Legends of the Stars

Chapter 14: The Astral Force

Chapter 14

The Astral Force

"...Jaden...Jaden...Wake up, Jaden!" The sound of Astra's desperate cries had awoken him. He opened his eyes to see her kneeling over him, on the brink of tears.

Jaden was lying in the middle of what looked like a Divine Temple. Everyone was gathered around him in solemn relief. His body was as stiff as a rock and his head felt like it was split in half. He barely had any memory about what happened beforehand.

"Uhh...Astra?"

"What were you thinking?! That was so dangerous! You idiot!"

Astra wrapped her arms around Jaden and held him tight. He was surprised by her sudden embrace, which released a sharp pain shot through his body.

"Owww! Careful! You're crushing me!" Even though her hug was relatively soft, his body was so wrenched up, it felt like he was caught in a vise.

"Oh God, what just happened?" he asked.

"We won," Kaylah answered. "You defeated the demon. How do you feel?"

"Well, I can't move anything below my neck, so that can't be good." he said humorously.

"Here, drink this." Kaylah took out a healing potion, which she them brought up to his lips. Jaden shrunk from the medicine's tart flavor as she poured it into his mouth. He could feel the potion slowly work its magic inside his body. It would be a few minutes before he would fully recover.

"How long was I out?"

"About ten minutes. While you were under, we all found our way to the temple. The surviving soldiers are tied up over there," Jesse explained.

Jaden saw the three Centurions wrapped up together in hookshot cables, sitting silently with their helmets off. He was surprised to see that they all looked the same age as him, maybe even younger.

"Halldor just dragged them all here to die," Jesse added angrily. "None of us should even be here! What's the point of all this fighting if nobody wins?!"

At that point, Jesse was just as fed up with this war as Jaden. They had been fighting for so long, they sometimes forgot what they were fighting over. All the anger and hatred both sides had for each other seemed to be the only thing driving them.

"At least we're all safe now," Jaden assured.

"No thanks to you!" Revan shouted. "What were you thinking, running headfirst into battle like that?! You almost got us all killed!"

"Are you kidding me?! That was amazing!" Jesse exclaimed, shutting the Prince's argument down. "That power, I've never seen anything like it! What the hell was that?!"

"It's a little hard to explain," Jaden responded. "It's called the Astral Force, and it's the Ark Knight's greatest weapon." Everyone was stunned by this revelation, unable to comprehend the kind of technique it was.

"Basically, it's an energy multiplier. I focus all the energy inside my body until it gets released all at once, enhancing my strength, speed, senses, everything that I use in a fight."

Even though Ark Knights can already enhance their strength and speed in short bursts, this power was in a class by itself. It required a remarkable amount of focus and an innate control of one's energy. One false move and it could cause severe bodily damage, even death. But if executed perfectly, the rise in energy can be astounding. In fact, the enhancement Jaden used was only a fraction of the technique's true potential.