The Crimson Prince： Awakening 45 Chapter 16: Shared Thoughts

The golden throne room was just as impressive as the last time Will had entered it. The golden pillars which seemed to disappear within the storm of crimson flame which represented the ceiling, the gold embroidered red carpet which led to the small stairwell leading to the platform that held the golden throne. The place within his very mind in which he had spent hours in training with Cainus had become like a second home to him.

What was hours on the outside of his mind would be the equivalent of months within his solitude as the first king of Ebonhart would teach him about the land as well as teach him new techniques to use in combat. The place was a training ground only he could use.

As Will walked to the throne, he knew he wasn't alone. He could feel a set of eyes watching him from somewhere in the room. "Cainus?" He called out within the large chamber. He could hear his voice echo unnaturally.

A sudden breeze made the throne room chilled. Will looked up at the ever present crimson sky, the flames were billowing as if they were a camp fire on a windy night. While he was paying attention to the atmosphere, the chamber darkened. The gold cast from the floor became a dark gold, as if someone had turned off the lights.

As Will took in the phenomenon, he noticed a shadow beyond the furthest pillar. He focused on the patch of darkness and could barely make out movement.

"Cainus if you are over there at least say something." Will said as he started walking towards the darkness. With every step, a feeling formed within Will's heart. He had felt this sensation many times before.

His pace slowed as he felt a familiar chill within him. With each step, the feeling told him to run. The closer he got to the shadow, the more his mind screamed at him to run the other direction.

When the feeling was so strong that he felt an invisible wall in front of him, he stopped in his tracks. The throne room was no longer the golden room he had trained in, instead it looked obsidian black. He saw the light from the ceiling cast from the floor and his breath caught. It was no longer the crimson he was used to, it was instead a dark red with black flame twisted within it much like the coils of darkness that formed the black gem on his pendant.

"Come out." Will called out to where the shadow once was. He could no longer pick out the shape within the black surface of the room. He couldn't seem to form enough courage to demand the presence to come forward.

Though Will couldn't summon up his courage, it seemed the shadow responded more to fear than the opposite. Will could see an outline of the unwelcomed presence step out from the darkness.

"What's wrong Will? You shouldn't be the type to scare easily," the form from the darkness sounded male and somewhat familiar to Will. "How to you expect to protect your friends when you can't meet darkness without fear?" the man came close enough for Will to make out the face" though he couldn't bring himself past the neckline. He had the same pendant as him, yet instead of the ruby at the top he had an onyx gem with black veins coming from it and wrapping around the cross making it look sick.

Will looked sick as he saw the clothing of the man. He knew almost instantly who it was. The black clothing and cloak made the rest of him look like a ghost. His long hair had long since fallen out of the ponytail he had before the battle. "Sup little bro." Jake said with a sad smile.

Will looked into the man's eyes with a slight surprise. Jake's eyes were hazel instead of the normal dark. Everything about him seemed relaxed which through Will off. It seemed that Jake was a completely different person from who he fought only minutes ago. Even though he wore the same clothing, it seemed like he was wearing different skin.

"How did you get here?" Will asked tiredly, the last thing he wanted was a fight within his own mind.

"I kinda had to shove my pendant into your chest," he said looking nervous. "Don't worry," he put a hand up. "I'm not here to fight."

Will felt his chest as if he could feel the cross lodged in it. "I don't get it," he said as he regained his composure. "I have a cross lodged inside me and you are telling me not to worry." he raised an eyebrow. "How would I not worry?"

Jake could only laugh. Not a menacing laugh which Will was so used to, but a genuine laugh. "Always the pessimist aren't you?"

"Is this real?" Will asked. The change within Jake was more than he could handle.

"Yeah," Jake said with a halfhearted smile. "What you are seeing is the true me, the one you saved from the street." his smile dropped as his eyes fixed on Will. "I will always remember that bro, and one day I'll pay you back for that."

Now Will was really confused. "You are talking as if you aren't yourself out there." Will said with a thumb pointed over his shoulder.

"That's because I'm not." Jake said hesitantly, as if testing exactly what he could say. "I don't think they can hear me in here, so far as they know I'm only stealing your abilities."

"Wait, what?" Will didn't know how to respond.

"I don't call you bro because your a friend of mine Will. We really are brothers." He said as Will took a a step back.

Will waited until he could trust his words, he had gone almost completely pale. "T-that's not possible." he tried to find his words.

"Look at me Will, I mean really look at me." he said as he raised his hands from his sides. As if looking at him for the first time, Will saw the same jaw structure, cheek bones and hazel eyes he saw every time he looked in the mirror. If Will were to dye his hair black, he could be Jake's twin. "I am your brother."

Will almost made a Darth Vader reference before it actually sunk in. He had a brother. So many questions were forming in his head, but one was at the forefront of his mind. "Was it really a coincidence I met you that day?" he felt that it was too convenient for him to have just met his biological brother that he'd never met on the side of the road one day.

Jake shrugged his shoulders. "Whether it was coincidence or planned, it still happened. What's important is how we can break the hold on me and the other corrupt aura wielders." he said as he walked towards the throne. As Will followed him, the room went from the corrupt black back to the original gold.

"How?" Will could only think of the way he saved Maya, yet he believed the reason she was saved was more than because of him. They had a connection which was his best guess.

"Cainus probably already told you how unique your lineage pendant is by now right?" Jake asked as he sat at the steps of the throne and looked up at his brother.

"Yeah," Will thought back to the conversation he and the late king had after their pact. "He said something about me becoming a G.o.d." he said as he scratched his head in thought.

"It's more than that." Jake said thoughtfully. "Think of your flame for a moment." He said as he summoned his own dark flame as a demonstration. "Do you believe that this is the only thing the gift can do?"

Will thought back to the scythe that grew from his arm. He remembered the high density wave of air that exploded and took out a third of Jake's army. "I guess not." He said as he tried to figure out where Jake was going with this.

"Don't think of your gift as just flame. What you did to my army was a manifestation of air. Your rage allowed the corruption within you to forcefully draw on wind." he said as he allowed his flame to go out. "I think in order for you to become a G.o.d, you have to master all the elements."

"Where do you come in with all of this?" Will thought on what Jake was saying. It all made sense, except why Jake would be willing to help him.

"Now that I have gained entry to this room," Jake waved his hand around the throne room. "I can leave a piece of my consciousness here to help you train alongside Cainus, as well as warn you when we are about to attack." he said as he looked up at Will. "When an element manifests as it has, we can train until you have mastered it. When that happens, I'll take the corruption from it." Jake held up his own lineage pendant. "Doesn't this look familiar?"

Will sat next to his brother and held up the cross. It was the same pendant that hung from his own neck. There were seven notches within it, two already had gems in the sockets just as his did. Both a red gem and a black gem took their places within the cross. The only difference was instead of gold wiring around the pendant, dark tendrils came from the onyx gem and wrapped sickly around the regal cross.

"How is this possible? I thought Cainus said only I would have this cross." he said as he looked up at Jake from the cross.

"This pendant appeared on my neck around a month and a half ago." he said as he took it back. "Around the same time you gained access to this room if I had to guess."

"The same time I made the crusader's pact with Cainus." Will thought out loud.

Jake nodded as he stood back up and looked at the throne. "Why don't you come out and explain this to us your highness." he said with a raised eyebrow.

Do not think to summon a king, boy. A voice rang from the crimson sky above. You may be an heir of the Ragnos bloodline, but until the corruption within you is expelled, do not count yourself as a candidate for the throne.

"So everything he said is true?" Will asked more to himself than to the king. Hearing Cainus call Jake an heir was more than enough proof for Will to know he was his brother, but the shock of the confirmation was almost more than he could handle.

Yes, Cainus's voice rang within the chamber. He is the first born son of king William Ragnos and Isabelle Ragnos. When he was born, your father had sensed the dark aura within him. He immediately dispatched Jake to earth with a loyal servant. He was unnamed by his father. It was William's intention that Jake never learned about the aura within him. He was given nothing within these lands to allow him to learn of its existence. He was to be raised as a normal boy and depart the mortal world in death with no knowledge of our world.

What Will was hearing was horrible. How could his father give Jake nothing? How could he not even name his own son?

Will looked at Jake, he was expecting his older brother to have a look of anger in his face. Instead, Will looked into the eyes of someone who had never known love. Since Will had known Jake, never had he known him to look so vulnerable.

"I don't care about auras or destinies." Will said as he looked up at the crimson sky. "Just tell me if there's any truth to the elemental affinity idea my brother spoke of."

There was a long pause before Cainus replied.

Darkness cleanses light so that light may cleanse the darkness.

When the elements awaken within the chosen, the hold of chaos will be broken.

Fire burns, air cleanses, water soothes and earth heals.

Within every darkness there is light, Within every light there is darkness.

These were the words spoken to me by the G.o.ds who granted me power. This is all I know.

"That's all we need." Will said as he looked back down at Jake. "You may not have grown with family, but I will do everything I can to make sure you have one soon."