Blade(Part 4): Midnight

Chapter 11: Kai

Xerxei's eyes were glowing a bright red that made Kai's heart race with dread. There was no possible way Xerxei could have been standing right in front of him. Kai watched him die in Noglidas, and then buried him outside that city. A powerful, frightening aura of darkness also came from him, which Kai couldn't sense before now. Something bad must have happened to him after he died, and turned him into a real monster.

"Xerxei, how are you alive?" asked Kai. Suddenly, he felt Shala's hand on his shoulder.

"That's not Xerxei, Kai," she warned. "It's what's left of him." Kai could sense that there was no doubt or deceit in his sister's words. What stood in front of Kai wasn't Xerxei anymore. His body was possessed by the same darkness that had given him his power in life. The Abyss had brought him back to life as a demon, instead of a Shadow. Kai could only feel anger at the thought of his best friend being raised from his grave in the way he was, but it wasn't Aziz, or even Azazel. No one that Kai knew could manipulate the Abyss to raise the dead.

"Aziz didn't do this to you," he growled, forming his staff-shaped dark aura blade. "Who did!?"

"Aziz means nothing to me," Xerxei denied, forming his black mace in his hands. "The Dark One is the one who gave me my power in life, and he gives me more power in death."

"Of course," Kai gasped. It made perfect sense, now. As a servant of the Dark One, touched by the Abyss, he could be manipulated by him, and raised from the dead as many times as was needed. It was cruel, and wrong, and angered Kai even more. He launched himself into the air with a dark aura blast from both of his feet, raising his staff above his head.

"Kai, don't!" Dameon shouted. Xerxei raised his mace to attack Kai, and Polarpi quickly threw him backward with a lightning bolt blasted from between his jaws. The dragon growled from between his teeth as Xerxei stood to recover from the thunderbolt, then Kai rushed at him again. Xerxei threw him backward with a dark aura blast from his hand, then Shala and Dameon rushed forward. Dameon swung his ancient sword at him, and Xerxei blocked the attack with the shaft of his mace. He then punched Dameon right in the chest with his armor-plated fist, and Shala then attacked him with her hook sword-shaped aura blades. As she made the swings with them, Xerxei suddenly reached his arm out and grabbed her right by the throat. Her hook swords faded, and Xerxei lifted her clear off the ground. Kai could see Shala beginning to choke, gasping for breath in Xerxei's grip, and he quickly warped behind him and smacked him on the top of the head with his staff. Xerxei dropped Shala, who collapsed to her knees when she touched the ground, gasping for air with her hand on her throat. The hand she had on her throat then began to glow gold, and she took in a giant breath of air. Shala then warped out of the way as Kai threw Xerxei across the ground with a dark aura blast. Dameon then warped to where he landed, raised his sword, and brought it down to kill Xerxei. Before the undead Shadow could warp away, the ancient sword struck him right on the chest and completely shattered his dark aura shield.

"Now, Polarpi!" Akanotahkon shouted. The storm dragon blasted a lightning bolt at Xerxei as Dameon warped away, striking the Shadow before he could stand. His back arched as electricity ran through his body. Every drop of blood in Xerxei's body and every inch of his flesh crackled with electricity, but he stopped after a moment. Polarpi had ceased his lightning breath, and Xerxei's eyes were closed, but Kai could still sense his powerful, undead aura. It wasn't as powerful as before, though. Kai, Shala, and Dameon kept their distance from him. He seemed dead, but they all knew better. Suddenly, a dark aura blast with the force of a powerful explosion erupted from the unconscious Shadow. It shook the entire hangar. Dameon, Shala, Kai, and Akanotahkon were thrown from their feet, and even Polarpi fell over, roaring as his body crashed onto the ground. Kai crashed into one of the ancient dropships stored in the hangar, and fell, seeing Xerxei rising to his feet when he looked up. The darkness he gave off was even more powerful than before Polarpi struck him with lightning. The pain from being electrocuted must have made him more powerful.

"He draws his strength from pain," Kai observed, as he, Dameon, and Shala rose to their feet.

"Come on," Dameon groaned. He flashed a golden healing light from his body, healing both Shala and Akanotahkon's wounds from crashing into the wall, along with his own injuries. He reached his arm to his ancient sword, and the blade flew right into his hands. Maybe his sword would manage to kill Xerxei permanently. His sword and Shala's aura blades may have been the only things that had a chance at it. Kai could at least bring down his dark aura shield enough for Dameon or Shala to kill him. The thought of killing Xerxei still hurt him, but as Shala said, whatever they were fighting against wasn't Xerxei anymore.

"Let's finish him," Kai growled. He formed his dark aura blade, then rushed at Xerxei with Shala and Dameon. Kai swung his staff at him, which was blocked by the shaft of Xerxei's mace, then he warped away for Shala to attack. She staggered him with an aura blast, then Dameon took a swing at him with his ancient sword. It bounced off of Xerxei's dark aura shield, but also breaking through it. Before any of them could try at another attack, though, a red light surrounded him before he warped away. He only reappeared a short distance from them, but they saw his dark aura shield regenerate.

"Shit," Dameon cursed. Xerxei launched himself into the air with a dark aura blast from both of his feet, and as he came down, the head of his mace began to glow a bright red.

"To me, now!" Dameon shouted. He slammed his fist to the ground, and a big, round aura dome formed around himself, Kai, and Shala. Xerxei's glowing mace then crashed against it. Kai and Shala were thrown to the ground by what must have been an immensely powerful dark aura blast from the mace, but Dameon still held his ground. The aura dome was still up, but cracked, and Xerxei's aura of darkness was gone. Xerxei seemed to be gone, too. Kai looked through the aura dome and didn't see him.

"I think he's gone," he hoped.

"Yeah," Dameon agreed, and he took his aura dome down. "Are you guys alright?"

"I'm fine," Shala promised.

"Me, too," said Kai. "Where did Xerxei go?"

"Who knows?" Dameon answered. "Hopefully not where we're going."

"Right," Kai agreed. "Guys, listen. I watched Xerxei die in Noglidas. He shouldn't have been alive. The Abyss must have brought him back to life."

"Or maybe the God of the Abyss," Shala guessed. "Shadows are meant to fight as servants of the Dark One, remember?"

"Then why did he raise Xerxei to fight for Aziz again?" asked Dameon.

"That's not my point," Kai snapped. "Alexius also killed Akhtar, remember? And Akanotahkon killed that one Shadow who was riding the dragon." Dameon and Shala's eyes then widened with dread. They both knew exactly what Kai was thinking. Akhtar and the other Shadow in question would likely be much more powerful and fearsome than they were in life. Kai could only imagine how powerful, though. Especially Akhtar, since she became a Shadow willingly when she was alive.

"If we run into any of them, we'll be ready," Shala assured. "We'll have to be."