthoph and responded “It feels quite nice. I certainly wasn’t looking forward to a boring fight.”

“Hah! I-“ in the middle of his sentence, Kal kicked Anthroph in the face, knocking him onto the ground with tremendous force. “You BASTARD!” exclaimed Anthorph as he squirmed on the floor, grasping onto his face. “You’ll regret that soon enough!”

“Stand up first and then we’ll see. Come now, did you expect me to fight on your terms? This isn’t a competition. It’s a fight for existence and I have no qualms ending yours.”

Anthroph stood up, shaky and wobbling. He looked up at Kal and scoffed at him. “What a hero you are. Is this how men of virtue act?”

Kal clasped his hand into a fist and raised his head, “What would you know about men of virtue? Look at yourself, what you’ve done and continue to do! Have you ever once read the words of your great human philosophers? Socrates? Plato? You know nothing of virtue.”

Anthroph grumbled and said “You would be surprised.” He then spread his fingers out and manifested a villainous black energy in his right hand. The very nature of his energy caused the Earth to stir, conjuring great winds around him. The ball of energy sputtered and made thunderous noise. Swiftly, it extended out in both directions, forming itself into a shape of a makeshift sword with no concrete form. “Let us cease our talking. We have more important matters to attend to.”

Upon seeing Anthroph’s blade, Kal appeared to be uneasy. The capabilities of the energy sword were shrouded in uncertainty. Just how effective it was, no one but Anthroph and his allies knew. The only thing Kal knew was that he would have to avoid it at all costs. Antroph leaped into the air and his eye widened in excitement. He launched himself towards Kal and thrusted his sword at Kals head. He was able to avoid it with almost no breathing room. As it passed his head, it singed his cheek, causing him to pounce backwards.

“Are you alright, Kal?” asked Maria.

“Yes, I’m fine. That thing is no joke. I’m not sure just how much damage it will do, but I don’t intend on finding out.”

Anthroph slashed at Kal with increasing fast attacks. Similar to before, he was unable to retaliate. The sound of Anthroph’s sword passed by Kal each time he dodged it, placing tremendous pressure on him. Breaking his rhythm, he took a step forward after dodging an attack, ramming his opponent with his shoulder and swiftly latching onto their right wrist with both hands. He stepped on Anthroph’s foot, released his grip with one of his hands and crashed his elbow onto Anthroph’s face, nearly causing him to lose consciousness. He then hit him with his left before grabbing hold of Anthroph’s thin arm with his large tail.

“Unluckily for you, I have an extra helping hand to assist me. You would have done well to have only accepted a fight from Byur.”

Kal was still stepping hard on Anthroph’s leg, preventing him from running away or maneuvering with any effectiveness. He pummeled Anthroph relentlessly with powerful strikes, causing his sword and energy to slowly fade away. It was almost sad to watch, he had no chance of escaping someone larger and stronger than him in a situation like this. It seemed to go on for a long time, until finally Kal ceased his attacks. Anthroph’s frail body slumped forward as dark, viscous blood dripped down from his mouth.

“I think he’s had enough” said Nico, with pity in his voice. “Finish it, Kal.”

Kal took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “It pains me to kill someone even like you…but it must be done. Farewell, you put up a decent effort.”

Kal’s blue aura intensified and the ground beneath him shook as he charged a potent ball of energy in his hand. His energy shined and glimmered as it slowly grew more vigorous. Everyone including Stigandr watched closely, awaiting the killing blow. Maria opted to look away, and Byur clenched his fist, feeling morose and dejected. The coming death of someone he hated was still painful for him, yet his anger burned right beside it. He was conflicted and confused.

As Kal prepared to deal the killing blow, Lynn and Nico’s eyes widened and they shouted with great urgency “Watch out!”

A flash of black appeared behind Kal and before he could act, it swiftly passed by. He instantly lost his balance fell onto the ground. His entire body was in disabling pain.

“W-what is this?!” he asked, confused.

Byur felt a faint shock of pain throughout his body, as if his own body responded to what Kal was experiencing.

Kal stumbled up onto his feet and couldn’t stand for even a second. He took a knee as his entire figure shook in agony. Something was wrong, completely out of the ordinary. His eyes darted around as he sought the cause of this pain. Nothing. He didn’t find a single mark or scratch anywhere on his body.

“Hold on…is it…!?” He turned his head back in an attempt to look at his tail. Kal failed, as his tail was no longer there. It had been completely cut off from its base. It was bleeding slightly, but was cauterized by something.

“Kal, your tail is…” said Byur, trying to finish his sentence.

A shadow formed over Kal and as he looked forward, it was Anthroph standing over him, laughing with genuine glee. It was disturbing just how happy he was. He kicked Kal in the head with all his strength, crashing his head into the ground.

“Hahaha! How do you like that, Lizard man? I’d say I just about evened the match up! I wonder how you will fare without that tail of yours.” He picked Kal up by the head and stared into his soul with his eye. “Not very well…” whispered Anthroph, “not very well.”

“You…bastard” uttered Kal. Anthroph explained to him that he was playing dead. He actually was losing consciousness, but what he had done was make his sword into the size of a dust particle and secretly increased its power as Kal was beating on him. He saw the opportunity and took it. Everyone was in disbelief, aside from the colossal man watching with no expression. He had not moved the entire time and had his eyes intently set onto Byur, interestingly enough.

It was Anthroph’s turn now. He created a monstrously large scythe with similar properties to his previous weapon. “I know it’s cliché to say this, but I can’t help but love taking the role…of the reaper!”

Anthroph swung his scythe with movements so fluid that it was almost as if he was dancing. It was over. Kal’s life was gone in the blink of an eye.

Or…at least, that is what could have been said, had he not blocked the attack. Kal had used his energy to create a protective armor around his arms, legs and torso. “What?!” yelled Anthroph in disbelief as he backed away. Kal quickly brought his head up and got back onto his feet again. “I will not die that easily.” Somehow Kal’s energy had increased in size. In desperation, he had released every bit of energy in his body. Seeing Kal putting everything had had on the line, Anthroph himself released a huge burst of energy, now covering him in his black aura to match the size of Kal’s. Kal stomped his feet onto the ground and took his stance. His injury was causing him great pain, but he could pay it no mind. He had no intention of losing here. The stakes of the fight had finally reached its c****x. Kal then proclaimed “You might have taken away my tail, but you will never take away…MY SPIRIT!”