(Flashback) Open Your Eyes

Image
The Maaluukian Woods teem with many life forms. The name was given to the woods by the native Elvs, Vescrutian moths. Maaluuki have heightened senses and extrasensory abilities, they prevent travelers from finding their homes with Psionic abilities.
Post Reply
User avatar
Kai
Drifter
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2019 11:12 am

(Flashback) Open Your Eyes

Post by Kai »

"Uuuugh."

Kai groaned as he shifted on the ground. His landing hadn't been the most graceful, thanks to "them". But it was a landing, none the less. The gleam of sunlight brightened the darkness behind his eyelids. That was a good sign. He slowly opened his eyes and stared up into the sky, rays of sun peeking through the shade the trees provided him.

"Unfamiliar territory..."

He sat up and took note of each muscle that howled in pain. Soreness, but no need for healing magic.

"I don't feel their presence. Did they stop tracking me?"

He laughed to himself.

"Probably think I'm dead. Heh, I'm a lot harder to kill than that. You of all people should know that."

He pulled himself to his feet and surveyed the area around him. Tons of flora, creatures rustling through brush and grass, and an abundance of Naten. This new land gave off a substantial amount of energy, to Kai's surprise.

"I never would've guessed I could feel so much energy outside of Riviera. Lucky."

Kai strolled to what he believed was deeper into the forest, moving cautiously and deliberately. Though he might have escaped his would-be executioners, he wasn't sure if he had just made it to more enemy territory. It was better to be safe than sorry while he recovered his massively depleted reserves. That would be a moment.

User avatar
Kai
Drifter
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2019 11:12 am

Re: (Flashback) Open Your Eyes

Post by Kai »

"How far from civilization is this place?"

Kai continued his exploration at a leisurely pace, remaining on high alert as he could feel the spark of his Naten returning to his fingertips. A good sign, but he wasn't out of the woods. He brushed the leaves of plants and studied the flowers growing in the thick, picking a few and stashing them in the black bag on his back. He hopped up and channelled enough energy to create a threatening enough orb of silver energy as he twirled around. It wasn't an attacker that raised his awareness, but a steady flow of water Naten moving through the moisture in the air. It was enough to make Kai raise an eyebrow and follow the trail, his eyes tracking the movement thoroughly.

"This isn't normal. Somebody or something is pulling in Naten. For what purpose, though?

Kai continued his tracking, almost ignoring the creatures that dipped between brush and across the semi dirt trail. The closer he got to whatever the source was, the stronger the concentration of energy became, giving the forest a tinge of royal blue.

Kai waved his hand through the air, breaking the streams of water energy into fragments that fell like snow, only to raise back into the air and continue their journey. Kai was impressed. Whatever was taking in the Naten had a high amount of control, and quite a huge capacity.

User avatar
Kai
Drifter
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2019 11:12 am

Re: (Flashback) Open Your Eyes

Post by Kai »

The freshly fallen angel continued his investigative march through the sea of trees until he reached a pretty large clearing. He couldn't tell where it was in relation to the rest of the forest, but he imagined it was pretty deep. There were no signs of human interference, civilization hadn't spoiled the beauty hidden under the canopy of leaves.

The area was painted in a blue light, which almost made Kai feel as though he was underwater, in an aquarium. "Fascinating." Kai cautiously took steps further in, restricting the amount of energy his eyes followed. It was overwhelming, enough to instantly blur Kai's vision as if there was a concentration of centuries worth of Naten in the area.

His concentration was pulled to the solitary bud that illuminated the area like a bulb. I rare flower? One that drew in energy to bloom? "Hey, little guy. Just what are you? Preparing to open up?" As Kai knelt down to reach for the bud, he heard the snarls of beast in the shadows. He was in an unfavorable situation. Surrounded, still getting his bearings, and several wounds that hadn't fully closed. The wise thing to do was to retreat, let the monsters fight for whatever they wanted here.

Kai knew it wasn't the RIGHT thing to do, however. "I hope you're close to finishing this display you're putting on here. I'll buy you as much time as I can." Just as several wolf like creatures emerged from the thickets, Kai met them with his signature katana, Crescendo, in hand. He struck the monsters down with a solitary strike to each, surprised by how much strength he still had. As the dozens of hounds made their way out, Kai's sword flickered. "Not the time, Kai. Keep going." Kai danced about the clearing, dodging the fangs that threatened to tear him apart, slicing and stabbing as he calculated the openings in the pack's surprisingly coordinated teamwork.

User avatar
Kai
Drifter
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2019 11:12 am

Re: (Flashback) Open Your Eyes

Post by Kai »

Several minutes of slashing and ripping had past. The blue battlefield began to be tinged with the scarlet liquid trickling from Kai's several wounds, but old and fresh. Still, he clenched his teeth and muscled through with his attacks. Though his body howled, he continued to cut down beast after beast.

"You'd think you all would be tired. Hell, you should at least be terrified of death. Can you not feel fear?" A surge of silver energy flared up around Kai before concentrating to the blade of his sword. He stabbed Crescendo into the ground and released several ripples of energy that blew the wolf creatures away. A moment of reprieve before Kai heard more growls in the distance.

"... you've got to be kidding me." Kai snatched his sword from the ground and sheathed it. He took a deep breath and held it, calming his heart rate as he scanned the energies in the area. Several hostile Naten signatures were approaching the area. He chuckled to himself as he contemplated the foolishness that lead him to his situation. However, he wasn't second guessing his decision. Kai rose to his feet with a silver spark in his eyes. "Alright, then. How many waves of you bastards is it gonna take before the ringleader shows up?" He decided to use the time it would take for his enemies to close in to gather more Naten to keep himself conscious and fighting ready. He looked back to the flower, not having any way of knowing how much longer it would be before it bloomed.

User avatar
Kai
Drifter
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2019 11:12 am

Re: (Flashback) Open Your Eyes

Post by Kai »

"What the hell am I even doing?" Kai sat at the center of the clearing, surrounded by the corpses of a pack's worth of the wolf creatures. Covered in blood and sweat, he sat there, panting. He looked to the flower, a wave of water Naten pulsing around the forest. It continued, rhythmically, almost as if it was a heartbeat. Kai rose to his feet and drug himself closer, opting to lie next to the bud. Much to his joy, the flower decided it was time for it to blossom. The bud unfurled, releasing a brilliant blue glow that engulfed the forest. Unnatural amounts of Naten swirled about before concentrating to a small, pulsing bead that sat on the flower like morning dew. Appendages emerged: two arms, matching legs, a human looking face with elf like ears.

She was small, no bigger than Kai's middle finger. She sat there, cocoa legs crossed, her ocean blue eyes staring at him. She tilted her head and pointed at the angel. "Holy sh- Are you a sprite?" Kai asked the creature. It giddily nodded it's head before fluttering her wings. She pushed off the flower and hovered in front of the sitting Kai's face. It took a moment to take in the sights, registering the death around her before turning to Kai with a bewildered look. "I had to. They wanted to stop your blooming." The sprite gave an understanding nod. She shrugged her shoulders and pointed at Kai again. "I'm...not from here. I'm looking for some things that should be able to save my people, no matter how stupid they can be." The fairy giggled and brushed her wave-like hair behind her ear. She raised an eyebrow. "Four. And they don't work without each other." Kai's eyes narrowed. "Wait, why can I understand you?" The fairy tapped a finger to her temple. "Same genealogy? What does that have to do with-" The fairy sighed. "It's just how nature's willed it? That sounds like bullshit." The sprite but her hands on her hips disapprovingly. "No, I'm not gonna argue it. It helps, actually." She smiled and fluttered around Kai's head before sitting on his shoulder.

"No, there's no need to thank me. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time." The sprite made an approving coo. "Seriously, I'm sure you have better things to do than hang around an angel on a scavenger hunt...or wild goose chase." Before the sprite could answer, Kai was knocked through the air, blasted through the forest by a monstrous right hook. Kai groaned and shook of the ringing in his ears. Whatever hit him was fast, able to move without Kai sensing it. He could make it out in the distance: hands that were more blade than anything with how long the claws were, blades of equal pitch black protruding from it's elbows. The scales that made its skin reflect the sunlight off it's gray, gargantuan frame. "Is that a fucking Lighteater!?"

Kai shot to his feet, racing to defend the sprite. Lighteaters were no good to anything of light lineage. Angels, sprites, fairies, anything within the lines was fair game to them. They were a natural terror to Riviera. Kai had fought and slain many, but still had seen to many become nourishment for the beasts. He coated his sword in light Naten and spun in the air, revolving like a top as he clashed with the beast as it made a swipe at the freshly born sprite. "Not today!" Aidan growled as he stared the red and golden eyed beast down. It made and unholy sound as its great maw cracked, snapped and unhinged, giving way to what felt like a portal to hell, summoning demonic tentacles. The razored appendages lashed around, threatening to shred Kai to bits. He spun around, dodging and creating seals to stabilize his footing and change his trajectory as he continued his own attacks. How in the hell did a Lighteater make it to whatever world he was in? And one so mature? Weren't they native to Riviera? Kai swung his foot in a kick that exploded with light. It only slid the beast a few meters back. The sprite flew to Kai's shoulder and struck a stance, obviously ready to battle as she created a series of blue seals. "Alright, I'll take your help. Let's do this, together."

User avatar
Kai
Drifter
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2019 11:12 am

Re: (Flashback) Open Your Eyes

Post by Kai »

All other life had evacuated the area. The only sounds in the still forest were the clashing of metal and the roars from the creature. Kai was soaring through the air from a punch by the Lighteater. Thankfully, his fairy friend had created a shield of condensed water in front of the angel to take the brunt of the attack. Kai flipped and caught his footing upside on a branch. He sheathed his sword as he concentrated energy through his whole body before focusing it all to his arms, legs and blade. "Alright you light licking bastard. Let's see just how tough that skin of yours is."

The Iai Draw was a samurai staple that bordered on myth. Yet, every master swordsman Kai came across was well studied in the slashing technique quicker than human eyes could follow. What was a welcome surprise was the different ways they made it their own. Once Kai learned that he could put a spin on such a legendary technique, he went to work on perfecting his own version.

"Iai Draw..." Kai exhaled slowly, his hand hovering above the handle of his blade. At the apex of his breath, he vanished from his spot. Kai propelled himself through the air with a cone of light cutting the wind resistance. He was sure the Lighteater was blind to his movements. Once he was in range, Kai unsheathed his blade and struck the beast in the neck with a silver explosive slash. In the same breath, he pivoted in mid air and repeated the same explosive slash. "Queen's Cadenza!" The two attacks happened with such speed, the crescents of energy appeared to overlap and clash as one attack. The crossing point exploded with enough energy to create a crater thirty meters wide in diameter. Kai sprouted a small pair of golden wings and spiraled out of the blast radius. He waited for the dust to clear, hoping that the battle was over.

It wasn't. Though the beast was still alive, it was far from well. It's grey blood spilled on the ground from the deep gash in its throat. It gurgled on the ash colored liquid but kept a defiant stance. Kai could hear nasty squishing sounds followed by the cracking of bones setting and repair. "Shit. It ate a fairy with healing magic?" The Lighteater extended its arms in front of it and charged a massive ball of black, ink like energy before firing it off as blistering beam that collided with with Kai. The fairy's defense wasn't enough that time. The dome around Kai shattered as he was sent barrelling through trees before being carried off into the air. He grit his teeth, forcing his muscles to obey him as the beast pursued him into the air. It appeared above Kai with a black energy charged fist cocked back to deliver a devastating haymaker the blasted the angel back into the dirt below. He gasped for air as her bounced off the earth. The Lighteater shot down like a missile and drove its knee into Kai's stomach and back into the crater from the first impact.

Kai fought to remain conscious from the barrage as the tendrils crept out the monsters mouth and slithered around his neck. The slime and saliva wasn't what the angel desired as his last memory before his demise.

So he rejected it the only way he knew how. "Devour." Kai stuffed his arm down the Lighteater's throat and poured a generous amount of his light energy down its digestive system. Kai's energy was special. It sought out any foreign energy and impurities to destroy and purify them. Normally, it was to keep poisons and internal attacks from felling the angel. Thankfully, Kai learned that if he could get it inside his target, it worked inside them as well. It was an assassin technique that the Siviars found valuable in their missions. An angelic poison.

The Lighteater howled with pain and rage as Kai was able to free himself from under the monster. Kai's hand floated above his sword's handle once more as he channeled the remainder of his energy to feet and hands again. "Just. Fucking. DIE! Iai Draw..." Kai shot off, even faster than before being fueled by his rage. "Queen's Cadenza!" The two successive attacks once more rang out and clashed with each other at the beasts neck. Kai gripped his blade tighter as he continued his blinding dance. Two attacks became four, then six, eight. Kai danced about in a graceful fury that ended in twenty slashes all carried out at speeds that created an illusion of it all happening in an instant. The blasts that they created also seemed to stack, another advantage to Kai. "Da Capo!"

The explosion rattled everything miles sending shockwaves that would have blown away any life had the creatures of the forest not had already evacuated. Kai was caught in his own blast, flying some distance before sliding and tumbling across the ground. He skipped across the ground like a stone, unable to stop his momentum. He felt the muscles tearing from his bones, ribs breaking. He finally stopped a ways from the battlefield, face in the dirt. He forced himself to look up, just in time to see an object falling from the sky...the severed head of the Lighteater.

User avatar
Kai
Drifter
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2019 11:12 am

Re: (Flashback) Open Your Eyes

Post by Kai »

Kai dragged himself on his forearms and elbows, wheezing, his lungs desperately fighting to take in any air possible. Every inch of progress was agony, a symphony of pain conducted by the shattered bones, blistered skin and internal bleeding. The young warrior couldn't remember the last time he was in such a state and cursed himself for taking on such a Herculean task without being fully recovered from his escape from Riviera.

His thoughts turned to his fairy ally, as he could no longer sense her energy. Still, he crawled through the dirt and rubble against his body's protests, spurred by the thought of confirming the death of such a dangerous beast. He needed whatever evidence he could gather to find out just where in the hell the thing came from...and to make sure it didn't miraculously heal from decapitation. That would be the worst case, as he clearly couldn't fight another beat. It was taking everything in his power just to not pass out.

After what felt like ages, he finally made it to the location the Lighteater's head, very much deceased. Kai sighed with relief as he rolled over to his back. The warmth of the sun was welcomed on his cold, clammy skin. He struggled to take a few more breaths before darkness crept from the corners of his eyes and enveloped his vision. The black shadow of death and the silence he brought were the last things in Kai's memory as he slipped into unconsciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The beating of his heart in his ears woke Kai from his coma. He attempted to move but every muscle in his body told him to abandon the pursuit. Thankfully, the cooing of his fairy companion was enough to ease his anxiety. "Hey, you." He managed to look around and noticed he was surrounded in a bubble of water Naten. He could feel his wounds being mended, but it was minor. It would be some time before he would be able to move on his own, but the fairy's determination to heal him was noble. "Did...did you save me, friend?" The fairy nodded, sweat dripping from her forehead. Her efforts as a medic were obviously straining her, and though Kai wanted to let her rest, they both knew he would die without her. So, he remained silent as she fluttered about and focused her efforts on more serious injuries. "Thank you, um-". The fairy made a high pitched noise. "Right, Tidra. I'm Kai. I owe you my life." She chirped. "Heh, I guess we are even."

User avatar
Kai
Drifter
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2019 11:12 am

Re: (Flashback) Open Your Eyes

Post by Kai »

Kai lost track of how long he had been encased in Tidra's healing sphere, but he had seen the rising and setting of the sun way too many times and assumed it had been at least two months. Tidra had managed to keep Kai alive through her natural affinity for healing arts, and her skills progressed at such a rapid pace it amazed Kai. He could feel the wounds healing faster, though it still took quite some time. His fairy companion also managed to satisfy his hunger by foraging through the woods for berries, herbs and whatever other nutrients she managed to find. Kai was grateful, happy he made a friend so early in his journey.

After another month, Kai was able to walk on his own and no longer need to be suspended in his life support bubble. He fashioned his jacket into a sling to support his broken right arm that had yet to heal. "Thank goodness my left was only fractured", he remarked.

"That was quite lucky indeed," Tidra replied, her voice ringing in Kai's head. "How are your legs?"

Kai put a little pressure on his left leg and almost howled in pain. "Left is still busted, right I can muscle through." Tidra sighed. "Relax, I can make it to civilization... hopefully. You’ve got a lay of the land by now, right?"

"There seems to be a city in that direction. Are you sure that you're okay on those legs?"


"More than okay. I refuse to be in this forest any longer. Besides," Kai sighed and looked at the bag on his side that contained the head of the Lighteater. He picked it up and stood to his feet, "somebody has to let whoever lives here know they might be in danger." Tidra agreed with a silent nod as Kai grabbed a sturdy branch he had been using as a crutch to start on his journey to civilization.

Post Reply

Return to “Maaluukian Woods”