Sky City Chronicles

Chapter 3: A New Power

A New Power

From deep within me a light seemed to grow, as I let my rage for Igneous and my love for Ember flow into every corner of my body. I had had enough of this fight, and whether I lived or not, this contest was going to be over right here, right now. I opened my eyes and saw that Ember had taken a step back from me, and for good reason. A golden aura had formed around my body, and as I felt the power within me rise, so too did the aura grow in strength. I looked at my side and saw to my utter amazement that the huge cut in my hide was sealing itself, the flesh meshing together until all that was left was a long scar. I glanced at my arm and neck and saw the same happening to those wounds, the only marks left behind being thin scars. As I stood up I felt the power rushing through my body, purifying my blood and destroying the poison given to me by Sunwing. I roared out my rage as the aura spiked, the power flowing through my body becoming so powerful t almost seemed too much to control.

Ember had taken several steps back now, and her emotionless eyes had filled with fear as I took a step towards her. The floor cracked where I stepped, the power flowing through me nearly enough to shatter the marble. Igneous had taken a step back as well, his pure blue eyes wide as I stood in the middle of the room, my nose just feet away from his.

"Now I know why you wanted me on your side Igneous." I said through my teeth, "You were afraid of me discovering this power on my own and taking you down with it. Well too late for that you snake. I've found my true potential and I'm going to use it to take you out." I raised my hand and a golden fireball formed in my palm, the flames twisting in the currents of my aura.

Igneous took a step back and formed a shadow ball in his own hand, "We shall see if you are strong enough to defeat me. I had hoped to teach you as my student, but now it seems I must teach you as an enemy." He launched the fireball at me, "Take this!"

I threw my own fireball and they met between us, the impact sending out a shockwave that slid both of us back a foot, though Ember wasn't so lucky. She got hit full on and was knocked back and into the wall, her cry of pain alerting me as she slumped to the floor. I looked and saw she had been knocked out by the impact, her body still as I turned back to Igneous.

"Be careful young one." Igneous said, "If you get carried away you might hurt your love before you can take out me."

"Like I said before Igneous," I hissed, "if she dies then I will make sure she gets to laugh at you as you follow her to the other world, though she will get the pleasure of watching you fall as she rises to the heavens."

Igneous snarled, "Enough with your blabbering, let's end this." He body was engulfed in a black aura, so pitch that only his lightning blue eyes shined from within. "You will wish you had never come back Razor. On that I swear to you, you will pay!"

As one we charged at each other, our auras colliding in the air between us in a fury of energy and light. For several minutes we clashed, the impact of our attacks sending out shockwaves that shattered the windows along the walls. Cracks formed in the floor around the room, and as the battle continued, the entire structure seemed ready to collapse right out from under us.

All at once Igneous and I stopped, out of breath and bleeding in several spots on both of our bodies. Even Igneous' blood flowed black, the only way to tell where he had been hit by the reflected light coming off of the liquid. I took a deeper breath and stood tall, "You are outmatched and you know it Igneous. Give up and I will not kill you." My aura faded slightly as I let my power ebb.

Igneous snarled at me through his clenched teeth, "I would rather you kill me then surrender." He looked behind me, "But maybe there is another way to get you to submit." He surged his aura and shot a pitch stream past me and over my shoulder. I looked behind and saw the stream heading directly for Ember, her still form unprotected against the wall. I screamed and raced towards her, moving impossibly fast in my haste to beat the attack to her body. At the last minute I jumped in front of her body, shielding her from the attack that hit me as hard as a battering ram. My body slid back from the impact, my back feet coming to a stop against Ember's side. I tried to use my power to shield both of us, but because I had lowered my defenses the attack hit me full on with only minimal shielding. Pain arced across the front of my body, the black fire peeling around my body in streamers of power as I fell to my knees. I could hear Igneous laughing as the power surged against my chest, fighting to peel me apart and to extinguish the fire within me.