Journal Entry:

  After Taka’s coma, similar incidents skyrocketed, revealing a chilling truth; a thirty percent mortality rate within the first month. They’re calling it LuminoCo’s ‘doomsday device,’ but the corporation denies it, going as far as to develop the pods that now hold the victims. Scientists are still working to find a cure. As if the Shattering wasn’t enough...

  For a short while I feared I wouldn’t be able to visit you, being that your med-pod facility was in the Kingdom of Excalibur, but luckily, Tux’s friend Grace offered me a place to stay at the heart of the place. It gave me access to extensive training grounds, but most importantly, the chance check-in on you. When the exam finally came, Tanabe, Milu, and I aced it. What’s more, we were all selected for the apprenticeship program!

  Rai stood next to Takara’s pod, holding a book and a birthday balloon. Plu was resting on a small table beside her.

  Setting the book and weighted ballon down on the table, Rai said, “Excalibur has this humongous library with books from all over the world. You’d absolutely love it. It’s been helping me find clues to cure you. Let’s check it out together once I do.

  “This way please,” a nurse said nearby, escorting a broken family whose son had passed the other day.

  “Anyway, tomorrow’s the big mission. Wish me luck. Oh, and happy birthday, Taka.”

  ***

  With each step up the spiral staircase, Rai and Milu felt the castle walls tremble. Following another quake, a wall of the fortress crumbled, almost sending Milu plummeting thousands of feet, however Rai snatched his hand before he fell.

  “Got you!” Rai said.

  Gulping at the rocky waves below, Milu glanced at Rai; a mutual worry was visible in the eyes of both their eyes. “Good catch…”

  “Come on, we have to hurry!” Rai said, yanking Milu back up.

  As they continued up, Milu said, “This is nothing like the mission report!”

  “We ditched the mission report with our officer in charge!” Rai said.

  “Second thoughts?” Milu shouted over the sound of multiple explosions.

  “Not in the slightest! He’s close, but his flux force is fading fast!” Rai said.

  Rounding the corner, they burst through double doors into a grand ballroom, whose massive window spanned the far wall opposite them.

  Heavily breathing, Tanabe pushed himself up from one knee. When he saw his friends, he asked, “What are you guys doing here?”

  “We ditched that loser bodyguard the moment we heard the explosions,” Milu said.

  “You know me, when there’s a party, I just can’t resist joining,” Rai added, glancing at a figure approaching them.

  Tanabe smiled, indicating, “I suppose there’s no way around it. We’ll need all the help we can get if we’re going to beat this guy.”

  “This is what they send me, a bunch of kids,” Seph, the man opposing them said. “I’m not a babysitter!”

  “Don’t worry, I grow up fast!” Rai said, charging at Seph.

  Seph cracked a whip made of devil’s ivy against the ground, and soon tiny, glowing yellow roots dug up from beneath the tile.

  The whip lashed out, narrowly missing Rai, but tearing his shirt in the process.

  “The whip?!” Rai said, glancing behind him as it extended beyond its normal length, smashing a pillar behind them.

  “He’s an Abminus, careful,” Tanabe said. Biting his lip in frustration, he thought, unfortunately, I haven’t unlocked my root abilities yet…

  Skidding acroos the ground somewhat behind Seph, Rai noticed a blue demon faced tattoo on the bare back of Seph. “It’s the same as the guards from eariler….”

  “You coming or what!” Milu shouted, lunging towards Seph.

  “Right behind ya!” Rai said.

  “Together, the exchanged blows with the enemy.”

  “Huh, when you work together, you’re not half bad,” Seph said.

  The two continued swap chances to attack, until Tanabe saw his chance, appearing above Seph, swinging his fist down, shouting, “Impac—!”

  With a swift movement, Seph’s whip caught Tanabe’s foot, “But you’re far from my level!” Seph continued, sending him crashing into Rai.

  The two rocketed back, smashing into the wall together.

  Leaping before his comrades, Milu threw smoke bombs to the ground. “Dammit, we never should have accepted this mission,” he said, contemplating the conversation they had prior to departing for it.

  “Tanabe, Milu, and Rai, do you understand the risks accompanying a mission like this?” General Kur said.

  With a bow of respect, “If I may,” Milu said, addressing the emperor. With a nod from the emperor, he continued, “Emperor Adonis, as a team, the three of us have performed just as well as anyone else. “With Gael present, simple scouting shouldn’t be a cause for worry.”

  Seated in a giant golden chair, his prominent crown bearing the crest of the empire—Lumi’s, a rare and endangered flower that grows only in pairs—Emperor Adonis expressed his concerns. “Yes, you are correct, Gael does pose a significant safety net, however it is still uncharted territory... Rai, Tanabe, do you feel the same?” Emperor Adonis said.

  In unison, they answered, “We do.”

  They’d spent nearly a year on joint missions and were eager for a greater challenge. Upon learning of the emperor’s urgent request for small, agile recruits, there was no way they could pass it up.

  “What about you, General Kur? He is your grandson, after all?” Emperor Adonis said.

  “The second he became an apprentice, his decisions were his own to make. Even if they’re stupid ones,” General Kur responded. Tanabe’s eyes dropped to the floor. He hated disappointing his grandpa. “But that’s why I raised him to be strong enough to make those types of decisions,” he said, staring at Tanabe.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Realizing this was his grandpa’s way of approval, he straightened up, saying, “I won’t let you down.”

  “Very well,” Emperor Adonis said.

  The ballroom was filled with smoke, shielding them from enemy attack for a short time.

  Milu, Tanabe, and Rai, having regrouped, lowered their own flux to remain undetected as they pondered their next move.

  “How’re we going to beat this guy?” Milu said.

  “Two words, my fists,” Rai said.

  “Right…” Milu said.

  “Perhaps it was dumb luck that you happened by this tower,” Seph teased from afar, “but I’ll give you a secret before you meet your end. Up ahead is the core, the so-called sacred treasure of our kind. There are rumors that it’s the key to our species’ survival. I’ve got no clue what a floating orb’s got to do with us, but Veni says its to remain untouched.”

  Tanabe’s eyes widened upon hearing about the core. It was mentioned in the mission briefing—a source in which their power resides, but they had no idea of the shape until now.

  The existence of the Furies has puzzled many, as they appear to lack a core—a necessary element for anything that harnesses flux force—leading to theories that they possess a shared core within their domain.

  “I grow tired of this game of hide and seek,” Seph said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lip. “Unfortunately for you, I merged with the Seeker Root. Its vines grow in the direction of where flux force flows strongest!”

  Tanabe swiftly positioned himself in front of his friends while a series of lashes struck him.

  “Tanabe, what the hells going on?!” Rai said, unable to see anything.

  Laughing like a maniac, Seph continued to swing away.

  “Tsk, screw this!” Milu said. From his back pocket, he threw a black, flux-infused shuriken, smashing the large ballroom window and letting the smoke out.

  Once the smoke cleared, Tanabe’s body was covered in gashes, his clothes soaked in blood.

  “Tanabe!” Rai said, rushing to his aid alongside Milu, however they halted as Tanabe gave them a thumbs up, turning his head slightly to reveal a smile.

  Witnessing their friend’s resilience and positive spirit, their own determination was reignited.

  “Who said you get to be the cool one here?” Milu said.

  “That’s reserved for the future number one elite,” Rai chimed in.

  “If you want to beat me, you’re gonna have to start coming at me to kill,” Seph said with a sly smile.

  “I refuse,” Tanabe said. “I’ll stop you, but I don’t intend to kill you.”

  “Haha! Don’t push your luck kid, I was only toying with you. You’ve got no chance.”

  Tanabe glanced over at his friends before making a decision. “I have a plan, but I’ll need both your help.”

  The building shook again, causing bits of the roof to fall.

  “Phew, they’re sure having at it… Even I don’t want to be a part of that.” Noticing his opponents splitting in three different directions, with Tanabe leading the charge, Seph said, “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” and cracked his whip at Tanabe.

  White-glowing roots pierced the ground beneath Milu’s feet as he yelled, “Not on my watch!” Radiant white petals, taking the form of shuriken, manifested in Milu’s hand. “Shatter!” He crushed them against the ground, and the shattered pieces then shot out like bullets, cutting the whip into smaller fragments.

  The fragments zipped past Seph’s throat, causing him to retreat closer to the ballroom’s edge.

  “Milu,” Rai said with a look of shock.

  Moments later Milu dropped to a knee, holding his chest in pain as he coughed up blood.

  “Incredible!” Tanabe said, speeding past Milu. He finally accessed his roots! Appearing above Seph, Tanabe shouted, “My turn!” Tanabe swung at the floor in front of Seph. “Impact!”

  Seph’s severed weapon left him unable to fight, forcing a retreat even further, however to his surprise, with one punch, Tanabe destroyed a third of the room, leveling the footing beneath both of them.

  Rai quickly grabbed Milu’s hand as they slid toward the ballroom floor’s destroyed edge, reaching for their friend.

  “Got you!” Rai’s hand clasped Tanabe’s, but a sudden weight shift made Rai slip off the edge.

  Milu shifted his weight back, slamming a black shuriken into the ground which steadily stopped everyone from tumbling over.

  Tanabe observed Seph carefully reeling himself back up with a twenty-foot-long whip attached to his ankle. “He regrew it?!”

  “This is what you call not killing,” Rai said, his face strained from the weight as they dangled helplessly.

  “I imagine he would have survived the fall…” Tanabe said with a weary smile.

  “And what about you stupid!” Rai said.

  “I figured I ‘might’ survive it…”

  “That’s not how this works!” Rai fired back.

  “Guys… I can’t hold this much longer,” Milu said as the shuriken dug into his hand.

  “Don’t let go!” Rai shouted.

  Seeing their struggle to save him caused Tanabe to frown.

  “Gotcha,” Seph said, gripping Tanabe’s ankle.

  Tanabe exchanged a glance with Rai, and immediately panic surged within him. “Don’t you dare!” Rai said.

  “Thank you,” Tanabe said, smacking Rai’s wrist and sending a shockwave through his arm, causing Rai to let go.

  “No!” Rai screamed.

  The weight had shifted drastically, allowing Milu to yank Rai onto flat ground. “We did it.” Rolling over, Milu noticed Rai’s swift movement towards the ballroom’s edge—then it occurred to him. “Tanabe?” Quickly scurrying over to the edge as well, they were nowhere to be seen.

  “Dammit!” Rai yelled, slamming his fist on the ground.

  The building continued to rock, as Milu’s head hung low in disbelief. “This, can’t be…”

  “You stubborn bastard!” Rai said, bending over, body quivering. “We came here to save you, not the other way around…”

  Slowly rising, Milu swayed unsteadily towards the ballroom entrance. “We have to destroy the orb,” Milu said, stopping short of the exit. He raised his head, his eyes blazing with hate.

  “Screw that,” Rai said.

  “Tanabe believed in the mission. Stopping the Furies would have been his wish. We must finish what he started and… avenge him!” Milu said.

  “He would have wanted to go back!” Rai said. “Out of harms way! We were here to scout, not take out an entire race.”

  “Then you go back! I’m finishing the mission, with or without you,” Milu said, sprinting out of the room, leaving Rai behind.

  Rai rolled onto his back, dust falling from the ceiling beside him as he reminisced on the mission details. Survey the surroundings of the Furies stronghold. A simple espionage mission. It was never supposed to get to get like this... We should have never ventured into this place.

  The sound of a nearby child whimpering caught his attention.

  “There are children amongst the Furies?” Rai muttered. The boy, terror-struck, couldn’t look away, prompting Rai to shout, “What’re you looking at!?”

  As a result, the boy ran off in fear.

  Once more, Rai observed the identical markings of a blue demon’s face on his calf. With a lasting sigh, Rai closed his eyes before opening them and revealing a new determination.

  Upon seeing Rai, and after taking down some nearby guards, Milu said, “I knew you wouldn’t bail.”

  “Shut up. Let’s finish this,” Rai said.

  The rumbling grew stronger, causing the armor, vases, and portraits to tumble from their displays.

  “It feels like the whole castle is about to come down,” Milu said.

  “This way!” Rai urged as more guards spotted them.

  As they wrapped a corner, they noticed a floating orb in the distance; it was coated in a twisting air of flux force.

  “There it is!” Milu said.

  As they sprinted toward the core, a tremendous explosion shook the castle, making them tumble to the floor.

  Looking up, Milu saw a giant piece of debris falling over them.

  Milu quickly shoved his friend aside as rubble smashed against rubble, and a cloud of dirt instantly filled the room.

  A moment later, the shaking finally ended.

  Through the clearing dust cloud, Rai called out, “Milu?” Following the trail of blood, his heart racing, he soon came across a hand. His eyes traced the hand down the length of the arm, only to see it end at a gaping hole in the floor where Milu had been.

  Bit by bit, the arm dissipated into tiny specs of flux, before vanishing; a fate all Abminus shared when they died.

  “Over here!” voices rang out from a distance.

  “The core’s unprotected!”

  Ra fell back in shock, saying, “No, this isn’t real, it can’t be.”

  “There’s the intruder!” the soldier shouted.

  Rai frowned, sharing a tense yet angered gaze at his pursuers. Turning toward the exposed orb, he said, “Let’s end this.” Limping over to the core, he found the swirling vortex around it, particularly difficult to push through, but eventually he stood beside it.

  The guards closed in, brandishing spears.

  He raised his fists in the air, then slammed them down, shattering it!

  In a flash, a blinding light consumed the area, thrusting Rai into another vision.

  A young man of exceptional beauty, with long blue hair, was courting his wife on their honeymoon, though her face wasn’t visible.

  The scene flickered, and then Rai was waist-deep in the swamp.

  Mud-caked vines brushed his cheek and neck, leaving a dirty residue as he squeezed through massive roots, encountering an increasingly dense, tangled web the farther he went.

  A death-reeking breeze and a low clicking sound followed as a large amount of saliva landed on his shoulder, causing him to freeze. Slowly, fearfully, he turned his head.

  He traced the dripping ooze, peering into the shadows—when a large talon suddenly punctured his chest!

  Castle guards, surveying scattered core fragments on the floor, caused one to point a spear at Rai.

  Stepping between the two, one soldier said, “Camille wants him alive,” however, the spear wielding soldier grunted, refusing to back down as he raised the weapon. “Camille speaks for Veni.”

  Not long after, he lowered the spear, saying, “What does His Majesty want with this kid?”

  “We’ll find out soon enough.”