The wind blew softly as the Pantheon drifts aimlessly over the Skyway. This place, as it turns out, isn’t exactly a palace as how Darius first had imagined all palaces would be like. Grand staircases, halls of mahogany furniture, walls, and floors of marble stones would be among his first guesses for architectural beauty but this place is either none of that or far beyond that scale. Instead of white marble, they are stones of a very strange nature as they don’t reflect even a glint of light but instead show the cosmos itself within its very essence. Stars and galaxies all dancing in the walls and the floor which at first, made Darius a little dizzy and nauseated but after a while, he eventually got used to them and feels calmer whenever he could see it.
It’s only been two weeks ever since Aunt May was cremated here but already it feels like months have passed by. For the past fortnight, Darius was given a rough tour of the Pantheon with the rest of the boys by Gunther mainly due to the enigmatic man being hardly around most of the time. He explained his day job as a “presence as a neutral party that is crucial in most international disputes”. Darius couldn’t get a grasp on what sort of occupation Gunther has because so far, he has been told that Gunther is a historian, philanthropist, philosopher, Rune Reader (apparently, there is a paid job just for reading and translating general Runes), librarian although Darius is unsure to where, a professor with a doctrine in several degrees ranging from meteorology, astronomy to medical and mechanical engineering. He’s the entire indoor package of education which would mostly explain why he would know so much about the world.
He is especially renowned for creating the idea of the Neutral State to the south of Altaria bordering Xenocia and the Weimar Republic. And as much as that was to be expected, Darius was shocked to learn that the idea was implanted one hundred years before the city is designed and built fifty years before today.
However, for the most part, Gunther would avoid answering the question as to how he knew Aunt Joe’s full name.
“Being a Psyon does have its perks beyond the measure of power and knowledge,” Gunther would often say, “knowing who Joanna Pearls was as the kind of person she isn’t very difficult. You could do the same with anyone once you’ve had proper training.” but Igniz would sometimes argue that no matter how hard he tried this method of identification of a certain being, he never got a crack at it.
Darius has so far been shown the Halls of Serenity; the main dome where the meeting chamber of the Psyons is located and if all Psyons in the world gather for a meeting, they would gather here. The Gaian Atlas; which wasn’t all that difficult to figure out because in the past, Darius has studied a similar atlas before but this map in the Pantheon wasn’t on a piece of wallpaper but an enormous holographic projection of the globe along with her twin moons. The Gaian Atlas is in a chamber all to itself just a few levels above the Halls of Serenity.
This Atlas would appear to have eyes over every single detail in this world: Darius could see specific shapes of mountains, rivers, villages, towns, major cities, and the continents that span across the most powerful nations.
Iceria ruled the entire continent of the frozen north or the Tundra Spear as it is known (I first met Duke here, by the western border,” Igniz pointed out on the Atlas, “well, sort of. I would consider it a happenstance of a meeting.”)
In the west; Altaria stood proudly at the center in between two warring nations of the sovereign countries of Xenocia to the southeast and the Weimar Republic to the southwest. Together, the three countries make up what is known as the Western Bloc (geographically).
And far to the west, beyond even the borders of the Republic and Altaria is the Mountain Wall; an unnatural mountain line and the only border between the Western Bloc and the Fury Outlands. No one, not even Gunther, really understood why the outlands are nicknamed the Forgiven Lands as the ironic name doesn’t really suit a deserted portion of the continent whereby nothing could naturally survive out there unless they are susceptible to eating dirt for a meal. On the Gaian Atlas, the regions of the Outlands are blackened or greyed out and it has been highly advised to avoid visitation. The Western Continents has always been known for its fertile lands, strong economy, and luscious forests but not as luscious as Vesperia to the south.
Vesperia is home to the kingdom of elves, far south of the Western Bloc and by far the largest southern continent with nothing but forests and jungles covering its borders and lands. The elf races have lived, survived, and flourished within the forests of Vesperia and are the only kingdom that has no disputes with its kin whatsoever save for several ousted individuals.
To the Far East, the vast empire of Gan’Xa can be seen with its golden yellow dunes, and by far the largest contingent on the planet. Easily covering one-third of the mass of dry land of the planet itself, Gan’Xa is an empire riddled with deserts of golden sands and harsh landscapes of mountains. The provinces can be distinctive by the nature and color of the sands such as smoother sands in one province, sands that reflect a golden shine and some even hosts red sands. To the southwest of Gan’Xa, Darius could see the Thunder Plagues where Gunther explains how that specific piece of vast land received the name. After a great worldly tragedy called the Psyon Wars, the Thunder Plagues was (incorrect historical order), the last battlefield of the First Psyon Wars between the last remaining Imperial Superpower nations. The battle was so intense and long-lasting until it affected the atmosphere itself which formed the clouds that is in a constant swirl to strike random lightning bolts to the ground. An extremely violent land, the Thunder Plagues is nothing more but one gigantic graveyard and Duke hates that place particularly.
“That place is damp, too dark during the day and bright enough during the night,” Duke said, “I wouldn’t step into that place even if it kills me. Even the Darkai doesn’t like to venture there very much."
To the southeast of this globe is the Xo’Gun Empire. A single gigantic island in the middle of the sea that is surrounded by hundreds of other islands, the general knowledge about the Xo’Gunates is that, aside from being sea folk and possessing the second strongest navy in the world, the empire itself is racked with seas storms and tsunamis daily. They also claimed independence from Gan’Xa by the end of the Psyon Wars and ruled the islands on their terms.
The tour went on. Gunther pointed out yet another peculiar thing about the Pantheon: it doesn’t have any solidified walls. Instead, there is a bulk of the airspace in between the halls and chambers and no two halls are on the same level or serve a similar function. Even the bedrooms appear on separate “clouds” all fairly distanced from each other for absolute privacy. Not even Psyons could see or hear what the other chambers are doing. The path in between the general halls and sleeping chambers isn’t connected by some staircase or cloud paths but invisible glass-like flat floors that rings like little bells every time you take a step on it.
“It’s sometimes pretty cool because of the rainbow colors it gives off every time and it’s even cooler because you can’t fall off by accident,” Zeeq said as they continued the tour, “It’s kinda like the floor or this Zeo Path, has a mind of its own to make sure people don’t fall off the palace unless intended it doesn’t like you”.
Gunther then took the group to the lowest point of the Pantheon: The Dungeon. Not an actual dungeon underground like you would find in castles or fortresses but the name itself is derived from the pure location. It's normally where all Psyons go for training or sparring with each other; the Dungeon itself is probably the closest thing you could get to an actual indoor structure because it has declining walls like a stadium except there are no stands or seats and the Dungeon has nothing in it whatsoever which raised the question as to how Psyons train where there are no tools to train with.
“Don’t worry, we can get to that later,” Zeeq said, “It's super cool because everything is so easy down there! Except for the gravity part which is a little confusing.”
“Well, gentlemen, this is the last of our tour for today. I trust you can find out about the rest on your own good time.” Gunther said as the group stopped in front of the Dungeon doors. But Darius has only one question about this place.
“For a place so big, there’s only the six of us here in total. Does no one else live here? Are there no other Psyons from around the world?” he asked.
“There are,” Gunther smiled, “but like myself, they are rather occupied to even come here. Try to think of the Pantheon as a secret getaway from the world when we need a break. Or at least, when we choose to have a break.” He chuckled at the last part and the others chuckled along with him. Darius could pass a smile.
There are probably numerous others with more complex or unique features but he’ll have to wait for a more detailed tour because Gunther is hardly around eighty-five percent of the time. During the night, Darius would wander in his mind for hours before going to sleep but even then, he would dream unpleasant things.
***
Throughout his stay, Darius had repeated nightmares of himself being forced to watch Aunt Joe killed over and over again and almost countless times did one of the boys come to his room to wake him from his nightmare. They understand well his pain but eventually, Darius is going to have to face his fears and accept the fact of life and death. It was easy for them because they are soldiers or have experience in killing, even Zeeq can keep his cool during the night.
One night, he woke up with the moons glowing brightly as ever. Looking around him, the stars glittered brightly and even a shooting star passed by. His private chamber looked like something out of a fairytale book: there laid a single king-sized bed with silk sheets and covers, a single round table for study with a vase filled with some of the strangest flowers Darius has ever seen in his life, a total of 10 pillars made up of limestone surrounding the chamber and the night sky circling all around him. At the very edge of the chamber were nothing but bottomless skies and if he were to fall off from here, he would be at the mercy of death. And that’s all there is to it in this place other than a floating glass mirror on the opposite side of the chamber. It would appear only when needed although Darius never figured out how to call it when it’s “needed” so he would just walk to it instead.
He got up and went to the very edge of the room, there were no walls so he can just sit and dangle his legs over midair. As he sat by the edge, he stared at the skies with an incredible view of the stars. Of course, this was obvious as seeing that he’s now in a flying palace above the cloud lines. Even the twin moons looked so much closer, both glowing a brilliant white radiance, its beauty is sometimes eerie sense the wind blowing has a whisper in them as if the moons themselves are trying to talk to him.
Darius…
Darius quickly turned around to see who called him but there was no one. He was sure he heard someone’s voice or was it in his thoughts? He couldn’t tell.
Darius…
The voice spoke again but this time, it sounded closer and it wasn’t coming from the room. Darius turned around to look into the dark beyond and see nothing but stars… and the twin moons illuminating the world.
Darius… I see you…
“Who are you? Where are you?” Darius said out loud but it sounded more like a whimper to his ears. The voice came from beyond and not within the Pantheon but from where? Who is talking to--
They are coming…
As if Darius was looking into the eyes of the one speaking to him. The voice sounded male and soft, alluring enough to put someone to sleep… and Darius is staring straight into the moons.
“Who is coming? Who are you?” Darius said but this time, his voice raised. The voice did not reply and the presence seems to have faded. But there was absolutely no doubt that the voice came from the moons. Or at least, one of them.
He could feel it in his heart that there was a connection with someone and that someone came from far beyond anything Darius has ever felt before. Cold sweat started to drip from his temple and the nightly chills returned to him.
“I must be losing my mind…” Darius chuckled before returning to his bed but before he took the first step forward, he could see another chamber similar to his own on a much lower level, and sitting at the edge was none other than Igniz.
The silver-haired boy wore a turquoise robe and a nightcap, and in his hand, a cup of something hot and steaming. Darius could only look at Igniz from this distance and wondered if it was he who spoke to him just now? But that wasn’t possible since Igniz’s presence has become all too familiar.
“Another nightmare, Darius?” a voice called out this time, it is with absolute certainty that Igniz is speaking to his mind; obviously, Igniz is waving his free hand as he noticed his troubled palace-mate.
“Ye-yeah… You saw that, just now?” Darius replied.
“I was stargazing for the night. Only noticed you standing there for a while. How are you holding?” Igniz said as he sipped another sip from his drink.
“I guess I’ll be okay,” Darius said, “If I may ask, did everyone here lose their family like me? Or Am I just the only one exaggerating?”
Darius could tell that Igniz is smiling when he replied with a peculiar question.
“May I join you?”
Darius nodded his head without full knowledge as to what that meant. In a near blink, Igniz appeared right by the edge of his chamber in the same sitting position and holding a cup of what looked like freshly brewed hot chocolate. Darius looked over to Igniz’s chamber and found him sitting exactly where he was. An after-image or a clone?
“Fret not, this is a little trick I learned from Zeeq. He simply displays his presence in an isolated location but to be fair, Zeeq does it at a far more impressive distance.” the image said. Darius remembers Zeeq doing the same thing when he first met them and the resemblance in aura and energy is striking.
“I guess I should learn it, too, someday…” Darius said as he sat down near the edge of his chamber. His feet dangling over the side much like his palace-mate.
“As per your question, I know that Zeeq is the only child of a father who constantly ignores him due to the presence of his mistresses so I suppose that leaves little difference than not having a father. Raizo lost his entire clan in an attack by the Darkai… but you already knew that. Duke never made mention of his family except for his brother… but you already knew that as well.” Igniz replied.
“And what about yourself? You didn’t lose any family members to the Darkai?” Darius asked. It did strike him that Igniz never made mention of his past like the others did. Igniz smiled and sipped his hot chocolate before replying.
“Zeeq and Raizo do not know this and I doubt Duke would fully understand. My full name is Igniz von König, sole prince of Iceria and heir to the throne,” he said. Darius didn’t say anything but didn’t find it as surprising as to how he originally thought. Judging by how Igniz carries himself in his speech, his walk, even the way he stands, Darius would have easily mistaken Igniz at least for a noble. Looks like he was right on the money.
“So, an actual prince being a Psyon… That’s pretty cool, huh?” Darius said.
“Not as much as you think. My Great Father was a Psyon. It was rumored that he is the reason that Iceria received its name and everything an Icerian does is based on his discipline. My forefathers wanted to be Psyons while I did not so as you can guess, it is not exactly a dream job being someone like me. And if you must ask; my mother rules over Atlantis by herself and unfortunately my father is too proud to keep a Psyon that could one day overpower him as a son. Icerians have a certain ego about us if you would.” Igniz said but his last sentence sounded with a taste of sarcasm.
“Hold on, your mother rules Atlantis? The Kingdom under the Sea? That place is real?” Darius nearly shrieked at the name. He always heard myth talks from the older folks back home about the place and how mystical it was (and all the sunken treasure it holds).
“I will assume you are told the wrong stories of my neighboring kingdom but yes, that place is very real. I am not fond of the place due to the lack of sunlight.” Igniz chuckled and took another sip.
“You gotta tell me all about it someday… All I hear are mystical tales and sunken treasures from the merchant ships on the surface when Aunt Joe--” Darius cut himself off after listening to her name.
“Well,” Igniz said after a pause, “those tales are not entirely inaccurate but… I suppose a rectification of tales would be in good order.” Igniz smiled and took one last sip to finish his drink.
“So, I take you’re like a prince of two worlds, huh?” Darius asked, briefly shaking his head.
“Hmm, I guess you could put it that way with the exception that I am heir to only one throne. Being raised in the life of royalty and being taught to rule over entire populations is extremely different than average life. Take this hot chocolate for instance. In my home palace, I have never known how to make this by myself or how to clean or dispose of it. Servants would be doing it for me.” Igniz returned.
“So… how did you make this cup? Or, who made it for you?” Darius started to look around for any signs of any hidden servants in this place.
“The mirror brought it for me although to be fair, it brought the ingredients. I still had to stir the beverage myself. It was fun.” Igniz said as he went to stare blankly at the ocean of stars. Darius said nothing after that and began to understand that kind of empty life: being raised in an isolated environment where you are allowed to befriend selective people and learn only things necessary to the type of life you live in. It is unimaginably worse than losing the people you love by not having anyone to love to begin with; a lonely existence.
“Wait, the mirror brought it for you?” Darius asked but his tone was too low to register even for himself.
“I think I have had my share of stargazing for tonight,” Igniz said as he slowly stood up to leave, “you better get some sleep, tomorrow is a big day for us. Or rather, you.” Before tonight, everyone agreed to spar with each other at least once to familiarize each other’s fighting style.
“Yeah, see you tomorrow. Go easy on me, alright? I’ve never fought a spear master before.” Darius said as he, too, stood up. Igniz waved farewell and his mirror image disappeared. Darius felt a little bit more at ease after speaking with Igniz and found his tale as interesting as the others. Before calling it a night, Darius decided needed to improve his skills in combat if he were to compete with these fighting masters.
Secretly, Darius went to the Dungeon and opened the doors. This place was never locked but then again, why would it be? Darius stepped into the center and looked around, it was quite hard to understand how Psyons can train with absolutely nothing but Darius has something else up his sleeve. Fire erupted from his hands as he stood in a fighting stance the way old man Rayleigh taught him, he punched the air and a missile was shot.
***
Lights of the morning dawn passed through the pillars of the Pantheon and within it, the residents awoke to a new day. Despite their slow start, everyone made their way to the Dungeon even without a proper meal. The idea was to experience close combat with an empty stomach. They all arrived at the same time at the gates of the Dungeon but all bore sleepy and tired eyes.
“Where is Darius? Don’t tell me he’s late again?” Duke asked everyone but Igniz answered him.
“I spoke to him last night during a nightcap. He has trouble sleeping, as many of you know. Perhaps one of us should go wake him up.” he said.
“I’m sorry, what are we, his nannies? If he’s slow and slumps, then that’s his problem. I ain’t gonna wait for his sorry cloak to get started.” Raizo snapped as he made his way to the door of the Dungeon.
“You know, I could just send my image and wake him up. It isn’t hard to give a quake to the bed once in a while.” Zeeq giggled but his amusement was cut short when Raizo pulled open the Dungeon doors to reveal a blazing sight.
There were patches of golden flames all over the Dungeon including the walls. The heat alone forced Raizo to cover his face with his arms and back as far away as he could from the entrance. And in the center of this chaotic blaze, sat a boy in a red jacket that looked far too stylish for battle and yet sturdy enough to withstand any beating.
“Oi, what the hell is going on here?” Raizo yelled and immediately, the flames flickered and dissipated into nothingness. The Dungeon cooled like Icerian air instantaneously and a perplexed yet relieved boy sitting in the center of it all stood in welcome of his sight of his comrades.
“Hey, guys! What are you all doing here so early?” Darius greeted with a large smile. Exhaustion showed on his face but satisfaction and determination were apparent.
“We should be asking you that,” Duke said as he and the group entered cautiously, “Were you there the whole night?”
“Oh, it’s already morning, huh? I guess I didn’t notice. But, yeah. I had trouble sleeping so I thought I’d come down here for a while.” Darius said as he looked around the Dungeon. While there were spaces to reveal the outdoors like a real indoor stadium, Darius never took notice of them or if the sunlight even came through yet.
“So why don’t you show us what you did all night? Seems like you worked up quite the sweat.” Raizo asked, arms crossed.
“That seems like a fantastic idea,” Gunther said as he suddenly appeared from behind the doorway (everybody jumped at the sudden sight of him), “our priority is to train so we can face any oncoming danger. Let’s begin now, shall we?”
“I swear, Gunther, you gotta stop doing that! It’s super creepy even if you are an oddly handsome geezer.” Raizo snapped
“Why, thank you for the compliment, Raizo. Let’s begin.” Gunther clapped.
Darius began stretching himself and eyed Igniz as he anticipated his first sparring opponent in years--
“If you don’t mind, Gunther, I’ll take Darius first,” Duke said. Everyone stood shook at the sudden request but Gunther approved it quickly.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Boys, clear the floor.” Gunther said gleefully.
“Wait, I thought I was going to fight Igniz?” Darius asked.
“Indeed, Gunther,” Igniz said, “we had a previous arrangement for sparring. And why, Duke, would you want to take the floor?”
“I fought with Darius on Brazen Hill,” Duke answered as he summoned a black blade-like before, “he can do many things but fighting a Dakrie isn’t one of them. It’s high time I showed him how.”
“But, I did beat him,” Darius said, “I beat that psychotic brother of yours.”
“Correction, you set him flying once with a lucky shot and he didn’t bring his A-game. Now, let’s see how you fight a real one.” It wasn’t only the black blade that appeared but the Darkmatter started to swirl around Duke’s entire body. The black dust hardened, covering him from head to toe and formulating into a sleek armored uniform complete with a helmet. The shock from everyone in the room (Gunther slightly less) shows that this is the first time they have seen Duke in this form.
“Now, show me how you can fight with a fully disciplined Dakrie!” Duke’s voice inside the full-faced helmet was deep and magnified; he looks automatonlike. He even feels like a different person.
Darius was frozen for a second but he has seen something similar before. When Duke’s brother wore armor and cape just like what Duke is wearing now only there was far less armor worn and no helmet at the time… Duke is much smaller in stature.
“That psycho,” Darius said as he ignited his hands aflame, “you never told me his name.”
“Varian,” Duke replied as three-bladed claws now appeared on the back of both of his hands, “Varian Tyrell. Adopted for namesake.”
“Well, this should be interesting.” Raizo sneered as he and every other non-combatant stepped back to the walls.
Darius nodded and stood into a stance as well with his right arm across his face and his left in an upright defensive position level to his chest. His left foot forward and his right at the back--
“Wait,” Gunther called out and everyone looked at him, “that stance, who taught you that?”
“My old master Rayleigh, he taught me to stand like this before a fight,” Darius answered. Gunther stared at first but after a minute or so, he nodded and simply replied with a smile, “continue.”
“Come on, no more free blades waiting for you,” Duke growled as he stood still and ready.
“Oh, I won’t need it,” Darius said and sprinted forward. In blazing speed, his body was now engulfed in flames, Darius drew the first right uppercut blow-- Duke caught the blow before it even reached him.
Darius couldn’t move and the flames that engulfed his fists were slowly dispersing; no, rather the Darkmatter armor is absorbing them.
“So slow,” Duke said and kicked his opponent in the ribs before Darius could react, sending him hurling to the wall.
“Easy now, don’t hurt the baby too bad, Duke,” Raizo called out with a grin (Igniz turned to give him a cold look and Raizo replied with a shrug).
“Okay, that’s new.” Darius shrugged it off and stood back up. He engulfed his body aflame once again and sped up his run to land another blow. But Duke caught his blow and deflected it. Duke doesn’t seem remotely fazed and stood exactly where he defended himself as Darius continued his assault. Uppercuts and elbow blows but all of them were blocked easily. Meanwhile, Darius is being mauled left and right to be sent back to the wall.
“Let me explain something to you,” Duke said as he took slow steps forward to his grunting opponent, “Varian is an idiot who overestimates himself and underestimates his enemies. Instead of taking on a Psyon with full force, he takes with him an infantry squad and three Spawns because he thought you were weak. He didn’t even use his Dakrie Armor like what you’re facing now!”
Darius recovered and stood up once again only this time, Duke’s entire armor is now engulfed by violet flames. A beautiful yet menacing form.
“Just keep standing, Duke,” Darius said as he sprinted again, “I haven’t even warmed up yet!” But this time, Duke simply dodged the punch and caught Darius by the wrist before he could act.
“If this is all you got, Joanna did die in vain,” Duke said and his words finally caught Darius’s attention but his grip would not loosen, “She died helplessly right in front of you and this is how you wanna act? All weak and childish unless someone is gonna die? Don’t mess with me!” Duke simply tossed his opponent into the air: Darius hung in midair for a few seconds but in each second, Duke appeared and disappeared under violet embers and landed a hit again and again to every open point Duke could find on Darius’s body. He couldn’t even hear himself scream from all of these hits.
With each hit, Darius is being tossed left and right like a rag doll whilst never touching the ground. Duke gave one final kick from behind that shot Darius towards the ceiling of the Dungeon. In a brief moment of suspension, Darius learned that this place was far larger than he originally thought.
A flash of dark violet light appeared from on top of him and Duke hovered behind it, “Noche Perdido”
The dark light dispersed and Darius is blinded by darkness. He could feel something massive consuming his entire body and sent him rocketing hard to the ground, smashing the floor beneath. Raizo was laughing hard at the sight and Zeeq clapped with high enthusiasm while Igniz and Gunther simply watched.
The explosion shook the entire Dungeon but nothing cracked or broke. In the center of it all is a violet fire pit with Darius laying on his back. Duke landed with a hard thud next to his opponent who seemed to still have consciousness. Bells were ringing in Darius’s ears and he could see double visions but he still had enough strength to stand back up despite his body feeling a hundred times heavier.
“Void Glass,” Duke said, referring to the floor of the Dungeon “it absorbs and projects any element you can muster. You got guts, I’ll give you that. But you’ll need brains, too.” Duke said as he turned to walk away, “guts won’t get you anywhere. You keep this bullshit up, you’re gonna end up dead on a blade’s edge just like your aunt did.”
“A little harsh for a simple spar, don’t you think, Duke?” Raizo said with a discerned face. Even Zeeq looked appalled with such brutal treatment. Is this a spar between Psyons or a personal rivalry?
“He has to learn what it’s like to fight a real enemy. Not mere Mortals.” Duke replied as his helmet dispersed into dust. The flames on his armor slowly disappeared but they were spreading to a single direction--
“DUKE!” Igniz called out but before Duke could react, a fiery clenched fist and gritted teeth appeared out of nowhere right in front of his face. Darius landed a square hit to his opponent's jaw and this time, Duke was sent flying to the opposite end of the Dungeon.
“Yeah, she did die when I was weak but not this time,” Darius said with blood dripping from his nose and the edge of his mouth. Darius could see Duke trying to stand but Darius acted quick and punched the floor.
“Vulcan!” He bellowed. A pillar of fire erupted from beneath Duke and exploded with such ferocity that Duke was sent skyrocketing upwards but Darius wasn’t finished; he summoned two flaming orbs around him and punched both hands forward. With the roar of dragons, two massive fire missiles formed and flew like bullets straight to their target. Duke was still trying to recover from the blinding flames but by the time his armor absorbed most of the fire, all he could muster was his reshaping his helmet in time for the oncoming missiles.
The twin rockets hit their target.
The explosion sent a shockwave that shuddered the whole Dungeon, golden-red flames were spouting outwards in the direction they were shot but as the flames cleared, Darius could see in between the rays of the sunlight that Duke was propelled out of the Dungeon and slowly fell to the planet below.
“Ah, gee, way to get triggered, genius.” Raizo sniggered.
“I agree, Darius, perhaps you overreacted. Agitation is a part of battle strategy.” Igniz said while Zeeq sat quietly with his chin supported by both of his hands, half amused.
“Well, then, you’d better go and get him.” Gunther smiled.
Panicking, Darius jumped and kicked the air behind him hard as he rocketed himself forward to save his falling partner. Igniz and Raizo began to make their move to help but Gunther waved his hand once and both of them had to desist while Zeeq looked on without a single blink.
As Duke continued to fall past the Dungeon wall, Darius knew he won’t make it time unless he added more speed. He shot fire pulses from his feet as a thruster and plummeted downwards towards Duke. He repeated his approach until he reached Duke and grabbed him by the arm. Quickly rebalancing himself, Darius shot flame pulses from his feet to keep them within the Pantheon airspace, or else there’s no returning to the palace unless they go through the only doorway in Iceria.
Darius pulled Duke and hauled him over his shoulder. He didn’t have time to analyze anything as he jumped using his Airhike skills until he reached the breach in the Dungeon. He jumped inside and landed near the edge of the Dungeon where he laid the soldier down.
“I’m sorry--I didn’t know that he would--I--” Darius frantically tried to explain himself to Gunther but no one came to help. If anything, all they did was watch with impressive expressions; Zeeq looked on the scene as if he watched his favorite pop star suddenly coming on stage, Raizo looked on with a blank stare but he was trying to hide his envy, Igniz nodded with a smile stating his approval of such a method while Gunther smiled with the assurance that the spar was very much worth it.
“And that, Darius… That’s how we fight...” Duke was exasperated as he struggled to stand up. His Dakrie Armor was cracked in many places and his helmet lost a portion of its facemask. Darius helped him up as Duke tried to stand on his feet, Gunther and Zeeq clapped lightly while Igniz chuckled while Raizo kept his arms crossed.
“You’re not mad that I almost sent you flat as a pancake to the ground?” Darius asked with panic still in his voice.
“But I didn’t. You pulled me up, right? What are you shaking for?” Duke replied with a slight shake to his opponent’s shoulder as the two dragged themselves to the others.
“THAT WAS TOTALLY WICKED!” Zeeq shouted out as he ran towards the two whilst jumping up and down in excitement.
“I couldn’t say it better myself. Now that was impressive, Darius. Is that what you have been practicing the whole night?” Gunther said.
“Not really... It just popped up in my head. I’m sorry if I went a little overboard.” Darius replied.
“Indeed, Darius, that was actually beyond my expectations. Who taught you such an Arte?” Igniz said.
“I don’t think I learned it from anyone… it just came to my head and I guess this Void floor sort of made my flames stronger,” Darius said.
“That was so cool when you shot that fire! I mean, it came up like whoosh and then the flames went all like, roar, and then you fired those two rockets and they were flying like zap (Zeeq ran around with his arms stretched out like a bird) and then it went, like, boom then the whole Dungeon got an earthquake and I was all like, ‘yeah, boy’!” Zeeq cried out as he ran around them in a circle retelling the action. Darius would have found his child-like behavior cute if he also wasn’t aware that Zeeq has a terror side to him as well.
“Regardless, you did well, Darius,” Duke said as he stood upright, “I’m sorry I said all those things about your aunt but taunts will come from anywhere especially if the enemy knows you personally.” As Duke made his armor disperse, Darius could see the burnt marks slowly fading away.
“Hey, you’re healing!” Darius said. The marks slowly faded away but his clothes remained scorched as they were.
“Of course, Psyons can naturally heal at a much faster rate compared to any other life form,” Igniz said, “In this place, our healing abilities expedite much more quickly.”
Gunther was about to comment on the brutal spar but Raizo interjected and his remarks were anything but encouraging.
“Are you kidding? He’s reckless and uses his power too much in one spot. If it were anyone else, Darius would be killed by now. So, he can take a hit, so what? He sent Duke flying almost beyond the Pantheon airspace and could’ve gotten both of them killed from the sheer fall from here. You fight like a child, Darius, and it looks like you gotta be pampered like one.” Raizo said with a disappointing tone.
Everyone fell silent after that, even Zeeq didn’t continue but Igniz slapped Raizo on the shoulder blades with a disproving shake and Raizo again replied with a shrug. Darius knew what Raizo said was right and it’s true, he doesn’t have the power or the skill to keep his newfound abilities in check but he doesn’t have much of a choice. Much of what is going on happened too quickly and Darius was not prepared for such an immense responsibility.
“Rai, shut it. I provoked him that way so he would explode. And if you don’t like how I do things on my own time, then I’d love to teach you another lesson.” Duke snapped as he took a step closer to Raizo.
“Oh, so you wanna get you ass whooped again, soldier boy?” Raizo returned as he, too, took a step forward.
“Maybe this time you can fight with both eyes opened, you blind rod.” Duke snapped.
“ENOUGH!” Gunther bellowed. A shudder in the air froze all movement, they were frozen by the very air they breathe.
“Today’s lesson was patience and strategy which I find to be executed rather well albeit with not-so-favorable results. But everyone played their part well—” Multiple explosions could be heard from afar. It came from the surface of the planet.
“What the hell was that?” Duke asked and Raizo immediately flashed to the top of the wall of the Dungeon leaving behind a trail of electricity and looked over the edge. (“Wait, where did the breach go?” Darius asked.)
“Oh no... The foot of the Mountain Wall is under fire...” Raizo said.
“It’s the Mountain Wall, it’s always under fire,” Darius said as he remembered reading about the violent histories of the Mountain Wall.
“No... This is different,” Duke said as his eyes began to widen, “This is Darkmatter energy. I can feel it.”
“Are the Darkai attacking publicly now? I thought those guys only attack is secret and stuff?” Darius said.
“Apparently not. This is Darkmatter alright; their particles are riddled all over the air.” Igniz said as he joined Raizo over the edge.
“Well then, gentleman, I believe this session is over for the day. A threat looms upon us from this new threat. Do not act unless necessary,” Gunther said as everyone quickly gathered around him, “As of now, we stand near the Altarian border of the Mountain Wall. That’s a hundred miles of mountains and forests before entering the Wehrmacht Republic. Although there should be no Mortal population down there, it is still Altarian territory hence, we have no authority to act unless we absolutely must, is that clear?” Gunther said.
“Hoo!” Everyone bellowed simultaneously except Darius who is stunned as he looked at the others for that sudden response.
“Wait, I thought Psyons were keepers of the peace. Why do we have to wait for permission for something life-threatening?” Darius asked. Raizo and Zeeq looked at him as if not believing a lie that was told blatantly to their faces but it was Igniz who replied.
“Because this is still essentially a Mortal problem. Whatever problem that is created by Mortals, it can still be solved by Mortals. It’s a way to teach them to resolve to stand on their own and not rely on us for everything.” Igniz said.
“Precision to the core, Igniz. Come, lads, we move now.” Gunther said.