Death, Is Only The Beginning
In the beginning, before the dawn of time, there lived an ancient and deadly warrior. Her name was Genesis. She ran through the lands killing everything she encountered. In time she became the ruler of an army and a nation. Equally skilled was a warrior named Lucius. He stood by her side for a millennium. Tired of this time of peace they lived in, he stirred up a rebellion with the armies ranks to break away from their former ruler and fight along side him. Lucius thought he was successful in his attempt to overthrough the armies, so he held a festival in the outskirts of Genesis�s empire. During this time, Lucius was captured by Genesis�s remaining troops and tried for treason. His punishment was exile. To mark Lucius a trader, Genesis cursed his flesh with decay. Unspeakable agony ran through Lucius�s body. In time, his torment stopped and he was visited by a dark lord. Exchanging life for power, he became less human and more divine. Granted with new powers, Lucius was able to seek out Genesis to settle his dispute. �What form is this I have come to inhabit? Death will be the release of me. I am destroyed.� Lucius kneels to the floor. �You are reborn. I have granted you the means to finally defeat Genesis.� As Lucius stood up, he stared at his pulsing arms. Immense power ran through his body. �I can now feel the power. I am ready to destroy Genesis now. Lead me in her direction and I shall reek my havoc on her.� �Calm down Lucius, there is still much training that you must endure.� �Forget the training! This power is mine to wield. �Yes, but you cannot control it. Used improperly and it will destroy you.� Bryke turned and threw his arm forward. An immense light beam came out from his hand. The beam was surrounded by blue and yellow strands. The beam was aimed at a loyal follower. At the moment of impact, a loud yell was heard. Once the beam passed over his body, a skeleton stood in its place for a couple of seconds before it turned into a pile of ash. �This is what you need to learn Lucius. With wisdom and patience comes true power. Come forward and try your luck.� Lucius came forward and cupped his hands together. He threw them forward like Bryck did. A beam didn�t appear, but a huge ball of energy did. The ball headed straight, turned, bounced off a mirror, and struck Lucius in his chest. His own power knocked him into the wall. �You are not ready. Come with me and we shall begin your training.� In the middle of this vast empire stood a great city. In the middle of the city, a huge cathedral was heavily guarded. Inside stood many priests and warriors all along the middle aisle. In the back of the aisle stood a throne surrounded by organ pipes, flowers, coats of armor and flags with shields on them. Atop the throne sat Genesis. �How can my most loyal friend betray me like that?� Genesis stands up and looks into the darkness to her side. �You, on the other hand, will be a better companion than that trader Lucius.� A shadowy figure starts to walk toward her. The only thing that you could make out are these swords in each hand. The figure reached her thrown and kneels before her. �By my soul, I pledge my allegiance to you.� The figure places his arms across his chest and rises up. �Not only do you have my allegiance, but you have my promise to protect you at all costs.� He then looks down at his swords and says, �For these swords have never failed me.� �My lord!� Genesis turns and sees her warrior priestess Aquafa running down the hall. She is covered in blood. �We have obtained information that you should know. The betrayer still lives. He has allied himself with the dark lord Bryck. His powers are unbelievable. His blast killed two of my men instantly and the energy of the blast did this to me.� After she gave her message, she fell to the floor. Genesis was shocked that a powerful warrior was that badly injured. One of her most powerful spells failed to work. Lucius was still alive. Genesis found out that her plan backfired and the one creature that she felt she could not defeat has been allied with her trader of a pupil. The figure turned and said, �What do you mean, my lord, that you can�t defeat Bryck?� �Well you see, it all happened like this. At the dawn of my empire, a major challenge arose. Though we were in a time of peace, there was still much hate, corruption and disagreement that swept the land. Plague infested everything. The plague seemed to strike from the darkness. It would pick at the weakest people. From that moment on, it came to be known as �The Raven�. I did my best to contain it, but it continued to spread. Finally I walked to the top of a mountain and used my awesome might and casted a spell that completely eliminated the plague. All was well for the moment. Some time later, this incredible beast was spotted in my lands. I ran out their to see it for myself and stood their in amazement. This creature was destroying everything I worked so hard to build. With one swing, it destroyed a house and tossed the occupants one hundred feet into the air. I ordered my nearby archers to fire. All the creature did was absorb the arrows. Armed with a hold blade, I ran at the creature and plunged the sword into its chest. The creature fell to the floor. I thought I had defeated it, but I was wrong. As I approached, an incredibly bright light tossed me against the nearest wall. The creature yelled out in pain as it grew huge wings made of magic. This, I figured, was made possible because of the energy my sword gave him. He arose from his knees and pulled the sword from his chest. He pointed the sword at me and said these words. �Because of you, I exist in this form. Now you will know the true meaning of this sword and pain�. The sword started to give off a red glow. The sword transformed from a holy item, to an agent of darkness. Before he had a chance to kill me, I gathered what energy I had left and casted a spell to send him into another realm. This story has been haunting me forever. As you can see, Bryck is pure evil. He is the plague! Because of this, he has acquired a great abilities. The ability to self-recover and self-evolve. If the information is true about Lucius�s new ally, and if Lucius has been given any of these powers, then we are in even greater danger.� Genesis walks over to her new friend and they walk together to the barracks. Here they should be able to find new recruits to add to their group to destroy Bryck and Lucius once and for all. The barracks where no use because they found nobody worthy enough to join them. Though they did obtain some vital information on a certain warrior. This powerful warrior lived in a nearby cathedral. The road ahead was dangerous. They had to cross an abyss, where she would cast her criminals. These lands were haunted by the dead and weird things would happen here. No human would ever set foot here since this place was abandoned. Genesis picked up some supplies, so did her friend, and they headed out for the cathedral. �You have learned much Lucius since our first encounter. With this ability, you should be able to finally take down Genesis for what she has done to you. I still have one more gift to give to you, but you�re not ready at this moment. The ability to self-recover is an awesome power that makes you practically invincible on the battlefield. To complete your training, we must escape this realm that Genesis has imprisoned me in, and I know just the place. I discovered it during my travels here. Being down here for centuries, I have found different things. The main one would be a way out of here. The portal will not be easy. It leads through the abyss. Many bodies would come through this passage, and I would allow my blade to feed on their rotting corpses from time to time. This should make a perfect place to escape.� After some time of walking, they finally reached the abyss. They had no idea what actually was on the other side but they figured it lead to the physical world. They came all this way so they had no choice but to jump through. Bryck turned to Lucius and tells him, �Will yourself to pass and you shall.� They both run and leap into the portal. Intense forces pulled and ripped at their immortal bodies as they changed and were reborn in the physical world. No longer immortal, they had to watch their steps. At that same moment, Genesis and her friend were walking passed the abyss. Bryck yells out into the sky as he sheds his immortal flesh and stretches his wings once again in the physical world. A dark demon was the shape that he took. A huge hole was in the middle of his stomach. The hole was surrounded by horns. The hole was red except for the middle. It was black with hints of red. Lucius does the same but instead of wings, he carried iron plated armor. Genesis�s curse was still upon him. His flesh was just falling off the bone as if melting snow. He still retained many of his human characteristics as well as their weaknesses. They both turned and faced Genesis. Genesis didn�t know what to expect. Her friend stepped forward and yelled out to the shadowy figures. �Show yourself creature!� �Do you not recognize me brother, or do you need a reminder?� Once the creature came out into the light, Genesis�s friend recognized his sword. �But you shouldn�t be here. You should be dead.� �My vengeance keeps me going. I will never give up until you are dead. I still have not forgotten what you did to me so long ago.� �You should have stayed were the master sent you. For this, you will be the first to die.� Manic ran towards Bryke but he was stopped dead in his tracks. He was held in the air by this light. �These shackles by my telekinetic ability really come in useful don�t they!� �Do you like the new gift that I have given to my pupil? The ability to manipulate matter with his mind is awesome.� �Your pupil! That must mean, the person who is holding me is�..LUCIUS!� Finally the fog starts to fade away and it reveals Lucius in the back. His hands are glowing with green, orange and red light. �You should be fortunate, brother, that my pupil doesn�t destroy you now.� Bryke then picks up Genesis with his hand, throws her into the air, and sends a blast of TK energy that throws her out of sight. Lucius tightens his grip. �That�s enough Lucius! Let us leave this pathetic mortal alone for now.� Lucius motions his arms to the wall and Manic is slammed against it. He then throws his arms in the direction of Genesis and Manic follows her. Lucius is bending over as he is regaining his strength. His training isn�t complete so he is weak at the moment. Between gasps of air he manages to ask, �What do you mean he is your brother? Is this true?� �Yes Lucius, it�s all true. It all happened when Genesis banished the plague from her lands. My brother and I lived on the outskirts of her empire. I was on your side and wanted to continue to fight. Manic was with Genesis and wanted peace. For some reason we couldn�t agree. During that time, plague broke out. Her spell did banish the plague from her lands, but she concentrated it all on our house. When I tried to get out, Manic locked me in and fled. The plague overcame me and I turned into what you see today. I then broke out of the house. From that moment, I realized I had incredible strength. It seemed to me that whatever my brother was planning backfired on him. I was stronger than ever. I then headed out to the only place I thought Manic might be, Genesis�s empire. I fought my way in and destroyed everything. During this time, Genesis and Manic came running to see what was going on. I was about to kill Genesis when she banished me into the shadow realm. For this they both must die. By their tracks, it seems they were headed to that cathedral over there. Come Lucius.� Genesis was lying on a rock. Some time later, Manic fell from the sky ontop of her. She pushed him off and said, "Damn it. They were supposed to die. Once again they have gotten in my way." Manic took a while but he finally manages to get to his feet. "We better head for that cathedral before those two return." The journey was long because they were put off track. Finally, they managed to reach the cathedral. Once inside, they heard nothing. The pipes that would normally play deadly hymes to keep bad spirits at by now stood silent. Death and decay had reached the outter limits of her empire. This shocked and amazed her. "This looks more like a slaughter than death from decay." In the back by the steps stood the priestess. "My priestess, we are in need of your aid. We are fighting against our old enemy once again. You must join us." "Do I really have to join you? What do I get out of joining you?" "What do you mean?" Genesis looked puzzled. At the end of her sentence, a green light lifted Genesis from the floor. The priestess stood up and walked toward Genesis. "I am not your priestess anymore. My name is Vara and you are no longer my ally. I have stonger allies." Just then, Vara kicked Manic in the stomach which knocked him back. As Manic was falling, he through his sword at Lucius which gave him ugly gashes on his arms. Because of this, he lost his grip on Genesis. Bryke walks into the seen and yells out, "You haven't seen the last of us!" His wings appear from his back and he flies away with Vara and Lucius. "Damn Genesis, Vara was one of our strongest allies. What would drive her to turn on her own friends?" "Whatever her reason is, we are no going to have to kill her." "Let us leave this place. Their is nothing here anymore." Before they can reach the door, every candle goes out. Infront of the door now stood a shadowy figure. "You have invaded my territory and now my priestess has gone. I have been guarding her life since she was born. Now, because of you, she has been taken from me. You must be punished for your actions." "Wait, I have a better idea. Why don't you join us and together we can recapture your priestess and destroy her kidnapper. By the way, what is your name creature?" As he walks into the light, his features are revealed. A very strong cyclopse. He said his name was Trio. "I will do anything to regain my priestess. I shall follow you into death if I have to." "We have gained a new ally. Not the one we expected, but he might just prove to be a better one. Let us head back to more familiar plains." Bryke slowly came to a stop and let down both Lucius and Vara. "Vara, because you have pledged your allegance to us, we shall keep our end of the bargin. You shall learn the ancient powers that we posses. Let's attack Genesis to see your new power in action, and I know exactly the place she will be at. She will seek refuge in her cathedral. Let us pay her an unexpected visit. Your limitations as a human are now surpassed. Great speed, strength, and accuracy can be achieved effortlessly. Let us make haste." In a short period of time, they arrived at her cathedral gates. A few guards where posted at the corners. "This is a great place to try your new power Vara. Concentrate your mind and energy between your hands and you should be able to clear it. With an empty mind comes no regrete. By doing this, the ultimate fighter shall come through. I can make it happen." Vara started to give off energy waves and her hair flowed and she became one with herself. Pure of energy, she drew her sword and charged her enemies. A lot of yells were heard in their direction. She returned a short time later, covered in blood. None of the blood was hers. Vara falls to her knees exhausted. she is now starting to learn. "The ultimate fighter desirves the ultimate weapon. I shall enhance your blade. The power of darkness is now yours to wield." Bryke took the sword and placed it on the table. He then placed his hands over it and chanted ancient words. He removed his hands and handed it back to her. The blade glowed with a red aura. "This blade is now enhanced. It is able to cut through the toughest of metal with no problems. Let us enter the cathedral and hunt down Genesis." They entered the cathedral from the topmost floor. there they spotted Genesis, on her throne, talking to her allies. They moved in closer to them and jumped down. there they stood infront of their foes. "We shall settle this dispute once and for all Genesis." Bryke pointed at her and brought Vara forward. "My newest ally shall tear you limb from limb. Do you remember her? The person that was on you side for the longest time? Look at her now. Look as she has changed and become more powerful. Your time is now up." Vara drew her now glowing sword. She shot blasts of energy from it that threw Genesis to the wall. Manic and Trio attack Bryke but before they hit him, Bryke created an invisible froce field that knocked them down. He drew his own sword and pushed it into Manic's leg. Lucius held Trio in place. "Observe the downfall of your leader, dear brother." Bryke held his sword infront of Manic's throat and he got behind him. From this position, he had front row seats to Genesis's downfall. Vara's sword and Genesis's staff struck eachother with great power. Genesis's energy was no match for Vara's new found power. She pushed her staff down and gave her a back-kick. She shot energy at her and kept her on the wall. Genesis go tup and shot fireballs out of her staff. The fireballs struck Vara and started to burn her. Genesis swung her staff which Vara caught. Genesis than pulled out a hidden blade within the staff and gave Vara a gash on her leg. Vara then fell back and tapped into her powers. She calmed herself down and cleared her mind. She then gave off her true glowing colors and the blade gave off a dark red fog. Genesis never saw this kind of power and got on the defensive. She picked up a nerby shield and held it up. Vara swung her sword and broke the shield with no problems. Vara swung the sword at her again, but was blocked by Genesis's staff. The sword may go through a lot of things but not the magic surrounding her staff. "No matter how much you enhance that sword, you shall never be able to break this staff. I do applaude you on breaking my shield." Vara said nothing. All she did was smile at her and slammed her fist into her stomach. Genesis flew back with the force and dropped her staff. Vara laughed and yelled, "You are now defenseless and you shall die." Vara dashed at her and raised her sword. she started to bring it down when another sword came flying from nowhere. The sword knocked Vara's out of her hand. Vara turned and saw the figure walking down the hall. The figure said, "I shall not let you destory my master." Bryke looked in shock. "I thought I killed you." "You can't kill me, my will is too strong. Plus I can't be killed by the undead." "Well maybe I can than." Vara laughs evily. Vara ran to her sword and picked it up. When she turned around, Aquafa was standing behind her. Aquafa tried hitting her but was stopped�by Vara's sword. Vara's new power allowed her to repel Aquafa's attack and cut off her left arm. Aquafa yelled out in pain and threw her sword up. Vara started to run at her. Aquafa catched the sword like a spear and threw it at her once again. "With this spear and Genesis's help, I free your soul and release your mind." Her sword then turned into a spear of energy which struck Vara and passed through her. Vara fell to the floor lifeless. Aquafa grabs a small dagger on her waist and turns to Genesis. "I have slain the evil within her. Please spare her for she means no harm. Her mind was only poisened by him." She points to Bryke who is still holding Manic in place. For some reason they haven't let go of their grip and attended Vara's lifeless body. She decides to finish the job. She turns and there is no body on the floor. She looks around but see nothing. Then an incredible pain flows through her body. She looks down and sees the top of Vara's sword coming out of her stomach. The last thing she heard was Vara's soft voice. "You may have released my mind, but you showed me your true self. An evil warrior who is willing to kill even her best friend. For that, enjoy your stay in the underworld." Vara picks up her foot and kicks Aquafa off her sword. Blood falls to the floor which Vara kicks into Aquafa's lifeless body. Genesis gets up, extremely upset, and conjures up Aquafa's spirit. "With her life force in this staff, I shall avenge her." She runs at Vara and swings but her attack was blocked by a sword that pinned her staff to the back wall. Genesis turns and discoveres it was Bryke's. "Leave her alone. Your battle is now with me." He pushes his wings forward and throws a huge gush of wind at her. The enormous amount of wind throws Genesis through the wall. Bryke walks over to her but sees only a reddish ball. Bryke takes a step back. "What madness is this!" Genesis stands up. She now has a red glow in her eyes and she gives off yellow waves of energy. Her hands glow with an awesome power. Everyone knew what was meant when Genesis changed into this form. It meant you were dead. Genesis rose and held her staff in both hands. She ignited it with flames and charged Bryke. She swang it at Bryke but he blocked her attack with his own sword. Bryke's blade started to vibrate so he pulled back his defense and admired the blade. The sword had absorbed the energy given off by the staff. The blade has entered its true form. The Rave Master. A blade pure of energy and released of corruption. "Why did you do this? Was this planned?" "I want to defeat you at your best once and for all. I failed once, and I vowed not to fail again. And because of this, a bigger triumph would be to defeat you with my ultimate weapon. Still with your new found upgrade, you will never defeat me." Well Bryke was still admiring the blade, Genesis attacked and pinned his sword back as he tried to defend himself. She socked him in his face and turned back. She gave him a roundhouse kick that knocked him back. With her magic, she conjured up an ancient spirit to fight by her side. Vara, worried about her leader, ran towards him and got thrown back by a force field that enclosed the two fighters. Genesis now had herself plus the spirit next to her. Bryke needed a way to block two foes now so he seperated his new rave blade into two deadly killers. Genesis and her spirit attacked from two opposite sides at the same time. Bryke put one sword on his back to block one sword as he clashed with Genesis with the other. "Though you have another beast for me to kill, I will still kill you with the sword you gave me." With that said, he lifted his foot and kicked Genesis in the stomach and sent her against the barrier. The spirit slide under Bryke's leg and stood up. Bryke tried punching it but since it's only a mist, the punch had no effect. The spirit slashed at Bryke's leg well he fell over. The spirit stood over Bryke to deal the final blow. Bryke rolled over and swang his sword during the process. Since the Rave Master as achieved its true form, it sliced through the spirit dealing damage. A bluish liquid fell from the gut as it fell to the floor. The blade started to vibrate once again as a skull appeared at the base of the blade. The sword modified itself with the energy it absorbed. Even Genesis didn't see this coming. Has Genesis given her foe a weapon with secrets that she didn't even know about? This couldn't be, she thought to herself. The waves of energy that the sword gave off flowed around the blade and into Bryke's arm. Bryke fell to his knees and yelled out. He then started to give off a reddish glow. His eyes also turned red and his wings opened to their full wing span. Now with duel swords in hand, he was all but unstoppable. Genesis knew this and gave off her top energy form. Their energies combined made the room shake. Since they were still locked in the sphere, their allies had nothing to do but watch in amazement as their masters fought. Bryke bowed to hie enemy as Genesis gave off an evil grin. "Have at you Genesis. Let it begin." With that the two dashed at eachother and fought an incredible fight. Their speed was incredible. The sound of metal hitting the wood was throughout the cathedral. Magic blasts kept hitting the barrier were they exploded. All of a sudden, a huge explosion came from the middle and the barrier desolved. Vara and Lucius started to cheer since the barrier was gone and Genesis had to be dead. Then out of the cloud came the Rave Master. It went blade first into the floor and stood straight up. The blade shinned in the morning sunlight taht came throught the window. Manic and Trio then started to laugh. Vara walked over to the blade and reached to pick it up. The moment taht she touched it, the blade turned to ash and fell to the floor. Bryke walks out of the smoke and says, "Only the chosen one may weild the blade." "My lord, your alive." They start to run towards him but stop in their tracks stunned. The Rave Master was lodged in his chest. Bryke walked a couple more feet forward then fell to the floor. Genesis was seen in the far distance smiling. "Let this be a lesson to all of you. My might isn't to be toyed with. You mess with me and I will kill you." Genesis pointed an open palm toward Lucius that threw him back. She looked at Vara and she also fell to the floor. "Manic, Trio, take this body out of my sight and as for the Rave Master, see to it that it remains in his chest. You know what, I have a better idea. Mount his body on a pole and place it on the outer wall of town. There anyone who disagrees with me again will see the consequences. Now go." She then points to Vara and Lucius. "As for you two, there are bigger plans." She starts to walk over to get them but Lucius throws some ash on the floor at her face. While she is temporarily blind, the two of them make a break for it and escape the cathedral. Without a hero, they have nothing left to do but accept defeat. Vara has lost hope and Lucius's training isn't complete. If they face Genesis in this state, defeat is likely. Genesis decided that this is the perfect time to lauch their counter attack. Hit them well their down she tells her allies. Only one obsticle still lies in her way. First being able to find her foes. "This shouldn't be very difficult. The next step would be to take out our trader of a friend Vara. By isolating her, Lucius shouldn't be able to interupt our plans. Trio should prove to be useful during this strike. You will be used as bait to draw her away from Lucius." Genesis leaves the room to send out her scouts. As Genesis is walking away, Manic and Trio bow to her, in respect, and head back to their original jobs. They get to the outter walls. They lift Bryke's body and place it on the wall. They tie it down and leave him hanging their. The Rave Master still glowed with with its awesome power. His blood twinkled as it oozed out of the wound left by the blade. Trio got a great idea. He walked over to the blade and tried to remove it. "Wouldn't this be an awesome ally to have? We can kill my priestess's kidnappers with one swing." "No, you fool." Manic yells out in anger. The moment Trio touched the blade, a shock is sent through his body. Trio was shaking violently and unable to let go. He was then hurled back. His body finally stopped when he hit a nearby wall. "Don't you remember what Bryke said?" Manic knelt down to help Trio up. He then heard noises coming from behind him. He turned around to notice Bryke moving. They did a horrible job with the rope because Bryke got out of them like nothing. Bryke admired his new life for awhile. His arms were scared and bloddy and his body was standing over a pool of blood. He looked down to notice the Rave Master was still lodged in his chest. Since the Rave Master cannot destroy its own master, it mearly spared him from total destruction. He reached down and pulled the blade out and wielded it once again. He pointed to Trio. "So you have down this to me?" Manic walked between them and yelled out, "Can't you just die already?" Bryke threw his arm back and Manic followed. "You stay out of this brother. Our match will come soon enough." Bryke threw the sword up and slamed it into the ground blade first. The ground started to shanke and the ground made a barrier that seperated Manic from the two fighters. A red mist came from the blade and Trio could feel himself being drained. Since Bryke isn't fully recovered yet, that move drained a lot of his energy. Bryke was wide open to an attack. Somehow Tiro managed to get to his feet and charge Bryke. He reached him and slamed down his war hammer. Bryke quickly blocked it but has no counter-attack. All he could do was block his attacks. But he does manage to send a TK blast that threw Trio to the barrier of rock. That TK blast totally wiped out the remaining energy that Bryke had. Now he couldn't defend himself. Trio saw an opportunity for victory. He quickly rose to his feet and charged. He raised his hammer but instead of dealing the final blow, he fell to the floor. "You might of finished me off but I see your too weak. This red mist has taken your life. Bryke pulled himself to his victims body and pushed his sword into it. Manic saw the whole battle. He could now see what was going on. Red and blue waves surrounded the blade and rose from Trio's body. The waves entered the handle and into Bryke. In a short time he rose up, placed the sword on his back, called for his wings, and disappeared with one large gush of wind. Manic stood there shocked for a couple of minutes. Not able to find a way into the inner chamber where Trio's remains were, he ran as fast as he could to report what had just happened to Genesis. more chapters and the rest of the story coming soon.���� ������ ������ ������ ������ ������
Copyright © 2005 Matthew Resendez |