Flame Rider II: Rise of Chaos

Fall Of the Lordernain System

It was in that moment that I saw the true power that was held behind Blaze’s flesh. In a single blast of energy, he had thrown Cre^dus halfway across the massive chamber that we were in, before launching him over to where the Aether, or Eternal Darkness as he had named himself.

It was what had coursed through his mind in the one second before his attack that had me the most confused. The memories of not only his past lives, in which there was close to thirty hundred from various races, including the Demons on fifty different occasions. How one person could hold so much in their mind, and yet not die was beyond me, until I noticed that Ice was...crying?

‘What’s wrong?’ I asked the strange entity, ‘Why are you upset?’

‘Because I...we cannot help our brother with our own powers,’ was the heart-breaking reply, ‘not because you are too weak to control them, but because as a descended Eternal, I am forbidden from using them.’

‘Is Blaze not also an Eternal?’ I asked slowly, realising that I had just upset some part of myself.

‘Yes, but he never truly ascended,’ Ice explained, pulling up several memories all at once, ‘After failing - in his mind - to do as was his job, he exiled himself from our species, saying that he was unfit to live amongst The Champions of Light.

‘It was in his fifteenth reincarnation that I decided that he shouldn’t be alone in his fight against those that had been exiled as part of their turning against what we stood for. But just as I was about to descend, I was told that if I was to ever use my powers, then I too would be exiled.

‘Ever since, I have been hopping from one life to another, in the hopes of eventually finding Eldrid until I reincarnated as we are now. It was only when I felt the presence of our brother’s soul within our own that I knew that I had stumbled upon the right life.’

‘You think that this is the life, in which we finally win?’ I asked, hope spreading out from my heart.

‘Sadly, not for us,’ Ice replied, sadness dripping from her voice, ‘We must die one more time, before we can truly become of help to Eldrid. And an old friend of mine, and the mate of our brother must descend in all of her glory before Eldrid can defeat Eternal Darkness’ forces.’

Understanding suddenly flooded my mind, as I realised what was going to happen, without even knowing exactly where, when or how it would. But that was all I needed to wrest control of my body back into my own grasp.

Picking up my two slightly curved Elfish swords, Ice and Light, I charged at Cre^dus, hoping that I would be able to kill him before something stupidly unfair happened. But I was too late, and what I saw only drove more anger into my mind and body

*-*-*-*

‘At last,’ I thought to myself, ‘I knew that would work.’

‘Knew?’ Darkness questioned, ‘Or hoped? If you hoped that he’d collapse after what he did, then you are in worse shape than I thought, Pain.’

‘Get off my back,’ I growled in response, ‘Besides, We now have what is most important; Blaze’s AI chip.’

Reaching down, I let my claw hand dive into Blaze’s skull, before pulling it back out roughly. I stared at the small chip that I now held in between my claws, and was stunned by the size and complexity of the device.

‘There is no way an AI of this power could function on a chip of this size,’ I thought to myself, ‘I must know the secrets that this chip hold.’

‘First off, we must leave this wretched place,’ Darkness told me, ‘Before it is destroyed by the fleet that you have gathered.’

‘Of course, my master,’ I told him, as I slowly rose to my feet.