Amity

Chapter 52: Possession

"Weak." Dré's eyes fluttered opened. He was looking up at a cloudless sky, with no other sound but his own breathing. "I feel so weak. Am I dead? Dude, this sucks."

"Not yet. But you will be."

Alerted by the sudden voice speaking above him, Dré worked his way back to his feet with the last of his strength. He saw that he was standing on the lone island in the Ethereal Ocean. There were clouds moving towards them; dark, foreboding clouds hiding storms that would shake the world. Hiro was standing in front of him, his arms crossed over his chest. The concern in his eyes frightened Dré more than it should have.

"So... I failed, then?" Dré looked down at his hands. He'd failed, not only everyone that he cared about, but everyone who was counting on him. The worst of it was that he'd failed so easily. It would've been easier for him to just surrender at the start. "Isn't there anything that we can do?"

"Why do you think I brought you here?"

"What do you mean?"

"We have only one chance in winning, though this is going to be such a pain on my behalf. I can possess you with Reiax's power, but it won't last long. This is also going to pretty much drain my ether, so I'll be out of commission for a few days, if we're lucky."

"But what'll happen you?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure? I mean, what if you die?"

Hiro looked at him with a smile appeared on his face. "Thanks for your sentiments, but I'm already dead."

"Then let's do it."

"That's the spirit," Hiro said as he placed a hand on Dré's head. "Now, close your eyes."

Dré did as he was told. He could feel an overwhelming power flow into him, as if flames were pulsing through his veins. Soon after, he felt at ease, as if he was drifting on a lazy river in the middle of a forest, with nothing but the rustling of leaves and the slow stream filling his ears.

Then, his eyes flashed open. He gasped as he looked at the person in front of him. It wasn't Hiro, but Dré himself, albeit he had to slightly look down to see himself. The Dré that he saw still had his eyes closed, however there were white lines traced across his face, pulsing with his beating heart. "Sorry to shock you, Dré," he felt himself say in Hiro's voice. "I had to make sure if it worked or not."

"A bit of a warning would've been greatly appreciated," Dré said, though it felt more like a thought than speech. "So, how will we fight him, anyway? His shadows are pretty much impenetrable."

"Let me worry about that," Hiro said, grabbing the sword on his hip.

~~~~~~

Abraham laughed as he watched Dré's limp body dangle in his hand. "Was that really all that you had, King? I was expecting some sort of epic battle. Hell, I thought that I'd at least get wounded. But you're no warrior. You shouldn't even be King. You are nothing."

With that, Abraham released Dré, sending his lifeless body hurtling down towards the rubble of a destroyed cement bench. He could feel the despair rising from the boy's friends as they watched on in horror. It was almost as intoxicating as the strongest ale, and just as addicting. "Why stop with killing one of them?" His eyes scanned the six remaining kids fighting the onslaught of Edge Walkers.

One in particular caught his eyes, not just because of the blond hair that contrasted against the reds and blacks of the rest of them, but also the scent of an Armonian on her. No doubt, she was the result of the an Amian and an Armonian mixing. "Would you look at that?" Abraham said, amused. "A spawn of a race traitor. Well, we can't have more of their kind infesting this planet, now can we?" Concentrating the shadows into the palm of his hand, he jetted towards her.