Chapter 14: Judgement Always Arrives With a Forgiving Smile.

  A distorted hole started to open within the air above an open, expansive green field. From within the void of a gaping mass, a bright red light flashed like a demon coming out of its den. The hole grew bigger and bigger until a man with long flowing sleek hair stepped out from within its deepest depths. The man wore an eyepatch over his right eye, not covering even half of the violent scar that ran through it. His buttoned-up long-sleeved shirt had been ripped off and torn to pieces thanks to the journey, revealing his heavily battle-torn muscular build. The very pants he wore were intact just enough and the holstered rapier at his side gleamed even while sheathed. The moment the young man stepped out, the portal itself immediately collapsed and imploded behind him, losing the very being that held its existence in place.

  The man’s red eye glistened as he faced the back of an older woman. She was dressed in an incredibly intricate black roman-catholic cassock with a flowing silky white hoodless robe that flowed elegantly around her. On top of her cream colored hair she wore a complex and masterfully made black veil that was pulled back so as to not cover her face and fell to the small of her back.

  The man approached the woman who slowly turned around, holding the lifeless body of a young girl who couldn’t be older than 18 years old. The woman’s face was soft and caring like that of a mother’s. Her eyes were covered by a silk black cloth which acted as a blindfold covering them and the bridge of her nose. She extended her arms out, handing the girl to him who he accepted without hesitation.

  The man bowed to her and gently ran his hand through her hair before setting her down upon the ground. He drew his rapier and stabbed it through the girl’s chest touching her heart directly. The woman continued to look on as he tensed his arm, creating the most stable, focused, and dense hole of gravity possible. Her body slowly started to fade away as if it was being pulled away from the world. The woman never broke her focus as she faced the two of them for it was her duty to bear witness to everything that was unfolding before her. The girl’s body was no more than a faint afterimage and could just barely be seen before she had fully faded. The woman gently clasped her hands together and lowered her head and started to say faint prayer, a light emanating from her body.

  In a matter of minutes her body was completely gone, the only thing left was a small hole in the ground with a cross over it.

  The woman looked up to see the man and nodded. He gave a short bow and started to follow her as she turned around to walk away.

  “Who is my enemy?” the tattered Takeoshi asked.

  “The Goddess of the Underworld, Seisui the Sky Queen of the Silver Age,” Adira answered.

  “What are the chances the two of us beat her?”

  “We will win in 0.0001% of the attempts where we fight her and her clan.”

  “If she’s that powerful, what is she capable of?”

  “If my Genesis can destroy countries, her Photon Manipulation can disintegrate continents at its maximum power.”

  “Why would someone that dangerous come for the Vitale Clan?”

  “Seisui draws her power from the light. In our case, Taiyo has the ability to become the light itself. Although, she deems herself too powerful to lower herself to fight her own battles. At the present moment, she has no grudge against anyone who has not been recognized into the silver age of clans.”

  “What are you saying?” Takeoshi narrowed his eyes.

  “What I’m saying is that while Seisui may be the leader of the offender, she is not the one who killed Korra. Tauro is your enemy. He belongs to a clan that has pledged to serve her yet it seems he has been acting independently.”

  “Why are you telling me all of this?”

  “You are the type of man to know your enemy inside and out before crushing them, are you not?”

  “I suppose I am. And what are the chances we will defeat him?”

  “There are no chances. We are guaranteed to avenge Korra.”

  Takeoshi gave one of his rare small smiles before he bowed in appreciation to the woman who stood before him.

  Adira nodded and turned around to start her walk through the expansiveness of the open field. Takeoshi followed close behind, pure killing intent clearly visible on his face.

  “Tauro. I will kill you.”

  ***

  Taiyo awoke in a dark room, it was small and cramped with only the sound of a fan by his bed occupying the empty space. He could hear the bustling of many people outside of his door. His body felt heavy and it was hard for him to breathe. Yet, he was warm. The heat had never gotten to his body before and for as long as he could remember, he has had temperature issues ever since he was 9 but his memories from before then were still a bit fuzzy. From the memories he got back, Caelum and Selene seem to be one of the triggers for the issue but he couldn’t say how or why.

  None of that mattered now anyway. It was the present moment he wanted to cherish anyway, not constantly questioning the past. He sat up and saw Fiamma lying on his chest. Being the physical incarnation of fire itself, she was oddly warm.

  “Fiamma, what are you doing, you idiot?” He couldn't help but smile a bit.

  “If you can’t be honest with anyone, at least choose to be honest with yourself. Bottling up everything would be a problem for everyone.”

  “You’re changing too much.”

  “For the better, of course.”

  Taiyo rolled his eyes and sat up. Fiamma gave him a slight punch before she dissipated into a wisps of white fire.

  He opened the old wooden door with a creak to the isolated room and was greeted by the soft light of the large main room to the base. The 10 present captains sat on the great dark wooden stage and they seemed to be discussing something important when he noticed Lyra and Kendall with them as well, both equipped with surprisingly good weapons. Kendall had a sheathed greatsword on his back which resembled that of a scalpel and Lyra wore a holstered FN Project 1990 PDWS on her thigh. Both individuals were clothed in rather unique ways that reflected that of their trainer. Kendall had on red scrubs with an impressively complex hooded white cloak that fell to his ankles. His brown hair looked as if it had been heavily combed into a neat comma hairstyle. His expression was serious as he listened intently to the remaining captains. If it wasn’t for his freckles, Taiyo could have mistaken him for someone else.

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  Lyra wasn’t any better. Her appearance had almost completely changed and she was wearing a flowing gray dress with a multitude of black ropes hanging around her neck like intricate necklaces. Her ghost-blonde hair had been washed and straightened out and on the side of it, she wore the same fox mask Selene had worn before, giving the one Jeison had given her to Kendall. Her blue eyes sparkled intently and brighter than they ever had before as she looked at Selene with newfound respect and admiration. She sat close to her and hung on every single word that would come out of her mouth.

  Taiyo lightning strided across the room, a gust of wind following in his wake. He appeared in front of all of them, the moment he did, Lyra’s face immediately turned red and Kendall broke out into the biggest grin he had ever seen.

  “Dang… guess my control is a little off when I’m not in the right mindset… Must’ve happened because I just woke up… That gust of wind was way too big for a truly effective lightning stride,” he ran his fingers through his hair after heating them a bit. Turning to his friends, he looked them up and down. “Do you know how strange it is for you guys to turn into two completely different people just because we get separated a bit? I should hit both of you.”

  “Emo Tai!” Kendall shouted, standing up and embracing him. “It feels like forever since I’ve seen you. I feel like I’ve been here for months!”

  “Let go of me you brute,” he struggled against him. He could’ve been imagining things but he swore he heard Fiamma groan within his head. After breaking free, Taiyo looked at Lyra. “Morning, princess. I see you powered up a fair bit. Fighting with you will be even more trouble if you can actually keep up now.”

  “Haha, very funny. I see even after staying here you still haven’t learned any manners,” she smirked. “Maybe seeing us again was good timing, I was afraid you went completely rogue on us. Anyway Kendall and I need to leave today anyway. School is reopening in a bit and our parents are worried sick.”

  “I’m surprised they haven’t made that much of a hassle for us so far…” Taiyo said to himself. “Anyway glad you’re here, stop by again some time.”

  Taiyo gave her a quick fist bump before looking at the captains who were all surprised to see him.

  “Captains of the Vitale Clan,” he addressed them. “I have an announcement to make.”

  All except Takara were taken aback at his new approach to leading. She could only provide a hidden smile at his words now. She stood up from her seat and kneeled before him. The captains looked at her in shock as she did so, lowering her head and crossing one arm over her chest. Rio, who seemed the least bit phased and who recovered the quickest, stood up and did the same, kneeling right next to Takara and lowering his head. Mash seemed amused by it all so she started to kneel as well. Jeison giggled to himself and joined in next, as well as Mila, then Aria, then Edward. Leaving the only ones still seated as Caelum, Selene, and Drachen. Selene and Caelum couldn’t help but laugh as they saw the young kid from eight years ago once more. They both stood up and got into the line and kneeled, leaving only Drachen still sitting, in shock.

  Kendall made a line just behind the captains, choosing to kneel behind Aria and Lyra choosing to get in behind Selene. She looked up expectantly.

  “Do you not know how to respect your leader? What are you waiting for?” she looked away from him and lowered her head.

  “You shouldn’t provoke Captain Drachen like that,” Kendall held back a bit of a laugh, whispering silently.

  “I know, I know,” Lyra grinned without looking up. “You gotta know how to push certain buttons in order to bring out the best in someone. I don’t want him to resent us. I’ll apologize later.”

  Reluctantly through gritted teeth. Drachen slowly stood up from his stool with a creak, taking one big step towards the line at a time. Purple smoke slowly fell from his mouth as he slowly kneeled down to the ground, his fists clenched. Mila shot him a concerned expression, silently sending her sympathies to him when he had fully lowered his head.

  “At your service, Young Master,” Takara answered. Her voice boomed throughout the large building. It was like a sudden weight of responsibility had been dropped onto him at that moment.

  Taiyo turned around and noticed every single squad member had dropped what they were doing to kneel down as well. What changed? He was still the same guy right? So why now, of all times would they listen to him so willingly.

  “Vitale Clan!” he projected. “When I first came here, you all were dealing with the Cage’s troubles. I’m still here and the problems still persist. How incompetent are we to where we can’t win a single battle?” Taiyo pulled out a golden revolver, its intricate details shining and glinting marvelously, catching sunlight within its features. “They want your base, your land. They’ve even threatened the prospect of war, wanting to destroy your way of life forever. I’m an outsider and I’m fully aware of that. But it's about time you lot got your act together and fully attacked. No holding back. Hear me now, loyal children of the Vitale. I’ve been gone for too long. I remember not enough and I have left you all for too long. I commend you for your perseverance! Your cling to hope and the power needed to protect your way of life. The light of the Sun has NOT forsaken you! Rejoice! For we take back what is ours! ”

  The building erupted into the hundreds of cheers and loud chants, filling the air with the sounds of applause. Many men and women of varying ages and origins, thrust their fists into the air in celebration. Such high morale was unheard of in any situation he had ever taken part of. Taiyo was shocked by the outbursts and looked around the room confused.

  ‘Are they cheering… For me?’ he thought to himself.

  ‘Who else would they be cheering for, are you slow?’ Fiamma laughed in his head.

  Taiyo’s gaze slowly drifted over to the captains whose full attention was upon him. Each of them had proud smiles on their faces. All except for Rio who kept the same emotionless expression he always had and Drachen who looked away. He couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed with their reactions but he was glad they didn’t object. His eyes wandered to Mila. Their eyes met and she gave a reassuring, full smile, her eyes twinkling like stars a bit from just how genuine it was.

  “Isn’t that good for you, heir?” she asked silently, under the loud cheers of the crowd. “Everyone loves you.”

  Fidgeting a bit, Taiyo started to look around a bit more, his face becoming progressively redder and redder. Restlessly, he slowly put his hand over his mouth and gave a small, awkward laugh that couldn’t be heard but Mila could only smile wider at this. She beamed, yet Drachen stood up and was turning around to walk away to the captain’s quarters.

  Lyra, who was also enjoying the atmosphere, dropped the look of happiness from her face almost immediately and looked at him in a deadpan manner.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” she asked in a monotonous voice.

  “To my room,” he didn’t turn around to face her.

  “Everyone’s having a good time, don’t you think you could join in?”

  “No need. I’ll take my orders and follow them without fail.”

  “Draco. A dragon’s pride is what allows it to be beheaded by the sword. Please, don’t do anything to make anyone sad,” Mila pleaded.

  “No one will get hurt.”

  “I meant yourself too. Don’t do anything that would make anyone sad. You included,” you spoke in a gentle manner. The small confrontation had gained the attention of all of the captains as well as Taiyo’s group,

  “I’m just going to bed for a bit. Sorry, Mi, I’ll be fine,” the wood underneath his feet cracked. As massive surges of wind rose from the cracks beneath him. In a second he was gone and out of sight.

  Lyra let out a sigh and gave a pleading look to Kendall who could only shrug at the situation.

  “He’ll figure things out soon enough.”

  “Alright here’s the plan,” Taiyo announced, trying his best to distract from what had just occurred. In times like these, times where he could clearly see the distress upon someone’s face is where he has chosen to act. He can’t ever repeat what had happened on that night where he stood by. Now of all times, was when he would do something.