Shattered Remnants of a Dream

43. Strangers, Reunited

Vance drop-kicked another clone in the mouth, knocking it in a perfect arc backwards into the dust. More came at him from behind, and he placed his hands on the ground, twisting around and kicking two in the head. He moved into a front flip, then turned around just in time to punch the final clone straight through its stomach, leaving a gaping hole in its chest as it crumbled to the ground.

Losing his patience, Vance let out a roar, rippling psynergy from his arms. The remaining clones were mercilessly throttled, left with no chance to defend themselves as purple death ripped through their energy.

He shivered. It felt as if the raging flow of psynergy was going to burst through his body like a waterfall passing through a plastic straw. Purple tendrils leapt off his body, completely unhindered and without control. It felt good, but at the same time, he felt as if he'd lost the ability to slow himself down.

The sound of clapping hands crept into his ears, and he swerved to face Averyl. Vance watched as purple flames just like his own began to arise from Averyl's body. They spread out to incredible lengths, encircling him within a wide sphere of pure power.

Vance stumbled backwards. Finally, after all this time, Averyl wasn't holding back anymore.

"Let's go..." Vance growled, vision blurring as psynergy raged through his veins.

"You've done well, Vance." Averyl grinned. "Now I'm going to have to calm you down before you hurt yourself..."

Vance surged his fist up with power and dove toward Averyl. The young man threw all his force forward, crashed into Averyl's darkened shield and barely cracked through it. Refusing to give up, Vance shoved his body forward, despite the beating his body had taken.

"How does it feel?" Averyl said. "You've summoned up the innate power of your bloodline."

"Good," Vance coughed, his aura flickering. "Now we can finally fight for real."

"No..." Averyl frowned. "Vance, you're done."

"No I'm not!" Vance screamed. "I need to get stronger! Before the tournament starts, I need to know that I can stand a chance against people like you!"

"You think you can surpass me after a few months of training?" Averyl raised an eyebrow. "How insulting..."

Wind began to pick up around Averyl, whirling his black locks and cloak in the breeze. A heavy gale picked up and shot toward Vance, propelled solely by the pressure of Averyl's power.

Vance blinked as debris flew into his tired eyes, but as soon as he opened them again, his uncle was gone.

Averyl snaked his head out from behind Vance's shoulder. "The end..."

Before his nephew could even gasp, Averyl immobilized the berserk youth with his long arms.

Vance tried to free himself, but the more he exerted his power, the more he realized it was futile. "Fine," he sighed. "I'm done."

"Good boy." Averyl snickered. "Now let's go wash up."

Averyl took Vance back to the campsite, where he was able to sit and relax for a bit. His uncle told him stories until their fire began to die down

*************

as Eden was roused from her slumber. Struggling against her fatigue, Eden rose to her feet. She'd sensed something – an unfamiliar aura. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a blur. She turned abruptly, in time to to see two glowing orbs zoom right by her face. Eden leapt out from the campsite and backed up against the side of the mountain, watching the orbs with extreme caution. She counted four in total, all gliding around as if surveying the terrain.