Training to become Stronger!
1388 Words
Kevin wandered through the endless white light.
He walked straight for a while, only to appear from the right. He turned right, moments later he emerged from the back. He went back again and ended up coming from the left. He blinked and let out a frustrated sigh.
The emptiness felt suffocating, each footstep swallowed by glaring nothingness.
Deity Chinue floated down beside him, radiant and otherworldly.
> “Great to see you, Silly,” she said, waving cheerfully.
Kevin nodded absently, eyes darting around at the blinding void.
> “Why bring me here?”
Chinue twirled slowly, silver hair billowing.
> “I don’t know. You came here yourself.”
> “Me?! You’re kidding, right?”
> “Nope.”
> “Okay.” Kevin let out another sigh and resumed wandering, boots scraping soundlessly on the white floor.
Chinue c****d her head.
> “Where do you think you’re going?”
> “Anywhere the light takes me. I don’t mind,” he replied with a dismissive wave.
Chinue’s chuckle echoed like wind through glass.
> “Asher told me what you did. Silly.”
Kevin froze mid-step.
She hovered around to face him, smiling knowingly.
> “You mean… he’s also a Deity like you?”
Chinue nodded.
> “I thought he was bluffing. He almost killed everyone. Including her.”
> “But you saved them by fighting back.”
Kevin swallowed hard, lowering his head.
Chinue drifted closer, eyes kind. She cupped his cheek with a cool, soft hand.
> “You did great. Silly.”
Her feet touched down, sending ripples across the floor of light. The entire world trembled. The white void shimmered and dissolved.
Suddenly, they stood in a vast garden.
Tall trees arched overhead, their twisting roots breaking the soil. Butterflies danced through shafts of golden sunlight. Birds sang from flowering branches. The scent of baked apples drifted warmly in the breeze.
Vines crawled across crumbling stone walls. Water trickled in a small fountain nearby.
Chinue’s appearance transformed. She now wore an elegant purple gown. Her hair became long, curly, and white, her eyebrows and lashes the same pale silver.
> Picture it.
Kevin’s eyes lit up.
> “Wow!”
Chinue laughed musically.
> “I’m a Deity, Silly. We’re meant to be this glamorous.”
Kevin walked right past her, eyes wide at the landscape.
> “No, not you. The garden is so lovely.”
Chinue blinked, surprised. Kevin spun around.
> “Did you make this?!”
She scowled at him, lips twisting. Kevin shrank back.
> “Uh… did I say something wrong?”
Her glare melted into a smile.
> “You’re truly the one he chose. I’m starting to see why,” she murmured, stepping closer.
Kevin frowned, leaning back.
> “O… okay. So what now?”
Chinue stood perfectly still, her eyes boring into his.
> “To stop the world from destroying itself a second time… you need to get stronger. The strongest, if possible.”
Kevin glanced around the beautiful scene, the breeze brushing his hair.
> “And… this place will make me strong?”
Chinue gave him a sweet, pitying smile.
> “Don’t judge things by appearances alone, Silly.”
She snapped her fingers.
Suddenly the garden roared with movement.
The earth split open in jagged cracks. Stone tiles buckled. Roots tore free.
Seven armored giants rose up from the churned soil, dirt cascading from their massive frames. Their metal plates were cracked and scarred from countless battles. Each carried a rust-stained machete almost as tall as Kevin himself.
Their glowing purple eyes burned with hatred.
They formed a circle around him, stamping the ground with heavy thuds. The air grew oppressive, smelling of blood and iron.
Kevin’s heart hammered. He staggered back, eyes darting among the monsters.
> “I didn’t say I was ready or—”
A giant swung instantly. The massive blade sliced through a tree behind Kevin, sending splinters spraying as he barely dodged.
Chinue hovered just above the ground, watching serenely.
Kevin spun on her, tears welling up.
> “I’m… not crying because of the giants… I’m crying because I always saw you as my elder sister… but you’re like one of those wicked lesson teachers!” he sobbed.
The giants all froze mid-step, blinking at each other in confusion. Their fingers twitched on the hilts of their blades.
Chinue laughed, her voice echoing with a dangerous edge.
> “Bye for now, Silly.”
She dissolved into smoke.
Kevin lunged forward desperately.
> “Don’t leave me! Don’t… go!”
The giants roared. They swung their blades in a coordinated strike.
A hurricane of force slammed into Kevin.
The ground cratered under him. Stone shattered. Trees were cut in half. Dust and blood sprayed as he crashed through the garden like a cannonball.
A wall split apart from the shockwave, stones raining down.
When the dust settled, the giants froze.
In the middle of the wreckage stood Kevin.
Blood ran down his temple from a cut on his scalp. His shirt was shredded, revealing scrapes and bruises swelling purple. But he was holding their machetes.
> “You actually bought that act,” he spat blood to the side, grinning fiercely. “Someone taught me that trick.”
The giants yanked their blades back with a jarring clang.
Kevin flexed his fingers, blood dripping from split knuckles.
> “Sorry if this is going to hurt.”
He lunged.
His fist crashed toward one giant’s face, but two others blocked it with their blades. Sparks flew as steel met hardened skin. Kevin twisted, avoiding a s***h, and landed in a crouch.
> “They’re protecting each other… working as a unit,” he whispered, breathing heavily.
Chinue’s voice floated on the smoky wind.
> “Yes, Silly. This is training for your mind, not just your strength. Learn from them.”
Kevin’s eyes narrowed, darting to the ruins around them.
The fountain was cracked and leaking. Vines burned where blades had struck. The garden was a war zone.
> “You’re saying… they’re not just strong—they’re smart.”
Chinue’s voice laughed softly.
> “I know you’ve adapted well to your new powers. I’ll give you that.”
While she spoke, Kevin watched their footwork. Two giants on his left stomped forward, machetes raised.
He blocked with crossed forearms. The impact split his skin, blood spraying on the grass. He grunted and shoved them back.
Almost instantly, two others rushed him from both sides, arms outstretched to grab him.
He lifted his arms, deflecting them hard enough that their armor clanged together.
But the remaining three weren’t idle.
Their massive fists rocketed in.
Kevin ducked the first, sidestepped the second—
But the third punched him square in the ribs.
CRACK.
Kevin screamed, spit flying.
He sailed through the air, smashing through trees in an explosion of splinters. Flowers and soil churned up like a bomb blast.
He rolled to a stop in a wrecked flowerbed, coughing blood.
Chinue’s voice was serene.
> “Oh, that reminds me, Silly. The more time you spend fighting them… the stronger they get.”
Kevin forced himself up, trembling. He wiped blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.
> “Yeah… right,” he growled. “I’m fighting giants who coordinate every move… and get stronger the longer we fight.”
He spat onto the dirt.
> “But if this will make me strong enough to save the world… and everyone I love…”
He held out his shaking hands.
Twin butterfly swords flickered into existence.
Their silver edges gleamed red with reflected blood.
> “Then that’s fine by me.”
He gave them a murderous glare.
> “Now I’m getting serious.”
High above, Chinue watched, her eyes glinting.
> He even summons weapons like the Vigors…
Kevin called out, voice raw.
> “Deity Chinue! When I destroy them… are they—”
> “No, Silly. They’re training constructs. They’ll be recreated for future trainees.”
Kevin’s mouth twisted into a bloody grin.
> “Good. Then forgive me, giants.”
He shifted into a low stance, swords flashing.
> “No more holding back.”
- Writer
