Chapter 31 - Miles61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1ysWW9GjZ
Luna fell asleep a few miles after leaving Portum. She was snoring, nodding off here and there, mumbling about someone named “Abel”. All he could do was smile and be grateful to have his sister back after her latest journey away from home. It had been over a year since he and Sapien had last seen her, but that had become a normal occurrence after she had enough training and experience to go out into the world once our father died. Unlike myself, she never wanted or seemed to feel the need to talk about our father. We just both adopted the idea that Sapien was our true father through the many years of being raised by our father’s best friend.
He isn’t perfect, but what father is? Luna has grown more distant as the years have gone by. I often miss her so much, but I want her to feel free, not obligated to stay because her brother wants it to be. She deserves everything and anything; I’ve truly believed that since we began training with Sapien. Luna works so hard to be extraordinary but forgets that she already is. Maybe she doesn’t even know it, or perhaps she does. After a while, I have concluded that she doesn’t want to think she is gifted because there is no joy in being exceptional at everything. What glory or achievement does one think of when they don’t have to put in half the effort others do to master a craft or skill?
Miles sighs. Brings himself back to reality and notices that ahead is a faint trail of smoke rising into the night sky. Barely visible from a couple miles away from the City, but as we’ve gotten further away, the smoke becomes more dense. “Luna.” Miles whispers, afraid to alert anyone nearby of their existence. “Luna.” He nudged her this time, and she woke up startled and fell off her horse while Miles burst with laughter. “MILES.” Luna gets up off the ground and dusts her body with both hands. She looks at Miles, “My God! Is everything a game to you?!” “What?! Luna, I just wanted to wake you up because I see smoke ahead.” She focuses on the trail of smoke in the distance, turning her attention to Miles, then glares. “I want you to know that I don’t believe you. I see the smoke, but otherwise, I am firmly sticking to the idea that you love bugging your sister.” Miles smirks, “Fine by me.”
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Chapter 32 - Abel61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFlAJjk9Ej4
The crowd continues to chant the gladiator’s name. Clearly, he’s the favorite, and I’m the guy about to lose his head and be royally coronated via pike through the skull. After a few more chants, The King raises his hand to silence his people. “Ladies and Gentlemen!! Let us be cordial for a moment and bless both fighters for being here today, ready to lay their lives down for your and my entertainment. No matter how this game ends, we must honor tradition and let the winner bask in all their glory. Besides the usual cut of the proceeds we’ve gathered today, they will each be given a week to rest and train for the upcoming event.” Several pockets break the silence with chatter. The King smiles, and a wicked grin shatters Abel's little faith in this being a fair fight. It’s getting harder and harder for him to figure out what is fundamentally going on. "Why all the testing? Why only test me? Why haven't I heard of or seen my friends?" None of it made sense to him. He and his friends were kidnapped, but the King hasn't threatened or used them as leverage yet. “Am I the one of importance here? Tre and Luna should be here or in the vicinity of the arena, if we are all supposed to be tested. Unless each of us gets an individualized trial.” Abel’s line of thought breaks as King Ptor's voice erupts from his throne, “Enough games, my people! Give the child his weapons and open the gates! It’s time to give the people what they’ve been dying to witness.
One of the golden men retrieves and then tosses my daggers and a chest plate onto the sand. I slowly approach my vindictas, weary of any traps laid the day or night before. I see nothing, hear nothing and feel nothing so I bend over and pick them up. Moving backwards, step by step as the sand wraps around my feet and wedges in between my toes. After a couple of minutes, I return to the center of the arena and gaze towards the gate, which is now fully open. Darkness engulfs the opening of the gates; a brief moment later it’s pierced by a giant man. The man is dressed in immaculate golden armor that fits perfectly around his chiseled body. He walks with the confidence of a man with multiple kills under his belt. He heads towards Abel with a 4-foot golden sword leaning against his right shoulder.
The crowd goes wild, chanting his name. “Kohan, Kohan, Kohan!” Kohan heard the audience and raised his sword towards the sky as the people chanted. Confidence filled him and spread throughout his entire body and mind. No one could stop him; no one would stand between him and his freedom. If there were any truth to his master's words, this opportunity would cease to exist after this moment here and now. The only escape from this world of pain and suffering would be death, and he wasn’t ready or willing to die today.
Abel stood there trembling, waiting for Kohan to get closer and make his move. He tried to think of any way to get around the heavily armored beast of a man. “I can’t force my way through him, and I’m not quick or skilled enough to attack whatever weak points he has in his armor.” Kohan gets about 20 yards away from Abel before stopping. He stares at Abel without moving a muscle and waits. Neither he nor Abel made the first strike; they stood, anticipating what the other would do.
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Chapter 33 - Abel61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyrq4YjDioT
Abel lay on the ground with his face smothered in the sand. One moment, he stood facing Kohan, and the next, he felt the hot sand burning his face. His right arm and chest flared with pain, and blood began soaking the sand below him. Kohan brought his bare foot down on Abel’s back, pushing him deeper into the sand. He smiled as he heard Abel wince from the pain. “You, Child. Once I entered the arena, there was no chance of you ever escaping this place with your head on your shoulders.” Abel grunted. “You’ve got no business stepping into my domain and challenging me, Kohan the Slayer of Men, Kohan the Man who spilled the blood of hundreds of men before your father entered your mother.”
As Abel tried to push against Kohan’s unbelievable leg strength, he couldn’t help but think this was the end. A mouthful of sand, eyes stinging from the grains scratching against my corneas with every blink. As his thoughts whirl uncontrollably in his mind, Abel closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. For five long seconds, the world goes quiet; a fond memory of him and his parents outside gardening and playing out in the summer sun. Mom finished planting her roses, tulips, and this purple flower, which was her favorite. Dad rushes past her to get to me, but doubles back to kiss my mom on her forehead. They both look at each other as if for the first time. She smiles at him, and he smiles at her. He gives her one last kiss and turns. His face lights up when he sees me, and in that moment, I see and feel unconditional love.
Abel blinks, and the memory fades as excruciating pain rips him into the present. A burning sensation builds in his palms, and suddenly, his Vindictas appear in his hands. He quickly spins the hilt of his blade and plunges one of his daggers into Kohan’s shin, breaking the gladiator’s bone with ease. The brute loses balance and stumbles, granting Abel the opportunity to swing his other dagger and impale Kohan’s thigh. “What? How am I this fast?”. Abel is stunned; he skitters backwards, looking down at his hands in amazement. “Who am I?”.
Kohan rips the daggers from his legs and hurls them at Abel. He dodges the Vindictas like Neo from the Matrix, and the blades rematerialize into his hands. Abel looks down and then back up to Kohan. He smiles and, in a flash, darts towards the gladiator. Abel lowers his left shoulder and plows into Kohan, decking his muscle milk-looking ass. The brute sweeps his legs and knocks Abel down to the floor before jumping back up onto his feet. Abel throws a dagger at Kohan’s head, who swipes it down to the ground as the gladiator approaches him.
Abel throws his other dagger low, near the ankles. Kohan buckles as the blade takes a chunk of his right calf muscle. Abel scrambles up and dashes at Kohan; this time, the gladiator is ready. Kohan takes the hilt of his sword and smashes him in the face, breaking his nose. Blood gushes out of Abel’s face, and the gladiator sees an opportunity.
Kohan swings his blades across one another in an X formation to decapitate Abel, but he is too slow; Abel ducks, rematerializing one of the daggers into his right hand. The brute’s eyes widen, Abel sidesteps around Kohan and drives his blade into the side of Kohan’s upper body. In fractions of a second, the gladiator feels another sharp pain appear from the opposite side of his body. Abel pulls his daggers upward, breaking some of Kohan’s ribs, and throws him backwards onto the gladiator’s head. The crowd goes silent as they hear the loud cracking of Kohan’s neck as he gets pummeled into the sand.
Abel slowly makes his way back to his feet while leaving the daggers in Kohan’s lifeless body. King Ptor furrows his brows and grinds his teeth. Abel’s victory was unexpected, but he stayed stoic. As Abel breathes heavily, his chest and shoulders rise with every breath. He brings his head up and glares at King Ptor for a few moments before the King smiles and screams out for his guards to raise the gate again.
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Chapter 34 - Abel61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBEjm0SIKuQ
The rusty black gate screeches as it ascends, and the silence from the crowd never breaks. King Ptor stands and walks towards the edge of the Arena. “Abel, that was quite… unexpected, but I must say what a stellar performance.” The King smirks and tilts his head upward. “Abel does have power, but what is the extent of that power? The child needs to be tested and pushed to the brink of death or possibly even death before his true power will be revealed.
King Ptor looks around the crowd with a face full of joy. “My people! Isn’t this what we came here for today? Our Champion may be gone, but a new champion always arises in his stead.” The crowd begins to murmur, confusion riddles their minds. “Kohan was great, but we all know which champion we truly came to watch.” The crowd stirs back to life, erupting in unison, “Mora, Mora, Mora, Mora!”. Abel looks around, and that flicker of fear comes back to life. Anxiety spreads throughout his body as he turns to face his next opponent.
The shadows begin to move as his foe approaches the opening of the gate. Abel closes his eyes and takes in one deep breath before his daggers rematerialize. He searches his body for the power he once tapped into before against serverus. There is this tugging sensation in his heart as his palms start to burn. Sparks and Static come to being a few seconds later; his Vindictas seem to be absorbing Abel’s power as it manifests. Abel pulls even harder on the string tied to his heart, and his daggers burst with power.
Electricity wraps itself around Abel’s hands, and the engravings on his blades begin to glow. The raw energy flowing through his body feels less uncontrollable. “I believe I am getting the hang of this.” Abel tightens his grip on his daggers, pulls his arm back, and flings one blade at Mora. A moment before the dagger reaches its target, Abel throws his second blade. You could hear the first blade as it ripped through the air and collided with steel, but the second is more silent. Gliding through the air, silently traveling until Abel hears the second dagger make contact with flesh.
He walks forward, favoring his left side as he heads to the gate. Chatters and murmurs fill the stadium; King Ptor rises from his throne and watches as the child reaches the gate. Abel stands there for a few moments, then walks into the darkness. Nothing audible comes from the pitch black veil behind the gate. King Ptor leans over the edge, squinting his eyes as he sees movement among the shadows. The crowd's confusion settles as they realize what King Ptor doesn’t.
The still, horrified face of a female warrior enters the light. Abel’s hand tightly wound around her hair. The crowds cry out as if in agony, and King Ptor finally realizes what causes the hysteria. Mora’s head was detached from her body. King Ptor swallows hard as both of his prized fighters are taken down in less than 30 minutes. He scans the audience, the shocked, angry, fearful, and disappointed looks on his people’s faces. As if connected by a hive mind, the crowd turns and searches for confidence in and answers from their ruler. King Ptor, while shocked, understands now. Abel is one of the Descendants.
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Chapter 35 - Abel61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfvinDF1oR
Descendants are hybrid children with the ability to learn, control, and harness the discipline of multiple powers. Most children from the realms can do the same, but only for the powers they were already born with. They are unable to control and harness the discipline of powers they were never born with, unlike the Descendants. What makes these hybrid children special is their bloodline. They must have been born of blood from the true heirs of the ancient rulers of the 5 nations: Ignu, Enu, Ter, Aquen, and Tal.
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