Chapter 5: Unexpected
Jaden opened her eyes, hoping the see the red sky that envelopes the planet. Darkness was all she saw and her body aches as she tried to lift her arms. Still, the lack of oxygen made her determined to push the large debris off her to save herself. With all the strength she could muster, she tossed it aside and struggled through the pain to sit up. Pains from cuts around her shoulders came, prompting her to groan softly.
Jaden looked at her surroundings and saw nothing but the ruins of her former home. She watched around and eventually stopped when she saw Dementius’s fresh corpse right next to her. Extreme shock and fear struck her at the horrid sight and the memories of her nightmare, along with her Proving, flashed in her mind. She began looking around while panting in fear, trying to see if any of her other friends are alive. However, all she saw were more corpses and the horror caused her to hyperventilate.
“Jaden…” a voice said coming from behind. Jaden turned around and saw the unpleasant sight of her mother, bloody and possessing multiple wounds around her. She crawled towards Jaden, trying to reach her daughter while leaving a blood trail behind. Worried, Jaden snatched her nearby sword, stood up and ran towards her.
“Wait…stop! Stay back!” Glacier exclaimed. However, it went to deaf ears and Jaden continued running towards her mother. Suddenly, the ground in front of Jaden exploded, knocking her back while the sand flew up, concealing a dark figure within. Jaden, dropped to her back, shook her head and waited while the dust settled.
The figure was eventually revealed and Jaden could not help but remember the man to be the same person who attempted to kill her before. Jaden backtracked, fearful of the intimidating look on the man’s face. The whole time, she never knew of the man’s identity, until Glacier made the revelation.
“Jaden…get out of here! Dark Viper…he is…Dark Viper!”
Jaden gasped while her eyes widened. She muttered out his name as she attempted to stand up. Defying her mother’s words, she darted at Viper and attempted to slash him. Dark Viper raised his sword, parried the attack and made an Energy-infused kick to knock her away. Jaden crashed onto the ground and felt an excruciating amount of pain. She growled in pain while she made an attempt to stand up.
As she sat up, she saw Viper, his attention turned to her mother. With the blade pointed at Glacier, Viper raised his sword, taking his time to make the final thrust. Jaden’s heart almost skipped a beat as Viper’s katana rose but the pain she felt prevented her from standing up quickly. Before she could recover, a voice in her head halted her, sounding a lot like her mother’s voice.
“Jaden, get out of here. Stay safe…and I’m sorry. Goodbye.”
Jaden turned to Glacier and saw her, smiling at her despite the situation she was in. It then struck her that her mother used her locked Magical Energies to speak with her telepathically. Her bloodied head nodded while Jaden whispered, “No. Viper don’t.”
With full force, Viper brought his katana down and ended Glacier’s life with one thrust. Blood spurted out of the wound and Jaden’s heart almost froze at the sight. Memories of her mother began flashing in her mind, most of which were passionate and heartwarming. She recalled all the warmth that her mother had provided her despite her age and the love that she showed with her soft hugs. To see it all end with just one thrust of Viper’s sword was the breaking point in Jaden’s control over her emotions and with full rage; Jaden stood up and gave out a roar which echoed within the alleys.
Viper turned to Jaden, barely flinching at the sight of the angry Energy Bladesman. The blindfold that covered Jaden’s eyes began forming a tint of blue, coming from the intensifying glow behind it which was the perfect representation of the woman’s anger and amplified powers. Jaden thrusts a pointing finger at Viper and bellowed, “You’ll die for this Viper!”
“I dare you to try.” Viper replied with a scowl.
Jaden dashed at Viper, her katana held in Reverse Grip, with Viper holding his katana in a similar stance. She made multiple slashes, all of which were dodged by Viper. She performed a horizontal kick but Viper grabbed her ankle and made a straight kick to Jaden’s face, tossing her to the floor. Viper advanced towards her while she recovered. She made a single slice but Viper parried it and grabbed her neck with his free hand. While she began to suffocate, Jaden remembered how she countered his grasped previously. Before she could take off her blindfold however, Viper sent a wave of electrical Dark Energy surging through his hand to her neck, shocking her. Jaden screamed in pain while Viper maintained the spell. He eventually ceased the attack while Jaden’s body went limp. With sheer strength, he tossed her away, causing her to collide with a concrete building.
Once again, Jaden tried to stand up. However, her anger was long gone, replaced with the excruciating pain she was suffering from. She lacked the strength to stand up, though Viper refused to capitalize. He stood next to Jaden and knelt down. He then bent down, supported by a hand, and waited. This stance, infamously known as the Viper's Hunt, preceded the end of most of Viper’s preys in the past and though she could not see him, she knew that Viper was doing just that since he was close and not attacking. Then, she heard the words that she expected to hear from all the stories she heard of him.
“I dare you…to stand up!” he taunted.
Hearing his voice almost revitalized her hatred for him. She used her remaining strength to stand up, with Viper watching her closely and standing up with her. Cautious over Viper’s next move, she brought her katana forward, hoping to block his next attack. However, in the speed of light, Viper warped to her side and kicked her, sending her to the ground again.
She brought her head up to see Viper, approaching her slowly. Looking at how pristine he appeared and how she barely managed to hit him, Jaden’s anger was slowly overwhelmed by her grief. Realizing how invincible this man is, she began to give up her hopeless struggle and started to throw apologies to her family and friends in her mind. Her final apologies were to her mother, whom she failed to save, and to her father, whom she failed to avenge. She recovered to both her knees and used the precious seconds to reflect on her life.
Viper threw a single slash at her but she quickly parried it, not willing to give up her life without a fight. His strength began to overwhelm her and in a fit of grief, she roared, angry at how unfair reality was to her. She bent her head and closed her eyes, tears rolling down her cheek. Silently, she sobbed.
Suddenly, a blue light illuminated the ground. She assumed that the light came from her eyes, only to remember that her eyes were covered by her blindfold. She looked up and was blinded by a bright blue light emitting from her katana. Viper himself was blinded, weakening his hold over his katana. Trying to capitalize, Jaden shoved his katana away and kicked his chest. Viper backed off while rubbing his eyes, seemingly shocked by the blue light. Jaden turned to her sword and was amazed to see it glowing, similar to Kiyara and Viper’s, though his was red. She observed it, briefly distracted while Viper recovered.
Hearing Viper’s roar, Jaden turned around in time to block his attack. She struggled against his strength but before she could do anything, her hand began to glow and a beam of blue Energy erupted from it, knocking Viper away. After recovering, Viper simply glared at Jaden with awe and asked, “So much power. I thought she is just a student?” Jaden watched as her hand continued to glow blue. Suddenly, it struck her. Just as Kiyara once mentioned, peculiar events happens after her Proving, and that was one of it.
Viper began charging his left hand with Dark Energy, surging it while the dust around him were blown away. Jaden turned to her hand and was surprised to see it now surging with a similar Energy. Just as Viper released the Energy towards her, Jaden copied his gestures and sent her own Dark Energy towards him. The two electrical Energies collided and upon recalling the memories of her mother’s death, she amplified her powers through her anger. Her Dark Energies overwhelmed Viper’s and won the struggle, electrocuting him and sending him off the ground. He landed on his back and went completely limp.
Awed at such a sight, Jaden stared at her hand, which was no longer glowing. “How did I do that?” she asked herself. Instead of thinking hard on it, she turned her attention to Viper, who was unconscious not far from her. Stamping towards him with her sword in hand, she intend on ending his life like he did with her mother. Anger quickly overwhelmed her and her eyes began to glow brighter.
With the murderer’s life in her hands, Jaden raised her sword with the blade pointed at him. Her anger elevated along with her sword and she brought it down to the ground, her eyes closed, expecting to hear Viper’s scream. She also expected to hear the sound of her sword cutting flesh along with blood splattering all over her, but all she heard was a thud along with frantic footsteps.
She opened her eyes and saw her sword pierced into the ground, Viper’s body missing. She looked around for him but all that met her was the cold wind. As she pants in exhaustion, her anger was filtered out and she regained control over her emotions. She could barely believe that she survived an encounter with Viper, but expected that to be only the first. She then sat on the ground, the horrid memory of what Viper did still fresh in her mind. At the same time, she felt a sense of guilt in letting him escape.
Jaden pulled her sword off the ground and trudged to where her mother laid. She knelt down and laid Glacier’s bloody head on her hands. Jaden stared at her, much of her focus on the peculiar smile that Glacier left behind. Tears welled up in her eyes and she silently sobbed for all her losses.
“I will miss you mom. You’ve been through enough suffering in your life and you do not deserve this. I wish I could prepare a proper funeral for you, but I’m afraid I don’t know how. Thank you for all you’ve done for me. Don’t worry. I shall avenge you, Markus, Lucas, Dementius, Kiyara, everyone, like I promised for dad. If I fail, I am glad…to die trying.”
She brought her deceased mother close and hugged her. Greatly saddened by the situation, she was reluctant to let her go after losing her so suddenly, but as she puts her mind into reality; she realized that it is too dangerous for her to stay there alone. She gently laid her head onto the ground, picked up her katana and sprinted away from the area, hesitant but also anxious to leave behind her memories and destroyed former life.
“Viper…I am coming for you.”
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