DEMIS (A Clash With Lightning)

28

"General!" a foreign voice called out. "You have to get up!"

Josh opened his eyes to see a man in ancient Greek armor standing over him. Clouds of dust floated in the air, and loud screams and the sounds of swords clanking together rang in his ears.

"Where am I?" he asked the man.

The man grabbed Josh's hand and pulled him to his feet. "How hard did you hit your head, general? Can't even remember the war we're fighting?"

"War?" Josh asked, a bit dazed.

"You have to get it together, sir." The man shook his head and brought a horse over with a lead. "Try not to fall off this time, alright?"

The horse was huge, easily one of the biggest Josh had ever seen. It was solid black, with cuffs of white fur on its hooves. Josh hopped onto the horse and tried to gauge what was happening. He saw men fighting each other ruthlessly. There didn't seem to be much direction in their fighting. From what Josh could see, it seemed like a free-for-all. Both sides charged at each other mindlessly.

The trial seemed like a war simulator. All he had to do was use his powers. He'd be able to destroy the enemies easily. They all seemed to be regular humans, from what he could tell. Not to mention, his powers only increased in times of conflict. It was almost laughable how easy it would be for him to complete this trial. Circe's time in solitude must have made her lose her mind.

Josh charged forward on the horse towards a group of enemies. He stood on the back of the horse and grabbed the sword attached to his waist. He slayed the enemies easily. They tried to fight him all at once, but he was too quick for them to land a single blow. He smiled when they all fell and turned to find the next group to fight.

His smile dropped and his eyes widened when he heard a familiar scream of agony. He turned to see an enemy had plunged a sword straight through Rose's stomach. Her face twisted in pain before she fell to her knees, holding the handle of the sword stuck in her abdomen. The enemy didn't even get the chance to retrieve the sword. Josh practically teleported to the man and lifted him off the ground by his neck. All he could see was red as he crushed the man's windpipe between his fingers.

He turned to Rose, who was bleeding out on the ground. "Sister!" He grabbed her head, and she coughed blood onto his arm.

She didn't respond to him. She just stared at him before the light in her eyes dimmed, and he knew she was dead. He laid her head down and closed her eyelids. How did she get here? She didn't even have any armor on. She was wearing the same clothes she had been in when they first arrived on the island.

He didn't give himself time to mourn. He was going to kill every single soldier on this battlefield. He closed his eyes, and the ground beneath him started rumbling. This was his first time using this aspect of his powers. He tapped into one of his father's favorite powers: Bloodlust. He opened his eyes, and he felt himself become faster, stronger, and more ruthless.

He moved from soldier to soldier, wasting no time ripping their throats out. This was no longer a game. He needed this trial to end so he could face Circe and figure out why the hell one of his friends was caught in the trial. While he was killing people, he heard the voice of yet another one of his friends screaming.

He turned to see the same scene with Keith. Keith reached his hand out towards Josh, as if begging for help, before he collapsed onto the ground. Why was this happening?

"Keith!" he shouted as he ran to his friend. When he reached his body, he was mortified to discover he was already dead.

He scanned the area for any other people without armor on. He had to make sure Ban and Jasmine would be okay. He hoped they would. He continued his killing spree with even more determination at the death of yet another one of his friends.